Fantasy Baseball Today - Jordan Walker's Return, Interest-O-Meter & Waiver Wire Moves! (9/3 Fantasy Baseball podcast)

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

Jordan Walker returned with a bang (2:41)! ... Willy Adames has homered in five straight (7:00). ... Let's fire up the Interest-O-Meter for players who were recalled this weekend (13:11). ... News (24:12): Fernando Tatis returned from the 60-day IL. ... Cody Bradford continues to pitch well and is still available (36:30). ... Time to drop Jake Irvin and Taj Bradley (45:22)? ... How is Eugenio Suarez still available in some shallow leagues (49:58)? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (56:10). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/QiKv Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Welcome into Fantasy Baseball today and welcome to September. Hope you enjoyed Labor Day weekend, but it is Crunch Time. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White.

Today on the show, we have a few different meters that we're gonna fire up usually. It's just the drop o meter, which we will get to We also have the interest o meter for players that got called up or recalled this weekend due to the September roster expansion. So we saw lots of either young interesting players or Prospects get called back up. So we will find out exactly how interesting they are. We'll do some waiver wire moves. We have players who remained hot over the long weekend and much more, but there is a lot to discuss. So let's just just Jump in. Get out. All right, Scott, you're up. Player of the weekend.

I'm going to go with Jordan Walker, who really only gets this designation for me for one day this weekend, Sunday, when he had five hits, including a home run. But perhaps the more significant development for Jordan Walker is that he started every game this weekend, and he started Monday. And it looks like he's just going to be a starter for the card. now. When he made his grand return to the majors in mid-August, John Mazzalak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations, ended up sending him down only a week later. And he said he thinks Jordan

Walker needs to play every day. And that's why he's going back to the minors. Well, what we didn't know at that time was that the Cardinals were then going to work on freeing up a spot for him to play every day and ultimately did so by designating Tommy Fam for assignment. So now Jordan Walker's backup. He looks like an everyday player. He obviously has failed us in the past in fantasy, and maybe he will again, but he is only 22 years old still, believe it or not. And while his overall numbers of AAA are nothing to write home about, his final 26 games there, Jordan Walker hit 344. Final 26 games. He had 344 with five home runs and did so by making some changes to his setup at the plate.

And you can see them. If you watch Jordan Walker now, he stands a little more open. He looks a little more tense, not quite so relaxed up there. And really the changes were designed on having his hands move faster. And like the guy produces huge eggs of velocity. So I think there's still a lot of upside here for Jordan Walker. it with that five-hit performance Sunday. I'm not saying you need to pick them up everywhere, but five outfielder ladies probably need to pick them up. And maybe this will finally be the time for the 22-year-old. Yeah, Jordan Walker, 33% rostered.

As you mentioned, going to play every day for the Cardinals from here on out, and he started every game already this weekend. I think the names that we've talked a lot about recently, Scott, the P. Kerr-Armstrongs, the Lawrence Butler's, the Dylan Cruz, those are all ahead of Jordan Walker, right? Yeah, I would say so, and especially Lawrence Butler, who could have been the player of the weekend himself, just kept it going. Yeah, we'll talk about him a little bit later on.

Jordan Walker, 34% rostered. So again, could be out there in some of those five outfielder leagues. He was the first name on the interest o meter for later on, all these names that got called up this weekend, Scott. I would assume he's pretty high on that, right? One to 10. We're going to have to calibrate it, but I would say he's probably the most of the most interesting one that got recalled, right? Yeah, and so I don't think I could go a 10 or a 9 because

that suggests to me you're pretty much picking him up everywhere, and I said you shouldn't do that with Jordan Walker. So he'll probably come in as about seven, I would say, and he might be the highest rated, but that's what the interest meter looks like right now. And last point on Jordan Walker, I know obviously it's been a tough season for him, and there was still a good amount of hype on him coming into the season. He's still only 22 years old. And I know, some people might get frustrated when we bring up age, but as we've said for years now, progress is not linear, right?

And no prospect is the same, no young player is the same. So just because, you know, the Jackson Cheerios, you know, have this breakout for a season, it doesn't happen that way for every player. And I will point out, Jordan Walker last year as a 21-year-old, still had a pretty successful season. A 276 batting average, 16 homers, seven steals, and a 7-87 OPS.

So, I mean, if he can produce anything like those numbers, like paced over the final month of the season, then he will be a pretty useful player. So just wanted to point that out. He was 22 years old. Who's that? This guy. Ah, I pulled a Scott White.

I had to point it out because I'm always getting blamed for it. But you were just reinforcing it. Just reinforcing the point. That's good. That's exactly what I was doing, Scott. Let's go over to my player of the weekend, Willie Adamas, who someone tweeted into us over the weekend. They said, man, if Willie Adomis is not the breadstick, what does this man have to do?

And you know what? I think he's deserving because he had himself a pretty massive weekend. He homered in five straight games, including his 29th home run on Monday, Labor Day. His 29th birthday. How about that? 29 on 29. And he also has 13, three run homers this season. Obviously added another one here on Monday, which ties Ken Griffey Jr.

for the most in a season since 1961. I guess that's probably when they started, I don't know, like, is that the expansion era or when they started tracking some kind of stat? But yeah, since 1961, basically, that ties the record. 13 three-run homers for Willie Adomis this season. It's been a huge season for him in a contract year.

Batting 255, the 29 homers, fourth most among short stops this season. 99 RBI first among short stops. Also added in 83 run scored. 15 steals and 812 OPS, and the season isn't done yet. We still have a little bit less than a month left here, but breakout season here for Willie Adama Scott. Anything you'd like to add a huge weekend for him and a huge season?

No, not really. I mean, I don't know that the analysis, that there's much analysis to deliver here on Willie Adamas, obviously a must start shortstop, and that's been evident for a few months now. I don't know that, I guess, looking forward to next year, I don't know that I'm going to rank him as if he's going to repeat this, what looks to be a career season. Because I don't see a lot of changes in the underlying data. He'll be top 12 shortstop, of course.

But I don't know that he's, you know, I might expect a little step backward for Willie Adomis next year. Entering Monday, just wanted to point this out. He was 16th overall in Roto. That's according to the Razball Player Rader and the fifth best shortstop in Head Ted Points League this season. So again, just reinforcing a lot of what we've already said in the analysis here. But yeah, he has really, him and Truriel have just carried the Brewers this year

since Christian Walker, Christian Yellich, excuse me, has gone down. They needed someone to step up, and obviously both of those guys have done exactly that. Before we hit our first break, just a heads up that we are not going anywhere in September. We will remain live five nights per week on YouTube. Obviously, audio podcasts will be in your feed at five mornings per week as well. So all that same fun stuff.

We're here to help you close out the fantasy season and look forward. And, you know, I understand fantasy football is starting up. But obviously I would recommend to stick with us and say we get some thoughts for next year and close out the season strong. And I know I shouldn't do this, Scott. I really shouldn't. But of course, that means I'm going to do it anyway. Somebody keeps leaving us a two-star rating on Apple Podcasts because I say the term double-dong here on the podcast.

Now, I think it's hilarious. But I'd be like maybe if we provide a bit of a history lesson here, an FBT history lesson, it will calm this person's concerns because they are very worried about the term double-dong. I think it's really funny. What could they possibly be worried about? I don't know.

