Welcome in everybody to Fantasy Throws MLB. This is Leading Off Live, brought you by Pride. Pick sign up for Pridepeaks today and use that promote code leading off when you do, it's me, Joey P that's the Welsh, and it's you, the Peanuts, the Cracker Jackson. There's fifty plus comments. We haven't even started yet. People have a lot of
feelings already after the weekend's action. Look at our friend Beefy is giving me props as JOEYP was right about Bucksin' after the home runs he went oh for four and then got hurt. That's right, I told you so. But Welsh, it's good to see you. It's been a weekend. I saw the Flash yesterday. I enjoyed it. You were right, it was fun. And get this. One of my old acting students that I taught, one of my combat students,
was in the movie and was very funny. He was the guy on the couch Gary with the taxiles.
I saw you post that that you were like, this is my old acting buddy that was in there.
Yeah, he was one of my students about ten years ago. Always a funny guy, just hysterical and I texted him immediately after, go dude, I didn't know you were in Flash. He said, he was in a big movie coming up. I knew he had told me he wouldn't tell me what I said. Okay, cool. But here's a fun fact. He also was. You know how Ezra Miller and the Flash had to like act against himself basically for the
entire movie. You know, in multiple versions of Flash, he played teenage Flash in all the scenes where he had to be the other Flash, so like as the actor. So he basically you know, had to do all of those scenes with him. So that's pretty cool. So look at that fun things. What did you do this weekend?
Well that's fun? Nothing fun, Absolutely not. There's nothing fun that happened. I stared at the bait at the baseball all weekend so I could give the proper analyzes to all of you. That's all that I did. I don't do anything else except for you people.
Analy Well that's nice, and we've got a lot of fun coming up too. We got the All Star break coming up, All Star Game, he'll run derby MLBFT Futures game we have.
I believe it's today. You know what I'm now I'm I'm mistaking which day it is, you' seether today or tomorrow. But we got game three, the final game of the College World Series. Because you want to talk about a great game? Was Game one LSU Florida with another walk off and now boom you've got and then they blew it out. Florida blew it out in game two. You've got Game three coming up. But see the today or
tomorrow LSU Florida for the College World Series. And there is a gajillion prospects, if not the top three three MLB draft prospects, in that one game. Why at Langford Paul Skeens and Drew Dylan Cruz. If you guys want to check that out of all the.
Keys, is my favorite name, I like Skeens. Skeens is my guy, ske Skeens, Skeens, Keens, all Keens. That's gonna be his walk up music.
All you Dylan's calls Keens Keens Keens.
Oh goodness, courageous. Let's get to the headlines, welsh uh. Let's start with the Angels, who had themselves a day on Saturday, scoring twenty five runs. It was a lot. Two guys went five for five. We had Hunter Renfro going five for five. We had Mickey Moniac going five for five.
Uh oh, so how Taylor Ward do Mickey Moniac? How did Taylor Ward do in that game?
I don't I don't know. I wasn't even I couldn't even tell you. But on the other side of that too. Just wanted to bring this up because you know, some people might be looking for some extra help still on the trade market. And Ezekiel Tovar, who is a player that you and I both really love coming into the season, struggled mightily early in the year. It was really picked things up recently. He has a nine game hitting streak
over that span, hitting three sixty one. He has hit safely in eighteen of his last twenty games in June, so Tovar looks like he's really starting to get it. And I feel like this is an asset that I don't want to say it's been forgotten about, but I think undervalued. What are your thoughts on Tovar here for the Rockies the rest of the season, because I know the Rockies have not been great. We've trolled them quite a bit, but Tovar seems to really be putting it together.
After a very impressive twenty twenty two minor league campaign.
I'm pretty indifferent about having impactful fantasy pickup stuff like, so I think you might be a little bit more excited than I am. But especially when you look at like the Savant page, it's really bad hard to hit wOBA barrel percentage whiff rate, like especially like a whiff rate with all the bad barrel and hard hit. None
of those go together well. But what I will tell you in agreement with you, He's improved his average three straight months while decreasing his strikeouts every single month and increasing his home run total every single month. So all three of those things work really well. Colorado's a pretty good baseline. I still think this is kind of more of a better real life player. The ground ball rate has gone down, which you love to see, while line drive is up around twenty eight percent from twenty so
he's making better quality contact. Colorado's kind of a good baseline. I think this is a deeper ish league pickup. I don't think it's short league, and I think the offense is kind of muted. See like that question right there, Tovar just out of Tovar and drop Matos. I don't think I would do that. I think I would hold on to Matos after crushing his hit Merril Kelly just the other day for his first major league home run.
