Waiver Wire & FAAB Report (Week 8)

by
May 14, 2023

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters.

Batters

Christopher Morel: He’s got some swing and miss in his game (32% K%, 18% SwStr% last season, 31% K%, 17% SwStr% in AAA this year) but he destroyed AAA (1.235 OPS). He has been great so far (1.462 OPS, 2 HR, 1 SB) in 13 PA and should get a run at second base with Nico Hoerner on the IL. High variance outcome.

Lane Thomas: Batting leadoff for six straight will an all-around profile (4 HR, 3 SB, .273 AVG).

Nick Senzel: Playing every day while posting a .278 AVG with 3 HR and 3 SB.

Spencer Steer: Dual-qualified (1B, 3B), batting third all the time, and hitting (5 HR, .781 OPS).

LaMonte Wade Jr.: Plays most of the time (sits against some lefties) while hitting for power (7 HR, .970 OPS).

Randal Grichuk: Playing all the time with a .909 OPS since coming off the IL.

Ezequiel Duran: A steady contributor (.298/.330/.471, 4 HR, 2 SB) while qualified at shortstop, third base, and possibly outfield (7 games). It’ll be interesting to see how his playing time works out with Corey Seager about to come off the IL.

Enmanuel Valdez: The 24-year-old has started in 12 of the 14 games since being promoted (sat against two of the four lefties). His results have been a nice balanced .311/.340/.511 with 2 HR and 3 SB.

TJ Friedl: The strong side platoon bat is currently hurt (side) but a steady contributor (.306/.351/.468, 3 HR, 4 SB) when playing.

Leody Taveras: He might be on a hot streak (.417/.476/.556 over the past two weeks) because he is finally getting healthy. The stolen bases might be limited with 3 CS to go with the 3 SB. It looks like the Rangers are still giving him the green light (4 attempts in the last nine games).

Orlando Arcia: He has started every day since coming off the IL and is hitting (.322/.375/.492) but has no stolen bases.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: I had no idea his roster rate was so low, but a hot May (.433/.541/.933, 4 HR) has everyone picking him up.

Luke Raley: The only issue with Raley (8 HR, .270 AVG) is the lack of consistent playing time. He just had his first stretch of starting four games in a row from Monday to Thursday. Then, he sat the next two games on the bench. Playing time gamble.

Maikel Garcia: Since being recalled from AAA, the 23-year-old is hitting .237/.279/.316 with 0 HR and 2 SB. He might be qualified at third base (7 games) in some formats.

Alex Kirilloff: Strong side platoon bat who is off to an interesting start (.308/.526/.308, 32% BB%, .400 BABIP). The lack of power should be tracked because there is little demand for a five to 10 HR first baseman [And he proceeds to hit two home runs just after writing this comment. -jz].

Casey Schmitt: He’s been on fire (.563/.563/1.125, 2 HR) since being promoted to play shortstop. The big question mark around him will be if he stays on the MLB team once Brandon Crawford returns from the IL.

Chris Taylor: Sat against three of the last six righties the team has faced. In May, he is batting .286/.375/.679 with 2 HR. He seems to be hitting more flyballs (career highs with 22 deg LA and 51% FB%). The flyballs, along with his 36% K%, barely have his batting average over .200. He’s morphing into poor man’s Joey Gallo but without the elite power or walk rate.

Jordan Diaz: The 22-year-old started six straight at second base with some nice power (.250 ISO, 4 HR, 112 maxEV).

Adam Frazier: While he is only hitting a .222 AVG, he has 3 HR and 6 SB on the season. And will get a two to three-week run at second base if there are no promotions.

JJ Bleday: The strong side platoon bat has been great (1.095 OPS, 3 HR) since being promoted.

Nick Pratto: The .500 BABIP won’t last so his .340 AVG might crash because of a 31% K%. Might have outfield qualification in some formats (6 games).

