Author Archive: Paul Sporer

61-101 (5th in Division; 27th in MLB)

[PREVIOUS REVIEWS]

SP Wins: 28 (29th)

RP Wins: 33 (17th)

Saves: 25 (29th)

1+ Save: 3 (Richard Rodríguez 14, Chris Stratton 8, David Bednar 3)

100+ Ks: 2 (JT Brubaker 129, Wil Crowe 111)

.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 2 (Adam Frazier .324 [w/PIT; he hit .305 altogether], Bryan Reynolds .302)

65+ Runs: 1 (Reynolds 93)

65+ RBI: 1 (Reynolds 90)

10+ HRs: 3 (Reynolds 24, Gregory Polanco 11, Colin Moran 10)

5+ SBs: 1 (Polanco 14)

BEST BUY: Bryan Reynolds

Nothing sneaky here, their best player is their best buy. His rough 2020 proved to be a small sample fluke and his 2021 (142 wRC+) picked up right where his 2019 breakout (130 wRC+) left off. He went 90/90 R/RBI on the Pirates for crying out loud! He has great plate skills, a high AVG floor, and above average power.

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60-102 (5th in Division; 28th in MLB)

[PREVIOUS REVIEWS]

SP Wins: 33 (25th)

RP Wins: 27 (28th)

Saves: 31 (27th)

1+ Save: 5 (Ian Kennedy 16, Joe Barlow 11, Spencer Patton 2, Josh Sborz, Joely Rodriguez 1)

100+ Ks: 3 (Jordan Lyles 146, Dane Dunning 114, Kolby Allard 104)

.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 2 (Isiah Kiner-Falefa .271, Nathaniel Lowe .264)

65+ Runs: 3 (Adolis García 77, Lowe 75, Kiner-Falefa 74)

65+ RBI: 2 (García 90, Lowe 72)

10+ HRs: 6 (García 31, Joey Gallo 25, Lowe 18, DJ Peters 12, Nick Solak 11, Jonah Heim 10)

5+ SBs: 9 (Kiner-Falefa 20, García 16, Yonny Hernandez 11, Leody Taveras 10, Lowe 8, Solak, Charlie Culberson 7, Gallo 6, Brock Holt 5)

BEST BUY: Nathaniel Lowe

Lowe’s season was buoyed by an 8-for-8 effort on the bases and even with that he was just 20th at 1B. If the speed contributions are legitimate, he’s a mini-Goldschmidt coming into his own with a strong foundation. Even if it regresses, there is power and AVG upside that could yield a .280 AVG/30 HR season.

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10/12/21

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

PATREON

• Join our Patreon

INJURIES/TRANSACTION NEWS

• Jorge Soler has COVID

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52-110 (5th in Division; 29th in MLB)

[PREVIOUS REVIEWS]

SP Wins: 30 (28th)

RP Wins: 22 (30th)

Saves: 22 (30th)

1+ Save: 8 (Joakim Soria, Tyler Clippard 6, Stefan Crichton 4, J.B. Wendelken 2, Noé Ramirez, Riley Smith, Sean Poppen, Chris Devenski 1)

100+ Ks: 4 (Zac Gallen 139, Merrill Kelly 켈리 130, Madison Bumgarner, Caleb Smith 124)

.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 3 (Ketel Marte .318, Pavin Smith .267, Josh Rojas .264)

65+ Runs: 2 (Rojas 69, Smith 68)

65+ RBI: 1 (Eduardo Escobar 65)

10+ HRs: 7 (Escobar 22, Marte 14, Carson Kelly 13, Smith, Rojas, Daulton Varsho 11, Christian Walker 10)

5+ SBs: 4 (Rojas 9, Nick Ahmed 7, Varsho 6, Locastro 5)

BEST BUY: Josh Rojas

Rojas looked like he was breaking out with an 81-game run from late-April to mid-August during which he hit .306/.384/.502 with 10 HR and 6 SB in 340 PA, but then finished with a .530 OPS in his last 149 PA leaving his full season line a bit underwhelming (102 wRC+). Power/speed bat with triple eligibility (2B/SS/OF) who won’t be super expensive and still carries some upside, even at age-28.

