Fantasy Baseball Today - Trade Reactions! Trades You Should Make & Wednesday Recap! (7/29 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 29, 2021

To nominate Fantasy Baseball Today for The People’s Choice podcast awards, go to podcastawards.com/app/signup/ and then toggle down the "Sports" category. Let's get Chris' reaction to all of the tra...des (1:42)! First up, Starling Marte for Jesus Luzardo. Joey Gallo now finds himself in the Bronx. Eduardo Escobar receives a park upgrade in Milwaukee. With Yimi Garcia heading to Houston, who will close for the Marlins? ... Joey Votto now has seven home runs over his last five games (14:17)! Tylor Megill looks great through his first seven starts. ... The Twins and Tigers combined for 31 runs on Wednesday (19:30)! ... News and notes (23:02)! The Nationals are dealing with a COVID outbreak, Jared Walsh went to the IL, and more. ... What do we do with meh starting pitchers like Blake Snell and Zach Plesac (31:40)? Which players should you target before your Trade Deadline (42:48)? ... What should you do with these starting pitchers (50:19)? ... We wrap up with waiver wire hitters, bullpen updates, and streamers (57:05). ... Email us at fantasybaseball@cbsi.com. 'Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:03 Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. I drive. Center field. What is magnificent? Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Well, fantasy becomes reality.
Starting point is 00:00:25 Now here's Frank Scott, Chris and Adam. What is up, everybody? Welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Thursday, July 29th. Frank Stample joined by Chris Towers for a massive, Trade edition of the podcast. We'll get Chris's reactions to all of the trades. Your fantasy trade deadline is approaching. We have some last second players for you to acquire,
Starting point is 00:00:46 maybe some to sell as well. We know that Chris is the man behind the scene with the trade charts. So we'll get some thoughts there on moves that we should be making. We'll recap all of Wednesday's action. And so much more, Chris. What's up, man? How you doing? Good.
Starting point is 00:01:01 A lot going on today. This is a busy, busy, busy baseball day. I mean, I hope Friday. is more busy than tomorrow just because I'm off Friday, you know, selfishly. Please don't say that, Chris. Love a busy trade deadline. You know, it's much more fun. 100%. It's definitely fun. It's awesome for baseball. It could be awesome for fantasy, depending on where your players land. And we'll talk about all that, especially some relievers here.
Starting point is 00:01:26 That's going to change some things. But yeah, we'll be around Friday. Any big trades that happen the next couple of days, actually. We'll have some emergency podcast for you. We currently have some up with myself and Scott's reactions to the Starling Marte trade, Joey Gallo, and Eduardo Escobar. But let's start with Starling Marte. He was traded away from your Miami Marlins, Chris, to the Oakland A's in exchange for Jesus Lazardo, which is just like a, it's a crazy trade. It's a really, really fun trade. Marte is having an awesome season, 3.7 fantasy points per game, tied for third among outfielders, 22nd best outfielder in Roto this season, despite missing 30. seven games with injury.
Starting point is 00:02:05 Give me your reaction to all of it. What does this mean for stalling Marte's value? Jesus Lazardo. What do you think for his dynasty value? Where does he fit in with the Marlins? Everything. So I'll start off with Marte. Downgrade.
Starting point is 00:02:19 I think because the lineup and the park are better, it can be close to a wash. But the Marlins are second and stolen bases this season. The athletics are 16th. And that's a big part of why Starling Marte has been so good is he's got those 22 stolen bases in like, what, 68 games or 63 games, something like that. And he's been on a 45 steel pace since getting traded to the Marlins last season. So this has been, you know, he hasn't run at that kind of pace basically since 2017. He was more like a 20 to 25 steel guy the last couple of years with the Pirates.
Starting point is 00:02:58 So the Marlins really let him run. You know, obviously, I think he has 27 RBI, 52 runs scored. The run production numbers haven't been great. And that's what I think he benefits from in the move to Oakland. Because now instead of hitting behind a pitcher and whoever the Marlins are throwing out at leadoff on that day, I think they have a 319 OBP from their leadoff men this season. He'll be hitting behind the number nine hitter who's going to be bad. but probably someone like Elvis Andrews.
Starting point is 00:03:28 And then Marcanna, who is really, really good and has a 379 OBP. I think he's been above 373 straight years. So, Sarlene Marte is going to have a lot more run producing opportunities. And I mean, the runs, man, the Marlins have not scored many runs, but Adam Duval and Jesus Aguilar have driven in all of them. And so Sondon Marte has actually been on a really, really good run pace. I think he's on like 130 pace. for the season.
Starting point is 00:03:58 Yeah, he's on a 51 steel pace this year as well. Like, 22 steals in what he's done. Like, the power is down, but batting average steals, runs. That's exactly what you want, Starling Marte for. The one thing I'll push back on there, Chris, is for Oakland, I hear you with the steel numbers, but isn't that kind of based on who your personnel is? Like, they've let Canada run this year, which is pretty surprising. Ramon Luriano ran a lot early on in the season, which you were actually right about.
Starting point is 00:04:24 The steals have completely slowed up for him. But I think they know what they're getting in Marte. Like maybe he doesn't run as much, but I still think he's going to run. I think the biggest thing is that you go from the number nine hitters for the Marlins have averaged a two, I think it's 19 or 220 OPS for the season. Pitchers, man. And the leadoff hitters, as I said earlier, were 319. For the A's, it's like 297, I think, for the number nine hitters and 3701 for the leadoff spot. Obviously, Cannes been there primarily.
Starting point is 00:04:56 I would expect he'll stay there and Marte will hit second. So it's not just that the A's are, I think, philosophically more opposed to running than the Marlins are. But I think it's also just that he's going to have fewer opportunities because he's going to have guys on base ahead of him a lot more often. You know, you think about maybe anywhere from 10 to 15 percent more often, which isn't nothing, but when you're talking about a category like stolen, which isn't a ton, but when you're talking about a category like stolen bases, which are inherently scarce and inherently rare, you know, there's a possibility that he just goes through a weird stretch
Starting point is 00:05:33 where he just gets on base and there's someone on ahead of him every time and he won't have an opportunity to get a steal. So I think overall it's a little bit of a downgrade. I'm not saying I'm moving Marte down in my rankings, but, you know, he's, I think his value is lower today than it was with the Marlins. All right. In one minute or less, give me your,
Starting point is 00:05:53 grand scheme thoughts on Jesus Lazzardo from Dynasty, what it means for the Marlins. I mean, he's having an awful season. Do you think he bounces back? Even in AAA. And generally speaking, when a top prospect
Starting point is 00:06:06 struggles like this and gets traded, you figure the team that's trading them knows something that the acquiring team doesn't or something like that. But in this instance, the Marlins have been so good at getting not just the guys that they draft and develop and sign,
Starting point is 00:06:23 but also the guys that they've traded for. Sandy Alcantara was one of them, Sixto Sanchez was another. They've done a really good job of developing guys. So you look at the raw tools that Lazzardo has. He's got good size for a lefty. He can throw, I mean,
Starting point is 00:06:37 he's a fastball average 96 miles an hour this season. So there's definitely skill there. He was arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball heading into last season. So I think you look at it all with the situation that the Marlins have, good ballpark. I think you probably want to buy low on him in Dynasty if you get the opportunity. And if he gets called back up or if he, you know, report straight to the Marlins,
Starting point is 00:06:58 I'm going to add him in some of my deeper leagues and just see if they can figure something out. You know, the Marlins, I think, have earned that at this point with their pitching. Yeah, Hazers Lozardo is currently 32% rostered on CBS. And the last update we saw is that the Marlins have not decided if Lazzardo will immediately join the rotation. So at least it's something that they are considering. It's in the back of their minds. By the way, If you're a Marlins fan, the future of this pitching staff, and I know, like, it doesn't always work out. The Mets had all these young starting pitchers, yada, yada, yada. It's pitching.
