Dynasty Podcast Episode _145 - Dynasty Closer Hierarchy Tool

WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:05.610
On this episode, we discuss the playoff races as we
2
00:00:05.669 --> 00:00:10.130
head down the stretch, Otani's dynasty value, if and when
3
00:00:10.230 --> 00:00:14.070
he returns to a one-way player, and our P-Live Dynasty
4
00:00:14.130 --> 00:00:15.539
Closer Hierarchy Tool.
5
00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:16.859
Stay tuned.
6
00:00:55.070 --> 00:00:59.630
Welcome to the Prospects Live Dynasty Podcast, episode number 145.
7
00:00:59.630 --> 00:01:04.950
It is Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. I am your host,
8
00:01:04.969 --> 00:01:07.900
Craig Kuhkamp, the Director of Dynasty Content for Prospects Live,
9
00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:11.200
joined by a member of my Dynasty team, Raj Mehta.
10
00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.640
Raj, how was your Labor Day weekend? It was great.
11
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:20.969
During August and up until Labor Day in Toronto, there's
12
00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:24.269
a C & E, the Canadian National Exposition, I believe
13
00:01:24.310 --> 00:01:27.450
it's what it's called. So basically it's basically like a
14
00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:31.349
fair and tickets. Yeah. You have to like pay like
15
00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:33.269
20 bucks to get in and just like rise and stuff.
16
00:01:33.950 --> 00:01:37.129
So I went there on Sunday with my brother and
17
00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:42.879
that was pretty fun. Excellent. I've been there many times, uh,
18
00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:44.599
growing up in Ontario and it's a lot of fun.
19
00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:46.200
There's a lot of cool things to see and eat
20
00:01:46.379 --> 00:01:46.840
and do.
21
00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:50.719
Uh, so I can definitely, um, see how you enjoyed that.
22
00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:51.680
So awesome.
23
00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:52.140
Yeah.
24
00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:57.500
Um, so, Raj, we're going to talk some standings right
25
00:01:57.540 --> 00:02:00.459
now because we are less than three weeks away from
26
00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.079
the end of the regular season and some things have
27
00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:05.719
kind of settled in a little bit, but we still
28
00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.870
have some races to discuss here. So we'll go through
29
00:02:08.909 --> 00:02:10.250
each league and you.
30
00:02:10.169 --> 00:02:13.050
Can share your thoughts on how you think it'll finish
31
00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:13.830
up here. So AL.
32
00:02:15.389 --> 00:02:17.770
East, currently the Rays, they've kind of been wire to
33
00:02:17.810 --> 00:02:19.370
wire pretty much all season long.
34
00:02:20.189 --> 00:02:22.960
They hold it there. In the Central, the White Sox.
35
00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:26.229
Continue to lead the way Um, this team is for
36
00:02:26.250 --> 00:02:29.169
real Raj, this team is for real. And in the west,
37
00:02:29.250 --> 00:02:33.449
it's the Astros currently with the top spot. Um, and
38
00:02:33.469 --> 00:02:35.610
then the wild card, we have the Yankees and Red
39
00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:39.889
Sox really just they're, they're far away, the best two
40
00:02:39.909 --> 00:02:42.710
teams in there. And then we've got a jumble of
41
00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:45.659
teams still kind of fighting for that third spot. Currently
42
00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.139
the guardians hold that spot with the blue Jays, Rangers, Orioles,
43
00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:51.360
and twins on the outside looking in.
44
00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:51.599
So.
45
00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:55.139
As we head down the stretch here, Raj, how do
46
00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.900
you kind of see the AL shaking out, and who
47
00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.189
do you see as the top dog when the dust settles?
48
00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:05.870
I'm not sure. I feel like most of it is
49
00:03:05.909 --> 00:03:08.789
pretty sad. I feel like the current division years where
50
00:03:08.909 --> 00:03:10.550
the teams are going to win their divisions, I feel
51
00:03:10.569 --> 00:03:14.150
like the Pup 2 wildcard teams in each league are
52
00:03:14.169 --> 00:03:16.030
probably going to be those two wildcard teams. It's just
53
00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:20.900
really the last spot, and it's really down to... Honestly, like,
54
00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:23.460
It feels like two teams, but really in the AO,
55
00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:27.819
it's a little bit more like... Guardians and Blue Jays,
56
00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:29.759
I feel like are the two top teams, and I
57
00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:31.919
do hope the Jays eventually make it, but the Rangers
58
00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:35.389
still have a chance. Worlds and Twins, they're a little
59
00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:38.569
bit far away, but they do still technically have a chance.
60
00:03:39.490 --> 00:03:42.050
And then in the NL, it's the D-backs and the
61
00:03:42.069 --> 00:03:44.990
Padres for the final long crossbar. That was going to
62
00:03:45.009 --> 00:03:46.810
be fun, because I'm not sure if you noticed, but
63
00:03:47.409 --> 00:03:49.430
the last series of the year is going to be
64
00:03:50.710 --> 00:03:55.000
D-backs at Padres at Petco Park. And that's probably going
65
00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:57.400
to decide who takes that final wildcard spot. And that's
66
00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.240
going to be a lucky, especially in San Diego, because
67
00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:03.699
that's like one of the, like San Diego is like
68
00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:05.680
almost always a sellout. So that's going to be insane.
69
00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:07.250
Yeah, absolutely.
70
00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:11.210
I think the Yankees and Red Sox are kind of
71
00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:14.530
destined to play in that first round in that wildcard series.
72
00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:17.189
And it looks like the Yankees would have home field
73
00:04:17.250 --> 00:04:19.550
advantage for there. And obviously that gives them a huge
74
00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:22.410
advantage because all three games would be played there.
75
00:04:24.269 --> 00:04:27.509
The way that the American League would shake out, it would.
76
00:04:27.370 --> 00:04:29.430
Kind of be the best teams kind of knocking each
77
00:04:29.470 --> 00:04:31.870
other out the way it kind of settles in because
78
00:04:32.569 --> 00:04:34.740
they want the division winners to have.
79
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:40.040
The best route all to get to the World Series.
80
00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:44.100
But the way it works this year is the Rays
81
00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:47.800
currently have the best record in the AL. And then
82
00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:52.290
the next best division leader is the White Sox. And
83
00:04:52.529 --> 00:04:53.670
I don't know how many teams.
84
00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:55.990
Are actually fearing the White Sox in the playoffs right now. Obviously,
85
00:04:56.370 --> 00:04:59.709
they've made it this far. Honestly, I do. Like, I
86
00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:01.480
don't fear their pitching, but I definitely fear their hitting
87
00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:04.939
because they have, like, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Murakami, all
88
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:08.399
three guys have 30 homers. And I believe they have
89
00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:11.639
three hitters with 30 homers. No other team even has one. Sorry,
90
00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:14.779
more than one, I mean. So, yeah. that's going to
91
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:17.800
be a very deadly offense to face. I see that.
92
00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:20.579
And what we know also when playoffs hit pitching and
93
00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.480
defense kind of play a bigger role, um, in those,
94
00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:27.339
in those games that mean a lot. Um, so, I mean,
95
00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.139
I'd rather, I'd much rather play the white socks than
96
00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:31.680
the red socks or the Yankees at this point.
97
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:34.339
Um, so I think.
98
00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:36.279
The route for the team that is on the other
99
00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:41.269
side of that, whether it's the Jays, the guardians, the Astros, uh,
100
00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:44.519
the white socks, I think they've got a path there
101
00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.319
that they're seeing to the ALCS to face one of
102
00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:52.310
those three ALEs teams that, uh, whoever survives the gauntlet
103
00:05:52.910 --> 00:05:53.610
of those teams.
104
00:05:53.689 --> 00:05:55.189
So, I mean, that's, that's at least the way it
105
00:05:55.209 --> 00:05:55.790
looks right now.
106
00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:58.089
That could change. Um, we still have.
107
00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.870
Probably maybe 72, 73 Blue Jays make it to that
108
00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:05.269
World Series again. I would hate for a team.
109
00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:08.149
That doesn't have a winning record. I just, I don't
110
00:06:08.170 --> 00:06:09.189
want to, I don't want to see that.
111
00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:15.610
Um, But what if they beat the Dodgers? Who do
112
00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:19.550
you think is the best team right now? Honestly, I
113
00:06:19.750 --> 00:06:23.209
don't really know. I guess it's the race by record,
114
00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:26.980
but I don't really see... I think the Yankees and
115
00:06:27.069 --> 00:06:29.939
the Red Sox can definitely beat them. Honestly, with the
116
00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:32.980
way I've been playing lately, there is a world where
117
00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.980
if they make it to a World Series, as you said,
118
00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:41.430
pitching dominates them. The Red Sox and honestly the Yankees,
119
00:06:41.449 --> 00:06:46.410
they're the two best rotations. So maybe that wildcard series
120
00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:49.290
determines who makes the playoff, the World Series, which is
121
00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:52.329
a bit crazy to say, but technically possible.
122
00:06:53.050 --> 00:06:54.730
Yeah, I mean, as much as I don't want to
123
00:06:54.769 --> 00:06:56.709
say it, I think the Yankees are probably the favorite.
124
00:06:56.930 --> 00:07:01.730
But just on pitching alone, like their offense was terrible
125
00:07:01.990 --> 00:07:04.790
when Judge was out. He was out for 80, 82 games. No,
126
00:07:04.870 --> 00:07:07.509
he's out for 100 days, 82 games, I think, or
127
00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:08.189
something like that.
128
00:07:08.509 --> 00:07:12.430
It was like 99 days, which was pretty fun because
129
00:07:12.649 --> 00:07:14.870
his number is 99. Yeah.
130
00:07:15.509 --> 00:07:19.290
And their offense was like 29th and 30th in most categories,
131
00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:23.730
except home runs. Obviously they're a slugging team, but their
132
00:07:23.750 --> 00:07:25.670
pitching just kept them in it and they really didn't
133
00:07:25.689 --> 00:07:28.310
lose any ground in the standings at all while he
134
00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:32.509
was away. So now that they get him back, I
135
00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:34.129
think they are the team to beat and their, their
136
00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:35.189
pitching is so deep.
137
00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:38.879
They've got guys coming back now as well. So, I
138
00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:39.839
think they're the favorite.
139
00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:41.800
I think the Red Sox, if they are clicking on
140
00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:43.839
all cylinders, are going to be a really tough out
141
00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:46.040
in the playoffs as well. And it looks like those
142
00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:48.180
teams will meet each other. So one of those teams
143
00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:49.899
would move on. One of them will get eliminated.
144
00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.100
I don't know.
145
00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.930
I don't see many other teams kind of challenging those two,
146
00:07:54.990 --> 00:07:56.790
but we know in the playoffs, I think it can happen,
147
00:07:56.810 --> 00:08:00.230
especially in a short series. If a team gets a
148
00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:04.250
couple of hot pitchers going and can forge a lead
149
00:08:04.290 --> 00:08:06.670
in a series, they have a chance. Let's go a
150
00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:09.620
little deeper into the NL here. The Braves are leading
151
00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:13.040
in the NL East. Brewers, NL Central, and the Dodgers,
152
00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.120
NL West. The Dodgers have just crept ahead to that
153
00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:21.990
second seed, so they currently have the bye. And then
154
00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:24.670
in the wildcard, the Phillies are the first team. The
155
00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:27.470
Cubs are the second. And like you mentioned, the Diamondbacks
156
00:08:27.569 --> 00:08:29.790
are third. Just a half game up as we stand
157
00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:33.350
right now on Tuesday evening. This could change by the
158
00:08:33.389 --> 00:08:37.289
time this podcast releases. And then the Cardinals are still
159
00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:43.259
within five games, just kind of hanging around. Who do
160
00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:45.480
you feel like is... Do you think the Dodgers are
161
00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:47.360
still the best team in the NL, or do you
162
00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:49.580
think somebody else can unseat them at this point?
163
00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:54.100
Yeah, I think it's still the Dodgers. They were a
164
00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:57.909
little bit rough in August. I think they actually finished
165
00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:01.649
with a below 500 record in August. But in September,
166
00:09:01.669 --> 00:09:05.350
they've been clicking. They already passed the Braves. I think they...
167
00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:08.480
probably not sure if they want to be in that
168
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:11.320
second spot. Like I, cause I know like in the
169
00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:13.710
past when you've had that bias sort of like hurt
170
00:09:13.750 --> 00:09:17.730
them a little bit, but it's the Dodgers. Like there's
171
00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:18.850
still like the best team.
172
00:09:19.490 --> 00:09:22.070
Yeah. I mean, you can't bet against them at all. Um,
173
00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:26.509
they're so deep, so talented. Their pitching is ridiculous. Even
174
00:09:26.529 --> 00:09:30.509
without Otani throwing, um, they still have five, six, seven
175
00:09:30.549 --> 00:09:32.129
guys that could start in playoff games.
176
00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:36.590
Um, I don't know. The Brewers have a very good squad.
177
00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:38.960
They've been good all year long. They were great last
178
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:39.559
year as well.
179
00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:41.759
Maybe this is the year.
180
00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:44.460
The Braves are actually looking decent as well with Acuna
181
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:49.340
starting to look more like himself. And then the Phillies
182
00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:52.490
are playing really well.
183
00:09:52.769 --> 00:09:54.809
Last year, the Brewers had the best record in MLB
184
00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:57.769
last year. They played very similarly. And I feel like
185
00:09:59.629 --> 00:10:01.500
the same thing might just happen again. They have a
186
00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.500
very good regular season, but they just get swept by
187
00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:06.960
the Dodgers. Maybe not swept just because I think Mizorowski
188
00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:08.759
can help them steal a game or two, but I
189
00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:13.120
really don't see them beating the Dodgers in those games
190
00:10:13.139 --> 00:10:14.019
where he's not going to be starting.
191
00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:17.580
Yeah, they got Miz, and then Logan Hedges looks really
192
00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:19.399
good as well. He could be their number two in
193
00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:21.179
his series, in a short series.
194
00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:25.029
I think that buy helps them quite a bit.
195
00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:26.830
It gets them so they can set their rotation up
196
00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:30.830
and be ready, have home field advantage to however they play.
197
00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:34.669
So I think they're definitely a team to be reckoned with,
198
00:10:35.230 --> 00:10:36.549
for sure. But then the Phillies, too.
199
00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:39.159
The Phillies are playing really good baseball right now, and
200
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.580
their pitching is excellent as well.
201
00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:42.019
I mean.
202
00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:48.110
In a five-game series, who's your fourth starter?
203
00:10:48.149 --> 00:10:50.169
Do you go with Nola? Do you go with Andrew Painter?
204
00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:52.889
Because Painter's throwing really, really well right now, too. Obviously,
205
00:10:52.909 --> 00:10:56.669
you've got the three studs on top with Wheeler, Sanchez,
206
00:10:56.690 --> 00:10:59.769
and Lizardo. You can't beat that trio, really. Even the
207
00:10:59.789 --> 00:11:04.009
Dodgers would have trouble matching up with that. The Phillies
208
00:11:04.029 --> 00:11:05.909
are very difficult. I believe I read that.
209
00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:08.970
The Phillies have three starters with at least 20 starts
210
00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:12.820
and 1 percentage above. 700. Which is like, I know
211
00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.240
get that wins like are not that important anymore. But
212
00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:18.779
like three guys like winning that many, most, much of
213
00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.419
the games, like that's kind of insane, especially like in
214
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.539
the playoffs, like you're going to need a ton of
215
00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:28.210
top guys. And they have like three guys who are
216
00:11:28.250 --> 00:11:30.889
probably like aces on like, honestly, those three guys would
217
00:11:30.909 --> 00:11:33.750
be starting for the Dodgers, which is crazy to say,
218
00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:37.049
given how much talent the Dodgers already have. Yeah. Yeah.
219
00:11:37.429 --> 00:11:39.490
The one thing I worry about the Phillies is their bullpen.
220
00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.250
I'm not sure, other than Duran, what else you were
221
00:11:42.309 --> 00:11:44.740
leaning on. Not a lot of their guys are performing
222
00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:46.279
that well this year.
223
00:11:46.299 --> 00:11:49.980
We'll talk about the bullpens later. We're not coming to Phillies,
224
00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.000
but the Phillies do have a few names. Bowen has
225
00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:56.039
really emerged as the top guy. Alex Morfano, they recently
226
00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:56.500
called him.
227
00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:57.639
He has very good stuff.
