2020 All-Stars

The big news of the week is Dee Gordon’s 80 day suspension for PEDs. We lament about this because he’s the third keeper that we’ve lost for a significant chuck of the season already. We do a decent job of holding back the tears, but this was probably the nail in the of our 2016 fantasy season in our big league. What does that mean for you? Well, we might start selling out for prospects so the podcast might lean that way as well. Stay tuned.

Speaking of… Brandon Drury feels like he might be more than a flavor of the week. If you want more of a retread, we like what we see from Jed Gyorko in St Louis. On the flipside, fellow Asian American Kolton Wong looks like he might be in danger of losing his gig once Peralta comes back. It also looks like Chase Utley has found the fountain of youth. He’s hitting for an empty average at the top of a good lineup, which is worth something. If you’re looking to replace the speed, you’re gonna have to dig pretty deep. Our suggestion is really just stream in a fast guy against Jon Lester (Cubs) or Hank Conger (Rays).

The bad news train continues while we discuss Byron Buxton’s demotion. Todd is keeping the faith. That whole situation feels like something is in his head. Hopefully, he can figure things out with his swing and get back to the bigs. Even though I made a negative prediction on him, I still don’t like to see guys fail. Speaking of top prospects that failed in his first taste at the top, Todd suspects Jurickson Profar could make his way back up sooner rather than later.

The discussion ends with pitcher talk. A couple of the young guns are making there way into the bigs. Jose Berrios and Sean Manaea are the big names that have come up lately. Both guys look like good hold or keeper league guys. Langfristig as they say in German. Lastly, what do you all think of the Arizona Diamondbacks? Questions are abound about what that organization is doing.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 6 (43:06)

Jake Arrietta, the #1 overall pitchers? Noah Syndergaard, next big thing? We start this fireside chat with a discussion of the big name pitchers. Kenta Maeda also works his way into the discussion. Todd watches the Dodgers a lot and likes what he sees, but cautions our listeners about going all-in on him. Definitely a useful player, but he won’t be a sub-1 ERA guy all season.

The #Closerpocalypse segment makes a mini-return. I rant about how I’m worried about Cody Allen. He had a bad spring and he’s followed it with a less than dominant start. He doesn’t seem in jeopardy to lose the gig, but nobody seems to even consider that he’s had a weak start. I threw the name Joba Chamberlain against the wall. Todd couldn’t say no fast enough. Yes, saves are a category, but are they always worth it? We think not especially when it comes to the Reds and Minnesota. Lots of problems in Closerland in the midwest.

Todd takes over the pod while we go into guys on the farm. This is really our bread and butter so don’t miss out on it. There are two big arms that could make an impact this year, so we discuss those guys.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 5 (45:49)

Public Service Announcement: Our internet connection was crap. We had a bunch of drop outs and ended up recording this episode in two parts.

We play the game, Panic or Patience. We begin with two young guys on Minnesota. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have been struggling and we discuss it. What worries both of us is the K-rate of both guys. Todd thinks Buxton will make adjustments and I have my doubts. But we do both agree that the Twins have nothing to play for so they can be patient with these guys. A guy that we both are worried about is Byung Ho Park. He hasn’t gotten off to a great start and he doesn’t have the pedigree of the other two.

Our next stop on the panic train is the Vets. Tulo has Todd concerned that his days as an elite fantasy SS is over, while I think he could play enough games to be a factor at the position especially regarding the power numbers. Should one trade Tulo for Trevor “Babe Ruth” Story? My prediction is .250 with 27 homers in 140 games and Todd like .270 average with 18 homers. We cast some doubt as Lindor as a fantasy beast, which is a bit of a contrarian opinion. Our thoughts trend towards “better real life player than fantasy player”. Unfortunately, defense generally doesn’t cut it in fantasy. Is he an Andrelton Simmons type?

What should you do about Prince Fielder? Big guys tend to have steep declines. The power has been declining and the strikeout rate is on the rise. Not a full blown panic, but if you can still get full value in a trade then go for it. Age or small sample size theater? It could go either way, but we have our thoughts.

