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The Itch

Author: The Itch

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The Itch

Prospect News: Closers in Waiting for 2023 or Dear Evan Phillips 

September 4, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 31 Comments

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Houston relievers Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly are scheduled to hit free agency this winter. The pair has 35 saves between them this season. Maybe Houston brings someone back. Maybe they anoint Hector Neris (or Ryne Stanek) the guy coming out of camp. Regardless of what the team does, it’s difficult to envision a scenario that excludes RHP Bryan Abreu from the ninth-inning picture, unless you’re building the scenario around injury or poor performance. Command has eluded Abreu at times, so that’s not out of the question, but you could say the same about a lot of relievers. And just so you know, this whole post idea sprung from the fact that Abreu was available in a lot of my leagues despite looking like an obvious closer in 2023 and beyond. 

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

Prospect News: TJ Freidl Meets World or Where’s Waldichuk?

August 31, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

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Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll was recalled shortly after my last article, Stash List Volume 6, Songs for the Jung in Summer, which feels like a win for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The league tried to lead these snakes and birds to water, but it’s just snakes drinking at the moment. Makes sense I guess, for the birds to wait their turn, but snakes don’t strike upward real well. Bird should be able to dip in for a sip, if she’s quick about it. Baltimore is three games out of first wild-card spot, two games out of third, so they’re well within striking distance of any or all three of the teams in front of them. The Sig and Elias braintrust imported from Houston has worked wonders in Maryland. Hot-hitting outfielder Colton Cowser was promoted to Triple-A this week, so the coming storm continues to gather just outside AL-Eastern cities. I just think it makes sense to jump him straight to the majors. I realize Kyle Stowers is ahead of him in the time-served column on the pecking-order spreadsheets, but they could go to him if Cowser falters. I suppose they could just easily do the reverse and might be setting up exactly that. Every day matters for them, and I feel like Cowser is more likely to help a team win games right now than Stowers. I haven’t even mentioned Gunnar Henderson yet. He’s reportedly joining the squad today, so they’ve got that going for them, which is nice. Baltimore could be fun to root for when they stop handling this stretch run in the most cynical way capitalistically possible. I realize this horse has been laying motionless between us for quite some time now, but you know who they could really use in that young lineup? A consistent, patient, veteran bat like Trey Mancini. 

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

Stash List 2022 Volume 6: Songs for the Jung in Summer

August 28, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 29 Comments

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Sun’s getting real low on stash season

Hope remains its sparkly self in the nooks and crannies of the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

If an organization thinks a young player will break camp on the major league roster in 2023, it has incentives to bring him up in September while he’s in rhythm. Downsides remain, of course, from a player-control perspective, but they’re mostly in the form of injury and marginally compromised roster flexibility, but those always exist. 

Graduated From Stash List Volume 5: Miguel Vargas, DL Hall, Kerry Carpenter, James Outman, Cade Cavalli, Will Benson, Stone Garrett.

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

Prospect News: Vines and Waters Frelick Through the Minors

August 24, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 22 Comments

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Baseball fans are rallying around the new rule set and running numbers to build a case for Arizona and Baltimore to call up Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson, who was reportedly already with the major league team until he was reportedly in the Norfolk Triple-A lineup on Tuesday night. Could still happen if Baltimore keeps winning. Arizona has less incentive to promote Carroll given their place in the standings, but it’s a new rule set. If the Orioles promote Henderson now, he’d still be eligible to win Rookie of the Year in 2023, which would earn the team a draft pick. If he finished Top 3 in MVP voting in 2024, they’d get another. It’s weird. They’d have to keep his at bats under 130, but I’m sure they could manage that.

In other 30,000 feet news, Arte Moreno has hired a firm to sell the Angels for him. He can’t even sell his own team? What the blue hell is going on around here? Which has been the general refrain around the Angels for the past few years. It’s a good thing for our game. Anaheim has been kind of aimless on the developmental side for a long time. Any kind of vision would help their prospects actualize.  

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

Prospect News: Top 100 for Dynasty Leagues, Post-Draft Update

August 21, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 28 Comments

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I was going to copy and paste the whole list here, but then I remembered last time I did that, I had to scroll forever to read the profiles on this group, which is arguably the most important group in the list for our purposes given that they’re the likeliest to be available in the most leagues. Anyway, the links are still here and the most streamlined way to build this out, I think. 

Here’s a link to the Top 25. 

Here’s a link to the Top 50.

Here’s a link to the Top 75.

