Catcher's Corner: Recent Episodes

Eric Samulski

On Catcher's Corner we talk fantasy baseball from a catcher's point-of-view. Eric and Sami use the lessons for their playing days in working with pitchers, scouting opposing hitters, and calling games to help you see beyond just the metrics. Blending stats with on-field scouting experience, they'll tell you pitcher performances can you believe in, which arms have a breakout looming, or even which hitters have a flaw that opponents may begin to attack. Come from the baseball, stay for the banter. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Eno Sarris (@enosarris) live from the Oakland A’s protest game to discuss his blend of traditional sports journalism and fantasy analysis. Then they dive into the Stuff+ metric, how to use it, and which pitchers Stuff+ may be over or underselling. 

Players Discussed:

Tyler Glasnow

Taj Bradley

Chris Bassitt

Graham Ashcraft

Clarke Schmidt

Tanner Houck

Kyle Bradish

Zach Eflin

Michael Kopech

MacKenzie Gore

⁠Stuff+ leaderboard ⁠

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) blend fantasy baseball analysis with fantasy baseball therapy as they discuss personal biases, blind spots, and why we create such attachments to players on our teams. They end with a therapy-style breakthrough on the best way to approach FAAB.

Through all of this, they’ll discuss Brent Rooker, Nathan Eovaldi, Pablo Lopez, Jake Fraley, Triston Casas, Jake Burger, Matthew Liberatore, and many more.

Rundown

  • How aware are you of your own biases and are biases just a result of managing out of fear?
  • What are your blind spots? Can we control our blindspots if we know they’re there?
  • Why do we have such blind spots for rookies? We just continually expect them to pop and we hold them too long when not many really hit.
  • Is there a more efficient waiver wire strategy that caters to the long-term nature of fantasy baseball?

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) go back to their roots and just talk baseball. They cover why some pitchers can be ineffective with elite stuff, why pitchers made suddenly lose feel for pitches, and what leads to hitting slumps. Along they way, they discuss a handful of slumping players and discuss when to trust what you see and when to use "the data."

RUNDOWN

  • We discuss potentially coaching our kids, even though our kids are too young to be coached

  • Sami is pissed that he went against his gut and dropped Bryson Stott. When do you trust what you see over the data points? If you limit yourself, which data should you use?

  • Jack Suwinski tangent on how to use Statcast rolling windows

Does This Guy Suck?

Pitchers 

Graham Ashcraft 

Dylan Cease

Domingo German

MacKenzie Gore

Gavin Stone

Sandy Alcantara

Hitters 

Willy Adames 

Jorge Mateo

Brandon Marsh

Brenton Doyle

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome KC Bubba (@bdentrek) to discuss hitters who are scuffling of late. Some were early-season waiver wire darlings, others were early-round draft picks. Who should we be worried about? Who should we be trying to trade for? They dig into it all here.

News and Notes:

Luis Ortiz debut on Tuesday

Eury Perez getting the call

Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel both called up

Casey Schmitt called up

Struggling Hitters: Are we buying low or moving on?

Bryson Stott

Andres Gimenez

Ryan McMahon

Josh Naylor

Brandon Lowe 

Nolan Arenado

Seiya Suzuki

Jack Suwinski

Jarred Kelenic

Wrap-up question: When do you cut bait with a waiver add hitters? How different is it from cutting bait with a hitter you drafted in the mid-to-late rounds?

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcomes Fangraphs editor and mustache aficionado Paul Sporer (@sporer) for a starting pitching smorgasbord! They discuss all of the recent starting pitching prospects being called up and then dive into some veterans who are over-performing to decide if these starts are real or not.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

Offenses to attack? How much do you factor in opposing offense when starting a pitcher?

Hitter Call-Ups

Matt Mervis

Maikel Garcia

Ranking the Rookies. Our thoughts on all of:

Tanner Bibee 

Taj Bradley

Mason Miller

Bryce Miller 

Logan Allen 

Louie Varland

Gavin Stone 

Brandon Pfaadt 

Matthew Liberatore 

Bryce Elder

Are you for real?

Seth Lugo 

Matt Strahm 

Vince Velasquez 

Eduardo Rodriguez 

Domingo German 

Justin Steele 

Drew Smyly

Wade Miley 

Some final words/advice about process and sticking to your evaluations

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@believe_Sami) discuss early-season regrets, both with players they didn’t draft and those they did. They discuss how upset to be about your team in April and then dive into players who could be nearing a breakout. 

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

What can we react to in April and what should we ignore?

FOMO Regrets (Players We Don’t Have Enough Shares of)

Josh Lowe

Jarred Kelenic

Matt Chapman

James Outman

Joe Ryan

Jorge Mateo

Buyer’s Remorse (Players We Have That We Wish We Didn’t)

Lance Lynn

Manny Machado

Wil Myers

Isaac Paredes

Likely Bouncebacks: Players We’ll Regret Regretting

Josiah Gray

Jose Berrios 

Jack Suwinski

Joey Gallo

Other Potential Bouncebacks

Miguel Vargas

Josh Naylor

George Springer

Jake Burger

Kerry Carpenter

Matt Carpenter

Trent Grisham

Franmil Reyes

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) to discuss recent prospect call-ups and young players who are scuffling and surging to start the year. Who should we be excited about? Who should we be worried about? They dig into it all here. 

Recent Prospect Call-ups (Who’s worth adding?)

Mason Miller

Brayan Bello

Vaughn Grissom

Oswald Peraza

Brett Baty

Zach Neto 

Brett Wisley

Tyler Freeman

Any of Tucupita Marcano, Jordan Diaz, Emnamuel Valdez, Lenyn Sosa worthy of 12 or 15 team rosters?

Young Players Scuffling. Should we worry?

Miguel Vargas

Edouard Julien

Anthony Volpe

Gunnar Henderson

Triston Casas

Young Players Streaking. Are they for real?

James Outman

Nolan Gorman

Josh Lowe

Bryson Stott

Josh Jung

Spencer Steer

QUICK HITTER: Chris’ Favorite Prospect Stashes in 12 and 15 team re-draft leagues

Brandon Pfaadt

Matthew Liberatore

Tanner Bibee

Logan Allen

Matt Mervis 

Mark Vientos

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome fellow Brooklynite Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) to discuss hitters. Kidding. They discussed starting pitching, played some name games, and had a generally wonderful time while giving lots of fantasy advice on who to pick up or panic on, etc. 

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Should We Panic?

Corbin Burnes

Max Scherzer

Zac Gallen

Chris Sale

(Shane Bieber tangent)

For Real or Fugazzi:

Pablo Lopez

Mike Clevinger

Noah Syndergaard

Graham Ashcraft

Justin Steele

Zach Eflin

Claim or Lame?

Clarke Schmidt (44% rostered)

Tyler Mahle (33% rostered)

Trevor Rogers (28% rostered)

Michael Kopech (28% rostered)

Yusei Kikuchi (27% rostered)

Mackenzie Gore (19% rostered)

Dylan Dodd (15% rostered)

Jared Shuster (20% rostered)

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) premiere their inaugural Sunday Six waiver wire show where they give you six starting pitchers who are under 50% rostered in Yahoo formats that they think you should be adding on the wire. Short and sweet and oh so useful.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

Kyle Bradish

Zach Eflin

Justin Steele

Eduardo Rodriguez

Roansy Contreras

Jared Shuster

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) does a solo pod breaking down his favorite waiver wire pick-ups for both shallow and deeper leagues. He covers both hitters and pitchers who are rostered in under 50% of NFBC 12-team leagues and runs through what types of leagues he believes they'll be valuable in and what you can expect from adding them.

