Fantasy Baseball Today - Projecting Nick Kurtz & Roman Anthony! Week 23 Sleepers & Two-Start Pitchers! (8/22 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Nick Kurtz continues to look like a stud (3:36). ... Roman Anthony hit a majestic home run in Yankee Stadium (9:58). ... The Rays promoted Carson Williams and the Red Sox promoted The Password (15:38). ... News (23:10): Austin Riley had season-ending surgery. ... Brenton Doyle is having a big second half (28:28). ... Any interest in these deep-league pitchers (31:01)? ... Is Shota Imanaga back (35:23)? ... Start, sit or drop these pitchers (38:35)? ... Let's preview Week 23, with an eye on two-start pitchers and sleeper hitters (51:01). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpens and streamers (58:00). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow FBT on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CBSScottWhite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Roto_Frank⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Facebook group at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome in Tough Fantasy Baseball today on August 22nd. I am Frank Stample, joined by Chris Towers today on the show. The future is bright and we'll tell you why. Start, sit, or drop these pitchers, more prospect promotions, and we'll preview week 23. Chris, you're here, man. Cogamo Friday. This doesn't happen often. It's going to be three Fridays in a row, though.

Yeah, that's true. So I was thinking about the time I had to warn my watch. if I'm going to be busy the next three Thursdays. So that'll be fun. I love hearing the Kokomo Friday song. It brings me a little joy. We got to figure out a way to update it, you know? Yep, yep.

That sounds like a Chris Towers task, you know? You and Doc Kroats are a little bit closer. I'll reach out. I'll reach out and ask. I'll see what he's up to. Let's do it. All right, let's jump in. All right, players of the night, Chris, where are we starting?

Nick Kurtz, who I wrote a, about at the end of the first half, maybe a couple weeks after that, you know, big questions for the final two months of the season kind of article. And one of them was is Nick Kurtz already the number one first baseman for 2026. And I said, no way. There's a lot of really good first baseman. And Nick Kurtz has only had, you know, three months where he's played at this level. And yeah, Nick Kurtz might be the number one first baseman next year. And Nick Kurtz might be like a second round pick next year. And it's honestly, Honestly, it's pretty hard to come up with an argument against it. You know, he, the power had slowed down a little bit in the month of August. He had gone, looks like about what, 15 games between home runs since that four homer game, actually. But even with that, it's not like his production had really slowed down all that much because he was still racking up multiple hit games, still driving in a bunch of runs. strikeout rate has gone way down. And now he's back to hitting home runs.

Three in his last six games. OPS for the season up to 10.50. There have been, I want to say maybe ever, actually. I think there have been three hitters ever as a rookie with minimum 450 played appearances and an OPS over a thousand. And that's what Nick Kurtz is on pace for. He's up to 10.54. The strikeout rate, the plate discipline has gotten much better as he's gone on. It's 18 strikeouts and 79 plate appearances in the month of August.

17 walks in that stretch. You look at the underlying plate discipline. It keeps getting better. His whiff rate on all three pitch types, fastball, breaking ball, or off speed. has gone down pretty much every month this season. He is freakishly, freakishly talented, and it's hard to come up with an argument against him being the number one first baseman next season,

except just a lack of sample size, right? Like, we have definitely seen 370 plate appearance sample sizes in the last few years from Vladimir Guerrero, certainly, and he's been pretty awesome in the second half himself. Freddie Freeman has had stretches like this. Matt Olson has had stretches like this in the past few years. So are we really ready to say that Nick Kurtz has not just a higher ceiling, but a higher floor than the other top five first basement types? Maybe.

I genuinely don't know. This is, we are witnessing a legitimately historic performance from Nick Kurtz. And I don't really know how to contextualize that except to say that fantasy sports are a game about finding outliers. And Nick Hertz might just be a dominant kind of outlier. Yeah, his profile right now kind of looks like Matt Olson's crazy season from a couple of years ago, right? hitting for batting average and massive power at the same time. I'm happy you mention the strikeouts going down because I looked up since July 5th

is a 37 game sample size. His strikeout rate is down to 24% during that stretch. And that was really the biggest case that I would make against Nick Kurtz earlier in the season because it was over 30% strikeout rate for most of the season. Now it's down to 29% overall. But as I mentioned, it's been much better recently. You look under the hood. There are some things that you could poke at.

the zone contact is below average, but he doesn't chase pitches out of the zone. The stack cast stuff is just absolutely insane. He's overperforming his expected stats, but it's like- That happened. Like if you have a thousand OPS, that's just going to happen.

I don't want to use that as a case against, like Nick Kurtz when he hits the ball as hard as he does, you know? So 350 play appearances, that's a threshold that Nick Kurtz has passed. Rookies with at least 1,000 OPS, and 350 played appearances or more. Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Jordon Alvarez, Nick Kurtz, and someone named Bernie Carbo,

who I'll admit I've never heard of. He was a rookie in 1970 and had a huge season. That was his only big season. So that would be the one outlier, I guess. But if you give me an 80% chance of a player turning into a, a superstar, which is four out of the other five have been bonafide studs. I think all of them except Alvarez have won an MVP. I think Ryan Braun won an MVP, right? That sounds right. Yeah, he did. You don't hate those odds. No, that that is a great group to be a part of.

I'm happy you mentioned you're on Alvarez because that that feels it's not a perfect comp, but I think maybe a little bit less batting average upside, but a little bit more power upside. So, you know if I don't think he's going to like be a 300 hitter although he's over 300 right now if kurtz if kurtz really is I don't think he can be like a 20% strikeout rate guy that's probably asking too much if he could be a 24 25% strike out rate guy then maybe he is I don't know yeah he might just be able to do that he might just be able to hit 280 290 and and peak above 300 yeah we are in extremely rarefied air here is the point and I don't know if betting against Nick Kurtz makes any sense for 2025,

2026, geez. That's got to take a long time to get used to. I guess we've got a whole, you know, six, eight more months to worry about it. But yeah, I, he's not going to be a first rounder, but I think all bets are off after that. He might be close. Let's rope in my player of the night here and just continue talking about how bright the future is because Roman Anthony enjoyed his first game in Yankee Stadium,

two for five with his fifth homer, three RBI. The home run, 107.4 miles per hour, a skyscraper. It was 35-degree launch angle, wound up in the second deck of Yankee Stadium, just a majestic home run. He had four hard hits in this game. And over his last 21 games, Roman Anthony is hitting 338, I believe it's a 444 on base percentage during that time. three homers, 20 runs scored, 17 walks, two steals, an OPS around 1,000, 95.1 average exit velocity, 19% barrel rate.

