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May29 BHQ Chat
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Brent Hershey
12:01
Happy Memorial Day to Monday chatters! Plenty of room in the queue for some more questions if you're with us in real time. Let's hit it!
HopelessRomantic
12:06
Brent, I think I'm in love with Zach McKinstry. Am I crazy?

  • Hitting leadoff.
  • .295/.409/.451
  • 10 SB
  • Big jumps in CT% and BB%.
  • Statcast likes him! 75% barrel.

Have I sold you yet?
Brent Hershey
12:06
Not crazy; definitely helping out right now. Still a hard platoon role (DET not faced many LHP recently; he hasn't started against one all year). Not sold on long-term viability (rough surrounding lineup part of it), but good steps as you mention. No shame in riding him right now.
Alex
12:10
Hi Brent, I drafted Jose Miranda as a “solid growth stock” (in the words of the Forecaster). I play in a deep keeper league with sixteen teams (H2H, minors slots) and expended a decent amount of draft capital on him (early 8th round). His surface stats look horrendous in the minors (small 58 AB sample though). Is it time to explore cutting bait by dropping or selling very low, or should I hang on hoping for a 2022 redux? Thanks!
Brent Hershey
12:10
Boy, yeah, a cringe-worthy quote at the moment, no doubt about that. In your situation (depth of league, keeper), I'd be inclined to hold, unless your bench is getting squeezed like crazy. Still relatively young and some foundation there. No doubt there's warts -- including what seems to be getting pushed out of MIN's long-term plans with Royce Lewis back. I'd not worry too much about minors stats right now; team needs can change in an instant and perhaps he returns. If it's a similar story in late July/August, then might be time to move on.
Rick
12:13
How would you value these 4 First Basemen long-term and any of them stand out as clearly the best or worst? N.Lowe, Vaughn, Kirilloff, Manzardo.
Brent Hershey
12:13
Lowe and Kirilloff are close 1-2 for me; if you could guarantee health for AK, I think he's the better fantasy player. Then Vaughn and Manzardo - who is 4th largely because we don't have an MLB sample yet. But there's two-tiers in this quartet.
Beano
12:19
Thanks again for these! NL 10 team 5x5 with a $100 FAAB budget - how much is a wise number for Nolan Jones? Is he going to stick around? A Colorado 1b guy when we think Cron is gonna get traded & currently on the DL - should be a good target, but is he?
Also, if you can, your take on Jonathan Davis, Joey Wiemer & Stuart Fairchild?
Brent Hershey
12:19
COL / Jones: It seems lined up for him, but we all know COL doesn't seem to follow the most obvious path with young players. Jones' positional flexibility helps -- any of the four corners plus DH, basically. But if he struggles a bit and Cron gets healthy, he could find himself back in the minors. I think his bat is ready ... I don't run the Rockies, haha. As for pricing, maybe $8-12??
For the OF trio .. Wiemer stands out to me b/c of the roto skills (power + speed) and defense that keeps him in CF. BA will hurt; swing/miss likely always there. Davis/Fairchild seem more like short-term solutions who could be replaced with something better (from an MLB team perspective). Maybe Davis gets some run with Jazz on IL.
Katman
12:24
Feel like I've got a shot in my NL 5x5 if my pitching comes together a bit. A good part of my thinking is that I'll have Woodruff and Kyle Wright going full bore in August and September. Realistic or pipe dream?
Brent Hershey
12:24
Just gonna be honest ... counting on both "going full bore in Aug/Sep" sounds like a pipe dream. Just from the standpoint that I interpret that to mean it's a best-case scenario (full recovery, 2022-level effectiveness) TIMES TWO. The Wright situation especially .... January shoulder trouble, late start, same thing cropped up again ... seems likely to linger in some respect. And you always have the athletes trying to come back as quickly as they can -- they're competitors. Not always the best for our fantasy squads. Still hoping for the best for your squad, Katman, but might make sense to think about contingency plans.
joe
12:28
Given Gavin Stone struggles, do you believe Bobby Miller stays up as a  member of the rotation now?  Is Grove a threat to displace both?
Brent Hershey
12:28
Yes, feels like Miller is up for good for the short term -- but again, these things can change on a dime. Would not be surprised to see Stone optioned back in the next few days. As for Grove, it's very unlikely to me that he shows enough to displace Miller, who's universally seen as having the higher upside and just all-around better stuff. But if Grove comes up this week and just even holds his own — IOW, an outing better than what we've seen from Stone — I think he leapfrogs Stone as far as getting chances in the short term. Long-term, still think the loose rank is Miller / Stone / Grove or Pepiot.
Vince
12:30
10-tm H2H category, need slot to churn (i.e., 3B eligible bat, as Henderson killing me). Order of most droppable: Liberatore, Senga, Heaney, Shuster (w Morton, Peralta, B Miller as my backend starters)? Please rank? Thanks!
Brent Hershey
12:30
Most droppable to least droppable:
Liberatore, Shuster, Heaney, Senga. Would not quibble if you switched the order of the middle two.
Guest
12:35
What would you do with Gavin stone? He doesn’t look like a very good mlb pitcher. He doesn’t have a very good fastball according to statcast pitching plus data. His changeup isn’t fooling anyone. Can’t sell but can a pitcher like this figure it out or is it more of his changeup fooling lesser talented hitters in the minors?
Brent Hershey
12:35
More Stone! Yeah, not a good package right now, and getting beat up like this in MLB doesn't help. Right handed FB/CH heavy guys can seem to have a bit of a rougher time in the majors; it's not everything but I tend to believe in a RHer more when his best secondary is a breaking ball. And yes, he can figure it out but it may take time and getting him to work on that in the minors at the moment is the right move. Fantasy-wise, I'd be patient if you can (depending on reserve lists, etc) ... but esp in a re-draft, don't know that there's a ton of risk in cutting him loose for 2023.
Qwackers
12:36
AL-only 5x OB/TB. Corners Infield is thin. Is Matt Thaiss worth a buck or two ROS? Thanks!
Brent Hershey
12:36
Yes, as a low-cost shot.
Smash
12:41
Travis Jankowski: no one breaks out at age 31, of course, but is this a hot hand that's worth playing, or is he about to turn back into a pumpkin?
Brent Hershey
12:41
With all apologies to Travis, it's the latter. With a BABIP near .400 and 8 total career barrels in 861 batted balls, it's safe to say regression is coming. The flip side? Remember that sometimes players get a full year of outlier stuff like this -- so if you want to continue to ride him right now, that's valid -- just be ready for signs of the return to his career levels and get out then.
WayOffBase
12:44
If Clase doesn't close, what will be the pecking order?
Brent Hershey
12:44
Would think Stephan gets Shot 1, and then maybe Sandlin or Hentges? Not sure Morgan or Karinchak are really in that mix at the moment.
John Shipley
12:45
Hello. Brent. 5x5 AL Only Keeper League. Can you rank these 5 pitchers for '23 and '24 for profitability.
Lorenzen, Blackburn, Lynch, Sears, T. Anderson
Brent Hershey
12:45
23: Sears, Lorenzen, Lynch, Anderson, Blackburn
24: Lynch, Sears, Anderson, Lorenzen, Blackburn
Nick
12:46
12 tm H2h pts: pick 1 for this week Taylor Ward, Jose Siri, Luke Raley
Brent Hershey
12:46
Siri
Bob
12:48
Do you think Elly De La Cruz will be good when he comes up?
Brent Hershey
12:48
At some point in his career, yes. :-)
More seriously, still a lot of swing/miss in his game, which makes hitting the ground running in MLB more risky. Still can happen -- but also will get pitched differently in MLB than in the minors. Gonna be fun to watch, though; no doubt.
Bob
12:48
Do you think Louie Varland is a viable starter for a 14 team league?
Brent Hershey
12:48
Most matchups, yes. Believer in his stuff
Bob
12:49
Would you drop Varland for Detmers?
Brent Hershey
12:49
Redraft: no
Keeper: yes
Sasha
12:53
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!!

