Fantasy Baseball from Prospect361.com | MLB Fantasy & Prospect Advice

Rich Wilson

Rich Wilson of Prospect361.com brings you the best live Fantasy Baseball show on the Internet. Join Rich and legendary industry expert Tim McLeod every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET as they bring you the best Fantasy Baseball discussion in the industry.

  1. 9h ago

    2241 - We discuss the Mets, Dylan Crews, and of course, young players

    Take 10 with Tim – June 26, 2026 @ 9:15 am. 1.We had a trade on Wednesday night with the Cubs acquiring David Peterson from the Mets for minor leaguer Cole Mathis – Cole Mathis profile is at the end of the notes. a.Is this the first sign of the Mets throwing in the towel? b.If so, give me the top 3 players the Mets will trade before the deadline? c.Will Lindor or Soto be one of those players? d.Good move for the Cubs? e.Who gets Peterson’s starts in New York? Tong? f.Kodai Senga – Yuk – moved to the bullpen. 2.It’s been a month since Dylan Crews returned. He’s hitting .212 with five home runs and two stolen bases. Remarkably, he’s walked twice in 124 plate appearances and is sporting a .250 OBP. a.We will look at his baseballsavant data as well. b.What do Dynasty League managers do and are you still all-in or starting to lose confidence in him? 3.Related. I started with my Draft Preview yesterday and wrote up the first 15 players I would take in a FYPD. Roch Cholowsky, the long-time favorite of everyone to go #1 in FYPD (and by MLB teams as well) reminds me a bit of Crews. Can’t miss college hitter with power – but unlike Crews, he doesn’t have much speed. When I was writing up my notes, I kept thinking of Crews, and maybe a little of Corey Seager. If you’re picking #1 in a FYPD, do you pick the safe guy in Cholowsky, or do you go with somebody with more explosive tools but with more risk? 4.The discussion of Shane Bieber was on our list last week but we talked to much and never got to him. I asked, would you start Shane Bieber given the drop in velo he was showing in his rehab. Now, we have a game under his belt and it wasn’t great = 3.2 IP, 9 hits, 4 ER, 3 HR, 2K/0BB. His fastball wasn’t any better at 91.9 mph and he’s throwing his cutter more to try and compensate. a.How are you treating him for the next few starts? Starting him because he’s Shane Bieber, looking at matchups, or on the bench? He has Texas at home on Sunday. 5.One of our Pateron members reach out about Jakob Marsee and whether he should be a keeper for next season. I did a full breakdown on him and will share, but wanted to get your take on what has to be a disappointing season for where you had to take him in fantasy leagues. 6.A few Rookies starting to show their stuff – Fact of Fiction a.Jac Caglianone – 14 home runs, but striking out a lot and a .352 BABIP is propping up his .275 BA b.TJ Rumfield – 12 HR, .275 BA, and a 47K/28BB, 15% K-Rate c.Bryce Eldridge – 130 AB, 6 HR, .285 BA, 34K/21BB – 22% K-Rate d.Foster Griffin – 91.1 IP, 3.15 ER, 4.09 xERA e.Gage Jump – 35.1 IP, 2.04 ERA, 35K/10BB. 3.71 ERA at home, 0.49 away. Overall, 2.94 xERA 7.What hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? 8.What pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? Cole Mathis (3B/1B) Highest Level: High-A ETA: 2028 Fantasy Ceiling: Corner Infielder Last Updated: 06/25/2026 Tools Summary: Polished power bat whose real test begins at Double A. Cole Mathis, the Cubs’ second round pick in 2024, lost most of his first professional season to Tommy John surgery and was limited to just 25 games in 2025. Chicago sent him back to Low A to open 2026, and while he’s older than the competition, he’s performed exactly as a polished college bat should. The approach is mature, the power is real, and he’s made a clear effort to elevate — sometimes a bit too intentionally — but the results speak for themselves as fly balls continue turning into home runs. After 14 games, he earned a promotion to High A, where the home run output dipped but the underlying metrics remained strong. The Mets saw enough and acquired him in late June in exchange for David Peterson. From a development standpoint, it’s essentially a wash — both organizations do a solid job with hitters. The pedigree and strength have always been part of the projection, but fantasy managers should stay measured. Given his age and the level, he should be producing. The real test comes once he reaches Double A, where we’ll learn whether the contact skills and swing decisions hold up against better sequencing and velocity. If they do, the power will play.

