Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! Welcome back for another run through the smooth ripples of the SAGNOF stream!
Things are going to look a bit different than usual today, as our posting support made it tough for me to put together charts and visuals. But, fear not! We can still run through some information on steals for our redraft and keeper leagues, along with some breaking news across the SAGNOF landscape.
Putting all (most) Spiderman villain references aside, Andruw Monasterio started off this year as a bit of a mystery to most in the fantasy community. And by mystery, I think I speak for more than one analyst when I say the ‘Mysterio’ was … who the eff is this guy?
The 26-year-old Brewers infielder was considered a fielding first prospect when the Nationals picked him up from the Cubs in an August 2018 trade for Daniel Murphy. Above-average defense and a 55-grade speed tool (to match his 55-grade arm) were the skills that Cleveland honed in on when he was acquired in a multi-player deal for Yan Gomes in November of that same year.
With a slow progression through the minors, and a handful of steals at each stop, Monasterio signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in 2021 and got the call-up this year after 42 games at AAA. The MI didn’t get a write-up in the Baseball Forecaster this year in the major league or minor league section, so it’s safe to say he came into 2023 under the radar for most fantasy managers.
3 HR, 27 R, 14 RBI, 5 SB, and a .288 AVG in 52 MLB games might not be much to empty your FAAB wallets for, but this is a guy heading into his peak athletic years (ages 26-28). He also has multiple eligibility (2B, SS, 3B in leagues with a 5 GP minimum). You could do a lot worse than an everyday infielder for a contending team if you need a replacement player for the rest of the season, and Monasterio could give you flexibility if you want to stream hitters in and out of your lineup. (Fwiw, Monasterio has 47 PA vs LHP, and 129 PA vs RHP).
Here are some other notes and news pieces I picked up while looking through things this week…
Rest of Season
Vaughn Grissom – This is a guy I wrote up in an April 18th article profiling some guys that were set to see an increase in playing time due to injury. In April, Grissom’s PT boost was set to come as a result of Orlando Arcia’s busted-up wrist. With no offense to Arcia, there was much rejoicing in fantasy circles when the news…uh…broke. The middle infielder that a lot of people thought should have started the season in Atlanta anyway was ready for the big show!
Well, that excitement lasted for all of 19 games before the 22-year-old Grissom was sent back down to Gwinnett for ‘more seasoning’ and defensive reps. Barf emoji.
Fast forward to today and, like Yogi Berra said, “It’s like deja vu all over again”. This time it’s a hamstring injury that sends Ozzie Albies to the 10-day IL and earns a recall for Grissom. But has he done enough in the minors to warrant a possible pickup?
The line rolls out at 88 games played with 6 HR, 65 R, 50 RBI, and a .327 AVG in 346 AB. Grissom also managed to steal 11 bases in 13 attempts.
The bat never really was in question. GM Alex Antholpoulos was on record in January saying he had doubts about the infielder’s ability to be a major league shortstop full time, but added that he had faith in Ron Washington’s assessment that the kid would be a solid MLB hitter.
For right now, it looks like Grissom is at least worth a monocle. Picking him up if you need to replace an injured SS … or one that was recently placed on the restricted list … would be a good move, too. Either way, we’re going to see if Grissom can translate any of that AAA success over the next two weeks in Atlanta.
TJ Friedl – TJ Friedl is another guy I profiled in the preseason with hopes that he would land everyday at-bats in a (then) crowded Cincinnati outfield. On March 8th, Friedl was one of three profiles that I outlined for the “Level Up With Some Steals XP” article. I don’t know how much of a peacock victory lap this one is, but I did mention at the end of the profile that at a post-400 ADP, this 70-grade speed guy with (seemingly) full-time playing time was destined to give us a good return on draft position.
Well, fast forward to today and Friedl has effectively obliterated those preseason projections. Through 97 games, Friedl has 10 HR, 47 R, 46 RBI, and 22 SB in 26 attempts. The triple slash line of .277/.345/.439 is a heck of a lot better than we all expected from a 27th round draft pick.
