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Mar2_2026 BHQ Chat
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Brent Hershey
12:05
Hey, all, happy Monday! Got a good group questions in the queue already; thank you. One quick note before we start ... this weekend, BHQ is hosting a First Pitch Online - analysts, writers and podcasters from around the community to help continue your prep for drafts. There will be panels, interactive Q&As, individual roster analysis, format-specific breakout panels, LABR Mixed Auction draft coverage, and tons more! Everything is recorded, so you don't have to be there live to enjoy. More info, signup details are here. Hope to see you this weekend!
And off we go!
Matt
12:08
Hi, Brent! I’ve been excited to bring this back.

From a dynasty perspective, who would you prefer between the following over the next 3-4 years?

1. A. Ben Rice   B. Ivan Herrera   C. Samuel Basallo   Note: Assume C eligibility!
2. A. James Wood   B. Jackson Merrill
3. A. JJ Wetherholt   B. Jackson Holliday
4. A. Luis Rengifo   B. Otto Lopez
5. A. Brett Baty   B. Royce Lewis
6. A. Carson Benge   B. Jordan Walker
7. A. Gavin Williams   B. Shane Baz
8. A. Joe Boyle   B. Brandon Sproat
9. A. Nolan McLean   B. Bubba Chandler
10. A. Austin Riley    B. Riley Greene  Note: The one position mismatch! 

Thanks, as always!
Brent Hershey
12:08
Yes, a goodie format!

  1. C
  2. A
  3. A
  4. B
  5. B
  6. A
  7. B
  8. B
  9. A
  10. A

FWIW, had to think longest about 4, 8, 9
will
12:12
Hey Brent, thank you for  the chat. Keep hearing conlicting reports on Manoah, Romano Moore and Trout, can you give us some clarity. after the artie quote.... im rooting for them to pull a major league like the movie on the owner for themselves and the fans!
Brent Hershey
12:12
Not exactly sure what reports you're referring to, but here's my general take on each:
Manoah - not really interested; need to see improved command
Romano - not drafting now; a long way back to Svs given other options
Moore - lots of experience risk; low-BA plus-power guy if it works (not sure it will yet)
Trout - draft price dependent; I'm not counting on a full year; HE's said he wants to play CF, but I'm not clear on what the team thinks.
Bobby
12:15
Brent, I’m back yet again as we watch the OF situation muddle along in Houston. Now I’ve read that Meyers may not be guaranteed the CF starting role. Any perspective on this? Is Cole’s stock rising or falling?
Brent Hershey
12:15
Meyers had a minor back issue (think he's in the lineup today though) ... but if healthy, he's their CF. Too good defensively to take out. This could change if Paredes gets dealt for a CF.
Cole - great roto skills, but for me, there's real swing/miss concerns if he gets extended MLB time. I think the league will find and exploit the holes in his swing. Better for all in 2026 if he's a part-timer IMO.
Kent
12:18
New to Baseball HQ. Does the site give a list of their Top 300 for this year?
Brent Hershey
12:18
Welcome! We don't do a traditional Top 300, but getting used to using our Custom Draft Guide — where you enter your league parameters and the output is tailored to you league given our projections — should give you a sense of what you're seeking. As you have questions, continue to ask them here, or in our subscriber forums.
Peter
12:20
16 Team. 5x5 (QS instead of Ws). $260 Auction. We keep 4 FAs from last, for this year only. Which 3 do you like from the following: S Bieber, I Seymour, R Nelson, T Rogers, T Bradley, C Cavalli or J Cantillo. Thanks. Peter
Brent Hershey
12:20
Rogers for sure; and two of Nelson, Bradley and Cavalli. I'd probably lean Nelson and Cavalli (prob biggest upside here, but experience risk, too).
Guest
12:25
Hi Brent- joe adell is ranked very low in the custom guide for AL.  Do you agree with this?
Brent Hershey
12:25
Hmm ... I wonder if your league has non-standard scoring categories - because he comes out as 8th best AL OF in the sorts I just did on our current projections. Which seems about right to me.
Jenn
12:29
20 team CBS 7x7 cats league. 10 keepers/8 MiLb keepers. My pitchers kept : M. Fried, F Valdez, Pepiot & Iglesias. Cats = ERA, IP, K/9, QS, S+H, W, Whip. In our 13 round draft to fill in rosters. Please rank available pitchers: Rodon, Musgrove, Cole, Gallen, Weathers, Leiter, McLanahan, Burrows, Soriano, J. Lopez, R. Lopez  (ATL) Gallen, Manaea — thank you!!!
Brent Hershey
12:29
Most interested in Burrows / Weathers / Leiter and maybe Cole
Least interested in McClanahan, Gallen, Manaea
The rest are in the middle
Beano
12:33
Hi Brent - congrats on the award nomination!  Well deserved.
NL 10 team 5x5
I have B Brown at $1. I know HQ loves him. I also know I can toss him back and get him for $1-$2. IF he goes to AAA, I can only get him during our minor league draft and then he will have a $10 salary when he comes up.
Do I keep him at $1 for this year, toss him back and try to buy him at auction and/or risk having to get him in my minor league draft - which is a round robin thing and not an auction?
Brent Hershey
12:33
Think it depends on being realistic about the rest of your keeper list. If you can afford it, I'd keep at $1. My sense is that given that they employed him some in an MLB hybrid role last year, that they might do the same in 2026 ... IE, NOT send him back to AAA to be a starter. There's also always been RP whispers here. So you may want to include that in your decision, also. (As well as I could be totally wrong here!) Tough call; good luck.
Bones
12:35
At the end of the year is Bryan Woo a top 5 pitcher?
Brent Hershey
12:35
Not outrageous, that's pretty lofty. I give it maybe 25% chance?
Guest
12:38
Hi Brent,

