Fantasy Baseball Today - Rangers' Huge Weekend! Two-Start Pitcher Updates & Final Lineup Decisions (9/25 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 25, 2023

What's the latest in our leagues (3:10)? ... Cristopher Sanchez was dominant again Sunday (7:17). ... Evan Carter continues to crush baseballs (13:05). ... Ronald Acuña became the fifth player ever to join the 40-40 club (15:50). ... What's the latest on two-start pitchers (18:32)? ... Which waiver wire hitters are we looking at for the final week (25:40)? ... Edward Cabrera and Sawyer Gipson-Long pitched well this weekend (37:17). ... News (45:24): Sandy Alcantara is shut down for the rest of the season. ... Start or sit these fringe pitchers in the final week (54:16)? ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:01:15). 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. And here we go. Welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today and welcome to the final week of the season.

Today is Monday, September 25th. I am Frank Stanfield, joined by... Scott White. Today on the show, a big weekend recap. Lots of players went on the IEL, so we do need some replacements, starter sit decisions, and much more. Big thank you to everybody who's already left a five-star rating and review on Apple. Such kind words. We really do appreciate it. Love seeing how many people we've helped win their league this season. But for some, Scott, the job is not done yet. And that brings me to you. What's going on in your league, Scotty? What's the latest?

Me? Okay, well, I am in 11 fantasy leagues and two score sheet leagues, but we won't talk about them. I'm in 11 fantasy leagues. I have a chance in four of them. So I am tied for the lead in an in-al-only Rotter League. Not a lot I could do there. I added a bunch of relievers off the waiver wire because just kind of shoring up ERA and whip seems like. to avoid dropping an ERA in whip.

That's really all I can do in that league is kind of play defensively and hope the other guy drops off. I'm in third place in the A.L. Roto League. Again, not much you can do with the Waver Wire in those leagues. And then there are the two podcast leagues where in the original podcast league, the 12 team head to head points, I went in, for most of the week I was trailing by like 40.

50 points. But I outscored my opponent by 85 here on Sunday. So I enter week two of the playoffs now up about 40 points, 45 points, actually. So I'm trying to hold the lead there in the podcast points league. And I don't know. I'm not approaching it that differently than I'd approach any other week. I kind of like tried to scoop up all the two-star pitchers. just, you know, so he doesn't get to have all of them.

Because that, like, I want to prevent him from accumulating points from having an opportunity to make up ground against me, right? And the best way to do that is with two-star pitchers. So I put in as many claims as much money as I could for all of them, even if I don't plan to start them. And I may start one or two of them. We'll see. So that's what I'm doing there.

And then there's the podcast for the People League, which is the 16-te-head Categories League. And unfortunately, I go into week two there down three to seven. Three to seven. I lost seven of the categories. I won three of them. It was, you know, I was watching Freddie Freeman and C.J. Abrams late Sunday. They were both batting for me.

I was trailing in the runs category, the home run's category, and the on-base percentage category by the slightest of margins. But they had like one hit between them. So they did. they couldn't come through in the clutch, unfortunately. It would have made a big difference if I could get that to like 4, 5, 1, something like that, maybe 5, 5.5. Just start over going into week 2. I'd feel a lot better about my chances.

But obviously, I'm in a position, an unlikely position, to pull out a championship there. So I'm just kind of, you know, I got to win as many categories as I can. So I'm going to make sure I start three relievers so I can. feel confident I'm going to win that saves holds category. But then I still have to compete in the starting pitching category. So I'm loading up on as many two-star pitchers as I can there, even if they're not as good as some of my one-start options. And then there's not much I can do to improve my chances in the hitting categories.

They just have to hit better. I was stuck with Royce Lewis this past week, which didn't help because he got hurt, obviously. So I won't start Royce Lewis again. Yep, yep. I know the feeling in Tout Wars. I had Wilson Contreras in for half the week. He went on the IL, I think Wednesday or Thursday this past week. So I know the feeling.

I'm going up against Greg Jewett. I'm down 27 and a half points going into the final week. That's a head-to-head points league going for the three-peat here in Tau Wars. So we'll see if I can pull that one off. I have a few NFBC leagues that I'm in first place in. So trying to hold on in those as well. I didn't count how many leagues I played in overall Scott because, frankly, I don't have the time. I'm in a lot of different leagues right now,

and it would take me a while to count all those up. But we'll see. I'm in the running in three. We'll see if we can take all those down. But let's get into the rest of this weekend's action. Unbelievable was Christopher Sanchez once again on Sunday. Scott, what do you have? He was unbelievable.

His second outing in three with 10 strikeouts. So it's not a fluke anymore. We've seen it do it two times in three outings. And remember the first time was against the Braves. This time he did it against the Mets, so a weaker lineup. But the bottom line is he did it again. And he got those 10 swinging strikes to Christopher Sanchez on 20 swinging strikes. Again, the change-up was the star of the Arsenal.

16 of the 20 swinging strikes came on that change-up, which just looks like a world-beater of a pitch for him. Walked only one, as has been typical of Christopher Sanchez. He threw seven innings, walked only one. the ground ball rate is good enough that it lead the league some years. And just recently, he's added all these strikeouts to his arsenal. I thought it was also notable that he went seven innings because I remember following that great start against the Braves where he struck out 10. It was like, oh, he and Michael Lorenzen are going to piggyback now.

And that's what happened earlier in the week when he was again facing the Braves. It was a short outing. It didn't go as well. and Michael Lorenzen followed and pitched multiple innings. I don't think Sanchez made it through the fifth, but because it wasn't going as well, okay, was it because he was pitching poorly that they pulled him early

or was it because part of this piggyback plan they're going to limit Christopher Sanchez's innings? Well, now we have clarity there. Sanchez was good. He went seven. Lorenzen did come in. He only pitched an inning, though. So it seems like they're preparing Lorenzen

for a more traditional relief role, maybe in the playoffs, which is something he's filled before. But that's good news for Sanchez. He does line up for one more start. I say line up because, of course, anything could change this final week. It's also against the Mets.

