What's up, friends, and welcome into Leading Off here right here on Fantasy Pros. I'm Chris Welsh. That is the Joe Alrico, and today's episode is brought to you by bet three six five, where you can bet five dollars get one hundred and fifty in bonus bets just by using the promo code leading Off Bet three six five, the title sponsor of Leading Off this entire year gambling problem. You can call it one a hundred bets off or
one eight hundred gambler. Terms of conditions apply, ladies and gentlemen. They did it. That's my mouth trumpet. I'm very good at a Joe Rico. The White Sox have won a game, almost beating a record. I'm always going for the records. I'm always going for the biggest losers to lose all the games. I wanted the Lions years to go to lose every single game. I wanted the White Sox to lose every single game through the end of the year.
Because Joe, I have an appreciation for history and greatness, and you have to appreciate the greatness, that is the awfulness that the White Sox have been.
Might be the worst team in history.
I know that's been talked about, like at least in the modern era for sure, as long as you and I have been watching baseball. And the funny thing is, like everybody was last year going on and on about how bad the Athletics are, the White Sox are way worse this year than the Athletics were last season.
I think it's not even close.
It's not remotely well. I mean, did the Athletics lose twenty one straight games at any point last year? So I think that's pretty good for it. Good for the White Sox. By the way, Jonathan Cannon, the pitcher, he'll live in infamy of course, six innings, one run ball as they beat the A's five to one. I will say it's kind of apropos that they beat the a of all the teams, that it was the A's that
they did it. Only other thing would have been maybe like the Braves with just how ridiculously bad the Braves offense has been in general. But the White Sox have been a huge, big embarrassment. But congratulations to them. They can throw like a little mini parade with like you know, those eight vault little cars and people can just wave Luis Robert can, you know, drop balls and stuff like that. But the White Sox just absolutely horrendous. Fantasy options have
just been kind of blah from that team. Everything around the White Sox has been bleffed. But they did avoid the what was it? Was it twenty three? Was it gonna be? Twenty three? Was going to be the historical awfold tide mark of most lost games?
I think it was either twenty two or twenty three. I think, yeah, one or the other. I had something crazy too.
Sheets. What's his name not Ben Sheets? Yeah?
I loved I loved the Sheets for the White Sox. His dad played for the Age Oh Gavin Sheets, Gavin.
Sheets, Thank you, Ben Sheets? What year am I in? Sheets?
His father played for the Angels team in the eighties that also had the previous record of like twenty one losses, So they got some stuff to bond about on Father's Day and Thanksgiving. Now talk about their respect of twenty one game losing streaks.
Yeah, that's actually fun. Like Princefielder and Cecil, they obviously don't probably meet ever, but when they do they can talk about ending with the same career homers, and then the Sheets family can be like no you're the biggest loser. No, you're the biggest loser. So that's like a super fun one. By the way, what's up to the peanuts and cracker Jacks that are all hanging with us in here? I think I saw our boy Jack Boyce is on a plane to Disney World. There's no way you're watching from
the plane. Wi Fi can't be that good. But if you are a shout out to it, probably answer some questions. Pistol right there, what's up, Pistol. If you guys got any questions, feel free to drop them in the chat. We may get to them today on our new schedule. Hopefully you guys are all accustomed to. I know, Monday, Wednesday, Friday little bit altered and a little bit disjointed. I gotta be honest with you. Me on my own Tuesday
was like where is everybody? We're all my people. So the little adjusted schedule here, but we'll have fun with it. So if you guys have got questions, we'll kind of answer them throughout. Another piece of actually laughable historical stuff is awesome here. Framber Valdez was one out away from a no hitter. Let's say, home run. A home run did end it. What was so magical about it was
God dang it. Now I'm forgetting who it was. But there was like an article that got put out right before it ended, talking about how and maybe it came out right as it happened. It was like Framber No hits the Rangers and comes back blah blah blah, and then as that happens, Corey Seeger launches a two run homer two snap that no hitter after a double play eight and two thirds of an inning for Framber Corey Seger.
They didn't win the game. It would have actually been way more magical had the Rangers taken that game away from Framber. But Corey Seger breaks it. Joe, let's talk about Framber Valdez, who is definitely been towing on the line of more consistency than he was earlier in the year. Yeah.
I think we might have pupooed him on last week's show when I was on Well, I think we were comparing him to Logan Web or something. He's getting there, He's still not somebody that I really trust so so much. Like it has definitely gotten better and it's like the exact same era as last season. I think it's just really the strikeout drop, which hasn't been so so drastic, but he's not. From like twenty five percent to twenty two percent, just takes away some of that per inning
viability a little bit, Like there's no real concern. You're still starting him against pretty much everybody. But I don't view him in the same tier as I did coming into the season. I think he's a bit of a notch down, kind of in the same way as like Zach Gallon to some extent, but I think that's more like an innings concern. But I viewed them a little bit in the higher tier coming into the year than I did at this point, and they're both kind of in the same tier.
