Analyzing 4 POLARIZING PITCHERS, Waiver Wire ADDS & More! | Fantasy Baseball Advice

Intro [Music] hello and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Wednesday August 28th I am Frank SEL joined by Scott White and Chris Towers today on the show we are going to do a temperature check on four polarizing starting pitchers we've got some waiver wire options jiren Duran made history and I have a not so bold prediction for 2025 but let's jump in the impossible has happened all right Chris you are up player of the night I don't like using the impossible has happened drop because that implies that what I'm going to talk about was some kind of crazy outlier performance and in fact it was pretty typical for Logan Gilbert who went what was it seven innings Logan Gilbert six Innings four hits zero earned runs zero walks 10 strikeouts and of course did not get a win and that's the part I want to focus on because Logan Gilbert is really having the breakout season that everyone hoped he could have he's down to a 310 ER for the year a 90 whip 171 strikeouts just 18 short of last year's career high and he has seven wins now for prognostication sake we don't care so much about wins and we barely ever talk about them that might be the first time that any of us has referenced pitcher wins in the what 160 episodes of this podcast we've done this season but they really matter for Fantasy unfortunately and look it's only holding Logan Gilbert back so much he's the number seven pitcher in Roto leagues entering tonight's start but yeah Logan Gilbert has arguably been absent team context a top three top five starting pitcher in fantasy this season he has a 223 ER in no decisions this season uh it's like a 0.89 erra in his seven wins because that's what he has to do to get a win on this uh Mariners team right now and it's it's very frustrating because he should be enjoying a real breakout season and and instead it it's limiting him just a little bit now there have been a few blowup starts including the most recent one six earned runs in four and twoth thirs innings he also had one with seven earned runs in two and two-thirds Innings at the end of July but on the whole Logan gobert has just been absolutely fantastic and um it'd be nice if he could get to double digit wins before the end of the season although that's looking pretty unlikely yeah and some of those blowup starts for Logan Gilbert uh you know when you p in the zone as much as he does and we've seen this from George Kirby too I mean starts every Mariners pitcher really yeah starts like that just could be prone to happening to those guys I think a little bit more yeah it's a reflection of the Mariners and their lack of run support I heard a stat on the broadcast yesterday that when the Mariners score four runs in a game they have one of the best records in all of baseball that makes sense four runs is not a lot of runs and it just sounds like it doesn't really happen that often so uh yeah we do not site wins that often but it it feels like Logan Gilbert should have a lot more it's obviously been an awesome season for him uh Scott do you have anything on Logan Gilbert if not you can go to your player the night well I I I just want to note that his walk and strikeout rates are essentially unchanged from last year when he had an erra in the high 3es it was 373 and and this year it's in the low threes and so he's he's given up fewer home runs yeah the quality of contact on the whole has been much better yeah I just I don't know how durable that is oh sure yeah um so I'm just thinking you know because obviously nobody's doing anything different from what they've already been doing with Logan Gilbert this year so I'm just thinking in terms of next year how high should he rank uh and you know I generally don't think of pitchers with less than a strikeout per inning like Gilbert has as Surefire aces in fantasy I know Corbin Burns kind of falls into that category now too but it's fair to wonder if he is that right anymore they'll both be top 10 for me because I think there just aren't enough uh reliable Alternatives but I don't think they're going to be top five for me I I don't think so either yeah yeah I think we're in agreement across the board Scott your player of the night I'm G to go with sha Sean Manaea manah who did it again sha manah against the Diamondbacks of all teams in Arizona he struck out 11 in six and two3 innings did allow three eared runs but no walks 11 strikeouts in my mind it was a very good start for Shawn maniah and this makes five of six very good start for Shawn mani and when I say very good I mean that uh this six and 23s inning start was the shortest of those very good starts the rest were all seven Innings and four of the five of the six good starts had at least nine strikeouts this one obviously double digits with 11 so somehow sha manah has become a Workhorse and a a a overpowering bat misser and there is something I can point to in the Arsenal that coincides with this is basically ditch his cutter it just wasn't a very good pitch I don't know that the rest of his Arsenal is strong enough to continue with this and you know I I think of Shawn Mani as as being uh really pedestrian for fantasy and yet his roster rate is really high it's it's above the 80% threshold that I usually consider in terms of uh conversations about adding players so we can't even really talk about shmanai in that context and I'm not going to sit here and say I don't think he's pedestrian anymore but he certainly doesn't look pedestrian at the moment and at a time of year when we've all had trouble filling out our our the pitcher portions of our lineups I think Shawn manah right now is pretty much a lock he did it against the Diamondbacks he is one of nine pitchers with at least four double digit strikeout addings this season and it's actually a fascinating group of players Chris Sale and Tyler glass now have six each as does Garrett crochet uh you know it's been a while but that did happen Nick pavetta Blake Snell Michael King Kevin Gosman Dylan CE and now sham manah it's like those are all good pitchers and I think for the most part they've been guys that we've wanted to start all season I think Kevin Gosman funny enough is probably the the worst of that group maybe Nick Peta as well uh but it's it's interesting that those High strikeout games have come from such a let's say hit or miss group both in terms of the names on the list and just like Dylan C has had his ups and downs Michael King obviously had some really low points I just found that to be an interesting group of players I don't know analytically if it tells us much isn't that kind of a microcosm of the pitching environment this season Chris where it's been so inconsistent where early on pitching was great and then once we get into the summer months it's been a lot more inconsistent and we've gotten more blowup starts and you know throughout all of that as you mentioned Scott I mean Sean manah has been pretty good and he was one of the four pitchers I had for this temperature check segment a little bit later on and you highlighted that he's changed up the pitch mies he's kind of shortened it down he's only focusing on four pitches now it's a four seam a sinker a sweeper and a change up the sweeper is really good he has a 29% whiff rate on his four seam fastball that's a really really good number for a fastball so wait a second wait a second It's All Coming Back to Me Now like that beond song wasn't there talk of manah Drive Line this off season wasn't that a a talking point at one point this spring was it this offseason or last it feels like five years ago yeah yeah but it may it may have been just five months ago yeah and the last 14 starts