6 BUY-HIGH Options in Fantasy Baseball? Walker Buehler Makes His Return! | Fantasy Baseball Advice

Frank Stampfl and Chris Towers recap Monday’s action and review six players who could be buy-high options in Fantasy Baseball leagues.

0:00- Intro
0:30- Shohei Ohtani
2:25- Jonny DeLuca
6:28- Mitch Keller
11:44- News: Yelich update
20:07- Walker Buehler’s return
22:54- Zack Wheeler, SP1
25:14- Buy-high options
40:31- Waiver wire pitchers
44:45- Waiver wire hitters
48:16- Leftovers, bullpens, streamers

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ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s the most comprehensive Fantasy Baseball Podcast you’ll find. Frank Stampfl, Scott White and Chris Towers are dedicated to helping you win your league while keeping you entertained at the same time. Find out who to add, drop, start and sit while getting the best advice every day..
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hey there welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Tuesday May 7th I am Frank stanfold joined by Chris Towers today on the show we have six potential buy High options big returns to the mound Walker berer and Justin steel another complete game and much more let’s jump in oh my goodness it sounded like a shotgun Chris did you hear that call tonight that was the OT the Otani Tom run yeah that yeah I should have included the bat crack because it really did sound like there are I think like like I think Bryce Harper is the most a aesthetically pleasing home run hitter in baseball just when he gets into one it just doesn’t nobody looks like that Otani it it doesn’t sound the same like it’s one of those like old baseball cliches but like it sounds different when he hits it it really really does and Otani is just in one of those zones right now on uh Monday night two for three with a sock and two shoes that’s a home run and two Steals and he has four home runs in his past three games he has four homers four steals in his past four games he is now up to 11 home runs nine Steals on the season I do know that you moved them up into your top five in the trade chart and rly so I don’t utility or not Otani is just looks like it’s going to be one of those magical Seasons once again but enough on him there’s not really much to say well I mean I I just I do want to add I saw somebody like uh you know somebody said something about like oh you know he’s having this great season and we should have all seen it coming and and it was like I I think we’re under selling it though he had major elbow surgery last offseason Bryce Harper was screwed up for months it was a different surgery but still what he’s doing is just it’s absolutely Bonkers he’s ridiculous yeah and we were talking beforehand you know I saw him in spring training I think his first couple games he hit like popped a few home runs and I was ready to move Otani into like the middle of the first round and then all that stuff happened with his translator and look admittedly there was a little bit of a little bit of Doubt a sliver of doubt in the back of my mind so that’s on me for anyone else who drafted Otani where you did you should just be thankful because he looks amazing uh once again Chris let’s get into your uh player of the night who is it Johnny Duca you know it’s funny all of the outfielders that we’ve gotten excited for you know top prospects getting the call up and Johnny Duca I guess because he didn’t get called up it didn’t have quite the and look he wasn’t a top 100 Prospect or anything but like there was really almost no discussion of Johnny Duca when he got activated from the ilil and that was maybe a mistake because he’s off to a really nice start so far he homered for the first time on Monday he has started all four games since getting activated from the iil including one against the Lefty three against righties he is five for 15 with 10 home or sorry 10 RBI in his first four games with just two strikeouts so I uh I think Johnny Duca is someone who needs to be rostered in more than I think it’s like 22% of leagues right now four percent yeah there you go I I was overshooting it yeah 4% is way too low because that probably means that there are some Al only or yeah Al only leagues where Johnny Duca is available and that doesn’t make any sense so go at him in those I think any five outfielder league with 15 teams he should definitely be rostered I’d say even the five outfielder Leagues with 12 teams Johnny DeLuca probably needs to be rostered just because one outfield’s terrible terrible uh and so like I don’t know four games into his career Johnny Duca might be like a top 50 outfielder already just because there are only like 20 outfielders I feel even decent about and this is a guy who is not a top 100 Prospect he is an older Prospect who has only played 104 games above hay so there are reasons to be skeptical but he was a big part of the Tyler glass now trade when the when the ray sent him over to La he’s got 26 HR and 18 steals in those 104 games at able a and AAA 960 Ops across those two levels like the quality of contact metrics at Triple A weren’t great 96 or 86.4 m per hour average EXs of velocity that’s not very good it’s it’s a very sort of eso peretz esque approach less extreme um but given pretty good plate discipline given some athleticism I think I do think Johnny Duca needs to be rostered way more than he is right now I just picked him up in the Scout white Dynasty League last night that is a 24 I can’t believe he was available I didn’t even see that I couldn’t believe it either I think I won him for a buck or two so yeah I mean check out some Dynasty leagues too to to see if Johnny is available you mentioned some of the minor league numbers just look at threeyear span from 2021 to 2023 Johnny Duca 22 homers 20 steals 25 homers 17 steals and then 17 home runs 12 steals he did that last year in only 73 games in the minor so there’s a little bit of Pop there’s some speed here I think maybe I undersold him or I didn’t even mention that he got activated because I just kind of assumed he would be a short platoon player for Tampa Bay but the fact that he started all four games and three of those against right-handed pitching and are legitimately giving him every opportunity at least to start his race career Josh low was back today yep and it was still Johnny Duca in in the corner Outfield spot so that’s uh I think that’s a very good sign I think it’s bad news for Jose Siri I think it’s bad news for Richie Palos as well not that Palos has done anything wrong he’s actually hit pretty well but I think the Rays really do want to see what they have in this kid Johnny TCA so again it’s not shallower leagues 12 team leagues maybe not but any not points leagues I don’t any format with you know five outfielders or or even Dynasty leagues I would say go out there and check and see if Johnny Duca is available let’s slide over to Mitch Keller who turned in the second complete game of his career I believe it was the seventh complete game this season uh by all starting pitchers and he was up against the Angels obviously a very good lineup to stream against right now he allowed only five hits one run one walk five strikeouts with seven swinging strikes on 109 pitches still all nine hard hits in this game I I kind of wish Scott was here because I know Scott would be more excited to talk about Matt Mitch Keller he was the Mitch Keller Optimist coming into the season we were talking beforehand Chris it’s there’s not really much in this start it is a fantastic