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Please see our player page for Nick Frasso to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.

With two first-year-player drafts behind me and two underway as I type, fantasy baseball is officially back in the Itch household. Today I plan to share my early takeaways with you, dear reader, starting with the guys I actually selected.

I’ll start with the Razz 30: a 30-team league filled with skilled players. We can keep as few as seven minor leaguers and as many as 18 major leaguers, so the draft is 13 rounds across a couple weeks, adding up to 320 total picks this season. 2B Cesar Prieto of the Cardinals was Mr. Irrelevant, a solid selection in a league where playing time is king and low-minors lottery tickets tend to end up back in the draft pool. I like this about the league. The free agent pool gets a full scouring in comparison to the new guys coming in from the draft, and the two pools get well shuffled up and mixed together. Phillies RHP Moises Chace, for example, went 1.19. I was disappointed because I wanted him at 1.30. He went undrafted in the 15-team FYPD I completed this week, which made sense. Pitching is a lot easier to find in that league, and proximity is almost a punishment because each team has 30 MLB roster spots, and players are exceeding their minor league eligibility all the time. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. OF Andy Pages | 23 | AAA | 2024 

Pages could be part of the Dodgers’ story in 2024 from chapter one if he can hit a little this spring. Might need an injury or two to break camp but figures to get written into the lineup by the time summer rolls round. Might’ve happened this year if not for a torn labrum that ended his season in June, just one game into his Triple-A career. At 6’1” 212 lbs, Pages features double-plus power, plus patience and a strong throwing arm from a corner-outfield profile. The shoulder injury throws this into question, of course, but if he comes all the way back, he could make an early impact.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Despite the Internet’s best efforts, Reds SS Elly De La Cruz did not make his major league debut Tuesday night. He did, however, hit another long home run in Triple-A while the Reds won their fourth straight game. The NL Central is there for the taking. Cincinnati has a legitimate case for having the most talented roster. TJ Friedl might be headed right back to the injured list after leaving last night’s game with a tight hamstring. Friedl’s fate isn’t directly tied to Elly’s timeline by any means, but every window can be a door, right? If you’re sprightly enough? Would have to be a huge window for a guy his size. Anyway, might be today, might be tomorrow, but soon, and for a very long time, Elly De La Cruz and his cohort will make the Reds appointment viewing. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

You’re allowed to like the Juan Soto trade, I think. Probably feels good to leave it in the wake for all involved. Now the Padres can legitimately challenge the Dodgers as the first team I can remember that looks better than Los Angeles on paper. We’ll never know how close we came to having Soto (and maybe even Bell) in LA’s lineup. Feels like the kind of trade that would’ve made half the dynasty league quit, but I guess that’s okay in MLB where half the league quits before opening day. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?