Baseball By Paul

A quick look at my work available over at Baseball Prospectus this week.

• I was in the Lineup Card again this week, this time outlining how the Seattle Mariners could be contenders for the 2015 World Series.  Pitching will lead the way if they are going to make a run.  Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and of course Felix Hernandez should they keep him around.  Think 2010 San Francisco Giants for their blueprint.  Jesus Montero and Dustin Ackley will be their offense anchors with Nick Franklin and 2012 1st rounder Mike Zunino on the way.

• Next up was the Starting Pitcher Value Picks column that looks at some of the more widely available starters who should be getting more love.  I discussed A.J. Burnett yet again because I just don’t understand why he is still being overlooked and I also took a look at the recently called up Kris Medlen who was being stretched out in the minors for the Braves.

• The Weekly Planner will go live soon and it looks at the two-start pitchers worth trotting out in your leagues.  There aren’t a ton of great choices this week who will likely be available on waiver wires, so those with the aces with a pair of starts will have an even bigger leg up over those who merely stream guys.

• I did my first BP Unfiltered post this week comparing the 14 K perfect games of Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain.  

• And finally, episode 8 is out for The Towers of Power Fantasy Hour, a BP Fantasy Podcast.  We discussed tons of players ranging from Matt Cain, Troy Tulowitzki and Dustin Pedroia to Tony Campana, Gregor Blanco and Nate Eovaldi.  We also anoint Felix Doubront with a fantastic new nickname.  The Tigers won yesterday afternoon before the pdocast, so no rant on my beloved team.  By the way, I mentioned on the pod that I would be coming out with a Bryce Harper/Mike Trout-centric piece today, but I had to push it to Monday.  It is coming, though.

A quick look at my work available over at Baseball Prospectus this week.

• First up was the Starting Pitcher Value Picks piece in which I looked at Phil Hughes, who I may have pumped up after watching him dismantle my favorite team in a complete game of excellence.  I profess my love of Edwin Jackson yet again.  Weird.  Completely unexpected.

• Next up was the Weekly Planner piece which takes a look at the all the two-start pitchers for next week and decides who you should go with and who you should probably avoid.  Aces are very light this week meaning you will have to look at some lesser options if you want to load up on two start starters in H2H leagues.  Edwin Jackson (yes, two mentions!!!) and Bud Norris are among my favorites in that group.

• I also appeared in the Lineup Card for the first time since joining Baseball Prospectus.  The week’s topic was “Favorite Baseball Books” and I discussed one of my favorite books ever: The Numbers Game by Alan Schwarz.  Just a fantastic journey through the history of baseball stats engineered by one of the best writers out there.  He did some fascinating work on concussions in the NFL and continues to dominate life for the NY Times.

• And finally, episode 7 will come out for the The Towers of Power Fantasy Hour, a BP Fantasy Podcast on Saturday.  We discussed a ton of players of varying import ranging from stars to lower tier “only” league options.  In lieu of specific segments like most weeks, the meat of the show were these in depth breakdowns on players.  Send your emails to fantasyhour@baseballprospectus.com.  We record on Thursdays usually, but moved to Friday this week.  We also have a Facebook Group that you should definitely join.  Here is my entrant for “Best Thing I Read This Week”.  I didn’t explain it particularly well on the podcast, but it cracked me the f up.