Fantasy Baseball Today - 08/28 Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Weekend Roundup

Episode Date: August 28, 2017

Is Byron Buxton a must-start this week (2:40)? Is Blake Snell a must-add (6:40)? Which SPs could help in deeper leagues and who are the best RPs to own in COL (10:30) and STL (15:00)? We cover these t...opics and look at the Most Added list (22:10) ... We debate a Fantasy Baseball moral dilemma (16:50), play start or sit with players coming off the DL and players facing suspensions (28:15) and disagree on Ozzie Albies (35:35) and especially Greg Bird (37:15) ... Plenty of SP talk (40:00) as we take you through a few dozen SP matchups including some tough calls @COL this week. Then it's on to today's games (55:50) ... Your emails at fantasybaseball@cbsi.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

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:14 All right, it's week 22. We're almost into September. It is crunch time, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to fantasy baseball today. Scott, how was Braveheart? Oh, it was just as I remembered it. Come on. You had one thing to do this weekend.
Starting point is 00:00:29 You couldn't even do it. I'm telling you, life is a little complicated right now. Not a lot of three-hour windows for movies. Bye. Maybe, you know, maybe when I go on my paternity leave, I can watch it in, like, segments, like half-hour. segments. No, I don't do that. And I can report back to you after it's over. No, that's the worst way to do it. Hey, good morning, Heath. How you doing? Welcome to the show.
Starting point is 00:00:51 You know, really weird. I don't watch movies that often, but I had a crazy Friday night writing, crazy Saturday writing, and then, of course, the fight Saturday night. So yesterday I watched two movies. Whoa. Yes. We watched Kong, Skoll Island, the newest Kong movie. Yeah, how was that? It was pretty good. It was. It was pretty good. It was. was entertaining for sure. And then we watched the new King Arthur movie. Yeah, no interest in either. That's really, yeah. No interest. So wait, you're complaining about how busy you were. You watched two movies that nobody should watch.
Starting point is 00:01:29 No, King Arthur was reviewed very well. It was a, it lost the kids' interest, so I'm sure Adam wouldn't like it. It was a pretty good movie. All right, good to know. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your weekend. I watched Game of Thrones, which was movie length last night, but watched a lot of football and a little bit of baseball. And here we go. Let's get into who we added and dropped on fantasy baseball today. You want to win your baseball league. You don't care about Kong and all that stuff. Well, I added Edwin Diaz and our head-to-head points league, dropped Zach Britton. Saw Brad Brock got to save yesterday, but Britain either way. You know, he needs to be dropped in a lot of, you know, shallower leagues. But the thing is here, I'm
Starting point is 00:02:10 going to start Edwin Diaz over Jamison Tye. I'm going to move Brad Peacock to starting pitcher, Tyone. Three bad starts out of four against the Reds this year. Mostly bad starts. So I'm sitting Tyone, starting Diaz. I picked up Eddie Rosario. I picked up Tray Mancini. I obviously read Scott's hitter column.
Starting point is 00:02:28 Yeah, they're both in it. Yeah. Yeah, who should I start, Mancini or Rosario? I'm thinking Mancini has got the seventh game. Well, Mancini is ranked ahead of Rosario on that list. Although Rosario and Mancini are both ranked ahead of Byron. in Buxton, but based on what transpired yesterday, I would now start Buxton over both of them. Yeah, let's talk about this here.
Starting point is 00:02:52 Buxden, three home runs yesterday, and I tried to pick him up, but I did not get him 75% owned. He's batting 3.30 with eight home runs and eight steals in August, but five walks, 25 strikeouts. How confident are you in Byron and Bucson this week, guys? This particular week, like, I agree with Scott. I would put him ahead of both of those guys. He let off the waiver wire column today. I think it's amazing that after the three-homer game,
Starting point is 00:03:19 after Sunday night, Monday waivers, which is presumably the busiest waivers night of the week, he's still available in 25% of leagues. What are you people waiting on? It's just, it's true. Like, Hoskins, Reese Hoskins is now like 88% owned, so Buckson could go a little higher, but it's just this time of year. So at least 88% of fantasy owners,
Starting point is 00:03:40 well, at least owners in 88% of leagues are, paying attention. Right, exactly. It's just this time of year, you know, you do, it's a good thing right now because guys that shouldn't be available on waivers are available on waivers, and the players, the teams who are still in it, the fantasy people who are still in it right now, could take advantage of that. So, so that's 75%. So the numbers, just to put them out there, last 16 games, 355 batting average, now eight home runs, five stolen bases. And his, I pointed this out on Friday's show. You know, he had a great September last year and made us kind of hopeful coming into this year, at least made me that way. But his strikeout rate for that month was 33%. And it's only like
Starting point is 00:04:23 25% in August. So there are, there's reason to buy this beyond just, you know, the fact that he's hitting a bunch of home runs in a short period of time. I read also that he eliminated a leg kick from his swing. So there's... That's always a key. If you can add or get rid of a leg kick. But small changes can make a huge difference in baseball. And a lot of times it ends up being a red herring. But
Starting point is 00:04:54 I feel better knowing that there's at least something, some kind of change that happened there mechanically. Okay. So you've got to start Byron Bucks in at this point. I am pitching desperate right now in a Roto League. I picked up Parker Bridwell.
Starting point is 00:05:10 got the A's this week. How do you feel about that? Not good. Was Chris Stratton not available? I don't know. I don't feel good about either. I don't feel great about Chris Stratton, but I did write about him today. I think it's, like, we can't just ignore what he's done in the month of August.
Starting point is 00:05:29 He's made four starts against the Nationals, Brewers, and Diamondbacks twice. He's given up four runs and struck out more than a batter per inning. And he gets the pod raise this week. Two of the last three starts were 10 strikeout outings. In between he had a one strikeout outing. And looking at his minor league track record, not a big strikeout pitcher. And even yesterday with the 10 strikeouts, 11 swinging strikes, which is, you know... He gets the Padres this week.
Starting point is 00:05:57 Yeah. I could... Okay. I mean, I could see him being a sleeper, but I don't... I don't think he does, Heath. No, he doesn't buy into it at all. No, I don't think he gets the Padres this week. He pitched yesterday, Chris Stratton.
Starting point is 00:06:10 He gets the Cardinals this week. Well, then our schedule was incorrect. Well, maybe, but I'm looking at his. Padres are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Cardinals are the last four days of the week for the Giants. But no, it's really interesting. I overlooked it because Stratton, yeah, like you said, last four starts, he's faced the Diamondbacks, the Nationals, the Brewers,
Starting point is 00:06:33 and the Diamondbacks again, and he's given up four runs. And he has 25 strikeouts in 23 and two-thirds. Uh, yeah, I mean, look, you got to be desperate. I think Blake Snell is, uh, is someone, he's 44% owned. I have him as like, question mark, is Blake Snell the next, this week's Luke Weaver? Uh, this week's Luke, well, this week's Luke Weaver, I don't, I don't, I don't know what exactly you mean by that.
