Fantasy Baseball Today - 2025 Top Infield Prospects! Matt Shaw, Kristian Campbell & More! (12/10 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

Before we get into the names, what is the state of prospects in baseball (2:30)? ... Matt Shaw and Coby Mayo seem ready but might be blocked (4:22). ... Jace Jung could have a role with the Tigers (11:50). ... Watch out for Brady House and Shay Whitcomb (14:56). ... Kristian Campbell was probably the biggest breakout prospect this year (18:00). ... Travis Bazzana and Adael Amador are second basemen with big upside (24:32). ... Are there any other impact second base prospects for next season (27:10)? ... News (33:40): Shohei Ohtani will not be ready to pitch for their opening series. ... Nick Kurtz, Jac Caglianone and Bryce Eldridge all possess big power upside (42:30). ... Deyvison De Los Santos should get a chance with the Marlins (46:30). ... Zach Dezenzo could have a role with the Astros (49:11). ... Samuel Basallo is maybe the best hitting catcher prospect in the game (50:09). ... Dalton Rushing looks ready but where will he play with the Dodgers (53:50). ... Kyle Teel offers a little bit of everything (57:30). ... We wrap up with the rest of the catcher prospects (1:00:14). To display your continued support of the show, please vote Fantasy Baseball Today in the Sports Podcast Awards in the "Best Baseball Podcast" Category https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-baseball-podcast/ Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/QiKv Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Hey there. Welcome into Fantasy Baseball today on Tuesday, December 10th. I am Frank Sample, joined by Scott White and Chris Sowers.

Today on the show, we are starting up a series of prospect episodes that will come out every Tuesday in the month of December. Specifically on this show, we are focusing on infield prospects, minus shortstop, because there are lots of short stops to talk about that. So we're going to dedicate a whole day to short stops. Instead today, we'll hit catcher, first base, second base, and third base. Before we jump into the actual names, Scott, you'll kick us off. Why don't you give us an overarching thought on the state of prospects right now?

because doesn't feel as amazing as it has been in years past. Yeah, I mean, that's basically how I'd sum it up, especially at the high end. To me, there isn't a crystal clear number one prospect. And you see some of the very early and less well-known lists, I would say, that are up right now. Top prospects for 2025, not a lot of consensus there at the top. And normally, even if there isn't a consensus number one, there's like a consensus top three who are all vying for the number one spot on prospect rankings.

And I just, I feel like there's not that standout, obvious superstar in waiting kind of prospect right now, which isn't to say no superstars will emerge from this prospect class. It's not like only the guys at the top of the prospect rankings become superstars. but it is to say that there's a lot of room for disagreement because there isn't that crystal clear ranking, really at any position, but overall as well. And Scott does have articles that are live on the website for top prospects at every position. So if you want to check that out, feel free to do so.

CBSports.com. A lot of hair pulling, a lot of hair splitting, everything that could be done with hair was done when putting together those prospect rankings for all the reasons I just said. CBSports.com slash fantasy slash baseball. And for today, when I go position by position, we'll give out Scott's top three prospects

at each of those positions. And then I'll mention a few names that I think could also make an impact just here in 2025. Let's start things off with third base. Normally we start a catcher, we work our way around. Let's save maybe the best for last

because there are a lot of interesting catchers to talk about later on. Beginning with third base, and your top three at that position, Scott. You have Matt Shaw, Kobe Mayo, and Jace Young of the Tigers. Matt Shaw and Kobe Mayo, I think, are very clearly in a different category

than someone like Jace Young is. But for Matt Shaw, first round pick in 2023, he has power and speed. Looks like he could be ready to contribute. Does he have a spot to play for the Cubs? I think there's a similar question for Kobe Mayo. You know, there's big power there,

obviously, but the Orioles went out this weekend. They signed Tyler O'Neill. They still have Ryan Mountcastle around. They have Ryan O'Hern at DH. They have Jordan Westberg at third base. So, Scott, I think there's big potential with both of these names, Matchaw, Kobe Mayo. And they could be ready to contribute. The question is where on their respective teams? Yeah, I think it's a big question. Kobe Mayo doesn't, I'm not convinced he has the defensive chops for third base. And so I think his home may ultimately be first base, but the Orioles have several contenders at that position. It's tough to fit a right-handed hitter. It's tough for a right-handed hitter at first base to break through anyway. That's why Christian Walker got help back in the minors until he was 30,

almost. Not that I think that'll happen to Mayo, but that's part of the reason why his current path forward is difficult to project. And it's part of the reason why I rank Matt Shaw ahead. Matt Shaw got off to a slow start last year after in 2023 he was the 13th overall pick. He made an immediate impression. Got up to AA was doing great, surged up rank lists, and then kind of stumbled out of the gate in his follow-up season 2024. But once he got going, he was exactly who the prospect towns were hoping it'd be. Final 80 games last year, Matt Shaw hit 318 with 18,

Homer's 21 steals a 959 OPS. It earned him a promotion to AAA final 35 games there. He looked great. I think Matt Shaw is going to be in the mix this spring. The problem for him is that the Cubs went and got Isok Peretti's at the trade deadline last year. It didn't go well. And we don't think Wrigley Field is a good fit for Isok Perettis. But he's there and he's under control for several years.

So what did they do with him? There's been talk of maybe them moving Cody Bellinger this offseason. There's been talk of maybe the moving. Or say a Suzuki, Nico Horner, potentially this offseason. I think Matt Shaw could fit at second base instead of third base if they go that route with Horner. So there are ways to get him on the Cubs roster. We're just going to have to see how things shake out the rest of the offs. season.

Yeah, so trades, again, could open up spots for either of these names. Matt Shaw with the Cubs, Kobe Mayo, with the Orioles. Nico Horner also recovering from right flexor tendon surgery that he had in early October. So, you know, we haven't really, it sounds like he'll be back, but you could always have a setback and maybe that opens up an opportunity as well. Chris, if we're just looking at 2025, the early ADP in NFBC draft champions, they're both Mayo and Shaw are going outside the top 300. they're like 25 picks apart.

If you had to choose one, who do you think can make a bigger impact just for next season? I think I have a little more faith in Kobe Mayo's bat. I can see the case for Shaw's path to playing time being a little more open. And maybe that's enough to give him the edge. It sounds like Scott, that's the path that you went. But I just, Mayo has played, I think, 151 games at triple.

