Top 5 Pitchers For The 2018 Season!

It is finally here! The Top 5 Pitchers have been selected and they might be a little bit controversial but you’ll have to read on to find out. Keep in mind that all 5 of these men are bargain buys. If you draft any one of them, I say you’ve found your ace. So let’s get on it here, coming in at #5 we have:

5. Zack Greinke- Arizona Diamondbacks

2017: 17-7 3.20 ERA 215 Ks

2017 was a rebound year and a successful one at that for Zack Greinke. But you should ignore his rebound stats and look at the two advantages that Greinke has. He has worked on his pitch command and it showed last year, and Chase Field is being modified so it isn’t completely a hitter-friendly ballpark like it has been. Chase Field is planning to install a humidor, which is designed to maintain a steady amount of moisture inside the park, making it more friendly for pitchers. Zack now is a really safe bet and one you should look to draft.

4. Chris Sale- Boston Red Sox

2017: 17-8 2.90 ERA 308 K’s

Listen I don’t have to tell you how great Chris Sale is. The numbers back me up as he was ranked 1st in innings pitched and strikeouts for the AL last year. Any pitcher getting over 300 K’s is clearly doing something right and more. Those are a lot of points that fantasy owners racked up in the past year. If he can get a smidge more of run support, I’m predicting a Cy Young award to go with a 20+ win season. You heard it here first.

3. Corey Kluber- Cleveland Indians

2017: 18-4 2.25 ERA 265 K’s

I think I should keep it short and simple as to why you should take Corey Kluber when he is available. There is a good chance at whatever draft position you’re in, that you won’t be able to draft the Top 2 on the list. So let me start out by saying that the Klubot is the reigning AL Cy Young award winner. Kluber also led the league in wins, ERA and WHIP (also known as walks/hits allowed per innings pitched, his number in that category was 0.87). Kluber also never gets injured and is insanely durable go ahead and draft him right now. You have my guarantee since I drafted him last year and he was a big part of my League Championship Team!

2. Clayton Kershaw- Los Angeles Dodgers

2017: 18-4 2.31 ERA 202 K’s

Kershaw has had an amazing 6+ year run with 3 Cy Young awards has been a model of consistency BUT! His back problems and his run of injury the last 2 years make him high risk high reward. He can either carry your team, or get injured come the end of the season. I mean the numbers are insane but durability is the main question and he should challenge for the #1 spot if he stays durable.

1. Max Scherzer- Washington Nationals

2017: 16-6 2.51 ERA 268 K’s

I mean what else can I say or explain. He successfully defended his Cy Young for the previous year, he has won that award 3 times in the last 5 years and he has lead the league in wins and strikeouts for the past 5 years with 89 and 1,320 respectively. Not only that but he is durable and can put in a lot of innings. Personally, I think he is the perfect pick and my #1 pitcher heading into this season.

Opening Day is tomorrow! Get hyped!

Top Pitchers #9-6 For The 2018 Season

9. Carlos Carrasco- Cleveland Indians

2017: 18-6 3.29 ERA 226 Ks

Even though he may not be the ace on his team, don’t let that fool you into passing him up. Carrasco is an extremely effective #2 that had his first full year as a starter last year. He has dealt with injury problems and just recently, he was sidelined with a foot injury. Manager Terry Francona has assured the sports world that Carrasco is good to go so why is he not on your roster? AL leader in wins and Top 10 in a variety of categories including strikeouts, innings pitched and ERA. Expect some minor regression but don’t hesitate here.

8. Jacob deGrom- New York Mets

2017: 15-10 3.53 ERA 239 Ks

Literally the only bright spot in a long series of darkness and injuries that was on the Mets team. Jacob improved mightily on the team and he’s gained velocity on his fastball. Expect him to improve even more and sneak into the top 10 or even top 5. Part of that depends on the performance of the team he’s playing on.

7. Luis Severino- New York Yankees

2017: 14-6 2.98 ERA 230 Ks

If you either drafted this guy or picked him up off the waiver wire, honestly congrats to you since you reaped some incredible benefits. The breakout pitcher of the season and a Cy Young candidate, he accrued a 25% strikeout rate and a 50% groundout rate. Simply put, Severino has a good defense behind him and he knows exactly how to get you out. Last year he was aggressive on the mound hurling his fastball which was an average speed of 97.5 MPH! You won’t be drafting him as a sleeper pick but you would be wise to take him.

