WEBVTT - 528 | Mailbag Wednesday! 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:11.559 This is a lot. 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:17.160 He's time to say your legs. 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:23.279 The girls. Frizzy sits here. We will sit in. 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:33.920 Jos the Gunner. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:36.879 Welcome to. 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.960 It's the mail bag. Welcome to the Just Baseball Show. 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.120 It is Wednesday, August twenty third. That's arm Lady and 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.480 I'm Peter Apple, and we are here to answer all 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.480 the great questions that you left on our Instagram at 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:59.520 Just Baseball Show and on our Twitter at just BB 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:02.880 on Underscore Media, I get dms all the time. How 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:07.480 do I submit questions? Remember, we drop those the morning 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:12.199 before we will do the show. So for a Wednesday show, 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.840 we dropped them on Tuesday morning. You leave all of 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.280 the questions in the comments, and then we picked the 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:20.160 best seven and we had a ton to choose from 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:23.600 arm Laton. But before we get to any of those questions, 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.759 we are brought to you by bet mgm, the King 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:30.040 of sportsbooks. Use promo code just Baseball when you sign 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:32.720 up a deposit into your newly created account. Download the 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.679 Betmgmsports app on iOS or Android, or visit betmgm dot com. 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:38.920 Plase your first bet offer and receive up to one 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.240 thousand dollars back in bonus bets if it loses, and 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:43.400 if the bet does lose, your bonus bets will be 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:47.120 available once the wager is settled. Gambling problem call or 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:50.120 text one eight hundred gambler and must be twenty one 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:55.640 or older. Arm We were talking as we configured our list. 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.960 A lot of bangers, A lot of bangers. 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:02.200 Yeah, this is a fun one because I think we're 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.040 at the point now where we can really start diving 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.960 into the playoff race. You know, I know we already 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:08.480 have been doing that, but I think, you know, from 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:11.920 a mail bag perspective. And then also we get to 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.600 mix in just some fun philosophical like I almost call 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.400 these like off season type questions, but they're they're nice 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.800 palette cleansers this time of year that you know, just 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:24.520 stuff that that you know, you could probably end up 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.280 debating about, and it probably will start some debates and 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:30.560 uh listeners, group chats, you know when when when we 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.800 get through some of this with two of the questions 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.280 that we have in here. So yeah, I'm excited to 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:38.079 talk a little bit more about the playoff hunts players, 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.079 key players, and then some some kind of fun I 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:45.600 wouldn't say whimsical, but like fun philosophical type questions about 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:46.840 like kind of building a team and. 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.639 Stuff like that. Definitely, and if you're watching this on YouTube, 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.240 quick shameless plug. A lot of people watch these mail 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.760 bag episodes on YouTube, hit that subscribe button, hit the 0:02:55.919 --> 0:03:00.120 like button, and comment anything that we said that it's 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.920 crazy or if you agree with us. ARM, without further ado, 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.280 I say, we get straight into it, because, like I said, 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.720 a lot of great questions, and we will be talking 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:10.880 like you and I normally do. We say we'll probably 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:12.600 do fifty five minutes to an hour, ends up being 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:14.800 four hours. So let's just get straight into it. The 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:19.280 first question, who is the most impactful player for every 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.560 current playoff team? This was to ask by at just 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:28.240 underscore Lions on Twitter. ARM. I have the teams loaded 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:33.480 up and they said playoff team, contending team. So what 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:36.880 I'm going to do? In the American League and the 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:41.360 National League, there are the of course first playoff teams, 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.160 as in the leaders of each division. But instead of 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:48.800 going through every team that could possibly be within contention, 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.920 I say we limit it to the first four wild 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.720 card teams. So all three first place teams and then 0:03:56.760 --> 0:04:00.680 the first four in the wildcard hunt start. In the 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:04.920 American League, East the first place, Orioles. Who's the most 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.120 impactful player for the Orioles. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.320 That's funny we're starting with, like, I think one of 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:14.280 the more debatable ones where there's a lot of different directions. 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.200 I think you can go with Baltimore because here's one 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.560 thing before we get into this is it is it 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.039 more like impactful in terms of like this is like 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.800 their best player or the player that could make the 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.880 biggest difference, right, Because if you're looking at like we'll 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:30.840 get to the Dodgers in a second, I don't really 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:33.520 have any questions about what Mooki bats or Freddie Freeman 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.360 are gonna do. Would it be more impactful for somebody 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.960 else to step up? You know what I'm saying. What's 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:41.839 the way that you kind of interpret this one? 