So they are getting a second straight look at him, which tends to advantage the offense more than the pitcher. But we do see pitchers succeed twice in a row against teams against lineups all the time. So I think Christopher Sanchez is back in the discussion as a sleeper pitcher for this week, given that we saw him have such a dominant outing Sunday and still work deep into the start,

despite some of the rumors we'd heard that he won it. And beyond that, I'll reiterate what I said following that 10 strikeout effort against the Braves. I think Christopher Sanchez is on the as a fantasy asset might be a top sleeper for me going into next year. This only fortifies that. position. On my bold predictions article that we talked about last week, 20 bold predictions for

2024, one of them was Christopher Sanchez finishes with an ERA south of three. There's already a chance of that as good of a ground ball pitcher and a strike thrower as he is. But if you add these strikeouts to the mix, if that continues for Christopher Sanchez, I mean, he's dominating in all three areas that a pitcher has direct control over. And that's, uh, that points to a pretty high ceiling for a guy. who didn't get to the majors to what, 26, didn't have much of a prospect pedigree, didn't even have great minor league numbers. So it's a really, really cool story how things have panned out for Christopher Sanchez.

And that change-up has been tremendous for him, too. 20 swinging strikes here on Sunday, 16 of those coming on the change-up. You mentioned he's at the Mets this week. Sanchez is 44% rostered. He does have relief pitcher eligibility as well. The Mets are 22nd in Wobah against left-handed pitching. So on paper, it's a pretty, good matchup once again here. And I mentioned at the top that we had some injuries this weekend.

Yuri Perez went to the IL with joint inflammation in his shoulder. Max Fried with that lingering blister on his left index finger. Charlie Morton as well. Unfortunately, Scott, for your braves, man. These guys are dropping at the wrong time. I don't know. Or are they dropping at the perfect time to get healthy again? You might be right. You might be right. That's the hope. I'm not feeling confident going to the playoffs. Don't give me wrong. I never feel confident going into the playoffs. But yeah, they might have to, they might, their playoff rotation might be a little more patchwork than we thought it would be most of the season. Well, Scott, at least your team is going to the playoffs because my Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. No surprise

there. Back to Christopher Sanchez, would you take him over any of the one-start pitchers that you have in your sleeper pitchers for this week. So I'm looking at Ranger Suarez, Sawyer Gibson Long, Gavin Williams, who I don't know for sure if he's going to start this week or not, and Edward Cabrera is the other name on that list. Would you take Christopher Sanchez ahead of any of those names? I mean, I probably need to add him to the list if I am. Yeah, I think so. I think, I think all of them. I think all of the one-start options. Maybe not Ranger Suarez. If you're just, playing it safe if you just like, I want a quality start. That seems like

a very predictable outcome for Ranger Suarez against the Pirates next week. But if you're looking to hit a home run, I think Christopher Sanchez against the Mets has a better chance of doing that. Yeah, I agree with you. I think he's up there on that list. Man, if we had any confirmation that they're

just going to let Sanchez go in that one and, you know, we're not worried about any kind of piggyback situation, which I don't think I really am at this point. I might take him over Ranger Swarer's. is too. It's just, he's looked that good. So I agree. You need a picture this week. Christopher Sanchez is definitely up there on the list. Oh my goodness gracious for me.

Just a massive weekend here for the Texas Rangers who swept the Mariners. They have now won five in a row. They have a two and a half game lead in the AL West. They control their own destiny now moving forward. And big weekend for Corey Seeger. He hit two more home runs. Marcus Semyon, big game on Sunday, two for four with a double dong. He's up to 27 home runs. 117 run scored this season for Marcus Semyon. But the big name who could be available that I really want to focus on here is Evan Carter, who continues to get it done. His last four games.

He has six hits, three homers, seven RBI, one steal during that time. He's 36% roster. He's got seven road games this week. Two lefties on the schedule, but the way he's playing, I think he's just in that lineup. I think the Rangers are playing him every day on out to close out the season here. Maybe they kind of wrap things up on like Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, and they rest some of their guys. But Evan Carter has looked awesome.

He's widely available, Scott. And I know he's one of your sleeper hitters this week. He is, and I was tempted to move him up the list more than I'm where I have him. I have him pretty low on the list. The matchups aren't great, but he's just been so good. And the Rangers are now one of six teams with seven games. It was four heading into the weekend. but the Diamondbacks and Yankees have each had a game added.

Hadded? I said had it. The Diamondbacks and Yankees have each had a game added. And so now they have seven. So now they're six teams with seven games next week. The Rangers are one of them. That helps Evan Carter's case. What's interesting about how well he's hit is, you know, we had concerns.

Oh, is he strong? and like is he just built up enough strength as a 21 year old, a very skinny 21 year old to make much of an impact power-wise in the majors. And exit velocities for Evan Carter haven't been great, but the production has been, and he's contributed steals as well. He has four home runs versus three steals.

He's gotten on base a ton, which was the MO, great on base skills in the minors. And so I think, like if you're in a three outfielder league and you've kind of rotated that third outfield spot, which I think is a pretty common approach. Carter, Carter looks like a good choice for this week.

Yeah, 100%. And he's hitting a good amount of ground balls, 46%. It's not totally egregious, but probably not ideal for power. But when he does put the ball in the air, he has an 11% barrel rate so far. So yeah, I've loved what I've seen from Evan Carter.

I think he's totally in play for this week. Shout out to Ronald Kuna, Scott, your boy, becomes the fifth player in the 40-40 club. Of course, we know he's been even better than that. He's the first player in MLB history to go 40-60, and he's also just two steals away from going 40-70, which if I had to guess, I think he's probably going to pick up two steals at some point this week. I think so. I think he'll make it happen somehow, some way. Yeah.

Yeah, I think that's important to him. He did sit out the second game of the doubleheader Sunday. So he seemed pretty restless on the bench too. He was acting pretty loopy the whole game. But, you know, yeah. Now, I'm sure he'll play a lot this week and get those two steals. You know, Scott, when you hit 40 home runs and steal 68 bases, I really don't care what you do in the dugout, right?

You can just, you can start doing handstands or cartwheels, whatever you want to do. I don't care. That guy has been amazing. a historic season here for fantasy purposes from Ronald de Cunia and you know it was crazy last year we talked about how great Aaron Judge was right and I'm gonna look this up once the season ends

because the Razball player raider you could see how much auction money a player has earned over the course of the season and I want to see what Ronald de Cunia winds up with because I'm pretty sure it's gonna be better than what Aaron Judge did last year but I do want to mention wasn't Aaron Judge last year twice as much

as any other player on that I think it was close. I think it was close to it. I think I think Goldschmidt earned like just over $40. And I think Judge was like over $60 player last year. Not as big of the gap as I remembered. But yeah, I would imagine Acuna is even more. I mean, in turn, like if they just do head-to-head point per game production,

a judge was a distant first last year. Acuna has even more this year than Judge had. I don't know if the gap between him and number two is as big because all the entire elite class of hitters has moved up quite a bit from last year. But if you were sticking last year's judge against, if you're pitting last year's judge versus this year's at Coonia and head-to-head points leagues, Coonia definitely comes out on top.

