Fantasy Baseball Today - Start or Sit for the Final Week & Breakout Hitter Appreciaton! (9/18 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

Eugenio Suarez finally snapped his hitless streak (3:50)! ... Jesus Luzardo lost his quality start in a weird way (9:00). ... Gavin Williams continued his big second half (10:52). ... Ian Seymour lines up for two starts next week (14:36). ... News (19:54): Junior Caminero left with mid-back tightness. ... The Dog of the Week goes to Matthew Boyd (24:49). ... Welcome back, Cole Ragans (30:05)! ... Dylan Crews has picked things up (32:02). ... Hurston Waldrep bounced back with a solid start (38:49). ... Start or sit these pitchers in the final week (45:20)? ... Let's show some love to these breakout hitters (50:00). ... These hitters are finishing strong (57:15). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:02:27). 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/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Hey there, welcome in some fantasy baseball today on Thursday, September 18th. I am Frank Stample, joined by Scott White and Chris Towers today on the show. We have starter sit decisions for the final week.

Breakout hitter appreciation. Welcome back to Cole Regans and much more. Scott, you are coming from us, coming to us, from Parts Unknown. Where did your grandparents' living room go? Ah, well, now I went from a room that just looked like it belonged to a grandparent, to now I'm in an actual grandparents' house. It's different than the last time you were at your grandparents' house. Yeah, I'm in a different room.

I remember there being some like wood beams behind you last time. Last time they just put Scott in the attic and they said, go podcast. No, I was at the dining room table last time. And now I am in in like an office with bookcases behind me and wallpaper. Yeah, no, here I am. It's a fumigation situation at our house. Termites being taken care of. So I wasn't allowed to stay there.

I might not have survived it. I don't think so. Yes. Yeah. You play Scott. We need you around. A fumigation situation sounds like an 80s DC punk band. Yeah, kind of does.

All right, well, with that, let's jump in. In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. And Eugenio Suarez has been impossibly bad until Wednesday. Scott, you're up. He did have a huge game. He went four for four with a double. and his 46th home run. Wow, that's a lot of home runs.

Here's the problem, though, for Eugenio Suarez. He had gone 0 for 32 in his previous eight games prior to this 4 for 4 performance. Oh, for 32. Here's the thing about that 0 for 32 performance in eight games. Seven of those games were in Seattle. Here's the thing about Eugenio Suarez in Seattle. He is batting 0.96 there this season.

Obviously, joined the Mariners at the trade deadline. There were concerns because he kind of struggled to hit. You know, still was a decent power bat, but definitely not the elite player he's been in fantasy the past two years during his time in Seattle really seemed to suffer there. I think he's still suffering there. 096 in two and a half months or a month and a half's time. You know, not a huge sample,

but we already have some evidence that this was not a good place for Ahayniuswars to hit. And that seems to be playing out again. Fortunately, and I had actually forgotten about this, I'm sure some of you listening hadn't. But fortunately, he is a free agent this season. So I hope he doesn't stay in Seattle, but I do think we'll want to monitor where Ae Eugenio Suarez goes because it seems to make a difference. It seems to make a difference.

Seattle's the worst case scenario, but there are maybe some others that wouldn't be so good for him either. It really does look like he just cannot hit in Seattle. And that's the only place because you look at the three places he has called. home throughout his career. Great American Ballpark, 851 OPS career. Chasefield, 928. Now, I don't think he was actually a 928 OPS bat. That's a

smaller sample size, but he was awesome there. Seattle, it's a 722. Like, he just, his strikeout rate goes way up, his Babbitt collapses. There's just, and this is something that we've talked about with some other players, right? Like, A.U. Randy or Rosarena getting to Seattle

has actually fared really well. And part of that might be that he was coming from Tampa, which is another famously difficult place to see the ball. Those are the two we've gotten reports from players who've left it. And that it's, it can be tough to pick up the ball there. And a Rosarena's production hasn't really been affected playing in Seattle. He's basically been the same guy he always was. Yeah, it doesn't affect everybody. Yeah.

It just seems to affect certain players. That's the thing that's tough is we don't know who it does and doesn't affect in the same way. but in a. Yohenio Suarez's case, he has been an elite power hitter everywhere he's been in his career. And it just seems like he cannot hit in Seattle. And hopefully he does not resign.

I think he's a great player. I think Seattle could really use a player like Aeohenio Suarez. I just don't think it can be Aeohenio Suarez. Yeah. He is 30. He'll be 35 around the All-Star break next year. So getting old.

I guess there's just now been this sliver of doubt reintroduced by his time in Seattle. It's probably just Seattle. But because at his age, the decline could come in any point. And, you know, if he doesn't sign with Arizona, Seattle, or Cincinnati, which you probably won't. we don't really have any indication of how he's going to perform there and he's old mainly it's that he's old I think

I think he's going to be difficult to rank for next year no matter where he sounds I think Friday's newsletter will be the toughest players to rank at third base I'm doing that all week with the positions that I'm starting to go through the rankings with and yeah a Eugenio Suarez is definitely going to be

on that list for sure. It would have been interesting to see how his season would have played out if he remained in Arizona. Perhaps there was just natural regression coming because he was just so unreal in the first half of the season. But we'll never know how that would have played out. You guys mentioned the strikeouts going up in Seattle. His quality of contact has also come way down. His average exit velocity is down five miles per hour from where it was with Arizona. Now in Seattle from 91 to 86 miles per hour.

is a huge, huge drop off there for a Eugenio Suarez. Chris, let's go over to you for your Player of the Night and perhaps a little preamble to the player of the night. Yeah, I just wanted, like, I actually didn't have anything at stake here, but I've seen a couple of people who like lost points because Jesus Lozardo was in line for a quality start. And then it just was one of the weirdest decisions that I've seen a manager make all season. He was at 100 pitches finishing seven.

I think he had three earned runs allowed and like. Was it eight strikeouts? Something like that? He had a very good strikeouts. Six strikeouts. Fine start. And then they left him in to start the eighth inning at 100 pitches to face Shohei Otani for the fourth time in the game.

