BUY OR SELL? Justin Verlander's Return & Waiver Wire MOVES! | Fantasy Baseball Advice

Intro [Music] hello and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Thursday August 22nd I am Frank stanfold joined by Scott White and Chris Towers today on the show Justin berlander is back I've got some buy or sell scenarios the Reds had four socks and shoes as a team I I don't remember ever seeing that I'm sure it's honestly doesn't sound like enough for a 25man roster right right they're running out there bare what is this I know it's a small Market but come on yeah yeah it's tough times Chris tough times clothe the players honestly do want to thank everyone for being here this is Far and Away our latest start of the Season some technical difficulties weird stuff going on behind the scenes but we are here we are ready to talk baseball let's jump in oh my good goodness gracious all right and we will start with Scott your player of the night Matt Waldren I wrote about Matt Matt Waldron Waldren uh for the the most recent weekend Stockwatch that came out this past Monday and I pretty much stuck a fork in him then because it had been real bad for a long while for our old buddy Matt Waldren he had over a span of nine starts a 588 ra and the odds are against a knuckle baller finding success anyway there's a reason there are hardly any out there and there's a reason that the ones that have come along during my 25 years playing Fantasy Baseball have generally not been very good for Fantasy it's it's it's a Mercurial pitch it's and it has to work or else the pitcher just has nothing um and I thought maybe Waldren could Buck the trend because he's a rare knuckle baller who actually can get his fast ball up to 90 mph so that gave me hope when he was succeeding earlier in the season but things have only gotten worse here because this start on uh on Wednesday for Matt walren was just an out andout disaster ten ear runs in four and a third Innings 12 hits that was against the twins yeah I I stick a fork in him he's he's not he's not of Interest anymore I think is all I really need to say yeah I'm doing a dropo meter for the newsletter on Thursday morning so Wednesday night and Waldron's on there he's a nine the one thing I will say is like I often say knuckle ballers are random number generators and if he went out and had a three er the rest of the way I wouldn't really be too surprised because I'm not sure there's like I'm not sure I feel comfortable saying aha Matt Waldren has been figured out or Matt Waldren has lost the feel for like I just think sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and it might he might just go out the next time out and it works really well but his knuckleball usage has been trending down and that's something that I I've talked about a lot where like 40% is has kind of been the sweet spot for him and he has not hit that in three of the past five star s looks like yeah looks like it's like he's been below 40% with his knuckle ball usage like pretty consistently lately so yeah it's um seems to have lost it and yeah I think he's pretty droppable yeah and look you could say this about any pitcher if they don't have their best pitch working it's most likely not going well for them I think that's even more true for a knuckle ball pitcher and uh Matt Waldron's knuckle ball was his third most used pitch in this start so didn't have a feel for it only 14% csw uh and if you look at the underlying pitch characteristics it's far and away his best pitch which makes sense so uh yeah still 70% rostered Matt Waldren 10 I'm going out there Chris make it a 10 for Matt Waldren uh and from one pitcher who could be dropped to another your player of the night yeah I'm I'm sorry I didn't realize we were all going to be so negative when I picked Jordan mon Montgomery but yeah Jordan Jordan Montgomery Montgomery it's uh there had been some flashes lately that's suggested that maybe he was starting to figure it out right like the the curveball which we've harped on was starting to look more like it had in the past when he'd been successful it was a tighter uh pitch that he was getting less break on which is in this case apparently a good thing because it looked like it had in previous years but then he goes out against the Marlins gives up six earn runs 10 hits over five and two-thirds Innings two home runs and the thing is this doesn't mean Jordan Montgomery won't have good starts moving forward probably has six starts left maybe five I think that's possible how could you possibly have any hope or any faith in starting him if he gets rocked by the Marlins like this it just it's it's an untenable situation and you know he was 40% started this week 60 % rostered I I think that made sense with the match up against the Marlins Scott I know you had him as a sleeper pitcher not to call you out personally unfortunately I have to recommend 10 bad pitchers every week I think we're done here I feel promise I can't promise he'll never be on my sleeper pitchers list again I feel more confident in Matt Waldren than Jordan monk Yeah well yeah I'm I'm pretty much over both of them yeah yeah yeah and Jordan Montgomery is 60% rostered on CBS and this has happened a few times this season where we get a little bit of a stretch where things start to look like they're turning around and we're starting to buy in and then it's boom we get hit with another terrible start and especially against the Marlins though I will point out the Marlins have been pesky recently so yeah I think you could still stream your pictures against them but maybe not with as much confidence as before look if you can't get Christian pase out like I can't trust you to get like real Major League hitters out I 100% agree but man Xavier Edwards Jake burger no they they have things they're doing some things they have some life um but yeah I think those two were done with and I'll just spoil the the newsletter for tomorrow gar crochet we're also I mean we were done with him after the last start he's still 87% rostered it's just they I'm very excited to draft I'm very excited to dra G KET next year that's that's what I will say they actually Grady seore their interim manager actually said yeah we're gonna cut back on his workload so they've it's been obvious now for a couple months but now they've made it explicit and they said they're going to reduce it little by little from here from him being out four Innings 57 pitches today I think it was 55 the previous start he's been good the past two starts and they've pulled him so yeah that we're all three of those pitchers can probably be 20% rostered and that 20% should probably just be the the 20% of leagues that are just The Walking Dead at this point in the season you know like the the teams that just have given up I think that's probably where we're at and G crochet is still 87% Rost on CBS way too high I think the problem is and this is such a weird thing to say there there's more pitchers to drop right now than there are ones to add which sounds weird but think about all the names we brought up recently gar crochet just today three pitchers some Dodgers guys Walker buer Bobby Miller those guys can go Nick pavetta we spoke about yesterday like he's another one that can go but there's not the most added pitcher right now in in is that that camp okay sorry I had the free agent tab like the most added pitchers are s Anthony Dominguez Michael copc okay relievers among starters Martin Perez yeah zebie Matthews looked pretty looked pretty lame so far Bowden Francis maybe Bowen Francis asto listening audience would tell me David Peterson oal beo Frankie Monty yeah it's pretty Francis is PR appetizing from that looking at it from that perspective I could see how you might keep crochet around in like a daily lineup League