Shortstop is the deepest I can ever remember it and the deepest position on the diamond. There are 3 first rounders, 9 Top-50s, and 13 Top-100s at the position according to the NFBC ADP. You will almost certainly want your middle infielder from this pool, too.

Garrett Hampson has incredible SB upside. Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien are solid power-speed combos. Paul DeJong and Eduardo Escobar are tied for the 6th-most HRs at the position over the last two years with 44. Amed Rosario capped off 2018 brilliantly. Asdrubal Cabrera is a boringly solid power option and Ketel Marte has some burgeoning pop (and some latent speed). Plus several others who have intriguing upside.

I POSTED THE WRONG LIST INITIALLY. I MADE SEVERAL UPDATES THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED AND I POSTED THE OLD LIST INSTEAD. THE NEW ONE IS UP AS OF 5:40 PM CENTRAL ON MARCH 1ST!

Podcast on SS: Link

• What’s your strategy at SS in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
• What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
• Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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Welcome back to my annual off-season series that has a quick-and-dirty review of all 30 minor league systems around baseball. This feature began way back in 2008.

If you were perusing the series last year you would have read:

The Draft Pick: Mark Vientos, SS/3B: One of the youngest hitters in the 2017 draft, Vientos doesn’t turn 18 until next week. Despite that, he already has 50 games of professional baseball experience under his belt — and he held his own in Rookie Ball. The infielder is already 6-4 and projects to add more strength to his frame, which would eventually help him hit 20+ homers. He’s still raw at the plate with an inconsistent swing but he has the potential to be an average-or-better hitter. A shortstop, he’s expected to eventually move over to third base as he fills out and slows down a bit.

Now on to the new stuff:

First Taste of The Show: Jeff McNeil, 2B: McNeil was a pretty fascinating rookie. He pretty much came out of nowhere at the age of 26 to play an important part on the 2018 Mets. He success came from creating a ton of contact (9.7% strikeout rate), an all-fields approach and some athletic plays at second base. McNeil is successful at the plate because he doesn’t try and be someone he’s not; he rarely gives away at-bats. He also has a quick, short path to the ball. It’s easy to see why the club didn’t want to part with him in last winter’s deal with Seattle. It sounds like he’ll spend time backing up second base, third base and left field in 2019.

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2/28/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms for the March 22nd release! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer
• @mdthompFWFB – Guest

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

NOTABLE NEWS

• TGFBI check-in (1:40)
• Mike Foltynewicz/Kevin Gausman ailing (12:36)

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Third base is in a very healthy state checking in as the second deepest position on the diamond heading into the season (or at least the infield… judging IF v. OF is difficult given the need to roster 3-5 OF depending on league type). There’s even upside for many. Is Rafael Devers ready for a breakout season? Can Jake Lamb’s shoulder stay together and push him back to the 30 HR level? Will Maikel Franco have another Spring Training HR explosion and trick me into drafting him again? Will Kyle Seager rebound? Is Ian Happ capable of trimming his K% to foster a breakout?

Podcasts on 3B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

• What’s your strategy at 3B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
• What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
• Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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Outside of catcher, I think second base is the thinnest position on the diamond. It runs a good 10 deep of guys I’m happy to roster, but quickly becomes a sea of “ifs” right after that. Gleyber Torres can be great IF he avoids a sophomore slump. Yoan Moncada might as well be named “Yoif Moncadif” as we wait for his skills to fully translate. It’d be great if Dee Gordon can get back to his previous levels. And so on with Rougned Odor, Ketel Marte, Nick Senzel, Jonathan Schoop, etc…

Podcasts on 2B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

• What’s your strategy at 2B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
• What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
• Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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First base enters 2019 at an interesting crossroads. It’s a bit thin at the top in terms of bankable, premium talent, but there’s also a path to it re-taking its perch as one of the deepest positions in the game. It will add the likes of Rhys Hoskins, Daniel Murphy, and Jake Lamb early into the season (the former pair being top 10ers right off the bat once they qualify). Here’s a piece I did with more thoughts on those 1B-to-be. There’s a group of pivotal guys like Max Muncy, Matt Olson, and Jesus Aguilar who could really flip the position at the top while guys like Ryan O’Hearn, Jake Bauers, and Luke Voit are on-the-rise bats who intrigue me.

Podcasts on 1B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

• What’s your strategy at 1B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
• What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
• Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

Read the rest of this entry »

2/26/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms for the March 22nd release! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer
• @RotoGut – Guest

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

Note: there’s some choppiness in the audio that I didn’t notice until editing. Not entirely sure what went wrong there, but it shouldn’t impact listenability of the ep.

NOTABLE NEWS

• Clayton Kershaw check-in; where y’all picking him? (:50)

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Every season, there’s another can’t-miss top prospect. This year, that honor has been bestowed upon Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who ranked third on last year’s list. Not only does he find himself atop the 2019 mountain, but he’s the only prospect graced with a 70 (out of 80) Future Value grade, which equates to a 5.0 to 7.0 WAR and a top 10 overall player. That’s pretty incredible. Essentially, Guerrero is expected to be elite, a near surefire superstar, and the hype has predictably spread to fantasy leagues.

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After a nice response to the pitcher iteration, I’ve decided to put together a hitter version. OK, that’s total BS. I was always going to do a hitter one even if y’all had hated the pitcher one. If you missed the first piece last week, here’s what we’re doing: I’ve got seven hitter scenarios from last year that I’m going to overlay on this year’s ADP data to identify some potential gems. For some of the deeper categories, I added a few extra considerations.

I’m using the NFBC ADP (linked above) and set to 2/1/19 and Draft Championships.

Christian Yelich: Star-to-MVP Transformation (35+ ADP)

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Welcome back to my annual off-season series that has a quick-and-dirty review of all 30 minor league systems around baseball. This feature began way back in 2008.

If you had been perusing this series last year you would have read:

The Draft Pick: Heliot Ramos, OF: On the surface, Ramos’ numbers look pretty frickin’ fantastic. Dig a little deeper, though, there are signs of issues to come. The good: impressive power for a 17-year-old with a .297 ISO. The bad: a 32% strikeout rate and… an almost unheard of BABIP of .500 in 151 plate appearances. He’s likely going to be a long-term project despite what the surface numbers say but the ceiling — power, speed, defence — is exciting. Look for Ramos to need some more time in extended spring training in 2018 before heading back to short-season ball. The system is loaded with outfield prospects so there is no need to rush Ramos.

Now on to the new stuff:

First Taste of The Show: Andrew Suarez, LHP: The Giants relied heavily on young arms in 2018 and received significant innings from the pair of Dereck Rodriguez and Suarez, a former second round pick. The latter pitcher showed the ability to induce a high number of ground-ball outs while filling up the strike zone with his four-pitch mix. His stuff plays up a bit because he keeps his arm hidden behind his back during his delivery. He doesn’t have a huge margin for error and is prone to the home run when the ball is hit into the air. I’d like to see him polish his changeup as he needs another reliable weapon against right-handed hitters.

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