Fantasy Baseball Today - Trade Reactions! Suarez to the Mariners, Jhoan Duran to the Phillies & More! (7/31 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 31, 2025

We had some big trades! Eugenio Suarez is headed back to the Mariners (2:37)! ... What about the Dbacks return (8:53)? ... Jhoan Duran was traded to the Phillies (15:10)! ... Ryan Helsley was traded to the Mets (23:05)! ... We had Mike Soroka to the Cubs and then Zack Littell/Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Reds (28:20). ... Let's run through the smaller trades (34:26). ... The Dog of the Week goes to Pete Alonso (37:05)! ... William Contreras, Joey Wentz and the White Sox bats are the players of the night (42:50). ... News (52:07): Shohei Ohtani left his pitching start with cramps. ... Let's rank waiver wire pitchers (58:45). ... Anthony Volpe's bat is waking up (1:06:35). ... We wrap up with leftovers, bullpen updates and streamers (1:11:00). 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. Happy Trade Deadline Day and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Thursday, July 31st. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White and Chris Towers.

Today on the show, we have a bunch of trades to recap. This is going to be a long show, by the way. So enjoy it. I know everyone always, you want more content. You got it. Can't be that long. I got an early bedtime tonight, Frank. Scott, you chose the wrong night, man.

I told you all-nighter. It's happening. The slugging white socks did it again. Mackenzie Gore, another rough outing. What do we do? We'll talk about all that later on. Let's start with the truited. trades and reunited.

And it feels so good. Just before we went live, the Mariners acquired a Eugenio Suarez for Tyler Locklear and two pitching prospects, Hunter Cranton and Juan Burgos. And not only is Suarez rejoining the Mariners, he's rejoining his friend, Josh Niller. They were just together. How about that?

I do enjoy and like that the Mariners are actually going for it. They're being aggressive. They're getting bats to go along with this amazing, pitching staff that they've had for a long time. But, yeah, Chris, this kind of feels like, could be a bit of a downgrade to Suarez's fantasy value. Yeah, so if you look at like the stack cast expected home runs number,

he actually would have 37 at T-Mobile Park compared to 35 at Chase Field. So in that regard, I guess you could say it's not a park downgrade, but we know it is. And we know that the problem in Seattle is not that they have an especially large outfield. It's actually, I think, pretty middle of the pack in terms of outfield depth. The problem is, guys just don't see the ball well in Seattle. For whatever reason, it's got by far the highest strikeout park factor. It's got one of the lowest walk park factors of any park in baseball.

And we have already seen a Johani Oswar has spent two seasons in Seattle. and he had a 750 OPS across those two seasons. Now, you might look at that and say, well, why does Seattle want him back? He was worth 7.8 wins above replacement over the two years he spent in Seattle. He had a 118 WRC plus. He was really good for the Mariners. It's just that that's such a difficult ballpark that the offensive production that he had didn't look as good there. And that's the problem from a fantasy.

perspective is the way he's hitting the ball this season, it might just work anywhere. But we've seen him in Seattle. He's played 166 career games in T-Mobile. He has a 760 career OPS, a 229 batting average. There's going to be a lot of power still, but probably not as much as we've seen so far. And the batting average will probably take a hit. So he's been like the 11th best hitter in Roto leagues this season. I don't think he'll be nearly as good the rest of the.

And I didn't think he would be that good the rest of the way, even if he was staying in Arizona. But if I was ranking him 40th overall before this, maybe now it's more like 70th to 80th overall. I think there will still be plenty of power. But I think batting average could be a real problem for A. So I want to do a couple of things here because I actually have a different take. But before I get to the different take, I want. to kind of put the, put the, put to his performance during his previous stint in Seattle into perspective. Because, yeah, you look, oh, he hit 31 homers one year.

You know, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't that bad. He was useful, but he wasn't the stud that he's been for most of his career and certainly for his two years in Arizona. So in 2022, he just, I'm just using head-to-head points per game for easy comparison. In 2022, Suarez had 2.63 points per game, which would be similar to Zach McKinstree this year. In 2023, he had 2.34 points per game, which would be similar to Matt Shaw this year. So he was pretty fringe. This year, 3.43 points per game, stud, obviously.

So that's how much he's improved since those two years in Seattle. But the thing is, I don't think Suarez is two years in Seattle where he was not as useful for fantasy. I don't think the venue was the cause of that because for a couple reasons. One, you look at his home away splits during his time in Seattle. He wasn't any worse at home than on the road. They're basically identical. Two, you look at how, like the worst stretch of his career. career was the first half of last year in Arizona.

He was terrible. So it's really just since the second half of last year that we've seen Suarez be this, this monster stud power bat. And he made a change. He made a change in his stance that brought that about. So I think the improvement we've seen from Suarez over the last. last calendar year and over the last calendar year, it's ridiculous. 273 batting average 53 homers and 919 OPS.

The improvement we've seen from Suarez, that is less, the cause of it is less environmental than mechanical. And so I don't know that this change in environment is going to change much of anything for them. I mean, Arizona doesn't rate as a good home run park itself. So I'd rather them stay in Arizona because I know everything's copacetic there. but that was never going to happen. I think the likeliest outcome of Suarez has moved back to Seattle is that

eh, he's probably still stud third basement for fantasy. I do agree. I don't think he's the same player he was in Seattle. His pull air rate is way up the past two years than it was the two years when he was in Seattle. So I'm not just saying he's going to go back to the player that he was back in Seattle. but I do expect a little bit of a downtick here in production for Ehio Hano Suarez moving forward.

At least for me. It's probably not actionable either way, right? You're certainly not dropping him. You have him and, yeah, like you're going to continue to start him. It's just maybe he's, not maybe, he's more than likely not going to be the player. He's been up to this point, but we expected that anyway. I would only trade him if someone gave me face value for what he's done so far. On the Dback side of things here, they are getting Tyler Locklear, who probably gets a shot at first base right away.

He's 24 years old. He's a former second round pick, and he was mashing at AAA, hitting 316 with 19 homers, 18 steals, 942 OPS. And the other shoot-a drop here is that Jordan Lawler has a job waiting for him eventually when he's healthy. Because right now, he's on the IL at AAA with a hamstring injury. So 33% rostered. He's a name worth stashing. He suffered this injury in late June. They said it would only take a couple of weeks.

He's still been out. So I would guess that he's close to returning. So maybe within the next week or two, we could see Jordan Lawler up with the debacks. Scott, what's your interest level in Tyler Locklear and Jordan Lawler? Yeah, so I think their value is going to change more than Suarez. I think Suarez is obviously the big name. Suarez might be – I would go as far as to say Suarez probably will. the most valuable fantasy player moved at the trade deadline.

I know other names like Dylan Seas and Mason Miller are rumored, but A, they might not get traded, B. I'm not sure they're bigger deals in fantasy than Suarez anyway. So Suarez is probably the biggest deal for fantasy being traded. But in the actual deal, Locklear and Lawler could see a bigger change to their value. Locklear just got called up by the Mariners earlier on Wednesday, but there was clearly no spot for him to play because they had just traded for Josh Naylor to fill first base.

But that trade they made was with the Diamondbacks. They got Naylor from the Diamondbacks, so now they send Locklear the player they couldn't fit in their lineup because of Naylor to the team that gave up Naylor and has a vacancy at first base. Locklear has been a name prospect, town they're familiar with, pretty productive minor league career, especially productive over his final 32 games at AAA hit 387 with 14 home runs. The exit velocities are good. The plate discipline is good.

