Imaginary Brick Wall

Willie Calhoun vs. Gleyber Torres. Nick Senzel vs. Willie Calhoun. Willie Calhoun vs. Michael Kopech. These are just a few of the Willie Calhoun centric conversations Ralph Lifshitz and I engaged in during this week’s prospect podcast. We also got to a few of the other guys in our 2017 end-of-season top 20 prospect rankings, debating how high Scott Kingery’s upside is, is Ryan McMahon worthy of a top 20 ranking, and if Royce Lewis could be the next Victor Robles. We discuss everybody from Ronald Acuna, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Eloy Jimenez, to Taylor Trammell, Juan Soto, and Alex Reyes. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Rankings: Top 20 Overall

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Depending on how you want to think about it, this week’s podcast is either the 2017 season finale, or the 2018 season premiere. I guess it’s a glass half full/empty kind of thing. Grey Albright, Ralph Lifshitz, and I run a three man 2018 mock draft, going 27 players deep. We debate if Clayton Kershaw should still be the first pitcher taken, is Trea Turner a top three pick, and if 23rd overall is too high for Josh Donaldson. We discuss everyone from Mike Trout, Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, Giancarlo Stanton, and Bryce Harper, to Jose Ramirez, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Gary Sanchez, and everyone in between. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast: 2018 Mock Draft

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

It wouldn’t be a Ralph and Halp catcher prospect podcast without Tom Murphy, and unfortunately for Murphy and his fantasy owners, this week’s podcast is no exception. We talk Murphy and Carson Kelly to start the show, along with a little MLB Playoffs discussion. We then get into our top 10 catcher prospect rankings, and while there is no disagreement that Francisco Mejia is the top prospect at the position, our opinion differs greatly on Jorge Alfaro. We discuss if Zack Collins can improve his hit tool, is Keibert Ruiz the next Mejia, and how much shine is back on Alex Jackson’s prospect status. We dive deep into everybody from Danny Jansen, Jake Rogers, Andy Yerzy, and Chase Vallot, to William Contreras, Ronaldo Hernandez, Tyler Stephenson, Austin Allen, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: Catcher

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

“The waiting is the hardest part”

-Tom Petty

Tom Petty might not have been a fantasy baseball fan, but I think the above quote can accurately sum up the feelings of a majority us with the 2017 fantasy baseball season officially over. I’m already strategizing for my hometown dynasty auction draft that is six months away. I was going to open this write-up with another one of Petty’s famous lyrics, “It’s time to move on, time to get going,” but Razzball isn’t going anywhere over the off-season, starting with today’s podcast which recaps the 2017 fantasy baseball season. Grey Albright, Ralph Lifshitz, and I discuss our fantasy MVP’s, LVP’s, and Cy Young’s. And of course, we talk about our love for Tom Petty. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast: 2017 Season Review

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

I would say the 2017 end-of-season first base prospect rankings are filled with underrated prospects, but to be a first base prospect is to be underrated. Ralph Lifshitz and I attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff in this very hard to separate group, debating Yordan Alvarez vs. Bobby Bradley, Brent Rooker vs. Peter Alonso, and how much power we expect Pavin Smith and Jake Bauers to develop. We both sour on Brendan McKay, and fawn over Nick Pratto. We discuss everyone from Chris Shaw, Ronald Guzman, and Dan Vogelbach, to Edwin Rios, Lewin Diaz, Evan White, Josh Naylor, Cristian Santana, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: First Base

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

With Yoan Moncada and Ozzie Albies graduating to the Majors, the second base prospect class is so uninspiring that we talk about Moncada and Albies anyway. And sneak in some Rihanna talk too. None of the blame for this mediocre class lies at the feet of Scott Kingery, though, who is one of the top breakout prospects of the season and someone who Ralph and I both put in the near elite fantasy prospect range. We debate Isan Diaz vs. Keston Hiura, how much power Max Schrock and Luis Urias are going to develop, and if we still believe in Shedric Long. We cover everybody from Travis Demeritte, Nick Solak, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., to Kevin Kramer, Esteury Riuz, Ryne Birk, Garrett Hampson, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: Second Base

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Grey starts the podcast by recounting the harrowing story of his grandparents escaping a concentration camp in Nazi Germany during World War II. It truly makes stressing about things like messed up podcast recordings seem silly. The recording was perfect for this one, though, allowing us discuss Yoan Moncada’s hot streak, Ozzie Albies’ sleeper status, and if Jonathan Schoop will still be underrated next year. Then, we bring on Ralph Lifshitz to argue about the chances an MLB team will actually let Shohei Otani hit, along with talking about Noah Syndergaard, Matt Olson, Kyle Schwarber, and Zack Godley. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:

Click here for the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Shohei Otani, Yoan Moncada, Noah Syndergaard, and Many More

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Will computer programmers for billion-dollar corporations find a way for Shohei Otani to be eligible as both a pitcher and a hitter in fantasy? These are the tough questions Abner Doubleday surely pondered when he invented baseball in 1839 (Doubleday invented baseball like Al Gore invented the internet and global warming). It’s also the question that Ralph Lifshitz and I ponder to start the podcast, along with touching on Willie Calhoun and Tyler Glasnow’s recent call-ups. We then dive deep into our third base rankings, debating if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the #1 prospect in baseball, Colton Welker vs. Dermis Garcia, and how to value the proximity and safety of Jeimer Candelario and Brian Anderson. We cover everybody from Nick Senzel, Michael Chavis, and Miguel Andujar, to Nolan Jones, Sheldon Neuse, Yairo Munoz, Ryan Vilade, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game.

Click here for the Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: Third Base

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Come hell or high water, Grey Albright and I will not stop until a Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast is delivered right to your doorstep. Or more accurately, right to your phone app. When the Singularity arrives, we’ll be able to upload it directly into your cerebrum, but until then, please bear with us while we work out some technical kinks due to switching recording software. We start the podcast by discussing the interesting fantasy seasons of Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts, and Corey Seager, and how we project their numbers for 2018. Then, we talk about Yu Darvish’s relatively disappointing season and Robbie Ray’s breakout, before finishing the show by talking about some possible sleepers for next season, including Tim Anderson and Ian Happ. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:

Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Young Shortstops, Yu Darvish, and Robbie Ray

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Not even football season can slow down the prospect train, as Halph is back with another jam-packed episode. Luckily, or unluckily depending on what mood you prefer Ralph in, we recorded this before the Patriots got spanked on Thursday night. We started the show by talking about a bunch of recent call-ups, including Victor Robles, Harrison Bader, Luiz Gohara, Walker Buehler, Brian Anderson, Jeimer Candelario, and Dan Vogelbach. Then, we shifted gears to dig into our top 12-ish fantasy shortstop prospect rankings, discussing everyone from Fernando Tatis Jr., Gleyber Torres, Brendan Rodgers, and J.P. Crawford, to Yu-Cheng Chang, Andres Gimenez, Wander Javier, Delvin Perez, and many more. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game (now shipping to Canada).

Razzball Prospect Podcast: 2017 End-of-Season Prospect Positional Rankings: Shortstop

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)