The Itch

Chicago Cubs Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 8, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 16 Comments

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

1. RHP Cade Horton | 22 | AA | 2024

Horton heard his name during the seventh overall pick in the 2022 Rule 4 draft, and he’s been making noise ever since. In 21 games across three levels this season, he pitched 88.1 innings and recorded 117 strikeouts with a 1.00 WHIP and a 2.65 ERA. Word around the north side is that they’ll be extremely active in free agency, and it’s hard to disagree after seeing the cash they’re shelling out for new manager Craig Counsell, but I hope they only block Horton for legitimate rotation options. I think he could win a spot out of spring training if they’d let him.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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# MLB Starting Lineups For Fri 8/8
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK
Grey

Ceddanne Rafaela, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 6, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 31 Comments

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If it’s not obvious, I’ve been trying to focus on players who were already called up. Sure, I went over a few guys who haven’t been called up yet — hello, Wyatt Langford fantasy — but if a player is called up already, then they’re in better position to start the year with the big league club. For redraft leagues, this is the most important thing. Are at-bats more important than actually being good? Well, no, but all of these rookies are good. The difference between a great rookie and great rookie with playing time is everything. It’s the difference between hundreds of spots in ADP. And well it should be! In a redraft league, I don’t want a rookie that I have to sit on for weeks or months. It’s why you might’ve detected some pessimism while getting my Jacks-off like Michael Hutchence in the Jackson Chourio fantasy and  Jackson Holliday fantasy. Oh, they can be great, but for 2024 fantasy baseball: A Jackson or Ceddanne Rafaela? Well, it’s not quite that easy. Do you have bench spots to stash a Jackson? Because when they’re called up, they should be better. Holliday, specifically, will have six weeks of at-bats — and stats! — to make up for overall 2024 fantasy baseball value when it comes to him or Ceddanne Rafaela. Last year, Rafaela was called up and saw 83 ABs with a 2 HRs, 3 SBs and .241 line. His strikeout rate was also 31.5%, but, honestly, the only thing that matters there is that he was called up. So, what can we expect from Ceddanne Rafaela for 2024 fantasy baseball?

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

Washington Nationals Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 5, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 1 Comment

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

1. OF James Wood | 21 | AA | 2024

At 6’6” 240 lbs from the left side, Wood is always just a bit of contact away from a double and a barrel away from a bomb. Last winter, he was mostly untouchable in all my leagues. This time around, that shiny new bloom seems to be off the rose. I kinda get it. He slashed .248/.334/.492 in 87 Double-A games, but he also had 40 extra base hits (18 HR) and ten steals in about half a season as a 20-year-old in Double-A. I think I’m more impressed with him now than I was then.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Noelvi Marte, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

November 2, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 17 Comments

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Every year, around this time, I do a google to see what the MLB rookie eligibility is, because that’s how I decide if a guy is eligible for one of these posts. I can remember where I was when I learned Peter Sellers died in 1980 — on the Jersey shore, walking on the hot sand, sobbing my eyes out that Inspector Clouseau passed away, but I can’t remember the MLB rookie eligibility, that I learn every year. Is that long-term or short-term memory that’s ruined? I can’t remember that either! Any hoo! I bring this up, because, by my very thin calculations, Noelvi Marte is still a rookie, so Frank Voila! Here he is! Last year, in 35 games in the majors or 114 ABs, he hit three homers, stole six bags and hit .316. Hey, a 20/40/.300 hitter! Great! That works for me! As I said the other day in my Evan Carter 2024 fantasy outlook, and said again in each rookie outlook post since, there is no giant, flashing lights, behemoth top rookie this year, but there’s a lot of “Could be the 2nd best rookie in a year with a Corbin Carroll,” and Noelvi Marte is yet another one of those. He could be the best rookie in 2024 fantasy, but, if there were an actual best rookie, he wouldn’t be it. Or at least, it’s not readily obvious he’s that guy. So, what can we expect from Noelvi Marte for 2024 fantasy baseball?

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

Cards & Categories Ep. 17 – The Looming Offseason, Topps Holiday, 2024 Fantasy Landmines

November 2, 2023 | 2024 Fantasy Baseball, All Podcasts, Cards and Categories |

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In our seventeenth episode, Mike Couillard and Jeremy Brewer open by recapping the World Series to-date (recorded during Game 5) before theorizing how the offseason will unfold. Then we overview the release of 2023 Topps Holiday (22:00). Finally, we discuss six players in the Top 150 to avoid at current 2024 NFBC average draft prices (37:27). You […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2024 Top Keepers – Catchers

November 1, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 11 Comments

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Catchers – you can’t live with them, and in fantasy baseball, we can’t live without them.

This is a position that is not deep and not that talented after the top tier of backstops. You may get a catcher who has power but kills your average and on-base percentage. Or you may get a catcher who hits well and gets on base, but has no power at all.

There are very few perfect catchers in baseball, and the few that are close are going to be tough to get or trade for due to the scarcity of those players. But you almost feel compelled to try to go after them or hang onto them a year or two too long because for every Adley Rutschmans, there are two Martin Maldonados who just kill your team.

I came up with forty catchers to rank, but that is mostly to help fantasy owners who play in 20-team (or more) leagues or the leagues that require two catchers. If you are in a 12- to 16-team league, the Tier 4 and perhaps Tier 3 players will likely mean nothing to you.

