Fantasy Baseball Today - 05/17 Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Zimmer & Happ; World Series Curse?

Episode Date: May 17, 2017

Busy show today! Before we grade your trades (48:30) we talk about the two hot prospects Bradley Zimmer and Ian Happ (1:20) and who to drop for them. Also, Edwin Diaz becomes the latest closer to lose his job (8:00), but for how long? ... Adam discusses a new philosophy on starting pitching, and it's met with some resistance from Scott and Chris (11:30) ... So much from yesterday including Freddie Freeman's rise in the rankings (20:00), Danny Salazar's struggles (24:20), Kevin Pillar's prowess (26:15), fringey SPs to own (46:13) and hitters who are making noise such as Devon Travis (39:30) ... 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

R.A. Dickie Stephen, random number, Jets. Scott likes using jiffs the most. Adam loves E.R.A. and auto tunes himself this way. Paxton's regression screams. Brooklyn's got a winning team. Liam Hendricks, Bradshaw, plays near. Bradley Zimmer called up. Edwin Diaz removed from the closers role. Ian Hap homering again.

A lot to talk about on the Wednesday edition of Fantasy Baseball today. It is, of course, Wednesday. So that means it's great the trade day. Also, it appears to me that Chris Towers, got a haircut. Am I, are you like, oh yeah, got it two weeks ago? Like a week and a half ago, yeah. Why is I always notice these things like a week to two weeks?

Well, I don't know if you've seen me since then. Other people have been sitting in front of the camera. So, you know, it could just be that. I feel like Chris looks great. One of those guys whose hair always looks the same. Like, he gets haircuts so often that you could never even notice. I don't get any haircuts that often. I would say I don't get more than a haircut every two months.

It's not very often. That's not often at all. Wow. You've got to step up your haircut game. All right. So I'm just going to get right into it here. Who would you drop for Bradley Zimmer? Bradley Zimmer is 42% own.

He is a 24-year-old outfielder now up for Cleveland. They have two outfielers on the DL now with Geyer and Almonte. Would you drop Jock Peterson for Bradley Zimmer? I would. I guess just because Jock Peterson's been so replaceable this season, but I'm not convinced that Bradley Zimmer is going to be better. Would you drop Keon Broxton for Bradley Zimmer? See, I think the way Keon Broxton is performing right now

is what you're kind of hoping Zimmer will do. And I don't mean the season-long trend for Broxton. I mean more recently, that's what you want Zimmer to do. So I would probably stick with Broxton in the Categories League. Yeah. Kevin Pilar. I would not drop him. No chance.

Avi Garcia, 88% own. coming alive a little bit, batting about $3.50-ish in his last six games. Avi Garcia, would you drop him for Bradley Zimmer? I would not. I was forced to drop Garcia, and I had to headpoints league three outfielders last night, but it wasn't for Zimmer. Yeah, I just, I have such a problem with this just because I don't buy anything that Avi Garcia is doing anyway, so it's kind of hard for me to say I wouldn't drop him. It seems inconsistent.

All right. Scott Shebler. Yes, Rob Shubler You would not, Chris? I would not. So it doesn't seem like It doesn't seem like we have off-the-chart expectations for Bradley Zimmer. Well, part of the problem is it's hard to get excited about an outfielder who isn't producing because so many are. You know?

Like, I'm already feeling squeezed in the outfield in most of my leagues. So Bradley Zimmer is the second most exciting prospect call-up of this year. and I word it that way because I don't know that he's necessarily a better prospect than Hap but there's a much better chance he sticks with the Indians than Hap does with the Cubs I mean Abraham Almante that's clearly just a space filler not a

But there's also a pretty decent chance that he's just not able to play There is Play well you mean this Like we worried about Cody Bellinger's strikeout rate When he called up got called up Zimmers was a little worse at AAA. Yeah. And Zimmer's been older.

Like, Zimmer's... Yeah, he's 24. Well above 30% in his AAA career with the strikeout rate. Yeah, well, I mean, last year at AAA, he was going through some mechanical changes. But even this year, he's at 30%. It was a ridiculous strikeout rate two years ago. But he's at 30% right now. He struck out 43 times and 144.

No, he strikes out too much. And so that's what's making me have trouble getting excited. about him is that it's just this is a very high variance prospect at this point in his career. He is. He is. But still, I mean, normally any time a big time prospect comes up, regardless of whatever flaws we see in his game, we're usually rushing to pick him up just in case because we want to be on the right side of that variance. Or we want to be the ones to benefit if he's on the right side of that variance. But I just, I can't justify

dropping another outfielder for him in most cases. I mean, Zimmerman gets on base a lot, has power, and can run. Right, that's the thing. He can run. Guys who steal bases who don't hold you back in the power categories are so rare today. There's a chance he's hugely impactful

player. How about Shebler, someone who can do both of those things as well? How about Todd Frazier? Would you drop Todd Frazier for Zimmer? I won't. I still have a lot of confidence in Frazier coming around. I don't, but I probably wouldn't drop him. Yonder Alonzo or Bradley Zimmer. Alonzo. Yep.

All right. I just think it is interesting that Zimmer does have the speed. A lot of the guys I mentioned don't, like Garcia and Jack Peterson, he doesn't run. Yonder Alonzo obviously doesn't. Bradley Zimmer could could be everything we hoped George Springer

was before Springer stopped running. That's the upside for him, but the downside is, you know, Melvin Upton. What about Hap guys. Hap is 40, no, Zimmer's 42% owned. Hap is 57% owned. He homered yesterday. He's forcing the issue a little bit, but they're going to get Hayward back. Zobrist's day to day. Seems very close to returning. Yeah. What do you think about Ian Hap? Do you think he needs to be owned right now? He's 57% owned in CBS.com leagues. I would probably pick him up in my leagues where he's not available because I think we're getting to a decision point with Hayward coming back later this week

we'll get a good idea, we'll have a good idea then what the Cubs long-term plans are for HAP. And it seems really hard to just figure out where he would play, like even with his positional versatility. Yeah, I just, I have a really hard. seeing them benching Javi Baez. Do that.

I have a hard time seeing them bench Ben Zobrist. I have a hard time seeing them bench Jason Hayward. What about moving Hayward to center field full time? Even then, is there enough playing time with three super utility guys? Was Zobras back in the lineup yet? No. But he's very close. So, you know, behalf in the outfield, bias at second.