228
00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.870
I know Ryan Kirkland, he's been struggling a little bit,
229
00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:03.649
but I know his peripherals are still pretty solid. I
230
00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:08.100
think Duran is... we'll help shorten those games like from
231
00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.259
nine innings to eight. And then your starters can give
232
00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:15.090
you like seven innings pretty, uh, cause maybe not consistently,
233
00:12:15.110 --> 00:12:17.250
but like they can give you seven very good innings.
234
00:12:17.470 --> 00:12:20.610
So it's really just figuring out that who pitches that final,
235
00:12:20.629 --> 00:12:25.169
like one inning, maybe two, if they started those six. Yeah.
236
00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:26.789
The NL, the NL is going to be a lot
237
00:12:26.809 --> 00:12:28.570
of fun watching the playoffs for sure. There's a lot
238
00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:33.240
of teams that are really, uh, entertaining and skilled. So, uh, anyway,
239
00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.200
it's going to be a good final stretch here to
240
00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:38.129
see who, gets those final couple spots in each league
241
00:12:38.169 --> 00:12:40.740
and then how it kind of shakes out after that.
242
00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:45.659
All right, let's get into this Otani discussion because it
243
00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:48.759
seems like he's probably not going to pitch the rest
244
00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:49.159
of the year.
245
00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:51.980
Dave Roberts has pretty much.
246
00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:53.419
Said that as much.
247
00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.139
And then Otani actually spoke to the media for once
248
00:12:56.500 --> 00:13:01.720
this weekend and through an interpreter sort of alluded to
249
00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:04.269
the fact that he needs to try and stay healthy
250
00:13:04.309 --> 00:13:06.029
and that if he's going to be trying to pitch it,
251
00:13:06.169 --> 00:13:08.269
it may not work for this season anyway.
252
00:13:09.110 --> 00:13:10.429
Um, so I.
253
00:13:11.909 --> 00:13:14.659
Mean, rest of season, he's, he's a DH obviously leading
254
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:15.539
off for the Dodgers.
255
00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.019
Um, but what, what does it look like in dynasty?
256
00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:24.070
If you own Otani, uh, you, you've been able to
257
00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:26.830
get the full value out of him. I mean, not,
258
00:13:26.970 --> 00:13:29.529
not the full season that obviously, but he was pitching
259
00:13:29.570 --> 00:13:31.450
at the start of the year and, and hitting, um,
260
00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:35.240
What does it look like if he's only a one-way player?
261
00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:38.720
If he's a one-way player, he's a hitter, right? Yeah.
262
00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:44.000
But I think that's still very valuable. The last time
263
00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:46.200
he was a one-way hitter, people were sort of fading
264
00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:48.519
him a little bit. And then he wound up hitting
265
00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.059
50 homers and stealing 50 bases, which hasn't been done since,
266
00:13:52.360 --> 00:14:00.690
not by any 50-year second baseman. Sorry. But yeah, Otani,
267
00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:03.340
he's still a very good hitter, even this year. It's
268
00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:05.100
sort of a down year, but it's still a 140
269
00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:10.840
DWC plus, 30 homers, 11 stolen bases. And he obviously
270
00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:12.480
gave you like a little bit of pitching value, but
271
00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:14.320
if you can focus on hitting, he could probably be
272
00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.759
even better as you saw a couple of years ago.
273
00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:20.620
So if you want to, honestly, if you want to
274
00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:23.860
sell him, you can, you probably can just cause he,
275
00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:27.179
he will pitch again. Like it's not, they're not willing
276
00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.139
to get out for next year or the year after
277
00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:32.950
just for us to this year. So. You can still
278
00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:35.370
sell him as number one asset if you really want to,
279
00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:37.590
but I would still hold on to him just because
280
00:14:38.070 --> 00:14:39.909
the value is that high for him.
281
00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:43.019
Yeah, I think you made a good point is that
282
00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:46.179
when he does play as a one-way player, as a hitter,
283
00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.570
he elevates his game. We talk about that all the
284
00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:53.929
time in the prospect world where when the guy focuses
285
00:14:54.029 --> 00:14:55.950
on one of the two, they come in as a
286
00:14:55.970 --> 00:14:58.629
two-way player. Um, they focus on one of the two,
287
00:14:58.669 --> 00:15:01.490
they obviously become better. And we have Nolan McClain being
288
00:15:01.509 --> 00:15:03.230
a good example of that and many, many others.
289
00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:07.740
Um, so. And also, like, just in a broader sense, like,
290
00:15:07.789 --> 00:15:12.320
if you're doing less, if your role is, like, diminishing,
291
00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.820
you sort of want to do more for your team. Like,
292
00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.759
I know, like, let's say, like, a guy who's, like,
293
00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.720
maybe not necessarily struggling, but, like, maybe, like, in a
294
00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:22.440
bit of a slump, like, do you still, like, want
295
00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:23.960
to help your team? Like, maybe want to get on
296
00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:25.500
base and try, like, steal that extra band. Like, that's
297
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:28.500
sort of what I feel like Ohtani is doing, like
298
00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:32.379
when he's hitting only like, oh, I'm not pitching anymore.
299
00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.059
Maybe let me help my team more by being more
300
00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:39.470
aggressive on base fast and stealing more bases. And that's like,
301
00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:42.549
that's what he did 24.
302
00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:43.429
Yeah, exactly.
303
00:15:43.490 --> 00:15:46.830
And he's unlike any athlete we've ever seen in this game.
304
00:15:46.850 --> 00:15:51.159
He's so good. And I mean, he played, We don't
305
00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:53.879
know what injuries he's had because he just plays. He
306
00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.870
doesn't sit out ever, really. He's been hurt significantly with
307
00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:01.269
the arm injury and the knee a little bit this year.
308
00:16:01.330 --> 00:16:06.110
But I think with a full season of recovery and strengthening,
309
00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:10.909
he comes back as a pitcher again. But I think
310
00:16:11.509 --> 00:16:14.490
the Dodgers have a little more stay than they have
311
00:16:14.549 --> 00:16:18.190
in the past. It's been pretty much him dictating, really.
312
00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:20.009
He wanted to win the Cy Young.
313
00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:22.700
It was very clear this year and it's not going
314
00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:25.279
to work out because he just hasn't been able to
315
00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:27.620
be on healthy on the mound. But I think the
316
00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:31.629
Dodgers have more of a say going forward now. And
317
00:16:31.710 --> 00:16:34.610
I think they're going to limit the amount of innings
318
00:16:34.629 --> 00:16:36.570
that he's going to pitch. I don't think he's going
319
00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:39.669
to be a 160 inning pitcher anymore. I think it's
320
00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:43.279
going to be 120. If that, maybe they put him
321
00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:45.720
into like a relief role. I don't know what that
322
00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:46.179
looks like.
323
00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:49.149
Um, I think if they do do it, they'll have
324
00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:50.809
to like, sort of use them as an opener just
325
00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:54.049
because they can't really put him, take him in a bullpen.
326
00:16:54.070 --> 00:16:57.649
Cause then once he gets good comes out of the game, he'll,
327
00:16:58.230 --> 00:16:58.970
they'll lose the DH.
328
00:16:59.029 --> 00:17:00.309
So yeah, exactly.
329
00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:01.870
They, they ought to take advantage of that. Oh, Tony
330
00:17:01.909 --> 00:17:04.250
rules as an opener, maybe a two inning guy or
331
00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:07.509
something like that. And then, uh, you kick it to
332
00:17:07.549 --> 00:17:11.269
one of those other elite starters after that as a piggyback.
333
00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:13.869
So, um, anyway, so this is in conversation.
334
00:17:14.829 --> 00:17:17.170
And there's a lot of people holding onto a Tani
335
00:17:17.210 --> 00:17:20.130
that maybe, I mean, he's, he's the number one guy
336
00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:26.650
going into the, into the season and good.
337
00:17:24.490 --> 00:17:26.730
People I think are thinking about what you could get
338
00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:27.079
for him.
339
00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:30.200
Like he's not at his peak right now, but could
340
00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:32.240
you get a huge hall that makes your team better
341
00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:33.319
is the question.
342
00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:37.099
So it's a good discussion and what I wanted to have.
343
00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:37.319
So.
344
00:17:38.750 --> 00:17:42.609
All right, Raj, uh, just a few, uh, roster notes here. Um,
345
00:17:42.990 --> 00:17:45.650
not too many injuries this week, which was, uh, nice
346
00:17:45.670 --> 00:17:47.829
to see. So at least Robert jr, who was just
347
00:17:47.869 --> 00:17:50.299
claimed by the Orioles goes down with.
348
00:17:50.230 --> 00:17:51.539
The left hamstring injury.
349
00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:54.319
And that might be it. I don't know how to,
350
00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:56.480
how severe that injury is, but there's not a lot
351
00:17:56.500 --> 00:18:00.440
of time left. So, uh, 10 day IL, uh, puts
352
00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:04.660
him to the 17th of September. Um, and there's 10
353
00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:07.960
days left after that. So, um, They took on a
354
00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:11.710
lot of salary to take him on and hit the
355
00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:16.950
one home run, but that was pretty much it. Sade
356
00:18:16.990 --> 00:18:20.950
and Rafaela, the Red Sox has a quadriceps strain.
357
00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.940
Trent Grisham, as Judge comes back, Grisham goes down.
358
00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:26.039
With a right hamstring strain.
359
00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:28.700
So that kind of makes it easy for the Yankees
360
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.000
to fit their pieces together. They would have had a
361
00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:33.319
little bit of a log jam had he been healthy.
362
00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:37.690
And once he comes back, they will. And then Dalton Rushing,
363
00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:41.029
right elbow discomfort. And then one pitcher, Shane McClanahan. This
364
00:18:41.109 --> 00:18:45.259
is kind of notable for the raise here. Left forearm tightness.
365
00:18:46.500 --> 00:18:48.359
I have not heard the severity of this. I didn't
366
00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:50.460
know if he was going for imaging or anything like that.
367
00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.940
Or if they're just going to be extra careful with
368
00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:55.390
him sitting as the number one seed. I don't know
369
00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:57.109
if you'd heard anything extra about McClanahan.
370
00:18:57.809 --> 00:19:00.369
Yeah, I haven't really heard much. It definitely sounds like
371
00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:04.009
something that could be. Seriously, it's something that could lead
372
00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:08.009
to TJ, but I think I'm not really sure what
373
00:19:08.210 --> 00:19:10.569
like he might just be set out until the playoffs
374
00:19:10.809 --> 00:19:12.490
I'm not sure what will happen with him.
375
00:19:14.809 --> 00:19:17.890
And then obviously some players coming back here Aaron Judge
376
00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:23.230
James Wood Connor Griffin so some superstar power on their
377
00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:24.710
way back to your lineups to help you in the
378
00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:28.160
stretch run here and then a few other role players
379
00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:32.119
on your dynasty teams Mason Wynn Tommy Troy Kyle Karros
380
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:36.940
Victor Robles Kyle Thiel and then I put Cabrian Hayes
381
00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:39.230
on here, but he's not going to help any defensive teams.
382
00:19:39.450 --> 00:19:40.970
So you have defensive stats.
383
00:19:42.329 --> 00:19:45.549
Corbin Burns pitched for the first time this season today
384
00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:48.890
and had three scoreless innings, I believe. um so good
385
00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:51.460
to see him back on the mound super helpful for
386
00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:54.539
the diamondbacks they need arms uh sounds like they're getting
387
00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:58.099
a few guys back ryan nelson um zach gallon also
388
00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:58.900
on his way back as.
389
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.440
Well i think maybe soroka as well.
390
00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.900
And soroka yeah they're getting almost their whole rotation back
391
00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:08.500
in this week which is phenomenal for them Amazing that
392
00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.079
they made it this far in.
393
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:11.259
The situation that they're in.
394
00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:16.369
And then Joe Ryan also back, Griffin Jacks and Nick
395
00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:18.930
Pavetta for the Padres. So the Padres getting some reinforcements
396
00:20:18.990 --> 00:20:19.269
as well.
397
00:20:19.289 --> 00:20:22.069
So that, you're right, that final wildcard spot for the
398
00:20:22.250 --> 00:20:24.210
NL is going to be a lot of fun to
399
00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:27.619
see who kind of picks that off. On rehab and
400
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.779
close to being back, Ryan O'Hearn, Josh Young on the
401
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:33.759
hitting side, and then Jack Flaherty, Justin Steele for the Cubs.
402
00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:35.000
His.
403
00:20:35.869 --> 00:20:38.410
he's had a rough recovery from his injuries this year.
404
00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:43.430
Ryan Nelson, as I mentioned, Clark Schmidt for the Yankees
405
00:20:43.470 --> 00:20:45.430
and then a couple of relievers, Edwin Diaz and Tanner
406
00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:53.839
Houck for the Red Sox. So just on, on McClanahan here,
407
00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:56.799
Kevin Cash said he's optimistic Shane McClanahan will pitch again
408
00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:01.079
this year. So that, that sounds good for the Rays
409
00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:03.549
and if they can get him some rest and get
410
00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:06.819
him ready for He'd be game one probably, I would think,
411
00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:07.859
for the Rays.
412
00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:09.160
I think probably Rasmussen.
413
00:21:09.859 --> 00:21:10.720
Oh, Rasmussen, yeah.
414
00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:14.049
So he'd be maybe game two or maybe game three
415
00:21:14.069 --> 00:21:15.529
if they want to give him some extra rest. But
416
00:21:16.390 --> 00:21:18.569
that'll be good for the Rays to have him.
417
00:21:19.710 --> 00:21:23.430
Some interesting promotions this week. Michael Arroyo of the Mariners.
418
00:21:23.930 --> 00:21:24.650
Too little too late.
419
00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:25.529
For them, unfortunately.
420
00:21:25.549 --> 00:21:30.069
They've really faded hard the last month or so. Carlos
421
00:21:30.089 --> 00:21:34.410
Jorge of the Reds and then On the pitching side,
422
00:21:34.470 --> 00:21:36.950
some debuts, Cooper Jerpy, who looked really, really good in
423
00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:40.309
his debut four innings, didn't give up any hits or runs.
424
00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:44.160
And then Austin Peterson and Miguel Mendez made debuts this
425
00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:48.279
week as well. And then a few guys recalled, Davison
426
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:53.460
De Los Santos, Jonah Tong, Brandon Sprote, Emmett Sheehan, Christian Curtis,
427
00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:59.230
and Daniel Espino. So some former top prospects getting recalled.
428
00:21:59.250 --> 00:22:02.369
A couple of DFAs, Alec Thomas, DFA'd by the Dodgers.
429
00:22:03.049 --> 00:22:05.430
And then Max Kepler was really never going to keep
430
00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:08.130
his roster spot just because he's suspended and can't play
431
00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:08.690
in the playoffs.
432
00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:10.750
So gets DFA'd.
433
00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:15.920
And the Astros claimed Jorge Barrosa from the Diamondbacks to
434
00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:19.220
play in the outfield for them. All right, Raj, moving
435
00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:21.700
on to the minor leagues. A couple of interesting things here.
436
00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:26.960
Thomas Pannone, former Blue Jay hurler, pitched a perfect.
437
00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:28.839
Game this week. The first.
438
00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:32.930
by a single pitcher since 2017 in the minor leagues.
439
00:22:33.630 --> 00:22:36.369
So pretty amazing feat there. You don't see that. You
440
00:22:36.390 --> 00:22:38.309
often see a lot of combined no hitters and things
441
00:22:38.349 --> 00:22:40.690
like that in the minor leagues, but for one pitcher
442
00:22:40.730 --> 00:22:44.690
to throw the whole game and a perfect game at that, pretty,
443
00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:49.269
pretty awesome for him. JR Ritchie struck out 15 over
444
00:22:49.309 --> 00:22:56.930
the weekend. Amazing feat. That's the highest total since 2013.
445
00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:56.950
In the minor leagues.
446
00:22:57.829 --> 00:22:59.809
And then we're starting to hear some names for the
447
00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:04.670
Arizona Fall League. Arjun Namala was named today of the Angels.
448
00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:08.319
It's been reported that Aiden Miller will probably go there
449
00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.880
as well. It hasn't been finalized, but we think he will.
450
00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.539
He's just getting back. I think he's played a couple
451
00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:18.599
games so far this year. And then this news came
452
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.329
across tonight. Leo Gervais is going to have labrum surgery,
453
00:23:22.349 --> 00:23:26.109
and he'll be sidelined approximately eight months later. So that
454
00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:28.990
is not good news for Leo DeVries. He was rumored
455
00:23:29.009 --> 00:23:32.269
to maybe even possibly play for the athletics this year.
