H2H playoffs are continuing and we are at the stretch run of roto leagues. Unfortunately, that may mean about half of you are done playing fantasy baseball for the year, but the good news is you can still catch up with who is hot, who is relevant etc. through the end of the year and offseason by sticking with us rather than paying as much attention as you did when you were still in the race.
Side Note: There may not be an article next week as I’m taking my family to Disney World and we get back Saturday, so I’m not sure how tired I will be and if there will be time for me to crank an article out – so this may be the last article of the regular season.
As always with our weekly article, the goal is for us to give you the most fantasy relevant information all in one place for a variety of league types to hopefully be your one stop shop, or at least the shop you have to hit on the way to all the other shops for fantasy baseball information from news, to lineup and roster notes, injury updates, waiver recommendations for different lead types, prospect rankings, moves we made and a weekly deep dive into something relevant.
We hope you enjoy! Please subscribe to the Fantasy Aceball podcast and follow us on Twitter @fantasyaceball and @raymondatherton for more fantasy goodness!
Lineup and Roster Notes (as of FRI 9/8):
- Baltimore Orioles: DL Hall has been pretty strong out of the bullpen, if he sticks in the pen – I think he’s a name to watch moving forward, because he has great stuff and the command isn’t as shaky out of the pen.
- Boston Red Sox: Cedanne Rafaela not playing and being stuck behind Abreu, Duvall and Valdez is pretty annoying.
- Chicago White Sox: This team doesn’t really matter the rest of the year, because they aren’t doing anything differently, unless you are excited about Jose Urena – who I debated not even adding against Detroit in a 20 team H2H league where I need innings, because he’s that bad.
- Cleveland Guardians: Josh Naylor is back and taking the DH spot, while Kole Calhoun is still playing 1B – but playing much worse, making an opening for one Kyle Manzardo? Bo Naylor is on fire right now if you need a catcher. Giolito has been atrocious the last two months or so… it’s weird Curry is still in the rotation, why are they going six man – all the young guys? McKenzie might be back soon, Bieber is starting a rehab assignment soon as well.
- Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are calling up another starter, Sawyer Gipson-Long, without calling up Ty Madden. He’s had a pretty solid year, but might be more of a long reliever ie: Xzavion Curry.
- Houston Astros: The Astros swapped around the lineup with Pena moving to the 2-hole and Tucker moving down to the 5-hole, with Michael Brantley hitting 7th in a strong-side platoon role.
- Kansas City Royals: Nelson Velazquez, who the Royals got from the Cubs, has been smoking the ball as a DH with a .644 slugging percentage.
- Los Angeles Angels: Silseth is going to miss another start, but will hopefully be back after the weekend for his next turn in the rotation as Kenny Rosenberg can be completely ignored.
- Minnesota Twins: Alex Kirilloff is back and hitting sixth, while Carlos Correa is hitting fifth in what is definitely his worst career season.
- New York Yankees: Jasson Dominguez is now hitting third already for the Yankees as this team is in the middle of a mid-season youth infusion. Michael King has been a stud as a starter as the Yankees look to be taking a page from the Rays by converting a stud reliever into a starter.
- Oakland Athletics: Zack Gelof is hitting .200/.241/.280 over the last two weeks as he comes back down to Earth.
- Seattle Mariners: Mike Ford has been smashing baseballs the last couple of weeks – if you need power in a deep league, there are worse places to look.
- Tampa Bay Rays: Taj Bradley is back in the rotation (for now), while Zack Littell continues to be very solid and Aaron Civale is looking like an ace since coming to Tampa with a 24.4% K-BB rate and 3.27 SIERA.
- Texas Rangers: The Adolis Garcia injury has resulted in a major lineup shakeup with the lineup now looking like Semien, Seager, Lowe (standard)… Garver, Heim, Taveras, Duran, Smith and rookie Evan Carter. Eovaldi is back in the rotation, booting Dunning back to the pen and Jung is taking swings.