where you just want to slot ratios to your lineup as often as possible cuz his ratio should still be strong we that even that's been shaky lately but he had nine strikeouts what two turns ago um but for conventional fantasy leagues you're setting it once a week and you really need to have at least a chance at a win from your starting pitcher I think we're done with crochet in completely done in points leagues all right my oh my goodness gracious from Wednesday is going to be the Reds lineup they put up The Reds Lineup 11 runs on 11 hits including four pairs of socks and shoes against it's we got it from Ellie de Cruz Jonathan India Noel V Marte Spencer steer each with a home run and a steal in this game Ellie De La Cruz now up to 22 homers and 60 Steals on the season it is August 22nd where do you think this number winds up end of season do we get 75 80 Ellie I'm gonna say he gets to I'm GNA say 80 I think it's good because remember Ronald auno like really started running a lot more down the stretch last year once he had some like big milestones and I'm going to I'm going to say Ellie gets to 80 that's that's my hot take here love it I'll say 75 but that's not a very take T lukewarm water we did get an email today asking which players have the most uh or does Ellie have the most socks and shoes he is tied for second I wanted to see if you guys could guess who he's tied with and who I haven't I haven't seen an inside any of these players closets so I who has more so one player he's tied with with six and one player has eight I'll say Bobby wit not Bobby Whit he is not in the top seven wow he's not running as much this year yeah he's only got three I think there are seven players with at least four fantasy Feud Scott man I don't I don't know uh uh come on there's one guy who's got a ton of both and it's not Bobby wit so it must be ton of sh Otani sh Otani has eight socks and shoes this season would you like to know who four Ellie De La Cruz yes who is he tied with Francisco Lindor that makes sense too never would have guessed him yeah all right well gunar Henderson has five by the way also good for gunar and Luis Garcia has five fun facts yeah those are indeed fun facts uh back to the Reds lineup Jonathan India by the way uh last seven games picking things back up 370 with three home runs and one steel Spencer steer continues his strong season up to 19 home runs and 21 steals just want to take a closer look at noeli Marte he's a name we haven't talked about recently and for good reason like he's not really on the fantasy radar right now he's been really bad but why has he been so bad we haven't talked about that um he's been sitting a little bit more recently rightfully so again he hasn't been good 197 batting average of 553 Ops the strikeout rate is way up the quality of contact has taken a huge step back I don't know if it's directly tied to like peeds I mean it could just be all right a young player looked good last year came back this year and struggled do you guys have any other hypotheses on Noel V Marte I think most people would think the PED suspension and the fact that he is presumed no longer on PS I think history suggests that people tend to overstate what players lose after they get suspended for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball I so I don't know how much I want to tie that into it I think it's probably the suspension though you know he didn't play for for 81 games he was I think you have to be away from the team entirely when you're suspended so like I think that stuff just takes a toll he didn't get a normal season he's a young player 22 so yeah I that's my guess but yeah certainly my optimism for Noah V Marte in the long run has taken a hit you know given how he looked overmatched at Triple A let alone the majors this season so I'm I'm certainly concerned about him moving forward I don't know that I am I I acquired him in a dynasty League a couple weeks ago uh 24 teams so deep and and I'm out of it I'm not looking for nov Marte to make an impact on my team this year but he's 22 and he's been a big Prospect since he was 17 and uh he has speed he has power the strikeout rate is out of character and you wouldn't think that would have any impact from any connection to Peds I think he's just not squaring up the ball very well right now and as the old Prospect cliche goes progress is not linear so just because he was really good last year and really bad this year you know there's going to be some UPS some downs and we've seen a lot of that from from Young talented prospects over the past couple years uh I I have a feeling you'll be able to get Noel V Marte for entering next season uh if you so please want to give a shout out to the Yankees I mean the two Yankees that show Juan Soto & Aaron Judge up every day it's another day some more homers for Juan stto and Aaron judge uh stto hit his 36th that is now a new career high for him and Aaron judge two for three with a double dong three RBI he is now batting his triple slash 334 465 722 with 47 home runs 117 RBI on August 22nd that's a that's a hell of a season and I I think I saw he's on Pace for 60 homers right so if he just stays on Pace he'll become the third player ever with uh to with with multiple 60 Homer seasons and yeah the first without peed ties challenging for the AL home run record that we all definitely cared about yeah his his own yeah um yeah like I I think I saw stto and Jorge are the first teammates to have a 185 Ops plus since Ruth and garri jeez like that those are the only two teammates that have ever done it before I think they did it five times that that's you can make an argument that this is the best offensive pairing in a season in MLB history yeah I I think I I saw some some article on baseball perspectives making that argument and by the metric they were using it wasn't particularly close I was I immediately thought okay well what about Ronald dunia and Matt Olson last year but uh they were quite a bit behind yeah MH uh Jeff passon by the way put out a tweet regarding Aaron judge just comparing his uh this season versus his 20122 through 127 games then he had 49 home runs this year 47 so he's really not far off from that pace I know that he went off over the final month so not sure he'll be able to exceed that can he get to 60 it is a possibility nonetheless it's an amazing season again from Aaron judge let's take our uh first break oh just one to two to remind everyone a little programming note I will not be on tomorrow's podcast but Scott and Chris will be here to hold it down so yeah make sure you are here on a cooko Friday to hang out with the guys let's take our first break when we return some news and notes right after this college football is back SMU at Nevada on CVS Sports Network welcome back in news and notes Luis heel was placed in the iil with lower with a lower back strain and Aaron News: Luis Gil to the IL Boon said the injury is considered minor the Yankees are hopeful heel can return When first eligible on September 5th will Warren has been recalled to take heel spot in the rotation for now I say for now because Clark Schmidt will start a rehab assignment on Friday and is 57% rostered there are multiple layers here uh Scott I'll start with you do you think Luis heel returns as a starter when he's eligible to return and are you interested in stashing Clark Schmid I think that this injury makes for a nice opportunity for the Yankees to slow down heels Innings accumulation and so they're obviously playoff bound and they're going to need to fill out a playoff rotation and I I imagine they still want heel to be a part of that so uh we don't know how long he's going to miss OB obviously and we don't know how urgently the Yankees are going to need him back but I think they're thinking