Prospects in AL West...Worth a Look

Here is the next round of prospects to keep on your radar. With only 60 days until pitcher/catcher report it time to start ranking your players. I’m in my first mock draft with the guys at Fantasy Gameday and you can follow along here. Some surprises so far on player valuations with these managers.

American League West

Seattle Mariners

Taijuan Walker looks like a number one starter on almost any team but the Mariners do have King Felix. Saying that, he will get the nod at probably the #3 SP slot to begin the season. He has accomplished all he can in the minors and even got a quick look (15 innings) in 2013. He has 94-95 mph stuff with late movement, a sluvre curve and a straight change in the mid 80’s. He is worth a draft slot in any  format his year. I will be targeting him in the 22nd round area.

 

Texas Rangers

Michael Choice grew up driving past the Rangers Stadium as a youth. He is now back as the hometown kid. The 24 year old should take over the duties in LF for the Rangers on opening day after being traded from Oakland. He had a debut in September and went 5 for 18 in nine games. He has been a Minor League All-Star averaging 14 HR and 89 RBI while hitting .302 in 132 games.  The latest scouting report is a guy with raw power good bat speed and draws walks.

 

Oakland A’s

Addison Russell has moved up the ladder very fast in Oakland after being drafted #11 in 2012. Probably still a year away but an injury to Lowrie or Sogard could bring him up. His stat line from Double and Triple A last year was just sick…29 Doubles, 10 Triples, 17 HR and 21 SB while hitting .275. The scary part is that he still has room to fill out his 6’ 195 pound frame at on 19 years old.  

 

Los Angeles Angels

Kole Calhoun has less than 220 MLB ABs and may not be a true prospect but he gets the nod because he will be the everyday RF in 2014. In the minors he never hit below .292 and had a .354 season gong before being called up again in 2013.

 

Houston Astros

Even though Jonathan Singleton had the 50 game suspension setback last year he still has the chance to win the 1B job this year in Houston. Since only 7 1B hit over 25 HRs last year in MLB he has the raw power to exceed that figure and worth a draft pick. The knock on him is his dedication and of course it’s hard to draft an Astros player but he has the opportunity to work himself into a run producing spot in the middle of Houston’s line-up.

Prospects in NL West...Worth a Look

Well, it’s Zero degrees in my neck of the woods and no better time than now to start our Fantasy Baseball work for 2014.  I will open up the season with a breakdown of each team’s prospect that should have fantasy value at some point in the season. These guys may not break camp with the big club but they will contribute at some point. All of these players should be drafted in Dynasty Leagues and taken with late round picks to stash on your bench at least keep on your radar.

NL West

The D’Back’s have in my opinion the best pitching prospect in baseball. He is Archie Bradley. It seems strange to say that a  #7 overall pick in the 2011 draft has exceeded expectations but he has and here is why. His control and command. It is what moved him from High A to Double A in just 5 starts. He ended the season with a combined 14 Wins, 1.84 ERA and 162Ks in only 152 innings pitched.  With a 6’4” 225 pound frame he can consistently hit 94 mph and touches 97 with late life. He is Verlander/ Latos like and will not start the season with the big league club but should be a fixture in their rotation come June. Worth a draft pick to stash on your bench.

With the Rockies bringing up so many young players like Arenado, Rutledge, and Rosario over the last year plus the cupboard must be bare for prospects. That may be true for position players but the weakness of the Rockies has always been their SP. Their best prospect (that will see time in 2014 and provide Fantasy Baseball relevance) is Eddie Butler. He will not break camp with the Rockies but he is projected as a top of the rotation guy with the best Slider and Changeup in Colorado’s organization. A 1.90 ERA and an 8.2 K/9 minor league stat line is impressive. He will be 1^st call up to fill rotation spot for the often injured Rockies SPs. Not worth a draft pick but keep on radar.

It’s well known the Dodgers have OF depth as deep as it gets with Kemp, Crawford, Puig, and Either. It is also known they miss a lot of games due to injury. So if a trade does materialize to move an OF or the injury bug comes biting sooner than later up comes Joc Pederson. Playing this winter in the Venezuelan league to get more ABs he has projected again as a 20/20 guy at the MLB level. Last year he put up 22 HR and 31 SB in 123 games. A wait and see come spring training if he is worth drafting.

