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Speaker 1Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. What's up and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Tuesday, September 22nd. I am Frank Sample joined by Scott White and Chris Towers. Today on the show, three-game slate. So we're getting creative. We will fire up the Sleeper-O-Meter for 2027. A possible answer to Paul Skeens' struggles and likely our final fantasy feud of the year. This one for all the marbles. Oh my goodness. Let's jump in. And there's a ball. Right field. And it's over here. Shout out to legendary Giants broadcaster Mike Kruko, who is retiring after the season. That could very well be his last home run call of his career. So very cool to hear that on Monday. And let's stick with the Giants. Scott, you're player of the night.
Speaker 3A call-up. We get a call-up here the last week of the season. Probably not the only one. Bo Davidson is his name. Outfielder for the Giants, as you mentioned. 24 years old. Which sounds kind of old for a prospect these days. I guess it is. But he had an unconventional trajectory to get here. Did Bo Davidson. He went undrafted, actually. Emerged as a prospect a couple years ago. With some pretty impressive numbers. And this year was no exception. He climbed to triple. Triple-A about midway through this season. So the year was split between double-A and triple-A. 29 homers, 20 steals between those two stops. Hit 290. Struck out only 21.5%. 21.5%. To use the decimal there. And it actually got better at triple-A. Average exit velocity at triple-A was 92.5. Max was almost 111. Good zone contact rate. Chase rate. Pretty average. But, you know, not a problem, you would imagine. It all looks pretty good. He is going to be a left-handed batter. Playing at Oracle Park. Which I almost called AT&T. But it's Oracle Park. And so that, you know, that's not the best thing. But athletic player. He went one for four with two balls. Hit 102. Or more in his debut here. Stole a base. So that seems like it's going to remain a part of his game. Based on the little we've seen so far. It doesn't always. But hopefully that first steal in the first game is a good indicator for Bo Davidson. And, you know, if he has the kind of final week that gives him the inside track for a starting job next spring. I imagine we'll be seeing Bo Davidson on some sleeper lists. I've been watching him. I've been a fan for a while. Got him in two of my three dynasty leagues. And anxious to see what he can do.
Speaker 1Well, I'm happy you said that, Scott. Because it's time to fire up the sleeper-ometer. And first up on that list is Bo Davidson. So, 10 being no doubt about it. This is going to be everyone's favorite sleeper. You know, slam dunk sleeper for next season. One, you know, I don't think anyone's going to care about this player at all.
Speaker 4I think we're going to get a 10 at some point on this show.
Speaker 1All right. Is Bo Davidson a 10?
Speaker 3No. No. I don't think so either. Four? Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
Speaker 4Like an interesting, like, look, I did a deep sleepers list that Jake McCarthy was on this year. Like, you can get some low-end hits that way. But, no, I don't think he has the pedigree or the track record to be the guy that everybody's counting on as a sleeper. But I think there will be some interest. There will be some interest in him, for sure.
Speaker 1Yeah. Yeah. I think so, too. I think we'll be a name to watch in spring training and follow along and see if he does have that inside track, as you mentioned, Scott, to a job with the Giants next season. That name there is Bo Davidson. Chris, over to you. Someone else who will be on the sleeper-ometer. Who is that?
Speaker 4I think River Ryan will be a 10 on the sleeper-ometer. I think he is going to be one of the most popular sleeper picks for next season. He is. He made his Tigers debut today, and it was only three innings. He has thrown, like, five innings total in the past three months. He was dealing with hamstring injury. Struck out three, two hits, one walk. Looked good. River Ryan almost always looks good. He averaged 96.5 with his fastball. Six swinging strikes on 43 pitches. Threw the whole six-pitch mix. He has really good stuff. And if he was. 23 years old, he'd be, I think, one of the five best pitching prospects. As it is, pretty much everybody still had him as a top 50 prospect at the midseason point when the rankings were updated. His ERA was a little high at AAA, but that was mostly just a couple of bad starts. It was like a 21% strikeout-to-walk ratio. I think the stuff is good. I think he's a good pitcher. It is just a question of whether he stays healthy. But he's going to be. I mean, there's no chance he's not locked into a rotation spot for the Tigers, assuming he's healthy on opening day next year, right? Like that, I think we can not pencil that one in. I think we can chisel it in stone. And so, I think River Ryan's just going to be extremely, extremely popular as a sleeper next year. And should be.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think that's all fair. And digging more into this start here, a very abbreviated start. He only threw 43 pitches, but his fastball had 96.5. 19 inches of IVB. His changeup was awesome watching this start. Tons of horizontal movement. He got three whiffs on that changeup. Three of his six whiffs. That thing looks like a. It looks like a splitter more. More than a changeup, even.
Speaker 4Like, that thing just dives down.
Speaker 1He struck out James Wood with that pitch today, too. Yeah, it was nasty. It was very, very good. And the skills in the minors were. You know, while the ERA and the whip, the surface level stuff, was not good in the minors this season. 10.3K per nine. 53% ground ball rate. The K-to-walk stuff. Really a 12% swinging strike rate. Like, yeah, this is an interesting player. I think he will be in the sleeper mix for next season. Chris, it sounds like you have that at a 10. Scott, do you agree? Do you think River Ryan, a 10 on the sleeperometer for next year?
Speaker 3I'm more excited about Bo Davidson, personally. I mean, you always need to draft a lot of pitchers.
Speaker 4I will just say this. As long as River Ryan's healthy next year, I don't think there's a single league where he doesn't get drafted. I do not think that's true about Davidson.
Speaker 3I don't think that's true about Davidson either. I just. I don't know. It'll be easier to say when I actually get into my pitchers, which probably won't be till late October. But, um. How high do you think you're going to be able to rank him?
Speaker 4I haven't done that process yet.
Speaker 3Yeah. I would think he'll be top 75.
Speaker 475? I think he'll definitely. be ranked in the you are drafting him in every league.
Speaker 3I guess the two main issues they have. He's had a good strikeout rate in the minors, as you say. Most every pitching prospect has a good strikeout rate in the minors. Otherwise, they wouldn't be a pitching prospect. He hasn't pitched much in the last three years. He hasn't pitched particularly well in terms of hit and run prevention. And that's not all within his control. I don't know. I just don't quite under. I think River Ryan's a prospect. But I guess I'm trying to think of a comp this year where we knew he was going to make the rotation, but we just didn't draft him that high. I think I'd have to pull up last year's rankings. I don't know. I guess I'm more like I need evidence before I go that hard after somebody. And I don't see a lot of evidence with River Ryan.
Speaker 1Scott, I mean, three innings right here with a 14% swing and strike rate. That's not enough evidence for you.
Speaker 3And he had four. Four solid starts in 2024. And then, you know. But even then, it's not like he was like, oh my gosh, it's Chase Burns, you know? It's. Yeah, I don't think he's. I think he's just kind of a. Yeah, he's not Chase Burns, for sure. Top 75-ish pitching prospect.
Speaker 1So, like. I'm looking at some names in the 75 to 80 range right now in ADP before the season. Connelly early. Braxton Ashcraft was in that range. Mike Burrows. Remember Mike Burrows? That was fun.
Speaker 4Yeah, like I just. Yeah, I think that's the range.
Speaker 1And that's like between 250 and 300 ADP, basically.
Speaker 4He's older. So, I think prospect people especially are less in on him. And I think that was why the reaction to the Tarek Skubal trade was what it was. And I agree. It wasn't a great return. But I just. From what I have read of prospect folks, if he wasn't 27, he'd be ranked a lot higher. And just based on these skills that he's shown. And look, you cannot disentangle his age from what he's shown, right? Like, 27-year-olds are more physically mature than 21-year-olds. They've. In his case, they don't really have more experience. But he has some experience. He's been around professional baseball. So, I get why there are question marks about him as a prospect. But. Oh, God. Who was the. Man, who was the Tigers guy that we were excited about before the season? That's the name I was thinking of. Reese Olsen? Reese Olsen. Yeah, like that kind of guy. Where, like. I don't think he's an ace. I do think there's enough talent there. Like, Reese Olsen was getting drafted everywhere before his injury.
