Fantasy Baseball Today - Buy or Sell! Noah Cameron Midseason Breakout? (8/6 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

Noah Cameron is on fire over his last 3 starts (2:30)! ... Kyle Harrison looked great in his return (12:34). ... Angel Genao picked up four hits in his debut (17:36). ... Ohtani vs. PCA For NL MVP (21:30). ... News (26:28): Judge was cleared for light activities. ... Buy or Sell (36:55): is Skenes still a Top 10 SP? ... Are we buying Trevor Rogers (48:12)? ... There were some interesting waiver wire SP on Wednesday (52:54). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpens and streamers (1:05:22).Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters

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. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Noah Cameron has been a monster over his last three starts. 23 innings, five hits, one run, 24 strikeouts to six walks. Wow. Welcome in to fantasy baseball today on Thursday, August 6th. I am Frank Stamphill,

joined by Scott White and Chris Towers. Today on the show, we'll talk more about Noah Cameron. Another clunker from Paul Skeens. We'll do some buy or sell. Welcome back to Kyle Harrison. And much more, let's jump in. Can you believe it? Wow. All right, Scott, I read off the numbers. I gave you a little preview. Last three starts for Noah Cameron. just let you pick it up from there. I mean, who is this guy? Right?

This guy looks like, like, I don't even know who to compare him to. Randy Johnson seems too bold, but he looks like the best left-handed pitcher in the world over his last three stars. Five hits allowed, 24 strikeouts in 23 innings. Two starts going eight innings, one star going seven. and prior to that, prior to that stretch, he had a 527 ERA, and I don't think was on anybody's radar in fantasy. So what has gotten into Noah Cameron?

Something clearly has, because that is a stark turnaround. It doesn't seem like much, but it doesn't seem like nothing either. I mean, I've been talking about it after his last two starts, how, you know, the start of this incredible three, start stretch, he began calling his own pitches. And supposedly, I mean, the Royals beat riders have been driving this point home. After each of these starts, he's thrown with more conviction now, whatever that means.

I can say for sure, I can tell just by looking at the data, he's throwing his fastball less. It's gone from being his most thrown pitch to... A third, fourth most. It's not like he's completely eliminated it, but throwing it more like 15% of the time than I think it was about twice that before. And it's not a very good fastball. And he has a lot of other pitches.

So maybe it's as simple as that. Maybe it's as my catcher felt like I should be throwing a lot of fastballs for some reason, but I know better. And then there's apparently this conviction element that's helping too. I think Noah Cameron has to be added at this point. I don't think he's this good.

Obviously, I don't think he's actually Randy Johnson or anything close to it. But of course, he was pretty good last year. In a way, we didn't entirely believe, but it wasn't, it wasn't, I know Chris was especially skeptical of it. I was a little more open to it, and I think Frank was also.

but still he had an ERA below three I mean it didn't seem that good bottom line is he's had success before he's having a ton of success now it coincides with a change in his approach and in his pitch selection and I think it's something we have to react to

at this point especially as scarce as the waiver wire is this time of year yeah as the resident Noah Cameron skeptics certainly last season and I'm right there with you on this because this is something we never saw from him last year. He had a 299 ERA last year. That was more than just a good stretch.

He pitched well last season, but most of the peripherals were in the four range or higher. And this year he's been worse, but this stretch, 24 strikeouts across three starts. He's never done that before. Previous high was 22. even I think he's thrown 22 innings in 23 innings across the three starts he never done that before he never throw more than 21 innings in any three-star stretch so this is I think it's clear to say the

best three-start stretch of Noah Cameron's career will he sustain it smart money is on no he won't for all the reasons Scott said it's just really hard to sustain this level of production but I think you just got to buy in as if it's real because the other options coming out of today are, I don't know, Mitch Bratt and Cody Bradford and Jacob Lopez, who, look, I don't think all three of those guys are entirely without appeal. We'll talk about them more later on in the show. I think especially Jacob Lopez is looking pretty interesting right now. Yeah. In the same way, he looked pretty interesting for about two months last season. So I'm open to that. Cody Bradford was really good in 2024.

But what we're seeing from Noah Cameron, the last three starts, is on a different level than what we're seeing from any of those guys. So yeah, go ahead and add Noah Cameron. I don't think you should treat this as if this is definitely a breakout. But take it as if it might be. He's 76, 74% roster. Yeah, I'm looking at that now. I was, I'm shocked he's already that high just after two stars. At low, yeah.

He, for some reason, his roster rate was just kind of really high all season. Oh, it never dropped from the initial. I mean, it dropped. But not as much as you'd expect. I think a lot of the innings eater types usually pop in the CBS projections. And so that's why I just think he wasn't really dropped in that many leagues. So he's out there. And I think he was a two-star pitcher last week.

what's his roster rate on Yahoo? Could you reference that real quick? I imagine it's got to be at least 50 percentage points. Yeah, I would guess I would guess below 40%. 41% roster. Oh, okay. Yeah. So much more widely available there.

Looks like he lines up for two next week, but they are both again. It's the LA two steps, so he gets the Dodgers and the Angels. And one other thing I wanted to point out with Noah Cameron, while the strikeouts have been up over his last three starts, his swinging strike rate over his last six is 13.9%.

So he's been getting whiffs for a while now is Noah Cameron. Could be out there in some CBS leagues, definitely out there in Yahoo. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I'll ask it anyway just because they are very similar roster rate and the names we keep talking about, but Ian Seymour and Roki Sasaki.

I would take definitely Seymour over Cameron and probably Sasaki. that might come down to what Sasaki's matchup looks like next week, but obviously versus the Dodgers versus the Angels, that's about as mixed a bag as you can get for a two-start week. So I don't know. Is that Cameron? Yeah.

Okay. So I think I lean Sasaki over Cameron, but certainly in a point. League, I'll just take Cameron, because I don't think Sasaki is a two-star pitcher next week. And then-Susaki for one against the Royals next week. Yeah, I'd rather have Cameron, at least in a points league. Maybe in Roto, you can make the argument that Sasaki would be better. But I think in a points league, I definitely hit Cameron.

And look, at this point in the season, there are what, seven weeks left after this one, six weeks? Long-term versus short-term doesn't really matter anymore. It's very weak-to-week at that point. Yeah, like whoever has the best match. matchups next week. It might just be the best option no matter what. Yep. I'll throw a couple of names your way.

Would you drop any of these to add Noah Cameron? Davis Martin. Oh, yeah. Get that guy out of there. Still 82% roster. Yeah, his roster rate is. What's his roster rate on Yahoo? He's been, because like,

good question. I'm sure you guys talked about it yesterday. David Martin has been like a six ERA for like two months now, right? Yeah. And his velocity is consistently down. He is down to 52% rostered on Yahoo. Davis Martin is. So that's pretty interesting.