Starting point is 00:07:32 But Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez, 6thos Sanchez, Hazel Lozardo, Edward Cabrera. Max Meyer's better than Edward Cabrera. Max Meyer. He's prime tire in all prospect lists. And he's a double A. That's Edward Cabar is a AAA now. So, I mean, they're, they're going to trade one of those guys. I'm fairly certain of it.
Starting point is 00:07:53 They need about seven bats. And they did it last year. They traded, or two years ago, they traded Zach Gallen straight up for jazz chisholm. So maybe they look to do something like that as well. Let's move into Joey Gallo right here, baby, the Bronx Bombers. And before we do that, Oh, you always want to talk about your favorite team.
Starting point is 00:08:15 I know. This is his official entrance music to New York. Yes. He's down the same. In all the good times you're still a bargain. Joey Gallo, man. Look, it's a match made in heaven.
Starting point is 00:08:31 I don't know what else you need to add. I saw via, who was it, Rodo Nino, Roto underscore Nino on Twitter. He had like the stat cast numbers for what would Joey Gallo's home runs be if he played in the Yankee Stadium and it would be 29 instead of 25.
Starting point is 00:08:44 So not a huge number, but short portion right field. The full trade, by the way, Joey Gallo and reliever Yoeli Yoelie Rodriguez for four prospects from the Yankees. pitcher Glenn Otto, second baseman, Ezekiel Duran, shortstop Josh Smith, and second base slash outfielder Trevor, Haver. Gallo. How much you're moving them up, Scott? Chris?
Starting point is 00:09:06 I don't think you, like, the thing about Gallo and Marte is like, even though I do think this is better for Gallo, even though I do think Marte loses value, I don't really think they're the kind of guys that you move up, move up or down because of a trade, really. Like they're, they're so set and so much of their value comes from what they actually do as opposed to the context that they're in that like, okay, maybe Gallo hits an extra home run or two. Maybe Marte steals one or two or three fewer bases. Like, I think it is worse for Marte and better for Gallo. But I'm not really looking at it as like a, oh, wow, I need to move. I need to adjust my rankings. That makes sense. Yeah. I mean, look, his Joey Gallo's power place anywhere. He's one of those guys where it. Sure, it'll help a little bit that he's in Yankee Stadium,
Starting point is 00:09:55 but it's not like he wasn't hitting home runs in Texas because of the ballpark or anything. I do think it's a slight boost up for other Yankees hitters. It's going to be more run scoring opportunities for DJ LaMayhew, some more RBIs for Aaron Judge and for John Carlos Stanton. You know, we're going to have that conversation later about guys to buy, and I almost went with DJ LaMahue as one of mine. Like, I know he's been awful.
Starting point is 00:10:18 I know he's been arguably like not really worth definitely not worth starting for large stretches of the year, but also not necessarily even worth rostering in some situations. But he's going to be better than this. Like, he's going to hit 300 the rest of the way I would bet. And the lineup's so good. Like, if you get an opportunity to get DJ Lemayhew, I think you should do it. And DJ LaMahue, look, the numbers are not what we've wanted them to be. He's been an underachiever. There's no doubt about that. He's been better. And he has an on-base streak, which is currently at 37 games. So, for whatever that's worth, for DJ Lemayhew.
Starting point is 00:10:55 One of the prospects to pay attention to might have some value this year. Pitcher Glenn Otto between AA and AAA this season, 3.33 ERA, 1.0 to whip. 115 strikeouts in 75 and 2 thirds innings pitched. The next trade that we have here, Eduardo Escobar went to the Milwaukee Brewers
Starting point is 00:11:11 in exchange for infielder Alberto Cyprian, who was an 18-year-old prospect, and outfielder Cooper Hummel, who is a 26-year-old outfielder with high OBP. it's not Miller Park anymore. I think it's American Family Field. Plays very well for left-handed power. Eskabar is a switch hitter. I actually think this one is a slight boost up for his fantasy value. Sure. Yeah. I mean, we've seen him. He's been fine this season.
Starting point is 00:11:36 You know, that's 778 OPS. Has he been really good lately? He has bounced back. Yeah, he's had a good July. He's had a good July. Yep. I think he's going to be, you know, right around in 800s, low 800s OPS bat. But it wouldn't surprise me. to see him go on a stretch, you know, like his 2019 season where he drove in a ton of runs. As, you know, an emailer pointed out to us, I'm sorry, I don't have the name, but they pointed out that the brewers, I think, have been third in the majors in runs scored over the last 28 days or something like that. Yeah. That lineup's been actually pretty good since Willie Adamas got there. It would be even better if Christian Eilich were hitting, but he was, he's still getting on base at least.
Starting point is 00:12:19 So I think it's a good situation. I think it's definitely arrow up for, for Eduardo Escobar. Escobar has 65 RBI this season playing for the Diamondbacks. Just think about that. 22 home runs, 246 batting average. Batting average is never going to be great. Maybe it ticks up a little bit here, 250, 260 for them, but power's been very good.
Starting point is 00:12:38 RBI opportunities will be plentiful with the Milwaukee Brewers. A few reliever trades, the Astros acquired Yimi Garcia from the Marlins in exchange for outfielder Brian Dela Cruz and pitcher, Austin Pruitt. Chris, who do you think? Well, I guess you could drop Gimi Garcia. He's not going to close,
Starting point is 00:12:55 obviously, with the Houston Astros. Who do you think closes for the Miami Marlins? I think it's between Dylan Floro and Anthony Bender. Yeah, I think Anthony Bender would be my pick. But Floreau is the one
Starting point is 00:13:09 who I don't think either one of them really has much closing experience. I guess Floreau has more experience overall. So maybe they tend to go there, but I do think Anthony Bender is the better pitcher. So absent knowledge of what they're likely to do,
Starting point is 00:13:27 I think Bender would be the one to pick up. Yeah, and Anthony Bender is 10% rostered, much better numbers than, much better underlying numbers than Dylan Floreau this season. Floro has fine numbers, but I do think Bender is better. And if you're just looking for a reliever to add for saves, I still do think Paul Seawald is one of the most under-roastered pitchers
Starting point is 00:13:47 on CBS right now. only 30% rostered. The Mariners traded away Kendall Graveman on Tuesday. And unless they make another move for A reliever, I think it's going to be Paul Seawald. Last trade here, Michael Givens was traded from the Rockies to the Reds in exchange for right-handers, Case Williams, and Noah Davis. Not really much fantasy value to talk about there.
