One hell of an offer. Let's play ball. Welcome in everybody to fantasy pros.
This is leading off Rock to you by bet MGM, the King of sports Books. It's me Joey p jop Zapia with me is the Welsh and of course we've got a lot to talk about today. Yesterday was the MLB First Year Player Draft, very exciting stuff, and we got the man, mister Prospect one to break it all down for us. Tell us about the top picks, the rest of the picks that he liked, the ones he didn't, why Jim Kallis's suit was so large, all of those things we're gonna talk about today. We're also going to
talk about another Chris Sale injury. My goodness, poor Chris Sale. I think you just put himself in bubble wrap the rest of the season. And also Welsh, we gotta start with the big news, which is the Nationals offered Juan Soto four hundred and forty million dollars and it was not enough to stay in Washington, so thumbs down from one to one. So, uh, I guess we got to start there. I mean, it's open Wan Sodo season now for the rest of Major League Baseball. They're taking trade offers.
The question is when will he end up somewhere else?
Is it is?
It?
Really didn't we do this bit Like earlier in the year, We're like, come on, I'm not gonna trade We're not gonna I'm not gonna trade one Soto get out of here with this nonsense.
But it is big news.
You drop, you know, a four hundred million dollar deal and Soto says, Nope, no thanks.
I still is a part of me that does not think.
This is completely over. One of the main problems with it was it was backloaded, which he didn't want, and it was front loaded on lower av and.
I just it didn't make sense. I know why they did it.
They've got a horrifically bad stephn Strousberg contract that's sitting out there, so it makes sure sense why they went and did that. But regardless of the point, that's not the conversation to have. The conversation to have is who is gonna go out there and get him? Who could possibly get him? And I believe there were four teams that.
Were named Joe.
You had the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Cardinals. Were the four teams that are already being attached to Juan Soto. As Soto unfortunately came out and also said he was pretty disappointed that this happened. Somebody noted over, Yes, sure, I think it was on Sunday that he was like, you're most appointed. You don't want that out. You don't want that, especially if a deal gets done. You don't want that to
end up happening. But let me ask you, likelihood now that you think Juan Soto is traded, not just at the deadline, I think that is premature at this point, but what are the odds you think he actually is going to get moved?
And by the deadline? I think it's done by the deadline. Well, because the longer you wait, you know, the longer you wait, you always there's always catastrophe with injury, right, that could always be looming any minute you blow an ACL or
something like that happens, right. I think that with the years remaining on his contract currently and how that structure the control you have over Juan Soto for a few years, and then the possibility of wanting to extend him, the biggest buy you can make right now in terms of prospect Hall Is to do it now, don't wait. It's a lost season. The Nats are not going to get any better this year. They're probably not gonna get any
better next year. At least you can start to sell the fan base next year is hey, we moved Wan Soto, We're rebuilding.
We're in full rebuild.
Catch the rising stars like Francisco Alvarez and Ventos and Ran Precio or anybody else that the Mets want to give them.
How about that and Brett Baty.
Catch all the rising stars at the Nationals Ballpark next year. And I think the Mets are the leading contenders because I think they have the combination of owner desire to spend the money and it doesn't care the desire of I think Juan Soto to be in a big market, the prospects to get it done. I think the yankees big handcuff is not the Volpies and Dominguez and the guys that they could move, because they could, but it's
selling to the fan base. Then, okay, you have to own choose between Aaron Judge and Juan So do I feel like you have to choose? Man?
I don't think the Yankees have never had problems with that. They the jetered fan favorite, and they brought in Alex Rodriguez they've never had.
But they didn't do it despite getting rid of Derek Jeter. I don't I think it's either or, and I think it's gonna be really tough to sell Aaron Judge, their hometown guy who's been there the whole time, and say, you know what, here you go, fan base, we're gonna move on with Aaron Judge. We're gonna we're gonna go wan So too instead, even though that's probably the better baseball move.
I just think that's a tough sell.
I don't think we wouldn't get it done with the Cold contract, the Stanton contract, and what they have on the books for a couple of other guys.
It really don't.
