Hello, everybody, Welcome into the cycle. I am Ryan Warmley, joined as always by Mike Meyer. It is a couple of days before the All Star Break, a couple of days before the MLB.
Draft for the home run derby. We're going to talk about that a bit later, before the actual All.
Star Game and before we have a little respite from baseball, so we are.
We were kind of joking before the show.
It's not quite like senior itis of like, hey, we're almost out of here, but maybe a little bit of a shorter show here as there's just frankly less to look forward to next week because it's the fun exhibition stuff and also the very sad, very boring couple of days out of the year where there's no sports on, which is always not super fun. How you feeling heading
into the All Star Break? I mean we're past the technical halfway point of the season, but kind of the unofficial halfway points still, least in terms of how a lot of people.
Think about it. How are you feeling heading into the break?
I'm feeling good. I'm looking for I always kind of like look forward to the All Star Game and the Horme Run Derby, not because I like them, but because I kind of like taking a few days off is such a marathon that I kind of like just kind of catching my breath in the middle of the season, especially as like you know, the football is like starting to creep into your mind, and baseball, like, you know,
we're on month what April, May, June. We're on our fourth month here, and we still have a long way to go, and so it's like it's always a nice little break. Even if I'm not particularly fond of the All Star Game right now.
I mean, it's really really feels like the fifth month, because like March is kind of a marathon in itself in terms of fantasy baseball coverage and spring training and getting ready for the season.
So fantasy draft, yeah, I'm totally yep drafts.
I'm totally with you. I'm a big fan of the Home Run Derby. It was always very fun for me. You have friends come over like that one was I never really cared about the All Star Game itself growing up, but the Home Run Derby it was like not like important to me, but like I really enjoyed it.
It was it was a very fun night. I'm not sure how I feel about the kind of ever rules changes we have for this year. We'll talk about that later on in rounding the bases.
Just a quick note for everyone that if you like this content, the best way to show your support and encourage more content like this is to leave a positive review at fantasypros dot com slash MLB review.
Let's jump right in here.
The first topic you wanted to hit on this week Drew Thorpe and Tobias Myers kind of checking in, you know, and how they've been doing well.
This is gonna tie.
Into a listener question that I got, you know, from one of our regular listeners earlier this week, so we'll get to that kind of in the second half of this. But what was kind of your your angle with this, just kind of checking and seeing on the fact that they've been pitching well.
Yeah, so kind of wanted to talk about them a little bit for two different reasons. One, you know, Drew Thorpe is a pretty hyped prospect and you know, the only drawback to him is that he's on the White Sox. He's on just the worst team in the world. And Tobias Myers not necessarily as much like Pedigree. I actually one of the shows you missed. I remember it was like when he was first getting called up, and I actually joked with whoever was on at the time. I
think it may have been Tuma. I can't remember if it was Tuma or Kelly, but it was one of
those two. And when we were picking their two star pitcher for the week, I was like, Tobias Myers is available if you want it, if you want to take him, like for worm, just like expecting him to come up and struggle because he doesn't have the most sterling record in the miners, but I have sense picked him up and dropped him like four or five times, especially because he's had a couple two start weeks in there and he's quietly pitched pretty well, like not dominant, but like
pretty solid numbers, and I'm just going to kind of get your opinion and see if if you have any interest the rest of season. And then Drew Thorpe been a little up and down, not a ton of strikeouts, but also just like looks like a major league pitcher at twenty three years old, not on the best team, expected numbers like not as good. But he's another person I picked up recently in a league where I had a bunch of pitching injuries, and I'm just kind of
streaming him for now. And it happens to be a league where there's there's some keeper aspects there, and so maybe we'll see how the second half goes. Maybe you know, he's a young keeper pitcher I can have on my team.
I like the idea of Thorpe who I'll start with at, you know, in terms of like a keeper or a dynasty format more obviously given the prospect pedigree he was thirty seventh on MLB pipeline.
Coming into this season, you know, a good picture.
It's I'm really curious to see what's gonna happen with the strikeouts, because he was a strikeout pitcher in you know, the Miners. He led the miners in strikeouts in twenty twenty three, and he is not doing the same thing so far the Biders, and I know to step up in competition, but only nineteen strikeouts in thirty two and
two thirds innings. It's pretty stark, especially in fantasy, like even setting aside, you know what he's doing for the White Sox like that's kind of a tough pill to swallow. Ev as a fantasy manager, you know, he's He's only started six games three poin fifty eight ERA one.
Or four way up. Like, I think he's a good pitcher.
The situation is not going to get better this year for sure, and I think my interest in him is solely determined upon my confidence in whether or not the strikeouts will come. Because I know he has a three to one record through six starts. I don't expect him to win a lot of games with Chicago, obviously, especially if they sell off even more, you know, as we
get to the trade deadline. I think he'll be He'll give you a DC ERA and you know, ratios, and he'll give it a decent whip, but without strikeouts and with what I expect to be without wins, I think it's tough.
The listener question that I.
Alluded to was if I was on team Drew Thorpe or team Christian Scott. I'm curious your opinion on that as well. Like personally, I would say Scott, I know he hasn't lit the world on fire. His ERA is like a half front higher than Thorpe's, his whips about the same. He's also not even striking out a batter
per inning. I was really one over about Christian Scott from our conversation with Tuma earlier in the season on the show, I was on with him, so I picked him up in a lot of places, and I've been holding on to him even through getting sent back.
Out of the minors. I don't know what his role in the.
Rotation is even going to be in the second half, but just in terms of like if they're both up in the big leagues and starting, I prefer Christian Scott to be on my roster for this season at least.
He's a couple of years older than Thorpe as well.
Before we get to Myers, I'm curious what you think about that comparison between Thorpe and Scott.
Yeah, I think if we're talking like dynasty or long term, I think it's a different question. I think this year it's it's Christian Scott, no brainer, as long as he stays up. And like you said, you know, Tuma is someone who's really bullish on christ and Scott, and I've known Tuma long enough to know that, Like, if he's bullish on a prospect, I need to pay attention. Sometimes he's a little early on prospects, but like over time, his takes are usually like kind of spot on, he
knows what he's talking about. With a lot of these up and comers, even someone like Mackenzie Gore who was kind of like up and down, he was bullish on him for a long time, even when he was like struggling, and now we've kind of seen him turn the corner, even though it's not as consistent as we want it to be. A real quick note on the Thorpe strikeouts, I do think you're going to see some improvement there because it's kind of just been like two starts that
are that are dragging that down. Because when he first when it first came up, he went five innings, four strikeouts, and then his second start he kind of got lit up three and the third seven earn runs, zero strikeouts, and then after that it was like six innings, five strikeouts, six innings, four strikeouts, six innings six and third five
strike outs. And then this last start, which a good one quality start, six innings, turn runs, but only one strikeout, and so almost like on his other starts, it's almost a strike up ranning. It's really just those two starts kind of dragging it down. And so I think as he adjusts. You'll see that point.
