Fantasy Baseball Today - Top Catcher Prospects, Dynasty Trade Targets & Arizona Fall League Updates! (10/19 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

The top catcher prospects don't seem as exciting as previous years (4:30). ... Ethan Salas and Samuel Basallo are two teenagers you need to know (7:25). ... Will Harry Ford move off catcher (14:10)? ... What to know about Jefferson Quero, Kyle Teel and Kevin Parada (20:15)? ... Buy-low on Dalton Rushing and/or Diego Cartaya (25:35)? ... Cole Carrigg is such an interesting prospect (30:35). ... Which catchers could make an impact in 2024 (38:22)? ... Can the Dbacks get back into the series (43:21)? ... Which catchers should we look to buy or sell in dynasty (51:05)? ... We wrap up with Arizona Fall League updates including Kyle Manzardo, Jacob Marsee and more (57:25). Fantasy Baseball Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ 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. Well, fantasy becomes reality. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. Ethan Salas, Harry Ford, Kyle Teal. It is time to talk about top prospects heading into 2024.

And first up, we have catchers. Welcome in to fantasy baseball today on. Thursday, October 19th, Frank Stamphold, joined by Scott White and Chris the Welsh. Today on the show, we're going to break down the top catcher prospects from both a dynasty and redraft perspective. We'll let you know some names that are a little bit closer in terms of proximity. We'll talk some catchers to buy and sell in Dynasty Leagues and Arizona Fall Leagues. You see the Welsh there decked out.

He's got his new hat on. He's got his sweater, his hoodie, all ready to go Arizona Fall League. Speaking of the Welsh, great job holding it down while I was gone. I told Scott this the other day, you guys did great. You did almost a little bit too great for my liking, Welsh. Well, I very much appreciate it. As I told you off air, my literal goal is to just not upset everybody. So they're like, what is this?

What is this thing that we're listening to? I just tried to like fit in and make it good and prop up the great and powerful. Scott White, Scott A-Y, just prop him up. was the goal. But thank you very much and thank you for trusting me. Scottie. I'm here. I'm here. And I told Frank that, you know, I just did my normal thing. So it was really all about you. So we're just, we're all just praising each other right off the top. Oh, it's a love fest. It's a love fest. It's the only way to do it. And, you know, I really do, I believe you when you say that, Scott, because I was listening, the Wells goes, yeah, you know, I wrote down all these grades on the

rundown and Scott's like, ah, I'm just going to wing it, man. He's like, I'm just going to do what I always do. It was great. I was like, yeah, that's top notch Scott White. Anywho, let's get into some catcher prospects here, and we'll take a look at the Welsh's top 10 catcher prospects in Dynasty Leagues. And again, we'll point out the ones that might be a little bit closer in proximity. And number one, I guess we should just start with this. And we're talking beforehand, Welsh, it's like, catcher prospects don't feel nearly as good this year round as they did like a year ago when we had all those other, like, Henry Davis's and Gabriel Moreno's and all those guys, but they have no graduated.

And now catcher prospects don't look, I guess, as exciting as last year. I don't love it. I really don't. And in my own personal list, I think there's some that people would pick apart. Like, there are guys that aren't making this list that would probably deserve it. And I would tell you, I probably feel strong about my top five. And then I think it moves into a big Scott White glob, because there are guys that didn't make this list. There's a couple in the Arizona Fall League. There's a couple that are really far away.

We've just got these varying gaps of players. The guys that are close, they're not really that super exciting. And I think there's quite a few that might not end up as catchers. And then maybe the most exciting catchers at the top, theoretically are quite a bit ways away. So, you know, one of the biggest holdovers is probably Solis, who I did the show with you guys last year. And when we were going through the top 10, you know, it seems so silly, by the way, because I I think I had him as a top 100 prospect. That was a big, bold thing of mine. And, you know, he's now near the top.

One or two, I think, in most places. But you have a 17-year-old and another guy that started in, like, rookie ball. You know, like, that's the place of catchers. So it's, it kind of stinks. There's a lot of guys in the same general field. It's just not as robust as it was last year. That's Ethan Salas, by the way, of the Padre's 17-year-old as Chris. Welsh said.

And yeah, I mean, that is the state of the catcher position. It was really back-to-back years where it was just this embarrassment of riches. And, you know, I think in dynasty leagues people are, fantasy players are disinclined to invest heavily in catchers for a lot of good reasons. I mean, their growth is unpredictable. Their playing time is often inconsistent when they get to the major. and they take a beating back there. So their path to greatness is a bumpy one.

And few achieve their ultimate ceiling because of it. But there was just so much talent there the past couple years and so much of it like bottlenecking in the high miners so that we were just going to see this deluge of catching talent. And now we're on the other side of that because you mentioned a couple of them that graduated, Frank, Francisco Alvarez, Bo Naler, Logan O'Hoppy, Henry Davis, he mentioned,

who's not eligible a catcher anymore in fantasy. Even Tyler Soderstrom has exhausted rookie eligibility at this point, so we can't even talk about him. Indeed, but let's talk about the top names. And number one, you've already mentioned him a few times. Ethan Salas, he's 17 years old, and surprisingly, maybe surprisingly, promoted all the way to AA here in his first season.

in the minors, and, you know, he got off to that great start, and I think maybe he was pushed a little bit too aggressively. So, Welsh, I'll throw two names your way. They're both teenagers, Ethan Salas with the Padres, and Samuel Bessio, who is a catcher prospect with the Orioles. He's 19 years old. Hit great this year, 313 batting average, 20 homers, 12 steals, got some power and some speed.

But is he going to remain a catcher? Because obviously, like, the Orioles have Adley Rutchman. So your thoughts here on Ethan Salas and Samuel Bessia. Yeah, and I want to point out that I do think there's going to be quite a large sect of people that will have Basayo as the number one catcher. Because if you look statistically, and a lot of people get very focused and rightfully so, you think, okay, what has this guy done for me lately? He stole double-digit bases. He hit over 20 homers. He hit over 300 while getting to AA.

But he is two years older than Ethan Salas. That is a great offensive profile. Had a 400 OBP this past year. But SIO is a real deal bad. And we're talking about all the negative stuff about catching. I have got two catchers inside my top 30. And that's kind of unheard of, at least for myself, because I don't really want to do that because like we said,

I don't crazily value the catching position. Sometimes these guys, when we say, all these guys aren't going to be catchers, that's a positive when they're going to play out of position. This year there's a lot of negatives. But SIO would be a player that I think it's still a positive. if he would go over to first base. And I think that's a possibility.