Yeah, I'm going to venture to say, I think in category leagues, Ron Lecoy is going to wind up earning more there as well. Shout out to Aaron Judge. Triple Dong on Friday, 35 home runs and only 101 games played. That is a 51 homer pace over 150 games. So what could have been, we'll see if Judge can stay healthy next year, but the power production is still there and still looks like he can potentially be a 50

home run hitter again next season. Let's get people updated here, Scott, on the two-star pitchers, the schedule for the final week. There's not really much that has changed here, but worth mentioning that Zach Allen is now out as a two-star pitchers. pitcher this upcoming week. Merrill Kelly is in, we think, we hope, and he is at the Yankees and home against the Astros this week. What are your thoughts on starting Merrill Kelly? Yeah, I think it's must start. I know he's had some extreme lows mixed in with the extreme highs lately, but you're playing scared or you're playing to win? I guess it depends, like,

realistically, if your main focused in a Rotter League is to preserve VRA and whip. then it might make sense to play safe, but a majority of people who have Merrill Kelly, majority of situations, I think you're going to roll with him, and you're probably going to roll with Zach Gallen in spite of him only being a one-star pitcher now. That doesn't really...

He's of a caliber that it doesn't really change whether you're going to start or set him. Yeah, and Gallen had an awesome start on Sunday as well. I guess the only hesitation with Zach Gallen is he's going to be scheduled to start next weekend, And, you know, the Diamondbacks are kind of like right on that fringe right now, the wild card. I don't know if they're going to lock things up. Like maybe they just go on like a five or six game winning streak here.

And somehow they do clinch a playoff spot by the weekend. Maybe Zach Allen doesn't start. And they want to save him for the wild card. So that's just pure speculation. I mean, it's possible. And we talked on Friday about how you really can't count on any two-star pitcher actually making two-starts because of, how much, you know, last week, anything goes, right? Like, if a team decides they want to shut down a pitcher before his final start,

there's not a lot of consequences for them doing that. And, of course, the teams that are playoff bound are going to want to reset their rotations for the playoffs. So a lot could change. And so you have to be prepared for that two-star pitcher to make just one start and focus especially on the first matchup they're making. It doesn't really apply to Gallen's situation. He's a one-star pitcher.

But having said that, I think Gallin's late week start is a pretty safe bet. Because if the Diamondbacks are going to get in the playoffs, it's probably going to be by the skin of their teeth. They're up half a game. Now, well, a whole game from being eliminated from the playoffs, being removed from the playoff picture. They're tied for first place in the wildcard standings with the Philly. He's a half a game up on the Cubs who are third, and then the Marlins are on the outside looking in one game back. So I don't think they're just going to cruise right in.

And obviously, you got to win the – you got to get in the playoffs before you worry about your playoff rotation, how it lines up. So the Diamondbacks are going to use their best pitcher just to get in. I feel pretty confident saying that. You know, if the Marlins get in the playoffs, I think we're going to need a guest appearance from Chris Towers just to come on here and – I don't know.

no, rejoice and celebrate for his Miami Marlins making it. We'll see. They're a game out right now, as you mentioned, so it's close. They're right on the outside looking in. One of the other names that is added to the two-star pitchers this week, Clark Schmidt for the Yankees. He's going up against the Diamondbacks and at the Royals here. So a good matchup at the Royals, Diamondbacks kind of feels like that one can go either way. Clark Schmidt has not pitched well recently.

His last seven starts. He has a six ERA on the nose, a 147 whip, 61% roster. your thoughts on Clark Schmidt. Yeah, I added him to the sleeper pitchers this early evening, probably going to remove him now so that I get Christopher Sanchez in. The way I put it for that brief time that the two-star Clark Schmidt was in the sleeper pitcher rankings is that he rarely delivers a quality start, but he rarely gets bombed either. So if you're looking to, in the rare situation where you're looking to make up ground in a two-week

playoff scenario. Clark Schmidt might be a good choice for that. But I don't think he's going to have much utility beyond that, which is why he's ultimately going to get bumped. Last but not least, we have Zach Davies, who became a two-star pitcher.

I don't think we want to start Zach Davies, right, Scott? No. All right, let's take our first break. When we return, we'll talk about some of those other injuries from this weekend, and then we'll get you some waiver wire hitters, some pitchers.

some pitchers, some replacements. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in. Let's run through some of those injuries. All of these players went on the IL this weekend. Nolan Aronado with lower back spasms. Royce Lewis with a left hamstring strain. Brandon Lau with a fractured right patella in his knee.

Expect it to miss four to six weeks, so a pretty big blow there for Tampa Bay. And I mentioned the pitcher injuries, Yuri Perez, Max Free, Charlie Morton, all to the IL will not make a start in this final week. Let's talk WaverWire hitters and a reminder of Scott's sleeper hitters this final week. Jorge Polanco, Zach Gelloff, Jake Berger, James Outman, Chris Bryant, Jason Hayward, Tommy Fam, Evan Carter, Charlie Blackman, and Ryan O'Hern. Other than- Yeah, I don't like where Evan Carter is than that. I'm going to move him and fam up.

How far up should I move them? I think Carter should probably get ahead of Outman. What do you think? Yeah, so it's, you know, the Dodgers play four games at Coors Field this week, and that's awfully tempting. Outman was hitting poorly until, you know, he had a home run Sunday, one for two with a home run. The previous 15 games was batting 143. How much does that factor in when they're going to play four games at Coorsfield? I don't know that it factors in that much, but I just, I don't know, I feel better about starting Carter, even with that big Coorsfield series coming to, up for them. Jason Hayward slowed down too, even though he's been really since the start of August.

He's been amazing. But he has slowed down also. I want to move Tommy Pham up. Should I move Tommy Pham ahead of Outman too? Because the Diamondbacks do have good matchups. They've gotten better. It was good already with six games. Now they have seven games. Tommy Fam has been hot. I think so. I think ahead of outman, yeah. Yeah, I think when I was actually prioritizing my waiver claims in the league where I need outfielder. I'm not sure outman was available, actually, but I was putting those claims in ahead of Chris Bryant and Jason Hayward. So, yeah, I think I'm going to move him up higher on that list. All right. Other names with a big weekend. We'll start with the outfielders. T.J. Friedel actually had a huge weekend. He homered in three straight, a sock and a shoe on both Friday and Saturday.