It is a difficult fit as a right-handed hitting first baseman, but the Diamondbacks need a right-handed hitting first basement. So I could see this going really well. I'm not saying Locklear is a priority pick up in every league because he's not that sort of can't miss prospect, but he's a good enough prospect that you could see it working out. I could see some of the high-end outcomes looking like Christian Walker. Yep. Yep. I think that's, I mean, Walker was sort of the same thing as a right-handed hitting first baseman.

He just never, he could, with the different organizations he was in, he just never, there was never an opening for that. And so, Locklear has that opening. at only 24 years old, which is good thing. And then, of course, Loller, we've been waiting for him forever. We're going to have to keep waiting. He's only 22. Because of the hamstring injury.

Still 22. I've heard some people... 23. He just turned 23 14 days ago. Excuse me. Fake news. I've seen some people say, oh, he can't hit major leaguers. But like, come on.

He's 56 plate appearances. He hasn't gotten an oddest chance. 56 plate appearances broken up in... Three seasons. Yeah. And his latest stint, he wasn't even playing that regularly. So he needs an honest chance, an honest two months. He's not going to get two months this year because he still hurt.

But he needs an honest. That's really how long it takes. So two months of uninterrupted play to let him figure things out. And I think it'll be great once he does. And he should be back from this hamstring injury soon. The initial timetable was a month. It's been about a month. I haven't seen an update.

But it shouldn't be too much longer that Lawler needs to recover from that injury. So I would say he's a higher priority pickup than Locklear even. Jordan Lawler is not Jackson Holiday as a prospect, but Jackson Holiday got 200 played appearances last year and was maybe the worst hitter in baseball. And now he's going to hit 20 homers in his second season. Like you need to give guys time. And Jordan Lawler hasn't gotten a chance yet. So you should still be exactly as excited about Jordan Lawler as you have been at any point. It's not like his minor league production has fallen off.

He's been excellent whenever he's been on the field. Again, that's Eugenio Suarez headed back to Seattle in a blockbuster trade here late on Wednesday night. Let's take a quick break when we return. We got some big reliever trades to talk about. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. Happy trade deadline day and a happy day indeed for the. The Phillies who acquired Yohan Duran from the Twins in exchange for pitching prospect Mick Abel and a catcher prospect, Eduardo Tate.

And I would assume Duran just steps in as the Phillies closer, but, you know, Rob Thompson has been a little bit unpredictable at times. Chris, do we just assume Duran is the closer? Absolutely. Now, do we assume he gets 80% of the saves the rest of the way? Maybe not. But that's still like he's not actually he has gotten 80% of the saves so far this year in Minnesota because for some reason they just haven't had many save opportunities. But his career has 27. So he's been a very reliable must start fantasy closer despite not having robust save totals.

I don't think this change. It certainly doesn't hurt his value. And if anything, it might improve it. So he's an easy top 12 reliever. Probably not quite top five, but you're not upset that he got traded to Philadelphia, certainly. Plus, it's easier to see Rob Thompson doing the leverage thing late in games when he has closer alternatives as good as Jose Alvarado and Jeff Hoffman. It's a little different when, you know. I know Matt Strom and Orion Kirkering have been solid relievers in the past, but they're not.

And just look at their numbers. They're not that good. Yeah. And all of a sudden, I mean, by mid-August, this Philly's bullpen is one that will feature, hopefully, Yohan, Duran, David Robertson, Jose Alvarado coming back from suspension, Matt Strom, Kirkering. So, yeah, I mean, they're going to be quite the force here. As for the twins, Griffin Jacks, likely step. into the closers role, assuming they don't trade them away. I mean, they still can, you know, by 6 p.m. here on Thursday, but they don't have to.

Griffin Jacks is still under team control through 2028. So it would take quite the haul for them to go ahead and move someone like Griffin Jacks. But just operating under what we know right now, Griffin Jacks would step in as the Twins closer, right? I have to assume so. And I've been operating under the assumption that it was kind of a one or the other. just they put Griffin Jackson Yon Duran out on the on the trade block they took whatever the best offer was for either of them and they'll just stick with the other one because this is a team that presumably is still trying to compete next season although the Carlos Correa report that they might trade him was kind of interesting but yeah I would think Griffin Jacks so far is the biggest winner of the trade deadline right do you include Emmanuel Class A B being investigated as part of that. Oh, that's not a trade deadline thing.

Yeah, that's separate. But I think it's, I think I'd prefer Cade Smith to Griffin Jacks. But the fact that I have to qualify that, it tells you, do you know, Griffin Jacks is pretty interesting to 14.1 K per nine this year. That is the third most among relievers. Interestingly, one and two also are not closers, just like number three Jacks isn't. But you watch our clothes are striking out guys at that rate. And, you know, Jackson has been awesome.

Not Jackson. Jacks has been awesome two years in a row now. Last two seasons, leaderboards and FIPP. Cade Smith, number one, 1.67 FIP over the past two seasons combined. Griffin Jacks, 1.97. Those are the top two. Emmanuel Class A is number three at 2.4. So in terms of FIP, these have been the two best.

leavers in baseball by a wide margin. So I think Kate Smith, Griffin, Jacks, it's a total coin toss, who you'd rather have. I think they're both must add pitchers in any league where saves matter, head-to-head points leagues. Okay, maybe they're a little fringier, but I kind of think you just view Kate Smith and Griffin Jacks as top 12 closers now. Like for a fan, I actually don't even think it's, it's really just a question of like, how high do they go?

because we, Manuel Class A is out of the picture. I think probably for the rest of the season, but maybe he's back in September. Ryan Helsley, no longer closer, he's out of the picture. I think you could get them as high as like eight.

Eight and nine. Depends like, would you rather have Trevor McGill or those guys? I think that's pretty close. But I think Griffin Jackson, Kate Smith, both might be better pitchers than them. Yeah,

I think the upside is there. I might, because, you know, McGill is rock solid. in the role. Duran, I mean, he's in this range too. He's rock solid in the role.

Carlos Estevez, I don't know. I guess he could get traded himself and not be rock solid in the role anymore, but I might just to concede to incumbency maybe. Yeah. Give the advantage to incumbency. I might rank these two newcomers behind them,

but Kate Smith and Griffin Jacks have more upside. You know, there is one other reliever who could join them in that top 12 by 6 p.m. on Thursday. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Chris? Randy Rodriguez. Oh, yes. There's been some rumors that cumulative all could get traded. I know Ryan Walker's there and he has closer experience, but Randy Rodriguez has arguably been the best reliever in baseball. So this could be a phenomenal trade deadline for the relief pitcher position because we could get legit. I know Manuel Class A,

and not a trade, but we could get three top 12 closers basically out of nowhere the rest of the way. Yeah, Griffin Jacks, by the way, only 23% rostered. So definitely a name that is widely available. The twins rotation, by the way, is also in shambles right now. Is there a chance? I was gonna ask, is Mick able to step right into the rotation? I saw he was already optioned to AAA,

so that's probably not gonna happen instantaneously, but within the next couple of weeks, Maybe we could see Mick Abel and the twins Rotatee. Yeah, and he'll join Zebby Matthews and David Festa as super frustrating guys that we keep trying to make happen. That's the best. I think what the twins got for Jaron, or Yonon Duran, excuse me. I think what the twins got is clearly the best return for a win now piece that we've seen. I mean, two, I don't know that I'd call Mick Abel a high-end prospect,

but he's definitely a noteworthy prospect. And Eduardo Tate is really exciting. Yeah, and really good catcher prospect. Yeah, baseball prospect has had him 51st in their mid-season update. I mean, that might-outside of the mid-50. That might be the best prospect traded at the deadline. I hope Owen Casey is still, the Cubs outfielder, but, you know, it seems like teams are, it seems like the buyers are reluctant to part with prospects of actual note of actual value.