I think this could be a guy that ends up being like a corner infield second catcher. But where the state of the Orioles, I don't know how hard he's going to get pressed. Funny enough, I actually think Ethan Salas has a better opportunity to hit the majors before Bessayo. Simply if we're talking about how he was pushed and being blocked. But I am an Ethan Salas guy. I was during, you know, the international draft class conversations,

J2, Who do you love, Felman and Selston or Ethan Salis? I kind of put my foot down on Salas because I think he's already ready to be a major league catcher. Frames well, he pops well, good defensively, and he had a really good bat. And the bat showed off quite a bit. He hit nine homers and five stolen bases, and had sold five stolen bases in 254 bats. The batting average struggled a little bit, but like you said, this was a 17-year-old kid that got pushed all the way up to AA. So much so, he even came back over for instructs and he was playing in a camp here, not

like more than two weeks ago. And he continued his stuff with coaches because Arizona Falleagues going on. We're at Peoria. He was there. And he was working continuously on that catcher position. So I think the fantasy question is will Solis' ultimate output far surpassed what we saw on Basayo?

Because I think if you had Basayo's categories on Salas, people would be losing their mind. I wouldn't argue you if you want either one. There's a two-year-gap, 19-year-old, a 17-year-old, two really great offensive profiles. I personally hardcore believe in Ethan Salas' profile to be a high, you know, like 280 hitter with good power and some stolen bases. So I think those are the top two tiered guys.

Let's back it up a little here. Back it up. So Ethan Salas, 17 year old. Yes. Catcher. Move to AA. Like those are three terms that don't belong together. Nope.

And I think the Padres are kind of crazy for doing that to him. To bringing him up at the most difficult. defensive position 2A at age 17. It seems a little crazy. Very angel. You're saying you think he could already handle a major league job.

I do. I don't think he, I'm not saying he is ready, ready, but every step of the way and how the Padres have approached him have told us that he is meeting and exceeding benchmarks. He was catching major league guys

in spring training at 17 years old. He was catching major league pitchers. Guys like Joe, Musgrove on the backfields during spring training. He skipped over, went to A, went to high A, went to double A, came back and worked more. Are there things to still continue to work on? Sure, absolutely. But this is an advanced kid who already had the defensive acumen. I believe that the bat just needs to catch up. And I think there are benchmarkers for him to do with the bat. All of this said, if he was ready, ready, maybe they would have sent him to the fall league and say,

hey, let's just get a full throw because we're going to throw him in early on. I'm not saying he will be in the majors this year, but I'm not saying it's off the table. I think there is a possibility that an 18-year-old catcher, which I think is crazy unheard of catching major league pitchers could do it. But if you have the right pitchers who can call their own games, all you've got to make sure is this guy has a good pop time and can throw and can frame. And those are two things that he can do.

Okay, so that I think that sorts it out a little more. because usually when we're talking about catcher prospects, it's the glove holding back the bat. Totally. And Ethan Salas may be the other way around. I mean, it's still an incredible testament to his upside that he made it to double A as a 17-year-old.

Worth pointing out, he spent only nine games at high A before getting nine games at AA. And between those 18 games, he went 12-470, which is not a very good batting average. No. So he hit well at Lowe, but yeah, I mean, I think he still has a lot to prove as a hitter before he gets.

And frankly, you know, we finally saw, what's his name, Luis Camp Usana, we finally saw him get a little bit of run behind the Padres, behind the plate for the Padres at the end of the season. And I hope to see that continue. That's not to say, like, Ethan Salas isn't a great dynasty prospect, but like, I don't know. I'd be a little frustrated. Yeah, we're talking dynasty right here. Yeah, I'm not thinking of this as a this year thing. I wouldn't be investing. And like Frank said, hey, give me your five proximity catchers.

Ethan Salas isn't on that list. I'm not going to be in a NFBC and, you know, in the 475th round, be like, I'm going to be the sneaky guy that takes solace. No, thanks. I would pass hard. But from a dynasty perspective, if you're, how stinky this position feels, I think they're, I think there's value late. I think there's a lot of, kind of like in redraft.

I think there's value later in catchers, but if I'm going to invest in a catcher, it's gonna be one of the teenage catchers. That's the one that I would wanna hitch my horse to, if that's the saying. All right, let's move on to the number three and four catcher prospects here, both on the proximity list. So a chance that we could see them here in 2024.

Harry Ford, who's 20 years old. He's a name that we've heard for a few years now, former first round pick from back in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners. He hit 257 this past season with 15 homers, 24 seals, an 840 OPS. I know he is down in the AFL as well. He's already got three home runs and OPS over 1,000. Only 18 at bat, so a very small sample size.

There's power, there's speed, Welsh. I know that there were some questions when Harry Ford was drafted, whether or not he's going to remain as a catcher. Do you think that he will stay as a catcher, as he moves through the system. Yeah, I think so. He's working exclusively catcher here. He's not doing anything else.

Sometimes you do see those guys. Though I would say, I remember when Austin Wells was here and I asked him about it, he's like, now I'm a catcher and he's never going to change positions. And now we're potentially talking about him changing positions. I don't think it means anything. But I think from everything I've seen with Harry Ford and how physically he's grown and how he's got to catch

and going from the WBC to this long season to AFL, what a freaking year he's having. I think he's positioned himself to be a catcher moving forward and, you know, a different vibe of a catcher than what they have with Cal Rally. Now, if things backtrack, I think he's athletic enough to play in the infield. I just don't know if they would do it and he has no work there. But from a fantasy perspective, this is exactly the type of guy that we want. I think it has very Gabriel Moreno type of vibes with more stolen bases. His power's showing off here.

He's showing a really bad, bad approach. Right now, though, he is not making any good contact. When he gets a hold of a ball, I think literally his first three hits were just homers out here. And he was like a buck 80. But I think he's tired. I think from playing in the WBC to spring training to a full season to AFL, I had players say already that they are exhausted out here. So you don't read anything into the AFL numbers,

except that his ability to start launching the ball and hitting homers, I don't want to say it will, but like, you know, turning on mistakes and changing those from doubles to homers, that's already kind of developed in Harry Ford, which is why I'm also relatively aggressive on him. The only thing I'm a little concerned about is what type of batting average player is he going to be? And if he was a 280 hitter,

I think I would fall in love a little bit more with the stolen bases, but I'm just not sure it's there. But Harry Ford is definitely someone to be excited about in that top-end range. Again, I said, I love my top five catchers, and I don't really like much after that. So you didn't even mention maybe the thing Harry Ford is best at. He drew 103 walks this year in just 118 games. He drew 88 walks last year and 104 games.

