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The Itch

Author: The Itch

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The Itch

Prospect News: Kumar Rocker Texas Ranger or Walcott At One

September 11, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 7 Comments

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Rangers RHP Kumar Rocker is all set to make his debut Thursday against the Mariners. Arms don’t always come back from reconstructive elbow surgeries, but Rocker has returned looking like the best version of what we dreamed he could be, wiping hitters away with superb command of an 80-grade slider that mixes well with his fastball and changeup. It’s a tip-of-the-iceberg type feeling at the moment as it stands to reason that there’s more in the tank for Rocker both this year and in the near future considering he’s just 26.2 innings into this healthy phase of career. In two Triple-A starts, he struck out 51.4 percent of the hitters he faced, walking 2.9 percent. That’s pretty good over any sample size.  

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The Itch

Prospect News: Tong In The Fire or The Thing Is, Dominguez . . .

September 8, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 18 Comments

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Marlins 2B Javier Sanoja (22) is on the taxi squad today as the club awaits the injury news on Jose Devers. Sanoja has earned this promotion in his own right by slashing .291/.354/.431 with an incredible 8.9-to-6.1 percent walk-to-strikeout rate. A right-handed hitter listed at 5’7” 150 lbs, Sanoja has seven home runs and 17 steals in 126 games across two levels, so he’s not exactly an ideal fit for our game, but the Marlins were onto something when they prioritized the tough at bats a guy like Luis Arraez can provide, so maybe they’ll give Sanoja a good long look between this year and next. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Stash List 9: Soup Season or Rushing The Outfield

September 1, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 12 Comments

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1. Red Sox OF Kristian Campbell | 22 | AAA 

He’s only been in Triple-A for eight games, but Campbell is slashing .303/.410/.606 with three home runs, two steals, five strikeouts and six walks. On defense, he’s played third base, shortstop and center field in those eight games. He played second base and both corner outfield spots in other stops along the way. The Red Sox are three games out of the final wild card spot, and here they’ve got this lightning-hot hitter who can play all over the field. Nick Sogard is playing second base in Boston and has a 47 wRC+ through 14 games. Might as well see if Campbell can do better than that. Should also note here that Trevor Story began a rehab assignment Friday night, but I’d take Campbell over Story in a heartbeat if I were captaining a playoff push.

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The Itch

Prospect News: Bryce Eldridge Brings The Horror

August 28, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 13 Comments

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Athletics SS Jacob Wilson’s major league debut ended after just one at bat thanks to a hamstring injury that sent him to the injured list for about two months. He’s back up with Oakland now, singling and scoring a run in his return. He’s a curious piece for our game: a plus hitter without the extreme speed or power we love to see in a prospect. One huge plus: his glove at shortstop buys him lineup real estate even if he’s not hitting, and so far he’s been hitting everywhere he’s been as a professional. When Oakland plays in a kinder run-scoring environment over the next few years, Wilson will be their shortstop and potentially their leadoff hitter. In case it’s not clear at this point, I find him difficult to evaluate for dynasty purposes, but I’m more optimistic than pessimistic. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Jack Leiter Feeling Fluid or Shaw Nuff?

August 25, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 14 Comments

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Nationals OF Dylan Crews leads us off for the second time in a week after taking the top spot in last Sunday’s Stash List Vol. 8: Crews Control or Hubba Bubba. 

Here’s what I said then: “His last ten games have been arguably his best of the season: .300/.383/.600 with three home runs, two steals and a 10.6 percent strikeout rate. Small sample goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway and then say the Nats have had Crews on the escalator all season and will reportedly make room for him sooner than later. That’s what has him in the top spot, for what it’s Werth: the likelihood of a call-up turned out to be more valuable than usual in the construction of this list. Lots of uncertainty in the stash game this time of year.”