I know we don't talk about AL and NL only very much here on this podcast. It's a very small percentage of our audience. But should mention Suarez going back to the AL, if you need a power bat, just blow the whole budget here to get Suarez. And for Duran, you know, if you play NL only and you need saves, boom. this is what you save the money for is go out and blow it all on Yuan Duran. That's the case of my annual only league. I need saves bad because Ryan Walker was my only closer. And you know what?

It could be a pretty rough go for people who had maybe Ryan Helsley as their main closer here because he was traded to the Mets from the Cardinals in exchange for three prospects, Jesus Baez, Nate Dome, and Frank Ellisalt. We'll go with that. Helsley basically loses all of his value outside of leagues that use holds, right? I would imagine. Yep. I mean, look, we have seen twice in his Mets career, I think.

Edwin Diaz lose his closure job briefly, usually only for a couple of weeks. But it's not inconceivable, but there's no reason to believe that's going to happen. And that's not a reason to hang on to Ryan Helsley, especially when Griffin Jacks and Kate Smith are widely available still. And Ryan Helsley, I felt like he was kind of getting away with it this year. Yeah, he took a step back. The whip is like one four. So I, you know, he's going, he's joining a team with an all-time or closer. Like Edwin Diaz is one of the all-time great closers, believe it or not.

We kind of come to take him for granted, but he is. And so, yeah. He is what the second most saves in a season? Hellsley's Did he Did he break the record? I can't remember now I don't think he broke the record

I think K. Rod still is the record But anyway Yeah, Hellsley is definitely Just a setup man And you know Only good for holds leaks Oh, we could lose another top 12 closer too Was that Robert Suarez

Some rumors the Padres Might be trying to trade for Mason Miller, man Yeah, big trade deadline for a closers You know what? I have this weird suspicion because we've heard rumors about teams wanting to trade for Mason Miller and make him a starter again, I wonder if that's what the Padres would try to do with this. There's no way. Not mid-season. They already have an amazing bullpen. I just, I know, but there's no way they do

that mid-season. I hope not, but I don't know. We still, we also still have David Bednar and Rice of Glacius lingering. So it probably haven't seen the last of the closer shakeup. Yeah. So if you had Ryan Helsley and you were relying on him for saves, go out at Kate Smith, go out at Griffin Jacks, maybe preemptively go out at Randy Rodriguez and, you know, see what happens with Camila Duval here on Trade Deadline Day. Who is next up for Cardinal saves? Phil Mayton looks like he could also be traded. He's an expiring contract. They have lefty Jojo Romero, there's Riley O'Brien, and somebody named Kyle Leahy. What do you guys think? Yeah, it's not great if it's not Phil Mayton, I think. Yeah, I mean, he's,

Even that I want to be thrilled about, but he's the best that they have left. I expect he'll probably be traded. So I don't even know that it's worth going into Phil Maeton. So Jojo Romero, I think, would be my first option. If Mayton sticks around, I'm thinking it'll probably still be more of a timeshare between Maiton and Jojo Romero, the left-hander. So I feel like we're losing a surefire closer here in Healthly and not really picking one up. Mm-hmm.

Worth mentioning again with the Mason Miller thing, we've kind of mentioned it a few times here, but the A's had a safe situation here on Wednesday two-run game. They did not bring Mason Miller in despite not pitching since Saturday. Then after the game, we learned that the Padres are working on a trade here to acquire Miller. It's not done. I don't even know if it's close, but there's just some rumors out there that they're trying.

So we'll see what happens here with Mason Miller. I don't know if there's anybody in the A's bullpen that we should be looking at if Mason Miller gets traded. I had the name and I forgot it. Jack Perkins got the save today. And he's having a pretty good season. That was like a multi-any thing, right?

They've talked about wanting to put him in the rotation. So he has a few saves, but they're... Yeah, that was his third save, but I think they were all multi-enning. So I don't know that they're prepared to look at him as a closer. There was one guy, but I think he's injured now. Michael Kelly, Sean Newcomb? Newcomb's having an okay season, but I can't really see him being a closer. I think he's been more of a multi-inning guy.

So, yeah, I don't think there's an obvious candidate here. Michael Kelly has a very low ERA But he also has 4.8 2K per 9 So yeah Not Was a Grant Holman you were thinking of? Was he?

No, he was having a pretty bad season I don't know It may have been It may have been Tyler Ferguson started out well But he is not That ended His ERA is almost seven

Yeah that was it It was Tyler Ferguson He was he did great his first Six weeks but yeah, he's not somebody who won't close in now. Again, that's the speculation. Mason Miller has not been traded. We'll see what happens with him.

Let's move quicker through some of these other ones, not as big of names here, but the Cubs acquired Michael Soroka from the Nationals for two prospects, Christian Franklin and Ronnie Cruz. Rough season on paper, 487 ERA, 113, but over a strikeout per inning and a 332XERA. Chris, I know you've been the leader of the Soroka fan club, So I don't know. Can it happen here in Chicago?

I mean, I don't know if Washington has the worst defense in baseball, but it sure feels like they do. They have the second worst defense according to fan graphs. The Cubs have the second best. So if your biggest problem is your defense behind you was letting you down, well, that seems like a pretty good swap to be making. So I continue to believe in Mike Soroka. I continue to believe that he is talented and could be a very useful fantasy option.

So I do think Mike Soroka is worth adding. All right? You don't think there's any chance he goes to the bullpen, right? I thought about that. I mean, Ben Brown hasn't been that great. I know Colin Ray's in the rotation still, but James and Tyone's coming back soon so that that kind of wipes that out. And Kate Horton hasn't been like so good that you need to keep him around. non-zero chance.

I expect him to be in the rotation, but there's a possibility it could wind up in the bullpen. I think he could be really good in the bullpen, Soroka. So not sure he would take Daniel Palencia out of the role, but if he was in the bullpen, I think he could factor in if Palencia stumbles.

All right, next up, the Reds acquired Zach Lattel from the raise in a three-team deal that included the Dodgers. The Dodgers received someone named Adam Serenowski, Paul, Jervais and Ben Rortvent. The Rays get Hunter Feduccia and Brian Van Bell.

And Lattel actually threw five shutout innings at the Yankees here on Wednesday. Having a very solid season, 358 ERA 112 whip. The underlying numbers do not buy it at all. And now he gets to pitch in Great American Ballpark. Well, he's a weird pitcher. I don't know that I don't know that I care

that much about the underlying numbers. He is such a control specialist and doesn't miss bats. all, but it's been two years in a row now where he's, he's, he's, he's, he's been a fantasy asset. And yeah, it does seem like a Homer prone pitcher like him going to great amount American ballpark would spell disaster. But look where he was just pitching, swamp burner field. It's been even more Homer friendly than Great American Ballpark this year. And obviously it didn't ruin Letell. I, I think the most interesting aspect of this deal is who comes out of the Reds rotation to make room for Lattel?

I think they already said it was Nick Martinez. He's going to the bullpen? Yeah. He'll be a swing man. Okay. Yeah. I mean, presumably not everyone stays healthy for the next two months, and they'll need to rely on Martinez again for some starts.

But, okay, if that's what they've said, then there's your answer. And for the raise, this is just a pure salary dump. They're just doing their fiduciary duty. Oh gosh, I see what you did there. All right. Well, all right. Zach Lattell over to the raids, another one over to the Reds. Excuse me.