Wonky in the chat said the thing that I've been holding the most, like, can they really move him in the NL East.
I can't imagine they got to get him at divisionally. Now, if they did.
That, that's overblown. With the extra wildcard now, I don't need the division. I think the division stuff has been grossly devalued when you've added in more wildcard situations and you expanded playoffs because now it's like, well, you know, because they'll make the playoffs, Like, who cares about the division?
Let's get the best haul to me then, as Paul right now.
Well, okay, I I think the Mets do offer if Alvarez is out there. They have Alex Ramirez, They've got all. They just drafted a kid in the draft who had been targeted to the Nationals for months, Kevin Prada, who is one of the best deeals of the draft.
The Mets did.
And Georgia they think that no, no, that I no, he's just gonna stay at catcher and he's got a real mudo likeness to him, where Alvarez is going to be more of a date or have two. So you create an extra extra flexibility if you wanted to make that move with a player that they love, trade Turner rule, you could trade him, but it's got to be the player to be named later, and.
It happens in the offseason. I think it is.
But I gotta tell you, I think you said ninety nine percent by the deadline. I am a sixty fifty to sixty percent at this deadline. I don't think they need to make any crazy moves. Things can change easy. If ownership can change over, I think that's creating some of the craziness to it. I would say fifty percent at best by the deadline, and I think the medsale.
Talk about ownership change, then it's one hundred percent, because when you buy the team, you're gonna want to buy it at a point where you have the least amount of salary, and everything is then just.
Just pushed up there.
Yeah.
To me, ownership's looking at this is like, if we're going to sell the team, we do it now, because from the business of baseball, to me, that makes the most sense. And I honestly think the Nats might be a better team. And it's a year or tater now
with all those MLB ready prospects. You if you're gonna put Alvarez at first base or d HM or whatever the heck you're gonna do with him, if you're gonna have a baby at third and he got Mauricio a short stuff like all of a sudden, you know, with kyber Ruiz and Josiah Gray and some of these other pieces, maybe you're starting to get somewhere. If you're the Nats and you have a good young team that's at least, you're not going anywhere with just mon Sodo.
You're just not.
I mean it's the same thing with the Texas Rangers Alex Rodriguez back in the day.
You're just not.
And I think this last one that it was so public that he said no and they get it in season. I think there was they were kind of like, look, we need to or get off the pot here. And I think they've gotten off the pot, and obviously it's time to make that movement.
I think it's going to happen. It really did.
I mean, but they just offered him almost half a billion dollars. So it's like, I think we're making a little too much about like, oh, hey, this that the other they would they would have to get rid of the money offered half a billion dollars like a week ago. So I don't think that just changes all of a sudden. If the team believes they cannot get him, they should go out and they should get a haul. They should at least especially with a control. And that's this is
where you're talking about. This is two sides. The twenty twenty four control for Soto makes the asset you can get at this deadline exponential but I'd also say at the beginning of next year, in this offseason.
Both of those are the time periods where.
Teams aren't going to be able to talk you off the ledge of like you know, Alvarez and three other big.
Prospects for the Mets.
But at the same time, this is why I think it's a less percentage that it's going to be at the deadline, is because you still have two more years of control. So much can change in that time that I just don't know if it's a case, though. It is interesting if you look. They went and took Elijah Green, who was a huge high school talent, is relatively far away, you know, three or four years.
He would be a great piece.
If you added four or five incredible prospects, that National system could go from a joke to being like a really solid spot. Elijah Green would be one of those future talents you build around. So not that it's telling you take the best players, you don't worry about it, but you know, the Nationals didn't take Parata.
Who is a closer to the major league spot. They took a high.
School, huge, high end talent, shoot for the moon type of guy that you would want if soda wasn't around, But I say fifty percent by the deadline, I'd say it's more likely in the off season.
And I as much as the Mets makes sense, I'm going to off season.
You run that off season risk, dude, I'm telling you run the off season.
If the longer you wait.
