Rangers RHP Jack Leiter is a good place to start because he exemplifies what’s weird about the Futures Game. Leiter hasn’t earned his spot on the field (6.30 ERA), but that’s not uncommon to this game, which different organizations use for different reasons on a player-by-player basis. It’s not an All-Star game, in other words. It’s not even an all-famous game, although that’s what gets Leiter on the roster. It’s not even really a combination of the two. Some organizations might send a middle reliever, like Baltimore did with Marcos Diplan in 2021, who the team DFA’d the other day, almost exactly a year after Diplan gave up home runs to Brennan Davis and Francisco Alvarez in Coors Field during the sixth inning of last year’s Futures Game.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
We’re reaching the point on the dynasty calendar where minor league transactions lock for some of our leagues. I hate it, thanks for asking, but it’s out of my hands. I’ve never played that deadline particularly well in my leagues that had one because I’m typically dedicated to maximizing every roster spot over the short term. This year will be different. I mean I hope it will, partly because I’m making room for the guys in this article.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Giants 2B David Villar (25, MLB) has started both games at the keystone since being promoted on July 4 and is looking at a stretch of open runway with Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford on the sideline. Could be brief, but the Giants are just one game over .500 as we near the mid-season point, and their offense needs a spark or two. Villar hit 21 home runs in 66 games at Triple-A this year, slashing .284/.409/.633 in the process. Easy pick-up anywhere you need infield help. He might be demoted in a week, but that’s life. Can’t let the unknowable future stop you from living in the present.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Cubs 1B Matt Mervis (24, AA) looks like a prototypical, left-handed hitting, middle-of-the-order masher at 6’4” 225 lbs who has already blasted 19 bombs in 66 games across High-A and Double-A this season. His strikeout rate has been around 24 percent at both levels along with .644 and .650 slugging percentages, but he has almost doubled his walk rate from 4.6 percent in High-A to 7.7 percent in Double-A. Gotta watch this one closely. Never-nervous Mervis got a little lost in the covid-draft chaos but raked in the wooden bat Northwoods League in 2018 and did the same in the wooden bat Cape Cod League in 2019. He looks more athletic to the eye test than the statsheet and profile might suggest.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Royals 1B Vinnie Pasquantino received his long-deserved promotion to the major league club this week and was promptly sent to the bench. Here’s hoping the decision was born from travel-related rest and not a sign of Matheny nonsense to come. My money’s on Vinnie P playing every day and adapting well to the challenge of learning major league arms.
Please, blog, may I have some more?A lot of the best prospects are now big leaguers, but the top of this list remains stocked with ready-now impact fantasy talents.
Graduated from Volume 3: Wink if You’re Ready or What’s the Rush, Man?
Royce Lewis, Oneil Cruz, Luis Garcia, Roansy Contreras, Riley Greene, Elehuris Montero, Josh Winckowski, CJ Abrams, Caleb Kilian, Edward Cabrera, Jonathan Aranda, and Zack Thompson.
Graduated from Volume 2: Royce Lewis Rolls Into Town Wearing Pink Like Kirby
George Kirby, Adley Rutschman, Alek Thomas, Vidal Brujan, Nolan Gorman, Ryan Pepiot
Click here to see Volume 1: Oneil Cruz Control.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I’ve been watching Pirates SS Oneil Cruz for a long time, but the sensory shock of seeing him run the bases stays fresh. As does the thump of seeing him square up a baseball. On big league broadcasts, we get more angles from better cameras than we see in minor league games. Some minor league broadcasts show mostly just the hitter/pitcher interaction, so I’d almost forgotten what Cruz looks like tagging from third base on a shallow flyball, or throwing a laser across the diamond from shortstop. I would say it’s probably too late to trade for him now, but I did manage to acquire him that way in two dynasty leagues this season, so perhaps it’s not impossible. I paid a lot, to be fair, but I’m happy with it.
In the 15-team Razznasty League, I moved Shane Bieber, Anthony Rendon and Gabriel Moreno for Cruz back on May 12. Bieber had just gotten touched up by Toronto, and I was worried about his diminished velocity. He’s since rebounded, but I’m happy with that. Always good if your trade partner has positive trade remnants from you on the roster. This deal might be an overpay, but I have a constant need to clear roster spots in that format, especially on the big league side.
