Happy Mother’s Day to all the baby’s mamas, mamas, mamas, baby mamas, mamas. Much respect to the mothers. Without my emergence from my mother’s vagina, I wouldn’t be able to bestow on you my fantasy baseball ‘pertness. We are one people and everyone has popped out of a mother’s vagina at one point, unless you’re an alien — I’m looking at you, Andrelton! — and with our emergence from our mother’s vagina — or that Cesarean stuff that I don’t fully understand — I say we should all live together, loving each other, and never speaking of Luis Castillo again, cause he sucks. Yesterday, the Jays called up Nate Pearson (2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 hits, 5 walks) and he couldn’t find the plate, obviously. There was one inning there where it felt like I aged ten years, and I was still younger than Nelson Cruz. Nate Pearson shouldn’t be judged on one start. His stuff is as electric as any I’ve seen recently. Won’t mean it’s without some ups and downs, but a potential 10+ K/9 plays everywhere. He will need to rein in his control to be effective for the shallowest leagues. Far from an easy matchup against the Astros, though one of the easier outs Kyle Tucker (2-for-3, 3 runs, 4 RBIs and his 6th homer, hitting .188) was the bulk of the damage. I hope that Mother Tucker’s happy. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Jose Altuve – 2-for-5 and his 3rd homer. Altuve wished his mother a very Happy Moth Day. Everything is short with this guy.
Rowdy Tellez – 2-for-4 and his 2nd homer. Done little to nothing so far, but you know I have my monocle out in case Tellez is here to Tellez something.
Yadier Molina – 2-for-4, 1 RBI as he was activated from the IL on Saturday. The Cardinals got a brief glimpse of the year 2077, when Molina retires, and it didn’t look very promising, tee bee aitch.
Adam Wainwright – 8 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.80. Only thing that can stop Wainwright throwing to Molina is their Life Alert failing to go off when they need to stand from the bench to head out to the field.
German Marquez – 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 5.49, but his road ERA is…well, not good, and I’m glad I saw that after I already streamed him. Thanks, Streamonator!
Aaron Sanchez – Hit the IL with biceps tightness, and that’s the end of his season. Call him Hurty Sanchez, and look elsewhere.
Kevin Gausman – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 1.97. Quietly laughing at people who in January were like, “The Padres have too many bats. They’re gonna kill teams.”
Chris Paddack – 3 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 4.78, as he was activated from the IL. Great, now Paddack’s an Opener? This guy is causing major ulcer flares, and there’s no emergency vehicles headed this way.
Fernando Tatis Jr. – 2-for-5, 2 RBIs and his 9th homer, hitting .240. Imagine if Fun the Jewels had two working shoulders.
Jake Cronenworth – 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and his 3rd homer, hitting .279. He nearly caused me to hurt myself. Had him in a 12-team mixer, so I looked at his stats, and fell asleep, hitting my head. Luckily, I caught myself before crashing to the ground, so I dropped him before he could drop me. Touché, you mother effer! Big day for mothers today in the roundup, huh?
Dylan Bundy – 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 5.03. When Bundy wanted us to count to five, I didn’t think he meant for his ERA.
Kevin Kiermaier – Hit the IL with an injury–VIDAL BRUJAN?!?!?!?! Putting on a diaper because I’m about to lose my sh*t. The Durham Bulls’ lineup is more exciting than the Rays’ lineup. Susan Sarandon must be having herself a good time. But, yeah, I’m monitoring Brujan, but haven’t heard anything … as … of … Okay, I’m trying to stall, but gotta stay on top of this.
Mike Fiers – Hit the IL with a sprained elbow. Maybe he hurt it from all that snitching. Yeah, esse! *makes cutting throat motion with thumb, then giggles* Hehe, that tickled my throat.
Jesus Luzardo – Played catch at a low-effort level. If only he played video games at the same level of effort.
Tyler Glasnow – 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.37. Member when I told you to sell Buxton three weeks ago and you were like, “Yo, my man is silly handsome, but also silly silly?” Right, well, two weeks ago, I told you to sell Glasnow. Oh, an injury is coming at some point. No one gets out of here alive.
Mike Brosseau – 1-for-4, 2 runs and his 3rd homer. Brosseau, “Whoa.”
Andrew Kittredge – 1 2/3 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 1.65, as he got his 2nd save. I want to say I choice wrong as the Rays’ closer replacement with Peter Fairbanks (1 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 1.93), but every pitcher in the Rays’ pen is great and could get the next save.
Michael Chavis – Hit 1st home run on Saturday, as he hit leadoff. With Enrisqué hitting the IL, Chavis was called up to platoon at 2nd base (with Marwin Gonzalez 3-for-5, 1 run) and, wait, this is hilarious, they both also hit leadoff. MLB managers are so freakin’ dumb. If one guy is injured, MLB managers treat their lineup replacement like it’s a bag of sand in the hands of Indiana Jones.
Rafael Devers – 2-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 8th homer, hitting .288. Not joking when I say I’m a little bit worried about even talking about Devers for fear of a jinx.
Hunter Renfroe – 1-for-4 and his 4th homer. After each home run, I keep waiting for Renfroe to get sweltering, but so far it’s been tepid at best. Maybe this is the hot schmotato run we’re (I’re) expecting.
Nick Pivetta – 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.19. Has anyone been able to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind their mind and start Pivetta this year? Truly, I have not. No matter what the Streamonator says.
Cedric Mullins – 1-for-4 and his 6th homer, hitting .313. Cedric the HRtainer pimped that home run by switching into a purple suit to run the bases.