I mean, the cautionary tale is Frankie Montoss Right now, if you're you have, if you're the Nationals, you have to say, look what could happened in the blink of an eye, all of a sudden, what we thought was an asset we could cash in and change, you know, the stars here a little bit of the future literally and figuratively. Man Like, how do you do that? How do you how do you run that risk? Because you can't have that? And and look, Wan Soto to me
makes sense. On the Dodgers, I think that's the other team that makes a lot of sense.
That's that's my team. That's not a lot.
I mean, the Bets and Freeman contracts are huge and long and difficult.
I mean, so I don't know how they do it though.
That's my problem. I don't see how it's done with the Dodgers.
With don't that's why I keep coming back to the Mets, and believe me them who's more negative than me about the Mets?
Nobody? And it just makes sense. They want to pay him.
They have the prospects, they have the need, they have the owner who is so aggressive out there, why not? Why not, you know, go out there and they smell blood in the water. They are all in right now. De Grom could opt out next year and all of a sudden, it's a very different math. If you have de Grom insures it right now, you go all in.
You try to win right now if you're the Mets, and I think they're going to and I think and I don't think the indivision matters anymore now that the expanded playoffs are here.
I just don't think anybody cares.
The advantage that Sodo could have in this as well is he's not willing to take any backloaded contract with the Nationals. I think, for like rightful reasons, he could
do that with another team. You know, it seemed like the Dodgers or the Mets that have shown a commitment to winning, a commitment to money, he could be willing on, you know, some gajillion dollar deal that he does he could be willing to backload, so the first three or four years are quite a bit less, which could help a team like the Dodgers and trying to figure out how the hell did they put all these players together.
By the way, Bets and Freeman are probably backloaded too, So I mean, it's gonna be real ugly when those guys.
Are they to get out from out of those But I just want to point out the Dodgers the first round pick because they didn't care about the luxury tax in this past draft.
They didn't have a first round of them to pick till the fourtieth overall, because how many.
Times are going to do that? How many years can you do that if you're the Dodgers.
If you're putting out banners as many as it takes, I don't know. Then he just bought a mansion too. You have to put those two games together, Joe. He bought a mansion in La So clearly it's the Dodgers.
Well, I mean, you could buy a mansion in LA for real estate anyway, Like I said, like who cares, you know?
And you can live out there in La. I don't in the winter time.
That's also the place you want to live in the off season, you know, no matter where you want to stay. Look, man, I do think it's one of these big market cubs. I don't think the Cardinals have the pieces to get it done. And they're paying Aeronauto and Goldschmid like I don't. I think that's a fallacy.
I really do.
I think it's the Mets, the Yankees, the Dodgers to piss a lot of people off.
I'm sorry, I just do. And I think the Mets have the best opportunity.
And I think the other cautionary tale here is if you're the Nats and you let Bryce Harper walk and you end up signing with the Phillies anyway, don't you regret if you could have gotten a better deal from somebody.
In the East not making that move? Right.
So, if it's gonna happen, if you let Wansoto hit free agency and Steve Cohen writes a check for half a billion dollars and says, I don't really care, it's just paper money.
To me, you might as well get the Hall. You might get the Hall.
Divisional reminders, I mean divisions of like al NL is a lot less now, but like having in division like yours.
I just I think it's a wild move.
I would be shocked at a superstar of this caliber to be just shipped over to the Mets. Unless again, unless they absolutely were able to fleece them. Unless you're going to back and all of them. If they back up all the Alvarezes, and they back up all the process the Alvarezes, any of this is a Richie Sexon like deal, but of good prospects. Okay, then maybe that's
the thing that it takes. I think the Mets are going to have to pay an extra cost that any other team will to get one Sodo, and they'll take the contract back.
