Fantasy Baseball Today - Jacob Lopez Back on Track, Week 21 Sleepers & Two-Start Pitchers! (8/8 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

Jacob Lopez just had the best start of his career (2:45)! ... Drake Baldwin got back on track with two homers (8:17). ... News (14:00): Josh Naylor left Thursday with a shoulder injury. ... Jakob Marsee keeps making things happen (19:15). ... Hey, real quick (27:10)! Luis Robert continues to rake in the second half. ... Why has Logan Gilbert been so inefficient (38:12)? ... Let's play SCOTTY DOESN'T KNOW (42:30)! ... Time to preview Week 21, looking at the schedule, two-start pitchers and sleeper hitters (55:09). ... We wrap up with bullpen updates and weekend streamers (1:04:05)! Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow FBT on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CBSScottWhite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Roto_Frank⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Facebook group at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

in tough fantasy baseball today on August 8th. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White. Today on the show, a huge start from Jacob Lopez. We'll preview week 21 and a four-game slate. You know what that means. That's right. Will Scottie know? Probably not, but we'll see.

I never know. Let's jump in with the players, of the night. Holy Toledo. The element of surprise Brains Supreme. All right, Scott, there's only one place to start.

You are up. Jacob Lopez. Look at our boy. All grown up. Pitching at the National seven and two-thirds scoreless innings. 10 strikeouts.

18 swinging strikes, which is itself a huge number. On 114 pitches. 17 of those came in one at bat. So that was kind of a strange little quirk, historic thing that happened in this Jacob Lopez start. But that's an aside. It was great. Obviously, 10 strikeouts, 18 swinging strikes.

You'd love to see that. And it'd been a while since we saw a start like this from Jacob Lopez. Remember, he came up and had a number of starts where he looked flat out dominant, was missing a lot of bats. minor league numbers look great, but 27-year-old, you know, kind of an unconventional sidearm delivery. Was it just a gimmicky thing when the league got to see more of Jacob Lopez? Were they going to catch up to him? And for a while, now that seemed like the case, previous six starts for Jacob Lopez, 467 ERA, just a 10% swinging strike rate.

And all six of those starts, five innings are fewer. So he had not been particularly useful in fantasy for like a month and a half. And then he turns in another start like this that reminds us, eh, there's kind of an interesting profile. So the 10 strikeouts is a season high, but he did have three nine strikeout efforts earlier, also a couple of eight strikeout efforts. And just to remind you of the minor league numbers for Jacob Lopez prior to his promotion,

He had a 233 ERA, a 0.89 whip, 12.7K per 9. I watch him pitch, and I come away impressed. He has that almost Chris Sale, like, and how low he drops down from the left-hand side. And it seems like there's enough zip on that fastball for it to hold up. So I am kind of motivated to pick him up again after this start. dropped it. If he was dropped, if he was dropped,

maybe it's a fool me once. Shame on you, fool me twice. Shame on me. Maybe I am bringing shame on myself by saying this, but, you know, I'll go ahead and tell you, Jacob Lopez on my sleeper pitchers list for week 21. And he's out there in 60% of CBS Sports Leaks. The only thing I will warn you about next week,

and perhaps you already know this, But he, well, of course, you know what the matchup is. If he's a sleeper pitcher, he's facing the raise next week, his former team. And the last time he faced him, it did not go very well. So in that start, earlier the season, three in a third innings, five hits allowed, four runs, three earned, one walk, one strikeout, one homer allowed. So obviously not a good outing there. You know, do they have his number? Do they know more about him than other teams because he's a former prospect of theirs?

It's possible, but he got to watch out for that for sure. The race have been, have become not so great offensively, particularly against left-handers. They have the 24th best, which translates to what the seventh worst OPS against lefties and their strikeouts against lefties. They rate similarly. So I am viewing it as a good matchup,

but it's true there is that wrinkle of it being their former, of being Lopez's former team and then perhaps having a better read on him. them than most. And look, this may all turn out to be a gimmick. Still, the Nationals lineup, who Lopez obviously did this against, they've been having some hard times lately. Of course, James Wood in a pretty miserable slump especially.

And, you know, it's possible this is more the fault of the Nationals lineup and just what can happen with, Lopez being as unconventional of a thrower as he is, what can happen when he comes up against a lineup that's just not ready for him. But nonetheless, I am intrigued. There's not a lot to get excited about on the waiver wire at starting pitcher. And I'll reiterate, this is Lopez's fourth start this year, fourth start since the start of June with nine,

strikeouts or more. Yeah. Adding on to your point about the Nationals, their lineup is very bad right now. On top of that, 81 of the 114 pitches he threw today were against left-handed batters. So that's also just kind of a weird wrinkle here that the Nationals had a bunch of lefties in the lineup. So I don't want to take away anything from him, but it does seem like it kind of set up like a really nice spot here for Jacob Lopez. Want to point out that his slider was different in this one too. It was down 1.6 miles per hour.

It had two more inches of vertical brake, two more inches of horizontal break, and it was disgusting. It had nine whiffs, a 38% whiff rate, 39% CSW. So really awesome usage and perhaps a different version of his slider that we saw here on Thursday for Jacob Lopez. Let's talk about Drake Baldwin, my player of the night here. Three for five with a double dong, five RBI, his first home run since July 9th. So nice to see him get back on the board nearly a month between, home runs here, but it's been a fantastic rookie season. 287 batting average, 13 home runs, 840 OPS, small sample size, but he's also hit lefties

well, 306, three homers, 903 OPS in only 49 at bats, I realize that, but you'd rather a young lefty perform well against lefties than not, so I do like that aspect of his game as well. 50% rostered for Drake Baldwin, I think that's probably right, Scott. I mean, does he need to be rostered in one catcher leagues. I feel like while he started five of the past six games, he also set three of four before that. So I kind of. Yeah, it's hard to get a read on exactly how the Braves

are going to distribute playing time between their two catchers and their one, DH, who's still hanging around, Marcel Ozuna, who at Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, three games in a row, Ozuna was out of the lineup. But now he's been in the lineup two straight. And in fact, just had a big game here on Thursday, which I'm sure we'll talk about. So Murphy was out of the line of this time.

Baldwin was in. Baldwin has the big game. I think from a fantasy perspective, we wouldn't mind seeing Ozuna just kind of go away. And I think maybe from a strategic perspective, kind of evaluating their options for next year, that kind of makes sense for the Braves to make that happen. I do have a preference for Baldwin.

over Murphy, they both are in my top 12 catchers rest of season. But, you know, just when we start to get comfortable with the idea, okay, Baldwin and Murphy, they're both going to be worth using, Ozonez begins to interject again. So it's been a little frustrating.

But, yeah, I think even in one catcher leagues, Baldwin is somebody who's worth rostering, and that would mean the 58% rate is too low in my eyes. Yeah, it's only 50%. So it's 50%. Yeah, it's even lower than that. I mean, looking at some names here that are more rostered than him,

Logan O'Hoppy, Austin Wells, even Ben Rice, who I think we still like the hitter, Ben Rice. He just doesn't play enough. He's the backup catcher. He, you know, gets a few starts at first base here and there. But I think I would be okay with having Drake Baldwin on my team over any of those. Ohopi, Austin Wells, and Ben Rice. I rank them over all three and quite a few spots over the Yankees duo there. Projecting forward, Scott, I did want you to put your Atlanta Braves hat on here and look into the crystal ball and see what we could figure out for the off season. Do you think the Braves will trade Sean Murphy this off season? Because if so, and Drake Baldwin is just kind of the lone catcher for next season, I mean, the sky is the limit, right?

He could have like top five catcher upside. I don't think they will because, I mean, obviously they like Sean Murphy enough to give up William Contreras for him and to sign him to a long-term deal right away. And he's kind of looking like the player they acquired back then again. So I think, look, I'm sure they'll listen. And if a team wants to make an incredible offer for him, I'm not going to rule it out. But I don't think they'll actively be shopping, Sean Murphy. I think it's much more likely. Ozuna walks this off season.

They kind of keep the DH spot open. And we see a lot more of Baldwin and Murphy in the lineup at the same time next year. All right. For those watching live, thanks for being here. Make sure to hit the like button and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. And make sure to check out our 10-minute podcast,

10, 12-minute podcast, FBT Express. We usually talk about prospects. We do our weekly preview on there, waiver wire ads, all that fun stuff. So download and follow wherever you listen to this podcast. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today. Let's run through to the news and notes.

Josh Naler, the only thing that could stop him is himself. Left early Thursday due to shoulder soreness. And earlier in the season, he dealt with discomfort in his right shoulder. I couldn't for the life of me, Scott, find out what shoulder he hurt in this game. I wasn't watching it, but I tried to like search on Twitter or read anything. about it and nobody mentioned what shoulder it was they just said shoulder soreness so if it's his right shoulder again then that's probably not good because again he dealt with that injury earlier in the season so um hoping it's not serious because a josh niller has been awesome since

the trade to seattle and uh you know obviously we need our steals scott what are we going to do without josh nailer yeah huge source of steals uh uh so right shoulder how long did that sideline of earlier the right shoulder soreness I don't think he ever went on the I L for it I think he was just kind of unfixed though day to day and missed like a couple games here or there but it started to affect his production I do remember that and then it turned into like a neck issue he was having it was like shoulder slash neck problems so it seemed like he was over it because he was performing so well right yeah I don't I don't know I mean

it it could just be like soreness could be an indicator of an actual injury, or it could just be the kind of soreness we all feel sometimes, you know? So it may not be much of anything at all. He's a left-handed thrower and a left-handed batter. So if any shoulder's going to be hurting, I would rather it be his right shoulder. But, yeah, I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Obviously, he's looked great since all season he's looked great, but especially since coming over to the Mariners. and we'll see if it turns out to be something more significant than just soreness. Michael King is slated to return from the 60-day IL and start Saturday against the Red Sox. It will be his first start since May 18th. He did make one rehab start where he allowed six earned runs over three and a third innings. Velocity down around one mile per hour on his fastball and sweeper. I think it's going to take some time for him to A, build up and also just get back to being himself.

So if you play in a daily lineup league, I would not be using Michael King first time out here against Boston. No, I don't think you should either. And this was kind of, we don't have a lot of history. I'm trying to remember what it is. But as I recall, the injury he's coming back from isn't one that we have a lot of track record for. I think it was a shoulder thoracic nerve. impingement.

Yeah, yeah, a nerve thing in his shoulder. Yeah. And so they didn't have a clear timeline for it at first because they were kind of just winging it. Obviously, he's feeling well enough Michael King to give it a go. And considering he made just one rehab start, I'm not that alarmed, the velocity was down one mile per hour. It is strange that after such a long layoff, he only made one rehab start.

So I do have, I just came out with an IL stash rankings earlier this week. week and Michael King was pretty high and he was 14th. I think he needs to be rostered at all leagues, but I'm with you that I, there's something for him to prove here, I think before we put him back in our lineups. Yeah, and Michael King, it looks like as of now, set to face the Dodgers in LA next week,

which obviously is a big game, you know, divisional matchup and everything and, you know, obviously both teams working towards the playoffs here, but unless, Michael King is just flat out dominant against the Red Sox. I don't think we're starting him against the Dodgers in his second start back next week either. Ronald Acuna took batting practice on the field Thursday.

David O'Brien of the athletic said Acuna was showing absolutely no lingering sign of that right calf strain. But as I mentioned before, the Braves need to be very careful with this injury. Obviously, Acuna is the prized asset and has dealt with, you know, multiple leg injuries before this, so let's just, you know, let's take it easy. Chris sailed through a successful 30-pitch simulated game on Thursday and could make a rehab

start soon, so that's pretty cool. Chase Midroth was placed on the aisle with a right-thumb contusion. Nolan Aronado is tentatively slated to rejoin the Cardinals on August 18th before their series against the Marlins. He's currently on the aisle with a right shoulder injury.

And Jose Alvarado began a rehab assignment at AAA on Thursday. he is returning from a PED suspension. Doesn't really matter in saves leagues anymore because they have Yohan Duran, he's the guy, but, you know, in holds, saves plus holds leagues, Alvarado has nasty stuff, could give you good ratios, he pitches for a good team,

so yeah, in leads like that, I would still be paying attention to Jose Alvarado, who I think is eligible to return in like mid-August, maybe a week from now, something like that. WaiverWire names here from Thursday, all deep league stuff here. Jacob Marcy, we talk about the guy every day. He just keeps doing things.

Two for four with a run, RBI, and his second steal that's back-to-back games with a steal. So far, he is nine for 20 in seven games with a homer, a triple, three doubles, six walks, two steals, 23% rostered. I'm not

just going to say must-rosster player. I think in any five outfielder leagues, Jacob Marcy should be rostered. And there are more of those than just 23% on CBS. Yeah, that's fair. I think you always have to give yourself a chance at a breakout. Probably he's going to fall off.

Probably. I don't know that I've ever seen a larger disparity. And obviously, it's a tiny sample so weird things can happen in tiny samples. But I don't know that I've seen a larger disparity between a player's average exit velocity and has max exit velocity before. the average is 94.8 miles per hour. Look out air and judge. But then the max is 105.7, which is like 19th percentile.

And based on all the other data we have for Marcy in his career, like the max exit velocity is more indicative of how he's going to impact the ball in the long run, which doesn't mean he can't make it work with good enough pull air rates and good enough contact rate. And obviously the speed is the big selling point here for Marcy. So, you know, off to a hot start, good minor league numbers, playing every day, sure. You know, deep leagues where you've got to go deep into the outfield pool, happy to take a shot on them. I'm just, I'm not, I'm not going to treat him like a savior yet. Yeah, he did have two more hard hits here on Thursday.

Nothing massive. It was 101.1.9 and 99.4. we're still looking for that big max. I don't know that we're ever going to get it, to be honest. But I mean, my point is just he's not going to sustain 95 mile per hour average. It's going to drop by. I think it was 87 or 8 miles per hour.

Yeah, it was like 87 in the miners. So it's not going to be anything like that. But he is off to a great start. I actually texted the Welsh earlier on Thursday night. I said I feel like a proud Papa watching Jacob Marcy because I remember him in the Arizona fall. League back in 2023 and we were all just like wow this guy is awesome every time he's on base he's stealing bases he's hitting home runs and uh he won the a Arizona fall league MVP that year and then

in 2024 he had an awful season in minors and this year he bounced back and now he's getting a chance and you know it's a small sample but he's he's performing really well so uh it's one of the first times that like I got to see a prospect in person before they debuted and now I'm seeing him perform well And it's just a cool feeling. So it's just like, yeah, you go, Jacob Marcy. Let's do this. Next up, we have Shane Smith, who look good at the Mariners. Five innings, two runs, eight strikeouts to one walk.

15 whiffs on 78 pitches here. So very nice rate here of swinging strikes. Six on the curve, five on the fastball, three on the change-up. Velocity up around one mile per hour on four of five pitches. I know he really kind of just fell off the map here, but there were some good starts early. I think there is talent here. So I'm not saying go out and add him again yet.

But if we see a couple more good starts in a row, then maybe. Maybe Shane Smith is a waiver wire ad that just to quantify how bad he had been leading into this start, previous six, a 993 ERA, 172 whip. I did notice that in this start, he doubled his curveball use more or less. and that has been his best whiff pitch with a 44% rate. So maybe that's something for Shane Smith to build off of. But more than anything, I think his struggles are just, he's rookie. And, you know, the innings are beginning to escalate for him. And so it's probably going to be, you should probably expect these inconsistencies for the rest of this year.

His fastball also had two more inches of IVB. And it performed really well, five whiffs here. He seemed to I don't know He just seemed to have more zip on everything Yeah I don't know Did he get more days

Did he have more rest in between I know he had gotten plenty of rest Between the All-Star break and everything else So there's probably not anything to that But I am curious Looks like he last pitched August 1st So that's what an extra day of rest Yeah he's not six days in between you

Yeah Not that big of a deal but yeah it was a good start for Smith a reminder of his upside all right couple other deep league names here Dayrell her nays of the athletics we've been talking about him a lot lately two for three with a triple two runs scored

eight games so far he's nine for 28 with two homers and a steel he's filling in very nicely for Jacob Wilson so far Colby Thomas his teammate he is on the board sorry not to interrupt like that that August first start for Shane Smith that was his first appearance since July 11th

So he did have a very long rest prior to his previous start. An ankle injury he was dealing with. Yeah, yeah. Yep. Okay. So maybe it did contribute to it, even though his previous start wasn't very good. Yep.

So mentioned Dayrell Hernais, his teammate Colby Thomas, first career home run with three RBI. He is exclusively playing against left-handed pitching so far. Great minor league numbers. Would like to see them just kind of give Colby Thomas an opportunity here. And Curtis Mead, getting a chance to play with the White Sox. Remember, he came over at the trade deadline.

Two for four with his fifth stolen base. His first with the White Sox, he has started two straight. I know Miguel Vargas is on the IL and Chase Midroth is on the IL. So Curtis Mead's going to get a chance to play here. Great, minor league numbers, 298 career average, 878 OPS. Any very deep league interest gotten a Curtis Meade, Colby Thomas, or Danerle Hernandez. What was that comparison? I didn't hear you.

No, I'd said any interest in all three of these names. Hernes, Thomas, and Mead. I didn't hear you over the sound of my own voice. Ernest is probably going to be the most usable, but we're talking deep, deep leagues, like 20 teams or AL only or something like that. I haven't given up on Mead as a talent. Like, now that he hopefully will get more opportunities with the White Sox, certainly right now with all the injuries.

and maybe he can live up to the potential that once made him, he was a pretty high-end prospect. It wasn't just he was putting up numbers in the minors like a Jacob Marcy situation. He was widely considered one of the top-hitting prospects in baseball and just never did much with the sparse opportunities he got for the raise. And there were some health issues in there that may have contributed to it. So I'm definitely interested in Curtis Mead from a scouting perspective, but it would pretty much just be an AOL only league

where I'd consider adding him at this point. Yeah, Curtis Meade, by the way, just looking at his prospect rankings throughout the years, got all the way up to 16th by a baseball prospectus entering the 2023 season. So that's pretty high. Yeah, I mean, there was a lot to like here

about Curtis Mead and now getting a chance to play. So just the name to watch. And look, crazier things have happened, right? Like, we thought Andrew Vaughn was, done. Look what he's doing now. So just watch and let's see what Curtis Mead can do. Hey real quick. Thursday leftovers. Luis Robert

continues to rake in the second half three for four with his 31st steal. Last 19 games, he's hitting 377 with four homers, nine steals and OPS around a thousand. I updated the rankings on Thursday here, Scott, and I think

I got Luis Robert back up around 40th, so like a top 40-ish outfielder rest of season. Oh, I think I got them higher than that. I think I get to beat, Frank. Probably a big gap between Roto and head-to-head for me. I don't have you beat by that much, just two spots, 38th. That was not worth voicing.

So this stretch for Luis Robert, and I don't mean to harp on it, because it's a small sample, weird things can happen in small samples. But the average exit velocity is only 85.8 miles per hour. but he's also striking out just 14% of the time. So I wonder if he's kind of selling out for contact right now. And he's so gifted physically. It's still translated to three homers. He's still gotten three homers during this 15 game stretch.

So maybe this will help. I mean, you think back to Luis Robert when he was at his best for fantasy, like in, let's see, his best year was actually 2023 and he had a high strikeout rate then before yeah he had a high strikeout rate in that 2023 season which was his best

but the year before that 2022 when he was kind of first emerging as a fantasy stud you know he struck out less than 20% of the time 2021 same thing 21% of the time so we've it's not like Louise Robert

has always been this guy who has to overcome a high strikeout rate. That hasn't always been part of his game. And so we're seeing him have success by seemingly just aiming for contact more. And that might be the key to helping him recapture some of his former high-end standing. Too early to say, but I'm encouraged.

Randy Rosarina back with another bomb, one for five with his 23rd home run. He actually let off in this game against the right-handed pitcher. J.P. Crawford had hit 9th, so perhaps that's something that they will just start to go with moving forward. Last 54 games since June 7th

for a Rosarena, hitting 282, 16 homers, 12 steals, and OPS over 950, 91.6 average exit velocity, 14% barrel rate. And let's see if you got me beat on a Randy a Rosarena, Scott. You do. One spot.

We both have them as a top 20 outfielder the rest of season. Yeah. I'm always one-up in you, Frank. I do want to point out with Randy a Rosarena. But part of the reason he got traded to the Mariners last season is because he was so bad to start out with the race that year. And so this is an example of a player. You know, we often warn people when hitters are traded to the Mariners. Like, ah, you know, some players have found it hard to see the ball in that stadium,

and it's not like the stadium rates well for hitters apart from that. But Randy Rosarine is an example of a hitter who's gone to the Mariners and really seen his stock improve from it. He's gotten his career back on track what it looked like it might be going off the rails there halfway through last year. Next up, Brian Reynolds, two for four. the walk in his 11th home run. He's actually hitting a little bit better in the second half so far. 306 batting average, but just not much else. This is his only home run so far in the second half. Hitting 239, 680 OPS. The expected stats have been good all season. They're actually better than they

were last year. I've given him the benefit of the doubt up until this point, but I've really started to drop him pretty far in the ranking, Scott. I moved him outside the top 50 outfielders, and I think he's droppable in three outfieler leagues. The roster rate doesn't reflect that. He's still 90% rostered. What do you think? Yeah, Brian Reynolds has been one of the biggest head scratchers this year because he had always been so steady.

And I'm not sure what's changed. You know, you can't... The strikeout rate. The strikeout rate's up a little bit, but that's really it. It's up a little bit. The walk rate's down a little bit, but not... Not to the extreme, not to the extent that I'd really consider it a problem. And even more, the expected stats don't see it as a problem.

The expected stats take that into account. So Brian Reynolds now for the year is hitting 239 with a 680 OPS. So a slug of about 3, 385, 390. Again, that's 239. Yeah, I think the slugs 382. 239 and 382. But the expected stats are 273-4-76. And by the way, the expected stats last year, 274-63,

like Stackast thinks he's the exact same player, despite the strikeout rate being up a little. The average exit velocity is also up a little. He's hitting the ball a couple miles per hour harder. The pull air rate isn't very good, but it's exactly the same as it was last year. So I don't really understand why Reynolds has been mired in the season-long slump. There hasn't been any signs of a turnaround.

He had the big game here Thursday, two-for-four with a home run. But since his previous home run back on June 29th, not July 29th, June 29th, that was the last time Reynolds homered. He had hit 230 with a 564 OPS during that stretch. So he'd been even worse. I understand what like I kind of commend the restraint that CBS sports players have shown holding on to him through this this awful start to the season. But now that this start has extended four months, two thirds of the season, it probably is time to move on in three outfielder leagues. Wouldn't it all surprise me looking at the data if Reynolds did? suddenly turn it on and was great the rest of the way,

but at some point, at some point, you got to recognize when it's just not worth the trouble anymore. Xavier Edwards might be picking things up, two for five with his 19th steel. It's back-to-back games with multiple hits and a steal in each. And he's actually hitting 325 since the start of June, but it's only eight steals. We've said this a lot, man.

We need more speed from Xavier Edwards, who is up to 82% rostered on CBS, 73% on Yahoo. I think that totally makes sense. Marcelo Zuna, is he coming back to life a little bit here? Three for four with his 16th homer last nine games, very small sample, hitting 333 with three home runs. His quality of contact during this stretch has actually been awful. I don't know what to make of the playing time. We spoke about this with the catchers earlier. Is he, he's still 83% rostered Marcel Ozuna, should he be?

No, he shouldn't be. He's a difficult fit in lineups as a DH-only player. And you can't trust the playing time. So 83, it's wild to me that he's still that rostered, frankly. I would expect it to be half that. Would you drop it for Andrew Vaughn? Yeah. Yeah.

Luke Keishel. I am. Luke Keishel, sure. Yeah, I'd do that. Now, I have held on to Ozuna in a couple leagues, but they're 15-team Roto leagues. They're the kind of leagues where I'd be dropping Marcel Ozuna for, I don't know. I mean, at one point, I guess, a warming Bernabelle or an Andrew Vaughn was still out there. And sure, I would have been fine doing that.

But I had somebody weaker, I could drop instead. You know, the kind of hitters that are normally on the Waver Wire to 15-Team League are like Wilmer Flores, you know. So, okay, I'll hold on to Ozuna in the hopes that something clicks for him here. But now, I think the standard fantasy player and the standard size league is just not worth the trouble. It's funny you bring that up, 15 team roto leagues. He was actually dropped in my Tout Wars League. So I picked him up last week, and that's a 15 team roto OBP. I mean, I think OZuna's OBP this year is 370 or something crazy like that.

So I don't know how much he's going to play, but I figured, all right, you know, maybe he starts to hit a little bit final two months. So I agree. In a league that deep, he probably should be rostered. But in a lot of these shallower formats that we talk about often, I think Marcel Lozuna probably can go. Let's take a quick break.

When we return, we'll run through some pitching leftovers. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. I do have three pitching leftovers to mention here. Logan Gilbert, solid outing against the White Sox. Five innings, one run, six strikeouts, had 16 whiffs on 9. 94 pitches.

He's just been really oddly inefficient this season. He has completed six innings in three of 16 starts. Last year, Logan Gilbert did that in 26 of 33. That is a massive, massive discrepancy from where he was at just a year ago. Paul Skeens, a strong start against the Reds, six shutout with eight strikeouts, had 11 whiffs on 97 pitches, and he has gone six shutout in three of his last four, has eight plus strikeouts and three straight. And Yuri Perez got punched by your Atlanta Braves.

Five and a third. Five runs allowed. Three homers allowed in this one. He's an extreme fly ball pitcher. I think he's going to be prone to just every now and then. He's going to have a bad start like this where do those fly balls just, you know, leave the yard. But. Yeah, they were some hard hit fly balls, though.

Previous six starts before this. It was a 106 ERA and a 0.68 whip. So, yeah. I will give them. a pass personally. Well, yeah, sure. I'm not freaking out about Yuri Perez. It's just frustrating because he seemed like such a sure thing against this lineup especially.

But yeah, he got took it on the chin. And not just that he gave up home runs. He struck out one in five and a third innings. Had just six whiffs. Normal pitch selection, normal velo. It seemed like maybe the breakers were breaking a little less. vertical movement was down a couple inches on both. So maybe that explains it.

But yeah, as dominant as Perez had been, I'm not going to back off of him over one misstep. I think you still treat him as a must start. I actually have him as top 24 pitcher rest of season. So I view him as a high-end fantasy pitcher. I did want to say, I'll follow up on your point about Gilbert being inefficient. I don't know that I'd describe it as inefficiency because most of these starts, let's see, his season high in pitches, his season high is 102, but that was way back in April before the injury. Since coming back from the injury in 10 starts, the most pitches that Logan Gilbert has thrown was 94, what he did here on Thursday.

And he also had another start with 94. Most of these starts, he's leaving with less than 90 pitches, with fewer than 90 pitches. 67% strike rate in those 10 starts. So it's not like he's, it's not like he's wasting a lot of pitches. You know, I just think the Mariners are being extra cautious with them since he did miss so much of the season with an injury. I looked into this exact thing last year, too, looking at his pitch counts. How many times do you think he hit 100 pitches last season, Logan Gilbert, in just, any start well i pulled up his game block as you were talking so uh i can cheat right now because

it's not scotty doesn't know yet uh it looks like five he did it five times 100 pitches that's really not that many man and they're right around 100 i don't think that he has ever been a pitcher that they really kind of just let consistently hit 100 or over 100 pitches i think he kind of lives in this like 90 to 95 range so 90 i 90 a lot of like 95 and up last year when when this year it's been more like 85 and up you know it's it's just some of his starts it feels like I don't know if it's he's like more more foul balls this year whatever it's just like allowing him to be more inefficient you know the walks are up a little bit but obviously it's still a good walk rate for him I don't know it's just for as good as the skills are

we don't have the workload to kind of back it up and right make Logan Gilbert you know that top top five or top three SP like the skills say he should be you know so just kind of a weird weird thing for Logan Gilbert this season all right Scott that brings us to Scotty doesn't know Scottie doesn't know

oh Scotty doesn't know I can't believe I asked you the other day have you ever seen a Matt Damon movie how perfect was that right yeah people should have given me a harder time for that nobody did, but that's fine. Nobody's listening anymore. It's August.

No, come on. I think there's someone. Hey, we got people in the chat. People are here hanging out. We appreciate you being here. All right. Scott, are you ready? I'm ready. All right, first up. So far in the second half, I am second in OPS and second in hits. I'm going to guess it's somebody who played in Colorado recently.

And I am going to. say that it is bo-bush-jet. Scott, he doesn't know. Scott, your logic was pristine. It was perfect, because the answer is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Okay. But you were right.

As soon as you said, it's the blue date, I'm like, uh-oh, he might actually get it. So, 31 hits and an 1140 OPS in the second half so far for Vlad, 378, six homers, seven doubles, 16 RBI, 12 walks to nine strikeouts, a 14% barrel rate, and just a 37% ground ball rate so far in the second half. So lots of line drives. That's big. Fly ball rate is up.

And you know, Scott, we usually get this maybe two, three month kind of stretch where Vlad just goes off. And maybe it's going to happen here in the second half. I don't know that we've ever seen Vladimir Guerrero with a low ground ball rate. I guess the closest was 2021 when his ground ball rate was 45%, which I wouldn't consider low, but it's not high either. And that year he had 48 home runs of 102 OPS. Like that was the monster year for Vladimir Guerrero

when he threatened to win the triple crown. So all of which is to say, at 26 years old, it's possible we haven't seen the best version of Vladimir Guerrero yet. Or at least it's possible that we could see him have another season like that 2021 season. And so my claim a couple weeks ago that I think Nick Kurtz is, trending toward being the top first basement drafted next year. I think Vladimir Guerrero would be the one threat to that. I mean, he's failed us. Failed us as a little strong,

but he's disappointed us with a pick that high in the past. But if he continues this pace and keeps that ground ball rate down the final two months, then it'll be hard to pick against him, not depending on what Nick Kurtz does, but it'll be hard. All right. Next up, in 40 games before the All-Star break, I hit 321 with nine homers, four steals, and a 958 OPS. In 19 games after the All-Star break, I'm hitting 173 with one homer and a 505 OPS. That sounds bad.

Because you read the numbers again, I'm sorry. Yes. 40 games before the All-Star break, 321, nine homers, four steals, 958 OPS. 19 games since 173, 1-Homer 505 OPS. I'm going to say, who am I going to say? I'm going to say, no, he is a base dealer. I can't think of a good answer. I'm sorry. It's all right. Just say anybody.

First name that comes to mind. Anybody. Let's say, let's say Cody Bellinger. No. Oh, Scully doesn't know. The answer is Marcus Semyon, who in the second half, I don't know, might be turning back into a pumpkin. He does have four steals in the second half. I left that part out of it.

But a 49% fly ball rate, you know, average exit velocity is not great. I mean, it never is. He also has zero barrels in the second half. I just, I know how good he was heading into the break. I just worry about maybe it kind of killed the momentum. and Marcus Simeon's turning back into a pumpkin. I hope not. Yeah, maybe.

Maybe. I don't think so, though. I think, you know, even at his best, he's like a 240 hitter, so we're going to get some down stretches like this. And I think second base, for one thing, I think the trajectory of the Rangers has improved. And for another, I think the state of second base is still bad enough that he's worth waiting out. So no guarantees on simeon, but I think you risk sacrificing too much by swapping them out for whatever's the best second basement on the waiver wire.

Over the last 30 days, I am fifth in average exit velocity and fifth in hard hit rate. Last 30 days. How many days? Last 30. Last 30 days. Fifth in average exit velocity, fifth and hard hit rate. Okay. That's all I get. That's all you get.

Yeah. It could be anybody. It could be. I'm going to guess it's somebody who doesn't normally hit the ball very hard. Could be anybody. Fifth and average Xe velocity, fifth and hard hit rate over the last 30 days. Let's say Salvador Perez. The answer you were looking for is Carlos Correa.

95.3 average exit velocity, 59.7% hard hit rate. Last 25 games since July 2nd, he's hitting 323 with seven doubles, 12 walks to 16 strikeouts, good plate discipline. Only one homer does have six barrels during that time. So, you know, normally I think it's like 60% of your barrels should go for home run. So he's been unlucky in that way. He probably should have three or four home runs during the stretch. But too many ground balls at the 51% ground ball rate.

I say all of this. Just the fact that he's hitting the ball hard and now he's back in Houston like we've talked about. I yeah I really do think like better days could be coming here for Korea so better days but I don't think days that are going to make him a must start necessarily I think he'll remain on the fringes for fantasy which was kind of true toward the end of his Astros career too I mean he was a 900 OPS bat last just last year so could he be a 900 OPS bat from here on out it's possible he was that obviously was over a small span of time during an injury Replague season, as so many of his seasons have been.

And it kind of stands out as the aberration. Yeah, I just don't think Carlos Correa, I don't think he has that much impact in him anymore. I think he's better than he's been so far. And I think he's going to improve down the stretcher. Even if he stayed in Minnesota, he was bound to improve. But what do I expect from him? like would I rather have Danesby Swanson or Carlos Correa rest of way? I'd probably rather have Danes B Swanson.

He gives you that speed element. He's in a better lineup. Maybe Correa in a points league, though. I could see that. I could see him outperforming Swanson in a points league. I think that's more likely than in a Roto League. But even still, I think I'd rather have Swanson. All right, I have two more pitchers here, Scott, and let's make it quick.

Next up, I lead all pitchers in strikeouts in the second half. Could be getable. Could be getable. Lead all pitchers and strikeouts in the second half. Somebody who's been getting a lot of strikeouts lately. Maybe we don't think of them as a big strikeout guy. I'm going to say Christopher Sanchez. The answer is Dylan Cease, who has 33 strikeouts over 20 innings,

and his four starts in the second half, a 315 ERA 115 whip, 246 FIP during that time. Finally, the Babbap has come down a little bit. So I just kind of wonder, maybe, maybe. It's starting to come together here for Tilling's C's. Maybe. I mean, your guess is as good as mine.

I think it eventually will. And so I am inclined to see the glass. half full, but there's just, he's just a difficult one to pin down. Like the talent is off the charts, but he just is little erratic. And we're seeing it play out in the worst possible way this year. All right. And the last one that we have here, over the past 30 days, I have the second lowest K minus walk rate among qualified starting pitchers. Second lowest K minus walk rate. which we want it to be high right yeah just making sure sure uh second low is k minus walk rate over the last 30 days i think i got a good guess here and this will be i haven't gotten

one yet i don't think we've ever done a scotty doesn't know where i don't get anything so let's see matthew liberator the answer is not scottie doesn't know oh scotty doesn't know oh The answer you were looking for is Andrew Abbott over the past 30 days. So he's managed a solid ERA during this stretch, a 360 ERA, but the whip 137,

his K-per-9, 5.9, his walks per 9, 3.3. So really, it's more of a lack of strikeouts, but, you know, the control has been a little bit worse. It's a 502x FIP during that time. Still limiting hard contact. I just wonder if, you know, look, Andrew Abbott was so good early on in the season,

maybe he's starting to give some of that back now. It's possible. But, so let's see, first start out of the All-Star break. This wasn't a second half stat you were giving me, right? It was a stat. Last 30 days. Last 30 days.

Yeah. So that number is 6.1% is this K-minus walk rate. It's worse than Andre Palante, Bailey Falter, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Freeland, that time, Jansen junk, so it's bad. I mean, it's weird, because I look at the game log for him during that time.

I see three great starts. I see two, his most recent, two, not so great. But, you know, one, he had five walks versus one strikeout. That just seemed like a totally odd ball start in every way. And then in his most recent outing, he did

strike out only three against the Cubs, but he got back to throw on strikes at a rate we're used to seeing from walk two and six and two-thirds innings. I haven't been worried. I mean, anytime you've got a young pitcher who is, you know,

having a breakout season hasn't really shown the ability to pile up an ace workload. They'll pile up that big number of innings. Then you've got to worry at this time of year that, okay, maybe he's going to start to slow down. But, so I'm not rolling that out for Abbott, but I'm just saying I don't see like tell,

tail signs of it. I think if I had Abbott and fantasy I would just keep running them out there and not sweat the last two starts so much. All right Scott, well, it's a clean sweep of Scotty doesn't know. I don't know anything.

All right, let's wrap up with our week 21 preview. First up, we have the schedule. 24 teams with six games and there are six teams with seven games next week. The D-Backs, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, Phillies, and Nationals. The Rockies are the only team with seven, sorry, the Rockies are one of the teams with seven games.

I just mentioned that. Four are at home against the debacks. So in Cores Field and then three on the road at the Cardinals. Starters sit these two start pitchers who could be on the fringe for some. Spencer Strider, who we spoke about yesterday at the Mets, at the Guardians. I mean, I talked about this yesterday. When I start lining up the two-star pitchers, I think Strider, for as frustrating as he's been recently is going to end up ranking pretty high.

And he ranks eighth. So not quite in the must start tier, but it'd have to be a strange scenario for you to sit this two-star strider, I think. Jack Flaherty, at the White Sox, at the Twins, maybe? And this is the one you are most worried about two-start status. And ninth, I have them right behind Strider. So kind of the same situation. Those two matchups are especially good, of course, White Sox and Twins.

You say maybe because it's a seven-game week and Flaherty's scheduled to go Tuesday. So in theory, he lines up for Tuesday, Sunday, but sometimes when a team plays that many games consecutively, they work in a spot starter or whatever, and we don't find out about it after the fact. So until after the fact. So that does add an element of risk

beyond just what happened to Flaherty in his previous start. But as I brought up, then as we were discussing that bad start for Flaherty the what was it the oh I don't have the number handy I thought it was right here my notes okay here it is the previous five 273 are a 12k per nine and then he's facing the white socks and twins I think most people are going to want to use them for two starts even if there's a risk he loses that twin start all right Ryan Pepio is at the athletics and at the giants Yeah, I think most people want to start him. Clay Holmes is home against the Braves and the Mariners. I would leave him for points leagues. And he's kind of to the point where even in points leagues, it would take a two-star week for me to start Holmes.

He hasn't gotten crushed. He just, none of his starts look that good either. All right. Next up, Ryan Nelson is at the Rangers, also at the Rockies, in Cores. You know, I mentioned during Scott, he doesn't know that the player who was first in hits or second in hits over,

I forget the exact time frame. But the player who had a bunch of hits recently must have played in Colorado recently because it has these last two series against the Blue Jays and the pirates, like it has become clear that Coresfield is in full form right now. And so you've got to be wary of starting anybody there, I think.

even Ryan Nelson for his reliable as he's been at Texas, at Colorado. I'm leaving him for points leagues. Jose Burrios is home against the Cubs and the Rangers. Also just points leagues. These two volatile for Roto. You Darvish at the Giants at the Dodgers. You could do it in points leagues, but there's really only been one good start. And he followed it up with another bad one, right?

Yeah. So, and one of the matchups is against the Dodgers. I think I'll pass on Darvish. And Dean Kramer gets the Mariners and at the Astros. That is a no. All right. Who are the two-star pitchers that you are looking to add and stream for next week? I like Jeffrey Springs.

We've talked about how reliable he's been. He also faces the race. You know, that's also a former race pitcher facing the race. But again, the race struggling against lefties. His second matchup is against the Angels, and that's a very good one. for strikeouts especially. Zevi Matthews gets the Yankees and Tigers. You could ask for better matchups,

but I really like what he's been doing lately, and I think he'll be able to overcome those matchups. Jose Soriano gets the Dodgers for his first start, but then the athletics for the second. He's kind of frustrating because he'll just have a horrible start out of nowhere. That's what happened to him last time. I was on a really good run before then throwing more strikes. I think in points leagues at least you risk it for Jose Soriano.

Kate Horton, it's got a scoreless street going. The outings have been short, the pitch count has been low, so you worry about that. He gets the Blue Jays, which is now a tough matchup, but the Pirates is a very favorable matchup. That's Kate Horton. Chris Paddock, in theory, these are good matchups, White Sox and Twins, though he did just face the twins,

his former team, and got shellacked by them. So I still like Paddock as a two-star sleeper, but it's riskier than it appears at first glance. And you and Chris were right when you mentioned Willie, Willie, when you mentioned Will Warren would show up as a sleeper pitcher for this week, just barely made the cut. Don't really trust him to perform well, but he's been pitching better lately and he gets the twins and Cardinals.

And yesterday I brought up benching Jack Flaherty, and you said, well, would you bench for any of these streamer types? And looking at the list now, I don't think I'm. would. No, you would. I am a liar. Yeah, it's easy to talk a big game until the options are laid before you. I don't know.

Maybe am I going to take any of these one-star pitchers over him? Probably not. Oh, well, all right, I lied. All right. One-star streamers, who are they? One-star streamers. We got Michael Walk against the Nationals, bad lineup, and Walker's been pitching well lately. Maybe I need to move him ahead of some of the two-star guys.

I don't know. I'll look at that again. Jacob Lopez against the Rays. We talked about him. Good matchup in that. They're bad against lefties, bad matchup in that. He had a bad start against them earlier. There's former team.

Slate Sacconi, been reliable lately. He gets the Braves. And Charlie Morton also been strangely reliable lately. He gets the stripped-down twins lineup. All right, let's slide over to the hitters. Best matchups for next week, the Rockies, D-Backs, Tigers, Royals, and Phillies. The worst-hitter matchups, Padres, Reds, Orioles, and Blue. Lou Jays, who are your sleeper hitters for Week 21?

So the Rockies, as you mentioned, have the most favorable hitter matchups. Three of those games are on the road, but against very hitable pitchers in the Cardinals rotation. And then they return home for the other four games. Coresfield is playing at its absolute most favorable right now. So I'm treating it with extra reverence. And it just so happens that the Rockies have become fertile ground for sleeper hitters too. You got Ezekiel Tovar who has like, gosh, an 1,100 OPS at home or something like that. So he's my favorite of the Rockies hitters.

Jordan Beck's always good when the matchups are right. Mickey Moniac has become a quality contributor for fantasy. Warming Bernabelle, I think he's a fine choice. In between these Rockies hitters, we have. some players from other teams, including Avon Herrera, still not quite up to a point where he's excluded from this conversation. He's crushed left-handers this year,

1,300 OPS, 7 of his home runs have come against lefties, and the Cardinals are scheduled to face three lefties in their six games. Matchups are pretty favorable, too. So I love Herrera for this week. Andrew Vaughn, got to have him in here just he's been so hot and the matchups aren't prohibitive.

Same goes for Luke Keishol, the twins being one of just six teams playing seven games in week 21. Lordus Gurriel, so the Diamondbacks are the team visiting Colorado for the four games this week.

And you can just ask Pirates hitters and Blue Jays hitters how that's gone for visiting players here recently. And then finally we got a couple a tigers with them having the third best hitter matchups. No lefties in seven games. That works out especially well for Colt Keith.

And then Wenzel Perez has been performing well for the Tigers lately. He's only 15% roster, so highly available, even for some of you deep leaguers. All right, a few bullpen updates here from Thursday for the Marlins. Ronnie Enriquez entered with one out in the sixth inning, a runner on second one run lead. he gave up an infield hit but got the next two outs for the hold. Marlins wound up losing this game. But Ronnie Enriquez does not have a save since July 22nd. I think he's a talented reliever,

but he's being used earlier in games, in higher leverage spots. I feel like as soon as I tell people to drop him, Scott, exactly. He'll have the next five saves for the Marlins. Just when you think you've got this Marlins bullpen figured out. Like Clayton McCulloch has been. been, I think he's just been tormenting us on purpose. Like, I think he gets a sick satisfaction

out of it. What a jerk. I'm telling you. Yeah. Right now, it seems like Calvin Foshe is the one to have, but, you know, this probably only matters in deep roto leagues, because I think most people listening, no better than to mess with the Marlins bullpen. And then for the Braves, Ryssel Iglesias got the ninth with a two-run lead. He struck out two for his 15th save of the season. Let's wrap up with some weekend streamers, your favorite, Scott, to stream or not to stream on Friday. And it is not a good day. Aaron Savali against the Guardians is fine. We also get Cam Schlittler against the Ashroes, Michael McGreevy against the Cubs, J.T. Ginn at the Orioles.

Not much. Not much. I would only do Savali. On Saturday, we have Brad Lord at the Giants. Carson Wizzandhunt faces the Nationals. Charlie Morton against the Angels. Nick Martinez at the Pirates. Jack Perkins at the Orioles

Bailey Ober against the Royals Logan Henderson against the Mets and Eduardo Rodriguez against the Rockies in Arizona and Joe Boyle at the Mariners So there's several here that you could see going really well I think the one I trust the most though

is Charlie Morton actually against a very strikeout prone Angels team so that says a lot that he's the one I trust in theory, Nick Martinez at Pittsburgh, yeah, okay, but he's just shifting, you know, transitioning back from the bullpen. In theory, Bailey Ober against the Royals, but, you know, he's just one start removed from the IL and that first start back. Some encouraging signs, but didn't go particularly well. Logan Henderson against the Mets.

I might trust him the second most, but obviously that can be a tough matchup and his starts have been on the shorter side. The Mets have the lowest Wobah in baseball in the second half of the season, by the way. Well, that helps. So I do think Henderson is probably second in priority after Morton. And then Joe Boyle at Seattle, I still think things could go really well for Boyle down the stretch, but he hasn't shown much yet since joining the rotation.

The Mariners are good lineup now. So I don't think I'd start anyone other than Charlie Morton and maybe Logan Henderson. I always remember this with Bailey Ober. he struggles against the Royals in his career. He's 0 and 4. He's got a 537 ERA and a 139 whip. So I don't know.

Something about the Royals, man. They see Ober really well. I would probably stay away. And then on Sunday, Louis Severino is at the Orioles. He's been really good on the road. Mike Burroughs gets the Reds. Joey wins home against the Marlins. Slate Cicone is at the White Sox.

Justin Verlander against the Nationals. And Adrian Houser at the Mariners. Cicone I'm fine with Against the White Sox Severino up Baltimore You know If it goes well It'll be a quality start

But they have been better And I'm a little wary of it He's good on the road man I would do it I'm good with it I mean I still like Cicone the most of this group Yeah he's one of the

Severino at Baltimore is probably I don't know of the fifth best for the entire weekend, but that's not saying much. Joey Wins against the Marlins could go well if he throws that cutter enough. We've seen, you know, it happened to the last start. If he throws that cutter only like a quarter or a third of the time,

he gets crushed. It seems like the key to the whole arsenal. So it's too risky. Verlander against the Nationals, I think, could be okay. Again, that lineup is just terrible right now. And it is in Oracle Park. It's a big park to pitch. So, yeah, I would go.

Sikoni first. Ben Severino and then Verlander on Sunday. We are going to wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again next week. Bye-bye.

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