I see that profile. It reminds me of when Marcus Simeon was coming up through the miners. And I think, I think offensively, Harry Ford might become that. I see that. That's an amazing comp you throughout because I can see the Marcus Simeon. in Harry Ford from watching both of those players in person here for quite some time. That's a great comp. But so what frustrates me about Harry Ford, because I've been pretty high on him the past two years,

is he's moving, the Mariners are moving him very slowly. I thought he was a talent level that might, he might progress through three levels in one year, and that hasn't happened. He's just, they've stuck him at low A in 2022 and just kept him there all year high A in 23 just kept him there all year. And as you pointed out, he has yet to play a single game anywhere other than Catcher. So he seems like one of those players I would rather see a move off Catcher because I think his potential is going to be undermined by all the obstacles that come with playing Catcher

that I outlined at the top of the podcast. So I'm a little frustrated with Harry Ford right now as a dynasty asset just because it's not progressing like I wanted it to. Having said that, I'm kind of tempted to... I think he belongs in conversation for number one dynasty asset at the position. Because he is multi-talented in that way with the stolen bases and the on-base skills. And because, like, if anybody's going to surge to the majors in the span of a year, I think he has a really good chance to do that.

But I don't know. I'm a little confused how I feel about him as the dynasty asset because he is still stuck at catcher and because he is moving so slowly. It's just tough to figure out like where is he going to play. I know you guys keep mentioning, like move him off the position, but, you know, Cal Raleigh, it seems to be a mainstay in the Mariners lineup, right? And, you know, by all accounts, I think he's a pretty good catcher as well. I mean, the D.H. spot seems like it's kind of open,

so like maybe they can kind of bounce back and forth with those two guys at some point in 2024. But yeah, I think that's kind of the only. concern for me right now is if they want to call him up, where does he play? Also, I would, one little thing I'd add to this to make sure he, this is a very athletic guy. Like, if you want to talk, if you want to look at the catcher position, there's not a better athlete, I think, than Harry Ford. And we have seen plenty of players make that transitional position change at like AAA with nine games to go before the majors.

Like that was Jordan Walker. Like Jordan Walker all of a sudden was like, hey, the last 10 games of the season, I'll play in the outfield. And then he went to the AFL. So I'm just saying if they if they felt okay, we like this bat and we can get some catching spot, but maybe we need him somewhere else. We want to move around. I think he can make that transition pretty quick. This is a leader. This is a guy that calls games. He can make that transition with less than a month needed. And I think the team kind of knows that. And you don't want to stunt the development as a catcher. I think that's really important to think about in the grand scheme of Harry Ford. All right. All good points there. Let me throw some, a couple some names here together because we got to keep it moving here. Well, four, five, and six in your catcher rankings. You have Jefferson Quero, a 21-year-old with the Milwaukee Brewers.

You have Kyle Teal, a 21-year-old with the Boston Red Sox, and Kevin Perada, 22 years old with the New York Mets. I have different questions for each of these. For Jefferson Quero, you have him on the proximity list, but I guess a similar question, where does he play, right? William Contreras just finishes the number one catcher in fantasy baseball. I mean, I think Contreras played a few games in the outfield for the Braves a couple of years ago. He did not do any of that

with the Milwaukee Brewers. So that's the question for Quiro. Kyle Teal, he in a small sample size, he looked great. He had 3.63. He had two homers, three steals. He was a college catcher, so it was like is there any chance we could see him in 2024?

And Kevin Perada, I know he kind of was drafted as like a hit first type catcher prospect and you told me beforehand that he has been struggling mightily defensively out in the Arizona Fall League. So, some quick thoughts on each of those Quiro Jefferson Quiro Kyle Teal Kevin Prada yeah I think you need two catchers in every team and some teams will press three and do you have flexibility

at the catcher position to kind of move around I think Quiro fits the bill of a really great catcher who can call games and can hit he hits for good contact 10 homers 10 stolen bases in 2022 16 homers stolen bases came down but he played all in double a this past year batting average struggled just a tiny bit but you saw the big power output think you can call games. And I think if they, I think they would be comfortable moving him in a catcher spot

and having Contreras, you know, if you want those at bats, you can have him D.H. You can have him in the outfield. You can continue catching. That's why I think he's in the conversation of proximity. I would love for,

I think Kyle Teal actually is going to be one of those sneaky first year player guys too. If people are just like, I don't like catchers and I want all these other guys, I'd be very comfortable with looking at Kyle Teal. He hit phenomenally, hitting 363 and just under 100 at bats. I just don't know

I said it about like solace I just don't know if like they would throw the reins at the catcher to a guy they just drafted but you know this guy does have a lot of college experience I'd lean no for him but there's always a possibility at the back end of the year and you know Kevin Prada's fascinating

he has just whiffed at so much here in the AFL and then the other night he was just on it hit a 460 or 450 homered a dead center that I got on video. He had a double right after that. And then he followed that up on Monday by letting eight stolen bases up against him. Eight three by Jacob Marcy alone. And there is a lot of these guys are aggressively running out here. And there's some books out on some players.

This guy named Liam Hicks, so I think is interesting with the Rangers. Jace Young was aggressively stealing against him last night. Stole second, immediately stole third. Next at bat, walk did the same thing. So some of these guys, these guys want to test. but eight stolen bases against, you got to figure something out about that. So I just don't know if Prada defensively or offensively is great. So that's why he said once you got into six, I'm starting to not love even where I'm at. And you might be justified taking shots on further down guys than these players. But just some quick thoughts on those guys.

All right. Let's take our first break. When we return, we'll get into the rest of the Welsh's top 10 catcher prospects heading into next season. And we'll do that right after this. Welcome back in. Let's quickly recap the Welsh's top six catcher prospects so far in Dynasty Leagues. Ethan Salas with the Padres, Samuel Basayo with the Orioles, Harry Ford with the Mariners, Jefferson Quero with the Brewers, Kyle Teal with the Red Sox, and Kevin Perada with the New York Mets. Next up, two names that I will lump together, and they're both on the same team. I don't know if they play on the same team.

They're in the same organization, but it's Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartyel. both with the Dodgers. Scott, I'll throw this one your way because they both had really big seasons last year in 2022. And what happened? They both took a step back here in 2023. And it just so happens again. They play for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have a stud catcher already in Will Smith. So let's just say from a dynasty perspective, would you be looking to buy low on either of these two following their down seasons, Dalton rushing and Diego Cartaya? I guess it depends how low it is. I think there's particularly being in the Dodgers organization and how good they are at bringing out the best in prospects. I wouldn't write them off.

I mean, Cartaya is a guy, like he was a catcher who was being hyped as a 17-year-old the way Ethan Salas is now. Not that he advanced to AA as a 17-year-old, but like he was considered very high. high end from the very beginning. And in fact, coming into this year, baseball America had him number 18 among all prospects. MLB had him number 14 among all prospects. Like consensus top 20 overall guy. And then he hits 189 at that double A. So yeah, I mean, if, if, if somebody's looking to just to move on from him and to sell him for, you know, 50 cents on the dollar,

I think I'd be interested in that. But it would have to be that sort of situation because as a general rule, I'm not going to sell out for a catcher in dynasty anyway. And when it's one who now has serious hit tool concerns developing when he's nearing the point of graduating out of the minors, that's even more of a red flag. So reason for caution,

but I'll buy them at a discount, sure. Well, similar question. Would you be looking to buy on either of Dalton rushing or Diego Cartaya? Or maybe this is just an avoid. Maybe it's a stock down for both of those guys. Rushing. Yeah, I was never not to be like, ooh, me, but like I just never liked Cartia like everybody else did. He is physically impressive.