With them too, because they need a DH anyway, So they'll take that money off their hands too. It'll be Cruz and Sodo. They need a DH in the worst way. Maybe you get a little bump out of Cruise. I'm telling you right, And you take that contract off their hands and any other money any other the guy that they don't want its arbitration eligible. You take the Patrick Corbin contract off their hands. They're not taking the Strasburg contract,
but they might take Corbin that. It wouldn't shock me if they took that whatever it has to get done. Stevie Cohen will get it done. I'm just telling you and just for everybody to know too. Yes, eleven am all this week here and leading off great conversations about Wan Soda. We'll get into other top today. But it's such a huge one and it's so much damn fun. I want to talk about it all day, but yes,
all week. It's my fault. My kids have camp, so I have to pick them up at twelve and there's two different kids at two different camps, So eleven am is the time. This week, the Mariners continued to be amazing. They are up to a fourteen game win streak, the longest streak heading into an All Star Game in quite some time. Garrett Cole got twelve k's over seven innings. Brendan Lao went four for four with a run score, so it's good for that raised offense to get his
bat back going in the lineup. Austin Noah struck out ten guys at eight and the third innings. Ty Frantz added to the All Star team, and along with Liam Hendricks, a few other relievers I think I saw Jordan Romano and Devin Williams also added and Max Meyer.
Made his debut. It was not a pretty one. Five runs. I don't care. It's fine.
And also, as predicted here on the show, last week, Spencer Torklsen was sent down. So let's talk about Torklesen getting sent down to the minor leagues before we get into the MLB draft stuff.
I mean, this is the right move.
Give I told you, give him the rest of July and if it's and if it's going, well, call him back up August first.
I mean, this is so easy, well right.
Here, yeah, I mean this Unfortunately, this is a move. It feels very Kelnick like massive massive. I mean, nobody has struggled more under two hundred batting average this entire time he's been up. He's shown really no great sense of power because he's not making great contact. Strike up percentage isn't the worst thing in the world, but he's got to re establish something and hopefully they've got the hitting coaches to work on this and the miners. I
don't know, man, I'm cautiously optimistic. I suppose the Kelnick stuff, you know, has me a little bit jaded on him going into the miners and beating everything up. Maybe a clean headspace is going to help. But Torkelsen is not a priority in redraft this year. He might be an incredibly interesting super pilow in Dynasty. I would not count him out. I mean, there is thirty five forty plus power in there, and you know he made it absolutely living in career off of this at ASU and college.
I mean, you know him and Andrew vaugh where you know, two of the most prolific bats, not just in like the Pac twelve, but just in all of it.
But I would say this would be a.
Really interesting buy by low. But in redraft there's a gagillion players I would have moved on from. If you haven't, I'm assuming everybody has. But there's always that thing where you don't want to release these guys. He is not in the same camp as Julio and j Rudd.
Unfortunately, Chriselle headed back to the IL for many, many weeks, probably with a broken pinky finger.
Just a terrible set of circums. His quote, Yeah, I heard him after the game too.
I don't think we can I don't think we can mention it on here.
We can't say it will just be like beep this stuff beep beep, beep, beep like a muppet. Yeah, well, actually I have it here because it's part for the course.
Think about it. Think about my timeline. It's just been blank after blank after blank, just more blank to deal with. He's a positive guy, you bet, he's a fun locker around.
Well, it's it's hard not to mean he's frustrated. I get it. I mean he wants to be playing baseball. He can't do. It's very frustrating.
Harold Ramirez removed from Sunday's game due to a broken right thumb, so he'll be out for a while. So obviously, you know, Ramire has actually been pretty decent for that squad. Now all of a sudden he's going to be out for a while, and so Wander Franco is still going to be out for a while. A's manager Marcaste said Sunday if Frankie Montagh shoulder responded, really.
Well, everything was great, Everything's so good. Everything's fine. It's fine.
It's like Han Solo in a New Hope, where he's like, it's everything's fine, fine, how are you? That's that's they're in the detention area. That's what's happening right now to them. We had a provocative discussion Welsh about Mike Trout on Sunday on the TV show because the question was asked, is Mike Trout still a top ten player in baseball? And I and I thought that was you know, at first, I went, well, I think we have to dive into it and ask so I want to I want to
pose this for you here. I want to I want to do this with you here the guys very easily. I think that you would probably take over Mike Trout in the next two years, right, I think you still want to.
Be talk fantasy, right, tuck fantasy slash reality? Yeah, because how you phrase that, I feel like slacking real.