I think they might be similar categorically, except I think Matos has a little bit more power and more contact.
This is from motionok, tactical Tovar or Jeremy Pania.
My gut, I haven't even looked at Jeremy Penia's numbers. I'm gonna say Pania, but let me take a look here. Yeah, nine homers, more stolen bases are coming from Payna. He's hitting two fifty. He's actually got they've almost got identical xba's. I would still and he needs decreases to strike up percentage. I would go with Painia on this one. I guess I'm just not as Tovar as you.
Payina is the safer one, but I think Tovar is the guy that has a little bit, you know. I would say more upside uh for that. And we're getting questions again too, about all of a sudden, the audio and my mic volumes. How about now? Am I nice and loud? Now? Is that what's going on here? I don't know?
Are you you sound fine to me?
What do people sound fine to me?
But wait, are they complaining about me? That's the question. That's what I'm most concerned.
I don't know, but we've been trying to fix this. We don't know what's going on. But let's continue on with the headlines. But Kenzie gore nine strikeouts and five innings against his old club, the San Diego Padres. So that was fun. Uri Perez was also fun. He gets his fifth W. The ere's at one point thirty four, six innings, nine k's, one walk, zero earned runs. He's given up zero runs in his last twenty one innings. Somebody in the chat I forgot who it was, said
something about can Uri Perez just pitch every day? I don't think he can, but I think we'd all like that, don't you think? Uh?
Yeah, I want Euri Prez every single day. I don't want him to ever go down. He is mag he is magnificent. To watch fifty four strikeouts in there, taking a look, twenty nine point two percent hard hit percentage is expected, ERA is still low threes. I'm fascinated how this whole process is gonna go. I don't know if you just said it but they are saying that it looks like they're gonna probably do a tiny bit of a shutdown prior to the All Star break, so a
little bit earlier. So I don't know if that's going to be maybe one or something like that, and then he's gonna pop back on the second half. So I think that's gonna be able to stabilize some of his fantasy value.
All Right, we all find out. I mean, let's let's hope, because Perez has been absolute gold. What's in a keeper league situation, dynasty league situation. How valuable is the situation situation in the situations that we got here, How how valuable is Perez on that chart? Right now, Let's say it's a startup dynasty next year and you're looking for pitching help. What does that? I know, it's you know, kind of putting you up against it in terms.
Of well, I'm pulling up my dynasty.
I actually pretty high up there, right?
Is he top twenty, top twenty overall or top twenty sps.
Top twenty sps.
Yeah, absolutely, I'm taking a look at I just recently updated my Dynasty ranks. But Uri continues to go. So I had Uri on my last update at where did he go? I just saw him sixty six overall, sixty six overall of all players, and that would have put him I put him right near like Joe Ryan, because if you're thinking about age long term, I think it would have put him top fifteen, top twelve sp And I don't know I think he I think he pushes
up against guys like George Kirby, Julio Urius. I mean that's the level of where we're pushing for what his production is, to where he's gonna go long term.
Okay, let's continue on here. Jose Brau two for five. Maybe it's not a lost season yet, picking things up a little bit this month. Still not great, But what are you gonna do? Lane Thomas? I want to talk Abu Laane Thomas because I gave some Dane Thomas love I do. And here's why. Two ninety six, three forty three, five oh seven, thirteen homers, thirty eight RBI and a terrible team. He's got seven steals. This was one of the players Welsh that we talked about, you know, those
late round gems, and Lane Thomas was mine. In fact, I even had a video where Lane Thomas was one of those like late round sleeper guys, and I was worried when I did it, go, Man, if there's one that's going to really bite me in the rear end. I feel like this is Lane Thomas. Wanted to look back and say, Man, that really crapped out, but it is not. Lane Thomas has been terrific on a terrible club, and I think this is one of those assets we
just don't appreciate right now. And I don't think anybody who's gott enim right now maybe appreciates what he's done because this is a pretty solid season. I mean you're extrapolating. You're talking about guys Gon ended up with twenty five homers and what like, you know, twelve to fifteen steals, hitting two ninety. I mean you got him where like well outside the top two hundred.