He's got 34 homers. He's got very good overall numbers. I have to think he's going to get an extended look this season. Like they called him up at the end of last season. Well, they called him up midseason didn't really play him, called him up again at the end of the season. I think he started six of the final 25 games or something. And it's just I did this rant on Saturday when we talked about the Tyler O'Neill signing. It felt like the Orioles needed to consolidate before.

signing Tyler O'Neill and now it's especially true. I don't know if that means getting Ryan Malkassel out of the picture. Do we really need... After they just fixed Camden Yards for him, they're going to trade him away? Do we really need Ryan O'Hern to like play as much as he does? He's like these are... Yeah, has been cursed ads there. These are all fine players.

They're helpful. But Kobe Mayo has a chance to be more than that. And so that's what's frustrating about his lack of playing time. So yeah, if you're asking, me on December 10th when we're recording this, technically December 9th. I don't, happy birthday COVID Mayo. His birthday is December 10th. So 23 years old. I'll just go with Mayo because I think he's the better prospect. And I will hope that the three and a half months between now and opening day are when those answers, those questions will become answered in a way that can give us a

little more insight. Chris, no surprise that, you know, you do favor Kobe Mayo, considering you cooked your turkey and mayo for Thanksgiving. That's true. That's true. I am a, I am a mayo head. There you are. Let's take our first break when we return. We will talk about Jace Young of the Tigers. I've got two other names that maybe could make an impact in 2025. We'll find out. We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in, continuing on with third base prospects. And Scott's number three, Third base prospect is Jace Young of the Tigers. He's 24 years old, a first round pick in 2022. He's the younger brother of Rangers, third baseman Josh Young.

And Jace was solid in the minors this year. He got a taste with the Tigers. He played 34 games with them. He wasn't particularly good. And we actually just got a report that he underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure on his right wrist in October. Expected to be ready for spring training. Obviously, we'll see what the Tigers do for the rest of.

of this offseason Scott. But according to Ross, the resource, it's not like the Tigers have a ton of offensive talent. He might get a chance to be starting third baseman, maybe play some second base, something like that. But there are some opportunities here with the Tigers got. Yeah, and that's part of the reason I have Jace Young this high.

I do think he is a lesser prospect than the previous two third baseman we were talking about. I do think there's a chance he never quite rises to the level of being an impact fantasy player. It doesn't help left-handed hitter whose main strength is the ability to elevate the ball to his pull side. That's where J.S. Young's power comes from

rather than raw strength. And he's going to be playing half his games at Camerica Park. So that's not ideal for that profile. Maybe he can overcome it, but I have my doubts. And it's possible just because they have other second-based,

third base types that he gets kind of squeezed out. Maybe he's a left-handed hitter. He falls into a platoon roll early on. It's hard to say. There's a difficult path for any Tigers prospect. But Jace Young nonetheless ranks this high because A, third base is kind of light on prospects, aside from the top two. And B, he already has the inside track on the third base job.

One thing I would add with Jace Young is I did see it mentioned. the wrist injury happened while he was in AAA. And it was something like he had 10 home runs in his first 60 games. He had four in the final 65 or whatever the actual numbers ended up being. So it does sound like something that was bothering him in season and seemed to slow him down. So, you know, if you're looking for a reason to be a little more optimistic, especially after his pretty rotten stint in the majors, I would point to that. Yeah, that's a good point too, because Jace Young's stack cast data, both at AAA and the majors,

was quite bad. 87.5 average exit velocity at AAA and then 86 in the major. So perhaps playing through that wrist injury did affect the exit velocities. It looks like it was in June. And he had 10 home runs on June 19th, only for the wrist injury. rest of the way, including the major. So that certainly seems to be in an extenuating circumstance for Jace Young. It's got two other third-based prospects that are ranked in your top 10 at the position. Perhaps they can make an impact in 2025. Brady House with the Nationals and Chey Wickham with the Houston Astros. Any quick thoughts on those two? Can you see them making an impact in fantasy

next year. Yeah, the Nationals obviously have an opening at third base. Jose Tena got a shot there at the end of last year, but I'm not sure he has the upside to hold down that job for them long term. And the Astros could have an opening at third base if they don't resign Alex Breggman. I do rank House higher. He's been a highly ranked prospect since being one of those, It was like four shortstop draft picks.

What year was that? A couple years ago. 21. Jordan Lawler was one of them. Marcel O'Meyer was one of them in Brady House, obviously, since moved to third base. Brady House was thought to have the most power of that group. It's been up and down in the minors in terms of his performance. It was not great last year, but still seems to get favorable reports from scouts for that power upside.

I think there's a lot of potential for miss here with Brady Hauser. Shea Whitcomb doesn't get a lot of love from the scouts and never has, even though the power speed numbers and the miners have always been great. Just last year, 25, homers, 26 steals in 413 at bats. Why I feel like he's being overlooked here is because, okay, before when he was putting up those good power speed numbers, it was with like really high strikeout rate, one that looked untenable. Last year he struck out 19.5% of the time between the minors and the little bit of time he got in the majors. So Shea Whitcomb seems to have whipped to that strikeout issue. And if that's the case, you got to like those power speed numbers he puts up.

I think he could be a surprise worth noting he's already 26 years old. All right. Before we move into the top second base prospects, reminder to sign up for the FBT newsletter. If you have it already, if you're watching on YouTube, you could scan the QR code. And that will take you right to the website or just go to CBSports.com slash newsletters. Click on that FBT logo. And it's easy as that. It's free.

And it'll get delivered to your inbox whenever Chris puts it out. Chris, how many newsletters you're putting out nowadays? It's like two per week. Plus we got a breaking news one on Juan Soto this morning. So, you know, probably two. I'll say two per week the rest of the year because, you know, obviously Christmas and New Year's coming up. I've got my in-laws visiting this weekend, so not going to have a ton of time for that, but at least two per week. Yeah. All right. So make sure to sign up. It's free.

