Fantasy Baseball Today - Shane Baz Rough Outing, Week 7 Sleepers & Two-Start Pitchers (5/2 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

Did we get duped by Shane Baz (2:30)? ... Tanner Houck changed some things up (8:13). ... Zac Gallen likes pitching in New York, apparently (10:20). ... News (15:33): Jake Burger was demoted to Triple-A. ... Buy low or heck no (23:37)!? ... Should you sell high on Geraldo Perdomo and/or Casey Mize (31:08)? ... Gleyber Torres or Maikel Garcia (38:46)? ... We need to see more from these waiver wire pitchers (44:07). ... Let's preview Week 7 with the schedule, two-start pitchers and sleeper hitters (47:13). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:00:20). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow FBT on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CBSScottWhite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Roto_Frank⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Facebook group at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Cocoa Friday and welcome into fantasy baseball today on May 2nd. I am Frank Stamfield, joined by Scott White. Today on the show, we will talk about Shane Boz's rough outing. Should we buy low on these slow starters? Plus, we have Week 7 sleepers, two-star pitchers, and much more. Let's jump in. Oh, my goodness gracious. All right, players of the night, Scott, I'm going to start us off with Shane Boz,

who got rocked by the Royals, five and two-thirds innings, nine hits, seven runs, three walks to one strikeout, only six whiffs in this outing, only through 60% of his pitches for strikes. Really had nothing working here. He couldn't throw strikes,

as I just mentioned. He allowed a lot of hard contact, 11 hard hits in this game against Shane Boz. Secondary pitches were not getting whiffs at all in this one, and he has now allowed five plus earned runs in two of his last three starts. He also has three plus walks in three of six starts this season. Still, overwhelmingly, it's been better.

It's been more good starts than bad starts, Scott, but two of the past three have been pretty rough here. So where are we at? Did we maybe jump the gun a little bit on chain bonds? Well, I guess it depends what you mean because my opinion of him was so low coming into the year. And it's definitely higher than where it started. And it remains higher than where it started.

I think after that 11 strikeout effort against the Red Sox on April 14th, that's when he surged up the rankings inside my top 20. And that was probably too far. That was probably not giving enough time to let it play out. He's now outside of my top 20 in my rankings. And yeah, I mean, beyond that, you get into some pretty dicey territory anyway with pitchers like Bailey Ober and Aaron Nola. and Pablo Lopez.

So I don't know that Boz needs to go much lower than that. Three of his six starts have been terrific. One has been pretty good. And two have been not so good. That's a fairly normal distribution for even a good pitcher, I would say. You mentioned he didn't get whiffs with any of his secondaries. He kind of just threw the curveball. That was the only secondary he threw.

He wasn't using the change up that much. It was clearly a bad night. He wasn't throwing strikes that much. We've seen from a lot of good pictures this year, whether when you're not throwing strikes, it's generally not going to go well. But overall, I'm encouraged by Shane Boz this year. I think maybe we jumped the gun and calling him an ace.

I'm not sure he's quite there, but he's definitely, I'm willing to say he's good. So when I asked the question, did we jump the gun? It was kind of directed at you, Scott, because I noticed you had him ranked SP 22, and I have him at SP 36. So this could just be a difference in ranking philosophy.

You're more aggressive in moving up players you think are breakouts earlier on in the season than I am. I think I give a little bit more credit to like track record and just assume that a lot of pitchers ahead of him are going to figure things out. Based on the conversations we normally have on the show, I don't feel like that's our respective stances. I haven't met SP 36, which still does feel like a huge rise. already the season because I think I had him outside of my top 60 starting pitchers entering the season. So to already have him ranked as like a bona fide SP3, he's just a set it and forget it in your lineup type starter. I felt like that was pretty aggressive, but you took it one step further. I guess. I guess. I mean, that's normally not me, but I don't know. I've been kind of dissatisfied

with that whole 25 to 40 range in the starting pitcher rankings. So I do get. I do get. I do get that part of it too, because even, like, I don't have a lot of faith in Luis Castillo, but I still rank him as a top 30 starter. Like, Zach Gallen had a great start today, but has been mostly bad this season. So, I mean, I get it. That range has been not so great this season. So I could understand if you want to be a little bit more aggressive there on a player who looks like he was breaking out before the start. So we'll see where Shane Bosn goes from here, but little ups and downs so far this season.

Well, now I'm curious some of the players you have ranked ahead. of him. Because some of, like Tanner Bybee. I know Tanner Bybee's last start was good, but... His best start of the season. And he's got a pretty good track record. It's not the longest track record, but we have a full season of him performing

like a top 30th starting pitcher, so... Yeah. I still kind of trust him to be in that range. That's where I haven't ranked. What do you fear is going to happen with Boss? Like, what is your worst case... Short of injury, let's presume he stays healthy. What are you imagining is the worst case scenario for boss?

I think there could be a little bit more volatility here. He is someone who, even last year, kind of like leans fly ball pitcher. I still have some concerns as the weather starts to heat up and they're playing in that ballpark. A lot of those concerns that we had entering the season, they're still there for me for a lot of their starting pitchers. And I just think there will be a little bit more volatility with him. I think we've seen that now with the control. The walks have been up a little bit more here and there. Put a number on it.

Like, what is your, what are you imagining is the worst case scenario for Bos? Oh, I mean, the worst case scenario is like an ERA over four, kind of what we saw last year, where he just doesn't have a feel for his secondary pitches and doesn't really have much else. And it's like an ERA over four and a whip over. So you're not convinced he's really made strides from last year, fresh off Tommy John surgery?

No, I do. But that's the worst case scenario. What I think is the most likely scenario is he has taken a step forward this year. He has prospect pedigree. he has looked better, and he's probably more in like that mid to high three's range with over a strikeout printing, which I think would be like a top 40, top 36 starting pitcher. Okay, fair enough. All right, over to you for your player, the night's got somebody who had one of his best starts of the season, Tanner Howe?

Yeah, Tanner Halk. He actually looked good for once. One run in seven innings, no walks, six strikeouts at Toronto. He threw his sinker 63% of the time. Normally he throws it 35% of the time. So really just leaned on that, kind of got away from the sweeper-heavy approach, completely ditched a splitter. Well, not completely, but more or less ditched a splitter in this one.

