Real chance Naylor swipes 30 bags again. Brilliant move.

Welp, I've peaked. This is it.

Do you know who led the Mariners in stolen bases from Aug 1 to the end of the season? Hint: He was 2nd on the team in steals in July with 5...in 6 total games.

It's OK to drop Jakob Marsee in your fantasy playoffs. He will still take walks (because he's highly averse to swinging the bat) and steal bases, but the rest is - at best - a question mark.

Jakob Marsee has been amazing this far and has earned the results. You should absolutely keep holding, BUT there are some signs that an adjustment period might be coming. How he handles it will tell us a LOT about what to expect in '26.

Big head, little arms, loud voice - this is undoubtedly a Tyrannosaurus Rex

At what point does doing everything right no longer matter? Because that's the story of Ben Rice for fantasy baseball right now. Great power, great contact, great swing decisions, mid results. Deep leagues it's an easy hold, but 12-teamers? Yeesh.

Please find the below example of the reasonable, logical, dispassionate, well-moderated content you can expect from me when recording podcasts such as Hacks and Jacks

In brighter news, the incredible revival of Marcus Semien after 100 games of looking washed is being driven by consistently strong decision-making and this rediscovery of how to make great contact

There ARE positive things happening for Tyler Soderstrom, like a rebound in his contact ability; however, there's also this and it's very sad. Power+ can be volatile but hoo boy.

Why have I held steadfast in my belief that Spencer Torkelson will be a solid player all season? Even though his ability to make contact fluctuates, he makes fantastic decisions at the dish. As long as he keeps doing that, the power can shine through.

"Whoa, what's going on with Gary Sànchez?!" The same thing that has been going on for 2+ years, actually. It just doesn't look that interesting by the end of the season.

If you started Marcus Semien from day 1, you'd have the 20th best second baseman. He was one of the worst regulars in baseball with a .484 OPS through 56 games), so bad that he still needs another amazing month to undo the damage. So, were you wrong if you dropped him?

The one thing that stands out to me with Pete Crow-Armstrong's breakout is this gradual growth in his ability to make contact in the zone. It moves somewhat tightly with his rolling wOBA and tells a pretty good story about his growth so far in his career.

Consider Jo Adell in the midst of a breakout WATCH, but not yet a WARNING (stealing meteorology terms). All the conditions are here - improved decision-making, plus contact (most important element for him), and that consistent sweet sweet power. If conditions hold, take cover.

Junior Caminero's production took off like a rocket and the reason why isn't terribly complicated - he just got the ball in the air. When that FB% is north of 35-40%, he can put up elite numbers.

Fernando Tatis Jr. can absolutely be a top-15 hitter this season, but if I said I wasn't concerned about the power outage for the short term, I'd be lying. At least the decision-making has stayed strong!

Sure, he's not running and will run less, but Ronald Acuña Jr. seems to have found that power again (small sample, of course) and he can be a top-15 hitter even without the steals.

I'm still bullish on Spencer Torkelson as long as decision-making stays strong, which it has even during this slump. If that starts to fade, I'll be worried.

Coming into today's action, about 25% of Noelvi Marte's XBHs and RBI were against the fearsome pitching combo of Jorge Mateo and Gary Sanchez. Another 25% of his XBH and over 33% of his RBI were in Coors. Lots of talent here but current results are not true measures of it.

I've been doing fantasy baseball rankings for a while and it amazes me how many people seemingly come to see a ranking of a single player and it bothers them so much they comment. I'll take all the engagement I can get and am appreciative of every visitor, but like, why consume content this way?

After much thought, I have this analysis on Spencer Torkelson in 2025:

A list of guys who raked at this time last season (wRC+ of at least 150 as of April 10) MJ Melendez Alex Kirilloff (😔) Nelson Velazquez Michael Conforto Connor Joe Orlando Arcia Brandon Marsh Charlie Blackmon Jose Siri

Willson Contreras has had slumps like this before. Many times. And worse. And everything was OK.

Bedtime was supposed to be 30 min ago and they know it.

Are the Astros doing the right thing for Cam Smith? For the last 7-8 games he's looked really lost offensively and defensively to me, granted, I haven't been able to watch much. Do folks have a different sense?

DJ Stewart in for the Pirates today. He's had two UNBELIEVABLE stretches in his 327-game career: 7 home runs in 9 games in September of 2020 for the O's, and 8 home runs in 13 games in 2023 for the Mets. That's about 36% of his career production coming in 6% of his games. Lightning in a bottle.

If we were guaranteed that Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Trout would each play 145 games in 2025, and you could only pick 1 (ignoring draft cost), which one do you pick? Also, is it controversial to pick Trout? Because I think I would.

NFBC drafters are souring on a lot of injured players, but also Willy Adames (signed w Giants on 12/7) and Luis Castillo (?)

The only explanation for whoever didn't vote for Ichiro on their HOF ballot is that they fought in WW2 and haven't let it go.

There are worse ways to spend a last pick than on Jonathan Aranda.

Riley Greene is a real threat to hit 30+ home runs in 2025, even in spacious Comerica Park.

Wyatt Langford got better at laying off fastballs out of the zone, and in doing so, honed in on the pitches he could drive. If he carries this into 2025, 🤑

The thought shared by all billionaires

This is exactly what we needed to see from Jackson Holliday at the end of '24, even if the on-field results still sucked.

Noroviruses can go ahead and frack right off.

Reserve your tickets now for the Crawford boxes in Houston. Isaac Paredes is gonna send a ton of souvenirs that way for the Astros.

My 12-team fantasy baseball hitter ranks will publish in the next week. Who will end up ranked too low?

Jonathan India feels like a solid back-end MI type in KC. The elite decision-making skills keep the OBP floor high, and he should have a stable role. That said, Kaufman will be far less forgiving to India's limited/inconsistent pop and he's not a contact-oriented slap hitter either.

2023 Triston Casas is the one who can be a star. Excellent decisions, made contact as expected, and crushed baseballs. 2024 Casas regressed significantly in contact and decision-making (especially in the zone). Unless he finds that 2023 form again, it's hard to see a path to being a top-10 1B.

If James Wood can be just average at contact for a full season, he's going to be a monster. His Aug and Sept were EXTREMELY promising - solid K%, got more balls in the air, growth all over the place.

Vladito has a rough 2023, but finding that power stroke makes him one of the most tantalizing players in the game.

Not a projections guy BUT my expectations for Rays hitters changing home parks is pretty minimal. The Trop was pretty tough on lefties so I *guess* they get a lift, but their new park appears to be fairly neutral from what I've dug up.

For fantasy baseball purposes, JJ Bleday is a poor man's Ian Happ and that's absolutely OK for anyone who has 5 OF spots to fill.

You'd think it would be for fantasy baseball but it's because I invented Fantasy Curling, which still exists over at Curling Zone.

Pro Tip: Ballpoint pen the bartender gave you isn't writing on your receipt? Put a napkin under it. Not sure if the pen is a ballpoint pen? Then you can safely assume it's probably a ballpoint pen.

I put together a Starter Pack for Pitcher List Staff (& Friends!). Give them a follow if you want cool baseball content and 80-grade vibes! go.bsky.app/TesPXS6

Son: Who was that tall guy in the NBA? Me: You will have to be MUCH more specific. 60% of the league is taller than anyone you've met in person. Son: He was, like, *really* tall. Me: There is literally a whole position that you could just call "really tall guy".

Process+ is a great tool not just for the number, but for these bars. Connor Norby has a lot of upside thanks to his decision-making and power, but if those contact struggles continue, he will be EXTREMELY streaky. Credit: @blandalytics.bsky.social for this stat and view