Fantasy Baseball Today - Add Jose Quintana! Altuve Triple Dong & 2024 Fill in the Blank! (9/6 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 6, 2023

Jordan Walker is hot (3:50)! ... Jose Quintana continues to pitch well (9:20). ... Drop Dylan Cease, Michael Lorenzen or Dane Dunning for Quintana (11:50)? ... Let's do some way-too-early 2024 fill in the blank, starting with Jose Altuve (17:10). ... MJ Melendez is having a big second half (27:07). ... What's the latest on Noelvi Marte and Ceddanne Rafaela (34:11)? ... Tanner Bibee and Clayton Kershaw's velocity were both down on Tuesday (39:50). ... News (42:22): Shohei Ohtani was out again. ... Let's talk about all those home runs (49:40). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (56:30). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Where fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Jose Al-Tube, not once, not twice, but thrice. Welcome in Tough Fantasy Baseball today on Wednesday, September 6th.

I am Frank Stanfield, joined by Scott White, today on the show. felt like we had a bunch of home runs hit on Tuesday night. We'll talk about Altova, a bunch of other teams. I think there was three or four different teams that hit at least four home runs in a game on Tuesday. Jose Cantana continues to pitch well for the Mets, pitchers to drop, and way too early. 2024, fill in the blank.

Should have some fun with that. Before we get started, help us out by liking this video and subscribing on YouTube if you haven't already. And if you're listening on the audio side, download, follow, and leave a five-star rating. on Apple or Spotify, specifically if we've helped you make it to the playoffs or your championship,

whatever it might be over the next couple of weeks as the season kind of winds up. If you can give us a five-star review and let us know how much we helped you, we do appreciate it. Scott, let's jump in. Take a little whip of that, big boy. Yeah, big boy.

Who is that? That is the Cardinals radio broadcaster. He actually passed away this year and someone sent that in. And it was great. Take away for that, big boy. Big boy. Yeah.

I like that. So, Jose Al-Tufe would be a good call. But I am going to go with Jordan Walker. Take away for that big boy. He's a Cardinal himself. Three for four with his 15th home run. His 16th double. His fourth home run in five games.

and he's gone 12 for 19 during that five-game stretch. So he is catching fire here at just the right time. You know, you stuck with Jordan Walker after he was hyped in the preseason, sent down. His roster rate remained high even when he was down in the minors. You're getting your rewards now at the perfect time. And digging a little deeper on Jordan Walker here. So his average exit velocity this season is 90.7 miles per hour, 72nd percentile.

His max exit velocity is 92nd percentile. So the exit velocities are certainly there for Jordan Walker. He's struck out at less than a 23 percent rate. So that hasn't been his problem either. The problem, as we've pointed out before, is that he's put the ball on the ground way too often. So all that hard contact is being wasted on the... the earth instead of cutting through the air like butter. Well, here in the second half,

Jordan Walker's ground ball rate is down to 41%. It was 56% in the first half. It is 41% in the second half. So the fly ball rate has gone from 29% to 40%. That's a big change. For a player who, it doesn't, you know, obviously he's still a rookie. So we don't know what sort of normal Jordan Walker is going to settle into in terms of launch angle and battle ball distribution.

And it's an encouraging trend, though. And obviously we're seeing the impact it's having on his numbers. So, you know, on the one hand, I would like to see it continue to see Jordan Walker put up huge numbers in September and be targeted. high in drafts next year. But it does obviously compromise his discount next year that I was hoping to enjoy because I never lost faith in the profile. Yeah, I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's been a tremendous season for Jordan Walker, but at the end of the day, he's batting 279 with an 813 OPS.

That's pretty impressive for a rookie. So he's got 15 home runs. He's got six deals. I think the way that the Cardinals handled him overall, you know, the first month of the season, sending him down, it didn't really make much. sense to me, or I think really any of us at the time. So it's kind of been a, I guess, tumultuous rookie season here for Jordan Walker. He's still 86% rostered, so it seems like most people kind of kept the faith on him. And good thing it did, because as Scott mentioned,

Red Hot right now, Jordan Walker has homered in four of his last five games, multiple hits in five of his last seven. Let's stick with those Cardinals here and just wanted to mention, again, all these home runs hit on Tuesday night. Nolan, Gorman, two for five with a double dung for him. and in his previous eight games since returning from the IL, he was just two for 25. It's definitely been an up and down year, Scott, you know, got out to that great start. I think it was a really brutal June,

bounced back in July, got hurt in August, Nolan Gorman, the final line here, 233 batting average, 26 homers, 795 OPS, where he was being drafted. It absolutely has been a great season for Nolan Gorman, but still 80% rostered. I don't think there's anything too much actionable here. But any thoughts on Noon Gorman's bounce back

or I guess surprising second season? I mean, it's not surprising to me at all. This is kind of what I expected to happen when he, you know, obviously I was very excited when he got off to a hot start and maybe, I think I moved him up to like seventh in my second base rest of season rankings. Maybe he got a little too aggressive with that.

But then when he did have that very rough middle portion of the season. I figured, eh, he'll get hot again. And it's, yeah, I was reluctant to write him off the way maybe some people wanted me to. And I think this is just going to be the profile for Nolan Gorman. He's going to be insanely streaky. He's a guy who strikes out a lot. And specifically his zone contact rate is below 80%. And you can succeed with that. This is a number I've paid extra close attention to this year's own contact rate. You can succeed with his own contact rate below 80%, but it's among the worst in baseball. And those types of players, to succeed with that, first of all, you have to have

really good power, which Gorman certainly does, but they tend to be really streaky, those kinds of players who swing and miss a lot on pitches in the zone. And so I think that's, I think we just have to recognize that comes with the territory for Gorman and treat him appropriately next season. Obviously, you're enjoying his production right now and probably. probably not thinking too hard about whether to start him or not. But next year, you know, if he gets off to an especially cold start, or if he gets off to an especially hot start,

don't take that as the new normal for Nolan Gorman, because the flip side is probably right around the corner. All right. Oh, my goodness gracious for me from Tuesday, Jose Cantana continues his great run. He was at the Nationals where he allowed just one run over seven innings, four strikeouts to one walk, and really leaned into that curve ball in this start threw 32% of the time.

It was his most used pitch. And entering this start, he was only throwing it about 21%. So again, he really leaned into it, and it's been a good pitch for him this year. It was a good pitch for him last year as well. So nice to see that out of Jose Cantana. He's gone six plus innings in seven of nine starts so far with the Mets. And here we are.

A 3.0 ERA, a 126 whip. He's been rock solid, 45% rostered. Kind of feels like he should be in that Kyle Hendrix kind of range, Scott, of, I guess, roster rate and expectation moving forward. Your thoughts on Jose Cantana, another great start. Yeah, I think he's a quality star machine.

And he was among my top sleeper pitchers this week, even when it looked like he was scheduled for one start on Sunday when I did the update. I saw it was changed so that he was in line for two starts, and I think I moved him up to second in my sleeper pitcher rankings at that point. and he continues to be a quality start machine now, eight of nine, right? Eight of his last nine are quality starts?

I have six plus. Seven of eight. Yeah, seven of nine. I have six plus innings. Yeah, seven of nine total, seven of his last eight. Quality stars for Kentana. And as I think I've said this the last couple times, pointed this out, you look at that rough stretch of his career, which really proceeded last year.

He started out with the White Sox. He was this surprise breakthrough number three type starter, despite having not much of a prospect pedigree. And then he kind of fell off for a few years there. And it coincided with the Juice Ball Europe, basically. His home run rate spiked during that stretch of bad years. It dropped down again last year, and I believe it's even lower this year. So his home run rate is more in line with those White Sox years

when Kentana was basically a must-star fan. fantasy option. And so I think we're seeing the same consistency from him now. I'm not sure he's changed. I just think the environment's changed in a way that suits him. Jose Cantana has allowed a total of one home run through nine starts with the Mets this year. So has done a good job of limiting that. As you mentioned, he's 45% rostered. He's widely available. Let's find out if you would drop any of these pitchers for Jose Cantana. Dylan Cease, another clunker at the Royals, five and a Third innings, five runs, four earned, three more home runs allowed, 12 hard hits against the Royals in this one. And over Dillon Cese's last four starts, he has a 9.30 ERA, a 207 whip.

Two of those starts came against the A's and the Royals. There's just no way you could trust him right now. Still 93% rostered, the dropometer on Dylan Cise. I mean, considering it's September, I'm going to say six. Would you go higher? That sounds about right. It's pretty high. And that means I wouldn't have too much hesitation to drop him.

I only have him in one league, and it's a 10-team league, and I haven't thought that hard about dropping him. I think more so than me anticipating using Dylan Cese again, this season is, I'd hate for him to be used against me. You know, he'll have, I'd hate for him to turn around and have like an 11 strikeout star and somebody picks him up and then they have Dylan C's and I was the dope who gave him up. So I just kind of want to keep him safely tucked away so he can't hurt me in any context. And looking at the White Sox schedule the rest of season, so this was against Kansas City, right?

Yep. Do I have that right? Okay. So they have one of the most pitcher-friendly schedules moving forward. Their next series are against Detroit, Kansas City, Minnesota, Washington. And then it gets a little harder after that, the last three series of the year. But you could see Dillon C's having a start where it all turns around, given those matchups especially. And so I probably would hold on to him, but yeah, I have no trust in them at this point in terms of actually getting him in my lineup. I thought about it the other way, where you drop him so that someone else does pick him up, does start him, and then they get eight earned runs in their lineup instead of it. I mean, that is a more confident approach.

I guess I'm just not that confident of a player. Right. Would you drop Dylan C's for Jose Cantana? I realize they're polar opposite pitchers in terms of how they get it done, but would you make that swap? So actually, the Mets don't have the greatest matchups moving forward. It looks like next week, Kentana, so they'll face the Diamondbacks later this week. Next week, he'll get the Reds.

And then the following week, it might be the Phillies. It might be the Marlins, which would be better. But their matchups actually aren't great moving forward. The kind of run he's been on, maybe we shouldn't pay a lot of deference to that. But I don't think I would. I'm not as afraid of an opponent using Kentana to burn me as much as I am,

an opponent using cease to burn me. So, you know, you're getting the two-star week out of the way with Kentana now, a one-star week with not such a great match-up next week. I'm not saying you can't use them, but I probably have better options unless it's the sort of deep league where it wouldn't even be a question anyway. All right. Let's talk about Michael Lorenzen, who has been pretty bad since throwing that no-hitter. He was at the Padres.

He allowed six earned runs over six innings in this one, eight hard hits allowed, and four starts since that no-hitter. An 814 ERA, a 195 whip, nine walks to just 11 strikeouts. Over 21 innings, he's still 80% rostered. Scott, Michael Lorenzen. Where is he on the drop-o meter? I would put him eight.

Never had a lot of confidence in him in the first place. It was more just ride him while he's hot situation. He's clearly not hot now. I'm trying to confirm something one of the commenters was saying, about Lucchese coming up to make a start this weekend that might push Kentana into being a two-star pitcher next week. I mean, obviously all pitching alignments are subject to change always,

but especially this time of year. Called at some point, our last update says Lucchese will be recalled at some point in September and join the rotation. I don't know exactly when, but if you did pick up Kentana for two starts this week, that might be reason to hold on because they push them back one day

and that two-star week becomes next week. All right. Would you drop Michael Lorenzit for Jose Cantana? Yeah. Either way. The last name here, I feel pretty confident in this one. Dane Dunning came on in relief of Nathan Avaldi and he got

crushed. Five and a third innings, 11 hits, nine earned runs, three homers allowed. in the second half, Dane Dunning has a 567 ERA, a 1-5-0 whip. Still 84% rostered dropometer, Dane Dunning. 10. 10. All right.

So you can go ahead and drop him for Jose Cantana if you are looking to make that swap. Let's talk about how. Let's go nine. Let's go nine. All right. Fair enough. Let's go. Let's talk about Jose Al Tuvae who had a triple dong here on Tuesday night.

And he hit all three of those home runs. in the first three innings of the game. So one in the first, one in the second, one in the third. I think I saw he was the fourth player in Major League history to pull that off. So pretty awesome stuff here for Altuva. He's played 68 games this season. He's hitting 321, 15 homers, 13 steals, a 969 OPS.

And this is part of my fill in the blank. Way too early fill in the blank, Scott. I realize it's September 6th. I'm not going to hold you to this for next year. but let's have a little fun. Jose Altuve should be drafted in the top blank rounds next season. All right. Jose Buto is coming up for the Mets to start tomorrow.