I don't know. Look, I... And I kind of... I'm going to kind of walk back what I said a little because I think half and Zimmer are ownable on about equal terms. Hap, I have more confidence in the production. Zimmer, I have more confidence in him sticking around. One other difference is that second base is a greater position of need than outfields. So I could, you know, I might be slightly more likely to own Hap than Zimmer at this point.

I would say I wouldn't drop anyone I have long-term designs on for E and Hap. Okay. All right, your emails today at Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. We will grade your trades. You should go to Sportsline.com because it's very cool. It's actually a really cool website. You've got computer simulations and projections. You've got expert Vegas guys giving you picks. And right now there is a special on Sportsline.com through the Preakness. An annual subscription is half off. It's $49.99 instead of $99.99. and Jody Demling, our horse racing guru who nailed the derby winner to continue his incredible streak of nine straight Derby Oaks doubles, we'll be posting his preakness order of finish tomorrow night.

So tomorrow night you're going to get your preakness order of finish from Jody Demling. He is awesome. $4999 for a year's subscription, sportsline.com. Check it out. Okay, Edwin Diaz. First of all, if you out there, if there's a closer that you like that you think is good, just hope that he does not end up on my. auction roto team because that would put him in company with $3 neftali Feliz,

Edwin Diaz, and now $4 bid Steve Seishak, who I got last night before I realized he was terrible. And what, oh, Roberto Azuna, he's coming around, but, you know, he started on the DL. So I've been jinx there. Diaz, out of the closers role, they're going to use a committee. Last night they used Seashch, and it did not work out. he got lit up in his second appearance of the season. Yeah. That seems to me, if I had to guess the way this goes,

they go with a closure by committee for about a week. Edwin Diaz looked great over the next week, and he's the closer again. I just, I don't think there's anybody in this bullpen that's even close to him, and it's been a rough start, but I believe in him. I feel like C-Shech could still be a capable closer, but obviously, you know, Maybe they rushed him into that high leverage situation too soon coming back from hip surgery. But obviously, this meltdown helps Diaz's chances of regaining the role. I don't think there's really another option who could stick beyond those two.

I still think Diaz is the Mariners best option. I still think Cishak is their second best option. Tony Zitch, if he got a save here or there, I don't think he's good enough to hold onto the role in the long run. The ERA is nice, but he's an example of someone where ERA is not telling the full story right now. That's Tony Zick. We picked up Zick and Cichick in the 16 team league. I don't know. For like five hours, they both went completely on home, which really surprised me.

I was harassing Scott White, answering a damn phone, answering your text messages so we can make a roster move team scam. And we did. We picked them both up. Graven, it was a big family night at the White household. We were celebrating a second boy is what we're having. A second boy. Hey. Another boy.

not a girl. When is he do? I wanted a girl. But that's okay. You know, two boys is great too. It's like we were talking about on the podcast yesterday. The next one will be a girl. That's how it works. You're going to regress to the mean. The next two will be girls. I don't think we've dreamed

beyond two children. So I'm kind of been grappling with the idea. You go your whole life thinking, huh, maybe someday I'll have a daughter. And now is the first time I'm like, yeah, I probably won't have a daughter. So it's you know, something to get used to. Well, I imagine that your wife is more upset about that than you?

No, she wanted a boy. Oh, she did? Yeah, she likes the experience of mothering a boy, so. Okay. And look, two boys is going to be a great thing. Yeah, congratulations, but so when is he due? He is due in September. September 26th, I think, is the due date, but, you know, some,

give or take a few weeks there. All right, we got some time, which means Scott can still grind out the baseball season and then chill out during football and be a dad. Theo Epstein is not giving up on Kyle Schwerber. He is pretty adamant that Schwerber's going to come out of this, and Schwerber did Homer yesterday. Epstein also said that Jake Arietta hasn't locked in his delivery yet. I'm going to take a little pause from the news and notes and talk about a new philosophy that I am revealing right now on fantasy baseball today. Oh, M.G. Use them and lose them?

Nope. Oh, okay. Avoid World Series pitchers. I'm pretty serious about this now. I went back and looked at the last three World Series. James Shields, 2014, he pitched for the Royal. I'm talking about guys who pitched a lot of innings and pitched into the World Series. James Shields was terrible the next year with San Diego.

He's been terrible since. Jeremy Guthrie, you want to look at a guy like that? His ERA went up nearly two runs. 2015 after the 2014 World Series. Jason Vargas, I think he had Tommy John's surgery the next year. Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Quato are two good examples of pitchers who had great years after the world series. I don't know how Bumgarner did it with what he did in the World Series, but Bumgarner's a freak.

But Tim Hudson had a good year, actually, in 2014 for the Giants and a bad year in 2015, and then he retired. But 2015 was one of his worst. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Can I just... No, because I know what you're going to...

Point out the actual trend here? No, no, no, it's not, it's not like my typical thing. Iified. The actual trend, you're pointing out a bunch of 34-year-old pitchers who fell off a cliff. Every single pitcher on the Cubs this year is losing velocity and losing production. Corey Klob is on the D.L. with a back injury. Every single Mets starting pitcher last year was a disappointment except for Cinderguard. And Yardano Ventura did not rebound well after World Series runs.

and Edinson Volquez's ERA went up nearly two runs in 2016 after pitching in the 2015 World Series. So honestly, the only two examples I found that were good were Bumgar. Oh, no, Cindergarde. Bumgarner, Cindergarde, Quito. Obviously, it happens. Which also happened to be the three best pitchers. Yeah, you found a lot of bad pitchers. DeGrom, Harvey, Klubers on the DL.

Lester, Arieta. I'm serious here. We'll continue to monitor Arietas and John Lester's progress throughout this. season, Kyle Hendricks, too. Sure, we'll lump him in there with the other two. But, like, Hendricks and Lester, like, it haven't been bad. They've been a little bit disappointing, but I actually think Kyle Hendrix, aside from the bad start, he's got, what, a mid-3ZRA now? That's pretty much what everyone was expecting. Well, I'm just saying we're only six

weeks in. But Velocities down. And Lacky, too. It's too early to judge. It is. It is. But this is really, look, I intentionally did not draft Corey Klobler, because I thought, I, I completely understand what they did with Corey Kluber to win the World Series or try to win the World Series. But when you look at all the innings and the pitching on three days' rest, it was a little, I guess, reckless and a little worrisome to me. So I didn't draft him. He was pitching well before the injury. Maybe he comes back quickly, and this is just a little blip on the radar.

