Fantasy Baseball Today - 07/30: Weekend Roundup - Severino, Newcomb and More (Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 30, 2018

It wasn't the most exciting weekend in terms of "must-add" players, but we'll give you a hitter (1:50) and a few pitchers (4:22) to add and react to Sean Newcomb's amazing performance (10:00) ... Let's talk trades (19:00)! What happens to the Fantasy values of Mike Moustakas and Travis Shaw? Who is closing for BAL? Is Francisco Arcia worth adding? We also take a look at the Most Added list (22:26) before discussing some SPs who just haven't been themselves (26:50) headlined by Luis Severino and also including Madison Bumgarner and Lance McCullers among others ... Deep league hitters (35:00) and a lot of SP talk (41:25) as we recap the weekend performances and preview today's matchups (58:20) ... Your emails at [e-mail] This episode is sponsored by www.ZipRecruiter.com 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

Welcome to the fantasy baseball today podcast from CBS Sports. What a fantasy question? Email fantasy baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Well, fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Adam, Scott Keith and Chris. Well, it's never a good thing when the most added player in CBSport.com leagues has that little red and white medical thing next to his name. What a bummer,

Lordis Gouriel. You've been awesome lately. We're obviously going to talk about him. Welcome to the show. It is Monday, July 30th, wrapping up the month of July. Two months left, Scott White. Crunch time. Yeah. Two months left, and they're the ones nobody cares about. Except for

a select few who care more than ever. What do you mean? People care? Well, people who are really in the pick of it. But that's what percentage of league? But what percentage of the participants in a league, 40%. Yeah, that's a good thing.

That's a good thing that people are kind of fading, not paying attention. That means you can get guys for a lower fab dollar amount. That means, you know, it's easier to pick up players off of waivers. That's why you should spend your fab dollars early. Well, that is a glass-half way of looking at it. There you go. Well, that's what I am today.

I don't think it's ever a good thing. You have a case of the Mondays. I do not. Let's get into it here. Let's talk about the hitters and pitchers that we need to add. Sean Newcomb coming one out away from a no-hitter. Johnny Quedo is the time to consider dropping Johnny Quedo. And, of course, we had trades over the weekend.

Eduardo Escobar, that trade really kind of caught me by surprise. But Scott, give me one hitter to add for fantasy owners. One hitter to add. If he's still available, and I don't know what his ownership percentage is up to after a big weekend, but if he's still available, Rognette O'Dore, I would say, is definitely a hitter to add.

Obviously, a huge game Saturday, five hits, two homers double. And since the start of June, so almost half of the season to this point, he's batting like 320

with eight homers, eight stolen bases. It's good matchups this week. Yeah, definitely somebody I'm looking to add. Yeah, Rugnet O'Dore, yeah, he has been, he has made up for lost time, for sure.

So, as Scott mentioned, two home runs. Did you give the slash line? I had his slash line in his last 32 games batting 3.309. I did not give that specific slash line. You can give it. Yeah, it's 32 games. It's not necessarily the start of June. I think he's like mid-June.

339, 407 on base, which is really good for him with a 339 batting average. 6-10 slugging, eight homers, eight steals. O'Dar is hot. Right now, trying to look up his ownership percentage. What about Guriel, Lordis, Gouriel. 32% own. He is the most added player in our leagues. He has 11 straight

multi-hit games. Going into Sunday, he was batting 489 in his last 10 games with three home runs. A 543 Babbab certainly helps. But, you know, the knee bruise and the ankle sprain, he could go on the DL. Do we know anything about him?

Because he's the hottest hitter of baseball, arguably. I think between the two, a D.L stint is looking likely. And yeah, he has been really hot lately. And so that's a shame. But, you know, he's not... Like, I would rather have Odor, for instance.

Well, yeah. Odor is 77% owned, by the way. So he's getting up there. Yeah. There have been 11 multi-hit games in the row, I think it was, for Lordus Gariel, which is obviously unsustainable. It's got that bad bit up to 364 now. He does not walk at all.

Like, we talk about Odor being a bad walk guy. Lordis Gariel has three walks all season. So he really depends on having a high BABIP to be a consistent contributor in fantasy. He is a good line drive guy, but it still seems like lately it's been a little too good to be true. All right, so it's a shame. I mean, this conversation would be different if we weren't expecting a DL stint. Maybe we'll get some good news tomorrow or today, rather. One pitcher to add, Scott.

You got a picture to add? How about we talk about adding my favorite two-star sleeper for this week, which is Tanner Roark. So obviously he didn't pitch over the weekend, but big outing last time out, 11 strikeouts and eight innings. And I like the matchups for him this week. So he would probably be the top pitcher I added ahead of anybody who pitched this weekend. But if we want to talk about weekend standouts, I think Max Freed made a case to get another look. I think he's going to stick at the Braves rotation.

They actually have another rookie coming up, Colby Allard, to start this week. So there's some room in their rotation for Freed to stick. Brandon McCarthy just got moved to the 60-day DL. Fried is in his start this week And two hits allowed seven strikeouts I think it was not quite in six innings Five in a third I got him in five innings two hits one run

Three walk seven strikeouts for Max Fried He's 26% oh And he's at the Mets this week Now what was interesting about this start 12 swinging strikes which is decent for the number of innings Only one on the curveball And remember that other great start he had against the Cardinals It was oh look the curveball came through for him

That's supposed to be his best pitch. So it was interesting to me that he had this good of a start even without that pitch really working for him. Kobe Allard, as you mentioned, is coming up for the Braves to start this week. Do we need to add him? I don't think so. He's been – he was a first-round pick, so he's been a big prospect since the day he was drafted. But no strikeouts in the minors, and it's gotten worse as he's moved up the latter. I'm hopeful – because despite that, a lot of –

of prospect evaluators have been high on him. I'm hopeful it's a case like Aaronnola or Jameson-Tayone where the stuff really plays up at the highest level, but I think that's a big league to take, especially when you're talking about first major league start. And it could be a one-and-done situation for him anyway. All right, and there are going to be some relief pitchers to add, certainly. Anthony Swarzak got a save yesterday. He's like 4% owned. We're talking low-end guys here for sure. Michael Givens was picked up in one of my leagues, 14 team points league, as Brad Brock was traded away. So, I don't know, is Givens the guy you'd go for in the Orioles rotation, or bullpen?