But that's kind of where I'm at.
Frambur in that game, by the way, one hundred and seven pitches was primary curveball, change up. Stuff was down, sinker was up a little bit. It's over a mile prowur, so I mean, again, assume that's the fastball. So his fastball was up. The secondaries were going a little bit slower,
a ton of whiffs on the curveball. Rangers were just eating up his curveball eight of eight of eighteen swings were whiffed through change up as well, so twelve of his sixteen whiffs came from his secondary off speed stuff. But also this game was a lot about limiting soft contact. The curveball had an average EVY of eighty five against and the change up seventy six, So that's the amount of hard contact that was against both of those pitches. And the two high average evs were the slider and
the sinker, and he was limiting those. He threw those a combined looks like thirty five of his one hundred and seven pitches where they're a slider or a sinker. So it was a ton of secondary stuff in this which ended up working out for him all the way until it didn't. Still worked out still, you know, picked up, picked up the win and everything like that, but Corey
Seger absolutely demolished that and got him out of that one. Also, by the way, very weird day with all the weather because we've got just a whole bunch of just rained out game. We've got double headers today, we've got Yankees and Angels, we've got the Diamondbacks that are going to be kicking off right as this game is going to end.
So I know that's thrown in. Someone was complaining in the chat about the Louise Heel to start getting kind of screwed this week, which it's this time of year if it's not whether it's pushbacks of usage and stuff like that, Joe and we don't get a lot of these guys. I'm actually very excited about the Louis Heel start here. It's one of my most highly focused ones of all these guys, you know, the Paul Skins, the
Louis Heels, and how they're going to perform. This one's kind of got me, got me a little bit excited today if I had a primary.
Focus Luis Heel against the Angels.
Right, Yankees Angels, he's the first game of the second game.
He is the first. I want to say, he's the first game, and the Will Warren start is the second game. I mean, if these even play, by the way, they still keep getting rained out.
They're still a concern today.
I haven't checked the forecast today, but there's a chance those get those get washed out again.
I thought there was a concern like literally all week for any of these Angels games if they weren't going to even play at all. So I don't know. There's some concerns I wanted. I love me some Lucile.
I wonder when there's gonna be like universal retractable roofs across sports football. We saw the Hall of Fame game baseball. I wonder if it's like ten years out, fifteen twenty, because I feel like eventually every stadium is going to have to have a dome or retractable roof.
No, you know it, Yeah maybe, but I feel like that's the same conversation of like, when are we going to have artificial turf of some version in every single stadium and they still don't like there's still something special that you know, each of these stadiums or a lot of them are gonna want that just have that big, open feel even though it's you know, it's great, Like
we have one here in Arizona. When they open it up, it's nice, but it's not the same feeling probably as going to like, you know, Chicago, But I don't think Chicago's ever going to change it. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, we should probably hone in on that. The amount of games that get lost due to it is pretty obnoxious, and the double headers and stuff like that, but you know what it is. What it is the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw allowed one run over four and two thirds
had five strikeouts against the against the Phillies. What's your level of comfort with Kershawn moving forward? He's not going deep into games, but we're I feel like we're seeing some shades of old.
Yeah. I think he's all right.
I don't think he's necessary, like he's never gonna be prime Kershaw again, but he's never ever been bad. Like I think the worst era he's ever put up over a season is like three five, three six, even if he's at a reduced capacity, which at this point following shoulder surgery at his age he probably is. But I think we're still gonna see consistent, really good performances, even if it's just over five innings. Good chance he's gonna be able to get a win, even just over five innings.
In Los Angeles, they got Freeman back. I think Mooki's gonna be back fairly soon. So I think that he's somebody that should be rostered everywhere. I don't even think in shallow leagues I'd want to leave Kershaw out there.
I love him.
I've always been biased towards Kershaw, but he's just always been so good. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt, even after we're the last start wasn't so great.
He hasn't gone so deep into games, but I'm still very confident in him going forward.
All the stuff was up in this last start, which is a you know, that's a big positive, not that there were anything crazy that was up. Slider was massively effective. That was his big with pitch in this one. Did not get a single swing through on a fastball, but he was throwing it, he was commanding it. Had an over fifty percent zone rate, which is really really nice. Just no one was swinging outside of the zone. But that's where the curveball and the slider were both getting people.
