I Guess PCA Doesn’t Want The Ex-Met Spotlight On Anyone Else

Pete Crow-Armstrong generates power from you thinking he looks like Problem Child. He generates power from you thinking a ginger can’t go in the sun like he’s a Gremlin. He generates power from his freckles! You cannot stop him, you can only hope if the sun reflects off him, that the reflection doesn’t hit you directly in the eyes and blind you. This is your only hope. What a glorious season from our favorite PCA (became favorite sometime around May, doesn’t matter what I thought before that.) So, yesterday Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and hit his 43rd and 44th homer. If he ends the season with 39 steals, I will howl. On the last day of the season, he’s gonna hit a home run and stop at 2nd to steal third, isn’t he? He is now one homer and three steals away from becoming the third member of the 45/40 club. PCA now is top three for homers, runs, RBIs and total bases in the majors. Pete Crow-Armstrong currently has a higher single season fWAR than Mike Trout, Mookie Betts or ARod ever had. He has the most homers ever by a lefty Cub. Well done, PCA. Which is also what his skin gets if he’s in the sun for three minutes or greater. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Alex Bregman – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs and his 26th homer. He has ten homers in his last thirty games. That’s likely as good as he’s ever been in his career. (At Razzball, we’re vibes based. It feels like Bregman’s never been better for a month, even during that one insane year he had in 2019. Is it true? Who’s to say if we’re not googling it?)

Shota Imanaga – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.80. If he finishes the year at a 3.70-ish ERA, it’s going to be a million percent not indicative of the season he just had at all.

Anthony Molina – 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.18 vs. Matthew Liberatore – 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 5.36. This matchup felt a lot like, “Why are we playing the rest of this season? Let’s wrap this up like a bean and cheese burrito!” This also goes to show you that sometime you can sneak in some good streamers — Streamonator-favored or not — with teams that are just playing out their remaining schedule because they have to.

JJ Wetherholt – 0-for-3 as he activated from the IL. Welcome back, Jamba Juice. I missed your 87% daily allotment of added sugars.

Joshua Baez – Left with side tightness. If it’s oblique, the outlook is bleak.

Jonah Cox – 3-for-4, 1 run, 1 RBI and two steals (12, 13), hitting .294. Next year I’m drafting Cox and Nasim. Bank their 50 April steals and trade them for closers who are just emerging that no one trusts yet, like Bryan Baker and Jacob Latz this year. Bank 30 May saves, then trade them for a struggling hitter like Tatis this year. Bank his 30 June homers, then trade him for a starter who is struggling but about to come out of it like Noah Cameron. Bank his filthy ratios in July, trade him for Cox and Nasim because I’m starting to fall back in steals, quickly trade them for Baker and Latz because I’m falling in saves too, then flip them for Tatis and Cameron. I’m so money!

Zebby Matthews – 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.74. Another lesson we can learn here in the final week-plus is after a team clinches like the Yanks, they might be less motivated to, well, fill-in the verb. Play? Care? Swing a bat?

Kaelen Culpepper – Hit the IL with a hamstring strain. Culpepper doesn’t have a long track record of injuries, but he’s been learning from some of the Twins best.

Aaron Judge – 0-for-2, and left the game with lower leg tightness. Not even sure why he’s playing. I don’t have him in any fantasy leagues, so easy for me to say, but Aaron Boone is crazy to be risking Judge in any games, outside of simulated.

Carlos Rodon – 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.95. Imma warn against expecting much from starters heading to the playoffs, but Rodon is a special case because he needs the innings since he’s missed so much of the year.

Clarke Schmidt – 2/3 IP, 0 ER as he was activated from the IL. March You, “Schmidt is going to return just in time for my H2H playoffs, so what do you think about stashing him, Grey? By the way, can I buy a lock of your hair?”

Henry Bolte – 1-for-4 and his 11th homer. Trying to remain chaotic-neutral about my love of the A’s, but I am building towards chaotic-chaotic towards Bolte. I love him very much.

Tommy White – 3-for-4 and his 3rd homer. His name is doing him a disservice. If his name was Murderin O’Ballio, people would be a lot more interested in him for fantasy.

Nick Martinez – 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.94. Is Justice, capitalized, pitching out of one’s mind for the majority of the season and throwing a meh start in your H2H playoffs? Oh, who am I kidding, even this tepid start is better than what I’m getting from my aces.

Blake Snell – Left the game with groin tightness. In layman’s terms, that’s a “How’s your father? Not good.” Blake Snell (groin) intends to….[awkward pause, sweat dripping down forehead, people look around] make next start. Whew!

Elly De La Cruz – 1-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and his 28th homer, and 2nd homer in three games. Why are the Reds playing the Dodgers so much in September?

Dane Myers – 1-for-5 and his 7th homer. Myers has been NL-Only hot. But not mixed league hot. I don’t know where that is on the hot or not scale. Yellow?

Andrew Abbott – 4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 4.70. One of the rare few pitchers I wouldn’t even check the Streamonator for (not that it would ever like him). His underlying numbers are awful.

Logan Henderson – 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.51. Ya know a guy is good when only 3 ER seems like a misstep. Is he an ace? It’s fair to ask. Only thing stopping that distinction is the lack of track record.

Rafael Flores Jr. – 1-for-4 and his 9th homer. Maybe because I just said this with Dane Myers, but Flores Jr. has been NL-Only solid too. Now I’d go a step up to hot schmotato, because he had a four-hit night on Tuesday.

Jared Jones – 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.17. Should’ve been even better but the Brewers strung together some singles in the 2nd and Jones got strung out. Is that phrase being used correctly?

Oneil Cruz – 2-for-4 and his 19th homer. Elias Sport Bureau said, “Yesterday was the first time Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz homered in the same day that Grey of Razzball didn’t think Elly De La Oneil Cruz?” Actually, that’s not true.

Brandon Lowe – 2-for-3, 2 RBIs and his 31st homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Already complimented the Pirates on Lowe yesterday, don’t make me reiterate shizz.

Ethan Salas – 2-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 1st and 2nd homer. The defense whiz kid—snooze—what were you saying? A catcher who’s good at defense? How dare you tell me about that? I wanna hear about his power!

Kyle Karros – 1-for-3, 2 RBIs and his 12th homer, 2nd homer in a week. Some people are saying he’s the best nepo baby since Maude Apatow. (By the way, Maude Apatow has her picture on Wikipedia for ‘nepo baby,’ which is so embarrassing. It’s like the guy who died from a penile enlargement surgery. You don’t wanna go out like that, man.)

George Kirby – 4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 4.24. Mariners scored seven runs and this was your outing? Oh, go to sleep for the winter. You’re donezo.

Cristian Javier – 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 5.31. Don’t trust Javier at all so through that lens: Yeah, decent start. Way to go.

John Rave – 1-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 6th homer. He was a hot schmotato last week, could Rave have turned on his glowsticks once again?

Daniel Lynch IV – 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.29. Saw the box score with D. Lynch and I took out my oxygen mask and started wheezing. In tribute.

Jake Bennett – 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 3.78. Found myself struggling to stream someone yesterday and went with Ja-Be and he was not Ja-Be, I won’t be Ja-Be’ing too

Willson Contreras – 1-for-3, 2 RBIs and his 27th homer. When I go over the position recaps after the season, will touch on this more, but I am surprised at how low Contreras was for 1st basemen on the Player Rater. 1st base bounced back this year.

Nolan Arenado – 2-for-4 and his 26th homer. Hey, you gotta check this out. I bought the scrapbook John Travolta used to jot down acting notes while filming Saturday Night Fever. You gotta see where he’d write, “Be less Italian.” Here, it’s over by this open window—NOOOOO!!! Torenado!

Gabriel Moreno – 3-for-4 and his 15th homer, second homer in two games, third homer in four games, and Yo Gabby Gabby is going out like Yo Baby Baby Ruth!

Jakob Marsee – 2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and a slam (11) and legs (23), 2nd homer in three games. Marsee will be in Friday Buy column, because naturally.

Sandy Alcantara – 1 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 3.84 as he got the save. Unless I was holding my computer upside down and he opened. That would be just as weird. Are the Marlins trying to ruin their number one starter’s arm or did they think this was Game 7 of the World Series? Only two options they have to choose from.

Zack Wheeler – 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.99. Funny (not funny) thing happened with Wheeler, he had TOS surgery and the track record to that surgery said he was going to struggle mightily. Though, the thing is, not that many people had the surgery. It was like, “These three guys all were bad after having this surgery,” and now it’s, “There’s a 25% chance of success and maybe more, when other pitchers in the future have it.”

Pete Alonso – 1-for-4 and his 37th homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Mets fans were seen orgasming when Alonso rounded the bases to give the O’s the lead.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs and his 10th homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Occasionally, I’ll have to make sure I’m not looking at the previous day’s box score. Yesterday was one of those days for the O’s. Also, homering was Samuel Basallo (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) hitting his 18th homer and Jeremiah Jackson (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) hit his 9th homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Hot schmotato alert! For all Orioles, I guess.

Max Scherzer – 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 6.07. And 617 was also my area code when I lived in Boston, and I dated a girl from Braintree, and we visited John Adams’s house in Quincy, and Quincy was played by Jack Klugman, and he also starred in The Odd Couple, which is what they could call Max Scherzer’s eyes. Do you see how everything is connected?

Keider Montero – 4 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 3.58. Keider won’t be shortlisted for a 2027 sleeper (Ks are a bit too low), but his command (2.2 BB/9) makes it possible he’s one of those guys I target in all deep leagues.

Parker Messick – 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.57. Wanna talk about a remarkable season? (Of course you do, who doesn’t? Communists? Are you a Commie? Did you name your kids, Hammer and Sickle? Okay, cool.) If you do want to talk about remarkable, Messick could finish top three for Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, and not win either. He definitely won’t win the Cy. He should win the ROY, but likely won’t.

Colson Montgomery – Left the game after his wrist was hit by a pitch. Impressed he was able to make any contact.

Tommy Pham – 1-for-4, 3 RBIs as he hit cleanup. Here’s what the beat reporter said prior to the game, “Tommy Pham was only activated by the WhiteSox today because he saw GM Chris Getz in an elevator last night and made his case.” I’ll translate for you, Tommy Pham hit cleanup in the White Sox biggest game of the year, because he threatened to beat the crap out of the GM the previous night, then Pham — with his first hit of the season! — hit a three-run homer because the lesson, as always, is kowtow to the guy with nothing left to lose.