okay we give him a couple weeks rest and this will allow us to to keep him in the starting rotation deeper into October potentially so that that's what I suspect is going to happen I don't know how useful he's going to be for Fantasy rest of season but that's what I guessing the Yankees are thinking if there were pitchers worth adding I think you might have a tough conversation to have about Lis heel yeah given that we don't necessarily love anyone who's widely available right now you probably don't have a tough decision to make but uh he's in that dropo meter segment for tomorrow's newsletter I gave him a five just because like if you're in a points league three weeks from now doesn't really exist like you got to get there and if you're if you really need the roster spot I and you don't have an I spot to put Luis heel in I think you can consider it I would say that Jacob deg Grom is more stashable than Luis heel if he's there proba gonna come back around the same time yeah I also think if you're in an nfbc league with no I spots you could probably go ahead and drop Lis heel as well uh Clark Schmidt the other part of that question earlier in the season he was having a career year 252 ra 114 whip it was much better than we've ever seen him before so I'm not sure sure that's going to carry over again but he's 57 % rostered any interest in stashing clarkman want to see how he looks on the rehab assignment but I think he's stashable yeah we just read off the list of of pitchers being added off the waiver wire right now I would say Clark Schmidt based on what he was doing earlier just to refresh everybody's memory a 252 er 99.9k per9 a 12.5% swinging strike rate no guarantee he comes back throwing like that again but that's that's I'm I'm I'm interested in that sure I'll also say like will Warren in deep leagues is worth a he's had a really bad season at Triple A still gets a ton of strikeouts was good in his spot start last week it's it's a name in deeper leagues that start did come against a minor league team though the Chicago White Sox I mean look the I I think the day before that start who was it Nester Cortez got bombed who was it no it was Luis heel actually okay there you go he's better than Lis heel there you go you heard it here first yesterday Chris gave us Lucan Baker who G who hit a home run on Wednesday they they called me a Madman today he says will Warren better than Luis he you heard between between luuk and Baker homering and his first major league game of the season and Richard love lady getting a save last week I'm gonna play the lottery let's go this weekend get it done get it done Chris apparently Tyler glass now has yet to begin playing catch Dave Roberts said uh that glass now likely won't be activated when first eligible on August August 31st Jazz Chisum took batting practice on the field Wednesday his first time swinging a bat since being diagnosed with a sprained left elbow Alex bregman returns to the Astros lineup as the DH he went one for four with his 20th home run Nolan Gorman was optioned to Triple A he was batting just 203 with a 38% strikeout rate and a 671 Ops we'll always have that awesome stretch in like May June where he hit a bunch of home runs uh but since June 5th noan Gorman had a 40% strikeout rate 511 Ops so the Cardinal have some problems like they I don't know they they've still had a few successes with like Nar and Alec burles those guys like that but like a lot of their most high profile prospects in the last years completely yeah your mic is doing that thing again Chris where you s like son if you want to maybe uh unplug and yeah I'll dive down and uh but yeah I think to your broader point the the Cardinals have kind of struggled here not with all of their prospects like Mason win is having a totally fine season um but you know even you mentioned Nar and like Nar hasn't been that good either so I don't know we'll see uh we'll see what the future holds for the Cardinals Yoshi noou Yamamoto threw a simulated game on Wednesday his second Sim game since landing on the iil max sherzer will make a rehab start at doua on Friday and is on track to return early next week Jared Jones dominated his late latest Rehab start striking out 10 over five scoreless innings at Triple A on Tuesday Victor vodnik was placed in the I with a right bicep inflammation it was anhel chivi who picked up the save on Tuesday though they can also look to turn back to Tyler Kinley as well P Solair has been running the bases and remains on track to return this weekend he actually did appear as a pinch hitter on Wednesday Camilo Deval is expected to be recalled during the Giants upcoming road trip my guess and I don't I didn't read this anywhere is that he will not pitch in high leverage situations I think they just needed an e extra arm out of the bullpen do you guys feel differently they said it was going to be a short-term stay from the beginning I can't promise he won't quickly find his way back into the closer role but I'm I'm not looking to drop Ryan Walker for him yeah I wouldn't drop Ryan Walker um I think Walker's pretty good so far in the role right he's been very good this season yeah uh but I think it could be a situation where a couple of good outings could get him back in there dbx manager Tory lavulo said Ryan Nelson is tentatively scheduled to start Friday against the Red Sox Anthony Rizzo is closing in on a rehab assignment he's been out since mid June with a fractured right forearm and one of the best of this generation Scott Joey Votto retiring is wearing the shirt right now Joey vad officially announced his retirement one of the best hitters in this generation one of the most fun players one of the most respected players uh it's an awesome career for Joey vad is he a Hall of Famer he retired with a 409 career on base percentage yes he's a Hall of Famer that's really good so it's crazy that it would even be a question but Chris he doesn't swing the bat I've got I've got a fun little tidbit for you so uh my very first day work at CBS was also Joey vado's very first day in the majors September 4th 2007 a Tuesday I remember because my the start was my my start at at CBS was delay today for Labor Day um so we've Joey vad and I we've had these kind of like careers that have run parallel and I'm the one still standing I'll just point that out oh I I thought this was turning into your retirement speech guy no no no I'm still here he is not when VTO goes Scott goes no that's not what I'm saying Joey vad so that that Following season after he made that September debut 2008 my first year covering baseball uh for CBS I I did have Joey vad as a sleeper unfortunately I liked Nick Johnson even more oh man so i' johon I've regretted that in the 17 years since but Joey vad was you know one of my early favorites I I loved him from from the very start of his career and I loved him for his numbers but you know as he was in the league for a while his personality came out more and more and he we all came to learn he's just like a delightful person too kind of a weirdo yeah I love him yeah one of my all-time favorite players everybody loves Joey vad this isn't the last we're going to see him I'm sure he could get any job in media he wants and I think you know if if any voter out there is on the fence about putting him in the Hall of Fame I I think just how beloved he is is going to be enough to to put them over maybe that's not the way it should be but I I think that is the way it is and so I think it's very likely he does get in even on the first ballot yeah Joe Mau getting in on the first ballot has me convinced that Joey vad will as well not obviously not the same player but similar cases don't have like huge counting stats but just historically great hitters yeah 100% clean sweep across the board