Where does it come from? What is the origin of double dong here on FBT? Well, Heath Cummings, who you may know from the fantasy football today podcasts, he used to be on the fantasy baseball today podcasts, and that's how he referred to home runs. He called them don't know if it was a Midwestern thing. I don't know, but that was his preferred way to describe them, preferred term to describe a home run,

and I guess it kind of stuck. I had never really heard them referred to as that before, but that was his contribution. It's a lasting one. His legacy lives on in the form of the dong and especially the double dong. For those who don't know, before I hosted this podcast, I was a faithful listener.

I've listened to this podcast since I was in college. So I listened for years when it was Nando and Al and Scott and Adam Azar and then, you know, as it evolved over the years and Chris Towers, and Heath Cumming, so I just wanted to honor those guys by continuing to say Double Dong, and that's why I did it. There's your history lesson, Double Dong. Nothing more, nothing less.

It means two home runs in a game. Let's take our first break. When we return, the Interest O meter. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in. Let's fire up the Interest O meter. A bunch of players recalled with rosters expanding in September. How much interest do we have in these guys in fantasy baseball?

We already spoke about Jordan Walker, who I think is going to rank highest on this meter. The other name or names that we will get to, first up, Kobe Mayo. The Orioles were called Kobe Mayo. He started on Sunday. He went one for two. And then guess what? He was not in the lineup on Monday.

They opted to use Emmanuel Rivera instead of Kobe Mayo. We know Mayo has prodigious powers. Guy we talked about him all season long, big exit velocities in the minors. He's 42% rostered. Just not sure how much he's actually going to play. Where is Kobe Mayo on the interestometer? Well, notably, even the game he started. you said he went only one for two,

that's because he didn't finish out the game. And based on how the Orioles have used him so far and just obviously just a couple days, but still, it looks like Kobe Mayo there is mostly to play against left-handers. And that could change, obviously, if he starts contributing in a meaningful way. But I think we can wait to be interested in,

to show interest in him in fantasy until that happens, until he starts contributing in a meaningful way. So I'm going to give him on the interest domitre a three. Again, that was Kobe Mayo. Let's slide over to Kyle Manzardo, who was recalled by the Guardians 2 for 3 with a double dong on Sunday.

His first two career home runs. He did start on Monday as well. He went 0 for 3. Was having a very solid season in the minors, 267 batting average, 20 homers, 946 OPS, nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Decent exit. Velocities, 21% rostered. Scott, where is Kyle Manzardo on the Interestometer?

I'll put him at a five, so halfway in between Kobe Mayo and Jordan Walker. And it would be much lower, if not for that two-homer game Sunday. But, you know, he finally showed something in the majors to Kyle Manzardo after, as you point out, a really good season at AAA, a season that looks pretty Vinny Pasquantino like, actually, which the comp we've been using for Kyle Monsardo for years now. And it seems like they're dedicated to using him at D.H., at least against Ritey's. So we'll see if that continues. A five, we're still probably talking just deeper rotisserie leagues for adding Monsardo.

But obviously, if any of those guys, if any of these guys heat up and look like they're going to live up to their potential, than the interest skyrockets. But, you know, I manage all of my fantasy baseball teams. I know who the bottom guy is on each of them. And for the most part, I'm not going to drop that bottom guy for Kyle Manzardo. Going to go five. Kyle Manzardo, 21% rostered. So, again, deeper leagues with corner infield spot.

Would you rather add Kyle Manzardo or Spencer Torkelson, who in 16 games since returning from the minors, is batting 288 with four home runs and a 9-10? 2020 OPS. Yeah, give me Torkelson, but that's a good example of what I'm talking about, because when Torkelson first got called up, it would have had no interest. Yeah. But he's still available in a ton of leagues now that he is doing damage, so you can react

later in most cases. All right. The Brewers recall D.L. Hall, who actually made a start on Friday as part of their doubleheader, and he was awesome up against the red. Seven shutout innings. Four hits, one walk, five strikeouts. In that one, he threw. 64% of his pitches for strikes.

his velocity was up on his fastball and his slider nearly 1.5 miles per hour on each. D.O. Hall is 17% rostered and he is a SPARP on CBS. Where is he on the introsometer? I believe he is... Okay, so they did send him out down after this start, right? But I guess he's back up. Yeah, they were called him on Sunday, I believe. I don't know how much he's going to start, though.

Okay. So I'll put it... I'll put it about it a... one just because of that. And look, he's had a couple starts here, a couple spot starts in the second half, nine strikeouts in four and two thirds innings in the first of them.

It was a shaky start overall, but nine and four and two-thirds innings, obviously that looks good. And then this was a great start overall at the Reds. I was especially encouraged by him throwing 64% of his pitches for strikes walking only one. That's been a big issue for D.L. Hall. So there is upside here.

I'm just not, it's not at all clear that he's going to get a meaningful opportunity for fantasy. Yeah, the Brewer's rotation is currently full with five men. If they wanted to go to a six-man rotation, obviously they can insert D.L. Hall in there. But they have Freddie Peralta, they have Aaron Savali, Colin Ray, Frankie Montas, and Tobias Myers. Let's talk about Reed Detmer's, who was recalled by the Angels and is likely to pitch Tuesday against the Dodgers. 14 starts at AAA since being sent down. 554 ERA 140 whip Still lots of strikeouts

But we know Debtmers is good at getting strikeouts He's also pretty good at allowing lots of home runs He's 19% roster scout Where is Reed Detmer's on the introsso meter Well, I don't want to I think maybe you buried the lead here With Reed Detmer's because yes, the overall production At AAA wasn't very good

But look at his last three starts they were dominant for Reid Dettmers. If I could pull up the numbers here. So he had a 129 ERA, 18 base runners in 21 innings, 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. So obviously very low whip, very high K per 9 rate, swinging strike rate in those three starts. It was 19%.

Now I did look into, okay, what changed for Red Detmers. and I didn't find a lot of insight into that. In fact, Reed Detmer's himself was saying nothing changed except he tried to get back to throwing his slider the way he did in the past, and the slider's always been the key for Reed Detmer's. We've seen so many different versions of it over the years and his performance has kind of risen and fallen with it.

But it seems to be on the rise again because that was three awesome outings to end his time at AAA. So interest dometer for me and Reed Detmer's. I'm going to put it at five. I'm going to put it the same as Kyle Monsardo as much as we need starting pitching right now and as little as there is to find on the waiver wire. We'll see how it goes Tuesday because my interest might fade very quickly or it might ramp up very quickly.

These last couple names, I think we might be able to move through pretty quickly. But the Dodgers recalled Andy Paez. He did not start on Sunday or Monday. Not sure how much he's going to play. where is Pahez on the introsometer? Two. Two. Okay.

The Rangers were called Justin Foskew. He started Sunday, went 0 for two with a run scored, and was having a solid season in the minors in, you know, a Justin Foskew kind of way, solid power, decent batting average, 4% rostered. Where is Justin Foskew on the introsso meter? I think, I don't really see an opportunity for him to play that much. I understand he got the start Sunday.

I'm going to say one for Foskew. They did play on Monday as well, and Foskew did not start in that game for whatever that's worth. The Giants were called Mason Black, and he had a solid start Saturday against the Marlins, five innings, two runs, six strikeouts, numbers in the PCL this season, not great. He's 2% rostered.

Where is Mason Black on the introsometer? Yeah, and I don't really see what he excels at. I don't have a lot of interest in the skill set here for Mason Black, so I'm going to put him as a two. Okay. The White Sox were called Yiro Iriarte from AA, and I believe he came over in the Dillon C's trade, right? Does that sound right?

