Fantasy Baseball Today - Bryan Woo Near No-No & First Half Fantasy All Stars! (7/11 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

Bryan Woo took a no-hitter into the 8th inning (2:30). ... Spencer Strider struck out 11 but keeps giving up hard contact (9:05). ... Pete Crow-Armstrong is at 25-25 already in the first half (12:43). ... News (17:00): Alex Bregman is returning this weekend. ... Ceddanne Rafaela has improved a lot (27:10). ... Taj Bradley and Charlie Morton both turned in quality starts (32:50). .. BUY OR SELL (39:12): will these hitters break out in the second half? ... It's time to reveal our first half fantasy all stars (46:14)! ... We wrap up with the leftovers, bullpens and streamers (1:04:18). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@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/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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

Happy Kokomo Friday and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on July 11th. I am Frank Stamphill joined by Chris Towers. Today on the show, Brian Wu took a no-hitter into the 8th. Buy or sell will these hitters take off in the second half? Plus, we will reveal our first half fantasy all-stars. Let's jump in. In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. You know what's improbable, Chris?

Throwing six innings every single start. And that's exactly what Brian Wu has done. Every start this season, he has gone six plus. In fact, in this start, at the Yankees, he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. 7.1-3 innings here, two runs aloud, five strikeouts had 14 whiffs on 103 pitches, just leaned all the way into that fastball through it 74% of the time. He had 10 whiffs on the fastball. The crazier part of this is that he had a no-hitter and a five-run lead entering the eighth,

and the Mariners lost the game. That's wild. How does that happen when you have arguably the best closer in baseball back there as well? So a wacky end to this game, but the beginning, at least the first seven innings, were tremendous for Brian Wu, who has just had an awesome first half. Yeah. It started at the end of last season, too. If you go back to the start of August of last season, he has gone at least six innings in 26 of his last 29 starts.

Remember, Brian Wu didn't pitch deep into games ever last season up until the end of the summer. He was always leaving starts with some kind of injury. And all of a sudden, over the last calendar year, I think it's a 303 ERA, 181 strikeouts in 195 innings, I think is what it is. He's averaging over six innings per start over the past calendar year. At some point, I think we might just have to accept that Brian was like a top 12 starting pitcher. He's certainly in that discussion. The consistency, even the strikeout upside, I mean, the three, he only had four in this one, right? He had five.

Five in this one, but the previous three starts, 899. so he does have some strikeout upside as well. I mean, this was such a fun start to watch because he basically only threw fastballs. And then when he faced Aaron Judge, he only threw sweepers, which I thought was an interesting wrinkle. Brian moved through 103 pitches today.

76 of them were four seamers. Five of them were sinkers. And then he literally, he only threw sweepers to Aaron Judge. He threw 10 sweepers, All of them were to Aaron Judge in this one. I think we can tell what the game plan was there. He's a remarkable pitcher, and what I really like about Brian Wu, and I think what makes him really special,

and I've made the comp to Zach Wheeler a few times, is that he's got this elite fastball, and he throws his fastballs a lot. Combined, Brian Wu throws his four-seamer-ins-syncer about 70% of the time, 71% of the time, one of the highest marks in baseball, but this is not a case of a guy who doesn't have other pitches. His sweeper has a 40% whiff rate on the season. His slider has a 33% whiff rate.

Those were both good pitches last year. The change-up generates a lot of weak contact. It's just he can throw his fastballs that often. And I think what's going to be really fun to watch as his career develops is, does he go in that Zach Allen mold and start to build out the arsenal, become less dependent on the four-seamer and sinker? He doesn't have to right now because he's got really good ones. He just the arm angle that he throws from, the shape of both of those pitches,

his foreseamer just gets hit straight up in the air and the sinker gets hit straight into the ground. I don't know if there's any pitcher in baseball who has a wider launch angle deviation between the four seamer and sinker. His foreseamer has a 31 degree launch angle. You're not going to be able to do anything with that. And then his sinker has a negative four degree launch angle. That's crazy. You really just can't do anything with either of those pitches if he's executed. So it's, he's just a really, really impressive pitcher.

Yeah. And the craziest part, you bringing up, you know, late last season, this starting late last season is right before all that, he had a bunch of arm issues, right? It's, you know, he left a bunch of starts early last season. He started last season on the IL. It was like forearm, elbow. And it kind of just felt like a ticking time bomb. Yeah, absolutely.

And that's why I was scared off Brian Wu this season. And I wanted nothing to do with him. To your credit, you were still in because you said, all right, look, the talent's there. If he can stay healthy, he could have a huge season, and that's how it's played out. It's crazy. From August on last year,

I don't know if you ever played Mortal Kombat, Chris, but it's like his arm turned into, like, the character Jacks, that just huge metal arm. That's the arm that Brian Wu has now. He's like, all right, I'm just going to throw six plus settings every single time. I've got this metal arm. Nothing's going to happen. It's great.

Yeah, just. to add some color to that. So August of 2023, he goes on the aisle with right forearm inflammation. March of 2024, he goes on the aisle with elbow inflammation. June, he leaves a start with a right arm injury. Later in June, it's a hamstring, and then I think he also had a forearm after that. And then nothing since then. It's been remarkable.

Like, he could not stay healthy. It kept being an issue. And look, maybe it will be an issue at some point in the future. He's a pitcher. He has had, I want to say he had, Brian Wu actually might be like the biggest success story for the internal brace procedure. Because I think when he was drafted, he had the internal brace procedure. Or maybe he had in college.

So there is a history here that, you know, I think is the primary thing keeping Brian Wu out of that top 12. but he's as good as anyone outside of that ace tier. I think he's in that like Max Fried, probably even better than like Framber Valdez just from a performance aspect. Framber obviously, I think, a little more projectable. I think the whip will be better. ERA probably similar for both.

Probably similar, but yeah, he's kind of become a better version of George Kirby. Yeah. I think that's totally fair with as little batters as he walks. Obviously, the volume that he gives you, yeah, Brian Wu has been awesome. He ranks the top 15 starting pitcher for all three of us rest of season. All right, Chris, over to you, your player tonight, Spencer Strider, who kind of had a mixed start here. What do you think?

I mean, it was a very good start, right? It was 11 strikeouts over six and two thirds innings. He did give up three runs, three walks. I kind of just think this is more or less who Spencer striker. is. And, you know, the stuff is like 87% of the way to what it was in 2023 when he was the best pitcher in the world. The command, I think maybe the command was never great, but his stuff was so good that it didn't matter. And so, you know, you look at the overall picture right now and it's a 393 ERA. And even since the start of

June, it's like a, I think it's around there, like a 380. Let me see if I did that math earlier. Yeah, 384. But since the start of June, it's a 11.13 whip, 11.1Ks per 9. I think it might just be that Spencer Strider's kind of like a Dylan C's type now, where elite strikeout rate probably going to be a good whip, which I guess gives him an adjon cease. It's just homers have been an issue.

