Fantasy Baseball Today - What's Up With Wheeler? Week 22 Sleepers & Prospect Report! (8/20 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: August 20, 2021

Is Madison Bumgarner legit (1:44)? What's going on with Zack Wheeler? ... The Angels and Tigers combined for 23 runs on 30 hits Thursday (7:57)! ... News and notes (11:50). Freddy Peralta went to the IL, Mookie Betts is feeling better and we have no update on Alex Bregman. ... Prospect Report (24:21)! Where's Seth Beer? ... Week 22 sleepers (31:02)! Which two-start pitchers and sleeper hitters should you target for next week? ... We have burning questions regarding Matt Chapman, Brandon Lowe and Luis Garcia (41:51). ... Thursday leftovers, weekend streamers and bullpen updates (48:45). ... We wrap up with emails, APR questions, and Fantasy Justice (56:06)! FFT Draft-A-Thon auctions: cbssports.com/ebay '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

And welcome in to fantasy baseball today presented by Lining Cougals. More on their great variety of beverages later on in the podcast. August 20th, Frank Stanfield joined by Scott White. And today on the pod, week 22 sleepers, two start pitchers, prospect report, some burning questions and fantasy justice. Happy Friday, Scott. Big weekend plans ahead. Oh, you know it.

The biggest wild weekend forthcoming. You're going to fire up some clue on the Super Nintendo or? No, no. Sega Genesis, Frank. Sega Genesis, yeah. Just system straight. Genesis does. No, no, probably not.

Probably not. What am I doing? I don't know. I don't know. I'll have to figure it out. I'll get back to you. Well, just relax, man. It's been a long week.

It's been a long fantasy baseball season. But it is, we're closing in here. It's a stretch run. We've got some playoffs to win. I will be at the year. Yankees and Twins game on Friday. I know that Chris was just there on Tuesday. John Carlo Stanton hit a home run because he knew that Chris was in attendance.

But let's get things started. Oh my goodness gracious from Thursday. Oh my goodness gracious. All right, Scott. Kick us off. Nobody actually made me say, oh my goodness gracious, Thursday, just for the record. But since you're forcing me to fake it here, I'm going to talk about Madison bum garner.

What is going on with the mad bum? I don't know. Do you know? Here's what he did on Thursday. Eight innings. Three hits. One earned run. Five strikeouts.

All seven of his starts since returning from the aisle. He's allowed two earned runs or fewer. They've all been great. His spin rates during that whole time, the RPM, you know, we're talking to an RPM drop of like 300. across the board. Everything's been way down. The spin's been way down.

And not just that. The velocity's been way down. When he was showing some encouraging signs earlier this year, it's like, okay, he's thrown 91 again on his fastball. That's what he was doing prior to his downfall last year. Well, it hasn't been true since coming back from the IL. He averaged 89.7 on his fastball on this start. That's been pretty typical of him.

during the seven-start stretch, the normal performance indicators, you know, beyond just the relative stuff we're talking about there with the change in spin rate and velocity, the normal performance indicators during the stretch have not been good.

Nothing. Nothing that tells me, oh, this is why Bumgarner's doing that. There's nothing. There's nothing to explain it that I know of. I mean, there must be something to explain it. I just don't know what. So I'm very skeptical, obviously.

I do have him as a sleeper pitcher for this upcoming week. He's making two starts, ones against the pirates. So I think we're to that point where with the right matchups, it's fair to call Bumgarner a sleeper starter, sleeper pitcher. But not really feeling it overall. One of my burning questions for later on in the podcast was going to be, are you buying what Mad Bum is selling?

I'm going to assume that's a no. No. I'm not either. I just, there's nothing to explain what's going on right now. He's giving you a lot of volume in terms of endings, six plus innings in six of those seven starts since returning from the IL, but he only has 31 strikeouts, over 46 and two-thirds innings pitch during that span, an 8% swinging strike rate, hard contact is up, fly ball rate is up.

Everything here screams that regression is going to come at some point. let's just hope it's not next week when he has two starts and he's in your lineup again at the pirates and at the Phillies he is 78% rostered might be out there in some shallower leagues some points leagues is madison bumgarner how about on the other side of this game zach wheeler i mean come on man we're at the diamondbacks this is one of those starts where we've been waiting for this zach wheeler one of these matchups rather six and two thirds six runs allowed seven strike to only one walk, still had 14 swinging strikes on 100 pitches. He really fell apart in the final inning of work in the seventh inning.

He gave up three earned runs himself. He left with two runners on base, and the reliever that came in allowed a two-run double, so those were tacked onto Zach Wheeler's final line, again, allowing six earned runs. And another one of my burning questions was revolving around Zach Wheeler. Scott, what is wrong with Zach Wheeler, if anything? I'm not sure anything is wrong with him. There are no red flags, really. Obviously, the performance.

For the most part, it's been kind of shaky lately. Though I will remind you he had one of his best starts of the season just two turns ago. Complete game shutout, allowing two hits with 11 strikeouts. So, you know, it's not like he's been a waste of a lineup spot this whole time. And I don't think you should give any thought to benching him or, anything. I'm well invested in Zach Wheeler. I have him in many leagues. I have a hard time getting upset about what's going on right now because I know he's so greatly out he's so greatly outperformed his draft position for the majority of the season. I've got well more than I thought

I was getting from Zach Wheeler this year and nothing he does from this point forward can change that. I understand especially in head-to-head leagues you know you got to you got to set the best lineup you can every week. And when you're eliminated, you're eliminated. It doesn't so much matter what's already happened to that point. I get that. But at the same time, there's only so much you can control. And I think Zach Wheeler is, he probably, he's probably pitched over his head for most

of this year and is experiencing some regression now. But overall, there's still, like I said, no red flags. He still looks like a good pitcher. at least as far as the underlying numbers are concerned. Yeah, I agree with you. I looked at his last eight starts. He has a 4.32 ERA during that stretch that includes Thursday.

So obviously that makes up a big portion of it, six earned runs over six and two thirds. But he has given up at least four runs in five of those eight starts. I looked at the underlying numbers. Everything still looks really good. In fact, he's been a little bit unlucky. 66% strand rate during that stretch.