Michael Massey: The 25-year-old improved in May with his strikeout rate going from 38% to 24% and his OPS from .342 to 1.235. During this hot streak, he’s only started in eight of the 11 games. Also, He has some insane reverse splits with a 1.000 OPS versus lefties and .485 OPS against righties.

Kevin Kiermaier: Strong-side platoon bat who has six righties on the schedule next week. He has hit (.294/.363/.451, 2 HR, 3 SB) to be worth a stream.

Luis Garcia: Hit second for 13 straight games (.258/.309/.387, 3 HR, 2 SB)

Tyrone Taylor: He has started in nine of 10 games since coming off the IL while hitting .212/.206/.303 with 1 HR and 3 SB (92nd percentile sprint speed). Sneaky speed source.

Alex Call: Playing all the time, but struggling a bit to hit for a decent batting average (.238 AVG, 3 HR, 3 SB).

Dominic Fletcher: Since being promoted, he has started in nine of ten games. A .536 BABIP makes it look like he’s on fire (.457/.486/.629). Rosterable in deeper formats where every regular bat is owned.

Ryan Noda: The strong-side platoon bat (.856 OPS 3 HR) only faces four righties next week. A decent streaming option when the A’s are facing six or more righties.

Jesús Sánchez: Strong-side platoon bat who was hitting (.290 AVG, 3 HR, 3 SB) but left his game on Saturday with a hamstring issue. Even if he comes back, he only faces four righties next week.

Max Kepler : Strong side platoon bat who starts against lefties sometimes but is now on the IL. A .205 BABIP has his batting average down to .212 but he has hit 6 HR so far.

Gavin Sheets: A good streaming option for the current week (vs 7 RHP) but only faces five righties next week.

J.P. Crawford: He is now leading off and getting on base (.382 OBP, 18% BB%) but not much else (.243/.382/.342, 1 HR, 1 SB).

Geraldo Perdomo: After an insane March (1.289 OPS) the strong side of the shortstop platoon, he’s cooled off in May (.278/.409/.333).

Ezequiel Tovar: He’s struggling at the plate (56 wRC+) but is streamable when at home (.764 OPS at home, .512 on the road).

Emmanuel Rivera: When I saw he was on the most added list I knew managers weren’t looking at the playing time (5 starts in last 10 games, 3 at DH) but his results (.341/.357/.488). It’s likely he’s the best-hitting third baseman on Arizona, but he’ll need to get a full-time role to be useful.

Marcell Ozuna: With Travis d’Arnaud off the IL, Ozuna has sat the last two games. Ozuna’s playing time has likely dried up.

Hanser Alberto: He was playing third base with Moncada and Burger on the IL. He’s back to being irrelevant.

Catchers

Connor Wong: Solid catcher (.768 OPS, 4 HR).

Eric Haase: He is seeing more time in the outfield and DH than catching (see Jake Rogers). He should start half the time and has been hitting fine (.281/.337/.385, 2 HR, 2 SB).

Freddy Fermin: Started in five of the last nine games will hitting .333/.379/.741 with 3 HR in just 29 PA.

Jake Rogers: Has started in seven of the last 10 games while hitting .183/.275/.437 with 5 HR on the season. He’s going to need to improve on the 36% K% (42% in May). And when he does make contact, he has a 52% GB%.

Prospects

Royce Lewis: He is just starting his rehab assignment (4 PA).

Matt McLain: In 162 PA, he is hitting .346/.457/.714 with 12 HR and 10 SB in AAA.

Elly De La Cruz: In 92 AAA PA, he is hitting .268/.348/.598 with 6 HR and 4 SB.

Jordan Westburg: In 138 AAA PA, he is hitting .304/.370/.568 with 9 HR and 4 SB.

Ronny Mauricio: In 158 AAA PA, he is hitting .340/.380/.585 with 6 HR and 7 SB.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand: In 78 AAA PA, he is hitting .347/.372/.720 with 8 HR and 0 SB.

Mark Vientos: In 152 AAA PA, he is hitting .331/.421/.669 with 11 HR and 0 SB.

Batter CBS Rostership Rates
Name Prev Roster% Current Roster% Change
Ezequiel Tovar SS COL 40% 45% 5%
Elly De La Cruz 3B CIN 38% 43% 5%
Orlando Arcia SS ATL 38% 41% 3%
Lourdes Gurriel LF ARI 37% 70% 33%
Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B CIN 36% 43% 7%
Geraldo Perdomo SS ARI 36% 38% 2%
Nick Senzel 3B CIN 36% 37% 1%
Ezequiel Duran SS TEX 31% 49% 18%
Alex Kirilloff 1B MIN 28% 32% 4%
Spencer Steer 3B CIN 28% 29% 1%
LaMonte Wade 1B SF 24% 36% 12%
TJ Friedl CF CIN 22% 31% 9%
Adam Frazier 2B BAL 22% 27% 5%
Royce Lewis SS MIN 22% 23% 1%
Chris Taylor SS LAD 20% 28% 8%
J.P. Crawford SS SEA 19% 20% 1%
Randal Grichuk CF COL 18% 21% 3%
Max Kepler RF MIN 17% 19% 2%
Lane Thomas RF WAS 16% 26% 10%
Eric Haase C DET 15% 18% 3%
Christopher Morel 2B CHC 14% 45% 31%
Luis Garcia 2B WAS 12% 20% 8%
Ronny Mauricio SS NYM 12% 14% 2%
Marcell Ozuna DH ATL 11% 19% 8%
Connor Wong C BOS 11% 13% 2%
Nick Pratto 1B KC 9% 22% 13%
J.J. Bleday RF OAK 9% 21% 12%
Michael Massey 2B KC 9% 10% 1%
Enmanuel Valdez 2B BOS 7% 12% 5%
Luke Raley RF TB 7% 12% 5%
Mark Vientos DH NYM 7% 9% 2%
Jordan Westburg SS BAL 7% 9% 2%
Kevin Kiermaier CF TOR 7% 8% 1%
Maikel Garcia 3B KC 6% 10% 4%
Matt McLain 2B CIN 6% 9% 3%
Gavin Sheets RF CHW 6% 8% 2%
Leody Taveras CF TEX 5% 9% 4%
Jesus Sanchez RF MIA 5% 7% 2%
Ryan Noda 1B OAK 4% 7% 3%
Casey Schmitt SS SF 3% 29% 26%
Jordan Diaz 2B OAK 3% 7% 4%
Alex Call LF WAS 3% 4% 1%
Tyrone Taylor RF MIL 2% 3% 1%
Jake Rogers C DET 2% 3% 1%
Emmanuel Rivera DH ARI 1% 2% 1%
Dominic Fletcher RF ARI 1% 2% 1%
Hanser Alberto 3B CHW 0% 2% 2%
Freddy Fermin C KC 0% 1% 1%

Starting Pitchers

Louie Varland: Besides giving up three home runs in his first start, Varland has been great. His 21% K%-BB% would rank 16th among qualified starters (between Wheeler and Urias). Also, his pitchers generate fieldable contact with his fastball at 18% GB%, slider at 53% GB%, and change at 60% GB%.

Eury Pérez: Another prospect call-up who everyone expects to dominate. He attacks hitters with a 98-mph fastball, an 87-mph slider (26% SwStr%), and a curve (33% SwStr%). One issue will be his workload after only throwing 77 IP last season and with 35 IP already this season. In the minors, his workload was limited by never throwing over 6 IP or facing more than 22 batters. He didn’t even make it to five innings in his debut.

Clarke Schmidt: Schmidt got hit around (.380 BABIP, 2.0 HR/9) to start the season. He is now shown some improvement in May (3.92 xFIP to 3.40 xFIP) by throwing his sinker (52% GB%) more and his cutter (33% GB%) fewer times. It also helps that he’s throwing hard (94.3 mph in May, 94.9 in June).

Ranger Suárez: He has yet to throw in the majors but in AAA, his fastballs were at 91.8 mph (sinker) and 92.8 MPH (four-seam). He threw six different pitches in those starts. His change is his best secondary and it got a 24% SwStr%. His start will happen after I write this so check up on him for more details.

