Fantasy Baseball Today - Mailbag! Prospect Updates, Seager vs. Adames, Mike Trout Concerns & More (3/11 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: March 11, 2023

What's the word with The Welsh (1:00)? We find out more about Christian Encarnacion-Strand and the Jordan Walker hype. ... How do we rank some of the top prospects in dynasty (12:30)? ... Why is Corey Seager ranked so much higher than Willy Adames (15:20)? ... Do we have any Mike Trout performance concerns (18:58)? ... Trade Giancarlo Stanton for Evan Carter in dynasty (23:54)? ... Will we see Zac Veen with the Rockies this season (27:15)? ... Where will Nolan Gorman play this season (31:20)? ... How does Mookie Betts' value change with second base eligibility (38:00)? ... We wrap up with your keeper questions (42:25). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Make sure to join our Fantasy Baseball Today March Madness bracket challenge here: cbssports.com/baseball Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question, email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your lead. Well, fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank Scott and Chris. What's going on, everybody? Welcome in to a mailbag edition of Fantasy Baseball today. Frank Semple joined by Scott White and Chris the Welsh.

Today on the show, we've got spring training updates. and we will answer your mailback questions, Apple Podcasts Review Questions, as well as your emails, Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. But let's just jump right in, gentlemen. I'm pretty sure that's the first time Scott has heard that drop. Is that right, Scott?

It is. Yeah, it's been a couple weeks since I've done a show with the Welsh. Yeah, so that is, what's the word with the Welsh? And let's jump in there. The talk of the town right now, Welsh, is Christian Encarnacion Strand.

And we spoke about him on Thursday's podcast. Scott drafted him in his Tout Wars team. I drafted him in the reserve rounds of both my NL only labor and my TGFBI. He is tearing it up the spring. I got him in TGFBI too, Tout and TGFBI. Well, Chris, let me know. What are you thinking about Encarnacian Strand?

What you've seen from him, are we actually going to see him up on opening day? Yeah, so I think you guys are really smart about it. So I was at the Padres and Reds game yesterday as we're recording this. And he stood out like a sore thumb for all the right reasons. He was actually running over at first base. And I know he's listed as a third baseman.

Everyone kind of sees him there. You've got the Joey Votto issues. I think there's been a lot of assumption that Will Myers would kind of take that spot. But here's what was unique about that lineup. Will Myers played in right field. And he just kept in the outfield. And they had in Carnotian Strand play with all the starters.

And guys, he was as fantastic as built. You know, he was coming in with a really, really great home run record. He had three homers coming into this game. He absolutely crushed a ball to center field that was hit so hard, the center fielder could not catch up to it. And he turned what would be a double for most guys into a triple, which was really impressive for his athleticism because this is a big guy. They list him at six foot.

I probably was a little bit taller, to be honest with you, 225. He made one of the worst throws I've ever seen in my life, but it was a decision-making thing where a ball blooped and him and Myers almost collided. and I think he thought a runner was going, so he throws it to home, and no one's there. No catcher, no nobody. So a runner was able to advance more, but it wasn't like a fielding mistake.

It was just like a dumb mental error. He smacked a ball really, really hard a little bit later. He's just hitting the ball super hard in spring. He's hitting over 600. He's got the three RBI, three homers, 10 RBI, 12 hits and 20 at bats. And I thought it was just telling him locking down that first base spot, I really do think and believe that this is something that the Reds are considering.

Another little tiny factor, that same lineup, the Reds brought all their big guys. Austin Hendrick, Matt McClain, Ellie De La Cruz, Nelvi-Marte, and they all played on the second replacement squad in that lineup in Carnation Strand started the game. And he played a decent amount. He did come out after like the six inning after Jonathan, India and a lot of the starters. But he was playing with India. He was playing with Myers. He was playing with the big starting crew. So I am starting to believe that Incanusional Strand really does have an opportunity to maybe be the surprise prospect that could break the opening day roster just simply because of the stuff that's going on with Votto and how he's holding it down with his bat.

It's really impressive. So yeah. I've made the point too that this is the same organization and the same leadership group that just two springs ago. You know, nobody was thinking Jonathan India on the opening day roster and then suddenly halfway through spring. training. It was like, it became apparent that India was going to be their starting second baseman. So they could do the same thing with Incarnacion Strand. And we've talked about how big the power is, but I think, I think this is one of those instances where the numbers are worth stating. So last year between High A and Double A, Incarnacion Strand hit 32 home runs.

He drove in 114 runs. Wow. And this is in only 122 games. He had no. nearly an RBI a game. Yeah, I think the drawback for him is he's only played 48 games at AA, right? So is he ready? He's a little bit older, though, 23 years old. So, I mean, if he's crushing it right now in camp and in spring training,

maybe they just give him a shot. So in deeper leagues, one of your last picks, sure. Let's see what happens with Christian and Carnaccio on trend. Well, as you mentioned a few of the other Reds prospects that you got to see out there. You mentioned to me, L.A. Dela Cruz, physical freak. Austin Hendrick, former first round pick, I believe, right? He's looked good. I know he hit a home run on, I believe it was Wednesday in spring training.

And then just, and aside, a Diamondbacks note, you had Drew Jones played his first side game two days ago. Yeah, so just on that real quick, Ellie Day of the Cruz, every time I see him, I think I'm just taken back a little bit. Because, you know, he gets the O'Neill Cruz comps. But it doesn't work because he's jacked, man. Like, O'Ineal Cruz is a big, tall guy, but, you know, skinny. and so, Elie Dela Cruz is not that. I mean, his shoulders have broadened out. The body has physically gone up.

He is maybe the most physically impressive player I have seen in person. Like, I've never seen Aaron Judge in person. But like the height, the physical muscle that he's at it, because I had seen him like a year and a half ago when he was skinnier. And he played pretty well out there. They're still going to work him at short. I think at some point, just like O'Neo Cruz, you could look at him playing in right field because that team also has a whole bunch of guys.

But, you know, Nueli Marte is a third. basement for that team. That is where he's going to go. Matt McLean is replaceable at best. It's second or short, and Ellie Dele-Dreuse is going to get that spot. And he was hitting the ball pretty strong. Decision-making wasn't great in spring so far. He's behind a guy like Strand. Austin Hendrick, I was at that. I watched that Homer. He smashed that Homer. It got out in a whiz, and he looks physically really good as well. That would be someone I would pay attention to for prospect people because he is a complete afterthought for most, and he might be on a bounce back because he, in his two at bats, was making really, really, really good decisions.

And then the thing I would kind of note with the Drew Jones thing is next week is the start of minor league spring training. I know that's weird for people. You're like, what are you talking about? They actually didn't have to report until this Monday. That was report to every single minor leader has to be at camp. They're working out right now. They're in the backfields.