Hard contact has been an issue. And that was an issue even when he was the best pitcher in the world, right? like he he had a 386 ERA in 2023. Peripherals were much better, but he gave up a lot of loud contact that season. It might just be that he's a slightly diminished version of what he was, and you have to live with a slightly inflated ERA and maybe some ugly starts, but I think on the whole, he's just going to be awesome.

This is probably closer to what we should expect, and we've said that for a while now where it's, All right, he's not one of the top five pitchers in baseball right now, but he could still be a top 20, top 24 type starter. The velocity, 95.4 miles per hour on the fastball. In this one, he was 96 plus in four of his previous five starts before this. So I think that had something to do with the results that he was getting. Again, he still had 11 strikeouts and 21 whiffs here.

But his fastball got hit hard again. 94.1 average exit velocity against. that has been a big problem for him this season. It was 93 miles per hour entering the start. So even in previous years when he would give up hard contact, his fastball wouldn't get hit that hard. And I think that's kind of what is holding him back right now. And I don't know that it's going to get much better.

So I would agree, I think we're probably in this mid-3s ERA range with like a 115 to 120 whip and 10 or 11K per 9. So it's, again, probably similar to. to like a good version of Dylan C's, which, I don't know. We haven't seen at all this. We can't. Even saying his name. Or like Jesus Lazzardo or maybe saying,

gray, but with a higher strikeout rate. And they all rank in a similar range for me. Yeah. Yeah, it's all between like 20 and 25 right now. Yeah. So. But clearly a must start pitcher. I think clearly you're happy you have him on your team.

It's just, you know, when we were drafting, there was some hope that, hey, he might be Spencer Shrider again. I don't think he's going to get there this season. Maybe in the long run, look, we still have a relatively small sample size when it comes to these internal brace procedures. We don't know how often guys do get back to their pre-injury form. But as long as you're not expecting him to be that guy, I don't think you'll be disappointed about having Spencer Shrider around.

All right, want to give a shout out to PCA. Pete Crowe Armstrong. What a magical season continues. three for four with the double dung, three RBI. He is up to 25 homers and 27 steals before the All-Star break. He is the third player in MLB history to go 2525 before the break, joining Bobby Bonds in 1973 and Eric Davis in 1987. He's having a remarkable season.

There's a really good piece on baseball prospectus from Rob Mainz, I think from earlier today. Yeah, from the 10th. just kind of going over how rare it is to be as good as piqura armstrong has been this season with as bad of plate discipline as he has um and it just you know you get some comps in there that i think are pretty interesting like uh alfonso soriano where like if piquor armstrong is just alfonso sorriano that's amazing is anybody disappointed or that's an awesome player, right? Like I do feel like people might take that as a, as a criticism of Pete Corr-Armstrong,

but Alfonso Soriano. People have to go back and look at Soriano's numbers too. He had a 40-homer, 40-steel season, and he had another season where he came a home run short of 40-40. Alfonso Soriano was a perennial first-round pick, despite really, really bad play discipline. So if that's what PCA can be, that's a pretty awesome player. Yeah. And, and, an amazing defender on top of that, right, with Pete Crowe Armstrong. Is he the NL MVP right now? Oh. I think he leads the NL in wins above replacement.

Jeez. I guess it kind of depends on what Otani can do as a pitcher. If we get like 40 really good innings from him in the second half, that could be hard to overcome. But yeah, right now he's a half win above Shohei on the – According to Fangraphs, yeah. Yeah, Tucker kind of, not that he fell off, but I mean, his defense kind of drags him down with it. He's still on pace for like a seven and a half win season.

Yeah, it's awesome stuff. I mean, yeah, if the season ended today, it's probably. He probably is the MVP. So it's, man, just a magical season there for PCA. Before we hit our first break, just a reminder that you can listen to both FBT and FBT Express on Spotify. If you're watching on YouTube, you could scan that QR code that will bring you right to the FBT Spotify feed. And big thanks to those watching live on YouTube.

Make sure to hit the like button and subscribe here as well. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today. Let's run through the news and notes. Alex Bregman will be activated this weekend. He missed just about six weeks with that quad injury. I saw that David Hamilton was already optioned back to the minor. So it sounds like Bregman will be back on Friday.

So that's cool. You know, playing us for him to play two of the three games. weekend. So right after the break, right back in your lineups. Absolutely. And he was a monster before he got hurt. So, and this Red Sox lineup is performing. I will point out that they have faced some terrible pitching staffs recently, which maybe has helped their hitters look a little bit better, but it was going to take some time. There's a lot of young hitters in their lineup. I think those guys are starting to figure it out.

And with Bregman back, you know, I think they can get back to being maybe not a top third of the league lineup, but top half, somewhere in like the 11 to 15 range. I think that would be acceptable. Yvonne Herrera began a rehab assignment at AAA on Thursday. Oliver Marmoles said Herrera will mostly be limited to DH duties in the second half due to multiple injuries to the same leg. This is a little bit concerning for 2026. Uh-oh. How many games does he have a catch? He's only made 14 at catcher right now. So he needs six more the rest of the way. I don't know if that's going to happen.

That'd be a bummer if Yvonne Herrera's DH only next year because, obviously I think he's a really good hitter, but I mean, if he's a 925 OPS guy like he is so far, then it doesn't matter. He's fantasy relevant if he's just in a full-time DH. That takes away from the fun. Yeah, absolutely. He has an 850 OPS and 430 plate appearances going back to the start of last season. He could still matter.

as a DH only player. But yeah, you really want him to get those six appearances behind the plate the rest of the way. Hopefully he doesn't put that catcher gear away. All right, Dylan Cruz, through from the outfield on Wednesday for the first time since going on the I.L. With that oblique injury,

and it sounds like he could be back within a few weeks. This must have been a pretty severe oblique injury, Chris, because since May 20th, I mean, we're talking about two months. I know usually it's four to six weeks. I guess if it links, It could be two months, but man, this is a rough oblique injury for Dylan Cruz. It has completely derailed his season. The Astros are promoting their top prospect Bryce Matthews from AAA on Friday.

He's 23 years old, a first round pick back in 2023. 73 games at AAA this year hit 283 with 10 homers, 25 steals. That also comes with a 30% strikeout rate. So 5% rostered. Obviously there's power and speed potential here, Chris. I also just don't know how much he's going to play. Yeah, that's the question here. He's played a little bit of outfield, but mostly he plays the left side of the infield.

Has he played second base much? He's played mostly second base this season, yeah. Mostly second base this season? Okay, I guess it was more shortstop the year before. Okay, so yeah, maybe he can fit in there. Or maybe, you know, they move Jose Altovae over to left field. or back to left field has I saw Matthews

made like one appearance in the outfield but that's it so yeah he has don't know if that'd be an option but I know one game in center field this season that's it in his career that's the only game yeah Jake Myers is dealing with an injury

my guess is they're probably going to throw out two way back in the outfield I think well who's going to play center I guess Taylor Tremel could play center field but yeah Jake I was about to they want a mess, but the Astros are killing it right now. Jake Myers, there was actually a really good piece on the athletic,

kind of centered around Jake Myers injury, but also just all the injuries that the Astros have screwed up in the past year. And Myers, I think it's a calf that he has been trying to play through. They cleared him, and he immediately re-injured it. So maybe Bryce Matthews, Or, yeah. Bryce Matthews plays a little bit of centerfield. That might be the best way to get him in the lineup.

