Prospect News: Spring Winds or Is There A Draft In Here?

February 22, 2026 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

My plan for the day is to share some of my first-year-player drafting process, starting where I left off with the Razz 30 write-ups. Click here to see the first three rounds. In the article, you’ll find the first 90 picks from a highly competitive 30-team league in which everyone has a pretty good idea what they’re doing.

My first four picks were Padres 2B Sung Mug Song (1.26), Tigers P Drew Anderson (2.56), Dodgers RP Edgardo Henriquez (3.80) and Reds RP Connor Phillips (3.86).

I still feel good about the third-rounders, but the Padres and Tigers have both added a lot of playing time competition where there was once an open runway. I still like both players, and I’d still make the Song pick, but it’s a peak at how quickly things can change this time of year.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect News: Razz 30 First-Year-Player Draft

February 8, 2026 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 8 Comments

by: The Itch

The Razz 30 off-season is a tradition like no other. Owners slowly trim their rosters from 50-something players (43 spots with unlimited IL) down to the required 25 total, bartering over mid-round draft picks and borderline droppable players. It’s quite the party, and after a couple hundred trades have been made, we begin the First-Year-Player Draft.

1. White Sox 3B Munetaka Murakami

2. Blue Jays 3B Kazuma Okamoto

3. Astros RHP Tatsuya Imai

4. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson

I wouldn’t put Murakami in the top group, but he’ll probably go that high in most leagues, and Okamoto will probably go a little lower as people chase upside over present production at the top of their drafts. Likely wouldn’t be picking that high if they had enough right-now juice in the categories to contend. Even in a rebuild, I’d be tempted to take Okamoto. If he hits right away, you can trade him for more or just build around him heading into 2027. I don’t advocate for rebuilds with long tails anyway. I think the goal should be an 18-24 month turnaround, and you have to start stacking functional pieces at some point. Why not start with Okamoto? Well, if he doesn’t hit in his first MLB season, his value will be pretty much shot. There’s some safety in far-away players like Ethan Holliday because he doesn’t have to generate big outcomes to keep his dynasty stock alive for a couple years. Or so goes that theory anyway. Every league is different though. In the Razz 30, a bad 2026 from Holliday could tank his stock just as quickly as a bad 2026 would tank Okamoto’s.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect News: Top 75 For 2026 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball

February 1, 2026 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 18 Comments

by: The Itch

51. Astros RHP Tatsuya Imai | 27 | NPB | 2026

Imai has been dominant in Japan since 2022 when he was 24 years old with a 2.04 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. 2025 was his best season yet. He recorded a 1.92 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, representing a big leap forward in command. His walk rate of 2.5 per nine innings was a full walk better than his previous career-best mark of 3.6. Imai generates these results on the back of a fastball-slider combination against righties with a splitter against lefties. Houston’s still having a lot of success with pitchers, and I’m betting that continues with Imai. You can move him up this list in deeper leagues or win-now windows.

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Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects For 2026 Fantasy Baseball

November 26, 2025 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 2 Comments

by: The Itch

1. RHP Trey Yesavage | 22 | MLB | 2025

Yesavage became something of a household name during Toronto’s titillating post-season run despite having pitched just 13 big league innings during the regular season. Part of that was because he was amazing and so were the Blue Jays, but some of that was likely because he has a unique style that’s easy for even a casual baseball fan to recognize. I don’t know if you’ll remember Josh Collmenter. I was surprised to remember him myself, but he’s the last guy I can remember releasing at the 12’o’clock slot this way. The thing about Collmenter was he lacked velocity, sitting in the mid-80’s with his fastball and cutter (84.6 mph in his final season). Nonetheless, he had a career ERA of 3.64 and WHIP of 1.198 in 695.1 innings despite recording just 494 strikeouts. Anywho, Yesavage has a similarly deceptive release point but also has more strength and balance throughout his delivery, which helps him command a three-pitch arsenal highlighted by a dynamic splitter that tunnels well with his fastball and slider. He also throws much, much harder than Collmenter ever did, averaging 94.7 mph on the fastball, 88.7 on the slider and 84.1 on the splitter. His slowest pitch is the same speed as Collmenter’s fastest. Fun stuff. Great comp. I baseball writer. But seriously folks, I think Yesavage is going to be awesome. Heck, he already was.

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Cards & Categories Ep. 105: Prospect Stashes

August 28, 2025 | 2025 Fantasy Baseball, All Podcasts, Cards and Categories | 2 Comments

by: Mike Couillard

In our 105th episode, Mike Couillard and Jeremy Brewer discuss the latest news and happenings in MLB impacting the fantasy game along with updates on new baseball card releases. Then we overview how to stash prospects for keeper leagues along with some high-impact targets. You can find us on bluesky at @cardscategories.bsky.social, @mcouill7.bsky.social, and @jbrewer17.bsky.social. Email the pod at [email protected]. Links […]

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Prospect News: 2025 First-Year-Player Draft Rankings

July 27, 2025 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 5 Comments

by: The Itch

Off the top, I want to point out how this draft and the one before it are great examples of why you should NOT tank in dynasty leagues. Last year’s class was so stacked, you could’ve landed Cam Smith with a pick at the end of round one, as happened in one of my leagues. This year, there’s not much of a difference between the top fifteen or so, and there’s no fast-moving monster among the college bats.

1. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson

2. Rockies SS Ethan Holliday

3. Marlins SS Avia Arquette

4. Reds SS Steele Hall

In a class without an obvious bat at the top, Kade Anderson in Seattle represents the best combination of proximity and upside. Easily the top pick in a league where quality pitching is at all hard to find. The shallower the league, the more I’d lean Holliday here.

Please, blog, may I have some more?