Fantasy Baseball Today - Everybody's Favorite 2027 Breakout & Buy or Sell! (9/23 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

Jared Jones will be a very popular breakout pick for next season (2:30). ... How high will Drew Rasmussen rank in 2027 (11:30)? ... News (21:30): Shohei Ohtani is set to return on Wednesday. ... Nolan Arenado is closing in on 30 homers (37:17). ... Stream any of these pitchers this weekend (46:00)? ... Buy or Sell for 2027 (52:18)! ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpens and streamers (1:07:05).Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Now here's Frank Scott and Chris. Hello, welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Wednesday, September 23rd. I am Frank Stample joined by Chris Towers. Today on the show, we will break down everybody's

favorite breakout for 2027. WaiverWire names for the rest of the week. If you are in a daily lineup league and you're still playing, and some buy or sell for 2027. Let's jump in. All right, Chris, let's start with everybody's favorite breakout pick for 2027. Bubba chance. Sorry, no.

Jared Jones? Jared Jones. And we can only do... Totally different guy. We can only do that today because Scott isn't on the podcast. Jared Jones was awesome against the... Cardinals, seven shutout innings, one hit, zero walks, nine strikeouts, 18 whiffs on 86 pitches, 11 of those on his fastball, three on the slider,

three on the curve. And he did change things up in this one. He actually used his slider less, which is typically his best pitch, leaning on the fastball and the curve ball more in this one, and really had all three of those working quite a bit. The curve was a little bit different, the velocity, down a touch, and it had three less inches, excuse me, the velocity was up a little bit and I had three less inches of drop. But whatever he was doing, it was really good. He had everything working here.

Did Jared Jones. And in four September starts, he now has a 108 ERA, a 0.64 whip, 35 strikeouts to four walks over 25 innings. He has eight or more strikeouts in each of those starts and has gone six plus innings in three of four. So he's been more efficient. He isn't walking as many. Obviously four walks and four starts. But that has allowed him to go deeper into his starts and he's finishing really, really strong. So, by yourself, before I get to the buy yourself,

I guess give me your thoughts on Jared Jones and the end of the possibility of him being everybody's favorite breakout for next season. It is extremely possible. I would say very likely there, Jared Jones is going to be everybody's favorite breakout candidate for 2026. Or, you know, not everyone's,

right? Like there's always going to be people who aren't on board, people who are pumping the brakes. I might be one of those people who's pumping the brakes. But yeah, I think he's clearly going to be one of the most popular breakout candidates for 2027. He'll be in that Cam Schlittler, Nolan McLean, Pubba Chandler, Jacob Mizirowski range for 2027, those guys being the 2026 crew. and look, he's clearly an incredibly talented pitcher. We have seen it before, not just this season.

He had stretches as a rookie back in 2024, where he was very, very impressive. And obviously he's putting the finishing touches on what's going to end up being a pretty decent season overall. 387 ERA, 112 whip, the peripherals are even better, 11K per 9. Obviously, he's been dominant in September. The control has been incredible, 35 strikeouts and 25 innings.

there's nothing to knock here. It's just that he's figured it out or he's turned a corner or whatever particular idiom you want to use. That can be famous last words when it comes to pitchers because progress is not linear. And guys don't always build on strong finishes to the season. In fact, I have not done this specific bit of research, but I would guess that a strong September holds basically no predictive value for the following season because we say it all the time, or at least I say it all the time, full season statistics are more predictive than partial season statistics. And so one good month, even at the end of the season,

I mean, look, there's a long off season for things to get off balance. And sometimes guys just get in a groove that can't carry over. I think Jared Jones is extremely talented. pitcher. He averages like 98 miles an hour with his fastball. He's got multiple good breaking balls. There's a lot to like here with Jared Jones. I just, I said Bubba Chandler at the beginning as a joke, but if you remember, a big part of why everybody had Bubba Chandler as a breakout last season, or this season was he had that great stretch towards the end of last season. Now, his was only three good starts. Jared Jones' has been four. So maybe that's enough to make a difference.

And it's probably going to be five because he pitches again on Sunday. It could be five, but what if it's bad? Then we've got to go all the way back to the drawing. I absolutely think Jared Jones will be and should be a very popular breakout candidate for next season. It's just a question of where that lands in the ADP. Is it top 40? Then I'm on board. Is it top 30?

Well, then I start to get a little iffy because, as talented as he is, he's never put together, you know, across two seasons more than a good month or so. And obviously he was hurt in 2025. He came back slowly this year. They were giving him the kids glove treatment, all that stuff. So it's entirely possible that he is figuring it out. But I've seen a lot of good months been declared,

hey, this guy's figuring it out only for that not to be so. So I do think it's going to have to come at a point in the draft where you're out of sure things. And you're starting to dig through guys with various warts, limited track records, injury histories, etc. Jared Jones versus Carlos Rodon. Not's having a really good season. Yeah, he is.

And he's been pretty consistent for a long time now. It's three run runs or fewer in 26 straight starts dating back to last year. And really, if you remember, it was the second half of 2024. that he really, I think he had a 291 ERA in the second half of 2024. So he really, we're going on two and a half years of Carlos Rahn basically being a sub three ERA pitcher. There's been injuries along the way. There have been frustrations along the way.

I understand all that. But the track record here is a lot longer than it is for Jared Jones. Maybe Jared Jones is more talented, but even that I'm not 100% certain of. So, you know, if it comes down to Jared Jones versus Carlos Rordan, I think I'm taking Carlos Roron. Maybe I'll be in the minority on that. that one. I'm not sure. But it's going to have to come to a point where the sure things are definitely off the table and now we're picking through the young guys, the old guys with injury

concerns, et cetera. Yeah. So the buyer sell that I had for Jared Jones was that he will go higher next season than Jacob Mizzerowski and Kam Schlitler did in 2026. So to remind people, Mizzi Rowski before the season, his ADP was 106.6 as the SP 28. Cam Schlittler 123 as the SP 32. And he slid down a little bit because he was dealing with like a back trap thing in spring training.

So like, yeah, he kind of fell down draft boards a little bit. But what do you think about that? By herself, Jared Jones goes higher than those two guys did. That one's tough because we don't have that huge crop of young guys that we had to remember last year. It was like, Yuri Perez and Chase Burns and Camp Schlitler and Nolan McLean and J. Jacob Mizirowski.

That's why I think it's going to be higher. Yeah, I think it might be higher. Just because we have like a dearth of those kind of breakout. It's going to be a very different pitching landscape because usually, and look, there will be other breakout candidates that go a little bit later in the draft. But just that, I'm talking about that specific range, around SP 30, SP 36. We had all these guys last year. What I think is different is that we have a lot of young pitchers for next season,

but we've seen a bigger sample of them. It's like Logan Henderson, Cade Cavali, Peyton Toley. I think all those guys are going to be like top 25 starting pitchers drafted. I think they're going to go clearly ahead of where that breakout group was going last year. And then I think it's going to drop off a little bit. And as a result, I think people are going to be searching for, oh, who is this year's Cam Schlittler? Who is this year's Mizorowski?

Everybody had their own version of that last year. Like everybody had one person had Chase Burns. One person had Yuri Perez. One person had Camp Schlitler. And I think a lot of people are going to fall on Jared Jones. When there's just one, I think there could be a lot of upward pressure on that price. So by him being more expensive than Schlittler, who was SP 32, maybe sell on Ms. at 28, that's right. And there's that little area.

