Fantasy Baseball Today - Closer Carousel, Pitchers with Innings Limits & Sell-High Candidates (7/22 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 22, 2022

If you support the show, please nominate Fantasy Baseball Today for The People's Choice Podcast Awards in the "Sports" Category: https://www.podcastawards.com/app/signup/ Which closers could be traded ahead of the deadline? Which relievers are next up on those teams? Are Shane McClanahan and Spencer Strider in danger of innings limits? Which hitters and pitchers should you be looking to sell-high on? We wrap up with category targets for each traditional category. Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get 20% off Fantasy Baseball Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-baseball-today?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-baseball-collection Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come in to fantasy baseball today. Frank Staple, joined by Chris Towers. And today's show is all over the place. I asked you, the people, what do you want to hear throughout the All-Star break? And I got a bunch of answers. And so, hopefully, we are delivering on what you wanted. Which closures could be traded leading up to the trade deadline?

Pitchers with potential endings caps. Sell high options, category targets. I don't know if we'll get to all of it, but hopefully we will. Similarly to our previous two points, podcast. We're recording this in advance, so bear with us if we talk about anyone who happens to get hurt. Hopefully no one gets hurt because we want everyone to stay healthy. And hopefully when you're listening or watching this, I'm in a food coma somewhere in Aruba with a cocktail in my hand,

enjoying life. Chris, I know that you're also headed out on vacation. Where you're headed? Well, when people are watching this, I'll be, I'll be back home. Oh, you're back. All right. But earlier in the week, I am going to Cooperstown for the first time, going to go see the national and then going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time. So very excited for both of those things. And yeah, getting out of the city for a couple of days. That'll be nice. Staying on a lake. Maybe I'll rent a kayak. I've never gone on a kayak. So I probably won't. I'm lazy. But, you know, I'll have the option. I've never been to Cooperstown either. So, hmm, I've got to make it out. I would love to see it. And by the way, the national, I guess,

whatever, just free advertising. I never heard of them, but Chris said they're dad rock. So if you're one of my favorite bands in the world. So very excited. If the national want to sponsor the podcast, you know, I'm here. Feel free. All right. Testimonials. Let's jump into the closer carousel.

And I think you did a little bit of this with Scott while I was out, Chris. I know you guys did a mailbag and talking about which closers could be on the move and who those replacements might look like. But, you know, a few things have changed since then. Some teams have performed better. Some teams have gotten worse. So let's kind of run through some of these teams. And I think the most obvious one is the Cubs with David Robertson. and if he is dealt, you know,

I think it's more likely he'll wind up somewhere as a setup man, so that would kind of tank his value. But filling in for the Cubs, Rowan Wick has four saves this season, but hasn't been great. Michael Givens has the experience, and then you have Scott Efros, who has been the best of the three.

So who do you think would take over for the Cubs if Robertson has moved? Yeah, I would guess it would be WIC just given how they've used him so far, but yeah, like you said, he hasn't been particularly good. The walks have been high, almost one per every other inning, I guess. You know, strikeouts are fine, but I think Rowan Wick probably just not particularly good.

And for what it's worth, he's, you know, in his fifth year in the majors, he's probably got maybe a year or two on his arbitration timeline. So he's entirely within, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that he's a trade candidate. As is Michael Giffins, frankly. You know, this is the kind of thing where, you know, it's not just the closers who are at risk of getting traded when you're talking about bad teams. It's anyone who might have some value. And so, you know, I want to preface the conversation by saying what Scott and I said during that mailbag, which is I don't necessarily know if any of these situations are guys you want to speculate on ahead of time. Because, one, bad teams tend to have bad bullpins.

And so there's not exactly a ton of options on, you know, a team like the Cubs where even like the guys who are having good seasons like Michael Givens and Scott Ephrauss, I don't think any of them are so good that you can't miss out on them. So I would guess if Robertson gets traded and everybody else stays, Rowan Wick will get the first chance, but he'd be pretty low on the priority list in terms of who to add. Or it could just wind up being total chaos, like you mentioned, Chris. And it's like the Elmo Giff with the fire in the background. And everyone's traded. And Scott F. Ross is the last one there. And his numbers are pretty good. So I think he's the one that I'm paying attention to most.

But there would have to be a lot of moving parts for that to happen. I do agree. I think if Rowan Wick is there after the trade deadline, he probably gets the first chance. For the Rockies, Daniel Bard has actually had a great season. I don't know that they will trade him. But I think there's a possibility that they can, look into it. And there's a much more clear replacement here, Chris, in Alex Colome, assuming they don't move him as well. Yeah, the Rockies are one of those teams that I feel like they don't make

the trade that you expect them to at the deadline all that often. And so, you know, there's a reason why Charlie Blackman is still there and all these guys who you would think, like C.J. Cron would be another guy who you would think would be a trade candidate, but the Rockies never seem to be that forward thinking but yeah Colomay has been a closer before he's been you know frankly a pretty good one he's not the typical closer in that he doesn't get a ton of strikeouts and and it feels like when he's been the closer there have been a lot of like kind of just feels like he's going to lose it at some point with him and that's you know kind of what happened last year with the twins so I think it's entirely possible that he becomes the closer if Daniel Bark does get traded but I'm not again

Yeah, I would rather have him than anybody on the Cubs, I think, if that did happen. But, you know, not like I'm going out and adding Alex Collman. He doesn't get a lot of strikeouts. He's always going to have a fairly high whip, and he plays a course half the time. So, you know, even if he remains the closer and does a good job, he could have an ERA around four. Yeah. And if both of them are traded, we're probably looking at Carlos Estevez once again. And we all kind of saw how that happened last year.

