2019 Midseason Top 50 Fantasy Prospects

1. Give me Seth Beer or give me death!

   • I drink up your Beer, I drink it up

   • Haha, man, I like him too.

2. Mike! Great stuff .. You and Ralph are my 2 goto’s for all prospect/dynasty stuff… got a possible big move comin..
   12 team roto… forever keep 10 + 10 farm … this is year 2 of completely remaking my squad .. are you on the “Sell Josh Bell” train? .. IF I did , I’m looking at offering for either a) Wander/Jasson or Keston/Jasson/+ more.. B) Adell + maybe Verdugo .. are any of these nearly enough? Too much? About right? …. between keepers/farm I also have — Robles, Alonso, Senzel, KMarte, Dansby, Kingery, Laureano, Haniger, Julio Urias, Taillon, B Lowe, Robert, Valera, India, Bichette, Gorman, Royce, Rocchio, Trammell… And also some very tradable help for guys going for it this year … sorry so long.. just wanted to paint the picture… Thank you as always! You’re one the very best

   • Nice! Thanks man. Me and Rowf are still buds.

     Personally I’m not on the sell Bell train. I liked him preseason as a sleeper. That said, if you can get Wander + for him, I think that’s fair value, but I think you can ask for more.

3. What are your thoughts on valera? He seems like he is rising on a lot of lists. Do you see him going up more and finishing inside the top 20?

   • Might be a stretch but he’s pretty firmly in that Top 30 unless the wheels fall off.

4. No Luis Urias?

   • Only because I’m counting on him losing eligibility this year (see the intro). I don’t want to waste your time ranking guys that won’t still be prospects in the fall.

5. So he isn’t ap prospect and he isn’t a finished product but what are your thoughts on Clint Frazier.

   AL only roto 5×5 obp…… I have a cheap frazier that I need to sign at the end of this year sitting on my bench and I have been offered Miley and Mancini. I started the year with Clevenger Cole Eovaldi Rodon and Alex Cobb and we all know how that tuned out. I was unfortunate enough to turn Clevenger into Sanchez and Jackie Bradley.

   Im not sitting with 4 closers 2 arms in the pen and Cole Bassit and Bailey as my only starters. I do get Boruki back.

   Would you dump Frazier for this bag of meh? I would add that I have Austin Hays for next year and a good contract on Pham and Mercado so its not essential that I keep him but I hate making a deal that doesn’t move the needle.

   • I think he’s a perfect DH. I’d hold onto him.

6. Im now sitting with 4 closers …..EOvaldi Robles Colome and sometimes a castillo. I should proofread….

   • Ha no problem.

7. Mike, Franco at number 1 suggests these are for dynasty leagues (since he will certainly not be up this year and likely not until at least mid to late 2020 and possibly not even until 2021). Is that right, or is there some shorter time period you optimize these for?

   • Yes, this is an overall list not 2019 specific. I do think there’s an outside chance we see him next year though.

     • Not sure that identifying it as an “overall list” really answers the question because a prospect’s fantasy value for dynasty leagues can be very different than for keeper leagues with retainability limits.

       Some keeper leagues explicitly limit the number of years a player can be retained; others do so implicitly by each year progressing a player’s salary or the round number of draft pick forfeited. Very young but extremely talented prospects (e.g, Luciano and Franco) could be virtually unrosterable in a keeper league with a 3 year retainability limit while having extraordinarily high fantasy value for a true dynasty league; all prospects will have their fantasy value/ranking affected to some degree depending on the applicable retainability limits.

       I am trying to understand what type of retainability limit you believe these particular rankings are optimized for, if any.

       • No retain limit. Keep forever. True dyno.

         • Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Kind of what I suspected based on my assessment of the rankings. There are some new names to me on here, so I appreciate the effort in putting this out.

           • No problem!

8. Thoughts on Evan White? Seems to be tapping into some power now. Was he far off the top 50?

   Also, comparing the two, Adell and Robert seem to be athletic freaks. What aspect of Adell’s game seperates him from Robert? He seems to be ahead on most lists. Thanks.

   • I like White a lot. Not far off. He led the Mariners list preseason.

     I think the difference between Adell and Robert (if there is one) is the scouts’ faith in Adell’s hit tool, which is rated a tick above Robert’s. I guess you could say the same for raw power, which is also a tick above. Personally, I’d kill to have either on my fantasy team because they’re both toolsheds.

     • Thanks Mike! Adell and Trout in the same outfield. Good luck to the rest of the league.

       • Anytime Skip! For real, could be nasty.

9. Received Forest Whitley as part of an early season trade where I received Carlos Correa and Whitley for Paul Goldscmidt in a 10 team, keep 25, h2h points league. I knew my team could hold Whitley as a bench player and still be competitive and more than likely make the playoffs. Luckily, even with Correa on IL it’s been just fine. I’m in line to make the playoffs and possibly get a 1st round bye from winning my division.

   With it being a shallow leage and being in win now mode, are there any guys on this list you would drop Whitley for in the next 2-3 weeks? I know Whitley is reportedly throwing, but no real updates are out there and it’s starting to get late in the year. Our trade deadline is July 31. Mostly considering Luzardo or Dustin May? If nothing else, I’ll be dropping Whitly to use as a streaming spot if he isn’t up come playoff time.

