I feel like there hasn’t been nearly enough fanfare that we’re witnessing not just one amazing rookie campaign, but two in the National League East. Ronald Acuna was perhaps the most anticipated prospect to make his debut this season, while Juan Soto was decidedly less so. Although clearly a strong prospect, I admittedly never even heard of the guy. Maybe because each of them opened the season in the minors and have accrued just over 300 plate appearances, which is essentially half a season, you might not realize how incredible they have performed offensively. Their owners are certainly smiling ear to ear, but the more important question is which we should prefer to own next year. Obviously, we still have over a month of the season left and things could change. But let’s take an early stab at answering the question.

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Prospects, prospects, prospects! Back on July 25th, I recommended stashing Sean Reid-Foley. It wasn’t because I’m fond of hyphenated last names (I am!), but because in a deep league, finding a starting pitcher with true strikeout potential is gold. Over the last couple of days, it has been reported that three more prospects will or at likely to, make their debuts either during this upcoming week or before the season ends. Let’s discuss them.

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Every so often, I like to peruse recent starting pitcher performance, as skills seemingly change far more often than for hitters. That’s because all it might take is an added pitch, ditching of one, or simply changing the mix. So let’s discuss some of the surprises that appear near inside the top 20 over the last 30 days, our of 93 qualified pitchers.

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Call-ups, call-ups, and call-ups! It’s an exciting time in the season, when teams with no shot at the playoffs begin giving their prospects an opportunity. Two of these prospects are highlighted today.

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Closer turnover has been crazy over the last month or so. Based on the latest Bullpen Report, only 10 current de facto closers were in that same role heading into the season. That’s nuts! It’s also precisely why I don’t pay market prices for the top tier of closers on draft day. It’s not because I don’t think they will earn that value (guys like Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman certainly have), but because there are so many saves available for free during the season, I prefer to spend my auction budget elsewhere.

After recent trades of their incumbents, the Twins and White Sox have not formally announced a replacement closer. Between the two teams, the Bullpen Report identifies five pitchers total that would form committees. That’s essentially saying we have no idea. So let’s speculate!

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I was a big fan of Sean Manaea heading into the season, believing that his above average SwStk% and superb minor league strikeout rates, would lead to a strikeout rate surge this year. Through April, my optimism was paying off, as he had struck out 23.6% of the batters he faced and posted a microscopic 1.03 ERA. Ever since that sparkling month, his ability to punch out batters has completely eroded. Why?

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The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, which resulted in a flurry of deals that have vaulted many players into new roles. Let’s discuss two beneficiaries.

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Rougned Odor hasn’t been the only veteran hitter who has turned around his season in a hurry recently. After getting off to an absolutely, incomprehensibly brutal start, Kole Calhoun has been on fire over the last month. Conveniently, Calhoun missed about two and a half weeks in early June due to an oblique strain, so let’s split his season into his pre- and post-injury periods.

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You know why we harp so much on trusting the projections? Every single season, there are a slew of hitters who start off sizzling or excruciatingly slow, and because of recency bias, we tend to think this is going to be the new norm for these players. Sure, this ends up being the case for some of them, but for the vast majority, eventually they do perform just as we expected. This is perfectly illustrated by Rougned Odor.

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A former top prospect, Kevin Gausman owns a 4.27 ERA/100 ERA-/97 FIP- over his career, spanning 127 games started and 763.2 innings pitched. While that has been perfectly acceptable, we expected much more than just a league average pitcher. With good control and a mid-90s fastball that has apparently peaked at 101.2 mph, his mediocre strikeouts rates have also been head scratching. But perhaps, he has new life after being traded to the Braves on trade deadline day. Will the change in parks help him realize his potential?

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