It wouldn’t be a Ralph and Halp catcher prospect podcast without Tom Murphy, and unfortunately for Murphy and his fantasy owners, this week’s podcast is no exception. We talk Murphy and Carson Kelly to start the show, along with a little MLB Playoffs discussion. We then get into our top 10 catcher prospect rankings, and while there is no disagreement that Francisco Mejia is the top prospect at the position, our opinion differs greatly on Jorge Alfaro. We discuss if Zack Collins can improve his hit tool, is Keibert Ruiz the next Mejia, and how much shine is back on Alex Jackson’s prospect status. We dive deep into everybody from Danny Jansen, Jake Rogers, Andy Yerzy, and Chase Vallot, to William Contreras, Ronaldo Hernandez, Tyler Stephenson, Austin Allen, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Chase Vallot
Prospect Rankings: Top 10 Catching Prospects
September 24, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 41 Commentsby: Geoff
Last year, my brother from another mother, Michael C. Halpern, predicted a new wave of offensive catchers. Players like Gary Sanchez, Tom Murphy, and Willson Contreras were here to lead the first wave in a new generation. Fast forward one year later, and Gary Sanchez and Contreras are in fact leading a new generation of good hitting catchers, while the other guy has been erased from my memory. Or at least I thought, I’m shocked I can even recall Tom Murphy’s name. But that’s neither here nor there. We have some exciting catchers to cover. That’s right, I used the words exciting and catchers in the same sentence! This sounds like Razzball sacrilege! But it’s true, because, for the first time since the Clinton administration, there’s as many as 10 crouching tigers I would own in dynasty. Here’s to this wave of talented backstops being better than the previous. And may that apply in the most double entendre of ways possible to all aspects of your life, loyal reader. I appreciate you for committing this time to something as trivial as catching prospects. Pray hands… So the least I can do is wish you good luck in your love life. Today’s post concludes my positional top 10s, we’ve already dug through Pitchers, outfielders, shortstops, third baseman, second baseman, and first baseman. Onto catchers!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Minor League Update: Eloy Battles Chicago Style Fake News
August 6, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 69 Commentsby: Geoff
Since surviving a vicious industry wide-Cub Fan driven smear campaign, Eloy Jimenez has been a man with a mission. Since joining Winston-Salem, the Chi-Sox high A affiliate, he’s slashed .352/.418/.690 with 5 homers and 18 RBI’s in his first 20 games. The 20 year old slugger has continued to make improvements at the plate in 2017, walking at a 10% clip, while maintaining K rates at or below 20%. The combination of contact, patience, and power is a rare one. This is why I rank Eloy amongst the very elite prospects in the game, with such contemporaries as Acuna, Robles, Guerrero, and Tucker. He’s likely to spend the remainder of 2017 in Winston-Salem, before being assigned to AA next season out of camp. He has a real shot at the number one prospect in all of baseball, once Ronald Acuna heads to the majors. Despite all of his recent success and oodles of upside, it will be years before we find out just how high of a price the Cubs paid for Quintana. That’s not to say that Jimenez is can’t miss, though he’s a close as they come. The Chicago White Sox system is full of future potential stars, but none shine brighter at the moment than Eloy. A future .280/35/100 player is the ceiling, with a power hitting DH floor. It wouldn’t shock me if we saw Jimenez some time in late 2018, with the mostly likely time frame being September. Here’s what else I saw in the MiLB…
Please, blog, may I have some more?The team previews are over and done with, and it’s time to let loose. What better way to ring in our newly found content freedom then to put together a team of our favorite sleepers. Maybe not so much sleepers, as Prospects we see as underrated, or under appreciated by the masses. We go through a few dozen players, position by position, until we’ve given you a cornucopia of under the radar goodness. There’s big news on all fronts, as I join Reddit. Which may be the death of me, as I’m gobbled by the dark web. Who knows? Any the who, if you’re in a deep dynasty or just get down on learning some new prospects, then this is the episode for you. It’s the latest from the Razzball Prospect Podcast.
Razzball Commenter Leagues are open! Play against our contributors and your fellow readers for prizes. Join here!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect Podcast Episode 19: Royals, Angels, and Marlins X-Mas Lump of Coal!
December 24, 2016 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 19 Commentsby: Geoff
It’s the holiday special edition of the prospect podcast, and Halp and I are full of cheer. There’s talk of Jelly Donuts, Egg Nog, the need for a craft rum movement, and so much more. We also lay it on you heavy for your naughty behavior, with a big olde lump of coal. Genuine and from a mine! We talk three of the most wretched systems in baseball, the Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Angels. Each system has only a few players to offer so we packed it into one. If you’re on the fence about whether you should tune into something I’m openly deeming awful or not, three words. Stabby the Cat. She’s back, but not really. Believe me, no one can make the Angels, Royals, and Marlins more fun than Halph! I mean come on Kansas City Royals Prospects!! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Festivus, it’s the latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Prospect Podcast.
Please, blog, may I have some more? 2017 Minor League Preview: Kansas City Royals
December 14, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 34 Commentsby: Geoff
I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to get into the mood to write this post. As fun as a system like the Astros or the Braves is to write up, is as painful as a system like the Royals is to do the same. Then it hit me, the Royals system is your hometown bar. You know the dingy one with a name like Home Plate, Donovan’s, or The Old Mill. Not because you need to be drunk in order to even go in there, though alcohol certainly helped write this. It’s because you’ve been avoiding it like the plague every time you venture home. But one night in a moment of weakness one of your old high school buddies talks you into going. So you get over your irrational fear of seeing the girl that dumped you for the guy that only got his name right on his SAT’s, and that once popular jock that’s gained 60 pounds of Burger King breakfast, and has gone from filling up stat sheets in his glory days, to filling up sweatpants and rap sheets with petty misdemeanors. In other words, everyone in the Royals system is 25 and watching their once promising futures vanish with each passing Jager-bomb. That’s not a joke, this has to be the oldest group of hobos I’ve ever covered. I hesitate to say I’m talking about Kansas City Royals Prospects as much as I’m talking about washed up Kansas City Royals Prospects. Amirite?
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect Podcast Episode 8: Top Breakout Prospects for 2017 Dynasty Leagues
September 23, 2016 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 28 Commentsby: Geoff
The minor league season is over, so allow your favorite Prospectors to light the hot stove. It’s like an outside fire pit on an autumn night type of stove. You know, hoodies and shorts. We’ll save the pellet stove for the December doldrums, whatever those are. Enough about heating units! This week yours truly, and Michael Halpern of imaginarybrickwall.com kick things off with some Padres talk, as they called up the quartet of Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe, Carlos Asuaje, and Austin Hedges. We then touch on top playoff performances from Billy McKinney, Jason Martin, “King of the North” Tyler O’Neill, and Braves pitching prospect Max Fried. We then get into our top 5 sleeper/breakout hitters, and top 5 sleeper/breakout pitchers for 2017. Never mind the bollocks, it’s the latest episode of the Razzball Prospect Podcast.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Prospect Podcast Episode 7: The Catcher Episode
September 15, 2016 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 25 Commentsby: Geoff
We’re back, and this time with 100% less cracking mics, and Candy Crush breaks! Do people still play Candy Crush? Anywho…This week on the Prospect Podcast Michael Halpern of Imaginarybrickwall.com and I talk the recent callups of Roman Quinn and Dan Vogelbach. Touch on Chance Adams 2016, the return of Benintendi, and the end of Aaron Judge’s season. I promise I won’t gloat. From there, we discuss next season value for the big three rookie catchers, Sanchez, Contreras, and Murphy for those of you not in the know. Then again, you’re listening to a fantasy prospect podcast in September, so you know. We round out the episode with our top 10 prospect catchers, and follow that up with some interesting sleepers. Ladies and Gents it’s episode 7 of the Razzball Fantasy Prospect Podcast!!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
2015 Minor League Preview: Kansas City Royals
March 8, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 49 Commentsby: Mike
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2014 (8) | 2013 (18) | 2012 (3) | 2011 (1) | 2010 (16)
2014 Affiliate Records
MLB: [89-73] AL Central
AAA: [76-67] Pacific Coast League – Omaha
AA: [53-87] Texas League – Northwest Arkansas
A+: [65-72] Carolina League – Wilmington
A: [57-83] South Atlantic League – Lexington
Graduated Prospects
Yordano Ventura, RHP
The Gist
The Royals went all the way to the World Series in 2014, helped in part by the pitching of rookie Yordano Ventura. He averaged 96 on his fastball, second only to Garrett Richards. The 23-year-old will enter 2015 as the ace of the Royals’ staff. No pressure or anything. Brandon Finnegan, the Royals’ first round pick in 2014, contributed to the major league club as well. While he was impressive in the bullpen, it looks like the Royals will lean towards stretching him out in the minors. Other top prospects in this system will look to “bounce back” either from injury or disappointing performances. If you’re in need of a short-term prospect for this year Terrance Gore is likely to provide some stolen bases, but he’s behind Jarrod Dyson on a crowded outfield depth chart.
