Fantasy Baseball Today - 2026 Top Infield Prospects! Plus, 'The Leadoff Man' by Matt Snyder! (12/11 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: December 11, 2025

Let's talk infield prospects minus shortstops (3:00)! ... Samuel Basallo has huge power potential but has downside in 2026 (5:25). ... Carter Jensen should be a regular for the Royals next season (10:47). ... Josue Briceño had a solid season after his AFL MVP in 2024 (16:18). ... Alfredo Duno has massive power (19:13). ... Moises Ballesteros might be a DH already (21:37). ... Rainiel Rodriguez also has huge power (26:35). ... Harry Ford should see some playing time with the Nationals (28:26). ... News (32:32): Mike Yastrzemski is headed to the Braves. ... Bryce Eldridge has huge power but lots of strikeouts (45:05). ... Sal Stewart looks like the real deal (47:39). ... Ralphy Velazquez and Charlie Condon offer big power at first base (50:07). ... Travis Bazzana has lost some luster (53:58). ... Michael Arroyo and Tommy Troy both pack a punch (56:41). ... Who is Jacob Reimer in the Mets org (59:52)? ... We wrap up with a special guest, Matt Snyder, author of the book 'The Leadoff Man' (1:01:53). Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@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/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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. What's up and welcome in some fantasy baseball today on Thursday, December 11th. I am Frank Stample joined by Scott White and Chris Towers. Today on the show, we're talking in-field positions.

Mine is shortstop. Spoiler alert, lots of catchers. There have been a bunch of moves in baseball in the recent days. We did emergency podcasts for all those. So if you're looking for our opinions on Edwin Diaz, Kyle Schwerber, Pete Alonzo, make sure to check those out. And later on, we'll be joined by a special guest, Matt Snyder,

to talk about his book, The Lead-Off Man. Very cool concept, looking at the history and evolution of lead-off hitters throughout baseball. Scott, we are here, once again, looking at your prospect rankings. We talked through the infield a little bit, and what do you know? Catcher, the most plentiful,

outside of shortstop, of course. Yeah, I mean, catcher, catcher's been a pretty prospect-laden position for a while now, and I think we saw that kind of come to fruition in the majors last year. Not that it happened all at once last year, but last year was the culmination.

of all those years of a prospect backlog at catcher. Of course, not every top catcher prospect over the years has panned out. Not every top prospect at any position pans out. But enough of them have, and there have been enough surprises, even if they weren't regarded as particularly high-end prospects. You know, they were productive in the miners, and then they come up, and they remain productive. The Iiner Diaz, I think, is a very good.

a good example of that. So there have been enough of those successes that now Catcher looks more loaded than it ever has. And we were talking about shortstop last time in the way the prospect pool has evolved there. And I feel like something similar happened there where the position just kept getting more and more loaded with prospects. And eventually what was historically a weak position in fantasy, maybe even the position, the weakest position in fantasy became maybe the strongest position in fantasy and has remained there for a long time.

What's the last time we called shortstop a weak position for fantasy? I'm sure a lot of people listening don't even remember a time that was so, but it used to be. So, you know, catcher has built-in disadvantages with regard to playing time

and injury risk and there are reasons why, it may have a harder time remaining a deep position like catcher has, but looking at how it stacks up with its prospects right now compared to some of these other infield spots. It's looking like it's going to be strong for the foreseeable future. All right, so let's go around the horn, and we will start off with the top catcher prospects.

Again, these are Scott's personal prospect rankings, and number one, you have Samwell Basayo of the Orioles, 21 years old, actually signed an eight-year-67 million dollar. extension this year. He made it to the bigs. He played 31 games. Didn't perform well, but he kept the strikeouts in check, flashed at max exit velocity, huge power down in the miners. Chris and I spoke about this earlier. Pete Alonzo signing with the Orioles does make it even more crowded. And now, you know, we have a couple more names to worry about in this DH mix. And obviously, like first base at bats are not going to be available. So that throws, I think, maybe a little bit

of wrench in his 2026 value. But I guess you could talk about that, Scott. and what kind of bat, But Sayo projects to be long term? Yeah, so that was my first thought with the Pete Alonzo move. I don't see it affecting Alonzo himself that much, but it just adds to the crowded corner infield, corner outfield, D.H. situation that was already made more crowded with the Taylor Ward acquisition, remember. So now, you know, we're presuming, obviously, Alonzo and Ward have full-time jobs.

But between Dylan Beaver, Samuel Basayo, Ryan Moucassel, Tyler O'Neill, Kobe Mayo. That's five names, two spots, two lineup spots for those five. So will Bezio get bumped out just because he has the ability to go to the minors? because a little bit we saw of him last year. He didn't make that much of an impression. Maybe there's reason to think he's not quite ready yet. Fair questions. I think spring training will say a lot.

I would guess Pesayo has a leg up just because they signed him to that long-term DLL ready. So it's not like they have to, it's not like service time is part of the equation there. I do think if nothing else, and we'll see how the rest of the offseason goes, you know, maybe the Orioles spin off some of that excess. I presume they will spin off some of it.

But I think the Alonzo signing, having him as a fixture at first base now, means Basayo, part of his role will be to back a badly rush minute catcher. And so that for his fantasy value is a positive development. It means he's going to retain eligibility at this position, which was a question. because I don't think defensively he's going to stay there long term. So I'm expecting Basayo to main a catcher moving forward. I think he'll probably be a factor early in 2026, if not from opening day. How good could he be?

The comp I've been using a lot is Kyle Schwerber. I think he could be that caliber of hitter, a guy who places among the league leaders in home runs with good on base skills. Probably not going to be a great source of batting average, but, you know, big left-handed slugger OPS hog kind of bat, Bessayo. So very excited about him. He'll be not just the top catcher prospect for me, but among the top hitter prospects,

maybe even a top 10, top 12 prospect overall. Just to put some numbers on Bessio's minor league season, he hit 23 homers in only 76 games, and the exit velocities were insane. 94.2 average EV with a 21% barrel rate. So the quality of contact is off the charts for Samuel Bessio. Hopefully we see a lot of that in 2026. I think he ended up being the second or third best hitter

in the international league as a 20 year old. Yes. In terms of WRC plus, I think he was at like 156 or something. That's pretty good. 20 is very young for AAA and he dominated. So I think his. playing time is totally in his own hands. Like if Samuel Bessio hits like he's supposed to,

Ryan Mountcastle is not going to matter or Kobe Mayo or whoever. Like it's going to be the shape of it, whether it's 25% of his playing time comes a catcher and he's a full-time DH the rest of the time. Or if Adley Rushman just keeps being like a 680 OPS bat like he's been for the last year and a half, you know, maybe it's a 50-50 split behind the plate. And that just because they need Bessio's bat.