If you stood those two guys, they're so polar opposites. Rushing is just like shorter, stocky. One of those guys, you'd be like, you know, dude, you miss leg day. Like, he's so thick. and just he's just he, but he looks like a catcher. Diego is a big six foot three. He's a muscle. I mean, he looks like a linebacker.

He's a big guy, but I never was in love with him that much. And I got to actually saw him in minor league spring training going up. It was funny against Peyton Batonfield, who ended up getting a major league call pretty soon after that. And he was just getting destroyed. Just low, off speed stuff. And Diego just never showed the ability to hit for really good contact. Rushing struggled this year.

But I think rushing is a guy that can stay at the position. I think he can hit for better average. And I also think the way he barrels the ball, at least, even if it's a bad average, he's going to be in enough to tap into 20 plus homers. I just don't know what we're going to get there with Diego Cartaya. I do think he has got for real power. Maybe it'll be better. And he moves off a position and plays like a left field or something like that.

And he finds a way to hit for contact. But he just hit 181. So I would buy on rushing. I'm not super interested in Cartaya. I'll point out also for rushing. So we say he struggled. He hit 228 at a high A with a 404 on base percentage. Yeah, he's an OBIA.

His on base percentage was, what is that? About 175 points higher than his batting average, which he had some injuries this year too, which is something to consider. He really missed at bats this year. I think it was under 300 at bats. So, I mean, you say Dalton rushing struggled. Really only by batting average. Now, that's important when you're in the minors.

Not many 220 hitters in the minors go on to become successful major leaguers, but it's, you know, there's still a lot to like about rushing for sure. Absolutely. I don't know that I necessarily, like, would, I focused on Cartaya because I had more to say about him. But, like, I think when I get around to making my catcher prospect rankings, which won't be until, like, a month from now, there's a good chance that for Cartia. There's a good chance I looked on rushing ahead of Diego Cartaya as well. As you should.

And by the way, more than half of his hits last year were extra base. So another thing about rushing. All right. Your number eight catcher prospect is Austin Wells. Scott and I spoke about him a little bit the other day. He is Scott's 20th ranked catcher in redraft rankings. And obviously on the proximity list, he's number one, because likely I would say as of now to be the opening day catcher for the Yankees next season.

Last but not least, the number 10 catcher prospect is somebody who might not even play catcher. It's Cole Carrig with the Colorado Rockies. He's 21 years old. A very interesting prospect just drafted this year. He played 36 games and he hit 350 with five home runs, 10 doubles, five triples, 13 steals, and a 1008 OPS. And I say he's interesting because he played seven games at catcher, 15 in centerfield, 10 at shortstop, five at D. This guy is all over the place. I don't know that we've really seen anything like this.

I know we spoke about him on like an FBT and 5, Scott. I don't even think he has catch eligibility on CBS, but he is an interesting prospect. Yeah, I mean, if I guess Craig Bigio was kind of like this, right? No, I do want to make this clarification, my usual caveat when we do these podcasts this time of year. So we're talking about Cole Kerrig as a catcher prospect. He's going to be listed as an outfielder on CBS because the way CBS eligibility works for prospects,

it's basically if they reach the majors today, what position would they be eligible at? He played mostly center field last year, so Cole Kerig would be an outfielder. And I kind of feel like if they wanted to make him a catcher, if the Rockies wanted to make Cole Carrig a catcher, they would have to commit to that pretty early on just because of how demanding that position is. And the fact that it was his third most played position here, behind center field and shortstop.

I don't know. I'm not sure how long he's going to stick as a catcher. Do you list him here, Chris, because you think Colcare... He was drafted as a catcher. He was when he was called on draft night, it was as a catcher. And though I agree with what you're saying, I think I've seen the,

because I saw him a ton and I fell in love with him and I shared his, I think it was his first major league home where I was at. And I've just watched him a ton and he's just crazy, wrote up my first year player ranks. As much as you're right, you want to get that going.

At the same time, I think if you've got an athletic player that can play multiple positions, you want to space it out and see what you have And a great way to do that is in the complex league. Because this is also a college hitter that they kept in complex for a decent amount of time. And he was in instructs. And he started, his, his game started as catcher.

So when he came out here, he played catcher to start. Then he moved to shortstop. And then he moved to outfield. It wasn't like one day he's a catcher. One day he's a shortstop. They did it in chunks. And I think it was, you know, to see what positionally they liked. What did they like coming out of him defensively?

Do they think he's a above average shortstop? Do they think he's a plus center fielder? And then when you make those determinations, you can go, okay, well, he's a, you know, 40-grade catcher, but he's a 50-grade center fielder. And then I think the complex level allowed that. All of that said, I think when I physically look at him, like, this is a guy that is going to be probably like a shortstopper outfielder. Like, I don't think he's going to be a catcher.

He doesn't have the physical look for it. I think he's good defensively everywhere, but he did qualify at catcher, and he played it enough. Like you said, the primary position, he's just a unique guy that, like,

he did play just a little bit more. Like, it wasn't completely spread out, but he played, he caught seven games. And then it was, what, 15 in outfield and 10 at shortstop?

Like, that's enough, at least in my mind, to be like, this is still a guy we should consider as a catcher. And I think, you know,

there might be some other platforms that drop him and put him at that. But hey, you know, maybe not, Maybe I'll have to reclassify him on my prospect list, but he was drafted as a catcher and he did play it this year. So until I'm told otherwise that he's off the position, I don't want to assume that he's not. And if he is, he is super exciting because he's got crazy raw power, great ability to make contact.

He can run. He is a very exciting Rockies prospect. Now, I don't know how much we want to talk about Cole Carrig. I think he's going to get a lot of attention just because of that versatility. Yeah. And he did hit, you know, he did hit 350. Five homers, 13 steals, and his 36 games between rookie ball and loway as a 21-year-old, I think, is worth pointing out. Because in loway, you're basically just facing fastballs.

And we've seen fakeouts from college players beating up on that level of competition before that Royals outfielder last year, whose name is escaping me. But I'm sure he'll come to mind for you. M.G. Melendez? No. No, the Royals outfield draft pick last year who crushed in the low levels of the miners. Gavin Cross? You drafted him in the Dynasty League, Frank. Yeah, yeah, Gavin Cross.