All right. Let's move into the top second base prospects and the top three for Scott. You have Christian Campbell of the Red Sox, Travis Bezana of the Guardians and Adele Amador of the Rockies. Scott Christian Campbell. I mean, breakout prospects this past season, 22 years old. old. Fourth round pick in 23, just a monster year. Hit 3.30, 20 home runs, 24 steals, a 997 OPS. Did get up to 19

games at AAA. Has some defensive versatility. Second base, third base shortstop outfield. Roster resource currently has David Hamilton starting at second base. So, I don't know, there's kind of an opening here. What are the chances you would give Christian

Campbell of, I don't know, being up on opening day for the Boston Red Sox? Decent, but as we were saying with Kobe Mayo and with Matt Shaw, there are a lot of alternatives here that I would think would be in higher priority for the Red Sox. I actually think of those three prospects. I just mentioned Campbell's chances are the lowest. If he has a monstrous spring training, it's certainly possible. But you would think David Hamilton or Vaughn Grissom or maybe even Saddam, Raphaelah, if they don't have any other place to play them, would all get, priority over Campbell at second base for now. Campbell has a lot of upside here, clearly because I ranked him ahead of the number one pick

in last year's draft, Travis Bazana. I loved what, like, Campbell felt like my guy as last season was playing out as he was putting up monstrous numbers across three levels, high A, AA, AAA, didn't matter. Every time they moved him up, Campbell just continued to crush it. And I thought it was kind of my pet prospect. It turns out everybody,

else thought he was their pet prospect because it looks like he's going to be a consensus top 10 overall guy now. And my initial reaction to that was, well, I like him, but that seems to be taking it a bit far. But the deeper I looked into it, the more impressed I became, there just wasn't a lot negative to say about Christian Campbell. I think the biggest negative thing you could say about him is just he kind of came out of nowhere, obviously wasn't a, what was he, a fourth round? ground pick for 2023.

Yep. And not even sure. I don't think he was in baseball America's top 30 for the Red Sox entering 2024. But that's that's how prospects work. They went to work on on improving his bat speed to add power. And clearly it took he has kind of unconventional mechanics, Christian Campbell, which might make some of the purists shutter. But like I said, the prospect evaluators all seem to love them,

and I'm right there with them. Good plate discipline. Good high-end exit velocities. Yeah, he got one up to 111 in his brief stint at AAA. Yeah. Yeah. Everything was good athlete. Yeah.

Yeah. Mention the 24 steals that he had across three levels this past season. Again, this is Christian Campbell of the Red Sox. With a K. Christian with a K and no H. His early ADP over in NFBC draft champions, 335. So Chris, similar range to Kobe Mayo and Matt Shaw. If I lump him in with those, who do you think makes the biggest impact just for next season?

Campbell, Shaw, Kobe Mayo. I believe second base for the Boston Red Sox was the worst position of any team in baseball last year. I think they were worth like negative two and a half wins above replacement. and had a collective like 48 weighted runs created plus. It was the, I looked this up recently. It was one of the worst performances by any position group of the last 20 years. So if you go by that, Christian Campbell should have a path. It's just how do they, how do the Red Sox approach Trevor Story,

Saddam Rafael. How do they want to distribute those guys in the middle infield? Does Raphael move to the outfield? I guess the way. Stop at all anymore. I guess the way I'd put it is I expect those guys will get a chance to fail first. The Von Grissons and all the other guys we've been mentioning. But then the other question is, does if a opportunity opens up in the outfield,

is Christian Campbell ahead of Roman Anthony in the hierarchy? I don't know. Christian Campbell, from what I understand, he's a little stretched at shortstop. Like he's played there. but it's not his primary position. So like if a shortstop opportunity opens up, do they go to Marcelo Meyer first? You know, that's one of the things

where Christian Campbell has a lot of flexibility. And so that could benefit him. But it also makes it us, you know, like I don't know if he's ahead of Marcelo Meyer for shortstop opportunities. I don't know if he's ahead of Roman Anthony for outfield opportunities. So it's like, is he kind of the second,

choice at multiple different spots, assuming an opportunity opens up. That's my concern here. But Boston, I think it's clear they're going to have to make at least one trade, probably multiple trades at various points this offseason to again consolidate what they have. So it could very well be that by the time March rolls around, Christian Campbell's just a no doubt opening day starter for them. I think if either Campbell or Roman Anthony was starting on open day for the Red Sox, I would not be surprised. Meyer feels a little further away. He's had more injury issues over the past couple of seasons as well. But that's where it's not 100% clear. I might just like Campbell as a prospect more than Mayo or Shaw. So that might be the break even where it's just if they all

have playing time questions, Campbell might just be the better player. Certainly for fantasy, it might be a more interesting fantasy skill set. And I think one other things to consider for the Red Sox lineup, as it stands now entering next season, they need more impact from the right-handed side. I mean, this is something they've come out and said. No surprise, you know, they're in on to Oscar Hernandez, and so I think they'll try and get him. But if not, you know, Christian Campbell's a righty, maybe they want to get that right-handed bat in the lineup early on in the season.

It's got your other top three, the other two in your top three second base. You have Travis Bezano of the Guardians, who was the first overall pick in this year's draft out of Oregon State. Didn't get too much work in, 27 games at High A. He was okay. Kind of interesting scenario there as well. He's going to play second base, Travis Bezano. Do they move Andres Jimenez back to shortstop? He's a gold glove second baseman, so maybe that's something they consider doing.

and then Adela Amador, it's just the way the Rockies handle their prospects, it is just so confounding year in and year out. He's so young, he's just 21 years old, you know, hasn't played above AA, yet he got called up to play 10 games with the Rockies last season as like an emergency injury fill-in. So it was just the way that they handle prospects is just very odd.

But they have obviously the benefit of course field, so talk to me about Bazana and Adela Amador. Yeah, Bazana, just seems to bring like this near perfect offensive profile, good swing decisions, plus exit velocities, good base runner likes to steal bases, everything you could want. We don't have much to go on by the 100-1 at Batsy got a high A last year, so we're relying mostly on scouting reports there, but you can understand why the Guardians took him number one overall. I think you can bet on that pedigree. I wouldn't expect to see him this year, except maybe in September.

so they have time to figure out what happens at second base. Adela El Amador, we probably shouldn't have seen him in the majors yet. I kind of feel like he's being judged too harshly A for that performance in the majors when he clearly wasn't ready. He was struggling in the minors when they called him up. Yeah, it was weird. Was he 20 at the time? And he was coming straight from AA where he was having a really difficult time. But worth noting.

after that time in June when Adela Amador spent in the majors, he came back to hit 310 with eight home runs, 10 steals, and a 9-12 OPS. That was in his final 39 games. 3-10, 8 home runs, 10 steals, and a 9-12 OPS. So it took a while for him to click at AA, but once he did, he performed up to expectations. And yet, he's lost a lot of prospect value. I think I'm going to be on the high side with my.