So he kind of went back to what Tanner Halk was prior to last year, prior to the breakout last year, which was not a very high up. side pitcher. So I don't know that this is anything to celebrate with Hauk. Control had been shaky for him and has been shaky for him for pretty much his whole career, except for the first half last year when he was so good. So it is encouraging, I guess, to see him walk nobody. But it's not enough for me to like change my rather bearish stance on Tanner Halk and

thinking he is his first half last year. was just a flash in the pan and that he's kind of reverted to being pretty marginal pitcher now. And yeah, I want to be that motivated to pick him up following this start. Yeah, I agree completely. I do think this start was worth talking about with the velocity being up as much as it was here. And zero walks, obviously that's a great sign for Tanner Huck. But we have to see two, three, four of these starts in a row before we, you know, think about. adding Tanner Halk again because, I mean, an 11-earned-run-run start.

It's going to take you a while to work your way back into the circle of trust. So a nice start here for Tanner Halk, did some good things, 53% rostered. Home against Texas next week could work out just because the Rangers are not hitting the ball at all. Talk about Jake Berger in just a little bit. But I would not, I would still not trust Tanner Hauk and not be using him in that start. Did I want to quickly mention Zach Gallen early on here, Scott, because maybe he just likes pitching in New York. That's the latest takeaway that I have

because earlier this season, best start of the season, in New York against the Yankees. What do you know? He's back in New York against the Mets. You think, well, this isn't going to end well. Zach Allen's having a rough season. Boom!

Has a great start. Six innings, one run, eight strikeouts, 12 whiffs on 90 pitches, six of those on the curveball here. He leaned even more on that curve ball. And it was great. I mentioned the six whiffs, 46% CSW.

it kind of feels like Zach Allen just goes as his curveball goes Scott and that's just a really hard pitch to command and I guess rely on consistently and I think that's probably why we're seeing this version of Zach Allen. It's like I don't really know how much more he has to go to in his arsenal besides that curveball.

That just feels like his bread and butter and he doesn't always have that pitch. I guess that could be it. has his arsenal changed that much from years past when he was more reliable and doesn't look like it

let's see he had on a per pitch basis the changeup is performing well this season but I just feel like he doesn't use it that much it's in line with past years it's pretty much always been a 15% usage kind of pitch for him

he's actually let's see not everything he actually used the curveball more last year was like 27% versus 20% now but you go back to previous years

when Gallin was even better it was more like 20%. So yeah I mean he may I don't know honestly I don't know I could make something up but I don't really know

so I'd rather not waste everybody's time by doing that I think clearly with this start, Zach Allen showed that you can't just fade him and and not use him anymore.

There's something here for Gallin still. It's been pretty rocky early on. But I think there's a lot to be sorted out still. He was pretty bad in the second half last year, struggled with control especially, and we've been seeing some of that early this year too. Good enough track record that you want to give him

a long leash from like an a drop perspective. And this buys him some more release, obviously. But I don't know that my trust level is high. I think Gallin is one of the pictures I saw that you had ahead of Shane Boz. And I don't. Yeah. And I don't know if that's right or not.

I have no life. Like, you know, it's been quite a while now where Gallin has been kind of unpredictable and a very volatile pitcher in his own right. Three plus walks in four of seven starts this year. As good as this start was, still had three walks in this one. So the control has just been off for Gowan for really a year now. So it's been weird. 493 ERA 130 Whip.

I think you mostly leave him in there just because you know he's still capable of a start like this. But he is a pitcher I will ask you about later on because some tough matchups on the schedule next week for Zach Gowan. Before we hit our first break, big thanks to everyone for watching. us live, make sure to hit the like button, and subscribe to the YouTube channel if you haven't already. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. News and notes, Jake Berger demoted to AAA after a dreadful start to the season. 186 batting average, three homers, a 558 OPS, only three walks to 32 strikeouts. And I wrote Burger up as a bust before the season for this exact reason, where if he got off to a slothed, a slurface,

slow start. He's on a much better team now. They don't really have the luxury of just waiting for Jake Berger to figure out. The Marlins had that luxury because they were not good last year. They were not competing for anything. Now, you could say that maybe the entire Rangers lineup should be demoted right now the way that they're playing. With all of that said, the demotion is expected to be a short one with Jake Berger returning to the Rangers soon, Scott. Is this just a drop everywhere type situation or do you just hold on in those deeper leagues for now? out. Well, in deeper leagues, yeah, I think you hold on. I actually made the mistake last year in a 15-team Roto League of trading Jake Berger away. I did the same exact thing. I think I traded him in June and then he went off.

It was a little earlier than June. I traded him for Craig Kimbril, actually, and it looked like a great trade at first. Kimbril was, remember, he started out well with the Orioles last year. But things fell apart. And Burger, obviously, caught fire. Who did they call up as a replacement for Burger? Did you happen to catch that? I can pull it up. It was somebody I haven't heard of, not like a big name or anything. It wasn't like Justin Foskew.

No, it was first baseman Blaine Krim. Oh, Krim. All right. Trent, Krem. Maybe he is a big name. Independent. No, I just always liked his numbers and wondered if he'd ever get a chance. All right.

But he's like, I think he's 26 years old. But kind of interesting. I don't think he has the upside of Burger. And so Burger probably will be back soon. But yeah, no, that's a good point that you raised that we've seen very high highs and very low lows for Burger. And will a contender, or at least a expectant contender, have the tolerance for those very low lows? I think we're seeing that they won't. So 15 team,

Roto and deeper probably hold on to Berger. Anything else? You can, this, this buys you an opportunity to, to give him up and use that roster spot on something else for the time being. Though I bet at some point,

Burger will be relevant in your league again. Yeah. Blaine Crimm, by the way, 27 years old, this season in the minors, hitting 313, 7 homers, 25 RBI, 930 OPS. So just a name to watch,

I think in very deep leagues, AL-only, things like that. Again, the name there is Blaine Crim. Some good Rangers news. Corey Seeger took live batting practice Thursday and is hoping to be activated when first eligible on Saturday. Justin Martinez was placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Also, AJ Puck was transferred to the 60-day IL. And boom!

D-backs had another save opportunity right away here on Thursday. No Justin Martinez in the mix. Who would get the save? Well, Kevin Ginkle came on in the eighth inning with a two-run lead facing the top of the Mets lineup. He threw an inning two hits, one run, one walk, three strikeouts, one homer allowed, really worked his way into and out of trouble here. And then Shelby Miller got the ninth inning with a two-run lead facing the bottom of the Mets lineup, clean inning for his first save. Shelby Miller, 10% rostered, widely available. He or Scott, I mean, Kevin Ginkle was used in the highest leverage spot.

