Fantasy Baseball Today - Brett Baty's Debut, Altuve Apprecation & Rankings Movers (8/18 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: August 18, 2022

Brett Baty crushed a home run in his first career at-bat (3:55)! ... Add Ross Stripling or Nick Lodolo (8:25)? ... We had quite a few pitchers duels on Wednesday (15:05). Are we buying Austin Voth? ... Is Vaughn Grissom a league winner (25:50)? Oscar Gonzalez is underappreciated. ... News (36:30): Mike Trout could be back on Friday. ... Stone Garrett was promoted by the Diamondbacks (41:35). ... Let's show Jose Altuve some appreciation (46:05). ... Who are Scott's rankings risers and fallers (48:48)? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (55:10).  Want a spot in our 2023 FBT listener league? You can bid on it with all proceeds going to St. Jude's Children's Hospital here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/374211896271 Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get 20% off Fantasy Baseball Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-baseball-today?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-baseball-collection 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. Brett Beatty, are you kidding me? Welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Thursday, August 18th. Frank Stamphill joined by Scott White.

Today on the show, we've got some pitchers duels. I want to do a little Jose Altuvae appreciation because we haven't done that probably all season long and he definitely deserves it. He's running again. Who knew? It's been pretty awesome. And we do have some rankings, risers and fallers. We will get to Brett Beatty. Oh my goodness gracious in just a second. Scott, can I ask you a random baseball question? No. Okay, let's move on. How much emotion do you put into regular season baseball games? Do they affect you mentally? Not much. Not much. I was, I was, I got a little emotional with today's game.

What day is it? Wednesday's game. Again, between the Braves and the Mets. Pretty crazy game. It was a pretty crazy game, you know. The Braves went down early, 6 to 1 with Scherzer on the mound. They climbed back to within one in the seventh inning with, you know, Scherzer put some runners on

Reliever came in allowed a bunch of inherited runners to score Robbie Grossman of all people hitting a two run homer to bring them within one and it's like oh yeah we're back in this game that was unexpected so you know they kind of like lured me in you know I was I was ready to count it as loss already

and then inexplicably Walt Weiss who was managing the team at that point because Brian Snitker had been ejected he brings Jackson Stevens into work the ninth inning at a one-run deficit with Edwin Diaz the Mets already committed to using Edwin Diaz

for a second inning and it went pretty poorly I don't know why you bring in a mop-up guy in that situation why he couldn't bring an AJ mentor or something so I was a little mad I was a little mad that was more information than you were looking for but I got over pretty quickly you know if it was a playoff game

I'd probably be you know, I'd probably have trouble sleeping that night if something like that happens. But yeah, I mean, it's just regular season, you know, a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. I would say it's rare, though, that I get that emotionally invested. Usually I watch it completely stoic, you know, like just taking it in, not reacting really to anything. I wish I could do the same, man. Like, sometimes I come on here and I've just got to try my best to put on a brave face and just keep it together. And I wish, I wish I could just not care so much.

But man, some of these games, especially look, obviously people don't care about the Yankees, but I think it's pretty fun to just talk about our fandom in general. It was a crazy knife for you. It was a crazy knife for the Yankees, obviously, too. They're playing terribly. The roller coaster of emotions within this game, Scott. They're down four zip.

Glaber Torres hits a two-run homer, cuts the deficit in half. Rain delay. Base is loaded, one out. They only score one run. they hit into a double play. Four to three. I'm like, okay, well, this game is over. Anthony Rizzo, solo home run, ties it.

I roll this Chapman in the top of the 10th inning gives up three runs. I'm ready to rip my hair out. Josh Donaldson, walk off Grand Slam. Wow. It's just a crazy game. Like, man, baseball. You can predict it.

That's what they say, right? Scott. Anyway, let's get into today's action. Oh, my goodness gracious. Oh, my goodness gracious. And Scott, I will let you take I guess he's kind of a bread sick, right? We got a lead off with him. Yeah, we got a lead off with Brett Beatty

because Brett Beatty led off his major league career with a home run. First time he swings in a major league game. It goes over the fence. His family was over the moon. His mom kind of reminded me of the lady in the Carvana commercials who's very excitable in those commercials

and his mom was very excited. I assume it was his mom. I don't know who else it would have. been. Anyway, yeah, it was, that was exciting. That was a big deal that was, you know, as well as you can kick off your major league career. But I also want to point out for Brett Beatty, he did something else that was even, I'm not going to say it was more notable than a home run in your first major league at that, but it was,

in a way, it impressed me more, I guess. And that's this. I retweeted about it earlier in the evening. This is a tweet from Anthony Decomo, who writes about the Mets for MLB.com. So Brett Beatty, later in that game, had a ground out off a left-hander,

Tyler Matzick. Beatty himself, bats left-handed. The ball was hit a hundred 13 miles per hour. No Mets left-handed hitter has hit a ball that hard since 2020. No Mets hitter has hit a ball that hard.

No Mets left-handed hitter has hit a ball that hard off a lefty in six years. And Brett Bady did it in his first game. So when you're talking about upside power potential, max exit velocity is in some ways it's in some ways a better indicator than average exit velocity and so to do that it's just an isolated event

I get that but just to be capable of hitting that ball that hard lefty on lefty I think is a very good sign for him here at the start of his major league career so that batted ball Scott that max EV of 113 miles per hour for Brett Beatty in his first game now place him in the 90th percent percentile in Major League Baseball in max exit velocity.

Which again, coming off of lefty on lefty, that is very, very impressive for him. So I'm right there with you. He has moved up to 38% rostered. So from yesterday to today, some people are obviously adding Brett Beatty. I think it makes a ton of sense. If you struggled with third base, if you need a corner infielder, if you are just chasing batting average or you need a little bit of pop, I think if Brett Beatty hits his upside, those are the things that he can provide.

and talked about where we were going to rank him on yesterday's podcast. Scott, I see you placed him as your 18th ranked third baseman, just behind Max Muncie, Josh Rojas, John Birdie, just ahead of names like A. E. E. E. E. Hennio Suarez, Wilmer Flores, and Alec Bohm. The Alec Bone one's kind of interesting, because I know he's played really well over the past month and a half,

month and a half. Check out his August numbers. Not so great. Not so great. Not so great. And even when he was going great, it was pretty hollow. hollow batting average, basically. Only eight home runs on the year

from a corner infielder. So, no, I like that. I would take Beatty over Bome. Okay. A few other names you have him ranked ahead of Justin Turner, Josh Donaldson, Ryan McMahon.