He's still a top ten player. I mean, if you're a top ten player in baseball, you're a top ten player in fantasy pretty much. I think that kind of goes hand in hand for the most part. Would you rather have Wan Soto? I think the answer is yes, Wan Soto? Right, you rather have.
Where are we at there? My God?
Having a brain for here, the guy I wanted to talk about here. Would you rather have Shoeotani his teammate?
Yes? Probably right, yes, of course pitcher and hitter. Would you rather have? Uh?
Now, let's go to the list of the guys that are questions in that sense, in these young players, Lad Guerrero Junior. Would rather have Vlad Guro Junior than Trout the next two years?
Yeah, Aaron Judge, Oh yes, right, that's a tough one, I think so.
Yeah, I'm I'm thinking in Dynasty.
My brain, the old diverse, would you rather have the next two years than Mike Trout?
That's a big yes for me. Was a Ramrrors would you rather have him?
Yeah?
Okay, so we're up.
Till like five six, So now we're getting closer, so he's closer to being a tent now where it's like, okay, Fernando Tatist Junior, who we haven't seen all year.
Oh yeah, Kunia Tatis Mark Cunia.
Okay, So basically we're pushing almost a ten here without any pitchers or anything like that.
I think this is a true statement.
I mean, the back issues, the strikeouts, everything that's going on here with Trout. This is the normal peak of a player twenty eight to thirty, but because of the style played Mike Trout had. My whole point was I Trout's at a point where I don't want to say he's on the down side, but he's certainly not the same player he was in his early twenties. The style of play, how hardy played in the field, how hardy
played on the bass pass. You know, Mike Trout is a twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven year old player. Mike Trout in his thirties is a very different player. And I think this is a real question we have to ask ourselves. And this was the biggest one, and Bizirizigizza just beat us to it. Julio Rodriguez or Mike Trout the next two years.
I want Julio in Dynasty, Julio I have above.
In real life. I want Julio. I think he's a better defender at this point in his career.
Too.
Let's be honest.
I mean, I do think we're we're doing the bit though, we're doing this Mic Trout bit that has been done for the last four years, where everyone's like, you know, is.
Microut really valuable? Like we really still love him, he's.
The vlleable Like is he a top ten player anymore?
Yeah?
No, But I think ourselves in Dynasty, if he's not a top ten player, and I can get one of these guys that we're talking about in a Mike Trout deal that take it.
Yeah, we're in a bigger space of that. Now.
He's thirty one years old. Guys have played one hundred and fifty games since twenty sixteen. He's a couple of years removed from an incredible season. But we're just not seeing I mean, if you space everything out, if you space out and you pace this, he's still putting up incredible numbers. He just does not steal bases at any clip anymore. He hasn't stolen double digits since twenty nineteen, and he doesn't look like he's remotely close on pace to it.
So he's a different player.
He's still, let's not get it twisted though, he's still like an elite three category player that pushes a fourth with batting average. He's just a nothing burger on stolen bases, which makes like Trout versus Jordan Alvarez another fascinating one, and that wouldn't have been remotely close to me even coming into this year.
I'd rather have Alvarez, but now.
I agree like Alvarez is also a four category player who's surprisingly staying healthy. Batting average looks even better and I would be comfortable taking Alvarez over him at this point, which changed. But I'm just saying, like, I think the tier in the clump of what we're talking about is a much bigger pool where it wasn't coming into this year.
I think it was like you had the Akunya.
Tatis Soto, Tawny Vlad maybe throw Ramirez Trout and there's like eight guys. This has now turned into this like sixteen pool of guys that you're like, wow, these are all great, Like you could start.
Arguing Bobby witt On, like there's some other guys on that fringe there that you could ask the question as well.
And there's some other guys too.
There established guys in there, you know, late twenties, early thirty guys like gold Schmitt and Pee Alonso. Who would you rab have next two years, pet Alonso or Mike Trout.
I'll go Mike Trout.
Pete Alonso is leading the league in RBI, no I know, and he's.
It's super easy for us to be.
Like, we're gonna take everybody over Mike Trout when their team is in the biggest struggle bus ever, in the biggest bus ever, When is he I mean, that's a great that's a great point.
