The Fantistics Fantasy Baseball Podcast

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman discuss EV for pitchers and take a look at some SPs who, to this point in the season, have given up a higher average exit velocity than last year, including Jose Berrios, Corbin Burnes, Mitch Keller and Pablo Lopez, among others!

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske dive into some hitters who have shown significant EV gains this year. Players analyzed in this episode include, among others, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, Gunnar Henderson, Will Brennan, and Brian Turang ... Oh, and on an unrelated topic ... Paul Skenes, Curt Schilling, Nolan Ryan, Stephan Strasburg, and Chris Sale.

Sky Dombroske went back-to-back nights recently on player analysis for our daily email to our Insiderbaseball.com subscribers and he and Lou Blasi dig into some of his breakdowns. Players talked about in this episode include Riley Greene, Jared Jones, Alec Bohm, and Ranger Suarez among others.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at the SPs leading in K:BB ratio and see what they can pull from their early season performance. SPs talked about in this episode include Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan, Jared Jones, and Tanner Houck among others.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman visit the leaderboard on MaxEV to see what can be pulled from the early season samples. Players discussed in this episode include Giancarlo Stanton, Seiya Suzuki, Ketel Marte, and Micheal Harris II among others.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman breakdown some starting pitchers who are off to hot starts this month including Garrett Crochett, Jordan Hicks and Jared Jones among others. And they talk about various ways to maintain your staff during the year, including "riding the hot hand".

As we approach our first waiver period, Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman check in on some shifting bullpen situations. Closer talked about in this episode include Abner Uribe, Griffin, Jax, and Kevin Ginkle, among others.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske discuss some players who, based on ADP are flying well under the radar this draft season. Players covered include Anthony Rizzo, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Colt Keith, Parker Meadows, and Christopher Sanchez among others!

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over Brandon's selections in his recent SiriusXM Fantasy Host League drafts, highlighting how format changes in your league can a huge impact on valuing players. Players talked about in this episode include Zack Wheeler, Kevin Gausman, Anthony Volpe, Bailey Ober, Gavin Williams, and Brandon Nimmo, among others.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take on some players who are being drafted a bit higher than anticipated and discuss whether they are worth it. The guys talk about Tarik Skubal, Carl Ragans, Gavin Williams, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at players who saw significant gains in their contact rate in 2023 over the previous season and discuss how that affects their 2024 projects. Players broken down in this episode include George Springer, Gleyber Torres, Ronald Acuna, Clay Bellinger, and Michael Harris, among others.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about how changes in the game should lead to changes in our our approach towards draft starting pitchers before breaking down some players entering a contact year in 2024. Players discussed include Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Gleyber Torres and Shane Bieber among others.

Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske look at pairings of players that are being drafted similarly in NFBC's first three rounds so far and ask which player you would rather draft. Player breakdowns include Corbin Carrol, Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler, Ellt De La Cruz, Ozzie Albies, Kevin Gausman and Luis Castillo.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman break down some hitters and pitchers who saw increases or decreases in their average exit velocity last year, projecting what it might mean for 2024. Players discussed in this episode include Ronald Acuna, J.D. Martinez, Dylan Carson, Jose Abreu, Zac Gallen, Dylan Cease.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman review current NFBC ADPs for 2024, discussing player movement from last year and the early first-round shakeout. Players discussed include Corbin Carroll, Bobby Whitt, Freddie Freeman, and Spencer Strider.

Well ok, maybe just us at the Insider Baseball Podcast! ... Anthony Perri and Lou Blasi of Fantistics open the 2024 podcast season with a look at the '3 Pillars of Starting Pitching" to help you effectively fill out your staff this year (with some relevant SP breakdowns, like George Kirby, Blake Snell, and Logan Webb). Then they look at the new features of the 2024 edition of the Draft Advisory Program and ask, who do you keep? Marcus Semien or Elly De La Cruz?

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman started looking ahead as they wrapped up their season on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio (They'll be here all year though!) and Brandon identified his top 15 picks of the 2024 Draft, at least as of today! Players examined include Corbin Carroll, Elly De La Cruz, Randy Arozarena, and Fernando Tatis.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske, talk Bill Burr and the last few days of MLB action as they explore Sky's recent player notes for Fantistics and Insiderbaseball.com. Players broken down in this episode include Gavin Williams, Triston Casas, Andrew Abbott, Josh Naylor, Reese Olsen, and Garrett Whitlock.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman break down a few under-the-radar hitters that could help your offense via claim or trade. Hitters in the episode include Leody Taveras, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Tommy Pham, Josh Naylor, Keibert Ruiz, and Dansby Swanson.