start there’s no doubt about it anytime you get a complete game but only seven swinging strikes yeah yeah I mean this is about as pitch to contact as a complete Game can get and look I think one of the reasons why you hang on to Mitch Keller is because when gosh I I don’t know Tristan McKenzie to name a pitcher who pitched tonight has a good start he goes five innings maybe six Keller can go nine innings Keller can pitch deep into his starts that was one of the things that Scott really liked about him last year was he was consistently pitching deep into games and when things are going well he can get you a lot of volume and I think especially in a head to points League that can really matter for Mitch kuller the problem this season is that the the strikeout rate has really regressed um only five in this one he’s down to 21% for the season again good start it’s just when we’re trying to project moving forward and you see a 21% strikeout rate and even the quality of contact metrics are actually surprisingly mediocre the right now the walks are up too this year just I I think Mitch Keller is in that category of pitcher I would throw Charlie Morton in there right now who is getting good results overall but it’s just I think the best case scenario is these guys are fine and fine has uses but it’s not it’s not what you’re aiming for especially this early in the season when we’re still trying to figure out who guys are we don’t have a lot of certainty about who who a lot of guys are and you know you see AR Olen who was still like 50% rostered yesterday I’d rather have ree olssen than Mitch Keller even if there’s probably a lower SE uh floor with Reese Olsen um that’s a little spicy all right I’d rather have Christian Scott than Mitch Keller even if the floor is probably lower for Christian Scott and I think a big part of it is just I don’t know if you’re going to miss Mitch Keller if you drop him you know and and maybe that’s not fair but that’s just where I’m at on him yeah I mean that was part of my argument against him coming into the season is that it was a really low swinging strike rate last year despite the strikeout rate it was a sub 10% swinging strike rate for Mitch Keller he was just at 99.1% entering the start it it’s actually G to go down after this one seven swinging strikes on 109 pitches so he’s probably someone who profiles better in a head head points league for the reasons you mentioned like he’s going to give you some Innings but you know pitching for the Pirates the winds could be hard to come by as well again it’s a great start I feel kind of bad that we’re selling it short I know I hate I hate when this happens it kind of just is what it is like I I think Mitch Keller for me I have at sp62 I’m not gonna feel all that inclined to move him up that much after this start I I think he’s probably just gonna live in that like 50 to 70 range at least for me obviously Scott I think he’s in the same range for me he’s 62 as well for me in in Roto and look there have been times I don’t know where Scott has him ranked specifically right now but there okay there have been times where Scott has said he’d be okay dropping Mitch Keller this season so I don’t you know I I don’t want to say like Scott thinks Mitch Keller is an ace or anything I don’t think we’re I don’t want to misrepresent his position either yeah I think he mentioned that he uh had Mitch Keller as one of his followers in the rankings last so um you know I don’t think he’s gonna fall anymore after this start for Scott but uh yeah Mitch Keller great start for him obviously it’s one that he he needed if you haven’t dropped him by now you’re certainly not doing it now no no you should not do that quick reminder to everyone who is uh listening to us that you can listen to this podcast and our five minute podcast fbtn 5 on Spotify if you’re watching live on YouTube scan that QR code that will take you to the Spotify website where again or Spotify app where you can uh listen to all of our podcasts let’s take our first break when we return we’ll get into the news and notes right after this women have power use it Ru the world you need to send a message I never should have sent a boy to do a woman’s job the shy new episodes May 10th visit Paramount plus.com theey to get 50% off welcome back in let’s talk news and notes Christian Yelich did some hitting on the field Monday the first time since he went on the iel with a lower back strain Cody Bellinger could be activated from the I at some point during the team’s current series against the Padres my guess is P Crow Armstrong will either be or maybe sent back down he hasn’t played poorly he’s he’s been fine but obviously it’s Cody Bellinger Freddy Peralta dropped his appeal of a five-game suspension and began serving the ban on Monday my guess is he’ll still start this weekend either on Saturday or Sunday George Kirby has been cleared to start Wednesday against the twins he left his previous start with right knee soreness Blake Snell will throw a three-inning live batting practice on Tuesday he’s on the iil with an abductor strain Jesus lazardo struck out six over five and two3 scoreless innings in a rehab start at single a on Sunday velocity was fine there he averaged right around like 95 96 with his fast ball so that’s a good sign the Rays activated Josh low as you mentioned and they optioned Curtis me back to Triple A Low hit third in the lineup Monday and finished two for five with a double the Guardians expect Steven Quan to miss approximately four weeks after placing him on the I with a left hand strain I think they’re going to give Kyle manzardo every opportunity to be the team D he did make his debut on Monday not so good 0 for three with three strikeouts for Kyle manzardo In fairness like Jack flare is just a really tough pitcher to pitch to to face right now yeah I think he’s up to like a 12K per nine something ridiculous like that Nolan Jones did throwing and running drills on Saturday the hope is that he’ll be able to return by miday TJ fredel could be activated as soon as tu Tuesday he’s missed the start of the season with a fractured right wrist TJ Friel is 54% rostered do you think TJ fredel with as bad as Outfield has been is a must roster Chris even in let’s say three outfielder leagues I it’s hard to justify I think in a points league but any non-points League I think TJ fro should be rostered yeah all right Francisco Alvarez had the stitches from his surgically repaired left thumb removed on Monday if all goes well he should be back around the All-Star break Brian woo could be activated this weekend to face the A’s he’s 77% rostered and absolutely someone you should be trying to add if he’s available in a shallower format Braxton Garrett struck out 13 over five and two3 scoreless in his Rehab start Monday in the Florida complex League that is the lowest level of minor league competition so I I felt like I should point that out uh but Braxton Garrett will likely be activated to start Saturday or Sunday against the Phillies Tosh Bradley has joined the Rays in Tampa and is likely to make his season debut later this week how do you rank those three I was goingon to ask you that question okay well that’s I guess that’s your job so I guess I should answer it I would go woo Bradley and Garrett um Garrett probably has a higher floor than Bradley but I think we know what the ceiling is for braxon Garrett unless he’s playing against the Florida complex League strikeouts are not going to be a big part of his game you’re hoping for