WEBVTT - Hidden Gems: 5 Closers with Sky-High Potential

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to Fantasy Pros Baseball podcast. Hello friends, my

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<v Speaker 1>name it's Chris Welsh, and today we're gonna be breaking

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<v Speaker 1>down my five high upside closers heading into the season.

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<v Speaker 1>That can be kind of a mixed bag. What do

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<v Speaker 1>I mean the five best closers? No? Do all these

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<v Speaker 1>guys have to have lockdown gigs? No? Not necessarily. We're

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<v Speaker 1>playing for the upside. So some of the guys I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to talk to you about don't even technically or

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<v Speaker 1>guaranteed have a gig right now. Some might be in

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<v Speaker 1>some platoon situations, but we're talking about the upside you

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<v Speaker 1>can get from some of these closers in drafts. So

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<v Speaker 1>they're not going to be inside the top ten because

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<v Speaker 1>how much further and how much upside can you go

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<v Speaker 1>past the top ten? Number eight to number six? Does

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<v Speaker 1>that count? No? So I'm gonna give you five high

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<v Speaker 1>upside closer types to be taking a look atter this season.

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<v Speaker 1>But first, I want you to get ahead of all

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<v Speaker 1>at fantasypros dot com Slash Draftkit. Now, let's talk about

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<v Speaker 1>some closers coming in at number five. I'm gonna give

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<v Speaker 1>you the name, but I'm also going to acknowledge the

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<v Speaker 1>cheating here that there might be another guy in this.

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<v Speaker 1>But the player I'm going to tell you about at

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<v Speaker 1>number five on the high upside closing is Arizona Diamondbacks

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<v Speaker 1>Kevin Ginkel. I know it's an Arizona diamonback, but a

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<v Speaker 1>sneaky team who's looking to pick up more wins this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Tory Lavello likes a single closer. Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen

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<v Speaker 1>was actually asked about this recently and what they were

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<v Speaker 1>gonna do with the situation, and he acknowledged that Tory

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<v Speaker 1>Leavello himself just likes to pick a guy, though he

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<v Speaker 1>would be open if Lavello wanted to go with multiple arms.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the team has Mark Milanson, who's four hundred years old,

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<v Speaker 1>lacks the upside and did not carry the job into

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<v Speaker 1>last year. The best reliever on this team is actually

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<v Speaker 1>Joe Mantiply, who made the All Star Game last year.

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<v Speaker 1>But he's a lefty in that bullpen. Traditional Tory Levello

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<v Speaker 1>would probably want to keep him for maybe the fire

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<v Speaker 1>hose situation where he might come in and get some saves,

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<v Speaker 1>but he might be a really important asset for the

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<v Speaker 1>seventh or eighth inning for the team. And that's why

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<v Speaker 1>I'm bringing you Kevin Ginkl on here, though they've got

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<v Speaker 1>a couple names are going to be working through here.

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<v Speaker 1>Ginko last year improved his fastball by two miles per

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<v Speaker 1>hour win from ninety four to ninety six point four.

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<v Speaker 1>Was also able to increase his slighter percentage by almost

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<v Speaker 1>two miles per hour from eighty three point nine to

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<v Speaker 1>eighty five point four. He had a three to three

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<v Speaker 1>ERA but a two point nine expected era and a

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<v Speaker 1>thirty one point three CSW would put him in line

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<v Speaker 1>with relievers like David Bednar. The Diamondbacks are going to

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<v Speaker 1>have to steal some wins in here. They're gonna have

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<v Speaker 1>to find ways. But this is a relief pitch with

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<v Speaker 1>a close to ten k per nine that made big

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<v Speaker 1>improvements off of last year on a team that wants

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<v Speaker 1>a singular closer. He also had a phenomenal three point

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<v Speaker 1>eight home run flyball ratio, doesn't give up home runs

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<v Speaker 1>a one point five to four ground ball to fly

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<v Speaker 1>ball ratio. This is a guy that makes sense as

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<v Speaker 1>a closer on a team that wants a single closer.

