Fantasy Baseball Today - Spring Training Winners & Losers! - CBS Sports Network (3/25 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

Frank, Scott and Chris just did an episode on CBS Sports Network! They start things off with spring training winners, including Cam Smith and Christian Yelich. ... Next up spring training losers, highlighted by Shane McClanahan. ... Who are the players we've drafted most? ... We have waiver wire options to replace, Shane McClanahan, Gunnar Henderson and others. ... We wrap up with award picks and our World Series prediction! Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/QiKv Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CPTowers @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Well, fantasy. Now here's Frank Scott and Chris. Welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today live on CBS Sports Network. And after a long offseason, we are just two days away from opening day.

It's a beautiful time of year. I am Frank Sample, joined by Scott White and Chris Towers. We've got a fun show plan, spring training winners and losers, players that we've drafted most injury replacements on the waiver wire. We will wrap up with some awards and World Series predictions. Many people think spring training doesn't matter. I disagree. So let's start there.

We will talk some spring training winners as we did last year. Scott in studio, we have to start with you. Look at all snazzy and everything. The polo. I love to see it. Let's start with your first spring training winner. All right. My first spring training winner is Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians.

He was not very good last year in his sophomore season, but it turns out that his mechanics got messed up from an elbow injury early on last season, comes into spring training. He's got the old mechanics back. And there's this thing called induced vertical break. It is something that measures sort of the rise. effect on the fastball. It makes it really difficult for hitters to square up.

They end up swinging under it. Well, with his old mechanics, Gavin Williams induced vertical brake the spring was up two inches. And it turned his fastball into an elite pitch. He had two starts this spring, where they're not throwing that many pitches total, mind you, because it's spring training. But he had two starts where he got double-digit swinging strikes

on that fastball alone. If you're missing bats, like that with your fastball, which is normally the pitch you used to set up the actual bat missing pitches. If you're getting that with your fastball, your upside is enormous. So I think this return to Gavin Williams' old mechanics regaining that induced vertical break on his fastball. It doesn't just make him a spring winner, a spring riser. I think it makes him a dark horse Cy Young candidate, and I'm very excited about his chances for this upcoming season. Yep, he was a big riser this spring. the ADP over the past week,

170 on Gavin Williams, going just ahead of Yusay Kekuchi and Seth Lugo. So a big riser, indeed, lots of people excited about a breakout season here for Gavin Williams. A lot of people are excited about one of your winners as well, Chris, and he is a prospect for the Astros acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade this offseason. Cam Smith is someone who has been rising a lot. Yeah, you talk about excited.

Someone in Astros' camp said they, he's the next 60 homer guy in Major League Baseball. I'm going to take the under on 60 homers for Cam Smith this season and in any other season in his career. But that tells you how excited about this guy that the Astros are. And I think just the way his spring went tells you how excited they are because Cam Smith was someone who came into the season. Yes, he was the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker trade. That's a big deal.

They clearly love him. But he had only played 32 professional games. I don't think he was on anyone's radar for fantasy for 2025, at least not in the early part of the season. But he was so good that not only did he make the Astros team, he's making the Astros team playing a completely new position. This is a longtime third baseman who's going to be playing right field for the Astros after what three opportunities there in spring training. They clearly love the work ethic. They clearly love the makeup. They clearly love the skill set here.

If you're talking about what to expect from Cam Smith, that's harder to say, right? Because we don't have a ton of data here. 32 professional games. We can't really go on that. But the skills are here for him to be a big time power hitter if he elevates the ball. It was more line drive swing as a prospect. But this is the type of profile where even a small gain in his ability to pull the ball, to hit the ball in the air could lead to a giant breakout, Cam Smith.

One of the A.L. rookie of the year contenders this year and starting right fielder for the Houston Astros. We didn't think that was going to be the case. He's clearly one of the biggest winners this spring. We'll talk AL and NL Rookie of the Year picks a little bit later on. We'll see if Cam Smith was anybody's pick. And a winner for me this spring was Grant Holmes from the Atlanta Braves. And I actually wrote him up as a deep sleeper way back in January, mostly because of the skills that we saw last year. And they were off the charts. We just didn't know if he would be in the Braves rotation. He's a journeyman.

He's been brought into the Braves organization in the past few years, but they helped him develop a slider, and he took off. Last year in 26 games, seven starts with the Braves, a 356 ERA 119 whip over a strikeout per inning, really good control as well, 16.4% swinging strike rate for Grant Holmes. So generating lots of whiffs among pitchers with 60 innings. Holmes is 16% swinging strike rate ranked ninth best last season. So he had the big spring. He has earned a role in the Braves rotation.