 

76. RHP Gavin Williams | Guardians | 22 | AA | 2022

77. RHP Cade Cavalli | Nationals | 24 | AAA | 2023

78. C Tyler Soderstrom | Athletics | 20 | AA | 2023

79. OF Sal Frelick | Brewers | 22 | AAA | 2023

Gavin Williams threw six hitless innings his last time out, bringing his Double-A ERA down to 1.59 and his WHIP to 0.95. That’s in 45.1 innings across 11 starts. WHIP is 0.81 in eight starts since July. Cleveland is somehow getting better at pitcher development, partly because they’re applying their systems to better and better athletes. Williams is 6’6” and 255 pounds but repeats his delivery well. Two plus benders. Double-plus fastball. 

Cade Cavalli is similarly enormous at 6’4” 240 lbs. You could convince he’s three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than that. Looks like a linebacker pumping high heat with extreme run to the right-handed batter’s box. Bigtime tempo guy. When it’s going well, he’s back on the mound and firing in blinks. When it’s not, his whole game slows down. He’s been awesome for three months (2.12 ERA, 1.02 WHIP since May 22) and would likely be in the majors at the moment if the Nationals were. 

I’ve never been a Tyler Soderstrom pusher. I think he can hit, and I’ll give him the high-probability big leaguer thing, but ours is a game of impact. Standout tools. Soderstrom’s best tool is hit, which is often what you’d like to see, but Oakland is not the best home for a hit-first catcher who might not catch but doesn’t have much speed to handle the outfield. 

Get your money for nothing and your licks for free. Better Call Sal has a 200 wRC+ in 15 games at Triple-A. He’ll be on the next stash list. 

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

Prospect News: Knowledge is Bleis or Miguel Walks Into a Barrosa

August 17, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 19 Comments

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If you came here looking for the next 25 players in the Top 100, I hope you won’t feel misled. I’m planning for that to be a monster Sunday post with all 100 write-ups in the same place.

There’s so many balls in play right now around the game that taking two weeks to snapshot-rank the top 100 leaves some stones unturned in the interim. 

Dodgers OF Josue De Paula (17, DSL) and Cubs SS Pedro Ramirez (18, CPX) might sneak into the next set, or maybe I’d build a just-missed article around them, but I’d rather name them here than feel pressure to squeeze them in because the pick-up clock ticks quickly on big-time talents. Same goes for Red Sox OF Miguel Bleis (18, CPX). Might be late already in some of your leagues. Can’t let it get any later.

I have 37 names in my forever-growing, haven’t-featured-yet list, aka my writing/researching/following queue. It’s the place I store every player I come across that could or should be discussed here, so it’s always kinda crowded in there. That’s why the beat works, I think, when it’s really humming. I’m not just opening a blank screen when it’s Go time. I’m collecting and following and selecting pop-up names every waking hour of the day. (I hope that’s an exaggeration but can’t verify). How many men is too many to be thinking about on a daily basis? It’s not for me to say, but it is time to clear the top of the list.  

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

Prospect News: Top 75 for Dynasty Leagues, Post-Draft Update

August 14, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 38 Comments

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Here’s where the frontispiece would go, if I didn’t think that word was kinda nasty. 

Here’s a link to the Top 25.

Here’s a link to the Top 50.

51. 1B Triston Casas | Red Sox | 22 | AAA | 2022

52. RHP Andrew Painter | Phillies | A+ | 19 | 2024

53. OF Evan Carter | Rangers | 19 | A+ | 2024

54. OF Jasson Dominguez | Yankees | 19 | A+ | 2024

Triston Casas hasn’t had the season some expected, and Eric Hosmer joining the club muddies his playing time outlook, but he remains a high-probability major league bat. 

For all the talk about Eury Perez being huge and young with good command, you don’t hear much about 6’7” 215 lb Andrew Painter, but Painter has been every bit as dominant as Perez, racking up 109 strikeouts through 68.1 innings across two levels and posting a 1.32 ERA along the way. He threw seven shutout innings against the High-A Yankees his last time out, allowing two hits and one walk while recording eleven punchouts. Makes me wonder if they’ll send him to Double-A for September. 

Evan Carter has 22 extra base hits and 13 stolen bases over his last 39 games, slashing .333/.415/.605 over that stretch. He’s controlling the zone, too: 11.1% BB and 15.8% K-rates. He’ll turn 20 on August 29 and might be in Double-A before then. 

Gotta hand it to Jasson Dominguez for evolving his game to make plate skills his calling card. Or one of his calling cards, anyway. He’s already stolen eight bases in 19 High-A games, where he’s posting a .410 on base percentage and 16.9-to-22.9 walk-to-strikeout rate. The power is coming, too. He’s got 39 extra base hits in 94 games across two levels this season. 