Starting point is 00:14:06 Unless Givens works his way into save opportunities, which I guess you can't rule out, given Cincinnati's bullpen this season. All right, let's talk about some stuff that actually happened in the games on Wednesday. Oh my goodness gracious. Oh my goodness gracious. Before I actually give you my pick, my pick is Tyler McGill. Joey Votto. I was going to be my pick.
Starting point is 00:14:28 I started the podcast yesterday with Joey Votto, Chris. And like, even ahead of, oh my goodness gracious. Like what he's doing right now, he hit two more home runs on Wednesday. Another double dong that's back-to-back multi-home run games for Joey Votto. He now has seven homers over five games. games, 19 home runs on the season. I'll let you expand on it. We've talked a lot about him recently. And I told Scott yesterday, I moved them inside my top 12 first baseman, which maybe it's a little bit of an overreaction, but he kind of just looks like he's back.
Starting point is 00:15:04 Yeah. I mean, and if you had told me Joey Votto was going to reinvent himself late in his career and, you know, either sacrifice some power or sacrifice some contact rate to become more of a power hitter as he aged, that would have been what I would have bet on. And I would have bet on him doing it successfully because he's such a talented hitter and such a cerebral player. And we saw it at the end of last season.
Starting point is 00:15:29 I was a little bit skeptical coming in. I certainly didn't have him ranked as highly as he's played. But, you know, before he got, did he have COVID right before the season? I don't recall that happening. I know he broke. He definitely had COVID at some point. there was something where he wasn't,
Starting point is 00:15:48 there were some concerns about whether he'd be ready for the season. I kind of took him out of my top 200 and just stopped thinking about him really. Yeah, he did. But like, he returned to the team on March 21st. Yeah, but he's on a 35 homer pace. He's been really, really good this season. And the underlying numbers, you know, obviously this hot stretch has really helped the overall numbers.
Starting point is 00:16:12 But you remember early in the season, we were talking about the overall numbers were really, the underlying numbers were so much better than the overall numbers that, you know, it was kind of like I was trying to figure out what was the reason why he wouldn't be living up to it. And I said, well, he's lost a lot of speed. He's never been a super fast guy, but he was down,
Starting point is 00:16:32 he's down to 16th percentile on sprint speed. Maybe he's a little more shiftable and maybe he just wasn't going to hit those expected numbers. He's right at them now, which gives me, you know, actually he's a little still below them, 3-79 Wobah coming into today, 394X Woba. The fact that those match up now, I think that's a, that's reason enough to buy in.
Starting point is 00:16:54 79% rostered is Joe Evato. We've talked about him a ton recently, so I don't really think there's much else to add, but the guy is just on fire. So love to see it. Hall of Fame push. Let's go. Joe Ivato.
Starting point is 00:17:08 I want to talk about Tyler McGill, who's up against the Braves on Wednesday. Five and a third, five hits, one run, one walk, six strikeouts. 14 swinging strikes on 94 pitches for McGill. He's made seven starts now with the Mets. 2.04 ERA, 1.10 whip. 3.89 X-FIP.
Starting point is 00:17:25 Okay, he's been lucky so far in some areas. His strand rate is very high. I think it's over 90%. And he's had some home run look. 2.17 expected ERA. So he's really limiting hard contact. Roster rate is up to 76%. I feel a little bit more confident in him
Starting point is 00:17:42 than I guess we've given him. him credit for to this point. So I don't know if he's just going to remain in the Metz rotation the rest of the season, but he's a big pitcher. He's 6 foot 5, 6 foot 6. He has 3 pitches. 6 foot 7. Yeah, he has 3 pitches that work next
Starting point is 00:17:58 week in line for 2 starts at Miami at Philadelphia. I like what I'm seeing from Tyler McGill. I'm buying in, Chris. I mean, if you look at the stack cast stats, he looks like an ace through his 7 starts. It's a small sample size, but 258 expected Wobon
Starting point is 00:18:14 contact, that is 100 points lower than the league average. We talked about, you know, we talked about Kyle Hendricks being kind of the king of that. Well, Kyle Hendrick is usually in the 330 range. He's, Tyler McGill's not going to keep this up. This is an absurd level of quality of contact suppression. But the fact that he's showing that skill is a very good sign, especially because he's combining it with good enough control and a pretty good strikeout rate. I don't know how super sustainable this is,
Starting point is 00:18:46 but based on what he's done so far and the skills he's showed, I can't make a reasonable argument against him being rostered in every league. Yeah, and if you look at his numbers at every level in the minors, they've been fantastic at every stage. I mean, over 10K per 9 at every single level. There were a few stops here, small sample sizes. He had an ERA over 4 at high A in 2019. some other stuff here.
Starting point is 00:19:13 But like if you look at the FIP, the FIP, the WIP, and the whip for him, basically at every level and the swinging tricrate for Tyler McGill, like it all adds up. So I'm pretty intrigued. Roster rates climbing up there, he's 76%. But two starts next week,
Starting point is 00:19:26 I think you could just keep them in your lineup at the Marlins and at the Philadelphia Phillies. How about an oh my goodness gracious game? The Twins and Tigers combined for 31 runs on Wednesday. The Twins hit seven home runs in this game, which included. two from Miguel Sineau, two from Ryan Jeffers, and then one from each of Max Kepler,
Starting point is 00:19:48 Brent Rooker, and Jorge Polanco. No home runs by the Tigers. They still won. That's honestly more impressive. The Tiger scored 17 runs without hitting a home run. Yeah, I think there was some kind of record. I think it was the first time a team has been out homered by seven and still won the game. So it's, they only had seven, one, two, three, four, five, six. Yeah, they only had seven extra base hits. Yeah. The twins had seven home run. Well, the twins also only had
Starting point is 00:20:16 eight extra base hits, but, you know, seven of them were twice as good as the Tigers ones. So that's, that's just a wild game. Yeah, it really is. I don't know,
Starting point is 00:20:28 honestly, if there's much to take away from it. Max Kepler has been really good in the month of July. Brent Rooker, someone Scott and I spoke about yesterday. He has power, has shown that in the minor league level.
Starting point is 00:20:38 So in deeper leagues, 15 team roto, if you need power, I think he's a name that you could look at there. For the Tigers, each of Akul Badoo, Derek Hill, Jamer Candelario, Willie Castro, Harold Castro, and Grace and Griner had multiple hits. Acutea Badoo we know is very good.
Starting point is 00:20:53 Jamer Candelario, he's fine. He's a corner infielder in deeper rhodo leagues if you need one. Not really intrigued by anyone else there. Who started this game? Willie Peralta. That experiment. Yeah, that's the takeaway here. That experiment is over.
Starting point is 00:21:07 11 earned runs over his last two stars. And Jay Hap on the other side, his ERA is now up to 6.77. Bring us Joe Ryan. I want to see what the prospect could do. I think we're getting closer there. Once we get into August, twins not playing for much.
Starting point is 00:21:21 I think they want to get a look at some of these young kids. One thing I will say, it's a very small sample size. He's only played 55 games this season in his overall sample size is pretty mediocre. But Derek Hill in 2019 hit a career high 14 home runs. He had only hit nine in his.