6. Stephen Strasburg- Washington Nationals

2017: 15-4 2.52 ERA 204 Ks

It’s hard to believe that Strasburg’s career has been 8 years long already. Injuries have left a giant asterisk on his entire career as he has only averaged about 24 starts per season. But since he was healthy throughout the majority of last year, there is less of a risk. He is only 29 years old, and his stats can compete with any other pitcher in the league, we are talking Cy Young worthy numbers. This year, take Strasburg with confidence. I have no doubt he’ll prove me wrong and cement his place in the Top 5 at the end of the year.

Top Pitchers #14-10 For The 2018 Season

14. Yu Darvish- Chicago Cubs

2017: 10-12 3.86 ERA 209 K’s

Don’t let the poor World Series performance dupe you into thinking that Yu Darvish isn’t a premier top 15 maybe even top 10 pitcher this year. He may not have had an impressive record last year but then again last year, he was on a struggling Rangers team. The case of Jose Quintana that I mentioned earlier will be the case for Yu Darvish. Expect a better record and the strikeouts to either stay the same or ascend. The Cubs defense should also help him from an ERA perspective, being one of the best defenses in the league.

13. Marcus Stroman- Toronto Blue Jays

2017: 13-9 3.09 ERA 164 K’s

Stroman will not start on Opening Day due to minor shoulder inflammation but he is still a worthy pick that could go unnoticed in your draft. I believe he is heavily underrated this upcoming year due to his ERA and record with the Blue Jays, who have been on the decline recently. a model of a consistency who is extraordinary at forcing groundballs, he is reliant on his defense but I can see his ERA dropping under 3.00 due to his consistency.

12. Dallas Keuchel- Houston Astros

2017: 14-5 2.90 ERA 125 K’s

Keuchel struggled during the second half of last season posting a 4.24 ERA but even that couldn’t kill his ERA numbers. Coming off of injury in 2016, 2017 was a resurgent year into his better Cy Young winning form in 2015. He can force ground balls and consistent outs better than most pitchers in the league. Obviously the strikeout numbers need to be bolstered but if you want a consistent pitcher that will give you a decent amount of points every start then look no further.

11. Madison Bumgarner- San Francisco Giants

2017: 4-9 3.32 ERA 101 K’s

The only reason why MadBum is outside of the Top 10 is mainly because of his injury that he suffered late into Spring Training. He could miss up to 8 weeks, so if you have the patience to draft him, he might be worth your while as long as his hand isn’t re-injured. Besides the injury, these stats were accumulated after just 13 starts and the rest over the winter helped him plenty in Spring Training. Let’s hope that after recovering from this injury, that he doesn’t have too many bad repercussions.

10. Noah Syndergaard- New York Mets

2017: 1-2 2.97 ERA 34 K’s

After pitching with a partially torn lat the past year, and pitching with a bone spur in his elbow the year before, health seems to be the main question going into this year for Thor. He has the fastest fastball in the land and he can throw really hard really consistently. He mixes up his repertoire by throwing sliders, changeups and curveballs. If he is healthy, with his numbers, he is a candidate for the Cy Young, but if he isn’t, he could be on the DL for a while. Sounds like a make or break pick but again with his numbers, I personally am willing to take the risk.

Greatest Movies Ever, An Honorable Mentions List

*****SPOILER ALERT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED******

Throughout this past week, as I’ve been away from my Holy computer, trying to analyze basketball of all things and planning out what is next for this endeavor, this thing that I’m working on called a blog, by layman’s terms. Compiling a list is something that I thought was going to be easy. Something that I have learned quickly through my positional rankings list is that, well it’s not. Especially when it comes down to these movies.

As I’ve progressed through life, I have learned that when you make an argument, when you make your case, it is important to argue with your head and not your heart. Your heart and your feelings about certain subject matter can interfere with reasoning, whether it’s basic reasoning or advanced reasoning. I’m sure you have heard the phrase: “Facts don’t care about your feelings” right? Well in most cases it is true but as I’ve compiled this list, this statement couldn’t be further from the truth.

Some of these movies have shocked me, some of these movies have greatly entertained me, some of these movies have given the audience and me a powerful lesson, some of these movies, you might think are flat out stupid, and some of these movies, are just either really enjoyable, or really sad.

I know for a fact that at least one movie in my Top 10 has made me cry consistently, at the same time, at the same part, every time I see it, and I’ve seen it multiple times, and I don’t cry through movies. Honestly I can count the amount of times I’ve cried during a movie, it’s really that rare.

And I know for a fact that at least one of these movies has made me laugh consistently, had me quoting the same lines numerous times over and over to the annoyance of my friends.