Speaker 3Yeah. And I just pulled up my initial rankings. I had Reese Olsen 81st. Sure. So, yeah. I guess maybe 75 to 85 range, let's say, for Riverinance. Yeah. And that probably makes sense.
Speaker 4Yeah. Guys like Zach Allen and Andrew Abbott were going in that range before the season, too.
Speaker 1So. All right. My player of the night, just want to give a shout-out and show some love to Brooks Lee, who has just kind of had the most boring, productive season of all time. He hit his 24th home run. And he's just kind of been an accumulator this year. 254 batting average. The 24 homers. 82 RBI. 8 steals. Also, 5 caught stealing. He is not very fast at all. 735 OPS. It just does not wow you at all. But he was an undrafted player. He was picked up as a free agent. Another name that could have been picked up in a deeper league. And just having that second, third, and shortstop eligibility has been very valuable with Brooks Lee this year. The underlying numbers do not buy it at all. He is pretty good at pulling the ball in the air. 23% pulled air rate. But, yeah. According to the Fangraphs PlayRater, the 90th overall player in Roto this season. Between hitters. And pitchers. So, shout out to Brooks Lee. I don't know that I'll be drafting him outside of like a deeper, maybe like a draft and hold type league. Where you can move him around and stuff. But, nice solid season here.
Speaker 4Yeah, if you're looking at the skills, there's very little difference between his 2025 and 2026. The outcomes were obviously much better. And that's not nothing. But, I. He is a top 12 player at shortstop, third base, and second base right now. And that is true. Yeah. I would be shocked if I ranked him as a top 20 player at any of those positions next year.
Speaker 1You'll be able to get him dirt cheap next year. But, you know, he's a perfect like AL only type player. Yeah. That's what I was going to say. You know he's going to play. You can move him around. He's going to get you your played appearances. Not going to wow you. But, he'll probably just be solid.
Speaker 3Compiler is the word that I like to use. Yeah. And that's what he did this year. Brooks Lee, you get players like this every year. You're surprised where they end up ranking. And it's just they were always there. And they. You know, they weren't helpless with the bat. And they showed up every day. And so, just by default, they end up in the top 12 at weaker positions. Or, in this case, sometimes even some decent positions. If Brooks Lee is somebody who misses two months with an injury last year, next year, then obviously. Yeah. Um, it's not going to feel as good the little bit of time you have him as some of the studs who got injured this year and ended up finishing ahead of.
Speaker 4Yeah, it's like, it's like, um, Mauricio Dubon is another one of those guys. Uh, Ezequiel Duran is like a top 10 player at multiple positions. Then you actually look at the numbers and it's like, oh, well, that's 153 combined runs in RBI. Okay, thank you. 11 steals. Seven, like, it's not terrible.
Speaker 1Yeah. But. But that's like the meat and potatoes in fantasy, you know? You just kind of need those glue guys to, like, fill in the gaps, you know?
Speaker 4They're just, they're not guys you can bet on from year to year. I would guess Brooks Lee and Ezequiel Duran and Mauricio Dubon will all be worse next season. So, it's like, who's that next year? Uh, I don't, I don't know the answer to that question.
Speaker 1I don't know yet either. Big thanks to everyone watching live. We appreciate you being here. Make sure to subscribe to our channel. Make sure to hit that like button. If you're listening on audio, drop us a five-star rating and review. Wherever you listen, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. If we helped you win your league, you could, you know, drop a five-star rating and review and let us know in the comments there. Even if you didn't win your league, but you really enjoy the podcast, we'd appreciate it. Let's take a break and we'll be back right after this. Baseball season is in full swing and there's no better place to be than Calchi, America's number one prediction market platform. Atlanta is currently trading at 7% to win it all, meaning a $100 trade. A trade pays out over $1,200 with a win. On Calchi, you're trading against other people in a live market. No house, no odds makers. And as the odds move, you can buy in or out anytime throughout the postseason. Download the Calchi app and use code FAN to get up to $500 in bonus credits when you trade $25. K-A-L-S-H-I, Calchi, trade on anything. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all. Calchi products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calchi.com slash regulatory.
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Speaker 1Fastest based on analysis by Uclo Speed Test Intelligence data of national speed score results incorporating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026. Welcome back, Fantasy Baseball. Today, we'll run through the news and notes, and we do have a bunch of Giants updates. Bryce Eldridge was placed on the seven-day concussion IL. Again, just a weird, one of those weird baseball injuries, just kind of like banging. He bangs his head at the hotel just winds up in the concussion protocol. So hopefully all is good, and hopefully none of this lingers into next season because Sky and I both had bold predictions for Bryce Eldridge for next year. So I hope he's all right then. Jung-Hoo Lee was placed in the IL due to a groin contusion. Solid second season for Jung-Hoo Lee, but kind of a 10-10 guy. I don't really know that we can expect much more than that. Willie Adamas took batting practice.
Speaker 3I think this was his third season.
Speaker 4Is it? It sounded like more than, it felt like more.
Speaker 3Yeah, third season. He missed most of the first with entry, though, to be fair.
Speaker 1Solid third season for Jung-Hoo Lee. Willie Adamas. That's his full season. Yes. Willie Adamas took batting practice and did fielding work on Monday. He was placed in the IL with a left elbow sprain on August 24th, so maybe he'll get back for the final weekend of the season. I, whatever. Willie Adamas. Yeah. Some corresponding moves. Marcelo Maier was activated for his Giants debut, and it took. It did not go very well. He went 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts. And the other one was, you know, the Giants calling up Bo Davidson, but we already spoke about him, so we'll keep things moving here. Dylan Cease update. The MRI on his shoulder revealed inflammation. He does not need surgery, but his immediate availability is up in the air. Technically, the Blue Jays are still competing for a wild card spot. They're three games out with, you know, five or six games to play, so it's very, very unlikely that they will make it to the playoffs.
Speaker 4The Fangraphs had their playoff odds at 3% entering today,
Speaker 1and they lost today, right? They, yeah, they lost late. They gave up a home run to Pete Alonzo to lose that game. So, yeah. It's over. Seems very unlikely that Dylan Cease will be back this year. Jesus Lizardo played catch on flat ground, and last week he went on the IL with shoulder inflammation. The Phillies remain optimistic about Lizardo's progress, and they're hoping that he could contribute in the postseason. Very interesting. The two names that you guys had pitted up against each other for the serial bet, back-to-back here with shoulder injuries, ending their seasons. They were both awesome this year.
Speaker 3They wanted it too bad. They're like, I gotta get those innings for Scott and Chris.
Speaker 4I think that probably clinches it for Scott on the serial.
Speaker 1Yeah. I'm sorry, Chris. You didn't get 23 innings from Dylan Cease this weekend. It could have happened. Scott, have you been researching which serial you would like to get? I have, yeah.
Speaker 3I've got a couple saved in my Amazon, on-cart. Okay. Looking into some foreign cereals. Oh. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1Getting exotic. Chris is going to have to pay like $50 for a box. No, it's not a tariff. The tariff's going to eat me alive. That's what he said the other day.
Speaker 3The Honey Nut Cheerios. You're going to pay less getting this exotic cereal off Amazon than what they're charging you in the actual grocery stores locally. All right. Based on what you said last podcast.
