Paul Sporer’s Baseball Chat – May 8th, 2024

Paul Sporer: Hello everyone! Thanks for coming out

Bomo: Should I trade my Aaron Judge for Tatis? 10 team h2h 5×5 + QS’s and OPS

Paul Sporer: Totally fine, stud for stud

Anon: Hey Paul, would you burn no. 1 ww priority on Adell? 12 team roto redraft. Other options on the wire include Benson, Stanton, and E. Ruiz. Thanks!

Paul Sporer: No, not w/those other options available. I’m pulling for Adell to have a breakout, but I don’t have him and Benson too far apart rest of season

Matt Olson: Im ok, right?

Paul Sporer: Yes, I think the 9% HR/FB rate will push back toward his 22% career mark and he’ll have a HR barrage. I’d buy at any discount and even pay full market if that’s what I took, I’m not worried about Matty O.

Maikel Garcia Truther: Is Jasson Dominguez a better stash than Wyatt Langford in h2h roto redraft leagues at this point? thanks!

Paul Sporer: Yeah, equal at the very least. I have no problem preferring Dominguez here

Adenolith: I’ve been offered Matt Olson or Acuna for Skubal. Which would you prefer at this point?

Paul Sporer: I’d just stick with Acuna, but that’s a pretty sweet deal either way, IMO

Paul Sporer: Classic gotta give to get, but a solid get for sure

In Play Runs: Time to drop Loperfido (sat yesterday & McCormick will be back soon) 12T Roto

Paul Sporer: Yeah I’m OK moving on. Gotta move quick w/these types. He might catch fire down the line, but onto the next until then and then we can revisit

Paul Sporer: And it’s hard to know when to cut bait on these types bc it always stinks when they pop off after the fact, but that’s just a part of leagues with deep waiver wires. Loperfido’s 41% K rate makes him cuttable for me even after just 17 PA

Idiotic Failson: Now that we’re beyond the ‘it’s April’ excuse, are any of these slow starters going to recover their season: Bichette, Boegarts, Goldschmidt, Springer

Paul Sporer: Bichette – Certainly not hitting the ball as hard as normal, but unless it’s an injury, that .219 BABIP and 3% HR/FB will regress.
Bogaerts – Similar to Bichette where I’m still just gonna lean on 6000 PA over 163… I’d buy
Goldy – As we get deeper on the aging curve (36 y/o), there can just be a severe fall-off so while he also suffers the BABIP & HR/FB issues of Bo & Bogy, there’s a higher probability that Father Time is playing a role. Not cutting him or anything, but not dying to buy low, either.
Springer – Facing similar issues to rest of the group w/BABIP & HR/FB way off norms, but his batted ball profile isn’t toooo far from recent levels. Still has 3 HR/5 SB, so I’m holding firm on him

Catcher Conundrum: I’ve got MJ Melendez at C (thanks Yahoo) but wondering if I should pivot to Campusano, Wong, or d’Arnaud? Melendez getting more ABs but not sure they’re worth it.

Paul Sporer: In 1-C leagues, I’m OK streaming a bit unless you can land on a trustable stud. I’d probably go for any of those 3 over Melendez right now. Check upcoming schedules to see if makes one stand out over the other 2

Bomo: 10 team h2h 5×5 + QS’s and OPS
I traded Tyler O’Niel for the injured trout. Good or bad move?

Paul Sporer: I don’t hate that if you can stash him on the IL and hope he comes back as good as he left us. There are O’Neill types all over the wire

Jim Leyland Palmer: Not sure if I missed it on a pod, but has Justin had to eat crow for his awful Riley Greene takes yet? If not, please get on that. Thank you!

Paul Sporer: I’ll have to find some ways to bring him up! That said, I can’t pound my chest too hard. I’ve had my skepticism on Greene from the fantasy perspective, but I loooove the power surge!

Cardboard Tube: Is Shota Imanaga for real? Who else should I consider buying high on (Flaherty? Profar?)

Paul Sporer: There is certainly realness to it like the great K-BB rate. I do still want to see how the HR rate holds up when the weather heats up and those days when the wind is blowing out at Wrigley. That said, he’s an easy must-start in allll formats and we’re not jumping off at the first sign of trouble.