So in short, finalizing this Top 10 was wicked hard, but here are some honorable mentions:

Schindler’s List (1993)

Yeah this one was #11 a really hard one to leave out, I seriously had to re watch #9 and #10 to draw this conclusion. I enjoy historical pieces and I enjoy the work of Spielberg quite a bit, being a huge fan of E.T. Liam Neeson and especially Ben Kingsley put in remarkable performances in this film.

But my only reason why this movie isn’t in the Top 10 might sound stupid to some of you, but I found myself suffering through this movie. Literally, emotionally and even physically suffering, this movie is 3 hours plus of pain and suffering. I could barely move from my seat from stiffness and pure sadness. From the seen where Goeth wakes up and snipes innocent lives, to the scene where the innocent girl in the red coat walks through the numerous amounts of dead bodies, to the scene where the kids are carted away on the train, carted away to their deaths.

Obviously there are many more scenes but this movie is just really brutal and because of that, it is not in the Top 10. A really good movie however and I highly recommend it.

Kick Ass (2010)

Hey this movie is really entertaining and you should watch it. Now that I got the obvious out of the way, the reason why I really fell in love with this movie is that it explored a concept that as far as I know, hasn’t been explored. What if, a comic book nerd, tried to be a superhero in real life? This question gets answered in a supremely raunchy and entertaining movie. Not only that but it is often time hilarious and it’s filled with bad ass moments.

Want to know how awesome this movie is? I actually like Nicholas Cage’s character. That doesn’t happen very often, if at all. Go see this movie. Now.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

People seem to forget how influential and how powerful this movie was. First off, it propelled the career of Jack Nicholson, who is known to be one of the greatest actors of all time. But secondly, this movie changed the view of psychiatry for the rest of time.

Mental hospitals closed because of this movie. This movie has influenced the development of more anti-psychotic drugs. But most importantly, this movie tarnished the image of shock therapy, nearly killing it by giving it a brutally eye-opening image.

This film can also be known for it’s brutality like I’ve stated before. I remember my dad telling me that Nurse Ratched, and her cold, dead gaze, was much scarier on the big screen than on the laptop screen. Then there’ what happens after the shock therapy that’s just… hard to describe really, you gotta see it for yourself.

The amount of influence this movie had during that time is enough for you to watch it. It has revolutionized health care to this day.

Goodfellas (1990)

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”

One of the best opening lines of cinema history as this movie takes you into the life of Henry Hill, and his life in what we now know as the Mafia. An eye opening and entertaining movie with Oscar worthy performances from the entire cast. This movie details the infamous Lufthansa heist, among other events in the life of Henry Hill and his associates, Tommy DeVito and Jimmy Conway.

A stylistic and brutal movie detailing a high rise and a deep plummeting fall in the career of a mobster. Even if you don’t like gangster films, this is one you should appreciate. There’s themes of family, there’s themes of betrayal, there’s necessary, yet unnecessary elements of murder and at the end of the day, you’ll learn that you need to give Jimmy his money, don’t tell Tommy he’s funny either, you’ll piss him off. The way this film goes into detail about Hill’s life is impressive and eye opening and Ray Liotta give the performance of a career in this movie.

I understand I said spoiler alert but I don’t want to spoil this movie it’s on Netflix you need to see it.

Other honorable mentions include:

City of God (Brazilian Movie about an aspiring photographer and his life journey through the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Portuguese with English subtitles.) The Matrix, Reservoir Dogs, V for Vendetta, The Princess Bride, The Green Mile, American History X, The Dark Knight and finally, The Usual Suspects.

Top Pitchers #20-15 For The 2018 Season

Just think, Thursday of this week is Opening Day for the 2018 MLB season! How fast time has flown from the Astros winning the World Series last year. Now that we have covered all the position players for this upcoming season, it is finally time to come down to pitchers. Now for their stat lines, I am going to state the pitchers win and loss record, their ERA and their strikeout number. Remember a win is a gain of 5 points and a loss is a loss of 5 points. Runs allowed loses points, and outs can count as points as well. Let’s say a pitcher throws a 2 hit complete game shutout with 5 strikeouts. Well 27 outs is 27 points, then you add 5 strikeouts and a 5 point win. That is a 37 point game and that is rather impressive. Basically, here you are looking for the perfect pitcher!