   Thanks Mike!

   • Hmmm, I’d give May a look. Luzardo might be the same frustration.

10. Nice!!! Looking forward to seeing how ChiSox handle their stable of young players. Especially Vaughn.

    I’m not sold on Gorman. I get he’s still only 19, so lots of room to go. A ton of K’s at a low level. I do like Alec Bohm a lot though IRL. Hopefully he fills out to hit for more power.

    • Yeah, it’s nice young team. Fair enough on Gorman. Long way to go like you said. Love Bohm, but I’m Philly biased ha.

11. Hi Mike, in a dynasty points league, where Ks count, would you trade Kingery for Luis Robert?

    • That’s a tough one. I think I would yeah.

12. Let’s just say Lux or Kieboom ends up on the ML roster in August (I know, more than a longshot, but still).

    Would you rather have them then Franco?

    I just hate the idea of sitting on Franco until 2021 in a league with limited keeper spots.

    • Yeah I mean you have to do what’s best based on your league’s rules. I think Franco “will be” better than Kieboom and Lux, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be better in 2020.

13. Feasibility that either, or, or even both Luis Robert and McKenzie Gore get to the show sometime this 2019 season? The Eloy injury just might open up an opportunity for a stale White Sox franchise to showcase one of their future stars. Gore could be a late year addition if the Padres get close to sniffing a WC run. Thoughts?

    • Sure, Gore at AA and the Eloy injury could make it happen. I can def see it.

14. Is Isan Diaz outside the top 50 or you expect him to lose rookie status this summer?

    • A little of both. I considered him in that 40-50 range. But either way I think he loses it this summer so I didn’t sweat it too much.

15. Thanks for the rankings Mike!

    I’ve got Hoerner stashed in my NA slot in a 16-team OPS keeper. Each team has up to 6 MiLB players that can be kept, but often those not drafted are picked up and stashed throughout the year. M. Luciano, J. Rodriguez, Larnach, Carlson, and Groshans are all available. Would you switch out Hoerner for any of these?

    Also, curious where you might rank Luis Garcia (WSH), who had a good amount of preseason hype but the power had been nonexistent.

    • No problem, I like both Garcia and Hoerner. Both are Top 100 guys, probably even 75.

      I would consider flipping him for one of those guys. (Just use the ranks above) It seems like your league has a lot of good prospects available so you’ll probably have chances to correct bad lottery tickets.

      • Thanks. There are only 4 managers that follow prospects, so over the past couple years I’ve stashed some solid guys.

        • No problem! Yeah take advantage of that.

16. Hey Mike, I know you excluded guys who have exceeded limits, but since he’s out for remainder of year, I’m curious where would Brendan Rodgers would slot in the ranks?

    • I had him 12th preseason and I don’t think much has changed to swing him too far either way. Probably in that 6-10 range with Kieboom and co.

17. You have India much higher than most updated lists I’ve read. What are you expecting from him performance wise in the second half?

    • Yeah, I think once he gets out of the FSL it’ll click more offensively. His plate discipline numbers make me think things are fine and he can still be who we thought preseason.

18. Nice list Mike, and that’s me not being sarcastic!

    I’d say you’ve got Madrigal a little too high for fantasy value. I mean he’s got 2 HR in 303 minor league at-bats. I also think Luis Patino should be higher after his Futures Game outing and maybe the #50 spot to Seth Beer.

    But, overall, I think it’s a solid list with pretty good placement of each player. Well done!

    • Thanks man!

      • Just curious, you think Brujan gets some Triple-A time this year? He’s only been at AA for a couple weeks so I doubt it. Sure wish they’d let him spend August in Triple-A.

        Also, like how you have Groshans and Julio Rodriguez so high. You know your stuff! Most don’t even know about Groshans.

        • Probably not even if he could handle it (I think he could), they’ll likely start him there in 2020 though.

          Thanks! Not sure why he doesn’t get more love. Average or better all around and he’s just a pup.

19. Who’s the best SS after wander? Bichette? Lewis? Or KieBOOM?

    • For me it’s Bichette.

20. What do you see peak years for Kieboom and Bichette looking like in avg/obp/slg and HRs?

    • Hmmmm, .280/.340/.550, 20ish homers, maybe 5ish steals for Kieboom, more for Bichette.

      They’re pretty similar.

21. Great list! Was able to swing a deal for Franco in a dynasty league earlier this year and really excited about him.

    My team is not good, so looking at some sell options. An owner has tucker, Adell, and mize and would probably move one of the OF and mize for Corbin. It’s an obp league with walks as an extra counting stat. Would that change your ranking of Adell and Tucker at all? Is corbin too much for that return? Only other guy I have on this list is Bohm.

    Thanks!

    • Thanks! If you can get either OF and Mize for Corbin I’d go for it. Not much difference between the two.

22. My favorite post! Thanks Mike!

    Who would you say are the most likely prospects to make big jumps on the rankings over the next half year – year?