Some are running side sessions. And that's what Drew Jones did. They, we know and knew about it, but apparently they just showed up to the Rangers. and the Rangers and Diamondbacks played a little side game, not a full game, but like five innings. He played in that, which was kind of a confirmation for my interview with him where he said he's going to play in some of these games.

Next Monday, this all starts, and I believe Tuesday or Wednesday, Drew Jones is going to get in. I'm obviously going to go like Target and try to get down there, but you're going to see him in some action. I think that's going to lead up to some really fun, just kind of battles because I personally felt like Jackson Holiday, even though Drew Jones, like three months ago, was kind of the consensus first year player guy.

I really like everyone's cared about Jackson Holiday because he's doing stuff and he's out at camp and we get to watch him. And you've also kind of physically seen him grown. Once Drew's back out there, I think it's going to make like a really good fun conversation again because he just hasn't had that against Jackson Holiday. So hopefully some good confirmation stuff in spring. And we will see he didn't, Drew didn't give me any like inside knowledge if he was going to be sent out for A ball.

So we'll see. I think spring is going to really determine if he stays back in Arizona for extended or if he's going to be sent out to low A, and then we can all get kind of hyped about one of the most exciting prospects in baseball. We had the Jordan Walker conversation on Monday's podcast, and coming off the weekend that he had last week where I was at the game down in Florida,

four-for-four, two home runs, lasers. I think they were like 450 feet, like just absolute bomb home runs, then goes out, has another multi-hit game, stole a base. I think he got a hit off Garrett Cole too. So, man, the rise of Jordan Walker has been crazy. 17 drafts have been done over at the NFBC this week.

The ADP 117.7. Oh. Well, so what do you think about that cost for Jordan Walker? That's really fascinating. We just did an in-this-league show with Ryan Bloomfield and Casey Bubba, and we had this exact conversation of where does he sit? And we were kind of determining between like the 125 and 100 range was where he was ultimately going to go.

But that conversation was built around. who Jordan Walker is right now. Who is Jordan Walker if the team says, hey, we are going to break camp with him. And we are going to let him be the right fielder. I think he can push easy top 75 right now. I had a little bit of a tough time with like the inside the top 100 because we were kind of doing some who'd you rather's.

I'm curious with you guys here. Let me ask you, Jordan Walker or where did it go? Or Nick Castionos, Mr. Scott White. Jordan Walker and Nick Castiano's. The hypothetical that Walker is on the team? No, let's go right now. Like right now, because the seven NFBC drafts, he's going 117.

The consensus ADP on Castianos is 130, and I believe his NFBC is, where did he go? It is 123. So technically Jordan Walker going higher than him. And I'm just trying to confirm in my own rankings. Yeah, I think I'd take Walker anyway. Yeah, I have Walker 138 and Castianos 154. I would take Jordan Walker as well. And it's more so, well, no, it has to do with Jordan Walker being awesome.

But I'm also just off to Cassiano's this year. Here's, okay, here's the last one. Because we could do this for an hour. Jordan Walker or Chris Bryant, Frank. Oh. There she is. I think I would, I think I would go Bryant. Yeah, I mean, that's what I said too.

And Bubba didn't agree with me on that. Scott, what do you think? That's cool, Brian. I mean, obviously there are concerns with Bryant, as there are for Walker. Does he make the team? How does that go, considering he's 20 years old? There are no guarantees, obviously. But Bryant has the big question, the planter fasciitis, and just his health history in general.

But if he is healthy, he's probably a 300 hitter with 25 to 30 home runs. And while Walker could, like, in a really good scenario, do that as well, maybe with some steals on top of it. But yeah, I feel like Bryant, I feel like Brian's the better gamble. He'll hit a homer in Colorado at some point. My last thing with Walker is like, we've been talking about this since I got to join you guys.

We've been talking about how do you draft Walker and you should draft Walker and how to pair him. I still think everyone should do the same stuff we're talking about. The players just look different. A month and a half ago, we were sitting here talking about, you should take Jordan Walker around 200, 180, and then you should pair him with like a fun,

oldie third baseman, you know, Justin Turner before he got smacked in the face, like that type of stuff. You should take Walker still, and maybe it's a little bit outside the 125, but if you do, you're probably just looking at a different pair of sneaky third baseman you have to pair with.

And you're probably going to be looking at him, and maybe it's like boring Thai France, or him and Jose Miranda at this point. Like those are the type of guys I would prioritize getting someone to go with him. Because if you're drafting Walker, you're drafting him as a third baseman, even if he plays in the outfield,

I want him. That 117 in NFBC is a little too much for me, though. I need a little bit more of a discount. Yeah, I agree with that. I think around 150, just knowing what we know right now, makes sense. Jordan Walker went 158 in Scott's Tout Wars draft. That is a 15-team roto with OBP. I think that's closer to the right range, but you're right.

Well, if we get confirmation, he's on the opening day roster. Jordan Walker is a top 100. I mean, yeah, like it's going to happen. Well, we don't know for sure. But if it happens, I do think the ADP will just continue to rise. Let's get into some email questions. Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. This one is from Chris Welsh.

No, I don't take so. I'm in a Dynasty League in which we can keep players on our team for as long as we want. Without going into further detail, I'm stuck ranking these four players as I will likely be able to draft two of them. Of these four, which two would you advise drafting with the goal of having a stud for the next 10 years or more? Jordan Walker, Corbyn Carroll, Wander Franco, or Gunner Henderson. I mean, buddy. Okay, he can only pick two?

Is it like a two keeper or just as all the other keeper is so good? He put up parentheses if you could rank all four just for Dynasty. Go ahead. Look, my number one and two prospects in my top 100 for this year is Gunner Henderson and Corbyn Carroll. And maybe it should be Corbyn Carroll over Gunner Henderson. Yeah, mine's the same but flipped. Yeah, I might be talking myself and to go into other way.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is like I don't want to overthink it. I mean, Jordan Walker is third on that list. Jordan Walker probably has the highest ceiling of the three. But I think I'd still stick with Carol and Henderson. If not, I need to update my prospect rankings, right? And Franco, while he's obviously a great choice too, I have more questions about his ups. Like the increased exposure to the majors relative to these others has just created more questions about his upside.

Welles, what do you think? Sorry, everything got all crazy for me right there for a second. Connection-wise. Yeah, I'm kind of the same thing here. Carolyn Henderson are my top two guys. I actually just moved Walker above Lawler. I had Lawler there. Really, really tough decision.

