Paul Sporer’s Baseball Chat – August 17th, 2022

Transcript is available!

1:01

Paul Sporer: Good afternoon everyone!! Thank you for coming out!!

1:02

kevinthecomic: Thanks for chatting, Paul!  What do you make of the Rangers firing Woodward and Daniels?  Was ownership expecting to compete this year?  Is it about the disappointing performances of Semien and Seager?  Something else?

1:03

Paul Sporer: I am definitely surprised they cleaned house!!

1:03

Paul Sporer: I don’t think it’s based on Seager & Semien, maybe just time to start over

1:03

Paul Sporer: definitely shocked though

1:04

Guest: Luis Rengifo turning into a real thing for 2023?

1:04

Paul Sporer: I’m on the Rengifo train! He’s a solid player and he’s batting everyday in the middle of the lineup. It’s a bad lineup, but between Ohtani & Ward is the one good spot

1:04

Guest: Have to drop 2 (Trout and Franco coming back): Pena, Grissom, Rowdy

1:05

Paul Sporer: Are you sure Franco is coming back? Got hurt yesterday

1:05

Paul Sporer: Rowdy for sure

1:05

Paul Sporer: not sure on the 2nd

1:05

Hot Gabbagool: Nasty Nick Lodolo decided to show up today. That is all.

1:05

Paul Sporer: Love him! His volatility will be maddening as he figures it out, but the upside keeps him on a roster in every league

1:07

Gabe: Trent Grisham Paul dejong or vinnie pasquantino 10-team points league

1:07

Paul Sporer: Vinnie P!

1:07

Gabe: Who would you rather roster lance Lynn or nick Lodolo

1:08

Guest: Did not see that Franco note. That’s a bummer…

1:08

Paul Sporer: For those unaware, he got hurt last night: https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/baseball/mlb/player/15192/wander-franco

1:08

kevinthecomic: Do you think Vaughn Grissom’s emergence reduces the Braves’ desire to try and bring back Swanson?  Or is it too early to tell what they have in Grissom yet?

1:08

Paul Sporer: Probably too early

1:09

Paul Sporer: They have no issue locking guys who can help them be great. I still think there’s a world where Grissom moves to the OF. This is pure spec as he hasn’t played OF as a pro, but if you can handle upper minors SS/2B, you can likely play OF just fine

1:09

Armadillofury: Is Vinnie P the second coming of Rizzo, Freeman, Votto or Jesus?

1:09

Paul Sporer: LOL, he definitely cuts an early career Freeman image

1:09

Ken: Any interest in saying Castellanos is underperforming so we can get him to break this tie real quick?

1:11

Paul Sporer: Yo, he’s been on fire since we brought in that HR 2 weeks ago!! .298/.365/.553, 3 HR since Aug. 3rd!

1:11

Paul (not you): You sounded relatively optimistic on Gio in your SP ranks. Is there anything in particular, stats-wise, that you’re keeping an eye on with him? For instance, K%, BB%, plate discipline #s, etc? Just curious what you think the issue is and what, if any, metrics may offer valuable insight

1:13

Paul Sporer: The tough part with Giolito is that it seems to be his command on different pitches start-to-start, inning-to-inning as opposed to one particular issue. I’m mostly leaning on his track record with my ranking and yet he’s still a good bit lower than last ranking (58th)

1:13

Dave: Expectations for Baty? I have J. Turner and McMahon at 3B right now; think he’ll out-perform either down the stretch?

1:15

Paul Sporer: It’s always a huge range from rookies. I think Baty is an all formats pick up because of his major upside, but make sure you go in eyes wide open that he just might not be ready day 1. I’m open to taking a shot on him over McMahon just for the upside

1:15

Dave: FREE JOSH JUNG

1:16

Paul Sporer: Raking in the minors! Maybe the new mgmt. will bring him up!! Big Jung fan!

