How to Climb the Standings with Jake Halusker

Mid-June is the pivotal moment in fantasy baseball where the 'best player available' mindset must give way to category-specific roster building. Host Eric Holtman and league mate Jake Halusker argue that teams should stop chasing talent and start targeting specific statistical deficiencies—especially in power, steals, and batting average—by exploiting deep league scraps and short-term streaming. The episode reveals a startling scarcity of viable power hitters outside of injury-prone or part-time players, making it essential to target platoon bats, recent call-ups like Braden Montgomery and Cole Kerrig, and players with favorable matchups. For steals, speed over hitting is king, with players like Nassim Nunez and Jake Mangum offering high-value, low-cost options despite poor averages. The overarching lesson? Don’t rely on projections—focus on current playing time, lineup position, and short-term matchups. As the season heats up, the most successful managers won’t be the ones with the flashiest names, but those who treat each week like a micro-rotation of strategic, high-impact pickups. Key takeaways include: stream power hitters by targeting part-time players in good parks against lefties; prioritize speed over batting average in steals; use injury absences to exploit playing time gaps (e.g.