6 PITCHER QUESTIONS! Carlos Rodon Bounce Back, Cole Ragans Velocity & More | Fantasy Baseball Advice

Intro [Music] hello and welcome in fantasy baseball today on Tuesday July 23rd I am Frank stanfold joined by Scott White today on the show we have six pitcher questions say bye-bye to the birdie bird song for now we'll talk about that waiver wire moves and much more but let's jump in oh my goodness unbelievable all right Scott player of the night somebody we talk about a lot every time he pitches he's the player of the night we spent about 10 minutes talking about him last time thought we had finally landed in a good place but no Carlos rodon comes back throws a gem Carlos Rodon right after I dropped him in my shallowest League by the way right after I did that Carlos rhon againsts the race strikes out 10 in seven Innings one run two hits allowed it was a dominant start and uh strangely it was dominant even though he threw his fast ball even more than usual 54% versus 50 it's it's high either way uh but it got six whiffs his slider got nine whiffs uh mostly focused on those two pitches after after having some success with cball and change up recently so I I guess you could point to that as a change for Carlos rodon I don't know that it's a change that really explains what happened here uh given that in his previous six starts he had a 967 ER none of those six starts being quality starts you know I I wouldn't say I'm I'm right back on board with Carlos rodon I I wish I hadn't dropped him in that League now but beyond that I I still think he's on very thin ice for fantasy and in those six starts where he did the n67 ra he allowed nine home runs so um you know part of it I think is he was facing a bad race offense uh only gave up one home run maybe the slider was working a little better than usual and it all added up to a good day I mean even even when Carlos even as Carlos rodon struggled he's had he's he's been able to to rack up whiffs so I I don't I don't think it's like outside of his skill set to have a a start like this it's just the bad starts have far outnumbered the good especially lately and uh you know he reminded us what the upside could be but I remain skeptical don't drop him yet though as you mentioned this was Carlos shon's First Quality start since June 10th you read the numbers in his six starts before this one and overall I think Tampa Bay is a good matchup but against lefties they are actually pretty good seventh in WBA against left-handed pitching entering this start uh but obviously it was a great one from Carlos sdon and he was part of a segment I had planned for later on six pitcher questions and the question for him is what did he do differently in this start to stand out and the only thing that really kind of Pops off the screen Scott is that he did throw his curveball more in this one he used it 16% of the time and entering the start it was 7% usage so he more than doubled it it didn't get any whiffs but it did have seven called strikes so I do wonder if maybe it just caught opposing hitters off balance a little bit they weren't expecting it he was able to steal strikes a little bit here or there it could just be that he executed his pitches better than he had been in previous starts location wise but does the curveball kind of factor in at all for you him using it more in this one well let me look at the game log here if it'll load for me um if we're not careful we're going to end up spending 10 minutes talking about Carlos rudon again uh because it's not loading for me so okay so yeah what I was curious about because he has been featuring his curveball more in general uh after at the start of the Season he wasn't throwing it much at all so yeah it was double the usage if you compare it to his season long curve ball R but it was pretty close to in line with what it's been recently and obviously we haven't seen that uptick in performance from rhon Recently so I I don't even know that I can take too much away from that gotcha yeah I'm looking at it too really since the start of June he's consistently been throwing it you know double digit percentage that curveball all right so great start from Carlos Ordon we talk about him all the time not really sure where you go from here if you still have him as Scott mentioned I think you hold on and uh let's see if he can build some good starts off of this one my player of the night and we don't do this often Scott but you know there wasn't too much going on here on a Monday Daniel Hudson I am gonna go with Daniel Hudson a reliever because he was thrown right back into the ninth inning on Monday with a one-run lead he walked one he struck out two he picked up his seventh save he now has three saves in four games here in the second half he has each of the Dodgers last four saves overall and we got a news update here on Monday from Dave Roberts who stopped short of calling Evan Phillips's closer he said Phillips could still pitch in safe situations but that he could also appear in leverage spots earlier in games they want to give him some opportunities right now to work through some of his recent struggles and while he's doing that Daniel Hudson might just run away with this thing because yeah overall numbers this year a 155 er a 79 whip over a strike out per inning Daniel Hudson 35% roster that is a number that I think needs to jump up quite a bit yeah I was uh lamenting just yesterday that some of those early weekly Fab runs Sunday I I hadn't I hadn't looked at the the latest Dodgers box score before I put in my bids there and so I missed out on Daniel Hudson who went for a reasonable amount I did get him in uh a a Rota League that ran later in the night and I feel pretty happy about that because he has closer caliber numbers now he has each of the Dodgers last four saves including three since the allstar break Evan Phillips is imploding I do worry about the pref uh presence of Alex vessia a little bit left-hander with who also has closer caliber numbers and he had three saves uh and pretty quick Suess secession leading into the All-Star Break um but you know it certainly looks like Daniel Hudson has the upper hand right now I I I I don't know that Dave Roberts likes having a set closer if if he had his DRS you he was stuck with Kenley Jansen in that role you could say blessed with Kenley Jansen in that role I guess but he he kind of was obligated to to run Kenley Jansen out there in the ninth consistently but ever since he left I mean last year Phillips did emerge as the top guy but there was there were intrusions from bruar graterol you may remember and I I just I don't know that Roberts is ever going to be that committal to anyone reliever unless it was a super stud but Daniel Hudson I I think you have to bet on him being the the leading guy right now would you drop any of these names for Daniel Hudson they are all 50% rostered or more on CBS Jason Foley yeah