in the lineup. But I think that's one of those ones where like, yeah, there's some downside risk now. If Samuel Bessio hits like he did in 2025 at the end for a month, he might just get sent back to AAA because the Orioles really need to compete this year. They can't afford another season like 2025. So there's some downside risk, but it's one of those like the upside is all multiplicative, right? Like if he hits like he's capable of, that's just going to lead.

to more and more playing time. And that's what you should be worried about with Samo Bosaio. The downside, I don't care. Like if he gets sent back to AAA and I wasted a 170th overall pick, I don't care that much. There should be someone at catcher that I can slot in who's not a disaster. Samuel Boussayo could be a top three guy at the position in 2026. All right, the number two catcher is Carter Jensen of the Royals,

22 years old, a third round pick back in 2021. He also made it to the big leagues. where he flashed in a small sample size, hit 300, three homers, 941 OPS in 20 games, huge exit velocities as well. He hit a 456 foot home run. Looks like a very interesting bad for fantasy. Scott, how much do you think Carter Jensen plays right away in 2026?

I think he plays a lot. Unlike Samuel Bessayo, he looked like, you know, he took the opportunity, he seized it last year. and I think proved to the Royals that he needs to be part of their everyday lineup in 2026. And it's good timing really because Salvador Perez is kind of aging out at Catcher. I still think he's going to get the majority of the starts there for the Royals. But he's been getting less and less in recent years, spending more time at DH. And now that they have another impact bat for that position in Carter Jensen, I think he's going to play a lot.

Basically, once Jensen was up, we saw him in Salvador Perez alternating catcher and DH, the two of them. And I expect that that will continue. And I called him an impact bat. I think that's exactly what Carter Jensen is. He wasn't really a well-known prospect until about the time he was getting called up last year. But then you look at his numbers in 2025. You mentioned high exit velocities. He averaged 94 miles per hour on bat at balls.

a triple A short time in the majors it was 95.4 so he just kept it going. You don't see many hitters of any strike with a higher average exit velocity than that. The plate discipline is great also. Good zone contact rate, low chase rate, high walk rate. Like this looks like a masher. And I'm very excited for Carter Jensen. There was some question as the season was winding down whether he'd be DH only heading into 2026. He managed to secure catcher eligibility, so he's part of that

group of exciting talent at the position. I believe I have him 15th in my catcher rankings initially, but that's partly because there are 14 other great options at the position. Jensen could absolutely be top six, top eight in 2026, particularly if he plays as much as I think he will. Chris, just for 2026, are you taking Bessio or Carter Jensen? I have Bessio ranked ahead, but there's a big tier of number two catchers starting right at Francisco Alvarez, who I think is my number 11. And then I have Kirk, Basayo, Ruchman, Teal, Moreno, and Carter Jensen all in within 10

picks of each other. So it's, you get to about 180th in the draft. If you haven't taken a catcher yet, there are still some really good options. And then all those guys would be worth adding. All right, let's take our first break. Before we do that, make sure to hit that like button, subscribe to the channel. If you haven't already, we have a lot of fun things coming this offseason to get you prepped for 2026. Let's take that break, and we'll be back right after this.

Welcome back in Fantasy Baseball today, continuing on with prospect rankings. We're taking a look at catchers for now. I should have mentioned this up at the top. These rankings are for Dynasty leagues, but we'll talk about it from like a dynasty and redraft perspective to try and hit both of those. The number three catcher prospect is Hoseway.

Briseño from the Tigers. He's 21 years old, really broke out in the Arizona Fall League last year, won the MVP, and then followed that up with a solid season in the minors, where he hit 266 with 20 home runs and an 883 OPS between high A and AA. Scott, this is someone that's also played a bunch at first base. So not sure he sticks at catcher.

I think ideally for fantasy, if we can get a season or two where he has catcher eligibility but plays a bunch at first base, that would be fun. But it is in the, range of outcomes for him. Yeah, I think at the long run, Brasenio winds up at first base. He's just taller than really passes at catcher these days with some of the metrics teams are looking for from a catcher.

It's tough for taller guys. Brissaino's 6'4, and it's not like in terms of skills. Like, he rates highly either. He's kind of a butcher back there to begin with. So I think in a long run, Brasania is going to play first base. Do you use an old trope that bat should play anywhere? I know Chris doesn't like when that's said about catcher prospects.

And, you know, for good reason. A lot of times it's been said about catcher prospects. And then when the time came to move them off catcher, it didn't work out so well. But it has for other catchers to Carlos Santana. Carlos Delgado, remember him. I have a few baseball cards with him in catcher's gear. But anyway, Briseño, you mentioned the numbers were great, and they were legitimately great at A ball in the Arizona Fall League last year.

He's the MVP of the Arizona Fall League last year, slashed 433-509-867 there. Of course, a friendly place to hit. It's just once he got to AA this year, everything kind of fell off a cliff. Hit only 232, slugged only 381. He was 20. And that's a difficult leap up the minor league ladder from A ball to to AA. But I think it did show, I think it did cause me to pump the brakes a little with Braseno and not treated as a foregone conclusion that he's going to be a stud bat once he does arrive or that he's going to be on the fast track or anything like that.

I know baseball America only gives him a 45 grade for his hit tool. So we're talking about definitely a power over hit guy here. But one who should get on base at a good clip, maybe a similar profile to Samuel Bessio, but just lower probability and I think lower upside is Josue Braseno. Another catcher prospect with a ton of power is Alfredo Duno from the Reds turning 20 in January. this season he posted a 430 on base percentage with 18 home runs and a 948 OPS at A ball

more walks than strikeout so he's got a great eye at the plate great plate discipline as well Scott this is a projectable power hitting catcher but he is someone who is further away probably looking at like two or three years down the line yeah I was it was close for me between Alfredo Duno and Yosue Braseno because

Duno is the one getting all the hype right now and for good reason I mean the exit velocities he's able to generate as a 19 year old are what's the word for it

I can't think of the word I want to say but it's impressive we'll just go with impressive and you know reach base at a 456 clip in his final 40 games. So like he seems to be a more mature hitter than you'd expect at his age. He already has major league caliber, eggs of velocities.

And I just think as soon as next year, Alfredo Duno could be the obvious number one catching prospect. Yeah, what they call it when he when he makes contact. Oh. They say first, do no harm. Like, like doctors. I got it. I got it. Like that's what they, like doctors do, do no first, do no harm. And his last name is do no.

