The Fantistics Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Critical insight into Fantasy Baseball and how to dominate your competition. Join Lou Blasi, Schuyler Dombroske, Brandon Kamerman, and Anthony Perri as they get you ready for your draft and help you manage your team throughout the MLB season.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss various reasons to pivot for the stretch run and talk about some pitchers and hitters who have been hot since the break and what we can look for from them going forward. Players in this episode include Shea Langeliers, Isaac Collins, Michael Harris, Giancarlo Stanton, Sonny Gray, Nick Lodolo, and Zebby Matthews.
On the worst day of the baseball calendar, the Thursday after the ASB, Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at some interesting names on the EV Leaderboard as play resumes. They talk about Oniel Cruz, James Wood, Addison Barger, Ben Rice, Nick Kurtz, Jesus Sanchez, Alejandro Kirk, Ryan McMahon, and Kyle Stowers, among others ...
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski chat about chilly players, both on the mound and at the plate! Players discussed in this episode include Brenton Doyle, Marcel Ozuna, Michael Harris, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Zac Gallen, Clay Holmes, Luis Castillo, and Gavin Williams.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske analyze several pitchers who have been performing well recently and discuss what their current performance might mean for their future value. The pitchers covered in this episode include Sonny Gray, Clark Schmidt, Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, Dean Kremer, José Soriano, and Sean Burke (no, seriously, Schuyler is in on him!)
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Domboske take a different approach by analyzing hitters' performance over the last three weeks, rather than sticking to YTD stats. Players featured in this episode include Ronald Acuna Jr., Cal Raleigh, Junior Caminero, Lawrence Butler, Maikel Garcia, Addison Barger, Vinny Pasquantino, and Brent Rooker.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske present the annual National Day of Potential Concern, analyzing players who have raised concerns thus far this season to determine whether that concern is justified. The players discussed include: José Altuve, Brenton Doyle, Christian Yelich, Marcus Semien, Sandy Alcantara, Brandon Pfaadt, Dylan Cease, and Cole Ragans.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about pitchers with high deltas between their ERA and xFIP, both for the better and the worse, and theorize what that might mean going forward. In this episode, they break down MacKenzie Gore, Max Meyer, Dylan Cease, Jesus Luzardo, Griffen Canning, Kris Bubic, and Corbin Burnes, among others.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss players whose contact percentage in 2025 is higher or lower compared to last year, noting that this isn't necessarily a negative trend. Among the players they talk about are Brendan Donovan, Maikel Garcia, Alec Bohm, Gleyber Torres, Freddie Freeman, Corbin Carroll, and George Springer.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss several starting pitchers who have experienced changes in their ground ball rates this spring and what those changes could indicate for their performance moving forward. Pitchers featured in this episode include Max Meyer, Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Brady Singer, Reese Olson, and Brandon Pfaaat.
It is all small sample, of course, but Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at the early exit velocity (EV ) leaderboards for hitters and pitchers and see what insights they can find. Players discussed include Pete Alonso, Ben Rice, Matt Mervis, Rafael Devers, Hunter Brown, Jacob DeGrom, and Kris Bubic
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske analyze several players who have had strong starts to the season and speculate on what the future may hold for them. The players discussed in this episode include Tyler Soderstrom, Kyren Paris, Ben Rice, Wilyer Abreu, Kristian Campbell, Hunter Greene, MacKenzie Gore, and Kris Bubic.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss several players who typically perform well in April and how you can benefit from this trend. Among those mentioned are Zach Gallen, Carlos Rodón, MacKenzie Gore, Freddie Peralta, Byron Buxton, Adley Rutschman, and Brandon Marsh, among others.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske review Sky's favorite draft values as we close out the draft season. Players talked about in the episode include Matt Shaw, Christopher Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, Jasson Dominguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Jordan Westburg, and Oneil Cruz.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about players that the Draft Advisory Program at Insiderbaseball.com says you may be over-drafting. Players discussed include Ronald Acuna Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Luis Castillo, Baily Oberr, Tanner Bibee, Jake Burger, and Sal Perez, among others
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske breakdown some hitters that the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program likes considerably better than current ADP. Players in this edition include Vinny Paquantino, Alec Bohm, Dylan Crews, Anthony Volpe, Xander Bogaerts, and Nick Castellanos
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman find players going at a value price in the early rounds. Players discussed in the episode include Raffy Devers, James Wood, Lawrence Butler, Sonny Gray, Wyatt Langford, and Dylan Cease.
