FantasyPros - Fantasy Baseball Podcast

Joe Pisapia, author of the Fantasy Black Book series, and Steve Gardner of USA Today have both dropped in for a fun, three-man mock draft! Dan begins the festivities by selecting Jacob deGrom (3:46) seventh overall. What is the biggest concern regarding Sixto Sanchez (17:35) and is Andrew Benintendi (26:32) worth taking in the later rounds or is he better off being avoided? Listen all the way through to hear who had the best draft and what each analyst's overall strategy was! The show closes with us sharing how fantasy managers should approach second base this year (41:51) and why it's so important to be measured in your analysis of players when viewing their shortened 2020 season stats (44:49).

We're with Chris Clegg of Fantrax to discuss which prospects fantasy managers shouldn't miss out on! Is the talented Ke'Bryan Hayes (7:50) ready to bat atop Pittsburgh's order and snag NL Rookie of the Year honors and will Alejandro Kirk (22:30) hit his way into Toronto's lineup? We later get into some of our favorite dynasty prospect buys (49:31). Corbin Carroll (57:31) already has a solid hit tool, but how else can he bolster his ceiling? The show ends with Chris giving the scoop on which MLB Draft prospects excite him the most (1:03:02). Rookies That Will Make an Early Impact - 0:07:50 Ke'Bryan Hayes - 0:07:50 Dane Dunning - 0:13:40 Ryan Mountcastle - 0:18:37 Alejandro Kirk - 0:22:30 Dylan Carlson - 0:28:47 Late-Season Prospects to Watch - 0:33:05 Jarred Kelenic - 0:33:22 Andrew Vaughn - 0:37:15 Brandon Marsh - 0:40:50 Trevor Larnach - 0:43:42 Jeter Downs - 0:46:30 Dynasty Buys - 0:49:32 Jarren Duran - 0:49:43 George Kirby - 0:52:39 Triston Casas - 0:55:10 Corbin Carroll - 0:57:32 Aaron Bracho - 1:00:31 Most Exciting MLB Draft Prospects - 1:03:03 Jack Leiter - 1:03:20 Jordan Lawler - 1:04:58 Jud Fabian - 1:06:17 Brady House - 1:07:35

We're joined by Frank Stampfl of CBS Sports to discuss our latest rankings for 10 notable players who have moved to new teams so far this offseason. Are Yu Darvish's (7:19) remarkable 2020 numbers sustainable in San Diego in 2021 and is Blake Snell's (14:49) move to the Padres an upgrade for him, or will his extra innings volume actually increase his injury risk? Is Ha-Seong Kim (28:27) a viable fantasy starter at shortstop after coming over from the KBO and how might Dane Dunning's (40:00) pitch repertoire dictate his success this year? We end the show by examining Frank's five fantasy baseball New Year's resolutions (44:00) and look into what Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s (54:04) upside could be if he lowered his groundball rate. Timestamps: Top 10 Free Agent Movers - 0:02:07 What do we make of the stats from last year's shortened season? - 0:02:07 Javier Baez - 0:05:24 Yu Darvish - 0:07:19 Blake Snell - 0:14:49 Lance Lynn - 0:19:48 Raisel Iglesias - 0:23:22 Charlie Morton - 0:24:49 Ha-Seong Kim - 0:28:27 Josh Bell - 0:31:41 James McCann - 0:35:22 Rafael Montero - 0:37:36 Dane Dunning - 0:40:00 New Year's Resolutions - 0:44:00 Keston Hiura - 0:45:38 More SBs for White Sox - 0:48:30 Victor Robles - 0:50:25 Nick Castellanos - 0:52:33 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 0:54:04