Yeah, I'm looking up and down their roster. I don't see a great fit here. I mean, Cooper Hummel has been playing for them lately. Yeah, the outfield's been a real problem for them all season. And if you have Altuva and Cam Smith in the corners, it's just, whiff. Yeah, I don't think that's tenable, so. Not great. Yeah, no, that might be the way they go with Bryce Matthews.

Yeah, we'll see. If he plays this weekend, then I think he's a name in deeper leagues that, you know, maybe you do want to throw a couple bucks on in Fab on Sunday, but it will come down to the playing time for him. Christian Walker has been reinstated from the paternity list, and Shay Wickham was sent back to the minors. I don't think the Astros are ever going to give Shay Wickcom a chance. It's just... It doesn't seem like it. Seems like someone who gets traded for like a middle reliever. Yeah, he crushes the minors, but they just don't buy him. It feels a little like Miguel Vargasie. Yeah. Michael Bush too, kind of.

Clark Schmidt will officially have Tommy Don's surgery on Friday. Nolan Shanual was out of the lineup on Thursday due to calf tightness. Eric Fetty will remain in the Cardinals' rotation for now, starting Saturday against the Braves. And this prompted me to look up

what's going on with Quinn Matthews in the minors. Just a huge step back this year. I know he had a shoulder injury earlier this season. He went on the IL. Control has been a problem. Velocity is down. So crazy. because we saw him in spring, Chris, and Quinn Matthews looked awesome. Yeah.

It's like, maybe he's going to be in the opening day rotation. Maybe he'll just force his hand, but they sent him down, and he was never the same since. So I don't really know what's gone wrong with him. Yeah, his command, especially, 15 walks in his pattern. Actually, even further, 19 walks in his past 18 and two-thirds innings. That's-terrible. Yeah, he had been looking better from what I remember seeing, and the velocity had been better. But yeah, it seems like he's really taking a step.

back. It just seems like he's probably not healthy. Yeah, could be. Tyler Malley will resume throwing in one week. He's on the IL with a shoulder injury. Speaking of the Rangers, John Gray will make his next rehab start at AAA on Saturday. He threw 32 pitches in his first outing. Chris, any deep league interest in a John Gray? Not really. As the closer, maybe. Yeah, I mean, if they wanted him to use him that way, but I don't, I mean, I guess they do have a full rotation, so. It does seem like they're building him up for at least long relief, so I don't know. We'll see. Yeah, I, there was one like report of that and it got shot down pretty quickly and there's been nothing since the spring. So I'd be surprised, but I would be interested in that.

Well, Chris, it turns out we were just a day early talking about the home run derby because there is not six participants. There are eight now. We needed one more day to find out. It's just the way it played out was just very weird. But here we go. The field has been set. Ronald de Cunia, Byron Baxter, Junior Camerero, O'Neill Cruz, Cal Raleigh, James Wood, and the last two, Brent Rooker, and Jazz Chisham, who wanted to get in, he got in. Yeah, so I'm looking at the odds from Fandul now on the home run derby. I was hoping because he's hitting 200 that O'Neill Cruz would have the longest odds, but no, they are also aware that he hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball.

So O'Neill Cruz actually has the best odds at plus 330. Really? Cow rally at 370. I don't think that's going to work. What's he going to hit? Left or right? Have they said? Why not both?

Adlead Ruchman did it one time. Switch them. I think Junior Camerreau plus 1,000, is clearly the best choice here. Really? Yeah. He has the second longest odds. You can talk yourself into anybody. on this list. Oh, yeah, absolutely. But he's got the highest bat speed in baseball, I'm pretty sure.

He's on a 40 homer pace. The power comes easy for him. He's young. The stamina should be there. I think the plus 1,000 on Junior Caminera, that's the way to go. I still think I want to go with Big Dumber, man. It's just, I look, the Homebren Derby is a crapshoot. It's impossible. Like last year, Randy or Rosarana, nobody saw that coming. And obviously, he went to far into it. Like Acuna, I think Acuna could easily win this thing, you know. Although he's, he's been in the home run derby a couple times before. I can't remember how he's done. Has he? Yeah, I think this is his third. I don't remember him ever being in it, but I could be wrong. Well, they're also playing in Atlanta,

you know, a little home field advantage, Chris. I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. But no, I think, I think Comanaro and Cruz are the two best bets. All right. First trade of July, the raise acquired release. believer Brian Baker from the Orioles for a competitive balance pick, 37th overall in this year's draft. And he immediately gave up a couple runs and took the loss in that game. That's such a tough thing to do. That is so. I mean, trade for someone the day of and then throw him out there.

Yeah. And he gave up three runs into like a two run game. Yeah, it was three to one at the time. He gave up three runs and took the loss. Other trade rumors right now, several teams interested in Edward Cabern. sounds like the Mets and the Cubs are at the top of the list. And apparently the Padres and Rays are interested in Sean Murphy. Please for the fantasy gods, do it.

So we could free up both Murphy and Drake Baldwin and get maybe two top 15 fantasy catchers. Padres makes sense. Rays are... Rays are weird just because I would assume that they would want Danny Jansen to go back the other way because I think they gave him like a $9 million contract. Padres seem more likely. Please, please get it done.

Yes, please. Let's run through some Waverwire hitters from Thursday's action. Ceydon Raphael has been solid. Two for three with two RBI, his 12th steel. 38 games since May 27th. He's hitting 326 with 10 homers, five steals and OPS around 1,000.

He has made huge improvements this season. The plate discipline is much better. Quality of contact is way up, almost five miles per hour on his average exit velocity. 76% rostered, so we're talking shallow leagues, points leagues here, Chris. My immediate thought was, eh, he probably doesn't matter in points leagues. Over the last 28 days, 3.4 fantasy points per game, that is an elite mark. So, I don't know.

Maybe he's kind of working his way into points leagues as well. Yeah, the thing I struggle with is he's cut his strikeout rate seven percentage points. and he's basically doubled his walk rate. It's still only 5%, but that's double because of how low it was last year. His swing decisions are still pretty terrible. He still swings at 60% of the pitches that he sees. His chase rate is 42%. He's making a lot more contact when he swings,

which is a good thing. But when we're talking specifically about a points league context, the overall profile still feels like someone who's going to strike out more than 20% of the time and probably walk less than he has been. So that's the only thing that I would push back on with the points league thing. He's been good for sure. Very good. It just, it doesn't feel super sustainable.

