Justin Mason’s Baseball Chat – April 14, 2025

Justin Mason: I will begin at the top of hour. In the meantime, please follow me on all my social media’s (twitter, tiktok, facebook, youtube, bluesky, and instagram) at JustinMasonFWFB! I am doing regular podcasts on the FWFB podcast as well as three episodes a week for the Sleeper and the Bust so definitely make sure you are subscribed there as well!

My kingdom for a SP: I know it’s early but any concern for Kikuchi or Olson?
I already moved Berrios and Buehler to my bench, so my SP is thin.

Justin Mason: This is kind of what you get with Kikuchi. He is going to have great weeks and ones that frustrate you. Olson is a little more disappointing because it seemed like he was ready to take another jump and now the stuff doesn’t seem to be doing so. That being said, I think he will be fine, but just not as good as maybe we had hoped for

Does it Fitts?: Strained pec… estimation on how long he is out?
Keeper league where we keep (3) at rd value and I drafted him last in the 24th so would love to wait if I can but I also have a million dudes on the IL already.

Justin Mason: I haven’t seen a timetable but I think you can drop him if you are strapped for spots.

Soggy Burger: Will I remember how to hit? Wasn’t expecting a high avg but yeesh.

Justin Mason: yeah, this is who Burger is. You have to deal with the cold streaks to enjoy the hot ones.

Catcher Me If You Can: Catcher has been abysmal. Currently running Goodman, have Alvarez stashed on IL. Heim, Keibert, Murphy, Dingler all available. One C league, do I just stream?

Justin Mason: yeah, I would just stream the hot hand. Grab Murphy or Dingler and then move on as they cool

Mike: Are you grabbing Uribe in case Megill is out an extended period?  His savant page is pretty red and could be useful in a league with holds while waiting it out.

Justin Mason: I grabbed him in  a number of leagues last night. I am worried about Megill needing a second opinion and I think Uribe is next up

Good morning Walltimore!: Would you drop Halvorsen for Kahnle or Luke Jackson or is the difference among all three minimal?

Justin Mason: I would drop for Jackson

Mike: In a 12-team H2H, are you keeping Correa if you don’t need shortstops?

Justin Mason: Probably not

Matt W.: Hi Justin,

Justin Mason: Hi!

Matt W.: Would you sit Adames for Neto this week?

Justin Mason: I don’t think so. Chances are that Neto isn’t back until the weekend unless I missed some news

Mike: Is it crazy to bench Freeman this week to play Goldschmidt and Rice with six games for the Dodgers (and he will likely sit for at least one) and seven for the Yankees all at Yankee Stadium or Yankee Stadium south?

Justin Mason: I don’t think it’s crazy, but I probably wouldn’t do it

Must In Jason: Rank Freeman, Machado, Devers ROS. 8×8 with OBP and SLG

Justin Mason: Machado, Freeman, Devers

Must In Jason: Has Chris Sale aged out? Velo okay but getting squared up consistently

Justin Mason: I don’t think I am ready to say that. It has just been bad, but it is still just four starts. I think he should be better, but there are concerns that I am watching for

Carrots Julien: Curious if I’m crazy to be excited about Edouard Julien. Nice looking statcast page, former prospect. He’s not walking like usual, but leading off some. Was decding between him, Brendan Rodgers and Oswaldo Cabrera for bench bat in OBP league…

Justin Mason: I think it is definitely worth monitoring. I love Julien’s skillset but he is often too passive. A jump in aggressiveness is what we want to see. So this is intriguing. I would take him over those guys.

Yuniesky Betancourt: How concerned are we about the slow starts from Arozarena, Rooker, and Santander?

Justin Mason: I was lower on Arozarena and Rooker than the industry as a whole so this is a bit of what I expected. Santander I think will be fine.

Rufus T. Firefly: Does Gavin Lux stink? Deep league without much on the wire. Keep him or take a shot on Amador in Colorado?

Justin Mason: Lux is making good in zone contact. His xBA is .253 and everything looks to be in line with his career norms. I think I would hold over Amador

Early Sadness: I’m sure we are all a bit frustrated with the 2 weeks our teams have played haha. Just wanted to say thanks Justin for keeping us sane!