And that just seems unfair to Jesus Lazzardo. And I've seen some suggestion that like the Phillies are just kind of trying to play the meta game and avoid getting a look at their good lefty relievers for Shoheotani to save him for the playoffs, but like, they were already losing three nothing. They don't really have much to play for in the standings at this point. That just felt really unfair to Jesus Lazzardo. And it was frustrating to watch it in the moment and it shouldn't have happened. And so I think Jesus Lazzardo should still get the quality start in this start. And that could be a huge swing for people who play in like head to head categories championships right now. If quality starts as a category, losing out on a

full quality start is a, is a big thing. So yeah, yeah, that is unfortunate there for Jesus Lazzardo. Now, my actual... Are you actually, are you actually proposing the commissioner override? No. What happened? No, but in my heart, he got the quality start. That's all I'm going to sell. In your personal record book. In my personal record books, we're going to look back and I'm going to subtract one run from Hazers Lazzardo's total at the end of the season. My actual, oh my goodness,

gracious player is Gavin Williams, who actually was great today. I've said many things about Gavin Williams this season. Very few of them have been positive. I think he is the king of he can't keep getting away with it this season. But he was great tonight. And I want to be fair at the start because he had nine strikeouts, two walks over five innings. It was typical Gavin Williams. He needed 100 pitches to get through five innings. But hey, he was. He was a good. great and he deserves credit for that now let's say negative things about gavin williams uh he has a 263 era since may first and in that time the numbers aren't completely updated but it's going to be something like a 450 phip and something like a 440 xera and a 11.8k minus walk percentage which

is not a site stat that we cite very often but is a very important one. one when evaluating pitchers. If you look at the K-minus walk rate leaders, it's Terrick Scoobel, Garrett-Crochet, and Paul Skeens. Seems like a pretty good stat. Joe Ryan, Brian Wu. You have some outliers like Sunny Gray is sixth. Quality of contact matters as well, but it's a pretty good rough estimate for how good a pitcher is.

And Gavin Williams, a 11.8% mark would be tied with Jose Burrios for 41st in baseball. this season. He's got that ERA almost to three now, and it's been phenomenal for four months straight, and I know that it's, to a certain extent, all we care about are the results, right? And I am not suggesting that you should have benched Gavin Williams during this stretch or anything like that.

I am saying next season, you should not draft Gavin Williams, as if the three ERA is. is real because it is very much not real. I did just want to... That's all. I did. I mostly agree with everything that you say because how can I not? The numbers don't lie. The underlying metrics say that Gavin Williams has perhaps been pitching over his head for a long time now. For this specific start though, oh, he was great tonight.

He did. Yeah, you pointed that out, but I just wanted to point out his pitch mix. He changed it completely. He led with his breaking pitches and both of them were amazing. He had six whiffs on each of his curve and sweeper. And, you know, if he was doing this for longer and that kind of coincided with the good numbers, then we could point to, all right, he made a change and he's pitching better because of it. That hasn't been the case all season. He's kind of tinkered with his pitch mix all year. But those breaking pitches are still really, really good.

And he threw them a lot in this start, and he was good as a result of that. So I did have a question for later on. Are we using Gavin Williams the final week of the season? He's 58% started. He gets the Tigers again next week. So it's facing. the same offense two times out in a row. What do you guys think? I think it's fine to use him. If people draft him only by, if they rank pitchers by ERA and they look at Gavin Williams,

ERA that's barely over three and say, okay, I'm going to draft him 20th or whatever, that would mean 18th. Okay, yeah, that's like too high. I don't think that's actually going to happen because the whip is high. The strikeout rate's not very high. And just like people who rank fantasy baseball players are way more savvy than that. I think we've seen some interesting strides from Williams. I think he's really talented in the 40 to 50 range at starting pitcher. I think I'd be in for that. Sure. I agree with all that. Yeah. All right. So here we are. We're agreeing. My player of the night is Ian Seymour, who was great against the Blue J's seven innings, one unearned run. Only three strikeouts in this one, only seven wins on 100 pitches. Blue Jays typically a team that does not strike out very much.

continues to pitch well. Last five games, four of those being starts, basically since he's joined the race rotation, 171 ERA, a 0.99 whip, 29 strikeouts to seven walks over 26 and a third innings. I think we have a legit pitcher here in the E&C Moore. He's 42% rostered, and it looks like as of now he lines up for two starts next week at the Orioles, at the Blue Jays. Not the best matchups, but I really like the pitcher, and I am okay recommending him. for the final week of the season. Yeah, this was the first time I think he had exceeded five and a third innings.

Yep. It makes a big difference if we feel like he can go six, then if we feel like he can't. That's kind of the tipping point for how usable a pitcher. Like, the pitchers ratios have to be phenomenal if you're going to accept guaranteed less than six innings from him. It is only once, but, you know, it says a lot, especially since it was the most recent start for Seymour.

And it came against a Blue Jay's office. offense has been pretty ridiculous for a while now. Especially against lefties. Yeah. So I think he's legit. I think he's kind of the pitcher equivalent to Jacob Marcy this year where even modern evaluation standards overlooked this guy in the minors. Like he was just killing it and everybody kept overlooking him in spite of that. And he's come to the majors and done a lot of the same thing.

You said the matchups were what for Seymour next week? At Baltimore, at Toronto. Yeah, I mean, just the fact he lines up for two starts. Presuming he does, because they're going six-man right now, right? Does, did you factor that in? I just looked at whatever CES had for it. I don't know. I'm sorry, I was thinking of Blue Jays.

He was facing the Blue Jays. He's on the race. Yeah, no, I think he'll probably be pretty high in the two-star pitcher rankings. All right, again, that was Ian Seymour. Also want to give a shout out to Blake Snell, who was in, Credible against the Phillies, seven shutout innings with 12 strikeouts here, had 24 whiffs on 112 pitches. He had everything working.

The curve ball was a little bit different in this one. The velocity was up 1.2 miles per hour. It also had five less inches of vertical break, and it was awesome. Nine of his 24 whiffs came on that curve ball. Last two starts for Blake's Nell, 13 shutout innings with 23 strikeouts. He is getting hot at the right time for the Dodgers here, heading into the postseason. Obviously, he had a little bit of.

of a kind of rough stretch there a couple starts to go back in early september late august but obviously if you have blake snell and you're still playing you're using him and obviously uh very excited about what you're getting from blake snow right did you see him shove dave roberts aside when he came out to get him no i did not yeah dave roberts came to pull him i think midway through the seventh and he was like i got this i think he literally said i got this Alex vessia had already come onto the field and had to jog back to the bullpen. It was a great moment. It was very, very cool. Nice. Yeah, I, I shut that game off because I had Jesus Lazzardo in a bunch of leagues. As soon as I turned the game on, he gave up two runs, and I'm like, nope, shut off my computer.

I'm like, I'm not watching this anymore. It was a, uh, one of my most frustrating days as a fantasy player. Just every pitcher that I had got rocked today. And it was, well, Lazzardo didn't get rocked, but all the other ones did, and it was very frustrating. Big thanks to those, watching. watching live, make sure to hit the like button and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Let's run through the news and notes. Junior Camerro left Wednesday's game due to mid-back tightness. He is day-to-day. So something to watch here, but you might need a third base replacement for the rest of this week and perhaps the final week of the season as well.

