We’re more than halfway through the minor league previews, and this Nationals list was the first one I really had a hard time whittling down to fifteen names. It’s not that it’s packed with studs, it’s more that there’s lots of interesting upside. You’ve got your no brainers like Lucas Giolito and Trea Turner of course, but we also saw a big breakout with Victor Robles. There seems to be a focus on speed, toolsy outfielders with good defensive skills, and up-the-middle talent. It’s all good stuff for fantasy players, and since even your great-grandmother has heard of Giolito, I find the lower levels of this system to be a lot more interesting to talk about. Don’t believe me? She has a cross-stitching of his curveball grip. Stepping away from the farm, 2016 will be the sophomore campaign of Michael Taylor, whose power and speed will probably come cheap in drafts this year. He doesn’t have to rack up that many more hits to make his average palatable as a 4th or 5th outfielder. Hey, I managed to write the whole intro without mentioning Bryce Harper! D’oh!
2015 Graduates
Michael Taylor | Joe Ross
Tier 1: Specs On The Beach
Potential stars. Consensus T100 prospects with premium fantasy ceilings.
Lucas Giolito, RHP | Age: 21 | ETA: 2016 | 2015 Level: A+/AA
2015 Stats: 117 IP, 3.15 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
Naming my favorite flavors of gelato might be more interesting than telling you what you’ve already heard a thousand times about Giolito. Raspberry. Coffee. A fastball/curve combo that grades as double-plus and could lead to elite strikeout numbers in fantasy. Caramel. Hazelnut. OFPs of 80, 80, 80, 80, 80 in the last five reports I’ve seen…(that’s good). Pistachio. Tiramisu. One of a very small handful of arms in the minor leagues that I would actually be comfortable using the word “ace” to describe. Sea salt caramel. Coconut. He’s also close to the majors and should be on your draft radars in 2016. Banana!
Trea Turner, SS | Age: 22 | ETA: 2016 | 2015 Level: AA/AAA/MLB
2015 Stats: 500 PA, .322/.370/.458, 8 HR, 29 SB, 8% BB, 19% K
Turner can hit and he can run. Obviously. He looks like the prototypical leadoff hitter who sticks in the middle infield (likely short with the Nats) and provides runs, steals, and AVG/OBP. Without much polishing needed in the minor leagues, it shouldn’t be long before he’s getting at bats again in the bigs. I couldn’t find a shortstop who stole more than 25 bags last year. I think Turner could challenge that number in 500+ plate appearances without leaving you blanked in the home run column. In fact, good years might even see him hit 8-10 dingers.
Victor Robles, OF | Age: 18 | ETA: 2019 | 2015 Level: Rk/A(ss)
2015 Stats: 261 PA, .352/.445/.507, 4 HR, 24 SB, 7% BB, 13% K
I’m not sure there is another player in the minors right now with more buzz than Robles. Scouts were fawning over him in glowing reports – saying he shows an approach and confidence beyond his years, speed, athleticism, and even the potential for more power down the road. He checks all the boxes and the end result could be a 15/30/.290 type that also works in OBP formats and hits at the top of the lineup. Maybe something like a 2015 Lorenzo Cain with less pop and more wheels. The only glitch in the superstar dream program is that he’s 18 and hasn’t played above short-season ball yet. So yes, by all means, let’s get excited, but rarely is the path of a prospect a straight line to stardom. Will he be in my Top 50? Most likely. I’m a sucker.
Reynaldo Lopez, RHP | Age: 22 | ETA: 2017 | 2015 Level: A+
2015 Stats: 99 IP, 4.09 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 8.5 K/9
Lopez does not have the ceiling of Giolito. He’s also not as close. But, there is still #2 starter potential and that’s still very, very good. He gets overshadowed by a blue chipper like Gio, but Lopez is going to contribute in strikeouts as well, and while his ERA regressed in 2015, his walk rate held steady and his strikeout rate rose. Double-A will be a test, but I’m a Lopez believer. You’ll see some bullpen risk mentioned in his write ups, and that’s fair. The fastball is double-plus and would work in either role. If he doesn’t make it as a starter, he’d probably end up in enough high-leverage spots in the pen to remain fantasy relevant.
Tier 2: Floorboreds
Lacking the “star” upside. They might have some warts, but their ETAs are on the horizon.