Starting point is 00:07:01 I think Blake's now coming off a string of starts where his walks have been down and now two in a row with seven innings and a strikeout per. I mean, we've been waiting for that kind of run for Blake Snell since he got called up early last year. So absolutely he needs to be owned. The fact that Luke Weaver's making two starts this week makes Weaver a higher priority for me, but they probably should both be owned. Yeah, no, with Snell, is he the next, is he this week's Luke Weaver? Last week I was saying, pick up Luke Weaver. He's got one start.
Starting point is 00:07:34 It's against the Padres this week. Pick him up, start him. He was great. This week, Blake Snell, who has been pitching well. as Scott said, 338 ERA in his last seven starts, walks have been down, 16 swinging strikes at St. Louis on Saturday. He's at the White Sox this week. There you go. I think the White Sox have a pretty good, like 10th best OPS against lefties, but I don't really care.
Starting point is 00:07:57 Snell is 44% owned and definitely somebody you want to pick up. What I think is interesting is Snell is not even the best ad on his own team that's under 50% out. Who is? Kevin Kiermeyer. 45% owned. He was drafted everywhere. He hurt his hip. Everybody just cut him loose.
Starting point is 00:08:16 He hurt his hip, whatever. He's come back, and in nine games, he's got a 325, 357, 650 slashlight. Blake Snow wasn't drafted everywhere? He was. I think Blake Snell is actually really bad for him. I think Blake Snell is the bigger talent, and I think he's at the bigger position of need. I think that you are hurt by Kevin Kiermeyer's injury, because he was one of your breakouts this year.
Starting point is 00:08:40 He was a sleeper, actually. And he's doing it. Yeah, but... He had a two-homer game. You know, he hasn't really... He's been ice cold since then. He's three, four, 19. He had two hits and a double yesterday.
Starting point is 00:08:54 I'm not saying I wouldn't pick him up anywhere. I'm just, like, if I didn't really need steals, which he's not a huge contributor of anyway, but that is an advantage in an environment that's kind of steals deprived. then, you know, five outfielder league if I needed steals. Yeah, I think he's a good pickup. But, you know, outfield's a lot better than I suspect that it was coming into the year.
Starting point is 00:09:21 And I just, I don't know. I'm not as high on Keirmeyer now as I was then. How much do you guys trust Matt Moore this week? He is a two-star pitcher at San Diego and home against St. Louis. Trust is not the right word to use. but I think he should be started pretty much everywhere. I don't think I'd start him in the categories leagues, but Points League, he's right on the cutoff.
Starting point is 00:09:47 If you look at this week's two-star pitcher rankings I wrote, I usually give like a Categories League cutoff and a points league cutoff. He's at the bottom of the Points League cutoff, but he's there, saved by that matchup against the Padres, mostly. Okay, I'm trailing pretty big. Well, I'm in fifth place in a Roto League. I don't have very little chance to win it, But if I'm going to, you know, make a run, get close to the third place, it's going to be because I started Matt Moore, who had a great week.
Starting point is 00:10:13 So I will take a risk. You're not. I mean, I want to beat Scott. Scott's in fourth, I'm in fifth. It's a two-man race, but that's what I'm going for. That's a fine motive. Yeah. You're trying to catch Scott.
Starting point is 00:10:25 That's a great motive. Something personal. Just I want to get to four. I don't think I get the third. I'm urging on three here. All right. I have my own ambitions. Yo, you're Reese Hoskinsing it all the way of the third place.
Starting point is 00:10:36 I had a lot of the third place. I had a lot of it. had a lot of ground to make up in home runs. That's been my bad category all year in that league. Eight home runs in his last nine games for Reese Hoskins. It's ridiculous. Who is the Rockies reliever to own right now?
Starting point is 00:10:49 I mean, I'm not cutting Greg Holland, so it's still him, but I would imagine Jake McGee gets the next save. He's gotten the last two. Sounds like they're going to pull back from Holland for a while. His slider's not dropping like it usually does, which is
Starting point is 00:11:04 probably a correctable problem. But you don't want him trying to correct that in the ninth inning, as we've seen over and over again. His ERA, believe it or not, is over four now for the year. Whoa. Because it's been such a bad stretch. So at season end, Greg Holland's numbers aren't going to look very good for a closer, which is amazing. But I do think he's going to get back on track and be their closer again within a couple weeks. I just saw something really cool about Reese Hoskins, and I know I can interrupt anything on the podcast to say something about Reese Hoskins.
Starting point is 00:11:33 So if he homers in his next plate appearance, baseball reference will have to change the formatting on their 162 game average because his 162 game average will be over 100 for home runs. Right now it's 99. Wow. And it's only formatted for two digits. Yeah. If you played in a league where you only started one player every week.
Starting point is 00:12:03 One hitter. Mike Trout is currently 0 for 17. Paul Goldsmith does have a series at the Rockies this week. But you have Hoskins, you have Stanton. Who would be your one hitter that you would start this week? Mike Trout. I think I go Goldschmidt. He's got the three games at Cores.
Starting point is 00:12:22 I go Goldschmidt. He does have three games at Cores. Reese Hoskins is the first half of the week. Or the other half of the week. Yeah, it's the first half of the week. He has the Dodgers rotation. It's funny. There's a full week at Cores' few.
Starting point is 00:12:34 field this week, but none of the three teams playing at Cores Field, the Rockies being won, of course, has particularly good matchups just because there are tough matchups. The other half of the week for the two teams visiting, and the Rockies get tough matchups all week. It's still a good thing playing at Cores, obviously, but not as good because of that. Reese Hoskins, the thing about him, and really the whole Phillies lineup, the Phillies have the best matchups of any team this week. So, you know, Reese Haskins can't sustain this forever, but can he for one more week?
Starting point is 00:13:04 Maybe. So he's going Trout. I guess I'll take Goldsmith. Scott, who are you going to take? We'll do points. You know what? I might take Stanton. Stanton.
Starting point is 00:13:21 Okay, not a bad idea. 50 home runs for Stanton, and the crowd of 22,500 went crazy. Go to the game, people. And if you want to go to the game, you're a Marlins fan, you want to go to a game, get on Seatgeek. Big homestand for the Yan.
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Starting point is 00:14:46 Promocode fantasy for $10 off. Let's read an email. Email of the day. Oh, actually, do you guys want to talk any more ad drops? Any interesting ones that you did? I don't think there's any left. I'm still writing in deep leagues. Deep leagues where obviously Jake Begui's already gone.
Starting point is 00:15:05 I picked up John Brebion in a couple more leagues. I just have a feeling. Also, Blake Parker got a save this weekend. It was actually the first game. It was Saturday. It was the first game this year where he began the ninth inning in a save situation. It got a save. And the next day, Cam Bedrosian, who he assumed was the front runner there, entered in the eighth inning, gave up three runs, took the loss.
Starting point is 00:15:31 So obviously, Parker didn't pitch that game. So maybe they were saving him for the ninth. They clearly weren't saving Bedrosian for the ninth. Yeah, well, when Parker got that save, I don't know if this factor's in at all, but the Angels scored four runs in the eighth inning to take the lead. It wasn't setting up to be a save situation. Now, with the Cardinals, you... You mean on Saturday when Parker got the save?