Starting point is 00:21:40 career before that. That was a double A. He's always had speed. And this season, between the majors and the minors, he's got 10 stolen bases in 55 games. He's hitting probably like high to high like 280, 290 range. A lot of that's, you know, what he did in the miners. He's walking a lot. In an AL only league for sure, he's, he's, you know, what he's doing right now, six stolen bases in 18 games, you know,
Starting point is 00:22:10 actually probably has a 300 batting average now after today. You know, someone to keep an eye on for a deep release because of the speed. Again, the name there, Derek Hill from the Detroit Tigers has started five of the last six games for them as well. The MLB trade deadline is approaching, so let nothing personal with David Samson be your guy. David Samson ran a Major League Baseball team for 18 years, so he's no stranger to how trades go down. why trades get accepted or why offers get a hard no. Nothing personal will have more than just
Starting point is 00:22:45 winners and losers. David will provide expert insight and analysis on every trade no matter what goes down at the deadline. Remember, it's just business, it's nothing personal. And I'm especially interested to hear what David has to say regarding these Marlins trades because they've been
Starting point is 00:23:01 very interesting for them. News and notes from Wednesday, the Nationals and Phillies game was postponed due to 12 positive COVID tests for the Nationals. We know that Trey Turner tested positive on Tuesday. Four players, I believe. Yes, four players and eight staff members. Trey Turner, someone who left Tuesday's game
Starting point is 00:23:21 because he tested positive. So I would imagine, look, if you play in a league where you could set your lineup for Friday through Sunday, which is a lot of NFBC leagues and some of the Toutwards leagues, I don't know if the nationals are just going to have enough players from their taxi squad.
Starting point is 00:23:39 I mean, the Yankees figured it out, so I guess the nationals could too, but... They are playing a double header tomorrow. All right. So... And I believe Turner is...
Starting point is 00:23:49 I believe that it's been reported that he is vaccinated. Yeah, I mean... So I know, you know, breakthrough cases happen. I believe the protocols say that you can come back with a negative test
Starting point is 00:24:01 or maybe two negative tests. Whereas, you know, you see, see Aaron Judge and how long he's been out. It seems like he's not vaccinated. That hasn't been confirmed. He refused to say, but, you know, I think you can read between the lines there
Starting point is 00:24:17 with how long he's been out. So, you know, it's possible Trey Turner isn't gone for a super long time. Jared Walsh was placed on the IL with a right intercostal strain. He's missed the past couple of days for the Angels. And this is kind of just in conjunction with the numbers the past month or so have been taking a step back for Jared Walsh. We had a bunch of players leave their games with respective injuries on Wednesday. Raphael Devers left and was seen rubbing his hamstring.
Starting point is 00:24:43 Eloy Jimenez, come on. Come on, man. Seriously, right groin strain for Eloy Jimenez, who hit just a mammoth home run on Tuesday. He was, he was deaching in this game. So I thought, all right, maybe if he's playing the outfield, that's why it happened. He was just deaching. Yeah, I mean, hopefully it's nothing serious, but Eloy does. have a pretty sizable injury track record so far. You remember his rookie season. He missed some time.
Starting point is 00:25:14 He's a really big dude, you know? Yep, sure is. Lordas Guriel exited after a hit by pitch on his elbow. Buster Posey was removed after taking a foul ball off the mask. Noon Aronado was removed from Wednesday's action after getting hit by a pitch on his forearm. Nico Horner left the game with side soreness with the Chicago Cubs. We had a Dodgers news done. Clayton Kirshaw will continue rehab on Sunday. Mookie Betts is expected back on Sunday. Corey Seeger. All right. Finally, he is targeting a return sometime this weekend.
Starting point is 00:25:47 Happy to get him back. Brandon Crawford expected back on Thursday. Luis Severino will throw a simulated game on Thursday. If all goes well, his next move could be a rehab start. Good news there for Luis Severino. Nelson Cruz was scratch Wednesday due to a foot contusion, but he did pinch hit. I believe it was in the eighth or ninth.
Starting point is 00:26:06 while I was watching the game. Mitch Garver was held out after getting hit by a pitch in his hand. That happened on Tuesday. Luis Robert moved his rehab to AAA on Tuesday, so he is inching closer
Starting point is 00:26:16 to a return for the White Sox. I'm gonna say he's here next week. Yeah, I think that would make sense. Not like in mine or your apartment or necessarily even New York, but in the majors. Are they playing the Yankees next week? No, I have no idea.
Starting point is 00:26:31 Chris Archer fired three and two-thirds scoreless innings at AAA on Tuesday. He allowed a hit. a walk, and he recorded four strikeouts. He's 17% rostered. I don't know, Chris. Archer has been around for a long time. Anywhere you would be interested...
Starting point is 00:26:46 A long time since he's been good. Anywhere you would be interested in? Is he coming back from Thoracic Outlet? It's something major like that. Yeah. I mean, there's no way you can expect much from Chris Archer. You've got to see it before viewing him as anything more than an A. only type of guy. Yeah, he did.
Starting point is 00:27:08 He had thoracic. And that is an injury that, as I'm sure you guys talk about with Steven Straussberg news yesterday, that is an injury that, I mean, it's not the worst injury that a pitcher can have. But it's pretty bad. It's, it's generally, if not a career ender, the start of the end of careers for most pitchers who have it. So it's just not a great.
Starting point is 00:27:36 great sign, and also he hasn't had an ERA below four since 2015. Last news item here, Rodolfo Castro, who started at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, hit a double dog, and per ESPN stats and info, Rodolfo Castro is the first player in the modern era since 1900 to have each of his first five career hits go for a home run. One of them, by the way, was off of Josh Hader, so pretty damn impressive. he's 1% rostered.
Starting point is 00:28:06 He was betting 300 at AA this season with 11 homers and 6 steals. I don't see him on any prospect list anywhere. There's people that are talking about him though and people that are excited about Rodolfo Castro. Do you have anything? One thing to add. Sure.
Starting point is 00:28:21 You know, since the modern era since 1900, there was a guy in the 1900s whose nickname was Home Run Baker because of how many home runs he hit. He hit 12 for his career high. So I'm going to go. ahead and guess there was nobody before 1900 whose first five hits were home runs either. Just putting that out there.
Starting point is 00:28:41 Definitely. I'm not a statistician. Definitely makes sense. Yeah, I don't know. Anything like this will make you take notice. I think if you change the parameters to five home runs in his first 23 plate appearances, the list probably expands, which tells you that, you know, one, Rolf has had some bad babit luck.
Starting point is 00:29:04 But two also, you know, five home runs for your first five hits sounds a little more impressive than, you know, five home runs in 23 or 24 plate appearances, but still impressive. He was hitting really well at AAA. Obviously, you know, a lot of people are hitting at AAA, but it's not the PCL or double. Excuse me. Yeah. Look, this is the kind of thing that you should take note of. You shouldn't expect it to continue. We've seen, God, Matt Davidson, like four or five years ago, had a huge.