Well, he pitched, I think, the seventh inning yesterday. So I don't think anyone knows who's closing for the Orioles. I don't think even Buck Showalter knows. I guess it would be Givens, but that wasn't a good sign yesterday. It was the eighth inning that he pitched. They have another guy who's pitched well there, Paul Fry. So maybe we'll get a couple fries. Maybe.

Closing. You want fries with that? Yeah. Well, Jay Frye was terrible yesterday. The good thing is, if you want to look at it this way, I'm going to take a glass half-full approach here, the Orioles aren't getting saves the rest of the way. Like, they may get five saves over the final two months,

because they look like the worst team of baseball now. They're pretty bad, absolutely. I got another pitcher for you to add, Scott. I added him. He let me down. I dropped him. He's Erman Marquez, who had a great start at home yesterday. And I'm nowhere close to trusting him at home. But I'm hoping that that bad start on the road where he just really couldn't command anything was perhaps due to a long layoff. He was pitching on eight days rest. It was after the All-Star break. Marquez had a bad start at Arizona. He is at Milwaukee this week. But prior to the start at Arizona, Marquez was like automatic on the road. And I think he just has really good stuff. Again, I don't trust him at home, but he's 40% owned.

He's on the road. It's a really tough matchup, even tougher now that they have Mustakis at Milwaukee this week. But would you trust Armand Marquez in a one-star week? He's 40% owned. I don't think he's a bad play any time he's on the road. It is interesting that his last two home starts have been great, and his last first start wasn't. But I'm going to trust the longer trend there. Right, right.

And even though it's a difficult matchup. Not saying he's a must start, but I don't think it's a bad choice. And Ryan Barucke is pitching pretty well. He's 12% owned. Any thoughts on him? Any interest in Ryan Baruchie? He has pitched really well. Five of his six starts have been quality starts. And I think not only quality starts, but two earn runs are fewer, despite not a lot of strikeouts. And he didn't have a lot of strikeouts in the minors either. So that keeps me skeptical.

But he's been surprisingly consistent so far. I think his ownership should probably be higher than 12%. Ryan Baruchie at Seattle this week. All right, we'll obviously go through the most added list, tell you who we added and dropped. I talked about it on Friday, a guy who just is lined up to have a great schedule against some really bad teams rest of season.

I picked up Sonny Gray, who's actually still like 80% owned. He's got one start against the Orioles this week. So I will be using him. Let's talk about Sean Newcomb and any other weekend standouts. Also on the show today, we have to talk about Luis Severino. We have to talk about Madison Bumgarner and Corey Klobber, who had good starts, but you look at the strikeout numbers for Bumgarner. He's got 51 and 61 and 2 thirds. We'll talk about him.

Look, nothing's at Severino level right now with these guys. But Klubor has been kind of rough lately. Jose Cantana was terrible. Chris Archer's strikeouts continue to be down. His velocity isn't where it used to be. Let's see. Brian Dozier has stolen three bases in his last seven games. Ray Turner finally stole some bases.

Jonathan's scope is unbelievably hot. Marcelo Zuna, maybe he's showing some signs. Just going to kind of tease other stuff. Oh, Neil Walker, we should talk about him, Mason Williams. Anyone who has been or was in the Yankees organization, apparently. Let's get to Sean Newcomb, somebody who's in the Braves organization. Near no hit or 3rds, one hit, one run, eight strikeouts. Best start in a long time.

His previous 12 starts. 406 ERA for Newcomb with 34 walks to 48 strikeouts in 64. a third, a low swinging strike rate. So this, in a way, came out of nowhere. What do you make of this start for Newcomb, who has the Mets on the road this week? It was obviously encouraging after a long stretch where the walks were up, the strikeouts were down, and it just seemed like things were coming unraveled for him. But only one walk, that might be the most encouraging thing about this start,

because we knew the stuff was good and his ability to limit hits. That's what had been keeping his head above water throughout this stretch. So I'd start him against the Mets. I mean, the Mets are terrible. And I hope that he continues this same trend. I don't think now would be a terrible time to consider shopping him, since obviously it was more a case of warning signs. than the actual production dropping,

so the main stats everybody looks at for Newcomb are still pretty good. So now's a pretty good time to shop them, but if you don't get a return you like, then, yeah, start him. I knew we threw a lot of pitches, and we're always a little concerned about that. Oh, yeah, 134 pitches in this start. That actually is pretty concerning. I overlook that a little bit. I'd be a little nervous.

Let me play devil's advocate. This is one good start. These things happen. Some pitchers throw no hitters, and they're no good. They're not even fantasy relevant. So why should I start him? He's been bad for 13 starts, even with this start. He still has been very good.

Walk to strikeout ratio, terrible. You know, why should I get back on board with Sean Newcomb for this start at the Mets? It's coming off 134 pitches. So like I was saying, it's a 11-12-start stretch. where we're saying the strikeouts and walks really started to go wrong for him

and his ERA during that stretch is just a little over four so and he had yeah I know but I mean I just I don't think he's cured I know I understand we don't know if he's cured yeah is how I'd put it yeah but

the the bad trends we were seeing were more I took them more as a warning that something worse is coming than that he has been bad. He hadn't been as good as he had over the first month and a half, but he hadn't been like unusable either. So I think he's fine to use. All right. With some encouraging signs and a favorable matchup.

All righty, fair enough. Anyone else? Any other standouts? We'll get to a lot of guys. I am sure there's a lot. I'm sure you did a great job with the notes. Sure, I hope so. I hope I did.

Jose Al Tuve is on the DL with knee sort of, Scott. Do we know the expected duration of the DL stint for Jose Al Tuve, his first stint on the DL ever? I don't think it's going to be a long one. So this isn't panic time. Right knee discomfort is how they're calling it. It's what they're calling it. It doesn't think it's going to be a long-term issue. Yeah. Sorry, I'm kind of reviewing the news as I give my take on it.