Starting point is 00:15:54 Yeah, on Saturday. Yeah. With the Cardinals, you said Brebia, but what about Tyler Lyons? He got the save on... No, he came in a tie game in the top of the ninth. He got the win. Right. So that would usually be reserved for the closer.
Starting point is 00:16:09 Who would you like there? I also, you know, there were a couple leagues where, like, I prioritized, again, we're talking deep leagues. Brebia and Lyons right after him. I got both in some leagues. I do think it's going to be one of them. I think they're still experimenting, but their experiments are ultimately going to lead to Brebia. Part because he's the right-hander, and he just... His whip is so low.
Starting point is 00:16:40 Even in the minors, it was so low. He looks like somebody who... A little non-traditional, I guess, with the strikeouts, but he looks like he'd do a good job. Okay. Let's go to the email then. It's from Marquise. He says, Dear Al, Bud, and Jefferson.
Starting point is 00:16:56 That's married with children. Sure is. Real quick, fair or foul. I'm locked into the three-seed with one week to go in my league. I play the team currently seated fifth. but the fifth and sixth place teams are neck and neck. My question is, would it be fair or foul to throw this week's matchup with the goal of playing what I view is the weaker team in round one of the playoffs? Diehard is not a Christmas movie.
Starting point is 00:17:16 All right, so if your real-life team, whatever team you're a fan of did this same thing, how would you feel about it? Awesome. Yeah, it happens. It does happen, yep. Teams throw games? No, they don't. Well, okay, define throw games. They don't go out there and not try, but they put a lineup out there that's not that good.
Starting point is 00:17:40 They'll play a bunch of call-ups, trying to let a team win so another team doesn't get in. The most, look, I think you should try your hardest just out of respect for everyone else in the league. What if you have no respect for this person trying to keep from making them well? If, no, I don't even feel good about that. I was going to say if you start players who you normally bench, you know, as long as they're still active and playing or not obviously on the DL or something. I could go along with it, I guess.
Starting point is 00:18:16 This is the thing, though. I think you take one side that this is either okay or it's not okay. There's no half measures. It's either okay to throw the week or it's not okay. Well, I was trying to... You're trying to have a half measure. No, I was trying to model it after what they do in real life
Starting point is 00:18:32 because obviously they don't try to lose games in real life, but they may give their best players a day off. Right, right. Right, well, I'm giving my best player a day off. They're still putting their bench players in there, and their bench players are still trying their hardest to win. Yeah, so I'm kind of with you. I'm kind of with that theory. I don't know exactly where you're standing on that, but you can, like, if I were in that situation this week in the podcast points league,
Starting point is 00:18:58 I might start Jose Bautista over Trey Mancini. I happen to have dropped Bautista, but, you know, don't start him. But I could do that. I wouldn't try to win. I would never start a player on the DL. That's wrong. But I could see myself using the players on my team to construct the worst possible lineup and not really trying to win. And honestly, I think I'm okay with it.
Starting point is 00:19:22 I don't like it. I don't love it, but I think I'm okay with it. You've earned that right. Here's the thing. Like, if somebody in your league catches you doing this, they're going to think you're shady. Do you want people to think you're shady? Do you want people not to trust you? I mean, for me, that's an easy answer.
Starting point is 00:19:35 But I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Maybe you have lower standards. I don't think it's only shady or you only lose trust if you try to deny it. Right. This guy is out in the open about not wanting to help in somebody in playoffs. In any competition, the underlying understanding is that everybody's trying their hardest. If that understanding goes away, then the competition is corrupted. That's why Pete Rose got banned for betting on games as a manager.
Starting point is 00:20:06 What do you mean? No. This is so common. That doesn't not make any sense in this analogy. This is so common in baseball. You got a team that's trying to get into the playoffs and needs another team to lose. Okay, the Yankees are trying to get into the playoffs. They need the twins to lose.
Starting point is 00:20:21 The Red Sox throw out their AAA lineup on the last day of the season because they got nothing to play for because they locked up first place. Like, that stuff happens all the time. But that's, you know, that's, you know, that's, rest is the primary reason. Yeah, they got a week off, five games off before the playoffs. Like the Houston Astros tanking worked very well. The Philadelphia 76 have been tanking for half a decade. That's not the same thing.
Starting point is 00:20:44 That's not the same thing. That's trading away your immediate assets to build for the future and not having much left to compete with. No, wait. There are very clear examples of basketball teams tanking. This happens all the time. They bench their best players and call them injured just to, quote, play the younger guys because they clearly want to lose. and that really affects playoff races too down the stretch. I mean, well, I can't speak to basketball.
Starting point is 00:21:11 We're talking about a fantasy baseball league here, right? But what happens in baseball? But it happens in baseball. But it happens in baseball, too. Guys, you know, play the younger guys because they don't really care about winning down the stretch, and that affects playoff races. Well, you don't think that those younger guys might have some upside that they're trying to develop? You don't think that's a legitimate...
Starting point is 00:21:30 Sure. I think it makes sense a lot of times for rebuilding teams to play the younger guys. if they just, you know, if it's just some journeyman, they got to fill in a, to, you know, to be a placeholder, basically. Yeah, no, it makes sense. It makes sense for them. That seems like a completely different scenario, too, though. But they're probably hurting their short-term chances of winning to improve their future, which is exactly what this owner would be doing in this league. He'd be hurting his short-term chances of winning, a meaningless week for him, to improve his playoff odds of winning by getting a weaker opponent.
Starting point is 00:22:00 I think it's a little different. Heath? Where do you stand out of it? I like it. There's only one team in the league that I'm concerned with helping their chances, and that's mine. And if keeping somebody else out of the playoffs, helped my chances, I'm in. Okay. How about we look at the most out of this?
Starting point is 00:22:16 We can all agree that these are, in fact, the most out of players in CBS.com leagues. Luke Weaver, we feel good about him being a two-star pitcher this week? Yep. I mean, I'm going to start him and hope he makes that second start, yeah. Mike Montgomery is scheduled to make two starts. They are against Pittsburgh and Atlanta. You know, he's been better as a reliever this year. Kind of an ugly starter.
Starting point is 00:22:42 His last two starts have been very good. Yeah. With a space of relieving in between them. But I don't know that he's going to make two starts because John Lester could come back this week. I did see something over the weekend that maybe Joe Madden might go six man for a while. So I think it's a seven game week for the Cubs and Montgomery starting Monday. So that made me feel a little better about Montgomery's chances, but I'm not counting on it either way. All right. Number three on the list is, it's Reese Lightning.
Starting point is 00:23:16 Go Reese Lightning, your home are in every day. Come out, guys. Do the backup. Rees Lighten. All right, anyway. Matt Moore, we talked about him. Mark Lighter is 25% Owen. Atlanta and at Miami. What do you think?
Starting point is 00:23:37 Light him up. Yeah. I don't think I want to do that. Byrd Bucson is going to work well. Byron Bucson's 75% owed. That was excellent. All right, this is the one. Edwin Jackson, 65% own.