Yeah. Well, you do no harm, but you like, you actually want him to do harm. That's true. Well, yeah, but do no harm. Yeah. Like doctors. No, I guess. I'm impersonate.

I'm trying to get hired by Scott Boris. Oh, I see. I see what's happening here. He's, uh, yeah, he's back at it again, winter meetings. We've got some great Borisisms out there right now. According to Prospects, Avant, by the way, Alfredo do know the exit velocities to give you some numbers. 91.2 average, 11.3 max,

and a 14.6% barrel rate. Again, he did that as a 19-year-old this past season. Number five, catcher prospect is Moises by Asteros of the Cubs. 22 years old. We saw him make it to the majors last season as well. In 20 games, he hit 298 with two home runs and an 868 OPS. he's got great contact skills, has some power as well. The problem with him is that he's pretty much a DH already.

It doesn't sound like the Cubs plan to play him at catcher at all, really. They have, I think, like two or three other catchers on their roster right now. So, Chris, I think it's an interesting bat here with Biaseros. I just, I don't know when or if he's going to play catcher. Yeah, I mean, this feels a little Harry Ford-esque, where the path forward might be and probably, will be him getting traded. You know, they really like Carson Kelly after what he did last year for sure.

They've always liked Miguel Amaya. He's pretty young. I just don't know where the fit for Moises by Astero's is. On the other hand, the Cubs were reportedly one of the finalists for Pete Alonzo. So they are not done when it comes to the first base. and I think we can say DH spot as a result, because I feel like Michael Bush probably would have just slid over to DH. And so there's an opportunity here,

and the Cubs don't really seem like they're going to make a big swing in free agency, at least among the hitters. It sounds like they're planning on Owen Casey taking over in the outfield and potentially Kevin O'Connor being a part of it. So maybe they're just comfortable with 2026 being kind of the year they, they hand things over to the kids and see where they can take them. Byesteros, there have been a few other prospects of this type. The high, super, super high contact kind of pudgy.

Catchers, Alejandro Kirk, obviously being one of them. I think Gabriel Moreno and Cabrard Ruiz are kind of different variations of that type. And Moises Busteros is in that group. It's a really good hit tool. there's actually a lot of raw power here 112 mile per hour at max x velo 90.2 average last year and so it's just one he's kind of a spray hitter and he doesn't really elevate the ball to the dangerous parts of the park at rigley field that's kind of a tough trick to pull off anyways he saw paratus learns so this is a prospect type that I'm a little wary of just because you know I

I think even like Bo Naler and Harry Ford to a certain extent fit in this as well, to a certain extent. And it hasn't worked out super well. I don't know if the attrition rate for this type of catcher prospect is any higher than the base rate for catchers. Like they all kind of bust at a pretty high rate. But I don't know. There are enough questions about his playing time. The Cubs seem weirdly unenthused. See, I got the opposite impression.

Okay. And I don't remember what it was in reference to. But I remember reading earlier this all season that they were hoping to get Owen Casey and Moises by Esteros regular or at least close to regular playing time next year. And, you know, if they did sign Pete Alonzo, obviously it would be harder for them to do that. But right now they have room for at least one of those guys. And, you know, to kind of play off something Frank said at the top, part of the way they could get Casey and Biosteros in the lineup regularly is to have Biosteros catch some, not to be their primary catcher, but to catch some.

And so they do have Miguel Amaya too, curious to see if anything happens to him this offseason, that would add some clarity here. But my impression of Biosteros, some of those other comps you used, the great contact hitting rotund sort of catchers. Yeah, the comp you see thrown around most right now is Alejandro Kirk.

Yeah. But compared to Kirk and really all of those guys you mentioned, Harry Ford, et cetera, like Bayeasteros does hit the ball much harder. So I think it's... The comp I've been using as Pablo Sandival who started out as a catcher. I don't think Bayeustero's arm is good enough

to make the move to third base. like Pablo Sandoval did, and the problem with moving to first base is he's so short. It's, you generally want taller guys there who can stretch for throws. So DH might be the only, DH and a bat first backup catcher

might be really the only path by Esteros has to playing time. But the Cubs love his bat, and I think basically every prospect evaluator loves his bat too. Number six, catcher prospect. We have Rainiel Rodriguez of the Cardinals. He's turning, 19 in January, also known for big power.

This season hit 20 home runs in just 84 games, posted a 279 ISO that ranked seventh in all of the minors this past season. He did all of that with just a 17.7% K rate as well. So it's got lots of like here, but Rainiel Rodriguez pretty far away, similar to Alfredo Duno, who he spoke about earlier. Yeah, it is very similar. And part of me wonders why I stuck Moises by Asteroes in between. them because Rodriguez and Duno both well I guess Rodriguez is a year younger he he was he

generated ex of velocities as high as 111 miles per hour as an 18 year old not a 19 year old so also very exciting how hard he hits the ball at such a young age I I guess maybe the biggest difference is Duno is kind of a lock to stay a catcher while Rodriguez still has Still has some defensive questions. Not that he can't sort those out as young as he is, but it does make the future a little bit cloudier. Plus, the Cardinals as an organization are kind of loaded with young catchers right now. Of course, of Von Herrera,

who's expected to spend some time a catcher again next year after moving off of it this year, but also Leonardo Bernal is a pretty good prospect. Jimmy Crooks is a pretty good prospect. I think Fangraphs has three Cardinals catchers in their top 100 at the end, as of the end of last season. But Reinal Rodriguez is by far the best. And somebody who even if he did move off catcher, you could still see being a top 20 overall type prospect someday.

The number seven catcher prospect is Harry Ford of now the Nationals, 22 years old, first round pick back in 2021. We did talk about him the other day. He got traded to the Nationals in exchange for Jose Ferrer made it to the big leagues last season, but only played in eight games. Clearly was blocked by Cal Raleigh. Harry Ford, very athletic.

