Fantasy Baseball Today - ADP Battles & Top Prospects to Stash! Where to Draft Bobby Witt Jr.? (3/29 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: March 29, 2022

Bobby Witt Jr. has looked great during the spring. Where should you draft him (1:05)? ... Let's jump into ADP battles, starting with Cedric Mullins vs. Teoscar Hernandez (7:30). ... Battle of the teammates: Xander Bogaerts or Trevor Story (10:36)? ... Pitchers! Julio Urias or Zack Wheeler (13:30)? ... Ketel Marte or Jorge Polanco (16:08)? ... We have more pitchers: Carlos Rodon vs. Alek Manoah (18:55). ... Let's say you miss out on third base early, Justin Turner or Matt Chapman later on (24:22)? ... Podcast points league announcement! ... News and notes (30:56): Luis Castillo and Luis Urias will both start on the IL for their respective teams. ... Spring training: what's up with the velo for Ryan Pressly and Noah Syndergaard (40:55)? ... What is the ADP for the top prospects in the game (43:46)? ... Who are the top prospects to stash early on (48:54)? 'Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  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/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday 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. What's up and welcome in to Fantasy Baseball today on Tuesday, March 29th. Frank Stamphill joined by Scott White, and we have a little something for everybody on today's show. ADP battles, prospects to stash.

The latest news, noes. and spring updates, some injury updates as well, some unfortunate ones, we'll get to it, some relief pitcher conversation as well. Plus, we're going to announce who is in our 12-te-to-head points listener league, which will be drafted this Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

I'll save that for a little bit later on. But Scott, we're going to talk about prospects later on. I wanted to start with the very top, the top of the top, and that is Bobby Witt, Jr., because I feel like we haven't talked about him in a while, and he's having a pretty damn strong spring. the ADP 102.8 for Bobby Witt right now. He's going in the ninth round of 12 team leagues.

So far in the spring, he's 8 for 18, two homers, one steal. Last year, 33 homers, 29 steals. What do you think it's got? Would you actually pull the trigger and draft Bobby Witt yourself in the ninth round of 12 team leagues? Ninth round. I mean, look, it's fine for him to be drafted that early. I haven't drafted him yet.

I'm trying to think of what I'm normally looking to do around the ninth round and I don't know I don't know that there's something I'm normally looking at it so maybe I need to consider

it stronger yeah I mean at this point you mentioned the spring stats eight for 18 right you said yep he struck out once and 18 at bats like he is doing everything right

you know 18 at bat sample you could put that caveat on anybody's numbers in this very short spring training, but like it doesn't seem to be a question anymore, will he be on the opening day roster? It's like he's, he's so decisively answered it that I fully expect him to be there from the beginning and kind of pick up third base eligibility soon, which will be great. Oh, yes.

Probably going to steal some bases. Yeah, I mean, maybe I start, maybe, I don't know, we're doing a rotomoc tomorrow or today, I guess, depending on when you're listening. maybe I'll try to make a play for Bobby Witt in that one. See how it goes. All right. Yeah, Bobby Witt, he's going to gain third base eligibility. As you mentioned, Scott, and he's going right around Anthony Rendon.

I mean, who would you rather have between those two? Two very different players, obviously, but. Yeah, I think Witt. I think Witt for the stolen bases, the fact I expect he'll provide more power than Anthony Rendon will. Now, if you're talking to points league context, maybe you've got to give Rendon the edge there because of the plate discipline, but obviously you're not looking at points ADP,

so that's a different situation altogether. All right, so we're going with Bobby Witt over Anthony Rendon in category leagues, but not yet in points leagues. Again, the ninth round. I mean, it's a close call. It's a closer call there that I'd say than in the five-by-five leagues. I was going to save this for later, too, Scott, but I was just doing a 15-team salary cap draft,

and there were all these fun prospects that were going later on, and they were going for cheaper than what I thought they should, And it got me thinking, like, how many prospects can you actually leave a draft with in your lineup, right? Because you also have to factor in playing time, whether or not those players are actually going to be on the roster on opening day. So I wound up with O'Neill Cruz and, like, Alejandro Kirk, if you still consider him a prospect. But I wanted other guys, too. Like, I wanted the tigers I was looking at. I was looking at Joe Adele as well.

But I didn't know, like, how many is too many. Do you have, like, a steadfast rule? Look, all the ones you mentioned, I guess, except O'Neill Cruz, I expect to be on the opening day roster. So, you know, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Obviously, they have to perform, and we've been let down by the performance of the top call-ups each of the last two years. On the whole, anyway, there have been some exceptions, players who have lived up to expectations, more or less. But I think, I think 2022 is going to be a banner year for prospects. I think we're still getting past the bottleneck that developed during that short 2020 season

when there was no minor league ball at all. And obviously there wasn't a lot of games for players to progress. Last year kind of became a catch-up year for a lot of these guys. And we didn't see as many promotions as I thought we could. I was actually before the podcast working on a piece of the top 10 prospect stashes, leaving off all the guys that I expect to make the major league roster. I was having a hard time narrowing it down to 10, you know, because there's so many guys on the verge of breaking through.

So I get the temptation. And I'm normally, you know, 15-team league you're saying, especially in those deep leagues. I am all about filling up my bench with prospects, with any form of upside, really, but especially prospects that I think are going to be, up sooner than later. I think that's why I've struggled in whenever I've played in a league that uses

the NFBC website, because one of the quirks of NFBC is there are no IL spots, players get hurt, obviously. And if your bench is full of players that are unused or unusable in the immediate term, you know, normally if a player gets hurt, you can put them on an aisle spot. You could pick up somebody else to replace them, but that's not the case in those NFBC. league. So I've had to kind of adjust my strategy regarding the stashing of prospects in that particular league. But otherwise, I'm all for it. All right. Yeah, look, it forces you to make decisions for sure when there's no IL. Obviously, anyone listening here, if you have the ability

to add IL spots to your league, you should have at least two, but, you know, I think as many as four, five, the way that players are kind of frequently thrown on the IL now. I think that makes sense to do. And in Roto leagues, in Roto leagues, I'm used to five. And, Actually, you know, the two big 15-team Roto leagues I play in NFC, not NFBC, but TGFBI, which is hosted by NFBC. And then Tout Wars, they're on opposite ends of the spectrum. There are no limit to the number of players you can stash in an IL spot in Tout Wars, which is awesome. I definitely prefer that to none. But yeah, if you're looking for middle ground, I think in a Roto League five is perfectly acceptable.

