Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 21)

With the fantasy playoffs looming around the corner (or, in some instances, in full swing), rookie impact becomes less and less important due to the fact that there simply aren't any great stashes remaining. A top prospect being promoted for a cup of coffee can make a huge impact, but there does not profile to... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 20)

A handful of intriguing rookies made their MLB debuts this past week, with two of the top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline joining The Show. Save for Jansen, I do not really foresee any of the recently promoted prospects being impact players, at least for fantasy, down the stretch, so it still remained a... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 19)

This week was a particularly slow week in the world of prospects; just eight rookies have debuted since the publishing of last week's column. With that being said, there are still a handful of newcomers worth highlighting and a bunch of returners still cooking with gas. As we come up on the end of the... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 18)

The calendar has turned to August and we still have yet to see some of the big-name prospects that were expected to come up this season. Yes, Kyle Tucker, Willie Calhoun, Juan Soto, and Willy Adames have all made their debuts this season but I seriously doubt that we will see any more of the... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 17)

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your all-star break. I certainly enjoyed mine; it gave me a chance to think about how to approach rookies and prospects for the rest of the season and get an extended look at some top-tier MiLB talent in the futures game. Particularly, Seuly Matias and Taylor Trammell caught my... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 15)

I'm glad I led off last week's article with Kyle Tucker because the Astros made me look great. They called him up this past weekend and it looks like it's going to take a small adjustment period for Tucker to get adjusted to MLB pitching. We'll get to that later. The calendar turning to July seems... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 14)

So Kyle Tucker is still destroying the minor leagues. He has a .301/.367/.505 triple-slash with 13 HR and 14 steals (82.4% success rate) and yet the Astros have not given him the call yet. Tucker has absolutely nothing left to prove in the minors and the Astros have indicated that they think he will come up... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 13)

Nick Senzel's season came to an unfortunate end this past week when it was announced that he would need season-ending surgery. Those of you stashing the infielder in redraft leagues can safely drop him to stash another prospect. I suggest Kyle Tucker; the Astros front office has given Tucker rave reviews and indicated that he... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 12)

Unfortunately, there has not been a lot of news recently on the prospect front. Unless you count the fact that the Mets will almost certainly not be calling up Peter Alonso this year to be news, that is. At this point, we're just waiting for teams to start service clocks for their blue-chip prospects; we should see... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 11)

The Tampa Bay Rays decided to call up their entire minor league system this past week. Well, not their entire team, but three notable prospects all got the call this past week and if they sell off the rest of their team, which seems not unlikely, we could see more minor leaguers come up in... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 10)

The calendar has turned to June. The Super Two deadline is near. This is one of the best times of the year for baseball fans becuase it means that soon teams will begin to start calling up their blue-chip prospects that they deem worthy of a major league appearance. The Super Two deadline passing essentially... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 9)

Juan Soto is running the major leagues. Is that an overstatement? Absolutely. Will that be an overstatement in three years? Probably still yes but there's a shot the answer is no. That's what makes Soto so intriguing to watch. In addition to Soto continuing his high-level play early in his career, we are seeing a... Read More

Relief Pitcher Prospect Rankings (May) - 2018 Impact Rookies

The nature of relief pitchers is such that it is nearly impossible to predict with any certainty who will produce at the major league level. Often times, especially in keeper and dynasty leagues, stashing relief pitching prospects is simply not worth the trouble because they rarely contribute in fantasy in the beginning of their career.... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 8)

In a move nearly nobody predicted, the Washington Nationals called up teenage phenom Juan Soto in an effort to bring some firepower to the lineup on the heels of all the injuries the team has endured. Soto's first plate appearance was nothing to write home about but everything after that has been pretty noteworthy. I'll... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 7)

This past week brought yet another standout rookie debut from a young pitcher. This new pitcher, however, is likely the least intriguing of the rookie starters who have potential impact in fantasy leagues, so proceed with caution on him. Additionally, the minor league HR leader, Franmil Reyes, made his MLB debut this week. He still... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 6)

Over the past two weeks we have seen three rookie pitchers throw no-hitters through six innings (one of them was a perfect game), and flat-out dominance from some other rookie arms. There was not much to talk about over the first few weeks but now that the season is in full swing and the rookies... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 5)

So much for a slow start for the rookies. For the first few weeks, it felt as though there was very little to write about in the rookie department but recently the youngsters have taken the league by storm. Particularly in this past week, guys like Ronald Acuna, Nick Kingham, Mike Soroka, and Fernando Romero... Read More

