Fantasy Baseball Today - Ronald Acuña vs. Mookie Betts! Week 24 Sleepers & Two-Start Pitchers (9/1 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

Ronald Acuña just created the 30-60 club (4:16)! Mookie Betts for MVP? ... Matt Manning has pitched well recently (11:55). ... Let's clear with air on The Glob (18:05). ... The Cubs are promoting Alexander Canario (26:50). ... Lucas Giolito was claimed by the Guardians and Hunter Renfroe claimed by the Reds (34:11). ... Braxton Garrett continues to pitch well (38:02). ... Josh Bell has been great since joining the Marlins (42:42). ... News (46:22): Julio Rodriguez should return this weekend. ... Which two-start pitchers and sleeper hitters are we targeting in Week 24 (51:50). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:01:19). 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

And welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today and welcome to September. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White. Today on the show, we will be talking about Ronald de Cunia versus Mookie Betts. The Cubs are calling up Alexander Canario, Week 24 sleepers, and two-star pitchers. Before we get started, help us out by liking this video and subscribing on YouTube if you haven't already. And if you're listening on the audio side, download, follow, and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify, Scott, September already. We made it.

Yes, we did. Yes, we did. Last month of the season. It feels like, it feels, it always feels like we get to August so quickly. And it's like, wow, where did all the season go? But then I get it in my head, you know? Oh, the season's almost over. The season's almost over.

So these last two months drag out so slowly. But, but here we are. It's September. By the way, one of the big moments from the podcast this season, back to Bush, remember that one, that classic, that award winner. Oh, yes. That was in April. There's no way. That was in April.

That happened in April. Doesn't it feel like it was two weeks ago? It feels like it was at least June, right? Like, that has to be the furthest the way that that was, you know? It was late April, but it was technically April. Wow. Crazy. Yeah.

Time flies. It's a long season. it's been a very fun season. Let's jump in. Let's talk about some of Thursday's action. In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. Two of the game's very best going head to head,

Mono E Mono, the battle for the National League MVP, also the battle for the top seed in the National League. Ronald de Cunia has just created the 30-60 Club. And while we were talking, he in fact just created the 30-61 club because... I'm 62 now actually. 62? I think he entered the game with 61.

But he had his 30th home run here on Thursday, so thus. And thus creating the club. And just stole his 62nd base as well. Literally, while we were starting up the podcast, and he did it in grand style. He hit a salami off of Lance Lynn. Scott Collier's shot, what do you think? Where does this wind?

up. What are the limits that Ronald de Cunia can push this season? What does he wind up with? How many homers? How many steals? Call your shot. I'm going to say, I'm going to say, he's got a month left. How much are they going to sit him this final month with their commanding lead? Well, he gets to 35. I'm not going to, I'm not going to predict 40 when he just hit his 30th. He gets to 35. I don't seem getting to 75, 35 70, 35 70. That's what I was thinking. I think he could get to 75. It really comes down to how much, how much do the Dodgers push the Braves

in terms of getting that number one seed? It's only one team gets a buy, right? Am I making that up? I think it's one team, right? Two teams. Two teams. I can barely keep up. Geez.

Yeah, six total playoff teams, so two get a buy. Yeah. Okay. But I guess, you know, having home field advantage throughout the entire post, you know, the National League side of the postseason,

that matters too. So, yeah, I think he's still going to play quite a bit here down the stretch. So I'm going to, I'll be the bold one. I'll say 3575. I think it happens. I like it. Let's do it. That's good.

And then on the other. You're hitting a grand slam to become the first ever 30-60 player, not even the biggest accomplishment for Ronald de Cunia here on Thursday. He got married earlier in the day. Wow. Look at that. That is a day right. That is a day right there.

That is a day. That really is awesome stuff for Ronald de Cunia. Been married, work that night? Just in the middle of the baseball season on a Thursday. It's kind of weird. Dude, wait until November or something. I don't know. On the other side, by the way.

No, he didn't. Ooh, okay, I was watching Mookie Betz hit a fly ball almost to the warning track in right field. But a double don for Mookie Betz. He now extends his career high to 38. Do I have that right, Scott? Yeah, 38 home runs for Mookie Betts.

Career high. Like last year, 35 home runs, this year he's up to 38. I mean, something crazy would have to happen for him not to reach a 40 home run season. And it just feels like one record after another right now. Mookie Betts, 51 hits in the month of August, set the Dodgers record for most hits by a single player in a month. And just think about their history,

the rich history of the Dodgers. 51 hits in a month, new record set by Mukie Betz. Well, what's crazy to think about is as late as June 27th, Muky Betts was hitting 253. Wow. And now he's up to, what's he up to? 317. So that's like the span of two months.

He's gone from 253 to 317. I was batting over 450 in August with, I just mentioned all those hits, a bunch of home runs. How many home runs is it for the month? Nine, 11. Did he already have nine? Yeah, 11 now. 11 home runs for the month.

And we talked about it a week or two ago. Who knows? I mean, we talked about back to Bush three months ago, four months ago. But Muki Betz coming into today, his war is now 7.6. Ronald de Kune's war is, 6.1, I believe it is. I'm going by a baseball reference war. I generally prefer for these kinds of discussions.

Do I have that right, 6.1? I can't find it now on his player page. There it is. No, 6.5. I didn't do them justice. So 7.6 versus 6.5 coming into Thursday. Like a full win difference. I know you were telling me Ronald de Cunia, still the betting favor for MVP. I don't know.

I mean, I'm a Braves fan in all. I understand he's the first 30-60 player ever. Won't be the last, by the way, given the way these rules are. I don't know. If the season ended today, I'd have to give it to Moogie Betts. There is another month to go, but if the season ended today, I'd have to give it to bets.

And I said before, like, I feel like both Freeman and Betts are more integral to the Dodgers lineup. than Acuna is to the Braves lineup. Like the Braves have stud hitters up and down. The Dodgers basically have those two. And then I'm not saying they're, they're only two good players,

but Will Smith's number three and Max Muncie. I don't know. At some point, they're going to get J.D. Martinez back. But it's just not the same. It's not the stacked lineup top to bottom like the Braves is. Yeah, that's true. And I actually just pulled it up.

