The Hot Corner is tough this year. There is a pack of stars atop the heap, but then a substantial drop-off where things completely open up. You could find yourself behind the 8-ball if you wait too long. Meanwhile, you could aim to make things worse for your leaguemates by taking some multi-eligible players and slotting them throughout your lineup.

NOTES:

The lack of premium talent at the Hot Corner makes José Ramírez a legit 1.1 consideration for me. Make no mistake, his skills alone do that, too, but there are a handful of candidates for that top spot and when trying to parse through them, his eligibility at 3B is a big selling point for me.

Manny Machado is just as rock solid as it gets and almost feels like a bit of a bargain as a wheel pick, going regularly in the 14-18 range in 15-team leagues. He has even gone as late as 20 during January which is a steal with his ironclad production and dearth of premium 3B.

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The transcript is now available!

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1/24/22

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OF RANKINGS 1-30

• Return of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s power
• Julio Rodríguez’s 2H SB slowdown
• Aaron Judge as the 1.1 pick
• Moving Kyle Tucker up the batting order
• Juan Soto’s success in SD
• Injury concerns for Yordan Alvarez
• Mookie Betts remains undervalued
• Mike Trout & baked in missed time
• Is Michael Harris II overpriced?

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1/20/22

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SS RANKINGS

• Trea Turner’s return to the NL East
• Bo Bichette’s speed drop-off
• The Fernando Tatis Jr. premium
• The run-scoring potential for Francisco Lindor
• It’ll be regression not the shift for Corey Seager’s AVG
• The volatility of Oneil Cruz
• New rules and Tommy Edman’s SBs
• Dansby Swanson in Chicago
• Petco’s impact on Xander Bogaerts
• The arrival of Wander Franco

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A day late, but hopefully not a dollar short!

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In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Max Muncy injured his left elbow after a collision with Jace Peterson as Muncy tried to catch a throw while Peterson ran through first base. It cost Muncy all of the 2021 postseason and in November of 2021, we learned that Muncy’s injury was indeed the torn UCL that many feared it was when it happened. In January of 2022, we learned he wouldn’t need surgery, but there were concerns about how it might impact at least the start of his 2022 season.

While he made it through spring and was ready for Opening Day, it was clear early on that the elbow was still bothering him. He hit a brutal .136/.313/.273 in 83 April plate appearances and while it was reasonable to believe the .149 BABIP would regress back toward his career .256 mark, there was still trouble brewing. It wouldn’t get much better in the following months with a .595 OPS in May, .675 in June, and .597 in July, all with sub-.200 AVGs and just 9 HR in his 339 PA. With just a .150/.327/.263 line through May 25th, Muncy hit the IL. He didn’t want to blame his struggles on the elbow, but I mean… c’mon, it was the elbow. He did eventually acknowledge that he rushed back from the injury and should’ve taken some time.

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1/16/22

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3B RANKINGS

• José Ramírez as the 1.1
• Bobby Witt Jr.’s poor plate skills & OBP
• 1st round status of Manny Machado
• Fringe 1st rounders: Rafael Devers or Austin Riley
• The 3B Lifejacket: Nolan Arenado
• Paul thinks Ke’Bryan Hayes has some pwr upside

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1/13/22

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2B RANKINGS

• Marcus Semien’s home/road split
• Jose Altuve as a target
• Justin isn’t sold on Jazz Chisholm Jr.
• The Ozzie Albies discount
• Andrés Giménez’s power
• Thairo Estrada breakout follow-up

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Notes on some select SS:

Trea Turner heads back to the NL East on the heels of his first 100+ R/RBI season – his 3rd of 100+ runs, 1st reaching 100+ RBIs (previous high of 77). There has been some concern around his spike in Chase rate (36% O-Swing; career 29% coming into ’22) and it might have played a role in his power drop as his .169 ISO was well below the .213 he had from 2019-21. It is worth monitoring. I’m more inclined to fade him to allow a transition year after inking the huge deal with Philadelphia as opposed to major concerns about the Chase spike.

Bo Bichette had just two months north of .743 OPS, but one of them was the incredible 1.105 in September with 7 HR which helped him secure the #4 spot at the position despite a 12-SB dip down to 13 with just a 62% success rate. The rule changes could fuel a bounce back into the 20s and if he regains the elite efficiency from 2021 (96%) or something close to it, he might chase down Turner for the top spot, especially if he can lead the American League in hits for a 3rd straight season.

On a per plate appearance basis, Fernando Tatis Jr. is tops. It’s the fact that I tabbed him for 530 PA that pushes him down to 3rd. He has just been so absurd across his 1175 MLB PA that it’s hard to find any flaw beyond the missed time – 21 games for sure due to suspension and the ever-present shoulder risk. If the remainder of the suspension is all he misses, he has a realistic shot at being the top overall player.

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Chat time!

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