- Toronto Blue Jays: I’m not buying Davis Schneider at all. His hit tool is terrible, he has bad max EV… basically he has a good eye and is getting super lucky.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Jordan Lawlar was thrown straight into the starting SS role and hitting 8th upon his callup, while Alek Thomas is now hitting fifth and Gurriel sixth.
- Atlanta Braves: The Braves not being more aggressive with adding a fifth starter might hurt them down the stretch, as it’s going to put more stress on some other arms they may need – unless they just more or less surrender a game of every five.
- Chicago Cubs: The interesting thing about the Cubs is that they have a large number of players in their peak years – an interesting strategy for a team that was supposed to be “rebuilding” and even underrated guys near their peak seem to have a boost in those peak years. Hitters 3-7 in their lineup are all 28 or 29.
- Cincinnati Reds: The Reds lineup is struggling a bit with Matt McLain who is basically the catalyst for all the runs that come in… the Reds rotation is almost the Guardians rotation of the NL with four rookies and Hunter Greene. Carson Spiers has some interesting stuff and is the most under-heralded piece of the rotation right now, while I’m really high on Connor Phillips – so I’d add him despite the poor first start, while Lyon Richardson has just been bad and should be much better.
- Colorado Rockies: If Elehuris Montero keeps playing, he might be worth adding. The Rockies are home next week – so keep this in mind for H2H playoffs.
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Chris Taylor is rolling right now as the Dodgers are loaded up on vets while Miguel Vargas has another strong minor league season. Ryan Pepiot and Emmett Sheehan are back in the rotation with Urias and Gonsolin both being toast for different reasons. What’s up with Dodgers pitchers and these suspensions? Walker Buehler is not coming back.
- Miami Marlins: Soler is out, so we have another lineup shakeup with Jake Burger now hitting second, behind Arraez and in front of Bell and Jazz. The Marlins could be good if they spent some money on the middle infield and bullpen.
- Milwaukee Brewers: Sal Frelick is still cleaning up and William Contreras is hitting second… still don’t get it.
- New York Mets: Ronny Mauricio is still starting every day, hitting eighth and playing second. He’s been hitting the crap out of the ball, but needs to hit it in the air. The good thing is he’s still getting hits. This team is better than Uncle Steve is giving it credit for, they could compete next year with a couple pitching additions. Trading Alonso makes no sense.
- Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are rounding into playoff form. Nothing really new, except how does Johan Rojas not have a single barrel in almost 100 ABs?
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Suwinski is back to the point he should be started against all righties, while Ke’Bryan Hayes is hitting the ball in the air at a 41% clip since returning from the IL – his career flyball rate is only 31% and he’s also hitting .306/.356/.587 with 8 homers during this span. Will it stick? If it does, he may have finally become elite… this could be a game changer the fantasy football people completely miss out on.
- San Diego Padres: Yay! Gary Sanchez is hurt and Luis Campusano can finally get a run as the starting catcher. Been waiting like 3-4 years for this. FYI, who is going to start for the Padres next year outside of Musgrove and Darvish? They may need to sign three or four guys or they will find a 20-year-old Robbie Snelling in their rotation.
- San Francisco Giants: Wilmer En Fuego Flores is taking souls.
- St. Louis Cardinals: Nothing new to note here really… probably nothing for the rest of the year.
- Washington Nationals: Carter Kieboom still sucks and how is Luis Garcia still only 23-years-old? The Nationals have some bad developmental people – hopefully they don’t ruin Wood and Crews. To further Tim’s point, there is a lot of drama coming out of DC right now– The Nationals are currently fighting over the contracts of Strasburg and GM Mike Rizzo. In addition they fired twelve scouts and their top international executive Johnny DiPulgia resigned.
Raymond’s Injury Notes (as of SAT 9/2):
It’s the season of veterans on crappy teams hitting the IL for “reasons”, and extended timelines as teams out of the playoff race are in no hurry to bring back players.
- Quick Hitters:
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- OF Joey Gallo (Twins)- Placed on IL with a left foot contusion
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- 1B/OF Alex Kiriloff (Twins)- Activated from IL after a shoulder injury.
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- C Gary Sanchez (Padres)- Fractured his wrist and is done for the year.
