Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist. It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.

• Previous Watchlists

Danny Santana got the call quickly after the Wk. 8 Watchlist and already has 2 HR and 1 SB in 17 PA.

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

Ji-Man Choi | 1B, TBR

Choi returned on May 16th and has been on fire in his 10 games, hitting .355/.500/.645 with 2 HR in 40 PA and playing virtually every day. He bats top 3 against righties and he’s even drawing some starts against lefties, though his career .604 OPS against them still says this is more of a platoon bat. A strong side platoon bat is still mostly a streamer in shallower leagues but if you are piecing together your CI or DH spot, Choi can be part of the mix. The Rays have a seven-game week coming up with two against lefties so Choi could be a viable streaming option this week, but at the very least he merits Watchlist attention.

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5/27/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

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• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Noah Syndergaard shut down (3:05)
• Marcell Ozuna hurt his fingies (4:31)
• Zach Plesac still dumb (9:23)
• Corey Kluber hurt (19:42)
• Trent Grisham merked (26:23)
• Wilson Ramos back to IL (31:57)
  • Eric Haase/Austin Barnes among replacements
• Harrison Bader ouchie on his ribs (36:48)
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprained ankle (40:26)
• Bradley Zimmer called up (41:32)

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5/25/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

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• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Alek Manoah coming up (8:05)
• Jesús Luzardo could return as RP (20:25)
• Joneshwy hurt! (25:00)
• Keston Hiura returns (28:52)
• Carson Kelly returns to play thru fracture (31:31)

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Robbie Ray is having a huge season thus far. He has a 3.42 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 47.3 innings and his 3.29 SIERA stands as a career best, even better than in 2017 when he posted a 2.89 ERA but a 3.53 SIERA. While being consistently maddening throughout his career – even in 2017 he had a 4.57 ERA through 8 starts and was likely on some waiver wires only to deliver a 2.24 ERA in his final 20 starts – he didn’t lose widespread fantasy appeal until last year’s 6.62 ERA in 51.7 innings. Let’s dive a bit deeper and see what Ray is doing to drive this success and how much of it is sustainable.

Arsenal is always the easiest place to start in a pitcher breakdown. Off the top we see a velo boost that has his fastball sitting at 95.3 mph, a career high. Looking at just four-seamers, his usage is also up 11 points to 58%. The results have been a bit neutered by the .238 ISO thanks to 7 HR in 125 PA. The .237/.280/.475 line is still much better than last year’s .292/.464/.689, but a bit worse than 2019’s .221/.322/.391 which is a little surprising given the improvements in not only the velocity, but also control.

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Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist. It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.

• Previous Watchlists

Jesús Sánchez smacked another 4 HR in Triple-A (7 on the season) and is now hitting .509 in 56 PA.

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

Austin Nola | C, SDP

He’s only on 32% of the ESPN rosters which makes him pretty available in shallow 1-catcher leagues. He was a top 10 catcher last year, but he essentially missed April so he has sat on a lot of wires despite being back and playing regularly. He is a solid replacement for the recently injured Carson Kelly, too.

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5/20/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Corey Kluber No Hitter (0:00)
• Would we even get Ohtani in 2nd rd? – Poll (3:55)
• Dylan Moore to IL w/calf (11:49)
• Tyler O’Neill to IL w/finger (15:20)
• Mike Moustakas to IL w/heel (18:55)

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5/18/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

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• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Mike Trout leaves w/calf strain (1:35)
• Huascar Ynoa fractures hand like a clown (5:12)
• José Urquidy to IL w/shoulder inflammation (9:38)
• Giancarlo Stanton to IL w/quad (14:50)

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James McCann was a prototypical backup catcher with a strong arm that earned him the nickname “McCannon” but had little else going on during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers (2014-18). He moved to the White Sox in 2019 and made the All-Star game on the back of a BABIP-fueled run that saw him hitting .319/.376/.514 through June with 9 HR and 4 SB. No one thought the .403 BABIP would hold and they were right as it sank to .314 from July 1st on yielding a .231/.285/.410 line.

His stock rose heading into 2020 just because he was an afterthought coming into 2019, but he still didn’t generate that much attention. This time he used a .425 BABIP in his first 17 games to post a .351/.424/.544 line with 3 HR in 66 PA. Regression hit hard in September with a .182 BABIP that dragged his line down to .200/.267/.525, but the power held with 4 more homers. All told, he had a .355 BABIP in 2019-20, 2nd to only Jorge Alfaro (.359) among catchers with at least 500 PA. In fact, McCann was 9th in all of baseball among the 226 hitters with at least 500 PA.

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