That would, yeah, I think that's right. Yep. Iriarte is 22 years old, had a solid season in the minors, 371-ERA-128 whip, just under a strike-operating, but is likely to pitch it. out of the bullpen, introsometer on Yiro Iriarte. One, even if he was starting.

He's starting for the White Sox. And the best for last. I don't know. This one actually might be a 10, Scott. One of your favorite players that ever existed. Jonathan Arronda was recalled on Friday. He started just one of four games since returning. And in the minors this year, it's kind of been a mess.

But as you spoke about on our five-minute podcast this weekend, he's dealt with some injuries and, you know, some bad breaks, I would say, for Jonathan Ironda. He's 4% rostered. Where is he on the introsometer? So he isn't playing that much. But I'm going to put him the same as, I'm going to put him the same as Kobe Mayo. I'm going to put him as a three because I could see him going off and finding his way into

more playing time. I think there's a lot to like here for Jonathan Arronda still. if you go look at his numbers in the minors last year, they'll blow your mind. And he was on pace to win the Ray's D.H. job in spring training before a broken finger. And then when he came back from that, he just seemed totally lost.

He was striking out way too much more than Jonathan Aranda we've ever seen from him. And it was true in the minors, too. And then he missed time with an oblique injury. I think that allowed the finger to get better. better for him to get everything right again. And since returning from that at AAA, Jonathan Aranda, he went 10 for 23 with four home runs and struck out only three times in six games.

Four home runs, three strikeouts, and six games. And that's what got him back in the majors. I think the rays need to see what they have in him finally, even though he's mostly been coming off the bench so far. One name that hasn't been recalled just yet is Jason Dominguez, though Aaron Boone has said there's still a chance that he could get called up. in September. Oh my gosh, all of Twitter and Yankees media, everyone is losing their mind that they didn't call up Jason Dominguez. I think that they should, but if they are sold that Alex Verdugo is still a more useful player than Dominguez right now, then there isn't really a place for Dominguez to play.

So if that's their mindset, then that's their mindset, and that's why he was not called up. Instead, the Yankees opted for a good old Duke Ellis to get promoted, and that is currently who is on the Yankees roster. Let's get into some other news and notes from the weekend. Fernando Tatis was activated from the IL on Monday. He last played on June 21st before being shelved with a stress reaction in his right femur. He was in the lineup on Monday. Batting second, he went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Finally, we learned some truth about Kyle Tucker,

is that he apparently did suffer some sort of fracture to his shin back in June, which we kind of speculated or thought throughout all of this, because why else would he have been out for this long? Scott, don't teams have to be honest about injuries? I mean, how can we go this long without the Astros just telling the truth about Kyle Tucker? It just seems weird to me. Yeah, I don't really know the answer to that.

I... Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, they could obviously things get re-diagnosed after the fact, and so maybe they can hide behind that, or maybe that's actually what happened. He needed a deeper bone scan. and to detect this fracture.

I don't, I don't know. But I wish we had known from the beginning because obviously it would have changed things for people who had Kyle Tucker in fantasy, including myself in the podcast league. I had Kyle Tucker as my first round pick. And I just kind of sat around waiting for him to come back because it seemed like it would be very quick.

And it probably cost me a playoff spot. I had the second most points in the podcast league and missed the playoffs. This coming two years after I had the most points in the podcast league and missed the playoffs. In between, I did win the podcast league. So that's a little bit of, you know, that helps make it feel a little better. But if I hadn't, if I hadn't won that championship sandwiched in between those two unjust playoff denials, I would be livid right now, Frankie. Livid.

Speaking of unjust playoff denials, how about unjust playoff eliminations, huh? The Scott White Dynasty League, first round of the playoffs, I scored the second most points out of, what, eight teams, right? Eight teams make the playoffs there. And I got eliminated because I was facing the top team. How about that? Well, you weren't. You were facing the fourth seed, to be clear. Well, I faced the highest scoring team in the first round.

I got you. Yeah. No, that's true. Yeah, not great. I'm pretty sure at this time last year, I said that, we should change the playoff format in our podcast league to, of the six teams that make the playoffs, it should be the top five records, and then the sixth spot in the playoffs goes to the most points scored after that.

And I just didn't remember to change the rules coming into the season. So I'm sorry. Yeah. I don't know that I necessarily like that anyway. I mean, head to head is head to head. And even though I scored a ton of points, I didn't get it done head-to-head-wise. So, and look, the timing of the Tucker injury to get back to the original point, it may have contributed to that. I mean, I was probably blowing everybody out early in the year with Tucker.

And then once I lost my first round pick, it became much harder. With all that said, on Kyle Tucker getting back to him, it does sound like he could be activated later this week, either Wednesday or Thursday, assuming everything else checks out. All right. Garret Cole exited his start Monday due to a right calf cramp. They did say cramp and not strain. I think that's important to pay attention to here. So perhaps just dehydrated. They were, you know, he was pitching in Texas.

He did pitch very well before leaving as well. Six innings, one run, nine strikeouts, 14 wists on 82 pitches there for Garrick Cole. Renel Blanco is the most likely candidate to move to the bullpen when the team shifts to a five-man rotation later this week. Blanco is 95% rostered. Scott, do you think it's okay to drop Blanco now or let's just wait to see if this actually happens first?

Oh, let's wait. I mean, Justin Verlander could go back on the aisle. I don't think that would surprise anybody. And innings-wise, Blanco, when I looked into it, it was a few weeks ago at this point, but he did not seem to be at major risk like they needed to preserve his innings. He's also a lot older than you probably realize.

I believe he's in his 30s already. So that's less incentive to preserve his arms, as ghoulish as that might sound. His arms, I said arms, his arm. I don't think they care about Ronell's Blanco's left arm at all. Renele Blanco, 31 years old. I would not have guessed that either. Alex Breggman has missed four straight with soreness in his elbow.

He missed time in mid-August with that same injury, but then returned. He started nine straight, and now he's been out of the lineup for the next four games. Vinnie Pass Quantino, bad news for Vinnie P. Baby! As he was placed in the IL Friday with a fractured right thumb, he'll miss six to eight weeks, effectively ending his regular, and I think postseason, unless the Royals somehow made it to the World Series, obviously feel bad for him. He's having a huge second half, and the Royals are having a great year too, so it's a big loss for them as well, losing Vinnie Pass Quantino.

The Pirates manager, Derek Shelton, has finally stepped in and demoted David Bednar. He's been temporarily removed from the closer role and will pitch in lower leverage situations. We also have less than a month left in the season, so I'm not sure he will have enough time to regain that role. Bendar is down to 60% rostered. Is he a right to drop? In shallower leagues, but I would put him in the same category

as Paul Seawald, Craig Kimbril. Though the longer this goes on with Kimbril, the more droppable he looks. And obviously, when I say you might want to hold on to any of those three, it's in deeper categories,

leagues where saves are always scarce, where there's he's a big bidding war for anybody who emerges on the waiver wire. So for the most part, yeah, Bednar is dropable. I'd rather have Chapman than him, Aroldus Chapman. Though, it's not clear that Chapman is the guy replacing Bednar, sadly enough. I do think he will be the highest leverage reliever,

which on Saturday, Aroldest Chapman pitched in the ninth inning, and he picked up his fifth save, and then on Monday, Chapman pitched in the eighth inning with a one-run lead facing the top of the Cubs lineup. So very clearly, the highest leverage situation. he got out of it, and then Dennis Santana closed it out for his third save. I will point out, though, with Dennis Santana,

who hasn't been on anybody's radar as a source for saves all year, I'm sure. His last 10 appearances, which covers, I think, like 12 innings, one hit, one walk aloud. So he has been effective, much more effective lately than his season numbers would say.