Lawler looks bigger, but like it's just hard to ignore what Jordan Walker is doing right now. I think those guys are like tiered. So I agree with that. Wander Franco, I'm also kind of on the bus right now that he's going to have a bounce back and he's a great breakout candidate. I think he's a phenomenal buy in dynasty right now. But I don't even know if the bounce back categorically still gets us to what we want out of guys like Gunner and Corby and Carole and even maybe Jordan Walker at this point.

I actually think Jordan Walker and Wanda Franco were like a really, really close conversation. The ease of this though, like you said, simplistic. It's Carolyn Henderson. feel pretty good about it. I would be pretty happy. And also, like, how do you have all these guys? Like, how did you have the top three prospects in baseball? Good job if you did that.

I don't know how you put these guys together. He's saying these are who he thinks he'll be able to draft. Oh, these are a draft. I thought these are keyers. Why aren't they being kept in a dynasty league? Yeah. Yeah, why are they not being kept? These are top 35, if you could all of them together,

35 or 40 in a dynasty. There's no reason they shouldn't be kept. Maybe it's a startup dynasty league. He didn't mention that, but I guess it's possible. This one's from, this next one's from Derek. Just curious why the podcast

loves Corey Seeger this season but never seems to talk about Willie Adomis. Seeger probably a bit better average, but Adomis should be close to double-digit steals. Power and counting stats are very similar. Just wondering what you see as the biggest difference between the two. Perhaps just Seeger has the longer track record.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's not a bit more. It's 80 to 100 points more. I'm exaggerating but not by much. No, really, I think Corey Seeger could win a batting title. And, you know, if he hit 3.30 and Willie Adamas hit 2.30, I don't think it would fall out of my chair. That's not the most likely scenario. I think it's more likely 300 for Seeger 240 for Adomis.

But that's a big difference, obviously, and all the run production that goes with it. I think you could agree that like Adomis, though, is one of the best deals. I actually was putting together an all sleeper team. And I kind of think he's that guy because, you know, I'm really turning sour on the back half of the awesome shortstop crew. I don't want Tim Anderson. I don't want Carlos Correa. I don't want Jeremy Payne. I don't want a lot of those guys.

The guy that sneaks and lives in that territory is really Adomis. And, you know, based off of his career Babbup, it's like almost 60 points lower. So if you can get back to him being a 250, even if he's a 245 guy, the big difference is the batting average off of Corey Seeger versus him, and they're going, what, 70, 80 spots of difference? So I don't think we need, I don't think it's like, ooh, you guys are talking about Corey Seeger, why aren't you talking about Adomis? It's just, no, Adomis is a phenomenal deal.

Corey Segar, to me, isn't kind of a tier of his own. I think he is getting into that upper echelon, like, I don't know if you can win a batting title, but like he is a high, high-end four-category player that gets an advantage with the shift being taken away. Those are going to work in his favor. He has no question marks. Adomis still has question marks,

But we can see these little paths of like, it's a career low Babbat. Average comes back. Even on the Carylopab by the way, he had like 30 plus homers. So he is an awesome cheaper four category player. He just has more worries. We should talk about Adomis, but I don't think those two need to be like correlated together. Willie Adomis kind of gets lost in the mix because obviously everyone is talking up Seeger. A lot of people like O'Neill Cruz as a breakout, water Franco as a bounceback.

So he just kind of gets lost in the shuffle there. But he is a phenomenal value. I mean, his ADP is around 90. Last year, he was a top 50 player in Roto. Only 23 players had 30 plus home runs. Only two at shortstop, Corey Seeger and Willie Adomis. So, and I'm pretty sure we said this on the shortstop preview. We both like Willie Adomas.

It's just we like Corey Seeger a lot more. Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, we're how many Brown's difference of value is it too? So I think the earlier player gets drafted, the more he tends to get talked about. But I don't think I've drafted him on an actual team yet, but Willie Adomis is somebody I get a lot in mocks because he's at the end of that very, very large shortstop tier. For me, he's the last of that tier.

I have Tim Anderson and Carlos Corray ahead of him, but he tends to go the latest of that tier. To your point with that too, I actually feel like I see Adamas go outside the top 100 in so many mocks I do because shortstop is so deep. And then people are like, well, I can wait on it, especially if you're in a 12 team, like a category, he's going to go further pass.

I think he'll fall out of that. 15 teams, it's a little bit different. I've drafted him a couple of time and mocks as my middle infielder just because I like him so much and I'll have another good shortstop. You want to make sure you're paying attention to positions, but he's a great player to pick up.

He's a great bounceback player for this year, just like Corey Seeger is. They're just different tiers right now. This one's from David. Holy fly balls, Batman. Have you seen Mike Trout's expected numbers from last year? All career lows, but still elite, probably due to a 54% fly ball rate.

Is there any concern for him this year? That's a pretty dramatic change to his batted ball profile. Thanks. So the XBA for Mike Trout was 265 last season. That was a career low. He hit 283. The strikeout rate has been right around 28% each of the past two seasons. And David wrote in 54% fly ball rate.

Fangrafs has Mike Trout at 56.7. So that is a clear outlier, career high. it's something that I've noticed, but you just kind of give Mike Trout the benefit of the doubt. I mean, he still hit 40 home runs in 119 games. So it's, I don't know, we're probably overthinking it when it comes to Mike Trout. What do you guys think?

Yeah, I mean, like, he's more of a 280 hitter now than a 310 hitter. Right. That's, you know, still a benefit in batting average. Obviously, the injury risks are baked into his price. I think. It's why he's more like a second rounder now. But it is true that, you know, I feel like the decline has started for Trout.

It's going to be a slow decline and he started at such a high point that, you know, he's still going to be great for a few years, I assume. He's 31 and, you know, like outside of OBP leagues or points leagues, you never see him even mentioned in the first round discussion anymore. And I think that's appropriate. And it's a shame because, like, it's an all-time players. here whose prime is over and he got to play in the postseason once like the angels wasted the best of Mike Trout. You know, we're on the downside slide now and this is very disappointing. I think of-I biggest moments from Mike Trout might be coming in the next couple weeks in the WBC, which is like a really sad thing to think about. Like we might remember, you know, if the,

if USA takes down a WBC title, like that'll be one of our biggest, you know, championship type of memories for him. It is weird, though. You guys said it great. You said it great, Scott, just not to blabber it, but like, in 40 homers and like under 120 games, the health has been kind of a major question. I think it's just, like you said, it's kind of like declining skills that still have these elite burst.

I mean, his expected slug was higher than it was last year. The batting average is tapering down a little bit. The injuries are catching up. And hopefully he finds readjustments like from a body perspective of what he needs to start doing to stay healthy. because when he's out there, he's still putting up. So, like, if we look at, if we look at like XBA, some of the expected stats, and we're like, okay, there's this major decline.

