James Wood Prospect Spotlight, Seager vs. Lindor & Mailbag Questions! | Fantasy Baseball Advice

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Frank Stampfl and Scott White take a closer look at Nationals prospect James Wood and answer your latest mailbag questions!

0:00- Intro
0:29- James Wood spotlight
7:40- Apple podcast questions
10:43- How to avoid the GLOB
17:54- Ohtani in OPS leagues
20:38- H2H points with no K penalty
23:40- Players who will gain eligibility
26:40- Seager vs. Lindor
30:31- Langford vs. Chourio vs. Holliday
35:05- Ozuna with outfield eligibility
38:00- Skubal, Ragans concerns
42:40- Miguel Vargas thoughts
46:10- Chris Sale vs. Blake Snell

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What’s up and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Saturday March 16th happy 316 day to those who celebrate I am Frank stanel joined by Scott White no Chris Towers but that’s all right we’ll hold it down for you today on the show we’re answering your mailbag questions

And another Prospect Spotlight and that is where we will begin it’s time to discuss some of the prospects who are catching our eye from a fantasy perspective thanks to our sponsors Hyundai where they’re thinking about every step of your journey out on the road let’s talk about James Wood Scotty

Very fun Prospect outfielder with the Washington Nationals he is your number 10 overall Prospect 6 foot6 hulking human being 21 years old last year in the minors hit 262 with 26 homers and 18 Steals and 873 Ops got up to 87 games in ablea and I know it’s only spring

Training but my gosh I mean he has looked incredible so far at the time of recording this on Thursday uh James Wood hitting over 300 with three homers three steals an Ops over a thousand and a 23% strikeout rate which is certainly manageable Scott what do you think about

James Wood as a prospect because massive upside but also a massive human those those players could be hard to project they can be and uh that’s that’s part of the reason I ranked him only 10th in my top 100 10th of course is makes him one

Of the best prospects in the world but uh some lists had him a little bit higher than that I was I was I was exercising a little bit of caution because when he got to double a last year where he spent most of the Season

He struck out 33 34% of the time really and hit only 248 at that level uh but that doesn’t mean I don’t like him right it it James Wood is a prospect that I think I was high on before the consensus was and then the consensus may have

Surpassed me just a little bit not guarding against that size and that that big Strike Zone as as as much as maybe I would like but hey he’s he’s had an incredible spring like you said strikeouts haven’t been an issue there even even as he’s been facing major

League pitchers tiny sample of course all the usual spring training caveats apply but it’s been such an impressive eye opening spring for James Wood that I think it’s moved up his timeline uh I’m not saying he’s going to be on the opening day roster for the Nationals but it wouldn’t surprise me if

He spent a good portion of 2024 on the major league roster now he is only 21 the Nationals aren’t contenders so you know maybe pushing him back to se maybe waiting for that September call up where he would retain rookie eligibility for 2025 and give them a chance of securing

Draft picks depending on how he does in rewards voting Awards voting based on that um maybe that would make more sense for the Nationals in the position they’re in but like it it seems like James Wood is doing his best to force the issue and the upside is very

Exciting you know six foot six outfielder you it’s easy to make the Aaron judge comparison the kind of exit velocities he he he generates I know that’s it’s almost become too uh it’s almost become kind of a cliche comparison anybody who’s big like that and hits the ball hard gets compared to

Aaron judge I mean wood can steal BAS too and so I don’t even think I don’t know maybe uh I I would I don’t know I don’t know what the best comparison is a faster Aaron judge that seems too lofty of a comparison but it’s it’s uh it’s a

Big Power speed upside bat and and maybe one that’s more projectable even than like O’Neal Cruz was when he was coming out of the miners that’s what I was thinking maybe a less Speedy O’Neal Cruz but even that kind of feels like you’re under selling James Wood so I don’t know

He’s kind of an interesting uh Prospect to project moving forward and yeah you this new draft pick compensation has kind of created this limbo for prospects right where either a team should have them up on the opening day roster or just wait until September right it it

Doesn’t really make sense to play that middle ground unless the team is competing and right Washington Nationals not really expected to compete this year so that’s what kind of creates this when could we see James Wood I’ve seen people now drafting him in redraft League Scott

So that would lead me to believe some people think that he could be up either on opening day or pretty early on in the season which yeah some deeper ones yeah I’m skeptical because of the the the way the the incentives work for for bringing

Up a player now as you outlined there it it’s kind of a similar situation to Paul skines I don’t the the Pirates may have a slightly better chance of competing than the Nationals do but I don’t think anybody’s really really expecting them to compete so what would be the Pirates

Incentive to call him up uh so that he would lose rookie eligibility and they wouldn’t have a chance at those draft picks uh based on his his performance during his what’s officially his rookie season so uh I I don’t know we’re we’re still it’s still

Kind of a new thing this is the fourth year of those incentives and I feel like with each each uh subsequent year we see teams lean into that more lean into okay we’re going to wait until late enough in the season that he won’t lose rookie eligibility so that’s why I’m not

Hopeful of James Wood being up sooner than that but I do think I I would have said there wasn’t much of a chance of it prior to this spring and now I think there’s at least a chance that he’s up soon enough to make a substantive impact

In 2024 and we were talking beforehand the Nationals are giving him a long run here over 40 played appearances you don’t typically see a player play that much in spring so maybe they really do want to get a long look and you know he’s making the decision tough on the

