2154 - Fantasy Questions of the American League West
Fantasy Baseball Live – December 3, 2023 @ 3 pm
Segment 1 – News and Notes
1.Jackson Chourio signs with the Brewers.
2.The Mets signed Luis Severino to a one-year deal. The adage is that there is no such thing as a bad one-year deal. However, Severino said he was the worst pitcher in baseball last season, and at the time, he might have been right. What do you think? Good signing by the Mets? He’s going off the board as the 137th pitcher (round 32) and is basically free. Will you be taking a flyer?
3.The Tigers sign Kenta Maeda to a two-year, $24 million contract. While he continued not to be very durable, he pitched ok with an xERA of 3.77 and a 10 K/9 rate while keeping his walk rate at 2.4 per nine. He’s going as the 107th pitcher off the board (round 18). Thoughts?
4.The Cardinals continued their youth movement by signing 34-year-old Sonny Gray to a 3-year, $75 million contract. He had a great season in 2023, pitching to a 2.77 ERA and striking out 183 in a robust 184 innings. He’s going as the 58th pitcher off the board or the 40th starting pitcher. Solid #3 starter for you, or would you grab him earlier?
5.The Reds signed Nick Martinez to a two-year deal (opt-out after the first year). The Reds plan on starting him. His average ADP Is 593, but he’s trending up, and it looks like his ADP is #400 in recent drafts. Are you interested in him as a #5/#6 starter if he's a starter?
6.Many discussions about Juan Soto with the Yankees appear to be the best fit. However, they are playing hardball and maybe only want to give up Clarke Schmidt and some young prospects for him. How does this all end?
Segment 2 – Fantasy Questions of the AL West
1.Houston Astros
a.Chas McCormick went 20-19 last season and helped a lot of fantasy managers. His baseballsavant data looks ok. He has an average exit velo, plus speed and a 26% K-Rate.
i.Stat line for 2023 – HR, SB, RBI, and BA
ii.He’s being drafted as the 38th outfielder off the board. Does this interest you?
b.Jeremy Pena went from 22 home runs in 2022 to 10 last season and is now the 22nd shortstop off the board. Looking at his BaseballSavant page, it's not great. Part of the reason his power dropped is his launch angle dropped from 8.7 degrees to 5.5 degrees. However, he has below-average power, chases too much, and is aggressive at the plate. I dunno; he looks like an average player worthy of his draft selection. Your thoughts?
c.Cristian Javier – Stat line for 2024. IP, Wins, Ks, and ERA
d.How many wins for the Astros in 2024 – They had 90 in 2023.
e.Give me a sleeper in the organization (Minor and/or Major)
2.Los Angeles Angels
a.Stat line for Mike Trout – AB, HR, BA, and OBP
b.I don’t get Nolan Schanuel from a fantasy standpoint. He’s a singles hitter. There’s no power with exit velos and hard-hit rates in the bottom 10% of the league. He can hit, though. But at first base, how do you make this work? Of course, he’s only 21, so you can argue he’s going to get stronger, add loft, blah, blah, but I’m not sure I can buy that. Help?
c.There’s a game called F, Kill, Marry. You are given three women, and you have to F one of them, kill one, and marry the last. Let’s do it with the Angels pitching staff.
i.Who would you F? Defined as the pitcher you think could blow up this year and be better than anyone thinks.
ii.Kill – Defined as the pitcher, you just won’t touch
iii.Marry – The pitcher you like and would not mind having on your team.
d.Percentage chance that the Angels sign Ohtani.
e.Give me a sleeper in the organization (Minor and/or Major)
Segment 1 – News and Notes
1.Jackson Chourio signs with the Brewers.
2.The Mets signed Luis Severino to a one-year deal. The adage is that there is no such thing as a bad one-year deal. However, Severino said he was the worst pitcher in baseball last season, and at the time, he might have been right. What do you think? Good signing by the Mets? He’s going off the board as the 137th pitcher (round 32) and is basically free. Will you be taking a flyer?
3.The Tigers sign Kenta Maeda to a two-year, $24 million contract. While he continued not to be very durable, he pitched ok with an xERA of 3.77 and a 10 K/9 rate while keeping his walk rate at 2.4 per nine. He’s going as the 107th pitcher off the board (round 18). Thoughts?
4.The Cardinals continued their youth movement by signing 34-year-old Sonny Gray to a 3-year, $75 million contract. He had a great season in 2023, pitching to a 2.77 ERA and striking out 183 in a robust 184 innings. He’s going as the 58th pitcher off the board or the 40th starting pitcher. Solid #3 starter for you, or would you grab him earlier?
5.The Reds signed Nick Martinez to a two-year deal (opt-out after the first year). The Reds plan on starting him. His average ADP Is 593, but he’s trending up, and it looks like his ADP is #400 in recent drafts. Are you interested in him as a #5/#6 starter if he's a starter?
6.Many discussions about Juan Soto with the Yankees appear to be the best fit. However, they are playing hardball and maybe only want to give up Clarke Schmidt and some young prospects for him. How does this all end?
Segment 2 – Fantasy Questions of the AL West
1.Houston Astros
a.Chas McCormick went 20-19 last season and helped a lot of fantasy managers. His baseballsavant data looks ok. He has an average exit velo, plus speed and a 26% K-Rate.
i.Stat line for 2023 – HR, SB, RBI, and BA
ii.He’s being drafted as the 38th outfielder off the board. Does this interest you?
b.Jeremy Pena went from 22 home runs in 2022 to 10 last season and is now the 22nd shortstop off the board. Looking at his BaseballSavant page, it's not great. Part of the reason his power dropped is his launch angle dropped from 8.7 degrees to 5.5 degrees. However, he has below-average power, chases too much, and is aggressive at the plate. I dunno; he looks like an average player worthy of his draft selection. Your thoughts?
c.Cristian Javier – Stat line for 2024. IP, Wins, Ks, and ERA
d.How many wins for the Astros in 2024 – They had 90 in 2023.
e.Give me a sleeper in the organization (Minor and/or Major)
2.Los Angeles Angels
a.Stat line for Mike Trout – AB, HR, BA, and OBP
b.I don’t get Nolan Schanuel from a fantasy standpoint. He’s a singles hitter. There’s no power with exit velos and hard-hit rates in the bottom 10% of the league. He can hit, though. But at first base, how do you make this work? Of course, he’s only 21, so you can argue he’s going to get stronger, add loft, blah, blah, but I’m not sure I can buy that. Help?
c.There’s a game called F, Kill, Marry. You are given three women, and you have to F one of them, kill one, and marry the last. Let’s do it with the Angels pitching staff.
i.Who would you F? Defined as the pitcher you think could blow up this year and be better than anyone thinks.
ii.Kill – Defined as the pitcher, you just won’t touch
iii.Marry – The pitcher you like and would not mind having on your team.
d.Percentage chance that the Angels sign Ohtani.
e.Give me a sleeper in the organization (Minor and/or Major)
