The Itch

Arizona Diamondbacks Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 26, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 4 Comments

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1. SS Jordan Lawlar | 21 | MLB | 2023

The snakes slithered into the World Series on the strength of Corbin Carrol’s fantastic rookie season and some dynamite outings from the starting rotation. Lawlar’s on the books with a chance to repeat Carroll’s rookie of the year feat and establish himself as an everyday player in the top half of a contending lineup. At 6’2” 190 lbs, Lawlar plays plus defense at shortstop and brings plus power and speed on offense. The hit tool was his only question mark, but Lawlar answered that with a midseason surge that landed him in Triple-A, where he slashed .358/.438/.612 with five home runs, three stolen bases and 12 strikeouts in 16 games. He joined the big league club in September but couldn’t keep the hits coming and batted (and slugged) .129 with a 32.4 percent strikeout rate in 14 games. Would’ve been nice to see him help enough to have an obvious job entering 2024, but a couple weeks of 0-fers is no big deal for a guy his age debuting during a pennant race.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Grey

Masyn Winn, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 23, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 32 Comments

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Masyn Winn hit 2 homers and stole two bags in 122 ABs in the majors, while hitting .172. Welp, what are we doing here? Are we now covering stinkers? The Diabolical Voice In My Head, “Hey, if we’re going to cover stinkers, we should cover you, Grey!” That’s not cool. “May not be cool, but at least it doesn’t stink, like you!” Damn, way harsh. So, there’s a case to be made Masyn Winn is a stinker like that Diabolical Voice In My Head said. “It’s you, man, you’re the diabolical voice!”

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2024 Top Keepers – Shortstops

November 22, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Featured | 14 Comments

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The journey through the 2024 Top Keepers continues this week with a look at the top shortstops. Compared to some of the other positions we’ve covered, shortstop is actually a pretty deep position. If you get stuck with a Tier 4 player, like a Jeremy Pena or Tommy Edman, you still have a decent shortstop on your hands.

Even in Tier 5 (players ranked 31-40), you still can get a decent utility player or fulltime shortstop with some solid upside. Meanwhile, the top shortstops are players who are not just the best at this position, but are some of the best players in the game. Overall, this is a strong group of players.

Now, on to the rankings!

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

St. Louis Cardinals Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 22, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 13 Comments

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Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 

1. SS Masyn Winn | 22 | MLB | 2023

The outcomes were awful in Winn’s first big league stretch. It was just 37 games, but you can’t slash .172/.230/.328 across any stretch without creating some question marks. They wear caps and sleeves at this level. The son of big leaguer Randy Winn, Masyn is certainly aware that he’ll have to hit to hold his spot in 2024, and I’m betting he will. He’s as physically gifted as anyone on the team and has typically figured a level out after a brief adjustment period. Feels like a pretty easy buy at his current NFBC ADP of 449. A .250 average with 15+ homers and 25+ steals is well within his range of outcomes.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Ricky Tiedemann, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 20, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 22 Comments

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Most of the 2024 fantasy rookie outlook posts will be hitters. That’s not by accident. Hitters are easier to predict, especially rookies. Also, I like guys who have tasted the majors. If a player has seen time in the majors, then they’re more likely to be guaranteed a spot on the major league team next year. Unfortch, this doesn’t work for pitchers for one obvious reason. If hitters are looking good in Triple-A, then they can be called up for that delicious cup of coffee in the majors, if it’s not too latte.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Pete Crow-Armstrong, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 19, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 36 Comments

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Aptronyms fascinate me. It’s when one’s name fits perfectly to their occupation. Like if my name were Grey Albrightaboutfantasy. Nominative determinism says there’s a causal relationship between a person being attracted to areas of work that fit their name. For unstints, Usain Bolt runs fast, Thomas Crapper worked with toilets, and Prince and Cecil Fielder were fielders. Think about this before naming your kid, Dumbass. Or Dumbass Jr., if your name is already Dumbass. Though, just naming your kid, Presidentoftheworld, isn’t going to be all they need. With all that said, Pete Crow-Armstrong does a crow hop and combines both solid arm strength and accuracy. Overall, his fielding is excellent. Let’s see an example:

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

Pittsburgh Pirates Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 19, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 7 Comments

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Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 

 

1. RHP Paul Skenes | 21 | AA | 2024

Skenes gave up catching and quickly became the best pitcher in college baseball. At 6’6” 235 lbs, he wasn’t really built for crouching all day. What he was built to do is shove 100 mile per hour fastballs through the strike zone and bury unhittable sliders. The club jumped him up to Double-A for a couple of short outings, so it stands to reason that’s where he’ll open 2024, but this could be a situation where his stuff is just too dominant for the minor leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Kyle Harrison, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 16, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 20 Comments

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First off, what have we said about Kyle Harrison in the past, here’s Itch, “No secret I don’t like this pitcher as much as other sites, who have frequently pushed him up around the top-20 range because he can be dominant when he’s in rhythm. Remains on the list despite a 1.56 WHIP because he could be a front-line starter if he ever finds a delivery he can repeat.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike Couillard

Cards & Categories Ep. 19 – Offseason Shenanigans And Trade Candidates

November 16, 2023 | 2024 Fantasy Baseball, All Podcasts, Cards and Categories |

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In our nineteenth episode, Mike Couillard and Jeremy Brewer open by examining Jason Benetti joining the Tigers and analyzing the Reddit marble simulation. Then we discuss the release of 2023 Topps Chrome Update and the related Pro Debut patch cards (20:14). Lastly, we review the MLB Trade Rumors’ Top 25 trade candidates to pick six players that […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2024 Top Keepers – Second Basemen

November 16, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 11 Comments

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After going over keeper relievers, keeper starters and keeper catchers in October, we turned our attention to the top infield keepers last week with a look at the keeper first basemen.

This week we continue the trip around the infield by looking at the second basemen.

I’m pretty sure I said this last year, but I will say it again: second base is the scrapheap of major league baseball. It seems every manager believes anyone can play second base – and they may be right. You have players getting starts at the spot that you would think would never play there – like a Brandon Drury. Right fielders, center fielders, third basemen, first basemen – they are all getting time at second base.

With so many fantasy leagues requiring middle infielders, the list of keepers is long and the bar to be on the list consists of players who had to have at least 10 starts at second base.

Enough with the chit chat, on to the 2024 Top Keepers – Second Basemen

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

Milwaukee Brewers Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 15, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 15 Comments

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Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 

1. OF Jackson Chourio | 20 | AAA | 2024

A phenomenal athlete who generates unique torque, Chourio hit 22 home runs and stole 43 bases as a 19-year-old in a Double-A league that used a pre-tacked ball to start the season. Hypotheses vary on how much the tacky ball impacted offensive outcomes, but there’s little doubt it increased the difficulty level for hitters. The league swapped out that experiment for a different one after a couple weeks, but the ball was still . . . unique enough that it creates a little error bar and reverse-explained some of Chourio’s early struggles. Mostly, he was pretty great, slashing .280/.336/.467 with an 18.4 percent strikeout rate and a 112 wRC+ across 122 games. This earned him a promotion to Triple-A for the final six games, where he slashed .333/.375/.476 with just one strikeout. Milwaukee has a lot of pieces to sort through, and you can see by the ETAs on this list that their path won’t get clearer anytime soon. There’s not much Chourio could prove at Triple-A Colorado Springs, so he’s got an outside shot to open the season in the big leagues. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?