Very high ERA, but I know people are desperate for saves down the stretch. The Marlins, I don't think the Marlins will move anyone, Chris, but Tanner Scott has kind of faltered a bit lately, and Anthony Bass remains their best reliever. Do you think that's something we could see in the second half? Anthony Bass, the more traditional right-handed reliever, you know, start to work his way into the closer roll. Yeah, I mean, remember when they traded four Bass, it was with the intention of making him the closer last season. and he got about a week in the job and then blew it. Has actually been quite good since that, like first two weeks of last season. He's been exceptional this season.

He's probably their best reliever. Scott, you know, he's a weird player because he's a lefty, but he does get a ton of strikeouts. And also gives up a ton of walks, so I don't know, you know, how good you feel about him as a closer. So it wouldn't surprise to me if not just Tanner Scott loses his job because of a trade, but just, loses his job from not being effective.

So, yeah, that's certainly one to keep an eye on. And yeah, I think I would have a lot of interest in Anthony Bass. I think he's probably the best pitcher among the three teams we've talked about so far. Yeah, I would agree with that as well. And obviously, you've got a great team. They're all right, but a great ballpark, great venue to pitch in as well there in Marlins Park. The Diamondbacks, does any team want Mark Malanson this year and for $6 million next year? I don't think so.

but stranger things have happened. So if he were moved, Ian Kennedy is currently hurt, but I think if he returned, he would get an opportunity. Joe Mantiply, All-Star Joe Mantiply, he's a lefty, but doesn't walk anyone, and he's been really good. Do you think anything happens with the debacks? I mean, I think they'd probably have to eat a significant amount of money to get Melanson out of the picture,

but, you know, if they could get a decent prospect out of it, I think it makes sense for them to do. so sure. I think there's a chance he gets traded and Mantiply has been very non-traditional in terms of what you look for for a closer. He's not, you know, he doesn't get like a ton of strikeouts. He doesn't throw super hard. He's a lefty, but he's been incredibly effective this season. He was pretty good last season. So I think if he got the job, you know, it would be, I'd be somewhat interested in him. The nationals are awful this season, Chris. But

Tanner Rainey recently went down for injury. He's likely out for the rest of the season. Kyle Finnegan profiles as the next closer up and he was okay in the role last year. But I don't know that any team is going to come knocking for really any of the Nationals relievers. But if it were to happen, you know, Carl Edwards has been okay and I guess that's the one that I would speculate on, but this is just a really bad team as well. Yeah, I mean, like like I said earlier, that none of these situations are ones where I would be. looking to add someone before a trade happens unless it like starts to look imminent but right now speaking you know more than two weeks away from the deadline that there's nobody here that I would add you know Kyle Finnegan is I think fine is the right word for him I think he's probably you know

an average ish reliever I think Carl Edwards Jr. is probably about the same we've seen some good seasons from him we've seen some really really bad seasons from him so I I wouldn't be terribly excited about him. And look, that's the case with all these teams. They're bad teams. They don't have an abundance of talent. So for the most part of the teams we've talked about, I think Anthony Bass would be clearly the most interesting

if he became the closer. And I think he probably has the best chance of just becoming a closer of any of the people we've talked about. Yeah, I think so too. The angels are interesting, Chris, because obviously they've underperformed, even though they have two players constantly making history. Well, one for sure in Otani.

But they're not a good team. and they have Reisel Eglacius, who's kind of struggled this season. I don't know that they'll be able to move him because he signed to a four-year contract, three years after this season. So it might be tough to move that contract, but if some team steps up, like the Red Sox per se,

where they are a bigger market and they could use a proven closer, I could see it happening. So if it does, Ryan Tepera is probably the next one up for the Angels. Yeah, and for what it's worth, I have no concerns about Ryssel Glacius. you know, the ERA is a little high.

There have been some hiccups, but for the most part, I think he's going to be very good moving forward. And so whether it's with the Angels or with the other team, I have no real concerns about Rizel Iglesias. Ryan Tepara is pretty mediocre,

so I wouldn't be super excited about him. But, yeah, if he gets the opportunity, I mean, it's weird because Rizzo Iglesias only had 34 saves last year despite leading the majors, in games finished. And that's the second time he's done that, actually. He's led the majors in games finished twice in the last four seasons.

And he finished with 34 saves both times. Because for whatever reason, during, throughout his career, really, he's not, he's never been a guy who gets huge numbers of saves. His teams use him in non-save situations. They use him for multiple innings. Although I think that's been happening less this season. So yeah, I don't know if that's just a Rizelle Iglesias thing or an Angels thing. But Tepera would be, I think, fine if he got that job.

I don't think it's likely that these players will be moved because they have so much team control. But again, weird things happen around the trade deadline. And you'll be surprised. The Tigers, Gregory Soto, is there. And obviously, it's been a letdown of a season for Detroit. I think if anything were to happen, you know, Michael Fulmer would be the next man up. The Royals, they have Scott Barlow. He's actually been tremendous this season.

But they're not great. I think he has like three more years of team control. Josh Stallmont, we've seen get some saves earlier in the season, or even Taylor Clark, I think is the name to pay attention to there. The pirates have kind of leaked that they're not going to move David Bednar, and I don't think that they will. But let's just say that they're blown away. Yerry de Los Santos is the one that has picked up saves whenever Bednar is unavailable.

And the Orioles, I know the Orioles are one of the best stories in the first half, but maybe they go on a 10 game losing streak leading up. to the trade deadline and it turns out they want to move Jorge Lopez. I think he also has two or three years of team control. So it's not likely, but Felix Batista has been very, very good behind him. Chris, do you think any of these closers under team control could be moved leading up to the deadline? I mean, I think Bednar, you know, if I were running the pirates, I would move him, just because he's been a little shaky lately. He had that back issue for a little while that, you know, I think you can be a little worried about, but I think all of them are unlikely.

The Orioles, the bullpen's arguably been the strength of that team. They've got really, really good bullpen between Jorge Lopez, Felix Bautista. Dylan Tate has a 2-55-ERA as a kind of multi-inning guy. C.N.L. Perez has really good numbers as well. So that's actually one where, man, they've got like, anywhere. realize they've got like six guys in their bullpen with an ERA below two five. Yeah. Really impressive.

But yeah, I think Bautista has looked really, really impressive. And if he got a chance, I think he could be very good. I like what he's done so far. He throws super hard. So if something happened to Jorge Lopez, you know, whether it's a trade or an injury, I don't think performance would be an issue at this point. Bautista would definitely be someone I'd be interested in. All right.

Which teams could be in the market for a closer? I think the Minnesota Twins are like the top of the top. Obviously they have Yohan Duran, but they've been so hesitant to move him into the closer role. I think he would be fine if they give him that opportunity, but they seem to like to use him in high-leverage situations. And Emilio Paghan has been a dumpster fire. The Boston Red Sox, Tanner Hauk, has emerged, and he's been fine,

but maybe they want someone with a little bit more experience. The Cardinals, Ryan Helsley has been very good. in his role, Giovanni Gagos, not so much. It's shaky. Again, maybe they want someone with more experience. The Phillies, they signed Corey Knable. That didn't work out. They're kind of using this tandem of Sir Anthony Dominguez and Brad Hand, which I think could work. Canable got a save last week too. Yes, yes. And it was like, I think the day after both Hand and Dominguez had worked. So, yeah, it's, they're kind of going committee right now. But again, maybe they want someone that's a little bit more proven there.

And I'll just throw this name out there, the Padres. Just because Taylor Rogers has struggled recently, the underlying numbers are still pretty good, but I think I saw his last 18 or 19 appearances. He has an ERA over eight, something like that. So it's really surprising, and Taylor Rogers has struggled. Chris, do you disagree, agree that these teams make the most sense? Is there someone I missed, maybe?

No, I think those teams make the most sense. looking around, I don't know. Like, the raise, I think, are always a candidate to make a trade. I don't necessarily think it would be for a closer, but we've seen them, you know, in the last couple of years, pick up high leverage relievers. So that one's a possibility. I felt maybe the Mariners, if they want a proven guy,

but Seawald has been good. Oh, I think Seawald's one of the best relievers in baseball. It's just, you know, it took them such a long time to settle on him as a closer that it could be like the twins thing where you know maybe it's just they prefer Cewald in a more flexible role although you know part of that is they they do have a strong bullpen in in its own right too so it's not like they're in desperate need of another guy and and

maybe the Dodgers that's a team that takes a lot of swings obviously you know it would have to be like Kimberl has been just really mediocre this season so but I think it would still probably have to be more like an injury, but we did just see Bruce Star Gratterol go on the IL with a shoulder injury as we're recording July 14th. They have a strong bullpen, but it's a very much like a no-name bullpen kind of situation. Like Evan Phillips got to save the other day. I think he was a rule five pick or did they pick him up off minor league free agency or something? Like he's been

awesome for them, but Craig Kimbril's guy, like kind of like the only guy you've heard of there. So, you know, if something happened to Kimberl or even if they just wanted to solidify the back end of that bullpen, you know, the Dodgers are, I think, a wild card. Although, Blake Trinan did throw a bullpen session in recent days, so he's working his way back. I'll throw the Rangers in this mix as well. I know they're kind of battling for a wild card spot. Brett Martin has been good for them this season, and he seems entrenched as they're closer for now. But again, maybe they want someone who has done it a little bit longer than him. Let's take a look at some pitchers who may be on an innings cap this season.

And Chris, I mean, this is pretty hard to predict. Obviously, we can use data from years past and look at, you know, which pitchers didn't throw as many innings last year and now maybe have jumped into the rotation or are pitching really well in the case of Shane McClanahan. But before we do that, is this convoy overblown? Because we had similar concerns about Corbyn Burns entering last season. And he went from less than 60s. in 2020 to 173 total in 2021 and he's been fine. He was fine in 2021. He's been fine so far here in

2022. Every pitcher is different. I get that. But do you think maybe this conversation is a little bit overblown in fantasy? I think it is in a couple of respects. I think for one thing, it's not just often we just look at the the previous season and say, well, he only threw six, But, like, Corbyn's only through 60 innings in 2020 because he could only throw 60 innings in 2020. It was a shortened season. The year before that, he made 38 appearances, 40 appearances between the majors and minors. 11 of them were starts.

