Grey’s 2025 2nd Half Top 100

Strap in for a deep dive into Grey’s 2025 2nd Half Top 100 Rankings! No surprises at the top: Judge, Ohtani, and Elly hold down the top three. But does James Wood deserve to be at #4? Let’s talk about that monster first half and why Rudy’s got him lower. What’s the deal with Grey ranking pitchers in the top 10 overall rankings?We tackle all the big questions:

• Why isn’t PCA a top 10 guy?
• Does Grey hate Kyle Schwarber despite his monster numbers?
• Is Cal Raleigh the highest-ranked catcher of all time?
• What’s going on with underperformers like J-Rod, Betts, and Freeman?
• Is this finally the year deGrom stays healthy… or does he ghost us again?
• And how are guys like Eugenio Suárez, George Springer, and Byron Buxton still getting it done?

Also, we shine the spotlight on rising names like Heliot Ramos, Cam Smith, Chandler Simpson, and Nick Kurtz. Also, wth is Brenton Doyle doing on this list.Whether you're contending in fantasy or planning for dynasty, this episode has all the player takes, arguments, and surprises you need for the second half of the 2025 season. Let’s get into it!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
You like fantasy ball sans chasm that I shall not
me hear myself stun spans and they can't even count
some of you uniforcasom surround. It ain't even better the health, well,
ye have several charges on everyone something else and I'm
already I'm.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Like to hear my baby sounds just like your name
was Mark. And it's a rhyde By podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's a rapp podcast. It's a rapp podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
It's a ride by podcast. It's a rap up podcast,
a wrap up podcast. Got a turn doh rap bo podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Hey, everybody, welcome back. It is the Rasball Fantasy Baseball Podcast.
I am beat on, joined by d one, the only
the Fantasy Master, Lithario himself. Great, alright, how's it going.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Greg good Man? I just got done ranking one hundred
players and boy or my fingers tired? What wait what?

Speaker 1 (01:30):
I just let you go. I just laugh with you,
and I hope that goes for the best. We're recording
this on the Monday of the All Star Game, so
you know, I know Gray wants to get this over
whist so we can have like one day of just
not having to do anything really baseball related. So we're
gonna get this over with. But no, I mean, it's

(01:51):
a fun time of the year. I went to the
Futures game, the home run Deveries tonight. I'm you know,
I'm slightly under the weather, so on debating weather, I
want to put people at Risks Slash spend the money
to be crappy at the game at Derby. But we
will see staying with the draft. But I did hear
from one of our listeners. Great, That's the only reason
I'm bringing it up. So if you're listening, I'm not

(02:15):
going to name you because you know who you are
and I don't want to throw your name out here.
But if you're listening, I may be there, I may not.
I will let you know, but I don't want to
get you stick either. So this is cool.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's like a podcast that could have been a text
good at we do you know? Podcast? You know, an
email or a text?

Speaker 1 (02:40):
You know, Gray, I know you get a lot of
comments and d ms, but I get very few. So
when I get one, you know, I just feel obliged
to like mention that it happened.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Just let me. You're out there right now and you're
listening and you want to be mentioned on the podcast.
Just contact b dot.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Obviously I just don't get enough you know, communication from anybody. Anyway,
it's great second half top one hundred. We're not gonna
waste any time. Let's get into it because there's a
lot of people I want to put on this list.
First of all, give us a little quick breakdown second
half rankings. How do you put together? You know, there's
obviously now player raider that we have and we've seen

(03:23):
these guys play. There's projections, there's experience, there's upside, there's everything,
the hit, picture, hitter balance. Just give us a quick rundown.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah, sure. So you know, I think with the top
one hundred in the preseason, it's a lot easier to
do simply because there's no games going on. So it's
like like I will do like, for instance, like with
the top one hundred, I ranked Jaron Durant like really,

(04:00):
and then he hit two homers last week and I
was like, well, I got to move them up. And
then like Austin Riley, I actually had ranked in the
back one hundred and then he got injured, so I
removed him completely. So it's like, I mean, it's a
it's a bit of a pain in regard to having
games going on because there it's just so you know,

(04:24):
things get so over emphasized just having like actual guys playing,
because like you're watching guys and you're like, oh, you know,
showed U he looks good in his final start. Do
I move him up? Or I kind of worry about

(04:44):
his his strikeout rate. It's like it's a it's a
real pain, man, I'll be honest, it's it's hard. It's
hard to do with top one hundred when there's games
going on. So with that said, at a certain point
you got to stop fiddling around with it. That's what
she said, and actually, you know, put rubber to the road.

(05:09):
She did say that, and then you know, start ranking guys.
So with that said, I ranked them basically on like
it's like probably ninety percent what they did and ten
percent they're gonna. So it's like as easy as it
is to say, like, you know, a guy like Gunner

(05:31):
Henderson should be better and he should be better, But
as much as you say that, it's still like you
look at his numbers for the year so far and
you're like, I can't rank them any higher than this.
So so it's a lot maybe it's more like seventy
five twenty five for how much I look at, like
what a guy did versus what a guy's gonna do. Now,

(05:52):
this is all rankings for as of if the season
starts right now. So this is ranking for what's going,
what's what supposedly is gonna happen. But it's rankings really
for what did happen, because you really, like, I mean,
I'm as guilty as anyone. You can't look at a

(06:13):
guy like say Ozzy Albi's for instance, and say I
were to rank him in the top fifty, people would
throw tomatoes in my head. They'd be like, what in
your mind? Like, and I'm in Ozzy Alby's is not
ranked in the top one hundred, but you can't like,
But that doesn't mean he won't be a top one

(06:33):
hundred guy in the second half. I mean, will he
likely be that? No, but he could be. I mean,
he just needs ten homers and five steals and a
two seventy average to potentially be in the top one hundred.
I mean, it's not hard to be in the top
one hundred with only you know, seventy ish games left.

(06:55):
So it's really like, I mean, it's it's a struggle, bro,
it's not. I mean, it's really difficult. So I look
at you know, we have a Rest of the Season
Player Raider on Rasball, So I look at that and
I see like what the robots are, what the robots

(07:16):
are saying a guy should do for the second half,
and then I look at like the Player Raider for
that and play Raider is what guys have done, And
you know, I look at mostly what a guy has done,
but I try to, you know, factor in as much
as I can what a guy should do, like, you know,

(07:38):
even going with like the top guy, Aaron Judge on
the Player Raider, he is he's headed for another historically
great year. Like on the Historical Player Raider, I think
he's top twenty right now at like sixty plus dollars.
But if you look at like the rest of the
Season Player Raider, it has Otania above him by a

(08:01):
decent amount, And it's like, can you really rank Otani
above Judge with what Judge has done so far this year?
Like that's like, I mean, I I personally just can't
imagine it. I just I can't imagine someone being like, yeah,
Aaron Judge is on a historically great year once again,

(08:22):
and I'm not gonna rank him number one, Like it
just doesn't it just doesn't ring true to me. So yeah,
So I guess it's a long way of saying there's
there's a lot of like what a guy has done
already so far this year, because as much as I
say the ranking start from day one of the second
half through the end of the season, you still have

(08:45):
to look at what a guy's done in the first season,
in the first half of the season, because like he's
coming off of that first half. It's not like he's
just plopped down in the middle of like you know,
in a vacuum where it's like, oh, he doesn't like
he doesn't know what he did in the first half,
and we don't know what he did in the first half,
and it's just, you know, it's completely like you know, arbitrary,

(09:08):
and it's like we're really starting from day one of
the second half. I mean, the rankings are, but they're
kind of not If any of that made any sense.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
All right, that great just entry into the world of
your rankings, Gray saying they are, but they aren't number
one through three. You already mentioned jud Joe Tani. Number
three is Elie. No surprises really in one, two three there.
I would say, let's start at James what at number four?
That might surprise people, again, not necessarily because of what

(09:42):
he's done. He's number nine on the player radder, twenty
four home runs, twelve stone basis fifty nine sixty nine,
he's hitting two seventy eight. You know, I mean, I
think that the surprise might come in that some people
are more you know, they want to see it for
a longer period time before they would move somebody up
to number number four. Our projections, you know, Rudy's projections

(10:05):
have them at thirty five, which again it's it's more
of a historic based system, so it's never gonna have
James Wood it for But what are your thoughts?