Bomo: Bonus, guy I traded O’Niel to traded him and sale afterwards for Corbin Carrol

Paul Sporer: Ooh, that’s interesting

Turnbull: What to make of Turnbull in NL only? Worth holding?

Paul Sporer: Yes I think there’s enough talent to hold in deeper mixers and NL only. Turnbull and Walker aren’t terribly different at their core, but Turnbull is pitching at the top end of the profile, undoubtedly buoyed by the 89% LOB and .173 BABIP. Walker’s getting paid and I understand why they’re going w/him for now, but Turnbull will get his chances, especially as soon as injury pops up

Guest: Is Gleyber Torres droppable at this point? 12 team hr,sb,avg,rbi,ops,stl

Paul Sporer: I gotta stick with him a bit longer. I try to give Top 100 picks around 2 months. I can maybe get behind benching if you really need to, but I’m holding. He had a run that wasn’t toooo far off this last year: .194/.272/.333 in 103 PA v. .216/.290/.266 in 156 PA. The 3% HR/FB has to regress IMO

Irish Panda: Was surprised you only gave a deep league check for your old friend Sandoval yesterday. Did he do enough that you’d hold for KC?

Paul Sporer: Yeah I try not to dump all my Sandoval love on y’all, but love how he’s looked the last 2. Definitely someone I keep firmly on my radar

Guest: Imanaga was homer-prone in Japan but so far hasn’t been in the majors.  Any explanation why?

Paul Sporer: I’m sure he’s contributing some to it by not allowing batters to barrel him up a ton, but the 6% HR/FB almost certainly won’t hold all year

Jeff: who do you prefer ROS, Jack Flaherty or Ryan Pepiot?

Paul Sporer: Flaherty has looked really good so far and while it hasn’t FULLY yielded results both w/his ERA & W total, I’m buying and have him over Pep right now

JWR: Should MLB change the rules to make starters pitch more?  What about a rule where teams must have their starters pitch at least 900 IP per season (or risk losing draft picks, for example)?

Paul Sporer: Nah, I don’t think that’d really work. I get wanting them to go longer, but they just aren’t trained that. It’s empty the tank and go as long as you can

Paul Sporer: Teams simply don’t want batters facing the same pitcher more then 2x in most cases. And I get it, it makes sense for winning ballgames, but it isn’t as good for the game as a product, IMO. I love watching pitchers battle through a lineup repeatedly and seeing what adjustments he or the batters make depending how the game is going

Phil: Is Crochet for Adames a Fairchild trade in H2H?

Paul Sporer: Yeah, no issues there at all

Pitch the Woo: Staring Woo vs. OAK? Normally would be Still ILL but his rehab starts have been great and Oakland, while better than expected, is still Oakland.

Paul Sporer: Yeah OAK hasn’t been COMPLETELY putrid but we are still starting MOSTTT pitchers against them including Woo upon returning from the IL. I’m in!

Need Speed: Witt or Elly Cruz?   Which should I pursue on trade?   Wheeler or Greene?

Paul Sporer: Can’t go wrong on the hitter. Slight lean to Witt on the hitter side, Wheeler on the pitcher side. Greene is much younger, but his volatility just scares me

Guest: Turang and Gil for imanaga. Fair?

Paul Sporer: Yeah I can get behind that. Turang just running wild has been a pleasant surprise

5/12 matchup: Justin’s Heaney @COL or your Irish Panda vs. KC?

Paul Sporer: Irish Panda! (aka Patrick Sandoval for the uninitiated)

MS: Would you trade away Adolis for Wheeler? (8 team roto)

Paul Sporer: Totally fair deal

Joe: Bibee struggling again. Would you drop him for Woo in a pretty shallow 10 team league?

Paul Sporer: I’d really rather not despite another dud today against a poor team. He keeps getting merked by weak teams!! I think even in a 10 you gotta have a worse pitcher to chase Woo with

Paul Sporer: OK y’all, gotta go a pretty tight hour here today. Unfortunately my dog Charlotte suffers from somewhat regularly seizures (1 every 1-2 mos.) for which she takes medicine to keep them at bay. Anyway, she’s having one and while she is fine and will come out of it like nothing happened in about 15 mins, I’m gonna go be with her. Sorry for the downer at the end of chat, but I promise she’s OK. She handles ’em like a champ and stays up on her meds. Take care, see y’all next week!