Episode 8 – Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast

In Episode 8 of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast, I complain that my apartment is literally a brick oven, while Ralph Lifshitz bemoans the coming winter when his radio studio/garage becomes uninhabitable. Oh yea, we also talk prospects, starting with San Diego finally calling up their exciting youngsters, before moving on to marvel at some of the top minor league playoff performances over the past few weeks. We finish the show by attempting to predict who the top breakout prospects will be for 2017.

Click here for Episode 8 of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast

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

Trevor Story and Spring Training Exploits

Trevor Story is the 30th ranked prospect in my 2016 Top 100 Fantasy Prospects post that I wrote in early February. I’m higher on him than most. In fact, I think I’m higher on him than any other prospect list I have read. But if you didn’t acquire Story at good value back in February, it is probably too late, as he has absolutely destroyed spring training pitching to the tune of, .378/.451/.911, with 6 homers in 51 PA. It seems like everyone has boarded the hype train. But it brings up the question, should his spring training stats matter?

In the sense that it has won him the starting SS job in Colorado, at least until/if Jose Reyes returns, his spring stats clearly matter. And for people that were either completely unaware of Story, or very down on his potential, then yeah, his monster spring stats should certainly put him on your radar. But for those of us who already knew and believed in the 20/20 upside, should his fantastic spring boost his stock even more? In other words, should we consider him a top 12 SS option for this season? After digging through some minor league stats from past years, the conclusion I came to is that I’m not so sure it should matter at all.

It didn’t take much searching before I found a good comparable, Mike Zunino. Just last spring, Zunino triple-slashed, .353/.431/.882, and jacked 7 homers in 58 spring training PA. Maybe this was a sign that the talented young hitter would finally break out? Nope. He followed that up with a regular season line of .174/.230/.300. The spring stats meant nothing. Similar to Story, Zunino was a young hitter with real strikeout issues. It isn’t a perfect comp, as Zunino can’t draw walks quite as well as Story, and had a history of struggling in the big leagues already. But what it does say to me, is that even an extreme case of spring training success will not guarantee a safe floor, let alone it being a harbinger for great success in the regular season.

There are many more examples. Well regarded hitting prospect Brandon Drury triple-slashed, .435/.533/.957, with 3 homers in 30 spring training PA last year. He then went on to put up a .756 OPS, with 5 total homers in 567 minor league PA split between Double-A and Triple-A, before hitting .214/.254/.375 in his MLB cup of coffee last September. Is he still considered a good hitting prospect? Yes. But were those spring training stats a good indicator for what he might do in his first taste of the majors? No.

We all know the old adage that spring training stats don’t matter, but it doesn’t stop us from getting drawn in year after year. I needed to dig into past spring training stats to remind myself of that. Pitchers are working on specific things and have no interest in making adjustments to what the hitter is doing. If Trevor Story wasn’t on your radar before, consider this his coming out party, but if he was, his hot spring training shouldn’t mean much to you. He is a talented fantasy prospect (top 30 in my book) who can surely surprise right out of the gate, but the more likely scenario is that there will be some bumps along the way. Add in the uncertainly surrounding Jose Reyes’ situation, and I don’t think Story has a great chance of cracking the top 12 this season. For 2016, I will give him a projection of 55/13/51/.250/8. For dynasty leagues, the strong spring only reinforces my high hopes for Story, and I will stick with my prime projection of 79/20/83/.258/14.

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

Tyler O’Neill, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Sleeper

First, the bad news. Tyler O’Neill, OF, is a Seattle Mariners power hitting prospect. The prospect corpses of Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Mike Zunino, and Jesus Montero still hover over this franchise. The 2014 6th overall pick, Alex Jackson, has actually regressed since joining Seattle. Their history isn’t pretty, and Mariner fans deserve our pity … and Seattle is a rainy city (ok, I think that will begin and end my foray into the poetry game). The bad news does not end there. O’Neill strikes out a ton (30.5% K%) and doesn’t walk much (6.5% BB%), either. So why would I like this guy at all? Because when O’Neill does make contact, he absolutely scorches the ball, and he is still only 20 years old, so there is plenty of time for improvement.