Today is the deadline for submitting our 13-man protected lists in my 12 team, NL-only Scoresheet league.  Here are my protectees thus far:
C - Goodman
1B - Vacant
2B - O Lopez
3B - Riley
SS - Adames
OF - Marsee
CF - A Pages
OF - N Marte
SP - Glasnow
SP - McLean
SP - B Ashcraft
SP - Weathers
SP - R Lopez
SP - R Ray

That's 12 players.  I'm undecided between J McNeil and Clay Holmes for my thirteenth roster spot.  There's much uncertainty with that pitching staff.  On the other hand, McNeil provides a lefty bat with a solid floor and he's eligible at both OF and 2B.  At the moment, I'm leaning McNeil.  What do you think?

As an aside, I plan to fill the vacancy at 1B with the second overall pick in the draft.  Either Devers or Bichette will be available.

Thanks for your help.
Brent Hershey
12:38
Yes, I would say McNeil > Holmes for you here. Not sure that Holmes really adds to your 'stability' of that staff. In the draft, I'd seek some proven innings guys early on ... you have the 'upside' built into your keeper list.

And yeah, Devers would be a perfect fit here.
rockford
12:40
What are your top 6 favorite SPs after the big 3 (skubal, skenes, crochet)?
Brent Hershey
12:40
Yamamoto, C. Sánchez, Gilbert, Woo, Brown, Sale. There's a decent argument for any one of these six for #4
Guest
12:44
Thanks, Brent. NL-only, 12-team, dynasty. I plan to bring Alcantara, Woodruff, Misiorowki, and Ryne Nelson as SP into the draft. I have this foursome for $4.00 in total salary. I also have Mason Miller for $2.00 to anchor saves. I hate spending on pitching. Is this a midling group with risk or one with decent profit potential?
Brent Hershey
12:44
Middling with risk as a whole, it seems to me. Nelson and post-surgery Alcantara have limited ceilings; Woodruff's injury and relative age in a dynasty has to be a concern. Miz has the good to almost carry this quartet profit-wise ... but you can't be 100% sure what you're getting there yet. Given that you hate spending on pitching, this is not a bad start, just a risky one.
Sanchez
12:48
16 team keeper ... can keep 8, inflation is kinda wild like $70+ players ... is it wild to do LIMA but to the extreme, pay for two legit closers and then $1 pitchers? Load up on bats?
Brent Hershey
12:48
Maybe ... but kinda depends on what you see as the pool of $1 pitchers. As well as what your keeper list looks like. If you're filling a whole staff with 2 CL and $1 SP, you'll need a couple of those to 'hit' to be competitive. But the gist here is right ... allows you to load up on the bats. But a bunch of $1 SP could lead to punting ERA and WHIP, which is tough to overcome in my experience.
Beano
12:50
In an NL 10 team 5x5 with around 30% inflation (more for studs), is A Pages an $18 keeper? I am beginning to wonder if he should only cost around that and I don't keep non-bargains.