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.560 The way I interpret it is if they're in a 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.320 playoff race and this team were to get or this 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.560 player were to get injured and they would be out, 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:57.800 you feel a lot less positive about their chances of winning. 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.640 So the most important player it doesn't necessarily. 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.600 Mean most talented. 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.000 Or more or not even most productive technically, you know, 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:11.400 it could just be the most impactful. So with the Orioles, 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.039 I think we might have the same answer here. For me, 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.480 it's going to be Adelie Rutchman, right, because when you 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:22.080 look at the drop off from you know, an Adlie 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.640 to a James McCann, like, that's a big difference. You 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:27.320 talk about the offensive side of things with just did 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.479 an episode about how they are They're winning percentages like 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:35.200 two x. When Adalie Rutchman is on the field, not 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.159 only is he a key bat for them, but I 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.440 think what he does defensively, what he brings to the table, 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:40.520 the way he handles. 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.640 The staff, also as a switch hitter as well. 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:45.919 I think you got to go Adelie Rutchman with the 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.840 Orioles and I would be extremely concerned about them if 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:51.800 he got hurt. To your point, I don't know if 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.039 there's anybody else where. I'm like fully fully changing my 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:56.800 outlook on them if they went down. 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.680 You took the words right out of my mouth. Minnesota wins. 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.200 This is a more interesting one because you could go 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.360 to a pitcher, whether that be Sonny Gray or Pablo Lopez, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:14.840 or you could find someone offensively. And my answer might 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:18.640 surprise some people because this player has not lived up 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.400 to his enormous contract that he signed in the off season. 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.919 But I think potentially the most impactful player for the 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:29.120 Twins has to be Carlos Korea because right there leading 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:32.120 this division right now, and it's hard to pick a 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:36.000 certain pitcher, like is Sonny Gray more important or impactful 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.480 than Pablo Lopez or Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober Probably 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:44.720 not Dallas Kyleston. Yeah, Dallas Kichel Buxton is not quite 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.880 the answer because he's just so hit or miss at 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.120 this point. But if Carlos Korea is on and we've 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.680 only seen it in spurts this year, I think he's 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.560 the most impactful player. But then again, I'm kind of 0:06:55.640 --> 0:07:00.960 going back on my original point of if Carlos Korea 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:05.120 was hurt for the Twins, he's kind of not been 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.560 that great for them this year. But that's the first 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:09.760 name that comes to my mind when I think impactful 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:10.400 for the Twins. 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.840 Yeah, but you know, we're talking about playoff contenders, and 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:18.520 Carlos Correa is already one of the most accomplished postseason 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:22.520 players in the history of the game. Like I don't like, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.360 I'm floored every time I look at the all time 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:29.520 leaders and ex playoff stat and Correa is among the best. 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.240 And it's like what, He's only been. 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:34.800 Here for like five six years, So I think that's 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.440 the number one answer, because one, even with him not 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.840 playing well, like, he's still one of their most consistent, 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.880 you know, back to ball guys, he's still been somewhat 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:48.240 productive and he's still a pretty solid defender. And again, 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.560 what you get in the postseason. For the sake of 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.400 being different, I'm gonna go with Pablo Lopez here because 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:56.240 I love the way he's been throwing the baseball and 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.600 I feel like, yes, you've got Sonny Gray. I trust 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.160 Bailey Ober in the regular season, but now with the 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:06.080 way the rotation kind of looks, it's like, Okay, you 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.960 trust Pablo Lopez, you trust Sonny Gray, but now, like, 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.440 who gets the Ballgame three that you really trust is 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.080 a kenam Eta? Is it Bailey Ober? Like those guys 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.040 might be able to hold it down, but it's not 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:19.880 the same level of hey, like go out and shove 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:22.960 that I can feel with Lopez or Gray when they're 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.080 on so offensively, I'm with. 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:26.679 You with Carlos Correa. 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.360 But for the sake of being different, and also because 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.520 I do think that Lopez has turned into a really 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:36.160 important piece for them, I'll go Pablo Lopez. 