Since these are quick-hitter type analyses, we're not going to do a rundown of all the names mentioned, but some of them were Darick Hall, Jake Cave, David Hensley, A.J. Minter, Nick Anderson, AJ Pollock, Nick Maton, Dom Smith, Mike Moustakas, Matthew Boyd, Graham Ashcraft, Shintaro Fujinami, Will Smith, and so many more

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome reigning Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) to discuss his detailed spring training tracker. They walk through some of the remaining starting jobs across the league that are up for grabs and could have major fantasy implications. Who is likely to win the job? Are they worth drafting? They discuss it all.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

Intro: Where can you read Mike’s work and what he focuses on in spring training

Position Battles to Pay Attention to: Who is Winning a Job?

  • Astros 2B

  • David Hensley vs Mauricio Dubon

  • Yankees middle infield

  • Oswald Peraza vs Anthony Volpe

  • Is Kiner-Falefa in OF?

  • Twins 2B/3B

  • Who plays with Jorge Polanco out and Jose Miranda banged up?

  • Marlins outfield

  • Jesus Sanchez vs Bryan De La Cruz vs Garrett Cooper

  • Mariners outfield

  • Jared Kelenic vs AJ Pollock vs Dylan Moore

  • Cardinals outfield

  • Jordan Walker vs Tyler O’Neill vs Dylan Carlson vs Juan Yepez

  • Diamondbacks OF/DH/3B

  • Lourdes Gurriel vs Jake McCarthy vs Alek Thomas vs Evan Longoria vs Josh Rojas

  • Rockies infield

  • Mike Moustakas vs Elehuris Montero

  • Athletics CF

  • Christian Pache vs Esteury Ruiz

  • Royals outfield/DH

  • Where does Franmil play?

  • Brewers 2B and 3B

  • Luis Urias vs Brice Turang vs Owen Miller vs Mike Brosseau

--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcomes prospect expert and Top Chef superfan James Anderson (@RealJRAnderson) to discuss what factors determine when to draft prospects in redraft leagues. Then they run through a laundry list of prospects and discuss their potential value for 2023.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

Intro: Where can you read James’ work

Rookie strategy: Generally, how comfortable are you taking rookies early in redraft leagues? What are the determining factors in knowing if you will or will not take the plunge?

Players we know will be good but are you in or out at ADP?

  • Corbin Carroll
  • Gunnar Henderson
  • Jordan Walker
  • Triston Casas

Rookie Catchers:

  • Gabriel Moreno
  • Shea Langaliers
  • Francisco Alvarez
  • Endy Rodriguez
  • Luis Campusano

Rookie Pitchers:

  • Grayson Rodriguez
  • Hunter Brown
  • Andrew Painter
  • Brandon Pfaadt
  • Drey Jameson vs Ryne Nelson
  • Hayden Wesneski
  • Mackenzie Gore
  • Cade Cavalli
  • Ken Waldichuk
  • Brayan Bello
  • Cody Morris
  • Kyle Harrison
  • Bobby Miller
  • Bryce Miller
  • Gavin Stone
  • Ricky Tiedemann
  • Taj Bradley
  • DL Hall

Rookie Hitters:

  • Miguel Vargas
  • Esteury Ruiz
  • Ezequiel Tovar
  • Oswald Peraza vs Anthony Volpe
  • Josh Jung
  • Oscar Colas
  • Garrett Mitchell
  • Brice Turang (Tangent: Brian Anderson)
  • Brett Baty vs Curtis Mead
  • Spencer Steer vs Christian Encarnacion-Strand
  • Parker Meadows
  • Maikel Garcia
  • James Outman

--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome reigning FWSA Baseball Article of the Year writer John Laghezza (@JohnLaghezza) to discuss his awesome new rankings site. They also discuss what matters and doesn't matter when it comes to Spring Training, look into some Spring Training tidbits to see if they care, and break down some key players from John's rankings.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

John's rankings: what are they and where can you find them?

Spring Training discussion

  • What matters? What should fantasy baseball players actually be watching for or taking note of?

Spring Training For Real or Fugazi

  • Jared Kelenic his two HRs in his first spring game
  • Sean Manaea touching 95 already
  • Shintaro Fujinami throwing 95 with a 91 mph split
  • Brendan Donovan has a new stance and is selling out for pull power
  • Jo Adell added 20 pounds of muscle

John’s Stats

  • Eric has Tyler O’Neill 80th and John has him 113th.
  • Riley or Devers?
  • Adames, Dansby, Xander, Anderson: Who do you draft and why?
  • Favorite hitter after pick 200 (using Feb ADP on NFBC)
  • Favorite hitter after pick 300 (using Feb ADP on NFBC)

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) talk about pitchers who are debuting new pitches at Spring Training and if it matters to their current value. Then they use guidelines from The Process to create an ideal seven-man starting pitching corps.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

4:45 - Oswald Peraza spring HR. Is he the starting SS?

7:20 - Which SP with a new pitch interests you the most?

9:15 - Robbie Ray (Splitter)

12:30 - Dylan Cease (Changeup)

19:30 - Joe Ryan (Split-change)

23:15 - Jameson Taillon (Sweeper)

26:50 - Brady Singer (Changeup)

29:10 - Tyler Mahle (Slider)

32:00 - Brad Keller (Curveball)

35:45 - Building our ideal pitching staff with $80 for 7 spots (only $20+ pitchers and $0-$10 pitchers)

38:30 - Sami’s Aces

  • Kevin Gausman
  • Joe Musgrove

40:45 - Eric’s Aces

  • Brandon Woodruff
  • Luis Castillo

45:45 - Sami’s Remaining Staff

  • Lance Lynn
  • Lucas Giolito
  • Logan Gilbert
  • Charlie Morton
  • Nick Lodolo

56:00 Eric’s Remaining Staff

  • Logan Webb
  • Chris Sale
  • Nick Lodolo
  • Lucas Giolito
  • Kyle Wright

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) are back with Season Three of the Catcher's Corner. They talk about dad stuff, recent breaking news, and an under-the-radar rule change we should be focusing on. Then they dive into the main topic, which is the top-end starting pitchers who are the best bet to return value based on current ADP.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Intro (shooting the shit)

4:00 - Why the focus on balks could be a bigger issue than we think

9:00 - What do the Yankees do without Montas?

15:30 - Jacob deGrom side tightness (can you draft him at all?)

17:50 - Lessons we learned from last season and adjustments we’re making

26:22 - break

27:00 - Pitchers with $20 projected value that we’re most AND least interested in at cost

29:25 - Kevin Gausman (ADP: 60th)

32:15 - Carlos Rodon (ADP: 42nd)

36:00 - Joe Musgrove (ADP: 80th)

38:00 - Lucas Giolito (ADP: 148th)

44:20 - Robbie Ray (ADP: 101st)

47:10 - Sandy Alcantara (ADP: 27th)

53:00 - Spencer Strider (ADP: 32nd)

56:00 - Brandon Woodruff (ADP: 34th)

56:50 - Gerrit Cole (ADP: 19th)

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Eric Samulski (@SamskiNYC) sits down with two-time All-Star and World Series champion Stephen Vogt to talk about his decision to retire this season and 16-year professional baseball career. They talk about the "I Believe in Stephen Vogt" chants, the final at-bat that went viral on social media, and also dive into questions on the players Vogt loved/hated to catch and hit off of and much more. 