    • Anytime man! At this point I’d say just keep an eye on how the recent draftees perform in short season ball. They are the ones with the least info on them and can shift a good bit.

23. Hey Mike,

    Love the list! Some deeper dynasty questions: Where would you rank the following pitchers: GrayRod, Cole Winn, Shane Baz, and Matt Tabor?

    Also what are your thoughts on these two youngins: Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuna?

    • Thanks! I like Baz the most from that group. Seems to have made improvements with command and control and should be T100 even on a fantasy list.

      Acuna I’d take a chance on just because of older bro, but he probably ends up more of a table setting MI than the complete package Ronald has turned out to be.

      Alvarez swings for power but I’d recommend staying away from catchers at that age and instead go after SS/CF.

24. What’s up Mike?

    Great stuff as always. We are in the midst of our post MLB draft minor league draft in my dynasty league, snagged Andrew Vaughn at 1.2 and decided to swing for the fences at 2.2 with Michael Toglia. He reminds me a lot of Bellinger, and he’s only 20. The thought of him crushing bombs at Coors was too enticing to pass up!

    Thoughts on my current MiLB roster? Is Jhon Torres still worth holding on to with his struggles this year? Parker Meadows hasn’t done much either. Debating whether I should toss any of these guys to make my 3.2 pick in the aforementioned draft.

    1. Jered Kelenic OF SEA
    2. Luis Rodriguez OF LAD
    3. Andrew Vaughn 1B CWS
    4. Jhon Torres OF STL
    5. Michael Toglio 1B COL
    6. Tyler Ivey, P HOU
    7. Andres Gimenez, SS NYM
    8. Juan Pablo Martinez OF TEX
    9. Jordyn Adams OF LAA
    10. Parker Meadows, OF, DET
    11 Bayoran Lora, OF TEX
    12. Lazaro Armenteros, OF OAK
    13. Florencio Serrano SP TEX
    14. ONeil Cruz 3B PIT
    15. Ryan Lewis, OF SEA

    Thanks man!

    • Thanks! Solid minors roster. If there’s somebody you really like at 3.2 I could see losing Meadows for him.

      • Right on man, thank you. I’m thinking if Kameron Misner or Keoni Cavaco falls to 3.2 I might just do that.

        • No problem. Go for it.

          • Hello Mike! Thank you for putting this list together. Can you provide us with some thoughts on Trent Grisham?

25. regarding stashing 1 prospect for the chance they get called up this season, who of the following do you like best? We get 1x “NA” spot in my redraft league:

    K. Tucker
    J. Adell
    F. Whitley
    C. Mize
    MacKenzie Gore

    Thanks in advance

    • I’d go with Tucker there.

26. Mike
    I am in a 20 team dynasty head to head points league. I am in need of some SP. My OF is currently is with Benintendi Eloy , Acuna and Robles. But I also have Luis Roberts. Would you deal any of these guys for any young SP if so for whom.

    Thanks

    • I’d try moving Beni for a top 20 arm.

      • I have an offer of Clevinger or Bieber would you do either guy for Benintendi.

        • If you need the arm, I’d go Clevinger.

27. Great work! When would you stash Wander in a 10-team 5-keeper league? Looks like his current ETA is 2021, so best-case scenario has him in the big show late next summer.

    Keep forever league and I currently have Trout, Betts, Ohtani, and Torres. Others on my roster are Benintendi, Albies, Meadows, and Buxton but wasn’t sure if Wander’s upside is worth letting one of them go. Thanks!

    • Thanks! I think in that format you’d want to snag him midseason next year. Not deep enough to warrant jettisoning a proven player for.

28. Hello Mike! Thank you for putting this list together. Can you provide us with some thoughts on Trent Grisham?

29. Reasons Larnach shows up so high? Been offered him for R Ray in my keeper where I’m looking to next year. I do like Ray’s price though so could be keepable at $13 next year. Is that worth moving for Larnach? Would have to cut A Kay or Balazovic too.

    • Bat/pop and could move pretty quickly. If you’re in it for next year, Ray will probably be more useful.

30. You have two players at #33.

    • ooops! fixed thanks mate

31. Same for Isan Diaz or is he outside top 50? Thanks, love your articles.

    • Thanks! A little of both. He’s just outside for me but I also think he’ll graduate. Betting on Castro getting moved.

      • Cool thanks!

32. Hey Mike,

    Hoping someone can help explain why the Astros refuse to let Yordan Alvarez play the field? The explanation given thus far has been that he is so big that after a few days out there, his legs get tired. That makes zero sense seeing that he was playing the field (36 games started) while in the minors.

    Seems very odd to turn a kid that young into a full time DH. Not to mention it kills his fantasy value!

    • The leg thing has to be bullshit. It could be that they just don’t trust his skills. He’s not the greatest defender, but I’m with you, at least keep the flexibility while he’s young.

      • Thanks! I agree, give him a chance…at least 1 or 2 starts a week! Hopefully they work with him in the off-season and Spring Training….to the point where they feel comfortable with him out there. Gotta believe he splits time next year between left and DH.

        • Yeah exactly. Hide him in left twice a week like my coach used to do with me. He’s only in it for the clubhouse buffet apparently!

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