As somewhat of an ode to the will-be-missed Mr. Swydan, I want take a page out of Paul’s book to highlight a number of players I’m excited to watch in 2018 (this is part one).

Freddie Freeman

Having fun with some random comparisons, Justin Smoak finished a terrific 2017 with a career-high .371 wOBA (.270/.355/.529).  Freddie Freeman also finished the summer with a .371 wOBA (.291/.378/.513)…after spending six weeks on the DL with a broken wrist.  Before that DL stint, Freeman was arguably the best hitter in baseball, slashing .341/.461/.748 (.485 wOBA) over the first six weeks of the season.  He was essentially unstoppable during that stretch, and at the age of 28, armed with one of the most consistent batted ball profiles in the game and a full season of health (plus 3B eligibility in some leagues), Freeman has all the ingredients for a truly special season in 2018.

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While I normally examine pitchers in-season, a couple of late-season call-ups I missed deserved some analysis.

Note: All breaks are from the pitcher’s perspective.

Luiz Gohara

The 21-year-old lefty got my attention by showing up as the 38th ranked starting pitcher by our auction calculator. If I’m going to take a guy to be my #3 or #4 starter, I should know a bit about him. Here is my take on his last start of the 2017 season against the Marlins.

• He throws straight to home with no funky angles from a ¾ arm slot and doesn’t fall off the mound after his windup. He shows a little more effort from the stretch. With his simple delivery, he’ll not have as much of a platoon split.

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It wasn’t long ago that the Nationals had a depressing system. The system still lacks depth but it now has some prospects with impact potential.

The Graduate: Brian Goodwin, OF: The Nationals may lose Bryce Harper to free agency after the 2018 season but take a quick glance through this review and you’ll see the names of five intriguing outfield prospects. Goodwin will likely slide into a fourth outfielder role long term but he could fill in as a regular until the wave of younger outfielders is ready to infiltrate the majors. He struck out a lot in his rookie season (almost 25%) but he took some walks and also took advantage of the juiced ball to show a lot more power than he ever did in the minors (.247 isolated slugging). With regular playing time, Goodwin could be a threat for a 15-15 (HR-SB) season.

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The system boasts potential stars, lots of pitching and great overall depth. Things have been bleak for the Braves recently but there is a lot to be excited about.

The Graduate: Ozzie Albies, 2B: Dansby Swanson received the most attention early in 2017 as the potential impact middle infielder but he proved less polished than expected and struggled throughout his rookie season. Allowed to simmer a little longer in the minors, Albies — at the age of just 20 — arrived in the summer and didn’t look out of place. He kept the strikeouts down, the walks up and showed more pop than expected. If Swanson needs more time in the minors, look for Albies to slide over from second to shortstop, his natural position. He has a chance to be a top-of-the-order hitter with lots of runs scored, bases stolen and surprising pop for his size.

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2018 is here, and the dawn of a new year is the best time to reevaluate your overall fantasy strategy.  But before digging into the finer points of roster construction, auction value calculations, and post-post-hype sleepers, January is also the perfect time to step back and ask whether it might be time to trade in your entire fantasy experience for one of the more advanced, up-and-coming fantasy platforms around.

This is a shameless plug for Ottoneu, a fantasy sports platform so addicting that it has also launched a community of more than 1,000 hardcore baseball fans that sleep and eat baseball year round.  But don’t take my word for it.  There are many reasons why you should try Ottoneu (including some exciting new features launching in 2018), but today I want you to hear from some of the “rookies” who just finished up their first full year of Ottoneu in 2017. This growing community of raving fans is a big part of the Ottoneu experience, and their Season One feedback may help you make the final decision to drive your own league to Ottoneu in 2018.

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I’ve never been on the Amed Rosario bandwagon. Growing up near Philadelphia gave me a lot of exposure to the Mets prospect dystopia. No fan base spends more time rosterbating about future busts. Anytime I hear a Mets prospect is supposed to be the next big thing, I’m instantly skeptical. Fernando Martinez forever! #FMart.

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The Marlins traded off a number of key assets but the minor league system remains thin thanks to less-than-impressive drafts, inconsistent international market returns and so-so trades.

The Graduate: Jarlin Garcia, RHP: A promising but inconsistent starting pitcher in the minors, Garcia had some success in the Majors as a reliever. His control is ahead of his command and he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher so he’s susceptible to the home run even though he can hump his heater up into the 95-96 mph range. The southpaw was much better against same-side hitters in 2017 so he’ll need to make some adjustments to develop into a high-leverage arm (but he has a potentially-plus changeup, which gives hope).

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The Graduate: Rhys Hoskins, 1B/OF: Talent evaluators were generally cautious when projecting big numbers for Hoskins in the Majors despite strong pro numbers in the minors — including 39 homers in ’16. But he slugged another 29 homers in 115 triple-A games and the Phillies could ignore him no longer. He was unconscious as a big leaguer with anothet 18 long balls in just 50 games. He struck out a bit too much (almost 22%) but he also walked 17.5% of the time. Hoskins isn’t going to produce a .359 isolated slugging rate again but he can still be a stud. The signing of Carlos Santana curiously pushes Hoskins to left field where he may struggle to be average.

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The Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani is finally coming to MLB (and more specifically to the Angels), and in doing so will become the trailblazer that sets a new expectation for the future of the (possible) “two-way” player.  Because salaries and injuries continue to escalate in the game, a true double threat major leaguer is still hard to imagine in baseball, but if the 23 year old Ohtani does become the first player since Babe Ruth to make a regular impact on both sides of the ball, he will change the landscape of fantasy baseball, too.

Ohtani 😱 pic.twitter.com/YXJJ8954Hs

— Vladimir Guerrero (@VladGuerrero27) December 8, 2017

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Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is a little bare in the Mets system. There aren’t a lot of surefire studs on the way but there is an interesting collection of toolsy players with potential.

The Graduate: Brandon Nimmo, OF: The Mets didn’t receive much offensive value from their rookies in 2017 but Nimmo was the outlier. Despite a lot of swing-and-miss to his game (28% K rate), he has a lot of patience as witnessed by his 15% walk rate. He doesn’t have the foot speed to take full advantage of his hefty .379 on-base percentage but he still might score a lot of runs if moved to the No. 2 hole in the lineup. He currently possesses more gap pop than over-the-fence power but that could change down the line. Nimmo, 24, has a good shot at a starting gig in 2018.

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