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, no, I mean, and uh, you know, according to
the rest of the season player Raider, it goes Otani, Judge,
Jose Ramirez, Bobby Witch Junior. That's the top four there. Uh,
and you know that's sort of going to what you're
saying about like historically, you know, it's like it takes
into account past seasons. So of course, like guys who

(10:42):
have a huge track record like the four I mentioned
of course they're going to be at the top four.
So yeah, I you know, I I felt like James
Wood really like I was looking at his you know,
his stats, and you know, I don't want to going
back to Gunner Henderson and what he was supposed to do.

(11:03):
Like James Wood looks like like what we thought we
were gonna get from Gunner Henderson. Like that that's the
year that it seems like he's headed for. So you know,
it's just like and there's nothing in his numbers that
really jump off the page as being like, you know, oh,
like I feel like he's gonna fall off in the
second half or something like his numbers look great, like

(11:24):
he's on pace for a thirty five twenty two seventy
five season, which again, that's like what we thought we
were gonna get from Gunner Henderson. So and I think
there's upside even I don't I don't know if we
necessarily have seen the best of James Wood. So yeah,
I I love him. I have no I have no

(11:45):
problem with uh, you know, I think it's you know,
it's probably splitting hairs whether it's James Wood or Kyle
Tucker or Akunya as like the number four guy. They're
all they're all in the mix. I have them, you know,
I have them all in the next you know, the hitters.
I have that the rankings for the hitters the next

(12:07):
four is exactly that. So I think, yeah, I mean,
I think you could make a case for any of
those guys being at number four. But yeah, I went
with James Wood because he's the youngest, he's the healthiest.
I mean, Kyle Tucker seems, you know, is fine if
you want to go Kyle Tucker there. If you want

(12:30):
to go a Kunya, I have no problem with that either,
but you know, he's obviously not stealing as much. Bobby
Wood Junior is then the next guy, the next hitter
who I have ranked. So if you want to go
Bobby Wit, I mean I would say, you know, after
the first half, he just had that, doesn't it doesn't
really track to have him above any of those other hitters.

(12:50):
So yeah, I mean, I don't know, I don't know
who else you would put up four, Like it's either
James Wood or Kyle Tucker probably I would think would
number four is that's the that's the number one. I
feel like that would be the top argument for number four,
and I went with James Wood because I think he's younger,

(13:11):
he's got a little bit more upside. But you know,
that's splitting hairs. Like if it was if it was
Kyle Tucker four, I wouldn't have a problem with that either.
But anyone else, I think you're starting to uh. I
feel like if if you had anyone else at number four,
you're starting to uh. You know, I think it's that's

(13:32):
a bigger, a bigger issue. Probably like Juan Soto, I
could see maybe, but he doesn't have like you know,
he had a bit of a struggle in April and
May and really started coming on. And Fernando Tatist Junior
has a little bit of injury issues. So yeah, I
don't know who would you put it for? Kyle Tucker?

Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, I'd probably have Kyle Tucker there, And then like
you said, I really don't mind any of those guys
you could have, you'd have Tucker, would a Kunya with
I know you said like Witt hasn't have the numbers
this year, and he doesn't, but he also, you know,
he's hitting better. He had the one really kind of
kind of down month in regards to average hitting, hitting

(14:20):
two forty three. But I mean, everything else has been fine.
So even with I would put in that discussion, I
don't have a problem with any of them being there.
I just you know, I thought i'd bring it up
for the audience when they see James wood it four
and ask you why you would Why would you ever
would do that? Now you can just point on the podcast.
Let's talk about the fact that two of those guys

(14:42):
we talked about in this discussion for four are behind
pictures Gray, Who are you? What did you do with
the great Albright? We all know and love what's going on?
You have Scuball and Wheeler over a Kunya and Bobby
Witt Junior. Obviously this is lunacy based on what you
told everybody in the preseason. Would tell them every preseason.

Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, I would, and I would, and I'm probably gonna
say I'll say the same thing next preseason too. I
you know, I say in the rankings themselves, I point
out how I have pitchers ranked higher at the second half.
And I do that because at this point in the season,
you you know which pitchers are one hundred percent healthy,

(15:28):
you know, you know how how well they're pitching. I
think at at this point there's just less risk with pitchers.
And also I think if you need a like if
you if you need pitching in your league now, I
would actually go out and trade for a guy who
can make a difference. So, like I say in the rankings,

(15:50):
like a Tarik Schooble, I would go out and trade
for over you know, say trying to pick up off
a waivers like Sewan Minon or something, because at this
point in the season, you're only going to do so much, uh,
you know, work with like your your ratios and your
numbers and your pitching categories in your league are kind

(16:13):
of baked in at this point. So if you really
want to make a difference in your fantasy league at
this point, you have to actually go out and you know,
get a huge arm to try and make a big difference.
So I yeah, I feel like at the second half,
this is the time. If you want to get like
a Tarik Schooble or Zach Wheeler, I think that's the

(16:33):
this is the time to do it. You know, I
wouldn't go and I wouldn't say necessarily like if you
if you have the uh, the offense, if you have
the hitting. At this point, you should know it, like
you should know how your team, like what kind of
trade you can pull off in your league, Like if
you can pull off, you know, trading a Kyle Tucker

(16:57):
for a Tarik Schoolble, you should be you should do
it if you can do it in your in your league.
Like that's like where we're at this point. Like if
you know you have like a thirty homer lead on
like the next team behind you, or if you have
like you know, if you have average despair or runs
or RBIs whatever the case is, if you have hitting

(17:20):
to spare and you can go out and get a pitcher,
I say, do it, you know. I think that's uh.
And that's different than what I would say in in April,
because I think in April, as much as people want
to think they know how their team is gonna shake out,
I don't think people really know, like I know, Like
it's like everyone thinks they're a genius until you get

(17:42):
to like the middle of April and you have like
you know, you you've lost, like Cole Reagan's and Spencer
Streider doesn't look as good as you thought he was
gonna look, and code ISNGA goes down, like you know,
things happen, things get thrown at you, uh with the

(18:04):
in your fantasy league, and you may have thought you
had enough pitching in April, but it turns out you didn't.
So I think now is like, you know, do it
now before it's way too late. Uh, it's already you know,
we're already in the middle. We're already past the middle
of the season. So you gotta you gotta move quickly

(18:24):
if you're hurting for pitching. So yeah, that's that's basically
what I'm looking at right now. I think the uh
uh for the most part, I think pitching is more
reliable in the second half of the season because you
know what pitchers are doing. And it's also like, if
you need pitching, now's the time to get it.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, go get it now. And also, you know, know
your innings limits, and if you don't have them or
you're way away from them, start checking. You know, streamers
out there, go to ras ball, check the uh extreminator,
and make sure you're getting all those innings, strikeout opportunities,
win opportunities, everything you can to chase down points. There's

(19:10):
a guy that I wanted to bring up in the
number four discussion, Gray but I wanted to save him
because he's he's pasted all those guys in your rankings.
He's passed several pictures, a bunch of old people, and
that is my boy, Pete crow Armstrong all the way
down at fifteen, number four on the play Rider currently.