And it's a lot closer now. I guess it depends on which website or which sports book you look at. but right now Ronald Le Cunia is the favorite on Draft Kings. Excuse me, the favorite on Fandul, and Mookiee Betz is the favorite on Draft Kings. So that's how close it is. It is razor thin between Mookiee

and Ronald de Kuna just making history on a nightly basis right now between those two. We know Kuna is going to be the first oral pick for fantasy next year, but man, Mookie Betz has played his way into a top, definitely a top five pick, I think. Maybe top three? We don't know what's happening with O-Ton. I mean, it's possible, right?

I mean, I presume O-Tani's not going to be a first-round pick next year because he's going to be recovering from Tommy John's surgery. So, yeah, I mean, Betts is probably a top-five player because he's going to be triple-eligible, too. I mean, that's huge. Yeah, yeah, that type of versatility with that type of production. Again, Ronald de Cunia and Mookie Betz battling out for the NL MVP. We'll keep you updated on this game.

It's currently going on right now. Two runners on, the Braves. have a one-run lead, so it's really coming down to the wire here. He hasn't locked up shortstop yet for next year. He's at 16 games, so that's kind of iffy. But at least outfield in second, with the chance of earning shortstop early in 20, 24. All right, not that I want to disrespect the fantastic performance by Matt Manning, Scott, but he's your player of the night.

We're just going from like a very different discussion to Matt Manning. So tell us about his start on Thursday. Oh, so I'm a little tense right now because the Braves were up 7 to 1 in this game, I think, and now it's 8 to 7. They're leading two outs in the ninth, two runners on for the Dodgers. You know, in the grand scheme of things,

this game probably doesn't matter that much, but it feels like a big game because it feels like an NLCS preview, famous last words, I know. But anyway, yeah, Matt Manning. Matt Manning had a great start here against your, literally your New York Yankees, Frank. Six shutout innings.

Two hits allowed in those six innings. And this is actually his third start and four allowing two hits or fewer. It's been quite the run here for Matt Manning. It feels a little like Michael Lorenzen when he was with the Tigers. He had a couple runs like this where he just wasn't giving up hits. And there is something to that. He gives up lots of fly balls. His fly ball rate is close to 50.

50%, which is pretty high. And fly balls when they're not sailing over the fence are usually out. It's a good thing to give up as long as they're not hit hard. The problem for Matt Manning is he also gives up a lot of hard contact. So while he's avoided the home runs here recently, and, you know, okay, good. Raiso Iglesias just closed it out. It's pointing at the sky. Braves win 8.7.

Relax a little. All right. So Matt Manning has done a good job avoiding home runs recently, but he also gives up hard contact, like 13th percentile for average exit velocity, meaning really bad. And, you know, he may have a,

I don't have the latest numbers pulled out. Okay, so he may have a 362 ERA 103 whip on the year, Matt Manning, but his expected ERA is 551. His expected FIP is 546. I am very skeptical he's going to be able to sustain anywhere close to this, and I would prefer to leave him on the waiver wire. Again, that is Matt Manning. I did notice a change in this start.

He really leaned into his slider. 47% usage made it his most used pitch in this one. The velocity was also up one mile per hour on that pitch. It's been useful in terms of just, surface level results. 205 batting average against. Does not get a lot of whiffs, though. 25% whiff rate on a slider.

That's really, really lackluster here. And that's part of the problem. There's just, there's no swinging strikes. 7% swinging strike rate for Matt Manning on the season. He's gone through a great stretch. He's allowed a total of one earned run over his last four starts. Some tough matchups in there, too. Red Sox and Astros in that mix.

You know, Guardians. Okay, they don't really strike out very much. much. Yankees is a pretty good matchup, but it's a great run, but I tend to agree. There's not really much in the underlying numbers that backup, what Matt Manning is doing right now. He is 31% rostered. I do not see him in your two-star pitcher rankings, but he is listed as a two-star pitcher on the site, Scott. So what do you think? So who's wrong? Yeah, I think I'm right. Okay. Obviously. Obviously, Frank. I don't, I, I don't remember. Exactly why.

I know our site didn't have Joey Winsen the Tigers rotation at all. Obviously, we'll update it on Sunday, but as of now, it doesn't look to me like Matt Manning is a two-star pitcher next week. Okay, which means one of his next, one of his starts next week will either be against the White Sox or the Yankees.

It is a pretty good matchup. If you're in a deeper league and you want to look to stream the way he's pitching right now, I guess, but it's got to be a deeper league. It's, you know, any type of 12-team league, I just, I don't think I could trust it. It's probably the Yankees who he's facing, which is the team he just faced here on Thursday.

You can look at that as a good news, bad news situation. They just saw him. So are they going to be able to key in on him a better? Also, given that he's a fly ball pitcher who allows hard contact, this game was in Detroit. Next week's game is in New York. Yankee Stadium, short porch. Yep. Not great, Bob.

Giving up all of... Actually, you know what? I've been binging Mad Men. It's the show I hadn't watched before. And so I finally got to see one of my favorite memes in person. I actually got to see it in context. And I never like heard it before because I just seen it in a jiff form. But it's actually not great, Bob.

That's actually how he says it. So that's how I should say it too. I'm normally more subdued when I say it. There's nothing subdued about people. Campbell. So anyway. Did it live up? That's always like a fun experience to me.

Like when you're used to seeing the GIF everywhere, you don't even necessarily know what it's from. It's just a famous GIF. And then you see it in context and it's like, oh. And I love it most when you like you don't even see it coming. Like I remember my favorite instance of this was what was Joffrey's younger brother's name in Game of Thrones? I'm forgetting. He started with a

T. Tomin? Yeah. When I saw him take off the crown and set it down, I was like, oh no, I know what's coming. Not great, Bob. Did it live up to it, though? Did the moment in the show live up to? Oh, yeah. The ramp that follows Not Great Bob is even better than the Not Great Bob, frankly. I feel like whenever I see, I say GIF, Scott, I'm sorry. But whenever I see something that is like widespread on Twitter or X, I guess, in a show for the first time. I feel like it doesn't live up to the height. But I'm happy it worked out for you. Before we move on to the rest of, we got some other, we'll talk about Lance Lynn getting rocked and Spencer Shreder in that game, which again just went final.

Let's clear to the air, Scott. Obviously, you have talked about the gloss. quite a bit and wait wait before we get into this this is important is my mic okay are you hearing me fine some comment are saying it's cutting out sounds fine to me sound clear crystal clear as clear as can be let's clear the air when it comes to the glob because there was I don't want to say commotion but you know a couple people brought this up on Twitter and just want to point out I guess the origination of the glob Paul Sporer who does great work for the sleeper in the bus podcast

he's been using the glob for years now. So clearly we weren't trying to steal it or anything. So just trying to set the record straight. It was brought to my attention on Twitter that, yes, the glob. The glob wasn't my own. Like other people were famous for the glob before I became famous for the glob. I guess is the best way of putting it. It is a recycled meme, apparently.

And maybe somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I had remembered seeing it at some point in the past. And that's why in the moment, that's the word I chose to say. I will point out this was a very organic thing that happened. It's not like I sat around and devised, what should I call this group of pictures? I just threw out Glob when we were talking about it on the podcast, and it kind of took off from there with all the fun we've done. had with it in the week since. But, I mean, Paul Sporer and Justin Mason went pretty far with it.

I think it was 2018, 2019 about the time they were doing it. So they were kind of using it differently. They were using it in reference to what I was calling the lack of middle class at starting pitcher in those years. They were referring to that same group as the glob. To the point that, you know, people were showing me articles. where they were referring to the glob and they'd write the glob and then they'd put the little TM next to it like jokingly trademarking it.

Like every time they mentioned the glob, rotoware made a t-shirt with Justin Mason's likeness on it and him as a glob. Like they went farther with it than we've even gone. And that's upsetting. Like that is what's upsetting about it, first of all frank you apparently knew this i did it was also i think in the recesses of my brain i remember hearing it on a podcast but yes you you contributed to me committing unknowingly a globary

robbery that's what happened here i am a regular ray crock stealing this idea and uh you know trying to build it into something more but like i said they actually went further with it than we've even gone. But what's, what's frustrating about it is we're in so deep now with the glob. I don't think there's an opportunity to rebrand this thing. Like, we've already, we've already had all our jokes and all our extended rants about the glob. We've already trained the audience to know what we mean more or less when we say the glob. I say more or less because some people still seem confused by it. But more or less, I think the audience understands what we mean by the glob. And so I don't think there's any way to wind this back. I think we just have to keep playing

this idea off as our own. And for what it's worth, Paul's four jumped into this conversation and was gracious about it and says he's fine with other people using it, which, you know, so that's great. That's good. But it feels icky now. It feels icky. Like even with his permission, Like it feels, I don't know, like too corporate. It doesn't feel spur of the moment now. It feels like it feels like I am latching on to somebody else's movement. And I am the suit and tie coming in here as part of CBS rather than the rebel and the flip flops. Just kind of, you know, freewheeling these ideas.

And I don't know, but I don't know that we can wind it back. It's too much momentum. You only get one opportunity to. brand something like this. This is what Elon Musk is discovering is, you know, trying to rebrand Twitter X. Nobody wants to call it anything but Twitter. Twitter's been a major part of our lives for over a decade. Even people who aren't on Twitter, it's been a major part of their lives for over a decade because it drives so much of the news cycle, you know? Like it's the media's favorite social media. They've been building stories off what people say

on Twitter forever. You know, he's going to start calling it X and nobody's going to start calling this anything but the glob because we're in so deep already. Even if we tried to, even if we succeeded, it would never have the, you know, that that organic feel to it, that spontaneity to it. It would always feel like, well, we're calling it this other thing now, but we all know we really, we really liked calling it the glob. You know, it reminds me of this preseason when I labeled that group of four starting four boring starting pitcher pitchers the mount rushmore and it never made a ton of sense and later toward the end of draft prep season I decided oh the four horsemen would have been a much better nickname for that group of four and Chris threw out the golden girls which was never

going to work either but we were already in too deep with the mount rushmore and we had to stick with it but like once I realized there there was a better choice out there I wasn't comfortable calling them either it was just kind of torn between different choices the rest of the time So I don't want to fall into that trap again. I think we have to keep going at the glob and just feel icky about it. Like, I'm never going to do it with the same gusto anymore because I feel like it's a recycled me, as we pointed out. That's where I stand on the glob. I don't know.

Where do you stand? I feel kind of dirty, too, for the reasons that you mentioned. The fact that I kind of knew that it was, no, I knew. I absolutely knew. So I kind of felt dirty, like, I guess with this revelation. So, yeah, I would agree mostly with what you said. You want to call it the Glob X? We can just kind of piggyback Elon Musk and do that.

I don't think we're going to do that. Anyway, credit words do, Paul Spor and the Sleeper in the Bus podcast. Those guys do a great job. Let's take our first break when we return. We will talk about the Cubs promoting Alexander Canario. He is coming on Friday. We'll do that right after this.

Welcome back in. Quick reminder to download and follow Fantasy Baseball today in five. It's our five-minute podcast. And we will have our usual, usual. bonus prospect podcast coming on Saturday. If you are watching us live on YouTube, you can scan that QR code. That will take you right to the fantasy baseball

today in five podcast feed. Let's talk about Alexander Canario, a 23-year-old outfield prospect being promoted by the Cubs on Friday. Most of us were speculating Pete Crow Armstrong could be the prospect called up for the Cubs. But Canario is already on the 40-man roster. I think that plays a big factor into this decision.

and Canario has missed quite a bit of time this year, but in 36 games played at AAA, he's hit 276 with eight home runs, two steals, and in 86 OPS, had a pretty big season in the miners last year. Only hit 252, but 37 homers, 23 steals. There's definitely some power and speed here, Scott. A little bit of, you know, skepticism when it comes to the batting average. But he's a right-handed hitter.

