Fantasy Baseball Today - 03/30 Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Bold Predictions and a New SP Approach?

Episode Date: March 30, 2017

Has the SP landscape changed with recent injuries and bad performances from mid-round guys? Some say yes, some say no! ... Bold predictions on Tyler Glasnow, Travis Shaw, Greg Bird, Xander Bogaerts, Billy Hamilton and Blake Snell ... We review our Podcast League draft and Heath thinks he has the best team ... Your emails at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All right, fun show today as team scam and team Kreeh are in the house. Getting ready for the podcast. For the People League tonight, we did the podcast league draft last night, and yeah, we have a lot to talk about. But also our bold predictions for the 2017 season, J-Ris Familia only suspended 15 games. We have more position battles to update you on, more injuries, the sleeperometer, and, you know, spring training and all that stuff.

Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com is the email address. So how'd we do last night? How was the draft? Outstanding. One of the best drafts I've been a part of. I was happy. I got to tell you something, Heath. And you guys can listen, too.

No, I'm taking my hat's off. Not to cough this time. I think I like picking in the middle. I usually like picking on the ends. Yes. I was happy with the six pick last night. I was pretty happy with the results. And I noticed that I did a mock draft earlier, I don't know, whatever it was.

And I had like the sixth or seventh pick. And I was happy with the results. think it's a good place to be? I feel like I'm usually alone in the industry on this, but I always prefer a mid-round pick as opposed to like a book-in picker or one of those picks where you're picking twice in a row very close together. I had the first pick, so, you know, Mike Trout, that's obviously a very good thing. But the rest of the draft, it felt like a curse because I feel like it always forces you to kind of reach a little because there's so much time between the, the Pick in your next pair.

Not as much as Chris was reaching. Chris was reaching a lot last thing. I think you're just a nervous Nelly. She is a little bit. You're always like, I hate my team. I hate my team. He puts a lot of thought into it. Just calm down.

Take a breath. You like, you like drafting, right, Scott? Of course I like drafting. I feel like you also hate drafting. I feel like it stresses you out. It seems like a very high stress situation. It's, it is stressful.

But, I mean, the, the, the euphoria when it goes well is great. But this was not one of those drafts for me. This was a struggle. Chris was owning the draft room last night, by the way. Well, he decided to use his Yasmani problems. No. Don't mess it up.

Yasmani Money Tomas problem. It's such a bad name. That it's good. And Chris just gave us. Did you see my logo? No. It's an outstanding picture. Mine is better.

All right, well, look, we'll get into the podcast league later. Since we're doing our bold predictions today, I thought I'd read one from Zach. Tyler Glassnow is the big news in the neck. This is his bold prediction. Tyler Glass Now is in the big news in the next day or so, and is the most added player next Fab Run as Glass Now wins the rotation spot. Grab Tyler Glass Now tonight, obvious, right? I do think he is going to win the job just because

gosh, Drew Hutchison stunk it up. Yeah, he got sunned down. Okay. But what about Trevor Williams? Is he still? I think he's still kicking around. Yeah. I do think Tyler Glassnow wins it.

I don't know that he's, there's so much depth at the, like, borderline draftable range of starting pitchers that I don't know that Tyler Glass now, with presumably the innings' limits he's going to face and everything is necessarily must add. obviously a lot of upside there if you want to add him, but he's not, you know, he's not somebody I'm putting a big star next to. What's the innings limit he's likely to face? He threw 140 innings last year. I would imagine, like 170-ish. Do we think he could be, do we think Tyler Glass-Dell can be great? Yeah, Heath.

Great in terms of fantasy in 2016? Yeah, no. Or sevens? Definitely not 2016. No, I would bet against him. I think he could be a great pitcher one day. But I don't think he's going to be a league winner in 2017, no. All right.

So he did not go, he did not get drafted. I was to say another guy who didn't get drafted. I was kind of surprised because he was in my queue within the last round. Daniel Norris didn't get drafted. He's got a bit of an arm issue right now. It doesn't seem serious. But Matt Boyd got drafted and Daniel Norris didn't. He doesn't realize that?

Well, that's a little weird. Matt Boyd's been really good lately and Daniel Norris has a dead arm. Yeah, something like that. So, I feel like both of those guys will probably be on and. off rosters this year. So let's start with the one that we know is going to make his next start. Of the things that could be dead, like, the arm is... Like, you know, most things when they're dead, it's final.

The arm when it's dead, it comes back to life. It's just a turn of phrase. Yeah. Well, the way he said it. He said it with such finality. It's like sleepy as a more... Yeah, sleepy arm. It's like a...

Sleepy arm. Like, he's got, like, coma arm. That's like a dead leg, you know? Dead legs suck, but they come back. All right. So here's something that I've been sort of noticing. I know people still are drafting. My approach to starting pitching has changed because Matt's is hurt, Rodon is hurt,

Nola's had a bad spring. And those were three guys that I really liked as my probably number four starter. But I guess number two. Yeah. I would say number four. But, you know, round 10 and later kind of guys, Matt Harvey's. Interesting. Just a lot of guys that I did like drafting, I don't really want to draft right now,

unless I get them at a discount. So I kind of want to prioritize pitching more than I did even a week or two ago. Anyone else? Heath? In this particular draft, I think I did because of the way that it went. I got Quedo and Cole Hamels, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. And then I went with a lot of those same young guys. I'm not as worried about the Aaron Nola slow start as you are.

I got some Robbie Ray. I think there's still plenty of upside pitchers to take as your third, fourth, and fifth starters. There are. I do want to have two good pitchers. You have to go. Ray actually lasted until the end of round 14, which was kind of surprising. But I feel like in this draft, and I don't know how representative this draft is of every draft, because obviously everybody in this league listens to the podcast.

But there wasn't a lot of those high upside arms slipping through. And now that the... Pitchers went pretty early. And now that the selection of them has been reduced, it's even more so. This was the draft of the leagues were actually playing out anyway. This is the draft where I went the heaviest on pitching.

And like I said, I'm a little concerned about my lineup. But I don't... Like, it's one of those things like you won't know until later whether it was the right call or not. One thought I've had that I haven't really totally put into words about pitching versus hitting. Let's just try it now.

Last year, going into this year, is that I feel like it's harder. Last year it was harder than ever to differentiate yourself by way of hitters. There was the top 20, top 25, the guys we typically draft in the first couple rounds who really stood out from the pack. But beyond that, particularly in a league

with as small the roster size, as small as lineup sizes as this one, it's hard to differentiate. differentiate yourself from your competition because there's so many alike hitters and you know obviously a record for the number of players who hit 20 more home runs it all contributes to that so starting pitching even though it's inherently more volatile it might be the best way of distinguishing that's how i'm feeling i feel like hitting is so deep maybe we go back to you know maybe we go back to 2015 and earlier and and pitching becomes deep again and you can just pick people up off the

waiver wire all the time but that's was not the case last year. And as I do my drafts, I'm really basing it on mostly last year. And I don't know, especially in shallower leagues, I'm just seeing so much good hitting available late. And pitching really dries up. And I don't know, like, yeah, there is a lot of upside. But almost all of these pitchers with upside have a lot of downside, too. So I don't want that many of them. I want three or four, I want four guys in my rotation. If I only have to start five starting pitchers, I want eight guys on my roster. I want five starters and three bench pitchers. And I want four of my starters.