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- C Danny Jansen (Blue Jays)- Underwent finger surgery, done for year.
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- 1B Joey Votto (Reds)- Began a rehab assignment Friday. No timetable for return.
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- 2B Jonathan India (Reds)- Expected to return Tuesday
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- SP Walker Buehler (Dodgers)- Will not return this season
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- SP Nestor Cortes (Yankees)- Will not return this season
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- SP Matt Manning (Tigers)- Will not return this season
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- OF Andrew McCuthen (Pirates)- Will not return this season
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- 2B/SS/OF Mookie Betts (Dodgers)- Mookie fouled a ball off of his foot on Thursday night. He stayed in the game but eventually left the ballpark on crutches. X-Rays were negative. With the Dodgers cruising to the NL West crown, expect him to be off for a day or two at the least.
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- OF Adolis Garcia (Rangers)- The Rangers placed Garcia on the 10-day IL with a right patellar tendon strain. Garcia injured himself attempting to bring back a home run on Wednesday. There is optimism that Garcia will return sometime this season in what has turned into a nightmare finish for the Rangers.
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- OF Jorge Soler (Marlins)- After missing a week with a hip injury, Soler was placed on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. This seems like another example of why athletes shouldn’t hurt–wind up overcompensating and hurting something else. The Marlins might be cooked in the Wild Card race.
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- SP Sandy Alcantara (Marlins)- Sandy Alcantara was placed on the 15-Day IL with a right forearm flexor strain. I would assume this means he is done for the year, especially if the Marlins fall out of things. But, this could be terrifying for the Marlins and dynasty managers alike as we await word on surgery as they go through tests and imaging.
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- SP Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)- Dave Martinez said that Kershaw is pitching through “continued left shoulder trouble”. He also said that a break will not help, and it is affecting his velocity and his command. Can he just get 3,000 K’s already so he can retire? He needs 70 more.
Tim’s Top 8 Waiver Adds (12 Team Leagues):
NOTE: Under 70% Owned in CBS leagues
- SP Kyle Harrison (Giants): Pure filth, since coming up Harrison has shown the control issues in the minors might have been a mirage. He has a 25% K-BB rate (prior to Friday’s start) with a 3.51 SIERA. Go get him if he’s available, especially in keeper / dynasty leagues.
- 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates): See Pirates note above – he’s raking right now and looks to have fixed his swing finally while on the IL – hopefully it sticks!
- RP Ryan Helsley (Cardinals): Helsey is back off the IL and has resumed his late innings save share with Gallegos. He’s looked sharp so far and should be owned even just for the ratios.
- SS Zach Neto (Angels): Neto is returning next week and prior to hitting the IL had been on a tear. He’s a very solid long-term player and is worth riding down the stretch if you need an MI.
- SP Ryan Pepiot (Dodgers): Just when I thought Pepiot was being relegated to a non-saves bullpen role, Julio Urias went and done messed up A-Aron. Pepiot has a 20% K-BB rate and 3.59 SIERA in the majors this year, looking great as both a starter and reliever.
- C Gabriel Moreno (Diamondbacks): The Moreno renaissance continues as he is rocking a .323/.380/.600 slash with 4 homers since returning from his injury on August 13th – power from Moreno is huge!
- 2B / SS Ronny Mauricio (Mets): Mauricio already has three steals and is hitting to a .421/.421/.474 slash in his small sample size. He’s hitting the ball hard – but on the ground. The chase rate is terrible, but he might be like Tim Anderson and just might be one of the guys who makes it work based on athleticism.
- 3B Noelvi Marte (Reds): Talk about wheels, Marte now has six steals from the 3B spot in only 19 games, but like Mauricio he’s pounding the ball into the ground too much. Small sample size, just like Mauricio, however he has a better ball park. Mauricio hits the ball harder and is more athletic, while Marte has the park and better batter’s eye – so slight edge to Mauricio for now, how gets the benefit of MI eligibility.
Raymond’s Top Waiver Adds (12 Team Leagues):
NOTE: I do not pick any of the same players as Tim.