Like at a certain point, when do we just call the angels what they are and how do we see it getting better in the next two years, Because I don't see it.
Whoda rather Aving Dynasty, Mike Trout or Bryce Harper. There there's a year difference. There's only by the way, okay.
Harper, But I've always been a Harper guy, very very pro Harper compared to the rest of the field. All right, let's talk about the MLB draft last night. It did happen, and the first overall pick was son of former Major leaguer Matt Holliday and Little Debbie snack cake sponsor Jackson Holiday, obviously the spokesperson for a Little Debbie.
There, Jackson Holiday.
I've never seen someone look younger.
I've never felt older than that moment, because we all, like you struggle with that whole age thing and stuff like that.
My god, if that.
Was Little Debbie's and he knows it, I would be all over Jackson Holiday. I was like, look, we want to make you the new face of the snackcakes, like the zebra cakes, the oatmeal pies.
But you're as your dad for permission.
Though you're asking either dad to sign this permission slip, have your mom drive you over here.
He looks. It's unbelievable. But here's the question.
Drew Jones went second, which I thought he was the best player in the draft. He went to the Diamondbacks. I'm sure Bogman is just ecstatic about that. I assume you are as well.
Here's about Bogman, who cares about what I was ecstatic about it.
That was all that I wanted.
That's all that you wanted was your and you got it. So why did why you Joe not.
The one fan of the world because of money? Because well as you were just.
A pure Diamondbacks fan or if you had other allegiances, I always forgot that.
Base Well, I love baseball. I love baseball in general.
You know, like there's some people that have like an American League team in the National League team, where like they moved so they weren't always like a Diamondback fan, like I never remembered if.
You were at just straight up d Backs.
I am a straight up said, I'm a straight up Arizona Diamback guy.
That incredible draft.
You know, I actually said money and I incorrectly said that because what has come out is that he's gonna get Holiday's gonna get over eight million dollars, So there might be like a five hundred, eight hundred thousand dollars deal, but they've felt the talent was there full five tools continuously got better, which okay, maybe that's the case, but I think Drew Jones was the ultimate talent.
The guy's gonna fill out.
You're easily gonna be able to put on twenty five plus of muscle onto his frame. He has not grown out like some of these guys. Tamar Johnson is a kid that's like already pre filled out. Both of these guys are five tool players, just and IL say Andrew Jones. But Drew Jones is the player that I would be, you know, putting my hopes onto. I think he's got massive power that I'm not sure Holiday has one hundred percent.
But both their five tool guys, and I mean nothing though, led to the shock of the third round, the third overall pick, which I well, I had got rumors on Joe, right, let's.
Talk about that.
So I did a live stream for the draft and I mentioned this about five minutes before it happened with Kumar Rocker.
Well, what's so funny?
I mean, yeah, the son of you know, Matt Holliday, the son of Andrew Jones and the son of John Rocker.
All gain.
I saw that tweet. I saw that.
I love that. It's so funny.
But Kamar Rocker, who the Mets elected and then didn't pay, and then he went back to independent league and now he is reunited with his former teammate from Vanderbilt, Jack Lighter, in the Texas Rangers organization. So they went all in here. So was this a good pick a bad pick? He was ranked thirty eighth as a prospect, so why did this happen?
Well, oh that the thirty eight stuff, It's simply about. People were split.
Half didn't like, we're worried about the injury stuff, that he wasn't revealing everything. The other half absolutely loved him. So you were a lover hate on Kumar Rocker. I think he's the best pitcher in this draft. Best slider, absolutely dominant slider, can go deep into games. As a track record, he came back in an independent ball, had multiple starts where he's hitting high nineties.
Slider looks amazing. This is a dude.
This is an absolute dude. There was so much fake stuff going out there it could be a reliever. And there's this and that this isn't as surprising as should we be giving it to be. And they're getting a two million dollars savings on Kumar Rocker. They're signing him around five where slot is seven, and they're gonna use that reportedly today on the top high school pitcher brock Porter, who has slipped and fell and should be getting a whole bunch of money. It's a great pick. It's a
really great pick. Kumar Rocker coming into this. I'm happy to say this because I've seen some others turn page coming in. I already had Kamar Rocker is my number one pitcher for first year player drafts, but before any of this business happened of him going three, and a lot of people have kind of turned tune and they're like, hey, now Kamar Rockers number one.
