Hello, everybody, Welcome into the cycle. I am Ryan Warmley, joined as always by Mike Mayor Mayor. We are here at almost the All Star break, and in fact, it might even be the All Star break for some people listening to this if they waited a couple of days after it gets released. We are just doing one episode. We always do kind of one quote unquote episode of the cycle. We're doing only one part today rather than breaking it up because there are not a lot of
games next week and not until next weekend. We're not doing our usual you know, pitching streamers. Obviously, we can't really do the two star picture contests. We've got a fun way to so kind of go ahead to head against each other and something for next week. Anyway, we'll get to you later in the show. But yeah, just won't be one episode this week. You don't need to look for part two, Part three for other listeners who
are used to seeing that on audio and video. What we're gonna be doing today is some news and notes, which there actually isn't really all that much. It's a lot of minor news and notes updates. We felt like it was kind of not very newsworthy week. We're gonna do some bold predictions for the post All Star breaks, the second half post All Star Break, however you want to call it. We're gonna do some bullet predictions. We've got three each, and then we're gonna wrap up with
a home run Derby draft. Now we are recording this on Thursday, which is only a few days before the derby, and they still have not announced the whole field. I hate that Major League Baseball is waiting so long. Now. I don't see the value in this at all. Makes
no sense to me. Right now, we only have seven names listed, and one of the names is Byron Buckston, who got hit by a pitch yesterday, and I haven't seen anything that says he's not going to participate, but you know, you never know with a guy like Buckston and his injury history. So we're gonna do the best we can with this home run Derby draft and figure it out kind of as we go along. That'll be how we wrap up this show, so stay tuned for that later on. Like I said, mayor just a couple
of days here before the All Star Break. How we feel and kind of at this unofficial we are past the halfway point, but the unofficial halfway point of the season.
I'm feeling pretty good, you know, like you said, Yeah, we normally do just the one like quote unquote episode, but three videos. We usually put out about one hundred minutes of content, and so I think we agreed this one episode's going to be one hundred minutes long?
Is that right?
I doubt it, But if it goes that long, naturally we will allow it to do. So that's my promise. But I cannot imagine that happening. Let's dive into the news and notes. Like I said, it really didn't feel like there was a whole lot here. Dallas Kykeel signs with the Royals just of note because of the name brand, not like you and I are. I mean, I assume not like we were expecting any kind of fantasy value here.
Given the most recent performances we saw from Kaykel last time he was on the mound, I thought it was interesting that Major League Baseball is going to be using the ABS system? Does the S Stanford system? Can I say ABS system? Is it like pin number or ATM machine where you're not supposed to says? What does the S stand for? Again?
I assume so I always.
Or is it or is it automated Balls and Strikes? I know what it is, but I actually forget what it's what it stands for.
I thought it was automated balls and strikes, So maybe I can't automated ball system.
Yeah, all right, Well at any rate, I you know, forget what that's called. But at any rate, they're using it during the All Star Game. Is that of interest to you? Do you think this is kind of a fun exhibition to test it out more at the major league level? Or do you not really care about this?
I care about it. I'm interested to see how they do it. I think there's a lot of ways to do it right and a lot of ways to do it wrong. I think the umpiring has been so bad that it's worth kind of you know, it.
Is automated ball strike. So you can say ABS system, which is what I thought, but I got as soon as I said it, I was like, wait, is this like ATM machine or pin number? So I should have stuck with.
The Garby eyes.
Yeah, runs bat it in instead of run bad. It ends run bad, it ins Ribby's as I call them. All right, Sorry, I keep going on the ABS.
I mean, I'm interested to see how it goes. I know they've been playing Aroun at the minor league level. I think there's a lot of promise to it. I think there's a lot of ways it could go wrong.
But I also think we're at a point now in twenty twenty five, with all of the advanced cameras that we have and all these angles that we have, and we're seeing, you know, things done in other sports where it's like we're so exact with some of these things, Like even in tennis, there's like an automated system where you can see like if a ball was across the line from overhead and stuff that The days of Angel Hernandez calling a ball six inches out off the plate
as a strike, like those have to be over at this point. Like we just have too much technology at our fingertips to just let that keep happening.
Even though there.
Is a part of me that loves like the human element of the game there.
I don't this isn't the way it's going to look when it eventually becomes like a regular thing, which it will, but I I kind of wish there was a way to say it's only for stuff that's very obvious, like egregious misses. I kind of don't want it to get used for borderline well, like, well, technically that caught the black and you know it should have been because especially
with like height, it's so different for every player. Like I know the technology is like calculating for that, but I'm not really that interested in it in a device to like steal a strike here and there. What I'm interested in it is for the stuff where it's like like the Angel Hernandez examples, right, like the okay, like this is such a clear miss I don't know what you were talking about. This is going to change the entire scope of the bat. We got to fix this.
That's where I want it to be used. If it's like a borderline thing like technically by you know, a quarter of an inch, it is one way or the other. I'm less interested in that. Do you feel like it should be And again I know I'm not. It's not going to be what I want. But do you kind of get that point of you are okay with what I'm laying out its possibility or do you think it should just be very exact, like even if it's by a hair, if the ABS system catches it, it should be a strike.
I think I'm okay with that.
You know, there's kind of like that gray area outside of the strike zone, and it kind of feels like if if a pitch hits that gray area and you can still kind of have the human element, but if it's if it's three inches outside, you know, we got to correct that. We can't just let you make an atrocious call like that. I think also, you know that would that would you know, help speed up the game a little bit too, Like we don't want like every time.
I know there was like a system in play where like the way I don't know if they're still doing this in minor leagues, but like an umpire would call the game, he would hear in his ear like that was a strike, and then he was allowed to say striker ball, but he was told what the system was saying. He was just allowed to override it. I don't know if they're still trying out a system like that, but you know, I don't I don't think it would be.
There should be a system either where it's just like every pitch is reviewed and you have to be like like here's the pitch and you have to like look to the side to like see if yeah, you know, as a ball or strike. I agree, look up with the scoreboard.
I mean the challenge system too, would be nice to see. Just like I want to see umpires put in their place more because they are all terrible and I love I want to see it. Batters, you know, do the hand on the helmet and sorry you were wrong, Blue, like you know, cook, get your eyes checked. So also, you know, just thinking about the upcoming weekend and the All Star break, do you have any interest in the Major League Baseball Draft? Obviously we played some dynasty leagues.
We're in one together. It's really more of a deep keeper, but you know we are dynasty managers in fantasy baseball. The draft is this weekend. Are you somebody who consider yourself pretty familiar with the prospects coming in? Do you more just kind of wait to see top one hundred prospect lists? Like once these guys are into professional baseball. Also, of note, the Nationals fired not only Dave Martinez but Mike Rizzo. They're GM one week before the draft, which
is really interesting timing. On the one hand, it's like very surprising. On the other, you know, if you think this is not the guy for you, you don't want to making the number and overall pick, but you know, very very definitely eyebrow raising at the very least. So any thoughts on that in general.
So the Mike Raiso thing I thought was interesting, but I also agree with what you said, Like, you know, if you've come to this conclusion, your solution shouldn't be all right, let's give him one more draft and then we'll fire. I'm like, no, I don't want this guy making this draft pick. Like so, even even though even if you don't have like a perfect, you know, replacement, you know system in place.
If you want to make the move, you make the move.
And you know your scouts have done all the work anyway, and you know you should have a good idea of who you want to take.
You just have a different, different person pulling the trigger.
I I kind of varer from year to year with the MLB prospects coming in, depending on how big of a class it is. I'll know who the prospects are. This year, I'm not as familiar. I know there's another holiday coming out that people are excited about, but other than that, I kind of wait to see the names drafted and then I'll dive in a little bit more.
But there's a bunch of names.
I've heard of, but yeah, this this is this class in particular, or I haven't done like dug in too deep, but as they get announced and stuff, I'll start diging in and you know, see who the top prospects are and you know what their path is. And I think it's been more interesting in recent years because we're seeing that path to the major leagues shortened for a lot of these top prospects, whereas before I was like, all right, like we'll see this guy in four or five years.
Sometimes it's like Chase Burham was drafted last year. There's a bunch of players drafted last year in the league in the league now. So that's where you know it starts to get more more exciting and interesting. And uh yeah, I wish they would to kind of like televise it more because sometimes it's hard. It's hard to watch the MLB draft or I would kind of sit down and watch that or at least having it on the background.
I think Kate Anderson is going to be the first pick. It's just my guest. I don't have any inside knowledge. Ethan Holliday feels like, if he's not the first pick, feels like a lock to go to the Rockies at four, which would be fun because he's got more power than Jackson did as a as a prospect. He's a good player. But yeah, I mean, it's not that we've had some drafts in recent year where there is like, holy cow, there are like, you know, three or four superstars at
the top. Doesn't feel that way of me right now, but there's a long way to go with these guys' career, so it's something that I will be watching. I do very much enjoy the draft. And the Orioles just traded for the thirty seventh pick by getting rid of a controllable reliever who I think is pretty good what we don't need to talk too much about. But they now have the most despite not picking early, they now have
the most like bonus pool to spend. It's like eighteen or nineteen million because they have three competitive balance round picks.
So well, I thought we were considering this the Brian Baker Emergency Podcast, so that we're going to spend most of the time on that Orioles reliever.
See you make fun, but you admitted to me before the show you had never heard of Brian Baker before this episode. He's a good reliever. I was surprise. The orielstrated, all right, let's dive into a bunch of the news and notes that you edited in here.
So did you already mention Dallas Kickeel. I don't know if you mentioned that. I thought you okay, So I thought you made you just went right to ABS. So John Gray is beginning a rehab assignment. He began it yesterday. Any interest in John Gray potentially has a fantasy asset in the second.
Half, I wouldn't say a lot of interest, but I mean it depends on the league espers.
Yeah, another report there.
I'm surprised to see because I thought most of the reports a couple of weeks ago with that Als Bragman was you know, working his way back, but that we wouldn't seem to laughter the All Star break. Alex's course said yesterday that he expected them back potentially before the All Star break, which you know, as you already mentioned, there's only a few days left. He's been on the shelf for a while. Kind of why would you risk
it at this point? You know, I get like, if he's ready, he's ready, but also just take a few extra days and get you know, get the All Star break and have him start the second half. Clark Schmidt picture for the Yankees, is expected to need Tommy John surgery as of this recording is getting a second opinion.
But normally when it appears you.
Need Tommy John surgery, you usually need Tommy John surgery or at least the internal brace procedure that obviously the type of procedure will act your recovery and kind of like what you look like when you come back. But you know it's a your absence pretty much.
No matter what.
Grayson Rodriguez, your boy is ramping up activity. It sounds like he could be back in the second half. What do you think any interest are you? Do you want the Ools to bring him back as a fantasy manager? Are you stashing him? I am stashing me seeing you up by the way, I know people don't think I ever do that.
I just tied you up.
I am stashing him, but I don't have really any expectations. It's more like a lottery ticket stash because at this point, by the time he is actually pitching again, you know they're going to take it easy on the innings. They're also not in contention. I mean, they're selling off players at least they started this with Baker, So I just don't expect to get much out of him. Like again, there are a couple of leagues where I am stashing him as a like again, like a Highend lottery ticket.
But and I have him in the keeper leagues. But I'm not expecting this to be a needle mover in the second half of the season. I would be very surprised if he pitches enough for that to like, regardless of how effective he is once he's back, I would be surprised if he pitches just enough innings between now and the end of the season to be relevant.
That's probably right.
How about Louis Heal beginning a rehab assignment this weekend. He's kind of been forgotten about this.
This is a guy you love to talk about, is Louis Heal.
He's the guy I wrote up as like a a cell high pretty much the entirety of last year. Yeah, I have my own thoughts of Louis Heel, but he did have a really good year last year and could be really valuable in fantasy, you know, depending on what he looks like when he came back. I think there was a lot of smoke and mirrors last year, and we'll see what he looks like when he comes back.
But you know, there are worst pitchers being started by fantasy managers right now and being started by the Yankees right now, and so if he can work his way back in a couple of weeks, you know, he's someone who can have a lot of value in the second half. And then Hunter Green, your boy without a timetable for return. I kind of wrote him up as a how high at the beginning of the year just because of like
arm injury concerns. He's pretty much injured everything but his arm at this point, and he just kind of keeps having stepbacks trying to get his way back up.
This one has sunk up multiple leagues for me where I was relying very heavily on him as somebody that I expected to take the leap into ace level pitcher and he did.
He did, he looked really good.
And this extended absence is just it's killing me in multiple leagues.
So I know, it's just such such a dagger that it wasn't even the arm. You know, we talked about having concerned that, like, you know, he was around pitch one hundred and the ninth inning like hitting one two, one oh three, and I was like, I gotta be I got to be honest, I'm concerned about that arm. And then he just you know, he's had other injuries like unrelated to the arm. And then the other update is that Massa Takta Yoshida is back for the Red Sox.
He was in the lineup yesterday.
Not a huge ceiling for him in fantasy, but all a pretty high floor, as you know, someone who should play mostly every day. The Roadsacks have kind of a log jam in their lineup right now, especially when it comes to left handed hitters. But I also imagine if they continue to play well heading into the you know, the next couple of weeks, I think we're gonna see some trades and that that lineup is going to open
up a little bit. And so he's someone who has some value, especially in deeper leagues where you know, like he's gonna have a decent batting average, driving some runs, but like not a high ceiling, but also you know, again a pretty high floor for a player like Yo Yoshida.
Yeah, that's an interesting one. To me as a guy to think about stashing or not stashing, but like picking up and what what's his availability? Actually, I meant to look that up before the show. I can put it up now. If you don't have it, I don't have it, I'll pull it up. He is. I assume it's obviously very low. Yeah, it's five percent on Yahoo, three percent on ESPN. So it's pretty much available everywhere.
Wow, I wonder what I wonder what CBS and CBS is probably like forty percent, twelve percent, not even close twelve percent.
I was gonna say CBS is definitely higher. Forty would be a lot higher. I would have been surprised by that.
Yeah, so I'll probably go up this weekend though, especially for the weekly leagues. He wouldn't have been out of this.
He's a he's a good person to flag. I'm glad you brought him up. All right, let's dive into our bold predictions here. Uh, we've got three each. Did you go into a particular order for years or just pick three?
I just picked three. I tried to I Actually you know you got to the sheet first. I you know, I will admit I liked yours. I thought you had some pretty good ones that one of them I would have been one of mine.
To think if you didn't have.
It, I'm interesting on the movie. Don't tell me, tell me when we get to it, but I'm curious to find out which that is. Did you try to go particularly bold with yours or more just like because I didn't want to do just like regular predictions. I wanted to have a degree of bold, but also like unlike our because we did a preseason episode of bold predictions. And then it's a little more fun because you can
kind of amend any scenario. It's harder to imagine that when you have a more just just shorter timeframe to be working with. And also we've seen these players, so we know more about what to expect. So I tried to be bold with it, and you know, sort of tow that line, strike that balance. Did you try to be particularly bold or just try to be more accurate?
I tried to think of predictions that I would feel good about, and then like see if I felt they were bold enough, and if they weren't, I moved on, or if they if I thought they were close, maybe I added a you know, a second piece to it to make it seem bolder, and so I tried to lean bold because I agree, just a regular like medium bold prediction, you know, not the most fun but hopefully minor bold.
