106-56 (2nd in Division; 3rd in MLB)
[PREVIOUS REVIEWS]
SP Wins: 65 (1st)
RP Wins: 41 (11th)
Saves: 56 (t-1st)
1+ Save: 10 (Kenley Jansen 38, Blake Treinen 7, Corey Knebel 3, Joe Kelly 2, Phil Bickford, Victor Gonzalez, David Price, Alex Vesia, Andre Jackson, Shane Greene 1)
100+ Ks: 4 (Walker Buehler 212, Julio Urías 195, Clayton Kershaw 144, Trevor Bauer 137)
.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 4 (Trea Turner .338 in 228 PA [total: .328 in 646 PA], Corey Seager .306, AJ Pollock .297, Justin Turner .278, Mookie Betts .264)
65+ Runs: 4 (Max Muncy 95, Betts 93, Chris Taylor 92, J.Turner 87)
65+ RBI: 5 (Muncy 94, J.Turner 87, Will Smith 76, Taylor 73, Pollock 69)
10+ HRs: 10 (Muncy 36, J.Turner 27, Smith 25, Betts 23, Pollock 21, Taylor 20, Seager 16, Albert Pujols 12, Cody Bellinger, T.Turner 10 [total: 28])
5+ SBs: 4 (Taylor 13, T.Turner 11 [total: 32], Betts 10, Pollock 9)
BEST BUY: Trea Turner
I know, this is a super-boring pick as Turner is literally the 1.1 pick in many drafts, but the incredible upside combined with a rock-solid and relatively high floor are exactly what you want in those first few picks of the draft. The move to LA also added some eligibility as he will be 2B/SS in 2022. Some of their oldies like Justin Turner, AJ Pollock, and Chris Taylor might offer more bang for the buck given where they go in drafts, but their age (37, 34, and 31, respectively) dings the stability of their floors a bit.
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1/18/22
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IN FOCUS: STEAMER600 GEMS
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100-62 (1st in Division; 3rd in MLB)
SP Wins: 42 (16th)
RP Wins: 58 (1st)
Saves: 42 (10th)
1+ Save: 14 (Diego Castillo 14 [total: 16], Andrew Kittredge 8, Pete Fairbanks 5, J.P. Feyereisen 3, Jeffrey Springs, Dietrich Enns 2, Collin McHugh, Josh Fleming, Matt Wisler, Chris Mazza, Ryan Sherriff, Nick Anderson, Trevor Richards, Evan Phillips 1)
100+ Ks: 4 (Shane McClanahan 141, Tyler Glasnow 123, Michael Wacha 121, Ryan Yarbrough 117)
.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 2 (Randy Arozarena .274, Joey Wendle .265)
65+ Runs: 4 (Brandon Lowe 97, Arozarena 94, Austin Meadows 79, Wendle 73)
65+ RBI: 3 (Meadows 106, Lowe 99, Arozarena 69)
10+ HRs: 10 (Lowe 39, Mike Zunino 33, Meadows 27, Arozarena 20, Yandy Díaz, Brett Phillips, Nelson Cruz 13, Wendle, Ji-Man Choi 11, Manuel Margot 10)
5+ SBs: 6 (Arozarena 20, Phillips 14, Margot 13, Kevin Kiermaier 9, Wendle 8, Lowe 7)
BEST BUY: Brandon Lowe
Lowe fronted the league a couple months, hitting just .189/.307/.372 through May, though he was still pacing for a 30 HR/10 SB season. He exploded from June on, posting a .276/.357/.600 with 30 HR and 4 SB (50/7 full season pace). All told, he wound up with 39 HR, 99 RBIs, 97 R, and 7 SB in 615 PA. The AVG was light at .247, but he still wound up at the 35th best hitter in the game. He is being drafted 82nd overall and 50th among hitters. While he might not fully repeat 2021, he is a solid bet for 30 HR, 85-90 RBIs, and a handful of SBs.