I want to feel really good about them. And it's been hard to do for me. Bring it. Well, no, it just, for me, I keep coming back to, when faced with more evidence of the inherent frailty of pitching, your response is to invest more heavily in those inherently frail. But I just, but let me just say this because I understood, I understand where you're coming from, but things have changed for me with Rodan and

Matt's going to start the season on the D.L. almost certainly. And with Nola having such a bad spring, I don't have nearly as much confidence as those guys as really good number four starting pitchers and maybe even number three starting pitchers. And I just think that has really changed things. Like I took Robert Gisselman in what?

Like the 11th or 12th round yesterday? You reached really hard for Robert. But who went after Robert Cazelman? I don't think there was anybody that went after Robert Gisleman. Robbie Ray. Robbie Ray had an ERA around five last year. There's a ton of downside. Road on.

Gray? Yeah, all the injured guys. John Gray's fine. Oh, John Gray. I thought you meant Sunny Gray. He stubbed his toe. I thought he meant Sunny Gray. No, John Gray was somebody.

No, John Gray was surprised. John Gray? You took Gazellman at a point where I thought there was still some upside pitchers left. Upside, yeah, but again, everybody has downside. Getting back to the point Chris was making, I think it's more like you're saying, okay, your response to all these, you know, pitchers getting injured, high upsides. of pitchers getting injured. Like Chris is saying, well, maybe you should use that as a cautionary tale of why you shouldn't invest heavily in pitchers.

But that's my entire, that's my entire strategy is that pitchers are so volatile, not just their, they're, the inherently frail nature of their, of their profession, but the fact that so much of what they do is outside of their control. But because heating is so deep, I don't think it's that much of an investment. Like, if I take three starting pitchers that I'm really comfortable with, let's say three top 25 starting pitchers in the first seven or eight rounds of a 12-team league, that's a really good start for me. And then maybe I'd take a fourth one in like round nine. I still don't think that's that much of an investment. I could still have a really good core of hitters like I did last night.

It becomes a matter of opportunity cost. What are you by investing in the pitchers, what are you sacrificing and in a league where so few hitters are drafted? I'm not sure it's that much either. So I guess I'm more on the Adam side of this debate. I think maybe a better way to illustrate. because I don't think your lineup is bad at all. I love my lineup. I think you should compare your hitters to Chris's hitters and see that you're clearly behind in that area. I have,

but Chris needs so much to go right with his pitching staff. He doesn't have to be as good as Adam. Right, that's the thing. And Scott got really mad last night because I drafted Matt Harvey. And I've been the Matt Harvey skeptic. But Matt Harvey kind of exemplifies the approach that I have to take to my pitching staff, which is that he's the most high variance. pitcher in baseball. I'm not going to invest heavily in Matt Harvey expecting him to be really good.

I'm going to invest in Matt Harvey at a pretty low price in the hopes that he can be very good. Wasn't that low, though? What would you take? About the 10th or 11? He was your number one pitcher or Gosman was your number one? Kevin Gosman was number one. Yeah, look, it's not a strong pitching staff. Kevin Gosman, Matt Harvey, Joe Ross, Vince Velasquez and Taiwan Walker. However, I have three guys that in Ross, Velasquez, and Walker that I invested very little in, who I think have number one or number two upside. Or they could be dropped by the end of April.

But I think that's also true of a pitcher that you could draft in the fifth round. No, I don't think. It wouldn't shock. Unless he just suffers a devastating elbow. It wouldn't shock me of Cole Hamels, who's 33 years old, and saw his peripherals take a step back across the board last season.

That's fine. But Chris Archer, Carlos Salazar was terrible last season. But nobody dropped him when he was terrible. But only because you think he could be good, you kept, that's another thing is that you're going to. He's good. But you're going to continue to start someone like Chris Archer because of that. But you're not Taiwan Walker. Like if Taiwan Walker is terrible in April, there's no reason to hold on to it.

And I drafted him in the 15th round. Right. But he's as your third pitcher. So what are you going to do? You should also mention before we forget, Chris, the downside of your, the week one downside of your pitching strategy. Yeah. I only have one to start pitcher in week one. Yeah.

So. That's things. Scott has a four. Yeah, I don't... No, that even doubt. I'm going to have five in week two. Yeah. That's just...

If they haven't gotten cut already. It's a... Sure, unless Talon Walker gets, you know, ejected from the league. But for the most part, I think I will have a multitude of number of two-star pitchers in week two. All right. That's interesting. But like my hitters...

I have five guys that I think could be first round. Values. Joey Votto, Bryce Harper, John Carlos Stanton, Freddie Freeman. And then if Jonathan V.R just has the season he had last year. Yeah, I have better hitters than you. You don't. I do. My hitters are amazing.

You don't. Like, I have, I probably have. Who's your second base? Who's your top? Dee Gordon. De Gordon. Who was like the second to last offensive player I drafted? Let me tell you a nice strategy if you're doing a point.

Freddie Freeman is my utility. I drafted number 40 overall. I got Freddie Freeman in the fourth round. As your utility? As my utility. All right. Chris's hitting is really good. Mine's better.

So let me just tell you, well, let me just tell you, I think a good strategy in head-to-head points leagues. If you're doing a points league draft, look for plate appearances. I have Carlos Santana, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Devin Travis, Chris Bryant. I have like five or six guys who are going to hit first, second, or third in really good lineups. So that helps, I think. And specifically in a head-to-head points league, it just helps to have those guys who are

going to get a lot of it bats and a lot of plate appearances. Not to say it, my hitting is not better than Chris. So like DJ LeMayhew, Manny Machado, Zander, Bogart, Charlie Blackman, Oduble Horreira, Starly Marte, guys like that. Yeah, it's all good. Except mine are better, but sure. Okay, so anyway, let's get into the news and notes. J.Ris Familia suspended only 15 games.

If you already drafted and you drafted J.R.'s Familia, you are very happy right now. Where is he in your closer rankings? I moved him up, I think, just a spot. I was already pretty comfortable drafting him as the number one, but now he's like 12. Why wouldn't he be like this? Because he doesn't have quite the strikeout rate or base runner prevention that a lot of the top closers have.

He'll probably get a ton of saves again because the Mets are good and have a good pitching staff. Calvin Herrera or Familia. Calvin Herrera is who is directly ahead of Familia for me because I feel like your upside is higher. Do you have Wade Davis behind from you? I've thought about it. No, I don't.

I still have him like seventh. And the thing is, I draft with Heath so often. I never come close to drafting Wade Davis, so I haven't been motivated to move him down. But I really don't want him. Yeah, he's got Wade Davis last night. The 10th round, I think. I think the sixth closer off the board.