Lou Blasi and Anthony Perri open the 2025 season with a breakdown of players that the Draft Advisory Program ranks higher than their current industry ADP. Players talked about in this episode include Lawrence Butler, Junior Caminero, Bo Bichette, Jordan Westburg, Garrett Crochet, Logan Gilbert, Dylan Cease, Jared Jones, and Pablo Lopez.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at the Barrel% Leaderboards which is topped with zero surprises, but there are some interesting names not too far down the list! Player talked about in this episode include Aaron Judge, Oniel Cruz, Christian Walker, and Teoscar Hernandez among others!
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look a little deeper into Platoon Splits to try and find some June strategy gains, Players broken down in this episode include Corey Seager, Luis Arraez, Joey Ortiz, Kyle Tucker, Andrew Rutschman, Ketel Marte, Matt Chapman and David Fry.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss EV for pitchers and take a look at some SPs who, to this point in the season, have given up a higher average exit velocity than last year, including Jose Berrios, Corbin Burnes, Mitch Keller and Pablo Lopez, among others!
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske dive into some hitters who have shown significant EV gains this year. Players analyzed in this episode include, among others, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, Gunnar Henderson, Will Brennan, and Brian Turang ... Oh, and on an unrelated topic ... Paul Skenes, Curt Schilling, Nolan Ryan, Stephan Strasburg, and Chris Sale.
Sky Dombroske went back-to-back nights recently on player analysis for our daily email to our Insiderbaseball.com subscribers and he and Lou Blasi dig into some of his breakdowns. Players talked about in this episode include Riley Greene, Jared Jones, Alec Bohm, and Ranger Suarez among others.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at the SPs leading in K:BB ratio and see what they can pull from their early season performance. SPs talked about in this episode include Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan, Jared Jones, and Tanner Houck among others.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman visit the leaderboard on MaxEV to see what can be pulled from the early season samples. Players discussed in this episode include Giancarlo Stanton, Seiya Suzuki, Ketel Marte, and Micheal Harris II among others.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman breakdown some starting pitchers who are off to hot starts this month including Garrett Crochett, Jordan Hicks and Jared Jones among others. And they talk about various ways to maintain your staff during the year, including "riding the hot hand".
As we approach our first waiver period, Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman check in on some shifting bullpen situations. Closer talked about in this episode include Abner Uribe, Griffin, Jax, and Kevin Ginkle, among others.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss some players who, based on ADP are flying well under the radar this draft season. Players covered include Anthony Rizzo, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Colt Keith, Parker Meadows, and Christopher Sanchez among others!
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over Brandon's selections in his recent SiriusXM Fantasy Host League drafts, highlighting how format changes in your league can a huge impact on valuing players. Players talked about in this episode include Zack Wheeler, Kevin Gausman, Anthony Volpe, Bailey Ober, Gavin Williams, and Brandon Nimmo, among others.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take on some players who are being drafted a bit higher than anticipated and discuss whether they are worth it. The guys talk about Tarik Skubal, Carl Ragans, Gavin Williams, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at players who saw significant gains in their contact rate in 2023 over the previous season and discuss how that affects their 2024 projects. Players broken down in this episode include George Springer, Gleyber Torres, Ronald Acuna, Clay Bellinger, and Michael Harris, among others.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about how changes in the game should lead to changes in our our approach towards draft starting pitchers before breaking down some players entering a contact year in 2024. Players discussed include Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Gleyber Torres and Shane Bieber among others.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske look at pairings of players that are being drafted similarly in NFBC's first three rounds so far and ask which player you would rather draft. Player breakdowns include Corbin Carrol, Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler, Ellt De La Cruz, Ozzie Albies, Kevin Gausman and Luis Castillo.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman break down some hitters and pitchers who saw increases or decreases in their average exit velocity last year, projecting what it might mean for 2024. Players discussed in this episode include Ronald Acuna, J.D. Martinez, Dylan Carson, Jose Abreu, Zac Gallen, Dylan Cease.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman review current NFBC ADPs for 2024, discussing player movement from last year and the early first-round shakeout. Players discussed include Corbin Carroll, Bobby Whitt, Freddie Freeman, and Spencer Strider.