1/13/22
Biggest Lesson from 2021 that you’re taking into 2022 drafts/draft prep (3:30)
Anything you’re leaving behind in 2021? (15:08)
Assuming we aren’t robbed of a season, what are you most looking forward to in 2022? (27:27)
Would You Rather (3 of 4 co-hosts will participate)
95-67 (1st in Division; 4th in MLB)
SP Wins: 63 (2nd)
RP Wins: 32 (19th)
Saves: 34 (23rd)
1+ Save: 6 (Ryan Pressly 26, Cristian Javier, Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley 레일리 2, Brandon Bielak, Bryan Abreu 1)
100+ Ks: 5 (Lance McCullers Jr. 185, Luis Garcia 167, Javier 130, Framber Valdez 125, Zack Greinke 120)
.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 8 (Yuli Gurriel .319, Michael Brantley .311, Kyle Tucker .294, Carlos Correa .279, Jose Altuve .278, Yordan Alvarez .277, Alex Bregman .270, Myles Straw .262 [total: .271])
65+ Runs: 6 (Altuve 117, Correa 104, Alvarez 92, Gurriel, Tucker 83, Brantley 68)
65+ RBI: 5 (Alvarez 104, Correa, Tucker 92, Altuve 83, Gurriel 81)
10+ HRs: 8 (Alvarez 33, Altuve 31, Tucker 30, Correa 26, Gurriel 15, Chas McCormick 14, Bregman, Martin Maldonado 12)
5+ SBs: 3 (Straw 17, Tucker 14, Altuve 5)
BEST BUY: Ryan Pressly
With the dearth of bankable closers, Pressly has become one of the go-to guys. Pressly had just 26 SVs last year, a figure topped by 10 other relievers, but he deserved better. The Astros had a weirdly low 34 SVs as a team, well below the 46-SV average from the 11 teams with at least 90 wins. The Blue Jays joined them as the only teams in that group under 42 SVs (they tied HOU’s total of 34). I see Houston remaining strong and Pressly notching at least 30 SVs in 2022 with a reasonable shot at leading the league.
Transcript is available now!
Paul Sporer: Welcome to the weekly chat!!
Jay (ATL): Love your stuff, just curious what you expect for McClanahan in year 2 with TB in regards to usage / going through a lineup 3x somewhat consistently, etc.? I was a bit surprised to see you rank him ahead of Manoah and Baz for this year. Thanks!
Paul Sporer: He is an easy rank over Baz for me bc I see Baz on the McClanahan track, just a year behind. So I think McClanahan has a chance to push 180 IP this yr while Baz will be around the 120-125 we saw from McClanahan this year. McClanahan v. Manoah – I prefer McClanahan’s arsenal and he didn’t have the platoon issues we saw from Manoah. I trust McClanahan a bit more in year 2
Tiger Fan: Looking for a free (no-deposit) league to sample fantasy life. Do you have any recommendations?
Paul Sporer: If you can find a group of people, any of the free sites works. I don’t know the best outlet to play for free v. a random group of folks. Maybe someone else in chat has a recommendation there
diadem: How do you see the COL outfield shaking out? Will Joe start over Tapia and/or Hilliard or will it be a pretty even split of ab’s for the three? Also, your take on Tapia.
1/11/22
IN FOCUS: Shopping for Bargains
The first run of ranking is about to done and then I’ll roll out the update at each position with comments added. I’m still reluctant to do a closer ranking at this point, but I know I have to bite the bullet and give y’all something. It is just such a mess at this point. Anyway, that’s later Paul’s problem. Today, it is time for the outfield. It is a really interesting class of outfielders with some really fun pockets of talent going in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts. If you have been reading my Roster Reviews, you will see some Bold Predictions tied to outfielders as I have definitely started to zero on some key guys in my early drafts.
These are for 5×5 15-teamers with a 20-game eligibility threshold.
Let’s discuss in the comments!
1/7/22
IN FOCUS: SP Ranking Debates Pt. 2 (Justin Ranks Them Higher)
95-67 (1st in Division; 5th in MLB)
SP Wins: 51 (10th)
RP Wins: 44 (6th)
Saves: 44 (7th)
1+ Save: 6 (Josh Hader 34, Brad Boxberger 4, Devin Williams 3, Brent Suter, Aaron Ashby, Drew Rasmussen 1)
100+ Ks: 6 (Corbin Burnes 234, Brandon Woodruff 211, Freddy Peralta 195, Eric Lauer 117, Adrian Houser 105, Hader 102)
.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 2 (Willy Adames .285, Kolten Wong .272, Omar Narváez .266, Avisaíl García .262)
65+ Runs: 4 (Luis Urías 77, Wong, Christian Yelich 70, Garcia 68)
65+ RBI: 2 (Garcia 86, Urias 75)
10+ HRs: 7 (Garcia 29, Urias 23, Adames 20, Wong 14, Manny Piña 13, Tyrone Taylor 12, Narvaez 11)
5+ SBs: 8 (Lorenzo Cain 13, Wong 12, Jace Peterson 10, Yelich 9, Garcia 8, Jackie Bradley Jr. 7, Taylor 6, Urias 5)
BEST BUY: Christian Yelich
That’s right, gimme the guy coming off his dreadful 101 wRC+ season with 9 HR/SB in 475 PA. I’m just not sold that he’s cooked after a brutal season and a half. His struggles have pushed him outside of the top 100 picks (ADP of 104) and I’m taking the discount. His plate skills were back on track, but his batted ball profile still lagged throughout most of the season. With a better BABIP, this would’ve looked like one of his Marlins seasons. I obviously don’t think he gets all the way back to 2018-19 levels, but I’m taking the discount on a 30-year-old former MVP.