(19:32):
I mean, why isn't PCA number four or a top
ten guy? Again? I mentioned pictures which we already discussed
Lindor Tatis, both with worst numbers at the break you
have above PCA. Is this strictly an experienced thing? You
haven't seen it from him, especially when we're talking about
these top levels or what's going on.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, you know, I think it's like I definitely have
a little bit of a which MC call with Vets
having a little bit more of a career track record.
So there is that going on for sure. And there's
also like, you know, I'll look at like the top
twenty or so and think, you know, Pi crow Armstrong,

(20:17):
if I were if I were gonna trade for Pi
crow Armstrong, would I trade any of the guys above
him in a fantasy league? And I you know, I
would struggle to do it. You know, if like it's
like at a certain point it becomes like you know,
split and hairs, like if you want Lindor or PCA, Okay,

(20:39):
I don't know. I mean it's like Lindor has such
a long track record, Mon Soto does Tatis, Jose Ramirez, Corman, Carroll,
like all these guys. It's like they have such a
track record of being great that Yeah, I just I
couldn't move them up anymore. Like I see, like he

(21:02):
could be better than say, you know, Juan Soto potentially, right,
Like he was better in the first half and he
could be in the second half. But I don't know,
it's just hard. It would be hard for me to say, like, yeah,
I'll trade Juan Soto for PCA. So yeah, that's kind
of where he ended up because like the next guy

(21:23):
after him is Jackson Cheerio, And at that point I
would say like, yeah, I would take PCA over Cheerio
and then Schwarber and then Trey Turner. So yeah, I
you know, at a certain point I was like, yeah,
I would take PCA over those guys, but I couldn't
move him up over the top fourteen. I don't even
like Also, you know a bit of a side note,

(21:46):
like for twenty twenty six rankings his like, I feel
like his ranking like at this point, I think I
have him at the bottom of where he could probably be. Like,
if he has a huge second half at that point,
then I'm gonna have to you know, we're gonna we're
gonna be talking about PCA in the top ten overall,

(22:09):
which is just it's crazy. I mean, but if he
does have the second half that like the first half
he just had, then yeah, I mean, it's like he's
become it looks like he's become a superstar, you know,
specifically about him. Why I think I struggled with moving
him up was like his strikeouts a little bit, his

(22:32):
chase rate a little you know, the track record being
less than the other guys. So yeah, but it's real close.
I mean, he's super Like. I am bought in completely,
Like I mentioned on the site I had and I
think it was two weeks into the season. I was

(22:52):
saying he looks like the the Duran of twenty twenty five,
meaning he looks like a top twenty player, And that
was two weeks into the season. So I'm one hundred
percent brought in. But over some of those other guys,
I just I couldn't. I couldn't reconcile it for the
second half of the season. Like, if you need a

(23:14):
guy who's got a track record and who's gonna be,
you know, great, do you really go PCA over, say
Jose Ramirez. I don't.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
I can't personally do it, but I mean it could
work out.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Let me let me ask you this then, Grey, what's
the difference in your mind between James Wood and PA,
Because I mean the same thing could be said about
James Wood. His track out rates actually higher. We've seen
him struggle for you know, he struggled the first month
or so of being up. I mean you always say

(23:52):
for power. I'm just what's the difference for you? Is
it just pedigree?

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean it's it's really just one hundred
percent pedigree because like it was always assumed like James
Wood was, you know, I mean, at twenty two years old,
he's doing exactly what everyone expected. So there's really no
there's no there was never any bumps in the road
where PCA because he struggled a little bit when he

(24:22):
first came up. It's like, well, I mean is that
there I don't I don't know if it's still there.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
I don't know. I know somebody keeps telling me that
Mike Trout initially struggled and when he got called up.
I don't know why I heard that, I would say,
I don't know where I heard that from Gray, but
I know.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
I heard that unheard. Who would ever say? Who would
say something that crazy?

Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (24:49):
No, I mean I hear you. I you know, I think, uh,
I think, I mean PCA. To his credit, he definitely
has a His speed is like it's it's hard to
imagine his speed slumping, right, So, I mean, you know,

(25:10):
injuries happen, like you know, look at like we look
at a couna on that, but like it's if he
stays healthy, it's hard to imagine his speed slumping. So
you know there's gonna be that. So really it's just
gonna come down to whether he or not he keeps
hitting for.

Speaker 4 (25:25):
Average or and yeah, I mean his you know, it's
like his average is I'd like to see his average.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Stay over to sixty for the full season because it
is a little bit crazy that his average seems like
it should drop, right, Like the chase rate is, uh,
it's high even versus last year and last year he
hit two thirty seven and his CA's have come down,

(25:58):
but not that dramatically for the average to bump up
so much, and his babbit is below where it was
last year. So it's just like his batting average doesn't
seem completely right. So maybe the batting average comes down, like,
you know, fifteen to twenty points, and if it does,

(26:22):
that's gonna add that's gonna be a struggle, you know,
versus like and then his power potentially his powers never
really you know, I I mean it's hard. You know,
it's like he's still a top fifteen player for me.
I just I feel like I'm a little bit more
hesitant on him than I am on James Wood. But yeah,

(26:46):
I mean the difference between number four number fifteen really
isn't that big of a difference. So I mean, I
do like James Wood a lot more. I would say
I feel like James Wood, and like for the twenty
twenty six rankings with James Wood, I feel like I'm

(27:06):
tipping my hand and I'm gonna be really in on
James Wood next year or too, because I feel like
this really, like the ceiling is just insane for James Wood.
But yeah, I don't know. I mean I like them both,
all right. I mean, I just I think Pete crow Armstrong,

(27:28):
I don't know, I feel like a little bit more
hesitant on him. I guess YEP.

Speaker 1 (27:32):
I had to ask, because you know, there's there's definitely
people listening that are they're gonna want to know that
the same thing. So yeah, we'll just move on from
that up next. You apparently just hate power hitters Gray,
Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Rally. You know, Schwarver's top ten
and home runs runs and Rbyi's Kyle Rawley's number two

(27:56):
on the Player Raider. Right now, you have Raleigh at
twenty two and you have Schweber at seventeen. I mean,
is it just that they are a little more susceptible
to fantasy slumps without the speed or do you just
hate Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Raley?

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Uh? Yeah, I mean I don't know. I don't really.
I don't think there's ranked that low considering what stats
they're gonna do. I know, like Kyl Rawley had an
insane first half. I mean as much as I you know,
I think ranking him at twenty two overall it says
that like I still kind of believe in cal Raley

(28:39):
more than I ever have believed in a catcher. But
I mean, you can only I mean, a guy who's
on pace for seventy homers, who's a catcher who's high
is well, it is thirty eight homers where he's at
right now is a high. So I yeah, with cal Raleigh,

(28:59):
I mean, it's like, how much of this can he continue?
This is just so unheard of for every other year
in his career. And Kyle Schwarber, I don't know. I
feel like Kyle Schwarber is ranked pretty much where he
should be for what he does, Like, he doesn't really
give much speed. He hits for power, which he does

(29:22):
you know, well, he gives you know, around a two
forty five to two fifty average. Yeah, I mean I
think that's like a seventeen overall type guy. You know,
it's like him or Jackson Curio. I don't know. I mean,
I'm probably going Jackson Curio in most cases. But it's

(29:44):
kind of might be a team based on team what
you need, and then Trey Turner, who's behind him again,
it's like what do you need for your team? I
think they're kind of the same value though, but cal
Raley is like, I mean, I don't know. I mean,
it's just like this is so insane what he's doing.