456
00:23:33.269 --> 00:23:35.130
So we won't see him probably till the middle of
457
00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:40.269
next year, unfortunately. So that's a tough one there. Promotions
458
00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:42.930
in the minor leagues. So we're seeing the low minors
459
00:23:42.990 --> 00:23:47.250
kind of finishing up their seasons. Single A and high A.
460
00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:50.680
High A's got a few more games left. Double A's
461
00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:53.890
got this week. AAA has got one more week after that.
462
00:23:54.009 --> 00:23:57.049
So Caden Sorrell was shipped up to high A for
463
00:23:57.069 --> 00:24:00.710
the last weekend. And up to AA, Aiden Miller, like
464
00:24:00.730 --> 00:24:06.420
we mentioned, Eli Willits, Welbin Francisca, Daniel Dickinson, Eric Batanti,
465
00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.960
Jason Schiavone, Andrew Hueso, and Nate Dome. And then up
466
00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:14.319
to AAA, Gage Stanifer of the Blue Jays and Gary
467
00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:18.700
Gil Hill. Stanifer, I, I, kind of thought that he
468
00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:20.440
might be a good bullpen piece for the Blue Jays
469
00:24:20.509 --> 00:24:23.549
if he performs well the next week or so in Buffalo.
470
00:24:23.569 --> 00:24:25.750
I think his stuff would.
471
00:24:25.670 --> 00:24:27.950
Play up really, really well in a shortened role.
472
00:24:27.970 --> 00:24:30.549
I mean, he's only been going three, four innings at
473
00:24:30.569 --> 00:24:33.849
a time at this point, but I feel like he'd
474
00:24:33.869 --> 00:24:37.339
be a good asset. He throws really hard with good secondaries.
475
00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:41.420
Yeah, I've actually been using him out of a bullpen recently.
476
00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:44.640
So I was just looking at the game. Lately, it's
477
00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:49.359
been like one inning, two innings first at since moved
478
00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:55.089
to bullpen, 16 innings, 27 strikeouts, 15 walks. So it's like,
479
00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:58.049
walk rate's still an issue, but still.
480
00:24:57.890 --> 00:24:59.710
338 here, I guess. Yeah.
481
00:25:00.769 --> 00:25:02.309
Really good stuff. High electric.
482
00:25:02.329 --> 00:25:04.829
So we've seen teams bring up guys like that before.
483
00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:06.619
I feel like Gage Wood might be a guy that
484
00:25:06.630 --> 00:25:08.900
the Phillies might consider doing that with as well.
485
00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:14.779
The Phillies, I think they, maybe not just because, like, yeah,
486
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.039
in this case, you also have to think about next year, like,
487
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:20.289
If you add him to the 40-man, you lose that
488
00:25:20.309 --> 00:25:23.130
development time the next year if there's an extended lockout.
489
00:25:23.170 --> 00:25:26.730
So I think because of that, Gage would probably not.
490
00:25:26.970 --> 00:25:31.150
But Gage Sanford, honestly, you don't really care as much
491
00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:33.730
about his development, to be honest. He's not as notable
492
00:25:33.829 --> 00:25:36.500
of a prospect. So I think you need to consider it.
493
00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:39.160
Yeah, good point there.
494
00:25:40.089 --> 00:25:43.190
All right, Raj, what's going on with Prospects Live? So
495
00:25:43.269 --> 00:25:46.430
we're going to spend this episode of the Dynasty podcast
496
00:25:46.450 --> 00:25:49.670
talking about the Dynasty closer hierarchy. You've updated that in
497
00:25:49.769 --> 00:25:51.730
full and you had an article that went out this
498
00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:55.710
past week to kind of touch on how it works
499
00:25:55.849 --> 00:25:59.609
and some key, some interesting teams that we'll talk about
500
00:25:59.650 --> 00:26:03.150
on this episode. I sent out a Dynasty survey to
501
00:26:03.210 --> 00:26:07.329
all of our subscribers. So make sure you check your
502
00:26:07.369 --> 00:26:11.000
inbox or to make sure you fill out that survey.
503
00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.039
We want all the feedback possible to provide the best
504
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:18.190
content for you guys. We feel like we leveled up
505
00:26:18.230 --> 00:26:20.829
this year, but we can get better. So give us
506
00:26:20.910 --> 00:26:23.029
all of your feedback, positive, negative.
507
00:26:23.150 --> 00:26:26.230
We want to hear it. Send that survey in and
508
00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:29.119
we will work on what you want us to do.
509
00:26:29.390 --> 00:26:30.180
We want to be.
510
00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:33.059
Making sure you guys are getting what you need.
511
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:36.509
So please give us that feedback for a second. I,
512
00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:39.140
have not filled out the survey, even though I am
513
00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:44.049
a public side subscriber technically. So I will be sure
514
00:26:44.069 --> 00:26:44.880
to fill that tonight.
515
00:26:45.569 --> 00:26:47.460
Okay. Thank you, Raj. I appreciate it.
516
00:26:49.589 --> 00:26:52.690
And then we, I've already started off season planning for
517
00:26:52.710 --> 00:26:54.930
what we're going to provide for content as well. So
518
00:26:56.329 --> 00:26:58.549
we got big plans this off season and a full
519
00:26:58.589 --> 00:27:00.109
team to be able to attack it.
520
00:27:00.849 --> 00:27:03.369
And I think hopefully you guys will be happy.
521
00:27:03.150 --> 00:27:05.730
With what we offer. So we go full year round
522
00:27:05.769 --> 00:27:08.130
here at prospects live. So, For you guys that are
523
00:27:08.150 --> 00:27:12.210
Dynasty diehards, we've got stuff for you. So we're excited
524
00:27:12.250 --> 00:27:17.089
about that. Some really big articles came out this week
525
00:27:17.170 --> 00:27:23.170
from the card side. Our 2026 Bowman Chrome preview with
526
00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:28.109
the TLDR version as well. Max Arterburn did a wonderful
527
00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:30.880
job with his team of writers to be able to
528
00:27:30.890 --> 00:27:34.059
provide this. They go so deep. If you collect baseball cards,
529
00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:37.700
this is a must-read article. Um, this is going to
530
00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:40.359
tell you exactly what you need to know about all
531
00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:42.119
the prospects in this product.
532
00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:45.400
So, um, please check that out. This is one of
533
00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:46.900
the best articles we put out all year.
534
00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:50.180
Uh, definitely one of the most read articles we put
535
00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.740
out all year is definitely a very popular article.
536
00:27:52.859 --> 00:27:55.700
So, all right.
537
00:27:56.519 --> 00:28:00.200
Uh, and then dynasty baseball pickups had their 156th episode
538
00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:01.059
over the weekend.
539
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:05.900
And that is about it around our parts. Okay. Raj, you, uh,
540
00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:10.480
You ready to do this after the break? Yeah. All right.
541
00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:13.309
We'll be back in just a minute here and we
542
00:28:13.349 --> 00:28:16.390
will talk about our dynasty closer hierarchy.
543
00:28:16.430 --> 00:28:17.029
We'll be right back.
544
00:28:22.609 --> 00:28:25.170
All right. We are back. I am Greg joined by Raj.
545
00:28:25.250 --> 00:28:28.670
We are talking our dynasty closer hierarchy tool on the
546
00:28:28.710 --> 00:28:33.950
prospects live.com website. So Raj, can you explain exactly what
547
00:28:34.009 --> 00:28:37.230
this is and what, value it holds for our subscribers.
548
00:28:38.529 --> 00:28:41.450
So this is basically a look at what a team's
549
00:28:41.529 --> 00:28:43.750
sort of like future outlook is in a bullpen. Like
550
00:28:44.670 --> 00:28:46.829
you can always like look at maybe like whatever like
551
00:28:46.849 --> 00:28:49.869
rosters and look at like what the current closer is.
552
00:28:49.970 --> 00:28:51.809
And in fact, like we have our own tool for that,
553
00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:54.970
like the POS Paying Time tool sort of has that
554
00:28:55.019 --> 00:29:00.779
hierarchy already, but sort of predicting like who's the next closer. Like,
555
00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:04.839
let's say like, for example, the Yankees, they have David Benard,
556
00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:07.940
as an impending creation, like who's going to replace him.
557
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:10.720
If they're probably going to size him up, let's say
558
00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:12.349
they don't, like who's going to be the guy? It's
559
00:29:13.029 --> 00:29:17.029
basically a tool to basically sort of predict that. And
560
00:29:17.069 --> 00:29:18.809
so I'm just going to share my.
561
00:29:21.269 --> 00:29:24.430
So I'm just going to zoom in on this. So
562
00:29:24.450 --> 00:29:26.609
basically this is like for the, how I can for
563
00:29:26.630 --> 00:29:29.410
the AL East team. So right now for the Yankees,
564
00:29:29.470 --> 00:29:32.579
it's Fernando Cousine, though, like at this point, he's probably
565
00:29:32.599 --> 00:29:37.220
going to miss, like he... He might get TJ soon,
566
00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:39.769
so it might not be him. And then Brett Hedrick,
567
00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:42.410
he's been pretty solid, but he's, like, also a bit
568
00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:45.230
of a, like, he's a lefty and pretty funky, and
569
00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:47.740
he's really only good against lefties, so he doesn't really have, like,
570
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.140
many good options, and also, like, if you hover, you
571
00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:54.920
can see, like, I've written, like, a bit of a
572
00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:58.900
small blur on each of these guys, but, yeah, Yankee's
573
00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:04.930
pretty meh bullpen outlook, whereas Boston, they have Willis Chapman
574
00:30:04.970 --> 00:30:08.009
and Garrett Whitlock as two elite guys, in my opinion.
575
00:30:08.029 --> 00:30:13.839
I basically have three tiers. Elite, which is like top-end relievers. Strong,
576
00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:16.819
which is just sort of like above average, I'd say.
577
00:30:16.859 --> 00:30:22.779
And then mid is more average relievers. You can see Yankees,
578
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:26.839
not that great. Boston, very good. Baltimore, we'll talk about
579
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:29.839
them in a bit, but it's a very interesting situation.
580
00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:33.779
And then the Rays pretty good. And then the Jays,
581
00:30:33.859 --> 00:30:36.799
it's sort of, okay. I was like, we're very good
582
00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:39.279
with foreign, but as I not agree. And then I
583
00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:42.900
had that for all 30 teams. And that's sort of like,
584
00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:46.230
just to give you a sense of like, who's going
585
00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:48.490
to be the future closer. And also like, let's say
586
00:30:49.089 --> 00:30:50.849
the current closer is still like, who's going to be
587
00:30:51.109 --> 00:30:53.910
the guy that could take your place in that role.
588
00:30:55.349 --> 00:30:55.529
Yeah.
589
00:30:55.849 --> 00:30:56.170
Awesome.
590
00:30:56.210 --> 00:30:58.980
So this is something you're going to be, well, we're
591
00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:01.740
heading into the off season now, but, As moves happen,
592
00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:04.640
you're going to be adjusting this and changing out the roles.
593
00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:10.779
As players are signed, as players are released, or roster
594
00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:15.480
moves happen, it'll be a changing of the guard, really.
595
00:31:15.509 --> 00:31:18.230
And that's really what bullpens are.
596
00:31:18.269 --> 00:31:22.450
For example, Hayden Harris was on my hierarchy for the Braves.
597
00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:26.029
It was one of the weaker bullpens because outside of
598
00:31:26.309 --> 00:31:28.230
Robert Suarez and Dylan Lee, they don't really have that
599
00:31:28.250 --> 00:31:30.089
many guys who are under control for a long time,
600
00:31:30.109 --> 00:31:32.460
so I put Hayden Harris on there, but then he
601
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:34.500
recently got DFA and got claimed by the Rockies. So
602
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:37.779
now I have to replace him with someone else. Yeah.
603
00:31:37.819 --> 00:31:40.480
So it's a, it's a constantly changing thing.
604
00:31:40.569 --> 00:31:44.869
And, and that's really what bullpens are because we know
605
00:31:44.890 --> 00:31:48.450
how volatile belief pitchers can be one season.
606
00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:49.809
They can be absolutely elite.
607
00:31:49.890 --> 00:31:51.970
And then the next, they can just fall off the
608
00:31:52.009 --> 00:31:56.029
wagon and be almost a useless pitcher on a roster.
609
00:31:57.349 --> 00:31:59.349
So what I wanted to do was just to give
610
00:31:59.369 --> 00:32:03.789
more information, explanation behind that is look at the, the
611
00:32:03.910 --> 00:32:07.779
saves leaders and holds leaders for this year at this point. Um,
612
00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:09.700
because I think it's interesting to see the names that
613
00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:11.779
kind of pop up and where we were at the
614
00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:15.740
start of the season, trying to get one or two elites, uh,
615
00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:18.880
closers for your roster. Now we know that a lot
616
00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:22.210
of leagues have saves and then saves plus holds as well.
617
00:32:22.309 --> 00:32:24.190
So I'm going to talk about the holds as well.
618
00:32:25.069 --> 00:32:27.950
So right now the saves leader and the major leagues.
619
00:32:27.809 --> 00:32:31.430
Is Brian Baker. of the Tampa Bay Rays. I don't
620
00:32:31.450 --> 00:32:33.329
think anybody had him as a top 10 reliever kind
621
00:32:33.349 --> 00:32:38.750
of heading into the season. So this tells you really
622
00:32:38.930 --> 00:32:43.319
right off the bat where bullpens are with relievers and
623
00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:46.599
fantasy and all that. Riley O'Brien is number two. I
624
00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:50.380
think people maybe thought he could be the closer in St. Louis,
625
00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:53.980
but he's got 36 saves. Maybe we didn't think he'd
626
00:32:54.000 --> 00:33:01.480
be that effective. Kate Smith, Mason Miller, Aroldis Chapman, are 3-4-5, 35-34,
627
00:33:01.500 --> 00:33:05.339
and 33 saves, respectively. They were all top closers heading
628
00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:08.279
into the season. Louis Varland kind of took over the
629
00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:10.960
role in Toronto and has been as good as any
630
00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:15.119
reliever out there all season long, 33 saves. And then
631
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:21.529
David Bednar, Raizel Iglesias, Joanne Duran, expected closers, top 10,
632
00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:23.079
top 15 guys.
633
00:33:22.819 --> 00:33:23.420
At the worst.
634
00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:26.920
And then Jacob Latz of the Texas Rangers is 10th.
635
00:33:28.250 --> 00:33:30.009
with 28 and I don't think anybody, he was a
636
00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:34.259
starting pitcher to head into the season. So, so Lats,
637
00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:39.640
Riley O'Brien and Brian Baker are names you would not
638
00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:42.140
have expected to be in, in this group.
639
00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:43.880
Louis Varland as well, I guess.
640
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:49.150
So that's four out of 10. Sorry. I just sort
641
00:33:49.170 --> 00:33:52.490
of expected Riley O'Brien as sort of like, he's, he
642
00:33:52.549 --> 00:33:54.450
was the guy who like entered you, who's probably going
643
00:33:54.490 --> 00:33:55.869
to be in a committee, but I felt like he
644
00:33:55.910 --> 00:33:58.210
was the guy that would, I think would have eventually
645
00:33:58.230 --> 00:34:00.839
like pitches right there. And even though like at year
646
00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:02.880
eight this year, not that great, like four or three,
647
00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:05.400
like the rest of these guys, some of them have
648
00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:07.079
areas in the one, some of them are like low
649
00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:10.320
mid twos, but rather by four or three, he hasn't
650
00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:12.889
been a great closer, but he's been getting to shop then.
651
00:34:13.929 --> 00:34:16.130
Yeah. And like, he was one of three guys that
652
00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:18.710
was vying for that position. So it's not like he
653
00:34:18.750 --> 00:34:20.750
was the lead guy going into the year. I'm just
654
00:34:20.789 --> 00:34:23.679
talking about, the value of these guys heading into the
655
00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:25.260
season during draft season or whatever.
656
00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:26.119
Yeah.
657
00:34:26.219 --> 00:34:27.820
Let's go to the holds here. Cause this is a
658
00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:31.969
little bit of a different story. So Tyler Rogers holds,
659
00:34:32.769 --> 00:34:36.170
holds the lead for holds in the majors at 31.
660
00:34:36.170 --> 00:34:39.010
Kevin Kelly of the Rays at 30 Dylan Lee of
661
00:34:39.050 --> 00:34:42.369
the Braves, 30 Hunter Gattis. That's a name you probably
662
00:34:42.389 --> 00:34:46.170
would have expected 28 for the guardians. Bizzardo with the Mariners,
663
00:34:46.170 --> 00:34:49.610
26 Brent Hedrick 26. Really not a name that was
664
00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:50.789
on my radar for.
665
00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:52.909
Holds coming into the season. 26.
666
00:34:52.909 --> 00:34:56.780
Ryan Stanek with the Cardinals. Been a good reliever a
667
00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:57.179
long time.
668
00:34:57.179 --> 00:34:57.239
25.
669
00:34:57.219 --> 00:34:59.659
Garrett Woodlock. You mentioned him.
670
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:00.820
He's an elite reliever.
671
00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:03.539
24 holds. Garrett Clevenger has been very good for the
672
00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:06.880
Rays the last couple seasons. Adrian Marjon is another name
673
00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:09.380
that's been very, very good. So that's the top 10
674
00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:15.219
in holds. So, I mean, you could throw 100 names
675
00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:19.449
in there and you'd be like, okay, he has 30 holds. Um,
676
00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:23.309
so talk to me about building a bullpen and dynasty
677
00:35:23.349 --> 00:35:24.889
and fantasy, because I.
678
00:35:26.510 --> 00:35:26.769
Don't know.
679
00:35:26.869 --> 00:35:30.510
I don't know if there's a concrete way to do it, honestly. Um,
680
00:35:30.550 --> 00:35:32.110
so like, what do you, what do you look for?
681
00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:35.269
What are you looking at? Uh, what's it, what's a,
682
00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:38.800
what's a good strategy in 2026 to build a bullpen.
683
00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:41.860
So I think it really depends on your lead. Like
684
00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:44.780
if it's saves only, then I'm targeting the guys who
685
00:35:44.840 --> 00:35:47.989
are probably going to get saves. So like a lot
686
00:35:48.010 --> 00:35:49.820
of those top guys you mentioned, like, even, even though
687
00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:51.889
it was like a few like random guys, like Brian
688
00:35:51.909 --> 00:35:54.190
Baker out of Brad, two guys on top, like K
689
00:35:54.250 --> 00:35:56.369
Smith was a very good closer last year. Mason are
690
00:35:56.389 --> 00:36:00.349
very good close last year. Chapman, uh, Iglesias, Bernard Duran,
691
00:36:00.650 --> 00:36:03.309
like a lot of the top closers are guys who
692
00:36:03.329 --> 00:36:06.250
like were good closers last year. So I think those
693
00:36:06.289 --> 00:36:09.070
top guys, you really want to like, if you can
694
00:36:09.130 --> 00:36:11.809
get a guy who, you know, is going to be, uh,
695
00:36:12.110 --> 00:36:17.230
getting saves and, uh, they're worth investing in, but Those, like,
696
00:36:17.329 --> 00:36:21.340
Frenchie guys, like, let's say Brian Baker or Brian, those
697
00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:24.079
guys are really valuable in those leagues, even though, in
698
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:28.059
my opinion, they're not really, like, on the same tier. So, honestly,
699
00:36:28.099 --> 00:36:30.820
those guys, I'm probably going to be selling them just
700
00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.300
because I know that in a season-only league, those guys
701
00:36:33.510 --> 00:36:35.289
are going to be, like, very valuable and I can get, like,
702
00:36:36.130 --> 00:36:37.110
very good assets in return.
703
00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:42.119
Um, yeah, I think you mentioned it right off the top.
704
00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:44.480
There is, is knowing your league format. I think that
705
00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:46.860
is the most important thing when you're going into this.
706
00:36:46.949 --> 00:36:49.050
So if it's a saves only league, you're not even,
707
00:36:50.050 --> 00:36:52.789
you're not looking as much at the guys that are
708
00:36:53.409 --> 00:36:56.550
positioned in the whole situation, unless they're elite ratio guys,
709
00:36:56.650 --> 00:36:59.670
elite strikeout guys, because those skills will get you into
710
00:36:59.690 --> 00:37:01.909
a closer position when the position becomes.
711
00:37:01.769 --> 00:37:05.130
Open, whether it's through a lack of performance or an injury.
712
00:37:05.150 --> 00:37:08.860
You also have to look at like, when guys like struggling,
713
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:11.639
like who's the guys who could like take over, like,
714
00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:14.920
for example, uh, entering the year, DeJay's had Jeff Hoffman
715
00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:18.900
as a main closer. And, uh, obviously like he's been inconsistent.
716
00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:20.800
I thought he was going to be good, but like,
717
00:37:21.699 --> 00:37:25.480
obviously like he ran into a ton of bad luck. So, but, uh,
718
00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:28.199
at that time, like Louis Varland, he was like, Perfil
719
00:37:28.219 --> 00:37:30.400
was like one of the best release in baseball. He
720
00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:35.000
still is. So, uh, like, uh, by the end of
721
00:37:35.019 --> 00:37:37.969
like April, I'm not sure like when, Hoffman, like, lost
722
00:37:37.989 --> 00:37:40.170
his job, like, maybe, like, late April or late May, like,
723
00:37:40.949 --> 00:37:44.340
you probably could have, like, maybe added Varland, depending on
724
00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:47.139
the league, but if you were able to add Varland as, like,
725
00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:49.599
just a speculative add, they got a very good closer
726
00:37:49.619 --> 00:37:52.219
out of that, just because, like, seeing that Hoffman was, like,
727
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:54.940
struggling and then seeing that this guy with very good
728
00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:59.650
stuff is sort of, like, vying, has been performing better from, like,
729
00:37:59.989 --> 00:38:02.130
a fit basis or whatever peripherals you want to use,
730
00:38:02.190 --> 00:38:05.610
and just looking at that, it can really help you, like,
731
00:38:05.630 --> 00:38:12.250
finding out what who can be the next closer. Also,
732
00:38:12.309 --> 00:38:14.269
watching the usage patterns as well.
733
00:38:14.929 --> 00:38:17.110
The way they used Vardland in the playoffs last year,
734
00:38:17.219 --> 00:38:19.480
he pitched basically every game with off days and things
735
00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:23.000
like that. In that fireman role, you put your best
736
00:38:23.059 --> 00:38:26.900
pitcher in those positions often. The way the Jays used him,
737
00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:30.639
they had signed Hoffman to be their closer. They paid
738
00:38:30.679 --> 00:38:35.380
him closer money. Obviously, he has not performed as well
739
00:38:35.429 --> 00:38:38.699
as Vardland has. And eventually it turned and then they
740
00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:41.980
traded Hoffman to the twins at the deadline and part
741
00:38:42.019 --> 00:38:47.699
of their buy slash sell deadline. But every team has
742
00:38:47.719 --> 00:38:50.539
that type of a situation where they're making sure their
743
00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:55.420
best guy is in that fireman role. Whenever those best 3-4-5,
744
00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:58.400
2-3-4-5 hitters are coming up in the lineup, that's when
745
00:38:58.420 --> 00:39:01.219
they're putting in that reliever in the late innings. And
746
00:39:02.010 --> 00:39:05.190
some teams use their closer for that situation when it
747
00:39:05.230 --> 00:39:08.199
really counts. some teams have a reliever there. They're kind
748
00:39:08.250 --> 00:39:11.670
of maybe good with runners on base and not, not
749
00:39:11.730 --> 00:39:13.110
phased by any of that situation.
750
00:39:13.190 --> 00:39:16.829
So usage patterns really, really important, especially early in the season.
751
00:39:16.849 --> 00:39:19.530
Like you mentioned, like closer jobs.
752
00:39:19.329 --> 00:39:21.230
Change early in the year often. Right.
753
00:39:21.369 --> 00:39:24.829
So those situations that are up in the air, like
754
00:39:24.849 --> 00:39:26.210
the Cardinals one at the start of the year, and
755
00:39:26.230 --> 00:39:29.320
there was a number of other ones um watching those
756
00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:32.539
situations and grabbing that guy and maybe even like at
757
00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:34.800
the end of your draft grabbing a handcuff guy like
758
00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:37.239
if you if you got hoffman in the in your
759
00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:41.329
draft grabbing varland as that secondary guy as maybe your
760
00:39:41.369 --> 00:39:44.610
last pick or whatever um i know you you had
761
00:39:44.789 --> 00:39:47.829
uh varland you have varland in our home league um
762
00:39:48.429 --> 00:39:49.820
Did you pick him up in the draft or was
763
00:39:49.860 --> 00:39:50.360
he in early season?
764
00:39:50.400 --> 00:39:53.239
No, I added him in free agency. I got probably
765
00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:55.079
a bit like a little bit too much. Cause I,
766
00:39:55.099 --> 00:39:57.920
when I added him was like right when Hoffman lost
767
00:39:57.940 --> 00:40:00.099
the role, but I probably could have added him. Like
768
00:40:00.500 --> 00:40:03.900
I bid like 11. I'm pretty sure like a week
769
00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:05.480
before I could just add him for one, honestly.
770
00:40:06.900 --> 00:40:07.139
Yeah.
771
00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:08.949
So being, being early on the trigger for those things,
772
00:40:08.969 --> 00:40:10.590
you're going to miss on a lot of those guys.
773
00:40:10.750 --> 00:40:12.650
Cause maybe they don't get the role or maybe they
774
00:40:13.030 --> 00:40:15.579
get hurt or whatever, but. if you can hit on
775
00:40:15.659 --> 00:40:17.500
one of them, like you did with Farland, you've been
776
00:40:17.639 --> 00:40:20.579
laughing all the way to the end of the season here. So,
777
00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:25.860
so that's a good thing. How would you use this tool, Raj?
778
00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:27.820
Like how would you apply this tool to what you
779
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:29.969
do in your dynasty analysis?
780
00:40:31.570 --> 00:40:36.369
So honestly, I'm just looking at like, just using as
781
00:40:36.409 --> 00:40:39.010
sort of like a tier list, sort of. It's like
782
00:40:39.050 --> 00:40:42.889
the top guys sort of, sorry, hold on. But yeah,
783
00:40:44.590 --> 00:40:47.659
For example, I'm just going to use a red side example.
784
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:51.079
Emilio Pagan, I have him as a mid-tier bullpen arm
785
00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:56.000
because I'm not really that confident in him. So basically,
786
00:40:56.179 --> 00:40:59.010
I look at the reds and Pagan, not that great
787
00:40:59.050 --> 00:41:01.369
of a closer. I look at the guys behind him,
788
00:41:01.429 --> 00:41:06.130
like Graham Ashcroft, I have as a strong leader, Luis May, strong,
789
00:41:06.730 --> 00:41:10.480
and Santillan is sort of a mid, even though he's
790
00:41:10.659 --> 00:41:14.739
been getting close because he's been good last year, so Basically,
791
00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:19.219
for the Reds, I'd probably be selling Pagan and maybe
792
00:41:19.300 --> 00:41:22.469
adding Ashcroft because I think, especially by next year, I
793
00:41:22.510 --> 00:41:25.250
think Pagan will probably lose that role and then Ashcroft
794
00:41:25.269 --> 00:41:28.829
can step in. If May can improve on his command,
795
00:41:28.849 --> 00:41:31.489
I think at least May can really take that role
796
00:41:31.530 --> 00:41:31.769
as well.
797
00:41:32.650 --> 00:41:34.780
That brings up another interesting thought, too. You talked about
798
00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:37.860
the Yankees early in the conversation. That's a team that's
799
00:41:37.880 --> 00:41:40.199
more likely to buy a closer in the offseason through
800
00:41:40.219 --> 00:41:43.400
free agency versus the Reds, who probably won't. They're going
801
00:41:43.420 --> 00:41:46.079
to fill internally with, they have a lot of guys
802
00:41:46.119 --> 00:41:47.400
that could fill that role internally.
803
00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:49.940
And also the thing is like, they could sign a closer,
804
00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:51.260
but they're not going to sign like a top guy.
805
00:41:51.340 --> 00:41:54.059
Like for example, the White Sox entering the year, they
806
00:41:54.099 --> 00:41:56.849
signed Sanford Dominguez to be the closer. And right now
807
00:41:56.889 --> 00:41:57.889
he's not on the team anymore.
808
00:41:58.610 --> 00:41:59.409
Yeah, exactly.
809
00:41:59.510 --> 00:42:01.349
So knowing which teams are going to make moves like
810
00:42:01.550 --> 00:42:04.510
that helps you make your decisions to kind of look
811
00:42:04.550 --> 00:42:08.260
for the future with your relievers as well. What about,
812
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:11.119
you might mention this in some of your team discussions,
813
00:42:11.139 --> 00:42:12.699
but what about, like, minor league relievers?
814
00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:15.440
Do you ever roster them in deep minor leagues?
815
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:22.510
Honestly, not really, but it's something that I always have, like,
816
00:42:22.530 --> 00:42:26.369
you have to consider just because when, like, both of
817
00:42:26.389 --> 00:42:28.570
us are so fluid that a guy who starts in
818
00:42:28.590 --> 00:42:30.590
the minors can really, like, skyrocket up and just, like,
819
00:42:30.630 --> 00:42:33.130
become a leverage guy by the end of the year. Like,
820
00:42:34.090 --> 00:42:38.670
for example, like, I guess the Rangers, like, they have, uh,
821
00:42:39.039 --> 00:42:40.739
I have Peyton Gray on there, like he's hurt right now,
822
00:42:40.760 --> 00:42:44.110
but he's like someone who's, uh, like, uh, always had
823
00:42:44.130 --> 00:42:45.389
a goal and they have like a few other guys,
824
00:42:45.409 --> 00:42:48.849
like Carter Ballmer. I think Ballmer was a rule five pick,
825
00:42:49.789 --> 00:42:52.750
but I'm not sure if they, I can't remember if
826
00:42:52.789 --> 00:42:57.489
the Rangers picked him up or he was returned to Rangers. Right.
827
00:42:57.510 --> 00:43:00.590
So he was, uh, he initially was on the Orioles,
828
00:43:00.969 --> 00:43:04.039
taken by the Pirates in rule five, got immediately traded
829
00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:06.820
to the Rangers. And then the Rangers were able to
830
00:43:06.840 --> 00:43:09.340
hold on to him and now he's like, a pretty good, uh,
831
00:43:09.650 --> 00:43:12.630
it got one of pretty good stuff. And then, uh,
832
00:43:12.710 --> 00:43:16.389
not just, sorry, let me just scroll this because I
833
00:43:16.389 --> 00:43:18.449
have like a lot of names on my list outside
834
00:43:18.469 --> 00:43:21.449
of the top four on each game. So Peyton Gray
835
00:43:21.489 --> 00:43:25.469
was a guy who really skyrocketed up bomber, uh, Ben Peoples,
836
00:43:25.489 --> 00:43:28.469
who I think the range is quite from the White Sox. Uh,
837
00:43:28.489 --> 00:43:31.519
Gavin Collier also too, like he's never very good arm
838
00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:36.340
in that bullpen. So yeah, just like, uh, it's very fluid.
839
00:43:36.360 --> 00:43:38.750
It's like a guy. can just like pop up on
840
00:43:38.769 --> 00:43:40.170
another and be very.
841
00:43:40.050 --> 00:43:42.949
Good yeah and there's so many arms in the minors
842
00:43:42.989 --> 00:43:46.429
that are throwing triple digits at this point that one
843
00:43:46.469 --> 00:43:49.030
of those guys could just pop and stick and uh
844
00:43:49.210 --> 00:43:51.730
it happens quickly like you mentioned all right let's kind
845
00:43:51.769 --> 00:43:53.929
of go through some teams here some interesting teams that
846
00:43:53.949 --> 00:43:56.230
you thought would be worth going through here so we'll
847
00:43:56.250 --> 00:43:58.750
start let's start in the nl we always start in
848
00:43:58.769 --> 00:44:00.630
the al start in the nl we're going to go
849
00:44:00.670 --> 00:44:03.530
with the nl east the washington nationals why is this
850
00:44:03.550 --> 00:44:04.590
an interesting bullpen to.
851
00:44:04.550 --> 00:44:09.300
You because the nationals like Entering the year, well, at
852
00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:11.079
the start of the year, they had, like, easily the
853
00:44:11.119 --> 00:44:15.760
worst bullpen in baseball. Like, when I wrote it up,
854
00:44:17.000 --> 00:44:19.360
they had, just, like, a little over a week ago,
855
00:44:19.380 --> 00:44:23.769
they had 35 bulls on the year. The all-time record
856
00:44:23.809 --> 00:44:25.610
for a bull in the series is 37. Right now,
857
00:44:25.630 --> 00:44:27.570
the Nationals have 37, so they've already blown two more
858
00:44:27.590 --> 00:44:31.710
series since then. So, yeah, it's a very bad bullpen. So,
859
00:44:31.750 --> 00:44:34.050
you say, like, oh, why didn't the Nationals address it
860
00:44:34.070 --> 00:44:35.730
at the deadline? Like, why did they stop? Well, they
861
00:44:35.750 --> 00:44:38.119
actually did. a dress step open because a lot of
862
00:44:38.159 --> 00:44:41.300
guys that they acquired at the deadline were guys that
863
00:44:41.320 --> 00:44:45.969
they were like a lot of the leaders. So like, wow.
864
00:44:46.269 --> 00:44:48.710
For my Luis Garcia Jr. trade to the Yankees, they
865
00:44:48.730 --> 00:44:51.949
got Yvonne Cruz. I really like, I think he's their
866
00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:55.050
future closer. Uh, he, he has very good stuff like
867
00:44:55.329 --> 00:44:59.010
triple digit fastball. Uh, he used to have like pretty
868
00:44:59.070 --> 00:45:02.780
bad walk race, but since he was signed by a nationalism,
869
00:45:02.980 --> 00:45:06.469
my creation, he's actually like sort of float. Solved that
870
00:45:06.510 --> 00:45:08.929
walk rate problem a bit since he got traded to
871
00:45:08.949 --> 00:45:15.010
Nashua was not that great, but yeah, still, still like
872
00:45:15.050 --> 00:45:17.690
has a very, very good stuff like fastball, a couple
873
00:45:17.710 --> 00:45:19.469
of days, 90 mile per hour slider, 90 mile per
874
00:45:19.510 --> 00:45:23.309
hour splitter. Like I, if you can bring back to command,
875
00:45:23.329 --> 00:45:26.130
I think he's a easily a closer for them. And
876
00:45:26.150 --> 00:45:29.750
then Ben Grable, another very good arm in that system.
877
00:45:30.110 --> 00:45:32.159
Jake Bird, he's like a big league guy, but he's
878
00:45:32.179 --> 00:45:37.159
sort of been up and down. Like he's solid. And
879
00:45:37.179 --> 00:45:40.780
that's just one trade. From the Cleveland, they got Will Dion,
880
00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:45.239
who's sort of a lefty, over-the-top guy. Pretty good stuff,
881
00:45:45.260 --> 00:45:47.590
but also very good commanding. He's sort of a multi-inning
882
00:45:47.610 --> 00:45:50.989
guy as well, which is pretty valuable, just because the
883
00:45:51.030 --> 00:45:53.170
Nationals' starting location isn't that great either, so a guy
884
00:45:53.190 --> 00:45:56.949
can bridge the gap between a guy who gives you
885
00:45:56.969 --> 00:46:00.210
four or five innings to the Knife is very valuable.
886
00:46:01.090 --> 00:46:04.650
And then, for guys who is a lower-level guy, who
887
00:46:05.519 --> 00:46:08.679
He's at AA right now, but he's a very good fastball.
888
00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:13.369
Upper 90s, topside 101. Very similar to Giovanni Cruz, honestly.
889
00:46:13.389 --> 00:46:17.909
He was like fastball, side of splitter. But yeah, very
890
00:46:17.949 --> 00:46:22.349
good arm and then also another minor deal that they made.
891
00:46:23.190 --> 00:46:26.800
They traded away Christian Franklin, who's a prospect that I
892
00:46:27.059 --> 00:46:30.860
kind of liked. Very good power and speed combo, but
893
00:46:31.239 --> 00:46:34.690
couldn't really get that power that much. But they traded
894
00:46:34.710 --> 00:46:37.929
him for Joe Glassie, who's arguably been one of the
895
00:46:37.989 --> 00:46:40.869
best relievers, like, in the minor leagues over the past
896
00:46:40.889 --> 00:46:45.170
couple years. Last year, he had a 2 ERA and
897
00:46:45.449 --> 00:46:49.090
a 2-7-1-5. And this year, he, like, when he rolled
898
00:46:49.110 --> 00:46:51.070
him up, it was a 2-6-4 ERA, but a 1-3-6-5
899
00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:55.800
and 30 innings for the Orioles. And then he lowered
900
00:46:55.820 --> 00:46:59.119
that ERA to sub-2 since joining the Nationals. So they
901
00:46:59.139 --> 00:47:01.539
have a lot of names in there. Even guys who
902
00:47:01.579 --> 00:47:08.789
I didn't write up, like, Eric Coleman and Jacques Sinclair,
903
00:47:08.829 --> 00:47:11.230
they've recently been called up by Nationals and they both
904
00:47:11.250 --> 00:47:14.250
look really good as well. They had command issues. A
905
00:47:14.269 --> 00:47:17.670
lot of these guys have had command issues lately since
906
00:47:17.690 --> 00:47:21.289
joining the Nationals or just in general. Very good stuff.
907
00:47:21.949 --> 00:47:25.230
The thing with the Nationals bullpen is that they have
908
00:47:25.329 --> 00:47:28.519
so many names that it's very hard not to have
909
00:47:28.619 --> 00:47:31.400
five or six guys do well next year. Let's say
910
00:47:31.440 --> 00:47:35.230
you've even let's say the guys you picked to start
911
00:47:35.250 --> 00:47:38.389
in that bullpen to start the 2077 season, like let's
912
00:47:38.409 --> 00:47:40.610
say all of them fail. You can just like option
913
00:47:40.630 --> 00:47:42.829
all of them, like bring up a fresh side of
914
00:47:42.849 --> 00:47:44.679
eight guys and see if they work and then just
915
00:47:45.570 --> 00:47:48.010
ride the hot hand. Yeah.
916
00:47:48.090 --> 00:47:50.920
I mean, on a team that's the rebuilding right now, obviously.
917
00:47:51.019 --> 00:47:53.460
So on a team like that, that is absolutely the
918
00:47:53.500 --> 00:47:56.139
perfect way to kind of build a bullpen is to
919
00:47:56.179 --> 00:47:58.539
have all these cheap guys with options and to be
920
00:47:58.579 --> 00:48:01.179
able to ride the hot hand, like you said. Um,
921
00:48:01.809 --> 00:48:04.070
when you were talking earlier and made me think about like,
922
00:48:04.429 --> 00:48:06.409
obviously velocity is the name of the game. You want
923
00:48:06.449 --> 00:48:08.730
guys that can throw hard and generate swing and miss.
924
00:48:09.289 --> 00:48:11.719
But what we've seen some forward thinking teams do as
925
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:17.199
well is look at arm angles and offer, give the
926
00:48:17.219 --> 00:48:19.300
hitters different looks every time they come.
927
00:48:19.219 --> 00:48:19.639
Up to bat.
928
00:48:19.699 --> 00:48:19.920
Right.
929
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:22.119
So the Jays have done that really, really well the
930
00:48:22.139 --> 00:48:25.800
last couple of seasons. But it seems like the nationals
931
00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:27.389
are kind of doing the same thing with some of
932
00:48:27.429 --> 00:48:30.449
the types of pitchers that they're bringing in lefty righty.
933
00:48:31.130 --> 00:48:35.530
over the top three quarter sidearm. Um, so I think
934
00:48:35.550 --> 00:48:37.449
a lot of teams are looking to do that to
935
00:48:37.469 --> 00:48:41.739
really diversify the looks they're giving, um, teams and, and, uh,
936
00:48:41.920 --> 00:48:44.059
it's an interesting strategy, but I think one that's been
937
00:48:44.099 --> 00:48:47.920
working for sure. Like, um, we know like one, two,
938
00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:50.880
three times through the lineup, starting pitchers struggle because they're
939
00:48:50.900 --> 00:48:53.340
giving the same looks and the pitters have seen their
940
00:48:53.360 --> 00:48:56.380
pitches three times through now. Um, but then when you
941
00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:59.510
get to the bullpen, I mean, You can only see
942
00:49:00.010 --> 00:49:01.889
a 100 mile an hour fastball too many times before
943
00:49:01.929 --> 00:49:03.230
you hit one out, right?
944
00:49:03.329 --> 00:49:05.730
So you need to be able.
945
00:49:05.610 --> 00:49:07.739
To have a Tyler Rogers in your bullpen that gives
946
00:49:07.780 --> 00:49:12.480
you a crazy funky look. So I think the Nationals
947
00:49:12.579 --> 00:49:15.809
are kind of looking in that direction and doing that.
948
00:49:16.170 --> 00:49:20.110
So, awesome. Yeah, like Will Dion was very overconfident. the
949
00:49:20.139 --> 00:49:21.820
top lefty like even though he only sits 91 like
950
00:49:21.840 --> 00:49:24.159
he's he's very good at command like gets a ton
951
00:49:24.219 --> 00:49:26.699
of chase turn a ton of whiff despite like saying
952
00:49:26.719 --> 00:49:29.300
i don't want to fastball because like there's just a
953
00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:32.360
really unique look and then you have yvonne crews and
954
00:49:32.420 --> 00:49:35.079
very guys who are like those low side righties and
955
00:49:35.099 --> 00:49:39.230
then with uh very good stuff and then uh Jake Burris,
956
00:49:39.250 --> 00:49:42.230
so like a sinker-slider guy. And then just like, and
957
00:49:42.969 --> 00:49:45.710
also like Tolman, he's high slot lefty, but not the
958
00:49:45.750 --> 00:49:47.550
same slot as Dion. Like it's a little bit more
959
00:49:47.570 --> 00:49:50.070
like high three-cores rather than full over top. And he's
960
00:49:50.090 --> 00:49:54.760
like a very fast ball and then very steep drop
961
00:49:54.900 --> 00:49:56.400
on his changeup. Yeah.
962
00:49:56.420 --> 00:50:00.019
All right, let's move on to Vandal Central. Pittsburgh Pirates
963
00:50:00.139 --> 00:50:01.659
were the team you called out here.
964
00:50:01.920 --> 00:50:08.230
Why? So the Pirates is a little bit interesting because So,
965
00:50:08.269 --> 00:50:11.110
first of all, like, Mason Montgomery, he's sort of emerged
966
00:50:11.150 --> 00:50:13.150
as an elite closer to my eyes. Like, easily a
967
00:50:13.190 --> 00:50:21.619
top two closer to Nate Mason in baseball. But outside of... Yeah. Like,
968
00:50:21.659 --> 00:50:26.000
Mason Montgomery, like, he's another, like, over-the-top guy, but he
969
00:50:26.039 --> 00:50:28.559
can actually, like, touch 100. And then you have, like,
970
00:50:28.599 --> 00:50:30.920
a very hard slider, a very hard curveball that's, like,
971
00:50:31.559 --> 00:50:35.809
not as much off, but, like, very hard. Like, I believe, like, it's, like, mid-80s.
972
00:50:36.230 --> 00:50:39.159
I'll have to double-check, but outside of Mason Montgomery, it's
973
00:50:39.179 --> 00:50:43.099
just that there isn't really that much. Like Luke Weaver,
974
00:50:43.139 --> 00:50:45.860
he's been, he's been pretty good before, but not sure
975
00:50:45.920 --> 00:50:48.059
if you read the reports, but like he's been infected
976
00:50:48.079 --> 00:50:50.760
by like poison Ivy or something, which is like a
977
00:50:50.760 --> 00:50:55.219
very weird. I didn't hear that. No. No. Yeah. So
978
00:50:55.239 --> 00:50:57.639
basically he's been struggling with the parents and he said
979
00:50:57.659 --> 00:51:00.219
that it's basically because he's been dealing with like poison
980
00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:05.119
Ivy for some reason. And I guess that's really worse
981
00:51:05.139 --> 00:51:10.710
for you. But yeah. Uh, weaver he's like you're hoping
982
00:51:10.730 --> 00:51:12.329
in bounce back but maybe that's like more of a
983
00:51:12.329 --> 00:51:15.590
next year thing and then yeah next in line i
984
00:51:15.659 --> 00:51:18.820
wrote in johan ramirez who's sort of a multi-inning guy
985
00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:21.739
uh pretty good stuff like not command is in grace
986
00:51:21.760 --> 00:51:26.079
which is sort of not you usual for like a
987
00:51:26.659 --> 00:51:29.679
multi-inning guy but i think he should be like a
988
00:51:29.699 --> 00:51:32.340
single inning reliever but they've been using him as like
989
00:51:32.380 --> 00:51:36.840
multi-inning relievers and then evan sisk he's solid but he's
990
00:51:36.880 --> 00:51:39.380
more of like one of those lefties who is really
991
00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:42.039
only great at getting lefties out, and then against righties,
992
00:51:42.239 --> 00:51:46.210
they struggle a bit. So then, and then the guys, like,
993
00:51:47.090 --> 00:51:48.710
in the minus, who I think, like, could really help
994
00:51:48.769 --> 00:51:52.130
out that bullpen, like, I wrote, Anton Kelly and Wilbur Dottel.
995
00:51:52.489 --> 00:51:54.570
There are also guys who are, for now, they're being
996
00:51:54.630 --> 00:51:57.190
used as starters, like, or at least, like, multi-inning leaders,
997
00:51:57.210 --> 00:52:01.460
which is sort of interesting. Like, they, the price to, like,
998
00:52:01.500 --> 00:52:04.400
a lot of those multi-inning guys, which I think is
999
00:52:05.159 --> 00:52:06.920
a trend, another trend that we're starting to see with
1000
00:52:07.280 --> 00:52:10.460
bullpen sites, because starters are getting less and less innings,
1001
00:52:10.820 --> 00:52:12.579
but you still have the same number of open hours.
1002
00:52:12.619 --> 00:52:15.239
You need guys who can, like, give you two innings
1003
00:52:15.280 --> 00:52:17.239
instead of one just to, like, save an.
1004
00:52:19.030 --> 00:52:19.219
Arm.
1005
00:52:20.010 --> 00:52:22.909
What you're kind of looking at who might kind of
1006
00:52:22.929 --> 00:52:25.489
pop into one of these roles, we rank.
1007
00:52:25.369 --> 00:52:28.389
Four for each team, but what are you looking for?
1008
00:52:28.429 --> 00:52:31.289
Like, what stats do you like to look at for relievers?
1009
00:52:31.909 --> 00:52:33.130
What kind of catches your eye?
1010
00:52:34.630 --> 00:52:37.789
For me, it's a combination of stuff and results. Like,
1011
00:52:39.139 --> 00:52:41.429
I think if you want to be a high leverage guy,
1012
00:52:41.829 --> 00:52:43.250
a team is one I'm going to trust if you
1013
00:52:43.289 --> 00:52:47.670
have very good stuff. For example, Evan Sisk, let me
1014
00:52:47.690 --> 00:52:53.849
just pull up real quick. Also, Sisk is a lefty too,
1015
00:52:53.949 --> 00:52:58.039
so that's another thing too. Lefties usually don't get saves.
1016
00:52:58.139 --> 00:53:00.079
Mason Gumby is a lefty, so he's a big exception,
1017
00:53:00.099 --> 00:53:03.519
but that's because he has very good stuff. Whereas Evan Sisk,
1018
00:53:03.940 --> 00:53:06.659
he's just 91 with fastball. He's getting good results, but
1019
00:53:06.699 --> 00:53:09.619
he's not going to be I don't think he's ever
1020
00:53:09.659 --> 00:53:11.420
going to be closing games for the Pirates or any
1021
00:53:11.480 --> 00:53:14.960
other team. Whereas someone like Johan Ramirez, he's like 96
1022
00:53:14.960 --> 00:53:19.360
on the fastball. He's maybe like, it's similar to your
1023
00:53:19.389 --> 00:53:23.010
system in terms of the results and performance, but I
1024
00:53:23.030 --> 00:53:25.610
think he's more likely to get saved just because of
1025
00:53:25.650 --> 00:53:29.869
the stuff. Yeah, I'm looking at stuff and also results,
1026
00:53:30.210 --> 00:53:36.170
both on-field results at ERA, I guess, but also peripherals
1027
00:53:36.190 --> 00:53:39.949
like FIP, strikeout rate, walk rate, I ideally, I want,
1028
00:53:40.070 --> 00:53:42.269
I like guys who like don't walk a lot, but
1029
00:53:42.329 --> 00:53:44.530
you're not going to see many of those guys in
1030
00:53:44.550 --> 00:53:47.010
the bullpen. So. Yeah.