Justin Mason: I totally get that! I have a couple very important teams that are struggling, but it is a long season and we are just getting started! Just sit back and enjoy baseball being back

Guest: Liberatore worth a shot in 12T’s? Getting a bit lucky with sequencing, but the FIP is super low, looks to be a result of seemingly better command turning close balls into called strikes. SSS?

Justin Mason: I know Paul is a big fan, but I have never really been. To be honest, I haven’t watched him pitch yet this season, but I will make sure to watch his start this week. I do love to see that he is attacking the zone but he is likely benefiting from some luck. I need to sit down and watch him before I pass judgement

Always need pitching: Is Shane Smith legit? He’s light on K’s so far but that’s 3 straight good starts and the estimators are saying he’s been decent even without the K’s and it’s not like he’s completely out of nowhere as a 50-grade prospect. Debating whether to keep him in my 12-teamer or if he’s just a streamer and to send him back to the waiver wire.

Justin Mason: I think he definitely could be. There are going to be bumps in the road because he just hasn’t pitched against high level competition before now, but the change and sinker are really good and I like the makeup.

Justin Mason: I think he is a team streamer in a 12

Must In Jason: How do you evaluate platoon bats? I like Wallner, Aranda, Conforto, Carpenter but needing to roster multiple bench hitters is suboptimal when there are streams to be had

Justin Mason: For the most part, I try to avoid these guys especially in shallower formats. What I try to do if I am drafting these guys is see how many lefties are in their division because there are very few in the AL Central which is why I was more in on Carpenter and Wallner this year.

JT: 14 team redraft, 6×6 h2h, have an OF of Tucker, Doyle and Cruz with L. Robert Jr as back up at the moment, thinking about cashing in on Doyle (I see him as a typical COL home/away split bat) have 4 options: 1. J. Rodriguez 1 for 1 (similar projections without the platoon substitutions, 2. Albies 1 for 1 (my current 2B is L. Garcia) 3. Edman and C. Sanchez (Sanchez would slot in as 5th SP and replace Bubic) or 4. we believe in Doyle’s upside and keep him for ROS.

Justin Mason: I definitely believe in Doyle as a player. Made real changes to his contact profile, plays in Colorado, has power and speed. That being said, I would flip him for Julio Rodriguez (if I am reading that right)

April: Where would you rank Chase Meidroth among SS in an OBP dynasty league?

Justin Mason: Probably around 20?

Guest: Hello.  In a 10 team roto. Please put in order for ROS – Wilson Contr, Ruiz, Shea for Catcher.  Thank you

Justin Mason: Contreras, Shea, Ruiz

Jimmy: In a 12tm mixed OBP league, what are you doing with Matt Shaw? Would you drop him to add a player another utility player like Brooks Lee, HyeSong Kim or Jose Caballero? I know it’s early, but this guy is flailing..

Justin Mason: I think I am sticking with him as long as the Cubs do. At least he is walking a ton so for OBP, he isn’t hurting you as much. I believe in the talent

JT: 14 team, redraft, 6×6 h2h, is B. Miller (currently my 3rd SP behind Skubal & Gilbert) too much to pay for Jazz, I think so but also understand I tend to overvalue my players.

Justin Mason: I don’t think it is too much to pay. Just have to weigh in the injury risk with Jazz, but I do think that is fair

Painful: whoops…8 tm points, need power points; my obp is good, lacking R, RBi  Tork,Mullins, or ?

Justin Mason: Give me Tork

High5Ghost: Good morning Justin! 12 team mixed…can you help me sort out my roster? Disregarding position, how would you rank these hitters ROS? Jung Hoo Lee 이정후, Josh Jung, Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker, Victor Scott, Soderstrom, and Kyren Paris.

Justin Mason: Walker, Paredes, Soderstrom, Lee, Jung, Scott, Paris

JG: Following trade just went through in my league, almost veto’d because of collusion theories with the owners, I think it’s an extreme overpay though: Vlad for Glasnow, Bellinger, Volpe & K. Campbell? Veto owners in league feel like it wasn’t “enough” for Vlad.

Justin Mason: I don’t necessarily like the deal, but there is no reason to veto that

Veitno Hope?: When do we hit eject on Vientos?

Justin Mason: I think this might be a decent buy low opportunity. Underlying numbers look fine. He is actually making more contact and the swinging strike rate is down.

Liam: Grabbed Zebby for the spec over the weekend. Worth holding onto for a little bit if I’m not too pressed by injuries? Or just churn?

Justin Mason: I might hold because he should be up sooner rather than later and there is a ton of upside

bdubs: In a vacuum: Rank Santander, Ramos, Jung.  Saves ROS Kahnle or Faucier,

Justin Mason: Santander, Jung, Ramos. Kahnle

Pete: Hey Justin, outside of Bubba Chandler and Zebby Matthews can you give me a few names of pitchers who may come up and make an impact this year?

Justin Mason: Quinn Matthews, Brandon Sproat, Andrew Painter

Sidd: Do you think the cold weather affected Hicks’ game against NYY the other day?

Justin Mason: It definitely could have considering how cold it was, but this also could just be regression after a hot start. I think we need to watch his next start closely at Philly

Braggy Douche-io: Just want to crow while I can–the incredible law firm of Ragans, Crochet, and King won all three of their cases handily yesterday. Combined line: 24 ip, 7 h, 2 er, 2 bb, 29 k. (May none of their arms break.)

Justin Mason: Praying they all stay healthy!

JoeG: Abner Uribe a spec add for Saves for the Brewers ?

Justin Mason: Absolutely! Grabbed him in a number of leagues yesterday

ransofast: kremer looks like he is getting lob’ed and hr/fb’ed to death, any confidence that he turns it around?

Justin Mason: Not really

Guest: Luis Garcia, Morel, or Alex Call as an injury fill in this week?

Justin Mason: Garcia

Ben: Jung came back from the IL on fire — any new feelings about his ROS outlook?

Justin Mason: Dude just needs to stay healthy. The talent is great.

Paddy: Soderstrom’s underlying metrics seem to back up his hot start. Try to sell high or is this a true breakout?

Justin Mason: True breakout. Was a massive target for me this season and the fact he is Sacramento is going to be huge

JT: 14 team redraft 6×6 h2h: younger Contreras bro and Olsen for older Contreras bro & Devers … which side says no to this trade?

Justin Mason: That is really close. I want the younger Contreras though

Man of Steele?: Lost Steele and looking to replace. Do you buy Luzardo’s strong start? Have some MI depth in a 12 teamer. Would you trade a borderline top 100 preseason player like Westburg or Willy Adames for him?

Justin Mason: I definitely buy Luzardo’s start, but health and command have always been a recurring issue for him. I think I would want more back than Luzardo for one of them

Ben Brown Bagholder: Try to sell Ben Brown coming off the Dodgers success or can he really survive with two pitches?

Justin Mason: I don’t think he will be able to. A great sell high oppurtunity right now

D: Any actual concern about Casas? Just a cold streak?

Justin Mason: Both are true. He will be streaky so you want him when he is hot, but at the same time, I have not been sold on his hit tool. Dude just doesn’t make consistent in-zone contact.

SP Needer: Roupp or G Holmes this week? ROS?

Justin Mason: Holmes for the 2-start

Closing time: I get Uribe as the next guy up, but what about G. Ashcraft in Cinci? He looks great out of the pen…does Tito push him to the back end, or is it still Diaz’s show?

Justin Mason: I honeslty have a hard time reading the Cincy pen right now. I think that if Ashcraft was going to be the dude, it would have already happened . He looks great, but no save chances at this point tells me they aren’t going to him yet. I think this is a straight committee

Ben: Ben Rice for real? Where are you ranking him among 1Bs rest of season (in particular, in an OBPG league)?

Justin Mason: I think it is. He is a top 10 guy for me right now

Colton: Pretty strapped for pitching due to a few unfortunate injuries and Bubba and Painter being held down. Looking to scoop Tobias Myers off the wire when he returns, would you drop Reese Olson or Verlander for him? Normal categories with K/9 added as well

Justin Mason: I think those are pretty lateral moves. I am not really a fan of Myers from a stuff prospective

Winker, Taylor, Soler, Spy: 12T 5×5 OBP redraft. Who to drop to activate McClain from IL? Polanco, Manzardo, Jobe, Soriano, G. Williams options. Also have Neto and Winn on IL.

Justin Mason: Polanco

JT: redraft, rank ROS @ 2B, L. Garcia, J. Holliday or B. Lowe ? and how apart are they

Justin Mason: Garcia -small gap- Lowe -bigger gap- Holliday

Love Is A Battenfield: In a vacuum, would you rather have Jose Caballero’s steals upside or Jorge Polanco’s power upside in a 12T 5×5 OBP league.

Justin Mason: Caballero

Raleigh: Hey Justin, what are you thinking about Jacob deGrom? Slow start, underlying metrics aren’t wowing anybody, but I have a feeling he’s just learning how to pitch regularly again after being on the shelf for so long. Agree, or not? Thanks.

Justin Mason: I agree. I think he will be fine and just figuring things out while not trying to go full bore to stay healthy

Guest: Is a Nick Kurtz call-up a realistic possibility, or just fantasy baseball dreaming?

Justin Mason: I thought it was a pipe dream, but he is so good in the minors, I don’t know how long they can realistically hold him down.

OF help: Hi Justin, could you rank these OF in a 10 team OBP league? Matt Wallner, Zach McKinstry, Zac Veen, Alex Call, Kameron Misner – thanks!

Justin Mason: Wallner, Misner, McKinstry, Veen, Call

Jordan Walker: My statcast data looks horrible outside of bat speed. Thoughts on ROS or in a keeper league? Should teams be buying, selling, or holding? (10 teams, 4 OF, 2 UT)

Justin Mason: I think I would be holding for right now. Lean a little towards sell but I want to see how it plays out

BD: What’s the David Festa outlook? Only get a limited amount of free agent pick ups the whole year so have to be strategic about who to grab. Does he stick in the rotation?

Justin Mason: I think that is a tough question because Paddack clearly is in this rotation because the Twins don’t understand the concept of dead money. I want to believe that Festa will be there because I love his stuff, but there is a chance he loses this job and is back in the minors once Lopez is healthy or if he struggles. They have Zebby too so he could come up if Festa gets knocked around at all

Rube: What gives you more of a high? The competition of fantasy baseball or the community/social element?

Justin Mason: It’s the competition for me. I am a competitive person. I do love the community though. It has completely changed my life for the better.

Jason: Also, Sale and Cease have been terrible so far. How much leash do you give them before benching? I have Sandy/Luzardo/Gallen/Senga as options to swap out

Justin Mason: I wrote Cease up last week as a buy low so I would not be worried about him at all. If you want to bench Sale, I get it, but he gets a struggling Twins team this week, so I wouldn’t

Lil Abner Uribe: Need saves (my two closers are Tanner Scott and AJ Puk) and I’d love to spec add either Porter Hodge or Abner Uribe but I’m not sure who to drop – would you cut McKinstry for either/which one seems like the better bet right now?

Justin Mason: I would cut him for Uribe

OlneyFans: Rank these pitchers in a 12T 5×5 redraft: Gavin Williams, Jose Soriano, Jackson Jobe.

Justin Mason: Soriano, Williams, Jobe

CJ: Best 1B to speculate on in a 12 teamer? Mervis, Manzardo, Schnauel, Pavin Smith, or stick with Mountcastle?

Justin Mason: Stick with Mountcastle

1 or the other: I gotta bench one of the 2 steps:  Megill or Roupp?

Justin Mason: Megill

Jason: 10 team head to head league. My offense is struggling and I’m wondering about trading Ohtani to shore up multiple positions. Is it realistic to trade Ohtani/Goldy/Cease for Caroll and Alonso?

