It’s easy to dismiss Spring Training stats. Heck, I used to vehemently deny they had ANY value. They are small samples against a wide variety of competition so how valuable can they truly be to what’s about to take place in the upcoming season? Pretty valuable it seems, if you’re looking at the right ones. Many studies have been conducted on spring stats and they have found that certain stats are indeed useful. The consensus is that strikeouts, walks, power, and stolen bases can be meaningful. With that in mind, here are five stats that stood out to me from the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.

Jung Ho Kang: .548 ISO in 45 PA

Kang is back in the States and grabbed hold of the 3B job with a massive spring. His .548 ISO was an MLB-best among the 250 players with at least 41 PA. Of his 10 hits, seven left the yard and two others were doubles. He did fan 18 times (40%) so he seemed to sell out for the power and maybe he ups his 21% K rate, but I’d gladly take a 25-27% K rate if he’s going to chase down 30+ HRs.

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We had a chat. It is now complete. The transcript is yours for perusal.

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It’s time to overly exaggerate some of my pre-season hunches and create some BOLD predictions.

Note: For the rankings, I will use our auction calculator. For ADP, I’m using the NFBC ADP from 12 Main Event leagues which drafted from March 22nd to March 25th.

1. Jung Ho Kang will be a top-10 starting third baseman by season’s end.

He is being drafted as the 26th third baseman off the board this past weekend. This prediction was easy. In 2015, he was the 15th overall third baseman in 467 PA. Why not the same production in 600 PA?

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The 2019 season is just around the corner. With it comes another year of The Daily Grind. I’ve been writing this column since 2012. Or maybe 2011. In any case, a long time. It started as waiver wire advice, but the advent of daily fantasy hijacked the focus. With a name like The Daily Grind, it was always destined to about DFS.

Sometimes people ask me why The Daily Grind is the way it is. If you’re familiar with the column it’s basically three very simple parts with some “writer’s voice” tossed in for the lulz.

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You know the drill. Make them too bold, you’ll end up batting .000. Make them too easy, you’ll get called out for not being bold enough. I’ve always strived to find a happy medium and considering my past results (nearly always getting two to three right), I think I have. Since most of my fellow RotoGraphers have already posted their own bold predictions, I tried to discuss players not already included on previous lists. So as much as I like Ramon Laureano, I don’t need to reiterate Paul Sporer’s bold prediction of a 25 homer and 40 steal season. Here we go…

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3/25/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

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• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

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NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS

• Miami rotation – Wei-Yin Chen to pen; Dan Straily optioned (6:15)
• Atlanta rotation – Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright and Max Fried make it (22:30)
  • Kevin Gausman on IL

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I’m experimenting with a new article format this year. Instead of concentrating on the most added players, I’m going to concentrate on those poor souls owners are throwing in the towel on. Most of the discarded players will have been demoted to the minor or dinged up. It’s the few who don’t fit into either of these two categories who I will focus on. Sadly, there aren’t many this first week.

To find which players are being dropped, I’m going to use the NFBC Main Event leagues. They are 15-team roto leagues which have some depth and most of the owners will be trying since each posted a $1K+ entry fee. The league will contain active owners making overall trends easier to spot. This week, I have the adds and drops from only 18 leagues since some leagues haven’t drafted yet and included my top-three choices at the end.

Injured List

Jason Kipnis: 7

Kipnis and the scrubs the Indians are using in the infield should be monitored closely. Kipnis should get his job back once healthy and he could be a reasonable buy a week early for a team needing infield help.

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Astute readers perhaps noted a certain (Re)Introduction of the Fringe Five penned last week by my esteemed colleague Alex Chamberlain. This was a stark departure from previous Fringe Five columns, the totality of which were authored by former FanGraphist Carson Cistulli. Mr. Cistulli has moved on to a better place (Toronto) and so we must carry on his stead.

Alex and I will share this column throughout the year on a bi-weekly basis. Or semi-weekly. Whichever one means we each write once every other week. The internet, in its vast wisdom, seemingly suggests that both words could be correct. Or incorrect.

Anyway. You’ll notice both Alex and I have been infected by an extra helping of writer’s voice, a contagion I am certain can be traced directly to Mr. Cistulli. Behold, relevant words from the breast of Carson himself. To wit, what is this column and how does a player become eligible to participate?

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3/24/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

Follow us on Twitter

• @justinmasonfwfb – Host/Producer
• @jasoncollette – Co-Host

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

Notable transactions, injuries, rumors

• Scooter Gennett out 8-12 weeks
• Eloy Jimenez gets paid

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Welcome back to my annual off-season series that has a quick-and-dirty review of all 30 minor league systems around baseball. This feature began way back in 2008.

If you had been perusing this series at the end of 2017, you would have read:

The Sleeper: Jonathan Loaisiga, RHP: Signed way back in 2012 (by the Giants), injuries have decimated Loasiga’s career to date with just 35 innings thrown in the last four years. However, he has outstanding control and a mid-90s fastball with two secondary offerings that project as better than average down the line. I can’t see him being a starter long-term given the injury history and his slight frame but he could make an excellent (and quick-moving) reliever for the Yankees.

Now on to the new stuff:

First Taste of The Show: Gleyber Torres, 2B: Torres needed less than 70 games above A-ball to prove to the Yankees that he was MLB ready. He wasn’t the best rookie hitter on the club (that goes to Miguel Andujar) but the former Cubs prospect was younger and also showed a better all-around game. With that said, there is still room for growth as he struck out 25% of the time while hitting for more power than expected (11 home runs was his previous high). Even if the swing-and-miss tendencies continue (I don’t think they will), Torres has produced 10-12% walk rates in the minors so he’ll like increase his on-base rate as he settles in at the big league level. Defensively, he’s a fine second baseman who can play shortstop when needed.

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