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Noah Syndergaard struck out 166 batters over 150.0 innings and produced a 3.24 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP last year as a rookie. I preach not to overrate small samples as much as anyone, but Syndergaard was throwing a 95 mph slider during his first start in 2016. For his career, his fastball has averaged 97.1 mph. So here’s a pitcher whose stuff is in rarified air, as he’s produced (during his career) a 22.8 K-BB% (Pedro Martinez’s was 21.0) with a SwStr% of 12.4 (Clayton Kershaw’s is 11.7). I’d still take Kershaw or Max Scherzer ahead of him, but Syndergaard is clearly the next starting pitcher on my board if a draft were held today, and all three should be taken in the first 15 picks. Thor is now throwing a 95 mph slider! He fanned nine batters over six innings during his first start against a Royals team that struck out by far the fewest amount of times last season (the next closest struck out 134 more). Syndergaard should be considered a borderline first round commodity right now and a top-three fantasy pitcher.
Here’s someone dominating “Wheel Of Fortune” like no one ever has.
Check out this robot who may soon dominate us all.
This tackle seemed a bit excessive.
Kenley Jansen has two appearances so far, and it took a botched defensive play that would’ve ended Saturday’s contest to even get him into the game after he somehow gave way to Joe Blanton (who promptly gave up a home run during his first batter faced) the night before in a tie game in extra innings. So new manager Dave Roberts seems obsessed with the save rule, which hurts Jansen’s value, but with his stuff (his velo was down Saturday but his cutter still seemed unstoppable) and on the Dodgers, he remains my No. 1 closer...I was too much of a coward before the season, ranking him No. 5, but I’d treat Hector Rondon as my No. 2 closer moving forward. Anything is possible, but I don’t see the Cubs winning fewer than 95 games, with 100+ a strong possibility (the loss of Kyle Schwarber is brutal to fantasy owners like myself, but Chicago has so much depth, and it improves their defense). Since May ended last year, Rondon has a 0.91 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP with a 52:10 K:BB over 49.2 innings.
This whale watching boat needed Captain Ron.
This footage of a rat crawling up a sleeping person on a subway is pretty terrifying.
Craig Sager’s secret to putting: Drink a whole lot of beer.
Quick Hits: I’d prefer Eugenio Suarez over Troy Tulowitzki moving forward, and it’s not particularly close...I’m worried about Jacob deGrom, as while his injury is a lat and not his arm, his velocity has been down since spring training, and he remains “very sore.” Expect a prolonged absence, although he’s less worrisome than Tyson Ross, who’s thrown the most sliders (37.2%) from 2011-2015 among all pitchers and is now shelved with shoulder inflammation. It’s not clear cut this is causation (an elbow would make more sense), but Ross owners have to be terrified right now...Dallas Keuchel had four walks and three strikeouts in the first inning of Sunday’s game, which is something I can’t remember ever seeing...I buried Corey Dickerson in my outfield rankings, as he was one of my least favorite players based on his ADP entering the year while going from Coors Field to Tropicana. Naturally, he’s already hit three homers and has a 1.089 OPS.
Headlines of the Week: Meet The Guy Paying $400 To Live In A Literal Wooden Box Inside Someone’s Else’s Apartment...British Woman Rescued From Atlantic Waters After Swimming After A Cruise Liner She Thought Her Husband Was On...Runaway Bull caught at NY college, Then Saved By Jon Stewart...Blue Jays’ Chris Colabello Refuses To Do 8-Pound Mac & Cheese Challenge For $15K...Man Drove 6 Miles With Wife On SUV’s Roof
Quick Hits Part Deux: Injuries sped up their call ups, but both Mallex Smith and Nomar Mazara are must adds in all fantasy leagues. Mazara is now the youngest player in the majors, so he’s no sure thing, but he’s one of the best prospects in all of baseball and will be looking at regular playing time atop the Rangers’ order with Shin-Soo Choo out the next 4-6 weeks. Smith could be equally as valuable to fantasy teams, as he stole 56 bases in the minors last year over 484 at bats. Go get them both...I’m buying Hanley Ramirez’s hot start...But then again, in that same column I buried Rich Hill, who made me look silly after posting a 10:1 K:BB ratio gem over six innings during his start Saturday...Here’s an unorthodox way to turn a double play...Tyler White is off to a terrific start, but I’d still recommend stashing A.J. Reed for those in leagues with deep benches...Dee Gordon sports a .421/.450/.737 line but is 0-for-2 on stolen base attempts.
Police Blotter: Guy Uses Stolen Car To Steal Another Car On Test Drive...Man Reported To Police For ‘Revenge Fart’ After Woman Refused To Have Sex...Guy Hid 1.4K Bags Of Heroin In His Body...Mother Who Wanted Haunting Photos Of Her Dead Daughter Charged With Her Murder...Man Gets Into Police Chase While Uber Driver Naps.
Song of the week: The Good, The Bad & The Queen – “Herculean”
Longread of the Week: Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Quick Hits Part Tres: Miguel Sano is batting .133/.278/.133 and is getting routinely replaced late in games for defensive purposes. He owns a career 36.0 K%. Having said all that I’d be trying to buy him now...Garrett Richards is now hitting 98 mph regularly and has a strong groundball rate. He should be viewed as a top-20 fantasy starter moving forward at minimum...There’s no reason not to consider Roberto Osuna a top-10 closer from here on out...Randal Grichuk has been on the bench for three of the past four games, with Jeremy Hazelbaker hitting second in the Cardinals’ lineup. To say this was unexpected would be an understatement...It sure looks like Jeanmar Gomez is the new closer for the Phillies. I guess that makes him worth adding, but for those who care about ERA and WHIP it seems the best strategy is to avoid the Philly bullpen altogether...Matt Kemp combined for 19 home runs/steals in fewer than 250 at bats after the All-Star break last season and has a 1.080 OPS to start this season (he’s been aided by playing three games in Coors Field), so I’m beginning to think I should have drafted him in some of my leagues...Trevor Story entered 2016 with zero at bats. He’s on pace to finish with 189 home runs with 324 RBI (although he’s yet to be driven in by anyone but himself).