So that will make Kentana a two-star pitcher next week and not this week. Okay, sorry, I wasn't listening to your question because I was still trying to get to the bottom of that very important Jose Cantana information. Okay, so what was it? So Jose Al-Tuvae just talking about him, the triple dong here on Tuesday and had a fill in the blank

way too early for next season. It's September 6th. I'm not going to hold you to this religiously, obviously. But the fill in the blank is Jose Al Tuve should be drafted in the top blank rounds next year. I can confidently say three, which is what it also was coming

into this year before it got hurt. And obviously he hasn't done anything to undermine our affection for him then. So yeah, I'll say three. Will he be where will he rank among second baseman?

Will he rank behind mooky bats? But maybe only behind mooky bats. I think that sounds about right too. Altuve has done everything you could possibly ask for when healthy this year. And frankly, it makes me a little bit upset because we were very excited to draft Jose Altuve this season before he got hurt in the WBC

and it just feels like he could have had a truly monster season, something like a 25, 25, or a 30-30 type season if he never got hurt this year. Brandon Woodruff put together another great start at the Pirates, seven shutout innings, six strikeouts in this one. He has gone six plus innings in four of his last five starts, and he's got a 230 ERA, a 0.79 whip. I think a lot of what you could say about Jose Al-Tuvae, you could say for Brandon Woodruff, right? What if he didn't get hurt?

He's kind of dealt with injuries a lot of seasons so far in his career but when he's pitched man the guy has still looked like an elite pitcher so for next season Brandon Woodruff should be drafted as a top blank starting pitcher in fantasy I'm gonna say 10

I'm not even gonna you know kind of kind of hedge my bet and say 12 I'm gonna go 10 I like it man yeah the way he's pitched the swinging strike rate still looks tremendous he throws hard

It's just, I guess it's a little scary because he's dealt with some shoulder stuff and that's what kept him out this year. So I guess you kind of have to worry about that and bake it in a little bit for next season, but I don't know. Show me a picture that is completely bulletproof heading into next season,

and I'll tell you there's probably not too many. Let's talk about Fernando Tatis, who went one for two with two walks and his 23rd home run. He also has 25 steals. He's betting 265. It's kind of been a weird year. He's got a 798 OPS.

It feels like he's been underwhelming, but still has all this power and speed. The strikeout rate is down quite a bit this year, 21%. Still hitting the ball hard, but not as hard as he has in years past. Expected numbers still look awesome for Fernando Tatis. Some people have tweeted in, sent some email Scott saying, eh, should Fernando Tatis really be considered a top pick for next season? And that's where we come in. Fill in the blank.

Fernando Tatis should be drafted as a top blank pick for next year. So this is the hardest one he brought up because I've been asking this a lot just as I update my rest of season rankings, which are to some degree a preview for next year, right? At least at the very top. And I mean, I've obviously moved him behind mooky bets. So, and then you get into like Kyle Tucker, who's obviously had an awesome season after a slow start and gives you that power speed element. in better measure than Tautis has this year, but is it the same upside? Does Tautis still have more upside now that, you know, following all those surgeries he had,

following the PED suspension, and who knows what impact that had early in his career? You're asking me a top what pick next year overall? Yeah, so top five pick, top 10 pick. I mean, when we last did a redraft mid-term, season. It was, he was second,

right? I think we all had him second behind Ronald de Cunia. I'm going to say top six. I,

you know, do I put him ahead of Freddie Freeman? Do I put him ahead of Aaron Judge and Jordan Alvarez?

Do I put him ahead of Bobby Witt? I think I put him ahead of Jose Ramirez, who would be the second third

baseman, but do I put him ahead of wit? Hmm. I don't know about that. Don't know about that.

That's, I'll say six right now, but that is not with a lot of certainty. You know, I may look closer at it, and I still have him third or fourth overall. But if he was outside the top 10, it wouldn't surprise me either. So I have seven names written down. So I'm going to say at least a top eight player, but I think you're right. I think that range, once you get into like Freeman and Judge and Alvarez, It's pretty interesting. So I wrote down Acuna, Julio Rodriguez, Mooky Betts,

Kyle Tucker, Bobby Witt, Freddie Freeman, and Spencer Strider. I think somebody can talk themselves into taking Spencer Strider as a top eight pick next year. So, yeah, I think that's where I'm at right now with Tatis, but we still have a month left and we'll see how he finishes things out. Which, by the way, if he's that low in round one, you know, I think Corey Seeger deserves to be a round one pick. I think there's a few that you didn't even include on your list there.

It might not be so bad to pick late in round one last year. I don't think it was a very good year or two this year. But next year, if we're going to have like Jose Ramirez, Corey Seeger, maybe even Fernando Tatis back there, that might be better than having a really high pick, given the quality of the second pick that you'll have. Right. I didn't even mention Corby and Carroll.

I have some slight concerns with the shoulder. and again, there's Judge and Alvarez. And yeah, there's, it's going to be pretty plentiful. I think the first two rounds of hitters, at least for next season in drafts. Let's take our first break. When we returned, we will talk about some, got some Waverwire hitters, some other big home run performances. We'll do that right after this.

Welcome back into Fantasy Baseball today. Quick reminder to download and follow our five-minute podcast, Fantasy Baseball Today in Five. I realize as the season kind of dwindles down here, you might not have as much time to dedicate. We hope you stick around with us, obviously. But we know football is starting up and all that kind of fun stuff.

So if you just need a quick fix for fantasy baseball, FBT and 5, you can download and follow wherever you listen to this podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, scan that QR code that will take you right to the FBT and 5 podcast feed. Let's talk Waverwire hitters. M.J. Melendez, 2 for 3 with two walks

and his 14th home run. having a pretty big second half batting 298, eight home runs, two steals, 94.4 average exit velocity, 13% barrel rate, and entering Tuesday, he was second among catcher eligible players in plate appearances this season

because he plays in the outfield. So he plays a lot. He's hitting really well right now. He's 65% rostered. The problem is there's been a lot of really good catcher options recently, Scott. So I think Mitch Garver is still kind of like, head and shoulders above right now.

And then again, we get into Cabr-Rouise, Cal Raleigh, Yiner Diaz. Are you taking M.J. Melendez over any of those names? So I have noticed Yiner Diaz playing time has fallen off a little, which we were concerned about. Has Cal Raleigh slowed down? He's so streaky. I feel like, you just got to ride the waves with him, man. Yeah. But he has not homered since August 26th.

Yeah, it's been like a week. I'd probably take Melendez over him, but it's close. You know, what I was just saying about zone contact rate earlier, how those players tend to be streaky. MJ Melendez has the second lowest zone contact rate among qualifiers. Lowest is Ryan McMahon, then MJ Melendez, then Matt Olson, and then Nolan Gorman, who we were talking about earlier, is fourth for lowest zone contact rate

among qualifiers. All right, let's slide over to Wilmer Flores. I keep waiting for Wilmer Flores to slow down. It's not happening. Two for four with his 21st home run. That is a career high. His previous high was actually 19 home runs last year. And in the second half, he's betting 302, 13 home runs, a 997 OPS,

just a 10% strikeout rate. I noticed he's hitting more fly balls. He's pulling the ball more too. So we've seen that before. Guys that don't really hit the ball that hard, they can kind of maximize power just by pulling the ball in the air. And it seems like Wilmer Flores is,

he's making a conscious effort to do that right now. He's 59% rostered, first base, second base, third base eligibility. Would you rather have Wilmer Flores or your boy, David Schneider? I think they're, you know, whatever. They both have multi-eligibility. What do you think?

Well, I don't mean this to disparage Flores, but I think Schneider. I think Schneider, because Schneider does what you were talking. about pulling fly balls in the air well he does that about as well as anybody it seems and has terrific on base skills on top of it that Flores doesn't really have so I'll go Schneider all right would you take Wilmer Flores over Luis Renhifo is the second most added third baseman on CBS yes yes I'd rather have Flores would

you take Wilmer Flores over Jorge Polanco that's a close one I think I'd rather have Polanco slightly. Okay. How about Wilmer Flores versus DJ LaMahue? LeMayhew all of a sudden has this power surge out of nowhere. I don't know that I buy it per se, but he's got one, two, three, four, six home runs over his 11 games for DJ LaMahue. So he's kind of hot right now. I hadn't noticed that, though there are very few hits in between the home runs I'm seeing here,

pulling up the game log. Maybe that's why I didn't notice it. I'll take Flores. Okay. Yeah, I think I would too. Say a Suzuki. The dude is this red hot. Feels like we've talked about him every night. Four for five with his 16th home run. He's homered in three of his past five games. He's up to a 273 batting average, 16 home runs, 807 OPS. I keep referencing this little mental break he was given in mid-August. And ever since he's come back, he's been amazing. He's 71% rostered. I think yesterday, We were talking Suzuki versus Nolan Jones versus Jason Dominguez. And you had Nolan Jones at the top of that list.

I assume one day isn't really going to change much for you. I mean, Suzuki was second on the list. Nolan Jones, you know, he had a fine performance. He was two-state base. His 12th steal, by the way, Nolan Jones. I was surprised he had that many. But yeah, no, Suzuki's been great. and obviously we've

liked all the red on his statcast page. We've remarked on that. By the way, the new layout of the stackcast pages. Don't love it. Not great, Bob. Don't love it. Not great, Bob.

Yeah. No, I keep thinking I'm going to get used to it, but I am not kidding. It's not nearly as clean as it used to be. And it doesn't include Max, max exit velocity on the sliders now. So I have to scroll down to the middle of the page to find the, usually the one piece of information,

the number one thing I'm interested in looking up. So I don't know. Hopefully either I get used to it or they change it back. I would prefer the latter. But anyway, yeah, we've liked all the red on Sea Suzuki's statcast page in the past and hopefully now he's making good on it. Did you give his numbers since August 1st? I have not.

Sayas Suzuki since August 1st is batting 362 with seven home runs, 10 doubles, two triples. That's awesome. Since August 1st, like I said. Yeah. A few outfielderers that are rostered in more leagues than Sayas Suzuki. Estuary Ruiz, I realize it's a completely different skill set. And if you play in a Categories league, maybe you take Ruiz over Sayas Suzuki. But his playing time has actually been cut.

down quite a bit for Ruiz. Like, he's not playing every day anymore. Scott, would you make that swap? Ruiz for Sayas Suzuki. Estuary Ruiz, you said? Probably. I mean, obviously, the only reason to start Estuary Ruiz is for the ginormous number of stolen bases he contributes. And he does little else.

It's like a modern Billy Hamilton. So, you know, unless that's specifically the cat. you're looking to make up ground in. Yeah, I'd rather have Suzuki. Estuary Ruiz has started just five of the past 12 games for the Oakland days. So, yeah, not looking too great for him right now. There was a few other names I wanted to Joey Meneses. I think I would make that swap, right? Drop Menesis for Suzuki? Yes. T.J. Friedel?

Yes. I think so too. And yep, that's it. Let's Let's, what did I want to do after this? Let's check in on some rookies here who had some big games. Christian Encarnacio and Tran, three for five with his sixth home run. And in his last seven games, he's batting 423 with two homers. He's 63% rostered, first and third base eligible. His teammate, Noel V Marte, went three for three with his first career home run.

And he's played 17 games now with the Reds. He's batting 255, one homer, five steals. Pretty interesting. hitting the ball really hard. 93.3 exit velocity, but a 61% ground ball rate. So that's what's kind of holding Noel V. Martei back right now.

But any thoughts on these two? His launch angle is negative. Ugh. So for all that hard contact, he's making it. It's not just bad at least velocity to max, like the velocity is like... Scott, you're lagging.

You're lagging quite a bit again. So if you can hop out back in, we'll get you squared away. All right, well, we'll just continue on here. Yeah, Nuel V. Marte, he's hitting the ball really hard so far. I think in any leagues like a rotosized league where you got the corner infield, the middle infield spot. Obviously, he's eligible at either one of those.

Hitting the ball really hard, as we mentioned. And in that ballpark, taking advantage of that. Lots of like here with Noelvi Marte and what he's done recently. Seidon-Rafiela wanted to mention leading off for the Red Sox here on Tuesday night. it was against a right-handed pitcher. He had a big game, three for six, with two runs scored. Only his second start since being called up on August 28th for the Red Sox. So he's 20% rostered.

