Fantasy Baseball Today - Bryce Miller Hype! Waiver Wire Adds & Start or Sit Questions (5/8 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: May 8, 2023

Bryce Miller was dominant again Sunday (1:05)! ... Chris Sale looked awesome this weekend (6:52). ... Let's rank a bunch of waiver wire pitchers (10:22). ... How much FAAB did Matt Mervis go for (24:11). There are some fun outfielders available. ... News (39:45): Aaron Judge should be back Tuesday. ... Start or sit these fringe starting pitchers (48:20)? What's going on with Corbin Burnes? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and pitching streamers (56:24). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Well, fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. What's up, and welcome into Fantasy Baseball today on Monday. May 8th.

I am Frank Sample, joined by Scott White. Today on the show, we're going to recap this weekend's action. More Bryce Miller domination. How much should he go for in FabLeaks so far? We've had a few waivers run, starter sit questions, and much more. Before we get started, please like this video and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already.

And if you're listening on the audio side, download, follow, and leave a five-star rating. We really appreciate it, and it really helps. Let's jump right in. If it's alright with you, Scotty, I'm gonna get us started here. Just an excuse to kick us off with Bryce Miller, who did it again on Sunday,

up against the Houston Astros. You know, the first time around we said, but he was going up against those Oakland A's, so does it really matter? Now he's going up against the Houston Astros. Six shutout, two hits, one walk, five strikeouts. Only eight swinging strikes, but all eight of them came on the four-seam fastball. Continues to look like a great pitch for him, high spin rate,

throws it at the top of the zone, gets a lot of whiffs with that pitch. The secondaries didn't have much going on in this game, the cutter and the slider. Clearly did not get any whiffs with those pitches at all. but even with that was still dominant in this one. I find it interesting that the last two pitching prospects for the Mariners to get called up. George Kirby and Bryce Miller are both two pitchers

that get most of their whiffs on fastball. So I don't know if it's maybe something within their development, but obviously it's been working for George Kirby to this point, not getting lots of whiffs, but still being effective. Bryce Miller is 68% rostered Scott. After two great starts, does that number? need to be closer to 100%. Yeah, I would say so.

I mean, I went through and did a lot of waiver claims tonight with the new week starting, and he was even in the standard 12-team leagues, 12-team points leagues where there's only 250 players roster, 2502 to be precise, he was the best pitcher available on waivers in my mind. So I imagine he will be picked up in all those leagues after waivers run tonight, and I think that's fair. It's not an open-and-shut case. I'm not willing to say Bryce Miller is going to remain a must-start pitcher rest of season.

Cruise to A.O. Rookie of the Year honors or anything like that. But two very encouraging starts, one against a bad offense, one against a good offense. The fact that he didn't get as many whiffs against the good offense, offense does give me some pause, especially since he relies so heavily on that fastball, 71% of the time, throwing it. And once he starts going around second and third time around the league,

will that still play as well for him? I mean, it seems like a great fastball. It seems like one that has the optimal vertical approach angle, the rising effect to get those swings and misses. but until we see that it's sustainable, we won't know if it's sustainable. So I think you take the flyer on him now. He's got a great matchup upcoming next week against the Tigers,

so you go ahead and stick him in your lineup right away, and we'll just take it from there, see how it goes. And I think the most interesting part about Bryce Miller is he only has one walk through two starts so far and different publications that I've looked at. Fangraphs has his potential for command as a, a 40 grade tool, and on MLB pipeline, it's 50 grades. So really, I mean, below average by prospect standards.

And so far, he's looked pretty good in terms of hitting his spots and limiting walks. So I really like that aspect for Bryce Miller. In terms of Fab, in my 12-te-Tout Wars League, that is a head-to-head points league, he went for $302 out of a $1,000 budget. And then in my main event league, 15-team Roto, I actually spent $319. on him. We were stashing Carlos Rodon and obviously depending on him to be a big part of our pitching staff and with the news coming out about Rodon, we figured, all right, we have to be pretty aggressive here on Bryce Miller. I'm not saying that everyone should spend 30% of their budget on

on Bryce Miller, Scott, but it depends on your needs. Like, I think we're close to last in ERA and whip so, you know, we need the help. Yeah, and as we always say, it depends on the setup of your league too. Usually we're talking to people who run, to people who have leagues who run FAB weekly. So there's this big accumulation of talent that you only get one shot at per week. And so the bidding tends to be more aggressive in those formats. Also, you mentioned one of them is a 15 team league. And anytime there's anybody worthwhile out there in a 15 team league, it's going to be like moths to a flame with that. And so, yeah, I think the average person, you know, if you're talking about a $100 fab budget, spending like 8 to 12% on it is something.

Like if you really want to make sure you get, well, I mean, I won't sure you get Bryce Miller, but if you want to make a good competitive bid on it, 8 to 12% is probably about what you're looking at. Yeah, I was going to say in a 10 or even 12 team league, if you really want to, maybe you go like 15 to 20%, but again, that is being pretty aggressive there on Bryce. Bryce Miller. Scott, the last question for you. Would you rather have Miller or Tanner Bybee based on what you've seen so far? That's a good question.

It's a really good question. I'm going to say Bybee because he has not just the fastball, but the fastball and the slider. He has a more proven, but he hasn't walked anybody yet in two starts. And he was a control artist in the minors. That's a clearer part of his profile than it is for Bryce Miller. plus the Guardians have had so much success developing pitching talent. So there you go. Three reasons why I prefer Bybee to Bryce Miller.

Yeah, I think I'd lean that way too. Bybee is up to 82% rostered. So continues to climb. But as we said with Bryce Miller, that number should be closer to 100% for Tanner Bybee at this point. Scott, oh my goodness gracious from this weekend for you. Well, I'm going to go with an old friend. and when I say old friend, I mean somebody who I've talked about a lot this year,

and also somebody who, well, this version of them we haven't seen in five years, and that's Chris Sale. Chris Sale on Friday had, what was only his second good start of the season. He struck out 10 over six innings, three earned runs allowed. All three runs came in one inning, I believe was the fifth inning. So, you know, it could have been better, but it was a quality start and he struck out 10. He walked nobody, or he walked one, excuse me. All good signs.

He threw his fastball 99 miles per hour. That's something we haven't seen him do in five years since 2018. 2019 was the year that he struggled and then wound up needing Tommy John surgery. So this was retrochrist sale. and I don't like for most of Chris Sale's career he didn't throw as hard as 99 like that that was a short period of time

where he was throwing that hard and he was doing it in this start his average fastball velocity was up 1.5 miles per hour and it wasn't just that he was throwing hard and missing bats average exit velocity 79 miles per hour in this

so he was allowing weak contact when he allowed it and just look great in every way I don't know, it was almost like he was pitching angry. This sequence to Bryce Harper in particular, it was just 98, 99, and like you could see it. You could see just how much more conviction he seemed to have in throwing the ball. Now, it does concern me a little that, you know, is he maybe forcing, like he's frustrated, so he's throwing harder than maybe is, is, uh, is, uh, is, uh, is, uh, is, uh, is, uh, is, uh,

advisable for him. And is he inviting injury this way? I think that's a fair concern. But I also think I'm fine with it. I just want good stats from Chris Sale. And I'll take them anyway. I can get him for however long I can get them. And I think this is a really good step in the right direction.