Two names who both struggled here on Wednesday, Casey Mize, worst start of the season by far in his Padre's debut. And Reed Dettmers, who his previous three starts were pretty good, his four before that were bad. I just, I feel like we're kind of in like this reed Dettmer's limbo right now.

Would you guys drop either Casey Mize or Reed Dettmers to add? No, Cameron. So when you were gone, I made the case that we probably should just stop stressing about Red Dettmer. and except that the whole is going to be better than

the spotty game log because in his last 13 starts now, even with, you know, the numbers being inflated some by this most recent outing. Last 13 starts for Redembers, 341ERA. 096 whip,

10.8K per 9. So, like, I'd be happy to have that in my lineup every week, frankly. So, Demmer, I think is safe from any kind of drop situation. And honestly, Casey Meis should be too.

I think Casey Meis has overachieved to some degree this year, but mostly because I think he's had good home run luck. The home run prevention exceeds what the data says it should be. Now it helps that he was in a pitcher's park, and now he's maybe even in a better pitcher's part. But I'll note that his issue in this latest start wasn't the home run catching up to him.

He allowed one. So it was more that he had uncharacteristically bad control. Velocity was normal, pitch selection was normal, but he walked a few guys through only 61% strikes. He entered this start with 2.0 walks per nine inning, so very, very good control. And I don't see anything

that would lead me to believe that's like a permanent collapse for him. I think it was just something that happened this time out. Casey Mize probably not as good as the R.A. and whip overall, but definitely a lot better than this start and definitely worth holding on to still. All right, Chris, let's go over to you for your player of the night.

Yeah, and I think anytime a pitcher is coming back from an injury, you kind of hold your breath at first. especially when you're talking about an arm injury. And that's the case with Kyle Harrison, who made his first star in about four weeks. Wednesday against the Pirates, he missed time. It was a forearm for him, right?

And that's always scary. And then if you're not watching the start, you just see the box score, and you see he left after five innings. He was cruising only 69 pitches, and you see he left with an injury, and you start to panic. Don't panic.

It's fine. You can exit. He left with calf cramps in both calves. I'm sure it was painful. I'm sure it wasn't fun, but not something that you would think Kyle Harrison will deal with. Maybe grab an extra bottle of Gatorade before the next start and make sure you're properly hydrated.

But otherwise, I think he's probably going to be okay. And boy, did he look awesome. Even though his velocity was down a little bit, I think I had a half a mile on the four seamer, a full mile per hour on the slurve, it didn't matter. He had 10 strikeouts in five innings. He gave up one hit. No runs, one walk.

I think it was 12 swinging strikes on 69 pitches. Kyle Harrison just really looks like a monster. And he pretty much has all season. The Brewers have unlocked something here with him. He has a 284 ERA. The peripherals mostly back it up. He has a 30% strikeout rate. Walk rate is career best.

I mean, this is one of the biggest possible feathers in the Brewer's front office is cap. As far as their pitch development goes, Kyle Harrison looks like a completely different guy since getting there. And the fact that he came back after missing a month and was just as dominant as before, this is his fourth double-digit start, double-digit strikeout start of the season. Look, you're always going to have some concern about his ability to stay. on the mound, but I think when he's on, he's just going to be dominant. He's a top 25

starting pitcher as long as he's healthy. Look at Chris praising the Brewer's front office. They're good. Imagine what they could do with a guy like Tarek Scouble. Another blot, by the way, on the Red Sox front offices

cap. By the way, I don't think it came up in the trade deadline extravaganza. Maybe we did refer to it obliquely, but like, they gave up two really quality prospects for Dustin May and it's like

my takeover there is MLB teams like Dustin May a lot more than I think well you did make that point yeah

but my point is if they were willing to give that up for Dustin May why weren't they also willing to give that up for Terik Scoob and I don't know

that they weren't maybe they made the oh the Red So you mean no the oh the Burr Burr what they gave up to get Dust of May. Maybe, which was...

Alexander Frius and... Ragsdale, Josiah Ragsdale. Josiah Ragsdale, yes. Two outfielders... I believe Holmer in his first game today. Ragsdale has monster numbers at AA and Frius has hit a ball harder this year as an 18-year-old than Aaron Judge has, than Ellie Dela Cruz has.

I was just reading fan graphs, breakdown of all the prospects who were traded, and they said, The data reads like Junior Kamenaro at the same age. So Alexander Frees. And look. That's pretty crazy. Maybe they did make the Tigers that exact same offer.

That's what's been reported is they offered two top 100 prospect hitters. I would assume Frius was part of that. Yeah. And the Tigers just really wanted a pitcher and they weren't willing to give up a near major league ready pitcher, which I guess. It was confirmed that Luis Pena was in that deal. So my guess is. is Luis Pena, probably

Alexander Frias as well. And then I don't know who the third prospect would have been, but yeah, that's I don't know, the reported package that the Brewers offered for Terrick's also. I mean, that's a strong offer. I would not say if that is the offer, I would not say clearly

that the Dodgers beat that offer. Oh, no. It's just the Tigers wanted to pitcher and the tigers wanted a pitcher and the Brewers weren't willing to give up pitcher, which if you're not willing to give pitcher and the other team demands a pitcher. Right. Then you weren't willing to beat the offer, you know? Yeah. Sure.

Again, that was Kyle Harrison. The conversation started with Kyle Harrison. Then obviously, we went down a bit of a rabbit hole. But nice to see him back. And the final eight outs that he recorded all came via strikeout in that start. So he looks like he's back. Hopefully the calves are all good next time he comes back out. My player of the night, I'm going to just do a quick mention here of Anhele Hanau in his debut, quite the eventful debut. Four for five with a run, RBI, also had two errors in his debut.

So four hard hits in this game, all between 95 and 100 mile per hour. Exit velocity, he played third base in this one, but mostly a shortstop throughout his time in the minors. So perhaps a bit of a learning curve defensively here. But I think what's interesting is that, well, if Jose Ramirez doesn't go on the IL, he's probably not going to play too much.

more at third base, so we'll have to see. But there is an opportunity for Onhel Hanow to gain another position eligibility. So that would make him a little bit more interesting for fantasy. He is only 15% rostered. Spoke about him a lot yesterday. I think in deeper leagues, if you need a middle infielder. Kind of interesting that both Lombard had a great first game and then Hanao had a great first game. But has anything changed on that front, Scott? Are you still taking Lombard over Anel Hanao? Yeah. Yeah, I think there's, I think, think there's more upside there for sure. Now, what percentage would you say is because of Lombard just having much more obvious playing

time opportunities versus being the better prospect? Because I think it's mostly just that Lombard is guaranteed. No, I think it's both. I think Lombard has a lot more power. I think he's going to get on base a lot more. And now probably will steal more bases, but I don't think he's going to be a monster base dealer. And, you know, generally speaking, particularly

if he also has probably well, I don't know. I mean, Hanau doesn't strike out much, so plate discipline, who's his better. I think clearly Lombard's the better on-base guy. And if he also has significant, I think significantly more power,

then, yeah, I'm going to side with that guy for sure. Now, It was four singles. None were hit 100 miles per hour. The forward technically hard hits there are between 95 and 100. And it's obviously just one game, so it doesn't say that much anyway, other than maybe that he didn't look overwhelmed.