In my opinion, I mean, facing the top of the Mets lineup in a two-run game at the time, but he didn't perform all that great. So maybe Shelby Miller takes a little bit of a lead ahead of him. Yeah, I would say so. Any time with every closer, a reliever gets, he gets a little more job security, too, I would say. And not that anything's totally determined. I don't even know for how long the diamondbacks will be looking to fill this. spot because we don't know the severity of Justin Martinez's shoulder issue.

So that's another thing you have to factor in. But I would say if you're prioritizing a Diamondbacks reliever off the waiver right now, you give the slight edge to Miller, who's been great so far. And, you know, in deeper leagues where saves are especially scarce, you also throw a little bit of Ginkles way, just in case. Cole Regens will throw a bullpen on Friday. He missed his start earlier in the week with a mild left groin strain.

Christian Campbell was scratched from the lineup due to right rib discomfort. He is day-to-day. Walker Bueller did not bounce back well after his latest start and is back in Boston for tests on his shoulder, which obviously not great there. Last couple starts have been really good

for Walker Bueller, so we'll see what happens. My guess is he'll wind up on the aisle. Mike Trout was out of the lineup due to left knee soreness. He also left early on Wednesday. So if you play in NFBC leagues, you set your lineups for Fridays as well. Just pay attention there.

You might need a Mike Trout replacement this weekend. Salvador Perez left Thursday's game due to left hip soreness. The A's are promoting one of their pitching prospects, Gunner Hoagland to start Friday against the Marlins. 25 years old, former first round picked by the Blue Jays back in 2021. Six starts at AAA this season, a 243 ERA 104 whip. over a strikeout per inning, averages 94 miles per hour on the fastball,

throws five different pitches, big spin rates on the curveball as well. Scott, any deep league interest in a Gunner, Hoagland? And they're probably a handful of A's pitchers I would look at before him, which isn't saying much. 10.4% swinging strike rate for Hoagland to AAA this year, which would not be good in the majors and is definitely not good in the minors. All right, Tyler Fitzgerald was placed in the aisle with a left, rib fracture. The Royals option Noah Cameron back to AAA after his solid outing on Wednesday.

So probably not an ad for now. Let's see where it goes. He'll probably back up at some point this season. Again, that was Noah Cameron. The Reds optioned Alexis Diaz to AAA after his rough outing on Wednesday. The leash feels like it's decently long for Emilio Pagan for now. John Carlos Stanton was transferred to the 60-day IL, which freed up a 40-man roster spot for Brian Dela Cruz and related to Stanton, Aaron Boone, Aaron Boone is not related to Staten, but this news is related to Staten. Aaron Boone said he plans to use Ben Rice at first base a little bit and is going to try using Ben Rice at Catcher during blowout games, which is like oddly specific.

This is the plan that they're coming up with for Ben Rice. Yeah, Scott. Saticipating a lot of blowout games, is he? They're clearly starting to think of ways to get Ben Rice in the field. with the anticipation that Stanton will be back at some point this season. Even if Ben Rice can play first base or catcher, I don't know how much that really helps anything else, but they're thinking about it.

They are thinking about it. Yeah. And that's good. It's a good thing to think about. Still think we're a ways away from seeing Stanton and a lot could happen between now and them. Yep. but I mean, I think the biggest angle is just,

what if Ben Rice gains catcher eligibility at some point is still playing as regularly as he's been so far? That would be amazing. Make him a top three catcher probably in fantasy going forward. Top four, five at worst. Top five-ish, yeah. I think Ben Rice would be in that mix. The Rangers plays Kyle Higashoka on the IL

due to a mild left intercostal strain. By low, or heck no. Danesby Swanson, off to a rough start this season, but has responded lately after being dropped to eighth in the Cubs lineup. Last three games, six hits two home runs. So maybe this by-low window is closing, Scott. But would you still try while there's a chance? Buy low or heck no on Danesby-Swanson?

Oh, I would buy low. He's been striking out a little too much this year, but otherwise everything seems fine. and I think in the long run he's going to perform like a top 15 shortstop, which is kind of hard to say because there are about 25 short stops that could perform like top 15 short stops. That is a range of my rankings I've really struggled with because a lot of my preferred options among that group like Swanson and Carlos Correa

and to a certain degree Xavier Edwards are off to disappointing starts where you got Jeremy Pena and, and Anthony Volpe would you say he's off to a good start and other batting average is low but the production has been there for fantasy so it's been a tricky range of the rankings for me but Swanson remains high

because I think he is a very solid player there with at least four category potential 28% strikeout rate for Danesby Swanson this season but hitting the ball hard career high average eggs of velocity 90.9 miles per hour, vastly underperforming his expected stats. So yeah, I think especially in a road over categories league, I would be looking to buy low on Danesby Swanson right now. What about Spencer Steer, who's been quiet in the first month of the season? Had a good game here, two for three with a

walk and his third home run. He dealt with that shoulder injury all spring. Definitely could be the reason why he's off to the slow start, but batting just 189 with a 583 OPS. By low or heck no on Spencer Steer? I mean, heck no, seems a little strong. It depends how low we're buying. For what it's worth, the data looks pretty normal for him. Now, I had him as a bust even prior to the revelations about his shoulder. So I'm not, I'm not the biggest Spencer Steer believer to begin with. but if it's like this guy is somebody thinks he's just never going to see

the light of day in his lineup and he's on the verge of dropping him I don't know obviously in a shallower head-to-head league it's not even worth it's not even worth the bother he'd get dropped and you might not even pick him up because lineups are so small but in a roto league

you know I'd fourth or fifth outfielder type at him or maybe a low end starting pitcher did we almost get a visit there from our there's a blip but I'm not going to say anything he doesn't usually show up on the two man shows

yeah leaves us alone yeah let's just keep things moving nothing ever happened let's talk about Luis Robert who is coming around two for four with a double four RPI and a steel he now has a steel in five straight games and over those five games seven hits, two home runs, six steals total. Luis Roberts, 13 steals are tied for the major league lead with L.E.D. La Cruz.