He's widely available. I think Raphaelah is still just for deeper five outfielder leagues for now. Until we start to see him play more consistently. I've said this all along. I like the skill set. The fact that he's really fast. He plays good defense. That's something that should keep him on the field.

I think he could hit for batting average as well. But the problem right now is that I just don't know if there's going to be enough playing time available for Ceylon Raphael. Let's get Scott back in. Scott, you're here. I'm here. Gosh, what's going on, man? We were so good for so long. As in, well, not tonight.

But, yeah, we've been good for weeks and weeks. Weeks and weeks. I made some technological updates here in my grandparents' house. It's not really my grandparents' house. It's just what people call it. That's right. Yeah, so had we moved on from Noel V. Marte? Yeah, that's where we left off.

I said I still think he's just for Roto leagues for now. I think 12-team Roto leagues are fine, but anywhere with a middle infield, a corner infield spot, I think that's where you should take advantage of Nelvi-Marte. Yeah, I guess. I guess. Obviously, he's going to have to start elevating the ball more for him to to justify a lineup spot.

But more than anything, I'm encouraged for next year by what Marte's doing. I think that how hard he's impacting the ball, the fact that he is running so much. I think these are all very good signs for him as a fantasy asset next year. Not as confident he's going to be useful this year.

But obviously it depends on the depth of your league. I also brought up Saddam, Rafael. He led off of the Red Sox. He was facing a right-handed pitcher. So I thought that was pretty interesting. Three for six with two. run scored, but only his second start since being called up on August 28th. My stance hasn't changed. I think he's a talented player, Scott, but I just worry about the playing time with

Raphael. I do too. I mean, this was his first start in five games. And what's interesting is both of his starts have come as shortstop, which I mean, the last couple of years, I primarily thought of him as a center fielder. He's supposed to be a plus plus defender out there. The fact he's also capable of playing shortstop is, you know, that that speaks to his talent as a fielder. But it's interesting they haven't tried him in center field yet. Yeah, that is interesting. Let's talk about Connor Phillips's debut, the pitching prospect with the Reds. Didn't go very well against the Mariners.

Four and two thirds innings, five runs allowed, seven strikeouts, two homers allowed. Did have 12 swinging strikes on 95 pitches, eight hard hits allowed. Not great. There is a glimmer of hope here, though. He averaged 96.8 miles per hour on his fastball. That is awesome. That is elite for a starting pitcher. He also had seven of his 12 swinging strikes came on the sweeper.

So I don't know that he's going to matter this season, Scott, but he's kind of intriguing, I think, with a fastball that hard and a sweeper that looks like he can get with. So I don't know that it's going to matter this season, but maybe for next year, Connor Phillips. Yeah, no. Phillips has talent for sure. He could be a good bad misser,

but he has trouble throwing strikes. He has trouble locating his pitches, which leads to a lot of walks, which we didn't really see in this start, but also leads to hard contact at home runs, which is especially bad for a pitcher in Cincinnati. We did see two of those home runs. We did see the average exit velocity in this game

be 95 miles per hour off Connor Phillips. He threw only 60% of his pitches for strikes. So even though it wasn't reflected in the walk total, I mean, not that two walks and four and two-thirds innings is such a great rate. We also saw what's why it seemed like Connor Phillips was rushed for this start, understandably, because the Reds had so many pitchers who are unable to pitch right now. Let's stick with the pitchers here, Scott, and talk about two that we saw a velocity dip here on Tuesday night. Tanner Bybee, five innings, two runs, five walks,

to four strikeouts against the Minnesota twins. Back-to-back starts facing the twins. So I don't know that I put too much into this. It's kind of weird that Bybee's control has been as erratic as it has this year. I was going to make the same point. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, 1.7 walks per 9 at AA, two walks per 9 at high A. And then this year he's up around 3.1 walks per 9.

It's kind of weird. But the fastball velocity was down 1.9 miles per hour in this start. Any concern on Tanner Bybee? I mean a little if the downward trend on the fastball continues. I believe it was down like one mile per hour in his last start. So it's been trending down. He may be wearing down a little bit here later in the season. But yeah, the walk issue.

So that's reminiscent to me of Zach Gallen. Remember Zach Gallen had great control in the miners. He came up and he kind of struggled with walks, but more or less pitched well. And we've seen the control come around for Gowan at the major league level the last couple of years, and it's turned him into a Cy Young contender. So I think it's encouraging that Bybee's succeeding even without what was arguably his best attribute prior to the promotion. And then hopefully with more exposure, he starts throwing strikes the way he's capable of. Clayton Kirshall, the velocity was also way down for him at the Marlins, five innings, three runs, five walks to three strikeouts.

This is not the normal Clayton Kirschild that were used to, his fastball was down 2.7 miles per hour. Everything was basically down over a mile and a half on Tuesday. And yeah, they revealed after the start that he's pitching through this continued shoulder issue. So I don't know. I think this is probably just something we're going to have for the rest of the season, and it's going to affect the production here for Clayton Kirshaw. But it's not great. It's not great. Scott.

Or Bob. Or Bob. Yeah, no, and five starts since returning, he has yet to go beyond five innings. And yeah, the velocity keeps getting worse and worse. So I would be hard pressed to start Clayton Kirshall at this point, I think. All right. Let's talk about some news and notes. Shohei Otani was out again on Tuesday

with that oblique injury. Apparently he wanted to play, but the angels are being cautious with him at this point. Maybe he should be cautious to. Trey Turner was placed on the paternity list exactly nine months after signing his massive contract.

Coincidence, Scott? I think not. Well, people do worry about finances when it comes to family planning, and that is yeah, no, I can I can relate to that, sure. A couple kiddos of my own.

I know how these talks go. Remember a couple years ago where all the Dodgers players went on the paternity list at the same time? It was crazy. A couple years ago, you said? I think it was last year, actually.

No, it was this April. That's where the back-to-bush comment came from. Right. Man, that was wild stuff for the Dodgers. Yeah, yeah, exactly the right amount of time after the All-Star break as if they all had a baby packed or something. I don't know.

Right. Speaking of the Dodgers, Max Muncie was out of the lineup Tuesday after tweaking his left shoulder on a swing Sunday. Shane Bieber is scheduled to face live hitters Thursday at High A. Trista McKenzie completed a bullpen session at Progressive Field and has been cleared to face live hitting at High A on Friday.

Terry Francona offered up September 20th as a tentative date. target date for both Trissa McKenzie and Shane Bieber to return to the team. Hopefully. Jojo Romero was placed in the aisle with left knee Pateller tendonitis, which frankly came out of nowhere. And on Tuesday, Giovanni Gallegos got the eighth inning with a nine to three lead. He gave up a solo home run and a walk.

Ryan Helsley would eventually pitch to ninth with a four run lead. And my guess is Helsley will get the next save opportunity. Yeah, I agree. This was probably the Cardinals tipping their hand as far as that goes. In his previous outing, his fastball was down 1.4. So fresh off the IEL with that forearm injury, fastball was down 1.4. It was actually up. Point eight, up from his season average in this outing against the Braves,

which reassures me that, okay, he really is over this injury. You know, he originally had, his original rehab assignment was interrupted. by continued pain in his arm. So I wondered, is there still something going on there? And I guess it's not completely ruled out, but I have more reason with the velocity being up in this outing to think.

Yeah, Helsley's probably fine. All right. Walker Bueller will make his next rehab start Friday at AAA. He threw two perfect innings in his rehab debut on Sunday. O'Neill Cruz is expected to restart his running progression this week. He was shut down on all.

August 23rd due to soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle. Edward Cabrera is expected to start Wednesday against the Dodgers, and in five starts at AAA since getting sent back down, Edward Cabrera had a 2.22 ERA, a 113 whip, over a strikeout per inning, still 3.8 walks per 90s, 37% rostered. Any interest in re-adding Edward Cabrera? I mean, I like the upside, but he's another, Charazard. He may be even an even truer Charizard than McKinsey Gore, actually. Ash

Ketchum just doesn't know what he's going to do. Marcus Schrohman threw a successful bullpen session Monday. It was his first time throwing off a mound since he was diagnosed with a right rib cage cartilage fracture. Right rib cage cartilage fracture. Wow. That's a mouthful. In mid-August. Anthony Rizzo will be shut down for the rest of the season with that post-concussion syndrome. Edwin Diaz is scheduled to throw two bullpen sessions this week in front of the Mets major league coaching staff. He remains adamant that he wants to pitch at some point this season. Hunter Renfro was scratched with left hamstring tightness.

Harrison Bader was added to the Reds lineup. Michael Brantley has sat two days in a row after starting four of his first five games and Monday was against a lefty, but Tuesday was against a righty in Nathan Avaldi. So I don't know. Seems like the playing time could be sporadic for Michael Brantley and some of the other Astros over the final month of the season. One prospect update, the Pirates' first overall pick, Paul Skeens,

was placed on the development list and will not pitch anymore this year. And there is a pretty good chance that we'll see him in 2024. Like in the majors? I think so, yeah. Yeah, I think there's a pretty good chance. The one Astros outfielder, who I think we need to take note of is Chas McCormick.

So, was Chas McCormick in the lineup today? Yes. I believe he was, but he has sat out three of the team's last seven games. Not great, Bob. No. No, it's not. But you know what will help?

Back-to-back multi-hit games. So he's really good. I feel like the Astros should probably not mess with McCormick's playing time because he's... I know. They're like they're giving him a really hit. Dupon a lot of playing time,

and I know he had a two-homer game over the weekend, but come on, man. McCormick has proven his worth. Come on, Dusty. Yeah. Yeah. Get with the program. Keep up in there.

Just win a World Series or anything. Let's take our final break. When we return, we'll get to the rest of Tuesday's action here on fantasy baseball today. Welcome back. Let's talk about all those home runs, and we'll start with the Marlins. Jazz Chisham went three-for-four with a sock and a shoe.

his 15th home run, his 19th steel. He's batting 256 with a 765 OPS. I did notice the sprint speed is down quite a bit this year. Makes sense, I think, given the injuries that Jazz Chisholm has played with. I notice his barrel rate is also down quite a bit. You have to think, again, these injuries have taken a toll. But he's yet to play more than 124 games. Kudos to you, Scott.

I know you kind of pump the brakes on Jazz Chisholm while everyone else was getting excited. excited about him entering the season. I think until he proves he can play a full year, we kind of have to treat him, not to the same extent as a Byron Buxton, but a similar player in that you have to expect he's going to miss time until he proves that he doesn't.

You have a better idea what to expect when he's healthy, I think, relative to Byron Buxton, whose performance could sometimes be awful. I mean, with a sock and a shoe today here for Chisholm, he's five home runs away from 20, one steal away from 20. So he's an outside shot of going 2020 still. Not that that means what it used to mean. But it would be impressive given how much time he has missed.

Let's talk about Josh Bell, who went one for four with his 20th home run. And in 30 games with the Marlins, he's hitting 271 with nine homers, a 12% barrel rate. Feels like we've talked about Josh Bell quite a bit. he's 73% rostered. Should that number be higher, Scott? I guess, you know, but in points leagues, 10, 12, team points leagues. Does Josh Bell need to be rostered in those formats?

I don't think he needs to be rostered. And so, like, he may have, his roster array may have kind of plateaued here in the 70s, which there aren't many players rostered in that range on CBS. There's a lot rostered from 80 to 100. and then there's a lot rostered like 60 and below. But between 60 and 80, it's really, it's not a very deep group. And Josh Bell finds himself in that group.

And I don't think he has room to break into the 80 plus because there are enough in those shallower leagues. There are enough first baseman to satisfy everybody. And he doesn't quite have the same upside as them. So it's probably fine, Bell's roster rate. need help at first base, sure, pick them up. I'll give you three names that are rostered in more leagues than Josh Bell. I would drop each of them for him.

Joey Menesis, Ty France, and Andrew Vaughn. Yeah, that's fair. I mean, Vaughn just had a good game here Monday, but overall, it's been another disappointing year for him. He went three for five with the home run Monday. But, you know, he wasn't on a good run before then. And kind of over him, TVH. Is anybody going to be talking up Andrew Vaughan as a breakout next year?

Are we ready to move on? I don't think so. I just struggle with these guys that are like top five picks in the MLB draft. I just feel like they always, until they show us that potential, there's still like a glimmer of hope. So I don't know. Sure. There will probably be somebody.

