Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist. It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.
I ran one of these before the season started and I think it is worth updating throughout the season.
Akil Baddoo and Julian Merryweather graduated off that first list into pickups in leagues beyond the group they were under (Deep for Baddoo, AL for Merryweather).
SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)
Luis Arraez | 2B, MIN
When the Twins signed Andrelton Simmons despite still having Jorge Polanco, it was a hit to Arraez’s outlook, but then the team mentioned that he would be their super utilityman, working in both the infield and outfield. While he is a known AVG asset, it is kind of a light profile for shallower leagues with runs being the only other category he excels in besides the standout batting average.
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There’s this phenomenon in writing where you have an idea and you start putting together the piece. In the midst of writing it, you may take a random break and pop onto your Twitter feed. Whilst scanning said feed, you may run across an article posted with not only your exact premise, but damn near the same title, too. This is what Nick Pollack and Alex Fast at PitcherList have termed “Getting Sullivan’d” based on outstanding Fangraphs alumnus Jeff Sullivan.
Well, PitcherList got one back on Fangraphs:
4/6/21
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A look around the league for the games of April 1st, 2021
DET 3 v. CLE 2
4/1/21
It’s Bold Prediction season! The goal here isn’t to nail 100% of these, they just don’t have a high enough probability to expect such a success rate, but rather to come up with predictions that could happen to highlight some potential breakouts and statistical surges. I know some people do downside bold predictions, but I’m especially bad at those. Let me know your Bold Predictions in the comments. Again, make sure they are actually bold – something a player has never done or a fall off that no one is seeing coming, except you.
Opening Day is so close now!
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Goes .300-35-100
He only has three small samples in his three MLB seasons (263, 343, and 224 PA), but he has improved his wRC+ each year – 103, 124, and 135 – and I see him poised for a full season breakout. Maybe this isn’t bold enough given that he has averaged .287-33-93 per 650 PA. He still needs to overperform that mark and put up over 600 PA so I think it still qualifies as bold, especially since his high in games played is 84.
3/30/21
Earlier this year, we began looking for new writers and the interest was truly remarkable. I want to thank everyone who took the time to apply. This was my first time going through a hiring process here at FanGraphs and it was incredible to see so many talented people get involved. Of course, this abundance of talented folks meant the decisions would be difficult and, in the end, they absolutely were.
I want to reiterate a note Meg had in the front page welcome. If you weren’t part of this hiring run, continue writing. There will be other opportunities, whether here or elsewhere, and not only that, but it strengthens the outlets you currently write for as they grow their footprint in the baseball world. The expansion of the baseball writing community since I started 412 years ago has been amazing to watch and helped cultivate an amazing pool of candidates.
Let’s get to know our new class of Rotographs writers officially joining the team on April 1st:
Most drafts are in the books and the NFBC even ran their first waiver period last night. It’s time to start focusing on the future a bit. Not too far out, April is our focus. Here are a couple guys to put on your watchlist and monitor in the early part of the season. Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist.
It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you will likely be sorting by certain stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.
Trevor Rogers | P, MIA
I got to write the profile blurb for Rogers in this year’s Baseball HQ Forecaster and I pointed out how he allowed 13 of his 19 ER across two hideous outings while showing off above average swing-and-miss stuff in the other successful five starts (2.57 ERA, 32% K rate). The 23-year-old lefty has good velocity and three reliable pitches.
This weekend is the last big push of drafts so it’s time for one final update of my SP ranks. Lots of movement as it’s time to lock in and put together our rotations.
The blue bar represents the START of a new tier. Yes, deGrom is his own tier.
You can also get up to the minute rankings of every position on our Patreon.
UPDATE(S):