This feels more like of a functional rookie post vs. a drool worthy one. Which is odd, because I don’t know if Jorge Alfaro is a rookie. I looked into it, and, from what I can tell, Alfaro still has his rookie eligibility. But if he doesn’t, look at this as the first sleeper post that’s boring vs. the last rookie post that’s boring. Man, I am selling the shizz out of this. Any hoo! Jorge Alfaro. Confession Alert! I ask Prospector Ralph for about ten names of rookies that will impact this year and then go off that list for these rookie posts. I mean, who better to ask than the guy that knows more about prospects than anyone else? Well, at least more about prospects than anyone I know, which, in my myopic world, is the same thing. Any hoo, Part 2: Return To Hoosville, Ralph didn’t give me Jorge Alfaro as a name to cover. I don’t think he likes him, y’all! I can understand his trepidation. Alfaro’s a catcher, that’s kinda boring. For fantasy, however, a catcher that has an everyday job and won’t be drafted until late in redraft leagues has value, especially one with huge raw power. So, what can we expect from Jorge Alfaro for 2018 fantasy baseball?
I think we might get a cheap top 10 catcher here. I know, I know, hyperbole isn’t just Manute Bol’s brother. By the way, I miss Manute Bol on the daily. I love super tall people, that’s a fun fact about me. Back to Alfaro! Have you seen this guy hit?
Um, that’s off balance. And to the deepest part of the field! He’s a beast of muscles and skin and bones and–Okay, I was just reading from the human anatomy page on Wikipedia, but Alfaro does not appear to be a struggle-to-hit-15-homers type. More like a perennial 20-homer catcher who might hit .215. Yeah, that’s the pecca in the dillo, as no one says. In 324 ABs in Triple-A last year, he hit .241 with a 32% strikeout rate. That’s not going to translate to a .318 hitter like he was last year in his cup of coffee. “Help, I’m in a cup of coffee!” That’s a fly drowning. Alfaro doesn’t walk to offset any of this massacre on Ks either. Prolly an under 5% walk rate is what we’re looking at. He does have some speed though, and could swipe five to seven bags on broken hit-and-runs and if Jon Lester pitches against him. There’s not a ton to like, but immense power and maybe a handful of steals butters the ol’ biscuit when it comes to catchers. As I said, functional vs. sexy. In mixed leagues, I’m drafting this guy all over the place super late. For 2018, I’ll give Jorge Alfaro the projections of 43/18/61/.232/3 in 507 ABs.
