Can I yawn on someone's face? The floors are moving up on prospects and ceilings are lowering. It feels like with the promotion of Alex Bregman the minor leagues lost a lot of high octane prospects. Moncada has a chance to be a 1st or 2nd round fantasy guy one day; Prospector Ralph has a fathead for Benintendi and I don't mean a life-sized wall decal of Benintendi; Judge could hit 40 HRs and .210 and Manuel Margot, well, good but Padres. What I'm saying is the high minors are sorta depleted right now. I don't see a huge rookie bat coming up this year. Next year might be an issue too depending on how well Brendan Rodgers progresses this year, but rookies are always going to surprise and, hence, their allure. That reminds me of a magazine that Cougs put into my bathroom that I've been subjected to reading when I forget my phone, it's called Allure. The previous two sentences could've also been Pitbull lyrics, rhyming allure with Allure. Interesting iambic pentameter, Mr. Bull. So, all of this rambling preamble -- preramble? -- brings us to the gingie one, Clint Frazier. He was traded to the Yankees (with others) this past year for Andrew Miller. I love that deal for the Indians. On one hand, one of the best relievers in baseball. On the other hand, a lottery ticket. This gingie wasn't one of those Powerball lottery tickets either. This lottery ticket looks to be one of those scratch-offs where you win $500 a year for ten years. Would you take $500/year for ten years? Sure, why not? Would you trade away a top five reliever for it? Unlikely, but I also might've mixed metaphors. Anyway, so what can we expect from Clint Frazier for 2017 fantasy baseball?
See all of today’s starting lineups
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ATH | ATL | HOU | PHI | SEA | TB | TOR | WSH | ARI | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | OAK | PIT | SD | SF | STL | TEX |
What do you do now Cubs fans? You waited 108 years to drink from the lips of victory, and it happened. So, what's left to wait for? The hope springs eternal known as the Northsiders minor league system, enters a very new phase in the team's history. No longer is it the breeding ground of hope and promise, but the feeder system to continue stocking the newly minted juggernaut. While players like Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Willson Contreras all played pivotal roles in the Cubs run, they still surprisingly had the lowest number of home grown players on their playoff roster. Of course young talents like Addison Russell and Anthony Rizzo don't count, even if we barely remember them elsewhere. All this to say the Cubs have a young and talented roster with few spots for everyday players to breakthrough. This leads me to believe, that much like the jettisoned Gleyber Torres, many of these youngsters discussed today will end up breaking through with other clubs while the Cubs chase titles. Exciting times to be a Cubbies fan, even if you jumped on the bandwagon on the way to the victory parade.
Manuel Margot reminds me of an Uber ride I took recently. I was heading to the airport with Cougs and I said to our Uber driver, "Are you Panamanian?" And he nodded his head rapidly, shocked like someone who just had their weight guessed at a carnival. He asked me how I could tell, so rather than telling him how I knew, I said I lived in Panama for the past ten years. My Spanish wasn't the least bit convincing for someone who supposedly lived there for the last decade. "Yo tengo beisbol," I said with a smile. He looked confused; I guessed his nationality, but had no hard data to backup the how. Finally, we got to the airport and stepped out of the Uber ride, when Cougs was like, "How did you know he was Panamanian?" I said it was obvious, he looked exactly like Manuel Noriega, but I wasn't telling him that. Our Uber driver and Noriega could've literally had a face-off with their pockmarks. Any hoo! How does this remind me of Manuel Margot besides his name? His stats say this guy is going to be great, but I look at him and I see one thing: Padres. That big dopey monk swinging a bat. Is it me or does the Swinging Friar look like Ed Asner in a muumuu with a phone cord belt? Meh, prolly me. So, what can we expect from Manuel Margot for 2017 fantasy baseball?
Nomar Mazara was ownable for a good part of this past year in all redraft leagues. He waned a little towards the end of the year, but, as a rookie, Mazara had 20 homers and hit .266, which is more than respectable. What does this have to do with Lewis Brinson? Glad you asked, Clunky Segue Question. Lewis Brinson was ranked higher than Nomar Mazara in the Rangers' minor league system entering last season. Then Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz were sent to the Brewers in a midseason Lucroy trade. By the way, Luis/Lewis is the Spanish version of tomato-tomahto. Brinson above Mazara though, well, interjection, that makes me say hmm... That's interesting, because, like Mary J. Blige, I have real love for Mazara. So, I went to look at tape of Brinson and now I'm typing this with my drool.