like this is a a pretty big sample now manah has a 293 ER and a 099 whip over a strike out per inning so I know that we just kind of look at Shawn maniah as like whatever a middling Innings eater but over a strike up per inning during that stretch really good ratios good run support with the New York vets I I kind of think it's time that maybe we give Shawn manai a little bit more credit it was last off season 2022 to 2023 that he initially went to drive line he might have stopped by this offseason I don't know but uh that that's funny because he was pretty bad last season in all the typical Shaman ways where yeah there were flashes but all overall he was pretty useless this year he's made this the biggest change that he's made is swapping out his for seamer for his Sinker which used to be his go-to pitch early on and I that's usually not a switch that we want pitchers to make but the the sinker on the whole has been pretty good and maybe there's something there where it plays off the sweeper a little better I I don't know I'm just looking at this Frank saying the four seamers become a genuine swing and Miss pitch for Mania with a with a near 30% whiff rate uh which is new that's a new development and the batting average against on it is like 180 so maybe the Sinker has offered a different enough look that it's helped to elevate the fast ball and maybe he's locating it differently he's got it four seamer up in the zone two Sinker down in the zone I don't know somebody I'll have to see what Nick Pollock has said about him or somebody who really focuses on pitching more than more than we even we do and uh see if there's anything more uh durable there that that might suggest Shawn manai is rising to a level Beyond pedestrian I remain skeptical long term but like I said he's he's delivering right now all right my player of the night is going to be Jeffrey Springs who bounced back with a great start at the Mariners five shutout Jeffrey Springs Innings one hit two walks nine strikeouts 16 whiffs on 79 pitches and that change up was amazing once again 10 of his 16 whiffs came on that change up and uh through six starts he has a 367 ra the whip is a little bit High I did want to mention as great as the change up has been in terms of whiffs it had a four 25 batting average against and a 575 slug entering the start that was despite a 297 expected woba so I think much better days are coming at least in terms of quality of contact on his change up or at least that's what statcast says Jeffrey Springs has deserved so far he is 71% rostered I feel like we've talked about Springs a lot recently but he's still out there in some shallow leagues uh Chris how would you rank arti Bowen Francis and springs because those feel like the best pitchers that are under 75% rostered I would probably go arag Getti Francis and springs in that order but I do like them all quite a bit I think the thing with springs is just he hasn't gone more than five innings in any start yet right and this one was five relatively efficient Innings he pitched 3 79 pitches and still gets pulled after five with two walks hit allowed so I just I don't know like look it's it's not like arag Getti or bow and Francis are likely to rack up a ton of six or seven inning starts but Springs doesn't yeah Springs doesn't seem like he's going to be allowed to do that and that well as good as I think he is I I think it does put a ceiling on how valuable he can be I'm not ready to conclude that Springs isn't allowed to be it it's it's one thing we've made that assion or prediction with Clayton Kershaw who's at the end of his career and doesn't have any many miles left and wasn't allowed to do it much last year either I think Jeffrey Springs uh the more capable he looks the more they're going to start to work him deeper into games and he's looked very capable in three of his last four starts they've been just like this with well more than a strike out per inning and so I would actually put Springs second of that group I would go arag Getti one Springs 2 and B Francis 3 just cuz I don't have much faith that Francis is actually good I understand he needs to be picked up at this point but I just I I don't know that he's actually good when Springs I'm pretty confident is all right did want to give a shout out to jiren Duran who made history here on Jarren Duran Tuesday two for four with his 20th home run the first player in MLB history to record at least 10 triples 20 homers 30 Steals and 40 doubles in a season is jiren Duran and also just one of four players to go 2030 so far joining Ellie De La Cruz sh Otani and Jose Ramirez somebody tweeted at us that Chris said back in April that he would dye his hair blonde if jiren Duran went 2030 Chris is yeah I I I don't what episode was it but yes someone found the clip and it that's not quite accurate what I said was it was remember when he died he bleached his hair in the spring y I think you you suggested that I should um I should dye my beard and hair and that was going too far I it' kind of look weird if just the hair was blonde and the beard was black wouldn't it um I think it would look a lot weirder if I died my beard um don't don't like that at all um but yeah March 22nd episode if you want want to confirm right at the end apparently or right in the middle I don't know whatever I said if he gets 20 homers 40 Steals and 100 runs which seemed like an outrageous thing to suggest jiren Duran might do I said I would bleach my hair and I am nothing if not a man of my word so I guess I'm doubling down and uh I will bleach my hair and then shave my head if Duran gets eight more Steals and eight more runs will you at least take a picture yeah yeah there will be proof you have to at least do one podcast with the blonde hair come on I mean there there so someone in the chat said Tower's about to pull an AER and I distinctly remember on one of the draft aons maybe four or five years ago AER said he would shave his head or his eyebrow or something if nandoo raised a certain amount of money Nando did it and Adam chickened out I won't chicken out I will just look uh dumb for an amount of time I guess as somebody who said that they would eat their own hat if Fernando tatis returned after a minimum stay on the I and I did not do that uh I would give you you know so much respect if you actually dyed your hair blonde uh so we all have something in a roof for now jiren Duran seven more runs scored eight more steals let's get this done you mentioned uh Adam AER and and the draft Aon you can support our buddies at Fantasy Football Today their annual draft Aon is actually later today when you are listening Wednesday August 28th starting at 4 pm eastern time they'll be live all evening getting you ready for your fantasy football drafts while raising money for St Jude Children's Hospital they're currently auctioning off some cool experiences at tinyurl.com drafton 2024 you can scan the QR code if you're watching on YouTube all the money from the auction items will be donated to St Jude it's a great cause lots of fun make sure to go support those guys let's take our first break and when we return uh I do want to mention an oh my goodness gracious game that that Marlins Rockies game was wild we'll talk about that right after this Saturday is Big Time on CBS number two Ohio State welcomes akan into the Horseshoe then more college football in prime time with UCLA taking on Hawaii Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount plus welcome back in let's quickly just run through this Marlins at Rockies game Marlins at Rockies before we hit the news and notes the Marlins wound up winning 9 to8 in this one they scored five runs in the ninth inning to come back and win and I saw