Yeah, it's it's a good point.
I mean, it is important to remember we're talking about a small samples syze, right, So on the one hand, it's like, okay, one out of every three starts, he's not striking anybody out. But on the other hand, it's been six starts.
Yeah, but I do I do like Christian Scott more than him, especially if you look at just kind of like the last year of Christian Scott, like you see, like he made it up to hig A dominated, he made it up to Double A dominated, he made it up to Triple A dominated, and so now he's kind of, you know, he's still only he's twenty five years old, but like he he hasn't been a professional pitcher like in in you know, in professional baseball, like you know, he's someone who hasn't been in the major in the
minor leagues for a long time, and so he's still like this is his first taste in the majors, and he's kind of like not been given the most consistent role with the Mets, where they could have probably been a little bit better with how they promoted him. And so I think you'll see him kind of write the ship as long as they continue to give him consistent opportunities.
I wonder how much because he has not had as many professional innings as Thorpe, even though Thorpe is younger, like Christian Scott is somebody who I don't I believe he has not topped ninety innings in the season.
Even including like going into the minors.
I might be misremembering that, whereas Drew Thorpe through I think it was like one hundred and forty innings last year, you know, at the minor league level, so it's different. But like you know, even with the White Sox being young and having no incentive to like kind of push their young arms further than I need to go, like, you would think there's plenty of runway here for Drew Thorpe this season where and also who else is going to be in that rotation, you know, especially if like
Krische is pitching less or traded. So you know, I think Thorpe likely has the more secure role based on what we've seen to date. I would love to see them both have secure roles in the second half and
kind of see what happens there, like I do. I do, like Christian Scott a slight bit better for this season, but I think it's a good It's a good question to be asked, and to the point of the question being asked on MLB pipelines like updated Top one hundred, Drew Thorpe thirty seventh prospect in baseball, Christian Scott thirty eighth, So that's just one ranking, but literally back to back.
In that one.
So I think Dynasty, I want Thorpe over over Christian Scott.
Personally, I agree Dynasty. I totally agree.
I don't think it's a massive gap, but I definitely I mean, he's two years younger. Let alone, you know the track record, and you know the White Sox aren't going to be rubbish forever at least we think as far as Myers goes like obviously doesn't quite have the same like, you know, level of pedigree. He's drafted back in twenty sixteen by by Baltimore Orioles, so he's been kind of like a miner's name that I've been like aware of for a while, never particularly like excited about.
He's got a three thirteen ERA this season, though at sixty two strikeouts and seventy two innings, also under a strike at an inning.
His whip is.
One point one three six and three record, you know, on a better team, better opportunity for wins than the White Sox, which could be said of anybody on any team other than the White Sox.
But yeah, like, like I don't he's not something that I really roster in a lot of places.
Like he's somebody that I have been hesitant to be like gung ho about and just have been beaten to the punch by other people who were kind of willing to make that pick up earlier and say they think, you know, it's legit. He's obviously coming off just two days ago a terrific start, you know, eight innings, four hits, no runs, six strikeouts. That was against the Pirates. I believe that that was the best start of the season. Right I'm looking at this game, I'm like, not forgetting it.
I would imagine again, I would imagine.
So yeah, so like seemingly getting better as the season has gone on, obviously, right, like, particularly in June was his best month. And now you know he gave a four and runs and his other start in July, but one of the two July starts very strong. So yeah, I mean, I think he's certainly worth like rostering. Like I said, I was kind of beating to the punch in a lot of areas, and I don't have him rostered.
He's somebody that like I wouldn't be like.
Going out to like aggressively trade for or anything like that. I'm not giving up the farm to go at him and think he's some future ace or anything. But like I think he's a perfectly cromulent fantasy starting fish.
I'm glad you're working that word into your vocabulary. And now it looks like he had one other star where he went eight innings, one hit, three walks by strikeouts, like another eight inning game it was against takers, and his worst start recently was at course Field, which you can kind of give him a pass for that.
Good point.
I think, I agree. I don't think he's someone like that. You have him, yeah, you don't think you like need to roster him rest of season. But he's someone who I'm just kind of like streaming and riding for a little while. Like even I just picked him up and again in another league where I need pitching volume, and I wanted him for a two start week and a lot of those times, I'm just turning that roster spot.
This time, I picked him up for the two start week, and then I just moved him to my bench for a week, Like I didn't want to drop him, but let me just let me just leave him on the mention. Of course I missed, you know, one of his best starts ever, I missed the starting inspireds.
Yeah, I think that's kind of a fine approach to him as of right now. We'll see what happens in the second half. Let's get to our next topic here. It's a quick one. Just Zach Wheeler, you know, came out of the game after excuse me, five innings and
seventy something pitch is thrown. So I wasn't watching the game, but I have him in like my kind of most important Dynasty League, So I was keeping an eye on the stats, and I was wondering why he was taken out of the game, and was obviously nervous about an injury, and then saw after the game that, yeah, he had back tightness. They did do an MRI, came back negative.
They weren't sure at first if he was even going to miss a start, but then they did determine yesterday that he would not make his start, so he's no longer a two star pitcher this week, and they're gonna rest huntil after the All Star break. So again, the MRI did come back negative, which is obviously a good sign. They're not talking about it as like some severe issue.
The All Star break is well timed for this. I don't know if they're gonna start off to second, you know, the second half after the All Star break with him atop the rotation, or if they maybe give him even a couple of extra days beyond that as they get.
Into the turns of the rotation. So it remains to be seen.
It's definitely something worth paying attention to because he was in that conversation last week as there's basically four true aces and he's.
One of them.
And so when a guy like that gets pulled from a game early and is missing a start, it's worth talking about.
Yeah, and it doesn't I think the All Star game timing is is kind of key here. I think that probably played end of their decision just to give him a break, because like they're de facto putting them on the injured list without having to put him on the injured list by just you know, skipping a start, then you get the All Star break. Then, like you said, maybe you don't even start him right out of the gate. Maybe you you know, pitch him third, fourth, fifth, coming
out of the gate. You've essentially given him, you know, a full two weeks off.
This might be a tom question. I probably should know the answer if he was on. If they put him on like the IL would the All Star break, days they would count towards the number of days he has to stay on the IL.
Right.
I feel like if you didn't ask me this on air, I would know the answer. But since we're on air, I think it's just days in baseball, it's not games, So I think it's fine.
Yeah, I mean, I mean that's right.
I just didn't know if the All Star Break was different because there's no games going on.
I think it's just days.
But I don't. I don't see why it would be.
The reason, and I asked is to say, like, well, why not just put him on the IL then and get another player on the roster if he's not going to pitch for that number of days.
Anyway, it's good.
It's a fair question. You have to ask them.