The Padres have one of the youngest teams in MLB and many of their top prospects are at the age of 20 years old. The only real prospect that has a chance to break camp is C Austin Hedges. He will get a shot because of Grandal’s injury when he came back from his 50 game suspension.  Grandal had reconstructive knee surgery in early July and should miss some time to start 2014. Hedges is a 15 HR guy with a little speed. He really only should be looked at in the deepest drafts this year.

The Giants are very deep pitching wise at the Minor League level but the best chance for an early season contributor will be Andrew Susac at catcher. With Posey possibly moving to1B and DHing at AL parks, Susac could break camp with the team as the 2^nd Catcher. What he does best is get on base. He sports and incredible .507 OBP in the Arizona Fall League and had a .368 OBP last year. He has some pop with 29 XBH is 262 ABs last year.

Finish Strong

I know it has been awhile since I have posted...due mainly to an injury, then there are kids, family and even a little burnt out. But it’s final stretch time; time to take out all stops and try to win your league. I want to help you gain ground in a category, block another manager from gaining ground against you and maximize your games played and innings limits down the stretch. Let me know how I can Fix Your Team.

Many injuries lately and they have rippling effects. Harvey goes down and that may keep the Mets from sending Wheeler out for the rest of the season. If it wasn’t already decided, Harvey’s injury will make Miami shut down phenom Fernandez very soon too. Those coming back from injury will be Kemp, Jeter, and Montero. Those still hurting are Tulo, Rasmus, Reddick, Weeks and Cain. The waiver claims are coming fast and furious. Some mid level vets may get placed in a high potent offense so keep eyes on Morales, Byrd, and Willingham.

 The call ups are coming soon so keep an eye on minor league studs like Castellanos in Detroit, and a Polanco in Pittsburgh. These two bats can give big dividends for 30 games. In Tampa any of their stud SP can come up and give a spot start. The Pale Hose have already called up Avisail Garcia after the Rios trade and he can play. The 2 studs in Minnesota should be called up but I feel only Sano gets the call and Buxton stays put. Would live to see both Springer and Singleton get the call in Houston but do not see the last place AAAstros doing either. Recently Seattle DFA’d Harrang so that leaves a chance Seattle’s best prospect Walker gets a few starts on the hill before the season ends.

League Updates

I have been down with a jacked up knee for 5 weeks now. It has cost me time with my kids and wife, ability to work effectively and time away from Fantasy Baseball. Nothing is worse than being injured. So what I need is a vacation so I am heading to Northern Michigan over All-Star weekend.  

I thought this would be a good time to give updates on my Fantasy teams. With the injury, it has kept me from being as engaged as I would have liked on an everyday basis. I had missed out on some great call-ups, line-up changes and waiver claims. Anyway, overall I am having a decent baseball season but it could be better. Here are links to my leagues.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/81865

Money where I am currently in 1^st place, 12 team 5X5 Roto.  Even with Kemp and Reyes going down for extended time I have been able to maintain a great standing. My pitching has been very dominating in this competitive league led by Scherzer, Bumgarner and a trade of Samardzija. Best pick up was getting Josh Donaldson for Ryu in early May. Currently next to last in Average so if I can pick that up could sail to a victory.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/1144

4^th year Dynasty League where I have finished 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd since its inception. Currently 3^rd after dropping from 2^nd last week. Daily 6x6 H2H league with OPS and Saves. This is one league that has suffered due to my injury. Just haven’t been as engaged in streaming players on short scheduled days and moved Puig before his call-up for Hamels and Nick Franklin. 12 team league where two managers have bailed. Will have openings if interested…let me know.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/109530

Auction Public Yahoo League. Currently 2^nd place and 5 point behind. I have bounced in and out of 1^st most of the year. 6 of 10 counting stats are in double digits with worst being Wins which I sit at 5.5 points. Best auction draft was Machado for $1…he will be at $30 next year.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/126730

Roto Authority Invite 5X5 Roto Money League. Highly competitive league and currently I am in 8^th place and 38 points behind. In early May I was actually in 2^nd place but have free fallen since. I actually think I only posted 10 HR in the last 3 weeks of May.  Braun, Utley, Morneau, Howard and Aramis have hurt me as much as my knee hurts. Injuries are just part of Fantasy as in life….but they still hurt. Another problem with this team is I had no multi-position players so line-up flexibility was nonexistent. I will never do that again.

