Fantasy Baseball Today - 09/12 Fantasy Baseball Podcast: We're Back! Players to Add

Episode Date: September 12, 2017

Adam and Scott are back to catch you up on what you may have missed. Who are some players you must add right now (1:40)? Carlos Gonzalez? Jake Junis? Who are some new closers you should pick up (12:54)? ... A look at the Most Added list (24:35) which includes Brandon Woodruff, Kyle Gibson, Matt Olson and many more. Plus our thoughts on Michael Fulmer, Jimmy Nelson and Aaron Sanchez in 2018 (33:02) ... Recapping yesterday's performances (41:25) and previewing today's matchups (47:40) ... Your emails at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finally, it's Tuesday, September 12th, and I'm so sorry about the delay, but, you know, things have been irma crazy down in South Florida where Scott White is. In fact, our office is still closed. So Scott's not going to sound so great today, but hey, it's better than nothing. Just a disclaimer. Hey, Scott. Hey, Scott. Hey, Adam. We're broadcasting.

I've invited you back into my bedroom. This is the second podcast we've done from my bedroom. Pleasure to be there. You're ready to podcast. Yeah. Pleasure to be there, Scott. All right. So here's the deal.

Like I said, powers out, office closed in Fort Lauderdale. So don't have the fancy podcasting equipment, which isn't that fancy to begin with. But Scott's just using his laptop. He also is using Wi-Fi. So if there's any connection issues, that's why. But you know what? We owe you a podcast. We've got to help you out here.

It's week 28 or something like that with 24. 24. 24. And we've got three weeks left in the regular season. Three weeks left in fantasy baseball. That's pretty awesome. By the way, we don't go anywhere during the postseason. We got one show a week throughout the off season to give you your fantasy baseball fix. So obviously we need to talk about players to add. And a lot of closer updates since we last spoke. I had an hour on on Thursday. Lots changed since then. How about this? Any must add players, Scott White. our fantasy owners need to go to the waiver wire and pick up whom? I think Jose Martinez is pretty close to being that, and he's still highly available, first base and outfield eligibility.

Even though Matt Carpenter missed that time with a shoulder injury, and you wondered, okay, they're going to keep playing him at third base, if his shoulders acting up, well, they have. He returned to the lineup as a third baseman. They've kept Martinez in. Tommy Pham has some eye issues, things he's dealt with throughout his career. Really, that prevented him from having the breakout. We're seeing this year prevented him from having that for so long.

So he's in and out of the line. There are just a lot of opportunities for Jose Martinez this year and the combination of power and, honestly, back control that he's shown as a part-timer, has me thinking he could make a real impact and make. leagues. Would you drop Miguel Cabrera for Jose Martinez? I say yes. I wouldn't be opposed to that. No, I wouldn't be. Good, good for you. More on Cabrera later with the Trusto meter. Anyone else, sir, I can give some names. I mean, Mitch Hanigers is on fire again. Last 11 games, Hanigers batting 489 with four home runs, 11 RBIs,

four doubles, but no walks to nine strikeouts. It's hard to walk when you're back. batting about 500. Right. But yeah, Hanigar, 51% owned. I mean, it's still a little worrisome because when he was hot in April, he was striking out a ton then. The BAPIP was absurdly high. You knew there was some regression coming.

And I can even take it back farther than the time. You mentioned there. In 20 games since returning from the DL since that facial laceration, 20 games, 18 strikeouts to just two walks for Mitch Hanigur. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if he was showing better plate discipline than that. He was a good plate discipline guy during his breakout season at AAA. But at the same time, a player who has the foundation Hanigar has, just because I don't necessarily trust all the ways he's succeeding now, doesn't mean I'm just going to dismiss him when he's putting together this kind of hot streak.

I think he's available in half of leagues, so he's definitely somebody to look into. I got two more outfielders for you. Carlos Gonzalez is 71% owned. He's my must-ad guy. He's batting 4-29 with two home runs, seven doubles, eight walks, nine strikeouts in September. This is about 10 games. Carlos Gonzalez, 4-29 with two homers, seven doubles,

and about a walk-to-strike-out one-to-one ratio in September. So you never know. I mean, wouldn't it be something if Carlos Gonzalez had such a bad year, but finally gave us a good month to finish the season, and he's 71% own. And then Delano DeShield started playing regularly on August 13th. Since that point, he's batting 305 with two home runs, nine steals, 23 runs, 15 walks to 18 strikeouts. Since beginning to play regularly, right about a month ago, DeShields is the number 15 outfielder, number 16 in points, number 14 in Roto, and he's 33% own.

So if I ask you to rank, Carlos Gonzalez, Mitch Hanager, Delano to Shields, Rank them. I will go Hanager Gonzalez to Shields, though, you know, I'm not opposed to adding to shields. Obviously, if you need steals. Steels. That stretch, that stretch in 24 games where he's hitting 305, he has a 355 Babiff, which for somebody with his speed isn't crazy high. So, you know, you pointed out the plate discipline he's shown, I think he might be more than just the Steels guy. I'll tell you something.

I think the Rangers made a big mistake with him. I think they gave him too short of a leash. It's hard to be good when you're in and out of the lineup all the time. This guy should have been playing a lot. He blew it a little bit. I mean, let's say that. The Shills didn't hit very well earlier in the year, but I wish they had showed some patience. I think he could have been a very valuable fan.

