Episode 286 – That Is The Righty I’m Looking For

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss Jesse Winker the post-hype prospect, Matt Garza being on a roll, remembering how unbelievable it was when Willie Harris would hit a home run, Carlos Gomez’s strange career path, Dylan pardoning the traffic outside his house instead of a train, Matt being talked into Luis Castillo, what is up with Eric Sogard, Kyle Gibson being a slumpbuster, the Cardinals’ Jose Martinez being on fire, and #MattsWaterBill.

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I’m back from a mountain wedding which proved to be even more remote than I anticipated. My middle aged Corolla was not an appropriate vehicle. Most everything that’s happened since last Thursday morning has escaped my attention. So…

Edit: It appears this post misfired…

AGENDA

1. What Did I Miss?
2. Weather Reports
3. SaberSim Says…
4. TDG Invitational

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Just like last Sunday, another meltdown for the Angels ‘pen was the highlight of the day. With a four-run lead and two outs in the eighth, Blake Parker allowed a single to Jed Lowrie, a home run to Khris Davis, and a double to Ryon Healy. With the lead down to two, he was pulled in favor of Bud Norris, who surrendered a run-scoring single to Chad Pinder (the run was charged to Parker), a double to Matt Chapman that put the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second, and finally he allowed a two-run single to Bruce Maxwell that gave Oakland an 11-10 lead. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m filling in on the BR from the road at Saberseminar so no chart today, but here’s a look at the relevant bullpen news from Friday’s slate:

• Bruce Rondon notched his first save of the year for the Tigers, but that was because Shane Greene had saved three straight and wasn’t available.
• Blake Treinen blew another save for Oakland, his third since joining the team on July 17th. The blown saves are the only runs he’s allowed (one of which was unearned) in 10 appearances with the A’s (1.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 11 K, 3 BB in 10.3 IP).
• Bud Norris notched his second straight clean save for the Angels in that game that Treinen blew. Norris allowed 8 ER in 1.3 IP over three appearances before the two saves.

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Welcome to another installment of the ottoneu prospect report, where I highlight the top performances in the minor leagues (limited to players in their organization’s top 15 prospects) year to date, and over the past month.

The trade deadline has passed, and with it has come the promotions of top prospects such as Rafael Devers and Amed Rosario, but there are still prospects knocking on the door of a call up. In addition, some of these players are a bit further out (A/A+), but represent some high ceilings prospects that could be the next big marketable prospects going into 2018. Read the rest of this entry »

A pair of speedy outfielders have caught my eye this week as being under owned across fantasy providers. One of the duo ranks within the top-15 in stolen bases this year, but inconsistency and a recent injury are almost certainly to blame for his availability. The other has been inefficient on the bases this year and isn’t a sure thing to be a major asset on the bases, but his speed is elite and the rest of the profile is excellent. Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 285 – Gamel on Hammel

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss Dylan surviving the Portland heatwave, finding success with Jhoulys Chacin and Howie Kendrick, coming around on Avisail Garcia, Matt buying into the Tank Sox, Matt bewaring the gambler’s fallacy with Adam Conley, Derek Fisher being under-owned, the return of Tyler Skaggs, Matt spending on his Mitch Moreland and Shin-Soo Choo, where Nick Williams may be drafted next year, and Matt’s bizarre water bill.

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Today’s Prospect Stock Watch takes a look at a promising Pirates pitcher, an impressive infielder in the Yankees system and a rising name in the Royals system.

Mitch Keller, RHP, Pirates: Pittsburgh has developed some excellent big league arms in recent years with the likes of Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon but there is more on the way. Keller, 21, was recently moved from high-A ball to double-A. A back injury slowed his ascent earlier this year but he still produced some solid numbers. The right-hander’s fastball sits in the mid-90s and he struck out 64 batters in 77.1 A-ball innings. He uses his 6-3 height to create leverage and generates almost two ground-ball outs for every one made in the air. His combination of power, breaking ball, above-average control (20 walks) and ground-ball abilities makes him a potential No. 2 starter in the Majors – exceeding the potential of recent rotation additions Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams. Look for Keller to spend a good portion of 2018 in double-A but he should taste big league action before that season is out.

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• Pitching in the top of the ninth inning in a tie game, Wade Davis allowed homers to Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez and ended up taking his first loss for the Cubs. It’s tough to blame any pitcher for allowing long balls to those two (Goldy had two more in the game) but he’s been a little off of late, for him. Davis hasn’t been blowing games but since July, he has thrown eight innings with four earned runs and a 9/7 K/BB. After tonight’s game, Davis has a 9.1% HR/FB which is below average but he’s always been pretty terrific at home run suppression. He’s missing bats as well which is a good sign but his 11.6% BB% would represent a career high. I’m certainly picking nits here as Davis still qualifies as a fantastic option for saves but if I was making a deadline move I would be slightly weary to pay top dollar for Davis over others in his tier.

Of more concern however might be Carl Edwards Jr. who walked the only batters he faced in the eighth. Those guys happened to be Goldschmidt and Martinez, so again, it’s tough to blame the pitcher here but control has been an issue of his of late. After tonight’s outing, Edwards still supports a fantastic 13.19 K/9 but it’s paired with a 5.86 BB/9 which is a little troublesome. If Edwards can’t find the strike zone and keeps allowing free passes at that rate, an untimely homer or two could do some damage to your ratios and with Justin Wilson in Chicago, he’s likely not the guy to own if something were to happen to Davis.

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We are in the dog days of the season now. Some of you have already transitioned to fantasy football (how dare you!), some of you are trying your best to stay engaged, but summer activities are tough to ignore, and then the rest of you are fully engaged – meticulously staying abreast of every bullpen change, every lineup move, and prospect call-up. I want to take a quick look at eight interesting starters and even those of you in the latter group hopefully garner something useful about these intriguing names.

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