Speaker 1All right. We do have an update on Alex Bregman. He's going to be on the show. He suffered multiple facial fractures when struck by the foul ball on Sunday. Jeff Passon reported that Bregman will not undergo surgery and is hopeful to return in the postseason. We don't know when in the postseason. It doesn't say he'll be ready for the start of the postseason. Thankfully, it's not worse, but this is still a big blow for the Cubs. Bregman, one of the hottest hitters in the second half, and his season ends with 153 games played, 262 batting average, 26 homers, 89 runs, 89 RBI, 804 OPS, and the fourth best third baseman in Roto. 3.2 fantasy points per game tied for third best at the position with Jay Ram, Sal Stewart, and Kevin McGonigal. So massive, massive second half. Really, really brought those season-long numbers up here for Alex Bregman.
Speaker 3Yeah, he sure did. I was pleased and relieved to hear that the vision doesn't seem to be affected at all. It's also encouraging that he doesn't need surgery.
Speaker 4Yeah. For those of you who are a little older, Scott, I'm sure you remember this, but Juan Encarnacion had a situation like this where that pretty much ended his career. That was back in the late 2000s, probably, but it's a scary situation for sure, yeah.
Speaker 1Mm-hmm. Yeah, big second half, big season for Alex Bregman, but unfortunate timing. We'll see if he can indeed get back for the playoffs to join the Cubs there. Vlad Jr. was held out of the lineup again on Monday due to lower back tightness. Troy Melton was placed on the IL with right arm fatigue. I think he's going to make for a pretty interesting rank for next season, too. He had that stretch where he was unhittable, but, you know, wasn't getting many strikeouts. You look at the ERA and WIP, they still look really good, but it's like, you know, the skills don't exactly back it up, and now he ends the season with an injury, so pretty interesting rank Troy Melton will be for next season. The Twins called up former first-round pick Aaron Sabato. He is 27 years old. First-round pick back in 2020. This year at AAA, he hit.273 with 25 homers and.877 OPS. Scott, this kind of feels like a quad-A player. Is there anything to see with Aaron Sabato?
Speaker 3It's been a long time since I've heard that name, and I would not be counting on much from Aaron Sabato. He's got power, but I wouldn't be counting on much.
Speaker 4It's one of those things where, like, you see the season Kobe Clemens had, and it's like, well, okay, guys can do that, I guess, but you definitely shouldn't count on that.
Speaker 1All right, Brett Bateman left early on Monday after making an awesome catch in the outfield, and it turns out that he suffered a right hip injury. He did undergo x-rays for a fracture, but it was negative, so could miss the next couple days, but yeah, that is Brett Bateman. Colt Keith was placed in the I.O. with a left thumb sprain. His season ends with 140 games played. 158 batting average, 10 homers, 6 steals, 726 OPS. It just does not seem like there is a next level for Colt Keith. He kind of lives in this 10 to 15 homer, you know, 5 to 10 steal range for fantasy.
Speaker 3Yeah, he's one of those players who, you saw what he was doing in the minors. He gets a big contract, a multi-year contract before he debuts, so clearly the Tigers are excited about him, and then you see him play, and you're like, why was this guy? Such a big prospect, and.
Speaker 4Why did the Tigers give him such a big contract, and then immediately cast him as a platoon guy? Like, didn't even really ever give him a chance to play every day?
Speaker 3It reminds me of Scott Kingery a little bit, but Colt Keith was an even better prospect than Kingery, and Kingery formerly with the Phillies, but kind of a utility guy who produced in the minors, but never really amounted to much in the majors. I'm just contrasting it with, like, Jordan Walker, where, yeah, he struggled his first couple years in the majors, but you could see the talent pretty clearly, and was also, you know, a couple years younger than Keith. Keith is already 25, which isn't old. It's not too late for a breakout, but I, yeah, I'm not really seeing evidence for one.
Speaker 1All right, last couple items here. Justin Verlander is scheduled to be reinstated and make his final career start on Saturday against the Pirates. One of the best to ever do it. Really cool. That he'll even make it back. I don't know how much he'll actually throw, but I'm sure he'll get a crazy ovation and rightfully so. First ballot Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander. Again, that'll be Saturday if you want to check that out. And heads up that if you play in a daily lineup league, the Yankees and Rays start at 1.05 p.m. Eastern time here on Tuesday. So if you need to get anything sorted out, they will have a day-night doubleheader. Again, Rays and Yankees at 1.05 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. Here is the latest on Paul Skeens. And this. This theory. Not really a theory. I guess it's just some speculation on Paul Skeens' part. But this was an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was written by Colin Beasley. And Skeens mentioned that the World Baseball Classic feels like the root of his struggles this season. And here are some quotes. Usually, that time of year, you're kind of ramping up and it's a little bit slow. You can kind of get into the slope and find your body, he said. One live batting practice, you're topping at 97 miles per hour. In the next, you're 98, 99. And that wasn't the case this year. Looking back, I don't think that really helped. That being the World Baseball Classic. The article also states that Skeens has made plenty of mechanical tweaks throughout the course of the season in attempts to find better results. He shifted from his typical crossfire delivery to one where he steps directly towards the plate. And he made that change after his August 11th start in Miami. Remember that when he was pulled after five innings and it was only like 75 pitches or something like that? We're kind of nervous. He received eight days off after that to work on that change in his mechanics that he was trying to figure out what was going on, obviously, behind the scenes. He mentioned that he didn't feel that he had his delivery even early in the season when he was pitching well. He went on an eight-star stretch where he had an ERA around one. He said that he didn't even feel right back then. So it's pretty crazy. Obviously, the velocity was higher earlier in the season. He did add, unfortunately, it's probably going to take an offseason to get it back. So to me, that sounds like he feels optimistic that this is something he will be able to get back for next year.
Speaker 3He may be exactly right. But my feeling reading this is that it sounds like he's grasping at straws and has finally landed on this as the explanation after exhausting all possible others. There's a couple other ones. Obviously, he's got to stay positive and hope that an offseason can get it back. But I am not as optimistic as he's sounding. And, yeah, this did not relieve my concerns. Reading this, I read the whole article. It did not relieve my concerns about Paul Skeens. If anything, it only further ingrained them. So, again, maybe he'll be exactly right. I just got to go with my gut here and I don't feel, don't have a good feeling in it.
Speaker 4He, early on in the season, when he was asked why his velocity was down, he would say, oh, it's intentional. And then as the season went on, he stopped saying that. And it's like, well, okay. Like, I don't know. I agree with Scott. Like, Paul Skeens knows his body better than I do, obviously. So, like, I cannot say this is not true. But what I can say is, in 2025 spring training, he had 329 pitches that were tracked. 59 of them were 98 miles per hour or higher. That was 17.9%. This year, in the World Baseball Classic, he threw 19.8% of his pitches higher than 98 miles per hour. Maybe the timing of it is different. Maybe in 2025, all those 98 mile per hour pitches were backloaded. And the World Baseball Classic, did force him to excel. But, like, I don't know. I don't really buy it. Like, the World Baseball Classic messes up pitchers is a thing that people have said every time the World Baseball Classic comes around. And maybe, like, it certainly seems like a hypothesis that would make sense. And it probably has happened
Speaker 3to some pitchers. I'm more willing to buy it for, like, Logan Webb. Just as a. I think it's a more plausible. It's a more plausible theory in his case. Like, it's one of those things where, like, you know, obviously, analysts want to do the average of something always. But individuals are different. Sure. And their routines are going to be different. Their rhythms are going to be different. And it's more likely to impact some than others. Not to derail your point, because I know.
