MLB: Leading Off May 27th, 2022 (Ep. 520)

Martin makes his mark. Let's play ball. Welcome in everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is Leading Off, brought to you by Bed MGM, the King of Sports Books. It's me, Joey P joe P Zapia with me today, Scott Bogman.

All the Peanuts and cracker Jacks on our YouTube channel, watching live and commenting along. And of course if you want to be a peanut and cracker Jack, and I know that you do, make sure you subscribe to Fantasy Pros MLB channel. We're over seven thousand subscribers. I mean, just we're gonna throw a party over the weekend. I think there will be a number, yeah, baby, get them numbers up. Question Scott Bogman, what do you want in the leading off?

Pinata? What do you want to come out?

Probably Enchiladas? I like so damn I do like Enchiladas. Is not expecting the expecting me to say something some candy or something.

You you forget the fact saucy foods, the fact I brang up.

Ribs, uh you know, uh yeah. But but I have fat in my heart, so there's different.

There's a difference.

I'm I'm always I've never like you know, my brain and pinants never goes to saucy foods, but you know what, maybe it should. Maybe this is a new standard. I liked it all right. Uh, and doctor Glenn says, maybe let's fillip with some apple. Did you make those yet?

From having I'm saving them for a special occasion because you talk them up so much.

So I'm gotta get the vanilla ice cream, good vanilla ice cream to go with it, too, right.

To what's still hot? Yeah, whatever, whatever you gotta do.

All right, let's uh, let's get to the baseball, because I know that's why you're here. We'll start with the headlines of the day, and let's start with showy Tony leaving against Toronto with back stiffness. That's never good. Nobody likes the back stiffness. That's that's not a good thing.

When we lose a picture and a hitter all at once. Not fun. That unless you're playing, of course.

So this is why we always talk about this the show.

Hey on Tani, why he isn't minus money from the get go, it's because you know, this is the problem if if you're you know, if you go down with an injury, you're losing the hitter in the picture and it's just this massive, you know swing. Hopefully it's just you know, something he can get past. We'll get your more information if any pops during the show. If not, when we come back on Tuesday, because again no show Monday, we're taking off for the holiday. It will be Pinatas.

They see the Yankees, they see the Rays.

Do you think that Toronto right now is going to be aggressive and try to acquire another starting picture because this real elbow tightness is that can't be a good thing.

I think you have to.

You know, Mantas is out there, like, go acquire Mantas. I know it's gonna cost a lot, I get it, but I think they should do that. You know there's other guys that will become available, but I you know, your windows open, you're the favorites to win the World Series going into the season.

Your hitting is still there.

So they got to do something, and I think they will be aggressive.

All right.

By the way, people are making comments about your shaved face shaved bogs question mark from red Bean.

So no, that's right.

Yeah, So I was okay, Yeah, I'm doing okay.

So the you know, I moved to Texas and I forget about animals, and the dogs at my house had a couple fleas on them, so I gave them the flea bath and everything. But I think a drop of water hit my face, but I saw fleas, So I was like.

This has got to go. We got to make sure there's none it.

We the PoID. Yeah, I got a little paranoid. So and this is the ensuing result here.

So Boggs charged all the Manscape lawnmowers at one time and then just went to work.

That's that's pretty much what he did. All right.

Let's continue on with some of these headlines going through. Freddie Freeman posts a homer five Ribbies against the d Backs. Great game from him yesterday. We just did a whole thing about this piece somebody wrote about vlad Guerrero Junior being found out. Well, he hit a home run yest night, Martin Perez, our favorite OPO pitcher once.

Again seven innings.

I don't know who this guy is, and I don't know what he did with Martin Perez, but this Martin Perez I'm all about. And you know what, I'm starting to think that Martin Perez might be a guy that the Blue Jays, the Mets, the Braves might be interested in. So keep an eye. If he's out there, he's probably, you know, dirt cheap. He might be floating around a

I was like, I can't do this.

Like he's the guy that you see at the top of the free agent list in every league.

And you go, I've seen this before, right, because we've seen this act. We've seen like moments.

We're like, oh, Martin Perez, and then it goes all the way down. But what are you gonna do?

