Been a downbeat week around the fantasy game. Nobody likes to see a star like Ronald Acuña Jr. lose another season to injury. Baseball is just a tick less interesting today. For our game, there’s not much one can do to replace an Acuña. In a 15-teamer where I’ve gotten off to a fast start and am in first place, I traded Kodai Senga, Landon Knack and Abimelec Ortiz for Brandon Nimmo. He’s not going to approximate Acuña, but he should fill an outfield spot and help me hold down the Runs category. He’s batting third this season and is on pace for his best RBI season by a long ways, even as his batting average has tumbled. He’s painting the statcast bars red, and his career outcomes suggest he’s got upside in the batting average category. Now I just need to replace a few dozen stolen bases. No big deal, right?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
1. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes | 21 | MLB | 2024
2. Nationals OF James Wood | 21 | AAA | 2024
3. Orioles SS Jackson Holliday | 20 | MLB | 2024
4. Rangers OF Wyatt Langford | 22 | MLB | 2024
5. Rays 3B Junior Caminero | 20 | MLB | 2023
These guys are untouchable like Sean Connery swearing at Kevin Costner. Despite rocky starts for Holliday and Langford, few questions remain about their long-term viability as core dynasty assets.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Phillies RHP George Klassen (22, A) was not particularly effective as a college pitcher, posting ERAs of 5.72 and 14.09 in his two seasons as a Golden Gopher in Minnesota. Nonetheless, he showed enough plus stuff for the Phillies to select him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. When he started generating hype this spring as a pitch-lab find for Philadelphia, I was skeptical because it’s hard to just hand-wave those kinds of outcomes. Plus, 22-year-old college pitchers should fare well against Low-A hitters. Even so, Klassen’s gone full Pickle Rick this year. His 0.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 34.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate are eye-popping numbers that suggest he’s already graduated from that level, skills wise. He might be in High-A right now if not for a short trip to the injured list. His three-pix mix now includes a four-seam fastball at about 98, a cutter at ~90 and a curveball at ~86; all three play as plus.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Prospect News: We All Scream For Paul Skenes
May 19, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 28 Commentsby: The Itch
I’m working on a Top 100 update right now, and I’m struggling to make a case for anyone above Pirates RHP Paul Skenes. Sure, Jackson Holliday is a safer bet given the reality of every pitcher who’s ever thrown this hard getting hurt, but Skenes is such a unicorn, I’m inclined to stop treating him like a regular human baseball player. Part of it is the struggle to keep my brain functioning exclusively in the fantasy baseball realm, where of course it makes sense to pick the hitters over the pitchers 99.9 percent of the time. I just think this feels like that 0.1 percent of the time, and it’s hard to imagine any real baseball teams would prefer another prospect to Skenes. A guy like him can carry you through the playoffs, if you happen to make the playoffs, especially if he’s paired with another dynamite young arm like Jared Jones. I ranked Skenes 12th in my Top 25 Fantasy Prospects: Opening Day 2024, and I feel pretty foolish about that today. I had some worries about his health given how long it had been since we’d seen him pitch and how he finished 2023, but that’s a distant memory now.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Dodgers SS Austin Gauthier (25, AAA) is off to a hot start at a new level, slashing .360/.467/.600 with one homer and a steal alongside five walks and five strikeouts in seven games. A four-year starter at Hofstra, Gauthier (pronounced Goth-e-er as in vampires are gothier than puppies) has never been a named guy but has found little resistance among minor league pitchers, posting big on base percentages and solid plate skills every step of the way. In the box, he features a high leg kick a La Justin Turner and delivers functional all-fields power. He’s probably available in all your leagues as an unheralded dude from nowhere, but I watch him and feel like it’s going to work against major league arms.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Graduated from Stash List Volume 1: Skenes The Mountain: Paul Skenes (1), Christian Scott (6), Joey Loperfido (7), Kyle Manzardo (8)
Jackson Holliday is not on this list. One of the few rules I’ve implemented here is that once you’re a big leaguer in the current season, you’re off the list. Holliday cashed those major league game checks, so he won’t be represented here. Neither will Tyler Black even though I’m writing this part on a Friday and thinking about his namesake Rebecca.