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:40.320 Here the first place. Rangers have a obvious answer, but 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:44.719 I'm not going to go obvious. Marcus Semion, I think 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:47.480 is the most impactful player for the Rangers. First off, 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.440 He's played every single day, So the Rangers don't know 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:55.560 what it's like playing without Marcus Semion. They stayed afloat 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.160 without Corey Seeger. Now Cory Seger is putting up a 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:04.840 historic season for a shortstop. Offensively, he is amazing, But 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.760 I think Marcus Semion is the most important player to 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.600 get this offense going. Without him, they don't really have 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.760 a leadoff type hitter, right. You could go to Ezekiel Duran, 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:19.040 but I'd much rather have Marcus Semion. With how balanced 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.760 and deep the Rangers offense is. If they were to 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.840 lose Semion, I think it'd be more impactful to their 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:29.400 team than it would be losing Corey Seger, even though 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:31.160 Seeger is the better player. 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:32.760 Yeah, you know, it's interesting. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.720 I like the point of they don't really know what 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:38.360 it's like not to play with Marcus Semien. I think 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:41.400 if Marcus Semion, god forbid, went down, I think Bruce 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.640 Bochi would still write his name in the lineup because 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.040 he's so used to just like having him in there 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:47.040 every single day. 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:48.200 Seger. 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.199 Yeah, I mean what he's doing offensively is otherworldly, But 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:53.760 like you said, they've been performing without him. I look 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.480 at the rotation though with this team, and I'm like, man, 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.520 who do I really trust? And all in an underrated 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.320 aspect of I think someone that if he went down 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:09.400 they'd be in trouble is Jordan Montgomery. I know that 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:13.000 sounds crazy, but again, like I want to try to 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:14.959 give a different answer than than what you gave, and 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.840 I think that this is right there too. Jamn just 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:23.080 went eight shutty against Arizona. Arizona, who's been playing good ball, 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.240 by the way, and his four starts with Texas so far, 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.520 it's been six innings, two runs, six innings, two runs, 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:31.760 six innings, one run, eight innings, shutty. 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.400 And you look at this rotation. Yes, they got Max 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.720 Schurzer at this point. I know you guys were talking 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:39.000 about it. 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.679 I think I almost trust Jamon right now more than 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.000 I trust Max Schurzer, as crazy as that sounds. And 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.240 then you look get like John Gray, Sure he's fine, 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.600 Andrew Keeney, you know, sure he has his moments. Dane 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.920 Dunning like it's been a nice story. Who do you 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:57.439 trust in this rotation right now? For me, I'll trust Mat. 0:10:57.440 --> 0:10:59.800 I'll die on the Max Schurzer Hill. I understand that 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.520 you signed up to die on the Max Schurzer hill. 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.040 But right now, I think big game. You know we 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.280 need to win one. I think I've given the ball 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.440 to jam On and if they lost him, I'd be 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:11.199 real nervous. 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:14.199 Outside of Max Scherzer, I know they lost that game 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.520 to the Diamondbacks. When Joran Montgomery threw those eight shutout innings, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.200 it really happened because he threw eight shutout there, winning 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.360 one zero, and then a rolled as Chapman gave up 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.640 the home run to Ketel marte In. I think it 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:27.480 was the bottom of the ninth inning, and then they 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:30.840 ended up losing four to three. But that start in itself, 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.360 those eight innings were so impactful because the series before 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.920 against the Brewers, none of the starters got past the 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.360 fifth inning. That bullpen was completely taxed. Right they went 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:44.160 to will Smith, even though will Smith had been getting 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.200 a ton of work in the past couple of days, 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.800 and he ended up blowing in an extra innings. So 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:52.520 Jordan Montgomery did all that he could. They needed length. 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:54.439 That's what he gave him. And not only did he 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.080 give him length eight Shutty love that answer from you. 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:00.000 Now we go to the four teams in the wild 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:02.280 card in the American League, and number one is the 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:04.560 Tampa Bay Rays, who are four and a half games up. 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:10.920 This one, for me, I'm going between two different players, 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.920 but I think with all the injuries to the starting rotation, 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.480 Tyler Glass now has to be the answer because if 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.760 they were to lose Tyler Glass now and then it's Eflyn, Sevally, 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:32.320 Zach Lettel that just and Zach Efflin's been fantastic, right, 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:36.480 but Tyler Glass now injects a little bit more life 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:38.200 than as Zach Efflyin does. 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:39.840 That together can just go you can go win you 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:41.920 a ball game. That's say like he will win you 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:42.960 a ball game if he's. 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.560 Right, put the team on his back. That's what glassnow 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.280 can do. Efflyn has done that in spurts. But game one, 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.760 who do you think is getting the ball? Tyler Glass now, 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:55.319 the big damn horse with the six foot eight curve 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.800 ball from hell. I mean, he is just a bad 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.480 man and if they were if he were to go down, 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:03.600 it's great. 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:05.360 It's a wrap. 