He had six hits, three homers, four runs, five RBI, and two steals this weekend. Overall, on the year. He's batting 280 with 17 home runs, 26 deals, and an 819 OPS, 76% rostered. So he's not really out there, maybe some 10-team leagues, some shallow points leagues. The problem is the Reds only have five road games this week, Scott. So what do you think about Frito? Would you take him over any of the outfielder as we just mentioned? No, I don't think so. I don't think he needs to be added to my sleeper hitters.

It's a five outfielder league, and he's one of your five outfielders. That's probably fine. But of those five games, let's see, two are against left-handers. You know, he's actually... He usually starts against. He's actually better against lefties this year than right-ease, which is so weird. Yeah. But he doesn't always start against them.

And let's see, the last one, no, the last one they faced was Saturday. He started against them. But the time before that that they faced the left-hander, Fridl was on the bench, and that could easily happen. At least in one of those two games, and suddenly he's down to a four-game week. so I'd rather not start T.J. Friedel this week. Okay. What about Nelson Velasquez? This is probably for five outfielder leagues,

but he went two for three with a double dung on Sunday. He has five homers over his last nine games, and now 36 games played with the Royals. Velasquez is batting 239 with 14 homers, 14 and 36 games. With a 945 OPS, he's 18% rostered, three games against the Yankees, three at the Tigers.

Any interest in Nelson Velasquez? Well, the specific pitchers he's facing are Reese Olson, Terrick Scoubel, Sawyer Gibson Long, Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Michael King. So not great. Rodon is like the second worst pitcher he's facing. It's not great. If you need to make up grounded home runs specifically, I mean, Velasquez, as you pointed out, has been hitting them in great volumes.

so I don't know that the matchups should steer you away if that is your goal. I'm not sure you're going to find a more prolific power hitter on waivers. Certainly in a five outfielder league than Nelson Velasquez. But I wouldn't say he's a high priority start in most cases. Okay. Four names, four corner infielders that could be available. Carlos Santana had a strong weekend. Six hits, one homer, five steals in 47 games with the Brewers,

batting 241 with 10 home runs. He is 52% rostered with. six home games this week. Brett Beatty is turning it on his last five games. He's got five hits, including two home runs. 28% rostered. He's got six games this week. The problem, three lefties on the schedule.

Don't love that for Brett Beatty. Junior Caminero, who made his debut on Saturday for Tampa Bay. He's now started two games in a row. He went one for four with a walk and a run scored. Two hard hits, and his first career hit 112 miles per hour exit velocity. So just flashing some of that big raw pass. I said I didn't have exit velocity info on Junior Commonero and Double A. But that tells me everything I needed to know about how hard he hits the ball.

Because there aren't, it's not everybody who can hit a ball 112 miles per hour, much less doing that in your first game. So, I mean, the report said he hit the ball hard. So I didn't really have any doubts. But now it's confirmed under 12 miles per hour. The problem for Camerero is he's only got five games this week. So obviously you'd like to optimize the schedule and get as many games in as you possibly can.

Christian Encarnacio and Strand, he looks like he's finishing strong as well. His last seven games, he's batting 400, five homers, 10 RBI. In his 58 games with the Reds, he's batting 279 with 11 home runs total, 60% rostered, but again, only five games, five road games too.

So none in Great American Ballpark either. Any interest here, Scott, and Santana, Brett Beatty, Cameraro, and CES. None cleared the threshold of making my 10 sleeper hitters for this week. I am going to start Christian Incarnacion Strand as my third baseman

in that podcast for the People League, the Categories League, where I'm down 3 to 7. And I lost Rees Lewis. Sorry, Royce Lewis. I need a replacement at third base. I need a replacement at third base who can hit home runs.

And In Carnacion Strand with five in his last seven games, I think he's the choice there. if I'm going to compete in that category, and I kind of need to compete in all the categories. So I wish it was more than five games, and in Carnaccio and Strand's case, not even guaranteed to play all five games.

He starts most of the time, but it's a crowded infield situation for the Red, so it's not all the time. So he's probably the most useful of this quartet going into next week, despite the issues. I'd put Cominero second. I feel pretty good about his chances of starting at least four other five games,

and maybe all five, wasn't so sure about that when he first got called up and he actually was on the bench for his first game. But since then, and fractured kneecap for Brandon Lowe and Isok Perretta's

has taken over at second base. So he's vacated third base. Now, interestingly, Commonero hasn't started at third base yet. Both of his starts have come at D.H. Curtis Mead at third base. But the point is, it's another way to get him in the lineup.

So I feel pretty confident the Razor going to play Commonero. So he's second. and priority among these corner infielters behind in Carnassian Strand. And then I'll go Brett Beatty third and Carlos Santana fourth. Caminero, by the way,

I think something else that can help his playing time. Yandy Diaz is currently banged up. So is Randy a Rosarena. So they need to get bats in that lineup there. And Camerro looks like he's, you know, making an immediate impact here for Tampa Bay. Some middle infield replacements at shortstop.

And these are kind of tertiary options. on the Rockies who have the third best hitter matchups this week, seven games, all of them coming in Corse Field. Ezekiel Tovar, he's only 60% rostered. He's hit better in September, not for much power, but I think I saw he's hitting close to 300 for the month. And Brendan Rogers, his last eight games betting 364, with two home runs.

He's only 12% rostered. Again, has those seven home games. It's got any interest. If you lost Royce Lewis, you might need a middle infielder, and we've got two Rockies available here. Yeah, full week of games at Coresfield. Both were on my long list of potential sleeper hitters. Brendan Rogers, I know, has been working on his swing.

I don't remember what the specific changes were, but I know he's been putting in some work on a swing, and it coincides with kind of a hot streak for him. So just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in on Brendan Rogers, I guess. And two names in two catcher leagues. I mentioned Wilson Contreras. You might have lost him last week. So you might be scrambling.

I know I was in my Tout Wars League. So I went out and I picked up Ryan Jeffers, who he's only playing every other game right now, but the twins have the number one hitter matchups this week. And he had a big game on Sunday, two for four with a triple and his 12th home run of the season. The other name here is Luis Camp Usano, who we've talked a lot about recently.

Three more hits on Sunday. He's had a big September. He's 19% rostered. Six road games this week, Scott. any interest in Ryan Jeffers or Camp Usano for the final week? Camposano definitely, because he is, he is their primary catcher. And he is performing like I would expect him to perform based on how his minor league career winning. He was very consistent producer in the minors.