I'd rather have Hudson what about Hector nerys I guess I I guess I guess you got a report you got a report on Monday that the Dodgers are looking more towards the I mean the Cubs excuse me are looking more towards the future so it sounds like they're going to be sellers here at the deadline and I think Hector nerys is someone who makes some for them to move so I I don't think I don't think he's signed Beyond this year is he he might have an option year yeah uh but yeah it's like if if you were asking me who is more likely well I don't even know that that's true obviously Hector nerys gets traded all bets are off uh he is the Cubs closer and Daniel Hudson I'm not as confident as the Dodgers closer but Daniel Hudson I think is a lot better so if you're selling out for upside and probably the sort of League where you could even think about dropping NSR then I guess yes I would rather have Daniel Hudson at this point with Devon Williams so close to returning would would you drop somebody like Trevor Miguel to pick up Daniel Hudson I mean Miguel has been so good I know he had couple he's had a couple rough outings recently I just wonder you know what if Devon Williams suffers a setback it's you gave up a pretty good closer in Trevor Migel so H I guess if that was the only way to get Hudson i' do it but I I I don't love it and the last name Jose Alvarado who we know has struggled over the past month or so and Jeff Hoffman has looked great yeah I mean it's it's not like Alvarado ever had the job outright and so I think in a best case scenario he's where Hudson is and it's possible Hudson is getting a greater share now than Alvarado ever had all right want to give a shout out to Bobby wit Jr who is probably the hottest hitter in baseball right now he finished a single short of the cycle he got hit by a pitch in the eighth inning while he was going for that cycle which is pretty annoying for everybody involved I know there was some shouting involved between the Dbacks and and the Royals in that game but uh Bobby Whit three for four with his 18th home run three runs scored three RBI he has three hits in all four of his games so far in the second half so 12 hits total two homers seven runs six RBI awesome season and awesome start to the second half here for Bobby Whit Jr thanks to everyone for hanging out and watching live We Appreciate You for being here make sure to hit that like button and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already that's youtube.com/ fantasybaseball today and if you enjoy the audio podcast make sure to drop us a festar rating and review on both apple and Spotify let's take our first break when we return we'll hit the news and notes right after this football action continues as the grid iron is taken over by the great white North it's time to Fortress fight catch the Canadian football league on CBS Sports Network welcome back in let's talk news and notes Julio Rodriguez was out of the lineup on Monday with that right ankle News: J-Rod out Monday injury his manager Scott service said Julio is dayto day after undergoing an MRI I did not see any results on the MRI Scott did you see anything on Julio well I keep seeing he has no he has he doesn't have a major ankle injury they're saying that much so I don't know that I've seen specifically what the MRI showed but they keep saying it's a day-to-day injury this is from Ryan divish who covers the Mariners for the Seattle Times 11 minutes ago Julio Rodriguez has a mild ankle sprain and is day-to-day so that's your latest update mookie bets took light swings on Monday for the first time since suffering a fractured left hand Royce Lewis will begin a rehab assignment with triaa on Tuesday he's been sidelined for three weeks with a right aductor strain we got some angels news Mike Trout will begin his rehab on Tuesday and we'll play at least two games before returning Luis Rano could be ready at least two at least two yeah probably need more but probably that was the specific number that I saw in multiple reports they just at least two could be 20 yeah but at least two uh Luis rifo could be ready to return from the IL on Tuesday and turns out the Red Sox are interested in trading for Luis frano so we'll see if that actually happens Jared Jones threw off flat ground from about 90 to 120 feet on Monday he went on the iil on July 4th with a grade two right lat Train The Hope is he could return in August assuming no setbacks Michael Harris has yet to to progress to sprinting as he works his way back from a left hamstring strain Cody Bellinger is able to hit without much discomfort but is still having some trouble gripping a a baseball he's nearly two weeks removed from suffering a fractured left middle finger kodai senga is expected to get about five innings and 85 pitches in his season debut which is scheduled for Friday against the Braves Jacob deg Gro is did you want to add something on well I yeah I just um I'm I'm a little unsure how this is going to go for kodai Sena maybe I just feel like we've all got burned with the other um pitchers who were injured for the for the entire season and recently came back like Gavin Williams and Shane BOS and even Max Scherzer grick Cole even yeah for the first couple turns though he seems to have rided the ship I keep with with kodai senga I mean it was shoulder issues there was there were setbacks where he was having to work on his delivery uh his veloc has been down about a mile per hour across the board at Triple A and I I keep coming back to well do are we are we even that confident he's good to begin with because yeah he had a promising rookie season that had us all ranking him in the top 20 initially for the strikeout upside but within that rookie season there were control issues it was pretty scary at first the control and he he kind of leveled out but it was not a strength of his and so if he comes off the is here last week of July walking a batter per inning I just wonder how long we're going to stick with him so he needs to be rostered obviously and you hope for the best but I I think those other disappointments that I referred to you know just need to keep it in perspective it it is kind of a lottery ticket play like a like when you add a a top prospect call up you know you hope for the best but you expect you know you just got to think of it as kind of a bonus yeah I think that's fair and I am confident in saying last year's version of kodai senga was a good pitcher I just don't know that we're going to get that pitcher right off the iil which obviously you spoke about and his uh last start at Triple A it wasn't a good one three Innings eight hits five runs three walks to one strikeout so obviously do not start kodai senga here in his first uh start back against the Atlanta Brave I was writing about this earlier today which I guess is why it was on my mind but the the the three who are coming back this week