That's where I was because I thought this is I'm gonna be still.
Pissed off as a Mets fan, Like I was just so mad, Like, I mean, that's just such a frust rate thing.
He's watching me show.
He's a team leader, he's really really I watched.
The pitch of Vanderbilt.
I saw the highlights of him and Lighter, and I watched a ton of it last year, and it was just like, you know, I was like, well, if you're gonna make this pick, you know, why do you do the due diligence before? And then you know he's just gonna go back in the draft. Somebod's gonna draft him high again, and he did. Is exactly what happened.
I just don't think they were expecting the medicals. I agree with you here the same thing the Braves did it with Carter Young a couple of years ago. It's like, why did you not have this completely figured out? Like I don't understand why this isn't figured out.
I think it's literally their job, Like this is what you do. Yeah, you are the scouts that worry about the MLB draft. Let's take you through the top ten guys as well, because I know you know that list right now. Who stands out to you in the top ten and then the first round? Give me, like the two or three guys that you were really high on or you liked the landing spot.
For them, Well, I mean number two on my first year player list. I've got a top five hundred and doing all this in this league dot com. If people want to sign up and check out the list, we'll be updated soon. But Tamar Johnson with the Pirates is such a freaking deal.
I absolutely love him.
Probably the best bat in this entire draft, which hey, for fantasy, we love that doesn't steal a whole bunch. That was my probably ultimate favorite of the entire draft. I kind of like brooks Lee who went to Minnesota at a incredibly high hit tool can kind of have some all fields power pushed around.
Kevin Parrada to the Mets.
Was I love I dude, I got Prada at like six and he's a catcher.
Yeah, I wasna I had him at six too, and he went eleven to the Mets.
Yeah, and he steals Basis Toll eleven bases at Georgia Tech this past year makes incredible, incredible contact for fantasy.
The couple guys to watch.
Chase de Lauder, who went to the Guardians at eighteen, was a really really great pick at one time thought as maybe the top guy. And then this little barrage right here of Justin Crawford and Cam Collier. Collier fell slipped, but huge pickups. Collier is probably the highest player on my personal rank who went the lowest in the draft. Lou Collier's son, huge power, really athletic third baseman, got he's got that.
Jordan Walker, Yeah, he was right eight talent well and he went eighteenth. That's a big dip.
Yeah, So those are a couple of them. It was a great draft. We went into the second round. There's some huge talent. Maybe my favorite, most unheralded player. He went thirteenth to the Angels.
Zach Nedo.
Kind of a big Royce Lewis front leg kick, but he's a five tool guy almost. He almost was a twenty twenty player, really really talented, and it's a little bit raw and he played at a smaller school, so I have to see where that goes. But that's going to be one of those guys that's going to jump up. Is it's not going to register for people on first year player boards, but netto. So it was a great first round, great talent, and more to come.
All right, let's get to the home run derby. Obviously tonight, the odds have changed since last week left you on Friday, so they have moved significantly at that to pet A Lonzo plus one eighty five, Kylee Swarber two seventy, Won Soto plus six fifty.
Then we had Kney at six fifty. Julio is at plus eight fifty.
So those twelve or ten to one on Julio and then twelve to one on Corey Seeger Well, Corey Siegers now plus nine to fifty. So here's what you have to do if you want to get involved in the home run derby contest. Here once again just going through this. To play, you have to be a premium member Fantasy Pros obviously because you're in the home run chat over on Discord. The example is exclamation point home run, like
you always make your call slash call. Then you put the first name of the guy you think is going to finish, first the comma the second player, and then of course the number of home runs. So just for example three hundred and ninety, I see that whenever the graphic was made here, so good job making this graphic. I know Wonky's been working on this. I want to say it was mister Buster made it made the fun amazing graphic. We're both wearing our crowns. You're wearing your tr I'm.
