A Society takes everyone to Rich Weil's I Walk into Fantasy Baseball Live.

Today is September nineteenth, probably our last Take ten with Tim on Friday, as the season is winding down and Tim and I are winding down here as well.

Tim, are you how's life with you?

Life is good.

I got home last night early evening.

I think I found all my dirty clothes, but if not, I'm sure they will come to the fort sometime in the next week and I'll find them in the cars somewhere.

How long were you gone?

Oh?

Nine days?

Wow?

Wow, that's a long time to be gone.

Yeah, it was.

It was a quick trip, but it was a good trip.

I had some things I had to take care of on the personal front, and spent some time with my brother and old friends, and uh, yeah it was.

It was a long drive.

I'll leave it at that.

But back in one piece.

That's what counts.

That's good.

That's good.

So we've got I said, this is our last show.

We've only got two more.

We're actually ten days left of the season, if you can believe that time.

We've got this weekend, all of next week and next weekend, and then it's it's time it's just surreal almost.

Well, yeah, we're starting to get questions about drafts.

I know, I can't even I can't even think that far ahead.

No, I I sort of liked the I sort of liked the break between the the our season and you know, watching watching the playoffs and you know, getting through the playoffs and then I then I start getting it into it.

A little bit more.

But for the most part, my off season is the MLB playoffs.

I think that makes sense.

I was actually as you were talking of, going, Yeah, I kind of like the playoffs because I don't have to worry about anything yet, and the drafts really aren't starting yet draft prep.

I mean, it's it's just a nice four weeks of some downtime.

So so yeah, it doesn't make sense.

Yeah, because as soon as the playoffs end, you get into free agency.

Things are happening quick.

You've got you know, the Asian market coming into play, and people are starting to draft in October.

So if we don't know, you know, towards the end of October, if you don't take that break hearing the playoffs, before you know it, we're into spring training again.

Right, Yeah, it's crazy.

I do in two weeks from today.

That'll be my first drop of my prospects.

So the top twenties come out starting October third of the Chicago Cubs.

It's ready to roll, Tim, So I've got I've been writing like a madman.

So that's that's ready to go.

Two a week as I do every year.

Yes, which means by some time around uh oh, the third week of October, we'll be doing our first review of those prospects.

Correct, crazy, it's crazy, Yeah, just about that's that'll be the the break will be over the third week in October.

Well, yeah, we start going through the prospects, I get into my rankings, and before you know it, spring training has arrived.

So it's a short show everyone.

We're going to talk about kind of our bust of the seasons.

I've got five, Tim's got five, so some of those guys that just did not perform the way, So there's really eleven because we're gonna talk about one guy, you know that kind of started this whole discussion for me.

They were gonna talk aout the Arizona Fall League.

The rosters are out.

They came out a couple of weeks ago, but Tim and I are both on vacation.

We've got more listener questions, and I'm gonna see the TAM's going to pick up for this last weekend before the last week of the season.

Sound good, tim sounds like a plan to me.

So it all started and I couldn't believe, well I can't, but Jordan Alvarez is hurt again and the report coming out of Houston is a significant ankle injury.

And it's just been a disaster for guys who drafted him, Tim because they got him, had to get him in late in the first round, early in the second round.

And it kind of begged the question, what are some other busts that have been the season that just have not performed the way that fantasy managers would have we're expecting.

So, first of all, on you are Dan Alvarez, right, you have him in one league.

I think you drafted them and that's that's just a bomber.

Too as a matter of fact.

Wow, And yeah, with an ADP of six, you expect more than six homers twenty seven RBIs in a two seventy three batting average.

Yeah.

It those two teams were basically lost before they even had all that much of a chance to get going.

You know, it was just done like dinner.

You know, you don't you don't replace even though it happened early in the season, you don't replace your Dan Alvarez.

You know, at basically back of the back of the first round draft slot.

It just doesn't happen.

So he's still a young player, but he looks like an old player to me, just because of his size and as we know, guys that are gigantic like he is just don't age.

Well, are you now going into next season, first of all, where do you think he goes in drafts?

And are you just going to avoid drafting him just because you're worried about the injury risk?

Or is this just is an anomaly.

He's still only twenty six, twenty seven years old.

I think for now, yeah, playing it as an anomaly and just a bad season, I think is the approach that I'll take.

I don't know if it's the right one.

I'm hoping it is.

He's so young, it's hard to you know, usually that fall off the bigger players is somewhere the other side of thirty early thirties.

It seems a little bit early to me to be predicting the demise of your Dan Alvarez.

Now again, Hey, if you so choose to take that route, am I going to argue with you?

No, I'm expecting it, But I am expecting.

If I look at Albaz, I'm expecting a discount next year.

How much of a discount?

One round?

That's it?

Wow?

Well, if you look.

At his history, if the history is fairly strong, So if I can sneak him in as a three four towards the back, I'm not saying I'm going to take him right now.

It's early, but I'm not it will have my interests.

How's that?

So that sounds more to two rounds because he went one two, So you're thinking three to four.

Yeah, somewhere in that range.

Yeah, yeah, I.

Early fourth, late third, early fourth somewhere.

I mean, obviously a great player, there's no question he's a great, great player.

But you know, it's it's just, you know, you worry about that body type.

And I don't worry about I think he'll perform well when he plays.

I just worry that he's just going to spend so much time on the il.

That's just my yeah, my gut feeling on it.

Yeah, And you know that's perfectly fine.

I don't have any problems at all.

Then, you know what, we still haven't got a firm definition on that ankle injury.

If it is you know, if it's more than just a spring, well, of course that's going to change our whole discussion that we just had, you know what I mean, if there's ligament damage whatever, Right, yeah, it could change things rather drastic good because again, he's a big boy, puts a lot of torque into things, and having two solid ankles probably helps in that cause, right.

Probably does.

All right, So that is one.

So tell us another one of your busts for the season.

Well, As a rookie, Jackson Merrill hit twenty four home runs, drove in ninety stole sixteen bases, and had a two ninety two batting average.

This year is ADP was twenty six to six and so far fourteen homer, sixty one RBIs, one stolen base and a two sixty three batting average.

You're looking at a second round pick that, for the most part, because of injuries, just didn't deliver this year, and that left a pretty big mark if you, if.

You somehow were.

Looking at a commination of say Mookie Betts, Merrill Alvarez, any of those.