Starting point is 00:29:34 first week didn't turn into anything we've seen that kind I'm sure there are better recent examples but the first two that came to mind were Matt Davidson and Chris Shelton so throwbacks Matt Davidson was definitely the more timely one but yeah like it's it's impressive enough that you should you know in a 15 team league if you need some help sure look his way yeah I mean I keep looking at like, I keep thinking about Ryan McMahon and just how awful he's been for, I mean, really like the last month, but really he's been kind of not useful for like three months now. I'm not necessarily saying I would drop Ryan McMahon for him, but if I was, if I was in a spot
Starting point is 00:30:22 where I was still relying on Ryan McMahon, sure, take a flyer. See if Rodolfo Castro can turn into something. Rodolfo Castro. Adam and Enno only maybe in some of your 15 team leagues. He's very impressive. And you know who else is impressive? Express. Express confidence. Express you. Express is all new and all about you with a fresh mix of casual, versatile, and super comfortable styles. Got to start with their cotton stretch shirts shirts shirts, shirt-infused cotton for all-day comfort. My first priority is always comfort. And if I'm not comfortable, I'm not confident. By the way, I feel very comfortable right now. You know why? This V-neck right here? It looks nice. You guessed it. It's express. These are also machine washable so you don't have to work.
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Starting point is 00:31:24 And it really is the perfect combination of style and comfort. Available in chambray, linen, seersucker, and the aforementioned Lux Comfort knit. to be on the lookout for great summer deals in stores and at express.com. Express confidence. Express you. Let's check in on some meh starting pitchers who were going on Wednesday. Blake Snell. Up against the Oakland is four innings, seven hits, four walks, four earned runs. He has gone just six plus innings in three of 19 starts this season. And since 2019, following his Sy Young season in 2018.
Starting point is 00:32:03 Blake's now has pitched 241 in the third innings. He has a 4.48 ERA and a 1.35 whip. And we've brought this up all season, Chris, and the reason why I continue to do so is because he's 93% rostered and he still started in 60% of CBS leagues. I don't know what else we need to see.
Starting point is 00:32:23 I've dropped him, I believe, outside my top 60 starting pitchers. This guy should not be started on your fantasy team. Two starts, it doesn't matter. Like, good matchup. I need to see two, three starts in a row to earn trust to get Blake Snell back in my lineup. Frankly, Chris, I'm just, I am surprised that his roster rate and start percentage are still that high. I guess I'm not just because it's, it's really hard to drop Blake Snell. Like, you don't have to start him, though. I understand it. No, no, yeah, no. I, yeah, he shouldn't be started right now. No. I would drop him for Patrick Snell. I would
Starting point is 00:32:58 Drop him for Patrick Sandoval, by the way. I think, yeah, I think Patrick Sandoval is going to be better the rest of the season. I had Blake Snell at 54 the last time I updated my rankings, which is about a week plus ago. So, yeah, there's just nothing about what he's doing right now this season. You know, he's getting a lot of strikeouts, but even that is, you know, he's got a 29% strikeout rate, which is pretty pretty freaking good for most pitchers, but it's actually his lowest since 27. He's got a 14% walk rate, which is bad for anybody. And he's getting hit really hard.
Starting point is 00:33:34 You know, it's not like there's a lot of bad luck at play. If anything, he might be a little lucky that he only has a 544 ERA because he was under, overperforming his expected ERA by 0.4 runs coming into today's start. He's getting hit hard. He's got bad control. He's not getting an elite number of strikeouts. Yeah, there's nothing good about it. One thing I will point out is you said, you know, since 2018 or since the start of the 2019 season,
Starting point is 00:34:03 he has that 448 ERA or whatever the exact number was. I'll just quibble with it because 2019, he was actually really, really good. He had a 3306 XERA, 332 FIP. Last season, the XERA and FIP weren't quite as good, but the X FIP was very good. He was awesome in that playoff run. There is something wrong with Blake Snell now. there's there's something that's gone wrong with Blake Snell since last season to this season and I wonder if it's you know the the elbow issues that he's had over the past couple of seasons there was a shoulder thing as well at one point I believe yeah and so you know there was a piece um i can't remember who wrote it I think it was on pitcher list about a month ago talking about how his arm slots lower and how that's affected the movement of his breaking balls and how it's made his fastball left
Starting point is 00:34:55 effective. And that's the kind of thing that like if he is fighting through something, you know, that might be an explanation. He's still getting the velocity. But if he has to change his mechanics to get that velocity and he's not throwing with as with as much control and that was never a strong suit for Blake Snell, I, it's really hard to find a reason to be optimistic. Get him out. Yeah. Get him out of those lineups, Blake Snell. I want to see that start percentage down below. below 20% by next week. I guess in NL only, you don't really have a choice,
Starting point is 00:35:30 but I don't even know if that makes up 20% of our CBS leagues. Probably not. Zach Plesack, up against the Cardinals, five innings, seven hits, two runs,
Starting point is 00:35:38 four strikeouts, another just mad performance from Zach Plesack. And we did have a request on Twitter to try and figure out who Zach Plesack is this season. And your guest is as good as mine. I've got.
Starting point is 00:35:52 Zach Pleazac is three. 300 and, let's see, 246 in a third innings into his major league career. He has a well below average strikeout rate. He's got pretty good control. 2.2 walks per 9 is pretty good. It's not quite elite, but it's, you know, well above average. 1.5 home runs per 9, a 455 FIP, and a 362 ERA.
Starting point is 00:36:19 If you put all of those things, and he has his ERAs over the course of his career, and the two biggest sample sizes now are 381 and like 420 after tonight's start. Then he has the 228 ERA in 55 and a third inning in 2020. I think with nearly every pitcher, we would look at all that and say he's kind of just a guy. I don't understand why we wouldn't say it with him. I know he was awesome last year, but like mediocre pitchers have eight start stretches where they're awesome all the time.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Yep. So I just, I look at it all and say like the margin for error is so slim for someone who gets hit as hard as he does that if he's not just absolutely on the top of his game, things can go ugly really quickly. And I think it's asking too much for him to be on top of his game all the time. I think he can be a useful fantasy pitcher, but, you know, the dreams of him being the next Shane Bieber, which I, I think was kind of what people were hoping after last season was another huge success for the Indians. He's not the next Kyle Hendrix either. No, he's not.
Starting point is 00:37:33 I think he's fine to have a round, but I have trouble seeing an argument for him over even someone that we've been really uninterested in this season like Adam Wainwright. Let's quickly run through some of these other MASS starting pitchers. You say Kikuchi, he's not really Mare, but he's kind of been Mare recently. And up against the afternoon,
Starting point is 00:37:53 five innings, four runs, three of those were earned. Seven strikeouts, 16 swinging strikes on 101 pitches against one of the lowest swinging strike rate teams in baseball in the Houston Astros. What set out to me here is spin rates down over 140 RPM on each of the fastball cutter slider. That's been an issue for Kukuchi a little bit up and down here. He's been rocky, but overall, I still look at everything between the swinging strike rate. He gets ground ball as a good amount.
Starting point is 00:38:22 I still trust Kukuchi. That's basically where I'm at. Yeah, one thing I'm looking for in this one was the change-up usage, because that was way up in his last start. Yeah, he didn't use it that much today, but 14 times. He's a legit four-pitch pitcher. Like you, I have faith. I just, everything that's gone wrong for him basically comes down to the 24% home run to fly ball rate.