I mean, these are elite stats. These are elite stat cast numbers that we're talking about. And even more notably, the ground ball rate down to 47% during that stretch. So that is key for Roman Anthony tapping into that power. Again, the batting average, the OBP stuff looks amazing. He really looks like he's going to be a standout profile for points leagues in particular. But we know that he has the power, the athleticism to also provide power and speed. It's just how long is it going to take him to kind of get to his upside, his ceiling in those categories and things like that. But man, if this last three-week stretch is any indication, I mean, both Nick Kurtz and Roman Anthony,

baseball's in good hands, Chris. Yeah, I mean, I think you look at the overall profile. obviously the shape of the production is very different, but he looks like a better hitter than James Wood did last year. You know, it's not a perfect comp because obviously Wood was stealing a bunch of bases and as a better athlete overall, but I think he looks like a more polished version of James Wood as a rookie as a hitter. And I make that comp because they're both, you know, their flaws as hitters were fairly similar, specifically not maximizing their their plus raw power but i don't know man it's a 13% pulled air rate which is pretty bad but

everything else looks elite 94.4 mile per hour average exit velocity ex wobus 378 xbA is like 70th percentile x slog is 70th percentile like you don't even have to do the last 20 games or whatever he just looks really good um but obviously everything's trending up as well which is what you want to see so I think top 50 range for Roman Anthony is the right call. He doesn't have the athleticism that Wyatt Langford or James Wood had, which helped push their prices up. But I think he's been a much more impressive hitter as a rookie than either of them were. You know, I was thinking about where these guys might wind up.

You just mentioned top 50 for Roman Anthony. The first thing that came to mind was, I think, second round for Kurtz right now. maybe third or fourth for Anthony, which kind of lines up with what you were just saying. I think when it's all said and done, given the hype, the name, the pedigree, I think he'll probably wind up in the third round, Roman Anthony next season. And I did want to reference this and shout out to there's a bunch of good great players in this way too early draft that's going on right now. And Rob DiPiatro put it together.

He's a very established NFC player, high stakes player, dead pole hitter. but there's a lot of great players in here like Ryan Bloomfield, I'm looking at the draft board, they're currently doing a way too early draft. James Anderson, bench with Bubba, lots of great players in there. And Nick Kurtz went at 17 overall and Roman Anthony at 45, a 15 team league.

So just a way too early look. But yeah, it's pretty close to what we were just saying. So yeah, interesting to just kind of start getting the wheels turning for next season. But yeah, both those guys look tremendous right now. Nick Kurtz and Roman Anthony. Big thanks to those watching live. Make sure to hit the like button and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Let's run through the news and notes. And Chris, we have more prospects. The raise placed Hassan Kim on the IL and they are promoting shortstop prospect

Carson Williams. He has big power. He has big speed. An amazing glove. But can he hit? That is the biggest question. Big issues with the hit tool here. 111 games at AAA this season. Batting 2.13 with 23 homers, 22 steals, a 34% strikeout rate, 23% rostered on CBS. Not even sure how much he's going to play. He wasn't in the lineup here on Thursday. Maybe they're just waiting a couple days to ease him in. But do you have any interest in Carson Williams in fantasy? I'm trying to figure out if this is an insult or not. You tell me. I think the best case scenario for Carson Williams right now,

you know, rest of season, whatever you want to frame it as, is 2025 Trevor Story. I mean, he's a good fantasy player. He's going to be a 25, 25, 25 player. I think that like a projected 20-20 pace, bad batting average, I think that's what, within the realm of possibility for Carson Williams. The pluses are 11.7 max exit VLO, 90th percentile EV of 107,

which a lot of prospect people think is the more accurate way to analyze raw power, and 22.8% pulled air rate. That would be in the 78th percentile among major leaguers this season. So he's got, I'd say above average power, probably not plus, but above average. And he's got the skills to optimize that when he makes contact. The problem is he does not make contact very often. He is hitting 213 at AAA. His overall offensive line, his WRC plus is below average.

It's like 98. 34% strikeout rate. He is 24th out of 230 players who have seen at least 1,000 pitches with an in-zone contact rate or an in-zone with rate of 24.5%. That's really bad. His overall whiff rate, so all pitches that he swings at, is 38.6%. So two out of every five times he swings, he misses. That's against AAA pitching. So you would expect that to be worse against major leaguers.

That is the seventh worst mark at the AAA level. He's a patient hitter. He makes decent swing decisions, but the problem with that is, is going to find himself in a lot of deep counts. And with his propensity to swing and miss, that's how you get 34% strikeout rates. So I think Carson Williams has a decent floor because of the power, or a decent ceiling because of the power speed combination.

If the rays are going to play him, it'll be because he might be one of the best defensive players in organized baseball already. Like every scanning report says he's a potential gold glove winner at Shortstop. It's just there are some, uh, Galafian downsides here.

Did you use Zach Gelloff as a, what would that adverb? Adjective? Yeah, that would be the, that's what I'm going for there. I think there's a chance that he's just an unplayable hitter right now.

Yeah. And he is a much, much better real life prospect than a fantasy prospect. It's kind of frustrating that the three big prospect promotions of the last, I don't know, 36 hours might all not matter for fantasy. Yeah, because they could be a part-time players or be struggle immensely, right?

And I guess in the case of Carson Williams, he might be both of those. He might not even play that much. But, you know, obviously worth mentioning with his prospect pedigree and everything, the Welsh and I actually interviewed Carson Williams a couple of years ago at the Arizona Fall League. He wanted to make it quick. He wanted to get back to Fortnite. So he actually openly admitted that to us.

Who among us? Yeah, it's just like, all right, whatever, man. I'm not going to. 20-year-old kid, you want to go play Fortnite? Who am I to stop you? The Red Sox also placed Willi Arbriou on the aisle and promoted. Wait for it. Yostingsen Garcia.

I hope that got that right. Yostinsen Garcia is from Venezuela. I asked my wife, who was also from Venezuela, if she could eyeball it. That's what she said. So I think Yostinsen or Yostingsen is the way you pronounce his first name. He has embraced a very good nickname, the password. It's amazing. I think there was Mark Ripschinsky.

That's an old baseball name. I think they used to call him Scrabble. Okay. But technically there's only one Z in the Scrabble bag, and he had two Z in his name. So actually, Yostinson might be the better Scrabble name among baseball guys. But yeah, he's getting called up. That's fun. Fun name.

22 years old, he was crushing it down in the minors this season. 289 batting average, 20 homer, six deals, 875 OPS in 99 games between AA and AAA. 66 of those at AAA. When you consider age to level production, a 22-year-old at AAA who's hitting that well, I think it was an 875 OPS. Or actually, I think it might have even been better. at AAA. Pretty impressive.

Another one, I'm not sure how much he's going to play. The Red Sox played against a right-handed pitcher in Luis Heel on Thursday. He was not in the lineup. So maybe he only plays against lefties for the time. He has a short side platoon, yeah. Yeah, 9% rostered. Any interest here in the password? He's a guy who's his production at AAA doesn't quite make a lot of sense when you look at the underlying stats.