Enough years are more like minor all very players specific years are more like X number of players are going to do this for a couple of years. So we'll dived also go ahead, not.
To really spoil the whole thing, but I did also, like you know, you did yours first, and I tried to kind of do different types of bold predictions since I didn't want to just copy your format.
All right. I will start off with my first one, Junior Cameraro, who at the time I put this in the here only had twenty one home runs. He now it is twenty two because he hit another one yesterday. Junior Cameronarow will finish the season with over forty home runs and will be a consensus top three third baseman
in twenty twenty six drafts. And mayor we have talked a lot about how third base is a very difficult position and it's not a deep position, but there is still a lot of star talent and power at the top, So finishing top three even though it's a weaker position further down, I do still thinking is difficult to crack into. I thought forty home runs was going to come across as bold, but if he keeps hitting pretty much every days, it's going to look less and less bold by the week.
So what do you think about this one? Cameronaro forty plus homers a consensus top three third basement in twenty twenty six drafts.
When I first read it, I thought you were saying consensus top three pick, and I was.
Like, WHOA that is bold?
Would be very insanely I would I wouldn't have led with that one, and.
That would be your closer. Yeah.
I I forget exactly what I said about junior Cameron Aro coming into the year, but I know I was below consensus because I thought, you know, I always talk about drafting at your ceiling, and I thought he was being drafted at a ceiling, and he's hitting his ceiling, maybe even going above what we thought a ceiling is. And so I'm gonna have to eat crawl a little bit on that one unless he falls off, which it doesn't look like he's going to. He already has twenty
two home runs, as you said. His stackcast page is a little bit interesting. He has elite elite, elite bat speed, one hundred percentile bat speed. He's like sweet spot and squared up numbers aren't ideal for someone you want to hit forty home runs, but he's already got twenty two, so he's obviously you.
Know, working around that.
And so if he can hit twenty two home runs despite really poor numbers at sweet spot and squared our percentage, if he improves those even a little bit, he can be even better. And then a lot of his other metrics are like average to above average, except for like you know, chase percentage, which is fine because his k percentage is above average and so there's a lot to like in his profile. The other thing about his home runs is they're sprayed all across the field. There he's
not just pulling everything. It's pretty much evenly distributed between like pull straight away and right field, which is really impressive for a young hitter, especially a young power hitter like that. To be able to have that kind of elite approach and that elite power to all fields at such a young age is really impressive.
Also, just the fact that the ballpark he plays in, I figured would maybe get him a few extra homers, you know in the second half of the season. What do you less about the forty homers? What do you think about him as a top three third basement because you can't say number one right because of Jose Ramirez. It felt like I could have maybe said he'd be the number one third basement off the board besides Jose Ramirez as a bullet prediction. But there's a lot of
names in that conversation. I don't know who you think the obvious guy is. You know, of that group of Devers, Machado, Riley, all those guys that are behind Jose Ramirez, where you see Camerono fitting into that for twenty twenty six drafts. But you know, guy like Machado's a little older, Devers now in San Francisco, you know, likely to hurt his power. Cameron Aro on the upswing, still a really young guy.
Do you think that's a bold enough spot or do you think that will end up being you know the case. Do you think he will be a top three third baseman.
I think it's bold, but I don't think it's unachievable, especially so he's already according to Finnispurs VBR so he's four right now in terms of value inter you know, value this so far this season. But number two is j Haino Suarez, who, no matter what he does the second half, he's not going to be a top three third basement going into next year.
He just is who he is, and so.
As Jose Ramirez, Juannio Suarez, Mana Machado, Cameronaro, Mikel Garcia. I also don't think, even though he's having a good year, he's not going to be top three. And then Devers is six, Austin Riley is seven. It feels like Devers will be an interesting one. Austin Riley could be an interesting one. He didn't have a great first half, but the Braves have a really light schedule in the second half,
including a lot of staffs. I was reading. I was reading a piece on ESPN about second half schedules and they have the Braves have one of the easiest schedules and also are protected to face not one of the easiest schedules, but I think a very favorable pitching second half schedule for hitters like Austin Riley because they're supposed
to face a lot of like soft lefties. Obviously, anything could change, so we could see Austin Riley have a really big second half, which you know could further lock him into that top three. But you know it's fair to say, especially at his age, that it could be Josierramirez. He could be number two, Junior cam An Aaroneck next year. But like top top three I think is pretty bold because he has to overcome.
A few nails that are pretty Goodea, not.
Jose Ramirez, but like Machado, Devers and Riley, you know, at least to get into that top three.
Yeah, all right, let's go to your first Bowl A prediction.
My first Bowl prediction is that Hunter Brown makes a serious run at the Al say Young Award and enters twenty twenty six as a top twenty pick. I considered making this wins the say Young Award as an even Boulder prediction. I do think Terry scouobl is going to win the award, and the sportsbooks right now agree.
You know, they have.
School as an overwhelming favorite. He's the best odds you can get. Our minus two sixty at DraftKings Fanjul has it almost at like they have it at minus four twenty. They're the most aggressive and not only do they have it at minus four twenty, they don't have anyone else better than plus eight to fifty, which is Garrett Crochet. And they have Hunter Brown at plus twelve hundred, who they have tied with de Gram and so they're considering
that a long shot. So in that sense, it's really bold that we can think that he would win the award. But I do think there's a path there for Hunter Brown. And I think for a couple of reasons, or a few reasons. One, I think he's.
Really really good.
Two, the Astros have the second easiest schedule in the second half, and three the Tigers are cruising in the easiest division in baseball right now, and there's a really good chance that comes September they just start resting Schooble and maybe skipping a start, maybe limiting his his you
know how deep he goes into games. And you know, while the Astros have a decent lead in their division, two, I do expect their division to be more competitive in the second half, and we could see Hunter Brown close
the gap on some of those counting stats. And so if the Astros, you know, cruise to a division and the numbers are really close, I could see voters maybe leaning Hunter Brown, who's like anchoring the staff, even though it's going to be hard to unseat Schooble giving the first half that he had.
I don't think this is bold enough.
You don't think not even top twenty going in next year two?
No, because I mean right now, rest of season he's SP five. I mean, technically he's six, but that's what Shohey is listed as number one in UR the way we do our rankings, so he's really SP five, and it's Scooble who will go ahead of him, Skins who
I think will go ahead of him. But I mean, if people are really worried, they gonna keep not getting wins Crochet, who, even though he is totally not suggested that this is going to happen, it's hard for me to not still just feel like a little nervous about injury with him and Wheeler, who's going to be I yet another year older, and who's still really good. But is you know, Hunter Brown again again one of these
guys more on the upswing Wheeler another year older. So if you're already a top five pitcher, maybe he goes ahead of like Wheeler, and maybe Crochet next year two. That feels like at least a second round pick, and you know that gets in the top twenty four, so top twenty is not that far off. And ifool, if Scooble were to get hurt, which obviously we don't want to happen, but let's say he does. I think Brown
would be the favorite for SYNG. Like, I know he's like in that range with Crochet into Gram right now, but like he would get my vote if Schooble was off the board right now. So it's not that it's like not bold at all, but I don't think it's bold enough. I actually think like I would expect him as of right now today if we were if I had to draft my twenty twenty six team for whatever reason nine months early, Hunter Brown would be inside my
top twenty. Actually, like I'm just really impressed. I don't need to see anything else. I am a total believer in him, and I think he will finish second in cy Young, you know, with only schools dominance standing in the way of him winning the award.
Okay, I'll push back on two reasons. I will.
I will concede your point that maybe it's not bold enough because I did. I did struggle, you know, to see how bold it is. I thought it was bold enough for a couple of reasons. One school is such an overwhelming favorite for this time right now, and so that's why I made like I wrote that he's going to make a serious run, or we can even make it bolder and say he's going to win the AlSi young. The other reason is going into the draft next year as a top twenty pick. I looked at where he
went last year. He was going outside the top one hundred. He was sp thirty two going in the next year. So we're talking about a thirty pitcher jump and an eighty pick jump in just one year.