this nugget on the Rockies broadcast this was the Rocky's fourth loss this season when leading by four or more runs in the ninth inning or later that is the most by any team in a season in the modern era so yes they are making history the Rockies and who blew the game Scott one day after you give Tyler Kinley a little bit of credit what happens Char with four runs on a walk and three hits uh and ultimately helped lead to the demise in this one uh for the Marlins Jesus Sanchez had a big game uh he's only 177% rostered he's actually been pretty good since the start of July 258 batting average with 10 home runs and three Steals and Griffin conine son of Jeff conine in his first career start two for three with a walk a double two-run scored he's 27 years old he was having a solid season in the minor he's 1% roster I think he's probably an only name but uh Jesus Sanchez does he need to be more than 17% rostered I was surp he has like nine steals right yeah yeah he's run a little bit I was surprised by that when I went to the Marlins Mets game last week and I was surprised to see that on the scoreboard I hadn't realized um I he's been jzo Sanchez has been right around like 15% rostered for like two months and I think you could maybe make an argument that he's a little under rostered you know based on how he's hit the last couple of months it's been you know very good underlying stats as well he just doesn't play against lefties there's a lot of like I think there are better versions of Jesu Sanchez out there like I think car Carpenter Jo Peterson yeah like there are just other guys who do that with I think a little better skill set but he's not a terrible guy to have around is is Mr Marlin a hereditary title like can Griffin can Griffin be Mr Marlin like Jeff conine was or is that is it like an like is there like a Mr Marlin's moot where they elect a new Mr Marlin well I I think you have to become a face of the Marlins to be Mr Marlin and I'm I'm not confident in Griffin canning or Griffin Canon Griffin conine doing that well I I also don't think it's a very high bar so if he sticks around for a couple coup years he might be able to become Mr Marlin I think there are like four players on the roster who played in last year playoff series oh gosh yeah that is so crazy to think about on the other side for the Rockies Ezekiel Tovar missed Monday's game while dealing with a sports hernia didn't really seem to matter on Tuesday three for four with a double dong for RBI uh and Tovar has had a really solid season 274 batting average 21 homers four Steals and a 768 Ops let's get into the news and notes finally some good news for Kyle Tucker News: Kyle Tucker update who began sprinting and is close to running the bases and apparently once he does that he should be ready for a rehab assignment so I we haven't heard any dates involved here but you know if that happens soon I don't know middle of September we get him back for the LA the final couple weeks of the Season uh I think that's probably best case scenario right now for Kyle Tucker Fernando tatis will face live pitching soon he's been out since late June with a stress reaction in his right thigh and uh yeah this is another injury that's just lingered for a really long time and I haven't heard anything about a rehab assignment but maybe a similar kind of case like middle of September best case scenario yeah I mean that's that's kind of what we're looking for for most players on the iil at this point because the middle of September is two weeks away and so unless they're out on a rehab assignment already and even then if they're a pitcher still they they might need that long to rehab so you know I mean the Minor League season also ends in like 10 days right I think some of them end sooner I think yeah like that there might not be rehab assignments to go on but I know ttis is going to the team's um spring complex so he might be just kind of doing a a mini rehab assignment there I believe and I would imagine they probably want him to get a couple of weeks back with the big league team see some you know real pitching and so he's ready to go for the playoffs and um yeah we'll uh we we'll see what happens there with Fernando tatis Rafael Dez was out of the lineup Tuesday due to soreness in both of his shoulders and apparently this is something he's been battling the entire summer Robbie Ray was placed in the I with a left hamstring strain he's eligible to return on September 10th is Robbie Ray worth holding on to uh yeah I mean if you have the roster spot why not I think the upsides been been clear there so sure it looks like the triaa season goes through the third week of September so it's I I thought I remembered it was ending later now but yeah it's it's going to be around from it's gonna end one week shy the Major League season ending Nick Lolo was also placed in the I with a left middlefinger Sprain and same question is Nick ldo worth holding on to probably not uh David Bell mentioned it there's a good chance it's going to be a season in injury just given the timeline loo expressed hope that it uh it wouldn't be but it's going to be real tight and it's not like he was reliable before then we were talking about dropping Lo Doo I will point out though that in the article on the team's official website talking about this IL stint for Lo Doo um the writer pointed out this this sprained middle finger on his left hand was impacting the grip on his curveball and that those grip issues with the curveball actually began with Lolo's previous injury a blister on his left index finger and so that kind of explains it all right because he just had his his since very early in the season Lolo's curveball hasn't looked right and he was able to navigate well enough at first but that pitch is just too critical to his success and he eventually fell apart so that's something to think about when you're making out your rankings next year uh when you're identifying sleeper targets for next year I I think I'm still going to be pretty high on loo Christian Yelich is expected to need three months of recovery time following a micro disectomy that is a uh that's a fun one to say which is a spine surgery which removes part of or all of a bulging or herniated disc o sounds a that sounds like a tough one Joe Ryan will not return in the regular season he's on the iil with a grade two Terrace major strain uh bo bashet fielded grounders on Tuesday he's been out since late July with a right CF strain all three of catel Marte Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno hit in the batting cage on Tuesday Grayson Rodriguez threw from approximately 90 feet on Tuesday he's been out on the on he's been on the ilil would be nice if I could speak since uh August 7th with a right lat strain Brenton Doyle has missed two straight with leg soreness U darish through a simulated game on Sunday which included three up and downs Mike schil said the next step will either be another simulated game or perhaps a rehab start the Rangers are officially recalling Jack ligher to start Wednesday against the White Soxs and he is 28% rostered a name for deeper leagues we spoke about him on uh Monday's podcast it wouldn't surprise anybody if he had a good outing here against the White Soxs yeah I'm I'm kind of excited the stuff has looked really good he averaged 99 with his fast ball the past couple of starts it's been really up or down uh throughout his career but I don't hate the idea you know we usually do to stream or not to stream later in the show right at the end I don't hate the idea of streaming Jack lighter against the white socks if nothing else it'll get you lots of strikeouts I think that'll that'll happen there anything else it's a Yello move