Fantasy Baseball Today - Ohtani Ready for Opening Day!? Snell Cy Young & Unsung Hitters (9/20 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

Will Shohei Ohtani be ready for Opening Day in 2024 (3:28)? ... Xander Bogaerts is having a huge September (10:02). ... Did Blake Snell lock up the Cy Young (13:30)? ... The Cubs offense had a huge night (21:24). ... Could we trust Kenta Maeda in the final week (26:30)? ... Austin Hays has had a solid season (36:07). ... News (44:06): Manny Machado was out Tuesday. ... Let's give some credit to the hitters we haven't talked about (48:31). ... Should we worry about Corbin Carroll's shoulder next year (59:48)? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:05:10). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Where fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Blake Snell has limited opposing teams to three earned runs or fewer in 22 straight starts. Did he just lock up the NL. Sayung?

I think so. Welcome in to another fantasy baseball. all today on Wednesday, September 20th. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White. Today on the show, we will talk about the NL. Syung Battle, although maybe it's a battle no more. Ronald de Cunia did it again, unsung hitters that, frankly, we haven't talked enough about this season

and much more. Reminder to stick with us throughout this off season. We have a bunch of fun content coming your way. As always, please like this video and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. And if you're listening on the audio side, download, and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify, let us know if we helped you dominate your league this year,

win any championships. The bosses like to read that kind of stuff in the Apple and Spotify reviews. So help us out. We do appreciate that. Scott, let's start with the show. Hey, O'Tani news. We'll get into all the action. It was a crazy Tuesday night.

But I think this O'Tani news might actually change some things because we talked about him the other day and then we get this update here on Tuesday that Otani has had surgery on his right elbow. And though it was not revealed exactly which type of surgery he had exactly, there was a statement that came out from Otani's agent, which revealed that he plans to be ready as a hitter on opening day. Otani, not the agent, obviously.

Ready on opening day. 2024 as a hitter, ready to go. And then ready to hit and pitch the following opening day in 2025. Now, when I asked you about this just the other day, you said, you know, I think he's probably going to miss some time. so maybe he's not a first round pick. I don't know. Does this change things for you?

Well, that that wasn't entirely what I said. That was what I, you know, projected to be the most likely scenario if he had Tommy John. I kind of think he had Tommy John. Well, it'll have to come out at some point. I mean, he's obviously hitting the open market this offseason. His agent has responsibility to paint it in the most favorable light possible. and given that the agent is going to paint it in the most favorable light possible

and has already ruled him out from pitching in 2024, I'm guessing it was Tommy John. We'll know for sure, though. We'll know for sure eventually, and we can, you know, obviously change our opinion as needed when we find that out. Hoping to be ready to hit by opening day, I mean, Bryce Harper showed it's possible, that kind of timetable. So I think it's realistic for Shohei Otani to hope for the,

that. And I wouldn't necessarily bet against him being ready to hit, given what we've seen him do while playing through and returning from injuries in the past. But even with Harper, as I said when we talked about this last time, it took several months for his power stroke to show up again. Unprecedentedly fast return for Tommy John surgery and then wasn't quite himself for the first few months he was back. So even if Shohei Otani is ready for opening day. I don't know exactly what to expect from him. But, you know, if the agent's already ruling him out from pitching in 2024, then we at least know that. We at least know he's not going to have that two-way capability. He's only going to

be draftable as a hitter, only playable at DH. And so that has to factor into your decision-making too. Interestingly, enough. Earlier today, before this podcast, I was making out my first two rounds for next year, what I think they should look like if I was drafting alone, how they would look for me. And Shohei Otani was a mid-second rounder for me. He was the 17th overall pick for me in between Garrett Cole and Juan Soto. If there were no questions about the elbow at all, he would be a first rounder, of course. Probably something like the fifth overall pick instead of the fifth pick of round two.

but given the questions and the fact he won't have that two-way capability, I think that's an appropriate discount. I mean, one of the things I noticed in going through this process is just how many first-round caliber bats there are, or at least borderline first-round bats, bats that have that first-round upside. It's kind of crazy how many are there. And so there were hitters dropping to round two

that I think you could certainly make a case for going in round one. And there were hitters that didn't make the cut in round two that I think you could easily make the case for that. And that was with me putting just one pitcher, or I'm sorry, two pitchers among those top 24 picks. And still there was like this overflow of stud hitters. I don't know. I've kind of gotten off track here, started talking about a different thing.

But the point is, O'Tani, I think, is still going to be a second rounder based on what we know now. And again, what we know is that Otani had surgery here on Tuesday, and we don't know exactly what it is, but, you know, that puts him at about six and a half months until opening day. Six months will be March 20th, so maybe he can return in spring training, yada, yada, it might take him a while to get going. He's still just 29 years old, so he's actually younger than Bryce Harper, who just pulled this off. And frankly, I mean, at his peak, a better player than Bryce Harper as well. So I don't know. I don't really want to doubt the guy

and I'm not saying that you are doubting him, Scott, but it's very interesting. And obviously we'll have more to learn this offseason. Last question on this, Wittotani, how high can you see him climbing? Right now you just said you had him 17th. Again, things can change. But I'm looking at your first round.

I'm not going to give anything away so people can go read about it. But I think he can get up around like 9, 10, even with the question marks. What do you think about that? I mean, I can't speak for what other people are going to do. But if we get good news, if we get good news and he's ready for spring training, which

whatever team he's on, and he just looks like he's ready to go. And he kind of looks like Otani and spring. If he shows up to spring training and they're, you know, he's playing as if nothing's wrong. He's in the lineup as regularly as he would be. He hits like six home runs in spring training. Okay. I mean, it's going to be hard for me to doubt. that there are any concerns about his elbow at that point

and any concerns about it impacting his production at least. And so I think he could, well, I kind of already said, I think he could be as high as fifth overall, at least in Roto, head-to-head. There are going to be more contenders there because more non-based dealers are going to be in the discussion. Head-head points, I mean. But in Roto, I think Otani could be as high as fifth overall,

I'd probably put him seventh in the best case scenario in my own rankings, seventh overall. And again, right now I have him 17th overall. But it's going to take a very productive spring that really alleviates what concerns I have about his elbow in order for me to do that. So it won't be happening until probably the very last drafts we're doing in March. All right. With that being said, let's wrap up our Otani discussion and get into the rest of Tuesday's action. How about that? How about that, Scott? Zander Bogartz, a walk-off home run here on Tuesday night,

and he has had a pretty massive September. We're both going to be talking about San Diego Padres here. What do you have on Bogarts? Oh, yeah. He's having the kind of September that can completely salvage a stat line and make us rethink how we're going to approach him next season. So I had been, I had Zander Bogartz as one of my busts coming into the year, and I'd been feeling great about that pick based on the way this season

had gone for him, but he's making me rethink that here in September. Two for five with a home run here on Tuesday. For the month now, Xander Bogart's batting 453 with four home runs and four stolen bases. It's raised his season batting average, just in the span of three weeks.

