We’re not done yet. The Touts were asked:
What players are you especially interested in tracking down the stretch.
Scott Engel (The Game Day, @ScottETheKing): Young players in a playoff race, breakout types like Mark Vientos, and top targets such as Wyatt Langford. How they will continue to respond. Plus newer closer types such as Ryan Walker and Porter Hodge.
Derek VanRiper (The Athletic, @DerekVanRiper): I’m seeking out players getting their second or third opportunities as big leaguers — Parker Meadows, as one example — since we are seeing a lot of players go through longer adjustment periods against top-level pitching right now. Struggling for 300-500 PA might be completely normal for some good players, and with Meadows in particular, some of the 2024 sleeper hype has faded.
Erik Halterman (Rotowire, @erik_halterman): Young, early-round picks who have disappointed for most of the year like Corbin Carroll, Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Miller. If Carroll posts a third consecutive good month following three straight bad ones, that’s an entirely different narrative to evaluate over the winter than if his 2024 season winds up being two good months sandwiched between some extended rough stretches. Rodriguez and Miller can at best hope to show us one month of vintage form at the tail end of a lost season, but given their youth and pedigree, one great month could be enough to restore confidence in them going forward.
Eric Samulski (Rotoballer, @SamskiNYC): It’s DL Hall for me. He was my most-rostered player coming into the year and obviously that didn’t pan out, but he looks great in his recent outings. Building off that, I like to track players who will I think will have some draft fatigue attached to them next year. Guys like Jordan Walker, Parker Meadows, Matt Wallner, MacKenzie Gore, etc. where there was some excitement this year and it didn’t pan out. You can find lots of value there by sticking if you believe in the talent.
Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru, @TheRayFlowers): It’s been a rough year, but Pete Crow-Armstrong sure is producing for the Cubs at the moment. He has a 28 percent K-rate the last 14 games which isn’t ideal, but he’s killing it slashing .392/.458/.647 with three homers, three steals, 15 RBI and 16 runs. The offense has finally caught up to the defense. He’s one of many youngsters who have holes in their overall offensive game but could still end up being 20/20 plays in 2025.
Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): 1) players who have been hurt most of the year–want to see them return and prove health. 2) players who have (seemingly) been playing over their heads–correction or continued success? 3) decision-making by the teams themselves, particularly as they anticipate the playoffs, free agency–who do they want to see, etc.
Frank Ammirante (The GameDayHQ, @FAmmiranteTFJ): I’m interested in tracking Wyatt Langford because he seems to have finally found his footing in the big leagues. I’ll be heavily targeting Langford next season, so I want to see how where his 2025 price will end up.
Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ, @RyanBHQ): For me it’s the injured starting pitchers and how their Septembers will affect 2025 ADP. Jacob deGrom is the obvious example, but what if Yoshinobu Yamamoto finishes strong and has a good postseason? Top-30 pick next year? On the flip side, what if we don’t see Justin Steele again, and his last news blurb is that he couldn’t finish the season because of an elbow injury? These types of “show me if you’re healthy or not” outings over the last couple of weeks could be major market movers next season.
Mike Alexander (Razzball, @Roto_Wan): I’m mostly interested in the types of players whose performances are going to go unnoticed by a portion of fantasy managers. That could be young guys that are getting more leash and showing they deserve it. It could also be veterans who haven’t had the season we expected but are getting right in the playoff hunt.
Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotoBuzzGuy): My MLB world is dead. Football has crushed my soul and taken over my entire life. At least I still get to watch Judge & Soto on TV
Andy Behrens (Yahoo Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): Apparently the Marlins are really gonna let Deyvison De Los Santos hit 45 homers in the minors without ever calling him up, huh? I’ll keep tracking him because he was the power source who was supposed to boost several of my squads. Miami is simply too focused on the Wild Card race to give him a look, it seems. Makes perfect sense.
Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): The young guys, for sure. I’m especially curious about young guys on poorer teams, because the path to PT could be easier. So how Wood and Crews finish in WAS, how Caden Dana and Samuel Aldegheri start in LAA, what kind of run the CHW give to Thairo Iriarte, how Rhett Lowder fares in CIN, Jace Jung in DET…
Justin Mason (Friends With Fantasy Benefits, @JustinMasonFWFB): I want to see some of the young pitchers and how they perform down the stretch. Rookie like Rhett Lowder and Nick Nastrini don’t have a ton of value now, but if they can show some good skills, they could emerge as sleepers for next season. I also want to see how other young or inexperienced starts handle themselves as they pass previous highs in innings.