Did you guys realize Junior Commonero is shooting for most home runs ever in an age 21 season? He's three away from the record. Wow. Yeah, it's Frank Robinson, right? I can't remember who it was now. Basically, he's one of only three players to hit 40 homers in an age 21 season. Ronald de Cunia is one. I'm forgetting who the top one was.

Was it Frank Robinson? I wrote about this a couple weeks ago. I thought it was Eddie Matthews, actually. that might be but anyway common arrows on in historic territory as far as hitting home runs

for a 21 year old yeah Eddie Matthews the record he's shooting for Shohay Otani has had discussions with the Dodgers about playing outfield so that he could be used as a reliever I assume

they're thinking more about the post season at this point so I don't think it'll affect any type of eligibility things for next season could be something that they're looking at down the line as well you know, maybe as he gets into his 30s,

maybe they don't want to use him as a starter anymore, but still as a reliever. Perhaps he will start to play outfield as he ages a little bit here. But, you know, we've heard about this a few times before. We'll see if, you know, the Dodgers actually go through with it and allow Otani to play some outfield in the postseason. Kyle Tucker is seeking alternative treatment

while the progress in his left calf has plateaued. Trevor Rogers has been cleared to start Friday against the Yankees. He left his most recent start, with a blister on his left big toe. We don't hear that often. It's usually a blister on one of the fingers. This time a blister on the toe, but Trevor Rogers is clear to start against the Yankees on Friday.

That was reminding me of a dire straight song, but that's fine. Keep going. Wilson Contreras has been placed in the aisle with a right bicep strain ending his season, and he was solid in his first year as a full-time first baseman. 257 batting average, 20 homers, 80 RBI, 5 steals, over 135 games. Next year will be the first time

that Wilson Guterres does not have catcher eligibility in fantasy. Dodgers catcher Will Smith will not be activated this weekend when first eligible. Jose Soriano left Wednesday start after taking a 107 mile per hour line drive off of his right forearm.

Surprisingly, Isok Paredes is recovering well from his hamstring strain and could return this weekend against the Mariners. It is a massive series in the AL West standings, the wild card standings, and all hands on deck here for the Astros. Zander Bogart's took part in workouts at the team's facility and could return this weekend as well. He's been out since late August with a fracture in his foot.

Connolly Early will start the Sunday against the race, so if you took the chance and you started him, you will be rewarded with a two-star week for Connolly Early. The same thing could be said for Trey you Savage. Oh yeah! He will also pitch again this weekend against the Royals. So again, if you use them, you will get a second start from Trey Yusavage. Williara Brayu is hoping to return at some point this weekend against the raise. He's working his way back from a right calf strain.

Tyler Soderstrom returned after missing five games with groin tightness. Xavier Edwards has missed four straight with right wrist discomfort. Francisco Alvarez was back in the lineup after getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday. He went one for four with his ninth home run. Martine Perez left his star early due to left shoulder soreness. Ryan Bergert is going on the IL with forearm tightness. Jose Catano was placed in the IL with a left calf strain. Kyle Finnegan will begin a rehab assignment at AAA on Thursday.

He's missed most of September with an adductor strain. Tyler Malley will return to start against the Mariners, against the Marlins, excuse me, on Friday. He got up to 52 pitches in his last rehab start, so maybe it's like 65 to 70 pitches. I assume we're not using, Tyler Malley in his first start back. We'll definitely try to avoid it.

Yeah, that would be risky. All right. Next up we have Alex Kora said Peyton Tolly will be used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season and the D-backs are moving Nabil Krizmat to the bullpen and going with a four-man rotation the rest

of the way. All right, Chris. Trying to catch the Mets. They're going with the playoff rotation, the Diamondbacks. Peyton Tully four. You want him to make four relief appearances over the final week and a half so that he can be RP eligible.

Oh, that'd be nice. Yeah. Yeah, let's get some sparse going, baby. Let's do it. All right, Chris, I'll throw it over to you for the dog of the week. And the dog of the week this week is Matthew Boyd, who has had a really, really nice season and is just kind of fumbling it at

the end. And I don't know if he's running out of steam, if he's a little overworked. He think he only threw like 35 innings last season. He's up above 150 now. But playing against Pittsburgh, arguably the best matchup in baseball in Pittsburgh as well, he gave up four and runs over three innings.

Over his last 10 starts, his ERA is over five, over his last six starts. It's 6-61, only 25 strikeouts in 31 and two-thirds innings in that stretch. And this has been a tough one for me all season, because the peripherals largely backed it up, but he was doing it with quality of contact. He wasn't getting a lot of strikeouts. His strikeout rates been a little below average.

Controls been great, but the main thing is that Matthew Boyd has just really limited hard contact. And that's a tough way to live because pitchers have a lot less control over that than hitters. And so it takes a lot. long time to know if a pitcher is truly an outlier when it comes to quality of contact allowed. And for most of Matthew Boyd's career, to put it kindly, he was not an outlier in terms of quality of contact allowed or as often as not he was an outlier in the wrong direction. He gave up a lot of hard contact and a ton of home runs.

He has changed a lot about himself in that time. He has become a much better pitcher. But it was always one that when things were going well, I still felt like it was going to fall apart. at some point and unfortunately it kind of has but is that because of skills is that because of fatigue well it's going to be a tough question to answer for 2026 especially because he's going to be 35 next year it's true that the math may have been against matthew boyd all alone and one way or another maybe this would have happened um but i will note that what i've noticed during this rough stretch of is that he's just lost his slider.

It's just not there anymore. And that was the pitch that was getting most of the whiffs for Matthew Boyd. He threw it just 10% of the time in the start at Pittsburgh. It got zero whiffs. Its vertical movement was down five inches. Its horizontal movement was up four inches. So it's just a completely different pitch. And that's sweeper.

And that's been going on for a while now for Bored and Boyd and coincides with this rough patch. The whiff rate on it for the season now, I think, is down below. low 35%, which is a steep drop from where the slider was for Boyd earlier. So it may be as simple as that. Like, okay, go to work on the slider, get it back, you'll be fine. But even if this hadn't happened because of sort of the bigger picture that you laid out for Boyd, Chris, I would have been fading him next year. Like he probably would have been on my bus list.