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<v Speaker 1>Watch Joe mantiply and always watch guys like Mark mllanson.

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<v Speaker 1>But Kevin Ginkole comes at number five. For me, coming

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<v Speaker 1>in at number four, we are going to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>a closer that has a job. His brother is quite good,

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<v Speaker 1>Alexis Diaz, the younger brother of Edwin Diaz. Now this

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<v Speaker 1>is another closer that's on a not good team. But

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<v Speaker 1>this is a closer that looks like he is being

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<v Speaker 1>setup to be the guy on a team. And that

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<v Speaker 1>is a little bit few and far between right now.

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<v Speaker 1>In our landscape of closers an almost twelve K per

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<v Speaker 1>nine he put up last year. He had ten saves

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<v Speaker 1>in his major league debut with a one point eight

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<v Speaker 1>four ERA. Now, the underlying stats don't exactly lock up.

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<v Speaker 1>Is his ex fIF was three nine seven, but if

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<v Speaker 1>you go look at his expected ERA, it's two seven

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<v Speaker 1>to six. The Reds are not going to win a

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<v Speaker 1>ton of games, but we're valuing guys like David Bednar

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<v Speaker 1>even higher. And Alexis Diaz is one of those players

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<v Speaker 1>that might be able to sneak into thirty five saves.

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<v Speaker 1>We've seen it happen with Daniel Bard. He's got the

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<v Speaker 1>strikeout potential, he's got to cut the walks, does not

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<v Speaker 1>give up home runs, which is key to why the

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<v Speaker 1>Reds would want to keep him in this role. And

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<v Speaker 1>if you look on Fantasy pros ADP, it's around one

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<v Speaker 1>fifty behind some guys that don't even have lockdown situations,

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<v Speaker 1>So we are going to talk about them. I like alexisds.

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<v Speaker 1>I think there's a lot of upside. He's coming in

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<v Speaker 1>at number four, number three on the high upside closers.

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<v Speaker 1>How about a Yankees closer? Yeah, the upside is there.

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<v Speaker 1>Because the team could provide him with thirty to forty

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<v Speaker 1>saves if he has the gig. We're talking about Clay Holmes. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>Clay Holmes did not light the world on fire with

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<v Speaker 1>a just barely nine k per nine. Almost had three

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<v Speaker 1>walks per nine as well, but he had a nice

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<v Speaker 1>two to five four ERA that seemed very sustainable. His

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<v Speaker 1>x FIP was two nine. He had a two two

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<v Speaker 1>eight Sierra, which we'll take all day, and an over

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<v Speaker 1>thirty CSW and we'd like a little bit higher on

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<v Speaker 1>this wing you strike percentage. But here's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>big keys and why we talk about the upside here

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<v Speaker 1>because this is not a young, up and coming closer.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the Yankees closer, and Bran Cashman has already

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<v Speaker 1>said that the team is comfortable with moving forward with

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<v Speaker 1>Clay Holmes as being the closer for the season because

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<v Speaker 1>the market is kind of dried up. The names are

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<v Speaker 1>gone out unless they go out and trade for someone.

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<v Speaker 1>Clay Holmes is lockdown to be the guy. And for

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<v Speaker 1>the simple fact for him to walk into thirty plus

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<v Speaker 1>saves going outside the top ten of closers. Yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>the big thing we talked about. Alexis Diaz. He's not

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<v Speaker 1>that much further up. He's actually in the bottom fifteen.

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<v Speaker 1>He's outside the top fifteen is closers according to Fantasy

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<v Speaker 1>pros ADP. Right now. The upside there is for him

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<v Speaker 1>to be top five. We give a guy like rysill Iglesias,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, inside the top ten value on a good team,

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<v Speaker 1>Clay Holmes should actually be given about the same value.

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<v Speaker 1>This could be another Ryan Presley situation, a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>upside or play homes moving up. That'll be number three.