So if you play an N-L-only again, there's a starting pitcher available for you. The Reds me- Nick Martinez was really good today against the Dodgers. Yes, he was. Yeah, it's the Dodgers, you know? Yeah, I mean, that lineup, I mean, seriously, though, that lineup right now, they are bad. They are, I'm not going to say that you can stream your pitchers against them

because as soon as I say that, bad things will happen. I mean, they're not bad. They have had a bad stretch. They still have the number one. They're still the highest scoring team in baseball. So I'll rely on the larger sample there in my assessment of them. The Reds made another trade here they acquired. Brian Hayes from the Pirates in exchange for shortstop prospect, Sammy Stafora,

and reliever Taylor Rogers. Hayes is 28 years old and cannot hit. Chris, is there a slight chance that can change? in Great American Ballpark. There's nothing in the profile that suggests it. Like, if you look at the expected stats, I think he would have like something like 40% more home runs if he played his whole career in Cincinnati than Pittsburgh.

He has six home runs over the past two seasons. So like 40% more doesn't really change Cabrion Hayes. He is in need of a complete swing overhaul. And frankly, given that this, has all happened since all those back injuries, it's possible that he's just never the same guy again. So no, I think he has to give us a reason to believe. And it's not like where the Reds are an organization that should make you believe that they're going to turn his career around. It's not impossible, but it's a total blind faith bet if you're making it.

How much do we think he actually plays? Every day. His defense is still like. Yeah, he's like maybe the best in baseball. Yeah. So I think that was a large reason. Is it an offense more important than defense? Well, they are.

They traded for him. Yeah. They did. But they don't have to trade for him to start. No, but they've already said no, Elvi Marte is going to play right field full time. Santiago Espionale is a poor man's Cabrian Hayes.

So I don't really know what that was mean. Yeah, they only have, they only have Jake Fraley in right field. So if they're willing to stick Marte in the outfield full time, that. I guess that. I don't know that they're losing much offensively, Freely to Hayes.

Yeah, and there was a quote from Nick Crawl in an MLB.com story that, you know, they might try to rework Cabrion Hayes' swing. I think it's going to be a real long shot for them to get anything out of him offensively. Much smaller deals here, rapid fire. Earlier in the day, the Mets also acquired Tyler Rogers, so the Rogers brothers traded.

on the same day to separate teams from the Giants in exchange for Jose Buto, Blake Tidwell, and outfield prospect Drew Gilbert. I thought this was a massive return for the Giants for an expiring Tyler Rogers. I thought that was pretty interesting. Again, the Giants are shopping Camila Duval, so you might want to preemptively add Randy Rodriguez if you can. The Red Sox acquired Stephen Mats from the Cardinals for prospect Blaze Jordan, 80 grade name there.

So I'm happy about that. The Cubs acquired Andrew Kittred, from the Orioles, and we're left with the same question as yesterday. Who will get the saves in Baltimore? Felix Batista is hurt. Andrew Kittrich has been traded. Sir Anthony Dominguez has been traded. Yesterday we said, Yaneer Kanoe, let's just delete that from existence. I don't, we didn't really actually say that, did we? He pitched in the seventh inning on Wednesday, and he got rocked.

So my guess is Corbyn Martin, who picked up a save the other day. And was really bad at AAA before getting promoted. I don't know. My guess is a committee, a really bad White Sox level committee. And probably should try your best not to care about it. Yeah. I get that aspect of it. But, you know, the Orioles are a team that's still going to score a lot of runs here in the second half, Scott.

So I figured, you know, there will be some save opportunities. It's just if they don't have a set closer, then you're right. It might not matter if they're just jumping around to a bunch of different players. The Mariners acquired lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates for pitching prospect Jeter Martinez, another 80 grade name. The Angels acquired reliever. All right, all right. I mean, I'm not just saying it because it's Jeter. That's a cool name.

It's Jeter Martinez. All right, all right. That's pretty cool. Come on. Jeter Downs. Yeah, come on. The 80 grade name just didn't work out for the guy. The Angels acquired reliever Luis Garcia.

I feel like this is the 10th time he's wound up back with the Angels. They also picked up lefty Andrew Chaffin in exchange. for Jake Eater and first baseman Sam Brown. The Braves acquired Tyler Kinley from the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Austin Smith, and the Yankees acquired outfieler Austin Slater from the White Sox for right-hander Gage Zeal.

And those are all the trades so far. So I'm sure we'll have a lot more here to talk about on Thursday. Before we hit our final break and actually get into Wednesday's, you know, action, things that they did on the field, Chris, it's time for the dog of the week. And the dog of the week, Pete Alonzo.

Where are you at, buddy? O for 10 with two strikeouts this week in San Diego. And it's been kind of a struggle for him lately. Last 17 games, it's only 5 for 60 with one home run. I think we were at that game. We saw that home run. It was majestic. That was a bomb.

Hasn't done much else. 28% strikeout rate in that stretch. Still 91.5 mile per hour average exit velocity. That's down for the season, but still very good, obviously, hitting a lot of barrels. And it's been kind of an up and down season for him. 1167 OPS in April, 693 in May, 920 in June, now 548 in July. And all of a sudden, Piedelonzo's numbers, when it looked like he was having the best season of his career, now just kind of look like a normal Piedelonzo season.

Where are we at on Pita Lanzo? Well, I think if you'll remember when we did redrafting the first two rounds at the All-Star break, we, I don't think any of us, having Pete Alonzo in round two at the end of round two and he was the only first baseman. So, you know, not that he, not that he expectation-wise stands out so much from the Bryce Harper's and medals and Vladimir Guerrero's. You know, that whole like royal class at the position, Pete Alonzo is just another one of them. It's not like we see clear upside for him beyond that group. He just happened to be the one who was best in the first half. And so now that he's kind of come back down to Earth, look, I think it'll be fine rest of season.

But I think he's shown that he has not distanced himself from that group. And I think that's just another reason why everything's lining up for Nick Kurtz to be the top first baseman drafted next year. We said it the halfway point, Pete Alonzo. I think he's going to be Nick Kurtz. I made this all about Nick Kurtz. How do you feel about that? I don't think that should be the case. Maybe it will be the case.

I can't. I can't pretend to know what fantasy players are going to do, but we haven't seen a slump from Nick Kurtz yet. I know he wasn't great to start his career, but we haven't seen the down after the up yet, and he still strikes out 30. plus percent of the time. There are still pretty big holes here.

So as much as I like Nick Kurtz, I don't think he should be the number one first base. No. We'll see. We'll see what you're saying two months from now, Chris. I have a feeling you'll be singing a different. Two months is about double Nick Kurtz's current sample size. So I would have much more information in two months.

Yeah. I could totally see that happening just because, look, young player if he goes out and winds up hitting, I don't know, 35, 35 home runs. Where is he at now? He's probably like, I don't know, over 20 at this point. Anyway.

Oh, he's got well over 20. Yeah, I could see people just like foaming at the mouth to draft Nick Kurtz last next season. So yeah, like something like a second round pick, second third round pick, that would not surprise me in the least there. 23 already. Pete Alonzo, by the way, despite, you know, the up and down nature of the season, very weird for him.

259 batting average 491 slug, expected stats are still amazing. So just from a plate discipline and quality of contact perspective, this still looks like Pete Alonzo's best season. It's just, wish it wasn't so up and down. His best season,

he has how many home runs, Pete Alonzo? He has 22, and you just said Kurtz has 23. Yeah. And Kurtz didn't start hitting until June. Yeah. Come on. That's true.

All right, let's take our final break, and then we'll actually start the podcast. We'll talk about what happens. in Wednesday's games. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today. Let's get into the players of the night. You can put it on the board. Yes. Yes. Nine more runs for those slugging White Sox who have the fourth most run scored in July. What is going on? Let's begin our Players of the Night with Chris. William Contreras. Is he back?

Camerreus is starting to show some signs of life. Is he back? I have no idea. I don't know what the future holds. All I can tell you is that he hit two homers on Wednesday. Those were his first homers in six weeks. That's not great. He has three homers since the start of June.