Adrian Beltray may not be ready for the season opener. He has a calf injury. He says he won't be 100% for two or three weeks. and I sort of interpreted that if he sat. But Baltre, if he goes on the DL, might only miss five games. This is a 10-day DL, and they could backdate it. It's got to be a small downgrade, though. We're talking about a guy that's...

I don't know. This is his second calf injury of the spring. And he's 37. Yeah. It's a small downgrade if you're already down on him. But if you're not, like Chris drafted him. I thought kind of early. I was a little surprised when you took...

What were you thinking last night? Yeah, round six. For Adrian Beltray, what a dumb draft. I honestly surprised me. He might start to see some of the L. He's got two calf injuries this spring. And it's such a deep position that I feel like there's a lot of... Yeah.

Is it though? It is. I ended up with Ryan Healy as my starter. Because you underestimated that people took third basement at utility. No, you didn't draft a third basement ever. Like, that was... Anthony Rendon was available in the 11th round. I was...

That's not a third base issue. That's a Scott White issue. This goes... This goes to what I was saying about having... a bookend to pick. Rendon went in round 11 when Evan Longoria was still on the board. I saw only one other team needed a third baseman. It was the guy who took Rendon. I thought there was a reasonable chance Longoria would make it all the way back to me, even though it's never reasonable to think anyone will make it all the way back to you. And sure enough, Longoria was the second utility

player taken before it got back to me. And at that point, it was like, I mean, Michael Franco. Yeah, Michael Franco went in the 14. A guy who never walks in a points league. He also never strikes out. I don't feel like like... You could be in trouble with Ryan. Pablo Sandoval went undrafted. Jose Reyes went undrafted.

Sounds about right. Like Ryan Healy's had a good spring and had a good September. So I'll give it... I'd rather pay nothing for him, give it a shot with him, and hope that if it doesn't work out, I figure something out on the way of wire.

But it is a deep position. Let's be clear. It is. It's a very deposition. I just wanted to point out the, the, the, the biggest oddity on my team last night, which is that I don't have a very good third basement at all. And for fantasy owners, you got to, it's a deep position third base, but if you wait and wait and

wait, people are going to take backup third baseman as their utility. So it's not like you can say, okay, well, I'm in a 12 team league, 11 have been drafted, I'm just going to wait. I kind of did that with second base. I took Devin Travis. I was the last person to take a second baseman, and I was going to wait until like round 20, but I got him in round 15 because I thought the Kipness owner might take Devin Travis before I got the chance.

and I don't know if Forsyth got drafted. Do you guys remember? Forsyth? I could check real quick. If he did, it would have been really late. He did not. Aaron Judge might start the season in the minors. Luis Severino will be the Yankees number four starting pitcher.

By the way, if Judge starts the season in the minors, AL only Aaron Hicks. Randall Gritchick was hit by a pitch on the hand. He didn't break his hand, though. So that's hopefully just day-to-day. Gregory Polanco is making progress. We kind of talked about it in the draft room last night. Scott took him first pick around.

Round six, Polanco? Yes. Yeah, round seven. And everybody loved it except me. I don't... Why wouldn't you like it? I mean, if he were healthy... I mean, he wasn't...

He hasn't proven that he's good yet. He wasn't, like... His point production last year didn't come... You know what I'm going to say, though. He scored like 30 points fewer than Jose Abrae. He had a bad year and was still on the board. It was the injuries. It was all the injuries.

It was all the injuries. It was probably largely, the injuries. Like, I can make that case for Bryce Harper because he had one of the all-time great seasons in 2015, but Gregory Polanco, who, like, he hasn't proven he's more than, like, a borderline number two, three outfielder in this format. You still, you got him at probably a 25 to 30 pick discount from where he's usually going. I would prefer in a league where there's so few lineup spots that you really need everyone to be

super strong. Every lineup spot to be super strong. I'd prefer a better fourth best hitter than Gregory Polanco. You might have just gotten a first round pick next year, if you believe me,

because he's going to be amazing. He was great in the WBC. He was great before he got hurt last year. He's exceptionally talented. I know he has a lot of upside. I get this. I just don't, with my sixth round

pick, I don't like it's being entirely. We got so down on his team. Seventh round. We got to change the emoji. because we fall into this trap where Scott criticizes his team and Adam criticizes Chris's team. Can we just criticize Heath's team, please? No, we need to just change the tone real quick.

Okay. And I think it would be a good time for your apology. My apologies? Are we going to talk about how great Heath's team is? No, you should apologize to all of our listeners that also enjoy the game of golf and your terrible take on Twitter last night. My terrible take on Twitter What did I say?

Caddyshack was not a sports movie. Caddyshack is not a sports movie. You don't think that golfers are athletes. I actually said the same thing to Heath, not on Twitter, yesterday before you even brought it up. I kind of had that same feeling. It's just kind of a screwball comedy that takes place on a golf course. It's not a sports movie?

You're like on the die-hard as a Christmas movie train. No. Oh my God. Don't you ever say that to be Chris Dallard? The whole thing centers around this golf course. and the caddy. And there is a competition. There is a competition

where he has to win the caddy tournament. The Big Lobowski is clearly a bowling movie. Just apologize. Is Raging Bowl a sports movie? I don't think Big Lobowski is a bowling movie. The Bigelowski, like a third of the movie takes place in a bowling alley. But okay, so this is interesting.

Let's do this later. Let's do this later. Let's do this later. I'll do this later. Daniel Norris has a sleepy arm as we mentioned. Addison Russell says his back as 100%. And Stephen Matz appears likely to start the season on the DL as we mentioned. Let's do the sleeper.

I'm going to throw out some names that we haven't really talked about much lately. Just check in on them. And you tell me zero to ten. Are they good sleepers? Zero, no way. Don't draft them. 10. Oh, yeah, I like them.

Late round pick. Austin Hedges, two home runs yesterday. Seven in a two-catcher format. Yep, seven. What? Austin Hedges. Sleeper. O-Meter.

Okay. Zero to ten. All right, yeah. Seven works for me. He's still on my sleeper list. Eric Thames. Eric Thames. Thames, one home run this spring, and he's now dealing with Jesus Aguilar, who has seven home

runs and 466 batting average. Can I just point out one thing before we move on? Yeah. He hasn't been hitting at Miller Park yet. Aigalar or Thames? Same. I would say two. He's two. Very hard to draft right now, I think. Okay. I was going to say, I was debating between four and five, and I never draft Thames. The biggest concern for me is playing time, even before Aguilar entered the picture. I think things will play against virtually all righties, whether it's left field or first base, but I don't know how much against lefties. Travis Jankowski, zero to ten. Five. Yeah. I'll go like two on him. Five in a roto league, sorry. I just don't think he's very good. I don't see anybody taking him. No. Is he behind in the garage A Davis? For me, yes.

