Fantasy Baseball Today - 09/25 Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Let's Win a Championship!

Episode Date: September 25, 2017

One more week to go! Adam and Scott tell you what you need to know as you set your lineup one final time. Can you start Bryce Harper this week (2:15)? Which two-start pitcher changes do you need to know about (4:30) and how safe are Jake Junis and Daniel Mengden? Start or Sit Jon Lester (7:08)? Clayton Kershaw (9:50)? ... You need to pick up Garrett Richards! And if you need a hitter, who can help you this week (27:44)? ... Reviewing all of the noteworthy SP performances from over the weekend with start or sit advice for more than 30 SPs (33:00). Plus a look at today's matchups (46:02) ... 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

Still playing fantasy baseball? Well, that's a good thing. It's time to win a championship. Welcome to the show. Fantasy baseball today on Monday, September 25th. Our final regular season show, but don't worry, we will have one a week for you during the offseason. And if you need to make a hire, make sure you use ZipRecruiter. With ZipRecruiter.com, you can post your job to 100 plus job sites, including social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, all with a single click.

Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash strike. Scott, ZipRecruiter.com slash Strike. Streak. I want to say something very selfish right now. Okay. Be selfish. I just, the timing of Scott's child's birth could not have worked out any better for me.

This was just outstanding. It waited the entire baseball season. I'd be amazing. Against all odds. He's still hanging on. So I'm back for the final regular season podcast. And, you know, maybe that baby is just selfless. Maybe it's a selfless baby.

It's a great start. It's a great start. And I'm thinking sometime around the 50-minute mark of this show, you should get the call. It's go time. That would be perfect. Maybe soft a way. Because I wrote WaverWire this morning when nobody else was really going to be able to ride it. So there's, you know, all the last-minute pickups for you are up on the site.

There are really no more regular Cesar. and baseball obligations to fulfill. So yes, that would be the perfect scenario. As you're signing us off, you could say, A baby White's on the way. There it is. Then we leave. I hope so.

And if that does happen, we expect some type of voice alteration with the mixer to take place. Or are you using the other mixer today? No, I got the good mix. Okay, good. I got it. Now, the big question for Fantasy Week 26 is, start or sit Bryce Harper. So why don't we start the show with that?

Bryce Harper is expected to come off the DL today. Start or sit Bryce Harper. I think probably 90% of Bryce Harper owners can elect to sit him. And, you know, I hate to go word for word what I read, but it just was such a good. the description that the Washington Post had about, because nobody knows, the Nationals haven't officially announced

he's coming back, it's just a team source says, oh yeah, he's going to be activated, but since nobody's officially talking about it, they can't give a precise plan for how they're going to use Bryce Harper. But, you know, obviously hasn't played in any rehab games

with his bone bruise in the knee, played some simulated games, but hasn't really gotten the workload you'd expect, given the amount of time he's missed. So this is how, they summed it up, the Washington Post. While Harper said Saturday, the key for him will be regaining his timing. The key for the nationals will be his stamina.

Baseball games require a unique sort of leg strength. Standing in cleats for three hours at a time while starting and stopping on demand is a difficult thing to duplicate. Harper has not done that since the injury. Fatigued muscles are at risk of injury. The nationals have been particularly slow and steady when nursing stars back to health this year and seem unlikely to make a stark departure from. that policy despite the time crunch imposed by October.

So, don't think he's going to play every day. I don't think he's going to last every game that he does play. And I think for most mixed league owners, it's just not worth the risk with everything on the line. Okay. Man, that's kind of what I was hoping to hear. I don't have Bryce Harper. Nor am I playing, except for one Roto League. I'm just playing it out.

But if I did, yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. He's been so cautious with his regulars. You know, you look at the Nationals lineups lately, and they've been terrible. He's just giving everybody rest. So, you know, you know Bryce Harper's not playing every day this week. And as Scott said, most of you, Bryce Harper owners, will be sitting Harper. So you wrote a waiver wire column. Good for you.

What did you recommend in this waiver wire column? Who did you recommend? Well, since we last talked Friday, there have been quite a number of changes to the two-star pitcher rank. Kings. Newcomers that we weren't willing to recommend then that are actually worth recommending. Colin McHugh looks like he's going to be making two starts for the Astros now. The first of those will be his second start back from a fingernail issue, but he went nearly 90 pitches last time. He's had a good year for the little bit he's pitched, adding the Braddock slider to his repertoire. I think he's, you know, not great matchups, but considering he's Colin McHugh pitching for the Astros in line for two stars,

I think he's a good option. Jake Junis is now definitively in line for two starts, I think, pretty safely. The combination of everybody moving back a day and Sam Gaviglio seems to be out of the rotation for now. So, you know, even if they give someone a random spot start in a seven-game week, with Jake Junis going Monday, it looks like he'll be able to make two starts. Again, not great matchups, but Jake Junis is a much better pitcher than most of the two-start options available. Blake Snell, I liked, you know, he's not a newcomer to the two-star list, but he's still available in half of CBS Sports Leagues. He's probably my favorite of those three for this week. Yeah, Snell has the Yankees on the road in Baltimore at home. I mean, Justin Boar is a great hitter option, somebody I'd go with over Bryce Harper.

Justin Boar is on a lot of fantasy owners' minds right now. He's owned in about 66% of leagues. He's got three games at Colorado to start the week, and he's red-high. So you must, if Boer's available, seems like a must. Even if you're just picking them up to make sure your opponent doesn't get Justin Boar. Yeah, I did a lot of that with two-star pitchers. You did. Just picked them like Mengden, Dickie.