Didn't it strike out a lot for a guy who at least showed the makings of a power hitter. And so this is, this opportunity feels long overdue for. Luis Camposano and he is delivering on it. And if you need a catcher on the waiver wire, I don't think there are many better choices in most leagues. I think he's certainly in two catcher leagues and deeper leagues. Camp Rusano is the guy you want. And then one sneaky hitter in deeper leagues.

And again, this is just taking advantage of the matchups. Kyle Farmer for the twins has started five straight. We know the twins are dealing with all those injuries. Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, both on the I. Kyle Farmer had this weekend, no, over the five-game stretch that he started, seven hits, five runs scored, three RBI, and a stolen base. Seven percent rostered has second, third base, and shortstop eligibility. That's an aim for deeper leagues, Kyle Farmer.

Now, worth noting, sounds like Carlos Correa could return midweek for the final series of the season. No guarantee that happens, but if it's not a daily league or one of those leagues where you can change your lineup, midweek. I'm not sure Kyle Farmer's going to be the best choice. But if it is, then yeah, I like the opportunity for him to take advantage of the A's pitching staff to begin the week. I know they have some lefties on the schedule too, Scott,

and that feels like that would favor Kyle Farmer getting in the lineup as a right-handed bat, so. Yeah, they do have two in their six games. See, they're two. That's right. Two or three, but, yeah. Definitely at least two. Yeah.

Well, the A's, I don't know if these A's probables are correct because they piggyback a lot of guys. Yeah, I think Walde Chuck will probably start one of those games. So yeah, let's say two. Okay. Waver Wire pitchers, again, if you lost out on some Braves or Yuri Perez.

Reminder, here's Scott's Sleeper pitchers. We've got Michael King, Reese Olson, and this is in order. Ryan Pepio, Kent and Maeda, Paul Blackburn, Ranger Suarez, Sawyer, Gibson Long, Gavin Williams, Edward Cabrera, and Clark Schmidt. It sounds like Christopher Sanchez is probably going to slot in, you know, right around Ranger Suarez on this list,

so keep that in mind if you're looking for some pitchers. Anything to add, Scott, on the performances of Gibson Long, by the way, and Edward Cabrera. Gibson Long at the A's this weekend. Five innings, one run. He had four strikeouts. Velocity down around one mile per hour on all. all of his pitches, but a great matchup against the Royals this week.

And then Edward Cabrera, solid outing on Sunday. Good on you. You had the fate to start him in a two-star week. I was a little more cautious. I was worried about Edward Cabrera. But he pitched well in both starts. Five innings, one run, five strikeouts here. And he is at the Pirates this week.

Anything to add on those two? Yeah, the Cabrera and Christopher Sanchez, two-star weeks worked out nicely. I think they both scored right around 27 points in head-to-head leagues. as for how they perform this weekend. Well, let's start with Sawyer Gibson Long, actually. So he walked three in five innings, which is uncharacteristic,

even in the minors. His walk rate was pretty low. I think it was, I think it mostly bolsters your decision to start him against the Royals if you choose to go that direction. He's, you know, had three good starts in a row now has Sawyer Gibson long.

I would have liked them to be more dominant at the A's of all teams, but it was good enough that it's not going to scare me away from that Royals matchup. There's still a lot to like there. Normally a good strike throw, as I mentioned, getting swings and misses on both a slider and change up. I think Gibson Long remains an interesting pitcher. As for Edward Cabrera, again, it was good. It wasn't quite good in the way I thought it was going to be good.

I was expecting if it went well, it would be a lot of strikeouts. And I think he had to combine nine strikeouts in the two starts. And they were both on the shorter side. And that's even with him managing to avoid walks, which we can't always count on Edward Cabrera to do. But the matchup is really good at Pittsburgh. So I'm not eager to start him as a one-star pitcher. I'm not eager to start him or Gibson long as one-star pitchers.

But I think they're fine. I think, you know, if you need a one-start option off, the waiver wire, you're not going to do much better than them. Okay. Let's talk about some other names that had great starts this weekend. Nick Povetta up against the White Sox, seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He had 14 swinging strikes and five games in September for Povetta, a 308 ERA, a 0.91 whip, 33 strikeouts, just four walks in the month.

He is at the Orioles in the final week. John means business. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at. the Guardians. He wound up going seven and a third, one hit, one run, four strikeouts, and he is home against the Red Sox this week. Mike Clevenger, another quality start on Sunday.

He was at the Red Sox, six innings, two runs, zero walks, zero strikeouts. Kind of a weird line there. He's 70% rostered. Final start against the Padres this week. Their lineup has been on fire. So I kind of just want to cash in on Mike Clevenger and say, all right, thanks for everything that you did.

I don't know that I want to use him against the Padres here, but any thoughts on him, John Means, and Nick Povetta? I mean, that's exactly my feelings on Clevenger. I feel like even though this second start this week was good against the Red Sucks, there was kind of a warning shot there, the fact that he struck out nobody, which, you know, he's been on this nice run where he's beginning lots of swinging strikes, getting lots of strikeouts, but then, you know, still managed to have the quality start at Boston, but with no strikeouts.

So I don't know. It just feels like against the Padres as hot as they are. It could all go poof for Mike Clevenger. Pivotta, I mean, I don't really want to start any of these guys. Povetta or Means. You know, they took advantage of weak lineups.

They have tougher matchups next time out. Povetta, if you're chasing strikeouts, there might still be some. that's justification to start. If you're chasing strikeouts, that is something Povetta has done fairly consistently. I'm not sure you can trust him to keep runs off the board against the Orioles lineup,

but now in his last three starts, he has 23 strikeouts to two walks and just 18 and two-thirds innings. And his overall strikeout rate is great. So Povetta might be fine for that particular situation. In the case of means, I mean, the fact he went deep, into the game with no hitter.

That's great. He did just strikeout four in seven and third innings. And while his ERA and Whip are low in his, is it three or four starts since returning? Three. Three starts since returning. Six strikeouts in 17 and a third innings. Not great. Not great.

And I think he could do better than that. I don't think John Means is going to be a big time badmissor or anything. But we're giving up that much contact. the modern game. It's really asking for trouble and particularly against the lineup like the Red Sox, I'd rather steer clear. All right, three more names. If you didn't want to use the last group, you probably won't want to use this group, but I don't know. Maybe I'll be wrong. Ken Waldechuk bounced back after a rough outing. He faced the Tigers, six innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, and over his last nine games, seven of those being starts, Walde Chuck has a 302 ERA and a

117 whip. He's 9% rostered at the Twins this week. Zach Lattel now has four solid starts in a row. He went five and two thirds innings, two unerned runs allowed against the Blue Jays. And during that four-star stretch, a 178 ERA and a 0.83

whip for Zach Lattel. Jordan Wicks now has a quality start in three of his last four outings. He faced the Rockies on the road. Six innings, three runs, three strikeouts. He is 61% rostered at the Brewers. Scott, any interest in Wix, Lattel, or Waldichuk?