Washington Nationals of course we’re recording this on Thursday by the time you’re listening on Saturday he might have already been optioned or reassigned to minor league Camp so keep that in mind but again that is James Wood of the Washington Nationals thanks again to Hyundai for sponsoring the segment and

The show learn more at Hyundai usa.com and remember if you want to hear about a specific top prospect on a future mailbag leave us a star rating on Apple podcast drop the prospect’s name in the review and we will eventually get to them before we get into our mail bag

Question scy let’s quickly promote a few things download and follow our five minute podcast fbtn 5 wherever you listen to this podcast and it’s that time of year brackets are back and you can get in on the madness today on the CBS Sports app run men’s and women’s

Pools with friends and enter our bracket challenges for the chance to win a new Nissan Rogue and trips to the 2025 final four play today on the CBS Sports app or visit cbssports.com playay to sign up no purchase necessary see terms and rules for details and if you want to compete

Against Scott Chris and me we actually have a bracket dedicated to fbt and our listeners click on the link in the Pod and the YouTube description and if you’ve joined our podcast uh our podcast bracket in previous years you’re already in it you just have to go in and make

Your picks again so good luck and we will give a shout out to the winner on this very podcast let’s get into our mailbag question Scott and starting with the Apple podcast reviews this one is from Van dalan who rhymes with of course classic rock group Van Halen keeper

Question for you 15 Team Six by6 Roto with Ops and innings pitched Souls at saves plus holds and quality s so lots going on here you can keep one of the following for one year $5 Grayson Rodriguez $5 Bobby Miller $5 Royce Lewis and five do Spencer Tolson Royce

Lewis all right I’ve got uh I’ve got Royce Lewis on my bus list but it’s mostly a cost thing so I don’t definitely don’t mind him at $5 is he your highest ranked player for 2024 I to me it’s as simp of a calculation as that it might be

Different if it’s like oh I got you know Austin Riley as my third baseman no Corner INF field spot okay maybe I think about taking Grayson Rodriguez instead but Royce Lewis is my highest rank player it’s only for one year they’re all the same cost seems pretty straightforward uh yeah I do have

Royce Lewis ranked ahead of Grayson Rodriguez and Bobby Miller so good good catcher Scott let’s go with Royce Lewis for five bucks from cool guy 678 who says he’s a former top top 30 Prospect with the Reds and I screenshotted this and I sent it to you

Guys and we were trying to speculate who might who who is this person and I would love to know so DM me on Twitter or X rotor Frank or cool guy send us an you know I I think it’s telling that he said top 30 Prospect and not top 10 Prospect

Ah you go you go as deep as 30 in a system and and it’s a good chance it’s somebody we’ve never heard of but ah give the cool guy some credit Head to Head categories who who would keep between Corbin Carrol in the eighth round or Bryce Harper in the ninth

Corbin Carrol’s shoulder scares me but think it might be worth the risk as Carol has been going in the first round this year yeah I mean I have him as a top five pick he says head-to-head categories so uh the the stolen base contributions are vital there and as we

Talked about in our head-to-head categories mock draft that we did earlier this week uh anytime you can get a category Stand Out The Way Corbin I mean Corbin Carol was third in the majors in stolen bases last year had more than 50 and and so he’s he’s going to be much more

Reliable in in helping you win that category each week than if you were to distribute those steals across a few different players so I think I think I do it regardless of the format maybe in head-to-head points Harper around later you could talk me into doing that but

Given the scarcity of the Outfield the uh necessity of stolen bases in ahead tohe head categories format coral Coral Corbin Carrol in round eight makes more sense than Bryce Harper in round nine and everyone knows I love Bryce Harper but and I’ve been skeptical of Corbin Carroll and his

Shoulder as well but I would still take Corin Carrol in the eighth round as well from Johnny cook dear Wade Johnny and jacobe those are Brooks is that are are those Red Sox I believe those are Red Sox turned Yankees Red Sox turned Yankees okay yeah um Wade bogs

Johnny Damon jacobe Ellsbury jacobe Ellsbury yeah okay yep that makes sense I am in a five by5 head-to-head categories League we keep seven guys so essentially the draft is rounds 8 through 22 I have all of my picks within rounds 8- 15 who should I Target for

Pitching to keep me out of the glob I am keeping Zack Gallen and Cole Reagan has my heart as well Scott but after him I am stumped so this is something we’ve talked about a lot this offseason Scott is how many pitchers to get before we enter the glob and the glob typically

Starts around the SP 30 to 35 range so you’ve got Zack Allen sounds like you’re looking to Target Cole Reagan’s I I would say pretty easily try and Target two more of our top 25ish starting pitchers right to to kind of give yourself a head start to get ahead of the

Glob yeah I get I’m a little confused by the question because is he saying he’s keeping Zack Allen and that’s the only piter of the seven players he’s keeping only Zack Allen that is what it sounds like maybe Reagan is part of the keepers as well didn’t really specify I guess but okay

Well if if either five of your top seven players or six of your top seven players are hitters then yes I would think pitching should be your focus early in this draft at least before we get to the glob I mean I don’t know exactly who’s been

Kept maybe like a Justin steel is still out there or Zack effin somebody like that uh if Cole Reagan is is somebody you’re you could draft rather than somebody you’re keeping okay then then obviously that’s even better but yeah I would I would focus on pitching almost exclusively unless they’re just happen