Like the ex-wobe over the last 100 days, 354, that's pretty good. It's not 3.4 points per game good, I think. Yeah. And I think one other thing holding him back in points leagues, he bats in the bottom of the lineup. It's usually, I think, sixth or seventh against lefties and then, you know, ninth against righties. So that does limit some of the volume there. He's performing very well. I think even in, you know, head-to-category leagues, he should be rostered.

He's got multi-positions, but probably not in points leagues for Saddam Raphael. Austin Hayes had himself a solid game, two-for-three with a walk and three RBI. Was struggling a bit before this one. Last 14 games, 157 batting average, 561 OPS, 34% strikeout rate. I think this was expected, Chris. I mean, you know, Austin Hayes was not going to hit like 350 or whatever he was hitting all season long.

56% rostered. Does that number still sound too low? You think Austin Hayes needs to be rostered more than that? So he's pretty fringy in points leagues. But I still think 56% rostered is too low. Like, I would rather have him than sit down Raphael. And Raphael is 76% rostered. True.

I guess Raphael is shortstop eligible as well, but I think it's really unlikely you're actually using him at shortstop. Agreed. Austin Hayes, I have him as my 46th ranked outfielder. You have him at 49. So, oh man, I move Brian Reynolds down a lot today.

He's one spot of head of Austin Hayes. I don't think I would make that swap yet. I wouldn't make that swap. But Reynolds has been so bad, man, so bad. I know there's a track record here, but the pirates start to sell. It's just, I don't know. It's just the vibes are bad in Pittsburgh, man

It's but if they sell he's probably a part of that Maybe I think he has a few more years left on his deal He's kind of a weird player to trade because he's really bad defensively And obviously his numbers are down the season I don't know how much money he's making but I think he signed like a long-term extension a while ago with them So I don't know he feels like yeah he's got two or three years left Kind of a weird player to trade He probably has to be a DH or maybe learn

first base at this point? That's fair. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Next up, Jorge Polanco might be waking up one for five with his 14th home run. Just a weird season for Polanco. He had that insane April, awful May and June.

I think like a sub-600 OPS in both of those months. Now bouncing back in July, hitting 276, three homers, a 10-54 OPS, very small sample, only eight games in July. But 49% rostered. This isn't like a rush out and go at him again. Chris, but in leagues where you have middle and corner infielders, just pay attention here because if Polanco's picking things back up, we know he's someone that can get really hot. Yeah, and I think a big part of why he's been so up and down this season is, is it the right knee?

I know he has had a lot of work on the knee, but he also had the oblique early on in season too. It was the oblique as well, yeah. But he's been, I think, probably playing through stuff. So, you know, maybe he's feeling better now. Maybe he gets the time off for the All-Star break. Feels even better. I think that's not someone who, you know, you look at the 49% roster rate. That seems fine for a guy who's second and third base eligible.

But he is an okay option. Yeah. Okay is probably the right word. And last name here, Hassan Kim, who we mentioned yesterday, one for four with his first home run. And he's looked good so far. He's five for 15. He's got one homer, one steel, multiple hits in back-to-back games before this.

You mentioned the exit velocities have looked pretty good. So Hassan Kim this weekend in 12-team Myrtle Leagues are deeper. If you need a middle infielder, a little bit of pop, a little bit of speed. I think Hassan Kim is a name that you should be looking at. I think he just became available in NFBC leagues this week. So just a name to pay attention to there. A couple of Waver Wire pitchers. We had Taj Bradley, a quality start at the Red Sox.

Six innings, one run with five strikeouts, had 11, whiffs on 88 pitches, still allowed a lot of hard contact in this one, really just lean on the fastball and the cutter, which I'm not sure that's what we want, Chris. You know, like, Taj Bradley's fastball typically gets hit really hard. The numbers before this start were very bad. Like, 71% rostered. I still think that number is too high for Tage Bradley. I agree.

Good start. And look, the splitter is his best pitch in terms of whiffs, in terms of quality of contact loud. Maybe there's something to the fact that the foreseamer and cutter just allow him to throw strikes more consistently. It can make him a more consistent pitcher in general. The race really, they seem to be the organization of the cutter right now. Ryan Pepio is throwing a cutter. Shane Boz is throwing a cutter. Todge Bradley has always thrown a cutter, but he's really leaning into it the past couple of starts. I don't know. I think he's a low, 4 ZRA guy with a bad whip.

I don't think he needs to be rostered 76%. And even the strikeouts are way down to see two. So yeah, totally agree with that. It would be okay dropping Taj Bradley for any of the names we've talked about recently. Edward Cabrera, Emmett Sheehan, Cameron Schlittler. No one. You got to be careful with that name. That name's a minefield.

I don't know, like the entire show yesterday. We said it like 15 times. And every single time I was like, Because I, as you know, I have a tendency to mispronounce things regularly. And yeah, I'm real worried about Cam Schlittler being fantasy relevant. Because there's a lot of ways that could go wrong. Yeah, I would drop Todge Bradley for him for what it's been. Yes.

Next up, Charlie Morton turned in another quality start this one against the Mets. Six innings, one run, four strikeouts to three walks. And he just keeps doing it, man. and last eight starts since rejoining the Orioles rotation. 276 ERA 130 whip over a strikeout per inning. He's 43% rostered. Probably going to look great in another uniform come to trade deadline here. I think he's mostly a streamer, Chris, but I don't know.

Maybe a little bit more than that. The fact that he's delivering over a strikeout per inning right now, I don't know. What do you think about Charlie Morton? He looks like Charlie Morton. He looks like the, you know, late 30s, early 40s version of Charlie Morton. And the problem with that

over the past couple of years has always been even when you're getting a lot of strikeouts and even when you're getting a useful ERA. It's still always been a really bad whip. His last year with the Braves, I want to say he had over 200 strikeouts,

a pretty useful ERA. Let me see if I can pull it up real quick. His second to last, 2023. It was a 364 ERA. It was 183 strikeouts and 166. innings and a 1.43 whip. That's always, but that's been the problem for Charlie Morton for a while now. And so he's back to being useful and that's a big deal.

And the Orioles should get a decent, you know, high A prospect for him when they trade him in the next 15 days or so. And yeah, he'll be useful. I don't think it's a must roster player. I don't know who has a better skill set between him and Todd Bradley right now, actually. At least Morton, you can get strikeouts. I think everything else is going to be pretty similar. So I might give. I'd rather start Charlie Morton right now.

Yeah, I might give Morton the edge over Bradley. Yeah. All right. Well, last name here is Colin Ray, who had a great start at the Twins, seven innings one run with five strikeouts, 15 whiffs on 92 pitches and, you know, did change things up here. Less fast balls, more sliders and splitters. This is more of a deep league streamer, but if he throws these secondary pitches more, Chris,

there could be a little bit more upside for a Colin Ray here. I only care about Colin Ray if he has a good matchup in his next start. And I don't know what that looks like yet because the Cubs have not set their rotation yet. They open the second half versus Boston versus Kansas City at Chicago. So like if it works out that he starts like Monday against the Royals and has, a two-star week. Yeah, I think Colin Ray could be worth picking up. I think we got to get that locked in before you go out and add Colin Ray. All right. Well, let's take our final break. And when we return, a quick buy or sell, and then we'll reveal our first half All-Stars right after this.