It looks like he's bound to take over the starting center fielder job for the Chicago Cubs. He's only 4% rostered. Any interest in Alexander Canario? Deeper five outfielder leagues. I don't know. So it looks like you think he's about to take over as the starting, what did you say?

Center field. I saw on, I checked out roster resource and they kind of had Mike Talkman as the strong side platoon in center field. Yeah, and obviously Bellinger plays center field sometimes. And, you know, I keep thinking they're kind of call up Pete Crow Armstrong, who's their best option in center, at least defensively, and I think would be a better choice for fantasy than Alex Canario. He's not on the 40 man. That's the only thing.

No, he's not yet. That could change, obviously. Canario feels kind of Nelson Vasquez like, and they've had trouble getting Christopher Morel in the lineup recently, too. I don't know why he couldn't be part of this mix. I would guess he would be preferred to Canario. Canario feels kind of Nelson Vasquez like to me, or extra syllable in there, isn't there? No, I had it right.

That's right. No, I didn't have it right. Nelson Velasquez, not Vasquez. That's kind of how Canario feels to me, and I'm not expecting big things from them in fantasy. I assume that you would take Jason Dominguez over Canario, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, different caliber of prospect. Do you want to give us a quick 30 seconds on what you're expecting?

from Dominguez? You weren't on the podcast yesterday. It's true. I wasn't. I I am reluctant to set expectations too low for Jason Dominguez because this is like he's the sort of prospect who is

you know has lived to defy expectations. They were comparing him to Mike Trout from the time he was 16 and I guess you could say he's been a disappointment considering, but here he is in the majors at age 20. And that was an unrealistic expectation to set anyway. He came into the majors batting 366 over his last 45 games, right? Which only brought his season batting average up to about 265.

He got off to a terrible start. But the point is he can have a 45 game stretch in which he hits 366. I think I have those numbers, right? stolen a ton of bases, has drawn a ton of walks. The power, you know, eggs of velocity readings are good. He hasn't figured out how to turn those into a big home run total yet, but that's certainly in the cards for him. As a switch hitter, he's going to have left-handed in Yankee Stadium a lot.

That young moved that quickly. I think the expectation should be that there will be growing pains, but the upside is so much for Jason Dominguez that at least in five outfielder leagues, five outfielder leagues, you have to take a shot on him. Would you take Canario over any of the other recent outfield call-ups, Parker Meadows, Seidon, Raphael,

Williare Abrae, and Lawrence Butler? I don't think a single one. Butler comes the closest, I think. Butler's in a similar place, but no. I have low expectations for Canaria, which means he's going to head nine home runs in September. A couple other youngsters getting called up on Friday. The Angels are promoting 21-year-old infield prospect,

Kyrin Paris from AA. He is a former second round pick from 2019, and this season in the miners betting 255 with 14 home runs, 44 steals, and an 810 OPS. He walks a lot, he also strikes out a lot. It's kind of an interesting profile with, the plate discipline and all the speed, but the other tools, I think, are kind of iffy here. He's one percent rostered and kind of feels like he's being pushed a little bit too quickly,

too. I think it's probably AL only for now. Any thoughts on Kyrin Paris? Yeah, I agree. And I'm not sure what his path. I mean, he has, there's an opening now because Zach Nettos out, but I think Netto is more of the shortstop for the future than Paris is. And so I want to say defense is his best tool, too.

It's been a long time since I've looked into him because his minor league numbers weren't good enough to justify looking into him much when I wrote my prospect reports. But I want to say Kyron Paris is a glove first guy. And probably not someone who's going to play that consistently. He did play mostly shortstop in the minors.

He's also played some second base. Oddly enough, he's listed as a third baseman on his minor league baseball page. So I think he can bounce around a little bit. If they're calling him up, I assume they're going to play him. But yeah, not too high of expectations here for Kyran Paris. Two names who are being recalled, Brett Beatty is returning to the Mets,

as is Colton Kouser to the Orioles. And Beatty in 17 games since rejoining AAA was batting 246 with five home runs. Seems like he put an emphasis on power while he was down there. The batting average a little bit lower. Colton Couser in 13 games since being sent back down, hit only 245 with two home runs. Any interest here, Scott, Brett Beatty and Colts and Couser recalled. I would not rule out Brett Beatty having a big September.

I don't see why they want to give him a ton of a batts. He had a chance to reset in September, or I'm sorry, reset at AAA, looked great. As soon as being sent down, the data on Brett Beatty is still unbelievable. And I think he has a bright view. future. And as we were, well, no, you guys haven't listened to that podcast. We recorded a mailbag podcast earlier today to air on Labor Day. But I shouldn't reference things I said in it because it's in the future. But no, Brett Beatty seems like you never really know when a player with that talent level is going to break through. It could happen at any time. It could happen midseason. It could

happen after an offseason. It could happen after a stint in the minors like this. So if you, you you need help at third base or corner infielder and you have a roster spot to play with, I would, I would, uh, I would give Brett Beatty a shot, uh, in terms of priority behind Jason Dominguez, I would say, but ahead of most anyone else we've mentioned here. Earlier in the week, the Angels placed a ton of players on waivers. So let's get some updates. It looks like the guardians were the big winners. Maybe.

I'm not entirely sure. They wound up with Lucas Yolito, Matt Mollos. and Ronaldo Lopez. Giolyto, as we've seen since joining the Angels, has been not great. He's giving up a lot of hard contact, a lot of home runs during that time. It is a better ballpark pitching in Cleveland.

Scott, any hope here for Gialito with the Guardians? I mean, he's a fine option. He's part of the glob. Sure is. As we discussed, the last time he started, and I wouldn't treat him any differently. So, you know, matchups play. Two-star, start weak.

play, which is going to happen more often now in Cleveland than it was happening with the Angels. So that alone helps Gioledo's profile. Few organizations have a better track record with pitchers than the Guardians do. Are they going to have time to help him much over a month? Like, he's there a month. And what's going to change for him? I doubt we're going to see really any changes for Gialito. But he's a fine option.