for sure yeah you literally only live once yeah Matt M you only die once too for what worth you know whenever people say that Scott that's the same reaction I have like yeah YOLO but also yeah I know like YOLO right exactly be careful with your life because you only have one no once once it happens it's it happens you got nothing to worry about anymore don't throw your life away Chris yeah don't throw those ratios away either Matt mlan is still undergoing tests to determine the cause of the pain in his side he suffered a stress reaction in his left rib cage earlier in the month Michael Lorenzen was removed from his start after a hamstring injury Cedric Mullins was back in the lineup after missing two games with quad tightness Jordan Hicks was placed in the is with right shoulder inflammation and here is a news item for next year Jeff passon reported that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki may not be posted after the 2024 season he's 22 years old he throws 100 miles per hour and is regarded as one of the most talented pitchers in all of baseball so the sooner he can get to MLB the better for us because we get another pitcher for Fantasy but might not happen it doesn't make sense for him like it might happen but it just the the way the international money is set up now as there was a story uh on CBS Sports by Dane Perry where he talked about just like all the hurdles there there's a the his team wouldn't get as much money as they could if they waited another year or two and Sasaki would be capped at like I think it's like maybe two and a half million dollars for his signing bonus so it you know look sh Otani only got like a couple million dollars in his signing bonus so it's possible but I think even then the rules were different and the posting fee was bigger so I think there's just a lot of incentives for Sasaki to stay in Japan and he's also had a less dominant season this time around and has dealt with some injuries as well all right let's get Analyzing three starting pitchers into our temperature check on four starting pitchers we already spoke about Shawn manah who was going to be part of this group gck Cole had trouble with the long ball here at the Nationals five innings three runs seven strikeouts two homers allowed uh 11 whiffs on 91 pitches and both his four seam fastball and curve allowed some loud contact in this one his four previous starts were actually all really good uh so I think it's okay for him to have and it wasn't even like a terrible start but I think it's all right for him to take a little bit of a step back here uh where we at on G Cole right now because coming back from the injury we've had some UPS some Downs some some more injury scares what do you guys think on GLE you said that the previous four starts have all been pretty good but I think his most recent one before this was only two strikeouts if I'm remembering correctly two strikeouts in five walks but one hit that one wasn't great and and I think that the issue has been pretty consistent throughout which is he just doesn't have the slider back um only two whiffs on 19 pitches in this one did a good job of generating weak contact but that was the problem for the for seamer and curveball as Frank said 10 batted balls across those two pitches 99.5 mile per hour average exit velocity on them so it's just I think where I am on Garrick Cole is similar to where I'm at on Kevin Gosman where if you didn't know their names I think think they would be relatively uncontroversial lowend starting pitchers for Fantasy I I think they're decent I think Cole is probably better than Gosman but it's only because he's garri Cole that we're like ah why is this and it's just based on what we've seen from him so far this season there have been some Highs but there's just no consistency and that's basically where I'm looking at him right now is just a guy who's capable of good stuff starts a guy I'm probably starting more often than not but he's not Garrett Cole right now yeah I think that's fair for how to use garri Cole I was gonna say something similar I I do rank him a lot higher than gsman because my feeling on Gosman is he's just on the decline he's he's he's reached an AE an age where there's there's there's there's not going to be any clawing his way back to what he once was when Garett Cole I think it could happen just from one start to the next oh the slider fixed here we go uh so there is that that hope but I think you have to treat that as uh as a as gravy as a nice surprise at this point not expect it to happen and and play the matchups with garole like you would any other fifth or sixth starting pitcher on your team yeah that was my next question is he a must start but it sounds like both of you are in agreement there uh he is not a must start and more of a matchups play at this point that is gar Cole let's skip over and get to Justin Verlander who was not as good in his second start back from the I he was at the Phillies five innings four runs three strikeouts had 10 whiffs on 90 pitches I think it's pretty reasonable that his second start from the I he looks a little bit more Rusty here going up against a lineup that has been cold but they still have lots of really good names in there are we in a kind of similar mindset as garri Cole but just to a much lesser extent like Verlander is just he's more of a matchups play at this point right you could put it that way I think the matchup would have to be really favorable and I don't think it's beyond the pale to to to drop ver Lander if if that's your way of getting Spencer arag Getti on your roster or uh who some of the other guys we talked about Jeffrey Springs yeah like that's I I just I I think Justin Verlander for the rest of his career however long it lasts is just going to be pretty blah MH and there will be some solid starts good offense backing him up that's that's fine but he's not Justin Verlander anymore and frankly he was Justin Verlander longer than he had any right to because he's 41 years old yeah I think that's fair let's wrap up with Jack flarey who turned in a uh his first quality start since joining the Dodgers six Innings three runs five strikeouts up against the Orioles he did allow two homers in this one and in five starts with the Dodgers 349 ra 127 whip over a strike up rning but he's also allowed six home runs in those five starts I don't know if he's you know kind of pitching through the back injury you know he's this is a one-year deal so he probably wants to stay on the mound and prove that he's healthy and you know he's trying to get paid in the offseason again uh but Chris he hasn't looked as crisp as he did early on in the season where you at on Jack flarity yeah I think that kind of sums it all up you know I was going to actually when we were talking about gar Co flarity was kind of the name I was thinking of comparing him to I know flare has obviously had much higher ceiling this season at times but since he's come back from the back injury like you said it looks more like a good but not great pitcher and that's kind of where I'm at on him I think you'll be happy that Jack flaired is in your lineup more often than not but it feels the the the overall profile feels just a little more uh fragile than it did initially all right let's take our final break and when we return we'll get into some waiver wire options we'll do that right after this football action continues are you ready as the grid iron is taken over by the great white North catch the Canadian football league on CBS Sports Network welcome back in let's get into the waiver wire pitchers we already spoke about Jeffrey Springs who is is Waiver wire pitchers very clearly at the top of the list Gavin Williams was