Right in that range. I think Davis is more proven and has a clear job. Justin Bore. Justin Bore, anybody? I think he's a decent corner infielder in a deeper league, but not much more than that. Zero. Not a lot of growth potential. Just more of bats. He'll give you 25 homers. Here's an interesting one.

Josh Reddick. Josh Reddick batted lead off for the Astros yesterday. He's going to bat like probably around sixth in the regular season. Got a $52 million deal this offseason. I feel like irresponsible. I haven't really talked. Brought up Josh Redick enough. A.J. Hinch wants him to play against.

some lefties. So apparently it's like, if he faces a really tough lefty, like Chris Sale, not going to play. But the article I read today from a few days ago was saying like, if he's playing James Paxton or Sean Minaya, they are going to play Josh Reddick. At least that's the plan. He, of course, has been a terrible hitter against lefties. Also, Hinch wants Belchron to play 30 to 40 games in left field. But anyway, Josh Reddick, Sleeper-O-Meter, here's a guy who in 2015 hit 272 with 20 homers and 10 steals and then had a really good 2016

first 41 games he batted 322 with five home runs and four steals and then he got hurt, missed like a month and he was bad after that. Bad with the Dodgers. Yeah, he was bad with the Dodgers and he said he got like one chance with the Dodgers to prove himself against lefties it didn't work out and they immediately platooned him

and he, you know, I think it affected him. But anyway, Josh Reddick. Well, that was my hope when he went to the Dodgers was, oh, now look, he's leaving this terrible pitchers park to go to. Dodgers Stadium has kind of a reputation as a pitcher's park, but it's really not. It's especially for home runs, it's pretty good. But ain't Houston, is it?

No. This is a good spot for him. Not Houston at all. I don't know that that's, like, for left-handed hitters? Because Houston's main hitting appeal is the shore porch and left. Like, that's the main thing it has going for it. Throw out a sleeperometer number for me. on Reddick.

I'm going to go seven. He's not, he's got an ADP at around 350. Yeah. And it's not just the fact that he's going to the park. It's that he's going to a lineup that might be one of the best in baseball. Yeah. So Dodger Stadium Park Factor for home runs and over 100 is above average. It means it's favorable.

For left-handers, Dodger Stadium was 120 and, is it still Minute Made? Yeah. Was 108. So Dodgers Stadium. at least last year was better for left-handed home run hitters than Minutemade Park. Where is that coming from? Stack Corner.com. See, I was looking at fan graphs, and it shows Astros is a 105 and Dodgers is a 104.

I didn't even, okay. I didn't know they could be that different. I thought that was something. I didn't either. Single-year park factors are not all that useful. You should use three-year, if possible. So worth noting that. Maybe one does and maybe one does.

I don't think it makes a big difference. It's not a big difference. In 2014, they were 105 and 104 as well. All right, so look, Reddick's in a good park, in a good lineup. I don't know how good of a hitter he is. Cheap cheap source of power, but playing against lefties, it's like with Boar. Playing with lefties doesn't actually make him, playing against lefties doesn't make him more promising, I think.

Because he's so bad against lefties. Exactly. He's in 218 career hitter. In points leagues, it does. So played appearances are important in points leagues? Yeah. That's why my team is amazing. You don't ever draft a platoon hitter in a points league unless it's like super deep.

Like it's just a waste of time. Yeah, that's probably true. What was I going to say, guys? All right, whatever. I forgot. So hopefully we have time to do all of the sleepers on every team like we said yesterday. But right now something very important, we got a new sponsor and a really awesome offer for the listeners. I'm very excited to tell you about movement.

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All right, spring training stuff from yesterday, some good, some bad. Mike Fires was good. Just it's noteworthy. If you own Joe Musgrove, you should be rooting against Mike Fires. Michael Brantley hit his second home run. He's hitting 391. Yeah. Biong one too.

Bungo Park home run again. And got reassigned to the minor leagues this morning. Aw. Yeah. Robbie Grossman's going to be there opening day at D.H. For some reason. Taking him off the 40-man roster, like it just may have spelled his fate, regardless of what he did this spring.

It seems to have because he couldn't have done any better. Doesn't mean he'll be down forever, but at least to start out. Jose Paraza hit his second home run. He's hitting 3.43. And he has four steals, but in eight attempts. And Paraza last year stole 21. at a 31 basis in 72 games. It's pretty bad for what you hope would be an elite bait stealer.

I don't know how much that matters if he's just going to run and run and run. But what's your take on Jose Paraza and, again, hitting 3.43 with two home runs, four steals, eight attempts. I don't think he's going to be a 50 steel guy if he's getting caught a third of the time. So I'm not saying because he got caught a third of the time last year and he's gotten caught half the time in spring that he's definitely going to get caught a third of the time. But if he continues getting caught at that rate, I can't imagine there's going to give him the Billy Hamilton Greenlight. And it is worth noting that he kind of slowed down his stolen base rate a lot over the last couple of seasons in the minors. He was a 60 steel guy earlier on in his career in 2013 and 2014,

but 2015 he stole 33, only 40 attempts in 118 games. So he may not be that 50 steel guy. Some people are expecting him to do it. I still think he will be. And I also noticed Keon Broxton has gotten been caught stealing. I think it's five times this spring. I noticed that too, but he had a very good rate last year. I just wonder if there's something about spring training stolen bases. Like hitters are really testing pitchers more because, you know, it doesn't really matter the result,

or if they're just trying to figure out how to read pitchers, or if they're just more aggressive in general. I don't know. I mean, no, they could not be going all out. It's only spring training. I just can't imagine being a guy like Broxton or Parraza. It's not like you have a guaranteed 600 plate appearances this year. Like, I don't think they're jogging to second. Like, no, there's really no threat to Paraz's playing time.

I think when they traded Brandon Phillips, that was made pretty clear, right? Yeah. I mean, he don't. A guy who is, I mean, he hit 324 and Chunder 41 at Bats and was a top prospect. Like, I guess it's possible he hits his batting average just bottoms out. Well, if it does, he's not going to probably give you anything else. If Paraza struggles, I'm worried about Joey Vado. I hate the Hamilton Paraza one, too.

I just, I don't know. I could see it working out. They both have to have good seasons, I guess, but you're supposed to bat your best players at the top of the order. And we don't know if these guys are good hitters, especially Hamilton, and they have no pop. It's just kind of weird. Okay. It's very 2003 Marlins of them. It's going to be a lot of Juan Pierre-Louis Castillo.

Yeah. We don't think Dilsen Herrera could be a threat to him if Parraza gets off to a bad start? I would guess Dilsen Harrah... He's still only 23rd. Like, A, I think it's so unlikely that Paraza just doesn't hit because he makes so much contact. And B, like, I think the long-term plan is they trade Zach Kozart, they move Paraza to shortstop. And then Dilsen-Hurr enters the lineup. But Dilsen-Hurrera is not even healthy right now, right?