This is a fine landing spot for him. Let's talk about the Reds who claimed both Hunter Renfro and Harrison Bader off waivers. They all went to Ohio. That's true. We were thinking, oh, who's going to land each of these players? They went to two teams. The Guardians got all the interesting pitchers and the Reds got all the interesting hitters. You'd think it would be the reverse, right?

And poor Mike Clevenger wasn't chosen for the ball. So he's still with the White Sox. That is exactly right. Randall Gritchick, too, by the way. That's such a weird thing. Oh, Gritchick, I didn't. Getting placed on waivers and no one claims you. You just got to, I guess, crawl back to your team, the Angels in Gritchick's case. But let's talk about Hunter Renfro and Harrison Bader. What I'm looking at right now, it feels like Harrison Bader. Maybe he's a short side platoon, defensive replacement late in games. The Reds clearly have a lot of injury issues right now. Rosser resource has Spencer Stier kind of taken. over second base. And I think he played a little bit of second in the minor leagues. He's bounced around the infield. He's played some outfield this year. So I think that could potentially work, which would open up a spot for Hunter Renfro here. Renfro, 73% rostered, has six games next week, all of them in Great American Ballpark. So if he is playing every day,

there is a chance he can make an impact in the month of September. Any interest in Hunter Renfro? Yeah, it's a big F. And we talked about this already, but you guys don't know it yet. Back to the future. We kind of came to the realization on the spot that Renfro might be, and might legitimately be an everyday player for the Reds. Because it seems like they have a lot of outfield clutter and a lot of guys who bat left-handed. So it just, it seems like between Renfro and Harrison Bader,

there are a lot of ready-made platoons there. Of course, you know, Jake Fraley's on the IEL, so he's not a part of it yet, but he's on a rehab assignment. and then you have DJ Friedel, bat's left-handed, Will Benson, bats left-handed. But because of Matt McLean's absence,

reshaping the infield, getting Spencer Steer back there on a full-time basis, there is a chance for Renfro to play every day. I think he's more likely to do that than Bader. But I don't know, maybe they'll trade off. You got to like a power hitter at the best park for power hitters, though. I mean, just as a general rule,

That seems like a good combination. And certainly if you play in an NL only league, you have any fab dollars left, I would imagine you want to throw them all at Renfro. 100%. I think that's a great call. Let's slide over to the Waverwire pitchers. We spoke about Matt Manning earlier on.

Braxton Garrett tossed a quality start at the Nationals. Six innings, one run, one walk, one strikeout, one swinging strike on 73 pitches for Braxton Garrett. To this point in the season, he's actually been pretty good. I remember there was that crazy blowup start against the Braves earlier where he gave up 9 or 10 earned runs.

He still has a 386 ERA, a 115 whip, 49% ground ball rate. The underlying numbers pretty much match up. He's allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven straight starts. It's not the sexiest thing, but he's 79% rostered. The problem is that he faces the Dodgers next week, so not very excited about that. I'm not very excited about Garrett in general. He got one swinging strike. It's bad enough.

he got one strike at one swinging strike. The Nationals really do not strike out, though. Yeah, but one swinging strike. Like, you hardly see that ever from any pitcher. The Nationals have the second lowest strikeout rate against lefties this season. But yes, you're right. One is pretty bad.

I feel like every time you mentioned, since that time he was hot and we were kind of talking about, every time you've brought up Braxton Garrett's roster rate, I'm like, why is it so high? I don't, I don't. particularly with the Dodgers coming up. I don't think anybody's going to use them, but I don't know that I want to use them, period. I don't know that there's much to say about this one, but Yoan Adone, rough outing against the Marlins.

We mentioned his name recently, Scott, five innings, five runs here, three strikeouts. I just wanted an excuse to say, more like Yoan, a don't ever talk about this player again. Wow. I thought he might actually do pretty well against the Marlins since, since he gives up a lot of fly balls, so most of the damage you'd think would come on home runs and their best home run hitter Jorge Salarazal. And he was hot, obviously.

But no, this is why Yohan Adon is a sub-glob pitcher. You know, this came to mind just now. I have used Circle of Trust before. Now, obviously, I'm borrowing that for Meet the Parents. It's kind of a, you know, I'm playing off that. It's opposite of the glob because being in the circle of trust means you're better than the glob. But there is a basis for that. You know, we've laid a bit of a foundation for that.

I still don't think we can realistically pivot to it, but maybe we can work it in a little more. I don't know. What do you think? I think that's a possibility. I know Adam Azar used to use to use it quite a bit on this podcast, so we can bring it back. Yeah. What's the opposite of the circle of trust? Well, just being out of the circle, you're either in or you're out.

Yeah, I know. You're out. There's no coming back in. I actually don't believe that, but that's what Robert De Niro's character said. Yeah. Have you seen that one? Meet the Parents. I have seen that one.

It's been a long time. I don't know that I could tell you many of the plot points at this time, but. I would have expected you to say no, because. I always expect you to say no. Isn't that the one where they're playing like swimming pool, volleyball and he breaks her nose? Or does that meet the Fockers? I don't know. No, it's meet. I mean, Meet the Fockers is the sequel. And I got to admit I haven't seen that one. Wow. I saw it, Scott.

I don't think it's held in quite the same esteem as Meet the Parents. Probably not. Which is just. It was a great movie. It is a great movie. It's one of the, yeah. Glad you've seen it. Anyway. probably still going to say the glob because it's easier to say than Circle of Trust. I mean, part of the, I think part of the reason it got recycled is it's just it's like a too easy metaphor, you know?

Yeah. Like a big bunch of undefinable things is a glob. But anyway, I still feel bad about it. I feel embarrassed, Frank. Frankly, I feel embarrassed about my globbery robbery. And I wanted to I wanted to get it out there. Gosh, I can't wait to see the comments on this YouTube video.

It's going to be great. Look, it's a day where there were four games and one of them was a BS pitching matchup between the Giants and Padres that's not even worth talking about. That's true. If there was ever a time for a sort of struggle session, I think this is it.