I hope he runs when he comes back. That's my only concern, you know. That, I mean, that's a reasonable concern. Anytime you're dealing with a leg injury, somebody who makes speed a big part of his game. It'll be interesting because Lord, not Lordis, but Yuleigurial, got the start at second base yesterday, which allowed Tyler White into the lineup. Remember him? Yeah. Tyler White had a huge game. He's had a monstrous season at AAA, a guy who really knows how to take a walk and has the power you'd want from a corner infielder. I say remember him because in 2016 he got off, he was the starting first basement out of spring training got off to a ridiculous start and just crashed and burned. But maybe there's still something here. 333 average 1013 OPS at AAA. And I guess it's just a question of how willing they are to keep using Gueriel at second base,

a position where he's – you've got to think he's something of a liability. So if you need a second base fill in, first of all, it is time to pick up Robinson-Kanoh. You won't have him this week. He's 62-0. But get Canoe. He's back in two weeks. I see Cotel Marte, 55-owned. He's been pretty good.

Ian is supposed to play every day with Chris Bryant out, but he didn't play yesterday. day. He is 61% owned. I don't know if there's anybody else from your hitting planner that could help out if we need a second basement. Well, Marte's on it. So he would definitely be high on the list. He has an OPS over 900 since the start of June, so almost been as hot as Odor who is on it. And I think those are the only two middle infielders. So if you're looking for short-term replacement, those would be the best ones. Ready? More news. Johnny Quato. He's just not healthy. He's going to see a doctor. We're going to get a report. No need to drop him yet. I think we should hopefully have an answer for you tomorrow about that. But I'd rather have Adam eaten than Johnny Quato. Hey, now, Andrew McCutcheon has a bruised foot and Pablo Sandoval could go on the DL. Yesterday was not a very good day for the San Francisco Giants. The twins called up Miguel Sineau, who went 0 for 7 with five strikeouts in two games at Boston. What do you think about Sineau? He's 56% owned, Scott. Should we pick him up? I'm not crazy about that idea. I think if you need power to Roto League, there's a chance he could deliver a lot, but we've seen the downside already two games into it.

I think his job safe now that Eduardo Escobar's gone, I think the twins have no reason not to play him and see where it takes them. But there's a reason he got sent to the miners, and there's a reason it took this long for him to come back. And I don't know if you saw this. I don't know Jose Ramirez on any teams, unfortunately, but JMS on Twitter sent us a screenshot. Jose Ramirez scored 19.5 fantasy points without getting a hit last week.

He was like 0 for 15. He had two RBIs. He scored four runs. He only struck out once. He had eight walks and three steals. Jose Ramirez. That's why I like those plate discipline guys, especially in points league. It's a little stupid, though.

It's a little stupid. It's a little stupid? Yeah, it's a little stupid. It was on base eight times. I don't think walks should count for as much as hits in a points league. As much as a single? Yeah, no, I don't think they should. Well, then we might need to rethink the on-base formula

because they count the same in that. Well, you're just specifically measuring a guy getting on base, but singles are more valuable than walks. To a very small degree, because of the ability to advance runners who aren't directly on the base. ahead of you. But particularly in a game where they're, you know, in a game that's three true outcomes like the one we're seeing today, that's, they are just, they're not a full point more valuable.

No, they're not a full point more valuable, but they might be. They're not even half a point. They might be a tenth of a point. 0.25. A walk should be 0.75 fantasy points. The single should be one. You ever seen a guy go first to third on a walk? No, and I understand.

But you didn't say that. You said, you said, oh, the base is not directly in front of you. That doesn't happen often enough to make a big difference in what those values does. And then if you change the, well, so you think walk should be worth 0.75. Yep, and single should be one point. I disagree. Let's talk trade. Let's talk trade.

Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks. Jake Lam's on the DL. Escobar is going to play some third base for them. As Druba Cabrera to the Phillies. He has a 1053 OPS in his lifetime in Citizens Bank Ballpark. That is the highest OPS in any park for is Drubal Cabrera. NL only leagues Jeff McNeil has been starting at second base for the Mets. Mike Wustakis to the Brewers.

That was pretty interesting. Travis Shaw is going to play second base. Some bullpen stuff, Ryan Presley, going from the twins to the Astros. Francisco Arcia Oh no That's a different trade Sorry That was Martin Maldonado

Also going to the Astros Francisco Arcia For the Angels Is 8% own He's gone 5 for 8 With two home runs And two doubles In two games

Is this a sleeper catcher Francisco Arcea Because I'm not excited about him Yeah And Roto World Wasn't very excited about him They were like

His minor numbers are terrible Yeah So I would not I would not call him A sleeper catcher But is this that, when did the Moustakis trade go down? Is this the first time we've had a chance to talk about it? Yeah, it was on Friday. Because I think that's the most significant we've seen apart from the Machado trade for fantasy purposes. One, you get Mustakis moving out a park that really is no good for him. You mean, he's, he is such a big fly ball and such a big pull hitter.

Like his swing is totally geared for power. And that's a big park he's playing. And now he goes to a very hitter-friendly park. and one that's been especially good for left-handed hitters. It's not quite as excited as I'd be if he went to Yankee Stadium, which I think is just perfectly tailored for a swing, but it could be a big upgrade for him without even getting into the supporting cast change. I mean, he really had gotten hurt and runs in RBI over the last couple months with the Royals,

and that should be helped. But then the other angle, Travis Shaw, second base, is going to pick up eligibility there. I'm not confident he's going to be in every day, player there because obviously defensive liability, Ernam Perez got the start yesterday. It's a little scary.

And it's... I think Shaw is a better hitter than Mustakis, so I'm not sure why the Brewers would make this deal and then de-emphasize Shaw. But the guy who made the trade isn't the guy who sets

the lineup, so it's... Can't really tell how it's going to play out. I'm a little worried about Shaw, though. interesting. So did you move Mustakis up in your rankings? I will. I will. I haven't yet. Okay. Let me see where he is and where I could move him to.

I'll look that up. You can keep going. All right. Let's keep going here. Who we added and dropped. I don't know if you have any interesting ones. Like I said, I dropped, I added Sonny Gray. I dropped Ender Enciarte in a 12-team points league. He's no longer leading off. That's disappointing. I added Ryan Baraki. in a fairly deep league.