Ronald Acuña Jr. – 0-for-3, 1 run, and his 6th steal. Was hit on the hand by a Sam Coonrod pitch on Saturday, and I was about to search down that guy who sounds like an Appalachian fishing pole maker, but Tildaddy is fine, and all the sighs of relief could power the mining of Bitcoin.
Freddie Freeman – 3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and his 9th homer, hitting .217. I am pleading with the Gods of Fantasy Baseball, except you Fantasy Baseball Overlord — you can go screw — I am pleading that Freeman starts hitting .400 for two weeks. Please.
Aaron Nola – 4 Ip, 5 ER, ERA at 3.59 vs. Huascar Ynoa – 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.23. Not to pick on Nola, because I do like him, but can you see a big difference in Ynoa, who wasn’t drafted, and Nola, who went in the first 25 picks? I’m trying, but not able.
Colin Moran – Hit the IL with a strained groin, but no fear, Todd Frazier’s here. Todd Frazier is a Jersey-born and bred man, and anyone who is six degrees of separation from The Situation can get a shot shot shot shot on my team and I’m just talking nonsense, he sucks.
Ka’ai Tom – 1-for-3, 1 run as he hits third. With Polanco hitting the IL, because he forgot there was a pandemic going on — ah, to have that free of a mind — so Tom has been playing left field. The “ai” in his name stands for Artificial Intelligence and people are always saying, “Geez, look at the brain on that guy,” because Tom had his brain artificially enhanced, and it barely fits on his head. Also, he looks like a 12/5/.250 hitter, but, damn, look at that overstuffed head. He’s got a braindonkadonk.
Tyler Anderson – 8 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.05. I don’t want to overstate how good he is, because he’s closer to a safe, number three vs. ace, but I picked him up a few weeks ago and have started him every start. Tyler Anderson is every other year’s Kyle Hendricks. This year’s Kyle Hendricks is Tyler Anderson still on the Rockies. Speaking of which…
Kyle Hendricks – 5 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 6.23. Didn’t see a more pathetic lineup in baseball Sunday than the one facing Hendricks, though the Tigers were rained out. Absolutely brain-meltingly bad lineup by the Pitt crew. Team Penske is like no thanks’ski calling that a Pitt crew. Yet, and again with a tinge of sadness, YET, Hendricks is busted. Thought he was bouncing back, but something is just not right here. His upside isn’t nearly good enough to keep rolling him out in shallower leagues.
Trevor Larnach – Called up over the weekend. Prospect Itch said, “(Larnach) is like a lot of prospects in that he’s resigned to a corner spot, where his plus hit, plus power, plus patience profile is common, which gets punished on most public-facing prospect lists. We’re just doing fantasy here, and while it’s sometimes difficult to sift through the sound and fury, Larnach is an essential and fairly simple case study. His only red flag so far is 27.6 K rate in 43 games at AA. He produced a 148 wRC+ with a .295/.387/.455 triple slash despite the strikeout issue, which brought along a 12.2 percent walk rate. That red flag is doused in Grey’s blood.” Okay, what is going on here? Larnach is your standard corner OF who could develop to be OZUNA or Renfroe, depending on how you look at the data. Definitely worth grabbing in all leagues if you need power.
Khris Davis – 0-for-4, as he was activated from the IL. Okay, this is crazy, but he spent exactly 247 hours on the IL. What the heck!
Adolis Garcia – 3-for-4, 5 RBIs and his 9th homer, hitting .297. I will call him Arozarena Garcia.
Dane Dunning – 5 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.78. He’s in the column of guys I like more than I should. His next start on the Streamonator is a clear-cut sit, though.
Miguel Andujar – 0-for-3. With Gio Urshela day-to-day, Andujar was called up, which led to this exchange with the Yankee Stadium parking lot attendant, “I’m here for the game.” “And you are?” “That’s right.” If Andujar hits and plays, then I’m all about him, but everyone adding him while he does nothing is caught up in the Yankees’ hype. He hasn’t hit in two years. Where I’m from, we call that a schmohawk with a chance for a schmotato.
Corey Kluber – 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.06. Or 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 12 baserunners, 3 Ks, that’s putting his line through my Pitcher Against A Tough Team Translator. Here’s me doing the same with Max Scherzer: 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks. His actual line vs. the Yankees was 7 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 3 baserunners, 14 Ks, ERA at 2.33. Yes, that’s me saying the Yankee offense is not good.
Gleyber Torres – 1-for-4 and his 1st homer, hitting .242. “Yes, I’m sure it’s fine if we feed him to the dingoes–Wait! Gleyber’s moved! He’s alive!”
Domingo German – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.02. Saw German was followed by King and, for some reason, all I could think was Boone Wilhelm the Yankees until the end of this season, if he’s lucky. German looks like he has a KeBoB problem. He has decent Ks and solid BBs, but he gets skewered on homers. Think Pineda.
Kyle Schwarber – 1-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 3rd homer, hitting .193. Will be interesting to see the difference in batting averages this year vs. previous. For unstints, will a .230 hitter like Schwarber be a .190 hitter with the square ball? Not sure, but it could be.
Luis Castillo – 4 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 6.42. What’s hilarious in an absolutely unfunny way, the league where I drafted a starter the highest — one of my Draft Champions leagues — I took Castillo, and obviously it’s one of my worst pitching teams. I said it a few weeks ago, and I will say it again. He’s not right. His velocity is down, and he’s relying on his change. A fastball sets up a change. Relying on a change without your fastball is not a recipe for success. I thought by now he’d be sent to the Ineffective List. He’s not right.