So the batting average in OPS are terrible, but, you know, four homers, 13 steals is awesome here. I don't even know if you can still buy low on Luis Robert, but if someone is just looking at the batting average, you might be able to. What do you think? I mean, here's the thing. Like, you keep naming players that I don't like in a broad sense, So it's not like I'm eager to put in an offer for them. But do I expect their production to improve from here, their numbers to improve from here? Yeah. Yeah, I expect them to get better.

Maybe not steals specifically for Louise Robert because the pace is so outlandish. But I expect the batting average will go up. I expect the home run production will go up. He's still striking out too much. It's like last year. And so that gives me enough pause that, again, I'm not like eager to do it. but if it's, if, if, if, if I have to pick, will he be better or will he get, be worse, or will he stay the same? Like, it's, I know what, what is, what is, it's not a binary, but you got

three options. I don't know. I think the most likely scenario is that he gets better. All right. What about Luis Garcia Jr., who is had a good game here, but also off to a slow start overall, two for four with two steals. He's batting two 53. Two homers. Nine steals is great. Only has 15 at bats against left-handed pitching the season. He's two for 15 in those at-bats. Down to 77% rostered, Scott.

So this is kind of a two-parter. Do you buy low in a deeper roto league? And do you hold him in shallower formats? Luis Garcia, Jr. I mean, he's probably better than this. But how good is he really? And I've... This hasn't come up on the podcast yet.

But I have buried him in my second base rankings because every week I just find myself saying, is there that much here? Is there that much here for Luis Garcia? If we know he's always going to sit against left-handers and the plate discipline is bad, like we're asking a lot of him, we're asking him to kind of meet his best case scenario for batting average and home runs and stolen bases like he did last. year and the stolen base pace is off to a great start it's off to a great start but he's not that fast and i don't know i don't entirely trust it still um and meanwhile like bryson stott steals bases

hundra jemnes steals bases uh andres Jimenez has really really cooled off i noticed he has and like we expected him to but he he steals bases and we have a better idea who he is than than Luis Garcia. So I don't know. Luis Garcia is all the way down to 19th for me. Long story short, obviously Edmunds moved way ahead of him since the start of the season,

Bryce Terang, Christian Campbell. Those guys are all much higher than him at this point. But even some of those fringier types, I just, I don't know that the upside for Garcia, I understand he met it last year, but I think the likelier scenario

is that he's worse than a 15 home. former 30 steel guy. And those guys, that's obviously Amenez and Stott, that's exactly what they are. You know, I wrote down that he has nine steals this season. That's not true. He has six steals the season. He has nine RBI, so I misread the stat.

Six steals, which is still a good pace for Luis Garcia this season, I do think the power will get a little bit better at some point. Again, it doesn't have the biggest track record. 77% rostered, I don't think he's someone you need to hold any points league, which is the point I wanted to get to. No. No. I think you could drop Luis Garcia in that format. I think in a deeper category league, if someone's just willing to give them up for next to nothing,

sure I would buy, but he's, I think I'm in agreement with you, like not actively going out of my way to try and target a Luis Garcia Jr. On the flip side, do you try and sell high on either of these two names, Scott? Geraldo Perdomo continues just this awesome start. Two for four with his fifth home run. he's batting 275, a 387 on base percentage, five homers, seven seals, 846 OPS. Do you sell high on Geraldo Perdomo?

Yeah, I think you sell high. The quality of the contact. I know the average exit velocity is higher, but he's not setting new highs for exit velocity. So I think that's going to sort itself out. The plate discipline has been unreal early on, and that's also going to sort itself. about he's running more, and that might be something that continues.

Obviously, the home run pace is better than we've ever seen from him. But again, it goes back to the exit philosophy. I don't think that's for real. And shortstop is very deep, and I've had a hard time getting him in the top 25, even, while trying to give him some benefit of the doubt. So I think Pardomo is a good sell high candidate. It's a little distracted, as you were saying, because I was looking more at the second base rankings.

I want to see if you still feel this way, because you, you're, your reluctance to move players in kind of the mid-range up or down, you still have Luis Garcia ahead of Christian Campbell and Nico Horner. Is that something you are going to stand behind? Or are you, is this the, the intervention you need to compel you to change it? Yeah, it's close enough. Close enough. I didn't have a lot of faith in Garcia entering the season.

I didn't draft him anywhere. I probably like Nico Horner more than him at this point. Christian Campbell now dealing with this injury kind of throws things for Lou. Well, yeah, I mean, if it ends up putting them on the I.O., that's going to be harder to say. But, like, it looked great before then. I think I would drop Luis Garcia behind those guys. I think I would drop him down behind Bryce and Stod as well.

So, like, probably to the 15 range of my second base rankings. for Luis Garcia. Yeah, not that far off for me then. Yeah. Going back to Pardomo for a second, Scott, did I mess up? Because in Tout Wars, this last weekend, I traded Heraldo Pardomo for Jonathan Aranda. And Pardomo is still having a good week. Your boy, Jonathan Aranda, it's kind of slowing down a little bit.

I don't know. Two hits and a double today. Still has an OPS over 900, a batting average over 300, I think. So. And the dad. That still looks awesome. So I don't think you messed up. All right.

But if you were playing in a one-week league, you messed up. Yeah. I'll tell you how else I messed up. I picked up Craig Yoho, who gave up four runs today. My goodness. He's going to be sleeping in Davy Jones locker tonight. Yes. That's for sure.

Let's talk about Casey Mize, who had a mixed start at the Angel, seven innings, four runs allowed, four strikeouts here, two homers allowed, and 13 whiffs on 95 pitches, five of those on the splitter, four on the slurve. Yeah, mixed start here because like 13 whiffs, I like that, but lots of hard contact,

two homers loud in this one. Strikeouts are dwindling here, Scott, underlying numbers, not buying it as much. Would you maybe try and sell high on Casey Myers while you still can? I mean, if you still can, I don't know.

And I don't even know how much you can even get for them, but you can try. Yeah, he strikes me as a pretty fringy guy. Like the roster rate is obviously as high as some not so fringy guys, but I don't think he's more than a bad start or two away from getting cut in every league. He's been good enough to hold on to for now. The swinging strike rate is still much better than it's ever been at the major league level before.