I added Stephen Piscotti, because it's time to add Stephen Piscotti, and he's on Scott's Sleeper Hitters list this week. Number one on the Sleeper Hitters list. You're going to have to get him in that lineup. I can tell you the most added players, if you'd like.

Lordus Gurriel is number one. Ruegnet O'Dore is number two. Ian Kinsler. There's another second base option for it. Ian Kinsler is number three, and he had a pretty good week. He's walking a lot lately. He's drawn to walk in four straight games.

I don't know. I got to see more from Ian Kinsler, I guess. But what do you think? I need to see more, too. Yeah. All right. In Kinsler, 68% owned. Look, it's not a bad fill-in option right now.

Jonathan's scope was 86% owned. Now he's 93% owned. He's homering every day. Isaiah Kiner Folefa is catcher eligible, Scott, for the Texas Rangers. He is 15% owned. Would you rather have Arcia or Kiner Folefa? I would rather have, I mean,

Kiner Folefa, we got, is there playing time there for him? He doesn't play every day, but he plays. Yeah. Like super duper utility with that catcher eligibility. He's basically been their backup catcher since for the last, well, since mid-June. So, Yeah, look,

Here, let me say, Let me say this. The thing I noticed about the weekend, nobody really, I didn't make that many ad drops. There weren't that many two-star pitchers on the waiver wire that we liked. We liked Shane Bieber.

We liked Tanner Roar. Those guys are owned in a lot of leagues. I thought Baraki stood out. I thought Armand Marquez stood out. Lordis Gurria would obviously be more of a standout if he weren't hurt. But the bottom line is, I think that the most interesting players

seem to be deep league targeting. And a lot of these guys just maybe have had good weeks. Ad Alberto Mondesi, for example, is on the most out of this. He's 23% owned. David Bodie and Neil Walker and Yaira Munoz. Like Joey Wendell, these are some of the most added players. Now, they're not all of the most added players. Cole Calhoun is on there.

He's 49% on. That's a lot more interesting. Yeah, he's been really hot since coming off the DL, I think, in mid-June. Yes. He's been changing a lot better. Yeah, change his stance and the results have been great. Calhoun is 49% owned, and we talked about him on Friday. All right, Irvin Santana, 71% owned.

What do you think about that ownership percentage? He's making two starts this week. He did not quite look like himself in his first start back from the D.L. Velocity was down. Results weren't terrible, but he's not somebody I'm trusting in a two-start week yet. That's Irvin Santana. So you know what? Usually Monday is about who we added, who we dropped all that stuff. I think Monday should be more about what happened over the weekend with established players.

And Severino is where we certainly have to kick it off. But before we get into Luis Severino, people, are you hiring? And you know what? Maybe the answer right now is no. Maybe you're not hiring. But eventually, you're going to have to make some additions to your company roster. And just like in fantasy baseball, you need to get the top talent. Well, you need to do that for your company as well.

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leading job boards. They don't stop there. They scan thousands of resumes, find people with the right experience, and invite them to apply for your job. 80% of employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate through the site within the first day. That's what it is. You don't have to go out and find people anymore. ZipRecruiter will take care of that for you. If you want to try it for free, the highest rated hiring site in America, try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash strike. That is ZipRecruiter.com slash S-T-R-I-K-E ZipRecruiter. com slash strike zip recruiter the smartest way to hire scott what the hell's going on with louis severino i wish i knew i don't think he's i don't think it's anything too bad right i think just saying it's

baseball would probably apply in this situation three bad starts in a row of course in the last two, though. Velocity's been normal. He's been getting swinging strikes like normal. Just the results haven't been there. No, I don't think that's true. Well, I don't know how many pitches he threw on Saturday, but he only got 11 swinging strikes in that start. Yeah, that's... I mean, it's not among his best totals of the season, but it's not anything that would raise an eyebrow with me. His off-speed pitches, his breaking pitches are just not working right now. Like, so I don't know if it's... I suppose,

there's the possibility there's an underlying injury that we just haven't heard about. That's possible. The velocity gives me hope that it's nothing too bad, but, you know, maybe it's a groin issue affecting his mechanics or whatever. It could just be a mechanical issue independent of injury. It could be a release point issue, a pitch tipping issue. I mean, it could be a number of things, the most of which are very correctable. So I'm not really worried It could be hand foot and mouth disease

Yeah Well, sorry, I know you're not worried Scott I know you're not worried Scott But at Boston this week for Luis Severino I think especially given the matchup It'd be fair to bench him Isn't that crazy? I don't think it'd be crazy to start him

But I wouldn't have a problem pitching him I'll tell you what my concern is with Severino Is the concern I had going into the year Which I look stupid for having But I just I thought there was a pretty big inning's jump last year I was concerned how he would respond this year, and I don't know if there's any fatigue.

I just think that his slider has just not been sharp. He's just pitching with fastballs. He can't seem to put hitters away that well. It seems correctable. I don't think we worry too much. Madison Bumgarner, Corey Klobber. You've concerns about these guys? Well, yeah.

Bumgarner, I think, is the most concerning because he's been on a steady velocity to close. line for the last several years. Coming back from the shoulder injury last year, he finished the season pretty well, but the strikeout rate wasn't what we were used to seeing. And maybe it's just the velocity's reached a point where, you know, it's reached kind of a breaking point where he can't deliver ace numbers at the level it's at. So he's outside the top 20 starting pitchers for me.

Whoa! Bump barter is outside. That's been true. That's been true basically since his first or second start. Top 20? Yeah. I did not realize that. I thought he was more like, you know, 12-ish.

That's where I moved. That's the highest he got when he first came off the D-L. But then I saw the results and was like, eh, I might want to play this one a little more cautiously. Yeah, so I have him 21st. So just outside of the top 20, the three ahead of him are McCullors, Burrios, and Carrasco. So that's where I place him.

but directly behind him are Clevenger, Archer, and Carlos Martinez, so I could see him dropping out of the top 25 here, potentially. Yeah, well, Archer's got his own issues. All those guys, I mean, Burrios has his issues, Lance McCullors has his issues. So what are Archer's issues? Well, he's got 102 strikeouts in 96 innings, which is good for most pitchers, but it's not what you got, what you wanted for Archer. It doesn't make up for the high ERA.