O’Neill triple-slashed, .260/.316/.558, with 32 homers, and 16 steals in 106 games played in the High-A California League last season, a hitter’s paradise. He made legitimate improvements during the season, doing his best work after returning from the 2015 Pan-Am games on July 23rd. From that point forward, he slashed, .280/.381/.702, with 16 homers in only 41 games. O’Neill credited his improvement to a new batting stance that allowed him to cover more of the plate, unlocking his power to all fields. He then put up .733 slugging percentage in the Arizona Fall League, jacking 3 homers in 31 PA. And about those Pan-Am games I mentioned earlier, he only won a gold medal with Team Canada, hitting 3 homers, one of which was a 3-run bomb to give Canada a 3-1 win over Cuba.

O’Neill’s best underlying skills are his plus bat speed and exit velocity, which have become the sexy stats du jour in the baseball community, especially with strikeouts sky rocketing around MLB. No longer is striking out the kiss of death, but when you do make contact, you better make it count. O’Neill also has a reputation for being an extremely hard worker. He wanted to improve his speed last off-season, and he did just that, stealing a career high 16 bases in 2015.

The risks are very real, but in fantasy baseball it is all about upside, and Tyler O’Neill is pure upside right now. In his prime, I will give him the projection of 73/25/88/.249/9, with room for much more if he can cut down on his strikeouts. His ETA is 2017-18.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

Jung-ho Kang, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

Consider the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jung-ho Kang’s knee injury a blessing in disguise, as it creates the last opportunity fantasy owners will have to draft Kang at anything that can be considered a value. Kang tore his left MCL and fractured his left tibia in a game last September, after being taken out at 2nd base by Chris Coghlan during a double play. His exact return date for next season is still uncertain, but he is expected to miss only a few weeks. Just enough time to scare off some of your opponents from drafting him, but not enough time to seriously hurt his overall 2016 fantasy value. And for Dynasty leagues, the missed time should not even make you blink an eye.

Kang is getting some love in the fantasy community, but not nearly enough. He can flat out hit. In only 54 post all-star break games last season, he triple-slashed, .310/.364/.548, and hit 11 homers. That was good for a .913 OPS. In 2014, he hit 40 homers in Korea. I would not be surprised if he ended up with the highest OPS of any SS eligible player this season. Not that I would bet on it, but I think it is a very realistic scenario. People are talking about Kang like he is a solid hitter that should provide decent value, but the numbers dictate he can be much more than that. Solid hitter is his floor.

Kang comes with 3B eligibility, as well. While his true value lies at SS, you never know when positional flexibility will come in handy. The knee injury will most likely limit his stolen base totals for next season, but he was not known as a burner anyway, so it shouldn’t affect his value too much.

Pittsburgh absolutely stole Kang right out from under the league’s nose last off-season, signing him to a 4-year deal, with only $11 million guaranteed. There is also a fifth year team option for $5.5 million. The knee injury gives fantasy owners the same opportunity for 2016. I will give Kang the projection of 70/20/70/.284/4 in 130 games played. In Dynasty leagues, Kang should be your number one target after all of the flashy names are off the board.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

John Lamb Out Until Mid-April After Off-Season Back Surgery

I was literally in the middle of writing a “John Lamb, 2016 Fantasy Prospect Sleeper” post, when news broke that LHP John Lamb, Cincinnati Reds, will likely be out until mid-April after undergoing off-season back surgery last December. He was originally expected to be ready by Opening Day, but it was recently revealed he is behind schedule, and mid-to-late April is now the more likely return date.

This certainly puts a major damper on Lamb’s 2016 fantasy value. Cincinnati does not have a shortage of young starting pitcher options they can now turn to, and there is no guarantee Lamb’s rotation spot will be waiting for him when he returns. The door is open for Michael Lorenzen, Tony Cingrani, Brandon Finnegan, Robert Stephenson, Cody Reed, or Amir Garrett to grab hold of that final rotation spot before Lamb can even get healthy. Lamb might have to wait for an injury to regain his spot.