Adrian Houser – 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.44. Streamonator hates his next start, but I’m almost at the point where he should just be rostered vs. streamed. But, Part II: Back That But Up, his peripherals are pretty streamer-ish.
Daniel Vogelbach – 1-for-4 and his 3rd homer. Watched his home run trot and was surprised he didn’t chug a beer at every base.
Sandy Alcantara – 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.72. No joke, if you only drafted Marlins starters, you’d be doing better in all your leagues. I’d imagine it’s not particularly close for some of you.
Lewis Brinson – 3-for-4 and his 2nd homer, hitting .240. Your Marlins’ All-Star Game representative…Lewis Brinson! (After all the Marlins starters decided they didn’t want to go.) His strikeout and walk rates are 29.4%, 2%, and I guffawed.
Lance Lynn – 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 1.52. Had a long conversation in the preseason with Donkey Teeth, where he refused to acknowledge my drafting of Lynn at pick 58 was better than him picking Blake Snell in the 2nd round. Since then…Well, I worry Donkey Teeth might be hiding in the bushes outside my house with a potato sack, so I won’t say more.
Lucas Giolito – 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.54. Wish I could say his numbers have veered back towards “ace.”
Yoan Moncada – 1-for-4, 2 runs, hitting .261. I’m sure Matt Truss will go over this in his RCL recap, but I wanna make sure you hear it from my big ol’ mouth first so I can put my spin on it. Made my first trade of the year. I sent our Saturday Injury report writer, JKJ, Jake Diekman and he sent me Yoan Moncada. That’s just the ABC’s of trading right there — Always Be trading Closers — odd that an important word like trading isn’t capped there, but it’s a tenet of trading and that movie was massively WUT. I’m pretty happy with the trade, since I didn’t need saves, desperately needed a corner man, and, maybe most importantly, is the lefty Diekman the closer?
Daniel Lynch – 2/3 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 18.56. Hey, I’m just gonna leave my Shasta here on the counter of this bar named Al’s Qaeda Bar & Grill while I hit the bathroom, would you mind watching it for me…*five hours later*…Damn, I must’ve fell asleep…Hey, is that xylophone player using with my rib cage? AH!!! Roofie!
Jacob deGrom – 5 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit, 3 walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 0.68. Left the game early due to his lat tightness. Dot dot dot. Or did he leave knowing the only way the Mets had a chance of scoring was to take himself out of the game? So, this sounds minor, but also concerning, since the Mets announcers said deGrom has pain in his side after every start, but now that he’s in his 30’s it’s catching up to him the day of his starts. Yeah, that’s not great.
Noah Syndergaard – Will begin a rehab assignment this week. He’s totally returning before Carrasco, isn’t he? I drafted so many guys this year who just disappear.
— Razzball (@Razzball) May 8, 2021
Francisco Lindor – 1-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, hitting .194. Think more went down this weekend with Lindor than in five years in Cleveland. Gotta love the maelstrom that is the Mets. A brief recap, Lindor didn’t like how McNeil knelt down in front of him while trying to make a play, but McNeil didn’t like that Lindor didn’t like it, so they went into the clubhouse tunnel, and fought each other with the whole team following after Summer Slam-style. Eventually, they emerged from the skirmish, and the Mets won the game in dramatic fashion by Patrick Mazeika. Who? Doesn’t matter. Then after the game, Lindor said they were in the tunnel looking at an animal, and couldn’t tell if it was a raccoon or a rat, and McNeil’s nickname is Squirrel. Incredibly, I didn’t make a word of that up. It did seem to wake up Lindor’s bat. If I had my choice between a squirrel, raccoon, rat or bat, I’m taking bat. Squirrels have rabies; rats are nasty; raccoons are sneaky; bats are vital to the fantasy ecosystem. With rodents taking a forefront in Queens, maybe the Mets can hire the narrator of Meerkat Manor to join Ron, Keith and Gary.
10 Team ESPN Roto 5×5 (R,HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, K, ERA, WHIP, SV)
I was offered this trade:
Send: Jarred Kelenic
Receive: Randy Arozarena
I have Ramon Laureano, Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, Adolis Garcia, Tommy Edman in my OF slots. Santander, Kiriloff on IL.
Meh
Grey,
I have a free add at the utility position. H2H category league. Who is your add from this group?
Chazz Noir
Jerry Tomato
Conforto
E. Suarez
Yastrzemski
Gurriel Jr
Kyle Lewis
Dylan Moore
Thanks
Effing Garcia. So close to a QS…
Hey Grey, what do you think of trading Castillo for Alex Reyes. Hate to give up on a guy I drafted as an ace, but would you pull the trigger on that deal given how broken Castillo appears to be thus far? I have Clase in that league, but could use a second closer. Is it safe to assume Reyes will keep the role this year since Hicks has been ineffective and is now injured?
ROS Player Rater had 2 things that stood out – McNeil ranked 66th and Robby Ray ranked just over 100 behind Ryu… ROS Player Rater is drunk or there’s something there?
Kelenic being called up on Thursday-FYI.
LFG!
FOR REAL?!?!?!?!?!?
Grey,
I’m jumping on the Kelenic bandwagon before it’s too late.
Drop Dunning or Eovaldi for him?
Thanks!