solid up against the Royals five innings two runs six strikeouts had 12 whiffs on 83 pitches uh but his previous four starts before this were all pretty bad an ER over seven during that span 64% roster looks like he might line up for two starts next week but I don't really see any way you could trust someone like Gavin Williams right now no at KC at LA Dodgers that is uh two tough matchups two tough play places to pitch um and I just don't think Gavin Williams is very good at this point so we're calling Kansas City a tough place to pitch now because just just like three weeks ago we were saying that's what was killing Vinnie pasquantino because he has to play half there's been a lot of there's been a lot of discussion about this very topic um Eric Hosmer chimed in on Twitter recently making fun of someone who said the quote was like confence state is a hitter's paradise which that was way overstating but yeah hyperbole the thing about Kaufman stadium is it's a really bad place for home runs and a really good place for offense overall at least that's what it's been over the past three seasons the rolling three-year averages it's like the third best park factor in baseball for runs yeah and like bottom 10 for home run so it just it seems to lower strikeouts it seems to the big Outfield helps singles doubles and triples it just hurts home runs um so both things can be true Scott both can be true okay plus Bobby Whit Jr is cheating at home yeah well that's where the discussion has come is that oh Bobby wit's a fake MVP candidate because oh he's it's it's dumb oh man I haven't even heard that controversy you guys are both too online Scott just stay off the internet man I I I don't know what is happening with Baseball fans this year but between this and the Aaron judge only homers on like pitches in the middle of the strike zone discourse everybody has been everybody has been so stupid out loud to sound so well it's it's it's like when people say like oh all Shaq used to do was dunk well can you stop him like even if it were true that Aaron judge only homers on middle middle pitches you're going to miss your spots and he's going to crush it sorry sorry it's it's Mitch Spence let's talk about Mitch Spence some names uh some waiver wire pitchers in deeper leagues Mitch Spence at the Reds five in the third Innings one run three strikeouts uh he's got a 454 ra 134 whip he does get lots of ground balls uh Jacob junis pitched well in his first red start he was up against Oakland four perfect Innings with three strikeouts eight whiffs on 43 pitches that is a near 19% swinging strike rate for Jacob junis and uh Patrick Corbin had a great start up against the Yankees he still has a 550 ER on the year uh he he did mix in more Cutters in this one and the velocity on that pitch was up almost three miles per hour so he did something different there's that do any of these games matter in deeper leagues I it depends how deep are we talking in Ln only like if it you could if you think I'm not even sure Patrick Corbin matters in NL only I I agree uh but maybe Spence and Al and maybe junis and NL and if if if they matter in your league I think it's going to be obvious to you that they matter in your league I do like that Spence gets a lot of ground balls and can work deep into games from time to time junis has in the past he's had stretches kind of like Albert Suarez where you don't totally trust to continue and yet he he finds a way to to do it and his ER and whip out of the bullpen mostly as a multi- ining guy are good this year low three zra low one whip he's been good as a bullpen arm like the last couple of Seasons But ultimately I don't think Jacob junis is Gonna Save Your season yeah all he does is Spam the slider it is a really good slider so again in those really deep leagues andl only maybe uh junis works his way into you know deeper mixed League conversation some waiver wire hitters and uh one name in shallower leagues who we spoke about yesterday Scott I didn't realize he was Waiver wire hitters actually available in some leagues Dan B Swanson he's 74% rostered he's homeed in back-to-back games and is actually having a pretty big August 276 batting average three homers big counting stats Seven Seals and 830 Ops the only way he needs to be more rostered is if you think he needs to be rostered in points leagues and I don't know if that's the case I don't know that it's the case either it depend like shortstop is the deepest infield position yeah and so I I I imagine he wouldn't represent an upgrade for most people in head-to-head points leagues but I don't think when we talked about this yesterday I don't think the fundamentals for Swanson have changed um and I think he could bounce back with a typical Swanson season next year or it could carry over into September and the final two months of this year will look like typical Swanson season so if if he is out there in a deeper league and i' I picked him up in a roto League I've picked him up in a 16 team head-to-head League I've seen him dropped in some deeper leagues then uh I think you should I think you should act on that one one thing I do want to point out is just the Cubs in general have been running uh a lot more in August now part of that is the there were eight steals yesterday or two days whatever it was um Pete Crow Armstrong is just going mad right now but they have 30 steals with four days or three days left in the month that's their second most for any month this season in only 23 games so that um remember that was a big problem for niik Herer early on they only had nine steals as a team in April Swanson by him himself has seven in August so that's been one big change for them and niik hor you mentioned the name we haven't talked about him much he's up to 25 Steals on the season so you know he's he doesn't really provide much else like it's a pretty good batting average and you know it's really just speed but you know if you were depending on him for for that yeah horer has kind of come through so he has eight steals in August had eight steals in June so maybe it's just P Armstrong niiko Herer and Danby Swanson running because I think they might have like 23 or 24 steals between them in August but yeah it is interesting like niiko Horner 255 batting average that's rough counting stats pretty rough but yeah steals are going to end up close-ish to where you hope they would be three outfielders in shallower leagues Dylan Cruz who we've talked a lot about recently he's still available in 35% of CBS leagues two for four with a double and his first career steel here on Tuesday uh Dalton varo has quietly been pretty good lately hit his 16th home run last 28 games he's betting 283 with five homers a steel and an Ops over 800 and Lawrence Butler looking to get back on track I didn't realize people just dropped him they gave up on Lawrence Butler so fast I I know he has kind of had a bit of a rough August but his July was so good and he's coming back around his last six games he's betting 348 he's got two homers he's got a steal I'm surprised people actually dropped Lawrence Butler uh Scott how would you rank these three Cruz varo and and Butler yeah I still have Butler as a top 50 if not top 45 outfielder uh so it's a close call between him and Cruz I'll go go ahead and and give Cruz a slight Edge over Butler varo I'm I he's a distant third just because we've seen so much of him and I think the limits to his ceiling are pretty clear but Butler makes hits the ball incredibly hard and even though he had cooled off in August he kept those strikeouts under control so his 22 games prior to this one he still had a 20% strikeout rate he only hit 200 but two home runs four steals so he's got the power and speed