So let’s start with number 20

20. Gerrit Cole- Houston Astros

2017: 12-12 4.26 ERA 196 Ks

Cole is looking to be in between Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton to start off the season, placing him 4th in the rotation. Through his 5 year career, Cole has been hampered by injuries and well being stuck in a Pirates organization that hasn’t been the same since losing to the Cubs in the 2015 Wild Card. A change of scenery will do him good in this case, since he is going to be a supporting member in this dynamite pitching staff. With an average fastball speed of 95 and a good slew of breaking pitches, I personally expect Gerrit Cole to get his career back on track. Knowing the rotation around him, expect at least some improvement, he’s worthy for a Round 3-5 pick

19. Jake Arrieta- Philadelphia Phillies

2017: 14-10 3.53 ERA 163 Ks

Is it insulting to put Arrieta so far down? Am I mad because he left my favorite team to go to Philadelphia of all places? The answer to both questions is no. I’m happy for Jake the Snake and I believe he will have a successful year, but there are some problems lingering. One of those problems is control. Can he limit walks and limit the amount of baserunners? Also he faces a challenge that he didn’t face in Chicago and that is run support. Will this young Phillies team consistently put up runs and be able to win ball games at the expense of a bad day at the mound? Is the signing of Carlos Santana going to do enough for their offense that has been weak in recent years? Those questions directly surround Arrieta’s year end fantasy performance. Personally, there’s too many of these questions and that’s why he is at 19 compared to say 12 or 11. He will have a good year, but it won’t be 2015 or 2016 all over again.

18. Chris Archer- Tampa Bay Rays

2017: 10-12 4.07 ERA 249 K’s

There is a good chance that Chris Archer could be traded from the Rays in the mid-season. Where he will be traded as of right now is uncertain, but that place would probably have a lot of run support because that record is poor because of it. Sure you could also point out his ERA being rather high and the division he plays in has gotten a lot stronger over the years, but look at the strikeouts! He was 3rd in the AL in strikeouts last year and he is in his prime at the age of 29. He is durable as well and is capable of posting consistent quality starts. I’d look to draft Archer at the same time that Gerrit Cole might be drafted.

17. Jose Quintana- Chicago Cubs

2017: 11-11 4.15 ERA 207 K’s

Before his big trade to the Cubs, Quintana was looking like he was about to fizzle out. Like he was about to face a rough patch in what has been to this point a pretty solid career. But then he was traded, and in the rest of the season with the Cubs, Quintana went on to win 7 games. Now he is going to be at least 4th in a stacked rotation and with the run support of the Chicago Cubs, expect Quintana’s numbers to improve this upcoming season.

16. Aaron Nola- Philadelphia Phillies

Photo Cred: Me

2017: 12-11 3.54 ERA 184 K’s

My only concern with Nola is his possible ceiling. He has not thrown over 200 innings in his 3 years of pitching thus far. So my only worry is near the end of the season. Will he start at the end of the season? Will his ceiling be raised due to good health or good performance? These are questions you got to ask, especially if you are in the playoffs of your fantasy league. Other than that he is a great pickup, he is the ace for the Phillies and he will start on Opening Day, he has a low ERA so just in case the offense doesn’t perform, he can pull away with at least a no decision. Lastly, he has maximized his ability to miss bats, making a big breakthrough in the strikeout department, which he will look to improve on as the season goes on.

15. Robbie Ray- Arizona Diamondbacks

2017: 15-5 2.89 ERA 218 K’s

To call last year a breakout year for Robbie Ray would be an understatement. He was 4th in the NL in ERA, 3rd in strikeouts and 6th in wins in the NL. Clearly he was dominant, but I wouldn’t run at him too hard based upon his past stats. He is in arguably the toughest division in the major leagues in terms of hitting, I mean even the Padres got a good hitter that can challenge Ray. Expect some regression, but also expect at least a solid season from Ray.

Final Four At A Glance

Even though sadly my Florida State Seminoles did not make it to the Final Four, I would personally like to congratulate the Michigan Wolverines for beating us and making it into the Final Four. Michigan earned that spot and I wish them the best of luck throughout the rest of the tournament.

With that being said, let’s look at all of the teams left, their paths to the Final Four, and how they can eventually win the championship:

11 Loyola-Chicago

To get to this point, this magical team has done wonderful things in this tournament to say the least. In their first game of the tournament, they defeated Miami 64-62 due to a last second 3 pointer, they defeated Tennessee 63-62 due to a closing, rim-bouncing-heart-stopping shot from inside the three point line. One of the better shots you would see go in propelled them to the Sweet 16

After that, they defeated Nevada, another miracle team, by way of a game sealing 3, the final score being 69-68. Battle tested from all the close encounters, they faced a confident Kansas State team coming off their win vs Kentucky. The Ramblers smack around K-State 78-62 sealing their place in the Final Four.

How can the Ramblers win it all?