a High three er and and useful counting stats the rest of the way where Bradley the floor is he’s not part of the rotation he gets sent back down but the stuff is really good he’s looked really good on his rehab assignment so far um so I remain pretty optimistic about him but he would be behind Brian woo Who In fairness probably has a lower floor even just because he’s dealt with an elbow injury this season whereas Taj Bradley’s was a pectoral injury so you figure there’s less risk there but I do think woo with that really really good fast ball does have uh a higher ceiling I would rank it woo Garrett and Taj Bradley but if you were making the argument for just upside then I totally get wanting to take Bradley over Garrett I really like what we saw from Garrett last year I know he’s kind of like a jack of all trades type pitch right I think he’s actually kind of a lot like Mitch Keller in that ways sure yeah less than a strike out per inning I think the control is a little bit better not GNA get many wins on the mar doesn’t pitch deep into games like Mitch Keller does that that’s the biggest issue for br Brax and Garrett yep uh Jorge Solair has missed two straight with shoulder discomfort which comes at an awful time because the Giants get seven games this week including three in chorus field so unfortunately in the leagues where I have hores Solera I took him out of the lineup just because I think there’s a chance he could land on the I and they they haven’t said anything like that but there is a chance according to Buster only Tanner Scott could be on the move next with the Marlins uh Josh Bell could also interest some teams he was a name that was mentioned Chris if Tanner Scott is traded who do you think would step in for saves it might not matter honestly but if Tanner Scott was traded today I think Anthony Maldonado would probably be the most likely um they’ve seem to really like him they called him up and immediately threw him in high levered situations if Tanner Scott gets traded by July I think there’s a decent ch it’s AJ Puck but obviously he has to get healthy and then pitch yeah no I think that’s a good call out AJ Puck I believe made his second relief appearance uh either yesterday or over the weekend and um yeah he’s working as a reliever again so that definitely could I was gonna throw Wu Go’s name in there just because sure he was someone we thought would be the the closer for the Padre’s before you know spring went really poorly for him yeah so three potential options but I I do agree I think if it happens very soon it it could be Anthony Maldonado next up for the Marlins Paul ske’s next start will come at tripa a later this week his start on Sunday wasn’t as dominant he allowed two earned runs over four in a third Innings and it was also Skin’s first time working on regular rest so again uh my prediction has now been delayed two starts I said what last week that I thought his next start would be with the Pirates obviously that didn’t happen um and it’s a good call by you because I remember you uh expressed some skepticism that he needs to pitch on regular rest before they actually call him up I I will I will believe that it is imminent when he makes it to 90 pitches I just have a hard time seeing with the way they’re handling him that they’re going to call him up without having gotten to 90 pitches I think his most recent or his most pitches this season was 75 so I just and that look that could happen in his next start right and and then he could be on the way I just I I feel less certain he’s imminent than a lot of people in the fantasy industry which I I’m with you I think it’s dumb I hate what the Pirates are doing with Paul skines I think it’s I don’t even know if it’s shortsighted because I don’t see how you can look at all these young pitchers getting hurt and say aha we figured it out how to keep Paul skin healthy we just have him not throw a lot of pitches it doesn’t work nothing works so just get them in the majors whatever yeah he’s wasting his bullets down in the minors right now and he throws 100 miles per hour so it’s if we’re thinking about it realistically how many bullets does Paul schin have over the next decade I I hope it’s a ton but you know it’s just the uh the track record I guess for pitchers that throw that hard it it hasn’t been great at least not recently uh and the last and perhaps the most pivotal piece of news is that Chris’s this will be Chris’s last fbt podcast for at least a few weeks he’s off to travel I don’t just a few weeks I’m coming back at least a few weeks I hope if hopefully you come back if it’s just if it’s more than a few weeks then something bad happens so I I am planning to return in 13 or 14 days we’ll see how I feel maybe fall in love with your upgrade come back yeah it’s possible but yeah I uh yeah I’ll be gone for a couple weeks I’m forcing Scott to do extra work by doing the newsletter for me him and Dan schne will be taking it on and uh you know I don’t love taking two weeks off in May but that’s that’s when the plans happened so we’ll go yeah hey man enjoy yourself have a good time uh let’s talk about two big returns here on Monday Walker ber made his first start with the Dodgers since June 10th of 2022 and he looked a little bit Rusty going up against the Miami Marlins I think that was expected four Innings six hits allowed three runs zero walks four strikeouts had eight swinging strikes on 77 pitches that’s a 10.4% swinging strike rate did a good job limiting hard contact he leaned on his cutter it was his most used pitch in this start the velocity was actually solid he averaged 95.9 miles per hour uh on that fast ball and it was a lot lower in his minor league rehab assignment so I thought that was a really good sign and I think the problem at least in this one Chris none of his secondaries were working he had just two swinging strikes on the curve the slider and the change up combined it’s going to take some time but overall I mixed results I I think still mostly in encouraging what do you think yeah I I think the velocity especially was was actually quite encouraging because the velocity was down a couple miles per hour in that rehab uh stint at least when we saw him so the fact that he was up from the last time he pitched in the majors I I think is a good sign it doesn’t it doesn’t mean Walker beer is definitely going to be an ace moving forward but I my expectation has been I’ve kept him in like the 30 to 40 range at starting pitcher and I think that’ll make him a must start pitcher but I I don’t necessarily know I expect him to be an ace but my my expectations aren’t any lower after this start I will say Justin steel also made a return was not out nearly as long as Walker buer he missed about a month of the Season here uh but he was I would say solid against the Padres four and twoth third shutout Innings three hits one walk two strikeouts only four swinging strikes but did a great job limiting hard contact as Justin steel always does it was pretty much the Justin steel experience Chris it was lots of fast balls it’s I know people argue that it’s a cutter it’s not really a foreen fast ball I think he kind of changes the shape on the fast ball like depending on counts and different situations oh yeah but overall I I thought it was okay yeah I mean Justin steel is kind of a two- pitch pitcher but he’s also kind of like a six pitch pitcher yeah because like depending on what part of the strike zone and which batter he’s going against he’ll throw his fast ball and his slider