I saw someone tweeted us that they dropped Ryan McMahon for Brett Beatty. Like, yes, that's perfectly fine. So, yeah, I think that's a good spot to have him ranked and go out and add him if you need a bat. For, oh, I did want to mention. Also, like, later,

on in the night, right? So yesterday we talked about Brett Beatty's promotion. And we also talked about Shay Langaleers, the catcher who got promoted by the Oakland A's. He also hits his first dong in his second game, you know, second major league game. So I just thought it was pretty cool. You know, like those prospects come up, you know, on the relatively same day, you know, same time, we'll call it. And yeah, Shay Langleyers also hits a home run. So if you do need a catcher in two catcher leagues, please go out and add Shay Languiliers as well. For me, oh my goodness, gracious, from Wednesday's action, Ross Stripling,

in his first start back for the Toronto Blue Jays, was going up against the Baltimore Orioles. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He goes six and a third shotout, one hit allowed, zero walks, seven strikeouts, 13 swinging strikes on 72 pitches.

Just a fantastic ratio of whiffs in this game for him. And as we've said all season long, Ross Stripling continues to use his change-up more this season, which has been a tremendous pitch for him. 206 batting average against 31% whiff rate. And now for the season,

Ross Stripling 293 ERA, 286 FIP, 3-53X FIP, well below a strikeout branding. He's really providing more ratios than anything. But, you know, he's giving you some quality starts, good ground ball rate, swinging strike rate is solid. I just feel like maybe we haven't given

Ross Stripling enough credit this year, Scott. And he's 49% rostered. Some people might have dropped him when he went on the IL, but I think if he was dropped, you probably want to change that and re-ad him. What do you think?

I don't know about, I don't know that I agree that we haven't given him enough credit because, yes, the ERA is good, the whip is good. How useful is he really? You say he's giving you some quality starts, well, he really isn't.

So this start, yes, was a quality start. He went six and a third. Five of his last seven starts have all been less than six. So only one of his previous. a six before this start was as much as six innings. So, you know, it's a lot of like four and two-thirds innings

without much damage being allowed. You know, I guess that makes stripling like Jeffrey Springs in a way. And we've been mostly positive about Springs. But I feel like, you know, Springs is going to give you the strikeout per inning. That stripling isn't. And in general, I would still stay. I don't know exactly what the average innings per start is, but it feels like in general,

Springs has been more consistently between 5 and 6 while stripling is often even below 5. And maybe that changes. I mean, maybe, I don't know, he's been, he hasn't spent time on the IL or anything recently, right? Stripling? Yeah, he hasn't been getting stretched back out, has he? It's just they don't want him facing that lineup

but the third time through, I guess. I know, this was his first start since July 30th. So, yeah, I think he was on the IL, just before this. Okay. Well, obviously the stat I gave before about five of seven starts, less than six innings. That was even before the IL stint. Yeah, and he only threw 72 pitches in this start. So he was just incredibly efficient.

And, yeah, I mean, he's probably better from, I guess, in like a rhodo or category sense because he probably will not give you as much volume as I thought he actually was. It's early. We'll see, you know, what the schedule kind of bears out on tomorrow's podcast, but it looks like he might have two starts next week against the Angels and at the Boston Red Sox. This is Ross Stripling we're talking about. So if that is the case, I'm sure that he will be one of the more added starting pitchers this weekend. How does he compare to Nick Ladolo, who turned it back on here on Wednesday against the Phillies? He goes seven shutout with five hits, two walks, eight strikeouts, 16 swinging strikes on 98 pitches,

the first seven-inning start of Lodolo's career. And he did make a conscious pitch mix change in this one too. He barely threw his change up, like maybe one or two pitches total in this game. He upped his curb-ball usage to 34%. That was a season high, and it's been a really, really good pitch for him this year. 180 batting average against a 46% whiff rate. Nick Lodolo's 54% rostered, Scott, I think we're still going to see inconsistency. His team context is bad. His ballpark context is bad.

But if he throws this curveball more, maybe it could lead to more whiffs and more strikeouts moving forward. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I think Lodolo has shown that he has a ton of upside. There have been some consistency issues, as you point out,

walking four in each of his previous two starts. I mean, that's going to sabotage him as much as anything if he does that. So just, you know, keeping the ball in the strike zone, as you'd expect for a young left-handed pitcher is part of, it is a major hurdle for Nick Lodolo to clear. But, you know, then he comes along with a start like this and reminds you, wow, he could be a significant asset

if he could just find a little more consistency because the upside is clearly there. So, you know, compared to some, somebody like stripling, the only reason I might, it might even be a close call is because we're in the middle of August. So you can't afford, you know, you can't afford to waste time on somebody who are you waiting to come around, you know, you kind of need the production now. Yeah. But having said that, I'm not, I'm not confident in, I don't have enough confident in, in stripling's ability. to deliver useful outing after useful outing

to give him the edge over Lodolo's, Lodolo with the upside. So I'd rather have somebody like Lodolo who, when he does go well, you can feel confident he's going to give you the six innings that you normally want to see from a starting pitcher who you're depending on in fantasy. Scott, how do you rank these four waiver-wire pitchers?

The past two days, I would say the two biggest standouts have been Justin Steele and, Aaron Savali, you know, among pitchers who are widely available. Those two, along with Ladolo and Stripling. How do you rank those four? I would go Ladolo first. I'll give Steele the edge over Stripling, and then Savale last. Already.

I think that's a very fine ranking, Scott. What would you do, Frank? Would yours be different? No, I would have Ladolo at the top. Ladolo, Steel, I think stripling and Savali are probably very similar pitchers when they're going right, but there's been a lot, obviously, a lot better production from Stripling this year than Sabali. So yeah, I would take him as well. Yeah, I think that's the right ranking.

Both Ladolo and Stripling were part of two different pitchers' duels. So we'll start with the game that Ladolo was a part of on the other side. Ranger Suarez was also fantastic. He was obviously at the Reds, seven shutout with eight strikeouts. of his own, and I noticed that his sinker usage was down in this one. His cutter usage was up, and cutter has been a good pitch for Suarez, and that's really kind of aligned with since he's returned. It was actually one start before he got hurt. Ranger Suarez started throwing this cutter more, but in six starts since returning now, Ranger Suarez, 103-ERA, 33 strikeouts to just

eight walks, over 35 and a third, and his ground ball rate back up to 59% during that time. Swinging strike rate, 12.3%. He's 83% rostered Scott, so I don't think he's really available anywhere, but I kind of feel like we're getting Ranger Suarez from the

final two months of last year again, this time of year. Yeah, I mean, all the underlying numbers would suggest that's the case, not to mention the overlying numbers, I guess. I'd make sure I'd make sure he was not still available in my league.