kodai Sanga Robbie Ray Clayton Kershaw and soon to follow Jeffrey Springs he he's making one more Rehab start we'll probably be be back next week I think you treat them all as if you just picked them up off waiver wire because in many cases you did there so you're valuing them like a player you just picked up off the waiver wire but one that you wouldn't dream of putting back on the waiver wire so you got to find that middle ground between those two uh you know you're you're not putting too many hopes in them but at the same time you're recognizing there's tons of upside here and you want to see how it plays out Jacob [ __ ] is getting close to facing hitters he'll throw around 40 pitches in a bullpen session Tuesday and is slated for another Bullpen on Friday maybe late August September for Jacob De Robbie Ray as we just mentioned will make his season debut Wednesday against the Dodgers welcome back you have to face one of the best lineups in baseball right out of the gate Robbie Ray is 67% rostered and one of the corresponding moves here was that Hayden bird song was option to single a but y will be back to start their double header on Saturday what happens after that I have no idea so uh Obviously good on you Scott for bringing this up as a possibility yesterday I didn't really think look maybe he comes up on Saturday for the double header bird song and he's just great again and they say all right let's move Jordan Hicks to the bullpen yada yada and we'll figure it out but somebody goes on the iil life finds a way in that way yeah that's possible but it does it's would seem to suggest that bird song is going to be the odd man out and that if not for the double header and and the extra arm that requires the extra roster spot that opens up that uh maybe bird song would be down for a while we'll see what happens between now and then what about his teammate Alex Cobb who is also working his way back Cobb threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a rehab start at Triple A on Saturday he's only eight% rostered obviously Scott not to the same Talent level as these other names and it's even more of a lottery ticket I think even you know mostly for deeper leagues but do you have any interest in Alex Cobb I've never been the biggest Alex Cobb guy I know I know he's been a fantasy darling for a long time and he's had his moments but he's he generally ends up being a pretty fringy 12 Team league option so I'd put him more in I guess that Kyle Gibson class I think at his best he's better than Kyle Gibson and maybe he can become that once he once he's proven his health and he'll be a little more locked in on 12 team rosters but I wouldn't say my hopes for Alex Cobb being a Difference Maker in fantasy or especially high are you a big fan of corn on the cob um yes I like corn on the cob I don't know why it's so much better than corn off the cob but I've I've marveled at that even even as a child corn on the cob so much better than corn off the cob just little corn niblets on your plate I think it does taste better it's also a lot of work I feel like it gets stuck in your teeth a lot more when you eat it eating it a lot of work yeah like eating corn on the cob I think objective I would argue it's less work it's more work than just putting a fork on a plate and scooping some corn into your mouth you know no anything you eat with your hands is less work than with utensils like but not corn on the cob I think corn on the cob is a little different you know it may just be that I dress up corn on the cob getting back to to my point a little more like I I slather it with butter I I I break out the salt and pepper there you go when corn and just like ah whatever you know I just shovel it in yeah I don't know I'll think about it some more get back to you all right uh this news actually just came in JP craw was diagnosed with a fractured Pinky and will go on the iil I guess Dylan Moore could take over at shortstop although he started a first base and they designated Tai France for assignment so I don't know there we're probably gonna get some roster Shuffling from the Mariners moving forward Red Sox manager Alex corus said Monday that Tristan casus could be close to turning a corner in the recovery process casus has been out since late April with torn car cartilage in his left rib Bobby Miller will remain in triaa for at least his next start he made a start at Triple A uh this past weekend he threw five scoreless innings but he did have four walks in that start as well Tommy edman is expected to resume his rehab assignment with double A on Tuesday he has not played since July 14th due to lingering ankle soreness he's also working his way back from offseason uh wrist surgery the Dodgers promoted River Ryan on Monday and as a result they designated James Paxton for assignment the Braves signed whip marfield to a one-year contract on his first day with the team he was struck on the right hand by an errant Crown ball during defensive drills and uh he's been cleared of any fractures but not sure when we'll actually see Whit marfield on the field with the uh Atlanta Braves maybe makes a difference in deeper leagues at some point you know it was funny before the the podcast I was like Whit marfields with the Braves because I just saw this news item and you had the same re action like we discovered what Maryfield had signed with the Braves uh because of this injury news and I I hadn't even heard that the Phillies let him go I guess it happened um during my little my little mini break around the allstar break and wasn't wasn't following the news as closely uh so I missed that one and he signed with the Braves it does kind of put a little pressure on on nacho Alvarez to deliver right away I would say because they have an alternative there and Whit marfield who's had a rough season but hasn't been getting consistent bats and you wonder if it would benefit from more consistent at bats and we are one week away from the trade deadline here is the latest I mentioned the Red Sox are interested in Luis Rano and barring a winning streak by the Cubs this week the team will likely sell at the deadline six pitcher questions we already spoke about Carlos Six pitcher questions Ron let's talk about Cole Reagan who turned in a quality start up against the Dbacks six Innings three runs five strikeouts he had 12 whiffs on 105 pitches and what has stood out to me four starts in a row where his velocity is down considerably in this start Cole Reagan's velocity on all of his pitches was down between 1.4 and 2.2 miles per hour he averaged 94.1 on his fast ball that's down 1.7 from his career Mark uh he's been at 94.4 or lower in three of his last four starts but it hasn't affected the production he's still been really good so maybe this doesn't matter at all Scott how much are you worried about Cole Reagan's velocity drop over his last four starts yeah well I've been