Yep. I also think it's going to be a bounceback year for prospects, Scott. I mean, a big reason you mentioned, no minors in 2020. So coming off of that season last year, entering 2021, it was definitely a weird year and a very weird transition. And we heard multiple prospects say that, and coaches, that this was the hardest jump from AAA to the majors than it's ever been. So I think, you know, that will get a little bit better this upcoming season.

Let's get into some ADP battles, lots of people either drafting this week or next, which definitely makes sense, wait to draft as late as you possibly can, because things are still happening. Injuries are taking place. And, you know, we're learning about prospect promotions and demotions. So wait to draft if you can. So these are some of the tough calls that you'll have to make. And let's start in the third round, Scott, with two big name outfielders here.

Cedric Mullins with an ADP of 33.4 and Teasca Hernandez, who's going just one pick later, 34.2, is the ADP there. Teasca Hernandez finished as the second overall outfielder last season, the eighth overall player in Roto leagues. 3.4 fantasy points per game. He was awesome. 32 homers, 12 steals. But so was Cedric Mullins. The only 30-30 player in baseball last season.

He finished as the sixth best outfielder, the 20th overall player. Scott, who would you rather have? Cedric Mullins or Teasca Hernandez? I'm sure I rank Cedric Mullins ahead, and the easy differentiator would be, okay, well, Cedric Mullins stole 30 bases last year, and that's the stat that's most in demand in categories, leagues, right?

not that to Oscar Hernandez is a zero but he had 12 versus 30 you know I think what makes it a close call though is the lineup context because even though Cetrick Mullen's the only 30 30 guy in baseball last year as a lead off hitter he scored only 91 runs which on its own isn't a bad number

but when you consider the numbers he put up where he was batting in the line it's like only 91 runs and then he drove in 59 He had less than twice as many RBI as home runs. And I don't see the Orioles lineup being much better this year. Obviously, Teosker Hernandez in the Blue Jays lineup, I mean, sky's the limit in terms of the runs in RBI he could deliver. So I think I still lean Cedric Mullins,

but he's been a player that I haven't been as enthusiastic about drafting in recent weeks as I was early on. Yeah, he's someone that's been slowly dropping down. ADP, Cedric Mullins is. And, you know, I've been kind of wary of him all offseason, Scott. He was originally in my bus 1.0. He overperformed his expected stats on stat cast, and he did regress in the second half. He had a lot of infield fly balls in that second half.

It's something that Cedric Mullins has struggled with throughout his entire major league and minor league career. So there are just a few things there that I worry about. And of course, the lineup context, like you mentioned. Yeah, I mean, I actually, I think Cedric Mullins is good. I'm pretty confident he's good. You mentioned he took a step back in the second. half, he hit 260 instead of 300 or whatever. And like for the power and speed he's going to provide

and continue to provide in the second half. I think 260's fine. But, but yeah, I mean, that, I don't know. Somebody pointed out to me once when we were having a conversation about Cedric Mullins, the fact he had only 59 RBI last year. And I guess I hadn't really considered that before, hadn't noticed it. And it's, that's what really changed my thinking. All right. So you're still go in Cedric Mullins regardless of format, but it's close. Yeah, I think so. All right, let's move on to the Boston Red Sox. Now teammates, you might have to make this decision.

Zander Bogartz at pick 39.2 and Trevor Story at 39.8. So nearly going identical. Of course, Zander Bogart's shortstop eligible. Trevor Story going to gain second base eligibility. So he'll have both second base and shortstop. Scott, something that you've referenced many times. Zander Bogartz fell off a little bit in the second half last season. Overall, it was still a.

a fine season for him. 295 batting average, 23 homers, 90 run scored, only five steals. And then Trevor's story, you know, uncharacteristic down season for him as well. Maybe, you know, playing for the contract, kind of got in his head a little bit, but 251, 24 homers,

still provided 20 steals, and finds himself in a pretty good landing spot here with the Boston Red Sox in Fenway. So who would you rather have Bogarts versus Story? You know, I don't mean to split the baby here, but I think I'm going to go Story in Roto and Bogarts and points.

Is that a real saying, Scott? Or did you just make that up? Split the baby. Yeah, I've never heard it. Yeah, I think so. I don't know if I used it right, but... Anyway, I just want to make sure the rankings

back up what I said. And of course, they don't. Yeah, no, I've struggled with that range of the shortstop rankings all along because I don't think, like, Andrew Bogart's earns high marks for consistency, but I don't think he really stands out

from the shortstop crop all that much. And, yeah, obviously I was concerned about story leaving Colorado. And I still think that's a consideration, but Finway does seem well suited for him. It also has the effect of boosting BABIP because you've got a lot of cheap hits off the green months. It's, and then it's very, it's an expansive outfield in right center. Kind of like Coors Field is expansive.

So you get some hits that drop in there. And, you know, he's going to provide steals in a way Bogart Swans. So, yeah, yeah, I'm going to say story over Bogart's in five by five. Okay, but Bogart's in points. Yeah, I played disciplines, I think, enough to set them apart there. Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, it was still strong last year. 10% walk rate, 18.7% strikeout rate for Zander Bogarts.

I think your explanation, Scott, is perfectly fine. I think in points leagues, I'm with you. I would go with Bogarts. And Trevor Story, look, it's hard to find someone that has 20-20 upside. Even if you, I think if you look at what he did last year, like that's a pretty fair baseline, 250, 25-ish home runs, 20 seals, and maybe even builds off the batting average a little bit. Again, playing now in Fenway.

So I would take Trevor's. story in Roto Category leagues as well. Let's move over to starting pitcher here, Scott, and this one is kind of interesting because obviously, Zach Wheeler, you know, still kind of working his way back from the shoulder injury, but the news has been good for him.

So Julio Reyes with an ADP of 27 versus Zach Wheeler with an ADP of 28.2. I believe they went $1.00 apart in the draft that I did on Monday night as well. I think it was 23 for Wheeler and $24 for Julio Reyes. Scott, who would you rather have?

between those two. Wheeler. Wheeler, yeah. For me, the shoulder is a non-issue. It hasn't hurt. It hasn't actually hurt for him since December. I think that's part of what's getting lost in the Wheeler conversation. He's just behind because of it.

He had to stop throwing, doing his usual throwing in the off-season and has since started to throw again. So, I mean, before there was any mention of that shoulder issue, he was going at least a round ahead of Julio or Rias. There's more strikeout potential there. And obviously he threw a lot more innings than Arreus last year. Could that number come closer if he's held, if he's limited early on? I guess it could come closer, but I don't see Julio Arreus approaching 215 innings the way Wheeler was able to last year.

