[SPEAKER_00]: All right, welcome back to another episode of the baseball America fantasy podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is your host Jeff Ponce alongside me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dylan White, he's back in the hot state with the return from vacation.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got a bunch of content up on the site.
[SPEAKER_00]: We updated our dynasty top 500 lists, just for dynasty overall rankings that includes MLB players, of course.
[SPEAKER_00]: We also released a dynasty top 500 lists.
[SPEAKER_00]: On Monday of this week, you can go and check that out.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's putting, folding in my FYPD list, moved around a bunch of the prospects on your Dylan.
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, I think I did okay there.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there'll be more than a few questions on particular rankings of note or something.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're always just one, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: There's always one guy I'm too low on, one guy I'm too high on.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a whole handful.
[SPEAKER_00]: can never be perfect.
[SPEAKER_00]: But let's talk a little bit about the Dynasty 500.
[SPEAKER_00]: But before we get into that deal, let me ask you, any thoughts on the trade deadline, you're of course, a BlueJay's fan, and kind of a weird deadline surprising deadline for the BlueJay's, am I mistaken?
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think you're mistaken.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think so when Gaussman got traded and the return wasn't the greatest, it was like, okay, well, I guess they're selling and they'll take anything.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of the immediate knee jerk reaction and then they traded namala, your friend for Jose Soriano and so it's like, are they, what are they doing?
[SPEAKER_01]: Are they selling or are they buying?
[SPEAKER_01]: And like Soriano is obviously in the majors now and namala is close to the majors.
[SPEAKER_01]: it's like near-term as opposed to medium-term future.
[SPEAKER_01]: So anyway, the point is it was a bit the fungling, are they going for it or they not?
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it looks like they're kind of like threading the needle, got rid of a bar show, who's a rental as well, got arrogantity, who's got control.
[SPEAKER_01]: So they're they're trading for control, years of control while still being, you know, a competitive ball club.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I mean, they could always reassign bar show.
[SPEAKER_01]: They could always reassign gaussmen that they have to the season.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, but yeah, it was an interesting, it was an interesting move because it felt like a bit of an overpay for Soriano and a bit of an underwhelming return for Gaussmen, but going from Gaussmen to Soriano.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, obviously it's going to, it's going to cost money.
[SPEAKER_01]: So,
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, yeah, a very interesting, um, I liked all the trade deadline.
[SPEAKER_01]: I watched the YouTube video, the four, four talking heads.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was, it was very, very good, um, and yeah, it was just, it was so fascinating that the trade deadline, all the prospects being traded.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was just like, it seemed every time a new trade was announced.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was just like the follow was kind of just figured out the next trade came by and then it's like, start from scratch.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just, it was very, very exciting yesterday.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it was, it was kind of a power packed weekend of trades, of course, with some big names moving, particularly Turks gobble.
[SPEAKER_00]: Outside of school, outside of Adley Rushman, of course, moves to the red socks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there any, I'm kind of putting you on the spot here a little bit doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But are there any moves that were made yesterday.
[SPEAKER_00]: players who, because we know there's a lot of fantasy trade deadlines that are going to be over the next couple of weeks.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's often in most leagues after the trade deadline.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have one league where it's a week or two before.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there any players that you feel were positively impacted in terms of their ended up, my hit or who ended up in a better park, maybe in a better lineup?
[SPEAKER_00]: a picture who ended up with, you know, in a better situation, maybe defensively, or the catchers he's working with, or, you know, even the part that they landed in is a little bit more of a positive situation, a team that wins more, better bullpen, whatever it might be.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there any players like that that maybe you'd be willing to target, or you see sort of an immediate value boost for
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think Soriano's a big one.
