It’s Sunday, and I’m feeling a little scatterbrained this morning. With my AM coffee I’m looking to cover a wide variety of dynasty/prospect/small righty related content. Some of the low hanging fruits from the tree of prospector knowledge. With such a bountiful harvest it’s a crime not to share. There’s a lot of nothing to talk about, which is a polite way to say spring training stats. If you’re anything like me, then you wish you could press fast forward on the next week, right up until the moment the games begin. Hit play, and immerse yourself in baseball until late October. So far in 2017 I’ve given you my sleepers, my breakouts, my Top 100 Prospects, and my top prospects from every damn team’s farm system. It’s been a busy offseason, to say the least. One that never really ended or began. As good Ole Rust Cohle would say, time is a flat circle. In my case it’s a flat circle that spans 30 minor league systems, and a non-stop quest to know every player that ever played baseball. Today’s post is me just rounding out some performances, and giving you some of my takes on names I feel we’ll be discussing quite a bit in 2017. If there’s anything or anyone you’d like to discuss, then you know the drill, come with any and all Fantasy related questions in the comments.
Spring Notes for 3/26/17
Jake Bauers, 1B/OF Rays: It’s tough to tell if this is a spring training mirage, or if it’s a breakout. Should the later hold true, is it really a surprise? We’ve long known of the polished plate approach, and smooth athletic fielding, it was only a matter of time until he developed the power stroke. Slashing .371/.465/.857 with 4 homers this spring, Bauers is making a lot of noise, but knowing the Rays I doubt he breaks camp. This is possibly the smallest market of all the small markets in the land, they will milk his service clock as long as they can. I’m buying the breakout, not a bad flier to take in dynasty formats. There’s a real black hole at the first base position.
Tyler O’Neill, OF Mariners: Oh yeah, did I mention he hit a dong off Clayton Kershaw last week?
Dan Vogelbach, 1B Mariners: Pour out a little melted ice cream for my boy the Jelly Donut of Swat. The glaze is off the cruller a bit. My love for Vogie is starting to wain, give me something to believe in big fella.
Mitch Haniger, OF Mariners: The bandwagon is so full the tires look flat as it navigates it’s way to opening day. The undisputed spring training MVP, has the kind of March hype only reserved for Juan Nicasio. Just kidding, but seriously the Haniger hype is at fever pitch, and I for one am basking in the moment. He’s a worthy gamble in all formats, and even with his inflated market value he’s still very obtainable in trades.
Ian Happ, 2B/OF Cubs: Has made a serious push to be considered for the majors sooner rather than later. Hit .417/.473/.813 with 5 homers this spring. If he was on any other team he’d be listed among the top rookies for 2017, but he’s with the mighty Cubs so he’s pros-blocked. Will need an injury or a trade to make a serious 2017 impact.
Willie Calhoun, 2B Dodgers: The underdog’s champion slashed .360/.385/.560 with 1 homer in 25 spring at bats, was assigned to minors camp earlier last week. Story is still the same, the bat is star quality but there’s knocks on the body and defense.
Gleyber Torres, SS Yankees: The legend of Gleyber grows with each passing test. Huge spring piggybacked on an MVP performance in the Arizona Fall League. Slashed .464/.484/.964 with two homers and 9 RBIs in 28 at bats. Not ready for the show yet, but he could see some late season at bats. May force his way into the lineup for opening day 2018.
Yoan Moncada, 2B/3B White Sox: After looking lost the first few weeks Moncada put on a show, finishing with a slashline of .317/.391/.590 with 3 homers and 13 RBI in 41 ABs. He’s since been assigned to minor league camp. It’s no use to make any hardline predictions of ETA, becuase it could be anytime between May 15th and July 15th. Heads to Charlotte to get his first taste of AAA.
Sixto Sanchez, RHP Phillies: Had Twitter, all the scouting sites, and Phillies fans, buzzing following a strong performance in the back fields. He hit 98, with good control, fastball flashed good sink, and induced lots of weak contact.
Tyler Glasnow, RHP Pirates: With just a few more days until final cuts, the big righty is making a compelling case for the Pirates rotation. Striking out 9 Tigers over 4 innings while allowing 2 earned runs. He’s now punched out 23 batters over 14 1/3 frames. He’s going to get every chance as a starter, but I still wonder how dominant he might be in the pen.
Sal Romano, RHP Reds: The big righthander has been a man possessed this spring. After a solid 156 innings in AA last season, I don’t think anyone expected a serious breakout. However, Romano looks like a far improved player so far in 2017. This spring he 25 strikeouts in 20 innings, and a 3.15 ERA. He mixes a mid-90’s fastball, with big downhill plane, and an above average slider. He’s battling Rookie Davis for the last spot in the Reds rotation, Romano is the more exciting fantasy option of the two.
College Prospects for the 2017 Draft
Brendan McKay, LHP/1B Louisville: The Louisville Jr. is the best two-way player in the country, hitting .450/.571/.717 with 4 homers in 60 at bats, while compiling a 4-1 record in 5 starts with a 1.13 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and an insane 15.47 K/9 to a 1.97 Bb/9. The lefthanded hitter and pitcher looks like an absolute stud in the making.
Jeren Kendall, OF Vanderbilt: At the moment Kendall is the top college bat off my board if a 2018 First year player draft happens today. The Vanderbilt star is hitting .305/.396/.589 six homers and hit a grand slam on Friday.
Alex Faedo, RHP Florida & Alex Lange, RHP LSU: Two top college arms dueled in an SEC clash on Friday night. There were outstanding performances from both as Lange and Faedo each struck out 7. Two more names for your 2018 FYPD radar.
**Small Righty Alert**
The Razzball small righty division has been out in full force to scour all of the backfields for the next small righty for your boy Ralph to crush on. This has led us to uncovering Tigers righty Wladimir Pinto, now that we have a second Wladimir to pair with Galindo, the world rejoices. Mr. Pinto, throws a upper 90’s four seam fastball, a two seamer in the low 90’s with good life, and a low 80’s curve, he uses as an out pitch.
Follow me on Twitter @Ralphlifshitzbb and check out my YouTube work with Fantrax
