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 could be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want who is about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.

• Previous Watchlists

Canning was solid against the Dodgers (5.7 IP/1 ER) and has now looked good in 4 of 6 starts.

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

Robbie Grossman | OF, DET

His walk rate kept the OPS from sinking too low as he was finding his footing in Detroit and now he’s on fire over the last three weeks with a .267/.379/.444 line in 87 PA spanning 20 games. He is 5-for-5 on the bases in that time, too, pushing his season total to 7 SBs in 7 tries. If the Tigers are planning to turn him loose, he can be an all-formats play on the steals alone as his walks will keep him on base regularly enough to perhaps eclipse 20 SBs.

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5/13/21

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
• @PitcherList – Nick Pollack [Producer]

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPICS

• Luis Castillo
• Kenta Maeda

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Transcript is live, thanks for coming out!

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5/11/21

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

• Kyle Gibson/Alex Wood tangent (3:10)
• Jarred Kelenic coming up!!! (9:26)
• Jacob deGrom to the IL (13:47)
• C.J. Cron to the IL (17:18)
• Luke Voit returning from the IL (20:30)
• Framber Valdez & Noah Syndergaard nearing rehab assignments (22:05)

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Tyler Anderson came into focus on the fantasy landscape this week after a pair of gems in a 2-start week, including an 8-inning win on Sunday. His 2.45 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 14.7 innings absolutely helped him earn some more attention, but maybe he deserved the attention prior to last week given that he had a 3.38 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in his first five starts. Let’s see what he is doing this year to net a 3.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 41.3 IP so far.

The 31-year-old lefty has had runs of viability throughout his career, but with four of his first five seasons spent in Colorado, it was tough to consistently rely on him. He moved to San Francisco last year and earned some sleeper buzz only to essentially be what he was in Colorado with a much lower strikeout rate:

He survived the massive strikeout dip by halving his home run rate from 1.5 (2016-19 rate, he was actually at an obscene 3.5 mark in ’19) to 0.75, which isn’t too surprising given the move from Coors Field to Oracle Park. Although it is notable that the HR dip came despite a surge in flyball rate as he went up 11 points from 2019 rate to 44%.

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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

Brandon Belt used a trip to Coors (.400 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI) to garner some more attention and get himself on track.

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

Willie Calhoun| UT, TEX

Is Calhoun finally breaking out? I guess 2019 was essentially a breakout (110 wRC+, 21 HR), but he’s hitting .328/.397/.492 so far this year with 3 HR and 7 RBI in 68 PA. The 26-year-old DH is playing almost daily since coming off the IL on April 17th with an occasional sit against a lefty, but otherwise he usually just moves down the lineup against southpaws. He is leading off against righties and part of this Rangers lineup that is shocking the league a bit with the 17th most runs (135) and 16th highest wRC+ (98).

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5/6/21

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

• John Means Business (1:03)
• Christian Yelich back to IL after 1 day (9:58)
  • Tyrone Taylor’s upside (14:10)

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Aaron Civale is having a fantastic season thus far. Through six starts, he has a 3.20 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 39.3 innings. He has just an 18% strikeout rate and 10% K-BB rate, though, which is why he has a 4.42 SIERA. He isn’t missing bats all that well, but instead keeping the ball on the ground with a 54% GB rate that is 8th among starters. He has never been a strikeout stud, but he had a 21% mark coming into this year and with his depth of arsenal, there was reason to believe he could improve even more.

What happened to his strikeouts?

ARSENAL CHANGES

He has switched over from a changeup to a split-change and he’s using it more often, up 7 points to 16% usage. He has also used his slider more often, up 5 points to 14%, while his cutter usage is down 9 points to 20%. They are distinctly different pitches, too, with a 5-mph velocity split and very disparate usage profiles (sliders aren’t even thrown to lefties). He has also switched from a sinker to a four-seamer as his primary fastball.

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5/4/21

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

• Dustin May TJ (4:51)
  • Potential Replacements: Carlos Martínez, Logan Webb, Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson, Vince Velasquez, José Ureña (11:44)
• Luis Robert out for year (28:05)
  • Potential Replacements: Lorenzo Cain, Mike Tauchman, Amed Rosario, Harrison Bader, Sam Haggerty (29:46)
  • Difficulty of OF backfill (43:43)

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Looking at five big performances from unexpected sources to determine their staying power in the coming weeks and months.

Christian Arroyo | BOS, 2B

Arroyo has been a surprise standout for the Red Sox, hitting .302/.353/.413 in 69 PA and occasionally hitting atop the lineup. He was a top 100 prospect multiple times back when he was the Giants but has become a bit of journeyman since then moving from the San Francisco to Tampa Bay to Cleveland and finally to Boston. At the risk of being simplistic, the fast start seems almost entirely attributable to his .404 BABIP. There has been virtually zero power (.111 ISO) thanks to a massive groundball lean (62%).

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