Yeah. Look, I would take Zach Wheeler as well. I think I recently moved him back ahead of Julio Arreus in the ranking. I just, I never find myself drafting Aria Scott. Have you drafted him really at all this offseason? And I think he's a talented pitcher. We've been waiting for this breakout for years. It's finally happened.

But now he's like in the third rounds of draft. So do you ever actually draft Hulio Reyes? Yeah, I have before. I don't have him been thinking of the league we're actually playing out. But in Mox and such, never a high priority for me. And, you know, usually comes down to Alcantara versus Arias. I prefer Alcantara. Right.

But if I haven't to be drafting behind somebody else who also prefers Alcantra, you know, typically this year I've been beginning my drafts regardless of the scoring form and I've been beginning them hitter hitter in the first two rounds. Not always, but that's my preference, given how the player pool shakes out this year. So I'm often looking to draft a pitcher in round three. Not always, but often. And so, you know, I'm a little surprised I haven't gotten. more Arias considering.

But usually there's, you know, lately there's been Wheeler who's lasted until there, until then. And Alcantra, like I said, is often there as well. All right. Let's talk about some second baseman here, Scott. Cotel Marte has an ADP of 77 and Jorge Polanco going just three picks after him at pick 80.2. Cotel Marte actually signed a five-year, $76 million contract extension with the Arizona Diamondbacks, which honestly is probably not the best for his long-term value, but he has succeeded there in spite of the venue and the lineup that he's a part of.

Last season for Cotel Marte, 318 batting average, 14 homers, 52 runs, 50 RBI, and just 90 games. Injuries have been an issue. Jorge Polanco, he was awesome last year. I think an underrated aspect is that he was awesome back in 2019 as well. So the last two full seasons for Polanco, he's finished 24th and 57th overall respectively. So he's been pretty damn good. Scott, what do you think?

It's El Marte versus Jorge Polanco. I think I'll go Caltele-Marte here. I just think the ceiling is much higher and Chris has spelted it out. Many times before, in terms of expected batting average, you won't find anybody with a higher mark. You won't find many people with a much higher mark thing Katel-Marte has. And, you know, I don't trust. Polanco to hit 33 home runs again.

I think more realistically, mid to high 20s is what we're looking at from him. And Catel Marte should be about there too if he manages to stay healthy. So, yeah, I'd rather go Catel Marte. And I do want to mention, because since you brought up the contract, he was buying, the Diamondbacks were buying out years of a previous team-friendly deal. Cotel-Marty had signed. They had team options through 2024. The highest among them was only 10 million.

So, yeah, I mean, that that was kind of factoring into the negotiation, too. And I think two total years got added for like $40 million or something like that. So that's, you know, maybe you're like, why didn't he signed for that much? Well, that's part of the reason. All right. Can tell Marte, yeah, he just has to stay on the field. So he only played 90 games last year, as I mentioned. But on a per game basis,

3.2 fantasy points per game last season. That's a great mark. It was tied for 7th at the second base position. You mentioned the expected batting average. 307, 98th percentile, just awesome for Cote. So stay healthy, and I do think the ceiling is higher as well. Polanco leaned all the way into this pole-heavy fly-ball approach. And it worked well for him.

It's just can he maintain that power production? and, you know, I do have some question marks. So better batting average and potentially similar power for Cotel Marte and Jorge Polanco this season. Next up, we have another starting pitcher battle here. Scott Carlos Rodon, who has an ADP of 90.8 and has been on the rise, now with the San Francisco Giants, of course.

Going up against Alec Manoa, one of the young guns, one of the hype guys in the industry, right? Manoa, McClanahan, Trevor Rogers, Till and C, those are like the four young starting pitchers that seem to be elevated around the industry. Scott, who would you rather have? Carl Sordane or Alec Manoa. Okay, so I'm going to do a little,

I don't often engage in this exercise, but I'm going to do a little Player A, Player B right now. Okay? You ready for this? You ready for this? Dan, I'm ready. So Player A last year had a 237 ERA, a .96 whip, 12.6K per 9.

237. 0.96 12.6. That's player A. Player B last year had a 243 ERA, a .94 whip, 12.6K per 9.

So 243. 094, 12.6 versus 237. 0.96.12.6. Hard to tell those players apart, right? Right. Player A was Carlos Rodd. player B was Corbyn Burns, an Elsa Young winner.

So, I mean, like, there aren't, I'm not sure there's a pitcher whose stats come closer to what Burns did last year than Rodon. I mean, obviously Jacob de Grounds were awesome, but he was injured for half the year. I think given that Rodon has come into spring training hitting 98 again after experiencing that dip in velocity last September, that alleviates a lot of the concerns I had and kind of does away with that pessimistic ranking I had for him initially. I almost think I haven't ranked too low, frankly, because Carlos Rodon is legit.

So, yeah, going with him over Manoa. Look, Rodon, I don't think there's any question of, I mean, the talent, what he did last year, he finished as a top 12 starting pitcher in Roto, despite throwing just 132 and two-thirds-endings pitchers. Think about that. He was a top 12 pitcher with that inning total. And he was top 12 in terms of fantasy points per game as well.

So, like, there's no doubting. The talent, the numbers that Carlos Rodan put up last year, it's just a matter of can he stay healthy for a full season? And, you know, he's kind of betting on himself to do that. I think there's some kind of clauses involved in his contract where if he hits a certain amount of innings, it activates like the second year for however much money it is. But basically betting on himself and trying to, you know,

hit that total again, at least 130 endings this upcoming season for Rodon. Scott, your overall thoughts on Manoa, I feel like I haven't heard much from you about him this off season. I think obviously he's a mounted of a man, he's a huge human being, he throws hard, he's got this nasty slider,

but he's kind of got like the two-pitch thing going on. He's got two fastballs, a four-seem, a sinker, and then he's got the slider, but I kind of worry, is that enough? Is that enough for Manoa to be successful? I'd think it's enough. He was pitching pretty deep into his starts last year. Sure.

Remember, he was, he first popped on our radar last spring because, like, he kept facing the Yankees and was just, they couldn't touch him. And it more or less continued once he arrived in the majors. Now, so I would say, I would say Alec Mnonew is my favorite of the sophomore, the exciting sophomore pitchers, which includes like Trevor Rogers and Shane McClanahan. like Manoa the most of that group, but there is reason for concern with all of them. And I think the reason for concern with Alec Manoa is that, well, his ex-fip was 417. He puts the ball in the air a lot and yet averaged less than a home run per nine last year.