So again that is like vintage Kershaw. He just doesn't really throw anything hard. He was averaging ninety on the fastball. The secondaries get really low. But you know, him being healthy is really just the key at this point. Like he saw it. By the way, I am laughing at like we have like weather reports in the chat right now, Angelo said, Angels Yankees Game one, scattered showers around most of the activity looks pretty light and This is from Kevin Roth. But they're not going to rule out a
delay already in Game one. The weather stuff, man, it's so weird. We were supposed to have last night. Actually went out to the complex over to the Mariners and got to see Jerangelo and talk to him for a second. The Mariner's first round pick. He's the ambidextrous pitcher who throws with both hands. Also Ryan Sloan and a couple of the Guardians guys. But we were like worried because it was supposed to be the storm of the century here eighty mile an hour, sixty eighty mile an hour
wins out here, tornado, thunderstorm warnings, and Arizona nothing. There was nothing, Not a single thing happened. But that's also a very Arizona centric thing. I don't know how you guys deal with Jerry says there's no power there. I don't know how you guys deal with all of the insanity like this, And you're in Canada. It's got to be bad for you too.
The weather's kind of crazy here, Like there was actually a few weeks ago, like you know, behind the scenes, I was going like to produce a couple of shows here and I couldn't do them because we just lost power for like the entire day. Weather it can be a little bit tricky, but we don't have to worry about like tornadoes and hurricanes and stuff like that, so it's a trade off, but it's not too too bad.
They're a little extreme.
The seasons here, like it'll be boiling hot one day and then freezing the next with no warning.
But I've kind of got used to it over the years.
It's one hundred and thirteen yesterday too, by the way, and all those storms here one hundred and thirteen. The weather outside is whether On the Cubs, we got a couple pieces. Shota Emanaga allowed two runs over seven innings, striking out ten, picking up the win. Some strong outings from e Managa. I definitely was kind of calling for a big retraction of production in the second half, or theoretical production. There's actually a really good thread out yesterday.
One of my biggest worries with I Monaga has been him being a two pitch pitcher. I focused so much of the first half on it. By the way, me and I did a podcast with Enoserris where we were kind of breaking down and like two pitch pitchers are kind of scary. I think two pitch pitchers with a splitter are kind of scary because you're really just kind of you. You're an up and down pitcher outside of whatever type you know, theoretical movement you might get on
the corners of a splitter. Iman Aga as of recent and there's a really good thread about it, is talking about him starting to implement a change up, and maybe a different couple versions of a change up. I think they were calling like one was like a vulcan grip change up, and I don't know if the other I'm forgetting now if the other one was like the circle change or something like that. But I want to actually look at his pitch mix here before I speak too
soon about it. At least he is starting to do it, but yeah, I mean they're showing like he's got the sinker in there, which is getting a little bit more movement on the corners, starting to throw a sweeper a little bit, and they're really not registering the change up, but I think it might be misregistered. Splitter sometimes can do that. But still at the end of the day, it's like of his ninety two pitches eighty four of
them or either fastball or splitter. So unless you're getting a little bit of a misclarification from Savant, which is very normal, you know, it's still showing the same thing. But the idea is that Emanaga is starting to tinker with a few other things to get some different looks. And he's got seventeen strikeouts over his last thirteen and two thirds of an inning, and he has been pretty decent. Emanaga Top fifteen sp rest of season. Yeah or nay.
I actually just updated my rankings not too long ago. I think he was outside of the top fifty. No, I want to say I had him like twenty something. I think it's just like the relative lack of strikeouts compared to the other top tier starting pitchers might keep them outside. I had him at twenty six actually over the All Star break, which maybe was selling him a
little bit short. I think it might just be the strikeouts to worry about some of that regression, and we've seen a little bit like he hasn't been as pure as he was earlier on in the season. I might have sold him a little short there, though. I think he's probably around around twentieth for me.
Okay, and then I feel like, I mean, the era is kind of inflated back up. You know, when I was talking about it, it was like the sub two er, and I think he's just leveling out. This is exactly what that was going to happen. He was just going to kind of be like a level out guy, and that's what's happening. Three Eira strikeouts are good, doesn't walk a lot, barrels are getting up a little bit more, and he's starting to add some horizontal movement to his arsenal,
which I think is like, really really important. Also on the Cubs, est sac parades two for three with a homer, four RBI. His first homer is a Cub. But mister Joe Rico parades three for twenty seven he had entered in as a Cub, and we had one hundred percent one hundred percent kind of put the clamps on that trade as being probably the worst, probably the one we didn't like the most, at least I didn't like the most because from a ballpark perspective, that was the biggest
difference as far as that pole side left field. And we have seen the Parades struggles early on. Are you in? Are you out? I mean, like I said yesterday, great, awesome, you got your homer, but he had really been struggle playing thoughts on paradeus moving forward the rest of the year.
He's not somebody I would want to drop or anything like. He's still somebody that you should be rostering. But it's a definite down grade. It's like a I think it was forty feet farther out in left field, and that's really all that he does is hit balls in the air to left field if it's a little bit harder there. He's not giving you a lot of batting average. That lineup isn't great enough that you can really count on a lot of runs in RBIs there's no speed, Like
it's a serious downgrade for him. If you're in like a ten team league where it's really shallow like ESPN rosters. I think he's pretty borderline like most leagues where you got like those corner middle infield spots. If you're playing like NFBC leagues, like you're still holding him, but really shallow leagues like this is a serious downgrade, and it really hurts the only thing that he really excels in, which is hitting for power. Unless he start hitting the
ball the other way, which is not gonna happen. I don't really expect much out of parates. I think it was a bad trade. I really just think it was a bad trade.
Yeah, Sabo was saying the win must have been blowing down that left field line. I actually think in that game, I think the wins were blowing in. I think they're actually blowing in to the first base side. I just happened to look because of course I was like, oh good, Actually this was Monday, Monday it was blowing in. So you know what, I don't remember. I remember Monday because I had taken the over and someone was like, watch out for the weather. It's like ten miles an hour in.
I had taken a look at so I don't know. I do have one for you a versus east Soock Parades, and let's use your smaller league as like a good barometer here, Eastock Parades or Tyler Fitzgerald. Who would you rather have rest the season?
I think paradies. Still, I don't buy these runs from players like this.
Now, there are things that I'd like about Fitzgerald, like he has a lot of speed, the power seems to be fairly legit, but still striking out a lot, and like when you see these excuse me, when you see these guys like Kevin Pollar went on a crazy heater earlier in the year, Lawrence Butler, it doesn't really sustain all that often. Like Fitzgerald's hitting like five home runs a week. I just I find it pretty hard to think in that ballpark, around that lineup that he's really
gonna be a shallow league guy. I think that would be parades for me there.
Think I'm gonna go Tyler Fitzgerald, Like, I don't know if there's enough time for a big alteration, like Parides. Game has been very simple. It has been pull the ball in the air. That's what he does. Everything he does is pull the ball in the air. It's not that that's gone, but it's tapered. It's tapered down. And Tyler fitzgild I do worry about the strikeouts, but he's making like really solid contact, Like his barrel rate has been really good, you know, putting good hard hits. He's
leading off for the team as well. I know my son crazy in smaller leagues. I would go because I do think there's a potential that a guy like Tyler Fitzgerald could be out there over pradues by the way, you know, the most ridiculous thing, but shout out to my mom. My mom came in here and came in to say hi. So everybody in the chat is saying hi to Mama Welsh, Hi Mom, Hello, Hello, Hello, thank you in the hosting here, let's talk about this last
one in the big headlines here. Jeffrey Springs allowed four earned runs over six innings. I'm sorry, I'll have four earned runs on six hits over five innings Tuesday in a loss to the Cardinals. Springs now has allowed six earned runs over eight and two thirds while striking out six. And this game he started off good and then he tapered back. We saw it in the previous start where he got off to a bad start and hunkered down.
Do you think like Jeffrey Springs is someone you're going to trust the rest of the season if he's been available. I feel like he's kind of being very fringy right now.
I bid on him like everywhere over the last couple of weeks. I know, like I'm talking of the Jeffrey Springs fan club over here. If you're out on him, then that should probably make me reevaluate things. But I want to give him a little bit more time after such a long layoff. To give up on him after eight innings, I think would be a little extreme. I want to give him a couple starts. At being said, we don't have a lot of time for him to
really write the ship here. But I think if you're dropping him already, it's a little bit premature for me. I want to give him another couple starts. If it's still looking horrendous after two or three more, then I'll cut bait on him.
But I think it's too soon to throw in the towel.
I think it's too soon to throw in the towel. But I believe he's got Baltimore in his next start, so I'm not starting him there at all. He's been getting hit, and he's been getting hit hard, hard like, so that change up that he loves to throw. It's got a five hundred batting average against right now the four seamer you're looking at like a two seventy batting average, So how I would approach it. Everything has stunk and he's been giving up a lot of like bad contact.
You got to see if that's going to alter out if right now is a fifty one percent hard hit rate against because it's not overpowering stuff and it's not missing, do not start him against Baltimore. See how that goes play out the next start. He might just not be a guy that we can fully trust, especially in the back end of this year, until he gets healthy for next season. That might be how we have to approach it.
Joe Rico Jackson Holiday in the rookie lookie has been pretty pretty good, pretty pretty good since he's returned, Thank you very much. Yes, one for two with a solo homer against your Blue Jays. Also super cool. He just got pulled in a super important situation which was I really had orioles from Ryan Wormley was losing his mind
about it. But since returning Jackson Holiday eight for twenty three homers eight RBI, he has been great and you've seen the complete change and you're actually seeing Kobe Mayo b Jackson Holiday from earlier in the year. Is Jackson Holiday an absolute must start every way through? And you know, same thing like, let's go back to Estock Pardes Jackson Holiday or est SOOC parades rest this season.