Montass had eleven strikeouts, so he's looking to get out of Texas as well. Trevor's story because he was facing the Rangers yesterday. Now he's looking to get out of Oakland as well. Trevor story Homers again once again kick the tires on trades, folks. I mean you went from bottom of the barrel to oh my goodness, this is the greatest hitter of all time. There's something in the middle, probably, But if you can't cash him in high now and get some a lot more than maybe he's worth, what's

Especially if you're middling, looks like, especially if you're middling or low in the standings, man like, go go, go trade him for a couple pieces that you need.

Well, especially since we just saw what the bottom looks like. So do you want to experience the bottom again? Because it's coming. Hell's coming with him. I'm telling you right now, it's happening. Josh Hater records a sixteenth save. Yesterday an hour Aaron Nola strikes out ten in another good start

Yeah, I mean just the low walk rate right like you saw it from twenty nineteen. The walk rate was three five six, down a two point nine, down to one point nine, four down to one point four to eight. So he just the command keeps getting better every single year for Aaron Nola, and that has been outstanding. And you know, Robbie Ray is kind of the you know, another version of a guy like Aaron Nola.

Like we keep waiting for it to pop.

We keep waiting for it to pop than it did, and now he's back on the downslide, it seems, so hopefully we don't see that side of Aaron Nola. I think he's kind of righted this ship here and figured it out. So I'm good to acquire or have Aaron Nola. But I've done that bit too, Joe, where you drop a guy just too early. I've also hung on to Dominic Brown, so you know that it cuts both ways.

So oh, there you go. That was one of the one to grow on right there. All right, let's do a little can't we talk about this? The Yankees and Rays today are not posting anything about today's game on social media.

Instead of they are highlighting facts about gun violence. Good for them. I think this is excellent.

I think more teams should follow suit in this. I'll be honest with you, guys. I didn't want to come in Tuesday to do this show. I was not feeling cheery. I'm not feeling cheery now.

And you know this is not a political show. It's a baseball show.

So I know my place to come in here and give people a respite from the real world. But at the same time, our real world needs some re observations and some fresh takes. And I think that this is great that a lot of people and a lot of organizations around baseball, around sports are doing that, just like they did in certain other things in the last three years. It's time to get together and find a way to

So far, we still.

Got Jeremy Pania leading in the American League, Julio right behind him. But my Julio shares look pretty good right now. I like Julio to overtake this. Joe Ryan at three, but he's out with COVID right now. Bobby Wit it for Ali Rutchman at five. On the National League side, Mackenzie Gore has now taken over the one spot.

Seya Suzuki at two. Told you that was gonna happen.

I don't know why wan Ya Pez is at three, but I want to tell you this. Luis Gonzalez a four, Hunter Green is at five. Hunter Green has pitched much better recently. I've got a lot of money invested in Hunter Green. I might even double down again because I keep looking at the guys ahead of him, and I keep thinking, maybe, just maybe, if I stayed disciplined and I double down one more time, even this could be the biggest wager I make all year. American League seems

Well, let me ask you this.

If you took any one of those American League guys and put them in the National League, would they be the immediate Okay, all right, exactly. So the reason I worry about Hunter Green is because the Reds are just gonna let him work through whatever his issues are at the big league level. So if he has a bad run, I think it's gonna be at the big league level. I don't think he's ever gonna hit a bump, and they're gonna be like, let's send him down and let him straighten it out.

What do they care? You know? They're the crazy.

Team putting up twenty runs, you know whatever, a quarter of their season runs in the game yesterday. So they're just kind of all over the place right now. So I worry about him a little bit in that. I think Sayah is a pretty favorite, pretty good favorite bet in the National League.

That's who I would bet on to win it.

Yeah, I'm got.

The glove too, man. I watch him against the d Bacs.

He made like three plays to save runs, and I was like, oh my god, look at this guy, like this is he should not be a rookie.

He's already a pro. But I now it doesn't work.

So we shall see, we shall see.

MLB notes here just is posted by John Hayman on Twitter. Don't at him, He's John Hayman. I love the don't at me. I can't believe a sixty year old man said don't at me. Anyway, I don't even know if he's sixty, but he looks sixty. So I'm just gonna pretend an agent.

Survey says de Grom, what does my hair say?

Then that Jacob de Grom is going to indeed potentially opt out of his contract because it makes sense, or it makes sense for him to do that. So let's talk this for a second, because this has an impact sixty one. See, I was right to done well. He's been around a long time too. Here's something that I

Month of June.