Yeah. Now has quality starts in three of his last four outings. Two double-digit strikeout performances during those four outings as well. And I had this as part of a starter sit segment later on, Scott. But I assume following a start like this, you are going to get Chris Sale back in your lineups up against the Cardinals this week. I mean, with the way the Cardinals are in complete meltdown right now.

I guess they had a big game here on Sunday, Paul Goldschmidt hitting three home runs. But like, they've made some curious decisions, some desperation-type decisions have the Cardinals of late. And it seemed like a pretty favorable matchup. So yeah, I'm fine starting sale against them. The Cardinals entering Sunday were 13th and weighted on base average against left-handed pitching. But I do agree with you.

I think the way Chris Sale is pitching over these last four outings, go and get him back in your lineups. A couple other waiver wire pitchers. Actually, first, I did want to give a shout out to Paul Goldschmidt. You already mentioned it, though, Scott. But insane game on Sunday, four for five with a triple dong and a steel. That's three socks and one shoe. It's quite a weird fashion sense for Paul Goldschmidt. but a fantastic game nonetheless.

Let's get into Waverwire pitchers. Part one, Mason Miller. Bryce Miller is not the only Miller out there. Mason Miller turns in back-to-back quality starts. He was at the Royals on Sunday, six innings, two runs, five strikeouts for him. It's his second start in a row where he was throwing more cutters and sliders,

not just relying heavily on that fastball. The slider, at least, has looked pretty good over his last couple outings. So really like what I've seen, 71% roster for Mason Miller. Domingo Hermann survived, at Tampa Bay this weekend, five innings, two runs, five strikeouts for him, continues to allow a lot of hard contact.

Logan T. Allen, he was okay against the twins this weekend. Five and two-thirds, two runs, only three strikeouts in that one, also allowed a lot of hard contact. And Bailey Ober has three strong starts in a row. He was at the Guardian, seven shutout with six strikeouts, 15 swinging strikes on 91 pitches. The velocity was up a little bit across the board here for Bailey Ober. Scott, how would you rank this group?

Mason Miller, Domingo Hermann, Logan T. Allen, Bailey, Ober. Have the athletics gotten a win yet for a starting pitcher? Because I know... Scott, they got two this weekend. They got two this weekend. Okay, but not from Mason Miller. No, they got it from, I think, Ken Waldachuk and Kyle Mueller. Okay.

Neither have been pitched that well. Okay. I mean, I like all four of these. I think they're pretty close to must roster. I would say Logan Allen and Mason Miller are must roster at this point. Miller only 71%. And really the only hesitation now is that he pitches for the A's and how likely is he going to be to win games for them hasn't happened yet.

But now two starts in a row where he didn't go just five innings, but he went six or even seven innings and back-to-back starts here. So I feel like the A's, despite his limited workload in the minors, only once going even five-innings in a start, I think the training wheels are off for Mason Miller, and they're just handling him like a conventional starter. And the stuff is clearly good enough for that to be useful in fantasy. But I do prefer Logan Allen. I mean, better situation with Cleveland, and I like a lot of what he's done too. I expected better against the twins because the twins are so bad against lefties,

but it was good enough, and his first two starts were obviously great. So I think Logan Allen's number one on this list followed by Mason Miller. I'm going Bailey Ober third. So Bailey Ober had that seven innings start over the weekend. It was only the second time in his career. He's gone seven plus innings. It's only a sixth time.

He's gone six plus innings. So he's had workload issues too. But it always seemed like the, twins just handling him with kid with kid gloves he is a tremendous strike thrower so he's efficient he tends to get a lot of fly balls but weakly hit fly balls so he doesn't get burned by home runs that often and the era has always been low the whip has always been low strike a rate a little underwhelming but not bad for bailey ober and i think this might be this might be the start of something special with him now that they have a couple long-term injuries in the rotation i

think he's going to get real runway now, unlike he's ever gotten before. And I think he'll be a strong option for you in fantasy. Hermann's fourth, but I think he's a pretty good player to roster, too. You mentioned he gives up hard contact, but every time we talk about him, we mention the swinging strike rate, how it's elite. It's way better than Corbin Burns or Garikull's swinging strike rate this year. I'll tell you that. It's more like what they usually have, not like what they actually have.

And if he's going to continue doing that, reason to be skeptical that he will. But I'm not going to worry about the hard contact so much if he's avoiding contact that well. Last point on, Billy Ober, you mentioned this, but it feels like in general,

the twins have let their starting pitchers go deeper into starts this year. For years, it was third time through the order. They would kind of just, you know, play it safe, maybe take guys out after five innings. But, you know,

Sunny Gray and Joe Ryan, look, to their credit, those guys are just pitching really well. so I guess it makes sense to leave them in. But yeah, it feels like the twins are letting their pitchers go longer this year, which obviously is good for fantasy. I assume all those names are behind Bryce Miller, correct, Scott? Yes.

Yeah, correct. Okay. Next group up includes Hayden Wisniewski, now three solid starts in a row, has had some really good matchups in there. Tyler Wells, another solid start. He was at the Braves, five innings, one run, four strikeouts for him. Taiwan Walker, a big bounce back start up against the Red Sox, six innings, one run, six strikeouts to zero walks, and Cal Quantrell.

Now, two strong starts in a row, up against the twins, seven shutout, just one hit allowed, three walks, four strikeouts, 11 swinging strikes, which is something we don't normally see from Cal Quantrell. Scott, how do you rank this group? Obviously not as enticing as the previous one, but Quantrell, Walker, Tyler Wells, and Hayden Wisnski. Yeah, I don't have as much to say about them just because I don't, they're hard to figure out.

hard to figure out what's going on with them for the most part. Hayden West Nesky especially, three starts in a row, one earned run aloud after getting off to such a rough start. And he's not throwing his hard now. He's not, he had a pretty good strikeout effort this latest start against the Marlins, six strikeouts and six innings. But for the most part, there haven't been a lot of strikeouts. I'm still going to go with West Nesky, number one, because I think there's the most upside there and he is pitching better. But it's not with a lot of conviction. Number two, I will, with some trepidation, say Tyler Wells, because he's a good strike thrower.

I mean, he has a lot of, sort of like Bailey Ober. He has a lot of the same qualities as Bailey Ober. I don't think he is as good as Bailey Ober. But a lot of, a high fly ball rate generally keeps balls in the yard. Obviously, his home park helps with that, and he keeps the whip low. He keeps the whip low because his walk rate is so low. and the Orioles have a great offense. They look like a really good team this year,

and that's going to help them, that's going to maximize Tyler Wells' win potential. I'll go Quantral 3rd. He's doing it again, it seems like, quality start machine, and we can't figure out what makes him good, and so we're not inclined to buy into it, but this is like three years in a row where we said that,

and still makes me nervous, but he's doing his cow quantral thing again. Taiwan Walker's fourth. He's just too combustible. Don't trust him. Yeah, that's a good word to describe Taiwan Walker. 5.97 ERA, 1.4-1 whip even after this start. So I actually agree totally with your order.

