In addition to regularly checking the leaderboards here, at FanGraphs, I also routinely peruse the leaderboards at Baseball Savant, too. Below are a trio a players who stood out upon examination of their Statcast data. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking for my hitter predictions, you can find those here. Below, I wrap up my 10 bold predictions for 2018 with five pitcher predictions. Read the rest of this entry »

I always enjoy when the Bold Predictions series rolls out here. It’s fun seeing my colleagues go out on a limb, and it’s even more fun tossing my hat in the ring with bold predictions of my own. Below, you’ll find five bold hitting predictions. Initially, this piece was set to include all of my bold predictions. However, it began getting lengthy quickly, so I’ve opted to split up my hitter predictions and pitcher predictions. Read the rest of this entry »

Thus far this offseason, I’ve been in a late-round target mood. Part of that is due to the fact I won’t dive into creating my own player rankings until next month. Therefore, I’m not yet taking an in-depth look at the top players, and I won’t have fantasy analysis for them until I start to dig into their stats. Instead, I’m still combing over leaderboards and adding players to keep an eye on to a growing list. Two more players who recently joined that list are a pair of rookies, Jesse Winker and J.D. Davis. Winker narrowly retained his rookie eligibility with 121 at-bats in 2017, and Davis received a smaller cup of coffee and remains rookie eligible, too. Oddly enough, Davis isn’t even my favorite blocked third base prospect in Houston, Colin Moran fits that bill and was discussed a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, he’s an intriguing player in his own right. Read the rest of this entry »

I often struggle to come up with players and topics to write about this time of year. Thankfully, colleague Justin Mason has provided me with something to piggyback off of. He’s done an awesome job rounding up participants and conducting industry mock drafts, and you can check out the ADP from those here. The ADPs will change as players change teams and roles change for individuals, but this is a great starting point. Using that data, three pitchers stood out as enticing dice rolls in the 300-plus range. Read the rest of this entry »

This time of year, I tend to look over leaderboards. My leaderboard perusing extends beyond MLB to the upper minors, NPB and KBO. It’s often a fruitless waste of time, but is it ever really a waste of time immersing yourself in something you enjoy (don’t answer that)? Sometimes players will stand out who I deem worthy of tracking in the offseason, and that’s the case with 26-year-old outfielder Oswaldo Arcia and Colin Moran. The former is well traveled and spent the entire 2017 season in the minors, and the latter is still rookie eligible and coming off of a career year with the stick. Read the rest of this entry »

Last year, I finished with 3.5 out of 10 bold predictions correct. This year, I hoped to at least match that while also providing bolder predictions. I failed. In fact, I failed miserably and doled out what was probably the worst bold prediction in the history of the series. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the outcome of my bold predictions. Read the rest of this entry »

Charlie Morton generated some buzz in the spring, and I was part of the buzzing crowd. A little over a month into the season, I checked back in on Morton and remained high on him. Still, I wasn’t quite high enough on him. Heading into his final start of the regular season tonight, ESPN’s player rater has him ranked as SP29. The 33-year-old hurler is having a career year, and the reinvention that he teased in an injury-abbreviated 2016 in four starts turned out to be a precursor of his big 2017 season. Read the rest of this entry »

Around 11 months ago, I checked in on a player dominating in a foreign league who appeared likely to return stateside. Eric Thames ripped minor-league pitching, struggled in MLB, and then went on to dominate in KBO for three seasons before finding success back in MLB with the Brewers this season at the age of 30.

Like Thames, Wladimir Balentien ripped minor-league pitching (.283/.351/.535 with 67 homers in 1,271 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, according to Baseball-Reference), struggled in the Majors (.221/.281/.374 with a 72 wRC+, 7.9% BB% and 26.7% K% in 559 plate appearances) and found success overseas. Balentien began playing in NPB for the Yakult Swallows as a 26-year-old in 2011 and has mashed in seven seasons slashing .278/.385/.573 with 211 homers, a 14.7% BB% and 21.4% K% in 2,947 plate appearances, per Baseball-Reference. 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 »