He threw, let me see, 126 innings in 2018. So, like, 145 in 2017. So Corbyn Burns was someone who had shown the ability to pitch deep into games, and there had been some injuries, but it wasn't, it wasn't like he had just. never thrown 100 in his professional career or in it like Spencer Strider's never thrown 100 in a season at any level you know not college not the minor so like I think it's a bigger concern for Spencer Strider and for what it's worth there were some times when the Brewer skipped Corbin Burns last season he only

made 28 starts so I think he had a COVID a COVID situation or something where you miss time yeah okay yeah but they're there because he made 13 second half starts so you know it could have been with that but yeah I think think it's um potentially like i don't know it there's also the innings the are the injury risk for every pitcher like the risk for injury is so high even just like a two-week minimum stay on the on the disabled list for you know if shame mclanahan just has dead arm for two weeks you know that which is something that happened i guess blake snell it was a foot injury during his scy young campaign that uh sideline him for a little while um but like that kind of kind of

kind of thing like these things tend to work themselves out i think it's unlikely shame mcclanahan throws 195 in the regular season just because it's the raise and they nobody throws 195 innings for them generally speaking unless you're charlie morton or you know tyler glass now was kind of on pace for that before he got hurt but the thing with mclanahan is i've talked about it a lot but it's the the pitch counts are so low for him that if he keeps pitching the way he is i don't think the innings are going to matter so much because the pitch counts, he's only thrown 100 innings once or 100 pitches in a game once this season. He's had a lot of like 93, 94 pitch starts where he's gone to six or seven innings. And if he can, like, if we think

Shane McClanahan is one of the three best pitchers in baseball, then the innings might be there just because he's so efficient. Yeah. So it's more of a total pitches thrown thing for Shane McClan than earnings. And yeah, it's just, he's, he's working. so easy through his starts right now that like if things slow down, if he is a three ERA pitcher then rather than a one seven area pitcher he's probably not going to pitch six

innings per start just because he's going to face more batters and they're probably, I don't think they're going to let him go 100 pitches routinely. So it's sort of tied to how well he pitches. All right. So I guess put a bow on Shane O'Mack. Would you be looking to sell high right now? I think yeah.

I think he's I have him ranked like seventh at starting pitcher and I think most people have him ranked third. So I think he is a cell high candidate. I think he's awesome. I think he's amazing. But yeah, I think there's both regression and some concern for you know some slowdown in terms of his innings totals. Would you move him for Zach Wheeler straight up? Pitcher for pitcher. So I do have McClanahan ranked higher. I think a more interesting one would be like McClain for Sandy. But I don't

I don't hate the idea, but I would rather have McClainahan. Yeah, I think, look, if you're really trying to cash in on Shane McClanahan, don't just sell him for the sake of selling him. Again, like every time we bring up this conversation, it's sell high. I think the way that I would look for it, Chris, is I would try to get maybe like a top 15 or top 20-ish pitcher, and then maybe also help my hitting somehow. Like a two-for-one. Get two players in return for your Shane McClanahan.

Something like you get Julio or Ria. or Brandon Woodruff and then like a top, you know, 50 hitters. Like Nick McClanahanan. Or Nick Castiano's. Yeah, like Nick, would you do that. Would you trade your Shane O'Mac for Nick Cassiano's and Brandon Woodruff? I think so. Yeah.

It would be tough. It seems pretty fair, though. Woodruff is pretty awesome in his own right, you know? Yeah, it seems like a pretty fair trade. Let's move on down the list here. I don't think that Otani is in danger of an innings limit, But I do just wonder if maybe the angels shut him down from pitching at some point, Chris, just because they fall out of it. And obviously, he's one of the most prized assets in all of baseball.

And they want him to be healthy for next year. Like, is that something you could see happening? Or they just let him go and chase back-to-back MVPs? I think he'd have to get hurt for anything to happen there. I think the uproar over a healthy Shoha Tani not playing would be just outrageously high. So, no, I don't think so. This one is not as much of an innings cap. I'm just worried more about the health.

Pavel Lopez has never thrown more than 111 and a third in the major leagues, and he's already close to exceeding that total. He has a history of shoulder trouble, and he really hasn't been the same over the past month or so. Would you try and trade Pablo Lopez while he's still healthy? Yeah, and I think you could look at Zach Allen in a similar way. You know, two guys who come into the season with a lot of injury question marks. they've managed to stay healthy so far,

but the production has been up and down for both of them, and I think it's not like, I'm not saying an injury is imminent for either, because I wouldn't be surprised if they both got hurt in their next start or if they made it through the rest of the season without injury. You know, their pitchers, and a big part of that is, over the long-term injuries are predictable for pitchers. Every pitcher is going to get hurt at some point.