Yeah, I'll just go ahead and call them up anyways, it's more just somebody to keep an eye on. He again, he is missing the start this weekend, so that's not nothing. It's gonna hurt me in my in my league with him where I had him as a two star pitcher.
But hopefully it's nothing.
And we get to next weekend and he's looking like the Ace that we know.
He can be. All right.
Next topic here, speaking of aces, I wanted to ask you did we mess up not including Justin Steele in last week's conversation about Aces? For those who might have missed last week's episode, we kind of checked in on who are the actual fantasy aces, not the top twelve guys that are technically sp ones, but who are the
true fantasy aces? And unsurprisingly, perhaps we lean there's just four of them, and we threw out a couple of names, and obviously the four Corbyn Burns, Zach Wheeler, Tarik Skuball and Tyler Glass Now and we threw out a couple of names as just quick like who could be in this category in the second half the season, We talked about Garrett Cole obviously health permitting, you know, Paul Skean's innings, permitting has as good a case as anybody right now,
and I'm wondering if maybe we should have been talking about Justin Steele as well. He has been fantastic ever since when he came back. So you know, he made it start on March twenty eighth, then he was on il till May sixth, so.
We missed all of April.
In those first four starts, he went four and two thirds only give up, you know, give up zero runs, but didn't complete five innings. He went four innings, give up six runs, five and two thirds gave up four runs, six and a third gave up five runs. Since then, so since May twenty seventh, which was his next start, after those first four back where he was really iffy, he has been fantastic. He's made nine starts in that stretch, sixty one innings, fifty eight strikeouts.
A one forty eight er.
He's just like not giving up runs and it's been consistent. It's not carried by just a couple of good outings. He has not given up more than three earned runs in any of those starts. Every one of those except for one, has been a quality start, and the one that wasn't a quality start, he only gave up one run in five innings.
He had you know, the complete game.
His last time out, he just shut down the Orioles in Baltimore over seven innings. And you know, the strikeouts are less than a strike up per inning, but not by a whole lot, you know, in that stretch, and even including his tough stretch early on, his ERA is two to seventy one. You know, his whip is zero point nine to five. Again, he's just under a strikeout per inning. And I saw a note and I should
have written it down, and I didn't. I saw a note from somebody on Twitter just yesterday that in the last two years, meaning like since July twelve, twenty twenty two, so exactly the last two years, he has the lowes CRA of anybody in baseball by like a decent amount.
So I just think he's been really good.
And I know the strikeouts aren't that upper echelonn elite level, but I think they're good enough that if you're pairing it with ratios like this, and you know, durability like this, like the innings pitched he's giving, you know, game in and game out.
I don't know where he should be ranked.
I'm not saying he's in that you know, Mount rushmore of pitchers right now and that clear top four, But I think I think we might have made a mistake not mentioning him at least as somebody who was pitching really, really well and could be an ace in the second half of the season.
Well, first off, I never make mistakes, So how dare you suggest even the possibility that I made a mistake last week? Do you know the best thing about Justin.
Steel that he's a Fantasy pros fan.
Fantasy Pro subscriber, that's right, subscriber. Yes, yeah, Welsh got to meet him out, We got to hook him up.
We got to hook him up with a free subscription. There there's no and he that a guy like him should be paying.
He's been doing even during the season. He's been doing like late night mock drafts with Debro too. Like I forget who who they're talking to, but they're doing like video calls and mock draft and like doing or maybe it's not even mock draft.
Debro is his guy.
That's his his favorite of the group here, which I don't take personally.
There's got to be one out there.
When Welch was telling us that that Justin Steele is this big fantasy for his fantas subscriber, I didn't expect because he was like and he is one guy who's his favorite. I didn't expect it to me, but I was hoping it was because my like, longtime best friend in the whole world is a massive, diehard Cubs fan, Like I was with him for Game seven, watched him cry, and it would have been so cool if I could tell him that the best picture on his favorite team is a fan of me who is not a Cubs fan.
But sadly it was Debro, which is a lot more understandable than if it was me.
But yes, that is the best thing about Justin Steele. So yeah, Justin Steele.
Definitely, we're big fans of his because he's a fan of ours, so we appreciate it. But to the question, I mean, where are you ranking him rest of season, like, and do you think he belongs not in the conversation of the true aces, but of the guys who could maybe pick pitch something close to a true race, a facsimile of a true race in the second half of the season.
Yeah, I'll pull up my rankings to see where I'm going to put him. I think the only real difference between him and like some of those other guys is he he doesn't have like that dominant fastball, like when you think of like a Paul Skins, or you think of like a Zach Wheeler, or even like our Corbyn Burns. He doesn't have quite that fastball. He's more of like an old not like old school, old school, but like he's more of like a pitcher than a thrower. But
I mean there's a lot of value in that. And right now I have him like in the teens, I probably need to move him up. I'll move him up right now. I'll put him at like a maybe I'll put him at ten SP ten rest of the rest of the year, maybe behind some guys Like I have him neck and neck with Dylan Ce's. I think he's a better pitcher than Dylan SE's, but Dylan SE's is probably gonna get a more strikeout. But I think you can make the argument that he's even even more valuable
in fantasy than until it ceased. But yeah, I'm a big fan of his. You know, he's good metrics, he doesn't have that same fastball, doesn't have the same exact swing and miss stuff. But he's also now once he's healthy, it doesn't seem like he's ever going to really hurt you either, Like he's just an auto star you're gonna go out there. I don't want to say like a late bloomer because he was twenty five when he when he kind of like first came up and was solid and then it took a year or two and then
he kind of broke out. But I mean he did spend eight years in the minor leagues. Like he he went into the miners an eighteen year old and then didn't debut until, you know, he was twenty five, and so he spent a long time in there.
Not that there's like an twenty nine only twenty nine now.
He just turned twenty nine yesterday, so it's not like he's you know, in his thirties yet or anything. Yeah, maybe like a later bloomer than like an elite prospect or something. But yeah, no, I'm a huge chance of steel and I'd be really happy if I had him on my team's and he's somebody that I would I would classify as like a bye high, Like if somebody has him and thinks that they're selling high.
I'll buy. I mean, I'm not going to overpay.
But I'd spend onne on Justin Steele. I think he's going to be really good in the second half of the season, and I have him in a couple of spots.
I wish I had him in more.
Yeah, I have him in that auction league that we always refer back to. I drafted him last year before you know the Uber breakout for a dollar, which was really cheap, and so I was able to then keep him this year for a dollar, and then going into next year, I'm we'd have to decide, like, don't want to keep him one more year at a dollar and then cut him, lose or extend him for a year which would only be like six bucks, and then two years, which which really would be three years, would be ten bucks.
But I mean, even like I had pretty good value.
I had to decide this last off season if I was going to keep Justin Steele with I think it was like the twentieth round pick or something or year per as with the final pick in the draft, and I was like, well, I gotta go upside with Yuri and I'll have him for his whole career and you know, such value, and I wish I do have Steel in that league. I did draft him again, but not at the same great value.