Damn, that's some gorge shizz that's got me engorged. He looks like a young Alex Rios. It's hard to separate ourselves from what Rios became, but a young Rios was a perennial top 10 outfielder. Okay, a bi-perennial, but that was more to do with Rios' attitude and less to do with his talent. An art collector friend told me, "If you give a piece of art a few seconds, you get a few seconds of pleasure. If you give a piece of art more time, you get more from it." That GIF is like a piece of art that you keep getting more from the more you look at it. We first see his swing (against what looks like Brad Penny), but you can see his speed just by how he leaves the batter's box. If one swing can show you a five-tool player, I'd contend that swings does it. He should have "Fun Zone" above him every time he swings. You can also tell how far that homer goes by the pitcher and 2nd baseman's reaction. There's people on a trampoline in right-center expressing their enthusiasm for Brinson and, as the outfield fence tells us, we're getting Intel from looking at this. Finally, who is Brinson? H.E.B....Or simply he be...This. Oh, and I have an art collector friend? *makes farting noise with hand under armpit* Ha! Anyway, what can we expect from Lewis Brinson for 2017 fantasy baseball:
Here it is, the comprehensive guide to all things Prospector Ralph for the 2017 Offseason. Each and every teams' Preview from 2016 and 2017 is here. As well as, links to the Fantasy Prospect Podcast episode where each system is discussed. You'll find links to last year's Pre-season and Mid-season Top 100's, and the Top 100's for 2017 will eventually be linked here as well. This should be a handy tool to help you navigate through roughly 500+ prospects, and all the draft prep-material you could possibly need for minors, dynasty, and first year player drafts. Pretty much the only thing we don't do is read it for you, and based on my illustrious typo career, neither do I!
Imagine the horror on Michael Halpern's face when he found out that he was going to have to talk Red Sox Prospects this week with yours truly "The Funk Docta Spot". Well we back, and we're talking Sox Prospects, both of the Sox, the Red and the White. Both of the Sox is a euphemism for a whole lot of Red Sox and a like four White Sox guys. No worries, if Mr. Halpern speaks ill of any personal Boston Binkies of mine I'll cuss him out over on
ImaginaryBrickWall. In all seriousness we talk Andrew Benintendi, Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Rafael Devers, and a host of others. On the White Sox side we hit on Zack Collins and contemplate a hypothetical future one-two punch of Zack Burdi and Carson Fulmer in the White Sox pen. After that we fight about politics....No, we don't it's a lovefest! It's the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Prospect Podcast.
Can a guy already feel like a bust before losing his rookie eligibility? With the help of A.J. Reed, I'm going to say yes. Already post-hype prospect while still being a rookie? Already past his prime at 23 years old? Reed is accelerating expectations, which isn't nearly as good as exhilarating expectations. It's actually much worse. Like a barista who can't make foam worth a damn, Reed was a first cup of coffee flop. Could it have been nerves or did we overestimate his potential? In 2015, Reed hit 34 HRs across High and Double-A with an average north of .335. Then, last year in Triple-A, he hit 15 HRs and .291 in half a season. He averaged about five homers per month with a solid average, which translates to 30 HRs and .270 in the majors, with all things being almost equal. "With All Things Being Almost Equal" sounds like one of the dozen of books written by Dave Eggers that no one has read. "Oh my God, I love Dave Eggers!" "Have you read anything by him after his debut book?" "God no." That is every conversation about Eggers since 2002. Okay, off track! Anyway, what can we expect from A.J. Reed for 2017 fantasy baseball?
Jameson Taillon threw 104 IP last year and had a 3.38 ERA with a microscopic 1.5 BB/9 and an it'll-play 7.4 K/9 coming off his 94 MPH fastball. I love Taillon. I can't wait to draft him on every 2017 fantasy baseball team. Oh, the days will be fun when I can, said Grey sipping Cognac from a Pirate helmet snifter. Yet, said with a megaphone, I CAN'T FIND ANYONE THAT DOESN'T THINK
TYLER GLASNOW IS MUCH BETTER. Like Taillon is a three, maybe two -- it's very hard to be a ten with a flat curve -- and Glasnow is a bona fide ace. Together they do sound like a wrestling team Rowdy Roddy Piper (RIP) tried to get over, saying they were from Scotland. "Glasnow is close to Glasgow and Jameson Taillon doesn't need any work to sell. I mean, Taillon is the chain hanging the metal medallion from a kilt and Jameson's whiskey. Nuff said." That was McMahon pitching the idea to Roddy in the 80s. On last midseason's
top 100 prospects by Prospector Ralph, Glasnow was 2nd overall. Prospector Ralph once took an 8x10 of Andrew Benintendi into a hot tub and asked his wife to give him ten minutes. And PR put Glasnow above Benintendi! Prospector Ralph once wore a Red Sox eye patch for a week, walking around saying, "My name is Yoan Moncada, you killed my father, prepare to die." And Glasnow is above Moncada! So, maybe ETAs played into that ranking a tad bit -- by the way, Tad Bit wanted to be a porn actor, but didn't have the stuff -- but Glasnow is obviously well-loved. Other places you look, Glasnow has similar fervor. Or, if Peggy Lee is reading, you give me fervor. Anyway, what can we expect from Tyler Glasnow for 2017 fantasy baseball?