1:16

Travis: I don’t really get the logic of giving Harris this deal now. Would waiting one more year to make sure he can keep it up really raise his asking price that much?

1:18

Paul Sporer: This is a win-win, IMO. Anytime you can get more millions ($72) than games played (71), you do it. And there’s virtually no way this can hurt ATL. If he popped off into next year, the price would definitely rise a decent bit, though not a cost prohibitive level. I think it makes sense for them to lock him in now and for him to get that security

1:18

>this guy<: Rengifo savant sliders are like Miles Davis- kind of blue

1:18

Paul Sporer: The most overrated aspect in fantasy baseball today

1:18

Paul Sporer: We overly rely on StatCast profiles to the detriment of fantasy success

1:21

Paul Sporer: It is a modest StatCast profile, but that’s because Rengifo isn’t necessarily a monster hitter. He makes a ton of contact with a bit of pop and some speed. That kind of profile is unlikely to net a bloody SC profile so it checks out that his mostly blueish with a few pink/light-red bubbles thrown in

1:21

Guest: Where does David Peterson fit on your SP rankings, presuming he’s taking Carrasco’s spot?

1:21

Paul Sporer: Team Streamer

1:21

Paul Sporer: Could also take over for Taijuan Walker. They went from no room for Peterson to 2 spots in open in a day and a half

1:21

aab: does E. Cabrera keep his spot when T.Rogers comes back?

1:22

Paul Sporer: Could be ECab or Garrett. Garrett has had a heavy split based on team quality where he’s dominating crap teams so while his stats are great, he isn’t a lock to hold his spot IMO

1:22

LM: How do you feel about Oneil Cruz? I am in a keeper league, so I am tempted to keep him BUT…he is not helping my playoff run as we speak.

1:23

Paul Sporer: Big fan long-term, but there is major swing and miss in the profile that will take some time to overcome. 9 HR and 6 SB soften the blow of his 74 wRC+

1:25

E: Do you think Vinnie P’s power output might be a bit underrated? The exit velocities put him among some very good hitters. Not the elite guys, but plenty of guys with 25 – 30 homer power. I could see him turning into a .270+, 25+ homer guy. It seems like he’s what people would hope triston casas turns into, but there’s a huge gap in how their ranked.

1:27

Paul Sporer: He’s probably a low-20s guy right now with his home park likely eat up some would-be HRs as the third-worst HR park in the league. Doesn’t mean he can’t push upper-20s/low-30s as he develops, but plan for strong AVG and low-20s HRs for now. The gap between he & Casas is the 2 yrs of age and draft pedigree (Casas 1st rd, Vinnie P 11th). Vinnie P is definitely showing that he’s better than a standard 11th rounder, though! Buy!

1:27

person: is Waldichuk the Blackburn replacement or are they doing some A’s thing

1:28

Paul Sporer: It’s Sears

1:28

>this guy<: fwiw I have Rengifo in like every league despite his sliders. But I feel like I am riding out a hot streak, not in at the ground floor

1:28

Paul Sporer: Agreed

1:28

Paul Sporer: At this point in the season, I’m not worried anything long-term

1:28

Paul Sporer: Everything is Mr. Right Now

1:28

Kyle: You allude to Heaney’s scaled back usage in your rankings, is he worth holding onto rest of the year or time to look elsewhere? Tough call because he is super effective when actually pitching

1:28

Paul Sporer: I definitely want to hold, but he is a tough start until we start seeing more IP unless you’re just chasing ratios and can use even just 3 IP of quality work

1:29

Zach: Is it worth grabbing Esteury Ruiz once he is up with the Brewers? Speed is crazy and his hitting has been really good in the minors.

1:30

Paul Sporer: Just know that the bat is a major risk and he could be a “can’t steal 1st base” type of guy. His OBP in the minors really buoyed his numbers which I don’t say to shade since I love a base stealer who can get on base via the walk, but that bat is an open question right now

1:30

jj: What just happened to Mahle?