Gavin Cross. Who's out here in the AFL right now? Screw that guy. And then he moved up to a more competitive level and then turned into a pumpkin. And my read on Cole Carrig is the Rockies love the athleticism. They don't really know what to do with him or what he's going to develop into. And it's kind of surprising he made contact at such a high rate. But he was facing mostly fastballs.

I don't know. I just, I think there might be, I think this might turn out to be fools gold. It's what I'm saying. Definitely. I mean, I'd also say,

I don't know if you were going to ask this, Frank, but like, we're in an area. I think he's a special case because it might not be a catcher. But when you are talking about the guys like Cartaya and like rushing and stuff, there's another group of catchers that there could be people out there. It's like,

well, what about, blah, blah, blah. And I think you're in the same vein of just missing out on Dominic Keegan, who's, out here in the AFL hit a homer, I think again today with the raise, but he only went to Haye. I think he looks like a major league catcher. Moises Balesteros with the Cubs makes a lot of contact, has good power. Edgar Cuero with the White Sox who got traded, he actually got a lot

bigger. He was just out here a couple days ago and physically like his body has gotten bigger. And Ralphie Velasquez, who I think is an amazingly fun target in Dynasty, who was drafted by the Guardians who they did give him a big bonus to not go to ASU. three like 220 huge power. I got to see him up against with my cow mansard on a rehab stint. I think all those guys are in the same general vicinity. So someone's like well I like Edgar Cuero and I don't think the ego car. Okay great. I think those little guys are all in the same vein. That's why you get outside the top five and it's a much bigger pool of the same type of players. So if there is value, if someone's like I want to pay up a little bit because I want

Kevin Prada for you because he just hit a 440 foot homer, I'd sell him. I would sell him because I don't think he's going to stay at the position. I don't think he can hit enough anywhere else at a high clip that if I could get balusteros in something else, I think I'm doing it because I think this position is in the same general space in Dynasty. I like Edgar Carrow. Yeah. So I don't know if I'm going to if if if I'll use that voice when I say it. Like why not Edgar Carrow here? But yeah. We'll get into him in the next segment it looks like. Yeah, I'll just quickly recap again, the top 10 catchers here. According to the Welsh top 10 catcher prospects, excuse me,

Ethan Salas with the Padres, Samuel Basayo with the Orioles, Harry Ford with the Mariners, Jefferson Quiro with the Brewers, Kyle Teal with the Red Sox, Kevin Perrata with the Mets, Dalton rushing with the Dodgers, Austin Wells with the Yankees, Diego Cartia with the Dodgers, and Cole Carrig with the Rockies. Again, just a heads up will not have catcher eligibility on CBS. Yes. How about the top proximity catchers? These are the ones that could make an impact here in 2024.

Austin Wells with the Yankees, Harry Ford we talked about, Jefferson Quero, Dalton Rushing. And Welsh, you just mentioned the name here, Dominic Keegan, who is 23 years old. He's with the Tampa Bay Ray's former fourth round pick last year in 2022. He hit 287 with 13 home runs this year. But as a 23-year-old, he only got up to high A. So I don't know that kind of like light bulb turns on in my head and I'm like, I don't know. I don't know about this, but you think there's a chance we can see him next year. Yeah.

Well, okay, part of it is because he's out here right now and I think they want to get more. I was, I'm perturbed by like the amount that they didn't push him. Every time I was like, move him up. Let's see him against better competition. And they didn't. Maybe some of that was about. And sometimes you have to consider, I think the levels are very different nowadays than maybe. even five years ago where, you know, I've said like, I don't really care the Jackson

Holiday went to like AAA or that Ethan Salas got to double A. They just moved the guys to get more at bats. Like the levels are being almost used kind of like how the Arizona Fall League is. It's just like more at bats sometimes. So even keeping him down, that might be representative of them saying, well, we don't want to move these other guys off. So we'll keep you down here. But for him to come out here and catch that that team, that Peoria team has Harry Ford and Dominic Kagan on the same team together and Kegan has been predominantly playing and he's lighting it up he's got three homers so far he's hitting 400 he's got a 1300 OPS which is the highest on the Peoria team which by the way has Kyle Manzardo chased a lotter Jacob Marcy he's hit a homer off of Ricky Tiedeman he's hit

two of his three of an opposite field I mean he has shown the ability to spread the ball around the field he's a really good eye he's caught plenty of games I it he's been the primary catcher for this team as well. So I think Keegan is a guy that they could move up, regardless of the high A stuff. I think he could start at AA, and then I think they could move him quicker if they feel the need to have the catcher

because offensively he's shining right now and defensively he's already there. A name that we haven't talked much about, I know you just kind of mentioned it here, Edgar Cuero, who was traded to the White Sox in the Lucas Geolito trade this past season. Scott, you mentioned you like Edgar Quero. He was aggressively promoted to AA

at the start of the season by the Angels who, I mean, at this point, I think we have to question everything they do with their prospects because it doesn't seem to be working out very well. But in the 31 games that Quiro played with the White Sox, he looked a lot better. And it seems like you're pretty excited about him. Yeah, I mean, the aggressive promotion, I think, is important context here. At this time last year, Edgar Carrow was the catcher that people were frustrated they were having to leave off their catcher prospect list because it was such a deep position.

And it's like, oh, man, this guy as a 19-year-old at low-A just hit 312 with a 965 OPS, you know, 435 on-base percentage. And it's hard to highlight him because he gets lost in the surplus of catcher. Well, now catchers wide open. Edgar Caro has just completed a full season at AA.

Notice I said low-A last year, so they had him skip high A entirely. as a 20-year-old at double-A, yeah, it was a struggle at first. He's still finished with 72 walks compared to 76 strikeouts, so it's not like he was lost at the plate. The power wasn't there in the supply we saw at low A, but he's a 20-year-old at AA, and I think if he gets a chance to repeat the level next year, even if he moves up to AAA, I think we'll see better from Edgar Caro.

I think he's obviously the White Sox catcher of the future. And the future, depending on how this return to the upper miners goes for Edgar Carrow. I think the future could begin at some point in 2024 potentially. Well, real quick, do you think there's a chance we could see Edgar Quero with the White Sox next season? I think there's a possibility. They also acquired Corey Lee. And I kind of think Corey Lee is someone that gets the early shot. I would not say that there's no possibility.

but again, if I were making a bet on it, I think this is a late season thing. This would be something like July or August or something like that, if they were to do it. Because I think Corey Lee is going to get every opportunity early on for them to experiment with that. And they got quite, you know, that was kind of a thing. They wanted quite a few catchers

as they're trying to revamp their pitching staff in the minor leagues as well. All right, there you go. Those are some of the top catcher prospects overall for Dynasty leagues and then some names there, you might want to target, you know, if you're doing like these early draft and hold drafts and you just need someone in like, I don't know, round 500, like the Welsh was talking about earlier.