He's got a 431 ERA. His velocity's down. What do you mean his velocity is down? Because I'm not really seeing that. I don't know. I've been reading that. Oh. Well, I wonder where they're seeing.

He's not really having that good of a year. Let's just be fair. Okay. That's fine. I mean, two starts ago, he had the 13 strikeouts. But this last start, the strikeouts were down again. And, yeah, I mean, he can't. Right.

Okay. He has issues. That's fair. But, you know, if next time out he gets double-digit strikeouts again, I might be to the point where I do take him over Baum Garner, because that's the level of concern with Baum Garner. Maybe if he does it against the Angels, that's his matchup this week. The double-digit strikeout start last week was against the Marlins or two weeks ago. Oh, no, it was early last week against the Marlins. 9.6 strikeouts per 9 for Archer, that's his lowest in four seasons.

He still might get traded. And if he gets traded to the Padres, that would be really good. I guess. Well, he goes from a division of hitters parks to a division of pitchers parks, except for Colorado, of course. Yeah, that would be good. McCullors has his issues.

You know, he strikes out a lot of batters, but he's got a 406 ERA. He's been a little inconsistent. McCullors is giving up 14 earn runs and 13 and 2 thirds. I'm really not... This isn't so much an argument. Just you look at that group of pitchers

around 20 overall, there's a difference. I mean, like I thought, I thought Burrios was past this phase of his career of being bad, like really bad, too frequently. But it's three of his last six starts, I think. He's given up like five or six runs. And they've been, like, Jekyll and Hyde starts, you know? Yeah, actually, he only gave him three runs yesterday, but it was a terrible start. Nine hits, three runs, four and two-thirds.

A lot of hits. No home runs, though, which I thought was encouraging. If you want to take a glass hat, full of bridge. No, I mean, and Fenway Park is the Corres Field of the East. It's just a very tough matchup. And that's where Berrios was yesterday. But, you know, I'm saying at least Bumgarner's got a 306 ERA. He's pitches in a great park.

He's been pretty good, but whatever. I won't argue it. Klober, Scott. Yeah. Only five strikeouts, seven and a third, one run at Detroit. And he's now under a strikeout per inning. His previous seven starts of 521 ERA with 31Ks and 38 innings. Did this start quell your fears, or do you just say, hey, it was the Tigers?

Of course he did well against the Tigers. A little of both. I guess where I put myself with Kluber is that I don't think he's who he was last year. I think he's gotten, I think the approach he took down the stretch last year that made him unbelievable and took him to his second Sight Young Award, which was emphasizing his breaking ball more than ever before. He's kind of gotten away from that this year. and that explains the drop in strikeouts. But in terms of strikeouts, last year I think was more the aberration than this year.

I mean, this year is a little low for him, but last year was way high for him. So I feel like he's kind of gotten back to the Kluber we saw in 2015, 2016, which was still a fantasy ace. But it was a fantasy ace with a 349 ERA, 314 ERA, as opposed to last year's 225 ERA. This year it's a 279, but the FIPP is 345. So the FIP is more in line with what we saw a couple years ago. But with all the innings he's going to throw, with all the wins that the Indians are going to give him, that's still an ace, even if the ERA creeps up to the mid-3s. All right.

We'll get back to pitchers in a bit. Let's talk about some more hitters from over the weekend. It was nice to see Trey Turner steal a couple of bags. His first two steals in 24 games. He was 0 for 5 in his previous 23 games. Jonathan Scope is homered in six of his last seven games and seven of his last nine games. 17 home runs this year for Jonathan Scope and seven of those 17 have come in his last nine games. He is making up for lost time, Scott.

He is. And I feel like it's not terribly surprising. I also feel like it's not terribly surprising his season. he was so useless at the start of the season. It's just this profile of player. This is why I don't like guys who never walk, getting back to the Jose Ramirez conversation from earlier, because when they are not hitting their best,

they are doing nothing for you. They're never going to have that 18.5 point week or whatever it was. They're going to barely get five points. So, you know, Babbat regression, it still looks like scope is owed more of that, You know, the strikeout rate isn't bad. The badded ball profile is, a lot of drives are a little down, but not really to a fearful level. So I think he's fine.

I think he's usable again, obviously, when he's hot like this. And I think there's a decent chances in season numbers don't look too unlike last years. but it's just something to think about heading into next year. Is this somebody, how much of an investment do you want to make in this guy? In Jonathan's scope. Marcel Ozuna is homered in two straight games. He had a grand slam off Jose Cantana. I don't know if I'm going to start him this week.

I don't want to be tricked. Well, Ozuna. Yeah. I mean, three outfielder leagues would be tough to do. I agree. Yonder Alonzo's hot. He's got, he had a thousand OPS entering Sunday. So Alonso's hitting well right now.

Yeah, whatever. C.J. C.J. Cron, it's not having that bad of year. He had a terrible June. He batted 1.30 in June with a 2.99 slugging percentage. But he's had a great July. He homered twice on Sunday. C.J. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. Bowers is 58-owned. own, who do you like better?

I like Bowers better. I think Crone is mostly limited to roto use. He's on pace for more than 30 homers, so he's not having a bad year, like you said. It's kind of trumbo in his prime good. If that makes sense, if you remember that, how that guy worked. Right, sure. And he's mostly helping you in home runs and not much else. Jake Bauer's still 58% owned and a lot to like there.

All right, so I'm going to give you a bunch of guys who are, kind of deep leagues, less than 30% own. Tell me if you think any of them are underowned. Manuel Margot has a 10-game hitting streak. Kevin Kiermire, or I think he had a 10-game hitting streak going into Sunday. I don't remember. But Margot has been hitting well. Kiermire, 23% own. Cirrus Davis, 13% owned. Mason Williams, Reds Outfield, or 1% own. Neil Walker, 8% owned. Anyone jump out at you, Scott White? Margot.

Kevin Kier-Mire does. Right? He shouldn't be 23% oh. Yeah, I mean, the ability to hit for speed and enough power that he's not really hurting you in that area. It's been slow going since he came back from the DL, so I can understand why he hasn't really jumped out at people. But, I mean, just look at the track record the last couple years. That's a guy who deserves to be starting in a five outfielder league, a five outfielder league, certainly. What about Margot?