Corbin Young (Baseball HQ, Rotowire, @corbin_young21): A mixture of young pitchers performing well in smaller samples like Bowden Francis, Davis Martin, and Ryne Nelson. Plus these young hitters, including Jose Tena, Xavier Edwards, and Heliot Ramos since they have garnered deep and shallow league attention.
Phil Hertz (Baseball HQ, @prhz50): I’ll be watching the young hitting callups like Crews. I tend not to pay tons of attention to young pitchers in September. I’ve been fooled too many times by pitchers who don’t pitch well and turn it around the next spring and vice versa.
Greg Jewett (The Athletic, @gjewett9): My niche (closers) requires attention to usage patterns and performance down the stretch. How some relievers finish may determine their roles for next year. Also, monitoring closers who have lost their job (Camilo Doval and David Bednar), can they finish strong or will they need a change of scenery. Next year’s prep never ends.
Dave Adler (Baseball HQ, @daveadler01): my keeper leagues are both AL-only, so I’m focusing on young starters to try to get a sense of their worth (if any) next year. Cade Povich, Caden Dana, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, etc. Some have been up longer than others, and some have had some success (or not). Even with ugly surface numbers, if there are signs of underlying skills, they’re worth monitoring in the pre-season to see if they’re worth a bid.
Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): As a fan, I want to see if Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge can reach the milestones they’re nearing. From a fantasy perspective I’m interested in the following: (1) Yankees’ Closer situation – will they go the unconventional route and ultimately give the job to Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt? (2) Will Jasson Dominguez get a shot once it’s clear he won’t surpass the rookie eligibility requirements? (3) Is Josh Bell still worth rostering? (4) Will any of the following hitters return from the IL to make an impact? Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Jeimer Candelario (5) Will any of the following pitchers return from the IL to make an impact? Jacob deGrom, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Weathers
Vlad Sedler (FTN Fantasy, @rotogut): I’ll be tracking Alex Verdugo and praying for his roto demise so that Jasson Dominguez can swoop in and help cement glorious victories for my squads. But seriously, it’s Jacob deGrom in his couple of starts here.
Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis): I want to see if Paul Skenes is shut down by the Pittsburgh Pirates before he reaches 200 strikeouts this season. He now stands at 151 strikeouts, making him the fifth pitcher since 1920 with 150 or more strikeouts in his first 20 pitching appearances.
Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy): Jacob DeGrom. Now that he is coming off the IL and will pitch in September it will be must watch TV. Can he reclaim his spot atop the pitcher food chain? Baseball is better when DeGrom is at the top of his game. It will be fun to watch.
Joe Orrico (Fantasy Pros, @JoeOrrico99): I’m gonna be keeping a close eye on some young SPs who have shown some promising signs this season, including David Festa, DJ Herz, and Spencer Arrighetti. They are early targets in 2025 drafts for me, and particularly with Festa and Arrighetti, I want to see if they are able to make some improvements in their command. Like others have said, I’m also very interested in seeing if Jacob deGrom can reclaim his crown as the best pitcher in baseball
D.J. Short (NBC Sports, @djshort): Younger players, those performing in small samples. Trying to see what’s behind the production in hopes of securing values for next year. Pete Crow-Armstrong is really interesting going into next year, but how interesting? Does his speed give him a safe floor? Backing up what others said, I’ll also be watching Crews in Washington, Dominguez in New York, Dana with the Angels, etc.
Scott Pianowski (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @Scott_Pianowski): Jacob deGrom, for fun. Oneil Cruz, for more fun. Very curious to see where the Bowden Francisco story is headed. And is there a Jose Bautista reinvention tour in the house?
Joe Gallina (Fantasy Alarm, @joegallina): I’m interested in seeing how the Dodgers use Yoshinobu Yamamoto down the stretch and into the playoffs. They babied him early in the season limiting him to one start per week. I’m wondering if he can get stretched enough so that he can go seven innings for them in a playoff game. How many days off he gets in between starts this month and into October will determine if I roster him again next season. This season has been a bust for fantasy thus far.
CJ Kaltenbach (Fantasy Guru, @TheSeigeDFS): Young guys who have had good statistical seasons but have struggled generating walks, I look for late season progress that could be a sign of a leap coming next year
Chris Towers (CBS Fantasy, @CTowersCBS): I’ll go with a name that may not have been mentioned yet: Framber Valdez. He started throwing his curveball as his primary pitch in early July and has been a type of strikeout pitcher we’ve never seen from him before. Valdez has mostly been (rightly, IMO) pegged as a high-floor, low-ceiling pitcher, but if he’s actually going to be a ~10 K/9 guy moving forward, he might be an undervalued top-12 SP for 2025.