So did he have good home run luck? Maybe. I mean, I think he could. he may just be one of those pitchers who allows a lot of weak fly balls. His XERA for what it's worth was only 332, and that's measuring quality of contact in a way X-FIP doesn't.

But to be consistent, I prefer X-FIP normally, and his was over four last year. So we'll see if he can do that again, or maybe if he gets those ratios so that it's not so fly-ball-heavy. Maybe he can take a step forward that way. The walk rate was also a little high. high, but that's, you know, for a pitcher who misses, a young pitcher who misses so many

bats, that's, uh, that's kind of par for the course. But overall, you know, I'm pretty excited about Alec Manoa. I just think there are usually, you know, usually I'm in the range he's going. I'm looking at draft like a Carlos Rodon or Justin Verlander. I'd rather get somebody a little more proven who still has scintillating upside in his own right. Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say. There's a lot of pitchers going in that range that you like.

I think, I think Charlie Morton versus Manoa is actually pretty close in ADP, though, obviously, Morton has been on the rise as well. Actually, no. Morton is 71.8. Manoa is 91. All right. So I just lied. Don't listen to anything I just said. The last one here, I wanted to mention. Third base, let's say you miss out on Devers and Machado. You miss out on Chris Bryant in the mid-rounds. You find yourself just waiting and waiting. And then you get to a round pick 140. And you've got Justin Turner versus Matt Chapman. Scott, I feel like this is a classic case of safety, high floor versus potential upside in Matt Chapman, if he's healthy this year, obviously in a much better environment now with the Toronto Blue Jays. What do you think, Turner versus

Matt Chapman? Yeah, I go Matt Chapman. I go Matt Chapman in the hopes that he another year removed from that torn labrim and his hip surgery repair it, that he's got the strength back in his lower body, he's able to drive the ball like we're used to seeing, and the strike. He's made this case himself. He's saying all the right things, all the things you want to hear. And if that's the case, you know, a potential 40 homer bat in that Blue Jay's lineup, I mean, yeah, I think especially if you're talking like a 12-team context, I'd always go upside at that stage of the draft, I would say. If it's 15 teams or deeper, you know, you can't count on finding

replacements on the waiver wire as easily. Then maybe you can't afford to take such a big risk. But even then, I still think in this particular case, I'd go Chapman over Turner. In the second half last season, the surface level numbers did not bear this out, but Matt Chapman was hitting the ball very hard. His barrel rate in the second half was sixth highest among qualified hitters. So he was putting the ball in the air. He was hitting it hard. The result's not necessarily there. He's got to cut down the strikeouts. Those have been a massive issue for Chapman, even before this hip injury that he was dealing with. So let's get those strikeouts under control. And if that's the case, could do a lot of damage in that blue-jew- Yeah, I'm trying to remember what I read,

but he was explaining why the hip, and obviously the hip started hurting before he had the surgery. He was explaining why the hip was responsible for the strikeouts, but I can't remember exactly How he connected those dots. All right, so just to recap these ADP battles that we did, Scott's taking Matt Chapman over Justin Turner, Carlos Rodon over Alec Manoa, Catelle Marte over Jorge Polanco, Zach Wheeler over Julio Arias,

Zander Bogartz in Points League, Trevor Story in Roto and Categories, and then Cedric Mullins over to Oscar Hernandez. All right, the moment you may have been waiting for, maybe not everybody, but some people are. Our head-to-head points podcast league, Who will be the participants? This Wednesday, March 30th, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

There were obviously nine spots available because some young chaps, Scott White, Frank Staple, Chris Towers already occupy the league. But nevertheless, here are the nine that will join the league and I'll reach out to you after this podcast. I'll get your email addresses. I'll send you invites to the league, so on and so forth. And we'll have some fun.

All right, so drum roll please. Joel Woods, you are up first. I might butcher this name, but anti-Jurisen. I think that's how you say it. Mary Wilkes, Scott Wolfe, Nick Waterbury, Garrett Hoff, Kevin Richardson, Jamie Campbell, and Neil Kaplan. If I just said your name, I will be reaching out, and we will get your email, we'll get you in the league.

We'll have some fun that draft again. This Wednesday, March 30th, 9 p.m. Eastern Time. That will be a live draft that we're doing here on the podcast as well. So make some content out of it, have some fun. And if you are still trying to join our other listener league, that is a 16-team Headset Categories League, that will be drafted the following Tuesday. Next Tuesday, April 5th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time,

and we're still accepting submissions for that. So if you have a song, Photoshop, anything that you want to send in, maybe not anything. But, you know, PG-rated. Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com is the email address there. What's up, Scott? Are there any fun songs or poems or anything to share from this first group? Kevin Richardson, Mary Wilkes, they come up with anything good?

Yeah, they did. There was so much great stuff. And for those out there, I was talking to Scott beforehand, I legitimately have gone through every single submission. So I do appreciate them. There has been great stuff, great songs, great poems so far. Honestly, I had a really busy day, so I didn't set them up for today. I'll play them.

I'll play them on. on maybe like as the lead-in to the mock draft on Wednesday or maybe on tomorrow's podcast, but I will play them. There's a few songs. There was an awesome poem in there. I believe Mary was the one who sent in a poem. So I'll get those ready for our next podcast and I'll read those and we'll have some fun there. And last but not least, we just hit 10K YouTube subscribers. Thank you so much for all the support. And as a result, we're going to be giving away a free Fantasy Baseball Today hoodie. So, if you are watching this or you are listening to this,

hop on to the video version, comment, just leave your Twitter handle. Don't put the little at symbol because it kind of messes everything up in the algorithm. But just leave your Twitter handle and you will be eligible. I will choose one lucky person and we will get in contact with you. I'll DM you on Twitter and then we'll send you an FBT hoodie as well. All right. There was a lot going on there, but thanks again. 10K YouTube subscribers.

nice little milestone. Let's take a quick break. Scott, when we return, we'll hit news and notes and then top prospects to stash here on fantasy baseball today. All right, so let's get into some news and notes. Louise Castillo and Mike Minor are both expected to open the season on the injured list with their respective shoulder injuries. And Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Inquirer reported that Nicola Dolo and Hunter Green are still battling for the opening day rotation, Scott. What do you think happens here with those pictures? prospects. Yeah, so I haven't been giving them that much of a chance of making the roster, but they're still in it, obviously, and I think maybe I should. Like I said earlier,

I was putting together my top 10 prospect stashes at the start of the year. So that requires me to make some judgment calls in terms of who I think is going to make the Major League roster, because they wouldn't be stashes if they did, right? They'd just be contributed. And I decided to exclude Nicodolo and Hunter Green from consideration because I think it's a I think it's probably a 50-50 chance at this point. Maybe even better than that for Nick Lodolo, actually, that they're on the opening day roster. Well, you know what? Green's the one on the 40-man roster right now. So maybe it's unfair for me to say that Lodolo has the better chance might be about equal for each of them.