J.P. France: I’m not sure what going on with France (0.77 ERA, 0.69 WHIP). In AAA, he was a high strikeout and walk pitcher (12.1 K/9 5.1 BB/9) but in his two major league starts he’s a low strikeout and walk pitcher (6.2 K/9, 1.5 BB/9). He’s created a ton of fieldable contact (.156 BABIP) with a groundball fastball (63% GB%) and flyball cutter (13% GB%) and slider (38% GB%). His ERA estimators and projections have him around a 4.50 ERA pitcher and that’s how I’ll value him for now but I could understand if someone thinks he is better.

James Paxton: In his major debut this year, he destroyed the Cardinals with a 97-mph fastball (career high) that posted a 15% SwStr%. Also, he threw a slider and curve a combined 34 times and they totaled for just one swinging strike.

Brayan Bello: He should be dominating with a 9.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 63% GB%. Personally, I think he gets too much of the plate hoping for a groundball. Whenever a hitter makes solid contact, the ball has a good chance to go for a homer (29% HR/FB, 1.9 HR/9). Additionally, a .368 BABIP doesn’t help.

Luis L. Ortiz: He went five innings in his 2023 debut but only got 1 K while allowing 2 ER. There are some known good (~50% GB% talent) and bad (3.0+ BB/9 talent) aspects of his profile. One recent issue is that he’s lost between 1 mph to 2 mph off all his pitches from last season. His AAA swinging-strike rate dropped from 15.3% to 12.8%. In the majors, he went from 13.1% to 9.5%.

JP Sears: He’s giving up a ton of flyballs (28% GB%) and home runs (2.4 HR/9). While his 19.5% K%-BB% is decent, expect some blowups because he’s home run prone.

Luke Weaver: He has a 3.3 HR/9 (39% GB%) that has ballooned his ERA up to 7.36. He’s a reason I don’t like pitchers who have a changeup as their only decent non-fastball.

Alex Wood: In his first appearance since coming off the IL, his fastball and slider velocity are both up almost 1 mph. The deal is that it was only one inning and he faced seven batters that inning. He is scheduled for a two-step next week against the Phillies and Marlins. I think it’s a week of roster-and-bench to get a better idea of his true talent.

Adrian Houser: All he does is generate groundballs at an over 50% clip. While his strikeouts are fine (career 7.2 K/9), he constantly walks too many batters (career 3.7 K/9). Streamer against the right opponent.

Michael Lorenzen: While he’s not striking out many batters (6.1 K/9), he’s finally limiting walks (2.3 BB/9) and getting a decent number of groundballs (51% GB%). Streaming option against weaker opponents.

Dane Dunning: I’m not a believer in a guy with a 5.5 K/9. I suspect he’ll allow some solid contact at some point (0.0 HR/9, .217 BABIP) and his 1.72 ERA will balloon up to his estimators around 4.50.

Peyton Battenfield: He has a deserving 4.45 ERA with walks (3.3 BB/9) being his biggest issue. I like him as a streaming option going forward when in the rotation.

Kyle Hendricks: His fastball has been sitting at 87.5 mph (86.7 mph in 2022) in his three rehab appearances and his change with a 19% SwStr%. He struggled with walks in his first two outings but didn’t walk one batter over 5 IP in his last appearance. He’s scheduled for one more appearance this on Sunday in AAA before getting called back up to the majors.

Trevor Williams: He doesn’t walk many batters (2.3 BB/9) but also doesn’t strike many out (6.5 BB/9). The matchup has to be nearly ideal to stream him.

Patrick Corbin: He didn’t have the cushion to lose 1 mph of his fastball from last season but at least he’s throwing it fewer times (62% to 55%). I’m just not going to roster a starter with an ERA over 4.50 in each of the last four seasons.

Yonny Chirinos: I don’t roster any pitchers who have a walk rate higher than their strikeout rate, even if they have a sub-2.50 ERA (0.0 HR/9, .187 BBIP).