there Lawrence Butler I think I I'm I'm still uh open to the idea that he's legit even though you know obviously he couldn't sustain his his July surge so yeah yeah Devil's Advocate on that one he had 10 home runs and 27 RBI in July uh with a 1210 Ops he has five home runs and 17 RBI in the other four months so far this season and his Ops in July is basically double his high for every other month of the Season he's 24 years old P splashed I don't disagree with the overall but like I certainly understand why people dropped Lawrence Butler he's had one good month in his career but I'm saying they shouldn't I would much rather have him than Don varo I I want to say this about Dylan Cruz because his first hit was just a double throttled off gar Cole uh very nice to see he gets to second base and he does this arms over the head hip swivel thing I love that that's that's like the thing everyone does is that a fortnite thing I don't know is isn't that a Dodgers thing well yeah I they call it the Freddy with the Dodgers and Freddy Freeman looks just amazingly awkward doing it so um but Dylan Cruz it was it was very smooth the way he did the hip swivel I I just like his his his second game in the majors his first time getting on with a hit and he has the self assurance to do that in front of 30,000 people I just find that remarkable because it's one thing when you're like Star doing your your uh you're competing as an athlete and and so you're not so conscious of all the eyes on you probably I would assume but when you're out there standing alone at second base and just swiveling your hips like H I don't know man that that that that makes me uncomfortable well you know what Dylan Cruz you keep you keep hitting like that you can swivel those hips as much as you want man uh obviously looking forward to what he could do over the final month of the season four names in deeper leagues Jose Tana who is someone we've talked about he actually hit a home run off of garri Cole and in 13 games with the Nationals he's batting 340 two homers one steel and 856 Ops really good minor league numbers as well uh it seems like about time the Blue Jays to just play will Wagner every day I don't know that they're going to do that but three for four with two doubles and his first career home run uh in this one ramol laurano has quietly been hitting very well for the Braves last 19 games 348 batting average five homers one steel and an Ops approaching a thousand and uh Grant McCrae who I hadn't really looked into he has been hitting for the Giants he started 11 straight and so far he's batting 308 three homers two steals a 972 Ops and uh some interesting numbers in the minor he had 52 steals in the miners last year as well lots of interesting names here and they're all under 10% rostered uh Chris anything you'd like to add or anyone that really stands out to you Tana well Wagner laurano and Grant McCrae I we've talked about Tana a few times and I I think he's a legitim interesting Talent um really good AAA numbers especially I think it's 23 homers 15 Steals and 120 games with like an 870 Ops um underlying numbers are all pretty solid so far this season so I think 4% rostered for a guy who's multi-position eligible that's way too low everyone else I I can't say I have too much interest in and the problem with like will Wagner needs to play every day is like David Schneider Ernie Clement Addison Barger Spencer they the Blue Jays have like six versions of the same exact guy in my mind like I'm not sure that they're all the exact same guy I can't say that I've ever seen them all in the same place at the same time however and I just I don't know if he's he stands out enough from the other similar guys that they're not just going to keep mixing and matching I think he might I think Spencer wh witz and will Wagner of those players are the two that should play the most and Horwitz is playing like every day between second and first and Guerrero they've had Vladimir Guerrero moving between first and third and so that that allows Wagner to play second B base more consistently if they want him to and I think if he keeps hitting like this he'll earn that notably even though he's a left-handed hitter the times he sat he's sat it hasn't had much of anything to do with the handedness of the opposing pitcher so they seem comfortable using will Wagner against lefties they're just uh mixing in some of those other options I would say all four of these guys should be rostered in more than 10% of leagues I I I think Ramon laurano we know we know he's been a fantasy relevant player in the past and the Braves seem to have settled on their a outfield when everybody's healthy which hasn't been very often Michael Harris uh flanked by Jorge Solair and Ramone laurano he seems to be at the top of the pecking order or third in the pecking order I guess um and so he's been really good since joining the Braves and he hits the ball hard strikes out too much but that's that's what you'd expect from this profile Grant McCrae big Power speed guy throughout his minor league career has struck out like 40% of the time so far in the majors and he can't sustain this if he continues to do that but he was striking out like 25% of the time at Triple A so I think there is hope that he can he can cut down on those I don't know that anybody is a priority at in standard fantasy leagues but I do think there's legitimate upside for all four of these players and I think some of those names could be out there in 15 team mixed Roto leagues so oh yeah usually in those formats you're just looking for anyone that has a pulse and you these guys are playing and I I I think they all offer some kind of interesting skill set again the names were uh Grant McCrae Ramon laurano will Wagner and Jose t let's get back into pitching and I did want to highlight Spencer schwellenbach Not so bold prediction who racked up a ton of strikeouts but he was inefficient at the twins I was watching this start he had a lot of foul balls in this one but four and two3 shutout Innings eight strikeouts 19 whiffs on6 pitches and uh he now has seven plus strikeouts in seven straight starts he mixes in a bunch of different pitches splitter looks awesome slider could get whips on his fast f as well my not so bold prediction for next year Spencer schwellenbach will be everybody's favorite breakout starting pitcher yeah yeah I I think this is one where like I'm not even sure there's going to be any chance at Value in in drafts next year for schwen Bach If he if he keeps this up through the end of the season which he's I think they're on 67 more Innings than he did last season so it's a legitimate question how he is going to close out the season but um MH I yeah he he's been so impressive like well first three walk start in his major league career like this is what counts for wildness and I think it was like you mentioned the the foul balls I think it was like 27 uh for for him he just didn't quite for a nine strikeout game didn't quite put hitters away yeah but we've talked about Schell and Bak a lot 70% strike rate coming into this start which is George Kirby like so control in addition to the bat missing ability um and and and this start was an exception as far as that goes but you know compared to 14 starts I think it's pretty well established schwabach as an elite strike thrower so you say you're not sure there's going to be any chance at Value there well it kind of depends how high you think the upside is right because I don't think he's going to be drafted as a top 12 starter and yet I think Spencer schw probably does have the upside of a top 12 starter I think he probably has the upside but I think he's going to get pushed I mean look we're we're trying