Here’s what I said last year about Triston Casas, “There’s likely a lot of factors that go into fantasy baseball prospects, but here’s two I look at:
1. Ready and it’s up to the club.
2. Not ready.
Frank Voila! That’s it! Well, maybe not it it, but it is close enough to it. That it is in the It Crowd. In the big broad, general sense. If the player is in the 2nd category, then I’m not going to cover them. It’s why we have Prospectors Itch and Hobbs. They’ll tell you the guys who will be ready, eventually. My job is to tell you the guys who are ready, then leave it up to the team on whether or not they’re going to promote them. Triston Casas aka The House of Triston, as he’s known to George RR Martin, is ready. Honestly, Triple-A is a way station, in general. If a guy is in Triple-A, he could be in the majors. There’s no more “learning” for Triple-A guys. Maybe some are just not good enough for the majors, so they sit in Triple-A for years, but even those guys are Quad-A guys, not Triple-A guys. See, there’s no such thing as Triple-A. You’ve been woke’d up. You’re welcome. This doesn’t mean the Red Sox will call up Triston Casas, just because he’s in Triple-A. But they could at any time.” And that’s me quoting me!
I quote that long passage because it annoys me so much, and I thought I’d annoy you too. You’re welcome! What were the Red Sox doing last year? I get it, manipulating service time, but when teams like the Red Sox are doing that, what hope do we have for a team like the Pirates? The Red Sox went to Yu Chang, Franchy Cordero, Eric Hosmer and do I have to continue with how terrible their 1st basemen were? It makes me sick. I have RedSoxbotcheditulism. Only cure of RedSoxbotcheditulism is they finally turn to Triston Casas this spring. So, what can we expect from Triston Casas for 2023 fantasy baseball?
Triston Casas hit five homers in only 76 major league at-bats. Oh, yeah, he’s ready. Here, for your peepers:
Triston Casas hits a towering shot for his first MLB home run! pic.twitter.com/omLA3wVgVA
— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2022
And, more of the same the other way:
Oppo ?
Triston Casas, MLB’s No. 25 prospect, slugs his fourth big league home run for the @RedSox — third against the Yankees. pic.twitter.com/u5QWPVqjS9
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 24, 2022
By the way, I just realized what Triston Casas’s nickname should be, The Homeboy. Not sure if I just made that up, but I will assume so. Yay, me! Our former podcaster Geoff, who knows prospects and the Red Sox, said Casas reminds him of Freddie Freeman. When Freeman first came up, he looked like a 27/.270 hitter, and now he’s regularly a .300 hitter. Casas is getting a much earlier jump on things too, so he might not wait until he’s 30 before he becomes a .300 hitter. In those 76 major league at-bats last year, he only hit .197, but it was with a 24.2% strikeout rate and .208 BABIP. Plus, the Red Sox were jerking him around, i.e., it means nothing. Fully expect The Homeboy to hit .270+ once he’s comfortable in the majors. That might not be in 2023, but it’s there in his profile.
Clearly, the allure here is the light-tower power, I devour, this is not about his average, man, when I got a mouse-clicky-thing in my hand, damn! Ooh! Listen to the way Triston Casas slays with his bat — DAMAGE! (uhh), DAMAGE! (uhh) destruction, terror and mayhem! Sorry, I just started singing Mama Said Knock You Out. At 22 years of age, The Homeboy feels about as can’t-miss as prospects get. Maybe it won’t be in 2023, but at some point, I’d be surprised if he’s not a 30/.270 hitter. Has no speed, and might not be exactly there from the jump, so this isn’t a can’t-miss 2023 guy. Emphasize that in your brain for this year. Eventually? Yes. 2023? Might just be a 20/.240 whatever this year. Though, the upside is there with his ability to take a walk and power. For 2023, I’ll give Triston Casas projections of 57/19/66/.243/1 in 471 ABs with a chance for much more.