His whiff rate on pitches in the strikes in is actually slightly high. higher than Carson Williams is. So 23rd highest at AAA. And his quality of contact data is not great. 87.2 mile per hour average average age velocity, 35.5% hard hit rate. It was only like a 25% strikeout rate because he is an aggressive pitcher or hitter. And there's a little bit of like P. Kroar Armstrong in all of that, like bad plate discipline, but is aggressive enough early in counts that he may not strike out all that much. And, The pullside power is nice to see, but I think they're still very crowded in the outfield. Maybe he's a short side platoon at first base.

I don't really think there's going to be an immediate impact for Yostinson Garcia. So he's probably best left for 15 team leagues. I would prioritize Carson Williams ahead of him. But 12 team points leagues, I don't think either of these guys matter. and even 12-team Roto. Agreed. I don't think either is a must-ad for sure. Yeah, they honestly might not matter anywhere right now,

but they are notable prospects. Oh, absolutely. Both top 100 guys. Worth mentioning. Carson Williams' top, like, 25 guy by most counts. I think that's mostly for real-life baseball because of his fielding and everything, but, again, does have some power and speed potential.

We'll see what those two can do. The Braves announced that Austin Riley underwent season ending core muscle surgery and his season ends with a 260 batting average 16 homers 737 OPS two years in a row with a sub 800 OPS so that will create some interesting conversations I think in the offseason here

if we're looking at replacements Matt Shaw is someone we've talked a lot about he's still out there in some shallower leagues Lenin Sosa or Miguel Andouhar I think in medium-sized leagues both are hitting well right now and in deeper leagues someone like Brooks Lee or Brett Beatty. Both those guys have been hitting pretty well.

Brooks Lee will probably play a little bit more regularly than Beatty, but again, Beatty's hitting well. I will say Riley, definitely not a top 100 pick next year. Definitely not. No, I can't think so. I mean, too straight. I mean, so he was what, like a second or third round pick this year? I don't think he's going to drop out of the top

eight rounds in a 12-team league. I don't think so. All right. I think he'll be a little bit lower. I think he'll kind of be a mid-round pick, maybe fifth, six, seven, something like that. But I don't think I could be wrong about that. We'll see.

I remember Marcus Simeon's ADP being lower, but it ended up being about 90s. So I guess Ballinger was 94. That's probably, yeah, I guess that around 180 to 100 is where you see a lot of like, we think he's good or he's been bad, but maybe he can be good. Yeah, that might be.

I don't know. That feels iffy to me. I don't know. I still think he's a talented player. I mean, a lot of the underlying numbers are still... He still hits the ball hard. I would expect the Braves lineup to bounce back, although I feel like we've been saying that for years now. So, yeah, he will be an interesting one,

a pretty polarizing player. That's Austin Riley. Adley Ruchman's disaster season continues. He was placed on the aisle with a mild right oblique strain. The Orioles said that Samuel Basaya will be the team's primary catcher in Adley Ruchman's absence, which, again, we don't want to celebrate injury, but for next season, Chris. I mean, this is great news for Samuel Bessio, who should now have catcher eligibility for

next year. So that's very good for him. Yes, that is the silver line to that dark cloud of, you know, Adley Ruchman's season potentially being over, yeah. There's no guarantee Bessio gets enough appearances, but it certainly gives him a path. And we didn't think that was going to happen a couple days ago. So, yeah. I'll tell you somebody.

It's another one going to be very interesting next year. Somebody who is falling outside the top 100 picks. That is at the Russianman outside. I would imagine so, yes. Which I'll buy the dip. Yandy Diaz suffered a low-grade hamstring injury in Thursday's game. The Razor off on Friday. We'll see if he returns on Saturday.

Shohue Otani is expected to be back in the lineup Friday against the Padres. He was removed Wednesday after taking a comebacker off of a. Vistai. The Dodgers plan is for Tanner Scott to be activated on Friday and Kirby Yates on Saturday. Jackson Merrill has missed four straight with that bone bruise in his left ankle. Spencer Shreider had his start push back and will no longer start this weekend against the Mets. And if we're being honest, it might be a blessing that you don't have another Spencer Shrider start in your lineup the way he's pitching right now. Bench him next week and hope it's a good start.

Yeah. Jordan Westberg has missed back-to-back games with right ankle discomfort. he hopes to avoid the IL. Brendan Nimmo was out of the lineup with neck stiffness. Warming, Bernabelle was scratched in the lineup after getting hit in the face with a throw during pregame infield drills. Jeff McNeil was not in the lineup due to right shoulder sorenness. Marcus Semyon left early due to a left foot contusion.

He suffered on a foul ball. Evan Carter left early after getting hit by a pitch on his right wrist. Brandon Young left his start early with hamstring discomfort and also got clobbered. So that previous start looks pretty fluky now in hindsight. He was only 5% rostered and 3% started. So luckily, thank God. Nobody bought into it, yeah.

Yeah. Joey Ortiz left early with a left hamstring injury. I think I saw that he's going to go for tests on that. The Giants will recall Carson Wisenhunt to start Friday against the Brewers. He is a legitimate prospect, but struggled his first go-round with the Giants, so we'll see if he can improve. Walker Bueller could be moved to the bullpen prior to his next scheduled start, and Craig Kimbrel was granted his release from the Rangers and then quickly

signed with the Astros. I think that they're Major League roster, so he might just get thrown right in the fire, right into the Astros bullpen there, although we haven't seen him pitch all year, so who knows? I mean, he made one appearance with the Braves. Did he at the Major League level this year? Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, remember? Am I, I'm not making that up, am I? I didn't think that he got to the majors this season. Maybe he didn't make an appearance They called him up Yeah, he made one appearance He walked one, gave up a hit He's been like five walks per nine

At AAA It's like a decent 3-0 ERA but Expectations should be very, very low All right, let's get into some Waverwire hitters here from Thursday's action I have four outfielders I think they're mostly for five outfielder leagues

Maybe this top name is is in three outfielder leagues as well. Brenton Doyle stayed hot, two for three, with his 13th homer, four RBI, second half of the season. He's batting 395, six homers, 19 RBI, three steals, a 1069 OPS. 54% rostered is Brenton Doyle. The Rockies have six games next week. Three are in Cores. Three are on the road. Chris, do you think Brenton Doyle has worked his way back into three outfielder league consideration? Probably not points, maybe categories, if you want play a hot hand with him.

He's still playing slightly less than every day. And obviously his play discipline's never been good, so he's always been much better in Roto. So I think in a head-to-head categories league, if you're desperate for a third outfielder, he's fine, but probably not in points leagues now. A couple other names here. We have Jesus Sanchez with a five-hit game,

five-for-five with a double run and RBI. But his time so far with the Astros has been pretty disappointing, 15 batting average, zero homers, just two RBI in 19 games. Dylan Beavers is on the board, one for three with a walk in his first career home run. So far, he's five for 17. He has five walks to five strikeouts. And Lars Neupar, coming alive a little bit, has five straight multi-hit games. And in his last eight, he's batting 424 with a homer and seven run scored.