To be some amazing value in The Hitter ranks uh I would I would focus on pitching until you get to the glob yeah it is a tougher question to answer because the fact that each team is keeping seven players even if it’s a 10 10 team or 12

Team league right it’s just a lot of players are going to be kept so it’s it’s just kind of hard to talk about which pitchers will be available but and maybe somebody’s keeper keeper uh list is so stacked that they that somebody like uh I don’t know

Know like a Mike Trout slips through you know okay I’d have to consider taking Mike Trout in round eight over a starting pitcher but for the most part I’d want to focus on pitchers yeah I would say refer to our rankings again on the site uh cbssports.com fantasybaseball you can click on the

Little rankings Tab and we’ve got rankings for uh Roto and for those we get lots of questions about this the Roto rankings are for category leagues so Roto and head head categories it’s kind of confusing because there’s also a head-to-head tab the head-to-head tab is for points leagues so head-to-head

Points and Roto covers Roto cat I’m trying to get that changed to make it less confusing it’s probably a decade overdue yes but is it is in the works hopefully this next one’s from SDK ball I am in a sorry when I say get that fixed I mean labeling them clear they’s

Still going to be those two groups that the categories AKA Roto and the points AKA head-to-head from SDK ball I in a 10 team head-to-head categories league with deep benches especially for pitchers you can keep three players for the salary cap uh you draft them forever I have

Trey Turner Vlad Jr and uh Corbin Carroll Jackson holiday and Royce Lewis all for $ one I was going to keep the top three and put the other two back but I was offered the next three years first and I can probably get a few seconds for

Carol so the question in three years will Jackson holiday plus three firsts and two seconds be worth Corbin Carroll so 10 Team league where you only keep three players and the and they may not even be like the best players since there’s a value component to this right yeah

You when you say three firsts and three seconds they may leg legitimately be first and second round caliber players worse they’d be as fourth round fourth and fifth round caliber players in a 10 Team league well okay so I mean the fact it’s a 10 Team league shallower

Obviously and and so you really need your product you the higher impact players go are that much more valuable when there are fewer ways to distinguish yourself in a shallow League like that so normally normally we go pretty hard for them but that’s a lot that’s a huge return

That’s a huge return that’s going to set you up uh that’s like one of those NFL trades you hear about in the 90s where they they they trade like I don’t know what was it like the Vikings traded their whole draft for hersel Walker to the Cowboys or something like that yeah

U it kind of feels like that it’s just such an overwhelming return for Corbin Carol understandably I mean I I get why the person offering this trade is offering it but I I think I think it’s it’s so rich that it’s impossible to turn down and and look there’s a chance Jackson

Holiday uh I I’m not I I don’t know that I really see a first round outcome for Jackson holiday maybe in a maybe in a points League which this isn’t because the plate discipline is so good but you know really high upside player the number one overall prospect on a lot of

Lists uh second round out come is in his future I would think so he he could turn out to be almost as valuable as Corbin Carol in the long run anyway so yeah I think uh I think I’d be willing to give up Carol For That Hall that pick Hall

Plus Jackson Hol the only thing that kind of confuses me about this is you mention you keep three players for the salary you draft them forever so is this an auction then how are there first round picks involved or second round picks you know that’s what’s kind of confusing me about

This each of each of his players are $ one Keepers it sounds like yeah and he’s getting first and second round picks that is confusing I don’t know yeah well nonetheless maybe they assigned dollar values based on where they were taken in the draft something like that that’s

Possible or if they were like you know I mean I guess Corbin Carol wouldn’t have been a pickup maybe a couple of years ago you picked him up like towards the end of the season or whatever it might have been all right any anyway the point

Is Scott said he would he would do that trade if if you can actually pull it off let’s take our first break when we return we’ve got a few more Apple podcast questions and then your emails here on fantasy baseball today it’s time for the madness CBS Sports HQ has your

Wall toall NCAA tournament coverage we got your game highlights expert analysis and insights all the way to the final four start and end your March Madness coverage CBS Sports HQ welcome back in let’s continue on with some apple podcast review questions here on the mailbag this one’s for uh

From Fort Irwin kid I am in an Ops League last year sh Otani was ranked fifth in my league ahead of Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Whit even with the injury his Ops was 200 plus points higher than both of them I’m not concerned about position flexibility his

Power seems fine and I love the lineup around him I’m strongly considering taking Cho Otani third overall what do you think well if you say you’re not concerned about those things then I I’m not going to convince you to be concerned about them I guess I’m concerned about them so I wouldn’t take

Them that high but if you say they don’t matter to you I think it just on a pure in ter like in terms of pure statistical output could sh Otani be the third best player this year sure I could probably probably be the second best player behind aunia I’m not saying he

Absolutely will be he he might only be the 10th best in terms of overall output before you factor in the positional concerns or lack of position concerns I guess or the 12th best hitter or the 14th you know he there there’s there is a range there but I think the range goes

Up as high as second only to Ronald aunia presuming aunia stays healthy and has the kind of year we think he can have yeah the only thing that I would uh say here I I think I mostly agree that I’m totally fine taking sh Otani third

Overall in this league and we’ve seen in OBP formats that Juan stto goes ahead of Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Wht typically so I don’t see much of a difference here sh Otani is such a standout in Ops kind of like the way Juan sto is an OBP so if