I'm not starting them, but they're all in my roster sitting on my bench just so nobody can use them against me. And that potentially becomes a disaster. Oh, I mentioned, I forgot to mention another one. This guy is more owned than Junis and Collin McHugh, but Zach Davies is suddenly a two. two-star pitcher now, and with the kind of role he's been on the last two months, I'm not trusting in that performance long-term, but his matchups versus Cincinnati at St. Louis, they're pretty good.

Obviously, he's a hot hand play right now. I am actually starting Zach Davies in a head-to-head points league, even though I really have no way to explain the way he's performed recently. Are you going to start John Lester in a two-star week at St. Louis and home against Cincinnati? If I knew for sure he was making two starts But to me he's he's a questionable case Both him and Erietta They're projected to go

Obviously if they're both projected for two starts They're projected to go the final two days of the season And you have to think those would be the Cubs number one and number two The start of a playoff series Now you pointed out on Friday show That there may be enough rest anyway To take their regular turn But it still seems kind of

silly to me that the Cubs would let them go full bore adding extra inconsequential innings when innings are about to become very consequential. So if they do start at the end of the week, I don't imagine it would be a normal start. Go full bore would be a good title for today's show. We are going full bore here. Well, we're very high on Justin Boar.

I'm not the only one, right? Like you think Justin Boer must. Start them where you got them. What about Alex Wood in a two-star week? San Diego at home at Colorado. And he's auditioning to be the fourth starter for them with Junjin Ryu, who's going to start this weekend. Yeah, I am seriously skeptical that any Dodgers pitcher is going to make two starts. Now, he's going against San Diego to open the week, and he's Alex Wood, had a great season.

So it probably doesn't matter. You're probably starting him anyway. C.C. Sabathia is a two-star pitcher now, or supposedly. He will start today against Kansas City. So he's lined up for two starts. Yeah, I feel pretty good that's going to make two Because they have a seven-game week So even if Jordan Montgomery gets another start

There's still a chance Sabathia makes two It's not like he's going to be at the front Of a playoff rotation for the Yankees So I think he's safe in terms of Yes, he's going to make two starts Is he in the group of two-star pitchers That I'd actually want to use

Uh He's just outside the line for me. I have Jake Junis 12th. I have C.C. Sabathia 13th. That's where I draw the line. But in certain circumstances, it would be worth gambling on him. His matchups versus Casey versus Toronto are pretty good. And you're not willing to start Daniel Megden, who has Seattle and then the Rangers on the road. You just want to pick them up and make sure nobody starts them against you. Megnan? Like, if it's a desperate situation, you really need an extra start. The ideal cutoff for me in these two-star pitcher rankings is after Jake Junis at number

But if I really need to push it, that second cutoff is after Mengden at 17. He wouldn't. So, you know, it's not crazy to start him if you feel like you're already playing from behind. Do you have any reservations about starting Clayton Kirshaw? He pitched yesterday or maybe Saturday. And he's supposed to start one time this week at Corse Field. Yeah, supposed to. And I actually read, I think, on the team's official website, their recap of the start,

actually suggested he might not start at all the final week. And, you know, the Dodgers have the pitching depth to do that. If he does start, considering his last start was Sunday, it would be at the very end of the week when he's their obvious number one. So I'm going to guess he does start just because they wouldn't want him to go quite that long without starting. Seriously. But four innings maybe, I don't, like, and the fact that it's at Colorado, Maybe in a Categories league I do it, but I don't, I don't feel comfortable saying this, but I don't think I wouldn't have points league.

Oh my gosh. People, why are you? I have no problem doing the podcast. I got no problem with that. But why are you doing this? Why are you playing in week 26? It's stupid. Don't do it anymore.

In fact, Scott, I still like that. No, you don't. It's a fun challenge. No. It really forces the champion to think on his feet. You want to win this league. You got to. You've got to show how malleable you are.

You can't just go, you know, on autopilot here to end the year. I never understand you. I just don't get like. You never understand me? Sometimes I feel. Yeah, look at that kid turned out. I just sometimes I feel like you're going to have a stance on it. I know how you're going to feel about players usually.

And I've pretty much got your player analysis down. But you're like, you're very traditional. I think. So I guess that makes sense. I guess that makes sense. You're very traditional, so you would just say play it out. All right, I do understand you. Thinking about it more, I'm not surprised that you would say play out week 26.

Whereas you shouldn't be surprised that I would say don't play out week 26 because, you know, I don't like it. It's just, it's time to end. It's like almost every team is done caring in Major League Baseball. So why should fantasy owners care? Yeah, I think that's overstating it. are going to be... Have we met? What?

Of course it's overstated. You're the master of overstatements. I'm the traditionalist and you're the master of overstatement. That's what we've determined today. That's fine. I'll wear that. No, it's just too unpredictable. It's too crazy.

If Clayton Kirshaw, who's one of the best players in baseball, may not even play this week for logical reasons, then I don't think fantasy owners should be playing. And this is a vow that next year's podcast league will not end in week 26. either ended in week 24 or week 25 probably yeah good to me though Adam I know it doesn't matter how many championships have I secured in week 26 you would have secured all of them after week 24 Scott you know think about it that's obvious and you are you are I might not maybe I wouldn't have made the playoffs if the right we cut a regular season short I think I would have in this particular case but you are in the lead by the way and we're very happy for you and you are hopefully in route to

another podcast league championship. Yeah, as many of those marginal two-star pitchers that I picked up, my opponent who has been the most hyperactive owner ever, still has a lot of two-star pitchers on his roster. And it's guys that, it's like Andrew Cashner, and I think I have Zach Davies, but he has, it's guys like Andrew Cashner. I can't think of another example,

but it's basically ones where, like, you could see it going well for him, even though I wouldn't trust it myself. Yeah, Cashner's been reliable against all odds. And I'm a little nervous about it. All right, all right. Good luck, guys. I played it a little safer with my lineup than I could have because I, you know, I could have thrown Dickie in there.