I think Joey vad is a Hall of Famer as well it would be pretty awesome if we get him in their first ballot as well let's get into some waiver wire hitters and man Waiver wire hitters like we continue to talk about these outfielders they're still available in less than 80% of leagues so if you play in a 10 Team league a 12 team points League I know you know in Leagues with three outfielders you might have to L 20% of leags yes um you might have to drop someone who's like of bigger name value but if you want to get one of the hottest hitters in the game Jake McCarthy masataka Yoshida and Carrie Carpenters has been doing it for a shorter stint since returning from the iil but all three of these guys look pretty awesome right now uh just to remind everyone Scott how would you rank McCarthy Yoshida and carry Carpenter over the final five weeks of the Season well uh Yoshida is the one who I trust to play the most and he has the best skill set for points leagues so I I think in either format I would say Yoshida but twice over in points leagues agreed and then the other two I'm gonna go Carpenter and I'm gonna assume he said Jake McCarthy there and I agree this doesn't really work because it's off scott isn't in the right part of the screen wa but Robo Scott is back yeah and Scott's picture is just Frozen right now so it looks like he's just annoyingly rolling his eyes while talking oh I'm annoyed all right what a what a delightful disaster this podcast has been so far it's been so great uh all right Scott if I don't know if you want to put a bow on your uh yeah McCarthy was third uh Carpenter I I will point out he had gone one for 14 in this four games prior to this one so it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbow since he came off the iil and he does still sit against leanders so I don't want to overhype Carpenter I think I think all three of these guys are in the like 40 to 50 range of my rankings so not not somebody not not players that you really need to care about in three outfielder Leakes except maybe Yoshida while he's so hot I updated the ranks here on Wednesday and I move these guys yeah right to that range that you just mentioned I I think I actually had Jake McCarthy the highest so uh maybe I'm alone in that endeavor but uh yeah I have McCarthy at 40 Yoshida at 45 and Carrie Carpenter at 56 so maybe I need to move uh those guys up a little bit more but let's see I I moved like Lane Thomas behind them I think that's a move you can make yeah you guys good with that uh I moved Lane Thomas down I don't think I moved him down that much though the playing time has taken a step back Rec right I understand why you have I think the struggles in the playing time are connected and so if Lane Thomas were to heat up which I suspect he will at some point the playing time would go back but whatever I don't I don't have a great fondness for Lane Thomas that would cause me to complain about you doing that I moved white Langford behind McCarthy and Yoshida too I don't I don't know if you guys would make that swap uh I you probably should I haven't but no I haven't either yeah no I that's why I said it's one of those things like okay how do you view rankings are we how literal are we being these are rest of season rankings you know because I think I would rather bet on Langford if I'm betting on one guy for the rest of season but I don't want Langford in my lineup as much as I want Yoshida right now yeah I've kind of changed my rankings philosophy just because you know we only have about a month left in the season so I've kind of more of a a slant on who do I want to start right now like who do I want in my lineup and so I've been a little bit more aggressive with players that have just been flat out bad or losing playing time I was a little bit more aggressive in in moving those guys down uh the rankings here some middle infielders Mason win has actually hit for more power here in the second half uh 258 batting average but six home runs 18 runs scored a 760 Ops he is hitting the ball harder and barreling it up more 69% rostered is Mason win and Brendan Rogers if you are looking for a middle infielder a middle infield streamer for next week seven home games in Colorado and uh having a big August is Brenda Rogers Chris who do you like more Mason win or Rogers I think Mason win is the better player in the better hitter but we have five weeks left and one of them for Brennan Rogers is all seven games at corfield so I'm okay with that it wi has been disappointing since moving into the leadoff spot mostly because he only has three steals in 68 games as a leadoff hitter and I thought he was GNA start running a lot more he's 88 perc on Sprint speed I think he's a really solid hitter I've made the Tim Anderson comparison uh several times and I I think it's apt not quite as good as Peak Tim Anderson but a really solid hitter it's just that profile looks a lot better if it's 25 steals instead of 15 yeah I I think he's certainly fast enough Mason win I'm a little surprised he hasn't run more myself some names in five outfielder leagues John Kenzie Noel is uh picking up more playing time recently he started seven of the past eight games he had another home run here on Wednesday the plate discipline Scott I have no idea how to explain John Kenzie Noel I mean a 50% Chase rate is ridiculously high like among qualified hitters he would be number one with a 50% Chase rate his Zone contact is 92.6% that's better than Jose Ramirez so like he is just a confounding player in terms of plate discipline that's John Kenzie Noel uh Parker Meadows has hit well since returning from the I he went three for five with two doubles and two RBI and Matt walner continues to hit for power since being recalled on July 7th 304 batting average seven home runs in Ops nearing 1100 during that time five outfiter League Scot how rank uh Jean Kenzie Noel Parker Meadows and Matt walner I don't buy any of these guys oh really I think all three of them should be more rostered than they are I I think they're all kind of interesting too you said John keny Noel has a 96% Zone contact rate 92.6 because that's not unless I was looking at the wrong player which is I'm seeing 87.6% um that is stat cast data oh I'm looking at uh fangraphs uh stat info solution sport okay so you're it's different Source okay it makes a big difference the source apparently 88 versus 96% 88's good yeah uh yeah I you gotta love big Christmas but it's uh he's just that that's not that's not a disciplined enough hitter I think and the fact that the strike out rate and the chase rate are both so high uh quality of contact is high like he hits the ball hard and you can overcome it that way but I bet against it uh Noel's expected batting average is only 210 versus his actual 257 batting average so I I think in the long run he's going to be pretty fringey for five outfielder leagues but I don't have like a lot more confidence in walner or Meadows walner uh had gone one for 14 in his previous seven games so he's slowed down quite a bit as you'd expect I don't know I guess I guess I guess no Noel is who I'd take first but not with a lot of Gusto clearly I might go with Meadows actually he had obviously a horrible start to the season was really really good when he got sent back to Triple A had I think it was three really good games after getting called back up then got hurt yep um and has hit well since returning so I I I think Parker Parker Meadows is probably the best of this group Noel and walner have the one stronger skill both of them are power standouts and I I think like Noel has 29 homers between Triple A and the majors in like 102 games and walner we know has top end raw power so I feel more comfortable that those guys are going to give me power than that Meadows is going to