The ADP has been on the rise over the past week. He's going to pick 246. Behind names like Tanner Halk and Drew Rasperson, I would take Grant Holmes over both of those names personally. And definitely worth mentioning that he is RP eligible for those who play in CBS head-to-head points leagues. Scott, let's go over to you. Yeah, he's got that Kenny Powers look going on. Hard not to root for him just based on that.

Beautiful hair there on Grant Holmes. Spencer Shrider back at some point this season, but assuming Grant Holmes picks up where he left off in spring and last season, I think that he will remain in the Braz rotation. Scott, let's go over to you for another spring winner. Someone you liked even before spring, but we had some concerns. We did.

We put some of those to rest. Yeah, so Christian Yelich, obviously, his 2024 ended because of back surgery. Back surgeries are scary. You're never sure if it's going to really address the issue. or if you're going to have the same range of motion or if he'll be able to generate the same torque on his swing. And then at the start of spring training, he wasn't even available to play yet.

So what kind of prognosis are we looking at? It definitely was scary early on. Once he finally gets back to games, though, three home runs in his first six. He looks great throughout. It was as reassuring of a return as you could have hoped for, for Christian Yelich. And that raises the question.

question because remember Christian Yelich MVP winner MVP runner up 2018 2018 the reason he fell off is because his back started nagging him so is it possible that this back surgery addressed the issue I think it's too pie in the sky to say Christian Yelich is going to return to being an MVP caliber bat but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility is as healthy as he's looked coming back from the surgery the ADP over the past week is right around round pick 100, Scott, would you select Christian Yelich ahead of names like Mike Trout and Brian Reynolds? Those are names going right around him right now. I think I did end up moving him ahead of both. Certainly Reynolds, I think there's more upside there for Yelich because you have the

stolen base output. I think there's more batting average upside and there could be more power upside. Obviously, he was a big power hitter in his MVP seasons. That's mainly what he lost with the back stuff. Yeah, I'm very excited about Yelich. I went from being excited before spring training to worried to now very excited again because of how good he looked. Chris, back over to you. Another prospect who was on the rise. We recently learned that Jackson Job will be in the Tigers opening day rotation. Yeah, when we talk about spring training, you can look at results,

and that's worth looking at in some instances. And obviously, you'd rather a player perform better than not in spring training. But I think the process is more important, especially when you're talking about a young guy like Jackson Job, who's really just trying to make his way onto the roster prove he belongs. And that's what he did. He didn't rack up big strikeout numbers. And that was a concern for him as a prospect.

But we are talking about arguably the most talented pitching prospect in baseball right now. He's got a 97, 98 mile an hour fastball with good shape. He's got breaking balls that move like crazy and spin like crazy. He's a spin merchant. He gets a ton of break on his pitches. The strikeouts weren't there this spring. but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was working on stuff. He brought his old curveball back.

He added a new sweeper to his arsenal. He started throwing a sinker. All of those things suggest to me that he is still a work in progress. He's still trying to figure it out. But the talent is huge. The Tigers believe in him. They've got a great pitching development system. I'm willing to bet on Jackson Job not just at cost.

He's going outside the top 200 in most drafts. I think he should be drafted inside the top 200, especially in points leagues where he's SPRP eligible, that RP eligibility makes a huge difference. And I'll just go ahead and say it. I think he's going to be better than Roki Sasaki in 2025. Roki Sasaki has so much more hype, way more expensive, but there are real limitations, real concerns about how his arsenal is going to play at the major league level. I don't think Jackson Job is just better at cost, although the cost is 10 rounds later in fantasy.

I think he might just be better straight up. We didn't plan a segment for hot takes here, Chris, but, uh, Happy to get them whenever we can. So there you go. Jackson Job over Roki Sasaki. You heard it here from our Chris Towers. One more winner for me is going to be Victor Scott, an outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals, who entering spring training,

we didn't know if he would have a role. We didn't even know if he would be on the opening day roster. And here we go. Fast forward, he will be the opening day center fielder for the Cardinals, thanks to a huge spring where he hit 349 with four home runs, five steals, and 1172 OPS.

He added eight walks showing his ability to get. get on base. And if you look at the fantasy skill set, it is very fantasy friendly. He stole 94 bags in the miners back in 2023. Don't think he's going to provide much power despite the four home runs that he gave us here in spring. But maybe a handful of home runs throughout the course of the season,

30, 40 steals if we're dreaming for Victor Scott this season. And that's definitely going to play in some of those deeper five outfielder Roto leagues. The ADP right around 277 over the past week. I think very affordable on one Victor Scott. Let's take a break. We will take a look at the spring training losers up next here on Fantasy Baseball today, CBS Sports Network. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today, CBS Sports Network.