This next group, only two names in this one. Any thoughts on these two? Matthew Boyd turned in his first quality start of the season at the Cardinals, six innings, three runs, six strikeouts to zero walks. He changed his pitch mix a little bit in this one. use his change up a little bit more, and it's been a very effective pitch for him this year. J.P. France is a pitcher that was called up by the Houston Astros this weekend, and he pitched well at Seattle, five shutout with five strikeouts, 13 swinging strikes on 84 pitches.

Actually pretty impressive there. Diverse pitch arsenal has five different pitches that he used. He's an older pitcher coming from the minors. He's 28 years old. You know, the minor's career is kind of up and down. This year, he was pitching pretty well. Scott, any thoughts on Matthew Boyd and JP France. I mean, J.P. France has, like, he's exactly what you'd expect from a 28-year-old

getting his first look in the majors. He's got the goggles. He's got the mustache to like, what do they call the mustache that comes down? It's like a handlebar mustache. Isn't a handlebar? No, handlebar mustache is where it curls up, right? Oh, yeah, you might be right.

It goes down both sides of the mouth. Anyway. Yeah, no, it's interesting looking at J.P. France's minor league numbers because he's had great strikeout rates down there. Pretty consistently, 11 to 12, Kaper 9. But the walks have also been very high. And so I don't, I mean, being backed up by the Astros is a very good thing. And maybe he'll have useful stretches this year.

I mean, it seems like he's going to get some run because they have so many pitchers hurt themselves. But I wouldn't make it a high priority to pick up JP France. I do kind of like what Matthew Boyd is doing. He hasn't gotten the results yet, finally did have a quality start. But while his ERA is 528, he has a 381XERA, which is pretty good. And I think there's the potential for more strikeouts too. So I don't think rostering Matthew Boyd is a huge priority either.

But I could see him trending up. I could see him starting to gain value from here and turning himself into a useful fantasy asset. Okay, I'm pretty sure it's a no on this final group, but I'll ask just for the deep leaguers out there. Dane Dunning, solid in his first start, filling in for Jacob de Grom. Five shutout with three strikeouts at the Angels.

Peyton Battenfield was great this weekend. I don't really know where it came from, but seven innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, 14 swinging strikes for him. And he's up against the Tigers this week, really good matchup. Dean Kramer, impressive start. At the Braves, six innings, one run, three strikeouts for him.

And Austin Gomber has turned in three strong starts in a row, six innings, two runs, three strikeouts up against the Mets this weekend. Over his last three starts, a 1.59 ERA 106 whip for Austin Gomber. Some deep league stuff here. Scott, any thoughts? Dane Dunning, Batonfield, Kramer, and Gomber. I don't care for any of them. I mean, Dane Dunning has been impressive in relief in terms of the low E.R. A low whip, very low strikeout rate though. And I wouldn't trust those other ratios to continue even if he stayed in relief stretched out as a starter, even less so.

I guess the fact that Batonfield has a swingy strike rate better than 13%. Makes him at least worth monitoring. But his XERA is over six. Yeah. So I'm not loving that. I will admit that in my 15 team leagues, I had backup bids for Peyton Battenfield behind Bryce Miller. So just looking for good matchups.

And obviously, again, going up against the Tigers this week, I don't hate it for Battenfield. What about these three, Scott? Are these names okay to drop? Let's say standard size leagues. Johan Oviedo now has a 12.08 ERA over his last three outings. Reed Detmer struggled again this weekend.

He's up to a 5.10. ERA 1.50 whip and Rwanzi Contreras back-to-back rough outings he's got a 474 ERA 155 whip what do you think about dropping those three names Oviato Dettmers and contraris I'm hesitant to do with thatmers I mean he's doing he's doing the thing we were excited about him doing he's throwing harder he's getting a lot of whiffs it's just nothing else is going right for him but I I still think there's a lot of upside there that I'd be reluctant to give up on given the level of investment you probably have in him.

Oviedo and Contreras, though, they can go. I mean, even in 15 team leagues, I was dropping Oviato, who I was pretty excited about a couple turns ago, but the slider has lost some velocity since then. It's not all the way back to where it was last year, but it's only up like two miles per hour now from last year as opposed to three, and it seems like that's not enough for him to have success. I don't know if that's the only reason he's struggling,

but it doesn't. It's a, it's, it's, there's a correlation there that is alarming. For Reid Detmer, something I noticed towards the end of spring training was the control looked bad. And I wonder if with him throwing all of his pitches harder, can he just not control those pitches, right?

Like, obviously just going like all out all the time. Maybe it's just harder for him to control them or, you know, hit his spots consistently and maybe that's why he's getting hit hard. It's, you know, he's missing his spots, whatever it might be. but it's a theory that I have right now for Reid Demers and maybe it wouldn't hurt him so much so maybe dial it back a little bit and that slider is still a really good pitch

with the velocity he was throwing it last year. So we'll see where it goes from here, but yeah, it's been pretty rough so far for Reed Detemers. Let's take our first break when we return. We'll get into Waverwire hitters right after this. Are you interested in buying some fantasy baseball today merch? Well, now you can with a brand new Paramount Shop, which offers a mountain of merch

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if you want something like this, you can find it in the Paramount Shop. Let's get into Waver Wire hitters. And we'll start off with Matt Mervis, just see what he did this weekend. Scott. He had an RBI single in each of his first two games on Friday and Saturday. And then he added a multi-hit game on Sunday. I was watching the game Friday. And his first hit came later on in the game.

One 11 exit velocity off of a lefty. And the broadcast pointed out that that was only the same. six time that happened this entire season. Lefty on lefty, 111 mile per hour exit velocity or higher. So I thought that was pretty impressive in his very first game. Obviously haven't seen much power or anything yet, but it's only been three games. Matt Mervis is up to 62% rostered and I want him in Tout Wars for $83 out of a $1,000 budget, so around 8%. And Scott, I know that you won a pretty aggressive bit on him as well in your main event league. Yeah, that's another 15 team Roto league.

So like Maw's 2 of Flame, I spent 273 on him. And I believe the second bid was only like 140. So went a little overboard, but happy to get him. I've noticed in those really deep leagues, it seems like the bigger bids are going toward pitching rather than hitting, which isn't historically how it's been done. Obviously, there are a lot more hitter spots to fill in a roto league than pitcher spots. but that just kind of shows the state of pitching right now that people feel like they needed a lot more.