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.439 I can't even give you, like a Devil's advocate different 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.440 answer because as much as I'd like to say, like 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:15.280 Yandy Diaz or whatever, like, we've learned very like it's 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.120 abundantly clear that the Rays will find a way to 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:20.439 kind of platoon and piece it together and put together 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:22.960 a good offensive team. And like you know, they've brought 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:24.720 up a Ronda and Mead, and I don't know if 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.040 these rookies will perform right away, and they definitely won't 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.360 replace Yandy Diaz, but at least I feel decent about 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:33.240 that contingency plan. I don't feel good about whoever the 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.640 hell they're bringing up to replace Tyler Glass now in 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.640 that rotation. I don't even feel good about what they're 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.240 doing right now with the rotation. So yeah, I can't 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:42.240 even give a different answer. As much as we're going 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.640 to try to give two different perspectives as we fly 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.600 through these teams, it's Glass now, and it's not particularly 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.880 close and they need him to be right. 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.640 You can make a good argument for YONDI Diez, but 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:56.800 I agree it's Glass now. So moving on, the Houston 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.840 Astros are a half game above the Seattle Mariners in 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.560 Wildcard chase. As we speak here today, the Astros is 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.640 an interesting one because you look at their rotation. Javier 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:13.920 continues to disappoint Framburger. I mean, if he were to 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:15.840 go down, that would be pretty impactful. But you do 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:19.280 have Verlander and JP Frantz like I keep pointing to 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.120 the expected numbers and the peripherals, and he just keeps saying, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.360 fuck you, I don't care. I'm just gonna keep shoving. 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.720 So they have enough. And of course Hunter Brown the 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.600 bullpen knows we got to pick a hitter. Now, Jordon 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:38.120 went out, but they still did okay. I think for 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:44.560 an all around game and the clutch factor too, Kyle 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:49.440 Tucker is the dog because not only has he been 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.040 one of the best offensive players in the American League, 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.480 he is one of the best defenders in the outfield. 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.280 So just from an all around game, and then we've 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.240 seen Kyle Tucker play center field, right, he won't have 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:02.760 to because Chas McCormick is now hitting fifth and he's 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.840 been his beast. But I just think the best overall 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:11.120 player now, Jordan is the best hitter. Altuve is the 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:15.800 spark plug, Bregman is the model of consistency, but the 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.200 best all around player, and if he were to go down, 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:19.760 I think it's Kyle Tucker. 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.480 Yep, I'm with you on that. Kyle Tucker is the 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.040 glue of this team now. And you know Al Twove 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.640 as you mentioned, awesome, Bregman, awesome. But I think those 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:33.720 guys are I think it'd be severely underselling them to 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:37.040 say like they're like, you know, the Robbins at this point, 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.680 because they're you know, there's a good chance at Al Twove's. Yeah, 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.080 he just picked up his two thousand and ted He's 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:42.360 well on his way to the Hall of Fame and 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.440 is still playing at an extremely high level. But you know, 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:49.320 you're seeing Kyle Tucker just enter his prime. And we're 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.560 talking about now with three straight for win seasons, I 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.840 think Kyle Tucker is the most important guy offensively for them. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.920 But I'm still a little concerned about this rotation, man. 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.160 Like it just I agree with you, like they have 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.760 had guys piece it together to get them through the 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.920 regular season, but we know what this Astros teammates World 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.280 Series or bust as it's always going to be. And 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:16.680 Framber's the guy that's gotten them there and put together. 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.800 The quality starts on the big stage every single time, 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.680 it feels like and he's been a little bit inconsistent. 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.640 I think if you take Framber out of this rotation, 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.560 I am a lot more worried about this team in 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:34.840 the postseason, just because again you mentioned Javier struggles. You know, 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:38.120 Hunter Brown's been solid and France has been really solid, 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:40.960 better than solid, But again in the postseason, I don't 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.960 I don't trust those guys at the same level. Like 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:47.240 you could have Framber Valdez limp into the playoffs and 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:49.560 I'm still feeling good when I give him the ball 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:51.680 in the first, you know, in the first postseason game, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.200 and for me, that's that's gonna be the guy that 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.800 I need to have any optimism around the the Houston Astros. 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:03.480 It's not much of a consolation prize, but Michael Brantley 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:05.879 coming back mate helped the offense a little bit. We 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.400 don't know what we're going to get from him, but yeah, 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.840 Framber is just that dog. He's for me, he's the 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.119 most consistent arm in baseball, even though he's had a 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:14.640 little bit. 