He committed two errors, so I don't know how much... Obviously, he's got to play a better third base than that if he's going to stick around or wherever else they use him if Jose Ramirez returns. But yeah, he's, like I said,

he moved back into my top 50 with the mid-season update 39th. But I do think Lombard is more like top 20 type prospect. Yeah, I'm not exactly sure where Hannao is going to play once Jose Ramirez is in the lineup, assuming he doesn't go on the IL.

I guess there's still a chance that will happen. He didn't play again on Wednesday. but I mean if J. Ram is back, you've got Brian Rokio at shortstop, you have Travis Bezano at second you have I mean, DLodder, mostly D.H he can play some corner, but then they've been using

PD Halpin in center field so it's I don't know, it's kind of hard to... Yeah, for a little while. Yes, but I don't think they're on the verge of sending him back down, but his data doesn't look great. I guess he's been a little better

since the All-Star break 775 OPS, but it was a sub-700 OPS both in June and July. Still getting on base a decent amount. I don't know. I wouldn't think they're about to send him down. So that is the biggest hurdle for Hano is just, is there a spot for him every day. Yeah.

If Ramirez is out, then there is. If not, it's a little iffy. Oh, my goodness gracious, honorable mention, the battle for the National League MVP. Show Hey Otani up against PCA, and they both went yard twice. Double dong for Otani, double dong for PCA, and if you combine the hitter and pitcher F war for Otani, it is 6.7, and the updated number for PCA, 7.8. I think PCA is the favorite right now. Should be.

If Otani gets back on the mound and has like a 2ERA in September, obviously things can change, but. or if Pete Crow Armstrong does what Pete Crow Armstrong has often done and disappear for months, a month at a time. But he has been a marginally better hitter than Shohei Otani this season, just going by WRC Plus, which accounts for the ballpark. He's been a much more valuable base runner.

And look, I know the pitching, you know, 85 innings of a sub 2ERA is incredible, but Peacro Armstrong, by the numbers, is putting up, like an all-timer defensive season. He's already been worth

like 24 runs by fielding run value, I believe. He's like six runs north of any other outfielder or something. So look, we can be skeptical about defensive stats, but I think PCA

is the NLMVP frontrunner right now, which just goes to show you what an outstanding season he's having. Yeah, because we, we've often talked about, and I think the results have shown, that a two-way Otani is,

you could just pencil them in for MVP. How do you beat that? But Aaron Judge did with a historic offensive season, and I think rightfully. I agree. And if Pete Crow Armstrong with a really good offensive season, obviously improved his on-base percentage by 100 points over last year,

at least to this point, Season's not over yet, and he could disappear for a month, like I said. But right now, the numbers are what they are. And you add that superlative defense to it versus Otani's absent defense. And yeah, I think it makes a compelling case. He might go 30, 35, 35 and win the platinum glove. That is a perfectly fine MVP choice, even against Shohei Otani. All right, before we hit our first break, reminder to sign up for the FBT News

If you haven't already, especially this time of the year, down the stretch. You need all the help you can get. Your fantasy playoffs are coming. Obviously, you're trying to climb the rankings in your roto leagues as well. So that is CBSports.com slash newsletters. You can scan that QR code if you're watching on YouTube. That will bring you right to the website where you can sign up for free. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this.

Welcome back, Fantasy Baseball today. We have a lot of big news to get to here. we do finally have an Aaron Judge update. He has been cleared to begin light activities, which includes outdoor running and upper body resistance work. So he's still a ways away, but it is a step in the right direction. Judge was asked about returning this season, and he said, quote, oh, I'll be back this season.

I don't know why I wouldn't be. That was always the plan to come back sooner than later, definitely, but I never had a thought of not playing this year. So positive update there on Aaron Judge. negative update comes from Hunter Green who was placed back on the aisle with a with right elbow sornis he will visit Dr. Neil Eletrage on Thursday and reminder that green had surgery earlier this year to have bone chips removed from his elbow he has an extensive injury history he obviously throws really hard and I think this is really scary he's had Tommy John surgery before

um I do you know back when I I think it was Did him and Spencer Schwellenbach go on the, have surgery, like, right around the same time, I think, this spring? I think I wrote about both of them. Schwellenbach actually had it in February, I think, and then Greene had it in March. Yeah. I think it was when Schwellenbach had his injury. I wrote, I looked back at, you know, some other pitchers because, you know, you think bone chips, okay, that's not as serious an injury. But, you know, I remember when Walker Bueller had his bone chip surgery.

I want to say in 2022 or 2023. You know, he went through that process and then as he was coming back, he ended up, I don't know if he injured the UCL or they discovered the UCL was injured, but he ended up having surgery for Tommy John, I think during his rehab for the bone spurs in surgery. So, you know, the elbow has a lot of moving parts. It's a complicated joint. and it's not always as clean as you hope. So there's always risk when you're having surgery. And yeah, it's concerning for sure. Jose Ramirez, as we mentioned earlier,

he was out again on Wednesday with soreness in that surgically repaired left hand. I guess the good news is that he was not placed in the IL yet. So we'll see with J. Ram. Freddie Freeman left early after being hit by a pitch on his hand. X-rays came back negative. Twins manager, Derek Shelton, said Joe Ryan will undergo further evaluation for a lower body injury. Apparently, it's been affecting Ryan's delivery, which would explain his recent struggles.

Jordan Walker has missed two straight with left knee inflammation, and we do have a bunch of Dodgers updates here. Blake's next start will come with the Dodgers in the majors. It looks like that will come on either Monday or Tuesday of next week in Kansas City. so I would be pretty scared to use Blake Snell his first time out but if it winds up being a two-start I guess that would be hard with a six-man rotation yeah I don't know you just waited so long for Blake Snow would you use him first time out next week?

I mean wasn't his one start this season really good I have no idea I want to say it was like five shutout it was so long ago I can't remember it was but I believe oh no it wasn't it was bad He gave up four and runs and three innings. Does that sway you? No, I don't think. But I would just put it like, I'd rather not start him.

I think so too. In a 15-team league, if I'm swapping him in for, I don't know, or Randy Vasquez or some, okay, fine, I'll start Blake's now. But my preference, if I have alternatives that are actually decent, it would be not to start him. Tyler Glass now will make his next rehab start on Sunday and is expected to cover around three innings and 45 pitches. Dave Roberts said Dalton rushing has a, quote,

very small chance of being able to play catcher again this season, but the Dodgers are hopeful that he can serve as a left-handed option off the bench. And that pretty much kills his fantasy value for the rest of the season. So I think if you were holding on to Dalton rushing in a league with no or limited IL spots, I think you could probably just say goodbye to Dalton rushing. Trey Savage was placed in the aisle with left knee inflammation. Vlad Jr. was out of the lineup Wednesday as he's apparently dealing with hamstring tightness and other stuff.