give me anything but I think Meadows has the more well-rounded skill set Parker Meadows in 14 gam since returning from the I it's a 352 batting average one Homer five doubles two triples five Steals and a 949 Ops so I am pretty excited about Parker Meadows in five outfielder leagues as well do any of these names matter uh I guess in deeper leagues Heraldo Pomo has been doing some things two for five with his second home run uh hits for good batting average modest speed there Spencer Horowitz uh two for three with two walks a double and his eighth home run he has homered in back-to-back games four home runs in August so hitting for a little bit more power is Horwitz and Ernie Clement two for four with his ninth home run three RBI he is homered in back-to-back games he has three homers in his past six and he is playing every day for the Blue Jays Chris do any of these matter Ernie Clement Spencer Horwitz and haraldo Pomo I think the two blue jays got matter a lot more than Pomo um I think he's just empty batting average but if you need that I guess he's he's okay in deeper leagues but Horwitz and Clement are both moderately interesting I think Horwitz more so there's a little more pop he's a good on base guy um so in deep points leagues or OBP leagues I think Spencer Horwitz is a is a decent uh starting option um I I I like Horwitz more than any of the other hitters we've talked about in this segment so more than those three outfielders we just talked about Noel Meadows and walner I think uh I think hitz is actually good and he's playing every day he's he's started against six of the last seven left-handers or six of the seven left-handers that blue jays have faced in August so he's not a platoon player his Line Drive rate is very high his strikeout rate is low his walk rate is high and he's showing more over the fence power than a lot of people gave him credit for eligible at first and second base I think he's I think he's a really solid middle in field choice right now um at a time of year where we don't have as many of those because of injuries and I will say I think I'm more interested in about five of the hitters we've talked about than literally any of the pitchers we're about to talk about yeah and that goes back to what we said earlier is that there's just y not that many interesting waiver wire pitches right now let's take our final break and when we return we will talk about those names right after [Music] [Applause] [Music] this welcome back in let's take a look at some waiver wire pictures from Waiver wire pitchers Wednesday Michael Lorenzen has pitched well since joining the Royals seven shutout Innings with five strikeouts and four starts with Kansas City 199 ra and a 115 whip Andrew Heeney pitched well up against the Pirates five shutout Innings with eight strikeouts 22 whiffs on 90 pitches for him in this one Mitchell Parker was great up against the Rockies seven Innings one run with six strikeouts uh but in his previous start he gave up nine earn runs and uh his last 10 starts overall before this one a 638 E and A 154 whip for Mitchell Parker and Simeon Woods Richardson a solid start at the Padres five innings one run seven strikeouts 13 whiffs on1 pitches Scott you're up do are any of these pitchers interesting for Fantasy not particularly they should remain in terms of roster percentage they should remain in that streamable range because this these are the kinds of bad pictures I have to choose from every week when I write that article um but I don't think they're good I I we I had my flirtation with Andrew heene earlier this season when his uh slider velocity first spiked and it's remained up he had 22 swinging strikes in this game in addition to the eight strikeouts but in terms of keeping runs off the board things really haven't gotten better for him his two starts prior to this one a combined seven earn runs and nine innings the starts have all been on the shorter side so even though Andrew heini is showing some swing and swing of Miss ability there she just hasn't been that useful for fantasy and I I'm guessing that's not going to change at this point Michael Lorenzen we know his story his this was his first start with the Royals that was even six Innings much less seven so hard to get excited there Mitchell Parker the innings are escalating for him and we've seen the production drop off and uh I wasn't willing to recommend him against the Rockies because the previous start was such a disaster I guess I should have in retrospect but if the match Up's any worse than that I'd still be disinclined to recommend Parker I guess maybe the most advisable of these pitchers is Simeon Woods Richardson but that's not saying much yeah he's a pitcher where his slider looks like it's a pretty good pitch not even Elite and he doesn't really have much else going on so the results have been good but you know it's a 432 x FIP it's a 391 FIP it's again I I think he's another name that's in that streamable territory and you know we just got to play the matchups with a lot of pitchers like this two names in the deepest of leagues Domingo Herman yeah that's right that Domingo Hermon he is on the Pirates now and he turned in a quality start at the Rangers six shutout Innings with four strikeouts he had 11 whiffs on 75 pitches and Mitch Spence had an interesting start up against Tampa Bay seven Innings four runs but had 10 strikeouts 15 whiffs on 105 pitches uh Chris anything here in the deepest of leagues uh with Aman no not at all um maybe with Mitch Spence just like he threw the slider more and it's been a pretty good pitch for him so maybe that's a path moving forward in deeper leagues he's got the Reds in his next game I'll keep an eye on that one and you know M he might be a two star pitcher next week if he's pitching on Wednesday um so like as a spar yeah I could see him being useful I'm gonna go as far as to say Mitch Spence isn't any worse than that previous group because he gets ground balls at a high rate he throws strikes at a high rate the the whiffs are weird that he got 15 whiffs 10 strikeouts in this one out of character but he's does well on the other two legs of the FIP triangle and I think he's somebody to consider when the matchups are right all right let's do a little buy or sell and some of these will be kind of slanted towards BUY OR SELL 2025 as I mentioned yesterday as the season winds down we'll we'll start to get those gears turning a little bit for uh some next year value and drafts as well buy or sell Justin Verlander will be a Difference Maker down the stretch he pitched well in his return up against the Red Sox five innings two runs six strikeouts had 10 whiffs on 76 pitches and the velocity was actually up slightly here which I think is something we always want to pay attention to coming back from injury what do you guys think buy or sell Dustin Verlander A Difference Maker down the stretch sell specifically that wording I don't think he's a Difference Maker I was gonna say the same thing I I he's he needs to be rostered over any of the pitchers we've talked about as as waiver wire options but I don't think he's going to be the difference between you winning and losing I think he's just going to be a useful piece Verlander 28 % rostered and it looks like he is at the Phillies next week which is a little bit scary he's a flyball pitcher they've been pretty bad nice cold yeah so that one could go either way I think if you're in deeper leagues you probably could use Verlander but in a 12 team League you you probably have someone better than Verlander at least in that matchup next up each of jameswood Jackson chorio and Jackson Merill will be top 50 picks in 2025 buy or sell it's always hard when I don't have the names line like I have to go you don't know who the other 47 Nam