Nick Pollack, founder of Pitcher List, hops on the show as we share our insight on the best fantasy baseball pickups after the first full week of regular-season action. What has been the main driver behind Aaron Civale's (3:09) early success, can Teoscar Hernandez (17:07) maintain his crazy production, and what are the concerns surrounding Cristian Javier (24:56)? The guys conclude by opening up the listener mailbag (31:16) and answering your most pressing questions. Sponsors: SuperDraft - SuperDraft is the future of daily fantasy sports. No limits. More winning. Sign up for SuperDraft today using promo code “FantasyPros” and claim your FREE $10 bonus with your first deposit. Download it in the App Store or play at superdraft.io. Players: Aaron Civale - 0:03:09 Rich Hill - 0:06:31 Zach Plesac - 0:07:59 Mike Yastrzemski - 0:09:32 Trent Grisham - 0:10:42 Griffin Canning - 0:12:41 Tyler Chatwood - 0:14:21 Teoscar Hernandez - 0:17:07 Wil Myers - 0:19:29 Spencer Turnbull - 0:20:25 Yusei Kikuchi - 0:21:30 John Means - 0:21:58 Homer Bailey - 0:23:11 James Karinchak - 0:23:42 Cristian Javier - 0:24:57 Jalen Beeks - 0:28:35 J.P. Crawford - 0:29:35 Jonathan Schoop - 0:30:17 Dylan Carlson - 0:34:08 Gavin Lux - 0:34:08 Oliver Drake - 0:36:01 Nick Anderson - 0:36:01 Jose Alvarado - 0:36:01 Diego Castillo - 0:36:01

We're joined by Ariel Cohen, creator of the ATC projection system, to break down which guys fantasy baseball managers should be scooping up before or soon after Opening Day. Is Tyler Rogers (6:31) primed to be the Giants' closer and does Elieser Hernandez (28:14) have the stuff to be the Marlins' top SP or will his unimpressive fastball and inability to prevent hard contact doom him? The duo spends the final third of the show sharing their top summer camp takeaways (35:58). Is Jarred Kelenic (39:23) ready to start right out of the gate and will Shed Long (50:46) find success as Seattle's leadoff hitter? Sponsors: SuperDraft - SuperDraft is the future of daily fantasy sports. No limits. More winning. Sign up for SuperDraft today using promo code “FantasyPros” and claim your FREE $10 bonus with your first deposit. Download it in the App Store or play at superdraft.io. Players: C.J. Cron - 0:02:23 Rich Hill - 0:04:33 Tyler Rogers - 0:06:20 Kwang-Hyun Kim - 0:08:56 Mauricio Dubon - 0:10:56 Austin Adams - 0:13:08 Aaron Hicks - 0:17:07 Wilmer Flores - 0:19:11 Josh James - 0:21:15 Josh Lindblom - 0:25:06 Austin Voth - 0:26:52 Alex Wood - 0:27:22 Elieser Hernandez - 0:28:15 Ji-Man Choi - 0:38:46 Jose Martinez - 0:38:46 Jarred Kelenic - 0:39:24 Ryan Pressly - 0:43:48 Tyler O'Neill - 0:45:25 Dylan Carlson - 0:46:37 Josh Reddick - 0:48:41 Kyle Tucker - 0:48:41 Shed Long - 0:50:47

Joe Pisapia, author of the Fantasy Black Book series, is back on with us for another fun show! The guys start the show taking turns as they name their bold predictions for the 2020 season. Are the Pirates ready to send away Josh Bell (14:18) and will the Rangers be the club to answer the call? Which largely unowned player does Joe predict will lead the NL in stolen bases (25:09)? The second half of the show is dedicated to shining a light on lesser-known athletes who have a ton of upside and can be had for next to nothing (32:57). Kevin Cash's unpredictability could lead to Jose Alvarado (42:09) becoming Tampa Bay's closer and Franklin Barreto (47:15) may be ready to break out. Players: Tyler Glasnow - 0:06:03 Josh Hader - 0:07:55 Dinelson Lamet - 0:11:08 Josh Bell - 0:14:19 Juan Soto - 0:17:50 Gerrit Cole - 0:20:02 Ryan Helsley - 0:23:36 Monte Harrison - 0:25:10 Carlos Correa - 0:29:57 Carter Kieboom - 0:33:10 Freddy Peralta - 0:34:10 Josh Lindblom - 0:35:33 Rich Hill - 0:36:50 Harrison Bader - 0:38:48 Ian Happ - 0:40:56 Jose Alvarado - 0:42:10 Spencer Howard - 0:45:29 Franklin Barreto - 0:47:16 Domingo Santana - 0:50:42 Elieser Hernandez - 0:52:11