It happens. It's just the nature of the game. And pitchers who have been hurt in the, the past like Zach Allen and Pablo Lopez are more likely to be hurt in the future. But, you know, whether that means in the next three months or the next three years is a different question. So I think you might have missed your best sell high window for both Pablo Lopez and Zach Allen already. So that would be the one reason why I might stick with them and just ride it out because I think they'll pitch better than they have over the last month or so.

So if that's weighing on people's minds, then yeah, I think you can hold on to them. I think pitcher for pitcher trades are generally pretty hard to pull off. But if you can sell Pablo for someone who's maybe not as good on a per inning basis, but gives you more volume, someone who's ranked just a little bit lower, like a Logan Webb or a Framber Valdez. Luis Castillo. Is that something you would look into doing?

I think it's interesting. Yeah, I think like Framber, especially in a head head point league, is really really valuable because he just goes deep into his games so often. He's kind of a, you know, an off-peak Dallas-Kichel in a lot of ways. And Logan Webb kind of is, too. So I think those are both interesting because I think they'll both, you know, they're both better bets for innings than Pablo Lopez is moving forward.

Tony Gonslin, he is the Catman. Chris, what do you think about the song Scatman? You, Fenn? Be-ba-da-b-b-da-ba-ba-ba-ba-bba-bba-be-pah-a-ba-be-ha-ha. Yeah, that's a song. Whenever I heard that song when I was a child, I would go crazy. Anyway, Tony Gonsolin, he's at 93 and two-thirds innings at the time of recording this, and he only threw 72

and a third total innings in 2021. That was the minors, the majors, postseason all combined. He did throw 128 in the minors back in 2018, so we kind of have a bit of a Corbyn Burns situation going on here, Chris, where he's kind of done it in the minors at some point, but didn't do it in 2021. What do you think about Gonson? And Gonsland, you know, he made 24 appearances in 2019. So I'm assuming there was something going on where he missed a little bit of time. 2021, he missed quite a bit of time to start the season with a shoulder issue. So I don't, I don't think it's as clear cut as Corbyn Burns, where Corbyn Burns had definitely done it before multiple times. And made it through a full season

staying healthy, just not necessarily picking up the big inning totals. So I think there's definitely some risk for Gonson, especially pitching for the Dodgers, a team that has been, you know, very, it's weird, like aggressive in not being aggressive. I guess it's the way I would put it. And he's another guy like Shane McClanahan. He's yet to throw 100 pitches in a start. He only has a season high of 96. And that was in a his most recent start actually as we're speaking is five-ending five runs start on Wednesday night. So yeah, I mean, I think we'll see him throw 100 pitches at some point this. season, but it's kind of like where Walker Buehler was a couple years ago, where they're probably going to handle him with kids' gloves. And when he inevitably regresses, you know, he's got a 202 ERA, as we're

speaking, with a 339 FIP. Now he's outperformed his expected stats pretty consistently in terms of his FIP throughout his career, so I think he can continue to do that. But if he pitches more like a 3ER pitcher, he's probably not going to go more than six innings most of the timeout. Would you look to turn him in for a veteran who you don't have as many concerns about? Someone like a Charlie Morton concerns in terms of ennings. Look, performance is a whole different thing for Charlie Morton, but someone like Morton or like Lucas Gialito or like U. Darvish, for example. That's fascinating that you bring those guys up because here's my rankings.

24 Gialito, 25, Robbie Ray, 26, Charlie Morton, 27, Tony Gonson, 28 U. Darvish. That's in head-to-head points leagues, which I think is Gonson's worst format because of the aforementioned innings limitations. But that's a really hard, that would be a really hard trade to make because they're all also within like 12 spots in the overall rankings for me. So it's, that would be tough. I think Gonson will probably be better than most of those guys on a per inning basis. But it's not a guarantee. Like, Lucas Gialito has been really good for most of his career with the White Sox, especially. I guess he never pitched with the nationals and the majors, but the last like three or four seasons.

Robbie Ray has looked really good recently. So I think I would move Charlie Moore, or Tony Gonson for Giolyto or Robbie Ray. Maybe less so, Charlie Morton, are you Darvish. All right. A couple other names here. Spencer Strider, you already mentioned Chris, has not hit 100 innings at any point in his career. Christian Javier, someone we spoke about last week, who is currently at 78 in a third innings. He threw 112 last season in 2021, so maybe not as much concerned with him. And a few other names, Joe Ryan, Michael Kopeck, Mackenzie Gore. I think we're already kind of seeing that transition to the bullpen. And Rwanzi Contreras.

A lot of names here, Chris. Is there one or two that you are worried about with an inning's cap and maybe look to try and trade right now while you can? I think the thing with Strider is that the thing that you would be worried about moving forward has already happened. He pitched out of the bullpen for the first two months of the season. So if he makes, I don't know, 14 more starts and averages five innings per start, that puts him at like 140 innings for the season,

which feels like a little over what you would expect with 96 last season, especially if they're going to use him in the postseason, which you would assume they will. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see them skip him. You know, they've got some guys in the minors that they could call up and, you know, skip Spencer Strider twice. and maybe he makes 12 starts down the stretch and throws 60 more innings, and that might be a little more manageable.