It's raised his season batting average from 258 to 280. Wow. And it was his 19th home run of the year. because he's kind of had the speed burst all of a sudden, too. He's up to 17 steals. He has an outside shot at the 2020 season. 2020 doesn't mean what it used to mean.

Obviously, Anthony Volpe has been 2020 this year, and we haven't much cared. George Springer looks like he's going to get there, and we still regard it as a disappointing season. I think overall we would still regard this season for Bogart's as disappointing. But this strong finish does renew our hope for next season, that maybe he's not going, maybe he's not an obvious decline. Maybe he can regain close to the value he had for most of his Red Sox career.

He is, and because of prior to this game where he hit his 19th home run, he had climbed ahead of J.P. Crawford and Dan Svanson and, and Boba Shat. Who doesn't have as many games? He missed some time with injury. But he had climbed ahead of them and head-to-head points scoring. It looks like Xander Bogart's now for the season

just in terms of total points, not points per game, is 13th in point scoring. So, you know, he's put himself on the fringes of being drafted as a starting shortstop next year and not just a middle-in-field option. I think at a points league, you know, given that we're usually talking about lineups that don't have an extra middle infield spot, he'll probably last to the late rounds in that format, his better format, but I don't think it'll be a huge resignation to accept him as you're starting shortstop based on the way he's finishing out this season. And the counting stats have been a disaster.

You know, 53 RBI on the year, the whole Padre's team. I mean, I think you can look up and down and say a lot of these guys have underperformed what was expected. But I don't know. I feel like I'm going to want to buy in, buy back in on the Padres lineup. Assuming they have all these pieces, we'll see what happens in the offseason. Bogart also has played through most of this year with a wrist injury, right? We found out right before the season. He was dealing with some kind of wrist injury.

I think he had a cortisone shot right before the year. He had a cortisone shot during, I think it was the All-Star break, too. So this has been a recurring problem. Hopefully he'll rest up, be good this offseason, but I can see myself buying back in big time on the Padres lineup next year. Will we be buying in on Blake Snell? Also a free agent this off season.

We'll see where he winds up, and he continued his case for the NL. Siong, perhaps he wrapped it up here on Tuesday. I think so. Seven no-hit innings up against the Colorado Rockies, four walks, 10 strikeouts, 23 swinging strikes on 104 pitches. 12 on the curve,

six on the change up, five on the fastball. So just everything working here for Blakey. And dude was jacked up. Yeah, that thing. We're on a first name basis, obviously, right? And that's a thing. His velocity was up here.

Fastball up 1.5 miles per hour. The curve up 1.2 miles per hour. Mention the stat at the top. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 22 straight starts. A 233 ERA leads all of baseball, 227 strikeouts. second behind only Spencer Strider.

97 walks also leads baseball. And I've got some fun stats here that I found from an article on MLB.com. Blake Snell could become the first pitcher with 100 walks since 2012. And he might witness Cy Young, which is just mind-blowing here. Snell also is looking to become the first AL-N-L pitcher since 1913, when earned runs became official in both leagues to lead the majors in both E.R. RA and walks. That's something that we've talked about a lot.

Since when? Since 1913. I wasn't alive then. Well, you know I wasn't. And if he wins the Tsai Young, he'll become the first pitcher since early win in 1959 to lead the majors and walks while winning the award. So some fun stats there with Blake's Nell Scott. What do you think?

Has he wrapped it up? I think so. Yeah. I mean, obviously you got the zero in the hit column for this game, kind of makes it feel even more dominant than it was, which is plenty dominant enough. And then on the same day, you have Zach Gallen with another bad start, four of his last five,

four-earned runs or more. His ERA has gone from 311 to 360 during that stretch. So I think Zach Allen's definitely out of the running. He eliminated himself tonight. Spencer Strider was having a typical Spencer Strider, start just outright dominating the Phillies lineup. And then he has this inning, I believe it was the sixth inning, where couple runners reach, but it doesn't really feel like a rally.

It's just, okay, a couple runners got on base, but he still seems in control, does strider? It's not like he's unraveling here, but then a ball sneaks over the fence, three-run Homer. So he pitches another inning, allows three and runs in seven, but that's not bringing the ERA down like he needed to. Just a very frustrating, I won't say it's a very frustrating season for Strider because he's still been the best pitcher in fantasy,

but like the, with the ERA specifically that he has so many starts like that where, you know, he's just cruising, but then something weird happens and his ERA ends up going up and just stood down. But bottom line, I think it takes, I think it further removes Strider from the competition. And Justin Steele's most recent start wasn't very good.

I think he's Snell's closest competition, but Snell improved his candidacy. Well, Steele hurt his last time out. You gave plenty of numbers for Snell already. Here's one. His last 21 starts. You said it was 22 that he's allowed three-earned runs or fewer, right? But I got the numbers for the last 21, a 123 ERA. Oh!

And those 21 starts for Blake Snell. still even during that stretch so okay maybe maybe he just had a ton of walks early on and he was giving up a ton of runs then and both of those are true but even during that 21 star stretch with a 123 ERA 4.8

walks per 9 for for Blake Snell so it's just the numbers are incongruous that walk rate with that ERA but the ERA is what it is and

even though I can can't shake the feeling that the other shoe is eventually going to drop for Snell. It hasn't yet. And the seasons run basically at the end, and the numbers are where they are. And yeah, I think I think I'd be hard pressed to pick anyone else for the award, considering. Yesterday we spoke about hitters that are going to be tough to rank in 2024. Did you have Blake Snell on the pitcher side of things there? Yes, I did.

which I mean he's kind of an annual fixture there. It's the first time I've written this specific column, but he's long been regarded as one of the toughest players to rank, I think. But even more so when he's going to be on paper the best pitcher in the NL, and yet I have no idea whether I could trust him even to be in my lineup every turn next week, based on recent history, meaning 2022, 2021. You know, he's going to give you a ton of strikeouts. That's never been in doubt for Blake Snell.