Anyway, let’s get to the 2024 Top Keepers – Catchers.

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

Philadelphia Phillies Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

November 1, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

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

1. RHP Andrew Painter | 20 | AA | 2025

Underwent Tommy John surgery in late July, so 2024 is mostly washed out. Can’t really put a clock on the value of elite pitching, so if he comes back at full strength, we’ll chart this blip up as a positive in the sense that it buys him a little safety window on the ticking time bomb that is a high-velocity elbow.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Jackson Chourio, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

October 30, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 49 Comments

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Here’s the good thing about not having a top prospect for 2024 fantasy baseball in the traditional sense: There’s instead ten guys who could be the top prospect and this class could be better than any of the previous few. Jackson Chourio could be Ronald Acuña Jr. or not be up until September, and be lined up to be the top prospect for next year. Jackson Chourio was bursting from the seams in Double-A this year with 22/43/.280 line and an 18.4% strikeout rate. That’s wacko, Jacko. They are absolutely not making hitters like they used to make them. They used to be in the Create A Player Factory and make a guy like Pedro Alvarez, and be like, “He hit 24 homers and .210, that’s a success.” And you’d be like, “Are you sure?” And they’d be like, “He won Player of the Week once, how much do you want?” Now the players are like, “I wonder if he can go 25/50 his first season and hit 60 homers and steal 90 bags by year three.” Yeah, things are nuts in the world of baseball prospects. Exciting times. No, I didn’t say Jackson Chourio could be Acuña as a goof. Of course, not in 2024, or, dramatic pause, can he? Or rather: So, what can we expect from Jackson Chourio for 2024 fantasy baseball?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Wyatt Langford, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

October 29, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 14 Comments

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So far in my 2024 fantasy baseball rookie outlook posts, two Rangers players Oreo’d Jackson Holliday. Is this ideal for their outlooks? Here’s a better question for you, what is ideal? Does it matter where the rookies come from? Adley and Gunnar in the Orioles’ lineup this past year meant what for them? Good things for real and fantasy baseball. Don’t try to find narratives where there are none. Just because the Rangers have two rookies don’t put on it, “Well, they both can’t be good.” That’s wrong. They can and, with that lineup around them, they have a good chance of being good. Here’s another way to look at it: Prefer two rookies in a stacked Rangers’ lineup or one rookie in the not-so-good Nats’ lineup? Trick question! A rookie in the Nats’ lineup can be good too. Don’t get wrapped up in non-stories. Am I currently arguing with a strawman? Yeah, maybe. Remember the other day, when I said people I asked were split about who the top prospect would be in 2024 fantasy baseball? Our one-time fantasy baseball prospect guy, Geoff, who now works at Baseball America, voted for Wyatt Langford. Yes, I made sure, double-checked honestly, because I know some of you might be wondering, “Isn’t Wyatt Langford the kid from Ozark with the cougar problem?” He’s not, from what I can tell. So, what can we expect from Wyatt Langford for 2024 fantasy baseball?

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

New York Mets Top 10 Prospects For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

October 29, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 9 Comments

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1. SS Jett Williams | 19 | AA | 2024

Williams was fantastic for 36 games in High-A, slashing .299/.451/.567 with seven home runs, 12 steals, 32 strikeouts and 33 walks. He’d earned a midseason promotion by posting a .422 on base percentage in Low-A while improving throughout the season. If he hits in Double-A to open the year, the 5’6” 175 lb spark plug will be a top ten prospect in baseball by May. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Jackson Holliday, 2024 Fantasy Outlook

October 26, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies, Featured | 24 Comments

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As I said the other day in my Evan Carter 2024 fantasy outlook thingie-ma-whosies, there wasn’t a consensus for who would be the top rookie in 2024 fantasy redraft leagues. There was a consensus about who would be the top rookie if they started the year with the club in April. You guessed it: Jackson Holliday. Itch gave me a list of the top redraft 2024 fantasy rookies for me to discuss — ooh, homework! — and he said that Jackson Holliday would start the year with the Orioles in April or July. So, that’s Jackson Holliday’s caveat up front. We have no idea when he will be up with the Orioles. If past is prologue, and I am using ‘past is prologue’ correctly, we only have to look at how the Orioles promoted Adley Rutschman two years ago. Adley reached Triple-A in 2021 for 43 games, then they pretended he needed Triple-A in 2022, until he was called up. Last year, Jackson Holliday reached Triple-A, spent 18 games there, doesn’t need to be there, but the Orioles are going to pretend that he has to spend another six weeks there and call him up on May 21st, thereabouts. The game plan has been revealed by my mind. Sorry, for those of you who think Jackson Holliday will start the year in the majors. He won’t. The Orioles just had the best record in the AL without him, so it’s not like they need him. They need someone like Merrill Kelly more than they need him, tee be aitch. For full disclosure, if I thought Jackson Holliday would start the year with the Orioles, he’d be the top rookie. Of course, if the Orioles surprise me in the spring, and Holliday does break camp, he will fly up draft boards like Jordan Walker last year. The Walker bump! So, what can we expect from Jackson Holliday for 2024 fantasy baseball?

Please, blog, may I have some more?