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The Itch

Author: The Itch

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The Itch

Atlanta Braves Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

October 22, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 13 Comments

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Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 

1. RHP Hurston Waldrep | 22 | AAA | 2024

With the name of a 19th century oil barren and the arsenal of a high-end big league pitcher, Hurston Waldrep represented a nice windfall for Atlanta with the 24th overall pick in this summer’s draft. His delivery borders on relievery, but a double-plus fastball/split-change combo helped him carve his way to Triple-A in half a minor league season. Atlanta has been rushing its young arms for a while as they try to supplement their world-beating offense, so Waldrep should be on the shortlist for an early promotion. Might even have a shot to make the team in spring training. He signed for a few hundred thousand under his draft slot value, and you know this team loves that.

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The Itch

Prospect News: Arizona Fall League Launches

October 18, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 7 Comments

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Like Jackie Daytona in Tucson, Arizoña, Fall baseball is timeless. The playoffs are great, for sure, especially whenever it looks Houston is on the outs, but it’s not just the biggest stars on the brightest stage that make this season special. The Arizona Fall League provides a chance for youngsters from all levels to get another few cracks at the bat before winter, another few sweepers and spiked curveballs in their efforts to become blood-thirsty creatures of the night, baseball-wise. 

Padres OF Jakob Marsee got hotter and hotter throughout the regular season and is enjoying the chance to keep cooking under the desert sun, slashing .475/.569/.825 with ten strikeouts, eight walks, seven steals and two home runs. San Diego’s outfield picture is a little cloudy right now, but we should be able to (mar)see it much more clearly closer to spring. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Langford Leads The Class or Joe Boyle Rules

September 27, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

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I’ve been thinking about the pitch clock a lot this week. Went from a huge, over-the-line-smoky deal to oh-yeah-the-pitch-clock in record time. Been wondering if the clock could take center stage again for a moment or two during the playoffs. Also been thinking about what other rule changes could follow that path. The extra inning runner should move to first base, particularly in the new steals-happy paradigm. Fans remember big postseason steals because they’re fun. Dave Roberts spun a whole managing career out of knowing how to snag that key bag. Even if we wind up with a couple more 14-inning slumber parties, the game would feel more just, which I think fans would appreciate over the long haul. I don’t mind the idea of a shootout type scenario and understand how we got to the ghost runner, but people might prefer a home run derby if we’re doing that, which feels pretty far from quote-unquote real baseball. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Rushing To The End or Minor League Playoff Update

September 24, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 6 Comments

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I was surprised to see the Rays promote top prospect 3B Junior Caminero. Could be they’ve got a loophole through which they can add him to the playoff roster. Could be they plan to have him break camp with the club next season and want him to get acclimated for a week or so and then feel like a big leaguer all winter long. That’s the takeaway that matters most to our game. After the news of Wander’s lust(s) echoed across the internet, people speculated the fallout could speed up Caminero’s timeline. I didn’t think so because Tampa’s always loaded with functional major league options across the infield, but today I think that’s more or less what happened. Not that we’re likely to ever find out. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Dynasty Sell Squad, 2023 Postseason Edition

September 20, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

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I reference mlb.com throughout this piece because it’s not a pay-walled site, and they update the rankings regularly. Makes it a nice shorthand for perceived value in the real-baseball sphere. 

Padres C Ethan Salas is a sell for me as a top ten prospect (No. 5 on mlb.com). It’s amazing that he made it to Double-A as a 17-year-old, but also, should he be in Double-A as a 17-year-old? I mean, what’s the point? He didn’t hit in High-A (.229 slugging percentage in nine games), and then he didn’t hit in Double-A (.214 SLG in nine games). I guess the defense can push the profile, but at some point, he’ll have to wait for the bat. And then we run into a high-minors, stall-out situation. We’re just now reaching the other side of that with Luis Campusano. It stands to reason that Salas might receive a red carpet that never got rolled out for Campusano, but that’s still years away, and the return you could earn for shopping Salas this winter or next spring probably beats waiting for me. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: 2023 Dynasty Crush Team or Grab An Ale, Man

September 17, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 12 Comments

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Baseball TwitterX was peppered with Prospect Crush lineups last week, and while I’m not sure I could articulate the definition of “crush” in this context, I thought the idea was interesting enough to build an article around as we near the tail end of the minor league season. I mean I almost dropped my own squad into Elon Musk’s private hype site before I realized I was pouring a lot of time into generating content for everyone’s favorite space invader. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Xavier Isaac Experiments With Gravity

September 13, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 14 Comments

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Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong looked like a difference-maker on defense in his debut. I’ve read some speculation that he wouldn’t be a lineup regular over the next few weeks, and I have to disagree with that. Granted, teams don’t always do the things that make sense with their prospects, but PCA is a playoff weapon, and so long as he doesn’t strike out too much (29.7 percent in Triple-A), he’ll make the team better by covering center. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Lawlar’s Trial By Fire or Wicks Tending The Flame

September 10, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 20 Comments

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Diamondbacks SS Jordan Lawlar is one-for-seven with three strikeouts through two games but has tended to adapt quickly even if he struggles a bit early at a new level. Good to see the team promote him after just 16 games in Triple-A. They might not take the World Series this season, but the sand snakes are going to be trouble for the next several cycles. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Big Holliday Weekend or Little Do We Know

September 6, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 9 Comments

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The September prospect parade is upon us, and it really does feel like a parade in the sense that our only possible moves are to rubberneck what’s coming and scramble for position or just stand still and let it pass. Both strategies have merit. Not for parades. Just stand still, please. Encourage your children to do the same. Holy cow the things you learn as an early parent. So many kids cross the streets between floats. Gore-drenched streets are avoided by last second blind braking or a stranger’s lizard-brain instinct to scoop a child out of a tire’s path. It’s tough to blame the kids. Candy covers the streets. Gotta grab what you can while you can in this world. Or so goes the teaching most of us get from a million portals all around us. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: Dynasty Buys Between Now And Next Season

September 3, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 12 Comments

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Nationals C Keibert Ruiz: I tried to trade for Ruiz in a two-catcher, 15-teamer where I’m in a tight race for the top, but I sort of didn’t try real hard because I’m solid at catcher, where I have Willson Contreras and Elias Diaz. Solid. Old. Streaky. Probably on the way down. Would’ve probably been smart to try harder. 

Royals C Freddy Fermin: The Royals have made gestures toward trading Sal Perez this off-season to make room for Fermin, who’s been in the lineup most nights anyway with Perez covering first in lieu of Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto. The exposure and the grind have chipped away at his once-pristine stat line, but he’s still hitting .284 with a 112 wRC+. That’s a starter in most fantasy leagues. 

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