roll a decks of names in my head real quick to to make sure they don't get pushed to 65 instead of 50 you know but just in the spirit of the question I'm I'm inclined to buy this I think they are trending toward being studs now it's funny we we were grouping the Jackson's all last week and then Jackson holiday went super ice cold over the last like eight or nine games and now it's a question for him whether he'll get in that range yeah I think a lot of it depends on how he finishes the season obviously but yeah I mean top 50 I think that would be a little bit tough for for Jackson holiday to get there but uh yeah I mean if he's um if he gets as hot as some of these guys have been like Jackson Merill second half 333 six homers three steals a 1024 Ops Cho second half 327 six homers seven steals 917 Ops and I did have a question on James Wood Could his lack of success on the base paths hinder his ability to run next year now the Nationals are first in steals this year they've been incredibly aggressive as long as Davey Martinez is their manager I think they're probably going to be aggressive again next year but he has seven caught stealing to six steals what do you guys think so that's one of those where it's like time to eat that that's one of those ones where like projecting steals is hard because it's not just ability it's willingness and in this case it's not necessarily James Wood's willingness because I think he will be willing it's now we're asking like does he have the ability yes does he have the willingness yes will his team allow him to I'm inclined to say yes I don't think the Nationals are going to be a division favorite next year so and and they've been Far and Away the most aggressive base running team this year so I tend to think James Wood like it's probably not 40 steel upside but 20 that I still think that's pretty reasonable I was going through the Rolodex of names s more as Chris answered that question I I think 75 top 75 is more realistic than top 50 once you start working in other positions other than Outfield so I I'll I'll sell it in the strictest sense but I like where your head's at top 20 outfielders yeah top 20 outfielders sure my thought was I don't think Jackson Merill will get there I think Jackson Merill is probably more of a top 75 guy I think Trio and James Wood are done I'd be inclined to take Merill over wood if the season ended today I I think Frank's hunch is correct but I don't know if there's Merit to it no merit to Merill I I think well I think there's lots of Merit oh he's awesome there's no doubt about it I just look at his expected stats will will talk themselves into the other guys more because of the hype because of you know maybe better physical tools but like the pr agree was better for both of those guys although Merill was a top 12 Prospect pretty much across the board like maybe no I I you're right there was so much more hype for those guys when they got called up in Jackson Jackson Merl was an afterthought for Fantasy in a lot of ways but I I think he's a more fully formed player right now and he's just as young as them I will commit right now uh oh unless their Paces change between now and the end of the season I will rank Jackson Merill higher than both Jackson Chio and James Wood I'm calling it now I think James Wood has a chance to play himself into top 30 uh I don't think I will rank him anywhere close to that but that's the one that I think people like if he hits eight more home runs the rest of the way and like starts hitting the ball in the air to the pull side I think people are really going to talk themselves into Jack James Wood as like a as a third round pick next year Chris I I think you and I had this conversation on a podcast that Scott wasn't on yeah but basically Scott we said we think we see James Wood kind of getting the Ellie de Cruz treatment next year like second or third round I mean I don't know why Ellie De La Cruz was on a ridiculous steals Pace last year where it was easy to say okay if he just keeps that going how is he not going to be a third round pick and and jameswood hasn't and we're talking about how he hasn't been a particularly good base dealer so I I I don't I could be wrong we can all be wrong because part of the the question is not hey Scot where do you rank these players it's where do you think other people will draft them and that's a different question every time I bring up rookie hitters being bad all I get is a thousand what about Jackson Merill so I I don't know how do you gauge something like that it it seems like people have come around to Jackson Marl Vibes that's right Chris uh let's move on and talk about Chan manah who's been pretty good for quite some time now up against the Orioles 7 Innings three runs nine strikeouts to zero walks he had 13 whiffs on 90 pitches and his last 13 starts now it's a 283 ra a 102 whip just over a strikeout per inning buy or sell the Mets have unlocked Shawn Mania no more than the A's unlocked sha Mania in 2019 when he had that really good stretch or the like I just feel like we go through this with Sham manah at various points throughout his career where he it's like oh he's doing some interesting things for like a 12 start stretch or whatever and then he ends up with an ER over four more often than not I I don't know I I don't really believe in it but I haven't believed it in all season and he's been really good so what do I know so when he ditches that cutter that seems to be the correlation between him getting nine or 10 strikeouts over seven Innings and him not so like I don't know hopefully he's woken up to that yeah and can be a little more reliable to close out the season he's 87% rostered shockingly so I don't even like I do I really think Shawn manah is like this stud the rest of the way no not even close I think I think you'll struggle to get him in your lineup most leagues rightfully most weeks rightfully but but I think he needs to be rostered it looks like he already is man the the schedule has been extremely favorable for sha manah lately too like today dude nine strikeouts against the Orioles that's incredible before that it was Marlins Mariners Cardinals twins Yankees was probably his worst start in this stretch Rockies on the road Pirates bad against lefties Nationals bad against lefties Yankees five walks three strikeouts he's been really good against some really really bad competition too all right again that was Shawn manah let's move over to Nolan Aron who is heating up three for five with a walk-off Grand Slam and in the second half batting 275 with six home runs 19 RBI and 822 Ops that is more of the Nolan arado we were expecting so buy or sell Nolan arado will pretty much be Nolan arado from this point forward I don't know what Nolan arado means anymore let's say he just you know what he means maintains this second half pace5 with an 820 Ops that seems reasonable enough um the home run today was a perfect Nolan Aron a home run it was like almost exactly down the line barely cleared the fence um yeah like I could see him hitting 275 with a a low 800s Ops the rest of the way I don't necessarily know I expect that but it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect it yeah I I couldn't phrase it any better than that so did I actually get a buy or sell from either of you uh I guess a teid by yeah sure all right let's wrap up this conversation with gck crochet who we already spoke about his workload and everything that's going on buy or sell crochet will be drafted as a top 12 starting pitcher in 202 boy this is another one we got we got to get out the mental Rolodex so strider's going to be back there is he gonna get drafted as the top 12 yeah yeah because he didn't have Tommy John remember oh that's right yeah I don't know you're skeptical Frank