Wilmer Difo, MI | Age: 23 | ETA: 2016 | 2015 Level: A+/AA
2015 Stats: 464 PA, .286/.325/.412, 5 HR, 30 SB, 4% BB, 20% K
Difo broke out in 2014, and it looked like he might be on the fast track to a middle infield gig in Washington. But it’s not that easy when you get above Single-A, and Difo came back to the pack last year. His biggest fantasy draw will be his wheels and there’s 30-steal potential. It’s hard to see him playing shortstop in the big leagues with Turner now knocking on the door, but Difo could easily shift to the keystone and his fantasy value certainly wouldn’t tank with that move.
Rafael Bautista, OF | Age: 22 | ETA: 2017 | 2015 Level: A+
2015 Stats: 276 PA, .275/.315/.341, 1 HR, 26 SB, 4% BB, 11% K
By the time you read to the end of this list, you’ll notice a pattern in the Nats’ system – they seem to like the toolsy/speedy types up the middle. Bautista fits that mold again. He has double-plus speed and could kiss 30+ steals in the majors. That speed also aids him on defense, where he gets another plus grade in center. The question mark is the bat, and he’s yet to see Double-A. There’s probably at least some SAGNOF here, but you could say that about a lot of the bats in this system.
Drew Ward, 3B | Age: 21 | ETA: 2017 | 2015 Level: A+
2015 Stats: 442 PA, .246/.327/.359, 7 HR, 2 SB, 10% BB, 27% K
Almost a palindrome point! Almost. First off, I think Anderson Franco might be the better play, but is much further away with mostly projectable power. Ward has above-average power but he strikes out a bunch and could slide over to first base anyway, where there will be even more expectations on his bat to be worth our time in fantasy. I don’t know, I’m not real excited. But I guess that’s par for the course in this tier.
A.J. Cole, RHP | Age: 24 | ETA: 2016 | 2015 Level: AAA
2015 Stats: 105.2 IP, 3.15 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 6.5 K/9
Cole celebrated a birthday yesterday! I only know that because I was on his B-Ref page looking at his numbers. I love the walk rates, but he hasn’t struck out more than a batter per inning since his first taste of Double-A in 2013. It’s probably just fatigue on my part, since it feels like Cole has been knocking on the door for two years. He could start 2016 back with Triple-A Syracuse, but even so he’s an arm to watch late in redrafts or early on the wire since I’m not sure they can polish him up any further. Austin Voth is another arm that’s close but offers a little less upside.
Others: Brian Goodwin, Austin Voth, Pedro Severino, Chris Bostick, Spencer Kieboom
Tier 3: Long Shot Lolitas
Sexy ceilings, but these youngsters also come with risks and distant ETAs.
Anderson Franco, 3B | Age: 18 | ETA: 2019 | 2015 Level: Rk/A(ss)
2015 Stats: 217 PA, .269/.346/.389, 4 HR, 2 SB, 10% BB, 13% K
The Franco at third base who I’m not currently stalking, Anderson shall forever be know as “the other Franco”. Scouts seem to like the bat, noting that there’s power potential just waiting to be unlocked. While he didn’t hit any homers once he was promoted to the NYPL, he did walk in 15% of his 47 plate appearances there as a 17 year old. It’s a little early to get hyperactive excited, but this is one to at least place on the radar.
Osvaldo Abreu, MI | Age: 21 | ETA: 2018 | 2015 Level: A
2015 Stats: 513 PA, .274/.357/.412, 6 HR, 30 SB, 10% BB, 17% K
Abreu showed good plate discipline and plus speed at a middle infield slot in 2015. That gets my attention, especially when it looks like there’s enough bat to make it work. He doesn’t have much power but might see 8-10 homers, which paired with some solid steals numbers would be enough to get fantasy relevant at shortstop. I fell like I’ve written this blurb twice already with Difo and Turner. Realistically, he’s probably a utility infielder, and remember that this is a player that hasn’t seen the more advanced arms in Double-A yet.
Andrew Stevenson, OF | Age: 21 | ETA: 2018 | 2015 Level: A(ss)/A
2015 Stats: 239 PA, .308/.363/.379, 1 HR, 23 SB, 7% BB, 13% K
A college bat with plus speed and great defense, Stevenson was the Nationals’ second round pick in the 2015 draft. He’s probably not going to be a fantasy stud since there’s no power, but everything else is there to impact runs and steals with an everyday gig in center and maybe even a leadoff spot if the hit tool clicks. He should move quickly and is relatively safe, but the tradeoff is that he’s less projectable than a raw youngster like Perkins (below).