to not just project like where will rank him but where everybody will rank him and then where where people will draft him so like it's really but like it just feels like this kind of profile people are going to get really really excited about him in drafts next year to the point where I have a hard time seeing myself being the one to draft him but possibly yeah yeah I I I think usually the like SP 20 to 30 range is where you see a lot of just the obvious breakout candidates get drafted it's not always the case because Terk scoel had a pretty small sample size and he was like a third or fourth round pick in drafts this year like do you think the the helium could get that high like a a top 50 pick for schollen moach where was I I would love to see where like Yuri Perez was uh before the injury because I I think he was probably in like the 75 to 100 range that sounds right yeah you know what where where him and Bobby Miller were being drafted like before everything happened with those guys I can see that's where schwellenbach will be drafted like 75 to 100 overall uh let me remind myself where Bobby Miller was being drafted among starting pitchers 22nd according to fantasy pros which sounds yeah I'm I'm thinking I I think I committed to when what did I commit to top 36 but it's probably going to end up closer to top 25 again that is Spencer schwellenbach let's talk about Jared Jones who was not Jared Jones’ return great in his return uh up against the Cubs four Innings five runs allowed three walks to four strikeouts he allowed two homers in this one and his slider had nothing zero whiffs 16% csw and he's mostly a two-pitch pitcher you take one of those pitches away and I think this is what could happen for somebody like Jared Jones and I was thinking about him too for next year he's an interesting case because he got off to such a great start but he does give up a lot of fly balls a lot of barrels which obviously could lean to uh lead to some trouble with home runs but it's pretty obvious that the talent and the swing and Miss is there for Jared Jones uh how do you guys look at him or value him rest of season this year it was there the swing and Miss early on but as you mentioned it had been gone for a long time before he went on the iil I I think I'm probably gonna rank schwellenbach ahead of Jared Jones I'm not sure what Jared Jones has on schwellenbach at this point uh theoretical upside right like you the guy throws 99 so I I think we we tend to ascribe upside uh through velocity but no I agree with you like the the slider and for seamer combo was Elite early on and the whiff rates on both of those pitches have basically steadily declined since then and we don't look it it's obviously it's one start and he really hadn't started in the past two months otherwise so we'll see how he finishes the season but I think Jared Jones feels more like in the 30 plus range at starting pitcher where yeah there's a lot of upside but you know it's it's basically been one great month and a lot of mess since do you value someone like Jared Jones the rest of this season similar to a g Cole where it's just matchup based I don't think he's there yet I mean based on the way this first start went where the slider there was nothing he he could get there but this is the this is the risk in stashing and injured pitcher uh with so little time left in the season is even one as talented as Jared Jones you can't you can't be confident he's going to be worth starting for the little bit of time back and so you know you have IL spots you use the I spots but you shouldn't put much faith in like Grayson Rodriguez saving your season even though it sounds like he'll be back to make three or four starts or whatever it ends up being all right let's wrap up with some leftovers and we will take a look Leftovers, bullpens, streamers at some pitches too good and too bad uh Aron NOA had a great start up against the Astro seven shutout Innings with six strikeouts and Justin steel he was all right at the Pirates five innings two runs six strikeouts in that one any takeaways here on Justin steel and aronova I I think it's very funny that when you drafted arinola the one thing you probably said was well at least I'll get 200 strikeouts I don't know what the ratios are going to be especially the ra he's having his best ER season in at least two years whip is very good as it usually is and he's 40 seven strikeouts away from 200 he's having his worst strikeout rate since his rookie season I I don't really like I think aola kind of is what he is and what he is is a mid threes is erra with a little bit of fluctuation one way or the other but I just thought that was interesting that like you made a good pick it just hasn't necessarily gone the way you expected it to two big names who were not great in their starts Dylan CE up against the Cardinals for the third Innings four runs four walks four strikeouts could not throw strikes only threw 54% of his pitches for strikes which is pretty awful and Logan webs great run of starts hit a bit of a speed bump here at the Brewers five innings four runs two homers allowed uh previous five starts before this one a 0 96 erra and a 75 whip he just had nothing with the change up going on here uh Scott anything on Logan Webb and Dylan CE yeah it's concerning that that web who seemed to ReDiscover that change up in his previous five starts it played a lot better and during that time he had a096 ER so he was dominating and then he just lost it again in this start and where did it go and will it come back and I I don't know how to answer any of those questions I I guess you could if you if you want to see the glass half full here for not having his best pitch he didn't get throttled like it wasn't I think it was still a positive score for head-to-head points leagues uh but uh yeah it so I I guess Logan Webb is still a must start is what I'm trying to say but it's it is a little concerning the way this this happened uh given that for so much of this season he hasn't had that change up I I feel very similar about Dylan CE where I'm inclined to just say I don't care about it but it is now a couple of starts I think it's 12 walks over his last four starts which is His Highest of any four start stretch this season when things were going poorly for him early in the season he was not walking people and so as he I I was at least willing to just I don't care about it I only care when the controls gone now the controls starting to slip a little bit for Dylan CE and that that's when things get hairest for him so I'm a little worried there but not not to the point where I'm benching him so he did have and it's easy to forget in May and June he had an eight start stretch Dylan C with a with a 643 ra and the walks were up and it it looked like he might be unraveling then and then he bounced back and was dominant for like dominant for the next eight starts with the 194 ra so is he's probably fine and I'm still it's funny the way my starting pitcher rankings are right now where I can't F I can't settle on 10 pitchers who deserve to be top 10 pitchers and so I feel like CE is kind of in there by default George Kirby is kind of in there by default but I want somebody better to emerge because they they feel a little like a little less than top 10 pitchers given some of their inconsistencies we've had so many injuries this year Scott it's just it's kind of a battle of attrition I think at this point when uh when ranking starting pitchers rest of season some hitting leftover is Tristan casus has hit well since returning in 11 games he's betting 357 with two home runs say Suzuki picking things back backup last seven games batting 467 with three homers 10 runs and one steel O'Neal Cruz has been running a lot more lately in August he's betting 383 with nine stolen bases and a 989 Ops Jackson Trio uh continues his monster second half one for five with a sock and a shoe his 16th home run his 19th steel updated second half numbers 331 batting average seven homers nine seals and a 934 Ops anything here on Trio Cruz Suzuki and Tristan casus well Cruz has been running a lot more in August nine stolen bases for half his season total have come in this month and so that's encouraging uh because that should be a part of his game and we're counting on it being part of his game we're also counting on more power than he's given us so far and so overall it's been a pretty frustrating season for those who invested in O'Neal Cruz and I imagine he's going to go later in drafts next year than he's gone the past two years but um does seem to be doing a lot better to close out the season actually if you look at his numbers since the start of July so the last two months O'Neal Cruz has an Ops over 900 is batting over 300 uh so that's that's nice to see what is the strikeout rate I wonder if the leg has just gotten healthier over the course of this that's that's something that they talked about early on that it was it was going to be an issue for him as the season went on and uh maybe yeah maybe he's just feeling a little healthy I don't know how to square that with the we're moving him to center field bit of it although he was never a good Defender they were planning wasn't there a lot of talk about him playing center field when he first got called up yeah no it remember that was the plan right he was one of those prospects who I most evaluators didn't think he would stick it shortstop and so it was kind of surprising that he did for as long as he did but you know what we could use him more in the Outfield in fantasy so I'm not necessarily uh crying about that one it is still a 30% strikeout rate for the start since the start of July even though he's batted over 300 uh yeah all right again that was O'Neal Cruz some Bullpen updates for the Nationals Kyle finigan recorded the final four outs but did give up a run on three hits he picked up his 33rd save and uh lots of regression here for finan in the second half 730 ra and a 195 whip for the A's Mason Miller got the ninth inning with a three-run lead he gave up two runs on four hits but picked up his 22nd save for the Padres Robert Suarez was unavailable Tanner Scott pitched a clean ninth inning for his 20th save for the Braves Rell glacius entered with two outs in the eighth a runner on second a one-run lead he gave up a game tying single to Trevor lck but uh managed to pick up the win because on the other side uh for the twins Yan donon got the 10th inning with the game tied he gave up four runs on four hits know interestingly enough Don it feels like his season has been a lot worse 377 ra is obviously not ideal but entering this outing his FIP and expected ra were basically in line with where they were last year so I wonder if he's been a little bit unlucky yeah I mean the the the XC is actually slightly lower than it was last season despite like you said the strikeout rate and walk rate both being uh lower quality of contact against is still incredible and look we're talking about has he even thrown 50 Innings 43 Innings 44 Innings so weird things can happen I it certainly doesn't feel like Yan Don has been the same guy as last season and I think the twins have used him in a way that reflects that they you know don't necessarily view him as like quite as dominant as he was and on the pitch level like the curveball and splitter have both been slightly less uh good at generating whiffs although it's like a few percentage points one way or the other so all in all I still think like next year as long as Yan donon looks like he's going to open the season as the twins closer I think I'm probably gonna rank him as a top 12 uh relief pitcher all right I I I want to point out because you mentioned Trevor lck got a big hit in this game keep an eye on what he's doing mhm because he's had a good August the playing time isn't as consistent as we'd like it to be but remember this is a guy who's cut down on his strikeout rate uh significantly this year and has always hit the ball consistently hard the expected stats are well above the actual stats and um I think uh I think there's unta potential here for lck that he may be showing at the end of the season lck in August batting 318 with three home homers one steal and an 896 Ops uh Scott which Twins outfielder do you like more him or Matt walner I mean walner is more startable right now in fantasy but I think lck has a brighter future for the Marlins Calvin fosche struck out the side for his fourth save and for Tampa Bay Edwin USA was used in the sixth inning with the game tied he gave up an unearned run the Rays would later take the lead and it was Manuel Rodriguez who got the ninth and he closed it out for his second Save USA has now entered the sixth inning two appearances in a row Rodriguez has two saves I think that they can mix and match like it's Tampa Bay but I feel like I would bet on Rodriguez getting more saves the rest of the way that does seem to be the lean even though sata's numbers are better in addition to having the two saves I I think uh the outing the outing in between Rodriguez's outing prior to this one he he was brought in to preserve a tie in the ninth so and his last four outings have all come in the ninth so it it seems like Manuel Rodriguez who was the eighth inning guy for Fairbanks seems like he is he is getting preferential treatment here all right to stream or not to stream on Wednesday we have Andrew Heeney at the White Soxs arti at the Phillies Osvaldo beo is at the Reds David fesa gets the Braves Andre Palante gets the Padres Kyle Harrison at the Brewers and E Rod versus the Mets uh I think i' I think I'd lean arag Getti here even though Phillies are a tough matchup I I think he's that much better than the other options of course Heeney at the white socks is is definitely one to consider as well no it's it's lighter or is there a double header they today's game got suspended oh that's right that's right that's right yeah it didn't actually start so yeah I think it's just gonna be a double that's right we didn't mention gar crochet didn't even make it four Innings this time he threw four pitches the rain cut it off I know those outings keep getting shorter and shorter I I would throw Jack lighter out there ahead of anyone except Spencer arag Getti all right and on Thursday we have Bowden Francis at the Red Sox tough matchup Ryan Nelson gets the Mets also kind of a tough matchup uh Aaron svali and Hayden Birdsong are facing each other what do you guys think I think I think Ryan Nelson has the best chance of giving you a quality start and Aaron savale has the second best chance of giving you a quality start uh and so if that's what you're looking for those would be my top choices I don't know that they're going to be exciting quality starts and the downside may not be worth the upside particularly in seale's case but bird song just doesn't even seem to be a five ining pitcher anymore so I don't think he's really worth considering and uh there's B and Francis here did you mention him he's at Boston yeah it's at Boston that's that's the thing is the guys who I like talent-wise I don't like the matchups at all but I think Ryan Nelson's the best of this group I'm gonna go bow Francis number one because it's not like Ryan Nelson's match up against the Mets is an easy one I think that's fair 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 fivar rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again tomorrow bye-bye