And but but I.
Do agree you feel like that's reason, Like do you need to see anything else to feel like he belongs among the fantasy aces. I don't.
I need to see the second half match the first half, which it should the numbers say that it should. But also like if he just comes out and has like an okay second half, is a fourth round pick next year?
Well, well let me ask you this, where do you think the fifth best starting pitcher is going in pick in drafts next year? Because I look at the guys behind him, I don't really expect like so in terms of our rest of season rankings right now, the guys immediately behind Brown, I already mentioned the guys in front
of him. The guys immediately behind him, Logan Webb, Jacob deGrom, who I'm still not going to trust health wise, Yamamoto, who has been really inconsistent the last month, Max Freed, Franber Valdez, Logan Gilbert, Joe Ryan, and Spencer Strider maybe like if he has a kind of a dominant return to form second half. Makenzie Gore has been good, but you know, it still feels like, you know, the team
that's not gonna win a lot of games. And he's also making this huge jump year over year along with Hunter Brown, you know, Kirby coming back from injury, Dilon See has been bad. Like outside of Strider, which of those names do you think is gonna go higher than Brown? So if we're talking about Brown, let's let's call him
SP five going into next season. Let's say he goes ahead of Wheeler because of age, but you know Stryder's better, So just in that range SP five, that feels like a second round pick, or do you think SP five is going in the fourth round.
I think it'd probably go in the third round, but we could see. I guess if it would depend on what the hitters look like. But I feel like a lot of the you know, in a lot of leagues, you'll see one to two pitchers go in the first round, and then another two in the second round, and then maybe that fifth is the third.
Couples going in the first round in every league. Next year, Skens just maybe if somebody is like, this guy's a stud, I think he's gonna get more wins this year. Crochet and Wheeler.
See that's where that's where we're getting into. Like we're talking about one pitcher in the first round, and then we're already talking him we're already in the second round talking about Skens.
Yeah, I feel like I if I'm building a team next year, I'll be very happy to get a stud hitter in the first and any of those four guys in the second and be very happy with the start of my team. It's how I feel about it right now. There also have been a lot of hitters, like Gunnar Henderson is kind of disappointed who was a first round pick last year. You know, Jackson Churio has been good. Did he elevate into the first round so far? I don't know that he has. You know, there's been guys
like that. I mean there's been people who've elevated too, though from much lower like Peaker Armstrong and James Wood. So I'm not saying there's no good hitters, but I don't feel like there's an opportunity there. If Hunter Brown finishes the way he started this season, I will be very comfortable ranking him in the second round. I'll just put it like that.
Yeah, and he's currently thirty three overall the rest of season ranking, so he needs thirt to jump thirteen spots.
An he will for me at least. Maybe not And maybe maybe this is bold from the consensus perspective, but from my personal rankings is where I guess maybe I find it a little less.
But I'll concede that it's not a bad I'm not saying it's a bad best over here.
I'm not saying it's a bad pick by you, or that it's not bold. I just don't think it's bold enough. Is like I would have said, like, oh he wins the cy Young or something he'd like to make it really feel like whoa Like you're going out on a limb.
Here, But I just need to win the next three cy youngs.
Yeah. I do think it's a good pick. I don't want to I don't want to sound too negative on and He's been a really fun story this year, so I'm glad we mentioned him. I want to also mentioned to everybody that we are giving away a Wan Gonzales signed Rangers jersey courtesy of our friends at Pristineauction dot com. All you have to do to enter is to subscribe the Fantasy Pros MLB YouTube channel right now, drop a
comment below on any video, and that is it. We will be announcing one lucky winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on those notifications so you can know when new videos are up and to claim your prize. All right, My next pick is I didn't do this on purpose, but another ray because I had Camonaro is my first one. I'm going to double down. I picked this something similar to this before the season, and I wanted to run it back before the season.
I think I think I said Chandler Simpson would lead Major League Baseball and stolen bases despite not starting the season in the big leagues. I didn't actually look it up. I think that's what the official prediction was. I am now saying that he is going to win the Major League Baseball Stolen based title and no one will be within fifteen stolen bases of his final total. And that is despite the fact that he missed multiple stretches at the beginning of the season due to them sending him
back down surprisingly in the middle of the spring. So when he's going to win the title and no one will be within fifteen stolen bases of his final If you look at the rankings right now, which I had up and they're now reloading for me, he is tied for fourth, behind only Caballero, O'Neil, crue Oz, and Pieker Armstrong, who have thirty one, twenty eight, and twenty seven respectively. Chandler Simpson is tied with Jose Ramirez and Bobby Wit
with twenty five, so he's six off the leader. And this is in way fewer games the number of games played for all the guys around him seventy three, eighty two, ninety two, eighty eight, ninety four, ninety one, ninety three. He's played fifty and he is in this spot. All he has to do is get on base often enough to steal, and he is zamabase percentage is over three forty, his batting average three ten. He's been caught six times. I'm actually surprised by but they let him keep running.
He's going he's going to no pun intend to run away with this thing, and I think, just blow everybody else out of the water. What do you think about this one?
So your bold prediction in the preseason was that he would lead MLB and stolen bases. I do think you need the fifteen number there to make it bold enough. I think if you just say leads the league and stolen bases, I don't think it's bold enough.
I totally agree. That's what I was trying to decide what the right number was. Is like, originally I wanted.
To go at least ten.
I think I originally I got crazy with it, and now I was like twenty. But I was like, no, I actually like, there's it only takes one other person to run a lot. Twenty's probably too much.
Ten.
I was like, that feels right. I was considered maybe twelve, but I wanted to be really like, again, this is supposed to be bold, so I had I thought fifteen was it was a number I landed on, but I.
Think twenty would have to be the preseason number. There's not enough.
I don't think there's enough time left to get twenty up on someone who're already behind.
The copyer is running a.
Lot too, so yeah, but I mean he's he steals a base ever the other day except whenever he if whenever I bet on him, he does not steal a base. So you can just follow along with me on the betting pros app to know when he's not going to steal a base.
Well, I need I need him to help me overtake fits in the steels category and our playoff matchup in our work league. So if you could stop betting on him, that would be great.
I'll see what I can do.
But yeah, so do you think this one like you? So you agree it's bold? Do you think it'll happen?
I think he will as long as he stays up. I think he'll lead the league and selling bass. I don't know that he'll get fifteen up on cabrierro or PCA.
Okay, well, it's supposed to be bold, so we'll see how that one plays out. I've obviously been a big Chandler Simpson fan from since the spring, and I've been really happy with how it's paid out when he's been actually up in the big leagues.
So the biggest I think this is how we got into our one of our many Simpsons conversations with you being such a Chandler Simpson fan but not actually watching the Simpsons.
You know. It's another thing this just came up on The Football Show with Jake Seely and Tom Strachan, is that it's not Simpsons, but it's not a very classic thing that I have no knowledge or experience of. It came up on the show earlier this week that I've never had taco bell in my life, and we're now asking listeners to tell me what menu item I should try at taco Bell from my first I've never even been.
I've never said foot inside of a taco bell? Is that to you more surprising and like a bigger you know gap in my experience? Is it? Is it never getting taco bell or never seeing the Simpsons.
Definitely never seeing the Simpsons, because here is a shocking thing for you.
Neither have I. So I've never been inside of one or had taco.
Let's definitely then get the listeners to let us know on this show what menu. Maybe at our next team trip we'll try. Although now at this point it's like I'm in my thirties, I might as well just keep not going. And you know, well that's having what I.
Always say for me. I don't know if you know this fun fact about me. I've never had a soup or a salad in my life and I'm approaching forty, and so I'm like, why start now?