He could have been a 50-steel guy. Yeah, and I think, I don't think they're going to back away from him now because Carlos Gomez is banged up. I know Willie Calhoun is getting called up today, and he's a part-time outfielder, but more of a left-field guy, and they have an opening there to Rubnet O'Dore is banged up at second base, and Calhoun can play some second base. I don't expect Calhoun to play a lot, first of all, but I especially don't expect him to play at the expense of DeShields. Any pitchers that are must-ad's right now? Well, that's a little trickier because any pitcher who's widely available, you're only picking them up for two-star weeks, really. And with three weeks left, I mean, two more weeks to set your lineup,

and that's if your league is including the last week, you're going to have to be pretty selective about that because obviously not everybody's making, not everybody has another two-star week ahead of them. I do think Tyler Glass now is a good time to beat the rest. rushed to him. He's starting on Wednesday, his first start since returning from the miners, where he was just out of his mind, which, granted, he was always out of his mind of the miners' dominant pitcher there. He's insane.

3.1 walks per nine since his return to AAA, which is a departure from the rest of his minor league career, and even more so, his last seven starts, I believe it was, 1.9 walks per nine. He got rid of the wind-up. It helped his mechanics to crystallize, and he's repeating his delivery much better than before. I think it's going to go very well for Glass now, and you'll get Wednesday start to see how it goes. And it's just, it's all about matchups now. Like Jake Junis is 46% own, and he's been pitching very well lately. Now, he might not give you six innings, but I think at this point, you sort of have to lower your expectations for pitchers and just take what you get.

If you get low run prevention and some strikeouts, then you can deal with five and a third. But I couldn't really recommend starting him this week at Cleveland. At Toronto next week, much more startable for Jake Junis. He's 46% owned. We're going to go through the most added list. I'm sure Ronaldo Lopez will be on there. I feel like almost every time we podcast now, it's been five days. These rookie pitchers, Lopez, Giolito, Junis, Snell's not a rookie.

He's not a rookie, is he? Snell? No, no. But these young pitchers, okay, Snell, the guy who got crushed yesterday, Brandon Woodruff, there are a lot of really interesting starting. It's all about the matchups. And today, Dylan Peters goes,

he's somebody that I have in my, the league that I've, one league that I still have a chance to win. And so we'll see what he does. But if he has another good start, then he's going to be a must-ad guy, must-own guy. So it's all about the match-ups. We'll take a look at it later. I do want to get an update on closers.

go around the league and look at some iffy situation and who's closing where. But you know what? Let's get personal. How was the hurricane, man? Like, everything okay? Yeah, yeah, everything's okay. It was a lot of wind. I feel like that was, you know, maybe toward the beach they've had issues with some flooding, but that wasn't so much of an issue inland where I was.

A lot of wind damage, trees down, limbs down, power out. But, you know, nothing, I haven't seen a ton of property damage, at least in my area. And we haven't, we had a little bit of water damage in one of our rooms, but nothing major, nothing that's not going to get fixed within a couple days here. So, you know, we're all feeling pretty lucky to have avoided anything worse. And, you know, we're glad it's behind us, and we're just trying to get things. back to normal. That's, I mean, the biggest thing

I'm discovering this being my first real hurricane experience is that for the vast majority of us, it's days of prep beforehand, days of cleanup afterward, and just riding out the storm in between. And the last two years now, two years in a row,

right around the same time, that Hurricane Matthew, and now Hurricane Irma, looking like they could hit South Florida as like massive category fours. And they both kind of missed South Florida. And last year it was Jacksonville, I think, that got it bad. And this year it was the west coast of Florida.

And it's weird. It's like, first of all, such a guilty feeling because you're happy that's missing you, but you know it's going to really devastate other people. So that sucks. And the keys got crushed. Yeah. But I really hope that people next time around, I don't think they will. I think in South Florida, at least since Andrew in 92,

even with these misses, you have to get prepared. You have to do the preparation. And I think people will still do it next time, even though this one missed. Like people fled South Florida. I know some people who fled South Florida to go over to Naples on the West Coast. Yeah. And then they came back. Which is, I mean, you see a lot of, you saw a lot of talk, mostly from people outside of Florida.

I kind of felt like people were gilting people in Florida to evacuate but the thing is the storm being as big as it was and you know the paths being only predictable to a degree you had to evacuate you know well out of the state to be out of to be out of

its reach and that you know it just it wasn't a option for everybody. It wasn't. There were only two major roads out of Florida. So, you know, those were backed up. And it's just, it's not, it's not clear, it's not clear what, that there isn't one clear solution for everybody. It depends on where you live. It depends on, uh, the, the kind of structure you're staying in. You know, do you have hurricane shutters or don't you? All those are, are weighing in. Um, but ultimately, Um, you know, my family's safe. We're in good shape. And, uh, just ready to, to get things back to normal. Sure. And we know that South Florida got lucky, but other parts didn't get quite as lucky. And, you know, we're sorry to see that. It's terrible. And, um, just wishing for the best for everybody to get back on their feet quickly and, you know, hopefully not too bad out there.

But we know for some people it really was. And, oh, damn. Sticking hurricanes. All right, closer updates. For the Yankees, it looks like it's a Rollis Chapman again. You can book that. How about for the Royals? Kelvin Herrera out. Brandon Mauer, maybe, but he got crushed yesterday after getting a save on Saturday. In a non-save situation, pitched like the sixth inning yesterday and got wiped, got crushed by the White Sox.