And you mentioned that he's rostered in more than 80% of CBS Sports Leagues, which is normally the cutoff I use for something like Waver Wire or Sleeper Pitchers or whatever. But 80% in CBS Sports Leagues translates to like 40 on some other major fantasy baseball provider sites. So keep in mind. Just check. Just check and be sure. Because I think Suarez is going to be a pretty good option for you down the stretch. I'm not going to go as far as a must start or anything like that.

But somebody who's worth having on your roster, let's see, where would he fit with that previous group? I still think I'd take Nicola Dolo over him, but I'd take him, I'd take Suarez over Justin Steele as second of that group. I think Ranger Suarez, the way he's pitching right now, is probably going to be more consistent than Nicolodolo. So it might depend on your team content. If you just need strikeouts, I think Lodolo will give you more, but probably more volatility as well. That's fair. And again, given how late it is in the year, I guess I'm just a little hesitant to say Suarez over Lodolo, because even though, okay, we saw what he did at the end of last year and the underlying numbers are starting to look like that again. like that that doesn't necessarily mean history is going to repeat itself and he's going to

continue with with these recent trends like i think it's a mistake to just assume that so there's still volatility there with ranger swars just like there is with lodolo but a little less yeah i mean anytime you get a ground ball rate that high that you're going to you're working you're dealing with less volatility and just to clarify i don't think that ranger swaris is doing this just because it's the end of the season and he did it last year too. It's just, as you pointed out, Scott, it's like the underlying numbers show that he's actually pitching much better than he was earlier on in the season. On the other side of Ross tripling in that game, also a pitcher's duel. Tripling was great. Austin Voth, another really strong start. He was at the Blue Jays,

six shutout, two hits, one walk, three strikeouts in this one. He had 10 swinging strikes on 86 pitches. And he, if Stackass is correct, he threw a new slider in the 12% of the time. It's a pitch he has not used all season. In fact, he hasn't used it since 2019. So I thought it was notable. And over his last five starts, Austin Voth, 2.24 ERA, right around a strike out per inning, 11.3% swinging strike rate. He's 5% rostered. Scott, this is more of like a deeper league play. And speaking of deeper leagues, I'll just kind of lump them in with these two. Drew Smiley had another solid start at the nationals. And over his last six starts, he's got a 261 ERA and a 13% swinging strike rate.

And Hermann Marquez now has a quality start in six of his last seven outings. It wasn't it. It was like a bare minimum quality start for Herman Marquez at the Cardinals. But he has pitched much better over his last seven starts as well. So in Deeper League, Scott, how do you rank those three? Marquez, Smiley, Austin, Voth. They're all pretty interesting. And it might depend on the format.

Like I think, I think Marquez should clearly be the top option in a points league. where you don't worry so much about, you know, the fact that the quality start was barely a quality start. That was a 450 ERA, you know. The 450 ARA would hurt you in a categories league, but just the fact he gave you a quality start counts for a lot in a points league. So he gives you the volume. Marquez gives you the volume that maybe these other two pitchers don't.

Between both and Smiley, I'm kind of starting to warm up to both. I mean, it's easy to say that when he's only 5% rostered. I mean, that leaves you with a big margin for error because, I mean, who doesn't deserve to be rostered in 5% of leagues, right? But swinging strike rate is decent, and he looks like another one of those pitchers the Orioles have had success with this year.

The big fly ball guys who, you know, You might normally expect them to be undone by home runs, but just it's become, Camden Yards has become such a difficult place to hit home runs, particularly for right-handed hitters. And what's interesting about both is, okay, so his last three starts, he's allowed a combined two earn runs on seven hits and three starts, right? So that's like a little more than two hits per start. what's interesting is all of them have been on the road.

So I think given his profile, his bat-a-ball profile, you could make the case, okay, Voth could be one of those pitchers who just performs abnormally well at Camden Yards, but he's been getting it done on the road. So there may be something here with Voth. I don't know how deep the league would have to be for me to actually take a flyer on him at this point, but I'm intrigued.

I'm intrigued by Austin Voth. I think 15 team mixed roto leagues, 5% rostered. He's got to be out there in some of those. So I think, you know, there's going to be a lot of teams chasing, pitching this time of year. And I think Voth can potentially be someone that can help you out. I will point out. Go ahead. Go ahead.

I was going to change the subject a little bit, so you finish your thought first. I was just going to wrap up with Drew Smiley. I noticed his velocity was up quite a bit. His sinker Velo was up 1.4 miles per hour in this start. He averaged 93.6 miles per hour on the pitch. That was his most since September 22nd of 2020. And Hermann Marquez, I mentioned recently that his velocity has been up. That has remained.

His fastball was up nearly two miles per hour in this one, his slider, 1.6 miles per hour. So, you know, there are changes. Velocity's up, and these guys are pitching well. Go ahead, Scott. So, as I was mentioned, as we've mentioned with these Orioles pitchers

who we don't think are very good, Dean Kramer, Spencer Watkins, who's the other guy? Tyler, Tyler Wells, right? And Austin both. You know,

they're finding success as big fly ball guys in what's now a very big park. You know who that bodes well for? John means business. Exactly. because he is way more talented than any of those guys,

also a big fly ball pitcher. And teams would be even more inclined to load the lineup with righties against him because he's a left-hander. So, like, John Means is going to be... Look, I don't know that he's going to be ready on opening day next year. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery,

but he should be ready pretty early. And, you know, if you're in, like, a dynasty league or something, maybe we're stashing him away if he's out there. Well, I just quickly checked. to see if he was available in the Scott White Dynasty League, but guess who has him? Of course not, Frank. Scottie Dobs has him.

One last pitcher duel that I wanted to mention, no waiver wire pitchers in this one, but it was a great match up Tony Gonsolin at Eric Lauer. Gonsland goes seven shutout with eight strikeouts in this one, his first seven-ending start since July 7th. And then Eric Lauer, he also goes seven innings, two runs, seven strikeouts for him. And his last eight starts,

Eric Lauer has a two, eight, ERA, 43 strikeouts over 47 and a third innings pitched. However, the swinging strike rate is only 9.4%. The ERA estimators don't really buy into it, Scott. If there was a league where you could still trade players, I would say sell high on Eric Lauer while you can, but just realize moving forward, he might not be this good.