monitoring it there hasn't been much reason to bring it up on the podcast I guess because he's been so dominant even with that one and a half to two mile per hour drop and not just on the fast ball by the way kind of on everything uh and because he's so dominant I kind of want because he's been so dominant I kind of wonder if this is something he's done on purpose to command his pitches better you know they have such good characteristics that maybe he doesn't need quite as much velocity uh but it does raise the question is he getting tired is he pitching through an injury it makes you wonder especially if the production takes a turn for the worst this wasn't his greatest start it was still a quality start and so I wouldn't say I'm worried but it I am mindful of it I'm cognizant of it all right let's move over to Blake Snell who has looked much better since returning from the I earlier this month he went six Innings he allowed two runs only four strikeouts but had 12 whiffs on 83 pitches in a tough matchup against the Dodgers he leaned all the way into that curveball he more than doubled the curveball usage he threw it 43% of the time and it was amazing in the start velocity was up for Blake Snell and in three July starts he has a one erra a 61 whip Scott the question here is Blake Snell back well I mean that that start right before the All-Star break was so dominant I pretty much declared it on on Twitter when it happened and said you need to get back to starting him this is it this is this is the moment you were waiting for so far so good he turned into another nice outing although the strikeouts weren't impressive it was a good statline overall and we've seen Blake Snell turn the corner with this approach before where he kind of simplifies everything just zeros in on the pitches that are working in the past it was the slider this year it seems to be the curveball with over 40% whiff rate and that seems to be enough when he does that because because that's what what's keyed some of these big second halves he's had in the past is simplifying reducing his pitches last year when the Sai Young he had everything working and and so maybe that's Blake Snell at his very best but this approach should be good enough uh if it keeps them from uh if it keeps them in the strike zone and and keeps them missing bats it's it should be good enough so uh yeah I two starts are are two starts but we've seen this pattern from Blake Snell so many times before that I I think if you were if you're invested in at all this is this is what it was for and you have to take advantage of it let's talk about Ranger Suarez who has not been as sharp recently perhaps due to that back injury he's been pitching with but he was at the twins he went five in a third Innings seven hits three runs four strikeouts to one walk he only had seven whiffs on 79 pitches and the question here Scott do you think we should bench Suarez while he works his way through this back inury because he just has not been as sharp a 771 ra a 176 whip over his last four starts well I mean it was a two start pitcher this week so you obviously couldn't bench him it's it's the sort of statline this time where it's it's close to being unremarkable right if he goes if he gets two more outs goes six Innings instead of five and a third if he allows one fewer earned run two instead of three they were probably not even mentioning it you know you know yeah I I I think it's just this is closer to a typical Ranger Suarez start than what we were seeing earlier in the season it's it's the regression I how much of it is owed to the back I don't know if his back was bothering him that much he probably wouldn't have pitched in the All-Star game so I think I think maybe we don't treat Ranger Suarez as a Mustard anymore but always because that's the direction we were heading let's talk about Ronaldo Lopez who allowed a season high four earned runs up against the Reds he went six Innings gave up those four runs had five strikeouts still had 13 whiffs on 85 pitches allowed a lot of hard contact in this one nine hard hits allowed crazy to think he allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his first 17 starts before this one for Ronaldo Lopez we've seen some things pop up recently with the walk SC and you know giving up some more hard contact do you get the sense obviously you're close to the braids I know you watch a lot of ronal Ronaldo Lopez do you get the sense that the Innings and and are starting to catch up a little bit here or is this just a blip for Ronaldo I it could be I mean partly what I just said about Ranger Suarez also applies to renalto Lopez there was no way he was going to sustain an RA below two it's not like his velocity is down I I think that would be a clear clear indicator that he's tiring uh the fast ball was down 6 but other pitches were up in velocity so yeah I don't think there's much there with the velocity for ralo Lopez I you know he's he's he's bound to regress and you hope it's not like him running into a brick wall and and getting bombed every time out uh the last two starts he he gave his team a chance to win and gave you a chance for uh a worthy outing in fantasy um but yeah it's it's been a little less crisp and it'll probably be it it should it probably should have been like that all along and we can assume it's probably G to be like that going forward he just was pitching over his head I I think he's useful I I I think raldo Lopez is still worth keeping around but like Ranger Suarez like I wouldn't consider a must start and uh I would expect a worse second half than a first than the first half he is now up to 101 and two3 innings for Ronaldo Lopez last year he threw 66 and he has not been over 100 Innings since 2019 so I think the innings are obviously starting to uh you know add up a little bit I'm not saying that's exactly why he's looked a little bit more human over the past month or so but it could be part of of the uh calculation there with Ronaldo Lopez bayy Ober has been good for quite some time now he was up against the Phillies seven Innings two runs had four strikeouts with 10 whiffs on 83 pitches did give up some hard contact in this start but overall last six outings for bayy obber a 223 er a 0 84 whip over a strikeout per inning Scott is at time to get bayy Ober back inside of our top 40 starting pitchers rest of season yeah I believe I've gotten him there yeah we are just both outside of it just both outside yeah close enough close enough Frank is there a huge difference between 38 and 41 yeah I couldn't think of a better question do you have a better question that you would like to answer I don't know I mean yeah I feel like we've been saying that for the past few starts now uh yeah he's just he's been frustrating because of the ups and downs and there were stretches where he wasn't working deep into games even when he was pitching well but