Well ok, maybe just us at the Insider Baseball Podcast! ... Anthony Perri and Lou Blasi of Fantistics open the 2024 podcast season with a look at the '3 Pillars of Starting Pitching" to help you effectively fill out your staff this year (with some relevant SP breakdowns, like George Kirby, Blake Snell, and Logan Webb). Then they look at the new features of the 2024 edition of the Draft Advisory Program and ask, who do you keep? Marcus Semien or Elly De La Cruz?
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman started looking ahead as they wrapped up their season on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio (They'll be here all year though!) and Brandon identified his top 15 picks of the 2024 Draft, at least as of today! Players examined include Corbin Carroll, Elly De La Cruz, Randy Arozarena, and Fernando Tatis.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske, talk Bill Burr and the last few days of MLB action as they explore Sky's recent player notes for Fantistics and Insiderbaseball.com. Players broken down in this episode include Gavin Williams, Triston Casas, Andrew Abbott, Josh Naylor, Reese Olsen, and Garrett Whitlock.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman break down a few under-the-radar hitters that could help your offense via claim or trade. Hitters in the episode include Leody Taveras, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Tommy Pham, Josh Naylor, Keibert Ruiz, and Dansby Swanson.
After talking about new arrivals Elly De La Cruz and Luken Baker, Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at some players who have overperformed and underperformed their ADP by wide margins so far this year. Players in this episode include Orlando Arcia, LaMonte Wade, Spencer Steer, JD Davis Jarren Duran, Gunnar Henderson, Brendon Donovan, and Yasmani Grandal.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at some hitters with a history of breaking out offensively in June! Hitters we talk about in this episode include Yordan Alvarez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Bryan Reynolds, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, and Carlos Correa.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombrokse host their annual "National Day of Potential Concern" episode signaling that it's now ok to express some legitimate concern over some players who are off to slow starts in 2023. With others though, it may still be too early. Players discussed in this episode include Jose Abreu, CJ Cron, George Springer, Michael Kopech, Alex Manoah, and Corbin Burnes.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman dive into the huge pool of talented young starting pitchers who are establishing themselves as fantasy assets, and assess their potential value and 2023 ceilings for redraft leagues. Pitchers discussed in this episode include Hunter Brown, Grayson Rodriguez, Logan Allen, Bryce Miller, Taj Bradley, and Tanner Bibee.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at some pitchers who are controlling their quality of contact and ask if we are buying or selling on them. Pitchers talked about in this episode include Jordan Romano, AJ Puk, Justin Steele, Mitch Keller, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Drew Smyly.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at hitters with predominantly good splits against LHP. Of course, that's helpful in DFS play but Brandon and Lou also explain how best to leverage this kind of info for season-long fantasy. Players discussed in this episode include Matt Chapman, Jesus Aguilar, Josh Jung, Connor Joe, and Rodolfo Castro.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske first talk about a group of four pitchers who are giving us mixed signals and how to project them going forward (Heaney, Lodolo, Elder, and Ashcraft). Then it's on to the Contact Rate Leader Board to see who is getting their bat to the ball! Players talked about here include Luis Arraez, Will Smith, Nico Hoener, Bryson Stott, Alex Verdugo, and Ke'Bryan Hayes among others...
