LOGIN

Michel Baez

The Itch

Top 50 Relief Pitcher Prospects for Dynasty Fantasy Baseball in 2022

March 2, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 7 Comments

by:

In case you missed the opening frames, here’s a link to the Top 25 Relief Pitcher Prospects for Dynasty Fantasy Baseball in 2022.

Of all the positions I’ve ranked, this one feels the strongest from 26-50, relatively speaking, held up against the elite players at that position in the majors. For example, Eric Orze could be pitching late innings in front of Edwin Diaz as early as April this year. Domingo Acevedo is at 26 here, and he could be universally rostered as the closer in Oakland at some point this season. Not, like, a one percent chance, either. We’re talking 25-plus percent, in my opinion. In a saves-only league, I’d have him on speed dial and maybe stashed away in my minors. Heck, they could clean house in the bullpen shortly after Wayne and Garth say “Game On.” Relief is a wonky endeavor. Wyatt Mills was cartoonishly dominant in AAA, with a 38.6 percent K-BB rate. It feels endless. You click in to watch someone then see a different guy come in throwing fire and have to go look him up. Rinse repeat. Lotta nasty stuff in the game today. Tough time to be a hitter. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike

2019 Minor League Preview: San Diego Padres

February 3, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 21 Comments

by:

Whoa this system is deep. And I don’t mean the Swinging Friar’s “No Man Is An Island” kind of deep. I mean it took me a while to get to a player that didn’t have a 50 overall value slapped on them. I counted eight Padres in my Top 100 for 2019, which is pretty crazytown. San Diego has a nice balance of good hitting prospects and good pitching prospects, high ceilings and high floors. It really runs the gamut and should be a fun system to follow for the next year or two.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike

Top 100 Prospects for 2019 Fantasy Baseball

January 20, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 46 Comments

by:

It’s chucking down snow in my neck of the woods. Perfect time to hole up and make a list of the top 100 prospects for 2019 fantasy baseball. Before we begin…an observation. The roads are empty around here except for pizza delivery cars. Ordering a pizza in a blizzard seems like a dick move to me. So I’m dedicating this post to the real heroes – the pizza delivery boys and girls braving a foot of snow in their crappy car to make sure Edna has her half-pepperoni, half-bell pepper medium pie while she watches reruns of Friends on Netflix. Moving on, if you’re just tuning into this station, we’ve already gone over the top 25 prospects for 2019 fantasy baseball as well as the top 50 prospects for 2019 fantasy baseball. For thoughts on every player and to see each team’s top ten prospects, visit our 2019 minor league preview index. Concerning these players listed below, my goal when drafting/picking up one of them is to net some sort of positive value and see them playing regularly. Essentially, this final group is composed of players with 50ish overall ratings on the scouting scale…not your superstars or even All-Stars, but a decent shot to carve out a career in the big leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Top 100 Prospects For Fantasy Baseball: Mid-Season 2018

July 12, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 155 Comments

by:

This is for all the people that have come up to me over the last few weeks and asked “Yo, Ralph when’s that Top 100 droppin’ son?” And I said, “When it’s finished”. This is for y’all, one love! Oh but wait, there’s more to come too. This is simply a sweet, sweet 20% of the overall ranks. The full 500 will drop on Sunday. I want to thank all of my readers over the years for supporting me in all that I do here. These rankings posts are a lot of questioning your evaluations, and even more sleepless nights. So, I hope you enjoy.  As for the Top 100, I’ve gone a little heavier in discounting pitching than in previous years, instead favoring upside bats. Why? Because pitching prospects are like reflections in side view mirrors, all much closer than they appear. Think about Shane Bieber vs. Tyler Glasnow, one guy was hyped to the max, the other was a boring strike-thrower that likely would never crack a top 250 for fantasy. Who would you rather own now? Speaking of upside, you’ll see the second half of this list is a little more upside heavy with some breakouts mixed in for good measure. What can I say? I like the young upside hitters. This exercise was a process,I began by listing nearly 700 players, then went player by player ranking each on a “would I trade this guy for this guy” trip, then I stared at the list changing ranks over and over again while I smoked like a German. That’s not a joke, this actually happened. All to whittle it down to the list below, the Top 100.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Minor League Update: Jo Adell Goes Inland

May 24, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 42 Comments

by:

It’s amazing the difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago the Angels had one of the most wretched farms in all of the land. A couple of intriguing talents, a lot of system depth, and tons of minor league fodder. Then came last June’s draft, where the Angels were lucky enough to land a handful of really nice talents, players like Griffin Canning, Jacob Perason, and John Swanda, but none more talented than Jo Adell. Last year’s 10th overall pick out of Ballard High in Kentucky, hit rookie ball like a ton of bricks in 2017 slashing .325/.376/.532, with 5 homers and 8 steals. So it came as no surprise that Adell was assigned to low-A Burlington of the Midwest League out of camp. Through 25 games at the low-A level Adell was once again putting up elite production to the tune of .326/.398/.611 with 6 homers, and 4 steals, while placing amongst the leaders in RBI at 29. That’s more than a steak a game! The Angels brass, having functioning eyes, saw this, and promoted the talented Adell to high A Inland of the California League. If you know anything about the Cal League, it should be this, {power + Cal League parks = Kieboom!} BTW, that’s how we say Kaboom in prospector. Going forward Adell should be viewed as a top tier prospect, a player capable of pushing his way to the Top 10 by season’s end. In my most recent update of my top 25, Adell leapfrogged up to 21. He should be owned in all dynasty formats, and is a player worth targeting in trades for rebuilding teams.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Minor League Update: Juan’s Soto Good, He Leaves Carter To Kieboom

May 17, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 76 Comments

by:

I’m on a mission to finish these minor league previews if it kills me. The off-season ran short, I got caught up with family and work, and here I am in mid-May scrambling to get caught up. Poor planning, my apologies to all of you. That said, y’all didn’t think I’d let you head into the weekend without a minor league update to step to did you? Oh hell naw! In no way, shape, or form would I ever leave you, my readers, my people, my children. Especially on a glorious Thursday! This week no one man ruled the roost more than the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto. (Okay, Vlad, but how much can I write?) The 19 year old rightfielder with the sweet lefthanded swing, Soto saw promotion to AA Harrisburg last week. His Eastern League debut was the center of the prospect world, if only for that night, as it just so happened to come against the visiting Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Soto did not disappoint, going 2-for-4, with a homer, a double, and 4 RBI. That was his AA debut, and we now have a week worth of games to dig into. While the .286/.400/.476 is pretty impressive, his walk rate of 16%, coupled with a downright OCD K rate of 16% is equally as impressive. To summarize, Soto is 19 in AA, hits for contact, hits for power, and has both elite walk and k rates for a player so young. Lance and I discussed Soto on Saturday’s new Prospect Podcast, and I ranked him at #2, when I teased an updated Top 25 on Twitter this past weekend. At this point it’s tough for me not to view him as the second best bat in the minors. Here’s why, Soto has never lacked production, he’s really only lacked health, with a couple of unfortunate injuries cutting his 2017 short. Otherwise, we might have seen him ranked inside the Top 10 entering the season. So far Soto has jumped three levels, walked more than he’s struck out, and has homered 13 times through 37 games in low-A, high-A, and AA. That’s Smut!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Minor League Update: Hello Soto, Goodbye Sorrow

April 29, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 66 Comments

by:

Every year a player shows up in April and makes you regret your ranking. The honor of “that guy” in 2018, at leats so far, goes to Juan Soto. Ranked 25th on my Top 100 Prospects coming into the season, if I re-ranked today, I’d move Soto up as many as 10 spots. Upon receiving an assignment to low-A Hagerstown, it was obvious from the jump his competition in the Sally was overmatched. Soto slashed .373/.486/.814 with 5 homers and 24 RBI in 15 games, and was quickly promoted to high-A Potomac of the Carolina League. So far through 5 contests he’s hitting .318/.400/.591 with a double, triple, and homer. Here’s a look at the homer he hit on Wednesday versus Wilmington. The swing is a thing of beauty, with a super quick and simple motion, strong wrists, and fast hands. It’s all evident in the video below.


Soto is already looking like he belongs in high-A, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he spent a good chunk of the summer in AA Harrisburg. He’s moving toward a near certain Top 10 rank come mid-season, and a potential Top 5 come pre-season 2019. However, we won’t see Soto at the major league level until later on in 2019. To encapsulate, Soto is a year away, but an elite talent, one that needs to be owned in every dynasty league. He pairs the ability to hit for both power, and average, and shows advanced understanding of hitting. Working counts, making adjustments with two strikes, and avoiding strikeouts. He has a real shot to be the best rightfielder in the game in his prime years.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

2018 San Diego Padres Minor League Preview

April 15, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 30 Comments

by:

It is no secret, my admiration for San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller. While many remember the early win now moves in his tenure, it is the scouting and development of young talent that has really caught my eye. During his time in the Rangers organization, under the direction of former fraternity brother Jon Daniels, Preller was tasked with International Scouting. Something the Rangers did pretty well over that period. The same eye for talent on the international market has proven fruitful for the Padres, securing the services of several top signees over the last few periods, including Michel Baez, Adrian Morejon, Gabriel Arias, Jeisson Rosario, and Tirso Ornelas. Some of his recent trades have helped build even greater depth, adding top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. for James Shields, as well as Logan Allen, Anderson Espinoza, Chris Paddack, Josh Naylor, and Esteury Ruiz in a collection of other trades. All this, and we haven’t even touched on some of the recent drafts. In just the last two seasons the Padres have added, MacKenzie Gore, Cal Quantrill, Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer, Hudson Potts, Luis Campusano, and Mason Thompson. Needless to say I have my work cut out for me in this post. In case you’re not caught up on the Prospect Pod, Lance and I discussed this system on the latest episode. You can listen and read! Shameless Plug! Onto the San Diego Padres Top Prospects.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Prospect Podcast: Top San Diego Padres Prospects, And Scouting Vlad Jr. & Bo

April 14, 2018 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 41 Comments

by:

What a week here on the Prospect Podcast! Not only are we finishing up our pre-season preview with some of the top prospects and systems in the game, the MiLB games kicked off last Thursday, so we’ve had a week worth of looks. Including… live looks at the dynamic duo of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Lance and I begin the podcast with a detailed discussion of what we saw from Vladdy, Bo, Brendan Rodgers, and others, before diving into some news-makers from the first week of Minor League games. This all culminates in a spirited discussion of the unbelievably talented, and deep, San Diego Padres system. When I say deep, I mean it, this should’ve, could’ve, gone three hours. We start off with Fernando Tatis Jr., MacKenzie Gore, Michel Baez, and Luis Urias, before talking some Joey Lucchesi, Jeisson Rosario, Tirso Ornelas, Cal Quantrill, Franchy Cordero, and so many more. It’s an action packed hour and half of info. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 20% 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?
Geoff

Top 100 Prospects for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

March 18, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 156 Comments

by:

First thing’s first, the Top 100 is here for your consumption. Now you can stop F$#@ing asking me. Kidding..kidding. This is complied from all the research I’ve done since November. Some players have moved up, others have moved down, some stayed the same, while others have straight left the top 100. My hope with the later release was that I would be able to do my deepest dive yet, and integrate the knowledge of off-season adjustments that we get in mid-spring. Hopefully this has led to my most extensive and comprehensive list to date. I’ve provided tiers within the rankings, to give you an idea of where one value level starts, and another begins. We’re going all the way to 300 this year with the next two 100s coming over the next two weeks. It’s the post you’ve been waiting for! I hope it was worth the wait…

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Top 50 Prospects for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

October 15, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 102 Comments

by:

I know, you thought it was going to be 100 prospects right? Well, it’s a good news/bad news thing. The good news is I will be ranking the Top 100 Prospects and beyond, however I will be doing them in increments of 50. So the bad news is you only get 4,000+ words and 50 prospects to read. Lets be honest, we are amongst friends here right? Even 4,000 words is at least two, if not three bathroom sessions. I know that’s when you read these, and I’m cool with it. Now that we’ve made assumptions about your bathroom reading habits, lets move along. As always, I’ve tried to balance the right now value of “close to the majors” prospects vs the high end talent. While also trying to be somewhat objective, and conscientious of the general consensus, which is important to trade value. That’s not to say I don’t go rouge and aggressively rank some players I like. Ahhh, who am I kidding it’s all personal bias. So here you go, dig in. The next 50 will drop on Wednesday at the stroke of midnight.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Halp

Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: Starting Pitchers

September 2, 2017 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 18 Comments

by:

Ralph Lifshitz and I start the podcast by reminiscing about the good ol’ days when we played tackle football without pads on and were constantly breaking our fingers, ribs, noses, and orbital bones. Nowadays, my biggest concern is this stiff neck I’ve had all day from sleeping the wrong way. We then move right into bemoaning the fact that Willie Calhoun personally declared, “I will not get called up,” along with talking about a few players who did get the call, including Jack Flaherty, Tyler Mahle, Francisco Mejia, and Alex Verdugo. The meat of the show is all about ranking the top starting pitchers, discussing everybody from Michael Kopech, Brent Honeywell, Forrest Whitley, and Sixto Sanchez, to Michel Baez, Joey Wentz, Corbin Burnes, Trevor Rogers and everyone in between. As always, 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 (now shipping to Canada). It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Copyright 2007-2025 Razzball LLC. All rights reserved.
Razzball.com and the Razzball logo units are copyright Razzball LLC.