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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 600 – New Studs v. Established Duds

9/14/18

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – September 14th, 2018

The transcript is live, thanks for coming!

3:26

Paul Sporer: Hello everybody!! Sorry for the delay, but pod 600 needed my time and the band is back together with Justin and Jason joining me

3:26

Gloria Esteban Loaiza: Keeper time already??

3:26

Paul Sporer: Whattya mean? Like talking about them? Sure!

3:26

rpo: How do you value Aaron Hicks for next year? Top 100 guy?

3:27

Paul Sporer: Thereabouts, I *love* Aaron Hicks

3:28

MDN: What do you think about car mart for next year? Wondering what kind of price you think he should go for in drafts (5×5 roto) to decide on what kind of keeper cost is worth it for him. $10-20? >$20?!?

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Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Prospects Updated

The Reds system may not have the most depth to it but it has a nice mix of high-ceiling players and toolsy, raw players with upside.

Click here for the pre-season Top 10

1. Nick Senzel | 3B | AAA —> Senzel appeared to be on a collision course with the Majors in 2018 but injuries derailed those hopes. He appeared in just 44 games but more than held his own at the big league level. In his prime, Senzel should hit for average, get on base at a strong rate and produce average or better pop. His defensive home has yet to be 100% settled but he could be a solid third baseman. After some lost development time in 2018, this young hitter may not open next year in The Show but he should be there by mid-year.

2. Taylor Trammell | OF | A+ —> Trammell is finally getting some of the recognition that he deserves but he’s still better than most people realize. An extremely athletic player, it’s taken a little time for his skill to translate onto the baseball diamond but he’s now more consistently showing the skills that could make him an all-star. His numbers weren’t as shiny in 2018 but the Florida State League is a tough one to play in. Trammell takes lots of pitches and walks a lot — which is exactly what you want to see from someone with plus speed. Once he starts tapping into his raw power, there is 20-homer potential there. His modest arm could limit him to left field but he has the speed for center.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 599 – The Rookie Hitters in 2019

9/13/18

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

Follow us on Twitter

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

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Daily Starters – Friday, September 14

Tomorrow will be a horrible day to stream. I can barely recommend two pitchers.

All the pitchers were selected had a Fantrax ownership rate of 20% or less.

Eric Lauer vs Rangers (15%)

This game is the pillow fight of the day especially with Lauer facing Yohander Mendez. I could see some random one-out LOOGY get the Win in this game.

Besides Ross, Lauer is probably the day’s best strikeout option. What a bad day.
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The Roller Coaster Ride Called Luis Castillo

After posting a 3.12 ERA over 15 starts last season in his MLB debut, which by the way was fully supported by exciting skills, Luis Castillo was rightfully a favorite target for many fantasy owners heading into the year. Unfortunately, his follow-up has been a big disappointment. The 25-year-old has posted a 4.66 ERA, while both his strikeout and ground ball rates have tumbled. He has also been unable to curb his severe gopheritis. When we talk about pitcher inconsistency, Castillo has been the epitome. If we were to ride on a baseball themed roller coaster, it would most certainly be named after him.

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Daily Starters – Thursday, September 13th

We’ve got a decent group to pick from despite an 8-game slate.

(I’ll be citing the FantasyPros roster rates)

Steven Matz – NYM v. MIA (27%)

Matz was having a good season with a 3.38 ERA through the first half, but opened the second half with four starts of a 13.17 ERA and probably fell off the radar for most, especially since he’s on a terrible team. He’s rallied back with four straight gems, posting a 2.25 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 24 IP with a 29% K-BB rate. He has faced the Giants twice during that run and they’re baseball’s worst team against lefties in the second half (.264 wOBA, 26% K rate), but he gets a Marlins team that has a .300 wOBA in that same time (21st).

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National League Lineup Analysis

Taking a look at the recent trends in the Senior Circuit lineups:

(Check out Jeff’s work on the AL here)

Braves

  • Johan Camargo has jumped into the #2 spot the last four games with Ozzie Albies and Ender Inciarte both being pushed down to the latter third (alternating between 6th and 7th) and Dansby Swanson holding down the 8-hole.
  • Ronald Acuna is locked into the leadoff spot and has been amazing from that position. Among the 45 hitters with at least 150 leadoff PA, his .464 wOBA is tops (worth noting that Mookie Betts isn’t far behind at .445 in 2.5x the PA). At this rate, he’s going to push into some 1st rounds next year.

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American League Lineup Analysis

Angels

Astros

  • It’s set with the exception of Marwin Gonzalez playing more since he’s heated up (.268/.316/.563 over the last 28 days).

Athletics

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Roto Riteup: September 11, 2018

Bryce Harper is hoping to be the next two-way player.

…but he’s no Kyle Gibson.

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