Might not be, yeah. But then again, like this is kind of who was in the second half last year, right? That was before he introduced the zoomer, which is what he was calling that faster fastball at the start of the year, right? It's regressed. But, you know, last second half,

he was, let me see if I can pull up that second half numbers for Eric Lauer real quick. And that was before he enjoyed that big jump and fastball velocity. So second half last year, Eric Lauer had a 260 ERA, and right at a strikeout per inning. And that kind of feels like the way he's been going here recently. So I don't know, he may be one of those abnormalities that,

you know, just by virtue of how many fly balls, he allows the X-FIP's going to be high. I realize the FIP is high as well. because he gives up a fair share, his fair share of home runs, but he just may be good at limiting hits apart from that. Yeah, I mean, low babb each of the last two years. So that may be something he has a knack for. Okay, fair enough. That is Eric Lauer.

Let's talk about a few hitters because we've talked about a lot of pitching. And some waiver wire standouts. Scott, the legend of Vaughn Grissom just continues to grow. and I realize, you know, legend, he's played eight games so far, but I'm starting to get the feeling that he might be one of the league winners this season. And, you know, there's a few players every year that emerged down the stretch. Ranger Suarez was one of them last year, that they just carry your team. You pick them up, you know, maybe you have low expectations,

but they ultimately help carry your team. Von Grissom, he just kind of looks like that right now. He went two for four with his second steal of the season. He now has multiple hits in five of his first eight. eight games. He's batting 414 during the stretch. Again, small sample. You know, the next eight games, he could fall flat on his face. I don't think that's going to happen. What I've seen from him so far, the way that he carries himself, his approach, ability to make contact, power, speed, great lineup. He's 73% rostered, Scott. That number needs to be higher. I mean, we got a, like, universally

rostered Vaughn Grissom. Yeah, I had trouble ranking him in my latest update. So second base and shortstop or deeper than third base. We mentioned I had Brett Beatty at 18th at third base. Grissom, I have 22nd at both second and shortstop. And that didn't feel quite right, but, you know, that's right in the same range as Brendan Rogers, who's been like a 315 hitter since April, you know? So it's just hard to sort those guys out. But if you're looking for the upside play, certainly if you want somebody with speed,

then yeah, Grissom is an interesting choice. And I agree with you. I'd worry more if strikeouts had been an issue for him in the minors or have been an issue for him so far in the majors, and he succeeded in spite of it. You know, if it was like a Christopher Morrell situation where it's like, I don't know if he can avoid striking out 30% of the time forever. But, you know, in the minors this year,

von Grissom had struck out like 12% of the time. It was similar last year too. Like, contact, making contact is maybe the single thing he does best. And sometimes, you know, when those guys transition to the majors, there's just not enough impact there for the contact to play up. But there certainly seems to be in Grissom's case. So I'm pretty bullish on him myself. And there'll be interesting to see what happens when Ozzy Albies comes back. He's set to take batting practice, apparently.

so he could be back within a week to 10 days. Marcel O'Suna's kind of gotten bumped from the lineup. He was out of it for a third consecutive game. Robby Grossman's been getting more playing time. That might make for an easy path for Grissom, just transitioning to left field. But he has no experience there. I imagine he could handle it well enough.

I feel like short stops, natural shortstops can play most anywhere. but I just, I don't know, I don't know how, I don't know, I don't know if the Braves will feel the same way. Yeah. I mean, we, I'm waiting for that update over the next couple days that says, Vaughn Grissom is taking fly balls in the outfield in preparation of Ozzy Albi's returning because they have to figure this out. But you're right.

I mean, they're already starting to do it with Ozuna. I think they just want to put their best product on the field. And if Grissom keeps playing like this, he is going to be part of that product. So they will figure it out. I'm sure, but yeah, if he's available in your league, please go add Von Grissom. Noon Gorman went two for four with three RBI here on Wednesday and over his last 13 games. He is batting 3.41 with four homers, 11 runs, hitting the ball very hard, putting it in the air. The problem, Scott, is that these 13 games have been very scattered because he's playing every other game basically right now.

He's 63% rostered. Cardinals have eight games next week. but I don't know that this number needs to be higher as well as Gorman is playing. I think they're kind of picking and choosing their spots wisely when they're playing him. Yeah, I moved him down in my latest rankings update. He's below Grissom, well below Grissom, actually. And I agree with you.

The playing time just isn't consistent enough. It would have to be, it would probably have to be like a daily lineup league where you're specifically trying to catch up in home runs. That's where Gorman would be the most useful. that's a very specific set of rules to pick up a player but you're right it probably does make the most sense in that format cow cow raleigh went two for four with a double dong and three rbi he's quietly having a very good catcher season he's kind of the mike zanino i guess of this year not

nearly as much power that's that's actually what i was thinking too when i looked at the data because cal raleigh call raleigh did i say that right yeah it's like the capital of north Carolina. He's been hitting for power. He also has like a 30% strikeout rate and a ridiculous fly ball rate. So it's like all or nothing for him. And that's why he's batting averages around 200. And yeah, I think Mike Zunino is an apt comparison. Would you rather have Cal Raleigh or Shea Langelliers right now? Langalears take a shot on the unknown. He has through two games, Langleyers has a double in a home run. He also has five strikes. Reichouts, I believe, so that's a little disconcerting.