Now maybe he's taken that away from me. This dog of the week, Matthew Boyd, taking it away from me by just faltering the way he has here. And I do think maybe part of the reason why he's lost feel for the slider and Chris, you brought this up, is he's thrown a lot of innings this year. I mean, it is a huge increase. He's up to 174 in a third innings last year, 39 and two-thirds. And he hasn't reached 80.

the most ending he's thrown since 2019. Yeah, he hasn't reached even 80 innings in the majors since 2019. So that is a huge jump up. I think it's, I think that could be a reasonable explanation for why Matthew Boyd is kind of fading here down the stretch. He's still 80% started. Next week, it looks like he lines up for two against the Mets and the Cardinals. Tough to say, he'll definitely make two starts because the Cubs might be lining up their

rotation for the wild card series in the playoffs. So, I mean, it could just be one. against the Mets, it could be one against the Cardinals, it could be both. Would you guys use Matthew Boyd the way he's struggling right now? And I feel like it's more likely to be just one against the Mets than just one against the Cardinals, right? Let me see which of those actually comes first in the week. Okay, yeah, I guess whatever start is first is more likely to be the one that he makes because if they're going to give him extra time off, you would figure they would do it, make one start and then set him up for whenever they want him to pitch. So that first start is against the Mets. I think in Roto, that's a tough one.

I think I'd lean towards sitting him. It depends what categories you're chasing. If it's Categories League, it depends what alternatives you have. It depends, I think, if you're thinking in a head-to-head context, even, if you consider yourself the underdog or not willing to take bigger chances. But it's telling that at this point a two-start, perhaps two-start Matthew Boyle, may not be worth using. All right, welcome back to Cole Regens.

I have not been able to play that in a long time, but Cole Regens pitched well here. He clearly was still limited against the Mariners, three and two-thirds innings, one hit, two runs, four strikeouts, 13 whiffs on only 62 pitches here, eight on the fastball, four on the slider. Velocity was pretty much fine, which we want to see coming back from a shoulder injury.

actually didn't really have his change-up working here, which is usually his best pitch, and he still was okay even without it. He's 16% started, I get it. People probably didn't want to trust him his first start off the IL. He is someone who does line up for two starts next week, and I kind of feel like the Royals would just let him make both of those starts

at the Angels, at the athletics. What do you guys think about Cole Regens? Yeah, I don't think he works his way back for them to shut him down. earlier than they need him to. I mean, obviously, they don't need to save anything for the playoffs. So I would definitely plan on activating Cole Regens. He basically looked fine, 62 pitches. You want him to throw more than that, obviously,

but there's a good chance he'll go 80 next time. That's not a big leap. So, yeah, two-star Cole Reagan is definitely worth using. By the way, I did look it up. Surprisingly, the Angels don't have the highest whiff rate against forcing fastballs in baseball this year. How is that possible? It's only the third highest.

I didn't look just in September, but the rays and Rockies do whiff slightly more often against four seamers than the Angels do. The rays, huh? It's interesting. I would have guessed Rockies was one at the two. I mean, if you're doing any kind of search for futility,

you're not going to go wrong betting on the Rockies. The Angels do have a 30% whiff rate on four seamers in the month of September, though, almost impossibly bad. All right, let's take a look at some potential waiver wire hitters for the final week. Dylan Cruz is waking up a bit. And Scott, I know he's the name you mentioned a couple weeks ago that he has good matchups down the stretch here. Two for four with his 16th stolen base.

He has a steal in back-to-back games. And last seven days hitting 333 with one homer and two steals. 61% rostered, six games next week. Three against White Sox pitching. So I think Dylan Cruz is in play for next week. I would agree. Let's see. The first series is against the Braves pitching staff,

so I'd probably want to know the specific pitchers he lines up to face. I know Sale is one of them. Sale is one of them. Waldrop, who looked pretty good. The final ERA ended up being not so great, but he had a lot of strikeouts and no walks. So, and then Bryce Elder, which is obviously a good matchup. But bottom line is he's going to be facing three and a half four pitchers

who should work in favor, should be favorable for Dylan Cruz. So if you need outfield help, he's particularly in five outfielder league. He's not a bad pickup. Chris, just yesterday we praised Dylan Beavers for his on-base skills so far. We said, he's kind of lacking power and speed, though. What do you know? He was listening to the podcast. One for three with a sock in a shoe.

The home run came off a lefty in this one, and he has a 423 on base so far. Three homers, two steals, 893 OPS, and 27 games. And he is 30% rostered, has six games next week, two lefties on the schedule, but has started against the last two lefties

and again homered in this game. So I firmly think Dylan Beavers is in play if you lost Yordan-Alvarez, you play in a five outfielder league i really like what we've seen yeah he had a breakout season at triple a he was he was he a first round pick that sounds when he was drafted i think he was close close to it and so yeah it really seems like he's been a breakout and you know looking ahead to 2026 the orioles obviously have a decent number of talented outfielders um colton cowser among them and you know maybe Enrique Bradfield figures into the mix next year,

but I think Dylan Beavers has to have played in his way into a starting role for 2026. Two other names in deeper leagues. Hase, Hassan Kim has looked better with the Braves here. Two for four with a walk, two runs, and two RBI. 15 games with Atlanta. He's hitting 327 with a homer, nine runs, eight RBI. He's 20% rostered, has second and shortstop eligibility. Six games next week against the Nationals and the Pirates pitching.

One of those is Paul Skeens, but the rest of the. matchups look pretty good there for Hassan Kim. And Moises Bayesteros, one for three with his second homer. Six games since returning. He has eight hits and two home runs. He has started six straight, 13% rostered, six games next week. Two lefties on the schedule. So we might only get four games there for Byesteros.

Any thoughts? Any interest in those two, you know, deep league names for the final week? We'll point out say Suzuki was back in the lineup today and playing right field, which he has not done very often. And that was to keep Moises Byesteros bat in the lineup at D.H. So, you know, I don't know if they would have any interest in putting him in any other defensive configuration. They haven't done it yet. So they're going to have to keep Sea Suzuki out there in right field if they want Byesteros in there.

But they did at least for one game. So that's a good sign. Yeah. And he's now started six games in a row at D.H. Byesteros, his home run was hit 112.8. miles per hour, which was the hardest hit ball at any level this year.

So big boy power there from Biasteros and really the contact skills are next level. Catcher eligible for now. Won't be at least to begin next year, because I don't think he's made an appearance yet a catcher in the majors. It's all been

DH. As for Kim, well, it sounds like the Braves might have the most favorable hitter schedule for next year, at least in the for next week, at least in the top five. Kim, I think he doesn't have a steal yet since joining the Braves, which is the main thing you want from him. I think he has just two extra base hits, a home run and a double. So it hasn't, it's been kind of a hollow batting average.