Speaker 4No, but that's what I was going to say, is that I think, on the whole, the evidence that the World Baseball Classic hurts pitchers as a population does not seem pertinent. It's not particularly compelling. That is not to say that it does not impact anyone. That is true for any kind of change. A change to the makeup of the baseball will not impact everyone equally. The pitch clock, I'm sure, hurts some. Remember the pitch clock? Remember how that was like, oh, my God, it's going to ruin pitchers. And, like, I don't really think it has. But I'm sure there were some pitchers who were negatively affected by it. And so I cannot say definitively that this did not impact Paul. But, like Scott said, it sounds like a guy who's just looking for an explanation. And maybe he's right. But I don't think the shape of his season backs up the idea that the World Baseball Classic screwed him up. I don't think the way he talked about it was an especially compelling explanation. There's a point where, at the end of the article, he said, he said, he said, it definitely affected the year, Skeen said. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm the only one. One, I don't like. Can I read the rest of it? Well, yeah, that's what I was going to get. But, like, that, I wanted to pause and put a pin on that and just say, like. Okay, go ahead. You don't know. I'm sorry, you don't know. But two, he paused, staring at the floor in silence for nine seconds. Yeah, I don't know, Skeen said. Ten more seconds passed. Definitely didn't make things easier. That does not sound like a guy who is on the phone. Who is 100% confident that he has figured out what screwed up his season and how to fix it in 2027. Maybe he has. Maybe this is right. And maybe a more normal offseason in 2027 will help Paul Skeen's get right. I am inclined to believe that he will be better in 2027 than he has been in 2026. Certainly better than he has been since, I don't know, July or whenever the turnaround started. But I just do not find. I do not find this to be. an especially compelling explanation for why things have gone wrong. Because, again, there's also lots of pitchers who pitched in the World Baseball Classic who had great seasons. So I don't really. I just don't really buy it, you know?
Speaker 1Yeah, that's where it goes back to, like, everyone is different. And I agree with you. Like, I was trying to find, is there a common theme? Now, there were pitchers that also had down seasons or injury-plagued seasons. Like, Scooble pitched in a WBC, not as much as other pitchers. But he obviously had the loose bodies in his elbow. So, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. And he had to undergo a procedure. Logan Webb has kind of had this uncharacteristic, you know, fall apart. And his strikeout rate has been way down. He pitched in the World Baseball Classic. But then you also have Yamamoto who pitched in the WBC and he's had a great year. Someone like Eduardo Rodriguez has had one of the best years of his career. He doesn't throw as hard as those other guys. But I just feel like. I don't think you could put a blanket statement. I'm trying to think about this just for the next time the WBC rolls around. Because we did get questions. Like, should I avoid guys playing in the WBC? I don't think there's just a blanket statement. Like, oh, if you play in the WBC, you're bound to have a bad season, you know?
Speaker 4Yeah, like, you can point to Cal Raleigh and you can point to Gunnar Henderson and you can point to Logan Webb. But it's also like, well, congrats, you missed on Pekar Armstrong. Exactly.
Speaker 1Like, Cam Minero's having a huge year. Yeah, like, I just.
Speaker 4I don't really. I don't really. I don't know, man. Like, given the amount of money at stake, if there was some evidence that this was systemically ruining players, teams wouldn't be letting guys go. And that's not happening. And the data that I have seen suggests there might be a very small uptick, but in injuries for pitchers specifically, but nothing that is, like, substantial. And the other thing you have to keep in mind throughout any discussion like this is you can't just say, well, Otani got hurt and Skubal got hurt. You have to compare them to the baseline rate. And so when I see, well, maybe Skubal got hurt because of the World Baseball Classic. He's a pitcher. That's why he got hurt. And I just, I don't find it, especially because he only made one start in the World Baseball Classic, right? Like, that was the, that was the whole thing with Tarek Skubal, famously. So I just don't, I don't find that to be particularly compelling. I also, I just, I think it's really lame for Paul Skeens, the way he was talking during the World Baseball Classic to then turn around six months later when he had a bad scene and be like, oh, it's the World Baseball Classic's fault I was bad, guys. Like, I think it's kind of lame.
Speaker 3He did say he doesn't regret it.
Speaker 4Yeah, but like, but then there's that 19-second pause at the end.
Speaker 3Yeah, which, by the way, I wanted to give some credit to the, the writer, Colin Beasley, for like, conveying the tenor of that conversation so well in the article with details like that because I think most writers would have just, like, merged that all together as one quote and it reads very differently that way. Yeah.
Speaker 1It's tough. Just a really, really tough call there with Paul Skeens. Let's take our final break. When we return, I've got the sleeperometer. We'll play some Fantasy Feud. We'll do all that right after this. Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break. But not just any break. This is a refreshing break with Snapple. We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts, so let's take a minute to go over some of my faves. Snapple real fact 1417. Before 1850, in 1859, baseball umpires sat behind home plate in rocking chairs. Snapple real fact 1483. More than 100 baseballs are used during a typical professional baseball game. Snapple real fact 253. The first TV remote control introduced in 1950 was called Lazy Bones. Snapple real fact 2105. Professional athletes used to perform in vaudeville in the off season. So grab a Snapple, take a second, and enjoy the moment because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day. Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.
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Speaker 1Welcome back fantasy baseball today and any interest in these three starting pitchers or these three pitchers for this weekend. Still trying to work in some content for those still playing in the final week here, but Shane Boz turned in a quality start against the Blue Jays six and two thirds, three runs, three walks, two strikeouts, only four swinging strikes on 92 pitches. He's had some good moments this year, some long stretches of, you know, being helpful, turning in quality starts and things like that. I just really do not see it for Shane Boz. He is 70% rostered and at the Yankees this weekend. Zebby Matthews turned back into Zebby Matthews at the Giants. Five runs over five innings. He did have nine strikeouts, zero walks. He had 15 whiffs on 100 pitches and he is 52% rostered. Looks like he will start Sunday against the Rangers. That is a good matchup on paper, but I would have said the same thing about this start. And Kedar Montero was great in bulk relief against the Nationals, four shutout innings with five strikeouts. He has managed a great ERA and whip. He does a good job limiting hard contact. You see that in the XERA, but he really gets no strikeouts at all. He is 52% rostered. He could pitch again on Sunday against the Pirates, likely in a bulk relief role once again. Any thoughts on these three? Montero, Matthews, and Shane Boz again this weekend?
Speaker 3I mean, that Boz start is one where you feel like you got away with it, obviously. And I think anytime you start Shane Boz, you feel like you get away with it. But that's, in certain leagues, that's what you have to do this time of year. I mentioned it a little bit yesterday, but certain league setups, you got daily lineup changes and you got daily transactions. And if you have that combination, it kind of is just a race to the bottom at pitcher because everybody's going to pick up whoever they can every day and you just cross your fingers and hope and you just cross your fingers and hope. You can get away with one, like you did with Boz here. Matthews, you know, at least gave you the strikeouts. But it's generally not what our analysis is geared toward because it's kind of a lack of analysis. I think this pitcher is good, then yes, this pitcher is starting and there's a chance he'll give you some innings.
Speaker 4Yeah, I think it just comes down to you know whether you're going to get away with it. You know whether you need to protect your ratios or whether you need to chase strikeouts and wins, I guess, but even then. Yeah. So it really just comes down to that. If protecting ratios is important, no, I would not start any of these guys. I think all of them have the chance to wreck your ratios because I don't think any of them are particularly good. If you need strikeouts and you don't care about the ERA or whip, hey, Zabby Matthews just had a great start for it. He struck out nine. Assuming that you don't care about it, you don't care about the nine ERA. Right. So in the, I don't know, 140-ish whip? No, 160 whip. Like, those are bad numbers, but if you don't care about them, then it was a great start.