Any excitement for him? 26% own? Not really. I think he's in that no man's land between the standard three outfielder lineup, standard five outfielder lineup.

Like he's just not good enough for a three outfielder lineup. And then in a five outfielder lineup, he's not, like, the things he does best are underlying skills that are better rewarded in points than Roto. Like he's not going to be a category standout. And Neil Walker is 8%

own. He'll probably play just about every day for the Yankees while Aaron Judge is on the DL for another three to four weeks. You know what? We're going to talk about pitchers, but I would like to read an email if I could find it within my notes. How do you feel about that, Scott? Just kill some time. I could find the email. Oh, I found it.

I don't care how you feel about it. This is from Drew in Chicago. I am the commissioner of a deep redraft Roto League. I was wondering what the podcast's thoughts are on having a trade deadline in a Roto League. There are not any playoffs, so it doesn't necessarily make sense to limit trading just because the end of the season is near. Everyone is still jockeying for position, so even the last place team still has something to play for even if it's just pride. Am I approaching this from the right perspective, or is a trade deadline good to have in a redraft roto league? I think it's a little dangerous.

What? A trade deadline or no trade deadline? Having a trade deadline. Yeah. Having no trade deadline, I mean. Right, that is dangerous. You got to have a deadline. Yeah.

Just because, I mean, I'm all about playing for pride when I'm not really in contention. But when you're talking like the last week of the season and you make a trade that helps determine who actually wins the league. I mean, it's one thing if you do that in mid-August. and you know there's there's not really it's not really that clear the impact that it had but it's another thing would you do it at the very end of the season and and it's it's you know it's always unclear what the motives are when you do that you could say I'm just playing for pride but there's always going to be people who wonder so I'd just rather like there's not enough upside to justify the downside I think so I'm in favor of a trade deadline I'm also

in favor of a rule in a head-to-head league with playoffs. Once the team is eliminated from playoff contention, that team is no longer allowed to make trades. You can't really do that in Roto, but I do think that you need some type of hybrid. If you're not going to have a trade deadline, you have to make it

like you've got to be in six place or higher or something like that to make a trade. I don't know. I don't know what it is. In fact, since it's hard to say, you probably should just have a trade deadline and be done with it. Yeah, you know what? You don't want the league decided on some goofy trade involving a team that has no chance to win late in the season.

Megat trade deadline. Studs being studs from over the weekend. Clayton Kershaw. Studley, not amazing, but very good. One run, eight strikeouts and seven and two thirds. Miles Michaelis only struck out two, but he's got a 283 R.A. Kyle Hendrix, nice bounce back start for him at St. Louis on Sunday. I don't know if there's much to say about Kershaw or Michaelis. Are you going to start Hendricks?

He had been struggling lately. San Diego this week at home. So the thing about Hendricks, and obviously that's a good matchup, probably worse starting of then. But overall, it's been pretty disappointing, and a big reason for that is there's always been an issue of how unwilling Joe Madden is to let him pitch deep into games. but he's taken it to another level this year. This is just the third time in 12 starts. Hendricks has gone even six innings. The minimum for a quality start, just three times in 12.

That's terrible. That's particularly for a guy who's not like, you know, he has an ERA near four. He's not an exceptional ratios guy, but it's totally understandable how he has a seven and nine record with those kinds of, when he keeps getting an early hook like that. I think the guy we keep hoping Kyle Hendricks is going to be, and he keeps falling short of, is the first guy in the next category, Studs being Studs Part 2. Oh, well, then, well, first of all, you're going to start Hendrix, though?

Padres this week? Yeah, he's fine to start with that matchup. All right, somebody, yes, Studs being Studs Part 2, somebody who is a fixture in your lineup right now, like you've got to start him. Marco Gonzalez, he has 93% own. He was 73% started. He's been great against the Angels this year. I'm not sure if he faces them again. But strikeouts are getting a little bit better.

He's got the Blue Jays at home this week. My, oh my, Marco Gonzalez. The other players in this category, Studs being Studs Part 2, are Nate Avaldi, who had a great debut with the Red Sox, Kyle Freeland and Dylan Bundy. Dylan Bundy's last start, seven innings, three runs, seven strikeouts. Looks a lot better than, like, one inning five runs against the Red Sox that got wiped away, whatever it was.

Yeah. All right, is Gonzalez at the top of this group? Gonzalez Evaldi, Kyle Freeland, Dylan Bundy. Well, you know I love Bundy's upside, but I think Gonzalez probably does need to be at the top. And to further the Hendricks comparison, it's a very similar profile. Obviously, Gonzalez's lefty, Hendricks is righty,

but similarly, similar strikeout rates, you know, they're less than one per inning, which is kind of low by today's standards when you're talking about somebody who we like in fantasy, but it's made up for by a really good walk rate and an above-average ground ball rate. Very similar, those numbers between the two of them. But while Hendricks has had trouble going six innings,

the last time Marco Gonzalez didn't go six innings was May 17th, which is amazing. Most aces can't say that. He's been very reliable in terms of how deep he's pitching into games. And, you know, Mariners are giving him runs. Is it fool's goal? Does he have big regression coming, or should we start, Marco Gonzalez.

I don't think he has big regression coming. I mean, the ERA is down into 330s now. That may be, well, you know what? His FIP is 335. So. All right. Yeah, I mean, the walks are just that low, and the ability to prevent home runs is just that good

that he might, this might be legit. Yeah, and in July, he is 24 strikeouts in 25 and a third, so that's nice. and he's got a 280-R-A at home. Gonzalez has a 380 ERA on the road. I would actually say that Bundy, I know I put him in studs being studs. He gave up only three runs and seven innings.

No walk, seven strikeouts. That's all great. Tampa Bay doesn't hit very well. And he gave up three home runs. And that's now 26 home runs. And he gave up three home runs in one inning to the Red Sox. I forget it was one inning and inning and third, whatever. I'm sorry.

But in that rained, you know, shortened start. So those home runs don't even count. 26 home runs at 115 in a third. I don't know that this was such. an encouraging start for Bundy? It was, yeah. I mean, it was encouraging with an asterisk, I would say. Oh, I like that.