I could have thrown. I'm not sure if I picked up Mengden, but somebody like that, like I could have. Jake Junis, I think. I'm actually choosing not to start Junis because my one-start options are so good. Who are they? Rich Hill against San Diego. Kyle Hendricks against St. Louis and Kyle Hendricks has just been great since returning from the DL.

Chase Anderson against St. Louis. Corey Klobber. And then a two-starred Zach Davies. Those are the five pitchers I'm going with. I'm benching a one-star John Gray because it's Colorado against the Marlins who, you know, I could just see Stanton and Ozuna going off on him as well as Gray's pitch lately.

Yeah. So I'm benching him. That was tough enough. But yeah, there's no. way I can work a two-star Junis or especially a two-star Dickie into that group. Right. Okay. All right.

Good luck to both of you guys. And let's do the news and notes. Ooh, wait. First, an email. Email of the day. Fantasy baseball at CBSI.com from John in Boston. Hey, Jake, Willie, Rick, and Pedro. It always takes Scott too long to get these references.

It's really one of the biggest disappointments of Scott White. I don't know. It's Major League. It's Major League. Oh, who is Pedro? Serrano. Sorano. I never really thought about it.

I'm not sure I knew his first name, to be honest. It was just Serrano. My college roommate had a very funny Facebook status when she watched Major League for the first time. She wrote, Hats for Bats, Keep Bats warm. That's Allstate stand. Because he was the Allstate guy, you know? Yeah. I was doing this weird thing.

thing. I was caught up in like the early 90s Cubs. I was thinking like Rick Wilkins, like Willie Wilson. I don't even know that he was on it. I was trying to make it work, but no, Major League. That's what it is. It is Major League. And I watched Remember the Titans last night. That movie's amazing. Okay. John

has come to us to vent. Last night was the final night of the semifinals in my Big Money Fantasy Baseball League. I was the 6th seed going up against the 2 seed. It is a 10 category league and all week long it was a close battle. By the time Sunday, night rolls around, I'm up four to three, with runs, home runs, and RBIs all tied up.

All of our batters are finished playing except for one, Charlie Blackman. Charlie Blackman comes up in the top of the ninth, the last at bat of our series for either owner, and Blackman proceeds to hit a home run to win runs, homers, and RBIs for my opponent. The last at bat of the series, I was devastated, staring at my computer screen in disbelief. for what felt like forever. Oh. That sucks. Oh.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh. It did happen to me, you know, two Sundays ago where I went into the final game winning. And he had, like, a pitcher and a hitter, and he ended up beating me by, like, four categories because it was so close. So not as bad as that. That sucks, John. I am sorry.

That is a bad, bad. beat. Very sorry. Better luck next year. News and notes. So Bryce Harper's coming back today. We said sit him. Miguel Cabrera has two herniated discs in his back and he may not play again this season. Justin Turner has a bruised thumb, but he will start today. Matt Olson left with a hamstring injury. Do we know anything about the severity of Matt Olson's hamstring injury? I got to be honest with you. This is the first I'm hearing about it, which may be a good thing. Yeah.

Okay, well, one of the sites I frequent didn't even report it. So I'll look into this more. You keep going through the news and notes. All righty. Junjun Riu left Saturdays start with a forearm contusion, but he is expected to start this week, and that might be at Colorado. So, yeah, tread lightly.

Dylan Bundy was scratched from his Sunday, start with a hamstring injury. Do we know if they're going to shut down Dylan Bundy, or is he scheduled to make a start this week? Last I heard they weren't going to shut him down, but I think the risk is high enough that I'd probably avoid him. I mean, he hasn't been at his best lately anyway. You know what?

He's not on the matchups here for this week. Yeah, I think I'd sit Bundy. Okay. Jamer Candelario is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday. You probably want to avoid Jose Martinez this week. He has a sprained thumb and no timetable for his. his return. Tim Beckham as a hamstring strain. This is another one. I don't really know the severity of it. Same with Carlos Santana, who's dealing with an arm injury. It doesn't really

seem serious. He got like his arm hit by a runner at first base. So Carlos Santana, I'm going to say start. Yeah, I cannot find a reference to this Matt Olson hamstring injury online. Are you calling me a liar? I'm thinking he may. Oh wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It looks It was in the AP recap. It was. That's the only place it was reported. Yeah. It's probably a good thing, like Scott said. Yeah, I guess. Either that or B-writers are just giving up, too. Well, I just, he scares me, Matt Olson, because he doesn't do anything except for hit home runs, and eventually that's going to go away.

I think he's a really good home-run hitter, though, Adam. And the matchups are good this week. I mean, he does walk a fair amount. It's not like he does strike out too much, but not like the crazy amount we see from some hitters these days, Joey Gallo Air and Judge. So, I don't know. I'm planning to start Matt Olson in the podcast league, even with this late breaking hamstring news.

All right, hopefully there's an update. Yasil Puig was benched on Sunday for a bad decision he made on Saturday. Tis-tis-tis-tisk, Yassio-Pue. And I would not start Gene Seguera. He's expected to miss a few days with a finger sprain. You want a shortstop? Maybe you pick up Jose Reyes. He's been outstanding lately.

We should talk about some weekend standouts, which we'll do, after I tell you about Harry's Razors. Everybody, stop what you're doing. Go to harris.com slash FBT. H-A-R-R-Y-S.com slash F-B-T. Just take a look at that awesome deal and awesome price you're going to get. In fact, you're getting free stuff. Harries.com slash F-B-T.