We’re not going to get four RBI every night from Cruz. He’s definitely going to struggle at some point, but the talent here is first-round fantasy gold type stuff. Prospect writers aren’t always great at differentiating between who’s a good prospect because he’ll be a major league regular and who’s a good prospect because he can help carry your fantasy teams. Even if they can see the difference, it’s complicated to articulate. Becoming a solid major league regular is an incredible outcome for any prospect, but guys like Cruz belong in a slightly different bucket.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Prospect Rankings Update: New Top 100 for June 2022
June 19, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 45 Commentsby: The Itch
We don’t spend much time with the stragglers around Prospect World, but a lot of highly ranked guys have struggled this season. That sentence reads like a timeless nothing-statement when I see it on the page, but it’s a pretty accurate description of my thoughts as I scoured the landscape to find the best 100 minor league players for the fantasy game.
If you think of a name that you figured would be here, there’s a good chance they’ve scuffled to start this season. The Nicks, Yorke, Gonzales and Pratto, missed the list in surprising fashion. Perhaps I was more demanding of them because my human-person-walking-around name is also Nick, and I am subconsciously more disappointed with them than I would be with a non-Nick player. Seems unlikely, but you never know.
Also a pretty good chance the player(s) you’re looking for were covered:
either here in the Top 25,
or here in the Top 50,
or here in the Top 75.
I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index.
Anyway, the buns are in the oven. No changing the recipe now. Smells pretty good already, now that the prep’s done and the kitchen’s clean. Ish. Clean as it’s gonna get anyway. Let’s dig in.
Please, blog, may I have some more?26-year-old Oakland 3B Jonah Bride isn’t married to any one position. He’s even messed around at catcher the last couple seasons. Impressive that despite his wandering ways he’s posted plus offensive seasons at every extended stop (wRC+ scores of 122, 130, 149, and the 175 in 12 games at AAA this season). He played third base in his debut and isn’t going to unseat Sean Murphy anytime soon, but he could hang onto a roster spot as Billy Beane and the Athletics try to cobble together a baseball team, shouting “It’s Alive!” into an echoing, empty ballpark.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect Rankings Update: New Top 75 for June 2022
June 12, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 28 Commentsby: The Itch
List season continues this week here at Razzball. It’s a stressful time for yours truly, if I’m honest with myself, as I don’t have time to write about everything I’m noticing just under the surface of prospect world. Stress isn’t negative all the time. It’s also an exciting time. Tickles the geek inside my haunted carnival of a baseball mind to check in with each and every prospect and rearrange them rung by rung, tier by tier.
51-75 was the toughest group on the list, in terms of my mind’s ability to settle on a decision and turn the page to the next task. It chewed through hour after hour of my life like the hungry caterpillar, and now I have a tummy ache.
I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index.
Here’s a link to the Top 25, Prospect Rankings Update: Corbin Carroll Headlines Top 25 for June 22.
And here’s a link to the Top 50, Prospect Rankings Update: New Top 50 for June 2022
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect Rankings Update: New Top 50 for June 2022
June 8, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 39 Commentsby: The Itch
List season continues this week here at Razzball. It’s a stressful time for yours truly, if I’m honest with myself, as I don’t have time to write about everything I’m noticing just under the surface of prospect world. Stress isn’t negative all the time. It’s also exciting in this case. Tickles the geek inside my haunted carnival of a baseball mind to check in with each and every prospect and rearrange them rung by rung, tier by tier.
I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index.
Here’s a link to the top 25, Prospect Rankings Update: Corbin Carroll Headlines Top 25 for June 22.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This first published restructuring is always fussy to navigate. Even waiting longer than I wanted to didn’t even clear much space via prospect graduations.
I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index.
Oh and here’s a link to Wednesday’s article, Prospect News: Dahian Santos is Coming to Town or Commencement Day, in which I discussed the graduates.
We’ve got a new name atop the list and some fresh powder further on down the mountain.
Please, blog, may I have some more?