Seeh Actually I don't believe that you've never had like remain lettuce.
With ask my mom and my wife.
They'll confirm, like a side salad at a steakhouse.
Never I wouldn't even I don't play hear it.
There's no way that's true. The soup I believe, even though it's it is surprising, but I believe. I don't know.
Everyone else can't believe the soup. They believe the salad, not the soup.
You've never like been out of barbecue and there's like a bowl of salad that you just like had a very small, like one tongs worth of picking it up out of the bowl. You've never have you ever had romaine lettuce.
No, that's it.
I don't believe that.
I'm an incredibly picky eater.
I don't eat.
I'm an incredibly picky eater, and I've had salad. I just take stuff out of it that I don't want. I don't have like, you know, cherry tomatoes in it and other stuff that's gross to me. But I'll have lettuce and croutons and caesar dressing, which is very tasty by the way, It's not like a gross thing if you put the right dressing on it.
I don't like to find a topic for me and you to launch a different podcast all about these things that like we like or don't like it. You know, it's got to be something that's like all encompassing that we can have a wide array of topics but also.
Not just vague enough that no one will listen to it.
But no, yeah, it's weird. The podcast has got to be something about like just our gaps and knowledge. Like every week it's like you've never seen this movie, you've never watched the show, you've never had a salad Like that is I think the show. I still don't believe you, and I will never believe you that you've never had a salad. So we can move on.
Call my wife and get her on air.
Heir, Yeah, what's your next bold prediction?
That worm will step inside a taco bell in twenty twenty five?
Where are we in the sheet?
So my next bullep is it prediction is that five players will finish with fifty plus home runs this season and ten we'll finish with. I wrote this backwards with forty plus home runs.
I wrote our age.
I was going to ask pretty what our h diood for? Is that a new age?
It's like, have you ever seen the movie Hook?
Probably not, probably when I was younger, but I don't remember it well. But I think so.
When he's playing baseball with the pirates, they're, you know, obviously he's away from home and he's you know, he's been kidnapped and he's playing baseball with the pirates and they're trying to say home run jack, but in the outfield they spell out run.
Home jack, run home jack. Run home jack. Just makes them more homesick.
So it's forty plus run homes and so in twenty twenty four, two players hit fifty plus home runs and four hit forty plus, So I'm predicting a jump from two to five and four to ten.
Is that bold enough for you?
Where? Do you have names in mind? I do, because like I already picked a player here today. To me, I don't think the forty home run it is bold. I'm not saying it's not bold. I don't think. I think the fifty home run more bold, the fifty bold. The fifty. Yeah, the fifty home run one I think is more bold than the forty one. Like ten finishing with forty is bold, five finishing with fifty is like, oh, that's a bold prediction. To me, I need to name
all the forties. But do you have it? Do you have a picks in mind for the fifties?
I did.
I actually thought the forty was Boulder because bolder, more bold, Boulder.
I guess, just like growing up the era of baseball I did, forty was more dual. I know it's a different era in now, but it's sort of still ingrained in me that like forty is doable in a good year, fifty feels special.
So here, I do have the names in mind, and I was looking at the stats when I came up with and that's why I came up with these exact numbers. I came up with five for fifty because three players already have thirty. So cal Raley has thirty six, Aaron Judge has thirty four, and Otani has thirty one. I think those three are locks for fifty. Kylee Schwarber already has twenty nine. He's he could definitely within Chatney distance of fifty. You Hano Suarez has twenty nine as well,
and so Suarez can go hot and cold. He may not get there, But I think those are just five players already on pace for fifty who who could realistically get there that are power hitters after them, say a Suzukise twenty five. I think he's unlikely to get to fifty, but he's at least not that far off the pace. If he has a hot month, he's within shot existence. After there, it's James Wood and Peter Armstrong at twenty four and twenty three.
Would it totally unlike? Would it totally stun you if cow Raley falls off a bit in the second half, just like catching every day like this is so like Judge and know Tani, this isn't surprising. It's so surprising for him like, I mean, he could have ten in the second half and he's still finished with forty six this season. But you know, it wouldn't shock me if he falls short. I don't think you would predict he makes it.
But it's what I was thinking. Even if he falls short, I think he gets fourteen and hits fifty. Yeah, okay, not falls short.
If he falls yeah, yeah, I think.
You know it regresses. Yeah, I assume yeah.
Because he's already got thirty six. He's already so close and he doesn't look like someone who's going to fall off. Although you know we'll get to the home run Derby draft, but I don't love him being in the home run Derby. Well, and so those are the players.
I think, go ahead, No, you can finish your thought.
Okay, So those are the players I think that are within fifty. And I think fifty is more like lee than the forty number hitting because forty. So we have
those five Raley, Judge, Otani, Scherbert Suarroz. I think are their locks for at least forty looking at the forty number and then could realistically get to fifty, and then to get to ten for forty, we have, say Sezuki A twenty five, James war at twenty four, Pika Romstrom twenty three, Riley Green twenty two, your Boy Junior Camerenero at twenty two.
I think that gives us one, two.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight nine ten. So those players all have twenty two or more home runs, which means they're just about on pace for forty. After that at Swan Sodo Pete A Lonzo could get realistically get to forty. Coryman, Carroll Spencer, Torklesen Byron buckson no shot. But there's not a whole lot of leeway there in terms of players who are like on base for forty or within shouting distance of forty that if two or three of those fall off pace, we're not getting ten.
Whereas you know for the for the fifty, there's five players well on pace for fifty that I think could all get there.
So the reason I was about to move on was just a transition to my next pick is actually about cal Raley, so it kind of ties in nicely. I have him winning American League MVP, so clearly I don't think he's going to fall off too much. He's currently is the one, by the way that you agreed with m h He's currently plus six hundred. Judge is a minus fourteen hundred. This is as of when I looked yesterday, and you can see consensus betting odds on bettingpros dot com if you want to check him out for all
these types of awards. I am taking this for a couple of reasons. Number one, I think the fact that he's a catcher matters like and a good catcher, right, like a good catcher.
He's not just a catcher, he's a really good.
Kitcher, so that matters like he is adding more value defensively than Judge, even though Judge is good in the outfield. And it's also I just think fun for voters, Like I think if it's not close, they're not just going to hand it to them. But if it's really close, I think voters will be excited and interested to give cal Raley an MVP as opposed to just another one
for Judge. Judge is having such a great season that it is really hard to go against him, So I get why the I think the odds are too there's too big of a gap, But I get why there is a big gap, Like Judge is having a great year.
But if cal Rally finishes with more home runs than Judge as a good defensive catcher and is close enough in the other categories, not only do I think he's a chance of winning, like he would get my vote even if Judge has the better overall offensive season, I just think what he's doing as a catcher is so impressive and I kind of hope he wins. So I do think this is bold given what the odds currently look like. Again, Judge of minus fourteen hundred saying he
won't win is something. Now, if Judge were to get hurt, which has happened before, cal Raley's odds, I mean, if it's a serious injury to Judge all of a sudden, cal Raley is like, you know, minus three thousand or something, So like this is a little bit that could help if that happens in terms of prediction, but also even if they both stay healthy, like if Judge merely has a great season and not in all times you know,
offensive season, and Raleigh continues the way he started this year. Again, I just think the gaps too wide.
Yeah, I think it's bold because the gaps wide I was interested to see when I was looking at this that Aaron Judge is more of a favorite to win MVP than Scooble is to win the Cy Young, which I thought was pretty interesting. I thought Scooble would be pretty well ahead there, even though he's got a couple people at his heels in the AL. The MVP race is Aaron Judge and Cal Raley and then nobody well.
And it feels like, to your point, Raleigh is a better second option right now than the second best pitcher in the American League behind Schooble, Like whether it's Crochet or Hunter Brown or de Gram, I think Raleigh is better for MVP than those guys are for cy Young as of right now.
