Padres + catcher = “Joanna Newsom is the 21st century timeless voice.” Wow, the math is way off there. Was supposed to be “you win some, but not this one, however I will voice concern and enthusiasm.” Not sure what happened, did I forget to carry a one or a “some?” Hmm, will have to throw that through a Rudy-designed tool and see what happens. As is my wont in the opening paragraphs, before I get to the nuts and bolts of Francisco Mejia, it’s good to point out that we’re talking about a catcher, so conservative is the operative word. Also, it’s best to be conservative in a sentence with nuts and bolts. Gary Sanchez took a bolt to his nuts and has never looked the same. “Don’t rattle the undercarriage, cold, cold world,” as George Orwell says in his followup 1985, which was about the incredible box office year Steve Guttenberg had. Any hoo! Mejia does have me a little jazzed like elevator music, because the Padres have already called him up and he seems a lock to at least be in a 70/30 (Hedges/Mejia) timeshare for their catcher spot, if not more. What’s Austin Hedges’ contract like? *Googles it* Okay, so maybe Hedges is traded? How about 60/40 for Hedges/Mejia? 70/32 when including warmup pitches? 50/38 and 12% of the time the pitcher just throws to the backstop? Mejia is ready and has to play, I say with 50/50 confidence. Anyway, what can we expect from Francisco Mejia for 2019 fantasy baseball?
Last year, Francisco Mejia hit 17 HRs between two levels of pro ball, and two teams. He hit 7 HRs in half a season with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, the Nine Little Indians, and seven more homers for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, Tony Shalhoub’s Monks (they’re called Tiny Shalhoubs, colloquially) in only 31 games while hitting .328. Then, he hit three homers in only 56 major league at-bats. We wouldn’t be talking about a catcher if I didn’t think he had real promise. He didn’t show otherworldly power in the minors, but he’s 22 years old and it’s comin’ like Omar. That will go along with a catcher who won’t kill you in average, which you can only say about a handful of catchers, and that’s after a home improvement accident with a saw. His strikeouts skyrocketed in his cup of coffee this year (30.6%), but, bleh, that’s a small sample size — as she says derisively. He won’t strike out over a 18% rate once he gets comfortable, and the line drives will come and the power. Think there’s a chance he’s a top 5 catcher in fantasy for many years, and that could start this year, or in two years. Hard to say, he is still young. I’m guessing Mejia gets a long look as the Padres’ backup backstop, and more if Hedges is injured or just flat-out looks terrible. For 2019, I’ll give Francisco Mejia the projections of 28/12/36/.268/1 in 305 ABs with a chance for more, and I will draft him in all leagues as an endgame flyer to see if he shocks the world into being the 70 side of the 70/30 playing time split, because, brucely, with catchers you have nothing to lose, except the seven minutes it took you to read this. Haha, suckers!
4 55 Bumgarner, Madison P
4 56 Diaz, Edwin P
4 57 Clevinger, Mike P
4 58 Dahl, David OF latka
4 59 Strasburg, Stephen P
4 60 Ozuna, Marcell OF
5 61 Realmuto, J.T. C
5 62 Taillon, Jameson P
5 63 Suarez, Eugenio 3B
5 64 Gennett, Scooter 2B
5 65 Cain, Lorenzo
5 66 Carpenter, Matt 1B Mulberry
5 67 Treinen, Blake P
5 68 Aguilar, Jesus 1B
5 69 Pham, Tommy OF (me)
5 70 Sanchez, Gary C
5 71 Foltynewicz, Michael P
5 72 Greinke, Zack P
5 73 Haniger, Mitch OF
5 74 Price, David P
5 75 Votto, Joey CI
6 76 Seager, Corey MI
6 77 Chapman, Aroldis P
6 78 Abreu, Jose 1B
6 79 Kimbrel, Craig P
6 80 Rosario, Eddie OF
6 81 Wheeler, Zack P
6 82 Ohtani, Shohei UT (me)
The strangled nut off the board..
I think Ohtani is a strong canidate for 80/30/80/15 .275
Dahl went so high, holy crap… I like him, but damn… Pitching becomes such a mess so fast, haha… I don’t mind Pham…Maybe on Ohtani, prolly too rich for my blood
@Grey:
Yeah, but as you and I know it’s easier to find arms #150-350 than speed/power combos that hit above .265. I’ve got six guys who will give me homers, bags and score tons of runs with pretty good BA. I will start on arms soon. My only question now is do I swipe a legit closer soon or just vulture on everything. It’s a little riskier in DC going into a season with no bona fides.