Starting point is 00:38:51 And that's just really hard to sustain. It's been much worse recently, too. So I think that's why you see the last five or six starts. It looks a little bit rocky for him. But the strikeouts have been pretty good all year. The control has been pretty good. Like, he's doing everything you want except getting crushed. And I believe he will, you know, we're going to do that buy and sell thing.
Starting point is 00:39:17 He was actually a pitcher I think you should buy. Yes, yes. I was just going to say, you know, I don't have my point. players picked out for that because got a little bit behind here with Joey Gallo trade. There's a lot going on. It's going to be all you, Chris. But Kukuchi, yes, pitcher to buy. If anyone is concerned about him,
Starting point is 00:39:34 he's someone I would be excited to have on my fantasy team for the final two months. Last two mad pitchers here, Tony Disko, Anthony Deskovani. He's not mad. Overall numbers are still very good. But he is bad against the Dodgers. Oh my. Five starts this season against the Dodgers. I guess that means he's not going to have to face them again. Please, no more.
Starting point is 00:39:53 22 earned runs in 21 in innings pitch. That is a 9.43 ERA. Descofani, we have found your kryptonite. And Quanghin Kim, Kwanghin Kim, rather. He reel us in.
Starting point is 00:40:03 We were buying in. Quality starts left and right. Boom. We hit with regression. He was at the Cardinals on Wednesday. Two and two thirds, five hits, five earned runs.
Starting point is 00:40:12 Not at the Cardinals. He was at Cleveland. That would make a little bit more sense. But again, more often than not, that's why we cite the underlying numbers. Of course, Kwong Ken Kim was going through a great stretch, but the underlying numbers,
Starting point is 00:40:28 he doesn't get a lot of swings and misses. He allows a lot of fly balls. Everything said that he was going to regress, and then we get a start like this. I still think he's fine. You can use him in the right spots, but this was a pretty obvious regression. Just to go back to Descalfani,
Starting point is 00:40:43 he's only given up 42 runs this season. So that means that he's made five starts against the Dodgers out of 21, and half of them have come, half of his runs allowed have come against the Dodgers. He has a 189 ERA against everyone else. You know, you look at the underlying numbers, 360 FIP.
Starting point is 00:41:03 You know, that's still pretty good. I think he's going to be useful moving forward. But yeah, no, if the Dodgers are on the schedule, I would not want him in my lineup. Don't. Don't do it anymore. One more thing to promote here. This is the final week. We are finalists for the sports category
Starting point is 00:41:18 of the People's Choice Podcast Awards. We appreciate all that. you do for us, and we hope that you enjoy our show enough to nominate us to advance to the final round to nominate fantasy baseball today. Go to podcast awards.com slash app slash signup and then toggle down the sports category. We've included the link at the top of the episode description as well. We are going to take a quick break. When we return, Chris is going to tell you which players you should be buying and selling heading into the second half. Well, final two months. We'll do that next. Here, fantasy baseball today. All right, Chris, we're going to start with players to buy.
Starting point is 00:41:51 who's a hitter that you're looking at for this stretch run? I already gave my pitcher, so we'll go with the hitter. You're only going to get three names in this segment, unless we want to say you say Kukuchi again. But the hitter I'm going to buy is Whitmerryfield. He's hitting like 226 in the month of July. He's hitting 272 over the course of the season as a whole. Seems, if not likely to get traded.
Starting point is 00:42:13 It certainly seems like a strong possibility that he will be traded. And I just think he's going to hit 300 the rest of the way. I have so much confidence in his skill set. I have so much confidence in his track record, the ability to put the bat on the ball that wherever he lands, if he stays in Kansas City, if he goes somewhere else,
Starting point is 00:42:32 I think he's going to have a very good finish to the season. Is he still leading the league in steals? Yes, with Merrifield. So, you know, it might cost a lot to get him as it should. But if someone is frustrated by Merrifield's performance recently, he is absolutely a hitter I'm looking to buy.
Starting point is 00:42:53 I have two buy high players that I've talked a lot about. Sure. Pete Alonzo in particular, if someone is just not valuing him to the level that they should, I just think he's going to have a monster final two months of the season. I mean, he's had a monster July. So it's going to be a little bit harder now, and I gave you his name a while back,
Starting point is 00:43:12 but Pete Alonzo is definitely someone I'm still buying in on. And Sean Mania, two buy highs here. And I've been very excited about Manaya. Seems like all season. I've just been a little bit higher on him than you guys in the rankings. And his last two starts, he has 22 strikeouts during that stretch. And on Wednesday, six shutout, nine strikeouts against the Padres, 15 swinging strikes in that start.
Starting point is 00:43:35 The ERA is down to 3.01, career high swinging strike rate for Sean Mania. I just think there are people out there who, maybe like you say Kikuchi, they're just not buying into the level that they should. And even his teammate, Chris Bassett, is another person. pitcher like that where we just look at him and we're like, all right, yeah, like he's good. But I have both of these guys ranked inside my top 40 starting pitchers and you can argue maybe they should be even a little bit higher there. So Mania and Pete Alonzo for me, players to sell. Kurtz who you got? One hitter and one pitcher. The thing I'll add on Manaya is he's now
Starting point is 00:44:09 averaged 92.9 miles per hour or better with his fastball in three of his last four starts. He was up to 93.2 miles per hour. I think that much actually be the highest of the season for him with that sinker. So that, actually, yeah, that's his highest since 2017. Manaya has always been a guy who will go through these stretches. He reminds me a little bit of Alex Wood. He goes through these stretches where he looks really, really good, but then he comes back down to Earth. he's really hard to pick up.
Starting point is 00:44:48 He's hard to, you know, for opposing hitters to pick up his delivery. If he's throwing 93 to 95 instead of 90 to 92, all of a sudden that plays up even more. And so I do think, yeah, there's definitely something going on with Shamaniah that makes him worth buying if he can keep this up. I'll also add a pitcher that, you know, is not a buy low, but, you know, right now is more of a buy high, but Kentimaida, I think he's back. The splitter and slider, which are the two signature pitches for him, they've been working really well lately. I know his last six starts, I think, have been really, really good ERA. I want to say under two five in that stretch.
Starting point is 00:45:36 He had one blow-up start, and it's since that stretch. I don't know the exact stats. I was looking them up recently, but he's another pitcher that I would definitely be looking to buy if I get the opportunity. Yeah, it just looks like Kent and Maeda's finally healthy. And it's his last five stars. The entire month of July, 2.15 ERA, 11K per 9, under two walks per nine. That's a big part of this too. Earlier in the season, Maeda was walking a lot. You saw the control kind of erratic for him, which we've never really seen from Kent to Maeda.
Starting point is 00:46:08 And he was giving up a lot more hard contact. And during this five-star stretch, an 85.3 mile per hour average exit velocity, which is fantastic. I will point out, three of those starts against the Tigers, one of them against the Royals. So you keep that in mind, but I do think Kent Maeda is back compared to what he was doing earlier in the season for sure. Players to sell, Chris, one hitter, one pitcher? Yeah, I mean, we talked about him earlier, but Starling Marte, you know, if I'm in a roto league especially, I think the effect might be muted in a points league because we're going to see more runs in RBI. but if I'm in a roto league, you know, because steals are so scarce, I think trying to sell him right now, because I do think he's going to run less, if you can get a huge return. If somebody values him like a top 10 outfielder and you're okay with steals, I do think trying to sell him makes sense because I do think he'll be less valuable after this trade. If I could move him for, gosh, like an Aaron Judge, I would do that. Would you trade him straight up for Whitmerfield?