Yeah, I mean, Matt Mervis, my opinion hasn't, I guess if anything, my hopes for him have gone up since we last talked about him because he started all three games. And that's really all it is. He's hit some singles, strikeouts have been, you know, there have been a few too many, a few more strikeouts than I would like to see,

but it's only his first three games. not going to not going to judge him too hard based on that. In like head-to-head points leagues where there are only nine hitter spots to fill, I don't think I was in a position to add him in any of those. I didn't want to pick him up for my bench. I would rather devote those spots to pitchers

and I don't have any need of first base. I don't have a unit need to eat my utility spot. So I'm happy to let him go to somebody else in those formats. If I had a roster spot to play with, it's not a bad idea. to invest in upside, of course. But I was mostly just looking at him in those rotissory leagues

where it is harder to fill out a lineup. Yeah, the points leagues are shallower, but like we said on Friday, I think you could take more chances in a league like that. And if Matt Mervis hits his, you know, sealing outcome, that would be a really good player

for a points league, right? It's good plate discipline, lots of walks, keep the strikeouts down, power. So I'm pretty excited to add him in all leagues, but, you know, maybe it was just your specific teams

like first base in utility you're lowed so yeah that's you know I have I have I think Otony in a utility spot in one I have Yandi Diaz in a utility spot in one and yeah I mean those are those 250 players rostered

sort of leagues are pretty shallow and it's hard it's hard to carry extra hitters in particular so that's that's the only reason I imagine somebody else will pick him up just given the hype and the fact that his skill set seems well suited for our points league,

but can't roster everybody. I actually made a trade in NL-only labor. I traded away Andrew McCutcheon for Matt Mervis. If anyone has followed along, I have been struggling for a first baseman all season long in that league. Lost Reese Hoskins before the year started. I had Cody Clemens in the lineup this week. It's been an absolute disaster.

I picked up Darren Ruff a couple of weeks ago. He went on the IL. So I'm happy to finally fill a void And hopefully Mervis could take off in a league like that But I found that in mono leagues Or at least in NL only so far this year, Scott Outfielders have emerged much more frequently So I've got Alec Berluson on the bench

I've got Stone Garrett Victor Robles just went on the aisle So maybe one of those guys can hit Or like Marcelo Zuna was available I guess someone just got fed up and dropped him So yeah He's been heating up and playing a lot Certainly has, yeah

We'll get to him in just a little bit. Between these two names, Scott, who are you more excited about? Maybe they were dropped earlier on in the year, getting off to slow starts. Ezekiel Tovar, big game on Saturday, went three for four with a home run, and he added a multi-hit game on Sunday as well.

He's 41% rostered. He's got six games this week, three of those coming at home. And Anthony Rendon, he hasn't had some kind of big blow-up game, the power hasn't been there, but he's been solid, especially if you're playing in a points league.

two for three with two walks and his first home run of the season on Sunday has the batting average up to 291 the on base 418 for Anthony Rendon Scott who are you more excited about between those two Tovar and Rendon I'm more excited about Rendon I think Rendon's pretty useful like if you put Rendon in your lineup right now really regardless of format I don't think it'll hurt you too badly the power hasn't been there average exit velocity is actually pretty high the max exit velocity less so.

But there are the makings of power there. And just to demonstrate, so that's, you know, that's talking more roto leagues, but just to demonstrate in points leagues, the difference that plate discipline makes. So coming into today, this isn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, so never mind.

But I will, I will, okay, so I'll say this. Remember the hot start, Ryan Anderson got off to and he was being picked up everywhere probably still rostered in the majority of leagues. Yeah. Yeah, he's 68% rostered.

So with his five home runs, Brian Anderson entered Sunday with 81.5 had to head points per game. Anthony Rendon with his zero home run, 72. So only nine and a half points behind him because he's helped so much by his play

discipline in points leagues. More walks than strikeouts. So just imagine like if he starts hitting for any kind of power at all, like he's gonna close ground there quickly at that position. Yeah, no, I think it's a really good point. One thing on Brian Anderson, you said 81.5 fantasy points per game, Scott, that would be not per game overall. Yeah, 81.5 points. Yeah, overall and you have to run down 72. Yeah, just wanted to clarify with that. A few outfielders from this weekend, Lordes Gareel really starting to get going now over his last three games. He's got eight hits, four homers. He had a double.

Double Dong on Sunday. Overall this season, Guriel's batting 3.10. Five homers, you know, modest power, but the counting stats have been there, 21 runs, 19 RBI. He's 41% rostered. Estuary Ruiz had a big weekend,

five hits, and three more steals for him. Lars Nupar over his last four games has nine hits and a stolen base. He's down to 70% rostered, so it might have been dropped in some shallower leagues. And a big weekend, welcome back to Harrison Bader, who had six hits, two homers,

7 RBI for the Yankees. He's 55% rostered and has 7 home games this week, Scott. How are you, how do you rank this group, Gurriel, Ruiz, Neupar, and Bader? And does it change, you know, in categories versus points? I rank them Newt Bar, Ruiz, Gueriel, and Bader. And I don't think it changes. I mean, obviously, Newpar's better suited for points leagues

because the play discipline's so good. Ruiz, you'd think it's better suited for categories leagues because he's mostly a steel specialist. But, I mean, Ruiz has been such a steel specialist this year that he entered Sunday as the 14th best outfielder in points leagues. Believe it or not, in between Corbyn Carroll and Jordan Alvarez. And that's what's some pretty bad play just went, too. It hasn't matter.

That's how outsized that steel total is for Ruiz, that he can still perform well in a format. when it seems so well suited for him. So I think he's under-rastered right now. I have him as one of my 10 sleeper hitters for this week. And I'm definitely fascinated by what Lordus Garreal is doing right now because obviously we've known him to be a major fantasy asset in the past. And last year his power totally evaporated.

He was dealing with a wrist injury all year, which we didn't find out until after the season he had surgery on it. And I wondered if that meant the power would come back. I think the theory as last year was playing out is that, oh, he's a victim of the juice ball going away. And, well, now, first of all, the juice ball may be back. And second of all, he's recovered from that wrist injury. So the fact he's showing some power again all of a sudden might portend to good things.

The data is very similar. to what he had last year, pretty much across the board. If the wrist is healthier now, it's not showing up in terms of how hard he's hitting the ball. I don't know that that would explain everything anyway, you know? Like just the fact that he's feeling better, I'd still be encouraged by that, regardless of what the data shows.

Okay. What about in five outfielder leagues? Three names that stood out to me. Again, a little bit deeper. You know, probably 12-team, five outfielder roto leagues are deeper. Max Kepler had two home runs this weekend. in 20 games since returning from the IL. 246 batting average, you know, it's subpar.

But four homers, 93 mile per hour exit velocity. So he's hitting the ball very hard. He's leading off against right-handed pitching. That is Max Kepler. T.J. Friedel went two for four with a home run for RBI on Saturday. Very quietly batting 319. He's got three homers, three steals. Randall Gritchrick had four hits, a home run, and a stolen base this weekend.

He's batting 407 with a 1077 OPS in his first. seven games, and he is 18% rostered. Scott, how do you rank those three in five outfielder leagues? Kepler, Friedel, and Gritchick. Gritchick, Friedel, and Kepler. If you happen to play in a five outfielder league that is points-based,

maybe you could put Kepler over Friedel because he tends to excel with the plate discipline. But if you're talking to five outfielder league, generally you're talking like a roto league. And Kepler is almost certainly going to hurt you in batting average for that.