Erick Fedde, RHP | Age: 22 | ETA: 2018 | 2015 Level: A(ss)/A
2015 Stats: 64 IP, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 BB/9, 8.3 K/9
Fedde had Tommy John surgery before the 2014 draft, so he still wasn’t ready for a full workload in 2015. This year he should be all systems go, and with a good season his stock could really soar. It’s hard for owners to stay patient with pitching prospects who go under the knife, especially when the stuff doesn’t come back right away. There may still be a buy-low opportunity here with some decent upside (think #2/3 starter).
Blake Perkins, OF | Age: 19 | ETA: 2019 | 2015 Level: Rk
2015 Stats: 185 PA, .211/.265/.283, 1 HR, 4 SB, 7% BB, 19% K
Perkins really has one plus tool and that’s his speed, but he’s pretty young and the rest of the package could come into focus later. There’s a good chance he’s never anything more than a fourth outfielder, but there’s upside for a good bit more than that. It’s a low risk pick in later rounds of deep dynasty drafts and therefore a guy you can easily toss aside if things don’t click.
Juan Soto, OF | Age: 17 | ETA: 2020 | 2015 Level: DNP
2015 Stats: N/A
Soto is just a pup and mostly projection at this point. Both his hit tool and power look like they’ll develop to be average or better down the road. It’s important to get in on the ground floor with guys like this when you’re in one of those super deep leagues that some of us are deranged blessed enough to be a part of, but in most formats you don’t have to put him on your radar yet.
Jakson Reetz, C | Age: 20 | ETA: 2018 | 2015 Level: A(ss)
2015 Stats: 132 PA, .212/.326/.248, 0 HR, 3 SB, 10% BB, 28% K
It’s hard to buy catching prospects. They take a while to develop, and you have to find the ones with the offensive tools we really need in a fantasy lineup. Reetz is interesting because even though the stats don’t necessarily show it yet, a lot of scouts believe in his bat and more specifically some power developing down the road. I’m not sure he’s the best use of a minor league slot in one-catcher formats though.
Others: Max Schrock, Rhett Wiseman, Austen Williams, Edwin Lora, Koda Glover
2016 Minor League Preview Index
holy shit news is out, not only did some idiot not change his passwords when he went from STL to HOU, i had always thought it was some low level twit, but nope, it was LUHNOW HIMSELF! so called genius is in this way dumber than most of the dumbest people we know. Also, STL’s legal team should try a defense claiming that keeping same passwords isn’t really a spy level of hacking, use the “child” defense. If an average 5 year old can “hack” your computer database since you were too stupid to do something as basic and obvious as just changing your password, the perp in this instance isn’t even really close to committing the same crime as somebody spending large hacking resources/technology/knowledge doing it. This “hacking” job is really in the light of day the hobo robbing a pregnant lady of her purse rather than the expert criminals of Point Break-type bank robbers.
here’s a better metaphor, going further than the judge himself in the case used.
“Judge Hughes says of Chris Correa’s actions: “You broke into their house to find if they were stealing your stuff”
He could come back with not changing one’s passwords is the same as leaving your door wide open, not breaking in (still a crime of course, but not the same one). using the phrase “digital espionage” for opening up somebody’s account with passwords they never changed when they left their other job is laughable.
If your 12 year old child left his password open in a say library computer and later somebody did some identity theft on him you’d certainly be mad at him for not being smart. The so-called genius, often spoken of as a top level mind was in fact this stupid, twice actually, since he also never made his underlings (or maybe his own) change their email passwords.
Hey Mike, hoping you might be on here tonight..
I was offered a trade in my keep forever league
I trade:
Sano
McCullers
Giolito
Park
I get:
Goldy
I think it is too much, what do you think?
Goldy
@Mike: Really, you don’t think I am giving up too much?
@Mike: I see ur point, always take one of the best players in all of the game for a bunch of prospects..
Mike, I really appreciate you taking the time to come on here and answer my question!
I got Goldy!
no problem…good stuff
All right, Mike, I’m about 5-6 picks away
Best bats on the board: Mazara, Gallo, Judge, Devers, J.P Crawford, Bregman, AJ Reed, C.Frazier, B.Zimmer
Best pitchers: Berrios, A. Reyes, Snell, Reynaldo Lopez.
