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Paul Swydan

9:16

For my money, the key is the K%.

9:17

His SwStr% and Contact% are basically identical to his 2015 season, but his K% is ~5% higher. Is that sustainable? I'm not sold just yet.

Samuel

9:17

How do you feel about punting? Thinking of dropping Peraza. He and Betts are my two best basestealers plus Yelich. Not enough of a foundation I feel.

Paul Swydan

9:17

Sometimes, it has to be done. If you're going to do it, better to get the first movers advantage and get a big price for your good players.

Big Tuna

9:18

What do you expect from Brett Phillips with this call up? Eric Longenhagen mentioned not being convinced he can hit at the MLB level.

Paul Swydan

9:19

I saw Adam McCalvy say that he was called up because it's supposed to be a short-term thing, so I now have no expectations. Hopefully he is good enough to earn another look later in the season.

Thor

9:19

Rank these OF for long term leagues: judge, Sano, Conforto, Bellinger

Paul Swydan

9:19

Well, I don't think Sano will qualify as an OF next season, so take that into consideration.

9:20

But I'd say that all four are very close together for me. I feel like we got this exact same question last week.

JJP

9:20

Ryan McMahon will be called up _________ and play which position?

Paul Swydan

9:21

Well, he just got to Triple-A five days ago, so I doubt he gets the call to the majors before August.

9:22

In Triple-A, he's been playing first and second. I would think he'd be in a similarly flexible role in the majors. No reason to think he supplants Arenado at third.

bob

9:22

what do you think we can expect from Jon Gray ROS when he's back? estimated era/whip k/9?

Paul Swydan

9:23

Gray's injury wasn't an arm or shoulder injury, it was his foot. So, assuming he's healthy enough to push off/land on it (I forget which foot, sorry) and maintain his mechanics, I expect him to be the frontline starter he was becoming before his injury.

Eric

9:23

Has anyone watched much of Jeff Hoffman? Only 20ip but a 3.02 xfip. 11 k/9. Hoffman or Jon gray ROS?

Paul Swydan

9:24

Look, I'm excited about Hoffman, even though I didn't discuss him in my article about the Rockies last week. But in his 3 starts, he got LAD, PHI and SD. One of those teams is good, the other two are very, very bad.

9:25

I'll say Gray ROS, but I think between the pair, Tyler Chatwood's days in the rotation (and possibly on the team) are numbered.

Chatwood got a stay of execution with his own great effort against the Padres over the weekend.

RRH

9:25

Cubs have been a disappointment. Obviously they've been fine, but the pitching has been a major let-down, the defense hasn't been nearly as fun to watch, Schwarber & Russell disappointing, Rizzo not being elite, and they've been pretty injury-free relative to the obvious disappointments (G's, Mets, Jays, M's). Apropos of that: Thoughts on Addison Russell? Real world: how long do you think Javy will keep stealing starts? Is the platoon more permanent than we might think? Fantasy: What're you doing with Addy in 10 or 12 team redrafts? How's he compare to other struggling SS-eligibles like Aledmys Diaz and Brad Miller? Or to hot hands like Jordy Mercer and Didi?

Paul Swydan

9:26

Real world - Baez will keep taking starts. Joe Maddon can't help but tinker with his lineup, and that spot is ripe for tinkering. Fantasy - I wouldn't own Russell in a redraft league.

Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes

9:26

What do the Rays do with Brad Miller? His 83 wRC+ is only as high as it is thanks to the walks, and the glove is terrible anywhere on the diamond. Can't DH, that's for Dickerson/LoMo if you need a lefty. LoMo is better defensively at first and the Rays believe in Rickie Weeks against lefties (no comment). Then Tim Beckham and Daniel Robertson are playing good defense in the middle infield with adequate bats, and Duffy will eventually return. There just doesn't seem to be room to give him reps without taking a good bat and/or good glove out of the lineup.

Paul Swydan

9:27

I'm not sure they need to do anything. He should be good enough to maintain as a bench bat. And odds are that someone will get hurt, opening up a spot for Duffy.

QMan

9:28

How do you rank the best hitting prospects < 23. Bellinger? Mazara? Benintendi?

Paul Swydan

9:29

I'd probably have that Correa guy at the top.

Then you've got the next three.

I like Margot, I'm not ready to give up on Orlando Arcia. I like Ian Happ. There's not a lot of guys after that in the majors right now.

Kid

9:30

Let's talk about Anthony Rendon - I remember thinking, in late April, "I can't believe I took this bum ahead of Jake Lamb". Now here we sit on June 6th, and Rendon is at .294/.388/.541. Moving forward, what should I do with him? I'd love to work with the Arenado or Donaldson owner to see if I could sell them Rendon plus an upgrade somewhere else, but is the general consensus on Rendon even high enough to start that discussion?

Paul Swydan

9:31

I think it is. But I might just stick with Rendon TBH. He's solid enough that you don't need to upgrade from him. I'm a big fan.

JJP

9:31

Ronald Acuna, 19 years old and tearing up AA. Hope for the Barves?

Paul Swydan

9:31

Hope is a good thing.

And yeah, he looks like a stud.

Kid

9:32

Would you cough up Stanton for Khris Davis and Schwarber if you needed OF help? 12-team H2H cats, non-keeper.

Paul Swydan

9:32

Yes, if only because I'm always wary of a Stanton injury.

Oddball Herrera

9:33

Do you think Harper could see the Stanton contract as a cautionary tale about locking oneself into an organization for a very long time? Seems like a guy who is as ridiculously competitive as him would want to go to a current contender on a huge three or four year deal and then be able to walk away should they not be competitive anymore (which is likely to happen eventually if they're forking over most of their F.A. money to one guy).

Paul Swydan

9:33

I suppose it's possible, but I doubt it. Not only will he have to balance competitiveness against his potential earnings, but I'd also think the MLBPA is pushing these guys to take the most money possible to help set a new bar in free agency.

Big Joey

9:34

Would you sell high on any of these guys (Keep forever league)? Sano, Bellinger, Judge or Conforto?

Paul Swydan

9:34

Nope, if you've got all four, I'd be kicking back and loving life.

It's Baseball Time

9:35

Thoughts on Rizzo gaining 2B eligibility for fantasy? Not sure there's a way to make a rule against it w/o it being obvious targeting, but it really doesn't seem to be in the spirit of the (fantasy) game.

Paul Swydan

9:35

Nothing wrong with targeting.

Myself, I prefer the 10 GS / 20 GP minimum.

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