So I don't like the draft pick keeper value. I don't like that setup.
Why.
I don't know, It's just like I feel like it makes it for like a really messy draft. I'd much rather just have like dollar amounts and then everyone you know, like it is.
That league is great because I have because I have been very good with some of these prospects. I have an extremely cheap gunner Henderson, He's like he's like the twenty seventh rounder. Bobby wit Junior is like a twenty fifth rounder, Raphael Devers is like a twenty third rounder. Juan Soto is like a twenty fourth rounder.
Rounds work? How do they go up? Like, what's what's the penalty for going forward?
It goes up one round every year.
Get all those guys I got when they were But you only keep It's not like you keep like twelve players or anything.
You just keep five.
So I have I have four mega elite keepers. And then also Uri Perez, I will not be keeping him next year. Maybe I'll keep steal even at whatever whatever around I got him in this year. All right, let's talk about the All Star Game. It was announced earlier today that Paul Skeens will be starting as a rookie who's made you know, not that many starts as.
A rookie with an innings limit, Like it's gonna fire a couple off in the All Star Game.
He's the most fun pitcher to watch in baseball right now. I mean, he's he's must see TV.
I think it's very smart by Major League Baseball to do this. I think it will actually bring in fans who are, like, I want to see Paul Skeans go up against the example everybody's using is like Gunner Henderson, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge. It would not surprise me if that is the starting you know, the first three in the American League lineup.
And yeah, that sounds super fun to me. Is watching Paul Skeins against the guys he.
Like may very well be just just be like the best pitcher in baseball already and in fact, like I might make, I might make that argument, it might not even be like a hypothetical, like just watching him his electric He obviously had his seven no hit innings that he came out after throwing ninety nine pitches.
Earlier this week another outrage.
I just think he's like a stud and like every as long as he's healthy, Like I.
Don't know who's who's better than him.
I think that's fair, Like, and that goes back to what we were saying about Justin Steel, like Paul Skins does have the dominant fastball. That's he has like dominant dominant stuff. Like even he's the kind of guy where even if he comes out like like if Justin Steele comes out and like you know, like the whole his the old school term of like you know, he doesn't like he doesn't have it that day, Like he just has to kind of bulldog through his start, his way
through a start. Justin Steele can do that, he can still pitch around it, but it's gonna be harder for someone like Justin Steel if he doesn't have one of his feel for one of his pitches, it's gonna it's gonna be harder for him to kind of like pitch
around that. Volts Kains can just you know, reach back and throw one hundred miles an hour and just get through things that way and I've seen him do it this year, Like he had starts where he didn't have his best pitch and he's like, no, no problem, I'll just lean on my other elite pitches.
So yeah, can we get Justin steal a splinker?
That's what I'm asking.
Yeah, I uh, what do you think about the All Star Game in general? I mean we talked about a little bit at the top of the show. Is it something that you typically do kind of sit down and like to watch every inning of Do you like, is it fun for you to see players from your favorite team in there? Like for me, it's it's almost more fun just to see that they made the team. Like I care a little bit less about what my players actually quite frankly, like I would prefer Corbyn Burns didn't
pitch in it at all, like I'd rather. There was some talk about maybe bumping him up because he would have stayed on regular arrest to Tuesday this week and therefore getting a start on Sunday and not being able to pitch in the All Star Game. I would have supported that, like I'd much rather se him get a start again the Yankees this weekend than the honor of starting the All Star Game because it's just an exhibition
and it doesn't matter. It will be cool if he does, you know, do that, Like I'm not gonna not enjoy watching him in the All Star Game. But it's just not something I've cared that passionately about.
Yeah, I've given my hot take. I don't know if I've given it on air before, but I've given it to you. But I want them to go back to when the All Star Game mattered. I wanted to determine home field avantage again. I hate that it's an exhibition game.
I want it to matter. I think it was the best All Star game when that was a thing, and that I don't want to be like old man yells at cloud here, but like I liked him when there was like a little bit of rivalry like in the All Star Game and players cared, which I know, like with how contracts I've gone, We're just like never going to see that again in an exhibition game. Like these players are worth too much, they're too valuable. The risk of getting hurt is just not worth it in an
All Star game. But like, who was it years ago? Was it was it Pedro Martinez, Alex Rodriguez? Where he just like said, like I'm just gonna throw fastballs, like see if you can hit him. I forget if it was Pedro, if there was another picture, but it was like it was like a matchup like that. It was like, look, I'm only gonna throw fastballs, like you know, hit it if you can, and he struck him out. I want to say it was Pedro, but I don't remember if it was actually Pedro or not.
Some Pedro has had some iconic like All Star moments, like mowing down elite hitters. I don't remember if he did what you're describing. There are some play like Gunnar Henderson has a bit of Pete Rose in him, where he's just like insanely competitive, like we'll run you over.
Like Gunner is a psychopath on the field. Obviously, he hasn't played in the All Star Game before, so I'm really curious to see if he like is a psychopath during this game or if he is like you know, toning it down and not caring super a lot, because it doesn't matter. My thing is I think the All Star Game either account for home field advantage in the World Series or can have fans voting.
I don't think it can be both. I don't think you can have this like like you.
Know, popular vote or like it's not a true report, it's not truly the best team you can put on the field. Because the fans are involved, and that's fine, but you can't do both. You can't say, like, the fans are gonna have this say in what is ultimately a really meaningful thing in home field advantage in the World Series.
Like, I just don't think you can have both.
So either either keep it as is, or like have some committee to determine the all star you know, starters and you know, you know, the replacements and all that, and then it.
Can count for the World Series. But I don't think it.
Could be both. Why not to that, I say, why not?
Because the World Series matters and hopeful advantage matters. And you're like, like the fans could be just like, hey, we want to see like like if Kansas City had some great marketing campaign, it could be like, Okay, it's just the Royal starting lineup.
Why should they determine you know, home field advantage?
Why why should I don't know that like pans floating even matters. I don't know that they even account for it. I think I think they like count for it and then like at the final Taly, they just put it and whoever they want.
You think.
Sometimes I didn't understand why Clay Holmes was in over Craig Kimberl.
That one bothered me.
Yeah. Also, it looks like I found the story I was talking about. It wasn't Pedro, but it was a Red Sox picture. It was Kurt Chilling. But uh, I guess he was at with the Red Sox at the time. He must have been when the Diamondbacks when he did that, which makes sense Pedro wouldn't have faced a rout in the All Star Game. Yeah.
True, I didn't even think of that part of it. Yeah, it's funny.
Yeah, No, I mean it's fun I got I. I don't know that it needs to determine home field advantage, but you know you're allowed to hold that opinion. I don't hold it against you that you are going out on that limb. I guess what do you think about the homer on Derby. We're gonna talk about it more later. Instead of our two start pitcher competition, we're gonna have a Homer Derby draft.