Okay. All right. More spring training good stuff yesterday. Michael Waka, four innings, two runs, four strikeouts against the Nationals. He's had a nice spring. Waka, Daniel Norris, who else? Waka doesn't have the upside that you're looking for with those late-round picks, but he's someone that if he stays healthy is almost certainly going to provide a nice return on investment on what you're drafted.

I think he's a nice guy to have, especially if it can be like your sixth or seventh or eighth starter, that you just, he'll be very streamable. If Waka's first start of the season is good, he's going to be added. Oh, yeah. He's going to be one of the most added players. Danny Duffy, four scoreless innings, only two strikeouts. I know Chris, you were kind of monitoring Danny Duffy and the velocity. I don't know if.

There's been nothing to monitor since he left the WBC, I don't think. Well, let's check. Somebody keep talking. All right, let's go to our next guy. This is probably AL-only, relevant only, but I don't know if you've seen. Jordan Montgomery's minor league stats. Yankee's starting pitcher might get the fifth spot in the rotation. He's been by far the best in the competition.

And he had a nice outing yesterday, five-inning, six hits, one run, four strikeouts against the Blue Jays. I think it was kind of a stripped-down Blue Jays lineup. But he has been the best and has made a case to be the Yankees' fifth starter. Most teams, by the way, won't need a fifth starter until mid-April. So keep that in mind. But A.L. only, Jordan Montgomery, his minor league numbers are really good. Yeah, there's something weird about that. What's their Scranton-Wilkes-Barr?

Is that their AAA? Yeah, because him, Dietrich Enz, and Chad Green, right? Chad Green. Like, they all had these crazy numbers of AAA last year, and none of them were really, like, considered high-in. No. Montgomery, I think, was like a sixth-round pick, though. We just talked yesterday about how we thought Sanchez and Byrd's power numbers

in the minors might have been held down by the Yankees parks. So in the minors. Yeah, I think. Maybe the pitchers were helped. Like, Dietrich Nens, look at his numbers. And, like, I don't even think he crafted their top 30 prospect list on baseball America. All right. So you don't know if they have to pay attention to Montgomery.

The bad from yesterday, Garrett Cole gave up three home runs. It was only his third start of spring training. He's not a home run guy. He's never given up more than 11 in a major league season. But he had a bad start. Iwakuma had a terrible start. We continue to see him drafted. It probably doesn't really make sense, right?

He's a name people record guys. Yeah, Iwakuma, you don't need a draft. And Carrasco, another bad start. Remember, he had a terrible start. He got shut down. He's ready to go. He obviously pitched yesterday, but four runs on nine hits and four innings, two homers against the Reds.

Carrasco has a 1080 ERA this spring. You worried Heath? I don't think I really am. I'm not as worried as I was 10 days ago, for sure. I never moved him all the way back to where I had him ranked before the injury. scare. I think I dropped him like eight or nine spots when that happened and I moved him back up like halfway. So to that extent, I'm not as optimistic as I was in February, but I'm not as worried as I was 10 days ago. All right, Carrasco or Cole Hamels? I'm taking Hamels. Yeah, I think so.

This does have the feel of one of those like next spring we're like, well, he was hurt in spring, guys. Of course he had a bad season. But he's going to bounce back now. He's going to be fine. a bad start to the season. Yeah, I was watching that they were actually replaying it on MLB Network this morning. I was watching it right. He got lit up pretty hard right away. Duval hit an absolute bomb off of him. And Jose Parraza took him deep as well, which might be even more concerning.

All right, that's Carlos Carrasco. Next year's bounceback candidate. Anything on Duffy yet? Nothing for this most recent start. He did have a start. His previous start, the velocity was right in the 93-mile-an-hour range, so still, about two to three miles per hour down from where he was last season.

Oh, I thought 93 would be good. No, it's... First this for spring. No, he's trended up a little bit. He's added about a half a mile per hour on his fastball since his first world baseball classic start, but he was like 97 last spring. Let's do some bold predictions.

On average 97? I don't think he's... Okay. So he was Noah Cindergarde. By the way, oh, Noah's Sindergars. It may have been one spring start, too, because it is spring numbers. It could be two innings. 97 averages, like.

95.7, sorry. So he's two miles per hour down. Okay. Noah Syngard adding a change-up this year. Wowsers. He should change up his motion so people can't run on him so easy. I thought he had a change-up. Throwing it more than, I don't know.

I thought, no, I thought he was fastball, slider, curve. According to Burke's baseball, he threw a change-up 11. percent of the time last season. Do we trust Noah Cindergarde who's actually throwing it, or do we trust Brooks baseball who's observing it? He may have been throwing it, not even knowing he was throwing it was throwing a 90-mile-per-hour fastball. Maybe, yeah.

All right, let's do bold predictions here. Let's start with Heath. Give me some bold predictions, sir. Travis Shaw is going to hit 35 dongs. I presented the case. Wear a cup, Brewers. Two months ago that I said if he'd be able to be. gets 600 played appearances, 25 to the floor.

How many leagues do you actually own him, but? I was just updating that spreadsheet this morning, and I have Travis Shaw in three leagues. How many are you in? I think I'm in nine so far. I've got two left. That's a pretty nice percentage of Shaw. Yeah, he is my most owned third baseman, for sure.

Cool. So not generally positioned at third base. I've usually got him on my bench or at my corner infield position because you don't have to draft them until the last round of the draft. But I haven't seen nothing happen this spring that concerns me about us playing time. In fact, it's kind of gone the other direction. You don't think he'll sit against lefties? I think he will, in the beginning of the season, I think he will play against lefties.

Okay. He has actually had a higher slugging percentage against lefties. He's been very good in the spring. I think he did last year, too. I will verify that. He's been very good against lefties this spring, but it's been 16-played appearances. There is a chance still that Travis Shaw struggles in April against lefties, and he's sitting occasionally against them.

I don't think he's going to play 162 games. Chris, bold prediction. Billy Hamilton steals 100 bases. 100 stolen bases for Billy Hamilton. I think he gets the batting average up. Even into the 265 range with the walk rate increase that he saw last season, he stole on 46% of his opportunity. of these last season when he had an open base in front of him. He runs, that was the highest

rate in baseball. Number two was Jose Perraza at like 37%. That gives you an idea of how often Billy Hamilton runs. Obviously, he's a great base stealer. We've seen the success rate increase. He's been like an 80 steel guy over the last two seasons over 150 game pace. So really, it's more about staying healthy. And getting out baseball. If he sustains the improvements that he showed last season hitting the ball on the ground more. That's why I've been fine targeting him in the fifth round. He's someone that... In a category.

In a roto league. He's someone that... That could be the only guy you target for steals. And if he steals 100 bases, or even if he steals, I would say over 80, he's going to be really good in points leagues. I think 80 is a fair expectation if he's health. All right, Scott, get me a bullet prediction. Matt Harvey is the Mets best.

best pitcher from May 1st on. You think Noah Sindeguard's going to miss that much time? No, nothing against Noah's Indygarg. Matt Harvey just returns to his own Cy Young form and edges him out. I feel like the research I've done on the surgery he had is so encouraging. And I feel like the kind of buildup he's had this spring only confirms that the velocity getting a little better each time out to the point he was hitting 97 occasionally. and his last start.