Starting point is 00:23:57 Miami at home, Milwaukee on the road. This could ruin your. Fantasy season. Beware, Edwin Jackson. Yeah, no, I'm not doing that. I'd be more likely to start lighter. All right. Horre Polanco. All right, let me give you a little interesting tidbit here that I saw. I'm sure you guys are aware. But Ian Desmond could be back this week, has been playing some shortstop on his rehab assignments, could play some shortstop at the expense of Trevor Story. They have six home games this week. would you start Jorge Polanco over Trevor's story?
Starting point is 00:24:37 Unless I really feel confident that Desmond's coming back and taking Story's position, I just can't, not with six games, of course. And I did write about Polanco in the Waver Waiverware today. Yeah, I agree. This is the first I've heard about Desmond playing shortstop on his rehab assignment, though. So nice scoop at him. Thank you. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:24:58 Curtis Granderson. So how confident are you guys in Curtis Granderson this week? He's 48% owned, not quite the same Ritey-heavy schedule, but still pretty good. How confident. Six Riteys? I thought it five. What's that? I'd rather start Kiermeier.
Starting point is 00:25:14 What did Adam say? I thought it was five Riteys? They do have a double header. You factor that in. I did not factor that in. Yeah, so I think it's going to be six. All right. Five is still a pretty good number.
Starting point is 00:25:25 Actually, I have him right now is six games, but it must be seven because the double-header, and Robbie Ray and Clayton Richard on the schedule. Okay. So I don't know who's pitching that other game of the double header. If that's a Ritey, that would be five out of seven games. Yeah. Still pretty good. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:40 And it's favorable matchups for the most part, too. So I feel really good about Granderson. Okay. Would you start Granderson or Buxton? Buxton. Buckston or Eddie Rosario? Granderson. Rosario.
Starting point is 00:25:57 All righty. And a little bit more on the most added list here. now, Mike Fires, 79% owned. Scott, you talked about him last week. Maybe we gave up on him too soon? Maybe, yeah. And I think among the pitchers who might still be available in your league, 79's getting pretty high, but he's among the best two-start options.
Starting point is 00:26:21 So he's right behind Luke Weaver for me as far as two-star sleepers go. Yeah, Mike Fires has the Rangers and the Mets. And the Mets now with Yueness Espadus, likely out for the year. They're one of the best matchups, I'd say. We've got another Reese Hoskins update. Uh-oh, hit me with it. Uh, guess who sent this tweet?
Starting point is 00:26:42 Would I be a total wet blanket if I point out the six of Reese Hoskins homers have been below 400 feet? You could stop it, wet blanket. That was obviously a Chris Towers tweet. Six homers below 400 feet. Oh, man. Wow, those are flyouts in most parks. Yeah, because the wall is 400 feet. in most parts, yes.
Starting point is 00:27:03 I mean, that's like, that was like when Dallas Kiko had like a one-something ERA, and it was like, well, his babb is really low. He can't be this. Of course, he can't be this good. And I would say that Chris was right in that instance. He was largely terrible after that. What the hell are you talking about? What are you talking about? Terrible take.
Starting point is 00:27:23 Terrible take. All right. Okay, that was your Reese Hoskins update. So how many was it that were under 400? Six. Six of the 11. So that means he's only hit five legit home runs in 66 at bats. Well, shame.
Starting point is 00:27:37 It's too bad he plays in such a Kavanaugh's ballpark. Which is like the last name of all the players he's homered off of? Oh, sure. Because this is going to make it worse. Worley, Stamin, McGrath, Crick, Nicolino, Uhara, Block, Strayley, Wood, Travis, Hendricks, and Kentana. Yeah, got those cubbies. All right. Look, he's not going to be this good.
Starting point is 00:28:01 But, uh... Wait, Kintana, Hendrix, and Stralia, I heard on there. That's not bad. That's all we heard. Do you expect everybody to hit all their home runs off aces? That's ridiculous. All right, here we go. There's a starter sit this week.
Starting point is 00:28:15 Gary Sanchez and Miguel Cabrera. There's a pretty good chance I've got somebody I'd start over McGee. But not Sanchez? Like, don't start Miguel Cabrera. Are you kidding? He's facing a, what, six-game suspension? And he's been bad all year. start Miguel Cabrera? Yeah, I agree. I don't know when the suspensions will take place, but, you know, could be this week. Gary Sanchez, though, that's a tougher one.
Starting point is 00:28:46 I'm probably starting. I mean, even if he plays two games, he's going to be better than a waiver wire catcher. Carlos Correa, starter, so he's not going to come back early enough, right? But, yeah, go ahead, Scott, Correa? I was warming up for Turner. Oh, Trey Turner, starter sit. Yeah. That sound was Scott warming up for Trey Turner. He had begun a rehab assignment heading into the weekend, so I think there's a good chance he's back for the majority of the week. Oh, man, there hasn't been an update lately. There have been so few updates on Trey Turner.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Yeah. Throughout this whole process. It's like a major gamble, but dang. I would not start Trey Tern. Maybe in an All-L-only league, but that's it. I thought it was... All right, all right, play it safe. Danny Duffy on the DL with a sore elbow.
Starting point is 00:29:37 Actually, you know what? This is really tricky, guys. I don't know what to do about the Astros because they got, with the hurricane, they're going to have trouble playing on their upcoming homestand. It may not be a homestand. Yeah, they might have to travel, but are we concerned about them playing like four games this week? I don't think they're just going to cancel them. I think they'll have to play them somewhere else.
Starting point is 00:29:59 But there may be some that are postponed. Yeah. It is very tricky and not. Not really a great, you know, this doesn't happen enough to really know what to expect. You know, it would take a lot for a road team to suddenly play host, you know, I would guess. I would guess that's not something they could just, you know, flip the switch and do. But they could switch a Rangers series, I believe. Because the two teams play twice, they could flip that.
Starting point is 00:30:30 Right, right. I didn't see that as a possibility. Are you sitting any Astros in anticipation of... No. I mean, I'm not sitting out Tube. I'm not sitting Springer. I'd think twice about McCann or Gaddis or Reddick. You know, the fringes, I would lean no on all of them.
Starting point is 00:30:53 But the studs, I think you have to stick with them. There are three pitchers who, two of them will and one might make his return from the DL this week. Matt Harvey could start Friday. Clayton Kershaw will start either Friday or Saturday, and Max Scherzer is going to start today. So of these three, we're clearly most excited about Matt Harvey, right? Yeah. He's mocking you. No, I actually am very excited.
Starting point is 00:31:22 I'm not starting him or picking him up. I don't really care. But this guy was, Matt Harvey was one of the best pitchers at baseball. I am not completely giving up on his career, and I want to see what happens when he comes back. I think I expect better next year I'm not counting on much this year you know the velocity's still been kind of low in the miners
Starting point is 00:31:43 supposedly he's building back up to midseason velocity but I just I think it's too late to really hold out your hope for Matt Harvey turning things around this year the Mariners committed five errors in the first inning yesterday that was wild the Royals If you're looking at the notes, Heath, are you? Do you see the notes?