he's he's clearly turned the corner as far as that goes six straight starts of six Innings or more including a complete Game effort in there so I think I think bayy oer is maybe not quite must start but pretty close this has turned into a pretty fun group in the 30 to 45 range where you have names like hunter green and Taj Bradley and Christopher Sanchez and bayy obber and Michael King a lot of those guys have you know really really not turned their Seasons around but they're on great runs right now a lot of those pitchers right now and and obviously deserving of being ranked this high or maybe even higher so it's a it's a good range for those guys yep I am going to do my big rankings update tomorrow and I imagine I'll be moving hunter green up even more probably past Ranger Suarez uh and let's see I you know I could probably get bayy uper up a couple spots i' I'd move him ahead of cutter Crawford who I worry about his him getting burned by the long ball now that the ball is carrying better and maybe a couple other guys too yeah like let's get Kevin gsman lower yeah that guy stinks and it's starting to feel that way yeah and I just I I feel supremely more confident in in just a lot of those other names I mentioned the Taj Bradley's and and Hunter greens right now we'll talk about hunter green in just a little bit but I do want to throw one hitter question in here lots of pitcher talk but we've been getting Drop Bryson Stott? lots of questions about Bryson stot and what to do here he's really just had one good month this season and he's now I mean this has been happening all year he's sitting against lefties I'm not exactly sure why he's actually better for Whit marfield I'll tell you that much he's actually sitting um he's better against lefties than he is against righties in his career overall he was good against both lefties and righties last year so I'm not exactly sure why he's sitting um I I wouldn't be surprised if maybe that's kind of led to a a confidence issue here but the point is that Bryson Stott had a a really good may but since the start of June 39 games he is batting 226 with one Homer eight steals a sub 600 Ops and overall I mean he's batting 236 on the season six homers 22 steals a 669 op Ops you know the power and speed I don't think is far off from what we're expecting probably in the like 12 home run 30 steel range right that's that's close to what we were expecting the batting average the OBP the Ops that's that's pretty bad right now for Bryson stot so uh he's 92% rostered can you start to think about dropping someone like Bryson stot in a shallower league yeah I think so I think that's probably fine uh I don't know you know you're too late for like Jonathan India who's turned his season around but there's probably a large group of second basemen like that who in those head-to-head leagues where you there's no extra middle infield spot to fill so the waiver wire is more fertile you can kind of swap them out depending on how they're they're going I I don't think this is the end for Bryson do I don't think you drop them now and you'll never hear from him again they'll never be worth picking up again in that format but yeah he's he's got a limited ceiling he uh has platoon issues that when he's going well I think will become less of an issue I think we'll see him play more against left-handers when he's hitting well and it's not like you know looking at the skill indicators on a statcast page it's not like he's become a fundamentally different player so I I think he will uh make up ground before the season's over but I understand he's killing you right now and in a shallow League there are probably second basemen who who wouldn't be killing you all right again that is Bryson stot let's take our final break and when we return we'll take a look at the waiver wire options for Monday we'll do that right after this you hear that it's the steady pulse of the world's game that's turning fans into family and Sport into passion you hear that it's the heartbeat of American soccer the USL on CBS Sports [Applause] Network welcome back in let's take a look at some waiver wire pctures and Tobias Meers was just okay at the Cubs Waiver wire pitchers five and a third three runs allowed he had had six strikeouts with 10 whiffs on 87 pitches still does have a 314 ra and a 115 whip on the year we mentioned the Dodgers called up River Ryan who is one of their pitching prospects and he pitched well in his season debut against the Giants five and a third one unearned run with three walks to two strikeouts did only have five whiffs on 73 pitches but he throws hard 96 on the fast ball he's got a bunch of different pitches Andre Palante turned in a quality start at the Pirates six innings one run three strikeouts I that I feel like that's the Scott White special any every time I see him as a streamer I feel like you recommend him and he he does pretty well uh and Hogan Harris was great up against the Astros six and two-thirds shutout Innings with seven strikeouts his velocity was down quite a bit in this one but overall a great start for him he's got any interest here in Hogan Harris Andre Palante River Ryan and Tobias Myers I think Tobias Myers is is the most interesting particularly if we're thinking River Ryan is uh not going to stick around Long uh glass now and Clayton Kershaw coming back in the next couple days I would imagine that's the case River Ryan is a is a prospect of some note got strikeouts in a nice clip in the miners has six different pitches that he threw here in this was his debut right his major league debut it was his season debut I thought he might have pitched last year I could be doesn't look like it okay and he's has a good ground ball rate six pitch Arsenal yeah there there are some interesting things going on with River Ryan but I don't think now is his time so the most interesting apart from him I will maintain is Tobias Meyers not that I think he has huge upside but uh the effectiveness of his slider and change up are notable interestingly he leaned even more on the fast ball in this one which I'd rather not see to Tobias Myers do I'd rather him see it throw it less but came pretty close to a quality start and uh for the year now 314 ra 115 whip I don't need know that he needs to be rostered everywhere but I do think Tobias Myers is going to keep appearing as a sleeper pitcher as matchups weren't Andre Palante you said every time uh he he shows up as a as a potential sleeper pitcher for the day I I end up picking him if the match Up's good enough yes he's not an upside deep pitcher at all I just think the ground ball rate is so high that if you're going start by start who who of these bad pitchers is most likely to give you a quality start well the guy who gets ground balls at a 60% clip is is least likely to get bombed of this not interesting group so that therefore makes him the most likely to give you a quality St start so that's that's why I I lean on him in in those streaming situations who would you take between Tobias Myers and Robbie Ray oh Myers no I'm sorry not Myers I I was thinking River Ryan when you said Robbie Ray no definitely Robbie Ray yeah too many R alliteration names on today's podcast uh one name I wanted to bring up who had a very rough outing here if you picked him up for two start week I'm sorry you might be able to drop him after this one because it was a pretty rough outing for jilber Diaz it actually turns out it's jilber Diaz it's spelled with a Y but I heard it on the broadcast and uh I heard it on multiple broadcasts now so yeah it actually is pronounced with a J but he was at the Royals where he allowed seven earned runs over three Innings I picked him up in a few spots it he looked great in his first two starts before this but Scott if you picked up jilbert Diaz do you think it's all right to drop him after this one yeah I still think he's a young pitcher of note but I don't think he's I don't think he deserves the least leash that like Christian Scott has gotten and of course Christian Scott has about run out of leash himself so uh yeah jilber Diaz had big strikeout numbers in the miners coming into this start his slider his after two starts had a really good whiff rate over 40% but it didn't get a single whiff in this one and he got knocked around pretty good so uh yeah I think jilber Diaz you can put him to the side for now let's talk Waiver wire hitters waiver wire hitters and Michael Bush continues to hit he went two for four with an RBI and a steel he really just had a bad May if you look at his monthly splits he hit 208 with a 712 Ops in May but he's hit 282 or higher with an Ops of 848 or better in each of his the other three months this season and overall he hit 270 he's got 12 home runs and 820 Ops 76% roster I don't know that he's a huge ceiling play Michael Bush and we've talked about him a lot recently but in a post league he's just solid Scott he gets on base gives you a decent amount of power the Ops is good know hits in the middle of a not a good lineup but it's in the middle so there could be some counting stats as well I just does he need to be more than 76% rostered I guess Michael Bush I don't think so and you know I love Michael Bush I I'm not sure he's there yet and considering he's 26 I can understand somebody saying oh well if he's not there yet when will he ever get there okay he's still a rookie and it's it's there's still a learning curve here uh in the long run is he gonna strike out at a 30% rate I'm hopeful he doesn't because it's not like strikeouts were a huge issue for him in the miners and I think that could be what allows him to take the next step forward they're clear seems to be some power there uh he's capable of drawing a walk certainly and the strikeout rate has been better in June it's 22% but it's still a lot of two strikeout games and in points leagues especially that's gonna limit Michael Bush's utility overall I like the direction he's trending but I don't think he's quite there yet where he needs to be universally rostered three Third Base eligible hitters who are right around 75% rostered Scott how would you rank Bush Colt Keith and Mark Vientos uh Vientos is cooled off I'm still going to put him number one but Colt Keith is searching I think I'm gonna put Colt Keith ahead of Michael Bush he hasn't had strikeout issues all year actually his strikeout rates gone up here in July as his as his production is taken off it's still not a bad strikeout rate uh but for the month of July do you give these numbers yet nope uh for the month of July Colt Keith after adding a home run here on Monday is batting is slashing 333 433 737 with six home runs yeah looking at that now that's pretty good yeah took some time but uh this this is closer to the player that we thought we were getting coming into the season so as we've seen with many Prospects top prospects middling prospects whatever it might be a lot of these guys they kind of fall flat early get a couple couple months in and then all right now he's starting to hit the ground running so uh yeah I think it's a good time here to either add Colt Keith or if you have him obviously just hold on to him and so how much of that is the rookie having gotten enough reps that he's he's found his stride in the majors how much of it is that versus how much of it is the ball is carrying a lot better now in July it's hard to say right it is hard to say it's a fair question I yeah it's probably a little bit of both because you know when you first get called up I mean I can imagine the game must be going so fast for these guys and especially the the pitchers that you face in the majors versus the pitchers in Triple A it's it just feels like it's a completely different game so I I don't I'm not surprised by it and I think you know things are just starting to slow down for some of these guys and we're seeing Keith and Jackson Trio's picking things up so well specifically with Keith because remember I talked about Jackson Chio yesterday how uh through June he his average exit velocity was 88 miles per hour in July it's or maybe I don't have those timelines right I I think it was through May yeah average ex velocity was 88 miles per hour for Jackson Chio since then 90 miles per hour so that is skill Improvement that's measurable but I don't think I'd have to double check but just going off memory I don't think Colt Keith's exit velocity has improved as the production is improved so it makes me wonder a little more in his case uh wanted to I could quickly pull it up here in July yeah 87.5 average ex of velocity 7.2% Barrel rate is not great for Colt Keith so uh I don't know maybe it's not everything but it does raise the question of okay was he is is are those are those batted balls just carrying more now yeah not like he's hitting a ton of fly balls or pulling it either I don't I don't know how to explain what Colt Keith is doing right now but he's hot uh some other hot hitters I guess at least on Monday had themselves some big games Brian De La Cruz three for five with a sock into shoe his 17th home run his third stolen base he is 68% rostered and will Benson had a huge game two for two with a sock and two shoes that's a homer and two Steals and uh he's up to 11 homers and seals on the season but it also comes with a 194 batting average will Benson is 23% rostered any interest in either of those outfielders Scott Brian De La Cruz will Benson well not will Benson yeah uh Brian De La Cruz is whatever he'll he he has a decent home run total not much of anything else because he's in such a bad lineup doesn't draw walks so that that brings down the the runs scored and he's he's a serviceable fifth outfielder but that's about it one other name here Austin Wells has quietly been solid as of late three for five with his seventh home