I think we need to give Gritchick some attention. Obviously, he was recovering from hernia surgery for the first month, and so he wasn't worth discussing then. But I know he kind of let us down his first year in Colorado. It had nothing to do with the games he actually played in Colorado. In Colorado last year, Gritchick had 307 with an 851 OPS. So, I mean, we've seen him perform well outside of Colorado, too. and so maybe

hopefully his road stats won't be as bad this year as they were last year but even if they are like you can take advantage of matchups with him in a five outfielder league if you need a catcher

in a one catcher league and you've been someone that's just kind of streaming if you've been you know starting like the Gabriel Moreno's or Shei Langaleers you know that back in top 12 of the group

um Elias Diaz is someone who is really hot recently I didn't even realize his last seven games he's batting 435 with a home run. But overall, he's betting 3.43 this year, three home runs.

We've seen Diaz have some fantasy value in the past. So he's 60% rostered again, more so for one catcher leagues than anything else. In deeper format, Scott, any of these names stand out to you and Manuel Valdez for the Red Sox went two for three with a steel on Friday and just had a big week in general. The problem is that the Red Sox only played five games this upcoming week. Mikel Garcia had three more hits and another steal this weekend. He's betting 3.48 with two steals through. six games for the Royals. He's hitting the ball really hard and he's fast. So I think those two things together are kind of interesting. J.J. Bladay had five hits this weekend, including his

second home run. This Brenton Doyle kid on the Rockies, he wants to play. He's trying to earn his spot even with Randall Gritchuk back in the lineup. Playing time's been a little inconsistent, but a huge game on Sunday for Doyle. He went three for five with a sock in the shoe. His first career home run. He's up to five steals already. Three percent roster for him. Marcel Lozuna, we mentioned earlier. He has started six straight games and has four home runs during that span. I just kind of worry that he'll lose playing time once Travis Darno is back with the team. And Liotti Tavares, last four games on fire.

Ten hits, one homer, five runs, five RBI, and a stolen base. It's got deeper formats, Valdez, Michael Garcia, Bleday, Brenton Doyle, Marcelo Zuna, Leoti Tavaris. Any interest there? So in those deeper 15-team Roto leagues, I was willing to swap out Bryce Terang for Enmeinuel Valdez as like a bench middle infield option. Don't think it worked out. I think I got outbid for Valdez.

But I was willing to do that switch. That hopefully gives you some idea how I'm valuing Valdez at this point. Interesting upside there for sure. Hopefully he keeps playing for the Red Sox. Ozuna. So in those same deep 15 team leagues, five outfielder league, I had some injuries in my outfield because how can you not at this point?

And I actually was having to decide between J.J. Bladay and Marcel O'Zuna. I prioritized O'Zuna over Bladay. I think there's an argument to be made for the mystery box. There often is. But in Bladay's case, just looking at his minor league track record, I don't think the mystery box is going to be that rewarding. There's a chance.

He has good on base scales, if nothing else. But I think, I think, I think his most likely scenario is going to be not that useful. And the same is true for Ozuna, of course. But I do think Ozuna actually has the more upside between the two. One of those home runs he hit over the weekend was 115 miles per hour. which is his hardest hit ball in three years. And the last time he hit the ball that hard, it was 2020 when he was the best outfielder in fantasy.

So, you know, it may be short-lived, but he's hot right now. We've certainly seen him be very valuable for long stretches. And if you're in a deep scenario like that where you need outfield help, I think he's probably worth a roll of the dice at this point playing virtual. every day. When Darneau comes back, yeah, it may present a playing time issue from Marcello Zuna, but not if he's still hitting. Like, if he's hitting, they're going to play him, obviously. Yeah, that is Marcelo Zuna. We were just talking about. Let's take our final break and when we return. I've got some news and notes and just leftovers from the weekend. We'll

do that right after this. Welcome back. And a big thank you to those watching us live. Over 600 people watching us live. So we do appreciate you. If you're here, then please hit that like button and subscribe to the channel. If you are aren't already. Some news and notes. Aaron Judge continues to hit and run and remains on track to be activated on Tuesday. Scott, I'm assuming we get Judge back in the lineups. Yep.

All right. Astros Luis Garcia is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery, which means he likely won't be back until the second half of next season. Wilson Contreras, this was a weird report this weekend, Scott, where some guys, something came out. He's going to roll in St. Louis. That's all I'm going to say. I don't know what's going on there.

There was a report that said Contreras, will spend most of his time in the outfield or at D.H. over the next couple of weeks, which frankly might have been good for his fantasy value because he might have played more than he would as a catcher. But then there was another report where their president came out and said, nope, that's not true at all. So I don't know.

Well, no, he said the outfield part is not true, except in an emergency situation. They're not playing Wilson Contreras a catcher. They're like he's D.H. now. That's crazy. And not necessarily. forever, but apparently the issue is that they've been so spoiled by Yadir Molina

and what he does behind the plate that the pitchers haven't been comfortable working with Wilson Contreras. And so to save their pitching staff, they're going to put their big free agent investment. You know, a guy they just signed to a five-year deal this off-season. Primarily for the offense, he provides at a position where it's hard to find offense.

They're going to confine. him to DH and continue to work on his continue to work on his catching like how did they put it they want him to they're going to continue to work with him to hopefully meet up to their expectations what they've come to

expect at the Cardinal within the Cardinals organization defensively from their catcher I mean between that and the whole Jordan Walker snafu and the fact that their record is abysmal, I don't know. I think something's rotten in St. Louis. They should have never fired Mike Schilt.

That's what I have to say about that. And yeah, no, this is unbelievable. This is unbelievable that after signing him to a five-year deal, they're essentially making him a DH. So, I don't know, it doesn't change his fantasy value that much. I don't know that it'll be the everyday DH, because they probably want to cycle other guys through there, but he wasn't going to play literally every day as the catcher either.

I do worry about Nolan Gorman's fantasy value. I think he got a start in left field today. Or no, no, I'm sorry, Brendan Donovan got a start in left field with Gorman at second base. Gorman's played some second base recently. So they're still trying to keep him involved, but I feel like his playing time's going to suffer a bit. According to Stadcast, Wilson Gertes' framing is in the 35th percentile

this season. So I'm sure that's quite a bit lower than what they're used to. But like they, with, it's never been a good pitch for pitch framer. Yeah. So, I mean,

I don't know what they were expecting when they signed him. I, you know, I think it's, I think it's mostly about their pitchers have all just been terrible. So they're trying to improve, they're trying to do something to remedy that situation,

but it feels like they're grasping for straws. Carlos Rodon has been told that his back issue is chronic. And there's no, clear idea of when he might return. Rodon said, quote, I can't put a timeline on anything. Apparently, he'll get a cortisone injection this week. And in the one league that I have him, it is a, actually I haven't been two leagues, but the one league without IL spots, I held on to him for now.