This one was weird. Like just the vibes and the quotes around this were odd. I don't know what's going on, but it didn't seem like it was just like a hamstring injury. I don't know. I know he's been dealing with that back all off and on. season. It is a little suspicious, I think. Anytime a player gets paid

and then just goes out here and just look, maybe he's just been hurt all year and that's the reason. But man, he has just fallen so flat this year after an amazing postseason last season. Just very, very weird year all around for Vlad Jr. The Mets had a save opportunity in the 10th inning

but they did not use Devin Williams. It turns out he is dealing with mild arm fatigue but is expected to be available on Thursday. We'll see about that. Mariners President, Jerry Depoto, said Kate Anderson will be a starter for the Mariners

once he gets called up. I didn't think we didn't have any doubt about that, but I guess there is always a chance that when pitching prospects get called up, they are used out of the bullpen first. But, thanks. Especially since they have a starting five still. It's like, well, I,

yeah, you said we didn't have any doubts about that. I'll admit I had some doubts. I wrote about it a few times in the prospects report that hopefully they're willing to go six-man still since they were before, but maybe since he's young, they'll use him as a multi-inning reliefer instead. So I'm encouraged to hear Jerry Depoto say that.

And I don't know, did he give any inkling as to the timetable for Kate Anderson? I didn't see anything on that. But just the fact he's acknowledging he will be up is, I think, pretty big. Well, he's not going to be in the bullpen next year. Yeah. So, yeah, he didn't say when it's going to happen. Yeah, no, there was not. Yeah.

I think the fact that it hasn't happened this week and just the Mariners kind of history of the way they handle things, I think they're probably going to wait until like mid to late August when he can preserve that rookie eligibility for next season. So hopefully that doesn't cost them a playoff spot. Yeah. Yeah, it's work. It's, it's, it's, I feel like we've seen. because it was right before the trade deadline. I said we're probably not going to see any major prospect promotions for the next two weeks. And we've seen like half a dozen since then.

So egg on my face again. But I think that does indicate that maybe teams are kind of shifting their thinking. And like, that outside chance in an extra draft pick, is it really so worth pursuing that we're going to damage ourselves in the short term? Well, and especially that draft pick may not, you know, It might be two years before you see it too. So there's part of that. I am looking at the Mariners schedule.

They do have an off day every week for like the next three weeks. The next time they have more than six games in a row, I believe is like August 25th through September 3rd or something. Penciled in. So, you know, they might be waiting for a stretch when they have to get a six starter up. Or if someone gets a second. If it's hurt. Yeah, or if someone gets hurt, then it's, yeah. Yeah.

But ultimately, look, we just don't know. It's all blind speculation. It could be tomorrow. Yep. Hey, we got a Roman Anthony update. He took overhand pitching in the batting cage on Tuesday. He has been out since early May with wrist and finger injuries. It is pretty crazy to remind yourself what the Red Sox are doing and being the hottest team in baseball

while missing Roman Anthony and Garret Crochet. It's pretty crazy. stuff that they're doing. And remember when like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Meyer and Christian Campbell and Kyle Teal like, man, the Red Sox had this huge wave of prospects coming. And so far, the only one who's mounted to anything is Kyle Teal for another team. And even he hasn't. He's played like five games. He's hardly played this year. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Garcia received a cortisone injection and will be shut down for around five days before ramping up baseball activity.

I should clarify, I'm still excited about Roman Anthony, and I think people in the game are too. He did some good stuff last year. He was awesome last year. However, Christian Campbell, and as we talked about at the trade deadline, Marcelo Meyer,

their value is off a cliff, yeah. It's wild how far Christian Campbell has fallen off. Campbell and extension, right? Yeah, I think it was like, was it like $30 million guaranteed, or was it way more than that? It might have been way more than that. I, no, that sounds,

I think that's probably the ballpark, but... 60 million, eight years, 60 million. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. What is the latest with Christian Campbell? He's hitting 247 with four homers, five steals, and a 712 OPS at AAA. He's cooked.

He's not cooking. I do not. think that $21 million option in 2034 is getting picked up. I don't think so. Andrew Painter left his start early with hamstring tightness. Dustin May is lined up to make his Brewers debut Thursday against the Pirates. The Angels placed Sam Bachman on the IL so he won't be part of the closer mix. That leaves Ben Joyce and lefty Sammy Natera Jr.

To pick up potential saves for the Angels. And the Pirates released Marcel Ozuna. they selected the contract of Ronnie Simon, but it might be Simone. I should have looked into that. I have all these stats about him, but it probably doesn't matter anyway. Let's get to buy or sell. And first up, whenever he pitches, you know we got to talk about him. That is Paul Skeens.

Another meh start at the Brewers. Five innings, two hits, three runs, four walks, six strikeouts. He did have 16 whiffs on 93 pitches in this one. But that is back-to-back starts. with four walks and updated numbers last eight starts for Paul Skeen. 626 ERA 151 whip. All of his ERA estimators are below 3.7 during that span. So he's a confounding pitcher.

We talk about him all the time. Buy or sell. Paul Skeens should be ranked outside the top 10 starting pitchers rest of season. I guess I have to sell it because I just updated my rankings. and he's sixth for me. I moved him down to eight. Yeah, I haven't done it yet, but... I think there's an argument for this, though.

Mm-hmm. I think the main thing preventing me is... I'm not sure there is an obvious top ten right now. I moved Jesus Lazzardo into my top ten. I moved Dillon Cis into my top ten. Gavin Williams, who the last few times we've talked about him, I said, well, he's top 20. but not top 10.

I moved him up to 12th, just because, like, who else? It's kind of thin at the top of the starting pitcher rankings right now, and so I think Skeen still belongs there. But my concerns remain elevated. I mean, nothing's changed. I still halfway suspect he's dealing with something physically,

but until he goes on the IEL, that just remains conjecture, you know? So it's... Yeah, I had seen some talk, not from the team or anything, just speculation from fans that, like, you know, maybe Henry Davis was part of the problem. He's not known as a great defensive catcher or a game caller, but Andy Rodriguez pitched today and it wasn't any better.

So I don't know. I think, I don't know, I... I never want... I really want to avoid overreacting. And the thing with Paul Skeens is, if he goes out and his next start and dominates and I've moved him down to 20th or whatever, I'm going to feel really stupid. Yeah. But he hasn't dominated in a while. And we do have a tangible thing that could explain it, the velocity being down.