Also, if I may - talk me out of counting on encouraging spring numbers- A Thomas of AZ is mine at $2 but, in spite of his strong start  - I don't want to keep him -- do I?
Brent Hershey
12:50
Yeah, would seem Pages would cost around that much; not sure there's a lot of profit potential there.

Play the same game with Thomas ... given his track record, is he going to command more than $2 in the auction? If you throw him back, you still get a shot a re-acquiring, and if others in the room see those spring stats and go gaga, well then let them (though, understood, that might be the rub for you :-) )
Joe Shlabotnik
12:54
Hi Brent--I have lots of keeper candidates, but the choices aren't clear (for hitters *or* pitchers--to keep things manageable, focusing on pitchers first). 14 teams, mixed 9X9. How would you rank these for keeping? We can keep for 2 years after the year acquired--"(L)" denotes last year of keep-ability.

Categories are: std. 5X5 + HLDS, K/BB, GIDP, QS. Not that I expect you to be able to take those into account on the fly, just to give you a sense. THANK YOU!

K. Rocker $2
Gilbert  $21 (L)
M.King $12 (L)
Baz $1 (L)
Woodruff $8
Mize $7
Eury Perez $16
Eovaldi $8

For context, last year's draft, top SP bids were for Wheeler ($36), Sale ($31), Fried ($31), de Grom ($30)...
Brent Hershey
12:54
Eury, Baz, Gilbert, Eovaldi, King, <gap> Mize, Woodruff, Rocker
IOW, not sure I'd be strongly considering that final trio. But the first three would be locks, I'd think.
Guest
12:54
Dylan Crews $10 or Will Smith $17, this year only.  What would be your choice?
Brent Hershey
12:54
Crews ... unless this hand things turns into something bigger. Re-allocate that $7 elsewhere.
WayOffBase
12:58
I picked Bryan Abreu a couple years back for a buck (Sv-Hld 11-Tm AL 5x5), would you considering him worthy of a Long-term contract, upping his salary to $6 for two seasons or $11 for the next three? Thanks.
Brent Hershey
12:58
In a Sv-Hold league, yeah I might go to $6 for this year and next. Still in 20s, proven track record, and a free agent after 2026. So, pitches well in 2025, not out of the question he gets a closer contract somewhere for 2027. But I would not go further than $6; RP are just too volatile.
Brent Hershey
12:59
Whew; flying by. Short answers next
Mr Van Buren
12:59
HELP Tough decision. NL only. roto rules. Final two keepers spots between C Rushing 3, P Clay Holmes 6, 2/3 Schmitt 3, or P Mlodzinski 1. Who gets dropped thank you!
Brent Hershey
12:59
I'd keep Schmitt and Mlod
Max
1:01
Hi Brent!  Most of my leagues are NL-only, and some draft very late.  But I've just been dragooned into my nephew's 15-team mixed league, which drafts this Saturday, and I've done zero prep.  What are the two or three things I need to do during the week to get ready?  Thanks!
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