He just doesn't. Like, his batting average struggled last year a little bit, but 40 homers. He's still an elite, elite player that is going to probably have a much slower decline as far as actual categories go than, you know, Albert Pooleholz or anybody like that. We just, it does suck that the greatest years of Mike Trout look a little bit squandered. This point is interesting, though. And I know known projections enthusiasts, Scott White will love this one. Batting average projections on Fangraphs range from 254 to 272 for Mike Trow.

I mean, that is, I hadn't noticed that, but that is pretty interesting. They're probably factoring in that fly ball rate just massively. It typically leads to a lower bad bit, but that's the first time. Projections, all models of anything, not just baseball stats, are only as good as the inputs. And frankly, I just think there's too many variables to account for to take them that seriously in a case like this. I mean, the majority of players probably fit the inputs well, but I think Mike Trout is somebody who doesn't. Yeah, like what happens if the fly ball rate goes back down to 45%. I mean, he could hit 300.

I wouldn't rule that out for Mike Trout. Let's take our first break here before we do that. Just a reminder that the CBS Sports Fantasy Baseball Commissioner lets you run your league, your with endless ways to customize your scoring, rosters, schedule, and more. With CBS Sports Commissioner, you can cut out the loopholes and arguments and play exactly how your league wants to.

My longest running Keeper League and the Scott White Dynasty League both play on CBS. We've done our drafts. They both run seamlessly. A lot of fun. You can set up custom rules, roto, head to head points, or categories,

salary cap or snake draft, keepers, contracts, draft pick trading, and multiple matchups per period. Also get the latest analysis and advice. from Scott, Chris Towers, Chris Welsh, and me on your league homepage. So step up to the big leagues this season, visit CBSports.com slash FBT

to get a special offer when you start a new commissioner league today. Again, that's CBSports.com slash FBT. And we'll be back right after, got to pull this up. This. Welcome back into fantasy baseball today. This next email is from Nick. Hello, love the videos and podcast,

as I am an extremely, avid listener, what's your take on Evan Carter? This is Rangers prospect, Rangers Outfield prospect. Been reading about him for a few months now and heard you guys talk about him slightly in a podcast or two and was trying to trade for him in my 12 team head-to-head categories dynasty league. The manager is asking for my John Carlos Stanton for his Evan Carter and is not willing to take anyone else as he is a Yankees fan. Welsh, what are your takes on the offer? Evan Carter for John Carlos Staten. Well, I do know that the Rangers love Evan Carter.

He is untouchable, as I'm told, in that organization. And he's a really, really good, good outfielder. I have some slight questions about what the offense is going to look like, but the best, and it's kind of lazy comp, feels like Kyle Tucker type, if you would look for him. Lower strikeout rates he's had in the minors so far. He's stolen some bases. He had an injury in 2019, 20 that kept them off a little bit. But this past year hit 12 homers, had 28.

stolen bases, great walk rate, really good contact overall. And I think that's the type of game you would be looking at. He's got long limbs. I one time watched a BP session of him and prospect Aaron Savala, and he just explodes on the ball. Like, he's got kind of a looseness to him, which is weird when you watch him. They absolutely explodes on the ball and it feels very Kyle Tuckerish because of the body. So I would kind of throw that out there. You know, I don't, I don't, did he say the context outside of just like the guy won Stanton? Because I don't really covet Stanton. in any dynasty league right now. If I'm winning now, of course, you know,

even if I've been winning now, I've got to be honest with you, I still don't think Stanton holds anything here. Evan Carter's a must-get type of guy. He's a top 25 overall fantasy prospect. I think I might have him at 20, if I'm being honest with you. And I have been sniped on him a couple times in some startups that did an ought-no draft, and I tried to slip him out there for $2,

and I got bid up to like $5 on him, which was insane. But, you know, the word is out there. Evan Carter is definitely someone you should get in. on. And, you know, if he wants only Stanton, he's not coveting him as a top 50 prospect. And that's like an advantage to you. Yeah. Yeah, I don't have Evan Carter as high as you do. I have in 43rd, but, you know, still top 50. The thing I want to stress with the Tucker comparison is like the thing Carter does best is get on base. And that's, you know, so I don't know what the scoring format is, had that categories, he said. But yeah, if he gets on base, he's going to, he's going to reach base at a higher rate than Tucker does because Tucker doesn't walk much. The question for me with Carter is how the power develops, because while he is capable of hitting the ball hard, he's very opposite field-minded, and that's been one of the things that's held like Alec Boneback, for instance,

you know, a lot of power. Power has to come largely from the pool side now that the juice ball is gone. And so we just don't know how that's going to develop for Carter. But obviously, that's something the Rangers help Josh Young overcome, and maybe they can with Carter as well. Yeah, I told you guys to remember that video, I heard the picture I had where they were using like the weighted I think I believe it was the weighted vest they were using out in practice which is you know really good thing to see which is

going to help a lot with some of these guys on pull power and I think last thing I want to add is he's in a group in my mind of p. Armstrong and Zach Veen and I was actually at the Rockies the other day and watching Zach Vine and his mentality is completely changed by the way and they're doing a BP session where they were trying to hit homers and this is my only negative because I think I've talked a lot about Zach Vine. Zach Vine by the way leads minor league or leads spring training and stolen bases, again, where he's led in the AFL. So, like, I want to reiterate when the questions have been out there, Vina's going to steal all the bases in the world.

But, boy, you know, you talk about, like, you needing to see a lot of more pull side stuff. I saw Zach Vien trying as hard as he possibly could to get the ball out of the stadium, and he couldn't do it. Great hit tool. He can hit opposite field. He was pulling the ball, and it just kept coming short. And it was one of those things that it's just a BP session, but it really does show he is going out of his way to try to have some.

pull power and it wasn't working, that Zach Veen will not be a points league type of guy. I mean, he'll have some hits and stuff, but his main stuff is going to come out of categories leagues where you're going to get those stolen bases. Evan Carter might have some similar things, though I think he has better pull side power. And then you compare him to a guy like Pete Carr Armstrong, who I think might actually be the total package across those guys, a little bit bigger body guy. He definitely has more power, I think, than either one of those players, a little bit less stolen bases.

So you can kind of like pen all those guys. In my mind, I think I have them all literally next to each other in the top 25. But again, you should be excited. I think Kevin Carter might be the mix between those two, by the way, where Pete Crow has a little bit more of the power. Veen has more of the speed. And he's just kind of like right in the middle, which is why you should jump on that trade.

I know we have a lot more questions to get to, but this is really topical. Zach Veen, since you brought him up. What do you think the chances are he is up this season earlier than not? because I've seen him start to get drafted in some of those 15 team leagues. There's been a lot of buzz out of Rocky's camp about him. Very, very high, I believe. This means nothing.