72% is league average, so he's a little bit below that. mark. He's had some bad home run luck as well. So I'm with you. I looked under the hood. I don't see anything with Zach Wheeler. I will say next week, don't love the matchup. He's going up against a Tampa Bay raise and they're hot right now. We're going to talk about Brandon Loud. The guy just continues to crush the ball. Nelson Cruz is coming around now. Wander Franco is hitting well. Rosa Rain has been hot as well. So it's tough. They are the Tampa Bay raise second in Wobah over the last 30 days. You're sticking with him in the lineup though, Zach Wheeler.

Yep. Yep. Stick it with him. Oh my goodness, gracious game from Thursday. The Tigers and the Angels combined for 23 runs on 30 hits and five home runs. That's what happens when Jose Cantana and Matt Manning start a game. And it's gosh, I mean, Matt Manning, we need some glimpse of hope for the future for those that have him in Dynasty Leaks because it is not looking good right now. On the angel side of things, Shohei Otani, you know the deal. Two for three with two walks and two runs scored. Jared Walsh, nice bounceback game, three for four, with two walks and two RBI.

Max Stasi, he slowed down quite a bit. He needed this two for five with his 11th home run. But let's talk a little bit more about Brandon Marsh, who went three for five with two triples and three RBI in this game. He has 13 hits over his last eight games. Obviously a very small sample size, but during that stretch, 38% line drive rate, a near 95 mile per hour exit velocity for Brandon Marsh. it also comes with a 44% strikeout rate.

So we mentioned him recently, Scott. Are you getting more interested in adding Brandon Marsh? Not really, because not enough of those balls are leaving the park. And more than anything else, they still strike it out 44% at the time during that stretch. That's got to come down or there's no sustainability to any of this. Yeah, and he's only 20% rostered. So he's widely available. The Angels do play five games next week.

So we're not there yet, but let's watch and see what happens with Brandon Marsh. Cut down that strikeout rate. On the other side for the Tigers, Robbie Grossman, two for four, with his 14th steal of the season. And Jamer Candelario, three for five with his 10th home run. And in the second half, Candelario is batting 316, five homers, a 975 OPS. He's averaging 3.3 fantasy points per game over the last 28 days. he's 60% rostered, might be out there in some shallower leagues.

Scott, how would you rank Candelario, Evan Longoria, and Miguel Sineau, who hit another home run on Thursday? Yeah, yeah, that's a tricky one with Sanoe, because, you know, I really don't care for that profile. Yep. So I think I'd be inclined to rank him last year. I'm going to go Longoria number one,

though that's subject to playing time. I'm presuming he's going to be more or less an everyday player. So Longoria number one And then Candelario 2 I want to see how he's doing in points leagues Just season Head to head points per game for the entire season It's not very good

It's not very good It's better than like Isaiah kind or Folefa But he's falling off a lot So I mean Jamer Candelario Very fringy Still I would say Yeah I mean

like I said about Suno yesterday. He's really just the only situation I'd care to use him in is if you're chasing home runs. I'll go with him third, but it's close between him and Candelario. All right. Before we hit news and notes,

fantasy football today, draft prepping for charity month. Supporting St. Jude is underway throughout the month. The FFT crew will have various eBay auctions supporting St. Jude culminating in the six-hour draft-a-vent event on September 1st. Up for bid our pre-draft

calls with fantasy experts a spot in an expert fantasy league, a custom design fantasy football team logo, and more. Go to CBSports.com slash eBay to donate and bid. Again, that is CBSports.com slash eBay. And I do apologize because Chris asked me to throw the link in the podcast description. I didn't get to that on yesterday's podcast. So I will make sure I get it in today's podcast and today's YouTube description. So if you do want to bid on some of those items, that is where you can find it. Some news and notes. The Brewers placed Freddie Peralta on the 10-day IL with right-shoulder inflammation. Remember, he left Wednesday start early because of that. Manager Craig counsel suggested after that game that Peralta's removal was mostly precautionary in nature.

Adrian Houser is expected to return Sunday. We don't have a clear timetable here, Scott, but it's tricky this time of year. Anyone who goes on the IL, you don't know if they're going to have an impact even when they return. But I'm... I'm inclined to hold on to Paralta if you could. Yeah. Yeah. I don't expect them to miss much time. It might be a minimum stay.

You know, I think the fact that he's thrown like 100 more innings than he did last year and the Brewers are obviously going to the playoffs, I'm sure that comes into play here. I don't really think he's that hurt. I mean, he hit before he was removed from the game. Yeah. And I'm pretty sure that they have a, like, eight-game lead in the National League Central right now. I'm pulling up the standings. Eight and a half games over the Cincinnati Reds. So as great as Freddie Praalta is, they don't really need him right now.

So I think that makes some sense. And it's kind of similar to, you know, what's going on with Carl Swardon. He went on the I.L with some kind of shoulder injury as well. And it's a similar situation. He just hasn't thrown that many innings. So I think it could be, again, similar for both of those guys. We had a Dodgers news dump on Thursday. Clayton Kirshaw threw from 90 feet,

and that marked his fourth consecutive day playing catch. We could use some Kirshaw down the stretch. Tony Gonsland successfully completed a bullpen session on Thursday. I mean, he was pretty shaky even when he was pitching, so I don't know that there's much to see there anyway. Mookie Betts will participate in a simulated game on Sunday and continue with baseball activities. Monday and Tuesday, Betts told Dave Roberts that his hip is pain-free,

following his latest cortisone injection. And I think this latest IL stint, because obviously he's been grappling with this hip issue for a while, now that they know there's bonespour in the hip, it's going to have to be addressed surgically in the off-season. Being able to explain what's going on takes a lot of anxiety out of the situation. And it seems like it's mostly, now that they know it's mostly a pain tolerance issue as opposed to,

if we give him enough rest, he can get better issue. I suspect they'll be less inclined to put him on the IL again if his hips starts hurting. He might need some maintenance days here and there. But I'd feel pretty good about Betts's prospects for the rest of the season because it's not like his performance was suffering as he's been dealing with his hip issue. He's been actually very productive in between these IL stints. So he should be back soon and hopefully he'll still. around the rest of the season. He himself says he's confident that he'll, uh, that he'll be able to

make it the rest of the season. So we'll see. Yes, some optimism there for mooky bets. Trevor Bowers administrative leave has been extended through August 27th. I guess anything can happen, but I highly doubt that we see Trevor Bauer pitch again this season, Scott. So again, weird subject to talk about from a fantasy perspective, but people have asked, if you, if you've held on to Bauer this long. I have him in a daily lineups league, and obviously that's a little bit tougher because you really need every roster spot to contribute something, right? So you get these guys in and out of your lineup, and I'm about there. I'm about ready to drop Trevor Bauer. Are you, you'd be all right with him? Yeah, I don't see much reason to hold on to him anymore.