The last three names here on the list, more so for deeper leagues, but Oscar Gonzalez, we've mentioned a lot recently, two for five with two doubles and two RBI. He is 26% rostered. Christian Arroyo has worked his way into everyday playing time at second base for the Red Sox. I'm not sure that we'll see Trevor's story again. I feel like there's been rumblings that he's kind of doing some things on the field again, so we'll see about that. But Arroyo went three for five with a double and three RBI. He's four percent rostered. He has quadruple eligibility, second, third, shortstop, and outfield. And

Robbie Grossman, I'm not saying you need to add him, but in deeper leagues, let's just see where this goes. Back to back games with a homer. We saw what Grossman could do last year, playing every day, 2020, and it's a really good lineup. So don't have to add him yet. Like, it may not be for long if we're thinking Grissom's going to move to the outfield. But, but yeah, they were talking on the broadcast about how he, uh, He's made some adjustments to his swing. I can't remember the specifics of it. But for our purposes, all that really matters is changes were happening

that have now preceded an increase in production and an increase in playing time. So that, I agree. It makes Grossman at least worth monitoring for the next week or so. Scott, do you think Gonzales, Oscar Gonzalez, needs to be more than 26% rostered? And the same question for Arroyo, he's at 4%. Yeah, I think Oscar Gonzalez is. one of the most under-rastered players,

given the quality of contact, and pretty good amount of contact, too, and that's a good combination. It doesn't walk at all, and so, you know, at some point, pitchers could learn to exploit that, but I think Oscar Gonzalez is underperformed in home runs so far,

given what the data looks like, and we've seen with Vinny Pasquantino, right, how quickly that can turn around. Not so keen on Arroyo, and I just don't think there's enough upside there. And I don't think Trevor's story is going to be out for long. I'm kind of annoyed Arroyo is doing so well because I'd hope to see Enmanuel Valdez. Well, story was sidelined, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen now.

I picked up Christian Arroyo in one of my 15-team Roto leagues, and just given his eligibility and, you know, the context of the team that he plays on, it's a good ballpark to hit in. I think in a league that deep, obviously his versatility does help. Scott, you mentioned the guy, Vinnie Pass Quantino. Before we get into him, obviously it's a terrible question. Like who would ask this, right? Like, who is your favorite kid, Scott,

if you had to choose? I would never ask you that. But I will ask you the fantasy version of that. So if you had to choose one of these two, only one, Vinnie Pasquantino, who went two for four, and is now betting 382 with five home runs in August, or Jose Miranda,

who went two for four and hit his 12th home run of the season. Who do you like more? I get picked pretty easily. It's Vinny Pasquantino. Yeah. Damn. You really love this guy. I do.

Yeah, I think the quality of contacts better, the amount of contacts better. He walks a lot and Miranda doesn't. Miranda has third base eligibility for now, but I don't think he's going to retain that. I mean, you know, kind of a different conversation next year. But I don't think Miranda is going to be just first base like Pasquant. Oh, no, he's gotten enough time to third base. Scratch that last point. But yeah.

I do prefer Pasquantino. And by the way, I think you can pick your favorite kid. This was a point Adam Azer always used to make. Here's the thing, though. It changes constantly. You have a favorite in the moment. And then, you know, and then it switches around. Yeah.

Depends on the day, you know, who's being nice to you. Who's, you know, who's doing good in school, I guess. I don't have that problem. I have, you know, one cat and a wife. I guess I could choose between them, but it's pretty easy decision for me, at least for now. Let's take it. I should hope so. Let's take a quick break, and we'll be back right after this.

The news and notes, Mike Trout hopes to return on Friday. He's been sidelined for a month with a rib injury, which turned out to be a rare back condition. And we knew he was taking batting practice, but this, you know, just kind of popped up out of nowhere. So I hope he returns Friday, and I hope he's Mike Trout. on Bryce Harper took batting practice on Wednesday. We'll do so again later this week, and he could start a rehab assignment next Tuesday. I've seen September 1st kind of floated out there for Bryce Harper,

so it would be a nice boost for the final month of the season. Ozzie Albies is expected to ramp up his progression of baseball activities next week. He's been out since mid-June with a broken right foot. Tyler Malley left his start on Wednesday with right shoulder fatigue, and he's set to undergoing MRI. Scott, correct me if I'm wrong, but Malley missed time earlier this season also with a shoulder injury, right?

He missed time with something. I can't remember if it was the shoulder or not. I think so. His velocity was down like four miles per hour. Oh, geez. Yeah. But they seem to think it's not going to be like a long-term absence. So let's see.

Yeah, so he was, he missed about two weeks in July with a strained shoulder. All right. Well, kind of. stinks because we finally get him out of Cincinnati and now he's hurt. The Yankees are expected to use both Aroldus Chapman and Scott F. Ross in a closer by committee now that Clay Holmes has been placed on the IL. And Scott F. Ross, I believe he pitched a ninth inning here on Wednesday and it was a scoreless

effort. And then Aeroldus Chapman, as I mentioned earlier, he came in an extra innings. He gave up a three-run double to Francisco Mejia. So obviously not great from him. Terrick Scoobo underwent successful flexor tendon surgery on his left elbow on Wednesday. We know that he is missing

the rest of the season, obviously with that issue. Joey Votto will also miss the rest of the season. He is undergoing surgery on Friday to address a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

Matt Reynolds started at first base and was batting cleanup against a left-handed pitcher here on Wednesday. I don't know that it fully explains why Joey Votto has been so bad this year. Obviously, he's pretty old, but if this is something,

something he's been playing through for a while, it would make sense as to why he struggled. Eduardo Rodriguez will return on Sunday and start against the Angels. He is 31% rostered. Scott, how interested in you are in adding Erod? Moderately. He has looked good on his rehab assignment. And I think he was a consensus, what, top 50, top 60 pitcher coming into the season. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I mean, let's see, compared to some of the other pitchers we've talked about today. Would you take him over any of Savali, Stripling, Steel, Ladolo?

Not Ladolo, but I think I'd pick up Rodriguez over and eat those others. Yeah, that's probably right. Yeah, I agree with that. He might be better than Ladolo, too, but obviously, He's very hit or missed at Eduardo Rodriguez. Marcel O'Suna, we mentioned earlier. He has sat three straight games all against right-handed pitchers. They seem to really want to get William Contreras's bat in the lineup,

and he went three for four with two runs scored here. So that only helps William Contreras. Scott, where are you at in terms of dropping Marcelo Zuna right now? Oh, I think he can drop him. I think he can drop him. He's not going to play every day. And look, you were giving him a lot of benefit of the doubt, I guess we as in everybody who plays fantasy baseball

is giving him a lot of benefit at the doubt holding him onto him given his production up to this point. So I might hesitate in five outfielder leagues just because it's obviously hard to find enough viable outfielders in that format. Maybe the Braves have a change of heart. But I think in three outfielder leagues, Marcelo Zune is very dropable.

All right. Enrique Hernandez looks to be the starting center fielder. moving forward for the Red Sox, which obviously means Jaron Duran, is on the outside looking in. Brian Hayes is expected to rejoin the Pirates after spending the minimum 10 days on the IL. Eduardo Escobar, excuse me, was officially placed in the IL with a strained left oblique, and Aledmins Diaz was also placed on the IL with a left groin injury. These players were out again on Wednesday. Luis Robert has missed five straight with a sprain left wrist, and I think I just saw that he got some kind of

injection? Yeah, he received an injection. So probably some kind of cortisone to help him out there. We'll see when Luis Robber can return. Cotel Marte has been out three straight with a hamstring, but I did see him getting at bat, so maybe in as a pinch hitter.