Dunning
So when you mentioned Brujan, I was immediately thinking of the Sopranos bit where JoJo Palmice (Mikey’s wife) has this line in 1.11 Nobody Knows Anything after Mikey brings home a kitchen appliance.
“It’s not even a Braun (which she pronounces strangely, like Bra-oon).”
And then I use my scrolly finger and see Little Carmine. That’s synergy!
That’s pretty awesome! HAHA
I know you answered my question above was Calhoun but looking at hitter projections for the week-
Naquin, Senzel and Barnhart all rate higher than Calhoun because of Coors. Calhoun has one more with SF than @ Hou.
If you were just streaming for the week would you still stay with Calhoun.
Thanks-sorry to challenge you for a deeper answer, I guess I should have said just for the week.
Going to Coors? Oh, go with Senzel
One gotta go (points league)
Mountcastle
McNeil
Biggio
Belt
Add Naquin to the mix and cut two
Naquin
Mountcastle
Cron to DL-need best hitter out of
B. Crawford, Senzel, A. Garcia, Calhoun, Mountcastle, Hays and J. Polanco
Thanks
Adolis
Wrong Garcia-Avisail sorry.
Sorry for all the replies-You can add Naquin to the list with the Coors effect
Calhoun
1. I could pick up Enrique Hernandez off waivers. Of course, he is on DL and no one is sure when he might come off the DL. To pick him up, I would have to waiver one of the following: Austin Hays, Brandon Belt, Colin Moran or Jordan Montgomery. I am not sure. Thoughts?
2. I have Jordan Montgomery scheduled to pitch tomorrow against R. Yarbrough at Tampa. Montgomery’s Dollar value is 9.4 with a GS of 55%. I was very slightly leaning to start him. Your input on starters has been invaluable. Would you start him?
Thanks so
Much!!
1. I could pick up Enrique Hernandez off waivers. Of course, he is on DL and no one is sure when he might come off the DL. To pick him up, I would have to waiver one of the following: Austin Hays, Brandon Belt, Colin Moran or Jordan Montgomery. I am not sure. Thoughts?
2. I have Jordan Montgomery scheduled to pitch tomorrow against R. Yarbrough at Tampa. Montgomery’s Dollar value is 9.4 with a GS of 55%. I was very slightly leaning to start him. Your input on starters has been invaluable. Would you start him?
Thanks so
Much!!
1. Hays or JoMo, depending on what you need
2. I wouldn’t start him
Gonsolin is still available in my 12-team ESPN 6×6. Would you drop any of the following from my pitching staff to grab him?
SP- Brandon Woodruff
SP- Hyun Jin-Ryu
SP- John Means
SP- Kevin Gausman
SP-Pablo Lopez
SP-Kenta Maeda
SP- Dylan Bundy
SP- Dylan Cease
RP- Alex Reyes
RP- Emmanuel Clase
IL- Noah Syndergaard
Hold
Hello Grey,
Looking to add T. Anderson to my Yahoo 10 Team H2H Points League Team, and wondering if I have someone to drop for him. The candidates (according to me) would be:
Brady Singer
Luis Garcia
Danny Duffy
Domingo German
Diego Castillo (Bench but obviously IL designation)
T. Gonsolin (on IL)
F. Valdez (on IL)
Or simply hold what I have. I know it’s not an easy ask without full knowledge of my team, but I didn’t want to clog the air waves. Any assistance will suffice.
Thanks much Grey.
German
Thanks Grey.
Is Alzolay better than Anderson? He is also available.
Nah
Cool. Thanks Grey. Much obliged.
No problem
GreyLord!
Buy or sell for ROS
1) Tommy edman
2) eugenio suarez
Buy, buy
I have Jazz or Hoerner on my DL; and both may soon be activated. My potential cuts are Tyler O’Neil and Mike Moustakis. Assuming Jazz is available 1st,
I’m expecting to end with Jazz and Moustakis (and cutting Hoerner). Do you concur?
Note. Moustakis is sSLIGHTLY favored due to his increased defensive flexibility,
Sounds right
Mahle is absolutely brutal to watch.
No fun!
OK, enough misty-eyed nostalgia (though I do love me some early Elton John).
I drafted Murphy as my catcher and have been in set-and-forget mode with him. I do like that the A’s have him at 3 or cleanup so they obviously believe in him, but he has been a bit underwhelming – even for a catcher.
McCann is somehow sitting on the wire – would you make the switch?
I’d go McCann
Cool, thanks. And while I have you, who’s your preferred stash – Heliot Ramos or Logan Gibert? Totally different guys of course. Heliot is slightly higher on The Itch’s list FWIW…
Gilbert
I’ve been filling up on your SP favorites (no bench bats). Who’s my two cut(s) when Ketel and Bellinger come back and I can again have ba sensible roster?
José Berríos Min
Andrew Heaney
Kevin Gausman
Pablo López
Nate Eovaldi
Freddie Peralta
John Means
Trevor Rogers
Dylan Cease
(My guess; Eovaldi and Pablo).
Heaney, Eovaldi
13T OPS keeper – need a LF
Top 2 of Yaz, Reynolds & Mountcastle
Thanks
Not Reynolds
Aren’t you fearing Job security risk. If Bellinger and Ketel come back; and Kelinic gets activated — there;s no further need for your advice.
Haha
Great write-up Grey!
Which 2 starters would you sit?
Nola @ TOR
S. Gray @ PIT
Maeda @ CHW, OAK (SON says 2-start but not sure)
Freddy P STL, ATL (SON says 2-start but not sure)
RYU @ ATL
Gausman @ PIT
JT Brubaker CIN, SF
Thanks!