Mind listing your top six from that group?
OBP instead of AVG.
you can’t go wrong with any of those bats
Hello Mike,
Which pitcher would go after if trading David Wright in dynasty, Hendricks or Iwakuma?
Already have J Turner and Bryant at 3B
Thank you
hmmm, I guess Hendricks
Forrest Wall or Marco Gonzales? Leaning towards Wall myself
yeah I’d go Wall too at this point
Which side of a potential trade do you like better for a team looking to compete after 2016: Brinson Lewis for Victor Robles and Anderson Espinoza. I’m in an auction league with R/RBI/OBP/SLG/SB and WQS/S/ERA/WHIP/K categories. Thanks.
probably still Brinson there. that’s an interesting trade though
Mike,
I have the 14th and 18th picks in an MiLB draft where it’s 16 managers, 12-man rosters.
We haven’t drafted our MLB team yet, but I’d like to go, at least with these first few picks, for bats ready to produce in 2016. Is one of those picks too soon to take Byung-Ho Park? ZiPS has him for 27 HR with a .333 OBP. I won’t pick again until the 45th and 49th pick.
Any other strong assets come to mind in that area? I know it’s a bit difficult to pluck names for the air, and I’ll most likely come back here for that first pick once a few names are off the board, but just wanted to get a sense of who’d be some good value. Unfortunately it’s too early for top 50 lists so I’m just trying to piecemeal here.
Possible names that may be there (but it might not be limited to this group)
Alex Reyes
Devers
Judge
Barreto
Mazara
Trea
Arcia
Meadows
Margot
I’d prolly go Devers and Judge
@Mike:
Sweet. If Judge is available I think I’ll pick him first for the potential 2016 impact.
@Mike:
I think one guy my league mates aren’t keeping tabs on is Eddy Julio Martinez. Now that he’s with the Cubs (and some say he’d be in contention to be a No.1 overall pick if he were eligible in the 2016 MLB draft), what round would you feel comfortable taking him, if at all?
@Left Hangs Lower: he just went low as F in my 30 man dynasty, 44th overall just now. Mike has him ranked quite high in comparison. and the guy who took him i somewhat talked into taking (i wanted a power CI and this guy drafted right before me, had to move him off), he might’ve went later.
@goodfold2:
Where would you think 44th overall falls in comparison to a league starting a brand new MiLB draft? 100th overall? 150th overall?
@Left Hangs Lower: oh no, 44th overall in this league isn’t like that much. previous to this season we had 25 minor league slots for 30 teams. Not all of them were filled by everyone of course. Now we are drafting 5 more to go up to 30 minor league slots (900 slots total). Only guys that get drafted are brand new players mostly, or guys who used to be ranked like 25th or worse on an MLB team last year that had good 2015’s and have moved up their prospect slots. Now clearly 44th overall right now is better than the worst guys on rosters already, but if you notice that pretty much nearly all of Mike’s top 10 lists of each team from last year literally about none of the players aren’t owned already it’ll be easy to see that not only is that not an easy question, but right now out of all of Mike’s prospect posts so far this year(18) only 152 total people named on those aren’t owned so it’s pretty deep. Mountcastle MI (later be CI) BAL just went at pick 94 and i’m surprised
any significance to these
nevin CI COL (i’m surprised his 50/50 at COL didn’t get some play on list)
vlad guetierrez RHP
andy ibanez 2B TEX
albert abreu SP HOU
randy arozarena SS
alvaro seijas SP STL
man i don’t like not having any idea what resource these names are coming from. Nevin i see of.
@goodfold2: only good thing is it appears only 5-6 teams also have any idea about these guys. one guy seems to take almost only international guys. For me these guys are like if a gringo (me) were to try walking around Cuba/D.R/Puerto Rico etc looking to score something by myself (not literally that fraught with danger) with my exact knowledge of Spanish. Nearly like being in the dark with earmuffs on, with what you often find even if you knew TO look up these names is a brief report like “he was ranked 15th in Cuba, has some speed and is now trying out and could be signed by time X”.
