That’s What I Like: JP Sears, Gavin Sheets, Mason Fluharty

Happy post-Mother’s Day, folx! That’s like the 25% mark of the MLB season, if you’re keeping track. Myself, I’m not really keeping track because I’d rather be playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Did you know that JKJ doesn’t like that game? Can you believe his lack of culture? When you become a writer of imaginary baseball content in the future, you too can take knocks at your internet besties to start your articles. Just don’t knock Truss, or he’ll insert pictures of Bartolo Colon into your byline. Which, to be fair, would be very Razzball. Happy Mother’s Day from your pal, Bartolo.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Let’s get you some new players!

That’s What I Like

JP Sears, SP, Athletics: There’s a great irony about bad teams: sometimes they just leave their pitchers out there forever and ever amen. Are the Athletics really a team that should be playing over .500? Nah. Are they the next coming of the Rockies? Nah. They’re not a great team. But not great teams don’t have to worry about over-working their starters or spreading out time among the bullpen or even fans. The Athletics barely even have to worry about having a home field. That brings us to JP Sears, long-time yawnstipating prospect for the A’s. The thing about usable fantasy starters, is that they fall into two general categories: the glass cannons, and the innings eaters. Sears is in that unsexy second category. He’s topped 170 IP the past two years, albeit on teams that were about as skilled as me in a vegetable eating contest. Combined with a A’s team that seems on track to get at least some Wins, Sears’ improved skillset has him rising the fantasy charts (Imagine if the Player Rater was Dick Clark’s Top 40 countdown. Also, imagine like you know who Dick Clark is, if you’re one of our 3 Xennial readers). Sears has always had great command, but this year his BB/9 is below 2, and his strikeouts are up a notch (note to self: don’t mention that they’re still below 8 K/9. Marketing will hate that!). More importantly, he’s limiting contact at a great rate — barrel rate below 7%, line drive rate at 15%, and a sub-4.00 SIERA and FIP. He’s not as good as his 2.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, but…he’s not bad. And those guys who can rack up 180 innings with limited damage and mediocre K rates? They end up with more Wins and strikeouts than the glass cannons. Sears could be a nice add for deep leagues or teams desperate for pitching, and he’s available in 30% of leagues right now.

Gavin Sheets, 1B/OF, Padres: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: former White Sox player leaves the midwest, becomes a better player elsewhere. Sheets swapped leagues and chose the best coast for his career resurrection, and he’s becoming a bit of a name around the ol’ fantasy water cooler. Did y’all know that on Fridays, Grey puts Kool Aid into the watercooler? He says it boosts morale among the least hydrated of our writers who spend the rest of the week in the company writing cavern. ENYWHEY. Sheets’ 1B eligibility is kind of meh, but we could all use an OF who has the ability to knock a few homers and make solid contact, right? Sheets’ barrel rate is a pedestrian 9% and his expected slugging percent is a bit below his current .500 rate, but all the numbers point to a pretty consistent summer. His swinging strike rate has jumped a few percent, but historically, he’s been able to avoid whiffs. We might be able to explain his increased miss rate by being in a new league and seeing pitchers for the first time. But y’all don’t really care when your other sluggers whiff, do you? Sheets is available in half of leagues right now, and that INF/OF eligibility gives him a solid base to play as your utility guy, even if he’s not in your UTIL spot.

Mason Fluharty, RP, Blue Jays: Roleless Rob alert! When I stumbled across this name, I couldn’t figure out how to spell or pronounce or even conceptualize it in 3D space. Is it like “Flaherty” but with more gusto? Marmos, help me out here! ENYWHEY. Mr. Fluharty…nah, that sounds like “farty”. Let’s go with Mason F. ENYWHEY part deux, The Reckoning: Mason F. is 15 appearances deep into the season with 3 Wins, 2 Holds, and even a Save attempt (that he bungled). What’s really weird, is that he’s a flyball pitcher who hasn’t yet allowed a homer. And I mean, like, 75% fly balls. That’s risky. But he’s also got a minor league track record of 13+ K/9, and he’s tracking at 9 K/9 during his cup of coffee time. Like, once he gets his feet under him, this could be a big year. Big risk, but you’re not here to get a writeup on Jason Adam, are you? You’re here for Mr. Fluharty!

I’m the Problem, It’s Me

Jackson Jobe, SP, DET: People love prospects. As a Twins fan, ask me how I know. All we ever do is collect prospects and then trade them to better teams for failed veterans. Thing is, rookies start slow, and they have these things called Options, which means that the team can send them packing to the minors. He’s seen plenty of great prospects start the year in the majors and have some rough outings before getting sent to Triple-A to ride the coach bus. Jackson Jobe is kind of on that track right now. He’s fresh off of getting blown out by the Rockies, a team that’s on track to be the worst team in MLB history. But EWB, you shout, your mouth filled with lingonberry jam from the Swedish cronut that you inhaled while reading this article, Jobe had a 2.70 ERA to start the season! Sure, but he’s also walking as many batters as he’s K’ing, and that lead to an FIP near 5.00. In other words, he’s lucky he didn’t get blown out by the murder’s row of teams in April that included the Twins, the Royals, and the White Sox. Imagine if Roki Sasaki pitched in the AL Central — he’d be a Cy Young contender! Jackson Jobe will be a fine pitcher, but he’s not positioned well for the 2025 season. Redraft teams should trade him while he’s got some value.