Jared Shuster: No control his season with a 9.4 BB/9 in the majors and 5.1 BB/9 in the minors. I can’t see a reason to roster him.

Brandon Bielak: I can’t get behind him just yet with too many walks (5.2 BB/9), especially with just a 6.2 K/9. I trust the Astros will get the best out of him but I think the best could be a 4.50 ERA arm.

Chase Silseth: He’s scheduled to make his first start on Tuesday. The most he’s thrown this season is 3.1 IP (72 pitches) and had some insane batted ball luck (0.0 HR/9, .200 BABIP). It’s nice to see the 96-mph fastball along with a decent cutter (career 13% SwStr%) and slider (career 16% SwStr%).

Dean Kremer: There is nothing useful to roster here. He’s got a deserving near 5.00 ERA.

Kyle Freeland: A Colorado pitcher with a 6.0 K/9, 89-mph fastball, and a 4.63 xFIP. Pass.

Austin Gomber: A Colorado pitcher with a 6.3 K/9, 91-mph fastball, and a 4.96 xFIP. Pass.

Nick Pivetta: Why roster a pitcher who has an ERA over 4.50 and at least a 1.30 WHIP for every season of his career? Why?

Pitching Prospects

Matthew Liberatore: In 46 AAA IP, he has an 11.0 K/9 1.17 WHIP, and 3.13 ERA.

Gavin Williams: In 16 AAA IP, he has an 11.8 K/9, 0.81 WHIP, 1.13 ERA

Andrew Abbott: In 15 AAA IP, he has a 14.4 K/9, 1.20 WHIP, and 3.00 ERA.

Ben Brown: In 10 AAA IP, he has a 14.3 K/9, 0.94 WHIP, and 0.84 ERA.

Kyle Harrison: In 23 AAA IP, he has a 16.2 K/9, 1.59 WHIP (9.3 BB/9), and 3.47 ERA.

Starting Pitcher CBS Rostership Rates
Name Prev Roster% Current Roster% Change
Kyle Freeland SP COL 40% 46% 6%
Ranger Suarez SP PHI 37% 44% 7%
Eury Perez SP MIA 29% 71% 42%
Nick Pivetta SP BOS 27% 29% 2%
Alex Wood SP SF 24% 26% 2%
Brayan Bello SP BOS 23% 26% 3%
Matthew Liberatore SP STL 23% 25% 2%
Clarke Schmidt SP NYY 22% 32% 10%
Gavin Williams SP CLE 18% 21% 3%
Kyle Harrison P SF 18% 19% 1%
Michael Lorenzen SP DET 17% 19% 2%
Jared Shuster SP ATL 17% 18% 1%
Louie Varland SP MIN 15% 37% 22%
Andrew Abbott SP CIN 14% 17% 3%
Dean Kremer SP BAL 13% 22% 9%
Dane Dunning RP TEX 12% 28% 16%
James Paxton SP BOS 11% 23% 12%
Yonny Chirinos RP TB 9% 13% 4%
Kyle Hendricks SP CHC 8% 10% 2%
Peyton Battenfield SP CLE 8% 10% 2%
J.P. France SP HOU 7% 35% 28%
JP Sears SP OAK 7% 13% 6%
Luis Ortiz SP PIT 6% 12% 6%
Patrick Corbin SP WAS 6% 9% 3%
Trevor Williams SP WAS 6% 7% 1%
Chase Silseth RP LAA 5% 7% 2%
Ben Brown SP CHC 4% 8% 4%
Austin Gomber SP COL 3% 7% 4%
Adrian Houser SP MIL 3% 6% 3%
Luke Weaver SP CIN 3% 4% 1%
Brandon Bielak SP HOU 1% 2% 1%

Closers – Saves-based ranks

Jason Adam: Good reliever who will get the majority of Saves.

Adbert Alzolay: Good reliever who has a share of the closer’s role.

Mark Leiter Jr.: Good reliever who has a share of the closer’s role.