in very different ways so um look I think he made one Rehab start after missing like a month and then came back so it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that he only threw four and two-thirds Innings and and 68 pitches but like Walker Beeler I I see no reason to be lower on him after this start Chris I have one request for you before you leave to go to Europe I’m going to need you to move Zack Wheeler up to your sp1 because he was awesome again seven Innings four hits one unearned run 11 strikeouts was a season High 19 swinging strikes on2 pitches 13 of those came on the fast ball he was ridiculous it was his third start the season with double digit strikeouts he’s down to a 164 erra a 089 whip the underlying numbers all look fantastic a 48% ground ball rate is there any reason he shouldn’t be ranked ahead of Corbin Burns at this point no I can’t point to anything specific except that I had Burns number one and Wheeler number two coming into the season and I I may just be pigheaded enough to to keep it that way but yeah this sure looks like the best version of Zack Wheeler we’ve ever seen which is interesting because he’s actually throwing less hard than maybe ever is 94.5 miles per hour has lowest fast ball velocity average that sounds like it might be yeah I don’t think he’s ever been this low 2017 he was 94.7 if you remember Zack Wheeler had a ton of injuries early in his career so yeah he’s added that splitter which we haven’t really talked much about this season but he barely needed it today but it’s been an awesome pitch for him generating a ton of weak contact career-high strikeout rate walk rate right around where it usually is the quality of contact’s better than it’s ever been yeah this this sure looks like the best version of Zack Wheeler we’ve ever seen so sure I will move him one spot in my rankings ahead of Corbin Burns who yeah has looked great but maybe slightly less dominant yeah I was gonna point out Corbin Burns hasn’t really done anything wrong he has a 261 ra and a 0 92 whip strikeout rate is just below a strikeout per inning so it’s right around where it was last year I think yeah yeah it’s right around there uh the walks have been much better which obviously has helped Corbin Burns but yeah Zack Wheeler just looks like he’s on a new level right now especially uh with that the incorporation of that splitter and even with the diminished velocity that fastball is is playing up and and Zack Wheeler has been in my opinion the sp1 so far this season by high or no thanks guy and we’re going to talk about six different players here that are performing well or performing well as of late and whether whether or not you should be looking to buy High exactly that Riley green Chris your guy one for for five with his ninth home run he had four hard hits in this game three over 106 miles per hour he has four home runs in his past seven games is batting 266 overall with a 391 on base percentage nine home runs 27 runs 939 Ops he entered Monday’s action as the 10th best outfielder in head-to-head points leagues the only thing that I will say about what he’s done so far this year is that he’s not running and I don’t know that we ever expected him to run all that much but it would be nice if we can get like 10 to 15 steals out of Riley green even with that he has been awesome and I I think he’s making the case to be ranked as like a top 25 outfielder I that’s where you had him coming into the season right so would you like to know where I have Riley green ranked right now where do you have uh I have Riley green so you are higher than Scott on Riley green I have Riley green 19 Outfield spots ahead of you and 23 spots ahead of Scott he is my outfielder 14 spicy yeah I am a I am a believer in Riley green my Twitter profile name since the spring has been Chris Towers is the Riley green preservation Society shouts to uh my fellow Kinks heads out there and uh yeah he’s awesome the he he’s one of those guys where you look at the strikeout rate and you think he probably can’t hit for batting average but the quality of contact is so consistant awesome for Riley green that I think he probably can keep hitting like 270 it’s probably not going to be 290 like it was last year the the quality of contact hasn’t been quite that good the xba is is a little lower but he is just crushing the ball right now expected won contact is 484 last year it was 477 expected woba overall 394 because the plate discipline’s been so much better I think there are probably going to be stretches and Riley green might be just like the new left-handed version of Nic ctios where the plate discipline will probably never be great there’s probably enough swing and Miss in his game especially that there might be stretches where he looks kind of lost but I think at the end of the day Riley green is is going going to be a very good power hitter a very good run producer I think given his lineup spot maybe it tilts more towards runs than RBI right now but overall yeah I’m I’m buying Riley green and the question is when are you guys gonna catch up I’m looking at it now and yeah there’s a real argument for him to be top 20 so I’m gonna update the rankings on Wednesday like I always do and you know my part of it is just like yeah 14 through 18 for me is steer Reynolds tasar Hernandez and Jazz Chism like Riley green absolutely should be in yes absolutely like and and and then you’ve got like Yelich who’s injured but hopefully we’ll be back soon Luis Robert injured hopefully we be back soon the the disappointing rookies so like it’s it’s partially a function of just I just don’t like Outfield that much and I really like Riley green so I might as well throw him up there um but I do really really like Riley green as well let’s talk about Cole Reagan someone who obviously you and Scott were very excited about coming into the season I I never really expressed all that much optimism but maybe I should have because he has looked really good turned in another quality start six Innings two runs eight strikeouts to two walks 19 swinging strikes on 95 pitches that change up continues to be awesome for Cole Reagan and uh he is now down to a 330 ra the whip is a little bit high he does walk a good amount of batters and his babit is a little bit higher than you’d like it to be as well but it’s a 236 fit it’s a 303x fit and Chris I am making the case that he should be ranked inside the top 12 and treat it as an sp1 and if if someone in your league is not valuing valuing him that way then then you should look to buy High yeah I’ve got him at 14 um so the guys who are right ahead of him are Logan Gilbert and Aon no who have been I mean Gilbert’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball and Nola has had the bounceback season we were hoping for for the most part so I don’t know how inclined I am to move him ahead of those guys but that’s mostly just because of lingering questions about whether he can hold up as a full-time starter for a full season something he has never really done in terms of production I think Cole Reagan is an ace yeah I I don’t really have much skep ISM it’s one bad start this season he had that one start where he gave up seven earned runs in one and twoth thirds Innings he hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any of his other starts I you know the one that I’m gonna wrestle with this week is gsman do I move Gosman because you know Gosman he he’s been all right but there are questions like the velocity hasn’t been there for him and obviously