LG
Ryu, Nola
You’d pick Brubaker over Ryu?
For two good starts vs. one bad? Yes
Hey Grey,
Ive been holding Sano all season so far but he just isnt hitting. I had him stashed on the IL but now that hes been activated, I have to make a decision on him. He is still on my IL so I cant make any moves until I activate him. Is he a straight drop at this point? I have Hosmer at 1B and Arenado at 3rd. Semien and K.Tucker are in my UTIL slots and A.Riley is my lone bench bat.
Also, I have S.Murphy at C. Would you rather him or Garver?
Better stash-O.Narvaez or A.Kirk?
Yeah, you can lose him…Garver…narvaez
Grey, which 2 streamers u like the most of these starts?
Manaea at Boston
Alozay at Cleveland
Paddack home vs Cards
Tyler Anderson home vs Giants
Ray at Braves
Anderson, Alzolay
Pts league. Hays, Kepler, or Kelenic. Thank you.
Kelenic
14 team h2h 6X6 OBP keeper
1) Mountcastle or Larnach?
2) Alzolay or Paddock?
Mountcastle…Alzolay
Looks like DeGrom is heading to the IL. MRI came back with no structural damage but they want to play it safe?
Buy low opportunity or stay away? I was thinking of sending an offer of Muncy + Means.
I’d buy low there
Rank ROS: Ketel Marte, Adolis Garcia, Riley, Edman, Hampson
Thank you!
Also, where does Swanson rank in this mix, thanks again!
That top three
I know you said in your ranking/writeup that b.lowe might have been the byproduct of like one great month and then some so-so followups but do you think he has a shot at reaching your projections of 30HR and .260 anymore or is that looking best case since hes under mendoza. lol do you think its cool to sell him off if someone still thinks highly of him? Other options would include lourdes gurerial, edman, wong, france
Lourdes but he’s struggling too
Great write-up Grey!
SON has several of my guys as 2-starts but yahoo isn’t showing the same. Which 4 would you start?
Nola @ TOR
S. Gray @ PIT
Maeda @ CHW, OAK (SON says 2-start but not sure)
Freddy P STL, ATL (SON says 2-start but not sure)
RYU @ ATL
Gausman @ PIT
JT Brubaker CIN, SF
Thanks Grey!
LG
grey man, can you rank these RP might have the opportunity to grab one or two in a deal.
fairbanks, alvarado, graveaman, melancon and trivino
Melancon, Alvarado, Trivino
Thoughts on who is more likely to return Friday – Hoerner or Rendon?
Rendon
Which side?
Bellinger or Flaherty/Rosario
Cody
@Grey: weekly roto, which one of these guys do you like better?
bassitt – @ bos, @ min
alzolay – @ cle, @ det
thanks!
Alzolay
Oh man team I am playing vs in weekly h2h this week has 4 two start pitchers including Buehler vs Seattle and Miami and also Bauer vs Miami.
I think my play here is to throw in an extra RP and go for ratios cuz he is using 2 start Kim/Gibson and Bum!
which 2 do you like for ratios:
Freddy Peralta vs St louis
Ryu @ Atlanta
Alcantara @ Dodgers
Ynoa @ Mil
Cease 2 start Min and KC
-thanks for the help I picked 2 in my head and want to see how I compare :)
Freddy, Cease
Do you know about Breggy Bomb Salsa?
No what’s that
It’s something awful.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mlb.com/amp/news/alex-bregman-launches-salsa-brand.html
Sooner would pass the old El Paso
New York City????
Bellinger apparently posted an instagram post of him running…. we are getting closer!!! I hope!
I hope so
Aren’t you fearing Job security risk. If Bellinger and Ketel come back; and Kelinic gets activated — there;s no further need for your advice.
Haha
Bundy just hit the wire in my league.
Do you like him over Mahle, Lopez, Peralta or Ynoa?
Over Ynoa
Luis Castillo is on waivers but I’m struggling who to drop for him. Either Tapia or Swanson, or desclafani or Alex wood? Or hold? Thanks!
Wood
Framber could be back soon. Would you drop Mackenzie Gore in a non keeper league for him. The league has a 50 move limit and Im at 16 moves.
Sure
Which pitcher you like this week and for season? Taillon is at TB and Keuschel is home against MN and KC?
Who would be your drop among Neris,Romano or Lux on my bench as it is a keeper league?
Thank you!!
Keuchel…Lux
I’m in a shallow 6-team standard roto that uses QS.
Between these SP who would you include in a package with Ozuna for a top 10 5-category bat?
Kershaw
Buehler
Lynn
Kershaw
Great insights, as always. Would you drop Escobar for Belt or Maikel Franco for CI spot? Also have 1 empty IL spot, thinking of stashing either Severino or Luis Robert, thoughts? Standard redraft points league so categories don’t matter, looking for ROY advice. Thanks!
Belt…severino
hey, should i deal nate lowe and pablo lopez for alonso?
Senzel 7 @ 3Pitt/4Colorado or your love child Kyle Lewis 6 @ 2LAD / v 4Clev. Not enamored that Senzel is facing what seems like all RHP. However Lewis is facing some tuff hombres in Bieber, Urias, Civale and Buhler as well as Tristan and Plesac. Or do I go off the reservation with either Larnach ( v 3 LHP) or Biggio, ugh? Week 7 mind you….thanks.