You know, at least for this season, we'll address, we'll address future seasons and future seasons, but I think for the rest of this season, you know, because yeah, I just don't see it happening. Get hyped. Byron Buxton will begin a rehab assignment at AAA on Friday. In case you forgot, Buxton was crushing it this year, batting 369 with 10 homers, five steals over just 27 games. Obviously, that's been the issue for Buxton. But I mean, this latest injury was, I believe, a fractured pinky. So it's not really his fault. It's just kind of a fluke injury. Surprisingly. Well, how many injuries are people's fault? Yeah, I mean, well, the thing is for Buxton is

He kind of plays with reckless abandon, so I can see how maybe him going all out, trying to run into a wall and make a catch. Weird things happen with Byron Buckson, but you could break your pinky that way. In fact, I think two of the biggest self-inflicted wounds this season, Jesus Lazzardo's video game tantrum and Wascari Noah's dugout tantrum were fractures in the hand that were self-inflicted. Yeah, get it together, guys. Come on.

But Buckson was actually hit by a pitch, I believe, for this injury. So it's not his fault. Surprisingly, Alberto Mondesi resumed a rehab assignment at AAA on Thursday. He just experienced oblique tightness last weekend. Not really sure what's going on there. But if you've held on to him, maybe we get something in the final month. I know what I already know what's going to happen, Scott. Monster September for Adelberto Mondesie.

We're drafting him next year in the fourth round of rotodraves. Right? Right. I mean, I'll take the monster September, and then hopefully we can avoid, I don't know. Because you know Chris is going to make the argument next year. Like, you can't call a guy injury prone. That's not really a thing. If, you know, if you're going to pass him over, you're playing for seventh place.

I don't know. He tweeted something like that recently. But, yeah, I mean, whatever. I don't know. I don't know. We'll address that. We'll address that. We'll address next year next year. That's my saying today. Yes. I'm worried about next year. That's fair. But you know, I'm going to remember this because eventually, I'm sure I've battled Chris about this before. But I mean, look, some guys are just Adelbert Tamadisi. I feel pretty confident saying he is injury prone and I will say that's Chris's face. When asked about Alex Breggman, Dusty Baker said he had no update. Breggman has not played. in a game for the last 10 days, minor league game, by the way, while he's rehabbing. This is kind of just a weird situation with Alex Bregman. Meanwhile, Aledmins Diaz racked up three more hits on Thursday. He is batting 311 over his last 15 games. He has first, second,

third, and outfield eligibility on CBS. More on him in just a little bit. The Tigers placed Eric Haas on the IEL with a right abdominal strain. Pete Alonzo did start at first base on Thursday. he was hitting third after getting hit by a pitch on his elbow on Wednesday. The Mets are optimistic that James McCann will avoid the IL. He's missed three straight games with a back injury. Miguel Seno played on Thursday against the Yankees, but he will move to the paternity list on Friday to be with his family for the weekend. The Cardinals are optimistic.

Dylan Carlson will be able to return from the IL for Tuesday series opener against the Tigers. Luis Severino was cleared of any structural damage to his right shoulder following a second opinion. He will be shut down from throwing for the next week before the Yankees reevaluate him. And someone asked us on Twitter recently, Scott, what is the percentage chance that Severino contributes anything this season? I believe you said 5% and I might have said 10%, but. Yeah.

Well, to be clear, he said within four weeks, then say rest of the season. So, you thought there's seven, I guess there's about six weeks left now. Yeah. It's different for four weeks. But yeah, no, I think this improves the odds because it doesn't sound like there will necessarily have to be like a lengthy shutdown here and it'll have to start the rehab process all over again. So I don't think it's zero chance. And I don't, it may be more than 5% chance, but it's not a good chance. Yeah, that was kind of a fun exercise because then others started submitting their own players to go through the same.

process. I think I said like 60% for Alex Bregman, 25% for Clayton Kersh. It was just fun to come up with percentages based on nothing more than gut feeling of how likely these guys are to contribute. Do we have a new segment? Do we have a new segment on the podcast? Gut feelings? Percentages? I kind of halfway expected you to develop to, yeah, develop that into a segment. I did. I'm sorry. Get on it. I'm sorry I let you down, Scott. Zach Eflin will begin a rehab assignment at AA on Saturday. Oduble Herrera was removed from Thursday's game after being hit by a pitch on his right elbow. Nixon Zell had his option reversed by the Reds on Thursday.

He was optioned back to AAA on Sunday after he was reinstated from the 60-day IL. But he was examined by several doctors this week who found fluid in his left knee. As a result, Senzel will now revert to the Big League IL and head to Arizona to continue his rehab process. The last news item I have here, a fella named Mitch White was the option back to AAA by the Dodgers, and we did miss him on yesterday's podcast. So I thought that we should talk about him now. He went seven and a third shutout with six strikeouts as the bulk reliever, follower in Wednesday's game against the Pirates, obviously a really good matchup. But back to AAA. Anything to see here, Scott, with Mitch White? He went seven and a third just in that one game? Yeah, in relief.

really i didn't remember him going that long that's because usually whenever we start the podcast the dodgers are in the third or fourth inning so but yeah i could maybe i just assumed he was going to come out no it's impressive he only had six swingy strikes and have seven and a third innings yeah um probably not i mean he's somebody i've followed in in my prospect research before so it's not like he was a nobody in the minors, but he kind of stalled out in the upper miners. And, you know, I'm more interested in Andre Jackson, who we saw, filled the bulk reliever role following an opener last week. And I suspect we'll see Andre Jackson again,

especially since Mitch White got sent down. It's full name's Mitchell White, by the way. I just want to point out we almost named our second son that. In fact, when my wife was wanting me to suggest a name to her, I meant to suggest Mitchell White, but it came out Marshall White. And then I was like, oh, no, I meant to say Mitchell, not Marshall. But by that point, Marshall had already been uttered. And she was unwilling to consider any other names.

So that's how our second son came to me named Marshall, because I meant to say Mitchell, but I just messed up. That's a pretty good story. I like that. And, you know, speaking of the name Marshall, one of the few movies I have seen in my life

is forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I do enjoy it quite a bit. And there was a lot of hand-wringing, you know, because she liked the name Marshall and whatever. I guess it was fine. I was fine with it. There was a lot of hand-wringing

because, you know, Paul Patrol is such a big show for like the preschool, maybe even young elementary school age kids and the fire dog, the firefighter dog is named Marshall. So are all those classmates just going to associate him with this cartoon character?