he had the shoulder coming into the season so I think there are injury concerns with both of those guys and and right now I I like what I’m seeing from Cole Reagan more than what I what I’ve seen from Kevin Gosman so I think I will make that swap I I think I will move Reagan ahead of Gosman later this week PE Pew and uh let’s move on to Brandon nmo who went two for five with his fourth home run he had three hard hits in this game one of which 11.9 exit velocity the other 111.1 crushing the ball lately is Brandon nmo his last 11 games he’s batting 3177 with two home runs a 91.8 average exit velocity and the overall numbers are still low enough a 228 batting average a 770 Ops where I think you could take advantage and buy high on Brandon nmo Chris what do you think about doing that yeah I mean he’s one of those guys who’s just kind of consistently gotten better as his career has gone on um you know especially when it comes to the quality of contact that he’s making last season he had career-high hard hit rate career-high expected Woon contact all those things and he’s improved on those so far this season so on the one hand I’m I’m inclined to just say he’s 31 we don’t really need to buy into it we know who Brandon nemmo is on the other hand it’s possible that he’s taking another step forward I I think the likelier outcome is just he’s had a good month in terms of hitting the ball hard and he’ll probably regress but he hit the ball really hard last year too yeah no it was the the best quality contact of his career so I I think you can make the case that like he’s outfielder 40 for me in Roto but I look at it and like him versus Colton cower the rest of the season okay Colton cower probably has more upside but he’s been pretty bad for a couple of weeks now uh Brandon nmo versus Anthony santand there like Santander is gonna hit for better power he’s in that great lineup so I think that but like so maybe I move him up to 32 but then right ahead of that is Cody Bellinger and Nolan Jones on the I and I don’t know exactly how I feel about those guys so yeah I think I think nmo can can move up pretty pretty quickly the overall batting average is 228 for nmo the expected batting average entering Monday was 292 so I think there are some better days coming for Brandon nmo obviously just had a great game on Monday as well so uh if anyone in your league is just not valuing him as like a top 40 or top 36 outfielder basically a third outfielder uh then I would be looking to buy on Brandon nmo Jack flarey another one turned in his another quality start he was at the Guardians six Innings two runs six strikeouts to one walk he had 15 more swinging strikes in this one and uh he threw more fast balls and change UPS in this start his fastball velocity was actually up to 94 miles per hour he hadn’t averaged that in a season on his fastball since 2020 which obviously was a shorten season uh but he’s down to a 386 ra a 105 whip and the reason I mentioned him here Chris is as recently as last week he was still on Waiver Wires I think so many people have been burned by Jack flarity in the past that they’re they might not be valuing him the way that they should based on his K toalk ratio and his super high swinging strike rate this year I think he ranks top five in both K minus walk rate and Sierra on the season so yeah I’m not saying he’s going to keep that that up but when it’s all said and done I mean if he continues to pitch like this he he might be like an SP2 but by season’s end so I’m not saying I value him like that but I think there’s still room to buy before he gets to that level yeah he entered today’s start number one in K minus walk ratio for the season uh yeah K minus walk rate um just ahead of Jared Jones and I I don’t know he was like one tenth of a percentage Point ahead so it might I don’t know if he quite kept that lead but number two to Jared Jones right now is not a bad place to be um the slider and knuckle curve have been outstanding for Jack flare this season whiff rate on the knuckle curve I believe coming in was like 50% slider was above 40% as well um and all of a sudden his fast ball looks really good he had nine swinging strikes with the fast ball and 22 swings today that’s going to put the fastball swing strike rate right around 30% that’s an elite mark for a four seam fastball the velocity like you mentioned up to 94.4 miles per hour today not quite at the Cardinals Revenge game Mark that he was at last last week where I think he sat 95 but he hit 97.6 this is a version of Jack flare that we really haven’t seen since 2021 at least and possibly 2019 his velocity is up higher than it’s been since 2019 so yeah I um I was surprised to to look at the rankings just now and see that Scott’s actually a little bit lower than you and I on flarity at least in the Roto rankings he’s got him 40 you’ve got him 34 I’ve got him 35 I think that’s the right range for flarity and it’s mostly just can he keep this fastball velocity up and keep being as effective with that pitch as he has been if he does I could see him being a top 24 starting pitcher yeah yeah and the walks can he keep the uh the control in check because that has been an issue a very big issue for Jack flarity in years past but when the Tigers signed him they said that they had they knew what they needed to do to fix him and so far they have completely backed that up so uh yes if people are are not buying in on Jack flarity I think you should be let’s take our final break when we return I’ve got two other names you might want to buy high on we’ll do that right after this golf’s brightest star head to the Bluegrass State for the second major of the season the PGA Championship May 18th and 19th on CBS Christopher Morell is in one of those zones right now one for four with his eighth home run on Monday three hard hits in this game all over 105 exit velocity he has four homers in his past five games he has five home runs in his past eight games and as we mentioned I believe last week the plate discipline is much improved for Christopher Morell he’s down to a 21% strikeout rate last year that was 31% the expected numbers all say that Christopher Morell has been unlucky so far this is very much so like brandan nmo Chris where uh I I do like uh Morel more and Roto I like Brandon nmo more in points but they’re both going to be in that 30 to 40 outfielder range and the numbers have not caught up to what the expected numbers say they should be yeah I morel’s a player that I I struggle with because I feel like I should like him more than I do and more often than than not I I think he ends up being just a collection of interesting tools rather than a fully formed player and he gets on these hot streaks and looks really really good and then gets in these cold streaks and looks really really bad we were talking about one of those not too long ago but yeah he’s a top 40 outfielder for me um I think he’s probably a mustart player in any Roto League I’m not quite ready to buy the improved plate discipline to say that he’s a points League guy as well but given what third and Outfield eligibility you’ve probably got a spot for Christopher Morell in your lineup somewhere yes absolutely last name here is Michael Garcia who went through a funk for quite some time but he has bounced back nicely he went one for two with two walks and two RBI here and over his last 16 games Michael Garcia is betting 323 with one Homer four steals 91.9 average exit velocity hitting lots of line drives and just another one where the overall