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Please see our player page for Jason Adam to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.

For a majority of major league baseball teams, the season is over and players are taking some time off before gearing up for the 2024 season.

But in fantasy baseball, there is no offseason – especially in dynasty/keeper leagues. Owners are busy trying to figure out who they should keep or ditch as they try to put together the best roster possible before 2024 comes roaring into view.

With that in mind, welcome to the first installment of the 2024 Top Keepers. This week the spotlight falls on the relievers.

When it comes to relief pitchers, I take a different view of them compared to other positions. That is due to the fact that most relievers are very inconsistent and have a shorter shelf life compared to other positions. Relievers could have had a great 2022 season, giving you lots of hope that you have a key member of your bullpen this year, only to fall apart this season. I’m looking at you Rafael Montero and dozens and dozens of other relievers.

Knowing relievers are up and down, I don’t care as much about age of a reliever like I do other players, especially position players. If a reliever is 33 but has been consistent year after year, I’m going to take him just as quickly as I would a 25-year-old flamethrower who hasn’t figured it out on the mound yet.

Now, let’s get to the 2024 Top Keepers – Relievers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Junior Caminero is being called up by the Rays. Junior Caminero is also a little tiny car that Spanish boys drive when they’re five years old and first starting growing out their mustaches. The Junior Caminero goes vroom vroom but it only does it when a nearby father makes the noise. Junior Caminero also is a top five prospect for all of baseball what on earth are the Rays doing calling him up right now on…*starts singing* Do you remembah? The 21st of Septembah? Do you remembah? It’s not the 1st of Septembah? Do you remembah? Rays? Hello? We’re seriously asking. So, here’s what Itch’s said, “He’ll finish up 2023 at 20 years old with 31 home runs across two levels, 20 of those coming in 80 Double-A games during which he slashed .314/.379/.557 with a 17.1 percent strikeout rate. And Grey will be hunted this winter.” What? He ranked Caminero 6th overall in the top 25 prospects. I’d grab him in all leagues, and now I’m particularly excited about 2024, if Junior Caminero can break camp. Vroom vroom! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH)

I can search the site for old comments. It’s my superpower. Well, that and being able to tell if a sushi restaurant is good just from their spicy tuna roll. Okay, I also have the superpower: Being able to add three syllables to any Spanish name. Fine! I can also avoid any fight with my wife by saying, “You’re right.” That’s perhaps my strongest superpower. But, back to searching old comments, I will save people the embarrassment but here’s one from the end of last April:

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(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH)

“Please welcome to the stage, De La Cruz, the Spanish-language De La Soul cover band, and their smash hit, “Sábados.” De La Cruz sings, “Sábados es a Sábados, Sábados es a Sábados, Sábados es a Sábados, Sábados es a Sábados…” A kid squints, unsure if he’s in the right place. He asks the kid next to him in Spanglish, “Hola, amigo, I thought es concerto was about Elly De La Cruz?” The kids says back, “Sorry, I only English and Spanish, separately.” So, Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz don’t just share a last name. They look like the zygote split at exactly six foot, five inches. They are the Big John Studd and Hulk Hogan locked-up, forehead-to-forehead, throwing 107 MPH bullets to first and hitting 120 MPH lasers into the bleachers. Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz are both 40/40 threats with contact issues. If Elly De La Cruz is called-up within a few weeks, they’ll likely both be drafted within a round of each other next year. They are the Wonder Twin Powers. Regarding Elly De La Cruz and when he’ll be called up, I figured later this year, but I could be wrong (would be the first time), and I don’t want all of you to miss out. My figuring had a lot to do with Christian Encarnacion-Strand is much older and should be promoted first, then De La Cruz would be called up, but it doesn’t need happen to like that. They’re both ready, and De La Cruz might be younger, but is actually better. De La Cruz could be a top 50 overall player the rest of the way, and absolutely should be stashed. He’s definitely ready for his walkup music: Meany, meany, meany, meany (Decir que?), Meany, meany, meany, meany (Decir que?) Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

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Hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend, and enjoying some baseball, or as Chef Boyardee calls it, Our National Pastatime. This Monday let’s remember all the other red-white-blue American things one hears backstage at a Larry The Cable Guy concert, including burping and farting and wearing an American flag t-shirt. Eat a D, ISIS! Much like how America was just a Platonic ideal, then went to Washington and had to get its hands dirty with the gory details of governing, we have MacKenzie Gore (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks (career-high), ERA at 3.57) getting his hands dirty with making good on the promise of being a top prospect. Yesterday, he threw 106 pitches, 75 were strikes, and 23 were swinging. Overall, his command is still a bit wonky — 11.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 3.48 xFIP — but if the Ks are that good, the command won’t hurt him. Those Ks are Murica thru & thru. Not spelling shizz out is Murica too. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