- RP Andres Munoz (Mariners)- Tim cheated so I’m going to follow suit. Munoz is rostered in 72% of CBS leagues so he barely misses the cut for this list. If you need saves for the stretch run, Munoz will help. The Mariners are winning a ton of games and Munoz has nine saves since August 31st. The ratios aren’t elite, but they are good enough for the saves they come with.
- OF Nolan Jones (Rockies)- The Rockies are currently on the road, but Nolan Jones keeps having really good Fridays so I will keep him in this article. Jones had a combo meal on Friday and is riding an eight game hitting streak. On the season he is hitting to the tune of a .285 with 15 homers, 48 RBI, 44 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. Jones is going to do just enough I am going to talk myself into a breakout next year.
- SP John Means (Orioles)- He’s officially coming back, and as a starter to boot, as the Orioles moved Cole Irvin to the pen this week. Means threw five innings in each of his final minor league appearances. Remember- Means has not gotten a chance to pitch in the new spacious version of Camden. Means is on track to face the Cardinals or the Rays depending on when the Orioles choose to let him make his debut, if they keep him on normal rest it will be the Cardinals.
Tim’s Top 8 Waiver Adds (15 Team Leagues):
NOTE: Under 50% Owned
- RP Jose Alvarado (Phillies): Alvarado has been fire all season and now he’s back from injury and seems to have grabbed at least a share of the closer role from Kimbrel.
- SP Mason Miller (Athletics): Miller looked fantastic in his first game back, but is being limited to 50 pitches for the rest of the season per appearance, so while he will help with ratios, he likely will not be helping too much in other categories for fantasy in 2023.
- SS Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks): Lawlar is coming up hot, but so was Masyn Winn. Let’s see if he surges like Dominguez or struggles like Winn upon the call up. He’s a very talented individual and it will be interesting to watch.
- 1B Alex Kirilloff (Twins): Kirilloff was looking great prior to his injury – poor Kirillof has been so injury ridden it makes Byron Buxton blush. He was smoking the minors during his rehab, so he should pop back up in the middle of a playoff lineup and produce.
- SP Zach Thompson (Cardinals): Thompson has been a beast since returning to the team as the Cardinals played games making him a reliever, then a starter, then a reliever, then a starter again this season. In August, since grabbing a rotation role he has a 19.7% K-BB rate with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.
- C Bo Naylor (Guardians): Maybe having big brother Josh back in the lineup has helped little Bo, but he’s been hot since about August 23rd – hitting .333/.432/.833 with 4 homers and a steal.
- SP Connor Phillips (Reds): Phillips has only made one start so far, but now that he’s on the 40 man, he should be up to stay. He had 7 Ks in 4 ⅔ IP in his first outing and showed some killer stuff. Get ready for more Connor Phillips.
- OF Tommy Pham (Diamondbacks): Since August 15th, Pham is hitting .264/.301/.506 with 4 homers and is hitting third for the D Backs. Not great, but he’s getting counting stats.
Raymond’s Top Droppable Players:
- SP James Paxton (Red Sox)
- SP Chase Silseth (Angels)
- SP Julio Urias (Dodgers)
- SP Dane Dunning (Rangers)
- RP Will Smith (Rangers)
- OF Bryan de la Cruz (Marlins)
- SP Julio Urias (Dodgers)
Tim’s Top 5 Re-Draft Prospects (not promoted yet):
1. 2B / 3B Colt Keith (Tigers):
STATS: 2022 A+ Stats: .301/.370/.544, 9 HR, 4 SB
2023 AA Stats: .325/.391/.585, 14 HR, 2 SB
2023 AAA Stats: .299/.369/.526, 10 HR, 1 SB
Comp: Josh Donaldson
Estimated Promotion Date: Mid September
Prime Skills: Big time power with a solid hit tool at 3B and an aggressive power hungry swing. He commands the strike zone and rarely swings outside of the zone.
Ranking Explanation: Keith has been on fire the last couple weeks and is doing his best to push a promotion before the end of the season. The Tigers should call him up to give him a cup of coffee and prepare him to break camp in 2024.
