Sal Frelick is going to be a star, to be quite Frank. More Frank than a Barrone waiting for linguini alfredo the dinner table. The Milwaukee Brewers rookie has quickly made an impact at the big league level, but there’s planty of reason to believe the best is yet to come, as is often the case with young players. Here at Razzball, we’ve given you plenty of opportunities for free licks at Frelick, which you can read more about below. So if you don’t have an shares yet, it’s time to self-reflect, or Salf-refleckt. Here’s why you need to be holding your shares or scrambling for additional ownership of my pal, Sal, in dynasty leagues moving forward.
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The draft has come and gone and as many suspected, LSU’s Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews went off the board with the first two overall selections. For many, those two prospects instantly became the most sought-after in dynasty leagues and first-year player drafts alike. Alas! How could thee thinketh otherwise? After all, generational prospects, as they’ve been labeled, are likely to cause such a reaction. And perhaps it’s for good reason. Sure, Skenes is a great choice at No. 1 in a first-year player draft. But I get up on my rooftop at this time every summer (it takes me roughly that long to tear down the holiday lights), and remind our readers that draft position should not dictate FYPD board position. There are many, many places to find and steal value along the way. Maybe there’s a bat that went outside the first 18 picks that you should consider in your top five players overall. Or a mid-second-round diamond in the rough that fell 20 spots past where he probably should have. It’s all about being creative and better informed than those around you. In this week’s column, we’ll break down five FYPD sleeper sticks from the 2023 college draft class, followed by another five to keep your eye on.
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5 Players To Watch In NCAA Super Regionals
June 8, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 1 Commentby: Hobbs
We’ve reached the NCAA Super Regional round in college baseball, as just 16 of the nation’s best teams are left standing. All the others are either sitting patiently for next season or lying down quietly for a millenial power nap. The 16 remaining teams all face off this upcoming weekend in a best-of-three series to determine which eight programs are headed to the 2023 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, the land where hopes, dreams, and corn all come to fruition. The juggernauts that are Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Miami, Oklahaoma State and Coastal Carolina have all been eliminated, meaning countless MLB Draft prospects are now focusing their attention on the events of July. That or they’re one of several thousand players in the transfer portal. That being said, a group of highly talented players remains in the field, including LSU’s Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, Florida’s Wyatt Langford and Hurston Waldrep, Tennessee’s Chase Dollander, Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder, Virginia’s Kyle Teel and Stanford’s Tommy Troy, among numerous others. For today’s exercise, we won’t be focusing on those premier names, rather we will be taking a deep dive into five Super Regional prospects you may not yet know — but should.
Please, blog, may I have some more?As a first-generation, wholesome Pennsylvanian man, I am a sucker for a name like Colton Cowser. Maybe it’s the mooing I hear in the back of my mind every time his name is uttered, or perhaps it’s Colton’s efficient stroke that stays on plane so well through the baseball that has me hooked. When I was a child, my parents used to drive me past cow pastures to help put me to sleep. A lot has changed since then. Now, my wife drives me past cow pastures to help put me to sleep. It’s comforting. So is having a prospect like Cowser in your Minor League system when the likes of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle and more already producing in the bigs. Cowser has the chance to make a Rutschman-like impact in 2023. That could be for the Orioles, for your fantasy team, or both. Let’s get into just how much of a boost Cowser could provide for your squad this season, as well as when he can be expected in Baltimore with the Birdies.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Happy NFL Draft Day, sports fans! Today it is April and next week it will be May. After May comes June, followed by July, otherwise known as MLB Draft month. To be frank, my preseason top-15 is already out-dated, as is MLB Pipeline’s top-100 posted months ago. I’d be willing to bet my second-born child (lost my first in a poker game last month) that Chase Dollander is NOT the second player off the board and is in fact not a lock to go in the top five. I’ll also tell you there’s a chance Dylan Crews goes second overall, not first. And there might even be a player currently ranked in the top-five overall that I could see falling into the 20s. Oh yeah, and only six of the top-20 are pitchers. Who are they? What has changed? Well, you’ll have to make like Oliver Twist and pound the button below to find out.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Collegiate Corner: This Ain’t A Skenes
April 13, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects |by: Hobbs
As we reach the college season’s midpoint, I got to wondering: after you drink 50% of your ballpark beer, is it half-empty or half-full? On one hand, it’s half-empty because we don’t want the season to end, but on the other, it’s half-full because there’s still plenty of baseball left including the highly-anticipated College World Series. Then I remember that the disgruntled concessions worker that charged me $18 for my souvenir cup only filled it up two-thirds of the way, so really the ballpark beer is 33.3% full, unless you take into account the volume accounted for by the ice… and that’s how I successfully lost my entire audience before even beginning the discussion about the first overall pick for the 2023 MLB Draft. So how about this? Drink ALL of your ballpark beer, click “Please, blog, may I have some more?” and hit up the comments section with who you’d take first overall if you had the pleasure (or lack thereof) of being Mr. Ben Cherington.
Please, blog, may I have some more? MLB Opening Day: 5 Turtledoves Primed For Breakouts
March 30, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Sleepers | 6 Commentsby: Hobbs
Without a doubt, the greatest movie ever made is Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. One of my favorite scenes is when Jenny (Cameron Diaz) ventures into the rich part of down to rob the affluent blind while dressed as a maid — a practice referred to as being a “turtle dove” in the film. As she pickpockets a flirtatious man’s wallet before getting off at her stop, he begins to get forward with her, asking if he may speak but trying to not be too ambitious with his remarks.