Rookie Report: Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 4)

Ronald Acuna. That's all you need to read. No, seriously. I could just end the column there because that's probably what everyone will be talking about for the next week at the very least. The 20-year-old finally made his highly-anticipated MLB debut on Wednesday night, but I'll get to more on that below. In addition... Read More

J.P. Crawford (SS/3B, PHI) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Philadelphia Phillies infielder J.P. Crawford has been on a hot streak over the past week and change. Dating back to April 10th, Crawford has OPSed nearly 1.000 with three extra base hits and an equal number of strikeouts and walks. He has his average... Read More

Jesse Winker (OF, CIN) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 6% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker leaves a little to be desired in the way of batting average. He has also not flashed any of the power that we saw from him in his brief stint in the majors last season. However, none... Read More

Rookie Report - Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 3)

The service time benchmark for teams to secure an extra year of team control came and went late last week. Somewhat surprisingly, nothing about the rookie landscape has changed; Ronald Acuna and Nick Senzel are still hanging out in the minor leagues with Kyle Tucker, Gleyber Torres, Michael Kopech, and Austin Hays. This list will... Read More

Rookie Report - Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups (Week 2)

The deadline for teams to secure an additional year of team control will pass later this week, meaning we will have a far better shot of seeing guys like Nick Senzel, Kyle Tucker, and, of course, Ronald Acuna at some point after this week passes. Hopefully those youngsters will be featured on next week's list.... Read More

Looking at Recent Call-Ups and Rookie Performances (Week 1)

Fortunately, there are plenty of rookies and recent call-ups to analyze because the season just started. Unfortunately, barring Shohei Ohtani, there have not been a handful of true impact performances from youngsters. With that being said, the MLBers with little experience can be valuable in deeper leagues until we see the bulk of the blue-chip... Read More

Predicting the Top 10 Finishers for Saves in 2018

Predicting the top 10 of anything is usually an exercise in futility. Trying to predict the top 10 finishers in saves is just silly because there is so much turnover at the back of every MLB bullpen every season. Last season, at least half of the teams in baseball had their Opening Day closer displaced... Read More

Predicting the Top 10 Finishers for Stolen Bases in 2018

Predicting the top 10 of anything is usually an exercise in futility. No matter how much research one does, how many numbers are crunched, or how much time is put into compiling a top ten list like the one below, there will always be injuries, breakouts, and other surprises to throw everything off. Who would... Read More

Archie Bradley (RP, ARI) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~165 CURRENT ADP:  190 ANALYSIS: Does anyone really expect Brad Boxberger to take the closer role away from Bradley? In Bradley, we’re talking about a guy who, after a move to pitching full-time in 2017, posted a 1.73 ERA, 1.041 WHIP, and a 9.7 K/9. His ERA was better than all but seven relief pitchers... Read More

Approaching Rookies and Prospects in Redraft Leagues for Success

Everyone wants to be the guy to say they hopped on the bandwagon of the next up-and-comer before he comes up and breaks out. This often causes younger players to be overvalued, particularly in single-season leagues where some youngsters may not even see meaningful playing time. Identifying the rookies that will actually get playing time,... Read More

Brad Ziegler (RP, Mia) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target end of your draft or ~275, whichever comes first CURRENT ADP: 344 ANALYSIS: Miami Marlins closer Brad Ziegler is not a flashy pickup. He is not going to overwhelm anyone with strikeouts like Craig Kimbrel, induce a ridiculous amount of ground balls like Zach Britton, or blow teams away with a triple-digit fastball like Aroldis... Read More

Matt Olson (1B/OF, OAK) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~95 CURRENT ADP:  123 ANALYSIS: Prior to Matt Olson’s 2017 debut, Fangraphs slapped a 40 hit tool and a 45 game power tool (with 50 potential) on Olson. He proceeded to make them and just about every other prospect ranking site look absolutely silly. In only 216 PA, Olson triple-slashed .259/.352/.651 with 24 HR!... Read More

Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Target ~280 or the end of your draft CURRENT ADP:  366 ANALYSIS: Hays was unexpectedly the first 2016 draftee to make it to the major leagues. The third-round pick begun the 2017 season in high-A and finished the year as a leadoff hitter in the big leagues. Hays only played 166 games in the minors... Read More