He has also started in eight straight games. So, Chris, how would you rank those three? I think more so for five outfielder leagues, Beaver's, Newpar, and Hazer Sanchez. I mean, if this was how wins above replacement worked, Hazer Sanchez would be like a two-win player against the Orioles this season. Because remember he had the two robbed home runs in a game last week? And then he goes five for five today. That is not how war works.

And overall, he's not very good. So I don't think he's, I think he's just a fringe fantasy option. Dylan Beaver is a talented and interesting player. He's not looked overwhelmed so far. So I think if you want to add him in any five-outhered-year leagues, I think that's reasonable. And then Newbar, we know he's talented. We know he's got skills.

It's just he's never come close to maximizing them, and he's always struggled with injuries, but he's healthy and hot right now. So I think he's a fine, large Newbar is a fine pickup in five outfader leagues. Let's take a look at the Waver-Wire pitchers. only two names here, and I think both are only in deeper leagues for now. Jack Perkins was okay at the Twins, five innings, two runs, but four walks to two strikeouts, only eight

whiffs on 90 pitches through just 54% of his pitches for strikes. The stuff is undeniable, right? He had a 107 stuff plus rating entering this start, and his sweeper had a 40% whiff rate, has changed up 64% entering this one. It's just he has struggled with control. so far. Don't look a column to the right when you're looking up stuff plus because the location plus is 90 which is really bad. Really bad. Yeah. He is home against the Tigers next week. Any deep league interest in Jack Perkins? I think Jack Perkins is a lot more interesting in theory than in practice. I'm not going to say he's quite as bad as Joe Boyle, but it's a very similar situation where great stuff but the command is just not there. And he hasn't figured out how to

put it into action yet. So I don't think Jack Perkins is a priority ad now. Would you rank him behind Parker Messick from yesterday? I think I'd rather have Messick. It might just depend. I can't remember what Messick's matchups were. Right. I remember them being pretty good.

Yeah, two-star week, doesn't he? That might be true. I will look that up real quick. Parker Messick is 12% rostered and for next week one start against Tampa Bay. And they've been struggling against left these really...

Yeah, I think you'd rather have Messick versus Tampa Bay than Perkins versus... The Tigers lineup has been up and down, but pitching in Sacramento where it's more header-friendly. Yeah, that's a tougher spot. And then Jason Alexander was okay at the Orioles. Five in a third innings, eight hits, two runs, only three strikeouts here.

He has a really good change-up. I don't really think he has anything else in his arsenal. That's very good. Last four starts for Alexander, 154, ERA, a 0.8.6. Whip, any interest in Alexander, who I'm not even sure if he's going to stick in the rotation because Lance McCullors is back on Friday and it sounds like Luis Garcia is back next week. The Astros just keep churning these like nobody dudes out though. This is like the four, like Ryan Gusto, Brandon Walter, Jason out.

Who was the other one? Colton Gordon. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like four different guys who just like, I don't think they're that good, but they're not terrible. I guess. I just don't necessarily think they matter much for fantasy. All right, yeah, I agree. I don't really think there's too much there with Jason Alexander,

and we still have to find out if he's going to stick around in the rotation. Let's take our final break. When we return, is Shota Imanaga back? We'll talk about that right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Is Shota Imanaga back? He took a tough luck loss against the Brewers, seven innings, two runs, five strikeouts to two walks,

only nine whiffs on 98 pitches, but he has looked much better lately. Four straight quality starts, back-to-back starts going seven innings. And in that four-star stretch, 233-ERA, 0.63 whip, 27 strikeouts to just four walks, over 27 innings pitched.

Chris, you have perhaps been the harshest critic of Shota Imanaga this season. Do you think he's back? I mean, it's worth noting you said four straight with six innings. is actually pitched into the seventh and four straight. It was six and a third, six and two thirds, then seven and seven. Strike out rate back to a one per inning in this run.

Walk rate's been great. And he is a different pitcher right now. He's had to make some adjustments because, you know, this was what I was worried would happen was the, the slow, weird fastball and then the splitter from the left hand side is a combo that you don't see very often. and I thought the novelty might wear off, and that's what's happened. Those pitches have been less effective than they were last season.

But he's throwing his sweeper more than ever, up to 21% in the month of August. Last year it was even at the most, he threw it about 8% of the time. So that's been a very good pitch for him. It's been a 38% whiff rate, very good results on balls in play. So I feel comfortable with Shodhya Yamanaga. He's not an ace, but I feel pretty. pretty good about using him. There was, you know, we had that conversation the other day about lefties and being weird

and why there seemed to be all these lefties who don't have great stuff who are dominating. Highly recommend checking out a piece in The Athletic from Wednesday. I think it was Wednesday. Just about how that question, why are all the good pitchers left-handed this season? Something like five of the top seven in ERA. There were more left-handed starters at the All-Star game. than righties, which is kind of surprising. Interesting.

And that was with Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez not making it, two of the better lefties out there. So that was a really good piece. There's just a lot of theorizing about why lefties seem to be. There's a lefties are better relative to righties than any time in like the last 30 years or something. So there's a, there's a lot of really good piece stuff in there about why that's been happening. And it's relevant to some of the stuff we've been talking about.

and Shodeminaaga certainly fits into that because he's weird and weird's not a bad thing when it comes to pitchers. Yeah, and I pulled up our rankings real quick. I updated mine here on Thursday. I have I'm Emanaga at SP 25.

Look at you, Chris. The biggest Emanaga fan out there. SP21, you are the highest of all three of us. Yeah, that sounds right, yeah. Yeah, I think he's firmly in that, you know, low-end SP2 conversation. Yep, just start him and don't worry about it. It was rocky there for a little bit,

But yeah, he's back on track, and he's doing different things to his credit. That sweeper has looked pretty good. Start, sit, or drop. I have a bunch of pitchers here to quickly talk about. Up first we have Quinn Priester who struggled with control at the Cubs. Four and a third innings here. Five walks, but only allowed one run. Still had 13 whiffs on 95 pitches.

This was his first start with more than two walks since June 4th. So I don't really want to overreact to it too much. He's not a drop very clearly. You're holding on to him. He's been very good this season. What about starting Quinn Priester? It looks like he's in line for two next week against the debacks and at the Blue Jays.

Yeah, I don't love the matchups. There's definitely some ratio risk there. He has a 143 whip in the month of August with a 429 ERA, not unusable. But given the matchups, the Blue Jays especially, I think he's a fringe option in Roto. I think he's fine in points at least. Yeah, I think for sure in points.