And I'm not saying if you need to pick up a shortstop, he isn't the best option. There's a very good chance he is because that is a difficult position. to fill off the waiver wire, but it is a move you should only make in desperation. Yeah, and we just lost Zach Netto to the aisle, and obviously he was such a key cog for many fantasy teams this season, so we might need shortstop replacements for the final week of the season, and perhaps Hassan Kim is in play more so in deeper leagues. Let's take our final break. When we return, I have a few waiver wire pitchers for the final week. Can we see ourselves using any of these? We'll talk about that right after this. Waver wire pitchers for

the final week of the season. Hurston Waldrop was okay at the Nationals, five innings, three runs, eight strikeouts, zero walks. That is the key there for Waldrop through 63% of his pitches for strikes. He was also coming off his worst start of the season, so nice to see him bounce back a little bit.

He gets to Nationals again next week on paper. It's a great start. I say this often, I don't like young pitchers facing the same lineup two times in a row, but it is a good matchup. How do you guys feel about Waldrop for next week? I think I've been underrating how good a match of a matchup the nationals are for opposing pitchers.

Because like James Wood and C.J. Abrams have both been terrible in the second half. It's just the Dale and Lyle show. Yeah. And yeah, I think. So he had eight strikeouts through four innings did Waldrop and then things kind of fell apart in the fifth. But I was encouraged to see the lack of walks. And I think the matchup is favorable enough. Even going against them a second time, there's just not much in the Nationals lineup right now to fear.

So I think he's a fine streamer for next week. Second lowest Wobah, second highest strikeout rate in the majors since the All-Star break. All right. Christian Javier outpitched Jacob de Grom here going up against the Rangers. Six innings, two runs, four strikeouts, had nine whiffs on 88 pitches. And he's become more of a complete pitcher so far this season. He's throwing five different pitches consistently. Not all of them are good, but at least three of them have looked all right so far.

His fastball change up in sweeper. he is at the athletics and at the Angels for the final week of the season. The Astros also could be looking to line up their pitching staff for a wild card round. I don't know how much Christian Javier factors into that. What do you guys think about the matchups

at the athletics at the Angels next week for Christian Javier? Yeah, what would their postseason rotation be? Brown, Framber. Yeah, those two for sure. I mean, I guess Javier could be be the third one. I'd go with Javier over Jason Alexander and AJ Bluevo. I actually do not know how to pronounce that guy's name. I'm I'm apologizing. But I think it would be Javier for a third

starter if they need it. I think it's Bluebaugh. Yeah, Blueball. Okay. Bluebaugh. Yeah, he might be and if well, even if even if so, he would, they would line him up for the third game. And so that would probably allow him to make that final start against the Angels, which is the more favorable of those two. matchups. I am not convinced of anything with Javier. Like there were some signs early on that, okay, maybe the velocity was up on his fastball back to where it was when he was last good. Obviously, the shape of the fastball is more important for Javier than the velocity,

but out of velocity helps. The control has come and gone. I think because he lines up for two starts, head to head points leagues, A lot of times you're chasing volume. Okay, it's probably fine to roll Christian Javier out there. But it's not something I'm eager to do if, you know, I'm having to shoehorn him in there. It's not worth it.

Justin Verlander continues to pitch well in the second half. Seven shutout innings here with only three strikeouts. Velocity was actually down across the board here. But it didn't matter. He pitched well in the second half, a 263 ERA, a 125 whip there for Verlander. and he looks like he lines up for two next week as well, Cardinals and Rockies on the road in San Francisco. So, man, those matchups look amazing for Verlander next week.

Yep. I've been telling people for a couple weeks now, even if you don't want to start Verlander now, you're going to want him for that last week if your league uses it. And it looks like it's all lining up for him to have that sweet two starts late. And with the way he's pitched lately, which doesn't seem totally legit.

I wish the strikeouts were a little higher, but, you know, it's a great ERA. Did you read off the exact numbers? I have them here. Last 5.87 ERA 103 whip, 8.1K per 9. All right. Did you read those already? No, no, no, I did second half numbers,

not his last five. Tyler Wells was great at the White Sox, six innings, one run, four strikeouts to zero walks here. Honestly, it looks like he didn't have his best, stuff in this one, but he didn't walk anybody. And obviously, that helped a ton here. That's back-to-back quality starts.

He's allowed two earned runs or fewer in all three of his outings. He also has just one walk in 17 and two-thirds innings. 18% rostered widely available. Could be out there in deeper leagues. And he gets the raise next week. As he pointed out, you know, they strike out quite a bit. And they might be without Junior Camerro too. So I like Tyler Wells quite a bit for this final start as well.

Yeah, I think he's a perfectly fine streamer. He's been a really clutch pickup. Part of it is just the matchups were stacked for him. You know, Pittsburgh, let's see, what was it? So it was obviously the White Sox and this star for Tyler Wells. It was Pittsburgh last time. And like if he's not giving up home runs, if you don't have that fear that they're going to ambush him with a ton of home runs,

then he's probably going to be great because he walks nobody. and most of the batted balls are in the air for Tyler Wells. If they're not going over the fence, they're probably caught for outs, and that's what we've seen here with these favorable matchups for them. Not a big strikeout rate, but particularly if you're really needing a whip specialist here, I think Tyler Wells is a good choice. Where did this come from? Brandon Fott was incredible against the Giants.

Nine shutout innings. It wasn't a shutout because the game went into extra innings, but only one hit, one walk, seven strikeouts, had 14 whiffs on 97 pitches. Kind of just feels like an outlier, great start because his previous nine outings. It's a 665 IRA 174 whip, and he gets the Dodgers next week.

So great start, but don't think it matters. I mean, he's got a 5ERA for his career. I don't think he's very good. I don't even really, I can't even tell you why the start went so right for Brandon Fod. I can't explain the start that just was. And, yeah, obviously against the Dodgers, you're not going to risk it.

Some pitchers stumbling to the finish line. We mentioned Matthew Boyd, David Peterson as well. He's kind of scuffling here against the Padres. He allowed six runs over five innings. And over his last eight starts, it's a 759 ERA and a 166 whip. 20 walks over 40 in a third inning. So the walks have really been a problem there.

He has 55% started and looks like, like he lines up for two next week at the Cubs and at the Marlins. So what do we do at David Peters? Points leagues, you're probably going to do it. Yeah, yeah. But probably not a roto. And that's it. All right, fair enough.

Starters sit these pitchers for the final week. Brady Singer has had himself a nice second half. Last 10 starts, 215 ERA and a 0.94 whip. He is 56% started, and he gets the pirates and at the Brewers next week. What do you think about Brady Singer? It's fine. It's always risky with him. There's always blow up potential here.