Those are some names that you could look at. Let's quickly run through the playoffs. What's going on in the playoffs? Welsh, if you want to go, you know, take a walk while we do this next segment, you know, that would be totally fine because I don't know if you want to hear what we're about to say, but... Oh, you're going to do that. The Phillies are up to...

I'm going to view myself. Over the Arizona Diamondbacks at this point. Phillies, they are just crushing home runs right now. Six home runs in two games, including three from Kyle Schwabur. They've had some big starts from Zach Wheeler and Aranola. Scott, I know this isn't what you want to see from Aranola. You know, you want to keep that price tag down, but man, in three postseason starts, he has looked like vintage Aranola.

Yeah, and I wouldn't say that's surprising. I think he's still a very good pitcher who, I know he made some changes, mechanically in September that seemed to fuel this turnaround and I do wonder you know I guess ultimately depends ultimately it depends how the postseason goes from here to the Phillies

go on to win the World Series is Aaron Nola one of the biggest reasons why is he getting MVP honors at the end of it you know how much people are going to factor in the postseason turnaround are they just going to look at his season stat

line next year where did ZERA end up? Was it over five? It's pretty darn high. I think it was... No, it wasn't that high. 446. So not even, not quite as bad as 2021 actually.

But still, that's two of the last three years with a mid-4 ZRA for Aeronola. People are going to be gun-shy because of that. I think so. But if they're not, then I guess I won't end up drafting much Aaronola. I want him, but I want him at a discount. I want him at a price tag that just, justifies some of the extreme highs and lows we've seen from them over the last few years. All right, Welsh, let's bring you back in. Do you actually have any thoughts? Are they, are they dead?

Or do they still have a chance? What do you think about your D-backs? I think they're dead. I mean, I'm a little bit more pessimistic. And do you want to know what else? I had someone tweet me about this and it made me laugh because I've jokingly been like, hey, listen, I want to go to the playoffs, but these tickets kind of pricey. Like, I don't know where I'm at. Do I want to be dropping two, three, $100. Well, if I'd like to go tomorrow, you guys could tell me, should I go? $12, I can get in. There are $12 tickets for me to see Game 3 of the NLC as I could buy it right now. Yeah, 100%.

Why not? Well, maybe I will. Maybe I'll just go. Someone said I should go to bring them luck, that I can bring them luck. But then if I go and they win, then I have to go to game four. I have to do the same thing. But yeah, I think it's very deflating the pitchers you needed to step up at the biggest moment. completely collapsed and now you're putting it back on guys like Brandon fought who have you know they've met some of the call but the offense hasn't been there it's too much of a it's been too much of a power on slot it's just too much for the diamond backs you know and the Philly if there is a team that you need to

not get hot like the Braves were always just hot like though it's ridiculous going through that lineup and it was sad to see them go but there's a team you need to not get hot it was the Phillies going through Turner to Castiano's to Harper, a Swarber. It's too much. And the team, the diamondbacks, the biggest problem they had, they never built the depth in pitching. And it is, uh, in our face right now. It is in our face, the ineptitude of getting more pitching. I don't think they're going to be able to overcome it, sadly. Well, you absolutely have to go to the game. Think of the poetic justice. Brandon Fott throws. Oh my God, I didn't even think about it. Fought and me there.

All the people are, uh, did you ever watch Brandon Fott? Like, shut up. Like that would be poetic. Though the problem is if he gets lit then I'm, then it would be even more appropriate. It would be good content. It would be very good content. Seven shutout innings, 10 strikeouts with the Welsh in attendance. His biggest

fan, right there to root him on. That would be great. But yeah, I mean in all seriousness it's a pretty scary matchup because Brandon Fott allows a lot of home runs and the way this Philly's lineup is hitting right now. My gosh, that is, it's pretty scary. That would be funny if he was the one to

to douse them with cold water. Yeah. I'm saying go to the game. 12 bucks. I might. It's between that and AFL for me. So that's where I'm out right now. You know,

you don't have to share a single photo from it if it doesn't go well. But like, you know, just as a fan. Like, how often do you get to go to a postseason game period? I would think, like, I don't know,

two or three ever. I'd tell you, though, like, if he was really good and I, like, took a picture of myself, it would do okay.

But if he got destroyed and I was like, crying and I took a picture, I might literally break Twitter. I would break baseball Twitter at least. We know that would happen. I would 100% share too many pictures. What's the latest going on with the Rangers and the Astros? Well, the Astros offense got back on track. They scored eight runs on 12 hits. They won game three here. They're now down two to one in the series. Christian Javier has looked pretty good in his two postseason starts. He's allowed two earn runs over 10 and two-thirds innings. Twelve strikeouts. The velocity was up in this start.

11 swinging strikes on 85 pitches. So perhaps just enough here to give us a little bit more confidence to draft Christian Javier again next season. And Max Scherzer made his return not so great. He got hit hard. He gave up five earned runs, 97.3 average exit velocity against. I was kind of skeptical.

I didn't know what was going to happen here. Up in the air and turned out to be a pretty bad start here for Max Scherzer. Some quick news and notes. Speaking of the Rangers, Jacob de Grom has full range of motion in his pitching. arm and the goal is to begin a throwing program early in 2024 and to progress to mound work sometime during spring training. DeGrom is aiming to rejoin the Rangers rotation by next August. So just a name. You know, if you play in a keeper league and you have IR spots, just don't forget

to draft him and maybe you can keep him the following year for like a suppressed cost and just kind of stash him on your IR spot all season long. And some early hot stove chatter, the Cardinals will apparently target Sunny Gray in free agency. Sunny Gray just finished as the SP22 in both Roto and head to head points. He had a great season, and I think it makes some sense for the Cardinals to go out and try and acquire some starting pitching, so we shall see what happens there. Let's take our final break. When we return, some quick buyer-sell catchers in Dynasty and some AFL updates here on Fantasy Baseball today. Welcome back in.

Let's talk about some buyer-sell catchers. In Dynasty, and Scott, we will start with you. Give me a name. Or, I don't know. Sometimes I feel like you just write down like 10 names whenever I just ask for one. But you can give me one catcher to buy or as many as you want.

You are muted, sir. Muted. You're still muted. You're muted, Scott. You're still muted. I wrote down two buys and two cells. Okay, fair enough. Just in case somebody came with the same one as I had.

