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While I generally try to dabble in names that are under 65-ish% owned in most leagues, you know, the acronyms (ESPN, CBS, etc.) and the one platform named after the most-used word in the Simish language (YAHOO, WHAT ELSE WOULD IT BE PEOPLE), A.J. Pollock ended up making the cut through other criteria. And not just because I like nautical puns. Moreso, as the season begins to take it’s final form, a player like Pollock will naturally find himself in his own grey area. While recency bias kinda drives that point home now, i.e. he’s hot, how long will it last, should I buy-in, things like that, I have to be honest, it seems like we’ve been here before with him, and I guess the reason I’m dedicated my 1000ish words is to kinda figure out what’s going on now, if it’s happened before, and what we can expect from the impending roster glut… and if those answers can provide us our on finality of what Pollock actually is or what he’s going to do. I mean, he’s a baseball player, I know, and he’s going to do baseball things… but you get what I’m saying. MAYBE.

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There’s fallout in the air! One look left, you have the huge Joey Gallo trade to the Yankees, a look to the right and you see Joey Votto’s resurgence in any and all baseball activities… and these are just two (or dos, as our Spanish friends call it) of the many happenings in the MLB during a week of frantic deadline trading, some interesting names coming off the IR (and going on), and everything in-between, so you’d be forgiving for letting one Houck-man go unnoticed. Houck man or monster? Houck monster? Man, makes me miss the days of punning the Smoak monster back when Lost was part of the zeitgeist. And while we (I) pontificate on how Evangeline Lilly actually made it out of season finale to later land into the Marvel Universe, we should probably be talking about Tanner Houck

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Mirroring some of the players I’ve recently put the spotlight on, because I’m a spotlighter, whatever that means, Eugenio Suarez continues to fit the criteria of being an amazing hitter in the pre-Covid era, but then the pandemic comes around and no one can hit the ball anymore. And with Delta ranging, we might soon be on a first name basis with the Mendoza line. (Does he have a first name?) (And is the line even a man?) And Suarez has become the latest example in WTFmate?, even moreso without the caveats of last year still present where during the Covid-shortened season he hit a measly .202, but still managed 15 homeruns in just 57 games. But with just 18 in 92 games thus far, is there a resurgence instore for this current .172 hitter? Let’s find out!

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It reads weirder than it sounded in my head, but you get the gist. (Just like your mother.) And when said gisting (jisting?) has been completed and the sexual innuendo has been fully realized, we are left with the irreputable fact that Michael Conforto is not having a good baseball year. Contextually or otherwise. Look, I just wanted to use the word “contextually” okay? That being said, there may be some glimmer of hope for the almighty ROI. (Not just an outdoors store…) What that hope exactly manifests itself into is anyone’s guess, but we can try and make an educated (lol) call about, and that’s what I intend to do after this quick jump…

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So what’s the equivalent of Loch Ness to Nessie here? Larnach… Lar Nach… Lar…Nachos? Nachos! I say we have a winner, because, you know, FOOD. And food that’s specifically nachos, well, you just can’t go wrong. Now that his problem has been efficiently solved, we can now spend our time together taking a look at platooner (which also sounds like a pirate profession) Trevor Larnach and what the rest of the season might look like for this right fielder. But why Trevor Larnach? An existential question if there ever was one (it isn’t), Larnach represents what is perhaps a true under-the-radar option with generally low ownership-rates across the board. And while there are legitimate reasons for this that we’ll delve into below, producing a .361 OBP while sustaining a solid .262 AVG to go along with seven homeruns is not nothing and could perhaps be the beginning of something. What the something is? Find out after the jump! (Who brought the nachos. I have no nachos. Sadness abound.)

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It’s once again Padres week here at the content hub of Jay, and by week I mean epoch. And while I’m actually trying to figure out what a hub of content is and what it would actually look like (your mom?), I must fight the urge to world-build and begin to pontificate on one Blake Snell. Not to be confused with Ian, something I’m sure I’ll do at some point and time, Blake has had quite the year of mediocrity after piecing together a pretty stellar to above-average track record the previous five seasons. 2018 remains his peak year thus far, when just four seasons ago he was able to grab a Cy Young, sustaining a 1.89 ERA, 2.95 FIP with 21 Wins. Now sporting a 5.29 ERA with the Padres, one has to wonder what exactly is going on and why does it have to happen to the Padres? That’s me, I’m that guy wondering. And, you know, for the sake of that sweet sweet SEO, I hope you are too…