This also raises some doubts about his overall future fantasy value. Lamb has an ugly injury history to begin with. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011, he didn’t fully recover until last season. In 2013, his once dominant fastball barely cracked the mid 80’s. In 2014, he built himself back up to the point where he was hitting the low 90’s, and then in 2015, he was hitting 95 MPH on occasion. He put up a pitching line of 2.67/1.17/117 in 111.1 IP at Triple-A last year. He struggled in his major league debut, especially with the long ball, but there were some positive signs. He struck out 58 batters in 49.2 IP, and his 4.16 FIP looked much better than his 5.80 ERA. He pitched a career high of 161 innings, and had seemingly put his injury problems behind him. Except, as we just found out, he didn’t.

Lamb still has a bright future, but this definitely is a cold reality check that we can’t ignore his serious injury red flags. For 2016, his value plummets, and looks more like a good waiver add. In Dynasty Leagues, his value doesn’t drastically change, but I would move him down a few slots.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

2016 Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-15

Prospect ranking season is finally here! We start in reverse, reverse order this year. Most people would start from 100, and count down to 1. But not here at Imaginary Brick Wall, where we turn traditional logic on its head … and then flip it back around again.

The top 15 hold few surprises. These are all highly sought after players, who are getting hyped to death. The fun really begins the deeper into the list we go. But today it is all about the elite of the elite. It should be noted that these rankings are for dynasty leagues, not for just 2016. Proximity to the majors is favored, but upside is still highly valued. With that in mind, here are the 2016 top 15 fantasy baseball prospects:

1) Corey Seager LAD, SS – Triple-slashed, .337/.425/.561, with 4 homers, and 2 steals in his first 113 MLB PA. Prime projection: 95/22/105/.300/8

2) Byron Buxton MIN, OF – Struggled in his first taste of the majors, but the tools and upside are still enormous. Prime projection: 105/15/80/.285/34

3) Yoan Moncada BOS, 2B – After a slow start to his stateside career, he absolutely tore up Single-A in the 2nd half. Sox paid $63 million to get this kid for a reason. Prime projection: 98/17/89/.280/30

4) Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – Electric, top-of-the-rotation stuff. Struck out 131 batters in 117 IP in 2015. Prime projection: 2.91/1.03/226 in 210 IP

5) Tyler Glasnow PIT, RHP –  If you missed on Giolito, Glasnow is one hell of a consolation prize. Struck out 136 batters in 109.1 IP last season. Still needs some work repeating his delivery. Prime projection: 2.98/1.12/230 in 205 IP

6) A.J. Reed HOU, 1B – Wrote about him in my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article. Prime projection: 89/32/117/.282/3

7) Julio Urias LAD, LHP – Pitching prodigy in the truest sense of the word. As an 18-year-old, he climbed all the way to Triple-A last season. Easily might end up the best pitcher on this list. Prime projection: 3.10/1.09/211 in 200 IP

8) Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – The best college bat in the 2015 draft. Didn’t miss a beat once reaching pro ball, triple-slashing, .313/.416/.556, hitting 11 homers, and stealing 10 bases in only 54 games. Prime projection: 90/23/100/.291/15

9) Lewis Brinson TEX, OF – Adam Jones 2.0. Put up a 1.004 OPS last season, and cut down on his strike outs. Legitimate 20/20 potential. Prime projection: 93/28/101/.274/17

10) Steven Matz NYM, LHP – Wrote about Matz in my Matz vs. Severino article. Prime projection: 3.33/1.16/188 in 195 IP

11) Alex Reyes STL, RHP – Fastball can reach 100 MPH. 13.6 K/9 last season. Poor command makes him riskier than the guys ranked above him, but still holds elite upside. Prime projection: 3.35/1.20/240 in 210 IP