all right so let let's get scoble sail wheeler cease probably uh Burns Reagans re Burns Reagan Gilbert Kirby Kirby I'm gonna say Strider that brings us to 10 if we put Strider in there um uh could I get croche next do we say glass now oh glass now we'll go ahead of him yeah um gck H Cole I think Cole should go ahead of him yeah he's healthy yeah okay so cell yeah I think you get to like Pablo Lopez Aaron Nola Luis Castillo Zach Gallen that like former Ace tier that have disappointed this season I guess Nola hasn't disappointed um you throw in framber Valdez if he keeps the strikeouts up down the stretch I think they're all on that conversation so I will sell top 12 buy top 20 yeah oh yeah easly top 20 but I sell top 12 yep yeah he's probably going to be you know in that range again if you want to get those wheels turning somewhere in the 12 to 20 range for he's going to be very controversial yes there's going to be a lot of fights about gar crochet but it sounds like not on this podcast what's crazy is uh I you know we don't pay much attention to wins here because you know they're fluky I get that they're a category but you know they're not they're hard to predict uh G crochet has six wins this season and uh I don't think it's going to get much better next year for the white well he doing finishes with six until started have having him make four inning starts where he has no chance of getting a win he was doing okay win wise before that the white socks should be better next year just of averages worse Chris yeah I don't think anyone's ever lost 120 games two seasons in a row I I would guess even 110 games two seasons in a row is pretty rare so like they'll be more of a normal bad team next year probably although once you start thinking about like they're going to trade Luis Robert this offseason right like how how do they actually they might they might they should frankly trade Garrett crochet this off season and that would take that that concern away completely yep that cross our fingers that would certainly help uh his value for next year let's get into some Leftovers, bullpens, streamers leftovers and we will start with Max freed here who has had a weird season uh finally turned in a quality start since returning from the I up against the Phillies seven Innings two runs only four strikeouts only seven whiffs on 91 pitches weird pitch mix he leaned on his three iterations of a fast ball four seam Sinker and cutter he allowed a ton of hard contact yeah Scott what do you make of this man it's just it's a weird season for Max freed you know I have kept Max freed in my top 20 as bad as he looked in his first three starts uh back from the forearm injury mostly that was because of walks which were completely out of character mhm didn't have any problems with walks in this one he threw a ton of strikes walk just one it was 11 walks in 13 and two thirs innings in the previous three starts so got back on track control- wise but yeah a lot of hard contact didn't look normal necessarily I'm I'm inclined to keep him in the top 20 because he's he's he's Max freed and obviously has quite the track record there and also with the way he's expanded his Arsenal to like seven eight pitches he has this Mitch Keller quality to him where it's like if you're going to if you're going to mix up Your Arsenal that much it gets to be really hard to predict from one start to the next what's going to happen and so hopefully this is a step in the right direction you got to throw strikes to have any success obviously it wasn't a perfect start for freed but I'm I'm going to trust it was a step in the right direction all right let's get into some other pitching standouts Logan web continues his great run he was up against the white socks eight Innings two runs six strikeouts had 15 whiffs on 93 pitches Nesta Cortez back-to-back scoreless outings this time against the Guardians seven shutout Innings with four strikeouts 15 whiffs on 104 pitches Ryan pepio turned in a quality start at Oakland six Innings two runs five strikeouts 18 whiffs on 90 pitches maybe the best the change up has looked all season for Ryan pepio and Jack flarity fell just one out short of a quality start up against the Mariners five and two3 two runs five strikeouts four starts with the Dodgers it's a 322 ER and a 125 whip for Jack flarity Chris anything to add on H flarity pepio Cortez and Logan web yes so pepio the change up was supposed to be his best pitch you know when he was coming up as a prospect and it turns out that he's got this dominant for seam fastball as well and if the change up starts to become a legitimate plus plus pitch like it was expected to be the the whole profile looks a lot more interesting because I I was really struggling with him early on he was getting good results but it was like 35% whiff rate with his fast ball which wasn't sustainable and it's turned out to not be sustainable he's down to 32% for the season but with that change up looking better and the slider has played okay in terms of whiffs I I think Ryan pepio is pretty good um I'm not sure goe I'm not sure that the change up actually got better in this start I just think he made it less predictable like he usually his fastball and change up usage are 30 percentage points apart 51% fast balls 21% change UPS they were only eight percentage points apart so he threw the fast ball less threw the change up more and they both played up because of it that's what it looked like to me which is something that I think pepio could sustain potentially couple other uh hitting uh pitching standouts just wanted to mention Logan Gilbert who got beat up at the Dodgers four and two thirds eight runs six of those were earned he still had lots of whiffs some hard contact in this one anything worrisome with Logan Gilbert or is this d uh you face the Dodgers when their entire lineup is back together yeah I think it's the Dodgers happen like like his slider was he threw it like 44% of the time in this one and it was really the only thing working for him um 83.4 m per hour average exit velocity on the slider 95.6 on the other pitches so just I I think it's one of those games but he's really good so I'm not really concerned and welcome back to Johnny quo who turned in a quality start with the angels could be one of the last starts of his career the Royals uh fan base actually gave him a standing ovation when he was walking off the field so you love to see it for uh for Johnny quo Scott did you have anything you sounded like maybe it did well I just wanted to point out for Jack flarity three of his uh four starts with the Dodgers have been less than six Innings so he's pitched well but not long enough to get a quality start and I wonder if they're just going to handle him that way moving forward ask less of him than the Tigers did which would be unfortunate for his fantasy value I don't know that you can really treat him differently in fantasy because of it cuz what else are you going to do you're starting him yeah maybe in shallower leagues he becomes a little less startable you play the matchups a little more with flarity but that's that's all I can really say about it some hitting leftovers move over Ellie de Cruz Jake berer one for three with a sock and a shoe how about that the wheels on Jake Berger 25th home run his first steal yeah he's up to a 780 Ops 250 batting average 25 homers you know when kind of we're probably GNA get 30 runs and a 250 batting average from Jake Berger he's kind of like backing his way into the season we hoped he would have or thought I guess we hoped that the contact gains from last year were real turns out they weren't but yeah if he ends up hitting 30 plus homers we're probably going to feel pretty good about Jake Burger yeah I mean those of us who held on to him and