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If Nasty Nas is correct, and sleep is in fact the cousin of death, then these guys are whistling past the graveyard on the way to see Uncle Quilly. Today we climax together, like a perfectly symmetrical couple only we’re probably two dudes who like the most deviant of fantasy baseball hobbies, dynasty leagues. By climax I don’t mean actual climax, that would be weird, and could have lasting repercussions on my marriage, but rather we’re climaxing by finishing off my draft update series. Calm down guys it’s here; today’s post will be focusing on sleepers. This series is in no way a ranking of the best fantasy players in the most recent draft. I’ll save that for the early part of the offseason. So for today, we’ll leer at those outside the first round and compensation round, and look at who could be the next breakout guys a la Willie Calhoun.

 

 

Bobby Dalbec, 4th round, 118 overall | lo-A SS Lowell Spinners (Red Sox): The former Arizona wildcat has been stuntin in proball thus far, slashing .376/.425/.675 with 6 homers. After a rough final season in Tuscon, his once first round stock dropped. The Sox so far seem to be reaping the benefits.

Heath Quinn, 3rd Round, 95th overall | Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Giants): A dominant player at a small school (Samford), Quinn faced the same struggles as Willie Calhoun, Kyle Lewis, and many others before him. So far he’s tossing a finger to the haters, and showing the ability to hit for power and average with 9 homers, a .337 avg., and an OBP of .419. My co-host on the Razzball Prospect Podcast Michael Halpern loves him. Shouldn’t make it past the second round in any first year player drafts.

Stephen Wrenn, 6th Round: 187th Overall | Quad City River Bandits (Astros): Yes another potential draft hit for the Astros. A college hitter with a power/speed profile, Wrenn is one to keep an eye due to his fantasy relevant tool set. He’s also someone under the radar enough you can take him at the back end of first year player drafts in 20+ team dynasty leagues. The power plays, but it’s the speed that separates Wrenn from others you’ll see at that point in your drafts.

Peter Alonso, 2nd Round: 64th Overall | Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets): Another product of the University of Florida, and H.B. Plant high school in Tampa (Tucker brothers etc). So far Alonso has proven an astute grab in the second round, slashing .321/.382/.587 with 5 homers. Over the course of his junior year he opened his stance and shortened his swing, allowing him to hit for power to all fields and really make a load of hard contact. Presently on the shelf for the remainder of the season with a broken pinkie finger, Alonso made enough of a statement to deserve some consideration.

Tommy Edman, 6th Round: 196th Overall | State College Spikes (Cardinals): Another player discussed by my colleague Michael Halpern on this week’s edition of the Prospect Podcast. A middle infield prospect out of Stanford, Edman was lauded for his speed and on base abilities coming into the draft. There were serious knocks about his lack of power, and many project him to end up a utility infielder, but so far in proball he’s hit. I wouldn’t go crazy about the 4 homers in the NYPL, but it’s an encouraging sign, and a .290/.401/.441 slashline is tough to ignore. Another later round Hail Mary that could pay off.

Ronnie Dawson, 2nd Round: 61st Overall | Tri-City Valley Cats (Astros): Much like the aforementioned Wrenn, Dawson is another Astros power/speed prospect. Unlike Wrenn, Dawson is heavier on the power than the speed. An athletic prospect out of Ohio State, it’s obvious the swing and miss issues are still there, but 7 homers and 12 steals coupled with a 14% Bb rate make him an intriguing fantasy prospect.

Garrett Hampson, 3rd Round: 81st Overall | Boise Hawks (Rockies): Ho-hum just another Rockies middle infidel prospect. Unlike Story and Rodgers, Hampson doesn’t fit the masher mold, but he’s got legs and he knows how to use them. In some ways he might be the Drew Jackson of this draft class, putting up eye popping steal numbers (33 for 37 in 63 games) during his first foray into the professional ranks.  Another Cal State Long Beach product, and they’ve produced some good ones (Tulo, Longoria, Giambi).

Ronnie Gideon, 23rd Round: 681st Overall | Helena Brewers (Brewers): A 6’3 240 lbs Texas A&M product, Gideon has been tearing the cover off the ball in the Rookie level Pioneer League. In fact he leads the league in homers (16), and ranks second in SLG. % (.655). He’s a potential late round steal, but someone to keep an eye on more than target at this point. He’s your prototypical big bodied 1st baseman with pop. I’d need to see it at the next level before I’d buy in entirely. A nice start nevertheless.

Bradley Jones, 18th Round: 552nd Overall | Bluefield Blue Jays (Blue Jays): Here’s another late round college hitter mashing in the rookie ball. He’s an alumnus of Grey’s alma mata, the College of Charleston; though I’m unaware if he achieved his Fantasy Lothario designation while there. What Jones has achieved is 16 homers in first 250 pro at bats. He leads the Appalachian League in homers (16) and RBIs (52), and ranks 4th in steals (16). He’s also hitting cleanup for Blufield, and protecting wunderkind Vlad Guerrero Jr.

Cody Thomas, 13th Round: 401st Overall | Ogden Raptors (Dodgers): If you’ve been reading all of my material as diligently as you should be, you’d know two things 1. That I’ve been off that Thomas since at least July, and 2. I love the Dodgers finds in the later rounds. A shout out to J-FOH on this one as he’s been on the Thomas bandwagon for awhile. He’s a former QB at Oklahoma, and brings a high end athletic profile with him. He cooled quite a bit in August after having a monstrous June and July.

Joel Booker, 22nd Round: 656th Overall | Great Falls Voyagers (White Sox): A speedy outfielder with no pop, Booker has only been caught in 3 attempts going 38/41 while slashing .311/.404/.408. Not one of the higher end guys on this list but he’s got a high end tool.

Eric Filia, 20th Round: 597th Overall | Everett AquaSox (Mariners): A UCLA product has one of the more interesting backstories of any player in this class. He was a butler at the Playboy Mansion, was busted for plagiarism, and uses “Touch My Body” by Mariah Carey as his walkup music. He’s also super old for rookie ball.

Nick Zammerelli, 8th Round: 237th Overall | Everett AquaSox (Mariners): Filia’s teammate I’ve already discussed in my Rookie Ball Notes from a month or so back.

**Late Edition I Don’t Sleep Enough and J-FOH Beat Me Up Addition** D.J. Peters, 4th Round: 131st Overall | Ogden Raptors (Dodgers): So maybe I fell asleep and didn’t really finish. How could I forget big D.J.? Any the who, Peters might be the most talented of a very strong outfield trio, including the aforementioned Thomas, and 2015 2nd rounder Mitchell Hansen. He’s slashing .336/.428/.586 with 10 dongs, 4 steals, and a restraining order against Jack. He’s a massive individual at 6’6 225, and he puts it to good use making loads of hard contact (22.4% LD rate), He’s worthy of a top 50 pick in first year player drafts….Happy Jackie?

 

Others to Peep: Nick SolakChris BakerEli White, Sorry no pitchers not enough data.

 

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