Justin Mason: I want more back for Ohtani or at least not giving up the other guys with him

Always need pitching: RE: Shane Smith – I badly need another closer and would probably drop him for Abner Uribe. No real other options on my roster I can drop for Uribe

Justin Mason: That’s ok. Sometimes you have to make tough cuts and while I like Smith, if you need saves, I would

Known Biases: It seems Paul has turned me into a bit of a Tigers homer (4/35 players rostered), so I need to seek an unbiased opinion. What are we thinking about Reese Olson? Velocity up a tick, but K/9 hoovering at 7, xERA 4.60, and FIP/xFIP 3.93. Even if he can get his ETA under four, that’s almost streaming territory. Is he a drop for Landen Roup? Lucas, Bido, and Ortiz are also available.

Justin Mason: I would stream for a guy like Roupp

2 starts: Roupp over Easton Lucas this week?

Justin Mason: yes

Whipty Do Joe: I want Zebby and I want Zebby NOW!

Justin Mason: You and everyone else

Showbusiness77: Nola was dropped in my 10tm-espn-H2H-Cust.Pts. His current points/avg. are (48/16 ppg). Who would you drop from my staff to pick him up? (Alcantara 60/20), Lugo (61/20.3), Senga (73.5/24.5), Peralta (95.5/23.9)? My other pitchers are Gilbert/King/Hunter B./Shota with and on IL (Strider/GrayRod/Woodruff). Or which two should I try to consolidate and send out in trade please?

Justin Mason: I would try and trade 2 for 1 with Alcantara and Lugo

Justin Mason: Or alcantara and Senga

Jake: Alex Call worth a pickup in a 5×5 OBP league?

Justin Mason: probably not

Chucky: Pitching conundrum,points. Schellenbach @ Toronto, Strider v Twins, deGrom v Angels, Woo @ Cincy. Need three.

Justin Mason: Sit strider in his first start back

OlneyFans: I want to play in the league where you can get Julio Rodriguez or Ozzie Albies straight up for Brenton Doyle!

Justin Mason: Me too!

Justin Mason: Though I would take Doyle over Albies

Known Biases: My second Tigers question: is Sawyer Gipson-Long worth the IL stash? Eyeing Ben Joyce (Holds are a category). Other IL options include Cade  Cavalli, Fitts, River Ryan, Assad, Soroka. Or Parker Meadows for potentially a prorated 15HR/25SB season. (And to keep the rostered Tigers numbers up, obviously.)

Justin Mason: I think I would take Fitts out of that group or Meadows.

Guest: Cruz for Alonzo — fair enough?

Justin Mason: I think so

Riley Greene: 25 Ks, 3 walks in 63 PA and all the pitch level metrics are gross

Justin Mason: Yeah, he is struggling and trying to swing his way out of it. He needs to be more patient and wait for his pitch. I think he will be fine, but the underlying numbers are not good.

JT: redraft 6×6 h2h, offensive categories are OBP, HR, RBI, TB, R & SB: which of these players should I continue to be patient with and who should I end my love affair with: Casas @ 1B, L. Garcia @ 2B & L. Robert Jr @ OF

Justin Mason: I am sticking with Garcia. Depends on the depth of league, but I was not a believer in Robert or Casas so I am more likely to part ways with them

Kumar: Is it fair to say that Rocker’s sinker heavy approach isn’t working? Where’s the swing and miss? Would you hold 14T H2H mixed?

Justin Mason: I think I am holding on for another start or two but if it doesn’t get better than I am cutting

Jon: 10T 5×5 OBP roto league with MI, CI and IF: worth hanging on to Luis Rengifo or drop him for one of Meidroth, Brooks Lee or Saggese?

Justin Mason: I think I hold

Justin Mason: Trying to speed round as many questions as possible before my time is up.

Showbusiness77: Hi, would you drop either of Salvador Perez or Logan O’Hoppe to pickup Sean Murphy in a 10tm-espn-h2h-cust.Pts league? (-0.25) only for batter strikeouts. Most other scoring is the same. For context other available C’s (Heim/Dingler/Goodman/Kelly/Jeffers)

Justin Mason: Probably not

JT: 14 team redraft 6×6 h2h, pitchng categories are: IP, W, ERA, SV/HLD, WHIP & K’s, my current rotation is Skubal, Gilbert, B. Miller, Ober and Bubic … do we believe in Bubic or should I be looking to upgrade (i am always looking to upgrade, just a matter of how urgent)

Justin Mason: I am a believer for  now. I want to see how he holds up as the innings count gets higher, but I am riding this out for a while.

Dennis: Someone dropped Yandy Diaz in our league. I picked him up and Aranda. Am I crazy for trying to come up with a reason to hold them as CI/UT some when I also have Soderstrom and Vlad? I just hate leaving talent on the wire for my competition.

Justin Mason: No real reason to hold if you have those two

Dylan Cease: Have you ceased believing in me?

Justin Mason: I have not. He should be better

Liam: 12 team 7×7 (hld + qs), just lost Steele, grab festa, zebby or uribe. Currently have 9 solid sps , 6 solid rps (3 sp, 3rp, 5 p starting lineup, 6 bench spots)

Justin Mason: Uribe

Paul Wendler: In a dynasty league, is Pages worth holding on to in a win now team; drop for Misner???

Justin Mason: I would drop for Misner. Love the upside there

Question Asker: In a keep forever Dynasty league would you trade either of James Wood or Wyatt Langford for Kristian Campbell?

Justin Mason: no

Whipty Do Joe: Who do you like ROS between Campbell & Paris?  Do you believe in both?  Neither?

Justin Mason: Campbell

Guest: Any of Frelic, Busch, Santana, Yas, Schanuel worth a pickup in a 10 team roto?

Justin Mason: Busch is for me. the others are more streaming guys

Specs: Like any of Lucas, Priester, or Roupp as a speculative pitching pickup?

Justin Mason: I like Roupp and Lucas. Roupp a little more

Josh Milgrom: is Volpe a top 10 SS ros

Justin Mason: borderline

Monopoly Moneyball: 12 team roto – how important is having 2 catchers when you have an everyday guy like William C? Worth holding onto Moreno or safe to drop?

Justin Mason: In a one catcher league, I never roster a second

Showbusiness77: Concerned about Bellinger. Why in the world do the Yankees keep putting him behind Judge? Seems like Belly greatly needs the protection of Judge, not the other way around. Would you be looking to move him at the first hot streak?

Justin Mason: The underlying numbers are not good right now, but he has usually been a good player when healthy and he is healthy now. I want a piece of that Yankees lineup

Josh Milgrom: is Chris sale a top 20 SP ros?

Justin Mason: yes

Andy: Is it time to stash Kurtz in a 12-team redraft league with essentially no benches?

Justin Mason: yes

Vlad trade 2.0: Vlad for Riley and Arozarena. Which side you got, or fair?

Justin Mason: I think that is close. Lean Vlad

Pitchers: Is it worth dropping Blanco or Houck for Roupp?

Justin Mason: I would drop Houck for Roupp

Mike: Are you hanging on to Austin Wells or start shifting to Murphy and Alvarez (or stream if all available longterm)?

Justin Mason: Holding

Josh Milgrom: In keeper league what established player would you be looking to get to move Roman Anthony?

Justin Mason: A top 25 player

RAH: Rank your level of concern for these Rangers: Marcus Semien & Joc Pederson

Justin Mason: very low. More concerned about Joc, but still low

Josh Milgrom: Does Marcus Semien finish the season as a top 5 2B?

Justin Mason: close but yes

Ryan: Is Ben Rice a sell-high candidate with a potential lack of playing time coming if/when Stanton comes back?

Justin Mason: I don’t know how they bench him and I don’t know when Stanton will be back so I am not worrying too much about this right now

Justin Mason: Ok, that is my time.

Justin Mason: please follow me on all my social media’s (twitter, tiktok, facebook, youtube, bluesky, and instagram) at JustinMasonFWFB! I am doing regular podcasts on the FWFB podcast as well as three episodes a week for the Sleeper and the Bust so definitely make sure you are subscribed there as well!