(30:04):
I mean, it's just so nuts, like is I mean,
it's like what it's like, it's twenty seven percent homer
per fly ball he's at right now. He's a career
seventeen eighteen percent, you know, and he's like and he's
ten percent over that. His everything is flying out for

(30:27):
him in a terrible stadium too. Yeah, I mean, I
don't know, man, cal Rawley's really he's been really crazy,
Like they're like this feels like the most out of
nowhere that we've had for fantasy in a long time.
Like this, Like I I think, like I'm trying to remember,

(30:49):
I mean, there's been out of nowhere guys for sure
in the past, but I think you've got to go back,
like I don't know, all the way back to Brady Anderson,
but you got to go back a pretty long way
to find a out of nowhere guy as much as
cal Rawley, like this is really and you know, I mean,
how much do you trust out of nowhere? Like do

(31:11):
you trust out of nowhere as much as you trust
the guy who's done it year after year. I don't know.
I mean I I personally don't. If you're looking at, like,
you know, in the ranks, it's like Manny Machado I
have over cal Rawley. I mean, I don't think there
are they even that close in the player Raider right now.

(31:31):
I don't know, but I definitely trust Manny Machado a
ton more than I trust cal Rawley, even though, like
you know, I wish I had cal Rawley in every leak.
I cal rally was such a lottery ticket too. I
mean it's like that's the kind of stuff where it's
like how much can you even You can't even plan

(31:53):
for some of this stuff, Like you get you get
in March, You're like, oh, I'm just gonna like draft
to I'm gonna d have the team and and punt
power because I know cal Rowley is gonna hit seventy homers.
Like no, you're not.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
No one's saying that, I mean, no one's like, yeah,
I think I think I'll draampt all speed early Like okay, sure, yeah,
cal Rawley will carry my team Like yeah, no one,
not zero people said that in the preseason.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
So yeah, and I don't know at a certain point,
like I feel like it's gotta he's kinda cool off
at some point, doesn't he. I mean, this is so nuts.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
Yeah, I mean I can think of a few names,
like I was, I was trying to think of like
names that came out of nowhere. I mean, we're we
usually have fans of these guys like a Dallas Garcia,
Brent Rooker, and then there's a couple you know, they
weren't so successful, like like Luke Voight, Jonathan VR. Those

(32:57):
are the guys.

Speaker 2 (32:59):
R that's a good one. Yeah, that was a really
good year, really good.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
But you thought everything was just he was finally being
like the peak of what he could be, finally and
just Yeah.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
I mean I think we've always said on Jonathan by
are so oh man that really that suckered me, And man,
I think I.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
Got most people. Yeah, But I mean I think also
there's always the first half, second half of Catcher especially
tends to be like the biggest switch for some reason.
So I think you I don't really have a problem
with where you have him. I just have to give
you a hard time because that's my job here. Gray.

(33:42):
Let's move let's move into the question Mark Range. We
talked you kind of mentioned a couple of these these
guys earlier. One is Gunner Henderson, eleven home runs, ten
Stone bases. He's hitting too eighty Like they're fine, they're fine,
Like the bad ball numbers are fine, but like swing rate,
first strike rate or up, maybe he's pressing. And then

(34:05):
the other side of that is Vlad, who has eleven
home runs, five Stone bases. He's in two seventy seven.
He's the exact opposite where his swing rate is down
and it feels like he's just he's taking too many,
too many balls. I don't know what are your you
have these guys ranked here, what are your thoughts on
the Gunner Vlad conundrum? Like are these guys that could

(34:29):
save your team or are you thinking like trade them
away while you still can where at the All Star
break maybe maybe somebody's just retooling and and really thinks
they're gonna kick it in.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
Yeah, I mean, you know, these guys are really kind
of fascinating because like they are at a point where
like is the Gunner Henderson, Vlad Jackson Merrill and Wyatt
Langford who are right after him, I'll put them all.
I'll put all four of them together, like they're at
a point where next year, are they gonna move up

(35:04):
back to where they usually are? Are they gonna fall?
Are they gonna fall further? Or is this sort of
what we're looking at for next year. I don't know.
I yeah, I mean I think their second half is
gonna have a lot to do with that. Like Gunner Henderson,
if he has the second half like his first half,

(35:25):
I don't see how he's gonna get ranked much higher
than this. Yeah, I mean, I'm sort of you know,
I'm talking about a guy for next year already being
like a target for twenty twenty six drafts. But yeah,
I mean, I don't know. It will be interesting to see.
But for this year anyway. So Gunner Henderson, I think

(35:49):
he's actually a bye. I think you could buy low
on Gunner Henderson right now. I think he's a guy
where like you mentioned the first strike rate, his April
was awful. I think he was. I think he was
still injured, like I think he might have rushed back
in in retrospect, I think we're gonna we're gonna see
that he just really had a terrible April and that

(36:11):
bled into May a little bit, but he's been better
in the you know, the last like I think six
weeks the power isn't fully there, but he could have
a ten homer month and look like, you know, potentially
not that far off from like what we thought we're

(36:32):
gonna see. You know, it's gonna be hard to recoup
some of those runs in RBIs, But I think if
his you know, if his speed is basically where it's been, like,
he doesn't need to do much in the second half
to get right back on track. So I actually think
Gunner Henderson is a solid buy at this point if

(36:55):
you can, I think, you know, Vlad on the other hand,
Vlad to me feels like a guy who's basically he's
kind of ranked where I don't know, I mean, i'd
really i'd be surprised if he moves up much from
this like top twenty five sort of area versus like

(37:16):
the top twelve to fifteen where he was. I just
don't see it happening unless he really has like a
huge power second half. But it's been like a while
now where we haven't seen Vlad really put it together
in a way that like, you know, explains like his

(37:39):
average is just so like his his k rate isn't bad,
but his average is so whatever. I mean, it's like,
you know, he's hitting around two eighty so with the
same hard hit as last year, So his babbit is
a little bit down, but not much. I don't know
if he hits you know, like if Ladd ends up

(38:01):
the year around where he was last year. So last
year his numbers were thirty homers, two steals, three twenty
three average, So if he ends up with I don't
think he's getting anywhere close to thirty homers again this year.
But say he gets to twenty seven homers, so that's
not that far off from thirty, but it's twenty seven homers,

(38:24):
and you know, he has already five steals, So if
he gets to ten steals, twenty seven to ten, two ninety,
isn't a bad year. Like it's not terrible, but it's
not really top fifteen. I think he's I don't know.
I feel like Vlad is getting I feel like Vlad
was a little bit overrated in the preseason and now

(38:46):
he's a little bit and now he's probably where he
should be and around the top thirty. I like him.
I don't think he's bad for what he is, but
he's definitely like Vlad. I don't know if Lad has
like a big month or two in his bat. I
mean maybe maybe, maybe we'll see, like but he just

(39:08):
does not strike me as a guy who's got like
one of these huge like Johannio Suarez type halfs in him.
I just don't see it. I don't know, maybe he does.
I guess we'll see. As for Jackson Merril and Why Langford,
because I mentioned them, I mean, they've really kind of

(39:29):
been awful. I don't know if Jackson Merril has been
really healthy. Why Langford's even had injuries himself. But I
think both of them really like it's like put up
or shut up a time for both of them. I
don't know if I don't know if Why Langford really is.
I feel like he might end up like if he

(39:49):
has a bad second half, he might end up like
around the top seventy five to one hundred overall going
into next year. I mean he could actually he could
fall a ton, but he still does have speed. He's
got you know, power that is speed and power. In

(40:10):
one half of a season, he could be great. I
mean he has the potential. So I feel like these
guys are probably a little bit of they're upside plays,
like they're not necessarily These aren't guys you're necessarily trading
for what they have done. It's more about what they

(40:31):
could do. So, yeah, you would hope Jackson, Merrill, Wyat, Langford,
and the other two you would hope they'd be better.
The one I have the most hoping is Gunner Henderson.