Also not great. But like I said, signs of life. Multiple hits in three straight games now. Four of his past seven overall. still only a 722 OPS in the month of July, despite all of that. So, yeah, it's been a big disappointment for William Contreras, but I still believe he should be one of the best catchers in baseball. I know the underlying numbers have taken a big step back this season,

but generally speaking, you're not as good as he was for as long as he was, and having that be fake. I think he's probably been playing through that finger injury. and maybe he's just getting healthy now. Yeah, that's the biggest thing is just, will that finger continue to bother him to the point where he just, it won't allow him to get back to the player that he was? And the quality of contact is just down a lot

compared to last year when he was, you know, the best catcher in fantasy. So it clearly has hindered his production and there's just no way of knowing. But although, although Pat Murphy, the Brewers manager, just said the other. day that he was dealing with the finger last year too.

So, I don't know. I don't know what to make of that. Yeah, I mean, I don't know how much I put on that when it's, it was very clear that, um, I don't know, maybe he just made the finger worse this season and it's just that much harder to play through, but it seems like a pretty reasonable excuse for why he's been so bad. Uh, that is William Contreras. Scott, let's go over to you for your player of the night.

Joey Wins, who is this guy? he's one of several castoffs that the Braves have filling out their rotation now with everybody's number two starter show some respect I mean, he might be. He might be, obviously, behind Spencer Strider, who's the only good one left. Like, the Braves have been ugly buyers. They haven't been buyers. They haven't been sellers quite yet either. They've been ugly buyers.

Just anybody who costs next to nothing and is healthy and throws a ball for a living, they've been acquiring. And once was one of them. He's been around now this was actually his fourth appearance with the club. And it was his best appearance. he threw six and two-thirds one-hit innings at Kansas City, struck out seven, 13 whiffs on 95 pitches. But three of the four outings he made have been really good. And what they all have in common is he's leaned heavily on a cutter,

a cutter that he reworked during his short time with the twins. And the Braves got him throwing him, The Braves liked the way it look and they have him throwing him more. So he threw in his first appearance, he threw the cutter. His first and second appearance, he threw that cutter more than 50% of the time. And hearing this latest outing at Kansas City was 45. The one bad outing went side with the Braves. He threw the cutter just 24% of the time.

So he got away from it. You know, it's baseball is funny in that one small change for either a pitcher or a hitter. Just one little change can make a huge difference. I'm not saying that every small change makes a huge difference, but I'm saying that's all it takes to make a huge difference sometimes. And if this is turned into a plus pitch for whence and he emphasizes it enough, you know, a guy who formerly had some prospect pedigree, it's been a while, he's 27 now, but, you know,

he could be the next Grant Holmes. a long-forgotten prospect who had been cast off by multiple organizations and then just found one pitch that worked for him and turned into something worthwhile in fantasy. So I think it's worth keeping an eye on. His K-per-9 rate, just to tell you how good he's been, it's up to, I don't think I'm going to yet the latest number. It's been good.

It's been good with the brace. he got. It's 21 strikeouts over 18 inning so far for him. Okay, with the Braves. Okay. Yep. Yep. Very deep league name there. Joey Wentz. Three percent rostered. Might be a two-star pitcher for next week. I think the Braves have eight games on the schedule

next week. And if so, it would be the Brewers and the Marlins for Joey Wentz, who is only RP eligible on CBS as of now. My players of the night, gotta talk about those White Sox, man. They just keep on hitting. They put up nine runs on 17 hits including four homers and Miguel Vargas is picking things back up. He hit his 13th home run

and here in the second half 286, three homers, 883 OPS, very small sample size, only 12 games. 58% rostered for Miguel Vargas, first, third and outfield eligible. Chris, how do you feel about potentially adding Miguel Vargas? I think it's an okay idea. I think he's certainly not a must roster player, but he's in that range of the rankings. where it's fine to ride him when he's hot, and then he's probably not an 800 OPS bat, so you can probably drop him when he gets cold. Yeah.

My, I guess only pushback for Vargas is there are other interesting players that have emerged at positions that he plays at, right? Like Andrew Vaughn, so. Yeah, I think I'd rather have Andrew Vaughn, Scott. You kind of missed the big Andrew Vaughn discussion yesterday, but I think you were a little more dismissive of him last time you were on the pot. I don't know if the six RBI yesterday changed that.

I mean, maybe the last time we were on together, but I was for the Sunday show, the show that aired Monday, I was saying it was pretty interesting. I wasn't ready to add him yet, but it was pretty interesting, given how much he improved in a short time with the Brewers, and that, of course, he had a huge prospect pedigree and maybe just, I haven't heard anything specific that's changed for him, and I'm waiting to hear that.

I'm also waiting for him to play literally every day, as opposed to just most days. But yeah, if you need corner infield help, I'd probably speculate on Vaughn over Miguel Vargas at this point. I think so. Next up, we have the catchers. Kyle Teal, two-for-four with his second home run, and he's hitting 277 with a 772 OPS so far.

Edgar Carrow. Two for four with his third home run, and he's hit really well in July, 346, all three of his homers, and an OPS over a thousand during that stretch. I assume we like Kyle Teal over Edgar Caro, right, as a second catcher in fantasy? Two catcher leagues? I think they're pretty similar. I think in terms of prospect pedigree, there wasn't that big of a difference between them. Teal's more productive overall in the minors, but I think they're both fringy number two catchers. I have a slight preference for Teal

but yeah basically agree and both are behind Francisco Alvarez right oh well he left today's game didn't he yeah he's being I think tested for concussion yeah that's always concussions especially are always tricky

so don't want to put my name down on that one until I know for sure whether Alvarez is okay and the next name up Colson Montgomery one for four with his fifth home run all five of his homers have come in the past eight games, and he's up to an 827 OPS.

We've talked a lot about him lately. Scott, I know you've been excited about what Colson Montgomery is doing. 36% rostered, third base, shortstop eligibility. Roto leagues where you have a corner, a middle infield spot. I think, yeah, let's take a shot on Montgomery and see where it goes in leagues that deep. There has to be somebody boring on every team that you can drop to pick up a Colson Montgomery. So let's just see where it goes. I would describe my feelings about Colson Montgomery more as enthusiastic curiosity because it just,

it doesn't, it doesn't totally square for me how a guy who didn't master AAA could be so good in the majors right away. But, you know, the prospect pedigree is there. And it's very interesting what he's doing. And Luis Robert, three more hits and a steal in what might be his last game with the White Sox. If so, he wrapped it up in style. Big July, 353, three homers, five steals, 990 OPS. And I think it's going to happen.

I think one of the contenders, whether it's a Mets, Phillies, Astros, Padres, all could use outfield help. And I think Luis Robert will be on the move here on Thursday. Let's get into some other news and notes here. Non-Trade Related, Chohay Otani left his start early due to lower body cramps. It was 90 degrees in Cincinnati. Emmett Sheen was the bulk reliever in this game. And I just wanted to get our latest thoughts on Cheyenne because now with Blake Snell coming back on Saturday, is there an opening here for him to start?

Or is Sheehan just a kind of bulk reliever type? If so, I don't, do we need to roster him in fantasy? I mean, I doubt he's made his last start of the year, but he probably doesn't have a spot to call his own. You know, it's the Dodgers kind of have to play their rotation by year every week. because of the amount they want to space out, Shohay Otani starts. They'll insert a sixth starter at times to space them out more. It just depends on how the off days line up.

So I think Sheehan, she might fall into that role, which does that mean he's still worth rostering in fantasy? Probably not in standard-sized leagues, but I still like the upside for deeper leagues. Ronald Acuna has been diagnosed with a grade 1 lower right calf strain, and Mark Bowman of MLB.com said Akuna could return to action in two to three weeks. And I just think they need to play this really safe.