DJ LaMayhew has missed four straight with toe inflammation. He also had a pinch hit appearance. And Cody Bellinger has been out the past two games for, quote, a mental break. Not sure it will help. Some prospect promotions that I wanted to mention, Scott, your boy,

Stone Garrett, he got the call. And like one of the coolest names, right? Like Stone Garrett, how do you get better than that, right? I know we talked about him earlier in the year in one of our FBT and five episodes, and he was crushing in the minors. There's no doubt about it. 275 batting average, 28 homers, 15 steals, a 900 OPS. I think I saw he got a hit off of Carlos Rodon here in his first game,

so that's pretty impressive. What do you think about him, Scott? And are you looking at him anywhere? No, not at this point compared to some other recent call-ups like Carrie Carpenter of the Tigers I'd rather have him Stone Garrett

has had a productive season of AAA plays in a favorable place to hit he's 26 I believe so old for the level and he doesn't walk a lot so I'd be yeah I mean two doubles in his debut that's nice to see but I'd be a little

surprised if he ends up being somebody who's viable in standard fantasy leagues. And it's a little disappointing to see him get called up, actually, because we're hoping to see Corbyn Carroll before the end of the season. If they're giving guys like Stone Garrett an opportunity to solidify left field first, it makes me wonder if that's going to happen.

Yeah, I mean, I know that our buddy, the Welsh has been out there saying he thinks Corbyn Carroll can get the call, and there's been reports. He's not the only one, yeah. Yeah, I've seen it around, but I just don't know how much sense it makes with the debacks really not playing for much, right?

Like, maybe you want to get his feet underneath him for the start of next year, but, you know, why start the service time if you don't have to, right? I mean, obviously I want to see him, but I'm just kind of playing devil's advocate, I guess, for the Diamondbacks. Another prospect was called up here on Wednesday. Not a huge prospect by any means.

Oswaldo Cabrera with the, New York Yankees, the wrong Oswald that we're looking for for the Yankees, by the way. One's Oswald and one's Oswaldo. This is Oswaldo. Yes, and he was batting 269 in the minors with nine homers, 13 seals, and 851 OPS. I'm not sure that he will play every day, Scott.

I know he had a little bit more pop in the minors last year. He's a switch hitter. He puts the ball in the air, which obviously could play in Yankee Stadium. But what do you think about him and, I don't know, any deeper mixed league relevance? Yeah, it's hard to know what to make of Oswaldo Cabrera because the numbers were great last year

between double and AAA, 29 homers, 21 steals. It was kind of a breakout season for him. And yet coming off that season, the scouting reports coming into this year were still pretty lackluster. Like baseball America gave him a 40-grade hit tool, which is not good. And the power tool, I think, was only like 50,

which, you know, is like average. Nothing, nothing to write home about. I will also point out, though, that Oswaldo Cabrera, after returning from a shoulder injury, cost him the entire month of June, he had hit 333 with eight homers, 11 steals, and a 1046 OPS in 30 games at AAA. So he had been red hot.

He is going to Yankee Stadium, which seems like would suit his skill set. If there are questions about how legitimate the power is, that venue would help with that. but then like where is he going to play? Yeah. Because the Yankees have a full infield already. So it might be sporadic playing time for Oswaldo Cabrera.

So long story short, the numbers make him make it so I can't write him off. But I, you know, kind of like I was saying for Stone Garrett, I'd be surprised if Oswaldo Cabrera is, you know, like a 12-team contributor this year. And I think we are getting close to. Oswald Parraza getting the call. You know, if they're willing to take a shot on some of these other prospects, I mean, he has been, Paraza, by the way,

has been really, really good since the start of June. I know he got up to a really slow start, but from June 1st on, I'm looking at his monthly production. He's hit over 300 each of those months. He's got 12 homers and 18 steals during that time. So Oswald Paraza,

just a name to remember, he could be up soon with the New York Yankees. Before we get into the rankings risers and fallers, did just want to show some love, Scott, to Jose Altovae, who kudos to you. I know you've been on him for the past two years when a lot of other people have been undervaluing him in drafts, and out of nowhere, I didn't even realize he was running this much.

He had two steals here on Wednesday. He now has 12 steals total for the season. And you look at his ADP coming into the year. It was 56. He's currently the 46th overall player, so he's outperforming that. And mind you, he's missed some time this year too. So keep that, take that into account as well.

Last year, Jose Altuve was the, an ADP of 92.3. That's according to NFBC historical ADP data. He finishes the 30th best player in fantasy baseball last year overall. So just wanted to give him a shout out. You know, Scott, I mean, 32 years old, people, I guess, are kind of waiting for it to fall off. But it is not happening. And Altuvae still leads off for one of, if not the best lineup in baseball in the Houston Astros.

So, yeah, I mean, if he's going to be, get back to being a valid contributor of stolen bases, I mean, that's, I, I, what did you say he ranks in, and roto leagues this year? 40, 46 overall. And that's with him missing time. Yeah. And I don't treat that sort of thing as gospel anyway, because it's a, you know, it's a bit, it can't fully account for the specific needs of your team, which is, of course, important in Roto Leagues because you're really having, you know,

10 different competitions. So it, you know, it kind of depends on the makeup of your team, really, how valuable a player is, right? I think given the current state of second base, there are like three standout second basement of fantasy. I guess when Ozzy Albi's returns, it'll be four. And Jose Al-Tufe is one of them. So if he's going to be a viable base stealer again,

combine 13 steals the past three seasons, already 12 this year. then I think you can make the case for him as early as round two next year. And there is zero chance he will be a second round pick, Scott. I know. No chance at all. Say he continues to climb,

he finishes as a top 40 player. Frankly, I would be surprised if he was even a third round pick next year. Just because he's climbing in age, people will find a reason to say, well, look at his stack as data. It doesn't matter. He takes advantage of the short porch.

That's always been the case for that. Yeah, it's just like, Joseo Tuvé just keeps getting it done. So, you know, if he's like a borderline top 40 player drafted next year, he's probably going to be a value once again. One of these years, sure, he'll slow down. But at 32 years old, he just doesn't really show any signs as of now. So just wanted to give Jose Al Tuvei some props. He's been awesome.