Yeah. I agree.
I also think we and I don't want to like come up as a hater and downplay the year that Aaron Judge is having, but we are kind of just talking about like he's having this incredible year because he came out of the gate. He had four hundred for two months and no one's ever done this with this kind of power before.
He did kind of take a step back in June.
He had a two fifty three in June, and we just saw him have a really tough you know, week and a half as also, the Yankees are falling off. So there's the other thing. Not that it like is always the end all be all, but for a while he was a lock to win MVP because the Yankees look like they were cruising to the American League East title. Now they're falling back and it's almost it's a you know, three or four team race in the American League East. When it looks like the Blue Jays are the favorite,
there's a world. I don't think they will, but this is a world with the Yankees fall out all the way out of the playoffs. And if if the Yankees kind of fall of the playoffs or maybe just squeak in as like the last wild card and the Mariners also get in as a wildcard carried by cal Rawley, I think that carries a lot of weight with voters too, and so and you know, I agree with what you said. I think one of the biggest overlooked factors is that
cal Rawley is a really good catcher. On top of this, you know, incredible offensive season, Like no one's ever had an offensive season as a catcher like this before.
It's just never happened.
And so I do think we you know, if Judge's numbers like he's he was batting four hundred, he's now batting, it's gonna star ridiculous to say like he's no batting all the way down to three sixty, Like, oh, god forbid, he's betting three sixty, expect the batting average three sixteen.
What if his batting average comes down to like three fifteen, three twenty and cal Rawley hits three or three eighty two eighty, and those numbers all of a sudden look much more similar, and cal raleys a catcher, and Judge already is one MVP, and we know all about voter fatigue. I think there's a realistic shot that cal Rally wins this award, even though the odds say no way right now.
One interesting thing is that I don't think War does a great job of capturing the value of catchers, and so like Judge's War is like one and a half to two wins higher depending on where you're looking, I don't think that's reflective of the actual value they're bringing to the team. Like I do think the fact that Rally's a catcher means that should be way closer, if not even like slightly in Col's favor. Truthfully, I agree. Yeah,
we're agreement on that one. Give me your last bulletpdiction here.
My last one is that we get no twenty plus win pitchers for the second year in a row. And I will add the caveat for that that if we don't know if you just heard that thunder behind.
Me, but it actually I usually don't. Usually when I'm on shows and somebody says, oh, did you hear that behind me, I'm like, no, I actually didn't. You're good, I did hear that one.
There are crazy storms here in Georgia. That's when I mean you were talking before you may have seen me, like look behind me. I think as you were talking, all of a sudden, I just heard like like it just started like pouring out of nowhere.
And that the Norfolk Tides the Oriol Striple a affiliate. A picture got called for a bock because there was a crazy clap of thunder and lightning. I don't think it was lightning because they would have paused the game. But it was like mid uh, you know, in his pitching rotation, he like mid delivery. Sorry, I was having a brain from mid delivery. There was this huge like rolling thunder and everybody you can see in the video
kind of like stops. But technically speaking it was a box and the umpire called it and a runner on third scored because of it.
That's wild.
Yeah.
Yeah, we get some crazy storms down here, especially because I live kind of at higher elevation, not like your elevation, but like you know, in terms of the surrounding area I've you know, I live kind of like on like a hill mountain kind of area, and so we get crazy storms that like waiting the jump me out of bed. Anyway, back to the prediction, the predictions that no, we get no twenty plus web pitchers for the second year in
a row, and not including twenty twenty. We had at least one in every season since twenty seventeen until last year, and so I'm predicting it to not happen again for the second year in a row.
What do you attribute that to? Is it something with modern approaches to pitching? I mean, obviously guys aren't going to step into games and all that stuff, but you know, even within the last five years, it feels like maybe a trend. If it's two in a row after having one for so many years in a row. Do you attribute that to anything in particular.
It's got to be you know, it's got to be usage pictures, not you know, getting more time off, not going to steep into games. You know, you don't want to say it's like the openers, because you know, like the bulk relievers get wins and stuff, but like that's also you know, just like one fewer start for you know, for the kind of like mid level pitchers, or we're not going to see like the Rick Porcellos of the
world win twenty two games anymore. But even going back when when I was looking back at previous years, in recent years, we've had like exactly one. And then when I started getting back to twenty seventeen and earlier, it was like, okay, now there's three, now there's two, Now there's three, and there were more, and now we're getting like one or none. And then for last year we got none, and I think it's possible this you know
this year we get none again. And just to give you an idea of where we are in terms of wins, Max Freed has eleven, Scooble has ten. But I'm also kind of thinking again if their cruising at the Division in September. Maybe he you know, they skip him a few times and they really pull back on his innings because the Tigers aren't in the playoffs every year, and so they want this almost automatic win pitcher to be as fresh as he can go to in the postseason.
So Scooble is the interesting one because of the point I was about to make, which is there's also not a lot of elite teams there. I believe the Tigers are the only team with a winning percentage over six hundred right now. So like your team needs to be winning games a lot for you to get twenty wins in a season. But Scooble is the best pitcher in baseball is also on the best team in baseball by winning percentage right now, So he is the clear in
my opinion choice. Like, if somebody is going to ruin this prediction for you, it will certainly be Scooble. I would think we talked about before the season two the lack of two hundred inning pitchers, and that plays into this as well.
Yeah, we have that was I was looking at that a little bit when when I got into the wins. This is a fun one and I will admit, maybe you'll get it because I've thrown some trivia your way and you've nailed them recently. But if you asked me this question and gave me fifty guesses, I don't think I would get it right. I would probably get one of them right, but not two of them. So are you able to tell me who the last two twenty
wins starting pitchers were? There was one in twenty twenty three and one in twenty twenty two.
I'm gonna guess no. I'm back for whatever reason, I feel like I'm better at order trivia than im recent trivia. Yeah, you said one in twenty you say so, but the ones in the twenties basically is what you're asking and it was two different people, right and people. I'm sure
there's an obvious name that is. I'm just like, oh crap, duh, that was definitely it, and I'm just forgetting nothing comes to mind off the top of the dumb I'm trying to run through all the teams quickly in my head, like who I would be overlooking here?
So I'll give you a hint.
One of them is like a top ten guy that you would say like, okay, that makes sense, like this guy is you know, the other guy is a deep cut.
I'm definitely not gonna pull the deep cut. I mean like I'm trying to think, like, did did Wheeler get to it? Or did Free to get to it with the Braves? No, I don't think, Well Gilbert didn't when he had his two hundred innings because I was last year. I need to have more hints? Did Strider Strider twenty twenty three? So Strider did? Who's a deep cut? I'm not going to get it? Well, do you want to give me a hinter.
I'll give you another hand. This it's such a deep cut that this might still not do it. So Spencer Strider was one. They're both braves. Twenty twenty three was a Brave, twenty twenty two was a Brave.
Twenty two Brave and it wasn't Freed No or Strider.
I don't even know where this guy's pitching now. If he is pitching, maybe he's hurt.
Let me see.
Wow, I am struggling to I'm going to get my brain as I've gotten older. Like I said, long term trivia, I have a pretty good memory for, but anything recent like just doesn't stick in my brain. Anymore as I've gotten into my servies.
This pitcher.
He's now twenty nine, he's now on the Royals. He's injured. He was recently injured at Triple A further Royals at eight twenty nine.
I feel like, as soon as you say it, I'm gonna be like, oh, duh, I should have gotten that. But who is it?
No, I think you're gonna be like, really, he won twenty twenty First, let me see how many games he won. I'm spending way too much time on this, but it's so fun that it's we.
Do have a whole home run derby draft to get to.
Okay, let's gay.
So he won twenty one games in twenty twenty two. Kyle Wright won twenty one game twenty two.
