Archive for Featured

Note: For the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on some pitchers who I thought were interesting but haven’t had time to dive in. Most were late-season debuts while others had an arsenal change. Others came of the IL as the season was coming to a close. I’m just going to work through them in alphabetical order and once done, I move to my normal late-round starters.

Tristan Beck

The 27-year-old Beck was a multi-inning reliever until late in the season when he made three starts including five innings of one-run ball on September 30th. He leans into his slider (55% usage, 14% SwStr%) since it is his only above-average pitch. His fastball averaged 94-mph but it didn’t miss many bats (6% SwStr%).

With just the two pitches (showed a horrible curve), he struggled the second time through the order when starting (5.97 xFIP) and relieving (4.82 xFIP). For his fantasy value to increase, he needs another average secondary or his fastball to take a step forward. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is today’s chat transcript:
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• Adam Plutko 플럿코 wants to test the MLB free agent market.

Adam Plutko is a free agent looking to return to MLB after two excellent years in Korea. He was 15-5 with a 2.39 ERA in 2022 and 11-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 2023 (both for LG). Overall 26-8, 2.40 ERA, .596 opponent OPS. Slider spin rate improved from 2,486 to 2,592 with more break

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 15, 2023

In five MLB seasons, he posted a 5.39 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 273 IP. While his results in Korea were better, his average fastball velocity dropped to 89.3 mph. Read the rest of this entry »

Part one of this installment looked at four-seam fastballs and cutters. Part two analyzed sinkers and splitters. Part three, our final act, will detail sliders, curveballs, and changeups.

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11/20/23

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

• Aaron Nola stays in PHI
• Lance Lynn back to StL
• Reynaldo López signs in ATL
• Kyle Wright/Jackson Kowar deal
• Brandon Woodruff non-tendered
• Nick Senzel non-tendered

Read the rest of this entry »

11/17/23

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

• Our Gladiator draft
• Cal Quantrill trade
• Aaron Bummer trade
  • Jared Shuster/Michael Soroka

Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve had appetizers at catcher, first base, second base, and shortstop, but now it’s time to look upward for some protein (powder).

Looking for someone who ascends to heights normally only dreamt of by those who grew up wearing Husky brand jeans. Arching high into the sky, going even further beyond the Chili’s down on Maple where many of his lookalike peers will go to celebrate if they beat Mitch’s Hardware on Wednesday night.

A player whose ability to hit bombs is matched only by his resemblance to someone who looks like they play in a league where there’s a keg at each base.

The People’s Hero. Every year he rises up (hopefully, to see if that waitress is ever going to bring out more ranch for our Texas cheese fries), and every year we recognize him.

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Thirdies Read the rest of this entry »

Last spring, I wrote up a group of first basemen who I saw as valuable picks in the draft. Let’s review the initial projection, see what happened, and grade these suckers!

• 2023 Breakout 1B

1B

Wil Myers | CIN

• My Projection: .265/.343/.493, 24 HR, 66 R, 71 RBI, 7 SB in 505 PA
• Final Result: .189/.257/.283, 3 HR, 11 R, 12 RBI, 2 SB in 141 PA

What Happened: OK, we’re starting off hot!! Well, hot vomit. Let’s not beat around the bush, this is a massive F-. Myers completely flamed out and was eventually run out of Cincinnati altogether as they called up a bevy of premium prospects, most of whom clicked upon arrival. He managed a meager 43 wRC+ in his tiny sample and was let go in late-June.

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11/13/23

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

YOUNG YANKEE BATS

• Gleyber Torres is only 27 next season
• Anthony Volpe up and down year
• Still buy back on Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza?
• Sneaky value for Estevan Florial?
• Any interest in Everson Pereira?
• Any chance you draft Jasson Domínguez?
• Is Austin Wells a thing?

Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Athletics

• The team isn’t sure what position Miguel Andujar will play next season.

A’s general manager David Forst, who met with Andujar’s agent at the annual GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week, spoke highly of the 28-year-old.

“He had a fantastic year at Triple-A for the Pirates,” Forst said. “This is still a young man. He obviously was highly regarded when he came up with the Yankees. It’s a hard place to come up in New York and a lot of attention was paid to his defense at the time and whether he could play third base. I think we believe he’s still a Major League hitter.

“He’s done a nice job transitioning to the outfield. He played both left and right field in Triple-A last year. He’s played some at first base as well, which is a nice option to have because we’re very left-handed at first base between [Ryan] Noda, [Seth] Brown and [Tyler] Soderstrom. I think the bat is a really good fit for us. It’ll remain to be seen where he fits overall on the roster. But there’s a lot of people here who believe he is a Major League hitter.”

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