ranking of Amador compared to the consensus, having him third here at second base. Second base is actually a really good prospect position right now. It's not historically, but there are a lot of good players here, and I still found a way to put Amador third. Scott, a couple of their names here that I think could have an impact in 2025 at second base. We have Nick York with the Pirates. A former first round pick got acquired from the Red Sox this past season. Perhaps he's in a position battle with Nick Gonzalez in spring.

training, maybe gets a chance to play a corner outfield spot, something like that. Thomas the Jacey of the Cardinals had that huge season two years ago, but then took a step back this year, got a bit of a taste with the Cardinals, played 18 games with them, another team where I'm just not sure where everybody is going to play for them. And then two names with the Blue Jays. We have Arelvis Martinez, who has big time power, miss 80 games last season due to a PED suspension, but he kind of looks like he's on the cusp of getting an opportunity here. and Will Wagner, son of Billy Wagner,

has this huge hit tool. He's hit 315 or higher two years in a row in the minors, and he actually played 24 games with the Blue Jays, and he looked really good. He hit over 300. He had a 788 OPS. He makes a lot of contact. He hits them all hard.

So how would you rank those guys just for this upcoming season's impact? Scott, Nick York, Thomas Adjacy, Arrelvis Martinez, and Will Wagner. Well, I wish I could confirm. firm with my rankings, but I don't have them handy at the moment because I have gone this deep at second base in my rankings just for next year. I believe I have York one because I think he's most likely to just claim the starting job for his team. Will Wagner 2, left-handed hitter, which doesn't help with the playing time and the Blue Jays have some other guys they could mix in.

Thomas Sajee 3 and Or Elvis Martinez 4. I think that's how I ranked them for 2025. None is ranked especially high. The only one I'd go so far as to call a sleeper is Nick York, who I like quite a bit. I think he's been buried too much by some of his past struggles in the minors. Because remember in 2021, he had a huge year, was drafted higher than everybody expected,

had a huge year in the Red Sox system. He did fly up rank lists at that point. But then he struggled in 2022 and 2023. This year, he finally got to AAA. We got to see some of that stack cast data for him. And it was really impressive. Nick York hits the ball a lot harder than I expected, especially since he's, he has good contact skills on top of it.

And I think Nick York could be a surprise. I wish he didn't play in Pittsburgh, right-handed hitter in Pittsburgh. It's not ideal. But I think there's genuine upside there. I like Will Wagner's upside, too, how hard he hits the ball. it's just suboptimal launch angle. Too much of that hard contact is wasted by hitting it into the ground. And he's already 26 years old.

So how much could he really improve? I think Will Wagner will be a solid major leaguer, but it might be a part-time role and it might be not an especially fantasy relevant role. He's just one of those guys that like if he stole 15 bases, the whole thing would look so much cooler. And it's just because he just doesn't run really and really doesn't hit for much over the fence power. it's hard to see how he becomes much of a fantasy contributor. And the Blue Jays kind of have a redundancy there with Will Wagner and Spencer Horowitz.

They feel pretty similar. Dude, I feel like they've got like six of the same guy. Spencer Horowitz is kind of, like, it's just, I feel like they've got so many of these, like, maybe quad a second slash third baseman. I feel like it's really hard to differentiate them. I wanted to say real quick, because I mentioned this was a position that's deep in prospects. One I wanted to highlight, and I'm trying to hear his name on this highlight I'm watching, because I'm not sure how to pronounce it. Okay, Luke Kishol of the twins had a huge season for them between high A and AA, really good pull side power, great on base skills, fast runner.

he did have he did need Tommy John surgery in August so he's coming back from that but Luke Keeshaal you don't want to overlook him in your dynasty leagues and of course termar Johnson is still at this position Christian Moore an impressive draft pick from this past year for the Angels kind of looks like Yasio Pui get the plate to me Ronnie Maricio is at this position he's coming back from a torn ACL and those are the main ones I wanted to highlight but I had to go 15 deep in my article for for top second base process. to get everybody worth commenting on in there. To be clear, JJ Weatherholt and Cole Emerson are both short stops, right?

Yep. That's where they're, okay, we'll talk about that. I just rank them wherever they played the most last year. I don't try to forecast with that because a lot of times you forecast incorrectly. Let's take our final break when we return. We'll hit some quick news and notes. And we've got first base and catcher prospects. We'll talk about that right after this.

Welcome back in news and notes. lots of valuable information coming out from the winter meetings right now. Also should mention that we've done a lot of emergency and bonus podcasts recently. So if you're looking for any analysis on Willie Adomis, Tyler O'Neill, Juan Soto, any of the smaller signings, Luis Severino to the A's, and Blake Trine into the Dodgers, Michael Conforto to the Dodgers, all that stuff. Those are bonus podcasts that are in your feed. You can check that out right now.

I wasn't on that one, but Michael Conforter to the Dodgers. I think there's real sleeper appeal there. Yep. Agreed. Speaking of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts said Shohei Otani is unlikely to pitch in the season opening series against the Cubs in Japan.

Roberts added that Otani is expected to be ready to hit in that series. Otani is recovering from a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. This feels like nothing to me. They're only playing two games in Japan. So like,

there's no way they can look this is three months and a week away. I think they play on the 17th and 18th of March to kick off the season. There is no way that they can look and say he won't be ready to pitch on the 17th, but he will be on the 20s. Like that this, this is nothing, right? Like this is just Tyler Gnachnau and Yoshinovi Yamamoto are our number one and two and or Blake Snell.

Like it just he won't be one of their top two starters. That's all I took from it. I don't think. I got to thought Otani was ruled out from pitching at the start of the year anyway. I thought we'd already covered that. Freddie Freeman underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right ankle. That ankle was an issue throughout

the playoffs. Should be ready to go. Full go for spring training. Mookie Betts expected to play shortstop with Tommy Edmund in center field. We were hoping Mookie... This feels super untenable. We were hoping Bets would get second base just to help that position out, but... It's

impressive that Mookie has been able to play a little bit of shortstop over the past couple years. He's pretty bad there from everything that I've seen. He doesn't have a strong arm anymore relative to the shortstop position. I don't think this is going to last. Like, Gavin Lux is not going to be the shortstop. I would think Tommy Edmund is going to play there more often than not.