And I'm very anecdotal. So apologies if there are people out there that don't like the antics. Because I'll do anecdotal stuff and I'll see snide comments about, oh, that's just what I do. And I see things. I pay attention to weird things. Zach Vien's demeanor has changed. He was a very reserved, closed-off player leading up into the AFL.

didn't want to be around people, didn't talk to people, avoided this. He's a completely different human being. He is joyful, happy. He talks to people. He's thanking people for coming out and watching him. It's a completely different mindset. Part of that, which is unique, is he is out there with that second team of NRI guys, big leaguers, Cole Tucker.

He's always in the sessions with guys like Cole Tucker, warming Bernable, Julio Carreras. He's in, and that's kind of the like, we're on the 40-man roster. So I think there's a demeanor change in that he, knows he's a step closer. And he has, like, completely checked off these big markers between the AFL and here. And the team also openly talked about this about a month or so ago that they are open to Zach being coming up and they're looking at Zach being a contributor early into this year,

maybe midpoint. Randall Gritchick is already hurt. Not that it's an infield thing, but you got Brenner Rogers who's hurt and they brought in Mike Mustakis, who I saw. Like, this team definitely has got a lot of injury things. and Zach Veen is a big, big portion of the future. And I think what he's doing, there's no expectation of power. He's already making really good decisions and he's a contact hitter.

He is lightning fast and he's a good defender. There's no reason to hold him back outside of the normal Rockies mindset. So I say all of that, I think he could be up by June. I don't think he's going to break camp. I don't see anything like that. But I think that June-July range is a possibility, but also knowing that the Rockies are Rocky. They had Nolan Jones and El Huris Montaro ready to go. And they're like, ah, you know what?

what we need to do, Mike Moustakis. And they did that. And that's like the old Garrett Hampson stuff that they kept throwing out here. So God knows what they end up doing at the end of the day. But yes, I think Vien is a real, real possibility. Should have taken him in Tout Wars. I think he's still out there. Got to put in a claim. Hey, my outfield problem. First waiver wire run, Scott. I know you need some outfielders. Go out there and get yourself some Zach Veen. This next one's from Peter. Why has Scott forgotten about one of his 20-22 two darlings. Last year, Scott was praising Nolan Gorman, and it inspired me to pick him up in Dynasty this year. Last we, less we forget, his accomplishment, 16 home runs in 43 games at

AAA, underperformed his stat cast metrics, is only 22 years old, plays second base. Do you think Nolan is a viable sleeper this year? The ADP is 341. I mean, look, he has talent, so you're playing a deep enough league, then, then yeah, I'd say he qualifies it. sleeper. The biggest issue, the reason I don't have much interest in drafting Gorman this year is because he's kind of the forgotten man in St. Louis. It's kind of startling actually how quickly a prospect this high end and the amount that the organization doesn't seem to value him. That discrepancy is about as big as I've ever seen because they don't seem to like him in second base anymore. It doesn't seem like he's going to get much playing time there.

And of course, Donovan is who they plan to play there mostly. And then so it becomes DH. And, well, we're already struggling to find out how they're going to fit Jordan Walker in the lineup with all those other outfielders. So where exactly does Gorman fit? It just doesn't seem like he's a high priority for the Cardinals. And that makes you wonder exactly what his path to playing time is. The only thing I want to add here is I don't know if all of that is correct. So they challenged him.

And I thought this was really interesting because I read this article about this about two weeks ago is they challenged Gorman when they were going through and looking that he cannot hit anything high, specifically high velocity pitches, higher on the zone. And they said, you have to work on that. So I believe it was driveline. Usually it always is that he took the off season to alter his approach and his swing, specifically. targeting being able to hit higher in the zone. If you look at a spray chart, you'll see some of that. And there's been some good early success. He's hitting 286 in spring.

He's already popped up a couple homers. So like, you've got to remember also he's 22 years old. So I don't know if it's a Cardinals don't value him. They tried and attempted because he could not be a third of first basement because you got Goldsmith, Aaron Otto. So he tried to get him another position. Well, they developed a gold glove, Brendan Donovan. Okay, we're done here.

What can you do? Maybe you got to look at in the outfield. There's nothing there. So it's DH. And they challenged him with the bat. And he's kind of answered some of those questions. It doesn't mean that they're going to find a spot for him because you've got Wanyaepej, you've got Jordan Walker, and ultimately this may be someone that they move on from.

But I thought it was interesting that he acknowledged the challenge from the team. And I think you like to hear that, that the team is actually invested in, hey, we need to fix this. He has put that focus on. And you're kind of seeing some of it. You know, he's just hitting right around almost 300. I think that's a pretty positive early sign for Nolan. And it just like, all that's cool, where's it going to play? And I have no idea.

It probably would make most sense on another team. But he's still very, very young. He's probably like a stash dynasty type of guy. He's not a player I would be, I would care all about in redraft this year, regardless of the changes. I was so surprised that the Cardinals weren't more involved in a Pablo Lopez trade. And maybe that's just something they know about Pablo Lopez, but it just seemed like a perfect fit, whether it was Tyler O'Neill. I mean, Gorman, if they gave him up, obviously they would ask for more than just Pablo Lopez in return. but it does seem like a pretty natural fit for the Cardinals.

My best guess as of now, I know Rasta Resource has Juan Ypres as the DH. If they like Gorman and they still want them to play, strong side platoon against as the DH, I think makes some sense for Nolan Gorman to at least start the season for the Cardinals. Let's get into some of your Apple podcast review questions. Thanks again to everyone dropping five-star ratings.

We do appreciate it. This one's from Brad in a Dynasty League where I have O'Neill Cruz and Marcelo Meyer. Would you trade Francisco Lindor for Jacob de Grom? I just got to say real quick, Frank, if that scenario plays out, Gorman at DH, that probably means Jordan Walker's not on the roster. I don't think so, because I think Jordan Walker would play left, Tyler O'Neill in center, and New Bar and right. And then you have... You think they're ready to move on from Dylan Carlson.

Well, Carlson becomes a fourth outfielder and Burleson goes down or... I think Carlson's traded. I also don't know why I like Wanya Pez and stuff. Juanio Pes, I don't know if you guys heard about this. When he went to the Dominican Winter League, he went out to play to, you know, I think the Cardinals were positive about it, improved the bat. He got really sick. And he had like a horrible, horrible Dominican Winter League because he caught some bug and lost like 30 pounds.