Yeah you if you ended up with both on your team somehow, Yeah, it was a total disaster.

I'm looking at his Baseball Savant page and this exitossies down a little bit.

His speed is still the same as it was last season.

So I'm wondering if if we can predict a bounce back for him next season, and will you get a discount on him next year.

I'm thinking, yeah, you'll get You'll get a discount, And I'm thinking that there's a good potential for the sophomore slump to be and the injuries that have gone along with his sophomore season will disappear.

And yeah, I think the potential is still there.

And if the discount, hey, you move him back around, I think you'll get people's attention.

Yeah, I mean it's it's still unexpected batting average of two seventy nine.

Again, he hits the ball reasonably hard, and I mean, again, I don't see that he's twenty two years old.

So I'm hoping it was just the injuries and again maybe just some adjustments that he had.

He did really chase a lot more chase in his swing, so so there was a bit more strikeouts than there were last season, In fact, a lot more strikeouts than there were last season.

You know, he's never going to walk a lot, so on an on base percentage league, it's not a great selection.

No, It just if you went with him this year, it has been undoubtedly a disappointment.

Yeah.

I think that's always that's always a risk.

You know, you go with these guys rookies that have their breakout season and then Jackson Merrow is so young that it does feel like there's many times that sophomore slump before they get their sea legs again.

Yeah, And you know, I think a lot of the players that were looking at both my picks and your picks fall into that, fall into that group, you know what I mean.

I know you you went with Brenton Doyle and hey.

I love to jack Kamaro for you, but I but I took Britain toil.

I knew that there's both of those guys who were on your underperforming uh and you had them on a bunch of teams.

But my first guy is Adlie Rutchman, right, I mean, obviously William Contravis is probably the number one catcher taken off the board, but Ali Ruchmand was right there fifty six eighty p so, I mean it was he was taken in the you know, top fourth four five rounds in eighty five games, nine home runs, twenty nine RBIs at two twenty seven batting average, and again injured a lot.

I get it.

But when he played Timmy, he didn't play well.

No, it's he's good.

He's going to need a bounce back because, let's face it, the group of catchers that were looking at moving forward, it's a really really good group filled with a lot of really good, young, high upside type players, and Adley Richmond better get it to get either fairly quickly or he's going to find himself being a mid tier ten to fifteen type catcher off the board.

It won't take long with the young group that we're looking at right now.

I do think.

I mean, he doesn't hit the ball that hard.

I mean, that's always been the issue with him.

But I mean I think two years in a row of twenty hond runs nineteen zero, I think he's a twenty home run guy.

Just don't know how much he's I think it's what he's always done to two fifty batting average with twenty home runs.

I think that's who the player is, and so I think everyone was expecting more.

I know I was expecting more as he was coming through the minor leagues.

And maybe he has that great year where it's thirty home runs and he hits two eighty and all is forgotten.

But I don't see anything in the data that would point to that.

No, I agree, Hey, twenty twenty eighty to ninety two fifty.

Yeah, And this year you've also got to look at you know, that whole Baltimore lineup and the chaos has sort of ensued.

Gunner Henderson didn't have a real good year, and that's got to have some bearing, I think on Retchman and everybody hitting around Henderson.

So I'll go with the combination plan on that.

Looking at Rutchman, I I'm gonna I'm gonna go with that.

I'm also gonna go with maybe at least my own evaluation of him coming to the minor leagues.

I just doesn't hit the ball as hard as I thought he was going to do, and I therefore I think he's a good player.

I don't think he's going to be the Buster Posey of our generation here.

No, I I agree.

I just hope he doesn't prove to be the Matt Widers of our generation.

You know, I that is a name that obviously has been put forward before.

So I agree with you there.

Who's your next guy?

Well, I got I've got too in a row sort of.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna skip the two in a row and I'm gonna go to Anthony Santander of the Blue Jays.

Yeah, eightyp of eighty seven to six, and what we've seen this year is a total of six home runs, eighteen RBIs and a one to seventy nine batting average.

Now that sounds that sounds bad, but when you take into consideration the fact.

Let me let me write that down.

That sounds bad.

It actually is worse because that's his production in the first two months of the season before he went on the il with the shoulder injury.

So that's your first two months out of Anthony stander six eighteen one seventy nine.

The rest of the year he was heard, which did you know, Hey, it just adds adds to that dismal start.

But man's that is brutal.

It really is.

You're looking at the guy that went as a second outfielder, and you've got thing for a moment.

Yeah, I didn't have Anthony.

I didn't even consider Anthony Santander in any league.

And it's I just felt like he had that great blowout free agent season with the Orioles, and how many times do we see that and then the guy goes back to who he was prior to that, which is a fine player, but taken as your second outfielder.

Boy, you really questioned.

That, Well, yeah, there was some damage that incouraged who you got next.

Rich, I've got a guy that has been pretty much a stalwart of thirty nine home runs forty home runs the last two seasons, and Timmy's a part time player now, and that is Marcella is Soon one hundred and thirty seven games, twenty on runs, fifty eight RBIs, And he goes, well, that's not so bad.

But the fifty eight RBIs kind of shows you a the problem that the Atlanta Braves had in scoring runs and b that he basically has been sitting a lot here in the last couple of months.

And I maybe it's just Marcella Soon has finally got to be that age that we're starting to see the natural decline here.

Well, yeah, we saw his career spike pretty solidly going back to twenty seventeen when he was with Miami and then he moved to Saint Louis and he was okay, And you know, his first couple of years in Atlanta were no great shakes, and he had those two big seasons and back to twenty sixty five.

If I'm going to lock up my DH slove with somebody next year, it's not going to be Marcello Isna.

Yeah, that's a hard pass for me.

It's he is thirty two years old.

I've got him in a couple of dynasty leagues, and it's I'm starting to really worry here.

But I mean I am taking a look at his expected batting averages to fifty two.

He still hit the ball really hard, so I still think there's there's some power there.

But I mean, if the Braves that were desperate for offense felt like they couldn't play him full time, that's a real problem.

Well yeah, and he's actually older than that.

Rich He'll be thirty five in December.

Okay, Yeah, so he's gone to his thirty fifth season.

Yeah, Yeah, he's like he's Yeah, it's and if you look at the numbers, other than twenty seventeen and twenty three and twenty four, he's been an okay type player, but certainly not you know, twenty three home runs, eighty eight RBIs, twenty three, seventy six, twenty three, fifty six, twenty sixty five this year.