12) Jose Berrios MIN, RHP – A bit undersized at 6’0’’, 185 pounds, but the numbers are undeniable. 2.87/1.05/175 in 166.1 IP split between Double-A and Triple-A. Plus command and control. Prime projection: 3.39/1.09/190 in 200 IP

13) Blake Snell TB, LHP– Put up a minuscule 1.41 ERA, striking out 163 batters in 134 IP last season. Rays have a strong history of developing starting pitchers. Prime projection: 3.36/1.15/209 in 198 IP

14) Jose De Leon LAD, RHP – Enjoyed a huge breakout in 2015, putting his name on the prospect map. Only Glasnow and Reyes have higher strikeout upside than De Leon on this list. Prime projection: 3.41/1.14/220 in 190 IP

15) J.P. Crawford PHI, SS – Would rank higher if this wasn’t a fantasy ranking, due to his plus defense and plate discipline. Projects for average power and above average speed. Prime projection: 100/12/62/.289/22
2016 Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 16-40

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Catchers

Nothing says fantasy baseball is back like rankings season. We start with the historically weak hitting catcher position. Their projected numbers will make you pine for the PED era.

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First Base/Second Base/Shortstop/Third Base/Outfield(Top 25)/(Top 50)/(Top 75)/Starters(Top 25)/(Top 50)/(Top 75)/(Top 100)/Closer/Top 250 Overall

1) Buster Posey SF – Best catcher in baseball, in real life and fantasy. 2016 Projection: 73/21/90/.312/2

2) Kyle Schwarber CHC – Great ballpark. Great line-up. 16 homers in only 273 PA in 2015. 5 homers in 31 postseason PA. 2016 Projection: 71/27/89/.254/4

3) Brian McCann NYY– Not a sexy name anymore, but still a lock to launch 20+ homers hitting in Yankee Stadium. 2016 Projection: 62/24/81/.240/0

4) Salvador Perez KC – Perfect mix of upside and reliability. 2016 Projection: 60/20/75/.270/1

5) Travis D’Arnaud NYM – Don’t let the French name scare you off, D’Arnaud has elite power upside for a catcher. He hit 12 homers in 268 PA last season. With improved health, 2016 could be his coming out party. 2016 Projection: 59/23/70/.264/1

6) Russell Martin TOR – Old reliable. Great ballpark. Great line-up. 2016 Projection: 70/18/72/.260/5

7) Devin Mesoraco CIN – After injury plagued 2015, expected to be fully healthy for next season. Prime bounce back candidate. 2016 Projection: 56/20/69/.255/1

8) Jonathon Lucroy MIL – After poor 1st half, Lucroy triple-slashed .289/.347/.461 post all-star break. Should be back to normal self for 2016. 2016 Projection: 54/14/64/.280/3

9) Matt Wieters BAL – Wrote a Matt Wieters, 2016 Fantasy Sleeper post for him. 2016 Projection: 62/21/75/.270/0 – (Update: Wieters is experiencing soreness in his elbow but is expected to be ready for opening day. Here we go again …)

10) Wellington Castillo ARI – Absolutely exploded once he was traded to Arizona in 2nd half of the season, hitting 17 homers in 80 games. 2016 Projection: 51/19/70/.250/0

11) Yan Gomes CLE – Hit 9 homers in 56 post all-star break games after healing from a sprained MCL. 2016 Projections: 51/20/70/.243/0

12) Stephen Vogt OAK – 14 homers pre all-star break. 4 homers post. Who is the real Stephen Vogt? 2016 Projections: 55/17/67/.253/0

13) Derek Norris SD – Hit .233 with 11 homers in 85 pre all-star break games. Then hit .278 with 3 homers after the break. 2016 Projection: 62/14/62/.260/3

14) Yasmani Grandal LAD – .927 OPS pre all-star break. .498 OPS post. His opening day status is in question after experiencing soreness in his forearm. 2016 Projection: 50/17/60/.244/1

15) Blake Swihart BOS – Young catcher with upside, but not enough power to completely buy in for 2016. A considerably stronger Dynasty league option. 2016 Projection: 59/11/57/.259/5