Speaker 1 (40:41):
Now, yeah, I agree, I would probably go Gunner. You know,
Flad's gonna give you what he's gonna give you, But
it's like the least exciting. Although I will say for
Vlad's defense, he did hit what like three seventy sixteen
home runs last second half, so it's in there. I
don't know that we're necessarily gonna see that again. But

(41:02):
I was a Gunner, Wyatt, Vlad, and Merrill. For me,
Of those four, I just Merrill's look. It looks like
he's just hurt, like he needs to They just need
to sit him down. Milwaukee isn't really gonna win anything,
even they sneak into the playoffs, they're not. They're not
going anywhere. Let him recover, let him come back from

(41:23):
next season. And I agree Lankford kind of needs it.
Needs to show us at this point. The tools are
obviously there. We just we got to see it all
kind of snap together.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
Let's move on to Jackson Merril with the Brewers.

Speaker 1 (41:38):
H Oh, sorry, I don't know why I said brewers
just to the Jackson's. You know, they all get they
all get thrown in the head and chased around. But no,
the padres, the padres just need to sit Merrill down
for a second. Let him get healthy. I think it
just doesn't He really hasn't looked right all season in
regards to just like what we say all last season

(42:01):
versus what we're getting this season. I mean, he's hitting
like two hundred the last month. It's it's just terrible. Regardless.
Let's move on. Let's move on to.

Speaker 2 (42:13):
Be Yeah, I know, I know, we have a lot
to talk about before we move on, though, Jackson Merrill
uh is bad in the second half. Where is he
ranked next year?

Speaker 1 (42:27):
I think like around one hundred.

Speaker 2 (42:30):
Yeah, it's gonna it's gonna and it's gonna be a
play where it's like you're gonna have it's gonna be
huge payoff, or he's gonna continue to slide and you're
gonna be like why did I buy into a bounce back.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah, that's exactly what we're gonna look at. I mean,
he might go in like the I would say, by
the interer draft season will go like seventy five. But
the start, like people won't have his name up there.
It'll be you'll be kind of skipped over. But eventually
the upside, we'll just take his ADP up because he
does still have that he's still very young. There's there's
still a lot of light to light there along with Lankford.

(43:07):
But I agree, and this section is just a it's
a gamble, like I wouldn't necessarily be jumping at these guys,
but if you're trying to make a comeback, these aren't
bad guys to put your bet on. I guess right,
all right, Gret, Let's move on to some oldies but
goodies here. George Springer, since I didn't mention him in
the ADP versus Player Raider and got comments about it.

(43:31):
Sixteen home runs, Lovestone bases to seventy au Hanu Suarez
thirty one home runs. He's hitting two fifty. I mean,
he's basically been on it in the second half last year.
Byron Buxton, who we've talked about before, and Jacob de Gram,
who you know, I've been right for five seasons. Not
only no, I might be wrong this year, but he

(43:54):
could also go out his next game and not pitching
in another game this season. Gray, Let's let's talk about
these Let's talk about the hitters then we can. You know,
if you want to say something about d Gram, you can, yeah, yeah, no.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
De Graam, I'll say quickly. I think I think you
nailed it. It's like you can get potentially U seventy
of the best innings you're ever gonna get in your
life from de Gram in the second half, or you
can get like twelve innings and he goes on the
IL and and doesn't pitch again this year. I think

(44:26):
I think either scenario is just as likely. I don't know.
I don't know that if there's any way to tell
what scenario you're gonna get. So yeah, I mean it's like,
you know, flip a coin, you're either gonna get a
top five starter or someone who's like, you know, basically
the same as like a guy you would get off

(44:47):
of waivers. Okay, so as for the other guys, Johnniosrez like,
I almost feel like I am underrating Johanniosrez with how
well well I mean he's done since the second half
of last year. He has I believe, fifty one homers.

(45:08):
I think only Judge and Otani have more. I believe, yeah, yeah,
I mean you and he hasn't hit for a band
average either, like jo Henio Suarez has been really good.
I think probably like you know, you have Kyle Kyle

(45:29):
for Judge, uh Cal Raley, Johennio Suarez and May and
Pete Alonzo and maybe Matt Olsen. That's kind of like
if you're like chasing homers. And out of all those

(45:49):
guys I mentioned, Johnni Swarz is probably the cheapest to
acquire in a in a trade. I I mean, I
don't know, maybe matt Olsen, but him or Matt Olsen
are probably equal equally reasonably priced in a trade. I
think Pete Alonzo is probably uh harder to acquire in
a trade, but maybe I'm wrong, But Johannio Suarez is

(46:12):
definitely pound for pound a guy who, like, if you
want a guy who could potentially lead the major leagues
in homers in the second half, I mean Johnnio Suarez
is that guy. And he's gonna come in a lot reasonable,
a lot more reasonable price in a trade. I also think,
speaking of trades, I think he could get traded to
the Yankees. I love him in Yankee Stadium, I think.

(46:37):
I mean, I think he's in a solid park as
it is, and he's shown that, but he he goes
the Yankee Stadium, my god. I mean, I don't know
the yankees uh schedule for August and September, but if
they go to Fenway, I mean, he's great. He'll be
great there, He'll be great in in Camden. I'm assuming

(46:58):
they're gonna play Ali's teams, so and he'll be good
in Toronto. So yeah, I mean Johnio Suarez is like
a man I really really sort of fall in love
with Sores. As for George Springer, I mean, he looks
like your standard zombino, where you know a guy, a

(47:20):
vet who's had a healthy, solid bounce back year that
we have like you know, lurking underneath that is the
potential where at some point he could get injured or
just sort of you know, fall back because he's older
and you know, go back to like what we saw

(47:44):
from the last couple of seasons. So I think I
think Springer is like his numbers don't necessarily jump off
the page as being bad or like he should fall off.
But I think there's also definitely an element to him
like he could just fall off because he's older, Like

(48:04):
he's you know, he's thirty five years old, turn turns
thirty six in September, So at a certain point, you
would think he'd you know, reverted back to what he
was like last year or even like the last couple
of years, so you know, you would think the speed
would dry up a little bit, the power potentially the average,

(48:25):
Like right now his babbitt is pretty high, pushing up
his average, which he's hitting two seventy, doesn't seem like
he's necessarily become a two seventy hitter again and in
this part of his career, but you know, he's also
doing it, so it's hard to argue with what a
guy is actually doing versus what a guy should do.

(48:45):
So yeah, I think, uh, I think. And then finally Buckston,
which is I think Buxton's basically Jacob Degram just as
a hitter. So you could get the whole second half
with Buxton looking as good as he's looked, or you
could get you know, by Sunday, by next week, next Sunday,

(49:09):
you can have a guy who you know, running down
the line for a base hit pulls his hamstring and
is out for six weeks. So I mean, it's hard
to know what you're going to get exactly as long
as he's healthy, though, I mean, I'm sort of have
been flabbergasted more or less the whole year that Buckston
has finally put it together, like after I mean really

(49:34):
at a certain point, like it looked like Buxton was
going to be a thirty thirty guy back in like
twenty sixteen, and then it didn't happen, and you would
have thought by like the tenth year of it not happening,
that it really would never happen. But somehow this is

(49:54):
the year when it looks like it's actually attainable. So
we'll see if he can say on the field. But yeah,
I mean, I don't know. Maybe in you know, maybe
this gives us hope for like in twenty thirty six,
Royce Lewis finally puts it together.