[SPEAKER_01]: There is a lot of talk of how the framing of the Angel's catchers is near the bottom of the league.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Alejandro Kirk and Brennavel.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's oil or like in the top three, I think it was.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he immediately will see an improvement in run value there, Soriano.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then finally enough since I've
[SPEAKER_01]: already talked about government, he's going to the cops who have a very good defense behind him.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that'll be helpful.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think Dustin may go into the brewers, like the second best team in the league behind the Dodgers.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that'll be good for wins for Dustin May.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the brewers paid a lot for Dustin May.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, Alexander Furious, top 100 guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: Who's this posiah, Josiah, Ragsdale, who's a super break out this year.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's a lot for a rental and Adele's like that Josiah Romero, but still a lot for two months of May.
[SPEAKER_01]: So they must believe in May or see something in May that they think they can quickly change.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm quite intrigued by May.
[SPEAKER_01]: I have him in my home league and I'm very happy with that trade.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um,
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the flip side is the Marcelo Mayor for Eric Miller.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I don't know what that means.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if it's the Red Sox or know something, or they just don't think he's ever going to turn out.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, so I'm a bit worried about that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I also think the guy who has Marcelo Mayor on his team may be scared, like I'm talking about.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a maybe it's a goodbye low opportunity because Mayor is still only like 23 years old.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think those are those are the big ones I think that stood out for me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Jeff Hoffman, I guess, going to the twins, you'll probably be the closer I would imagine after losing the role with the J's.
[SPEAKER_01]: Twins are currently rolling out yo enders go as is their closer so I think.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a good spot for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: Brent and Doyle lost.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just thinking of all the guys on my tubes.
[SPEAKER_01]: Brent and Doyle, who was on the rockies, just came back from injury.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I thought he would be a good sneaky player for the rest of season, because they were talking about trading Moniac, talk of trading Jake McCarthy.
[SPEAKER_01]: But instead, they created Brent and Doyle to the white sock, because it's a team, a good team that scores runs, but going from course to Chicago is not a good ballpark for him to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: And of course, the Rockies then signed Moniac for an extension of two years, so Moniac might actually be a good, goodbye opportunity right now, since the Rockies are showing they believe it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think those were a bunch of names.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just rattled off.
[SPEAKER_01]: He probably only wanted two or three, but I went on a rant.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, that's great.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wasn't gonna say it.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are any players on teams where players were traded from that you think maybe get a little bit of value boost.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a starter in one team, position players that were moved out full-time guys, maybe an outfielder finds his way into the outfield, full-time and St. Louis, for example.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: No, there.
[SPEAKER_01]: There are a couple of like that for sure.
[SPEAKER_00]: Once you put you on the spot here.
[SPEAKER_01]: No, it's fine.
[SPEAKER_01]: Suddenly fine.
[SPEAKER_01]: I always think you actually know the name that from your previous question, moisten's about steros going to the cobs.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think yeah, Mozillax that he's going to have a steros play one out of three games that catcher.
[SPEAKER_01]: So if he gets his catcher,
[SPEAKER_01]: eligibility back.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the angels don't have the greatest team.
[SPEAKER_01]: So like he might have some good run there.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he might be a sneaky add.
[SPEAKER_01]: Right now, whereas, you know, maybe last week, two weeks ago, he was down in the miners.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's never really going to be a catcher.
[SPEAKER_01]: Where's he going to play the the cubs infield is stacked.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that is a good opportunity for him.
[SPEAKER_01]: kind of think of other trades that happened that I can't think of right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I kind of wonder if maybe like Josh bias finds this way.
[SPEAKER_01]: Josh bias.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel that with the Cardinals, just in terms of what he's doing on the 40 man roster, you know, maybe maybe there's some opportunity there.
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, for for him to see just greater playing time.
[SPEAKER_01]: They call the season of Prieto though.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a bias.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I know.
[SPEAKER_01]: Shift down here, but to that point, like the metstrading clay homes in Freddie Perlta, I think might clear some runaway for Jonah Tongue, who's kind of picked it back up a bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: And she'll play a recent.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Zach Thornton will probably be like full time in the line as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: and maybe Santucci makes an appearance by the end of the year.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think, you know, the metzer kind of clearing a path for now, at least to see what they're going to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the metzer going to be big spenders in the off season.
