Author: Paul Sporer | Page 81 | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Paul Sporer’s Baseball Chat – February 1st, 2023

February 1, 2023

Transcript is available!

1:04	Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! Thanks for coming!

1:04	Sabey Sabes: What’s a realistic expectation from Judge this year? Have him as a keeper at #10 overall, but oh the trade options, too.

1:09	Paul Sporer: Something like .285/40/100/100

1:09	Paul Sporer: And that’s conservative, tbh

1:09	Nate: If you can keep either Nate Lowe or Tristan Casas in a 16 teamer…think they’ll be roughly similar this year? And moving forward? Or am I over/underestimating Casas?

1:09	Paul Sporer: Probably overestimating Casas right now. I’m a big Lowe fan so it’s easily him for me

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1134 – 2023 OF Rankings Preview 81+

by Paul Sporer

January 30, 2023

1/30/22

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
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OF RANKINGS 81+

Any hope left for Trent Grisham?
How many PAs for Oscar Colas this yr?
Do you have a spare wrist for Alex Kirilloff?
Buying the 593,245th yr of Max Kepler AVG hype?
Any real benefit to the shift changes for Joey Gallo?
Staying on the Edward Olivares hype train?
Which TEX speedster: Leody Taveras or Bubba Thompson?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1131 – 2023 OF Rankings Preview 31-80

by Paul Sporer

January 27, 2023

1/27/22

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

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OF RANKINGS 31-80

Christian Yelich as his Miami-version
Kris Bryant’s price drop
Health of Anthony Santander
Frankensteining Ian Happ’s line
A 40-HR season for Hunter Renfroe
The Harrison Bader wishcasting
Brandon Nimmo & Mitch Haniger health outlooks
Cody Bellinger buyback opportunity

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Paul Sporer’s 2023 Third Base Rankings

by Paul Sporer

January 26, 2023

The Hot Corner is tough this year. There is a pack of stars atop the heap, but then a substantial drop-off where things completely open up. You could find yourself behind the 8-ball if you wait too long. Meanwhile, you could aim to make things worse for your leaguemates by taking some multi-eligible players and slotting them throughout your lineup.

2023 Third Base Ranks

RK	NAME	TEAM	LG	POS
1	José Ramírez	CLE	AL	3B
2	Manny Machado	SD	NL	3B
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	AL	3B/SS
4	Rafael Devers	BOS	AL	3B
5	Austin Riley	ATL	NL	3B
6	Nolan Arenado	STL	NL	3B
7	Alex Bregman	HOU	AL	3B
8	Ke’Bryan Hayes	PIT	NL	3B
9	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	AL	3B
10	Josh Jung	TEX	AL	3B
11	Max Muncy	LAD	NL	2B/3B
12	Brandon Drury	LAA	AL	1B/2B/3B
13	Alec Bohm	PHI	NL	3B
14	Ryan McMahon	COL	NL	3B
15	Jose Miranda	MIN	AL	1B/3B
16	Anthony Rendon	LAA	AL	3B
17	Jordan Walker	STL	NL	3B
18	Matt Chapman	TOR	AL	3B
19	Ha-Seong Kim 김하성	SD	NL	3B/SS
20	Yandy Díaz	TB	AL	3B
21	Luis Urías	MIL	NL	2B/3B/SS
22	Justin Turner	BOS	AL	3B
23	DJ LeMahieu	NYY	AL	1B/2B/3B
24	Eugenio Suárez	SEA	AL	3B
25	Rodolfo Castro	PIT	NL	2B/3B
26	Joey Wendle	MIA	NL	2B/3B/SS
27	Gio Urshela	LAA	AL	3B
28	Yoán Moncada	CHW	AL	3B
29	Eduardo Escobar	NYM	NL	3B
30	Josh Rojas	ARI	NL	2B/3B
31	Jeimer Candelario	WAS	NL	3B
32	Luis Rengifo	LAA	AL	2B/3B
33	Spencer Steer	CIN	NL	3B
34	Wilmer Flores	SF	NL	1B/2B/3B
35	Ramón Urías	BAL	AL	2B/3B
36	Brendan Donovan	STL	NL	2B/3B/OF
37	Brian Anderson	MIL	NL	3B/OF
38	Evan Longoria	ARI	NL	3B
39	Isaac Paredes	TB	AL	1B/2B/3B
40	Jace Peterson	OAK	AL	3B
41	Kyle Farmer	MIN	AL	3B/SS
42	J.D. Davis	SF	NL	3B
43	Jon Berti	MIA	NL	2B/3B
44	Patrick Wisdom	CHC	NL	3B
45	Curtis Mead	TB	AL	3B
46	Brett Baty	NYM	NL	3B
47	Emmanuel Rivera	ARI	NL	3B
48	Josh Smith	TEX	AL	3B/OF
49	Bobby Dalbec	BOS	AL	1B/3B
50	Josh Donaldson	NYY	AL	3B

20 gm qualification; 5×5 Roto; Blue indicates new tier

NOTES:

The lack of premium talent at the Hot Corner makes José Ramírez a legit 1.1 consideration for me. Make no mistake, his skills alone do that, too, but there are a handful of candidates for that top spot and when trying to parse through them, his eligibility at 3B is a big selling point for me.