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52-110 (5th in Division; 30th in MLB)

[PREVIOUS REVIEWS]

SP Wins: 24 (30th)

RP Wins: 28 (26th)

Saves: 26 (28th)

1+ Save: 6 (Cole Sulser, César Valdez 8, Tyler Wells 4, Dillon Tate 3, Paul Fry 2, Adam Plutko 1)

100+ Ks: 2 (John Means 134, Jorge López 112)

.260+ AVG (min. 350 PA): 1 (Cedric Mullins .291)

65+ Runs: 4 (Mullins 91, Ryan Mountcastle, Trey Mancini 77, Austin Hays 73)

65+ RBI: 3 (Mountcastle 89, Mancini, Hays 71)

10+ HRs: 8 (Mountcastle 33, Mullins 30, Hays 22, Mancini 21, Anthony Santander 18, DJ Stewart 12, Maikel Franco, Pedro Severino 11)

5+ SBs: 2 (Mullins 30, Jorge Mateo 5)

BEST BUY: Anthony Santander

Santander has been averaging about 30-100 over the last three seasons (33 HR/95 RBI per 162 gms since ’19), but he has struggled to stay on the field with just 93 and 110 games in his last two full seasons (2019 and 2021). He still hit the ball with authority this year despite the injuries that piled up (ankle, hamstring, knee). The skills are there for him, it is a matter of staying healthy and finally reaching that 500+ PA level.

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Thanks for coming out!

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10/5/21

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

PATREON

• Join our Patreon

IN FOCUS: BREAKOUT BREAKDOWN SPs Pt. 1

• Robbie Ray (5:45)
• Carlos Rodón (19:44)
• Freddy Peralta (26:40)
  • Adbert Alzolay (33:48)
• Logan Webb (37:20)

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10/1/21

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

PATREON

• Consider joining our Patreon

IN FOCUS: SATURDAY

• John Means at TOR
• Tanner Houck at WAS
• Kris Bubic v. MIN
• Griffin Jax at KC
• Jake Odorizzi v. OAK
• Paul Blackburn at HOU
• Jordan Lyles v. CLE
• Jesús Luzardo v. PHI
• Josiah Gray v. BOS
• Jon Lester v. CHC
• Zac Gallen v. COL
• Antonio Senzatela at ARI

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With the season winding down, I wanted to find something that would be useful for those still contending in their leagues. I decided to do something that isn’t particularly new, but we don’t have it here at the site: a starting pitcher chart for the day’s slate of games. I’ll include their performance over the last five starts, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and then my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues.

Obviously these are general recommendations and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto. For the weekend, Justin & I will use the Friday podcast to discuss the relevant weekend streamers. By popular demand, these will start coming out the day before the slate in question.

Starting Monday September 20th, I’m loosening my thresholds for streamer gambles. If you are protecting ratios, you should continue to be careful and manage as you see fit, but these recommendations are catering more to a “go-for-it” attitude over these final two weeks.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the season winding down, I wanted to find something that would be useful for those still contending in their leagues. I decided to do something that isn’t particularly new, but we don’t have it here at the site: a starting pitcher chart for the day’s slate of games. I’ll include their performance over the last five starts, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and then my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues.

Obviously these are general recommendations and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto. For the weekend, Justin & I will use the Friday podcast to discuss the relevant weekend streamers. By popular demand, these will start coming out the day before the slate in question.

Starting Monday September 20th, I’m loosening my thresholds for streamer gambles. If you are protecting ratios, you should continue to be careful and manage as you see fit, but these recommendations are catering more to a “go-for-it” attitude over these final two weeks.

Read the rest of this entry »