[SPEAKER_01]: If there's a season in 2077, they're not going to have three rookies in their starting rotation.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm sure they'll sign some big name for agents.
[SPEAKER_01]: But they'll give at least a month or two of Ron and those who show what they can do, or probably going to have a spot in the rotation the next time the season starts.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I guess if you're into Oselva's, the Sabai, the giants, I guess we find himself now with some full-time playing time, but I don't know if that's, if that's exactly a profile that I'd be beaten down doors to chase and in fantasy at the moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it was a tough question.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think one of the reasons it's a tough question,
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been condensed with the expanded playoffs.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's just a few sellers and many, many buyers and when you get into these sellers markets, it's just teams bidding against each other.
[SPEAKER_00]: And often bidding to sort of stop, prevent another team from getting a player or even calling on a player within the division and then getting into a bidding war, it seems like sometimes teams are just getting to the point where this is like, this is our final offer you're going to take, you know,
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, let's talk a little dinosaur 500.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk maybe 10 players that were big movers.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of those were in the movers article that came out last week.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can go check that out in our fantasy section on baseball america.com.
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael Harris, the second Dylan made a fairly big jump.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was 69th nice in June.
[SPEAKER_00]: July the update he moves 27 spots up to 42 maybe not one of the biggest biggest movers, but one of the biggest movers that you know in terms of guys outside of the top 50 that jumped into the top 50 he's had an excellent year and I would argue that you know he had good years in the past he's really progressed as a hitter now it's a different version of Michael Harris would you agree?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I definitely would agree when he debuted in 2022 as a 21 year old he was 19 homeruns 20 stolen bases hit 297 and then the next year as a 22 year old 18 homeruns 20 stolen bases into 293 average.
[SPEAKER_01]: So basically 320 before the age of 23.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he has been a very popular
[SPEAKER_01]: It was 249 last year.
[SPEAKER_01]: The WRC Plus was 83.
[SPEAKER_01]: The defense seemed to have slipped yesterday.
[SPEAKER_01]: Last year as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he was a guy that started to slip and I saw him being traded for As if he, you know, the shine had worn off and he's not going to be a guy that is going to produce value.
[SPEAKER_01]: I, because of that, he was not being taken in redraft leagues and I have him on all five of them on my DCs and they just happened to work out that way that, you know, you get to the fifth round sixth round or whatever and, you know, you want batting average, you want five categories and his projections at least kind of suggest that he could do that and he's he's made good on that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think the good thing with him is I don't have the numbers here, but let me call them up.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's
[SPEAKER_01]: I used to, I used to bench him in weekly leagues or daily leagues where I can when he's going up the table.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he's been, he's been early really good against lefties this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's got seven, seven home runs against lefties, 13 against righties and just like the overall numbers obviously he's.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not a guy that's ever going to walk at a high cliff going, but, you know, 280 batting average against lefties, 323 on base percentage and then obviously I showed you the home run, so you know that he's slugging against them as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: So 796 OPS, you know, I think that's kind of perfectly solid for a left handed hitter that hits right as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just the big question
[SPEAKER_00]: that hyper-hyper-aggressive approaches, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: That's, I mean, a guy with a 3.8% block rate.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is definitely a player that takes a pretty massive bump down in OBP leagues.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's like the reverse chiroch rover.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, that is definitely true, but if you can get a guy who plays good center field defense, so he's going to be in the line up he has been hitting basically in the middle line up against left, he gets dropped a bit lower, but he's been hitting second he's been hitting fourth
[SPEAKER_01]: like the the the bad speed and the hard hit rate and the blasts and all that.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think, you know, the guy who's going to be power speed and and good average, meaning reasonable average on base percentage.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's still only 25, I believe.
[SPEAKER_01]: So like there's a lot of years left and you know, it's a good lineup as you know.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a big part of the benefit, Dylan.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's say a quick break when we come back, we're going to chat about some more risers on the updated Dynastee 500.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, and we are back.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dylan, we're talking Dynastee 500.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're talking some risers.