This will take more than the blessing of Sister Jean for the Ramblers. It will take what they have done right so far to keep them going into the Championship. If they rely on their ability to draw defenders and open the floor for their better players, the Ramblers will have a very strong chance. If they can shoot consistently like they have been, the Ramblers will have an even better chance. If they stick to their gameplan, and keep having that stroke of luck every now and then, I don’t see why they cannot win it all. However Michigan, Villanova, and Kansas all have NBA talent on their roster and will easily become the toughest test yet for the Ramblers. But if they’re ready, they’re gonna win it all.

3 Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines, just like the Ramblers, have had a tough and glorious run to the Final Four. Michigan had the slowest start of the bunch, at first they were down by double digits to Montana but then came back and won 61-47. After that game, a miracle happened. Within the dying seconds, Jordan Poole pulled up an incredible game winning 3 to get the Wolverines past Houston 64-63.

In the Sweet 16, the Wolverines really found their shooting grove vs Texas A&M to a score of 99-72, a very dominant win. Then they defeated Florida State in a defensive struggle with the final score being 58-54

How can the Wolverines win it all?

Simply put, defense and consistency. They’re defense did a good job contesting almost all of the shots FSU put up (granted the Seminoles kept trying to drive it into the paint every possession) but I digress. The Wolverines have been a flashy team so far this tournament, meaning you’ll see the best and the worst of them. We’ve seen the best of their offense when they played Texas A&M and the worst of their offense when they played Florida State. Likewise we have seen their best defense played against Florida State and their worst defense played against Houston. Despite their victories, the Wolverines have been inconsistent. If they’re offense and defense can put it together, they are as unstoppable as anybody.

1 Villanova

To be fair, I’d like to think that Villanova has had the easiest ride to the Final Four and that isn’t entirely their fault. Let’s start off with Radford, which was a cakewalk with the score being 87-61. After beating Radford they went to take on Alabama. It was raining 3’s as they handle Alabama easily 81-58.

Moving onward to the Sweet 16, Villanova faces a tough defensive challenge in the form of West Virginia. But once again, the 3’s prevailed over the pressure from the Mountaineers as the Wildcats rolled on 90-78. In the Elite 8, they faced a resillient Texas Tech team. The Wildcats stayed ahead for the majority of the game due to their defense and won it 71-59 on their way to the Final Four

How can the Wildcats win it all?

Honestly I understand that the reason why Villanova can win it all is similar to the Ramblers but it really does ring true. The Wildcats cannot change a single thing that they’ve done so far. They have proven that if they’re 3 pointers aren’t falling, their defense can do the job just fine until the offense regains it’s footing. The Wildcats have been the highest standard in basketball so far and they are the favorites to win it all.

1 Kansas

 

Kansas has had a somewhat difficult road into the Final Four. Up until Duke, they faced rather good teams and kept them contained for the majority of the game. It all started out against Penn where they won 76-60. Afterwards, they encountered a rough, surging Seton Hall team and just held them off 83-79

In the Sweet 16, they went on to face Clemson. After taking a 20 point lead at one point, they played loose and easy, but not too loose and easy winning 80-76. Finally, they faced their toughest challenge of the tournament in the Duke Blue Devils. Thanks to Malik Newman and the cast around him, they managed to scrape through in overtime with the final score being 85-81

How can the Jayhawks win it all?

If they can stay out of foul trouble and keep banging away at the glass. If Kansas keeps all their starters out on the floor and leads the rebound margin, I can see them winning it all. Easy does it right?

So who wins it all?

Villanova, trust me on this one

Did We Just Beat Gonzaga?

I honestly wish that I had an explanation for this I really do but I don’t. Here is the final score you tell me what you think:

A 15 point victory! WHAT?!?!?

Trust me I saw the entire game and the same game as everybody else did but analyzing this might be a little bit challenging. It’s hard to fathom taking out a really good team that got most of their players back from last years team that lost to UNC in the championship.

One of their best players, Killian Tille, sadly did not play in the game due to a hip pointer injury and one of their better players, Johnathan Williams, was caught in foul trouble.

The casual observer like myself can say that we are sticking to a formula:

1. Get their best player into foul trouble

2. Get transition baskets

3. Force turnovers and play great defense

And lastly:

4. Get the deep rotation going and flowing

Those 4 steps helped propel us to the win vs Xavier and now it helps us beat Gonzaga. Rushing their offensive possessions and shooting better than them percentage wise works too.

After the 41-32 lead after the first half, we kept the mood going and eliminated any chance of a Gonzaga comeback.

This is our first Elite 8 since the 92-93 season and if we beat Michigan tomorrow (which in my opinion is our toughest challenge yet) then we will make our first Final Four since the 72-73 season. For anyone that remembers that season, we lost in the Championship to John Wooden’s UCLA.

