New Everyday Players — Aug 15, 2023

The new player never stop coming! Let’s continue on discussing some of the new regulars.

Brendan Rodgers | COL 2B

Remember him?! He was actually ranked as the Rockies top prospect and 31st overall back in 2020, but it feels like even longer ago. This year, his season start was delayed due to injury, but he returned from the IL at the end of July and has started every game except one, rotating between second base and DH. Oh, and he has also batted third or fourth every game since his first two, when he batted fifth. So he has been in a prime lineup spot, adding to his intrigue.

The former top prospect just turned 27, so he’s no longer a spring chicken. He was merely acceptable last year, but borderline unstartable in shallow leagues, as he didn’t deliver much power with just 13 homers, and failed to steal a single base. In fact, he has never stolen a base in the Majors and hasn’t even attempted one since playing at Double-A in 2018! Despite the fact he did steal 12 bases at that level, his Sprint Speed is well below average. Soooo, I wouldn’t expect any stolen base contributions.

That means he’ll need to up that home run total and take advantage of a prime lineup spot by knocking in runners and scoring runs. His maxEV has always been above 110 MPH, so he clearly owns power, but it hasn’t really translated yet. He also hurts himself with a sub-30% FB%.

Without any steals potential, I’m not interested in shallower leagues. Sure, I’d give him a shot in deep mixed leagues if you really need an MI and don’t need the steals, but there’s nothing here that suggests big fantasy upside…yet. He still plays half his games at Coors Field, has prospect pedigree, and hits in the middle of the lineup. So I wouldn’t just blindly ignore or give up on him. I just don’t know if and when real fantasy value will come.

Michael Toglia | COL 1B

Today is a Rockies twofer, which is always exciting! Toglia was up earlier in the year, then sent down, but was recalled again in mid-July and has started most games recently, rotating between first base and right field. The 24-year-old is no prospect, ranking just 34th on the team, but you should know never to worry about prospect rankings for Rockies hitters!

Toglia has shown some pretty good power in the minors, posting double digit HR/FB rates everywhere he has hit, including marks over 25% during his first two pro stints at Low-A in 2019 and High-A in 2021. He posted an 18.6% mark at Triple-A this year, backed by a strong 113.1 MPH maxEV. Oh, and he hit fly balls at a 40.8% clip, so he takes full advantage of his home run power.

He has also always walked at a double digit clip, so he gets a big boost in OBP leagues. His strikeout rate has been high at times, but his SwStk% was never too high and he cut that down this year. I would guess he’s been a bit too patient and passive at the plate that has resulted in more strikeouts than expected based on SwStk%, and the high walk rate makes this theory more likely.

He hasn’t hit for high BABIP marks in the minors, but Coors could help with that. However, I still wouldn’t expect a good batting average. You’re rostering him for power, so he makes for a good speculation if you need home runs, especially if the Rockies embark on a long homestand during a week.

Matt Beaty | KC 1B

Leave it up to the last place Royals to make 30-year-old journeyman Beaty their starting first baseman. Injuries have opened up a job and Beaty has earned the majority of the starts recently against right-handed starters. Since 2021, he has been on four different teams!

Throughout his short career, he has played parts of five seasons, including this year, all aggregating to about a full season’s worth of PAs. So his career numbers include 18 homers and seven steals with 96 RBI and 88 runs. His .248 batting average isn’t very good, but not a total killer, while his .319 OBP gives him a small value boost in OBP leagues.

Beaty makes excellent contact, posting a career SwStk% of 8.0% and only striking out 16.4% of the time. It helps make up for a below average BABIP. What’s interesting here is he showed excellent power potential back in 2019, posting an elite maxEV of 114.3 MPH. However, he hasn’t managed a mark over 110 MPH since then and his Barrel% has been consistently poor. I’d imagine that at this age, he is what he is at this point and he’s not going to suddenly become a power source.

Five of his seven career steals came during his 2019 debut, so it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll run again. His Sprint Speed is bottom tier, so I wouldn’t bet on much, if anything.

Beaty seems ideal as a warm body as an injury replacement for a week or two, but nothing more. It would be surprising if the Royals didn’t find a more exciting player to give their first base at-bats to if Nick Pratto doesn’t return soon.