2. 3B / OF Justin-Henry Malloy (Tigers):
STATS: 2022 AA Stats: .305/.394/.548, 10 HR, 6 SB
2022 AAA Stats: .268/.376/.486, 3 HR, 1 SB
2023 AAA Stats: .291/.433/.507, 23 HR, 5 SB
Comp: Righty Lars Nootbaar with less power and speed
Estimated Promotion Date: Mid September
Prime Skills: Malloy was traded to the Tigers in the Joe Jimenez deal in what may have been a rare loss for the Braves in the trade column. He might not be a super star, but he will have a ton of value on OBP and points leagues, because this dude is an on base machine.
Ranking Explanation: JHM is showing some stronger power skills with a couple more homers this week and should be up with Colt Keith before the end of the season.
3. OF Heston Kjerstad (Orioles)
STATS: 2022 A Stats: .463/.551/.650, 2 HR, 0 SB
2022 A+ Stats: .233/.312/.362, 3 HR, 1 SB
2023 AA Stats: .310/.376/.589, 11 HR, 3 SB
2023 AAA Stats: .302/.371/.514, 10 HR, 2 SB
Comp: Joc Pederson with a better hit tool.
Estimated Promotion Date: Mid-September
Prime Skills: Kjerstad has such an interesting story, coming off a COVID injury he has quick hands, easy power from the left side with a simple upright batting stance. He’s really come into his own this season and should make it up to the big league club by the end of it.
Ranking Explanation: The Orioles don’t really need him – this is the issue, they have so many guys. He should have been called up by now, but they also took way too long to call up Westburg. Could he replace Cowser though?
4. 1B / 2B / 3B Tyler Black (Brewers):
STATS: 2022 A+ Stats: .281/.406/.424, 4 HR, 13 SB
2023 AA Stats: .273/.411/.513, 14 HR, 47 SB
2023 AAA Stats: .226/.365/.376, 2 HR, 6 SB
Comp: Faster Ben Zobrist
Estimated Promotion Date: Late September
Prime Skills: He has ridiculously good plate skills to go along with high end speed, a solid hit tool and above average power. Under the radar guy who will kill it at 2B as soon as next season.
Ranking Explanation: Black has had a killer year and by all rights should be up on this team right now near the top of the lineup with his on base skills, but will the Brewers take a flier on Donaldson instead of promoting Black? He’s not hitting as well as at AA, but he is getting on base at a very strong clip.
e is showing amazing plate skills at the AAA level and has proved for months he is ready.
5. 1B Kyle Manzardo (Guardians):
STATS: 2022 A+ Stats: .329/.426/.636, 17 HR, 0 SB
2022 AA Stats: .323/.402/.576, 5 HR, 1 SB
2023 AAA Stats (Rays): .238/.342/.442, 11 HR, 1 SB
2023 AAA Stats (Guardians): .256/.342/.410, 0 HR, 0 SB
Comp: A more twitchy Freddie Freeman w/ a Joey Votto like body
Estimated Promotion Date: Late September
Prime Skills: Manzardo is a professional hitter with great contact skills and super star level plate discipline skills already. He could walk into the Majors day 1 and avoid being overwhelmed. He also has easy 25 homer power and could grow into more.
Ranking Explanation: Manzardo is finally healthy and playing for Cleveland at AAA, but he’s still off from what he was doing earlier in the year. The Guardians could really use a healthy and fully activated Manzardo, but will he get there this year?