I really don't have any interest in starting them this week unless it's truly a desperation situation. Wix, so he had that big strikeout effort when he first got called up, right? And five starts since 14 strikeouts in 28 innings. So it seems like he's asking for trouble too. I understand he's managed to survive so far, but that's not. that's not a good situation to be in as a pitcher.

And yeah, I just, I think the downside overshadows the upside for Lattel and Walter Chuck in a one start week. All right, I would agree with that. One name just to know in deeper leagues, I think just kind of stash him away in your Rolodex in the back of your mind somewhere for next season. Joe Boyle, who is with the Oakland A's, he threw He threw six innings, one un-earned run five strikeouts this weekend. He throws extremely hard, averages 97 miles per hour on his fastball.

He's a big dude, six foot four, 24 years old. And the numbers in the minors, he's walked a lot. The control is really bad, but tons of strikeouts. This season in the minors, 168 strikeouts over 117 and a third innings. Again, the name there. Joe Boyle, just kind of stash him away in your memory, and maybe he'll, I don't know, make an impact at some point next time. season. Some news and notes from the weekend, Sandy Alconcer will not pitch again this season

because of that UCL sprain in his right elbow. And now, Scott, we're left kind of wondering, going into the offseason, what's next for Sandy Alconcer? Will this affect him next year? I assume we'll learn more if he has to have surgery. I mean, that that would be the worst case scenario, but I don't think it's off the table. I don't think it's off the table either. And anytime you're talking about a UCL, It seems inevitable. Now, I made that same case against Zach Allen a couple years ago and was avoiding him like the plague in drafts,

and he turned out to be fine. He still hasn't had Tommy John surgery on that elbow. Doesn't mean he never will, but he's managed to avoid it for a couple years now. I feel like that's more the exception than the rule, though. And so I'm... If we don't get any kind of... resolution to this situation with Alcantara's elbow in the off season,

I think it would take a heavy discount for me to draft him next year. And it might have anyway, frankly, based on the year he just had. And the fact that I think in this really unpredictable pitching environment where there are extreme highs and lows for every pitcher in E.S. ERA just feels like it's being, you know, pulled up, pulled down. Who knows where. Round and round it goes, where it stops. No one knows.

That's how I feel like ERA is for most pitchers in this environment. You really need to emphasize strikeouts. Like, that is the one, that is the one pitcher contribution that you can predict with the most certainty, which has always been true. But I think doubling down on that in this pitching environment, it makes sense. And that's not something Sandy Alcounter, even when he won the Say Young did a lot of. So, yeah, I don't know what kind of discount it'll take, but that's what there will need to be one for me to be invested in him in any significant way next year. Mike Trout was transferred to the 60-day IL and will not return this season.

Yordaun Alvarez has been limited to DH duties because of a right elbow issue. Randy Arosurana has missed two straight with right quad tightness. I haven't seen anything since, Scott. I guess we have to wait and see if he's in the lineup. I believe the race play on Tuesday. They've only got those five games. What do you think about a Rosarena?

Start or sit this week. Look, I'm probably going to sit. I'm probably going to play it safe with injury case if it's a weekly lineup league, which most are. Probably going to play it safe and sit him if I don't have any reassurances. You know, at the start of the week. Now, most teams aren't playing on Monday.

I believe there are just five games on Monday. Four. One, two, three. Are you sure that makeup game wasn't added in? I think it's five. In any case, it's not many. So the race are among the teams that don't have a game Monday, and you should have ample alternatives to swap in.

If you want to leave a Rosary in for now and swap them in later, That's something you can do, at least that's the usual setup in CBS leagues. So that could be a way to play it. You're going to want to play close attention to when lineups come out on Tuesday in a way you might not normally. But if a Rosarena isn't in on Tuesday, no, I'm probably sitting him. Luis Robert was removed Sunday with left knee soreness. He suffered on a slide into second base, so that's another name we have to follow here. Matt McLean started a rehab assignment at AAA on 7.

Saturday and is on pace to return on Tuesday. What do you think about throwing Matt McLean back in your lineup? I mean, I guess it depends how deep the league is. It is just the five-game week, fresh off the IL. It depends what kind of alternatives you found up the middle. If you grab Zach Gelloff when Matt McLean went down, then probably don't want to mess with it too much. But if you've been struggling there,

then maybe you do. Joe Musgrove restarted a throwing program on Friday with the Padres winning 10 of their last 12 games. There was some slight hope that they can make a run at a wild card spot, but they're now five games out. I don't think it's going to happen. Yandi Diaz left Sunday's game with right hamstring tightness. He's day-to-day, another name to watch there.

Luis Arise was out of the lineup Sunday due to a left ankle injury. Aaron Savali's next start will be pushed back due to illness. He was originally scheduled to start Tuesday. against the Red Sox, but will now face the Blue Jays next weekend. Kenley Janssen was reinstated from the COVID IL on Saturday. Marcus Schroman has been moved back into the Cubs rotation, which means Javier Assad went back to their bullpen.

Michael Brantley has misfired due to that surgically repaired shoulder. And Chris Paddock, remember the name, he was activated by the twins and will serve in a multi-enning relief role. Other names that went to the IL this weekend, Logan T. Allen with left shoulder inflammation. Luke Rayleigh with a cervical strain. Jason Adam with a left oblique strain. Michael Copec with right knee inflammation.

Luis Areas with a left calf strain. Tyler Anderson with knee soreness. C.J. Crone with lower back inflammation. Bailey Falter with neck sorness. And Jesse Shultons with a left calf strain. All right. So I got to the bottom of our confusion over Monday's schedule. there was originally only four games on Monday. There was still only four games on Monday.

What happened was the Diamondbacks were already scheduled for a game Monday, so their game against the White Sox got moved from Monday to Thursday So now the Diamondbacks can play the Yankees on Monday. So no, there was actually an additional game at it Thursday to get that Monday game in. So, yeah, just four games on Monday. And be careful here because that game between the Diamondbacks and the Yankees starts at 1 o'clock on Monday.

So make sure to set your lineups if you have any D-backs or Yankees in there. None of the other games are till nine. That's so weird. I know. We could have taken it easy Monday. Just lay around all day. Not worry about your fantasy baseball lineups till almost bedtime, frankly, for those of us on the East Coast, except for us because we're weird.