Wearing my Where is it? Where is this?
I don't know if they posted it in the Discord home run channel yet or not, but I got it sent to me, so I guess it's going to be at least posted today, Wonky, I don't know is it posted in the Discord channel.
But so you need the person.
Going first, comma second place finisher, and then the number home runs. So if you get all things right here and you do very well, you get three points. So the person who correctly names the first place person, the second place hitter, and the closest to the total number gets three points. Anyone who picks the winner and the second place person in that correct order gets two points. Anyone who picks the winner gets one point. So I
have made my wager also on Juan Soto. I think he's the best bang for my buck there at the plus six fifty. I put that down this morning. So let's go Juan Soto. Last call here for your pick. I'm gonna go Sodo one and Pete Alonso two. I think it's gonna be the old dogs going for it. That's my call.
How about you, Welsh?
Where are you going, Oh, man, I just see Mayor just almost put exactly where I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Alonzo one, Schwarber two, and I'm gonna put the number at I'm gonna I'm gonna do like a one dollar thing on him. I'm gonna go to ninety five. I'm gonna go two over him. So I'm gonna go Alonzo Schwarber two ninety five. That's gonna be my fife. Do I need making it here? Is that good enough for me?
Do I need to go on this?
I think?
I think I think for the good of the contest, you should make it in the home run chat.
I think everybody should do that.
I think everybody should just go one to run higher than whatever whatever Mike Maher does. I think that's definitely the way it goes. Because Mike Mayer's moving this week two. Speaking of moving, somebody else moving really close. Here's fun fact. We'll close on this justin Verlander of the Astros is the first picture of Major League Baseball history. I know
Welsh loves the historical moments. I do enter the All Star break with twelve or more wins an eight hundred winning percentage, an ERA under two, an opponent's batting average under two hundred, a whip under point nine zero, and a five to one k walk ratio.
How about them apples.
And by the way, the Astros have like the easiest schedule on the planet coming out of the break into the second half. So I am still guns a blazing for Justin Verlander.
Cy Young?
What are the numbers?
M where the numbers? Right?
Have you looked like the Cy Young alcion?
They're still right neck and neck.
But I think that everybody's just not thinking enough about what sect and half McClanahan might look like.
I'll give you the exact number right here.
I'm looking on too on bettingpros dot com.
By the way, Otani's minus one oh five for MVP that.
You can get two sixty on Verlander Standuel right now with the ability to buy down Shaye McClanahan at two hundred and Garrett Cole is ten to one.
He's mad Joeyotani plus eight fifty, which is fascinating too, just saying yeah, yeah, that's also if you're gonna make those wagers, make sure you go to bet MGM. The King of sports books use the promo code leading off bet ten dollars to win two hundred. Download the bet mgm app or go to betmgm dot com. Make your wagers tonight over at betmgm on the Home Run Derby, check out those odds or if you want to put in some player futures as well, get that bad boy done because, uh, it's a fun night.
You put a little, even if ten bucks on somebody for the Home Run Derby, it's fun.
It's fun, a little bit of juice when you're watching, and you can get really upset in the first round or really excited. Possibly if you win the whole thing and turn you know, ten bucks into fifty, that's that's a nice day.
That's fun.
Yeah, I have some BAGM and I actually on our our Ends League twitch stream, we are gonna run the entire Home Run Derby. We're gonna go through each bracket. We're gonna play it out on MLB the show during a Home Run context night at one pm Eastern here, and I'm hoping to draft Alonzo.
We're gonna do each bracket. I want the Alonzo one to win, so we'll do whatever you can to have fun with it.
Bet it, play it I'm actually going to make sure I'm locked in for the first time in forever because of Julio, which has got me pretty jacked up. Do you think anybody will put up a big old donut, you know, like, no one like zero to three?
No, No, I think I think everybody's still no donuts here, That's what I think.
All right, we'll come back tomorrow and recap it all again eleven am Eastern all week here and leading off.
That'll do it for us, But the story of the game goes on for the Welsh. I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time. Kids.
The