It’s extremely hard not to look forward to what could be possible. Hopefully, fingers crossed, we can play the same way we did last night I mean what a game!

Even if you’re not a Noles fan it’s hard not to cheer, so bring on Michigan!!!!!

Top 10 OF for the 2018 Season

It’s back to baseball for a short while here as I will introduce my top 10 outfielders for the upcoming season. I’ll have to mention that all 10 of these outfielders are worth buying and I was tempted to do 20 since you could have up to 5 outfielders in your squad but I felt like pitchers would be most likely for a top 20 since there are way more pitchers than outfielders. So now lets get into the list:

10 Byron Buxton- Minnesota Twins

2017: .253/.314/.413 16 HR 51 RBIs 69 R

If you want a candidate for breakout player of the year, than look no further. Buxton is set out to prove this year that he is not only great at defense but he can swing the bat too. Buxton has adjusted his batting stance in the offseason and he will look to build off of a strong line he put up in the second half of the season. Him and the Twins squad look strong and are projected to do better than last year, throw Buxton in the mix and you’ll thank me later. Oh and he can steal bags as well.

9 Andrew McCutchen- San Francisco Giants

2017: .279/.363/.486 28 HR 88 RBIs 94 R

Alright since now you’ve seen my breakout candidate of the year, it’s only fair to show you my comeback player of the year candidate. Sure AT&T Park is a pitchers park so the home run totals might decrease. But since he is around newer and arguably better surroundings, expect his numbers to be better and more consistent. People underestimate what a new city can do for a player. I think San Francisco will have a positive effect and Cutch and I believe it will positively impact his performance on the field. Expect the stats to hike up.

8 Christain Yelich- Milwaukee Brewers

2017: .282/.369/.439 18 HR 81 RBIs 100 R

Here’s my honest opinion here, there are a lot of good outfielders and I think I might have Yelich too high up on the list. In my opinion, he could be a top 5 outfielder and if you’re lucky enough to catch wind of him still being available then you need to get him quick. Yelich is in a great park in terms of left handed hitting in Miller Park and he’s great at getting hard contact. Expect him to have massive gains this year as this trade will only benefit his production.

7 Giancarlo Stanton- New York Yankees

2017: .281/.376/.631 59 HR 132 RBIs 123 R

Stanton is in a homer friendly ballpark with a talented roster that can provide RB/is and runs and he’s adjusted his hitting stance to prove that he is a scary monster at the plate. So why do I have him at 6th instead of possibly 2nd or 3rd? Strikeouts and injuries. Stanton’s injury history scares me in the long run and throughout his career, he has been strikeout prone. It’s not like Aaron Judge last year when he can fore the walk as well. Get Stanton for his monstrous stats that will be very hard to repeat. I’d love for you to tell me that I was wrong at the end of the year if he stays healthy and slays. You just might be able to do that but I doubt it.

6. George Springer- Houston Astros

2017: .283/.367/.522 34 HR 85 RBIs 112 R

The World Series MVP is due to improve off of his career numbers last year. He played 22 games less than he did in 2016 and if he stays healthy, look for him to capitalize. Improving on his consistency on making contact last year was what propelled him to have a magical season. With the Astros still stacked from winning the World Series, expect Springer to not only have a hot start, but expect him to keep it going too.

5. Aaron Judge- New York Yankees

2017: .284/.422/.627 52 HR 114 RBIs 128 R

Let’s think for a second what would happen if Aaron Judge does have a sophomore slump. Maybe he strikes out a little less and he’ll hit for about .270 and he’ll have say 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. Would you draft that statline? I think so. Keep in mind he’s at Yankee Stadium and he has the prospect of batting leadoff. With the guys behind him, he’s gonna get more runs and maybe more RBI’s as well. Judge will have a tremendous year, whether it equals his rookie year or not.

4. Mookie Betts- Boston Red Sox

2017: .264/.344/.459 24 HR 102 RBIs 101 R

Consider 2018 to be a rebound year for Mookie Betts after what he would consider to be a disappointing season last year. Betts has the potential to match his 2016 season and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he bats well over .300. Due to his great contact ability, there’s no doubt that he can and will improve and with the addition of J.D Martinez, his prospects will only improve.

3. Bryce Harper- Washington Nationals

2017: .319/.413/.595 29 HR 87 RBIs 95 R

A weakened NL East improves on the prospect of Harper’s numbers in the upcoming season. His home run stats should improve but when you’re drafting a player, I strongly urge you not to look too hard at home runs. Because one can look at the fact that Harper had 29 home runs and think that’s bad for a player his caliber. It’s really not, look at the average, look at the runs those are all points especially the average a .319 is sensational! He is approaching his prime at the age of 25 and if he stays healthy, he should be killing the game at a ruthless pace heading into his free agency year.