I don't know. I'm just having trouble with the strategy of I'm going to target pitchers early, but I'm also going to avoid a bunch of really good pitchers. Yeah. I think I would probably have trouble with that, too. but we'll see. Hopefully there are enough that's a choose from. I'm just going to draft Clayton Kershaw. Today. It's basically what your strategy is going to come down to at some point.

And Scherzer versus second. Oh, Kershaw could go to the World Series. But he won't pitch well in the World Series. We know that. Today I'm offering you I can't even think of a pitcher that would be worth taking. Rick Porcelo for Jake Gariat, I don't know. Like who's just outside of that group? Carlos Carrasco, if he has another start.

Carlos Carasco is basically an ace. I have him ranked ahead of area. Oh, so then like a Carlos Martinez or something. I don't know. I mean, look, this is a terrible year. Carlos Martinez today for Jake Gereg. Michael Fulmer for Jake Arrieta. You're taking Arieta, right?

Yeah, I take Arrieta. I would. You're just thinking more... Draft day. Like, going back to a draft when you have options among aces. Exactly. Now you don't have options. among aces. You can't trade Arelletta for another ace.

Yeah, 100%. And look, we know that pitching deep into postseason has had bad effects on pitchers before. Like, Matt Cain is probably the poster child for this. So I don't think it's something that we should just ignore. Put it that way. I'll probably put more stock into it than anyone, but I think it deserves to be considered going forward. Sure. Okay.

It always did, but just how heavily you weigh it with everything else. Robinson Cano is on the deal with a quad strain. Washington is transitioning starting pitching prospect Eric Fetty to the bullpen. Is that a potential closer late in the year, Eric Fetty, for the Nats? I had just read Middle Relief Option, but maybe it is. I also read they still view him as a starter long term, and he's not a prospect who has like a 99-mile-per-hour fastball, at least not as a starter.

So he seemed like a surprising candidate for that transition. More news and notes. Carlos Carrasco tentatively scheduled to make his next start. Edwin Encarnacion homered yesterday. He snapped an 0-4-17 skid. As Drewbo Cabrera is on the D.L. With that thumb injury, can you just call up Ahmed Rosario already? Like, stop with this.

Just do it. Stop with the games. You guys trying to win or aren't you? Routenet Odor. Hey, happy birthday or something, Routonet Odore. You deserve a cake. You've drawn four walks in your last four games. Nice.

Troy To Lewitsky expected back tomorrow. Anybody care about Jared Hoying? He's going to play some center field for Texas with Carlos Gomez on the DL? No. Okay. Wellington Castillo is back. Sorry, Scott. Wellington Castillo is back.

He's 64% own. Tony Walters is back. Walters is 15% owned. Chris Towers thinks so little of Tony Walters. He dropped him in a two-catcher league. What up with that? I'm actually trying to figure out if I should drop him in another league where I have Devin Mazzarov.

as my number two catcher. I also have Tom Murphy on the DL, so that's kind of my thought process there, is that I'm not 100% sure how useful Tony Walters is going to be. I think he's going to give you an empty batting average. Yeah, all right. Well, it's better than nothing. It's better than a lot of catchers. Yeah, he's probably a top 20 catcher, all said.

But you're just so stacked at catcher. I just have too many catchers. Yeah, like you top 20, get the heck out of here. Aaron Nola will start Sunday. Amir Garrett will start tomorrow. Victor Velazquez will start for the Red Sox tomorrow. Any interest in Hector Velasquez? I can't say I have any right now.

No. Let's see what he does. No. Yeah, also David Price. Well, you never know what happens with Pomeranz, but Price is going to make a rehab start on Friday. Dallas Keiko only pitched five innings because the Astros are so good, and they were destroying the Marlins, and they didn't need to.

Yeah, I think there's another explanation for that. What? The Marlins are so bad. Well, they really are. Certainly two-star Tom is. Five of their last 20, I believe, is what they've won right now. Yeah, they're struggling. Last place.

Alex Bregman is now eligible at Middle Infield. Not shortstop yet, but Middle Infield. One more appearance in shortstop, and he'll be shortstop eligible. Cameron Mabin batted leadoff for the first time for the Angels, and he had five hits. Coincidence? Yes. Okay, it helps the number of trouble. He has some BAPIP regression, the good kind of regression.

to come here. So it's hopefully the start of it. I told you, what, Monday, that he's still better than Ben Revere? You keep bringing up Ben Revere like he's some kind of godsend. I'd rather, just from a fantasy perspective, I'd rather see Ben Revere out there. I mean, Cameron Maven's nine for nine in steals. What does Ben Revere do that Cameron Maven doesn't? I would expect Ben Revere to have a better batting average and steal more bases. The camera mavenors nine for nine on stolen bases, but he hasn't stolen basis since 2012. Has it been on the Angels? That is true.

Okay, Brad Miller was scratched. The decision-based stat, sorry. Brad Miller is so over-owned, by the way, but he was scratched with a strained abdominal muscle. Stephen Piscotti should be back this weekend. David Peralta pinch hit. Mark Mulanson should be back Friday. Travis Shaw was out with a sore finger.

Miami sent Tom Kohler in AAA. Dan Straeli expects to make his next start. And here's the Fame watch. Eric Thames has strep throat. Get well soon. Eric Thames, we miss you. All right. Yes, I agree.

Tuesday's standouts. Usually don't wait 20 minutes, but here we go. Who stood out to you on Tuesday, guys? Let's talk about what Scott and I were talking about in the office yesterday, which is that we both moved Freddie Freeman up to our number three first baseman. Behind? He's just... I believe we both have him behind Goldschman Votto, right?

Correct. Oh, Votto. Right. Duh. Yeah, Freeman, over his last 365 game, or, 365 days, excuse me, is hitting 315 with a 1,043 OPS, 104 RBI, 41 home runs, 46 doubles, 7 triples, 9 stolen bases, 96 walks. Number 3 first baseman might be too low. Freddie Freeman with the way he's playing. And if we get to the point about three weeks from now where he still has like a 20% strikeout rate, he's going to be in consideration for the number one first base.