And I cite that number a lot because I think it is the most telling single statistic for how good a pitcher is. Like, if you, if you wanted, like, to me, there's no clear correlation when you rank leaders in each category than that one. And obviously, the splitter, the harder splitter for Mize has made a difference as far as that goes. But the last couple starts, it's been, it's been trending down. He hasn't been missing quite as many bats. And the overall K-Reed is not great. So it may be just kind of a quirky early season flute that improvement in swinging. strike great. I think he's good enough to hold on to. I think if you want to shop them,

I wouldn't have a hard time giving him up if I could get something that I felt more confident in, but I don't think the trade market is going to be roaring for him. Classic buy low, so high scenario here. I don't think you can pull this off just straight up. You can try, but maybe you have to add in a second piece, Casey Mize and another smaller piece for Sandy Alcansara. Someone you don't have confidence in right now, obviously, he's struggling mightily, but we think we'll get better as the season goes on.

Would you try and do something like that? I'm not as confident in Alcantra. Like, he's better than an 850 ERA or whatever he has now, obviously. I just don't know that has never been a big strikeout guy. He's on a terrible team. He's coming back from a major surgery. I don't know that the upside is much higher for this year than top 40-ish. And so he's not somebody I'm trying to, trying to like really knocking myself out to acquire on the cheap here.

It's not a high priority for me. But I would take him over my, sure. All right. Let's take our final break. When we return, we'll get into some waiver options from Thursday's action. right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Waiverwire hitters, and we have two names in shallower

leagues. Michael Garcia has quietly been pretty good this season, three for five with three steals here. He is batting 296, two home runs, seven steals on the season, 70% rostered with second, third, and outfield eligibility, and Glaber Torres, off to a nice start with the Tigers, three for three with his fourth homer.

He's batting 300, four homers, four steals, 835 OPS. Definitely shallow league stuff here, Scott. But who do you like more? Glaver or Michael Garcia? I think Michael Garcia, I've had a hard time making sense of Glaber Torres

because other than the surface level stats, which were just dreadful last year, it didn't seem like, there didn't seem to be a lot under the hood that was askew for him. But it was a whole year of terror. terrible production. And so then he goes to Detroit. And if you look at his expected home runs

in Detroit over the years, it's like the worst place he could have gone. It's horrible. He would have lost so many home runs playing his career there rather than Yankee Stadium. So I am, for those two reasons, how bad he was last year and the park shift, I remain pretty skeptical of him. And he hasn't, well, you know what, he has. He has it for a decent amount of power. Like the biggest difference is a strikeout rate is 9.4%. It's less than half of what it was last year and less than half of what it normally is, frankly. So that might be too good to be.

It probably is too good to be true. Yeah. And how much batting average does he lose if that happens? It's hard to say. I think he's, I think, I don't think he's as good as he's shown now. Bottom line. I think Michael Garcia has a better chance of sustaining something close to this. Now, I have noticed what Michael Garcia has been doing,

and I've been seeing where he actually ranks amongst second basement, third basement today is pretty low. But he just doubled his steals total almost in one day here. So that'll help. I think part of the reason it's so low, too, is just the Royals lineup has been so bad that the runs and RBIs, they're kind of behind where they should be for Michael Garcia at this point. So I definitely encouraged by what he's doing. I do think I prefer him to Glaber Torres, but I may just be misreading Torres and putting too much weight on what happened to him a year ago.

Yeah, Glaber, he won't maintain a strikeout rate that low. The underlying plate discipline metrics do look really good. The expected stats look awesome for Glaber Torres. so far. But Michael Garcia also hitting the ball really hard. 93 mile per hour average exit velocity. 299XBA. You know that the Royals are typically aggressive on the base pad. So if he's hitting for batting average, getting on base, I think he'll have the green light. He did last year, despite having a 281 on base percentage. He had 37 steals. So it might depend on format. In a Categories League, I think I would go Garcia in a points league. I think I might lean with

Cleaver Torres there. Some names in deeper leagues. Dalton Varsho we spoke about yesterday. He's homered in back-to-back games. Figured I'd bring him up again. He's 23% rostered. And someone you wanted to talk about, Scott, Miguel Vargas. He's doing some things. Last eight games hitting 448 with two home runs and OPS over 1,100. What do you think? Any deep league interest in Varsho or Miguel Vargas? Ooh, yeah, it's been a roller coaster with Vargas who I loved when he was... first debuting as the Dodgers starting second baseman, and obviously it's been a lot of bad since then.

And part of the reason why is he just hasn't hit the ball that hard. He's hitting it pretty hard this year. So for Miguel Vargas, his, you gave the numbers the last eight games, 448 batting average, two home runs. The overall numbers are still bad,

but you look at average exit velocity for the season, 90.1. Max is 110. The walk rate is good. The strikeout rate is good. All the main numbers we look at for hitters, Vargas is showing up this year. Now, the expected stats aren't good. And the only thing I can figure from that is they just don't like how much he's putting the ball in the air, which can be sort of a two sides of the coin thing or double-edged sword.

I'm not sure which is the better analogy right now. But like, you're what I'm saying. It can be a good thing or a bad thing. putting the ball in the air as much as Vargas is. And the stack cast is showing that it's suppressed his batting average so far. Maybe so. But if he continues to hit the ball this hard, I think there are better days in store for Vargas. I don't think, given what does overall numbers look like, that you need to bother with him in many fantasy leagues at all.

But I do think he's worth keeping an eye on, given his minor league track record, his prospect pedigree. and now what some of the data looks like. Let's move over to Waverwire pitchers who I'm pretty sure we need to see more for all of these names before we think about adding them, but they're widely available and I'll bring them up.

We already spoke about Tanner Halk. Jeffrey Springs had his best start since opening day. He was at the Rangers, six shutout innings, but only one strikeout, only two whiffs in this one. Colin Ray outduled Paul Skeen's, of all people. Six innings, two runs, two strikeouts here, only four whiffs on 73 pitches. And Sean Burke had a strong start against the Brewers.

Six shot-out innings with five strikeouts for him. His previous four starts before this one, 771 ERA and a 176 whip. So I'm not buying in on any of them yet, Scott, but maybe, you know, scout team. Let's see where it goes. Jeffrey Springs, Colin Ray, and Sean Burke. I'm not wild about any of them. To be perfectly honest, Vargas, the fact he had just one. strikeout, just two swinging strikes.

You mean springs? Spring, sorry. Yeah, the fact he did that is just, it's hard to get excited about that. Colin Ray, you could kind of see how he makes it work. I don't think there's much ability there.

