The Roto Riteup, and Justin Mason, hope you get your fill of George Springer’s bath water……
Count ‘em, SIX hits for George Springer.
Have. A. Night. pic.twitter.com/BYpYVgDUsZ
— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2018
Today at the Prospect Stock Watch we take a trip through the minors league systems of the Nationals, Diamondbacks, Padres and Astros.
Juan Soto, OF, Nationals: With 20-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna now in the Majors with the Braves, Soto is now the most exciting outfield prospect in the game — surpassing his better known org mate Victor Robles. The 19-year-old outfielder is an exceptionally gifted hitter who has an extremely mature approach at the plate that is somewhat similar to Toronto’s phenom, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Soto might actually be in double-A by now had he not lost most of last year to injury. There really isn’t much that he doesn’t do well. He has a .367 career average and is hitting .380 in 2018 split between two A-ball levels. He’s shown an exceptional eye with 24 walks and 17 strikeouts in 28 games. And he’s no singles hitter; 11 of his 41 hits have gone over the outfield fence — and he has a total of 23 extra base hits. He also hits left-handed pitching with four homers and a batting average just shy of .500 in 31 at-bats this year. If Bryce Harper leaves Washington after this year, this is the player that’s going to soften the blow.
As a Royals fan, I try my hardest to not roster any to make sure I limit my hometown bias. Two bats, Alex Gordon and Jorge Soler, are heating up to the point they are being rostered in 15-team leagues and even some shallower ones with Soler. It’s time to perform an unbiased examination of the pair.
All I’ve been able to hear when Alex Gordon’s name is brought up is:
“F’ it, I guess I’ll take Alex Gordon.”
One of my league mates blurted this statement after struggling to locate an available outfielder in my home AL-only league auction.
If you took the weekend off from baseball to enjoy the beautiful spring weather (or for any other reason), you can rest assured that the Angels’ closer situation remains as confusing as ever.
Based on recent usage patterns, it looks like Jim Johnson may be the Angels’ closer, or at the very least, at the head of their closer committee. When the Angels grabbed a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th inning in Saturday’s game against the Mariners, Johnson was brought in for the save. Perhaps even more to the point, Mike Scioscia had already used Cam Bedrosian in the sixth inning and Justin Anderson in the eighth inning — both in situations where the Angels held a two-run lead — so it appeared the manager was saving Johnson for the save. The night before, Scioscia had Anderson set up for an apparent save, having him get the final out of the seventh inning and all three outs in the eighth inning. Even though the Angels expanded their lead to five runs in the ninth inning, Johnson came in to pitch a scoreless bottom of the frame.
Read the rest of this entry »
Everything is better with bacon. But bacon is best by itself. What a conundrum.
AGENDA
The Roto Riteup hopes you always give it your best shot……
Meet @Jrizzi15.
The @SeattleUBase player came up just a bit short… https://t.co/KOF7VRPcSX pic.twitter.com/PMnA6o4dvb
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 6, 2018
Last week, I calculated every hitter’s xHR/FB rate, and then listed and discussed those whose marks were well above their actual HR/FB rates (suggesting imminent improvement) and those whose marks were most below their actual HR/FB rates (suggesting imminent decline). Those posts provided some actionable advice, in the form of buy low targets and guys you might want to consider selling high. But what about the hitters whose underlying skills actually justify their HR/FB rate spikes? These are the guys you might consider buying high, or if you already own the player, shouldn’t rush to sell high.
5/6/18
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| 7:31 |
: It’s time to get this chat started. First, here are this week’s FAAB bids in Tout Wars two 15-team leagues. |
| 7:31 |
: Auction |
| 7:31 |
: NKingham: 212 |
| 7:31 |
: Draft |
| 7:31 |
: AVerdugo: 165 |
Before delving down the rabbit hole of chasing the next save, a moment to celebrate a milestone for Craig Kimbrel. He’s reached 300 saves in the fewest games (494) of any reliever, with the least save opportunities (330) and at the youngest age (29). Saturday’s save was Kimbrel’s ninth of this year and he did so in familiar fashion striking out two in a clean inning. Rounding into form, Kimbrel’s been a solid investment within the top tier of closers this season. Teammate Joe Kelly also worked out of a bases loaded jam to provide the save chance. Over his last 11 innings, Kelly’s recorded 12 strikeouts while limiting opponents to four hits and zero walks.
Now, it’s time to start trying to diagnose future save production. First, with Bud Norris leaving Saturday’s appearance with an injury, the team will need to reshuffle roles within the bullpen, again. For now, Norris will avoid the disabled list according to sources, but there’s no guarantees. Norris believes he needs a “few days” to recover since it’s an injury he’s managed before. He’s worked 17 times in 31 games including four of the last five for St. Louis. As for the next chance, here’s a quick look at the contestants: Read the rest of this entry »