That's what clinched it for me. I've perceived Freeman is having a lower floor than Anthony Rizzo because the strikeout rate's awfully high, and he survives it because of this ridiculous line drive rate that allows him to have a high BAPid, which I think is mostly sustainable, but there's a little more risk attached to that. But the K rate's way down for Freeman this year,

and the walk rate is up. So, like moving him ahead of Rizzo, I had to get my mind around the idea that this is not a knock on Rizzo, who I still have plenty of confidence in, one-to-one strike-out-to-walk ratio this year. He's going to get hot sooner than later. But I do think Freeman's better. I think they're both potentially first-round picks next year.

And Freeman versus Votto is, I think, an extremely interesting argument to have. Joy Votto has a 106 OPS right now with a 270 battle. This is a guy with a career 356 Babbitt who hasn't been below 360 since 2011. You know what he's doing differently this year? He's been more aggressive. Yeah, swinging early in the count. All the Votto haters over the years were kind of right. But he's still walking a ton.

He is still on pace for 111 walks. He's also on pace for 149 RBI. What he's doing is he's swinging at more pitches inside the strike zone. That's a good way higher. and swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone. Both good things. This might be the best version of Joey Votto we've ever seen. And I don't know that Freeman's going to overtake Goldschmidt just because of the steals.

Yeah, and the play discipline, too. But like I said yesterday, Goldschmidt has 38 steals over his last 365 days. Wow. Well, that's pretty exciting stuff. All right, Freddie Freeman. Now, let me just wrap up Freddie Freeman with this. what was it that that made you a little nervous in the preseason rather that Freeman was going to get overdrafted when people were taking

him like early third round in a 12-team league and then follow-up it's like when a guy is still in his prime because Freeman's what 27 do we really care can we can we sort of disregard the peripherals and just say well he's just going to get better or like the history disregard the peripherals I think that's bad process. I just, he had only done it once. And specifically, he had only hit for power once. Freddie Freeman's always been a very solid player all around.

But last year was the first time he hit for power, especially in the second half of the season. That's the thing that's clinching it for me. It's like Daniel Murphy last year, like I said yesterday, is that it's just, it's continuing a trend. He's hitting a lot more fly balls. He's hitting the ball really hard. and it's just, I'm at the point where I can't ignore it anymore.

Okay. Do I get to have a standout? Oh, you get to have many. But let me ask you about my standout, bad standout. Scott, you have always been the low man on Danny Salazar. He's just in a funk right now. And what do you give up? Five runs and five endings yesterday.

Four home runs. Is Danny Salazar for you, the low guy, even for you? Is he a by-low candidate? Yes, he is. Because, I mean, my disinterest in Salazar was because I feel like everybody viewed him as this great upside pitcher without recognizing his many flaws and downsides. Like, I don't know that he, I don't know that he could be a number one or number two in fantasy ever. But I do think he can get back to being more or less the guy you trust every week. I mean, the strikeout rate even this year is through the roof.

He has command issues, he has control issues, he has endurance issues. But of those things, I do think the ability to miss bats is the most important. And I think there's enough success in his history that I would be buying on him right now. Yeah. Danny Salazar. Okay. Would you rather have Salazar or Marco Estrada? Huh.

That's interesting. They're very close for me. I really like what Estrada is doing these days. He's solid. He's just like a solid. You know, I know he had a bad start yesterday. And solid is so hard to find. Right.

You know, ask me two years ago, and I'd say Salazar without a thought. And he's becoming a little more than solid over the last couple of years. You know, he was a below average strikeout rate guy in 2014. Or 2015. And since then, he's now a pretty well above average strikeout guy while keeping his typically low Babbitt. Marco Estrada. Okay. All right, so it's something to think about there.

Very different pitchers. I'm going to finish up the standouts just by... Scott, was that your standout, by the way, Souser? No. All right, who's yours? I wanted to talk a little about Kevin Pilar. Kevin Pilar, 78% O now. He hit his sixth home run yesterday.

He has 12 doubles as well. He's doing his best AJ Pollock impression this year. If you'll remember last year, going into the year. It was a disastrous pick, but I liked him as a sleeper because he was one of a few players you could trust for 20 plus steals, which he didn't actually achieve. And he struck out at such a low rate that I thought there was room for him to improve in batting average. Well, he just didn't run as much as I hoped he would, and there wasn't enough power behind all the contact he was making to really give him a good batting average. But that second issue is, you know, there wasn't enough power behind all the contact he was making to really give him a good batting average. But that second issue is. is what's really changed this year. His hard contact is up. Like I said, six home runs already. For as high as his batting averages,

he has a 336 BAPIP, which is something that seems halfway sustainable. His strikeout rate is actually down from where it was already impressive. His walk rate is up. It's really just a matter of, are these power gains for him legit? Because if they are, I think the complete package is legit,

and I think you are talking about Can I throw some cold water on it? Sure, go ahead. The hard contact rate is up, which is nice to see, but he has an 85.6 mile per hour average exit velocity, which is really bad. So just throwing that out there. Kevin Pilar.

Kevin Pilar. I have them outside of my top 40 outfielder's right now, but that's basically rostering in all leagues territory. I think he's one of about 40 outfielder's out there, have top 20 upside. Interesting. Okay, Kevin Pilar, there you go. I'm going to finish off the Tuesday standouts with a couple of questions.

Rich Hill, five innings, six strikeouts, one run, no walks, 82 pitches, only seven swinging strikes, but Rich Hill, doing enough to stay in the rotation? You didn't get a blister, right? He did not. I think so. All right? Yeah, we don't know if he got a blister, but as of now. Rich Hill, Rich Hill is just...

He didn't get a buzz. Rich Hill is constantly day-to-day. That's just how I'm going to view him. Jared Ikoff, 71% own, given the pitching landscape, does that strike you as under-owned? Jared Ikoff, 71%. Yeah, it looks like the mechanical change he talked about making after his last start was successful. He stood more upright on the mound and got better results. Six innings, two runs, 8Ks at Texas.

