by: The Itch
Opening night for most of the minor leagues featured Colt Emerson homering on the first pitch he saw, a self-reliant start for someone I expect to climb the prospect rankings in a hurry. That’s our focus for the day, by the way: who could top the prospect lists in 2025.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Rangers IF Justin Foscue was promoted to take the roster spot vacated by injured 3B Josh Jung, who got plunked in the wrist and broke a bone for the second straight season and will reportedly need about six weeks to recover. Foscue figures to mix in with Ezequiel Duran and maybe Josh Smith, so it’s hard to say how many chances he’ll get in the early going; nonetheless, it’s good for Foscue even if it felt like a big ole fuskyou to my 15-team dynasty team that doesn’t presently have a back-up third baseman.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
1. Rangers OF Wyatt Langford | 22 | AAA | 2024
Has a rookie ever jumped into a world series lineup like this and claimed a spot like it always belonged to him?
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
The Orioles did their thing week, demoting SS Jackson Holliday and 3B Coby Mayo despite both belonging to what might be Baltimore’s best opening day lineup. I got a kick out of a recent article claiming the Orioles didn’t get where they are by tanking. I like the project, as a position-statement-type writing assignment. Tough side to support. I mean sure they Rule 5 drafted Anthony Santander and played him every day until he was functional. Sure they landed Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Bradish via strategic quitting. They also did other stuff, but that doesn’t change the fact that they lost as badly as possible for several years to get to where they are now. They did smart stuff, for sure, but I don’t know why it’s bad to call this reality by its name.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
Click here to see Prospect News: Bold Predictions For 2023 to see how I did last year.
Pirates SS Oneil Cruz hits 44 home runs. Minimum. They travel so fast and far the situation becomes dangerous for passers by. Keep your head on a swivel, dear reader.
Please, blog, may I have some more?When AJ Preller was in first grade, his mom always packed his lunch with five baby carrots and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, along with some kind of treat that could be salty or sweet, depending on what was around. AJ didn’t mind the carrots, but he did eventually get tired of eating the […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
Cardinals OF Victor Scott II should be racing up draft boards now that Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbar are likely to start the season on the injured list. Here’s what I wrote in my St. Louis Cardinals Top 10 Prospects For Fantasy Baseball:
“A throwback to the OG RBI Baseball Cardinals that could slash and dash an opponent into submission, Scott the second stole 95 bases in 132 games across two levels this year then added to that total in the Arizona Fall League. He manages the strike zone well and produced wRC+ scores of 117 and 119 at High-A and Double-A, respectively. He’s not a big power threat but doesn’t get the bat knocked out of his hands. He even hit .323 and slugged .450 with seven home runs in 66 games at Double-A. Having just defended an AL-Only crown due largely to a $7 Esteury Ruiz, I find it hard to overrate Victor Scott II. I think we could argue that having more steals available in our game increases the value of standard deviation makers like these. If you miss on speed now, the penalty is something like minus-10 standings points off the top, whereas you might’ve been able to hustle up into the top five in past years just by paying attention. The question of whether or not St. Louis will give him a chance remains, and it’s not a small one given the organization’s struggles to sort its own prospects.”
All that talk about winning a league due to Ruiz last year, and I still fumbled the bag on acquiring Scott in that CBS NL Only league this year. I should have enough speed with Elly leading the way, but it stings today (oh how it stings!!) no matter how it turns out. It’s not just that Edman is hurt. Scott himself is slashing .370/.469/.444 with four stolen bases and is, in my opinion, just plain better than Edman at this point.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
It’s tricky business reacting to spring training outcomes. Veterans are working on their game, treating reps like practice, while youngsters and journeymen are striving to make a good impression. That doesn’t negate all the outcomes, of course, but I feel a little silly reading sentences about how a player looks based on a week of half-games, and I feel even sillier writing them. Nonetheless, playing time is up for grabs, and small samples or not, guys are proving themselves worthy (or unworthy) of season-opening opportunities, so we can’t just play ostrich and ignore the new realities revealing themselves.
If you’ve been around a while, you know I’m not crazy about Brayan Rocchio. SS Angel Martinez is my preferred pick among Cleveland’s options at shortstop, and he’s in a heavenly rhythm right now, batting .529 with two homers and a triple. Rocchio is hitting .118. Both players have 19 plate appearances. Would be a pretty big upset in the echo chamber if Martinez claims the gig, but I doubt the Guardians see it that way. Here’s a link to a story by Jesus Cano on mlb.com that details the changes Martinez made heading into 2024.
Please, blog, may I have some more?It’s tricky business reacting to spring training outcomes. Veterans are working on their game, treating reps like practice, while youngsters and journeymen are striving to make a good impression. That doesn’t negate all the outcomes, of course, but I feel a little silly reading sentences about how a player looks based on a week of half-games, and I feel even sillier writing them. Nonetheless, playing time is up for grabs, and small samples or not, guys are proving themselves worthy (or unworthy) of season-opening opportunities, so we can’t just play ostrich and ignore the new realities revealing themselves.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
For four hours twice a year, I clear the calendar and settle in at the computer screen to click along with fantasy baseball luminaries like Scott White, Mike Gianella, and a handful of Razzball’s finest, including the master lothario himself. I love it. The niche math in motion appeals directly to some lizard-brain survivalist inside me. Here’s how the night played out for me:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
I know auctions (I guess we’re calling ’em salary cap drafts, now?) take too long, but so do most movies these days. The culture serves us escapism in heaping gobs of minutes and hours, and for four hours twice a year, I clear the calendar and settle in at the computer screen to click along with fantasy baseball luminaries like Scott White, Mike Gianella, and a handful of Razzball’s finest. I love it. The niche math in motion appeals directly to some lizard-brain survivalist inside me. Thanks as always to Scott for running these leagues and for inviting Razz-folks like Laura, B_Don, Grey and me to the party. Here’s how the night played out for me:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: The Itch
It’s 2:58 on Friday afternoon. Should be primetime real estate for escapism, but here I am staring at Dennis Franz’s naked ass.
That’s not true, but it might as well be because I’m actually looking at a 15-team dynasty draft room. There’s six hours left on what was an eight-hour draft clock. The team that has the power to move us forward timed out last time and feels likely to time out again. Another serial offender timed out earlier today after carrying over the first two of eight-hour clock from last night, so the league has seen two picks in the last 20 hours. We’re close to the end, but it’s never felt further away.
Games were not designed to be played this way, but there’s no easy fix to this flaw in the design of dynasty leagues. Even in redraft leagues with fairly high entry fees, people fart around and people time out. The problem feels magnified in dynasty partly because it tends to be the usual suspects year over year.
It wasn’t all bad though. First-Year-Player Draft season is mostly great. Or at least it should be. Here’s how it’s gone for me.
Please, blog, may I have some more?