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at Expected Slugging% and identify some hitters that are getting better results than they may have earned so far and some who may have performed a little better than the results stats say they have. Players in this episode include: Josh Naylor, Juan Soto, Ryan Mountcastle, Alex Bregman, Julio Mateo, Harold Ramirez, Gomes, and James Outman
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman compare the xERA and ERA for some starting pitchers whose ERA is higher than their xERA indicating that they've pitched a bit better than their current result stats lead us to believe they have. Pitchers discussed in this episode include ... Kyle Wright, Jameson Taillon, Nathan Eovaldi, Zack Wheeler, Nick Lodolo, and Jacob deGrom.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski check out the current Statcast leaderboard in average exit velocity and find as many different stories and breakdowns as there are names! Players talked about in this podcast include Joc Pederson, Franmil Reyes, Nolan Gorman, Jack Suwinski, Christian Bethancourt, and Brent Rooker.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske review Sky's most recent player notes for Insiderbaseball.com and break down their recent performances. This episode includes Cody Bellinger, Andrew McCutchen, Jack Flaherty, Dustin May, Bryan Bello, and Juan Soto.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over some early season playing role changes and how they may change the value outlook for some players. Players discussed in this episode include Anthony Volpe, James Outman, Vaughn Grissom, Bryan De La Cruz, Grayson Rodriguez, Brayan, Bello, Taj Bradley, and Aroldis Chapman.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at Brandon's list of hitters leading baseball early in loud contact, in this case hitters with the most batted balls over 95 mph. In some cases, the results stats reflect what we are seeing, in others the loud contact suggests more is coming. Player discussed in this episode include Tim Anderson, Orlando Arcia, Jordan Walker, Alec Bohm, Juan Soto, Wander Franco, and Spencer Torkelson.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske share some knee-jerk reactions to some early starting pitching performances! Pitchers discussed in this episode include Andrew Heaney, Logan Webb, Merrill Kelly, Graham Ashcraft, Shane Bieber, and Jeffrey Springs.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske reveal "Sky's Guys" a lineup of hitters and pitchers that Sky feels has been undervalued early and are potentially solid profit centers. Players talked about in this episode include Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Heaney, Wander Franco, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Kyle Isbel, Austin Meadows, and Logan O'Hoppe.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske talk about late spring news flow and roster decisions, and how it affects the value of some higher-profile kids. Players talked about in this episode include Miguel Vargas and Anthony Volpe of course, as well as Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd, Oscar Colas, James Outman, Blake Sabol, and Jordan Walker.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about Sky's auction in the Tout Wars Head to Head points league, discussing auction and points strategies and breaking down players. We talk about Sanday Alcantara, Shane McClanahan, Dustin May, Austin Meadows, Rowdy Tellez, Gunnar Henderson, Christian Yelich, and Wander Franco, among others!
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at some players that are off to a hot start in Spring Training and explore what it might mean for their draft value. Players included in this episode include Jarred Kelenic, Darick Hall, Edward Rodriguez, Kris Bryant, and Alec Bohm.
Our Baseball Blog's Preseason Notes, which are available daily, in full, to everyone free at Insiderbaseball.com, are a treasure trove of intel to help you dominate your upcoming drafts. Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske go over a recent edition of Sky's notes and project the 2023 outcomes for a large swath of players including Jordan Walker, Alec Bohm, Kyle Isbel, Logan O'Hoppe, Ketel Marte, Christian Javier, Domingo German, and Joc Pederson.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over some preseason notes before discussing the changing offensive landscape in baseball and whether there is more importance being placed on contact skills for hitters again, and which players are losing value as a result. Players examined in this episode include Joey Gallo (of course), J.D. Davis, Giancarlo Stanton, Oneil Cruz, and Teoscar Hernandez.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske breakdown pitchers that the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program rates a little lower than the general public has in drafts so far, based on ADP. Pitchers talked about in this episode include Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah. George Kirby, Christian Javier and Nestor Cortes!
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at some players that the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program say should be draft lower than they being drafted. Players in this episode include C.J. Cron, Bryce Harper, and Sal Perez.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk SwStr% and how this favored indicator can mean different things for different pitchers as we try to project 2023 performance. Pitchers in this podcast include Andrew Heaney, Blake Snell, Lance Lynn and Bradon Woodruff.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk about some players who have changed MLB addresses in the offseason and what the change in their home park effects might mean for 2023, but not after discussing the shifting statistical sands of baseball, especially the diminishing role of the homerun, and how that should influence your draft strategy. Players in this episode include Trea Turner, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, and Carlos Rodon.