But I saw some chatter this weekend on Twitter. Like, you know, if you can't afford to hold him in a, you know, no IL league, then, yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if you have to drop someone like Carlos Rodon. We literally just have no idea with what's going on with him. or when he's going to be back. So it's very frustrating. Yeah. I mean, I kind of feel like it's going to be sooner than later now that they know,

okay, this is going to be as good as it gets. So you're just going to have to figure it out. I remember when Mike Trout was diagnosed with his chronic back issue last year, there was an initial freak out. But he ended up returning fairly soon and was able to keep it together for the rest of the season. It's been fine this season. Yeah. So I think just knowing what they're dealing with,

hopefully we'll put Carlos Rodon on the path to returning. But I don't know, obviously. Reiselaglius was activated by the Braves on Friday, and he picked up a save on Saturday, I believe. Tyler Glass now made his first rehab start Friday. He went two and a third shutout with four strikeouts and will likely need two more rehab starts. An MRI taken on Kyle Wright revealed a shoulder strain.

There's no timetable for his return. But obviously, it's worrisome since he dealt with it during spring training as well. Pete Fairbanks played catch. at Tropicana Field on Sunday. He's on the aisle with a, with right forearm inflammation. Gavin Stone was optioned back to AAA on Friday.

Scott, let's say you spent big fab on Stone last week, which to your credit. You don't listen to me if you did. Yeah, I know you were not someone that was doing that. Would you hold on some in the meantime? I mean, look, I think most people listening

if they invested in Stone, regardless of how they did, they're probably fine trying their hand with somebody else. I don't know that we're going to be that excited about him when he does return, given how he looked in his debut. So, uh, I guess flatly I'll say no. No, I wouldn't hold on to him. You know, obviously if it's a super deep league and there's nobody interesting out there, fine, hold on to him. But in most situations,

you can try somebody else. Orlando RC returned to the Brave Sunday and Vaughn Grissom was optioned back to AAA, as we suspected. Twins top prospect, Royce Lewis, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at AA on Thursday. He'll be returning from a second torn ACL is 22% rostered if you have an IL spot available. Luis Severino felt good after throwing a simulated game Friday and will soon make a rehab appearance at AAA. Alex Kirloff, Scott, you did it. Rejoice. He was recalled by the twins and Trevor Larnick was optioned back to AAA on Friday. In the minors, Kiroloff hit 300 with four homers. And he made his first start on Sunday.

He went one for two with two walks. He's 28% rostered. Were you looking to add Alex Kirloff anywhere? Not on the same level as Mervis. Yeah. But if we're comparing him to that group of deep outfielders like the Randall Gritchick group, who else was in that group? Gritchick.

Gritchick, Kepler, and T.J. Friedel. Yeah. I think I'd rather have Kirloff than all three of them. In Roto, I might take Frito. I like the little power and speed that he's given so far, but yeah, it's close. I don't know that there's like a slam dunk option between any of them. Andrew McCutcheon has missed three straight with a sprain left ankle. J.D. Martinez should be able to return from the I.L. this Friday.

Graham Ashcraft was removed Sunday after taking a comebacker off his leg. He also did not pitch very well in that outing. Josh Johnson will ramp up baseball activity this week and could soon begin a rehab assignment. He's on the IL with a hamstring injury. Oscar Gonzalez was optioned to AAA on Saturday after batting just 192 to start the season. Alex Wood began a rehab assignment Sunday. It's unclear how many appearances he'll make. Trevor Rogers began a throwing program on Friday.

He's been on the IL since late April with a strained left biceps. And James Paxton will be inserted into the Red Sox rotation sometime next weekend. A couple of players that went to the IL this weekend, Eloy Jimenez. I mean, look, this is just bad luck. obviously it's been very frustrating to roster Eloy Jimenez the past couple of years. He underwent an emergency appendectomy and will miss the next four to six weeks. Tyler O'Neill. Do you have your appendix, Frank?

I, uh, yes, I do. Okay. I don't know why it took me so long to think about the answer to that question. It's either a yes or no, but, uh, yes, I still do have my appendix. This is the all appendix podcast. Let's go. We'll have to find out about Chris. I don't know.

He doesn't count. Tyler O'Neill went to the aisle with a lower back strain, and I thought maybe Jordan Walker would be back, but instead they promoted Juan Yippez. Worth mentioning Jordan Walker is off to a slow start in the minors. Vince Velasquez went to the aisle with right elbow inflammation, and Victor Robles with back spasms. A few leftovers from the weekend, Sky,

we'll go through some pitchers first. A pitcher's duel between Blake Snell and Dustin May on Saturday. Blake Snell turned in his second straight quality start, and he allowed just one hit, three walks. He went six shutout with six strikeouts. And Dustin May on the other side went six shut out with six strikeouts as well. Only three swinging strikes. It's the results have been there for Dustin May, but he's not getting lots of strikeouts.

Yeah, the whiff rate on his curveballs way down from where it was back in that like mini breakout 2021. Any thoughts on Dustin May? And would you start Blake Snell this week at the Dodgers? I don't think I would start Blake Snell. Yeah. Would you? I don't think he's a lock in 12 team leagues. I think anything deeper, yeah, I would.

I'm a little worried about Dustin May. I think if you wanted to shop him, I'd be okay with that. Obviously, not looking to dump him, but he has a 260 ADRA, a .94 whip. So, you know, in the same way I was telling you to sell high on Graham Ashcraft a week ago, by the way, hopefully you did.

You could probably do an even better job of that with Dustin May. Starters sit some of these questionable starting pitchers right now. Kodi Senga turned in his second quality start of the season up against the Rockies and he's at the Reds this week. What do you think, Scott? Nah, I don't think so. Just too many walks and he's at Cincinnati. I mean, look at points leg, it probably won't hurt you too badly,

but I think the whip damage is too much in Roto. Yeah, exactly four walks in four straight outings for Kodai Senga. Jose Barrios bounced back with a strong start at the Pirates this weekend. Six and a third, two runs, seven strikeouts for him. The problem is he's going up against the Braves this week. Yeah, I'd rather not start him. I might have to in some of my leagues where I just don't have enough pitchers to choose from, but I'd rather not.

I think the same thing could be said for you say, Kikuchi. He's pitching well this year, but up against the Braves, I think I'd probably play it safe. Yeah, his start on Sunday was his first good start where he threw more than 40% fast. It seemed like fading. Like whenever he threw a lot of fastballs, he would get crushed. And that's similar to the past where he threw fastball like 50% of the time.

So good starts when he faded the fastball, bad starts when he threw it a lot. He kind of threw it a lot in this latest start and still got pretty good results. But I don't think it's a good sign that he's still willing to throw it like that sometimes. Last name on this list here is Nick Ladolo, who had another rough start. three and two thirds, three runs allowed, three strikeouts, and eight more hard hits, 94.1 exit velocity against. He is just getting crushed right now. Ten home runs allowed the season that's the third most in baseball, a lot of hard contact.

I don't think there's any way you could start Nicodolo right now, Scott. He's going up against the Mets this week. Although they've been, they've been bad. Definitely could call him a sit. I would not consider him a drop. Agreed. In Cincinnati, I think three of those four starts were in Cincinnati, so that hasn't done him any favors.