@goodfold2: this of course gets remedied by the time your/minor league ball lists are out, BP, BA’s prospect guide etc are out. Just awful time we do our draft, early Jan. Mid-late Feb would work just fine.
yeah especially since guys sign in Jan/Feb
not really
@Mike: i did find a fantrax internationals list, and no small amount of those aren’t on it. it also had 2015 draft guys.
if not now later (likely after 1 guy from above list) i’ll be grabbing SP. i’ll leave out for now the obvious at best mid-rotation guys.
who’s best 2-3 of these
santillan CIN
a.smith SD
b.hudson CUBS (60/60/50 fastball/curve/changeup and supposedly a lot of projection since he’s 6′ 8)
juan hillman CLE (lefty with all 55’s ending in an overall 50, higher than most due to great control)
n. watson KC (33rd overall pick, probably won’t be around unless i grab in 10 picks, great selection of pitches)
j.lemoine TEX (for some reason with 60/55 fastball/slider and 45 control mlb.com claims if he stays healthy he could be a #2, doesn’t make much sense on surface)
michael santos SF
they’re all crapshoots
@Mike: alright, i guess just go with highest rank or draft grade then. watson probably gone soonest of those due to that.
@goodfold2: also, staumont KC appears to have crazy upside. long time till next pick now though.
15 team 5×5 dynasty
C Vogt
C Realmuto
1B Pujols
2B Baez
SS K Marte
3B Rendon
MI Semien
CI Colabello
OF Stanton
OF Betts
OF Souza
OF Burns
OF Hicks
Util Alonso
BN Pearce, Vargas, Tomlinson, Almonte, Dietrich, Smoak, De Aza, Ruggiano
SP CMart, Pineda, Corbin, Verlander, Alex Wood, Hutchison, Sabathia, Buehrle, Nuno
RP Rosenthal, McGee, Axford, Strickland, Grimm
1) Would you trade Corbin, Strickland & pick 2 for Calhoun & pick 6?
2) Which categories do you think I most need to focus on improving right now?
Thanks!
1) sure
2) I’d look at getting better MI and UTIL. looks like you’re fine on speed
ok, i’m assuming even though i got denton that CIN guy mentioned before is likely best option for power starved team. or would any of these be considered good enough to overtake him due to being overall better and that i have denton now?
s.kingery MI PHI
m.canelo MI PHI
orimoloye OF MIL
kj woods CI MIA
a.nunez MI WSOX
i.diaz MI ARI
mountcastle MI/CI/OF BAL
palacios MI MIN
w.javier MI MIN
t.cabbage CI MIN
polo OF PIT
j.soto OF WAS
collymore MI STL
l.taveras OF TEX
d.lindsay OF NYM
e.garcia CI NYM
i.wilson OF NYM
a.gimenez MI NYM
j.arauz MI HOU
delgado OF LAA
j.miller MI SF
j.parker OF SF
I left out guys with no power at all, i have a lot of speed types lying around, esp at OF.
Is Jeimer Candelario available?
@Mike: nope.
@goodfold2: cabbage/mountcastle are being given better power grade (lavalley gets a 50/50 hit/power, these two 55 in power) than lavalley at only place i can find grades (MLB.com). would just suck if i went mountcastle/denton and they both end up in OF.
@goodfold2: disregard diaz ARI if he was the answer.
lavalley or kingery
deep league draft update
2.7 mike matuella SP TEX(highest upside to risk ratio lately)
2.8 mckenzie SP CLE
2.9 cody ponce P MIL
about here we hit our “pitching inflection point” seemingly where many owners are tending to find pitchers not as attractive as they just did before this
2.10 beau burrows SP DET
2.11 josh naylor CI
2.12 eddy martinez OF (he lasted very long)
2.13 y.diaz OF (ditto)
2.14 jhaylin ortiz OF PHI
2.15 hayes CI PIT (lasted a while too)
2.16 jorge ona OF
2.17 denton CI STL (me, i’m thinking since CIN guy wasn’t drafted last year i might just get him at 3.7)
2.18 d.dewees OF CUBS
2.19 christin stewart OF DET
2.20 wilkerman garcia MI NYY (you were right about him being fairly high)
2.21 starling heredia OF LAD
2.22 nick plummer OF STL (way too late, this owner now has 7 people already, traded for 2 more 3rd rounders)
2.23 gilberto celestino OF HOU
2.24 oscar de la cruz SP CUBS
2.25 tyler ward C LAA
2.26 chris betts C TB
who are ponce, j.ortiz, ona (i know he’s unsigned), celestino?
Ortiz is the one I’m the most familiar with as a Phillie. Big dude with big power but likely limited to 1B. He’s 17.
