Fantasy Baseball Today - Prospect Report: Esteury Ruiz's Speed & Bo Naylor Hype (7/9 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: July 10, 2022

Download and follow Fantasy Baseball Today in 5! You can find FBT in 5 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else podcasts are found. When might we see Miguel Vargas with the Dodgers? Esteury Ruiz is on pace for how many steals!? Nolan Jones is enjoying a bounce-back season while Bo Naylor could join the Guardians in the near future. 'Fantasy Baseball Today in 5' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get 20% off Fantasy Baseball Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-baseball-today?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-baseball-collection Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 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

Is Miguel Vargas coming soon? Let's discuss on fantasy baseball today in five. Welcome in to FBT and 5. As always, make sure to follow and stream us on Spotify. Today is Saturday, July 9th. I am Frank Stanful, joined by Scott White. Five prospects on the verge of getting the call. Miguel Vargas with the Dodgers, Max Meyer with the Marlins, Jared Kellnick with the Mariners, Estuary Ruiz, with the Padres, who apparently is on pace to steal like 120 baseball. and the newest edition, Alec Berluson, an outfielder with the Cardinals.

Scott, tell me about Vargas. Can we see him soon with the injuries there? And anything else you have on these prospects? I mean, I hope so. I thought we might see Vargas before Mooky Betts made it back because the Dodgers had begun experimenting with Vargas in the outfield and they were using some pretty crummy outfielders while Betz was out. But now Betz is back.

and Vargas remained in the minors. And then Chris Taylor, Chris Taylor, another one of their outfielders that are actually decent, he broke his foot. And so, you know, I believe Vargas got another start now field that same day. And yet he still isn't in the major. So I'm starting to lose hope here. In my experience, when you start to lose hope, that's when they call them up. So I'm going to fight that urge to lose faith and continue to recommend Vargas as a stash.

His numbers at AAA have been impressive, particularly when you factor in the strikeout rate. And yeah, the Dodgers have a need, I would say. Let's see. So you mentioned Estuary Ruiz is on pace for like 120 steals. That would be if minor league seasons were like 150 games long, They're not, but over what would be a full major league season, that's the kind of pace he's on. Now, there have been some rule changes in the miners that assist with base dealing in a meaningful way,

but I don't think anybody's overestimating Ruiz's speed here. He's very fast. He's become a more disciplined hitter this year, and that's allowed him to tap into a bunch of tools that were always there. but I think most people have given up on, you know, as they say, development isn't linear. And I think Ruiz is a testament to that. And, man, the Dodgers are starting Mazara and Trent Grisham. I mean, Trent Grisham's numbers are awful.

They got to knock them out soon if they want to keep pace with the Dodgers. Let's see here. Alec Berluson, this is a new one for the Cardinals. He's batting around 340 at AAA, and it's closer to 3.8. 80 since about the start of May. And left-handed hitter, numbers against lefties are worse, as you'd expect, but makes a lot of contact and without sacrificing power. His ISO's around 225, which is good, doesn't walk much at all, and can't really play anything but a corner outfield spot. It's kind of, they already got Juan Yuppez they're trying to fit into their lineup.

Otherwise, I think we would have seen Alec Burleson by now. But having said that, I think it'll still be sooner than later because he is just not slowing down at AAA. All right, the five prospects on the periphery. These are prospects doing something of note. As of late, Oswald Parraza, shortstop with the Yankees. Bo Nailer, catcher with the Guardians, actually brother of Josh Nailer in the same organization.

Tyler Gendry, outfielder with the Royals. James Wood, outfielder with the Padres. who is just a massive human being. And Nolan Jones, an outfielder with the Guardians. What do we have with these five? So yeah, Nolan Jones, you might remember as one of the top third base prospects, as recently as a year ago,

had a terrible year. I think everybody kind of wrote him off, missed the start of this year, recovering from ankle surgery, but has come back and it's hitting the ball pretty well, good on-based skills, good power, potentially. So in Dynasty League, you know, he might be worth a second look.

James Wood, you mentioned he's a massive human being, six foot seven. That's kind of like the high point for, you know, between O'Neill Cruz and Aaron Judge. That's like as tall as we can imagine a baseball player being right now. And like those two, Wood leverages that size very well for massive power. And strikeout rate is shockingly low this year. He looks like he's going to be a consensus top 100 prospect here in the not too distant future. Oswald Parraza got off to a slow start for the Yankees at AAA affiliate this year.

Kind of like another shortstop prospect of theirs at double A, Anthony Volpe. Both of them have turned it around recently. Parazza is closer to reaching the majors, obviously being at AAA. Isaiah Kiner-Falephas provided a lot of defensive value, but very little offense. We could see Paraza before the year is done.

And just real quickly, Boehler, Josh Nehler's brother, as you mentioned, a catcher, a catcher with good contact skills and can run a little bit actually. So very different from his brother. He got some hype as a teenager, didn't live up to it. But it looks like he's kind of stopped selling out for power. And it looks like the Guardians catcher of the future because of it all the way up to AAA now.

All right. Well, yeah, hopefully that future is soon. I think we're kind of tired of seeing Austin Hedges or whoever else they're throwing out there. So let's get Boehler in the lineup. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to the fantasy baseball today. podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, your smart speakers, or anywhere else podcasts are found. And thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball today in five.

We'll be back again on Monday morning. Bye-bye.