Brent .. I'm in a dynasty league where prospects get gobbled up fast .. but owners also lose interest quickly (when players hit a bump in the road).

Right now, Zac Veen seems to be as available as ever. I know his stick has been a bit slow to come around so far this season, but his ability on the basepaths is really impressive.

It might take a bit longer, but I think he could have a Corbin-like impact on the game once he's in the MLB. Thoughts on the guy?

Thanx!
Brent Hershey
12:53
Not a huge fan, as I think the hit tool will hold him back (and is the most glaring difference between him and Corbin). And it's COL, who have not earned my confidence that they are able to successfully integrate young players into the lineup.
That said, the speed is elite and real; our game values that highly, and so in a dynasty league with a large bench or minors list, makes sense to scoop him up. Just keep expectations in check.
Katman
12:57
Does the Vince Velasquez injury create space for Luis Ortiz in the Pittsburgh rotation? If so, should I be optimistic?
Brent Hershey
12:57
This certainly strengthens Ortiz's position, yes. Curious move with Contreras going to the pen (temporarily, it would seem) rather than send Ortiz back down to the minors. Gives a window into the PIT thinking on Ortiz.
Should you be optimistic? In the roster safety sense, yes. Do I expect Ortiz to have a breakout rest of the season? Not necessarily; I'm hoping for more of a league-average pitcher with a decent K rate on a bad team. Have him a couple places and will be making start/sit decisions weekly with him for now.
Sean
12:58
Do you think Brett Baty makes an impact in 12 team redraft leagues this year?
Brent Hershey
12:58
Yes; from what I've seen in the minors and here in the early going. And it will only get better from there.
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