Okay, so, by low. I think we got to go with the guy we talked about just earlier this week, Sean Murphy, who was miserable in the second half, and people are questioning his role even with Travis Darno still in the mix and stealing a lot of bitbats. But as we discussed on that, what do you call that podcast, Frank,

the catcher year in review or whatever? Yeah. Something like that. Yeah, as we discussed on that podcast, there aren't many catchers out there, more talented than Sean Murphy. Adley Rushman, J.T. Real Muto, who's pretty clearly on the decline, I would say, and then Sean Murphy, just in terms of pure talent, you go look at their stack cast pages, see all

the red. Sean Murphy is up there, both like offensively and defensively. If you're looking to grab a catcher, grab a potential stud catcher on the cheap, that second half, that miserable second half that Sean Murphy has had, is, it is. You know, it might be just what the doctor ordered. It might make it so you get an opportunity to acquire him. And then you never look back because he's just a stud from that point for it. I think we believe he has that kind of upside. If you do want a bonus name here, Luis Campuosovo,

you could get probably for dirt cheap. But there's a chance he doesn't stick as the Padres catcher. And then he turns out to be nothing. So you'd have to draft him for pretty. So you'd have to acquire Camp Yusano for next to nothing, I think, to make it worthwhile. Welsh, catcher to buy in Dynasty. Well, you guys may have already talked about him. I actually was going to say Yonir Diaz, but I think he's just too high,

especially if you're talking about, like from a dynasty perspective, I kind of don't know if his value is caught up even in Dynasty to where you could buy him. But the catch I decided to settle on that's a little bit deeper. and this is another one that Scott's probably talked about is Bo Nailer. What he did in the second half, I think, was really, really intriguing. From July 1st on, only two catchers

had double-digit homers and at least five stolen bases, J.T. Romuto and Bo Nailer. Of course it was Bo Nailer. And I think, you know, the low strikeout rates, also, if you look at like the top ISO guys in the top, you know, 200 plus ISO, no one had a lower strikeout percentage than Bo Nailer.

So like, low K rate, good ability to steal a hot bat I think you have a question like where are they ultimately going to play him but I think he also has some versatility that's another guy that you could like DH and maybe I saw him in when he played in complex playing the outfield they might move him around a little bit I just think he has those intangibles of a 25 10 25 15 type of catcher if he's given enough at bats so I kind of like Bo Nailer I'd also I'm cheating because I'm giving more names I'm doing this than

the Scott thing. I got all these names. Gabriel Moreno. Like a little bit of Homer thing. Like I think Gabriel Moreno didn't put up sexy stats, but in some short stints, especially in the back half of the year, we started to see the power and the stolen base numbers go up. I think the team trusts to push him up a little bit. Gabby Moreno would be someone I would look at as well, but Bo Naler is my pick. All right. Well, it's right back to you. A catcher to sell. Let's see this one a little bit quicker. I want to talk some AFL updates.

Yes. I'm just going to do this, say this name, and then the preface, I'm saying Will Smith. I know people might be like, Will Smith. Barrel percentage lower, hard hit percentage lower. Everything else, quintessential Will Smith with just fine numbers. Ultimately, what I'm really telling you is

I don't value high-end catching in redraft or dynasty, and I never have. So if I can sell a top two, three, or four catcher and get a good return, I think the catching position in the teens can get you 90, 85 to 95% of the production you can get on some of the high ends.

Guys like Keeper Ruiz. We talked about Yennair Diaz, Gabriel Marino. I think you can get a lot of the production you're looking for at, you know, 12 or 15 catcher cost that comes in the top three. And Will Smith is a guy that I just, I don't, I think he's always been kind of average-ish and it's on the decline, the hard hit numbers and the barrel percentage going down doesn't make me feel good. So he would be a guy who's still being ranked at like top three that I would probably sell.

All right, Scott. One of the two names I wrote down was Will Smith, actually, because, look, he's going to be 29 on opening day next year. That's getting pretty old for a catcher, and I think his... Scott, do the mic thing. Turn it towards your face. Punch it. I think his stature exceeds his production. So I think, yeah, you could get potentially a huge return for Will Smith,

and it might be the most optimal time to do it, given the stage of his career, being... turning the fact he's going to be 29 I don't big day next year I'm not sure everybody heard that Scott we barely hear you I don't know what's going on with your mic but it's like kind of we should just throw it in the trash maybe we should because yeah I don't know what's going on

go like real close I had an internet guy here it happens out of no I don't even know if it's an internet thing I just think like I think it is maybe it's just like the way you move but you'll be totally fine that I get a new modem but I just got a new modem you'll be you were totally fine the entire podcast and then just out of nowhere it's like

There's this little whoosh that happens. It's kind of a stream yard thing. Is it okay now? It might be. You sound fantastic. You're good. Does anybody hear what I had to say about Will Smith? Do I need to say it again?

Yeah, he stinks. He hate him. Yeah, we got it. All right, whatever. I agree with Welsh that Will Smith is a cell high. So to give you a new name, Jonah Heim. Jonah Heim, I think, is also a cell high. And Dynasty, I can't imagine we're ever going to see a season as good as the one he just had again.

The other guy I was going to do, so I agree. There you go. let's wrap up with some Arizona Fall League updates. The Welsh has been out there. He told me before we started that he has seen every single position player play in the AFL to this point already. So the man is out there.

He's doing his homework. And somebody who I know that you got to see up close and personal, a double dong just the other day. Kyle Manzardo, the guy looks like he is getting hot. And he's bat in 286. He's got five homeries. He's got an 1126 OPS. In 42 at Bats, Welsh, what have you seen from Kyle Manzardo?

Yeah, go on my Twitter at is at the Welsh, and you can see it was two days ago. He hit two homers in a game. The first one was big. Second one is the biggest I've ever seen in Peoria. It was estimated 471. Is this the one that we're going to see here? Is this the one? And I love the little tap dancing he does.

I'll tell by the bat swing. That, yeah, no, no, that's the first one by how he dropped the bat. I remember these things. Manzardo has looked really good. and a great question got brought up that it was from Mike Curlin Mike Curlin said this kind of feels like this might be

the Matt Mervis thing all over again of the hype and I thought that was a really good question to pose because we get big homers and we get super excited about them and stuff like that. The difference is is the type of hitter that Manzardo is.

Matt Mervis, I had some kind of questions about some of his contact early on in the AFL because when someone made a mistake which they do in the AFA, he could destroy him. He's got the type of power. But you got, you saw pitchers just attacking him low. And you saw Mervis just swinging through things. Manzardo's been swinging through high fastballs. You can't attack him low in the zone. And that's a kind of common trait of, you know, some of these first base big power hitters in Nolan, we know has been trying to do it. This is the Homer right there. That's just an absolute bomb. 471. It bounced out of the stadium, by the way. It was, it went over those garbage cans and one bounced out. It was the most ridiculous. thing I've ever seen. But Manzardo's ability to make contact is just that he's a

a plus defender that Mervis wasn't. He makes contact and he's just trying to figure out the top zone and you can pitch him low and he will destroy those pitches. Manzardo's a different type of beast and we really need to, he's put us back on notice. And like I said, the defense is he's the best corner infield defender in the AFL here. So that's not something that's going to take him away. Like Matt Mervis, they didn't trust him playing defensively. Remember, they signed every first baseman they could to not give him an opportunity. That's not going to be the case with Manzardo. It's interesting that we're using we.