So rank the rest. Gonzalez is one, rank the next three. Evaldi, Kyle Freeland, Dylan, Dundee. Bundy, and then I'll go Avaldi over Freeland. Studs being... They're all worth them. Dudes. Their ownerships are all good.

Yeah, all over 80%. Studs being Duds. Jose Barrios. Ross Stripling. Two bad starts in a row. Jose Quintana, two bad seasons in a row, kind of. That's not accurate, but he's been a little disappointing. Let's be fair here.

Mike Fultenevich, falling apart a little bit. Rick Porcelo struggled against the twins and Zach Eflin hasn't really been very good since coming off the DL with that blister. Anything really stand out as worrisome to you? I think the ones who, my opinion, hasn't really done. changed about. And yeah, that would probably, maybe that would be

the better way to approach this because okay. Well, I am concerned about Kentana Fultenevich and Eflin. I'm not so concerned about Rio Stripling and Porcelo. Do you think Eflin is okay to drop? I'd be hesitant to drop them. Do you think Kentana is okay to drop?

It would have to be a really shallow league. Do you think Cantana is okay to start this week against San Diego? I think that matchup he's okay to start. But he's clearly less than must start. I've got Kentana, I mean, the guys who struggled, Kentana's got the Padres, Fultenevich has the Marlins, and I have Eflin having the Marlins as well.

So, like, maybe this isn't the week to drop these guys. They have such good matchups. I mean, I wasn't making the case to drop. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have concerns. I think it's, you know, all of these guys, either you drafted them, in the case of Kintana, you drafted them. And the others, for most of the season, you've been relying on them every time they pitch, regardless of matchups, two-star status, whatever. And I would say I would stick to that approach for Berea Stripling and Porcelo, and I might alter that approach for Kentana, Fultenevich, and Eflin.

Scott, let me tell you someone that I, I would. want to say is a by-low based on schedule, but I don't know about the performance. I actually think the performance has been better than the numbers. Mike Clevenger, because the strikeouts have been up lately. And I mentioned that the Indians have such a great schedule down the home stretch, because their division is dreadful. The teams just can't hit. And if the twins trade Dozier, I mean, forget it.

They've already traded, I guess, their best hitter in Escobar so far this year. So he's twins, Royals, White Sox, Tigers. You just couldn't ask for more. Clevenger, though. Actually, I don't know, maybe I'm nitpicking. Yeah, well, I just wonder how you could buy low on him. I imagine his owner's thrilled with him. His last six starts, 467 ERA.

Only one start of more than six innings. In fact, he went five innings at Detroit on Saturday. He's kind of been like this boring guy. But maybe there's upside for him to have a huge finish, Mike Clevenger. Boering in a good way. Just like stardom, no problems, no issues, whatever. He's fine, but maybe there's potential for a lot more. I think they're deaf.

I think we've already seen that potential playing out. He started off really lagging in the strikeouts, but those have picked up recently. I think that stretch you were referring to here as the 476 ERA, there was a couple of particularly bad starts during that stretch that inflated it. but, you know, he's still, if he doesn't deliver a quality start, he's very close, just about every time. And lately, he's with more than a strikeout per inning. So I think he's, I think he's really good. I mean, like I said, I have Bumgarner 21st, and I think Clevenger's right behind him at 22nd.

So I don't know. I think it would take a lot to pry Clevenger away from his owner, even if you think there's a chance he could be a little bit better. All right. Maybe you are right, man. Clevenger has, I believe, the Angels this week. Yeah. All right, let's pick up some pictures. Fringies, part one.

65 to 79% owned. So these guys are mostly owned, but you might be able to get them in shallower leagues. Stroman, Rodon, Velasquez, Chasine, Wheeler. Ooh, been really good lately. Pavetta. Castillo, 66% owned. Maybe turn it. around a little bit.

Maybe. Maybe. We said that before. I mean, to a degree I want to own all of these guys. Stroman, Rodon, Velasquez, Chasine, Wheeler, Povetta, Castillo. Who's your favorite? Who's your least favorite? My favorite, I'm going to get on the Rodon bandwagon.

His last three starts have been really good. More than seven innings in each of them, which I think is the biggest surprise. But, you know, the strikeouts have been good, and I've been. and obviously the run prevention has been good for him to go that deep into the game. None of these guys are available in any of my leagues. And if I saw somebody, well, maybe Wheeler. Wheeler might be available in a couple. You know, I saw Chasin on waivers in one of my leagues, and I didn't pick him up.

I don't know why. I just, I don't want to buy into Chasine. Yeah, that's fair. I overlooked him. That's true. And let's not say, like, Luis Castillo's a must own or anything like that. Well, no, but I know he's not available in any of my leagues because I know he's... On your team?

Well, I'm not sure that he is. I think Luis Castillo is actually a guy who I really, really wanted this spring. And I became known for how much I wanted Luis Castillo, but there was always somebody wanted him more. I don't think I drafted him anywhere. Wow. And Povetta, Scott, like Povetta has the Marlins this week. But I'm sorry, I can't. Peripherals are one thing, but actual production's been really bad.

485 ERA, 133 whip. So, like I said, to a degree I want all of these guys, but Chesin, Castillo, Povetta, probably the last three I'm picking up on this list. Stroman, Rodon, Belasquez, Wheeler. Who are the last three, you said? Chisine, Povetta, and who else? Castillo. My last three would be working from the one I want,

least to the one I want most, my bottom three would be Chasine Wheeler-Povetta. Okay, so I have Castillo there. You have Wheeler. Yeah. And it's just a, to me, it's, I feel like Wheeler's upside is a mid-3 ZRA. And that's certainly good enough if he is that. He's been that for, I want to say about two months now, maybe even longer. So he probably should be owned.

Thirteen starts. So I guess I would just frame it like this. If we were having this discussion in May, yeah, I'd probably agree with you, but right now I need wins. I don't want to just stash a guy. If I'm in first place or whatever, and I just want to stash Castillo, hope he gets hot, that's one thing. But if I need a win right now, I can't trust Castillo the way I could trust Zach Wheeler, who's supposed to have Atlanta this week, but he could easily get traded. Wheeler, not Wheeler. Castillo did change his arm angle, he said, which contributed to this start. You know, there's something for him that is just a little off like that, because the change-up has been dominant all season, and the upside is really high. So if he turns in another start like this one he had over the weekend, seven shut out and his nine strikeouts to one walk, if his next start is like that, then suddenly he's somebody I want to start again. Like it would happen that quickly. So I definitely, he would be high on my list of pitchers to own, even though he's the least owned here. Luis Castillo is at Washington this week, and you might look at that and say, well, it's a tough matchup.