2. Charlie Blackmon- Colorado Rockies

2017: .331/.399/.601 37 HR 104 RBIs 137 R

His 2017 is massive and giving the team that is batting behind him, his numbers should either stay the same or they could even improve. Blackmon has worked on his hitting skills in the offseason and if he continues to rake, he should be a force to reckon with on your fantasy squad. Given his division over Harper’s division, I understand the reason to put him at 3rd behind Harper, but both guys are draftable and they will produce big this year. Blackmon is on a hungry team that would kill for another prime Rocktober to fasten your seatbelts for this upcoming barrage.

1. Mike Trout- Los Angeles Angels

2017: .306/.442/.629 33 HR 72 RBIs 92 R

This guy will probably go first off the board in your draft so you’ll have to get lucky but I don’t think you need much of an explanation as to why he is #1 on the list. His stats and consistency are a validation plus he is 26, about to enter his prime. So he’s gonna get better, on a team that is trying to build around him and head towards the playoffs. Yeah if you’re fortunate enough to get the first pick in your league then get this man right now.

 

Sweet 16 Predictions!

After taking a deep dive into the matchups and recovering from an epic performance by Florida State, I’d like to say something before we get into these predictions.

I’d like to say that this is the most I’ve ever seen live on tv when it comes to March Madness. Usually around this time I’m busy with school or other things but this year was a little but different. I’d like to say something a little debatable, a little controversial if you will. And it doesn’t matter how crappy your bracket is because mine is probably worse.

I know it’s not over yet, but this has been the best NCAA March Madness of all time.

I mean, a 16 seed beat a 1 seed for crying out loud! There’s been buzzer beaters, unbelievable comebacks and heartwarming story lines that make you want to stand up and cheer. I know that whether FSU wins, or gets blown to bits like Auburn, I’ll still stand up and cheer for having a hell of a tournament. But keep in mind, all of these teams, even Syracuse, are extremely hungry for the title, and they all believe they have a shot at it. Which should make the conclusion to this tournament a lot more exciting.

I think when this tournament ends, I’ll back up my claim, but for now let’s dive into the matchups, by order of appearance:

Thursday March 22:

7 Nevada vs 11 Loyola-Chicago

Whoever put this game first at bat deserves a raise because I think this one could be the most exciting game in the Sweet 16. Nevada is the Jake LaMotta of the tournament. You can punch them really hard in the face as many times as you want, it’s not gonna matter. They’re gonna comeback, they’re gonna comeback hard and eventually they’ll knock you out. That’s something that the Ramblers have to keep in mind going into this game. Playing good defense down the stretch is going to prove to be vital. That and Sister Jean has them out in the Sweet 16 so they could be cursed.

Either way you spin it, I have Loyola-Chicago winning this one by about 3 points. Nevada is going to have a lot of spark, but I think consistency wins the day here.

3 Michigan vs 7 Texas A&M

Michigan comes into this game after a miraculous buzzer beater, you can find my write up of that game here: https://ultimatefanaticsblog.com/2018/03/18/the-theory-of-divine-intervention/

Shameless self-endorsement right there. Anyways Michigan comes here by route of miracle. If they want to win this game, they have to improve on their consistency in terms of shooting. If Michigan can’t shoot from outside, they will have a lot of trouble with this Texas A&M side. Especially if they get into the paint where it’s either a miss or a huge block. If the Aggies play as good as they did when they throttled North Carolina, then I don’t care about the seed I say they win here. I’m going with my heart over my brain but weirdly enough that has worked best so I take the Aggies here to make the Elite 8.

5 Kentucky vs 9 Kansas State

Let’s be honest with ourselves here: Kansas State played like crap vs UMBC. It was a crappy game, a defensive struggle, where no one could possibly attempt to make a shot. Even as good as their defense was, if Kansas State plays like that, they won’t stand a chance against this Kentucky squad. This Kentucky squad is peaking at the perfect time, they’re being unselfish with the ball, and taking and making good shots. Those reasons are enough for me to pull them over Kansas State

4 Gonzaga vs 9 Florida State

Gah this is a tough one for me. Both teams have a great and efficient offense and a somewhat weak defense. I know that my Seminoles might have a tough time driving into the paint with Rui Hachimura guarding the block. Then again, we have a deep, big and athletic rotation vs Gonzaga. Turnovers will be key in this game and I know it sounds obvious but the team that has the least amount of turnovers wins the game. And whenever Gonzaga turns it over, FSU has to convert that chance into points and same goes for Gonzaga. It’s going to be an airtight game but I’m going heart over head I’m taking my Seminoles in this one.