And that really set him back that like, not to say that that should hold them back, but like should Wanya Pes be the guy that gives up on Carlson or Nolan Gorman? I just feel like he'd be better suited somewhere else. But I feel like they make the right decision somewhere. But I don't think it's at the expense of Walker no matter what they do. To be clear, I'm ready to move on from Carlson, but I haven't gotten the impression from those on the Cardinals beat that that's the way the team feels.

Except O'Neill. Like, they were willing, think of how untouchable Carlson was. This offseason, they're like, Carlson and O'Neill, you guys are going to fight it out for centerfield. Like, I think that's the starting signs of maybe moving on a little bit. It's not completely, but that's how you start. Yeah, I could be wrong. I just view it as a fourth outfield situation for Dylan Carlson for now.

And Tyler O'Neill has been injury prone, so, you know, throwing him in center. Our field, probably not great for his body holding up, but it's a good problem for the Cardinals to have. They have a bunch of depth right now. So we'll see how it plays out. But that's just my guess, is Gorman at DH against Ritees and Jordan Walker and left field. The question again, if you have O'Neill Cruz and Marcelo Meyer, would you trade Lindor for Jacob de Gras? No. Well, probably not. You could get a, you could get a safer pitcher than that if you really wanted to do that. I don't think it's a bad idea to just have Lindor and Cruz.

And obviously, Meyer, we're not worried about him until next year at the earliest. So yeah, I agree with that. Like, also, if you have Cruz, it's really volatile. I actually think you have a huge advantage if you've got like this awesome, stable, huge upside keeper shortstop and Francisco Lindor. And then Cruz can be like a middle infielder. I think it's a huge advantage. I wouldn't want to take off that advantage. I do want, I'm one of the few guys, like, I'm a little bit of Defendi of Jacob deGrom and what he can be and what he can do. He's going to pitch it looks like potentially on Monday in spring.

That'll be his first one because his last session went well. But you just don't trade Lindor for Jacob to Crom, really in any circumstance, in a Keeper League. All right, this next one is from Khalid 18348. Dear Goose, Spark and Mariano. So I guess those are Yankees closers. I mean, I know who Goose and Mariano are. I don't know who Spark is.

Do you know who Sparky Lyle? Okay. Okay. The question, 12-team Head Head to Categories League, that has Mookie Betz as both outfield and second base eligibility. Where would you rank him being that he's eligible at two scarce positions? And I believe this is the case on Yahoo. So for anyone playing on Yahoo, if you're listening, you want to pay attention here because Mookie Betts has both of those eligibility. You know, this was part of the reason why initially I had Mookie Betts ranked so high is even if you played on one of the places like CBS where he's not eligible at second base to begin.

the year. It seems likely he'll pick up eligibility there sooner than later. So I initially had him ahead of, you know, guys like Kyle Tucker and Jordan Alvarez and even Juan Soto. But I've, you know, the more I've draft, the more I've found that, well, it's, it is nice to get one of the few studs second bases like Jose Altuve, if you can. You know, second base has a lot of interesting options, not safe options, but interesting options and there are few ways where other teams are like where you're at a clear disadvantage coming out of the draft at second base you know it's it's kind of like a i'd call it a bottom heavy position it's it's not a position that i mind passing up early as much as others meanwhile outfield

it's a freaking disaster it's always a freaking disaster and like so i just don't think it's that likely you'll end up playing bets at second base much maybe but probably not you probably need him in outfield more. So I don't think it changes this value that much. I already have them really high. I have them at seven. I might move them to six. You know, I'd be hard to press for me to move them above Julio. So I might move them to six at second base. I don't know. Yeah, you could argue like maybe deeper leagues with second base really thins out. That's like a tiny bit more advantage. But if you play in a deeper league, it's probably five outfielders and then that stinks even more. So it's kind of like the Fernando Tatis Jr.

qualifying at shortstop. But I also look and you're like, well, Shortstop's deep and outfield's not, that you could see scenarios where you throw him out in the outfield more than shortstop. So, yeah, it's not crazy, but maybe one spot. This next one's from Kevin in San Francisco. Who is better in three years? Good luck, guys. Michael Harris, Corbyn Carroll, or Jordan Walker?

I mean, you guys know the answer to me. Look at behind me. Like, I'm going to say Corbyn Carroll. The floor is the easiest here. I like the contact skills for him the most. I think he will steal the most out of these guys. Michael Harris walks the least. Jordan Walker has the potential

to be the best fantasy player of all these because of the big power speed and you could argue the powers in question for Carol, maybe not as much as Harris, but this is a, I actually think I would rank it Carol Walker Harris,

but I mean, you know, you knew that was happening. So Scott is probably more interesting. No, I, that's my initial inclination too, and I don't want to dismiss Harris. I do have them on my bust list, but I also have found myself

drafting him more than once. So I'm in a very precarious place with Harris. And obviously he had one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. So it seems kind of foolish, like looking a gift horse in the mouth to dismiss him, especially somebody like Jordan Walker, we haven't seen and play a single major league game. But that is how I feel. It's close, but I think I'd rank them Carol, Walker, and Harris third.

It's super hard, too. I want to acknowledge for anyone that's like, what about Michael Harris? Like, it's super hard to do this on a, after Michael Harris, like, had that season that he just had.

Like, it's hard to go against that. That's what makes Dynasty and Keeper so uniquely odd that we can go for a guy that had a short sample size or a guy that has no majorly experience over a player that was a rookie of the year guy. So I acknowledge all of that. It's just there's some small warning signs with the walk stuff. And it's really actually more about the talent of the other players in it is being,

at least in my mind, dismissive of Michael Harris. All right. Let's kind of go rapid fire. I think we got some keeper questions coming up here. I know last week I said we were done with the keeper questions, but these are some holdovers, again, from last week's podcast, just so many questions coming in. This one's from Your Boy 7. I'm in a 12-team 5-5 rotissory league where we can, where we get one keeper at the spot they were drafted the previous year. So Mani Machado pick 21, Justin Verlander pick 52, Emmanuel Class A at 92, Tommy Edmund 117,

Jesus Lozardo at 2.13, Thai France 196, and Jeff McNeil at 285. So it's not round. You lose? I guess, so does he mean the round that we're taking? Because he says at the spot they were drafted it, he's giving us where they were picked it. So this must just be the, we have to decipher the round somehow.

Yeah, I mean, Verlander in round five is the best value, but. I think so. Machado. I can't justify giving up. Like that's your chance at a stud third basement. And you only keep one. See, that's my thing. Someone asked me a question like this,

actually today where it was like, oh, we keep like two or three guys and, you know, do you take the value of this guy over this guy? And it's like, when you only keep a couple, I kind of stop caring about the big differences. Like, okay, if this were Manny Machado versus like Michael Harris and it was around 20 or pick 21 to pick 152, okay, that's fine.