And I do wonder, you know, because when everybody's healthy, there's not room for both Lodolo and Green. So do they want to start something that they may not be able to see through the Reds, I mean? I don't know. But at this point, I think there's a good enough chance of them making the opening day roster that I'm going to leave them out of the prospect stashes piece. In addition to like the Phillies shortstop prospect, Bryson Stott, I think, you know, Alec. Boehm coming off a bad year and hasn't done anything this spring either. It sounds like Stott has a chance. Even if he doesn't beat out D.D. Grigory is a shortstop.

He might make the team as the third baseman. I'm leaving out Julio Rodriguez. I'm leaving out Spencer Torkelson and Riley Green, who looks like you can pencil those two tigers in. They appear to have the job, basically. So, you know, I don't know how much the, in the CBA, the, the, service time manipulation incentives that were worked in.

They didn't sound like much. I wonder if they are having some kind of effect here because I feel like we're seeing more top prospects under consideration, serious consideration and not just, you know, oh yeah, not just lip service and we all know how it's going to play out, but seriously it looks like they could make the team. I feel like we're seeing a high number of those and a usually high number of those for late in spring training.

I wonder if maybe they're doing this because it was under such, under a microscope, I feel like more than ever before, right, with all these CBA negotiations. And it was, you know, a very legitimate talking point. So maybe, maybe that is the case. Scott, if you just had to draft one of these guys for now, who would you rather take a shot on Nicodolo or Hunter Green? I will say, I don't know.

I mean, it's so close. I'd rather take the shot on the one who I think has the job, but as I just pointed out, it's not so clear who would be the frontrunner there. I'll say Lodolo, I guess. All right. Pirates manager, Derek Shelton, plan to split the closer duties between David Bednar and Chris Stratton,

which is exactly what we want to hear for a team that's projected to win, I don't know, 65 games this upcoming season. So, Scott, I mean, what do you take away from this? Because, look, Bednar is the better pitcher, but we all kind of thought that, You know, with arbitration, maybe they'll kind of limit him a little bit so that, you know, he doesn't have to get paid as much. I don't know.

It's messy, man. And they're on a bad team. I kind of just want to steer clear of all of it now. Yeah. Now, I mean, does split mean 50-50? Because they split after Richard Rodriguez was traded last year. It was a 70-30 split, though, in favor of Stratton. So I don't know if it's just going to keep going that way.

and look, there's always a chance. I would even say the likelihood that even if a manager, even if it starts out as a split role, the manager gets comfortable using one in one situation and another in another situation. It becomes not a split role anymore. But I hear you. Yeah, bad team.

One of those relievers is not really closer caliber to begin with. so it's it's kind of there with i guess you know i the tiger's situation i'm not sure that's ever going to be one guy versus the other so i don't know i guess i put the pirate situation on equal footing with that one where there is still some hope for clarity at some point but the tigers are fringe contenders and the pirates aren't yeah look if you're drafting just one of them David Bednar is the name to draft because I think the ratios will be better. There will be more strikeouts. And if it's a split, you're at least hoping it's a 50-50 split and maybe even better in favor of David Bednar.

So if you're drafting one, it's Bednar. If you're in a really deep league, you know, you can target Chris Stratton very, very late in your drafts. Evan Longoria will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a ligament in his right index finger. And Rasta Resource now has Wilmer Flores, penciled in to start at third base for the Giants. though they have a lot of names on the bench, Tyro Estrada, Maricio Dubon. So, I don't, there's not... Tommy Lestella, just return to the lineup in spring training. Is there anything to see here, Scott, with this injury?

I mean, how into Heaven LaGoria were you? It doesn't sound like it's going to be a long-term absence, but part of the reason I couldn't get that excited about, hey, look at how high he ranks in average exit velocity and hard hit rate, and he's among the top 10, is just because, like, I just, I don't know how much he's going to be in the lineup, really. You know, he wasn't, he hasn't been much the last couple years. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of the same issue for him and Brandon Belt.

I like Brandon Belt, the player. He was awesome last year when he was on the field. It's just how much is he going to be on the field? Those are legitimate questions. Andrew Vaughn will miss one to two weeks after being diagnosed with a hip pointer injury. My man. Unfortunately, Luis Arias will begin the regular season on the 10-day IL, with that strained left quad.

The Braves, Scott, I saw this today, are leaning towards using a six-man rotation early on in the season. They have 14 games in 14 days before their first off day. So I guess they're leaving open the possibility of Spencer Strider or Tucker Davidson being involved there

in a six-man. Yeah, I mean, I'm rooting hard for Spencer Strider. I think he's the long shot, but I think he's the upside play. his swinging strike rate in the minors last year. It was Jacob de Grom levels. I know he was getting the pitching ninja hype on Twitter this afternoon. He made a start.

Look, the stuff looked great. He walked two and two and a third innings. So is he ready to step into a big league rotation yet? Maybe not. I mean, he started out at low A last year and then made it all the way up to the majors by the end. but definitely keeping an eye on Spencer Shrider at least and

you know if they do start out with a six-man rotation that means the competition is going to continue for those first two turns through anyway Chris Archer signed a one year three and a half million dollar deal with the twins he was very bad last year 4.66 ERA 1.3 for whip the velocity on the fastball was down two miles per hour Christian Javier

if you were excited about him potentially being in the rotation. Doesn't sound like that will be the case as he's expected to start in the bullpen. And I guess that means Jake Oterreezy will be the fifth starter to open the season for the Houston Astros. Oh, I almost fell out of my chair. What did just happen?

That was scary. You know, honestly, these like office chairs got that like roll around and stuff, they could be a little scary, you know, if you lean back too far. So, all right, I got to take it easy. I'm good now. Albert Pools is coming home. He signed a one year, $2.5 million

contract and will likely be a D.H. Platoon partner with Corey Dickerson for the Cardinals. So, not really much to see there. Maybe N-O-only leagues. Padres reliever, Luis Garcia, has been shut down from throwing due to a side issue. And Justin Upton started at first base on Monday. And Scott, I'm wondering if that could lead to a platoon with Jared Walsh. So, you know, another reason to, you know, we already don't like Jared Walsh much for fantasy this season and could lose playing time as a result of that. Yeah, we haven't talked about it to the extent we have like Jesse Winker, but Jared Walsh's platoon splits are pretty terrible last year.