Because if the strategy becomes from and this is where the business end of baseball affects your fantasy, affects your wager, affects all these other things, right the business end of baseball, If you're going to opt out of that contract, you can't opt out of it with ten starts and expect people to pay you. That crap ain't happening. So he is basically has to roll the dice here. And if he thinks he's going to opt out, and he thinks he's going to go try to cash in, which he

Well, Number one, I firmly disagree with if you have ten starts, someone's going to pay you. If he has ten starts and it looks good, he'll get paid.

Doesn't matter.

Teams are desperate for pitchers, so he's gonna get paid even with three starts, you know it. I mean it may not be you know, a giant you know, five, six, seven year deal, but it'll be three years and a lot of money. So if if he only has a couple starts, so I firmly disagree with that, But you're right, I mean, what incentive do the Mets have to not throw him if he's going to opt out and probably

So, I don't know.

I think this is it would be different if he was in Colorado, I'll say, or Arizona or any other team.

You know that that's not the Mets that just print money.

So with Cohen there, so I'll say, you're probably right, but I don't think it's it's as necessary, you know, for this club as it would be front of the clubs.

I agree with the sentiment he'll still get paid by somebody. So, but we're talking about the potential best pitcher in baseball. And if he makes twenty starts as opposed to eight this year, I think that makes a huge skip him.

He ain't getting the twenty starts anyway. And fifteen, that's like if if I think best case scenario is around fifteen, because he'll get.

Scared a quarter away the season now maybe all Star break. Yeah, maybe you get fifteen, seventeen somewhere around that skipped.

Let me get pushed.

He'll you know, miss a start here and there. So I think fifteen is what you're looking for for him, and hopefully you're in the playoffs and he's fine.

By that.

All right, let's move on to another piece here.

Fun fact, this is why I think Welsh had to finally beg off this show, because two qualifying hitters have a I think everags below one hundred over the last two weeks below one hundred. One of them is the Oscar Nanez, hitting zero eight nine point zero eight nine. The other is Byron Buckson hitting point zero nine to eight in. This stat comes courtesy of the ball of sunshine,

Yeah, well, I mean I'm Byron. I'm buying Ti Oscar, not buying Byron. Byron Buckson is still going to cost you a bunch of money for what he did in the first month of the season, so he's the cost is going to be still very very high. U Ti Oscar got hurt and looks like he's still playing hurt, so I would probably buy I would probably buy both of them if they're cheap. I just assume that you're gonna get Ti Oscar cheaper. But they're both playing hurt

I think that's an excellent assessment.

I agree with that that I don't think you're gonna get bucks In cheap enough.

I think you might get Ti.

Oscar because of the injury on top of it compounding, you know, And and it's still I don't think people look at those two players the same. But the Oscar last year was great. I mean, it's it's there's a lot of guys who have come out of the gates super slow. I mean, Marcus Simey and I just keep that's another player too. It's like, guys, he's just not this bad. I mean, something's gonna give there eventually, and if you just hang in there long enough or go acquire it, I think it's.

And they haven't even moved.

They haven't even moved Simmy and down in the lineup yet either.

Why what for?

Who? For?

Who?

What are you gonna do?

Like Brad Mill, you know, I mean, it's just anybody anyone that's hitting my way, Keating Cavilia, maybe we can get him.

I mean, come on, well, Texas.

Rangers of old he started to you know, yeah, maybe Jeff Fry can come over and hit at the top of the order. Here's a trivia question for the day. The record for most home runs in a seven game span is ten. It was accomplished by three players, ten home runs in seven games. Who was the last to do it? Or if you want, you could also say some of the players that might have done it. Fun fact, one of these players was an answer to a trivia question earlier in the week.

So there you have it.

So if you think you know the answer, you can go reply in the chat. But you can't talk in the chat unless you're a subscriber. So haha, jokes on you. Let's go to this day in baseball history. Yesterday was the day that jose Kenzeko hit a ball hit off his head and go over the wall. This was a day in nineteen ninety three where Dale Murphy called it a career just two home runs shy of four hundred.

I don't remember Dale Murphy that much show, to be honest with you, I just you know that's ye're like whatever, four or five years older than me. So my memories really kicking around ninety six, ninety seven, you know, so he obviously retired a little but before that. So I just don't remember him enough to have a strong opinion about Dale Murphy.