Pitchers, you say? Zack Greinke has Todd a little worried. We both agree that he won’t repeat his performance on the Dodger. I totally lost my train of thought trying to come up with Dallas Keuchel. We compare Greinke with Matt Harvey who has also struggled to start the season. The guy that has us most worried is Adam Wainwright. He’s just got too much going against him to continue to be an elite fantasy option. A definite Panic. Archer confounds us. His walk-rate is crazy high, but so is his home run rate. Is this sustainable? Cautious buy low candidate? Keep an eye on it.

After the break, we get back to chatting about prospects. A good pouporri for you on that front. Hope y’all enjoy it!

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 4 (50:48)

Were you interested in hearing about the 80s classic The Goonies? Well, we went there. But we needed something positive to talk about and baseball simply wasn’t providing that positivity. We discuss all the injuries. The big name is Kyle Schwarber. We discuss who on the Cubs could benefit from that. In the outfield, we like Colby Rasmus, Nick Markakis, Michael Saunders and Drew Stubbs as possible replacements.

Other injuries that we talk about are Robinson Chirinos, Shin-Soo Choo, Carl Crawford, and DeGrom. On the batting side, there were a couple kids to think about. For keeper leagues, Gary Sanchez and Wilson Conteras are interesting catchers. In the outfield, Max Kepler nad Mallex Smith got the call and have interesting tools.

But if you do one thing, PICK UP NICK MAZARA. Todd thinks he’s going to be an instant superstar and in his first game, he went 3 for 4 with a homer. This guy can help you immediate, run do not walk to go pick this guy up. Todd’s bold call is ROY, future all-star, “next big thing”, just do it. Mazara’s bat intrigues all the scouts. Todd likes him as a 35hr - .300 average guy. Perhaps not this year, but he’s got that kind of potential.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 3 (41:43)

Always something new for y’all on the 2020 Allstars. I (David) was homeless for the month of March. Instead of scrambling to find a place in Berlin, I decided to travel to Egypt. So this weeks episode comes to you from Cairo. As such the audio quality isn’t quite up to snuff, but you’re probably not here for that anyway.

We discuss the AJ Pollock injury and some guys that could put up “AJ Pollack”-like numbers. Or what you could do to make up the power and the steals, although there really isn’t a 20/40 guy just sitting out there. Names like Joey Rickard and Travis Shaw get bandied about.

But the purpose of this show is our bold predictions for 2016:

Socrates Brito! Looks like he will get a shot with AJ Pollack being injured. He’s shown double digit pop and 30+ steals in the minors. Tood sees a 15/20 season in 2016. We’re also hoping for this because we picked up Brito. Why not?

My first prediction is Pedro Alvarez as a top 7 1B with 35+ homers and an average north of .250. I did a little “analysis” and the park factors to lefties leans strongly in Alvarez’s favor. I also wanted to throw Jonathon Schoop into this one. Alvarez + Schoop over 60 homers?! They don’t call them bold predictions for nothing.

Justin Turner makes the leap to become a top 7 3B. He was on pace last year until he got injured so is it crazy? His ISO seemed a bit high last year and Todd thinks this power surge will continue. I like him too, but I’m not sure about the power numbers.

Trevor Bauer top 15 closer! He finally becomes the guy we thought he could be. Cody Allen’s spring numbers have me a little worried. The control is not there… if there are velo issues then this one could pay off. Todd suggests that he just needs the closer glasses and everything will be good.

Nick Williams wins the NL Rookie of the Year. I throw out the comparison to Adam Jones. He’s a swinger, but with some plate discipline so he doesn’t strike out at a crazy rate. 21/12 with a .275 average is what Todd likes on the high end as long as things fall into place.

Speaking of prospects, I’m way down on Bryon Buxton. He’s touted as the next big thing, but I just don’t see it. My bold prediction is that his bat forces the Twins to send him back to the minors. Todd counters that Buxton’s defense will keep him in the league. It’s a good point, but if Buxton keeps hitting .200 then he’s out of there. I wanted to compare him to Brandon Wood, but I forgot Wood’s name.