Speaker 1 (50:12):
Stays healthy, has an amazing season. I'll still probably be
on them, be in on him. Then that'd be awesome, Gray,
That's what I said about Buckston now, and I don't
think I have a single share in this season. That
was a game that was a decade ago. Let's talk
about some guys who the mighty have fallen.

Speaker 2 (50:31):
Oh, if it makes you feel any better, I have
Byron Buston in one league, and it was an auction league,
and I'm pretty sure after I got him, I was like, oh, man,
why did I buy him.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
One of those seven dollars back? What's going on?

Speaker 2 (50:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (50:50):
Yeah, Let's talk about some players who have fallen from
Grace Gray, Hulu Rodriguez. You know, I mean Fortunes run seventeen,
stone bases runs a rbiyes been there sixty three, fifty two,
fifty two. Now, I will say in theory like he
has one month the season every season, that just he's
the best player in baseball and he hasn't had it yet,

(51:11):
so you can bet on that. Let's let's bring in
Jared Duran to this conversation as well. He went very
high in drafts with with Hulardriguez, as you know, the
up and coming talent eight home run, sixteenth, soone bases
fifty two to fifty two, fifty eight, you know, everything
kind of looks good, hard hit average, egs, velocity, swing rate, barrels,

(51:35):
everything's fine. Home run to fly ball is just it's
down like five percent, which is which is a lot
when we're talking about home run the fly ball on
on a guy like Jared Duran, What are your thoughts
on these two young guys.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
Yeah, I mean I think you know Duran, I think
we talked about him. Was it last week and you
were mentioning how maybe it wasn't last week, but it
was the last couple of weeks. You were mentioning, how
like his his homers have come down and he looks
more like a fifteen homer guy versus the twenty one
homer guy. And I kind of agree with that. And

(52:12):
you know, fifteen fifteen homers versus twenty one homers doesn't
sound like a lot, but in reality, that's like, you know,
it makes a guy go from like you know, a
five or a you know, if a guy is hitting
only fifteen homers and he's at eight homers, now, I

(52:34):
mean it's like, you know, he's got like nothing like
seven homers. The rest of the way, it's like one
homer per like you know, every ten days is like
it basically it feels like you're owning Kevin Newman. I mean,
it's just it's not. It's not you don't really feel

(52:54):
like you get you're getting power there. And if he's
not stealing like a ton of base is like you know,
like forty plus steals type situation, then you know, it
becomes really kind of, you know, just middling and boring.
You know, like if you look at like his projections

(53:16):
in the second half, for me, I have Durant at
eight homers and twelve steals and it's, oh, I mean
it's fine, but that's I don't know, I mean, you're
gonna get to a certain point where like that is
kind of boring, and you know in shallower leagues you
can kind of find that off of waivers in some leagues.

(53:37):
And I'm I'm on the high side for what I'm
expecting from him, Like you know, like other projection systems
have him at six homers, I have them at eight,
and they have him at like nine to eleven steals.
I have them at twelve. So I mean it's not
a huge difference, but still, I mean, if other people
are saying even like he's gonna give you even less, yes,

(54:00):
that's you know, I mean that's kind of like a
guy in the shallower League, a guy who you could
find off of waivers. It's not it's not that dissimilar.
So yeah, I mean he's kind of a bore, a
little bit of a bore this year. And I mean
I don't really I don't. I don't know what the

(54:21):
deal is with the trades either as far as the
Red Sox. I mean, because you know, there's been some
talk of him getting traded. Yeah, I mean, if he
gets traded, it's not gonna be for the better, and
I really doubt it. I mean, maybe he goes somewhere
where he's at the top of the lineup every day
where it's like you know, alexcor Now is like moving

(54:44):
him around the lineup, So maybe he stays at the
top in a new place, but he's gonna lose Fenway.
So I don't know. I mean, I don't even know
if he's gonna get traded, But that's in the back
of my mind as well, that he potentially could get traded.
And Jay is just like, you know, he's great for
the month of September. So if you haven't head to

(55:07):
head league, I mean, go all in on Jay Rod
for head to head league like he is basically like
he's the best you can do for league. I don't know, man,
He's another guy who's gonna be like, where is Jay
Rod going? If he ends up this year where it

(55:28):
looks like like his projections look like they're gonna have
us at like a twenty four homer eighteen twenty eight
twenty four homer, twenty eight steals two sixty five, and
that's coming off of a twenty twenty four two seventy
three year. So that's now back to back years where

(55:50):
it's he's not a thirty thirty guy at that point.
It looks like he was a thirty thirty guy in
twenty twenty three, But you can't say he's gonna be
a thirty thirty guy in twenty twenty six if if
that's what he's now done two years in a row,
I mean, he's more of a twenty twenty five guy
who hits you know, between two sixty and two seventy

(56:13):
five and has a terrible first half every year. Like that,
that's who he is, and that's not really like where
he where was he going in the beginning of this year,
Like in March, like top twelve.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
Yeah, I mean back in first round. Yeah he's not.

Speaker 2 (56:30):
I mean he's not a top twelve guy anymore. I
can't imagine he's a top I don't even know if
he's a top twenty guy. I mean, can you really
draft him in the top twenty when he keeps giving
you like twenty twenty five to sixty and he only
plays half a year. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (56:52):
Yeah, No, I'm with you. We to We have to
readjust for some of these guys next year, just based on,
you know, what we've seen at this point. You know,
there's still the hope and he could he could put
together an amazing second half and make us eat our words.
But at this point, it looks like, you know, he
is what he is, and he kind of needs in

(57:12):
grade second half just to even get back to where
we thought he was gonna be a little bit. A
couple of older guys both on the Dodgers, Mookie Bets
Freddie Freeman. Neither them has twelve home runs, Neither of
them has seven stolen bases. Bets is hitting two forty four,

(57:32):
Freeman's at least hitting two ninety seven, but they both
have a lot of their worst numbers in a very
long time. What are your thoughts on these two kind
of Dodger vets here?

Speaker 2 (57:45):
Yeah, So Freeman is especially worrisome for me because like
if he if he has like any sort of ankle
problems in the second half, Like the Dodgers, as much
as the dog are struggling on pitching, they have so
much offense that they really and they're going to the playoffs,

(58:08):
so they really can rest Freddy Freeman. Now I don't
know if that resting means like maybe he misses like
a week in September, or maybe he misses three weeks.
If he misses like you know, a chunk of time
in September, you only have like in the second half,
you only have so much time that I got like

(58:29):
so much time to accumulate stats. So if you're missing
you know, three weeks, you're basically you're you're missing close
to you know, a probably what is that a third
ish It's like it's it's a lot. I mean, it's like,
you know, at of seventy games, it's almost it's a
little bit less than half. It's probably like forty percent

(58:51):
of time, So I you know, I mean, I worry
that Freddy Freeman not only is he not right completely,
but he's also like potentially gonna get like rested a
bunch in September. So that's a that's a big concern.
While I do think he's still fine for average, like

(59:16):
he's still basically a two eighty five plus hitter, which is,
you know, that's good. That's the average is a category
in people's leagues. Runs in RBIs, he's still more or
less fine for that. He's on pace for like close
to you know, I think ninety ish in runs and RBIs,