We see Juan stto go ahead of guys like Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Whit in that format and I think it’s okay to take shotani yeah as high as you know top three in this one yeah and we’ve talked before about you know half of half of

Ops is OBP and we’ve talked before about in OBP leagues how Bobby Wht and and uh Julio Rodriguez lose something you know I just wonder about like Freddy Freeman I ranked Freddy Freeman ahead of sh Otani even in conventional in conventional Roto leagues that that don’t do ops well he’s

Great for Ops as well you know and yeah and and does actually play a position and I don’t know if batting average is also scored along with Ops I we there’s some DET there are some details we’re missing here that make it harder to answer but I the bottom line is I don’t

Think it’s crazy to take sh Otani third overall but my biggest concern uh and this goes even for non Ops leagues is that you’re filling your DH spot right away and you’re not filling a scarcer spot all right this next one’s from Wy Ross I play in a head-to-head points League where there

Are no penalties for strikeouts to any of the category studs we move down in points leagues rise up your boards in this format thinking Bobby Whit Julio Rodriguez Corbin Carroll Etc any other hitters On The Rise I think Julio for sure of that mixc because he had the

Highest strikeout rate of those three so he’s probably someone who moves back up a little bit yeah this is one of those difficult questions to answer just off the top of the head because you have to kind of filter out you have to kind of go through the full Rolodex of players to

Come up with names right M uh but here are some other ones that I think of okay so I’m sorting by strikeouts last year teoscar Hernandez yeah would seem to be a lot better Luis Robert Nick castanos Luis Robert sure uh James Altman I have no interest

In him in typical points leaks because of how much he strikes out but if he’s not losing points for that great Austin Riley let’s see who El got one Scotty Jake Burger Jake Burger yeah I mean part of it is he doesn’t walk so that’s true

So he’s he’s still missing out on those points and and that’s also what’s missing from this analysis is uh how much do high strikeout High walk guys how much of an advantage do they gain over High strikeout low walk guys like burger and it might be it might be so significant

That those are really the ones to key in on like Kyle schwarber for instance like is he a second rounder 126 walks 215 strikeouts if you’re not losing any points for those strikeouts and you’re getting points for those walks yeah yeah that I mean that would probably make Max Muny Like A

Fifth or sixth rounder right uh I don’t know off the top of my head how M he is for strikeouts I feel so his strikeout rate was 26.4% last year and his walk rate was almost 15% so yeah yeah yeah he’d be up there too he

He’d rise quite a bit as well adulis Garcia I feel like we should give him a shout out too sure strikeout rate last year almost 28% but he he started walking more 10% walk R and yeah he had a decent walk rate yeah Matt Olson Matt

Olson might be a top five top three Pi I I don’t know I I I it’s I’d have to actually input all the I mean look you can access your own team’s stats page and and see how guys fared last year and probably answer this question better than for yourself than

We can for you but that should hopefully give you a starting point to to begin researching this on your own all right let’s get into your emails Fantasy Baseball cbs.com that’s the letter I and this one is from Ben the podcast is an essential part of my morning every day

So thank you thank you Ben could you please do a recap of the players that you expect to gain eligibility at new positions so I’m going to filibuster a little bit Scott because this might require a little bit of time to think about it uh but he says I know Henry

Davis is on that list but I’ve forgotten some of the other names that you’ve mentioned this spring so Henry Davis is hopefully one of the top ones he’s only Outfield eligible on CBS we’re hoping that he gains catcher eligibility Muki Betts has second in Outfield we learned

Recently that he’s going to be the team starting shortstop so he’ll gain shortstop eligibility and that’s all I’ve got got anyone else uh those are the ones that came to mind for me um oh Byron buckon that’s the one I just thought of right as you were saying it Byron buckon there’s a

Chance Eloy Jimenez there’s been some talk of him playing right field though that might take a while him uh pulling out of DH how about a lot of the relief pitchers Scott like AJ Puck hopefully to get starting pitcher same thing with Garrick crochet and Ronaldo Lopez Jordan

Hicks right that would be the Hope yes Chris Paddock is in that same boat Frankie Monas is in that same boat uh Michael Bush at first base that’s one okay uh maybe maybe Justin fosu at first base I’m just thinking about my own Dynasty League team now there you go B

Grom if he ever returns from injury gain second base so yes he would gain Maybe D raphaela filling in for him will gain second base let’s see who else oh let me pull up my tears I think that will help a lot probably find something there yep Xander

Bogarts baby second base Jackson holiday second base another one yeah uh Jackson Merill Outfield David Schneider Maybe Outfield okay now we we’re getting somewhere we’re getting in the weeds here oh yeah getting something into some of those deep sleepers um who else I think Ryan weathers is RP

Only to start the year as well I don’t no he’s not he’s SP only oh I made no no Spar appeal there for Ryan weathers uh but Jonathan India Outfield first base maybe Third Base he could become a yeah a jack of all a versatile guy a

Versatile guy jack of all trades we use that usually use that to describe people in another way uh Christopher Morell Third Base yes uh I got another one here uh South Relic Third Base maybe also second base I think that’s a pretty good list Scott it’s pretty good list I could

Probably keep going but but we can move on all right let’s move over to a question from Alex I want your thoughts on Cory Seager versus Francisco Lindor potentially in the third round I believe Cory seager’s ADP is just too low the more I’m reading online I’m seeing that

