Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! I know we’ve been dealt bad news on the baseball front, but we can still prepare for a fantasy season as I doubt the entire season gets scrapped at any point

vottomanempire: Any particular players you think should get a bump in drafts in a 140-145 game season, either due to injury rehab timeline or other factors?

Paul Sporer: Acuña

Broken Bat: I hate all of them…. All 30 of them.

Paul Sporer: I can’t blame you in the slightest

Jacob: Is it just me or has Luis Robert not been talked about much in the industry? Why do you think that is and do you think he’s a value?

Paul Sporer: Welcome to my chat, pardon my tardiness!

Broseph: 14-team OBP league that uses TB/BB instead of HRs:
Juan Soto (cost: $5, $10, $15 then FA) has been floated for my Luis Robert ($2, $5, $10, $15, then FA) and Eloy Jimenez ($2, $5, $10, $15, then FA). I’m torn but seems like a possibly great deal for the format.

Paul Sporer: Oooh that’s a really interesting deal. I could definitely get down with going for Soto!

A Tribe Called Kipnis: After Bieber, in what order do you want to own the Cleveland starters Civale, McKenzie, Plesac, and Quantrill (in deep AL only leagues)?

Paul Sporer: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/paul-sporers-2022-sp-rankings

Paul Sporer: I love Civale, but also have interest in McKenzie and Quantrill. Keep a close eye on Cody Morris in deep leagues, too.

Paul Sporer: Hello everyone!! Welcome to my chat!

Adam: What are your thoughts on Cedric Mullins this year?  Do you think last year was fluky or can he put up similar numbers again?  Is his adp to high or about right?

Paul Sporer: I really like him! There is a lot of believability in what he did, though it is definitely a buy-high off a career year which is always worrisome. About the only thing you can truly say about him is that there’s little track record, but I don’t think that alone is enough to move away from him

Rachel: Hi Paul, I’m trying to decide which 2 of the 3 to keep this year. deGrom, G Cole or C Burnes. Thanks!

Paul Sporer: I think you gotta go Cole and Burnes w/deGrom’s health being the tiebreaker

Vince: Hi! I’m  in 12-team Roto H2H with 1 UT spot, I have both Olson and Goldschmidt from last year at good value. Although keeping both limit my roster flexibility, I only see Riley and O’Neil likely comparable bats available to draft. Would you keep both? Thanks!

Paul Sporer: Welcome to the weekly chat!!

Jay (ATL): Love your stuff, just curious what you expect for McClanahan in year 2 with TB in regards to usage / going through a lineup 3x somewhat consistently, etc.?  I was a bit surprised to see you rank him ahead of Manoah and Baz for this year.  Thanks!

Paul Sporer: He is an easy rank over Baz for me bc I see Baz on the McClanahan track, just a year behind. So I think McClanahan has a chance to push 180 IP this yr while Baz will be around the 120-125 we saw from McClanahan this year. McClanahan v. Manoah – I prefer McClanahan’s arsenal and he didn’t have the platoon issues we saw from Manoah. I trust McClanahan a bit more in year 2

Tiger Fan: Looking for a free (no-deposit) league to sample fantasy life. Do you have any recommendations?

Paul Sporer: If you can find a group of people, any of the free sites works. I don’t know the best outlet to play for free v. a random group of folks. Maybe someone else in chat has a recommendation there

diadem: How do you see the COL outfield shaking out? Will Joe start over Tapia and/or Hilliard or will it be a pretty even split of ab’s for the three? Also, your take on Tapia.

Paul Sporer: Hello everyone!! Happy New Year!

Paul Sporer: I’m getting my lunch together and made a mess, sorry for the delay lol

James: Paul! Long time no chat (for me, at least). Where would you rank Gallo among OFs in a league where AVG is replaced by OBP?