So don't give me your thoughts.
On who thinks it's gonna win it, But just in general, like the rules changes, are you kind of on board or are you aware of the rules changes?
I'm aware, I wasn't really aware until you know, I schedule all of our content here at Fantasy Pros and Betting Pros, and I was setting up some betting content for it. And then last year we did like a first round matchups article because they were odds for that, and I was wondering why there were no odds for first round matchups this year. And then it turns out there are no first round matchups and so that's why. But that wasn't aware of it until then.
So that's my favorite part of the rules change. I like that it's everybody in the first round and then head to head after that.
I'm actually really on board with that setup. I'm really torn on the clock plus number of pitches combo.
Like I get why they went to the clock instead of just you have ten outs because people felt like it dragged, but like I also like felt like it kind of breathed right, like it was you're just kind of out there. You got to really take in these majestic home runs, and it made it crazy special, like when Josh Hamilton did his thing. They was special for
a number of reasons. When Hamilton had his moment in New York, but like seeing him hit like however many in a row, it was was awesome because you could take in the moment and I get the idea that like the clock made it fun at the end, is kind of like hitting these butterser beaters and stuff.
It was very.
Poorly enforced, Like it was people were always pitching when balls were still in the air when they weren't supposed to. We didn't get to see all these balls land and really.
Like appreciate the glory.
Of a home run, which is like the coolest thing
you can do. And then like there's still been special moments right like against some of these walk offs, like you know, some of these people who winning in their home stadiums, like Bryce Harper and DC like Todd Frasier comes to mind, like Adlee last year doing the switch hitter, like both sides stuff was like special, but like I kind of like I'm kind of torn, I guess, is what I'm saying, and I don't know that combining the two is the right decision.
I'm also a little confused.
Because it's like you only get forty pitches and three minutes or whatever, but you also can get extra outs, but if you if there's a time limit m and so it's like you get those extra outs if they're under the limit. Like I might have missed that kind of part of it, but it was a little confusing to me. Well, how do you feel about like the time versus number of pitches versus total outs.
So I'm mostly out on the on the timing of it, like for the reasons you said, I like it. It kind of like sped it up, and like you know, that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to like capture shorter attention spans. But I liked in the past where kind of had the feeling of like a real baseball game, where like there is no time limit, Like you can be down by nine runs in the ninth inning and win because there is no clock that that
can run out. Like if you can hit ten on runs with the before you get ten outs, you can still win in a situation like that. And so that part
I didn't really like. I think there's better ways to do it to still keep that like infinity feel to it like it can go on forever without like dragging it out, Like maybe you can't like take more than two pitches in a row or something like that, like because that was the old problems that you would just have guys take five pitches in a row, wait for the perfect one swing, take five pitches and just like
do that. That was that kind of got boring. But yeah, like there are times now where like they're pitching so fast where like the ball you know, a guy you know, cracks a ball and you don't even see it. They're just like you just like seeing the screen like, oh, that one went over the fence, Like we have to get to the next pitch now, and it's like, come on, I want to see the whole thing.
Yeah, I think what I would like is.
Ten outs like in the past, and maybe you say, like maybe it's like you once, maybe you say you get eight outs, and then after the eight outs, however long that takes, you get thirty seconds for as many as you want, because then it's like you kind of get that buzzer beating feel at the end, but for the most part you're getting to kind of take it all in the other thing, I would be interested in is like you get ten outs and you get like, let's say, like.
Eighty total pitches.
Like I think forty pitches is too small honestly for a round, Like I don't get why they went to that number, and maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I think that numbers too small.
I think something.
So it's like, so you can't just take indefinitely, like there is an upper limit, maybe you call it sixty pitches.
But it's also not like, hey, you're forced to swing at garbage if you get a bad pitch, right, Like I don't I don't like when too much of the this is put on the pitcher, Like I want this to be about the hitters, not about like, hey, of those forty pitches, twenty five of them, we're hit able, And so he only hit fifteen homers, you know, because he's not gonna eat it every time, Like I don't like that.
Yeah, that also kind of gives like an advantage to like the guy who has the best, most consistent pitcher, And it's like, I don't know, I don't know's there's always a.
Bit of an advantage with that, But no, I'm totally with you.
We're gonna do that draft at the end of the show, so stick around for that as we get there. We're also gonna skip waivers today just because it felt silly with We're coming up on several days off anyway, so we'll kind of reset with some of that stuff next week. We're likely gonna do sort of an overall second half preview next week and just kind of storylines.
We want to pay attention.
To expectations for the second half, guys who we think can be league winners in the second half, so be sure to check in next week.
Even with the also break, we will be doing a show.
It'll probably be a shorter show next week and like more of a higher level overview than kind of our usual specifics, But be on the lookout for that next week, probably on Friday of next week. But let's do some bi Loo sell high because you can still trade right now, so we'll kind of quickly go through these and then wrap up the show. I'm going to start off with my favorite by low is Bobby Miller, and this is
specifically in Dynasty leagues. We don't often do Dynasty specific picks, but I just wanted to highlight that I know he has really struggled this year. He was demoted to the minors because of his struggles this year, I wouldn't be going out and you know, aggressively stashing him in redraft, in dynasty formats, in keeper formats. I'm not really worried about Bobby Miller at all. He's only twenty five. He was very good last year. He still is in a
great organization for developing pitchers, a great organization for getting wins. Again, Like I am, I know it was has been bad this year. The stuff doesn't look particularly terrible to me. He's starting his fastball a lot more and it's getting kind of wrecked. So I hope that when he comes back. I mean, last year he threw it twenty eight point nine percent of the time. This year is for Seamer's forty three point five percent of the time. It's like
pretty significet jump. And like I said, it hasn't been a particularly effective pitch. I mean, hitters are batting two seventy off of it with a five twenty four slugging wOBA off That pitch is three eighty five expected woba's even higher. Like I'm you know, the the eggs of veloci off the pitches is ninety two point two miles per hours. Has not been a particularly strong pitch, so I would liked an he's throwing at a ton, so I would like to see that.
Come down a bit.
But by and large, I'm not worried about the stuff. I'm not worried about this scuffling this year. There's also been injuries involved this year in Dynasty. If you can buy low, I am very happy to do. So what do you think about Bobby Miller.
Yeah, I'm a big Bobby Miller fan. I was very high on him coming into this year. So it's been a pretty disappointing year. But like you said, the injuries have kind of been a factor there. It's it's pretty rare you can say that a guy his expected era is a full two runs lower than his RA and still be disappointed because that expected era is still above six. You got to be pretty bad for that for that to be the case. Yeah, for all the reasons you said,
I you know, I'm very bullish on Bobby Miller. Long term, I'm not sure what we're going to see this season, especially with the rumblings that like the Dodgers, despite all their pitching depth, they're kind of like sniffing around the trade market to find like more pitching, even with like
Bobby Miller still around, Clinton curs are coming back. The fact that they're still looking for for pitching, you know, it kind of tells me that, you know, maybe they're maybe they're considering this a lost year for Bobby Miller, and maybe that's the way to move the way to view it.