I am Frank, joined by Scott and Chris here, and we did spring training winners on our first segment here. Let's go over to the losers. We've got to talk about the bad. And Chris, we will start with you. A big injury that we found out this weekend, Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay. raise. Yeah, I don't know why you came to me first because this is a bummer and I don't want to be negative, but Shane McClanhan, it's really upsetting because he's coming back from his second Tommy John surgery. That's difficult enough as is. But he made a couple of starts early in spring and

looked like himself, which was really exciting because when Shane, Shane O'Mac is ready, you probably can't play the sound. Here comes the money. But Shane McClanahan, when he's right, is one of the most electric pitchers in baseball. And unfortunately, in his most recent spring, spring start, it looked worse than it was. He threw a pitch, was immediately in a ton of pain. Turns out it was just a nerve irritation in his left triceps. But when you're coming back from a surgery like this, a second Tommy John especially, there can be complications and we've seen complications already. Can he come back fully and be himself even after he comes back from this? There's a chance, but you can't feel great about it after there's already been one issue this spring. So unfortunately, Shane McLeanhan, somebody who has ace upside, has AL-Sai-Young type upside, but he's going to be limited when he does pitch, and now he's got this injury. We just don't know if he can be himself, unfortunately. Chris, do you think McClainahan is still worth drafting as a late-round pick in drafts that are still happening?

Oh, absolutely, yeah. You shouldn't take him entirely off your draft board. There's still, you know, if you get two must-start months from Shane McClanahan, and he's the 180th pick in your draft, That's a big win because most of the time when you're drafting that late, you're probably not getting anything out of those guys. And Shane McClan is someone who, yes, there's risk, yes, there's downside. There's still huge potential if he's right, even for a 12-start stretch.

That'll make a big difference. All right, Scott, over to your first loser, Rafael Devers of the Red Sox. What's going on here? Well, he played with inflammation in both of his shoulders all of last season. It wasn't really a problem until the last two months. His numbers kind of tanked then, but you figure, okay, offseason of rest, that's going to be enough to address the shoulder issue. Except he comes into spring training,

and they're not ready for him to play the field. They don't feel like he's capable of doing that right away. They sign Alex Bregman late in the offseason just before spring training, ostensibly to play second base, but it quickly becomes clear, oh, no, we're going to need Alex Bregman to play third base because Devers is going to have to DH. Even in that capacity, we don't see Rafael Devers getting at bat until March 15th. And it's not like he sets the world on fire from that point forward.

It's such a small sample of at bat's that there's not really any conclusion to draw from it. And I halfway wonder if this whole thing was just a big excuse to get a bad glove off the field, because Devers not so great at third base. But we didn't get that reassurance with Devers that his shoulders okay, that it's not going to impact him as a hitter like we got from Christian Yellich, referring back to the last segment.

And so I think it's reasonable to be a little wary of drafting him as people were toward the end of draft season, and it's going to be somebody to watch starting out if he still has his usual power. very eventful offseason for the Boston Red Sox. They bring in Alex Bregman. There was a little bit of drama behind the scenes, but hopefully Raphael Devers, you know,

does kind of get back to form at some point early on in the season. I'm just realizing now that a lot of my winners and losers are Cardinals. I didn't really plan it that way. But my first loser is going to be Sunny Gray, who is their top starting pitcher in the rotation, expected to pitch on opening day. And I like Sunny Gray entering spring because he, He seemed like an undervalued veteran.

People didn't really have much interest in drafting him, but the skills were really strong last season. Fast forward, he had an awful spring. The velocity has been down, and it turns out he had a pain-killing injection in his forearm late last season, which delayed his off-season throwing program. So might explain why the velocity is down early on in spring.

To put some numbers to it, a 1256 ERA, a 202 whip, eight home runs allowed, in 14 and a third innings. Would not surprise me if Sunny Gray gets off to a slow start this season. Maybe he's someone you look to buy low early on in the fantasy season. I dropped him down to SP 38 in my own rankings. Scott, do you think I'm overreacting a little bit here on Sunny Gray? Well, with the additional health concern carrying over from last year,

there probably is more reason for alarm with him than some of the other pitchers whose velocity has been down this spring. But that has been true of a lot of pitchers, Bailey. the ober and Joe Ryan for the twins, Max Fried for your own Yankees. Most pitchers, it seems like, their velocity is down a mile and a half, two hours, two miles per hour here in spring training. And it's so widespread that I don't know that it, I don't feel confident of my ability to single out, oh, this guy, it's an issue for him.