Speaker 1Yeah, and I think if you play in a head-to-head league, you'll know that by this weekend, whether you're just chasing strikeouts and wins or, you know, your ratios are still intact. And again, if they're not, then yeah, I could see Zabby Matthews racking up more strikeouts against the Rangers. Zabby up against the Rangers and Boz up against the Yankees. If the Yankees and Rangers are already locked into their playoff spots by Sunday, they could be rolling out, like, skeleton lineups. And if they're doing that, it could be an even better outing for any of those pitchers. So just keep that in mind for this weekend. The Sleeper-O-Meter for 2027. We mentioned a few names already. Bo Davidson and River Ryan up at the top. And here I have Eduardo Valencia of the Tigers. He has barely played, but whenever he has, he has made an impact. He went three for four with two doubles and a run, scored in 37 games. He's hitting.354, six homers, and OPS over 1,000. The stat cast numbers look pretty good. His numbers at AAA were good. He's played some catcher for his base DH. I have no idea what the Tigers' plan for him is for next season, or if he's even in those plans at all. But I don't know. He's kind of an interesting offensive player. Where would Eduardo Valencia be on the Sleeper-O-Meter for next season?
Speaker 3I'll go with a three. I'll put him. Lower than like a Bo Davidson, who I called a four earlier. And obviously it would have to be a two-catcher league. I wouldn't have any interest otherwise. And it would have to be a scenario where they play him at DH a lot. Like Dylan Dingler, say what you want about his bad second half. He's not losing the starting job. He's a great defender, and I think he'll bounce back nicely as a hitter. He was a pretty good hitter last year, too. But Valencia has shown enough that I could see him being the kind of player who's a backup catcher who still plays 50 to 60% of the time. It kind of depends on what the Tigers' offseason moves are. But I think that's possible for Valencia.
Speaker 4They also, I believe, have their top two prospects, or top two hitting prospects. Josue Fresenio and Tyron Laronzo are both first base slash catcher types. Yeah, it's so weird. Yeah, it's just a question of what Laronzo got to double-A, Fresenio got to triple-A this season. It's just kind of what's their plan for those guys. But I think Eduardo Valencia is a really interesting talent.
Speaker 1I think if they can move Torkelson for like anything, they could look into doing that.
Speaker 4Yeah, I think in a 24, in a two-catcher situation, especially a 15-team league, but even 12-team leagues, they could be in the conversation for being drafted. But we'll need a little more clarity on what they plan to do at DH and first base for next season first.
Speaker 1Again, that was Eduardo Valencia. What about Yohandy Morales of the Nationals? He's another one. He's barely playing, but when he does, he's typically made an impact. He had a pinch-hit home run off the bench here against a lefty. And in 13 games, he's 11 for 36 with three home runs, nine runs, eight RBI, 973 OPS. He has zero walks. He has 11 strikeouts. That is a 31-point run. He has a 31% K-rate. But he is also hitting the ball really, really hard. So the Nationals have a glut of these kind of first-base DH-only type players, so we kind of need that to clear up. But a small sample, I'm a little intrigued here. Where do you guys think Yohandy Morales could be on the sleeper-ometer?
Speaker 4I'm going to say what I said entering 2025, I think, when everybody liked Luis Garcia as a breakout and thought, he's going to start playing more. He was so good last year, they're going to try. And it's like, well, if they weren't going to do it then when they had nothing to play for, why is next year going to be any different? Like, the Nationals have been playing for nothing for most of the second half, and they're still throwing guys out in platoons. Why is that going to change in 2027? It might, but they've got three, I think, pretty legit-ish first-base-slash-DH types who are kind of all only first-base-slash-DH types. I think Morales did play a little third-base in the minors, right? Yeah. But, like, between him and Abimelech Ortiz and Andres Chapar, like, they're all kind of the same guy. And I just don't, if they weren't willing to give Morales consistent playing time against righties this year, I just have a hard time seeing why that's going to be different next year. Even though I think he's a moderately interesting player, it's just, I don't think he needs to be on, like, a 12-team radar for 2027, unfortunately.
Speaker 3And that's what's always so difficult about this profile. We talk about it a lot. The right-handed-hitting corner man who doesn't have crazy good on-base skills. Like, it's, there's just so many like that. And so many established first-basemen in the league. So the fact that Morales' isn't getting playing time on one of the few teams without an established first-baseman. I'm going to put it at, like, 2.5. I'll have some interest in NL only, but it's about it.
Speaker 1All right, next up, we have Drew Gilbert, who went 3-for-4 with his 11th home run. And he had himself a good August before coming back down in September. 3.41 on-base, four homers, 18 runs, 15 RBI, 802 OPS in August. But again, those numbers came down in September. I think the Giants need to, you know, kind of rethink and retool a lot this year. This offseason, I don't know if Drew Gilbert is part of those plans. Is he part of either of your plans in deeper leagues? Sleeperometer, Drew Gilbert.
Speaker 3No. I'm inclined to say zero here.
Speaker 1Yeah, zero. I think that's fair. What about Emmanuel Rodriguez, who hit his second home run? He was one for his last 20 before that home run. And he's 194, two homers, 688 OPS, 35% K rate early on. He is hitting the ball very hard in a very small sample size. But this was a top prospect. We'll see if he can stay healthy. Can he make it to next season healthy? That will be, I think, a big test for the offseason. But where do you think Emmanuel Rodriguez would be on the
Speaker 4sleeperometer? Eight? I think he's going to be cheap enough that I don't care about injuries. It's going to be like Chase DeLauder, where it's just going to be a late-round pick. So, did anybody regret taking a late-round pick on Chase DeLauder, even though he's had the injuries this season?
Speaker 3Also on that Tout Wars team.
Speaker 4Yeah. He's had a great, great season. And I think Emmanuel Rodriguez is that kind of talent. I think he's a really talented player. Different, very, very different skill set, to be certain. But, I think he's someone that in any league next year, especially, even points leagues, I know they're shallower, so it's harder to make the fit and justify the price, but his skill set should be great for a points league. And so, I think he's going to be a very good sleeper candidate for next season.
Speaker 3All right. Are you personally going to be, do you think he's going to be one of your guys? Emmanuel Rodriguez, or, I know it's too early to say.
Speaker 4I think both him and Walker Jenkins will be, will be on my, my sleepers list for sure next season.
Speaker 1Yeah. I think the numbers will be bad enough for both, unless they just go off the rest of this week, where they'll kind of be out of sight, out of mind for next year.
Speaker 3I want to go a little lower. I'll say, I'll say six and a half for Emmanuel Rodriguez. Like, I, like definite upside, I just don't think he's going to be somebody I'm touting especially hard to myself.
Speaker 1All right, Trey Savage did not last very long in his return at the Orioles, but he looked all right. Two innings, one hit, one run, three strikeouts. He had six whiffs on 40 pitches. That was a 15% swinging strike rate, but still has that massive induced vertical break on his fastball, way over the top delivery. And looking at his season, like, yes, the walks are very high, but still racked up a ton of swinging strikes. The stuff plus and the location plus is still right in line with where it was last year. I think we just kind of give you Savage a mulligan for an injury-riddled season. I personally am going to be very excited about him. I would put him at, like, a 9 or a 10. What about you guys, Trey Savage, on the sleeperometer?
Speaker 3Yeah, I think at least an 8. It's one of those where, like, just pulling his name out of the blue, I have no idea where he's going to go next year.
Speaker 1I was thinking about that, too. I have no clue.
Speaker 4I would guess a top 50 starting pitcher.
Speaker 3Personally, I don't feel like he's got to go later than he did this year. I mean, this year he had some injury, I think, that actually.
Speaker 1It was a shoulder earlier on, and then it was a meniscus injury to his knee.
Speaker 3Yeah, the meniscus late, but on it. His ADP probably didn't end up being that high because of the shoulder issue he was dealing with in spring training. But initially, I think we were talking about Savage as, like, a top 30, 36. I think he was right there
Speaker 4with McClain and Schlittler.
Speaker 1I think top 40, top 36. He was in that range, yeah. And I don't think.