numbers just haven’t caught up yet to where they should be he he’s batting 236 overall a 671 Ops it was he started red hot he got ice cold and now he’s picking things back up but based on how much contact he makes how hard he hits the ball the expected batting average is 269 for Mikel Garcia I don’t know that he’s going to be a stud or anything Chris but if you play in a roto League where you have a corner infield spot or just deeper lineup spots I think he is someone that could be a fixture and people might not value him like that yet yeah I I think this is another one that it’s probably just for Roto leagues I think points leagues although you know the play discipline’s not so bad that I that I can’t see him being useful but he he’s a better Roto League player for sure and right now he’s on like a close to 20 Homer 40 steel Pace yeah right now um qu contact is better than it was last season even if I don’t think it’s necessarily suggesting that he’s going to be a star and he did underperform his expected stats last season in a way that while is not proof that he will continue to do it it does make raise the question of whether that’s going to be a problem for him um in some way so you know we’ll see but yeah on the whole I think you have to be very pleased with what michaa Garcia has done and I think the production will be better moving forward than it has been let’s slide over to the waiver wire pitchers from Monday’s action and four names that pitched very well not sure how much I’m buying it with any of them but Shawn manah turned in a quality start at the Cardinals six Innings three runs one walk to one strike out just four swinging strikes and he changed his pitch mix drastically in this start he ditched his four seam fastball which he was throwing 20% of the time and he led with his Sinker 48% usage and that’s part of the reason why he did not get many swinging strikes in this outing Kyle Gibson was solid six Innings three runs two of those were earned four strikeouts with 12 swinging strikes uh he does have a swinging strike rate of at least 133% in three straight starts that is Kyle Gibson Simeon Woods Richardson was awesome against the Mariners six shutout Innings one hit one walk eight strikeouts with 10 swinging strikes in that one and Andrew Heeney turned in a strong start at the Oakland A’s it was six Innings two runs one of those was earned five strikeouts with 15 swinging strikes on 97 pitches and his velocity was up about a tick on all of his pitches and uh obviously facing the Oakland A’s helps quite a bit but Chris do you have any interest in Heeney Simeon Woods Richardson Kyle Gibson and sha manah Woods Richardson is the only one that I think I have any interest in as more than a streamer any of these guys can have good starts against the right matchups and I think in all of these cases they kind of had the right matchups um Woods Richardson was at least a prospect of some Renown you know he was a top 100 guy before he got to the high miners really kind of fell apart once he got to double a and triaa and the ratios were much worse but you know maybe it’s a a late bloomer kind of thing um I don’t really see too much in the profile to get excited about it just kind of seems like a handful of decent pitches but nothing that’s really uh better than average-ish so my expectations are not particularly high for Woods Richardson but I would rather have him than any of the other guys mentioned yeah I think the slider could actually be a plus pitch for Woods Richardson but entering this start has fast ball and change up had an expected WBA over 460 which is just insane so I I don’t know that he can survive with just having a really good slider if those other two pitches regress moving forward but uh Simeon Woods is 23% rostered the most added starting pitchers on CBS no surprise John means Christian Scott those guys should be at the top there’s no doubt then the next three on the list are Cole Irving Colin Ray Andrew Heeney likely because of two starts this week I think if I’m just speculating I I would rather have Woods Richardson over any of those guys moving forward yeah those last three that you mentioned yeah um but not means and Scott obviously not means and Scott no those are a different class of of quality yep two two names in deeper leagues do either of these guys matter Alex Wood turned in a quality start against the Rangers six shutout Innings with three strikeouts in that one he still has a 530 erra after this start and Bryce Wilson has quietly pitched well for the Brewers shout out to you I know you start him in the Scott White dast League uh he was at the Royals six shut out one hit three walks six strikeouts with 11 swinging strikes I mean this is very deep League stuff but anything to see here with Bryce Wilson and Alex Wood I think Bryce Wilson’s kind of interesting in a points League context because he is RP eligible and he’s actually making the switch from the rotate from the bullpen to the rotation right now he hasn’t really ever succeeded uh as a member of the rotation prior to his last couple of starts and there’s not a ton in his profile that suggests that he’s going to be much more than even a League average pitcher but a League average pitcher in a points League who has RP eligibility that can be a useful player he’s got two he had two starts this week that was why I picked him up and started him in the the dynasty league and I’ll I’ll keep him around at least until you know Cody Bradford comes off the I and I have to make that that choice let’s slide over to the waiver wire hitters and these are mostly deep League options uh Zack Netto has been coming around recently one for three with his third home run and over his last 13 games he is batting 356 with all three of his home runs 91.2 average exit velocity for a smaller middle infield type guy he’s he’s packs bit of a punch and he’s 22% rostered we lost Trey Turner over the weekend you might be looking for a shortstop replacement that could be Zack Netto Tommy F went one for four with his second home run he added two RBI and through 10 games he’s batting 282 with the two home runs eight runs scored we mentioned Johnny Duca earlier Harold Ramirez went four for four with a double three runs and his fourth stolen base of the Season he doesn’t play every day he’s only started five of the past nine games for the Tampa Bay Rays uh and Abraham Toro has multiple hits in five of his past six games he went three for four with a double in this one again it’s mostly deep League stuff but uh do you have any confidence in any of these names Netto fam uh we spoke about Duca but also Harold Ramirez and Abraham Toro so Toro has been decent enough for long enough this season that I do think we probably need to take him seriously um as a 15 team Corner outfielder type like I dropped him in an Al only league and I really regret that right now I I wish I still had him around I started him in the Scott White Dynasty League those are my two deepest leagues so that tells you the kind of context but I think he’s useful in deeper leagues and then Netto I think there’s like this may be damning with faint praise is here but like 2023 Anthony vulpi potential like he could get I think 2020 is probably close to the ceiling on both regards yeah but I think he could get there um it’s just bad lineup spot bad lineup yeah so neither of those things working for him probably not going to be a big source of batting average but I I like him in a in a 15 team Roto context Zack Neto 70th percentile