Oh, but it's not an issue for him. I doubt it's an issue for all of them or else there's a widespread pitching problem across baseball. But yes, Sunny Gray with a lingering health concern, I do think it's reasonable to play it

a little extra cautiously with him. Chris, let's stick in the National League Central. You went with another hurt pitcher, and this is

Alexis Diaz of the Cincinnati Reds. I will say, I'm not a doctor. I haven't seen his medical imaging. I'm not actually sure how hurt

Alexis Diaz is versus this just being one of those Phantom I Elstint to try to get him right. There was a report from Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Cincinnati Inquirer the other day where he said, Diaz looked like a candidate to lose his closer job, if not his roster spot since struggling in camp off and up and down 2024 season. He's a fly ballpitcher with bad control in one of the worst ballparks for pitching in baseball.

He has mostly gotten by because he was getting a lot of strikeouts earlier in his career. That went away last season. He was a disaster for stretches. and I think there was a chance he was losing his closer job even before he went on the aisle with a hamstring injury. So the fact that they haven't given us any details about the hamstring, it's just inflammation, makes me think that this is more,

we need to try to get him right before it starts costing us games rather than he can't physically pitch right now. I have an impossible question for you, Chris, but this is why you get paid the big bucks. Who will fill in for Red saves to start the season? there are legitimately like six different people who could get saves. I think Scott Barlow is probably the most likely because he's a righty who has some save experience. But Graham Ashcraft is converting to the bullpen.

He's always had great stuff. I do think he's someone who could play up even more in the bullpen. He's got really good numbers the first time he faces batters in games. And then he's a disaster after that. Well, that could work. As a closer, you're probably not going to face guys more. the ones a game. So I think Graham Ashcraft is the more interesting sleeper there. There's also Taylor Rogers, the left-hander, who has some closer experience. So it'll be

mix and match, I think, early on, but maybe Ashcraft can take it and run with it at some point. All right, Scott, over to you for another loser. And this is someone I know near and dear to your heart, big name, obviously, Freddie Freeman from the World Series winning Dodgers. Yes. Another health situation here. We all know famously Freddie Freeman played through an ankle injury in the postseason. It eventually required surgery. You think it's over and done, but there's a report early this spring that he's going to receive treatment on that ankle for the next several months, at least. And potentially this is going to cause him to sit out from time to time, which is a big concern given that durability has been among the selling points for Freddie Freeman over the years.

not only that, but the Dodgers get to Tokyo for games that count a week ago, and Freddie Freeman's not able to play because he has pain in his rib cage, in the very spot where he also tore cartilage last year. So they don't think it's a big deal. They think it's just a scar tissue situation. He did return to the lineup for the end of spring training. But these are two lingering health concerns for a 35-year-old who, again, the selling point has been durability.

We saw him dropping in drafts toward the end of draft season, and it's sort of like Raphael Devers. I was right there with everybody. You still want to invest in the upside there with a highish pick, but a little wary of investing what you normally would in Freddie Freeman.

One more loser for me here. I'm going back to the Cardinals. Mason Wynn, who was a breakout candidate for me entering spring training, said he wanted to steal 30 plus bags this season, but he is someone who had another brutal spring, just four for 50 and 080 batting average, no extra base hits, a 29% strikeout rate. And the assumption entering spring was that he would be the Cardinals leadoff hitter on opening day.

Uh-uh. He has been dropped down to ninth in the lineup, which has big repercussions on his counting stats and ability to run and get driven in and things like that. So I've lowered him a little bit in the rankings here. To me, Mason win a pretty big loser throughout spring training. Let's take another break. We are madmen. We drafted a bunch of fantasy teams this offseason.

Let's talk about the players that we have drafted most up next on Fantasy Baseball Today, CBS Sports Network. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today, Frank Scott and Chris. As I mentioned before the break, we are Mad Men. And we've done a crazy amount of fantasy baseball drafts this off season. We have a pretty good idea of the players that we keep on drafting, the ones that we have drafted most. And Scott will go over to you. Give me a hitter.

and a pitcher that you just keep buying yourself draft. Well, I'm going to start with a pitcher. It's Clay Holmes of the Mets who had a fantastic spring. And of course, if you're familiar with the name Clay Holmes, it's because he's been the Yankees' primary ninth inning option the past few years. And it probably left a bad taste in your mouth if you're a Yankees fan. It didn't always go well for him in that role. But I think his extreme groundball approach, Clay Holmes, one of the best at getting ground balls.