I don't think he needs to be picked up outside of NL only leagues, and I do hope it's just a one-off here for Dennis Santana with Chapman working the eighth. Because I think Chapman could still be a great closer. He's one of the best all time. I don't know why there would be any conflict there with who replaces Bednar. Justin Steele was scratched from his start Tuesday

after experiencing elbow soreness. Kyle Hendrix will start in his place. It sounds a little ominous every time, anytime we hear of an elbow. So we'll wait to learn more on Justin Steele. Alec Bohm has missed three straight with left-hand discomfort. He's day-to-day and will have a chance to return on Tuesday. We have some Dodger pitcher updates,

as Dave Roberts said Saturday, Tyler Glassnow, could return to the rotation in mid-September in a best-case scenario. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his next rehab start at AAA on Tuesday. He threw two innings in his first rehab start, and Clayton Kirschaw was placed in the aisle with a bone spur in his left big toe. And apparently he's in a walking boot and will be sent for more images. So lots going on there. Probably can drop Clayton Kershaw.

Yep. Jacob de Grom is likely to make one more rehab start before rejoining the Rangers rotation. His latest rehab start was on Sunday. He threw two and two-thirds shutout innings with five strikeouts. He's up to 73% rostered. Max Scher said he feels fine physically

and has made a change in his mechanics that allows him to throw without pain. He'll begin a rehab assignment on Saturday. But just to back up for a second, I do think Jacob de Grom. anywhere he's still available, which is only like a quarter of CBS leagues now. You need to pick him up. I imagine he'll be ready to go 75-80 pitches next week for the Rangers.

And he can do a lot of damage on 75-80 pitches. And then he probably gets at least two more starts after that first one. So at three or four total starts, I would imagine, for DeGrom could make all the difference in your league, potentially. Yep. Both Ketel-Marte and Christian Walker could return during the D-BAC's upcoming road trip. Marte has been out with an ankle injury while Walker has been nursing in oblique. Ozzy Albies has begun doing some baseball activities, including light hitting off a T. He's been out since late July after fracturing his left wrist.

U. Darvish threw 66 pitches over four innings on Friday in a controlled game. He's expected to rejoin the Padres rotation Wednesday against the Tigers. There's a very good chance. Louise Heel would rejoin the Yankees rotation this weekend against the Cubs. Clark Schmidt is also expected back this weekend. Next question was, are we looking at a six-man rotation? But it might depend on what happens now with Garrett Cole. Yeah, I think that's the most likely scenario, a six-man rotation,

if it is really just a cramp in Cole's calf, which I had to be careful how I said all those sounds. But, yeah, if Cole were to go on the aisle, that would make that simple. JD Martinez was placed on the paternity list which means he'll miss between one and three games Anthony Rizzo was activated on Sunday. Ben Rice was optioned back to AAA. Scott, who would you rather speculate on

for a corner infield spot? Anthony Rizzo or Kyle Manzardo? I am gonna say Rizzo. Okay. Trevor's story began a rehab assignment at AAA on Sunday. He had shoulder surgery way back in April but appears close to returning. 15% rostered is Trevor's story.

Any interest there? No. Okay. Drew Thorpe had season-ending surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow and some other players who went on the IL this weekend. Calquantral with right triceps inflammation, Ramon Oreas with a right ankle sprain, and Vidal Bruhan with a right shoulder AC joint sprain. Let's take. You know what? Mild interest in story in like a 15-team role league. All right. Let's take our final break. And when we return, all of the waiver wire moves. We've got some pitchers. We've got hitters. We've got the drop home here. We'll do that right. after this. Welcome back in.

Let's talk Waver Wire pitchers from the long Labor Day weekend. And the first group includes Shane Baz, who pitched well up against the Padres, five innings, two runs, five strikeouts. He's mostly pitched well.

We're still waiting for more whiffs to come on those secondary pitches. Gavin Williams turned in probably his best start of the season at the Royals. Seven innings, one hit, one run, six strikeouts. He had 10 wifts on 98 pitches.

Only three quality starts in 12 tries. season. Jameson Tyone pitched a gem up against the Pirates, seven shutout innings with three strikeouts for him. His previous six starts pretty bad, 655 ERA and a 136 whip. And Cody Bradford continues his great run. This time up against the A's seven innings, two runs, eight strikeouts, had 14 whiffs on 97 pitches. Last five starts for Bradford, 261 ERA, and a 0.87 whip. Scott, how would you rank Bradford, Tyone, Gavin Williams, and Shane Bonds? I would put Bradford number one, and it's kind of surprising how little attention he's getting with the waiver wire being starved for good starting pitchers right now because he has gone. His last five starts, Cody Bradford, 261, ERA, 0.87 whip, 8.1K per 9, and he's gone at least six innings and four of those five starts.

He throws a ton of strikes, decent strikeout guy. A lot of fly balls, which limits hits, does make him vulnerable to the long ball. But if he's walking so few, I think Cody Bradford could continue to be a solid contributor in fantasy. After him, a Jameson-Tayon feels like the safest. He had been on a bad stretch there with a 655 ERA in his previous six. But control artist like Cody Bradford consistently works deep into games. he did make a notable change here in his arsenal to find the success against the pirates on Monday, 35% sinkers instead of 9%. And cut down on the four seamer and curveball usage. Those are his two hardest hit pitches.

So I think hopefully Jameson Tion is figured out a way out of his tailspin here. I'll go Gavin Williams third. Don't entirely trust him yet, but two pretty good starts in a row. and both of them, he basically eliminated this change-up. Not that he threw it a lot previously, but it was just getting crushed. And I think abandoning that change-up entirely might help Gavin Williams continue to pitch well. Shane Baza, I'll go forth.

I just haven't seen enough reason for optimism there. His good starts have been merely decent. All right. The next group includes J.P. Sears, who had himself a great start at the Rangers, seven-innings, one-run, four strikeouts. He has gone seven-plus-ins. in five of his last six.

Again, that's JP Sears. Albert Suarez turned in a strong start in course field, seven innings, two runs, four strikeouts, 12 whiffs on 95 pitches, had a great August 119 ERA and a 0.99 whip. Luis Ortiz of the Pirates had a great start at the Guardians, six shutout innings with five strikeouts for him. That's back-to-back, scoreless outings.

And Matthew Boyd, that Matthew Boydys, actually pitched pretty well here with the Guardians, took a tough luck loss up against the Pirates, Six innings, one run, eight strikeouts, 18 whiffs on 90 pitches for Matthew Boyd. Scott, any interest in any of these names? They're a little bit lower down the roster rate, but J.P. Sears, Albert Suarez, Luis Ortiz, and Matthew Boyd. So the time to pick up Swares was this week with him scheduled to face the White Sox.

He had obviously been pitching well since returning to the rotation. I don't really understand it, but got to take advantage of matchups. like that. I don't know. The one with the most upside is probably Boyd, but the case for Boyd is the same that it's been for like five years now, and he's rarely made good on it. So he misses bats at a nice rate since returning from,

or since returning to majors 13.1% swinging strike rate. That's, of course, very good. Very high fly ball rate, as has always been the case for Matthew Boyd. So the hope is that those fly balls, enough of them stay in the park. that his ability to miss bats, we can take advantage of it because the ERA isn't inflated. But how many times have we been down that road before with Boyd? I don't know that we should expect it to go any differently this time.