run he's actually hit cleanup for the Yankees three games in a row and over his last 17 Games Austin Wells is batting 277 with five home runs and 10 RBI uh 15% rostered deeper two catcher League Scott have you given any thought to Austin Wells if he was available I have not um have you have you Frank let's just have a little conversation I can tell you that in leagues where I have been streaming my second catcher spot in 15 team Roto leagues I wish Austin Wells was available yeah uh a very specific scenario if I have teams where like I have a few teams where my second catcher has been bad it's been uh Corey Lee and you know Ben rfit and names like that it's yeah yeah if I could swap those out for Austin Wells yeah I'd absolutely do it sure sure that you know anybody who's breathing that's that's good enough for those leagues uh can I bring up one other hitter here yes who I kind of wanted to talk about yesterday but definitely today I think we should talk about Tyler Fitzgerald okay of the Giants who has started their last three games at shortstop and has homered in all three of them and in fact he's homered in four straight games for the Giants 11 days in between the first two of those games but then three in a row here um his numbers in the majors are very good 299 batting average five homers seven Steals and just 96 plate appearances his numbers in the minors are very good uh this is Tyler Fitzgerald we're talking about so Triple A Sacramento he slash 310 402 718 eight home runs in 87 plate appearances you look at last year's numbers very good 22 homers 32 steals with a 292 batting average Tyler Fitz jaald he's 26 years old he's a versatile Defender it's kind of surprising he doesn't get discussed more and it's one of those cases where okay he doesn't hit the ball very hard his his strikeout rate in both the majors and minors is pretty high like he probably shouldn't be hitting this well by by the the data points and yet he is and he has for a long time if you if you look at the minor league track record as well so I I think it's somebody to keep an eye on uh because they're ways he's easy to fit in the lineup as versatile as he is the Giants have need need help on offense it's not like they have a lineup full of star hitters and I think as long as Tyler Fitzgerald performs he's going to keep getting chances power speed again he probably shouldn't have power and speed but he has in both the majors and minors so let's keep an eye on it Tyler Fitzgerald 1% Rost start on CVS he has second base shortstop and Outfield eligibility probably just an NL only name for now but if he continues to play you know deeper mixed Roto leagues could factor in there let's get into some of the leftovers and we will start with the pitchers part one Terk scoel turned in a Leftovers, bullpens, streamers solid start at the Guardians seven Innings 10 hits that was surprising a season high but still just one earned run six strikeouts head 15 whiffs on 97 pitches Mitch Keller turned in another strong start he was up against the Cardinals seven Innings one run ball with three strikeouts only three whiffs on 97 pitches and hunter green a dominant start at the Atlanta Braves seven shut out with seven strikeouts 11 whiffs on 112 pitches they just let him go in this one uh he's turned in three straight quality starts he has seven plus strikeouts in each of those it's got anything to add on hunter green Mitch Keller and Terk scoel it's not just three St straight quality starts for hunter green 20 Innings between them only seven hits allowed only one run allowed so he has been dominant lately and you know there's a lot to like here beyond the obvious obvious he throws hard uh he has the 10.2k per nine lots of weak contact lots of in the air contact that's a good combination if you're allowing fly balls that that aren't hit especially hard that's a lot of outs that's hit prevention that's kind of why he's allowed seven hits in his last 20 Innings so I think I think hunter green I I just mentioned I'll probably move him ahead of Ranger swars rest of season uh he could still get burned by the long ball he could still get burned by walks but I think the the upside outcomes now he's reaching them more often and they're they're pretty impressive and pitching leftovers part two we had Eric fety turn in another quality start at the Rangers six and a third two runs allowed five strikeouts I think he's gonna work out pretty well for a contending team that it's just going to be an under the radar move no one's excited about trading for Eric fedy but if he goes to a Dodgers or an Orioles team that could be pretty good for his fantasy value Tyler Anderson got away with it again against a Julio Rodriguez Les Mariners lineup so a pretty good match up here five and two3 one run eight strikeouts 18 whiffs on 96 pitches he has 18 plus whiffs in two of his last three starts and Bryce Miller on the other side had a great start up against the Angels he threw seven shutout with five strikeouts only nine whs on 94 pitches Scott anything on Bryce Miller Tyler Anderson and Eric fetty yeah there's there's been a lot of hand ringing over Bryce Miller and I get it because there are some people who are very very high on Bryce Miller's upside but I don't want to go too far the other direction either it's it's okay if a pitcher's not a stut like he he could just be a perfectly fine pitcher uh and I think Bryce Miller I I I can say that about him even with even more confidence than again like Ronaldo Lopez who I was kind of making the same case for uh he's his control has been really good especially lately it's been really good two walks combined in his last four starts he has a decent strikeout rate you know you compare him to Eric fety and I I I think there are still more marks in Bryce Miller's favor than Eric fetty's and uh I think there has been less discouraging talk of fety lately than Miller so yeah Bryce Miller probably not an ace or a mustar pitcher but a must roster pitcher I would say and one who's worth mixing in at least with the right matchups if not more often than that I'll also say for Tyler Anderson this is now two of his last three starts have been his best swinging strike starts of the season and with good swinging strike numbers and the caveat has always been I will not believe in Tyler Anderson no matter how long he continues this unless there's a skill change he's missing more bats I I haven't identified exactly what the skill change is but I like Miss bats so he I mean he probably needs to be rostered in every League at this point I'm not saying it'll it'll stay that way I I I would definitely be calling him a sell High candidate still but uh coming into this week he qualified as a sleeper pitcher so he wasn't rostered everywhere it probably needs to be at this point and just treat him with great uh great skepticism and openness on the trade market but he needs