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Yesterday RotoBaller participated in an awesome Q&A session on Reddit. Almost 200 questions & answers were posted, and each one was answered by @BillyJohnston14 and the RotoBaller team. We talked about recent MLB news, waiver wire pickups, sleepers, prospects, trades and much much more.
You can click here to read a full transcript on Reddit of all the great questions, and of course RotoBaller's fantasy baseball analysis and advice in response to the different topics.
The conversations ranged wide in variety, from trades and waiver wire moves, to team analysis, MLB player projections and fantasy analysis. Below are some highlights and excerpts to give you a taste of what went down.
We hope you enjoy all of this great information, and join us for future Q&A sessions on Reddit. You can always find RotoBaller analysts and experts hanging out in our fantasy baseball advice chat room, and you can always ask them for advice or just banter about MLB and fantasy baseball.
Special thanks to the Reddit fantasy baseball team for having RotoBaller on as guest writers for the Q&A session.
Fantasy Baseball Q&A Excerpts
Question: What's the idea around Dominic Brown? I just cut him right after trading for him, I can't afford the .209 AVG and just 1/4 at best for games.
Answer: Keep in mind that Brown only had a few great weeks last year... he did most of his damage for the entire year in May and June. He could get hot, but I wouldn't expect consistent production from him going forward. Cole pretty much is what he is - a solid pitcher, but not elite. His .307 babip is sound, and his 3.79/3.49 FIP/xFIP would make it seem that his 3.64 ERA is about right. If you can package him for an elite pitcher, that's a solid move. For catchers, love Posey for the most part, but it's tough to pay a lot for him when you have Mesoraco. I'd roll with him for now.
Question: Mesoraco vs Rosario H2H ROS?
Answer: Like Mesoraco a lot, and his .333 ISO is insane, but I wouldn't expect him to bat anywhere close to .333 this season. Keep in mind that Rosario's babip is at .262, which is 45 points below his career babip... he should improve nicely, and had 21 and 28 HR the past 2 years. On the other hand, Mesoraco's babip is .362, which is almost 100 points above his career avg. Food for thought.
Question: Thoughts on Polanco. ALL OF THEM.
Answer: Is there any other Polanco at this point? 🙂 What can be said that probably hasn't already been said. He's a super studly, elite hitting prospect who's been tearing up the minors. This year he's rocking an awesome .355 avg with 6 HR, 14 SB, 48 RBI and 45 R in 231 ABs. The 40-to-22 K:BB ratio isn't amazing, but he is a legit hitter sporting a .962 OPS and power/speed combo. Rumors were swirling that he'd be called up this week, but it hasn't happened yet. Even though Harrison has been hitting well recently, Polanco will be called up shortly, and once he's called up they won't have him riding the bench. It'll be interesting to see how he performs in the majors, and he has enormous upside especially in keepers leagues, but I wouldn't expect him to destroy MLB pitching immediately. It may happen, but that shouldn't be the expectation. Just take a look at super prospect Oscar Taveras, who has been okay but not great since his call-up (.222 avg, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB).
Question: I'm 1-8 about to be 1-9 in a pretty competitive keeper league. Traded Braun for Harvey today. Bad move? I'll get to keep Harvey very late next season.
Answer: The problem I have with this trade has everything to do with my philosophy, and not the trade. I value hitters over pitchers for the following reasons: 1) If a pitcher has 1 bad game, that week is ruined for the rest of the pitchers on your team, unlike a hitter. 2) If your pitcher has a GREAT game, it only takes a screw up from another pitcher to destroy it. 3) Match ups are way more important when it comes to pitchers.
Question: How do you feel about Lorenzo Cain? I picked him on on speculation a couple days ago, but Kendrys Morales is sitting right there waiting to be stashed. I have Morse and Moss (dual eligibility for both on ESPN), along with Hosmer, so it's not like I need a 1B, but Morales seems like such good potential value.
Answer: I like Cain right now - owned him for a week. He's hitting well, but usually low in the lineup. While he's hot he's worth owning but you always have to be ready to cut bait since he gets injured or ice cold on a moment's notice. I would rather own Morales ROS than Cain.
Question: Austin Jackson, Carlos Beltran, Josh Willingham. 10 team roto. Hold, drop, kill.
Answer:
This is tough! I loved Jackson after April - he was hitting, walking, lofting the ball more and hitting it farther. And he absolutely fell apart in May and I don't know what to do. I am in a 5 OF 11 team league, so it's pretty deep, and there's no damn way I drop Jackson. I believe he'll turn it around. For now, Kill him cause he's frustrating the hell outta me.
Beltran - Hold. He's being activated and hopefully he can return to form. Watch his batted ball distance to see if he has the strength he was showing last year which was missing this year.
Willingham - very startable. Big power upside. Gotta hold and start him.
Question: Abuy/sell/hold on Jesse Chavez? He's been struggling a bit after his incredibly hot start but the schedule has been tough and he hasn't really been awful in any one start.
Answer:
If you can still sell him for a bundle, I would say sell. But usually when a waiver wire flier like Chavez starts struggling after a ridiculous hot start, his perceived value drops much faster than his actual value. If that's the case in your league, and you can't get anyone to pay a solid price, I would hold him.
Question: What do I do with Verlander? I've just about had it with him, especially after today. I feel like I can't drop him, probably couldn't get anything in a trade, and I don't feel good about starting him.
Answer:
Bench him for a few starts and see if he can regain anything. His velocity is shot, and without the overpowering FB he is forced to nibble more, hence the ridiculous BB/9 rate. Hold and bench. If he has a few more putrid starts in a row, he'll be safe to drop. Amazing the free fall he has taken, but that's the MLB for ya ey?
You can click here to read many many more great questions and answers from the Reddit session.