But I will point out Nicola Dolo this year. His expected numbers, so he has a 629 ERA, that's compared to a 382-XFIP. It's compared to a 344 Sierra, and his Sierra last year was 329. So Sierra actually isn't that different from a year ago for those who value Sierra. you know, a lot of strikeout potential here still.

I'd hold, but I'd sit. Yeah, I mean, the K to walk is awesome. It's just everything else outside of that. It's, you know, again, like, when he gives up contact, it's really hard, and it's a bad ballpark, and it's a bad team. So, I mean, we knew a lot of that coming in, but it's really playing out in the worst way possible right now for Nicolodolo. Well, Scott, you jinxed Gary Cole.

Thank you for that. He finally had his worst start of the season. I correctly predicted Garrett Cole, thank you. It's not the same as jinxing it. absolutely jinxed him and a tough game man my Yankees needed that one rough Sunday of six zip against the raise you take two out of three with everyone hurt and nope couldn't get it done anyway I alluded to it earlier but both Garrett Cole and Corbyn Burns have only like an 11% swinging strike rate this year which is basically average I mean they're both closer to 15%

if not above that usually yeah and I don't know if that has to do with the crackdown on the sticky substances, or I don't know what it is, but they have not looked. I know Garrett Cole's been consistent, and so we've given him a pass, but the lack of swinging strikes is concerning for him, just like it is for Burns. Yeah, I was going to ask you about Corbyn Burns, just, you know, what's going on with him this year.

It's really just the strikeout and the walk rate. They're both going in opposite directions this year. Corbin Burns is down to a 7.3K. per nine, and he's up over three walks per nine. Last year, that was 2.3. So, I mean, that's the obvious answer, but I really don't know if there's, like, a very clear solution outside of just pitch better, like, more...

Plus velocity's down a little bit, too. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I am... It's hard to... It's hard to do anything with Corbin Burns because he's Corbin Burns, and he has such a track record. He's not killing you, and, okay, hopefully he...

comes around. I think it's fine to approach it that way. If you're really aggressive and you want to shop them because you're worried the bottom's going to fall out, that's fine, but you should expect a lot in return. You should shop him as if he's ace, Corbyn Burns. And hopefully somebody just looks at, you know, the last few starts he's made and feels totally confident in him. But I wanted sell low on him. Don't, like, if you're getting lowballed, it's not worth it. Three more names here. Sell high or just sit tight on these guys. Justin Steele, another strong start this weekend, seven innings, one run, four strikeouts for him. The ERA, the whip, both great, but strikeouts are a little bit lackluster.

I kind of worry, you know, can he keep something like this up? With that being said, he does have a career high swinging strike rate, so kind of interesting under the hood there for Justin Steele. Nathan Avaldi has gone eight plus innings in two, his last two starts. He went eight shutout with five strikeouts against the Angels this weekend. And Alex Cobb kept it rolling against the Brewers, seven shutout. with five strikeouts for him. Scott, do you just sit on these guys for now and continue to roll them out there

or are you looking to try and sell high on any of them? Look, to sell high on Cobb. He's always injury prone. His swinging strike rate this year is 8.9%. He's really not getting the usual whiffs on the splitter, even though he has a 201 ERA. So I think he's a good sell high candidate, Alex Cobb. I mean, I think you can make a sell high case for all three of them.

I think Steele, Ivaldi and Cobb are all three performing. over their heads. But I think the one who's most clearly doing that is Cobb. And I'd be more inclined than not to just write it out with Steele and Avaldi. With Steele, by the way, I want to give him more credit because it feels like I was kind of talking him down, but quality starts in 6 of 7. And the quality of contact against,

he is allowing just an 84.5 mile per hour exit velocity against. the FIP likes him 3.20 XERA is 2.99. Yeah, there's a lot of good right now with Justin Steele. I know he's just a two-pitch pitcher, but his fastball is very deceptive. And he's just not getting strikeouts like he did, even last year when we first started to get interested in him. That's why I'm a little uneasy about it.

I think his strikeout rate is a little unlucky, though, right now because he has a near 12% swinging strike rate and just 7.5K per 9. It seems a little bit low for that swinging strike rate. Yeah, that's fair. A few hitting leftovers, weekend for Jonathan India who hit a home run and picked up two steals. I think I might have wrote that in before Sunday's action because I think he had a big game on Sunday as well. Let's see. Yeah, he went

yeah, he had two homers and two steals this weekend. So yeah, really big weekend for Jonathan India. Anthony Santander is now red hot all of a sudden. Six straight multi-hate games. He had a double dong on Friday. Javier Bayets went three for four with his third home run on Friday. He has the batting average up to 261 with just a 16% strikeout rate. This is like a different version of Javier Bayez that we have not seen before. Fernando Tatez Jr. had his breakout game on Friday. He went two for five with a double dung. Both of those coming off of Clayton Kershaw.

Cody Bellinger had three steals, has three steals over his last four games. He is betting 303 with seven homers and eight steals overall. He's been a great fine. He's been, you know, one of the steals of draft season so far. Bryce Harper had four hits including his first home run this weekend. Tyro Estrada hit two more homers. He's batting 3.46 with six homers and nine steals. Jonah Heim, another big weekend for him.

Six hits, four runs, three RBI, one steal. And look, we did not talk about this, Scott. You moved him up to your 13th rank catcher. I also moved Jonah Heim look to my 13th rank catcher, and he deserves it because he has been really, really good this season. Whitmeryfield had a big weekend as well, four hits for him, including his. his first home run and three steals.

Adolius Garcia had a huge game on Sunday. He went three for four with two walks, a double, a sock, a shoe, his ninth homer, his second steal of the season. He's batten 260 with 36 RBI. Yeah. What a guy. Tons of RBI and run scored again. Yeah.

Which was what I was concerned, you wouldn't be able to repeat. And they're doing it without Corey Seeger. It's just so crazy, man. Yeah. Credit, credit to them. All the credit. Laudy Tavares. I mean, he's been red hot too.

Yeah, yeah, sure has. A few bullpen updates, a few. We were talking before and Scott is like, there's so much going on with bullpen. So let's just jump right in with the Cubs. Boxburger on, he took the loss on Thursday, and then on Friday the team turned to Mark Leiter Jr. who converted his first save.

And then on Saturday, one day later, after Leiter picked up his first save, Adbert Alzali did the same thing. He picked up his first save as well. Do you have a feel for the Cubs bullpen right now? I mean, I can't say this with a lot of confidence, but I have a good feeling that maybe Mark Leiter earned himself earned himself a lot of goodwill with that save Friday.

His numbers this year are 129 ERA and even one whip, 14.8K per 9. Obviously, it's a small sample that's always true for relievers. this time of year, so it could all blow up on him pretty quickly. But those are closer caliber numbers, and nobody else has really gotten it done for the Cubs at the back end of games.