But this doesn't feel like it can work long term. Astros GM, Dana, did you have something? Yeah, and we want bets to get second base and we want Tommy Edmund to get shortstop. Because right now he's outfield only. So I think, I don't think it'll be an everyday situation. and even to the degree it lasts. I think the Dodgers will kind of shift them around. Astros GM Dana Brown said he would like to cut back Yoron Alvarez's playing time in left field.

Alvarez dealt with knee issues down the stretch of last season and obviously has a history of knee issues as well. As long as we get those 20 games in so he can have outfield eligibility eligibility for the next year after that, 2026. While we're talking about the Astros, there's some whispers that they're fielding offers on Framber. Valdez and Kyle Tucker who are entering their final year of team control. So some big names to pay attention to this offseason. Brewer's GM Matt Arnold said Christian Yellich is not swinging a bat yet, but is doing some other baseball movements. Yelich had a microdicekechctomy on August 16th.

That is always a mouthful. And is expected to be ready for opening day. Arnold also spoke on Brandon Woodruff, quote, we have expectations that he'll be part of our rotation. We also want to be cautious with him and his health. Woodruff had surgery on the anterior capsule in his right shoulder last October might not be ready for the start of next season. Yeah, that one scares me because I already don't know what to expect about the recovery for Woodruff. And so if they're saying they're not confident, he's going to be ready. That suggests to me he won't be ready. And I don't know that I want to wait out him becoming ready, given

the uncertainty of how he's going to perform. So I might just not be drafting Brandon Woodruff. I also want to mention for Yelich, based on what I've seen, seems to be severely undervalued in drafts. And I get back issues, back surgeries. We're not really sure what to expect. But the upside here is, I mean, Christian Yelich had more head to head points per game last year than Mookie Betts.

He had more head to head points per game last year than Yorden Alvarez. And I got him in our head to head points mock that we will be sharing the results with you in a couple days. Where did I get him? It's like round seven, round six. It's around six. Yeah. That actually, that podcast will have already happened.

Oh, by the time you're hearing this. Right. Am I understanding the schedule correct? No, no, you're not understanding the schedule. People are listening to this. We're recording some prospect of this, Chris. Podcasts ahead of time so we can all have a Merry Christmas. And this is not wrong.

I'm ruining Christmas. The best part was Chris asked us right before we started what the schedule is. And we told them. I just wasn't. I was singing Christmas songs, you know. It's complicated. Yeah. Yeah.

Continuing on with the news, Danesby Swanson underwent surgery to address a core injury in early October. He's not expected to. miss any time. Might explain why he had a down season here in 2024. Mike Hill Garcia had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He's not expected to, he is expected, excuse me, to be ready for spring training. Brian Reynolds is expected to see time at first base next season. He graded out as one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball this past season. So obviously this makes sense. The early ADP is 91.6 as the 23rd outfielder off the board. If you look at first base,

base ADP, that would be just ahead of names like Josh Naler, Tristan Kossis, and Christian Walker. So maybe some added versatility here for Brian Reynolds. Okay. Yeah, I hadn't heard that story, but they don't really have a first baseman. I was under the impression he was a good outfielder. Maybe he dropped off precipitously. I don't know. Cardinals President John Mosellack said the team would like Nolan Gorman to get close to 600 at

Batsnik season. and it was quite a disaster here. Gorman way too many strikeouts. He spent some time in the minors. But just the year prior, he looked really good. 805 OPS, 27 home runs and 119 games. The Cardinals kind of have this log jam going on right now. Once they trade away Nolan Aronado,

maybe Brendan Donovan moves to third base that opens something up here for Nolan. But they also have Thomas DeJC, who we mentioned earlier on. So some moving parts here for the Cardinals. And speaking of which, pitching prospect Quinn Matthews will begin spring training with the Major League team with the Cardinals as a non-roster invitee. So someone to pay attention to, had a breakout season here in 2024. And some Giants news, Tyler Fitzgerald is the team's second baseman. As things stand now, they made sure to put that in quotations.

So we'll see if they bring in another second baseman. Obviously, that could change. And Jordan Hicks will rejoin the starting rotation. So, which currently consists of Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, and maybe one of Hayden Birdsong or Carson Wisenhunt, something like that. This one feels like after extending Matt Chapman and signing Willie Adamas, they got a big time starting pitcher, right? Whether it's like Jack Flaherty or whether they want to get into the Corbyn Burns, like that rotation is not ready for prime time. I think they've already been linked to Corbyn Burns. Yeah, he's from the West Coast.

and there's been a lot of talk that he might want to go home. Buster Posey, making things happen. Tyler Fitzgerald, I wanted to mention this, so we may not get Mookiee Betts picking up second base eligibility. I thought you said Buster only. Buster only. I was like, okay, sure. Working behind the scenes to, I don't know,

it seems like a conflict of interest. No, Tyler Fitzgerald, we'll be picking up second base eligibility after losing it this off season, being shortstop only heading into next year, which makes him a lot more interesting, I think, because shortstop, in shallow leagues, he kind of, I think he just went on drafted in this latest mock and both of our moks so far.

And that seems ridiculous based on the year he had. But if he's picking up a second base, that's a thin position, obviously becomes more interesting. Let's get back into the prospects. And we are moving on to first base. Scott, your top three first base prospects. You have Nick Kurtz of the athletics, Jack Caglione of the Royals, and Bryce Eldridge with the Giants. Uh, Nick Kurtz, the, well, let's lump Nick Kurtz and in Caglio in together here.

They were just drafted this year. Nick Kurt's fourth overall, uh, Jack Caglione was sixth overall. And, you know, Nick Kurt's big power and OBP. He hit very well in a small sample size. He also crushed it out in the Arizona Fall League. The A's have Tyler Soderstrom at first base and, and Brent Rooker at D.H. But, you know, maybe Rooker could slide into the outfield and that would open up a spot. And Caglione, you know, big power.

He had some monster home runs in the Arizona Fall League. But I talked to the Welsh about him. It was kind of a mixed bag. There was lots of strikeouts. There are questions with the hit tool there. Do you see big impact players here, Scott, from either or both Nick Kurtz and Jack Caglione? I think the upside is very similar.