JENNY: I might like, sir. But I can’t say now.
MAN: Why?
JENNY: Because this is my stop.
MAN: May I walk with you a little, then?
JENNY (firmly): That — would be too bold.
At that point, Jenny exits and proceeds to rob countless New York City mansions blind. Absolutely classic. Now, think of today’s post the same way. We are going to be seriously bold, but we won’t be breaking bread with strangers. This is our Opening Day. Our chance to be the turtle dove and rob our leagues like none other. Be daring, but on your own accord. As long as no one recognizes you or gets wind of your plan, we’re in the clear. Luckily, the five players we’ll break down with bold predictions are former college starts turned MLB youngsters still waiting to make a name for themselves in The Show. Many are sleeping on them, but not us. Not today.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Collegiate Corner: Conference Start-Up Check-In
March 16, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects |by: Hobbs
As we head into the start of conference play in college baseball, I got to thinking about the first time I attended a conference. I was about seven years old, and my parents dragged me along to some three-day event where adults listen to four-eyed people drone on for hours about this and that and all the hoopla in the world. As a child, I was demoted to the childcare room, where I drew pictures while making a friend named Sean. Think of it as conference play, but with a twist. Where Sean is now, I don’t know, but happy trails, good buddy. At the end of the weekend, I never wanted to attend a conference again, although I did want to know what a “delegate” was. In college baseball, there are nine more conference weekends to enjoy after the first is done. Luckily for me, my relationship with conference play evolved dramatically in the 20-plus years since. Thankfully, that allows me to provide you, dear Razzballers, with yet another Collegiate Corner update as non-con competition winds down on the weekends. We’ll open with a two-way star that’s setting the college ranks on fire, followed by updates on a handful of other draft hopefuls.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Freshmen mashing. Big-hype college arms answering the call and overlooked hurlers raising eyebrows. Star transfers being cleared to compete. And then there’s me, sitting in a ballpark seat taking it all in, chomping on some Trolli sour gummy worms, and trying to digest college baseball as it stands in the year 2023. Things look a little differently with the enforcement of the pitch clock and rules regulating pitchers’ abilities to throw to bases (or in some cases, forcing them to throw to bases). But the talent pool is still elite and so is the product. If you haven’t tuned in yet, I highly recommend that you do. There’s a whole other world of baseball out there waiting to be consumed, with a seemingly endless group of tomorrow’s MLB stars waiting in the wings. We’ll go over a handful of those players in this week’s Collegiate Corner.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Top 15 College Draft Prospects, 2023 NCAA Primer
February 16, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects |by: Hobbs
It’s here! It’s here! It’s College Baseball Opening Day Eve, the night when your favorite head coach shimmies down your chimney and fills the living room with dirt and freshly cut grass! And don’t forget the Dubble Bubble. Fifteen seconds and the flavor is all gone. Hoorah, hoorah! But now, my friends, I must be Frank (not the scary one from Donnie Darko dressed as a rabbit). Originally, this was going to be a top-20 prospects post, but I’ve decided to mold it into a top-15 with some insight into the start of the 2023 college season. Prospects 10-15 are all position players and there’s a healthy dosage of pop included in this week’s installment. So let’s get to it and prime up the 2023 college baseball season!
Please, blog, may I have some more? 2023 MLB Draft: Top Ten College Prospects To Target In Dynasty Leagues
February 2, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 3 Commentsby: Hobbs
After unveiling the top five college prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft two weeks ago, we dive into players 6-10 today. And in two more weeks, we’ll expand from these 10 to the top 20. It’s a steady, sequential process, much like a Build-A-Bear Workshop but without the annoying kids and hard-of-hearing grandparents. Call this the Build-A-FYPD Workshop, because that’s what the purpose here truly is: to help you construct your first-year player draft boards and plot your future targets in dynasty formats. In the first installment, I went over four position players and one pitcher in Tennessee’s Chase Dollander. As we lengthen the list, three more hurlers will be introduced, as well as a pair of first-round infielders. The players in the space below compose a well-rounded group, more comparable to a perfectly-constructed burrito bowl at Chipotle than a stuffed bear or a jumbo-sized Snorlax plush toy (apparently they have those now, ask Google). The more I think about this, the more I feel I should be at the mall stuffing various Pokemon full of cotton and eating Auntie Anne’s. I’ll leave you all to the reading and join you in the comments section at the end of my trip.
Please, blog, may I have some more? 2023 MLB Draft: Top Five College Prospects
January 19, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 2 Commentsby: Hobbs
Whaddup, Razzbaseballers!? One quick Ask Jeeves search and I can easily tell you that my last baseball post came on July 21 of the year 2022. That’s 182 days. Enough time to go around the world or watch all of Grey’s Anatomy, the choice is yours. But in my first post back in action, we’ll quickly dive back into the college baseball realm, unveiling the top-five college prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft. It’s littered with SEC talent as well as one unexpected Big 12 inclusion, and is heavy with four bats compared to one hurler. But it’s been a long winter sitting in my cave and eating acorns (that’s how I visualize hibernation), so let’s jump right into the list and cruise down on to Prospect Alley.
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