I'm trying to think, I I can't. It's on the tip of my tongue. There's I feel like there's a good previous comp over the last like five years of it's like a really bad team player. He's been leading off who has been at man. I mean you could argue that this is full on five tool, like, like what's the marker for a player's RBI to be a five tool because I think like five tool run usually
to me it's eighties eighties up. But if you've got seventy five RBI from Laon Thomas, I think that's near there, right, Do you think that's about right?
Lineup position matters and the ball cubby player matters. You know, if you're hitting in the one or two spot, your RBI total is always going to be lower automatically, and then if you're playing on a crap team that doesn't have anybody in the work.
That's what I'm saying, So like, what is the like, what is the RBI total in a situation like that?
I would accept seventy five, but eighty is typically my threshold for both the runs and the RBI.
So he looks like he is spacing out to be close to like one hundred runs. He's hitting their three hundred, he's going to go twenty homers ten stone basis. I think twenty ten, two, eighty, seventy five, seventy five or eighty eighty. He is the five tool baseline and he is going to borderline that. So you're right, he has totally been a nice, good cheap option. He's not exceptional in any like expected or really any stat cast type
of category. He just gets it done. He's scoring runs. Yeah, he's He's not a league winner, but he is definitely one of those great cheap options as available nowhere available.
Wander Franco responded to his benching by hitting a home run on Saturday. So good for you, Wander. Don't take no crap off nobody. And Luisa Rise also continues to hit baseballs all over place, including a home run this weekend too, which I know Welsh loved Louise a Rise home run. I can't imagine the tweets that came her. Why I haven't.
An I didn't get a single one. I didn't even know that.
This is like, okay, a weekend, It's like America Tuesday. You would have gotten him. So blue Moon rookie, looky, I turned into a vampire. Jordan Westburg from the Baltimore Orioles getting called up twenty four years old, first round pick, thirtieth overall. In twenty twenty, he was slashing two ninety five, three seventy two, five sixty seven with eighteen bombs, fifty four REBI, six deals, sixty four strikeouts over that span, so a little high on the strikeout rate over three
hundred plate appearances. So he can play everywhere, which is good. So the versatility that should be interesting. It looks like, you know, shortstop's kind of in his main bag. So what is your aggressiveness level on Westburg here and what do you think his contributions will be to the Orioles?
Jack Nicholson giff, Yes, this is aggressive, this is pick up. I would drop Tovar for Westburg, and that might not feel popular, but I love Jordan Westburg. He's been near the tippy top of homers in the miners. His strikeout rate, regardless of what you said, a little over twenty one percent. He has had a two hundred plus ISO pretty much. Let's see, since twenty twenty two, he's had it. The two stops he didn't have it were high A in Double A in twenty twenty one, but there were one
eighty and one ninety. He's hitting two ninety five this year. He's done a little bit of everything right. He can play in the middle infield, well, I kind of think he might play second base, just because I think Gunner's been doing some short they've got ramon Urius, but they might just you know, push all these guys around. Maybe Gunner is going to be you know, the full third and Jordan's going to be shortstop. But regardless of the point, this is not a crazy strikeout issue, big power shortstop
who's been dominating the minor leagues. He has been the secondary to cees like we've been screaming where's Christian We're still screaming where the hell is Christian incarnation? But Jordan Westburg, to me, has been the other one. So this is a huge call up. This is huge offensive potential. And as much as like you know, like Tovar is pushing into like a positive territory, I just think Westburg is
going to be a lot more RBI centric. He steals a few basses, probably nothing big at the majors, he walks a little bit. It's a great recipe. I'm a must pick up Westburg. Try to pick up Westburg in most instances.