I think Nick Kurtz has a much better idea of what he's doing right now. And so the possibility of him meeting that upside is much higher. In fact, I think it's very, high just among prospects in general. Like you said, just a few months after being drafted, he made a huge impact and the Arizona Fall League and look great in the miners. Big time exit velocity readings for both of these guys. They have huge power potential.

But Kurtz actualizes it better, hits the balls at the correct angles, is going to get on base a lot. It's a very Matt Olson kind of profile to make a comp to an A's prospect of the not-so-distant passed. And I like Nick Kurtz a lot for those first year player drafts and dynasty leagues. Do you see either one making an impact this year, Scott, Kurtz or Kegleone? Long shot, much better chance for Kurtz, but it would probably be a September situation if it does happen. And Pegleone is not doing, is he going to pitch as a professional or has he been? I don't think so. He was a two-way player in college. In case, you know, in case, you know, people

listening didn't know that. But yeah, it sounds like he's just going to focus on hitting in the minors. And I maybe should drop Cagliome behind my number three first base prospect, who I think you're about to mention. Yeah. Bryce Eldridge of the Giants, 20 years old, first round pick in last year's draft, 2023, big dude, 6'7, another one with massive power, perhaps some struggles with the hit tools, some swing and miss in his game.

He dominated at high A, but then got moved up to play nine games at AA and, and, uh, Eight games at AAA. So I don't know, Scott. What was that about? It seems kind of weird that they just moved them up so quickly. I don't know. I clearly, I would say it seems like they're fast-tracking him, but obviously it's a different front office now,

so we don't really know what the Giants plans for Bryce Eldridge are anymore. But considering he's, he just turned 20 in October, and he advanced to that high of a level and was holding his own there. another guy who went to the Arizona Fall League and performed pretty well strikeouts too high and I'd prefer if the walks were higher but if you're the sort of

person who puts a lot of stock and how they're performing for their age and if they're at an advanced level just on the minor league ladder for their age then you got to come away with a high opinion of Bryce Eldridge

another guy who hits the ball very hard He's 6 foot 7, which I think the strikeouts are always going to be high. Aaron Judge is 6 foot 7. And in more recent years, he's been able to get that strikeout rate down. But it started out very high in his career. So that makes for a tougher hurdle to clear for Eldridge. But he's already so far along for having just turned 20 that I think the chances of him being a success are pretty high. Some other names that could make an impact in 2025, specifically at first base.

Davison de Los Santos of the Marlins came over from the d-backs in the AJ Puck trade. He's 21 years old. Just had an incredible season in the minors. Hit 40 home runs, 294 batting average. 914 OPS also has some big swing and miss in his game. He's already played 99 games at AAA again as a 21-year-old. So that age-to-level production. Chris, it's kind of been a weird go for Davidson de Los Santos.

He had some success earlier in his career. He was in the Rule 5 draft. Last season, he went to the Guardians, came back to the V-backs, was traded to your Marlins, where I think he could have an opportunity to play as soon as next season. What do you think about Davis and Delos Santos? Given the fact that he has reached and succeeded at AAA at a fairly precocious age, I'm surprised that the Marlins are not talking more about him as a opening day option. And maybe they just want to, I don't know, see if Kyle Stowers can do something first after

you know, he's a little older, so maybe that, I don't know. I am definitely surprised that we're not hearing more about him and Augustine Ramirez for the Marlins. And makes me think that it's unlikely they'll be on the opening day roster, but it shouldn't be long. You know, if it's late April or early May, that wouldn't surprise me. I'm not really sure where I stand on Davis and De Lo Santos, who probably deserves a little extra time just given how productive if he was in the minors last year, 294 batting average, 40 homers.

You rarely see that many from a minor leaguer and a 914 OPS, of course, going from the Diamondbacks organization to the Marlins organization. Manable strikeout rates

for the most part. The strikeouts rate, it got worse with the Marlins. It got to 28% with the Marlins, but it's 23% with the Diamondbacks, which is great for a power hitter. But even with the good strikeout rate, his chase rate was like 44%.

That's how often he swings it pitches out of the zone. own very, very high. He kind of reminds me of Christian and Carnaccio and Strand, who of course also put up huge numbers in the miners, but the prospect, the prospect gurus were pretty lukewarm on him because of those chase rates. And he came up had immediate success in the majors. Last year was kind of tanked by an injury. So we still don't really know where we stand with Christian and Carnacian Strand. But I think Davis and De Lo Santos is in the same boat where it feels like a low probability play,

even though there's obviously some skill there. But if you can figure out a way to make it work, then he could be a home run leader for years to come. Scott, I did want to quickly mention Zach DeZenzo of the Astros. He's 24 years old. He has some power and speed. He got 19 games in with the big league club last season. He could play some first. He could play third.

and depending on what they do this offseason, he could potentially have a role next year. Yeah, if Shea Whitcomb, it doesn't take over a third base. If Shane, if Alex Bregman leaves and it's not Shea Whitcomb, it could be Zach DeZenzo, who's mostly played third base in the minors, even though we saw him at first base, the little bit of time we saw them in the majors,

which is why I rank them here. But good power potential and, you know, good eggs of velocities, right-handed bat, Could sink or swim. He's already 24, but there's power upside there for Zach Dezenzo. Let's wrap up with catchers here and lots of interesting names. Scott, your top three catcher prospects. You have Samuel Bessio of the Orioles, Dalton rushing with the Dodgers, and Kyle Teal with the Red Sox. Basayo, one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball. He's only 20 years old. This past season hit 19 home runs, had 10 steals. 790 OPS.

Did struggle a little bit when getting to AAA. Again, he was only 20 years old. So just to get to AAA at that age is obviously impressive. He's not going to be playing catcher for the Orioles. We know that. He's either first base or DH, but... More competition for Kobe Mayo with Ryan O'Hern. It's more the same. It's all those guys...

Ryan Mountcastle, Heston Kirstad, you got to throw Samuel, Basayo in the mix, too. Yeah. So where does he play? Does he get a chance this year? What do you think? I mean, does he get a chance this year? depends on if somebody sees his first base for the Orioles or not,

because obviously Basayo is going to start out in the minors. Last year was, I think, kind of underwhelming based on what he did in 2023 and what expectations were, but it doesn't seem like the scouts have cooled on his offensive potential. I think he might, of all those first base candidates we mentioned, Basayo has the best chance of being an impact player in fantasy. Mayo has that kind of upside, too, but I think there's less. downside for Basayo than Mayo as a hitter. So he's further behind.

Mayo will probably get a chance before Basayo, but understand that if you're investing in Basayo, it's not going to be as a catcher unless he's traded, which is possible. At some point, the Orioles, rather than just letting these guys age out of the miners and lose all their value, they might actually want to consider trading one of them.

The one thing I struggle with with this type of, of prospect. And I think as a general rule, you will probably profit in the long run from just trading every catching prospect that you get. Because catching prospects take the longest time to develop. They have the most ways things can go wrong. They tend to have shorter peaks than other positions. Like it's just, it's real hard. And there's a lot of really high profile catcher bus. And the other thing I struggle with is a lot of people, like a lot of prospect evaluators will say, yeah, but the bat will play at first base. And I always struggle with that because it's like you're evaluating Samu Bessaya as a catching prospect. And the bat looks unbelievable there. And it can be hard to disentangle that

where it's like, oh my God, this guy might be the best hitting catcher in baseball. And then you say, yeah, but he could still be an impact bad at first base. And it's like, maybe. I don't know. He's clearly incredibly talented. He was 19 years old and he got to double air AAA last season. So there's clearly a ton to like there. I just,

I tend to think fading top catching prospects has probably been one of the more profitable things you could do with prospects, historically and that that's what I always trip up on with the the big time catching prospect. I think that totally makes sense from a long-term perspective. I think if we're looking at this short term, if there's any chance that we can get Samuel Bessayo or even Dalton rushing, playing catcher for fantasy while they're at another position, obviously that would help us tremendously. It sounds like there's a chance it could happen for Bessio maybe when he first gets called.

called up. It could happen for Dalton rushing as well, who was a second round pick in 2022. He's turning 24 in February, so he's getting older, but the bat looks ready. He had 26 home runs this past season, 896 OPS, strong average exit velocity at AAA, played 31 games in left field. Scott, as of now, the Dodgers have Tommy Edmund, Michael Conforto, Andy Paez, in the outfield. They could still also bring back to Oscar Hernandez, which would, obviously muddy things up, but even if they don't, they still have Andy Paez. So, yeah, I've seen a lot of excitement around Dalton rushing for fantasy this season. I just don't know how he's going to play enough.

Yeah, I don't know either. And remember, at the end of last season, we were talking about him maybe as a September call-up because the Dodgers had shifted him from catcher to left field, seeming in my mind to fill an immediate need for them. And it didn't happen. maybe he'll be a hybrid role like Dalton Varsha started out his career, catcher in first base. They got Will Smith signed long term,

so it doesn't seem like if he stays in the Dodgers organization, rushing will be a permanent fit-at catcher. Maybe he becomes trade bait. We did see the Dodgers finally move Michael Bush after not being able to find a spot for him for years, and Miguel Vargas, same thing. So maybe that's ultimately what rushing's future holds, and maybe he's just a catcher at that point.

but I'm going to say something Chris hates. I think no matter where he plays, Dalton Varshing is going to be a good one. You just put Dalton Varsho and Dalton Rushing into like one player. Dalton Rushing. They have the same first name. Dalton Rushing is going to be a good player.

I love him. I like my head said put, my head said put Samuel Basayo first at the position, but my heart wanted to put Varshing first because his on-base skills are so good. You did it again. Daltin rushing. You're calling him not.

You're calling him varshing, which is interesting. Unlikely, to be clear, unlikely to become one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. Oh, yeah, sure. I need to talk slower is the thing. Because the speed at which I talk on the podcast, which probably seems slow to the listener out there is actually much, much faster than I talk just general conversation.

I speed it up so I don't put you guys to sleep and sometimes my brain can't keep up with my mouth. So sorry about that. But yeah, Dalton rushing, great on base skills, had a 15% walk rate at AAA last year, make very good contact. Already it's optimal contact in terms of a lot of fly balls to his pole side so he really knows how to maximize that power potential.

And I just, I think he's going to be an OPS monster. and as somebody who came of age in the money ball year, I always have a fondness for that profile. I really like Dalton Varshing a lot. Dalton rushing a lot. I don't even know. It's not me being the only one screwing up player names.

I did want to ask, because this is my sense. It feels like there's a clear top two and then a pretty big drop here. Am I, is that right? You know, I don't think Dalton Varsh, I don't think Dalton rushing is going to be. I don't think he's the consensus number two. I think I'm,

I mean, well, because Kyle Teal, who's number three for you. Well, I don't think Kyle Teal's the consensus number three. I think a lot of people are going to have my number four, Ethan Salas of the poddice is the number two.

Because Kyle Teal just like, it feels fine. Yeah. You know, like he feels really safe and really projectable. And at catcher, that matters because, as I said earlier, a lot can go wrong

and a lot does tend to go wrong. He feels like one of those guys where it's like, he might only be Tyler Stevenson, but like that's a major league player. Here's the thing. You know who else just seemed fine as a catcher prospect?

JT. Real Mutant. Yeah, I like that. I like that call. That was the comp I made. Like he didn't get a lot of hype coming up, but he just was really solid all around and he became a really solid office. offensive contributor all around, which as a catcher made him the number one catcher in fantasy

for a good, what, five year span? One difference, I would say, and I know Teal did steal 12 bases last year, which is not nothing for a catcher. Rayo Muto was drafted as a shortstop. And I think he actually didn't play much catcher until the Marlins drafted him. He was a middle infielder in high school. So he was always a premium, premium athlete, even for the catcher position in a way that I don't think Kyle Teal is.

Kyle Teal has a great hit tool and everything else is kind of just fine. Power on base skills. Like he is going to be a starter in the majors for a long time. And where he ranks in fantasy, I think it just kind of depends on what the catcher pool looks like, how consistently he starts, that sort of thing. Ironically, he kind of feels to me like if Connor Wong could like really catch

because he's a pretty bad defensive catcher. Yeah, except I don't think we really trust Connor Wong as a hitter. He like he could be like what kind of numbers Wong put up last year was last year. Like that feels like a pretty good expectation for Kyle Teal, which is like a solid starter, not a superstar. Chris, I think your original call out, you mentioned Tyler Stevenson when talking about Kyle Teal and, you know, if he turns into Tyler Stevenson with 10 steals, 260, 15 to 18 home runs with 10 steals. that's a really good fantasy catcher. And maybe we see some of that as soon as 2025 because as much as Red Sox fans seem to love Connor Wong.