Sprint speed so yeah 20 Steals and he’s got like 10 steals in his career in like around 90 games if I’m if I’m remembering correctly yeah I like what I’ve seen I I think it’s I think Zack Netto could even be useful in a a 12 team RTO league with a middle infield spot it’s just you know we lost Trey Turner and yeah middle infield has been a little bit sketchy there in the back end so yeah I could see Zack Netto mattering uh who would you rather have in a five Outfield League Chris Tommy fam or Johnny Duca I think it probably would be DeLuca but it’s probably one of those fam has the higher floor but I kind of want to see where DeLuca goes yeah fam’s gonna play I mean he’s on a bad team they obviously are gonna play him because they don’t really have many other options and and he could go 2020 too yeah there is a chance that he he’s probably gonna get flipped some at the deadline and yeah probably make his way into a better lineup so that would be good news for Tommy fam I agree I think he’s the higher floor option if you need someone absolutely to play right now and plug in your lineup I I think I would go with fam but DeLuca might have more upside just because he’s the the mystery box and we’ve seen Tommy fan play for a very long time now at this point let’s get into some of the leftovers and the pitching performances that stand out Luis Castillo had a quality start at the twins six and two3 innings three runs seven strikeout with 14 swinging strikes in that one uh U Darvish pitched well at the Cubs it was five shutout Innings three hits one walk five strikeouts with 15 swinging strikes in two starts since returning from the iil ud Darvish has emphasized his slider and has made it his most used pitch in both outings and the fact that he had 15 swinging strikes in this start I thought was very encouraging because he had just a 10% swinging strike rate entering this start Tristan McKenzie has allowed two earn runs or fewer in four straight he was up against the Tigers five innings one run six strikeouts only had nine swinging strikes the problem he’s still walking so many batters three walks in this one and he’s had three plus walks in four of seven starts in Tristan McKenzie’s breakout 2022 he averaged 2.1 walks per nine he’s uh he’s up at 5.6 right now so unless he gets that done I don’t gets that down I I don’t think he’s going to matter in more than like a streamer since that is Trist McKenzie anything else you want to add on him Darvish and Luis Casa Casa we’re not we’re done talking about him he’s an ace we we said that last time around um darish it’s weird that he didn’t pitch deeper into this game he threw what 83 pitches before getting pulled given his Arsenal and his age you would think he’s a guy who doesn’t need to be shielded the third time through the order and should be able to go deeper I wrote it off after he only went five innings in his last start because it was first one back from the I but it’s a little bit concerning that they’re treating him this way and and I’d like to see him going deeper and then I I think the biggest thing for McKenzie is just he’s given us reason not to drop him over the past four starts 25 strikeouts over 21 Innings 257 ra he has yet to have a start this season let me make sure I have this stat correct he’s yet to have a start this season with more than five innings and more than a strikeout per inning I think he’s only gone more than five innings once um and so he’s just been super inefficient I don’t really trust his Arsenal um I I think McKenzie’s okay there there’s High weekly strikeout potential with him but he’s definitely not a must start and I’m not even sure he’s a must roster player it’s interesting that UD darish hasn’t thrown more than 92 pitches in a single start this season yeah so I think in this one maybe it’s just he’s still working back from the I his last start he had 70 all right this one he builds up to what 83 pitches so next time out he’s probably up to like 90 95 but there is a chance that they’re just kind of babying darish I de with something with his elbow last year right yeah he I think it was bone spurs in his elbow if I remember correctly and he didn’t get it cleaned up in the offseason yeah so might be part of the calculation he had a stress reaction in his elbow last year that I think there was then bone spurs as well some hitting leftovers we’ve got three Phillies who uh did some interesting things here on Monday all right I just go ahead the Phillies hitters are great okay the Giants handling of Mason black today was baffling th this guy hadn’t thrown more than 75 pitches I believe in any of his minor League starts his career high in pitches is 86 and they left him in to face the Phillies third time through the order and he threw 84 pitches I just like it’s kind of a a more extreme version of the Paul skes thing where it’s just like I don’t understand what this organization is doing as far as the development of this specific player and maybe there was something in his stin in the miners that they had to limit his pitches I I don’t know um but having him throw like 10 more pitches than he had thrown in any start this season again in his major league debut against a really good team that’s just it was so baffling to watch as it happened I couldn’t believe that they were doing it and predictably I believe it ended with or at least peaked with Bryce Harper hitting a home run off if me the third time he’s faced him so yeah and Nick ctios ended his day with a double I believe it was just it was dumb I I really hated watching that they set this kid up to fail and as somebody who started Tyler black in NL labor this week uh I was watching it and I was like all right four Innings one run I I’m pretty sure he’s done and boom he comes out and yeah everything just spirals out of control in the fifth inning so overall watching him I I didn’t think the stuff was that in yeah I didn’t I I didn’t see anything to be too impressed with it was mostly just they didn’t give him a chance to succeeded and I I really hate it his his season high in pitches was 71 before this one by the way yeah and then he goes hey just go out and throw you know 85 pitches against the Phillies like one of the best lineups in baseball yeah great uh some of those leftovers by the way Kyle schwarber went two for four with his ninth home run Bryce Harper two for four with his eighth Homer he’s now homerun in back-to-back games Nick casianos two for two with a double and two walks over his last 16 games he’s betting 250 with uh two home runs 13 runs and a stolen base so slowly coming around Jose Ramirez went one for four with his seventh home run uh is batting 230 early on in the season uh the only things I really noticed the quality of contact is down the expected numbers are not buying anything from Jose Ramirez right now but but they never he’s always he’s one of the bigger over performers over the last five years so I that I’m not worried at all about Jose Ramirez and a sign of life from Cory Seager who went one for four with his third home run it was a three-run shot he has a 229 batting average and a 64 Ops uh the quality of contact is actually way down for Cory Seager as well the barrel rate is down the line drives are down expect numbers don’t look good I’m not gonna say that I’m over concerned but the fact that he did have the the sports hernia surgery it could at least explain part of why he is off to a slow start I think it could explain why he’s off to a slow start and and look maybe he’s just never right