On Wednesday I lamented about how my year-long infatuation with prospect Nick Williams blinded me from seeing offensive value in other places that would likely have put my team in a better position during a rebuild.  Today I’ll take the same approach, focusing on the pitching side, and will use Jose Berrios as my prospect scapegoat.  Like Williams, I’ve owned Berrios since well before the 2016 season began, and invested fully into the scouting reports of a potential #2 starting pitcher. Better yet, I was convinced Berrios was more “polished” than most prospect pitchers, and that his strong command would quickly smooth out the inevitably bumpy transition through MLB lineups. Fast forward now to mid-September and Berrios has a 9.27 ERA in 44 IP, which includes 28 BB’s and 2.0 HR/9.  And yet, I still own him…

Using Ottoneu ownership and average salary data as of September, I limited my filter to all players currently owned for $3 or less, and then hand-selected a few pitchers who (using FIP and P/IP as quick standards for YTD value) appear to have enough future value to be at least as interesting as Jose Berrios once was to me so long (not really) ago.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as a early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

Other reviews:
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies

The Graduate: Ryan Schimpf (2B): Schimpf, 28, spent parts of eight years riding buses in the minors before earning a shot from the Padres in 2016. A life-long Blue Jays prospect until this year, he’s now hit 34 home runs on the year between triple-A and the Majors and is just one homer shy of 20 at the big league level through 74 games. I predicted Schimpf could handle a bit league utility role way back in 2014 and he’s proving that my estimates were conservative. That kind of pop will no doubt earn him another shot at a starting gig in 2017 even if he continues to strike out a lot (30% of the time) and hit just .229 (His OPS is still above .900). Schimpf has tapered off a bit in September but it’s also the first time in his career that he’s played well into the month.

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I have owned Nick Williams in a very competitive Ottoneu league since mid-January.  Effective today, I am cutting bait on Nick Williams.

Actually, Nick Williams is really just a proxy for all those glossy prospects we fall in love with. Exiting the 2015 season, I was coming off a championship but knew I’d be staring headfirst at a very difficult rebuild.  So, entering the spring of 2016 I did exactly what I usually advise new fantasy owners to avoid: stock up on a bunch of prospects and let hope fill in the strategic gaps.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as a early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

Other 2016 Reviews:
San Francisco Giants

The Graduate: David Dahl (OF): It was a great year for Colorado in terms of developing and graduating in-house talent. Shortstop Trevor Story got a lot of the headlines (and Jon Gray deserves some too) — especially early in the season — but, for me, Dahl is the more likely player to have an impact sophomore season (and avoid the dreaded sophomore jinx) and better overall career. In his prime, he could be good for 20+ homers, 20+ steals, a .300 average and solid defence. He was overly reliant on his BABIP in his big league debut but Dahl has had a history of strong BABIPs — although it’s unreasonable to expect him to top .400 again. Because he’s shown the ability to make adjustments, I fully expect him to trim the strikeout rate as he matures as a hitter.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as a early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Derek Law (RHP): Law, 25, should have been in the Majors in 2014 or ’15 but Tommy John surgery threw a wrench into those plans. Healthy in 2016, the Giants eagerly threw him into a very uncertain bullpen scenario and he thrived. No pitcher on the club (minimum 30 innings) has walked fewer batters per nine innings (1.59 BB/9) and he’s fourth on the team in strikeouts per nine (8.29 K/9). Toss in the third best ground-ball rate (50%) and the best homer per fly ball (5.3%) and you have yourself a potential high-leverage reliever for 2017 and quite possibly Santiago Casilla’s eventually replacement in the ninth inning thanks to his nifty fastball/slider combination.

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Joey Wendle and JaCoby Jones: The other callups

Most of the current prospect buzz is on Yoan Moncada with our own Eric Longenhagan covering him in detail. Besides Moncada, a couple light hitting shortstops have gotten the call, the Athletics’ Joey Wendle and the Tigers’ JaCoby Jones. Let me start my examination with Wendle.

Wendle’s call to fame is that he was the main piece the A’s got for trading away Brandon Moss. Let me start with some comps to his 2016 prospect grades given by MLB.com.

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Today represents the final Prospect Stock Watch of the year… Soon, we’ll be transitioning to the annual series called ‘A Minor Review of 2016: ’ so keep your eye out for that feature. Today’s final stock watch looks at an infielder with crazy-good contact skills, a ready-for-The-Show slugger, and sleeper outfield prospect.

Max Schrock | 2B | Athletics
ETA: 2017
Value: Rising

There aren’t many big leaguers like Schrock — who was recently traded from Washington to Oakland. He makes a crazy amount of contact and his strikeout rate actually sits below 10% in his two-year pro career. That’s allowed him to produce a .325 batting average. The downside to his game, though, is that he’s almost 100% reliant on his ability to hit for average as he doesn’t walk much and has almost zero power. At 5-8, 180 pounds — and with a line-drive approach — he doesn’t project to add much pop. As a result, while the contact is impressive, he probably doesn’t project as anything more than a big league utility player or second-division starter at second base. Schrock, 21, has played all but 12 games in his career at second base so it’s probably about time that Oakland begins to expand his defensive repertoire. With that said, second base has been a blackhole for the A’s so the young infielder is likely earmarked for a shot at the position in mid-to-late 2017 unless the club looks at other internal and external options.

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First, I would like to apologize for recently covering quite a few players at or below the fringes for most leagues. After moving over from tracking injuries, it seems like a ton of new players have entered the league I know little about. I will probably keep up looking at fringe guys until the season’s end, especially with roster’s expanding. Once the season ends, I will mainly stop with the fringy guys and will go to the top and start making a 2017 draft list.

The Newest Mets’ Starters: Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman

All the Mets’ rotation, with the exception of Noah Syndergaard, has gone on the DL this season. Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are two of the pitchers called up to be replacement starters and here is my stat only based look at each one.

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Chad Kuhl: Quick Look

The 23-year-old righty has been getting some love because of his improved second half when he has posted a 2.37 ERA with 11.3% K%-BB% and a 50% GB%.

I will start with his 2016 MLB.com grades of:

• Fastball: 60
• Slider: 50
• Changeup: 45
• Control: 50
• Overall: 50

His grades weren’t this high until this year. Most places saw him as a low-level bullpen arm.

Year(publication): Overall grade
2016 (BA): 40
2015 (BA): 45
2015 (MLB): 45

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Today’s Prospect Stock Watch looks at an underrated Yankees prospect, a top draft pick from 2015 and a hard-throwing, triple-A reliever.

Miguel Andujar | 3B | Yankees
ETA: 2018
Value: Rising (Underrated)

The Yankees system is loaded with talent thanks to some recent trades, as well as heavy investments in the international market. Andujar — a 2011 signee for $750,000 — gets kind of overlooked but he has the makings of a solid big leaguer. His best tool is a rocket arm that should allow him to stick at third base even if his range is just average. The 21-year-old also has above-average raw power even though he has yet to tap into it consistently in game situations (11 homers, 22 doubles in 119 games in ’16). Andujar doesn’t walk a ton but he’ll take some pitches and he strikes out less than the typical slugging prospect (just 62 Ks in 459 at-bats). He also a decent hitter and could produce a .250-.270 average in his prime.

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