That's when my beard kicked in around ninety six.

Is that right? Is that when the yes there on top moved down to the face. Is that what it was?

That's what it is.

Yeah, it slowly started to infiltrate and say run away, run away.

Mark is right. The Hebrew hammer is the answer.

Jean Green was the last guy to do it in two thousand and two, but Cleveland's Albert Bell did it in ninety five, and Washington's Frank Howard did it in nineteen sixty eight.

That far back, I was gonna guess like JD. Martinez because he had feign a game. So to Josh Hamilton had four in a game, so as and then Sosa and Maguire. I was gonna throw in there obviously, you know, maybe bonds. So I'm surprised it's none of those guys.

It's very surprising. Stat heroes.

Aaron Nola ten strikeouts, eight innings pitched, Frankie Montas seven scoreless with eleven k's even Smeltzer, whoever Smeltzer Deltzer six k's no earned seven inchs pitch. Nester Cortes, Holy crap, yeah, Nester Cortes eight, one run, five k's one walk, unreal.

I mean they scored twenty run yesterday, so you could you could have just put anyone not named Joey Vodo put the Reds lineup in here and they would have been fine.

Last night, my kids that I caught up a the finale Survivor and then when we click back over, it flashed like the scores of the games because the MLB Network was on and there it was.

It was like fifteen.

Yeah, that was the only day game yesterday. So I had it on and I watched a bunch.

I didn't even realize it.

Albert ol Moore three for five, Goldschmid continues to have a fantastic May with another home run, and Mookie Betts three for five. Here are the zeros. Dallas Kykeel, can we please get Dallas Kykele out of rotation enough? Kelly pick up Johnny Cquato everywhere and look good for him. I mean he doesn't need to pitch, yeah, but still, Dallas Kickeele two innings, six earned, it's over, Johnny Quato replaces him.

He's just still just go be with Kelly Nash every day. What are you thinking retire? I mean I would have retired immediately. What are you thinking?

Well, look, I mean he's got the contract, so he's gonna just a yeah, you're right, I guess the contract.

So I mean, you know he signed the contract.

I don't know when he signed the pre dub, but like you know, you got to make sure the Yeah, you at least finish out one of those contracts. Harberto Castellanos six inning, excuse me, four inning, six earned runs, Michael Waka nice, five earned runs. You can always count on Michael Waka. I was one of the stacks yesterday we went and attacked him. Alec boom over four to three ks, same for Joey Gallo, Kevin Bizio four with

And Ozi Albi's too. There's another guy.

I feel like Ozzie Albi's could be a dude that you could buy low on as well.

You Agreebox, Yeah, for sure. If you can get him low. I just don't.

He's not gonna be as cheap as these other guys, but I would be for sure buying low on Ozzie Albi's.

All right now, Look, the home run board did not change. No change to the home run board yesterday, So still the ni King of the North, thank goodness. Larry c at thirteen plus three others doesn't include Mike Mayer's name, So even if he has thirteen, we're not gonna say Mike Mayer and three others. It's just not what we're gonna do. However, as a group, we crossed nine hundred home runs. Very nice, very nice Memorial Day. I'm sure

So plenty of time to make home run calls.

Join our Discord chat today and it's free to join Discord. At Fantasy Pros, you can do stages with me and Bogs if you're a premium member, you can make it run calls if you're a premium member of Fantasy Pros and use our tools to manage all your leagues because it makes life super simple.

Also, what else is fun is bettingpros dot com. And that's a reminder.

Bet mgm the King of sportsbook special offer ten dollars win two hundred when you wager with the promo code leading off. Sign up today and download the bet mgm app and go to betmgm dot com. If you don't have a smartphone, But if you don't have a smartphone, I don't know. I mean you have a flip phone like my mom has, probably and my mom watches the show and actually, you know what.

That's not true anymore.

My mother last year did get a smartphone, So mom, nice job, well done, Mom. She's in the twenty first century.

Wait, miss piece of pa. No way to be that's right, no more.

She said she liked the clamshell because she felt like, you know, that's what the movie stars have because they don't need to be bogged down.

With social One of the biggest mistakes of my life was teaching my mom how to text.

So you know, I don't think.

Do you get the text from your mom.

Ever, that's just one of one, with nothing where she sends the text before she actually writes something.