But if it's like, okay, Verlander's in the fifth round, Machado's in the second round, you're only keeping one player. That means the entire rest of the player pool. There are only 12 players being kept in this entire league. Why would you not want one of the top 20 best players, even if it cost you a second round? I would have to go with Machado here. And I'm not trying to make it like it's easy because Class A is a really good deal.

Verlander is a really solid deal. But I just won the best player. Yeah, totally. Yeah. I think I would take Verlander with all that being said. But it is close. This one's from Travis in San Diego. Dear Kevin Stewart and Bob

Kevin Stewart and Bob And those are pretty generic names I just Googled it I think these are minions Kevin Oh this is These are the minst These are minions

I mean people know I don't watch movies I definitely have not watched animated movies In like the past So far behind on like Disney and Pixar movies I don't even know the last one that I saw Maybe like inside out or something like that I didn't know they had a long time

Yeah I didn't know Be honest. Anywho, 12-team Roto Salary Cap League, keepers go up by $5 each year. This is a daily lineup league that just added a D-H spot. I can keep Otani for $30, but was recently offered Corbyn Burns, who I could keep for 11. So, Otani, the cheat code in a daily lineup league,

or Burns at 11. I didn't miss, I didn't catch that daily lineup part. Yeah. Easy Otani here. Yeah, stick with Otani. Otherwise, I would have been inclined to say, do it if it was weekly. But no, stick with Otani. This one's from Matt D.

10-team categories league with four outfielder's and two utility. No corner or middle. I'm keeping Devers in the second. Yordaun Alvarez in the fourth. And Corbyn Burns in the eighth. Would you keep Juan Soto in the first? Paul Goldschmidt in the third. Matt Olson in the seventh or Corbyn Carroll in the 11th.

Well, he can answer this first. He can answer this for it. He looks like he's got a really good answer. answer on a like they they have course Corby and Carol had to be in the 11th here like I don't want to take him here I don't what do you want to take Soto right I kind of want to take Soto in the first with what I talked about before but like Goldschmidt in the third seems like a really great value I like Carol in the 11th I like Matt Olson in the 7th that's the one I don't like that's the only one that I

wouldn't want out of this well it is a 10 team league remember Frank so 7th that's true yeah that's fair oh I wasn't thinking to the 10 team league too you know what, I'm going to just go Soto. I don't like to be the guy that's taking the best player here, but you're going to have a shot at Carroll. You might not have a shot at Goldschmidt, but you've got a shot back to get Carol, even though you won't get as good of a value. Yeah. And you need as many studs as possible in a shallow lead like this. So, you know, it helped to know who everyone else was keeping or wasn't, because if that first round pick that you're not forfeiting,

or if that first round pick, you're forfeiting by keeping Soto could lean, you a player who is basically equivalent to Soto, then it might make sense to keep Carol instead. But you know 30 players are off the board and they're probably like, you know, probably the top 30 players or at least, you know, a handful of the top. You know they're all,

all the studs are pretty much going to be capped. Then, then yeah, I think you have to make sure you secure the stud yourself. This one's from Max the Bagel. Hey, Michael, Bugs and Daffy. Okay.

I mean, space jam, right? Yeah, the Tune Squad. Did you guys watch Space Jam 2? With LeBron James? No. No.

My kid, I think, did. His case one wasn't good. He was. Hold on a second. Scott, I mean, dude, what do we? Cold classic here, Scott. What are we doing? Is it a cult classic?

I don't know, I guess. It's a good one. It's a classic. It was a movie that got a lot of attention and hype and didn't deserve it. Oh, my God. I don't. Really? I'm like, this is kind of lame.

Bill Murray alone was just like that whole thing. thing was so great. I don't know. I'm going to disagree with you, Scott. I think this is a bad take. I think this is a this is an azer like take that you're throwing out here. This is an azer level take. Like I'm putting myself in the position of the time and I don't remember anyone being that impressed by it in the moment. It's kind of like what's that oh, we've talked about this with the Welsh, hocus pocus, same thing. Like it comes out, everybody kind of yawns at it. And then but and then we're supposed to believe that 25 years later it was some kind of classic. I don't. Sorry. It was a classic at the time.

I grew up with the movie, Scott, so I love it. Yeah, I will not back down from space. There was a good run of those like real life versus car. Like Who Frame Roger Rabbit did the like cartoons and real light. That's a class. That's a class. Space Jam. Come on.

I think if you look up critic reviews of those two movies, there will be a huge discrepancy. How many of those movies exist, by the way? The real life people and the car. cartoons because it was like, Who Frame Roger Rabbit, Space Jam. There was a weird one called Cool World, which is a little bit more adult with Brad Pitt. And those are the only three I can think of. Looney Tunes Back in Action with like Brendan Frazier. I never saw it, but I think that exists.

That sounds right. That's the fourth one. All right, we got four. There you go. I don't disagree. I know Roger Rabbit is, it is viewed as a like classic movie. I understand that. But I mean, come on, Scott.

We're not looking up critics scores for Spacesham. It's a feel thing. Anyway. It's a field thing. I'm in a 12-team Hed T'Hawrudez-Haw-Alvarez in the third and Shohe Otani hitter and pitcher in the seventh. Should I keep Brandon Woodruff in the fourth or Vinnie P? Baby!

In the ninth. I hate to keep making the boring choice. As much as I love Vinny P, you know, you're talking about keeping in the ninth round as opposed to just drafting him in the seventh or sixth maybe. Woodruff, though, probably a second or third round. and you get them in the fourth. Like I feel like the higher end player, again, for the slight discount. It's not like it's a huge of distance.

Like, if it was around 19 for Vinny Pasquantino, instead of round 9, it'd be different. But I'm going to say Woodruff in round 4. I agree. And, you know, points league pitchers. Like, I still value having pitchers higher in points league. So, yeah, I go with Woodruff here. From BHM, hi, Ben, Ron, and Andy. That's a part of the game.

Yeah, that is Parks and Rec. I finished Parks and Rec either last year or two years ago. It's really good. Watched two episodes. Two episodes I've watched and that's like all. I think the only one was the Patten Oswald. I think it was a famous Patton Oswald, Star Wars, uh, um, speech. The filibuster.

That's what it was. I think that's about it. The first season is bad. You didn't like it? But you get, no, it's I don't not like it. I'm just like a,

I'm like, I'm a little bit more melancholy. I like watch a lot of dramas. Like I love comedies, but I haven't finished any of the great comedies that I should. And it's, yeah, I mean,

Parks and Rec. Like, I'm, I'm with you. I prefer a drama to a sitcom or whatever we classify Parks and Rec as. But it's one of the very best. Sky, I rewatched that, Pat and Oswald, seen a lot. So, yeah.