Some of the rankings, risers and followers here for Scotty will start with the risers. He's got Luis Castillo up to SP12. I know you mentioned on yesterday's podcast. You had him around 15 or 16. So now back end SP1 in Luis Castillo. Astillo, Andres Jimenez is your 14th ranked second baseman. Blake Snell, I saw you, moved him up to SP 51. I actually have him up at SP 41, Scott.

Maybe I'm drinking the Blake Snell Kool-Aid a little bit too much. And then Josh Rojas, you have as your 16th ranked third baseman. Of course, he has multiple eligibility, shortstop, outfield. He's probably the most useful at third base, if we're being honest. And he did pick up a 17 stolen base here on Wednesday. Last 28 days for Josh Rojas. He's the sixth best third baseman in, points leagues, fifth best in category leagues.

Anything you'd like to add on those for, Scott, Castillo, Jimenez, Snell, and Rojas. Yeah, I mean, on Rojas, it is, it's kind of calling me by surprise just how useful he's been. He's taken over as my third baseman in the podcast league, the longstanding podcast league, 12 team points. And you'd think, okay, with 16 steals, clearly this guy is valuable in Rodo. But yeah, like you mentioned, he has been delivering in points. leagues as well. For the season,

Josh Rojas to the page loads fast enough. 2.85 head-to-head points per game. That puts him I think a little outside the top 12, but like right behind Bobby Whit.

Bobby Wood's basically averaged the same amount of points per game as Josh Rojas. Wow. So that's that's that. one. Yeah, as we've said a few times with Luis Castillo, it seems like he has taken that next step that we kept waiting for him to take and kept kind of giving him the benefit of it out,

ranking him as a top 12 pitcher going into the year, and then he kept falling short of it. But I think he's put it all together now, emphasizing that four-seem fastball more, kind of playing it, and the two seam are off each other well. And yeah, I can only come up with 11 starting pitchers. I trust more than him right now. You mentioned Blake Snell 51st. I actually have him 47th in Roto. I'm not sure which four pitchers I have ahead and head to head points, but...

Which makes sense because Snell, I know he's gone deeper into his starts recently, but, you know, it's not something that we could usually depend on him for. Yeah, and the strikeouts are more valuable in Roto than points leagues as well. Yeah. And that's what he does best.

Yeah, and for Andres Jimenez, I mentioned that he's been one of the quietest breakout players this year. So I wanted to give him credit for that. The changes for him. Basically, he's doubled his barrel rate. He's gotten the ball off the ground more this year. He's cut his strikeout rate by five percentage points. It's a big improvement there.

So just kind of improving in all ways as a hitter, and it's added up to significant production. And, you know, the biggest stat of all for him is he's 23. And it's been around for a couple years, but he's still a baby. So I think that's a good sign for Andres Jimenez's future as well. You know, Scott, it's kind of been a good year for those Frank hopefuls. Those deep league names I would bring up like Nate Lowe and Andres Jimenez, just guys I was always hoping would come around.

And it's kind of happening for both of them. So shout out to those. That's true. Yeah. That's true. They were both your guys coming in. Yeah. So we'll see.

I've got to find some new guys, I guess, that I want to break out for next year. The Fallers, you've got Joe Musgrove, who is now your 17th ranked starting pitcher, Whitmery Field, down to your 11th ranked second baseman, J.D. Martinez at outfielder 36, and Jeremy Pena at shortstop 27. J.D. Martinez, I want to point out,

has not hit a home run since July 10th, and he only has nine home runs on the season. And with Jeremy Pena, Scott, I could see him still being viable as a middle infielder in category leagues because you know that format's a little bit deeper but from a points league perspective he does not walk

and I have no issues dropping him for someone like Von Grissom if someone has that question. Yeah his on base percentage is down to 289 for the year and since it was a short IL stint I can't remember what is for in June. Since returning

from that Jeremy Pena is hitting 216 with a 595 OPS. So he is his promising rookie season has really gone in the tank here. Yeah, you mentioned the

collapse in power for J.D. Martinez, with Maryfield, we talked about yesterday how he's not quite an everyday player with the Blue Jays, and that is going to hurt his value significantly because his value was so tied to just how often he played in Kansas City.

And Joe Musgrove, I was having a difficult time reconciling him and Zach Gallen in my rankings, because if you compare their numbers side by side, very, very similar. You know, Joe Musgrove, he was sustaining an ERA below two for so long that I think it kind of artificially boosted him in my rankings, but he doesn't strike out a batter per inning even. And I still have him like 15 spots apart. I still don't feel great about it.

Of course, I've discussed my discomfort with Zach. Gallon all season long. He plays for a significantly worst team which helps justify the gap between the two of my rankings, but I'd still like to get them even closer, because it just doesn't make sense of they're that far apart.

But I moved, I moved, I consciously moved Musgrove down a little more and Gallant up a little more when I noticed how similar their stats are, like I said. Yeah, I think it's probably a combination of maybe we've overvalued Muskrove and we've undervalued

Zach Allen all season long. Like, you know, we're just waiting for him to get hurt, but it's not happening. He's pitching well. That curveball looks amazing. So, yeah, Zach Allen, getting it done this year. A few leftovers from Wednesday's action. We'll start with the hitting leftovers. Jesse Winker went one

for three with two walks and his 13th home run over his last 15 games. He's hitting 261, which isn't great, but he's got five home runs during that time. He's hitting the ball very hard 92.5 mile average eggs of velocity and putting the ball in the air. So in deeper leagues, you know, five outfieled leagues, you know, maybe let's not drop Jesse

Winker yet because he is showing some signs. Showy Otani went four for five with a triple and his 27th home run. He also added four RBI. Manny Machado went two for four with a double, a walk, and a run scored. He now has eight straight multi-hit games and his batting average is up to 305. Shout out to Mandy Machado. He's awesome. Starling Marte went three for four with.

a double dong and he has really got his season on track as well. He's hitting 292 overall, 14 homers, 15 steals, 67 run scored. It's just Starling Marte things. I think maybe you wish for a little bit more speed than the 15 steals, but I don't think you'll complain about that overall production. Jeff McNeil, three for four with a double and a run scored. I meant to write down his second half numbers. Didn't get to it, but he has been much better so far over the past month or so. So Sean Murphy went three for five with a double dong. He's now up to 16 home runs. And Max Muncie went one for four with his 15th homer.