Oh, yes. And, you know, Joe Madden was actually talking about it, about the possibility of platooning him. And it sounds like, yes, that's something they're thinking about doing, but also that they want to give him another chance first, too. So I don't know. I don't know exactly what that looks like if he's sitting against tougher left-handers at the start of the year, but also starting against some and maybe earning at bats against more as the season plays out, maybe losing at bats. If Justin Upton appears to be

able to handle first base and is productive somewhat at the plate. So yeah, it's another risk factor for Walsh, as if there wasn't enough already. All right. Some spring training performances as I wanted to mention, Ryan Presley threw a clean ending on Monday. His fast ball was down almost three miles per hour. Slider was down four miles per hour compared to last year. Apparently, he's a slow starter. A few people pointed that out to me on Twitter. Just something to keep in mind.

Let's watch Ryan Presley's velocity moving forward. Another pitcher velocity to pay attention to Noah Cindergarde made his spring debut. He allowed one run over three and two-thirds innings with four strikeouts. Jeff Fletcher, who covers the Angels, said that Cindergards fastball was 93 to 95 miles per hour. in the start back in 2019, his last full season. Cinderguard averaged 97.7 with the fastball, Scott. So does this maybe knock off some of the sleeper appeal, I guess, for Noah Cindergarde? Yeah, he's already going so late.

He's going the last of the trio coming back from Tommy John surgery. I mean, Justin Verlander is as well. But, you know, I think of it as more of a trio because I have so few doubts about Luis. about Justin Verlander. It's Luis Severino, Mike Clevenger, and Noah Cindergarde. And Cindergarde's already going the last of that group. He has good secondary pitches. And the results have been good.

I know this was his Cactus League debut, but the results, I guess he pitched a minor league game earlier. The results were good in that one, too. And there's always the possibility that he's not going 100% here during spring training. So I think there's enough risk already baked into his price that I'm not freaking out about this. But it's not optimal.

I'd rather him be averaging 97 right now for sure. Yep. Noah Cindergarde, the ADP is 192.4. So he is going very late in drafts right now. Julio Rodriguez went two for two with a double, a walk in RBI and a stolen base. I was watching this game. He looks ready, man. I don't want to overreact, but yeah, bats that I saw.

He was just composed, pitch recognition, looked like it was there. He showed off some plate discipline with the walk that he had. He had a double. It was like a frozen rope. Laser to the outfield. Then stole a base once he got on. I don't know. He looks ready, man.

There's a lot to like there with Julio Rodriguez. Marlon's pitching prospect, Edward Cabrera, through three no-hit endings with three strikeouts on Monday. And according to Joe Frissaro, Cabrero was averaging 97 to 99 miles per hour. with a fastball in the start. He's someone I know Chris has talked about quite a bit. So let's watch what happens with him. Last one I wanted to mention, Glaver Torres.

The past couple of seasons have been brutal for Glaver Torres. He's having a good spring so far. So he's 8 for 19, two homers, one steel. Maybe if he can refine some of that glory that we saw back in 2019. He could be a steal where he's going in draft. So let's just see how Glaver Torres closes out the rest of the spring. All right, Scott, you mentioned a bunch of prospects earlier who you did not include,

in this article, article that you have coming out, top 10 prospects to stash. These are prospects that you don't think are going to be on the opening day roster. However, I did want to quickly take a look at some of those names. We spoke about Julio Rodriguez just now. We mentioned him on yesterday's Sleeper podcast. You want to look at some of the names that I do think

are going to be on the Major League roster that I excluded from consideration in my article, just to be clear. Correct. Yes. And I just wanted to quickly bring up their ADP. So Julio Rodriguez, again, 262.4. Scott, you're all over it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think he's got the job.

I'll be surprised at this point if he is not named to the opening day roster. And, you know, that's kind of reading between the lines from some on the Mariners beat and from some comments from Scott's service and Jerry DePoto. But as he said, Frank, I mean, he looks ready and he's that caliber of prospect

that you expect to reach the majors at age 21 and skip AAA and all. all of that. So yeah, I am, I'm thinking he's a great value. All right. The two Tigers prospects that you expect to break camp with the team, Spencer Torkelson has an ADP of 231, Riley Green down at 299.6. Scott, what do you think about the respective costs for those two? I think they're still on the low side. I'm surprised there's such a separation between Torkelson and Green. Torkelson is a more, uh, I guess polished patient hitter.

You know, I worry a little bit more about the strikeouts with Green, but it's not like he's raw. You know, it's not like it's Jazz Chisholm. In fact, his hit tool is considered his best tool. He also brings a speed element that Torkelson doesn't. So I think Riley Green should be drafted about the same range as Joe Adele, maybe just a little after Adele. and Torkelson should go a little earlier than the two of them, but not that much.

All right, the Tampa Bay race, Shane bought someone who collectively, we were, I guess, as an industry, excited about just based on the stuff, right? He looked awesome last year when he pitched, but just recently underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. They say that he's going to be ready to throw in two to three weeks. I'm not sure how much I buy that, Scott. I think they're going to be pretty cautious with him. but the ADP has been dropping 154.6 for Shane Buz.

Are you still taking him there, or do you need him to slip further in order to stash him to start the season? I think I moved to, I think I moved him to about that range. Yeah, it might take me a minute to pull up because it's hard to just hear a number out of the blue and know exactly what range that is. But Shane Baz, I moved him to 164, So a little behind that.

Okay. It's pretty close, though. The next one up, you mentioned Bryce and Stott. Scott, I mean, he is having an awesome spring. He went three for three on Monday. I think he's batting something like 500. He's been awesome so far. He's playing shortstop.

He's playing third base. He had an awesome AFL, Arizona Fall League. Remember, we had the Welsh on in the offseason, and he was raving about Bryce and Stott as well. I wonder if they're actually going to give him a shot out of the gate, right? Like, what does that look like? Is that just, you know, benching D.D. Gregorius or Alec Bone?

Yeah, or maybe even sending Bohm to the miners. I think they, I think, I think he's kind of broken right now. And obviously they don't want to give up on that potential, but he's looked pretty awful this spring after

struggling all of last season. And now they have Stott doing what he's doing in spring training. Stott might profile similarly in terms of expected production, like good plate discipline guy should get on base a lot. Is the power going to be better than average?

