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In the early going we discussed our respective fandoms (Milwaukee and Atlanta) and whether or not Jake Arrieta will sign with the Brewers (2:00). We also discuss a potential Christian Yelich to Atlanta trade (4:00). Should the Braves give up Ronald Acuna, and would that trade be even?
We discussed our preferred formats and points leagues versus traditional 5x5 leagues (7:00). That turned into Billy Hamilton chatter (11:00).
Next up was the MLB power surge and the impact that has on elite starting pitching (12:30). The audio got a little funky, but Heath’s basic argument for elite starting pitching is that with ERAs rising, any pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA gives your fake team an excellent boost.
Eventually we made our first bet of the year regarding the number of home runs Giancarlo Stanton will hit (17:30). Note: This is not a beer bet as Heath is only slamming back the water. Gotta stay hydrated. Welcome to the “old man” podcast, editor Pete.
We spent a lot of time on Randal Grichuk (21:30). Do not judge us. This is a smooth move for Toronto, and for Ghoji’s fake baseball team. Grichuk keeps ELITE company in barrels per plate appearance (23:00). Here is your link to last year’s leaderboard for Brls/PA.
Note: At one point I said there were four players who crested the 40-homer plateau last year. There were actually five—for some reason J.D. Martinez wasn’t popping up on the Fangraphs leaderboard. Anyway, for reference’s sake, those guys were Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez, Khris Davis, and Joey Gallo.
Finally, speed and stolen bases (27:00) rounded out our conversation. Whit Merrifield and Tommy Pham (30:00) were discussed. There may have even been a Juan Pierre reference...
Oh, and I forced Ghoji to discuss Mitch Moreland (31:30ish) and his added value in points leagues.
We WERE going to make our “way too early” World Series predictions, but the technology got funky on us. So those predictions and Ghoji’s Trea Turner question will be shelved until the next episode.
We would love to hear some feedback. Bear with me as I work on the mastering of the audio (what a chore). Feel free to hit us up here or on Twitter.
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