Rich and Tim reviewed this weeks waiver wire

Take 10 with Tim – May 11, 2024

1.Paul Skenes will make his Major League debut today (Saturday). He’s being hyped relentlessly. MLB.COM has an article entitled: The making of Paul Skenes a ‘one’ in a decade kind of pitcher.
a.Are you starting him?

2.Let’s take a look at the standing since we are getting close to the quarter point in the season.

3.Well, that didn’t last long, as Tyler Black was optioned back to Triple-A. When do you think we'll see him back up?

4.Willson Contreras got hit in the arm by a swing from JD Martinez. I read that the Cardinals had him move closer and given how deep Martinez is in the box, well, it didn’t go well. It’s interesting you don’t see more of this.

a.Who gets the playing time in St. Louis? Are you interested?

5.Kyle Harrison has been great this season, posting a 3.20 ERA. Who are your top two ROY contributors in each league at this point?

6.While we are waiting for the Rays to promote Junior Caminero, the Rays promoted Jonny DeLuca instead, and he’s been great so far. Any thoughts?

7.The Angels put Brandon Drury and Luis Rengifo on the IL. Let’s take a look at the Angels lineup and discuss who is “startable” in a fantasy league.

8.Maybe a question from tonight’s game…we will see..

9.Which hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?

10.Which pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?

The following players are discussed:
1. Pedro Leon (Hou)
2. Moises Ballesteros (CHC)
3. Mitch Jebb (Pit)
4. Lazaro Montes (Sea)
5. Chayce McDermott (Bal)
6. Zebby Matthews (Min)

Fantasy Baseball Live – May 5, 2024 @ 3pm

Segment 1 – Review the games of the weekend

Additional Notes:
1.We had a trade. Luis Arraez goes to the Padres for a package of prospects (Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, Woo-Suk Go, and Nathan Martorella
a.Do you like this trade for the Padres? What about the Marlins return
b.Any change in the fantasy outlook of Arraez?
c.c. You’re a big fan of Jakob Marsee and drafted him in numerous leagues this season. Now that he is in Miami, you might get a payoff. What do you think? When do we see him?
d.Woo-Suk Go. What do you think we should see from him this season?
2.John Means looked good on his return to Baltimore. Is he a no-doubt start every week?
3.Christian Scott looked great in his debut. 6.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 6K/1BB
4.Steven Kwan was pulled from last night’s game with a hamstring injury. Any thoughts if he misses time?
5.Trea Turner hit the IL and Edmundo Sosa is the likely fill-in. Any interest?


Segment 2 – Waiver Wire

Segment 3 – Closer Report

Close

Take 10 with Tim – May 3, 2024—There will be only eight questions because one of them is quite long. I will limit it to an hour.

1.How are your teams doing?

2.The all-bad start to the season team. Any hope of a recovery

C: Gabriel Moreno (ARI, 11th catcher off the board): .238, 9 Runs, 13 RBI, 0 HR, 0 SB,
1B: Vlad Guerrreo (Tor, 5th) - .231, 11 runs, 11 RBI, 3 HR, 0 SB
2B: Gleyber Torres (NYY, 6th) - .215, 14 runs, 6 RBI, 0 HR, 3 SB
3B: Austin Riley (ATL, 2nd) - .235, 17 runs, 16 RBI, 2 HR, 0 SB
SS: Bo Bichette (Tor, 8th) - .205, 9 runs, 11 RBI, 1 HR, 3 SB
OF: Corbin Carroll (AZ, 4th) - .197, 13 runs, 5 RBI, 1 HR, 8 SB
OF: Randy Arozarena (TB, 13th) - .139, 12 runs, 9 RBI, 3 HR, 4 SB
OF: Wyatt Langford (Tex, 30th) - .239, 13 runs, 11 RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB
SP: Joe Musgrove (SD, 30th) – 41 IP, 6.37 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 36K, 3 wins
RP: Josh Hader (Hou, #2) – 12.2 IP, 6.39 ERA, 2 saves
Any other player or players you would like to throw into the fold.

3.We had three of the more prominent prospects get the call this weekend. How much are you spending on each:
a.Joey Loperfido (Hou, OF/1B)
b.Tyler Black (Mil, 2B/3B/1B)
c.Jordan Beck (Col, OF)

4.Three more prominent prospects have to be up soon, don’t they? When do they arrive?
a.Kyle Manzardo (Cle, 1B)
b.Junior Caminero (TB, 3B)
c.Paul Skenes (Pit, RHP)

5.Kyle Bradish made his long-awaited season debut yesterday and looked good. Are you starting him with confidence?

6.I’m really bummed about Mike Trout. He looked great, and out of nowhere, he tears his meniscus and is gone for 2 to 3 months. Given how slow he’s been to heal of late, I would not be surprised if he is out the rest of the season?
a.Give me some names you would grab if you roster Trout.
b.He’s limping to the finish line. Does he make it to the Hall of Fame? First ballot?
c.I’ll provide you my comp for him…I think you’ll like it.