James Paxton impressed again Friday night pitching six innings of one-run baseball, allowing seven base runners (five hits, two walks) and striking out five for his first win since August 2020! If you understand that headline you probably smoke way too much weed, stoner! More importantly, after dealing to the Cards last week (5.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, BB, 9 K), Pax did it again mostly silencing the Padres at home. Never mind that it had been almost two years since his last start, Paxton’s marching out there like he’s been doing this all season, providing stability to a Boston rotation that badly needs some of that. His command wasn’t as sharp as last week, but his only real blemish was a shot to Tatis, and c’mon, there’s really no stopping that guy. James had four strikeouts through the first three innings and while the 98 mph gas is obviously impressive its the fact that he’s mixing it up that makes me think he could be a serviceable starter going forward. We saw some first pitch curves, he kept hitters off balance mixing the fastball with the cutter, knuckle curve, change and got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth. I held my breathe when he came out for the sixth but he ended the night retiring the last seven in order. Again, unlike last week, Paxton did not have his best stuff Friday night, he struggled with command and still managed to battle through six innings and that’s what really gives me hope. He threw 107 pitches (66 for strikes) the most he’s thrown in a game since 2019 as a Yankee (versus the Red Sox no less!). You’d think Manager Cora would be a bit more conservative with the pitch counts for his oft-injured starter but nay, they need James to be this guy and he was Friday night. He was Him. And as much as I hate that smug look on Chaim Bloom’s face, James now sports a pretty 2.46 ERA with a 14/3 K/BB in two starts since his return from Tommy John. Rafael Devers said of James through a translator, “He’s awesome.” Well said Raffy, and no rush on learning English any time soon–it’s only been seven years, you take your sweet time and focus on hitting dongs. As for the Big Maple James Paxton, with this line up behind him, he’s looking like he could be a useful fantasy starter in the right match ups, and hopefully these massive Pax rips are more than just smoke cause this new (old) game James Pax a real punch!

Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:

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Think Buck Showalter is old. That’s not bad, in general. Some of my favorite people are old. I’m a Cougar Hunter. I have radar for hard candies. The problem with Showalter is he’s got old thinking. He’s platooning Brett Baty. He thinks Thomas Phamily is still a thing. He’s not following the latest in baseball which is: Play your kids! The Braves have been winning with the formula: Play your kids! for a few years now. So, with that said, the Mets called up their next great hitting prospect, Mark Vientos (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) as he hit his 1st homer. Can Vientos play outfield? Absolutely not. Can Vientos steal at-bats from Baty? Ugh, maybe. Can Vientos run? His speed has been described as “an 80-year-old baby crawling with tennis balls on its knees.” Can Vientos hit bombs? To the freakin’ moon! He kinda reminds me of a young Evan Longoria. Now take everything you’ve thought about Longoria over the last seven years, scrub it from your brain, and think about Longoria as if this is 2016. Your brain in 2016, “Rays should lock this Longoria guy up for another ten years! He’s amazing! Wait! They let Longoria walk? Wow, what a mistake! They just let a perennial 30+ homer, .270 hitter go! Rays will be in last place for the next decade. What a bunch of losers!” So, your 2016 brain is kinda remembering correctly. Your 2016 was also a big dumb brain, but that’s only in hindsight. Longo was good at that point. Mark Vientos can be good too. For what it’s Wuertz, Prospect Itch has been down on Vientos for as long as Vientos has been down on the farm. For this year, do I want Mark Vientos in a redraft league? Absolutely, but back to the Buck shituation. He’s going to play where? DH? Okay, and Vogelbach is being benched indefinitely? By the  guy who is still playing the Phamily? No. That leaves Vientos, the Metsmaker, in a platoon. By the way, regarding the title: It’s because it causes Coke to explode. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

After a rough showing in Week 4, we bounced back last week. Our most helpful section has been the SAGNOF portion of the article because we’ve stumbled into some great closers over the last two weeks. Will Smith and Carlos Estevez are scattered across all my leagues, and this article helped me to make those […]

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