Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – November 25th, 2020

Paul Sporer: Welcome everybody! A bit of an abbreviated chat on this holiday week, let’s talk some baseball!

Daniel: Paul, JD Davis to Colorado for Jon Gray. Davis becomes the Rockies 1b. Who says no?

Paul Sporer: Probably the Rockies and honestly, rightfully so. Gray hasn’t been a stud by any stretch, but they need to keep any developed pitching they can. Ryan McMahon SHOULD be able to replicate J.D. Davis or come damn close, but getting pitching has been this franchise’s issue forever.

Daniel: Thoughts on the Mets hiring Chris Young as GM. Seems like an unnecessary risk given his complete lack of experience.

Paul Sporer: Did they hire him? I thought it was only an interview. He is remarkably smart and obviously wouldn’t be working by himself. I don’t think it’s that big of a risk, I like the move

Paul Sporer: (espec. since it’s only an interview, but I’m not against them hiring him)

Al: Hi Paul, would you prefer Mookie or Bieber straight up in a 12 tm OBP/QS league?

Paul Sporer: Always hitter for me when it’s a coinflip and this is a coinflip, so Mookie!

Dan: 16 team points league with 22 man rosters.  Keep 2 of Darvish 4th round, C Seager 7th, Maeda 10th, I Happ 20th, or Bohm 22nd.  Help please.

Paul Sporer: Ooh, that’s an interesting conundrum. I think I’m going for the extreme value of the two young bats – Happ & Bohm

More Quarantine Please!: What’s your outlook on Morton for next year? Trying to decide whether to keep or not.  He’s currently the 20th-priced SP in our league though will move up as some overpriced guys are cut and re-auctioned next year for less.

Paul Sporer: I like him and definitely think he can be very good yet again, but I’m not paying the 20th SP price or higher

Johnny5Alive: Am I crazy for not wanting to break the bank for Bauer? His numbers last year were fueled by a .215 babip and a 91% stand rate. He’s only reached 200 innings once, and most of his career had been good not great. Is this really a $30 million a year guy?

Paul Sporer: There’s reason for some trepidation, but I think his depth of arsenal and ability to work on things (sometimes to his detriment) makes him remarkably valuable. I’d be open to breaking the bank for a shorter term deal. He’s backed off the 1-year contracts thing, but I’d rather pay $30 mil a year for 3-4 years than some sort of 7-8 yr deal

Scott: Hey Paul, do you see Glasnow as a solid #2 SP in a 5×5 roto keeper league? Thanks and happy Thanksgiving.

Paul Sporer: He’s riiiight there. I do wish he had a reliable third pitch, but his stuff is just SOO nasty that it’s impossible not to be excited about his future

Dan: Seattle has talked about a 6 man rotation.  Do you think this will a trend for 2021 to keep the innings down?

Paul Sporer: Yes, I do. More piggybacking and such, too

Guest: A bunch of guys who were premium power hitters in 2019 had relatively down years in 2020. I’m talking about Soler, Suarez, Yelich, Bregman, JD Martinez, Ketel Marte, and Yuli Gurriel. Which of these can we expect to bounce back to 2019 levels?

Paul Sporer: Haven’t done a deep dive on all of em, but I’d expect most to come back. I’m just not getting toooo hung up on a 2-month season

Fonz: Dynasty: Cristian Pache or Victor Robles?

Paul Sporer: I’m sticking with Robles for the time being

bobsyouruncle: Liam Hendriks, any chance he lands in the AL? If any who could realistically sign him?

Paul Sporer: Yes, there’s definitely a possibility. He’s the top RP available, TONS of teams should be in on him

Johnny5Alive: I traded for Rosario before last season in an nl only but we didn’t play the season due to uncertainty.  After this last season I figure he’s still on the Mets, he isn’t going to play much. Thoughts? Is he worth hanging onto at $10?

Paul Sporer: If I have to decide now, I’m passing. He could be traded this offseason as they seem to have shifted their attention to Andres Gimenez, leaving Rosario on the outside looking in

Fonz: What group are you ranking Mitch Haniger with these days?  Would the M’s trade him now, or let him rebuild his value first?

Paul Sporer: I think they’d be open to dealing him in the right deal, though his value isn’t exactly sky high as you point out. I’m kinda in the “show me something” mode with him where I’m not drafting him and I’ll get back on board after we see him playing and performing again

D’brick: Who do you think pulls off a trade for Snell, if anyone?

Paul Sporer: Probably no one when it’s all said & done, but Seattle doing so would be interesting. Their fans would probably be worried about getting Bedarded again, though.

Phil: What’s David Fletcher’s upside? Does he have more on top of last year? Will he get OF eligibility again?

Paul Sporer: I could see him just randomly picking up the OF elig., but it depends on their offseason moves, too. As far as his ceiling, it only goes up with power development which I just don’t see rising. His mega eligibility and batting average capabilities give him real value in specific league types, but I can’t see a ton of growth coming

Guest: I know you’re in on Tommy Edman – does he get close to full-time PT even if Wong comes back?  And what sort of slash line do you expect from him?

Paul Sporer: I’m pretty set on the DH coming back to the NL so I don’t see Edman having PT issues even if Wong returns. I see something like a .280/.330/.430 with 12 HR/20 SB

Paul Sporer: OK y’all, pardon the abbreviated holiday version, but thank y’all so much for coming out! Follow me on Twitter (@sporer), Twitch (sporer), and Instagram (p_sporer). I’ll be streaming on Twitch later today and you can definitely come by and ask questions about fantasy there. Have a good one, y’all!