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| Wednesday, August 31, 2022 |
| Happy Wednesday, everyone! We'll lead today with how truly special it is to be watching Aaron Judge's contract season with the Yankees right now. Judge cracked the whip on home run number 51 on Tuesday night, and that puts him 15 homers ahead of the next closest -- Kyle Schwarber. Perhaps most importantly, it puts him 10 homers away from Roger Maris' 61 in a season and we've still got a full month of play left. |
| I've made the case in the past for why I think Shohei Ohtani makes a greater impact than any player simply because no other hitter in the running for MVP is also doubling as a lights-out pitcher, but I've turned the corner and have landed squarely on Judge as this year's AL MVP. How can you take it away from him at this point? |
| We'll dive into some of the key takeaways from Tuesday's action, but first make sure you're all caught up on everything over at CBSSports.com/Fantasy. Scott White broke down all of the most important bullpen situations and their outlooks over the remainder of the season in his bullpen report. |
| He tackled the elephant in the room -- what to do with Josh Hader, who has allowed a whopping 28 earned runs over his last 21 appearances: |
| From Scott: "Just because I think Hader remains the Padres' top reliever to roster doesn't mean you have to keep rostering him. I do believe that when (and if) he gets "it" back, it will return just suddenly as it left him, like flipping on a light switch, making it obvious to the Padres and everyone else that he needs to be closing again. But I'm no longer so confident it will happen in the next five weeks (if at all), and I realize that not all league sizes and scoring formats grant you the flexibility to plop a reliever on your bench and wait him out. |
| "At least we have confirmation now who Hader's replacement is. After initially saying he would go the by-committee route, manager Bob Melvin confirmed Monday that converted starter Nick Martinez is the closer until Hader gets right. Martinez has recorded each of the team's past three saves, and since settling into short relief just before the All-Star break, he has a 0.45 ERA in 17 appearances." |
| Scott also broke down Clay Holmes and the Yankees situation and more interesting bullpen developments. |
| We also got a deeper dive from Scott on six injured players who could still decide the fate of your leagues here. He pinpointed Ozzie Albies as a player you don't want to forget about: "Albies hasn't played since June 13, wasn't having a standout season at that point, and has recently seen rookie Vaughn Grissom claim his old second base job, quickly emerging as a fixture in the Braves lineup. But we all know the impact Albies is capable of making. He's been an early-round fixture the past three years, even while still shy of his 26th birthday. The hitting environment has also improved from those first couple months when he struggled, with offense rebounding league-wide. With him set to begin a rehab assignment this week, you can trust he'll be back manning second base within the next two. Grissom will have to find somewhere else to play." |
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| Carroll stays hot |
| Corbin Carroll was arguably the best prospect in baseball on most boards, so when he was called up earlier this week he grabbed everyone's attention -- and he was already nearly 50% rostered. Carroll has been tearing the ball up since his call up. The box score stats may not show it, but Carroll is clocking it. He went 2 for 5 with a double and came so close to a homer. Nonetheless, he already has three hard-hit balls and should be rostered everywhere for his upside alone. |
| Injured aces |
| Shane McClanahan was scratched from his start Tuesday due to a left shoulder impingement. There was a video of him in their bullpen and he looked visibly upset. Not sure what this means for him. The Fantasy Baseball Today team broke this down on today's podcast.Justin Verlander was placed on the IL with a calf injury, retroactive to Aug. 29. Cristian Javier will start Wednesday against the Rangers and pitching prospect Hunter Brown is set to be promoted Thursday. It sounds like he could have a chance to start actually. We lost Tony Gonsolin yesterday too -- it has been a rough few days! |
| Pitchers to add if your ace just went down |
| Shallow leagues (less than 75% rostered): Reid Detmers, Alex Cobb, Patrick Sandoval, Jose QuintanaNext up, 50-60% rostered: Nick Lodolo, Domingo German, Eduardo RodriguezStashes: Jack Flaherty 79%, Mike Soroka, Trevor Rogers, Tyler GlasnowDeeper: Orioles SP (Kremer, Watkins, Voth), JP Sears, Roansy Contreras |
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| Who's hot |
| Framber Valdez made it 22 straight quality starts with an eight-inning gem where he allowed just two earned runs, seven hits and zero walks. He broke the Astros record and the left-handed pitcher record for most consecutive quality starts after this one. The MLB record is 24 straight in a single season -- that was done by Jacob deGrom. |
| Who's not |
| Matt Manning was a two-start pitcher we suggested and it ain't looking good so far! He was absolutely crushed by the Mariners on Tuesday. Manning allowed seven hits, one walk and seven earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings. He allowed two homers. |
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| Fantasy news, injuries and notes |
| For a complete recap of every injury, update and more, make sure you're locked into the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast where Frank, Scott and Chris dive deep into every player note. For the CliffsNotes version, we'll recap the biggest news and notes you need to know right here: |
| Ronald Acuña was out of the lineup again Tuesday, his third straight absence due to that sore right knee. Manager Brian Snitker didn't sound worried and said the absence is cautionary.Fernando Tatis Jr.'s left shoulder surgery was delayed Tuesday after he came down with a non-COVID illness. Ozzie Albies will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Thursday. He's been sidelined since mid-June with a fracture in his left foot. Clayton Kershaw will return Thursday to start against the Mets. Willson Contreras exited Tuesday with soreness in his left ankle. Carlos Carrasco is expected to return from the IL during this weekend's series with the Nationals after he felt fine following a 55-pitch simulated game Monday.Eloy Jimenez was back in the lineup Tuesday while Luis Robert was out for a fourth straight game. Yordan Alvarez has missed two straight with left hand soreness.Jazz Chisholm will be evaluated next week. He hasn't taken part in baseball activities since being diagnosed with a stress fracture in late July.Mike Soroka will make another rehab start with Triple-A on Friday. He threw 75 pitches in his last rehab start but the results weren't great. He's still just 55% rostered. Jameson Taillon exited his start Tuesday after getting hit by a line drive on his forearm. A's reliever Zach Jackson was placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. AJ Puk likely to close by process of elimination?Yasmani Grandal is set to return Wednesday. He went 5-11 with two walks and a homer across three rehab games. Looking to pick him back up in one-catcher leagues? He's 52% rostered.Josiah Gray will make his next start Friday against the Mets. He was skipped his previous turn in the rotation as part of workload management. Somewhat related, Cade Cavalli is headed to the IL with right shoulder inflammation after just one start with the Nationals. |
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