Paul Sporer: I’ve got him mid-30s right now and I’d probably jump him 10-12 spots in OBP leagues

Paul Sporer: I’ve got Gilbert highest by a good bit. Unquestioned spot unlike Houck and not coming off a substantial injury that ended his season early unlike Sandoval. It’s a great trio so I’m interested in rostering any of the 3, but Gilbert is the choice if it’s just 1 pick: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/paul-sporers-2022-sp-rankings/

SH: Houck, Sandoval or Gilbert for 2022? Explain

Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! Let’s talk some baseball!

Jon: What are you thinking on Patrick Sandoval for next season?  I was floating some trade offers out there and it seems no one realizes how good he was before the season ending back injury… So I’m trying to figure out if I should just keep him

Paul Sporer: I’m a big fan! It stinks that injury cut down his breakout season and it is definitely causing people to overlook him, though in fairness, I also share some wariness when a pitcher ends the season injured and we’re flying a bit blind on him going into the following season. He is very fairly priced (87th pitcher – including closers) in early drafts and obviously we’ll get more clarity as the offseason moves forward & his price will rise w/any good news. I’d probably just keep him bc I doubt anyone is paying big bucks for him in the trade market

Eric: How good is Julio Rodriguez going to be this year? Next year?

Paul Sporer: I obviously can’t say for sure. ZiPS loves him after the brilliant two-level season at A+/AA but it’ll be a big leap to the majors. He’ll need some AAA time, too, of course. Kelenic’s failures in his debut season don’t really impact how I see Rodriguez (I only bring that up bc I have seen some ppl reference Kelenic as a reason to worry about J.Rod) for ’22, but I’m not going to go too crazy in drafts just bc of the wait. I’d be surprised if he’s up before May and I’m not holding for a month in most formats.

8675309: Odds Alvarez goes 300 with 40 and 110 next year?

Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! Thank you for coming out!

Jim Leyland Palmer: What are your overall thoughts on the Baez signing for us?

Paul Sporer: He wasn’t my top choice, in fact he was quite literally my last choice among the premium SS available, buuuttt I’m not going to pretend it’s complete flop of a move that doesn’t add to the team. The concerns come with how that profile will age, but in the short-term (next 2-3 yrs), he should remain an above average bat with excellent defense & speed. That should keep him a consistent 3-5 WAR player (depending on variance of the bat).

Paul Sporer: And as a Tigers fan, I’m gonna root like hell for him

fantasy baseball player: Manoah or Gallen for 2022 and why? Thanks, Paul

Paul Sporer: I lean Gallen – he’s at 31 w/Manoah at 35. I had to really dig in with Manoah because I love him and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just overrating him. I ended moving him down out of my top 30 and down to 35 bc he’s still mostly a 2-pitch guy (the 3rd pitch has potential, but isn’t fully there) with shaky command in the toughest division in baseball. Gallen’s injury-riddled season ended on a high note (3.19 ERA/1.13 WHIP) and he has a deep arsenal w/strong whiff history. He also plays in a better division even w/the Dodgers & Coors. So I favor him

Paul Sporer: Chat time! It’ll be a little shorter this week, but I didn’t want to skip entirely!

Andrew: I have 4 possible keepers and can only keep 3, which of these players would you keep for next year? Javy Baez (Round 11), Spencer Torkelson (Round 21), Teoscar Hernandez (Round 10), Marcus Semien (Round 12)

Paul Sporer: It’s down to Baez v. Tork for me. I think the 10 rounds are enough to take the gamble on Tork despite him having not debuted yet. He’ll likely go higher than rd 21 if thrown back so let’s go w/him!

chilly: something about rengifo that i really like.  is bat speed something thats measured here at FG?  something about that left handed swing i really like.  anyways, u feel he could breakout next yr ala josh rojas this yr?  nothing crazy but solid streaky.  or u think laa will continue playing 30yo like mayfield, gosselin, etc

Paul Sporer: No I’m with you on liking him a bit. He’s shown strong plate skills in the minors and while we haven’t seen them pay dividends in the majors yet, he’s still quite early in his career (700 career PA). Playing time should definitely be available for ’22 as well

Henry: How about them Sox!