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The Itch

Author: The Itch

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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. 

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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?  

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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. 

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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. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: American League Central Opportunity Watch

March 19, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 22 Comments

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Chicago White Sox  In 37 at bats this spring, Oscar Colas has struck out once and walked once. He’s hitting .324 and slugging .514 with two home runs. Even making plays in centerfield. Feels like he’s already made the team.  Bryan Ramos has looked just about ready (.368/.429/.526 in 19 at bats), but Yoan Moncada […]

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The Itch

Prospect News: American League East Opportunity Watch

March 15, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 42 Comments

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Baltimore Orioles

Kyle Stowers could open the season at DH after a 107 wRC+ in 34 major league games last season and a 130 wRC+ in 95 games at Triple-A. He might not be good enough to hold off the next wave of young Orioles, but there’s plenty of playing time on offer in 2023 if he performs. He’s hitting .269 with seven strikeouts, five walks, and zero home runs. That’s probably good enough for him to get the gig. 

Now let’s talk about the next wave of young Orioles.

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The Itch

Prospect News: National League West Opportunity Watch

March 12, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 39 Comments

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Arizona Diamondbacks 

Gabriel Moreno is staking his claim behind the plate with two home runs already this spring. I think he’s safe to take in the one-two catcher fringe. I’d prefer him to Keibert Ruiz, for example. 

Scott McGough is the new crime dog as far I’m concerned, though I guess that reference is pretty old these days. “Scruff McGruff, Chicago Illinois, 60652!” Manager Torey Lovullo says they’re “gonna be fluid in that area,” which sounds like a trip to the doctor and means nothing, but I think McGough is gonna be the closer, if anyone’s gonna be the closer. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: National League Central Opportunity Watch

March 8, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 19 Comments

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Chicago Cubs

Hayden Wesneski leads us off in his quest to take home the last rotation spot. He’s yet to allow a run in 4.2 innings this spring after posting a 2.18 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 33 innings for the Cubbies last year. Javier Assad and Adrian Sampson have been effective in their regular season chances, too, but Assad could go back to Triple-A, and Sampson could go to the bullpen. Either could be fine in the rotation, but neither has a great case to block an emerging arm like Wesneski. 

Third base is a busy spot this spring. Edwin Rios was playing a lot with Patrick Wisdom on the shelf due to lingering soreness in the groin, but Wisdom returned to the lineup Monday. While he feels like the frontrunner given his playing time the past couple seasons, Wisdom is arbitration eligible next year and could command a sum that’s not commensurate with his on-field contributions, given the slipshod nature of the process and the number of home runs he hits. 

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The Itch

Prospect News: National League East Opportunity Watch

March 5, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 36 Comments

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Atlanta 

RHP Kyle Wright is dealing with arm soreness, which might open a window for Bryce Elder, Jared Shuster, Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka. Have to imagine Soroka will get pushed to the front of the line if he ever gets 100 percent healthy and finds his rhythm, but for now, Allard is pitching well in spring to at least keep himself in the conversation. For anyone seeking upside from this opportunity, Shuster makes for an interesting play. A first-round pick in 2020, he’s the club’s number one prospect by a long ways and finished up last year with 48.2 innings in Triple-A. 

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The Itch

Top 100 Prospects For 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Spring Training Snapshot

March 1, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 22 Comments

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76. Pirates 2B Termarr Johnson | 18 | A | 2025

A double-plus hit tool leads the way for Termarr Johnson, a 5’7” 175 lb left-handed hitter who calls Jose Ramirez to mind on a quick visual evaluation. The organization will be thrilled if Johnson follows a similar path, grinding his way up the chain before growing into power at the highest level. He’s off to a great start, slashing .275/.396/.450 with one home run and four stolen bases in 14 Low-A games. He also walked 18.9 percent of the time. Scouts have hung a lot of superlatives on Termarr. Some called him the best high school hitter they’ve ever seen. It’s a high bar, but I’m not going to bet against him.

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