And as Welsh mentioned, and it was in the Rookie Lookie, so we'll mention it again in case you missed. At Louis Mato's two for four with a two run bomb on Saturday, Congratulations kid, first big League of Merle, first big league homer. There, injuries not too bad, jose L Twov again, something else sore heel for him. You know, two A's thirty three years old. Maybe things are starting to catch up to him. All the games, all the
playoff games, you know that. I think that's something people forget to the players that have, you know, the smaller player, smaller frame. You always weren't wonder about what's that guy going to be like when he starts to get into his thirties, Especially style of play plays in the infield, second base, aggressive base runner in his career, and then all the extra games he's played in his career in the playoffs, I think the wear and tear in the
mile would just starting to catch up. Without two A a little bit, I'd be very concerned with him as a long term option in keeper dynasty formats. I think you want to get out here if he can get a good run out of him and flip him here at some point.
Yeah, I think his cost is like a bad spot right now for everything. Yeah, you might have to wait a little bit, But I'd also point out, like dude, as a forty year old, I put on sandals and I walk around in sandals. The next day, my heels hurt. My whole legs hurt, like just wearing sandals.
I do. I got my compression socks on right now, Myron Buxton, I actually don't right now, but sometimes I do. Sometimes I do.
What are compressions, like the like the tight like yeah, yeah, I have like.
The copper fit ones. Yeah oh there I go run or I do that stuff like afterwards, I'll put the compression socks on. I'm trying to be proactive.
Do you remember when you were younger and yeah, oh yeah.
Painful thing. I continue on anyway.
I remember when I was like thirteen fourteen, I played a ton of like street basketball, like competitive with like older guys, and you would just see the guys that got pad pad elbow, ankle elle. You see all that stuff, and you're like, what is the deal. And then now you're at that age and you you wake up and before you do anything, you're like, all right, compression sock on here, advil over here. It takes you an hour to get set. I'm just feeling out too, vade.
The compression elbow things and stuff like that. The whole thing. I'm like the terminal. I got gear up, I got my gloves, I got the elbow things. If I'm doing legs, I gotta have the knee things on the whole thing.
Did you do that when you did that batting practice with pitcherless and all of them a couple of years ago? Did you have all.
I'll still get up and swing the wood bat and take somebody deep right now, all right, in a major league ballpark with a wooden bat. I have one hundred percent confidence I could do that. I see, you know.
First pitch is coming, and I've been thinking about trying to organize, like like a home run derby. See if I can get a team to want to assist her in the Arizona falling to a horn derby? Would that kit you out here? Would that kit you out here for first pitch?
It might.
The problem is the first pitch.
The problem is always the same thing. It's the thick of football season that weekend. I know, I know, but it's hard. It's it's it's on the radar. It's on the radar Byron Bucks and not on the radar. He was out due to bax spasms. Shocker James Paxson was pulled from his start after four innings with a knee sort of shocker. And here would throw this out there too, because I've taken a lot of crap from Max Munsey this season, because I said Max Munsey was washed, and
you know what, I'm gonna stay true to that. I don't care any home runs he's sitting against the Giants. All right, Max Munsey, you seem like a really nice fellow. You seem like a good guy. You seem like a guy to have a beer with. I want to hang out, But I don't care about your eighteen home runs. I care the fact you're hitting one ninety one. How many times can Max Munsey get under two hundred and still be a viable major league player?
Welsh?
I care.
I think you can do it probably every single season. And now is it a player that I want to roster fantasy? No, I'm not into that stuff. I don't like the Joey gallows and when Joey got I don't like the I don't like what Shorber was doing, but you know you were just buying back in on June Schwarber.
Yeah.
I don't like sub two hundred guys. Whatever counting stats they have, Actually think as much as Munsey has kind of shut you up in a couple points, which, by the way, every time you bear down on Max Monsey, it might be by Max Munsey right now, it might be a bye everything, because whenever you bear down, that's crazy, whenever you bear down. But like, I'm not into any of what this is going on, and it's actually been, I think, much worse than like we felt. This has been a bad season.
Yeah, yeah it is. And everyone's like, oh, look, Macmon's he turning around all the home runs and you know what, where where's he been? I haven't seen him on the show sheet except for being hurt. And I'm gonna hold that against him because you know, we're just talking about how we're old, old and hurt. But hitting one ninety one and last year hit under two hundred two, enough is enough. Three up and three down. Luis Robert two homers, three for four. Matt McClain had himself a day four
for five, three doubles, a homer, five ribbies. He's the second Red's rookie to have a four plus extra base hit game. Can you name the other one? Peanuts and cracker Jack Cincinnati Red's rookie to have four extra base hits in one game. That's what I want to see. Drop your questions or answers, I should say you in the chat. You have a guess.