Still has a little bit of ways to go, but May is basically the time Mike Fultenevich returned from the same procedure last year, and he also had it the previous August, just like Harvey. And he was able to hit 100 right away. So Harvey's well on his way to doing that, and I think I'll be back. All right, my first bowl prediction is that Gregory Polanco will be the best Pirates outfielder. Heath, second bowl prediction. First, I need to make a correction.

Travis Shaw's slugging percentage against lefties. is higher for his career, not last year. Second bowl prediction, Wade Davis is going to lead closers with 50 saves for the Chicago Cubs this year. They're going to win 108 games. He's going to save 50 games and 50 appearances before getting hurt. He will not be hurt. Well, he might get hurt, but he's going to get 50 games saved. All right, Chris, next ball prediction for you.

All right, I'll go with the bold, bold one. Jock Peterson finishes top five in the NL MVP voting. That's pretty bold. That's bold. I believe in the pedigree. I think he might start stealing bases again. He's going to get on base a ton. He's a guy that if he manages to hit 280, that's a superstar.

Okay. He's going to have to finish top five on the Dodgers first. Thanks. How good is their lineup? I struggle with that. He's definitely one of their five best hitters. Hearsha's the team MVP. I think he's probably getting both.

before him. I think he's probably the second best position player on that team right now. Behind Turner? Seeger. Oh, I would say Turner's. I forgot about Seeker. You got to give Turner. I think Gondal's better.

Maybe Grondoll. That's maybe. Apparently, Grundall, very good pitch frame. Very good pitchframer. Baseball perspective has him projected to be like fourth in the NL and wins this season. All right, give me another bowl prediction, Scott. Sander Bogartz drops outside of the top eight short stops. And it's not even really so much his fault.

I do think there's a chance he regresses a little, but I think it's more about the fact that we're already talking, you know, six deep at the position of ones who can compete with him. And then you add an Addison Russell, who I think, based on his peripherals last year, is poised for a very Bogart's-like season. I think Jose Parraza and Russell both. They're the two short stops who I like most to kind of ascend into that upper echelon.

And then there's Dansby Swanson who has a lot of upside. Troy Tu-Lewitsky could bounce back. I just think there are enough. The depth has increased a short-stop enough, and there are enough upside options even beyond that that Bogart's could just look kind of tame by comparison. Okay. My second bowl prediction, Blake Snell gets demoted before the All-Star break. he's like not even getting drafted right now

it's going really late people are down on Blake Snell and that's another guy throw him in with the Rodon and Matt's and Nola a guy that I would have you know I was never too high on him no you've hated him since the moment I said I liked him I just think that if he has a good season it's going to be second half and you know

after he gets set up off free ages off waivers that's what I originally thought now yeah now I think he's going to get demoted but okay that's uh that's my second prediction Heath your third and final. Sazar Hernandez will finish ahead of Gene Seguera. Oh.

With a 375 on base, 30 stolen bases, and 90 runs scored from the leadoff position. All right. Chris? Two players will hit 50 plus home runs in the majors this season. I don't think it's happened since Chris Davis in 2013. We haven't had multiple 50 homer guys since 2007. And they will be? I think there's a lot of obvious.

The most obvious ones being Chris Bryant and Giancarlo Stan, but I also think Nolan Aeronado has the skill set to do it. Chris Davis. Chris Davis, either one, both Chris Dave I. Mark Trumbo has the skill set to do it. Now throw out a real dark horse. Ryan Shimp, we have not talked about this guy. I know he's got holes in his game. I know he's got big holes.

Very, very limited pedigree, but he had a 65% fly ball percentage last season and a 39% hard hit percentage. You can understand why he might not hit 200. Yeah, but he might only need, like, an 18% home run to fly ball rate to get to 50 home runs at the way he swings the bat. That fly ball percentage is just, like, it's such an outlier for the rest of the league, which I don't consider a good thing. It's an outlier forever for, like, anybody. He also, according to Stadcast, had the highest average launch angle at, like, 28%.

I think nobody else was above 21%. It's a lot of can of horns. Too many. Too bold. Last prediction, Scott? This will be different from the one Chris posted, the one I gave Chris for his column that's up on the site. The Diamondbacks have three must-own starting pitchers other than Zach Granky.

I don't know which of Robbie Ray, Patrick Corbin, Taiwan Walker, and Shelby Miller, which of the three it'll be, but I'm thinking of those four who all have high-high-high ceilings. I think three will break out. And I also think that means the diamondbacks have a legitimate chance of making playoffs. Yeah, I was going to say that the Diamondbacks seemed to be, when I did the standings, you know, Chris was very kind to include me in standings predictions this year. The Diamondbacks were the team I felt had the most, like, sleeper appeal.

I could see them having a really good year. They've built a very Chris Towers team. Yeah. Good offense, high variance pitching. Okay. A little worried about the bullpen. My last prediction is barely bold anymore. It was like a week ago.

Now not so much. Greg Bird has a better season than Hanley Ramirez. I still think it's pretty bold. You got to take Hanley over Bird, but that's my prediction. Bird better than Hanley. All right, anything that you guys want to say about the podcast league, we should probably go over our teams. I think the two takeaways for me is that plate appearances matter in points leagues.

And you got to stray from ADP when you adjust to your league. If you think pitchers are going really early, then fine, whatever. For like Chris, I asked you guys where to take Matt Harvey. I think you said like round 15. That was a few days ago. Chris took him in round, well, let's find out for sure. It was about 1.20 overall, yeah. Round 10.

And I was, I was gearing up to take him with my next pick at the 10-11 turn. I don't know why you say I was mad. We were in a chat room. I just marveled at you taking Matt Harvey. I don't know why you injected emotion. You were a little mad online. I did not use capital letters. I'm going to say this.

I had the sixth pick, and I was choosing. between Chris Bryant and Paul Goldschmidt, and I really like Goldschmidt, especially in this format. He's great, whatever. I do feel like I couldn't pass up Bryant because I could see him hitting 50 homer. I could see him being the number one pick in fantasy next year. You know, Trout's obviously Trout, but Bryant could be... I think he's the best player in baseball going forward.

I think he's the only player in baseball right now that has 60 homer potential. Yeah, so I want Chris Bryant. Hot take. I want Chris Bryant on my team. I'll just give my team real quick. So always want to get the elite catcher if I can in the shower format. I'm piggybacked on that from Heath and Scott. Jonathan Lou Croy, Carlos Santana in a points league, really good pick, even if he has a down year.

Great pick. It's true. Can you say that really good pick after everyone a year? I was very happy with this team. I was. I think that was one of the players I feel like I should have taken instead of Gregory Blanco was Carlos Santana. Devin Travis.