I think it depends on what categories you're looking for at this point in the season. If you're looking for wins and strikeouts, he doesn't give you a ton, but in two starts, maybe he'll give you 10, 12 strikeouts, something like that. But I agree, there is a little bit of ratio risk there with Quinn Priester. Clayton Kershaw just missed out on a quality start at the Rockies, five and two-thirds, six hits, three runs, only three strikeouts. He doesn't get many whiffs at this point in his career.

But he's finding ways to keep runs off the board. Four starts in August, a 190 ERA, a 0.97 whip. Only 13 strikeouts over 23 and two-thirds innings. he's 75% rostered, 51% started, and gets the Reds next week. How do you feel about Kershaw? You know you're not going to get strikeouts. You know you've got a decent chance for a win. I don't trust the low threes ERA, but if you think of him as like a high threes ERA,

then he's a fine streamer. I don't think it's a must start at all for Clayton Kershaw, but he's an okay streamer. It'll, it's hard to justify. fine points just because the strikeout upside's really low. Yeah. And so the ratios don't matter. What I mean there is obviously strikeouts matter directly in Roto, but if he's a, you know, six

innings, two earned runs next week, that's great for Roto. It's good for points, but then you need the win if it's only three or four strikeouts to really push that up. So I think he's probably better in Roto than points, actually. Yeah, I was going to say I actually think he's better in points because I think he's more likely to give you a quality start and get those bonus points. Okay. And maybe the strikeouts are more valuable in a Roto League.

But yeah, I mean, that's reasonable. He's been fine, you know? It's just like we have a bunch of these. He's not a difference maker anymore. Yeah, like in the right matchups, you know, against the Reds at home, it's, it's fine. I agree. It's not a must start, but if you're in a pinch, I think you can use them. Sean Mania had another mixed outing here, this one at the Nationals.

The overall line, four and two thirds, four runs allowed. You don't like that. Eight strikeouts to one walk, a season high. eight strikeouts, seven plus strikeouts, and back-to-back starts here. I find it very curious that he's just become a two-pitch pitcher all of a sudden. I mean, he's really kind of taking this Chris Sale comp from last year to heart and only throwing his fastball and his sweeper this season, and his velocity is down a little bit.

But if you trust the underlying numbers that we normally look at, Chris, while he has a 515 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 354 X-FIP. So perhaps Sean and I has been a little bit unlucky here. down to 81% rostered, 55% started, and it looks like he's in line for two starts against the Phillies and the Marlins next week. Yeah, XERA is not quite as optimistic about him. It's a 392 mark, which is not,

well, it was 392 before today. I don't know what it is after. He only allowed four hard hits, 83.9 average exit velocity. Yeah, even last year, you know, once he made that switch in, you know, late July, early August, it was basically 85 to 90% fastball sweeper and then he makes in a couple of changeups.

So that's just probably who Shamaniah is, especially with this lowered arm slot. The rest of his pitches just might not work from that arm slot. So I think he's pretty fringy. I know that the ERA estimators are a little better. I feel like the fact that he's not pitching deep into game. at all. He hasn't gone more than five innings at any point. And I think that's just kind of, the Mets have done that a lot with David Peterson. They were doing that a lot with Trevor, Tyler McGill early on when he was having success. So I think they know that they probably

have to limit these guys exposure to get the most out of them. I think that just limits shamanize utility. So he's okay. But in a points league, well, two starts next week. He's okay in a points league, I guess. Lily's tough matchup, you know, Marlins, they're scrappy. Yeah, I think the Marlins are a decent matchup now. I'd be okay with it in a points league next week. Yeah, I think he's an okay streamer next week. Yeah, I think it's a little bit similar to Quinn Priest.

You know, there is some ratio risk here with Mania, but he's actually getting more strikeouts than someone like Quinn Preacher. So if you're looking for strikeouts and chasing wins in Roto or categories, I do think it's still fine to use Sean Mania next week. You can get 15 strikeouts from him next week. Yeah. Mackenzie Gore struggled on the other side of that game with control in particular. Four and a third innings, three runs, four walks, five strikeouts, only through 61% of its pitches for strikes.

Ten hard hits allowed in this game. The average EV over 100 miles per hour for McKenzie Gore here. And it's tough because his previous two starts were very good, quality starts, 17 strikeouts, just three walks. You think maybe he's trending back in the right direction, but, you know, McKenzie Gore is the ultimate Charzard. You never know what you're going to get from him, especially at this point in the season. 58% started and at the Yankees next week, I think there's a good chance you can get away from McKenzie Gore next week. I think you can sit him and it's fine. Although there's a lot of that Hazel Luzardo in there where if he goes out and strikes out 10 over seven innings next week, nobody should be surprised.

It's just there's a ton of ratio risk along the way. What I will point out is after next week, so week 24, I guess. we're close Marlins and Cubs Cubs are the worst offense in baseball in the second half That's true that's as shocking as that is The Cubs are dead last in the majors

And way to run to create a plus in the second half And I think the Marlins are bottom 10 So I think you're starting McKenzie Gore for that one There's always going to be ratio risk And he might be a guy that the matchup doesn't really matter It's just does he have it that day or doesn't he But I think

you probably just want to ride the ride. I think that's the way I'd view it. Yeah. All right. Next up, we have Dylan Seas, who I feel like copy, paste analysis from McKenzie Cores to Dylan C's. Man, it's a lot less upside this season. A blast start here, but he picked up the win against the Giants, five innings, four runs, seven strikeouts,

two homers allowed in this one, still had 13 whiffs. He's been searching. He's been mixing in other pitches recently, this curveball. sinker, sweeper, just throw in some more stuff. And, you know, it's tough because he's another one where the last, he looked pretty good in the second half and then his last two starts here have been very bad. So I just, he gets, he's at Seattle next week. I don't know.

What do you think, Chris? I'm defeated. I'm like done. I don't know what else to say about Dylan Cs. It's sort of the opposite of where I've been on Seth Lugo. The last two seasons where I've been so consistently wrong, Dylan C's all season that I almost feel like I don't want to offer a take or any advice on him just because I've been wrong the whole time.

Why would that change moving forward? I still think he's clearly talented. He's also clearly not right right now. And the underlying stuff is better. Like the underlying stuff suggests he should be a must-star guy, although not necessarily an ace, but hasn't been there. So I fully understand if you just want to be done with Dylan C's.

I don't think you can drop him, but if you just want to nail him to your bench, go for it. That being said, at Seattle. Great, great place to pitch. Tougher lineup, though, now. Tough lineup, but still a great place to pitch. If he has a great start next week,

don't be surprised. I think I would be okay using some of the sleeper pitchers on Scott's list that we're going to talk about in a little bit over someone like Dylan C. So especially with one start. That's, yeah, the Hurston Waldrop and Cam Schlittler.