But if he has an ERA over four and a whip of 1.5, that wouldn't surprise me either. Oof, Blake Snell, man. What a season. What an interesting guy. An interesting career, I would say to this point as well. One of these years, Scott, I will learn to trust my own analysis. Trust my gut.

Go with it. Because I really like Blake Snell coming into this. year and I really didn't draft him that much. I think I have money. And you really didn't go into last year, right? No, I mean, I'm sorry, going into 2021. Yeah, I basically flipped. The past couple years, I was completely off Blake Snell.

And then I thought it's, 2020. And then you liked him going into 2023. God. Yeah. And then I basically bought in this year. And I thought he was going to have a huge year for the contract year. I just really thought he was going to shove all in and kind of looks like that's what happened here.

A few stats here on Spencer Strider. This was per opta stats. on Twitter. Shrider's 435 strikeouts over his first 50 career starts are the most by a pitcher since 1900. So continues to make history. I'm surprised there's ever been anybody with more. Who was getting more strikeouts than that before 1900? I don't know. Maybe that's when they just not bother to look back that far. Maybe they weren't tracking it at that. I mean, they probably should have been, right? I don't. I don't know. That was the stats. I don't know. Um, Zach Gallen, by the way, he's kind of limp into the finish line here, too.

His last five starts, a 637 ERA and a 148 whip. That includes a complete game shutout during that stretch too. So the wheels are kind of falling off a little bit here for Zach Gallen, but overall, still a very fine season for him. Quick mention on Ronald de Cunia, no calf, no problem. Three for five, two socks and a shoe, five hard hits in this game, one of his home runs, 109.1 exit velocity, 416. feet. He is now up to 39 homers, 67 steals. I have a good feeling we're going to see our first

40-70 season in baseball history. And I mentioned this recently. The record for most games in a single season with a home run and a stolen base in the same game is 13. That was set by Ricky Henderson. This was the 12th such game of Ronald de Cunia season. So he is now one away from tying the record and two away from potentially breaking it. With, I don't know, nine or ten games left. I don't know if he's going to get there. But I'm rooting for it. I'm rooting for it.

Whole closet full of socks and shoes. That is, yeah, you said it best. Let's talk quickly about the Chicago Cubs. I guess they're kind of the, oh my goodness, gracious offense of the night. 14 runs on 12 hits. Awesome. First career start for Alexander Canario, one of their top prospects.

He went two for four with a grand slam. His first career home run is a grand slam. He had five RBI in the game. Just an awesome first start for him. Sayas Suzuki continues his great second half, three for four. With his 19th home run, Cody Bellinger hit his 26th homer. Danesby Swanson went two for five with his 21st homer. Anything to add on these Cubs players, Scott Canario, Sayas Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, and Danesby Swanson.

Yeah, so Sayas Suzuki since August 1st. You didn't give these numbers yet, did you? No. Okay, since August 1st, Sayas Suzuki's batting 347 with 10 home runs. That's 40 games. 40 games, he's put up those kinds of numbers, 347 10 home runs. And, of course, he's always had the great exit velocities. He may be figuring things out here.

He may have needed, you know, he may have taken his time to adjust to this style of play, this league with all its variations from what he played with before in Japan. but I'm really beginning to think he's the real deal and will be worth drafting, I don't know, top 30 outfielder next year, at least. I'm getting pretty bullish on him. Canario, yeah, I mean, we'll see if he plays more. You think he's earned the right to play more,

given the performance he had here on Tuesday, but Cubs don't have a lot of openings in their lineup. So I doubt he's going to be that impactful down the stretch. And I have questions about the skill set anyway, just because he happened to have a good performance in his first major league start. And, yeah, I think that's, I think that basically sums that out. All right, let's take our first break. When we return, we'll talk about some, I guess, waiver wire pitchers for the final week.

Ryan Pepio, he continues to look pretty good. Kenta Maeda had a great start as well. We'll talk about those right after this. Welcome back in, and we want to welcome a new show to the CBS Sports Podcast Network, and this one is going to be a banger. Kicking it is a new weekly podcast featuring host Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, and Mo I Do.

Listen as they connect with the biggest personalities from the soccer world and beyond, including episode one, which drops tonight, if you're listening here on Wednesday, September 20th, with the legendary Tieri-on-Ree. Here on unfiltered conversations with the game's most familiar faces that take you beyond the pitch.

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make sure to check it out. Kicking it, new podcast. Let's talk about some of these WaverWire Pitcher, Scott, I don't know how out there available, Ryan Pepio is. He's up to 75% rostered. My guess is he'll pitch again this weekend against the Giants, and then he'll be at the Giants in the final week, but he pitched well.

Once again, as a bulk reliever, six innings, one run, four strikeouts, 12 swinging strikes on 97 pitches. He now has just three walks in 33 innings pitched for the Dodgers this season. Yeah. I mean, he looks like a dude. Ryan Pepeyo looks like the guy. And that improvement, like I can think of examples of players of pitchers over the years who've gone from being bad control guys to good control guys.

But Pepeio, this transformation, he's gone from walking everybody to walking nobody. It's as extreme of a transformation as I can remember along those lines. And given that it was his biggest flaws, it was his biggest flaw. prior to this year, the control, that he's whipped it that completely? I mean, we're seeing the results. He's, he looks like, you know, a must start down the stretch. It's a little disappointing he didn't technically start this game

because he doesn't get the quality start out of it, even though he went six innings. But, you know, gets the win and gives you good numbers otherwise. Did he end up securing the win? No, he didn't get the win. They won it in the ninth inning. He didn't get the win. It was a no decision for Ryan Pepio,

but certainly deserve the win with the way he pitched. And obviously, the Dodgers rotation is kind of up in the air, as many teams rotations are this time of year. Even if he doesn't get that second turn this week against the Giants Sunday, then that'll just probably make a two-start or two-turn option. Next week at the Rockies and at the Giants. so we'll get that same good matchup at the Giants at the Rockies you know that would be course field obviously but I'm not I'm not so worried

about that at this point with the Rockies lineup in the state it's in and Pepio pitching as well as he is I think he'd be a great start next week whether he lines up for one turn just at the Giants or two turns also at the Rockies and with Pepio I don't know that I trust long term that his control obviously he has like George Kirby level control right now, which would be among the best in the league. But he's still young enough where it wouldn't surprise me

if something has just kind of clicked and he started to trust his stuff and now he's pounding the strike zone and boom, pitching with confidence and he can carry this over into next season as well. It wouldn't surprise me, but yeah. I do feel like I read about changes he made at some point, but I don't remember what they are.