I mean, it may very well be, but you know, it's the cheapest you'll ever be able to acquire him in Dynasty, I believe. So, you know, I'm happy to Builow in any kind of keeper format.
Who's your favorite Bilo?
My favorite Bilo is Boba Schett, and it's it's a it's a somewhat. I wrote about this one in this week's Fantasy Baseball Players to Trade Now on the side our Bilow style high featured Pros article that we reference pretty much every week. And it's a little bit of a unique situation in that, like a lot of times we're talking about players that we're looking at for like
regression in one way or another. I don't have a whole lot of reasons to buy low on Boba Schett, Like there's not a whole lot in his data saying you should. It's just that he's Boba Schett, and I think he's better than this, and I think he not only can you buy low, he might be free right now. Like I'm in a couple of leagues where he's been dropped, one of them with a keeper ramification. So someone dropped him in a keeper league, and it's not the league. If I pick him up in this league, I can't
keep him. You have to draft, you know, players that you keep, you can't keep free agents. But I already have a waiverclaim in for him because there is a chance that he just you know, is better in the second half. And what I wrote, like in the article is that, like I don't have a ton of metrics for you to say like this, this is coming on. He's expected batting average is forty points higher, Like he's
batting two twenty one. He's expected about two sixty. That's a little bit closer to his career average of two ninety, which you know last year he bat at three. And sometimes when I know I wrote this in the article, sometimes like this, All Star break can just kind of do magical things. Like you you see players who just have incredible first halfs, get to the All Star break and they're just not that player in the second half anymore. And you see the opposite players who have pretty lousy
first halfs. They just get that week off, they reset, they recollect themselves, and then they come back and they're just much better in the second half. I don't know if it's gonna happen for Bobashet, but he's almost free right now. And if I can get a short stop, and granted short stop is a pretty like a deeper position this year, but like, if I can get a middle infield or a shortstop who's gonna hit close to three hundred the rest of the way with a little
bit of power, a little bit of speed. He has been running more than usual, you know, not a ton, but he's got five stone bases this year, but he only stole five all of last year. But if I can get someone like Bobashet from my middle dfield spot or my utility spot, or even just someone I can you know, stream when when they have a bunch of games against good matchups, Like he's almost free right now, So that's why I'm buying a lot.
I think it's a great call. My favorite cell high is Reese Hines. Obviously, his start to his career has been super fun. He's eight eight for sixteen excuse me, padding five hundred. He has two home runs, two stolen bases in those sixteen played appearances here to start his career. You know, it's funny to look at because it obviously doesn't really matter this few games into his career, but extremely red on stat cast. Everything is about as max
out as you'll possibly see four games in. I think it's four games, whatever it is, you know, it's not a lot, And I just think that it's an opportunity to say, like, if somebody just wants the next big thing, it's also the rare prospect this year who's been really good right off the bat. We've had so many like elite prospects that have struggled this season to make the leap that, like seeing somebody do really well is probably
pretty intoxicating. The power is prodigious, you know, like when he hits a home run, he hits a home run. So it's fun to watch, and that I think, in my experience, tends to make it a little easier to trade away guys, because you know, people are so intoxicated by the power, and he does have speed as well. He's clearly not gonna hit five hundred. He's not gonna have two homers and two steals every sixteen played appearances.
I just think it's an opportunity to say, like, listen, he's kind of the hot thing right now in this awesome start, and people like they want to get in early on the next big thing. So if you can get a much more proven asset from a guy who was only the Reds fifteenth ranked prospect this season by MLB Pipeline, for guy who is even with this super fun start, like his chase rate is over fifty percent, his with rates over thirty percent, his strikeout rates over
thirty one percent. He has not walked yet, you know in those games like I hit the profile is just like screaming for Like, he has power for sure, and maybe even some speed. But I think the batting average is going to crater, and I think I think in a points league, like the strikeouts are going to be a huge problem. And if you, like you said, if you get somebody who's much more reliable and proven, I'm making that trade ten times out of ten.
Have you had any early impressions on.
High, very impressive so far. But I also would have him as a so high for the reasons you mentioned, and then also you know he's not going to have a long leash on playing time. The Reds have a ton of outfielders. They're getting TJ. Friedle back hopefully. You know, he keeps coming back looking good and getting hurt again. You know, I'm dying to have him back on my and you know I have him in a bunch of
dynasty leagues. I'm dying to roster him again, especially because a lot of those are like five outfitter leagues where I really need someone like DJ Friedl. But you know, they have a bunch of outfielders that they're kind of
like rotating in. And so when Friedle's back after the break, which he should be, if he struggles at all, he's not going to have a you know, a long leash, and he could be either on the bench or not playing every day, which you know, even if someone is playing well, if they're not playing every day, then it's it's kind of hard to justify keeping them in your lineup.
Who's your cell high?
My so high is Jamison Taione. Uh the Orioles Killer.
Every every Chicago Cub is the Orioles killer this week.
Yeah, and like it's kind of like for that reason I wrote, he's someone I wrote up to in that that recent article, where whereas even with like some of you know, we've been talking all year about kind of the all of the starting pitching that's available, we're seeing a little bit of aggression now where we're like hitting it starting to catch up a little bit as we
get into the summer. But I think he just kind of opened up a nice little cell high wind window for you with his win over the Oriols, because not only was it a win over probably the best offensive baseball but it also dipped his RA below three. So when you get into those trade discussions, you get to show, you know, a picture with a shiny two point nine to nine array in that offer. You get to see, you know, it's always nice to have a sub three
ARRA in an offer. But still, he's another guy, you know, seventy two strikeouts in eighty seven to third inning. He's like, I think he's fine. He's in that cromulent category. He's kind of been in that category his whole career. He's had an era, like you know, his career era is close to four, and that includes like some a couple of like really good early years with the with the Pirates, and then just kind of been hovering around four his whole career. And that's where a bunch of his expected
numbers says the ra should be. And so I just think he's like a very like average cromulent starter that if you can sell him for a little bit more, like in the article I mentioned, like maybe you can get like if you want to swap a pitcher for a bat, maybe you can get like a Mark Ventos or even like an Alec Burleson. I think that's a comparable hitter who might do more for you rest of season than tyone is going to do for you as a pitcher.
Let's go to our weekend excitement.
O's Yankees is every time they play, it's going to be a really important fun series. It's you know, closing out the unofficial first half of the season. Obviously, these are two best teams in the AL East, both scuffling. I mean obvious, I would say obviously, but I understand why you would disagree.
We just took a series from that.
Yeah, that's true, the Orioles obviously the best team in they at least let's say Yankees, maybe not obviously the second best.
Can you live with that.
Either way? A huge series, so that's an interesting one.