1:30

Paul Sporer: Not sure, watching PHI-CIN

1:32

Paul Sporer:

 

Aaron Gleeman
@AaronGleeman

 

Tyler Mahle exits with a trainer midway through the third inning after struggling to top 90 mph with many of his fastballs.
17 Aug 2022

Ugh

1:32

jj: Why did Cleveland give up on Franmil? Are they in a redraft league or something? I feel like his past should have given him more than 1/2 a season to be bad

1:32

Paul Sporer: It’s shocking for sure. Lot of speculation that there was a personality clash of some sort and it wasn’t JUST the poor performance

1:32

Dave: Merrill Kelly has been pretty amazing of late. You’ve still got him in the “Team Streamer” category, and not too far removed from your June rank when he was struggling a bit more. Is your ranking more to do with context (team support, schedule) or that how he’s succeeding isn’t sustainable?

1:34

Paul Sporer: Still not starting at COL or v. LAD. He’s on another heater, but still with just a 16% K-BB rate which is fine but hardly elite and not strong enough to feel confident in projecting him as as more than a mid-to-highs 3.00s rest of way.

1:34

Gabe: Joe Ryan and Kirby for Morton is too much right?

1:35

Paul Sporer: Not necessarily, especially with Kirby likely facing IP mgmt.

1:37

Armadillofury: Is it just me or it seems like good relievers are growing off trees? There are 73 relievers with 20 IP and a FIP under 3, 129 relievers with FIP under 3.5

1:37

Paul Sporer: That’s the nature of the obscene strikeout and crazy stuff era we live in

1:37

KCbbq: Matt Carpenter renewed his game after spending off season time with Votto. Think he can repeat that “magic” next season and will Yankees bring him back?

1:37

Paul Sporer: Impossible to say given the injury unfortunately

1:37

Ben: I’m lagging in saves and have taken to hoarding some mid-level closers lately. Could you give me a rough ROS ranking of a few dudes: Soto, Doval, Bautista, Hernandez and (assuming he closes if/when they ever have another save situation) Jimenez.

1:38

Paul Sporer: Bautista is the clear #1. He’s a legit top 10 closer. Hernandez is a favorite of mine and I think he’s the A-guy for TEX, but of course they aren’t winning a ton of games. Doval/Soto after that

1:38

JC: Any idea why Mancini isn’t an everyday player for Houston at the moment?

1:40

Paul Sporer: Not entirely sure, but we were discussing this on my morning Boxscore stream today and I surmised that it’s maybe bc they’re coasting a bit so they just rotate players as they see fit, but then come playoff time it’ll be Yordan/Yuli/Yancini filling the DH/1B/LF combo in some fashion more often than not

1:40

person: I thought Sears was already in rotation? or has he been taking his place. I dumb

1:40

Paul Sporer: Sears was brought up when Blackburn hit the IL with the finger last week

1:40

Paul Sporer: Waldichuk should be in for Adam Oller, though

1:40

Ben: Oh also, didn’t see Roansy in your SP ranks. You think he gets enough work down the stretch to be fantasy relevant? And assuming no major changes in the meantime, what’s your early sense of where he’ll be ranked among SPs heading into ’23?

1:41

Paul Sporer: I didn’t see that he was returning today! Last I’d seen, he was still in the minors so I didn’t bother rankings. He’s a Team Streamer for me. I’m not setting & forgetting, but I can’t put him back on the wire for the starts I’m not using him

1:41

Alex: TROUT BACK (it seems)

1:41

Paul Sporer: LET’S GOOOO

1:41

BD: Are you starting Whit Merrifield at this point? He’s sat 3 of the last 5. Other options include Luis Urias, Nolan Gorman, and waiver wire folks including Ramon Urias and Paul DeJong. Would you cut one of the first three for one of the last two?

