Fantasy Baseball Today - Cristopher Sanchez IS AN ACE & Worry-O-Meter Wednesday! (7/23 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Cristopher Sanchez looks like a Top-12 SP for the rest of the season (2:30). ... Logan Gilbert had one of his best starts of the season (6:30). ... Mickey Moniak has been on fire over the past month (10:46). ... The Rangers bats are waking up (13:33). ... News (17:12): Tanner Scott was officially placed on the IL. ... Edward Cabrera had another strong start coming off his elbow soreness (27:18). ... Chandler Simpson already has 30 steals in just 58 games (33:12). ... Let's fire up the WORRY-O-METER for these eight struggling hitters (44:04). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpens and streamers (1:00:10). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow FBT on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CBSScottWhite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Roto_Frank⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Facebook group at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. What's up and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Wednesday, July 23rd. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Chris Towers today on the show. It's been a while, but we are firing up.

the Worryometer for struggling hitters here in July, Christopher Sanchez might just be an ace. And has anybody realized that Mickey Moniac is crushing it? Because I didn't. So we'll talk about all that. Let's jump in. All right, so let's just begin with Christopher Sanchez. Neither of us wanted to choose Sanchez as our player of the night.

We have other players we want to talk about. But Chris, we've got to just talk about this quickly. Because first complete game of the season here for Christopher Sanchez, does four hits allowed, one run, 12 strikeouts to zero walks, 19 wifts on 106 pitches here for Sanchez. Changeup remains insanely dominant, 14 of his 19 wifts on that pitch. And he has nine straight quality starts,

seven plus innings in seven of his last eight, and during that nine-star stretch, a 154 ERA and a 0.89 whip. I don't know, man. Is Christopher Sanchez an ace? Yeah. I don't see any specific reason to doubt him at this point. The strikeout rate has been up basically all season.

It's trended a little lower, you know, closer to like 23, 24% over the past couple of months. But with his command, with his ability to limit damage on contact, a 24% strikeout rate is perfectly fine for Sanchez. just a little lower than some of the other guys. But like, you know, you look at the top 12 and you start going through, okay, I'd definitely rather have Terrick Scoobo. I'd definitely rather have Zach Wheeler. I definitely rather have Paul Skeen's. I definitely rather have Garrett Crochet.

I'd rather have Jacob de Grom. Although the strike rate's pretty close for the two of them and Sanchez has less injury risk, so I think you can make a case for Sanchez. I think after that it gets really interesting. Like, Max Fried is a very similar pitcher to Christopher Sanchez, and right now their numbers are very similar. Logan Webb, I think is a better strikeout pitcher, but Sanchez, I think, is a better source of ERA. Hunter Brown's struggling a little bit, but I think I'd take him over Sanchez. Yamamoto?

Yamamoto. Struggling a little bit? Yeah, going through it a little bit. And he's had some inefficiency and just some inconsistency over the course of the past year and a half. that, you know, the level Sanchez is operating on, I think you can make the case for Sanchez ahead of him. I didn't realize you moved Sanchez up to SP 11. Look at you.

Yeah. So, you know, that's where, like, you know, Framber Valdez, similar pitcher, but not pitching as well overall. But he's awesome, but. We used to say Sanchez is like poor man's Framber Valdez. Now maybe he's just Framber Valdez. Maybe he's better. I don't know.

Just. but with, I think with better control. You know, that's the only real difference between the two of them. And then you've got like, you know, if George Kirby's right, okay, you might take George Kirby over him. Joe Ryan gets more strikeouts, but obviously there's been some ERA volatility there. So I think anywhere from like 7 to 15 makes sense for Christopher Sanchez. And it just doesn't really matter.

Like, ultimately, you know, I think that. that'll be a real interesting debate next offseason if he keeps this up and finishes with a 250 ERA. You know, is he a top 10 pitcher? Is he a top 5 pitcher? I think we'll have to have that discussion. But for right now, I think you've got an absolute ace on your hands in Christopher Sanchez. Yeah, I think that all makes sense. I'm going to move them up to it looks like SP 11, just ahead of Logan Webb, Joe Ryan, Robbie Ray, McKenzie Gore. you know, some of those guys have come back down to Earth a little bit lately. Logan Webb's swinging strike rate has come down a lot over the past, you know, month and a half or so.

Mackenzie Gore has, you know, walks have been up lately. Yeah, he's going through it a little bit too. Yeah, so I think Sanchez's top 12 starting pitcher rest of season. The guy is awesome. Somebody else who was awesome here on Tuesday, Logan Gilbert, perhaps the best we have seen from him all season. Yeah, and this is what I've been waiting for. because I know the results have not been there for Logan Gilbert this season.

The results have been, you know, especially since he came back from the injury, a little rough. You know, no six-inning starts since the first start of the season, a couple of pretty ugly crooked number lines. But then you look at the underlying skill sets, and it looks like it's the best version of Logan Gilbert we've seen. And I've been waiting for a start like this. to move him up. And that was a name that I pointedly didn't mention in the Christopher Sanchez discussion

just because I didn't want to give away that I think Logan Gilbert a top five starting pitcher in fantasy baseball. We drafted him like that coming into the season. I think he's been the underlying skills to me look more impressive than we've ever seen from Loden Gilbert. There's been a little bit of if he command at times.

He's getting hit a little harder, but his splitter especially, I mean, this might be the single best pitch in baseball. At least when we're talking about like a putaway pitch, there are only, let me make sure I get the number right, there are six pitchers since the start of last season who have an individual pitch with a whiff rate over 50%. So Logan Gilbert's is one of them.

It's all relievers otherwise. Logan Gilbert also, his splitter, has the lowest expected Wobah of any pitch in baseball. And it's not even close. The last two seasons combined, it's like 128. The next lowest is 150. It's been an outrageously good pitch. It's been better than ever this season. He's, um, I think he's lowered his arm.

a little bit. He's, you know, not like, it's not like he's throwing sidearm, but he's lowered it a little bit. It's allowed him to get down the mound. And the four seamer splitter combination is playing up so well for Logan Gilbert. The slider is excellent. He's got great command. He's got a five pitch arsenal. I've been waiting for him to show this upside so I can move him up.

But that, that's where I'm going. Top five starting pitcher. I think from a skills perspective, absolutely. Logan Gilbert is there in terms of his strikeouts, K-minus walk rate, all the underlying metrics, everything like that. The one thing that gives me a little bit of pause is just his inefficiency this season. Again, this is just his second quality start of the year, his first since opening dang. So just kind of weird the way that that's kind of broken down this year. He also missed a large majority of the season with an arm injury.

So it's just kind of been a weird season for Logan Gilbert. That's the biggest issue for me. That's the biggest red flag, yeah. But, I mean, looking at his pitch counts, I just compared it to last season. It's not like he threw 100 pitches all that much last year either. And he's still routinely throwing in the 90s since he's returned. So I don't know. It's just he's been a little bit less efficient.

And as a result, hasn't been going six plus innings, which, I mean, isn't the be all end all. But for those who play in points leagues, you know, you want to get volume. If you're going to talk about him as the top five pitcher, obviously you need that. ace-like volume. I think that's the only thing holding me back from Logan Gilbert right now. Sure. I think I have him at SP10, and until I see him kind of rattle off a few six plus inning starts in a row, I'm going to leave him there. And that's not a bad place for him to be. Obviously, he's awesome. And hopefully that arm can hold up too, right? Like, I just, I don't want to sweep that under the rug. It's any time we get an arm injury from a pitcher, it's a scary thing.

Same thing happened with Christopher Sanchez earlier this year and kind of seems like we've forgotten and all about that. But with the way he's pitching, I think it makes sense to forget about that. So, yeah, Logan Gilbert's best start since coming off the IEL and perhaps his best start of the season here against the Brewers.

Let's talk about Mickey Moniac, because as I mentioned, didn't realize he is just crushing it right now. Two for four with his 15th home run, last 29 games. Moniac is hitting 379, 10 homers, 23 RBI, three steals, in OPS over 1,200.

over his last 29 games. He is absolutely crushing the ball right now. He's improved his plate discipline this year. The strikeout rate is down, his zone contact. Both of those are career bests for him. He has started six straight. He's started 12 of the past 14. Probably not going to play against lefties.

I don't think he deserves to. He's got a 499 career OPS against left-handed pitching. But, you know, we've mentioned Ramon Luriano lately and Anhele Martinez. So five outfielder leagues, deeper five outfielder leagues, Moniac is only 28% rostered. Sure, I think he should be rostered in some of those deeper leagues. Here's the problem.

Away from Coorsfield, he has a 684 OPS. So start him at home against right-handed pitching. Yeah, like this is... So specific. What we've seen in years past is random scrubs on the Rockies who are useful for fantasy because Coorsfield is a, great place to hit. And that has kind of gone away in recent years. Remember like Jerks and ProFar was on the Rockies and we got kind of excited about him pre-breakout because, hey, he's been a

league average hitter and a league average hitter at Corsefield should be much better. And it just didn't happen for him. This is what we, we usually want it. And, you know, I've been a little more excited about Tyler Freeman, who I do think is pretty much worth rostering everywhere, he's been much less coursefield dependent than Mickey Moniac. Tyler Freeman's actually been good away from course field. Weirdly, Hunter Goodman's actually also been much better on the road than at home, which is always weird when that happens. But I think Moniac is just a streamer in course field when they've got games there,

and I don't think there's much. beyond that. Yeah. So for those who play in daily lineup leagues, I know daily lineup leagues on Yahoo, typically shallower formats, but if you want to play someone in the right matchups, I mean, Mickey Moniac might be that top kind of streamer hitter target right now, very specific setup for him there. But I think in five outfielder leagues, even 12 team roto leagues, if you hold them on your bench and just use him when he's at home, I think you can get some pretty good games here out of Mickey Moniac. So very specific circumstances for him. But, uh, Kind of a breakout season here for Mickey Moniac.

Wanted to give a shout out to some Rangers bats for waking up lately. Corey Seeger, who we've talked about a lot. But last 31 games for him, 316 batting average, eight home runs and OPS over 1,000 during that time. Absolutely crushing the ball as well. His quality of contact is way up. Marcus Semyon, this goes dating all the way back to May 30th. So last 45 games for Semen.

He's probably the best second baseman. outside of maybe Cotel Marte during that stretch. And maybe jazz. All right, he's like the third best second baseman during the stretch. But 293, 10 homers, five steals, OPS over 900 for Marcus Semyon. And Adolius Garcia last 18 games for him. He's hitting 265 homers, 15 RBI, three steals, OPS up around 800. Not as impressive as the other guys, but, you know, Chris, we were rating all season.

Signs alive. For the Rangers to come alive. And here we go. Boom. Seeger, Semen, and Garcia. see a, they've turned it on over the past month. What's kind of funny is not the right word, but interesting is even as these guys are starting to turn it around, this is still a mediocre offense.

In the month of July, they're 14th in the league in Wobah over the past 30 days. They're 21st. Yeah. So I don't know. Someone else's got to be struggling there. It is good to see. Everybody outside of these three, I would have managed you. It is good to see, you know, a lot more crooked numbers lately from them.

Good to see those three guys in particular, since those are the three most fantasy relevant names on the team. I guess Wyatt Langford as well. Good to see from all three of them, yeah. All right, before we hit our first break, just a reminder that you can download and follow our 10-minute podcast, FBT Express, wherever you listen to this podcast. and big thanks to those watching us live. Make sure to hit the like button and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball Day.

Let's hit the news and notes. And Tanner Scott was officially placed on the aisle with left elbow inflammation. They're waiting on Dr. Neil Eletrage to evaluate Scott's MRI, which still sounds pretty scary. But for now, as we speculated yesterday, seems like some combo of Kirby Yates, Alex Vescia. Blake Trinen seems like he's returning soon. He is not off the aisle just yet.

So would target Yates and Vesia for now? And I do wonder, Chris, if this throws a wrench in the Dodgers trade deadline plans. Like maybe they're in the mix for one of these big names now, like an Emmanuel Class A or Yohan Duran or David Bednar, someone like that. That's possible. And I would just, even without that, I think that's a good point, but even without that, I would just say that this, this is not the situation to, like, blow out your remaining fab budget for. Obviously, it's a great team and could be a good circumstance if one of these guys emerges as the clear closer.

But with the trade deadline looming, you know, if Emmanuel Class A gets traded there, obviously he's going to be the guy. If David Bednar gets traded there, I think he's going to be the primary closer. but the other thing you have to keep in mind is when those guys get traded Cade Smith and Dennis Santana and Griffin Jacks will have the opportunity to step up as closers and if that were the case I would much rather have any of those guys than any of the Dodgers guys. So I think it's fine to have some speculative bids for the Dodgers guys but don't don't go all out thinking that this is going to solve whatever your safe. need is. Yeah, it feels very matchup based for now. Yates being the righty and Vesia being the

lefty in that bullpen. I know Yates has kind of struggled this year, but his underlying skills still look really, really good here. So both him and Vescia under 30% rostered on CBS, I think, obviously, NL only leagues for sure, but deeper roto leagues, maybe even 12 team Roto leagues for now. And we kind of see how this situation evolves, but does sound like a potentially significant injury here for Tanner Scott. Brandon Lau was placed back on the IL due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot. So if we are looking for replacements,

the two shallow league names we bring up often for second base, Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, the two Marlins guys, they've been hitting well for the past month or so. Jorge Polanco has looked better in July. He's 59% rostered. Willie Casher over the past month has been solid. A little bit of power, a little bit of speed. Colt Keith, I think against right-handed pitching

when you can find a week where he's mostly facing righties. Not so much in points leagues. That makes a lot of sense. And then the name you brought up earlier, actually two names, Tyler Freeman and Caleb Durbin. Durbin's been doing his thing too. So I like those. Who do you like more between Freeman and Caleb Durbin?

Oh, it's Freeman in any format, I think. I think he's actually, him and Austin Hayes are kind of the two most under-raster. players in fantasy, I think, at least among hitters, because Tyler Freeman, he's hitting 316. I know there's no power there, but he's going to steal a lot of bases. I think he's going to be a really good source of batting average to 305XBA right now. He struck out 8.6% of the time. I think Tyler Freeman might be legitimately good, and I did not expect that to be the case this season. I kind of clown the Rockies for giving up Nolan.

Jones for him, but that clearly looks like a smart move now. Yeah, and two other names in deeper leagues, Anhelle Martinez, who we've brought up the last couple days. I think he had three more hits here on Tuesday. And Bryce Matthews of the Astros, who hit another home run, a clutch homer, go ahead, two run, home run late in that game. So he has three home runs in the past two days. We know that there's a little bit of pop.

There's some speed there, lots of strikeouts. But it looks like there could be some talent there with Bryce Matthew. in deeper leagues. Austin Riley was not reinstated Tuesday as previously thought. The hope is he'll return Friday. They're opting to let him rest up a little bit more. The Braves aren't really playing for much at this point in the season. Hunter Green threw a side session Monday

and is scheduled to make a rehab start in the Arizona Complex League on Wednesday. Apparently Alex Bregman is not at 100% when running the bases. He previously missed six weeks with that quad injury. And this kind of surprises me, Chris. because they gave him ample time to get right and everything we heard on his rehab was that, you know, Bregman was kind of itching to get back and stuff.

And, you know, they gave him enough time. So just a little bit worrisome because maybe this quad can flare back up, you know? Well, remember in, gosh, what year was it that he missed time with a quad injury prior? 2021, I think. He missed like 60 games that year. It was like two full months.

plus and this time it was six weeks I think yeah you know probably three or four weeks less than that so yeah about three weeks less so you know they said it was similar to that one so it makes sense that he's not 100% and didn't he not play in rehab games am I remembering that correctly it seemed like he really did rush back might have played in a few I don't know Okay. Could have been like intra-squad games or something smaller like that. Yeah, he didn't go on an official rehab assignment. No, he didn't play any minor league games, so I don't know.

We'll see. I hope he's, I just want him to be right because, A, I have Bregman in a few spots, and he was so awesome earlier in the season. But, yeah, something to pay attention to there with this quad injury. Rafael Devers made his first career start at first base on Tuesday. I did not see any errors in the box score, so I feel like, probably worked out okay here for Rafael Devers. Nathan Avaldi will either start Wednesday against the athletics

or Friday against the Braves. Well, we don't have much time to figure that out. It's Wednesday, so I hope they let us know soon. Adley Rutchman could return as soon as this weekend against the Rockies. Aranola will begin a rehab assignment next week as long as he gets through another live batting practice this weekend with no issues. Shane McClanahan won't make his next rehab start. as scheduled Thursday due to biceps soreness.

So we continue to wait to play the Shane O'Mack sound drop here, Chris. I, look, if you've got unlimited IL spots, it's fine. But I'm increasingly of the belief that we're not going to get anything from Shane McLean Han. And anything we do get from him is just bonus at this point. All right, next up, Zach Eiffleon, will make his return Wednesday against the Guardians. Nestor Cortez is scheduled to throw 90 pitches Thursday

and what may be his final rehab start. And he is 47% rostered. Chris, would you look to stash Nestor Cortez over any of Shane Bieber, Bailey Ober, Luis Heel, Kyle Braddish, Bryce Miller? Maybe Bryce Miller, just because I really do think he's pitching through that bone spur and his elbow. He's further away than Nestor Cortez.

I think Bryce Miller's better, but I just don't think we're going to get a healthy Bryce Miller this season. I think it's going to be, even if he does pitch, I think it's going to not go well, just like it didn't when he was trying to pitch through this injury earlier in the season. So that's the only one. My expectation for Nestor Cortez are not super high. He was useful, but he wasn't a must-start pitcher last year or anything. Also, where is he going to pitch? The Brewers have a full rotation right now. They have Peralta, Kintana, Woodruff, Mizirowski, Priester.

Now, we'll talk about Mizirowski a little bit later on, but he was limited here only through like 65 pitches on Tuesday. Woodruff, coming back from shoulder surgery, they could opt to go with a six-man rotation. I guess that would make some sense, but it's not entirely clear that Nester Cortez just has a rotation spot. Yeah, I would think, you know, I don't know, like is Quinn Priester coming up on his

he threw about 130 innings last season so he's probably okay and he's Mizzerowski they're gonna have to limit yeah they're gonna have to limit Mizzerowski at least a little bit down the stretch so it would not surprise me if they went six man rotation at least for a while and then obviously things go wrong

at some point you know but you know we'll talk about Mizirowski in more depth but I think we're going to see some skip starts. I think we're going to see some, you know, extra days of rest sprinkled in here, and Cortez is going to be part of that, I think. All right, next up, Lance McCullors was placed in the aisle

with a blister on his right finger. Sal Freelick expects to rejoin the Brewers on Friday. Shelby Miller threw 16 pitches to live hitters Tuesday, but his lower back tightened up, so his session was cut off early. The Giants optioned Hayden Birdsong to AAA after his disastrous start on Monday. Met's pitching prospects,

Brandon Sprout and Nolan McLean, could be options for their bullpen if the team doesn't trade for any high-leverage relievers at the deadline. And the athletics placed Max Muncie on the aisle with a hand injury, so Chris, that means both of the Max Munst Eye are on the aisle at the same time.

How about that? That the universe is in perfect harmony. Is that what we're calling plural Max Muncie? Max Muncie? Yeah, the Muncie. I think. Yeah, I think that makes sense.

All right, so waiver wire pitchers here from Tuesday's action. Your boy, Edward Cabrera, turned in another strong start. This time against the Padres, five and two-thirds. Innings, one run with six strikeouts, had 13 whiffs on 86 pitches. And last 13 starts for Cabrera. It's a 247 ERA and a 110 whip. He also has zero walks over his last three starts combined, which is just massive for Edward Cabrera.

That's shocking. 63% rostered. I guess some people dropped him after the elbow scare. And he's still pitching well. He's probably going to wind up on a contender too. Yeah, I'm, I don't know if this is the right perspective, but... They have to trade him, Chris. They have to.

I kind of feel like they shouldn't. No, they had. Think about all the injuries he's had, man. You have to cash out now. You have to do it. Based on the injuries, based on the poor performance. I get that. are you going to get anything even moderately as interesting and exciting as what Cabrera's done for the last basically three months now?

How much? Since the start of May, he's got a 249 ERA. It's like, uh, I have the number. He has a ton of team control. You're not a free agent until 2029. I mean, they might be able to get a haul for him. Maybe. I don't know.

If they can. They have to hold out for the right deal. Like, if you're trading him to the Cubs. it has to start with Owen Casey. It has to. That's my thought process. Yeah, it's got to be like two top ten prospects in a team's organization.

Even like, even the Trevor Rogers trade last year, which worked out awesome. Kausauvers looks great. Connor Norby, less so right now. Even that would feel underwhelming for Edward Cabrera given what I think is the upside. So I... Casey and Biasteros?

Do you do it? Oh, there's no way the Cubs would do that. Is that too much? Yeah, I would be, look, yeah, I would do that in a heartbeat. Yeah. I mean, what do you do with Biasteros and Augustine Ramirez in the same team, though? Figure it out. All right, we're getting ahead of ourselves, but yeah.

Augustine Ramirez is not a long-term catcher anyway. I don't think so I think it's fine. But yeah, Cabrera, since the start of May, 249 ERA, 72 strikeouts to 19 walks in 68 and two-thirds innings. It's just, if that's real at all, I don't think he's a 250 ER. but if he's a 350 ERA guy with those ratios, a four to one strikeout to walk ratio? Like if that's real at all,

it just doesn't seem guaranteed that you're going to get a more interesting talent for him. If you can, okay. But I think he's way under rostered in fantasy. Obviously, injury concerns very prominent for him, but he looks like a very solid starting option of fantasy right now. Would you take Cabrera over, I mean, the biggest name from last weekend was Quinn Pryster, the 10 strikeouts against the Dodgers.

Who do you like more rest of season? I think Cabrera is a more talented pitcher. I think the skills are better to, just, I don't know, man. The Brewers have this kind of devil magic with their pitchers. Yeah, and Quinn, Quirrester, to his credit, I mean, for the past two months, he has similar numbers to Cabrera. Yeah, and Cabrera left his last start with an elbow injury. So if nothing else, that might be enough to give Quinn Priest to the edge.

Yeah. There's certainly more ways for things to go wrong for Cabrera. Would you take Cabrera over Brandon Walter, Zebby Matthews, Emmett Sheehan? I think so. Walter would be the toughest one because I really like what he's doing right now, but I think I would go with Cabrera over those guys. I think so too. A couple other waiver wire pitchers here.

Cam Schlittler was okay in his second start at the Blue Jays, five innings, two runs, three walks, three strike. His, the velocity on his breaking stuff was down quite a bit here. And just wonder if it's related to that biceps issue that they, they talked about coming out of the All-Star break. Frankie Montas, solid against the Angels, five and two-thirds innings, two runs, six strikeouts. And Landon Root, solid outing at the Braves.

Five shutout here with six strikeouts, 12 whiffs on 87 pitches. Oh, also one more. Eduardo Rodriguez, how can I forget Erod? Six and a third, shutout, three walks. three strikeouts. We know he's capable of good starts. Like there is talent there. He also has allowed four plus earned runs

in seven of 17 starts and eight earned runs twice this season. So I don't think I would- Also no strikeouts today. Three strikeouts and six innings that's not worth chasing for Cabrera. Any of these names stand out, Chris? K.M. Schlittler, Frankie Montas,

Rup. Erod. I'm not particularly interested in Montas. Rup, I just think it's going to be frustrating. It's going to be inconsistent. It's going to be a lot of short at outings. It's like NL. Jose Soriano, but he doesn't go deep and starts.

Yeah. And then Schlittler remain interested in the talent, certainly, but this wasn't iffy enough start. You know, only three strikeouts to three walks. The Blue Jays, the Blue Jays do not swing and mess up. Blue Jays are great right now. That's fair. but it's enough of a step back that I think it's okay to not like push the pedal to the medal

and, you know, he's rostered in basically the same number of leagues as Edward Cabrera. I'd rather have Cabrera. Agreed. But I think he's probably second on this list. What about Schlittler or Brandon Walter? Walter. What about Schlittler or Zebby Matthews? I still think I like Zebby Matthews upset more.

All right. Fair enough. A couple waiver wire hitters here. Chandler Simpson ran wild on Tuesday, one for three with a walk and three steals. He has 30 steals in 58 games this season, which is pretty crazy. He's just going to lead the league in steals. I think he's two back in right now. Yeah.

You know, there's a lot of steel numbers that are down this season. I was looking, obviously we've mentioned this with L.A. Daler Cruz, his steel pace is way down. Bryce Terang. He's on pace for 29 steals. He had 50 last year. Yeah, that one's weird. They didn't change the rules. He's hitting for more power.

He's getting on base a little less, so. Kind of weird. We'll talk about Terang a little bit later on. Simpson's 62% rostered. I think that's probably right. I don't think he needs to be rostered in three outfielder leagues, right? So when I was looking at it on Sunday,

I noticed that since he got recalled in, what was it, late June, he's like the number 30 outfielder in points. So. He makes a lot of contact. Yeah, he makes a ton of contact. He's hitting lead off pretty regularly right now. He's not sitting against lefties all that much. So I do think Simpson is a viable starter in a head-to-head-to-add points league.

Not a must-start guy. You know, the other thing, any outfielder that you compare is going to come up short next to Austin Hayes, who didn't do anything today that I know of. He's actually cooled down a lot. He's cooled down since his most recent. recent injury, but when I was checking on Sunday, he was 12th in points per game among outfielders. So, you know, I'd rather have him than Chandler Simpson unless I specifically need speed and batting average. But I think Simpson is a, he's worth rostering in any league. It's not to say

he's a must roster player in every league, but I'm, I think he's a viable option in any format. Ryan McMahon, one for three with his 16th home run, and he has four home runs in his past eight games. Another name here, trying to increase his trade value, trying to get moved at the deadline, finally, if the Rockies, you know, finally decide to trade any of their pieces. It hasn't been a great season for McMahon. He has 16 home runs.

His average exit velocity is in the 97th percentile. So, 48% rostered. I think that's fine. You know, stream him as a corner infielder when he's at home. If he gets traded, you know, obviously taking a hitter out of course field is not ideal, but maybe putting McMahon in the middle of a much better lineup in a playoff race. Like, I don't know, maybe that kind of sparks his value. Like, if he goes to the Yankees and he's batting seventh or eighth, like, I don't know.

Maybe his value is still fine there. So I can see it working out somewhere, but. Guys don't tend to collapse as hitters the way you might expect when they leave the Rocky. the shape of their production tends to change. Generally speaking, you see much lower batting averages. Nolan Aronado was a pretty consistent 300 hitter in Colorado. He's been much worse since leaving, but was still pretty good his first three years overall.

The problem with McMahon is, I mean, what does it look like if the bottom falls out on his batting average? Because he's already a 240 hitter at best at Corse Field the last three-season. seasons. So it's like, you know, yeah, okay, the shape of the production can change. In his case, I'm not sure he has a ton to give up, you know? Yeah, that is all fair. A couple names that we just spoke about yesterday, but I will mention them once again. Francisco Alvarez has looked pretty good in two games since returning. Hit a home run here on Tuesday. He went one for two with two walks and two runs on Monday.

He was destroying the minor leagues, 11 home runs and 19 games while he was down there. So 29% roster for Alvarez. If he was dropped in any two catcher leagues, change that, go pick them up. Just make sure Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy aren't available first, and then go add Francisco Alvarez. Ramon Moriano, another home run.

He's now up to 13 with an 861 OPS on the season. And I don't know. We just keep shrugging off Anhele Martinez. he's hitting. He's doing his thing right now. Three for five with a double run RBI. I like that spot in the lineup between Kwan and Jose Ramirez.

He's having himself a good July. I don't think that there's huge upside here, but I mean, the names that we talk about in deeper five outfieler leagues, yeah, I'm kind of interested in Honel Martinez. I am kind of interested in Ramon Lariano. So we can meet in the middle, Chris.

So Anhele Martinez, he is. is hitting the ball in the air to the pull side a lot. 28%. That's a huge number. That is basically the only thing he's doing well. Even in the month of July when he's been awesome, he has a 289 expected Wobah. That is an awful number.

That is not great. Unplayable. And even if you say, okay, he can outperform that because he pulls the ball in the air a lot, unless he's the new Esoc Paredes and given his plate discipline I don't think

Anhele Martinez is that I just I think it's fine to use him as a hot handplay in deeper categories leagues I don't think there's anything sustainable about on how Martinez

a couple other deep league names here Spencer Horwitz back to back three hit games for the pirates he has let off three in a row has started just one game against lefties all season and Max Kepler had himself

a big game one for two with a walk, a sock, and a shoe. His 11th home run, his first deal. It's been a rough go for Kepler here. Has not really worked out in Philly. Any deep league interest in a Spencer Horowitz or Max Kepler? I think there's a decent chance Max Kepler is out of a job come eight days. Either I'm blanking on the outfield prospect's name. Justin Crawford?

Justin Crawford. Either Justin Crawford gets called. up. I don't really believe in Justin Crawford's talent, but he's been awesome in AAA so far this season. And there was a quote from Dave Dombrowski a couple of days ago talking about, you know, trying to find a spot for him if they can. Or they trade for someone to replace Max Kepler, but I think it's pretty unlikely he's going to be a starter in the second half. And then Horowitz just doesn't play against lefties. He's like a mid-700s OPS bat. That's, just an anal-only guy, I think.

Justin Crawford, by the way, son of Carl Crawford for those... Son of Carl, yeah. Wondering, this season at AAA, hitting 325 with two homers, 29 steals, an 830 OPS, 12% walk, 18% K, 90 mile per hour, average XIV velocity,

but hits it all into the ground. Just all on the ground. That's the biggest problem for him, is it's gonna be really, really tough to be, you know, Like, he's not Chandler Simpson either in speed or in bat control. So that's the biggest reason why I'm skeptical of Justin Crawford. He's not Chandler Simpson, but Fangraphs gives him a 70 grade speed.

I mean, that's a legit tool for him. He's fast, yeah. I don't know. Maybe it's, you know, a really good batting average. Yeah. Outlier speed, not Chandler Simpson level, but, look, I see a fantasy friendly profile here in Roto leagues at least. but probably not going to be any power for a Justin Crawford.

Speaking of prospects, let's check in on some rookies here. Matt Shaw, I don't know, continues to make some noise lately last five games. He's got eight hits, two homers, and two steals. Extremely small sample size, but we know that there's talent there. If the Cubs acquire a third basement before the deadline, I don't think it's going to happen for Shaw this year. But if they don't, then I still think there could be a little bit of upside here down the stretch for Matt Shaw.

Colson Montgomery, one for four with his first career home run. He's holding his own-ish so far. He's hitting 261, six walks to 14 strikeouts. Not terrible, but his underlying plate discipline metrics are really, really bad for Colson Montgomery. So we'll see where that goes. And Bryce Matthews, I mentioned that earlier. Three home runs in his past two games. Deep leagues, let's pay attention.

If he just continues to get everyday playing time for the Astros, yeah, maybe there could be something here. with Bryce Matthews. I think Bryce Matthews might be good. Might be. I mean, I kind of like him. A little bit of pop. There's a lot of speed.

Also a lot of strikeouts too. So it's, it could be a lower batting average, you know, if we're just projecting long-term. If he plays every day, it could be Trevor Story-esque. 15-ish home runs,

25 steel, someone like that, maybe, if everything works out here for Bryce Matthews. So we'll see. Let's take our final break. When we return, we'll fire up the Worryometer

for July struggles. We'll do that right after. this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Worryometer Wednesday. We haven't fired it up in a while, so let's do it, Chris. We have some hitters that are struggling here in July, and as we have done in the past, Worryometer 1 to 10, 1, you are not worried at all. 10, you are freaking out. What do we do with this player? Tommy Edmund. So last 22 games dating back to June 20th, this was entering Wednesday. 133 batting average, one homer, zero steals, not hitting the ball with any authority. Back in April, he was crushing the ball. He had eight home runs, an OPS over 800. He went on the

IL with that ankle injury, and I kind of just feel like it's derailed his season completely here. So Tommy Edmund, where is he on the Worryometer? Once 10. Yeah, so you look at the past 250 play appearances as ex-Wobus 319. The past 100, it's 306. that's pretty much what Tommy Edmund's been for most of his career. And he's been a very useful fantasy option for most of his career. The problem is Tommy Edmund does not steal bases anymore. He had six and 37 games last season. That was, that's like a 30, 25 to 30 steel pace.

He has three in 79 games this season. And so... Still 82nd percentile sprints. Yeah, he's still pretty fast. but he has lost a step. And if he had that little power boost early in the season, he hit for some power last season. It was we were thinking maybe, you know,

he's found this pullside air thing and he's turning into a decent power hitter. And no, it doesn't seem like it. It seems like he's turned back into what he's been for most of his career without the stolen bases, which makes it a super, super, super fringy profile for Tommy Edmund. So he's someone that probably going to have to move down next time I update my rankings. But where is he on the Wuriometer, Chris?

Eight. Eight. Is he dropable? I think so, yeah. I think Tommy Edmund is not at all a must roster player. And you look at like, wouldn't you rather have Otto Lopez? than Tommy Edmund at this point? I think so. I would.

Yeah. I think we're dropping him. He's like maybe not even a top 20 second baseman now for me. In head-to-head-sized lineups where you don't have an extra middle corner and it's only three outfielders, I think Edmund is probably droppable in those. In Roto or deeper, where you do have the middle corner, Edmund now has third base eligibility and five outfielders. I think he's worth keeping around.

Maybe you just bench him for now. but yeah, head-to-head lineups. I think you could probably drop Tommy Edmund, unfortunately. What about Brian Reynolds, who had himself a big game on Tuesday, three-for-five with two runs and two RBI, but those have been few and far between this season. June was his best month, and now July is his worst. 194 batting average, zero homers,

a 4-64 OPS, a 40-percent strikeout rate in the month. The quality of contact has cratered here in July. And this is all pretty crazy, because when you look under the hood for the season, Chris, the quality of contact is the expected numbers. They're all there for Brian Reynolds, but it has been a rough one. Where is he on the Wuriometer?

I think the quality of contact overall remains impressive enough that I'm not too worried. Now it has taken a hit in the month of July. Let me pull up exactly what it is. Yeah, 189 expected Wobah in July. Whiff rates up to 37%. average exit velocity down to 87.5. I think he's just slumping.

He's been slumping all season, Chris. Well, yes, but there are different types of slumps, right? There are the slumps where you're just not producing well, and then there are slumps where your skill level takes a step back. And for most of the season, Brian Reynolds was just the former. It was just the numbers weren't there, but the process looked great. And then now it's both. The process looks bad and the numbers aren't there.

I will take the longer track record. I will take the overall production or overall underlying numbers still looking very good. And tag Brian Reynolds with a buy low label and a two on the worryometer. All right. Next up we have Josh Lowe from the race brutal July hitting 140 with one homer, zero steals, two caught stealing, a 465 OPS. strikeouts not a problem in the month but just not

barreling the ball up not making ideal contact here expected numbers still look pretty good Chris where is Josh Lowe on the Wuriometer I'm not the Josh Lowe guy so I feel like you and Scott need to answer this one because you guys like Josh Lowe a lot more than I do

I think he's just not that good I think he's talented but I I've never been a believer in Josh Lowe as like a hugely impactful player doesn't play every day not a great hitter even though he's shielded against most lefties I think Josh Lowe is a 5

on the Wariometer but I think it's like a mid-700s OPS bat and some speed yeah I was going to say five as well I think in again head to head size lineups points leagues probably don't need to be rostered any five outfielder leagues or

anything deeper than that I'm keeping Josh Lowe around, obviously. Maybe you bench him in weeks where they're facing a bunch of lefties or whatever it might be. I kind of feel the way you spoke about Reynolds that Lowe is just kind of slumping right now because when I looked into the underlying numbers for July, they're not really terrible and his expected stats are still pretty fine. So, yeah, I think for Deeper Ligs, I would still be holding on to someone like Josh Lowe. And Roto.

I think the speed is going to bounce back there. I think he's just, you know, he had what, 23? Yeah, that was when he was like a close to a 30-20 guy. I don't think the power is there. That's the biggest thing for me. I think he's more like a 15-25 guy, and that's useful. It's just not in points leagues, and even in Roto,

I think he's fringy because the counting stats are going to be pretty mediocre. Next up, we have Jackson Merrill, and maybe he's just not right physically. Went on the aisle twice this season, once with a hamstring, once with a concussion, Obviously, concussions are tough. You know, players are not going to, not every player, but a lot of players are not going to always talk out about, hey, I'm dealing with concussion like symptoms or anything. I remember Rizzo a couple years ago,

it took like a couple months for us to find out. He was dealing with concussion symptoms and things like that. But 23 games since coming off the IL for Merrill, 167 batting average, two homers, 537 OPS. it's been a struggle all year, Chris. Where is Jackson Merrill on the Worryometer for you? I think the idea that he's just not right because of the concussions carries a lot of weight. The only thing that I'm struggling with is wouldn't you expect that to show up in, like, across his whole game?

Like, you're seeing it on the batting side. He's clearly taken a step back as a hitter and the underlying numbers are, pretty much worse across the board. The quality of contacts is still very good, but the plate discipline especially has been significantly worse. The defense is exceptional, though. And that's the one thing that's like, well, maybe it's just like a balance issue

or he's not seeing the ball well. It could just be a sophomore slump. Like, that's entirely possible. But you would just, you would think it would impact him in, across the board. And maybe that's wrong. But I, I don't know, the

underlying numbers are still very good for Jackson Meryl. It is worth noting 278 batting average, 496X slug strikeout rates a little up, but the quality of contact is still pretty good. He hits a lot of barrels. He hits a lot of line drives. I'm really struggling this one.

I want to be, I think I should be more worried than I am, but it's more like a six on the Worryometer. What about Michael Garcia of the Royals? Just interesting season. It was a bad April. It was a great May, great June. Now an awful July where he's hitting 203, zero homers, zero steals, a 512 OPS.

Chris, where is Michael Garcia on the Worryometer? Yeah, the zero steals is, is concerning because that's always been the thing he could, you know, even last season he buoyed his value by. stealing a bunch of bases. The plate discipline still looks excellent in the month of July, only six strikeouts and 65 plate appearances. Expected stats are awesome. 340 expected Woba right now. That's exactly what it's been basically the whole season. So this feels like just running into a little bad luck for Michael Garcia. It does not look like the skills have atrophied in any way. So I'm going to put him at a two on the Wauriometer.

And his position eligibility is just so valuable. Second, third, shortstop outfield. It is awesome there. So maybe a chance to buy Michael Garcia, if anyone's worried about this recent slump. What about Ian Hap? Weird season hit for a bunch of power in June. Nine home runs, but only a 208 batting average in the month. He is struggling mightily here in July 153, just one homer.

502 OPS. He has been dropped down in the Cubs lineup. Has been hitting between 5 and 7 in their lineup. Ian Hap has done it for so long, Chris, and usually he's just a guy said it and forget it. He gets to his numbers by the end of the season, but I don't know. This is kind of a worse slumping month than we're used to seeing from Ian Hap. Yeah, it's a bad month. And even before that, he only had a 734 OPS, so it's been a disappointing season all around for Ian Hap.

Quality of contact metrics have taken a slight step back across the board, but his plate discipline, his strikeout rates a little better than it was last season. So, I don't know. On the whole, I'm not too worried. I think he's a perfectly fine third or fourth outfielder, and I don't really think we need to overthink it. Ian Hap's going to get hot. I think he's fine.

All right, next up. I'm going to say a four. Next up we have Elliot Ramos from the Giants, who if you look at his month-by-month breakdown, he really just had a massive May. So OPS by month, 662 in April, 1,07 in May, 719 in June, down to 575 here in July. And he got out to that great star last year.

He slumped in the second half. Maybe Elliot Ramos is just a super streaky player is what we're learning about him. But where is he on the Wariometer? Yeah, he's in a deep slump. His ex-Wobo over the past 100 plate appearances is down to 271. Yeah, I don't know.

What's the, okay, the splits still look pretty good. Last year he was heavily overweight against lefties and was really bad against righties. This year he's actually been slightly better against righties, which is a promising sign. And I think what you expect from a young right-handed hitter in particular. But yeah, I think your explanation makes a lot of sense that he might just be a really, really streaky hitter. And he's definitely in a slump right now, 266 X-Wob in July. because we don't have much of a sample size with Elliot Ramos, I think it's reasonable to be a little more worried about him than most,

but I'm not I'm not panicking to the point where I'm dropping him in a five outfielder league, certainly. In a points league, I think he's, you know who he reminds me of actually? Who's that? Lordus Gueriel. Okay. Just like at the end of the season, the numbers are going to look good enough that you're like, Yeah, he's like the 29th best outfielder in fantasy or the 37th best outfielder in fantasy, whatever it is.

But like... It never feels that way. Yeah, over the course of the season, like guys come and go, guys get hurt. Yeah, maybe that's what it is. Maybe it's just he's never quite as good as he looks at his best and never quite as bad as he looks at his worst, you know? Yeah, I think that's fair.

Last name on the list here is Bryce Terang, who went 0 for 4 with a golden sombrose. Brero here on Tuesday. Such an up and down season for him as well. Great April, rough May, bounced back in June, terrible July, where he's hitting 218 with one homer,

one steel, 580 OPS. You put it all together, 275, 6 home runs, 60 run score, that all sounds okay. 18 steals? He's on pace for 29.

Last year it was 50? I don't know. Where is Bryce Terrang on the Wuriometer? The one thing I want to look at is the attestine. attempt pace because, okay, so he's only on, if you give him the same number of games as last year, he's only on pace for 42 attempts. Last year, it was 56. So it's not just that he's been much less efficient because that was the one thing that was obviously going to regress for

Bryce Turing. He was 50 for 56 on stolen bases last season. And stolen base percentage has very little year to year correlation. Guys will go from 95% to 81%. Most, tie volume guys are going to settle around 85 to 80%. It's really hard to be like a 90% guy while stealing a ton of bases. But it's not just the regression of the stolen base rate. And in Tereng's case, it kind of feels like he tried to remake himself this season. And for the most part, it's been successful. He's managed to hit for more power and make up for what he's lost in a higher strikeout rate

by just hitting the ball much better. And I think on the whole, that's probably where he's at. But we have a very limited track record. His last 100 played appearances, Ex-Wob is down to 276. That's really, really bad. So I'm a little more concerned about Bryce Terang than I am most of these guys on this list. I'll say a seven, just because if he's not a true standout and stolen bases,

I don't know where he is a standout. Yeah. And man, his numbers, each of the last two seasons against non-fastballs are horrible. 268 X-Woba against breaking balls, 288 against off-speed pitches this year. Basically the same last year, actually a little bit worse. So, you know, we don't usually think of this type of player as the guy who can only hit fastballs. You know, that's usually like a Jorge Saler or Reese Hayer. just the all-out sluggers, but Terang is really bad against non-fastballs.

And that kind of big weakness in your game, that could just be something that pitchers are finally starting to catch up to. It's possible. Yeah. Reese Heinz was a nice pull there. I like that. Of all the sluggers, you could think of you're like, Reese Heinz, you know. Yeah, yeah. The other guy, the Guardian's version of Reese Heinz.

Noel. That's another one. That's another one I could have gone with, yeah. Let's wrap up with some leftovers here. What are we doing with these starting pitchers? Jacob Miziarowski. He looked great when he was in the game, but he only threw 64 pitches at the Mariners,

three and two-thirds shutout innings, seven strikeouts, 16 whiffs on 64 pitches. That is an insane rate of whiffs there against the Mariners. And he threw 70% of his pitches for strikes, but, I don't know. We hadn't talked about this much. 64 pitches for Mizirowski. Is he going to be limited?

Kind of like a Drew Rasmussen in the second half? I don't know. That would severely hinder his fantasy value. Yeah, I don't think it's a Drew Rasmussen situation. The key distinction is one, Drew Asmiston has had three different elbow reconstructions, two Tommy Johns, one internal brace. two, he only threw like 33 innings last season or 36 innings, whatever it was.

It's only 80 the previous two seasons combined. He's already up close to 100. Miserowski was at 97 last year. He's actually four innings below that right now. So I think there's a lot more room for Miserowski. It's just, you know, once you start to do the math, though, and it's, okay, maybe they push him to 140. maybe they'll maybe they're willing to push him to 150 if they get to the playoffs right well 50 more innings at 10 starts is five innings per start okay maybe we get him in a six-man rotation they skip him

twice and you get 10 more starts the rest of the way if it's 12 more starts at 50 innings and then you're going to look at a lot of four innings so the math does get tough i think there is potentially room to view jacob miz's He's a sell high candidate. Obviously, he was great today. He just had the fast, but he didn't throw anything but the fastball base because he didn't need it. 13 whiffs on the fastball. He was just blowing it by guys.

I did see Pat Murphy talked before the game about Mizziarowski not being fully stretched out coming out of the All-Star break. I remember he threw one inning in the All-Star game, hadn't thrown in like 12 days otherwise. This was planned. You know, it wasn't an injury at least. But yeah, I think it's a little concerning that we're not going to get a lot of six-inning starts from Mizirowski the rest of the way, sure.

All right, yeah, I think your theory here about him not being stretched out. If that's true, let's just see what the next start is. If the next start is already goes 80 plus pitches, five-plus innings, whatever it might be. I think we're mostly fine with Mizirowski. If he's limited once again... Yeah, if it's like 70-75 innings, yeah,

or 75 pitches. I might look to try and capitalize. and sell high on him there. Another couple other names here. What do we do with these struggling pitchers, I guess you could say? Another rough outing for Chase Burns at the Nationals. Five and two-thirds innings, six runs, five of those earned. Still had 10 strikeouts and 17 whiffs.

So, like, he's flashing the upside. I just wonder how much do the Reds need to see before they consider sending him back down. I mean, he has a 665 ERA and a 162 whip. So, you know, the strikeouts are great, but everything else, not so much here for James. Drew Rasmussen limited to just four innings and 75 pitches his first start out of the break against the White Sox. And Casey Mize roughed up at the Pirates, four innings, 10 hits, five runs for those earned, has given up 10 earned runs over his last two starts. Scott, your name is Chris. What are you doing? In that way, all show. What are you doing, if anything,

with Chase Burns, Drew Rasmussen and Casey Mize right now? I think it's very simple. Holding Chase Burns, for sure. There's just too much upside to let that guy go on the waiver wire. Maybe it doesn't work out this season. It's entirely possible. He looked really good for four innings today and then just kind of fell apart, started getting hit hard. I still believe in the talent for Chase Burns. I'm not dropping him in any world. Jurassicson, I think, is also very straightforward. I think he's dropable in basically any league. If we're talking about five innings is the ceiling and I think it probably is, that means it's going to be a lot of four innings starts. And he doesn't get a lot of strikeouts. Is Drew Rasmussen, like, he's not going to

get any wins unless he goes five innings. Are you better off just throwing Adrian Morahone in your lineup than Drew Rasmussen at this point? At least he's got eight wins. You know, he might get a save every once in a while. Like, I really think we're at that point where, like good middle relievers might be more valuable than Drew Rasperson the rest of the way. And that's really unfortunate because I think he's a really good pitcher. It's just the circumstances. I don't think we're going to get any six inning starts from him. And I think it's going to be more four innings starts than five the rest of the way.

So as good as he's been, I think Jurorsperson is pretty much done as a fantasy asset. And then Casey Mize, I've been saying style high for a long time. I have not really bought into it. Strikeouts aren't there. If somebody views him as like a top 40 starting pitcher, I think it's worthwhile to try to trade him, but I don't necessarily think anybody really does view Casey Mize that way. So I don't know.

I think he's fine to hold, but I don't think he's going to be all that good the rest of the way. I think it's more like a 380. All right, we did get a bit of an update here on Tanner Scott after the Dodgers game. He said his MRI only showed inflammation in his. his elbow, no ligament damage. He'll be shut down from throwing for the next couple days and then go from there. So at least for now, it doesn't sound like a long-term injury here for Tanner Scott, but at least

in the interim, there are other names that will be picking up saves for the Dodgers. Some ace-like outings we talked about Sanchez. We talked about Logan Gilbert. Jacob de Grom, another strong start. This one against the athletics, six innings, one run, nine strikeouts, 28 whiffs on 80s. six pitches is just insane stuff for Jacob de Grom. Framber Valdez, another quality start. This one at the D-back, seven innings, one run with four strikeouts.

And Matthew Boyd was nasty against the Royals' seven shutout with six strikeouts for him. Chris, anything on Boyd, Valdez, and Jacob de Grom. DeGromm and Valdez, just business as usual for these two guys. They're awesome. Boyd, I mean, it's also. business as usual here. He's been awesome all season. I still don't quite get it. It's weird to see a really, really good Matthew Boyd without a really good slider. But I don't know. He keeps getting it done. He's clearly not a 220 ERA guy. But is he a 320 ERA guy and a 110 whip guy? He might be. Yeah.

All right. There's still some room for sell high, but it's not like a get out. kind of situation. Some hitting leftovers, Jose Ramirez, continues to provide huge power and speed. One for two with three walks, a sock and a shoe, his 21st homer and 30th steel of the season. Kyle Schwerber, another home run here in July. He's up to eight with a 1016 OPS in the month. Cody Bellinger continues to rake. He hit his 18th home run. Last 269 batting average, nine homers, an OPS over a thousand. Jazz Chisholm blasted another home run as well, his 18th of the season.

40 games since returning way back in early June. 301 batting average 11 home runs, four steals, and OPS over 950 for Jazz during that time. Cow Raleigh hit another home run, his league leading 39th of the season, and the Cubs ran wild against Rich Hill, man. It was like picking on the grandpa, like, come on, man, what are we doing here? The Cubs had a total of, what is this? Two, three, four, five, six, seven steals here. Nico Horner had two.

Kyle Tucker, his 23rd. Matt Shaw, his 13th. Dansby Swanson, his eighth. Seahis Suzuki, his third. And even Justin Turner, his second steal against Rich Hill. Remember when the Cubs didn't steal any bases in the first half of last season and how concerning that was? I know, Scott kept calling me out because I brought up all these stats about how Craig

Council likes to run and he just didn't do it. in the first half of last year. He just needed to get his feet wet because the last 365 days, the Cubs have 182 steals and 162 games. That's a lot. That's a really high number. So, yeah, they figured that out. And then I just want to share this stat because it blew my mind.

We obviously have two plus months left in the season. I believe Cal Rally matched the Mariners record for most home runs in the first five seasons of a player's career matching Ken Griffey Jr.'s Mariners franchise record, and he's still got two and a half months left or two and a third months. That's a, that is a bonkers

stat. For a catcher. Yeah. Like, yeah. Call to the bullpen here for the Marlins. Ronnie Enriquez got the ninth inning with a three-run lead. He gave up two runs, but picked up his sixth save of the season. For the Guardians, Emmanuel Clause picked up his 22nd.

for the Pirates, David Bednar picked up his 15th. For Tampa Bay, Pete Fairbanks pitched a clean inning for his 17th save. For the Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman got the ninth with the game tied. He gave up a go-ahead home run to Ben Rice and took the loss. On the other side, for the Yankees, Devin Williams, allowed a hit, but struck out two for his 15th save. For the Mets, Edwin Diaz was unavailable. Ryan Stannick got the ninth inning with a one-run lead.

He picked up his third save. for the debacks Kevin Ginkle entered in the seventh with a one-run lead a one-runner on he got the final two outs and then Jake Woodford came on in the eighth inning and immediately gave up a go-ahead

two-run homer so I'm not going to be Jake Woodford I guess or Kevin Ginkle I mean maybe Ginkl's just highest leverage guy they wanted to use him in the seventh there was a runner on it was a one-run game so I get that I'll be Miller's back soon

I think they probably would have went with Kendall Graveman or they have a lefty lefty there Kyle Backus I think his name is yeah Graveman got the win in extras yesterday of the day before I think I think he it might have been a

or maybe he closed it might have been yeah he might have closed out the game with like a four run lead or something like that but I think Ginkle had pitched a high leverage spot before that so I think Graveman is the next guy in line but I think it's still Ginkl but

hopefully Shelbur Miller's back quickly enough that it doesn't matter. Here we are, right? It's July 23rd. We're talking about D-back saves options and none of them are good, apparently. For the Astros, Josh Hader was unavailable. Lefty Brian King got the ninth with a two-run lead

and he picked up his first save. And then for the Mariners, Andres Munoz got the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He walked two, but struck out two for his 22nd save of the season. To stream or not to stream on Wednesday, we have your boy, Mike Soroka up against the Reds.

Mike Soroka. Colin Ray gets the Royals. Brandon Fott gets the Astros. Slate Cicone against the Orioles. JP Sears at the Rangers. Patrick Corbyn against the Atlantic. Um, I like Soroka.

I think Cicone is fine. I think Palante's fine. In course? Yeah. I mean, he's a ground ball pitcher, so you would think it'll... But look, it's possible. It goes portly. I said, fine, not good.

I think Soroka's clearly the best option, and that means he's needed up five runs and five innings. I would put Colin Ray at the top of this list, just picking on the Royals, and he's had some okay starts recently. So I'll go Colin Ray, Soroka, and Slade Cicone for Wednesday. And then on Thursday, only five games on the schedule. Dean Kramer at the Guardians, Logan Allen, against the Orioles. Eric Lauer at the Tigers

Severino is at the Astros and Logan Evans at the Angels I think Kramer Lauer I don't love the matchup but he's been pitching really well and then Kramer has actually been really good for like two months weirdly his splitter I think has been really good

and Cleveland's a beatable matchup so I think that one's fine I would put Kramer at the top of the list followed by Eric Lauer there on Thursday we are going to wrap there for Chris I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to 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. Paramount Podcasts.