You know, he might threaten for 20 to 25 home runs, but he might fall short of that too. And, you know, if that's the case, how valuable is he going to be in fantasy? I don't know. I don't think he's going to like break into the top 12 of a shortstop or anything, not given the current state of the position,

but he should be, he should be useful. Yeah, in leagues where you start a middle infielder, he definitely could have value in those. So, you know, typical.

And then if he makes the team at third base, which seems like the more likely scenario, obviously he'll be picking up eligibility there. So I don't know, maybe, and I'm not particularly high on DJ LaMayhew, but maybe that's the range I drafts thought. You know,

maybe target him about like you guys were targeting Louis. Luis Arias before, which I wasn't in favor of. But Stott, I don't know. I like that a little more for Stott. All right. Let's get into your top 10 prospects to stash. And again, these are the names that you're not expecting to be

on the opening day roster for their respective teams. And O'Neill Cruz, Scott, is someone we've talked about all spring. He's flashed us easy power. And he's a gargantuan human being, six foot seven, shortstop, playing a little bit of outfields, so they're trying to find ways to get him. in the lineup. When he comes to the roster,

it seems like he's going to be, he's going to provide power and speed from day one. Yeah, yeah. And obviously he made headlines this spring with both of the home runs he hit. They were both about ankle high and he still sent them out of the park with ease. I've mentioned before

baseball America released their top 100 list. Just as a separate article. The top 100 with the average exit velocity for each hitter. O'Neill Cruz is far away at the top of that list, 94 miles per hour, average exit velocity. I don't think anyone else. The entire top 100 is higher than 91.

And then you have O'Neill Cruz at 94. And he stole bases at an even better rate than he hit home runs in the minors last year. I don't know if that's going to translate, but he's at least fast enough to run. So yeah, they'll send him down to the miners. Maybe he comes back as an outfielder, maybe as a shortstop. But in any case, I don't think it'll be long. And I think the rewards will be well worth the stash. All right, let's talk about Adley Ruchman, the top catcher prospect for the Baltimore Orioles.

And he's got an ADP of 216. He was awesome last year. Really, really strong plate discipline as well. In addition to a hit tool and power, which should play well, obviously, with the Orioles. kind of wish that they didn't move the fences back, but should be fine regardless here. Scott, where do you find yourself drafting Rutchman, if anywhere? Because I feel like when we talked about him in this offseason,

it's like if you draft him in a two-catcher league, you either have to start him and just take a zero for one of your catcher spots, or you have to have three catchers on your roster. And I don't know that you want to do that. And then if you draft him in a one catcher league where typically you have shorter benches, you might want like pitchers.

with upside in like a head-to-head points league, for example. So where, if anywhere, do you see yourself drafting Adley Ruttsman? So I'm thinking this list is not particularly relevant to anybody whose league is smaller than like 300 players rostered. So the standard 12-te-21-man roster for a head-to-head points league like we do is 252 players rostered. Maybe the top one O'Neill Cruz deserves to be stashed away in that format. but I'm not sure anyone else on this list does.

There's just too many good players to fill too few roster spots, you know, to devote one to somebody who you won't be using until who knows when, you know. But usually when we're talking to 12-team Roto League, we're like, that's like 360 players rostered. And if you're talking about a 15-team Roto League, that's 450 players rostered. Or somewhere in that neighborhood anyway, it depends how many bench slots you have. and then it becomes you know it becomes much more possible

comes much more doable much more advisable to stash away some upside for later so I would say roto leagues or any rhodo leagues or maybe deeper

head to head leagues are where I'm looking to stash rushman or anyone that follows him on this list all right let's see a look at Jose Miranda who is a third base prospect by trade for the twins

but they don't really know exactly where he's going to defensively yet. He could play second base. You know, maybe they just move him around a little bit. He's a utility guy. Last year, fantastic for the Minnesota Twins in the minors, of course. 344 batting average, 30 home runs, a 973 OPS for Jose Miranda. Scott, I mean, what's the latest? What do you have here?

Because I feel like after the trade went down with Isaiah kind of for Leffa and Josh Donaldson, you know, there was some optimism. Where are you at now with Jose Miranda? Well, then they signed Carlos Correa. Of course, yeah. I put it into that because obviously Miranda wasn't going to play shortstop, but he could have taken over at second base with Jorge Polanco going to shortstop or at third base with Giorchella going to shortstop.

Now that's not going to happen. But he is one breakaway from break again, basically, I think. He's already mastered AAA, at least offensively. He's at the right age for a call-up. It's going to happen sooner than later. And I don't know where he's going to wind up. He's just a DH because defensively, that's clearly what's holding him back. But the good news is no matter where he winds up,

he's already locked in at third base in terms of eligibility this season. And that's the position where we need Jose Miranda the most. All right. Let's take a look at the first pitcher on this list. And that is Mackenzie Gore with the San Diego Padres, who, look, as recently as last year, he was still one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. And then the top pitching prospect, I would say.

Yeah. And then basically just fell apart. I mean, mechanics last season. Velocity was all over the place. I think he had the yips. There was a lot going on with McKenzie Gore last year. And now he showed up to camp. He's made two spring training starts.

He's allowed one hit over five scoreless endings with seven strikeouts to zero walks. Apparently, pump in upper 90s as a left-handed pitcher here. I actually forgot. I drafted him as well in that 15-team salary cap draft, which I mentioned earlier. So I have him and O'Neill Cruz, There's two players on this list.

So there's lots of like, Scott. I just, I don't know if they're going to push him for that fifth starter job right out of the gate. Probably not. And that's why I have them on the stash list here. I think if they hadn't made a four-year commitment to Nick Martinez coming over from Japan, I believe it is, this offseason. If they hadn't committed four years to them, they kind of need to give him a shot in the rotation now. But if they hadn't done that, Gore might be the front runner for that fifth starter job because, like he was thought to be on the cusp

heading into 2020 the pandemic short in season apparently that's when the troubles began and there was no minor leagues like we already talked about that season so it was all happening behind the scenes and everyone was wondering why isn't Gore here yet and then we found out last year that he was a mechanical mess

but yeah it looks like he's fixed now and the upside is still evident so you know as soon as an opening develops in that Padres rotation, I think, I think Gore steps into it. All right, let's move on to Nolan Gorman, who is a second base prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals. And Scott, I mean, does an injury need to take place here?