After talking about new arrivals Elly De La Cruz and Luken Baker, Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at some players who have overperformed and underperformed their ADP by wide margins so far this year. Players in this episode include Orlando Arcia, LaMonte Wade, Spencer Steer, JD Davis Jarren Duran, Gunnar Henderson, Brendon Donovan, and Yasmani Grandal.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at some hitters with a history of breaking out offensively in June! Hitters we talk about in this episode include Yordan Alvarez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Bryan Reynolds, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, and Carlos Correa.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombrokse host their annual "National Day of Potential Concern" episode signaling that it's now ok to express some legitimate concern over some players who are off to slow starts in 2023. With others though, it may still be too early. Players discussed in this episode include Jose Abreu, CJ Cron, George Springer, Michael Kopech, Alex Manoah, and Corbin Burnes.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman dive into the huge pool of talented young starting pitchers who are establishing themselves as fantasy assets, and assess their potential value and 2023 ceilings for redraft leagues. Pitchers discussed in this episode include Hunter Brown, Grayson Rodriguez, Logan Allen, Bryce Miller, Taj Bradley, and Tanner Bibee.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at some pitchers who are controlling their quality of contact and ask if we are buying or selling on them. Pitchers talked about in this episode include Jordan Romano, AJ Puk, Justin Steele, Mitch Keller, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Drew Smyly.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at hitters with predominantly good splits against LHP. Of course, that's helpful in DFS play but Brandon and Lou also explain how best to leverage this kind of info for season-long fantasy. Players discussed in this episode include Matt Chapman, Jesus Aguilar, Josh Jung, Connor Joe, and Rodolfo Castro.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske first talk about a group of four pitchers who are giving us mixed signals and how to project them going forward (Heaney, Lodolo, Elder, and Ashcraft). Then it's on to the Contact Rate Leader Board to see who is getting their bat to the ball! Players talked about here include Luis Arraez, Will Smith, Nico Hoener, Bryson Stott, Alex Verdugo, and Ke'Bryan Hayes among others...

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske take a look at Expected Slugging% and identify some hitters that are getting better results than they may have earned so far and some who may have performed a little better than the results stats say they have. Players in this episode include: Josh Naylor, Juan Soto, Ryan Mountcastle, Alex Bregman, Julio Mateo, Harold Ramirez, Gomes, and James Outman

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman compare the xERA and ERA for some starting pitchers whose ERA is higher than their xERA indicating that they've pitched a bit better than their current result stats lead us to believe they have. Pitchers discussed in this episode include ... Kyle Wright, Jameson Taillon, Nathan Eovaldi, Zack Wheeler, Nick Lodolo, and Jacob deGrom.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski check out the current Statcast leaderboard in average exit velocity and find as many different stories and breakdowns as there are names! Players talked about in this podcast include Joc Pederson, Franmil Reyes, Nolan Gorman, Jack Suwinski, Christian Bethancourt, and Brent Rooker.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske review Sky's most recent player notes for Insiderbaseball.com and break down their recent performances. This episode includes Cody Bellinger, Andrew McCutchen, Jack Flaherty, Dustin May, Bryan Bello, and Juan Soto.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over some early season playing role changes and how they may change the value outlook for some players. Players discussed in this episode include Anthony Volpe, James Outman, Vaughn Grissom, Bryan De La Cruz, Grayson Rodriguez, Brayan, Bello, Taj Bradley, and Aroldis Chapman.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman look at Brandon's list of hitters leading baseball early in loud contact, in this case hitters with the most batted balls over 95 mph. In some cases, the results stats reflect what we are seeing, in others the loud contact suggests more is coming. Player discussed in this episode include Tim Anderson, Orlando Arcia, Jordan Walker, Alec Bohm, Juan Soto, Wander Franco, and Spencer Torkelson.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske share some knee-jerk reactions to some early starting pitching performances! Pitchers discussed in this episode include Andrew Heaney, Logan Webb, Merrill Kelly, Graham Ashcraft, Shane Bieber, and Jeffrey Springs.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske reveal "Sky's Guys" a lineup of hitters and pitchers that Sky feels has been undervalued early and are potentially solid profit centers. Players talked about in this episode include Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Heaney, Wander Franco, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Kyle Isbel, Austin Meadows, and Logan O'Hoppe.