He has some power and speed. Chris, what do you think the workload looks like for the Nationals next season in terms of their catcher split? Cabe Ruiz, Harry Ford, can some of those guys work at DH? What do you think? So I think the thing you have to keep in mind

with this situation is, one, the nationals do have Cabor Ruiz under contract until 2030. which is a long time. That's a long time. The folks who signed that contract are not in the building anymore. The Nationals completely cleared house. So there is no emotional attachment to Cabot Ruiz,

and he hasn't given them much reason to have a baseball attachment to him either. So I suspect Cabot Ruiz opens next season as the starting catcher for the Washington Nationals, but I would be pretty stunned if Harry Ford was. not on the roster as a backup slash occasional DH slash has he played he's played a little bit of the outfield I want to say there's been talk about him like moving to second base at times in his prospect life much more athletic than the typical catcher which you can see from the stolen base totals and the minors prior to this past year that's the one question I have though because last year he dealt with a leg injury early on in the season that

hampered his athleticism. He only stole seven bases in 2025. Compare that to 35 in 2024. The one thing I wonder, though, is this is this like a bow nailer situation where he's not like Boehler actually was never actually that great of an athlete? He was a decent athlete for a catcher, but he stole a decent number of bases in the minors just because if you want to, you can steal bases in the minors. So that's the question. Kind of get in the majors now too. Well, yeah, but obviously as we see with Bo nailer it doesn't always translate if you're not actually a great athlete and so that's the one question i have with harry for because i feel like a lot of his value is going to hinge on can he be

that like augustine ramirez level out of position source of steals if he can it makes everything else a lot easier because even if he's just like a cabot ruis level hitter um that plays if you're going to steal 15 plus bases as a number two catcher but if you're a five steel guy or a seven steel guy and you're not a great hitter then it's a little more fringy so i think there's a lot to be excited about i think given the depth at the position harry ford's probably going to go undrafted in most 12 team catcher leagues even two catcher leagues maybe in your 15 team leagues he might be worth a very late round flyer but i don't know even then if he's not playing every day it's going to be tough to to to carry that second catcher in those

leagues. So I think he's definitely a name to know. And if we get to spring training and Harry Ford looks like he's just a 50-50 split, then we'll draft him in all leagues. But absent that, I would, yeah, all two catcher leagues. Absent that, I think he's probably more of a wait and see the early season stuff. Yeah. And to your point, there are a lot of teams that need catchers right now. So perhaps the nationals could go out and flip a cabaret Ruiz right now and get something of value for him and then just throw Harry Ford in there. So that's not an expensive contract. Yeah. Like it's eight years, 50 million from when he signed it. I would guess even the most expensive years, I'm not looking at it right now, but I would guess even the most expensive years

aren't more than like eight or nine million. So it's probably, even if he's not a great starting catcher, he might be viable for some teams. All right, let's take a quick break from the prospects. through the news and notes from the day. There's not too much going on. We, again, we had emergency podcast for Pete Alonzo, Schwerbera, and Edwin Diaz, so make sure to check those out. We had some smaller deals. This one, kind of interesting.

The Braves signed outfielder Mike Yistremski to a two-year, $23 million deal with a club option for 2028. He's been consistent the past couple of years. It's a lower batting average. 15 to 18 homers. Maybe the Braves think they can unlock a little bit more from Yistremski, and that's why they said. signed them here. Scott, what do you think the playing time looks like? Is it a strong side platoon?

Is it a fourth outfielder? What do you think for you, Shremski? I don't really know. I don't really know. I think the rest of the offseason will tell us, sort of like their move to pick up Maricio Dubon, is either shortstop, is he a utility infielder. Well, let's see what else they do. And I have that same impression with Yistrimski. The dollar amounts, two years, 23 million is how it's presented. But really it's more complicated than that. It's like a what is it? Nine million the first year, 10 million the second year, and then seven million the third year with a four million dollar bio. So it's that's that's high for a bench player, but it's not unprecedented for a bench player. And the Braves have had depth issues. That was certainly an issue for them last year.

They've really gone thrifty with the bench. So they may have just wanted a high OBP, left-handed hitting fourth outfielder to cover them for injuries or just to spell players as needed. If, however, this is their plan for replacing Marcelo Zuna. That's going to be kind of disappointing. And I don't think it would be on an everyday basis anyway. I think it would be as part of a lefty-righty platoon. Yeah. So we'll see.

I don't I don't think this makes Mike Yistrimpsky anymore. Interesting in fantasy. And he wasn't that. We're talking bench, not even, not even really a bench player in 15 team leagues. It's about five years. It's like AL, ALNL only type. Yeah. I will say he's good against Ritees.

Eight or nine career OPS against Ritees, 648 against lefties. He was amazing after getting traded to the Royals last season. very small sample size, but he had a 356 Wobah. He slugged 500. He had a 263 ISO. It's possible that getting out of left-handed hitter hell in San Francisco, you know, was hiding a better version of Mike Yistremski. But, yeah. The Homoly splits for his career would not suggest that's the case.

It's like a dead even OPS home in a way. Brand of belt always had that too, but it's still, guys generally hit better at home, even in a tough home park. That's just a general rule. So I still think there could be something there. But my initial reaction to this was at least a slight downgrade for the catching tandem. Just because either, like, Mike Oströmsky's probably a better defensive outfielder than jerks and pro far. So maybe they just think jerks and pro far is. DH. In which case, maybe Jerks and Pro Fars the Marcel is in a replacement. And then we're right back at Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy, splitting time behind the plate, in which case, it's going to be hard for them to be top 12 guys. And nobody's drafting Sean Murphy as that or anything close. But Drake Baldwin's like the number eight catcher in ADP. So I think there's a little bit of risk here for Drake Baldwin.

Kyle Finnegan is staying in Detroit on a two-year, $19 million deal. Finnegan did make some changes once he got to. to Detroit and he finished really strong. 150 ERA.7.2 whip 11.5K per 9 in those 16 games. From August on, Will Vest got seven saves and Finnegan got four saves. So Scott, do you kind of foresee another split like that? It's hard to say, but how do you think the Tigers bullpen shakes out? Unfortunately, that's kind of been A.J. Hinch's M.O. Certainly since going to Detroit.

famously each of the last two years he gave someone a save on opening day who wasn't even on our radar, right? Isn't that happen the last two years? I think so, yeah. What's weird about this is they get Fenigan, they give him a couple save chances right away. He's dominating for them because they have him throwing the splitter more, the fastball less. He's actually looking like a legit closer for the first time. But then they go back to Vest, really, for most of August and September. and he's not pitching that well.

But then Vest pitches the better of the two in the playoffs. So who knows? I think if you're going to bet on a Tigers reliever on draft day, obviously it should be late. And I do think Finnegan is the better bet because, like I said, he looks like a legit closer with the changes the Tigers made to his pitch selection. But just given the way AJ Hinch has operated, it's not someone you could expect more than,

than 20 saves from even in even in a favorable scenario the pirate sign left-handed reliever gregory soto to a one year 7.75 million dollar deal this past season 418 era 143 whip over 10k per nine he throws hard most of the time doesn't know where it's going chris any chance gregory soto factors into the pirate saves mix it's one of those situations where i don't think he opens the season as a closer. But if Gregory Soto is the closer by April 17th, that wouldn't really be surprised just because I don't think Dennis Santana is the kind of guy

who's going to take the job and run with it multiple years in a row. I think he's a pretty average-ish reliever despite having a pretty good year last year. So there's a chance Dennis Santana loses the job, but I don't think Gregory Soto needs to be on rosters to start the season. Heck, one week into the season last year, David Bennar was down in the minors. Wasn't triple I.