That's it for my standouts, but honestly, there are so many, like, wow, was yesterday a terrible day throughout bullpens across baseball. And we also had Chris Davis, J.D. Martinez, Corey Dickerson, Mariznick, go double dong. We got Brandon Belt, who's red hot. An interesting Jackie Bradley Jr. note, Dansby Swanson, heating up a little bit. Eduardo Rodriguez was out on the hill yesterday. We'll talk about him. Devin Travis. Yeah, Devin Travis is in the notes. Well done. Kobe Raspis is even in the notes. Seat Geek. Seat Geek's in the notes, Chris. I'm going to do it on-air demo right now for Seat Geek. By the way, our promo code on Seekekek is fantasy. That'll save you $10.

You want $10? I sure do. Use the promo code fantasy on the Seekek app and get $10 off your first Seekkeek purchase. Okay, so download the app. Open it up. Search for an event. Let's type in Cavaliers. Cleveland Cavaliers.

All right, Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1. So now I'm going to see a bunch of dots on the screen. The bigger and the greener the dot, the better the value. So it's showing me right now, actually, 113. for section 306. That's not bad, Chris. I would pay that if I were a Cavs fan, $113 for game one? Yeah, I wouldn't.

But, you know. I don't like going to games. TV's just fine as well. Anyway, look, Seekek, they do the price comparison. They search multiple sites. They find you the best deals. So $113, that just stands out. Big deal right there.

This is the best value. That's why Seekek is so cool. Or you can sort by price if you just want to get into the building and get the cheapest seats. only way I get tickets now, easy to use, saves me time and money, and every purchase is fully guaranteed. And our listeners get $10 off their first Seatgeek purchase by entering the promo code fantasy on the Seatkeek app. The promo code is fantasy for $10 off your first Seek purchase. fellas, let's talk about some bullpens. You tell me if any of these situations worry you.

Justin Wilson gave up a game tying home run to Mark Trumbo yesterday and blew a save. Brad Brock, they used him in the seventh inning. He came in with the bases loaded to clean up Michael Givens mess. Brock gave up a grand slam. Then he got the next three outs. But they used him in the seventh, and Darren O'Day pitched the eighth in a tie... They were trailing at that point. Steve Seashchak, we talked about.

David Robertson struggled yesterday. Let's stop there. So Justin Wilson, Brad Brock, Steve Sehick, David Robertson, struggled yesterday. Any... Anything to say here? Yeah, I'm not particularly concerned about Brock or Robertson. I think Brock's going to hold on to that job.

I don't think bringing him in in the seventh is really a concern, because, like you said, there was just a weird situation where they wanted to make sure they got out of a jam. Obviously, they didn't get out of that jam, but, you know, it happens sometimes. And David Robertson, I just think we know who he is as long as he's the closer, he's going to be fine. He'd have been really dominant this year.

You get them all again, you know? Yeah, yeah. And Justin Wilson, too, had been very dominant before this. Right, right. This was, like, his fifth year hit he's given up all year. And I think they had a blown save after this, and then ultimately K.Rod took the loss. Krod.

Yeah, Krod. In, like, the 11th inning or whatever. So. So no real reason for worry about Justin Wilson losing his job to Krod again. Krod seems pretty cooked. Oh, it wouldn't be to him. It would be to Alex Wilson, right? Well, if anyone.

When I said they had another blown save, I meant for somebody other than Krod. Like, everybody else in the bullpen was... Wilson allowed a really long hit, and everybody else in the bullpen just got throttled. Yeah. They also brought Justin Wilson into the eighth inning, so he got the out there,

and then he gave up the home run of the ninth. So it's not... Technically not a blown save, but Blaine Hardy gave up three runs. runs before K. Rod gave up two. Alex Wilson's had a really good year, too. Just if you need a middle reliever or something that has a chance to be a closer, not saying it's imminent by any means, but he's got a 176 ERA.

Okay. Oh, yeah, Fernando Rodney. Fernando Rodney, 55% owned. Last five appearances, no hits, no runs, two walks, five strikeouts, and four K's. So right after I dropped them. Still any area approaching nine. Yeah, he's still Fernando Rodney also. And the nationals use Coda Glover.

in a four-run game in the ninth, and he pitched a scoreless inning. I don't know. I don't know what that means. It was two runs going into the top of the ninth, and then the national score two made it a non-save situation. I don't know when in the inning those two runs scored, if, you know, Glover was already warming up.

I don't know all those details, but I took it to mean they were intending for Glover to get the save. Alper's worked. The sixth inning, part of the sixth inning. Kelly didn't pitch at all. Right. Yeah, I thought it was good news for Coda Glover, but it might have been nothing. Tomorrow I'm going to do Underachievers Day, because this is inspired by Christian Yelich and Adam Jones.

They're not quite in the like Jose-Bautista or Edwin-Encarnassione area, but they're not doing very well. So we'll think of some more underachievers and talk about them tomorrow. But yesterday was a double-dong day. Chris Davis. This is weird. Chris Davis of the Orioles, Cirrus, has a nice slash line. 266, 384-508. He'll take that.

He's the number 18 first baseman and points in number 22 in Roto. Weird. J.D. Martinez. One guy that I say would, for me, be one of the hardest players to rank, just because of the foot injury. Corey Dickerson homered twice, and now he is the top 18 out. Outfielder went two for five with two home runs at Cleveland. And Jake Mariznick homered twice in his revenge against the Marlins. We can probably ignore that one.

But Chris Davis, J.D. Martinez, Corey Dickerson, what you thinking? I'm actually okay with Martinez. He's back in my top 20 outfielders. This is the second two homer game in three days. So, like, if nothing else, yes, he says the ankle still sore. but we know it's not going to impact his production. I think he has definitively answered that. So it becomes a matter of pain tolerance.

And just staying healthy. Yes. Doctors have assured him he can't make it worse. I suppose he could suffer another injury in the same area, but he can't make this specific injury worse, which is why he could be over. He could overcompensate and hurt himself in some other way. Sure. There's definitely some risks there, but like you said, I have him back in my top 20.

Dickerson, like, I was all about him at the start of the year because it looked like the line drive rate was back up to closer to Coors Field levels. I think that was mainly what went wrong for him less than just the change in venue was he wasn't hitting line drives anymore. But now it's back down again to about what it was last year. He's still batting like 340 and he still has these monster games. So I don't know what to make of it because what I thought was right for him isn't anymore. Now he's just a guy who's performing better for some odd reason. Yeah, well, Corey Dickerson, he lost like 25 pounds. He finished the year strong last year.