He potentially may be ready for opening day I think his current ADP indicates otherwise which has me reaching for Corey Seager a bit earlier in mock drafts I know Lindor provides many more stolen bases but Cory Seager passes him in almost all other categories I’m wondering wondering realistically what

His ADP should be given he is ready for opening day I know all of you are big fans of Andor at his ADP but should Cory Seager be going before him so I mean I think we have a pretty clear indicator of this Scott before the injury the

Sports hernia surgery for Corey Seager uh back in I think it was late January early February he was an early second round pick he was part of that your group of 16 or 17 first round caliber hitters he was up there with Matt Olsen

You know how much I love Olson so he was ahead of he was ahead of Francisco londor and then he dropped you know into the I would say somewhere in the third round for some people if they’re more optimistic it’s early third I think for

Us it was probably more of the the late third round but I don’t know if we’re getting more optimistic um reports here of Cory Seager being ready for opening day does that make it a closer question between him and Lindor you know I I’d want to see him

Actually play and and look like himself I think and I don’t I don’t I don’t think that’s going to happen it’s it’s one of those things where you’re trying to come back that quickly from hernia surgery it could really affect your core strength and if your core isn’t built up properly then you

Could start to have back issues and it could just really spiral out of control so I’m I’m I’m I don’t I’m not saying that that’s how I think it’s going to play out for Corey Seager but I do think you need to be a little cautious because

Of that the the the possibility that it’s not like he comes back and everything’s just magically okay there may be there may be um consequences to to this injury that we don’t necessarily foresee coming and so that’s why I’ve been on the more cautious and that’s why I think the

Consensus is on the more cautious end I I it’s not that I think he’s gonna miss all of April or anything like that it’s just it’s uh yeah it’s it’s not it’s not going to be a totally straightforward recovery and there was already a lot of injury risk with Seager even before that

Shot that too but I will say the shallower the league the more likely I am to take that chance I think the one League where I D I’ve drafted Cory Seager since the injury was our head-to-head Points Auction League which is shallower end only 252 players rostered it’s also the head-to-head

Points format which is better scoring format I had him as a top five player overall and that format before the hernia surgery and so uh I I think in a league that shallow with a format that is so beneficial for him uh I was willing to be the high

Bidder and and it was somebody I targeted going in because I hope to get him at something of a discount I think I got him around 30 bucks which seemed like discount enough in that format so I’m I’m not saying it’s wrong to to want to draft Seager earlier than

Everyone else but I do think caution is warranted yeah and I’m typically somebody who likes to play it as safe as possible in the early rounds Lindor has just been a Workhorse he just goes out there and plays year in and year out he’s gonna give you power and speed so

Uh if we knew Seager was healthy and ready to go and there wasn’t you know risk for re injury like I think there is then it’s a much closer call but I would still lean with Francisco Lindor this next one’s from Paul who would you target to draft and potentially keep for

The next three years best short-term to long-term bet Jackson Trio Jackson holiday Wyatt Langford Scott so three of your top four prospects a lot of our time spent has um we spent a lot of our time talking about their impact for this year right redraft but you know look into the crystal balls

SC three years from now who do you think will be making the biggest impact Jackson triio Jackson holiday white lenford well the three-year window Paul is talking about includes this year so that is a big part of theal I do have Jackson holiday as my number

One overall Prospect but I do have him as the lowest of these those three for this year and by by a healthy margin I would say so I am going to put for just talking the next three years I am going to put holiday third still it it’s possible by

That third year he’s outperforming Jackson Chio and Wyatt Langford but I I it’s a small enough time frame that I’m emphasizing the short term between Jackson Chio and Wyatt Langford I’m going to say it depends on the scoring format in a points League I’d go Langford over Chio for the plate

Discipline if it’s a categories League I’d go Chio over Langford for the stolen base upside I think I would just take Wyatt Langford Scott and it doesn’t really have anything to do with this massive spring that Wyatt lford is having but I do wonder if there’s more of an

Adjustment period for Jackson Trio than than we’ve kind of L on this year just because he’s so young you know like 20 years old entering opening dat there’s a chance that he just hits the ground running and he’s awesome but we have seen I think at previous you know minor

League years and stops Jackson Trio has kind of struggled a little bit at each level when he’s been promoted and then takes some time and then he starts to get going so I I wonder if that’s going to happen again again 20 years old white lford a little bit older a college

Player dominated last year and I think maybe there’s just more of an impact this year right away for Wyatt Langford all right so this is the stat that I think people are sleeping on with Jackson Cho because you look at the overall stats and they’re impressive enough Jackson chorio hit 283 22 homers

44 steals an 805 Ops and a 21.4% strikeout rate and year spent mostly at doublea for his young as he is he made that big leap to double a cut way down on a strikeout rate 21.4% is a pretty good strikeout rate as it is he was playing in the league in the

Double in the double a league the southern League where they were using pre-t balls in the first half which dramatically improved the spin for pitchers it it made it such a pitcher league and it made strikeouts go way up and that’s Chio was playing in that

League in the first half of the year in the second half of the year when the southern League ditched the pre-ct balls Jackson Chio hit 324 with a 9917 Ops and just a 13.4% strikeout rate microscopic for a player with that kind of power and speed potential I understand he’s young I understand