It was the last person to take a second basement. Chris Bryant. Carlos Correa was my second round pick. My outfield is interesting. George Springer. Kyle Schwerber. That was the other plate appearance guy, hopefully. Not really.

He's going to lead off for the Cubs. For 140 games. He's going to get... Leading off of the Cubs in 140 games is like hitting fifth for 150 games. But he's not going to get that many of those five played appearance games, I think. He'll get a lot of four-played appearance games. But he's going to get pulled for defensive replacement.

Or he could get... gain catcher eligibility equally as likely. But you've already got Jonathan McCroy. Then I'll trade one. I'll trade one. So Springer, Swarber, and Keon Broxton. That's your weakness. That's not a good out.

Number three out. Can I mention something about Broxton since we're here? Yeah. The whole Jesus Aguilar thing, how much is he going to play? How much is Ernan Perez going to play? Particularly if Travis Shaw is playing every day. I could see how that might impact Keon Broxton's playing time. They've been playing Eric Thames now.

field more later in spring training. I don't really know how it's going to work. They have way too many hitters. That's fine. They all have a small margin for error. There's a lot of guys who are probably back. You go cold and you might not see the field for a while. That's fine.

And that's why if I take Keon-Brockson as my number three outfielder, I drafted Carlos Belchon and Hector Renfro. Right. Three-outfielder league, it's easy to find a replacement. It's so easy. You don't need a great third outfielder in a three-outfielder league. It's just so easy to find these guys on weight. Right. But you're saying you're not going to have a good third outfield.

I'm going to have a good third outfielder. He just might not be on my roster. I think number two outfielder is a third outfielder. Beltron was. Swarber? Solid third outfielder last year. Yeah. Very solid.

That's a position you could find. I didn't mean that as a critique of your Broxton pick because particularly in a shallow league like this, you go for the upside and, you know, adjust if it doesn't pan out. But you will probably have a bad third outfielder relative to the rest of the league. Clearly, I'm weak right now at third outfield. I think that's a good spot to be weak at in a league like this. In a 10-team league or in a 12-team league with three outfielders, and my utility is Michael Franco.

And I could be weak there, too. I could be. But I like getting – I always see it. Sano, Franco, Jake Lamb. I love getting one of those guys as my utility. They go in similar spots. My pitchers are Jacob de Grom, Garrett Cole, Danny Salazar, Sean Mania, and Robert Gazellman. It's okay.

It's fine. I feel like a lot of people are going to be kind of uneasy about their pitching staffs. And I have Alex Cobb, Yvonne Nova, and Eduardo Rodriguez on the bench. And I have Kelvin Herrera and Dylan Bundy at Relief Pitcher. So I'm happy with the team. I would have liked Stroman. I didn't get him. I would have liked the more reliable number four starter than I thought I may have reached for Mania.

But it's a very solid team. You rarely don't have solid teams at him. I think we've buried the lead for long enough. Can we talk about how good my team is? Yamani, Mani, Tomas, Prop. Oh, by the way, my team name is Apollo Kreeh. It's a great team name. Almost is good.

It is very good. I pointed that out even before I knew it was Adams in the chat room last night. I will say before Heath mentions his team, I do think, I do think Heath has the best team of the four of us. Wow. Really? That is high praise. For the lowest score in week one, though. I hate Heath's team.

Well, that's because I have David Price. I hate he's hitting. Okay, so my hitters, I've got Wellington Castillo a catcher. Yeah, he'll get dropped. He will not get dropped. I'll trade you Schwerber when Schwerber is catcher eligible. Chris Davis is my first baseman. DJ LaMayhew is my second base.

Let me ask you a question. I took Sanana, Carlos Santana, two picks before you took Chris Davis. Who would you have taken? I have them back to back in my rankings. I probably would have taken Santana. Okay, so Wellington Castillo, Chris Davis, DJ LaMayhew. Mani Machado is my third baseman. I thought I was going to play him at short, but then I took Xander Bogartz as my shortstop.

My outfield is not a weakness with Charlie Blackman, Starling Marte, and Odubler. My third outfield is better than yours. Keon-Brox. Is better than Odublero. Or Carlos Beler. That is absurd. Or Hunter Renfro. I love that you keep taking Odubo Herrera

because I have no interest in taking it but there are good players on the board at that point. I took him at the 14th round of the draft. Very good players available. You have three outfielders that might not combine to score as much as Oduble Herr. George Spring. My utility is Big Kin.

Much better than your utility. 40 don'ts. And then on the bench, of course, I got Travis Shaw and Yasmani Tomas. A lot of flexibility there. I like that. I appreciate that you drafted the guy your team is named after. It's a must.

Yeah, it's good for you. My pitching staff is Quato, Hamils, David Price, Jared Ikoff, Aaron Nola, Robbie Ray, Brandon Finnegan, Blake Snell, Wade Davis, and Roberto Osuna. All right, yeah, let's read it again. Quato, Hamels, Price, Ikoff, Nola, Robbie Ray, and then Snell on the bench. You'll cut him. Brandon Finnegan, Wade Davis, and Roberto Osuna. No, that's why I don't love your hitting.

Your pitching is outstained. No, I think that's like he didn't, I don't feel like he skimped. on hitting in the way I did. And yet, if and when David Price comes back, maybe just a month into the season, he probably has the best one, two, three in the league. Yeah, you do have a very good job with the picture. I just hope he comes back,

because I've taken him in three straight draft now. So let's get to White Noise. Scott White. Go ahead. Okay, so Buster Posey is my catcher. Obviously, no concerns there. Unless you're cross. Daniel Murphy is my first baseman, Dustin Padroia,

Ryan Healy. What? This is Scott White strong infield all preseason in every mock draft we do. And then we get to the real draft. This draft, I swear, drafting with a bunch of people who, you know, listen closely to everything you're saying. Like there was, like I feel like every pick from round five on I was drafting a round and a half too early because they weren't mixing in the guys I always avoid to push the guys I like back.

Addison Russell's my short stuff. So at least to start out, that looks like a weakness. My outfield is Mike Trout, Gregory Polanco. Eventually, Ian Desmond, right now I have Jose. Right now I have Jose Parraza filling in. And then I have Hanley Ramirez in my utility. So, I mean, I obviously have a task ahead of me at third base. I wish I had a better shortstop.

I usually do. But I do feel like I have some contingency at shortstop because Addison Russell and Jose Parraza are my two favorite breakout candidates at the position, and I got them both. obviously if they both work out, I can play Paraz at the outfield. I can potentially play him at second if Dustin Padraea gets hurt. You know, if Hanley Ramirez doesn't pan out, I have Murphy who I can toggle between first and second.

I have Ian Desmond who I could potentially move to first. So like my weak positions other than third base, if it goes wrong, I have a lot of like flexibility there. All right, let's get your pitchers. Pitching staff is going to have to be what sets my team apart. And my second and third pitchers are two. that I know at least Crete doesn't like. Corey Klober number one.