Starting point is 00:32:04 Yeah. Oh, okay. So I was going to ask you, how many innings since the Royals have last scored? I would say 34. 34. 34 innings scoreless for the Royals. Longest drought in team history. Lonnie Chisandall is approaching a return. Jed Jerko could miss a few weeks with a hamstring strain.
Starting point is 00:32:19 Greg Garcia started on Sunday for the Cardinals. Cody Ballinger should be back on Wednesday. That will likely move Adrian Gonzales to the bench. And Victor Martinez is on the D.L. with an irregular heartbeat. Scary situation, and we hope for the best for Victor Martinez. All right, in the bullpen.
Starting point is 00:32:36 Jayre's Familia was bad. So it looks like he's a ways away, I think it's safe to say, today, from reclaiming the closers role from AJ. Ramos. Tower Lions got the save. In that appearance where Lions, oh, no, you didn't get the save.
Starting point is 00:32:52 Sorry. Lions pitched the ninth inning in a tie game at home. That's the second time this podcast. You've made that mistake. Yeah, sorry. But in that game, be a pitch to the 8th for what it's worth. You heard Scott's take on it earlier.
Starting point is 00:33:03 Brad Brock got a save on Sunday. He's 33% owned. And a Rollis Chapman gave up a game-winning home run against a lefty on Friday. So he still appears to be a ways away from getting that job back. And I try to pick up Robertson in a league and I screwed up and I forgot to DL someone. I didn't have enough roster of space. Could have had him. But yeah, screwed that up.
Starting point is 00:33:25 So there we go. Well, but Batances got the last save, right? he got a save over the weekend? Yes, he did. Now, on the day, I don't know if Robertson was available that day. On the day before that, it looked like they were using Robertson as a closer. So I think, I don't know, I would guess maybe Patancis gets two out of three saves. So Robertson's not that attractive, but I could be wrong.
Starting point is 00:33:47 I'm often wrong. We all are. Hitters. Nobody's perfect at him. I try to be. But, you know, I also think it's okay to tank. This podcast is evidence. that you're not.
Starting point is 00:34:01 Did I mention that Tyler Lions did not get a save in that game? Did not get a save. All right, some hitters to talk about, other than Reese Hoskins and Byron Buxton. Delano to Shields, if you're still looking for steals. Delano to Steels. Ah.
Starting point is 00:34:16 Delano to sit down on the bench because Carlos Gomez is back. But I don't know about that because he started on Saturday with Gomez back. DeSteals sat on Sunday, but they were giving Adrian Belchre a D.H. day. So what about Gallo? He's still out. He's still out.
Starting point is 00:34:32 He's still out. Over under on number of... They play six games this week or seven? I think six, but I don't know. I would say three and a half. Maybe four. Okay. I mean, I feel like the Shields utility is as a steel specialist, so strictly a categories league option.
Starting point is 00:34:54 And, you know, if you're just looking for Steel's padding, you'll take four starts from them this week. Yeah, probably. Okay, that's the line order to shields. Jonathan Lucreux. He's been so bad. But at Corse Field, he's batting 324 with a 415 on base and still no power, 441 slugging. So you're probably going to be able to start Lucroix this week. Yep. Don't drop Corey Dickerson yet. He's heating back up. Three home runs, two doubles during a six-game hitting streak. Yeah, don't drop him. I sat him in a 24 team league, and I'm losing a two-week matchup because. of it.
Starting point is 00:35:30 Dum, dumb, dumb, dumb, actually it was justified. How about, how about Ozzie Albis,
Starting point is 00:35:38 guys? He's 35% owned Albies in his last nine games is batting 412 with two steals,
Starting point is 00:35:44 four doubles, four triples. That's a 1238 OPS. He hasn't homered. But Ozzy Albi's doing very well for the Braves.
Starting point is 00:35:52 Yeah, and the strikeout rates been low since coming up. So he's, he's having his own, remember how Reese Hoskins
Starting point is 00:35:59 was like, 0 for 11 to start out. Yeah. But it was like, oh, but he's not striking out, and he's long. Ozzie Albies is doing the same thing in his own Ozzy Albies way. Yeah. So I'm trying to think of second baseman. Would you rather have Colton Wong or Ozzy Albies?
Starting point is 00:36:21 Depends how many lefties are on the schedule probably. Yeah. You know what, I'm going to take Albies anyway. This sounds funny. I think Albies has more power. So let's just say hypothetically, what do we think Ozzy Albi's true Babib should be? True Babib. 340?
Starting point is 00:36:40 I haven't seen his line drive rate. 340-ish? 330 maybe. Okay. That seems generous. Because if that's the Babbip he had over the last nine games, he'd be hitting 240. He's got a 484 babbip. So did he strike out, does the strikeouts jump during that time?
Starting point is 00:36:57 No, he's not really striking out. I'm not really sure how that math works. Yeah, how is that possible? Because he's batting 412 in those nine games. Nobody expects him to do that. He has four doubles, four triples, two steals. I had him at 3.95, so maybe I was 20 points too low. Yeah, well, that's...
Starting point is 00:37:12 Okay, maybe I don't know. I had him in 412. Okay. All right, I think that people should pick up Greg Bird. I really do. You know, Scott, you talked about how first base is deep and let's see it. First of all, I know Greg Bird sat against a lefty on Sunday, but they... Okay, so there's that.
Starting point is 00:37:27 They have said that he's going to be the regular... the everyday first baseman eventually, and I think that could start soon. I also don't know how many lefties. They face at least two lefties this week. But the fact that first base is deep, I don't really know that it's relevant because all of those first basemen are owned. It's not like there are that many that are available. And a lot of the ones that made it such a deep position earlier in the year have slumped.
Starting point is 00:37:55 So I think Byrd, I think he's like 35% owned or something. I think he's pretty underowned, especially if you get a lot of, points for walks or credit for OBP because he's got a very good eye. The problem is the leagues where you get those, you don't start a corner infielder. What do you mean? No, that's not necessarily true. Generally speaking. Yeah, could be categories league with OVP.
Starting point is 00:38:13 But if you're saying all those first basemen are like, you have to need a first basement to want to pick up Greg Bird and who needs a first baseman. I think you might just need a utility hitter. Yeah, I mean, but and then you know you talked about how some of the hot first baseman of the cooled off. Logan Morrison home or twice yesterday. A lot of guys home or twice. It happens. It doesn't mean anything. Are you starting Greg Byrd over Miguel Cabrero this week? Yeah, of course. That's a no-brainer because of the suspension. But even without the suspension.
Starting point is 00:38:42 Seven home games for Greg Byrd? I don't mind picking up Greg Byrd and John Brebia sort of way, but that's as far as I could go with it. I'm calling my shot. You guys are going to be wrong about Greg Bird. He's going to be 70% owned this time next week. In a week. Wow. Yep. He's going to go all Hoskins on the world, huh? 70 might be a little high, but sure I called it. Why not? How about Jake Lamb?