But no. Now we can't. Now we got to get them set at before, but right around lunchtime, before we eat lunch. Gosh, what are we going to do on tomorrow's podcast? Got four games on the schedule? I'm going to have to... Not the first time.

Not the first time. Dig into my bag of tricks on Monday night's podcast. Let's take our final break when we return. Some starter sit questions heading into the final week. I have 11 pitchers that are kind of fringy. Should we start them? Find out right after this. Welcome back in.

Let's talk. start or sit pitchers for the final week. I have 11 names here on the list, so let's do it a little rapid fire here, Scott. Shane Bieber made his return from the IL. He faced the Orioles. Five innings, five runs allowed. Four of those were earned.

Velocity down, still allowing a ton of hard contact. Home against the Reds this week. I am going to have to do Bieber in a 15 team league, but otherwise, no. I agree. Chris Sale has turned in back-to-back solid starts. he was up against the White Sox this weekend, five shutout innings, seven strikeouts.

The problem is that he faces the Orioles. In three starts against Baltimore this season, a 13.5 ERA, 18 earned runs allowed over 12 innings. As good as he's looks got and the strikeouts are there, I can't do it. I cannot start Chris Sale against Orioles. I do prefer Sale to Beaver,

but still probably not. Yeah. Bryce Miller was hit, hard up against the Rangers. He allowed six earned runs over four and a third innings. And over his last six starts, he's a 546 ERA and a 148 whip. He's 46% started on CBS home against the Astros

this week. That was a probably not on sale. I don't know if it came out right. For Miller, yeah, probably a no on him. His ERA's over four now for the year. Most of his starts are short. I just don't think there's enough reward there

to justify it. All right, I kind of cheated with this one. I think you're starting him, obviously. I don't even know why I put him in this conversation. But Cole Regens turned in another quality start this weekend against the Astros. Six innings, two runs. He just wanted to play the Raygun sound again. Basically, six innings, two runs, five strikeouts, 16 swinging strikes.

And he is at the Tigers. I think we're starting Cole Regens. Start him. Yep. Dylan Seas had one of his best starts of the season at the Red Sox. seven shutout innings, 11 strikeouts to zero walks, 23 swinging strikes on 108 pitches. Just his fourth start with zero walks the season.

No surprise, three of those four starts have been quality starts. Dylan Cease, the problem, also running into that Padres lineup that's red hot right now. Your thoughts? I think I would only do cease if it was I'm trying to catch up in strikeouts situation. Otherwise, I would steer clear. Clayton Kirshaw pitched well against the Giants, five shutout innings with five strikeouts, and his final start is at the Giants. And he just pitched well against them. What do you think?

Yeah, it's an okay matchup, but he hasn't gone more than five innings since returning, has Kirschaw and his stuff clearly isn't the same. Their velocity's been down on everything. We know he's still pitching through a shoulder issue. So I'm right on the fence there, but I think in most cases you can do better. Tristan McKenzie's return did not go as planned Sunday against the Orioles. He allowed three runs. He walked six.

He's at the Tigers this week. Obviously, that's like a good matchup on paper, but I don't think there's any way. No. Yeah, he didn't show us anything that would convince me McKenzie is worth starting. Joe Ryan picked up double-digit strikeouts for the sixth time this season. He did that against the Angels. He allowed three runs over six innings, ten strikeouts to zero walks. And he is, well, here's the problem.

problem at the Rockies next week. Yeah. It's not an automatic, no. I mean, you have to weigh your options. I would prefer Ryan to Chris Sale. I'd prefer him to Shane Bieber. I would try to upgrade if you could because he's a fly ball pitcher at Coorsfield.

You could see that going disastrously for Joe Ryan. It could go very well. I mean, that does happen sometimes, but it's very risky. Would you start Christopher Sanchez over Joe Ryan? Yes. Okay. Eduardo,

Rodriguez had a great start Sunday at the Oakland A's, seven shutout innings, five strikeouts. The problem, he walked four in this game. He now has four or more walks in four of his last six starts, so the control has really taken a step back in the second half. Eduardo Rodriguez, home against the Guardians this week, the worst team against left-handed pitching in baseball. Even with the control, I think you got to do it, Scott. Do you? I mean, against Cleveland? It doesn't get better than that for lefty.

Yeah, but. you know, if it's a daily lineup league and the choice is do I start Edward Rodriguez or do I not do I start nobody then okay you start Edward Rodriguez if it's a weekly lineup or you're choosing among five you can only slot five starting pitchers in I don't think Edward Rodriguez would make the cut for me even with that that favorable matchup I mean yes he was seven shutout innings here on Sunday against a bad athletics lineup but previous seven seven

It's a 570-9-hour rate and 50 whips. He'd been really bad. And it was interesting what he did against the athletic, 64% fastballs versus his usual 44%. So he just really seemed to attack them with that one pitch. I don't know that that's going to work every time out. He still walked a bunch of guys, still walk four and seven innings.

So it's not like it really helped with the control. I think he's a pretty dangerous start. Is Eduardo Rodriguez even with that favorable matchup? All right. Michael Waka, back on track with a great start against the Cardinals. Seven innings, two runs, six strikeouts with 15 swinging strikes. Did allow 10 hard hits in this game. He is at the White Sox this week. They are the worst team against right-handed pitching.

What do you think about Michael Waka? I like it better than Oroa Rodriguez. I like him probably more than all of those one-start sleepers. I would start Waco over Christopher Sanchez, for instance. You know, I'm not going to call him a must start, but it's a good matchup, and he's looked good his last couple turns and his good numbers overall. So I think it's, I think it's a pretty good play. Our season started with Lance Lynn, Scott. Will it end with Lance Lynn? Let's find out a quality start against the Giants on Sunday, six innings, two runs, six strikeouts with 15 swinging

strikes. He looked pretty good in this one, gets the Giants again this week. They're 21st in Wobah against Ritees. Lance Lynn has only 70% started. That's actually a pretty high amount. What do you think about him. I think I would take all of those ones start sleepers on my sleeper pitchers this week over Lance Lynn. So Christopher Sanchez, who else is on there? Sawyer Gibson Long,

Ranger Suarez, or he said Christopher Sanchez. Edward Cabrera. Depends what you need there. If you're just looking for volume, like if it's a points league situation, then I might lean Lynn over Edward Cabrera. But in a category

particularly if you need strikeouts. Maybe not. That's a close call. All right. Let's hit some pitching leftovers here. Three great starts this weekend. Zach Gallen. Six shutout innings at the Yankees. He had eight strikeouts, 14 swinging strikes. Nice bounce back for him. Sunny Gray has now gone six plus innings in four of his last 16 starts. There was a stretch back in, I think it was late May or June, where the twins were really limiting Sunny Gray. It was like five innings starts, three runs. He didn't look very good, but man, since that point, he has just been money and entering free agency this offseason. So it should be an interesting one for Sunny Gray.