Well, I was about to say, Ellie day La Cruz because he hit for the cycle. I think it was this week and he hit for the cycle. But I guess that was just because one as a single. Yeah, well I thought he had another at back because he got it in the six end. No, how far back? Give me a hint.
We remember the North remembers. It was in my childhood, for sure, your early childhood, I believe, But.
Say the the late eighties, Eric Davis.
Nope, we have the answer. Look at this beefy knows beef. He knows it's Chris Sabo. Sabo's goggles. Look at that I would have hoping that Sabo's goggles. Oh, Ryan Ellis actually got it first. So Ryan, you're the winner. You're the guy. So Pod apologies, I didn't Congratulations Chris Sabo. Chrisbo's that guy. Chris Sabo was the hot thing with the glasses, they goggles, the whole thing. Baseball by Storm
had a great rookie season. Reds go out there, you know, they won the World Series in the early nineties, and then it was like disappear. I have no idea Tyler Glass. Now, remember how we weren't worried about him, Well that was good because he had twelve strikeouts against a terrible Kansas City team one walk. He only had five innings. But I don't carry struck out twelve guys. I'll take that every day of the week. Three down, Ellie Dela Cruz. Sorry,
we gotta keep it real, Ellie. I hate talking trash about you on the show. Over five three k's. At least go see a over five three k's and Zach Wheeler nine hits, eight strikeouts, but gave up five earned and five and a third in what was a despicable, horrible performance by the Mets. They had Robertson waiting in the bullpen, they hit two guys with bases loaded, and the next thing you know, that game is over. What a horrible, disgusting, terrible loss by the New York Mets.
I don't want to talk about it. All I want to talk about instead are the Prize Picks. So if you haven't already, make sure you go to Prize Picks, download the app, or go to prize picks dot com. Use that promo code leading off. When you do, you get one hundred percent deposit match up two one hundred dollars. Welsh pick the prizes for the people.
Oh wait, what's that? Did Welsh? Did you hit your prize picks on Friday?
Yes?
I did hit my price picks on Friday. That's so interesting that you asked. In the crazy one I had of Clerk Schmidt under outs AJSS who's now optioned in web no run first inning and BAO and Gelital strikeouts. We did smack, so let us smack again this week. Today we are going with Dylan Cees outs sixteen point five under, so that's five essentially five and two thirds under five and two thirds up against the Angels. Ellie, we're going with a run just point five over and
Corey Seeger fantasy score eight. Those are my three plays twenty to pay one hundred on the price Picks. Let's go for two in a row.
Great comment in the chat here from Tim Big fan of Tim in the chat, the basketball scene and Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller and phillipsymer Hoffman is an accurate depiction of Welsh's basketball playing days.
You Yeah, you know what you're you're talk you're talking. You know that that that gift of like of uh screw around, find out you find out, you can find out. I mean you might think it might look like a big goofy guy, but basketball was actually my big the basketball high long range too, three pointers. Yeah, watch out out. I beat you in the basketball contest, in the great leading off shoot off?
You did? You did?
Oh you were about to caveat it. You were about to caveat.
Is saying you know I'm not caveata. Yo, you won fair and square. If we get out there and do real sports that I would like to see, and maybe the first pitch we do, I will. I will again.
I don't think you want real sports. You're gonna be disappointed this big guy beat you.
No, no, no. In basketball, yes, that's fine. I was never a good basketball player, even though I played. I was. I was a rebounder, I was a facilitator. I was not a great basketball player by any stretch. But baseball I can still hit. And I will go out there and I'll take BP live. I don't care, no big deal, no big thing. Spencer Stryder. Nine is the number now, look, I know I always go under on the big numbers,
but today against the Twinkies, I'm going over. This is gonna be a double digit day for Spencer Schrider with the strikeout y'all. Now telling y'all, now, I know it's a big number. I get it. If you could find a friendly site for the latter bed of this one, I'm thinking we get to twelve with Spencer Schrider against the Twinkies today, telling you I could feel it in
my bones. Luis Castillo six and a half bitch or strikeouts over and Julio Rodriguez eight and a half Fantasy score over betting wise today, Sunny Gray's got a small number against the Atlanta Braves with the strikeouts. It's four and a half. Get the over on that one. The juice is a little higher, so you might have to pair it with something else. Same thing with Spencer Schreider, though, but you're getting the nine and a half. I know it's a huge number, I get it, but it's plus
one oh six. I like it. I'm gonna go with it. And same thing staying true with Castillo. You're getting even money on the over on the six and a half. K's that's where I'm looking for the betting today. Welsh, You've got Verlander on your betting card. I almost thought about that, but I just don't trust him right now. Maybe I have some road rash from yesterday.