(59:39):
and he's probably good for like you know, ten nine nine,
maybe eight to eight to twelve homers. So no steals,
I mean the steals have dried up, So that's I mean,
those numbers are not awful pro rated if he gets them,
which I think he can even in like you know,

(01:00:00):
say sixty percent of the second half, even if he's
shut down. So there's something to that. I mean, there's
something to his numbers. Are they the most exciting numbers now?
And I think at this point we're really at like
we know Freddy Freean, like there's no way Freddy Freeman
is going to be a top twenty guy again. I

(01:00:23):
think you and I have finally, I think the rest
of the world is finally caught up to what you
and I have been saying about Freddy Freeman. I don't
think he's top twenty anymore. I think he's probably maybe
top seventy next year. Mookie Betts. I think Mookie Bets
still could have a good second half. I'm less, I

(01:00:47):
feel less bearish on him, so I guess I'm bolish.
I think, you know, I think Bets is due for
a little bit of I don't know. His numbers don't
awful to me, Like he looks like he's a little
bit unlucky. He's not hitting like the ball that hard,
which is a little bit of concern. But I don't

(01:01:10):
I he's either he either comes back in the second
half or he's totally washed. And I don't think he's washed.
But I mean we could find out he is. I
mean that's possible, but I yeah, I mean I think
Mookie Bets could bounce back. I mean, there's not a
ton that he has to do really to have a

(01:01:33):
decent second half, because if you figure he's good for
ten homers in the second half, that's his projections have
him around ten homers for everyone, and then if he
steals you know, five to seven bags that's already that's
around you know, top seventy numbers, then he just has
to come around on the batting average and his batting average,

(01:01:56):
like his k's are down. Now he's if he's aged
into a terrible babboit, then that is a concern and
potentially has aged into that that that is you know,
there is a little bit of there's an element of
like when a guy gets older and his babbit falls,

(01:02:17):
his babbit doesn't necessarily bounce back. But you know, he's
at two forty seven babbit right now, he's at a
in you know, I find it hard to believe he's
not at least a two seventy five to two eighty
five babbit guy, and that should bounce his average bounce
it should bounce it back to like, you know, a

(01:02:39):
two seventy average. So that's a thirty point swing there,
So he should be better in the second half. So
I would actually I'd be buying a little bit on
mookie bets, uh, not a lot. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily,
you know, pay a full price, but I would I
would definitely I would be buying a little bit. Freeman,

(01:02:59):
I'd probably be selling.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
I mean, I think if you want runs in RBIs
you can you can grab either of these guys, and
that's fine. I don't think I'm expecting much from either
of them. Gray, I'm gonna give some of the numbers
I mentioned. Bats has the worst barrel rate in average
eggs velocity since twenty seventeen. That was eight years ago,
by the way, if you think that was like two

(01:03:22):
years ago, the worst hard hit rate and home run
the fly ball of his career. Freddie Freeman is striking
out at twenty two and a half percent. That's not terrible,
but that's the second worst of any full season he's
ever had. Nine point three percent walk rate, that's the
worst since his rookie season. Swinging strike rate is the
second worst of his career. First strike rate over sixty percent.

(01:03:45):
That's happened like three times in his career ever. And
while the hard hit and average eggs villas he looked
fine for both of these guys, actually their bat speed
is way down. They're both swinging below seventy miles an hour.
Freeman has a fast swing rate, so over seventy five
miles an hour of six point eight percent. That's really bad.

(01:04:07):
Mookie Betts is six point two percent. That's worse if
you didn't follow the numbers there. So I just don't
know where this fount of youth is gonna kick in
and all of a sudden give them the authority and
their bath that they're missing. Uh. You know, I'm no
longer a consistent two ninety driver. I've admitted this. I've

(01:04:28):
gotten no that's not get in the gym and really
woke up. It's not happening. And these guys are already
in the gym as hard as much as they can.
So where where's this magic swing power coming from? This season?
I'm selling both. But let's move on to some first
timers great that are showing up on this list. I
believe for the first time Helio Ramos fourteen runs, five

(01:04:51):
stone bases, fifty runs, forty seven RBIs. He's hitting two
sixty two and I'm gonna lump him in here with
Cam Smith seven of home runs, four stone basis nine
thirty nine, two seventy seven, three forty seven, four eighteen.
He's been a three hundred hitter since May. What are
your thoughts on Ramos in in Cam Smith. Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:05:11):
Yeah, you know, I think with Ramos is around a
top one hundred guy. Uh, I believe on the play
Raider right now. I think he's probably Uh he was
an easy call for me. I I like Ramos a lot.
I think he's just like he only had one big
month and that is propelled him into like the top

(01:05:36):
one hundred, because like that's how good he can be
for a month. So yeah, I mean he he just
needs to have one more nice month he's he had.

Speaker 1 (01:05:47):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:05:48):
I think he was a he was a preseason sleeper
for me. Uh, He's got power, he's got speed, I have.
I like Ramos a lot. I think he's actually a
little bit underrated still. And then uh camp Smith. Yeah,
Cam Smith is like one of those guys where I
feel like I'm just sort of going off of what

(01:06:11):
like upside he has. I you know, I really want
him to I want him to be so great that
he just takes off. So I've uh, I've sort of
I'm wish casting a little bit, but I do think
he has that potential and like you mentioned the last
uh he hit three hundred uh what was it last month?

(01:06:35):
And then I think he's you know, he's got the power,
easy power. So if he can uh he's actually hit
three hundred what the last three months since May? Uh yeah,
so he said three Yeah, he said three hundred. So
if you throw out April, then you have like a

(01:06:56):
guy who's hitting three hundred and he has great power
and he could throw in a handful of steels. So,
you know, a comp which is probably ridiculous, but like
he could potentially be as good as Vlad Junior in
the second half. Like he has the same power, the

(01:07:17):
same average, and the same speed. It's just a matter
of counting stats really, and then you know, obviously he's
got it. You know, he has no track record, unlike
Lad Junior. But yeah, I think a corner man slash
outfielder depending on the position eligibility in your league. I

(01:07:39):
think he has a corner man eligibility in most leagues.
But yeah, I think I like him. I like him
a lot. Actually, I think there's probably a little bit more,
you know, there's a little bit more risk involved with him,
and some of the guys who aren't even on the
aren't even on the top one hundred, like for instance,

(01:08:01):
like I don't know, like Marcus Simeon, for instance, like
he's had I believe Simeon is like in the middle
of like you know, his usual you know, good month
of July slash August. He's I think he was good
in June as well. So like Marcus Simeon is not

(01:08:24):
even on the top one hundred, and he could be
better than camp Smith. But you know what fun is that?
What fun is having a guy who who could be better,
or say like Nick Castleiana is like you know, I
mean he's boring but probably a little bit safer than
camp Smith and he's not on the top one hundred,

(01:08:47):
or I don't know, like Vinnie Pascatino could be the
same as like camp Smith. So it's like in the
back one in the back of the top one hundred,
like where camp Smith currently resides. He is, you know,
it's like him or a guy who isn't on the
top one hundred. It's kind of like a toss up

(01:09:07):
for some of them. So you know, take it with
a grain of salt for people who are looking at
you know, cam Smith being at like in the top
one hundred, it doesn't necessarily it's like how I say,
with like, you know, guys even later on in the
top one hundred. It's like, you know, a guy in

(01:09:30):
the top one hundred versus a guy who isn't even
ranked may be a matter of needs, and it may
be a matter of like who gets hot in this
in the beginning of the second half, Like if Cam
Smith has an injury like next week, or or just
slumps for a couple of weeks like he in my mind,

(01:09:52):
he might become droppable by August or middle of August,
depending on you know, the league, of course. But yeah,
I think But but like I said originally with Cam Smith,
I mean, I think he has the potential to easily
be a top one hundred guy with considering how young
he is, how hard he hits the ball, and he's

(01:10:14):
hitting for a great average, you know, even as like
a twenty two year old or whatever.