Kyle Hendrix number two with the first pick of round five. That's where the reaching started for me. Rick Porcelo number three. Rich Hill number four. I think that's a great number four. John Gray, number five. I think that's a pretty good number five. And then I have Matt Moore and Jeff Samarja.

Just kind of some upside there, but mostly safety net options for my bench. And relievers are Jim Johnson, Francisco Rodriguez, and Greg Holland. That's weird. I never see you take three, I feel. Yeah. And you always wait. You always wait on relief pitcher, and I just wonder if this is the wrong year to do that.

I don't really think so. I would have liked to get like Alex Colomé is my number one. I would have liked to. It just didn't work out. Krod had 44 saved last year, and, you know, I think he's safe for what should be a borderline contender. think he's fine. I don't think I'll ever be looking to replace him. And Greg Holland, the reason I took him, I took Jim Johnson and Greg Holland back to back with my last two picks. I mean, Jim Johnson probably doesn't have a ton of upside, but Greg Holland certainly does. If he just,

you know, looks like Greg Holland of old, I'll be happy I made that pick. And then, you know, it doesn't matter what happens with Jim Johnson. I am chuckling because it's time to look at Chris's team. I do want to point out you did mention one player that I don't think we've talked about this, and that's Jeff Samarja, his velocity's been way down in the spring. From what I've seen, he's been sitting like 89 miles an hour. Yeah, he was my seventh pitcher track. No, no, no, I wasn't actually criticizing your team. I was just, we haven't mentioned that about Jeff Samarja.

So in order to troll Heath, Chris's team, yeah, Yamani, money, Tomas problems? Yazmani, money, Tomas problems. Like, that's nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It's mo money, mo problems. You didn't get any of that. Mini money Moss problems. It's nothing.

Many money Moss problems. Well, Chris's team name is two Yasmadi cooks. Which is way better. I've got a picture of Smarf wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks hat. I've got a picture of Yasmani Tomas in a cowboy outfit. I don't know who Smarf is. You didn't watch too many cooks? No.

Yeah. You should watch too many cooks. So it's a reference to like a TV show? Because I just thought it was the expression. Did you guys miss too many cooks? I'm sorry, Chris. I think we did. Wow.

Yeah. Different generation. So it was like six months ago. Your lineup. Yeah, my lineup's great. I've pretty much got, I've got Yosmani Grandal at catcher, Joey Vado at first base,

D. Gordon at second base, Adrian Beltrade, Jonathan V.R., Andrew Benintendi, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stann, and Freddie Freeman as my utility. Slow it down, my friend. Slow it down.

Let people soak it in, soak in the greatness of your lineup. Yosmani Grondal is my catcher. Joey Votto at first base. Speed up a little, yeah. D. Gordon at second. Adrian Beltray at third,

Jonathan VR at short, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, and Andrew Benintendi in the outfield, and Freddie Freeman. Now, I will probably have to bench Adrian Beltray for week one. Good news is Jonathan VR's third base eligible.

I can just slide Danesb Swanson in as my shortstop. And I've got Victor Martinez and Tommy Joseph on the bench, two guys with, I don't know if Victor Martinez has big upside, but I think Tommy Joseph has 40 homer upside. So you could just slide him in whenever you're not starting Joey Vaughy Vaugh? or Freddie Freeman.

I could trade someone. I don't. I could do that. There have been a lot of your teams where you have taken the same approach. And I've liked all of them better than this one. I don't feel like this set of hitters looks like I didn't take any pitchers in the first eight rounds. Okay. Oh, I don't know.

I mean, he's got Freeman, Votto, Harper, Stanton. Yeah, like, I get you hate Freddie Freeman, but like I got him 40th overall as my utility. Yeah, I think it's just a, I think this is just a reflection of how much Heath hates Freeman and Jonathan. VR because like I see I guess probably and I'm lower on Belchray and everyone's lower on Gordon than you All right we got to wrap things up here I think Chris clearly has the best starting lineup

it's just the pitching staff And the pitching staff Kevin Gosman Matt Harvey Joe Ross Vince Velasquez Taiwan Walker my relievers are Sam Dyson and AJ Ramos who I think are just kind of pretty decent relievers and then I've got Francisco Liriano and Shelby Miller on my bench Lerano

could end up being my best starting pitcher I think that's that I'm surprised that I don't know, I'm just surprised that you took Tommy Joseph. It seems like a luxury. I probably would have had another starting pitcher if I were you on the bench. Like if you're going to take this approach, shouldn't you have at least eight starters? I like the upside and the rotation.

Yeah, oh, you have a lot of upset. There's a lot of potential minutes. I wanted Tommy Joseph. You're going to drop Tommy Joseph. You're going to drop Tommy Joseph. You have Joey Votto and Freddie Freeman. What the hell do you owe Tommy Joseph? You're going to drop Tommy Joseph after I trade him for your number one starter because he's going to hit 40 domes. Okay. I mean, that's the thing. These types of leagues, you just have to sacrifice.

They're going to be good players on the waiver wire. You just can't draft everybody you want. So, you know, you're going to drop Tommy Joseph. There's a decent chance I may drop Tommy Joseph at some point. I think I'm going to say you drop Tommy Joseph before the season starts on Sunday. No, everybody's making all these roster moves before the season. I don't really like doing that unless there's like a super obvious. But like, I'm seeing like nine roster moves every time Fab runs.

And it's like, well, some of, why'd you draft your team if you hate it so much? Some of these drafts were really early before there was much in the way of a spring training. Some of them have not been that early. Yeah, okay. No, that's fair. And I guess some players are going on DL now. Before we end it, I just want to give a shout out since, you know, we get these listeners in our league, and then a lot of times don't mention how well they're doing.

Jason Green, owner of pill pushers, he had the opposite bookend pick for me. I think he has the best team in the league. I thought you said that, and then we looked at his team and determined that he didn't have the best team. He has a bad outfield. but he has a great pitching staff and a great infield. I'm assuming he took a bunch of guys that you like more than we do. I don't know that he has a great infield. Is this a great infield people at home?

He has Wilson Contreras, no Braves. Wilson Contreras, Miguel Cabrera, Brian Dozier, Todd Frazier, and Aledmas Diaz. And then Evan Longoria has a utility. That's a good infield. Come on, that's great. It's a very good. All right, I'm looking at it again. It may not be the best team in the league, but it's really good.

I did marvel during the draft. He was often the guy. You know, right after I made those pick on the one book end, I would be like, I hope these two guys get back to me. And he repeatedly on the other book and took one of them. I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to read emails. I'm sorry that I'm cutting Heath off. We're done for the day.

Tomorrow is Friday, and it's almost baseball time. And we're going to give you our predictions for the standings, for MVP, all the awards. But obviously, we'll talk fantasy baseball. Some of you're going to be drafting on Saturday and Friday night. So we will help you. And I will do my best to read more emails. I do apologize.

For that. For Chris, for Scott, for Heath, I'm Adam. See ya.