So I don't know how helpful that is for anyone, but like just I do think I actually saw something about the Dodgers tweak something with Pepio, and that's what allowed him to take off like this. It didn't just come out of the blue. His previous outing, I was watching the game, and I had the volume turned up, and they were talking about how he changed his arm angle this year,

and he went back to an arm angle that he used a couple of years ago, maybe when he was more dominant pitching in the minors. So, yeah, something as simple as that could have got Ryan Pepio back on track this year. Kentimaida, the other name here, he looked great at the Reds five shutout innings, just one hit, one walk, strikeouts in that one and it looks like he lines up for two starts in the final week against the Oakland days love it and then in Corsfield don't love it the

other name is Javier Assad he turned in a strong start as well against the pirates five innings one run allowed eight strikeouts to just one walk velocity down quite a bit in this one for Assad but he's pitched pretty well it looks like he's home against the Rockies this weekend and then at the Brewers next week Any interest in Maida and Assad here? Assad was pretty high among the sleeper pickpree of this week, but the two starts with the favorable matchups, and then the Brewers matchup next week is pretty favorable one too.

But I prefer not to start him as a one-star guy. I think you take your win with the two starts this week and not get greedy with it, because I don't think Javier Assad is that good, even though he's turned in his share of good, starts recently. The Maeda one is really interesting here. He was almost my pick at the top of the show because back-to-back, good starts after a really rough stretch before then. And I'd kind of given up on him as a fantasy asset this year. Seems like his splitter, he's gotten that back.

He's been throwing it a lot. It's been getting a lot of whiffs again. I don't know if he just lost the feel for it for a while there and didn't have enough to survive without it. But he seems to have it back again, and those are, you know, just in time for the two-star week, Oakland and at Colorado, it's dangerous. And maybe if he was facing a good offense instead of Oakland to begin the week, I'd be scared off still, but I'm kind of liking Maida for next week with those two starts. And the good news is the Oakland matchup comes first. So if they decide to insert a sixth starter at some point next week in my

Maida doesn't end up taking that second turn, you'll get the better matchup. Is there anything scarier than your season potentially coming down to Kent and Kenta Maida and Corse Field, Scott? You know, yeah, I mean, I hear what you're saying, but this is kind of along those lines. The podcast league, the original podcast league, I won the first two years of its existence 2010 and 2011. That's the Head to Head Points League. in both of those years, I picked up Bruce Chen for two starts at the end of the season,

the very last week of the season, and he came through with huge numbers. Wow. That clinched it for me in both 2010 and 2011. So, you know, sometimes gambles like that pay off, and particularly that last week of the season. It's not as crazy as it used to be in terms of teams resting their start.

and just kind of throwing, you know, you kind of having to guess about everything, how much every player is going to play the final week of the season. You know, it's only 28-man rosters now. It wasn't so long ago. Teams could expand their major league rosters to 40, and so they had a lot more pieces to work with. So they don't go as crazy the last week of the season as they used to. But, you know, just part of the appeal of picking up Bruce Chen back then was,

okay, well, I know he's going to start. and it happened to work out then. But yeah, it would be scary, might, at Colorado if your matchup depended on him performing well. You know, those 40-man rosters in September, it feels like ages ago, but, man, it was kind of the Wild Wild West back then, trying to figure out who was going to play on what day,

who was going to pitch on what day, and then trying to, I don't know, like, I guess figure out if any of your analysis in September actually mattered for the following year because there were so many like no name players in the final month of the season. It was, it really was the Wild West back then. It feels like it was ages ago.

Three pitchers that I do not think that we're using in the final week, but they did pitch well here on Tuesday. Tage Bradley, solid start against the Angels, five innings, one run, six strikeouts to just one walk here. He had 12 swinging strikes on 82 pitches. The overall numbers are still pretty bad, but lots of strikeouts. if Tosh Bradley can get the walks down,

he's someone I think we could kind of talk ourselves into being interested in for next season. And two names much lower down the list. Ryan Feltsner, he pitches for the Rockies. Great moment for him getting back on the mound after getting hit in the head by a line drive earlier this season back on May 3rd. So this was his first start back.

And he was at the Padres. Five shutout innings, five strikeouts. Velocity was way up across the board. He looked very dominant here. And Jackson Rutledge, who is a former first round pick here with the Nationals, he picked up his first quality start of his career. Six and a third innings, two runs allowed, only two strikeouts. This is a big body dude.

He's six foot eight. He throws hard. He's got like four or five different pitches that he uses. The minor league numbers haven't been very good, but anything to add on this group here, Jackson, Rutledge, Ryan Feltoner, and Taj Bradley. I mean, it's a pretty good. interesting groups. Is it?

Interesting in like the, I don't know, and only 16 team leagues or something like that. I mean, Taj Bradley is, of course, interesting. He's, you know, came into the years of top prospect and has had enough starts where he lived up to it that he's at least somebody you could think about. I don't think the matchups are good enough for me to go for it. And, you know, since returning from the minors,

I think this was his best start. and he's had a lot of controlled issues. So I don't think I'd be willing to use him. Definitely would not be willing to use Ryan Feltoner or Jackson Rutledge. No, just don't do it. All right. Some waiver wire hitters here. Austin Hayes went two for five with a double dong, four RBI.

He is betting 283 on the year. He's got 16 homers, a 792 OPS. He had a really awful July, but outside of that one month, Austin Hayes has been pretty consistent. He has an 815 OPS or better in each of the other five months. We just don't really feel that as much in fantasy, Scott, because he doesn't really stand out anywhere. He doesn't have big power.