Last 35 games, Dickerson had an 886 OPS with a 299 batting average. But what's weird is that he's just been so good against lefties. And he's not. You know, so that's not going to hold up. Dickerson's batting, what, 378 with a 622 slugging entering yesterday's game against lefties. I know right he started. I don't know if he faced any. lefties.

But I've been saying, first I said, yeah, you know, I think maybe I'd try to sell high, but nobody's going to buy. I'll just write it out, get whatever I get from Dickerson. Now it's like, I think, to me, Dickerson seems like a great sell high candidate. He's just, he can't hit for this kind of batting average, in my opinion. Additionally, his RBI's and runs scored are very low for a lead off hitter. I'd be, I wouldn't hesitate at all to sell him at face value. And there are a lot of hitters I could say that about.

obviously, Al Garcia, who we were just talking about. I'm actually planning on writing this in the next day or two, hit her breakthroughs I don't slowly believe in. And the approach with them, Dickerson's going to be among them, Garcia is going to be among them, Miguel Seno might be among them, is, I would be happy to trade this guy at face value, which...

Well, face value for Miguel Snow is... Exactly. Someone might be willing to give you like a chick harrietta for. Exactly. That's exactly what I'm saying. Like, I don't, this doesn't mean I am so dismissive of their hot start that I am going to undersell them because that could be a decision you regret the rest of the season. But if you could sell them for face value, I'd be happy to cash in before I realize my losses on that player. And I love Miguel Sino, but I did a poll on Twitter the other day saying who's going to be best rest of season, Eric Thames, Ryan Zimmerman, McGemerman, McGeigh. L. Snow or Aaron Judge.

Suno and Judge were the top two. I kind of think they'd be my bottom team. Well, Judge would be. I'm fully on board Judge. I think he's legit. I think Thames is legit. Aren't they all legit? Zimmerman, Judge, Thames, and who wasn't Sunno?

I'm not so confident in Zimmerman and Suno. I think Suno and Judge have the big contact red flags that's why and the lack of track record You know the thing with Judge Like if you look at the track record Of players his height

It's bad It is bad Especially batting average And it makes sense Like they have long swings They have a lot going on mechanically It's hard to be It's not hard to be a great power hitter

I guess Like Richie Sexton Dave Winfield Does like that The batting average I guess is what I'd worry about With Judge Who is striking out more As we talked about yesterday

His batting average will go down. But I'm fairly confident saying he's going to hit between 40 and 50 homers this year. That'd be nice. Okay, well, that was double dongs. We're going streaking. Let's talk about some more hot hitters. We will grade some trades, I promise, later on in the show. Yasmani Tomas has homered three times in his last six games, twice in a row, two games in a row.

Tomas is batting just 162 in May, but he had a really nice April. It doesn't walk, though. Brandon Belt. Brandon Belt is 88% owned. He is batting only 229, but walking a ton. 28 walks so far in 40 games. Eight home runs. He's got four home runs in his last six games. And how about that? They're all at home for Brandon Bell. That's weird Chris Towers, who had Belt as a preseason breakout. Yep. I love the skill set. Just wish you was somewhere else. Yeah. Mookie Betts is batting 371 with five home runs and five doubles in his last eight games. Wow.

Jackie Bradley. You know, he's six for 22 with two home runs, one walk, seven strikeouts. That's not great. I mean, if that's a hot streak, that's not great. So let's hope it gets a little hotter, huh? Jackie Bradley? With all the breakout outfielders this year, it's getting so hard to roster Bradley and three outfielder leagues.

He's still 82% owned, but I've seen him dropped in leagues and have not been motivated to pick him up. Man, I think that could be a mistake, though, you know, because we, We know how hot he can get, Bradley. Yep. It's just what are you giving up to get him? And dropping that guy could be a huge mistake, too. Well, who did I drop for Jose Batista last week? I could look that up, but it was our three outfielder league.

I'll look it up right now. I'll get back to you. Danesby Swanson. Danesby Swanson batted. He went two for four with a home run yesterday. Previous 13 games, he batted 279 with one home run and a double. You know, for this to be a hot streak for Dansby Swanson, it's not that hot. Kind of reminded me of like a Jose Parraza hot streak earlier this year, which wasn't that good.

It's very early to even call it a streak. These were, his last two games were his second and third multi-hit games of the year. Right. It's a pretty big concern that so far in his major league career, he's striking out a quarter of the time. For someone who's not supposed to have elite. peripherals, he needs to be a bat to ball guy. So that's definitely, I'm worried about Danes Bonson for sure. Okay.

Moving on from Danes Bonson. By the way, I dropped Jason Hayward for Jose Baltista last week. Yeah, that's fine. Oh, thanks, Chris. Appreciate that. Devin Travis, feel like I should have picked him back up. 37% owned. And two for four with two doubles yesterday.

He now has four steals this year, which I think matches a career high. I know it's what he had last year in 101 games. Anyway, Travis is hot. Hooray for him. He has set the Blue Jays' single month record for doubles by a second basement on May 16th. Yeah, so he has 12 doubles this month? He has 12 doubles in the month of May. That seems like a typo.

He's definitely underowned at 37%. I'm going to write about him today. Devin Travis. I think he should be a lot higher, Devin Travis. Okay. Travis or Castro? Travis. I'll take Castro.

Castro, okay. Travis or Chris Owings? Owings. Owings. How do you hit 12 doubles in May, in half the month? He has six doubles in his last three games, Devin Travis. What's weird, and I mean, I still think he's batting average is going to go up. He hasn't been striking out very much, but as hot as he is, he's barely batting over 200.

You know, like, it hasn't been the hot street that saved his season yet. He was batting 134 at the end of April. I think he had a 388 OPS on April 30th. All right, look, Kanoa's on the DL. If you need a second baseman, maybe you go with Devin Travis. Although Kanoa is expected to be back like next Tuesday. But then again, he was expected to be back Tuesday and Monday and Sunday. So who knows.

And Kobe Rasmus has four home runs in his last eight games. Any interest in Kobe Rasmus? Not really. He's going to sit against left-handers. and we've seen this act from him a dozen times over. I'm going to ask you these pitchers. You tell me, do you start them every time? Eduardo Rodriguez, start him every time?

Not quite, but pretty close. Yeah, no. He's top, I think he's just outside the top 40 starting pitchers for me. Lance Lynn, start him every time? No, not quite. Really? I mean, I have Rodriguez ahead of Lynn, so. In head-to-head, probably.