Jordan Montgomery has turned in three straight seven inning quality starts up against the Mariners this weekend. Again, that massive series for the Rangers. He threw seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, 15 swinging strikes in that one. He is at Seattle again this week. The way he's pitching, obviously you're going with Jordan Montgomery. Any thoughts on those three? Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's much of a question. Start versus Sit with them.

Who did you say Gray was facing? I did not mention his matchup, but I could look it up quickly. It looks like Oakland. A revenge game for Sunny. Revenge game, sure. It's been a long time since I've thought of Sunny Gray as an Oakland day, but... I love Sunny Gray. I didn't know it.

I love Sunny Gray when he first got called up. Oh, man. Sunny Gray sweeping the clouds away. man CBS says he's in Coresfield Uh-oh Oh I'm not sure

I'm not sure I don't make the Matchups on CBS Oakland Hang on a second So if he pitched on Saturday Then he might actually get Coors Field yeah

I mean so I'm looking at says Thursday Alright let me see what Let me see what roster resource says We got to get to the bottom this because it can make all the difference between starting and sitting Sunny Gray.

So, roster resource has it as they say starting Thursday against Oakland. All right, let's try another source here. Like, we can really predict this with any accuracy this time of year. Anyway,

let's say ESPN. Do they have Sunny Gray going? So, hang out I don't have the right date here. Or do I? No, I'm not. I'm looking at last Thursday.

All right, next Thursday, according to ESPN, starting for the twins, is Sunny Gray against Oakland. So I'm seeing a lot more sources saying Sunny Gray will go against Oakland, but that does make a big difference. And if it's a close call between Sunny Gray and somebody else, you might shy away just in case he gets pushed back a day. Obviously, you love that matchup against the A's, but at course field is a different story. The call to the bullpen, a few updates for the Phillies on Friday. Craig Kimberle got the ninth inning with a one-run lead, gave up a game-time home run to Brett Beatty, which doesn't seem like great timing because Jose Alvarado

picked up the save on Saturday, and he's been getting more saves. So if you do need saves, I would say Alvarado is a decent option for the final week. He's only 23% rostered. I've also noticed here that Andres Munoz has worked. worked the eighth inning rather than the ninth, I think, back-to-back appearances. So kind of the same situation as with Craig Kimbril where you're not feeling super confident

he's going to get all of his team's safe chances. And so if you are in a shallow league where there are ample, where there are closer alternatives on the way for wire, then you might want to look into one of those this week. Tanner Scott bounced back nicely at the end of the week. I think he's still pretty available. Ryan Halsley is still pretty available. They would be better options than Kimbril and Munoz at this point, I would say.

For the Orioles on Friday, Yaneer Canoe got the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He gave up two runs, took his sixth blown safe and fourth lost. And then on Saturday, Canoe pitched in the eighth inning with a one-run lead. And Conell Perez pitched a ninth inning for his third save. For the Royals on Friday, James MacArthur got the final five outs for his second. save. Then on Saturday, it was Taylor Clark, who got the final five outs for his third save. And then on Sunday, it was back to James MacArthur, his third save. He's 2% rostered. This is, if you're playing a 15-team league and you're just super desperate for saves at this point,

I think James MacArthur might be able to pick you up a save or two this final week. For the Cubs on Saturday, Julian Merriweather got the eighth inning with a one-run lead to face five, six, and seven in the Rockies lineup. Jose Quas, Qas, Kwas? I think it's Kwas. I feel like I heard his name before. Jose Kwas. Ninth inning, he picked up his first save, and then for the Cubs on Sunday,

Julian Meriwether was used in the ninth inning. He picked up his second save. He's 14% rostered. Scott, is there any clarity here? I don't know. Do you have any interest in Meriwether in deeper leagues? Yes, but there's also the possibility

Albert Alzala is going to be activated on Tuesday. That's when he's first eligible. Last report he was going to start throwing bullpins. So I don't know that I'd trust any Cubs reliever this final week unless you just have to in a deep roto league. Speaking of deep of roto leagues, for the White Sox, Brian Shaw picked up his third save on Saturday. For the Marlins, you mentioned Tanner Scott, back on track,

picked up his 10th save. And for the Rangers, Arollis Chapman got the final two outs for his sixth save on Saturday. And then on Sunday, he was unavailable. He pitched both Friday and Saturday. Jose LeClerc then struck out two for his fourth save. Do you think it's Chapman, Scott? I kind of feel like maybe Chapman's like just a high leverage guy for now.

I know he pitched on the eighth inning. He's been so unreliable lately that, I mean, I would prioritize Tanner Scott over him. And who's the other one? Ryan Helsley over him. I might still dump Kimball for Chapman if you can make that swap. I don't know that I'd draw Munoz for Chapman. I think I'd draw the line there right in between Munoz and Kimbril.

Okay. Let's wrap up with to stream or not to stream and we will start with Monday. There's only four games. So do you want to use Clark Schmidt against the D-Backs or Patrick Sandoval against the Rangers? Probably none. I mean, Schmidt's the best streamer option on Monday.

It's not a great streamer option. If you're not dying to get more volume in your lineup, then maybe don't do it, but that's the best choice. On Tuesday, we've got some potentially great names. Michael King at the Blue Jays, Reese Olson against the Royals. We have Paul Blackburn at the Twins. We have Bailey Ober against the A's.

Wade Miley against the Cardinals. He's pitched well. So, I'm not sure. Where were you looking that said Ober was going to go Tuesday? ESPN. The Ocho. Where did I see that he got bumped back to the Colorado series? Because that's a few days further back.

I see that. I saw that on CBS. Okay. Well, if Ober is starting against the A's, we'll know when the time comes in Daily League. Then that's a good start. Rees Olson is an even better one against the Royals. Michael King, the best one of all, against the Blue Jays, at the Blue Jays, actually.

So I did that kind of in reverse order. My top three on Tuesday would be Michael King, Reese Olson, Bailey Ober. If you do need another one, Paul Blackburn at the Twins, that might go okay. But it's riskier than the three I just mentioned. We are going to wrap there. Our final weekend recap of the year for Scott. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball.

day. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify, and we will be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.