1:45

Paul Sporer: The waiver options tell me this a 12-teamer or lower so I’m OK with getting rid of Whit. He had bounced back nicely prior to getting traded: .280 AVG w/6 HR/12 SBs in 303 PA (14 HR & 29 SB full season paces) but he’s been brutal in the disjointed TOR sample and PT is king in shallower so I’m moving on unless Merrifield starts playing everyday

1:45

KCbbq: Either of Kaprielian $1 or Jose Suarez $1 in 12 team AL only H2H keeper league worth taking a flyer on in 2023?

1:45

Paul Sporer: I prefer Suarez

1:45

Ira: what is the rationale for Pittsburgh to keep R. Contreras at AAA at this point?

1:45

Paul Sporer: No idea!

1:45

Paul Sporer: At least he’s back now

1:46

DW: Didn’t see anything about Dustin May in your rankings.  Your expectations??  Also, Manoah @NYY on Sunday. SP whose been so-so lately versus a struggling offense that could explode at anytime.  Do you start him??  Thanks for the help.

1:47

Paul Sporer: I’m always nervous about TJ returners and the Dodgers aren’t really fighting for anything so I’m not sure if he consistently gets legit starts (5+ IP), but there likely won’t be a better SP talent on the wire the rest of the year so I understand going hard for him w/remaining FAAB. I can’t bench Manoah, not even at NYY

1:47

Armadillofury: Phillies broadcast mentioned that they want Thor to throw the old Mets hard slider again. Last two starts he’s upped both the slider velo (87.7 vs 84.3 on the season) and usage (37.2% vs 21.6% season). Anything to this? Why did he stop throwing it in the first place?

1:47

Paul Sporer: Yeah I noticed the slider thing and I’d say there’s something to it. Not 100% sure why he stopped throwing it so hard, maybe self preservation? But if he’s feeling well enough to throw it now, that’s awesome

1:48

Gabe: Kirby or luzardo ROS?

1:48

Paul Sporer: Same tier so probably just playing schedules. Kirby also an IP mgmt. concern which pushes me toward Luzardo a bit (despite Kirby being a few ticks higher within the tier) https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/paul-sporers-updated-starting-pitcher-ra…

1:48

ke’bryan hayes: Will my power ever show at the major league level or am I just avg and SB’s at 3rd base?

1:49

Paul Sporer: I think so. It’s still just 925 PA for the 25 yr old. Plenty of time!

1:49

Pirate Seeing Red: Are Lodolo and Contreras worthy pickups in a 12 teamer or are they too risky on the ratios?

1:50

Paul Sporer: They are risky for ratios, but both are worth pickups. I am a HUGE Lodolo fan, especially long-term. Both of these guys have crazy volatility in the short-term so if you’re protecting ratios, you might look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for some potential big hits, they can absolutely deliver

1:50

K: Outlook on Bubba Thompson as a source for SB?

1:52

Paul Sporer: Classic can’t steal 1st base kinda guy. Didn’t stop me from getting in my Main Event! Until he starts losing PT (which could be on the horizon with the way he’s playing so far), I’m rolling with him and hoping for any SBs I can get

1:52

Kutter: Munoz for closer next season?  Is Pena still have more potential going into future seasons, i.e. is he close to his ceiling in your opinion?

1:53

Paul Sporer: Andres Munoz will be a legit closer candidate next year. I won’t get into trying to call who’s closing this FAR in advance for any team that doesn’t have a locked down closer, but he is definitely a major consideration

1:54

Tork: Is Tork just undercooked?  Showed declines every jump in the minors, so the Tigers pushed him up too early.  Does that wipe some of the luster come draft time?

1:54

Paul Sporer: Getting a bit worse up the ladder is normal, but this year is just a bust. Prospect growth isn’t linear. I’ll have Tork in every league next year as his price will fall of the cliff after this nightmare season

1:54

Kretin: Oof, what’s happened to Jared Walsh?

1:59

Paul Sporer: Looks like a power outage v. righties! His HR/FB rate took a 10-point this year and that’s a big part of the fall off otherwise than standard volatility of an all or nothing profile like this.

