@AdamRonis & @ScoutingtheSAL join @JoelHenard & me for Baseball Daily Digest Radio at 7:00 ET

Adam Ronis, from roto experts & Mike Newman from Fangraphs and ScoutingtheSally.com Joel and me for Baseball Daily Digest Radio at 7:00 ET: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thefantasyinsiders/2012/04/09/adam-ronis-mike-newman-joins-the-guys-tonight-on-bdd-radio.

We’ll talk Doug Fister, Kevin Youkilis, Gaby Sanchez, Jeff Samardzija, Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda, David Wright, Hector Santiago, Mark Trumbo, Dee Gordon, Mat Latos, Yu Darvish, Zack Cozart, Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, Jamie Moyer, Ubaldo Jimenez, Dylan Bundy, Brad Peacock, Danny Hultzen, the Charleston Yankees, Trevor Story, Michael Choice, Yasmani Grandal, Martin Perez, Javy Guerra, Chone Figgins, Jemile Weeks, Nick Siwsher, J.J. Hardy, Alex Rios, Jason Kipnis, Dustin Ackley, Stephen Strasburg, roto, fantasy baseball and much more!

Shuffling Values: The Shifting Landscapes in OPS Fantasy Baseball Leagues for @Razzball

Shuffling Values: The Shifting Landscapes in OPS Fantasy Baseball Leagues for Razzball: http://razzball.com/shuffling-values-the-shifting-landscapes-in-ops-leagues/.

An article delving into how roto and fantasy baseball values change in leagues that focs on OPS (on-base percentage + slugging) instead of more traditional formats.

h2h Corner ~ Katy Perry (Hot ‘N’ Cold Fantasy Baseball) All-Stars

Players get hot and cold over a seven-day period, it’s as sure as the samples are small.

That is why Katy created the Hot ‘N’ Cold All-stars.

‘Cause you’re hot…you’re yes…you’re in…you’re up

Kyle Blanks – It seems every Katy Perry All-stars includes a smattering of Padres. Blanks, a one-time love of mine, is now back in Katy’s good graces, following a seven-day stretch which saw him go 10/23 with two bombs. Those were his first two round trippers this year and he had previously been 3/29. So it’s not as if Blanks is suddenly a solid batting average guy. That said, he was torching the minors and should have no problem batting around .250 with some good pop. He’ll definitely be a factor in deep leagues and could even play his way onto 12-team rosters.

h2h Corner ~ You’re Killing Me Smalls: Alex Rios

Average Draft Position: 65

Ownership Levels: 70%

5×5 Rank: 686

44/220 (.200)/30 runs/4 HRs/14 RBIs/4 SBs

Well, at least he’s been more valuable than Endy Chavez, Ronny Cedeno, and Brandon Ryan  Brendan Ryan– of course just barely.

h2h Corner ~ I’m a Believer: June Edition

You’re hitting the tough part of the fantasy baseball season. At this point you’re really doubting your struggling stars and the urge to drop is high. But it’s still somewhat early. Patience isn’t always a virtue, but, in this instance, it is.

Players who will bounce back: Dan Uggla, Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Alex Rios, Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Chris Carpenter, and Mat Latos.

Remember when I said Anibal Sanchez was a sleeper this year? 13^th in Ks right now!

I love James Shields (always own him), but he’s not the second best fantasy pitcher…right? Can’t be….

One thing I am certain of? Kyle Lohse is not the third best pitcher in fantasy (maybe on his team, but not in baseball).

I’m amazed by the Marlins – Johnson injured, Hanley not so good/injured. I thought they’d be good, but had you told me about their injury woes and the craptastic way Vazquez has pitched, I’d be shocked they were in the play-off hunt. That said, I still think the Braves run away with the Wild Card.

h2h Corner ~ Katy Perry (Hot ‘N’ Cold Fantasy Baseball) All-Stars

So I was watching the latest Glee* episode and I was struck by how important everything is in high school.

*Before you start, I began watching Glee with my girlfriend. She gave up on the show. I grew up on MTV. I love music videos. Santana is hot. There is really no excuse.

