Fantasy Baseball Today - DeGrom to the IL, Bryce Harper Coming Soon & Gavin Stone Promotion (5/1 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: May 1, 2023

Jacob deGrom went on the IL with elbow soreness (2:35). ... Bryce Harper could be back Tuesday (6:10). ... Grayson Rodriguez had his best start yet (10:55). ... Kevin Gausman was awesome this weekend (13:10). ... Brent Rooker continues to destroy baseballs (16:45). ... There was an absurd amount of runs scored Saturday in Mexico City (24:35). ... It sounds like Gavin Stone will be promoted by the Dodgers Wednesday (27:56). ... Which pitchers can you add with deGrom hurt (34:00)? ... News (42:49): Aaron Judge could be headed to the IL. ... Which waiver wire hitters emerged this weekend (52:15)? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (56:30). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Where fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Jeez, what an eventful weekend. Let's break it all down.

Welcome into Fantasy Baseball today. And welcome to May. Frank Stamphill joined by Scott White and Chris Towers. Today on the show, we're going to recap all of. of this weekend's action. Big news. Jacob de Grom has an elbow injury. Bryce Harper could be back on Tuesday. Like, what is going on? Another pitching prospect is getting the call this week. It will happen on Wednesday. So the streak lives on a Welsh Wednesday. Another prospect getting called up this week. Before we get started, please like this video and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. If you're listening on the audio side, download, follow and leave a five-star rating. Thank you very much. We do appreciate it. And Chris, shout out to you first and foremost. Look at you, Donning the Florida Pan. Panthers jersey. Biggest upset in hockey history. I don't know if that's true.

I heard you say it. So I just assumed it's true. Well, they beat the team that had the best record in NHL history. So I'm going to count it. There you go. Well, congrats. Scott, I assume you're not a big Florida Panthers fan, even though you were the one that is the closest to that team.

I am not. And yeah, I live just down the road from where they play. I have been to one game, that game that I went to, and this was probably 10 years ago. That game I went to is the only time I have watched a hockey game in any capacity. So no, I would not describe myself as a great Florida Panthers fan. Man, hockey is the only sport that I have never been able to get into in my life. I don't know why.

Just can't explain it. I am admittedly totally bandwagoning here. Like, I will say I've watched a decent amount of Florida Panthers hockey over the past three years. Before that, it had probably been 15 years. since I watched a Panthers game. I was big into them in the 90s. I played hockey growing up. I was like the weird South Florida kid who was into hockey.

And then they were just like the most irrelevant franchise in sports for nearly two decades. And it got kind of hard to be into them. But hey, that was fun. Yes. Fun games. Indeed, we're going to not talk about the Nixon heat because, you know, we'll just, well, let's just skip past. That was also fun.

Anyway, people want to talk about baseball. That's what they're here for. Let's talk about Jacob de Grom. First and foremost, left Friday's start. turns out he went on the IL with right elbow inflammation. And Chris, I know that you did some extensive research based on some tweets regarding Jacob de Grom's injury history, particularly with elbow or forearm stuff. Yeah, I mean, extensive research.

I looked up the last two times that he's gone on the IL with a forearm or elbow injury. 2019, he missed 10 days with right elbow soreness. So that's not so bad. And then in 2021, you might remember in July, he went on the aisle with forearm tightness and missed the rest of the season, which was 111 days. So, you know, anywhere between the minimum and the rest of the season, I suppose is the timetable for Jacob de Grom. I don't really think there's much you can take away from here, except that we always knew this was the risk. You can't get upset if you have Jacob de Grom and he goes on the IL. You got a full month out of it, a really good month of pitching.

That was more than you could have necessarily hoped for. And hopefully it's a relatively short stint on the IL. But anytime you're talking about forearm and elbow injuries, you know, it always feels like it's one bad news cycle away from, well, he's having Tommy John surgery. So hopefully that's not the case. But the official classification of the injury is inflammation, which I take to be like a step milder than a strain. That's how I've always took the inflammation designation. And my hope is that the Rangers, like they seem to have a quick trigger in terms of pulling DeGrom at the first sign of distress. Like a couple turns ago, they pulled them after four innings, four dominant innings, and everyone was freaking out then.

and it turned out to be like a, like just a little wrist thing, you know, that, you know, maybe the average pitcher would have pitched through, but this is DeGrom with his injury history and a big investment for the Rangers. So, like, they've seemed to be really on top of it, and I'm hoping that's what happened here,

and it's going to be the shorter end of the timetable. But, I mean, all I can offer is hope, as you said, Chris, if you drafted DeGrom, which I'm going to guess none of us did in any league, great. I don't think I did. If you drafted DeGrom,

you had to know what you were getting into. And this is, I mean, this is the reason why if you drafted him, it was in the third round instead of the first. Yep. Which, you know,

for all of us was still not enough of a discount to make the, to take the plunge. And, you know, in a lot of those NFC leagues, he was going like 25th overall. But this was always part of the deal with Jacob deGron. And I do feel like I'm partially to blame because it was the first time I bet his over a strikeout prop on Fridays this season.

So of course it happens to be that start. But alas, Jacob Grom again on the aisle with right elbow inflammation. And I tweeted this this weekend as well. It's like there is so much unpredictable in baseball and fantasy baseball year over year. But the one thing that we could have predicted was Jacob de Grom getting hurt. It feels like, you know, the easiest thing to predict every single year. It's unfortunate, but man, his body just cannot hold up at this point in time. The other huge news this weekend was that Bryce Harper will see a doctor Monday morning

and expects to return to the lineup Tuesday if he's cleared. Originally, you know, when he has Tommy John surgery, we're thinking, all right, June. Even the pessimistic side. They were saying more like August at first. Yeah, I remember like we were thinking about a missing most of the season. But I will say, I remember in like February when he did batting practice for the first. time. I remember pointing out that they said he was probably going to start swinging in like late March. And I was like, oh, he's ahead of schedule. But no, this is almost literally unbelievable.

It would not surprise me if we get to Tuesday or Monday when he has the doctor's appointment. And they're like, no, he's not cleared. Because this is, that's where he could play if he's cleared. That's still a pretty big if. I'm not starting him this week. Yeah, I think even if we, if we find out he's cleared, it doesn't. It's not wise to start him until we see, okay, how consistently is he going to play? How is he going to perform? Yeah. Because this is miraculous stuff coming back from Tommy John's surgery this quickly.

It's only possible because there's D.H. Spot in the NL now, for one thing. And it is worth pointing out that when Shohay Otani made a quick return from Tommy John's surgery, he didn't perform like the MVP level turn didn't happen until the following year right like he was not he wasn't as established as Harper at that point but he wasn't like a you know premium fantasy asset that year his numbers were fairly similar to his rookie season but they were a clear step down especially in regards to power he hit 22 homers in 367 plate appearances in 2018 he had 18 and 425 plate appearances in 2019. So he was... I'm hopeful Harper will be better. But again, all they can offer is hope. But honestly, like, if he's a 260 hitter who hits 20 home runs the rest of the way,

I mean, you're printing money with where you picked him. That would be great. And like, you know, I say you shouldn't start him. Obviously, that depends on the depth of your league. Maybe if it's a 15-team Roto League or deeper, he might be your best choice. but I would approach the situation with caution. And I, you know, until we have some idea how this is going to go beyond just he's cleared or he's not cleared, neither of which we're going to know when we said lineups anyway, right? Yeah.

So, yeah, I'd hold off on starting Harper. And I'll just say, like, Tuesday might be a good time to try to trade Bryce Harper. I'm not saying you definitely should, but it's sort of like when a top prospect gets called up. His perceived value may never be higher than that day because it's possible that Bryce Harper comes up, comes back from the IL and just isn't right. Like he's not going on a rehab assignment. He's only been facing live pitching for like a week. This is a really tall task. And so it's possible he comes to.

I mean, it's sort of like what we've said about Juan Soto and Mani Machia. like, Hall of Fame caliber players are different. And the rules don't necessarily apply to them. And Bryce Harper might come back and be an MVP caliber player the rest of the year. Yeah, I'm looking at the Otani stats again. So 2019 was the year he was recovering from Tommy John and not able to pitch. He had 286 with an 848 OPS during that. I think I was confusing it with 2020, the short season where he hit 190.

Yeah. Because it was a short season. But, yeah. He was still pretty good that. It was still pretty good. The numbers are very similar to his rookie season, just slightly less power. Bryce Harper, utility only on, I believe every platform, definitely on CBS. So keep that in mind, you know, only be locked into your utility spot.

And maybe eventually earns first base eligibility. The Phillies have talked about that being a possibility this season for Bryce Harper. I don't think he's going to play the outfield. But who knows? Maybe later on in the season, they take a shot there. But yeah, just keep that in mind. utility only. The ADP for Bryce Harper this draft season was 146. So again, if he is back on Tuesday and he's, I don't know, 75, 80% of the player he has been, could turn out to be a huge

steal in fantasy baseball this season. With that being said, let's get into the weekend's games and action. Can you believe it? Wow! Wow! Let's go to Scott. Oh my goodness gracious, from the weekend. All right, I'm going to go with a Saturday performance here from Grayson Rodriguez, best start of his career so far. And it was a legitimately good start. Five shutout innings, only two hits allowed, nine strikeouts. I'm still a little hesitant to say he's here. He's him.

Grayson Rodriguez, start him forevermore. It was encouraged. Capital H. him. Exactly. I'm still hesitant to say that about Grayson Rodriguez. It was an encouraging performance, but if I could dump cold water on it just a little. At Detroit, first of all, worst offense in baseball. 13 whiffs on 91 pitches.

Okay, I mean, that's a quality rate, but it's not like he was, you know, blowing the bat out of their hands. Also, his fastball and change of velocity, the two pitches he threw most often, they were both down about a mile per hour and a half. And maybe he, you know, maybe it turns out this was by, by, design and like he took a little off to command better and you know still got nine strikeouts out of it so maybe that is a formula for success for grace and rodriguez but it's it's not one of those performances where you you look under the hood and you say oh yeah everything here looks awesome it was just a pretty

encouraging start from a rookie who's been mostly underwhelming to this point so let's see what happens next for grace and rodriguez and hopefully he can he can build off this grace and rodriguez five plus strikeouts in all five of his starts he's yet to throw more than five innings in any of those starts the ERA 4.07 the whip is 1.40 and I had him as part of a starter sit segment later on Scott at the Braves this week what are you doing with Grayson Rodriguez probably gonna sit him probably yeah not not that wasn't like probably like I'm making a joke by you know understating it like I could see a scenario where he'd start Rodriguez but I'd rather not I think

12 team heads head points leagues where you only start five starting pitchers probably have better options out there but if you play in like a 15 teamer or something like that then you might not yeah so obviously it's context dependent chris let's go over to you oh my goodness gracious from the weekend i think the most the most eye-popping performance of the weekend from a pitcher was probably kevin gosman against the mariners little revenge game there uh right you pitch for them for one season right may remember chris no chris get your revenge games right? It wasn't?

No, I don't think so. He was with the Giants. I got him, Robbie Ray and him are very similar in my brain. It's just like mirror images of each other, I guess. So not a revenge game, but he pitched like it. Dang it. Was it 30 swinging strikes? Sorry, I'm trying to find the exact number.

Yeah. 28. 28 swinging strikes, 20 with the splitter. He's been, for the most part, very, very good this season. And obviously, you know, we expect him to rack up a ton of strikeouts. But last year, the ERA was a little bit inflated. And, you know, I think there was a little bit of concern that he might just be one of those pitchers who hasn't an inflated ERA because he does tend to give up some hard contact when he gives up contact.

And, you know, but I, I tended to be pretty skeptical about those claims about Kevin Gossaman. I think he's a very good pitcher who, um, I think can be a top 12 starting pitcher rest of the way. He's going to be an elite strikeout performer. We know that. The walks over the past two seasons have been elite. And the Babbup has normalized relative to last season. And all of a sudden, he's got a 233.

All right. So I think Kevin Gosman is capital H. Him. Among qualified starting pitchers, there are currently four that have a K-minus walk rate over 30%. That includes Jacob de Grom, Spencer Strider, Zach Gallen, and Kevin Gossman after that start. And Chris, I don't know how realistic it would be to trade one of these guys for the other,

but I don't know, for the sake of asking, who would you rather have rest of season, Zach Allen or Kevin Gossman? They both been awesome. I think I had Gossman ranked higher coming into the season. Gossman has been maybe not quite as good as Zach Allen, but still pretty freaking awesome. going to stick with him, but yeah, they're both tremendous pitchers. They both have three double-digit strikeout efforts so far, right? That sounds right.

I think it's three of four for Gosman and three of four for gallon. A couple of, a couple of G's. Yeah, that's, uh, yeah, they're, they're pretty awesome. I have Gosman 12th at starting pitcher. I could pretty easily move him up to 10th gallon. last time I updated it, I have him 18th. It's tough because, like, Verlander's coming back. I'm probably going to keep Verlander ahead of Galen now that he's healthy.

Dylan Sees versus Zach Allen. That's a really interesting one. But, you know, these things are very fluid. And it's not like you're likely to have to make a choice now on, you know, April 30th slash March 1st between Zach Allen and Kevin Gosman or Julio or Rius or whatever. Yeah, I did a rankings update on Thursday. I moved Zach Gallen up to SP12, and I've got Gosman at 15. Obviously, that was before this monster start over the weekend.

But yeah, I think they're like neck and neck. I might lean with Gallen just because he doesn't allow as much hard contact as Gosman. Sure. But, I mean, those guys are. Yeah, you're trading hard contact suppression for strikeouts, basically, with those two guys. Yep. Oh, my goodness gracious, for me over the weekend, Brent Rooker.

I mean, this guy just continues to get it done. He had a big game on Friday night. He went three for three with a home run, a walk, two runs, two RBI, and then on Sunday, two for two with another homer. His ninth home run of the season, he is up to 67% rostered. And, I mean, three names that really stand out to me, Scott. They just continue to get it done. Rooker, Jack Swinsky, who we spoke about on Friday's podcast.

He went three for six with a sock in a shoe, home run and a steel, across the doubleheader on Saturday. And Jaron Duran had another big game over the weekend on Friday. Friday, went three for four with three doubles, started against a lefty on Sunday as well. So I do like these names quite a bit. I'm pretty sure we ranked them the other day, but what is your latest ranking of those three?

Scott Rooker, Swinsky, and Jaron Duran. Look, I value power over speed, and only one of these guys seems to be supplying both in a way, as we talked about Thursday, or Friday, I guess, that that's getting harder and harder to question. And that's Jack Swinski. So Jack Swinski for the power and the speed, then Brent Rooker, the supply of power, and then I'll go Duran third because I don't think he's, while he's hitting the ball pretty hard, I don't think he has a swing that's designed for much over-the-fence power right now. And I think his playing time is the most questionable, too.

They all have playing time concerns. I mean, Brent Rooker is a 28-year-old who is only getting this opportunity because he's in a lineup as bad as the athletic. So that opportunity could disappear very quickly if the strikeouts get the better of him, which I would say is probably more likely than not. But you're talking about a target off the waiver wire who's super hot right now. And I don't think you get mired down in the negative, given the context of how you're looking at Rooker right now. just understand that somebody with that history,

somebody with that strikeout rate is more likely than not to slip, to fall apart. I might just move all three of those guys into the top 60 at outfield. Yeah. For one thing, there's low threshold. There's like 45 halfway decent outfielder's, and that's including guys that I don't really believe in, like Alex Verdugo or Cody Bellinger,

I might drop Andrew Vaughn for any of them. And, you know, I kind of liked Andrew Vaughn coming into the season, but he kind of... Von hit three home runs over the weekend. Yeah, like, that's, I don't want to give up on him. But he kind of seems to be settling in as like an 18 homer guy. So it's weird. You say you might move him into the top 60 in outfield and then you started comparing him to guys I have at the top 40 in the outfield. So I don't...

Top was like 45 for me. Who is? Vaughn. Okay. I have Vaughn, let's see, I have Vaughn 35. And so 60th in the outfield. And let me actually see where I have rookie right now. So at last update, I have him 67th.

60th would put him in the same range as like Brandon Marsh and Jake Frailey and Jesse Wink. I mean, yeah, I could put him in the top 60s. Yeah, I'd rather have. have him than those guys. Like, Rooker, I'm kind of starting to believe in just because if you look at his triple A numbers, he's old. You know, that's that's going to be the caveat here for everything he does. And the likeliest outcome is Brent Rooker is dropable in two weeks. Like, that's, I think, fair. His 150 game pace at AAA for his career is 46 home runs. So like, there's legitimate power here. And the quality of contact metrics all back it up. And, yeah,

he whiffs a lot. He's in the 6th percentile and whiff rate. However, his chase rate is 83rd percentile. So he's not swinging at bad pitches. And again, this is all small sample size is, you know, he's hot right now. And we'll see what happens when, you know, the league will figure him out and he'll have to adjust to that. But, you know, he's not going to keep up a 20% strikeout rate. But like, if it's a 26% strikeout rate with the kind of power he has, I think he could be

legitimately useful. Him versus Swinsky is a tough one because Swinsky is stealing bases and has legitimate athleticism, 89th percent on sprint speed right now. So I think it's okay to go Swinsky ahead of him, but I think all three of these guys, Swinsky, Brent Rooker, and

Jaron Duran belong in the, like belong on 12-team Roto rosters. I don't know about 12-team point rosters, but 12-team rotosters. Well, and with Swinsky, I mean, it's not just the speed element. He's hitting the ball even harder than Rocher. Rooker's average and max exit velocities are between 75 and 80th percentile. Swinsky's are over 90th percentile.

He's walking a ton, which Rooker is too. Did the Pirates, like, steal the Rays player development group this offseason? Like, what is happening? Yeah. It's like all these pitchers who we've been interested in for a long time, but are finally starting to do things. And then Swinsky and, yeah, it's, it's, it's, Rodolfo Castro has been pretty decent.

It's, it's weird stuff in Pittsburgh right now. Competence on the three rivers is not something I'm used to. It's true. I want to contextualize this a little further because I don't, I don't want it to make it seem like I'm talking down any of these guys. These are probably the best hitters you can do off the way for wire. right now, presuming they're even still on the waiver wire, which, you know,

in a lot of leagues, they want to be. It's just about keeping things a perspective. I mean, these aren't these aren't blue chip talents who, you know, the moment they set foot in the big leagues, we expected big things from them. In fact,

we've seen them in the big leagues before and they haven't delivered big things. So it's just when you're picking up a hitter off the waiver wire who isn't the newly called up prospect. You have to do that before you're sure you know who he is. You have to pick him up before you're sure. And so it comes with an expectation that, okay, this probably isn't going to last. I shouldn't get too attached, but maybe it'll turn into something. A lot of the underlying stuff

looks good. And maybe it will turn into something. Every breakout has to start somewhere, right? But you just have to know what you're getting into. And like, this isn't, this isn't us saying, yes, Brent Rooker is going to maintain this pace and become an all-star. It's saying he probably won't. But he's your best bet at getting that off the waiver wire right now. Yep. Yep. That is fair.

Brent Rooker, Jack Swinsky, and Jared Duran again, those were the names that we were talking about. Let's take our first break. And when we return, we've got a prospect promotion, crazy game. out in Mexico City. We'll talk about it up next. Welcome back and just a quick reminder to sign up for our Fantasy Baseball Today newsletter. Dan Schneier does a great job with it.

You can find it at CBSports.com slash newsletters. Just punch in your email address and you click sign up. It's as easy as that. It's free. You get the latest news and articles delivered right to your email inbox every single day. Oh my goodness gracious shout out

to that Giants and Padres game in Mexico City on Saturday. It was insane. The Padres' one. at 16 to 11, 27 total run scored, 30 combined hits, 11 of those being home runs. This stadium in Mexico City, 7,300 feet in terms of altitude, 2,000 feet higher than Corr's field.

And I know there's been, there have been some like whispers about a major league team going to Mexico City. I don't think that there is any way that that is possible. I also saw a, I can't, I'm sorry, I can't remember which beat writer, but one of them asked about the conditions that they were storing the baseballs in there. Susan Slusher, I think. Yeah, and it was,

they store the baseballs in a different environment in course field compared to everywhere else, and they were storing them. They were using the specifications of most major league stadiums and not course field. Yeah. What you got is the ball playing basically, like old school course field pre-year.

Yeah. Alan Nathan at P. guy. He's a physics professor who likes baseball. And he has a trajectory calculator that does like fly ball estimate, fly ball distance estimates. And based on the Mexico City elevation and other

environmental factors, he found that a ball that would go 418 feet at sea level would go 458 feet in Mexico City. I mean, you looked at the racing. If you looked at like the exit velocities and expected batting average on some of these home runs hit Saturday, like, okay, it's obvious something was going on.

Yeah. Loved it. And so, and so don't freak out about Joe Musgrove. Yeah. Yes. Because he was on the bad side of a lot of that. We probably should have said, hey, maybe consider sitting Joe Musgrove this week. Yeah.

That's, that's, I honestly had forgotten that this. series was coming up until we I think we talked about it on Wednesday's show. But before that I had kind of forgotten that it was coming up. So yeah, no, me too. It doesn't get talked up a lot. Yeah. Some of those monster performances, by the way, Mani Machado in that game three for four with two walks,

two socks and a shoe. That's two home runs and a stolen base in the same game. Juan Soto, one for three with three walks and his fifth home run. Maybe he should just play every game in Mexico City. That would probably be good for him. Mitch Hanager hit his first two home runs as a. member of the Giants in this series. The one on Sunday went 460 feet. But based on your calculations, Chris, it sounds like it should have went like 418 feet. So yeah, it was

legit. All right, 330 feet maybe. There it is. All right, let's talk about a prospect who's getting promoted. Well, go ahead, Scott. Mani Macha, I just want to point out, Mani Machado to Homer game. Oh, maybe he's maybe he's bouncing back, right? Oh for four with strikeout Sunday. Yeah. What is going on by Mani Machado. between him and Juan Soto, when do we get the... You don't believe that, Chris. Oh, I absolutely 100% do. I have no concerns about Manny Machado.

Oh, okay. Sorry, I missed I, B, U, Y. I thought you meant B-Y. No, I meant offered by Manny Machado. Yes, no, okay, I agree with you then. Let's talk about Gavin Stone, who will be called up this Wednesday to start against the Phillies. He is the top pitching prospect, or one of the top pitching prospects in the Dodgers organization. The overall numbers this season don't look great in the minors,

but he's allowed just one earned run over his last two starts. 15 strikeouts over 9 and 2 thirds innings during that time. Last year in the minor leagues, three different levels. High A, AA, and AAA, Gavonstone, a 248 ERA, 1-1-2 whip, 168 strikeouts over 121 and 2-thirds innings pitch. You look nasty during spring training as well. Scott, your thoughts on Gavin Stone? Does he stick around?

Because right now it seems like he will be the same. sixth man in the Dodgers rotation unless they plan on giving Noah Cindergarde the boot. Yeah, and that's the big question. I mean, based on what we know right now, it seems like this is just going to be purely a spot start for Gavin Stone because they invested $13 million in Noah Cinderguard. If they were going to give up on him after five starts, they wouldn't have invested $13 million on him, I presume. Now, what could change?

things is like maybe somebody is IL bound and we don't know about it. Maybe it's even Cindergarde. Like maybe he goes on the IL ostensibly for an injury, but it really is just to work things out. I mean, I don't think, I don't think that would, I don't think that would be terribly surprising. But considering that the day Gavin Stone is coming up is, I believe, Dustin May's normal turn. Let me double check that. yeah so like this could be their way of making sure dust and may last the whole like maybe they're just going to skip into dusta may entirely this turn as a way of controlling his innings and what it's all about i think that's the most likely scenario

so i like i love gavinstone you won't see you won't find a minor league pitcher with better numbers than he had last year and yeah rocky start at triple a but last two starts have been good. He has one of the best changeups in all the minors. There's a lot to like there. And overall, a three ERA at AAA going back to last season. Yeah. So it's really, he had, what, two bad starts this season.

Yeah. So, like, I want this to be the time for him. And certainly if it's a scenario, like, if it's just straight waivers in your league or just pure ad drops, pick him up and see what happens. But like in a fab scenario, the kind of fab I saw people throwing at him today. I guess, you know. Yeah, I saw similar bids for him as for Tanner Bybee and Logan Allen. I think, like, he might be a better pitcher than those guys, but.

I mean, I'd still take Biden over. Yeah, I'm not 100% sure. Right. So, like, we've seen those guys pitch really well at the major league level already. In Allen's case, two starts now where he's been, you know, 16 strikeouts over 12 innings. He's been very good. So I think I'd rather have those two guys than Stone. Although he might come up and look amazing.

You know, his numbers are great. His change-up is, by all accounts, one of the best pitches in the minors. So I'm excited to see what he looks like. That is, I'd say, if you got a roster spot to play within a 12-team league, go ahead and Adam. Yeah, absolutely.

Like I said, if it's, even if you're using like the number one waiver spot on Gavin Stone, I hope, not a bad idea. It's just, this is not somebody I'd throw a quarter of your fab dollars at. because it might be one and done. Well, I'm guessing you wouldn't throw more than a fath, more than a quarter of your fab at him than Scott,

because in my Tout Wars League, Gavin Stone went for $292 out of $1,000 fab budget. Obviously, there are injuries right now and a lot of underperformance at, you know, for pitchers this season. So, yeah, that was a really aggressive bid. Tanner Bybee, I think went for 250 or 260, so Stone actually went for more money there. And while we're talking about pitching prospects,

The Dbacks currently have a TBD for Wednesday as well. And this comes according to Nick Piacoro, who covers the team for the Arizona Republic. And he says the Diamondbacks are listed as TBA for Wednesday in Texas. That day would work for Brandon Fott, who would be on a couple extra days rest. Chris, if you're just taking a shot on one of these names right now, is it Fott or Gavin Stone? It seems like Fott has a clearer path to a rotation spot, although this is. is the third time through the rotation that we've done this with Brandon Fah and it hasn't happened yet. I will say he's not on the 40 man roster, which has been a barrier for him. However, they have an

extra 40 man spot now. I just, I did look that up earlier today. The Diamondbacks only have 39 on their 40 man roster. So if it was going to happen, it seems like they've, they've got their ducks in a row possibly now. It's just, I don't see why they're going to need him this week. I don't see why they're going to need him this week because they have two all. days. They're off Monday and they're off again Thursday. So I think this was them sending down Dre Jameson when they did was because they saw this stretch coming up on the schedule where they just weren't going to need five starters for a while, which makes me wonder if they're just going to call Dre Jameson right back up by the time they actually do. But to answer your question,

if I had already stash fought, I wouldn't swap them out for Stone now. Sure. If you don't, if they're both available on waivers, you probably need to act on Stone first just because he's the one who... We actually have news. Coming up first. Yeah. Uh-oh.

What is it? Oh, no, no, no. Sorry. That's just me saying, we actually have news about one of them coming up. I thought there was like breaking news or something. Like, uh-oh,

what's going on, Chris? Crazy stuff. Anywho, yeah, so we'll see if that's for sure or not. Again, it's kind of speculation right now on Brendan Fott, but it does sound like, yes, Gavin Stone will make a start this Wednesday for the Dodgers.

Jacob de Grom, as we mentioned at the top, he is hurt. He's on the IL, so we need replacements. Obviously, there is no Jacob deGrom replacement, but we'll try and find some names off the waiver wire. Logan T. Allen had another solid start at the Red Sox on Sunday, five innings, two runs, eight strikeouts for him, 12 swinging strikes, and was a completely different pitcher in the second start. He leaned on his sweeper.

It was his most thrown pitch, and it was his third most used pitch in his first start. So I thought that was pretty interesting. Eduardo Rodriguez has now made it four strong starts in a row. Five and two-thirds, one-run, five strikeouts against the Orioles this weekend. Josiah Gray, five strong starts in a row for him. He got clobbered on opening day against the Braves and has been really good since. Up against that buzzsaw, the Pittsburgh Pirates, six innings, one-run, six strikeouts for Josiah Gray. And Bailey Ober in his return to the Twins' rotation, five and two-thirds, one-run, six strikeouts up against the Royals.

Scott, the people need pitching. how would you rank this group? Logan Allen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Josiah Gray, and Bailey Ober. I think I'd rank them exactly, as you've listed them here, Alan Rodriguez, Gray, and Ober.

Most excited by Alan. It looks really good. I talked a couple times last week about how the clearest indicator of upside fur pitchers getting whiffs on your fastball, and Alan doesn't have that. But for not having that, I'm encouraged by what he did here.

You pointed out the changing the pitch usage. It wasn't just that he threw a sweeper more. He threw it 10% of the time in his first start, and he threw it 43% of the time in the second start, and didn't throw the splitter nearly as much. So, like, he has a few approaches there to work with, and if he's able to vary his looks like that, then I think that's going to help the marginal, quote, unquote, stuff

play up even more. Rodriguez and Gray very impressed with what they're doing. The biggest knock on them is that they play for just awful teams and so that's going to hurt their win potential. Gray is still a bit of a head scratcher for me. I noticed Alex Chamberlain

was tweeting about this how his fastball it actually has less ride on it like it's sinking, like it's dropping more, and yet it's been more effective. And I don't know if that's because Josiah Gray's altered the pitch selection. It just isn't relying on it as much. So it just sneaks up on hitters more. I don't know. I don't know how he's getting away with this exactly.

But I'm not inclined necessarily to say he can't keep getting away with it, like Jesse Pinkman might say. The thing that's tough about Josiah Gray is what he's really excelling at right now. is quality of contact suppression, which has not ever been something that Josiah Gray has ever been good at, famously. So his fastball especially has just gotten clobbered. He had a 481 Wobah allowed on his fastball,

a 742 slugging percentage when his fastball was put into play last season. That is bad, listeners. This season, his slugging percentage on his four-esteem fastball is $2.35, with an expected slugging percentage, 246. That's really, really good. That is 500 points lower in slugging percentage. The problem is quality of contact for pitchers is an incredibly noisy stat that doesn't

just take six starts to stabilize. It probably takes more than a full season to know what the, you know, to separate the signal from the noise. And so, you know, he's not getting strikeouts. I think those will come. His swing strike rates are pretty good on all of his pitches, actually. So I think the strikeouts will be there. It's just, is this new version of him for real?

If it is, this is what a breakout would look like for Josiah Gray. It's just skepticism is warranted. I'm assuming we would take Tanner Bybee over this entire group, correct? Yes. Yes. What about Gavin Stone? I would rather have Allen than Stone. I think I'd rather have.

have Gray and Rodriguez than Stone. Yeah, I think so too, given the uncertainty of Stone's opening here. Like Gray, skepticism is warranted, like Chris said, but he probably needs to be rostered at this point in most leagues, even acknowledging that. Let's be on to eat another group of pitchers that could be available. Edward Cabrera had a career high 12 strikeouts against the Cubs this weekend, five innings, two runs, five more walks to go along with those 12 strikeouts.

He had 18 swinging strikes. 25 walks in six starts. That is an 8.3 walks per nine. You're not going to be able to succeed, at least not for very long, if you continue to walk people like this. I'm talking to you, Edward Cabrara. Brian Beow made a strong return to the Red Sox rotation, five innings, one run, six strikeouts up against the Guardians.

Tyler Anderson got back on track Friday at the Brewer. Six and two-thirds, one run, seven strikeouts. 20 swinging strikes for Tyler Anderson. his velocity was up across the bore is a pretty interesting star for him and then Wade Miley don't really know how he's doing it but he is doing it six innings one run two strikeouts

Chris how do you rank this group Wade Miley Tyler Anderson Brian Beaux and Edward Cabrera I think I would still go I'm gonna put Cabrera first but it's tough because I don't actually feel confident you can start him right now it's just I'd rather have him on my roster for the upside

then I would go Anderson, Miley, Bayo. I think Bayo has some upside, but I don't know. We've seen him make a handful of starts where it just hasn't been as impressive as we'd hoped.

So I'd go, like, Cabrera, I'm just, I'm flummoxed. It's, do you think it's a good or a bad thing that the one thing wrong with Edward Cabrera is that he can't throw his fastball for strikes? I was like, I would say in the long, run, it's probably a bad thing.

But I think you can look at it both ways, right? You can look at it and say, well, among the things a pitcher would need to fix, throwing his straight pitch straight and knowing where it's going, seems like it should be easier. It should be easier to throw your fastball for strikes than your changeup or your curveball. And it's not for him. And like,

but it could also just be that he just never figures out and he, he's a frustrating mess for the, for his entire. career, but I think the upside here is still so high that I'm kind of keep chasing it. I was encouraged by the start for Tyler Anderson, who I think I basically said I was giving up on after his last outing, or maybe it was two turns ago. But this was the first start for Tyler Anderson, 20 whiffs on 109 pitches, 13 on 41% changeups. It was the first start since he left the Dodgers where it said, okay, that that change.

changeup is performing like it's supposed to perform if he's going to be good. Also, the velocity was up on fastball and change up more than a mile per hour. So maybe that helped too. I'm not ready to stick Tyler Anderson back in my lineup or anything. And I would take like the Josiah Gray, the Edward Rodriguez group of pitchers over him. But maybe I was too quick to give up on him. We're getting questions about what to do with Reid Detmer. So this is like the drop portion of the waiver wire.

What do we do? He was at the Brewers this weekend, four and a third. Seven runs. Four of those were earned. He's still getting a lot of whiffs. He's getting strikeouts. The fastball velocity remains up. He has just one quality start in five tries.

The ERA is 4.85. The whip is 1.38. Chris, what do we do with Reed Demers? I'm hanging on to him. The ERA estimators are actually pretty ugly across the board for him. So it doesn't necessarily just look like bad luck. but I just, I, you know, believe in the strikeout rate.

I believe in the swinging strikes. I believe he's a good pitcher. So I will just continue to bet on that and hope that the results on balls and play get better. But he's, this isn't bad luck, I guess I would say. He's earned his struggle so far. Yeah, the walks, the hard contact, the home runs all up for Redembers this season. So he definitely has to improve on that. And if you have him on your team, I would try my best to get him out of my life.

the way that he is pitching right now. Let's take our final break and when we return some other news and notes from the weekend right after this. The rest of the news and notes from the weekend, Aaron Judge is dealing with a slight strain at the top of his hip. The team will wait a couple of days to see

if he can improve before placing him on the IL. He missed the entire weekend and has already confirmed that he will not play on Monday either. And while we're on that topic, if you have a pitcher going up against the Yankees, you should probably feel pretty good about it right now because, man, their lineup looks awful.

without Aaron Judge and John Carlos staying in it. Yordaun Alvarez returned to the lineup Saturday after missing four straight with that neck injury. Julio Rodriguez left Saturday's game with back tightness and was not in the lineup Sunday. He is currently day to day. Are you guys starting Julio Rodriguez this week? For him and Judge, it probably is the difference between five outfielders spots to fill or three outfielder spots to fill. Where? I'd lean yes if it's five for both of them. It sounds like there's at least been more speculation on an aisle stint for Judge than for Rodriguez or who's the other. Corby and Carroll, both of those Rodriguez and Carol both seem like there's been less discussion of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't be.

Yeah. You know, so I think both are risky. I would probably start Rodriguez and Carol over judge this week. If you have Corby and Carroll on your team, thank your lucky stars because it seems like he has avoided major injury. He was removed Saturday after he collided with the left field wall while chasing down a baseball. And he was out of the lineup Sunday, also considered day to day. Max Scherzer is set to rejoin the Mets rotation on Tuesday. I think that's still the case.

I hope that's the case. There was so much rain in New York this weekend. Like all of those games got rained out. Like they should not have even tried to play Friday. It was a terrible decision. and then Saturday and Sunday. So we had two more games to serve on the suspension, and I think those two got rained out,

but they're going to be made up. Monday. There's going to be a doubleheader Monday. So I do think that would put him coming back Tuesday. Either way, though, we're probably one-star week. Yeah. For sure, sir, when it was looking like it was going to be a two-star week. But you start them, as Chris said, regardless.

And I assume we do the same thing with Justin Verlander, who struck out six over four and two-thirds scoreless in his rehab start at Double A Friday, and it sounds like he'll make his debut, Metz debut in Detroit on May 3rd. My many, many teams with Justin Verlander on them are thrilled that he's returning because it's tough times on these streets for your guy, Chris, right now.

You are not the only one out there, man. We are struggling to get some pitching right now, so hopefully we're sure and Verlander back. We get exactly that. We haven't heard much about Brandon Woodruff recently, but apparently he underwent a follow-up MRI last Wednesday. The results of the skin were apparently encouraging. Their GM said the target return date is the end of June for Brandon Woodruff.

I had like two reactions to that. I was like, oh, the results were encouraging. That's good. Oh, he's not going to be back until the end of June. I didn't think the timetable was that far off before this. So that's a, that was certainly a little frustrating to hear. Elohiminez was limited Sunday due to leg soreness. There's always something going on with this guy.

Yohan Duran left town early Friday morning to attend immigration matters, but was back pitching on Saturday. It sounded like he was going to miss extended time, and then he just didn't. So you don't really know what that was about. Luis Severino threw 40 pitches over three up and down sessions on Friday. He'll begin a rehab assignment either Wednesday or Thursday at High A. Tyler Glass now threw a two-inning live bullpen session on Saturday

and could make a rehab appearance. at AAA within the next week. Tim Anderson is set to return Tuesday. I assume that we get him back in our lineups. Yes. Yeah, probably. Maybe if you have a great alternative in a shallow wheat league,

you give him some time to shake off the rest. But in most cases, you're probably going to start Timmy Anderson. Twins prospect Royce Lewis has been playing in Florida Complex League games and the hope is he can begin an official rehab assignment in May. He's returning, attempting to return from his second ACL surgery and his 22.

2% rostered. So if you have an open IL spot, it's definitely a player I would look to stash right now. Again, that's Royce Lewis. Yandy Diaz left Friday with shoulder soreness and was not in the lineup Saturday or Sunday. Have you guys seen anything on Yendi Diaz? Have not. Probably I'm going to try and play it safe and sit them unless I hear something encouraging between now and then. You know, obviously I have to have a replacement third basement lined up to do that. Luis Robert was bench Saturday after not running out a ground ball, and then it turns out that Robert is dealing with a tight right hamstring.

So hopefully we learn more about that as well. Andrew Benintendez, X-rays were negative after getting hit by a pitch on his elbow Friday. Tyler Malley has an elbow impingement on the back of his right elbow and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Scott, you tweeted at me something about a gentleman named Louis Varland. What do we need to know? Yeah, so in my Tower Wars League, which is a 15-team roto, so not crazy deep. Guys like Tanner Bybee and Logan Allen and Gavin Stone were already rostered,

so I would just point it out that Louis Varland, I actually spelled his name wrong when I tweeted you, L-O-U-I-E, Varland, was the high bid, the player who somebody spent the most on in that 15-team Roto League. I wouldn't recommend that, but the twins are without a couple pitchers right now, Kenta Maida and Tyler Malley. So it's likely Varland is going to, actually, I guess you said that's already happening, right? He's already going to be called up to start when? I don't think it's been confirmed. I think people are just speculating on Varland right now.

I took on Twitter. I didn't see anything that confirmed it, but. So he had eight strikeouts in six innings, a quality star when he was up earlier this year. It was barely a quality start, allowed three. and runs in those six innings. But at AAA, he has 25 strikeouts and 15 innings, which is very impressive. He was up and made some starts last year, too, and didn't make a huge fantasy impact. So I don't think he's a high priority ad, but that could change if he's performing well.

Rinaldo Lopez was removed Sunday due to fatigue in his bicep. The ERA has ballooned to over eight for Ronaldo Lopez. Walker Bueller was seen throwing from 150 feet at Dodger. stadium on Saturday. He began a throwing program in March and perhaps makes it back as a reliever by the end of the season or for the playoffs. He should be rostered in most, if not all, Keeper and Dynasty leagues. Again, that's Walker Bueller. Pete Fairbanks was removed Friday due to numbness from his ongoing Raynaud syndrome. He threw on Saturday. And if anything happens, Chris, I assume Jason Adam would be the next man up there. I guess. I mean, it's the race. So it might just be six

next guys up in six different situations. The thing that's impossible to tell about this right now, at least for, you know, if you're setting your lineups for week five, is Renaud's syndrome is one of those things where it's, there's something causing it, but they don't know what. You know, we went through this with Brandon Woodruff last season, where, you know, the concern was that it sounded like it could maybe be a thoracic outlet type of situation.

and it wasn't. And so he ended up coming back fairly quickly from it. We don't really have any kind of time table. So I would just steer clear of the raised bullpen for this week, if I could. All right. Jose Orkidy exited Sunday's start with some kind of arm injury. The Orioles. No, shoulder.

Oh, is a shoulder? Just shoulder soreness, I think, was what I saw. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't start him this week if I, if I have to make that situation. It sounds like Lance McCullors is getting close too. So I don't think that they, will rush McCuller is back, but you know, maybe within the next month or so we could kind of see him

hop back into the Astros rotation. The Orioles option Joey Ortiz back to AAA on Sunday. Kyle Stowers was recalled. Brett Beatty got a start against a lefty on Friday, so hopefully a sign of things to come. Mike Yishremski left Sunday with a hamstring strain. He's set to undergo an MRI, but will likely miss time.

David Peterson was optioned to AAA on Saturday, and I was pretty excited about him this season, so that is a miss on my part. Randall Gritchrick made his return Saturday and had back-to-back multi-hit games if you're playing in five outfielder leagues Gritchick is a name that could be out there is only 14% rostered. Players that went

to the IL this weekend, J.D. Martinez with lower back tightness. Brandon Hughes with right knee inflammation. Carrie Carpenter with a right shoulder strain. Kent Mieta with a right tricep strain. Jose Quijada with left elbow soreness and Carlos Estevez all of a sudden has been really, really good.

So he is the guy for the Angels. Garrett Whitlock has owner, the rightus. The team said they're hopeful he'll only miss two starts. That is the same injury that Jeffrey Springs went, so I don't believe them. Hermann Marquez with right elbow inflammation and admitted that Tommy John could be on the horizon. A few other waiver wire hitters that I wanted to mention from earlier. We talked about the outfielders, obviously, with Rooker and Swinsky. A few middle infielders that could be available. Zach Netto has let off two straight. And at some point this week, I want to talk about some slow starters,

a month into the season, but Taylor Ward has really kind of slowed down here. Jose Abray was off to a terrible start too. But Zach Netto had four hits and a stolen pace this weekend. Again, has led off two straight. Taylor Walls. He's been hit by a pitch seven times. Zach Netto has? Yeah, seven times.

A man after my own heart. Geez, yeah. Probably something about that big old leg kick that's going on with Zach Netto. Taylor Walls had a huge game on Sunday. He went four for five with a sock and two shoes. That's a home run. and two steals. He's up to four home runs

and five steals on the season. N. Manuel Valdez is back with the Red Sox and has started four straight, including against a lefty on Sunday. He has a hit in three straight. Scott, any interest in those names? If you need a middle infielder, Zach Netto, Taylor Walls,

and Manuel Valdez. I mean, Netto is the one who's the most interesting by far, I would say. Walls doesn't play consistently enough. And I'm not sure how he's managed to produce because that's something we've never seen him do before.

He's more of a glove first guy. But a lot of skepticism there. I am interested in Manuel Vandez. His numbers in the minors last year were ridiculous. Didn't get a lot of prospect love because he's a poor defender and he's short. So that creates natural skepticism about the power. But he's playing a lot, like you said. So not rushing out to pick him up yet, but definitely want to monitor his performance.

I had two 15 team leagues with waivers that ran already on Sunday night, and I picked up Valdez and both of them for only 13 out of a thousand dollar budget. So yeah, in deeper leagues, I would look to speculate on him and see what comes of it. In deeper leagues, a few names that produced something this weekend. Nixon Zell very quietly. He hit a home run. No, he went two for four with three runs and three RBI on Friday, and then he hit a home run on Sunday.

It was going up against the Oakland A's this weekend. So favorable matchups there. Edward Olivares, Nick Prado, Ezekiel Duran, and Miguel Andohar. All did something of note this weekend. Chris in deeper leagues. Any interest there? Senzel, Olyvarez, Prado, Ezekiel Duran, and Miguel Anduhar. Probably not.

Edward Olivares, I've always been interested in, but he needs to show more. Actually, Ezekiel Duran. He's been productive and the underlying numbers are decent. So I'm adding him or I'm trying to add him in a few spots where I need some help. So he's probably the one who's most interesting here. Nick Prado, Scott, correct me if I'm wrong. He had 44 home runs two years ago in the minors in 2021. I don't think it was that many.

He had a lot. It was close to 40. And then he just completely fell apart last season. It was just a disaster at every level. It was 36 home runs. 36, okay. Yeah, that's one that like I'll keep an eye on if he goes on a run, but I don't see any reason to add him right now.

I'll admit to putting in a bid for Nick Senzel and actually being outbid on him in a 15-team-5 outfielder league. I need a replacement, it seems for Mike Yistremski and Senzel seemed like the best I could do. He has been playing every day. Actually, he's been playing third base recently. Yep. Spencer Steer shifting over to first,

which my NL only team is grateful for and picking a pillage ability there. But if Senzel picks up third base to go without field, you know, last five games, he's 10 for 18 with two home runs. I'm not optimistic, but if you're in a situation like I'm in,

he probably is relevant again. And if you play on CBS, he already has that third base eligibility, Scott. So I think it's seven or eight games that he's played. So in leagues where you need 10, I think the NFBC you need 10 games. That should be coming soon for Nixon Zell. I have two pictures here that I wrote down

as potential sell high candidates. Shane Bieber had a strong start at the Red Sox. This weekend, seven innings, two runs, four strikeouts for him. He has four strikeouts or less in five of six outings and his stackass page is ice blue. That is Shane Bieber. And Lucas Gileto is the other one.

Turned an equality start up against Tampa Bay, six and two thirds, two runs, six strikeouts to zero walks. He's got an ERA over four. He had one blow-up start, but outside of that, he actually has been pretty good. The strikeouts are down this year. The swinging strike rate is down.

The control has been immaculate for Gileo. I'm just wondering what happens when, if, I guess, his control kind of goes sideways once again. So I worry about those things. Chris, would you be looking to sell high on either one of those, Shane Bieber or G. So I guess you're saying you're not. a believer.

Sorry. I'm struggling with how to feel about Shane Bieber in particular because I've been sort of like the guy holding the picket sign, like the end is nigh repent sinners kind of thing on Shane Bieber for like three years now. And now there are real reasons to think that might be happening. And I'm kind of like, I don't really worry too much about it. There are weird things going on in his pitch profile. He's throwing his cutter more, which I don't really like.

I don't really think that's a great pitch for him. I wouldn't mind it if it was at the expense of his fastball, but it's coming at the expense of his slider and curveball, which are both much better pitches. So I don't love seeing that, but I'm not, I'm admittedly not too concerned about it, all things considered.

I think he'll probably be fine. Okay. I'm not sure how. you can actually sell on Gialito either, given that. As you point out, it was mostly because of one terrible star, Frank,

but he has a 415 ERA, the level of investment in him coming in, wasn't nearly as high as usual, wasn't nearly as high as Bieber. So I'm inclined just to write it out with him, but I'm not saying he's in the clear now and as good as he's pitched recently. I think the jury's still out as far as that goes.

Let's say you could turn Golito into, like Nick Ladolo or Lance Lynn or Chris Sale is that something you would do? Oh yeah. Yeah. By the way Chris Sale had another good stuff. Hey!

Can't get through the whole podcast without mentioning that. Yeah, and he's at the Phillies this week. I was going to ask you guys, do you start Chris Sale in that matchup? I don't... I'd rather not. I think I have the luxury to sit him

in most of the leagues where I have him, unfortunately. I'd be more likely to start sale against the Phillies, then Grayson Rodriguez against the Braves to bring this whole podcast full circle. God, that's why you're a pro. Professional. Scott White is him. I wanted to mention Johann Oviedo, because obviously we've been pumping him up recently and he got crushed by the Nats on Sunday. Two and a third, seven earned runs. Only one strikeout in that one. The ERA is up to 4.78. Same question, Scott. Are you starting Oviato up against the Blue Jays this week?

Probably not. I mean, it was coming off a two-star a week and that went very poorly. I think he single-handedly cost me a couple of head-to-head matchups that I was winning all week with this very ugly performance Sunday. I'm not ready to dump him, I don't think, but he's getting close. The slider that had gained, so it was up three miles per hour at the start of the year, and that's what first drew my attention to him even going back to spring training. It was down a mile per hour and a half two starts to go. It was down like a mile per hour. This start, like if that becomes something he can't sustain,

then I'm not sure. I'm not sure if any of what he was doing before is sustainable. You know, so definitely a little concerned about OVATO at this point. Okay, I'm just going to bounce around with some of the rest of the leftovers from this weekend. Arindola saved his best start for the Astros this weekend. eight innings, one run, six strikeouts, and that one. Zach Wheeler also had a great start at the Astros, six shutout with seven strikeouts,

and that one, Nathan Avaldi will have his revenge, a three-hit shutout against that vaunted New York Yankees lineup. Eight strikeouts to zero walks, 13 swinging strikes, and he was amped up. Fastball velocity was up 1.4 miles per hour to the splitter up 1.2 miles per hour, and I think there's been like one or two blow-up starts, but outside of that, you know, Avaldi,

he's been, Okay, for where you drafted him. Corbyn Burns, solid this weekend, six innings, one run, five strikeouts. Good to see. Clayton Kirschaw, seven shutout with nine strikeouts for him. Sonny Gray, another strong start, six innings, one run, seven strikeouts. He has a 0.77 ERA and a 1.06 whip. Whenever you see the whip higher than the ERA, you know, regression is coming at some point, so keep that in mind, like, you don't need me to tell you, but maybe you do.

Sunny Gray is going, there is going to be regression. and his 92% trend rate will not remain all season. A few hitting leftovers. Jazzism is getting hot. He's got nine hits, two homers, four steals over his last six games. Jared Kellnick was batting third in the lineup on Friday, and then he hit second on Saturday,

and I'll quickly pull up where he hit on Sunday, but he is into the top half of that lineup, and rightfully so, because he has been amazing. He was betting third on Sunday as well. Two more home runs for Jorge Mateo this weekend. he has been a stud. 347 batting average, six home runs,

10 steals, just a 14 and a half percent strikeout rate so far for Jorge Mateo. Cody Bellinger hit two more home runs. Randy Rosa Rana had a double dung on Saturday. Mike Trout with a double dong.

Cal Raleigh with a double dong. And Jonah Heim had a big game Sunday, three for four, with his fifth home run. And we probably haven't given him enough love because he's been really good for Texas. 303 batting average, 22 RBI,

978 OPE. 22 RBI? Yeah, for Jonah. I don't think I have anyone on any roto team with 22 RBI. Yeah, it's crazy. That's a lot of RBI. He's up to 82% roster too,

so I was pretty shocked to see that. I mean, people are in. They are picking them up, and rightfully so, he's been very good. A few bullpen updates. The twin situation, again, it was weird.

We thought that Duran was going to miss some time, and he was not available on Friday. Jorge Lopez picked up his second save that day, and then Duran pitched on Saturday. He was very wild in that one. He walked two. He gave up the lead on a wild pitch. And then on Sunday, he recorded the final out for his sixth save.

So, okay. I think he's the guy for the twins. For Tampa Bay on Friday, Pete Fairbanks got the first two outs of the ninth before leaving with injury. Kevin Kelly got the final out for his first save in that one. For the Rangers on Friday, Will Smith picked up his third save and given how bad Jose LeClerc has looked, I think Will Smith is probably the guy right now for the Rangers.

38% rostered for him. Jose Alvarado picked up his sixth save on Friday. Alex Lang picked up his third save on Saturday. And for the Royals on Saturday, A Rollis Chapman pitched in the eighth inning with the game tied. Scott Barlow then got the ninth with a one-run lead and recorded his fourth save of the season. And it feels like the pendulum has swung back towards Scott Barlow,

at least for the time being. For the Oakland A's. Uri's Familia, got the ninth inning with a one-run lead, and gave up two runs on Saturday. His ERA is 6.57. The Dodgers, this kind of seems like a full-blown kind of committee. I don't know that there's any rhyme or reason as to what they're doing right now.

Evan Phillips pitched in the eighth inning on Saturday. Bruce Dar Gratterol then pitched a ninth and picked up his second save. On Sunday, Graderol pitched in the seventh, and Evan Phillips pitched in the ninth, and he got his third save. Do you guys have any feel for the? I mean, it looked like it was pointing pretty much toward Gratterol until Sunday came. And do you happen to see who he was facing in the seventh on Sunday?

The only thought, it was the six, seven, eight hitters, I think. The only thought I had was like, because Phillips was on paternity leave, he really hadn't pitched very much. He had pitched one day in the previous 10. Graterall was on paternity leave too. more recently than Phillips. Bremency effect, baby. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, it's kind of frustrating.

I mean, obviously in deeper category leagues, I think probably both guys need to be rostered. Evan Phillips and Bruce R. Gratterol. Probably, yeah. For the Orioles on Sunday, Felix Bouticea was unavailable. Yaneer Canoe recorded the final four outs for his second save,

and he's been really good. If you're playing at saves plus holds league, I'd definitely look to pick him up. On Sunday, for the Angels, Carlos Estevez struck out two for his sixth save. 57% rostered. Let's see, which names are widely available here. Estevez, Will Smith with the Rangers, and Alex Lang.

Chris, how would you rank those three if you need saves? I'd probably go Estabez Smith Lang. Estabez, I don't know. He feels very combustible. So I could go with Will Smith ahead of him, and I think either one is fine. But that's what I was thinking. Smith has a little more faith in Smith as a pitch. I think I have a little more faith in Estabez having the job.

All right. Let's wrap up with the new to stream or not to stream. And give me two or three of your favorites. We'll start with Monday. And scrolling up and down here, Drew Smiley at the Nationals. I think that's the one that stands out most for me. And then maybe Cal Quantrell at the Yankees,

the way that lineup looks right now. Yeah, like Domingo Ramon's been getting so many strikeouts and swinging strikes that, you know. He's giving up so many home runs, though. like in pitching in the stadium Cleveland doesn't have a lot of guys that you're worried about hitting home runs right now I also like

Tom Walker's boring but at the Dodgers the Dodgers aren't a terrifying matchup right now I probably wouldn't but you know that's three that's the segment in this order would be Smiley Hermann and Quantrel

okay on Tuesday I think the obvious name here and Bibi, he's not a streamer. Yeah, pick him up anyway, but yes, obviously, you know, at the Yankees. I think that's totally fine. Wesneski at the Nationals, I think is probably okay. Mason Miller, similar situation to Bibi.

He's going up against the Mariners. I think I'm okay with that one. Actually, a lot of interesting names here. Like, yeah, Mason Miller against the Mariners. Matt Strom, he's been really good. He's at the dollar. Tyler Wells at KC. Seems like a, no, Tuesday's a decent streaming day.

Yeah. I would do Tyler Wells at Casey over Hayden West Nesky at Washington. That's fine. But Bybee and Mason Miller, I assume, at the top of the list, Scott? Bybee, yes. I don't expect much for Mason Miller, to be honest. He probably won't hurt you too badly against the Mariners, but I don't know.

I'm on the fence about that one being a net benefit. Well, Scott, as the unofficial Mason Miller guy, I didn't know that I was, but I won him in Fab in two leagues last week, So I'm like, all right, guess I'm the Mason Miller guy. So yeah, I'm rooting for him. Let's go Mason Miller. I hope he's great. We're going to wrap there for Scott and 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. We'll be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.