Ralph, on the Red Sox? This is sure to be the most homer post ever, or most homah post eva round my way. Now that I've gotten my obligatory Boston accent joke out of the way, and played into all your stereotypes. Which aren't really stereotypes, as much as they're totally spot on truth bombs....(but don't tell the others I said that). Moving on, if I may. Let's get into the
gloating glowing review of the Top Boston Red Sox Prospects for Fantasy Baseball. (SEO hi-5) This is a system that's churned out a host of fantasy stars in recent years. Just in the last three seasons alone, players like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. have matriculated. With another crop of players on the come up, names like Moncada, Benintendi, and Devers have become synonymous with top prospect status. The exciting part about covering the Boston system, is the prospects are deep and diverse in terms of skills sets. It helps that outside a few high end arms in Kopech and Groome, it's mostly hitting prospects. Personal bias aside, it's a good system and one with several players worth your attention.
**Updated December 6th 2016 Post-Sale Trade**
Hehe, I'm crazy for Rockies players. You know why, so don't play coy, though your baby blues are kinda cute when you're playing coy. Okay, play coy, walk to the end of the bar and look back and wink. What the hell are you doing?! I was being facetious! Ugh, now I have to imagine you give me the looksies! By the way, speaking of someone giving you the looksies, but not for good, but rather for evil. I was at my local coffee place the other day, and, it was early, and I needed my coffee to function, and I was likely in the wrong, but that's neither here nor there. So, you know how the fancy coffee places have the lids by the garbage rather than putting them on? I get my coffee and I head over for a lid. A girl that was at the lid station backs up right as I get there and I narrowly avoid her and slide in to the garbage ledge by the lids. Pretty slick maneuver, if I do say so. However, it turns out by doing that I cut in front of a little person who had a steaming hot cup of coffee and also wanted to get a lid. So, he stares at me like he wants to kill me and I say, "What?" Well, that sets him off from zero to hundred and he starts screaming, "WHAT?! WHAT?!" Repeatedly. And all I see is his cup of coffee potentially being thrown in my face, so I say, "Sorry, I didn't see you there." And I think he took this to mean he was so short I couldn't have saw him, so he starts cursing at the top of his lungs and staring me down until an employee of the coffee place steps between us. Yes, I nearly got into an altercation with an angry little person at 7:30 AM on a Saturday. Offseason! So, like I was saying, Rockies players, rawr! Today's special installment is about Raimel Tapia. He was called up this past year in September, which is obviously a less angry cup of coffee. He saw 38 ABs, hit .263 and stole three bases. This is not the last we've seen of him! Actually, it was the first. Anyway, what can we expect from Raimel Tapia in 2017 fantasy baseball?
More guys this year than any other year just fell below 130 ABs, the Rookie of the Year threshold that I use for these
fantasy baseball rookie outlook post-ma-whosies. Dansby Swanson,
Josh Bell, A.J. Reed, dot dot dot, well, I guess that's it, but still that's a lot from what I remember, though, to be fair, it's not like 'how many guys just fell short of losing rookie eligibility' is something I'd remember from past years. Though, there might be something to a guy being on a team for 45 games and losing rookie eligibility which could be Dansby and Reed, but that's not the criteria I use. This is more pedantic than an employee meeting at the Apple Store to tell employees that they are now to call the store "Apple" and not "Apple Store." (The preceding was an actual Apple employee discussion from what I heard. I'd tell you who told me but then that Apple employee would be killed. They don't play.) So, onto Josh Bell. Why does he sound so familiar? His name rings a...what's the word for one of those clangy things? I'm having a brain... What's it called when you poop air? Oh, I know, he's one of the top Pirate hitter prospects who came up this year and hit a grand slam in his 2nd career at-bat as a pinch hitter. A pinch hitter because C*nt Hurdle kept going with John Jaso Jingleheimer Schmidt at 1st base. Why call up Bell when they had no intention of playing him? Will Bell play? Let's segue this bizzatch into the 2nd paragraph... Anyway, what can we expect from Josh Bell for 2017 fantasy baseball?
Despite their lack of fanfare from a player development standpoint, the Baltimore Orioles have done as good a job as any in developing major league talent. The usual knocks are their inability to develop, and keep major league starters. As players like Jake Arrieta, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Zack Davies have found varying degrees of success outside of Avon Barksdale's home turf. While starters have alluded the Orioles, top notch bullpen talent has not. There's little questions as to who's developed the best homegrown bullpen in the world. In addition to the pen they've cultivated young superstar Manny Machado, and nurtured Rangers washout Chris Davis into a perennial 40 home run threat. In fact they were tied for the most homegrown players of any team in the 2016 MLB playoffs. At present the Orioles system lacks high impact fantasy talent, but features several intriguing players for deeper dynasty leagues. In other words, it could suck more than it does....