    1h 19m
  2. 4d ago

    2240 - Waiver Wire - June 21, 2026

    Fantasy Baseball Live – June 21, 2026 @ 3 pm. Microsoft Teams: Segments 1 and 2 – Review the games of the day Additional Observations/Questions: 1.I know Zac Gallen was once a pretty good pitcher, but last year was tough. After a few good starts at the beginning of the season, his ERA in May and June is 7.76, with 35 strikeouts in 51 innings. Why are people still holding on to him? His name? 2.Elmer Rodriguez gets a spot start against the Tigers tomorrow with Cole’s start being pushed back. Are you going to start him if you have him? I’m assuming you will not be picking up? 3.Jackson Holliday leaves Saturday’s game with a groin. I’m assuming you need to grab someone in case he hits the IL. a.Were we wrong on Holliday this season or has the hamate injury be at the root of his problem? .200/.286/.388 slash line with 4 home runs and 3 SB. 4.Got a note from a Patreon member who was surprised at the power that Travis Bazzana is showing. I always thought he was a 15 home run guy and I’m sticking with that – 89.1 mph EV and 12 degrees of leverage is supportive of that – maybe he can grow into a bit more. Good speed and can really hit. I think he’s a very good player – high floor. 15-20 type of player with a .280+ BA and .350 OBP. BTW, the defensive metrics do not look very good with him. a.What say you? 5. Manny Machado – 13 HR, 1 SB, .178 BA or Tatis Jr. – 2 HR, 18 SB, .282 BA. Who would you rather have for the ROS. 6.Jordan Lawlar – I just don’t know what to say. It’s just not happening. He’s joining the Buxton/Acuna camp of not being able to stay healthy. Although they are great players, and Lawlar has never played enough to know. Segment 3 – Waiver Report Segment 4 – Closer Report Close

    1h 35m
  3. Jun 19

    2239 - Drafting the 2027 First Round

    Take 10 with Tim – June 19, 2026 Microsoft Teams: 1.We are approaching the halfway mark of the season (45% completed), so let’s draft the first round of the 2027 Draft based on what we know today. 1)Bobby Witt Jr. (Tim) 2)Shohei Ohtani (Rich) 3)Juan Soto (Tim) 4)James Wood (Rich) 5)Aaron Judge (Tim) 6)Elly De La Cruz (Rich) 7)Jacob Misiorowski (Tim) 8)Pete Crow-Armstrong (Rich) 9)Yordan Alvarez (Tim) 10)Nick Kurtz (Rich) 11)Jose Ramirez (Tim) 12)O’Neil Cruz (Rich) 13)Paul Skenes (Tim) 14)Tarik Skubal (Rich) 15)Corbin Carroll (Tim) 16)Julio Rodriguez (Rich) 2.Andrew Painter was optioned back to the minor leagues. The performance was pretty awful with a 7.20 ERA and only two more strikeouts than runs earned runs – Yikes. a.For Dynasty League managers, are you still all-in? He still has minor league eligibility in some leagues. Does that play a role in whether you cut him or not? 3.It’s been a month since Dylan Crews returned. He’s hitting .189 with four home runs and two stolen bases. Remarkably, he’s walked twice in 100 plate appearances and is sporting a .230 OBP. a.We will look at his baseballsavant data as well. b.Similar to Painter, what do Dynasty League managers do and you still all-in or starting to lose confidence in him? 4.There’s no timeline for Ronald Acuna returning to game action, except Walt Weiss saying – “he’s a long from returning”. Let’s look at his injury history. a.82 games played in 2021, 119 in 2022, 159 in 2023, 49 in 2024, and 95 in 2025. That’s 64 games a year or 40% of the games – in 5 years. Why are people still taking this guy in the first round? I get the potential, but this run makes Byron Buxton look Ripken-esque. What am I missing? 5.Shane Bieber looks ready to go, although his fastball only averaged 91.8 (T 93). He’s never thrown hard, but he’s also soon to be 32. Are you starting him immediately after his activated from the IL? 6.The Mariners are supposedly going to a piggyback scenario. If I have it right, they will take their six starters and stick to a five man rotation, but players will take turns starting innings (1 – 4) and (5 – 8). I guess, sometimes the starter will go 5, but who knows. If you have Mariners’ pitchers, what do you do? a.Two of the best pitchers in the minor leagues are Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson. Both are shoving it in Double-A and look nearly ready. How on earth do they get a shot? 7.What hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? a.Cooper Pratt 8.What pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? a.Shane Drohan