7.What hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?

8.What pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?

The following players are discussed:
1. Kyle Manzardo (Cle)
2. Deyvison De Los Santos (AZ)
3. Dylan Beavers (Bal)
4. Gavin Conticello (AZ)
5. Jeral Perez (LAD)
6. Cade Povich (Bal)
7. Matt Wilkinson (Cle)
8. Jonah Tong (NYM)

Rich discusses this week's Waiver Wire Pickups.

He also does a breakdown of Parker Meadows and Andrew Vaughn.

Take 10 with Tim

Let’s redraft the first round as if the season started today, but we have all the knowledge from the first three weeks.

1.Let’s do a similar exercise for closers and draft the Top 10 closers.

2.Connor Wong hit his fifth home run on Wednesday to add to his .370 batting average. I have him in a couple of leagues just because my catcher went down. I surely didn’t expect this. Is this sustainable?

3.The Cardinals demote a struggling Jordan Walker. I wrote about this for our Patreon members, and the analytics show some encouraging things. What say you?

4.Heston Kjerstad gets the call. Will you be going after him aggressively this weekend?

5.More moves

a.Cody Bellinger hits the IL with a fractured rib, and your guy, Pete Crow Armstrong, gets the call. Will he get enough at-bats to matter? Is he worth rostering?
i.What about Mike Tauchman to get increased playing time?
b.Kevin Keirmair hits the IL and Addison Barger gets the call.
i.Any interest?
c.Blake Snell hits the IL…insert joke here.

6.Give me the one hitter you are targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? PCA and Hunter Goodman

7.Give me the one pitcher that you are targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? Landon Knack

The following players are discussed:

1. Tyler Black (Mil)
2. Kyle Manzardo (Cle)
3. Frederick Bencosme (Bal)
4. Cole Carrigg (Col)
5. Ralphy Valazquez (Cle)
6. AJ Blubaugh (Hou)
7. Jaden Hamm (Det)

Fantasy Baseball Live – April 21, 2024

Segment 1 – Review of the weekend games
Additional Questions:
1.Blake Snell – Yikes!
2.Yariel Rodriguez – Another nice outing. What’d think?
3.As you know, I liked Maysn Winn better than Jordan Walker, but I didn’t expect Walker to be this bad. What happened? His strikeout is up; he’s showing zero power (.283 SLG). WOW!
4.Will Shota Imanaga be a better fantasy option than Yamamoto?
5.Max Scherzer will start a rehab this week. Maybe 3 weeks or so?

Segment 2 – Waiver Wire

Segment 3 – Closer Report

Close

Take 10 with Tim – April 19, 2024 – 8 am ET
1.    We had two big prospects get the call and make their MLB Debut.  Are you interested in either player?
a.    Andy Pages
i.    Does he get full-time at-bats?  If so, what does the outfield in LAD look like?
b.    Jack Leiter
i.    He was a little shaky on his first start against a Quad-4 lineup.
2.    The Red Sox pitching duo of Kutter Crawford (21.1 IP, 0.42 ERA, 10 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0 wins) and Tanner Houck (26.2 IP, 1.35 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 0.68 BB/9 3 wins), have been terrific.  Are you buying their starts?
3.    What one or two players that you drafted that you wish you would have left for someone else?
4.    Who is your early personal MVP on your teams.  A guy you believed in and took earlier than others?
5.    We have passed the 10% mark on the season.  What advice do you have for fantasy managers
a.    Managers who are doing well.
b.    Managers who are struggling.
6.    Over-Under game
a.    Mike Trout – 35 home runs (currently has 8)
b.    Mike Trout – 15 stolen bases (5)
c.    Brice Turang – 40 steals (9)
d.    CJ Abrams – 25/25 (5 and 3) – Has he become a Top 5 SS (drafted 9th).  Witt, Gunnar, Abrams??
e.    Jordan Westburg – 25/15 (4 and 2)
f.    Jared Jones – 200 strikeouts (32 K’s in 23 innings)
g.    Reid Detmers – 200 strikoeuts (30 K’s in 22.2 innings)
h.    Kyle Finnegan – 30 saves (7 currently) – Who would have thunk it!
7.    Esteury Ruiz.  He got the call – hit a pitch hit home run the day of the call.  Two days later, he hit another one (a bomb that went 412 feet and left the bat at 109.8 MPH).  He also stole a base.
a.    What’s going on here?
b.    Why does their field manager, Kotsay, not seem excited for the kid?
8.    Did you hear the interview with Peter Fairbanks?  If not, here it is.  Rich Wilson on X: "Kind of hard not to like Peter Fairbanks after this." / X (twitter.com)
a.    So refreshing to hear a player say that he sucks.
b.    Ok, are you worried?  Who should fantasy managers be picking up in case he really does suck?
9.    What hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?
10.    What pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB?