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| Wednesday, September 1, 2021 |
| And just like that... it's September. Give yourself a pat on the back if you're still alive in your Fantasy Baseball league! It's no small feat. With just a month left, I think your approach should be different than earlier in the season. For the most part, we hold on to players with upside. Maybe they're underperforming now but regression is real and there will always be peaks and valleys. Time is against us at this point. We need to put ourselves in the best position to win our leagues. If that means cutting somebody like Cody Bellinger who you drafted in the second round, so be it. |
| It will be tough to let go of certain players but it's time to ride the hot hand. Each of Andrew McCutchen, Mark Canha, Tommy Pham, and Trent Grisham are still rostered in more than 65% of CBS leagues. All four have slowed down considerably. While it's going to look weird dropping McCutchen for Connor Joe, that's a move we advise. Now on the other hand, don't go dropping Joey Votto just because he has a few bad weeks. Each of the other names I mentioned above have been struggling the entire second half. There isn't much hope left to hold on to. |
| Of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify. |
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| Do you Snell what Blake is cooking? |
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| When it comes to Padres SP Blake Snell, the Fantasy Baseball community has gone from what the heck can we get for him in Dynasty to oh wait he's a second half league winner! Snell continued his dominant second half (one that is bound to now make him an early draft pick again in 2021) on Tuesday night against Arizona. Snell threw seven no-hit innings against the Diamondbacks before being pulled (Pierce Johnson allowed a hit in the eighth inning). |
| Snell was once again dominant under the hood when it came to the swing-and-miss stuff. He induced 19 swinging strikes on 107 pitches. Snell has now racked up the following utterly dominant stat line over his past six starts: 1.74 ERA, 54 strikeouts, 12 walks. |
| No pitcher has shot up our rankings more than Snell in the second half and he has morphed from a player you could only use in certain matchups to an absolute must-start option every time he takes the mound. (Scott stops a bit short from saying he's must start right now). |
| As Scott said it best, Snell's turnaround is actually quite simple: He's throwing his best pitches more and his worst pitches less. Once again, Snell threw just one changeup in this start, per Statcast. He has faded this pitch almost entirely. The slider usage has been up throughout his dominant stretch, the fastball looks great and obviously he's getting results. It's a simple trick in design but maybe difficult in execution? Whatever happened in the past, it's working for Snell now. |
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| Rosario coming into his own in Cleveland? |
| When Cleveland acquired SS Amed Rosario from the Mets this past offseason, he was almost viewed as just a throw-in and certainly not the main piece they received back for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Rosario struggled in the first half and was completely off of our Fantasy radars, but his scorching second half continued on Tuesday night. |
| Rosario racked up a double-dong night that included a fun to watch inside-the-park home run. With that said, I am now coining him "in-and-out" so if you hear that nickname stick somehow just know it came from yours truly! |
| Rosario is just 62% rostered despite gaining OF eligibility in addition to SS. His second half numbers include a .345 batting average, five home runs, four stolen bases and 13 doubles. |
| Twins to call up Joe Ryan |
| With the rosters expanding to 28 on Wednesday, the Twins are expected to call up one of their top pitching prospects Joe Ryan. In his 14 game appearances (13 starts) at Triple-A in 2021, he has compiled a 3.41 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and a promising 92 strikeouts over just 66 innings pitched. Ryan has a somewhat complete arsenal already in place and it includes an awesome fastball, excellent control over all of his pitches and he induces a whole lot of fly balls. |
| Ryan is just 6% rostered and marks the first of many prospects who will be called up in the coming days and weeks following the expanded rosters. |
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| News and notes |
| Lance Lynn went to the IL with right knee inflammation but is only expected to miss one start. Xander Bogaerts has tested positive for COVID but the weirdest part is that he was able to start the game then left in the second. This isn't the first time this has happened this year, either. Matt Barnes has also tested positive. They'll both miss a minimum of 10 days.George Springer left early as a precaution. Apparently he grimaced rounding the bases and then was confused when he got pulled. Cross your fingers. Lucas Giolito left early with a pulled left hamstring. Ozzie Albies had to get carried off the field after fouling a ball off his knee. Joe Maddon said Monday that Mike Trout is still dealing with some soreness in his ailing right calf.Dave Roberts said that Cody Bellinger , "for the most part" will not start against lefties moving forward.Zack Greinke went on the COVID IL. Jose Urquidy will return this weekend and start in his place. Mike Shildt indicated that he would play the matchups in the ninth inning for the time being. Then Giovanny Gallegos picked up the save later that night. Triston McKenzie will be activated from the IL and start Thursday's game against the Royals. He's still just 76% rostered.Willy Adames returned to the lineup Tuesday. Brian Snitker said Touki Toussaint could re-enter the rotation this weekend in Coors Field. Yuck, but at least they're considering getting Toussaint back in there. Raimel Tapia was activated Monday and started in left field for the Rockies. Since they're in an AL ballpark, Connor Joe remained in the lineup and he led off. My lean is that Sam Hilliard will be the odd man out when they get to Colorado on Thursday. Bud Black said Jon Gray's bullpen session Tuesday went well and that he's optimistic Gray will be able to start Thursday against Atlanta.Both Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto were placed on the COVID IL. Wood actually tested positive while Cueto was feeling under the weather.Kyle Finnegan landed on the paternity list Tuesday. Victor Robles was optioned to Triple-A, which means more playing time for Lane Thomas, who has been leading off anyway.Michael Chavis went on the IL with a right elbow sprain. Hoy Park was recalled. Luke Weaver will be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Wednesday's game against the PadresThis Mets situation is hilarious. Javier Baez says Sunday that their booing situation was mocking the fans. Steve Cohen opens his big mouth. Baez then apologizes, which is fine, makes sense. Then on Tuesday hits an RBI single in the ninth and then scores the winning run. Poetic justice! |
| IL Stash rankings |
| Scott wrote an excellent column breaking down the top injured players worth stashing right now. Here are a few names that stood out from his top-25 stash rankings. |
| Cleveland SP Aaron Civale: "Aaron Civale lasted 4 2/3 innings in his latest rehab start Friday, which suggests he's pretty far along in his recovery from a sprained finger. It's been a long road back, but it's looking like he'll be available for most, if not all of September."Marlins SP Pablo Lopez: " Pablo Lopez (strained rotator cuff) began a rehab assignment over a week ago, but the Marlins pulled him off of it for no other reason than because they wanted to slow him down, whatever that means. I'm still hopeful he comes back, but it's less than a sure thing."Jesse Winker, OF, RedsFreddy Peralta , SP, Brewers Wilson Contreras, C, Cubs |
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| | | | | 2021 Draft-a-Thon | | Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers | The FFT crew (& a ton of special guests) are back for the 4th annual Draft-a-Thon, supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Center. Tune in for everything you need to prepare for your fantasy draft, bold predictions included.
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