[SPEAKER_00]: We talked a little bit about Michael Harris before the break.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to move on to our next name.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jordan Walker.
[SPEAKER_00]: Arguably, the breakout player, a 2026.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you agree with that statement?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I think from where he started the season, what the expectations were for his career at that point, you know, coming into 2026.
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this the biggest riser in season movement wise from what he was in March, he was outside the top 500 he is now 66 on the July update that is a 435 spot move minimum because of market is 501 as somebody that was just outside the 500 which is kind of with 501 on him I'm not even sure he was out high so he has climbed almost the entirety.
[SPEAKER_00]: of the list was 255 in our April update 207 on May, 120 on June, now 66.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is a substantial rise.
[SPEAKER_00]: So what do you think about the stalks on Jordan Walker?
[SPEAKER_01]: So 24, 2024 and 2025 combined, he had 570 stum-odd plate appearances basically six or plate appearances.
[SPEAKER_01]: So think of it as a full season, 2024 and 2025, 11 homeruns, 11 stolen bases and a batting average of about two-ten.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was not looking good.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's two full seasons of much below expectation and much below replacement level.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's always been the big power, but like he hits it on the ground, what positions he can play is not a good defender in the outfield is this going to be a bust.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I guess if you look at it, he was only 23 years old.
[SPEAKER_01]: He did have elite bat speed.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a highly pedigreeid prospect, you know, there was always the hope, but there was always the plausibility, I guess, that he would, you know, actualize a manifest into what
[SPEAKER_01]: All star game home run derby champion and yeah, I think he probably is the the biggest riser.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think I've seen him go for as if this is definitely real.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is his true talent.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, he has 22 homerons 14 soul and base is sitting 285 130 WRC plus.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's only 24.
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you had a guy that debuted at the age of 24 doing this, he would be probably a top 10 dynasty asset, someone playing out field, I suppose to look at DHS, like a short prototype.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think people are still kind of hedging a bit on Jordan Walker, but if you just look at it as he's a 24 year old who's got power speed and batting average this year, and he has the bad speed to back it up.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is definitely an asset.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's someone I've been targeting.
[SPEAKER_01]: We traded for him to McLeod and I traded for him in a dinosaur league.
[SPEAKER_01]: We paid a pretty good price, but yeah, I think he's probably the biggest riser on a dinosaur list so that then prospects.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, um, it's been an incredible rebound for him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like when that happens because it makes our list from five years ago, look much better now.
[SPEAKER_00]: You always knew he just had to have time to break out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, here's a funny one that moved up the list and then immediately got heard again, but it's a concussion.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're not going to get too worried about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, I'm not as mom.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Sebastian walk out of the ranger is came back.
[SPEAKER_00]: He looked really good.
[SPEAKER_00]: in his small sample return to AA.
[SPEAKER_00]: It looked, I mean, to me doing, I think this was a good top five prospect.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, so he moved up pretty substantially on our list and I have him rank now as the number for prospect.
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually have him ranked higher than Frank Monarius.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like Frank Monarius.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to provide power.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like enough power.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not going to maybe be 25.
[SPEAKER_00]: It might be more like 18 to 20.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to score some runs.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to hit for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Very high average.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to walk.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's probably not going to run a whole lot though.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not Frank Monarius's game.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think when you look at a guy like Walcott, you can dream on 30, 30 seasons.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know if there's a whole lot of guys like that who are also within a proximity window, where you're like, maybe he's not up this year, but I can see Sebastian Walcott playing games for the Rangers in May and next year.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that that's,
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, like low probability, I think it's more, you know, high probability outcome next year for a lot of his dynasty managers.
[SPEAKER_00]: So like I look at the numbers that he was putting up in Frisco is only a 13 game sample, but three or way three to seven, five, 77 three home runs.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or he had steel three stolen bases.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think the upside's way higher.
[SPEAKER_00]: The fact that he's now back healthy playing games looks good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, like I said, one on the I.L.
[SPEAKER_00]: again, because he got hit with a pick off attempt.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you realize that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he'll be back.