1031
00:53:47.030 --> 00:53:50.230
It's like a lot of bullpen guys are failed starters
1032
00:53:50.449 --> 00:53:52.409
or starters that couldn't stay healthy even.
1033
00:53:53.530 --> 00:53:53.750
Right.
1034
00:53:53.849 --> 00:53:58.090
So often many of them have trouble keeping in command,
1035
00:53:58.130 --> 00:54:00.710
but in a short spurt it works because the stuff
1036
00:54:00.769 --> 00:54:01.369
is so loud.
1037
00:54:01.429 --> 00:54:01.650
Right.
1038
00:54:01.730 --> 00:54:04.170
So it's a little bit of a trade-off. You're going
1039
00:54:04.190 --> 00:54:05.369
to have some guys that.
1040
00:54:06.150 --> 00:54:07.650
Strike out a ton of guys but they also walk
1041
00:54:07.690 --> 00:54:09.150
a ton of guys too so that's something you have
1042
00:54:09.170 --> 00:54:11.010
to keep in mind but they those guys also don't
1043
00:54:11.030 --> 00:54:12.989
give up a lot of hits because i mean they're
1044
00:54:13.010 --> 00:54:14.380
not a lot of balls are being put in play
1045
00:54:14.480 --> 00:54:15.980
it's either a walk a strike out or um.
1046
00:54:17.500 --> 00:54:19.739
That's pretty much it for a lot of these guys so.
1047
00:54:20.659 --> 00:54:23.360
All right let's go with the nl west now colorado
1048
00:54:23.440 --> 00:54:27.630
rockies can a bullpen work in colorado should we be
1049
00:54:27.670 --> 00:54:29.949
targeting rockies relievers.
1050
00:54:29.489 --> 00:54:35.530
Raj honestly it depends like I started off this write-up
1051
00:54:35.550 --> 00:54:38.230
by basically talking about what really works in Coors. And
1052
00:54:38.969 --> 00:54:41.510
the gist is that, generally, if you're a good pitcher
1053
00:54:41.630 --> 00:54:45.230
outside of Coors, you're going to be worse. But the
1054
00:54:45.269 --> 00:54:46.969
best pitchers outside of Coors are still going to be
1055
00:54:47.239 --> 00:54:50.840
good in Coors, I feel like. But one thing that
1056
00:54:50.900 --> 00:54:53.559
really works better in Coors are the guys who are
1057
00:54:54.840 --> 00:54:59.440
very good stuff, but very bad command. Just because their
1058
00:54:59.460 --> 00:55:03.929
issues stink. maybe it's too wild. They can't really find
1059
00:55:03.949 --> 00:55:07.030
a zone, but in Coors, the ball moves... I think
1060
00:55:07.050 --> 00:55:10.239
it's because the ball moves less, your pitches move less,
1061
00:55:10.280 --> 00:55:12.239
and because they're closer to the zone, which is a
1062
00:55:12.260 --> 00:55:18.460
bit weird to say, but if you... For example, Seth
1063
00:55:18.480 --> 00:55:21.519
Hollinson and Victor Varnick, they're guys who used to be
1064
00:55:21.579 --> 00:55:25.699
on the Rockies, very good stuff. They both could touch
1065
00:55:25.719 --> 00:55:28.619
triple digits, but didn't know where it was going. And
1066
00:55:28.639 --> 00:55:33.860
then Varnik at home with the Rockies, he had a
1067
00:55:33.860 --> 00:55:36.019
417 ERA and a 393 FIP at home, and on
1068
00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:37.980
the road, 446 ERA and a 4 FIP on the road.
1069
00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:41.320
And then Harrison, I mentioned this before on the podcast,
1070
00:55:41.360 --> 00:55:45.889
but it was really extreme. 340 ERA and a 321
1071
00:55:45.889 --> 00:55:48.630
FIP at Coors, and a 546 ERA and a 753
1072
00:55:48.630 --> 00:55:51.449
FIP on the road, which was kind of wild for
1073
00:55:51.469 --> 00:55:54.269
a Rockies pitcher. But because he has very good stuff,
1074
00:55:54.349 --> 00:55:59.159
just can't really find his own. Like, If I look
1075
00:55:59.219 --> 00:56:05.880
up his, sorry, one second. His walk rate between home
1076
00:56:05.900 --> 00:56:09.780
and away is pretty drastic. Let me just pull it
1077
00:56:09.800 --> 00:56:16.260
up real quick. So at home, he has a walk
1078
00:56:16.300 --> 00:56:23.139
rate of 10.9% on the road, 12.9%. So he's actually like,
1079
00:56:23.800 --> 00:56:25.559
he walks more guys on the road. And I think
1080
00:56:25.579 --> 00:56:28.239
that's because the course of sort of helping him stay
1081
00:56:28.260 --> 00:56:33.010
around the zone. And I also wrote up, if you
1082
00:56:33.050 --> 00:56:35.309
can't have a guy with great stuff, just get a
1083
00:56:35.329 --> 00:56:38.929
guy who gets weak contact on the ground. Because if
1084
00:56:38.949 --> 00:56:44.349
they get weak contact, but it's in the air, the
1085
00:56:44.449 --> 00:56:47.030
atmosphere is going to make that ball travel forever. But
1086
00:56:47.050 --> 00:56:48.510
if it's on the ground, it's just going to stay
1087
00:56:48.550 --> 00:56:51.949
on the ground. It doesn't really change that much. So
1088
00:56:52.070 --> 00:56:55.769
Jake Bird is the guy who fits the second archetype
1089
00:56:55.849 --> 00:57:02.070
that I talked about. So at home he had a
1090
00:57:02.070 --> 00:57:07.329
378 FIP at Coors and a 459 FIP away from
1091
00:57:07.349 --> 00:57:10.809
Coors in his career. And in 2025, which was one
1092
00:57:10.829 --> 00:57:12.829
of his best seasons of his career, he had a
1093
00:57:12.829 --> 00:57:16.730
248 ERA and a 210 FIP at home and then
1094
00:57:16.909 --> 00:57:19.449
underwrote a 740 ERA and a 515 FIP. So another
1095
00:57:19.469 --> 00:57:22.059
guy who's like very good at home at Coors and
1096
00:57:22.119 --> 00:57:23.800
very bad underwrote because he was like one of those
1097
00:57:23.820 --> 00:57:27.800
guys who's like sinker, sweeper, like and usually those kinds
1098
00:57:27.840 --> 00:57:32.099
of guys really keep the ball on the ground. So targeting,
1099
00:57:32.239 --> 00:57:34.670
if you target those two profiles, you can get guys
1100
00:57:34.710 --> 00:57:37.869
who are, who can actually like perform well in Coors.
1101
00:57:37.949 --> 00:57:40.929
So for example, Brandon Bernardino, he's a very similar to
1102
00:57:40.949 --> 00:57:43.909
Jake Bird, but he has a lefty like sinker and
1103
00:57:43.989 --> 00:57:47.260
curveball like low slot, like almost sidearm. I like that
1104
00:57:47.300 --> 00:57:50.000
curveball basically moves like a sweeper, but it's like same thing.
1105
00:57:50.059 --> 00:57:54.440
And he's also performed really well, like much better at
1106
00:57:54.500 --> 00:57:56.699
Coors than away from it. Like I believe it's, you're
1107
00:57:56.820 --> 00:58:00.840
like nearly a run lower at course for Bernardino. And
1108
00:58:00.860 --> 00:58:02.679
then Juan Mejia and Jane Hill are sort of like
1109
00:58:02.780 --> 00:58:06.139
the first archetype of like high stuff, but poor command.
1110
00:58:06.179 --> 00:58:10.590
But their command is sort of like a little bit
1111
00:58:11.449 --> 00:58:15.309
slightly too good because I think they throw the ball
1112
00:58:15.630 --> 00:58:17.590
inside the zone a lot. And because even though the
1113
00:58:17.610 --> 00:58:20.469
strikeout walk rates are better at home, they also give
1114
00:58:20.510 --> 00:58:22.610
a ton more home runs at home. And because their
1115
00:58:23.150 --> 00:58:26.900
numbers aren't that great. But Mejia and Hill are Like
1116
00:58:26.960 --> 00:58:29.159
if they can, I'll lose a bit of command, maybe
1117
00:58:29.420 --> 00:58:33.079
be a bit more wild. They can be better. Yeah.
1118
00:58:33.099 --> 00:58:34.820
I mean, I don't think a Rockies pitcher is ever
1119
00:58:34.860 --> 00:58:39.639
going to be your top closer rank ranked. Um, but
1120
00:58:39.739 --> 00:58:43.199
I think obviously it's an environment with it that, uh,
1121
00:58:43.260 --> 00:58:47.570
is hugely offensive, but I think something that's underrated with
1122
00:58:47.619 --> 00:58:49.849
Rockies pitchers is that you ha you have to pitch
1123
00:58:49.889 --> 00:58:52.070
two different ways when you're pitching on the home at
1124
00:58:52.110 --> 00:58:53.969
home and on the road. Like you have, you know,
1125
00:58:53.989 --> 00:58:56.309
your ball's going to move differently in the two different locations.
1126
00:58:57.179 --> 00:58:59.239
And that can really get in your head, like, cause
1127
00:58:59.260 --> 00:59:01.599
you're trained, you've trained your body to throw a certain
1128
00:59:01.659 --> 00:59:05.539
way to throw a pitch, to get, to maximize your
1129
00:59:05.579 --> 00:59:08.400
ability and your talent and your spin rates and your
1130
00:59:08.420 --> 00:59:09.590
velocity and all that stuff.
1131
00:59:10.159 --> 00:59:12.360
And then you've got to change that. So to go
1132
00:59:12.420 --> 00:59:13.500
back and forth all.
1133
00:59:13.420 --> 00:59:16.889
Season long like that has got to play a huge
1134
00:59:16.949 --> 00:59:20.289
toll on you. We've seen it work. We've seen guys
1135
00:59:20.309 --> 00:59:23.730
have good seasons out of that bullpen. It's just a
1136
00:59:23.769 --> 00:59:26.829
lot harder. You have to have the right mindset. I
1137
00:59:27.250 --> 00:59:29.510
think it definitely is a mental thing. as well as
1138
00:59:29.570 --> 00:59:31.690
a physical thing, to be able to pitch at Coors.
1139
00:59:33.590 --> 00:59:35.230
Because you know you're going to have your blow-ups. You're
1140
00:59:35.250 --> 00:59:37.659
going to have games where the ball's dropping in, and
1141
00:59:39.179 --> 00:59:42.639
you're inducing weak contact, but it's falling in that massive
1142
00:59:42.719 --> 00:59:44.460
outfield because it's so huge there.
1143
00:59:44.480 --> 00:59:49.519
That's why getting ground balls is so important, because if
1144
00:59:49.579 --> 00:59:51.559
it's a ground ball, it doesn't really change between Coors
1145
00:59:51.619 --> 00:59:55.739
and not Coors. The outfield is different, but infield is
1146
00:59:55.760 --> 00:59:57.610
the same, which is Yeah.
1147
00:59:57.650 --> 00:59:59.469
And I think, I think that's something this new regime
1148
00:59:59.510 --> 01:00:02.050
is going to look for specifically when they're targeting pitchers
1149
01:00:02.070 --> 01:00:05.030
for their bullpen and starting pitchers as well as guys
1150
01:00:05.050 --> 01:00:07.400
that can get swing and miss and also get ground balls.
1151
01:00:07.420 --> 01:00:09.619
Like you want both of those things, right? You don't
1152
01:00:09.659 --> 01:00:11.099
want to be giving up a lot of balls in
1153
01:00:11.139 --> 01:00:13.820
the air, um, in cores because it's just bad news
1154
01:00:13.860 --> 01:00:14.400
all the way around.
1155
01:00:14.980 --> 01:00:17.179
And also I didn't bring this up because this is
1156
01:00:17.219 --> 01:00:20.559
just a guy like on the Rockies, but a perfect
1157
01:00:20.599 --> 01:00:23.690
guy for that Rockies bullpen, a guy who has a
1158
01:00:25.090 --> 01:00:29.320
upper nineties, uh, Power sinker. Gets a ton of ground balls,
1159
01:00:29.380 --> 01:00:31.599
but no command. Brendan Little.
1160
01:00:32.800 --> 01:00:37.639
Oh, man. Brendan Little is a circus. Every time he
1161
01:00:37.820 --> 01:00:40.949
comes out for the Blue Jays, I cringe. I don't
1162
01:00:40.989 --> 01:00:42.690
know how they can use him in leverage at all.
1163
01:00:43.130 --> 01:00:44.969
If he was on Rockies, I'd have him as number
1164
01:00:44.989 --> 01:00:51.070
one closer. Let's go to the AL. AL East. Baltimore Orioles.
1165
01:00:51.610 --> 01:00:52.800
Talk to me about the Orioles.
1166
01:00:54.000 --> 01:00:56.880
This is an interesting one to write up because... I
1167
01:00:56.900 --> 01:00:59.780
think on paper, it's a very obvious hierarchy. Like you
1168
01:00:59.800 --> 01:01:03.340
have Felix Bautista, 49th. You have Ryan Halsey, who's probably
1169
01:01:03.380 --> 01:01:04.840
going to be back in the setup role, even though
1170
01:01:04.880 --> 01:01:07.679
he wasn't that great. And then next line, you know,
1171
01:01:07.699 --> 01:01:10.699
Cano and also Rico Garcia has been great. But the
1172
01:01:10.840 --> 01:01:14.739
problem with this bullpen is that those top two guys
1173
01:01:14.780 --> 01:01:18.199
are both hurt. And I'm not too sure, like how
1174
01:01:18.219 --> 01:01:21.820
they're going to bounce back. Like, especially Felix Bautista, like,
1175
01:01:23.219 --> 01:01:28.409
let me just, like he, He's missing almost the entire
1176
01:01:28.409 --> 01:01:31.409
2026 season. He's on rehab settings right now, but I'll
1177
01:01:31.429 --> 01:01:33.809
get to that in a bit. He's missed the entire
1178
01:01:33.809 --> 01:01:36.730
2026 season so far. He's only pitched half of 2025,
1179
01:01:36.730 --> 01:01:38.570
and he's missed all of 2024. In 2025, his stuff
1180
01:01:38.590 --> 01:01:42.090
took a hit. I believe it's... Sorry. His stuff took
1181
01:01:42.150 --> 01:01:45.090
a bit of a hit. His command also looked a
1182
01:01:45.090 --> 01:01:49.210
lot worse. In 2023, his walk rate was 11%, which
1183
01:01:49.230 --> 01:01:58.539
is Still pretty good because he was striking at like
1184
01:01:58.539 --> 01:02:02.360
46% badass, but in 2025, walking 16%, that's not great.
1185
01:02:03.230 --> 01:02:06.070
And then also like the velocity was a little bit down.
1186
01:02:06.130 --> 01:02:11.230
He was 99 before in 2023, in 2025, like 97,
1187
01:02:11.210 --> 01:02:15.159
I believe. In his rehab outings, he's been closer to 95.
1188
01:02:15.159 --> 01:02:19.940
And that sinker, well, two seam, wasn't really getting as
1189
01:02:19.960 --> 01:02:23.519
much vert as it was. So he's someone who's really
1190
01:02:24.429 --> 01:02:26.550
risky in my opinion. Like, even though I think he's,
1191
01:02:27.010 --> 01:02:29.809
he's only on when he's healthy. It just, I don't
1192
01:02:29.829 --> 01:02:32.369
know if he is healthy and if he's not, then
1193
01:02:32.389 --> 01:02:36.309
it really opens up because Ryan Halsey he's struggled like
1194
01:02:36.469 --> 01:02:38.809
since the start, second half of 2024, when he got
1195
01:02:38.829 --> 01:02:43.929
traded to the Mets. And I know that in 2024, sorry, 2025,
1196
01:02:43.929 --> 01:02:47.480
when he got traded to Mets and I know that he, he,
1197
01:02:47.619 --> 01:02:50.059
a lot of that was attributed, uh, because he was
1198
01:02:50.079 --> 01:02:54.019
tipping his pitches by 2026. He wasn't that great either
1199
01:02:54.039 --> 01:02:56.860
before laying on the IL. So you don't really know
1200
01:02:56.880 --> 01:02:59.579
what you're going to have him. So I think Yenir Cano,
1201
01:03:00.420 --> 01:03:02.409
even though he's sort of like the third guy on
1202
01:03:02.429 --> 01:03:04.710
my list, he's an elite guy for me. And also,
1203
01:03:05.809 --> 01:03:08.289
they recently signed to Extension too, which I really think
1204
01:03:08.309 --> 01:03:11.670
really signifies how much the Orioles value Yenir Cano because
1205
01:03:11.730 --> 01:03:14.760
you don't really extend relievers that often because why would you?