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Sounding akin to a Nordic protein bar that enjoyed suing Napster in the ’90s, there might be more to recent call-up Lars Nootbaar than may seem, sans of course his name. And while I generally don’t cover prospects here at the Razz, Nootbaar carries the unique distinction of never really being a heralded one so curiosity wins the day. Just an eighth-round pick back in 2018, Nootbaar entered this season neither in the Cardinals’ top-30 prospects at Baseball America, MLB.com, nor FanGraphs, he’s held his own so far in this first 16 plate appearances and could be seeing a bit more time as the season progresses. What can we ultimately expect and what is capable are some of the things we’ll explore. And we’re taking the scenic route, whatever that means. Surely it has something to do with your mom…

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So generally I try to write content about players who are actually, you know, actively playing. And while that shouldn’t rule out any fluff pieces involving Bruce Chen, I think Spencer Turnbull could have something to offer once his rehab assignment is complete. And while it’s just been about 10 days of this writing since he went on the 10-day injured list for a right forearm strain to already preparing to throw the ball, his return to the Majors could be a slower one. But the 2.88 ERA and 44 strikeouts with just 12 walks in the 50 innings he had pitched (including a no-hitter against the Mariners) and the allure for more is why my focus is on those tables and why they be turnin. Into a ball. At a ball? It’s not really clear. Turnball. Maybe turning into a way while turning towards another ball? That’s totally it.

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No clever pun, no dumb reference, simply put, I’m laying down the hard cold truth. Tyler O’Neill is a potential superstar. While this statement is becoming less and less controversial as the hours and homeruns stack up, I would note that while the window to be part of the O’Neill party is closing fast and makes it sound like you’re going to have dinner with him and his family at a fancy restaurant, there are still some red flags to take note of. But I thought he was a potential superstar? That’s right me, I am confirming to myself that I did say that and of course I believe it, but it would be folly just to expect the same results as the season progresses. Or is it? Asking all the right questions… uh, also me. And while I’m here talking to myself, why is the truth cold? A word can’t feel maaaan.

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You remember what I said about Tommy Pham? Pepperidge farm members. And while I’m 100% correct all the times I’m not (math checks out!), I think its safe to say that the window to buy low is certainly closing for Pham, and with that statement, we’ve found the perfect segue. Not only do I get to pat myself on the back, a dedicated hobby of mine, but I also get to make the smooth transition (the smoothest, just the way your mother likes it) to talking about another player whose buy-low stage may be deteriorating as we speak. Well, technically as we type. As I type. I mean, you might be typing too, but you really should stopping and reading what I typed, internet etiquette maaaan. Digression aside, Francisco Lindor has shown a bit of life lately, and as usual, my job is to tell you how I feel about it while also providing all the sights and sounds you’ve come to expect from myself. The scenic route, as one might say. Who that person is, I have no idea, but there must be dozens of you out there. Dozens!

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After taking a week-long break from pontification on hitters and their current trends, we’re right back at it from our Aaron Civale reprieve (who just threw 8 innings with 1 earned run and 6 strikeouts, ahem). And while you’re sure not here to pat my back (I am perfectly able to physically and mentally take this burden and pat myself on the back), I assume that you’re hear to get the downlow on what’s up. I’m now geographically lost. However, this week, we’ll be taking a look at Rob Refsnyder and the almighty equalizer in all of sports: playing time. Injuries would be acceptable too, but lets keep that between you and me, we don’t want it waking up and exploding other players this year. Trust me on this. *cries in Mike Trout.

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A reach if there ever was one, that is; doing a play of words on Que Sera, Sera which would have been most relevant like 500 years ago. Look man, I’m getting old but not that old. I did consider a play on The Witcher since maybe I could have threaded the needle on a Henry Cavill strategy (toss a coin to your Civale?), but it never came to fruition. Which is really gross when you think about that sentence and what exactly fruition means and how it came, but I’ll leave that to better men (and women) than myself. And if you don’t know what any of this means, I don’t either, so at least misery loves company… and since the wheels have already fallen off, something that usually doesn’t happen until at least the second paragraph of our weekly get togethers, let’s just get down to talking about Aaron Civale and his wonderful yet “measured” start and whether or not this is sustainable. And yeah, just to come full circle, I am most definitely not the man who knew too much. (Just show this to your parents, they’ll get it. They’ll have questions, but they’ll get it.)

I normally don’t cover pitchers, and it’s not that I don’t enjoy pitchers, I actually dabbled horribly in high school and college, but covering a player once-a-week, bandwidth just seems to be filled more with trending hitters and analyzing that half of fantasy baseball. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game man. But in terms of fitting themes and trends that synergize (corporate jargon achievement unlocked!), I think Civale kinda begs some attention and I need some more pitchers for the imaginary quota I just proclaimed.

Please, blog, may I have some more?