As we gear up for the fantasy baseball season, we chat with Alex Fast from Pitcher List and each share 10 players we believe have the most league-winning upside. The duo starts off by digging deep into David Price's (4:01) decision to sit out the season and examining who may step up in the Dodgers' rotation. Michael Brantley (11:12) has an outside chance to finish with a .400 batting average, a change in Dylan Bundy's (33:20) mechanics could result in a breakout season for him, and Caleb Smith (47:31) can find success in 2020 now that he's fully healthy. Players: David Price - 0:04:01 Alex Wood - 0:05:52 Julio Urias - 0:06:51 Michael Brantley - 0:11:12 James Paxton - 0:14:34 Matthew Boyd - 0:16:46 Franmil Reyes - 0:19:49 Lance McCullers - 0:21:31 Kenta Maeda - 0:24:08 Luke Weaver - 0:27:14 Garrett Hampson - 0:29:37 Mark Canha - 0:31:18 Dylan Bundy - 0:33:20 Shin Soo-Choo - 0:37:34 Dylan Carlson - 0:39:58 Hunter Renfroe - 0:42:28 Wil Myers - 0:45:12 Caleb Smith - 0:47:31 Yoenis Cespedes - 0:49:41 Hanser Alberto - 0:51:48 Rich Hill - 0:53:19 Tyler Rogers - 0:55:47 Sam Hilliard - 0:58:44

With roughly three weeks to go until the start of the season, we team up with Chris Meaney of Fade the Noise to share insight into our favorite draft targets. Matt Olson (6:19) may be one of the more underrated pure power hitters in the game, Andrew Benintendi (21:03) might be primed to bounce back after a disappointing 2019 campaign, and Jorge Polanco (30:39) appears to be extremely undervalued considering his strong metrics and the solid lineup he's in. Players: Shane Bieber - 0:02:33 Tyler Glasnow - 0:05:24 Matt Olson - 0:06:20 Corey Kluber - 0:09:23 Manny Machado - 0:10:59 Juan Soto - 0:14:36 Nick Castellanos - 0:17:15 J.T. Realmuto - 0:19:01 Andrew Benintendi - 0:21:04 Avisail Garcia - 0:23:50 James Paxton - 0:24:41 Zac Gallen - 0:26:33 David Price - 0:28:49 Jorge Polanco - 0:30:40 Marcus Semien - 0:33:42 Jonathan Villar - 0:33:42 Kenta Maeda - 0:35:03 Mark Canha - 0:37:10 C.J. Cron - 0:38:56 Rich Hill - 0:41:04 Jose Urquidy - 0:42:41 Josh James - 0:44:07 Howie Kendrick - 0:44:38 David Peralta - 0:46:32 Starlin Castro - 0:47:38

Today we talk with Al Melchior, host of The Athletic's Fantasy Baseball in 15 Podcast, about which players will see their values rise or fall the most because of the 60-game season. Avisail Garcia's (7:20) and Dylan Carlson's (23:51) values both drastically increase due to the universal DH and a schedule filled with pitcher-friendly ballparks is primed to hurt Willy Adames (33:02). Later on, we examine closer situations around the league (37:59) and debate whether the shortened season lowers Seth Lugo's (41:02) chances of picking up saves. Players: Byron Buxton - 0:02:03 Shohei Ohtani - 0:05:05 Avisail Garcia - 0:07:20 Julio Urias - 0:10:52 James Paxton - 0:13:12 Michael Kopech - 0:16:24 Nate Pearson - 0:18:54 Casey Mize - 0:19:31 MacKenzie Gore - 0:20:22 Rich Hill - 0:20:56 Jon Berti - 0:21:59 Dylan Carlson - 0:23:51 Nick Solak - 0:27:37 Victor Caratini - 0:29:33 Miguel Andujar - 0:30:32 Brandon Belt - 0:32:10 Willy Adames - 0:33:02 Mike Soroka - 0:36:39 Giovanny Gallegos - 0:37:59 Jordan Hicks - 0:37:59 Andrew Miller - 0:39:02 Yoshihisa Hirano - 0:39:38 Austin Adams - 0:39:38 Seth Lugo - 0:41:02 Jose Leclerc - 0:43:26 James Karinchak - 0:44:18

Today we are joined by Frank Stampfl, host of the Fantasy Baseball Today Podcast, who competes against Bobby in a mock draft. Follow along as each analyst breaks down their picks all throughout the show. Is it wise to take Juan Soto (1:47) over Mookie Betts at fifth overall, is Robbie Ray (20:51) ready to break out after a change to his mechanics, and will playing time no longer be a hurdle for Austin Riley (31:05)? Stay tuned until the end to find out who won the draft!