We get Kid Povic versus Garrett Cole, which is a bit of a mismatch, but we'll see how that goes. And then on Sunday Chris Silver still in Sea is just a really fun matchup of a couple of starting pitchers.
And then also on Sunday, the MLB Draft. I love the draft.
I have paid a bit less attention to it this year because the Orioles finally av Yeah, but still like a very exciting time for me as a dynasty manager, as somebody who just enjoys drafts in general, Like I love you know, it's it's funny. I always would talk about like for the NBA Draft, I know the players really well because I follow college very closely, And for the MLB Draft, I know the teams really well, but
I don't follow college as closely. NFL is kind of that nice balance where I know the players and I follow the league they're going into closely. So Baseball it's a little different in that I'm not watching the College World series, like I'm not that guy. But I listened to all the podcasts, I read the articles of the mock drafts.
I still enjoy. Drafts are just fun.
In there too. It's not even just not following like college like somebody says coming out of high school.
Oh yeah, yeah.
A couple of years ago a kid from my high school was second rounder, which was fun.
He hasn't turned into anything, but.
And uh, Jim kallis the you know, well known MLB prospect guy went to my high school as well. So if I was a scout at all, or if I was a prospect at all as a player when I played at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, he would have covered me at his alma mater.
But sadly I was not that good.
But yeah, I just love the draft and that Sunday, the start of it is Sunday. So I'm excited to see what Michael Eyas does because it is the thing he is far the best at and has.
Absolutely crushed for the Orioles. So hopefully that continues when they don't have a top five pick.
Yeah, yeah, it's a little I was gonna say it's a little bit easier to pick in the top five than it is second half of the first round.
Yeah, okay, but people do always say this like he has made the right picks, right, Like he took Heston Curestat over Austin Martin when nobody else wanted to do that. He took Colton Cowser over Khalil Watson when everybody wanted Watson, and he's made great finds later like people keep talking about, like, oh, well, like they tank, so that's why all these good players, Like every team other than one could have drafted Gunner Henderson and chose not to do you know the one, No, the Red Sox.
I was the only team that I was gonna.
Have a pick.
Or before Gunner was drafted, every other team had a chance. You know, Kobe Meyo was a fourth round pick and now he's like the best hitter of the miners according to me. So so yeah, anyways, I think that is kind of overblown.
But what's your weekend excitement?
So I want to see Andrew Rabbitts second start of the week. He's my two star pitcher. In his first star it was very good, and so I'm looking to, uh see if I can even up the the series at seven and seven and seven and a two starts.
Are you sure he's your two star pitcher?
Yeah, right there.
I thought you had Nicolodolo.
Oh no, I do have Nicolodola. Darn it. He was my waiver pick last week for it because of his two starts.
So you actually cleared out last week's You cleared out last week's outline before.
We noted in our sheet who the picks were.
So I had to go back and look at like our old version history of the sheet, and it did say Lodolo in the you know, history version of our Google sheet, so I'm assuming that's correct.
Oh god, Lodolo did so much worse too. We did three and two third innings, four runs. Oh man, all show.
Renel Blanco, who was my pick, had a good start.
Oh dang it, this is this is terrible. Cancel the rest of the show.
Are you still excited about edraw Abbitts second start?
I guess I mean he was. He was still my waiver pick of the week, So it's it's still looking good for me because I just picked the wrong one for my two start picture competition. Well, because they're you know, the picture of the same team. They had the two same matchups. I think it was Rockies. Yeah, it was Rockies on the road and then Marlin's or Rockies at home and then Marlin's at home as well, So they both had two really good matchups. That's why I have
been both last week. So that's disappointing. The wonder I deleted it. I also want to see what you know obviously you mentioned Orioles Yankees, like Louis Heel is going to go up against the Orioles. Pretty interested to see what what he looks like because he hasn't looked good and it's this is going to be his final start of the first half. It's going to be it's going to say a lot about how he closes, uh close up the first half of how people feel about him
going into the second half. Imagine we might talk about him next week. And then I live down in Georgia now and it's really really hot, mid nineties weather and it's just awful. So I'm just looking forward to just suffering through more of that.
Today it it's in the hundreds, so nice. It is a heat wave this.
I played softball last night and it was in the evening and it was like sweltering, sweltering and brutal, and today's even worse, so I will be stuck inside with my dog most of the day. All right, let's wrap things up with our not to start pitcher competition, although I will give a quick update that the previous finished week you did win.
It was Scooball. He did much better than Hunter Brown.
That was back for matchup thirteen, So the record is currently Worm seven and Mayor six.
As far as how our.
Fill ins did, Kelly and Tuma both one for me against you. Bogman and Welsh both won for you against me, So the two of us combined are over our last four. All the guests keep winning, one of us will finally win this week. With Blancover's lobolously. There's no two starts next week, so we are not going to do a two start competition. Instead, we will draft home run derby teams.
We're gonna go back and forth. We're not gonna do any of that silly snake draft like somebody makes the first pick, then the next person makes two, then two.
I think that's ridiculous. It'll just be back and forth.
Whoever gets the first pick is a little lucky. It's not like we really know what we're doing here anyway.
It's all for fun. So let's flip a coin.
I have a just a Google thing pulled up here, so I'll let you call it and I'll quote unquote flip it, but I'll really just click flip again.
All right, So I'm gonna click flip in three two one and then you call it. Well, it's quote unquote in the air three two one.
Flip tails never fails.
It's flipping. It is tails. So do you want to go first or second?
I will go first.
Okay, who is your Oh and by the way, I suppose we should let everybody know who's.
Actually in the field.
It's Pete Alonzo, Alec Bohm, at a Last, Garcia, Gunnar Henderson, Oscar Hernandez, Marcelo Zuna, Jose Ramirez, Bobby Witt Junior.
Hmmm.
So I'm torn here because there's a player I want to pick, but I also would love to pick the player that you want to pick and just really kind of ruin your enjoyment of the of the All Star or the Hermone Derby. So I'll go Gunner Henderson with the first pick.
First of all, rude. Uh, you didn't even pick the obvious guy just to spike me. That's so rude of you.
Which obvious guy.
So, first of all, I would actually have if I was like building out like my big board, Gunner would actually be third, but I would take him first because of course I have to take the oriol first.
I think the Oriols never win.
They haven't won one since Miguel Tahata, and they've had opportunities like Chris Davis was a big slugger, Mark Trumbo, Trey Vncini had like an awesome run when he was, you know, back from cancer, was like a really very cool moment. Obviously Adley last year with the switch hitting. But I wanted Gunner because he's the Oriol and.
That's quite roode of you.
Well, I'm gonna take the guy who, like weirdly cares so much about the home run derby and has won it before and knows what he's doing.
Uh, and that's ped Alonzo.
Yeah, he's the which go ahead.