Starting point is 00:39:06 Jake Lamb has sat against two of the last three lefties he's faced. He faces three more this week against the Dodgers and then at Colorado. Would you even think about sitting Jake Lamb? No. Okay. Mike Trouts over his last 17. Who cares? And Daniel Murphy, since the All-Star break, is batting just 256 and 37 games.
Starting point is 00:39:26 I heard an interesting theory on why he might be slacks. lumping. If you've seen Daniel Murphy hit, he's very crouched. He's got one of the most crouched stances. And I think Dusty Baker theorized that it might be tiring his legs. It's kind of a lot to, it's a lot, you know? I mean, so. A lot of wall sits.
Starting point is 00:39:46 Wallsits. Oh, yeah. You've got a wall sits before, haven't you? Yeah, like they did in some sort of team activity where they did that at practice. I mean, look at me, Heath. I look like a guy that's been doing a lot of team activities. Yeah, but he's homered once every six games. games. His strikeout rate is still very low.
Starting point is 00:40:02 I don't know that I buy that he's tired. He hasn't not been doing well. Look at the points per week for Daniel Murphy. I don't know. I understand. I understand. All right. Look, you can't sit. Players get cold. You can't sit them. All right, that's it for me with the hitters. Let's talk about pitchers. Spend the rest of the time on pitchers here. Studs being studs, we probably don't have to talk too much about it, but Masaero Tanaka. Another very good start. He's got the Red Sox this one.
Starting point is 00:40:29 week. He's a must start, right, no matter the matchup? Yes, sir. Kyle Hendricks, velocity a little bit better last start on Saturday. He struck out eight Phillies. That includes Reese Hoskins in that lineup. I think he gave up a home run, though. Anyways, got the Braves at home this week.
Starting point is 00:40:48 How comfortable are you starting Kyle Hendricks? The innings have been up lately, so against the Braves, I think it's fine. I think it's fine. Kenta Maeda I don't know what his matchup is this week I forgot to look that up I apologize But he's not at course is he I don't think they're at cores this week
Starting point is 00:41:09 I don't think they are either No I think he I think He's at Sita Mayeta is at San Diego this week He's against the Diamondbacks Damn it Gets the end of the Diamondbacks series At the Diamondbacks right Or is at home
Starting point is 00:41:24 He is At the Diamondback Start or sit, Kenta Maeda. He's been killing it lately. It's not an automatic start, but I'm fine starting. I would rather start Kyle Hendricks. They're pretty similar. They're low ERA lately, but not a lot of innings.
Starting point is 00:41:43 Yeah, but one of them gets the Braves and the other ones in Arizona. Jimmy James Nelson. He had a great start, and you should feel confident in Jimmy Nelson. All right, so Studs being Studs Part 2. Are you going to start John Gray, who's been pitching very well, and his last two home starts were good. They were against the Phillies and the Braves. Are you going to start John Gray against the Diamondbacks this week?
Starting point is 00:42:02 No. And it's at Cores, so yeah, I agree. No, thank you. Oh, it's so sad that you probably shouldn't start Patrick Corbyn this week because he's got a sub-3 ERA over his last 14 starts, more than a strikeout per inning. He was just amazing last week in a two-star week, but he's at the Rockies.
Starting point is 00:42:20 Starter sit Patrick Corbyn. Not going to do it. Starters at Chase Anderson against Washington this week. Probably sit Probably Hear me out I don't think the nationals are that bad of a matchup Without Harper
Starting point is 00:42:37 With Zimmerman I'm sitting Ryan Zimmerman By the way in our points league With Murphy slumping I know they can all have good games And they're not a good matchup But I don't think they're a must sit matchup Look I'm taking Hendricks over him
Starting point is 00:42:51 I'm taking a maid over him I'm taking a two-star fires over him To start Matt Moore or Chase Anderson More points. Yeah, if I could, if I had the space to pick up Matt Moore, then I would start more over him. But I'm probably not making a risky drop to pick up Matt Moore to start him over Anderson. And I think this is where it gets into who's on your team, because I have a lot of teams with John Gray, with Patrick Corbyn, with Taiwan Walker. I'd rather start Anderson over any of those three.
Starting point is 00:43:23 I don't have any teams with Kyle Hendricks. Walker also at Coorsfield this weekend. How about Zach Davies, guys? Zach Davies is 80% own. It's been great. He struck out seven Dodgers and seven scoreless innings on Saturday. Still only 105 strikeouts and 156 and 2 thirds. But would you start Zach Davies against the Nationals?
Starting point is 00:43:42 Nope. He has been great. Zero or one run in six of his last eight, but those strikeouts aren't consistent enough for me to fully buy in, and it's a tough matchup. No, thank you. Studs being duds, part one. Cole Hamels had a 290 ERA in 10 starts before getting roughed up at the A's on Saturday.
Starting point is 00:44:03 And still, I mean, even with that 290 ERA, just so few strikeouts, do you feel comfortable starting Cole Hamils this week? And do you have his matchup? Yes, of course I do. Now I have it. He's facing the Astros at Houston, supposedly. I do not, well, I feel more comfortable about starting Hamels than Anderson. But I'd rather not.
Starting point is 00:44:29 I'd start Anderson. I think I'd start Anderson too. But I could see not starting either. Right. Sure. Ideally. Yeah. Wow.
Starting point is 00:44:38 Boy, do I have to start some bad pitchers this week? What a shame. You too. Yeah, well, that's baseball for you. How about Jose Cantana? He hasn't been that bad, but he had a bad start at Philadelphia. Do you have any concern starting Jose Cantana against the pirates? No.
Starting point is 00:44:54 No. No. I wonder how the Cubs feel about that trade now because Kentana's been kind of another Hendricks you know just kind of a mid-rotation it gave up arguably the best prospect in baseball
Starting point is 00:45:09 and more Well, Kentana's got a 110 whip with the Cubs and a 373 ERA you've got to think better times are ahead We've been saying that all year though And he'll have the occasional start Like his Cubs debut
Starting point is 00:45:23 Seven innings 11 strikeouts are where whatever it was. Yeah. But then just, you know, half the time, it's like... And I'll also say that a 1-10 whip and a 373RA is better than a made-rotation pitcher now in today's environment. He usually goes six innings. I mean, Hendrik's more likely to go five.
Starting point is 00:45:42 All right, but you're starting contana. How about Carlos Rodon? Gave up nine run runs over five starts combined. And then he got roughed up by the Tigers on Saturday. He faces the raise this week. Fourth lowest OPS against lefties, raise. Start or sit Carlos Rodan. I start him. Start him.
Starting point is 00:46:00 All right, the next section, Studs being Duds, Part 2. Tell me if these guys are dropable. James and Tyone. John Lackey. All right, we go one by one. James and Tyone. Yes, dropable. Jagasson Tyone. Jackis and Tyone. John
Starting point is 00:46:13 Lackey. Dropable? Yep. Eduardo Rodriguez. He's dropable. He's my favorite of the three so far. Agreed. Jay Hap. Drop. Dropable, but he's with there.
