Fantasy Baseball AMA Recap: Buy-low targets, breakouts to believe in, roster moves to consider and more

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Scott Pianowski joined Yahoo Fantasy Plus subscribers on Tuesday for a baseball AMA on our brand-new, invite-only Discord server. This is the latest exclusive benefit for Yahoo Fantasy Plus subscribers.

Wondering what you missed? Don’t worry, we have highlights from the session below. Make sure you don’t miss out on the next expert AMA. Get $10 off your subscription for a limited time and unlock the invite-only Discord, optimized lineups, smarter waiver and trade advice with Yahoo Fantasy Plus.

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Editor’s note: In some instances, questions and answers have been edited slightly for readability.

Question: When should we start stashing Bubba Chandler and Andrew Painter?

Scott’s answer: This is about the right time. I’m thinking Chandler comes up first. June is usually the sweet spot for guys like that.

Question: What do you think about Salvador Pérez? Continue waiting? Is he becoming drop-able?

Scott’s answer: A strong buy low. His expected average is .290, expected slugging .511. Go get Sal Perez.

Question: How does Ronald Acuña Jr.’s debut impact the rest of the Braves, specifically, Ozzie Albies and his dreadful start to the season?

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Scott’s answer: Albies was an ordinary player all last year too. I’m starting to think he’s just not the star we want him to be. At least the arrow is pointing up for the Braves, they’re finally over .500 and they get their signature player back. They can still be a playoff team. We just did a redraft for the Friends and Family League and I was surprised Albies went in the fourth round. I wasn’t ready to consider him then.

Question: Who is your favorite buy-low target in trades right now?

Scott’s answer: Salvador Pérez, Yordan Álvarez if you can wait, Bryan Reynolds, Christian Yelich. Brenton Doyle. I doubt Juan Soto comes discounted but you could try. Michael Conforto is better than this.

Question: When can we expect the Javier Báez drop off.

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Also, with Teoscar Hernández returning to the LA lineup, is it a good time to trade Andy Pages?

And are we about to see a resurgence of Trevor Story?

Scott’s answer: I still don’t trust Báez because he’ll still swing at anything. Short leash.

Pages, I do believe in and I think Roberts likes him too. Hold.

Story I never trust long term, health. I’d try to trade him, understanding the market probably is tepid as well.

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Question: Ezequiel Tovar has had a blazing last couples of games. Is this the birth of a star player or can we expect a return to his decline?

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Scott’s answer: Last year is a level he can get back to. Decent average, low OBP, solid pop and the occasional stolen base. Colorado environment helps, even though it does mess up their timing on the road. He should be rostered in any mixed league. The Rockies are obviously terrible but they’re not this bad. Positive regression will kick in somewhat.

Question: Who are the breakouts you’re buying so far this season? And who are you not?

Scott’s answer: Pete Crow-Armstrong feels real. Oneil Cruz. Just hope he’s healthy. MacKenzie Gore. Max Fried is good, but he’s not this good

Question: Piano Man!!! Thanks for doing this! If this is about baseball exclusively, no worries. Is the year of the RB here again? How many RB do you see going in the first two rounds of a 12-team PPR draft? Do you see Zero RB as a fade for 2025?

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Scott’s answer: Going to focus on baseball today, but I will give you a little nugget on football. I’m not going to be extreme with my running back builds, I won’t be pounding them early and I won’t be ignoring them either. I’ll probably stick with my normal hero build, or anchor build, which says you get one running back you feel really good about and then you come back to the position later. At least that’s how I feel in the middle of May. Obviously, we’re a long way away from the teeth of draft season.

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Question: Do you think I can drop Adley Rutschman in a 12-team league? I have Drake Baldwin as well and am pretty over Adley at this point.

Scott’s answer: Because he is a name player, I think a lot of people would tell you to wait. But this slump is a year old now. If your league just requires one starting catcher, you have my permission to basically stream it and try to find something that works long term. I don’t know what’s wrong with Adley but it’s not a new thing.

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Question: How worried are you about William Contreras’ finger injury that he’s playing through? I’m in a super small two-catcher league and Cal Raleigh is my other catcher. Loaded, I know. But should I ride with Billy, or pick up Ivan Herrera, or Drake Baldwin, maybe…?

Scott’s answer: At least he’s running right? He’s not driving the ball, the power metrics aren’t there, but unfortunately with a player like this you can’t really sell low, probably a forced hold.

Question: Who is your favorite widely available pickup rn you think has value rest of season?

Scott’s answer: I have no idea why Jordan Beck isn’t rostered in 70 or 80 percent of leagues. Category juice and a perfect park. Over the last month he’s a top 12 offensive player.

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Question: Any hope in Jake Burger being a valuable fantasy asset this year? He’s been better yet unspectacular since his return from the minors.

Scott’s answer: Give him until the All-Star break. He was so bankable the last 2 years.

Question: This might be tough but who’s a reliever on the wire who can pick up saves long term? Lost José Alvarado due to suspension, so it’s been very hard to rack up those saves.

Scott’s answer: Follow the winning teams. Anybody in Detroit.

Question: How about Kodai Senga? How worried are you with his higher than I’d like WHIP and BBs? I’ve been eyeballing 1) Matthew Boyd, 2) Drew Rasmussen, 3) Andrew Abbott and 4) Ranger Suárez as ROS replacements. Keep Senga or pick one of those guys up?

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Scott’s answer: I will give Senga at least two more starts but I’ll say this, although I doubt Abbott is ever great, he’s very solid. Fly ball pitchers are often misunderstood.

Question: Are torpedo bats still a thing?

Scott’s answer: That’s a great question. It died down pretty quickly. It’s not like it’s the only bat that will give you a good chance at a positive result. You could give Aaron Judge a tennis racket and he’d probably still hit 50 home runs.

Question: Do you think Hyeseong Kim is worth holding onto? Do you think he’ll stick with the major league team even as the Dodgers get healthier?

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Scott’s answer: He has super-utility written all over him. Plus, when somebody’s not in the lineup every day and they play on the West Coast, they can be a nuisance for our lineup decisions. I think this is going to be pesky all year.

Question: Is Shohei Ohtani (Pitcher) going to be somebody to rely on this fantasy season? Likewise, what can we expect from Blake Snell and Shane Bieber when they come back from injury? Thanks for your time and effort. Really enjoying these AMAs.

Scott’s answer: It’s no fun to say this, but I have low expectations for all of them. I actually think the Dodgers should not pitch Ohtani at all.

Question: Is Wilmer Flores actually back? Or is he due for regression over the rest of the season?

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Scott’s answer: It was interesting that Flores was not drafted in the Friends and Family reboot on Monday. We went 26 rounds with 12 teams. I do think somebody will add him once the IL spots get filled. He’s always been a professional hitter, he’s just going through the time of his life right now. It can’t be real. If the season were starting right now I would expect Flores to hit 20 home runs and drive in 72 runs, something like that. Useful, not transcendent.

Question: Can you do us all a favor and tell Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit more home runs? 😝

Scott’s answer: His entire career we’ve wanted Guerrero to lift the ball more. It’s not like he’s a bad player, but it feels like there’s a lot of power not realized, other than that one magical 2021 season.

Question: Will Christian Campbell get out of his funk before he gets sent down?

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Scott’s answer: Ebb and flow. His OPS+ is just under league average. The team loves his makeup and I think they’ll give him a chance to learn from his mistakes. I am definitely a Campbell fan.

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