That range sounds right, though. It's like SP 30 at pick 115. Like, I could see that just kind of being the price tag for Jared Jones. next season. And I don't know, it could turn out to be too high, but the way that I'm leaning right now, it's, there is a lot of talent there. And we are being reminded of that now with Jared Jones. The updated K-M-M-A-Mas-Walk rate for him is 21.6%. That ranks 14th best among starting pitchers with at least 90 innings this season. It's better than Kate Cavali, Christopher Sanchez, Jurasmussen, Paul Skeens, Braxton-Assraft, Joe Ryan. It's a good number.

It's a really, really good number there for Jared Jones. One of the names I mentioned there, Chris, was Drew Rasperson, your player of the night. Yeah, what a, I assume this is the last start of Jurassicson's regular season. The Rays have locked up the division. He threw 114 pitches today. Did I get that right, right? Yeah. I saw that number.

That is a career high. 114 pitches for Drew Asperson. I have to imagine they only did that because they know he's going to get a cut, you know, six or seven days of rest. He took a no-hitter going into the seventh, so I think that was part of it too. And they just didn't really, they didn't have relievers up because he still had the no-hitter going at that. But he also definitely won't be pitching the wildcard round, right? So they've got, he's going to have extended rest. Yeah.

It's probably going to be like 10 days until his next start. So, but that is notable because that is continuing with a theme that has been prevalent all season. All season with Jerusalem. Remember last year, he didn't throw more than 92 pitches in a start at any point all season. this was the 13th time he's thrown more than 92 pitches this season. So he has topped last year's total, his top last year's season high in innings or pitches 13 different times. He has thrown 22 more innings than last season in one fewer start.

So they've been giving him a little extra rest here and there, but they've also been giving him the rope. And he has just gotten better at absolutely everything. career high and wins. Career, yeah, that's going to be a career low in innings because those other seasons wouldn't count, although amazingly, no matter what role he's in, Jurasmussen hasn't had an ERA higher than 284

since 2021, which is incredible. Career best whip, career high 174 strikeouts, career high strikeout rate, career best walk rate, like everything is better than it's ever been. he's still in a great organization. He's going to be 31 next year, so that's a little older, but it's not so old. And, okay, I think this is a guy who's had reconstructive elbow surgery three times. I think it was two Tommy Johns and a internal brace.

So you've got to factor in some heightened injury risk, but it's also now two and a half years of no injuries for him at all. So I'm not sure how much more injury risk. he has than your typical pitcher. And so, I don't know, man. You look at it all and is this guy a top 12 starting pitcher for next season? It is a fantastic question, one that I was thinking about a lot here on Tuesday night.

I haven't started my starting pitcher. I'm planning on doing rankings probably next Monday. I'm way far out. And I'm going to work even slower than you guys on this. I really want to just let stuff a little bit. Scott has already ranked like 55 catchers. I'm like, oh my gosh, how are you doing this, Scott?

It's crazy. I've done, I'm done with like the hitter positions for the most part. I'm still tweaking outfield, but I'm only going like 20 deep at the infield and like 40 at the outfield. I'll get to the rest in November. I'm going to do... I just wanted to

get, you know, a first draft here. I'm going to do a lot of my research just as part of, like after the season ends, we do a lot of position recaps just to see. like who finished top 12 every position and everything. So I will do a lot of my research then and that will kind of just factor into my,

you know, rankings analysis for next season. But yeah, Rasmussen, man, it's just crazy consistency this year. It's number five SP right now. A heavier workload. Yeah,

I mean, he's top five in Roto. He's top six in total head to head points. His second half has been even better. 186 ERA, 0.87 whip. A handful of double-digit strikeout starts, including 11 on Tuesday night, right?

I know this doesn't, this doesn't always play out the way. I bring it up a lot, but it really, I don't think it plays out as much as I think it does. But like next year, the race have a club option for him. And then 2027 is basically just a contract year for Jurassic.

I think it's a little bit different for a guy that just hasn't really had that big contract in his career. And, you know, he's had so many injuries. And so, like, if he can go out and show the world that he could do this two years in a row, he might get like a pretty big payday, like a, you know, four, five-year contract. A Ranger Smarez's contract.

Yeah, and that's a big deal. So I could see it actually mattering more for someone like Rasmussen who's like trying to get the bag for the only time in his career, basically. So I think that factors in as well. He's, he is a fascinating pitcher. My first thought was I think he's probably going to be like top 15 starting pitcher in ADP, but. You're also buying him at the highest cost that's ever been in his career. So it's,

he's gonna be a tough player to break down for next season. Would you rather have him or Hazers Lizardo? I mean, before the, the shoulder injury, it would have been Lizarro easily. That's why I'm asking now.

Because there's still, like a 30 to 40 strikeout difference, but I think Lizarro got over 200, right? I think I would lean Rasperson, but I mean, you hear it in my voice. There's no conviction in that right now. It's just, we have to find out more with with with Lazzardo and does he return in the postseason what does the velocity look like

Yeah, there's gonna be a lot of offseason updates, but I think right now I would lean Lazzardo over Rasperson There there is no way the race trade him right They could probably get a haul for him, but like there's no way they could do that right Just because he's gonna be so cheap to that's what they do You know like they do they trade everyone the year before they hit free agency. They that nobody ever walks. Nobody walks away from the race. Like, there's no way, right?

Non-zero chance, but I would say it's highly unlikely that they... But they traded Blake Snell going into a walkier coming off a World Series appearance. And he wants Siyang that year, right? Yeah, that sounds right. No, he went to Sion, the second Siong with the Padres. Right? Yeah, his first Siong, I think, was his first first... First full season, right?

Second, yeah. Second full season. Okay. Yeah, he won the Sion with the Padres. So, but that was... Yeah, that would change the calculation for me if Raspicin is not with the race next year. I think it would a little bit, yeah.

Just Top of Canada being such a great place to pitch and the familiarity, the organization knows how to handle them and stuff like that, so... They traded, and just, I think, that fastball heavy, I know it's a cutter, sinker, four seamer, but he throws, well, like 70, 80% fastballs. It's pretty much

the Cam Schlittler It's a lot like Cam Schlittler. He just doesn't throw as hard. Yeah. But it's that same mold. And I think pitching at Tropicana helps.

Like, I think that's part of why he's been even better this season as a strikeout pitcher. But I think he'll be top, a top 15 pitcher in ADP. I don't know that I'll be the one to draft him though.

I just don't. It's a mental thing for me just drafting a guy coming off his career year. It's just hard for me to do. I agree. but I also, you know, it's one of those things where it's like the name doesn't matter.

It's the production you're getting, the production you're expecting to get from them is what should matter. Yeah. But it's hard. I agree. I mean, it's like we just did that with Hunter Brown and Brian Wu this year

and look how that turned out, you know? It's just, I don't, like, every picture is different, but yeah, I think Rasterson is a pretty fascinating one. Big thanks to everyone being here. Make sure to hit that like button. And if you're listening on audio, drop us a five-star rating and review

on Apple or Spotify. we really would appreciate that. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back. Fantasy baseball today. Let's hit the news and notes. Shohei Otani is expected to return on Wednesday

and I have to believe that's bad news for Hoseway DePaula. Right, Chris? Um, probably. But man, can they really bench this kid right now? he had another walk today, along with two hits. He is hitting 323 with a 500 on-base percentage. It's only 42 plate appearances,

but 11 of them have ended in walks compared to five strikeouts. He's hit for power. I kind of just think Oswe de Pala is one of the Dodgers' nine best players. I think Teasca has been pretty hot lately too. It kind of messes it up. Probably.

Yeah, Teosker, yeah. I mean, entering today in September, it's a 358 batting average OPS over 1,000 for Teasker. And he's just, you know, he's been there for the World Series the past couple of years. He's a veteran. He kind of, he has that respect on the team.

They could just make him a short side platoon, Teascar. I don't think they're going to do that, though. I would guess DePaula doesn't get sent down, though. Yeah, maybe he's just a pinch hitter off the bench type thing. Yeah. Especially because you don't really know what you're thinking of. But that would kill his fantasy value for the final phase of the season.

Yep. Yeah. So Otani is back. The same cannot be said for Aaron Judge. It turns out that his cash strain was described as moderate and he's not expected back for the wild card round. Could be ready for the ALDS if the Yankees make it that far. But I don't feel great about that possibility. I mean, to be honest, I don't even know that they're going to make it past the wild card round.

and got to go up against the Red Sox who, you know, having a big second half of the season, really good pitching. And I think that's going to be a really tough series for them. It's a scary matchup, yeah. And then if Judge with a calf injury, he probably needs to DH, and that just completely throws everything off too. Like you're going to have a Aaron Judge who is extremely rusty and his timing is probably completely off.

And then you need the DH spot for one of Ben Rice or Luis Garcia. And it just doesn't really work. So I don't really think Judge will, maybe if they go really deep into the playoffs, like Judge could be back and play the outfield, but I just, I don't really see it happening. And we were talking beforehand, Chris. You have a bit of a hot take here on Aaron Judge for next year. Yeah, I'm not, I'm still working on it, right? I'm still preheating.

Yeah, we'll call it a mild take for now, mild take. But I am not 100% sure Aaron Judge should be a first rounder next season. I don't think that's crazy. Yeah, it'd be one thing if he just missed 103 games or whatever it's going to end up being I think he got to about 60 games Because Juan Soto only played what 80 games, something like that

I think he's over 100 Is he over 100? He's DHs a decent amount Okay Yeah, he's at 106 But if that's all it was It'd be, you know, me I'm more willing to give guys The benefit of Al for injury concerns

especially when it's not like recurring things. But Judge is going to be 35 next year. And he is very large. And I think injuries certainly have been an issue for him throughout his career, although he's mostly stayed healthy over the past five seasons. There have been a couple of issues. But for the most part, he's stayed healthier lately. And if that was all it was, I think it'd be easier to overlook.

but then you start to get into the fact that the skill set did slip this year. His expected Wobah is $396. That's an amazing mark. It's the worst for Aaron Judge since 2020. And it's like the third worst of his career. The strikeout rate back up to 30%. It's the highest since 2019. The ISO 270, that's the worst since 2021.

one. It's, and I'm open to the idea that it's just he just wasn't healthy, right? Like he was really good in April and then I think he started slowing down in May. We heard, we started to hear that's what I was going to mention. That's what I mentioned. That turned out to be the rib that missed, caused him to miss all the time. I'm totally open to the idea that that's just what happened. He just wasn't healthy.

Is that a bet you want to make with your first round pick who's going to be 35? Like 35 year olds, even Hall of Famers, like Aaron Judge. Aaron Judge isn't going to be an inner circle hallfamer. He might be the best right-handed peak hitter in baseball history. But 35-year-olds usually don't go back to being who they were once the decline starts. The decline will probably be slower for Aaron Judge than it is for Tiyoska Hernandez or whoever. But because you're not going to get any stolen bases out of him, I think after this season, I think you can be pretty confident that you're not going to get 15.

and can you bet on the 300 plus batting average that you've gotten the last three out of the last four seasons before this one? I think it's a decent bet, but it's not a guarantee. Is he a 50 homer guy or a 45 homer guy? You know, it's all these things that are like, he's still really good probably. But he's 35 and he's coming off an injury plague season. And there was some skills decline. And so it's just, it's all pointing in the direction of maybe we just need to be a little, more cautious with where we're drafting Aaron Judge.

Does that mean I'm taking? I think Pekar Armstrong and Yordana Alvarez over him. I think those are fairly easy calls. Am I taking Juan Soto over him? I think that's pretty easy for me. I would take Soto. I think so. Fernando Tatis.

That's iffy. Yeah. The way I... James Wood? The way I feel right now is that I think it's probably closer to late first round. I think I would take Ellie over him pretty comfortably.

Yeah, I mean, if you're taking Ellie, why not Jackson Shurio? Junior Caminero? I mean, Caminero, it will probably give you 80% of the production of like a healthy Aaron Judge, but he's also younger and doesn't have the injury risk that Aaron Judge does. You mentioned in there

that I think him getting hurt, because he mentioned that he got hurt in late April and I think basically from anything on that like anything after that point was just he was playing hurt. Yep. If you look at through April, he hit 12 home runs in his first 31 games. That is still a 62 home run pace. Oh yeah, he was himself. He was basically still, you know, the best power hitter in all of baseball. The batting average was a little bit lower. But I agree. I think it comes with a lot of risk. I mean, it's tough because this is one that can, if you're out, Chris, I mean, it can make you

look really, really foolish. Wouldn't surprise you. prize me one bit. Like, if he stayed healthy, we could still get a... $250-plus hitting 50 homer season out of Aaron Judge. But it's just like, when do you take the risk on that upside in the first round? The downside being kind of what we saw this year,

though, like he just deals with a bunch of injuries next year and maybe he plays half a season. I don't know. Maybe that risk is like mid-first round or late-first round, but it's another tough one. And the median outcome is probably, Juan Soto, right? Like, that's kind of the crazy thing about Aaron

Judge is like you just look at the the expected Wobah, it's not very different from what Juan Soto actually produced this season. So there might just be he's not what he was, but he's still the second best hitter in baseball.

And that would be worth it, assuming he stays healthy. You know, that's the, that's the thing. Yep. He is another tough one. Let's run through the rest of these news items here. Ronald Acunio left early on Tuesday night after fouling a ball off of his left leg. X-rays were negative and he is day-to-day. So obviously the Braves will play that cautiously because they've already wrapped up the division

and they need him healthy for the playoffs. Blake Snell is penciled in to start Saturday against the Giants. He left his previous start early with groin tightness, but felt good after throwing a bullpen on Tuesday. Alex Bregman will not go on the IL. He suffered multiple facial fractures after getting hip hip, by a foul ball on Sunday. And on Monday,

Jeff Passon reported that Bregman is expected back at some point in the postseason. We just don't really know when that is going to be for Bregman. So not on the aisle now. There were some cool pictures, Chris. I guess not cool,

depending on who you ask, but him sitting at the top of the dugout and he had his hood on, he kind of looked like one of the, like the Seth Lords and... Real, real Anakin Skywalker. Sith Lords? I said Seth Lords. Sith Lords.

Yeah. Yeah. Have you seen Star Wars? I've seen some of them, yes. I've seen seven of the nine. Like the three trilogy movies? The main, the Skywalker saga. I've seen seven of those.

As we refer to that. That's pretty good, right? Yeah, I'd say there's one more worth watching, but that's a controversial take that I know the internet people don't agree with. But yeah. Yeah. He did, though. There was definitely some Star Wars gnarliness going on.

with Alex Bregman's face. Garrett Crochet threw a 16 pitch live BP on Tuesday, and he touched 96 miles per hour again. Trying to get back in the Red Sox bullpen for the playoffs. Definitely don't want to see that going up against the Yankees. Christian Javier left early Tuesday night due to right-growing tightness, and he was pitching well before he left. It was two shutout innings with two strikeouts here.

He's someone that we all liked as a streamer. I know Scott had him as a two-star pitcher for this week. It's tough because the last couple starts have been pretty good for Javier. This was a great matchup, but unfortunately he just left with the groin injury. And if I had to guess, I don't think he'll make that second start later this week. So a pretty tough break there for Christian Javier. Kyle Tucker was back in the lineup Tuesday after missing Sunday with soreness in his knee slash shin. Jazz Chisholm was activated from the aisle for game two of the double header against the raise.

Wilson Contreras has missed four straight with a bruised right hand. Arolda Chapman who's dealing with a lat issue should be cleared to pitch in the next day two. Some good Red Sox news. Sadon Rafael is expected to return on Wednesday. He's been out since September 6th with a right quad train. The MRI on Andres Munoz's right knee came

back negative, so looks like he will avoid the IL and he is the Mariners closer for the rest of the season. Assuming they get any wins, bad game here against the Astros on Tuesday night. The Mets reinstated Devin Williams from the IL and they

immediately had a save situation Williams was not used at all. It was Kodi Senga who got the ninth inning, and it was a clean inning. He struck out two. He picked up his eighth save. I don't really know what this means long term for the Mets bullpen, Chris,

but my guess is they just didn't want to throw Devin Williams right back into the highest leverage situation coming off the aisle. Yeah, did he even make a rehab appearance, or was it just bullpen? I think it was just, you know, side stuff. Yeah, I think triple I season's done. So, yeah, that's a tough spree.

and it doesn't necessarily mean anything for 2027, but I also think just looking at it from the Mets perspective, if you can keep Khoda Senga in that role for the final five games at this point, right? Four games. And keep him confident in that role. Worst case scenario, you could have two high leverage relievers that you potentially feel decent about heading into next season. And, look, Devin Williams has been flat out bad for two years. just now. No, that's fair.

I mean, I think in 2025, it was kind of just like a couple of bad stretches early on. He finished pretty strong, but yeah, it turns out that wasn't a total fluke. And so not necessarily a guy you can go into 2027 and think,

okay, we got our closer situation settled. And he's got a couple years left on his contract and it's going to be potentially awkward. But yeah, I don't think they have to just hand him the job back. And the Dodgers still hate Emmichie and he was option.

to AAA, so my guess is he won't pitch this week, but you never know. Maybe someone goes on the IL, goes on a paternity list, goes on some kind of list, and boom, Emmett Sheehan is right back, but as of now, he is not. Christian Scott was placed in the IL with left knee inflammation. Jock Peterson is finally going on the IL after suffering a fracture in his left hand last week. And we had some pitchers get shut down. They will not start this final week. That includes Cade Covelli and Landon Arup. The Caval... Kaye Kavali got locked in that contract. Good for him.

The Kavali one, it especially sucks because the Nationals were one of six teams that played on Monday night, and then they announced this on Tuesday. So if you play in a weekly lineup league, you're going to get nothing from Kvali. Yeah. I mean, I did, there was,

Dr. Dave actually pointed this out on Twitter to me that the Nationals had a TBD and Kade Kavali spot in the rotation like on MLB.com. I didn't realize that, Usually if that's the case, they're probably going to shut down that pitcher. So that is something to remember, I guess, for next year, which I'm sure nobody will remember. And some manager news, the Red Sox gave Chad Tracy a three-year contract,

and the Mets gave Andy Green a three-year extension. And I believe he's right around 500 since he took over. So the Mets have played much better over him under Andy Green. And I don't know. I know his first thin with the Padres didn't go very well, but, you know, I've seen some, you know, press conference related things and, like, just the way he handles the media and stuff, like, seems like he knows what he's doing. I don't know. I mean, it's, the Mets are always going to Mets, but I don't know. Well, that's the thing.

Yeah. I remember, you know, I'm a Marlins fan. You guys know this. I remember every time the Marlins would have a manager vacancy and they'd fired, they went through a pier where they fired a bunch of managers and, like, you remember when they hired their, like, they've just moved their GM into the manager role for a little bit. bit. It was a whole mess. And I remember people saying, like, why would anybody choose to be the manager for the Marlins? You're just going to get fired. And it's like, well, one, if things go bad, nobody's ever blaming. Like, nobody around baseball is going to look at the Mets and be like, well, that was obviously Andy Green's fault. So, like, you got no downside. Worst case scenario, you get fired. You don't have to work. They still got paid.

Three-year guaranteed contract from the Mets in a state of huge dysfunction. where their manager, their GMs probably on the hot seat next year. You might get fired next June. You got two and a half years of paychecks, baby. That sounds like a great gig. I'm just surprised. I'll take the Mets manager gig every time. Just knowing who's available, right?

I thought maybe they would go after an Alex Cora in the offseason or maybe revisit Carlos Beltron. I know he was going to be the manager. It sounds like Beltran just wasn't interested. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. I saw some speculation about that.

that it was like, he did an interview recently who he was asked about it and it was like, it didn't seem like it was like a huge priority for him. So that might have played a part in this decision as well. All right, some waiver wire options for the rest of the week, the final week. If you do play in a daily lineup league. And Nolan Aronado, I know Scott has had as a pretty high ranking sleeper hitter for this week. He is back in Corse Field.

He crushed another home run. His 28th home run of the season, just having a massive September. 338 batting average, seven homers. OPS is over 1100. He's 76% rostered, so this is a very shallow league name. He has two more games in Cores and then three at San Diego. Casey Mize, Walker Bueller.

They have Michael King listed, but if the Padres are locked in by Sunday, Michael King will not pitch in that game. So it could be kind of a bullpen game there. But yeah, I think if you need a third basement the rest of the week or just a utility hitter, Chris, and Aronado is one of the hottest hitters in September. Yeah, it's going to be fascinating. I wrote about the toughest third baseman to rank for Tuesday mornings, FBT newsletter.

Did you just have all of them on there? Well, yeah, I mean, I didn't include Aronado, but yeah, that's a tough one. I have no idea what to do with this season. He had 32 homers the previous two seasons. It's up to 28 now. Imagine it gets to 30? Imagine I told you before this season, Aronado hits 30 home runs. I didn't think the move to Arizona was going to be this good for him,

but he's bounced back a little with the underlying numbers, and he's got that pull swing locked in and has pretty much all season. He's got up with a great year. I'm looking at, you know, I have done some of the rankings for next season, and I've got him 17th at third base. That sounds appropriate. That's behind Caleb Durbin and Zach Gelloff, who I have zero faith in either of those guys.

Just full, full honesty. I don't believe in what they've done this season. I would imagine your faith level in Aronado is also very. It's also very low. But then like Coles of Montgomery has been awful for like the last two. There was something, I think he had like 50 strikeouts and 30 games or something recently. It's been, I think it's like close to a 40% strikeout rate in the second. half of the season. He's just... I think it's over 40%. Uh, let's see. I'm pulling it up right now. 40.4%.

Yeah, 613 OPS. I mean... The top two strikeout rates in the second half, both on the White Sox, Colson Montgomery and Moracami. I did not realize how awful Colson Montgomery has been since the start of June, actually. That is, this is a way more alarming. I know we're not talking about Colson Montgomery, but let's talk about Colson Montgomery for a second, because he's got a 30, percent strikeout rate. And he's hitting 186 since the start of June. And this is what people were worried about.

What's crazy is he still has 31 home runs and 87 RBI. Yeah, so like, I've got Aranado 17th. I've got Montgomery 14th. It wouldn't take much for me to jump Aronado to 14. I don't think I would put him ahead of Curtis Mead or

Esauk Paredes, although Pratis and Aronado are kind of the same guy. Peris is just y'allis. But it is to say that he's going to go into next season, fantasy relevant, which hasn't been true in a couple of years. So, great season for him. Caminero round one or J-Ram round two, man, lock it in, get one of those third basemen. Or Sal or Miguel Vargas in round two, they might get pushed that high just for at least in 15 team leagues. I think you're going to be second rounders.

I don't necessarily feel super great about it just because they've each only done it one. but you don't feel great about Jose Ramirez either. Yeah. Like what we said with Aaron Judge, 35-year-olds don't generally get healthier and bounce back. So third base is rough. Yeah. Well, continuing on with third base,

A. Eugenio Suarez has somewhat salvaged his season here, hit his 25th home run, 42 games since the start of August. He's hitting only 230, but it comes with 11 home runs, 31 RBI. His OPS is around 900 during that time. He had an injury earlier, on in the season. I think that kind of derailed

just everything for him. He's 69% rostered. He only has road games left. Obviously you'd like these more if they were in Cincinnati. He's going up against Chris Sale, Tyler Malley, Jose Soriano, Trey Yassavage, Spencer Miles. So I don't really like the matchups for Suarez.

Yeah, he's, you know, he could pop a couple home runs, but yeah, I'd much rather Aeronado the rest of this week. Chase Midroth, he is finishing... Did you see the little girl who ended up with his... It was his 350th career home run. No, I didn't see it.

Little girl in the stands up with it. Everybody's celebrating. She's super happy. She throws the ball back on the field. She's like three or four years old. It's very funny. Nice. Chase Midroth is finishing very strong.

He went three for five with his 16th home run and five RBI. And in the second half, he is hitting 275, nine homers, 35 runs, 32 RBI, two seals, 817 OPS. The underlying numbers do not buy it at all. But the final five days, very favorable here for Mindroth. He's going up against Seth Lugo, Randy Dobnack, Jose Kintana, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Kyle Freeland. Two of the five being lefties, he crushes lefties. Those games against the Rockies are in Chicago, so unfortunately he doesn't get Cors Field.

But look, I don't really buy it long term for Chase Midroth. But man, if you just need a second base shortstop middle infielder for the rest of this week, I like those matchups quite a bit for Chase Midroth. And the last name here is Walker Jenkins, who hit his fourth home run. Last seven games, extremely small sample, but he is hitting 440 with three homers. So slowly starting to figure things out a little bit here. And he has four games left. They are against lefty, Cesar Pardomo, Jordan Montgomery, Jacob deGrom, and Mackenzie Gore.

Do you have any interest in Jenkins for his final four games? Yeah. I don't think his, um, I don't think the bad. two weeks to kick off his career should have changed your perception of Walker Jenkins at all. He's a super, super talented player. And yeah, I'm totally open to using him down the stretch. The matchups, you know, the problem is he has a couple of left,

three or four left. Three out of four lefties on the schedule. And Jacob de Grom. He is one for 16 against lefties so far. That's not great. I don't think I'd use him the rest of the way, but I think he's a pretty exciting sleeper breakout for next season. I'm thrilled that he has a 709 OPS because I think that's going to help keep the cost down. And I think Walker Jenkins is just really talented.

All right, let's take our final break. When we return, I do have some pitcher options for this weekend. We'll do some buy or sell. We'll do all of that right after this. Welcome back, Fantasy Baseball today. Some waiver wire pitcher options for this weekend. Michael Soroka, an awesome start here in Corse Field. He is 80%

rostered, so this is just some very shallow league stuff, but I think for those playing in daily lineup leagues, like most of the streamers, like a lot of pitchers get added and dropped all the time, so roster rates are pretty different in leagues like that. But Soroka was great in this one, and it looks like he will pitch

again Sunday at the Padres. I don't mind it. I mean, he's had a good season, and obviously this was a great start. I think he'd be okay. Yeah, he's not this good. You know, I don't think he's a low 3 ZRA guy. But he's had a good season, like you said.

He's pitched well since coming back from, what was a back injury? I think it was a... I don't know. I was going to say knee, but I'm not sure. It's hard to keep track of this stuff at this point in the season. But either way, he's pitched well. Obviously, we want seven innings in this one,

93 pitches, so you like to see that. I think it's okay to pitch him on Sunday. The problem with any of the guys we're about to talk about is there's zero margin for air. Their teams could just decide to not give them that extra start. And in Syroka's case, the Diamondbacks do have something to play for, so it seems unlikely,

but it's possible that they just push him back. It was a strained glute in June that kept him out almost. two months and then it was right arm inflammation that only kept him out 17 days. Okay. But I mean, the pitch count is all the way up to 93. So I think he's fully ready to go. And they have to like even if they sweep the Padres this weekend.

They might not make the playoffs. Now they cannot afford to. They need some other things to happen here in order to get in. That's why I'm like if the D-backs are just out of it by Sunday, will they even pitch them? I don't know, to be honest. So as long as this is updated, they both have five games left

and they're down by four. Yeah. So they would have to win out and the Padres would have to lose out. Not likely, but not impossible. It's tough. Andre Palante took a tough loss at the Pirates,

six innings of one run ball, two walks, two strikeouts. And he's been pretty consistent this year. Three run runs are fewer in 21 of 28 starts. He is 58% rostered, and it looks like he has one more out on Sunday at the Brewers.

He has started against the Brewers twice this year. Five plus earn runs in each of them. So it's going to be slim pickings this weekend. Palante's been a pretty high floor pitcher. Like maybe the Brewers just kind of rest their guys this weekend so that could work out. But that's kind of the whole thing with the Brewers is their depth is so good that even when they rest guys, like, okay, we're not going to start Jake Bowers.

I don't love it. I don't love it for Palant. Andrew Vaughn's pretty good, you know, as it turns out. So, you know, they're averaging, at least entering, play on Tuesday 6.4 runs per game in September the Brewers. So their pitching has actually kind of taken a step back down the stretch, but the offense has been so good that it hasn't mattered. So I would lean against that one.

Sean Mania had a quality start with some big whiffs here at the Rangers. Six innings, three runs. Two of those earned nine strikeouts. 16 whiffs on 99 pitches. His fastball was awesome. Had 14 of his 16 whiffs. Don't really know where that came from. and he was pitching very poorly before this. He is, looks like he'll go against Sunday at the Nationals. He has faced them twice this year. He gave up four plus earned runs in both of those.

So don't really love that one either. Yeah, I would probably hope to avoid it. But as we said yesterday, you know your situation. If you don't care about your ratios and you're just trying to make up last second counting stats, go for it. Mania is much more likely to get you strikeouts over Palante. So if you're just thinking about strikeouts in particular, that would make some sense. What about J.R. Richie?

Lots of whiffs here. Too many walks against the Reds. Five innings, one run, eight strikeouts to three walks. He did have 12 whiffs on 86 pitches. You know, he was a decent prospect coming into the season. There was some hype because he had a good spring training. He pitched well last year in the minors. But if you dig into his individual pitches, his curveball is great.

I don't really know if he has anything else outside of that curveball. the walks have been a problem this year. He is 15% rostered and it looks like he will start again on Sunday at the Marlins. Do you have more interest in Richie over some of the other names? I like the matchup more.

Yeah. But I don't like the pitcher. He has just shown no real ability to to generate swings and misses this season. He does not generate a lot of chases. He does not generate a lot of swings and misses in the zone.

He doesn't throw in the zone very often. It's just kind of all been bad for Jerry Richie. I'm not writing him off entirely. The Braves have obviously done a very good job of developing a lot of the young pitchers, but I have not seen anything from him to make me feel confident in starting him. All right. And the last name up here is Jansen Junkie pitched well at the Cubs of all places. Five shutout innings with six strikeouts for him.

And he is home against the Braves. He will oppose J.R. Ritchie on Sunday. He allowed eight earn runs to the Braves on May 20th. So I don't think we're doing the Jansen Junk thing, are we, Chris? I don't think he's totally hopeless. He rates out really well by the various stuff metrics, surprisingly so. I don't get it because... I don't really get it, yeah.

I know stuff doesn't necessarily mean you have to get whiffs, but he gets no whiffs at all. And his velocity fluxes. actually it's a lot. I think he was up like a mile and a half per hour his most recent start before this and then it was back to mostly normal today. So yeah, look, the Braves will probably

be running out a pretty crummy lineup that day. Again, they're in a team with nothing to play for, but I don't have a lot of confidence in junk. All right, some pitcher appreciation slash buy or sell for next season. And Zach Wheeler, he racked up the whiffs

here against the Brewers. Five and two-thirds innings, three runs allowed, 11 strikeouts. He had 23 swinging strikes on 101 pitches. Ten of those came on the splitter, seven on the fastball, four on the curve, had it all working, and the last five starts for Wheeler, 171-ERA.95 whip, 40 strikeouts over 31 and two-thirds inning. So definitely a scary part, like part of the season there

in late July into August, but now finishing very strong is Zach Wheeler. Buy yourself. Top 12 starting pitcher next season. Top 50 overall pick. I chose top 50 because looking at last year's 80p, the SP 12 went right at like pick 48. So buy yourself, top 12 SP, top 50 overall pick. All right, well, let's go through all 50 picks. No.

Okay, Jacob Mizirowski, Cam Schlittler, Yoshnobi Yamamoto, Chris Sale, for sure. Christopher Sanchez, Terrick Scoop. those six for sure had of Zach Wheeler, right? Yeah, I'm good, but all that. Dylan Seas. A little bit tougher with the shoulder now.

Yeah, both him and Lazzardo. Forever linked by serial. Rasmussen? Well, that was my next buyer cell. Messick? Chase Burns? Chase Burns, yeah, probably. Gavin Williams?

That's why I kind of feel like Wheeler is in that range He's kind of in that like 8 to 12 range somewhere feels like Is there anyone I'm forgetting I mean that Those names make sense to me Yeah I think I'm buying top 12 starting pitcher for Zach Wheeler

That's a I think top 50 pick too yeah Yeah It's scary I said it last time we talked about him But if the If the Phillies give him an extension this offseason, even just like a one year.

Because remember, when he signed this contract extension, he said he was done after 2027. He was asked about that multiple times this season, and he was a lot more, he hedged his bets a lot more. So if they give him an extension, even just a one year, that would be a sign that everybody thinks this is going to continue to be very good. So that wouldn't necessarily change my opinion all that much, but it would make me feel a little better about it. Yeah. So I am buying both of those.

What about Jarasbison? I had his buyer sell as that he will go higher than Zach Wheeler. So do you buy or sell that? Well. I think I'm selling it. I think Wheeler will still go ahead of Rastases. Yeah. So Wheeler's up to 188 strike.

That's crazy. 188 strikeouts. And he didn't pitch the first month of the same. season. Rasmussen's had a very good season, but he's at what, 172, I think we said earlier. Yeah, I'll take Wheeler ahead of Rasmussen, I think. I think so too. Everything is we think right now.

Yeah. A lot of time. Part of it is I haven't started pitcher rankings yet. That'll be a Wednesday and Thursday problem. Yeah. Nick Martinez took a tough loss here at the Yankees, six innings two runs, seven strikeouts for him, but it's just another one, man. I don't know if he's going to make another start.

I don't think he is, but 294 ERA 107 whip. His K-per-9 is under 6, but like, dude, he got away with it the whole season. He entered Tuesday as the SP 17 in Roto and the SP-15 in total head-ted points, which is just insane. By or sell, Nick Martinez will be drafted in all leagues next season. Will be drafted in all leagues by Orsel. Okay, so he finishes with a 294 ERA 107 whip. How many innings? If you know off the top of your head?

If not, I can just click his name and it will come up. 171 innings. Okay, so in 2024, he had a 310 ERA. More strikeouts, actually, despite pitching 30-something fewer innings. A better whip, I think. I'm going to guess if Nick Martinez got drafted in 2020. it was very, very late. Martinez 318.83.

And so in your typical 12 team roto league, he was a bench pick. I think Nick Martinez will probably just be a bench pick again in 2027. But you think he will be drafted in all leagues? Yeah, I think at some point, someone will be like, you know what?

He's done it two out of the last three years. Why not? Yeah. I mean, as your last pick at that point, whatever, if he gets blown up. the first month, you just drop him, but... Yeah, does he have... Gosh, I have no idea what his contract status is,

so I can't say what the chances of him coming back to the race are either. Actually, it's a mutual option, so... That's probably not gonna work. Yeah, 13 million, he's probably getting traded. The race don't really pay. Mutual options, I mean, almost never get picked up. Yeah, so...

You know what, if he's not on Tampa, I might change my answer. Yeah. If he's on Tampa, bye. He will be drafted in every league. If he's not on Tampa, sell, he will not be drafted. Yeah, that might be the distinction.

Yeah. Carlos Rodon was amazing here in game one of the doubleheader against the raise, eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts, 18 whiffs on 96 pitches, seven on the fastball, seven on the slider, three on the changeup, had everything working here.

That's now three earn runs or fewer in 26 straight starts dating back to last year. And buy or sell, Carlos Sordaun, top 36. starting pitcher next season. I buy it. Yeah. I think we're basically talking about a guy who since the All-Star break of 2024

has made like probably about 60 starts, maybe a little more, with an ERA right around three well over a strikeout per inning. And that's a notable thing because he he's tinkered with his pitches

a lot over that span and that second half of 2024. There was a big change where he stopped during his cutter. His slider started playing up. His four seamers started playing better. There is injury risk here for sure. He had elbow surgery the offseason before this one and missed time in season as well. But I think when he's on the mound,

he's definitely a top 20 pitcher. And so accounting for some injury risk, I'll take top 36. I buy that one. I think he will be right around there. It's so tough when you don't have anything mapped out at all, so you're just trying to envision in your head. I will buy it.

Assuming he makes it through the season, makes it through the postseason, you know, healthy or whatever, and, you know, we don't, I think we heard right after the season last year that, oh, he needs to have this cleanup procedure. So obviously that kind of, like, mess things up. But if we don't hear anything like that,

it is tough because last offseason, he had the cleanup on the elbow, and then in I think July or August, he went on the aisle with a flexor strain this year. So that's, it's in the back of my mind, but if he goes low enough as your SP3, SP4, you know, it's kind of worth it at that point.

I will buy it. I will hesitantly buy it, but I think he's kind of like right on that, right on that range, right on that outskirts. Cusp. That is the word I was looking for. Right on that cusp of the top 36. Tage Bradley, a strong outing here at the Giants,

six innings, one run, six strikeouts. He had 11 whiffs on 104 pitches. And he has turned in three straight quality starts, and he has six plus strikeouts and seven straight. And it looks like that is the end of his season. He gets up to 205 strikeouts. Just a really good season all around for Taj Bradley. I know there's always ups and downs,

but look, if you left him in your lineup all year, you got a 373 ERA, a 122 whip, 10.4K per nine, did all that over 170 innings. And it's a fine season. Buy or sell. There is another level for Tage Bradley. I would probably sell this one.

There are still some pretty big red flags in his profile. He still gets hit very hard. He still gives up a lot of home runs. His control is still pretty shaky. So I would lean towards, this isn't the best case scenario for Tage Bradley. but I don't know how likely it is that he gets better. I think I would guess it's pretty unlikely.

I am going to, I'm going to buy this for Taz Bradley. I think if he uses his fastball less, that there is a little bit more upside here. It's kind of a give and take. Like, I don't think he can command his secondary pitches very well, and that's where like the walks come into play and hurt Tage Bradley. but his secondary pitches, cutter, splitter, curve,

all have whiff rates over 36%. They all have ex-wobas below 250. His fastball gets hit really hard, but I think he needs to throw that fastball just get me over strikes and things like that because he just can't command those other pitches as well. I did want to look up very quickly, Gavin Williams last year.

Didn't have the strikeout but had much better control. I wanted to say Gavin Williams could kind of be the blue clip for Todd Bradley, but as bad, as Gavin Williams's walk rate was last year, four and a half walks per nine, his location plus was 98. Todge Bradley's location plus this year is 91. That is really bad. So here's something that I think is kind of tells a lot of the story about Todge Bradley. When the batter is ahead in the count, Tosh Bradley throws his four seamers 60% of the time and it gets crushed. 481 X Woba,

96 mile per hour average X plus. When the hitter is ahead. Yes, when he's hitters ahead. He needs to throw a strike, basically, yeah. When the batter is, when the pitcher is ahead, when he's ahead, four seamers are awesome. 8, 225 X-Waba, 88 mile per hour average X velocity, and he throws it 36% of the time.

So when hitters can sit on the fastball, they can crush it. Yeah. And when he's in situations where they have to guess on the splitter, the cutter, or the curveball coming, he can be absolutely brilliant. It's just for as hard as he throws, 97 miles an hour with pretty good shape. It just doesn't miss a lot of bats.

It gets hit hard. And so it's that balancing act of, if he could consistently throw his foreseamer 40% of the time, he'd probably be really good. But I just don't know if he can get away with that. Yeah. Even if his location plus, like, as a rookie,

it was 97. This year it's 91. If he can get it to 97, yeah, I think he could probably be a mid-3 ZRA guy with a 10 or 11K per 9. That would be pretty awesome.

And I don't think he's going to be that like sought after for next season. I think people will just kind of view him as like a, all right, kind of fallback, you know, SP5, maybe a reserve pitcher or something like that. I could be way off on that, but that's how I read the situation right now.

Let's wrap up here. A couple deep sleepers. names that I'll just throw out there for next season. Drew Anderson of the Tigers turned in a quality start here against the national six innings, three runs, five strikeouts. He has made 11 starts this season, a 261 ERA, a 120 whip, just under a strikeout per inning. I think there might be something here. His changeup and curve, both have very good whiff rates. Fastball gets a decent amount of whiffs. I don't know if he's in the Tigers' plans as a starter for next season, but it was his first year back. I think he was either

He either came over from Japan or the KBO last year. Overall, it was a successful return to the majors for Drew Anderson. And Anthony Molina of the Giants, he had a strong outing here against the twins, six innings two runs, six strikeouts, one walk, and he's just 24 years old. He's been okay in the minors, but he's looked pretty good these last couple starts. So any deep sleeper interest appeal for either of these two for next season? Drew Anderson, Anthony Molina?

So Anderson, you've got Framber Valdez, Jackson Job, River Ryan, definitely in the rotation for next year, I think. I don't know, River Ryan, I'm going to say it. Troy Melton will be in there. Troy Melton, assuming he's healthy, yeah. Reese Olson probably won't be ready, although, I don't know, he'll be like 13 months removed from surgery by the start of spring training. So maybe I'd say he's in the, he's going to be fighting. Cater Montaro might be in the rotation. So I think Jerry Anderson's fighting for the fifth rotation spot probably in Detroit.

Is Jack Flarety still under contract? No, his contract's over at the end of this season. And then so I think that's one that you can throw on the back of your mind as a sleeper for, you know, if he wins that fifth starter job, especially if he looks good in spring training, then maybe we can have that discussion. But I don't know if the control is good enough. Anthony Molina just because, one, the Giants just have had so many pitcher injuries this season. They've had four different starting pitchers have Tommy John surgery now. We found out about Blade Tidwell today, Carson Wisenhunt, Trevor McDonald, and Haydenbergharn song all had Tommy John surgery this season. So Anthony Molina might be like the number two starter next season.

I guess Lander Roops ahead of him. He might be the number three starter next season. Yeah, boy, the Giants could just be an absolute disaster next season, as opposed to this season. So, yeah, I think that's a name to watch. I'm not convinced Anthony Molina's like a great talent, but it's a very good infield defense behind him unless they manage to trade everyone. I'm not sure if they will be.

But, yeah, I think that's a good sport. spot for a sleeper pitcher to come from San Francisco. Some leftovers here. CJ Abrams, two for four with a double dong, three RBI. 33 homers, 33 steals for CJ Abrams. He's been running a lot lately.

Yeah, he has seven steals in September. He's one of just two players to get to 30-30. The other one being Pete Carl Armstrong. Ellie Dela Cruz Cruz looks like he is eyeing 30-30. He had a sock at his shoe, his 29th home run, his 29th steal. His last 28 games just

bonkers. Four 11, nine homers, seven steals. His OPS is around 1250 over the past month for Ellie De LaCruz. And he's trying to go 30-30 with an I-Elston in the season, which is crazy. Yoronne Alvarez hit his 41st home run. He is now up over 100 RBI. Also has that OPS up over 1,000. And Zach Netto, one for four with a walk, two runs, two steals. Last 29 games for him, 296, six homers, six steals, OPS over 900. So, finishing strong as well. Any thoughts here on Netto, Alvarez, Ellie, and Abrams? Yeah, I think Netto is the most interesting of this group because it's been a mildly disappointing season. But then you look at the numbers and it's like, well, he's probably going to go 22, 25 when score 100 plus runs.

And yeah, the batting average is bad. It's probably never going to be great. But, you know, okay, he hasn't been as good as he was last season in a, you know, slightly larger sample size. You'll take 25, 25 from your shortstop every day. I think he's more, let me see, I need to find a better way to sort my, the rankings that I've done so far, because I've got every position in one sheet, and that's dumb. But yeah, I have Netto 6th. Yeah.

Who are the five you have ahead of him? Lindor, Abrams, Griffin, De La Cruz, and Bobby Whit. All right. Because, like, McDonogel is an incredible player and in a points league. You probably take him over Netto,

but then it had to have been a roto. You know, I just don't think he has the five category juice. Yeah. I think Gunner Henderson and Trey Turner are going to be tough and maybe Jeremy Pena as well. He left today's game with a wrist injury

after getting hit by a pitch, by the way. Did we mention that? I did not, no. Yeah. So that's something to note. But yeah, I think Netto is going to be in like the 6 to 10 range at shortstop. So, you know, good season, slightly underwhelming. Maybe there's not another step to take.

Yeah. X-rays negative on Jeremy Pena. Okay. That came from Joe Espada. Yeah, I would like for him to get through more than like six games in a row without getting hurt this season. Yeah. Because he's been awesome when he's on the field.

Scott and I did some bold predictions last Friday. And one of mine was Jeremy Pena goes 25, 25, and finishes a top three shortstop next season. I mean, that's basically the pace he's been on the last two seasons, right? Yeah. Pretty close, yeah. So, let's do it. I will be, I'm very interested to see where the cost winds up here for Jeremy Pena.

I think I could end up drafting a lot of Jeremy Pena. Pitching left over, Shoti Emanaga pitched well against the Marlins five innings, one run, seven strikeouts to zero walks. And having himself a big September, looks like that is his last start of the season. I know there have been lots of ups and downs with Imanaga this year, but 374 ERA 110 whip. I think if I told you that before the season, you would sign up for that with Imanaga.

And Logan Gilbert, bad outing here against the Astros, four innings, four runs, 10 hits allowed, two walks. I mean, he had a three whip in this game. Chris, can we just end the Mariners season? I mean, with the exception of Randy or Rosarena, has anyone had a good season on the Mariners? Like, I guess, Koliath, who has exceeded expectations for the Mariners in any role.

Cole Young and Randy a Rosarena. And I think that's it. I think every other player on that team has been a disappointment. That sounds right. That's wild. I can't push back. Even Andres Munoz, isn't he? He's right?

Like above four? Down season, yeah, for sure. So yeah, it's absolutely been a disastrous season. I wonder if. if they're going to make some changes. I know Mariners fans especially want a lot of changes. I think there's no way Dan Wilson's back. But other than that, will they make any changes beyond that?

I'm not sure. There was an interesting discussion the other day on Twitter between Scott and Lance Brasdowski about the Mariners and just whether their pitching development has stagnated, something we've talked about on the podcast a lot. And, you know, I think this is, still a good organization for pitching development. Certainly a lot of smart people think that.

I do wonder, though, like, you can reach a point even when you've got smart people or you just need a different voice in people's ears. And I do wonder if we're just kind of, the Mariners are just kind of stagnating organizationally in a way that doesn't necessarily mean these people are bad at their jobs. But, you know, when everybody takes a step back all at once, I think you have to ask some questions there. And then showed up, man, I know it will never happen. You know what I would love to see is him going to Tampa.

I think that would be so good for him. I think he could pitch like an ace with half his games in Tropicana. He's going to be a free agent too, right? Yeah, and he's a free agent. So that's why I'm bringing it up is like, I don't know if the Cubs are going to bring him back. Remember, they, I think San Fran will have big interest in him. Yeah, they've talked. I mean, not that they're a great pitching organization.

but it's a great ballpark for a fly ball pitcher. And they have a need, and they've talked about, you know, wanting to extend their reach in Japan. So that's... Or even San Diego. Like,

San Diego is going to need pitching this offseason. I would love either of those for Imanaga. Yeah. And remember, the Cubs had, was it like a two-year option on him that they turned down? Yeah.

And it turned into, they just gave him a qualifying offer instead. Yep, that's exactly what happened. Call to the bullpen here for the Yankees in game one, David Bednar, a clean ninth inning for his 35th save. And it's turned out to be a great season for Bednar, 254, ERA 102

whip over a strikeout per inning. He is also going to be a free agent this off season, so we'll be interesting to see where Bednar winds up. For the Nationals, lefty, Eric Tolman picked up his fourth save, and he has four of the past six saves for the Nationals. They do not have a closer,

and they never will ever again. But it might be Eric. He might get one more save. Yeah, it's possible. I do think the Nationals are a pretty good bet to be like the Marlins this year and go out and get, you know, not a huge name at Closer,

but someone who... Just someone who's done it. Is the guy who has the job, yeah. Yeah. For the Pirates, Mason Montgomery was unavailable and Gregory Soto picked up his 16th save. For the Phillies, Yawand DeRan gave up a run, but he picked up his 33rd save.

For the Guardians, Kate Smith picked up his 40th save. And just another one, awesome season. 199, ERA, 0.98 whip, 104 strikeouts over 72 and a third inning. Just massive, massive numbers there from Cade Smith. Wire to wire pitched well. Yeah, rare for a closer this season. And there were slight questions just because,

hey, we haven't seen him in the closer role, you know, over a full season. And he's that dude. He answered all of those questions and then some. For the twins, Jeff Hoffman got the ninth inning with a two-run lead. He allowed a run on two walks, a hit by pitch and a fielder's choice. Very rocky save, but he picked it up.

And Yowndrae. has completely imploded here in September. I think if they get one or two more saves the rest of the way, it probably goes to Jeff Hoffman. And he's still under contract for next year. I think there's a pretty good chance that he just opens next season as the Twins Closer, Jeff Hoffman.

I know it was really bad with the Blue Jays, but basically since, I think since June 1st on, he's been amazing. For the athletics, Hogan Harris picked up his 16th save and then for the Marlins. Chris,

I don't know what your Marlins are doing, but they're having fun. Uri Perez pitched in the eighth inning with the game tied, and he struck out the side. He looked awesome. I don't know why this happened, but last week we got Sandy Alcantro with a save.

That was weird. We're breaking the wheel. This is how we get back to 200-inning starters. Instead of throwing your bullpen session between starts, just throw an inning of relief. And everybody does that 30 times. And the Marlins end up with five broken pitchers by the end of next season.

Imagine that. We got like 30 starts from Yuri Perez and Sandy Alcantara. And they each got like five saves or something crazy. I have no idea what's going on. I'm interested to see if there's like some quotes. My guess is that it's just, like Sandy looked like he had fun. Why not see if Yuri?

but like maybe Yuri won't make another start and this was just a way to get some work in but I don't know I I'm joking about this actually being a thing like an organizational philosophy but what if I'm not? To stream or not to stream on Wednesday we have Matthew Liberator at the Pirates, Andrew Abbott at the Braves,

Seth Lugo home against the White Sox, Ryan Gusto's at the Cubs, Connor prelip at the Giants, Walbert Arania at the Athletics, Ethan Pecco at the Mariners Cody Bradford Home Against the Mets and Max Scherzer at the Orioles Arania

even though I don't love at athletics and then Connor Prelip and I do love at San Francisco so those are me my two favorites if I have to pick a third I really don't want to I think it would be Shurzer but yeah I don't have any faith in that

but yeah I guess that might be the best one very very scary and then on Thursday Randy Dobnack home against the White Sox, Tyler Phillips at the Cubs, Zach Thornton at the Rangers, Brady Singer at the Braves, Nick Povetta at the Dodgers, Peter Lambert at the athletics,

Grayson Rodriguez at the Mariners, Kumar Rocker, home against the Mets. I hate this. Maybe Grayson Rodriguez, maybe Kumar Rocker. I know Randy Dobnick has mostly gotten good results, but I don't have any faith in that whatsoever. Povetta at the Dodgers scares me a lot.

Yeah. Otani will be back I will say Zach Thornton at the Rangers Peter Lambert at the Athletics Grayson Rodriguez at the Mariners Thornton is the only one I kind of like the other two I think are pretty risky

but yeah those are the three I would rank Thornton Lambert and Grod Yeah I don't like it We are gonna wrap there for Chris I am Frank Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify And we will be back again tomorrow

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