Starting point is 00:46:27 He's with Rodriguez, maybe a little ahead of Rodriguez. Yeah, I have no interest. You don't have to have him on your team. Rick Porcelo. I, hmm. He's probably the best of this group so far, but, you know, I don't think he's, I don't think he's so good that if you dropped him, you'll really miss him. Jason Vargas. Dropable.
Starting point is 00:46:53 He is. Not only is he dropable. I don't know why you haven't dropped Jason Vargas yet. He's been 66090 a raise since the All-Star break. Give me a break. 91% own. Michael Waka. At San Francisco this week before we can do anything too crazy.
Starting point is 00:47:10 Well, okay. There's that. If you're still not able to justify starting him with that matchup, though, which I don't think he must start, then drop. All right, Michael Waka. So, Tyone, Lackie, and, Warda Rodriguez, J-Hap, Porcelo, Vargas, and Waka. All are dropable. They are not must-drops, but they are dropable.
Starting point is 00:47:31 Yeah, the only one who I would say get him out of there before he burns you some more. Well, I'll say that about two, Tyone and Vargas. Okay. So, Fringy starting pitchers, part one. Julio Taran. Nice start against the Rockies. He always seems to do well against the Rockies, apparently.
Starting point is 00:47:51 at Philadelphia this week Start or sit And he's faced the Phillies twice recently And both have been terrible Both were terrible So every time you start him So the times you don't start him When he actually delivered a good start
Starting point is 00:48:06 Of course He's there with Tyone and Vargas for me Just no Yeah I don't want to start him Tehran, okay How about Marco Estrada at Baltimore It's not the best matchup He's not the best pitcher
Starting point is 00:48:20 Yeah I think he's worth owning, but I don't want to start him this week. Nope. I put in the notes that he has five quality starts in his last two starts. So Estrada's been great. That's wrong. So if you're in a quality start league, definitely start. Five and a half quality starts on.
Starting point is 00:48:36 I don't know. That's probably five in his last seven or something. All right, Colin McHugh. Are you going to start any of these guys? Colin McHugh against Texas? Sure. Parker Bridwell against Oakland. Nah.
Starting point is 00:48:49 You know I have to start him. I already said that earlier. I'm not thrilled about it. It's not terrible, but I just don't have, I don't really have faith in Bridwell as a pitcher. Kevin Gossman. I don't know who he faces. Toronto.
Starting point is 00:49:02 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he's been pretty darn good. Six of his last eight starts, two or fewer runs for Gossman. Gossman. Yeah, I like it. Sean Minia at Seattle.
Starting point is 00:49:14 Yeah. It's not an automatic, no, but I'll take Gossman and McHugh over. him. Luis Castillo at Pittsburgh. Obviously. Yep. Start him until they shut him down. Ooh, Denelsso Lament.
Starting point is 00:49:27 68% owned. This might be someone you pick up, but don't start. Last seven starts for Lament. He's got a 263 ERA, more than a strikeout per inning, 12% swinging strike rate. But he's against the Dodgers this week. Yeah, I'm not starting him, that's for sure. Depending what my pitching needs were, I could see adding him. Mike Clevenger.
Starting point is 00:49:49 Mike Clevenger at Detroit. That's pretty interesting. 68% owned. What do you think? Is that early or late in the week? He pitched on Saturday, so he's probably... Okay, so later in the week? I think I would.
Starting point is 00:50:00 They may... You think it's start them? May have a bad lineup. They are better without Miguel Cabrera. Listen, when you have one of the... Listen, when you have one of the worst regular... Like, he's got to be one of the worst regular first baseman in baseball, and he's batting the third.
Starting point is 00:50:14 Not true at all. Who's... I bet you he is. He's not even a top 30 first baseman of fantasy. First off, who's worse? All 17 first baseman the Yankees have played this year. Yeah, they've had one of the worst. The Red Sox first baseman.
Starting point is 00:50:28 Mitch Morland. Yeah. Actually, Morland and Hanley have probably been better than him. No. I bet they have. I bet if we just play the OPS game. Hmm. We're talking about Miguel Cabrera, by the way.
Starting point is 00:50:43 It might be closer than he thinks. If we just play the OPS game. His OPS, Miguel Cabrera's OPS right now, 744. How many first basement in baseball have an OPS lower than 744? He's slugging 407? Are you kidding? 407?
Starting point is 00:51:07 Miguel Cabrero. And Morrowlands, I'm sure, us too. Yeah. And he's batting the, he bats in the middle of their order. He's killing them. But it's not like they have a great replacement or anything, like John Hicks. Yeah. Yeah, whatever.
Starting point is 00:51:24 No, Seattle is starting Danny Valencia for a while. Yeah. I would say 20 teams have had first baseman, at least 20 with better. Oh, yeah, that's wild. I think that's a modest estimate even, so. Yeah, sure. Okay, I'm sorry. Who heck were we talking about here?
Starting point is 00:51:42 No idea. Clevenger at Detroit. I mean, two of his last three starts have been awesome. And then there was a bad relief appearance in there that makes it look worse. Would you start Clevenger or Verlander? No, no, no, no. Verlander's at the Rockies? Still no.
Starting point is 00:52:01 Yeah, I think I would. Come on, Verlander's been awesome. I'm not starting people at Coorsfield. But he's Verlander. He has been recently, yes. You see his ROTIRA, by the way, Verlander? No, what is it? Ooh, get ready.
Starting point is 00:52:13 It's going to take me about 10 seconds here. Well, put me on the clock. Can I do it in less than 10 seconds, ladies and gentlemen? Oh, goodness. Come on, Internet. I think Justin Verlander is going to missbacks. His road ERA is 502. 502.
Starting point is 00:52:31 What was it? 502. Image right at the buzzard. 276 at home, 502 on the road. Still starting him. All right. I'm not. All right, guys, Fringy starting pitchers part two.
Starting point is 00:52:45 Sabathia against Cleveland. Ike off against Atlanta. Kyle Freeland against Arizona. Lucas Gialito. Probably talking about him. against Tampa Bay. Ariel Miranda at Baltimore. And he's saying anybody that tickles your fancy?
Starting point is 00:53:00 I could see starting I cough for Gialito. Geolito's been interesting. I don't think he's been good enough for me to recommend adding him across the board four strikeouts in each of his first two starts. But I think he had 12 swinging strikes in this one? Probably 12 on baseball reference and 14 on ESPN. Okay. Well, in that range, more than double-digit swinging strikes,
Starting point is 00:53:26 you'd expect more than four strikeouts. Yeah. For the number of innings he pitched. And the walks were up, but he didn't allow any runs. So I'm keeping an eye on him. Okay. Lucas G. Lietel, 50% own. And in deeper leagues, Doug Fister.
