Archive for Prospects

A Minor Review of 2015: Kansas City Royals

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Royals

The Graduate: Paulo Orlando, OF: The Royals didn’t rely on rookies very heavily in 2015 but Orlando had some defensive value to the team in 2015. The 30-year-old outfielder isn’t a typical rookie or prospect because of the time spent honing his skills in the minors as a raw athlete signed out of Brazil. He showed some pop in his bat during his MLB debut but his plate discipline leaves a lot to be desired (five walks in 86 games) and he’ll be limited to a fourth outfielder role.

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A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Cardinals

The Graduate: Randal Grichuk, OF: The Cardinals received a lot of value from rookie outfielders in 2015 between Stephen Piscotty, Tommy Pham, and Grichuk. All told, they compiled 5.7 WAR with Grichuk leading the way at 3.1. He played all three outfield positions and was surprisingly good in center field. At the plate, he started tapping into his raw power more consistently (.272 ISO) and went deep 17 times in 103 games, while adding 30 more extra base hits. He remained extremely aggressive at the plate — which limits his effectiveness at times — with a strikeout rate of more than 30% and a BB-K rate of 22-110.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Cincinnati Reds

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Reds

The Graduate: Anthony DeSclafani, RHP: The 2015 season saw some impressive pitching prospects make their debut — such as Noah Syndergaard, Lance McCullers and Carlos Rodon — but it was the Reds prospect that led the pack in innings pitched at 184.2 and WAR at 3.2. A college reliever, DeSclafani has taken well to starting and has a chance to be a solid, innings-eating, mid-rotation starter for the Reds.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Pittsburgh Pirates

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Pirates

The Graduate: Jung-ho Kang, 3B/SS: Kang’s freshman season came to an unceremonious end with a knee injury suffered in a nasty collision in the infield. The infielder preformed much better than expected after coming over from the pro leagues in South Korea. A big power hitter in his home country, he showed solid pop in the Majors with 15 homers in 126 games. He’s not a flash fielder but he’s steady and has added fantasy value because he qualifies in most (of not all leagues) at both shortstop and third base. Kang is expected to be ready for the start of 2016 but it remains to be seen if the injury will be a long-term concern.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Minnesota Twins

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Twins

The Graduate: Miguel Sano, 3B/DH: Everyone knew Sano had power but the young slugger took the Majors by storm in 2015 and had teams pitching around him by the end of the year (He had 53 walks in 80 games). Just 22, he slugged 18 home runs in 279 at-bats, and is already a middle-of-the-order threat. The two biggest strikes against Sano are his lack of foot speed and his inability to competently play a defensive position (something that is more or less irrelevant in fantasy, although his dabbling at third base and the outfield helps his value). With Joe Mauer at first base and newly-acquired Byung-Ho Park earmarked for designated hitter, Sano should see time in left field.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Detroit Tigers

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Tigers

The Graduate: James McCann, C: McCann shouldered a lot of pressure as a young catcher on a veteran team with fans that repeatedly expect to see the club in the playoffs. This young player did not look overwhelmed and he showed excellent leadership with the pitchers and on the field. The 25-year-old’s offensive contributions are nothing special, mainly because he’s too aggressive at the plate (16-90 BB-K in 114 games).

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What is Ottoneu?

So, what is Ottoneu?

Ottoneu is a smarter, better brand of fantasy baseball.  By design, it’s a fantasy platform engineered for the hardcore baseball fan that doesn’t enjoy the term “off season”.  Ottoneu is the perfect fit for FanGraphs readers looking to join a competitive fantasy baseball league with a lot of cool features, a sabermetric-economy, and a massive community of raving fans.

You can read first-year feedback from Ottoneu players here.  You can also learn a lot more about the game from the FAQ, but here are the top 10 reasons you should consider joining or moving your fantasy baseball league to Ottoneu this year:

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A Minor Review of 2015: Milwaukee Brewers

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Brewers

The Graduate: Taylor Jungmann, RHP: Jungmann was someone that I liked coming out of college but his three-plus year minor league career was underwhelming based on the expectations placed on a first-round pick. Despite the early struggles, the right-hander had an excellent freshman season for the Brewers and quickly solidified himself as a key cog in the starting rotation for this rebuilding club. Look for him to be a solid, middle-of-the-rotation innings-eater going forward.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Chicago White Sox

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: White Sox

The Graduate: Carlos Rodon, LHP: The third overall selection in the 2014 amateur draft, Rodon needed just 34.2 minor league innings of polish before reaching the Majors. He then threw the fifth most innings among any starter in 2015 at 139.1. The young lefty struck out one batter per inning in his freshman season while flashing enough “stuff” to suggest that he could eventually sit atop the Sox starting rotation — should Chris Sale ever relinquish his ace title. Rodon, 23, may continue to have some sophomore hiccups in 2016 as he works his way through command/control issues — which combined to see him walk 71 batters last year.

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A Minor Review of 2015: Chicago Cubs

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Cubs

The Graduate: Kris Bryant, 3B: When you look at Bryant’s rookie season and see 199 strikeouts in 151 games, you might think it was a disaster. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. The rookie third baseman finished 10th in WAR in all of baseball. Looking at just his offensive contributions, he was in a three-way tie with Arizona’s A.J. Pollock and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the 17th-best wOBA. Bryant has some work to do making more consistent contact but he also didn’t tap into his full power potential (A scary thought!). And if the young, promising Cubs hitters around Bryant continue to develop, he’ll be even more valuable to fantasy managers in the years to come.

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