Anything is possible. The raise signed Stephen Matt to a two-year, $15 million deal. He performed well as a reliever of the season. Good ratios, not many strikeouts. I think it's maybe a multi-enny reliever, maybe a long reliever, something like that. I don't think he really factors into the saves mix there

with the raise. The Angels acquired Vaughn Grissom from the Red Sox in exchange for Isaiah Jackson. Grissom, formerly a top prospect of the Braves, turning 25 in January. Didn't perform all that well in the minors last year. I mean, the Angels are, they're kind of doing this low-risk thing right now where they bring in kind of former top prospects, Grayson Rodriguez and Grissom and Alec Manoa.

And I think they're just trying to catch lightning in a bottle with some of these names. So it's a low risk on their part, but I don't think Vaughn Grissom matters very much right now. Shane Bieber dealt with right forearm fatigue towards the end of last season, and perhaps that's why he picked up that player option. That kind of caught us off guard. We thought he would opt out and maybe get a multi-year deal, you know, 50, 60 million, something like that.

But he picked up that option and perhaps it was due to this forearm thing. So it scares me a little bit. Yeah, let me find the exact quote because there was a piece in the athletic about how opposing teams executives were baffled that Shane Beaver took the option. And I think that was our expectation as our reaction as well.

And there was a, yeah, when asked about Bieber status at the winter meetings, Blue Jays manager Ross Atkins said, quote, he's in a strong position. Though he noted the Jays are taking things week to week with Bieber and could stagger his workload in early spring. Now, here's the part that I thought was really interesting. Atkins said Bieber being ready for opening day is a, quote, very realistic. outcome. Not great. Minor forearm, minor forearm fatigue in October should not have your opening day availability in March in doubt, right?

It sounds like there's some legitimate concern here and kind of makes the Cody Ponce contract make a lot more sense, especially because I haven't really seen much indication that like they're really actively trying to move Jose Burrios, which. kind of felt like the natural response. So I know they've already said Yadio Rodriguez is going to be in the bullpen. They're focusing on him in that role, not returning him to the starting rotation, but they still have six starters. And if Jose Brrios is still on this roster by spring, I think there could be some noise there or some signal there.

I'm not necessarily saying like fade Shane Bieber, his arm is broken or anything, but I think you look at this, situation as a whole and it's pretty worrisome for a guy that i think we we generally have a lot of excitement for in 2026 so um when i first did my starting pitcher rankings he was sp 36 given how globy that tier of starting pitcher is it wouldn't be that hard to move him down to like 50 and it wouldn't really change how i view him all that much but i think i'd feel a little better about that price.

So I'm thinking about doing that right now. All right. Justin Steele will likely return in the first half of next season. He's working his way back from UCL surgery. Not a full Tommy John. It was kind of like a partial reconstruction there. And Aaron Boone said he expects Ben Rice to play a lot against left-handed pitching in 2026.

Yes, please give us full-time first base, Ben Rice with catcher eligibility. Let's take our final- Go ahead. What? I just said, do it. Do it. Let's go. Let's take our final break. We'll be back right after this. Welcome back in fantasy baseball today. We are looking at infield prospects minus shortstop. Let's move on to first base. We do have to keep things moving. We have like eight names in 15, 20 minutes.

So let's go to first base and the number one prospect there. Bryce Eldridge of the Giants, 21 years old, first round pick back in 2023, made it to the majors for 10 games. He didn't perform well. He struck out 35% of the time, but extremely small sample size. The power is massive, earning 80 grade raw power grades at some outlets. Hit 25 home runs last season. And he should be splitting time at first base and DH with Raphael Devers as soon as next season. We've also heard some trade rumors come out with Bryce Eldridge. So where are you at with him for next season and for the long term?

Well, considering that's left-handed, I wouldn't mind him. him leave San Francisco. Now, the power is supposed to be big enough that I don't think the park would hold him back too much. But just historically, that is not a great place for left-handed power bats. Look, he's universally considered a great prospect, and he made it to the majors as a 20-year-old, which is a good indicator. And so I don't want to dismiss any of it. of that. I do wonder if the downside is being underestimated here. If that sentence works, if that makes sense, like are people weighing in, factoring it in enough downside in their

assessments of Bryce Eldridge? Because he's six foot seven, which, you know, you can leverage good power out of a six foot seven frame, but it's also a very big strike zone. It's also hard to manipulate your hands while you're swinging. Six foot seven hitters that are that tall historically have problems, have problems making contact consistently, sometimes so much that they end up failing in the majors over the long haul. We've had successes with taller hitters. And more recently, Aaron Judge, obviously, the most notable six-foot-seven guy there is.

But Eldridge has run very high strikeout. rates throughout his minor league career. And of course, the same was true. The little bit we saw in the majors, 35% rate. Because he just turned 21 years old, I'm not going to say like he can't get better. Obviously, he can. Obviously, all the evaluators think he will. But I guess my approach to him in Dynasty would be maybe a little more cautious than

his prospect ranking might cause you to be. The number two first base prospect is Sal Stewart of the Reds. He's 22 years old, 32nd overall pick in the 2022 draft, a bat first prospect who is expected to hit for batting average in power, chips in some steals as well, made it to the Reds late last season, hit five homers in 18 games, posted huge eggs of velocities.

Guys, Valentine's Day preview, I think I am in love with Sal Stewart. I don't know where he's going to play. I don't really care. I think the bad is going to play. and Great America Ballpark is just a cherry on top. So, Chris, I am very excited about South Stewart. And did you hear the good news for the Reds players

that doubles as the most embarrassing thing a Major League team has reported in a long time? They were apparently in on Kyle Schwarber. They offered Kyle Schwaber like $100 plus million deal. They have no interest in any other free agents. So it was hometown kid or bust? It was no, literally the report that came out from the athletic after Kyle Schwerber signed

was they thought Kyle Schwerber would help them sell tickets and they don't have any interest in any other free agents. I would be so mad if I was a Reds fan and I read that. But hey, there shouldn't be any roadblocks for South Stewart. There's a lot to like here. He was a first round pick, right?