And maybe they are. I don't know. It turned out to not to be a big deal though. I guess it's not the worst thing, right? Being a firefighting dog, there's worse things that you could be. Yeah, I mean, I don't know.

I just, I just, you know, you don't want to, you don't want to stick him with the name that's, he's going to come to resent for one reason or another. But I think it's fine. I think it's worked out. Yeah, I hear you. Anyway, from Mitch White to, from Mitch White and Andre Jackson, that brings up the prospect report, which is currently live on the site,

and it was published on Thursday. We know that Scott does it every week. A plus headline, by the way, Scott. He goes with Kevin Smith gets his chance, while Seth Beer chugs along. I love it. I love the beer reference there. Great stuff.

The five on the verge. Bobby Witt, Jose Miranda, Seth Beer, who in the month of August at AAA batting 400 with four homers and 1172 OPS, Vidal Bruhan, and Edward Cabrera,

who has three straight double-digit strikeout games, though the walks have been an issue. Any updates on this group, Scott, Witt, Miranda, Beer, Bruhan, and Cabrera? Realistically, the only one who I think has a better chance than not of coming up

and playing a significant amount of time is Seth Beer, which is why I moved him into My Five on the Verge. The others, it feels like kind of a long shot at this point. And JJ Piccolo, the Royal's assistant GM, He had some interesting insights on this. He wasn't directly addressing the Bobby Witt situation, but it's kind of easy to tell who he was talking about. Just the breakdown.

The differences this year specifically, minor league season started a month late. It started in May, which means it's going to run through September. Normally it ends early in September. So, you know, September. call-ups, those guys aren't playing anywhere else. If you want them to get more playing time, you put them on your major league roster.

Also, in the past, rosters could expand to as much as 40 during September. They're only going to expand to 28. They're only going to expand by two spots. So you could either call up a guy who's already going to continue getting regular bats, unlike in past years. You could call them up to fill one of those two precious spots and maybe not play them as much as he'd already be playing in the minors. It was just an interesting thought that I hadn't considered before.

And, you know, obviously the fact that the Royals are so far out of it is another reason they might not call it Bobby Witt. I think the fact that Edward Cabrera is struggling so much with control at AAA, and now Eliezer Hernandez is back, you know, that's starting to seem like kind of a long shot to me. I really thought Jose Miranda would be up right after the trade deadline because he's just, he's already 23 and he's looking like Albert Pooholz to AAA. But it hasn't happened yet, so I'm losing faith at will.

Seth Beer, though, like the dimebacks don't have anyone else to play first base. He's about to turn 25. He's caught fire lately. And I think he deserves a shot. And I think beer deserves a shot. And hopefully that's what will happen. Man, $6 shot in a beer. Five on the periphery, the five prospects

who are currently doing something, though they're probably not close to making a redraft impact. You should be excited if you have these on your Dynasty League teams. Luis Camp Usano, catcher for the Padres. He's having a really big August at AAA. Oswald Parraza, a shortstop with the Yankees.

Quinn Priester, a starting pitcher with the Pirates. Luis Matos, an outfielder with the Giants. Herbert Perez, in outfielder with the Brewers. Those are the five. and I did want to point out, by the way, like, Matos and Perez, they are big, big upside on both of those guys, though they are very young.

They're teenagers. Yeah, one is closing in on 19 years old. One might have just turned 19 years old. So I was listening to... Pepper Perez was 17 last year, and they sent them to the alternate training site. You know, as limited as the alternate training site was, they sent him there as a 17-year-old,

and he held his own, apparently. So now he's killing it in rookie ball. I mean, clearly too good for that level. But yeah, I don't think it'll be long before we think of Herbert Perez as the Brewer's top prospect. And some quick prospect updates that, again, you can find the article on the site, Scott's prospect report, but some other prospect updates. Rangers third base prospect, Josh Young, was cleared to return at AA.

He hasn't played since August 7th due to COVID protocols. And then McKenzie Gore, who we really haven't heard a lot about recently, he wasn't pitching in the minors. It seemed like he was working at some kind of alternate, I don't want to say it was like an alternate training camp, but he was just He was somewhere else.

They're spring training complex. He was just kind of, they're just kind of working to fix them, and it's been like that for months. Yeah. So he finally returned to action. Granted, you know, was at the Arizona Complex League, so this is literally the lowest level of the minor leagues. But four and two thirds, two hits, one run, one

walk, eight strikeouts, four, Mackenzie Gore and our guy, Chris Welsh, aka the Welsh, was at the game and he was tweeting about it. He was obviously watching very closely. He said Gore had spotty command, but he gave the outing a B grade. So let's work back up because heading into this season, McKenzie Gore was probably still regarded as the top pitching prospect, if not the top, still one of the top three or top five at least. And he is really, really falling down some prospect boards. So let's see if he can get back on track in the Padres organization. We're going to take a quick break when we return.

We'll get you ready for Week 22 next on Fantasy Baseball today. The Week 22 pitcher and hitter planners presented by Lining Cougals and how does the scheduling lineup for next week? Five teams have five games. That includes the Atlanta Braves, the Tigers, the Angels, the Padres, and the Tampa Bay Rays. 20 teams have six games,

and then five other teams have five games next week. That includes the Diamondbacks, the White Sox, the Pirates, the Blue Jays, and the Royals. Two-star pitchers. Who you got, Scott? I just want to point out, it's a really weird schedule this week. You got two teams aren't playing next Sunday for some reason. The Braves have two days off in a row for some reason. Huh.

Yeah, just normally, some teams are off Monday, some teams are off Thursday. day, some teams are off both in a week, but there are teams that have, four teams are off Wednesday this week. I don't know why it's such a weird schedule, but just wanted to point that out. That is very weird. Yeah. So anyway, you're asking about two-star pitchers, right? Yeah. Two-star pitchers, there are a bunch I like that are rostered in less than 80% of leagues.

However, most of them are rostered in more than 60% of leagues. so kind of a tight window here. But Josiah Gray is probably my favorite. He's going against the Marlins, going against the Mets, both on the road. Great matchups, both. And we've been hyping him a lot lately. So definitely time to get him in your lineup.

Cole Irvin, who we've kind of been waiting to collapse all year, and he hasn't quite collapsed. He's been a little shaky lately. He's start on Thursday. He actually just made one. Technically, a quality start, but he struck out only one in 16. six innings.