As always, all music in this episode is produced by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose music can be found on Spotify. 

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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With Sami on vacation, Eric welcomes John Laghezza (@MLBMovingAvg) to talk about starting pitchers that interest them for the end of the season. They also talk about the philosophy of baseball and how to “create fishermen” in fantasy baseball by having people think about process and not just results.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

TIMESTAMPS

START - Eric and John talk baseball and creating useful fantasy content. They chat about the value of discussing process: how to find the answers and what to look for and not just focusing on getting the “right” answers. They also talk about adding value to the fantasy space and the value of opening up conversations.

15:00 - Specific player analysis starts

Second Half Stars: Players we're banking on solid end-of-season performance from (plus some we're not)

  • Reid Detmers
  • Braxton Garrett
  • Brady Singer
  • Ranger Suarez
  • Janson Junk
  • Felix Bautista
  • Other closer specs
  • Nick Lodolo
  • Jose Quintana

Quick Hitters: A quick list of hitters to keep an eye on

  • Tommy Pham
  • Jose Siri
  • Lars Nootbaar
  • James Outman
  • Miguel Vargas
  • Jake McCarthy
  • Paul DeJong

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Nate Marcum (@natemarcum) of Reliever Recon to discuss what the trade deadline could mean for fantasy relievers. They discuss pitchers most likely to be traded away and who to stash in their place. Then they end with some players they’re fading in the second half and others they’re actively trying to get on their teams.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Rundown

News and Notes

  • Is Tanner Scott still the closer in Miami?
  • Garrett Whitlock gets a save in Boston. Is he the closer?
  • MacKenzie Gore with an elbow injury. Drop in all formats?
  • Daniel Vogelbach traded to the Mets
  • Willson Contreras and David Robertson to Mets?

Trade Deadline Impact on Closers: Who is most likely to be dealt?

  • Chicago (NL)
  • Kansas City
  • Oakland
  • Colorado
  • Detroit
  • Arizona
  • Baltimore
  • Pittsburgh
  • What’s happening in St. Louis. Is Gallegos droppable?

Second Half Fades (Players we think are in for rough second haves)

  • Trevor Rogers
  • Taylor Ward
  • Jeff McNeil (vs Nico Hoerner tangent)

Second Half Optimism (Players we think are in for good second halves)

  • Jean Segura (Other injured players to stash: Mitch Haniger, Ozzie Albies, Jesus Luzardo, Dustin May)
  • Nick Lodolo
  • Reid Detmers
  • Anthony Santander
  • Josh Lowe
  • Marcus Semien
  • Jon Gray

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Chris Torres (@TorresTakes) to discuss whether or not Sami is being replaced on the podcast and what to do about current breaking news, like injuries to Ozzie Albies and Liam Hendriks. Then they discuss the catcher waiver wire landscape and look ahead for which fringe starting hitters have good upcoming weekends.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

4:00 - Trending News Breakdown

  • Fernando Tatis Jr. not healing as the Padres want
  • Ozzie Albies fractured foot. Which 2B can you add to replace him?
    • Jon Berti, Cesar Hernandez, Matt Reynolds, Ezequial Duran, Cavan Biggio
  • Liam Hendriks to the IL. How much FAAB for Graveman?
  • Corey Knebel is out as closer. Would you add Dominguez over Graveman?
  • Edward Cabrera to the IL.
  • Yoan Moncada has a great day. Does it matter?
  • Leody Tavares gets called up:
    • Taveras, Jarren Duran, or Edward Olivares?
  • Oneil Cruz is coming up. Is he? I mean, really, is he?

39:00 - Catcher Landscape: We get in on the talk about the current crop of streaming catchers

  • Gabriel Moreno
  • Christian Bethancourt
  • Cal Raleigh
  • Jose Trevino
  • Omar Narvaez
  • Carson Kelly
  • Elias Diaz
  • Brian Severen

48:30 - Fringe Starters with Good Weekend Schedules: Are they playable?

  • Didi Gregorius
  • Bryson Stott
  • Alec Bohm
  • Seth Brown
  • Hunter Dozier
  • Andrew Benintendi
  • Nomar Mazara
  • Jurickson Profar
  • Jake Cronenworth
  • Jorge Alfaro
  • Ji-Man Choi
  • Vidal Brujan
  • Dylan Moore
  • J.P Crawford?
  • Orlando Arcia
  • Adam Duvall
  • Michael Chavis
  • Marcell Ozuna

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB) to discuss recent pieces of news and then play a game of Cut or Keep followed by a game of Claim or Lame. This episode has tons of quick-hitting analysis on as many players as we could possibly fit.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

4:00 - Top News Stories

  • Joe Maddon is fired. Do managers matter for fantasy?
  • Tylor Megill coming back this weekend. Start him right away?
  • Ezequial Duran called up by the Rangers
  • Travis Swaggerty called up by the Pirates
  • Elehuris Montero called up by the Rockies

21:00 - Cut or Keep

  • Juan Yepez
  • Josh Naylor
  • Connor Joe
  • Yasmani Grandal
  • Javier Baez
  • Trevor Rogers
  • Jon Gray
  • Josiah Gray
  • Reid Detmers

53:45 - Claim or Lame

  • Jeffrey Springs
  • Graham Ashcraft
  • Zach Eflin
  • Michael Wacha
  • Ross Stripling
  • Brady Singer
  • Alex Kirilloff
  • Oscar Gonzalez
  • Jack Suwinski
  • Lane Thomas
  • Luis Garcia (Nationals)
  • Jon Berti
  • Jose Trevino
  • Cal Raleigh
  • Curt Casali
  • Spec Save Claims

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcomes Vlad Sedler (@RotoGut to talk about his takeaways now that we're two months into the fantasy baseball season. Then they play some Cut, Keep, or Claim with trending waiver wire options as well as some struggling veterans.

All music in the show is by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (his complete work can be found on Spotify).

Timestamps

2:15 - Early takeaways from the first two months of the fantasy baseball season. Players we missed on and changes in our process we’re happy about.

Cut, Keep, or Claim (Yahoo roster %)

12:30 - Tim Anderson/Jean Segura

15:20 - Jose Berrios (91% rostered)

17:45 - Merrill Kelly (46% rostered)

21:00 - Reid Detmers (16% rostered)

24:10 - Spencer Strider (40% rostered)

28:00 - Jeffrey Springs (50% rostered)

31:05 - Jakob Junis (14% rostered)

33:45 - Edward Cabrera (12% rostered)

37:15 - Tanner Houck tangent (Houck as the new Whitlock?)

38:00 - Javier Baez (89% rostered)

41:00 - Bryan Reynolds (88% rostered)

43:15 - Jesus Sanchez (22% rostered)

45:45 - Michael Harris (33% rostered) or Christopher Morel (42% rostered)

48:15 - Evan Longoria (12% rostered)

50:00 - Trevor Larnach (7% rostered)

51:30 - Michael Chavis (4% rostered)

54:00 - Edwin Rios (13% rostered)

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Jon Anderon (@JonPGH) to talk about some of the hitters who are popping on the metrics he's created for his daily substack. Then they continue their Twitter debate on whether or not hot streaks are real and if there's anything that can tell us when one is coming. 

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

3:30 - Aroldis Chapman to IL. Is Clay Holmes the closer for the rest of the year?

5:55 - Kris Bryant to IL. Drop or hold?

8:50 - Bryce Harper UCL update: trade?

11:45 - Roansy Contreras debut. Are we adding?