And look, almost nobody will ever have an ERA estimator of 626. you have to be good at absolutely nothing to put a number up that poorly. But, you know, Skeens, all the EAR estimators are below 370. Okay, well, 370 is not very good for a guy like Paul Skeen. So there's a clear diminishment of talent here. It's just a question of whether it's just a bump in the road or whether it's something more permanent. And I can't answer that question until,

I know one way or the other whether he's healthy. If he's healthy, then I assume he will be fine. But he might not be. And at this point, you know, it's gone on long enough that we can't just, much as I might want to, we can't dismiss it anymore. So, yeah, I've moved him down. Like Scott, he's number six. Yeah, I don't know.

There's a lot of pitchers with a lot of issues in that range. And none of them are Paul Skeen's. You know, none of them, like, as bad as the eight starts have been, it was, what, 80 starts before this that were as good as we've ever seen to start a career? Yeah. Eight starts isn't nothing, but it's a much smaller sample size. It's just, I think it means more when it comes in conjunction with that velocity drops. Exactly.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. It's, it's like not just performance. It's, well, the stuff actually looks different and not in a way that, you know, the effectiveness of the fastball by the data we could tell is still up there. But it just might be having a ripple effect on the rest of his arsenal as those stats that were tweeted out by Codify after his last start suggested with the change up. It's made his change up worse seemingly. Yeah. So I have skeins at eight, but I see an argument for having him as low as 11.

I could see having C. Gilbert and Lazzardo all ahead of him the way those guys are pitching right now. So, yeah, I think it's a good number. Top 10, good conversation with Paul Skeens. Let's talk about some of those Red Sox. Williare U, another one, two for three with a sock into shoe, his 20th home run, his seventh steal. He now has nine home runs in the second half already, which is the most in baseball. By yourself, Willier Abraeu, top 36 outfielder rest of season. Oh, yeah, I've got him ranked that way.

Yeah. Yeah, I think he's, I think top 36. is fine. I originally had this as top 30, but then I looked to see where you guys had him for think. Yeah, I've got him 31, I think. I moved them up to 26 today in the outfield. Probably a little lower in points. I'm looking at Rotow right now. I guess I have them a little lower in points. To me, that range is wide open. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's the thing. Once you get past the top like 20 or 22, it feels wide open. Yeah, I'm looking now, you know, I spent more time on starting pitcher than anything else

when I talked about updating my rankings earlier. I could definitely move Abraeu into the top 36 pretty easily, but I don't think in a way that, I don't think decisively, easily but not decisively into the top 36. It's easy to say, okay, yeah, sure, he's the hotter of the AJ-Ewing Mickey Moniaki and hap types right now. But is he definitively better, Willier-A-R-Bray-U? I want to go that far.

I mean, one of his best assets was that he had a very good pull-air rate, and that's kind of gone away this year. Kind of makes sense, actually, given that he's a left-handed hitter of Finway. But the batting average is, because he's been so hot, it's now decent. It was pretty low for most of the year.

Yeah, I mean, before this run, Frankie said nine homers since the All-Star break. So in the first half of the season, he was hitting 261 with like a 760 OPS. Is batting average? And 11 homers? Down in the second half. It's only 219. So he's kind of selling out for power. Yeah.

But yeah, it's, you know, it's been a really nice, not even month, what, three weeks? And so I don't think anything about Willi or Brayu has fundamentally changed. It's just he's in the 30 to 50 range among outfielders in general, and he's currently hot and some of them aren't. So rank him there, yeah. All right. Next up, we have Sunny Gray, who was great against the White Sox, six shutout innings with eight strikeouts.

He had 17 whiffs on 83 pitches. He leaned more on those breaking balls, which I think is always a good recipe for Sunny Gray. And those two pitches were awesome for him in this one. Nice to see him bounce back. He allowed four plus earned runs in each of his previous two starts. And he has a quality start in 10 of his last 12. Buy or sell Sunny Gray.

Top 30 SP rest of season. Let's see. I don't think I have him ranked that high, but it's not far. Sunny Gray, I have 38th. But I still have Framber Valdez ahead of him. I know that seems stupid. It wouldn't take much to move Bryce Miller. behind him. Trey Savage got hurt,

so I should probably move him down. I move gray up to 29, and that's another one where like, once you get past the top, let's say, 20, I don't know, 24, it feels pretty wide open as well at starting pitcher. Yeah, I'm 26,

about to be 25 once I move Hunter Green behind him, so I think I'm buying this, the firmest of us. He is just so weird. because like eight strikeouts and six innings today. Okay, that's cool. Before that, he had 16 strikeouts in his previous four starts combined.

The strikeouts had disappeared again, and he has been so hit or miss when it comes to missing bats. The production, like the ERA has been pretty consistent for the most part. He'll have a couple of bad starts, but actually his previous two starts before this were the first time giving up more than three runs since April 14th. but I just I'm pretty sure Sunny Gray is pretty good I don't really know

what kind of good pitcher he is though that that's the thing that I find the most frustrating about him I mean it's only what 15 years into his career you're still trying to decide is sunny gray good or not I think he's pretty good yeah

2000 innings of a 354 ERA I'm pretty sure he's good yeah all right let's take our final break when we return, I have a few more by ourselves. We'll talk waiver wire ads, and we will do that right after this. Welcome back, fantasy baseball today.

I have a few more buy or sells. And the next one up is Trevor Rogers, who is great up against the Angels, six innings, two runs, nine strikeouts to zero walks. Last 11 starts, 228 ERA, one whip on the nose, 60 strikeouts over 67 innings,

12% swinging strike rate. Pretty good number there for Trevor Rogers. Buy or sell. Trevor Rogers. That's it. Buy yourself. I mean, I'm more inclined to say sell than buy. I don't really have a good feel for why he's as good as he is when he's this good.

And I don't have a good feel for why it goes so poorly for him. It's kind of, you know, now that it seems like Ron Harsuarez has legitimately leveled up and, you know, maybe not, right? I know there's been a rough patch right here. He's dealing with, been dealing with that injury. but over the course of the last three seasons, Ron Herr Suarez appears to have overcome the worst of his inconsistencies. And Trevor Rogers might be just stepping in there as the new version of that, where the pitch mix doesn't really seem to change very much.

The stuff profile doesn't really seem to change very much. It's just when he's executing, he can be really good, and when he's not, he's terrible. And he just seems to get in a groove and pitch really well. And he's done it often enough that I think you have to buy that there's something real there. But this is not a situation where, like, the underlying numbers are great across the board. And he's just had some inflated ERAs. The underlying numbers are kind of all over the place, too.