Let's do it. Three names on the Waverwire hitter list that I wrote down here. Josh Bell, three for five with a run scored since joining the Marlins, 26 games batting 280 with eight home runs and an 895 OPS. He's 75% rostered, so this is a very shallow league play. There are two other names that are in a similar roster percentage. Joey Maness is 78% Hunter Renfro at 73. Would you put Josh Bell at the top of that list?

Yes. But I think if you're selling out for home runs, maybe Renfro goes at the top of that list. I think Bell and Manessus both are better suited for points leagues. So Renfro would be at the bottom of that list for sure. But all things being equal, all needs being equal, I would put Bell at the top of the list. yeah. Joey Meneses, I felt like he was having a better August than he was. 286,

three homers, 793 OPS. Eh, it's fine. I would take Josh Bell over him too. Two outfielder's in deeper leagues, I mentioned Parker Meadows earlier. He's been pretty good for the Tigers. He went one for four with a double, a walk, and his second stolen base. And in 10 games with the team, batting 294, he's got one homer, two steals, a 900 OPS, 15% rostered.

The Tigers have six games next week. Only one lefty on the schedule, so that's pretty good. And Mike Yistremski with the Giants went two for three. With his 12th home run, he is 38% rostered. The Giants have six games next week. Four lefties on the schedule. No thanks. Don't feel great about that.

Any thoughts on Yaz and Parker Meadows? I mean, Meadows, just the same thing, but keep saying about them. There are definitely tools there that could be useful in fantasy if he's able to keep playing and able to keep hitting, keep the strikeouts down, all of that. So far, so good. I'm skeptical overall, but worth keeping an eye on and maybe even picking up in deeper five outfielder leagues.

Yistremski, I'm skeptical he's going to make any kind of worthwhile. And part of the problem is the Giants just have so many not very good hitters, like good enough to mix in from time to time, but they're not going to take the job and run with it. They have Wade Meckler, who's been playing a lot interesting and has recently, he's been playing a lot recently and his minor league numbers are interesting. It's a little peek inside my head there, the way I mixed up those words. Luis Matos, of course, hasn't been any good since being called up. They're trying to find bats for Blake Sable still between catcher and the outfields.

And just none of them are, none of them are, are probably worth much in fantasy while they're all competing for playing time like that. And they still manage to beat the Padres 7 to 2 on Thursday. The Padres, by the way... I think it's working.

Yeah. The Padres is 11 games under 500 this year. What a disaster. And what's weird about that is they have a positive run differential. So weird. Yeah.

I mean, the other disappointing teams, the Mets, the Cardinals, the... I guess those are the main two. The Yankees are disappointing, but part of the Yankees problem is they play in such a deep division. Yeah, the run differential for the Mets and the Cardinals is as bad as you'd expect it to be given their record. But the Padres is not. And so I wonder how much of that is just bad luck.

Might be. Let's quickly run through the news and notes. Mariners president of baseball operations, Jerry Depoto, said he's optimistic Julio Rodriguez, will return this weekend against the Mets. He's missed the last two games because of a nerve issue in. his left foot. Good news. George Kirby will officially start Sunday against the Mets and he was scratched earlier this week with an illness. According to Andy Martino of S&Y, the Mets quote, strong expectation is that

Pete Alonzo will be on the team in 2024. Walker Bueller will begin a rehab assignment at AAA on Sunday. He'll likely need at least three starts before being activated, which sounds like mid to late September. I don't think he's going to make much of an impact. I don't either. They keep saying they want to build them up to four innings. I think even in Sim games, he has yet to go beyond two. And then, you know, after the way Kyle Wright's second rehab start went on Wednesday, I'm wondering if he's going to make much of an impact.

And we're just running out of calendar here. Yeah, it's true. I can see Walker Bueller just in a weird way playing a big role in the postseason, right? Like a multi-inning reliever or something crazy like that. And yeah, he'll probably be awesome then. U. Darvish was diagnosed with a bone spur in his right elbow and will be shut down temporarily. Lane Thomas was out of the lineup due to back tightness. He also left Wednesday's game early with that same injury.

Jorge Saler was originally in the lineup Thursday and then scratched with that lingering right hip tightness. The Dodgers did it again. They optioned Ryan Pepio to AAA on Thursday after the Welsh and I spoke about him for, I don't know, five minutes on yesterday's podcast. So that kind of stinks. John Means through five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a rehab start at AAA. And it's... Now there's someone who seems like he can make a difference down the stretch,

John Means. And I'm really anxious to see him in the new dimensions of Camden Yards because it feels like the Orioles made it that way just for him. It's not literally true, I'm sure, but it's perfectly suited for John Means now, his profile. The problem for Means is that they haven't committed to bring him back as a starter.

They got six people in the rotation as it is. I think Means is better than Cole Irvin and Jack Flaherty, at least. But it's hard to say what the Orioles are going to do. Yeah, my read on it is why would they have him throw five innings of rehab if they didn't plan to use him as a starter? I saw the same report as you, but it doesn't really line up. So I still kind of think he's going to be back as a starter. That is John Means.

Nick Ladolo has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the 2020. 23 season. Josh Donaldson signed a minor league contract with the Brewers. He still has some work to do in his recovery from a severe cash strain and likely will not matter for fantasy baseball. In real baseball news, the White Sox hired Chris Gets as their general manager. He's 39 years old. Originally worked with the Kansas City Royals as their assistant to player development and

then joined the White Sox as their director of player development from 2017 to 2020. And then in 2021, he was promoted to assistant general manager. And here we are in 2023, promoted to general manager. I don't think it really matters for fantasy, but that's the latest. Let's take our final break. When we return, we will preview week 24 here on fantasy baseball today. Welcome back and let's talk week 24. Start things off with the schedule.

Six teams have seven games next week. The D-Backs, Cubs, guardians, angels, mariners, and the Ray's, 22 teams with six games, and two unlucky teams with five games next week, the Mets and the Nationals. How about the Rockies? They've got six games. All of them on the road. Womp, Womp, start or sit these two start pitchers,

Bryce Miller at the Reds and at the raise. Eileen, start with him. The outings have been a little short. The matchups could be better. But, you know, the numbers are, they are and they're solid and he's making two starts. But as a flyball pitcher in Cincinnati, Tampa Bay is in a, you know, not a hitter's park, but

they've got some guys that can hit home runs. Yeah, sure. I'm a little scared. Come on, Frank. You're setting your lineups. You've got two of the baseball indicators next to Bryce Miller's name. You're just automatically slotting him in, right? I think in a points league, yeah.