1:59

Guest: Rutschman or Rodriguez for ROY?

2:00

Paul Sporer: I know Rutsch’s WAR is riiiight there with JRod, but I lean toward the guy who has played all year. It’s not Rutsch’s fault he wasn’t called up earlier, but there is some extra value in playing a full season and holding up to the rigors of it.

2:00

Kenny: “We overly rely on StatCast profiles to the detriment of fantasy success” – This is super interesting to me. Do you think there’s anything the fantasy community is not relying on enough, also to its detriment?

2:03

Paul Sporer: I’m not sure I have one set thing. Maybe just track records overall. It’s weird because we have to react quickly in the internet age of fantasy so I’m not trying to clown anyone for picking up a prospect sight unseen or even cutting a solid veteran after 6 crappy weeks to start a season only to see them get on track. Sometimes you just can’t wait around in 10s and 12s. So when I say track record I think I mean more at the draft and sharp overreactions to the most recent season without given proper due to the full track record

2:03

Guest: I’ve been in the same fantasy league since 1993 (12-team, AL-only, 4×4, classic roto). Haven’t won a title since 2004. Currently in 9th place. Still love every minute of it.

2:05

Paul Sporer: I cut my team on a 10-team AL only 4×4!! It was amazing! Started at my dad’s work back in 1989. It has disbanded but it was a glorious league, especially pre-internet when I’d wait with anticipation to see if my dad and his friends were able to run the stats that week and bring home the stat packet with the standings, every team’s weekly breakdown, and season breakdown by player. Loved it!!

2:06

KCbbq: Kerry Carpenter hit for power and OBP machine in AA/AAA. Are we seeing the beginning fo something that has legs…..even on a crappy Tigers’ team? Worth a $1 or $2 FAAB to replace Bolt in a 12 team AL only keeper league?

2:09

Paul Sporer: Definitely taking a shot in AL only! There is a little steam taken out of the numbers when you realize his breakout was as 24 yr old, primarily in AA, but he put up another great month at AAA ahead of the call and I’m adding him in deeper mixed leagues, too. Absolutely no reason for the Tigers to not play him at least v. righties if not everyday

2:09

Salty: Re: Your comments regarding the SFG Alexs’ in your rankings, the Giants have to make a sharp focus to improve their D in the offseason, right?  If they do, maybe now is a good time to pick up Cobb and Wood on the cheap in dynasty/keeper, with those still competing this year or in redrafts keeping those names on the backburner for next spring.

2:10

Paul Sporer: Yeah I think they will absolutely address it this year. I wonder if they will lean toward platooners with good gloves or start to look for more everyday guys instead of running platoons across the lineup

2:10

Rich: Hi Paul. McCullers’s return looked good on the surface (no runs, 5 strikeouts in 6 innings), but he walked 4, had only seven swinging strikes, got some help from a sub-.150 BABIP, and his velo was down a tick to 93mph.  Would you drop him, or drop Heaney or Garrett to activate him?

2:11

Paul Sporer: I guess I’d drop Heaney right now with the way they’re limiting him right now

2:11

Guest: Assuming he doesn’t limp to the finish, where does Bobby Witt Jr figure to land in 2023 preseason rankings?

2:12

Paul Sporer: Top 4 rounds. He was going as high as the 4th by the end of this draft season will be up somewhere around 20 HR/30 SB!! Even with the modest slash line, the hype will still be sky high and understandably so

2:12

Sabey Sabes: Thoughts on Jose Miranda next year? Underlying says his slumps could be *ugly* but so much fun right now

2:15

Paul Sporer: We could see an improved K rate next year that would raise his floor and if the power jumped up at all along with it, he could be huge. I don’t think he will be cost prohibitive in drafts so I’ll be in on Miranda as a solid floor guy with strong upside

2:16

Alex: Are you maintaining any hope for Vidal, either for a stretch run call-up or long-term? His fits and starts to this point have me worried that, even if he does get the call, he doesn’t necessarily have much to offer (fantasy-wise, at least)

2:17

Paul Sporer: It’s still just 178 PA so I can’t quit him, but we have to start seeing some of that AAA performance in the majors

2:18

Paul Sporer: And speed of course lowers the threshold of what you need to do with the bat to be useful, but you gotta do more than a 26 wRC+!!!!!