all season but I just Cory Seager has a long enough track record that as long as he’s healthy I expect him to be a superstar all right and let’s wrap up with some Bullpen updates for the Guardians Emanuel Class A struck out one for his 11th Sade he is now save he is now tied for the league lead for the Royals James MacArthur was unavailable Chris Stratton got the ninth with a one-run lead he walked two but did pick up his second save for the twins I hope this is not becoming a trend because Yan Don entered in the eighth inning with a two-run lead facing nine1 and2 in the Mariners lineup second in the Mariners lineup is Julio Rodriguez so I I get why they wanted him to face that part of the lineup uh donon struck out two and then Lefty Caleb thebar got the ninth he struck out two for his third save that’s two games in a row now that Don has worked the eighth inning and that is not something that happened last last year there were no there was no point last year where he worked the eighth inning in consecutive games interesting this is more like how he was used two years ago yeah and and I think on the broadcast they said something about like Brock Stewart not being available gives them a a one fewer fireman so they want to use yoan Don more as a as a high leverage stopper than a traditional closer but I think it’s not great for Fantasy though it’s not great but I think the one thing you have to keep mind is one Brock Stewart presumably will be back at some point and two he got a a save in each of his first two appearances of the season and so while it might be the case that you can’t count on Yan Don to get 100% of the twin saves moving forward or 90% or whatever you would expect normally I still expect the next one to be yand Duron because the highest leverage situation is often the ninth in of a three run or less game so I do think there will be still the majority of save opportunities moving forward for will be y yand Don Rons even if it’s not okay maybe he doesn’t have 40 save upside I still think 25 to 30 I was gonna say over under rest of season 20 saves yeah I I would take the over still all right for the Mets Edwin Diaz struck out one for his fifth save for the Padres Robert Suarez got the final five outs three via the strikeout for his 11th save he is now also tied for the league lead I think there might be five or six different relievers that have 11 saves already so uh that’ll be an interesting race uh by the end of the season to see who leads the league and saves for the Texas Rangers uh Kirby Yates got the ninth with a two-run lead he walked one but picked up his sixth save and he has yet to allow an earned run he has a0 49 Whip and he has over a strike out per inning Kirby Gates has been fantastic for that team for the Dodgers Blake trining got the eighth inning with a three-run lead facing two three and four in the Marlins lineup he shk out one and then it was Alex vessia who got the ninth uh two lefties two up in the ninth and he converted the save in that one Daniel Hudson last pitched on Friday so I thought he would have been available but as Scott said yesterday Chris it it might just kind of be whoever Dave Roberts feels like or yeah whatever the matchup say who whoever the match up say should be out there you know yeah I think this one specifically was a matchups thing with two lefties coming up in the ninth inning but yeah that might just be the case moving forward um where like Daniel Hudson is the most likely guy but it might be a situation where he gets a plurality of the save opportunities instead of a majority all right let’s get into to stream or not to stream and for Tuesday who did we say yesterday I think it was Jose buo you were gonna C yeah I’m struggling with that one still it’s it’s one of those ones where I’ve read it and then I I can’t get past how my brain reads it to say it the way so I’m trying I’m sorry I’m gonna spend the next two weeks wandering the capitals of Europe just saying bo buo boo boo rock all right uh buo at the Cardinals that’s what we’ll go with and then I I think any of these three is okay MAA at the Guardians Logan Allen against the Tigers and Patrick of all at the Pirates yeah I I could see miles michelas against the Mets as well um I don’t love any of those four though on Wednesday you could go with Jose Sorano at the Pirates there’s ree Olsen at the Guardians yeah Martin Perez against that the Angels lineup right now is just there’s nothing uh Gavin stone at home against the marins and yeah well Chris Paddock against the Mariners so I threw five names out there Chris who are your three favorites uh Olen is number one for sure and then if I’m streaming I think it’s Gavin Stone and Martin Perez I really want to keep a close eye on Chris Paddock the Mariners have been a pretty streamable matchup so far this season and we talked about it yesterday but Paddock threw his slider more than he ever had in the in his most recent start and it was an effective pitch for him so that’s an interesting aspect that I want to keep an eye on even if I’m not necessarily starting him outside of head-to-head points leagues where he is RP eligible let’s wrap things up team name Tuesday and this first one’s from forest Albe’s Forever Young sure yeah from David Juan sto shot first yeah yeah I get that one I do it all for the mooki yep from Ryan wi’s in the Box it’s a good one yeah uh Harris and the Henderson sure Kirby Your Enthusiasm I like that one Harris bu’s day off sure YOLO Doo or YOLO yeah it ain’t Ober till it’s obber is that Lenny Kravitz is that what we’re going with there H I’m disappointed you didn’t you didn’t include the one we got today which one was that the one you sent me oh he said those are for your eyes only I didn’t know if there were something explicit I could well no I don’t think it was necessarily explicit I think he just wanted to make sure we saw it oh all right well I could pull them up I I got I still have the email we’ll wrap up with that let me just get through these and I’ll pull up the email uh from Ken Colonel xanders yeah yeah I like big bets and I cannot lie sure f for Freddy and the bets yep from Sean mom’s spetti s arti yeah uh it’s funny because my my points League podcast points League team name is Mom’s arag Getti but like it is it better with the SP in the front I don’t know uh no I think it works better without it yep uh and from Tyler you’re gonna proar kid I like that one that’s a good one all right let me see I sent it to you earlier and I think there’s one that you probably don’t want to say all right fif one if you have the email open you could just read them then uh yeah these are all I think you should leave team names for uh for Chris only from Jason um Bogart’s dubbed over yeah Bozo dubbed over obviously we all know that one the dangerous Knights Cruise Dane flashes the the the the patterns on those shirts are crazy Joey Bart Harley Jarvis actually the most aggressive baby I’ve ever seen I actually understand that one uh the baby of the year is is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life uh the Jones are their money a great one and then Calico Cut lance.com You Gotta Give or else it goes dark what a crop there you go and those again were from Jason so shout out to him we’re gonna wrap there for Chris enjoy your trip buddy we’ll miss you while you’re gone I am Frank thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today please make sure to follow and leave a festar rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again tomorrow bye-bye