A conditional round, whatever. He was the 32nd pick in his draft. He's put up very good minor league numbers. He was held his own at the major league level, hit for power. Yeah, I think there's a lot to like about South Stewart. It was really tempting to put him ahead of Bryce Eldridge, given that I have some downside concerns for Eldridge. Ultimately, Eldridge's upside won out.

I wasn't willing to go quite so far out on a limb for South Stewart. But I think the upside is considerable because he's always had good plate skills, great walk to strikeout ratios. Like that was enough to get Sal Stewart to the majors probably. But the leap he made in terms of power production last year, average eggs of velocity at AAA 93, Max was 114. Like he was, he was like he has middle of the order power. And it didn't diminish the plate discipline at all.

So he's probably going to be a first baseman. But he definitely has the bat to hold up there, does South Stewart. Number three, first base prospect. We have Ralphie Velasquez of the Guardians. He's 20 years old first round pick back in 2023. Big power bat, hit 22 home runs with an 839 OPS between high A and double A. Scott, this is a name that's a little bit further away, probably 2027 or later on a Ralphie

Velasquez. Yes, but he looks really good. He hits the ball. As hard as you'll find for a Guardian's prospect, they tend to focus more on back control players with the hope of developing power. Ralphie Velazquez has that kind of the kind of power they don't need to develop. Like that's his carrying tool. And so he had to move to first base pretty early in his minor league career.

He started out as a catcher. And usually that's not a good sign when a player has to move to the bottom of the defensive spectrum in the low miners. But between the exit velocities, running low strikeouts rates for as hard as he hits the ball. And it does a good job pulling the ball in the air already at a young age too. I think Ralphie Velasquez is built for power in an organization that is typically starved for power. And I think within a couple years, he'll be a pretty exciting fantasy prospect. The number four first base prospect is Charlie Condon from the Rockies,

22 years old, third overall pick in the 2024 draft. Polarizing prospect, to say the least, his debut in 2024 was awful. And then he did bounce back this season, hit 268, 14 home runs, 820 OPS, dropped the strikeout rate. He went out to the AFL. He only hit one home run out there, but he also struck out to 17% of the time. So I think he was just focused on making a lot of contact while he was in the Arizona Fall League.

And Chris, just the other day, we got a report that the Rockies planned to give Condon and opportunity to win their starting first base job this spring. So we might find out right away, sink or swim with the Rockies next season. Yeah, he was like one of the most productive college baseball players of all time. He hit 37 homers, his final season. Where do you go to school, Chris? The University of Georgia. That's right. Go go doggies. That's not how the bark goes, Frank. guy. He slugged 1009 in his

junior year at college. He hasn't really given us any reason to be optimistic about him since then. At least as a impact player, I don't think he's likely to be a top 100 prospect entering this season. If he is, it'll be on the

very low end. But hey, the Rockies cleared house in their front office and oh God, they sign the Cleveland Browns guy, didn't they? Paul DePoste. I think of them as the Moneyball guy, but if you, if you, if you want to emphasize a lower point of his career, you can. Which is, yeah, Jonah Hill from Moneyball is Ryan Rockies now.

His real name. And I don't know, maybe they'll be less backwards. This was a team that seemed stuck in 1987 in terms of how they approached their entire organization. So maybe just getting a competent coaching staff in front office around him will help Charlie Condon unlock his latent potential. But again, you have to go back to like the spring of 2024 when he was in the southeastern conference to really have much reason to be excited about Charlie Condon, unfortunately. Let's move into top second base prospects. We only have three names here and then one at third base. Again, infield outside of shortstop, not the best.

But number one second base prospect is Travis. Travis Bazzana from the Guardians, 23 years old, first overall pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn't popped in the minors yet. He dealt with multiple oblique injuries this year as well. Only hit 245, nine homers, 12 steals. Scott, how much or have you soured at all on Bazana at from the time he was drafted until now? Oh, I think you have to have soured on him some. He still comes in first year at second base because who else would?

and because there have been enough injuries that we haven't, I don't know that he's gotten a fair look yet, Travis Bazzana. But it's funny, Chris was just talking about Charlie Condon. The big debate at the top of the 24 draft was those two, Bazana and Condon, and they went one and three, and they've both been very disappointing so far to begin their professional careers. But one thing they've both shown is an ability to get a, on base, which is of course a valuable trait.

But Bazana's power has been theoretical rather than actual. There seems like he's had some timing issues at the plate that have kept him from putting the ball over the fence with much regularity. He's also, he hasn't lived up to his base stealing potential, very fast, but just hasn't done a lot of stealing. So the stat lines are underwhelming. I think the skill set is still strong, though. He's going to be 23 on opening days, so he needs to make hay now if he's going to retain a high prospect standing. So I wouldn't be looking to dump him in a Dynasty League, but it's been pretty underwhelming so far. I know hindsight is 2020 and the MLB drafts is a complete

crap shoot, but I'm looking back at the draft order now. Nick Kurtz went forth in that trap. Well, yeah, it's kind of crazy. I think what Bazana highlights is hit tool is really hard to project. Even with all the advanced stats we have and everything, it's just when you're carrying tool is the hit tool specifically, and Jackson Hollidays is another recent high profile example where like if you're, it's really hard to be like a 70 great hit tool player. And if that slides to like 55, still above average, but not great, all of a sudden, it's really hard.

I'm not saying that's necessarily what's happened with Bazana, but it's just, it's been a, like with Charlie Condon, a pretty rough start to the professional career. Although Bazana's been better. I think we should note. The number two second base prospect is Michael Arroyo from the Mariners. He's 21 years old. He's known for power and speed. This season in the minors hit 262, 17 home runs, 12 steals. production actually came down from 2024 to 2025,

but Scott, he's still very young. What do you think the upside here is for Michael Oroyo? So he kind of had a rude awakening once he got to double A this year, which was who was that I was saying that for a minute ago? Wasn't the catchers, right? Briseño. Yes, way of Brasania, same sort of thing. So Michael Oroyo was punching above his weight in the lower minors.

I think he's only five foot nine. So pint-sized, and yet he was delivering much more power than you'd expect from any second basement, much less one that small, got to AA, Homer just two times in 250 plate appearances. So what kind of upside does he have? Well, I think we're still trying to figure that out. He was young. That leap from high A to double A is a tough one. So I'm giving him benefit of the doubt as he makes his return there this year.

But if he doesn't show improvement from those 250 plate appearances, then it's going to be harder to call Michael Arroyo a top 100 prospect. All right. And number three, second base prospect we're going to talk about here is Tommy Troy from the D-Backs. He's turning 24 in January. He was a first round pick back in the 2023 draft. He is an older prospect who's put up some interesting numbers in the minors this past season, 289, 15 homers, 24 steals.