I have a really hard time figuring out who Trevor Rogers is at this point. but I think he's probably a sub 4 ERA guy, probably not a sub 3 ERA guy. But he is a must-star pitcher right now, right? Like when he's going like this, you're just starting him now. I do think it's a good time to sell high though, just so you... So that like, okay, it looked like a terrible pick at first,

or maybe you ended up picking him up off the waiver wire because he was such a terrible pick for whoever picked him. you're kind of playing with house money here if we're worried that the other shoe could drop at some point like go ahead and cash in I think I think it's a good time to do that

before your league trade deadline comes up if it hasn't already all right the last two names here on the list are Jose Altuvae and Christian Yelich thank you for the memories Jose Altuve is actually coming off four straight multi-hit games even with that

he is hitting 244 with a 703 OPS on the season. Still 88% rostered. And Christian Yelich, last 30 games, 191, with a 618 OPS. He has started against just three of the last 10 lefties that the Brewers have faced. And he is 90% rostered. He is util only, buy or sell. Both names are droppable. Not that you have to drop them, but they are droppable.

Bye. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's totally reasonable. A couple guys in their mid-30s. The data for Yelich is much worse, obviously. He's had tumultuous career with all the back stuff. And then Al-Tufe was showing signs of decline, maybe faint signs of decline even prior to last to this year.

And it's just continued, I think. You know, like Chris was saying earlier, like I was saying yesterday, we're in August. I think if you're still waiting around for a player, I'm not saying you can't do that, but if it was me and I could get production right now, I'd probably do that instead. Yeah, I mean, at this point,

I think the Brewers have to be having discussions about whether this is one of their best hitters when the playoffs come around. I mean, against lefties, I don't think there's any question. rather just have Andrew Vaughan in your lineup. But, you know, push comes to shove. Is Christian Yelich a better hitter than Andrew Vaughan at this point in their careers?

I'm not 100% certain that's the case anymore. Unfortunately, they own $52 million over the next two years. Ooh. Rough one there for Christian Yelich. All right, let's wrap up with some waiver-wire names from Wednesday's action. And we will start with the pitchers. and I have, we'll start with some streamer types. Bryce Elder, he is picking things back up.

Seven innings, one hit, one run, but only three strikeouts, only four whiffs. Two earn runs are fewer in four straight. Looks like he lines up for two against the Mets and the D-backs next week. Andre Palante pitched well at the Yankees, five and a third, one run, four strikeouts. Did have 13 whiffs on 103 pitches, and he has one start against the Phillies next week.

Christian Scott might be more than just a streamer type. I know the final line. here wasn't great, but he had 15 whiffs on 96 pitches, and the velocity was up. I didn't really see under the hood what went wrong for Christian Scott here, so I'm still kind of intrigued by him, and he gets the Nationals and the Braves next week in a two-star week. So can I interest you in any of these three streamer types for next week? I think they're fine streamers. Even Elder at this point, I think it's okay to talk about streaming him, and in fact, we did for this very start yesterday. and it worked out.

I don't think Elder is, I still don't think he's as good as his current ERA because he's still, he had, he got such an early advantage with that long stretch he was on, but he has changed his approach after a rough patch, kind of leaning more into his groundball tendencies, fading the slider,

which was his best swing and miss pitch. Actually threw a lot of cutters in this one, and that seemed to work. so he's I think he's kind of at this point somebody you can treat as a poor man's Andre Palante which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement

but it means okay with the right matchup elder is someone you could think about streaming Scott. And I like a few stars next week you know versus the match against versus Arizona Arizona's not a great matchup but I think you feel okay about that

certainly in any points league he's worth streaming and I think in a lot of Roto leagues he's okay too the D-BACs lineup has actually slowed down. Cotel Marte really bad over the last 30 days. And the Mets are without Juan Soto. So, yeah, that could work. Scott has the most upside, Christian Scott, of these three.

I think pretty clearly, he's done a good job missing bats. The problem is how much can you chase upside at this point when he's only had one six-inning start? I think that keeps him in streamer territory as well. If he went on to have a huge September, it wouldn't be the biggest shot. but I'm not I'm not placing a high priority on adding Christian Scott right now.

Yeah, I think it's probably he has two starts next week. You can expect 10 innings, four run runs, and 12 strikeouts from him. And the problem is, anytime you're only pitching five innings, it doesn't take a lot for things to go wrong. Yeah.

Kind of like today, right? It's like he pitched well. If he went six innings and it's three runs, seven strikeouts, a lot better, but, you know, three runs over five. That's, I mean, even three runs over six is not great. I know we call it a quality start, but you get a quality start. But at least, you get a quality of points league.

That's meant that helps. He just doesn't have that really. Like that, that's just not really in the cards for him. And so, you know, points leagues is where you want two star pitchers the most. And that's probably Christian Scott's worst format too. Yeah. Three interesting starts in deeper leagues. Jacob Lopez of the athletics, I believe Sleeper for all.

all of us coming into the season. It obviously has not worked out. But he now has eight plus strikeouts in back-to-back starts. He has a 176 ERA over his last three. Taking a look at the next name up, we have Cody Bradford, who looked pretty good in his return from Tommy John surgery, four and a third shutout innings, five strikeouts.

Reminder of what he did last year in 14 games, 354 ERA 101 whip. He does not throw hard at all. In fact, he does the opposite. It's like an 88 mile per hour fastball. but it's a really good change up from the left-hand side. Looks like he lines up for two starts next week. And then Mitch Bratt, an awesome start here against the Padres.

Awesome line. Seven shutout, one hit three walks, nine strikeouts. Only eight whiffs on 92 pitches. Great start for, you know, a lower end prospect of note here. But Chris, can I interest you in any of these three deep league names? Mitch Bratt, Cody Bradford, and Jacob Lopez. I think Lopez is very interesting. Remember, he had a two-month stretch last year

where he had like a 250 ERA over 12 starts. It was almost 11 K-per-9, if I'm remembering correctly. There's a lot of Andrew Abbott to him where he's got this crossfire delivery and what makes Jacob Lopez work when he's working is that he's just kind of a weird pitcher. His pitches don't move the way you expect them to. baseball savant has this fun feature on their player pages where they've got the little bubbles behind the players pitch scatter plot, I guess, that shows what the pitch types move like typically and his move way differently than the typical versions of each pitch.

That works. That's weird. That helps. And so I think when he's locked in and he's starting strikes and he's healthy. because last year ended with an elbow injury. I think Jacob Lopez can be pretty good, and he's been really good over his past four starts. So no six-inning starts.

That'd be something nice to see. Obviously, his home park's going to hurt him as well. But he's got, let me see, yeah, Rays and Rangers in a two-star week next week, I think Jacob Lopez should be definitely more rostered than 14%. I'm not going to say it should be 100% because it shouldn't, but if he got to 50% rostered for a two-star week against the Rays and Rangers next week,

I wouldn't think that was too high. I was very excited about Lopez at the start of the year, and I held on to him probably longer than anyone else did. It's just, he's kind of a gimmick, right? With his funky delivery, this fastball that has a very low-induced vertical break, and the thing about gimmicky pitchers is they can look, like aces. But when the gimmick slips,

while we saw what happened to Lopez, the gimmick seems to be back, though. Gimmick seems to be back. He's been throwing a lot more cutters, I noticed these last two outings with the combined 17 strikeouts, which I think has helped to elevate the fastball, not literally elevated, but make it better, you know? And he's looking like he did down the stretch last year.