There's not like much raw ability, not a lot of upside, but a really deep arsenal, good control enough swing and miss ability to make it hold up. You know, in the long run, he's probably going to finish with an ERA over four like he did last year. But there will be streamer opportunities with Colin Ray as long as he sticks in the rotation. I would say, Burke has some upside, but, you know, he pitches for the White Sox. And I don't think it's enough upside for us to really pay much attention to him.

And then there's Justin Verlander who pitched well. against the Rockies, six and a third, two runs allowed, four strikeouts. That's three quality starts in a row. But I think he's pretty much a matchup play at this point, and he's at the Cubs next week. So that feels like a no thanks on Justin Verlander. Yeah, I wouldn't want to start him against the Cubs. I do have some hope that maybe he's more than a matchup's play. He already had his best swinging strike rate since 2019 by a considerable margin, by the way, coming into the start. And it went up in this start with his. 13 swinging strikes on just

how many pitches did he end up throwing? Looks like which anyway it went out. Eighty-five pitches for Verlander. 11 whiffs on 85 pitches. I wrote down 13 on 95, but the point is

it was at least very much in line with what he already been doing or it actually improved with this start. And three good starts in a row, the matchup at have been pretty favorable. I'm getting a little hopeful here. Verlander still has something to contribute for fantasy,

though I agree. Probably bench him for his next start. All right, Scott, let's get into our week seven preview. Now it's time for the weekly preview brought to you by Travis Matthew, apparel designed for confidence and comfort, no matter where the day takes you.

You see, Scott, we're in the three-quarters zip over there. I've got this awesome silky smooth polo on. I've got the Travis Matthew hat. do appreciate the clothes that they make here, the apparel. Look at this, look at this Yankee logo on the side of this. They have this awesome LLB collection as well. We'll talk about it a little bit more in a bit,

but do want to get into the week seven preview. I think this is just a quarter zip, though, Frank, not a three-quarters-zip. All right. Doesn't go down that far. A quarter-zip. Looks good. Looking snazzy, kid.

Let's get into the schedule for next week. 24 teams with six games. We have six teams with seven games next week. The D-Backs, Braves, White Sox, Reds, Royals, and Dodgers. Starters sit these two-star pitchers, and I have a ton to ask you about Scott, so let's get in. Oh, it's a fun week here for two-star pitchers.

So let me just say, you know, I divide them. I have two-star pitcher rankings on the site every week. I put them into four different tiers. The bottom tier, no thanks, is what I call it. And it's always the biggest tier. Not this week. It's not the biggest tier this week. There's actually, especially in head-to-head points leagues,

there's enough to start options to consider. And it's kind of funny. Like most on the hitting side, most teams have good hitting matchups. So I think it's a lot of like really fringy pitchers that aren't bad enough to totally dismiss this week making two starts. But not a lot of high-end ones either. Well, let's talk about Cole Reagan's. We're not entirely sure if he's even starting. but it looks like he would line up for two starts

against the White Sox and Red Sox, but it feels like, I think we just have to wait and learn more, right? So he is scheduled to go Monday as long as his bullpen session Friday goes well. So it could get canceled, but he is on the schedule for Monday. And if he's cleared Friday,

obviously you start Reagan's. Bryce Miller coming off a back injury in his last start, control has been a problem this year. He's at the athletics and home against the Blue Jay's next week. I still have him in the must start tier, but I was debating it. All right. Corbyn Burns has not looked right, and now he gets the Mets for a second start in a row

and the Dodgers. Yeah, and let's just go ahead and lump Zach Allen in with them too, because they are both scheduled for those two very difficult matchups. Well, mostly looking unimpressive this year, Gallin obviously just had one of his better starts, but the overall numbers are still lacking, two tough matchups. You're probably going to start both, but it's not a must. I have them just outside of the must start tier. Ronell Blanco is at the Brewers and home against the Reds.

Ronell Blanco Brewers, Reds. I'm going to lean yes on that. Brady Singer at the Braves and at the Astros. That is a points league only type of play. Sandy Alcanswer gets the Dodgers at the White Sox. I mean, Jekyll and Hyde matchups here. I can't do it. I don't think so.

Yeah. Yeah, which is crazy to say, but yeah, I don't. It's in a very small no thanks tier for this week, Sandy Alcantra. And then Jackson Job at the Rockies and Home Against the Rangers. Also, no thanks. It just really hasn't given us much reason for optimism at all. Even as a spark in a points league? I'm not really rostering them in points leagues anymore, to be honest.

So if you are, every two-star pitcher, I guess, is a gamble. you could justify taking in a points league, but I would not be looking to do that one specifically. All right. Who are the two-star pitchers that you are looking to add and stream for next week? So Tony Gonsolin is the best one

after a dominant start against the Marlins, fresh off the IL, after Tommy John surgery. More recently it was a hamstring issue, but he was finally back. He looked great. His first matchup is against that same Marlins lineup that he dominated.

So I think Tony Gonson is, more or less a must. I like Shane Smith as well for having about a 220 ERA. He's only 38% rostered. I was kind of surprised by that. The league's pitch are eligible. So if you care about that in points,

leagues all the more reason to take a shot on Shane Smith this week. He gets the Marlins as well. And also the Royals, who at least before Thursday, were a bottom five offense. So he's pretty easy called. Lucas G. Alito's actually third here. The top line production was good in his return from Tommy John's surgery.

I think under the hood there was more to be concerned about, and I'm not as bullish on him as Tony Gonslin. But he faces two lineups that have been bottom five and run scored so far, Rangers and Royals. So I think that's a mark in Gellito's favor. Luis Ortiz, 13% swinging strike rate and has had several starts with eight strikeouts or more already. particularly if you want strikeouts, I think he's an okay choice against the nationals and Phillies. And he is really pitcher eligible too. Luis Severino, not anybody's idea of a batmissor anymore, but he generally goes six plus innings, has limited damage well this year.

I think in points leagues anyway, that kind of volume makes Luis Severino worth pursuing. He gets the Mariners and Yankees. Tyler Anderson, big overachiever this year. the fly ball rate give it the fly ball rate take it the way he's about 60% he actually has allowed a lot of home runs but he's ton of good job limiting every other kind of hit that has worked out for him so far dangerous pitcher tyler anderson but blue jays and orioles have both been pretty vulnerable offensively this year so you might want to risk it jake irvin another quality start machine when things go wrong they go really wrong but but when they go right, it's generally pretty good. Guardians and Cardinals, decent matchups there. And David Peterson, who's looked a little more ordinary recently, still a great offense backing them, still an outlier ground ball rate.