But I think that's perfectly fine. It's one great matchup, one matchup that is not good, but the brewers very well may have nothing to play for by the time they get there. So that could be, I mean, the one thing about the brewers, though, is they do have just a ton of interchangeable parts. And I don't know if, like, they empty the bench. it's actually going to make their lineup all that worse because they just have all the same version of guys. But there's a decent chance that he's playing like a skeleton crew in that start.

So I do think Brady Singer is a pretty good start next week. And he's actually like legitimately gotten better by mixing in the sweeper more. He didn't actually do it as much in this start, but it has been a trend coinciding with his run of success here. We've seen more strikeouts from Brady Singer because of it. He may have made a developmental leap here. Not that I have total faith in him,

but it makes it a little easier to recommend him with everything on the line like this. Luis Heel threw six no-hit innings his last time out, and on Wednesday night, it was the complete opposite. At the Twins, four and two-thirds innings, nine hits, five runs, four earned, two walks, two strikeouts. I know you guys have been very skeptical on Luis Heel the entire way. the only thing I wanted to bring up is that he lines up for two next week

it's against the White Sox and the Orioles so I Someone might be able to talk themselves into using Louise Heel I'm not sure it's going to be us Did he didn't even allow? Did I write this down right? He didn't allow a home run in this start No, he just got hit to death. He gave up 12 hard hits So he threw more strikes but they were just ready to pounce on all of his pitches and well But he's not getting whiffs this season either so that's that is one thing worth noting about strike percentage is if you give up a lot of balls in play,

those are technically strikes, right? And he had, what, 12 balls in play at least in this one? No, it would be 20 balls? I can't. So you're saying even if they may have made contact out of the zone, it would have been a ball if they didn't swing. Or they might have just been bad pitches that like, okay, great, it's a strike, but it got hit 98 miles an hour.

so I'm not going to give, I don't want to give a ton of credit for that, you know? Yeah. Well, the reason I brought up the home run issue is like that seems like where Heel's going to give a lot back. Because he's a fly ball pitcher in a Homer friendly part. He's had only two home runs all year. It just, it can't continue. So that he blew up even without home runs being a problem. I cannot see myself using him in any context.

Maybe like extremely deep points leagues where you're just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best with the two starts. But it's, I think he's likely to do more harm than good. I think he's a pure bench player for next season. I don't think he's someone that you draft in the first. Gosh, 30 rounds. Is that two, is that two or 23 rounds? Is that too mean? I mean, I know he's been, he had the injury and maybe he just hasn't been right all season.

But he wasn't good. in the second half last year. Yeah, you got to go back to the first half of 2024 for Luis Heel really pitching well. Even when the ERA's been good, the whip is a disaster, the strike rate is way down. It's just he really has not given us

anything to be optimistic about in over 14 months now. So, yeah. Breakout hitter appreciation. Just want to highlight some names here. Guys that have vastly outperformed their ADP from before the season, Jeremy Pena, two for four, with his 16th home run.

And overall, he is hitting 305, those 16 homers, as I mentioned, 20 steals. He did all of that while missing over a month of the season with a fractured rib. His preseason ADP was 160. So on a per game basis for sure, Jeremy Pena has been a pretty nice breakout this season there. Taylor Ward, another big game, three for four, with two homers. He's up to 33 on the season with 100 RBI. and his preseason 80s. Serial bets coming down to the wire here, Frank.

I was feeling pretty good until this two homer game for Ward. He didn't homer for a while, and I started thinking, I'm going to lose this bet. I have no chance. For those wondering, Scott and I have an over-under for Taylor Ward. Scott went under 34-5. I went over 34-5, and the winner gets a box of cereal of their choice. So Taylor Ward, pre-season ADP was 175.

He very clearly has outperformed that big season for him. I mean, drafting Taylor Ward four straight years has basically been a money printer. It's like been a money printer that prints like singles. Like, it's not like you're getting, you're not getting hundreds out of it. This season has been a period return. I mean, he was, I can't remember his, but his ADP had to have been outside of the top 150. It was 175.

Yeah, so that's been awesome. I don't expect him to be quite this good next season. but if he stays healthy, 25 to 30 homers in good run production is a pretty decent bet. So it's, I would guess he's going to be a little underrated again next year. It's easier to say that for five outfielder leagues, I think, than three outfielder leagues,

because normal Taylor Ward, obviously he's had a career season, but normal Taylor Ward is really fringy in three outfielder leagues. And I think that's more of the kind of, guy you fall back on off the waiver wire, then you make part of your draft strategy. And I would guess even this season, he's probably an okay points league player, but I wouldn't think he's top 12 or anything. No, definitely not.

Yeah. I mean, he's not top 12th. It's about 20th it looks like. The batting average is so low. That's still pretty good, though. 20th outfield there in a points league? Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely, that's, he's been must start in points leagues this year.

Yeah. Yeah. Next up, Trevor Story, man. Two for four with a walk, a run, RBI, and his 31st stolen base. He was actually 31 for 31 in steals the season, and then he was actually caught stealing later in this game. So I really wanted him to have that kind of flawless stolen base season for Trevor's story. But even with that, he's hit 24 homers, 266 batting average, runs in RBI are great.

Preseason ADP was 253. Sal Freelik wanted to give him a shout out, has quietly had a productive season as well. He had a three-run homer here. 296 batting average, 11 homers, 19 steals. Kind of what we were expecting from Stephen Kwan. And you got South Freelick at 3.85 in preseason ADP. You might have been able to just pick him up in a lot of leagues as well.

He should just be straight up drafted ahead of Stephen Kwan next year, right? Like it's been a really quiet breakout for free league. If not close to each other. They should probably go in the 150-ish range or something like that. like that maybe even a little bit later but the one thing i would struggle with in points leagues is just kwan's going to end up with about 80 more plate appearances and i i don't i just don't know if the brewers are going to change their approach where they really mix and match there aren't many everyday players in their lineup and he hasn't quite been an everyday player that that would

be my my one concern with south really didn't a freelik miss time with entry isn't that why the games are lacking? He might have. He has mostly played against left-handed pitching this season too now that I'm looking at it. Looks like he missed about a little time right after the all. 13 games, yeah, but

it looks like it was only about a week. He does sit against some lefties, but for the most part he does play against left-handed pitching. So perhaps seeing this breakout, they'll expand his role going into next season. That's kind of the glass half full, but like you pointed out, the Brewers do like to mix and match.

quite a bit on that team as well. But you know what? He was a first round pick, and he's, this is the player we thought he could become, and it's happening now for South Rail League. And two undrafted names who have just both been huge fines this year. Ramon Luriano hit his 24th home run.