He doesn't have big power. He doesn't have speed. He doesn't really walk much, so he doesn't have a grade on base percentage. He's just kind of fine. Austin Hayes. I think he's probably a better Major League player than he is a fantasy player at this point. He was an all-star, Frank. That's true.

Bites your tongue. You know who was an all-star last year? Jose Trevino for the Yankees. So that was great. Yeah. And that second baseman for the Blue Jays, who nobody's heard from since. Who is it? I can't remember his name.

Kevin Vizio? No, no. Just last year. Oh, Santiago Espinole? Yeah. Geez. Yeah. So, All-Star greats here, Austin Hayes.

He's 70% roster. He's got six home games next week against the Nationals and the Red Sox and the interest got. Gosh, how was he an all-star last year, Espinall? Yeah, I mean, look, he's in a good lineup. He plays basically every day. I don't think he's anybody's first choice, but if you get in a pinch the final week of the season, you know, those matchups are probably going to be pretty good

against the Nationals and Red Sox. And you do worse than Austin Hayes. I do wonder what his future is with the Orioles because obviously they're graduating a lot of more talented players than Austin Hayes. Heston Kyrstad, who hit his second Major League home run here on Tuesday. And Colton Kouser, well, his first in the majors didn't go so well, but still has a lot of upside.

I think it's still a big part of the Orioles future. And I wonder if once all those young players start clicking, if Hayes is going to wind up being more like a bench bat or the lesser half of the platoon, something like that for the Orioles, or if he ends up being trade bait, that's possible as well. well. But I would say he's firmly a top 75 outfielder in fantasy, but without much hope of being a top 30 outfielder in fantasy. Maybe let's say top 60 without much hope of being a top 30. The Orioles are in such an interesting spot. I think I saw today that they won their 95th game of

the year. And again, we still have nine or 10 games left to play. And they have all these young kids who still haven't debuted yet. Guys in the minor, so they are loaded with ammunition. They're a team to me that looks like maybe they're one ace pitcher away from just like truly taking that step to being a championship caliber team. So it wouldn't surprise me if in the offseason they make some kind of move, maybe give up a prospect or two. The Marlins, I'm sure would love a few position players.

So maybe there's something there. But yeah, they're loaded. Great job for the Baltimore's. Willie Castro has been really solid recently, two for five with his eighth home run. 15 games since returning from injury, 2.91 batting average, three homers, two steals, 31% rostered. He's got four position eligibility, second base, third base, shortstop outfield. And we've mentioned this before with the Twins. They have awesome matchups the final week.

The Oakland A's and their in-course field, they got three lefties on the schedule. But Willie Castro, he's a switch hitter. They have injuries right now. Carlos Correa is out of the lineup. Royce Lewis left with a hamstring injury. So I think he's going to play. And those matchups are awesome, Scott. So look, if I'm in a pinch, you can use this guy anywhere.

I kind of like it for the final week. Willie Castro. Yeah, I mean, particularly if you need speed, I think he could make a surprise contribution for him for you. I bet I can come up with 10 hitters rostered or available in enough leagues to that. Willie Castro is not going to make the cup from my sleeper-hitters for the final week. I bet you can't, Scott. You bet I can't? You bet it's going to end up there?

Willie Castro is on the list tomorrow, or Thursday rather, I guess. Yeah. I hope so. I'm rooting for him. Let's go, Willie. I'll be rooting for him, but I don't think he's going to make it. I know you're going to consciously leave him out on purpose now. Just to spite you?

Yeah. I like you, Frank. I wouldn't want to spite you. All right. intentionally. Let's talk about a few cadres here. We've talked a lot about catchers recently. These guys are playing well.

M.J. Melendez, strong second half. He went two for three with his 15th home run. After the All-Star break, betting 279 with nine homers, two steals, and an 845 OPS. He's 64% rostered six games next week against the Tigers and Yankees. Bow Nailer again, one for two with two walks

and his ninth home run. He's having a big September. And Logan O'Hoppy went one for four with his 11th home run, 110.4 exit velocity on that one. 25 games since returning. I didn't realize the batting average was so bad, 194 since coming back,

but he does have 27 home runs during that time, and the Angels have six games next week, three against the Oakland A's. So pretty good matchups, looks like for Logan O'Hoppy. Scott, how you're ranking those three for the final week, and a question I keep getting, do you drop Sean Murphy for any or all of them?

Boy, yeah, that Sean Murphy thing is tough. It was easier when it was comparing him to Mitch Garver. I don't know, you're asking me about the matchups and I don't, I haven't put those together yet. So it's hard to say how I'd rank them for the final week. I'll have to do this at some point when you're talking because I can't even get kind of a preliminary look at them right now because the league I use to, the league I rely on for that isn't set up

for the last week of the season for some reason. But, okay, so just top of mind here, I will say, I like Naylor's sitting against left-handers, right? He's been pretty bad against lefties this year. I mean, I've been really impressed by what he's been doing when he is playing, but I don't know. I'd have to see how many left-handers

are on the schedule for Cleveland. I can't at the moment. So they have six games next week. It looks like there is at least two lefties, Andrew Abbott and Eduardo Rodriguez. Well, E. Rod left with an injury, so I don't know if he's going to pitch. At least one lefty. Oh, I lied.

There's only five games next week. Eh, that doesn't feel too good for Bow-Naylor. Yeah, it doesn't. How many of the Royals have? The Royals have six games next week. They're against the Tigers and Yankees, so that could be pretty good. That could be good. And the Angels.

Logan O'Hoppy, they have six games. Three against the Oakland A's. I could check out the other matchup as well. But I feel like Oakland just kind of makes up for anything else that might be on the schedule. Yeah, it really does. The other matchups would be the Rangers. I don't know. I think I'm like an O'Hopi most here.

O'Hopi, Melendez, Naler for the final week of the season, and I would take the first two of those, O'Hopi and Melendez, over Sean Murphy. So after all the Heming and Hine, I think we arrived at a good place. Yeah, I think I would agree with that as well. One name in deeper leagues, if Christian Yelich remains out,

Tyrone Taylor has quietly had a solid second half. He's betting 267 with six homers, 27 run scored, and five steals. Also an 818 OPS. So he's been playing every day. You know, the Brewers lineup has been performing pretty well too. So yeah, I think Tyrone Taylor in deeper leagues. We're talking, look, 15 team, five outfieler leagues, anything like that. Only 4% rostered is Tyrone Taylor.