didn't trade him for Greg kemell or uh if you're like me I traded Jake burger and Willer Abu to Todd Zola in tout Wars for Zack Gallen at the time I thought wow fantastic trade all the players traded went in opposite directions I would make that I would have made that trade a hundred times out of a 100 I I still might frankly I thought it was very funny I saw a tweet today before the game and it was like home run plus uh stolen base leaderboards since July 1st maybe and Jake burgher was like the only one in the top 20 who didn't have a steal he goes out and steals a base today I thought that was very funny there you go uh George Springer he homered yet again he listens to the podcast we spoke ill of him two days ago what happens three home runs and two games since uh and Luis Robert has had some big games recently two for three with two steals over his last six he's got 10 hits two homers and three stolen bases some Bullpen updates for the Orioles Sir Anthony Dominguez got the ninth inning in a tie game he gave up a walk-off homework to Jesse Winker that is the second walk-off Homer Dominguez has allowed this week I just don't really know where else the Orioles can go yeah I mean Kell wasn't good in this one either he gave a p solo home run too so he wasn't wild like we've seen from him recently I think I think what they want to happen is Kimber win his way back into the role but he hasn't he hasn't done it yet and especially now that Dominguez doesn't look like he's gonna get a strangle hold on the role you know uh I I just you know made fun of myself for trading Jake burger for Craig kemell but in Roto leagues where saves are scares i' I'd still be holding on to kemell I think yeah for the Red Sox Kenley Jansen was unavailable Chris Martin got the ninth inning with a three-run lead he picked up his first save for the Rangers Kirby Yates got the inning with the game tide he struck out two he earned the win because on the other side David Bednar got the bottom of the ninth game tied gave up a run on three hits took his sixth loss of the Season Derek Shelton recently came out and gave bnar a vote of confidence but AA Chapman has been lights out in the second half a 69 ER 46 whip 20 strikeouts to just two walks over 13 Innings well you can understand Derrick Shelton giving Bednar a vote of confidence because this bad outing interrupted his scoreless streak of two so yep yeah he's uh he gives up runs more often than he doesn't and I I think a change to Chapman is about two weeks overdue at least I don't know what Derk Shelton is thinking for the Phillies Carlos Estes got the ninth inning with a one-run lead he gave up a hit and a walk but picked up his 22nd save for the Dbacks Justin Martinez entered with one out in the eighth inning a one-run lead runner on uh second base he struck out Xavier Edwards and then got Jake Berger to ground out the Dbacks tacked on a few more runs Martinez came back out for the ninth inning he did give up a run uh but picked up his fifth save and that was back-to-back games that Martinez worked 46% rostered he pretty much looks like the guy in Arizona for the Brewers dein Williams was called upon to work backto back G uh backtack days again this is the second time this has happened in the past week even though they said this really wasn't going to happen uh and he didn't look right he gave up uh two runs on a a hit and three walks and a hit by pitch it was his first blown save I know that they want to get guys out there and competitive spirit and Devon Williams is one of the best in the game there's no doubt but do you think maybe they're pushing him too fast too soon well especially because McGill's back uh came back in the recent days pamps has been great like was horrible he gave up the Grand Slam toonado yeah right yeah yeah no no I I I recognize that but like it it's just it seems like yeah they they could probably avoid the backto backs like that for Williams and and maybe this is a a sign that they should you know given his injury issue yep for the Royals Lucas ERS got the ninth inning with a three-run lead he struck out two for his six save and uh overall he's had a great season 287 ra 102 whip 34% rostered it it pretty much looks like uh EG is the top guy in Kansas City as well yeah whatever however much they may have been leaning toward Hunter Harvey before the injury I think he's been Wally pipped I I don't know if that's too grandos of a term to use even but I I think ersc is just the Royals closer now and I feel kind of bad because you guys express some enthusiasm when the Royals acquired him like he could be a closer candidate and I I batted it down you know what I have this Lucas EG in my mind is still a Brewer's Third Base Prospect like he should not be a major league pitcher much less a good one and like he it's not like he just throws fast balls he's got like a legit four pitch mix it's it's kind of fascinating you don't really see converted position players develop like a deep Arsenal like that especially a relever it's uh it's been a very impressive season from Lucas ersc and I'm just seeing now that Tampa Bay had another save opportunity two days in a row this time they went with Manuel Rodriguez who pitched a clean ninth inning he picked up his first save of the Season uh yes but useta Edwin useta had worked three of the past four days so I my initial lean when Once uh once Pete Fairbanks went on the ILS okay well Manuel Manuel Rodriguez has been the eighth inning guy since they traded Jason Adams so probably they'll default to him but I mean USA's numbers are so good so good 0.90 er5 s whip it's insane 10.8k per n so he he's the RO despite Rodriguez getting the save in this one useta is definitely the rais reliever I would prefer to roster to stream or not to stream on Thursday the clear most appealing option here is Jeffrey Springs at the Oakland A's Spencer arti he's had some big starts but he's at Baltimore more so I'm not so sure uh we get Oswaldo beo up up against Tampa Bay Gavin Williams at the Yankees blah what do you guys think U Springs beo I I could see C quantrol having a good start against the Nationals but I wouldn't want to use him uh so yeah I Springs is the only one I I can recommend actively yeah Springs is definitely number one number two for me and I'm not excited to do do it but he might be number two by default is is Spencer arag Getti at Baltimore and then on Friday there are some mildly interesting names here we have Albert Suarez who gets the Astros Ryan Nelson Has pitched well but it's in Boston so I don't know about that Brian beo gets the Dbacks uh we have ker Montero at the white socks I feel like you can use anybody against the white socks uh David Festa gets the Cardinals savali is at Oakland JP series gets the Brewers and Hayden Birdsong at Seattle pictures I don't really like at all with good matchups yeah so I will say Aaron savale has uh been throwing his sink or more since joining the Brewers and his ground ball rate is up it's not a very good ground ball rate but it's not the very very low ground ball rate it was with the Rays and so maybe he can navigate that A's lineup okay give you give you a quality start uh that would probably be my second choice to Kar Montero yeah uh KY Hendrick's at Miami I know bird song has been bad but in Seattle yeah there's definitely that's probably the highest upside option and so if you're in a roto league with daily lineups and you really need strikeouts bird song I I could absolutely see a nine strikeout game oh all right we are going to wrap there for Scott and Chris I am Frank thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today please make sure to follow and leave a f star rating on Apple and Spotify I will be back again next week these guys will be back again tomorrow byebye