He he didn’t even make it to Triple A last year there so we’re talking double A but I don’t see a huge distin distinction between double A and Triple A um I think he’s going to be I think he’s going to be amazing I I I think

Chio could have a rookie like Julio Rodriguez did it’s certainly possible uh you know looking back at his 2022 you know he got called up to he got promoted to high a later in that season as well and uh played 31 games there hit 252 with an 805 Ops so again it’s just

You’re certainly right about the the the different baseballs that they used last year and that could totally be a reason for why he struggled I just I look back at previous stops as well and there have been times where he’s called up to a new level and there’s a bit of an adjustment

Period so I just I have slight concerns but I he he actually did make it to triaa at the end of last year for 24 plate appearances you know how many times Jackson chorio struck out in those 24 plate appearances at Triple A five one that’s pretty good that’s pretty

Good uh let’s take our final break when we return we’ve got more of your questions here on fantasy baseball today CBS celebrates women’s history Welcome back in continuing on with your emails fantasy baseball cbsi outcom this one’s from Dan in SoCal I play in a 12 team head-to-head categories league on Yahoo where Marcel Ozuna has Outfield eligibility I listened to your discussion on him on your util only preview and was wondering where you

Would rank him as an outfielder and which round you would start targeting him in a draft so I thought this was helpful Scott because obviously there are lots of people who play on other platforms Yahoo being one of them and uh yeah if Marcel Ozuna has Outfield eligibility this

Actually could help quite a quite a few people so what do you think I wasn’t writing about this exact topic gosh he made two appearances in the Outfield last year why is he why is he Outfield eligible that is you only need one I guess all right so I was writing about

This about something kind of reled to this with Marcel Ozuna my my 16 underrated players by ADP and I put all four of the dhones the non Otani DH only’s in there and just looking at the numbers again and talking about it it it is absurd how late they’re going for the

Kind of numbers they could provide all four of them but osun Ozuna especially given that unlike Eloy Jimenez and Byron buckton he was actually really good last year 40 homers 100 RBI I mean if if if he does that again we’re talking about like ad dois Garcia level production

But almost a 100 picks later right with with the DH only status the the the big advant there are a couple advantages adolis Garcia has over him the biggest is the Outfield eligibility which is being eliminated in this scenario the other being okay ozun has

Had a lot of extremes UPS ups and downs in recent years so can you just pencil them in for those name numbers again no you can’t but the Outfield one is the bigger one and so if you’re giving Marcelo Zuna Outfield eligibility uh let me look real I should

Have had should have been pulling this open while I was talking okay got I’ve got ADP pulled up Scott and so Marcel Ozuna is Well then we get into like Brian put him as a top 25 outfielder I’d probably put him in like the the Brian Reynolds range yeah that’s what I was goingon to ask next which Ryan Reynolds is going around 77 in ADP as a 20th outfielder off the

Board so and he could be a bargain there if if Ozona is who he was last year he’s a bargain there it’s just you need him to be a little bit of a bargain given the downside risk yeah that’s why I think I I would probably put him around

The Nick casianos range ahead of casos but my guess is in the 90 to 100 range is probably where I would have him ranked overall if Marcel Ozuna was in outfielder on CBS which he unfortunately is not this next one’s from Jonah dear Leto Jessica and

Paul what do those people have in common Jessica Paul Logan Paul Jake Paul I have no idea we need Chris here Jared Leo right that’s who that’s referring to who’s Jessica who’s Paul I don’t know I’m sorry we need Chris I listen to the Pod so of course I love TK scoel and

Cole Reagan I’m just worried about the volume if they are my sp1 and SP2 in a points League I’m picking third overall is it still a good strategy to take hitters in the first three rounds or should I try and grab a quote chore thing volume wise like a Logan web or

Pablo Lopez type um so I think I have probably expressed the most concern just when constructing a roster of starting pitchers I think I’m a little bit more wary about putting too many quote unquote injury risks or players who don’t have a very long track record

Together on the same team I don’t mind having a Eric scoel and Cole Reagan but I think you have to surround them with a Logan web or a framber Valdez and maybe a Chris Basset later on or a Jose BOS just to kind of balance some of the yeah

Injury risk or track record risk risk uh with with you know some of those higher floor piit yeah I you know I actually got TK scoble and Cole Reagan both on my to Wars team and you know what safe high volume pitcher I I put with them I’m sorry Derek Cole yeah

So so that didn’t work out uh look I I think if you’re going to take scoble I yeah already if you’re already wait is he keeping these two sorry I was looking I was looking up Leo Jessica and Paul apparently it’s a dune thing I haven’t I haven’t done the Dune

Thing no I haven’t either um no he’s not keeping them I I I think he’s trying to focus on drafting them it sounds like in maybe rounds four and five and and taking hitters with his first three picks so he’s maybe asking should he take like a Logan web in round three to

Kind of give him a higher floor guy if he wants to take those pictures a little bit later on okay so it’s it’s a more conventional drafting question yeah I mean I I think I think my standard approach applies here i’ I’d rather take hitters until all the MVP caliber bats are gone

Which usually happens at some point in round three and then I’ll take the best of the ace caliber pitchers left until they’re all gone more or less and I would put scoble in that category I would put Reagans in that category and I’m one of the few who