And he continues to be on a torrid stretch here as well, Scott. I don't know what it is. I don't know if you've read anything or maybe he's just finally healthy or whatever it might be. I mean, he's clearly impacting the ball harder. Yeah. But, and yeah, I haven't read an explanation for why he's impacting the ball harder. So that's the explanation for why the production has improved. But what's the explanation for why he's impacting the ball harder?

I don't know. Yeah, might just be healthy for Max Muncie. Pitching leftovers, Jordan Montgomery has now allowed one earned run total in three starts with the Cardinals. He was up against the Rockies, five and two thirds. One run allowed, eight strikeouts. That's back-to-back starts with exactly eight strikeouts for him. After a rough five-star stretch for Corey Klouber, he bounced back at the Yankees, revenge game, six innings, two runs, eight strikeouts there.

Framber Valdez makes it 20 straight quality starts. He was at the White Sox. Seven innings, two runs for him, six strikeouts in that one. And Carlos Rodan was awesome once again, up against the Diamondbacks. Six innings, one run, 11 strikeouts, including 19 swinging strikes. The velocity was down quite a bit. Fastball veloed down two miles per hour. In this one, he averaged just 93.7 on the fastball, which ties a season low.

but it's hard to be concerned it's hard to be concerned when he has 11 strikeouts in a game so I don't really know what to make of that yeah but yeah I know you mentioned it ties the season low

so he did have a start Carlos Rodin where his average fastball velocity was exactly this on June 28th and bounced back from it just fine and yeah as you said he dominated in spite of the velocity this time so it's hard to get to work

up about it. I do also want to comment on Jordan Montgomery because remember we had some hope when he was traded to the Cardinals. Oh, maybe they can tweak his arsonal in a way that allows him to start getting more strikeouts and so back-to-back starts with a

really good strikeout rate. And the reason we were hopeful is Jordan Montgomery, he has the 10th best swinging strike rate among qualifiers. Like he's up there with some serious batmiss or serious strikeout guys. So why does and he'd get big strikeout totals.

Well, I've noticed in these last two starts, he has changed his arsenal a little, thrown a lot more four seamers. He threw four seamers only like 10% of the time with the Yankees, and he threw it, I think, 26% of the time in this start. And back-to-back starts with a lot more four-seemers for Montgomery. And what's weird about is it's not like that's a great swing and miss pitch for him, but maybe it's allowing him to set up hitters better.

I don't know. something to keep an eye on because at least for two starts, it's working. Two pitchers who were going up against each other who actually struggled quite a bit here. Mike Clevenger did not have much at the Marlins. Four and a third. He gave up three runs, six hits, four walks. Really bad whip in this one. And Pablo Lopez's struggles continue against the Padres, four and two thirds, six runs allowed.

Over his last 10 starts, he has a 5.81 ERA. And I think typically, Scott, we were just, you know, blanket statement bench Pablo Lopez. It looks like he's facing the Oakland A's next week, so I don't know. Maybe you start him for that one. Yeah, I don't think I can. I don't think I can. He's done so much harm.

And he's had, you know, he's had decent starts mixed in there. His previous start against the Braves, it was an outshort of a quality start, but the overall line was decent. But there's just been so much damage done. I feel like Pablo Lopez is almost unstartable right now. I wouldn't blame you if you started him against Oakland, but I'd rather not. All right. The call to the bullpen for the Phillies, Sir Anthony Dominguez,

entered in the ninth inning with the game tied. He gave up a walk in two hits. He took the loss. On the other side, Alexis Diaz of the Reds pitched the final two innings. Perfect endings with three strikeouts. He picked up the win. He looks really good. He is far and away the Red's best reliever.

I'm hoping that they have something here, and he finishes out the season strong. And maybe, just maybe. the Reds have a closer to anoint heading into next season. For the Cubs, Rowan Wick had a clean ninth for his eighth save. For the Astros, Ryan Presley, also had a clean ninth for his 24th. The Dodgers are sticking with Craig Kimball for now, they say,

and he allowed two base runners in a one-run game but did convert his 21st save of the season. We mentioned multiple times already what happened with the Yankees. Chapman did not look great. On the other side, Jalen Beeks came on for the save in extra endings. He gave up a walk-off Grand Slam to Josh. Donaldson and then for the Diamondbacks, Ian Kennedy, blown save loss in yesterday's action. Mark Melanson comes on today, pitches a clean ninth inning for his 17th save.

And I don't know that Mark Malanson is back on track, but I heard somewhere that he's changed his pitching mechanics or he figured something out and I don't know. Maybe that helps Mark Malanson, you know, pick up a few more saves here down the stretch. He said he wanted to create more tension throughout his body to improve his command. Okay. He always did kind of look stiff now that I think about it, right? Mark Malanson, he does this a weird step and his arms are out a little bit. Yeah, he always kind of looked like he pitched kind of stiff.

Yeah, not the most graceful looking pitcher out there, I would say. Yeah. To stream or not to stream, we'll start with Thursday. Dane Dunning versus the A's, Adrian Samson at the Orioles, Spencer Watkins versus the Cubs, and J.T. Brubaker versus the Red Sox. I'm going to assume, Scott, this is a big old no. Yeah, I didn't like this group when we were previewing two days ahead yesterday. So I think I said Dunning is the best choice of these, but not a great one.

Yes. Spencer Watkins against the Cubs. I don't know. Maybe if you're desperate. On Friday, we have Aaron Aspie at the Cubs, Keegan Thompson versus the Brewers, Cutter Crawford at the Orioles, Graham Ashcraft at the Pirates, Patrick Sandoval at the Tigers, and Marco Gonzalez at the A's. So this group's a little more interesting

I guess Patrick Sandoval at the Tigers would have to be the top choice even though he's been pretty disappointing this year I think he has a 1.5 whip or something like that Yeah I also like Ashby at the Cubs

Gonzalez Marco Gonzalez at the A's don't mind Ashcraft at the Pirates don't even mind Cutter Crawf at the Orioles. Yeah. So I think the only one of these I wouldn't consider is Keegan Thompson.

By the way, on the subject of facing the Tigers, we didn't mention him, but Michael Kopeck had a follow-up start to his best start of the season. Last time,

which was against the Tigers, and remember he got 22 swinging strikes, 11 strikeouts in that previous start against the Tigers. Back down to Earth in Wednesday's start

against the Astros, only seven swinging strikes instead of 22 and only two strikeouts instead of 11. We're going to wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today. We'll be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.