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:15.359 Of a hiccup lately. 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:19.720 If it wasn't for JP Frantz, I would have chosen Framberg. Yeah, seriously. 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.360 I know that's like a crazy sentence, but. 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:24.240 Yeah, imagine if you said that's just that sentence in 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:30.040 a vacuum like in April, I would have just been like, what, nurse. 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.159 I think it's maybe the easiest outside of Baltimore. Julio 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.080 Rodriguez makes this team go. Yeah, I can't even should 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:38.439 we move on? 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:39.040 Yeah? 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:40.640 I mean come on, I mean look look at look 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:42.320 look at what he's doing right now, look at what 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:46.320 the Mariners are doing. It's that simple, that's ridiculous. So 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:48.040 like you can plug and play. 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:53.600 Toronto Blue Jays, I think there are two key answers here. 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:57.640 If Kevin Gosman were to go down, this team may 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:01.840 be screwed. But at the same time, like Kucci has 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:06.760 been great, Barrios has been great, Bassett has been pretty 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.040 damn good. Not at to the level of those two, 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:14.280 but still solid. I think Bob Bashett is so important 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.240 for this Blue Jays team, dude, because if he went down, 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.959 the rest of this Blue Jays lineup has simply not 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:24.320 hit to the level of expectations that fans everywhere thought 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:27.560 they would, especially Blue Jays fans. You could point to 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.639 George Springer and Vladdie and Chapman. But all three of 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:35.080 those guys have got great seasons. Bashett is the guy 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:37.240 that's keeping this team. 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.000 It's funny, man, I look at the I look at 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.000 the lineup and you kind of go through it and 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:48.960 it's like we Merrifield is great, but Brandon Belt disappointing. 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:50.879 I know he Homer twice the other day, Vad Guerrero 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:55.400 Junior disappointing, George Springer somewhat disappointing, Matt Chapman pretty much 0:18:55.440 --> 0:19:00.720 since the second month of the season, disappointing, Alejanjo Kirk, disappointing, 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:05.360 Dalton Varshow disappointing. And it's relative right. They haven't been disasters, 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:07.360 but none of those guys have performed to the way 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.280 that you want to see them perform. Bo Bashett has 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.800 performed and continues to get better and better, and this 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.000 looks like another guy who's kind of entering that prime. 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:18.879 So I'm with you. 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:23.840 Offensively, it's it's Bashett on the pitching side, though, Man, 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.800 Chris Bassett's a good regular season arm. Kakuchi's a good 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:32.080 regular season arm. But I mean, I need I need 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.680 a guy that I can really trust. It's it's got 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.880 to be Kevin Gosman. So for me, I think it's 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.520 a tie between Gosman and Bashett and and I think 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:42.520 it's them and then nobody else. Like, I don't think 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:46.199 it's close with anybody else. I'm one hundred percent on 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:49.520 the on the Bichette train, but Gosman as well. 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.080 So that's it for the American League. Let's move on 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:55.879 to the National League and we'll start with the first 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:59.600 place Braves. This is a challenging one arm because I 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:03.040 think you can could give an answer and all would 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:07.520 make sense, right, because they're all so good. But man, 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:11.840 I look at this rotation. But then again, like I'm 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:13.600 about to say, like I want to pick a pitcher, 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:17.600 but if Freed goes down, he's been down kind of 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.679 for the entire year. But I'm more thinking about the 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:26.320 playoff hunt. Right, if it's just Streider, Morton and Elder, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:30.240 they're gonna have to really really hit. So for me, 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.359 and kind of similar to what you were talking about 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.640 with Framber in the playoffs, Freed in the playoffs has 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:40.760 been amazing. So while the Braves have been so amazing 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:45.399 without Freed, I think Freed is so important to the 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:47.760 Braves in the playoffs. You could say a Kunya, sure, 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.200 but damn they can just put Ozzie Albi's in the 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:54.159 leadoff spot and I'm sure they would still hit. You 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.440 could get Olsen, they still got Murphy and Riley. You 0:20:57.440 --> 0:20:59.679 could take out Riley, they still got Olsen. So I 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:02.160 can't pick an offensive player. I think the answer, if 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:04.000 you were to choose a player on offense, would be 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:06.320 a Kunya, and I think you'd be right. But I 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:08.560 think if this team were to be without freedom, I'm 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:12.040 looking at that rotation going into October, I'm a lot 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:13.919 more scared about the Braves than if they were to 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:16.320 lose a Kunya, which is crazy and I don't even 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:17.080 know if I believe it. 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.560 I think I thought you were gonna pick Nicky Lopez. 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:22.600 I should pick Nicki Lope. Like if we were to 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:24.719 if we were to do our top five, Nicki Lopez 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:25.920 would be like three. 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:27.600 It's not like three. 0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:30.800