I think they're 20 or 21st in runs scored. I mean, the nationals, sometimes they have a good lineup. Sometimes they're really dangerous. But they're 20th and runs scored. No, it's just, you know, they're back. Before Dusty Baker, they were underachieving with Matt Williams. And now they're underachieving after Dusty Baker with Dave Martinez. I know.

Dusty Baker should be their manager. He should be their manager. Yeah, I mean, put him with a Hall of Fame. It probably is a Hall of Fame manager. His career has been interesting because for, like, everywhere he goes, he seems to get the best out of his roster.

Yeah, yeah. And yet he does these things that drive people crazy, you know, Sabermetrics types crazy. And, you know, I think it's fairly criticized for that. But the results speak for themselves. Fringy starting pitchers part two, 50 to 64% owned. Luke Weaver, Luke Weaver, Felix Hernandez, Joe Musgrove, two strikeouts? Joe Musgrove, are you kidding me?

Tyson Ross and Kevin Gosman. You want any of these guys, Weaver, Hernandez, Felix Hernandez, Muskrove, Tyson Ross, Kevin Gosman. I'm a little worried about Musgrove. I know the results have been good, but this is two starts in a row, seven innings, two strikeouts. Yep. That just doesn't seem like a sustainable formula. He's thriving on soft contact, but I'm skeptical anytime somebody thrives on soft contact unless it's become, you know, it has to be more than like a year-long trend for me to start to buy into it. So I'm worried about him.

Tyson Ross hasn't had a double-digit swinging strike game since, I think since May, since May 23rd. I have no interest. Yeah. I don't want. Weaver's the only guy I really want. I own Musgrove in a deeper league. I started him yesterday. I was nervous to start him, but he was facing the Mets without Conforto.

So I thought, I'll give him a go. I'm not sure I'm going to start him again against St. Louis, Musgrove. Weaver against Colorado this week is interesting, I guess, home against Colorado. Well, it turns out that I just lost Scott White. He lost his power and his internet. So I'm going to finish up the last few minutes here and just take you through the rest of the starting pitchers from over the weekend that stood out in the Fringies, and maybe today's matchups as well.

Yeah, so Luke Weaver, I'm probably not going to start him, but he's interesting. Maybe someone worth stashing, see if he can put together a few more good starts. Fringy starting pitchers part three. These guys are 30 to 49 percent owned. I think Armand Marquez kind of jumps out. I don't know about Mike Minor. He had a great start at Houston, eight strikeouts, and six innings. And he faces Baltimore this week, and that's a great matchup for any pitch.

lefty or righty, but Mike Minor faced Baltimore on July 15th just two weeks ago, and he gave up five earn runs and two-thirds. Trevor Richards has been pretty good. Trevor Williams has been good lately. Trevor Richards also has been pretty good for the Marlins. Trevor Williams for the Pirates has been pretty good lately. No earn runs in 17 innings for him. He's starting to use his change-up more.

So keep an eye on Trevor Williams. He's 40% owned. He didn't use it as much against the Mets the change-up, but he used it a lot against Washington and at Cleveland in his previous two starts. Gets the Cardinals this week. Lance Lynn, Mike Fires. I don't think I want to trust any of these guys. Maybe Marquez at Milwaukee, but I am keeping an eye on Trevor Williams for the Pirates,

if that change-up is really going to make a difference. Scott didn't talk too much about Max Fried, but he did mention earlier. These are Deep League guys now. Freed is 26% owned. He is at the Mets this week. You might want to take a shot on him in a deeper league. And that's pretty much it. Not a huge bullpen week, by the way, except Terry Francona did say that he will use Cody Allen in non-saved situations, which we saw.

So don't get rid of Bradhand just yet. A look at today's matchups. Going to start Aranola and going to start David Price against the Phillies. Wey and Chen at the Braves. William Chen's been great at home, bad on the road, so no thanks. Will you start Julio Tehran against the Marlins? Personally, I will be starting Julio Taran against the Marlins. Sometimes matchups don't really matter with Julio Taran.

I'm going to pull up his game log. His last start was at the Marlins, and he gave up seven runs in four and a third. And he also had a terrible start against Baltimore at home, seven runs in four and two-thirds on June 23rd. I'm going to start Julio Tehran. I totally understand if you don't want to start him. Tyler Anderson at Carlos Martinez.

At this point, I think you have to start both of them. This game is in St. Louis. Shane Bieber at Irvin Santana. I'm not going to start Irvin Santana, and I am going to be in the minority, not starting Shane Bieber in a two-start week. I am sitting him for a one-start Marko Gonzalez. So I don't really have as much faith in Bieber as the other guys.

I think they'd start him, but I am going to avoid Bieber. Oh, it's a good matchup. He's just not pitching all that well lately. Got Martine Perez at Robbie Ray, a really tough call. Noam Perez. I don't think so with Robbie Ray. First of all, the Rangers are hitting well. And just because he was good last time out, it doesn't mean he's going to be good this time out.

So I'm going to be pretty bearish today. If I have a question mark on a Monday, I'm not willing to throw off my ratios for the rest of the week. So I'm going with Tehran, but I'm not going with Bieber and I'm not going with Robbie Ray. A few more games for you. Blue Jays at A's. No on Marco Estrada. No on Edwin Jackson. Giants at Padres, not going to start Derek Holland or Eric Lauer.

Brewers at Dodgers. Kenta Maida, yes. I'm going to say no to Freddie Peralta. Too many walks lately. Too many bad results. He's on the clock. This is a big day for Peralta and Bieber to decide how rosterable they are. And I'm going to start both Garrett Cole and James Paxston.

Paxson coming off the DL for a two-start week. Start him up. Thanks for listening, everybody. For Scott White, I'm Adam Azor. We're going to talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Baseball today.