I'd easily go holiday there, easily Holiday for me, what about you?
Yeah, one hundred percent Jackson Holiday.
Holiday is yeah, I'm Holiday is just like he's going to be so so good.
It's like that ten game sample size earlier in the year really sullied the way that everybody viewed him. But I think I said it last week or two weeks ago when I was on guys need to go through some struggles when they first come up, or within the first month or so of coming up, to really just realize what they're up against. He went back down, he worked on some things, and now he looks like that number one prospect again. So I think wheels are up.
Holiday is going to be fantastic. If he's still out there in shallow leagues, I'd pick him up and start him every single day, every single week, assuming that Brandon Hyde puts him in the lineup, because you never know what that guy what's gonna happen. And we'll talk Kobe Mayo, I'm sure as well, But it's some kind of strange decision making in Baltimore, to say the least.
Yeah, well, I mean I think like he's pretty solidified. I don't know if there's a lot of worries of that Miteo got heard Westberg is out. Mayo has really really struggled, you know. DVS here was asking about leash on prospects, like Mayo says, how long before thinking of binging or dropping him? I had Noelvie Marte dropped him and now he is hitting a little bit with the guy like in Redraft, you move on like unfortunately, And
this has been the trend all year. The guys that we really care about have had struggles outside of James Wood. I think James Wood has been like relatively even, but Holliday had massive, massive struggles, and Mayo is he's got a real swing and miss problem right now, with what's left into the season, I'm really not sure that you need to hold on to Kobe Mayo because he's gonna hit lower in the lineup and Jackson Holiday's moving up,
So I'd prioritize Holiday over Mayo. I'd have a quick trigger finger on a guy like Kobe Mayo in perfect example exactly right Sabo just mentioned, or he'll just sign J. D. Davis, So I mean, I think that proves their level of it, So on any of these rookies, I'd have a quick trigger finger at this time of the year to not sit around. But I also think Jackson Holiday is solidified. I really, I really do.
I think he is.
I just Brandon Hyde plays so many games it wouldn't shock me if they start to, like, I don't know, I don't really expect him. But if you started sitting against left handed pitching here and there, would that Would that really surprise you that much?
No?
Nothing, I mean nothing would surprise me. Whether they've been playing ramon Orrius the entire year and Jorge Mateo was locked in so no, not a one big, single bit would surprise me. Angelo, this is a constant, Angela said. Was Welsh doing the Reds game last night? The announcer said something about Chris Welsh speaking in other languages. It's pretty well known the real Chris Welsh, former picture for the Reds is the announcer on there. I believe he's famous,
not great, by the way. I believe he's famous for criticizing the chains of Ronald d'acunya well and then and then kind of slamming Ozzie Albi's for taking the money whatever that. Yeah, there was some really bad situation, not the best, but I have legit been on television shows, and they have thought I was him. Dude's like sixty five, don't I actually have a pretty young face. I don't buy that whatsoever. And I've also had an article written
and they said, oh the end. This League podcast hosted by Scott Bagman and former Major league pitcher Chris Welsh, also incorrect. Absolutely also incorrect. So yes, you will hear that. Going to the audience, Michael Impo said, do we think Johann Duran has lost his closer role to Griffin Jacks? What do you think?
Show?
I think Jack got the most recent save opportunity, but Duran's been outside of the kind of lack of strikeos this year, he's still been fairly good. I don't think that, I like, unless we actually hear the team say that, I wouldn't drop Duran and assume that Jacks is the guy as good as Jacks has been like Duran coming into the season. There are a lot of people who thought Duran was like the best relief pitcher in all of baseball. I don't, and he hasn't done enough to really.
I mean, he's not he doesn't have that title, but Duran still like just pulling up his number he's got a three forty seven Era one zero two whip.
He's still been very, very good.
I don't know, what do you think, Well, do you think there's a chance that Jackson takes over the job here?
I doubt it.
So I think this is similar to here here there's the very first question out of the day. Let me see if I can scroll to it before, like this is one of those we weren't even here yet. And Shane came in, by the way, shout out Shane. That's my middle name, Shane. What do what do we think Justin Martinez getting a shot in the closer role in Arizona? It's a great question. I think there's nobody that can
have the lockdown. And I will say this Tory level and I know I'm this is a Twins thing, but with the dim of extra a second Tory Levello did attempt to give it to Ryan Thompson three opportunities. Believe he kind of screwed up two of them. AJ Puck came in to save one. Justin Martinez came in and looks phenomenal and got the other one. I think the diamondback situation has the potential to be Hey, We've got multiple guys that can do this. It can be leverage situations.
I've already said I think aj Puck is going to be the fireman the biggest critical situations. Justin Martinez might get more opportunities because his when his stuff is on, he is unhittable. That fastball splitter combination is unhittable. It doesn't have the movement like Emmanuel class A, but it reminds me like that. So I say those things to say that I don't think one of those guys is locked in to all the save opportunities. I do believe
you will see Paulsey while get a save opportunity. I do think Justin Martinez might have moved ahead of Ryan Thompson, and they've already not gone to Ginkles, so I think Ginkle's out. So I think that's Puck Martinez in Seawald you're gonna see. Bring it all the way back to the actual question. I don't think Jacks takes all of them, but I do think this is now open up to a spot where they're gonna kind of battle it out,
and both of these guys might be getting saved. So I'm not looking to get rid of Duran because I don't think he's lost it completely, but I think Jacks has the comfort from the team that they will give him opportunities that makes sense.
Yeah, yeah, that's totally fair. Jackson has been amazing. Like, Jackson has been fantastic this season. I think even in standard five by five leagues, he's like a top one hundred player without having a ton of saves, He's been fantastic. I just think Duran is still probably gonna get Like, if it was gonna be a split, I think Duran would.
Still take the majority of them.
But Jacks is an interesting guy to speculate on because every year we have these guys that are non closing relievers, they still have a lot of value and even if they're not bringing inconsistent say you get the odd win the odds save tons of strikeouts. With Jacks, even though I don't think he'll like take over that role, he could still actually have some value if you're in a slightly deeper like twelve teamer and beyond like that could still be a nice pickup for you.
Closers are the running backs of fantasy football. Every team wants to have two or three of them. There's very few. It feels like very few workhorses out there anymore, that teams aren't willing to bounce around. That's just how I've kind of approached it. At least one more Lee said, what do we think about diw Rasmussen being activated? Is Ji Rassmussen going to be on the level of Jeffrey Springs trust more or less.
As of right now?
I'd say he's a little bit less, even with the struggles that Springs has had. I think Springs is just a better pitcher. That doesn't take anything away from Rasmusen, who's actually really good in his own right. But I would have to lean Springs all things being equal right now. And I mean, if Rasmussen comes out and looks fantastic in his first couple starts, that'll probably change things.
But I'd have to take Springs.
I think I agree with you on that. Like in deeper leagues, Rasmus is interesting to speculate on. I'm not sure. I'm like looking to crazy speculate in the world of the Rays, Like I imagine he's going to be slowly kind of integrated into the entire rotation coming off of these injuries. These are gonna be great, guys. Next year, I'm going to be back into Rasmussen. I will be back into Jeffrey Springs, even however bad it is this year, the adjustment period is just a little bit bigger. Hey,
three up and three down. Willia damis Willia Dams, as Joe would say yesterday, Joe Piece of Pa four for five, two homers, four RBIs Colin Ray also when seven innings, struck out nine didn't give up an earned run and James Wood two for three a homer, two RBI and two stolen bases. Dare we say combo meal or socks and shoes? However you want to talk about that, everybody, It's a homer and a stolen base. He was awesome yesterday?
Who was not awesome? Hayden Bird's song. Two innings, seven earned runs, Bryce Elder three and two thirds, give up seven in runs, walk to give up eight hits and was gone. I think I saw the biggest cheer yesterday for the Braves was Bryce Elder being pulled because he stinks. And lind Or Gunnar Henderson, Brian Reynolds all yesterday over with three strikeouts, bad bad, bad injuries. I don't know
if you saw this one yesterday. Joe Grayson Rodriguez in pre stretch warm up stuff was throwing, looked over at his bullpen coach and said, I don't feel right. I don't feel good. He was scratched from that start against the Blue Jays with what are they calling it lat terrace discomfort. It's like some lat discomfort. Very likely could be an il situation for Grayson Rodriguez and why they
went out and made all those very subpar trades. But they were trying to get pitching depth because of this right here.
I believe he had the same injury when he was a minor leaguer twenty one or twenty two. I saw somebody mention that this was the same thing that bothered him a couple of years ago.
So don't love to see that.
Not gonna overreact here, but probably gonna end up on the shelf.
Yeah. Maybe one of the saddest ones was Bruce dar Grattarol had been out all season. I don't remember him pitching a lot last year either. I saw him at the Complex during Arizona Complex Ball. He was working out him Tony Gonsolin, River Ryan. Those were kind of dustin may. Those are the guys that were always there. Bruce Dar was just kind of sitting around and then all of a sudden, boom, he's back. He gets out there eight pitches and he's gone with a significant ham string strain.