Lewis
Ok dont have a line up question, really at this point im starting to not care which is what i think alot of these guys did in the offseason. Can you imagine its week 4 in the NFL and we read that Mahomes will be ok, he just has to get his timing down. Or week 4 in the NBA and you here LeBron will be ok he just need to get used to seeing the hoop again. Like seriously, wtf did these guys do all offseason? Yes theres covid but ther was also spring training and we are rolling into a complete two months in and there are probably 3 superstars that are preforming and one of them should not be playing at all (Tatis jr) in alot of peoples opinions. It so bad that people want DeGrom to win the MVP because batting has been that awful. The amount of guys hitting under .220 is proposterous. And dont get me started on the injuries, the pulled hammies, the strained quads, the lat strain, the trap strains like what are these giys doing? Apparently nothing, nothing at all. Are they drinking water, do they even stretch? I saw pollock oull his hammie and it was a simple change of direction play and he looked like my drunk neighbor faking an injury so he could go home from a pickup basketball game. I own 20 teams and this thing called fantasy has turned into a job just trying to account for IL stints, whos hot and whos not. Whos having a breakout, whos getting called up. Its a mess. Its not fun and i think its actually horrible for the fantasy community. I love baseball, i love fantasy sports but honestly who can say theyre enjoying any of this right now? Rant over……
Could be effects of 2020 season and deadened ball
Whos the better streamer tomorrow?
Bumgarner home vs Marlins or
Ray at Braves
Bum
In my league format of 8 batting cats with standard 5 + OPS, Ks, and ABs – I’m thinking of trying to trade Tim Anderson for Lindor
Sure
i threw out a trade offer of T. Anderson and McNeil for Lindor and Bassitt… thought it was pretty fair. This team is currently in last.
Sounds fair
In a 11 teams QS league with daily moves. Current starters are: Bieber, Lynn, Castillo, Means, Mahle, Trevor Rogers, Plesac, Civale, Cease.
I already tried buying low when I sent Rodon for Castillo. Would you trade Civale for Snell?
Can I afford both Snell and Castillo?
Civale goes deep and is solid source for qs but can he keep it up, while Snell can’t go 6, but will he put it together?
I’d take Snell
@Grey: weekly roto. who do you like this week? HT seems to love Naquin this week with a trip to Coors?
naquin (23.2) – 3 @ pit, 4 @ col
k lewis (0.5) – 2 @ lad, 4 vs cle
Thanks!
Lewis
should I deal Nate Lowe and Pablo Lopez for Pete Alonso?
12 team 5×5 redraft
Just picked up Castillo and would be benching him anyway for the next twoish starts.
Drop any of L. Castillo, Fried, Staumont, Yermin for Gilbert?
Thanks in advance.
Staumont
Staumont has been pretty meh last 2 times out – and in non-save situations. Though to be fair, the Royals haven’t won a game for what seems like a month so I chalk up yesterday’s appearance as to just trying to get work in.
Some Coors complications:
1) Probably won’t get word on CJ Cron’s status (possible DL) till tomorrow. Take the risk and start him for the week? All Coors games, tho tomorrow’s will probably be postponed as well. It’s him or Biggio
2) Put T Mahle out there for 2 starts, @PIT and @COL, or play Snell instead (assume his @COL start won’t happed and he’ll be home vs stl).
Thanks!
Biggio 2. Snell
Looks like Snell is currently scheduled to pick the second half of the doubleheader on Wednesday. That seems dangerous considering that his superpower seems to be the ability to pitch 4 2/3-5 1/3 innings. He’s like the Khris Davis of innings pitched per game.
Haha
Pearson over Fried?
No
Felt good after the draft in my 12-team H2H league (7xy with R, HR, RBI, K, SB, AVG, OPS // K, W, L, ERA, WHIP, K/9, SVHD), but I’m now 0-5! It’s a keeper league and I kept Trout, Lindor and Mondesi (we can keep up to four players, and I was planning to keep Eloy too but he got hurt right before our draft).
Even after losing Eloy I thought I came away with a solid starting IF (Olson, Muncy, Lindor, Hayes), strong OF (Verdugo, Trout, Conforto), dynamic UT (Reyes, Mondesi), sneaky good rotation (Ryu, Bundy, Gausman, Lopez, Means with Sale eventually bolstering hopfully) and needing some in-season help at RP, which I planned going into the draft (and did end up first Merryweather (sigh) and then Clase).
Injuries to Mondesi and Hayes shortly after the draft (and later Chisolm) derailed things on offense somewhat, but I still like the team overall.
Anyway (sorry, feel like I should be typing this in a horizontal position on a couch), any clear cut moves you would make with this roster to improve it, or just stay the course and hope things turn around?
C – Mercedes (FA)
1B – Olson (5th round)
2B – Wong (FA)
3B – Muncy (7th round)
SS – Lindor (K)
LF – Verdugo (12th round)
CF – Trout (K)
RF – Conforto (4th round)
UT – Reyes (8th round)
UT – Winker (FA)
B – Lewis (14th round)
IL – Mondesi (K)
IL – Chisolm (FA)
IL – Hayes (10th round)
SP – Ryu (6th round)
SP – Bundy (9th round)
SP – Gausman (13th round)
RP – Pressly (11th round)
RP – Clase (FA)
P – Green (17th round)
B – Lopez (15th round)
B – Means (16th round)
B – Cease (FA)
DL – Sale (18th round)
Thanks!
Doesn’t look bad maybe having some bad luck…Wong’s expiration date might’ve past depending on waiver options
Yea, 2B is pretty barren on waivers unfortunately. Guys like Frazier, Fletcher, Galvis, Gimenez. France just got dropped but he’s been brutal of late. I really need Jazz or Hayes back to shore up my infield.
Thanks though. I can’t look up my opponents’ stats vs. the rest of the league’s but I do feel like I’ve been running into some really good weeks thus far. Hopefully that’s the case and I have some positive regression coming my way in that regard.
Meh, prolly hold my Wong
Ha, yea. Hopefully stops coming up so small for me.
Haha
Send Darvish/Arozarena for Cruz/Lindor?
Sure
What are your thoughts on McClanhan? Seems like they are slowly stretching him out but kind figure Tampa is going keep treating him with kid gloves.
I’d guess he wavers between 4-5 IP depending on how economical he is
Thanks for the great write up Grey!
Enjoyed the Mets blurb, what a circus. Lindor looked sloppy in the field this weekend too, just cruising around the games I saw him bobble 2-3 mostly routine plays, an airmail 6-3 saved by Alonso…idk what is going on with him. Maybe he should pick a glove and break it in instead of using a different colored one for each day of the week. I guess when you are making that type of money you can get angry when your serfs DO kneel before you, and then can call them a rat on TV, if you feel like it.
ANYWAY…3 questions if you or the community have a moment:
I know you said you are not dropping L. Gurriel Jr. but I couldn’t take it anymore after I added up his 3 for 24 mark this AM. Took Adolis Garcia. 1-10 how bad of a move? Garcia have any hope to be an ROS guy or just a hot streak?
I am also looking at Kiner-Falefa off the FA list and dropping slumping France (in UTIL slot) to accommodate. Same question as above, think he has a shot at usefulness ROS? Other FA options might be Harrison Baderzard, Moncada, Madrigal, Franmil…see below remark on the batting K’s though…
Finally- 10 team H2H categories league has a batting K’s category you are punished for. This causes players who might be owned in other leagues to be ignored. To this end, a second person just dropped Stanton! He does K like crazy but is projected to do so less than some of the FA’s I mentioned above…and is hitting well right now? Am I missing something? Is it the yanks crap offense?
Stupid to not grab him? TBH mathematically it might be the thing to do but I’m actually not to stoked on owning him over Kiner-Falefa with my mix leagues mix of categories.
Interested on what you think! Thanks as always.
Thanks!
Sounds fine for Adolis, I like him
Lose France for IKF
Thank you sir, have a good week :)
You too!
Happy Monday, Grey!
A. Which two starts would you SIT out of the following:
Brubaker vs CIN
Brubaker vs SF
Kikuchi @LAD
B. Is it a no-brainer to roster T. Anderson over Alzolay, Brubaker, or McClan – or is it more about matchups for these guys?
C. How are you feeling about Max Fried after a wonky start to the season – I know you had him at #20 in your preseason SP rankings. Is he still a Top 20 SP going forward, or now Top ____?
A. Not Brubaker SF
B. Yes, over McClanahan
C. No change
A. Thanks, I should have phrased question A better. So to try again – would you start Brubaker vs CIN or Kikuchi @LAD?
B. It was encouraging to see McClan step up to 80 pitches thrown, though not so nice he still only made it through 4 IP. Adding a couple guys to my original mix. Assuming health/being in the majors, which 2 do you like the most ROS out of:
Anderson, Alzolay, Brubaker, Gilbert, Gonsolin
Brubaker — these aren’t ROS options — Anderson, Alzolay
Drop Bell for Belt?
Sure
James McCann has been a nothing burger so far this season? Hold the line, or drop him for someone like Astudillo, Zunino, or Gomes?
Hold
You think Dolis is a hold , or swap him for someone like Chatwood?
thx
Meh, what’s Chatwood gonna do
Not collect disability?
Ok, if you need a random arm
Hey Grey – this is admittedly forward looking, but do you think it’s likely / expected that Clevinger is ready to go for SD in opening day 2022?
I have some IL space + was offered to acquire him and Trivino (I have diekman) in exchange for a guy I was going to drop soon, a non keeper Luzardo. (There are pitchers on the wire who you’ve said you’d drop luzardo for, so lots of options).
What do you think?
Nah, prolly will miss April — sounds fine
Esteemed steamy lothario,
Solak or Swanson ROS?
OBP / R/ HR/ RBI/ S
Thanks again, for the things that you do.
Swanson — No problem
Trade offer in the ol’ H2H (14 teams, OBP and QS). Give Ryu and get Arozarena.
Existing starters are Lynn, Means, Eovaldi, Urias, Kikuchi and L Garcia. My OF slot where Arozarena would go would normally be manned by Bellinger/Santander – currently I’m using Dozier there, or some schmo off the wire.
The Razz trade machine gives it to Randy by $2.60.
I’m inclined to accept – thoughts?
Sounds decent
Grey, 10 team 5×5 category keeper league.
Please pick best 2 ROS
1. Vaughn, Aguilar, H. Dozier, Bader. Drop any for Duran?
Please pick best 2 ROS
2. Gilbert (when comes up), Cease, Plesac? I really want Gilbert
Thanks sir!
1. Bader, Vaughn — sure, Aguilar
2. Cease, Plesac
Good stuff. Thanks.
If I added Pollack to#1 does it change anything?
Nope
Avisail Garcia or Schwarber ?
Schwarber
Last one …
Upthread, I think you stated you like Avisail more than Hays — if so, is it close?
Fielding an outfield without multiple giant holes on a daily basis has been a challenge, and Austin Hays has been helpful when he hasn’t been hurt.