Other than those three big years were certainly big years, but there's a lot of just okay, yeah, scattered amongst those big years.

And I'm I'm not going to tie up my dear slot next year.

Yeah, even in his big years, he's still had a lot more power against right handed pitchings, and maybe he's just going to fall into a platoon guy.

In twenty twenty four he had the thirty nine home runs with thirty four were hit against right handers, with a five sixty one slow six flog against left handers was pretty good, but I mean he was definitely a right handed killer as opposed to a left handed killer.

Yeah, I'm just taking a quick scan right now.

I'm just curious to see how long the braves are tied into him, and it's coming up even as we speak.

Uh, He's he's a free agent heading in the next year.

Oh okay, Well, who's your next guy?

Tim?

Yeah?

Uh can I can?

I go with my combination pick now?

Sure and you could do whatever you want?

Okay?

Well, uh, the twenty third starting pitcher off the board with an ADP of one oh two point five netted you one win, twenty four k's and a four seventy two e er And that was one Rokie Sazaki And following Sazaki right behind him was my buddy ten Or Biby, who is finally showing some life at.

One little start this week.

That's it.

He's had two in.

A row, I believe has he Okay, I'm gonna call out a streak.

You know who's also played a lot better is the Diamondbacks kid.

Oh Gallant Gallon has had He's been He's pitched much better of the last few weeks.

Yeah, but again, if you invested, you know, as your twenty third starting, twenty four starting pitcher off the board the first first five months, I'm not sure where Gallon went.

I'd have to take a look.

But none of them have have helped your causes been.

Sazaki has been a huge disappointment this year.

He really has, uh totally and the Sasaki I think is back pitching in the bullpen.

Is that what I read?

Yeah, I read something along those lines.

Yeah.

I think they're gonna work them out of the pen, which considering the Dodgers pen, it might actually be a good thing, because.

That's a mess.

Like Tanner Scott, I don't know what is going on there, but I know he isn't getting a Christmas card from Yamamoto.

That ain't gonna happen.

Uh.

Yeah, He's just been up down all over the place, and the Dodgers have to be disappointed with that term of events.

So my next guy is brent My next guy is Brenton Doyle.

I mean, obviously he was a number one, number two outfielder, some number one outfielders twenty three thirty in twenty twenty four.

I mean this, if you look at fourteen sixteen and I was thinking that's not so bad.

But then I take a look and it was really a streak in August that he played really well.

But in September, to me, I don't know if you've seen what he has done.

So one eight and three batting average with no home runs in three stolen bases.

That's what he's done.

In the month since the last thirty days.

That's that's what he's done.

So he's back to stinking and two thirty seven batting average, and all the damage was done in a streaky period in the middle of August where it looked like he was bouncing back.

But other than that, he's been a real disappointment this season.

I totally agree.

I had him in a lot of leagues this year.

I've got a decision to make on Brenton Doyle because I can protect him in one of my leagues for eleven dollars next year.

Now about the middle of August, I'm thinking that eleven dollars looks real good.

Now you talk about looking at him in the middle of September and all of a sudden, my keenness is disappearing rather quickly.

Yeah, it just hey, and I get the personal issues it contributed to the first half.

But it's now September and he's sitting that's not good.

Yeah, I mean he's still fast ninety six percentile and speed, but I mean it, he doesn't have a great hit till never has, but I would have to believe there's still something there.

But he is a rocky and you run away from Rockies.

So I mean, is that the overarching kind of strategy just he's a Rocky, just don't grab him.

Well, I just have some current concerns with the way he's finishing up the season.

I was hoping he was going to build on August and we would see that player down the stretch.

But no, it hasn't been happening at all.

Who's your next guy?

Tim My next guy?

And the last guy.

Is a guy you look at the you look at the numbers, and it doesn't look all bad.

Seventeen homers, seventy nine RBIs, sixteen stolen bases, two forty two batting average.

That's Michael Harris.

But Michael Harris has boosted his numbers considerably in the second half.

But until I started looking a little deeper, in six hundred and six plate appearances, he has fourteen walks.

I know, that's one four.

L.

Harris was drafted early, and those numbers just don't support that draft spot.

And people who rostered Harris this year, I don't think they're very happy with the results.

I don't think you can be.

And again, you worry everybody when a guy has a sub three hundred one base percentage that is not that's not a major league as set.

He once he gets expensive, no one's gonna want this guy.

I mean he will.

He will be looking for one year deals and that's just a not a good setup.

Yeah.

His ADP last year was forty point five.

Yeah, that's that's not warranting of the numbers that we're seeing and as you mentioned, you know the low walk rate, the ovph.

Yeah, he's a player I'm going to look to avoid, I think, pretty much at all costs heading into next year.

My next guy is Mark Ventos.

Walts's job for a good chunk of the season has lay better of late one hundred and twelve games, seventeen runs, fifty eat RBIs, and a two thirty seven batting average.

Guy who went I guess in the ninetieth overall pick.

So that is it's a fifteen thirty forty five sixty seventy five.

That's the sixth round, six seventh round.

Yeah, so yeah, very similar.

To your Jackson Merrill, the guy with the big breakout season his rookie year and then just kind of fell back to earth.

Yeah, you probably would have been better off with Brett Beattie off the waiver wire.

Yeah, and Mark Biento as a draft pick.

He still hits the ball really hard, no speed, not a great hit tool, but so he might just be a low batting, average power guy and that might be who he is.

Is that good enough for the Mets?

I don't know.

Well, my.

Reaction to that would be no.

I think they're in it to win it unless we see significant improvement next year.

I think he could be looking for work fairly quick.

Yep.

My last guy chip shot here is Tyler Glasnow again, I don't know why people continue to draft this guy as their number one two starter.

I get the talent, but he's only got three wins sixteen and sixteen games in a three zero sixty ear a.

I mean, I think that's who the guy is.

I mean, he's gonna start sixteen seventeen games, bitch about one hundred innings, and you know he'll get you as many wins as luck would have it.

I mean, that's just he's a number four starter.

I'm sorry.

I mean, yeah, maybe you'll get a season where he pitches twenty five starts.

I think he did a lot better last season, still was hurt.

I just I don't know why you draft this guy, I just don't.

Well, no, at some point in time, he might have himself.

A Byron Buxton.

I wasn't gonna say, but yeah, that's you know, Hey, you're looking you're looking at a guy.

Okay.

Last year everybody was holding out hope he got up to about one hundred and thirty innings and then the season ended.

Okay, and we have still seen I'm just looking at the total number of years.

Now we're looking at ten, ten year career and he's broken one hundred innings pitched three times.

Like, hey, if you want to look at Glasgow as one hundred innings type guy with one hundred and thirty strikeouts and whatever wins come your way, eight I'll say eight to ten okay, based on the number of starts.

Yeah, that's fine, But you're not going to get him for the price that you should be paying for a picture that you know, barring a miracle of all miracles, is going to give you a significant number of innings pitch.

That's just a way it is, and accept it.

It is what it is, yep.

And you gotta stop taking him as your number two starter.

I mean, just doesn't.

It makes no sense.

Just makes no sense.

No, no, because all all of a sudden, your innings pitched, you're working with maybe one hundred and seventy out of your ace.

So, okay, one hundred and seventy hundred and eighty somewhere in that range.

By the one hundred gives you to eighty, which gives you an average one forty.

You're scrambling for innings before you even get to your third pitcher off the board.

That's not a solid way to plan your pitching and your rotation for the purposes of our game.

It just is not.

Yeah, it's not a solid move.

I will say.

Besides, Jordan Alvarez, when I was doing this exercise, doing my research, and it sounds attempted the same thing.

The first round was pretty good.

The guys who were picked in the first round did okay.

Yeah.

The only the only one that I found disappointing out of the first Gunner Henderson did not deliver to the level we were expecting, and neither did Mookie Betts.

But for the most part, yeah, Skiings, you know, Voliati, Wholio bounce back nicely.

Yeah, it wasn't It wasn't a bad first round this year.

I agree, at all.

The problems started around that first.

Turn, and.

Yeah, it sort of magnified themselves after that.

Pitching, Yeah, it was.

It was a dog's breakfast, it really was.

Yeah.

So I'm looking at Gunner Henderson.

The sixty four RBI stand out as just awful.

I mean, you need better than that.

But the eighty three runs scored, that's good in twenty six stlen bases.

I don't know what the power.

The guy hits the ball really hard, so I think that's going to bounce back.

Only sixteen, but if you finished the seasons with eighteen home runs in twenty seven twenty, that's a decent player.

It's probably more of a number two second round guy, but I think there's tremendous upside, so though he'll probably go as a first round guy, late first round guy.

Still like Gunner Henderson.

Yeah, I agree.

I you know, he didn't have a great year, but it wasn't a It wasn't a total disaster, not by any stretch of the imagination there.

You know, once you get into the second round, it it got pretty ugly and it didn't didn't improve into the third again.

Yeah, looking at pitching, Cole Reagan's you know adp of forty seven, seventy seventy one, you know, the forty third player off the board that that's tough to take, and Dylan Sees has regressed.

I almost listed Dylan Cease just because yeah Underarlief Pitchers, then you got Devin Williams Blake Snell.

It was it was not good after those first three big picks went off the board.

H In Skien Google Wheeler, really.

I agree with that.

I mean, I thought it was a weird season because it's it was usually one or two three first round guys that really disappoint, but this season it seemed like it was your number two, number three picks that just didn't land, and that's what made it really hard.

Yeah, for me, it was a weird year because usually I have most of my picks and I know it's just purely random.

Over the past five six years, I've been towards the top of the board.

This year universally right across the board.

I was drafting at the back end, okay, twelve, twelveth through to through to fifteen, and it was not a good year to be drafting at the back end.

It really wasn't.

You could hit really well player or you could end up falling off a cliff.

There wasn't a lot of say middle ground towards the back end.

It was an either either or, and the or got ugly and I ended up with too much or.

Totally agree to me, I take a break with that.

First segment went a little bit long, so we have to pick up the pace here, so I'll.

Come back and some listener questions.

We got some listener questions.

David asked, is O'Neil Cruz a bust?

At this point I'm going to say no, I'm going to say he is the guy that he's always been crazy tools you can't hit?

Yeah, how can How can you say a guy is a bust when he hits nineteen homers this year and has thirty eight stolen bases?

But on the opposite end of that coin is two or three batting average and a pile of strakeouts.

So again, I think this is a case where we use your descriptor uh, your parameter and know your parameters.

Yeah, you're going to get You're gonna get stolen bases.

The batting average is gonna suck, so be it.

Yeah, and just know that you better have Stephen Kuan on your team if you decide to go with a Neil Cruise, I mean, it's it makes it tough when you draft in O'Neil Cruz.

You gotta you gotta think about that batting average one bakes percentage is three or four, so it's not so bad.

And he hits the ball hard enough that you're I think he's gonna have some like he did in twenty twenty.

You'll hit two fifty two sixty some years just because he hits the ball so hard.

But you got a plan for that.

And he's got a huge wingspan.

He's a big kid, right Yep.

That doesn't help his guys.

I think it only gets worse the older he gets.

He's still pretty young though, so he's it's probably a few more years of just playing this crazy.

He's twenty six, so he probably got a couple of three years left of you know, hoping that he hits the ball hard and hoping he gets a high batting average some years.

But once he turns thirty, this is a guy that I think is gonna run out of steam in a hurry.

I agree.

Once the stolen bases drop under, you know, into the fifteen to twenty range, which eventually they will.

Then all of a sudden, you're looking at it.

Could it could be a frightening sort of situation.

Yep, Mark, ask does Connor Griffin make his mL debut in two thousand?

Let's just say twenty twenty six?

What is your comp Sam, you want to take that one?

Or I'm going to throw a name out there and you're gonna say I'm on glue.

Okay, so I'm gonna I'm curious as to what your name is?

A Rod?

A Rod?

Wow?

Look at the minor league numbers?

Okay, look at again?

Is he going to be a Rod?

I don't.

I don't know.

That's an awful high bar.

But if you look at what he's done in the minors as far and you compare it to what a Rod did, you look at the power of the speed stolen bases coming down?

I think the potential is there that he could be a great baseball player.

Willie Hey, I'm not going to pay for him like a Rudd in his prime, but there are certain similarities between what he has done this far, and he does have a whack of talent.

So I'll pass it back to you for your thoughts.

So I've always comped in to Fernando Tautist Junior, which is a damn good player.

So I'm going to keep with that.

But the other guy that I was thinking, and this just because I think Connor Griffin will strike out some and the guy I'm going to tell you this comp strikes still strikes out a lot.