[SPEAKER_00]: He'll be fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure they'll take a cost with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll probably tear up the hours on a fall league this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's a real chance that he could break camp with the Rangers and some capacity next year.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think this is a top five guy lock it in until he debuts.
[SPEAKER_00]: Am I wrong on that?
[SPEAKER_01]: I do not think it wrong.
[SPEAKER_01]: I also think you might be right on him being more valuable to fake scenarios.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's kind of like what?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like the McGonogal I've used this analogy for at this season, but McGonogal versus Connor Griffin, like McGonogal real life value, really good batting average, but fantasy, like he'll get, I mean he's got maybe more power than we thought, he'll also steal head full of bases, but he's not going to be like the fantasy stud that Connor Griffin is, and so I think I kind of feel like areas is like the McGonogal and that good batting average good bat to ball skills, but he's not going to like.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, had the power and speed too much, not elitely, whereas Sebastian Wolcott, like 30 home run bat.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he could have 40 in a couple of seasons.
[SPEAKER_01]: Same age as areas 20 years old in AA, so like you said, you could be in the Rangers.
[SPEAKER_01]: infield by May, like, very, very plausible.
[SPEAKER_01]: They just say they start up next year in AA.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's crushing it in the first two weeks.
[SPEAKER_01]: They immediately put it into AAA and then, you know, they're clamoring for me to get up there.
[SPEAKER_01]: They signed me to an extension and he's, he's Blake, George Stop, and they moved, Seeger to third or something.
[SPEAKER_01]: Definitely plausible.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I, I've no issue at all, having him on his top five prospects.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think he's about as exciting.
[SPEAKER_00]: As it gets smooth out of the next one, all right, it's time for good calls from the off-season dome.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got back to back to the picture.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got to hit her.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gavin Williams, darted the season at 177 in the March update.
[SPEAKER_00]: Slightly moved up in May to 146, June 112.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's now inside the top 190.
[SPEAKER_00]: been hot again, you know, great stretch, good swing and missed stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: He keeps on developing and knock on wood has stayed healthy thus far.
[SPEAKER_00]: So what are your thoughts on Gavin Williams this year?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you think that he's taking a step up in terms of maybe jumping tears in terms of how he's valued and viewed amongst, you know, the top 20 to 30 pictures in Dynastia at the moment?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's been on a tear with the strikeouts.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's always kind of been a strikeout guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: Last couple of years, over nine, Kaper Nine.
[SPEAKER_01]: This year's 11.5 Kaper Nine.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm really taking a step forward there.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got the stuff to back it up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, the issue has been the control in the command.
[SPEAKER_01]: He had a majorly career average walks per nine of just over four, four and a half, which is not great.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not good for whip.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's a guy that, you know, if you take him, if you take someone like him or a Mackenzie Gore, then you, you know, you have to have some low whip guys too.
[SPEAKER_01]: But this year he's really cut back on the walk.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a 2.5 walk per nine, which is extremely improved from his career norms.
[SPEAKER_01]: All the ERA indicators are great.
[SPEAKER_01]: His ex-fit is 2.8.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been above four, his entire career.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's added velocity to the fastball.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was averaging like 96 and a half the last couple of years.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's now over 97.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of like all coming together in his age 26 season.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's still young like if 2728's a prime for pictures.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's still not even in his prime.
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I think.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gavin Williams is someone you should be targeting.
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the person who has him is worried about the whip thinks it's all, you know, smoking mirrors and may come crashing down and it's just a fluke season.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think you could still invest with confidence with Gavin Williams, especially because he's so young.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he had the pedigree as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just a matter of kind of actualizing and, you know, it seems like he's got control and command back now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, um, I would absolutely agree on that point.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, big, gab Williams fan recently traded for him and then he kind of went in that run of whatever 12 strikeout games or weapons strikeout games or whatever it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, the next name Dylan is hands down our best call of off-season and that was auto Lopez.
[SPEAKER_00]: We had a really bought-in heavy as a breakout for auto-low-pads.
[SPEAKER_00]: We wrote it up.
[SPEAKER_00]: We talked about it extensively on multiple podcasts.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we discussed him as guys to kind of watch at the end of the year.
[SPEAKER_00]: We were reviewing all the rankings and everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: and we didn't move them up enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: We had him 241 in March, 229 April, 194 in May, 137 in June.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's now 93 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's had a tremendous season.
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is the greatest breakout call in baseball America history.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know though.
[SPEAKER_00]: It might be.
[SPEAKER_01]: It might be.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I don't think we thought he'd be hitting 320.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think we thought that he would not be hitting 246, which is what he did in 2025.
[SPEAKER_01]: We always like the plate skills.
[SPEAKER_01]: I like the factory plate.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was eligible for second and short.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that may be a knock for next year.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's probably only going to be short stop eligible.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he's playing a hundred eight games there and none at second.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I don't think that matters.
[SPEAKER_01]: You got a guy who has nine homeruns 23 stolen bases.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, his OB piece 350 as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not just, it's even though he only has a 5% walk rate.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hurts you and OB P. Um, so, you know, maybe expect that to be 330 next year, but a guy who will won't hurt you and in homeruns who should have 12.
[SPEAKER_01]: to 15 homerimes, probably, but he'll also steal, you know, 25 to 30 basis.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's been a great call.
[SPEAKER_01]: I traded for him, speaking of putting money where you're mouth is I traded Varsho for him in an OBP league.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I have definitely not regretted that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, um, if felt like everyone's been trying to trade for auto logos in fantasy and in real
[SPEAKER_00]: during the trade deadline.
[SPEAKER_00]: What's keep it moving here, Don, another guy that we suspected might be a breakout and just couldn't move them quick enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's moved up significant numbers of spots throughout the season.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a 244 jump spot jump for Braxton Ashcraft, who is another guy who's really continued to establish himself, talked me a little bit about Ashcraft and I unfortunately was not able
[SPEAKER_00]: to get any ashcraft anywhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I've just been able to watch this through like staying glass windows from afar.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's funny.
[SPEAKER_01]: At the end of the year on my, on my home league, I had for axe and ashcraft, Parker Messeck and Peyton Toli, and when the projections came out of the offseason, they weren't that great.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I dropped all three of them.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I, I, it's a keeper league if there's like a, a salary cap, and I decided I would drop them because I thought I still like them and I will still like want to get them, but projections aren't great.
[SPEAKER_01]: So no one's going to bid on them or no one's going to, you know, pick them up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Messic also, one of the rises that you wrote in your article, we're going to be good, and we're going to be solid, and the projections had them were under-undervalued, sort of like Camichlet there, who we talked about last month, and the month before, as one of the huge advisors.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think it goes to show that the projections that come out in between the season are not the BLNL, if there have been substantial changes to their
[SPEAKER_01]: They're pitch mix obviously if they added V-Low, but in the case of Ashcraft, it's always kind of been injuries.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's never, he's always had the stuff he's just never been able to put it together for sustainable amount of time in the last few years in the minor leagues.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was a question if whether he could stay healthy.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was beginning to pop in Robosco last year because he started to accrue those innings and so like his stuff was sort of manifested into production so I think it just goes to show that, you know, be aware of what
[SPEAKER_01]: history in the minors like Braxton Ashka because of injury, then he's going to be highly regressed down to like a minor league average minor league player instead of the person he actually is.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, maybe you have to consider that he should have warnings or in the case I was talking about before the season of Asian pitchers who go over to or major leagueers who go to Asia and then come back, but they're completely different because they learn a new pitch.
[SPEAKER_01]: They've added velocity.
[SPEAKER_01]: Those things are not going to be captured in the
[SPEAKER_01]: in the projections, especially if they already have major league experience, it's going to be blended into their projection.
[SPEAKER_01]: So going a long way to say, try to be aware of what the holes and projections are and try to take advantage of them where you can and that way you would have gotten a Braxton Ashcraft and probably a Parker Messick as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well said, let's move on to the next one.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think this is a really interesting name.
[SPEAKER_00]: because it's kind of a weird season, but Brandon Marsh is a guy that did move up.
[SPEAKER_00]: We had him really, really well, we had him in the 400s.
[SPEAKER_00]: Finally, bought him a little bit, because he just keeps on producing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Despite some kind of wonky stuff under the hood, but at the same time, he's doing this while running the lowest batting average of balls and play of his career, or at least in the last three or four years.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's not like he's been incredibly lucky.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's just gone hyper-aggressive with the approach
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's a guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a weird one because he owed him an alic Thomas.
[SPEAKER_01]: I always have them kind of pair together.
[SPEAKER_01]: Our guys who in projections look to be a good fourth or fifth of the other in standard 15 team redraft leagues, but no one ever takes them.
[SPEAKER_01]: because they'll have okay batting average, but they're not going to kill you or not going to wow you and homeruns and they're going to only steal a handful of bases.
[SPEAKER_01]: So they're just like boring and potentially platoon bats.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I always end up with these allocations, isn't random marshes because
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, as the rounds go and they're still available, they become a value and I end up picking them up.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the reason brand of Marshall has good projections is in 2023 at the age of 25, he had a 124 WRC plus and a 277 batting average.
[SPEAKER_01]: 372 on base percentage 12 home run stencil and bases.
[SPEAKER_01]: So like I said, wasn't wasn't crushing it in home run so wasn't crushing it still in bases, but he's 25.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he goes 12 10, then at 27, he's going to be 18 12.
[SPEAKER_01]: And so he was a guy that looks to be good.
[SPEAKER_01]: The next year he went 16, 19.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he actually stole more bases.
[SPEAKER_01]: The batting average came down a bit, but he was still a 107 to WRC+.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, a lot of it though is he's a strong cyclotune or has been a strong cyclotune for much of his career.
[SPEAKER_01]: So it looks like, oh, he's a better than average hitter with a WRC plus over 100, but he's only playing against righteers or predominantly against righteers.
[SPEAKER_01]: This year, like he said, he's running the lowest babble of his career, but it's the aggressiveness.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he said, he's swinging way more, and it seems to be paying off.
[SPEAKER_01]: The contact is always had reasonably good contact, and now he's swinging on more pitches, and I guess maybe pictures think they can try to sneak some strikes by when it's not working.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's definitely an interesting one.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a better than average hitter.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's playing full time now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he is going against lathees.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not really dominating against somebody.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is playing basically every day.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he has 16 homeruns right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: 10 stolen bases is the 280 batting average.
[SPEAKER_01]: Projections have them for the rest of year finishing at like 21 15 with a 270 batting average.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's definitely a playable O fielder.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like a L field three even though he's being
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so, you know, he's got a few more years left in that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he is an interesting one, but one that I felt that we did need to move up got a pair of pirates here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fickled, EPRS, Jared Jones staying with the alliteration here.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Brian Reynolds, two Pirates that moved up kind of in similar spots.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Jones ones pretty easy going.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's back on the mountain.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's healthy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he looks really, really good.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Reynolds is walking at the highest rate of his career and just having a tremendous year at 31.
[SPEAKER_00]: If this is kind of the new
[SPEAKER_00]: This is, I mean, it's a 130 WRC plus this is a valuable fantasy guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I guess, you know, if you want to touch on Reynolds or Jones go right ahead, I don't think we need to spend a ton of time, but which one do you want to pick and break down?
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, I'll make sure what you're a Jones just one interesting thing to do is if if you are a dynasty player and you use these dynasty racks, um, and someone's injured, always thinking your head that at every day that passes while they're on the injured list, they should be creeping up the list.
[SPEAKER_01]: If we dropped to Jared Jones to 250 because he's had Tommy John every every month, he's getting closer back up to his regular rally.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's only 250 because he's injured if he's not going to contribute for 12 months.
[SPEAKER_01]: So every single month, the passes just in your head, think, oh, he's not to 50 anymore.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's probably too 40, oh he's too 20 back up to his is regular rally.