Jason Collette of Rotowire joins us as we analyze the top sleepers at each position. Bobby breaks down an interesting plan to attack first base (9:47), Jason explains why we shouldn't be sleeping on Ian Happ (19:56), and we shed light on what might be preventing Dinelson Lamet (31:30) from reaching his potential. Players: Danny Jansen - 0:03:55 Yasmani Grandal - 0:07:34 C.J. Cron - 0:08:29 Ji-Man Choi - 0:09:48 Jose Martinez - 0:10:10 Jonathan Schoop - 0:14:43 Willy Adames - 0:17:07 Ian Happ - 0:19:57 Corey Dickerson - 0:24:04 Trent Grisham - 0:26:26 Chris Bassitt - 0:29:11 Dinelson Lamet - 0:31:30 Freddy Peralta - 0:33:59 Eric Lauer - 0:35:57 Jordan Montgomery - 0:37:29 Elieser Hernandez - 0:38:09 Seth Lugo - 0:38:56 Aaron Bummer - 0:40:16 Jordan Hicks - 0:42:46 Giovanny Gallegos - 0:44:01

Welcome back to Leading Off. This week Dan Harris is taking a look to see how his rankings line up against our expert consensus rankings among the five infield positions. Is Danny Jansen being overlooked? What about Ryan McMahon and Lourdes Gurriel Jr? How much should second base eligibility affect how you view a player? Don't forget to leave the show a rating and review, and send it over to contest@fantasypros.com for your chance at a free Trevor Story signed jersey!

We've got both last year's most accurate expert, Ariel Cohen of FanGraphs, and the second most accurate expert since 2017, our very own Andrew Gould, joining us for a special episode today. We spend today's show running through both of their rankings and seeing which players they disagree on the most. Is Jonathan Villar (5:52) a steal or is he too volatile to trust? Additionally, are fantasy owners still undervaluing Kenta Maeda (25:54) and can Wil Myers (33:32) post solid numbers thanks to the universal DH? Players: Chris Paddack - 0:02:13 Jonathan Villar - 0:05:53 Eddie Rosario - 0:10:18 Patrick Corbin - 0:12:48 Paul DeJong - 0:15:26 J.D. Davis - 0:18:29 Bryan Reynolds - 0:22:17 Eric Hosmer - 0:24:55 Kenta Maeda - 0:25:54 Brendan McKay - 0:29:54 Wil Myers - 0:33:33 Renato Nunez - 0:37:54 C.J. Cron - 0:39:10 Tommy La Stella - 0:39:45

With the likelihood of a regional schedule, we're taking a look at which players are impacted the most. Will Kenta Maeda's move from the NL West to the AL Central wind up being beneficial, will Zack Wheeler's time in Philadelphia get off to a rocky start, and what happens to the outlook for NL East hitters? All that and more this week with our latest episode of Leading Off.

Today's show is dedicated to dissecting the infield and we've got Joe Pisapia, author of the best-selling Fantasy Black Book series, in the house to help us out. Why should you trust Christian Vazquez's (2:58) solid 2019 numbers, does Carlos Correa (22:41) have the potential to be fake baseball's best shortstop, and is J.D. Davis (38:41) highly undervalued considering the likelihood he plays every day? Sponsors: Fielder's Choice - Fielder's Choice Goods handcrafts leather goods from vintage baseball gloves. The legacy is in the leather. Visit www.fcgoods.com and use the discount code “FantasyPros” at checkout for a free custom monogram on your wallet! Players: Wilson Ramos - 0:02:14 Christian Vazquez - 0:02:59 Rhys Hoskins - 0:06:04 Mark Canha - 0:06:29 Paul Goldschmidt - 0:09:02 Ryan McMahon - 0:11:34 Garrett Hampson - 0:13:13 Danny Santana - 0:14:04 Cesar Hernandez - 0:15:45 Marcus Semien - 0:17:24 Hunter Dozier - 0:19:23 Justin Turner - 0:21:01 Carlos Correa - 0:22:42 Scott Kingery - 0:27:30 Ian Happ - 0:29:25 Franklin Barreto - 0:31:20 Jorge Polanco - 0:33:32 Rougned Odor - 0:35:10 Michael Chavis - 0:36:48 J.D. Davis - 0:38:41 Miguel Andujar - 0:42:51 Giancarlo Stanton - 0:45:37 Starlin Castro - 0:48:12 Howie Kendrick - 0:50:19 Juan Soto - 0:51:34