Speaker 3Let's say it was the knee he suffered early on and he didn't pitch again the rest of the season. Would we feel better about him in that case than what we actually got, which was, you know, a decent number of starts, but they were kind of short and underwhelming? Like, I think the skill level is still as high as I thought it was in the first place for you, Savage. But I think. I think just by virtue of his season playing out the way it did, people aren't going to be that interested, and I guess that's why you're including him on this list. Yeah. So it's going to depend, the actual number, how late he actually goes. I'm guessing he'll still be top 60, so I'm going to say 8.
Speaker 4I'm a little worried about it. I think the. I'm not sure how great this stuff is, and I have worries about how sustainable it is. How sustainable the profile is. And then he has the shoulder injury at the top, beginning of the season, which I think was in part an innings limitation thing. Remember, they were talking, we had to limit his workload early on anyway, and then he had the shoulder thing, so I think there was some overlap there. But I don't love that he rushed back from the torn meniscus here, because it's been. The reporting on the menisci injuries lately has been very frustrating, not just in baseball. There's this Brock Bauer, this thing that's happening where he had a meniscus surgery, and they're like, he could be back in seven days. And it's like, I don't think that's how that works. But in Shea Langeleer's case, it was originally reported that he was going to have the meniscus repaired. Subsequent reporting cleared up that he had the meniscus trimmed. I am assuming that's the same that's happened for Trey Yassavage, because the timetable six weeks back for a meniscus repair just doesn't happen. So it was probably a meniscectomy, which is trimming off the damaged area, which does have a quicker return to play timetable, but does potentially carry some long-term ramifications, because you just have less of that tissue. And so I'm concerned about that. I'm concerned about how sustainable his style of pitching is. I think he's talented, but I don't think Trey Yassavage is going to be at the top of any sleeper's list I have for next year. It would have to be. I agree, probably still top 60 is where he'll go. I think I'd need it to be more like top 75 for me to feel comfortable making that play.
Speaker 3It has been reported in multiple places as being repaired. I don't know if that's just. Yeah, no, but that's the same
Speaker 4with Langoliers. And then it was later, like when he made his debut, it was. or his return, it was like it was a trim. But just from what I understand, and maybe there's some kind of nano-needle thing that has changed this timetable, but my understanding has always been you get the meniscus removed. Dwayne Wade did that in college. Ron Artest did that at the end of his career. You can be back in like a week. You get it trimmed, you can be back in about six weeks. You get it repaired, that's more like a four to six month injury or recovery. So maybe something's different. Maybe there's, you know, maybe the nano-needle is there. But from my understanding, this was probably a trim and that is just a less sustainable approach. And that's why you don't see it as often. So when meniscus injuries happen, it's usually that longer timetable.
Speaker 1All right. I don't want to read off everything that he did today, but I'll just throw the name out there. Chris, I know you used to like him a lot. DJ Herz made his Nationals return. Can you see him being a sleeper for next season? Very deep sleeper.
Speaker 4Yeah, I mean, when I do like a daily, a deep sleepers for every team thing, maybe he'll be, I don't know, you know, if he'll be the Nationals option, but. I could see it, but this wasn't particularly impressive, I didn't think. Velocity was down quite a bit. So yeah, I don't know. We'll see, but I'm not even sure he's in the rotation next season. I don't think that's guaranteed at all. So it would have to be very deep.
Speaker 1Let's wrap up with the feud. Fantasy feud for all the marbles. Scott versus Chris, our final showdown of the year. Are you gentlemen ready? Let's do it. Yeah, yeah. All right, welcome back to the feud. And here we go. We have three questions, categories that are on the slate for tonight. And up first, according to the Fangraphs player rater, eight players, eight players have been worth at least $33 in the second half of the season.
Speaker 4Chris. We're up. Pete Crow Armstrong.
Speaker 1That is the number one answer. Would you like to pass or play? There are eight players on the board.
Speaker 4Seven left. So I have to get all seven. You have to get all seven
Speaker 1or hope that you don't and Scott gets his steal wrong.
Speaker 3Yeah, if you don't get all seven, then I have a chance to steal. But you only have to get one.
Speaker 1You only have to get one.
Speaker 4I mean, I just think from a game theory perspective, it always makes sense to pass. So I'm going to pass.
Speaker 1All right, Scott, you're up. There are seven more players. The seven best players in the second half of the season. Hitters and pitchers. Yes. Roto slash category leagues.
Speaker 4Well, I just have no context for what a $35 pitcher in a half season even looks like.
Speaker 3Okay. Well, I guess let's start off with Cam Schlittler.
Speaker 1Cam Schlittler. Is correct. He is the number seven answer on the board. He has been worth $33.4 in the second half of the season.
Speaker 4I think these are all really obvious. I'm kind of regretting. Oh, I don't know
Speaker 3that you should regret it.
Speaker 1Well, if Scott gets three wrong, you're ready to steal. Wait, Chris doesn't have to steal yet. Does he? I'd still have to get one right. Yeah, he would have to get one right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. So get those answers ready, Chris, just in case.
Speaker 3Yeah, now get them ready.
Speaker 1Here we go, Scott. Second half. Who's killing it in the second half, man?
Speaker 7I'm not feeling confident. Oh, why am I so bad at this? Well, I can think of his players who've been bad in the second half.
Speaker 1I don't have that answer on the rundown. I'm sorry. Yeah.
Speaker 3So we're talking five more, right? Oh, okay. Here's one. Fernando Tatis. Fernando Tatis.
Speaker 1That is the number two answer on the board. $49.2 in the second half of the season. There are now five players left.
Speaker 3Okay. Would there be another pitcher? I'm just. Jacob Mizurowski?
Speaker 1Jacob Mizurowski is incorrect. That is your first wrong answer. Okay.
Speaker 3Ooh. He's been hot, hasn't he? Or has he? I'm going to say. I don't think it's right. I'm going to say Bryce Harper.
Speaker 1Bryce Harper is incorrect. Jacob Mizurowski, 24th overall in the second half of the season. Bryce Harper, 79th.
Speaker 4I feel really confident about four names still left. That's good. Hopefully, Scott doesn't get those four because I can't come up with it. I can't think of anybody.
Speaker 3All right, Scott. Because I know I'm thinking of first rounders and it's like, no, they've all been terrible.
Speaker 1Three answers that are on the board so far and there are five left. With one strike left.
Speaker 3I don't know how he's done in the second half. I know he stayed high all season. I can't think of anybody in the second half, dude. You need to hate this game. You got to be honest. Jackson Merrill. Jackson Merrill
Speaker 1is the number three answer
Speaker 4on the board. That was the one I was going to say. - Okay, that was the one I couldn't get to.
Speaker 1Three answers, PCA, Tatis, and Merrill. The other one Scott has is Cam Schuller. He was the number seven answer. There are four left.
Speaker 3I don't think there are any other pitchers. I don't think. Okay. He has not had a good second half. I'm going to say. Anybody on that team? There's got to be a time limit.
Speaker 1Yeah, we have a time limit. Pete Alonzo. Pete Alonzo is incorrect. It doesn't include Monday's action, unfortunately.
Speaker 4Okay, okay. Yeah. Was that one of your guesses? Yeah, that was the one I was going to go with.
Speaker 1Pete Alonzo, 18th. That was before tonight. So after tonight, he might actually be in the top eight. But that is not included. All right, three strikes for Scott. Chris, we need an answer from you.
Speaker 4Well, now I'm shaken. Because I was very confident that Pete Alonzo was the right answer. I'm still pretty confident. That Alex Bregman is on this list.
Speaker 1Alex Bregman, the man who took the ball off the face for the steal. Is correct! Okay, hold on. Eli De La Cruz? Eli De La Cruz, number four. I need two more. Bregman was number six. Schlittler was number seven. So we're looking for number five and eight.