They have to be cautious because we've seen a lot of devastating Achilles injuries pop up in other sports, most notably in the NBA playoffs. I mean, I think we had three different players suffer a torn Achilles, and it all started with a calf strain. So, like, I'm not saying it just because it happened in one sport, it's going to happen. But it's been popping up more and more. I think the Braves need to be really, really cautious. with this.

I think they do too, but they kind of should have been really cautious with it the day it happened since he was already feeling it then. So I don't know. Brian Snickers been pretty dismissive of the kind of alarmism that surrounded this injury. Like, he'll be back in a couple weeks. That's kind of his been his response. but we'll see if the GM overrules that thinking and Acuna ends up missing. I mean, I don't think it's unthinkable.

Just be out of an abundance of caution that he misses the rest of the season. I think it's possible, yeah. Speaking of Brian Snitker, he said none of the Braves injured starters are close to a rehab assignment. So that would include Chris Sales, Spencer Schwellenbach.

Am I missing anybody else? I feel like I probably am. But obviously those are the two most notable. Dave O'Brien added that He doesn't expect any of them to pitch until September, if at all, which is not great, obviously, for if you're stashing the injured Braves guys. Juan Soto was out of the lineup Wednesday with a foot contusion, but hopes to return to the lineup on Friday. Blake Snell will return Saturday against the raise. He's been out since April due to left shoulder inflammation.

He built up to 76 pitches in his latest start at AAA, so my guess is expect probably somewhere in the 75, 80 pitch. range here for Blake Snell on Saturday. Garrett Crochet won't make his next start until Monday or Tuesday as part of a workload management plan. Bad news for those who started Crochet this week, but we just didn't know until right now that he wasn't going to pitch this week. So just kind of unfortunate way that that played out. Jackson Turyo was out of the line of Wednesday with a right hamstring spasm.

Pat Murphy did not have an update on Trio just yet. Yordon Alvarez could be activated in mid-August. he'll face live pitching soon and we'll definitely need a rehab assignment he hasn't played since what I think may so it's been quite some time there Jeremy Pena is on track to rejoin the Astros on Friday against the Red Sox.

We did get some bad Astros news as ESOC Paredes could require season ending surgery to repair his injured right hamstring. Turns out Ian Hav did not go on the IL on Wednesday. We got some news late on Tuesday and talked about that. It sounded like he was going to go on the IE

he didn't and he actually played and he hit a home run so welcome back ian hap off the bench off the bench and moises by esteros was recalled vidal brujan designated for assignment uh biesteros got to start against a right-handed pitcher freddie parolta went one for two with a three run double uh where does by esteros rank up against the other chicago catchers teal carrow i i like him the most long term but I don't know that there's a long-term role for him right now. It seems particularly without HAP going on the IL. I mean, presumably that means Hap's going to be back in the outfield or himself occupying the D.H. spot sooner than later.

And I don't know also that Bayesteros is truly going to be a catcher at the major league level versus a D.H. first base type. So I would say for right now he's at the bottom. And what's frustrating is this is going to be, wind up being his first fantasy season. If he stays on the roster or he's up next year, he won't have catcher eligibility then, right? Because I don't think he's going to play any catcher this season. So that means he'll probably just be util only for fantasy next year. And will he be their catcher?

It's possible next season, but it's probably not going to happen this year. Will he be traded tomorrow? It's possible. I hope so. Because if he's traded, he's probably going. to Chris is Marlins. There's actually not room for him. The Marlins have two good catchers.

Well, one, either by Astero, Augustine Ramirez still rates really poorly as a catcher, right? Yeah, I think, well, I think neither by Astero nor Ramirez is really a long-term catcher. They got Joe Mack, who's having a really nice season in the minors, probably a top 100 prospect. I actually think Liam Hicks is pretty good as like a backup, so Marlins don't really need a catcher. That's true.

Yeah. But they do need a first base. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. Maybe I need a first base. I was seen Ramirez at first by Astero's at DH. You know, we can make this work.

Adrian Hauser was scratched from his start Wednesday in anticipation of a trade by Thursday. Chase Midroth left after getting hit by a pitch on his right thumb. And Dustin May will work out of the bullpen going forward. And we'll be available as a multi-inning reliever Friday against the raise. And if you haven't already, I think it's pretty clear that you can drop Dustin May as well. Let's run through the waiver wire options from Wednesday's action. And first up, we have the pitchers. Some names in the shallowest of leagues.

All great starts here, Jose Soriano, Brian Bejo, Will Warren. Warren, I didn't realize, very drastic home road splits. So maybe you could just stream them at home. It's been working. And Jeffrey Springs, he was great up against the Mariners. I feel like a lot of his best starts have come against the Mariners this season. How would you guys rank Springs, Will Warren, Brian Beow, and Jose Soriano? Springs Warren.

Soriano, Beyo, Springs, and Warren. I'm out on Warren. I realize he had a good start here, a good start where he had got four whiffs on 102 pitches. So there were some kind of interesting signs earlier in the year, but I don't think in conjunction with his performance. those signs are interesting enough. Mm-hmm. Yeah, the swinging strike rate has completely fallen off here for Will Warren.

It's an 8% swinging strike rate in 6th July starts. Brian Beow just wanted to mention his last nine games. It's a 250 ERA, 104 whip, and he's getting ground balls. He's limiting hard contacts. He's limiting walks as well. So I don't think that there's like a high ceiling, big upside with Brian Beow. but he clearly has figured some things out, and he's pitching better to his credit.

So it looks like he's kind of maturing as a pitcher, and so wanted to give him a little bit of credit there, and it looks like he faces the Royals next week. So pretty good matchup for Brian Bayo as well. Two names in medium-sized leagues. U. Darvish, dominant against the Mets, of course, because his first, I think, four starts were awful. We told everyone to drop him,

and then he had this great start, seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts, 14 whiffs on 76 pitches against the Mets. And then I was going to bring up Nick Martinez here, but if he's going back to the bullpen, probably doesn't matter. Any thoughts on you, Darvish? It wouldn't surprise me.

It wouldn't surprise me if he got back on track. I mean, he's been really good for a long time. You could never totally bet against those pitchers, but would I be enthusiastic about starting him next week just because of this? Is one good outing? No. No.

I'd be reluctant still. Yeah. And some names in Deeper League. Chris Panic pitched very well in his Tiger's debut. Six innings, one run, five strikeouts. Ryan Gusto, a great start against the National. Six innings, one run, five strikeouts there. Mike Burroughs, also a strong start at the Giants.

Six innings, one run, seven strikeouts. I am moderately interested in Mike Burroughs in Deeper leagues. How are you guys feeling about Burroughs, Ryan Gusto? and Chris Paddock. I think Burroughs is probably the most interesting of this group by a decent margin. His minor league track record, not bad. Well over a strikeout per inning at AAA. ERA was 251 this year.

Last year it wasn't quite as good. But I think Mike Burroughs is interesting in the way that I thought like David Festa is interesting. And I know that hasn't worked out. And these are low probability upside. dice rolls, but I think he's an interesting one. Burroughs last three starts, by the way, it's 17 innings, just

three runs, 18 strikeouts to four walks, lots of ground balls and limiting hard contact, and it's a good park to pitch in. It's not a good team, obviously with the Pirates, but it's, you know, it's a good park, so 11% rostered, deep league name, Mike Burroughs. I do think Chris Paddock is worth

discussing a little more, too, since this was his first start with the Tigers, and they have had some success with pitcher, development. recently and there were some interesting signs for Paddock with the twins namely very high induced vertical break on his fastball had a good result I didn't see anything that looked different under the hood for Paddock he seemed like the same guy I'll pitch selection velocity movement it all seemed the same so I I'm not rushing to add him after this start even though even though he was wearing a different uniform.