Ryan Madson gets 20 saves. Sean Doolittle is doing everything he can to lose the job.

Ryan Raburn, .300 average and 18hrs in like 250 ABs. He’s now in Colorado and he’ll mash lefties. I have been a Raburn fan for a long time so take this one with a LARGE grain of salt.

Todd’s final bold prediction… Zack Wheeler comes back strong after the AS break. Todd is looking for about a strikeout per inning and good ratios.

My final bold prediction is that Marcus Stroman is in the Cy Young discussion. Tons of wins, sub-3 ERA, 8.5 K/9. Plus Todd tweeted last year “Marcus Stroman, Cy Young 2016”, so I’ll run with it as well. Let’s see if Todd was prophetic.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 2 (49:58)

Alright guys, we started off shaky and there are 10 minutes that will never see the light of day. We begin our conversation with the young Chicago Cubs. The squad, we love, but the prices not so much. With so many players will there be enough playing time for everyone? We even have concerns about one of our favorites from last year.

Next we wander into the topic of pitchers that got moved over the off-season. Is Jeff Samardzija ready for a breakout year? What happens with David Price? Is Grienke mortal? We address all these questions and more.

Third basemen worries us much wore. We regret to say that the days of Even Longoria as a star might be over. Would he be better if he played less? We also talk about other guys that you want to target instead of the once mighty Longoria.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 4 Episode 1 (54:19)

We did not watch a lot of baseball this week. Instead of doing our normal recap, we discuss who are next years breakouts. We begin with our favorite AJ Pollock. Todd brilliant pulls Christian Yelich’s name out of a hat. Man, I love that call and wish that I had thought of it. I actually think Yelich could be the next Dexter Fowler, but Todd throws Aaron Hicks’s name out there. I argue that Hicks doesn’t have the OBP to get runs like Fowler.

That degenerates into a discussion about the Minnesota Twins lineup. They’ve actually got a surprisingly good/intriguing lineup. Our disagreement comes with Byron Buxton. I’m not going to annoint Buxton the next Ken Griffey Jr. Yea, maybe you want the guy to learn, but he’s shown nothing that says he deserves to be at the top of the lineup. How that all shakes out?

Biggest power comeback? Devin Mesoraco. We pin him as a 20-25 hr guy next year. Another bounceback candidate is Corey Dickerson. Two guys coming back from injury whose injuries are not the lingering type. My guy to turn it around is another catcher, Jon Lucroy. I’ve got him as a fringe top 5 catcher.

Our next topic is the Houston power hitter situation. Jon Singleton, Chris Carter, and Evan Gattis all seem like the same guy and not the type of guy that you want three of. On the topic of power, we talk about “old guy” comeback player for next year. I wanted to find a guy in his mid-30s, but we sort of settle on Evan Longoria. If you want the deep league name, it’s Justin Morneau.

Todd <3 Noah Syndergaard. He’s looking for something big from this guy. 3-ish ERA, 200 IPs, 200Ks, 1.14-ish WHIP. You heard it here first. I go back to 2020 All-Star oldie but goodie, Taijaun Walker. He’s still bringing the heat and if he can bring down his HR/9 down then he could be a star. We even put 10 doge on it.

The big name prospect pitchers that we like are Lucas Giolito, Tyler Glasnow, and Luis Severeno. On the hitting side, it’s Jessie Winker and Bradley Zimmer. As always we get rambly: AJ Reed, Nick Williams, Hunter Renfro, and Austin Meadows.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 3 Episode 26 (44:56)