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<v Speaker 1>Number two on the list is all about stuff. Johan

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<v Speaker 1>Duran with the Minnesota Twins an average of almost one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and one miles per hour on the fastball, an

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<v Speaker 1>almost ninety mile per hour slider, and he'll also throw

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<v Speaker 1>you up a little split finger with a curveball. The

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<v Speaker 1>arsenal's really good. He just was not given the full

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<v Speaker 1>gig last year and there's still no guarantees this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Hoory Lopez last year picked up saves and only allowed

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<v Speaker 1>Duran to get too, but with an almost twelve k

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<v Speaker 1>per nine a sub two era, the stuff is there

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<v Speaker 1>to curate this guy to be the closer. Now, this

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<v Speaker 1>team may implement multiple guys, but the stuff provides you

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<v Speaker 1>the upside of being one of the best closers in baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a Josh Haters situation. It's kind of like Devin Williams.

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<v Speaker 1>That's other Devin Williams being given the gig. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a team that is going to provide win opportunities. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a high, high strikeout pitcher. These are the type

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<v Speaker 1>of bets that I'm going to look for, especially when

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<v Speaker 1>I'm playing this game of who are the high upside closers?

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<v Speaker 1>And almost eighteen percent swinging strike percentage and an over

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<v Speaker 1>thirty two percent CSW. If he has the gig, Johann

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<v Speaker 1>Duran could become a top five closer in baseball at

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<v Speaker 1>worst top ten, even if the era gets a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit shaky, the strikeouts are going to be there. This

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be big strikeouts, hopefully big saves. Early

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<v Speaker 1>projections have him just close to the teens. If you

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<v Speaker 1>look at atc it's at twelve he gets a gig,

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<v Speaker 1>we could push twenty and again this is a teen's

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<v Speaker 1>closer upside. Is there number two high upside closer Johann

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<v Speaker 1>Duran and that takes us to number one. My favorite

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<v Speaker 1>closer to draft. It's on the same landscape as Johann

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<v Speaker 1>Duran Andris Munios with the Seattle Mariners over thirteen k

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<v Speaker 1>per nine this past year a two and a half

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<v Speaker 1>ERA with an X fIF that was lower. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>usually see that. He had a two four nine e RA.

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<v Speaker 1>He's expected ERA one point eight four, which is an

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely absurd number. He had an over twenty percent swinging

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<v Speaker 1>strike percent. It's twenty one point four and a thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five point for CSW. You want to talk about velocity,

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<v Speaker 1>it's over one hundred on average on the fastball. He

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<v Speaker 1>also throws a slider that is close to eighty nine

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<v Speaker 1>miles per hour. It's a two pitch pitcher of elite stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Going into camp, Paul Seawall doesn't look like he'll be

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<v Speaker 1>ready for spring, Andres Munials was also hurt, but he's

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<v Speaker 1>already shed his boot and looks like he's going to

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<v Speaker 1>begin some activities. Andres Munio seems like the perfect guy

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<v Speaker 1>to put at the back end of the bullpen. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Seawall get some opportunities. He could set the stage

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<v Speaker 1>for Munas. But Munhos has the elite closer stuff to

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<v Speaker 1>be one of the best closers in baseball on a

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<v Speaker 1>great Mariners team. He just doesn't have the gig like Duran.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're going for upside here, guys, and that will

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<v Speaker 1>do it. Who do you got? I got an idea

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<v Speaker 1>for you. Join up with the Fantasy Pros discord. You

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<v Speaker 1>can get in the chats and you can start talking

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<v Speaker 1>about who your upside closers are. Let us know. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also tweet at it as well, and go to

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<v Speaker 1>Fantasypros dot com slash Draftkit to pick up the draft

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<v Speaker 1>kit today. It's absolutely free. Then if you want to upgrade,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll be hanging out in the discord with us and

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of our awesome community. That's going to do

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<v Speaker 1>it for me. Thank you guys for hanging out, and

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<v Speaker 1>I will talk to you on the flip side. It's

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<v Speaker 1>Chris Welsh, It's Fantasy Pros and we are out of here. Byebye.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Baseball podcast. Follow

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