Speaker 1We have more prospects on the waiver wire to talk about up next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express. Welcome to MPT Express on Monday, September 14th. I am Frank Sample, joined by Chris Towers and two more prospects called up this weekend. The Dodgers promoted Josue DiPaola on Friday and on Sunday had himself a big old game. Two for two with a walk, a mammoth home run, 108.2 exit velocity, 416 feet. And Chris, what size leagues would you be looking to add Josue DiPaola? They have seven games this week, three lefties on the schedule. We don't know if he's going to play against lefties, probably not. But what do you think about Josue DiPaola?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, I don't know how unlikely it is that he plays against lefties. I mean, part of why they called him up is to get his feet wet and see what he can do. And so, you know, if they think he's major league ready for 2027, they got to get. Some data about this kid, because it's going to require moving on from Teosca Hernandez if they're going to make a spot for Josue DiPaola. So I do think there's a chance he just plays every day moving forward. And boy, I think he could be really, really special. He's obviously got plus power. He had a 416 foot homer off of Uri Perez on Sunday. He has drawn four walks in his first three games without a strikeout. He was showing off incredible play discipline, power and speed at double. He has the upside to matter in any kind of format. And it's just a question of how willing are you to take a chance on a totally unproven young player at this point in your season? I think it's harder to justify that in a points league. But any five outfielder league, I do think you should just be adding Josue DiPaola.
Speaker 143% rostered is DiPaola. So definitely could be out there in some five outfielder leagues. I did see some. Big bids, some of the final waiver wire fab runs this weekend. And I get it. He's going to get a chance to play. Otani is in the IL. Big prospect pedigree. And obviously a really good lineup there with the Dodgers as well. The Twins also called up an outfield prospect, Emmanuel Rodriguez. They did that on Saturday. He is 23 years old. Lots of talent. Lots of injuries as well. He is 12% rostered. Actually homered in his debut on Saturday. Chris, what are your thoughts here on Emmanuel Rodriguez? And would you rather add him or Josue DiPaola?
Speaker 2I think it's got to be DiPaola. He's younger, hasn't played at AAA, but just the caliber of prospect he is is just, I think, on a different level. But that does not mean you should overlook Emmanuel Rodriguez because, one, you have to keep in mind with any discussion of him that he's missed so much time with injuries that that's going to affect the development. It's hard to be at that stage of your career and miss that much time. And he has remained a very, very... He's played about 110 games at AAA. He's put up good numbers. He's got 420 on base percentage. It's like a 455 slug. The batting average, it's going to be low. He strikes out a decent amount. The comp I've made is like Max Muncy with more athleticism. The Dodgers version of Max Muncy. So, big power. He's going to get on base a ton. Probably going to have a low batting average. But, you know, you could be looking at a 25-20 type of guy. At full strength. Whether he can stay healthy, that's a long-term question mark. But for the next two weeks, less so. I think Emmanuel Rodriguez is very interesting. And if DePaulo's not available in your league, Rodriguez, you know, we've got like Spencer Jones, who's like 60% rostered, and there's a couple other guys in that range. I think Emmanuel Rodriguez can be right there with those guys. You know, probably below Spencer Jones, but I think he's probably a better prospect.
Speaker 1Another young outfielder who... Looks like he might be finishing strong. Max Clark. In 11 September games, he's hitting .378 with one homer, four steals, a .1068 OPS. The exit velocities have not been there so far. He's 62% rostered. So, really only out there in shallower leagues. But the Twins do have the top hitter matchups this week, according to Scott White. So, he likes those matchups for Max Clark. Can I interest you, Chris, in a shallow league setting in Max Clark with really good matchups this week?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, it's been... A mildly underwhelming Major League debut. He does not hit the ball particularly hard on the podcast. Scott mentioned one of his homers this weekend, 95 mph exit velocity. That has not hit particularly hard. So, yeah, this is not a superstar player right now. But the big thing for me is he's running more. You know, those four steals in 11 September games. He was not running much when he got called up. And that's going to have to be a big part of his game because I don't think power is. So, you're hoping he hits for a good batting average, gets on base, and steals bases. He's starting to do that. I think he's, you know, if you're talking upside, Rodriguez and DePaula are probably ahead of him. But I do think Max Clark is going to end up being a very good player. It's just probably more in like a Carson Bench type way.
Speaker 1All right, let's take a quick break and we'll be back right after this. Welcome back. FPT Express running through the waiver wire names from the weekend. And let's slide over to the pitchers. And in a shallower league, I'll go through a bunch of names. Just you tell me if you could actually see yourself using any of these. But Tyler Malley, great start. Seven innings, one run, seven strikeouts against the Phillies. He is 73% rostered. He is at the Astros this week. Yay or nay on Tyler Malley?