All right, anyone else here that concerns you of the Javier, Joe Ryan, Kopeck, Rwanzi Contreras group? You've got Michael Kopeck there. I think that that's an interesting one. Also, just because he hasn't been very good of late. He's kind of a fastball only guy right now, and his fastball has been getting hit hard. So, you know, I think that's one that I wouldn't be surprised if they transition back

to the bullpen or, gave him some time off at some point, especially if they continue to trend towards not making the playoffs. So that's one. And then, let me see. I'm sure there are some others. Yeah, I don't want to take up too much dead air here. So I'll just pass it on.

All right, fair enough. Before we hit the break, just a reminder that we are a nominee for the Best Sports Podcast category in the People's Choice Podcast Awards. We appreciate all your. your support and hope that you'll nominate us to advance to the final round. To nominate fantasy baseball today, go to podcastawards.com slash app slash sign up and then toggle down the sports category. The whole process takes less than one minute. And if you're watching us on YouTube, feel free to scan the QR code right to the right of Chris's head.

And that will pull up the website right there on your phone where you can, of course, help nominate FBT. We've included the link in the podcast and YouTube descriptions as well. Let's take a break. and we'll talk sell high options here after the break. All right, sell high options here on fantasy baseball today. I guess this is kind of a natural transition because the previous segment was kind of talking about selling high on pitchers that we might have some any concerns about. But Chris, outside of the any's concerns,

are there any performance concerns? Start with a pitcher. Someone that you might be looking to sell high here going into the second half. Here, let me pull up the rankings, because that'll be the best way to do it. Just look at who's overperforming, and then we'll go from there. Nestor Cortez, we've already seen it a little bit. So, you know, I don't know if he counts anymore.

Logan Gilbert is an interesting one, because I think he's good, but I'm not like 100% sold that he's going to remain super effective moving forward. He's got a 280 ERA. I don't think he's that good. It wouldn't surprise me if, you know, rest of season, his ERA, was a run higher. And that's not necessarily a knock on him. It's just, you know, his, his, his FIP is 3-6.

His ARA is 280. So that, that seems like a situation where some regression could happen and might hurt you. There are some really obvious ones, like Miles Michaelis, who I just don't believe in at all. I think, you know, he can be useful, but he's got a 282 or 262 ERA. I think he'll definitely be worse. moving forward.

Martin Perez is another one. Again, I don't know how much you're going to get for him. You just pissed off all of Rangers fandom, Chris. They're coming for him. Taiwan Walker has a really good ERA, and we saw something similar from him last season. I think he was an All-Star last year, and that was just a disaster in the second half.

Shane Bieber, if people are viewing him as like an ace, again, because I think he's more like in the 13 to 15 range. He's one of those guys who hasn't really moved in my rankings all that much. I think he was 13 coming into the season, and he's 13 now. Cory Klober is a name. Corey Kluber carries some weight just in name value, and you know, his underlying numbers are not nearly as good as his

surface numbers. So I don't know how much you'll get for a Kory Kluber, but, you know, in a deeper league where someone needs pitching, you might be able to get like a decent bat, a starting worthy bat in exchange for Cory Klooper. Yeah, and we mentioned in a recent podcast, but Paul Blackburn, you know, He's kind of falling off. I don't know if he really counts as a cell high anymore because the last like eight starts have been a disaster for him.

But he's a sell high candidate for sure. Yeah, I think that's a decent number of names that we can go with. Fair enough. Let's move over to some potential cell high hitters. And I have one here, Chris. You tell me what you think about, the logic. C.J. C.J. C.J. Cron, who is having an amazing first half with the Rockies. of the final 69 games the Rockies play this season,

39 of them come on the road. So only 30 home games left. It's still a good amount, but, you know, proportionately, there are a decent amount more road games than there are home games. And the splits are crazy for a lot of the hitters. Yeah, it's like a 400 PS point. But especially for CJ Crohn. So what do you think about potentially selling high on him?

I think that makes perfect sense. I mean, he's just not all that good away from. from Cores. We've seen that the last couple of seasons. I don't think he's like, I don't think if he played for another team, he would be a sub 700 OPS bat like he looks like. But, you know, clearly the majority, an overwhelming majority of his value comes from the half of the time he spends at Coresfield. So I think he's a perfectly viable, sell high candidate. Brandon Jury, I'm not sure how much you can get for him, but he continues to rank highly at like three different positions. So I think he's won. And if he's traded, Chris, his home roads was the season.

he's been so much better in Great American Ballpark. Yeah, absolutely. Ty France is another one. I don't know if he'll be as good as he has been. Although that slowdown has kind of already happened. What about Charlie Blackman? Another Rocky's hitter. Sure.

Yeah. I mean, that's, I think Charlie Blackman is kind of fringy as is. So. He's having a good year, man. He's having a decent. He's hitting, what, 270-something with 11, 12 home runs? Like, he's having an okay year. I think he's up to 14 when we're recording this.

14 home runs. All right. Well, either way. Either way. He's playing 57% of his games away from course field the rest of the season.

So I just think that's an obvious sell candidate. Chris, if you could turn CJ Crone, I'm trying to do the reverse of what we did earlier in the season, trying to sell hitters for pitchers now. Do you think G.