Zach Jackson: Below-average reliever who is the closer.

Pierce Johnson: Below-average reliever who is the closer.

Gregory Soto: Average reliever who is sharing the closer’s role.

Hunter Harvey: OK reliever who is the backup to a shaky closer.

Yennier Cano: Great reliever who is the backup closer.

Josh Winckowski: Good reliever who is the backup closer.

Nick Martinez: Good reliever who is the backup closer.

Matt Moore: Good reliever who is the backup closer.

Ian Hamilton: Good reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.

Drew Smith:: Good reliever who is a couple of steps away from closing.

Huascar Brazoban: Good reliever who is a few steps away from closing.

Caleb Ferguson: OK reliever who is a couple steps away from closing.

Chris Martin: OK reliever who is a few steps away from closing.

Relief Pitcher CBS Rostership Rates
Name Prev Roster% Current Roster% Change
Jason Adam RP TB 33% 51% 18%
Yennier Cano RP BAL 25% 42% 17%
Nick Martinez RP SD 25% 28% 3%
Pierce Johnson RP COL 21% 26% 5%
Gregory Soto RP PHI 12% 12% 0%
Mark Leiter RP CHC 9% 21% 12%
Josh Winckowski RP BOS 8% 10% 2%
Adbert Alzolay RP CHC 7% 10% 3%
Matt Moore RP LAA 7% 9% 2%
Trevor Williams SP WAS 6% 7% 1%
Zach Jackson RP OAK 5% 8% 3%
Drew Smith RP NYM 5% 6% 1%
Hunter Harvey RP WAS 4% 7% 3%
Caleb Ferguson RP LAD 2% 4% 2%
Chris Martin RP BOS 2% 3% 1%
Ian Hamilton RP NYY 1% 10% 9%
Huascar Brazoban RP MIA 1% 2% 1%





 

Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

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Corey2member
11 months ago

Can you please put team names next to the player’s name? Makes it a lot easier for people who play in NL or AL only leagues.

Speaking of which, the ONLY player in your list available in my league is a guy you said is “irrelevant”, so that leaves me where?

-18
americano
11 months ago
Reply to  Corey2

it’s almost as if the parameters for this article are laid out each and every week in the opening paragraph. i guess that leaves you looking for an AL or NL only league wavier article.

9
Sully3
11 months ago
Reply to  Corey2

Does your league have 30 teams? Every prospect is rostered? Freddy Fermin is rostered???

6
votto erotica
11 months ago
Reply to  Sully3

I picked Fermin up Saturday based on SSS Statcast indicators. It can happen!

0
dezremember
11 months ago
Reply to  Corey2

Leaves you to do your own research. Good lord. Are all only-league players so f’ing entitled that they feel the need to complain every single week about fantasy analysts not mentioning the free agents in their specific leagues?! So tiring. Be appreciative or step off.

8
cartermember
11 months ago
Reply to  Corey2

Most leagues aren’t this deep. I also know what league every player is in without looking, so to come here and criticize not providing deep enough analysis all the while not even knowing who the players are is very rich. So you expect him to provide analysis for leagues that are deep, yet you don’t even know the players in a much more shallow league.

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Jonathan Sher
11 months ago
Reply to  carter

If he plays in a deep AL or NL mono league, then he would not know players not in that league, but for players in his league, virtually all would be rostered. So what you suggest is implausible actually makes perfect sense if you take the time to think.

The anonymity of the Internet brings out unkind comments, unfortunately. If you want to respond to what Jeff provided, either praise or constructive criticism, have at it — I have interacted for years with Jeff, as he wrote for Hardball Times for several years after I did a stint in their Fantasy department.

There’s nothing wrong with someone in a mono league asking Jeff to include team names, especially when he does so in a respectful way, as Corey2 did.

Jeff does a lot of work to produce his weekly report. Readers can praise that — and should — and still point out suggested improvement or bits that were left out or missed.