They said, by the way, it wasn't a leg injury. I think it was an arm issue. He had been dealing with while he was out all year. Goes in and suffers a significant ham string strain. Had to be like carried out. Dude, just crying all of that work to get back. You know, you don't blame him or anything like that, but Bruce Dar, there's a real potential Bruis Dar could have been thrust right back into a
closer role and that is gone. There's no application to talk about except maybe, you know, Evan Phillips will get another more opportunities again, and Dustin Daniel Hudson might get some of those. It won't be from Bruce Dar.
Joe.
Yeah, it's just like the human side of it. You feel so so bad for these guys. Coodeai Sang is another one. You know, you spend the whole year rehabbing, you come back one game and then and then your toast from.
The Dodgers' perspective.
I wonder do you think there's any chance Michael Kopek gets the ninth inning with any regularity.
Regularity? I don't know. Does he get a ninth inning? Yes, I absolutely do. They are clearly just throwing bullets out there. Who the hell was it the other day? It wasn't Brazier, It wasn't fair. I mean, they're just God, who is the guy I'm for completely figuring one of those like black middle in the one that gave up that blew the save in like the tenth with the padres. It doesn't matter. They're all Anthony Bandas to Kopex, to Evan Phillips to Daniel Hudson's it's all the same. They're all
the same guys. None of them are good. It'll probably go to Kopekkode Senga just pointing that out. Justin Turner day to day after leaving Thursday's game after getting hit on the hand by a pitch, Mariners don't want that. Ranger Swarez is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, hopefully getting into whatever type of rehab assignment they would need, and Christian Scott has yet to be cleared in throwing
if anybody was holding out hopes for them. Frindos, Yes, you can get involved in the game today by going over to our friends over at bet three six five for the best bets of the day. Look at that you did it. Best bets of the day brought to you by Bet three six five. You can get in the game. Make some of your favorite bets from money line to run line to props. Yes, we've always got props, and mister Joe Rico has got some props for you today. I believe you got one of the guys you hit
and nailed last week. You are getting right back on it. So what are some of your favorite bets for today?
Going back to the Taj Bradley, Well, again, if anybody follows me or listens to my stava, you know how much I love Taj Bradley. He's one of my favorite pitchers in baseball, and he is constantly disrespected on.
These strikeout totals.
It was four and a half with like minus one eighty five or something when I checked this morning. He's got like a thirty percent strikeout rate. It's like one of the five or seven best strikeout rates in all of baseball should not be set anywhere under five. So I took the alt line at six plus strikeouts plus one point fifteen for Bradley. Very very attainable there. I even thought about going a little crazy with a little bit of a ladder or something, but we'll we'll keep
it at six. We'll keep it at six. You're getting plus money there. But if he ends up with seven or eight, I would not at all be surprised. Ryan O'Hearn facing against Bowden Francis today on Toronto, he just destroys right handed pitching. It's like a one thirty two WRC plus all of his home runs i've come against right handers.
He mostly plays against right handers.
But ohearn has really been an excellent, excellent platoon bat for the Oriols this season, over one and a half total bases at plus one twenty. Really liked that one as well. And maybe you can even get cheeky with a home run there. Not my home run call, but you could get a little cheeky. And then the last one is a little more chalky. It's Freddy Peralta over five and a half strikeouts. He's facing the Braves, who
it might surprise some people. Maybe it won't the way the year's gone, but they have the fifth worst strikeout rate amongst all teams in baseball, nearly twenty five percent. Paralta is pretty routinely going over this. Now it is juiced to minus one sixty, but you got the other plus money bets in there, so this one's a little
bit safer. So Todz Bradley's six plus strikeouts, Ryan O'Hearn over one and a half total basis and Freddy Peralta over five and a half strikeouts, all of them at bat three, six five.
You know what I might do. I might even play around. I think I might do this when we're done. Sometimes I like to. It is dangerous, you know, pairing anything. You're lessening your odds, of course, but you're boosting your potential return. Is take toaj Bradley five k's and Freddy Peralta five k's. Pair those, they're paired down a little bit, but combo them together and I bet you'll get somewhere between plus to plus one thirty, somewhere in that range.
And I think I might just play that myself. Someone also asked, this is a good one. Justin said anyone think that Fought's strikeout line is a little low today, and I think he's going right now, so it doesn't matter at this point, Guardians, You're right, it is. It's like three and a half. There's a couple of those three and a half today that really stand out you.
Another one, I will tell you it's one of the Betting Pros prop cheat sheet favorite plays is Cutter Crawford strikeouts, which I believe is at three and a half, and he has hit that fourteen of fifteen games. But it's juiced and the matchup is tough, but fourteen to fifteen games. You guys can check out all the others, whether it is total bases, strikeouts, and it has all the props
put together. You can check that over at Betting Pros on the app, you can check the cheat sheet or you can just go to Bettingpros dot com and check out all their favorite plays. You can check out by percentages on returns, you can sort them by ratings. There's a lot of cool ways you can do it, but that was one that was on there for Brandon Fought. I'm tinted, but Foughts also had some zero strikeout days.