    1h 12m
  4. Jun 8

    2236 - Waiver Wire - June 7, 2026

    Fantasy Baseball Live – June 7, 2026 – 3 pm ET Segments 1 and 2 – Review of the weekend games Additional Notes: 1.Tanner Bibee with a great game on Saturday. They announced on the game that he was the least supported starter in baseball this season. 2.Imai with another good start on Saturday – 5 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 8K/3BB. That’s three in a row, including the no-hitter. a.Is he turning the corner? 3.Sure it was the Angels, but Roki Sasaki looked great on Friday. 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 10K/2BB. He’s been particularly good over his past four starts. a.Has he turned things around? b.Who would you rather have the rest of the Season – Imai or Sasaki? 4.Royce Lewis is back in the Majors. I wrote last week that he was red hot and would likely see a return. Here’s what I wrote. a.What are you thoughts on his return? Royce Lewis is making a loud statement for a return to Minnesota. In 13 games, he’s hit 10 home runs and posted a .358 average. More importantly, his average exit velocity sits at 94.1 mph — a massive improvement over the woeful 87.9 mph he produced earlier with the Twins. He’s still expanding the strike zone a ton, so the approach hasn’t really changed. So why is he performing better? Some of it is BABIP correction, but only to a point. His .250 mark in Triple-A is better than the .215 he ran in Minnesota, yet still well below league norms. The real driver is simple: he’s hitting the ball much harder. The caveat, of course, is that it’s a tiny sample, and when you hit 10 home runs in 13 games, your EV is going to look inflated. Looking deeper, he’s become a dead-pull hitter, and his long injury history has likely contributed to a gradual decline in exit velocity over the years. Will the EV fully return? Maybe. But can he stay healthy long enough for that to matter? My best guess is that he normalizes around 89–90 mph. With his leveraged swing, that still makes him a 20-homer bat. Given the aggressive approach, a modest batting average — something around .250 — feels realistic. I do think he’ll return as a viable MLB player, but the superstar trajectory he once flashed doesn’t look attainable anymore. At the same time, he wasn’t as bad as he looked in April and May with Minnesota. The encouraging news is that he’s hot, he’s motivated, and he’s forcing the issue. If the Twins wanted to see a spark before bringing him back, they’re getting it. They’ll surely say he “made an adjustment,” and maybe he did, but with samples this small, it’s nearly impossible to prove through the data. 5.Bryce Miller has been money since returning from the IL – 1.33 ERA, 29K/5BB in 29 innings. 6.Zebby wins again on Friday. Is he an every time starter now or are you holding your breath every time out? a.Order these pitchers the rest of the season – Gage Jump, Zebby, David Sandlin, Christian Scott 7.We crushed Matt Chapman on Friday and that night he went 2 for 3 with 8 RBIs – a grand slam and a three-run home run. a.Fantasy managers – You’re welcome! Segment 3 – Waiver Wire Segment 4 – Closer Report Close