16) J.T. Realmuto MIA – Another upside pick. Stole 8 bases in the majors last season, after stealing 18 bags at Double-A in 2014. 2016 Projection: 54/9/50/.263/9

17) Wilson Ramos WASH – Safer option than Swihart or Realmuto, but without the upside. 2016 Projection: 47/16/61/.258/0

18) Nick Hundley COL – No surprise he had a breakout season in 2015 playing at Coors. He still hit only 10 homers, though. 2016 Projection: 53/11/56/.279/3

19) Miguel Montero CHI-NL – Should have the starting job to himself, depending on Schwarber’s development. Willson Contreras is also lurking. 2016 Projection: 43/15/60/.255/1

20) Francisco Cervelli PIT – Will hit for a high AVG and not much else. 2016 Projection: 54/8/47/.284/1

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

Derek Fisher, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Sleeper

Let the Houston Astros’ Derek Fisher be a lesson to us all. Search Engine Optimization is a real concern when naming your baby. If you want any of your child’s accomplishments to be found on the internet (if you can’t find it on Google, did it ever really happen?), your child better not share his/her name with a more popular person. Google’s Derek Fisher is a 5-time NBA champion, and current head coach of the New York Knicks. Conversely, the 3rd Google hit is a headline that reads, “Matt Barnes drove 95 miles to ‘beat the s—t’ out of Derek Fisher.” SEO giveth, and taketh away. Either way, Fisher’s uncontested reign atop Google’s rankings might be coming to an end, because 2016 will be the year the Astros’ Derek Fisher starts to climb his way up the ranks, and cements his status as a future fantasy star. Which makes now your last chance to buy at a good value.

Fisher was drafted by the Astros with the 37th overall pick in 2014. He only slid that far because he was coming off a down senior season, and was demanding a large signing bonus. While he hit only 17 homers in 155 career college games playing OF for the Virginia Cavaliers, the Cavs are known to have an extreme pitchers’ park. The 6’3’’, 207-pound Fisher had all the physical tools to eventually tap into his plus raw power, to go along with his already plus speed, and hitting ability. And that is exactly what happened for Fisher in 2015.

As a 21-year-old outfielder splitting time in Single-A (39 games) and High-A (84 games), Fisher triple-slashed .275/.364/.483, with 22 homers and 31 steals. He reinforced this breakout against tougher competition in the Arizona Fall League, triple-slashing .254/.397/.424, with 2 homers and 3 steals in 17 games. As his OBP numbers reveal, Fisher has a strong command of the strike zone, drawing a walk in 11.6% of his plate appearances last season. He is going to start 2016 in AA and should see AAA by the end of the season, with a 2017 ETA for the majors.

But it is not all rainbows, there are some risks here as well. The power breakout came with an increase in strikeouts, as he struck out 132 times in 123 games. Both the California League (where he did most of his damage last year) and the Arizona Fall League are notorious hitters’ leagues. While the Astros’ home ballpark, Minute Maid Park, favors hitters, there is a decent chance Fisher is traded this season to bolster an already strong Astros team. Underscoring this, it was reported that Fisher was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this offseason in the Ken Giles deal, before word spread that it was Mark Appel who would be on the move, not Fisher.

These are minor concerns in the inherently uncertain world of baseball prospects. If Fisher can come anywhere close to repeating his 20/30 season in AA/AAA this year, the buy window will be slammed shut. In his prime, Fisher projects to hit about .270, with 20-25 homers and 15-20 steals. He holds even more value in OBP/BB leagues.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

Matt Wieters, 2016 Fantasy Sleeper

Owning the Baltimore Orioles’ Matt Wieters in fantasy baseball last season, was like waiting for your perpetually late friend to finally show up for dinner. 15 minutes after they are already supposed to be there, you get a text saying they will be there in “5 min.” 45 minutes later, they finally show up. Just take a look at Wieters’ Rotoworld updates prior to finally making his 2015 debut:

December 21, 2014 – “Agent Scott Boras has said that his client, Matt Wieters (elbow), will be ready to play on Opening Day … as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.”