http://games.espn.go.com/flb/leagueoffice?leagueId=14805&teamId=6&seasonId=2013

Razzball Commenter League. Currently 4^th and 21 points behind. The 3 teams ahead of me are all at 90 points and I am at 69. Probably not going to compete for a championship but will try and hold on to my position. Personally I do not like the ESPN format but I play 1 of Razzball’s 40+ leagues every year.  The format of this league relies too heavily on staying healthy; only 1 DL spot and 3 bench spots. Biggest hurts have been Price and Braun. If those two were healthy or I had more DL room I could have gained another 5 points or so. I currently lead league in Ks but am next to last in HRs. The rest of my counting stats are 7,8s and 9s.

http://rotobanter.baseball.cbssports.com/

The most unconventional league I am participating in this year. Nearly everyone is a writer of fantasy sports and the counting categories are as follows:  Hitting OPB, SLG, PA, RP(runs produced), SB-CS. Pitching BB/9, HR/9 K-W/PA, K/9, RA(Runs allowed). Was in 1^st for a month, then 2^nd for 6 weeks and now currently 4^th. This league has huge roster with contracts and minor leaguers. Just recently I had 12 on DL…yeah I know. Biggest hurts were Tolu, Reyes, Peavy, Burnett, Halladay, Youk. Still think I can finish 3^rd or even 2^nd when I get healthy. That would put me in the money.  

Hope to have many more consistent postings and analysis after All-Star break. Sorry for such limited content during my injury and rehab. I appreciate all the readers that have contacted me and wished me well.

The Doubles Machine

Orioles’ third baseman Manny Macho continues to hit doubles at a record pace. Currently the 20 year old has 33 doubles in his first 72 games. The record is 67 set by Earl Webb back in 1931. He has a solid chance to set history. Machado has hit in the 2 hole all year and put up a .324 average to go along with 5HR and 37 RBI and 5 SB. His OPS is a whopping .845. He recently had a 14 game hitting streak snapped. But can right back with 2 knocks in his next game. A look at this doubles chart shows balls hit from foul line to foul line. This kid just plasters the ball to every part of the park including some ground rule doubles. Many think that when he hits 200lbs 20-30% of those doubles will be HRs. Scary!

I only own Machado in 1 league, it was an auction league where I put up Machado for a buck and no one countered. At the time I thought I had a below average 3B going into the season. How wrong I was, I am now winning this league thanks in part to Machado. At 20, Machado is Trout/Harperesque player without the media hype. I went and looked up A-Rods 20 year old season for comparisons in doubles. A-Rod had one of his best hitting seasons ever at age 20 so maybe not a fair comparison but here are his numbers at age 20 and 21. Remember though A-Rod was hitting in the 3 hole at that time too. 54 Doubles, 36 HR, 123 RBI, and 15 SB while hitting .358. At 21 A-Rods numbers look much more the same as Machado. 40 Doubles 23 HR, 84 RBI, 29 SB while hitting .300.

Machado may not get the Trout-Harper hype but he would be my main target in any Dynasty/Keeper League. Remember too that the day will come when he qualifies at SS. When that happens he could be a number 1 overall fantasy pick just like A-Rod was for nearly a decade.

If Machado can push his doubles count to north of 40 by the All-Star game it will be the talk of the All-Star break. So if you want to make a move for Machado try to do it now because the hype will increase 10 fold over the next 4 weeks and his remaining 23 games until the break.

Time To Buy Low

Earlier in the week we discussed some undrafted gold through the first 40% of the season. Now it is time to look at some highly drafted players who could be great buy low candidates. The struggling stars can help bolster your squad for the 2^nd half of the season. I have given you players at each hitting position that can give you a competitive advantage going forward. I feel every one of these players is definitely poised to rebound and should be targeted now for trades. When going after these players look what need the current managers has and fill it for him while pilfering the player you want. He are the players you should target for trades immediately.

Undrafted Gold

Looking back on drafts there are always players drafted that make manager’s look brilliant. Then there are players that every manager passed on and turn out to be fantasy studs.  I took a look at some of the best undrafted hitters to date and I was a little stunned to see so many out there. The players I have listed all had ADPs over 300 which made them undrafted in 12 team 25 man rosters. These top 10 undrafted hitters are all now ranked in the top 75 hitters in Fantasy Baseball. Most of these hitters are legit and I see only a small regression coming if any at all. My guess is if you have not plucked one of these players off waivers by now you are probably in the bottom third of your league. Hell, most of these players are still available and with all the injuries to key players out there right now you should nab a couple.