1206
01:03:16.280 --> 01:03:20.320
So I think there's a chance where Yenir Cano gets
1207
01:03:20.739 --> 01:03:24.079
saves next year. a very good chance, especially if Bautista
1208
01:03:24.099 --> 01:03:26.849
struggles and Halsey struggles. And even if they don't struggle,
1209
01:03:26.869 --> 01:03:30.010
like let's say the Orioles struggle, like both Bautista and
1210
01:03:30.030 --> 01:03:33.710
Halsey are free agents after 2027. So those guys could
1211
01:03:33.750 --> 01:03:36.130
get traded mid-season or they could just leave in free agency.
1212
01:03:36.190 --> 01:03:40.449
So even if it is Bautista for the night, let's
1213
01:03:40.469 --> 01:03:43.639
say Bautista is still good next year. Let's say he
1214
01:03:43.679 --> 01:03:45.380
leaves in free agency, you're still looking for a closer.
1215
01:03:45.420 --> 01:03:46.900
It could just be Yannick Kano anyways.
1216
01:03:48.320 --> 01:03:50.780
Another thing you brought up there, which makes me think
1217
01:03:50.820 --> 01:03:54.889
a little bit is You'd be very, very lucky to
1218
01:03:54.969 --> 01:03:57.389
have two closers stay healthy.
1219
01:03:57.130 --> 01:04:01.039
Throughout the entire season. You have to be active.
1220
01:04:00.760 --> 01:04:05.239
Looking on the wire or acquiring pitchers to be able
1221
01:04:05.260 --> 01:04:08.579
to pitch in your bullpen because roles change so often
1222
01:04:08.619 --> 01:04:11.380
in the major leagues. And you'll have a spurt where
1223
01:04:11.400 --> 01:04:14.659
a guy gets 10 saves in a couple months and
1224
01:04:14.679 --> 01:04:16.780
then he's out of the role because somebody else comes
1225
01:04:16.909 --> 01:04:19.889
in or gets healthy or whatever the case is. So,
1226
01:04:19.909 --> 01:04:23.400
I mean, you can't just sit and wait forever. Um,
1227
01:04:23.500 --> 01:04:25.260
because you're going to fall behind. If you're in a
1228
01:04:25.300 --> 01:04:28.139
Roto league, you're going to fall behind and head to head.
1229
01:04:28.179 --> 01:04:31.070
You need to be getting saved every single week. Um,
1230
01:04:31.639 --> 01:04:33.929
so it's important to be very active when it comes
1231
01:04:33.949 --> 01:04:37.230
to relievers and that's, that's the spot you really want
1232
01:04:37.250 --> 01:04:39.849
to turn on your roster on a weekly or at
1233
01:04:39.869 --> 01:04:43.630
least biweekly weight basis. Um, so you always have a
1234
01:04:43.670 --> 01:04:45.230
guy that's going to be pitching and leverage. If you
1235
01:04:45.250 --> 01:04:48.449
have a guy that's not pitching and leverage on your team, what,
1236
01:04:48.590 --> 01:04:51.329
what good is it? Cause he's, he's not providing those
1237
01:04:51.369 --> 01:04:55.929
two categories holds and saves. And that's, I mean, some
1238
01:04:56.090 --> 01:04:59.130
5x5 or 6x6 leagues, like, you need that. You need
1239
01:04:59.150 --> 01:05:02.599
those guys contributing. So that's a wasted spot. So you
1240
01:05:02.619 --> 01:05:05.260
need to make sure you always have relievers that are
1241
01:05:05.280 --> 01:05:09.599
providing those two stats, along with the strikeouts and the
1242
01:05:09.639 --> 01:05:14.380
ratios as well. All right, let's talk about the AL Central,
1243
01:05:14.420 --> 01:05:16.039
the Chicago White Sox.
1244
01:05:17.219 --> 01:05:19.289
So this one's, like, a little bit similar to Pirates,
1245
01:05:19.329 --> 01:05:23.050
but not really because... Grant Taylor, he's only one of
1246
01:05:23.070 --> 01:05:25.119
the best closers in baseball in my eyes, but he's
1247
01:05:25.139 --> 01:05:28.980
not really the closer because I think the White Sox
1248
01:05:29.099 --> 01:05:31.880
view him as a future starter. And so because of that,
1249
01:05:32.480 --> 01:05:35.840
he may not be the closer next year. I list
1250
01:05:35.860 --> 01:05:39.420
him as a closer in my hierarchy only partially because
1251
01:05:39.440 --> 01:05:42.030
I don't really know if he can stay healthy for
1252
01:05:42.070 --> 01:05:45.789
a full season, but also because if not him, then
1253
01:05:45.869 --> 01:05:48.880
who is it really? I think Jordan Hicks is probably
1254
01:05:48.889 --> 01:05:51.440
your best option. Like he's been pretty good lately ever
1255
01:05:51.480 --> 01:05:53.440
since he, I don't know, like he changed the arm
1256
01:05:53.460 --> 01:05:55.119
ending a little bit, like started using a four seam
1257
01:05:55.139 --> 01:06:00.739
fastball more and he's pitched better since then. Like first
1258
01:06:00.800 --> 01:06:03.860
couple of months, it was a 5.60, 5.18 flip and
1259
01:06:03.880 --> 01:06:08.559
then since then it's like mid-greaser and a flip in
1260
01:06:08.579 --> 01:06:12.000
the twos. So Hicks may be the guy, but I'm
1261
01:06:12.019 --> 01:06:15.510
not too sure. And then Brazaban and Hudson are guys
1262
01:06:15.530 --> 01:06:17.949
who are sort of like filling that hierarchy. Brazavon is
1263
01:06:17.969 --> 01:06:20.230
another guy who's sort of that multi-inning role. He's also
1264
01:06:20.309 --> 01:06:23.530
struggled since joining the White Sox, and he's also an
1265
01:06:23.590 --> 01:06:28.309
older arm. He isn't healthy right now, so who knows
1266
01:06:28.329 --> 01:06:29.929
what happens with him. And Brian Hudson is the guy
1267
01:06:29.949 --> 01:06:35.250
who's one of those lefty specialists. He's been good against righties,
1268
01:06:35.289 --> 01:06:38.949
but I don't really see him sustaining that. But the
1269
01:06:39.289 --> 01:06:42.550
difference for the White Sox is that they have two
1270
01:06:42.590 --> 01:06:46.829
wild cards in Higgins-Smith and Tanner McDougal. Two arms who
1271
01:06:46.869 --> 01:06:50.199
are Uh, we're starters and we're probably going to be
1272
01:06:50.219 --> 01:06:52.980
stars long-term, but they could follow that grant care or
1273
01:06:53.019 --> 01:06:56.500
like more previously, Greg crochet, like where they spend one
1274
01:06:56.519 --> 01:06:58.679
or two years in the bullpen. Uh, Higgins Smith has
1275
01:06:58.880 --> 01:07:01.579
pitched really well in that role. Can McDougal not so much.
1276
01:07:02.480 --> 01:07:05.119
So I think Hagan Smith, I could probably like pitch
1277
01:07:05.139 --> 01:07:07.119
his way until maybe an eighth inning. I like, maybe
1278
01:07:07.619 --> 01:07:10.510
he also just becomes more of a guys who saves,
1279
01:07:10.530 --> 01:07:14.309
like maybe it's a committee between Hicks and Hagan Smith
1280
01:07:14.869 --> 01:07:17.030
next year. I think that's probably the most likely outcome.
1281
01:07:17.670 --> 01:07:22.349
if they don't sign someone. But yeah, so it's a
1282
01:07:22.389 --> 01:07:26.469
very fluid situation, like especially compared to other bullpen, just
1283
01:07:26.489 --> 01:07:29.050
because like one guy who's ran out of closer but
1284
01:07:29.070 --> 01:07:32.760
could move into rotation, two guys who were prospects, starters,
1285
01:07:32.909 --> 01:07:35.539
but are moving to a bullpen could move into rotation
1286
01:07:35.559 --> 01:07:36.079
again later.
1287
01:07:36.219 --> 01:07:36.679
And then.
1288
01:07:38.159 --> 01:07:40.139
We'll see like who they sign. I think like they
1289
01:07:40.440 --> 01:07:42.800
might sign like, but they might just sign someone to
1290
01:07:42.820 --> 01:07:44.699
what they did last year once they signed Dominguez. It's
1291
01:07:44.719 --> 01:07:47.590
like maybe they signed like I suggest maybe like Jose
1292
01:07:47.610 --> 01:07:50.289
Alvarado or Brian Abreu because they're both free agents that
1293
01:07:50.309 --> 01:07:53.730
could help them.
1294
01:07:54.130 --> 01:07:56.380
Yeah, talking about the White Sox makes me think of like,
1295
01:07:57.460 --> 01:08:02.219
you want your prospect pitchers to have big stuff because
1296
01:08:02.280 --> 01:08:05.780
there are multiple avenues for them to provide value, right? So,
1297
01:08:06.400 --> 01:08:09.070
I mean, if you have a Miguel Cime Jr. on
1298
01:08:09.090 --> 01:08:12.190
your roster, he could be a starter. He could be
1299
01:08:12.210 --> 01:08:15.659
a reliever. You know, Mizorowski... was on that same path
1300
01:08:15.739 --> 01:08:17.680
as well. Was he going to be a reliever? Was
1301
01:08:17.699 --> 01:08:19.880
he going to be a starter? Either way with that
1302
01:08:19.939 --> 01:08:22.420
kind of stuff, you're going to provide value because you're
1303
01:08:22.439 --> 01:08:24.500
either going to be a front of the line starter
1304
01:08:25.060 --> 01:08:27.529
with a lot of strikeouts, uh, or you're going to
1305
01:08:27.550 --> 01:08:32.270
be a leverage reliever in some capacity, providing huge value
1306
01:08:32.390 --> 01:08:36.090
with saves and holds. Um, so having a guy like
1307
01:08:36.109 --> 01:08:39.739
Hagan Smith, uh, Miguel CMA junior, uh, there's a number
1308
01:08:39.760 --> 01:08:42.939
of other guys that are kind of on that same path. Um,
1309
01:08:43.770 --> 01:08:47.310
That could provide you that value. That's what you want
1310
01:08:47.350 --> 01:08:49.640
out of your prospect pitchers. Yeah, those guys are going
1311
01:08:49.659 --> 01:08:50.140
to blow out.
1312
01:08:50.279 --> 01:08:50.819
We know that.
1313
01:08:52.199 --> 01:08:56.010
But big stuff is really where it's at, because if
1314
01:08:56.050 --> 01:08:58.590
you lose adam on as a starter maybe the team
1315
01:08:58.789 --> 01:09:01.159
directs him towards the bullpen you have some value.
1316
01:09:01.060 --> 01:09:03.699
Yeah i will say that uh for the hierarchy i
1317
01:09:03.739 --> 01:09:06.039
don't add guys who are like currently working as stars
1318
01:09:06.100 --> 01:09:08.720
are projected to be starters like i'm only going to
1319
01:09:08.800 --> 01:09:11.340
put a guy in the hierarchy if i know they're
1320
01:09:11.359 --> 01:09:14.500
going to be believers at least like for the near
1321
01:09:14.520 --> 01:09:17.560
future which like first maybe like foreseeable future i say
1322
01:09:18.140 --> 01:09:21.560
is more accurate like For example, Luis Paz, I think
1323
01:09:21.600 --> 01:09:23.920
he's probably a very good reliever and he might end
1324
01:09:23.979 --> 01:09:26.479
up being a reliever long-term, but I didn't put him
1325
01:09:26.520 --> 01:09:28.899
on the hierarchy just because I think they still want
1326
01:09:28.920 --> 01:09:30.420
to try him out as a starter for the Nationals.
1327
01:09:31.649 --> 01:09:33.710
Yeah, the Nationals have a few guys like that, don't they?
1328
01:09:34.890 --> 01:09:37.810
Interesting how they're acquiring arms that are like that, just
1329
01:09:37.850 --> 01:09:42.590
huge stuff. Maybe not as good command though, but interesting strategy.
1330
01:09:44.750 --> 01:09:49.289
Last team, AL West Houston Astros. So, the thing about
1331
01:09:49.310 --> 01:09:50.770
the Astros is that they might not have a very
1332
01:09:50.810 --> 01:09:54.630
good bullpen. Like, Josh Hader, he's been insane since coming
1333
01:09:54.670 --> 01:09:58.640
off the I.O. I believe he has, like, somewhat sub-1 ERA,
1334
01:09:58.680 --> 01:10:01.819
which is crazy. And then, yeah, a lot of guys
1335
01:10:01.840 --> 01:10:06.739
who got a ton of holds, like, Steven Okert, Brian Abreu,
1336
01:10:06.779 --> 01:10:10.380
Brian King, Daniel De Los Santos, guys I listed. But
1337
01:10:10.399 --> 01:10:14.689
the issue is that of the four guys I listed, like, Okert, Abreu, King,
1338
01:10:15.029 --> 01:10:17.270
De Los Santos, only Brian King will be on the
1339
01:10:17.310 --> 01:10:21.380
roster next year. So, It's a very fluid situation. It
1340
01:10:21.420 --> 01:10:25.869
can really open up next year. And another thing to
1341
01:10:25.949 --> 01:10:28.689
add is that I have Josh Hader as the closer.
1342
01:10:28.750 --> 01:10:32.630
He's an elite arm. At this point, it's sort of
1343
01:10:32.649 --> 01:10:34.720
crazy to say, but I think he's a Hall of
1344
01:10:34.760 --> 01:10:38.699
Fame closer, which is kind of... I don't think it's
1345
01:10:38.739 --> 01:10:40.140
that hard of a take, but it's not something that
1346
01:10:40.239 --> 01:10:43.939
people are really talking about. And then I have Brian
1347
01:10:43.960 --> 01:10:46.380
King as sort of the next-in-line guy. I have Bennett
1348
01:10:46.399 --> 01:10:49.010
Souza as sort of the step guy right now. But
1349
01:10:49.470 --> 01:10:53.010
Susan King, they're both lefties. And also they're both lefties
1350
01:10:53.029 --> 01:10:57.069
that are, I struggled this year. So, and the thing
1351
01:10:57.109 --> 01:10:59.569
is that I'll be guys like at the top being lefties,
1352
01:10:59.590 --> 01:11:02.329
like hater, like I guess hater doesn't really count because
1353
01:11:02.369 --> 01:11:05.729
he's the closer, but a team can't really survive while
1354
01:11:05.770 --> 01:11:08.130
having like that many lefties like at the top. Cause
1355
01:11:08.729 --> 01:11:11.689
especially excuse and King, they're better against lefties. Like, so
1356
01:11:11.729 --> 01:11:13.270
what are you going to do against the right-handed hitters?
1357
01:11:14.079 --> 01:11:17.720
So I think there's really spots that can open up for,
1358
01:11:18.579 --> 01:11:21.779
more of those like prospect names. Like I put in
1359
01:11:21.800 --> 01:11:24.399
the wings like Miguel Loyola, but I think by the
1360
01:11:24.439 --> 01:11:26.800
end of next year, maybe even like mid-season next year,
1361
01:11:26.840 --> 01:11:30.220
he could be like the A-fitting guy for the Astros.
1362
01:11:30.239 --> 01:11:32.729
And then Olimpia Sanchez and AJ Bubba are two other
1363
01:11:32.739 --> 01:11:35.970
guys I noted. They have been, as for like Bubba,
1364
01:11:35.989 --> 01:11:38.130
he's been good, but the peripherals hasn't been as good.
1365
01:11:38.149 --> 01:11:41.189
And then Sanchez has been good, but recently in AAA
1366
01:11:41.210 --> 01:11:43.609
hasn't been as good either. But I'm a big fan
1367
01:11:43.630 --> 01:11:45.170
of all three of these guys, like pretty good stuff.