Good JA Score Hitters:

18:20 - Trey Mancini

23:30 - Manuel Margot

28:00 - Gleyber Torres

33:45 - What is Jon’s Magic Formula? Why does it like Christian Walker?

38:40 - Josh Naylor

40:50 - Tyler Naquin

45:15 - The Hot Streak debate: What are they? Are they real? Did we just uncover how you can tell if they’re coming?

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Chris Torres (@TorresTakes) to talk through this week's intriguing waiver wire adds and then discuss some notable players on recent hot and cold streaks. 

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Waiver Wire Reaction

Interesting players added in Main Event leagues. Where do we stand on them?

  • Alek Thomas
  • Wil Myers
  • Ian Kennedy
  • Jeffrey Springs
  • Chase Silseth
  • Vidal Brujan (with Lowe on IL)

Hot Streak Hitters

Harrison Bader

Kolten Wong

Josh Bell

Brandon Nimmo

Hunter Renfroe

Patrick Wisdom

Christian Yelich

Cold Streak Hitters

Cody Bellinger

Franmil Reyes

Tyler O’Neill

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Sami (@Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) break down a crop of potential waiver wire starting pitchers after watching their starts during the week.

Timestamps

3:00 - George Kirby, SEA 

9:00 - Kyle Bradish, BAL 

15:00 - Yusei Kikuchi, TOR

20:30 - Bruce Zimmermann, BAL

27:45 -  Alex Faedo, DET 

36:00 - Dane Dunning, TEX

41:00 - Drew Rasmussen, TB

49:15 - Josh Winder, MIN

55:00 - Chase Silseth, LAA

1:04:00 - Eric and Sami rank the pitchers

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) chat with Toby Guevin (@BatFlipCrazy) about the hot/cold starts of some of the pre-season’s most polarizing players. Plus, they cover the potential value of a victory lap and also discuss how much attention you should be paying to your standings at this point in the season.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

2:45 - General discussion on the fantasy baseball environment

7:15 - At what point in the year do you react to standings? Do you fix based on categories or just add talent?

10:15 - Main topic: Victory Laps or Honey Traps? Looking at pre-season polarizing players and decide if people were right about their concerns or praise or if it’s just an early season mirage.

Pre-Season Concerns

11:00 - Marcus Semien (with a tangent on the value of victory laps and why Twitter isn’t the best forum for fantasy discussion)

18:40 - Randy Arozarena

25:55 - Trevor Story

31:00 - Whit Merrifield

35:50 - Shane Bieber

38:45 - Robbie Ray

43:00 - Sandy Alcantara

Pre-Season Darlings

52:00 - Jazz Chisholm

56:50 - Francisco Lindor

1:01:00 - Tommy Edman

1:04:00 - Joe Musgrove

1:06:00 - Eric Lauer

1:10:45 - For Real of Fugazi

Brandon Drury

Manuel Margot

Taylor Ward

Paul Blackburn

Daniel Bard

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) chat with Rotoballer's Nicklaus Gaut (@nt_burtreynolds) about hitting stats that have begun to stabilize and whether some league leaders - both good and bad - could be potential breakouts or guys that need to be dropped.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

Blast Rate Leaders (Do we believe?)

7:00 - Rowdy Tellez

15:00 - Christian Walker

20:20 - Eugenio Suarez

28:00 - Anthony Rizzo

O-Swing% (Are we concerned?)

32:00 - Bobby Witt Jr., CJ Abrams, and how we’re drafting rookies

44:45 - Amed Rosario

Exit Velocity on FB/LD (Do we believe?)

47:00 - Jeremy Peña

51:00 - Pavin Smith

53:55 - Cristian Pache

Contact Rate (Do we believe?)

57:35 - Steven Kwan

1:01:00 - Alex Verdugo

SwStr% (Are we concerned?)

1:05:10 - Avisaíl Garcia

1:06:30 - Bobby Dalbec

1:07:20 - Jarred Kelenic

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) chat with Fantrax's' Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) about some of the starting pitchers and hitters who are off to hot starts and whether or not they're buying in.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

3:15 - Chris’s Quick Grades Column

7:55 - Byron Buxton: Survived one scare. If you have Buxton, do you hold or trade?

11:00 - Marcus Semien: Any cause to be worried?

14:30 - Frank Schwindel: Is he still a must roster player?

17:30 - Mike Yastrzemski: How do we make sense of SF playing time?

Cold Starts That Have Us Worried

22:00 - Zack Wheeler

26:30 - Julio Urias

Hot Pitchers: Are We Buying In?

29:15 - Matt Brash

33:30 - Andrew Heaney

36:40 - Kyle Wright

40:15 - Paul Blackburn

42:45 - Merrill Kelly

45:30 - Brad Keller

47:35 - Nestor Cortes

Hot Hitters: Are We Buying In?

50:00 - Jesus Sanchez

51:10 - Owen Miller

54:15 - Ji-Man Choi

56:55 - Jurickson Profar

58:30 - Jeremy Peña

1:00:01 - Hunter Dozier

1:02:40 - Maikel Franco

1:04:45 - Santiago Espinal

1:07:00 - Taylor Ward

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) chat with Fangraphs' Paul Sporer (@Sporer) about some pitchers he and Eric ranked differently in their Top 100 Starting Pitcher articles. They also review some recent news that will impact SP rankings and discuss their favorite arms heading into the 2022 season.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose new album can be found on Spotify

TimeStamps

News and Notes

7:30 - Where do you move Manaea up in your rankings after the trade?

11:00 - What does this do to your rankings on MacKenzie Gore?

13:00 - Where do you move Tylor Megill up after the deGrom news or does he stay the same?

Paul’s Higher (SPs who Paul ranked higher than Eric)

15:30 - Trevor Rogers (Paul 15, Eric 25) → Paul making the case for him as a top-20 guy

20:30 - Eduardo Rodriguez (Paul 27, Eric 39)

26:20 - Tanner Houck (Paul 38, Eric 56)

Eric’s Higher (SPs who Eric ranked higher than Paul)

32:15 - Shane Bieber (Eric 10, Paul 20)

39:10 - Luis Castillo (Eric 37, Paul 56) Plus a digression on whether the Reds may actually be good

48:10 - Sonny Gray (Eric 30, Paul 45)

Shared Concerns

52:45 - Tarik Skubal (Paul 67, Eric 61) ADP is SP 53

LoveFest (SPs who Paul and Eric are both “in” on)

58:30 - Logan Gilbert (Paul 36, Eric 34)

1:00:30 - Bailey Ober (Paul 44, Eric 68)

Favorite Arms

1:06:00 - Paul’s three favorite arms not mentioned above

  • Joe Ryan
  • Jose Urquidy
  • Triston McKenzie

1:09:30 - Sami’s two favorite arms not mentioned above

  • Dylan Cease
  • Matt Brash

1:14:50 - Eric’s two favorite arms not mentioned above

  • Shane McClanahan
  • Reid Detmers

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) talks to RotoWire prospect writer James Anderson (@TheRealJRAnderson) about everything spring training prospects. Biggest risers and fallers. Where to draft the top studs and much more.

Timestamps

3:45 - Will the new CBA change the timeline of prospect promotions?

5:50 - James’ Biggest Spring Training Prospect Risers

8:45 - James’ Biggest Spring Training Prospect Fallers

11:20 - Would You Rather? (Which prospect would you rather have for 2022?)

  • Josh Lowe or Vidal Brujan?
  • Riley Greene or Spencer Torkelson?
  • Spencer Howard or Glenn Otto?
  • Hunter Greene or Nick Lodolo?
  • Roansy Contreras or Miguel Yajure?
  • Deivi Garcia or Luis Gil?
  • Tucker Davidson or Kyle Muller?
  • Mitch Keller or Matt Brash?
  • Mackenzie Gore or Jesus Luzardo?
  • Josiah Gray or Tylor Megill?
  • Jarred Kelenic or Jo Adell?

36:45 - Eric asks an NL-only question on behalf of his 6th-grade school math teacher.

39: 15 - Love It, Like It, or Leave It (for 2022):

  • Bobby Witt (at current ADP of 82 overall)
  • Julio Rodriguez (at current ADP of 242 overall)
  • Oneil Cruz (at current ADP of 214)
  • Jeremy Peña (at current ADP of 340)
  • Keston Hiura (at current ADP of 350)
  • MJ Melendez
  • Reid Detmers
  • DL Hall
  • Cole Winn
  • Josh Jung
  • Jose Miranda
  • Trevor Larnach
  • Jhoan Duran
  • Kevin Smith
  • Daulton Jefferies
  • Brandon Marsh
  • Yusniel Diaz
  • Jarren Duran
  • Triston Casas
  • CJ Abrams
  • Grayson Rodriguez

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) breakdown the most-discussed starting pitching performances of spring training before welcoming Reds beat writer C Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) on to discuss all things Reds: When will Luis Castillo be back? Will the Reds use a closer? Will Hunter Greene and/or Nick Lodolo break camp and much more.

As always, all music from this episode is by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger whose new album can be found on Spotify.

Timestamps

1:00 - Eric and Sami debrief on early spring training storylines:

Pablo Lopez

Justin Verlander

Jesus Luzardo

Mitch Keller

19:00 - C. Trent talks about the life of a beat writer and how he got his start covering baseball.

27:15 - What to expect from the Reds this season. Are they done trading?

30:20 - How long will Luis Castillo be out?

31:00 - Will Hunter Greene and/or Nick Lodolo make the rotation? What should we expect?

36:15 - What are the long-term plans for Nick Senzel? Will he be a regular starter in 2022?

37:15 - How will the OF/DH playing time shake out in 2022?

42:40 - Is Mike Moustakas healthy? What’s his outlook for 2022?

43:30 - How healthy is Lucas Sims? When should we expect him back and will he be the closer with the Reds or will the Reds even use a traditional closer? What names should we keep an eye on?

49:45 - Is Reiver Sanmartin locked into the rotation? What can we expect?

53:00 - Who is C Trent’s breakout Red for 2022?

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Sami (Believe_Sami) and Eric (@SamskiNYC) welcome Sara Sanchez (@BCB_Sara) to sort through all the madness of the first three days of MLB transactions after the end of the lockout.

All music is produced by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (new album available on Spotify)

Rundown

  • Fernando Tatis fractures his wrist. Where can you draft him?

  • Ronald Acuña won't be back until May and won’t play the OF until late May. Where can you draft him?

  • Chris Sale has a stress fracture in his rib. Is he injury-prone?

  • Seyia Suzuki signed with the Cubs. What should we expect? Are the Cubs not trading Willson Contreras?

  • Kris Bryant to Rockies. How high can you draft him now? Who goes to the bench?

  • Kyle Schwarber to the Phillies. Why Sara thinks he's going to have a HUGE year.

  • Garrett Whitlock will be in a “modern SP role” but is that useful to you?

  • How does this help Matt Barnes and - maybe - Jake Diekman?

  • Aaron Ashby is being stretched out as a starter. How high can you draft him?

  • The Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo but is he the same player?

  • What the Cubs' signing of Andrelton Simmons does for their pitching staff. What happens to Nico Hoerner?

  • Why Blake Treinen might not be as safe as we thought.

Our Fantasy Gainers from the early moves:

Alex Colome, Hunter Greene, Nick Senzel, Josh Harrison, Jose Miranda, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Our Fantasy Fallers from the early moves:

Jesse Winker, Gio Urshela, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Dylan Moore/Abraham Toro, Julio Rodriguez, Adbert Alzolay

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@believe_Sami) attempt to tackle the current ADP of the top 15 relief pitchers, so they call in the experts. In this joint podcast, they are joined by Aaron Pags (@FantasyTriage) and Nate Marcum (@natemarcum) of Reliever Recon, who give you everything you need to know about the upper tier of relievers and where you can find your value.

(4:30)

Discuss Mark Appel Tweet on the current state of the Minor Leagues: https://twitter.com/markappel26/status/1493693618988720137

(17:30)

Is Raisel alone in the tier below Hendrick and Hader? (RP3)

Why is Ryan Pressly potentially a better option at his price?

(27:30)

Is Emmanuel Clase or Edwin Diaz the safer option?

(38:15)

Should we be worried about Aroldis Chapman?

(45:30)

Why does Kenley Jansen belong in the tiers above?

Why it might be best to get Kenley and avoid Jordan Romano, Will Smith, and Giovanny Gallegos

(54:00)

Should we just avoid the pitchers in the tier above to take Craig Kimbrel?

(58:00)

Why is Corey Knebel not as enticing as he was at the ADP before he signed with Philadelphia?

Why is Mark Melanconis being drafted way too high?

Is Camilo Doval actually the closer in San Francisco?

(1:09)

Should we be OK strategizing to plan and handcuff saves?

Can we safely roster players who are not “primary closers”?

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Eric and Sami continue their breakdown of pitchers and catchers going at similar ADP in order to help identify who might be a target or fade at their current value. 

All music in this episode is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose music can be found on Spotify

Timestamps

(6:15) Catcher’s Report

Tyler Stephenson (Catcher 6 - ADP133 )

Keibert Ruiz (Catcher 7 - ADP 142)

Pitcher’s Report

(19:30) - Robby Ray (SP 13 - ADP 47)

(28:30) - Freddy Peralta (SP 14 - ADP 52)

(38:45) -Chris Sale (SP 15 - ADP 54)

(44:30) - Logan Webb (SP 16 - ADP 63)

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Sami and Eric continue their ADP breakdown, looking at pitchers and catchers who have a similar ADP in drafts from January 1st to present and discussing where they stand on those current trends. 

All music in this episode is created by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (whose music - and new album - can be found on Spotify)

(6:30) Catcher’s Report

Would you draft Willson Contreras over Daulton Varsho and/  or Yasmani Grandal?

(15:00) Reliever ADP Trends

Are you taking either Josh Hader (ADP 31) or Liam Hendricks (ADP 32) where they’re being drafted and, if not, where are you getting your RP1? Can you win without taking an early RP?

(22:45) Pitcher’s Report

A breakdown of each of the following pitchers and discuss where they should be taken in drafts. Is the current order the right order?

Shane Bieber (SP ADP 8)

Julio Urias (SP ADP 9)

Sandy Alcantara (SP ADP 10)

Aaron Nola (SP ADP 11)

Lucas Giolito (SP ADP 12)

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Eric and Sami start of Season 2 by talking about the lockout and Eric's first draft of the year. Then they introduce a new offseason segment called Pitcher's and Catcher's Report where they analyze a few pitchers and catchers all going around the same place in drafts to help you decide which player might be the better fit for your team.

All music is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose music can be found on Spotify. 