February 28, 2015 – “Everything is trending toward the 28-year-old being ready for Opening Day.”

March 20, 2015 – “Wieters is dealing with some tendinitis in his surgically-repaired right elbow. The Orioles aren’t viewing it as a setback and are still hopeful of him being ready for Opening Day.”

March 21, 2015 – “The Orioles are tentatively targeting a return on April 11, citing this as a precautionary measure rather than a setback in his recovery.”

April 8, 2015 – “The Orioles are going to continue to play it safe with their star catcher, who probably won’t be ready until sometime in early May.”

May 1, 2015 – “A return in late May or early June for Matt Wieters (elbow) ‘seems reasonable.’”

May 10, 2015 – “Wieters continues to rehab in extended spring training and is on track to rejoin the Orioles at some point in June.”

June 5, 2015 – “Wieters will make his season debut on Friday after making his way back from Tommy John surgery.”

You see what I mean? Even after he made his debut, Wieters still dealt with lingering arm soreness all season, and needed to be heavily rested. He never allowed himself to properly heal from his torn UCL, and his playing time and production took a hit as a result. He played in only 75 games, triple-slashing .267/.319/.422, and hitting 8 homers.

The silver lining in all of this, is that his injury-ravaged 2015 makes him an ideal fantasy sleeper for 2016. With a full offseason of rest, and almost two years removed from the surgery, Wieters figures to be fully healthy this upcoming year. His 2015 numbers actually look pretty good considering the circumstances, and were not far off from his career averages. Wieters was also enjoying a strong start to the 2014 season before tearing his UCL, hitting .308/.339/.500, with 5 homers in 104 at-bats. In the three years prior to the injury, he hit 22, 23, and 22 homers, respectively.

All signs point to the 29-year-old Wieters having a bounce back season in 2016. On top of that, he still has the kind of raw talent and ability (he was ranked the #1 overall prospect in all of baseball in 2009), that a late career breakout is not out of the question. For 2016, I will give Wieters the projection of 62/21/75/.270/0, and should easily finish as a top 10 fantasy catcher.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com

Jimmy Nelson, 2016 Fantasy Sleeper

Jimmy Nelson was labeled a fantasy “breakout” candidate last year. He did not breakout. Now he gets downgraded to the less dignified “sleeper” label. I’m cutthroat like that. He must pay for his mediocrity! Which is exactly how he pitched last year. Nelson finished the 2015 season for the Milwaukee Brewers with a 4.11 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 148 K’s in 177.1 IP. At certain points during the year, he looked like a top 15 fantasy starter. At others, he looked unrosterable. It was that inconsistency which makes him an intriguing fantasy sleeper for 2016, because nobody wants someone who is consistently mediocre. You hear that kids! Be awesome, or be awful. People will think you are full of potential!

Nelson does have real potential though. He throws a 93-94 MPH fastball, a nasty slider, and a knuckle curveball that he added to his arsenal prior to last season. The knuckle curve graded out as an average pitch in his first year of using it. With continued refinement, it can become a deadly weapon combined with his big fastball and plus slider.

Nelson has also been a pillar of health throughout his entire professional career. He pitched 146 innings in 2011, 127.1 innings in 2012, 152.1 innings in 2013, 180.1 innings in 2014, and 177.1 innings in 2015. His 6’6’’, 243-pound build is tailor made to be an innings eating, workhorse starter. The strikeout potential is there too. Nelson struck out 549 batters in 563.1 IP in his minor league career. In 2014, he struck out 114 batters in 111 IP while pitching in the PCL, a league that is death on pitchers. In his first 256.2 IP in the majors, he struck out a respectable 213 batters.

Nelson will still have to pitch in the launching pad that is Miller Park, which does cap his upside a bit. For 2016, I will give Nelson the projection of 3.51/1.25/178 in 192 IP. The 26-year-old holds even more value in dynasty/keeper leagues.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com