I mean, the royal we are using Matt Mervis as a cautionary tale now? I asked this question to you just a couple weeks ago, and it's like, oh, no, Mervis could still be great. Could Mervis still be great or not? I think great is a different question than could he still be good. I think he could still be good. How many guys do we see that can hit 30 plus homers and hit 230 or 240? And we're like, that's still viable. Like, that's who Matt Mervis is.

But, like, Manzardo's floor to me is, like, what we see in Christian Walker. I think the best representation of Manzardo is like a Christian Walker. And that's not. I know what you're saying. I, my point to the, what my kid said was like, I think it's a great question to ask because we have this tale from last year. But I ultimately think it is not. And it's really not.

close to the same thing. The only thing is we had two big power mashing first baseman that feels like a comp. I do think Monsardo is more talented than Mervis. I think the data, even though he underwhelmed in terms of actual production in the miners this year, Manzardo's data was still in terms of how hardy average exit velocity, max exit velocity's own contact rate, which was always an issue for Matt Mervis. I'm, I, I didn't have much. out that Mazzardo would bounce back and hopefully this is the start of it.

Yeah, I wish I had the 90 plus Velo contact rate because I would imagine it is not close between Matt Mervis and Kyle Manzardo of high velocity contact percentage, which is a great thing to have when you have it. Manzardo is a different beast with that. Jackson Job and Ricky Tiedeman are arguably the top two pitching prospects out in the Arizona Fall League and Welsh, you texted me just yesterday and you said Jackson Job, greater sign Ricky Teeteman. What's going on out there? Well, um, I got some worries about I love Teeteman. Teetan was like one of my number, it was like my number one pitcher coming in. I love him,

but if you go on my Twitter, you'll see I posted there is a very big differential between his arm slot when he's throwing a fastball and a change up. And in my mind, that's a big tipping pitch. Lance Brasdowski jumped in, um, was very nice, gave me some credit for catching it, pointed out that he has a seven, I think it's a seven inch degree differential between those angles. And there's no major league pitcher that has that big of a

degree difference. Bryce Miller's the closest with six. And my point was this, was like, you've already got a pitcher that has some command issues. His fastball hasn't looked great. His changeup is incredible. And he gets big whiffs. But like, where his arm is,

you can tell what pitch is coming. I think that's going to get worse as he gets to higher level. So I'm worried. Job is not as sneaky with the pitch mix because like Tideman will throw changeups to start. Job is pretty predictable, but Job has big spin. He's shown better control. He's pitching to more contact. He gets the whiffs. He just looks more poised, more confident, and he's got a much bigger fastball that pushes 98 plus. At this point, it's looking like Job over Tideman. I haven't quite made that change yet, but Job has looked pretty solid. Tidman's numbers, by the way, don't tell the story I'm telling.

Teeteman's numbers have looked fantastic here. But I'm just a little concerned about it. I hope to catch him and find out. And, you know, there's a lot about tunneling if people know. Tunneling was actually just brought up with Jordan Montgomery. Why is his curveball look so devastating? Jordan Alvarez was asked. It's because the release point and the trajectory of the fastball and curve tunnel the exact same.

And then all of a sudden, the curve will just drop. And he was like, well, I thought the curve was a fastball. So this is like the opposite of tunneling. It's a complete difference. And I feel like he would benefit when you have. a suboptimal fastball, Tidamoon would benefit from tunneling, and I just don't know where you get there. So Keith Law wrote a thing about maybe him being a reliever too. Isn't that something he can fix? I mean, if it's that identifiable, isn't that something

the Blue Jays could just work on with T'd T'dman? I think so. That's actually what I want to talk to him about. Like I want, but at the same time, like Lance said in my tweet that he also kind of thinks the arm slot angle gets made a little too much about that it might not be as big of a thing. But my problem is, is like, this is a guy that he has a 92, he's sitting 92, 93 out here on a fastball. And it doesn't have the movement that Job does. I feel like

Teetaman would benefit from tunneling. And to your point, I think they can fix it. But do the Blue Jays fix those things? I don't know. Is Teeteman aware of it? Does he care? Is the arm slot maybe masking an injury? There's a million questions I have with it. That's also people are like,

well, who cares? Because he's got a 270 array and he has the most strikeouts in the AFL. Fair point. All fair points. But it's been a very interesting mix between the two pitchers out here on the AFL, and it's something we'll carry into the offseason. And Dynasty owners should know there's going to be some negative stuff coming out about Teeteman from the Dynasty baseball community, probably because of some of those things. All right. Last but not least, I want to ask you about one of the standouts so far here at the Arizona Fall League,

Jacob Marcy, who is 22 years old. He's an outfield prospect with the Padres. and he's currently betting 432 with two homers, seven steals, a 1286 OPS out in the AFL. And you look at what he did in the minors this year, 16 homers, 46 steals. So it's a pretty intriguing profile here. What have you seen from Jacob Marcy?

And I don't know, is it for real? I kind of think it is. You know, it's interesting because there's another guy, Graham Pauley, who got off to a really hot start and has just fallen off the table in the second week. And Marcy hasn't done that. Marcy, he's a stalkier guy too. I've been trying to think of what the good comp is,

and I just don't have it for you right now, but he's just like a bigger, thicker, stockier outfielder who can punch the ball to all fields, opposite field power. He's got pull power. I've got a homer of his on my timeline. He actually hit two homers in one of the games a week ago, can run like crazy,

and he's been leading off for this team. And I think it is for real. I actually do. And I kind of think he might be a possibility for this Padres team. at some point this year, that this might have been like, we want to see what we can get out of you, get more at bats, and maybe they would throw him into the wolves at some point this year

because this is a guy that can lead off. He's making really good contact. He's a big power speed guy, maybe even bigger speed, but we're seeing more of the power here. I mentioned Kevin Prada, I think I said this on here, gave up eight stolen bases against in that game on Monday. Three came from Jacob Marcy. He stole three against Kevin Prada.

So he's been a monster out here. All right. Marcy again, the name there. The way to spell it if you're looking for him in some of your leagues, M-A-R-S-E-E, that's Jacob Marcy with the Padres. He got 129 games in this past season. 16 came at AA, so my guess is he starts at AA again this year, and who knows?

Well, next year, and potentially we see him with the Padres at some point in 2024. We're going to wrap there for Scotty and the Welsh. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today. please make sure to follow and leave a five-star rating on Apple or Spotify, and we will be back again next week. Bye-bye.