Somehow Friedl is still only owned in 81% of Fantrax mixed leagues, so if you’re looking for an OF that can provide a bit of everything you may want to check your wire to see if he’s available. The bad news is he does get a breather against some LHP (43 games against lefties vs 94 vs RHP). The good news is he’s carved out a nice role in the new Big Red Machine that is the juggernaut Reds offense. I’d buy if I needed the boost.
Johan Rojas – This is another buy based on a playing time increase. Like Grissom above, Rojas is going to find his name in the lineup much more often because of injury to a full-time player. Brandon Marsh went down with a knee injury on August 6th, and Rojas stepped right in with a 2-for-3 outing.
There’s a mixture of good and bad news here. Rojas, like TJ Friedl above, posts a 70-grade speed score. He has hits in five of the games that he’s started in Marsh’s place, and muscled out his first MLB home run against the Twins on Friday night.
The bad news? He’s only managed to steal one base in his 7 starts since Marsh went on the IL.
Brandon Marsh begins a rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley this week, so Rojas should get at least another handful of games to prove he can handle the increased playing time. His primary competition, for now, is Jake Cave (that’s another bonus), but depending on how Marsh’s knee responds to the rehab time, Rojas’s continued at-bats could dry up faster than Marsh’s beard and hair gel. At the very least, I’d watchlist him and monitor for those redraft leagues.
Keeper or Dynasty leagues
Xavier Edwards – Here’s our Professor X for today. Edwards was probably best known as the ‘slapd*ck’ prospect Tampa received when they shipped Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth to San Diego for Hunter Renfroe in 2019. Well, I can’t speak to the former, but the prospect part has certainly started to flourish.
Last November, Edwards was dealt to Miami and assigned to AAA Jacksonville. To say that he’s flourished with the Jumbo Shrimp is a pretty jumbo understatement. In 81 AAA games this year, Edwards has 6 HR, 74 R, 45 RBI, and a triple slash line of .374/.449/.483. For SAGNOF purposes, it’s even sweeter. Edwards has a SB:CS ratio of 30:4 and is making good on those 70-grade wheels.
At the very least, Edwards makes for a solid stash in those keeper or dynasty leagues. Adding in the fact that he has OF and 2B eligibility might be an even bigger reason to secure him for 2024. With Miami in the hunt for the playoffs, (currently 1 game ahead of the Cubs for the final wild card spot), we may even see Xavier Edwards in Miami before the season is finished.
With numbers like this, one can’t help but think of another Miami Marlins 2B/OF with a solid hit tool and speed to burn. Let’s just hope that this one can stay healthier than Jazz has in 2023.
Jordan Lawlar – Grey mentioned Lawlar in his Tuesday roundup, and hit the nail squarely on the head. Seeing any of these top prospects and the word ‘promoted’ in the same sentence definitely sparks excitement. But, unfortunately for those of us in redraft leagues, Lawlar was only being moved up from AA to AAA yesterday.
The AA numbers are pretty eye-popping. In 89 games with Amarillo, the 20 (!) year old shortstop has 15 HR, 77 R, 48 RBI, and 33 SB in 37 attempts. The triple slash is a healthy .263/.366/.474, and even more of an indication that the kid is ready for the next level.
Could we see Lawlar in the big leagues before the end of the year? Outside of a brief cup of coffee in September, I would imagine that the Diamondbacks want to preserve his rookie status for 2024, but it’s not like Arizona is already playing for next year. Sitting just 3.5 games back of that third wild card spot, stranger things have happened than a team calling up a top prospect to try to inject some energy into a lineup and make that late season push.
At the very least, this is another ‘must have’ in those dynasty or keeper leagues, (like Masyn Winn from last week), and a guy that you should be targeting if your trade deadline is still open and you’re looking to retool for next season.
That’s all, Razzfolks! If you have any ideas of players that you want a deeper look at, drop them in the comments. As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, you can always catch me here or @MarmosDad on Twitter. Good luck with your SAGNOF plays this week!