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Harries.com slash FBT. All right, weekend standouts. You tell me start or sit this week. A couple of starting pitchers who were terrible this weekend. Chris Archer. Three of his last four have been brutal. He snuck in that really good one. against the Cubs, and then he fooled you to us.

He's got Baltimore this week. Chris Archer, starter sit. Got to sit that guy. Masahiro Tanaka with Tampa Bay this week. He's allowed seven runs in two of his last three starts. I feel better about him than Archer. Archer seems to be connected to that forearm issue. At least it's hard to separate the timing of those things.

I think I would start Tanaka. Garrett Richards is a weekend standout. He's 60% owned. If it were mid-season, he'd be 90% owned. He's 0-2. Great. He got through the tough matchups, too. Yep, he's gotten through the Astros now.

186 ERA in 19 and a third innings with three walks, 20 strikeout. So it doesn't even need to be asked. You're going to start Garrett Richards, and you should pick him up and start him at the White Sox this week. Yeah, I probably should have included him in Waver Wire because, you know, six innings, one hit last time, 85 pitches. He should be good for 100. against the White Sox. And, you know, he just won't hit the Astros. So, yeah, he looks really good.

Now I'm going to tell you how much I know Scott White. Scott White is going to be a little discouraged by the lack of strikeouts from Lucas Gialito. And then I'm going to tell Scott White that his last three starts have come against the two teams. He's faced one team twice. The two teams that have the fewest strikeouts in baseball. So maybe we should give Lucas Gialito a bit of a pass there. Bottom line is he's pitching really well. But he is at Cleveland this week.

Start or sit, Gialito. Gioledo. Oh, I think it's easy enough to sit him. I have been impressed by what he's done. Overall, it's been much better than I expected him to do. I'd feel better about him as a sleeper going into next year. If there were more strikeouts, yes. And for a while, there were a lot of swinging strikes,

even though the strikeouts were kind of lacking, but those have dried up too. But still, overall, it's a positive. You know, the takeaway from 2017 for Lucas Gialito is positive. and he will be a mixed league pick in drafts next year. I feel confident saying. Would you start a two-star Daniel Mengen or a one-start Lucas Gialito at Cleveland?

Mengden and points. I guess if you're forcing me to, I'll start Gialito in categories. I think a big strikeout mental reliever might be better. Erasmus Ramirez, eight innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts against the Indians. Erasmus is 16% owned, and he has a quality start in seven of his last eight starts. It's not clear who he will face this week. Maybe it is.

I didn't see it, but it's either going to be at Oakland or at the Angels. So it looks like a good matchup for Erasmo one way or the other. What do you think? You're willing to take the risk on a one-start Arasmo Ramirez, 16% owned? It's looking like Oakland, which makes it better, and he's a relief pitcher eligible, which is interesting in points leagues. I'm still not totally buying what he's doing. Obviously, 10 strikeouts, and his last star catches your attention in the way some of the others didn't it.

Cleveland has the third few of strikeouts in baseball. Yeah. No, it was impressive. It's too big of a gamble, I think, in a one-start week. Okay. All right, but look, deeper leagues, Erasmus, hopefully available for you, 16% own. Milestone Watch. Let's move on.

We'll talk about some hitters mostly. But first of all, Clayton Kirshaw became the first Dodgers. his starting pitcher with seven 200 strikeout seasons, and he did that while missing, what, like, five weeks. 200 strikeouts. Childs play. Chris Sale has 300, right? Yeah. Yeah, that's a lot.

Come on, 200. John Carlos Stanton has 57 home runs, three games at Corres Field. Is he going to set the kind of record and hit 62 this year? My bold prediction is he ties it. He ties the non-record. I'm rooting for him. Which will make it fittingly unhistoric. But if he does hit 62, it will be with an asterisk

because he will be playing in the best home run season in baseball history. With the juiced ball. It also won't be an actual record. It'll be a record. We could put an asterisk next to all of them and just make the single-season record Babe Bruce 60 again. We could. You want to do that?

He's clearly the record holder if he gets 60. to me. Whatever. Clearly. Only 11 behind what somebody else hit. Steroids bonds.

Balco Bonds. Aaron Judge, one shy of Mark McGuire's rookie record of 48 home runs. I won't even get into it.

He's at a huge September. He has. He's probably clenched MVP again. Well, yeah. I was,

okay, he's definitely clinched rookie in the year. I was thinking about that. A L MVP, it might be judge. Man.

Who else would it be? It would be trout. Altuve was in the discussion for a while. I haven't paid much attention to what he's been doing lately. But I feel like, I mean, he's got the batting title.

I would give it to Al-Tayde. He's got an 8.2 war. Let's compare that to judges. I would give it to Al-Tubert. Has started to get some attention as an MVP candidate, which is not, I think, unfair. So 8.2 war for

Jose Al-Tuve, according to baseball reference versus 7.3 for Judge. I guess Al-Tube is still very much in that discussion. Yeah. Wow. Crazy year for Judge, but he's the number one hitter of Week 25. Stanton's number two. Other milestone.

One other. Nelson Cruz. Nelson Cruz is homered in four of his last five games. He now has 37 home runs. He is looking for his fourth straight 40-homer season. Does Nelson Cruz hit three home runs this week? Just say yes No

I don't think he will Sorry I'll give him two Ooh I'm just short Just short Yep I like to make him

Just short So hitters to start And sit this week Let's rehash what we talked about On Friday Who are some of your favorite Sleeper hitters this week Some of my favorite

Sleeper hitters include Matt Olson Justin Justin Bore also Eddie Rosario If he happens to be available in your league

He's actually in my top 30 outfielders for next year, Eddie Rosario, so I don't know why he's not owned everywhere. But for some reason, he's not. I picked up Jose Reyes and him starting him over Andrelton Simmons in a fairly shallow league. Love the Mets matchups this week. I feel like the way Reyes has performed the last few weeks was overdue for that. I mean, batted ball tendencies are still good for him. Yeah, let me give you the numbers. Jose Reyes, 51% owned.

Last 28 games, he's batting 346 with five home runs. In 28 games, he has scored 26 runs with 11 steals, 15 walks, 17 strikeouts, and six doubles, and a triple. He's been amazing, Jose Reyes. He's been, you know, since he plays a shortstop, he's been probably one of the more valuable players in fantasy for about a month and a half almost. He has, and, you know, being, yeah, being shortstop. So he's really flown under the radar. Ozzy Albies. I like him with the Braves having a series at Coorsfield.

Actually, no, they don't have a series at Coorsfield, sorry, but they play eight games. And his 20-year-old legs might actually have a chance of starting all eight of those games. And it's against the Mets and Marlins' rotation, so that's good. Jed Lowry has been... I mean, Jed Lowry, he has a decent week. There's a very good chance. He's a 15-homer, 50-double-70 walk-guck. guy this year and he's less than 50%

owned, which is amazing. Lowry, well, he did a lot of it in kind of a short period of time, but he did have a huge week last week. He's 43% owned yet, Lowry. Those kinds of years got Craig Bigeo to the Hall of Fame. 333 with one home run

last week, 11 RBIs, five walks and a strikeout. So, yeah, now's a good time for him for Lowry. All right. All right. Rafael Devers, Scott. Big week for him. He had struggled, though, and see, it's tough.

Like, Devers had a bad four-week stretch. Four straight weeks of not being good. And nine for 20 last week with two home runs. So I don't know what to do with Devers. I wouldn't call him a sleeper hitter, but I am in a Roto League where I'm trying to, you know, obviously get the last little boost in a few different categories. I'm starting them over Justin Smoke,

who's just had an awful second half. And I'm just trusting the hot hand in that situation because it's not like Devers' matchups are vastly superior to smokes. Neither's matchups are great, actually. And I think Starling Marte, it's time to get him in the lineup, eight for his last 17 with three steals. Do you have faith in Starling Marte? Actually, the Pirates have the worst matchups of any team this week.

So probably just if I need stolen bases. Am I starting Marte? Okay. Ian Desmond's is kind of interesting. He's got nothing but home games. He had a big week with eight hits, a home run, and two steals. Desmond's 63% owned. Yeah, he's just not starting consistently enough. It's him or Harardo Parra most days it feels like. I guess sometimes they're both in the lineup and Reynolds is out. But no, I'd rather not start Desmond. How about Austin Jackson and Teoska Hernandez? Now we're talking deeply because these guys are 5 and 4% owned. But Jackson had a really nice week. He's been batting second a lot for the Indians.

Teosca Hernandez is 4% owned. He's homered in three straight games for the Blue Jays. Yeah, I didn't really give much thought to Jackson, Austin Jackson, when I was putting together the sleeper hitters. You said that like James Bond. Jackson, Austin, Jackson. Jackson. Austin Jackson. There you go.

Was that the doubler? That was the doubler. It was the doubler. Double er seven. There you go. Actually, it's 11 is the actual number. Because, you know, I got to type in a number to get the effect.

It'd be cool if it was seven. But what is seven? Let's try seven. Oh, boy. This is what seven sounds like. It's pretty good. You dare to disturb me. Get out of my chamber

All right, Scott. Let's, Austin Jackson. Austin Jackson. Yeah. Big week for him. Yeah. And he's playing virtually every day. I guess in deep leagues.

He's had a good year, part-time duty mostly, but... Get out of my chambers, he says. Those are the only other hitters that I had. So if you want more advice, let me give you some good ones there. If you want more advice, check out the hidden column on CBSports.com slash fantasy. Scott, it's time to look at the pitchers from over the weekend and figure out what the heck we're going to do with these guys.

Start or sit John Gray, home start against – is it the Dodgers or is it the Marlins, right? It – wait, Sunny Gray. John Gray. Yeah, it's the Marlins. Marlins, okay. Yeah. And you're sitting him? I mean, in that particular scenario, I'm sitting.

I'm not saying he's a sit across the board. He's been great. but that Marlins matchup at Coors Field is scary it's probably worth noting John Gray actually his ERA's like a run lower at Coors Field than it is on the road for whatever reason

so maybe that makes it a little less scary but it's still Coors Field it's still a lineup with a lot of power hitters it's scary not saying definitely sick Ray but weigh your options there Danny Duffy Danny Duffy will have Detroit or Arizona this week

Yeah, I think it's going to be Detroit, which helps. That's a great matchup. He's okay. The one league I own him in, I'm sitting him in, but it's, you know, I have a lot of pitching depth. These teams are in the championship game. It's true. Dan Straeli, home against Atlanta. That's a pretty good matchup. The one league I own Strelia is in a lonely, so of course I'm starting him.

I would rather start Duffy. I would think I'd rather start Gray. but Strayley is not a bad start. Charlie Morton, either at Texas or at Boston this week for Charlie Morton. Yeah. Where would he fit in with those others? I think still at the very top. He's just been so reliable and right down to getting strikeouts too,

so in a way that's believable. Okay, I think Martin's just a start for me. How about Julio Taran? Tehran has a 225 ERA and his last eight starts. He'll be at Miami this week. It's encouraging, but that's tough. matchup and Tehran's improved in a way that hasn't

really improved the strikeouts. It does seem like his slider's been better but it's been better while still allowing contact. So I don't know. He's pretty risky with that matchup. Eduardo Rodriguez

has been great lately. 178 ERA with eight walks, 30 strikeouts, and 25 and a third over his last four starts. But Rodriguez faces the Astros at home. Are you going to start Eduardo Rodriguez. I'd rather not. It's not terrible, though.