Or do you think it's as soon as, let's say, Paul DeYoung just gets off to an awful start? Maybe they move Tommy Edmund over to shortstop, something like that, and they call up Nolan Gorman. How do you think he gets to the Cardinals this season? Well, he was in play for the DH spot initially, but he did not put his best foot forward this spring. He struck out in like half as a bat's so far. And then, of course, they signed Albert Puhl.

So it looks like they have a plan for DH now. It doesn't include Gorman. But I think once he proves that he's ready, and he finished strong at AAA. He's kind of gone through this thing every step up the minor league ladder where he gets to a new level. And he struggles. He's striking out a bunch.

And then he suddenly figures it out and gets hot. And then they quickly move him to the next. level. It's why his minor league numbers, if you look at them, they're kind of underwhelming. It's just because, like, once he catches fire at a level, they move him up to the next one. And that's why he's on the cusp of the majors here at 21 years old. But, you know, he's going through that now in spring training, the same initial struggles. So they'll send him back to AAA. Hopefully, since it's a return trip there, he dominates right away. And they're looking to get him back on the big league roster. And I think if that, I think that could happen just,

by, okay, Tommy Edmund, you're a super utility guy now. You know, it's not like Tommy Edmund is an indispensable part of the line. I mean, I know he's bat's leadoff for them, but it's not because he has amazing on base skills or anything. It's a good contact hitter who runs, but he's not somebody who has to be in the lineup every day if they feel like they have a quality alternative. All right. Let's take a look at some Royals here, Scott, outside of Bobby Whit Jr. who is regarded as one of, if not the top prospect in baseball, along with Julio Rodriguez. But his soon-to-be teammates, MJ Melendez and Nick Prado,

MJ Melendez, a catcher with a ton of power. Nick Prado, a first baseman, also hits for power, can sneakily steal a few bases as a first basement as well. And honestly, both of these guys got were having awesome springs so far, too. I saw they were just reassigned to minor league camp on Monday after But M.J. Melendez, 7 for 17 with a double, a home run, two walks to four strikeouts. And then Nick Prado was five for 15 with a triple, a homer, six walks, nine strikeouts. You don't love to see that.

And a stolen base. Is this another case where as soon as these guys are ready, they just take over at first base and, I don't know, D.H., respectively? I mean, you could argue they're ready now, based on how they look this spring. and both of them put up huge numbers of AAA last year. They didn't start out of AAA, but once they got there, they continued to deliver. And the Royals haven't been an organization that has held, obvious, that has obviously,

has engaged in that sort of obvious service time manipulation that you see with other organizations and their top prospects. So I think what's happening here is just, they want to give Carlos Santana another shot at first base, he was terrible last year, but they signed him to a pretty big contract before then, and they're not ready to move, not entirely ready to move on yet. And of course, for MJ Melendez, there's the complication of Salvador Perez, the best catcher in baseball, plays the same position as him.

So I think they're going to give MJ Melendez a little more exposure to third base, maybe some at first base, so that he can come up and fill in at the corners and at catcher and maybe some at DH. you know, whenever Melendez is catching, presumably Salvador Perez starts at DH. And then at some point, Nick Prado will join as well. And he could, like, they may give him some reps like in right field. I know he's gotten some looks there already. And just to make them both a little more versatile so that they aren't confined to using them in these spots

where it may be harder to find at bats. So that's how I imagine the early season playing out. And I don't know how long they're going to be able to hold these two down. It may only be for the first three or four weeks, you know. That's obviously why I think they're worth stashing away, waiting for them to come up. I never thought I'd say this, Scott, but it feels like we're about to enter a time period where the Royals are, I have serious questions about their pitching staff, but they might just out slug everybody with like all these prospects coming. They still have like some pretty

decent bats on the roster now too, but there's a lot of upside here in this lineup within, you know, really this upcoming season. So, and then we didn't even mention Vinnie Pasquantino, who's, you know, coming shortly after those guys too. So a lot to like with this. And a deep name Michael Massey, a second baseman. Internally, they've, they've liked to compare him to Chase Utley. That's probably, that's probably an exaggeration. But he's a mid-20s guy who, was in the low A last year and put up, like they, they overhauled their hitter development, uh, staff. I think heading into the 2020 season where there was no minor league ball because they were

dissatisfied with the way hitters like Prado and Melendez were developing. And clearly they've turned the corner as far as that goes. So they have a lot of, uh, they have a lot of hidden gems beyond these two in the Royals organization. All right, Scott, talk to me about the last two names on this list. from the American League East, Tristan Casas, a first base prospect with the Red Sox and Grayson Rodriguez, a starting pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, a ton of swinging miss potential with him. Tristan Casas, I like Scott, but it feels like the Red Sox really like Bobby

Dolbeck too, and they're trying to find ways to keep him in the lineup. They mentioned they could play him at like second base and move him around to the outfield and stuff. I don't know, but anyway, yeah, Tristan Kossis and Grayson Rodriguez. Yeah, I mean, they're exploring those options because obviously they know Tristan Kossis is coming. This begins the range where it's a little bit harder to justify stashing these prospects, even in some of those leagues where 350, 360 players are rostered, because the timetables are, you know, the others are basically about to break through the door already. And I think Casas and Rodriguez, they still have to force the issue a little bit.

But, you know, they're at the right age, the right stage of development where, you know, they go on a hot streak down in the miners and people are going to be clamoring for them to get the call. Kossis has been compared to like every stud first baseman of the past few years, Freddie Freeman comparisons. I've seen Joey Votto comparisons for him. Just a great all-around hitter, a disciplined hitter. and power beyond what the numbers say last year

because I think he hit, what was the stat I pulled up for Casas? It's right here. So he had 14 home runs overall and 380 bats, but seven of his home runs came in his final 20 games, and then there were three additional home runs that came from his time in the Olympics. So it was actually 17 home runs in however many of bats,

if you include the Olympics. So, yeah, I mean, he's great. And Grayson Rodriguez is arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball. I know his, he made, he made one start this spring and it didn't go well, but whatever. He'll be up soon enough. I did want to mention his teammate too, by the way. D.L. Hall, another pitching prospect. He dealt with some arm injuries last year, but he pitched on Monday through just one inning.

He averaged 99 miles per hour with his fastball. That was on 11 fastballs that he threw. So serious gas from D.L. Hall. I think we could see him at some point this upcoming season as well, although not as much of a priority, not on this list. All right, Scottie, there you go. We got some prospects, we got some ADP battles. We're going to rant there.

For Scott, I am Frank, thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today. We'll be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.