After exploring some more of the basics of analytics, Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a deeper dive into what is becoming a very interesting first round of the 2023 fantasy baseball drafts due to the risk inherent in just about every pick, at that cost. Players talked about in this episode include Bobby Witt, Shohei Ohtani (the hitter), and Juan Soto
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman reflect a little more on this season's rule changes and how they affect your draft prep. They also discuss the top half of the first round and how it's going to gauge your risk tolerance early. Next up is the basics of projecting hitters, in this case starting with the difference between a hitter's xSLG and their actual SLG. They also breakdown some sluggers, including Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Ryan Mountcastle, and Ronald Acuna, telling you what to look for this season.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman open the 2023 Preseason with the traditional question: "What did you learn last year?" There are plenty of great insights in their answers. They also talk about the upcoming rule changes in MLB and discuss how to project starting pitcher performance in the upcoming season. They also breakdown some SPs including Tony Gonsolin, Michael Kopech, and Alex Manoah.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski talk some late game strategy as we head into the final month. That often involves prospects who are called up and players that are column-specific contributors. Lou and Sky breakdown some players that fit both categories in this episode including Corbin Carroll, Garrett Mitchell, TJ Friedl, Gunnar Henderson, and Rodolfo Castro.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski talk about players that were included in his most recent set of Player Notes for our Insiderbaseball.com subscribers. Players talked about in this episode include Vaughn Grissom, Charles LeBlanc, J.D. Davis and Keston Hiura.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about some player that changed address at the trade deadline and tell you whether their fantasy stock has risen or fallen. Players included in this episode: Tyler Mahle, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, and Frankie Montas!
The Insider Baseball Podcast is back! Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske give you some pitching buy lows to kick off your post-ASB action and also offer a couple of sell highs! Pitchers talked about include Alex Cobb and Joe Ryan
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk trade, not between their teams, but all facets of trading in fantasy baseball. Then they tell you about some players to target when you talk trade. Their list of buy-low targets includes Christian Walker, K'Bryan Hayes, Tyler Mahle, and Charlie Morton.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske go over Sky's player notes that he wrote for our subscribers this week. It's an even more in-depth look at Sky's insights. Among the players talked about in this episode are Charlie Morton, Lucas Giolito, Ross Stripling, and Jon Berti.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at xERA, diving into some pitchers whose actual ERA is much worse than their xERA and explaining what that may mean for the rest of the season. Pitchers discussed in this episode include Hunter Greene, German Marques, Tyler Mahle, and Zach Efflin.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at baseball's biggest discrepancies between actual Batting Average and Expected Batting Average so this year and break down which way each players performance is expected to head. Players talked about in this episode include Max Kepler, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew Vaughn, Christian Walker, and Corey Seager.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk about the most effective pitches in Major League Baseball and break down the pitchers that possess them. Two notes, first there are no fastballs on the list and two pitchers have two pitches in the top 10! The discussion is about how these pitches work in concert and what this means going forward for the more surprising pitchers on the list. Starting pitchers discussed in this episode include Tyler Anderson, Tony Gonsolin, Shane Bieber (important!), Joe Musgrove, and of course ... Shane McClanahan.
Fantistics has been talking a lot recently about looking at players at different angles to get the true picture of their performance instead of relying solely on YTD stats. Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske look at the last 14 days and identify some players who can be of some help, or maybe more help than you may think. Players included in this episode: Alejandro Kirk, Willson Contreras, Garrett Cooper, Joey Votto, and Teoscar Hernandez.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at some of the extreme platoon splits among hitters so far this season. You are going to be surprised. Some of these guys are surprise help for your roster, some may need a surprising amount of help. Player discussed in the episode include Jose Abreu, Hunter Renfroe, Jazz Chisolm, and, of course, Joc Pederson
There's a point in the season where stats are no longer a "small sample" and we can dig in on them a bit more. It happens at different points for different stats, but ISO is one of the earliest stats to become reliable. So Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at the ISO leader board and discuss how reliable the ISO leaders are in terms of continuing their performance level (They take on both the human and non-human division). Players in this episode include Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Yordan Alvarez and C.J. Cron
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske do their first annual podcast edition of their National Day of Potential Concern show on SiriusXM, which signals that point in the season where you are free to have some angst about some underperforming players. Lou and Sky attempt to establish the exact level of panic you should be experiencing about these players, including Marcus Semien, Whit Merrifield, Hunter Greene, Alex Verdugo, and Yasmani Grandal.