I think I would take a shot on both of those guys over Quinn Priester at this point, just based on their matchups for next week. Sunny Gray, mid at Tampa Bay, five innings, six hits, three runs, six strikeouts,

13 whiffs on 92 pitches. Kind of feels like he deserved a better start here. You know, he didn't allow much hard contact. You had a good amount of whiffs. It's mostly been a rough second half with two great starts that are mixed in. He gets the pirates next week, so I think you're just kind of leaving him in there. But, yeah, it's, look, in the second half, it's a 675 ERA and a 153 whip.

So it's bad. Yeah, it's also only been three bad starts out of seven. But really bad stuff. Oh, really, really bad. One was eight runs and three in a third. The other two were six runs over five innings. but other than that, it's been fine. You know, other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln, right?

We need Scott here to do the Mitch Keller analysis. If we remove these three starts from Sunny Gray. I think Sunny Gray is a 380-ish pitcher with wide error bars around that. So there are going to be stretches, and we've seen them this year where he's a 250 ERA guy, and there's going to be stretches where he's a 5 ERA guy. I think on the whole you probably just keep him in your lineup, especially with a great matchup. All right, last name here is Luis Heel, who struggled to throw strikes against the Red Sox. Five innings, two runs, five walks to three strikeouts, through just 56% of his pitches for strikes.

And that's three plus walks in three of four starts. We know that's been a big issue for him. Even last year when he won the rookie of the year, control is a big problem for Luis Heel. He's 82% rostered, 52% started. He has those same matchups as Cam Schlittler next week. The Nationals at the White Sox. He does pitch Tuesday in a seven-game week, so it's not a guarantee he'll make that second start.

Sometimes teams will throw in an extra pitcher to kind of space everything out. So keep that in mind, but it's hard to- Do the Yankees have a? Ryan Yarbrough is on a rehab assignment right now, so I guess he could be back for next week, but it's hard to deny those matchups. They're pretty good.

I was going to say it's been more than a year since Luis Heel was a must-star pitcher. We might just have to give up on it, but with those matchups, if you have him around, it's fine. I think I'd lean towards

not using him in a Roto league unless you're unless you really don't care about your whip because that's where it's a real disaster. 168 whip so far. ERA's been fine and probably will be okay. just even when he's not pitching well

just because he's so hard to barrel up. But yeah, I think there's a ton of risk in a roto league in starting Louise Heel. Yeah. You know who he feels a little bit like Chris? It's not the same profile, but kind of reminds me of Edward Cabrera where he almost relies on his secondary pitches more

as like his go-to because his fastball is so hard for him to command. He almost throws his change-up like it's his fastball. He's more of a fly-ball pitcher Luis Heel is and Edward Cabrera gets more ground balls and he has a wider arsenal, but they both throw very hard and their secondary pitches are very good. But yeah, he almost pitches backwards in that way,

like using his change-up as his fastball. And just good stuff. It's just really, really hard for him to command. Let's get into the Week 23 preview. This is all courtesy of Scott White. So thank you, Scott, for sending this over before your little trip away this weekend. But first up, we'll start with the schedule.

18 teams with six games. We have 12 teams with seven games next week. So there's going to be lots of two-star pitchers for next week. The D-backs, the Braves, Orioles, Red Sox, White Sox, Marlins, Brewers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals. All of those teams have seven games. What about the Rockies? I mentioned earlier. They have six games, three at home in course field against the Cubs, and three on the road in Houston.

Start or sit these two-star pitchers for next week. Well, we just mentioned his name. Louis Heel gets the nationals and at the White Sox, Chris. What do you think about him for those two starts? Points, not Rota. Okay. Noah Cameron is at the White Sox and home against the Tigers next week. That was pretty good. I'd start him. Sean Mania, we talked about him. He gets the Phillies and the Marlins.

Rodo not points? Is that what I said? I think I would be... No, I would use him in a points league, although he's not really giving you length. Yeah, that's the thing. He hasn't gone more than five innings in any start. Yeah, I would still... I would use Sean Mania in a point. Points League, and I think... It kind of just depends.

If you need strikeouts only. The right situation in Roto, yeah. He could get 15 strikeouts next week for sure. Shane Baz, at the Guardians, at the Nationals. I mean, it's good matchups, but how can you play this guy, right? I wouldn't. If he has good starts, he has had good starts this season, but it was like a 540 right now, right?

Yeah, I think it's like 522, but yeah. It's over five, so it's bad, yeah. Jacob Mizirowski hasn't looked great since returning. He gets the debacks and has. at the Blue Jays? I think that's a yes and roto and no in points. Yeah, and I think it's, I don't even know that it's a clear cut yes in roto for me.

I think if you need strikeouts in particular, I'm okay with it, but there is some pretty serious whip risk there with Jacob Mizirowski. I wouldn't use him in a points league. What about Kodi Asanga, who gets the Phillies and Marlins next week? He's been awful since returning from that injury.

I'd lean towards sitting him. It's another one where he just hasn't gone deep as well, So even in points leagues, I wouldn't be shocked, but I'm not expecting good starts. Yeah, I think it's almost just a clear-cut no for me on Kodi-Singa. What about Tanner Bybee? He gets the raise and Mariners. That's a clear-cut note for me. Yeah, it's pretty similar to Sena. I don't know why I feel like I'd be more likely to use him in a points league than Senga.

Maybe because Senga just hasn't been going deep into starts. Neither does By-Bee. Yeah, it's probably just a no-on-both. Mitch Keller has slowed down. He's at the Cardinals and at the Red Sox. But really give me a reason not to. That's, yeah, I don't want to. And Tomoyuki Sugano has been pitching better lately. He's getting a little bit more strikeouts than he did earlier in the season. He gets the Red Sox and he's at the Giants.

Anything can happen, but no, I would not start Tomoyuki Sagana. Two star pitchers to add and stream for next week. At the top of the list, Hurston Waldrop, 75% Ross. He is at the Marlins and at the Phillies. He has looked tremendous since coming back. He's changed the pitch mix. And the splitter has been a wipeout pitch here for Hurston Waldrop. Cam Schlittler, we spoke a lot about yesterday.

52% rostered. He gets the Nationals and at the White Sox's really good matchups coming off his best start of the season against the raise. Bryce Miller, 76% against the Padres and at the Guardians. I like that one, even though it wasn't a great start for him. Velocity was up with. were there. Tough landing spot against the Phillies, so we gave up a couple

homers there. I think I'd be okay with it in points leagues. Roto feels a little bit risky for me with Bryce Miller. There's definitely some risk, but I would prefer it over Sagano, Keller, Bibi, or Senga, I think. Okay. Sandy Alcansara is 75%

rostered. He is home against the Braves and at the Mets. He's looked better. His last two starts still giving up some hard contact, but we're, you know, trending, I guess, in the right direction. Better late than never for Sandy Alcansara. Bailey Ober, 66%.