Yeah, I like drafting talent, and Ohtani is super talented, so I don’t hate it — better than relying on Travis Jankowski in the 35th round
@Grey:
The latest and greatest:
6 83 Segura, Jean
6 84 Gallo, Joey OF
6 85 Pollock, A.J. OF
6 86 Berrios, Jose P
6 87 Peraza, Jose SS
6 88 Andujar, Miguel CI
6 89 Marquez, German
6 90 Castellanos, Nicholas
7 91 Donaldson, Josh 3B
7 92 Osuna, Roberto P
7 93 Vazquez, Felipe P
7 94 Castillo, Luis P
7 95 Muncy, Max 1B
7 96 Hand, Brad P
7 97 Leclerc, Jose P
7 98 Mikolas, Miles P
7 99 Upton, Justin OF
7 100 Chapman, Matt 3B
7 101 Ray, Robbie P
7 102 Jansen, Kenley P
7 103 Hader, Josh P
7 104 Villar, Jonathan MI
Kind of a run on closers. I passed on Jensen who might be a good value there if surgery goes well. I couldn’t pass on Upton there. I’m quite happy with getting him at #99. Gee, I wonder if he’ll out produce Max Muncy?
Kewl. Thanks. The next batch:
3 41 Buehler, Walker P
3 42 Davis, Khris UT
3 43 Bauer, Trevor P
3 44 Guerrero, Jr., Vladimir 3B
3 45 Bogaerts, Xander SS
4 46 Bellinger, Cody 1B
4 47 Carrasco, Carlos P
4 48 Paxton, James P
4 49 Hoskins, Rhys OF
4 50 Torres, Gleyber SS
4 51 Corbin, Patrick P
4 52 Springer, George OF (me)
4 53 Rendon, Anthony 3B
4 54 Flaherty, Jack P
Vladdy Jr above Rendon and Andujar? Hmnnn…
That seems ridiculous… People are way too aggressive for Vlad Jr. Best case scenario for him is Rendon who has already done it multiple times
@Grey: Flaherty at 54 wtf? I don’t like the reach on Vlad at all, but also strongly disagree that the best case scenario for him is Rendon. It is hard for me to see that when he has literally hit the ball better than anyone at his age.
@cg: Agree. I believe he out-does Rendon from the day he steps foot on an MLB field.
@Harley Earl: I think he has a better chance at outperforming Rendon than being worse. To be honest I’d be shocked if he is not better than Rendon. He’s like a young Miggy. Issue to me is PT in 2019. As much as I think he is going to be called up (he will at some point) it wouldn’t surprise me to see it at the time of year where a top 40 loses you money no matter what.
He *could* outperform Rendon, but Rendon’s also much safer
@Harley Earl:
But also taken above Suarez and Andujar while likely missing first month in AAA.
Yeah, Flaherty’s going way too early from what I’ve seen
23 Verlander, Justin P
2 24 Kluber, Corey P
2 25 Cole, Gerrit P C
2 26 Snell, Blake P
2 27 Bryant, Kris OF
2 28 Blackmon, Charlie OF
2 29 Merrifield, Whit 2B
2 30 Rizzo, Anthony
3 31 Marte, Starling OF
3 32 Mondesi, Adalberto SS
3 33 Kershaw, Clayton P
3 34 Soto, Juan OF
3 35 Stanton, Giancarlo OF
3 36 Correa, Carlos SS
3 37 Benintendi, Andrew OF
3 38 Severino, Luis P
3 39 Albies, Ozzie 2B (me)
3 40 Syndergaard, Noah
I wanted Soto or Beneintendi but setted for Albies. I believe his first half is his upside.
Love the Albies pick, would’ve been happy with any of those three… Crazy to take Correa in front of any of those final four, except maybe Severino
Have you guys found a taker for your dynasty league yet? I am interested but assume the spot(s) may be taken. Interested in the cost associated and website its played on.
You should comment above to the guy with the league opening (s)
Not sure if Jeff McNeil counts as a 2019 rookie or not, but I’m holding him in an OBP keep forever league and am kinda struggling on how to value him. Roughly speaking, where would you see him going? Top 75? 100? 150?
Around 150-75
I picked. So far results are:
1. Trout
2. Betts
3. Lindor
4. Arenado
5. JoRam
6. Max
7. Yelich
8. Just Dong
9. Bregman (me)
10. Tildaddy
I almost went with Tildaddy but obviously didn’t.
Don’t know how much I’m going to love Bregman this year yet, but not a ton of surprises there
@Grey:
Well, he seems solid. I wanted JD but whatevs. Bregman seems to have less injury risk than Machado.
Prolly would’ve went Machado, but love to see where he ends up
@Grey:
11. Baez
12. Trea
13. Machado
14. Altuve
15. de Grom
16. Sale
Likely going Trea, Machado and Baez over Bregman
@Grey:
Well, we are in round 2. I am pick 23. Harper and Goldschmidt still on board.
Holy crap, Harper stayed that long?