Speaker 4Rafael Devers? No. Okay. Eli De La Cruz. Eli De La Cruz. You already said him. Okay. Devers, 14th, by the way. So very close. I'm sure he was before the injury. He's missed, like, what, five days now? That's probably enough. I'll give you a clue.
Speaker 1The last two names are both pitchers.
Speaker 4Oh. Lizardo? Because I was going to say Junior Caminero.
Speaker 1Yamamoto? Nope. It is Cade Cavalli and Logan Henderson. Cade Cavalli. That's like 10 straight quality starts, dude.
Speaker 4Yeah. Logan Henderson's actually a little more surprising.
Speaker 1Yeah. So those are the top eight in the second half. PCA, Tatis, Merrill, Eli, Cavalli, Bregman, Schlittler, Logan Henderson.
Speaker 4Okay. Yeah. I wouldn't have thought that Logan Henderson had the volume, I guess. I guess so.
Speaker 1Yeah, he does. All right. Here we go. That was the end of the sentence. Eight different starting pitchers have at least 19 quality starts this season. Scott. Chris was first. Cade Cavalli. Cade Cavalli is incorrect.
Speaker 4How? Didn't he have like 26 starts with three or fewer runs? Oh, that's ridiculous. Cam Schlittler. Cam Schlittler is. Oh, I'm an idiot.
Speaker 1Correct. Scott, would you like to pass or play? Cam Schlittler has 20 quality starts, by the way.
Speaker 3Get that out. Is that the number one answer or no?
Speaker 1No. They're all. There are three that have 21.
Speaker 3Okay. I'm passing.
Speaker 1All right, Chris. We need seven other pitchers with at least 19 quality starts this season. But now I do want to look up the Cade Cavalli thing. Jacob Miziorowski. Jacob Miziorowski is incorrect. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That's got to be right. Is correct. He is tied for the number one answer. He has 21 quality starts. Jesus Lizardo. Jesus Lizardo is incorrect. That is your second strike.
Speaker 3Yeah, there's more coming.
Speaker 1Scott, get ready.
Speaker 3Oh, I got an answer, baby.
Speaker 1Uh-oh. So, Miziorowski has 18. He was off by one. Lizardo has 17.
Speaker 4The guesses that I'm coming up with all have injury or innings issues. I'll see, baby. But. Nolan McClain.
Speaker 1Nolan McClain to stay alive. Is incorrect. Is correct! Okay. 19 quality starts for Nolan McClain. I need five more? Just made the cut. You need one, two, three, four, five more.
Speaker 4Yeah, I do. Sounds like a thing that I would need. Um. Am I overthinking it?
Speaker 1Christopher Sanchez? Are you overthinking it? I don't know. Christopher Sanchez is correct. 21 quality starts.
Speaker 4I wasn't sure how many bad. It felt like he had more bad starts than that. Okay. Let's go with Parker Messick.
Speaker 1Parker Messick to stay alive for Chris. Is incorrect. Okay. Parker Messick, he is not in the top 30. He has 14 quality starts. Scott, we need one pitcher with 19 or more quality starts to stay alive.
Speaker 3Ooh. I got a couple answers that I think are pretty good. But that doesn't mean. That doesn't mean they're correct. Which makes more sense. I am going to. Michael Wacca. Michael Wacca.
Speaker 4For the steal. I'm going to be so mad if that's correct.
Speaker 1Is correct! Wow. Scott is alive! Michael Wacca has 20 quality starts this year. Okay. Chris Sale? Chris Sale has 19. Sandy Alcantara? Sandy? Tied for the number one answer. 21 quality starts this year. Okay, we need one more. Sonny Gray? Sonny Gray. That's the list. Okay. So, the names with 19 or more. Sandy, Christopher Sanchez, Yamamoto, Michael Wacca, Cam Schlittler, Chris Sale, Sonny Gray, and Noah McClain. Wanted to just give a shout out to Michael Wacca, who over the last five years, 138 starts, has a.343 ERA, and a.116 whip. I mean, he has been one of the most profitable pitchers over the past five years.
Speaker 4You are just devolving this year. You are printing dollar bills every time you draft Michael Wacca.
Speaker 1Over the last five years, Michael Wacca has a better ERA than Logan Gilbert, Hunter Brown, Jesus Lozardo, Carlos Rodon, and Freddy Peralta. A better whip than Christopher Sanchez, Fran Bervaldez, Dylan Cease, and Hunter Brown.
Speaker 3But this is only the second 180-inning season of his career, and I think just the third 160-inning season of his career. So, like, durability has been an issue, but not this year.
Speaker 4I'm going to be honest. I don't know if I've looked up quality start leaderboards all season.
Speaker 1It is kind of a wonky one there. All right, here we go. For the win, nine hitters are averaging at least 3.5 fantasy points per game. Scott. What's the minimum playing time here?
Speaker 4Wait, hold on.
Speaker 1You just have to be on the list on CBS. It's among their utility hitters, so I think it's only qualified hitters. Looking at the list now, it's only qualified hitters. But yes. What was your answer, Scott? Necro Armstrong. Necro Armstrong is the number one answer. 4.1 fantasy points per game. Pass or play? How many did you say? Nine. That's way too many.
Speaker 4I'm going to pass. All right, Chris. This is real Winston Bishop, like, trying to do pranks and being like, I'm going to hit you with a ski. Like, nine? I got to get nine? Just think of the best hitters, man. You got this. Yeah. No. Who are the best hitters in fantasy this year?
Speaker 3Is there, like, an at-bat minimum? That's what I'm wondering.
Speaker 1They are all qualified hitters. Qualified hitters. Okay.
Speaker 4They're all qualified hitters who have been good? The best. Hitters who have been good this year? In points leagues. The very best. Okay. If you say so. Junior Caminero. Junior Caminero is incorrect.
Speaker 1That is your first try.
Speaker 4Unbelievable. This is a. Kyle Schwarber. Kyle Schwarber. Why do I keep going with, like, bat? Is incorrect. Of course it is.
Speaker 1Kyle Schwarber, 3.2 fantasy points per game. Caminero, 3.4. Ugh. All right. Scott, get ready. Yeah, it's coming to you real quick, bud. I mean, Chris, just the eight best hitters in fantasy.
Speaker 4You would think. Well, no. Because Junior Caminero has been a top, like, points league. Points leagues. Who plays in those? No, not him. Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso. No, that's not right. Is incorrect. Of course it is. You're going to be so mad, Chris. I know. Chris, you're going to be so mad. This is maybe the worst shit anyone's ever had.
Speaker 3The fantasy feud. To end all fantasy feuds with your pet player of this year, Jordan Alvarez. Oh, my God.
Speaker 4Jordan Alvarez. Unbelievable.
Speaker 1Is correct. 3.8 fantasy points per game. I do remember about 10 minutes ago, Scott saying he doesn't really like fantasy feud anymore.
Speaker 4I love fantasy feud. I hate fantasy feud. Okay, no. You know what tripped me up? Is I won a couple of the buzz-ins and passed? No. The first name I thought of was, O'Neal Cruz because we said he was at like 3.5. five, six or something last week. And I just could not get that out of my brain. And then every other player I thought of was like, oh, Aaron Judge, James Wood, Juan Soto. And it's like, I just kept thinking about guys who got hurt.
Speaker 1All of those names would have been fine, Chris. James Wood is on the list. You said qualifiers. Yeah. Aaron Judge does not qualify. No, no, no. Judge is not on the list.
Speaker 4Well, that's one of the names I said. You said all the names.
Speaker 1No, James Wood and Soto. Oh, no, Cruz does not qualify.
Speaker 4I don't know what this leaderboard is. I wasn't sure if Soto qualified. I had him.