I think that's going to work better in a starting role. You know, those seeing-eye singles that sometimes happen with a ground ball-heavy approach, they're amplified when the game is on the line and they can lead to rallies that cost you the game. But over an extended outing, they're going to be diluted, those little seeing-eye singles, and I think he's going to be a good source of ERA. The one concern for Clay Holmes as he's transitioning to a starting role generally hasn't performed that well against left-handed batters, but he began introducing new pitches this spring to try and deal with that.

One in particular, the change up, which is known for being the pitch that neutralizes opposite hand-handed hitters the most. It actually emerged as a big swing and miss offering in its own right. Clay Holmes this spring had a 15.7% swinging strike rate and 10.7K per 9, never had numbers like that in relief. And he also has that relief pitcher eligibility as a starter that's so valuable in head-to-head points leagues. As for the hitter that I'm drafting most, love this guy this year. Isok Perretes, who I'll admit is kind of a weakling at the plate.

He delivers some of the lowest exit velocities of any hitter in baseball. But one thing Isok Perid is great at is hitting fly balls right down the left field line. It worked out great for him in Tampa because it's 315 in the corner there. He was a good source of home runs. Not so great at Wrigley Field when he was traded to the Cubs, midway through last season, we saw his numbers crater, very deep in the left field corner there. But now he's in Houston, which is 315 down the line, like in Tampa, but even better, it remains shallow and left all the way to left center because of the Crawford boxes.

So this is like the perfect player venue pairing Isok Perides in Houston. And I think 25 homers, at least, is the expectation for him in that environment. I think Paredes is going to do for the Astros at third base. He's going to give them basically what they were getting from Alex Bregman the past couple years. And for as late as he was going in drafts outside the top 151,60 picks, I am well stocked in Esauk Paredes. Oh, we know you love them, Scott. For those who listen to our Valentine's Day episode,

we remember the love poem that you put out for Esauk Paredes. And the ADP hasn't risen enough. over the past week, it's still 170 for Esauk Paredes. He's going 14 picks behind A. Eugenio Suarez, 20 picks behind Alec Boeum, 65 picks behind Jake Berger. I understand there's enthusiasm for Jake Berger right now, but for Paredes to be going 65 picks behind him, I would call that a really good value right now on Isok.

I'll point out Paredes, unlike Berger, he should be good in both formats, whether it's a Roto, a Categories League, your head-to-head points because doesn't strike out that much and walks a fair amount, unlike Berger, who's bad at both of those. All right, Chris, over to you, your most drafted hitter and pitcher.

One, exciting, young Dylan Cruz, another kind of boring veteran, Zach Allen. Well, yeah, we do this thing as fantasy baseball players where you are young and exciting until you aren't, and then we just

don't care. And that's what happened with Zach Allen. It's not like he's 30, I'm 36. It's not that old anyway, but I guess for a baseball player. But Zach Allen's like 29 years old. He's been the top 15 SP in the previous two seasons for fantasy, or at least he's being drafted that way. And then all of a sudden, last year he has this hamstring injury in May, his control abandoning in the second half. And we're just like, all right, well, that's it. Zach Gallen's done being a useful fantasy option. And I just don't think that's the case. He had a 317 ERA before he went on the IL. His control was great before then. His control has always been very good. And we have, you know, three bad months. And all of a sudden we're just like, eh, he's like an SP3.

We don't really care. I think Zach Allen bounces back. He's gone a very good team. He's still the opening day starter for the Diamondbacks. There is still big upside. We've seen him handle a 200 plus inning workload before. There aren't a lot of guys you can say that about. So I'm in on Zach Allen.

I'm not too worried about him. And then the hitter, young. exciting but not really being hyped as much as he probably should. And that's Dylan Cruz, who was drafted ahead of Wyatt Langford like a year and a half ago in the real MLB draft. He's been a consensus top prospect. He wasn't great at the major league level last season, but there were signs that he could be a really, really good hitter. The plate discipline metrics were all above average, at least the quality of contact. More good than great. And I would like to have seen some sign that there is big power potential here because

he hasn't really shown it in the minors either. But look, the skills are there for him to be a 20 homer guy who hits 270. And he's still 12 bases in like 31 games after getting called up. I don't think he's going to be a 50 stolen base guy, but he was like 93rd percentile. In sprint speed, he clearly has the athleticism to be a big source of stolen bases. I think a 20, 25 homer 270 average with 30, 35 steals, maybe 40 on the high end is well within the realm of possibility for Dylan Cruz. And he's a good defensive player.