Friday March 23:

5 Clemson vs 1 Kansas

No team is safe now in this tournament, and I’m looking straight at Kansas here. Kansas is the weakest 1 seed left and they’re about to play arguably the hottest team in the past 2 games. Clemson made a good New Mexico State team look like trash and don’t even get me started on how much they creamed Auburn I mean a 41-9 run is just unholy. Kansas is a good team down the stretch of games and they are great and finishing games. The difference will be Azubuike down in the low block. His defense will be vital and if he doesn’t play, or at least as much as he can play, look to Clemson to conquer the low block. I think we are in for another surprise, I think Clemson flies high and beats the Jayhawks.

1 Villanova vs 5 West Virginia

Now this is the most intriguing game of the entire tournament. Will Villanova shoot as well as they’ve been shooting? Will they ramp up that consistency? Will Press Virginia be able to bother them and shut them down like what they did to Marshall. Villanova is arguably the best team left in terms of shooting, and well just in general. It’s up to West Virginia to pressure them into committing turnovers because I don’t see the Mountaineers having a chance in an offensive shootout. I see Nova escaping this one, barely.

2 Duke vs 11 Syracuse

Here is the main question on my mind coming into this game: Will the defense of Syracuse be enough? We know that Syracuse can’t score, and they’re defense is superb, but the Spartans also were terrible. I mean the Spartans shot 26% from the field in that game. I don’t care who you are, that’s a special kind of terrible. Syracuse didn’t allow a basket for the last 5 minutes of the game. This depends on how much could you attribute that victory to Syracuse. Was Michigan State that bad, or was the defense that good? I’ll take the former. Given that Duke made Rhody look like another 15 seed I’m safely taking them over a scrappy Syracuse squad.

And finally:

3 Texas Tech vs 2 Purdue

I’ll be a bit biased here, I love the Red Raiders for stopping the Gators from advancing. Sorry if this sounds extremely cruel, but it really does bring joy to my heart to watch the Gators lose, especially by an airball. Ironically FSU won by a final airball as well but I digress. Texas Tech has moved on because of great defensive play along with strong performances from Zhaire Smith and Keenan Evans. Purdue has made it from a strong shooting percentage from 3 and great defense, even the guy replacing Issac Haas is pretty darn good at doing his job in the game. Defense and transition baskets will by major in this game, if Texas Tech can get Purdue on the fast break, I think it’ll be a difference maker. Texas Tech makes the Elite 8 and has a date with Villanova.

 

 

 

Coming Soon on the Blog!

Coming into April, I feel like it is necessary to provide an update on the content that is about to be posted to the blog. If you enjoy reading my content, don’t be afraid to provide some feedback to me whether it would be positive or negative. I’m still learning the niches of the internet since to be fair, this is my very first website, think of me as a parent with their first child. Mistakes will be made but at the end of the day, everything is gonna be great. So spread this blog to your friends as well and not only follow me on WordPress but follow me on Twitter @ufblogg_lijoi and on Facebook: Ultimatefanaticsblog for all the latest posts. I appreciate every single one of you viewers as you’re eyes are the reason I post daily.

Since the Sweet 16 is this week, I will be releasing my predictions sometime before Thursday. Contrary to popular belief, Florida State will not be my champion but if that does happen, I don’t know what I’d do with myself.

Baseball posts are also on the Horizon as I have Divisional previews on tap but before that, I still have my Top 10 Outfielders and my Top 20 Pitchers that will be separated into 4 parts with 5 pitchers featured in each post. After the start of the season, I will do biweekly power rankings to check in on each team. Lastly, sometime around Opening Week, there will be a World Series Prediction post that will be released.

A fair warning coming into next week is that there is a good chance I won’t post during Easter Weekend because, well it’s Easter. After baseball, I’ll be fully invested into soccer including a Premier League roundup and I might do a soccer post heading into the second leg of the Round of 8 for the Champions League. Sometime during May, I will also release my World Cup predictions and reactions alike.

Lastly, during the baseball season or maybe beforehand, I’m gonna do something that isn’t sports related that will let you guys get to know me a little bit better. Periodically, I will post my Top 10 favorite movies of all time on this blog. Movies are another thing that I enjoy expressing my opinion about and I’d love to share said opinion with you guys. Of course since I’ll be diving deep into these movies, there is a *SPOILER ALERT*

Hopefully you guys are up to speed on what’s next for the blog and I hope you all have a pleasant evening!