@Grey:
17. Harper
18. Story
19. Nola
20. Judge
One more pick then me. Goldy, Stanton, Freeman, Merrifield considering at #22.
@Dave D:
Freeman went #21, so I took Goldy #22.
Solid pick at 22
@Grey:
Yeah can’t complain. 1b pretty shallow. Next round picks should get more interesting .
Totally, next round is when it starts feeling like you need an SP
Oh, I see, Harper gone at 17
@Grey:
I bet the guy who picked him there is quite happy.
I would be
@Grey: surprised I haven’t seen Acuna on the board that late yet
Wow, that’s late? Damn
My pick now:
1.Trout
2. Betts
3. Lindor
4. Arenado
5. JoeRam
6. Max
7. Yelich
8. Just Dong
I’m deciding between Bregman, Turner, Tildaddy. Will let you know
Never really been able to get in to Joanna Newsom, but Joanna Gruesome is a whole different story. Their album Peanut Butter was AOTY-material back in 2015. (No, this is not a joke.)
Joanna Gruesome sounds like a Troma film
Saw your reply to my Reply All comment yesterday. Thanks for the rec’s yet again. Nice pods breh! *shaka emoji*
Shaka emoji back at you!
Incredibly, I knew everything of this Yes, Yes, No before the explanation… Maybe that’s sadly
Think I read your articles equally to stay current and in the know for fantasy. Would never have known who Joanna Newsom was. Or kombucha! Although I can probably do without both.
@Basement Artie: Newsom is kombucha for your soul!
@Grey: Hah! I guess. Can’t get past that first taste though. Of kombucha. Have to give Newsom more of a listen. She’s talented, that’s certain.
Check out The Book of Right-On by Newsom (obviously not by kombucha)
@Grey: Will do. Thanks.
No problem
@Grey: Just listened to it. Liked it. Refreshing to hear especially with the number of Grande sound-alikes out there now. Evokes Carole King for me, less poppy though. May be a fan.
Yeah, quirkier than most stuff, I’m by no means an expert of her… I just like that album
@Grey: McNeil won’t be around long enough in my draft to take him due to number of city boys in it. Interested in your take on him though. Thanks.
I’ve compared him in the past to possibly will have a Jeff Kent year, I like his power a lot… Obviously so much could go wrong for him, and he’s old (for where he’s at in his career)
Joanna Newsom’s voice annoyed me at first, but now I’m a full-on convert.
@Anodyne: She’s timeless, or so Rolling Stone tells me… I do like some of her songs
Fourth year dynasty league looking for two replacement managers.
Think you can beat Ralph Lifshitz and a bunch of other highly active and competitive baseball addicts? Our league is heading into its fourth year and has had three separate champions. Both of the teams that are available are teams that are in the rebuilding phase with strong potential for relatively short turnarounds.
16 team Fantrax roto league, 6×6 stats include R, RBI, Net SB, AVG, OBP, SLG, QS, K, Net Sv, HLD, ERA, WHIP. Please note that this in not a HR league, but HR help you in other stats that we count.
Rosters are 41 men including C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, 5 OF, UTIL, 12 P as the active positions. 5 MiLB slots must be filled with eligible players at any given time.
It’s 100% keeper with a two round annual draft for which the MLB draft and international signees are reserved each year.
We want active and competitive owners only who communicate reliably. You will have a lot of freedom in this league as far as trades (never been a veto) and how you decide to set up your roster and strategy.
If you are interested, contact dynastygurufantrax at geemayul dawt cawm, and answer the following questions:
1) What is your full name
2) What is your full email address
3) Why should we pick you for our league?
4) What are your fantasy pet peeves?
5) What team do you want? Would you take the other team?
6) What would you do with your team on day 1?
Here are the available teams:
TEAM 1
Joey Gallo
Javier Baez
Miguel Sano
Carlos Correa
Orlando Arcia
Ronald Acuna Jr
Michael Conforto
Austin Meadows
Jurickson Profar
Kyle Schwarber
Amed Rosario
Zack Collins
Nick Senzel
Yusniel Diaz
Tirso Ornelas
Blake Rutherford
Lolo Sanchez
Bo Bichette
Royce Lewis
Eloy Jimenez
Luis Robert
Victor Robles
Jesus Sanchez
Leody Taveras
Sandy Alcantara
Robert Gsellman
Yusei Kikuchi
Fernando Romero
Jose Soriano
Jose Albertos
Alex Faedo
MacKenzie Gore
Franklin Perez
Cal Quantrill
Mitch White
Kyle Wright
JC Ramirez
Yadier Alvarez
Dylan Cease
Jason Groome
Mitch Keller
TEAM 2
Willson Contreras
Justin Bour
Dee Gordon
Marwin Gonzalez
Jean Segura
Daniel Vogelbach
Whit Merrifield
Harrison Bader
Lewis Brinson
Odubel Herrera
Kevin Kiermaier
Jesse Winker
Tommy Pham
Scott Schebler
David Dahl
Nicky Delmonico
Jose Siri
Josh Ockimey
AJ Reed
Michael Chavis
Wander Samuel Franco
Brent Rooker
Jhoulys Chacin
Sam Dyson
Caleb Ferguson
Kyle Gibson
Gio Gonzalez
Zack Littell
Sean Newcomb
Ivan Nova
Carlos Rodon
Taylor Rogers
Noah Syndergaard
Masahiro Tanaka
Keynan Middleton
Aaron Sanchez
Chris Stratton
Jerad Eickhoff
Brent Honeywell
Shane Bieber
Jon Duplantier
Thomas Eshelman
Josh Staumont
Garrett Whitlock
@The Curly W’s: 4. Ha
@Grey: My fantasy pet peeve is that you still haven’t joined
Was that for me? I thought you were just posting for everyone
My DC draft has started. I got pick 9. Good spot IMO. First pick made was Trout. How much DL time will he have this year?