The future is now! We are coming up on September. What does this mean? If you’re in a holds league then it’s time to make your big run! But before the baseball comes the food, thus we needed to discuss grilling in Germany. Todd is disgusted that we grilled without a Weber Grill. Jamacian style cooking folks. Want a YouTube video? Sure… what?!? It doesn’t exist. I just spent 20 minutes looking through youtube videos and couldn’t find this method. Basically, you use a super high heat and over-marinate the chicken. Especially important is a ton of herbs. Then you stack all the chicken (skin on!) into the middle of the grill, this is really counter-intuitive to every grill rule you’ve ever learn, but trust me. The marinade/herb mixture drips into the fire creating a ton of smoke. The chicken pieces at the bottom will get pretty dark pretty quickly. The key is to rotate the chicken every couple of minutes and put the ones on the top to the bottom to char. The ones at the top continue to cook indirectly from the heat coming off the pieces on the bottom. If done correctly, you’ll end up with chicken that has a nice black char, but still is moist inside.

We had a great idea in the beginning of the season refer to Jung Ho Kang’s power as K-Pop. Darnit, why we didn’t follow up on this will remain one of the great tragedies of the 2015 season? This leads us into a discussion about the middle infield. In typical 2020 All-Star fashion, we wander into a discussion about no pop, speed guys like Anthony Gose. Pop-speed-pop, a new form of EDM? No, we go back to guys with power and discuss the two big boppers at the corners, Sano and Bryant. Todd likes Sano’s power and I like Bryant’s sneaky speed. And speaking of power, we go to Top 5 3Bs for next year. We’re really going all-in on the young guys at the hot corner. Same discussion with the outfield. Is Mike Trout still #1 overall? Four of the top 5 are pretty standard, but the fifth is a long-time favorite of the podcast that might surprise you.

Queue Scary Music: CLOSERPOCALYPSE! The Boston situation is ugly. Jean Machi is the guy, but probably best to just leave him to someone more desperate. The Oakland situation seems like Drew Pomeranz is the guy. We like him a ton more than Machi (so he’ll probably lose the gig tomorrow). The best of the bottom of the barrel prize goes to Tom Wilhelmsen. He’s solid and the other guys in Seattle are having issues. Greg Holland doesn’t really scare us too much. But the guy to own there would be Wade Davis, but he’s good enough that he should have been owned already. Addison Reed? Not a closer, but he got traded to the Mets. Can the Mets fix him? We’re not hopeful, but you never know.

September Callups Lighting Round: Corey Seager, Jesse Winker, Urias, Nick Williams, Javy Baez.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 3 Episode 25 (42:56)

In true 2020 All-Star fashion, we have a nice little false start. We re-begin the podcast with a discussion of Trea Turner. He doesn’t necessarily have a lot of opportunity for playing time, but he’s definitely a stashable guy in keeper leagues. We move onto the Chase Utley trade. We don’t necessarily see a lot of value, but we discuss some of the other guys that you can get. This leads to more Dodger talk and in particular the team’s bullpen situation.

Speaking of bullpens, we bring back your favorite segment, Closerpocalypse. We tell you that Junichi Tazawa is definitely the guy. Of course, later in the night he blows a save is spectacular fashion.

My roommate comes home so we quickly blast through the news of people who hit the DL. There were a ton of guys that hit the DL, including one pitcher who hit a homer then hurt himself. Then we just abruptly and awkwardly wrap up the whole thing. Nothing but the best for all of you. We apologize for those of you who enjoy our food segments. This week we didn’t get to that.

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 3 Episode 24 (36:59)

We are off and running with classic 2020 All-Star material in discussing Randal Grichuk’s elbow injury. Names like Aaron Hicks and Chris Coghlan are bandied about. We move on to King Felix’s troubles. I’m a little more worried than Todd, but the more interesting discussion is should you try to move Felix if you’re looking to rebuild? Next we delve into a weird discussion about borderline playable OFs. The name on the bottom of my list might surprise you. Finally, Todd goes on a rant about how Billy Hamilton is actually Willy Mayes Hayes and the manager should implement a 10 pushups for every flyball rule. It would kind of be great to watch a guy drop down and do 10 pushups during a game ala Major League, right?!?

As always, check us out on Twitter @2020AllStars, Instagram 2020AllStars, and iTunes.

Season 3 Episode 23 (44:33)