Honorable Mention: Ben Brown, Joey Loperfido, Jackson Chourio, Mason Montgomery, Connor Norby, Mike Vasil, Justin Foscue, Nick Frasso
Graduated (this week): SS Jordan Lawlar, OF Evan Carter
Graduated (this year): OF Jordan Walker (Cardinals), SS Anthony Volpe (Yankees), 2B Miguel Vargas (Dodgers), SS Ezequiel Tovar (Rockies), OF Esteury Ruiz (Athletics), C Logan O’Hoppe (Angels), SP Hunter Brown (Astros), OF Joey Wiemer (Brewers), SP Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles), C Francisco Alvarez (Mets), 2B Edouard Julien (Twins), SP Taj Bradley (Rays), SS Zach Neto (Angels), SP Mason Miller (Athletics), SP Logan Allen (Guardians), 2B Enmanuel Valdez (Red Sox), 3B Brett Baty (Mets), SS Oswald Peraza (Yankees), 2B Edouard Julien (Twins), SP Taj Bradley (Rays), 2B Zach Neto (Angels), Tanner Bibee (Guardians), Chase Silseth (Angels), Michael Busch (Dodgers), Joey Ortiz (Orioles), Brandon Pfaadt (Diamondbacks), Bryce Miller (Mariners), Matt Mervis (Cubs), Gavin Stone (Dodgers), Casey Schmitt (Giants), Eury Perez (Marlins), Luis Ortiz (Pirates), SS Matt McLain (Reds), SP Matthew Liberatore (Cardinals), SP DL Hall (Orioles), SP Bobby Miller (Dodgers), SP Bryan Woo (Mariners), SP AJ Smith-Shawver (Braves), RP Ben Joyce (Mariners), SS Elly de la Cruz (Reds), SP Andrew Abbott (Reds), SP Owen White (Rangers), OF Luis Matos (Giants), C Bo Naylor (Guardians), SP Emmett Sheehan, SP Gavin Williams (Guardians), C Henry Davis (Pirates), OF Samad Taylor (Royals), SS / 3B Jordan Westburg (Orioles), OF Colton Cowser (Orioles),1B/3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Reds), C Endy Rodribuez (Pirates), 2B / 3B Zac Gelof (A’s), C Tyler Soderstrom, SP Quinn Priester (Pirates), 2B/SS Liover Peguero (Pirates), MI Johan Rojas (Phillies), OF Sal Frelick (Brewers), SP Jackson Wolf (Padres), SS Marco Luciano (Giants), SP Lyon Richardson (Reds), SS Masyn Winn (Cardinals), 1B Nolan Schanuel (Angels), 3B Noelvi Marte (Reds), SP Kyle Harrison (Giants), 2B / SS Ronny Mauricio, OF Jasson Dominguez, OF Cedanne Rafaela, C Austin Wells, OF Alexander Canario, SP Connor Phillips
DEEP DIVE:
See Tim’s new top 150 prospects. He released them all on twitter as well as six podcasts for them in 25 player groups.
Moves We Made This Week:
TIM:
- TGFBI:
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- Added a $1 Jose Alvarado and $1 Ceddanne Rafaela for Curtis Mead and Ryan Pepiot (dropping him was a mistake)
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- CBS MML:
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- Added Ryan Pepiot
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- OPL:
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- N/A
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- FAI:
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- Added a $1 (for all) Sammy Basallo, Drew Gilbert, Cole Young, Robby Snelling, Jett Williams, Walker Jenkins and Hurston Waldrep
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RAYMOND:
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- TGFBI:
- Steady holding on to sixth place with Trout, Jung, Greene and Cutch taking up most of my bench.
- CBS MML:
- N/A
- OPL:
- FAI:
- Celebrating the callups of Evan Carter, Jordan Lawlar, and Jasson Dominguez
- Lost another auction on a Tigers prospect (Jace Jung), but this one is my fault as I never put in a secondary bid. Ouch.
- TGFBI:
- 12 Team H2H Categories League (3 OF, no bench spots for pitchers):
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- Tied 4-4-2 in the playoffs, eliminated as the 6 seed on a tie breaker (better record)
- NL Only CBS Roto:
- N/A
Raymond’s Stat(s) of the Day:
- On Tuesday night, Jose Altuve had three homers before the 7-8-9 hitters for the Rangers even had their first at bat. Let that sink in.
- The Padres have the lowest team ERA in the National League and are 67-75
- Jasson Dominguez is the youngest player since at least 1901 to homer in four of his first seven games.
- Jasson Dominguez joined Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees age 20 or younger to ever hit three home runs in a five game span. Dominguez did it in his first five games.
Please find more of our work by listening to the Fantasy Aceball podcast on Apple Pods and Spotify and follow us on Twitter @fantasyaceball & @raymondatherton.
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