1. Nationals OF James Wood | 21 | AAA
This is fun, huh? In Washington’s defense, Wood does seem to be making little leaps in his approach, and he is still young in the baseball sense. But the growth he’s made in a short time makes me feel like he’s going to be good right away, especially because he’ll bring the impact whenever he connects, even if he’s struggling to connect from time to time. By the way, this man is slashing .344/.443/.552 with five homers and nine steals.
Please, blog, may I have some more?As prospects in general have garnered increased hype over the past few fantasy-season cycles, the pool of post-hype prospects has also gotten deeper year over year. We turn the page in a hurry when a player struggles to capitalize on that first big chance, or that second big chance, or the third. Even the most patient players among us have to acknowledge reality after a while. We need these roster spots for the stats they can provide. Can’t just use our parents’ house as a free-rent incubator a la Erlich Bachman.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Having opened the season on a nine-game losing streak, the Marlins started swimming against the current early in 2024 and have apparently grown tired of the effort, swapping almost two full seasons of Luis Arraez for a package of four decent Padres’ prospects: OF Dillon Head, OF Jakob Marsee, 1B Nathan Martorella, and RHP Woo-Suk Go. The Marlins will reportedly also cover Arraez’s salary (down the minimum) for 2024. It’s the first big move by Miami’s new head of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, who comes to South Beach via Tampa and has experienced his fair share of high-wire trades. On the other side of the country, we find AJ Preller doing what he does best, flipping an assortment of imperfect prospects for someone he can play tomorrow.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Brewers 1B Tyler Black has always produced, posting on base percentages around .400 or better every step of the way since he was drafted 33rd overall out of Wright State in 2021. He also hit 18 home runs and stole 55 bases in 123 games across two levels in 2023. With Rhys Hoskins at first base, Black figures to get in where he fits in when he can, probably at designated hitter as often as not. In other words, defense is not Black’s most colorful attribute, but that won’t matter much for our purposes as long he’s in the lineup. He picked up two hits in four at bats in his debut, and new manager Pat Murphy has demonstrated skill in spreading opportunities among everyone on his roster and rewarding anyone who’s hitting. Gotta think Heston Kjerstad or Jose Fermin would not ride the pine for a week if promoted to Murphy’s care.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect News: Stash List Volume 1: Skenes The Mountain
April 28, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 45 Commentsby: The Itch
So here’s the issue off the top: Jackson Holliday is not on this list. I mean I haven’t written yet, in full, but he’s not gonna be on this list. One of the few rules I’ve created to help me create this document throughout the season is that once you’re a big leaguer in the current season, you’re off the list. Holliday cashed those major league game checks, so he won’t be represented here. I suppose he’d be first here, but I’m not even gonna think about it because one of the key points here is to highlight players who might not be rostered yet. I’m not even sure we’re late enough into the season to reach that objective in most leagues, but that’s irrelevant to the ultimate Ultimate goal of creating interesting, readable fantasy baseball content. I don’t think I’m doing that in that last sentence. Might need a quick walk.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect News: Invasion Of The Boeve or Pain Don’t Hurter
April 24, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 22 Commentsby: The Itch
Orioles OF Heston Kjerstad was recalled after laying waste to Triple-A for a few weeks. He started in right field on Tuesday and should be in the lineup most nights from here forward. Baltimore continues to be perplexing in their efforts to fold these talent waves into the roster build, so there’s always a chance Kjerstad goes cold and winds up back in the minors, but I’m betting against that at this point, which is exactly what I would’ve said in spring training, so yeah . . . very helpful stuff from me.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect News: Orelvis Seeks His Blue Jays Shoes
April 21, 2024 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 30 Commentsby: The Itch
Rockies OF Jordan Beck (22, AAA) is where it’s at right now, slashing .328/.419/.738 with five home runs, one stolen base, two turntables and a microphone. Colorado’s not getting much of anything from anyone in the outfield, and if past is prologue, Kris Bryant will be on the injured list for quite a while, and OF Sean Bouchard still won’t have much runway on his starting spot. I’m hoping he will because he’s earned an extended look, but I’m also hoping Beck finds a way into that lineup sooner than later. Chaining themselves to the final stretch of Charlie Blackmon’s career isn’t helping the organizational depth chart.
Please, blog, may I have some more?