Not that he's ever been a big strikeout guy. But anyway, he's making two starts next week. One is against the Mariners. So he might throw a no-hitter. Tyler McGill. Tyler McGill coming off a good start. And one of his two matchups is against the Nationals. And they're, you know, in rebuilding mode, the Nationals.

So that looks pretty good. Oh, there's against the Giants, which isn't great. But, you know, two starts. And he's available in, you know, 36% of leagues. Daniel Lynch, now he's widely available. He's only 28% rostered in CBS sports leagues.

And while one of the stars is at Houston, that's obviously not what you don't want to see. There's at Seattle. So one good matchup, one bad matchup, but he's looked a lot better since returning from the minors. He's looked competent, at least, if not more than that.

So if I was looking for a sleeper, you know, him being available, you know, pretty much across the board, he's available. So that's a really easy one to recommend. There's also Marco Gonzalez, Ranger Suarez, Madison Bumgarner, who I mentioned earlier. They're all in my top 10 sleeper pitchers for this week. I'm not sure I'd turn to any of them outside of a points league where you don't have to be as discerning because it's more about the volume a pitcher gives you. how efficient he is in those starts.

You know, you're not having to preserve ERA and whip like you are in Roto. So Marco Gonzalez, Ranger Suarez, Madison Baumgartner, I'd consider more Points League-only sleepers, but they're definitely in the discussion here. And Ranger Suarez, which makes sense in a Points League, has SPARP eligibility, so definitely works out there. Daniel Lynch, I just did want to point out, at Seattle, great matchup, Houston.

We view usually as a tougher matchup. Over the last 14 days, the Astros are scuffling. a little bit there, 18th and weighted on base average. So maybe that means they're due, or maybe Daniel Lynch catches them while they're still cold. Some single-start streamers that you're looking at for next week, Scotty. Single-start streamers, this is not as deep of a group, but that's because there are a lot of sleepers who are making two-star.

So Austin Gomber, he's on paternity leave right now, but he will be back to start at the Cubs. So you like that he's not at Corse Field, You like that he's going against a AAA lineup, basically. I like him a lot. Logan Gilbert, he's been pretty shaky lately, but I still like the profile and he's going against the Royals. So I'll call him a sleeper this week.

Terrick Scuba at the Cardinals, which isn't the greatest lineup either. I'll call him a sleeper this week. All three of those guys are more than 70% rostered already, so there's a chance you won't be able to make a play for him, for any of them. If you have to dig deeper than that, neither of these guys made it into my top 10 sleeper pitchers for this week.

And, you know, I'm never all that thrilled with all of my top 10 sleeper pitchers. But Brad Keller gets the Mariners, so he might throw a no-hitter. And Tyler Anderson gets the Royals. Very nice. Yeah, I have a few names written down here as well, my handy-dandy notepad that I have here. I meant to write them on the rundown, but I just didn't have enough time. Scott, you tell me if you would start any of these players. I'll go one by one.

Would you start them in a shallow league, a deeper league, or none? Because they just stink. L. Eza Hernandez versus the Nationals next week. That sounds pretty good, actually. That would not catch my eye. Oh, you know what? The Nationals haven't sank enough in the... You know, I work from the bottom up in terms of offenses

and look at the pitchers who are facing them. and the nationals probably are far. I need to make sure I look into who's facing them every week when I pick these out. Because, yeah, I like that Eliezer Hernandez pick. It might end up adding it to my top 10 sleeper pitchers here. Nice. All right. So that one works.

Next up we have, man, this guy is bad, but so are the Marlins. Patrick Corbyn at Miami next week. No. No. How about Stephen Braultz versus the Cardinals? No. How about... I'm ready to do it.

All right, we've got to do this. Jake Oteresey at the Texas Rangers. Come on, see it. I understand what you're getting at, but I just have no trust in Jake Oterizzi. And I think he pitched against the Rangers recently, and it didn't go well. Oh.

I can remember that. He was the one pitcher they were able to hit. Let me double check that because that's just going top of mind, obviously. It was a few starts ago. It was July 23rd. So before they traded Gallo, I think. But nonetheless, it wasn't a good start.

All right. How about Miles Michaelis at the Pirates? Miles Michaelis. Oh, no, I mean, we haven't even seen him return from the IEL yet that's happening this weekend. So if it's a great start, then, yeah, maybe we do think about Miles Michaelis is a sleeper in that matchup. But I'm not ready to say that right now. Paolo Espino at the Marlins. I don't trust that guy at all.

All right. Carlos Hernandez, who's pitched pretty well for the Royals. He is at the Mariners. I mean, you know it might happen, but it probably won't. So, no, I pass on Carlos Hernandez. And we have Mr. No-Hitter himself, Tyler Gilbert at the Pirates next week. Tyler Gilbert, no, no, no. Let's see him throw another no hitter first. I believe. Go ahead. If he was facing the Mariners. but he's not.

I believe he is scheduled to face the Rockies in Coors Field this weekend so let's see how that start goes for our good friend Tyler Gilbert. Some sleeper hitters for next week that are rostered in less than 80% of CBS leagues.

Who you got? So Josh Rojas stands out here. Still widely available. He's been red hot since returning from the I.L and you can play him in any of three different positions. I also like,

there are three Red Sucks I like this week because the Red Sucks have the third. best hitter matchups, Hunter Renfro, who's been hot in August, Enrique Hernandez, who's been hot for weeks now, and continues to bat lead off for the Red Sox. And also Bobby Dalbeck, who's been showing signs of life and is only 30% rostered, like all three of those guys. I want to mention Tyler O'Neill, who started to heat up again. He just homered like a 450-foot home run on Thursday, and it was his fourth home run in August, batting, I think, over 300 for the month. And the Cardinals have the fifth best matchups this week.

And it was against Brandon Woodruff. So pretty impressive. Yeah. And Aledmus Diaz is one I wanted to highlight. Presuming Bregman's out for another week, which, you know, we'll keep, we'll stay updated on that over the weekend. But Diaz has been filling in for Bregman. The Astros have the best matchups of any team this upcoming week. And three of the pitchers on the schedule for the Astros.

or left-handers. Ledmus Diaz has been crushing left-handers. I mean, he's batting around 300 overall, but against left-handers, an OPS over 900 this season. So I think he's a worthy streamer-hitter for this upcoming week. I like it.