Yeah, Kyle Wright.
I have no recollection of that at all. I mean I have a recollection of Kyle Right. I have no recollection of him getting twenty one wins. That's just completely directly out.
Of twenty one and five with a three point one nine years the.
Braves was really good, So like, I'm not surprised it's a brave, but holy cow, do I not remember that? That's hilarious.
That's why I want to be like, I got to bring this up, Kyle Wright.
No way, that's great. All right, you have some bonus bold trade predictions. I do want to make sure we have time for our home run derby draft. So do you want to quickly run through these?
Yeah, we get to say real coup. We don't have this up on them.
But I just I was looking while I was making my bold predictions, I wanted to I was looking at like trade ideas for bold predictions, and I was like, these are all so specific. I don't want to spend time talking about them, but I throw it on bonus bold trade predictions that we can just run through. I had Jared duran Is involved in a three team trade. Sandiel contre Is traded to the Blue Jays, Johanno Suarez traded to the Yankees, Seth Lugo traded to the Astros.
Zach Gallen also traded to the Blue Jays, Ryan O'Hearn to the Mariners, Marcelo Zuna to the Tigers, and then Emmanuel Class to the Phillies. Those are my bold trade predictions. Hopefully they all come back, or they all come to fruition and we come back to this video like this guy is a legend.
He just nailed all these predictions.
I really liked the Lugo one to the Astros.
He felt like a fit for them as the kind of picture they would want to go out.
Yeah. Class to the Phillies obviously too, just you know, elite closer, good team. It will be fun. But yeah, those are good. I also wanted to do or you wanted to do World Series predictions, so you put yours in first, I'll let you go first.
Uh yeah, throw back only, but goodie Phillies versus Blue Jays. I think the Phillies have a real shot. Is one of the better teams in the West, and I think that the are in the NL, and I think the AL is wide open, and I think the Blue Jays could get hot, especially if they add a couple of pitchers.
The AL being wide open definitely was like very apparent, and trying to come up with us, I went with the Astros just obviously the organization has been there a bunch. There's a degree of trust in how they're going to perform in October, as opposed to teams that really haven't been there before. I don't like both of us didn't pick the Tigers. It feels like I don't know that
I would call them again. No pun intended a paper Tiger, but I don't look at this team and feel like, oh, the rest of the season, they're going to be the clear best team in baseball like they have in the first half. So I wanted to get away from picking them, and there wasn't a really clear other choice, like the Blue Jays are really hot right now. The Yankees. I don't believe in the Astros. It's more like organizational trust. The fact that Hunter Brown has become an ace really
helps in my opinion. And again like guys like Cozl TV have been there before. So I didn't love any American League pick. And then the Dodgers, Like I know, we're all disappointed by the Dodgers relative to expectation before the season. This is still the outside the Tigers. This is the best record in baseball right like it's even
despite the struggles and guys underperforming and getting injured. This is an excellent organization that has so much talent they can easily add more at the trade deadline if they want. They're gonna get healthier, like you know, the Cubs are. I think legitimately good. The Phillies are really good. Phillies probably would have been my pick if I didn't go Dodgers. I like other teams than NL. There's a few teams the NL that would have been my choice in the AL,
but I just couldn't get away from the Dodgers. Like I just and it's boring right to say Astros Dodgers. We've seen this recently, but I I just kind of feel like that's what it's gonna end up being.
Yeah, I just didn't want to pick Dodgers. I, you know, I thought that was more chalking. And I think the Phillies have the right kind of balance to pull it up, especially if they add like a right handed bat at the deadline. They have a really good rotation, you know. If they can just roll Wheeler out there, you canad he can go toe to toe with anyone in the playoffs.
Yeah. If you're struggling with lineup decisions, our lineup assistant recommends optimal lineup suggestions to maximize your team's performance each day or week. Just sink your league for tailored guidance based on your roster. In league settings, download the Fantasy Baseball My Playbook app or visit fantasypros dot com slash MLB my playbook to set your winning lineup today. All right, Mayor, we're gonna wrap things up with our home run Derby draft.
We did this last year. I forget one. Actually was it me? Actually I genuinely don't remember who won.
I think it was you.
But what we're gonna do pretty sure is we're going to count this towards our two start picture contest because we can't really do one this week because nobody's making two starts with only half a week of games. So we're going to make this count because that's I believe we did that last year. H Garrett Crochet obviously crushed crushed Chase Perns the last completed week. So it's all tied up at five five and one. We have one tie.
We each have five wins. I assume you're not going to push back too hard on the Crechet beating Chase pers given that terrible start.
I actually have.
I don't want to make this any longer, but I actually have a confession to make what so I believe last year we also counted their home on derby towards the two start picture competition as well right, yeah, So I'm also pretty sure that you won. And I think when I was recalculating everything at the end, there was no note about you winning their home on derby, and I think that was the extra point that was miscalculated. So I think you won last year's competition.
I think definitely. I told you from the beginning that I won. I said this all off season and the beginning of this season that I didn't know what you were talking about that I so I.
Was just looking at like the starts and I was like, no, it's dead even but the extra point is the home run derby contest.
By the way, if you don't watch YouTube, I was just clapping. That's what that noise was. If you can't tell through audio, I don't know how well it comes through.
But was it more thunder on my own?
Yeah? Oh man, yea, we got to get like a championship belt or something. I told you that I won that I I knew it because I was I thought I had clinched it with like a week left. I was like, there's no way you can catch up. But that's that's really really excellent.
That's what happened.
I think I think that that makes total sense. That totally adds up. So, by the way, I didn't read the comments to see people called me out on this because I was afraid they were going to Paul Skeen's not a two start pitcher this week. I usually look at fan tracks just because it's really easy in one of my leagues to see when they've highlighted two start pictures. He was listed as one for this week for some reason.
He made a start on Sunday, so clearly he was not going to be a two start pitcher this week. So I pivoted off the air, and I messaged before anybody had made start mayor about this that I pivoted to Christopher Sanchez, so he has my pick for this current week that we're in, not Paul Skeen's, because again, for some reason, fan tracks had it listed wrong, and I did zero effort to corroper right that they were going to be correct.
So, yeah, your mistake not using the Fantasy pros tools.
Yes it is my mistake. Christopher Sanchez vers Hunter Brown. Is this current week that we're in all tied up five to five and one, and yes this will count towards it. And I think what we did last year is total homers? Or did we just give it to whoever picked the winner?
I gotta be honest, I don't remember.
Do you have a preference what we do? Would you? Would you rather go total home runs drafted or something where like, you know, you get a point for making to the semis, three points for winning it at all or something like that. What would you rather do?
I think I think maybe we did total home runs. Let's just do total home runs because if your players advance, you're gonna get there.
You're going to get more rons anyway. Yeah, I agree, all right, we'll do total home runs now super annoyingly, we don't have the full field, so the surprise final person will be drafted. So we each have a team of four. But you're just getting to take a sing. You don't know who it's gonna be, So that baby that'll be the last pick or baby you say, I want to, you know, be bold, this is a bold predictions episode and take a chance so we can we
can really do whatever you want with it. I think since I won last year, I should get to go first. I don't feel strongly about that. If you feel differently, I'm okay going second, But do. Are you okay with that?
That's fine by me, but real quick, so we we know seven contestants with an asterix on Buckston.
Right, yes, So the contestants are eight total, Ronald Acunya, James Wood, O'Neil Cruz Junior, Cameronaro, cal Rawley, Byron Buckston with an asterisk because of the hit by pitch Brent Rooker announced today. And then one more, well we'll get announced.
So the one more we're going to guess who the one more is there?
No, no, no, I think we just say mystery final contestant is the pick, and it's like it's like the mystery box, you know, and call duty. Just you get what you get.