He is at the Blue Jays and home against the Padres. Pretty tough matchups there. Not sure how many whiffs he'll get. It's probably better in a points league. Whip will be okay, but Bailey Ober is just someone that could get bombed at any point. I wonder if, yeah, I'm sure Scott put Justin Verlander on this list before seeing his start on Thursday, which was not very good.

Seven earned runs against the Padres. He gets the Cubs and Orioles next week. I don't hate the matchups, but take away the name. Yeah. And even ignore that he's 42 years old. He hasn't had an average, even an average strikeout rate since 2022. And since the start of last season, he has a 480A and a 433 FIP. I don't even think that's a guy who needs to be rostered in 40% of fantasy leagues.

Like, as a two-star streamer, okay, whatever. If you're in a points league, I guess that's put. I just don't think Justin Verlander has it. anymore. I think he's it's name value only at this point. One star streamers for next week. Jeffrey Springs gets the Rangers.

Jose Soriano is at the Astros. Dustin May against the Pirates. And Dean Kramer, who's pitching very well, gets the Red Sox next week. Best hitter matchups. We have the Yankees, Astros, Red Sox, Pirates, and Cubs. The worst hitter matchups. Debacks, Guardians,

Mets, and Braves. The Sleeper Hitters for next week. Start with the first five. We have Jacob Marcy, Matt Shaw, Trent Grisham, Andrew Vaughn,

and Chandler Simpson. So, Chris, this list is filled with players we've talked a lot about recently. Again, Marcy, Shaw, Grisham, Vaugh, and Chandler Simpson. I think all those guys are

under-rostered. I think Trent Grisham, probably the least under-rostered, even though he's the lowest-rostored. Those matchups are so good, the nationals and White Sox. I think he's totally fine. It depends,

I guess on how many lefties are out there, but I think all five of those are good starts. And then the final five on this list, we have Yvonne Herrera, 74%. I know Scott doesn't usually like to include catchers here, but that's still pretty low for him, and we lost Adley Rutchman, so if you do need a replacement,

there's Yvonne Herrera, and we have Isaac Collins, who gets seven games next week. Lenin Sosa, who's been hitting very well, also has seven games. Miguel Anduhar, who has looked great since joining the Reds and then Jesus Sanchez. I would venture to guess that most of those games are against right-handed pitching,

and that's probably why Scott has him on the list here. But again, those are your sleeper hitters for Week 23. Let's wrap up here, Chris, with some hey real quick hitter questions. Andy Paez needed a big game and he got it. Two for four with his 21st homer. But in his previous 22 games before this, he was hitting 207 with one home run. 550 OPS.

Annie Pot has still 94% rostered. Should the number be that high? Is he just a must hold player? I don't think he's a must roster player through Outfielder League. I think he's fringy there, so 94% might be too high, yeah. What a weird

season for Willie Adomis, man. One for two, with two walks and his 20th homer. He had a ridiculous July every other month has been bad. So in July, 337, seven homers 21 RBI 1096 OPS OPS of 675 or lower in each of the other four months

for Willie Adomas I know it's like first year in a new location, big contract and everything but it's been a weird one here Chris Yeah I I'm looking at it I guess I still haven't ranked as a top 12 shortstop But then I look at him like that's not right He probably shouldn't be so

I don't think he's a must roster player he's just a middle infielder. I think he's fine. I think he's a decent starter, but yeah, I don't think he's the star he wants, or he, the star he was last year for sure. It's a always bad batting average, good power, and not a ton else. The steals clearly were an artifact of a contract year. And on that note, don't expect Josh Naler to steal 20 bases again next season.

Oh, gosh. I had already penciled that in. That was the first thing in my projections for next season. You got to discount that for sure. Let's talk about Rafael Devers, who is hitting for a little bit more power in August. Hit his 25th homer here. Has six homers in 19 August games. 56 games since joining the Giants.

Devers is hitting 2.30 with 10 homers and an OPS around 7. What have you made so far, Chris, of Rafael Devers in San Francisco? So you said it's 56 games. So that's probably looking at the 250 plate of parents rolling ex-Woba, which probably encompasses most of his time with the Giants. Yeah, 246 played appearances. So he's down to a 351 X-Waba in that time, which would be the second lowest of his career,

not counting 2020, because that was a short season. it's still pretty dang good though. You know, it's still a well above average hitter. So that's probably what Raphael Devers is. But you can say if there's a decline here, let's say he is a 350x Woba guy. Well, he's in one of the worst parks in baseball for hitting, especially as a left-handed hitter. So if it's a 350x Wobah, maybe it's a 340 actual Woba and then you start to get somewhat fringier. I would still say my expectations for Rafael Devers is that he's going to hit something like 270.

And he's going to hit something like 30 homers. Is that worth the second or third round pick we've often paid in the past for Raphael Devers? Probably not. You know, I think we can move him down the third base rankings a little bit. And I guess now he's not going to be first base eligible next year. He's actually going to be DH only next year, right? He has 14 games at first base. Okay, 14.

He only needs six more. It becomes a problem if the Giants promote Bryce Eldridge. If they don't, then I think we're going to have first base for Devers next season. Let's hope he gets there. But yeah, eyeballing it, you know, maybe next year he's more like the number eight first baseman. You know, I think clearly ahead of, I'd still take him ahead of Vinny P. I know Vinny P's been super hot lately, but I think the overall track record. you got to take.

I think Devers kind of drops into like that Matt Olson range of first base, you know, where Olson has kind of gone around like 40, 50 and 80p. I think Devers is going to be more than that range. Yeah, I think so. Like lower, there's like a third tier, you know, like you got Alonzo and Vlad Jr. I think they're in their own tier. You know, where do you put him around like Bellinger? Depends on the landing spot, I think.

Yeah, I think that's an interesting one. I don't think Belanger is going to have first base eligibility for next. He's not going to, he hasn't played. Yeah, that makes sense. He hasn't played enough there. So yeah, I think that's, that's interesting. Yeah. I would say Devers right around 50 makes sense.

And there's also been, you know, the whispers or open talk about a back injury that he's been playing through since he got to San Francisco that, you know, with an off season of rest. Maybe he comes out and it's just the old Raphael Devers again next year, in which case. Top 50 pick is a steal. Christian Walker, two for five with his 17th home run, and he has looked a lot more like himself in the second half. 252 batting average, 346 on base, five homers, 20 RBI, 807 OPS. That's closer to the player that we were expecting, Chris.

Yes, but when your hot streak in a season is your previous baseline and your 34 going on 35, which is usually how ages work, I don't think it makes much sense to do the, oh yeah, but in the second half, he looked like himself. I think you just take the whole sample size and you look at Christopher Walker and say, maybe he's a late round flyer, but probably not someone for next season that you can draft as any kind of starter. Even a corner infielder, I think would be pushing it. Ben Rice stayed hot two for three with a triple in his 20th home run last nine games, hitting 353, four homers, and 10 RBI.