Some quick news and notes here. Mandy Machado was out of the lineup with that elbow injury after D-Hing on Monday. Max Freed is scheduled to start Thursday in Washington. he was scratched earlier this week with a blister on his left hand. Royce Lewis left his game here on Tuesday with hamstring tightness. And I feel like he's dealt with hamstring multiple times already, right, Scott? So kind of worries me here for Royce Lewis. Yeah, I mean, no matter who, no matter who that Red Cross icon appears next to, you know,

a hamstring injury, it could be a day-to-day thing. It's not for sure of like going to keep him out rest of season. but with a week and a half to go in the season, it wouldn't be surprising if it did. So we just have to wait and see if the twins move Lewis back in the lineup the rest of this week. If it's still in question coming out of the weekend, then obviously I'd lean against starting in the final week of the year, which is a shame because the twins' matchups are amazing.

That's exactly right. Christian Yelich was out again Tuesday and has now missed 10 of the last 11 games with lingering back discomfort. Riley Green will undergo surgery on his right elbow on, Wednesday, the details of the procedure have yet to be revealed. He's been out since September 2nd with an inflamed right elbow. I feel like this happens a lot, Scott, where injuries kind of pile up and then I start to feel like, wow, there's more injuries than ever before. And, you know, we'd have to do some research into it, but doesn't it feel like hitters are coming up with more

elbow injuries than we've seen in years past, you know, like Bryce Harper last year and we just had to and now we've got Riley Green and Machado has like a tennis elbow and well I don't know Max Buncey had a bad one Reese Hoskins had a bad one Trevor Story had a bad one you know going back pretty common I don't know yeah uh yeah I don't know I don't know I don't know if I could fairly compare that all right uh Luis Arise was scratched from the lineup due to a left ankle sprain Hassan Kim has now missed three straight with abdominal discomfort. Ryan Malkassel has missed six straight with shoulder soreness.

Jamer Candelario could return next week. He went on the IL recently with a lower back strain. Carlos Correa was out of the lineup on Tuesday and is awaiting MRI results on his left foot. Adbert Aouselai threw long toss on Tuesday. There is an outside chance that he could return this season. He went on the IL September 10th due to a right forearm strain. Michael Brantley was out of the lineup.

due to general soreness. Alex Burleson fractured his, that darn general soreness. We'll get him one day. Alec Berlinson fractured his left thumb while stealing third base on Tuesday. Jack Flaherty has been moved to the Orioles bullpen. He had a 7-11 ERA

and a 167 whip since joining the team entering Tuesday. And I saw he pitched, but I didn't notice what he did. I'm surprised they got as many chances as he did. Yep. Brady Singer was placed in the I. with a left lower lumbar strain, and Alex Fayetteau was placing the IL with a blister on his right hand.

Let's take our final break. When we return, Unsung Hitters, the names we haven't talked enough about this season. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in, let's talk Unsung Hitters from the fantasy baseball season, William Contreras. One for four with a sock and a shoe,

283 batting average this year, 17 homers, 79 runs, 74 RBI, five steals, and an 819 OPS. He has sacrificed some power this year, but he's become a better player all around. Better batting average. He's playing a lot. The counting stats are really good for a catcher as well.

And did you know, Scott, entering Tuesday, William Contreras was ranked as the number one catcher in Roto this year, even ahead of Adley Ruchman. Great year. Great year. I did not know that. I question whether he should be. The thing about roto rankings is it's based on a formula that weighs

output in each of the categories that, you know, it may not always be weighed properly since the league environment is always changing. And also, you know, if how good a player is in particular categories, you know, how useful, that actually is to you,

depends on your own particular team build. So it's not as clear cut. It's why I rarely cite roto rankings, how a player has performed and how it shows up in roto rankings because it's not as clear cut as points rankings. I will mention William Contreras is number two in points leaks for this season,

a distant number two behind Adley Rushman. And in terms of points per game, he's also behind Will Smith and Sean Murphy, but he is number two in total points among catchers. and I don't know I got to rank him that way going into the season but it does especially considering the talk

at that started the year where it was like William Contreras was some disappointment clearly that has not been so no no it has not and a few people asked me on Twitter where is William Contreras going to rank heading into next year I

haven't done rankings yet frankly I haven't really thought about it but on the I don't know top of mind I think he's probably right inside the top five as a catcher for next season. I think he's earned that. Obviously, he plays a lot. He's in a pretty good ballpark as well, so I like it. I love what William Contreras has done this season. This next one, maybe we talk about him enough, but maybe not. Luis Robert,

three for four with his 37th home run. He also has 17 steals and 8.59 OPS. He's just one of these guys that he's flown under the radar. The White Sox have had a terrible season once again. And entering Tuesday, he was the eighth outfielder in Roto, 3.1 fantasy points per game. That's 15th in head toad points, the 15th best outfielder. You know, plate discipline is a little sketchy for Luis Robert at times, but overall, you know, Scott, this is kind of the breakout season we've been waiting for from Luis Robert, and it just feels like we haven't really talked about it, but it's been a great year.

Yeah, it has. I think in like the best case scenario, I was hoping for more stolen bases. I was hoping for more batting. average. Not that he's been a problem in either, but I don't know that he's quite lived up to all my hopes and dreams for him. But it's been a good season. It certainly makes him somebody to consider as early as round three next year, I would say. Also, what's held him back is the run in RBI production and that terrible White Sox lineup isn't where you'd expect it to be given his other numbers. So that's something you have to account for too. And of course, we've seen plenty of injuries from Luis Robert over the years.

And I think that still has to downgrade him some when we're talking about his 2024 value. But yeah, I do agree with the overall premise that he maybe hasn't gotten the attention he deserves this season. Luis Robert, you're right about the injuries. He's dealt with a lot. I wonder if there's still another level for him to get to. He's still only 26 years old. So I'm not going to rule out that possibility. And he's 84th percentile in sprint speed.

So I think he could still, you know, stand to run a little bit more. You know, 20, 25 steals maybe and 40 plus homers. I think that's all possible for Luis Robert one year. Who knows when that will happen, though. Alex Bregman went one for three with two walks and his 24th home run. He is having a big second half, batting 307 with 12 homers, a 941 OPS. I can't really explain it. I looked into some of the numbers in the second half.