He's been like weirdly not terrible for the most part this season. And then he has these massive blow-up starts that just completely undo it. I think he's got two starts of at least eight earned runs and another couple with like five. So that's not an argument for Chris Paddock because those eight earned run starts still count. The five earn runs starts still count. But Chris. It's not a barely over situation. You know, he has a couple of four run and five inning starts.

Yeah, yeah, I think you're giving the game log a little too much credit here. Oh, no, I'm just like he had a stretch of like 15 straight starts where he was actually really good. It's been mostly badly. Are we talking about Chris Paddock? We are talking about Chris Paddock. Chris Paddock had a 12 start stretch with a 251 ERA. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying he's good.

I'm just saying that is a thing that happened. You can slice and dice this to make any argument that you want. Because the numbers I had in here, back-to-back quality starts for Paddock, but his seven starts before the... Yeah, he'd been really bad before. It was an 855 ERA and a 172. He's not good, is the takeaway. Yeah, there you go.

I think that is the takeaway. What do we do with Zebby Matthews? Another rough outing here, this one against the Red Sox, four and a third innings, eight hits, five runs, four strikeouts, seven whiffs on 74 pitches. He's got a 5-67 ERA and a 141 whip. The underlying numbers look much better, but I don't know, man.

What do we do with Zebby Matthews? I don't want to start him after this. I don't want to drop him either because I feel like we're at a point in this season and maybe it'll change after the trade deadline. But I don't think so. So many pitchers have gotten heard lately. I was going through early

and trying to put together the best worst hitter matchups for week 20 is really hard to come up with bad teams with bad hitter matchups because there are so many bad pitchers filling out rotations right now all of which is to say I don't think you're going to find much more interesting than Zebby Matthews off the waiver wire right now so he might as well hold on you don't have to start him though he's just man every time he throws something over 90 miles per hour. It's just a disaster. His fastball and his cutter have an ex-Wobo over 400 this season. Everything else is like 220 or below. It's kind of wild how much better his breaking and off-speed stuff has been than his fastballs.

Maybe he throws them too much in the strike zone. It would be my biggest concern there. But I think he's clearly talented. did. It's just I don't want to use him right now, so I suppose you could you could argue he's dropable. Sure. Yeah. That seems fair. I would try to hold. I mean, I would, you know, drop for

some of these relievers if you want to make a swap like that. Griffin Jacks, Kate Smith, but just in terms of starting pictures. Yeah. For him. Like, I wouldn't drop Zebby Matthews for even Mike Soroka. Yeah.

All right. I know you're a Soros. I would do that. This is the biggest Soroka guy here. But you don't have to trust me. Let's take a look at the waiver wire hitters here. Some names in shallower leagues. Welcome back to Kerry Carpenter, two for three with his 17th home run.

He missed some time with a hamstring injury. 78% roster could be out there in some 10 team leagues, points leagues, things like that. Anthony Volpe's defense has been disgusting. But the bat is waking up here in the second half. He has six homers, two steals, 934 OPS in 12. games after the All-Star break. Both of these between 70 and 80% rostered. Do you have any shallow league interest in a Kerry Carpenter or Anthony Volpe?

Is the defensive issue for Volpe? Oh man, his range is really low, too. He is awful. He leads baseball. Is it a throwing issue? He leads baseball in errors this season. I wonder if it was... Frank, can you put what I'm sharing onto the screen for me, please?

There we go. That's how I feel about Anthony Volpe having a little. little hot streak for you. All right. I mean, I felt forward again award. Well, except you didn't.

I didn't. I mean, I'm just bringing him up. A lot of times, I hope people realize this. I just bring players up. I don't know. I don't like them.

I don't like these players, but I bring them up because, you know, they're. I'm just, I'm just making fun of Yankees fan. I know, I know. And I just,

you know, I can't let you get away with it, Chris. I just think the defensive thing is weird because like, that was, that was what made him so good as a rookie was his defense.

He won the gold glove and deservedly. So for it to disappear on him like this such a, he's only 24. I don't, that's, that's weird. But yeah, I don't, I don't care about him except on an emergency basis

in fantasy. Yeah. I agree. Name in medium-sized leagues. We had a big game for Gavin Sheets, one for two with a sock and a shoe. His 15th home run, his second steal. He had been struggling quite a bit before this one. 52% roster that I personally am

not overly enthusiastic about Gavin Sheets? Yeah, I mean, it looked like he had taken a big step forward in the first couple of months, but now the overall production kind of looks like it's always looked for Gavin Sheets. He's probably just being overextended. And the fact that the Padres are looking into trading for Marcelo Zuna, I don't think that's an indictment of Gavin Sheets.

Gavin Sheets has been playing a lot of left field, actually. But yeah, I think they're probably just asking a little too much from him right now. Some names in deeper leaves. We had a huge game from Masataka Yoshida, two for five with a sock and a shoe, though the home run did come off of a position player, so do with that, which you will. Miguel Anduhar, two for four with a double dong.

Last four games, he's got seven hits and three homers. At least one of those home runs was hit 110 miles per hour off the bat. I was like, what year is this, Miguel Anduhar? And Dorel, Hernaise, who plays for the athletics. He's getting some run here. He's filling in for Jacob Wilson. Two for three with a sock into shoe, his first home run, his first steal. He's 23 years old, and he was hitting well-ish in the minors over 300, four homers, 12 seals, OPS over 800.

Any deep league interest in a Yoshida, Anduhar, Darrell Hernadez. I mean, I got to be honest with you. I do not, I did not have the mental bandwidth coming into this podcast to look into Darrell Hernays. he might be a superstar scott and you just missed out i just if you yeah um yeah no sorry i i i you know it's it's it's uh i need about 90 minutes before the podcast every time to go through the day's games and uh the aeohenio suarez trade definitely disrupted my uh routine there so yeah we'll have to We'll have to address him later if he's still going well. I do think Yoshida is just worth monitoring here because I think there's a decent chance

the Red Sox try to trade him tomorrow if they can find someone to take him. If not, I just don't know what the playing time is going to look like moving forward because obviously the outfield's been crowded all along in the DH spot and all that, but they're also, you know, Christian Campbell's starting to heat up at AAA after a pretty miserable start down there. He's been playing a lot more first base. that situation could just get even more crowded after the all-star or after the trade deadline if they don't,

uh, if they don't move someone. All right, let's, uh, go a little rapid fire here, some leftovers. Are these hitters back?

Uh, we've got four names here who are raking lately. Julio Rodriguez, just doing the Julio thing. He's turning up in the month of July. Jaron Duran having himself a huge month. Jose Al-Tuvae has gotten the numbers back on track. Uh,

and Yiner Diaz, It's just been a weird up and down season. Strong May and July, very bad April and June. And maybe that's just part of his profile because he chase his pitches so much and there's bad plate discipline and all that. But are you guys willing to say that these hitters are back? J. Rod, Duran, Altuve, Yiner Diaz. I'm willing to say all four of them are back, yes.

All four are back and you know who else is back? Maybe he's further down the list. No, Trevor's story? Oh, yeah. He's been crushing it for a while now. Yeah. Is his OPS still below 700? That was the most surprising thing when I looked the other day.