He's up to 82% rostered, but Chris, I've been getting a lot of Ben Rice or Samuel Bessio questions. It is razor thin. I mean, I like both of these guys, but I rank Ben Rice just ahead. I don't know if that's right, but that's how I have it.

I have no idea if that's right. Samuel Bessio on a talent level should be on a separate tier from Ben Rice, but Ben Rice is already doing it. Yeah. At the major league level, he's going to be catcher eligible next season. He's locked that in. I think you would have to take Ben Rice right now.

If Samuel Bessio has an 850 OPS the rest of the way and is catcher eligible next season, then we're going to have a really interesting conversation. It also might depend on what the Yankees do with their first base spot next year, because if he's just an everyday first baseman next year who has catcher eligibility, that might although Basayo probably plays every day next year somewhere he's going to split between three different spots but I think it's going to be

a lot of playing time so it there's a lot of waffling here I don't know I'll take Ben Rice for now I think in the long run it will be Basayo but right now it's Ben Rice 12 catchers in our top five for next season that's what we keep talking about the case yeah yep

some big Augusts continue here Tyler Soderstrom stayed hot, 4-4 with a walk and run scored in August, hitting 387 with four homers and an 11-51 OPS. Vinny Pee! Baby! Vinny Pass Guantino has homered in four straight. He has seven homers in his past 11 games. Bryce Terang hit another homer one day after Scotty hyping him up, hit his 14th home run and updated August numbers for him. 366, eight homers, 1197 OPS.

Freddie Freeman stayed hot, hit his 16th homer in August 333. 33, five homers, two steals, 1009 OPS, and Francisco Lindor. Very similar situations for Freeman and Lindor. Brutal June and July, they've both bounced back here. Lindor, three for five with his 25th homer, and in the month, 356, five homers, three steals, 1078 OPS. Anything to add on this group? It feels impossible that Vinie P has an OPS under 800.

Like, it feels like he's been good for a couple. couple of months now. Like I know he's been really hot lately, but he's been good for a while. His power is up, but his batting average in August is like 220 or something. Yeah. So that's surprising. And then one that you didn't mention that I want to point out is Moogie Betts looks like he's remembered how to hit lately, which is a very good sign. He is, it's only a 726 OPS in the month of August, but his ex-wobo over the past 50-plate appearances is up to 353. That's more in line with what we've come to expect from Mookie Betts. So he might not be dead yet, is what I'll say.

What's dead may never die, Chris. Hitting leftovers, James Wood has been hitting better since moving to the lead-off spot. Hit his 26th home run, 13 games in that lead-off spot, 269. Two homers, one steal in OPS over 800. also comes with a 40% strikeout rate, so we've got to watch that. Wilson Gattarres has mashed after missing last weekend

with a foot injury. He's homered in back-to-back games, and over his last four, he has seven hits and two homers. Jazz Chisholm continues to run wild, has eight steals in his past nine games, and Kyle Tucker... His counting stats are just bad. That's the one thing that I was looking at with Jazz Chisham

because I was trying to find some comps for Carson Williams. And that was one that I thought of. And then I just hadn't realized he doesn't even have 60 runs or 60 RBI this season. Yeah. Like Trevor Story's having a better season than Jazz Chisholm. That's kind of surprising.

The only thing with Jazz is he didn't miss like a month of the year so that that has affected the counting stats. But I mean, you would think based on 22 homers, 22 steals, that, yeah, it wouldn't be higher. 807 OPS, yeah. Yeah, he's getting on base too. I think, you know, it's like a 320 or 330 on base. So it's not terrible for him.

And Kyle Tucker returned to the lineup, but he went 0 for 4 with a walk. Call to the bullpen for the Royals. Carlos Estevez pitched a clean ninth inning for his 33rd save. For the Brewers, Trevor McGill got the ninth with a three-run lead. He allowed a hit, but picked up his 30th save of the season. Just quiet, really, really good year here for Trevor McGill. For the Nationals, Jose Ferrer. Got the...

Somebody said they wanted me to say it. That's the best I got me. Can you say it again, Chris? Ferrell. That's bad. It's bad. Yeah, we got to work on the... I don't know what it is.

The rolling of the R is there, man. Yeah, I can't do it. He got the final four outs, three via strikeout for his fourth save. For the Cardinals, Jojo Romero, pitched two scoreless innings. He struck out three for his fourth save. And for the Red Sox, Oroldus Chapman, tossed a clean ninth inning for his 23rd save of the season. And I wanted to look up, yeah, Trevor McGill, just the third row. Lever with 30 saves this season.

So yeah, just really, really good season for him. To stream or not to stream on Friday, we have Cade Cavali at the Phillies, Nolan McLean at the Braves, Joey Wentz against the Mets, Adrian Houser faces the Cardinals, Zibi Matthews at the White Sox, Aaron Savaldi against the twins, Slate Cicconi at the Rangers, Jose Cantana against the Giants, Luis Morales at the Mariners. Zebby and Nolan McLean are my top two. but I want to say Cade Cavali.

I think Cantana against the Giants, they're really bad against lefties. Yeah, that could be fine. I think Cavali obviously has more upside, certainly more strikeout upside, but... Yeah, it's like a higher ceiling, lower floor for Cavalry. He could get chased in the third. Yeah.

I would go with... I go Zebby, Nolan Clean, and Jose Katana, as my third one there. That's fine, yeah. And then on Saturday, we have Mike Burroughs who faces the Rockies in Pittsburgh, Christian Javier, at the Orioles. Dean Kramer faces the Astros.

Logan Allen at the Rangers. Jack Leiter against the Guardians, Jeffrey Springs at the Meritors. First game away from Colorado for the Rockies. I think Mike Burroughs is a decent stream. I think Christian Javier, assuming he's feeling better after leaving his last start with an illness.

I think he's a fine one. Kramer is fine. I don't think he's anything more than fine. But Houston has been beatable lately. So I think Kramer's okay. Yeah, I would agree with those three. Jeffrey Springs, well, I don't think he's very good. Yeah, at Seattle.

But he's been good against the Mariners this year. I guess, you know, it's not the same Mariners lineup that they have now. But in three starts against them, he has a 159 ERA, 20 strikeouts over 17 innings. So it might just be something where the, you know, the Mariners just struggle with Jeffrey Springs in particular. And then on Sunday, not many options here. Dustin May is at the Yankees Brady Singer at the D-backs Those ones are okay

Liberator at the race Liberator Revenge game at the raise I think he was a prospect May and Singer are the only ones I have any interest in and I don't have a lot of interest Yeah get your streamers on Friday and Saturday because Sunday not so great We are going to wrap there for Chris

I am Frank thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today Please make sure to follow and leave a 5-star rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again next week. Bye-bye. Mount Podcasts.