So small sample and obviously big downside risk, but I think if you're interested in Christian Scott, and he's already gone in your league, then Lopez is somebody you could look at in a similar vein. Any thoughts on Cody Bradford? I know he was someone we kind of liked last year. He was pitching very well for the Rangers. He's got a really good change up.

And he also lines up for two next week, at the Angels and at the athletics. Yeah, so he was somebody. I had just entirely put out of my mind and I saw him in the box score today and I was like, is that who I think it is? Because, I mean, going back two years ago when he joined the Rangers' rotation

with elite control, as he said, career 1.7 walks per 9, career 1.7 walks per 9. Very, very good control. And weak contact in the air, most of it was what we saw from him two years ago. So that led to massive whip upside. And on his rehab assignment coming back from Tommy John, five starts down there, 225, ERA 108, whipped 12 strikeouts per 9 through 69% of his pitches for strikes,

as you'd expect, 15% swinging strike rate. And then he comes back and, you know, looks really sharp for four and a third innings. So I'm interested. I don't know that I could, in most, I don't even make a spot for Cody Bradford on my roster yet. I don't even know. Like, why did he start today? Did they have an opening?

Or was it just kind of a spot start deal? I don't even know. Like I said, I was surprised to see him in the box score. I guess he's in. Yeah. Let's see how the next one goes for Cody Bradford. I've got Cal Quantrell on the rotation, so there's room. I'm intrigued.

It sounds like Jordan Montgomery is getting closer to returning. Yeah, he should be back also. Oh, they put McKenzie Gore on the paternity list, so that opened up. Oh, yeah. Okay. So maybe it was say. But I think Cody Bradford has more priority than Cal Quantrell, though. Well, yeah, he's better than Quantrell.

Conchro has been decent, though. John Crontery will as well. But yeah, Quantrell has not been terrible, but I would think Montgomery and Bradford both get priority over him. I do want to point out before we move. I don't think Mitch Bratt is totally without interest as well. I don't think he's great, but he had some pretty interesting minor league numbers. Last year, especially, he was getting a ton of strikeouts. But even this year, it was like 25% strikeout rate at AAA.

9% swinging strike rate, though. Yeah, that's not great. But I think the thing I'm most interested about is he's 3% rostered, and he's got the Rockies on the road, not in course fields. The Rockies in Arizona. And then at Atlanta, that's not great. but honestly, it's Atlanta's so hit or miss that it's hard to know

if that's a good matchup or not. I don't think it's a good matchup, but, you know, two-star week versus the Rockies at Atlanta, I don't think that's the worst one in a points league. I don't know if I could do it

in a, certainly not a 12-team Roto League, but I think Brad could be a sneaky streamer in a points league. How would you guys rank those three? Because I think they're all kind of interesting in their own way,

Bradford, and Jacob Lopez. Lopez, Bradford, and Brad is the way I would go. I agree. All right. I do have just quick three waiver wire hitters to mention here. Andy Rodriguez, another day, another homer. He keeps making things happen.

Back-to-back games with a homer. He has started seven of ten games since being activated. And during that stretch, he has nine hits, two homers, and four steals. 21% rostered. I think that number should be higher. I think definitely in two catcher leagues, I think you might be dead. desperate in the back end of a one catcher league where, you know, Andy Rodriguez is playing very well right now, and he's getting lots of opportunities.

So we talk about him a lot, but this is just another reminder for Andy Rodriguez. This next name, I kind of feel like it's more of like a wait and see, like just pay attention to see if this goes anywhere. But Lawrence Butler has looked better in the second half. He hit his seventh home run, 18 games post All-Star Break, 264, two homers, one steal, in 835 OPS. He's hitting the ball a lot harder, and he's got the ground ball rate way down. So I don't think we need to act on it yet, but just something to watch with Lawrence Butler. And then a very deep league name, Tim Tawa of the D-backs, three for four with his sixth home run.

And over his last 22 games, he's hitting 300 with five homers, 18 RBI, and an OPS over 800. Hitting the ball really hard during that stretch as well. He's playing a lot. He has first, second, third outfield eligibility. I think if you play in like a 15-team Roto League with that eligibility, I think Tim Tawa was someone that could be useful. Sure. We've had interest in him before and he's hot and he has, he's multi-eligible.

I guess the biggest problem, oh no, sorry, he is playing every day. Yeah. He has started eight straight and 15 of 16. Look, I want to take him over Ezekiel Duran or anything if you're looking for a versatile infielder who's hot. Even Willie Castro I would take over him too, but... Yeah. Yeah. But sure.

Taw was worth bringing up. Some leftovers here, and it turns out, these two pitchers are human after all. Sean Burke, four and a third innings, two runs, two walks, four strikeouts. The velocity was down a little bit on the breaking stuff here in the start. And, you know, he was going up against a buzzsaw in the Red Sox. But his previous eight games, he was awesome. So I think it's, you know, we'll give Sean Burke a mulligan. I think he's earned that.

and Yuri Perez not at his best at the Braves five innings four runs did have nine strikeouts had 18 whiffs on 91 pitches he did not have his sinker working but he threw it a lot more so I was like all right if it's not working like why don't we try something else but yeah first start with more than three earned runs since May 17

so and it was one bad inning really I think he had three earned runs in the second inning I didn't really see too much to be concerned about here, mostly because it's only two walks. And when things have gone poorly for Yuri Perez this season, it's mostly been the control letting him down. And that has remained very, very good for him since, I mean, really right before the injury, but especially since he came back. So I think it's only one start with more than two walks since he came back from the injury. I would say my concern level for both of these guys is very, very low. But obviously

Burke neither has a super long track record, but Burke doesn't have the pedigree, I think, or the raw talent that Yuri Perez has. So I'm less bought in on him, but I'm still pretty bought in. All right, some other pitching leftovers, Brian. Woo! Another great start at home.

Seven shutout innings, five strikeouts. I mean, this home road thing, it just has to be like a mental thing at this point for Brian Wu. The updated splits, 196 ERA and 10 home starts, 671 ERA and 12 road starts. Hunter Brown turned in a quality start against the Blue Jays, six innings, three hits, three runs, eight strikeouts. He was actually cruising.

He had five shutout innings, and then he gave up a two-run homer in the sixth inning, so that kind of messed up his line here, but he did look much better before that. His last couple starts have been better, so it's a good sign for Hunter Brown. Scott, any thoughts on Brown or Brian? I mean, the main thing, my main thought about Wu is what you already pointed out with the home away splits. And I think we're to a point with him where you gotta seriously consider benching him on the road,

at least in shallower leagues. Hunter Brown, he pretty much seems back. Last three starts, a combined four walks, the previous three were it combined 15. And I think that pretty much explains the turnaround right there. Uh, yeah, must start, Hunter Brown. A couple of their pitching left over. Show to Imanaga, solid outing against the Dodgers, five innings, one run, six strikeouts.