Speaker 2It's a pretty middle of the road matchup. He has, the strikeouts have not really been there lately. There were a couple of big strikeout starts early on during this run where he's got a 2-0-1. ERA over his past 11 starts. Strikeouts haven't really been there lately, but the results have been so good. He's on a good team. The Astros aren't a scary matchup. So I think Malley is worth using. He's not a 2-0-1 ERA guy, but obviously, look, he was just about that good last year. So we know he can do this for stretches. So I think I'm OK using him.
Speaker 1What about Emmitt Sheehan, who is back up with the Dodgers? Last two starts have looked pretty good. 11 and two thirds innings, one run, five strikeouts. So just 15 strikeouts to just two walks. He is home against the Giants this week. What do you think about Emmitt Sheehan?
Speaker 2Yeah, I guess the one question is with Roki Sasaki coming off the IL, does he stay in the rotation? I think he does. Sasaki's likely to be limited. I don't think they're just going to boot Sheehan from the rotation, but I guess there's some mild risk of that. But if they don't, and I don't think they will, he closes out the season, I believe, with two starts against the Giants, who just lost Rafael Devers. It's like Bryce Elder. And Jung-Hoo Lee and a bunch of Triple-A guys in the Giants lineup. So I think you can trust Emmitt Sheehan, which is a little scary, given how bad he's been this season. But we know the upside when he's locked in. He misses a ton of bats. He's got a great supporting cast behind him. I think it's worth rolling the dice on Emmitt Sheehan at this point. Yeah.
Speaker 1What about Michael McGreevey, who has back-to-back quality starts after a pretty rough stretch? He has one start this week against the Washington Nationals. Thoughts on McGreevey?
Speaker 2I mean, the thing that always helps him is just that defense is really good. And they've got Mason Wynn back off the I.L. And I think Weatherholt's still on. But it's a very good defense overall. And he needs that because he's a pitch-to-contact guy. You know, 383 ERA for the season, 419 FIP. He's not very good, but I think he's good enough with that defense behind him, given that he's got a matchup against a Nationals team that has slowed down offensively. They're still better than you might think overall since the All-Star break. But I think Scott, no, on the podcast, Frank, you said over the last 30 days, they're like 24th in WOBA. So they've slowed down quite a bit down the stretch. So I think McGreevey's OK. Definitely a high floor, low ceiling kind of play.
Speaker 1Over to Cal Quantrill. It feels like he can't keep getting away with this, but he does. Six innings, two runs, four strikeouts against the D-backs this weekend. He did pitch through some back tightness. That's why he left after just 70 pitches. He has a quality start in six straight, 58% rostered. He gets the Blue Jays at home this week. It's a good matchup, good environment to pitch in. But Chris, we worry about regression coming. We worry about this back injury now. What do you think about Cal Quantrill?
Speaker 2Yeah, I wouldn't be so worried about him missing the start based on what we know right now. But this is a situation where a guy is clearly playing over his head. He's got a 290 ERA. He's got the six straight quality starts. However you want to slice it up. He's been really good lately. The peripherals do not back it up. He's more like a 402 FIP. XERA is even worse. So I just, when you talk about him dealing with a minor injury, even if he pitches through it, even if it's not significant, anything to knock you out of equilibrium when you're rolling like this, and it's obviously not sustainable, that's going to make me really nervous. In addition to the fact that I just have no confidence in Cal Quantrill to begin with. Um, so look, it's a roll of the dice one way or the other. If you're going to start him, I would lean towards not doing it. I understand that I'm kind of on the extreme end of avoiding this type of hot hand play at pitcher. If you want to play the hot hand with him, I just think it's risky.
Speaker 1All right. I'm going to quickly wrap up here with some unfortunate news. Rafael Devers, man, out of nowhere placed on the 60 day IL with a core muscle. injury is expected to undergo surgery on Tuesday. Apparently, he's been playing through this injury for most of the season, which made sense early on, but he was maybe the hottest hitter over the past month of the season. He had 11 home runs in his last 18 games before going on the I.L., so unfortunately, we do need replacements this week, and a couple of first basemen that are on Scott's sleeper hitter list, we have Ty Franz, TJ Rumfield, Griffin Conine, Kobe Mayo, and if you're just looking for a corner infielder, there's Kyle Karros, who has seven games in Coors Field this week. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to our full-length podcast, Fantasy Baseball Today, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found. Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today Express, and we will be back again later this week. Bye-bye! ♪♪♪
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