You know, 89.8 average exit velocity. That's fine. That's better than usual for Bregman, but a 5% barrel rate in the second half. So not really sure how he's pulling it off, but he is doing it. The counting stats are great. The OBP is great like it is every year.

More Woxton strikeouts on the season. He is the 7th best third basement in Roto, and the third best third basement in Head-Dead points. Obviously, is a huge standout in that format, Scott. But yeah, Alex Bergman is frankly not a name that we've talked much about. No, it's not. And I do think he's redeemed himself, at least his head-to-head points value, because he still has that tremendous walk-to-strikeout ratio like he's always had.

And with this strong finish, this big second half, you know, number three among third baseman of points leagues behind just Bobby Witton, Jose Ramirez, the two who are in the conversation to go in the first round next year. And since I was working on what my first two rounds would look like for next year, I did one listing for five-by-five categories leagues, and I did a second listing for points leagues. I have Bregman as a late second rounder in points leagues next year. I have him going ahead of Raphael Devers and Austin Riley in that format where he does get that big boost with the superior plate discipline.

I think it's I think it's deserved it. I do think there's also this perception he's injury prone, mostly because he missed a lot of time in 2021 with the hamstring injury, but back-to-back seasons where he's been played every, I think he literally has played every single day this year, and last year was pretty close to it. Yeah, 155 games last year.

He's up to 151 this season as well. That's Alex Bregman. And he's not flashy. He's definitely, not going to be the sexy pick and fantasy, but I think even regardless of format, the counting stats that Bregman provides, they are invaluable. 98 runs in the year, 96 RBI, so he is a huge help in those categories as well. Adolese Garcia in his second game back from the IL, 1 for 3 with his 35th home run, 243 batting average on the year. He's got 99 runs, 101 RBI, only eight steals

on the year. I think that's the most surprising part. Sprint speed is down to 51st percentile for Adolias Garcia. He turns 31 in March. He probably could have been in the conversation yesterday too, Scott, where I think Adolice Garcia's, I can't believe I'm saying this again. I think he's kind of confusing the rank for next year too because he's just kind of a lower batting average, big power. The counting stats are good, but he doesn't run anymore. So I don't know. It's kind of a kind of a weird profile. He's bolstered by his lineup, which has helped him a lot the last two years.

His RBI and run production is better than it seems like it should be, given his other stats. So sort of the opposite from Luis Robert in that regard. He's, the thing we have to, the thing that's easy to forget with Adolice Garcia because he hasn't been front and center and fantasy for long is that pretty old.

He's going to be 31. before opening day next year. Well, Scott, I'm 31. Well, you're not a professional athlete, Frank. I could be. I've been playing a lot of pickleball recently. I'm closer to 41 than 31. So I understand.

But by baseball standards, you know, he's not some 26-year-old. He's a 31-year-old. And a 31-year-old whose skills aren't the sort that we think of is aging well. So when the decline comes, I don't think it'll be a gentle landing. I think he'll just go from being, you know, a borderline stud to practically useless the way Javier Baez has the past couple years. So that adds to the concern when you're ranking Adoli-Scarcia next season. I'm not necessarily predicting collapse from next year, but I will probably rank him at the lower end of his range of outcomes, realistic range of outcomes. Too high, too low, or just right?

In that way too early mock draft, Adolias Garcia went 44th overall. So that'd be like a late fourth rounder in a 12th team league. I'm gonna... I don't think it's too low. I think it's closer to just right than not. It may be a little high. I think I might be closer to too low, but I agree. I think just right.

I feel pretty good about that ranking there for Adolias Garcia. Yeah, last name on the list, and someone I know we have not talked about all season, Scott. I know for certain. Stephen Kwan. I think the last time we mentioned him was like, I don't know, February. When's the last time we talked about this guy? Two for two with three walks, a double, a triple, two RBI, 275 batting average this year, five home runs. 90 runs scored, 20 steals, 10% walk rate, 10% strikeout rate.

He's another guy that he's just a better real-life player. He's a really good fielder as well. I was watching the Guardians game. They're talking about he's going to win a gold glove this year. He's a 36th outfielder in Roto, 16th in head-to-head points. So this is just unnamed, clear standout in a points format. Scott, for years, it was Carlos Santana, right? That was the biggest standout in points versus Roto.

I think Stephen Kwan has kind of taken that over in the outfield position. Big points league standout. I mean, he's certainly a contender. The gap was smaller last. year because he hit for a really good batting average. But, you know, kind of a middling batting average this year, but still great contact skills, which helps him in points leagues. I'm surprised he's as high in Roto as he is.

16th in points among Alphidress, 36th in the Roto. That's a big gap between the two formats. But I'm kind of surprised as high as that. And I wonder if the 20 steals, like this gets to what I was saying earlier, where maybe steals are being weighted too heavily because of past scarcity. and now they're more plentiful, and the formula hasn't quite caught up to that yet. And so maybe it's overvaluing Kwan.

But, you know, he's going to be worth drafting as like a number four outfielder in Rotelings and a number two slash three outfielder in points leagues next year, I would say. All right, the unsung hitters. That is the list. Stephen Kwan, Adolias Garcia, Alex Bregman, Luis Robert, and William Contreras. Quick thought here on Corbyn Carrel.

And obviously, I don't have the best track record with shoulder injury, Scott, a couple of years ago. Fernando Tati swung a bat. He dropped it immediately. I thought he was done for the year. I said I would eat my hat if he comes back in the minimum amount of time from the IL. What happened? He was back in the minimum amount of time from the IL. It was a great tasting hat, by the way.

Corby and Carroll, big game here. Two for four with a double and his 48th stolen base. He's had a phenomenal season batting 281, 24 homer. he's got 106 run scored in 863 OPS. I know you've been working on that early two-round mock draft. I know Corbyn Carroll deserves to be a top five pick, but I just can't shake the thought of this shoulder injury kind of creeping up again at some point.

And maybe it's not warranted. What do you think? I think you can afford to play it a little safe with Corbyn Carroll. I ranked him lower than I would have thought I would, two months ago. And a big reason for that is because Bobby Witt and Julio Rodriguez have come on so strong here to end the season. So I do have Corby and Carroll in my top five for next year in Roto specifically, but I have

those two guys ahead of him, Bobby Witt and Julio Rodriguez, who have higher combined home run and I think they're higher combined home run and stolen base totals. I mean, Corbyn, certainly Witt does because they're both close to. to 50 steals. Rodriguez is over 70 between the two of them, but it's at least close enough that if you feel just safer with Rodriguez, with his health situation, as I do, then you can take him instead.