Starting point is 00:47:12 Yeah, I would rather have what Merrifield than Starling-Marty, but that's been true all season. I will just say, you know, you guys give me stuff for Yankees, but what, Starling-Marty just leaves the Marlins, now you just got to trade them away from your fantasy team? I mean, come on, Chris.
Starting point is 00:47:27 Oh, yeah, no, that's 100%. I mean, there's no question about it. A pitcher? The Marlins turn every hitter into magic. A pitcher to sell? I know you don't agree, but Jamison Tyone. I just don't buy what he's doing lately.
Starting point is 00:47:45 I don't think there's much there. I know the, you know, he is coming, you know, not coming back. He's back from the injury, but he's, you know, starting to find himself or maybe getting more comfortable. Yeah, I don't really buy it. He had the nine strikeout start on July 6th. Since then, 11 strikeout, seven walks and 18 and a third inning's pitched. I just, I don't. think he's got the juice. I just, I don't see it there. The nine strikeouts really stand out like
Starting point is 00:48:19 a sore thumb, you know, no matter how far back you go, you really can't get to a point where he's got even an average strikeout rate. So I just, I don't think Jamison Tyone's going to be able to stay, you know, as even an average pitcher moving forward. No, I'm fine with that. Really hating hard on the Yankees here. No, no, I'm actually fine with that one because during this four-star stretch, He's got a 1.42 ERA. His ex-fib is 5.32, and that's because he's allowing over 50% fly balls, and he pitches in Yankee Stadium.
Starting point is 00:48:50 And he's not getting those swings and misses. Swinging strike rate is right around 11%. That's about league average. Just 7.1K per 9. I think Tyone is fine as a streaming starting pitcher. He's just inside my top 70, but I don't know that he's going to be much better than that unless he starts to get a few more ground balls here.
Starting point is 00:49:09 I swear I didn't. pick two Yankees on purpose. Yeah. How dare you, Chris. All right, we have about 10 minutes left. Let's try and run through as much of this stuff as we possibly can. What do we do with these starting pitchers? Madison Bumgarner at the Rangers on Wednesday.
Starting point is 00:49:23 Seven innings, two runs, four strikeouts. He's 57% rostered, and it looks like he's in line for two starts next week, up against the Giants, at the Padres. Not the best matchups. No. But he's a streamer. He's a fine two-star option. I would imagine he'll be ranked pretty highly in Scott's two-star pitchers list.
Starting point is 00:49:44 Jordan Lyles is the pitcher who opposed Madison Bumgarner in the start. Seven innings. Two runs, six strikeouts. He had 15 swinging strikes on 98 pitches. By the way, I think this game is a perfect example of stream your pitchers against the Diamondbacks and the Rangers moving forward, especially no Joey Gallo. I mean, those two are just prime matchups. Anyway, Jordan Lyles, 10% rostered, up against the Angels and at the Oakland A's next week.
Starting point is 00:50:09 anything? Two-star streamer only in points leagues. He is actually going deep into games lately. Over his last six outings, he's gone at least six innings in five of them. He's actually now seven because he went seven in this one. He's got at least six in six of his last seven. He's got at least seven and three of that stretch.
Starting point is 00:50:34 One of them wasn't even a start. He actually pitched six innings out of relief. So, you know, in a points league, because of that volume, I think you can get away with using him in a two-start week. But, Roto, I still think the most likely outcome is he's going to be a four or five ERA guy at, you know, at best rest of season. I probably should have talked about Tanner Halk sooner than 55 minutes since the podcast, but he went up against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, four innings, one run, one walk, seven strikeouts, 14 swinging strikes. on only 75 pitches against a really, really good Blue Jays lineup. 33% called strike plus swinging strike percentage there. Got that right for you, Chris.
Starting point is 00:51:19 Someone pointed out via email that you can swing at a strike and it might not be caught. It's caught eventually. Tanner Halk is 41% rostered in three games, two starts since being recalled. 11.2 innings, one run, 18 strike. There might be something here. Yeah, there's definitely something there.
Starting point is 00:51:44 I mean, he's appeared in, he's thrown, what, 39 in a third innings in his major league career. And he's got some quick math, 52 strikeouts. Pretty good. Only more quick math, 14 walks in those 39 innings. That's actually quite impressive. I just think the problem is he's always going to be a short spurt's kind of guy because he really is just a two pitch pitcher.
Starting point is 00:52:15 And it's not like he's, you know, like a Denelson-Lemette type where he's throwing the slider 50% of the time. It's been more like 60-40. So I think he's probably always going to have trouble pitching deep into games. They're probably always going to have a pretty tight leash on him in that third time through the order. but, you know, there's value in that kind of guy if he can keep racking up big strikeout numbers like he has.
Starting point is 00:52:40 You know, 15 and 9 innings over the last two starts. Chris Bubich, six innings, two runs, three strikeouts against the White Sox. He's 8% rostered. That's three straight starts for Boobich of at least six innings and two earned runs or less. And it looks like he's in line for two starts next week at the White Sox at the Cardinals.
Starting point is 00:53:00 I kind of like Boobich. He's got three pitches. I don't know that any of them are great, but I like what I've seen this through to this three-star stretch. I like him more than Liles and Madbom. I guess because he's young. That's kind of the only thing I really think he has going for him. You know, you look at the XERA is 5-8-1 right now,
Starting point is 00:53:22 which is like when you've got a 472 ERA and your X-5-8 ERA and your XERA is a run worse, that's a pretty bad sign. I do remember, you know, when he got called up being pretty interested in him, but he just doesn't seem to have good stuff. Like the secondary pitches don't get many swinging strikes. The fastball is well below average and speed and spin rate. And so I don't see how he gets it done, especially because he's got pretty mediocre control. So I would like to be interested in him, but I can't get there.
Starting point is 00:54:00 last three names here. Adrian Houser, five shutout against the Pirates. He has a 3.69 ERA, gets a ton of ground balls. His velocity was actually up about two miles per hour on the fastball in that start. Looks like he's in line for two starts next week. Against the Pirates, against the Giants. 15-Team Roto, maybe you stream him there. Nestor Cortez. The ERA is now down to 1.93, 0.95 whip with the Yankees.
Starting point is 00:54:26 I don't actually think he's all that good, but the underlying. numbers really support Nestor Cortez. He's 3% rostered. He is SPARP eligibility. AL only, the deepest of leagues. And then Michael Waka in the month of July, he's made four starts, 3.60 ERA, 1.05
Starting point is 00:54:45 WIP, 12% rostered. And the matchups next week, if this actually works out because there's always stuff changing with matchups. But Mariners and at the Orioles for Waka, it's pretty good. Yeah, again, the
Starting point is 00:55:00 The underlying numbers are pretty gross. Pretty gross. For Michael Walker, 6.08 XERA. And while that is, I guess that was coming into today, it's probably gone down a little bit. He has the last four seasons, his best XERA is the four six one he put up last season. Yikes. That's not great. It's certainly not what you want to see.
Starting point is 00:55:24 And, you know, he went against the Yankees today. I think, you know, especially moving forward, the Yankees are going to kind of They're not going to be a good matchup for pitchers. They're going to be like the ultimate boomer bust matchup, though. Sure. Because a third of their hitters are Aaron Judge John Carlo Stanton and Joey Gallo. Yeah. You're either going to get crushed or you're going to get 10 strikeouts.
Starting point is 00:55:48 And you might do both. As a team, the Yankees had a 24.4% strikeout rate this season. That's the 10th highest in baseball. That's without Joey Gallo on their team. And with, you know, Judge and Stanton, missing some time. Just keep that in mind. Real quickly,
Starting point is 00:56:04 where do we add these hitters, if anywhere? So I'll bring up a name. You just tell me what type of format, what size league. Seza Hernandez went two for three with his 18th home run,
Starting point is 00:56:14 his last seven games. He's betting 3.46 with three homers, 61% rostered. I saw his homer today was a wall scraper. I wanted to see what rate, what percentage of his home runs
Starting point is 00:56:28 have been just barely enough. to leave and fewer than I thought actually his ex-home run is 15.4 that's actually better than I would have expected I still think
Starting point is 00:56:42 like his problem has always been he's a little bit more of a points league guy but points is the shallower format but he's worth starting in a 12 team league as a middle infielder AJ Pollock he went three for four with an RBI a run scored
Starting point is 00:56:58 and his fourth stolen base the dude is right now. 57% rostered. Any league where you start more than three outfielders, I think. Miles Straw went two for five with two steals. He's now up to 17 steals on the season. He's 38% rostered. Just
Starting point is 00:57:13 Rota our categories leagues where you need speed. No value outside of that. Yeah, he's really a one-trick pony. 262 batting average. It doesn't hurt you. It doesn't help you. He's going to run for, he's going to steal 25 bases and hit 265 this season. Before the season, we definitely would
Starting point is 00:57:30 taking that. Yeah, that's true. I mean, I guess even in three outfielder leagues, categories, if you really need to be Miles Straw, that's a name for you. Dawson Varsho, 10 hits four homers over his last seven games. He has started in center field in two of the last three games. Forty three percent rostered. I'm going to marry these together. Max Stasi hit his ninth home run of the season on Wednesday. He's 51% rostered. Which one would you rather have, Chris? Varsho, Stasi. I want it to be Varsho. I really, really badly want it to be. VAR show because the potential to get a power speed guy at catcher is so hard to pass up.
Starting point is 00:58:08 What's his playing time look like when Cattel Marte gets back? Which should be next week, right? It could be he, I believe, just recently. He started his rehab assignment on Monday. Yes. So, I mean, obviously the way this season has gone, there's no guarantee. Katel Marte stays back when he's back. But yeah, I think that.
Starting point is 00:58:30 that's the concern. It's just what's the playing time look like. But I think it would still be Varsho over Stasi. Oh, come on. Stassie's the man. He's inside my top 10 catchers. I'll take Stassie. I like both of these guys, though.
Starting point is 00:58:44 I think Varsho is pushing that top 12 range where move them ahead of James McCann and Sean Murphy and maybe even Omar Nervaez at this point. Varsho is very interesting. And now starting in center field definitely helps give you volume from the catcher position. Carson Kelly is a name that's going to return at some point too. But with Eduardo Escobar being traded,
Starting point is 00:59:08 you could get Cotel Marte back at second base if they want to go that route. As long as Varsha's playing well, I think they're going to leave him in center field. So I like both of these guys. He keeps heading like this. Yeah, he's going to force the point either way. All right, the calls of the Penn. Some bullpen updates for the Blue Jays.
Starting point is 00:59:26 Jordan Romano got his eighth save in game one of the doubleheader. then Matt Barnes got his 23rd save in game two. For the Mets, Edwin Diaz got his 23rd save for the Yankees. Aroldous Chapman has looked very good past couple of outings. 20th save for him for the Diamondbacks. Joachim Soria was used in the eighth inning. Tyler Clippard picked up his first save of the season. His first save in three years.
Starting point is 00:59:48 How about that? The White Sox, Liam Hendrix, gave up a solo home run to Salvador Perez. He took his fifth blown save of the season. And I saw if the Angels only won. by. Reisel Eglacius. I think he got a win. Yes.
Starting point is 01:00:03 I think he pitched the top of the ninth or bottom of the ninth in a tie game and then got the win. Hmm. Well, they were home. So he pitched the top. It looks like he gave up some...
Starting point is 01:00:15 No, he didn't. So he came in the eighth in a jam. He gave up... He gave up... Actually blew the save. Yeah. And then got the win. Okay, there you go.
Starting point is 01:00:24 One of those wins. So it really wasn't a good one. By the way, Shohei Otani hit his 37th home run. it's very late in the podcast, but still worth mentioning, Walker Bueller has now gone six plus endings in 20 of 21 starts a season.
Starting point is 01:00:37 So just give it up to the guy. Thursday, to stream or not to stream, Kyle Freeland at the Padres, Alex Cobb versus the A's, Chad Kuhl versus the Brewers, Luis Patino versus the Yankees, and Drew Smiley at the Metz. It's very bad.
Starting point is 01:00:54 Alex Cobb is the only one I would even consider. Let's see if anyone else has, He might not make that start, though. It's entirely possible he gets traded. That is true. As of now, he's on the schedule, and he's on the Angels. So we'll see what happens. I'm trying to see if there's, has anyone else popped up here?
Starting point is 01:01:13 Nope, there is nobody. It's a very bad day of streamers for Thursday. How about Friday? Let's see what we got. I didn't write these down beforehand, so we're doing it on the fly. We're doing it live. Ryan, we'll do it live. Ryan Weathers is at home against the Rockies.
Starting point is 01:01:28 Not bad. maybe. Patrick Sandoval is still under 70% rostered. You should stream him and then keep him on your team. He's not a streamer, but yeah. Wade LeBlanc. Like, Tuga-Tusan.
Starting point is 01:01:41 Also, like, you can add Tugat Tucson. I don't know if I want to start him against the Bruges right now. That's true. They are hot. All right. And I assume Logan Gilbert is out of streaming roster rate,
Starting point is 01:01:54 but if he's there. Yeah. Colby Allard against the Mariners? Huh? Huh? Huh? Chris? Who's facing the pirates?
Starting point is 01:02:01 Oh, Aaron Nola. He's going to be in your lineup anyway. Who's facing the Marlins? Jameson Tion. He's over 70% rostered. Start him. There's not really, Martine Perez at Tampa Bay.
Starting point is 01:02:14 They do struggle against lefties quite a bit. Yeah. Matt Harvey, the Dark Knight at the Tigers. Two straight quality starts. No, thank you. All right, Ross Stripling, actually, I do like against Kansas City. I know he's under 70% rostered.
Starting point is 01:02:29 Give you one. Raw stripling up against the Kansas City Royals, I believe the first game back in the Rogers Center. So it should be a lot of fun there for Blue Jays and their fans. We're going to wrap there for Chris. I am Frank. Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today. We'll be back again tomorrow.
Starting point is 01:02:45 Bye-bye.

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