Smaller dude, lax exit velocities, but Chris, the debacks, love this kind of prospect. I don't know for some reason, just the small, compact, like you can get everything out of the bat, really fast. They love a prospect like this. So I don't want to put anything past them. What do you think about Tommy Troy? Well, and a lot of smoke on Ctele Marte trade rumors.

So there could be an opportunity for Tommy Troy right away. Obviously, it depends what they get if they move Cotelmarti. Tal Marte, but this is a guy I suspect I'm going to write about in the waiver wire portion of the newsletter about 87 times the next two calendar years just because I really, really enjoy these really productive, under-hyped guys in the minors. And I think the chances that he ends up being an impactful fantasy option are not super high, but I don't know. He gives me some Matt McLean vibes.

not necessarily meant to be the criticism that it now sounds like. I think he can be a pretty fun little middle infield option if he gets the opportunity. Arizona is a good place to hit. Obviously, it would be a much worse lineup if Coutel Marte is not there. But they always seem to score a lot of runs over there in Arizona. So I think he's pretty interesting, a name to keep in mind, especially now that he's played 38 games at AAA. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets, you know, 400 plate appearances in 2026. Let's wrap up with one more prospect here.

One third base prospect. There's not many to talk about. And that one is Jacob Reimer from the Mets. He's turning 22 in February. Fourth round pick back in 2022. Above average hit tool with some power, hit 282, 17 homers, 15 steals between high A and AA. Scott, it's a profile that looks like it can develop into a solid major league.

I'm not sure it's like a star or all-star type profile, but perhaps someone that can turn into just a solid regular in the majors. When you hear Jacob Reimer, do you think Attack on Titan or is it just me? Honestly, I didn't think about it until you said it right now. I don't know that one. Well, anyway. Catch up Chris. Rimer kind of reminds me of Sal Stewart pre-breakout in that he's good at getting on base. you he's he's got these hitterish qualities and you see power beginning to to like bubble up here but it's not fully realized yet so he's not getting a lot of attention as a prospect just kind of on the fringes of being a top 100 guy um but you know the Mets are down a corner infielder now and so if mark vintos and or brett baity doesn't cut it Jacob Rimer could could move quickly particularly if he doesn't

does take another step forward with the power production. Yeah, I think he's a pretty interesting bat at a position that doesn't offer many. I mean, look, we're batts in the miners. We talked a lot about third baseman and second baseman on Monday's podcast. They're just called shortstop for now. Yeah, exactly. That's some of those shortstop prospects. J.J. Weatherhole probably probably going to barely scratch the surface of the shortstop prospect pool, by the way.

We probably left some, uh, something. on the vine there. Yeah, like, we didn't even talk in depth about Luis Pena. We just went into your top 10, right? So everyone go on the site and you could check out. Scott has done these long, amazing write-ups for every position. So make sure to check out all those articles. Before we wrap up here, we do have a special guest that we'd like to bring on here.

The author of The Lead Off Man, it is Matt Snyder. Matt, welcome to the show. Hey, thank you so much for having me, guys. I have so much gratitude for you allowing me to come on here and promote this individual project. And I did want to say, as a long-time fan of the show, that I'm in a league at home. We have a 15-man league. And I think it's kind of a rare thing because we do total points cumulative for the whole year. I don't think there's that many leagues that do that. But in particular, there is a regular listener of the show named Kevin. And we do an in-person draft with the draft

board and the stickers and the whole deal. And last year, as he went up to draft Jr. Cameraro, as he was going up to get the sticker. You can probably see where I'm going with this. He was playing the Junior Camonero song. He was like holding up his phone and playing the Junior Camero as he went. So I'm looking forward to him watching this episode and seeing me on here. Hit it, Frank. Hit on the arrow.

Truly is one of the best things we've ever done. That's for you, Kevin. Yes. And honestly, what an amazing draft picket was by Kevin. Yeah, I was. I mean, yes, stellar. You guys were spot on as usual. You can catch Matt writing about baseball on CBSSports.com.

Make sure to give him a follow on X as well at Matt Snyder, CBS. Let's talk about this book, The Leadoff Man, very cool concept given the history, the evolution of that spot in the lineup. Traditionally, you might think of guys like Ricky Henderson or Lou Brock, but over time, we've started to see more sluggers occupy that spot. I mean, nowadays we have Kyle Swarber. We just saw the Toronto Blue Jays go deep into the postseason with George Springer as their main leadoff hitter.

So talk to us a little bit about the evolution and what you learned while writing the book. Yeah, so it was during the 2024 playoffs. I had long wanted to do a book and was like, it's getting, I mean, I'm pushing 50 at this point. Like, I'm not going to do a book now. I'm probably never going to do one. So I looked at Louisa Rise. You've got empty batting average guy, no walks, very little power, very little base running ability,

as you guys full well know in the fantasy world. He's just batting average. Then on the other end, you've got Kyle Schwerver with a low, batting average all the strikeouts. He doesn't run and everything and he has all that power. They're both hitting leadoff. And I just looked at that whole field of lead off men and thought, this is incredibly diverse. And it perfectly illustrates the evolution of the leadoff man from the early days when it was supposed to be a little guy, a slap hitter. Then you had the 50s, 60, 70s. It had to be a guy who stole a ton of bases. And now we're getting the point where we are seeing

power hitters hitting a lead-up spot. And there are some people who say you should just bat your best hitter first because he bats the most. So I went through the evolution there. I did some fun interviews in there. Actually, John Smoltz, unsurprisingly, very much railed against the nowadays, the analytics and batting your best leader lead off and was trying to convince me that he would so much rather face Kyle Schwerber leading off than Brett Butler, for example. Talk to Joe Mauer, talked to Johnny Damon, got some good stuff. I did one section on if the evolution had happened sooner, quicker, what guys through history could have been good leadoff men?

Ted Williams, I mean, 482 on base percentage career. Come on. He should have been hitting leadoff for a lot of his career. Talked about Tony Gwynn. I mean, in 1987, Tony Gwynn hit 370 with like a 455 on base. He stole 56 bases, and they hit him third all year. I mean, why? Why are you hitting Tony Gwyn third?

And then I end up with ranking the greatest lead off men ever. I have a top 20. And I did honorable mention by era, like the Dead Ball era, the pre-integration, post-integration, pre-DH. And I end up with like the steroid era and then the post-steroid era. And over 85 dudes, just talk about dudes, tell stories. Speaking of telling stories, there's also a chapter with like the most fun moments, the best moments. Got a chance to talk to Dexter Fowler, for example, about his game seven lead off. off home run in 2016.

