Author: Paul Sporer | Page 131 | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 870 – Minor & Taylor to KC + SS Preview Pt. 2

December 1, 2020

12/1/20

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to Fangraphs! With a standard $20 membership, you help maintain and improve our database of stats and graphs as well as our staff of 8 full-time employees and over 50 contributors. The premium ad-free membership at $50 year supports site growth and also includes faster load speeds and better site performance. You can also support monthly for just $3.

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

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

Mike Minor to KC (3:30)
Michael A. Taylor to KC (9:25)

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – November 25th, 2020

by Paul Sporer

November 25, 2020

Transcript is below!

1:31	Paul Sporer: Welcome everybody! A bit of an abbreviated chat on this holiday week, let’s talk some baseball!

1:33	Daniel: Paul, JD Davis to Colorado for Jon Gray. Davis becomes the Rockies 1b. Who says no?

1:34	Paul Sporer: Probably the Rockies and honestly, rightfully so. Gray hasn’t been a stud by any stretch, but they need to keep any developed pitching they can. Ryan McMahon SHOULD be able to replicate J.D. Davis or come damn close, but getting pitching has been this franchise’s issue forever.

1:35	Daniel: Thoughts on the Mets hiring Chris Young as GM. Seems like an unnecessary risk given his complete lack of experience.

1:35	Paul Sporer: Did they hire him? I thought it was only an interview. He is remarkably smart and obviously wouldn’t be working by himself. I don’t think it’s that big of a risk, I like the move

1:35	Paul Sporer: (espec. since it’s only an interview, but I’m not against them hiring him)

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 868 – Morton Signs + SS Preview Pt. 1

by Paul Sporer

November 24, 2020

11/24/20

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to Fangraphs! With a standard $20 membership, you help maintain and improve our database of stats and graphs as well as our staff of 8 full-time employees and over 50 contributors. The premium ad-free membership at $50 year supports site growth and also includes faster load speeds and better site performance. You can also support monthly for just $3.

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

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

Charlie Morton to ATL (1:10)
Francisco Lindor, Blake Snell, Nolan Arenado & Kris Bryant on the market (5:31)

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The UT-Only Market is Booming

by Paul Sporer

November 23, 2020

I remember entering 2020 drafts thinking the UT-only pool was interesting given some star power headlining it and some sneaky later round guys who could earn eligibility elsewhere but still had to be drafted in the UT spot. It’s always been a soft market given that a lot of fantasy managers are afraid to fill the UT spot too early. OK, maybe “afraid” is overstating it, but they are certainly reluctant to do so just in case a late round gem at a position they already have filled comes available.

It turns out that 2020 had nothing on this 2021 UT-only market. It’s booming! The NFBC is using 7 games in 2020 for eligibility so keep that in mind as we look at this pool. First, a quick look back at the 2020 UT-only factors:

Nelson Cruz – 66
Yordan Alvarez – 128 (after getting COVID & knee issues arose)
Shohei Ohtani – 144
Khris Davis – 184
Miguel Andújar – 273
Nick Solak – 284

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THE NEXT TOP 150 HITTERS

by Paul Sporer

November 20, 2020

Earlier this week, I wrote up a team of guys who could be top 75 players next year. It is a different way to write about breakouts and I want to run it back today with some deeper breakouts. These guys have a real shot at being top 150 players in 2021 which for reference is where guys like Jorge Soler and Yasmani Grandal are being drafted meaning these would be high impact pieces of your team if they panned out.

Max Stassi, C 336 ADP

His awesome 2020 was undercut by only playing 31 games so you may not have noticed that he hit 7 HR and 20 RBI with a .278/.352/.533 line in 105 PA. With Jason Castro gone, the job is clear for Stassi to take on full time and sit just once a week for rest. Stassi has a strong glove reputation and the bat might be catching up.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 867 – Free Agency Preview Pt. 2

by Paul Sporer

November 19, 2020

11/19/20

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to Fangraphs! With a standard $20 membership, you help maintain and improve our database of stats and graphs as well as our staff of 8 full-time employees and over 50 contributors. The premium ad-free membership at $50 year supports site growth and also includes faster load speeds and better site performance. You can also support monthly for just $3.

Follow us on Twitter

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

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

Robinson Canó’s awful choices (6:33)
Cody Bellinger shoulder surgery (13:39)

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – November 18th, 2020

by Paul Sporer

November 18, 2020

Transcript is live!

1:28	Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! It’s offseason time, let’s talk some baseball!

1:29	Curtis: What “breakout” in 2020 do you think is legit? Conversely, which players stellar 2020 is least likely to repeat in 2021 and beyond?

1:31

Paul Sporer: Here’s 4 breakouts I checked out recently: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/assessing-4-unexpected-hitting-breakouts… — I’m a little dubious on Teoscar Hernandez, which pains me as I like him. But I’m not sure there were any major changes sustaining the breakout and with four more months, he’d have meandered back toward his level or maybe finished a bit higher, but not at the clip we saw

1:32	Michael: I have a trade offer of Austin Meadows for Gerritt Cole even up. You can keep Meadows two fantasy seasons; Cole one. Cole is marginally more expensive (bidding league). Thoughts on Meadows?

1:33	Paul Sporer: I’m OK giving Meadows a bit of a pass for ’19 as he wound with just a month after dealing with COVID, but I don’t think I want to do this deal. I’ll take my 1 ace season of Cole

1:33	Chuck: Hi, Paul. Do you call your car the Paul Bearer? Because you could.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 866 – Finishing 2B and Top 5 Free Agents

by Paul Sporer

November 17, 2020

11/17/20

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to Fangraphs! With a standard $20 membership, you help maintain and improve our database of stats and graphs as well as our staff of 8 full-time employees and over 50 contributors. The premium ad-free membership at $50 year supports site growth and also includes faster load speeds and better site performance. You can also support monthly for just $3.

Follow us on Twitter

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

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

Drew Smyly to ATL (2:40)

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THE NEXT TOP 75 HITTERS

by Paul Sporer

November 16, 2020

In a recent episode of the podcast, I spoke with Alex Fast about some potential breakout starting pitchers at different levels and I really enjoyed that so I want to do the same for hitting. Today, we are going to identify some players who be the next Top 75 players. Just to give you an idea of that range, hitters like Pete Alonso and Adam Duvall were just inside in the Top 75 while Eric Hosmer and Kevin Pillar were juuust outside. So these are solid fantasy contributors for sure.

Sean Murphy, C | 205 ADP, 280 Player Rater

Murphy has been strong in two small MLB samples, totaling exactly 200 PA of a 132 wRC+ with 11 HR. The 27% K rate is born of no plan at the dish or a stark inability to make contact meaning there could be some improvement there, pushing his .237 AVG northward. The power will drive this profile and be a huge factor in whether or not he can reach this level while he also needs to be much closer to his MiLB .267 AVG, too.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 864 – Early 2B Preview, Pt. 2

by Paul Sporer

November 12, 2020

11/12/20

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to Fangraphs! With a standard $20 membership, you help maintain and improve our database of stats and graphs as well as our staff of 8 full-time employees and over 50 contributors. The premium ad-free membership at $50 year supports site growth and also includes faster load speeds and better site performance. You can also support monthly for just $3.

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