Author: Paul Sporer | Page 98 | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Boxscore Bits – April 8th, 2022

April 8, 2022

A few thoughts on the games from Opening Day, April 7th.

Added after this went live: I’m going to play with some different formats over the next few days until I land on exactly what I want. I greatly appreciate the feedback already in the comments and would love more especially once you see the different formats that I try out!

MIL 4, CHC 5

Corbin Burnes wasn’t terribly sharp (5 IP-4 H-3 ER-1-HR-3 BB-4 K with the cutter just not looking like the 2021 iteration. It has just a 53% strike rate and 6% swinging strike rate, down from 72% and 17% last year.
Kyle Hendricks meanwhile was excellent (5.3 IP-5 H-1 ER-0 HR-3 BB-7 K) and his 17 swinging strikes (21%) was higher than anything he did in 2021 and highest of the day by 5 (Ohtani).
David Robertson (1 IP-1 H-0 ER-1 K) looked sharp while notching a save as the knuckle curve was in vintage form.
Rowan Wick (0.7 IP-2 H-1 ER)
Of course, Nico Hoerner hit the 1st homer of the 2022 season, his first since September 21st, 2019 (324 PA).
Ian Happ got off to a fast start, going 3-4 with 2 2B and 2 RBI.
Seiya Suzuki got on base three times in his MLB debut including a base hit (1-2, 2 BB, R, K).
Willy Adames, Andrew McCutchen, and Rowdy Tellez had 2 hits apiece.

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Paul Sporer’s 2022 Bold Predictions

by Paul Sporer

April 7, 2022

It’s Bold Prediction time. Here are mine!

Akil Baddoo goes for 30 HR and 30 SB

My love for the 23-year-old Rule 5 pick is well known, and I really think he could be this year’s Cedric Mullins in terms of a breakout 30-30 player, though he certainly didn’t come as cheaply as Mullins did a year ago. Baddoo started out hot last year (1.070 OPS after 2 weeks) but with a 44% K and 3% BB rate in April, it felt like a mirage. His improvements were evident over the remainder of the season with a 24% K and 11% BB rate from May 1st on. Upping his competence against lefties will be required (.523 OPS last year) for this to come through, though the AL Central features just three projected lefty starters so he might see a smaller starter/reliever split for his lefty plate appearances (78% v. SPs last year). Lefty SP count in the ALC matters because so many games come against the other four teams in your division.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1036 – Fireside Favorites

by Paul Sporer

April 6, 2022

4/6/22

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
@PitcherList – Nick Pollack

PATREON

Join our Patreon for live video feeds of each show

FIRESIDE CHAT

Fireside Favorites

TYPE	DESCRIPTION	PAUL	NICK
ACE	Top 20 SP	Max Fried	Lucas Giolito
BREAKOUT	21-50ish range	Trevor Rogers	Alek Manoah
BREAKOUT	51-75ish range	José Urquidy	Alex Cobb & Alex Wood
SLEEPER	76-100ish range	Tylor Megill	Jesús Luzardo
LOTTERY TICKET	Outside Top 100	Reid Detmers	Patrick Corbin
DEEEEP SLEEPER	Off the Charts	Kyle Wright	Nick Martínez
PROSPECT	In the Minors	Max Meyer	Grayson Rodriguez

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Paul Sporer’s Fantasy Baseball Chat – April 6th, 2022

by Paul Sporer

April 6, 2022

Transcript is available!

1:28	Paul Sporer: Happy Opening Day Eve, y’all!!!

1:30	Jason: First, thank you so much for doing this. Really appreciate you! Secondly, who do you think has a better shot at everyday 1B at bats in KC this year, Pratto or Vinnie?

1:31	Paul Sporer: I really like Vinnie P, but I’d probably lean toward Pratto especially bc he’s on the 40

1:31	Georgia: You’re a Tigers fan, you concerned about Fulmer’s spring velocity? Should I move on to another save spec quickly before he kills my ratios for a week or two?

1:33	Paul Sporer: Not particularly worried, no. They aren’t limiting him or showing any concern about his health due to it so I think it’s just spring ramp up

1:33	PNW: The Mariners Will Make The Playoffs… 1-10

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1035 – Spring Standouts: Hitters

by Paul Sporer

April 5, 2022

4/5/22

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

PATREON

Join our Patreon for live video feeds of each show
Watch the video feed replay on YouTube

INJURIES/TRANSACTION NEWS

Austin Meadows trade
- Josh Lowe getting the call
Julio Rodriguez makes the M’s
Nick Lodolo makes the Reds
Johnny Cueto signs with White Sox
Max Scherzer likely starting Friday

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1033 – Fireside Chat: SP Split Rankings

by Paul Sporer

April 1, 2022

4/1/22

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
@PitcherList – Nick Pollack: Co-Host/Producer

PATREON

Join our Patreon for live video feeds of each show

FIRESIDE CHAT

Nick Higher:

Stephen Strasburg 65 v. 176
Luis Castillo 28 v. 56
Mike Clevinger 36 v. 62
Zac Gallen 33 v. 58
Tyler Mahle 34 v. 48

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Paul Sporer’s 2022 SP Ranking with Commentary

by Paul Sporer

March 30, 2022

Here’s my first run from New Year’s Eve and those of you subscribed to the podcast’s Patreon have had access to mine & Justin’s ever-evolving rankings as the winter wore on (and thank you all so much for the support!). Now it’s time to dive deeper into the SP pool. I won’t have a comment on every single pitcher listed, but please feel free to ask questions in the comments about anyone – even if they have a comment!

ACES

RK	STARTING PITCHER	TM	Last Rk.	Diff.
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	1	0
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	3	1
3	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	6	3
4	Walker Buehler	LAD	2	-2
5	Corbin Burnes	MIL	4	-1
6	Max Scherzer	NYM	5	-1
7	Julio Urías	LAD	13	6

The best of the best.

I understand the narrative of Cole and the sticky stuff ban because he had a 4.12 ERA from that point forward, but it came with a 3.39 FIP and 32% K rate. Even with a couple September duds mixed in, his FIP was 2.95 in the second half. The skills remain truly elite.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1032 – Main Event Review

by Paul Sporer

March 29, 2022

3/28/22

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

PATREON

Join our Patreon for live video feeds of each show
Watch the video feed replay on YouTube

INJURIES/TRANSACTION NEWS

Evan Longoria finger injury
Pete Fairbanks lat injury
Chris Stratton/David Bednar sharing duties

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Paul Sporer’s 2022 Reliever Rankings and Closer Chart Vol. 2

by Paul Sporer

March 24, 2022

The end of the lockout hasn’t cleared things up quite as much as we were hoping, especially with Kimbrel still not traded and unlikely to be by Opening Day at this point.

I’ve got the Closer Chart for you with my Next-In-Line and Darkhorse candidates so you can see every bullpen at a glance and then there is a straight ranking of the relievers after that where you can see that I favor some of the Medium stability closers over some of the High stability guys. It is admittedly hard to be super confident in a reliever ranking after the 10-15 just because who you already have will then dictate where you go later in terms of handcuffing or dipping into other bullpens with lottery tickets, etc… so don’t be too locked into the exact order of the ranking sheet.

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