So apparently this show called Succession ended. I have not watched a single episode, and I probably never will. If you did, I hope you enjoy it. This is a pattern for The Educator.
Game of Thrones? I missed the show, still waiting for a book to come out. Sopranos? What is that, a choir category? Mad Men? I don’t like watching guys run around being angry, if I did I’d just watch football or Mets fans. Lost? Never found it, at least after I found out who the Others were. Outer Banks? I live close to them, why would I watch a fake show about it?
I did watch The Wire and Breaking Bad. Maybe I just like shows with drugs in them.
There are just shows that I will not take the time to watch. If you do, great! I’m not opposed to them or anything, I just missed them and don’t care to take the time to watch several seasons of shows while other ones are coming out.
I do the same thing in fantasy baseball. I don’t draft a guy, for certain reasons, and maybe I do miss out. But I just don’t care to build my team around guys with their flaws.
One of my core beliefs is to try to avoid anchors in one category. Let’s see what I’m missing out on!
Max Muncy: Low Average
Been burned too many times by guys with low batting averages. The risk is always that they go down to an unplayable level. A .220 BA can be worked with until it goes down by a hit a week and is at .190. But what am I missing out on with these guys?
I never draft this guy and he’s the fourth 3B on the player rater. His average is absolute trash: .208 and is .176 in the past 3o days. You can count on an OBP over 100 points higher than the average though. And 17 home runs will play in any league.
What makes me stay away though from Muncy is the negative effects of the contact. If he’s not hitting the ball long distances, what is he good for? The RBI will go down. Runs could stay stable due to that great OBP, which is another plus if you play in an OBP/OPS league.
To summarize with Muncy, I still wouldn’t draft him proactively unless I had a lot of great batting average guys already in place. He’s like Mad Men. I’m sure it’s a well put together show, and the acting, all that, is great. The subject doesn’t interest me, so I’m still out.
Justin Turner: Geezer
Justin Turner is 38. That’s dangerously close to 40. I typically don’t draft guys at such an advanced age.
Turner might be a special case though. He’s not exactly tearing the roof off of this joint. We still want the funk. Gotta have that funk. Mr. Former Long Beard is still providing a positive value and all around low level production. Ask any owner of Eugenio Suarez if they wished they had some Turner insurance. As a late round flier, he would have kept a position afloat.
Turner for this week is also the #3 ranked 3B on the Hittertron, so there’s that too. I am probably missing out on Turner. I was offered him in a dynasty league and am regretting not having Yoan Moncada insurance for sure. He’s like the Sopranos: Old, lots of seasons, but would probably be worth checking out.
Alex Bregman: Declining
He’s like Lost. Had a great, incredible beginning but then just lost their way. Lost’s first two seasons were as good a TV show as I’ve watched, especially when you take out expensive streaming service shows. Bregman, likewise, was incredible in his first couple of seasons.
Bregs’ downward trajectory has been evident for three seasons. I’ve refrained so far from talking about the Astros, but it is a clear delineating event and seems clear that he had a clue what was coming.
At this point, he’s a below average bat with little power. He’s not making hard contact. I’m guessing when he stopped knowing pitches that were coming in as often, he had to compromise his profile to try to make contact.
Since 2020, Bregman’s OPS has dropped from a peak of over 1.000 to his current .700, and has not reached nearly that height since.
He could bounce back but I’m happy to miss out. I guess happy would not be the right word if I miss out. More like, I would have fewer regrets than other people. I think my process here is sound.
That’s all for this week. I’m dropping rankings the next two articles so get jiggy with all that. I’m doing more and more on Twitter @theEducator23
Thanks for reading, and any questions I’m game.