So a lot of stuff that hopefully a lot of people will like and hopefully we'll go pick it up. I'm going to ask. Ricky Henderson number one. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. And that was like one one fun thing is every single guy that I interviewed, I would mention like,

I'm working on a book on lead off men. They'd be like, oh, you got to talk about Ricky, right? Like, hey, of course I'm going to talk about Ricky. And like when I talked to Johnny Damon, I was wrong about this, by the way. But I said, I think I might put you in the top 10. all time, he ended up 11. So I guess I, sorry, Johnny. But he's like, oh, you're ranking?

Well, Ricky's won. And I was like, yes, again. But it was cool how adamant every single person was. Like, because Ricky is, it's kind of rare, isn't it? In sports, when you're ranking the best, like, everybody's just adamant. There's one gold standard and there's not much argument about it. Well, because no matter which standards you use, you want the speedster at the top. in the 80s or you want the high OBP guide today or even you know you want a lot of power at the top yeah

I mean he has the the record for mostly off home runs right I think George springer's coming up on him but I think that's and not only that the only guys who walked more in their careers than Ricky it was like Barry bonds Ted Williams and Babe Ruth I think Ricky was fourth of him and like that's a guy you're desperately trying not to walk and he still walked that many times yeah that's that's a double yes ridiculous. Everybody else, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams,

you're trying not to pitch to them. Ricky, you are trying to pitch to him and he still walked that much. That's true. That's true. I've wondered this, and you kind of brought it up with Smoltz.

I don't know what his reasoning was exactly, but I've wondered this. Like, I don't doubt that the math supports batting Aaron Judge leadoff or your best hitter leadoff. I don't doubt that at all. But I do feel like

the game loses some charm when there aren't like these different roles phenotypes yeah kind of like like you have these these slots that you're you're putting

certain player types like the table setter should be one yeah before you get to the thunder the math and and that's why no team does it anymore has shown that that's not true that it shouldn't be that guy

but I kind of just prefer it you know like just as a matter of preference. I totally see where you're going here. We got used to growing up. I'm a little older than you guys. But you put like the speedy guy lead off, the guy who can bunt second, and then you get to the thunder.

Right. But there are like I went through so many old box scores and splits and everything. And it's for example, one of the things that caused me to do the guys who should lead off chapter is there was a tweet bouncing around last, I want to say early last season. And you guys probably saw it. where Barry Bond's first year with the Giants, 1994, he hit fifth all year. Fifth! He was the best player in baseball, and he hit fifth.

Darren Lewis let off. I honestly can't even remember who hit second. I wrote the book. Will Clark hit third, Matt Williams hit fourth. And what I argued is, if you're so married to Will Clark third and Matt Williams' fourth, which is totally justifiable, why isn't Bond hit first or second? Yeah. I mean, you're costing yourself 80 plate appearances.

a year for Barry Bonds. It's insane. Yes. 100%. I was going to ask like, so I feel like my, the animal part of my brain was just imprinted in 2003 that the way you're supposed to build a lineup

is specifically Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo at the top of your lineup. Yeah. Like those are like the ideal one and two hairs. Juan Pierre is in here. Well, that, he, he was, was so much fun. And so that was kind of my question. When you think about a lead off hitter on whatever team you, and we can go around and all say what ours is. But like for me, it's like when I

think of a lead off hitter, it's Juan Pierre. Just because that was the first great leadoff hitter that my team had. So obviously not Ricky Henderson. But like who is your first leadoff hitter? Kenny. Kenny Lofton. Yeah, yeah. Kind of a poor man's Ricky Henderson. He was great. Yes, I hit lead off in high school in the mid-90s. I was in class of 97. And I always like, if somebody said, who do you want to be? I would be Kenny Lofton. I hit left-handed.

I had speed. I had some power, but not a ton. I played center field a lot. I just, Kenny Lofton is who I wanted to be. And honestly, different topic. But I do make the argument that it's egregious that Kenny Lofton is not in the Hall of Fame. Ridiculous. Yeah.

I think on the first ballot, too. Yeah. The thing about Kenny Lofton is he'd probably be a lead-off hitter still today. Yes. He'd be one of those guys that you still think he's kind of an old-school lead-off man, but he also still works today because he's so good at getting on base and so good at stealing bases. He had in, oh, was I looking at slugging there? Okay, okay.

The on-based percentages weren't quite as ridiculous as I was thinking, but it was routinely over 400 in his early years. I mean, I think that adding average carried it a lot, didn't it? Like he hit for such an average. He didn't walk a ton. He walked enough. True. True.

He was still, he's a guy who could still work today. You're getting on base more than 40% of the time. You better be batting first or second. Absolutely. But I think of more like a Lance Johnson or the first lead off hitter. I can remember for my own favorite team, the Braves, Otis Nixon. Just a guy who'd put it in play and try to leg out in field singles, you know. There are a lot of guys.

I think especially it sounds like Towers is probably going to agree with me heavily here. There are a lot of guys who let off a ton who I said would have been much better served to hit ninth at their time. Like low on base, very good base dealers. Yeah. Put him ninth. Don't waste that first to play to parents. And then have all the thunder one, two, three, four. And if he gets on base and he can steal, now you've got the thunder coming up behind him.

Hey, Juan Pierre was putting up like 37380 OBPs when he was. It was all bad. batting average. He was hitting like 310, 330 every year. But those couple of years, he was really good. Man, there wasn't a lot more fun than watching Juan Pierre lead off the game with a butt single and two steals. He was a great prototypical. No, I'm talking about like a Gary Pettus type. Yeah. Devon White type who had some power. But low average, low on base, he could steal bases. Just put him ninth, man. Again, that is Matt Snyder, the author of The Leadoff Man. mean the most important question, where can people buy the book? Yeah, it's on only Amazon. I had to

self-publish it. So just Amazon, Amazon.com, type in the leadoff man, or you can go to any of my social media pages. I think the easiest one is X at Matt Snyder, CBS. And I have a pen tweet right there at the top that you can click through and buy. Yeah. Again, guys, thank you so, so much sincerely. It's a great pleasure to come on and discuss with you. I can't thank you enough. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for promoting somebody and that sounds like an amazing work here. So shout out to your league mates.

We'll see who drafts Junior Camerro next season. So make sure to go on. We'll be Kevin again. Make sure to go out and get the lead off, man. Great gift for this holiday season. We are going to wrap there for Matt, 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. We will be back again next week. Bye-bye. Thank you.