So his playing time should be very safe. Hitting second in that lineup that looks like it's gonna take a step forward. I think there's a lot to like about Dylan Cruz. The ADP for Dylan Cruz over the past week is 114. And I think the fantasy community as a whole has kind of been burned by prospects over the past couple of years.

And as a result, we are learning. And they are falling a little bit further in drafts. Whereas previous years, Wyatt Langford's getting elevated as a top 75 pick. A couple years ago, Julio Rodriguez, and those final drafts wound up being like a top 75, top 50 pick, things like that.

And Dylan Cruz didn't have the biggest spring, but the ADP seems fine where it's at right now, 115, you're hoping for some pop and a lot of speed for Dylan Cruz this upcoming season. My most drafted hitter, and it's a surprise because I feel like both of you guys love this player even more than I do. It's Bo Bouchet from the Toronto Blue Jays,

who you guys were on before the calendar even flipped to 2025. And he is coming off an awful season riddled by injury. But prior to last year, he was a career 299 hitter with an 826 OPS. This is somebody we were drafting in the third or fourth round of drafts just last year. And now he's entering a contract year at 27 years old. And the market wants to back off now. It just doesn't really make much sense to me. This is the time to buy on.

Boba Chet. He cut his hair this offseason, which obviously is going to lead to a big year for him. He had a big spring. And he is, he looks poised for a big bounce back season this year. That is Boba Chet. The ADP is on the rise, but still going right around pick 100 in drafts right now. My most drafted pitcher is Framber Valdez from the Houston Astros. And he's the perfect pitcher for me to target based on my draft strategy this season, where I, like to load up on hitters early, maybe the first three, four, five rounds. And Framber Valdez is usually my top ranked pitcher left in, you know, rounds five, six in that range. And I'm happy to settle for him, I guess you could say, as my SP one, because he's been

consistent the past couple of year. He's a workhorse, provides strong ERA, with maybe a little bit on the higher side for Framber Valdez. But last year, he made a tweak to his pitch mix, started throwing his curve ball more in the second half and he just took off he's another player who's entering a contract year here with the houston astros and i think that he will have a big one as he looks to get paid next off season the adp for framber valdez is 64 he's going behind names like yoshinobu yamombo yamombo yamotou and jacob de graham i would take valdez straight up over both of those pitchers i have been talking for way too long i want to get your guys thoughts on bobbocet because I know both of you are in.

You have him ranked inside your top 90, but he's still going around pick 180p. Oh, I had him ranked like 70th to start out. And it blew my mind how low his ADP was. And the fact that he looked so healthy this spring, he hit 450 or something like it, that there hasn't been a correction applied. Oh, clearly Beau Bichette, he's healthy, he's fine.

This is a guy who never hit less than 290 prior to last year. And even as bad as last year was, still a career 290 hitter. Like you said, we were drafting him around three last year. And that's basically been the case for his entire career, round three, round two, maybe even round one some years. And so he has one down year, still only 27. It's sort of like Chris was saying for Zach Gallen. Like one misstep from a player who's that highly regarded with that consistent of a track record

and we're just abandoning him. It doesn't make sense. It's, I think it goes beyond. the thing you have to remember is he's 27 years old or 26 years old. So his body's falling apart. No, this one actually doesn't make sense. And the thing that I want to highlight about Boba Shed, and I've highlighted across the offseason is him and Vladimir Guerrera came up together in the Blue J system,

through the, through the majors with each other. And at every point, they've been drafted within like five or six picks of each other, like four straight years prior to this year. And Bobatheed has even been ahead of. Vladimir Guerrero at times. And now it's like 110 picks in some drafts. I think the average is about 90 now.

But when we started the draft process, Bobashe was going like 120, 130 in a lot of drafts. He was going a full 10 rounds after Vladimir Guerrero. Vladimir Guerrero should be drafted ahead of Boba Chet. I'm not saying that. But the gap between them has never been anywhere close to this big. I think that tells you maybe Vladimir Guerrero is being over-drafted a little bit. I think there's a case to be made for that, given his inconsistency, but more

specifically, Boba Chette, way undervalued this year. People are writing him off way too quick. All right. Let's hit another break, and this happens every spring. Injuries are piling up. Who should you add off the waiver wire if you need a replacement? We'll talk about that right after this quick break. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Injuries are piling up already. It happens every spring. We've lost Shane McClainahan, Jared Jones, Darvish. So let's start there. You might need replacements off the waiver wire and we will begin with some starting pitchers. Some names that you can look at in shallower leagues on CBS. Rees Olson from the Tigers, Luis Severino from the athletics, Eduardo Rodriguez from the debacks,