Last week me was all over that one. Crews has continued hitting this week and will reportedly make his major league debut on Monday. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Rocker Is Rolling, Walker Sent Packing

August 21, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 7 Comments

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The Cubs released closer Hector Neris, which probably makes Jorge Lopez the closer for now. The club also recalled deadline acquisition RHP Jack Neely, a former Yankees prospect who checks in at a gargantuan 6’8” 245 lbs. He’s thrown 6.2 scoreless innings with a 52 percent strikeout rate for Triple-A Iowa since the trade that sent him there. RHP Porter Hodge is the early favorite for the gig in 2025 until further notice, specifically a notice of the club getting involved in the reliever reclamation market as it often does. RHP Tyson Miller has been excellent this season but doesn’t feature the wipeout arsenal most teams want in a guy who handles the ninth. Meanwhile, jettisoned Cubbie farmhands RHPs Manuel Rodriguez and Jeremiah Estrada are key pieces of other teams’ bullpens. I won’t count RHP Hunter Bigge because he at least was traded for something. Can’t win ‘em all, I realize, but here’s hoping Neely gets a real opportunity to nail down a long-term roster spot. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Stash List Vol. 8: Crews Control or Hubba Bubba

August 18, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 25 Comments

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1. Nationals OF Dylan Crews | 22 | AAA

His last ten games have been arguably his best of the season: .300/.383/.600 with three home runs, two steals and a 10.6 percent strikeout rate. Small sample goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway and then say the Nats have had Crews on the escalator all season and will reportedly make room for him sooner than later. That’s what has him in the top spot, for what it’s Werth: the likelihood of a call-up turned out to be more valuable than usual in the construction of this list. Lots of uncertainty in the stash game this time of year.

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The Itch

Prospect News: Jarlin Susana, Sykora On The Banjo

August 11, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 12 Comments

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Dodgers RHP Edgardo Henriquez (21, AAA) missed last season due to Tommy John surgery but has recovered his easy-plus pitch mix and cruised through four levels already this season, recording 70 strikeouts in 41.1 innings along the way. Now he’s just one step away from joining an L.A. bullpen that could use an infusion of youth.  

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The Itch

Prospect News: This Justin: A Fiery New Closer In Arizona?

August 7, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 5 Comments

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Astros 3B Zach Dezenzo (24) debuted last night after graduating Triple-A in just 11 games. He slashed .391/.472/.739 with four home runs and three stolen bases in those 11 games, so kudos to the ‘Stros for waving him onward to the majors. Dezenzo’s a large dude at 6’4” 220 lbs and brings easy power from the right side. Heads up in the Crawford boxes. 

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The Itch

Top 50 Prospects Post-Draft Update For Dynasty Fantasy Baseball

August 4, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 43 Comments

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Here’s a link to the Top 50 Prospects For Dynasty Fantasy Baseball: May 2024 Update. Here’s a general layout of what’s been happening since then.  Graduated:  Paul Skenes, Wyatt Langford, Christian Scott, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Noelvi Marte, Heston Kjerstad, Jonny Deluca.  Moving Down:  Jonny Farmelo, Ricky Tiedemann, Orelvis Martinez, Cole Young.  Moving Up:  Sebastian Walcott, Roman […]

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The Itch

Prospect News: Trade Deadline Shuffle or Jose Tena Clubs

July 31, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 21 Comments

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If I were running an MLB organization these past few weeks, I’d have been on the phone with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s agent in a fairly constant way, discussing long term contracts while I backchannel with the Blue Jays about his price tag on the trade market. It’s probably good that I’m not in that position. In dynasty leagues, I have a tendency to pay what it costs to make the move and figure out the rest in the aftermath. Major league teams do not agree with that approach, considering the lack of prospect firepower that changed organizations on deadline day. Baseball America ran a piece that said zero top 100 prospects were traded this time around. While we might be able to pick at the specifics a bit, the premise feels fair enough: this year brought us a strange few days of trades without many Named Guys making headlines. 

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