All right, welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today. Let's run through a little buy or sell. Is there a big second half incoming for these hitters? Chris, what do you think? Gunner Henderson, a nice double-hitter. four for six with his 11th home run buy or sell big second half bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye he had a 900 OPS in June it was just I think it was only like three home runs we need more power man that's yeah we need more power for sure but the quality context is still quite good I'm I don't know look sometimes guys have oblique injuries in spring and it just wrecks in the whole season. We saw Sean Murphy last year. I think it was opening day. We've seen that

before. We might be seeing it with Wyatt Langford. That could be the case, but the underlying numbers are still good enough that I'm absolutely buying Gunner Anderson having a big second half and still being a top, uh, I still have him as a top 24 overall player. All right, Spencer Steer has also picked things up last 23 games hitting 329 with seven homers, 17 RBI, three steals and an OPS over a thousand. That does include a three homer games. So this one looks like it's perhaps already started, Chris, but what do you think about a big second half for Spencer Steer? Like I'll whisper by.

I don't really have a ton of confidence in it. But he was... This is like a window shop, you know? Yeah, well, he was a good fantasy player for two full seasons before this year. And he was dealing with that shoulder injury. Remember he was limited to DH-only duties early on in the season. it could just be that Spencer Steer's finally healthy

and can get back to being the good player he was the previous two seasons. That profile, I know Scott has had him as a bust, I think three years or two years in a row. That profile always felt very hit or miss and with a really thin margin for error. So I don't want to pound the table for Spencer Steer as a buy, but I think he's certainly better than he has been so far. All right, what about Jordan Westberg, who continues his home run barrage, two for eight with his 10th home run across their double header, and since returning on June 10th, that's 18 games,

hitting 292 with six homers, 14 runs, 14 RBI, and OPS over 1,000. Chris, buy or sell, Jordan Westberg. Bye. Played discipline is still bad, but quality of contact's been pretty good all season. I think has expected Wobahs like 340. 35, 350. That'll play for a guy who, you know, has a little bit of athleticism, has some pop. I think the, like, huge breakout that we were hoping for, I don't know if that's coming.

I think it's happening in the second half, Chris. Sure. I'm doubling down. I'm tripling down. I just think it's been health, man. Because sure. When he's, like, you see the numbers since he's returned. 93.6 average exit velocity, 16% percent.

barrel rate. I think he's awesome. I just think if he could stay healthy for the second half, we can get, I don't know, 15 plus homers, five to six to eight steel, something like that, you know, 280 plus batting average. I think it could be a really big second half here. Okay. Yeah, you've talked me into it. Bye. Bye. By Jordan Westberg. Marcus Semyon keeps on raking. Four for five with three runs scored last 37 games. He's hitting 329 with seven homers, 31 runs, 29 RBI, four steals, OPS over 900. Was trying to find reasons why, like, is there a story? It's like how this happened, what flipped?

I did hear on one of their broadcasts recently that Marcus Semyon said he was overthinking. Yeah. He showed up one day to a game in late May and he said, let me just stick to the same routine for the next couple days and figure out. Stop over analyzing and just play. And apparently it's worked. So I think he's not going to be this good, but I could see him carrying this over into the second half and performing like a top 10 second baseman.

So what's really interesting about Marcus Simeon is his expected Wobah is actually just barely the highest it's been since 2021. It's up to 3.34 now. And he's been a guy who even at his best didn't put up huge expected Wobas. He made a lot of contact, good athlete, huge pull to air rates and was able to overperform. Now his expected Wobah is actually pretty good and he still has a 298 Wobah for the season. So, you know, I think by Marcus Simeon continuing to turn his season around and be a must-start player, yeah. Next up, Nick Kurtz, another clutch home run.

This one of Dylan Lee, left-handed pitcher for the Braves. to tie the game in the eighth inning. It was his 15th homer in just 55 games. Full season pace, 44 home runs for Nick Kurtz. This one's already happened, Chris. It's just, man, how far can it go in the second half? He could be the Tristan Kossis that was promised. Could be.

Yeah, look, there's still a lot of swing and miss in his game. He actually, like, has a pretty good eye at the plate. like his swing decisions are pretty good. There's just some holes. His own contact rate is 74%. League average is 82%. So I think there's still going to be a lot of strikeouts, but he's got legit plus power.

And so, yeah, I don't see any reason to think Nick Kurtz is not going to be a must-start first baseman moving forward. And last name on the list here is Adolius Garcia, who continues to play better. He hit his 11th home run. 28 games since that mental break that he had. He was off for like three or four days in a row. He's hitting 261, four homers, 25 RBI, three steals,

and hitting the ball very hard during that time. Chris, what do you think about Adolias Garcia, buy or sell? Big second half. This one I'm less inclined to buy than the other ones, I think, just because, okay, maybe that mental break or whatever turned him around, but Adolios Garcia is pretty old. He relied heavily on athleticism. It wasn't like a super strong approach.

It was just he kind of mashed his way to being good. And it just doesn't feel like a profile that's going to continue to age well. So I think Adoles Garcia, like I haven't completely buried him in my rankings, but, you know, one guy that I've grouped with him with the last couple of seasons is Randy Rosarena. Very similar profiles. I have a Roserena about 20 spots higher in my outfield rankings right now. now. So I definitely don't have nearly as much faith in Adoles Garcia. Yep, I agree with that one as well. Now it's time for the first half fantasy all stars presented by Travis Matthew, apparel designed for confidence and comfort no matter where the day takes you. So this will be a combo of production

and value on draft day. It's not just choosing the best players at each position because that wouldn't be very fun. But what we will do is one of each infield position, three outfielers, three starting pitchers and one reliever. Chris, we didn't really talk about this before. Yeah. There was one position, but I think there's going to be a lot of overlap. And I think there should be. That will just kind of hammer down. Just eyeballing. I think we have the same catcher first baseman and second basement. Oh, right. So I guess let's just start and keep this thing moving, Chris. Who is your fantasy all-star at catcher first half? The most valuable player in fantasy this season has been Cowr Alley. Just from what you invested to get him,

what he's given you. There's no question. He's the number three player in fantasy right now. And he's closer to Otani in value than Otani is to Aaron Judge. Is that based on points leagues, Chris? I was looking at Fangraph's auction calculator for Roto. Got it. So, all right, because I'm looking at their player raider, unless I'm looking at the wrong thing.

But 12-team 5-5, Roto Leagues, Cal Raleigh has been a 46-9. player and Otani has been 39 according to this. Either way, he's the second or third best player. Cow rally has more home runs than him and only has three fewer stolen bases. That's the one thing. He has, at the catcher position,

Cal Raleigh has 19 more homers than everyone else, 18 more runs, 18 more RBI, and four more steals than anyone else at the catcher position. It's not just the best catcher in fantasy,

he's a legitimate threat to win an LMPP, and he's having one of the best seasons ever by a catcher. If he actually continues this pace, it's probably the best season by a catcher ever. When you take into account, oh yeah, this guy also won the platinum glove last year, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, we're in agreement there. Did want to give a shout out to Hunter Goodman,

who is the number two catcher in fantasy right now, 17 home runs, 280 batting average. Points and Roto, I believe. And his 80p before the season was outside the top 300. So, huge value on Hunter Goodman, but has to go to Cal Raleigh. What about over at first base? Who do you have there? There are a couple of options, although none, nobody stands out quite as much as you would like.

But I think Michael Bush is the option. He is up to 297, I think, in batting average. He's got, is it 17, 19 home runs, something like that? 18 homers. Still get some time off against tougher lefties, but he's the number three player at the position in Roto leagues, entering the second half. And his 401 expected Wobah is the 16th best among all hitters.

Not at first base. That's everyone. It might not be a fluke. I think Spencer Torkelson also has a case to be made. I think Tyler Soderstrom did, but obviously he's falling off. He's heating back up. Nick Kurtz might get there. He could, yeah.

You know, like what he's done has been really impressive. So, but I think the biggest thing for Michael Bush is the batting average. He's just so far ahead of the other breakout first baseman and batting average while the power's been fairly comparable. All right, we're in agreement, Chris. Two for two, I had Michael Bush here as well. And I actually liked him a lot during draft prep season. And then I backed off once they signed Justin Turner. Yeah.

So I blame the Cubs as the reason why I didn't draft more Michael Bush this season. So screw you, Cubs. Why'd you have to go and do that? All right, what about second base? Kind of uninspiring position. They don't have a player who's returned more than $17 of value in 12-team Roto leagues this season. Who is your all-star at second base?

Yeah, the number one player at second base, at least in Roe. I don't think Fran Lowe's the number one player in points. No, he's the sixth best in points leagues. But in Roto, he's number one. And this is another one where you look at the preseason value. He was 21.2 in ADP at N. NFC drafts. He was the number 22nd baseman drafted. And, you know, some of the guys ahead of him, Jackson Holiday, Michael Garcia, Nico Horner, they've all been pretty good, but Brandon Lau has been

better. And he's stayed healthy at least, you know, until about four days ago. Hopefully this ends up not derailing him because the issue for Brandon Lau has always been playing time. Or, yeah, well, playing time because he struggles to say healthy. And we've been right. Like, we talked a lot this preseason about Brandon Lowe and the fit in Tampa and all that. You and Scott were all over this one. He just has to stay on the field and he has a position best 19 homers. Yep. So we're three for three.

It's kind of a boring exercise, Chris. We have all the same answers. I will say. Even though he was by far the highest drafted player at the position, if Catell Marte had not gotten hurt, he would be the pick here. He's been so good. Yep. He's, I think, tied for the position lead in home runs.

despite going on the IL. Cateh has just been unbelievable for the second straight year. He has the same amount of home runs as Brandon Lowe in 60 less plate appearances this season. All right, over to third base. All right, we finally differ somewhere, Chris. Who is your fantasy all-star at third? My third baseman is A. E.

Oh, Hennio Suarez. He was, I mean, remember 2024? He had 30 homers and 191 combined runs in RBI, and he ended up falling outside of the top 150 and 80p, a lot of people didn't really buy into it. He has one fewer home run already than last year. I did not realize he had already gotten to 29 homers. Contract year looking for one final payday.

He is two RBI behind Sea Suzuki and Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. He's been a top 20 player in Roto and even ranks 18th among hitters in points leagues. Ejanias Juarez, I know there's been a little bit of inconsistency, but the overall numbers are just outrageous. I also consider Junior Caminero and Michael Garcia. Michael Garcia, I'm doing this for the newsletter tomorrow. Michael Garcia is my honorable mention for second base, but he's your pick for third, right? He's my pick, yeah, because this is the position he's played most this season. He does have multiple positions for fantasy. Garcia,

he has second, third, shortstop and outfield, actually. But his preseason 80p outside the top 200, he's currently a top seven-third baseman in both Roto and points leagues, and he's just become more of a complete player. We knew He always hit the ball hard, but now it's translating more into batting average. He's got some speed. He's got a little bit of pop. You know, 305 batting average, eight homers, 18 steals. He's not to standout the way Suarez has been, but he has been a big return on investment.

So he is my pick at third base, Mikel Garcia. Shortstop, lots of fun options, Chris. Did we go with the same one again? I don't think we did. I will say, if not for the rib injury, I think J.R. Rompanyo would have been the clear option. Agreed. He was having a real.

real breakout, 322 batting average, career highs across the board on pace. I went with Trey Turner, who I know it was a pretty high pick, but the biggest thing for me is just he hasn't, he had 19 steals last season. He hasn't had more than 32 since 2019. We talked a lot in the preseason about how Trey Turner may not be a standout and stolen bases. Well, he's a standout now. He's got 24 in the first half. It's putting, it's on pace for a career high for Trey Turner. I just wanted to highlight because he's been just outstanding all season. All right. Well, not the direction I thought you were going to go, but I do love the speed that we have, uh, we got here from Trey Turner. I'm going with Geraldo Pardomo. The ADP was outside the top

400. He was not drafted in a bunch of leagues and keep waiting for him to fall off. And he kind of had a lull there. It did a little bit, but he's been really good. The last like 15, 20. games again. And now he's bounced back too. And I love to see that from a player who, you know, unexpectedly broke out, you know, maybe struggled a little bit. Now he's made adjustments back. Overall, it's a three- He's a top 12 player in points leagues. The counting stats, Chris. Overall, like not- 65 RBI lead the position. That's, that's crazy. More than Ellie Dela Cruz, it's crazy. More than Bobby Wood Jr. It's crazy. 55 walks to 49 strikeouts, 13 steals. He's having an outstanding season.

I still don't really buy it, but I've been looking dumb on Heralo Pardomo all season. Yeah. I traded him, I think, after the first month of the season in Tout War, it's for Jonathan Aranda. And at the time, I felt pretty terrible because Pardomo just kept killing it. Prado still has been better,

but I think it's kind of been a win for both sides. I think Aranda has been pretty good, too. But, yeah, Perdomo, I thought, you know, maybe you would take Jacob Wilson, too. He's had a huge season here. he's just been a little bit more banged up recently he's dealt with some hamstring stuff and then he had a hit by pitch but it's been a huge

first season for him to he's kind of a one category standout he's giving us a little bit of pop it's what six seven home runs nine not really any steals nine home runs okay and the counting stats are pretty good 42 and 43 he's got five steals so he was on pace for like 1510 and 75 75 with an awesome batting average

so you know it's what we said about him kind of being Luis Arise. He is doing that, but even with like a little bit more fantasy upside. So it's a more dynamic version of Luis Arise for sure. All right, Chris, three outfielders. Let's keep this moving. We've got to wrap it up. Aaron Judge is leading the majors in batting average.