1368
01:11:46.750 --> 01:11:50.170
But Loyola, he's been the best... recently, I believe he
1369
01:11:50.210 --> 01:11:53.220
recently got called up and like he, he had a
1370
01:11:53.479 --> 01:11:55.600
copy earlier in the year, but he's back in big leagues.
1371
01:11:55.619 --> 01:11:57.500
And I think he's going to get excited to look
1372
01:11:57.520 --> 01:12:01.119
at anything by this time next year, we could be
1373
01:12:01.140 --> 01:12:04.539
talking about him and, uh, cater as the eighth and
1374
01:12:04.560 --> 01:12:05.619
ninth guys for the Astros.
1375
01:12:06.550 --> 01:12:09.409
Yeah. And the Astros are a team they're super sneaky
1376
01:12:09.430 --> 01:12:11.970
when it comes to bringing up big time arms out
1377
01:12:12.010 --> 01:12:13.890
of their pen. Like they've been really good at it
1378
01:12:13.909 --> 01:12:16.229
for a lot of years, even in the rotation too,
1379
01:12:16.270 --> 01:12:20.220
but also in their pen. they've got guys. I mean,
1380
01:12:21.439 --> 01:12:23.460
they do a really good job. You mentioned several of
1381
01:12:23.520 --> 01:12:26.279
them that I think can be very valuable in bullpen roles.
1382
01:12:26.399 --> 01:12:28.399
So good shout there.
1383
01:12:28.739 --> 01:12:31.579
Okay, Raj, those are the six teams that we wanted
1384
01:12:31.619 --> 01:12:34.779
to talk about on this episode with the Dynasty Closer hierarchy.
1385
01:12:35.500 --> 01:12:38.600
What are your main takeaways from kind of revamping this
1386
01:12:38.680 --> 01:12:40.859
list and writing the article?
1387
01:12:42.279 --> 01:12:44.729
Honestly, it's just a fun process trying to see, like,
1388
01:12:45.899 --> 01:12:49.069
which leaders I think could take a role. Like when
1389
01:12:49.090 --> 01:12:53.210
someone gets like, let's say like their main closer gets hurt,
1390
01:12:53.310 --> 01:12:57.010
like who takes their place or let's say a team
1391
01:12:57.050 --> 01:13:00.729
is struggling and they trade their closer this off season,
1392
01:13:00.810 --> 01:13:04.229
or maybe next year's deadline, like who gets those days
1393
01:13:04.270 --> 01:13:06.689
in the second half. That's a, it was pretty interesting
1394
01:13:06.729 --> 01:13:08.369
to try to like look through all those teams, just
1395
01:13:08.409 --> 01:13:13.750
like see like how does it shake up in the future?
1396
01:13:14.380 --> 01:13:16.520
Because I'm not necessarily looking at just this year, like
1397
01:13:16.699 --> 01:13:19.300
I'm mostly looking at 2027 and also like 2028 as well.
1398
01:13:19.319 --> 01:13:22.060
So yeah, it was a pretty fun exercise just like
1399
01:13:22.119 --> 01:13:25.100
seeing like how, and also it helps me see like
1400
01:13:25.220 --> 01:13:29.319
which teams have the best future in their bullpens. Just
1401
01:13:29.359 --> 01:13:32.100
by seeing like, not just the guys on the hierarchy,
1402
01:13:32.119 --> 01:13:35.439
but also like the guys who I have like on
1403
01:13:35.460 --> 01:13:38.699
my sheet, but like I'm wanted to include, but wasn't
1404
01:13:38.739 --> 01:13:39.000
able to.
1405
01:13:40.970 --> 01:13:41.369
Awesome.
1406
01:13:41.909 --> 01:13:43.810
Do you have a couple of names that you can
1407
01:13:44.140 --> 01:13:46.359
recommend to us? Maybe one major league guy, one minor
1408
01:13:46.399 --> 01:13:48.859
league guy that you're kind of intrigued with and you
1409
01:13:48.880 --> 01:13:51.739
think could maybe have a role next year as we
1410
01:13:51.779 --> 01:13:52.850
move forward into 2027.
1411
01:13:52.840 --> 01:13:57.909
Yeah. So my major league guy is going to be
1412
01:13:58.010 --> 01:14:01.470
Trent Harris. He was recently called up by the giants.
1413
01:14:02.210 --> 01:14:07.109
I'm just, I just want to like look up his, uh,
1414
01:14:09.229 --> 01:14:11.920
because this stuff is pretty weird. I'm going to show
1415
01:14:11.939 --> 01:14:19.020
it to you. Show screen. Yeah, so look at the
1416
01:14:19.039 --> 01:14:22.760
movement profile. It's a really weird, just sort of like
1417
01:14:22.819 --> 01:14:26.239
left-hand cutter. It's a shape that you don't really see
1418
01:14:26.279 --> 01:14:29.720
that often. And it goes at 90.6, almost 94 miles
1419
01:14:29.760 --> 01:14:33.479
per hour. And he goes like this very big sweeper,
1420
01:14:33.640 --> 01:14:35.920
which is also a bit rare because he's very over
1421
01:14:35.939 --> 01:14:38.229
the top. Usually, those guys don't Can't really get that
1422
01:14:38.270 --> 01:14:41.050
much movement on the sweeper, but Trent Harrison is getting
1423
01:14:41.090 --> 01:14:44.510
like 17 inches of horizontal break, which is insane. And
1424
01:14:44.529 --> 01:14:47.170
then a very good ball with a turn and drop,
1425
01:14:47.329 --> 01:14:50.329
you know, so a sinker at 94. There's like very
1426
01:14:50.350 --> 01:14:51.649
good stuff across the board, and you can see like
1427
01:14:51.810 --> 01:14:55.890
the stats, just this front page is just red. And
1428
01:14:56.090 --> 01:14:59.010
I think right now he's already, because of injuries, he's
1429
01:14:59.229 --> 01:15:02.270
already like the A-finding guy for the Giants. I think
1430
01:15:02.289 --> 01:15:05.939
he probably moves back just because they're getting Randy Rodriguez
1431
01:15:05.979 --> 01:15:10.319
and Joel Peguero back. uh, next season. And because of that, like,
1432
01:15:10.619 --> 01:15:11.739
I think those two are going to be the top
1433
01:15:11.760 --> 01:15:14.420
two guys next year, but I think just world, let's
1434
01:15:14.439 --> 01:15:16.079
say like one of the struggles, like as soon as
1435
01:15:16.100 --> 01:15:19.279
it's like, let's say one of the struggles, then Trent
1436
01:15:19.300 --> 01:15:22.640
Harris can like overtake that. That was an Irish startup
1437
01:15:22.659 --> 01:15:24.960
guy or just a, or maybe even just like a
1438
01:15:24.960 --> 01:15:26.720
knife in the guy because this stuff is very good.
1439
01:15:27.739 --> 01:15:31.939
And also I just want to, uh, like shout out
1440
01:15:31.979 --> 01:15:35.619
myself because, uh, I know. And like last off season,
1441
01:15:35.689 --> 01:15:41.130
I wrote about him and the, uh, 2028 Giants projected lineup,
1442
01:15:41.149 --> 01:15:42.930
and I put him on there, so I'm kind of
1443
01:15:42.949 --> 01:15:44.729
proud of that. Nice.
1444
01:15:45.569 --> 01:15:47.579
Okay, what about a minor leaguer you think could sneak
1445
01:15:47.600 --> 01:15:48.699
into a bullpen next year?
1446
01:15:48.720 --> 01:15:54.439
I picked a guy from the Nats just because the
1447
01:15:54.479 --> 01:16:00.220
Nats are a very fluid situation. I picked Ben Grable.
1448
01:16:00.840 --> 01:16:09.510
Let me just... Sorry. Ben Grable. He's a guy who
1449
01:16:10.569 --> 01:16:12.840
they got him from the Yankees at the deadline. He
1450
01:16:12.850 --> 01:16:15.539
was at AA one day, acquired him, but now he's
1451
01:16:15.619 --> 01:16:20.560
at AAA. The command has lost it. The command is
1452
01:16:20.819 --> 01:16:23.300
taking a step back since the trade, but still very
1453
01:16:23.340 --> 01:16:29.479
good stuff. Again, that Nashville's bullpen, wide open. A lot
1454
01:16:29.520 --> 01:16:32.659
of guys could realistically find a spot in that bullpen.
1455
01:16:32.819 --> 01:16:37.430
I think Ben Gable could be one of those names. Thanks.
1456
01:16:38.180 --> 01:16:40.939
Yeah, we saw him at the Futures Games. That was
1457
01:16:41.840 --> 01:16:45.659
nice for him and maybe a precursor of things to come.
1458
01:16:45.680 --> 01:16:49.270
All right, Raj, thanks for going over that with us.
1459
01:16:49.329 --> 01:16:51.250
I think it's a tool that we don't pump up
1460
01:16:51.310 --> 01:16:52.470
enough on our website.
1461
01:16:53.130 --> 01:16:54.050
Really valuable.
1462
01:16:55.250 --> 01:16:57.430
Where do you actually find that on the website.
1463
01:16:57.090 --> 01:16:58.529
If people wanted to go look at it?
1464
01:16:59.510 --> 01:17:02.640
So you go under the P-Life rankings on the sidebar
1465
01:17:02.699 --> 01:17:04.819
and then there's a bunch of menu options at the top.
1466
01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:07.300
You can also find our financial prospects, our dynasty rankings,
1467
01:17:07.420 --> 01:17:10.789
P-Life Plus, like so many tools on there. And then
1468
01:17:10.909 --> 01:17:12.649
one of them is nice equals a hierarchy. And it's
1469
01:17:12.670 --> 01:17:15.689
just like, it's a ton of guys on there, like
1470
01:17:16.449 --> 01:17:19.729
four players per team times three teams. That's 120 names
1471
01:17:19.800 --> 01:17:23.380
in that. And there's like words on each and just like,
1472
01:17:25.300 --> 01:17:27.020
I put them into different tiers as well. And then
1473
01:17:27.039 --> 01:17:30.260
also on my own personal list, I have like 200 names.
1474
01:17:30.279 --> 01:17:32.819
So it's just guys that I think are interesting. Let's
1475
01:17:32.840 --> 01:17:35.420
say like one guy gets hurt, maybe like get loose
1476
01:17:35.439 --> 01:17:37.180
to a different team. Like who's the next guy that
1477
01:17:37.199 --> 01:17:40.500
could come up? Just like, just a ton of names
1478
01:17:40.539 --> 01:17:43.920
I could, uh, I wish I could like go much
1479
01:17:43.960 --> 01:17:47.699
deeper with a lot of these weapons, but yeah.
1480
01:17:48.340 --> 01:17:49.840
Well, maybe we can fix it up so you can
1481
01:17:49.880 --> 01:17:53.180
do that a little bit more. Um, so if you
1482
01:17:53.199 --> 01:17:55.600
don't like his list, uh, you have a name and.
1483
01:17:55.579 --> 01:18:00.939
A face now right here. Uh, Raj Mehta. Um, there
1484
01:18:00.970 --> 01:18:01.189
he is.
1485
01:18:01.210 --> 01:18:03.949
Uh, but no Raj, seriously, you do a great job
1486
01:18:03.970 --> 01:18:07.149
with this. And, uh, We appreciate it very much. And
1487
01:18:07.189 --> 01:18:10.899
it's a very valuable tool for, for dynasty managers. Uh,
1488
01:18:10.939 --> 01:18:12.920
do you want to tell the fine folks where people
1489
01:18:12.939 --> 01:18:14.100
can find you and your work?
1490
01:18:15.060 --> 01:18:17.880
So I'm on blue sky at rush method.ca. So if
1491
01:18:17.920 --> 01:18:22.579
you want to give me some, uh, inflammatory DMS on
1492
01:18:22.619 --> 01:18:26.659
why I have, uh, let's say Andres Munoz as an
1493
01:18:26.680 --> 01:18:31.090
elite closer. Like, I mean, he is, but like, let's
1494
01:18:31.100 --> 01:18:33.550
say you think he's just, let's say you think he's
1495
01:18:33.590 --> 01:18:36.210
met because you're a, access fan or something, then you
1496
01:18:36.250 --> 01:18:40.909
can DM me there and then I will ignore your messages. Actually, no,
1497
01:18:40.930 --> 01:18:43.729
I'll respond. But yeah, you can find me on Bootshead
1498
01:18:43.770 --> 01:18:46.090
at rogermanager.ca. You can also find me on Prospects Live.
1499
01:18:46.289 --> 01:18:50.829
I do a dynasty baseball pickups. Uh, we're almost done
1500
01:18:51.010 --> 01:18:54.229
just this week is our last, uh, week to, uh,
1501
01:18:54.399 --> 01:18:56.909
for recommendations. Next two weeks are going to be us
1502
01:18:56.949 --> 01:18:59.180
reviewing our picks and that's going to be really fun
1503
01:18:59.220 --> 01:19:01.079
to do. Yeah.
1504
01:19:01.180 --> 01:19:04.699
I'm excited to see those, uh, reviews because you guys
1505
01:19:04.760 --> 01:19:08.649
hit on some really good players this year and, uh, Uh, it's,
1506
01:19:08.970 --> 01:19:10.310
it's nice to see the success rate.
1507
01:19:10.340 --> 01:19:12.960
Cause it's, it's more than I would expect. So you
1508
01:19:12.979 --> 01:19:14.479
guys do a great job with those recommendations.
1509
01:19:14.500 --> 01:19:16.399
And also it's kind of funny because we also do
1510
01:19:16.439 --> 01:19:18.319
an all-star break review and it's kind of funny to
1511
01:19:18.380 --> 01:19:22.460
see like the difference between them. Cause I thought like, I,
1512
01:19:22.729 --> 01:19:26.409
Avery Owusu-Aciedo, uh, like he's a guy I recommended on
1513
01:19:26.430 --> 01:19:28.890
the first week and he has struggled for most of
1514
01:19:28.909 --> 01:19:31.609
the year. So for my all-star break review, I think
1515
01:19:31.649 --> 01:19:33.609
I gave him like an F, gave myself like an
1516
01:19:33.729 --> 01:19:36.039
F for that. But since then he's really heated up
1517
01:19:36.119 --> 01:19:38.479
and I thought he's been insane. He's cooled off a
1518
01:19:38.479 --> 01:19:42.159
little bit, but still hitting pretty well. It's interesting to see,
1519
01:19:42.500 --> 01:19:44.220
does that suddenly turn to an A or is it
1520
01:19:44.239 --> 01:19:48.869
like a B? It's very interesting to see just how
1521
01:19:49.569 --> 01:19:50.630
it changes over time.
1522
01:19:51.550 --> 01:19:54.670
Yeah, that's just another article series that provides great value
1523
01:19:54.689 --> 01:19:57.569
for Dynasty owners, so please check that out. I am
1524
01:19:57.609 --> 01:20:01.729
at Greg Kukamp. Please, subscribers, fill out that survey. I
1525
01:20:02.029 --> 01:20:05.329
want to hear your feedback. We're going to put into
1526
01:20:05.449 --> 01:20:07.109
action your suggestions, so.
1527
01:20:07.880 --> 01:20:08.760
We hear you.
1528
01:20:08.800 --> 01:20:12.560
We're listening and we hear you. And then stay tuned
1529
01:20:12.619 --> 01:20:15.060
for our off-season content. There's going to be a lot
1530
01:20:15.079 --> 01:20:18.180
of great stuff all the way through the off-season. Lockout
1531
01:20:18.239 --> 01:20:19.920
or not, we're going to be giving it to you.
1532
01:20:20.020 --> 01:20:24.000
So the minor leagues will not stop if there is
1533
01:20:24.039 --> 01:20:24.579
a lockout.
1534
01:20:25.300 --> 01:20:29.880
So Prospect Live will be there. We will not stop. Exactly.
1535
01:20:30.979 --> 01:20:31.220
All right.
1536
01:20:31.260 --> 01:20:34.779
Thanks again, Raj. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate
1537
01:20:34.840 --> 01:20:37.300
and review it. We appreciate the support. That's going to
1538
01:20:37.319 --> 01:20:39.819
do it for this week's episode of the Prospects Live
1539
01:20:39.859 --> 01:20:42.649
Dynasty podcast. On behalf of Raj, I'd like to thank
1540
01:20:42.729 --> 01:20:44.869
our subscribers and listeners for their support.
1541
01:20:45.430 --> 01:20:48.279
We appreciate you all. We thank you for your time
1542
01:20:48.439 --> 01:20:49.960
and we hope to see you next time.