Lou Blasi and Schuyler Dombroske talk about late spring news flow and roster decisions, and how it affects the value of some higher-profile kids. Players talked about in this episode include Miguel Vargas and Anthony Volpe of course, as well as Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd, Oscar Colas, James Outman, Blake Sabol, and Jordan Walker.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about Sky's auction in the Tout Wars Head to Head points league, discussing auction and points strategies and breaking down players. We talk about Sanday Alcantara, Shane McClanahan, Dustin May, Austin Meadows, Rowdy Tellez, Gunnar Henderson, Christian Yelich, and Wander Franco, among others!

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at some players that are off to a hot start in Spring Training and explore what it might mean for their draft value. Players included in this episode include Jarred Kelenic, Darick Hall, Edward Rodriguez, Kris Bryant, and Alec Bohm.

Our Baseball Blog's Preseason Notes, which are available daily, in full, to everyone free at Insiderbaseball.com, are a treasure trove of intel to help you dominate your upcoming drafts. Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske go over a recent edition of Sky's notes and project the 2023 outcomes for a large swath of players including Jordan Walker, Alec Bohm, Kyle Isbel, Logan O'Hoppe, Ketel Marte, Christian Javier, Domingo German, and Joc Pederson.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman go over some preseason notes before discussing the changing offensive landscape in baseball and whether there is more importance being placed on contact skills for hitters again, and which players are losing value as a result. Players examined in this episode include Joey Gallo (of course), J.D. Davis, Giancarlo Stanton, Oneil Cruz, and Teoscar Hernandez.  

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske breakdown pitchers that the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program rates a little lower than the general public has in drafts so far, based on ADP. Pitchers talked about in this episode include Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah. George Kirby, Christian Javier and Nestor Cortes!

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a look at some players that the Fantistics Draft Advisory Program say should be draft lower than they being drafted. Players in this episode include C.J. Cron, Bryce Harper, and Sal Perez.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk SwStr% and how this favored indicator can mean different things for different pitchers as we try to project 2023 performance. Pitchers in this podcast include Andrew Heaney, Blake Snell, Lance Lynn and Bradon Woodruff.

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman talk about some players who have changed MLB addresses in the offseason and what the change in their home park effects might mean for 2023, but not after discussing the shifting statistical sands of baseball, especially the diminishing role of the homerun, and how that should influence your draft strategy. Players in this episode include Trea Turner, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, and Carlos Rodon.

After exploring some more of the basics of analytics, Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman take a deeper dive into what is becoming a very interesting first round of the 2023 fantasy baseball drafts due to the risk inherent in just about every pick, at that cost. Players talked about in this episode include Bobby Witt, Shohei Ohtani (the hitter), and Juan Soto

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman reflect a little more on this season's rule changes and how they affect your draft prep. They also discuss the top half of the first round and how it's going to gauge your risk tolerance early. Next up is the basics of projecting hitters, in this case starting with the difference between a hitter's xSLG and their actual SLG. They also breakdown some sluggers, including Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Ryan Mountcastle, and Ronald Acuna, telling you what to look for this season. 

Lou Blasi and Brandon Kamerman open the 2023 Preseason with the traditional question: "What did you learn last year?" There are plenty of great insights in their answers. They also talk about the upcoming rule changes in MLB and discuss how to project starting pitcher performance in the upcoming season. They also breakdown some SPs including Tony Gonsolin, Michael Kopech, and Alex Manoah.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski talk some late game strategy as we head into the final month. That often involves prospects who are called up and players that are column-specific contributors. Lou and Sky breakdown some players that fit both categories in this episode including Corbin Carroll, Garrett Mitchell, TJ Friedl, Gunnar Henderson, and Rodolfo Castro.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroski talk about players that were included in his most recent set of Player Notes for our Insiderbaseball.com subscribers. Players talked about in this episode include Vaughn Grissom, Charles LeBlanc, J.D. Davis and Keston Hiura.

Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske talk about some player that changed address at the trade deadline and tell you whether their fantasy stock has risen or fallen. Players included in this episode: Tyler Mahle, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, and Frankie Montas!

The Insider Baseball Podcast is back! Lou Blasi and Sky Dombroske give you some pitching buy lows to kick off your post-ASB action and also offer a couple of sell highs! Pitchers talked about include Alex Cobb and Joe Ryan