I thought maybe there was gonna be like two or three names we don't know, and we would just draft a bunch of guys and hopefully know.
All right, So you okay with me going first? I mean, I just think that's that's fair. Like whoever wins gets to go.
We're just going back and forth. We snake out.
I think we just go back and forth, okay to man draft, all right, I am going to go with I actually don't really have a clear number one, so I don't know I'll go with Ronald o'cunya. Best player on the list has hit home run since coming back hometown for this you know, uh, this event, and I could just I can just more than anybody else in this in this lineup. I can picture him hitting like eight in a row on eight swings like and just going on like a real heater. I can visualize it.
So I'll go with a Kunya for my pick.
I was really hoping you would go somewhere else because that was going to be my first pick last year.
Didn't you take Gunnar Henderson from me now that I'm remembering, and he hit like two?
Yeah, yeah, I played the heel in last year's draft. It didn't work out.
Yeah. Oh but by the way, just to let everybody know, and you know, so if you look at the number of home runs hit this season for these guys, Cal Raley thirty six, James Wood twenty four, Junior Cameronaro twenty two, Byron Buxton twenty, Brent Rooker nineteen, O'Neil Cruz sixteen, and Ronald Acunya eleven. Obviously, Kunya not played the full season, but he's hit the fewest of the seven are now so far.
Wonderful. So second pick, I'm going to go. Let me just give cal Rally. You know, I'll just go with it.
You know, I don't know if that's going to be the right pick or not, but let's do it.
That's an interesting one. I wasn't sure what to do with it. Obviously he's been awesome this year. I don't it doesn't feel like a home run Derby is maybe the best fit. I know he's talked about always wanting to participate, and obviously he's really good, so it might be.
Look a guy who would have the endurance for home run Derby does it?
Yeah, that's that's fair. I'm between two players here, and I'm worried you're gonna take the one. I don't take whichever direction I go. I'm gonna go with man I really I really like two of these is a clear top too. I wonder if you have the same too. I'm gonna go with O'Neil Cruz just light tower power. You know, people talk about his his batting practices as you see a lot of homers, and I could see him being a really fun and participant in this. So
I'll go Cruse. Would he have been your next pick or somebody else.
I actually don't know. I think Cruise would have been my next pick.
Interestingly, I have taken the two guys with the fewest home runs on the list so far.
I might be changing that. I I like Caimanara. I'm gonna go Brett Rooker. I'm gonna go with Britton Rooker.
Okay, So I like Rooker. But my pick was it was between Cruz and Camonaro. So I'll go cam and Aro.
Oh yeah, Camanara was the other guy. I wasn't going to pick either of the other two, but I didn't think you were.
Okay, So I have a Kunya Cruz and Cameron Aro. You have cal Raley, Brent Rooker. You're on the clock remaining Byron Buxton, James Wood and mystery Box. If you just want to take the bold, maybe it turns out being somebody really good.
Ooh, you know what.
I would go mystery Box, but game three tells me I should not, so I'm not going to.
I could see mystery Box being awesome, like they're saving somebody right for this final announcement. I I like Cesme's family Barbecue was talking about like maybe it's Julio Rodriguez. Maybe it's Jazz Chisholm, maybe it's Suarez, maybe it's Kyle Tucker. They're trying to name guys that are already going to be in Atlanta, but you have no idea. Also, by the way, I should say, if Buckston ends up leaving, whoever he is, replacement is, we'll go to that person. Clearly,
all right, this is a really fun field. By the way, Yeah, yeah, you know what mystery box James Wood or Byron Buxton slash.
Buyer mystery box. Mystery Box would be anything James would.
I was definitely going to take mystery Box over Buxton.
That's why I thought.
I was like Originally in my mind, I was like, I'll take Wood, he'll take Box, and I'll get mystery Box. But then I was like, wait, he's definitely not going to take box.
I would not have taken Buxton. But I mean bucks In again, if he doesn't participate, that's also a mystery box, right, Like, it could be a good replacement, so it's not necessarily a bad pick. The thing that I worry about with Wood is I wonder almost he has a lot of power, clearly, but I wonder if he's more of like an in game power type of guy.
That's what I think.
He does have the second most home runs on this list. And I really like James Wood the player, and I was, you know, I got I'm going to take Wood and not Bucks and Slash Mystery Player because I've been all in on Wood this whole season, like as a you know, one of my favorite picks and a guy planning my flag on. So I feel like I got to continue that and stick with with the guy who kind of got me here.
Good because I already wrote that on the she So I have.
Ronald Acunya, O'Neil Cruz, Junior Camonaro, and James Wood. You have Col Raley, Brent Rooker Mystery box Player A, and Byron Buxton Slash Mixed three box Player B. If there's a replacement.
Well, so we have the one thing about James Would, I mean, I think we both love James Would is half of his home runs are the opposite field, so he's not necessarily this like huge pole power guy. I think he might be just a real in in game really good and of course, like now that I say that, he's gonna like hit fifty home runs and win this thing.
No, but that is that's why I had him below like Junior cameronaro O'Neil Cruz like same, that's why he was a little lower on the list despite his great season. So we're we're in agreement on that. I might have taken Buxton over him if not for the injury in the mystery Box elements. Basically, what it is is I have my four players, you have two, and you just whoever the other two are, whether it's Buxton, whether it's whoever the mystery boxes, they're on your team. So we'll see how those.
I hope it's Kotani or something that would be amazing, like yeah, you get just like the absolute best like option that would be a judge, Yeah, judge.
Yeah.
Alonso actually backtracks and says, you know what, I will do it. I'm like, oh, this that's a professional home run derbyus, Like yeah, all right.
Give me, give me judges the mystery box, and then Buxton gets scratched for Otani and then I just dominate.
I will feel like you will probably win if that's if that pants out that way, all right, we'll go ahead and wrap things up there. Everybody, let us know who you thought the first pict should have been in the home run derby draft and kind of what direction you would have gone? Whose team you think is gonna win again? A Kunya Cruz Cameronara Wood versus Raleigh Rooker mystery box player and Buxton Slash mystery box player. Let us know whose team you like better. We'll go ahead
and wrap things up there by the way. By the way, one other news and note that I wanted to quickly mention, uh, Backyard Baseball two thousand and one now available on Steam. I will be downloading it. This is It's not. I just want to say it because I'm so excited about it. Like truthfully, I like that was the computer game I probably played most the most hours in my life as a kid growing up, specifically the one version of Backyard Baseball. So I'm like so excited to play as cal Ripkin again.
And you know, Ken Griffey Junior was always one of my top choices and just an all time, all time great game. And uh, in case anybody missed it and loves baseball, I want to shout it out. Backyard Baseball, Oh one back and available to play so again not an ad Red, definitely not.
I just maybe they'll sponsor the show that they say.
What I love that. I we got to get Jimmy on that. I'm very excited to say about that possibility.
Also, a friend of the show, Brendon Tuma, a huge fan of backyard Baseball, is in his I forget.
Profile picture on Twitter still like Pablo Sanchez.
That's what I was going.
I couldn't remember the name. I wanted to say, Pablo Lopez.
He's a real picture and not Pablo Sanchez, who's the best player in the backyard sports is his birthday is a day before mine. So I used to like totally.
Irrelevant avatar for like a decade.
Yeah, I mean he's a stunt, he's he's a great If you get that's gonna be your avatar. It's a go one and a half. So shouts to Pablo Sanchez, shouts to Tuma, Shouts to the mayor and all the listeners. Thanks for tuning in for you know, we're kind of wrapping up the first half of the season, so we will have some fun in the second half post All Star Break. Everybody, enjoy the All Star Break and the home Run Derby and we'll see you next time. Thanks
for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Baseball podcast. If you love the show, the best freeway to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow us on x, Instagram, and TikTok at Fantasy Pros, and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Fantasy Pros MLB