He had worked, I think he'd worked three of four after that appearance Friday. So it made sense they didn't go back to him Saturday, but they went with Al-Zalai instead. Also, I believe they took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, so Al-Zalai may have already been warming up. But I made some low bids on Lider in a few leagues, and I think he's somebody you can win with a low bid,

since there's so much uncertainty there still. So I recommend doing it and just seeing how this week plays out with him. For the Cubs on Sunday, by the way, Mark Leiter Jr. pitched in the 10th and 11th innings, and Adbert Owsley pitched in the 12th, 13th, and 14th. He actually wound up taking the loss to earner underruns for, Adbert Alzely. For the White Sox on Friday, Rinaldo Lopez picked up his fourth save for Tampa Bay on Friday. Jason Adam converted his third save of the week. He is 36% rostered and that number should be way higher if you need saves or even in a points league.

If you just need a relief pitcher, Jason Adam is pitching for the best team in baseball right now. So why not? For the Mets on Friday, David Robertson pitched in the eighth inning facing the top of the Rockies lineup with a one-run lead. Adam Adavino pitched a ninth and picked up his fourth save of the season. For the Tigers, Alex Lang, struck out three for his sixth save on Friday. For the Rangers, Will Smith entered the ninth with a three-run lead on Friday, gave up three runs in that outing. And Bruce Bochy, after the game, or at some point this weekend said, you know, Will Smith is still going to pitch in high leverage.

So it looks like they're giving him a vote of confidence. A lot with the Diamondbacks this weekend. Andrew Chafin picked up his fifth save on Friday. Then on Saturday, he ends up. entered the ninth with a three-run lead. He gave up four hits, three earn runs, took the blown save, and then on Sunday, Chafin was unavailable, so Miguel Casrow

got the save opportunity with a two-run lead. He proceeded to give up a three-run homer to Joey Meneses. So Diamondbacks bullpen continues to look like a weakness of that team right now. For the Marlins on Saturday, AJ Puck entered the eighth with a one-run lead. He gave up three runs, two of them were earned.

Some bad defense behind him. I was, you know, watching that game. game. It wasn't completely his fault. For the Rockies on Saturday, Pierce Johnson struck out two for his fifth save. And I think in some of those 15-team, Roto Leagues where saves are especially scarce. I finally moved to drop Daniel Bard and a couple of them where I'd been holding on to him because it just doesn't seem like the Rockies are getting any closer to making a change there in the ninth inning and going back to Bard.

For the Yankees this weekend, Scott, pretty eventful as well. Clay Holmes on Saturday pitched the eighth inning with a one-run lead facing three, four, and five in the raised lineup. Ian Hamilton converted his first save. And then I was watching the Yankees game on Sunday. The broadcast said that the team is going closer by committee. Apparently that is something that Aaron Boone has said. And Michael King pitched a seventh inning with the game tied on Sunday.

And Clay Holmes pitched in the seventh of that game. So it looks kind of up in the air right now, Scott. But I think the pecking order, right now how I would rank it is Clay Holmes. Excuse me. Michael King first. then Clay Holmes and then Ian Hamilton and then like Ron Marinaccio. Well, you mentioned Holmes worked the seventh Sunday.

He worked the eighth Saturday, I believe, setting up for Ian Hamilton. Correct. And King wasn't available that game. So I think that might be why they went with Hamilton, but there was a report heading into the weekend that, you know, what I'd been saying, King, it seemed like they preferred

him in a multi-inning role but there was a report saying the Yankees are getting ready to use them an inning at a time basically so things may be lining up for King to take over there I agree

like I'm not dropping in a league where saves are scarce I'm not dropping Holmes yet but King is a must add in that format and if you're you know if you really have to speculate on saves I don't think it's a bad idea to you know

throw a dollar at E-N Hamilton and see where this week takes them, sort of like I said, for Mark Leiter. Speaking of saves and deeper leagues, Zach Jackson picked up the save for the Oakland A's on Saturday. He's only 6% rostered for the... And he's the first A's reliever I'd be willing to speculate on because remember they've tried Danny Jimenez early. They tried Jerry's Familia. I just don't think they're very good pitchers anymore. Familia is out of the organization now. But Zach Jackson's pretty good. He walks too many guys, but he's a good bad misser.

Was good as a setup man last year. So I, again, in those same leagues where I was speculating on Mark lighter, I was doing, he's putting in a bid for a low dollar bid for Zach Jackson as well. For the Nationals on Saturday, Kyle Finnegan entered the ninth with a one-run lead. He gave up two earned runs on three walks and two hits. They have been using him a ton recently. That was his fourth appearance in five days.

So, you know, maybe he's just kind of running out a tank. I don't think he's very good either. It's Kyle Finnegan, but on Sunday, Hunter Harvey picked up his first save. So if Kyle Finnegan continues to get in trouble and or is traded at some point, Hunter Harvey could kind of work his way into value there. For the Dodgers on Saturday, Bruce Dargraderall pitched the eighth inning with a two-run lead. He faced 9-1-2 in the Padres lineup. He gave up one-earned run, and then Evan Phillips struck out three in the ninth for his fourth save.

For the Phillies on Sunday, very interesting. Jose Alvarado pitched a seventh with a 4-to-1 lead. Matt Strom then pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season, and he struck out three. I don't really know where they go from here, Scott. It's, you know, they said Strom's going back to the bullpen with Ranger Suarez getting set to rejoin the rotation.

But if Strom is being used for multiple innings and potentially picking up saves, like maybe you shouldn't drop them if you picked them up. I wonder what would have happened because it became a five-run lead heading into the ninth. So at the start of the 8th, when Strom entered, it was a safe situation. And then it became not a safe situation, but Strom stayed in, so he got the safe. Like, I wonder if he would have come out, if it had remained a safe situation and who he would have come out for.

Obviously, not Alvarado. I still think Alvarado's probably going to get 75% of the chances here, but it's, Phillies aren't making it easy. One other name I just wanted to throw out there, and I saw people bidding on him. and rightfully so, he's been fantastic. For the Orioles, Yanir Canoe, and if you play in saves plus holds leagues

or honestly, even deeper roto leagues, like this dude does not have an ERA. It's zero. He has 19 strikeouts over 16 innings pitched. He has allowed two hits and zero walks all season. In 16 innings of work, like he's been unreal. So if you just need some ratio help

or holds, whatever it might be, Yaneer Canoe is the name there with the Baltimore Reels. Let's wrap up with to stream or not to stream, Scott. And on Monday, this is a very uninspiring group.

I think, I think the name I like most is actually J.P. Sears at the Yankees. Aaron Judge will not be activated yet for that game. And it's a revenge game. So, you know I'm in.

Okay. Yeah, I mean, it's a bad group. There's nobody better. I don't actually want to start J.P. Sears, but there's no, everybody better. Yeah.

On Tuesday, we're looking at maybe Clark Schmidt against the Oakland A's, Louis Varland against the Padres. Want to go Brandon fought against the Marlins? I think I would.

Spot time. I think I would, yeah. Andrew Heaney at the Mariners, I know you recommended him on Friday. Yeah, that's okay. I mean, again, it's not... I'm not thrilled to start any of them.

But if you just want, you know, to maximize your strikeout potential, your win potential for the week. I think I'd rank them Heaney, Louis Varlent against the Padres, and then fought against the Marlins. All right, that sounds good to me. We're going to wrap there for Scott.

I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. We'll be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.