What is a glimmer worth? I'll tell you what, he probably won't be drafted inside the top. 150. I mean, probably get him as like a late round corner infield type for next season. He has a career 730 OPS, which is also exactly what his OPS was coming into Monday's game. So he's been very consistently blah. I think that's fair. That's Andrew Vaughn that we're talking about. Let's talk about Jake Berger, who went two for three with his 31st home run. And in his 30 games with the Marlins, he's batting 322 with six homers.

just a 21% strikeout rate that was 32% with the White Sox. He's still hitting the ball hard. I think he's consciously trying to make more contact and maybe not hitting for as much power. But Berger's 69% rostered. Would you take him over Wilmer Flores or Encarnacion Strand,

who we spoke about earlier? They're all in the same range. I mean, Wilmer Flores and Berger probably do different things. Burger has the huge power. it's nice that he's gotten that actual batting average up near the expected batting average

still has a ways to go actually as far as for all the strikeouts Burger has his expected batting average is over 250 which is testament to how hard he hits the ball yeah I'll say I'll rank burger tops of that group but it does depend a little on what your

category needs are and points leagues Burger may slip behind Flores because of the strikeout discrepancy there. They're pretty close. Yep. And just going to throw this out there, even with Jake Berger playing well, I would take Royce Lewis very clearly. I would take Jorge Polanco, who has been great over the past couple of weeks.

I would also take Brian Hayes over him because he's been really, really good since returning. I'll take Burger over Hayes. Okay. But Hayes has been better lately. Let's talk about the New York Mets and all of their home runs. Brandon Nimmo went three for five with a double dong. He's now up to a career high, 22 home runs on the year. Francisco Lindor, two for five with his 26th homer,

one of five players to go 25-25 this season, joining Ronald de Cunia, Bobby Witt, Julio Rodriguez, and Kyle Tucker. Lindor is, I don't know, he just feels undervalued over here, or I guess underappreciated might be a better word. He gets it done. Pete Alonzo, went one for four with his 42nd home run

and Francisco Alvarez went two for three with a sock and a shoe. I don't think you should expect many steals. That's his first career steal, his 22nd home run of the year. His first home run since August 1st, 25 games in between home runs

where Alvarez hit 132 with a 395 OPS. Not great, Bob. That's exactly right. Yeah. Anything to add on Alvarez? Not really. Look, I think he's a talented player.

I think we're going to be drafting him ahead of Mitch Garver next year. But I'd rather have Mitch Garver right now. Yeah, I think I'd rather have MJ Melendez, too. Yeah, fair enough. All right, let's talk about a few performances. Do they matter for fantasy? Might not, but let's get your thoughts. Reed Detmerz turned in just his second quality start of the second half,

and he went six and two-thirds. Against the Orioles, two runs allowed, five strikeouts for him. Notice his velocity was down quite a bit in this start as well. The other name here is Ken Waldichuk turned in just his third quality start of the season. He was facing the Blue Jays. He threw six shotout innings with three strikeouts, 13 swinging strikes on 90 pitches, and over Waldechuk's last six starts, he has a 313 ERA, a 136 whip, nearly a strikeout per inning.

Do either of these performances matter, Waldichuk and Reed Detmer's? Well, in the Scott White Dynasty League, 2014 points league, I have been, I'm in the consolation bracket. And basically the way that, so I'm not competing for the championship. That's the championship bracket. The consolation bracket among the remaining 16 teams is to determine draft order in the minor league draft next year where all the new draft picks are going to be. And it's pretty important because the draft order doesn't snake. It's the same every round like a real life draft. and

Waldichuk has been surprisingly cromulent he's got me competing he's got me still in the running for the top pick and the draft next year and this is the great thing about Dynasty leagues

is particularly if you have a setup like this like I am going to be I don't even need the top pick I just want one of the top three picks next year so I can either get Paul Skeins or

Wyatt Langhorne Langford Langford Langford Langmore Wyatt Langmore was a character in Ozark

but is Wyatt Langford or Dylan Cruz Dylan Cruz I can only think Terry Cruz I got

okay Dylan yeah Dylan yeah Dylan Cruz Wyatt Langford Paul Skeins one of those three

if I get a top three pick in the draft next year I'll be as excited about that as if I'd won the championship. And, you know, I haven't been in the mix for the championship in a couple months. So that's one of the great things about Dynasty leagues, just a little, just to throw out word out for them.

I forget what your actual question was. Do either of Waldichuk or Reed Detmer's matter? I need to see more strikeouts from Waldichick before I really have a lot of faith in him because he was a big strikeout guy in the minors. And that was kind of the only thing appealing about him. So I feel like he's on a knife's edge here. but I'm enjoying the surprising cromulence from him. And the other pitcher was... Reed Detmer's.

Read Detmers. No, I don't think this is enough to win me back over to him. All right, three hitters. Do these performances matter? Bow Nailer, one for two, with a walk, a sock, and a shoe, his eighth home run and second steal. He has started six of the past eight games for the Guardians. Nelson Velazquez went two for four with his 11th home run,

and in 22 games with the Royals, batting 254, with eight home runs and a 21% barrel rate. Yohan Moncada, two for three with his sixth home run, and over his last 13 games, he's batting 4.15, with two homers, 90.7 average exit velocity. Do any of those names matter? Moncada, Nelson Velasquez, Bo Nailer? I mean, look, we know Bo Nailer has interesting upside

as a catcher who can steal bases and has showed really good plate discipline in the minors too. So the fact he's as hot as he is right now, you wonder, is this the start of the breakthrough for a talented player? And Bo Nailer, now to put numbers on it, his last 14 games, he's batting 351 with four homers and two steals. So at least in two catcher leagues, I think Bo Nailer's worth our attention again.

Velasquez and Monkow. a, yeah, I mean, really deep leagues, maybe they're worth a look, but I think most of us can do better. All right, let's wrap up with some pitching leftovers. Chris Bassett had one of his best starts of the season. At the Oakland A's, a revenge game for Chris Bassett. Eight innings, one run, seven strikeouts with 18 swinging strikes on 97 pitches. Jesus Lizardo looks to be back on track facing the Dodgers, six innings, two runs, six strikeouts, 12 swinging strikes for him. Garrett Cole put together a solid start against the Tigers,

six innings, one run, seven strikeouts to zero walks. And Framber Valdez, a solid start at the Rangers. Seven innings, one run, four strikeouts, four walks. Still gave up some hard contact. Kind of a mixed bag here for Framber Valdez. Anything to add on him, Gary Cole, Jesus Lazzardo, and Chris Bassett. I mean Bassett, to give you some numbers on how he's performed recently,

so this is back-to-back eight inning outings for him. Last 10 starts, 283 ERA, 108 whip, 7.9K per 9. I would still say he's part of the glob, but he's, you know, a little bit. He's got a little more of a track record there than a lot of the people in the glob. Yeah, Lazzardo looks like he's bounced back. Valdez, okay, so this is interesting for Valdez, and I meant to point this out the last time he started. So he is on a nice little run here of three consecutive quality starts, but still hasn't looked especially sharp.