So in terms of usability, I'm going to go Suarez 1, J.P. Sears 2, then Boyd, and Luis Ortiz 4th. I don't see a lot to get excited about there with Ortiz. Last point I wanted to make on... He's just a tease. He's just an Ortiz. Last point I wanted to make on J.P. Sears is, like Suarez, a great matchup this week, going up against the Seattle Mariners. So I know we're kind of past the point, but if you play in a daily lineup league and you're looking for some streamers, I think Sears and Suarez are both totally fine there. Some names in deeper leagues, Alex Cobb returned Sunday with a great start up against the Pirates, six innings, one unearned run with six strikeouts, and Joey Estes put together a quality start.

at the Rangers, six innings, two runs, seven strikeouts. Last eight starts for Estes, it's a 288 ERA, a point 98 whip. The underlying numbers do not buy it at all. I'm pretty sure I say that every single time I bring up Joey Estes, but he also faces the Mariners this week, so maybe it could work. Yeah, maybe. The thing Joey Ortiz has going for him is kind of what I said. Joey Esst.

Sorry, Joey Estes. My mind was still on that dumb Ortiz joke. Okay, Joey Estes, the thing he has going for him is sort of what I laid out for Cody Bradford, throws a ton of strikes and puts the ball in the air a lot. So, you know, if the fly balls are limiting hits but aren't limiting home runs, but then there aren't many walks, then those home runs are mostly at the solo variety. Maybe it won't be so bad. So I'm less interested overall in Joe Yestis than in Cody Bradford, but it is a similar profile, and I could see it working out.

Alex Cobb is more interesting here. In fact, Alex Cobb might be more interesting than anyone in the previous group, too, which remember included Albert Suarez, J.P. Sears and Matthew Boyd. I've never been the biggest Cobb fan. There have been some Cobb enthusiasts over the years, but when he has a lot of it. that splitter working, he can put together a bunch of really good starts. And it seemed to be back to form with his return from a crack fingernail. Who knows how much his finger was bothering him prior to that. Maybe that explains why the splitter wasn't doing much for Alex Cobb. But pretty good track record for him. Whips tend to be on the high side, but respectably are a respectable strikeout rate

and could be useful down the stretch. Two pretty highly rated pitching. prospects made their major league debuts this weekend. Rhett Louder of the Reds pitched against the Brewers, four innings, one run, four walks, six strikeouts, did have 10 whiffs on 77 pitches, and Angels top pitching prospect, Caden Dana turned in a quality start up against the Mariners, six innings, two runs, four strikeouts, four walks,

had 13 wifts on 95 pitches. He's only 20 years old. We spoke about this last week with him, but the minor league numbers were really, really good at AA. Scott, were you putting in any bids this weekend? Maybe in some of those deeper leagues on a Ret Louder or Caden Dana. I really wasn't. I just, I'm not counting on them being that useful down the stretch.

And I was discouraged that each of them walked four in their debut. It is only one start. I get it. But especially for Red Louder, like, I don't think that there's enough swing and miss in his arsenal for him to be anything less, to get away with being anything less than an elite control pitcher. so Red Louder can't afford those walks and Caden Dana he threw 57% of his pitches for strikes it wasn't just a handful of walks

he was not really in the zone much at all and I think it's a big ask here at age 20 going straight from AA to think Caden Dana is going to be a big difference maker he's not an especially big swing and miss pitcher either not quite as low as Red Louder as far as that goes. But yeah, I think it's a stretch to think either of these will help much.

All right. Let's fire up the dropometer for I've got five starting pitchers on this week's dropometer. And first up is Jake Irvin who got rocked by the Cubs, four and two-thirds inning, seven runs, six strikeouts, last 10 starts, a 655 ERA and a 155 whip. He's down a 68% rostered. Scott, where is Jake Irvin on the dropometer? I guess I'll say 10.

It's probably a little less than. 10, but I'm just, I don't think we need to invest much more time on Jake Irvin on this podcast this year. Tage Bradley, on the podcast which dropped on Sunday afternoon, we had a question, a mailback question about Tage Bradley. Where is he on the drop-all meter? It was tough for us to answer because we didn't know what he did on Friday at that point. Well, he got destroyed up against the Padres, two and a third innings, eight hits, eight runs. Last six starts for Bradley. It's a 985 ERA and a 184 whip. Where is Taj Bradley on the dropometer?

I'm going to put it right at a five. I'd rather not drop him because I think, like, I don't want to lose sight of just how good he was earlier this year. He had a nine-start stretch with a 0.82ER, 0.89 whip, 10.6K per 9. I mean, looked like an emergent ace. And I think that could click back into place for Taj Bradley and apparent. and potentially sink you, somebody starts them against you. But in shallower leagues where roster space is limited,

I understand you can't start Taj Bradley right now, and there's a chance you could sneak them through. If you did drop them, I think there's a good chance, the shallower the league. I will point out, and this is something I hadn't noticed before, his downfall here with the 973 ERA and his last six starts, it coincides with his splitter losing, of its vertical movement.

And that's something Kevin Cash, the raise manager, noted after the last start. So I think if they're identifying a problem there that makes it even more hopeful they'll be able to correct it for Taj Bradley. But obviously he's unstartable right now. I think the biggest point you made there, Scott, is dropping him and then someone else potentially

picking him up and using him against you. if for some crazy reason Taj Bradley gets back on track, but if he's on my fantasy team, I don't think there's any way I can start him anytime soon. But again, just, you know, protecting against yourself

and maybe Taj Bradley, you know, winding up on someone else's team. If he gives up two hits and strikes out 10 and his next start, I think he immediately becomes usable again. If the movement on that splitter seems back to normal, I'm not saying he'd be must start, but I think you could consider.

at that point. That's how quickly things could change for him. All right. Let's talk about Zebby Matthews who got crushed by the Blue Jays. Two innings, 10 hits, nine earned runs. He gave up three homers in that one was pretty good before this start, but he is, he's only 36% rostered. So not like he's very, you know, he's not universally rostered or anything. Where is Zebby Matthews on the dropometer? Ten. Okay. What about Tyler Anderson who's been struggling lately over his last four starts, a 740 ERA and a 194 whip.

I know once I I opened my mind to Tyler Anderson potentially being a useful fantasy option. He falls off a clip and a clip. He falls off a cliff. I've been having a difficult time with consonant sounds in this whole podcast. Sorry about that.

Yeah, he falls off a cliff. But what's interesting is the reason I became open-minded to Tyler Anderson is because he started getting a lot more whiffs and he's continued to do that even as he struggled it's just there've been some walks and just generally not look good so uh drop a meter for tyler anderson i'm going to put it at about a uh six six point five six point five so more dropable than taj bradley yes okay last name on this list is justin verlander who was not very good at the reds four and two-thirds innings five

runs, four walks, three strikeouts, and three starts since returning from the aisle, a 675 ERA, and a 170 whip. He's still 93% rostered. Ah, seven, and I think I'm being generous. I just don't think Justin Verlander has much of anything left. All right, let's get into the Waver Wire hitters from the weekend, and Eugenio Suarez added three more home runs this weekend, 49 games since July 7th. He is batting 303 with 17 homers, 52 RBI, and an OPS approaching 1,000. The fact that he's 78% rostered, it kind of feels criminal

that, like, there are still leagues that Suarez is not rostered in. But would you drop any of these names to pick up Suarez? They're all over 80% rostered. Ryan McMahon. Yeah, at this point, we should probably value Suarez over McMahon.

All right. What about Brendan Donovan? Oh, yeah. What about Willie Castro? Yes. And Max Muncie. That's the closest call, Moncie has the best track record of this group and is in the best lineup, obviously.

He's more startable than Suarez right now. I mean, I'm sorry, Suarez is more startable than Muncie right now. So I guess if push came to shove, I'd do it. It's, by the way, it's not just you gave numbers for a slightly different time frame than I have here. I have since July 1st, so like a week earlier than the frame you gave. it's not just that Suarez happens to have good numbers. He's striking out a lot less during that time too. So there may be some underlying changes behind this hot streak

that's difficult to call just a streak at this point given then it's gone on for two months. If you need a catcher in a one catcher league, two names that could be available. Austin Wells had a big game on Friday, two for four with a double dong four RBI. He added two more hits on Saturday. He has now started five straight.

I know we had that little stretch where, you know, they were facing some lefties and he wasn't in the lineup. But, you know, Austin Wells has been really good now, basically since the middle of June. 282 batting average, 11 homers, 35 RBI, and OPS over 900 since July 11th, June 11th, excuse me. And Shay Langalear's quietly has had a breakout season, 2 for 4 with a double dong, 4 RBI on Labor Day here. His 25 homers are second among catchers, and he's 71% rostered. Shallow leagues, one catcher league, Scott, but who do you? you prefer Langalears or Austin Wells. Langalears buy a lot.

Wells sits too often. And I know that batting average is unpalatable for Shea Langlears. But in the second half, he's batting 248, so that's much better. Okay. Any interest in these two outfielders? Taylor Ward has been picking things up lately last 12 games. He's betting 298 with three homers and one steel. And Victor Robles, he's also picking things back up last six games.

He has four multi-hit games, one homer, four steals during that time. he obviously has performed quite well since joining the Mariners any interest here Scott Taylor Ward or Victor Robles and Robles was a sleeper hitter for this week so already making good on that we've seen Ward to get really hot for stretches in the past I'm skeptical that like that's what's happening here like I it'd be hard for me to just trust it's happening and put them in my line it but it could be it could be we could look back three weeks from now and say oh Oh, Taylor Ward was one of the best players in September.

That would not be surprising. Robles, I think, has more obvious utility as a base dealer, especially while he's hitting well. But I might look at the schedule, too. More righties is obviously good for Robles. And Taylor Ward has great splits against lefties. So if the angels have a bunch of those coming up and three on the schedule this current week, actually, then he might be worth using.

All right. you rank these middle infield options. Ernie Clement had himself a big game on Sunday, two for five with a sock and a shoe. 53 games since the start of July. He's betting 260 with eight home runs and eight steals. Again, that's Ernie Clement. Brooks Lee returned from the IL on Sunday

and went two for four with his third home run on Monday. Why wasn't he on the interest a meter? It's a good question. Well, I guess he was coming back from the IL. He wasn't part of the roster expansion, but maybe I was being a little bit too technical with that. too technical. Yeah, you know me.

Okay. Continue. Will Wagner is the other name on this list, and he had a massive game on Saturday, five for six with his second home run, and through 17 games, he's betting 345. He's got two homers, a 919 OPS. He's barely striking out.

He's also not playing every day. I wonder if the Blue Jays are trying to keep his rookie eligibility for next year, and maybe that's why they're doing this, but it seems weird that they're not playing him every day. Scott, how would you rank Clement, Brooks, and Will Wagner. So I don't think it's so much that because the likelihood of Will Wagner being a big rookie of the year candidate, you know, it seems it seems unlikely.

He's also somebody who should theoretically walk a lot, though he has only done that twice. But, you know, since rookie eligibility is tied to at-bats, walking a lot helps to keep those lower. Will Wagner is my favorite of this group by a long shot. Other than the lack of walks, everything he was doing at AAA has carried over to the majors. It's like the level looks exactly the same to Will Wagner. And I think if it continues, he's going to find his way into more playing time. Interestingly, him sitting has nothing to do with his handedness.

He's a left-handed hitter. I know. He's sitting against righties. It's weird. He starts two and he sits one. He starts two and he sits one. And I think that's going to change. And I would love to have him.

and roto leagues is a middle-in field option, even more so than Brooks Lee, who hasn't done much with his major league opportunities so far, but he is starting a shortstop, so maybe he'll turn it around. He did have here on Monday, Brooks Lee, his hardest hit ball as a major leaguer so far, a double that he hit 107.4 miles per hour,

almost three miles per hour harder than his previous hard hit ball, and about as hard as the hardest hit ball in the minors. So maybe that's a sign that Brooks Lee's getting more comfortable. All right, let's get into some leftovers from the weekend. Still lots to get to. Five pitchers who are on a great run night right now. Framber Valdez was pulled after seven no-hit innings up against the Royals this weekend.

And over his last nine starts, he has a 198 ERA, a 0.81 whip, 11.3K per 9 during that time. So he has been amazing. Pablo Lopez has had a big second half, seven and two-thirds shutout innings with three strikeouts. Last 12 starts for him, it's a 238 ERA and a 0.99 whip. You say Kikuchi was amazing against the Royals, seven innings, one run, 12 strikeouts, and in six starts with the Astros. Kikuchi has a 257 ERA and a 0.94 whip. Jose Burrios over his last five starts, it's a 156 ERA, 0.87 whip.

He's really turned things back on there as well. And Sean Mania, who we've talked a lot about. It was a great matchup. Got the White Sox. Seven shutout innings, five strikeouts. Last 15 starts dating back to mid-June. 270 ERA.96 whip for Sean Mania. Five names on this list, Scott.

Anything you'd like to add? Mania, Barrios, Cacucci, Pablo Lopez, and Framber Valdez. Yeah, I think as long as Mania stays away from that cutter, which he's basically done for his last seven starts. I'm willing to trust him more weeks than not. Depends on the matchup, but obviously deserves to be rostered, and that's what his rate suggests.

Kikuchi is the frustrating one here. You say Kikuchi because he has starts like this on occasion, and you think, okay, maybe he's turning the corner going to live up to his full potential here, as good as he is at missing bats. but this was his first start in nine. The seven innings starts against the Royals. His first start in nine where he went even six innings.

It's hard to be useful in fantasy when you're not going the minimum required for a quality start. So Kukuchi remains somebody who you really got to be careful about using in most cases. If anyone was wondering why Framber Valdez got taken out after the seven no-hit innings. He did have 98 pitches. I feel like they probably could have pushed him a little bit. But here's what Joe Espada had to say.

Those are personal goals. But me as a manager, I'm thinking more of the team. I'm thinking of where he's at when he comes off the mound and how he looks. And that last inning, how he looks, you have a conversation with him where you think and you have to gauge on what you see

and what you hear from him. We have a really good bullpen. That makes my decision a little bit easier when you got guys back in there that you can rely on. So it just seems like, you know, maybe it was like a body language thing or they talked to him. They, you know, they cared more about just winning the game

and closing it out with the bullpen, whatever it might be. But I was a little surprised that they didn't let him go longer. Yeah. Me too. All right. Some hitters who remained hot this weekend as well. Corbyn Carroll, two for four with a sock in the shoe on Friday. He added another homer on Saturday.

He wrapped up a tremendous August where he hit 280 with 11 home runs, two steals, and a 1042 OPS. Lawrence Butler, who he mentioned up near the top. Last 11 games, he's betting 426 with seven homers and three steals. He's now up to 81% rostered. Dansby Swanson stayed hot. Last 28 games for him. 296 batting average, four homers, eight steals and OPS right around 850.

Another huge weekend for Jackson Chorio. And in the second half, he's betting 338. Nine homers, 10 steals, 981 OPS. And Junior Camerero continues to impress. He hit another home run on Saturday. added two hits on Monday, and so far betting 275, three homers, two steals, and an 837 OPS. Lots of fun names here, Scott, Caminero, Chorio, Swanson, Butler, and Corbyn Carol. Yeah, I think Cominero's time has come.

Jackson Chorio's time has clearly come. So you put the numbers for the second half. So if you go back to June 1st, which is when every hitter season seemed to turn around, It's not just the Jackson Chorio's batting average home run stolen bases are up to exit velocity The average exit velocity is up like two miles per hour And the strikeout rate has gone You know first two months versus last three months

The strikeout rate for Chorio Has gone from 27% to 16%. So I would say Chorio's here to stay I've still a big believer in Lawrence Butler I've seen a lot of skepticism out there in the fantasy industry. Not really sure why.

He's 24. He hits the ball hard. He runs well. And he's striking out a lot less. And that's coincided with him turning his season around here at the start of July, striking out less than 20% of the time. You're hitting the ball that hard and making contact that frequently. You're going to be good.

And I think Lawrence Butler's good. And finally, Corbyn Carroll, if you had told us, if you had told me before the start of the season, that he would have a month where he hit 11 home runs. That's the only context you gave me. Corbyn Carroll, he'll hit 11 home runs one month. He might have been in the first overall pick because that's what we were concerned about. It's just funny how his seasons played out. Very interested in seeing how September goes because he could put himself back as an obvious first rounder, I think.

if he has a huge September. Yeah, the Lawrence Butler thing, I haven't seen that skepticism. I also, I guess, haven't been online as much recently. But, yeah, the plate discipline is good. I tried looking at some underlying stuff, like 84% zone contact is good. He doesn't chase. He doesn't swing and miss. He hits the ball hard.

It's a good barrel rate. Solid against lefties. I don't know. I mean, everything seems to be there for Lawrence Butler. So, yeah, I'm pretty much there with you. I'm not backing down. And I feel pretty excited about him. When I say there's been a lot, I may have seen like two people expressing.

That's a lot in my mind, you know? Fair enough. Maybe it's less prevalent than I think. But, you know, it might just be that even you look at his minor league track record. It's not that impressive. But we knew the tools were there. And if he put it all together, he could be an impact player. And it sure seems like he's put it all together.

You know, I had a buddy of mine ask, excuse me, where do I think Jackson Turyo is going to be drafted next year? Like, what round? It's a really good question, man. I mean, the fact that he's 20 years old and he's breaking out like this, he's going to go 2020. I mean, he could approach 25, 25 when it's all said and done. I could see, like, third round for Trio.

Yeah, I could see it in Roto. Yeah. But, yeah. And I don't think that's a huge stretch. We'll see how it looks once we start lining up the names. All right. Some other pitchers who've pitched well since coming off the IL. Ronaldo Lopez in three starts since returning.

It's a 159 ERA and a one whip on the nose. He's looked great. Joe Musgrove in five starts since returning a 130 ERA and a point 80 whip right around a strikeout per inning. And Zach Eifflin, I kind of cheated because it's only one start since coming off the IL. but he was in course field seven innings one run nine strikeouts he had 18 whiffs on 85 pitches and he more than doubled his curveball usage i don't know if that was a coarse field thing i think usually you would go away from your breaking pitches in course field but because it was the opposite here and that's what i said when zach efflin was traded to the orioles like that the thing that would convince me he's going to turn over a new leaf is if he starts throwing his curveball more if i see his curveball usage go up it hadn't happened until this first start back from the IL when 42% curveballs. That's the most you've thrown in any start all year.

Yep. And throwing it more seemed to be behind his breakout last year. It is his best pitch, I believe. But you're right. Since it happened at Core's Fields, you don't know if it was because Zach Eflin changed his approach specifically for that environment. Obviously got good results.

Maybe that'll encourage him to throw the curveball. Ballmore. I take it as a good sign, but inconclusive that Eflin is indeed turning over a new leaf. Not that he's been so bad just as he was. Yeah, hey, five starts with the Orioles now for Eflin.

Obviously, an IL stint mixed in there. 195 ERA.96 whip over a strikeout per inning for Zach Eflin. Some pitchers who had a bounce back outings. Blake Snell was his last time out before this, six walks against the Mariners. Now against

the Marlins, seven innings one run, eight strikeouts for Blake Snell. Seth Lugo, a big bounce back at the Astros, seven innings, one run, nine strikeouts. And Bailey Ober, who had that just terrible outing two turns ago, bounced back with a great start against the Blue Jays, six innings, one hit, one run, eight strikeouts in that one. Anything on Ober, Lugo, and Snell? I'll point out something Lugo said. It wasn't that illuminating, but he said he's been.

working on stuff after having a 550-80 or a during an eight-start stretch to get back on track here against the Astros with a very good start. He said just a little bit of feel with some of my pitches, how to get some breaking balls to some better locations, be more consistent with my fastball. Again, it's not much, but you like to hear when a pitcher is struggling that he's working on things, especially when he has, he seems to have a turnaround start. If I could just backtrack to the previous group for a second. I don't know that there's much cause for Reinaldo Lopez skepticism anymore.

I know it's kind of surrounded his whole season. He still has an ERA of two exactly. But since coming back from the IL, he's been getting so many strikeouts, so many swinging strikes. Like he just looks great. And ground balls, which is something he wasn't getting earlier.

The two ERA is still probably too good to be true, but that doesn't mean Rinaldo Lopez isn't good. And I think I'd approach him as close to a must start the rest of the way. And he's been getting it done against good offenses even. Some other pitching leftovers,

too good and one bad. Terrick Scuba continues to dominate eight innings, one run, eight strikeouts, 16 whiffs on 98 pitches up against the Red Sox. And it doesn't look like he will be limited on a per-start basis. Again, maybe they're stretching those starts out

a little bit more, so we're not going to get a two-star week, but obviously Scuba is still awesome. 16 wins for him are the most in baseball. Zach Wheeler, speaking of awesome, he was exactly that against the Braves, seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts there. And someone who was not awesome,

George Kirby at the Angels, five and two-thirds innings, five runs, three homers allowed. And over his last four outings, it's a 720 ERA, a 175 whip. Strikeouts are down, home runs are way up during that span. It's got anything on Kirby, Wheeler, and Scoobel.

So yeah, it was nice to see Scoobel bounce back from the five-inning start with him going eight. And maybe suggests that the Tigers' plans to ramp him down were maybe a little exaggerated. I don't know. There's still a month to go. But Scoobel obviously is an ace. So George Kirby struggled for a while now. 684 ERA in his 5 August starts. he says it's very frustrating it's a little bit of mechanics and I'm trying to look at video and stuff like that but it's so small I know it's so small but I don't want to I know it's so small so I don't want to look into it too much that's the frustrating part I don't really know what it is yet but I know it's tiny so you know just keep working at it and I like when players say things that sound likes things I would say whatever is wrong

with Kirby, it's got to be so small. That's a line I use a lot when a pitcher or a hitter is struggling. And he's putting it that way too. Makes me wonder if George Kirby's listening. Is he's a regular listener or not? I don't know. Hey, the way that we talk about players who are struggling

and then the very next day they go out and have an awesome game, I wouldn't be surprised, man. Yeah, did you hear what those FBT guys said about us this time? Let's go out and have a big game. Let's get into some hitting leftovers. Brent Rooker, His stellar breakout season, however you want to describe it.

Two home runs on Friday. He went two for four with a steal on Saturday. Four more hits on Sunday. He's batting 295, 33 homers, 949 OPS. Very interesting name for 2025. Don't really know how I'm going to approach Brent Rooker. Looks like Freddie Freeman really needed those three days off last week because since he's returned, he has four home runs in four games since coming back on Friday.

It feels inevitable that Chohei Otani will go 50-50, maybe more, because Sock and the shoe on Friday, another homer on Saturday, and then three more steals on Monday. He is up to 44 homers, 46 steals on the season. Mookie Betts looks like he has not missed a beat since coming back from the IL, 20 games since returning 289 batting average, four homers, four steals, and 862 OPS. Yordana Alvarez had a two-homer game on Sunday.

and Pete Alonzo wrapped up his best power month in August where he hit eight home runs in 852 OPS. He has 30 home runs. It still feels like it's just been a so-so kind of year for Pete Alonzo. Yeah, it does. Just kind of a down year, but not really like a bad year. I think part of the problem is that his run-in-R-B-I pace

are so far off. He's not on pace for 80-f either. Or wait, that's not pace, is it? That's total. That's total so far, yeah. Okay, scratch that. But it does feel like not as many as we're used to seeing for Pete Alonzo. What is he on pace for, actually?

Less than 100 in both based on that, right? Yeah. So that hasn't helped. Which is kind of weird because the Mets have had a good lineup. Yeah, I know. It is kind of weird, isn't it? I don't know. I don't know, but it does,

it does add to that sort of feeling like, eh, Pia Lanzo wasn't really worth the pick. I invested in him. Some bullpen updates from the weekend. For the Orioles on Friday, Sir Anthony Dominguez got the ninth inning with a three-run lead. He gave up one run but picked up his eighth save. For the Dodgers on Friday, Michael Kopec entered in the sixth inning

with a one-run lead. He gave up a hit and a walk, but he got out of it. Seems like pretty bad usage here for Kopeck, but Kershaw only pitched one inning in that game. so I think they just, it was all hands on deck. They needed all their relievers. And then on Saturday, Evan Phillips... I don't know that Kopeck's happening.

I got to be honest. Dave Roberts seems to have no inclination to anoint a closer. And Evan Phillips is getting involved more and more. You got the safe Saturday. Yep. Kopec had pitched three or four days entering Saturday, but maybe I'm just making excuses for him. Who knows?

For the Giants on Friday, Ryan Walker struck out two for his fifth save for the Cubs on Saturday. Today, Jorge Lopez got the eighth inning with the two-run lead facing the heart of the Nationals lineup. He walked one and got out of it. Porter Hodge then got the ninth inning and he picked up his third save of the season. Do you have a lean here, Scott, Cubs bullpen? Oh, I think it's got to be Porter Hodge, especially. Did you see what Jorge Lopez did on Monday?

Yeah, I think he gave up with three or four runs, right? Four runs. Yeah, and working in a non-save chance, obviously. And then he set up for Hodge over the weekend. So, you know, maybe Craig Counsel's going to go back and forth with those two. It remains to be seen. But for most of counsel's career, he's had a true closer. Even Hector Nairis when he wasn't doing that well.

So I think the lean here has to be Porter Hodges, the rookie. For the Tigers on Saturday, lefty Tyler Holton walked one but picked up his sixth save. And then on Sunday, Jason Foley pitched a clean ninth inning for his 20th save. I was going to say it kind of feels like maybe just a committee approach, both of those guys getting saved, Tyler Holton and Jason Foley. Holton also started a game as an opener on Monday, so I'm not sure. Yeah, I think the lean here is Foley, not that he's a great closer. But I think AJ Hinch in August kind of came back around to him after moving away in July.

For the Phillies on Saturday, Carlos Estevez struck out two for his 23. third save. Jeff Hoffman worked the eighth inning in that one. For the Rockies on Saturday, Tyler Kinley got the ninth inning with a two-run lead. He walked one, but picked up his eighth save. For the Marlins on Saturday, Calvin Foshae shark out two for his fifth save. And then on Sunday, he shark out the side for his sixth save. For the raise on Sunday, Edwin Useta recorded four perfect outs across the seventh and eighth innings with the game tied. And then Manuel Rodriguez got the ninth inning. He gave up a run and took his four. loss of the season. For the Angels on Sunday, Ben Joyce got the ninth inning with a one-run lead.

He gave up a hit, but struck out one for his fourth save. And he has each of the Angels last three saves. Again, that's Ben Joyce. Scott, how would you rank this group? All names that could be out there on Waverwire still, Ryan Walker, Kopec, Dominguez, Foshae, and Ben Joyce. Can we put Porter Hodge in there too? Yeah. Can we put a Roll-Hast-Chabin in there too? Let's get all the names. All right, so it's, we're throwing Hodge in there and Chapman. So, uh, you got. Yeah, those are the two I wrote about for the waiver wire article yesterday. Seven names. Seven names there.

Uh, Ryan Walker's clear number one. I think he's just a stud closer. Number two, I will go Porter Hodge, actually. And then I guess I'll give Michael Kopeck the edge over Sir Anthony Dominguez, just because I'm not confident Dominguez is actually good. But then. Chapman, and then Foshae and then Ben Joyce. So again, Ryan Walker, Porter Hodge, Michael Kopeck, Sir Anthony Dominguez,

Aroldus Chapman, Calvin Foshae, and Ben Joyce. I think Foshae and Joyce are more clearly their team's closers, but I'm not as confident in their safe opportunities. To stream or not to stream on Tuesday, we have Kade Povich gets the White Sox. We'll put the, you can start anybody against the White Sox theory to test here. We have David Festa at Tampa Bay. David Peterson gets the Bray.

Nope, he gets the Red Sox. Aaron Savali gets the Cardinals. Ryan Nelson at the Giants. And Andrew Heaney gets the Yankees. I think Ryan Nelson, just because he's been so bankable lately, would be my first choice to stream, followed by David Festa

at the Rays and Aaron Savale against the Cardinals. Povich against the White Sox, I understand, but he was pretty bad in his last start. And on Wednesday,

we get Albert Suarez against the White Sox, Mackenzie Gore at the Marlins. Tyler McGill gets the Red Sox, Ben Lively at the Royals, Colin Ray versus the Cardinals, J.P. Sears

versus the Mariners. Let's go, Albert Suarez, J.P. Sears, White Sox and Mariners, their matchups, and McKenzie Gore at the Marlins. I'm hopeful he's back on track after the way his last two starts went. All right. And sorry we did not get to team named Tuesday. There was just so much to recap from the long weekend,

but send those in and I will read some on next Tuesday's podcast. 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 tomorrow. Bye-bye. Mount Podcasts.