Follow Dalton Del Don on Twitter.
Here’s someone dominating “Wheel Of Fortune” like no one ever has.
Check out this robot who may soon dominate us all.
This tackle seemed a bit excessive.
Kenley Jansen has two appearances so far, and it took a botched defensive play that would’ve ended Saturday’s contest to even get him into the game after he somehow gave way to Joe Blanton (who promptly gave up a home run during his first batter faced) the night before in a tie game in extra innings. So new manager Dave Roberts seems obsessed with the save rule, which hurts Jansen’s value, but with his stuff (his velo was down Saturday but his cutter still seemed unstoppable) and on the Dodgers, he remains my No. 1 closer...I was too much of a coward before the season, ranking him No. 5, but I’d treat Hector Rondon as my No. 2 closer moving forward. Anything is possible, but I don’t see the Cubs winning fewer than 95 games, with 100+ a strong possibility (the loss of Kyle Schwarber is brutal to fantasy owners like myself, but Chicago has so much depth, and it improves their defense). Since May ended last year, Rondon has a 0.91 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP with a 52:10 K:BB over 49.2 innings.
This whale watching boat needed Captain Ron.
This footage of a rat crawling up a sleeping person on a subway is pretty terrifying.
Craig Sager’s secret to putting: Drink a whole lot of beer.
Quick Hits: I’d prefer Eugenio Suarez over Troy Tulowitzki moving forward, and it’s not particularly close...I’m worried about Jacob deGrom, as while his injury is a lat and not his arm, his velocity has been down since spring training, and he remains “very sore.” Expect a prolonged absence, although he’s less worrisome than Tyson Ross, who’s thrown the most sliders (37.2%) from 2011-2015 among all pitchers and is now shelved with shoulder inflammation. It’s not clear cut this is causation (an elbow would make more sense), but Ross owners have to be terrified right now...Dallas Keuchel had four walks and three strikeouts in the first inning of Sunday’s game, which is something I can’t remember ever seeing...I buried Corey Dickerson in my outfield rankings, as he was one of my least favorite players based on his ADP entering the year while going from Coors Field to Tropicana. Naturally, he’s already hit three homers and has a 1.089 OPS.
Headlines of the Week: Meet The Guy Paying $400 To Live In A Literal Wooden Box Inside Someone’s Else’s Apartment...British Woman Rescued From Atlantic Waters After Swimming After A Cruise Liner She Thought Her Husband Was On...Runaway Bull caught at NY college, Then Saved By Jon Stewart...Blue Jays’ Chris Colabello Refuses To Do 8-Pound Mac & Cheese Challenge For $15K...Man Drove 6 Miles With Wife On SUV’s Roof
Quick Hits Part Deux: Injuries sped up their call ups, but both Mallex Smith and Nomar Mazara are must adds in all fantasy leagues. Mazara is now the youngest player in the majors, so he’s no sure thing, but he’s one of the best prospects in all of baseball and will be looking at regular playing time atop the Rangers’ order with Shin-Soo Choo out the next 4-6 weeks. Smith could be equally as valuable to fantasy teams, as he stole 56 bases in the minors last year over 484 at bats. Go get them both...I’m buying Hanley Ramirez’s hot start...But then again, in that same column I buried Rich Hill, who made me look silly after posting a 10:1 K:BB ratio gem over six innings during his start Saturday...Here’s an unorthodox way to turn a double play...Tyler White is off to a terrific start, but I’d still recommend stashing A.J. Reed for those in leagues with deep benches...Dee Gordon sports a .421/.450/.737 line but is 0-for-2 on stolen base attempts.
Police Blotter: Guy Uses Stolen Car To Steal Another Car On Test Drive...Man Reported To Police For ‘Revenge Fart’ After Woman Refused To Have Sex...Guy Hid 1.4K Bags Of Heroin In His Body...Mother Who Wanted Haunting Photos Of Her Dead Daughter Charged With Her Murder...Man Gets Into Police Chase While Uber Driver Naps.
Song of the week: The Good, The Bad & The Queen – “Herculean”
Longread of the Week: Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Quick Hits Part Tres: Miguel Sano is batting .133/.278/.133 and is getting routinely replaced late in games for defensive purposes. He owns a career 36.0 K%. Having said all that I’d be trying to buy him now...Garrett Richards is now hitting 98 mph regularly and has a strong groundball rate. He should be viewed as a top-20 fantasy starter moving forward at minimum...There’s no reason not to consider Roberto Osuna a top-10 closer from here on out...Randal Grichuk has been on the bench for three of the past four games, with Jeremy Hazelbaker hitting second in the Cardinals’ lineup. To say this was unexpected would be an understatement...It sure looks like Jeanmar Gomez is the new closer for the Phillies. I guess that makes him worth adding, but for those who care about ERA and WHIP it seems the best strategy is to avoid the Philly bullpen altogether...Matt Kemp combined for 19 home runs/steals in fewer than 250 at bats after the All-Star break last season and has a 1.080 OPS to start this season (he’s been aided by playing three games in Coors Field), so I’m beginning to think I should have drafted him in some of my leagues...Trevor Story entered 2016 with zero at bats. He’s on pace to finish with 189 home runs with 324 RBI (although he’s yet to be driven in by anyone but himself).
Follow Dalton Del Don on Twitter.