@Mike: who’s this thomas eshelman SP PHI guy
I don’t know much about him
How many innings do you think Giolito has in 2016? We all know the Nats aren’t afraid to shut down young pitchers.
hmmm, he threw 117 in 2015, so probably no more than 180 and possibly only about 150-160 or so if they baby him?
Thanks Mike! Does that factor in when you rank him Top 50 if he breaks camp with the big league team?
no problem…yup it sure does
Would Keuchel for Giolito be overpaying in a dynasty league?
I’m very tempted to make that offer as soon as our league opens up again.
@ScreechOwl:
Ooh, Alex Gordon returns to the Royals.
Not really relevant for me (don’t care about the AL, don’t own Gordon), but that’s news, I guess.
hmmm, probably not overpaying in a dyno. It’s bold though
The Dodgers signed an SP, with a NEW elbow part, lol
Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports that the Dodgers and right-hander Brandon Beachy are finalizing a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
It’s a major league deal, which is a bit of a surprise at this point. Beachy made his way back from Tommy John surgery last season, but struggled in two appearances with the Dodgers and spent most of the year in the minors. He’ll provide some rotation depth at the very least, but expectations should be kept in check.
welp
Good stuff Mike. Where you drafting giolito then? Among top 50 SP, higher? lower?
Thank you
thanks! I mean if he breaks camp I think you have to look at him as borderline Top 50 yeah.
Trea has me excited since SS was a weakness on my team last year(just to name a few), I hope he can come to spring training and win the job. Looks like The Nationals want to try Espinoza there first, thoughts.
cool….they’ll probably cook him at Triple A? but I don’t think he’ll need much
@Mike: you think Trea gets back to the bigs around June?
I could see that, especially if Espinosa pees down his leg
@Mike: haha Espinosa will get exposed in a full season
@Mike: The mendoza urine prophecy!
@Mike: bold prediction: Espinoza goes all Yunel this year and Turner owners are left holding their box of tissues
Here you go Mike, the dreaded C question:
Mesoraco or Swihart..Not so much for this year, but for the future in my keep forever league..
cheers
ugh…I guess Swihart. Is Mes still a catcher?
@Mike: Update on Mes is he will go to camp as a C. He has been working at C for the past months with no problems at all.
hmmm…I think I’d still take Swihart in a dynasty
@Mike: cool, I agree
1. completely academic as he’s gone now, but where would goeddel be slotted in PHI’s page there if you had posted him?
2. for homers/hit tool CI is it go about naylor/denton/mountcastle (this guy you had ranked higher on BAL’s team page than stewart, but stewart higher in new signees page so it’s hard to tell where he goes compared to denton)/zangari/lavalley
@goodfold2: also, i noticed lora and soto were just recently added to fantrax’s database, so either
1. complete coincidence
2. fantrax may have recently added a whole host of guys (and i just didn’t notice most of the others)
3. you yourself went to the trouble (it’s not a lot of work, you email them pretty much) of adding in guys on your own list as the list came out. I had similarly added 3 guys on your earlier lists just over a week ago.
@goodfold2: forget naylor, i was just getting teased by him still being out there 42 picks into draft, 6 from me.
1. floorboreds…probably somewhere in the middle
2. I might go LaValley there
nope wasn’t me
@Mike: glad i asked then, i forgot lavalley isn’t a 2015 draft guy, so him not being ahead of denton on recent signees means nothing, different draft classes. zangari seems to have most power, but lesser hit tool. denton/lavalley could have both. damn i could almost smell naylor’s socks i was so close.
ah bummer
@goodfold2: i see mlb.com gives denton a power spike of 55 to lavalley’s 50, but what goes even more towards lavalley is denton might very well move to LF, which isn’t great for me needing a power CI.
I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Chris Bostick? Looking at minors numbers, coming from a NE HS, seems like he still has room to grow and decent fantasy upside?
absolutely. I think he’s a floorbored that might be a utility guy in the bigs, but enough bat to be relevant in deeper leagues for sure
I remember a lot of moans and groans when Dusty Baker was hired in reference to the younger guys either on the Nats or in their system. For some reason, even though I’ve been doing this since 2004 I don’t remember what his impact pattern’s been. I guess I previously didn’t pay as much attention to the young guys as I do now (thanks Razzball!) so what’s your take on Dusty’s impact on the yutes as far as playing time/innings limits, possible promotion times, etc Mike?
I wish I had the answer, but ETAs (at least exact ones) are like catching squirrels with a hula hoop. I’d imagine the manager doesn’t have THAT big of an impact and would hope that promotions/playing time are performance based
@Clint:
the huge concern with Dusty is remembering what he did to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior’s careers. Both were aces and he rode them too hard too young and both broke down. Wood turned into a very good reliever, but Prior never got back.
@james:
Thanks James. Now I remember where they were coming from. They mentioned that and the fact they thought he would keep Turner in the minors because he likes vets. BUT they said he kind of changed his ways while in Cincy. I remember the Cubs stuff because I liked Wood/Prior even as a Brewer fan but for some reason blocked out what he did in his Cincy years so I guess I’m wondering where that leaves guys like Turner, Giolito, Taylor, & Ross for 2016 outlooks. Does it tarnish their sleeper status or pretend I never heard the Baker factor even mentioned & roll with their abilities pushing them into the lineups?
These updates are great. Question on Robles – I know the overall rankings will come out soon but how should we be thinking about Robles for a minors draft when compared to recent draftees that might be closer to MLB (eg Ian Happ) or minor leaguers that might have a lower ceiling but higher floor (eg Brett Phillips). I don’t want to be “that guy” that reaches for Robles but it’s hard not to get excited about him because he’s been the prospect with the most “buzz” over the last couple of months. How should we treat this guy in minors drafts? Is he someone worth reaching for? Thanks.
thanks! that’s a great question. I think it depends on your team. say if you’re competing now, you might want a higher floor, but if you’re rebuilding you’d probably be an upside whore regardless of ETA. using the names you just gave me, I think Robles and Phillips are both borderline top 50 prospects and pretty similar in overall value
Man I have to say, I was excited for Jackson Reetz coming out of the 2014 draft. I didn’t invest in him, but as a fantasy baseballer, how can you not get excited for offense first catchers? But that slugging / K-rate line is just horrible. That’s not a foundation for growth at all…
I shared an equal amount of enthusiasm for Max Pentecost that year. Damn!
yup, there’s still potential but catchers are tough
@Mike: at least he has a good walk rate….
@J-FOH: you’re right, it’s good. Nick Markakis at Catcher? Could be a real asset in OBP leagues
@Yescheese: actually his K/BB in rookie ball was outstanding, if he takes a lsmall leap this year then maybe we have something there. BBP is okay, nothing to throw a red flag at but also nothing to throw a party for
Dodgers strange off-season continues:
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the cause of the holdup on the Dodgers’ deal with Kenta Maeda has to do with concerns about the right-hander’s elbow.
yikes
@Mike: might be why he was willing to take only 24 mil guaranteed so fast.
good point
Still some spots left in a new 16 team Fantrax dynasty league. We’ve already got some solid Razzballers in the league and would love for more to join us.
-16 teams. Open to more if most of the league agrees after we fill.
-rotisserie
-6×6 scoring (AVG, OBP, SLG, R, RBI, NSB, QS, ERA, WHIP, K, NS, HLD)
-30 MLB roster spots incl. C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, CI, MI, 5 OF, 12 P, 6 reserves
-10 Minor League roster spots
– Looking like an offline draft with 12 hour picks
– STRICT enforcement of active managers. Good opportunity to get in on a great league on the ground floor.
If you’re interested, email me at [email protected] and tell me a little bit about yourself and why you want to join this league. Also tell me who your top 2 favorite minor leaguers (1 offensive player and 1 pitcher) are right now and why.
eh my reynaldo lopez made the beach, didn’t see that coming. funny baseball america actually has fedde higher, weirdos, sticking with safety i suppose. and after looking over dozens of pitchers lately seeing even ONE of fastball/curve at 80-70 is usually a big deal, with gio it’s BOTH in the SAME GUY!
yup, I bounced back and forth with whether to include him in that tier or not
Gio’s combo is nasty
Looking for anyone interested in taking over a team in a forever keeper league. 10 teams, 5 X 5 roto. NO DRAFT this year.
I have THREE teams available, so first come first served.
This league is played on FANTRAX.
email me here, if interested:
[email protected]
@Malicious Phenom: seriously, you’ll be saving yourself AND everybody else time who might be interested spending that 3 minutes or so typing the rosters in right into these posts of yours. If you want me to show you the math of it based on how many responses you’ve already had or are likely to have i could. After you type it once save it.
@goodfold2: Good point, thanks