When you’re in your teens, you have a very short conscious experience timeframe. If you think about it, most people don’t have real memories from before they were five or six.

So, as a teenager, you have about eight – 14 years of experiences to draw upon. Things that seem life-altering and serious to you at 17 would be laughed at by 47-year-old you who has dealt with three economic collapses, four home purchases/refinances, two children and a puppy.

Watching the show, I was struck by what a big deal everything was to the Glee characters. For one, being prom king/queen was incredibly important. They simply couldn’t conceive of a world where everything didn’t go their way.

This is like the first month of the fantasy baseball season. We have very little data and games, so everyone overreacts to the samples we do have. We’ll call April the teenage stage of the fantasy baseball season, during which people throw fits over a 0-4 game with three Ks and glorify a 3-4 game with two steals. Things will plateau, trust me.

That is why Katy created the Hot ‘N’ Cold All-stars.

h2h Corner ~ Katy Perry (Hot ‘N’ Cold Fantasy Baseball) All-Stars

Immanuel Kant, one of the craziest thinkers I’ve ever encounter (I hate the Critique of Pure Reason), created something called the categorical imperative. Basically, it was one tenet that would govern all actions. When you boil it down, Kant thought a person should only do something that everyone should be allowed to do, or in his words: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.”

This got Kant into some sticky trouble when it comes to lying to save a life. The example goes: say someone runs into your house with a murderer hot on their heels. The polite murderer rings your doorbell and asks if the intended victim is inside. According to Kant’s morality, you have to respond that the person is inside because an act is moral not because of its consequences, but in and of itself. If you were to lie in this circumstance that would mean it was okay to lie in every instance of this circumstance, and, thusly, the soon-to-be murderer would know you were lying.

I’m not a big categorical imperative fan. I believe the outcome of actions should have a bearing on morality (and our rule of law, haphazard as it might be, somewhat reflects this, i.e., if you drive drunk and kill someone you get a higher penalty than simply driving drunk).

In my view, outcomes matter, I’m not as worried about how you get there. The same goes for fantasy baseball, especially head-to-head. All you have to do is win, it really doesn’t matter how. I routinely win h2h leagues with teams, that if it had been roto, would have finished in the middle of the pack.

At about this point in the year/week, you know what categories you are strong in. If Morneau zapped your power and there isn’t much to be had on the wire, it’s time to switch tactics. Look to gobble up speed demons – field an outfield of Jose Tabata, Juan Pierre and Michael Bourn and assure yourself of certain categories early in the week, and then try to focus on those you remain close in. If you go out to an early 8-2 lead in wins, it’s time to load up on relievers to massage those ratios and turn in some saves.

h2h Corner ~ I’m a Believer: June Edition

Welcome to June’s “I’m a Believer” column. Yes, I got the name from a Monkees’ song. And yes, I like the song. Did you know that Neil Diamond wrote it, as well as many other songs by the Monkees? Isn’t Neil Diamond cool (Red Sox fans)?

Like the song teaches us, this column attempts to be a fun, quick read, mostly focused on what performances we can/can’t believe in.

Without further ado, So I’m a believer that:

Ryan Braun will be the #1 fantasy hitter for the season. Last month I said he could challenge, I’ve upgraded my belief.

Injuries suck. Good bye Andre Ethier remaining a top 10 hitter for the balance of the year. Good bye Jacoby Ellsbury being valuable.

Alex Rios has finally put it all together. He is a top 40 hitter at the worst, perhaps top 20. I was two years too late on this prediction.

Robinson Cano will end up the number one second baseman.

Six of the current top 10 hitters will not finish the year in the top 10. Those (oceanic) six are: Vlad Guerrero, Justin Morneau, Andre Ethier, Alex Rios, Joey Votto and Jose Bautista. They will be replaced by Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Troy Tulowitzki, Chase Utley, and Nelson Cruz (if his hamstring is better).

Jack Sheppard died in the bamboo forest (after smokey stabbed him) – not in the plane crash or the atomic bomb. (That was a ridiculous sentence). The flash sideways was corny but absolutely awesome. That nothing in the flash sideways actually happened (in a I think therefore I am kind of way).

It’s incredibly fun to own Miguel Olivo (four SBs), but I’d be mighty worried about Chris Iannetta.

The catching position is incredibly frustrating, to wit: your top five backstops: Olivo, Rod Barajas, Joe Mauer, John Buck and Jorge Posada. One is on the DL, two were drafted, one barely drafted and two were afterthoughts. This won’t continue, but the catching position is too volatile to spend an early draft pick on.

None of the late first-round first basemen darlings (Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira) will finish among the top 5 at the position. Also this should remind you that you can wait on first basemen. All first rounder 1bs (including Pujols) have put up worse fantasy seasons than Paul Konerko. In addition, Ty Wigginton, Billy Butler and James Loney have performed better than Howard, Fielder and Teixeira. Meanwhile Jorge Cantu, Adam LaRoche, Nick Swisher, Martin Prado, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz have performed better than Teixeira and Fielder.

Adam LaRoche will have an under-the-radar awesome season.

I can’t buy Alberto Callaspo as anything other than a Placido Polanco clone – I just won’t do it.

You deserve a pat on the back for buying low on Ben Zobrist.

Come this time next month, I’ll be patting those on the back who bought low on Chone Figgins.

Elvis Andrus is the next Jose Reyes.

The original Jose Reyes is starting to look good, buy while you can.

Orlando Cabrera has played himself into consideration to be a top five SS option for the rest of the year.

You can sell high on Scott Rolen, but you don’t have to. He seems to hold up better playing on grass versus turf. He’ll get dinged up, but might avoid a massive DL-stint this year.

I’m not sure if I believe what I just wrote.

Adrian Beltre is proving me wrong. Those who bought him late deserve some kudos.

I hope you traded Chase Headley when he was stealing all those bases. He has stolen 2 bases since April 26.

Jason Heyward is awesome, but I’d still trade him. Listen, there is no way to quantify how he’ll hold up for a 162-game season (in a potential Wild Card/Pennant Race, no less). What happens when he sees pitchers for the third, four, fifth time? Odds are he’ll continue to succeed. However, he is only 20. I’d rather someone else take the risk and enjoy his rookie year from afar.

You all everybody!

Shin-soo Choo remains criminally underrated. Ditto Denard Span.

Andrew McCutchen is basically Carl Crawford with a bit more pop, a lot less hype and a much worse supporting cast.

Brett Gardner is everything I thought Nyjer Morgan would be

Russell Hantz will never win Survivor. Parvati is the best player ever.

I wish I listened to myself and drafted Ubaldo Jimenez on more teams. I said “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up more valuable than Beckett, Clayton Kershaw, Josh Johnson or Chris Carpenter.”

Josh Johnson can become the next Roy Halladay. They’re both consistently awesome.

I’d trade Jaime Garcia – it can’t get better than this.

Jon Lester is the best pitcher in the American League – and his competition comes from the Rays (Matt Garza, David Price and James Shields).

You should trade Barry Zito. He will start to give up HRs, it’s a certainty.

Tim Hudson doesn’t strike out enough batters.

The American League East is brutal on pitchers AND hitters (three of the top five K pitchers are Ricky Romero, Lester and Shields).

Jonathan Broxton might make me wrong, as I predicted Carlos Marmol would end up the top ranked reliever. Broxton is equally as nasty and less volatile.

While Brett Michaels is cornier than the Lost finale, he’s still cool. His performance on Celebrity Apprentice was imminently likeable. Holly Robinson Peete has aged really well.

You can’t give up on Brian Matusz (which explains why I’m an unqualified Orioles homer), Cole Hamels, Randy Wolf, Carlos Zambrano, Rick Porcello and Gavin Floyd.

You can give up on Scott Kazmir, Jake Peavy, and Derek Lowe.

Alfredo Simon will get the most saves of anyone who is SP-eligible.

I’m going to be incredibly sad when I finish the samosa I am eating.

FB101’s 411: Stick to your guns. Don’t stop believing.

All stats as of May 27.

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