Am I a person in his late thirties early forties, Yes, of course I do. Okay, Yeah, I get those all the time.

If anybody else gets those texts, please by all means, and I'll get I can feel as soon as the show is over today if she was watching, that phone is going to ring. In fact, I just got a text right now. Is it one of one? No, it's not one of one.

Let's get to.

Some more betting prosier Shane Bieber on bet MGM six and a half is the O runer in the case let's take the over against Detroit. Please the juice is positive due plus one fifteen.

What go?

Just do this now?

Just pause the show, do it now, Aaron Judge one and a half total bases plus one fifteen over on DK. On DK, you also get Jose Altuve at plus one oh five on the one and a half. Let's go to the starting pitchers tonight. On DraftKings, You've got Garrett Witlock at six point eight. He's a very cheap option as a secondary arm allows you to go get Biebert nine k or Verlander at ten point five. If Choyotani is out of the lineup, I like Alec Manoa Moore. If he is, I like Alec Manoa anyway, and.

By the way, in many ways I like him more like more his.

Line is five and a half and the Angels strikeout at the third highest clip.

It's true major League Baseball.

So I like his uh over strikeout total for tonight as well.

You've also got an interesting uh you know, Jose Kintana's pitch very well, and he's going to again Sean Manayah.

All the money and all this stuff's gonna be on Manayah.

But there's upset potential there because the one good picture of the Pirates really.

You've got to have.

You got Jose Who do you have, Roster More, Martin Perez, Jose Kintana, Joe I have. I like, literally have Jose kN That was my choice last week it was Kinana or Martin Morez.

I was like, I was like, I can't do Martine Perez. I don't know.

I just I can't do it, I think because I've done it before and it's just been I just want to shoot myself.

Yeah, but I was always I was always such.

A No one's ever said that about a Jose Cantana before, So you're safe.

No, but I loved but.

I had a lot of Jose Kintana shares back in the day, for you know, like when he was good with the White Sox, and I guess I just can't shake that, you know. I live in the member berries Fandel standalone pitcher. Shane Bieber's just eight point six. He's gonna be rostered everywhere. Best Shane Bieber lineup wins on

Also in the daily lineup setting and fantasy.

Gene sigerra seven for sixteen four point thirty eight average with three home in a double versus Carlos Carrasco. So pretty good track record there, My boy could tell Marte five for thirteen, three eighty five average, three doubles versus Tony Consolin Scope the shout out to Mayor Scope six for twenty three hundred average homer and two doubles for Shane Bieber, Asusaguelier five for fourteen with a bomb in a double against Ian Anderson, who has not been great

There you go, so excellent numbers there. All right, it's time for the weekend home run call.

I'm gonna go with Jordan Alvarez starting with tonight because I believe he's facing Chris Flexen, and Chris Flexen's a home run machine, so that's what I'm looking for, and I'm so close to double digits now. It's been a really good May. It was a silent April. I started out, you know, in very wit Maryfield ish fashion. But I'm getting red hot right now, so let's go. It's been a good man. I want to close out strong this

Boggs Man.

Any time I get a chance to take Goldie, I'm gonna take Golding super hot right now, So let's go.

Goldie hit another bomb.

He's so hot right now. It's like Handsel Mike Mayor taking Vlad Guerrero Junior. So there you have it. So excellent stuff going on there. And look, you know it's gonna be a fun weekend of baseball, like I said, and try to focus on the positive things. I know is a lot of negative things, and hopefully this show is a place for you to feel positive. But don't feel helpless either. And I just want to point this

Have gone on.

And like I said, I know I didn't address it earlier this week, wanted to take some more time here. But you know, it's about evolution and it's about change. It's not about taking people's rights away. It's about reevaluating what we can do to be a better society as a whole.

And I think at the end.

Of the day, when we all come together is when this country's at its best. And you know, people think this country is broken in a lot of ways, and I can understand.

Where they're coming from. Lucky for them.

I like broken things and I like to fix stuff, so hopefully you do too, and let's let's get on board with all of that. So I love our little community here over at Fantasy Pros and I'm very grateful for all of you that you take time out of your schedule, your daily life to come here and be here with us. I hope you enjoyed the baseball, we give you today. I hope you enjoy a little bit of hope we give you today, and hope you enjoy

We'll see you next time. Kids, than the

Thing That