I think it points leagues especially for the added volume. You probably do run them out there against, even with tough matchups against the diamond backs of cups. What about one-star streamers for next week? Looks like you have two names here on the list. Michael Waka against the White Sox. We'll see how his start goes this weekend, but he's coming off his best so far. It's just a very stable track record overall.

I think everybody should expect him to come around eventually, White Sox this week. And Matthew Liberator prior to the weather shortened start here on Thursday, he had a three-start quality start streak going. And it's been missing bats at an ice rate. Great control so far. I don't totally trust it for Liberator, but he gets the pirates this week. All right, the best hitter matchups for next week. The Royals, Padres, Astros, Mariners, and Nationals, the worst hitter matchups,

Rays, Phillies, Brewers, Red Sox, and Rockies. With that said, Scott, who are your sleeper hitters for week seven? Sleeper hitters. So this, like I said, not many teams actually have bad matchups. You'll notice the Rockies. You mentioned they have the fifth worst. that's with a full week of home games. A full week at Coresfield.

And I'm still saying they have some of the worst matchups just because there are so few to choose from. So it makes for a variety of recommendations here. A lot of them are just players who I think need to be picked up in more leagues period. Andy Pahas, who's raised his batting average about 100 points in his OPS, about 300 points in the last week.

It's hard to look past. Last him, only 47% roster. The matches are fine. Seven game week, he's on one of the six teams with seven games this week. Augustine Ramirez, I think you just start him now. You start him forever. And three games against the White Sox, but that's not even really the point. He's just way too good to qualify for this list still.

Nate Lowe, National South of the fifth best matchups, only one righty on the schedule. I'm sorry, one lefty on the schedule. Lowe's been especially good against righties. He's been fine anyway, but I think the matchups give him an extra boost this week. Kyle Stowers, after the four-hit two-homer game Wednesday, his numbers are looking awfully impressive.

And the Marlins have no lefties on the schedule. Curiously enough, Stowers has crushed lefties in particular this year. So maybe you, maybe it'd be better if there were lefties on the schedule. I think the sample is small enough, though, that we should still trust him, especially against righties, him being a left-handed hitter.

And he's been performing well. Obviously, here recently, Mason win looked good. First, well, it's been a while since he's been back from the aisle, but in the double header, he made up a lot of ground on Wednesday, and the Cardinals' matchups are decent enough.

T.J. Friedel, he's been kind of a fixture on this list. Red's lead-off hitter, Only one home run so far, but he's up to six steals and has been doing everything else well. I think it's just been undervaliant in general. Reds are one of those six teams with seven games. Jonathan India, representative from the team with the best hitter matchups, the Royals, their leadoff hitter. Let's get him in there.

He is off to a slow start. But I think he's going to heat up at some point. Obviously, has a track record to support that. Max Muncie's been horrible, has gotten dropped. opt in a lot of leagues. That's the only reason he qualifies for this list. This is the Dodgers version, by the way. This is available in half of CBS leagues now.

Pick things up. Last four games. It's too early to say he's turned it around and we'll definitely want to monitor. Iowa definitely want to monitor Max Muncie this weekend before I do the update for this list on Sunday. But if he has a couple good games over the weekend, I think matchups are...

Looking pretty good for him. Only one lefty on the schedule for the Dodgers in seven games. And he's become the sort of lefty hitter who really only performs against righties. Okay, a couple of deeper league options here. Trevor Larnick is only 28% rostered. And he seems to have become a full-time player for the twins. After being stuck in a platoon role for so many years, the data has always looked good for him, plate discipline and exit velocities.

He's been hot lately. and the twins have a very good matchups. Only one lefty on the schedule, but the righties include Dean Kramer, Tomoyuki Sugano, Jordan Hicks, Landon Rup. I think Trevor Larnock can stay hot against them. And he might be a sleeper for a breakout season if the playing time keeps up there.

And then finally, maybe the deepest player I featured on this list all season, and only 4% rostered Eli White. Homer. Who has? Can I mention a brave without just saying that? People are going to believe you. Eli White is only 4% rostered. He's taken over in right field for Jared Kellnick on an everyday basis.

Developed a reputation as a lefty masher last year, but lately it hasn't mattered. The exit velocities are up. He's very fast, 99th percentile sprint speed. And he's just been crashing it. and four lefties on the schedule and seven games for the brave. So I think he'll probably start all seven. He's been getting more consistent playing time than Alex Verdugo,

but especially with the four lefties given the way White performed against them last year. Yeah, I think if you're looking for a deep league special there, Eli White fits the bill. That was the weekly preview brought to you by Travis Matthew, apparel designed for confidence and comfort no matter where the day takes you. fan of Travis Matthew, check out this polo again. I was showing it off before. Silky smooth, so comfy, worn out to dinner with my wife earlier tonight. Yankees logo on the sleeve. I mean, I love the way that this thing is like embroidered in. They have an extensive MLB collection on their website as well. So just like really cool polos with team logos on them and

interesting graphic teas as well that have team logos and everything. And Scott, you're wearing the the quarter zip there. Looks super comfy as well. Big thanks to Travis Matthew for making for any occasion that are not only comfy but stylish as well. Let's wrap up with some leftovers here, Scott, and the pitching leftovers. First, the good. Seth Lugo turned in a quality start at the raise, six innings, two runs, five strikeouts.

He had 11 whiffs on 93 pitches. Those are his two best starts in a row here for Seth Lugo. Tyler Malley took a tough luck loss against the athletics. Six innings, one run, six strikeouts for him, completely changed a pitch mix in this one. and Jose Burrios turn in a quality start up against the Red Sox, six and two thirds, two runs, eight strikeouts allowed. Eight strikeouts against, excuse me.

Who, is there anyone that stands out from this group? Lugo, Tyler Malley, and Jose Burrios. Oh, they all kind of stand out, don't they? So Seth Lugo seems like he's gotten back on track. He's difficult to analyze because he throws 11 pitches now. That's how many stack cast tracked him. with. And so it's hard to make much of anything, whether he's doing it differently or whatever. So I don't even know, I don't even know that's worth getting into, but obviously he's kind of on the same pace he was last year now.

And I think he just keeps starting him. Tyler Malley. So you said he changed the pitch mix when he doesn't throw that many pitches. But yeah, I guess he did throw a lot more splitters in this start. 44% when normally it's 26%. I think he's going to be pretty good. You know, before Tommy John's surgery, he was trending up in fantasy. He had that 210 strikeout season with the Reds.

I don't know that he's going to do that again. But even when he did that, it's not like the underlying numbers blew you away. I think he's the good kind of fly ball pitcher and has enough strikeout ability that you're, You're going to want to keep him around. Not especially high end, but you're going to want to keep him around. I think he's one of those pitchers that can be one level above a streamer.

You know what I'm saying? Like one level above like, I don't know, the Merrill Kelly, Justin Verlander, like whatever that group is, like someone that you just feel a little bit better about. Like Jose Barrios. Yeah. I mean, Jose Perrios, he'd been kind of underwhelming so far, but there shouldn't be any guessing with Jose Barrios anymore. he'll have stretches where he's not that good and and then I'll have stretches where he's very good and in the end he'll give you like a 375 365 365 ERA and like that's always who he's been I realize he's kind of fallen out of favor in fantasy because at one point in time people projected a lot more upside onto him I think I think but he's kind of just always been the same guy and I don't I think I think the mood

has turned on him a little too hard. As long as you think of them as just like a number five type starter for your team, I think you're going to be, if you consistently think of them that way and don't get caught up in the start-to-start stuff, I think you're going to be pretty happy with them. Now the bad pitching leftovers, Paul Skeen struggled with command against the Cubs, five innings, three runs allowed, four walks to two strikeouts, three homers, a career high in a start for Paul Skeen. and Kodi Senga struggled to throw strikes against the debacks.

Still had six strikeouts, 13 whiffs on 87 pitches, but only through 57% of his pitches for strikes. Anything else that stood out here, Scott, for Skeens or Senga. Senga, you know, the biggest issue for him is he's not pitching deep enough into games to really be that impactful in fantasy, even though the ratios look nice. And I'm not sure how much that's going to change, to be honest. I think he's definitely worth keeping around. But I can see shopping him just given what his ratios look like

and hoping somebody's willing to overpay for those. So that's what's going on with him. And then who is the other one? I'm sorry. Paul Skeen's. Paul Skeens. Yeah, I mean, I think he just struggled to throw strikes. I think it comes down to that, 59.

or a 56.9% strike rate, four walks equal to his season total to this point. I don't think there's anything to be too alarmed about here. Some hitting a leftover, Sayas Suzuki is mashing early on. Two for four with a double dong. He is up to nine home runs now in a 990 OPS. Juan Succo, excuse me, Juan Soto, maybe off... Excuse you. What?

Excuse you indeed. That was rude. Juan Succo. So maybe he's off the Schneide, two for three with a double dong. First two home runs in City Field this season. So maybe that's just what he needed, and he's going to start to get going now. Bobby Witt extends his hit streak to 22 games, and he did so with his third home run of the season. And Vlad Jr., starting to find his power stroke, three home runs in his past six games.

Got anything to add on Suzuki, Bobby Witt, Vlad Jr. Four good players. You shouldn't really have any doubts about them. You haven't, I assume, for Suzuki, because he's been good. Strikeout rates a little high, but yeah, he's good. They're all good. He might be my most rostered hitter this season. I draft him every year.

Just stay healthy. That's the biggest thing for Sayy's Suzuki. Call to the bullpen for the athletics. Mason Miller struck out one for his 10th save. For the Nationals, Kyle Finnegan allowed a hit but picked up his 10th save. For the Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman was unavailable. Jimmy Garcia struck out two for his second save. for the Rockies, Zach Agnos has picked up saves on consecutive days here, Scott.

NL only leagues? Deeper Roto leagues? Sure. I mean, he's got to be the frontrunner now. He's the only Rockies reliever with multiple saves, and they came on back-to-back days. He struck out only one this year during his time in the majors. His number is between high A and AA last year, a 138 ERA. 0.78 whip, 10.8K per 9.

seems like he has a pretty good splitter. Zach Agnos may be, may be a pretty good reliever, and he seems to be the front runner for saves on a horrible, horrible team. So the fantasy appeal is pretty low, but it's not non-existent. It is existent to avoid the double negative.

What about the Tigers? Tommy Canley got the eighth inning with a three-run lead, facing two, three, and four in the Angels lineup. He struck out two. the Tigers then tacked on three more runs. It was the six-run lead heading into the ninth inning. And my guess is Will Vest would have got the ninth inning.

I don't know that for certain. But, you know, can only work the eighth here. Hard of the lineup. So, yeah, he just strikes me as, I think, the highest leverage guy still. Yeah, it's, yeah, I think it's going to frustrate us for a while. Maybe all season. Could be. To stream or not to stream on Friday,

we have Michael Waka at the Orioles, Brian Bayo versus the twins, Jack Lider facing the Mariners, Jose Soriano against the Tigers. I'm guessing we don't want to use Mitchell Parker at the Reds. No, we don't. I think yesterday we talked about Michael Waka at Baltimore and Jose Soriano against the Tigers.

Jack Lider would be the third choice there, because I don't, especially with the, couple of injuries. The Mariners lineup, they've scored some runs, but they still looks really bad to me. And I don't know the jack lighter's ready to take on a full workload yet, but a lot of strikeout potential there. On Saturday, we have Clark Schmidt home against the raise. Jordan Hicks is facing the Rockies in San Francisco, Jameson-Tayone at the Brewers, Jose Kentana on the other side facing the Cardinals, and Tomoyuki Sugano home against the Royals. Yikes. I like this even less.

Not very good. Guess what, Scott. You're going to like Sunday even less. Schmidt against the race. Sugano out of nowhere missed a bunch of bats last time. Maybe he can keep that going against the Royals. Yeah, Schmidt and Sugano would probably be the best choices from Saturday. And then on Sunday, Will Warren against the raise, Michael Lorenzo. at the Orioles, Andrew Heaney, home against the Padres.

Eduardo Rodriguez at the Phillies, I don't think so. Lance McCullors is at the White Sox. We haven't seen the guy pitch in like four years. I don't know, Logan Evans at the Rangers. Nick Martinez, home against the Nationals. It's bad. Oh, man. I mean, if you're forcing me to pick someone,

it's probably Heaney, just in case he has one of those magical Heaney starts that fools everybody into thinking he might be. be good. But we saw how his last cut start went against a good Cubs lineup. I wouldn't want to risk it myself. All right. We are going to wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again next week. Bye-bye.