Timestamps

(8:30): Catcher’s Report

Daulton Varsho (C ADP 4)

Yasmani Grandal (C ADP 5)

(19:30): Pitcher’s Report

Walker Buehler (SP ADP 3)

Max Scherzer (SP ADP 4)

Brandon Woodruff (SP ADP 5)

Zack Wheeler (SP ADP 6)

Jacob deGrom (SP ADP 7)

(50:30): Which Pitchers Would We Take?

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Eric and Sami sit down with Justin Mason to recap the wildcard games and discuss the upcoming Division Series'. Then they dive into the end-of-season awards for fantasy, focusing on some players who let them down but also some guys who they are excited to buy into for the 2022 season. Then, Justin ends with some advice for all fantasy managers on how to best use their time during the offseason as your prepare for 2022.

All music on the show is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (available on Spotify)

Timestamps

3:00 - Wildcard game debrief and discuss upcoming Division Series’

10:30 - End of Season Fantasy Awards

11:00 - Biggest Surprise - Hitter

16:00 - Biggest Surprise - Pitcher

22:45 - Biggest Disappointment - Hitter

29:30 - Biggest Disappointment - Pitcher

36:45 - Veteran Bounceback You’re Buying for 2022 - Pitcher

40:15 - Veteran Bounceback You’re Buying for 2022 - Hitter

43:15 - Player You’re Avoiding in 2022

46:00 - Rookie/Younger Player You’re Buying for 2022 - Hitter/Pitter

50:30 - Justin discusses the best way to use the “offseason” to optimize your success for 2022

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Eric and Sami talk to Rotoballer writer Frank Ammirante about some players currently on late season hot stretches or currently providing value in specific categories for the playoffs and end of year standings climb. The big question of the day: is the recent run of production for real?

(All music in this episode is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger)

Timestamps

5:30 - Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

8:30 - Lorenzo Cain

12:30 - Ian Happ

15:30 - Andrew Benintendi

21:00 - Anthony Alford

24:30 - Frank Schwindel

31:30 - Jeimer Candelario

34:15 - Lane Thomas

39:30 - Leody Tavares and DJ Peters

44:45 -Bobby Dalbec

47:50 - Calling Pitches: Waiver Wire Targets We’re Each Intrigued By

Eric: Seth Beer

Sami: Yoshi Tsutsugo, Joe Ryan

Frank: Jesus Sanchez, Randal Grichuk

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) chats with Carlos Marcano (@camarcano) about his pitching index leaderboard (speX) and how it can help us to identify some ars to buy and sell for the final month of the season. Then, they each give their favorite under-rostered starting pitching for the remainder of the year.

All music in this episode is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music can be found on Spotify)

Timestamps

3:50 - Carlos explains his ranking system (speX), how it was created, and how it can be a useful tool in finding under-rostered pitchers.

9:00 - How should the average player be using a system like this to make decisions? Which pitchers did it unearth before the beginning of this season?

12:00 - A speX test case with Charlie Morton

SP Adds: Played Spex is high on and people should think of adding

15:45 - Glen Otto

20:00 - Aaron Ashby

24:00 - Kyle Freeland

29:15 - Blake Snell

33:00 - Bailey Ober

SP Drops: Played Spex is low on and people should think of dropping

37:45 - Edward Cabrera → why so low?

41:45 - Cole Irvin

45:15 - Yusei Kikuchi

47:20 - Zach Thompson

51:30 - Kyle Gibson

Calling Pitches: One SP (rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues) we’re each adding for the final month

55:30 Eric → Carlos Hernandez

58:00 Carlos → Tanner Houck

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Eric and Sami talk to Eric Cross (@EricCross04) about which prospects fantasy managers should be stashing him hopes of September call-ups, then dove into some prospects who could have starting jobs at the outset of 2022 and could be strong keeper assets to have on your bench now.

All music in this episode is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music can be found on Spotify)

Timestamps

Prospect Stashes in redraft leagues: Guys who could come up and have an impact in September.

(7:45) - Edward Cabrera

(12:55) Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo

(16:30) Would You Rather: Nate Pearson vs Hunter Greene

(19:15) Shane Baz

(24:00) Glenn Otto

(27:00) McKenzie Gore

(30:00) Fresh Promotions - Jose Barrero and Kevin Smith

(33:10) Josh Lowe and Vidal Brujan

(37:15) Jose Miranda

(40:15) Josh Jung

(42:15) Tanner Houck sidebar

Sneaky keeper (not dynasty) pickups: Guys who could have starting jobs by the beginning of 2022. Should teams out of contention be grabbing and holding - just in case?

(44:00) Outfielders - Garrett Mitchell, Alek Thomas, Brennan Davis, and Khalil Lee

(49:00) Infielders - Pedro Leon, Royce Lewis, Oneil Cruz, Jeter Downs

(55:45) Pitchers - Emerson Hancock, Cade Cavalli, Max Meyer, Matthew Liberatore

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Eric welcomes KC Bubba (@bdentrek) to talk about why making roster moves based on categories of need is so important during this time of the season. Then they break down potential waiver wire adds based on the category leaderboards over the last 30 days. All music used in this podcast is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger Timestamps (7:15) Batting Average (Rafael Ortega, Josh Harrison, Lorenzo Cain) (12:30) Home Runs (Abraham Toro, Sam Hilliard) (16:30) RBIs (Akil Baddoo, Miguel Cabrera, Lamonte Wade Jr) (21:30) Runs (Miguel Sano, Brendan Rodgers, Kolten Wong) (27:45) Stolen Bases (Myles Straw, Adam Engel, Miguel Rojas, Yonny Hernandez, Jarren Duran) (32:45) Strikeouts (Cal Quantrill, Johnny Cueto, Josiah Gray) (38:45) Ratios (Madison Bumgarner, Kris Bubic, Tylor Megill, Merrill Kelly) (46:15) Saves (Alex Colome, Kyle Finnegan, Cole Sulser, Dylan Floro)

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Eric and Sami talk to Nicklaus Gaut and Phil Goyette, both of Rotoballer, breaking down every trade from the deadline and all the possible ramifications for the end of the fantasy season. It's a lot of info, but it's some damn good info.

All music in the episode is performed by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music can be found on Spotify).

Timestamps

(3:45)- Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers

Will Keibert Ruiz or Josiah Gray be an impact player down the stretch?

(14:20) Jon Lester to Cardinals for Lane Thomas

(14:45) Kyle Schwarber traded to Red Sox

Is this the end of 2021 Jarren Duran

(18:00) Kris Bryant to the Giants.

What are the ramifications for the Giants?

(25:00) Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox

Why do people like Nick Madrigal so much?

Who closes for the White Sox? Who closes for the Cubs?

(29:45) Javy Baez and Trevor Williams to the Mets

How does the Mets INF playing time shake out?

(33:40) Anthony Rizzo to Yankees

What happens to Luke Voit?

(37:00) Joey Gallo to Yankees

(42:45) Andrew Heaney to the Yankees

(46:20) Jose Berrios to Blue Jays

Will playing in the AL East hurt Berrios a lot?

Was Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson too much to give up?

(52:30) Adam Frazier to Padres

Should we be interested in Tucupita Marcano?

(55:00) Starling Marte to Athletics for Jesus Luzardo

Can the Marlins fix Jesus Luzardo?

(1:00:36) Braves trade for all the Outfielders

Where will they all play?

Will Alex Jackson start in Miami this year?

(1:07:00) Phillies get Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy

Is Kennedy now the closer on a better team?

Will either Spencer Howard or Kyle Gibson be good for the final two months?

(1:13:00) Cesar Hernandez traded to White Sox

(1:17:15) Myles Straw traded to Indians

Can Straw win you SB?