Ledmas-Diaz, he's hot. I mentioned last 15 games. He's got a batting average over 300. The five teams with the best hitter matchup, Scott mentioned a few already, but the Astros are number one. The Phillies are number one. Number two.

The Red Sox are number three. Then we have the Pirates and the Cardinals. The five teams with the worst hitter matchups, the Tigers, the Cubs, the Reds, the Padres, and the Braves. So there you have it. The Week 22 pitcher and hitter planners presented by Lining Cougals and the weekend is here. I'm feeling a little lemon haze IPA. It's a well-balanced hazy IPA that blends hops with delicious lemonade. And truthfully, I do not drink IPAs.

but this one is different, very smooth, great aftertaste, big, big fan of the Lemon Hayes IPA. And of course, that's not all they offer. They also have their Session Hellas, which has all the flavor of a crisp German-style beer, and it's only 99 calories. And of course, the goat, the Lion and Cougal's summer shandy, the awesome blend of crisp beer with refreshing lemonade that fits perfectly when watching baseball. So no matter what type of beverage you are craving, Lining Cougall's has you covered.

Just head on over to Liny.com. That's L-E-N-I-E-D-Com. Or follow Lining Cougals on Instagram or Facebook for more information about all of the delicious beers that they brew. So originally this was supposed to be eight burning questions for Scott, but we answered the other two earlier.

So we only got six left. Matt Chapman went two for four with his 19th home run of the season on Thursday. In August, he's batting 2-91, five homers, a 991 OPS, 16% barrel rate. This month, Scott, is Matt Chapman back? What's the strikeout rate? 30%.

No. No, he's not back. There are some encouraging signs, but that strikeout rate's a killer. I don't think he can succeed like that in the long run, and it's been a problem all season long. Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think the heat.

he's fully back. Obviously, it's been a very good month for him. I mean, really, it's like the past week or 10 days. But signs of life, a lot like Cody Bellinger, who we needed to see something from, and now he's cooled off again. Matt Jamman, we needed to see something, and he's given us that. So he's not fully back yet, but he's working his way. Brandon Lau, two for four with his 29th home run of the season on Thursday. In the second half, he's betting 307, eight homers, a 1017 OPS.

he's averaging 4.2 fantasy points per game over the last 28 days. Scott is Brandon Lowe setting up to be a league winner? Oh yeah. Yeah, he's been a stud for even longer than just the second half here. Since the start of June, he's basically been a different player

than he was in April and May when he hit under 200 for both of those months. I mean, he's been providing power all. season long. It's just it yeah, the batting

average was really lagging there early on and he wasn't alone in that regard. It would be interesting to

to look at hitter stats like the whole league, just taking April out, you know, because April was

such a strange environment where hitting was being wickedly suppressed. And you look

at a lot of, a lot of the breakdown for a lot of different hitters this year, and their April is just terrible. And, you know, Low didn't totally come back to life when the calendar flipped to May. It was a pretty bad month for him, too, but still, April, it was one of the many hitters that was dragged down by his April.

Scott, I mean, you bring up April and looking at hitters' numbers from May on. I'm wondering, in the off-season, Should we do the same thing for June or the middle of June from when that crackdown on sticky substances happen? Is that going to be something that we do regularly in the off season where we kind of split up seasons based on that event happening? For who? For hitters or for pitchers?

I mean, I guess we could do it for both, right? Well, my impression during that whole period was that we didn't see a big change in actual player performance. do you remember it differently? Well, I mean, there was obvious examples at the time, right? For specifically pitchers. Garrett Cole had kind of a bumpy stretch. Yeah, Corby Burns kind of ish.

Yeah, not as much for him in terms of how the performance changed. The spend rates were definitely down for a while. But by and large, that, it really seemed, it ended up being much to do about nothing, I feel like, especially now that a lot of the spin rates pretty much normalized since then, which I don't know what that means. Maybe they're just all, you know, positioning the ball deeper, you know, deeper in their fingers so that they, you know, they're not on their fingertips anymore.

I don't know. I don't know what it means. Maybe they're all figured out a way to get around it. I don't know. All right. Let's talk about Luis Garcia, who was at the Royals. on Thursday. Five innings, three runs,

only three strikeouts. He had 12 swinging strikes on 70 pitches. And over his last five starts, he's got a 5.38 ERA. Is Luis Garcia still a must start? Yeah, pretty much. I mean, that was pretty easy. Pretty much.

I mean, I don't know that he's ever been a must start. It depends how shallow the league is. Well, I don't know. Even like a points league, obviously, you could start a bit of relief. pitcher, which helped. Yeah, I don't really think his values changed. Bottom line.

Whatever you considered him to be a month ago, I would still consider him to be now. And I agree with you, because while he's got that 5.38 ERA, his BABIP has been pretty high. His strand rate is low during that stretch. He still has a ton of strikeouts. The swinging strike rate is very high as well. And he is going up against the Royals for one start next week. So I do like that matchup for Luis Garc.

you. This one is more so for Dynasty League. Spencer Howard gave up five more runs against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, and in 60 career innings, 6.30 ERA, 1.58 whip. Is Spencer Howard just bad? Well, I think it's way too early

to say. Obviously, I'm discouraged. I traded for him early this year in the Scott White Dynasty League. Let's just say I traded Lance McCullors for him. Lance McCullors, who I wasn't going to be able to keep, but still, I traded Lance McCullers expecting that I was getting one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and it just hasn't played out that way. He's had injuries.

He's had, you know, the Phillies were, seemed unwilling to commit to him ever, and we're moving him in and out of the bullpen, and just kind of handled him in a strange way. I go back to how he was looking to spring when he was throwing harder than we've seen him throw either of the last two regular seasons. And injuries being a factor during both of those regular seasons, I wonder how much that's affect his performance. Yeah, I mean, I'm not ready to say he's a lost cause yet. He just got to the Rangers,

and I'm sure he'll go through an off-season program with him where they look at what he's doing wrong and we'll try to fix it. And we know there's a lot of talent there. So I'm not ready to give up on Spencer Howard in a Dynasty League, but I'm obviously concerned about him. Hasn't gone as hoped so far. So if you don't have him on your dynasty team, would you look to buy low on Spencer Howard?

It depends how low. But if somebody dropped them in any dynasty league, I'd pick him up. Some Thursday leftovers, Mitch Hanigur went two for five with his 27th home run. He's alternated great months with bad ones from May through August. Right now, it's one of those bad ones,

but you still start. Mitch Hanigur. Ty France went three for six with his 13th home run, and he is having a monster second half. 80% rostered might be floating around in some shallower leagues is Thai France. Carlos Correa went two for three with two walks, three runs scored, and he is turning it back on.

He's got an 875 OPS in the second half. Matt Olson, one for four with his 31st home run. Andrew Vaughn, one for two, two walks, his 15th home run. He's playing really well, 72% rostered. The issue, which we've mentioned multiple times, Scott, is he sits out basically every fourth game for the White Sox. And I guess that's by design.

Yeah, it seems to be. So, yeah, that's a problem. That keeps them from delivering as much as his percentages would suggest, particularly his percentages the past couple months. It's like, oh man, this guy looks like a stud, but you're not feeling that so much with him in your lineup, especially in a points league. Jorge Polanco went three for five with a double and three RBI.

Since the start of June, 66 games for Polanco, 306 batting average, 16 homers, seven steals, 25% line drive rate, only a 15% strikeout rate. He has been awesome. John Carlos Stanton hit his 20th home run. He's got a modest eight-game hitting streak going right now with three home runs during that show. stretch, and we know that he's someone that can get hot and hurry as well. So

not ready to call him a league winner, but if he keeps this up, it's got really great lineup protection. He always has, but it's even better now. By the way, Scott, did you see the Yankees batting lineup, batting order on Thursday? I did. It was, it's pretty interesting. A lot of big boys up top there. Luke Voight leading off, followed by Anthony Rizzo, Judge Gallo, and Stanton. That's one way to get all of them in the lineup, but still interesting. Right. Right. there at the top of the order. The Yankees are on a roll right now and

the season into today they'd be in the playoffs right? They got that second, they passed the Red Sox in the standings. Yeah, they did. Oh yeah. They did. So I'm kind of surprised actually but yeah, they're in a good spot all of a sudden. They've won seven straight. The Braves have won six straight. So our teams the Braves are now in first place by four games when they were, I think at the start of August,

they were out of first place by four games. So my how things have changed. Hit me with a virtual high five, Scott. Are you ready? All right. Three. Okay, I'm ready. Two, one.

Boom! Let's go. Luis Castillo was up against Marlon's seven innings, one run, seven strikeouts, his last 15 starts. He's got a 2.74 E.R. He did have that one blow-up start in there, but Luis Castillo is very good. Brandon Woodruff was not on Thursday.

Five innings, six runs, only four strikeouts, only give up four hard hit balls, but was doomed by the home run in that start. No worry about Brandon Woodruff. He's going to be just fine. Call to the Penn, some bullpen updates for the Mariners. You know, we love talking about those mariners. Diego Castillo entered the ninth with runners on second and third

and a four-run lead. Wild pitch allowed one of those runs to score, and then he gave up a three-run homeer. Paul Seawald allowed an unearned run in the 11th inning but picked up his sixth save, 29% rostered as Seawald. Seems like a three-man closer committee, Castillo, Seawald, Drew Steckenrider.

Do you have any guess, Scott? Who will get the next save for the Mariners? We are approaching Tampa Bay raise levels of aggravation here with this group. Oh, yeah. I think Seawald is the one to roster. He's not going to get 100% of the saves down the stretch, but his, clearly has the best numbers apart from the saves total,

especially with the strikeouts he gets. And I think he'll get the majority of the saves. So Paul Seawald is the one I want. And I'll just leave it at that. For the Rangers, Joe Barlow gave up a two-run homer in the 11th, inning, he took the loss there. For the Oakland A's, Lutrovino, got his 20th save for the Yankees.

Chad Green gave up a solo homer but picked up his sixth save. A Rollis Chapman pitched on Wednesday, but he wasn't very good. It was his first game back. Velocity was down, so I think they just gave him a day off here. Chad Green picks up the save.

And then the Dodgers gave Kenley Jansen a night off. Blake Trinan picks up his fourth save against the New York Mets, a team that is free falling right now. They are now under 500 on the season. To stream or not to stream, let's start with Friday. Brad Keller at the Cubs. Zach Davies versus the Royals, Nestor Cortez versus the twins, Eliezer Hernandez at the Reds, Brett Anderson versus the Nationals, and Miles Michaelis, making his return against the Pirates. I'm okay with Eliezer Hernandez at Cincinnati,

Nester Cortez versus the Twins and Brad Keller at the Cubs. Fine with all of those. Kyle Freeland versus the Diamondbacks, Jayhap versus the Pirates, Reed Detmer's at Cleveland, Tristan McKenzie versus the Angels, Eric Lauer versus the Nationals, and Luis Patino versus the White Sox. Don't love any of these,

Tristan McKenzie against the Angels. And I was obviously coming off a great start, and the one before that was pretty good too. So I could see rolling the dice on him. I'll read Detmer's at Cleveland. Obviously, that's a good matchup, and he's coming off by far, his best start since getting called up,

but I don't know that I'm really ready to trust in him. Yeah, I'm with you. Those two are clearly my favorites. I have a little bit more faith in Detmer's, only because Cleveland is pretty bad. So I'll leave it there. For Sunday, David Price v. the Mets, Alec Mills versus the Royals,

Carlos Hernandez at the Cubs, Stephen Bralt at the Cardinal. that's weird because he faces the Cardinals next week too that's kind of threw me off a little bit Adrian Hauser versus the Nationals and then Tucci Toussat at the Orioles Toussaint looks like the

clearly the best there David Price against the Mets it's a good matchup but they're hardly ever letting the Dodgers hardly let him go five innings even much less six so I'm not sure there's going to be much room for impact there Carlos Hernandez at the Cubs I don't I don't mind it. He's been right. The Cubs are.

Yeah. Carlos Hernandez throws hard, but a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. I don't know that I use that right, but it sounds like it should be right. Yeah, I mean, of course it's right. Well, you've got to start somewhere, right? Velocity, that's one place for Carlos Hernandez. Let's wrap up with some emails and some fantasy justice. This email is from Scott White. Wait. No, it's not Scott White. No, not me. I play in a 10-team 5-5 Roto League, currently in first place with a decent lead

courtesy of your show advice and Shoahe-O-Tani. Well, thank you from us, and thank you to Sho-Haw-Haw-Tani. I'm currently sitting at 4th and 4th of 5th in ERA and WIP, but am second in saves. There is a huge gap of 30 saves between 2nd and 3rd place. I currently have Matt Barnes, Will Smith,

and Mark Melanson on my roster. I'm considering swapping out Will Smith and Matt Barnes for Blake Trinen and Kendall Graven who are available on the waiver wire. Does this make sense? Also, are there any better relief pitcher targets in the last month to shave down my ERA and WIP? Was considering T.J. Anton's.

