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The Itch

Author: The Itch

Read some of The Itch's 579 posts

The Itch

Prospect News: Stash List Volume 2: The First Strand

April 30, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 42 Comments

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Graduated from Volume 1: Brett Baty, Tanner Bibee, Francisco Alvarez

Just a refresher or if it’s your first season with us, I’ll say that players like Jordan Walker and Taj Bradley are ineligible for the stash list. Anyone who has already been promoted in-season is ineligible. Guys like Christopher Morel and Royce Lewis are a bit of a gray-area exception. 

 

1. Reds 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 23 | AAA

The man can hit. Been back for five games. Has four home runs. Hitting .500 (12-for-24). Put a claim in today if you have the chance.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Busch On Tap, Hold The Funky Cold Medina

April 26, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 15 Comments

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I hope Dodgers 2B Michael Busch really drinks it all in during his big league debut because he might be right back in the minor leagues the following week. Doesn’t matter much either way to his long-term outlook. I suspect he could push Miguel Vargas if the bat plays early. I’m not confident Vargas ever got right in Spring, and then he got hit by a fastball in the thumb on April 4th. He’s slugging .295 with zero home runs or stolen bases but still posting a .364 on base percentage due to the plus plate skills. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Run Ronny Run Or Edgar Doesn’t Quero

April 23, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 28 Comments

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Mets SS Ronny Mauricio started at second base Friday night in Triple-A. He’ll have to find somewhere other than Francisco Lindor’s position if he wants to start in New York. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, dropping his slash line to .343/.395/.729 on the season heading into Saturday’s games. If New York can head into the off-season with major league regulars in Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez and Mauricio, they’ll have some extra cash to flash in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Morel Improves, Beatings Continue, Neato Neto

April 16, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 41 Comments

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The Los Angeles Angels are calling up 2022 first-round pick SS Zach Neto, and baseball feels new all over again. Not just because of Neto, of course, but the whole paradigm of our game is shifting so quickly it’s easy to get excited. We could make a case that the Angels NEED to contend this year more than any other team. If not, Ohtani is as good as gone. He’s probably gone anyway, but that’s no way to go about your life. He picked Los Angeles from the beginning, he’s been incredible there, they’ve gotta be in the running until the final decision is made. For his part, Neto was slashing .444/.559/.819 with three home runs and three stolen bases in seven games. He’s a pick-up in all but the shallowest formats. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Seeking Treats On Easter Sunday

April 9, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 32 Comments

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Happy Easter! I’m currently watching a bunny and a hot dog run along the outfield warning track in the Guardians and Mariners game. Pretty typical afternoon, minus the bunny. 

The eggs that interest me most at the moment are the zeros I’m watching Tanner Bibee post in his Triple-A debut. My favorite part was the fifth inning, when Bibee gave up two bloop hits to open the frame but closed it out without giving an inch or breaking a sweat. He cruised through five shutout innings on 78 pitches. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Stash List Volume 1: Licks And Stones

April 5, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 38 Comments

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Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez was the number one name on this list, but he’s in the majors today with Kyle Bradish on the injured list. Rodriguez didn’t have much success this spring but still feels like a solid bet to hit the ground running. 

 

1. Mets 3B Brett Baty 

With some other guys on this list, we can build a semi-reasonable case for keeping them in the minors. Until he left Monday’s game with a sore thumb, this was not the case for Baty, who played well in spring and already has a two-homer game in Triple-A this year. Eduardo Escobar is a veteran making a lot of money. That’s the entire case against Baty. It’s so odd that they’d spend so much on the team and then lose runs and development time because of a sunk-cost fallacy. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: On The Eve Of Opening Day

March 29, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 19 Comments

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‘‘Twas the night before baseball,

and all through the league,

the pitchers were feeling forearm fatigue. 

Opening week really is the most wonderful time of the baseball year. 

If you can find just the right angle, watching roster decisions trickle in feels like a magic eye picture slowly morphing into focus.

On the other hand, that leads to days of fuzzy weirdness, like the Rockies demoting Michael Toglia or the Orioles leaving Grayson Rodriguez in the minors. Christopher Morel is not in the major leagues anymore? Did I really see that?  

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Bold Predictions For 2023

March 26, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 50 Comments

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Giants C Blake Sabol hits 18 home runs with a .265 batting average, good for a top five finish at catcher when combined with his elite R-RBI (140+) in that position group. 

Brewers OF Sal Frelick hits .300 with 10+ home runs and 80+ runs scored. As I’m typing this Saturday afternoon, Frelick is leading off and hasn’t been optioned. Non-zero chance he’s the opening day leadoff man. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: American League West Opportunity Watch

March 22, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 22 Comments

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Houston Astros 

Yainer Diaz is doing Yainer Diaz things. He’s hitting .300 and leads the team in RBI but has a higher batting average than on base percentage thanks to six strikeouts and zero walks. He’s also not catching all that much. Might be a frustrating piece for our game. 

Korey Lee’s having a nice spring, slashing .269/.345/.538 with two steals. I’m skeptical that either guy could really push Martin Maldonado for his job given the club’s obvious preference for veteran defense behind the dish. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
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