The guys spent the weekend celebrating the Fantistics National Day Concern, where we let you push the panic button on underperforming players if you like. Be here Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss overperforming players and decide whether they are buying on them, or not. Players included in the episode: Mile Mikolas, Nestor Cortes, Taylor Ward, and Ty France!
Several among the crop of young starting pitchers happened to start on a day that Sky Dombroske was writing Player Notes for our Fantistics Subscribers. He and Lou Blasi check in on their progress before discussing some other players in the news. Players talked about in this episode include Triston McKenzie, Tarik Skrubal, Michael Kopech, Kyle Wright, Hunter Greene, Robbie Ray, Bobby Witt Jr., and Julio Rodriguez.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman decided to stop trying to figure out whether it's the weather, or the ball, or the weird spring, or the humidors that are suppressing offense in baseball in 2022, and they instead look at some starting pitchers that are benefitting from it. SP discussed include Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, and Max Fried.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske breakdown the players that Sky included in his player notes to our Fantistics subscribers. Among the players included in this edition are Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins, Juan Yepez, Trevor Story, Tyler Stephenson, Adrian Houser, and Chad Kuhl.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman break down some hitters who have given some great returns so far on their draft costs. Will they continue to be profit centers or is it time to sell? Players that Brandon and Lou talk about in this episode include Anthony Rizzo, Max Kepler, Sheldon Neuse, and Rowdy Tellez.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske give you their current takes on the ball and whether it's suppressed offense in April. Then they look at the leaderboard for starters in SwStr% to see if we are likely looking at some permanent gains. Starters discussed in this episode include, Kevin Gausman, Pablo Lopez, Dylan Cease, and Tony Gonsolin
The offenses seem to be warming up with the weather, so Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske talk about some of the hitters who have been the most lucky and least lucky this season so far in terms of expected SLG% vs. actual SLG%.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about Sky's players note column for Fantistics subscribers and then explore hitters and pitchers who have been lucky and unlucky so far. Players included in this episode: Andrew Vaughn, Tommy Pham, Joe Ryan, Paul Blackburn, and Seiya Suzuki.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman explore some bullpen situations around the majors and look at the early leaderboards in HardHit% against to see what they can dig up. Pitchers discussed in this episode include Carlos Rodon, Jordon Montgomery, Chris Bassitt, and Max Scherzer.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske break down the waiver claim suggestions from this week's Coaches Meeting at Insiderbaseball.com (and then some). Included in the players discussed in this episode are Tommy Pham, Nester Cortes, Miles Straw, Andrew Vaughn, Kyle Wright, Conner Joe, and MacKenzie Gore.
It's too early to draw any lasting conclusions about much of anything, but Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss some players we already have some concerns about. Among the players we look into in this episode are Kyle Tucker, Xander, Eddie Rosario, Josh Donaldson, and Mookie Betts.
Are the hitters really that far ahead of the pitchers? Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske revisit that preseason theory from some. Then they talk early waiver claim targets and and Sky's first set of player notes for Insiderbaseball.com subscribers. Among the player talked about in this episode are Tylor Megill, Matt Brash, Zack Eflin, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Max Fried, Clayton Kershaw, Logan Webb, Triston McKenzie, and Cooper Hummel
As the Draft Season winds to a close, Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske discuss quality of contact for hitters and why it's such an important tool in evaluating and projecting hitters. Players broken down in this episode include Josh Donaldson, Sal Perez, Tyler O'Neill, and Joey Votto.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman touch on a number of news stories and players to catch you up as you prepare for your final drafts, and work towards Opening Day! Players talked about in the episode include Jacob DeGrom, Tyler Megill, Gavin Lux, Blake Treinan, Jeremy Pena, and Jesus Lazardo
You already know that Wins aren't predictable enough to lean on when placing a value on pitchers, right? What if I told you that ERA is even less predictable than Wins? That would be a game changer, right? Well, that has been true over the last 3 full seasons (2020 not included). So, how do we better chose between similar SPs? When we at Fantistics try to identify the best SPs in that vast group of seemingly interchangeable pitchers under your #1s and #2s, we look at skill set, and the indicator stats that reliably tell us how skilled each pitcher is, even if the results stats sometimes disagree. In this episode, Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske look at starters who have shown gains in control by lowering their walk rate. Included among the pitchers we talk about are Clayton Kershaw, Robbie Ray, Logan Webb, and John Means.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman breakdown all the baseball news that's fit to breakdown. They talk about the fantasy implications of the recent rash of signings, trades, and injuries. Among the players discussed in this episode include Kyle Schwarber, Matt Chapman, and Jack Flaherty.
Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske turn their attention to hitters who have a wide spread between their lowest and highest pick on various sites. You guys can't seem to agree on their value so we try to figure that out with you. Among the hitters featured in this episode are Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Ketel Marte, and Javier Baez!
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk about "Value Above Mean" or VAM, which is the cornerstone of the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program, giving a personal real-world example and showing why you pay up for elite talent at each position. They they breakdown a couple of SPs in the middle of the SP pool who can provide you with some Ks and why that is important when choosing lower round SPs.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about whether we should be worried more about pitchers this year due to the abbreviated preseason and late start to the season. Then they take a look at pitchers whose ADP varies wildly from site to site and decide where their true value lies. Pitchers talked about in this episode include Logan Webb, Trevor Rogers, Dylan Cease, and Trevor Bauer.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk about how we should deal with the unsigned free agents in our early draft. What concerns are we overplaying and what should we be concerned about. Free agents discussed in this episode include Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, and Freddie Freeman.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss sizing up a hitter approach analytically and spotting changes in their approach that can help us handicap their 2022 projections. Sky also brings a list of players who showed surprising pop last year and we discuss what they could be worth in the upcoming year. Hitters discussed include Kyle Tucker, Ryan Mountcastle, Avisail Garcia, and Manny Machado.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamermon discuss how to value SBs and more importantly how to draft them this preseason. If you are facing Juan Soto or Jose Ramirez in the top half of the first round, do you take Ramirez because of his speed game? Who is being drafted too high because of his speed and who can we look for late in the draft to fill our need for speed?
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman explore "luck stats" for hitters, focusing on BABIP. They talk about players who posted high BABIPs in 2021, including Tim Anderson, Starlin Marte, Austin Riley, and Tyler O'Neill.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss "luck stats" with pitchers, including HR/FB%, LOB%, and BABIP. They tell us how these stats have more to them than a luck element and how they can tell us about the pitcher's skill set and/or possibly point out an approach or mechanical change. Some pitchers will low BABIPs are broken down including Walker Buehler, Freddie Peralta, John Means and Tristan McKenzie!
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske tell us about Swinging Strike Percentage (SwStr%) and look at some SPs who showed improvement in that metric last year. That bring us to some interesting discussions about how to value pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Robbie Ray, and Kevin Gausman. Among other pitchers, Lou and Sky also debate who you should take when faced with the likely decision between Dylan Cease, Shane McClanahan, and Frankie Montas.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at hitters who saw gains or slippage in the Contact% last year, starting with an in-depth look at Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich as we figure out how how to reasonably value them in early drafts. Teoscar Hernandez and Robbie Grossman are among other players who are discussed.
Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske look at some players who might benefit, and see a fantasy value boost as a result of the adoption of a universal DH in MLB. They also look at some top round early bargains among hitters. For example, can you want an extra round for Luis Roberts and more importantly, should you? And they take a look at some hitters who say some gains, or some slippage in Barrel% last year and they break down their prospect for the upcoming season.
Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman of Fantistics talk about how we should approach starting pitching in early drafts with the looming delays in spring training and potentially the regular season. They also discuss how to be efficient and productive with the glut of information we have to project performance. And we take a look at Barrel% and some pitchers who gave up a higher or lower percentage of Barrels last year. They break these pitchers down to see what it all means for the upcoming season!