That is Michael Trout.

I think you're looking at Connor Griffin as a chance to be a superstar here.

And yeah, I for a while I thought he was a Neil Cruz because I thought he'd strike out a ton.

That does not appear to be.

It's not at that level.

He's not the same kind of physicality as O'Neil Cruz.

He doesn't have the wingspan as a Neil Cruz.

But Mike Trout strikes out a lot.

I think Connor griff is gonna have huge power like Trout does.

I think he's gonna be a little bit more athletic than Trout, you know, wanted to be once he signed the big contract.

So that's why I think he might be a little Fernando Tatis.

But it doesn't matter, Tommy a Ron, Mike Trout, Fernando Tatist, junior.

These are all great players, and I think that's Connor Griffin.

I think we see him next season.

That's just that's just a done deal.

He's up.

Yeah, Yeah, I share your thoughts.

And in the back of my mind, it's hard to forget that he is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, right and they I'm not saying that that should have a bearing, but I would feel more comfortable if he was in another organization and that doesn't include the Rockies.

Yeah.

I think I think that the math here with Connor Griffin and why I think he comes up next season is all about Paul Skins.

I mean, because if you're the Pittsburgh Pirates and you're the front office, you know ownership is not going to pay the money for Paul Skeins.

They're just not They never have, no, they're not going to do it.

So you've got to bring up these kids like Connor Griffin and try to win now before Paul Skeans is ready to go to free agency.

And then it's going to be the same thing with Connor Griffin.

You're gonna have a superstar in your hand, and then it's going to be bringing up the next guys.

Too soon to kind of surround them with a chance to make it to the playoffs.

So that's why I think he comes up next season.

Yeah, and it's a revolving door if you're going to keep going round and round and round, and Connor Griffin, I'm gonna predict we'll have his best season on a team other than the Pirates.

Yeah, because again, the if you're the Pittsburgh Pirates, what Paul skeens.

This is his second season, so he's got four more years, So you've got to You've got to make Hay in twenty twenty six and twenty seven, because twenty eight comes, you gotta be thinking about should I move him?

Yeah, So he really only has three seasons maybe three season half season.

You can't.

Yeah, you can't keep him during that that free agent season, you can't.

If you're the Pittsburgh Parts, you've got to move them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So it the clock's chicken and it's not slowing down.

Yeah.

The same thing is a bit true with with Gunner Henderson because there are the Orioles going to have the intestinal fortitude to sign him to a you know, half a billion dollar contract, which assuming if he bounces back, that's what it's gonna that's what it's gonna cost.

So he's a Boris client.

Yep, exactly.

Uh, Hoppy ass, what's your favorite?

It must be Canadian because he spells favorite f A F A v O U R I T you guys, don't it's favorite up there?

Actually, Hoppy is our friend from Uh he's he's our friend that did the done with Dinner thing.

He's from England.

Oh he's American.

Yeah, he's he lives in England, but he's originally from the East Coast.

Oh really, I didn't know that.

That's funny.

Yeah, you know he's he's done like dinner poster.

Remember when we got into the league.

Yeah, so, so what's your favorite guy and least favorite Fantasy Baseball player of all time?

So I don't have at least favorite, but I know you do, so I'll throw that to you.

Yeah.

Actually, I I really don't have I don't have a least favorite, per se.

I have guys that have for purposes of the podcast.

Yeah, I've rigged out on Scott Baker, and but again it wasn't least favorite.

I'd probably draft Scott Baker again.

Okay, the guys that I not a huge fan of are I'll go with the narcissist sort of a Rod.

Okay, A Rod was never a favorite of mine.

He was a great baseball player and produced great numbers for our game, but personally, ay Rod.

I was never big on Kirk Shilling when he was playing.

Again, it's I don't have a lot of least favorites, but I do have a definite favorite.

Uh well, I will say at least on least favorites.

And I've become a bit stronger on this position as the more I experience it.

And that is just Rocky players.

I'm sorry, it's all of it's pitchers and hitters.

I just you know, I see them in the minor leagues and they look really good, and then they become Britton Doyle, you know where they become Nolan Jones and they have that they tease you with some some greatness, and then they just flame out.

I'm just tired of the whole Rocky situation.

It's a long way back to Larry Walker and Bashett and you know the years when the Rockies pounded, pounded the ball all over them.

That's that's a long time ago now, it really is.

And if I've got least favorite, or these guys that can't stay healthy.

It's the Byron Buxton's, the Royce Lewis Tyler.

I just I'm done.

I'm just I I to me, they give me agina, and I'm just tired of those guys that you that have so much talent when they play.

They're great baseball players, but you talk about taking it out of you in season when it's when it's June and you're seeing yourself drop because your best two players are sitting on the il, and you know they were going to sit on the il because that's what they always do.

Yeah, if I'm going to use my nitro spray, it's not going to be on Viron Bucksman exactly.

So who is your favorite player?

My favorite player, and I've actually got an autograph print of his.

My favorite player all time has has got to be Pedro Martinez and the reason for that is other than the greatness.

I won me a pile of titles and an al only, and you look at his numbers from nineteen ninety seven to twenty to two thousand and three, that's when he wanted me.

I had him paired in an ale only with three keepers.

I had him paired with Mike Musina and Martinez and Musina, they they rocked it for me.

It was it was an amazing time.

So again it's all about me, but they did did me a lot of good.

And the the other player that I'm gonna throw in there and thanks thanks to you, my friend.

I have an autograph ball of his and that's Dice k Matt Sazaka and you're gonna say Dice Cave.

But he only had a couple of years, but he was basically my introduction into the fantasy baseball industry.

I predicted he was going to come over a year or so before he did, and Peter Kreuzer printed it in his magazine and from there on things just sort of grew.

So there's even though he didn't have the numbers other than the first couple of years, a personal reason that Dice game mets is that will always be one of my favorites.

I fink those are great stories.

I mean, it's I agree with you there.

When I was a kid, I grew up an Orioles fan.

I lived in Baltimore, So those seventies teams that had Jim Palmer and Frank Robinson brons Robinson, Bobby Gritch, those are my guys, right.

I was a kid, but out of all of them, and I can't tell you why, I was a big Brooks Robinson fan.

So that so when I was a kid, that's way.

But as an adult and as a fantasy player, I mean it's and I talk about these guys all the time.

It's Jose all Toove is my guy.

And I was the one that I think first wrote about him because I saw him playing in San Jose is a high a guy.

A guy from the Houston Astros invited me to a game.

It's wanted me to see Jose Altuve and I got a chance to see him.

I said, Wow, this guy looks great, and I started writing about him.

And it's kind of with you and dice K.

That's where I kind of made my mark with with Josel.

You know, obviously other other players have come in.

I've always really enjoyed watching my trout play, but Josel TV is my.

Guy so well.

And you know, you know you you had a jose L to a sweater jersey.

Yeah, and you had that you had to special order it because there weren't any around at the time that you actually picked it.

That's how early you were.

Yeah, and you know there's other players and people people sort of laugh.

But Ron Hunt was a personal favorite of mine.

My hunting for R.

L.

J uh the hunting part is Ron Hunt.

The other three initials or other ex Bowl players, But I loved Ron Hunting because he didn't have he didn't have the skill and ability, but man, he had the record for well and hit by pitches.

He would do anything he could to get on base and that always impressed me.

And Bill Lee for the Red Sox and the from the Expost just marched the beat of a different drummer.

But I thought it was cool that he was who he was, And sometimes today I think.

Some of those players are missed.

Yeah, I agree.

I mean, I mean the Mark, the bid, Bert Frederick, were those when he came up Invite a Blue.

When those guys came up, it was it was must watch television.

I mean, you back in the day when it was the game of the week, and that's I mean, you would watch those guys in the All Star Games and say you wanted to see those guys play, and it just it's it's everything's gotten watered down so much.

But I will say that the kids that excite me now because obviously I write about prospects.

Hazus Moday, I think is he's going to be a dude.

And again opposite field home run last night in the playoffs, eighteen years old in double A, and it's just we talked about Connor Griffin and then you just got some of these kids that are doing crazy stuff at such a young age and they're just the next stars coming in and I think they're going to be my next jose Al two Vays of the world.

And that's that's that's fair.

It's exciting, especially being the niche that you've carved into this game.

Is the prospects to see these kids advancing at such a young age and the talent that they possess, that's going to be exciting.

So good on you, Rich, Yeah, yeah, it is.

It's it's fun.

That's going to take a break as I cough up along and we'll get back.

We'll got a couple more questions for you.

Okay, So I have this.

I bought these these this new headphone about six months ago, and my other ones just started to die and started causing all kinds of problems, and the other headphones had a mute button, so when I had a cough, I could just press the mute button and cough.

This one, you got, This one doesn't have a mute button.

And it took me forever, and I found it by mistake.

You take the you know, it's a headset, you know, and it's got the little arm that comes down that you know that that has the microphone on it.

You actually move that up and that mutes it because the woman in your ear goes muted.

So it's like and I've literally found it by accident.

When I moved it once and I heard the mute, I go, oh, so whenever I after cough, now I move the microphone up, and that's what makes it mute.

There you go, yeah, yeah, No, it's it's handy to have that mute button.

It really is.

I know, I found I found it, oh, by trial and error.

I think on one podcast, I was talking for about two minutes and I hear Jim Jim, Jim, oh that button.

Yes, okay, and where you go.

But it does come in handy.

And I hope you get through that gold right smart They aren't a positive note.

I'll I'll give you the light.

I always use.

But you got two longs.

Yeah, I don't know about that.

It feels like it's in both of them.

It's just.

Yeah.

So I think I got it.

I mean, so obviously we were out in Paris and get much sleep there, and then Beans was ill so I was getting up with him.

And then we had this charity event that Laurie and I hosted that was last Friday, and I think then being shaking all these people's hands and being in close quarters, that was it.

My immune system was weakend and I got something.

And there you go.

All week long, it's just been coffin.

Oh.

Well, hopefully you're better soon.

All right, I agree, I hope so as well.

Michael lasts Hey Rich.

I tend to do a number of early drafts and whole redraft leagues.

It would be great to hear a few lesser known, further away names you expect to contribute in twenty twenty six.

I have names like Weatherholt mcgonagill, Snelling is Aiden Miller likely up erc with the Yankees, Barco who's with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I maybe early on this, but any names you would like would be great to hear.

So Timmy give me some of your names, and I'll give them some of my names.

Okay.

The only name as far as the prospect that I've listed is Josh Bias from Saint Louis.

Oh yeah, season.

Yes, that that's courtesy of Bob king Hi, who is the biggest event on the planet and owns every single Bias jersey known to man.

I think at this time, so I want to list that one.

But I took a different I took a different approach for you, Michael.

What I did was I looked at some of the NPV players we could be seeing this year, and if you're drafting your early point and I'm talking about October before where these guys are posted, and you could get some you could get some great talent for a very good price.

Munattacki Murakami.

Uh, you'll look at the numbers from this year.

They all looked that great.

But he hasn't.

He didn't play until about a month ago, and I think he's up to seventeen or nineteen home runs.

Big power guy comp Kyle Schwarber.

He walks, he strikes out too much.

He has a bit of trouble with the high fastball.

Murakami is one Tetsu Yeah, Amaya is a picture from Sebu Si.

He's supposedly going to get posted zero.

I would peg him as probably a number four the slider you'll throw everything at you.

But he's not a big guy, so I don't know how that is going to work out when he goes from a once a week to every fifth day in the rotation sort of thing.

But he's a picture that could return value if you can get him after pick thirty.

And the other thing that I would strongly suggest is do your homework on the setup guys.

Uh Look, look for free agent closers.

Look who's not probably going to be back, and invest in some of those setup guys after pick thirty because they could return some really good rewards for you, especially.

In a draft and hold.

So that's that's where I'll leave it.

Rich.

So I was talking about my uh my mute button right putting my I literally as you were talking and say a thing, I just pushed my microphone off to mute it.

As I was hitting zero points throughout the entire discussion, and I was myself the entire way.

So hopefully everybody enjoyed that.

Every time you would mention the name that was unpronounceable.

I was to say zero point zero, not even not even knowing that the guy was any good or not, just because it was fun.

So I expected one, Okay, I didn't expect to be young.

I did three when you were talking about the players, and then after both names, I had to do a zero point zero.

Good stuff there.

I mean, I think you mentioned Robbie Snelling.

I'm shocked that Robbie Snelling has not been up this season.

He's just been amazing, so I think we see him early.

He also mentioned Aiden Miller's had a great second half, particularly here push.

I have no idea where he's gonna play Michael because he's a short stop, and obviously they have Trey Turner.

So does aide Miller move to second base as he moved a third.

I think once we see that, once we see a positional change with Miller, I think that'll be the key for when he comes down.

The Miller will be in the Fall League, and a lot of times you see guys move to a new position in the Fall League.

So if that happens, then we know it's going to be soon.

Some other guys.

I love Carson Binge.

He's now up in Triple A with the Mets.

Cage Jump has been one of the breakout pitchers for the Athletics this season at Double A.

I think he starts in Triple A next year.

Is another guy that no one's talking about's a really good pitcher.

And then Ryan Waltschmid.

I don't know why more people are not talking about this guy, but this is a twenty twenty dude in Arizona that's in Double A, and I think we see him at some point next season.

So there's yeah, two that you mentioned in three more guys.

Yeah, I was gonna say, is it wrong with me?

Whenever I see Gage jump, the first thing that comes into my mind is how high?

Is that wrong?

No, it's not any can't he jump?

So yeah, I definitely.

Yeah.

No great names, great names, rich, But again, Michael, make sure when you're putting your teams together.

We saw what happened with pitching this year.

It's not gonna get any better moving forward.

Make sure that you've got lots of arms as you get past pick you know, twenty twenty five.

Yeah, I would suggest if you're drafting fifty players, if you can get at least twenty five to thirty pitching that's in the right range.

Are your thoughts to totally agree?

I mean I ran out of pitching.

I had a lot of I mean, if I if I were to go through my reserve list in my draft and hold the most every one of my pictures is is hurt or the guy that was suspended, the Pittsburgh Pirate kids.

So, uh, the other one, the other one fourteen Yeah, So I mean that that's that's that's it.

I mean, you need a ton of pitching.

And I just saw other pictures.

Brandon Sprout, I know he's been up already.

I think you're gonna be able to get him late.

And I think that that guy has a chance to be somebody, right and Jonah talk.

Depending on how earlier late he goes, I think has a chance to be somebody.

Peyton totally.

So these guys that have come up and have flashed, I mean those are guys that I think you can get, you know, in the thirty range.

Maybe maybe Tom is going to go a little bit earlier than that, but who have huge upside and they could stay healthy.

I think you jump on them, agreed.

Nick asmen working at Dynasty League, where you can keep anyone you want for any amount of time, what is the cutoff of your rankings that you're willing to throw them back into the draft to see what else you can get.

This is a great question and one with no answer.

But the time, I'm just gonna say, to.

Top fifteen at a position, and does that differ slightly on age, like willing to keep someone who is a lot younger or not so much older his context as he's in a twelve team dynasty league with normal rosters fifteen person minor league roster on CBS, So what's your council.

Here, h he's playing in a twelve team league, so automatically your minor leagues have to be stronger, okay, because you're taking basically fifty players out of the pool.

My thoughts there is so much of it has to deal with.

Context.

I don't think you can put hard and fast in there because you might be late on catchers and you might have to draft catchers to fill in slots for the future, or first base type, second base types, whatever.

You know, all you have to do is look at the number of prospects that come and go on a regular basis.

And I'm gonna mention Jacob Marcy, Okay, how many people cut them?

I know we did in one Dynasty league.

They come and go and some come back around a second and third time, And I think you have to accept the fact that you're gonna miss on some.

It's just the way the game is.

And as the game gets younger, it doesn't improve your odds of missing on some because there's more names to look at, more options, more players that can struggle the first time around.

So I would strongest just don't beat yourself up when things don't work out.

Play the prospect game, and they're not gonna work out, not all of them.

Some will, some.

Won't, And when you have to make moves to accommodate your prospects, just take it as part of the game.

You're gonna always lose some.

I think that's really good counsel.

So I don't play any twelve team league, so I think that's so take my my my answer in context of that, I have a tendency to churn my minor league rosters because I'm always looking for the next big thing.

I over the years, I have changed my philosophy.

I am I want three or four guys in a fifteen team minor League that have a chance, have a chance to be superstars, and I will grab young players like Jesus my Day and Louis Penia and guys like that I think have a chance to be like impact, impact Major league guys.

I'll get them young and hold on to them pictures.

I'm not you know, I'm gonna miss out and Andre Churio, who is a young kid in the DSL that's already moved up to Low Way in his first seas.

I'm gonna miss on that guy because I'm just I'm gonna ignore guys in the DSL, in the Complex League, your pictures, and mostly in Low Way.

I'm just I'm not interested because there's too many guys like Jonahtong and Brandon Spout, the guys we just talked about with the Mets, that they come on late and develop and turn into guys that you can get once they're in Double A and be just fine that turn out to be number one starters in some cases.

Yeah, no, I totally agree and support that that position.

I don't draft as a rural high school arms.

Okay, I look at I look.

At High A.

And Double A and the pictures that successfully make that move from high to double A.

Even if they're not grated HI, that means they're getting close.

And if they can sustain what they did in High A with that next step, only are they getting close, but we might have a new assessment and a new definition on their potential.

So for me, I had.

Double eight is where I really spend a lot of time focusing on pitching Ridge all.

Right, yeah, I totally agree.

And it's the guys like Trey, You Savage and guys that are moving quickly you got to jump on.

I jumped on Cage Jump early this season, a lot of Dynasty leads, so but they were available and they moved.

They come in with a new pitch, they coming with increased velocity, and that's when you jump on them, because what will happen is those guys will move very very quickly.

So you'll see a guy like Peyton Totley who came in with a good arm and nobody was on this guy and he's already made it to the major leagues.

Those are the guys that you can jump on as opposed to investing in a high school arm who got drafted.

Katie Anderson will be a good one that the Pirates did you know he'll be a guy that's, you know, an eighteen year old kid that was taken in the first round.

People are gonna go first year player dress.

I'm not.

I'm just not.

He could be special to me, but he's gonna have Tommy John surgery.

He's gonna take him a while to come through and give me some guy that's closer.

And that's the way I'm gonna go every time.

And I'm looking for those young kids that have a chance to be the big blowout guys.

And that's how I like to build the team.

Yeah, and it makes total sense.

You look at you, Savage.

Okay, if you go back to last February, I guarantee you in twelve team dynasties with fifteen minor league you said you Savage wasn't rostered anywhere.

But over the course of this year he's gone through four levels and he's now pitched successfully in the bigs that you have to be paying attention to when you see players starting to move that quickly, get all over them.