There have been some walks. There haven't been a lot of strikeouts. It really goes back to the cutter. So the cutter was getting a lot of whiffs for him earlier this year, and he's kind of lost it here. June 27th was the last time he prominently used the cutter. prior to June or June 27th and prior, Bromber Valdez had a 249 ERA. Since that June 27th start when he last prominently featured the cutter,

it's been a 452 ERA. So 249 with the cutter, 452 without the cutter. He threw the cutter 11% of the time in this one. Strangely, it was up 5 miles per hour. There may be some classification issues going on there, but the point is the cutter hasn't been what it, was for Valdez earlier this season. And that seems like a problem.

He's getting by without it, particularly recently. That ERA has obviously gone down a little to get to $452. But in terms of scouting him for next year, I'd like to see that cutter make a return before the year's done. I do remember, Scott, that right around that time, Framber Valdez sprained his right ankle too. I think it was late June, early. July. He missed a start.

And I always just kind of speculated that maybe he hasn't been the same since hurting his ankle, you know, pushing off the mound and all that. It seems like it would be a perfectly fine explanation for why he's kind of slowed down since then. But yeah, I have noticed some of those changes to the pitch mix as well. Nathan Avaldi made his return and he was greeted rather rudely by the Houston Astros. He recorded just four outs. He gave up four runs. the velocity was down, fastball down 1.3 miles per hour, the cutter down 1.1 miles per hour.

I don't... Very similar. Very similar to what the velocity was doing for Avaldi before landing on the I.L. I don't know that I could have much confidence starting him over... I feel like we need to see at least one or two good starts in a row before we can feel good about cutting him in the lineup again. I agree. All right. I did want to quickly mention Michael Soroka made his return. to the Braves did not pitch well, and then actually went on the IL after that start

with numbness in his fingers. So not great news there for Michael Soroka. Some quick hitting leftovers. John Carlos Stanton hit his 400th home run of his career. Matt Olson hit his league leading 45th home run. Teasca Hernandez is on a tear. He's got six homers in his past 10 games. And Zander Bogartz, 4-4 with three runs and an RBI.

He has two four-hit games in his last three outings. and it's just been a pretty disappointing year for the Padres all around, but specifically for Bogart's, he had that cortisone shot in his wrist, I think even before the season started. And it's weird because he got off to that great start the first couple of weeks. And then ever since then, not really, not very productive for Zander Bogartz. And it's just the first of an 11-year deal, too. It's just, what is that thing going to look like in five years from now?

Gosh. I know someone had him as a preseason bust. And his name rhymes with Schmott, Schmite. Mm-hmm. I don't know if anybody else did, but I did. Let's talk Bullpen updates for the Marlins. Tanner Scott struck out two for his fifth save and is only 44% rostered if you do need saves.

For the White Sox, Gregory Santos got the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He gave up two unearned runs and he actually lost the game on a walk-off balk. Don't see that every day. For the Mariners, Andrus Munoz got the ninth inning with the game tied. He gave up two hits and a run took his seventh loss. And look, he's got the stuff, but he still has kind of been shaky since the trade deadline. So I don't know if there's anything left to add, but just an observation. No, I mean, he's still probably one of the 24 best relievers, one of the 20 best relievers.

So I'm not sure you can upgrade from him, but it has been. less than dominant. That is fair. For the Red Sox, Kenley Jansen entered in the bottom of the 11th with a one-run lead. He gave up a three-run walk-off homer to Brandon Lau. For the Angels,

Carlos Estevez got the ninth with a one-run lead. He gave up two runs and took his third blown save in the bottom of the ninth in that game. Yaneer Canoe was unavailable for the Orioles. D.L. Hall got the ninth with a one-run lead. He gave up one run, so got the blown save. The Orioles eventually took the lead in the 10th. Shintaro Fujinami struck out two for his second save of the year.

Also need to mention for the Rockies, a gentleman named Tyler Kinley picked up the save for them, and he has the past two saves for the Rockies. So, man, it would have to be an NL-only league or a really deeper mixed Roto League, but if you are very desperate for saves, Tyler Kinley looks like he might be stepping in for the Rockies. Rockies. To stream or not to stream, let's start with Wednesday. And yesterday we said Hianjin Ryu at the A's, Jordan Wicks against the Giants, and I think that was it. I think that was it. Yep. Matt Manning, a distant third choice at the Yankees. All right. On

Thursday, I didn't write these in, but I'll read them off to you. you, we've got Zach Lattel against the Mariners. Ugh. Well, Javier Assad against the D-backs, that's probably okay. Griffin canning against the Guardians. It might be all right. Yeah. I would rank them Assad, Canning, and Zach Lattel in that order.

Sure, I can go along with that. All right. There you go. I'm sorry for the many times I was distracted. this podcast, Frank. It didn't hear what you were saying. I feel like, what's going on? I feel like it was more than usual. And there were good reasons usually. I was either lost my train of thought going off on my own tangent or I was researching something else. But I'm sure it was disorienting for the listener. So I apologize to everybody. I am not yet even 40 years old.

You got to stop reading those YouTube comments, man. They're distracting you. Well, sometimes they're very helpful. They got us out, you know, they got us on the right path with Jose Kentana. So, I think, I think that was a worthy, that was a worthy derailment. But anyhow, yeah, I apologize. And I'll, I'll be better tomorrow. I may not be on tomorrow and that's why it'll be better. But yeah, I'll do better Thursday. I think the Wells is going to be here. I would like to apologize to the, the YouTube chat too, because those guys are here, guys and girls here every night hanging out, chatting away, having fun. So we do appreciate you being here. So thanks for the help.

We do appreciate it. We're gonna wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye!