The Road Runner Woulda Got Caught Buy The Leody

(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH OR $13/MONTH WITH AN EXTRA WEEKLY PODCAST.)

Last year, I wrote in my Leody Taveras sleeper post, “You don’t need me to Mr. Shaibel you through the ins and outs of strategy on how to move your pieces around to win your league, but let me just say the quiet part real loud:  SPEED AND POWER MMM YUM. Got it, all you Normies and five Carlas? Leody Taveras is only 22 years old, so his power could be developing into more goodness. He has a 14.3 Launch Angle, which should lead to roughly a 37+% fly ball rate (it was 32.9% last year, but small samples). A 37% fly ball rate should lead to roughly 178 fly balls. Taveras is not built like a brickhouse. He’s built more like a Shed Long. But he has a 50 grade in raw power and who knows? Maybe he runs into 10% HR/FB. That would give him, you guessed it, 18 homers! I’ll be honest, that feels optimistic. Steamer projects him for 13 homers in 133 games, and that feels optimistic too, but pessimistic on his games played. When all things are equal, 13 homers feels like a solid projection, but in more games.” And that’s me quoting me! That just got my pants tent moving north to the Adirondacks for Loedy Taveras in 2022 too. If Siri is reading this to you, we’re not talking about 20222, you didn’t fall asleep for 18,200 years. If you did, your head would be reading this in a jar of formaldehyde. Just had a thought, imagine your head was being preserved in formaldehyde and it was on a shelf behind a bigger head and all you could see was the back of someone else’s head for all of eternity. Writing a note in my Last Will and Testament to not let that happen to me. Any hoo! This is for this year, and Leody has speed and power. He needs to find more contact, but if he can, he could be trouble this year or in 20222. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

BUY

Alejandro Kirk – Just gave you my Alejandro Kirk fantasy. It was written while giggling.

Harold Castro – Imagine his contact with Leody’s power and speed and I’m moving back to the Adirondacks. Sadly, Castro has contact and that’s about it. 4020 for life.

Brad Miller – Just gave you a Brad Miller fantasy. You know homeboy’s been hot as a Hot Pocket right out of the microwave if he’s getting his own post.

Bobby Bradley – Watching him is like tuning into Swag City on BET, if there was a show named Swag City on BET. Bobby Bradley has light tower power, fastballs he will devour.

Abraham Toro – Abe Toro sounds like a guy who is so nice with his knives he makes the best sushi in the world, but he retired decades ago after losing his wife. Am I mixing How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Pixar’s Up? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Toro is prorating out to 20/10/.270 season and I’m already mentally drafting him for 2022.

Freddy Galvis – Don’t make me write about Freddy Galvis beyond saying he’s hot. The Phils have a few guys like Galvis. Not hot like Galvis, boring like Galvis. Practically their entire lineup. “Hey, how about that Odubel Herr…” goes into a long, drawn-out yawn then, “What was I saying? Oh, yeah, about Jean Seg…” Yawns again then, “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Thairo Estrada – Building off what I said for Galvis, the Giants take boring players and make them less boring. Well, the Giants’ genie does. We will call the Giants’ genie, Gene. He’s a bearded man who dresses in jorts and makes every wish come true.

Andres Gimenez – He just turned 23. Pretty irrelevant for this year, but I forgot he was so young. He’s gonna be someone who’s hard to resist again next year. Sorry, this is about this year. He has speed, surprisingly decent contact, and has been playing.

Bobby Dalbec – Gave you a Bobby Dalbec fantasy a few weeks ago, and y’all asleep poolside with aluminum foil folded in front of your moneymaker trying to get extra tan. Bobby D. gives power and that’s it, but, if you need that, there ya go.

Jeimer Candelario – The funny/unfunny thing about Jeimer is I keep wanting to recommend him, but he’s so wildly boring, that I’ve skipped mentioning him. But since Harold Castro’s here, I couldn’t not mention Jeimer, since he’s sexy compared to Harold Castro. Call him Hard-on Castro.

Yoshi Tsutsugo – Phil Collins’s fantasy team, Just Say The Word, Tsu-tsu-go, is benefitting big time from Tsustugo’s hot streak and is slowly moving from 12th to 11th place.

Lane Thomas – Was super close to having Lane Thomas be this week’s lede, but I just couldn’t bring myself to highlight a guy who, while being hot, is really just kinda bleh. Left a ton of Dave/Lane Thomas, square burger jokes on the table by not going with him.

Lorenzo Cain – Can you tell it’s September baseball? I’m recommending Lane Thomas, Lorenzo Cain, Tsutsugo and telling you to drop guys like Cody Bellinger.

Kevin Pillar – Grabbing Pillar in a league will be for many the statue of limitations.

Anthony Alford – You google Anthony Alford and it spits back at you, “Don’t you mean Leody Taveras?” And when you click you don’t mean Leody Taveras, it says, “Are you sure?” Man, I’m going with Bing because it’s dumber.

Austin Hays – I just thought of a scenario where I want to draft three Orioles’ outfielders next year. Guess we’ll cross that orange-birded bridge when we come to it.

DJ Peters – This Buy column could be a new tool by Rudy, the Trashonator, where it skims through the trash and finds, uh, trash. DJ Peters has power but is such trash DJ would be spinning major trash like 80s hair bands and lettuce from Subway.

Jo Adell – Someone asked the other day about Adell for 2022 and I wonder if they heard my yawn through the computer screen. For right now though, he’s been hottish.

Patrick Corbin – This is a Streamonator call, like the call it makes to a vegan restaurant.

Chris Flexen – This is also a Streamonator call. “I saw your sign said you put the friendly in vegan-friendly, and I don’t eat food but could use some friends.”

Joe Barlow – As I went over in my last week’s Buy, there’s about 20 bullpens in flux so just naming a few this week since there’s so many choices. Doc Brown, I’m in flux incapacitated.

Andrew Kittredge – Has anyone seen Kittredge vs. Mountcastle? I was watching it last night on Britbox and my power cut out right as Olivia Colman was about to strike from the record everything Mountcastle put forward. Wait, sorry, that’s for a British crime drama subreddit thread.

Mychal Givens – Trying to figure out why Givens was rostered in 5% less leagues this week, and it’s hurting my brain so I’m moving on.

Adam Ottavino – Whitlock is also in Boston and he looks good, but maybe too good, so he might see earlier innings. Yes, to be a closer, you have to be good but not too good. Like the Goldilocks of pitchers. When someone gets the 9th inning, say, “They have the game Goldilocked.” Any hoo! Ottavino, Whitlock, Robles, and Barnes is back soon. This is a mess, and, as long as they don’t use the best guy, Goldie Whitlocks, it will stay a mess.

SELL

Trevor Rogers – Think he pitches tonight, so that’ll prolly be a no-hitter to make me look super foolish, which is only slightly more foolish than usual. In redraft leagues, it’s time to move on from Rogers, and really any young pitcher struggling to throw more than 60 pitches in a game. *cough* all Tigers starters *cough*

Gleyber Torres – I’ve mentioned him, like, four times all year. I admittedly fall into the trap of mentioning guys who homer more than others, but has Gleyber done anything this year? Guess you could look at the Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer for keeper trades, but I doubt you’re getting anything for him. Dude’s so toast, butter be trying to smear itself on him. This toast ghosted all the teams that drafted him too, like he was trying to get out of paying alimony. He’s the great Ghosting Toaster. Butter screaming into the abyss, “Come back, Torres, I want to melt on you!” Even in a keeper, I’d prolly take a VHS of a bunch of old backyard wrestling matches over Gleyber.