Astros are calling up Jake Meyers. Do we care about him or Chas McCormick?

1:21:30 Abraham Toro to Mariners

(1:23:45) Eduardo Escobar to Brewers

Is this the end of the line for Luis Urias?

(1:25:00) The Cautionary Tale of Anderson Espinoza

(1:26:30) Richard Rodriguez to Braves

Does he split saves with Will Smith?

(1:28:45) Yimi Garcia to Astros

Does Floro or Bender close?

Could Bryan de la Cruz or Brian Miller be useful in the Marlins OF?

(1:31:00) Kendall Graveman to Astros

(1:32:30) Diego Castillo to Mariners

Is Paul Sewald’s value all gone?

Who closes in Tampa?

(1:36:30) Brad Hand to Toronto

Is Hand actually any good? Will he split with Romano?

(1:37:45) Daniel Hudson to Padres

Is Kyle Finnegan the closer in Washington? Could it be Mason Thompson?

(1:39:00) Joakim Soria to Blue Jays

Who closes in Arizona? Noe Ramirez? Tyler Clippard? JB Bukauskas?

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) talk to Toby (@batflipcrazy) about his biggest takeaways and lessons from his last few years of NFBC success before diving into discussing recent rookie call-ups and second-half rebound candidates.

All music is this episode is created by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music can be found on Spotify)

Timestamps

4:45 - Vlad Jr. and the value of acknowledging and studying your misses

10:30 - Toby’s big takeaways over his last few years of fantasy success

14:00 - Digression about the madness of rostering spec closers now and why it can be a necessary evil

16:45 - Which recent prospect call-ups are most intriguing and when should you stash prospects?

27:00 - Akil Baddoo

32:30 - Andrew Vaughn

37:15 - Eugenio Suarez

41:00 - Jorge Soler

44:45 - Pete Alonso

46:45 - Anthony Bender digression

51:30 - Aaron Nola

55:45 - Kenta Maeda

1:01:30 - Eduardo Rodriguez

1:02:45 - Chris Paddack

1:05:20 - Which injured ace pitcher are you most interested in? (Chris Sale, Noah Syndergaard, Luis Severino and/or Carlos Carrasco)

1:08:00 - Calling Pitches: One player to acquire for a second-half rebound

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Eric and Sami bring together a panel of Relief Pitcher Experts - Greg Jewett (@gjewett9), Mike Carter (@mdrc0508), and Nate Marcum (@natemarcum) - to talk about what we can expect from bullpens in the second half. They discuss which players are more likely to be dealt, which players could be moving into high leverage roles, and which players might be your best bets to stash for saves. Dozens of names are mentioned, so this is your best crash course in how you can add saves to your roster for the second half.

All music in this episode is made by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose music can be found on Spotify.

Timestamps

Currently Messy Bullpens

(6:45) New York Yankees

(14:45) Cincinnati Reds (19:45) Philadelphia Phillies (23:00) Detroit Tigers (29:20) Kansas City Royals (33:15) San Francisco Giants

Bullpens Potentially Impacted by the Trade Deadline

(35:00) Chicago Cubs (40:00) Miami Marlins (45:30) Minnesota Twins (50:30) Seattle Mariners (53:30) Washington Nationals

(56:30) Pittsburgh Pirates (60:15) Colorado Rockies (1:02:00) Arizona Diamondbacks (1:05:15) Texas Rangers

Calling Pitches

(1:11:00) - The guys give one or two names that they would prioritize stashing off of the wire right now

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@believe_Sami) talk to Vlad Sedler (@Rotogut) about his path to consistent fantasy success and some of the FAAB targets we all like. Then we dive into first-half over and under performers to see what the second half might hold.

As always, the music in this episode was created by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose music can be found on Spotify.

Timestamps

Meet Vlad and talk about the changes in the fantasy landscape

8:00 - Vlad’s FAAB Keys and players we’re currently looking to add off the waiver wire

19:00 - Cedric Mullins

23:30 - Akil Baddoo

27:45 - Randy Arozarena

32:00 - Marcus Stroman

34:20 - Jack Flaherty

37:00 - Kyle Tucker

40:20 - Alec Bohm

44:00 - Jorge Soler

47:00 - Eduardo Rodriguez

48:15 - Griffin Canning

54:00 - Aaron Nola

57:30 - Why it's too early to give up if your team is not performing

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Eric and Sami chat with Max Bay, the creator of Stuff+, about how the metric evaluates pitching, what it might be able to tell us about pitchers adjusting to the new "sticky stuff" rules and how Stuff+ can be a useful tool for fantasy players when it (hopefully) becomes publicly available this summer. 

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Eric and Sami chat with Micah Henry about his Micah Notes and what to do about some of the hottest and coldest players in the month of June. Comes for the informative takes and stay for the discussion of Andrew Vaughn as the star of a horror movie and the moment Sami gets a Tornado Alert on his phone.

All music used in the episode is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (find this music on Spotify)

Timestamps

Intro

June Swoons - what to do with these June poor performers?

(12:15) Dylan Cease

(16:25) Domingo German

(20:20) Eduardo Rodriguez

(24:05) Dylan Bundy

(26:55) Eric Hosmer

(30:05) Hunter Dozier

(31:45) Adolis Garcia

(36:30) Nick Solak

Heating Up - what do with these June strong performers?

(41:00) Sean Manaea

(44:00) Erick Fedde

(47:30) Marcus Stroman

(49:30) Bailey Ober

(51:20) Kyle Schwarber

(53:35) Cedric Mullins

(55:10) Ryan Mountcastle

(59:25) Bryan Reynolds

Calling Pitches - Guys we're running to the wire/trade for

(1:02:00) Alec Bohm, Patrick Sandoval, and Andrew Vaughn

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Eric and Sami chat with Michael Simione (@SPStreamer) about why people should stream pitchers and how to choose the best one. Then they discuss a few pitchers who might be close to graduating from streaming status before playing Stream It or Leave It with some pitchers for the week of June 14th. 

All music in the show is by Brooklyn hip-hip artist Dan Dillinger (his complete work can be found on Spotify).

Timestamps

7:00 - What is streaming and how can people try to identify the right guy?

10:30 - What does it take for somebody to "graduate" from being a streamer?

13:30 - Jordan Montgomery

18:00 - Ryan Weathers

23:15 - Jameson Taillon

28:40 - Tarik Skubal

33:30 - James Kaprielian

37:30 - Kris Bubic

42:15 - Garrett Richards

47:00 - Stream It or Leave It (games from 6/14 - 6/18)

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Eric (@SamskiNYC) and Sami (@Believe_Sami) talk with Arizona Diamondbacks' catcher Stephen Vogt about his path to the majors, the way Statcast has changed gameplanning for catchers, what has led to the rebounds for some of his veteran pitchers, and much more.

All music is by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music can be found on Spotify) 

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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Eric and Sami chat with Fantrax prospect hound Eric Cross (@EricCross04) about what we can expect from some young starting pitchers for the rest of 2021, and then Eric gives some predictions of when some of the top prospects in baseball may be up in 2021 and if fantasy managers should be stashing them.

All music is from Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (music is available on Spotify)

Timestamps

Meet Eric Cross and chat about how he got into writing about prospects

(8:02) Huascar Ynoa breaks his hand. Is there an Atlanta arm to fill his spot?