I mean, I mean he's the clear the clear one one setting aside Fandoms because again of just his experience in the event and now it is a little bit of a different event as we talked about. So maybe that doesn't play to his strengths. Will find out, but it's what his fifth straight year competing, like Peter Alonzo lives for the home run derby, Like I said, the clear one one if you're setting aside fandoms, So you did get the guy I wanted, but I will take pedal on so and you're.
Back on the clock here.
Yeah, And he's the odds on favorite and plan as he should. He has the best odds, Gunner Henderson as the third best odds, and I'll I guess I'll take the player with the second best odds and Marcello.
So I don't think it's a terrible pick. Like obviously he's had a ton of home runs this year.
The player that I actually have second has not hit that many home runs this year, like second on my board. And who I'm going to draft here just because he might fall, but I want to make sure I get him is.
Bobby Witt Junior.
He I think he might have won this contest when they had the high schoolers participate the year he was in high school before he was drafted. He has a swing that he like, he doesn't really swing for the defenses quite as much. I mean, he obviously is still a powerful hitter. He's fifteen home runs this year. You know, he can hit bombs. But I think he has a
swing that's really well suited to the derby. I think he's like a stronger version of Alex Bregman, where he's like the swing is just kind of like very repeatable, smooth and do it you know a bunch, you know, have that endurance throughout the course of the night. And
again he's won a contest like this before. So even though he is lower on the list of home runs this season, I think Wit is a sneaky value pick and I'm very excited to get I wish I had gotten Gunner, but the three players I wanted most were Gunner, Alonso, and Wit, so I'm happy to get.
Two of them.
Okay, so I'm looking at the I'm basically doing this draft by looking at betting odds and not to reveal my strategy, but you know, I deviated from that by taking your player first and then looking at betting odds next. And it's interesting in that there are five players that are five point fifty or better and the other three are all a thousand or worse. And so there's only one player left with what Vegas thinks has a real shot of winning this, and that is at at least Garcia.
So that's who I'll take.
Care Garcia is who I would have taken.
Also, is just fun to have, like the hometown guy, Like you always want somebody who's playing in his own home park, and he is the type of guy that I think could do very well.
That would have been my next pick. I think that's a smart one. I'm surprised I don't have the odds pulled up.
I'm surprised that Jose Ramirez his odds are are that much worse than the rest of the group, considering how many home runs he's hit.
This do you want to do? You want to know the rest of the odds? Are they remaining three? Yeah?
Yeah, I do so.
Peter Lonzo is plus three forty, Marcelo's doing a plus three eighty, Gunner Henderson is plus four seventy five at at least Garcia plus five hundred, Babi Wo Junior is plus five fifty. Then there's the gap. Then it's Tioscar Hernandez plus one thousand, then another mini gap, Jose Ramirez plus thirteen hundred and then at the very bottom Alec Boum plus sixteen hundred.
But yeah, but Bom I think is clearly I mean, he's gonna be on my team.
I assume he's the last pick. I think to me, it's between Ramirez and and tay Oscar.
Like I'm somewhat intrigued by going with Taoskar, just like he's the type of guy who, in like a real game it can go and get on such a heater that like he just can't miss, and you could see him doing that in this settings. Ramirez like the better player. I'm actually really torn.
Between the two of them. Honestly, I think.
I will go with I'm gonna go with Jose Ramirez. He's a better player. MLB dot Com actually as him as the third best chance to win, like just in terms of ranking them. I don't know why the odds are are different.
Well, have you seen any of the rankings that MLB has been putting out the last for the last several months with their like best players at this position, And it's like, yeah, maybe that's where they pulled this list from too.
He did.
He has participated in the Derby before in twenty twenty two Jose Ramirez, but he had like an injury that made him bat right handed in the derby and he.
This is all knows from MLB dot com.
He struggled to advance out of the first round, but he did still hit seventeen homers in that first round. So with this new format, maybe that gets a better chance at advancing. I'm gonna take Jose Ramirez.
That's what I would have done. I'm tempted to take Alec Baum just to be contrarian and just because like it would be such an upset if Alec Boum, if Alec Bohm won this thing. Uh, if you.
Want to take Alec Baum, I will not stop you.
Uh let's do it. Give me Alec Boum, give me the underdog, underdog.
Suckered you into it. Give me the end so that I'll take ta Oscar.
Uh So again, outside of not getting Gunner, I basically got the team I wanted. Like like if you if it was just we each got to pick four, not in a draft format, and it could be whichever for we wanted. Like if you gave me Gunner instead of ta Oscar, this would be the four I would have taken. I would have taken Alonso with Joseer Ramirez even over Ozuna, I think, and Gunner. So outside of you having my guy, I'm really happy with my draft. I think I think I kind of trounced you.
Yeah, well, I don't think Boom was a smart pick. Is just an emotional, scrappy underdog pick.
What would you say is the best value here?
If we're if the mock draft simulator was grading us, who who would have the better grade here?
Bom would be.
The reach would be would probably it was, it was definitely.
And Gunner would be a reach to based on the.
Yeah, you you would get the better grade because I picked I mean, depending on what the rankings you're looking at. But I picked the third player first, so I reached there, and then you got a value by picking the first player second. Then it was pretty even and then yeah, like I took bo you.
Know what you got. You gotta get your guys, right, I mean, ADP is a myth. You gotta get your guys.
Uh. If if if I was not an Orioles fan, if that was not a part of this at all, where would you have right Gunner? Like like Peter Alonzo obviously we agree one one. Who would be your second pick if everything was the same, except for I didn't care less about the Orioles?
Would it still?
Would it have been Gunner just because he's the most time runs the season of anybody in the field, or would it have been you know, Azuna or who?
I think I still would have gone Ozuna. He's just been like a freak home run hitter recently and I can just see him like he just like feels like the kind of who's gonna win this thing?
Man?
So there was a world where I could have gone Gunner, or I could have gone Alonso. Then you go a Zuno, then I go Gunner if if you weren't you know, torn by biases trying to hurt me despite being your close personal friend.
All right, we'll get out of there on that.
A quick recap with the teams, by the way, Alonso wit Jose, Ramirez, Taoskar for me, Gunner, Ozuna at Elise, and Boom for you. So this will just count as one win in it. And do we agree that it's just whoever wins it? Or do we have like a point system like every round you advance to I just.
Think I think the winner. Whoever wins it wins it, right.
Just whoever gets on I'm totally good with that. That's simplest, all right.
Whoever whoever's team has the winner gets the point. All right, We'll get out of there on that. I hope everybody enjoys the All Star you know, breaking like I said, the respite from the marathon, but also you know, all the festivities and stuff.
I'm gonna be.
Playing softball both nights with Homer and Derby and the All Star Game, so I'm gonna be recording it and watching the backley. But but yeah, looking forward to it. And like I said, we'll be back next week for something of a second half previews. I hope everybody tunes in for that. For Mayor, I'm Ryan Warmley. Thank you everybody for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Baseball podcast.
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