Starting point is 00:53:42 Doug Fister, doing some good stuff lately. Miguel Gonzalez, he's at the Yankees' Fister. Miguel Gonzalez is at Minnesota. Kendall Graveman is at the Angels. It's been pretty solid. Bartolo Colon has the White Sox Jarrell Cotton is at Seattle Kyle Gibson has the Royals
Starting point is 00:53:59 We haven't scored in 34 innings Ryan Merritt is at the Yankees Anyone tickle your fancy I guess the most interesting to me For In a deeper league It's a Gonzalez or Graven We've seen Gonzalez do this every once in a while
Starting point is 00:54:19 Where he goes like a month Where he's just somehow kind of good Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Those are probably the two. I like Fister in a similar way if he wasn't at the Yankees. I don't trust that at all. Oh, Byrd's going to homer off of him. But Fister's velocity, I mean, he's not a velocity guy, first of all, but he used to be a good fantasy pitcher. He used to be a good real-life pitcher. And his velocity is back to where it was in those days and not where it was the last couple years. So somebody to keep an eye on. Heath, I can't wait to argue next year when we're going to argue about Greg Bird and you're going to say his career numbers are this and this and this. And I'm going to say, you can't count 2017. He's playing hurt.
Starting point is 00:55:09 That's going to happen a lot. I don't think that's going to happen because the Yankees are going to sign Eric Cosmer and he's not going to have a place. No, they're not. I think they're more likely to sign Mustakis. That, yeah, maybe. Can you imagine Moustakis as much as he pulls the ball, as much as he elevates the ball? Like, he's tailor-made for Yankee Stadium.
Starting point is 00:55:31 He's going to set the Royals single-season home-run record if they could score again. And then he's going to set the Yankee's six-season home-run record. 62 next year. Okay, get them in a Keeper League right now, ladies and gentlemen. So I'd rather read emails than do today's matchups. But if I could take a look, would you start Lucas Sims? I would not. I got a question about matchups and information.
Starting point is 00:56:00 Because it's somebody we've talked about the last two weeks because of his matchups this week. And now we don't even know if he's going to start. That's Ulyse Chasin. He's supposed to have two good home matchups. He's got some kind of weird hand swelling thing. Yep. I don't even know if he's going to pitch. He's supposed to face the Giants tonight.
Starting point is 00:56:20 He would be a start if he pitches, right? Yeah. Well, I mean, I would think if they weren't going to start him, they would have, you know, that would at least say TBD. It wouldn't have him listed there. So, you know, lineups lock late today. That's a 10 p.m. game, so they're not going to lock that late. But, oh, well, it doesn't matter because you can, whatever. First game's not till 7.
Starting point is 00:56:45 So, you know, we have time to find out if there's anything going on, which just seems. I would think by 7 we'd hear something. All right, so then I don't think there are that many questionable ones. I think there's some obvious calls, but would you start Trevor Williams and or Mike Montgomery as the Pirates are at the Cubs? No. I would start Montgomery.
Starting point is 00:57:05 Austin Pruitt, Ian Kennedy? No. No. Don't think I could do that. Daniel Gossett, Andrew Heaney. No, no. No. A little tempted by Heaney, but not a lot. enough. Jeff Samarja at the Padres.
Starting point is 00:57:22 Yep. Sure. All right, let's read emails. Fantasy Baseball at Cbsi.com. Alex from New York City. I'm in first with saves. I have Holland and Colomé. I'm going to sit Hollamay. I'm going to sit Holland. Adam is not perfect. I'm going to sit Holland.
Starting point is 00:57:37 Game of Thrones is way too long last night. Way too late. Which of the following closer should I pick up over Holland this week? Dyson, Viscayano, or McGee. Or I could start Luke Weaver instead Yeah, start Luke Weaver Should have just read that part Yeah, yeah
Starting point is 00:57:54 But of those closers I trust this guy, you know, the most Agreed From Miles Is Addison Russell worth a stash In a head-to-head categories league Segura is my current shortstop And I'm losing faith
Starting point is 00:58:07 I could also pick up Albies, Crawford, Story, Galvis or Swanson I just keep sorting Sugura Me too Yeah, but if you're going to stash someone Maybe stash Albies, see where this goes from Nick Nick wanted a pat on the back
Starting point is 00:58:21 I picked up Byron Buckson today and I won by 11 Please pat me on the back He picked them up yesterday Good job pick That's not a pat That's not a very hard pat What are you hitting a very hard back Ouch
Starting point is 00:58:31 What are you hitting him with Josiah from Pennsylvania Zach Godley dropped in my 12 team Head to Head Categories League Quality starts instead of wins Should I drop any of these for Zach Godley McHugh Castillo
Starting point is 00:58:44 Peacock Morton Hendricks Oh, gosh. Yeah, you could drop You could drop all of them, would you? Who would I drop most? Who would I drop most? Right, it's tough to decide here.
Starting point is 00:58:59 McHugh is all, they all should be owned. Godly is my favorite of all six of these pitchers, so yes, you have to figure out a way to get them on your roster. I'm thinking Morton over McHugh. It's between the two Astros pitchers for me. Well, there's three Astro pictures. There's between Morton and McHugh. But I'll say Morton.
Starting point is 00:59:17 I think Brian from Los Angeles is doing an Einy Meenie-Mini-Money-Moh like parody. Heaney-C-C-C-Haw-Vey-Quito. Rank these pictures on your show. If I holler, let me know. Heaney-C-C-Hurvey-Quato. Hmm.
Starting point is 00:59:40 I will rank them. Quedo, Sabathia. Harvey Heaney. Sure. Sure. Glucose Goblin says, Dear Huey-Dooy and Louie, do I drop Brandon Belt for Dominic Smith in a head-to-head category's Keeper League? Yes, quickly.
Starting point is 01:00:02 Okay. Hyde Park Ron, excuse me, Hyde Park Ron, dropped Matt Carpenter for Reese Hoskins. What do you think? I don't know that I can get behind dropping Matt Carpenter. If he was honestly the worst player you had, then I guess it's fine. I mean, Carpenter's kind of like Miguel Cabrera, except not as extreme, where we like the bad to ball tendencies, but still hasn't gotten the season on track the way we think he should. I would not do that.
Starting point is 01:00:35 This is from, our last email is from Rob in New Jersey, dear Billy, Sweet Lou and Stump. Yankees managers. I'm in first place in a head-to-head categories league. I'm guaranteed to buy playoffs. My playoffs don't start until next week. I'm getting sick of waiting for cargo and errolous Chapman to turn it around. I'm also concerned about slumping Domingo Santana. Should I be patient and hold on to them or go for Josh Bell on the waiver wire?
Starting point is 01:01:05 I was willing to drop cargo two months ago, so that one I can at least get behind. I've been in a similar spot with Domingo Santana where I keep feeling like maybe I could upgrade, but maybe he's about to get hot again and the options aren't. obviously better on waivers, so I've kind of stuck it out with him. And Chapman, it just depends how scarce saves are in your league. I do think he'll be the closer again eventually, but, you know, if like a Blake Trinen is out there, then clearly saves are available on your waiver wire, and I don't know that you necessarily have to hold on to Chapman.
Starting point is 01:01:44 Okay, dokey. That's it for the show. Thank you, everybody. This is fantasy baseball today. We'll be back tomorrow. See you. for me

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