(13:45) Casey Mize

(20:10) Daniel Lynch (with a sidetrack about Nick Madrigal's first MLB homerun)

(24:36) Logan Gilbert

(29:45) Triston McKenzie

(34:05) Mitch Keller (plus a discussion of Pittsburgh's poor track record of developing pitching)

(38:15) Trevor Rogers

(42:00) Adbert Alzolay

(46:00) Luis Garcia

(50:30) Shane McClanahan

(55:30) Quick Hit Promotion Expectations

Vidal Brujan, Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Jarren Duran, Bobby Witt Jr, Matt Manning, Mackenzie Gore, Alex Manoah

(1:10:00) Calling Pitches: Eric, Sami, and Eric give two less-heralded prospects each that they think can make a 2021 impact.

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Eric and Sami discuss how and when to make trades in fantasy leagues and then dive into the inaugural game of Fix This Pitcher! They end the show by Calling Pitches and giving you a few guys they're currently looking to add off of waiver wires. 

All music in the show is by Brooklyn hip-hip artist Dan Dillinger (his complete work can be found on Spotify).

Timestamps

(1:45) - How and when to trade in your fantasy league

(7:40) - What do catchers look for when trying to help a struggling pitcher?

(11:45) - Introducing Fix That Pitcher!

(12:25) - Zack Greinke

(20:23) - Luis Castillo

(27:47)  - Zach Plesac

(33:30) - Kyle Hendricks

(43:00) - Chris Paddack

(49:00) - Lucas Giolito 

(57:30) - Charlie Morton

(1:00:00) Calling Pitches

Griffin Canning, Tyler Anderson, Shane McClanahan, Cole Irvin, Luis Garcia

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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Eric and Sami are joined by Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) to talk about his SP Pitch Mix Chart, why we should care about pitch mix, and some starting pitchers who have notably altered their pitch mix this year.

All music is by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (streaming on Spotify)

Timestamps

(4:55) - Explaining Mike's SP Pitch Mix Tracker

(9:00) - Why should we even care about a pitcher's pitch mix?

(13:40) - Nathan Eovaldi and his new slider

(20:07) - Tyler Glasnow and his new "slutter"

(24:32) - Lance McCullers joins in on the new slider fun

(32:30) - Jakob Junis traded his slider for a new cutter

(37:10) - Chris Flexen upped his cutter (plus we take a Vlad Jr. triple dong detour)

(42:20) - Sandy Alcantara is changing it up

(47:00) - We talk about the value of changeups and wonder why you all don't find changeups sexy

(50:15) - Jameson Taillon is throwing the fastball more but maybe that's not good

(53:03) - Jesus Luzardo is relying more on his four-seam fastball

(57:45) Calling Pitches: We each pick a starting pitcher we think will earn more love by the end of the season

Kenta Maeda

Carlos Rodon

Eduardo Rodriguez

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Eric, Sami, and special guest Greg Jewett (The Athletic, Fantasy Alarm) breakdown the current closer landscape and then discuss potential options in some of the most chaotic bullpens.

All music by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (available on Spotify)

Timestamps

(6:15) Is the younger generation watching baseball? What can the league do to help?

(9:45) Is this closer landscape the new normal? How does that impact our fantasy decisions?

(18:00) Ian Kennedy - can anybody in Texas challenge him?

(22:24) Lucas Sims - is it his job now? Will the Reds ever choose just one closer?

(29:00) Cesar Valdez - is this for real? Do the Orioles have anybody waiting in the wings?

(35:30) Jose Alvarado - can he capitalize on Neris' velocity dip? Is he valuable even without saves?

(38:45) Corey Knebel - we know Kenley will have his reps monitored, so is Knebel worth owning for ancillary saves?

(45:00) Scott Barlow - is he the best arm in the KC bullpen? How is KC using analytics to shape its bullpen usage?

(52:45) Yoan Lopez/Kevin Ginkel/ J.B. Bukauskas - is any young arm likely to emerge in Arizona?

(58:15) Alex Colome - should we be worried? Is there another option in Minnesota?

(1:01:00) Jordan Hicks - is he close to taking back the role?

(1:06:00) Amir Garrett blows a save as we record

(1:07:25) Calling Our Pitch: we all pick one reliever nobody is talking about who we expect to be a hot topic by season's end

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Sami and Eric discuss how to be calm and not overreact to week one, and then overreact to some starting pitchers who had strong and not-so-strong first starts. 

All music is produced by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger (check him out on Spotify

Time Stamps

(0:00) - How to manage your team in week one without overreacting. 

(6:50) - Why are the Mets the way they are?

(9:15) Nathan Eovaldi - cutter out, slider in?

(16:22) Chris Paddack - why no curveballs? Seems like it was part of the plan

(24:00) Lance McCullers - added a slider and we love it

(27:30) Yusei Kikuchi - lost weight, velocity up, is this a breakout?

(34:10) Sean Manaea - velocity is up, but why did he abandon the slider?

(39:00) Jeff Hoffman - rotation spot and a slider - are we in?

(41:20) Zach Wheeler - easy velocity and more slider; yes, please?

(45:00) Carlos Rodon - tree trunk thighs and more velocity

(52:00) Calling Pitches - which pitchers are we watching on the waiver wire?

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Sami and Eric dive into pitchers who've had a strong Spring Training and discuss whether the performance is believable or not. 

(All music in the episode is from hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger - available on Spotify and other streaming platforms)

Time Stamp

(0:00) Players we're excited about heading into the year. 

(5:36) Daulton Jefferies and Why is it so hard to watch Spring Training baseball?

(9:18) Tangent discussion on when a repeatable delivery is good and when it can hurt a pitcher

(14:41) Tarik Skubal)

(21:11) Corey Kluber and Are the Yankees bad at developing pitching?

(28:46) Charlie Morton

(31:53) Marcus Stroman

(37:30) Zach Eflin

(42:49) Pablo Lopez

(44:40) Sean Manaea

(47:55) Steven Matz and Why you need to be using your Watch List

(51:34) Freddy Peralta

(56:26) Calling Pitches: One additional pitcher we're each in on this year

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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In Episode 2, Sami and Eric try to make sense of the relief pitcher landscape and talk about their general strategy in drafting relief pitching. 

All music is by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Dan Dillinger, whose complete songs can be found on Spotify. 

Timestamps

News and Notes

  • David Price in the bullpen?

  • A.J. Puk in the rotation?

  • Sonny Gray back injury?

  • Eugenio Suarez at SS? 

BEHIND THE DISH: Does defense matter to pitchers? (13:07)

Are you changing your valuation of Reds pitchers? (16:54)

Devin Williams - and why you should roster lots of RPs (23:00)

Chris Martin (31:12)

James Karinchak (37:22)

Nick Wittgren (42:43)

Craig Kimbrel (46:00)

CALLING PITCHES: Team Bullpen Quick Hits

Rays (49:30)

Phillies (51:50)

Padres (55:05)

Twins (56:45)

Cardinals (1:00:10)

Tigers (1:04:20)

Giants (1:05:04)

Marlins (1:07:00)

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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Eric Samulski and Sami Akleh introduce themselves and their vision for the podcast and then dive into some of the starting pitchers they're most excited about this season. 

(All music made by Dan Dillinger - check him out on Spotify)

Podcast POV and what we look for in pitchers (1:35)

Tyler Mahle and "what is tunneling?" (6:26)

Sixto Sanchez (17:40)

Ryan Yarbrough and "what is mirroring?" (31:00)

Jake Odorizzi (42:40)

Calling Pitches - Early, Mid, and Late Round SP we like (50:30)

This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eric-samulski/support