Nick Martinez from the Reds, Tomoyuki, Sugano from the Orioles. Scott, is there a name or two that stands out here if you lost the starting pitcher to injury, you're looking to replace him off the Waverwire. Yeah, there are several of those pitchers I like. Reese Olson is one. I think there's untapped upside there. He gets a lot of swing and misses on his secondary pitches, especially. And knows not to

emphasize the fastball too much for not being a good fastball. He seems to have a good plan of attack for the Tigers Reese Olson. So that's kind of an all-around pickup. I do like Nick Martinez and Tomoyuki Sugano quite a bit too, especially if WIP is

mainly what you're looking to address. and that is a category that can get away from you in a Roto league. It is one you have to carefully manage. Nick Martinez last year for the Reds emerged as an elite control pitcher. And it was new. Maybe it won't carry over. But you know who was buying in was the Reds because they made him a qualifying offer this offseason, which he accepted the tune of $21 million.

No, they don't. So they're buying into Nick Martinez. And Sugano, his history in Japan, shows the same thing. really good control pitcher. What about some names in deeper leagues, Chris? Richard Fitz of the Red Sox, Griffin Canning from the Mets, A.J. Smith-Schauver from the Braves, Jack Leiter from the Rangers,

and Landon Roup from the Giants, who we recently learned will be in their rotation. Do you like any of these names as a deep league replacement at starting pitcher? I'm generally looking for upside when we're talking about these kind of pickups, and I think Fitz has some because his velocity's up, but more specifically,

AJ Smith-Shawver, he's been around for a couple years. He's still just 22, like just turned 22 four months ago. So he's still very young. He made his debut at 20. I think there's still potential there. Jack Leiter, anybody who throws as hard as he does and put in a lot of work this offseason to expand his arsenal. Command will be an issue at times. But if he's even average in terms of his control, I think Jack Leiter could be a huge difference maker. Also throughout names like Max Meyer, Chris Bubich, who might be available. and in deeper leagues, Cade Povich made the Orioles rotation.

He reworked his change-up. He looked very good this spring. And I actually kind of forget that Chris Paddock even exists sometimes. And I forget that he's on the twins. It's one of those weird things that my mind just never connects him to that team. But he looked really good in his last spring start.

His fastball was absolutely electric. Yep. I don't really buy it. But first start comes against the White Sox, so he'll have a chance to get off to a good start. I think Chris Paddock, is a very interesting deep league sleep. Gunner Henderson, we know,

is starting on the IL with that intercostal strain. Hopefully not out too long, but we might need replacements for the first week or so of the season. It's got some short stops that are available in shaller leagues, less than 70% on CBS. Trevor Story, Jeremy Payne, Jacob Wilson, shortstop, not the deepest position here,

but do any of those names stand out? Yeah, I mean, it's the sort of position where you can, kind of just got to take the best of whatever's available. Trevor's story, there's a lot of upside there. It's been a few years since he's been able to deliver on it because so many injuries. But the little bits we've seen of him during that time still looks like he's going to be a good base dealer. The power should play at Fenway. So he would be the top choice while he's healthy.

Jeremy Pena, not a bad fallback option. In deeper leagues, we also lost Tyro Estrada to a fractured wrist. and that, God, I got Tyro Estrada everywhere, unfortunately. In deeper leagues, if we're looking for a middle infielder, Chris, Gavin Lux, Isaiah Kiner Folefa, Otto Lopez, Edward Julian, Max Muncie of the athletics, not the Dodgers. Any of those names stand down? I think we probably should focus on Max Muncie,

just because everyone else here is pretty much a proven commodity. Like, I like Otto Lopez for 10 homers and 20 steals, but I don't think there's a ton of upside there. Gavin Lux, we're not sure he's an everyday player against lefties. Max Muncie, the athletic shortstop prospect, not the Dodgers' third basement. Although the Dodgers' third basement used to play for the athletics, so extra confusing. And they have the same birthday. Oh, what?

That's wild. That actually, like, that shouldn't be allowed. That's too confusing. But Max Muncie could not be any different from the other Max Muncie. The shortstop one we're talking about, he's got a little bit of pop, but he's an aggressive swinger. He's got some athleticism. They should be playing in a good park.