Manny Machado is just as rock solid as it gets and almost feels like a bit of a bargain as a wheel pick, going regularly in the 14-18 range in 15-team leagues. He has even gone as late as 20 during January which is a steal with his ironclad production and dearth of premium 3B.

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Paul Sporer’s Baseball Chat – January 25th, 2023

by Paul Sporer

January 25, 2023

The transcript is now available!

3:00	Paul Sporer: Hello everyone, thanks for coming out!

3:00	Nate: Hey Paul, quick breakdown of the Mondesi deal? Thanks!

3:01	Paul Sporer: He is still SUUUUCH an injury risk that it’s hard to get too excited, but just him being in the news will probably raise his price. I’m OK taking the shot anything past pick-200 as he can make an impact in as few as 75 games, but don’t put all your SB eggs in his basket!

3:01	ScottTINSTAAPP: Vegas Main Event Saturday is officially 2 months away, can’t wait!

3:01	Paul Sporer: I am so excited already!!!

3:01	Oil Can Baggins: Hey Paul, if you had any hints for market manipulation on OOTP in advance of your new set dropping on Thursday – could you very cryptically hint at it? If I should load up on historical Tigers, blink twice.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1130 – 2023 OF Rankings Preview Top 30

by Paul Sporer

January 24, 2023

1/24/22

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

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OF RANKINGS 1-30

Return of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s power
Julio Rodríguez’s 2H SB slowdown
Aaron Judge as the 1.1 pick
Moving Kyle Tucker up the batting order
Juan Soto’s success in SD
Injury concerns for Yordan Alvarez
Mookie Betts remains undervalued
Mike Trout & baked in missed time
Is Michael Harris II overpriced?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1128 – 2023 SS Rankings Preview #1

by Paul Sporer

January 20, 2023

1/20/22

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

PATREON

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Watch the video feed replay on YouTube

SS RANKINGS

Trea Turner’s return to the NL East
Bo Bichette’s speed drop-off
The Fernando Tatis Jr. premium
The run-scoring potential for Francisco Lindor
It’ll be regression not the shift for Corey Seager’s AVG
The volatility of Oneil Cruz
New rules and Tommy Edman’s SBs
Dansby Swanson in Chicago
Petco’s impact on Xander Bogaerts
The arrival of Wander Franco

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Paul Sporer’s Baseball Chat – January 19th, 2023

by Paul Sporer

January 19, 2023

A day late, but hopefully not a dollar short!

Check out the transcript:

1:34	Paul Sporer: I inexplicably forgot yesterday was Wednesday… no joke. I’m an old idiot. Anyway, didn’t want miss this week so let’s rock!

1:34	Guest: hey, paul! in an obp league with slg added. trying to choose between keeping nootbaar at $5 and jorge polanco at $5. thoughts?

1:38	Paul Sporer: I lean toward Noot as I have the pair pretty close, but Noot having more upside. My HR/SB/AVG for them are close while Noot gets a healthy OBP boost and then close again on SLG. We have Noot batting 6th rn, but if he moves back up, then his R/RBI can exceed Polanco for sure

1:38	Larry: What’s your confidence level in Acuna returning to the stud he was before the knee injury?

1:40

Paul Sporer: Pretty high. He’s my #1 overall by projection, barely over Judge and J-Ram (all of whom I can take at 1.1) and I think a year removed from the injury should help Acuña get back some pop while hopefully continuing to run. 40/40 is very much in play, though obviously that’s the upside, not the projection/expectation

1:40	Guest: Jordan Walker for Marcelo Mayer and Henry Davis. Who says no?

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Max Muncy Got His Groove Back

by Paul Sporer

January 19, 2023

In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Max Muncy injured his left elbow after a collision with Jace Peterson as Muncy tried to catch a throw while Peterson ran through first base. It cost Muncy all of the 2021 postseason and in November of 2021, we learned that Muncy’s injury was indeed the torn UCL that many feared it was when it happened. In January of 2022, we learned he wouldn’t need surgery, but there were concerns about how it might impact at least the start of his 2022 season.

While he made it through spring and was ready for Opening Day, it was clear early on that the elbow was still bothering him. He hit a brutal .136/.313/.273 in 83 April plate appearances and while it was reasonable to believe the .149 BABIP would regress back toward his career .256 mark, there was still trouble brewing. It wouldn’t get much better in the following months with a .595 OPS in May, .675 in June, and .597 in July, all with sub-.200 AVGs and just 9 HR in his 339 PA. With just a .150/.327/.263 line through May 25th, Muncy hit the IL. He didn’t want to blame his struggles on the elbow, but I mean… c’mon, it was the elbow. He did eventually acknowledge that he rushed back from the injury and should’ve taken some time.

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