to be rostered Tyler Anderson up to 81% rostered on CBS and 60% rostered on Yahoo so could be out there uh in some of those leagues as well let's talk some hitting leftovers Juan sto had a huge game three for four with a double dong for RBI one of his home runs 114 14.9 exit velocity the other 112.1 exit velocity he has 11 hits in four games so far in the second half that's Juan sto Anthony vulpi has actually hit well so far in the second half here again it's a incredibly small sample size I understand that but two for four with his seventh home run his first Homer since May 16th it is July 23rd so uh yeah a pretty long power drought there for Anthony vulpi but in four games after the break so far six hits one Homer two steals for him O'Neal Cruz one for three with two steals another one four games after the break six hits one Homer seven RBI two Steals and Francisco Lindor had himself a massive game two for four with two socks and a shoe that's two home runs and one steel and he is up to 19 homers 20 steals let's make it happen 303 two years in a row for Francisco Lindor some Bullpen updates for the Pirates David bnar got the ninth inning with a one-run lead he gave up a hit but picked up his 18th save for the Mets Edwin Diaz got the ninth inning with a three-run lead he gave up one run but picked up his 12th save for the white socks Michael copc entered with a runner on First and one out in the seventh in a tie game he recorded the next five outs in order and then John breia got the ninth with a one-run lead he gave up a single run on a walk and two hits he took his second blown save and the white socks eventually lost in extra innings for the Angels Carlos Estes pitch a clean ninth for his 19th save and for the Red Sox who are missing Kenley Janson because they're in Coors Field uh it's already hurt them because Zack Kelly pitched a clean ninth inning with the game tied the Red Sox took a two-run lead in the top of the 10th uh Kelly came out for the bottom of the 10th he gave up two runs the Red Sox scored a run later on in the 12th and then they uh they had Lefty Bailey horn get the bottom of the 12th inning he was charged with two runs one of those earned he took his first blown save and first loss of the season to stream or not to stream on Tuesday some names we mentioned yesterday Albert Suarez at the Marlins we also brought up John Gray against the white socks Jose Sorano at the Mariners yeah that's my favorite of the three yes there's Colin Ray at the Cubs Jose canana at the Yankees Lance at the Pirates yeah I'll pass on Jose canana he's had some good starts recently but Yankees I don't know about that yeah I think uh I would go with Sorano Suarez and John Gray in that order on Wednesday anybody stand out here oh not a great day Michael Waco we like but Dbacks are a little bit of a tougher matchup there's Sean manah at the Yankees but I don't know about that uh Mitchell Parker against the Padres I want to say the Padres aren't so great against lefties let's find out about that they are uh 2 second in woba against lefties yeah so that is a good call so Mitchell Parker might be okay I'm not loving it but I I think of these Michel Waka against the Diamondbacks would be my first choice even though it's not such a good matchup he's just been so reliable lately hope it continues let's wrap up with team name Tuesday and these are from Nicholas Hines ketchup like Reese Hines Reese hin probably do something with the first name there too re well you could go like Reese's Pieces but then has nothing to do with ketchup you could go yeah just split them up you don't need to mix them you don't want to miss you don't want to mix Reese's and ketchup for believe me you do not want to do that uh next up is beo Kitty but it's spelled oh hello like Hello Kitty I guess but yeah okay uh rice and schemes okay lemon terang pie all right Jin and quic uhhuh uh St fot and Cole I kind of like that yeah it's not bad it's not a bad multi-name one I'll have my eggs obber medium please yeah there's so much you could do with Ober the Yates Motel okay and freed bird these are from Tom this vest is Taylor Wade I mean some pretty obscure players there but okay yeah like will vest my I just realized the V was capitalized yeah Will vest yeah that's funny uh Benson and hedges which I didn't know apparently is a cigarette brand but those are two baseball players as well so didn't know that either and proar so good oh yeah that's a classic these are from Danny Wu Tang Clan yep peanut butter Ellie with a baseball bed oh that's that's that's uh that's good because you got the baseball bat in there just naturally yeah that's very I haven't seen that one yet and and that's kind of surprising too legit to wit all right some like wit hot Big Willie Style yeah this one we we couldn't figure it out last time because it was just schwell and Bo's name together to schwell and boach I I I still don't know that I get it oh it's like it's like to hell and back oh yeah okay is that it's actually it's actually pretty clever but yeah someone else sent that in a little too clever by half I'm gonna say uh someone else sent it in we just could not figure it out uh guriel Just Want to Have Fun psycho Keller okay the Bryce is way wri all righty and wizard of Boss all right these are from Freddy the old man in the seaw Wald uhhuh The Sun Also arises it sure does For Whom the Snell tolls yeah so there's a bit of a a theme going on there if you if you notice Heming way ah yeah I mean I am about as uncultured as they get so H yeah I wasn't was not GNA get that one uh from Sage fought guy in a latel coat okay got your culture there that's good uh Freeman woo man Haters Club uh from Patrick when I say I love you you say pavetta uh okay I don't know when I say I love you you say you better maybe oh maybe maybe next one shirts or skin okay from Brandon it's Leviosa not Lenin Sosa oh you seem to get that one I don't get that one H it's a it's a Harry Potter thing oh okay and this last one's from Zack Sunny With a Chance of scoes scoes Meatballs sco yeah it's kind of far off I guess it's a stretch Zack yeah all right well and and the book is Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs anyway so Sunny with the chance of you're just like cramming the extra player name and and making it more uh what's the word um inaccessible making it more inaccessible accessible I noticed the C and chance is capitalized is that is that a chance probably just because it was it was a title yeah maybe well I mean there probably there's probably some player out there named Chance right yeah chance Cisco sure anytime we get a chanis go reference in here we've got to go for it we are gonna wrap there for Scott I am Frank thanks as always for tuning into to Fantasy Baseball today please make sure to follow and leave a FIV star rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again tomorrow bye-bye