Like, he just doesn't. 708 today. He doesn't walk at all. His OBP is terrible. But he's not striking out so much anymore. Not like it's a good strikeout rate, but so he had his second home run in his mini games, 17 overall now. Since the start of June, Trevor's stories, 289, 10 home runs, eight steals,

with a 25.7% K rate. I think that'll play. I think I like it more than Anthony Volpe. I'll tell you that much. Oh, yeah, for sure. And it really just was an abysmal May. And it was really, really bad. I totally understand if people dropped Trevor's story,

but it was a solid April, awful May, and then Scott just read off the numbers, May and July, excuse me, June and July. Very big numbers here for Trevor Story. He's at 17 and 17 on the season. Like, I don't know. He might go 2525. Just he might, man, the quietest season.

Underline numbers for Trevor Story are still really bad. Even in the month of July, it's a 325 X-Woba, which is better closer to league. That's basically league average, maybe a little above. But that's his best month of the season is 325. And it's not a situation where he's hitting a ton of pulled air balls and, you know, overperforming as a result of that. So I'm still very skeptical of Trevor Steeves. story personally. What do we do with these two pitchers? Another rough one for McKenzie Gore who got hit hard at the Astros. He's been struggling a lot with walks lately. So what do you know? He throws a bunch

of strikes in this one and the Astros were ready to pounce on him. He gave up six runs. Last seven starts. It's a 606 ERA 165 whip for McKenzie Gore and Clay Holmes, another rough start who over his last eight outings has a 462 ERA 162 whip. Is this a bench gore drop Clay Holmes situation? I think Clay Holmes is dropable. I've thought Clay Holmes was dropable for a while. The underlying numbers have been even in a points league as a spark. I want to do it in a points league. That's the only one but even then I I have to think they're going to have to limit his innings at some point. I could seem going back going into the bullpen at some point. Yeah, I just no two-star weeks, a lot of short outings. I don't think Clay Holmes is

a must roster player even in a points league personally. They don't Why do you say no two-star weeks? I would just guess that they're going to start spacing and starts out a little more. Don't they already have a six-main rotation, basically? That sounds right. Let's see. The New York Mets are currently rolling with Sean Binaia, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Kodaisanga,

and Frankie Montaz. Yeah, who are they missing? Who someone else was in there? As for Gore, like you gave his numbers recently. hit for the season now. McKenzie Gore has a 380 ERA and a 129 win. It's suddenly not looking like a breakout season

and that's unfortunate. So do you sit them? It's so weird because it's just the bad July. Yeah, I mean, I'm not it's not like we're dropping them, obviously. Do you sit them? It's not a firm yes for me, but I'd try to. What's the matchup next week?

Next week for McKenzie Gore, he is home. I'm starting him against the athletics. Home against the athletics, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, probably start him. All right, some other hitting leftovers here. Jordan Westberg continues to rake two for five with his 12th home run. He's having himself a big July.

Cedric Mullins, ridiculous home run robbery catch. I mean, the second home run he's brought back this week, just crazy, crazy defensive plays here from Mullins. Another name could be traded here ahead of the deadline. Haraldo Pardomo, continues his huge season, three for four, with his 11th homer. Really only had a bad June. It's an OPS over 820 every other month of the season for Pardomo.

Freddie Freeman, one for two with his 11th home run, his first homer since June 28th. So, all right, let's pick it up a little bit, Freddie Freeman. Brent Rooker, huge game, two for four with a sock and a shoe. 23rd home run, fourth steel. And Randy Arosarena stayed red hot. two for four with his 21st homer. He has 11 home runs in the month.

And here we are, July 31st, it is already a 2020 season for Randy Rosarina. On a 30-30 pace. Yeah. How about that? Pretty cool stuff. Some pitching left over is Logan Webb. He heard me talking smack about his lack of wifts and what do you do?

He struck out 11 pirates. He had 16 whiffs on 109 pitches. The whip remains a problem, though. Including this start. over his last seven, it's a 160 whip for Logan Webb. So that very clearly is a problem. Nathan Avaldi, great start at the Angels, seven innings, one run, four strikeouts.

And Chota Imanaga, a mixed start at the Brewers. Five inings, three runs allowed, two homers allowed, but also had a season high eight strikeouts. The sweeper looked really good here for Imanaga. Any thoughts on him, Avaldi, and Logan Webb? Avaldi's great. as long as he stays healthy. I don't know, man.

It feels like he's getting away with it this year in a way that wasn't true last year, but he keeps mostly getting away with it. I know the last, you know, this start and the previous one were a little shakier, and the home runs have become an issue. But I still feel like it's going to be more like a 4 ERA moving forward for Shodimanaga personally. I have more faith in him than that. that just to give a you know just so just to voice that so it doesn't seem like we're in unanimity there. Logan Webb I wanted to point out because the sweeper had been a problem lately.

The movement for that seemed to be back. It only got one whiff, but it didn't seem like the sweeper had lost its sweepiness as had contributed to Logan Webb struggles recently. All right, call to the bullpen here. Quick run through. For the Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman struck out one for his 25th save. For the Guardians, Cade Smith got the ninth inning with a five-run lead, clean inning to close it out. So, you know, despite his struggles the other day, boom, right back in the ninth inning for Cade Smith.

For the Reds, Emilio Pagan was unavailable. Tony Santian got the ninth inning with a three-run lead. He struck out one for his third save. For the Marlins, Ronnie Enriquez entered with one out in the eighth, a runner on first, two-run lead. He walked one and then struck out the next two. Calvin Foshae got the ninth with a two-run lead pitched a clean inning for his 10th save.

This is your latest reminder that the Marlins do not have a closer and they never will ever again. I'd still bet on any of them over the Orioles options though. Which one? I don't know. Any of them, any of the three.

Probably Ronnie Enrique's first, but any of the three. I hear that. Yeah. I kind of think maybe this question, Corbin Martin thing will turn into more of a thing, but we'll see. For the Yankees, Devin Williams got the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He allowed a two-run homer, took his second blown save on the other side. For Tampa Bay, Pete Fairbanks, got the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead,

gave up a game-tying home run to Anthony Volpe. Took his fourth blown save. The Yankees wound up winning this game in extra innings. I think I saw they were trailing in the eighth, ninth, and tenth, and ended up winning. Yes, there was a stat about that. I believe it was the first time ever or something? First time that it's been done since like 1901. Yeah.

Yeah. To trail in all those innings and then win it in the 11. It's like the first time it's ever been done. It was crazy game. For the Rangers, Robert Garcia struck out two for his ninth save. They're an interesting team to watch here on Thursday. Do they go for it? Do they trade for a closer type?

If not, then Robert Garcia is probably just their closer for, I don't know, the foreseeable future, I guess. To stream or not to stream on Thursday, we have three games on the schedule. It's, I don't know, do you want to use Kumar Rocker at the Mariners? That's your question. I could see it going well. I could see it going terribly. It's not a streamer I would recommend.

And then on Friday, we have Brady Singer against the Acunia Lists Braves. We have Trevor Rogers at the Cubs, Kate Horton against the Orioles, Jose Katana at the Nationals Michael Waka at the Blue Jays Janssen Junk gets the Yankees Tyler Anderson against the White Sox Jack Leiter at the Mariners Yeah I don't really like any of these options

You know all of a sudden though this Mariners lineup It's really good Yeah it's really good I mean Seattle's still a good place to pitch So if lighter or rocker have a good start In the next two days I won't be surprised But I'm not going to recommend them Singer against the Braves is my choice I think that's probably the best one but I don't like it

Mm-hmm. The Trevor Rogers one is tough because I really like what he's been doing. He's obviously pitching well. Cubs is just a tough match. Yeah, I can't do it against the Cubs. And if you look at the game log for Trevor Rogers, the matchups have been pretty favorable. Yes.

All right. Well, we are going to wrap there. We've got another busy day ahead here on Thursday. For Scott, Chris, I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.

Mount Podcasts