So I put this email on here because I thought it was pretty unique. He has a 30 save lead over the third place team, so obviously that team is not catching him, but you can drop, would you drop closers for better relief pitchers that will help your ERA and potentially strikeouts.

Yeah, I understand the logic there. It's just so hard to predict what any reliever is going to do with ratio stats over such a small period of time that it seems like an exercise in futility and you might be helping someone else more than you're helping yourself by turning that close or loose.

However, if you feel confident you're not going to lose second place, in saves. I guess there's not much downside for you to do it. I don't think I'd drop Barnes, but Melanson and Will Smith, those seem like possibilities. I was pulling up relievers in the second half

to see a few names that might have the most strikeouts that can help you out, and let's see what we got. Well, Liam Hendricks, he's very good. He's probably not on your waiver wire. Who else? Paul Seawald, it's a possibility. Obviously, he's gotten a ton of strikeouts. this season.

Who else do we have here? Nick Whitgren has a good amount of strikeouts, but I think the names you mentioned were better. Kendall Graveman, Ryan to Perra, has really good ratios this season as well. Anyone else stand out here? Trevor May has strikeouts, but his ERA is over five,

so definitely do not add him. Blake Trinan, you mentioned, definitely like that. David Bednar has a lot of strikeouts, but the pirates are bad, so he doesn't really get a lot of opportunities to pitch. I think the names that you brought up make a lot of sense.

TJ Antone could be back at the start of next week as well. We do have some Apple podcast review questions. We do appreciate everyone who drops a five-star rating if you have a question, you can leave it in the review. This is from Charmore, 10. 10 team daily lineups, 7x7 categories league where we added total bases and offensive strikeouts.

And for pitching, we added losses and K-per-9. We can keep up to eight players for our first eight picks the next year. I have one spot left trying to decide between Randy and Rosarena and Wander Franco. Thoughts. It's funny because this person actually emailed in, I believe on Thursday.

I think it's the same person because it's a very similar question. I have my answer, Scott, but I'm interested to hear yours. This is just purely a keeper question? Keepers for next year, it's seven by seven with offensive strikeouts and total bases as added categories. I mean, I would keep Franco.

Yeah. That's what I said to. So, yeah. Lockstep. This next one's from Aeney Moak, 92, 12-team heads head points. If you have nothing but low-level, not exciting options for closers and saves, again, in a points league, would you recommend abandoning the positions overall and stocking up on starting pitchers? Most head-to-head points leagues don't let you do that, but if it does, sure.

Yeah. So I guess this would just be its only pitcher spots, and there's no... I guess so. Actually, yeah. I mean, starting pitchers give you more volume. If that's the case, then yeah. Go for it. Fantasy justice, let's wrap up the week like we always do here on a Friday.

Yeah, yeah. This one's from Nick in Cleveland. There are only four real contenders left for the championship in our dynasty league, but a number of the bottom feeder managers either do not want to trade or have unreasonable valuations of their team's batters before our deadline. In any other league, Jacob de Grom, Marinoa and Corbin Burns would be easy to deal, but I have to convince them that starting pitching is harder to come by.

It is forcing me to either lose this year's championship with phenomenal pitching and garbage hitting or get fleeced by people while trying to upgrade my bats. Please express disapproval at these ignorant fools and let them know the true worth of starting pitching. I think you've come to the right place because Scott loves him some pitching. I mean, all three, the DeGrom, Nola Burns,

they're all going to go in the first four rounds next year. I'm sure Nola is obviously the one I'm less confident will go that high and pulls it down to round four, my expectations. But yeah, that's frustrating because I would certainly want to grab one of those ace pitchers if I'm planning for next year and it would give up. I don't know what bats you're aiming for. Maybe you're shooting for Trey Turner or something, in which case it's going to be hard to pull off that deal.

But if you're going for like a Jose Abraeu or a Pete Alonzo or more of a second tier hitter like that, you should be able to get at least a couple of those guys for one of those pitchers. Yeah, I mean, I guess if you're trying to win this season, try and trade Jacob de Grom. I mean, we just keep hearing reports. I believe there was another one on Thursday that it's 99% chance that Jacob de Grom does not pitch again this season. so I know Nola hasn't been good, but at least it'll give you something. And for a team that's out of it,

DeGroms should fetch the best return of the three. It should be a significant package for you. This next one's from Kevin. I'm at a 14-team head-to-head Categorade's League with no IL spots. Right before the deadline, I traded Clayton Kershaw. For Robbie Ray, we are only allowed seven starting pitchers.

The manager said that he would keep Kershaw for next year. We keep two players each season. This trade received. received six vetoes within 20 minutes and was vetoed by the league. I'm in first place by a wide margin. People said I shouldn't be able to make trades before the deadline because my team is so good. Another guy said, I always make shady deals. Another guy said, teams out of the playoffs should not be allowed to trade with the first

place team. I think that's wrong. Do I deserve justice? Yes, yes, you do. Sounds like a bunch of people have their own standards for, This is why voting for trades just doesn't make sense because people just have knee-jerk reactions based on their gut feeling in the moment

and how it impacts their own team. And it's like, yeah, any team ahead of them in the standings, there's just going to be a knee-jerk reaction to vote a trade they made. Now, like, I can understand how they're upset that you're giving up Kershaw who's probably not going to help you anymore this year for Robbie Ray who could help you a lot. But when you have a keeper scenario set up like you do,

you have to expect trades like that are going to happen. Teams that are out of it for this year are going to make trades for players that help them a lot more next year than they do this year. Stop being selfish. Think about the other team too. What if that other team manager

really wanted to keep Clayton Kirschoff for next year? If you're in last place, that's what you should try to do. You should try and find a player that you want to keep for next season and try and acquire that player. So I think from a Keeper League perspective, this trade makes a ton of sense. Clayton Kirshaw for Robbie Ray. So come on, man.

Get with the times. Look, Vito's got to go. I mean, this has been years coming now, and we've talked about it a lot, but Vito's, man, they've got to go. You have been served. Whoever's playing in Kevin's League, get it together. Yeah, yeah, for Scott, I am Frank DeGel for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today. We'll be back again on Monday.

Bye-bye.