He's, I think, one or two home runs and two RBI. No, he's tied for the RBI lead. He's four runs short. And he's two home runs short of the major league record or the major league lead. There is a legitimate chance that Aaron Judge is going to lead the majors in runs, RBI, home runs, and batting average, which has not happened since 1956 when Mickey Mantle did it. So, yeah, he- Triple Crown? Yeah, an MLB Triple Crown has not happened since, well, since Mickey Mantle in 1956. Clear, best player in fantasy by a large margin, I think.

Then Peker Armstrong, top five hitter, unbelievable player. I went with James Wood for the number four spot or the number three spot. He has been, I think a top 15 player in fantasy, top eight, number seven player right now in Roto. Probably pretty good in points too, I would guess. I know the strikeout rates a little high, but he walks a lot, which certainly helps. So yeah, James Wood, it's kind of wild because he's still not fully developed yet. and it's really it's scary to think about what it could

what it could look like when James Wood really really locks in because he's on a 40 homer 25 steel pace right now. We went two for three on this one. I've got Aaron Judge in here as well. He was a top three player drafted the season but having another historic year. Pete Crow Armstrong, the ADP was 127.4.

Generational miss by all of us just get that out of the way. 25, 25 in the first half is just insane. And then I went with Byron Bucson. Bucson, whose ADP was 225 before the season, pretty much just written off, and I get it, so many injuries. He is a top five outfielder in Roto right now. 3.9 fantasy points per game is tied for third with Ronald Acuna.

It's behind only Judge and Tucker. 20 homers, 17 steals. You said it recently, Chris. I mean, we were robbed of the prime of Byron Buckson. Well, he's given some of that back right now, because we are getting to see what he can do when he's healthy, and right now it's been a top five outfielder in fantasy. He was my honorable mention for the newsletter.

I also did a utility spot and I threw George Springer and Andy Pahas in there. Springer for sure too. I got six outfielders in there. It's kind of cheating. All right. What about starting pitchers? We have three each here as well. Terrick Scoobal, Max Fried and Hunter Brown.

They're all, I think, top five pitchers this season. They were all picked in the first 10 rounds, but Frieden Brown were both outside of the top 100. an ADP, they have clearly outperformed that. And then I know we're talking value to a certain extent, but hey, Terrick Scouble wasn't the number one pitcher drafted in most leagues. And as good as you feel about having Paul Skeens on your team, that was a mistake.

Terrick Scoobo's better. Yeah. Terik Scoobel, I just didn't choose him because he's done everything you wanted to. He only has a $3 lead on the next, the second best pitcher. So he's returned $38.7, Zach Wheeler, 35.3. So Scoobool has been amazing. Obviously, he's worthy of this. I chose Max Fried.

The ADP was 96. Many people were scared off from recent elbow, forearm injuries, including me. You and Scott were not. So again, shout out to you guys on that. He stepped into a team with a ton of pressure, big contract. Garrett Cole out for the year, and he has just shoved. Perhaps the frontrunner for the AL-Syung Award right now. Co-front-runner, because Hunter Brown is my other pick here.

Full-on breakout, he's throwing harder, he's getting more whiffs. 221 ERA, 0.94 whip, more strikeouts than freed. I think it's going to be a pretty close race between those two down the stretch. And this one, you would have never predicted. This is funny. Matthew Boyd, 32380P entering this season. He is currently the SP 13 in Roe. SP 16 and head to head points with a 252 ERA, a 107 whip.

Even the underlying numbers have kind of gotten better recently. 330. 9 wins too. 335, 324XER. The strikeouts have dipped down a little bit, but nine strikeouts over five innings his last time out. He's just been money for the Cubs this season. Pitches for a good team.

The win potential should be there. I don't think he's going to be this good. I think maybe it's like a mid-3s ERA, but any needs to. to stay healthy. That's been a big problem for him, but huge, huge season for Matthew Boyd. And what about your relief pitcher? I think we're in agreement on this

one. We both went with Andres Munoz. Despite his blown save on Thursday. Blew the save on Thursday. I don't know if you saw he was tipping his pitches, it looked like. I think Cowrally talked about it. Yankees had really good at bats against them too. Yeah, Cow Raleigh said the Yankees were, quote, not being discreet

about picking up Andres Munoz tipping. And there's a video of Cody Bellinger on second, I think, when Austin Wells is up, and Cody Bellinger goes like this. They were not subtle about the fact that they were picking up on his tipping. And look, that's hide your signs, hide your tells better, you know? Yeah, that's legal. They didn't even have to use a trash can to do it either.

That's kind of crazy. But yeah, he is one save short of matching his career high. he had a 104 ERA coming in, 34% strikeout rate. Andres Munoz was the number nine reliever in ADP. He's closer to number one right now. Josh Hader's actually been the best reliever by a wide margin, but Andres Munoz for where you drafted him and what you expected has been phenomenal. And I'll just throw the honorable mention out here for Chris Bovich,

who was the 134th pitcher taken on average. In Roto right now, he's the 103. 22nd most valuable pitcher. Yeah, for sure. I know it's been a little bit rocky recently, but man, those first, you know, 12, 13 starts were awesome from Chris Boo. Which I'm actually going to change my answer on the fly here, Chris. My fantasy all-star at relief pitcher is actually Mariners manager, Dan Wilson. He is my pick because without him, none of this is possible. Scott's service the past couple of years refused to just use Andres Munoz as a closer. Dan Wilson steps in and he has finally unleashed Munoz full on closer.

He's got 21 saves over a strikeout per inning, ridiculous ratios. Thank you. Thank you, Dan Wilson for doing the right thing. But by the way, we did neglect to mention a fairly obvious candidate for American League Say Young. Terrick Scoobal. Oh, duh. He's probably the favorite.

He's probably the favorite for American League of Syon. Yeah, I don't know. For most of the year, everything I listened. who's like, oh, Max Fried is the AL-S. I guess it's... 202 ERA.81 whip for Terrick Scuba. And he's second in the majors and strikeouts. He's the frontrunner, I think.

Yeah, you can go ahead and slap a homer tag on that one because, yeah, Scoobel is the front runner, and he has two other pitchers, two other really good pitchers chasing him there as well. Those were the first half fantasy All-Stars brought to you by Travis Matthew, apparel designed for confidence and comfort, no matter where the day takes you.

The last couple weeks, I've flashed some of the new polos I got from Travis Matthew, a floral print one, part of their active collection. I'm back to the Yankees graphic tea here, extremely lightweight, comfy material. Reminder that if you go to the Travis Matthew website, you can find a bunch of MLB team apparel on their website as well. Chris, what do you have? What do you got going on over here?

