Richie Shaffer

Scott Evans

2013 Minor League Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

| Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 15 Comments

by:

Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (11) | 2011 (3) | 2010 (1) | 2009 (4) | 2008 (1)

2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [90-72] AL East
AAA: [66-78] International League – Durham
AA: [74-63] Southern League – Montgomery
A+: [55-79] Florida State League – Charlotte
A: [80-60] Midwest League – Bowling Green
A(ss): [52-24] New York-Penn League — Hudson Valley

Arizona Fall League Players — Phoenix Desert Dogs
Lenny Linsky (RHP); Tim Beckham (2B); Hak-Ju Lee (SS); Richie Shaffer (3B); Kevin Kiermaier (OF)

Graduated Prospects
Matt Moore (RHP); Jake McGee (LHP)

The Run Down
The Rays’ player development systems have always been top-notch, and for the past several years, they’ve maintained one of the better farm systems in the game. As a matter of timing more than anything else — some bad luck, too (see Beckham) — the system was a little lighter than usual in the high-impact department near the end of last season. They were growing older, and more expensive at the big league level. It appeared that they were deviating from Andrew Friedman’s operational model — a patient, bottom-up approach that had discovered and nurtured talent better than just about any other organization — that had made them a year-to-year contender in baseball’s toughest division. And then the James Shields deal happened and the natural order was restored to the baseball universe. All of a sudden, Wil Myers became a Ray, and the once-lacking high-impact department was replenished with one of the more high-impacty dudes in the minors. Beyond Myers, Tampa added MLB-ready pitching depth in Jake Odorizzi. They also nabbed Mike Montgomery on the cheap — sure, he pitched like a pile of hot garbage in 2012, but one year does not ruin a prospect. When considering this top ten back in October, I was kinda worried about having to cover a slew high-upside 18-year-olds who hadn’t yet played outside of instructional league. Thank you, Andrew Friedman, for making this post more interesting.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Scott Evans

Scouting the Unknown: 2012 Draft Edition, Part 3

| Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 20 Comments

by:

This post concludes my little venture into draft prospecting.  It was fun while it lasted, and if you’d like to take a look at either Part 1 or Part 2, go ahead and click those links.  Today, I have three more first-rounders to discuss, but first, a quick recap of where everyone ended up from Parts 1 & 2:

Marcus Stroman (22nd pick – Blue Jays); Richie Schaffer (25th pick – Rays); Kyle Zimmer (5th pick – Royals); Mark Appel (8th pick – Pirates); Mike Zunino (3rd pick – Mariners); Andrew Heaney (9th pick – Marlins)

Now, these three:

Chris Stratton | RHP, Giants

Over the past decade, the Giants have been pretty successful in turning first-round arms into fantasy baseball gold.  Matt Cain (2002), Tim Lincecum (2006), and Madison Bumgarner (2007) were each drafted within the first 25 picks, and each developed into a big league pitcher relatively quickly.  Lincecum, the lone college arm in the group, was helping fantasy owners a little more than a year after signing.  On Monday, San Francisco used the 20th overall pick to select Chris Stratton out of Mississippi State.  Should things go as planned, he’ll be in the bigs as early as 2013.  Stratton lacks a true plus offering, but his secondary stuff is advanced and it compliments his low-90′s fastball nicely.  His well-rounded repertoire should allow him to push through the system quickly.  I don’t see the same upside here that Cain, Lincecum, or MadBum were drafted with, but I do think Stratton will make for a nice #3-type starter in the bigs.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Scott Evans

Scouting the Unknown: 2012 Draft Edition, Part 1

| Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 14 Comments

by:

We’re two weeks away from Major League Baseball’s First-Year Players Draft, during which droves of high school and college baseball players will be chosen by MLB organizations to fill their farm systems.  Most all the draftees will never make it further than the low minors.  A handful of the college guys, however, are already too advanced for short-season or instructional ball.  Mind you, this group is merely a tiny fraction of the overall draft class — there aren’t many guys worth noting for fantasy baseball purposes just yet.  But there are some.  And for the next couple weeks I’m going to highlight a few of my favorites in this weekly feature, which is typically reserved for already-pros.  Anyway.  We start with a Dukie:

Marcus Stroman | RHP, Duke

Gifted pitchers tend to arrive in the majors a bit more quickly than the hitters.  2011 first-rounders like Trevor Bauer and Danny Hultzen are already on the cusp of breaking through in the bigs, and they’ll be making impacts in fantasy ball this year.  Marcus Stroman, a starting pitcher out of Duke, could find himself in a similar position a year from now.  At 5-9, 180, Stroman isn’t your prototype pitching prospect, but he’s strong and athletic and can bring it at 98 with his fastball.  He counters with a plus changeup and a filthy slider, giving him a three-pitch repertoire that’s not far from big league-ready.  His ceiling as a starter is that of a #2, but many think he’d make an outstanding high-leverage reliever.  Either way, Stroman will go in the first round and he’s well suited to climb the ladder quickly.

Please, blog, may I have some more?