Who's the closer in Kansas City? I have no idea. This has become as messy as the Angels situation, maybe even more so because they don't have the good options the angels do. Scott Alexander was the name I saw heading into Sunday and then I think he worked the sixth and seventh inning in that game. He's a left-hander, so there's always issues with that.

But, you know, the way Mowers pitched recently, I don't think it's him. He's been. He's got a 640 ERA. Right. I guess Alexander would be my first guess, but it could be a number of options. And eventually, Joachim Soria is going to return, too,

and maybe it's him after that. But not right now. Or it could be Herrera at some point. Who knows? Toronto. Roberto Osuna is on paternity leave. So, you know, he could come back. He probably has the job.

But he's got, I think, 10 blown saves. Dominic Leone got a save last night. And really good numbers for Leone this year. But it's probably Ozuna, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know he's been shaky recently, but the Blue Jays have been emphatic that he's still their guy,

and we know how good he can be, so I'm not really worried about him. Scott, get frustrated about the Angels bullpen for me. Ah, Angels. Why are you doing this to me? Oh, Yuzmero Petit, 7% Oh, he got the save on Sunday, his first save in a month. In that game, Blake Parker pitched the eighth inning after not pitching in six days and blowing a save six days ago, who gets the next save for the Angels? What's your best guess?

My best guess is, I mean, Blake Parker's still the one I want to own. Is it wrong to say that? No, that's what I would say. Okay. Then we agree. Sure, yeah. Like, I don't know.

I don't know. I don't feel confident he's going to get the next save opportunity. Oh, yeah, I don't either. If I had to pick one Angel's reliever, I still think he's the best, and I don't think he's far enough removed from the role. that Mike Sosha just wouldn't even consider him next time. In Miami, Ziegler's dealing with a bad back and kind of a bad year?

Kyle Bearclaw? Yeah, that's somebody to look into. I don't think it's thought to be a severe issue for Ziegler. And he's been pretty good since, I know his overall ERA is still awful, but he's been pretty good since entering the closer role. Okay. But the thing about Kyle Bearclaw is, He's been really good since coming off the DL.

The walks have been way down. Right. He's starting to pitch better. If you need a closer, Bearclaw, not the worst guy. But if you need a close, oh, we'll get to it in a second. Let's go to Arizona first. They say it's still Fernando Rodney. Do you see a reason to pick up Archie Bradley right now?

No. It was just kind of an isolated meltdown for Rodney on Saturday. You're going to lose the wild card game because of him, Scott. You heard it here? I said it like two weeks ago. I'm sticking with it. Rodney's going to blow the save. They're going to lose the wildcard game because of it. And Bradley might not have even pitched in that game.

That's going to be even worse. It's a bold prediction, Adam, but it's not crazy. Well, you know what, at this rate, they might win the division. They only have another 10 games to make up. So in 12 days, they'll be ahead of the Dodgers. Ouch. Yeah. All right, now if you need a closer, here's the name, Juan Naccio.

I picked him up. I did not drop Tyler Lyons. I'm going to start both of them in my daily league because I don't know But I think Nicosio is he the closer for the Cardinals? I don't see why you could dispute that at this point. He saved Friday's game for the Cardinals And he saved Saturday's game

And that Saturdays was with lines working the 8th So he was obviously available for that one And Nicosios had a fine year I mean he doesn't have He's a little less than a strikeout per inning So he doesn't have quite the numbers you'd expect from a closer, but as little as the Cardinals have had there since Trevor Rosenthal went down,

as little, you know, they haven't had like this standout reliever they could turn two in the role anyway. They just acquired Nicosio from the Phillies, and I think it's probably his until he gives them a reason to try somebody else. The reason why I was skeptical was I didn't think a team would go, go with a closer. When they're in the playoff race, they're like two out or something in the Central. And not that far back in the wild card, I don't think.

They're in the race. I didn't think the Cardinals or any team would go with a closer that's ineligible for their postseason roster. So they got him after, they got him in September, and he's not eligible for their postseason roster. But I guess let's get there first and worry about it later. Right. That's probably what they're thinking.

All right. Nicosio is a guy. Bear Claw is a guy. Adam and Scott were also, guys, and we recommend Nicosio and Bearclaw if you need some help at Closer. We also recommend Seekek. If you need tickets, you want to go to some games, you've got a month left in the baseball season. Football is in full swing. We want to have some NBA soon.

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Jose Ramirez left with a bruised forearm. The Indian said it was precautionary. Bradley Zimmer is out for the season with a broken finger. Jason Kipnis is going to come off the DL soon and he will see some time in center field. And it's just like, man, I can't. can't believe the Indians can't catch a break. Nothing's going right for this team, Scott. You know, I didn't even realize this today. Obviously, I've been, you know, following their 19-game winning streak to the extent that somebody in my position can, which is to say, I follow all the

daily goings on with every team of baseball. So, you know, I haven't dug as deep into it as maybe somebody closer to the Indian specifically. But it just dawned on me this morning. They've had this streak with Andrew Miller on the DL the whole time. And Kipness on the DL for what that's worth. And yeah, it's been remarkable. 19 wins in a row. They are one away from the 2002 A's,

who have the third longest winning streak in baseball history. The 35 Cubs had a 21-game winning streak. so Cleveland's two wins away from that. That would be tying for number two all time. And then the record, 26 games. Tell me if you count this, okay. 26 games in a row for the 1916 Giants, but they had a tie in the middle of it.

So I think it was 12 wins, then a tie, then 14 wins. Or it may have been 14 than a tie than 12. But the 1916 Giants have the record with 26 consecutive wins. is legit. Of course it is. It's a non-losing streak. Of course it is. It's not a winning streak. Come on, they didn't lose. Come on. You can't call it a winning streak, though, because they didn't win.

They didn't get a chance to win. They didn't get a chance to win. I don't know why it was a time. You know what? This is kind of a parallel Braves fans know about where, you know, they had a streak of 14 straight division titles in the 90s and 2000s or 11 straight depending who you ask it was either 14 or 11 because when the strike happened in 94 they were technically in second place behind the expo oh they would have definitely lost that so it is 11 well yeah yeah it is all right it's 11 but they never had a chance to pass the xx come on the expos were the best team of baseball I don't know what the standings were but everybody knows that well over over over over 113 games or whatever it was they were, but would they have been over 162? Can you find how far back the Braves were? I think it was like 11 games. Oh, it is over. 11 seasons, not 14.

It is settled. It is settled. I can't look it up without typing and you say everybody hears. Oh, yeah, right. So, okay, I found it actually. Oh, it wasn't even 11 games. It was six games. Two months to go?

That's probably, that's a lot. That's a lot. They had a chance. They had a chance, but it's 11 games. So thank you for letting us now. Speaking of 11, 11 seasons. Speaking of 11 games, the Dodgers have lost 11 in a row, 16 of their last 17. I think they have Kirshaw going tonight.

So come on. Get enough already. Danny Duffy could start at Cleveland this weekend. I'm not going to start him at Cleveland, are you? No. Okay. No, definitely a 1-800-proved. situation.

Clint Frey, oh, sorry, Junjin Ryu, he's having his turn skip this week. I don't know if that means he's going to start this weekend or next week. Who knows? And there are three minor leaguers being called up. Clint Frazier is back for the Yankees. The Rangers called up Willie Calhoun, an outfielder that Scott said he's not, doesn't think he's going to play that much.

Clint Frazier, I don't think he's going to play all that much, although I think he's supposed to play today and tomorrow. And the Phillies are calling up. Henderson Alvarez, remember him? I never thought he was any good at him. After all the arm issues and he's just now getting called up for the Phillies, I'm not interested in him. I do, I mean, when I say I don't think Calhoun's going to play much.

I think he's going to play more than Victor Robles. I think he's going to play more than Austin Hayes because the Rangers do have some need there in their outfield. But is he going to start more than half their games? Calhoun, I don't think so. Okay, and Frazier, same thing, half their games? I'm having a hard time keeping up with who's healthy on the Yankees. You got Garlander, Ellsberg.

I mean, he could start for Ellsbury, but the truth is Ellsbury's actually been playing pretty well. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't see him just flat out overtaking Ellsbury. Okay, yeah, I don't either. Because he started out pretty hot, Frazier, but he didn't play great, and he's come back for an oblique injury and those things hurt. Most added list, Clint Frazier's not going to be on here. But Brandon Woodruff is, wah-wah.

Two-star week for Woodruff got rocked by the pirates yesterday. And that was the one, and I realize it's a paper-thin silver lining, but to the Jimmy Nelson injury, which I guess you haven't had a chance to talk about. No, that's coming up. actually former Nelson and Aaron Sanchez all done for the season. I want to talk about how you feel about them going into next year. But yeah, Woodrow. Jimmy Nelson is the most concerning because he has a partial labrum tear.

Well, you just wait one minute and talk about the most added list first, sir. Okay. All right. Brandon Woodruff. Yeah, yeah. I was the silver lining to the Nelson entry was that we felt very confident Woodruff was actually going to make two stars this week. So, you know, if you started him based on that, not all hope is lost.

Maybe he'll redeem himself with the second start, but it's the tougher matchup of the two going against the Marlins. But that being said, his start that got us excited about him in the first place came against the defending World Series champ, seven innings, two hits, I think eight strikeouts. And I think there's definite talent here. He was one of the best pitchers in the minors last year. and not so good this year, but it was at Colorado Springs, whatever. I don't know what to make it bad. I still think of him as one of the brewers' better prospects, and I'd want to hold on to him to see how this Marlin start goes,

because if it's a good one, I don't think it's crazy to think Woodruff could be usable in a one-start scenario. Okay, we got Matt Olson. Oh, Matt Olson, we haven't talked about him. I know he was in your sleeper hitters column. What do you have, like seven home runs in ten games? At one point, yeah. 44% own Matt Olson.

I got a few people asking me Matt Olson or Jay Bruce for week 24. And I think I told one person Olson and one person Bruce, so I'm going to be right. Way to go. Way to be consistent there. I guess I hadn't realized how

poorly Jay Bruce had been hitting, but he's fresh off the deal. We'll talk about him later, but yeah, I mean, Olson is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. There's no doubt. Do you have faith in him this week? Well, not having the mashups in front of me. I still think of him as a match-ups guy. Obviously, you don't want too many lefties on the schedule because there's still a chance he sits against some of them.

The strikeout rate is still very high. So, you know, I feel like he's kind of a home run or bus guy. Kind of like Joey Gallo, frankly, in terms of what I expect from him. You know, relative to the masses, I wasn't particularly high on Joey Gallo. So I think, you know, even if Bruce has been kind of cold coming off the day, I still have a lot more faith than him. He's had arguably the best season of this career, Jay Bruce, and we've hardly ever talked about him.

Actually, you look at his slash line, Jay Bruce. It's almost identical to last seasons, which was pretty good. I just didn't really buy it because he's been such an inconsistent hitter, but he's gotten more consistent, and I don't know, he's good, he's good. But you do wonder if he's healthy. That's the only thing. Also on the most out of list,

Jose Martinez Kyle Gibson Like that's just no I can't I can't trust Kyle Gibson Scott he's pitching really well His last four starts have been dynamite But I can't trust God And I remember there was some adjustment I read about him making

That You know makes it not Yeah you know what Totally I heard dismissible I was watching his first start of the season First start of the season And they said

Tile Gibson made this adjustment it's going to help this then, whatever, and he was terrible. But maybe he made another one. This was a different one. That had to do with, like, pregame routine. This was more about pitch selection, but whatever. Your point is valid in that. Kyle Gibson has such a lengthy track record of,

I think it would be generous to call it mediocrity. He's been an awful pitcher throughout his big league career, so it's going to take more than a string of three or four good starts for me to buy into him. I will say this, though. Gibson's 33% owned. His next start is against the Padres this weekend. If you're desperate, they'd say you're in a daily league, end of the week.

I think that game's on Saturday. You need someone, you need a Hail Mary. That's not the way he's been pitching. It's not a bad one. Because look at the next guy on the list, Doug Fister. It's gone on longer than we expected. Do you believe in Doug Fister? It's easier to believe in Doug Fister because Doug Fister was a really,

good fantasy option for a four year, like a four-year stretch. And only 33 years old, wasn't a guy who depended on velocity, even at his best, was more of a finesse guy, one of the few true finesse pitchers in the majors. But he did lose some of that velocity and has regained it this year. So I think he's back to being good Doug Fister, the one we saw for the Tigers and the Nationals. And, um, I mean, I mean, it's hard to prioritize him over some of the young pitchers. You mentioned that from Adam Woodruff, Dylan Peters, depending how he does Tuesday. Tyler Glass now.

But I would much rather have Fister than Gibson. And Fister is facing Oakland this week, so that's not bad. And then he's lined up for two starts next week at Baltimore and at Cincinnati. And has a good chance of getting us. They're not going six men. They haven't yet. So that's a Monday and a Sunday start for the Red Sox. Fister, 56% owned at Baltimore at Cincinnati next week.

So you could be good if you need them tomorrow or next week. Tomorrow being Wednesday, we're recording this on Tuesday afternoon. Back to the most added list after Fister, Robert Stevenson. I believe he starts tonight, so we'll be able to talk about him. On tomorrow's show, Juan Nicacio. Garrett Richards starts tonight. He's got a tough week. He's got the Astros tonight, I believe.

So we'll see. I haven't been quite as excited to add him mostly because of that Astros start and then the Rangers who are not exactly a good matchup but I don't know like Garrett Richards Doug Fister

Dylan Peters they're all available who's your favorite and with that said Richards and Peters are going to start tonight so the answer might change So yes I mean this late in the year

with his little data as we have to go on for all these pitchers one start can make a huge difference as to who I prefer. But I would say Richards right now. I think if he builds up, even more so than the Astros matchup for me is just is he going to be able to last long enough in the game

for it to really matter in fantasy? He only went three in a third innings in his return from the DL at Oakland. So, you know, we need to see him go six innings or at least five before we can really start him. But I think he's a quality pitch, and I think he has a subside. Obviously, we haven't seen much of him in the last two years because of injuries,

but he's still throwing 98, and definitely somebody to keep an eye on. Man, I'm looking at this list of most added players. I see Jake Oteresey on there. I see Jason Hamill on there. Basically, Brandon Woodruff, number one. Fantasy owner's let down by two-star pitchers this week, no question. Last guy, Michael Taylor. Michael Taylor, I think three home runs in his last four games.

He's got 14 steals in 100 games. Not bad. He's 43% owed, Michael Taylor. So he's more owned than the Shields, less owned than Hanager. I think he should be less owned than both. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I don't... You hate the plate discipline.

Yeah, big plate discipline problems. I'm surprised he said for the batting average he has. It's gone on long enough that I'm not going to completely ignore him in that, you know, that power speed con. combo in a roto league especially, one where you start five outfielders. But I would rather have those other two. On to 2018, Scott. Our next segment here, three pitchers done for the year.

Now you get to talk about Jimmy Nelson. You've been waiting for like six days. Michael Fulmer is going to have elbow surgery. That'll sideline him for three to four months. Jimmy Nelson, right rotator cuff strain and a partial anterior labrum tear. But I don't, I didn't think they had decided on surgery. yet. And Aaron Sanchez.

I don't know how you could have a more frustrating season than Aaron Sanchez's 2017 season, but he's out for the year with a strain tendon in his finger. So I'm sure Nelson is going to be number one for you, Nick. Well, actually, you tell me, because the injury is pretty severe. I got a visitor here who you might like Adam. Oh, it's a cat. Yeah. It's a cat.

The cat heard Adam Azer talking and had to come over and take a peek. you're like the cat whisperer. Tell us about the cat. Boy or girl. What's his or her name? His name is Tiger. He's 14 years old. Whoa.

All right. Yeah. But he's never going to die, basically, because he's looked the same. The entire seven years I've known him. Nice. That's a good thing. Yeah, he's immortal.

But to get back to the pitchers, Jimmy Nelson's the one who really scares me here long term, because you're talking about a torn laborum in the shoulder for a pitcher. That used to be, I mean, 10 years ago, that was thought to be a career ender. It's what Michael Panetta suffered, and you remember how scared everybody was right after the Yankees acquired him for the Mariners. And truth be told, he hasn't been the same. He hasn't thrown quite as hard since before that surgery. Now, his was, I think it was a full tear.

It wasn't a partial tear. With a partial tear, you may not even end up needing surgery. So if you own Jimmy Nelson in a long-term Keeper League, you know, he haven't met a great value because he was a breakout season for him. Don't do anything rash with him. It may be okay. Let's see if he needs surgery and what the timetable is. But there's a real chance that he misses all of 2018. And there's a real chance he's never the same. That's obviously the worst case scenario. But it seems plausible. Fulmer, I don't really know what to expect. This kind of, I forget the exact terminology, like a nerve relocation surgery. Yeah, I didn't know if it was similar to what Jacob de Grom had. Transposition surgery. It might be, it might, I haven't had a chance to look it up, but it might be.

It's just part of the issue with Fulmer is, like I had them as a bust on my bus list coming into the year because, It wasn't a great strikeout pitcher. And then that looked like a terrible call for most of the year. I'm feeling a little better about it toward the end of the season when he struggled. But how much of that can you attribute to the surgery, to the injury, how much of it is just the fact he doesn't miss enough bats? It's hard to say. So he'll be, I mean, he'll definitely be outside my top 40 next year, I would think. And then Aaron Sanchez, you know, the reason why I thought he was going to be a bust this year was because I was so concerned about the inning.

spike from 2015 to 2016. And between all these damn blisters for Sanchez and now a strain tendon in his finger, I'm still worried about the inning spike. Yeah. He's still... Might be even more so. Yeah, right? Like, I don't know what to expect from Aaron Sanchez.

I don't even know if Sanchez... He'll be a late round flyer. He'll be a late round flyer. But that's probably it, right? Probably. I will say he's going to be outside my top 50. And whether he ends up outside my top 60 or not, probably... determines if he's really strictly a late round option.

But I can't imagine drafting him inside the first 15 rounds next year. All right. So that's Fulmer, Nelson, and Sanchez. On to 2018. I got a little hey real quick for you. Then we'll take a look at yesterday's action. Not too much. Only eight games.

And, of course, we will preview today's matchups. There's a day game that we won't get to. I think it's actually already underway. But there are other. others that we can talk about, but we also have to talk about shaving. Actually, pretty impressive, Scott, uh, I don't know. I'm clean shaving. Yeah, you're clean shaving? Yeah, I am. And I know that means you used your Harry's Razors because we all got a Harry's razor. Harries.com slash F-B-T. H-A-R-R-Y-S dot com slash F-B-T. It's really a great deal because we all know, way before I even

knew about Harry's, I said to my friends, is there a bigger rip-off in the world? I probably said it on a podcast because you're all my friend. You're my only friends. Is there a bigger ripoff in the world than razor blades and razors? And obviously, there might not be because companies are coming along and helping out, and Harris is the best. Harries gives you a great shave at a fair price. More than 3 million guys have switched to Harry's.

I love the shave gel, first of all. I love the smell. I don't really care that much about what it smells like, but the wife loves the smell. You're going to get at harries.com slash FBT, you're going to get a free try. It's a $13 value for free. Maybe I'll just come over your house to give you $13. But instead, use it for harries.com, and you get the shave gel, a weighted ergonomic razor handle, five precision engineered blades, and a travel blade cover. All of this for free.

All you have to do is pay for shipping. So please give it a shot. It's a great shave. It'll save you money. There's no reason not to do it. Harries.com slash FBT. Harries.com slash FBT. Hey, real quick, rest of season.

Wilson Contreras or Robinson Chorinos? Well, Contreras. Well, they said they were going to ease him back. It's the only reason why I asked. I mean, if you aimed a little bit lower, I can maybe say Chorinos. But I understand. You're trying to cram two storylines into one there. Yeah, because you pointed out in your column, your sleeper hitters column,

Chorinos going into yesterday was the, or going into whenever you wrote it, was the number four hitter since the Lucroy trade, number four catcher since the Lucre trade, right? Yeah. Yeah, in points leagues. I mean, he's had a great year overall. I kind of blame him for Lucroy falling off because LeCroix's playing time was so inconsistent at the start of the year

because every time the Rangers started, Cherinos, he homered, it seemed like, and clearly hasn't slowed down with regular playing time. It's kind of weird because, you know, it's in his 30s, well into his 30s. So I don't know exactly where it came from, and I don't know how much we can trust him next year. but he's a good option at a weak position right now. All right, let's go to, oh, next one. Real quick, Ronaldo Lopez or Lucas Gialito?

I mean, Lucas Gialito was just bad in his last start. Lopez was good, actually won, fourth quality start in five, but only one strikeout, only three swinging strikes. I actually feel like overall Gialito's been a little more impressive. All right. So Gialito's your answer? Yes. Gialito, yeah.

284 ERA, eight walks, 23 strikeouts. Lopez had a good start, a quality start yesterday, but he only struck out one. And now he's got 10 strikeouts in his last 18 innings. And that's one of those starts against Tampa Bay. They strike out a ton. However, Lopez, and I'm probably Gialito, too. Good matchups coming up. Lopez has Detroit this weekend and Kansas City next week.

How about the Trustometer? You know what? Why don't we save the Trustometer for tomorrow? It is team named Tuesday, and this is from George. George says, gohara or go home? I mean, I don't know what scenario you'd want to own Louise Gohara to use that team name. You probably will be going home if you own Louise Gohara because that start of his last week was terrible. And I don't know how many more he's going to make either.

But he's a good prospect, whatever. Maybe if it's like a dynasty scenario, you could use it. And I think the really thing would be go big or go hara, because that's the expression I know, go big or go home. Go bigger, go hara would be better, I think. Yeah, you get the H sound in there without sacrificing the big. Right. That works. I have fringy starting pitchers from yesterday.

And even though these guys are owned in 96 and 91% of leagues, at this point, Cole Hamels is fringy and Kenta Maeda is fringy. I mean, I don't think these are must-owned guys if you need to drop someone. What do you think? Hamels and Maida? I'm with you on Maida. because last five starts he's alternated bad and good and this was against the Giants.

If you can't trust him against the Giants, what is he doing for you? But Hamill is actually in September, and I understand what this was his first good September start of the three he's made. But in September, the velocity's been back, not all the way to where it was last year, but much, much closer

to the point that I'm wondering, if we overreacted to the velocity lost this year. The results haven't been good. Well, this one was good. This one was good, but the season hasn't been good. Yeah. I mean, that can't. I mean, knowing, well, okay, the season has been pretty good for Hamils.

We were worried if he could sustain it, if he could sustain it, because the velocity was down, the strike rate was way down. And then he ran into some troubles there in August that carried over to September. but if the velocity's back and him being Cole Hamill's having had a mostly successful season, I'm more likely to bet on him than not going forward. Okay, I mean, 405 ERA, the whip has been good. 405 ERA, 84 strikeouts and 126 and 2 thirds. I just know, I know, Scott, that if his name were not Cole Hamels, you'd be fine dropping him.

But I don't think that's a bad reason to keep him, his track record, his like Hall of Fame track record. It's not a bad reason. All right, fine. And you know what? Hamils has the Angels on the road this weekend and then at Oakland next week. The thing about Maeda, that gives me a little pause in dropping him, he's lined up for two starts next week at Philadelphia and home against San Francisco. Ugh. Right?

Like, couldn't that just be at Colorado and at Arizona? We can just be done with it. But Maeda's got two great matchups. I mean, that's what pitchers are in line for more than a week? in advance. Highly subject to change this time of year. So if Maeda loses that second start, forget it. Yeah.

You know, maybe an NL-only scenario you'll keep him for the app Philadelphia. But definitely want to keep an eye on that as the week closes out. C.C. Sabathia, 75% owned. He will have Baltimore this weekend. And I'm not sure I'm going to trust him. He had been pitching pretty well. But last two starts could not get through five and a third. Yeah, he's questionable.

He actually looked pretty damn good, but ran into some trouble. And the thing is, like, their bullpen is so deep. The Yankees don't give their starters a long leash, unless it's Tanaka or Severino. I don't know. Sabathia this weekend against Baltimore, starter sit. You know, if we're just talking about one start like that, I kind of liked him for the two starts this week. But if it's just a daily scenario where he's making one start and it's Baltimore, probably not.

and it's not like he's going to have another two-star week to close out the season, so I'm probably done with Sabathia for mixed league purposes. You feel the same way about Marco Estrada? Yeah, yeah. I mean, he's definitely been better since that middle portion of the season where he was a disaster. But, you know, last nine starts when the turnaround began for Estrada. 390-80-R-A-123-whip, 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings. It's just not good enough.

And Stephen Bralt, I'm assuming we don't care about his six shutout innings at Milwaukee? I care a little because he had a 194 ERA at AAA this year. Now, 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings, 3.3 walks per nine innings. I don't know that it really translates to success in the majors, but he's had a very good minor league season. It's worth noting. All right, that's Stephen Bralt. Teoska Hernandez, Toronto outfielder, batting 321 in nine games with two home runs, one walk eight strikeouts.

Three percent owned. Any reason to care about Teosker Hernandez? He's shown some power speed ability in the miners. Didn't get much of a chance with the Astros. And they sold him, they sold pretty low on him. So it doesn't seem like they really believed in him. they have a pretty good eye for talent. I'm not really in a hurry to pick up Hernandez.

All right. Let's go to today's matchup, Scott White. If you just give me a moment. Not a problem. How are you doing? How are you doing? You're all right. Happy to be back on the air?

Yeah. Good. Yeah, I'm happy. Again, I'm anxious to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. So this is a step in that direction Even if we are broadcasting from my bedroom Through a terrible microphone And people have probably tuned out by now

Because of that They missed you Were you honestly ready to deliver a baby? I researched it Yeah And this is probably A really dumb thing to say Like, it didn't sound too hard.

I feel like I could have done it. I mean, basically, just keeping her calm and catching the baby. That's, you know, good handle it. In a bathtub? In a bathtub? No, there was no mention of a bathtub. Isn't that what people who do, like, the natural births do? I don't know.

Well, there's such a thing as water birth. Water births, okay. In a bathtub, yeah. I don't know much about that. Okay. Yeah, you know what? I'm glad we didn't have to find out, Scott. I'm glad we didn't do.

I'm sure you're happier than I am. Marlins and Phillies, Dylan Peters, Nick Povetta. Yeah, we could run with Peters. We'd give it a chance. I am running with Peters. See how he does. Yeah. Genie Tonight.

Well, Be A Jeannie was the one who was great last time, but I'd rather start Bundy, and in fact, we'll start Bundy. Yeah, all right. Bundy's got a nice eight-day rest here. So that's something that's sort of benefited him when he's pitched on extended rest. A's at Red Sox, Sean Mania, Eduardo Rodriguez. This is really tough. I own both of them.

And I think I'm starting Rodriguez. As of now, I'm starting Rodriguez and sitting Mania tonight. Yeah, I think that's the way to go. I liked Mania as a two-start option this week, but when you boil it down to just one start as we're doing here, it's not worth it against the Red Sox. Sunny Gray and Blake Snell in City Field. Yes to Gray.

Lain and know on Snell. There's some upside to it, Yankees. How if they fair, against left-handers. I feel like they have a lot of left-handed hitters, so maybe not so great. But whatever, let's just go with Sunny Gray. I think he's been good against the Yankees in his career,

but actually, I'm not really... No, I'm not convinced by that. Yeah, I can't look it up because you've forbidden me from typing. Four and two-thirds, two-uner runs, one strikeout in April, five and a third, three runs, four strikeouts in July. I'm going to say no on Blake's no. Tiger's India.

Matt Boyd, Corey Kluber, Sid Boyd, Star Klover. Oh, Kluber to tie the A's, it's a lot. Yep, it's a lot. I was going to mention that, but then we got off on that other tangent. Garrett Cole and Brent Suter. Interesting. Yeah, it is interesting. Yeah, what do you do here?

Cole and Suter. Star Kohl, sit Suter. Mariners, Rangers. Marco Gonzalez for the Mariners. And Miguel Gonzalez. Oh, M. Gonzalez versus M. Gonzalez. I want neither M. Gonzalez. Robert Gazelman, Jose Cantana.

Yes to Cantana, no to Gazelman. Travis Wood, Kyle Gibson. Against the Padres. Yeah, no thanks. All right, so I was wrong. I apologize. I thought the Gibson Padre start was this weekend. It's tonight. There you go. Hopefully people stop listening. Reds at Cardinals. Robert Stevenson, Lance Lynn.

Yes to Lynn, and I'm going to say no to Stevenson. Oh, Big Al Melchior is a big Stevenson guy. Well, I mean, I'm encouraged by what Stevenson's been doing lately because he's a pitcher who for, you know, basically since his minor league career began, was thought to have a subside. And we just have seen so little of it the last couple years in the minors and most of his time in the majors. So he's definitely shown improvement.

It's encouraging to see, but still too many walks for me to buy it completely. leaving. John Gray is at Taiwan Walker. Big game. Rocky's at Diamondbacks. Grey and Walker. Yeah, I'm going to say both. Let's start both. We'll start Verlander at the Angels. Are we going to start Garrett Richards against the Stroes? I was fine with Richards as a two-start option, but like I said, with Benaya, not for just the one start with the tough matchup. Dodgers Giants, Kershaw, Quato. Bothsies. Bothsies. All right. Dodgers break the snide. tonight? Yeah, sure.

All right. Kershaw on the mound. I know he didn't break it for them last time, but you'd still bet against them every time, especially against the Giants. Just a couple of emails to read of

Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. This is from Maddie. Hey, Adam and the gang. In addition to Harper, I can keep one of these hitters and one of these pitchers in a 14-te-to-head categories league next season.

Who should I keep next season? season. Rendon, Jose Ramirez, Matt Carpenter. Pick one. Rendon, Jose Ramirez, Matt Carpenter. I know. Not Carpenter. Categories League. Not Carpenter. I like Rendon a little more than Ramirez. I like how much he walks. And you know, Ramirez has good play discipline too, but I just feel like there's a little more certainly more history backing what Rendon has done expectations when he was coming up through the miners

was thought to have a much brighter future than Ramirez I just have a little more trust in Rendon than Ramirez though they've had similar seasons Give me a pitcher from this Manaya Berrios Tanaka Kenley Jansen Manaya Barrios Tanaka Jansen Maybe Jansen in a categories league

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking Yeah I think Tanaka's gonna have a good year next year But I almost know Jansen will And I think Mania will too actually I think he got tired I'm looking forward to drafting Mania in a lot of leagues Finally David in West Virginia

We kind of answered this Quato and Dylan Peters are both available on his waiver wire Should he pick them up for tonight Yeah I'd say so Yeah, I would, I mean, if you're forced to choose one, I think I'd go Quedo, even though that's a tougher matchup for him. I just like, you know, I trust him more as a pitcher. But I'd be fine starting either one of them tonight. Quato is facing the worst team in baseball.

Over a certain sample. Yes. That's true. The Dodgers, yeah. Also, the best team in baseball. That's true. If you look at a larger sample. That's true.

What have you done for me lately? Scott, you've done a lot for me lately. Thank you for coming on the show. Much appreciated. Get back to work. I hope we can have higher quality sounds, and I'm back in the office tomorrow. Oh, amen to that. Thank you all for listening.

Sorry we've been away so long, and we'll talk to you. Hopefully tomorrow, if not tomorrow, it's definitely Thursdays to you.