Really, I love this. It's kind of a little too hot for it in July, but I've got the AC going, so it's okay. This really comfy, like crewneck sweater. I really like. Yeah, I like the color, too. It's like an aquamarine type. type green there. So very nice. Big thanks to Travis Matthew for making clothes for any occasion that are not only comfy but stylish as well. Let's wrap up here with some leftovers, Chris.

And nice game for Ellie Dela Cruz, who went two for four with two runs and his 23rd steel. Awesome season for him. Just wanted to point out, the stolen base pace is down quite a bit. He's on pace for 39. Last year, it was 67. So there's been some tradeoffs in his fantasy value. Batting average, home runs are up. But obviously it has come at the expense of some steals. He also could just go crazy and steal 30 bags in the second half. Wilson Guthreris, very slow starts of the season, but numbers back up to where they should be, two for four with his 12th home run. Tyler Soderstrom is waking back up last seven games, hitting 370 with two homers, and what a season for Zach Netto, man. He also had a case to be the shortstop

all-star. He missed the first month with that shoulder injury or the first couple weeks. I was scared to death that the power would just be shot this year. Nope. Same. Has 14 homers, 16 steals, 150 game pace, 28 homers, 32 steals. An even better season so far this year than what he was doing last year, Zach Netto. And remember he had that shoulder scare a couple weeks ago, too, that I was really worried was going to derail him. And he hasn't really slowed down.

Right when he came back, I think he didn't have a hit for three or four games in a row. And then boom, turn it back on. He's been awesome. Yep. Pitching leftovers, Nick Lodolo. was great up against the Marlins, six shutout innings with four strikeouts for him. His first scoreless outing since May 31st has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five straight. Just rock solid fantasy season for Nicodolo.

And same can be said for David Peterson, who was great at the Orioles, seven innings, one run, six strikeouts here. And back-to-back quality starts after a rough two-star stretch where he allowed 10 earned runs total. but overall a 306 ERA, 124 whip, tons of ground balls here from David Peterson. Anything to add on him or Nick Lidolo? I'm going to slap the sell high tag on both David Peterson and Nick Lidolo. Because with Peterson, I think the biggest case is just the peripherals don't quite match the ERA, but I guess they're okay. Even when he has a good ERA, his whip is always pretty bad.

He doesn't get a lot of strikeouts. I think this is one where you can look. look at you can convince someone just through the ERA that David Peterson is a really valuable player and even if he continues to run a low three ZRA I think he's going to be less valuable than most pitchers with similar run prevention numbers so I think there's a sell high window here and then Lodolo I just I think he's more like a four ERA guy right now he's the the strikeouts just have not been there all season they still aren't the curveball has not been nearly as good.

I think they're, these guys are both fine. You know, if they're 380 ERA pitchers the rest of the way, I wouldn't be surprised. But I just, I don't, I don't think there's very much upside with either Peterson or Lodolo. Yeah, they kind of feel like SP4, SP5 types rest of season on those guys. David Peterson, one thing I will point out in points leagues, he goes deep a lot into his starts because he does walk a lot. He also gets a lot of ground balls.

So he induces double plays. It allows him to go deeper into start. So in points leagues or quality start leagues, David Peterson does get a little bit of a bump in that format. Sure. Call to the bullpen for the Mariners. We mentioned Andrus Munoz got the ninth with a two-run lead. He gave up two runs on a walk and three hits.

Took his sixth blown save. Mariners would lose that one in extras. For the Red Sox, he rolled his Chapman, allowed a hit, but struck out two for his 16th save. For the Orioles in game one of their double-header, Felix Bautista pitched a clean ninth for his. 18th save.

For the Padres, Robert Suarez struck out one for his 27th save. Maybe getting himself back on track here. And for the athletics, Mason Miller did not get a save, but he did record a strikeout on a 104 mile per hour fastball,

the hardest pitch in baseball this season. Not to be like a prisoner of the moment, but this is one of the most impressive pitches I've ever seen. It was a one-two count in a tie game. Sean Murphy's up. and he dots it right on the outside upper corner at 104.1 miles per hour. That is a pitch that if you don't take, if you don't swing, it's probably a strike.

And if you do swing, you're not going to do anything with that pitch. That was one of the best pitches I've ever seen. It's unbelievable to dot that pitch at 104 like that. To stream or not to stream on Friday, we have Shane Smith up against the Guardian. Quinn Priester, home against the Nationals, Edward Cabrera at the Orioles, Logan T. Allen at the White Sox, Michael Waka against the Mets, Joe Boyle in bulk relief at the Red Sox, and Ryan Nelson at the Angels. Yeah, it's Cabrera, it's Nelson.

I'll go Boyle, and then I think Logan Allen is okay at the White Sox, but I just don't think he's particularly good, so I don't love starting guys that I don't trust the talent, but the White Sox are bad. Yeah, I agree. Nelsen, Joe Boyle, and if you're just looking for a quality start, I think Michael Waka could be fine to get that done. Sure.

For Saturday, we have Mike Burroughs at the Twins, Jansen Junk, the legend Jansen Junk, at the Orioles. Trevor Rogers on the other side, revenge game against the Marlins, Frankie Montas at the Royals, and Jacob Lopez, home against the Blue Jays. I have seen some pushback from some pretty smart people on Jansen Junk and our collective dismissal of him. I don't really buy it, but the results have been excellent lately.

Come on, Chris, you're allowed to be a homer on this one. Come on, man. Him and Trevor Rogers are fine streamers. I don't have a lot of faith in either of them necessarily, but they have good matchups and are pitching well. And then Jacob Lopez, I don't love the matchup versus Toronto. The past couple of starts have not been great. So I'd prefer to stay away from Jacob Lopez.

Yeah, I like Trevor Rogers the most from this list. I know the Marlins have been better, but Trevor Rogers is doing some interesting things. He's pitching well. His command's been very good. I'd probably go with Lopez second, but the Blue Jays really do not strike out against lefties, so it's kind of a tough matchup there.

And then on Sunday we got Brian Bejo up against the raise, Nick Martinez. Actually, against the Rockies on the road, but it's in Great American Ballpark. I can't do it. crushed by the Marlins this week. I can't do it, man. Brian Beow against the raise, Noah Cameron against the Mets, Simian Woods Richardson,

pitching better lately up against the Pirates, Joey Cantillo at the White Sox, and Jeffrey Springs home against the Blue Jays. I can see Martinez and Cantillo having good starts given the matchups. I don't necessarily trust the talent. Either case, I actually like the talent for Noah Cameron, but I don't like the matchup versus the Mets. I think Bayo

and Martinez are my two favorites. I think I would go Bayo, Cameron, and then Joey Cantillo. I don't think Cantillo will go very deep, but I think he could get a good amount of strikeouts against the White Sox. We are going to wrap there for Chris. I am Frank.

Thanks as always for tuning into Fantasy Baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a 5-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again next week. Bye-bye. Mount Podcasts.