Are you taking Parks and Rec or the office, Scott? I think the office, it's close. And I understand people who say Parks and Rec. I think Parks and Rec, the consistency of the humor was better in Parks and Rec. Yep. But the office really handled, like, human drama. The way it weaved it in with the funny, I think was very impressive and few sitcoms ever

have matched. So it was just like it. It was just a little deeper than Parks and Rec, I would say. And I think that's a real life audio Rotten Tomatoes review you just gave us there. That was that was very intense, Scott. I like that review. Scott's reading film critic reports about Space Jam. So you know he's got the knowledge.

Definitely it's not his. That's a little too low brow for Scott. 100%. A hundred percent. 12 team 5 by 5 Roto League with the usual categories, except we use saves plus holds instead of saves. Need six keepers. Devin Williams for eight.

Pete Fairbanks for two. Andreas Munoz for three. J.T. Real Muto for 18. Logan Webb for three. Nico Horner for two. Joey and Minesas for two. And Jeffrey Springs for two.

I mean, Springs is a slam dunk. Munoz is a slam dunk. I'd say Devin Williams and Logan Webb, slam dunks. There's four. And then I don't know, I probably throw, what is, is this, this is Roto? I could get down with Horner and,

Real Muto, I think so. I'm Ruto. Yeah, exactly. Yep, I agree. Yep, I think that's pretty good. Let's get to, I will wrap up with this one. From old pitchers, never die. Hey, Strickland, Dozier and Pence.

Hunter's. Oh, Hunters, man, man. I have, I'm a swing. I'm, oh, I'm Joey Gallo of this game. I'm like, ah, it's the Giants. I am, I'm going to pick out this game. I got to get better. Oh, I am catfishing.

Did you think Brian Dozier initially when he saw Dozier? Yeah, I just said, 100%. I just saw Hunter Strickland yesterday, too. He was with the Reds and I just couldn't get it. I skipped ahead and I started there. I was like, Brian Dozier, Hunter Pence? I'm like, what are these guys all have in common? And then I was like, oh, Hunter Docher, got it.

Catfishing for keepers. in my 12 team, 15 category head to head league, OBP, slug, K-per-9 quality starts, and net wins. Oh wow. Seven keepers this year. Lindor, Luis Robert, Matt Olson, Starling Marte, O'Neill Cruz, Emmanuel Class A, and Josh Hater. Should I swap any of Dalton Varsho, Adoles Garcia, Andrew Vaughn, Matt Chapman, Zach Allen, or Tyler Glassnow? I mean, I don't value Starling Marte to be in this list, especially if. if you're leaving Zach Gallen.

I'm not the biggest like Varsho guy this year, but like I think I would rather have Varsho at this point over Marte. And Gallin is the one that is really kind of jumping out to me. That's like elite starting pitcher. And you're not keeping any either. And this is like you do have pitcher category. So I'm 100. Yeah, no,

I'm 100% dumping Starling Marte for Galle here. Did you, did you reject Varshow? I didn't reject him, but like I would take, I think I would take Gallon over him. Like Varsho, OVP, I guess the slug is going to be better

OVP, I'm not sure it's going to help a bunch. I'm starting to Neil who we had on yesterday or not yesterday whenever you, I don't remember when people are going to be listening to this, but Neil who we had on as a guest

a few days ago you know, made, talked up Varshot as somebody he really liked going to Toronto with the fences moving in and right center specifically and Varsho's power is so much to his pole side that, yeah, I mean, if he's truly playing every day and he's bad against left-handed,

so I kind of have some doubts there. But if he's truly playing every day, he could put up a pretty big home run bigger than I think a lot of people are anticipating as a catcher-eligible player. And of course, he's got the speed element there too. But are we saying, is speed part of this league? It doesn't say, but I would assume they're doing net steals

since they're doing net wins and all this like stuff. And obviously, steals aren't there. I guess it doesn't matter. But the one hesitation, and I know we're taking forever to answer this question, so Gowan, you know,

you're talking about the first seven rounds are over if every team's keeping seven players. So what is the, you don't have a starting pitcher. What's your best starting pitcher going to look like if you don't keep Gowan? That's one consideration. The other consideration is just

Dalton Varshot as a catcher is really valuable. And so do I want to leave him out there? And I don't think you should keep Starling Marte. That's definitely out. I agree with that. Could you find a way to do? Because I think Varsho and Gallen are both first round picks in this league, not even knowing who else is there.

Would you be willing to knock out like Matt Olson for Varsho? Or, you know, the combo of Varsho and Gallen is there another player you could pair? Yeah, OBP, yeah, you couldn't do that. I was going to knock maybe a hater out of this group because you already have Class A. Don't be a hater. Don't be a hater, Frank I'm surprised they didn't tell us this is like if this was save and hold

then yeah I would knock Hater out as well and just keep it maybe you do knock one of these closers out and you take the... No, I just think like you could trade Hater for a more valuable starting pitcher than Gatlin in all likelihood. If it were saving holds, I don't agree.

Maybe. But if it were pure saves maybe. If it were saves and holds, I think this person would probably mention it. Considering all of their categories, but... I guess, yeah, I guess that's true. I think I think I think I think I swap out Robert, I'm sorry, I think I swap out Marte for Varsho and just take my chances at pitcher. You could do that.

And the other thing we're forgetting is slam dunk A's, you know. Yeah, there's also a K-per-9 league, so the relievers will maybe even a little bit more of an advantage. They're going to help, and since you guys have a K-Pren-9 category, so maybe taking them out isn't the way. Yeah, you can make that decision, like what other catchers are going to be on the market. I kind of lean Gowan, you link Varsho. I think both are really solid ones. Just having seven keepers, not one being a starting pitcher. I'd probably want to know what other starting pitchers are available before I did that.

Yeah, I'll break the tie. I think I'll take Varsho and swap out Starling Marte, but it is very close between him and Zach Allen. The last note from this question, my dog won't eat peeps, so I definitely won't. Sorry, Scott. I don't think they're supposed to. You shouldn't feed your dog peeps. Don't even try to do that.

Yeah, here's a PSA. Don't feed your dog's chocolate grapes and just, you know, maybe feed them the food. I mean, to be a little careful about the food that you're eating here. Did you try? All right, Scott, you're a guy. peep guy. Did you do the peep soda? I haven't tried yet. I mean, we're going to have to do a live review here. Yeah, we're going to have to do a live review, Scott. That's something that has to be a part of that. Let's all get the peep soda and let's break it down. Okay. Sounds good to me. We'll do that.

Coming up soon, we're going to wrap there for Scott and the Welsh. I am Frank. Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today. We'll be back again next week. Bye-bye.