Really? I don't think he's very good and he graded out terribly on defense. Is he like the last piece remaining from the Mookie Betts trade? Is that why? I think it's just because he performed last year. I mean, fans keep it pretty simple. We don't look at the, we look under the hood and say, yeah, I don't know that he can keep it going.

but fans just remember the hits he got for their team and are happy to celebrate him for that. Let's wrap up with some quick rapid fire on some other catcher impacts here in 2025 because there are some really interesting names. Chris from your Marlins, Augustine Ramirez, a breakout prospect this year,

came over from the Yankees in the jazz chisholm trade. He might have legitimate speed because he just went 25 home runs, 22 steals, and the Marlins have Nick Fortez penciled in as their starting catchers. So I think we could see Ramirez up pretty early on.

They're not talking about it as if that's the case, and I'm baffled by what the Marlins, like, the quote that I saw today from MLB.com was Peter Bendix acknowledged being mindful of the talent already on the roster while looking to add externally. It's quite the balancing act. And it's like, no, it's not.

Play the kids. The talent on the roster, like, until you call, Remirez and Davidson de Los Santos, there's not much talent on the roster. So I don't know. They're not talking about him. Like he's their number one option on opening day. And I think that is baffling given that he was quite good at AAA.

Not incredible all around, but above average it when he got to the Marlins for sure. Scott from your Atlanta Braves, Drake Baldwin put up some big numbers at AAA. and hits the ball extremely hard. And it seems like the Braves do have confidence in him, at least to be their backup catcher, because they let Travis Dardo go. Obviously, Sean Murphy's a starter, and he's going to get a chance.

But if Sean Murphy were to get hurt, like, yeah, maybe Baldwin makes an impact next year. I think as soon as they trust Baldwin is ready, he'll be up to split time with Sean Murphy. There's a lot of buzz for Drake Baldwin right now. I don't know that I rank him high enough, seventh at the position, because I like a lot of what I've seen too.

It seems like there's this disconnect between the prospect evaluated, like the scouting reports, the prospect evaluators, traditional prospect evaluators. And what I'm seeing with Drake Baldwin, because the exit velocities look great, the plate discipline looks great. He hits the ball in a way that's going to help him to ensure that he delivers on his power potential. I think Drake Baldwin could be really good. catcher is a difficult position to break in at. So that goes, that that's worth pointing out for all of these players. Yeah.

Chris, two other offense first prospects at this position, Moises by Astero, a big, beefy baseball boy. One of the biggest, one of the beefiest from the Chicago Cubs. All he does is rake, but he seems to be a pretty bad defender, maybe long term. It's first base. It's DH. Obviously, the Cubs have some players in those positions already. and Adrian Del Castillo of the D-backs, really strong offensive profile.

He showed that off in the majors last year. The D-backs have Gabriel Moreno, and there was a report that came out just today that the D-Backs do not plan to use Del Castillo as a D-H. So I just don't really know how does he make that impact without another injury here? Yeah, I mean, there's pretty big holes in Arizona at D.H. in first base right now.

Maybe they bring Christian Walker back, less of an issue, but like, I don't know, Adrian del Castillo was so good last year, both in the majors and the minors, that I feel like they, they just need to give him an opportunity. I know he's older. I know he's not as, as decorated as a lot of the other guys we've talked about, but he was so productive, including in filling in for Gabriel Marino, who it's fine, you know, like he's a starting caliber catcher. He's not a difference maker, but he's okay. Wouldn't you rather have him at first base than roster resource has

Pavon Smith there. Like, I know he had a couple of big games last year, but. Yeah. You'd rather see what Adrian Del Castillo can do there.

And he's probably not going to be a catcher and they have Gabriel Moreno there for the foreseeable future anyway. So that suggests to me that they're not super enamored with him, unfortunately. But I would like to see both Byesteros

and Adrian Del Castillo get an opportunity. I think by Astero, not super likely on opening day, but there's hope. I was impressed house. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of him. He's 5 foot 8 and lifted at 1.95.

He's a bowling bowl. Yeah, he's. I would make an Alejandro comparison, Alejandro Kirk comparison for Moises by Astaris, but I don't know that that would be flattering at this point, given that Kirk's been such a disappointment. But I was impressed. that they brought them up to AAA as a 20-year-old,

the end, turned 21 yet. You don't see that often from catchers and Bayeasteros continued to hit. The numbers aren't like amazing, but they're really solid. Good plate discipline. All right, Scott, bring us home here with the Caros, Jefferson Carrow of the Brewers and Edgar Carrow of the White Sox. I believe no relation, right, between the two?

There is no relation between the two. Jefferson Carroll is a really good defender, probably the best defender on here. He missed almost all of last year with injury. But it seems like there's enough power potential, given that we're confident he's going to be a catcher long term. He could end up being a pretty useful one in fantasy. Edgar Caro, good on base skills, pretty good power. seems to be the clear air apparent for the white socks who don't have any great options ahead of them

on the organizational depth chart. So Edgar Carroll, we could see him up this year. Could I mention the guy for the Tigers whose name is not coming to me right now who had the huge power display at the Arizona Fall League. I did not include him among my 10 catcher prospects, top 10 catcher prospects. This was the first one I wrote.

and he hadn't hit all those home runs in the Arizona Fall League yet. Hoseway Brisseno. That's the guy. Yep, he's still 19, I believe. But clearly, the impact he made in the Arizona Fall League, he's going to show up higher on prospect list now. Good power potential. Probably not a catcher long term,

and the Tigers have Thiron Lorenzo, who they got in the Jack Flaherty deal from the Dodgers. Also good power. on base skills older, I think rates better defensively. So, yeah, two good options for the Tigers there in Dynasty League, neither on the verge of making an impact. And if anyone wants to hear more about Josei Braseno and what he did in the Arizona Fall League, I did a podcast back in November recapping all of that with the Welsh. And he was so impressed by Josei Braseno.

So if you want to hear more, you can go back and listen to that. All right, we went long, but look, in field, lots of positions. Lots of names to talk about. And Catcher is pretty awesome. So I wanted to make sure we got to all of those names. We didn't even mention Harry Ford. He's still out there. It was pretty disappointing this year, though.

If you want to read or learn more about Harry Ford, then go check it out on the website. We are going to wrap there for Scott. Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today. Please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify. And we will be back again on Thursday. Bye-bye. Paramount Podcasts.