Would put Reagans in that category but I find in my own drafts that I have to put them in that category or I don’t get them all right so I I wouldn’t stress so much about oh they don’t have the track record the volume pitching is so

Volatile I I just don’t know that it’s worth stressing about the upside is there that’s the most important thing this next one’s from Nick dear Frank and the fantasy Wizards does that mean I am not a fantasy wizard 16 team head-to-head points League get to keep six in addition to

Three minor league players I have Jackson holiday hopefully coming up this year yes hopefully on opening day that’s what it looks like and I’m struggling to find six solid Keepers I was proposed this trade offer I give Cory Seager I get Christian Yelich Corbin Burns and

Tyler glass now I am thinking it’s a no-brainer thoughts and it is a 16 Team league so I I think getting quality depth is even more important yeah I think I think that’s fine I think because you’re getting Burns I mean look in redraft leagues Burns is going ahead

Of Seager because of the the issue seager’s had with his uh with the hernia surgery gosh so yeah I think that’s fine I think it’s good I think it’s a good enough return for him I understand wanting to hold on to Seager in a head-to-head points League

Especially like I also said he has top five potential in that format but you’re getting a nice enough Hall here especially with Jackson holiday coming up you know honestly it’s less about holiday coming up than the fact that you’re just getting so much for Seer yeah I I I

Think I guess in a league as deep as as deep as 16 teams you’d want to have a replacement shortstop ready to go if you’re going to move Seeker but I I think that’s less the issue than just you’re getting Burns and glass now and also Yelich for good measure this next

One from Dave what happened to your breakout from 2023 oh I probably should put his name in there the name was Miguel Vargas is he still alive haven’t heard him mentioned so oh so he was talking to me I’m the U in this scenario I mean I I liked Miguel Vargas last year

Too I I drafted him on a few teams yeah I I read a few times this offseason that the the wrist or the hand injury that Miguel Vargas dealt with in spring training last year really kind of derailed his entire season I know that the exit velocities

Were not impressive in the minor leagues I still think there’s a player there man like plan and strikeout rate I think it’ll work eventually the exit velocities weren’t impressive in the minor leagues last year when presumably he was also dealing with the wrist injury I I don’t know what the exit

Velocities were before that uh I I don’t think they were ever like amazing but I I don’t have an exact number to site other than last year and last year it seems reasonable we could give him a pass for that um here’s what he actually had to say

This is something I saved from early in spring training Miguel Vargas said coming into the spring with a broken finger and then in the middle of the Season getting hit on the hand again I think that led to a lot of bad habits at the plate I was dealing with a lot of

Pain and didn’t fully and didn’t fully allow me that didn’t fully allow me to be myself and okay it seems plausible we’re going to need to see evidence this year he was productive in the miners last year when the the the Dodgers sent him down which makes me skeptical it was

All about the wrist and him being in pain and maybe the exit velocities were like that all along but I I just think we need more information and and we may get it I I know the Dodgers have mostly been using Miguel Vargas in the Outfield

This spring but Gavin Lux has been a problem no matter where they’ve put him and right now it’s second base he switched plays with mukie bets but even then he’s having throwing issues and obviously second base was the position Miguel Vargas was playing last year so he may get his opportunity

Sooner than people are expecting and I think there are a few different paths here for Miguel Vargas you mentioned Gavin Lux Jason Hayward God bless the guy he was awesome last year we’ll see if he can replicate that again but I mean if he starts to show his age and it

Doesn’t come around Miguel Vargas does have some experience in the corner Outfield so I think there are a few different Avenues here and maybe we overstated what we thought the upside could be for Miguel Vargas but just thinking about him more if it works out I I see like a masataka Yoshida type

Player here right where it’s 15 to 20 home runs but he does it with a good batting average he gets on base and if he does stuff like that in the Dodgers lineup I think he could still be a valuable player so not completely forgetting about Miguel Vargas he’s not

Someone you need to draft but I think he’s someone you could throw on the scout team and and let’s see you’re really lowering the bar there though I’m hoping for more like Alex bregman but oh I mean fair enough after the year he had maybe it’s fair to lower the bar yeah I

I think it’s still possible I don’t want to like sell his upside short but I guess just thinking about it you know realistically um just based on what I everything I’ve seen so far from Miguel Vargas this next one’s from Han SoDo I’m having a hard time valuing Blake Snell

Above Chris S I know s has been hurt the last few seasons but Snell has only pitched 130 plus Innings twice in eight seasons or just 25% of the time excluding the 2020 covid season career numbers favor sale in ER and particularly Whip and they’re almost

Identical in K per9 do we think there’s at least at least a 25% chance that s pitches 130 plus Innings this year if so shouldn’t he be valued above Blake Snell what do you think I love all the the the the sale hype all of a sudden people coming

Around to sale hey it’s good for your me where I was the past couple years I I love it it’s great to see uh valid I would say valid point points I think the biggest reason I don’t rank s ahead of Snell is because there’s no reason to rank sale

Ahead of snow you rank sale ahead of snow you’re you’re passing up the chance to get snow and you’re probably reaching for sale but maybe that’s changing because of the Big Spring he’s having the fact that Braves traded for him I don’t know it seems like people are open-minded to

Drafting sale yeah MH and they’ve gotten a lot closer in my starting pitcher ranks you know every day that goes by that Blake Snell remains unsigned again we’re recording this on Thursday maybe he signs but by Saturday when you’re listening to this but uh I’ve got Blake

