Week 10 waivers - The answer is 42.

42. It's not just the number that is retired by every team in Major League Baseball, or the product of 6 x 7 or how many Altuves tall I am.  It is also the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.  In the Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy, a group of super intelligent beings develop a computer to tell them the meaning of life.  It takes millions of years to compute and verify the answer, 42, which it then spits out.  When the beings ask how it can be true, the computer replies that it has "checked it very thoroughly, and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you is that you've never actually known what the question was."

In fantasy baseball, we think we know what the question is, but we don't know the answer.  The question, "How do we fill our weekly lineups with the correct pieces so that we have the maximum chance at winning each week?" seems simple enough.  But in baseball and football, Americans have spent millions of dollars and read millions of articles on different strategies.  So many, that should the current iteration of the human race disappear and a new dominant species take over the planet or an alien race disguised as mice who are using Earth as a giant lab experiment comes to (or stays) in power, that new species might think that fantasy sports was one of the main political methods used by our civilization.  But really, that question I listed is not a great one, and it provides only further questioning.  Perhaps, as fantasy players, we are asking ourselves the wrong question when looking at our lineups and making changes to our rosters.  I am not saying that I know what the right question is, because if I did I certainly would not be sharing it on a blog read by about 6 people, but maybe there is a better way...
But almost every time we figure out what we think the way to win in fantasy sports is, new circumstances are introduced that change the answer.  I dont think that we will ever know the right question to ask in order to find the ultimate answer because there is no ultimate answer, only answers which help us get through the current week or day and onto the next set of challenges presented to us which will require new answers and new lines of thinking.

The proceeding paragraphs can also be applied to life, by the way. 

In the book, the super intelligent beings have the super computer devise a new program to find the ultimate question.  The computer creates the Earth, which is supposed to use a computational matrix that will come up with the question in 10 million years, but 5 minutes before the result is given, Earth is destroyed, leaving the question unanswered.

On to the waivers.  There were 7 taco granting transactions this week, 3 of which were adds of prospects (we will save the prospects for last).


RP Dellin Betances - $3 - You Can Call Me Al (aka Dazzy Vance and the No Pants Dance) - No Drop


So Betances is not only a member of Project Mayhem, he might just be Tyler Fricken Durden.  Look at the stats.  56 strikeouts.   9 walks (0.73 WHIP).  15 hits allowed (.135 oav).  All in 32 innings.  HE IS STRIKING OUT 1.75 BATTER PER INNING!!!!   I have kicked around a Betances add for the last several weeks, but I havent been able to pull the trigger because I couldnt figure out who to drop.  Now I will likely be kicking myself.  Also, it looks as though Uncle Jimmy's quest to acquire ever bad Chicago closer may be on temporary haitus?

Betances made Rizzo swing at a pitch that hit him in the leg.  Then to prove it wasnt a fluke...he did it again.

Jones is another former Twin doing well
elsewhere.

1b/OF Garrett Jones - $1 - Lester the Molester - Drop SP/RP Hector Santiago
Santiago was demoted to AAA back on May 21st with a sparkling 0-6 record in 9 appearances (7 starts).  Even if he comes back to the bigs this year, pretty much everyone is a better option.  Garrett Jones is a great source of power when he is in the lineup...and this year he has started 53 of the Marlins 57 games at first base.  With Jones though, the average and on base skills are what some might call...horseshit... so you take the good with the bad.  There are worse players out there, but there are better ones too.

OF Leonys Martin - $1 - Les Moles - No Drop
Martin can run (11 SB), and it seems like Tom loves that type of player (Hey EY Jr!).  Martin, like EY Jr, has marginal on base skills and is not a great source of power.  Now, we arent talking Ben Revere and his 1 career home run type power, but we are talking that if Martin hits over 10 home runs this year people are going to be lining up to test him for everything from steriods to deer antler spray.  Again, if Martin is on your team, he wont kill you.  But his skill set is available in players who offer more than what Martin brings to the table.  Then again, maybe I am thinking about it all wrong and Martin fits a plan that Tom has.

SP Ryan Vogelsong - $1 - Huckleberries - Drop SP AJ Burnett
Oh how long ago last season and how far away Pittsburgh must seem for AJ Burnett.  At 36 years old last season, Burnett turned in one of the best seasons of his mostly solid career, then contemplated retirement and ultimately chased the money to Philadelphia.  I am sure that you cant really have an oops that ends with you getting paid $16 million, but if you could, I think AJ would qualify.  His strikeouts are down, his walks are up (he is currently leading the league in walks)...basically, hes eminently droppable.  Vogelsong had a rough start to the year that peaked when he was Tulowitzkied in Colorado on April 21st.  Since then, he has made 7 starts (5 quality) and given up a total of 10 runs.  He is still a pitch to contact guy, so he always has a blow up lurking around the corner, but he should be solid more often than not.

And now the prospects:
SP Alex Meyer - $2 - MWP Masters - Drop 1b/OF Mark Trumbo

I am pretty sure Meyer would have to run around in a shower to get wet.

I feel like I am being very negative today.  I really cant tell you why John would have hung on to Trumbo through pretty much the entirety of his injury rehab only to dump him with less than 2 weeks until he is back.  John?  Raekwon?  Anyone?  I can tell you that Meyer is the most exciting pitching prospect that the Twins have outside of Kohl Stewart who is currently throwing in the single A Midwest League.  Meyer came to the Twins in the Denard Span deal and brought with him a whole bushel of strikeouts.  Meyer walks a few too many guys for the Twins liking, but his strikeout numbers should have him in the major leagues in short order, and he will provide something that Twins fans havent seen since Johan Santana...a pitcher that other teams actually dont want to face.  Basically, he is the bizzaro Brad Radke.

SS Francisco Lindor - $1 - MWP Masters - Drop OF Domonic Brown
YOU FINALLY DID IT JOHN!!!!  I am not sorry to see Domonic Brown and his 206/263/312 slash line get tossed to the scrap heap.  It was actually reaching the point where I was actively feeling bad for you that you kept starting him.  Now watch him go on a 15 homer binge in June...(he hit 12 last May on his way to 27 for the year).  Dont be drawn back in John...its like a bad girlfriend, you know how it will end...  Lindor, on the other hand, is a top 10 prospect according to pretty much everyone.  A lot of that is based on his glove, which many call the best in the minor leagues and would be second only to Andrealton Simmons in the bigs RIGHT NOW, but his bat has its merrits as well.  He should provide decent batting average with solid OBP and below average slugging, but with decent speed.  And his defense will give him a very very very long leash in the lineup.  He is currently in AA, but it should only be a matter of time before he is the Indians every day SS.  Also...Lindor Truffels would be an excellent new name.

OF Joc Pederson - $1 - MB Hitless Bastards - Drop SP./RP Garrett Richards

Yes Richards just imploded and turned in the worst stat line of the league so far this season, but I would bet that he will not be on the waiver wire long.  Pederson is hitting (337/447/620) with 15 HRs and 13 SBs so far this season in AAA for the Dodgers.  He is an unbelieveable power/speed prospect, but he plays for the Dodgers and they currently employ 4 gentlemen (Puig, Kemp, Either, Crawford) to play their OF who happen to have extremely large paychecks coming to them.  This is purely a long term play as I pretty much have wet dreams about an OF of Springer, Taveras and Joc...all for the keeper cost of a combined $16.  Also a bonus, Robot Jocs.  Are you kidding me??? I should have just lead with that.

Till Thursday, goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.