[SPEAKER_01]: So just maybe it's not a trick, but it's something to keep in mind when you.
[SPEAKER_01]: look at these down to see less for the injured players every day their rank kind of moves up so that that's kind of what happened with Jared Jones and obviously what he comes back he's dominating the way we expected him to and the the worries that he's not going to reclaim or recapture his previous stuff or arsenal or production like when those fears get laid you can you can grab him with confidence and that's what's happened with Jared Jones.
[SPEAKER_01]: Brian Reynolds, yeah, he's always been a consistent guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: I always kind of put him Brian Reynolds, Ian Hap, just to see.
[SPEAKER_01]: Consumant, consistent outfielders that aren't flashy, but we'll put up the numbers, playful time, their accumulators as well.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what those two guys have always been.
[SPEAKER_01]: Brian Reynolds was the older of the two.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think we started him lower than Ian Hath, but Brian Reynolds actually has increased his bat speed this year over last year.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he looks kind of to be reborn, and he's in a pirate's slide up that's, you know, done quite well, a pirate's team, I guess that's done quite well.
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, he's a guy that maybe we, we, we, we undersold too much, and we probably should have, you know, there's a, there's a value and be consistent.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's, you know, maybe the poster child for consistency over the last maybe five years boring, but consistent.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that is accurate.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the last player I'm going to bring up.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I almost wonder if we still haven't adjusted enough, but it's just another unusual profile in terms of how he gets to his numbers.
[SPEAKER_00]: But this guy is a top five second baseman right now in five by five weeks.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's a top 10 outfield.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's Sedaine Raffiella, oh, the Red Sox.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been in a burner as a team's been really hot.
[SPEAKER_00]: What are your thoughts on this one?
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we still have him at, we have him at 170.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's moved up 65 spots.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm still a little wary of moving him up too high because it is a bit of a volatile profile, but he's been excellent and he's young and you know, there's enough power and speed and all the other things to and obviously the defensive value where he's going to be in the line up every day to play a position because of how quality the glove is.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's kind of blossoming in a little bit into a very relevant fantasy player.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you think he can sustain this for like the next three years?
[SPEAKER_01]: He is, well, I like to say it.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he has a huge chase right, doesn't walk.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's not going to help you know, BP, except when he's on these heaters, like he is this year.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a 120 WRC plus.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's heading to 89, like it's ridiculous.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has four war already, last year he had four war, but I was the entire season.
[SPEAKER_01]: That he's only played center field this season.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's not going to be second-based eligible next year in those leagues where you need to have 10 or 28 games played there.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's only now fielder.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that will ding his value a bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's maybe with the exception of Pekar Armstrong is the best defensive center fielder.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's going to play every day.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's going to have the runaway.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's only 25.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he don't expect his range to to drop off for the next three or four years at least.
[SPEAKER_01]: Last year, so the two years ago he had 15 home runs.
[SPEAKER_01]: He told the basis last year, 16 home runs, 20 soul and basis.
[SPEAKER_01]: This year he's at 15 15.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's basically 20 20 guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: Just an OBP, he may not be the greatest, but if he be 2020 playing full season with no real danger of not playing a full season, except for injury, that's going to be valuable.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's probably undervalued considering the production because because of the low walk rate of the low WBP and the chase rate that people are worried it's just going to fall apart at any moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I think it's funny too because like sparrow rates down, his heart hit rates down, his EVs, his average eggs of elasticity is down, doesn't have great content.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like the context skills are fine, but it's not like the zone contact is like outrageously good.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a very volatile profile, but he's producing and I think like he's just one of those weird players with twitch.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of these guys right now with these aggressive approaches that are producing we've talked about a few of them already.
[SPEAKER_00]: So with that said, Dylan, I want to thank you once again for joining me.
[SPEAKER_00]: This has been the Baseball America Fantasy podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: Going check out the updated top 500 and the top 500 prospect list.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both of those are in the fantasy section on Baseball America.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for tuning in.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll see you guys next week.