I am not into the prop market today. I did not solo pickout, though there is one or two that I kind of dig. I'm on some line and we're starting with Minnesota. I'm gonna play the first five money line. There's a couple of these that have a little bit of juice attached to them, but I really want to lock these in. Also, Minnesota run line one and a half might not be a bad play, but this is Joe Ryan versus Jave or Asad. I'm just playing straight
money line through the first five Minnesota. I'm also gonna play a nurfy. There's a couple interesting ones today. The most interesting is not playable in George Kirby and Tarik Skouble. It's ridiculously juiced, but a sneaky one is going to Joe's favorite guy, Tampa and Saint Louis. Give me Taj Bradley and Eric Vetti. Eric Vetti is actually on the lower end of first run. It's given up so far this year, and so give me Taj Bradley and Eric
Veetti to kind of lock that down. And then finally I'm gonna go with the San Diego full game run line minus one and a half against Pittsburgh against Marco Gonzalez. I think it is, but San Diego full game run line minus one and a half San Diego. Those my three. That's Minnesota first five, Tampa Bay Nurfey San Diego. We've also got Taz Bradley, Altke's Ryan O'Hearn over one and a half and Freddie Peralta at five five and a half over strikeouts. Those are our best bets of the day.
Just pretend that's Joe Alrico. They're not Joe Pieza. PM. All right, mister jo Riico, I did not get a home run board today. I will have to shout out and get to our boy Ethan because I did get a homer yesterday, because I had Royce Lewis from Monday and Tuesday. It's an im perpetuity until the next show. So I did get back on I believe. I don't know if fred Dinger is in here. Believe I'm at twenty four and so I'm not quite at being able
to get on the board here soon. But if I can pick this up, maybe, Baby Joe Rico, where are you going with your home run call today?
I'm going Bobby Wit.
I've been going with the more niche names when I've been on the show recently, Nolan Gorman's and the Jorge hilarious. But we're going shock today with Bobby Witt. He's facing Cutter Crawford and Cutter Crawford over his last three games, twelve home runs allowed, twenty three point six barrel percentage and a thirty five percent homer to fly ball. He's getting crushed recently. Bobby Witt has been just brilliant this season, and I think there's a good chance he takes one out of the yr tonight.
I almost picked Bobby with That's very good. Fred Dinger always just always in here. Rock and twenty five. I'm at as of the as of Yester actually got a board yesterday. Port Ethan sent me one yesterday and we didn't have a show, and then we didn't get one today. Thirty was the marker to get on the board, so I'm still five away. That could have changed from yesterday today. I'm actually gonna go with an Oriole. And you guys think you know which Oriole I'm gonna go with. No,
I'm gonna alter away, give me Anthony Santandeer. I picked him last week. I think it was and he hit for me. He is wild against righty's right now, twenty four homers against righty's and I believe it's eight against lefties. I think that's his number if I have that correctly. When I was looking at his blit's going against Boden Francis. Give me Anthony Santander to get back on that home run board, not Gunner Henderson, and hopefully get me rolling a little bit more. Joe Rico on Twitter at Joe
Rico ninety nine. We're gonna get you twice next week, buddy, We're gonna get We're gonna be a whole lot more of Joe Rico. Maybe we'll be talking about some streamers into next week and do some more formal pickups. What do you got going in your world this week?
Nothing crazy, just the usual daily podcast.
You guys can check out on my Twitter feed writing a lot of stuff.
Everything goes out on Twitter.
I post way too much stuff, but you can keep track of all of it over there.
Right on.
You guys can find me at is It the Welsh. Make sure you guys are subscribed on the YouTube if you're listening on the podcast YouTube dot com slash Fantasy Prose MLB around the YouTube, do the inverse, go to your podcast, make sure you subscribe there, Frindos, that's gonna do it. That's gonna be the episode. We'll be back again on Friday. Casey Bubba back in the house. We'll also talk about some weekend streamers and some two starters for next week, so make sure you're here for that
and bring your questions. Thank you guys as always for hanging out. Shout out to my mom again. People are trying to get home run calls from my mom. I think someone said to pick Aaron Judge, so let's put it on the board. Aaron Judge from my mom today. Shout out to Mama Welsh and shout out to all of you guys. We love you and we'll talk to you again on Friday. Peace out. Thanks for listening to
the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Baseball podcast. If you love the show, the best freeway to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, Follow us on x, Instagram, and TikTok at Fantasy Pros, and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Fantasy Pros MLB