2:18

jj: Why is Springs so good?

2:18

Paul Sporer: He came out of the bullpen and was really proud of his success

2:21

Paul Sporer: 3 pitch mix, powered by a strong changeup gave him a fight chance to stick as a starter. The Rays are always smart about curating innings and not pushing their guys too far. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how helpful an 84% LOB rate is for a starter! I think he’s more a mid-3.00s ERA true talent, but that’s still plenty useful with a good WHIP and plenty of Ks so he will be an all formats options as long as the Rays are running him out there. It remains to be seen how they will manage the SP IP down the stretch, so stay tuned!

2:21

Marty: Any potential Sept Callups we should think about stashing right now?

2:21

Paul Sporer: I’ll have an article out late this month with some guys I’m eyeing for Sept. call up

2:21

Blue-Color Tweeker: Iglesias.  Time to set him free?  I need saves.

2:22

Paul Sporer: Yeah you gotta chase some of the dudes in lesser team pens who are notching SVs

2:22

jj: I agree with the recency bias in fantasy.  I’m always surprised at how cheap a 32 year old player will be in the auction after a very small drop in  performance. Then a guy like Sieya with 0 games in the MLB will go for as much a type #1 OF.

2:23

Paul Sporer: Oh yes, fantasy baseball is obscenely ageist. And let’s be real, there is reason for that… guys get worse as they age, but we don’t use much nuance for that in fantasy and if your age starts with a 3, chances are you will be a lot cheaper than you should be

2:23

Armadillofury: Can we please get an Italian pinched fingers gesture emoji for the chat in honor of Vinnie P?

2:23

Paul Sporer: 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

2:26

Rich: Actually, I stand corrected. It looks like they plan to limit Heaney to roughly 75 pitches per start ROS. That’s five innings on a good day, but still not great for fantasy purposes.

2:27

Paul Sporer: Exactly! He can mix in some 5s, but it will be tough. Really dents the fantasy upside unless you just need ratios

2:27

Paul Sporer: and Ks, but even those will be limited by the IP

2:27

KCbbq: With so much hype for Riley Greene this year and him falling on his face how much of a discount are you expecting in 12 team AL only leagues?

2:27

Paul Sporer: AL hard to say if there’ll be much bc pickings get so slim in AL/NL only of that size, but even 1-2 rds is worth it IMO!

2:27

Guest: What is Manea’s problem?

2:29

Paul Sporer: The longball right: 10 in his last 38 IP after 11 in his first 85. That usually speaks to command trouble.

2:29

Trevor: Montas and Kirby for wheeler would you do that (I’m getting wheeler)

2:29

Paul Sporer: Kirby if you’re chasing a title this year bc he is likely to be IP limited at some point

2:30

Armadillofury: Do the Braves collect kompromat on their young players to be able to sign them to below market contracts?

2:30

Paul Sporer: LOLOLOL, no they are just aggressive with it and find these win-win deals that make sense for the player and team (Albies notwithstanding… that deal was just awful, even in the contact of these types of deals. His agent… man, I dunno!)

2:30

KCbbq: Do you think Royce Lewis will have a starting job with the Twins next season? Am wondering if Correa will walk as I think he has a player option.

2:31

Paul Sporer: Yes as I do think Correa walks. Things could change w/a big October run so it’s pure spec., but I see him leaving and Lewis taking SS. The thing is, Correa doesn’t HAVE to leave to open a spot for Lewis as he can get an OF job, too. We also have to see how he recovers from the ACL of course

2:31

Colton: What did you think of Eckersley’s comments on the Pirates last night? Didn’t mince words much in that take, but definitely seemed like he was holding back a tad as well

2:31

Paul Sporer: I respect the honesty!