I don't know. I understand it a team context, team matchup I think works a little bit in favor for him today, and it's plus money on the strikeouts six and a half. I don't think he's hit in his last two, but it's still Verlander and it's a favorable strike up matchup, so I've got his k number. Though strikeouts have just not been my thing this year, that is one of them. It's kind of a light day. I do love these two piece parlays. There's just two
little piece parlays. I got a hit parade which I love. Ezekiel Duran and sho Heyo Tani both the register just one hit plus one seventeen. Duran has like three of last four games he's had multi hit games, so I love that one. I'm on Otani today, so that's plus one seventeen Duran and Otani. And then a just straight money line play Seattle and Texas. Money line pays you one ten. So those two won't show up on the leading Off board, but just mark those down in your heads.
Those are my two probably favorite plays. If I had to pick one, I think I think I'd go the money line play, then the hit, and then the strikeout, so it would be reverse order of what I said. As far as what I love today.
Okay, I love so rare every day Fantasypros dot Com slash collect All you have to do is sign up. It's free, it's card's fantasy. You make your team, you manage your players. We'll got that sho hel Tani card. Look how sexy that is. Aaron Judge right behind him, he's making that face right now because it's toe hurt.
You know what they call those, Joe car right there. That would be a team color card. It's always sexier when the player's jersey matches the card color of rarity, and that is a rare version. Those are even better and.
You get the gold. Aaron Judge back there too, So again, go play so rare. Check it out. It's fun, it's card, it's all of those things. You can also join the league Fantasy Bros dot Com slash Leading Off League. We've got all of that for you. And we've got dfs now sliding Scaleta in the pitchers shorter slate, which is good. I like this. If you want to go cheap, it's
Verlander at eight point one. It's a cookie matchup. But I just don't trust the Mets bullpen, and I don't trust the Mets period, so I think it's a Frankly, it's a trap. I want the premiums today. I want Castillo a ten point six. I'll figure it out. I want Spencer Strider at eleven point three, I'll figure it out. Stryder's the one I really want today against the Twins, I'm really going after them. Mets, Braves, Seattle, those are
the places to look for offense. And Seattle's got some cheaper guys in that lineup, and so do the Braves, because the Braves have Rosario at two to nine, Arcia at two eight, and Michael Harris at two nine, all under three K. So you can just go into that stack there now. If Sunny Gray wins, Sunday Gray wins. If you want to do the OPO lineup where the Twinkies are good against Stryder and Sunny Gray gets a
w that will probably cash. If things go sideways, but I do think it's best Spencer Strider lineup wins today. Julio is my pick for the home runs. That's where I'm going today. I don't think we've got the home run board today. I don't know where Ethan is with.
That, but I think you and I both find out. You and I both hit on Friday, and then we didn't get a weekend one.
So that's okay.
So I gotta be going for a home run call.
Where are you going?
I'm gonna do a layup. I'm gonna play show Hey. I gotta show Hey on the hits. I'm gonna play show Hey for the home run call. I don't know if I've I think I played him once or twice all year, but I'm gonna play Otani today for the home run and get rock and we need. I gotta tell you last week, very good betting week for me. Horrific home run calls. I don't want the betting to stop, but I want to pick it up just a tad bit in the home runs. I want to get back on that board. I miss it.
There you go, and we just gave away. I know somebody won the MLBtv thing. We're working on getting that all set up. And Razor is eleventh and so rare, So keep going, Razor, let's go winning so rare. The Reds are in first place, he's at the top of the home run board. Everything's coming up Razor this year. I'll tell you, good for you, Ramon, well done. We'll be back again tomorrow to do it all again. That'll do it for us for now. In the meantime, the story of the game goes on for the Welsh. I'm
Joey P. We'll see you next time. Gets bye.