But I want to, you know, it's like, steals are more plentiful, and I don't know that you have to sell out as hard for them early in drafts next year, but there's still a different. between a 50 steel guy and a 30 steel guy and Carol is closer to the former and he's a rare example of that so is Bobby Witt, that's why he's ahead but that's why I couldn't let him drop

outside of the top five and Roto. Now points leagues because you don't have to prioritize steals on any level really you have players like Mooky Betts, Freddie Freeman, Corey Seeger Aaron Judge, Jordan Alvarez,

all of them I'm happy to slot ahead of Corbyn Carroll in that format. So it really makes a difference what format you're talking about. But given that he's an outstanding base stealer in the format where steals are essential, it's hard to downgrade him too much. I will fully admit that this is the

scared money don't make money kind of approach, but I think for next year, even in Roto leagues, I will probably take, take Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Kyle Tucker ahead of Corbyn Carroll.

And that's solely because of just the shoulder injury being in the back of my mind. And maybe he'll make me eat my words or eat another hat. It's justifiable. I'm trying to accept that I've done things

not as well as I could have in Roto leagues the past couple years because I think, especially this year, the gap between my head-to-head league and my Roto League performance is pretty stark. And one of the things I don't think I've done well enough is emphasize deals early in drafts. And I do think it's true that you don't have to, maybe as much as in years past,

but you still should probably do it more than I have. So I originally was thinking, okay, I'm going to make bets my number two overall player, even in Roto going into next season. I'm going to have Freddie Freeman in my top five. but you know the the the raw number of steals between them and a bobby wit or a corbin carroll just still doesn't compare and so to get that really strong foundation in steals and not ignore them the rest of the draft you know but not have to stress about it so much i think is worth accepting a little more risk given that, you know, it's just, you can't afford to do things at suboptimal

efficiency anymore, at least, you know, with the caliber of competition I have. It's gotten so much better over the years that, like, you have to nail it. You have to nail everything. And so I don't think, I don't think I can afford suboptimal efficiency with my first pick within reason, within reason, I mean, if there was a really scary thing, but, you know, Corbyn Carroll's been playing fine with the shoulder injury, and it hasn't cost him playing time

beyond those two scary moments, and it's, it's, I don't want to overly worry about it either. All right, and again, to be fair, I don't blame you or anyone else who's going to rank him or take him in the top five, but I don't know, I think I just, in the early rounds, I just really, really like to play it safe.

So I'm hitting leftovers here from Tuesday's action, Randy Rosarana, went one for four with his 23rd home run. And it's just funny, the way that things even out over the course of a baseball season, because a Rosarana got off to this amazing start in April. He had an awful July. He had 153 in the month.

He's been solid since then, solid August and September. But the numbers at this point, 258, 23 homers, 22 steals. Maybe the steals are a little bit disappointing this year. But that's like a quintessential Randy Arosa Rana season. Just look at his past three years. It's a 260, 25-25-type guy, right around an 800 OPS. That's just who he is.

And yeah, here we are. Another season, he just, boom, gets to those numbers for Randy a Rosarina. Jeff McNeil went three-for-four with a double and a run scored. He's been very good since the start of August, a 304 betting average, seven homers, and four steals during that time. Bo Bouchet, very clearly listened to yesterday's podcast. Two-for-four with his 19th home run of the year. He had two runs and two RBI in that game.

George Springer, two for four with his 20th home run. Very similar to Zander Bogarts in that the counting stats have been a disappointment, but a 257 batting average, 20 homers, 19 steals. Still a pretty useful season, I would say, for George Springer. And Bryce Harper, guy just looks like he's all the way back, one for four with his 19th home run. And now since the start of August, 44 games, he's batting 291 with 14 homers, 34 runs, 35 RBI, and a 20,

percent barrel rate. He's back, and he's Bryce Harper, and he's awesome. Call to the bullpen, a few updates here for the Nationals. Kyle Finnegan entered the ninth with a two-run lead. He gave up one run, but picked up his 26th save for the Marlins. Tanner Scott, a little shaky here, last two outings. He got the ninth inning with a two-run lead. He gave up two runs on three hits, but he took his fourth-blown save,

wound up with the win. They managed to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth. For the Royals, tonight in... Royals roulette, a gentleman named Colin Snyder picked up the first save of his career, and each of the last three saves have gone to a different pitcher in the Royals bullpen. For the Rangers, we haven't seen a Rolla's Chapman in a while, maybe a little mental break for him. He entered in the seventh inning with the game tied runners on second and third. Biggest spot in the game.

He struck out Raphael Devers looking, and then he got Justin Turner to ground out. He also pitched an entirely clean eighth inning. Looked amazing once again. Jose Leclerc then got the final three outs for his third save of the year. For the Orioles, Yaneer Canoe entered the ninth with a runner on first. He gave up a hit in a walk. Conell Perez then got the final out for his second save. And for the Tigers, I didn't write down exactly what happened,

but I just wrote Alex Lang in all caps because he came on and he blew the game and then he took the loss. against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Let's wrap up with to stream or not to stream, Scotty. And on Wednesday, we have Michael King against the Blue Jays, Bailey Ober at the Reds, Josiah Gray against the White Sox, Reese Olson at the Dodgers, Reed Detmer's at the Rays.

Like any of those? I didn't love them when we talked about them yesterday, and I don't love them anymore now. I think I said Michael King would be my number one choice Bailey Ober would be my number two choice, but I'm not, I'm not necessarily expecting great numbers for me either. They're just kind of the best you can do on Wednesday. I was really hoping that you would sleep on it, Scott, and you'd wake up, and the first thing you would think is, I really like Reese Olson at the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Nope. All right, let's talk about Thursday. We've got Griffin Canning at the Rays, Wade Miley at the Cardinals. Kyle Hendricks against the Pirates. That's pretty good. That's the best one. That's the best one either Wednesday or Thursday. It's still not amazing, but it's the best one.

Kyle Hendricks against the Pirates. All right, we're 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.