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All right, more pitchers. Studs being duds. Garrett Cole. Boo. At Washington this week, start or sit, Garrett Cole. Boo. Sit. Jeff Samarja.

Either at Arizona or at San or home against San Diego this week would really depend on the matchup for Samarja. Points league I might go either way. But let's see here. What is this showing for me? It's showing that he's going against the Diamondbacks. Yeah, it's probably not something you're going to want to do in a Categories league. Yeah, I'll pass on Samarja if it's at Arizona.

Lance Lynn. Lance Lynn probably lost people some fantasy leagues. He gave up eight runs and two-thirds of an inning at Pittsburgh, and his previous two starts weren't great either. So he's either got the Cubs or the Brewers this week. Does it matter? Lance Lynn? Yeah, I think he's just losing it so many innings first year back from Tommy John's surgery.

I'd steer clear of that. Taiwan Walker. It's been a little shaky lately. Actually, no. He's been shaky in his last two starts. Before that, he gave up four-run runs. over five starts. So at Kansas City this week for Taiwan Walker.

I mean, compared to some of the other options we were talking about, he definitely seems behind them. But that's a good matchup if, like, if Walker's one of your best pitchers, you may just have to do it. Okay. Rick Porcelo, either Toronto or Houston this week. Big difference. No.

No, I don't want to start him. Okay. Studs being something in between studs and duds. Jose Berrios was okay at Detroit, and he will get Detroit at home this week. We know how much better he's been at home. Barrios, with a good matchup at home, start or sit? I feel like he's wearing down, too. Yesterday's start was okay, and then a lot of bad ones lately.

I'm going to say no to Barrios. Patrick Corbyn at Kansas City. Yeah, I like that. Control's been shaky. He's been shaky, 15 walks in his last 28 innings. Right, and there were a couple of really ugly. starts against the Padres of all teams, but otherwise he's still, he's been pretty reliable. That's a good matchup.

I will start Corbyn. Alex Cobb, either at the Yankees or home against Baltimore this week. Alex Cobb. I'd rather not. Michael Waka got the Cubs this week. Nope. No, okay. Nope, nope, nope, no.

Fringy starting pitchers part one. These guys are owned in 65 to 79% of leagues. We talked about Lucas Gialito. Scott's not super excited to start him at Cleveland. How about Marco Estrada? Last 11 starts, Estrada's got a 350 ERA. He's got a tough matchup. He'll either be at Boston or at the Yankees this week.

He just pitched very well against the Yankees at home. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I'm not loving it. I'd love it, Adam. I'd sit him. Estrada. But I think I'd start Mike Leak.

He's got the Angels on the road this week, and he's been great with Seattle. He has been great, and I was happy to recommend him for the two starts last week. That worked out very well. One start against the Angels. I mean, it's better than Estrada, but I still don't love it. I'd start him over Barrios. Yeah, I'd start him over Barrios.

I think it'd start him over Toron. He's in that group, but none of them are ones I'm going to be excited to start. Okay, that's Mike Leak. Jake Odarezi, three of his last starts have been great. Baltimore at home this week for Oter Ezi. Oter Ezy. It's never Oter Eazy with him. No.

It's never Oter Eazy. It's hard-boiled. So you're saying no on Oter Ezee? Yes. Wait. No. Sit. Yes.

No Oter Eazy. Okay. John Lackey at St. Louis this week. No. James and Tyone at Washington. No. Fringy starting. Pitchers part two.

50 to 64% own. Garrett Richards, yes. Yeah. Doug Fister, Houston at home. No. Yolisha Seine on the road at San Francisco. Yolisha Seen. You could do worse.

I'd rather start leak. Rather start to run. Rather start Estrada. Would you start... Would you start Yolisha Cine or Clayton Gershaw? I think she'd. Jassine. Wow.

No. So wrong. Chasin's not a horrible option. 53% of. In a points league, Shasine. Fringe starting pitchers part 3. 30 to 49% own. Brandon Woodruff, either Cincinnati or at St. Louis this week.

Don't with that guy. Rinaldo Lopez, home against the Angels. Done with that guy. Kyle Gibson, either at Cleveland or home against Detroit. No. Not worth it. Too risky. Tyler Skaggs.

Seattle this week at home. Yeah, I'm saying no to that one, too. All right. All right. Deep leagues. Like into deep leagues. Deep leagues owned in less than 30% of leagues. Would you start Miguel Gonzalez against Oakland? I don't think so.

I don't think so. Brent Souter at St. Louis. No. Dylan Peters, home against Atlanta. Definitely not. Nick Povetta, home against the Mets. Really good, his last two starts. And the Mets are really bad.

Yeah, yeah. I still... You know what we could call this... You know what we could call this category, Adam? What? Choose and perish. Are you a god? Uh, no.

Then die. Someone asked you if you're a god. You say yes. Oh, that was great. The destroyer, everybody. We just Ghostbustered. That was terrific. Thank you, Scott.

Thank you for that. Choose the born of your destructor. I sound like strong bad. I don't sound like Gozer. Can't get the voice gravely and high-pitched enough. Did you choose? I didn't choose anything. What did you do, Ray?