In this week’s report, as an example, Jeff didn’t mention Trevor Larnach and I’m confident he wished he had, since

Twins called him up the day before this article was published (but likely after Jeff submitted the article for editing).He’s rostered in 9% of AL leaguesHe will get two weeks+ of playing time with Kepler on the DLHe played that role before when Kepler was hurtIn that role, he even batting against most LHP while batting cleanup against RHPHe produced value before Saturday’s call-up with 3 homers, 19 RBIs, 13 runs and a .331 OBP in 127 PAIn Sunday’s game he had a homer and double, 4 RBIs, 2 runs and a walk.
Also worth a mention was the Oriole’s Joey Ortiz, who was the more logical candidate to be called up than Jordan Westburg. Ortiz is the more highly rated prospect on Fangraphs (50 FV v 45), was the infielder previously called up this year, and is a better defender capable of playing elite D at SS, where Jorge Mateo has slumped this month with his K-rates spiralling back to the mid-30s, so Ortiz could give Mateo a breather in addition to filling in for Urias. And in fact, it was Urias who was called up Sunday morning to start at SS.

It is the nature of these weekly reports for any author to overlook a few players, or to hold a different view of players listed. Readers who engage to fill in a gap, or make suggestions, should not be shunned.

Last edited 11 months ago by Jonathan Sher
0
dezremember
11 months ago
Reply to  Jonathan Sher

Commenter’s complaints about not providing specific analysis / players that correspond to their league depth is consistent and not always politely stated. And others HAVE responded respectfully in the past, even posting follow up questions re: their league size and offering kind advice about how the analysis should be used (ex: take the analysis you see from Jeff and apply it to whoever IS available in your league). These kind words were ignored in place of commenter(s) consistently complaining about the same thing week after week (ex: these guys are owned, so this advice is useless). It’s tiring. Like it’s expected Jeff will provide all answers without the reader doing anything for themselves. If anyone is being “shunned” it’s because of this consistent complaining and a seeming unwillingness to engage in any kind of effort. Fine, it’s an ok suggestion to include team names, but even THAT seems inconsistent with the idea that their league is so deep as to exclude the opportunity to action the names listed. At this point, it appears they’re just trolling, since the complaints come every. single. week. Or maybe I’m conflating one commenter with a handful. My b. But I mean c’mon. If every single player listed is already owned, then a) why do you need the team names listed anyway, and b) maybe the other guys in your league try harder and deserve to be more successful. Commenter’s last statement is NOT politely written, comes across as insufferable, and this isn’t the first time this unappreciative tone has been used. This was an EXCELLENT rundown of the week’s available players, with tons of insightful, detailed, lineup and skills-specific context. And it’s beyond frustrating to see someone be so dismissive of it on a consistent basis.

0
Jonathan Sher
11 months ago
Reply to  dezre

I get that you are frustrated. I do not read comments here with a frequency that I would notice repetition of negative comments; my general practice has been only to mentally note those who often make astute comments so that I am more apt to read their comments in the future. Comments that are not helpful don’t really register with me.

My guess is that every player in his mono league save one is owned and that many of the names he doesn’t recognize play in the other league. That’s certainly the case for me: I run a 35-year-old AL league with 12 owners, 40-man rosters and up to 15 keepers, so while I have a great depth of knowledge on each AL team and its farm system, I barely skim the surface for NL players.

I agree the last sentence of the original comment comes off as whiny; my focus was on the first, which seemed a reasonable request. The truth is that if you play in a very deep mono league, then 99% of fantasy baseball advice is about players already rostered. That does give a competitive advantage to owners who research well themselves, which I enjoy doing.

My only suggestion, one I don’t always heed but am happy when I do, is simply skip the comments that you find unhelpful. Frankly, I much rather read what you think of waiver wire pickups than what you think of someone making a comment you think was unhelpful.

One reason Hardball Times hired me was because of comments I made; I engaged in ways that persuaded writers to think of broader fantasy strategies differently. Of course, that was eons ago.

1
dezremember
11 months ago
Reply to  Jonathan Sher

Fair enough. Thanks for the perspective.

1