So would you give up either Rodriguez or Lance Lynn to get Daniel Salazar? Yeah. I'd give a blend. I don't know that I'd give Eduardo Rodriguez, because Eduardo Rodriguez has exhibited many of the strengths Salazar normally does. All righty. Jake Odarezi, start him every time? No.

At home. Yeah. He's been good on the road so far. There's only two road starts this year. except one, he left with an injury after an inning. So other than that, two road starts for Oterese, who has a 316 ERA. Start them every time is a high standard for a starting pitcher. Well, I mean, look, in the one league, two leagues I own in Eduardo Rodriguez, I'm starting

them every time. I just don't have options. Yeah, okay. Not what I mean? If you don't have options, you don't have options. But if you have option, you might consider sitting there. Sure. Andrew Triggs.

I actually dropped Andrew Triggs in a league yesterday because I like Zach Godley more. And that was the only player I could justify dropping. It was 250 players or rostered league, so it was on the shallower side. But I dropped Triggs. Triggs, like, how long does Triggs have to do this before we buy in? I mean, I think he's probably kind of Dan Straeli-ish. I think he'll be useful all year. But I don't think he'll, like, there's some regression coming.

he gives up too much contact. His BAPIP is like $2.40, $250. $250. And he's not a big-time badmissor. So he's... I think he will remain useful, but regress to a guy who's on and off the waiver wire. If he wasn't an RP, he'd be a lot less useful. Andrew Triggs.

All right. Yes. All right, guys, I'm going to give you some fringy starting pitchers. You tell me who you want to be rostering. Derek Holland. Jared Ikoff, Wade Miley, Kyle Freeland, J.C. Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia, Jason Hamill, Jimmy Nelson, Ty Blach.

I would say Jared Ikoff at 71% and Jimmy Nelson at 26% are probably the only two on this list who I think are under-owned. Okay, so Icoff is 71% owned. Nelson, as you mentioned, 26% owned. We also have Derek Holland, who's 80% own. Wade Miley, 66% own. Looks like the fun might be over for Miley. Kyle Freeland, maybe you want to start him on the road. He is a 242 ERA in 22 innings on the road, 22 and a third.

Freeland's 54% owned. J.C. Ramirez, you know, 85 pitches to get through seven innings yesterday, 38% owned. And Sabathia, I had a feeling might have a good week. He had a nice start yesterday at the Royals. And he's 40% owned. Okay. Yeah. I agree with Chris that Ikoff and Nelson are the only two who appeal to me in some way.

And Nelson's appeals mostly that he's 26% owned. So I'm thinking deeper leagues. Wait to say. Wait a second. Scott, but what about Derek Holland? I thought you liked him. Oh, yeah. I scrolled a little past him.

He is a quality start machine. He's kind of trigsy in for me. He's a quality start machine because things are going well, right? now, but there's a, there's a storm coming. He's kind of Trigsian for me, so like, I'd drop him for ICOF in an instant. ICOF at 71% just seems like a strange reversal in enthusiasm after the way he began the year. Yeah, yeah. And he had a nice year last year, too.

Icoff was like the number of 32 starting pitcher or something in fantasy. Now, second half of the year, as I recall, he was frustrating, you know, like, kind of too, like, too good to drop. but not quite giving you what you be. I don't know. Shut up, Adam. All right, let's go to grade the trade. That was just terrible. Grade the trade.

People want their trades graded, so let's help the people out. They want to be judged. They do. Judge not. Let's be judged. Ben in Iowa. Ten team roto league. Hitting depth is great, struggling with ERA and whip.

So give up Joey Bats and Brandon Belt. Get Jake Scarietta and Samarja. Give up Batista and Belt in a 10-team Roto League for Scarieta and Samarja. It's an A. Yeah, I think that's a B-plus. All right. Matt in Dayton, Ohio. 12-team daily roto league.

Give up Carlos Martinez and Alex Kalami. It's the first time I've done that this year, I think. Alex Colomei and Carlos Martinez get Miguel Cabrera. I'll give that a... B minus, which surprises me that it's that low. It would surprise me from two years ago anyway, but I do think the premium on high-end pitching makes it a little closer. I'd still take the Micky side.

I think it to be. Can we talk about Cabrera, though? I mean, I picked this trade because this e-mailer, Matt, I believe it was, Matt and Dayton, is concerned a little bit about Miggie. Well, he said that Miggie packs it in this year. I don't think that's going to happen. But he is really having a bad year right now. So are you guys fully confident that Cabrera turns it around?

Yes. Miguel Cabrera has a 30% line drive rate and a 48.7% hard hit rate. Ooh, okay. The strikeout rate is up, which is a concern given his age and the potential for regression. But he's still hitting the crap out of the ball. Okay, great. That's a good stat. Thank you, Chris.

From Josh, Gray the Trade, 10-Tame, standard 5-5, dominating hitting, so he needs some pitching. Ten team standard five-by-five rotel league. Give up Machado and Judge. Machado and Judge for Kluber and Kyle Seeger. Machado and Judge for Klubor and Kyle Seeger. Machado is just so high-end and shortstop eligible, which is like the one position where it still seemed weak.

it's a C-minus for me. It's not terrible, especially with Kyle Seeger heating up. He's homered him back-to-back games, and it's inevitable that his season's going to turn around. But I think Machado is just too high-end to trade for just about anybody. Maybe a deal for Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, but that's it. This is a sexy trade right here. Machado and Judge for Kluber and Seeger.

Oh, did you guys see the Aaron Judge skit? Oh, no. I heard about it, but I did not see it. It was on Jimmy Fallon. He interviewed people about the Yankees, New Yorkers, and they oh, yeah, I love Aaron Judge. He's like, oh, really? They're like, yeah. Some people say, I kind of look like him, and he shows the Sports Illustrated cover that he's on it. It takes them quite a while to figure out, oh, crap, I'm talking to Aaron Judge, right. If I was being interviewed by a six, eight, just like, monstrous, he's sitting down.