Hays = play every day, hitters park, but crappy team
Avisail = not sure about daily PT, hitters park, competing team
I remember couple seasons ago someone (not me) was pimping Chad Pinder, hard — and your response was, “he’s Chad Pinder”.
Am I overthinking?
Avisail Garcia or Andrew ‘Cutch?
Cutch
Orlando Arcia tearing it up in AAA, 3 homers yesterday. Is this a swing change/confidence thing or just a pro player doing what he should in AAA ??
NL Only 5×5 Weekly League:
Start Huascar Ynoa @MIL
Or
Two start Tyler Mahle @PIT & @COL
My other starters are Sandy Alcantara @LAD, Juoe Musgrove vs. STL & Woodruff vs. STL
Ynoa
Anime Mom seems nice, just say no to crypto lol
HAHA
When I saw that Weathers piggy backed Paddack, it made me think of a news radio format: Paddack and Weathers together on the 9s
Haha, nice
Farming news?
cedric mullins for kyle tucker in 4 player keeper league?
Tucker
Pearson over Luis Castillo?
Castillo
In a keeper league, who would you rather own K. Hayes or Moncada? Not worried about production right now (while Hayes is injured) just looking for the better long term play. Thanks
Moncada
Send Darvish/Arozarena for Cruz/Lindor?
Paddack looked halfway decent in his 3 innings yesterday. I’m not anywhere near calling him ‘back’, but I’m a helllllllll of a lot more confident in Paddack than Luis Castillo right now. They both have the same type issue, not being able to harness a pitch. For Castillo, it could be the flip of a switch, but I’m very, very concerned. Keeping the faith in Paddack. How would you rank the worried meter?
Paddack looked great until he was pulled
Sweet, I got bamboozled, he was not called up
Morning Grey!! (yes its still morning on the Best Coast)
Thank you for all the preseason Solak love. I auctioned him for $1 in my keeper league as my starting 2B and all my leaguemates were saying ‘WHO?’ No- I don’t play with a bunch of owls. I don’t say Solak, I say SoLuck.
But now I’ve also picked up Josh Rojas and I believe. Need to decide 3 starters this week for lineup lock on 2B, SS, and MI;
Solak – Away;6 ([email protected], [email protected])
Rojas – Home;7 (4vMia, 3vWas)
Dansby – Home;3, Away;3 (3vTor, [email protected])
Didi – Away;6 ([email protected], [email protected])
Thanks!!
Didi
Rojas – Home;7 (4vMia, 3vWas)
Dansby – Home;3, Away;3 (3vTor, [email protected])
Sweet.
The racoon/rat story reminded me of your comment about teaching a comedy writing class just using the Mets for everything.
I think their firing of Chili Davis is illustrative of how the Mets are the comedy gift that keeps giving. Firing a coach early in the season always invites criticism and adds an air of chaos and cluelessness to the narrative. Now had they hired an old Met, say Wally Backman just as a random example, then it would have been easy to sell. Similarly, if they did hire a guy nobody had ever heard of at least maybe his name could be Dan Smith or Tom Anderson or something. But no…because it’s the Mets, they of course find a guy with a name right out of a Marx Brothers movie.
I have competing images of Hugh Quattlebaum in my head. In one, he wears a tweet jacket with elbow patches and he sits in a high backed leather arm chair in a corner of the locker room quietly chuckling to himself and taping pipe ash on to the floor. In the other he’s dressed like Elton John and he breezes into the clubhouse tossing a feather boa around his neck saying something like, “Let’s do some batting or whatever!”
HAHA, yes! Right? How do they find someone with the name that sounds like Bart would be giving to Moe?
Maybe Elton in that sequined Dodgers uniform from those ’75 concerts at the Stadium?
Ha
Check this out, man – looks incredible…
https://www.instagram.com/p/COgMsiIpCz9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I don’t have Instagram
https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/dodger-stadium-1975-game-on
What am I looking at?
Eh, just the massive crowd, great photos etc. Must have been quite an occasion.
Ah, yeah
Hey Grey, I was offered Alex Reyes for Castillo. Would you pull the trigger on that deal given how broken Castillo appears to be thus far? I have Clase in that league, but could use a second closer. Is it safe to assume Reyes will keep the role this year since Hicks has been ineffective and is now injured?
h2H Points league – dump Neris or Graveman to pick up Pearson? Wins and saves have almost equal value. Not sure either of those “closers” will keep the job long term.
Nah
Hey, Grey!
On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 = 100% confidence), how confident are you in Luis Garcia finishing with a quality start vs LAA this evening? Thanks!
That’s listed on the SON — it’s at 30%
Would you start him? SON hates him, but as you said the other day, he might be a guy that SON will never get behind…
I am
TRJB is full on behind him too. Let’s do it!
Killer re-cap. Thanks. Encouraging last week. Hopefully bats are warming up. But a real weird small schedule today! Idle hands often lead to roster tinkering. Noticed Dylan Moore as well, and could probably use the 2b eligibility AND steals. Drop any of Soler, Kepler, Vaughn, or Mountcastle for Moore? AND do you think that post call up, Gilbert will be an upgrade over Montas or Dunning? Thanks again!!
Meh on Moore — Gilbert over Montas
Goodstuff. No rosterbating for now. But yeah, Montas is torturous to own. Thanks, Grey.
No problem
I’d think Moore would be a better play than Mountcastle for SBs at least in the short term to wait and see if Moore turns his last 3 games into something more