Speaker 1 (01:10:23):
Yeah, I mean I had some names listed here at
the bottom of people are missing, Like he feels like
he could be, you know, if he doesn't ever progress,
and this is what he is, Like, he's basically Brian Reynolds,
you know, Brandon Nemo kind of in that same mold,
your boy Boba Schet or your former boy Boba Set.
They're all kind of in that same mold, so like

(01:10:45):
any of them could be eighty to one twenty and
it really wouldn't be that crazy. Reynolds kind of he's
been awful this season, but you know, if he had tenom,
if he basically had what he did first half, ten
o runs three stone basin but hit two eighty rather
than to twenty five. Like, he's right back in that
same mix with the rest of those guys. But you're right,

(01:11:07):
Cam Smith has the upside and there's just a little
bit of unknown. And part of the function of these
articles is also get names out there. You know, we
know Brian Reynolds. You don't really need to be told
what he is or what he could be. Just just
go get Cam Smith instead, because it's more interesting. Let's
talk about a couple of prospects who are on here

(01:11:30):
on the first time round. Chandler Simpson, who has twenty
six stolen bases in fifty three games. He's sitting three
to eight. He's got a nine percent strikeout rate, Gray
Nick Kurtz, who's really turning on recently. He has seventeen
home runs a stone base. He's sitting two fifty seven,
thirty three Kraid is an ideal, but as I mentioned,

(01:11:50):
everything's kind of kind of ticking in the right direction
for both of these guys.

Speaker 5 (01:11:55):
Yeah no, completely, Yeah no, I with Chandler Simpson is
mostly a one category guy, whereas I mean he's great
for that one category though, Like, if you need steals,
Chandler Simpson is worth you know, probably more than guys
who are ranked much higher than him in the top
one hundred.

Speaker 2 (01:12:14):
Like he's he's gonna get you. If you're like between uh,
you know, winning your league and and Chandler Simpson being
on your team, it's like, get Chandler Simpson, man, go.
Like it doesn't like if he's if you need steals,
like if you're like in you know, third place in

(01:12:35):
if you're like if you only have a three in
steals and you're within like ten steals of the top
guy or something, it's like god, like Chandler Simpson can
be worth more than like a top fifty player on
the on the rankings, you know, so by all means
like just get get what you need to win your league.

(01:12:57):
It doesn't matter really if like Chandler Simpson was you
know ranked you know, or was undrafted in the preseason.
Now it's about getting what you need for your team
to win. And then Nick Kurtz it's a you know,
Nick Kurtz is sort of you know, he's a guy
at the end of the top one hundred. That's just

(01:13:20):
you know, it's there to illustrate that, like, you know,
for half a season, a guy like Nick Kurtz could
be as good as like a you know, yeah yeah,
or Alonzo. Right, he could be as good as Peter

(01:13:40):
Alonzo for half a season, like you like, you never
know with like the guys who are like or guys
who even aren't on the top one hundred, like you know,
I mentioned like brooks Lee, like he could be a
top one hundred guy in the second half. Will he be?
Probably not, but he could be. I'm I mean, it's
like it's in the second half. There's just not that

(01:14:03):
many games for a guy to really give you that
much fantasy value. So it's like if you're if you're
if you have to go out and get a you know,
if you have to go out and get someone like,
you know, a trade and you're looking to trade, you know,
for Nick Kurtz, and you're like, okay, well no, excuse me,

(01:14:25):
if you're looking to trade for a first basement with
power and you have like, you know, a you know,
a top like twenty or top ten arm, and you're like, okay, well,
you know, Joe Ryan's been great. Yes, absolutely, But if
you need like power and speed and you go out

(01:14:46):
and get Nick Kurtz and Chandler Simpson, that might be
better for your team. If you're like, if you have
all twelves in pitching and you need power and speed,
Chandler Simpson and Nick Kurtz is a lot more value
than a Joe Ryan on your team if you don't
need pitching. So it's like you just really have to

(01:15:06):
look at like you have to at this point, you
really should be looking at what you need for your
fantasy team. With that said, I love Nick Kurtz, I
love Chandler Simpson. They are two completely different players. One
guy's gonna give you speed, one guy's gonna give you power.
They both may be droppable by middle of August, or

(01:15:29):
they may both be top twenty guys in the second half.
So yeah, I mean, it's like it's a it's a
a second half. It's not much time left, man, you
gotta get going let's go, let's win our leagues.

Speaker 1 (01:15:44):
It's it's time. There's there's no going back. Ray. Uh,
you know, it's it's last quarter. Can't hold anything back now. Uh,
I have to I have to ask Gray who invited
this guy? Brenton Doyle showed up on this list? How
did he sneak in? This is like screen puts Screech

(01:16:05):
on the list, screeches on the list that I'm not
on the list. What is going on here? Greg?

Speaker 2 (01:16:13):
Again, It's like, you're not Alvarez, it's on the list.
I mean, you're not alvas actually above Breton Doyle. Like
you know, at the end of the top one hundred,
I put in some guys who are probably not really
top one hundred guys but could have like huge impacts potentially.

(01:16:35):
And are you know, a little bit cheaper to acquire
Breton Doyle's probably you're able to get him off of
waivers probably in the second half, so you know, and
if you're not a game getting him off of waivers,
you can definitely get Breton Doyle in a trade for
really cheap. So I don't know, it's like it's an
upside play. I mean, it was not that long ago.

(01:16:58):
Is what three months ago, So we thought Brenton Doyle
was a top twenty five guy. Like it was between
Brenton Doyle and like Wyatt Langford and Jackson Merrill and
they've all been terrible. So yeah, I mean, it wasn't
that long ago we thought brent Doyle was gonna be great. So,

(01:17:19):
I mean it's a flyer for sure. And you know,
his numbers don't look that different than his numbers last year.
I mean, his numbers, like his peripherals at least look
kind of similar. So he could have I mean, he's
got power and speed. I don't know, crazier things have happened.

(01:17:40):
Brenton Doyle could have a good second half.

Speaker 1 (01:17:44):
I mean he could. We've also probably had this conversation
a year ago about Nolan Jones being at the back
end of the hundred, and you probably said very similar things. Great. Yeah,
one name I'll throw in here. One name I want
to throw in the back end, Gray is Roman. Anthony

(01:18:06):
just wanted to mention. In June his nineteen games he
hit two ten with a home run in a stolen base.
In July, and twelve games he's hitting three forty one
with a home run in a stolen base. He was
the number one prospect in baseball. So you know, I
just figured if you're going in that direction, you might
have gone with somebody who like Roman Anthony instead of
Breton Doyle. But but I see you know you're you're

(01:18:29):
ready to get hurt again by Colorado utfielders. It's it's fine, Gray,
you keep chasing that white whale and we'll see what happens.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
Hopefully this has been helpful for everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:18:44):
If you have questions or you want to get mentioned
on the podcast, you can find me on Twitter at
rasbeat On. Gray is at ras ball, but he gets
plenty of interactions, so he's probably not gonna care you
come to the comment section on ras ball in the
in our posts, you can go to YouTube dot com
slash Raspball Fantasy. Gray enjoy you a couple of days
off here of writing until we get back to the

(01:19:06):
second half, and uh, I'll talk to you next week.

Speaker 2 (01:19:08):
Bude alright leads