2:32

Paul Sporer: You don’t wanna just be mean for the sake of being mean, but he wasn’t wrong and it’s not like he was out of pocket with his comments

2:32

Matt: Pitchers that have quietly been pretty studly: Zac Gallen and Jon Gray(prior to injury). I mean Gallen has a sub-3 ERA in Arizona…

2:34

Paul Sporer: It’s a brutal division, but Arizona has some pieces to build around: Gallen, Kelly, Varsho, Thomas, Marte, Rojas off the top of my head plus some prospects on the way – namely Corbin Carroll. Gallen was a rebound candidate for me this yr and I’m really happy w/how he’s pitched!

2:34

Moose_Bolton: How do you manage pitching staffs when you’re starting to get close to the innings cap for your league? I’ve traded off a couple of pitchers to improve my hitters for after I reach the cap, but I sometimes wonder if I should start sitting starters more if they aren’t outright studs.

2:35

Paul Sporer: I definitely start sitting the mid or lower tier guys more often. I don’t want to be left missing my stud starts in late September. Rank your guys are you see them and start plucking starts from the guys at the bottom!

2:35

Martin: Any tips on getting ready for H2H playoffs?

2:36

Paul Sporer: Check the schedules to see what sort of edges you can gain (to the best of your ability… hard to project SPs outside of a wk or 2). Can see if offenses are going to strong parks, etc… Also check your opponents squad and see if there are spots where you can sort of counter him. Maybe some of your bench hitters are facing their pitcher on a given day and you can start them hoping for the double whammy of them giving you pts while hurting your pitcher. Little things like that is what I usually look at in my H2H playoffs

2:37

Oh, we’re still going?: Curious your thoughts on Merrill Kelly. Saw he was fairly low on your rankings but (maybe to my detriment) his SC numbers look pretty good and his pitch mix is looking more like 2020 than 2021. Wondering if I should look to sell high before our deadline

2:37

Paul Sporer: Got a similar Q earlier, here was my response: Still not starting at COL or v. LAD. He’s on another heater, but still with just a 16% K-BB rate which is fine but hardly elite and not strong enough to feel confident in projecting him as as more than a mid-to-highs 3.00s rest of way.

2:38

Ed: Paul, I want to thank you for this chat and for instilling confidence in my belief in Trevor Rogers. You currently have him as a “tier 3” SP in your latest rankings. Do you have hope that he can still be a factor for the remainder of 2022 once he returns from rehab? Thank you!

2:38

Paul Sporer: It’s been ROUGH for Rogers, but I’m not quitting him and I’ll get him back in the lineup when he returns for at least a start or 2. If it’s more of the same, I’ll bench or cut depending on league, but I’m putting some faith in the time off helping him a bit

2:39

Paul Sporer: Need to get that changeup going again!

2:39

Paul Sporer: OK y’all, I gotta get going! Thanks so much for coming out! Follow me on Twitter (@sporer), Twitch (sporer), and Instagram (p_sporer). I’ll be streaming on Twitch tomorrow morning reviewing boxscores and you can definitely come by and ask questions about fantasy there. Have a good one, y’all!





Paul is the Editor of Rotographs and Content Director for OOTP Perfect Team. Follow Paul on Twitter @sporer and on Twitch at sporer.

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Anon
1 year ago

MIssed the chat but wanted to point out: Taylor Ward since May 26th has gone .220/.302/.341 with 7 HR over 262 PA. THat’s. . . .not good. That’s nearly half a season of a .288 wOBA. Yet he still has a full season .359 wOBA and 136 wRC+.

Another fine example of not letting the APril stats stick with you for too long. I’m ready to drop him and am greatly regretting not trying to trade him back then.