It worries me a little bit in categories league. Yesterday I said that I would start Kyle Hendricks over both Bryce Miller and the next name we're about to talk about. So how about that? Who's the next name? I thought you were going to react to my bold take on Kyle Hendricks. But it is Hunter Green who is facing the Mariners and the Cardinals. Both of those starts in Great American Ballpark.

So in my two-star pitcher rankings, I have Kyle Hendricks directly in between Bryce Miller and Hunter Green. Okay. So it's close enough. My take wasn't that spicy. I mean, Kyle Hendricks is the only one of the three who's on the waiver wire in a relevant number of leagues, 40% of leagues. And yeah,

he's been a quality start machine lately. It's looked like old school Kyle Hendricks, frankly. Yep. The individual starts are kind of boring, but when you add it all up, it's, it's an impressive stretch. And these matchups are not bad.

Did you have a thought on Hunter Green? I'm wary. But he looked much better in the last outing than in the first two. I think it's really hard to sit a two-star pitcher who you have any desire to start ever. Like when he's making two,

like if you're not going to use him in the two-star week, it's that old cliche. If you're not going to use them in the two-star week, when are you going to use them? What are you keeping them around for? A little nervous about it, but I think you're probably going to use them. By the way, someone else who struggled recently,

but the matchups are so good that I just put him in the must-start section of the two-star pitchers as Jose Barria. So I just wanted to point out his matchups at Oakland versus Kansas City. So that's a very easy call, I think, even though he's struggled recently. All right, next up,

we have Reed Detmer's against the Orioles and Guardians. Not for me. And Brandon fought against the Rockies in Arizona and at the Cubs. You know how I feel about Brandon fought. Not great, Bob. Not great, Bob. He has pitched much better since returning. His last start was against the Dodgers,

I don't know. I guess you kind of give him a pass. I like the start against the Rockies, but at the Cubs, yeah, it's a little scary. Two-star pitchers to add and stream for next week. You got six names here on the list. Who are they? Gavin Williams is number one with the caveat that I don't actually know if he's going to be available. Hopefully we hear something about that over the weekend.

He left his last start, took a tumble on the mound, left with a knee injury. Didn't sound serious, but I haven't seen an update. since then. His matchups, Gavin Williams, are against the twins who strike out like crazy. And at the Angels, who are not such a tough matchup anymore. I already mentioned Kyle Hendrix, like him this week. Quality Star Machine.

Let's see. J.P. France. Don't love the matchups at Texas versus the Padres, but France has been pretty reliable. And so I think in a two-star week, you know, probably lean yes on him. Brian Wu at Cincinnati at Tampa Bay. So those same tough matchups as Bryce Miller. But he's looked good in two starts since returning from the IL.

Might be worth using with two starts. Darius Vines were going real deep here. What did you think of his debut? I wasn't able to react to that. I thought it was pretty impressive. I mean, the fact that it came in Coorsfield and he averaged 90 miles per hour on his fastball, it's the fact that he was escaped, you know, with minimal damage.

I'm still kind of skeptical of the pitch. mix, but I don't mind that next week. I mean, the Pirates matchup is awesome. Cardinals, a little scary. What stood out to me most with Vines is like, and I know some people hate this term because it's kind of a globy term, frankly. Like he just, the way he sequenced his pitches was just masterful, even though he doesn't have much velocity on the fastball. The changeup is genuinely, genuinely, uh, lights out pitch for vines. That's how he was able to get so many strikeouts in the minors. And yeah, he just had the Rockies lineup looking baffled. He gets two matchups here and they're good ones against the Cardinals, against the pirates, only 8% rostered.

And look, he's pretty low down on the sleeper pitchers list, but I think he's more deserving than somebody like Reed Demers or Branda Vought. Andrew Heaney gets the Astros and A's. And at least that A's matchup, hopefully he can deliver good results. Darius Vines, by the way, I was watching that game on Wednesday, and they had an amazing in-game interview. They basically interviewed his entire family, and they were so emotional, they were so excited. It was awesome. It was very heartwarming. I was like a little choked up watching his family talk about Darius Vines. It was really cool stuff. Single-star streamers for next week, if you miss out on the two starters, four names here. Who are they? Kyle Harrison against the Rockies in San Francisco. So he keeps those walks down and the Giants

keep letting them work. Jose Kentana at the Nationals, he's been a quality start machine. Jordan Wicks against the Giants. I believe he'll make a start over the weekend. I think it's on Friday. Yeah. Yeah.

So depending how that goes, I may end up removing him. But he looked right in his first start. Got a nine strikeouts. Giants are a pretty good matchup. And Ranger Suarez is coming back from the aisle Sunday. His start next week will be against the Marlins. It'll be a second start back, obviously.

So we'll want to monitor him over the weekend to see how he looks. But that's a good matchup for a pitcher who can give you a quality start potentially. The best hitter matchups for next week. The Diamondbacks, the Braves, Blue Jays, White Sox, and Yankees, the worst hitter matchups, Marlins, pirates, Astros, Cardinals, and the Rockies. With that being said, your 10 sleeper hitters for Week 24. Some people in the comments are asking about Cole Reagan's, why we didn't mention him is a two-star pitcher.

He's too rostered at this point, baby. There's no, there's no need. He's my, he's number three in my two-start pitcher rankings for this week. He is too good for this segment. Must start. Yeah, just wanted to mention that. Okay, sleeper hitters now. Number one, Davis Schneider.

Playing every day for the Blue Jays with Matt Chapman out, bouncing around and just keeps piling up hits. The Blue Jays, as you mentioned, have the third best hitter matchups at Oakland for three, and against the Royals for three. Love Schneider this week. I have Adam Duvall here mostly because he's just a hot hand play. Royce Lewis here mostly because he's a hot hand play.