He's sitting down. It was harder to tell. He has such a, like, he has such a, distinctive look He's also so obviously a professional athlete Like it could have fooled people Because he's so young looking But he has the gap in his tooth That people were saying Oh the gap

There was a Matt Harvey one with the same premise From a few years ago Yeah That one makes a lot more sense Matt Harvey's a little schlovy looking I guess I guess It was funny though

It was funny though It was funny This is from Cooper Gray the Trade Hey Gerard Ryan and Johnny Who dat I have no idea. I'm going to go Royals outfielders.

Gerard Dice and Johnny Damon and Ryan. Ryan was the one I was stuck on. I was thinking along those same lines. Ryan. Ryan Alex Gordon. That's this real name. 12 team Roto League. Give up Conforto and Strasbourg.

Conforto and Strasbourg for Nelson Cruz and Matt Harvey. I think that's a D. I really don't like it. It's a C-minus. it's too much of a downgrade at pitcher. For not enough of an upgrade. Nelson Cruz is definitely better than Conforto, but Conforto might be just awesome now. Sure.

He's in my top 20 now. Any concerns at all? I hate to react over two games, but Michael Conforto has six strikeouts at his last two games. You know. All right. All right. From Wasim in Iowa, great the trade. Give Dylan Bundy, so 12-te-to-head categories league.

give Dylan Bundy and Travis Shaw. Bundy and Shaw get Kyle Seeger. I think that's probably a C-minus. Really? I kind of like that one. I do too. I'm always about consolidating two lesser players for one greater one. Maybe it's, you know, we have different levels of confidence in Bundy, Chris and I. I'm actually going to give it a B-minus.

All right. Last, well, we'll run through a few more. This is from Dan. How about this? This is awesome. Jake Scarietta Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo Who Scarietta Judge and Rizzo

For Mike Trout Whoa Yeah I mean It's hard to overpay for Mike Trout But might have found a way to do it What you have to do to get Trout, right? In an eight-team league I didn't say it was eight-team

I'm just saying if it is an eight-team league If it's a Why would you jump to that? Why would you jump to an eight-team league? Those are pretty rare. Are they that rare? I think so. Okay.

But if it were a 10-team league. They exist. Ten-team league, 10-team three outfielder league is still pretty shallow. I'm going to say, I could see doing it if you just were bursting at the seams with depth and having to drop great players every week. Yeah, but that's like. I'm probably the low guy on judge.

I'm the judge skeptic, but that could be giving up three legitimate difference makers, including a legitimate first round guy. I'm saying if you're over, if your cup runneth over with legitimate difference makers, then this is how you lock up a championship by trading, by consolidating. Or lose one. But in a standard 12 team league, a five outfayor league, a league of any real. size. It's too much. Also, it's not always a great idea to trade away your depth, you know, because injuries happen. We're only six weeks into the season, so I like to have a little bench depth.

Well, not a bad thing. Sure. But if you're in a league where the waiver wire is so fruitful. Your waiver, it's a bad trade. There are leagues shallow enough where the waiver wire is basically your depth. Right. I agree. Also, Mike Trout is having his best season ever. He's monstrous. He's amazing. Please trade him. Not fantasy owners. The Angels.

Oh, the Angels, yes. Somewhere on the East Coast, please. It's not fair. To us as baseball fans, it's not fair. Other stuff from yesterday, Strasberg, Granky, Estrada, Lacky. They were my four-man rotation. Is John Lacky dropable? I wouldn't.

No. Not enough good pitching out there. It's like a rate, walk rate's still good enough. No concerns about this little Granky hiccup? No. No. I mean, still great K total. He still won. So I'm still pleased with Granky. D.D. Gregorius is 62% owned. Since his return, he is the number 13 shortstop and points, number 14 in Roto. This is Gregorius since returning on April 28th. He's batting 313, only one home run and one steal. Almost homered yesterday. I think he doubled off the wall. What do you think about Gregorius at 62%. His ranking since returning, I think, is more commentary on the shortstop position than Gregorian.

himself. It's still the one-week position. And he's still, he's useful there because of it. But, yeah, I don't know that he's going to match last year's home run total. Well, I mean, on a per-game basis, yeah. Obviously, he won't. What is crazy is Starlin Castro's, like, 30% owned more than him? I would rather have Gregorius. Would you? Yes. All positions being equal, would you? I think so, yeah. I'm a big, D.D. believer. I am. I love that he's sitting three three. 13, but, you know, low power wouldn't hurt.

I was also hoping he'd steal a little bit more, but no, that's not happening. Jorge Soler is 27% owned. He's off to a slow start, 167 batting average in 10 games. But seven walks, eight strikeouts for Jorge Soler. Yeah, it's interesting. The lower strikeout rate, it's very early. It's 10 games. But it's definitely interesting to see, especially because he's not hitting the ball right now, that, yeah,

I think that's a pretty good sign. Isn't it weird that sometimes I will just stop talking and that is your cue to talk about a player? Like I just did there with Solera and other times I'll say, what do you think about this? Or, you know, I'll cue you up like a professional. Yeah, I just, it must be very frustrating for you to deal with my whims. No, no, because any excuse I get to talk. Okay, great. So let's get the Walk the Moon review, Chris, one.

show. It was surprisingly not, not bad. I got to be honest, I was a little skeptical of your music recommendation given all of the, uh, the dumpster takes that you had, but it wasn't bad. Well, I mean, I gave you a music recommendation that I specifically thought you would like. It's not just, you know, so, so we did, it was specific for Chris Towers, but yeah, I recommend it. He wouldn't have recommended it for me. No, it was good. I liked it. I don't think Scott would like that album. Just called Walk the Moon. by Walk the Moon, who then jumped the shark would shut up and dance with me

on their next album. It's very disappointing. You got to learn to walk the moon before you can jump the shark. I'm in the process of picking... That's good. I like that. Also, you have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk from Aerosmith's song Amazing,

which is quite amazing. I'm in the process of picking my wedding music. And I know shut up and dance with me is a popular wedding song. And I think there's very little chance that will be played at mine. It's got a rude. It's kind of rude.

Telling somebody to shut up. How about please dance with me? Yeah, that would be more... Especially for a wedding. Please go dance. If it's been to the rest of your life with this person, you should start off on the right foot. Thank you.

I agree with that. Good call. I will not tell Allie to shut up and dance with me at the wedding. She needs to be heard, Adam. All right. This has gone off the rails. Goodbye, everybody. We'll talk to you Thursday with some buyer's sale

and Underachievers Day. Hooray.