All right. Nick Pavetta has been really unpredictable, and no, I don't want to start to him. Luis Gohara, beautiful start against the Phillies at Miami this week for Louise Gohara. Yeah. Oh, it was a brilliant start for him. I'm really excited about him as a Braves fan, and the two starts prior to this one, no walks between them. For a left-hander who is up there with James Paxton in terms of how often he's hitting triple digits, or maybe it's not triple digits, but very high 90s.

And he's going against, who is he going against this week? Miami on the road. I mean, for a deep league, I think it's a pretty interesting sleeper. I'm still not ready to use him in mixed leagues. Louise Gohara. You know, he'll obviously never get there this year. But next year, interesting sleeper. Matt Boyd has given up two runs in 20 and two-thirds in his last three starts,

including a near-no hitter. Would you start him at Minnesota this week? Matt Boyd. No. Okay. And Arasmo Ramirez. So is Ramirez the best of this group of Miguel Gonzalez, Souter, Dylan Peters, Povetta, Gohara, Boyd, and Erasmo?

Yeah, I think so. Erasmo and Gohara. but otherwise I feel like they're going to do more harm to good. I didn't see a lot. That's why it's choosing the form of your instructor. It's choose and perish, not choose or perish. It's not really much of a choice. No, even the state puff marshmallow, man, would be bad.

I didn't see much of the bullpen. Menacing. But Jayreys Familia did get a one-out save, and A.J. Ramos has been terrible. You might want to avoid the Mets. And Blake Parker got a save yesterday. He is still, Blake Parker is still the most likely to be the, to get a save for the angels. Let me tell you something. Okay.

I just did that because his last name was Parker and we were talking about Ghostbusters. That's my favorite part of the Ghostbusters theme is let me tell you something. Bustin makes me feel good. What? Is that part of the theme? The Ghostbusters song. I don't know that. Let me tell you something.

Bustin makes me feel good. You don't know that part? I don't. That must be the extended version. I like, because he's like, you know, like, he's not already talking to you. He's like, let me tell you something. Like, in case you haven't already figured it out. This whole busting things makes me feel good. The singer of the song?

Yeah. What's his name, Ray Parker? Ray Parker, Jr. Ray Parker, Jr. So, Blake Parker is, uh, yeah, he's, uh, he's saving the day. Off the rails. From the song from the Ghostbuster soundtrack. Like, I'm just spilling my Ghostbusters Noit here.

I didn't even know I had this mine. Scott, go to the hospital. Your baby's out of the way. All right, today's matchups. We got Royals. Royals, Yankees. Nice. Afternoon game, makeup game.

Jake Junis at C.C. Sabathia. Those both, like, yeah, I mean, as a one and done, they're both okay. They're decent starts. Real quick here, since we have a second. Yeah, the Yankees have a pretty good lineup in there. I thought they might rest guys, but no, they got Gardner, Judge, Sanchez, Dedy, Holiday, Bird, Frazier, Ellsbury, Terres. And I don't see the Royals lineup just yet.

Braves at Mets, Lucas Sims, and Chris Flexen. Flexing those muscles. And they're all for show because they both are bad options. I got to say, I'm not really comfortable. starting Jake Junis in this one start. Like two starts, I get it. I'm not sure, Scott. One start scares me. Yeah, I wasn't exactly sure how to phrase it. It, like, I don't think everybody who owns Junis shouldn't necessarily start him, but I think he's going to be one of the more advisable options here today. Like, he's among the fringier options, but he's among the more advisable of the fringy

options. I think that's going to bear out. A.J. Cole, Aaron Nola. So definitely Nola, even though it's nationals, and definitely not Cole. Blue Jays at Red So, Brett Anderson, drew Pomerans. So would you rather start Pomerans or Junis? Pomerans, for sure. Okay. I think Junis, Junis has like six walks in his last nine appearances, eight of them starts. Six total walks.

So he's a great source of whip, even with a bad matchup. You might get whipped. You get... He might get whipped. He might get whipped. He might. I don't see that happening to Pomeranz with the Blue Jays. No, but Pomerant...

Pomeranz is better strikeouts, better win potential. Just worse whip. Definitely, definitely a worse whip. Pomerant is a 315 ERA and a 1-3-4 whip. All things being equal. I guess I'd take Pomeranz over Junis, too. We got Max Fried and Seth Lugo. Yeah, two bad pitchers for two bad teams again.

Colin McHugh at Andrew Cashner. McHugh, I will take. Cashner, I will not. Ricky Nalasco, James Shields. Neither. John Lester and Luke Weaver. Definitely Weaver. Yeah.

Lester? I think you got to do it. Hard to trust lately, but... I mean, unless you're just being extra, extra careful with the R.A. with in a Categories league, I think you've got to do it. Look, most of Lester starts are fine. You know, like most of them are acceptable.

Acceptable, yeah. He's had two horrible ones lately. So, all right, good luck, John Lester. Marlins at Rockies, no. Giants at Diamondbacks, Johnny Quato and Zach Godley. Definitely Godly. I feel even worse about Quato with his matchup than I do about Lester with his. So don't know that you have.

have to do it, but if we're using the Junis standard, I think Quato's over the Junis standard. Mariners at A's. Felix Hernandez at Daniel Lewis Gossett, Jr. Yep. And Travis Wood at you, Darvish. It's all about the U. It is all about the U. Thank you, Scott.

Good call. Yes. Good call. Yes. All right, let me read some emails. Fantasy Baseball at Cbsi.com. This is from Adam. Roto League

Ramos or Grandal I will go with Grandal And let's see Three pitchers Strowman Peacock Minor

Snell Mangden and Bauer He needs three of them And yeah He needs three He is He's in a close race for first With one other team for

in saves. So that makes minor interesting. Stroman, Peacock, Minor, Snell, Magnet, and Bauer. He's also in a close race for strikeouts. Peacock is like a must to me. Yeah. I mean, it's not... I think it is pretty clear.