He's also hitting 288. He has six steals and 879 OPS. And Trent Grisham, two more home runs. He has 12 homers in his past 26 games, and he is up to 33 home runs on the season with 80 runs scored. The batting average, 240, not great, but he gets on base in 825 OPS. Very interested to see what kind of contract and who signs Trenkish him this offseason

because this is very clearly an outlier in his career, but both him and Luriano have been very, very big wins, mostly in like five outfieler leagues, but great players. And Lillian is going to be back in the Padres lineup next year, which is going to be another solid lineup. He's still signed? Yeah, he's got a club option for 2026 for like four. million or something. All right.

I was going to say, and I don't know, were you still talking about Luriano, Chris? No, go for four. Because I was going to say for Trent Grisham, you might think that leaving the Yankees would ruin him. But last I check, and I'm pulling it up now to confirm, he has been much better. Yes, much better whether you're talking about, oh, my gosh, much better on the road than at home this year. 272 19 homers 907 OPS on the road versus 197 12 698 at home That's weird So he's not a product of Yankee Stadium

Maybe he's tried too hard to sell out when he's at home And it's affected maybe I don't know Yeah I don't know that's that's surprising I mean it's Yankee Stadium's been great for jazz jessim and Cody Bellinger this year But not Trink Grisham Who's the one you most expect would be venue dependent I mean I think he's probably gone from like a one year

$8 million kind of contract to I would guess you're going to see at least like at least Jurex and Pro Fars contract last year, right? At least a three year deal I think for Grishon. Yeah, what did Jerks and Pro Fars sign? It was like $4.60. I would guess it was something in that. I think it was 336.

Three for 36, yeah. Okay. Yeah. That was lower than I thought. Good contract. That's probably a fair comp, I think. I would guess he's going to get it. But Grisham's a few years younger. Yeah. He's going to turn 29 this off. Yeah.

And he's better defensively. He's not as good defensively as he used to be. A capable center field. Not good anymore, but he can play centerfield. So I don't know. I think he's going to get at least 60 million. Interesting there for Trent Grisham. Hitters finishing strong, Ian Hap.

Two for four with his 23rd home run. In September, he's hitting 321 with five homers, a steel, and an OPS over a thousand. Nico Horner, his teammate, also a big, September, 4-10 batting average, one homer, 15 runs, five steals, OPS over 1,000. Matt Olson is scorching. He is homered in five of his last six games, and in September, 383, 7 homers, a 1291 OPS. Jackson Merrill, better late than never, last 10 games, hitting 341 with five homers, 10 RBI, and OPS over

1,300. Aaron Judge, last 16 games for him, hitting 404, six homers, 9.5. 19 runs, three steals, OPS over 1,300 during that time. And one who's kind of finishing strong. Salvador Perez has four homers in his past four games, hitting for power in September, but not much batting average. Anything to add on any of these strong finishers? So I do want to talk about Jackson Merrill because that,

so the timeline doesn't really work out this way. He was, well, no, I guess. I thought he got off to a slower start than he did, but he actually had when he suffered his concussion in mid-Jude in April. Yeah, he had a three, he was hitting 304 with an 822 OPS when he suffered the concussions. So, I mean, that might explain a decent amount of it, because concussions are the kind of thing that, and he missed time with a foot or an ankle in August as well, bone bruise in his ankle, I think. And concussions, though, are specifically the type of thing that even if you,

you come back after a week and he did he missed one week you just don't know how that's going to affect people that there are guys whose careers have been ruined by just a more no was a guy who's entire career was ruined by concussions anthony rizzo i think we can say his career was ruined by a concussion um you can be symptom free you can be capable of playing but anytime you're dealing with the head and and especially with with a sport like baseball that's all reaction time and and processing, if you're a tenth of a second off, you're not going to hit the ball. Like, that's how fast the ball is moving. So it's entirely plausible.

And I think pretty likely that the reason Jackson Merrill's season went off the rails is because of the concussion. Could be. I will add that I'm really encouraged, by the way, Ian Hap is closing. out the season. He's now basically gotten his numbers right where they were the previous two years. I mean, is he the new Chris Davis with a K? He's had three of the same seasons in a row, Ian Hap, basically. It's kind of Brian Reynolds. It's from a fantasy perspective, Hap is more attuned to points leagues while Chris Davis with a K was more for Roto League. I just meant in the way that Chris Davis was like the same player every single year. That metronomic consistency. Yeah.

Yeah. So I gathered, because I have Ian Hap in a couple of, like, dynasty, long-term focus leagues. And there was a point in its season where it just seemed like he had no value. But I think he's reclaimed it. He's 31. Obviously, the Cubs have a lot of bats they're trying to work in. So it was, I think it was reasonable. It's not the stance I took, but I think it was reasonable to think, oh, maybe we're seeing the end tier for Ian Hap.

But no, we're not. Here's a question. I think, let me make sure. Obviously, we don't know if Kyle Tucker's going to be resigned, but even if they don't resign him, oh, and Casey likely steps into the outfield. Both Ian Hap and Sayas Suzuki are expiring contracts in 2026. There's a decent chance one of those guys gets traded, right? Like, just the way the roster works out, like, are they just not going to have Moises Biosteros up there again? He's proven everything he can. at AAA? Are they not going to have Owen Casey in the lineup? Like, they've got to open up at least one spot, maybe two. I mean, they're in contention mode, right? Yeah.

It could be that one of the young guys is traded instead. Sure. It's also entirely possible. That happens, yeah. Yeah. But it's big off season for the Cubs. I do think that given the fact that both of those guys are expiring, if they don't extend either of them and they're both 31?

Yeah. Yeah, Ian Hap and Sayas Suzuki are both 31, so extending them is iffy. I think that that's going to be an interesting off-season storyline to follow for sure. That's why the Cubs and Marlins always felt like a match made in heaven for a trade, right? Because the Marlins have exciting pitchers. Obviously, you could always use more pitching, and the Cubs just have this glut of outfielders, whether it's prospects or, you know, major league ready players who are performing now. It always felt like it made sense.

It just didn't happen for whatever reason. Some other hitting leftovers, Spencer Steer returned to the lineup with a bang, three for four with his 18th home run and five RBI. He missed the previous three games with neck spasms. He actually has kind of gotten his numbers to respectability close to where they have been in recent years. The biggest drop is the stolen bases. They went from 25 to 7. Obviously, that's huge, but everything else is kind of in line with what we were expecting from Spencer Stier.

Ronald de Kuna is picking things back. up three for five with his seventh home run. Last seven games, he's heading over 400 with two homers and a steal. Mani Machado, three for five with a grand sock in a shoe, his 26th home run. His 14th steel. He stole all four bases?