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

Prospect News: Top 50 for Dynasty Leagues, Post-Draft Update

August 10, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 33 Comments

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Prospect News: Top 50 for Dynasty Leagues, Post-Draft Update

Here’s where the introductory words for part two would go, if I thought any of us wanted to see those.

And here’s a link to the Top 25, in case you want to see those.

26. RHP Taj Bradley | Rays | 21 | AAA | 2023

27. OF Zac Veen | Rockies | 20 | A+ | 2024

28. LHP Ricky Tiedemann | Blue Jays | 19 | AA | 2023

Taj Bradley is getting knocked around a bit at Triple-A (5.25 ERA in three starts), but this is Tampa we’re talking about. Nobody suppresses their own pitchers’ ratios like the Rays. 

Zac Veen has 50 stolen bases in 54 attempts with a 129 wRC+ in 92 games. The Rockies have more good hitting prospects than usual. Can’t wait to see how they screw them up. 

Give Ricky Tiedemann another couple dominant starts in Double-A and he’ll have a case for the top ten. He might be there already on some lists. No real argument with that from me. The rankings feel especially fluid right now. It’s a time of putting your money in your mouth and then chewing it up and chasing it down with a shot of tequila. 

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

Prospect News: Top 25 for Dynasty Leagues, Post-Draft Update

August 7, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 52 Comments

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Here’s where the introductory words would go, if I thought any of us really wanted to see some introductory words. 

1. OF Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks | 21 | AAA | 2023 

2. SS Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | 21 | AAA | 2023

3. OF Jackson Chourio | Brewers | 18 | A+ | 2024

4. 3B Jordan Walker | Cardinals | 20 | AA | 2023 

Corbin Carroll lived alone in his own tier at the top early in the process, but the other three have such strong cases for the top spot I had to include them.

Gunnar Henderson quickly found his rhythm after a rough start at Triple–A and has been arguably the best player at the level since the break. 

If you want to rank Jackson Chourio first, don’t let me stop you. He’s slashing .333/.396/.476 with a home run and a stolen base in 10 games at High-A. He’s also posting a 10.4 percent walk rate and 16.7 percent strikeout rate, shushing the whispers around his 28 percent K-rate in Low A.

I had Jordan Walker in the tier below at one point, but you can only watch so many multi-homer games from a 20-year-old in Double-A without moving a dude up the list, even if he’s already at the summit. Is this ETA light on Jordan Walker? The Cardinals added pitching at the deadline and moved an outfielder. Lars Nootbar is playing well, but Walker would be following a long tradition of elite players joining their clubs late in the season to push for the playoffs. 

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

Prospect News: Padres Win Deadliest Catch at the Deadline

August 3, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 33 Comments

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You’re allowed to like the Juan Soto trade, I think. Probably feels good to leave it in the wake for all involved. Now the Padres can legitimately challenge the Dodgers as the first team I can remember that looks better than Los Angeles on paper. We’ll never know how close we came to having Soto (and maybe even Bell) in LA’s lineup. Feels like the kind of trade that would’ve made half the dynasty league quit, but I guess that’s okay in MLB where half the league quits before opening day. 

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

Prospect News: Tracking Trades and Feeling For Butterfly Breezes

July 31, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 20 Comments

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The Reds sent SP Luis Castillo to Seattle in what feels like the first real trade of the deadline rush even though it wasn’t. It’s hard to hate this deal from either side. Cincinnati lands a prospect package the prospect people will promise they should be happy about. Seattle gets the kind of pitcher that makes you a pain in the playoffs. Pretty easy to see who wins the deal over the next couple seasons, and it’s not the team hoping to compete someday somewhere over the rainbow.

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

Prospect News: Trade Deadline Winners Hidden in Plain Sight

July 27, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 28 Comments

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The 2022 deadline has already seen one unlikely winner in Pittsburgh catcher Jason Delay, a 27-year-old who had a 59 wRC+ in 28 AAA games this year when he got the call. Those outcomes obscure his ability though. He’d posted a 123 wRC+ in 13 AAA games last year, but he just hasn’t played all that much professional baseball since being selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. Shortly after his debut, the club traded Michael Perez, making Delay the lead man post-haste. The slow-to-arrive backstop has taken well to the gig, slashing .308/.357/.462 and passing the eye test as a defender. I’m already comfortable penciling him in as the club’s starter in 2023, which is kind of the goal here: I’m looking for players whose post-deadline, playing time windfall can carry over into next year and launch them into long-term fantasy relevance. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
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