@Dave D: Nice! 9’s not bad at all… Any idea who you’re taking (or have already taken)?
@Grey:
Yeah, but I don’t want to jinx anything. The 2nd pick is dragging on 2-hours, probably unaware that draft started. I’m in a 4-hour draft league as I may need that long if Im alone with three kids and a dog after work hours. I can pick quickly when between appointments at work. Good thing this year though is that draft clock is halved after round 30.
Maybe the 2nd person is hoping to drag the draft out until after the winter meetings so they have so idea of where people end up…
@Grey:
Nah, its a shark tank I’ve jumped into and they’re mostly chomping at the bit to pick. The league is stacked with main event league champs (8 or 9)lots of heavyweights so it should be interesting.
Damn, all right, give me updates on picks…
hey Grey, i been wondering, do you actually answer emailed questions from readers in your Mail Bag videos or do you just make those questions up? You never say who wrote to ask you, so i’ve always wondered if it was really real or just a comedy schtick for you do goof around on. LOL
Either way, it’s good stuff!
@Harley Earl: He read one of my questions from the comments once. Sorta a high point in my life
@Harley Earl: I just grabbed questions from the comments that weren’t that team specific
@Grey: Love the videos, they always crack me up!
Thanks!
Grey!!!
Loved the write-up.
a. Pun point or not! It took me more than 7 minutes to read it. So…
1. I’m dumber than you think. That could be really true.
2. I was distracted along the way by faking like I was listening to my wife’s story about why her friends who live literally a stone’s throw away don’t see each other for drinks or coffee but only when some play comes up for the kids or they have to see the kids off for a school excursion.
3. I like slowly savoring your stuff. It’s kind of like how I feel when we get nearer to the end of the season and it hits me like a ton of bricks that there will be no more Friday Buy/Sell columns.
b. I agree totally on your thought process for Mejia! Last year I put Hedges in the queue for my last pick and went straight to the bathroom to take my shower. I heard the AI bot confirm that I had selected Austin Hedges not wasting the 01m30s needed for the transaction. I will put Mejia in the same queue for this year’s draft. Thank you soooo much for solving my last pick catcher question. I am sooooo grateful.
c. Mark Twain quote of the day for November 16
I have always been able to gain my living without doing any work, for the writing of books and magazine matter is always play not work. I enjoy it. It is merely billiards to me.
d. Have a nice weekend.
Cheers,
Ante
@Ante Galic: A. 2. You faked read it?! How dare you!
B. Yup, exactly
C. I like this one!
D. You too!
@Grey: Grey!!
a. Nooooooooooooooooooo! I faked that I was listening to her. Actually that’s pretty hard because she wants you to look at her when she’s talking to you. So I have to turn my laptop around so that I can see her and you (with my peripheral vision). I faked that I was listening to her. What? I got the message didn’t I? She doesn’t know why her girl friends don’t hang out more often despite the fact that they live really close to each other.
b. Damn! so I still haven’t found the quote that you know that is so commonplace and there is a serious threat that I don’t find it until December 15 (aka when Mark Twain quote of the day officially ends!)
Cheers,
Ante
A. Haha, we’ve all been there! B. It’s such a whatever quote, but it’s super on the money
Not literally, it’s not about money
@Grey: Grey!!
Great, so I can google search, whatevs Mark Twain quote not about money!! I’m sure I’ll find it that way!
You also don’t have to look at her while she’s talking but do that at your own peril. She won’t talk to you for at least 72 hours except to bark out a command like ‘haven’t you taken out the garbage yet?’ and ‘don’t forget it’s your turn to buy fish at the market and it’s already 12 pm and the fish monger has gone home so how are you going to make lunch, huh Chef Boyardee?’
Cheers,
Ante
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, that’s not a Twain quote either (that I know of)