Snell down to uh I thought I lowered him more than that I don’t know he’s around sp25 and I have Chris sa at 29 so yeah they’re two spots apart for me and I CL in the rankings yeah I was debating it I I almost mov Snell behind sale it’s it’s

A valid it’s a valid argument especially since it’s late as it is it’s hard to imagine Snell’s going to be ready to go for the start of the Season even if he even if he signs by the time you’re listening to this podcast all right this next one’s from

Eric who plays in a 5×5 OBP Roto league with a $260 budget $25 Corey Seager or $6 Cody Bellinger is $19 in savings worth the step down from Seager to Bellinger who I mean Seager man in an OBP League that’s just yeah so money yeah I think I’d stick with Seager it’s

Enough of a discount the those legitimately elite players those MVP caliber bats I keep referring to are just they’re what you sell half your team for as The Season’s playing out and you’re trying to make those uh those consolidation sort of Trades that nobody ever accepts anymore

So if you can get any kind of discount on them at all I think it’s generally more valuable than a huge discount for a lower tier player not that Cody Bellinger is like a low tier player but you know he’s a lower tier than Seager is right this one’s from

Matt hey guys what do you do in Al only Leagues with what has happened with gar Cole and Dylan CE it gets bad really quickly and the top 50 guys have names like like Louis varland and John breia yuck Al only kind of getting depleted

Here up at the top Scott I think I could do better than those two and if you look at my top 50 I don’t know let me pull up in my top 50 right now Al only uh okay so what do you do to answer the broader question yeah th that

Those are two big strikeout sources especially that have been removed from the player pool gar Co garri Cole’s not removed he’s still going to go for a a a reasonably high price in an Al only uh unless by the time you hear you’re listening to this he’s been ruled

Out for the season but presuming he hasn’t been come on this is not loading as fast as it should so around the top 50 for me I’ve got Griffin canning Joe Bole Jack flarity Chase silet Tyler Wells that rounds out the top 50 of that’s a lot better than Louis varland and

Breia I do have varland at 53 so it’s it’s not really far offland Ricky T in in that mix vland 85th in Al only yeah oh why do you hate Louis varin’s he doesn’t have a rotation spot does he I think he does I I think he’s our sp5

No oh who did I think was there instead oh desclafani I guess desclafani is gonna begin the year get him out of here I probably need to move Harland up then um okay well I mean look vand if if if he’s in the rotation he’s not a there’s

Some strikeout upside there I think he’s I think it probably deserves to be a top 50 option uh who else do I have around there Griffin canning did you mention him Logan Allen’s there I think he’s undervalued I think that’s a good name I think Ricky tman kind of sneaky yep I am

57th JP Sears who’s looked really good this spring I like it I I mean this this isn’t adding the Bro answering the broader question which is just what do you do about starting pitcher on Al and in Al only leagues and I I think it I think I think they already went

For a premium compared to mixed leagues I was surprised and caught off guard in when I did our own Al only auction how much the high-end starting pitchers went for and it’s going to be even more now so I ended up building my staff around mid-range Innings eater types just

Hoping you know because in a league that deep an Al only League it’s it’s a struggle just to keep your lineup filled with players who are contributing you know and and particularly a pitcher you’re going to have two or three middle relievers starting at most points in the

Season I would say just because you don’t have enough decent starting pitchers to fill it out or closers obviously those are especially scarce so I I was hoping to make up for my lack of Ace caliber pitchers with by having more of those mid-tier pitchers who feel like a feel like they

Have a pretty safe floor for ER and whip in Innings like uh Shane Bieber is there and Jose BOS is there and I think you got my guy Aaron savali on that team Aaron savali is there yeah he’s he he seems like a great fit for that so I I

Think that could work in a league that deep you’re just counting on um most of the other teams having to fill out their pitching staff with really low end guys that drag down the spectacular ratios of the highing guys so you could build it you could go

Either way with that you if you want safe high-end impactful pitching you’re going to have to pay a lot for it and is that worth it to you yeah he doesn’t say he’s doing an auction he’s doing a draft and in a draft do you have a little more

Do you have more control over the situation or less control the situation it depends how you look at it right Because the bidding could get out of control on them in an auction league and a draft you kind of know where they’re supposed to go and uh and so you can

Game plan around that a little easier I think so yeah if it’s a if it’s a draft scenario I would probably use one of my first three picks on a pitcher for sure maybe two of my first four picks on a pitcher and go from there yeah I’m

Looking at just again the top of the AL only SP ranks and it feels like there’s a pretty clear drop off after like the top 10 or 11 like I’ve got effin at 10 I’ve got Grayson Rodriguez at 11 Tanner BBY at 12 maybe you include him in that

Mix but I’m not saying you have to get one of the top five names but I would try to get at least one in like the the six to 10 a Kirby Valdez Reagan Gilbert effin those guys are going to blow you away but an Al

Only to have one of those guys as your anchor I I think that’s pretty damn useful and and that’s what I did in my NL only labor team I I wound up with Logan web I had to pay a pretty good amount to get him but I got Logan web

And then I kind of built uh some kind of upside around him after that so that’s what I would be looking to do we are going to wrap there for Scott I am Frank thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today please make sure

To follow and leave a five star rating on Apple or Spotify and we’ll be back again next week bye-bye