Speaker 1He does. I mean, so here are the top nine. It's PCA at 4.1. James Wood at 3.8. Jordan Alvarez at 3.8. Juan Soto at 3.6.
Speaker 4We're playing. That game's played under protest. Juan Soto does not qualify for the batting title. I did not think he did. Otani at 3.5.
Speaker 1Miguel Vargas at 3.5. Jackson Torrio at 3.5. CJ Abrams at 3.5. And L.A. De La Cruz at 3.5.
Speaker 4All right. Yeah. All right. If you if you say so, I'm just I'm just reading numbers off of a list. All right. I guess Juan Soto qualifies now. I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 1Take it up with that CBS website. I don't know. I never heard of those guys. Some hitting leftovers here. Pete Alonzo, by the way, did get to 40 home runs. Two for four with a double dong. Three RBI for him having a big second half. Not big enough, apparently, but 19 home runs. Nine forty eight OPS in the second half. Gunner Henderson finished a double short of the cycle. Has been better as of late. Last 20 games. He's hitting 293 for homers and OPS around 900. And Spencer Torkelson hit his 25th homer. He's having a huge September, but too little too late, unfortunately, for Spencer Torkelson. The call to the bullpen for the Orioles. Rico Garcia got the ninth inning with a one run lead. He struck out two. He picked up his 10th save and he has four of the past five saves for the Orioles. If you are playing a daily lineup league, and you're desperate for saves the rest of the way, Rico Garcia kind of looks like the guy for the Orioles right now. And then for the Giants, Trent Harris got the ninth inning with a three run lead. He picked up his second save and he's been pretty good in a small sample. I kind of think the Giants are just going to see what Trent Harris could do this final week. As they're closing.
Speaker 3Say the line, Frank.
Speaker 1Come on. The Giants do not have a closer and they never will ever again.
Speaker 4I can't believe I missed your on Alvarez.
Speaker 1But if you're in a deeper league and you need saves, Trent Harris is an option.
Speaker 3It's idiot. The pressure to come up with an answer without delaying the show.
Speaker 4Well, yeah, I was at the, I was at the Liberty game tonight and they do this thing where they do like musical, like pop trivia karaoke, where they give you like a word and you have to sing a word, a song that has that word in it in five seconds. And it's like, I listen to a lot of music. I know a lot of songs. There's a lot of important information. Family member names, birthdays that I don't have in my brain because I know all the lyrics to like flagpole sit up by Harvey danger. But like in that context, five, I got nothing. I can't come up with anything ever when I watch this segment. And it's the same thing here, except I usually win. So I can't even have that as my.
Speaker 8Yeah. I just blank.
Speaker 3I was quick on that buzzer this time. Yeah. Because the thing is when you're on the, when you're on the, when you're on the, when you're on the Nazi, when you're the one, like you're carrying the show. And you got to get eight out of 11 or eight out of 10. Like you don't have to get them. You just have to get enough that you saw stuff. But like you, you can't, you can't just be truly up in your own mind going through all the information up there because you have to be thinking about what am I saying to keep the show from not being dead air.
Speaker 4You know, that was rough. I apologize to the audience. I know we, you expect better of me. I expect better of me and we just got to come back tomorrow better. Maybe they don't expect better of you,
Speaker 3Chris. Oh yeah.
Speaker 4I don't think anybody does. I've spent a long time setting expectations low.
Speaker 1To stream or not to stream on Tuesday. We have Max Scherzer and Chris Bassett who are facing off against each other. Jackson Kent at the Tigers. Drew Anderson home against the Nationals. Andre Palante is at the Pirates. Dustin May is at the Phillies. J.R. Ritchie home against the Reds. Anthony K at the Royals. Daniel Lynch home against the White Sox. Jansen Junk at the Cubs. Sean Minaya at the Rangers. Yusei Kikuchi at the Athletics. Christian Javier at the Mariners. And Anthony Molina home against the Twins.
Speaker 3Let's see. We talked yesterday about Andre Palante. Javier. Well, Christian Javier is probably the best one. Yeah, at Seattle. And I think I might, I think I might prefer Anthony Molina to Palante too. No, it's risky, but they're all risky.
Speaker 1Aren't they? I think Javier is the one I,
Speaker 4I trust. I don't really trust the rest of them.
Speaker 1I would say Javier, Palante and Molina in that order. Oh, if you're feeling bold, if you're feeling brave, I think one or both of Scherzer against Bassett could, could have good starts, but it's very risky. On Wednesday, Matthew Libertora is at the Pirates. Andrew Abbott at the Braves. Eric Fetty at the Royals. Seth Lugo home against the White Sox. Ryan Gusto at the Cubs. Connor Prelip is at the Braves. The Giants. Ethan Pecco is at the Mariners. And Cody Bradford home against the Mets. Still lots of TBDs, even as of now for Wednesday. So it's, it's not great. It's all TBDs from year on. Yeah. Yeah. I think Prelip at the Giants.
Speaker 4Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's been some kind of like Ewing theory stuff going on with the Giants where like they only have two guys who are on their opening day roster, still on the active roster. Today. And yet they have made us look pretty dumb for picking them in streaming a couple of times, but I think you got to keep bashing your head against that wall.
Speaker 1Yeah. I don't think there's any other picture I can recommend on Wednesday. No, I not really. No. Like maybe Ethan Pecco could have a good start at the Mariners, but I wouldn't be me. Let's wrap up with team name Tuesday. This is from Christopher in Milwaukee. He is all about the Jacks. All about the Jacks. Jacksons. Yeah, sure. This is Benjamins are so 1997 and a Heim story.
Speaker 4Ms. Jackson. I feel like we're missing. This could have been better.
Speaker 1What do we, what, what do we have?
Speaker 4I'm story. Ms. Jackson. Woo. Yeah. I mean, if you're going to go for it, go for it, you know? Yeah.
Speaker 1I like it. I like it. These are from Steve. He says, I've had some good team names over the years. Lenny the poo for Lance Lynn, especially when he wasn't good. It was a good one, but I like this year's gem gems. Can't Homer Simpson.
Speaker 3Oh, that's pretty clever. Yeah. For champ for Chandler Simpson.
Speaker 1And also have the Ayatollahs.
Speaker 4I don't get that one. Me neither, but I'm sure I probably
Speaker 3shouldn't include it.
Speaker 1Then Frank. I mean, I will always pause a little bit so that you guys can read them in advance. Listen in your head. So I guess read the next two in your head. And let me know if there's anything I shouldn't say here. He's fine. Okay. This one's from Marco dryer sheets. Yep. And from Paul Montgomery ward holiday sale. I don't get it.
Speaker 4I like, it sounds like something like Lord holiday sale. Like that, that sounds like something. Yeah. Uh, yeah, it's like a catalog. It's like an online, like a, like a, yeah, yeah. Like, you know, you remember, like when you'd go on a plane in the nineties, they just have like the air mall. I think this seems like an air mall type situation.
Speaker 3Hmm. Yeah. But yeah, I, yeah, I get what it's going for, but like, you can't just attach to random names in front. Like it's got to be referring to something more specific.
Speaker 4Yeah. No Montgomery ward is a, is the, that is the thing. That's the brain thing. Yeah. Okay. I've never heard of that one. That's like the air mall.
Speaker 1Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's, and that person really wanted four, four names in there just to, to mess with.
Speaker 3Yeah. So, um, I mean, look, like you can buy a shredder. None of those names is a stretch. If that is the name of the catalog, Montgomery ward. No, it's pretty good. All right. Holiday holiday and sale means sale. Like there's not, there's no stretch there. A little foldable Bluetooth keyboard.
Speaker 1Very nice. And darn it. We did it again. Three game slate. Here we are an hour and 20 minutes. We are going to wrap there for Scott and Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to subscribe to our channel. Make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again tomorrow.
Speaker 8Bye. Paramount podcasts.
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