I like the A's lineup. there's a chance that he's a 15-15 guy at the major league level if he sticks with Zach Gelloff out. So I think Max Muncie, again, if you're looking for upside, Max Muncie, look for the ATH next to his name, not the lad. Vinnie Pasquantino is someone dealing with a grade one plus hamstring strain. We're not sure if he'll be ready for opening day, but if you are looking for a replacement in shallower league, someone like Reese Hoskins of the Brewers or Ryan Malthcastle of the Orioles, if you play in a deeper league, Carlos Santana with the Guardians,

Josh Bell with the Nationals. Those are boring guys, but they're going to play and could provide some early season help if you are missing Vinnie Pasquantino. Again, we haven't learned if he's going to be ready for opening day just yet. I don't think Ryan McAllestle is so boring,

just to be clear, with the fences moving in at Camden. I think 30 homers might be coming. Oh, I agree with you, Scott. I was talking about the deep league options. Those guys are boring. Ryan Mountcastle. Not so boring. Let's take our final break on the other side. We'll wrap up with our 2025 season predictions. We'll talk awards and World Series picks up next on Fantasy Baseball Today, CBS Sports Network. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today. Let's wrap up with our 2025 season predictions. And we will start with the rookie of the year. Scott, who is your pick in the AL and the NL?

AL I have Cam Smith of the Astros. NL I have Dylan Cruz. of the nationals, both of whom we've talked about quite a bit on the show already. The only one that I might have considered for the NL instead is Matt Shaw, Cubs third baseman, but Dylan Cruz is a little more proven already. All right, Chris, over to you. You have one pick in common with Scott.

Which one is it? Yeah, Dylan Cruz, NL rookie of the year. I think it makes a lot of sense. The defense is good, the base running is good. If the bat is there at all, I think he's a heavy favorite. I will say, shame on us for going the entire show

without mentioning Christian Campbell making the Boston Red Sox everyday lineup. He's going to be their second basement. He's one of the top prospects in baseball. And this is one where I don't really care that he didn't have a good spring because the Red Sox, they don't care. They love him. They love his approach. They love his ability.

I think he has huge potential for fantasy. I think he has huge potential for real life. He can move around the field if needed. Christian Campbell going to be a big part of the Boston Red Sox. My picks for rookie of the year. A little bit of a Homer. Homer. Jason Dominguez with the Yankees,

you know, the Martian, we've heard the name for years. I think he finally gets an opportunity to play every day and has power and speed and puts it together. Can he catch a fly ball? That we still don't know. But hopefully he does. And Scott, you mentioned the name Matt Shaw with the Cubs. He is my pick on the NL side.

Over to Sy Young. And Chris, you will lead us off here. Sy Young, A.L and NL. Yeah, let's not. overthink it on the a l side tarrick scuba is arguably the best pitcher in baseball he was nearly or was he the unanimous si young last year he might have been unanimous uh nearly led the league in era strikeouts whip and wins last season i think he was like two hits short of leading in whip so terik scubble easy pick in the a l and then let's get zach wheeler a sye young he's been like top five four times

i i think this is the year he's the best bet for volume and and quality in the National League. Scott, Sy Young Awards? I mentioned earlier in the show Gavin Williams is a dark horse for the AL, but my true pick is Garrett Crochet, who last year was first in K per nine, first in K minus walk rate, first in X fifth, first in Sierra, one of just two pitchers, the other being Blake's now with better than a 15% swinging strike rate. And by the way, both were more than 16%.

I think now that the restraints are coming off with the Red Sox, the White Sox's very careful with Crochet's innings last year, It's going to be good. Paul Skeens, my NL pick. All right, for me, I'm going to go with Logan Gilbert in the AL. Hopefully the Mariners could just give him some run support so he can put up some wins this season. This one might surprise you. Spencer Schwellenbach from the Atlanta Braves on the NL side. Bit of a hot take here, but he is a pitcher.

I love this season. Broke out last year. I think he takes it a step further here in 2025. Scott, over to you for your MVP picks. My MVP bics in AL, Bobby Wills. Witt, who had like 10 war last year, but played in the same league as Aaron Judge. Ellie De La Cruz shortened his swing this spring, and we saw him make a lot more contact. I think he goes off and wins MVP.

Chris? Let's not overthink it in the AL, Aaron Judge, until further notice. On the NL side, I'll go with a little bit of a narrative-y pick. Kyle Tucker, I think the Cubs get back to the playoffs. I think Kyle Tucker gets a lot of credit for that. It's a walk season, so he's got a lot riding on it. MVP for me, Bobby Witt in the AL, Corbyn Carroll in the NL, but realistically, it'll be Shohei Otani.

Real quick, guys, just give me your World Series winner. Scott? I have Phillies over Red Sox. Chris? Braves over Rangers. And I have the Dodgers over Rangers. That'll do it. Get hyped.

The season is here for Scott and Chris. I am Frank. Thanks so much for joining into fantasy baseball today. And good luck to your fantasy teams this upcoming season. Thanks for watching.