    1h 31m
  5. Jun 5

    2334 - Down goes Judge

    Take 10 with Tim – June 5, 2026 1.Let’s take a look at the standings 2.FYI – Corbin Burnes hurt his shoulder during his rehab and now is unlikely to pitch this season. 3.Revisiting Sandlin vs. Jump. Both came up together, and Sandlin outpitched Jump in the first game, but Sandlin got it handed to him in game two, and Jump pitched 7 strong innings for the win. a.Who do you take for Game 3? 4.Justin Verlander is expected back this weekend. He has a favorable matchup against the Mariners. a.Do you dare? 5.TJ Friedl was taken as the 60th outfielder off the board and is now back in Triple-A after hitting .179 with two home runs. Noelvi Marte gets another shot. a.What happened to Friedl? b.Any interest in Marte? 6.What happened to these guys? Do you see them bouncing back over the next four months or was their 2025 an outlier 1)Michael Busch (CHC, 13th 1B) – 34 home runs in 2025, 6 so far this season 2)Jackson Merrill (SD, 14th OF) – He’s hitting .206 with five home runs and 10 SB. His runs scored are always down. 3)Bo Bichette (NYM, 10th SS) – The power is targeting 15 for the year, which was about what he did in 2026. But, he’s hitting .226 with a brutal .280 OBP. He’s still swinging at nearly every first pitch. i.Plus, is this what $42 million annually gets you? Really? That’s the third highest on-field salary in 2026. 4)Masyn Winn (STL, #27 SS) – He was on a lot of sleeper list – 2 HR, 5 SB, and a .235 BA is not what was expected. 5)Matt Chapman (SF, #11 3B) – 21 HR and 9 SB in 2025. He has 2 home runs and 0 SB with a .236 BA. He did have three hits yesterday. 6)Steven Kwan (Cle, #37 OF) - .209 BA, 1 HR, 2 SB – BRUTAL! 7)Lawrence Butler (ATH, #36 OF) – 3 HR, 4 SB, and a .161 BA. I’m not sure why he’s still in the Major Leagues. 8)Geraldo Perdomo (AZ, #9 SS) – Breakout in 2025 with 20 HR, 27 SB, and a .290 BA. This season, he has 3 home runs and is hitting .223. 7.Believe it or not, we are 42% of the way through the season, and it feels like a good time to get your predictions on CY, MVP, and ROY. Mine are listed. a.Please provide a pick for CY, MVP and ROY i.AL: CY – Rich – Cam Schlitter; Tim – Gavin Williams ii.AL MVP – Yordan or Witt Jr.; Tim – Ben Rice iii.AL ROY – Should have been Murakami – Maybe Okamoto or you default to Kevin McGonigle; Tim - Okamoto iv.NL: CY – Cristopher Sanchez; Tim - Sanchez v.NL MVP – Shohei Ohtani; Tim - Same vi.NL ROY – Konnor Griffin – might be a stretch and deserves to be below, I just think he flies by everyone; Tim – Carson Benge b.Please provide a stretch pick for each category. i.AL: CY – Parker Messick; Tim – Will Warren ii.AL: MVP – Mike Trout; Tim – Miguel Vargas iii.AL: ROY – Sam Basallo – I think he has a huge second half; Tim – Payton Tolle iv.NL: CY – Shohei Ohtani – Braxton Ashcraft will get more votes than Paul Skenes; Tim – Chase Burns v.NL: MVP – Oneil Cruz; Tim – Jordan Walker vi.NL: ROY – Carson Benge – has a huge second half; Tim - JJ Wetherholt 8.What hitter are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? a.Arroyo or Marte 9.What pitcher are you targeting for this weekend’s FAAB? a.Alex Lange

    1h 20m
4.5
out of 5
532 Ratings

About

Rich Wilson of Prospect361.com brings you the best live Fantasy Baseball show on the Internet. Join Rich and legendary industry expert Tim McLeod every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET as they bring you the best Fantasy Baseball discussion in the industry.

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