And the other thing I just will comment, you can't get everybody, you know, you just can't sometimes, just like you know, Aiden Miller makes that all the way through and is going to become a great player.

You don't have them.

You don't have them.

I mean, it's just the way it is.

And there's because for every guy that makes it, there's a ton more there that still have a chance.

So that's the fun thing about dynasty leagues is there's always it's always re establishing itself.

I mean, it's always regenerating.

There's always new players every year that jumps up, and that's what makes it fun.

So if you miss on a guy, that's okay, there's gonna be somebody else that follows.

Yeah, and somebody who follows in.

When you're drafting that many players each and every single year, hey, there are going to be players that are drafted in the eighth round.

They're playing very successful, successfully in the big leagues within three years.

Okay if you don't get if you do, don't have success with those early picks, and so you know first year player depths, there's lots of players there.

Stay on top of it and work hard.

You've got to work hard in dynasty leagues, you really do.

Final question comes from jer Me, which I think is we've talked a lot about Mets pitching and he brings it up with a recent success.

Its it's time to start putting the Mets pitching development up with the elites, the Mariners, Dodgers, and Guardians.

The answer is yes.

I've been saying that for years the Mets have done a really good job at developing pitchers, and I say, yes, Tommy, what do you say?

I I think I think the Masses have missed it on this one.

Okay, Jacob de Grom was no floach and he was a positional player convert.

They went to Japan, they got Cody Singha.

Okay, he hasn't had a great year this year, but the potential is there.

I think the Mets have done a good job with their pitching for a long time, and it has been overlooked and neglected.

So you know, if in answer your question, yeah, I think the Mets pitching development should have been up there a long time ago.

I think the Milwaukee Brewers, you should take.

That's a not o their team that is not mentioned in the top echelon of developing pictures.

But they've done a great job, really really good job there.

S Matthew is a pretty good picture.

Wasn't he work out?

Just yeah, they've They've brand Brandon Woodward.

I mean, it just goes on and on of how they and these are guys.

Not all of these players were high ranked guys that were drafted, et cetera.

I mean they've they truly have developed these guys.

And and Letson's another young kid in the Brewers organization that is really moving up quickly.

He's another guy to to to to kind of familiarize yourself with, because what happens once these Brewers pitchers get into double and triple A, that's when they take that final step and it's pretty impressive to see.

Yeah, Henderson's another one, Evans.

Get Logan Henderson.

The organizations that I have no use for, we're with pitching.

Obviously, the Rockies, the Angels have done a terrible job of developing pitchers.

I mean Cain and Dana or Dayton, Kana whatever whatever is this first and last name.

I I got blown up again as a guy that I thought had a chance to be somebody, and it's just he's just underperforming.

So we'll see what the Yankees.

The Yankees have always been a team that their best pitching prospects seem to wind up on other teams, so.

They buy a lot of their pitching.

Yeah, you look at col you look at Freed right now.

Yeah, the Yankees aren't trying to spend the money.

And they'll go out and they will chase.

They'll chase starting pitching in free agency and spend the money.

Okay, so they play and the Dodgers are the same.

Way they can develop pitching.

Can they keep them healthy?

Well that's a whole other kettle of fish, right Emmachians.

I'm pretty good this season.

But back to the Yankees.

They probably have the best pitching rotation in Double A of any team in baseball.

I mean, it is a really deep system.

But how many of those are going to make it as a Yankee?

And I just don't know.

I mean, they have a tendency to move them and and acchoir pitching.

That's just how they roll.

And but yeah, take take a look at them.

They're all over the league.

You know, Michael King is a great example.

So, yep, exactly the questions, Like you said, how many will actually take that final step as a Yankee?

And probably a lot less than we think.

To me sing our final break and get back and boy we're at the hour mark.

Thanks for hanging in their tim and finally when to thinking up this weekend.

Show tow.

I enjoyed this, as did I.

We covered a little bit of everything and hopefully some of our advice on those questions which I I hate, which aren't great, and I I love getting our listeners involved in the process.

Rich and it's been a lot of fun.

I agree.

Yeah, all right, what.

What one or two pitters you're picking up?

What one or two pitchers you're picking up?

Well, I think what you got to look for is you got to look for players who are going to play.

Okay, there's a lot of options out there.

There's a slew of injuries, players are getting to shut down for the for the season.

The two hitters that I sort of like right now, and maybe the numbers aren't there, but Blaine Krim of the Rockies, Wow, not a household not a household name, but I think he's gonna play and I think there's some power potential there.

And the other is uh a player for the Nats who is really heated up lately.

Yeah and start Yeah, Dyalen Lyle, Yeah exactly.

Yeah, Yeah, I got him in a couple of times.

I'm pretty excited about one I had on the roster and the other guy picked up last weekend, and I was pretty excited about that.

Yeah.

Yeah, again, I think both are gonna play and that's that's what you want.

Is he headed into that final week?

And who's any pictures?

Yeah, I got a couple of pictures.

Uh, don't be late on Connolly early.

I will give you a rim shot on that.

It's it's actually very good.

Your your your partner, DL fivesman all over early as well.

Yes he hasn't been late, No, definitely not.

I've got the I got the emails to prove it.

My friend.

The other guy, I sort of like he's rostered to the tune.

And forty five percent is Christian Haveer Okay, he's facing off against Mason Barnett of I believe it is the Oakland Slash Sacramento Slash Laws Vegas A's and he's also going up against TVD of the Angels.

Well, we just mentioned the Angels and they're starting pitching.

I don't think TBD is going to be a great option.

So if you're looking for a two starter, I would give Christian have Your a Look.

That's a great call.

Yeah, you forget about these guys that spent most of the year on the IL, and again Kyle Bradist continues to pitch extremely well.

So that's another guy that if he's floating around people forgotten about him, go go give him a spy.

Good stuff, Tim.

We will be back on Sunday.

I don't know if there's going to be a waiver where probably not.

Just a couple more players that Tim will give.

We will.

We will cover the years in a fall league on Sunday and start wrapping up the season.

My friend, Yeah, pretty soon it'll be time time to claim the winter Winter Chicken dinner thing.

It's reaching that stage, and here's wishing all of our listeners nothing but the best as we head into that last week, week and a half of the season.

Good fortune Stall see you, Tim, be safe, be well, and get healthy soon.

My friend d