A grand sock. A grand sock. That's right. Last week, he heard us call him the dog of the week. And over his last four games, he has eight hits, three homers, eight RBI, and a steel. So I wonder if there any grand socks around here. If you look, Scott, I'm

you'll find some. I don't know that I want to. Pete Alonzo has homered in three straight. He's up to 36, and Jose Altuve hit his 26th home run of the season. He had a huge July, but since the start of August, Altuve has slowed down quite a bit. He's hitting 212 with a sub 700 OPS. I'm not sure he's a top five second basement for next year. Is that a hot take? Is that too hot? Is that scorching? I think it's just because the top of the position is not great, but. Jazz Chisholm, Ctele, Take Rice to rank. I think those three you have to rank ahead of him.

I don't know that Keishel does. In a not. In Rodo, I think I'd take Nico Horner over him. Does Michael Garcia have... Over Altuve? I think so, yeah. Does Michael Garcia have second base? I can't get on board with that.

I don't think Michael Garcia is second base. No, he doesn't. No, he's just third base to be in next year. Got it. He could still make three appearances at shortstop, but that seems unlikely. Yeah, so we'll... I went Jose Altoefe at five. in Roto, Ozzy Albi's at six.

I don't know what to do there. Brandon Lowe at seven, Luke Kishel at eight. Yeah, I think... So you don't actually agree with your hot tick because you have L2B4. That's what I'm trying to figure out. That's what I'm trying to figure out.

I think he's on that fringe, though. I think that kind of makes sense how you laid that out. I'm not sure he's a top 100 pick next year. At least in... If he is, I'm out. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, he's going to be, what, 36? He's going to be 36 next season? Yeah. I mean, he's still had a strong year, though. Yeah, but it's going to end up being basically one category where he's a plus. And the steals came down too. Yeah, it's like, weirdly, it's just going to be home runs that he's like an actual plus in. The runs in RBI were pretty limited for him.

He turns 36 in early May of next season. I think he's still a solid starter. I just. Yeah. And you just don't want to be caught holding the bag, you know? It's just with a kind of mid-30s. It's... I mean, even Marcus Simeon, though, we were...

He was going around 75th, 80th, like 100th seems like a stretch. And look, Simian didn't live up to it, so maybe learned the lesson. But Simeon's 2024 was much worse than Altuvase 2045. Some pitching leftovers, Kevin Gosman, another strong start. Six innings, one run, six strikeouts, had 17 whiffs on 95. pitches in the second half. 219 ERA, 0.78 whip for Kevin Gautman. Brandon Woodruff pitched well against the Angels, five innings, one run, nine strikeouts,

17 whiffs on 69 pitches, only six on the fastball, surprisingly, but eight on the cutter. His velocity was down across the board. I watched an interview after the start. He said he wasn't concerned with the velocity. It was down early on in the first inning, and then it was basically fine from the second inning on. So maybe just a slow start. This is also, he hasn't started since September 6th. So it's been quite a while since Brandon Woodruff has pitched. I think the key to Woodruff this year, like when he's been good, he's featured the cutter more. When he's been bad, he's

featured the cutter less. And that's been a new pitch for him basically this year. So that is, that seems to be making up for the loss of velocity, even when he loses a little more velocity, like having in this start. You said only six whiffs. on the fastball. And I get that you were doing a bit because it's the Angels. He only threw 16 of them. He got six whiffs on 13 swings on the fastball.

That's a massive number still. Yeah. He just didn't need it. He only threw 69 pitches. Yeah. It must like that cutter must counter the fastball so well. Yeah. I mean, sometimes you see it where the,

the cutter, I think Carlos Rodon's cutter kind of screwed up his fastball. But sometimes you see it where the cutter itself, it was phenomenal in this start, but generally hasn't been, like a great swing and miss pitch, but ideally the cutter makes everything better,

even if it's not great on its own. There was a really good, I think Lance Brosdowski had a really good. Lance Brosdowski to weigh in on this. He had a, go check out his YouTube channel. He had like a good, like, hour-long breakdown a couple weeks ago about like the year of the cutter. That was fascinating. Well, the off-season's coming,

and I'm sure we'll have a couple episodes with Lance Brasdowski this off-season. Call to the bullpen for the Orioles. Kegan Aiken entered the ninth with a two-run lead. He gave up a hit but picked up his seventh save. And Aiken has the last two saves for the Orioles and three of the last four. For the raise, Pete Fairbanks got the ninth with a one run lead. He struck out one for his 27th save. For the Royals, Carlos Estevez got the ninth with a three-run lead. He allowed a run on three hits, but picked up his league leading 40th save of the year. For the

Padres, Robert Suarez got the ninth with a three-run lead. He allowed two base runners. Dramatic situation facing Juan Soto final final battle of the game but he did get him out and picked up his 39th save there and for the Astros Brian Abrae was unavailable lefty Brian King got the final four outs for his second save of the year to stream or not to stream on Thursday Scott shield your eyes close your ears because Chris and I mentioned yesterday this is bad probably the worst day that we've had all here just don't just don't do it saying something it's look it's like Jonah Tong against the Padres.

Randy Vasquez at the Mets. J. T. Ginnett at the Red Sox. Stephen Kolek against the Mariners. Kate Povich against the Yankees. You say Kikuchi at the Brewers. It's Jonah Tong. He's the most talented pitcher of this group. I know he's been terrible.

But you can't use him after his last heart. Again, like I said, I think I said this last night. If you put a gun to my head, it's Jonah Tong. You should not put a gun to my head. That would be very rude. If I had to choose one, I would say Kolek, but. I'm with you, Frank. Again, the answer is no.

But just for argument's sake, if you have to pick somebody from Thursday who's in the roster range that we discuss here. Cole just hope for a quality start. Hope he'll hope he gives you a really boring quality start. And then on Friday better. We have Will Warren at the Orioles, Brandon Sprote against the Nationals. Parker Messick is at the Twins. Luis Severino at the Pirates. He's been much better on the road as well.

So that's an added plus there. Andrew Alvarez at the Mets. Yeah, Sprout against the National seems like a great choice. Messick at the Twins, certainly. I will just point out the Twins lineup has been very pesky, and they just put up another six or seven runs against the Yankees. Yeah, but Walner and Larnock come out against Lefties, so I think it makes it a little better.

And then Luis Severino at Pittsburgh, just because of the matchup, would probably be my third choice. I like all three of those guys more than anybody on Thursday. Agreed. Agreed. 100%. We are going to wrap there for Scott and Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today.

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