Peacock will get a start this week. So that's good. Snell making two starts. And obviously he's not somebody you'd necessarily start in a one-start week. So, you know, Categories League makes it tricky. But I think because he needs strikeouts, it starts. Snell and then minor for the saves. So.

No Stroman, huh? That leaves Stroman out. Okay. And I'm fine with that. Keenan out in L.A., actually, no Bauer. I'm fine with that also. Okay. Keenan in L.A.

Should I drop any of these players for Justin Boar? Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Carpenter, Chris Taylor, Travis Shaw, Justin Turner, or Trey Mancini? Yeah. You could drop several of them for Boar. I think Mancini is the easiest one to drop the Orioles playing over. Only five games this week. I don't know exactly how, like, if it's daily lineups and somebody can pick up whoever you drop,

so you have to think about that, I think Mancini would be the least likely to blow up in your face, too. Fun exercise for all of you Beatles fans. Sing the song, You Won't See Me, but substitute Trey Mancini in there. And this is from Ross. It says, I am the champ in my league, fried chicken and beer. I want to thank you, Adam, and the fellas, for all the work on the podcast. you gave me a fighting chance from starting 0 and 5 in my league to 11 and 10 with a wild card. Wow, a wild card spot, and I took it all with pickups and trades.

You helped me with the trades and a lot of sleepers you suggested. I couldn't have done it without you, boys. Please shout me out. Ross, we're shouting you out. Keep up the great work. I don't really like either fried chicken or beer. I definitely don't like beer. Fried chicken, I guess I'm okay with fried chicken. I just don't really have it very often.

So unhealthy. Fried chicken is delicious, Adam. It is good, yeah. It's amazing. It is good. Do you never have, like, chicken tenders? Yeah, it's technically fried chicken. Pretty much never.

Pretty much never. Okay. I always get grilled chicken, you know? That's very healthy of you. I try. I didn't know you were such a health conscious person. I'm not. On Saturday, I ate four slices of pizza for dinner yesterday.

Chinese food was bad. But we got Blue Apron coming today. Draw a line of fried chicken. Mike in Minnesota. need some advice, start one short stop. Corey Seeger, Brandon Crawford, or Alex Bregman? What were those choices again? Oh, sorry, I didn't send you this email.

Corey Seeger, Brandon Crawford, Alex Bregman. I think Bregman since... Yeah, definitely not Crawford. I'll go Bregman because Seeger's dealing with that elbow issue. And Bregman's been... You know, he's had a great second half. Pick three outfielders. Pollock, Buxton, Kiermeier, Hanigur, Hannig, Benintendi.

Pollock, Buxton, Keirmeier, Hanager, Benintendi, pick three. Benintendi, Pollack, and Buxton. And would you play Mauer or Moncada over any of the three you just mentioned over, I guess, no. No. No. No. Okay.

Mekana's having a really strong finish, but I still want it. And Javier from Houston. Dear Tony, Joe, Dave, and Pete. Oh, that feels like Big Red Machine. Yeah, it does. Please help me set my rotation for the championship. I need five of these options. Kershaw, Karrasco, Cole Hamels,

Tyler Chatwood, Vargas, Gossett, Carson Fullmer, Gossman, Jordan Montgomery. Some of these guys are two-star pitchers. Let's give Javier a championship, Scott. All right. Carrasco, two-star Hamels, one-start, Gossmann, and we need two more, huh?

It gets ugly after that. Obviously, we're skeptical of Kerrshah, so I'm going to leave him out. I don't think Montgomery is a safe bet to start at all. Vargas, it's not clear Vargas is getting two starts, but I guess the chance of him getting two starts makes him worth it and I'm going Kirshaw.

I think gossip's the only one left. I'm going Kirshaw. Yeah? Because honestly, like, the other guys... It's a points league, though. Gosset? Yeah. Seattle and Texas.

All right. I don't... I think Kirshah is going to make a start, Scott. I check and make sure there's no better like one-start options out there before just resorting to a two-star gossip. Yes. Search for Garrett Richards.

Even Erasmus Ramirez. Sure. Yeah. Comes to that. Well, good luck, guys. Choose and perish. I can't make it grovely and high-pitched at the same time. This is frustrating.

I want to be Gozer, the Destroyer, and I can't. Can you be Vigo? I don't. I haven't seen Ghostbusters, too, nearly enough. Oh. I was surprised I pulled out the baby's name. Yeah. You sure did.

You nailed that one. I, hey, listen, it's been fun. We'll be back next week. It won't be Scott, but it's probably Chris and I or me and Chris or me and Heath. So, yeah, we appreciate it. I hope you all have had fun this season. I think you had to raise the first time. Predicate nominative?

Chris and I, yeah. It will be. That's linking bird. No, it will be me and Chris, not it will be Chris and I. I think it will be Chris and I. Yeah. No way. I say it.

I think that's grammatically correct. Predicate nominative. Look it up. Somebody needs the email us and let us know. I think unless it's the sub. of the sentence. Or the predicate nominative. Predicate nominative.

What on earth is that? It just can't be an object, basically. All right, this is total. We don't need to get grammar nerd here on the last day of the season. I mean, yeah, we're not that nerdy of a fantasy baseball podcast, but now we kind of are.

So good luck, everybody. Go out there and win a championship. Thank you for being with us all year long. Do not stop once we get to the postseason. The post season, or the off-season podcasts are a lot of fun. We'll kick it with you and answer all your keeper questions and such. For Scott White, I'm Adam Azer. Any parting words, Scott White?

Dominique!