Uh, his last seven starts, he's back on. 177, ERA, 118 whip for Imanaga. Nick Martinez, he put together a strong bounce back at the Colorado Rockies, five and two third shutout, four strikeouts, zero walks. But you know what we say about Nick Martinez? You can't keep getting away with him. He can't keep getting away with it. He won't, he won't.

But he does. And then Tanner Bybee, he fell one out short of a quality start against the Mets, but had 10 strikeouts in that one, 17 whiffs on 98 pitches. Chris, anything to add on Bybee, Nick Martinez, and Imanaga. Yeah, I don't know where the heck the strikeouts came from from Tanner Bybee, because I've kind of given up on him having any kind of strikeout upside. And look, Major League pitchers are all good. I think Bryce Elder had an 11 strikeout start last year when he was like the worst pitcher in baseball. So these things can happen.

And I don't think Tanner Bybee is anywhere close to the worst pitcher in baseball. I just think he's not anywhere close to the best pitcher in baseball either. I think he's like the 70th best pitcher in baseball. And that's fine. That's useful. It's nice to have a round, but he's not a difference maker.

Martinez, I mean, the control is so good that you will occasionally see these stretches from super elite control pitchers where they just way outperform their peripherals. It's probably not sustainable, but I have a little more confidence in this than Eduardo Rodriguez or who is the other one? Brandon Fott and Fott's control has been very good lately, but I don't... Nick Martinez has a better track record in that regard too. So I certainly don't think he's nearly as good as he's looked so far this season,

but I'm just going to ride it until it stops working. All right, so I'm hitting leftovers. Max Muncie of the Dodgers hit his 22nd home run, but I have noticed he's sitting more against lefties lately. He has sat out against four of the past six lefties. Not really sure why he has an 848 OPS against lefties this season, but I guess keep that in mind if there's a week with a lot of lefties in the schedule. Brendan Nimmo is picking things up.

up two for three with the walk and his 12th home run. I shouldn't say picking things up. He's actually just been good for quite a while now. Last 46 games, 309 batting average, five homers, four steals, an OPS over at 850. Junior Caminero. Caminero. One for three with his 33rd home run, and he has enjoyed his series in Corse Field.

Three homers, five RBI, and he's up to, yeah, 33 home runs. Like I said, Luis Arise hit his first home run with the Phillies. And just a reminder that Statcast did like a rise in Citizens Bank Park quite a bit. So hopefully more of that to come. And it is another game for Bryce Harper in the outfield. So we need three more there. He collided with, I can't remember who was playing center field. But there was a collision out there.

So already, already off to a little rocky start there. Yeah, that's going to take a little bit of time. Dylan Dingler hit his 25th home run. He has three home runs in his past five games. He is amazing. And Julio Rodriguez hit his 17th homer. He's been okay since returning from injury, but this is Julio's time to shine the summer months.

So we do, we just, we need a big final two months if we want Julio to get to the numbers we expected coming in, which right now. Like we always do and like he's always done. Doesn't mean he always will. But like it's been amazing like clockwork every season. has played out that way. The only one that didn't,

he was injured for most of the second half. But for the time he was healthy, I think he was still great. And he was injured in July, right? He had a concussion. Concussion. Yeah, this year. So I just wonder if maybe that can kind of...

His July wasn't great, but he's raking in August so far. I think he has, um, was it six walks to two strikeouts, I think, so far in August? That's pretty good. All right,

the call to the bullpen for the Cubs. Jacob Webb got the ninth inning with a one-run lead, and he picked up, his sixth save, so he is gaining more confidence, more traction there. For the Orioles, this time, it was Yaneer Canoe in the 8th. He struck out two, and Andrew Kittridge in the 9th, and he picked up his fifth save. So, looks like a mix and match between those two right now. That's so annoying, because the literal day before, it was Kanoe in the 9th, Kittcherich in the 8th, and Kittridge gave up a run. Yep. And so it's like, okay, well, I think you got to give Kano the edge here. And of course,

they go to Ketridge in the next. I think you just got to avoid it until some reds. For the Reds, Emilio Paghan picked up his 13th save for the Braves. Raisal Iglesias was unavailable. Didier Fuentes picked up his second save. For the Cardinals, Riley O'Brien,

picked up his 27th save. For the Royals, Stephen Cruz. Got the ninth with a one-run lead. He struck out one for his third save, and he now has three of the last four saves for the Royals, and he is only 4% rostered. So if you are in a deeper league and you need saves, Stephen Cruz is your guy.

Yep. Cruise control. I noticed that the three of the last four for the Royals and Lang, I think his last appearance came in the sixth inning of a game, and he's been awful lately anyway. So I think the trend is strongly pointing toward Stephen Cruz, who is widely available, as he said. All right for the brewers, Trevor McGillard.

picked up his 20th save, and for the Mariners, Andris Munoz, picked up his 20th save of the season. To stream or not to stream on Thursday, we have Brendan Young against the Angels, Andrew Abbott against the Athletics, Dustin May in his Brewers' debut against the Pirates, David Peterson against the Blue Jays, Luis Castillo at the Red Sox,

Martin Perez against the Marlins, Bailey Ober at the Royals, Cole Drake, Home against the Padres? Dustin May probably at the top of the list I don't mind David Peterson Luis Castillo

I don't want to do it I could see Andrew Abbott having a good start I think Brandon Young against the Angels would be at the top of my list and I will I'll say Martin Perez

it worked out with Bryce Elder and Perez is coming off his best start of the season that Marlins' offense looks pretty awful right now So yeah, I don't mind that one. I will choose Brandon Young, Dustin May, and Andrew Abbott in that order for Thursday. And then on Friday, we have Zach Thornton at the Pirates.

Tyler Phillips is home against the Angels. We have Connor Prelip at the Brewers. Shane Drohan Grohan, home against the Twins. Shane Boz at the Rangers. Kyle Leahy, home against the Rockies. Ronell Blanco at the Padres. Merrill Kelly has looked a little better lately, but he gets the Dodgers.

And then Cater Montero at. the Giants. I think the top three here is pretty strong. Drohan against the twins, Leahy against the Rockies, Boz, at the Rangers. I wouldn't mind Cater Montero either. But I do really like Drohan and then Leahy, especially first game away from

Corse Field for the Rockies, that's a good spot to target them. Yeah. Agree with all that. Drohan, Leahy, and Boz would be my top three. I think Montero is interesting, especially that Giants lineup. They're thrown out there right now. And Zach Thornton at the Pirates, the Pirates are much worse against lefties than they are against righties.

So I can see Zach Thornt having a good start there as well. We are going to wrap there for Scott Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye. Mount Podcasts.

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