Alito or Charlie Morton is a fair return for Crone? Or would you want to ask for more? I would take both of those pitchers for C.J. Crowe. I think that's a perfectly fair. return. Okay. And if you need a hitter, I think some clear by-lows like Nick Cascianos, Marcelo Zuna. This is the first one I come to mind. Yeah. Marcelo Zuna. Do you think that's enough for

CJ Krohn? I have Crohn ranked higher, but it's not a massive gap. So I think that'd be fine. But it would probably be a situation where I want another piece in addition to Marcelo Zuna. Yeah. Luis Arias, I think he's very good, but he's not a 346 hitter. even as good of a contact guy as he is, you know, he's been a good contact hitter his whole career, and he's been like a 300 hitter. And he's been pretty fringy as a 300 hitter. And maybe you can argue that he's been overlooked for fantasy

as a result of that. But I generally think if he goes back to being a 300 hitter, like I think he will. He's going to be much fringier than he has been, probably missed your sell high window on Austin Hayes, probably missed your sell high window on Taylor Ward. But I think both of those guys, if you could get something value,

before them I would do. Yeah. I think that's a good list. And you mentioned Arise. Let's move into our final segment here today. Category targets for the second half. If you need batting average, there is no better help than Luis Arise. Obviously, you'd have to do that via trade. I've noticed he has doubled his barrel rate this year.

So he's hitting the ball harder in the air when he does put it in the air. And that has led to, you know, a mere four home runs. But his OPS is, you know, over 850. It's pretty impressive so far. So I do think he'll slow down a little bit. But, like, if you need batting average, there is no bigger help than Luis Arise. On the lower end, Ameta Rosario,

mentioned this last on one of our podcasts last week. He's batting like 320 over the past like two months. So I think he's a batting average help. And in deeper leagues, he's just available. Harold Ramirez. Your boy? Yeah, the Haramara seems like

a, you know, Luis Arias kind of player. You're not going to get much beyond batting average, although I think there's a little more power there. But yeah, I think he's pretty good. I'll point out,

Cape Rouris, you know, continues to run very good expected batting averages with a 258 average. He's got a 300 expected batting average. Again,

I don't think there's much power there, but I think there's probably more pop than he's shown. Alec Bohm is another one who, The production has been pretty mediocre, and he's dealing with an injury as we speak, I think. But, you know, if he's okay, I think he will hit better than he has moving forward. So I think he can be pretty useful for batting average as well.

All right. If you need home runs, I have two Brewers hitters here who might actually just be available in your league as free agents. Rowdy Tellez and Hunter Renfro. I think, you know, they've proven that they are legitimate power hitters at this point. Chris, obviously there are a bunch of power hitters in the game. maybe anyone that catches your eye that you'd be looking to acquire. Marcelo Zuna. Yeah. You know, we mentioned him already. I think he's one of the better buy low candidates in baseball.

I want to say someone like Trey Mancini, who's got a very big difference between his slug and ex-slug, but he obviously plays in a very bad park now for right-handed power. So I'm not sure whether that's going to manifest. Christian Walker, I mean, he's been a good power hitter this season without much batting average. I think he'll continue to be a good power hiter who will hit for a better average moving forward. And this is more of a by-low, but Jesse Winker, I think, will be a much better source of power moving forward than he has been. And we've already seen that over the

past couple of games. All right. I think most of the time, whenever we talk about home run hitters, you'll be able to use that for RBI contributors as well. So if you're looking for that, Jose Ibrayu is routinely one of the best RBI hitters in the game. And You know, it's, he's actually underperformed this year in that regard. Yeah, weirdly has not been this year. Yeah, but he's still hitting for high batting average, decent pop, not as good as he used to. I would imagine. Actually walking a lot this year, relatively speaking.

You know, the White Tocs line up. Has a career high OBP. The lineup around him has not been great. So maybe opposing pitchers are just kind of pitching around Jose Abrae a little bit more. But he stood out. I think that'll be fine moving forward. And Vinie Pass Guantino, you know, if they start to go into this, youth movement and Bobby Witt has been awesome

and M. Chamble-Lendez leading off. Eventually they'll get Salvador Perez back and... And actually, Nick Prado actually got called up for the series in Toronto. I would expect it's just for the series in Toronto with how many players they have on the restricted list, but, you know, wouldn't mind seeing him get some extended run too. Yeah, but if Vinnie P is right in the middle of all that action, then, you know, could be some RBI opportunities for him.

And then... Go ahead. You know, broken record, but Nick Castianas. Yeah, sure. You know, he's going to hit better, and the RBI will be there. Run scored. Brandon Nimmo is someone who routinely leads off

for the New York Mets, and I think they might go out and try and add a hitter around the trade deadline. So look, their lineup is great. Regardless, they got Lindor, they've got Pete Alonzo. So I do think Nimo will continue

to score quite a bit. Alec Thomas for the Arizona Diamondbacks could just be available as a free agent. Ramon Oriano, we talk about a lot recently. I think he probably gets traded somewhere and that should help his run total as well. Anyone else for you on the runs? I mean, you're looking for, like, I think Nimmo's a good example of a guy who hits

lead off on a good offense, but doesn't necessarily do a ton else to make fantasy players. Excited. You know, we'll see when Enrique Hernandez gets back where he bats in the lineup, because Jared Duran's been hitting lead off for them, but Hernandez was, did he end up scoring 90 plus runs last season? I think he ended up. It was close to it. Close to it, yeah. So, you know, we'll see with him if he gets back soon and is hitting at the top of the lineup. If not, I mean, Jaron Duran.

I don't know, you know, what his role is going to look like moving forward, but he is hitting leadoff. And I think we'll be pretty good. All right. Yes. Enrique Hernan is 84 run scored in 2020. In 134 games, yeah. Yeah. So that was on pace for over 90.

Steels. Jorge Mateo does not offer much else other than Steels. but he does run quite a bit and he does play often for Baltimore. John Birdie, I know he's dealing with an injury now, so by the time you're listening to this, he could be on the IL, but he is the preeminent steals source in fantasy baseball this year. I think O'Neill Cruz, some of the luster might have fallen off a little bit right now, Chris,

and I think he's gonna run more in the second half. Obviously, he's a freak athlete. And one more player that you can look to acquire while he's hurt, I think it's still gonna cost you quite a bit, quite a bit, but jazz chisholm. I could see if he returns and he's healthy, you know, maybe contribute something like 10 to 15 steals the rest of the way. I mean,

Whitmerfield, I know he's been bad, but he's still running at a decent pace. He's on like a 25 steel pace, and I think if he'll probably hit better than he has moving forward, you know, he's hitting 240 despite not striking out much. So if he's more like a 270 hitter like he was last year,

I think the stolen base pace will pick up for him. And yeah, I don't know. I would have said Miles Straw if he was able to hit at all, but he's not. Isaiah kind of Kiner Folefa seems like he might not be playing every day at some point. There's been a lot of talk about the Yankees trying to upgrade there.

So, yeah, I do like the O'Neill-Cruz call because I think he's going to, you know, I think he'll run when he gets, you know, going as well. On the topic of ICF, he was. was brought in to be a great fielder for the Yankees, and he actually grades out pretty bad as a fielder this season, and he's had a lot of trouble throwing from shortstop. And if for some reason they look to call up one of their middle infield prospects, I don't think that they will do it with Anthony Volpe because he's still in AA. He hasn't played AAA yet. But Oswald Paraza, if they give him an opportunity, he's someone that could actually run a little bit as well. So

keep him in mind with the New York Yankees. Let's move over to the pitching side. of things and it's pretty hard to find wins, Chris. I mean, you know, target pitchers on good teams, I guess, that go deep into their starts. That seems pretty straightforward, but you're going to notice a theme. John Gray is on a lot of these lists right now for a pitcher to buy. Rangers have decent run support. He goes deep into his starts.

I like the idea of that. Taiwan Walker, I do think that there will be some regression, but he's another one. He goes pretty deep into his starts, pitches more to contact, and plays for a good team. And our favorite, Chris, Marco Gonzalez, everyone's favorite streamer. He goes deep into his starts, the Mariners are hot. I could see some wins.

Maybe the ratio is not so great. Yeah, I think, you know, a sneaky thing that you can do is some of these multi-inning relievers. You know, we've seen Michael King has six, Adam Simber has eight. So, you know, those multi-ending relievers, Michael Givens has five. I'm not saying to target the multi-inning relievers who already have wins because that's not predictable. but those guys who like Michael King I think is just a good fantasy option right now you know I'm not saying he's a must roster player

but I've got him I think in two of my 15 team Roto leagues just because he's getting a decent number of saves he's got a decent chance at a win every week so you know he's not going to get a win every week but he's got a decent chance so you know that that's a way that you can deal with some you know injury issues or what have you and potentially steal a

few wins that way as well. Chris, I feel like we bring up the Spider-Man meme a lot on the podcast, you know, just pointing at each other, they're the same player. But if you need strikeouts, and nothing else, because they might hurt your ratios a little bit. Hunter Green and Josiah Gray, they are very similar pitchers. They walk a lot, they give up home runs, but they get a lot of strikeouts. So if you need strikeouts in particular, fastballs, Tristan McKenzie also in that same discussion, not quite the strikeout guy that the other two are, but yeah, very similar pitchers. I'll mention Tristan McKenzie in the whip category.

If you need someone to help you with whip, he goes decently far into his starts, you know, round six innings per start for him. But yeah, his whip routinely, since he has joined the Cleveland organization in the majors, he gives up a lot of fly balls and as a result, not a lot of hits. So his whip is great. And I think he's one of the low-key best contributors in that category. ERA, I agree with you, Chris, that there will be some regression on Miles Michaelis, but I said this before the season, and I'm going to stick with it.

I mean, the Cardinals, they have a really good defense, and they're really good at run prevention. So their pitchers are going to have much higher, you know, Fips and X-FIPs than their actual ERAs. But it's kind of sustainable because they have such a good defense. So if you just need like ERA or whip, I think like Adam Wainwright and Miles Michaelis do make some sense. I think that's reasonable. The problem with ERA is it's kind of like home runs where ERA, you know, it's hard to find just a guy who's good at ERA, predictably.

Just go trade for a good picture. You'll find guys who have good ERAs, but don't do much else, but it's hard to do that moving forward. All right, and then saves, hey, I mean, we spent the first 15 minutes talking about saves. So I don't know that you need us to tell you anything else there. All right, we're going to wrap there for Chris. I am Frank.

Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball. Today we'll be back again on Monday. Bye-bye. You know,