Mitch Garver is a hot hand play and has always been a lefty killer. The Rangers are facing lefties in three of their six games this week. Wilmer Flores has always been a lefty killer. You already mentioned earlier in the show, the Giants are facing lefties in four of their six games this week. J.P. Crawford has been a righty killer. and he's been hot recently. I believe his OPS is over 850 against Ritey's going off memory there.

The Mariners have seven games all against Ritees. So a good time to use J.P. Crawford, who's 50% available. Gabriel Moreno, we've talked about him as a hot hitter. Diamondbacks have the best hitter matchups. His teammate, Geraldo Pardomo. Not exactly a hot hitter, but if you need help up the middle, Perdomo, It's a good week to try him out. The twins have only one lefty on the schedule,

so I like Edward Julian this week. And just like Mitch Garver is good against lefties, so is Ezekiel Duran, who hasn't done much recently for the Rangers, but he continues to play third base most every day, and it can hopefully take advantage of the lefty-heavy schedule. Somebody's now saying Cole Riggins is rostered in less than 30% of each,

ESPN leagues, which is shameful. My gosh. Yep, that's changed that. If you play on ESPN, please go check to see that Cole Reagan's is not available in your league. He is 64% rostered on Yahoo too, so, hey, go pick him up. That guy should not be a free agent. Let's wrap up with some leftovers here. We mentioned the Slobberknocker between the Braves and Dodgers earlier on.

Well, who started this game? You know it. Lance Lynn, a rough outing. Against those Atlanta Braves, he gave up seven earned runs, three home runs over four in a third innings. And I think pretty obviously here, that's a bad matchup. I mean, it's a bad matchup for anyone, but like Lance Lynn, the guy who leads baseball and home runs aloud among starting pitchers, yeah, it's going to be a pretty bad matchup here. He gave up 11 hard hits in this game, 92.3 average exit velocity. His previous five starts with the Dodgers were very good. The FIP and

the X FIP, they don't really trust it. What are we doing with Lance Lynn next week, Scott? He's at the Marlins. I'd probably play him. Not a must start or anything, but that's a good matchup. And you give him a pass for facing the Braves. On the other side, Spencer Strider, a solid outing. Obviously, you don't like that he missed out on the quality start.

He gave up four runs over six innings, also facing one of the best lineups in baseball. Had nine strikeouts, 17 swinging strikes on 92 pitches, 356 ERA 105 whip. Anything else to add on Spencer? I mean, I hate what it does for a Cy Young chances because he was making real progress, and of course, still has time to bring that ERA down. He was great. Three of the four runs came on one of those Mookie Betts' home runs,

which barely got over the right field fence. Acuna almost robbed him there, and that would have made for an extra special day for Acuna as if it wasn't big enough. So, you know, unfortunate. We've seen that. We've seen Spencer Strider have those. have too many of those moments this year where he's just dominating

and then things kind of snowball one inning and there's a big home run and it messes up the ERA. I still think he's the best pitcher in fantasy. I think most people are ranking him like that for next year already. But it is frustrating when this happens.

All right. One lonely hitting leftover Kerry Carpenter. He wrapped up in awesome August. He went two for five with his second steel. And in the month he hit 347 with nine homers 20 rbi two steals and a 1058 ops carry carpenter now up to 84% rostered he's another name if you play on yahoo or espen just make sure carry carpenter is not available in your league call to the bullpen a few updates here for the tigers alex lang got the ninth inning with a three run lead he gave up a three run wall scraping home run to anthony

Volpe took his fourth blown save. The Tigers wound up winning in extra innings. And for the Braves, Ryssel Iglesias closed it out. He gave up a hit and a walk, but picked up his 27th save of the year. To stream or not to stream, we will start with Friday. And I think yesterday we said Patrick Sandoval at the A's, Jordan Wicks at the Reds. I don't love any of these for a third one, but if you really need one, I think Dakota Hudson against the Pirates.

Yeah, I mean, I don't love any of them, to be honest. Sandoval, even with that matchup, I don't have a lot of trust in him. You just acquired Sandoval from me in a league, so, ah, sucker. Let's put some, let's put some context on this. It's a 2014 league. I'm going to give up that much for him. I might roll the dice on Jordan Wicks if you're forcing me to pick someone from Friday. Okay.

On Saturday, Griffin Canning is at the, Oakland A's on the other side. Paul Blackburn is facing the Angels. Actually, there's some pretty interesting ones here. Mike Clevenger against the Tigers. Oh, Kyle Harrison at the Padres. He was at the bottom of the list. Yeah, I mean, even, I think Zach Lattell at the Guardians

is not terrible. I don't know. Who's your three favorite? I'm going to roll the dice on Harrison because I made such a big deal out of how he looked in his last start. Yeah, agree. They'll tell us a lot going forward if they yank him after four innings or less. this time out. So it's a bit of a risk,

but he should at least give you six or more strikeouts, let's say, and potentially double-digit strikeouts. So Harrison number one, I think number two for me would be Griffin Canning at Oakland's. Yep.

I think Clevenger against the Tigers. Yeah, that's fine. I don't even mind Paul Blackburn against the Angels. This is a much better day, Saturday. Tanner Howick at Kansas City could go well. I just don't know if he's stretched out enough yet.

On Sunday, I hope you have all your streamers in because it's not a great day. Brian Wu at the Mets, I think that's probably the top option here. Johan Oviedo is coming off a complete game. Through a good amount of pitches in that one, so I don't know if you want to trust it. He's at the Cardinals. Brandon Williamson, he's someone that I've liked recently. you know, the Cubs lineup has kind of cooled off. I think he's fine.

Those are probably my top three. So many streamer pitchers that we're considering this weekend are on my sleeper pitchers list for next week. So I may just have to rip that thing up on Sunday if they all implode. Wade Miley against the Phillies, I guess is okay.

But the Phillies lineup is red hot right now. Yeah. My favorite is Wu at the Mets. And if I had to pick up, a second one. Maybe Suarez at Milwaukee, but that's obviously scary with them fresh off the IL. Yeah. All right. We're going to wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again next week. Bye-bye.