Chulcome in, everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is the Fantasy Baseball Podcast. It is me, Joey b Joe Pisapia, that of course is the Welsh and it's you, and we're hanging out today talking about the prospects that you need you must have your twenty twenty four leagues. And I know we've already talked about a few prospects, so we're gonna touch on some of the big ones that everybody's gonna be talking about, but we're gonna do a deeper dive in some other guys at Welsh is really excited
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but Welsh we talk about it all the time. Just to manage all your leagues, the Fantasy Pros premium, just to set all your lineups, just on the Fantasy Pros app. That alone is worth downloading and sinking all your leagues, don't you think?
Yeah, I don't think you have a realization until you go in and you check it. How powerful and what you can do.
You wand know.
One cool thing I was doing today, I clicked on I don't do a ton of auction leagues. Auctions are the bane of my existence because of how long they take. But you know what I love about auction stuff is the calculators because you can go and you can check actual pricing. I was in the salary cap estimator I think that we have. I think that's the title of it.
It's a salary cap value calculator. And I was going in and I was changing all the different formats, fifteen adding positions, watching the dollars change, and sometimes it's a really good barometer just to talk about actual values, even if you're not in salary cap leagues. If you want to see the worth of players based on projections to money,
I do that all the time. There's some great spaces that have done that in the past, and we do that here, So go and check that out amongst all the great tools here at Fantasy Pros.
Now, speaking of great tools, Welsh and I are going to talk some prospects. Now. That's right, because we're the two biggest tools around these parts. So let's talk about it. We'll talk about the obvious guys, the guys that we already kind of touched on the last show. So if you miss that, I go back and watch and listen to it. Wyatt Langford obviously a big one too. You know, the Texas Rangers right now kind of an embarrassment of riches.
They win the World Series. You know, a couple of years ago, they're overpaying for some guys, some contracts a lot of us were rolling our eyes about, but turned out to be the right situation. And clearly things are going well and they've already got a good young pipeline of players. Jackson Churio, the young infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, who is very exciting. They've already extended him in Milwaukee. We touched on him too. We expect him to break
with the club. I want to say he's going to still be less than twenty by the time that would happen in spring. I believe I gotta check the birthday.
Yeah, I think actually I think I just looked at the other day. I actually think it's March eleventh that he knew it was a round there. I feel like he wouldn't he'll turn twenty for the season.
Still can't drink, but we won't tell if Jackson has a you know, a champagne to celebrate that contract, because goodness knows, Welsh and I would have at least a bottle or two. Evan Carter also another piece for that Rangers team that's very exciting, and Junior Camenaro a piece that you know, we think is going to get a lot of opportunity this year in Tampa. Now, Kemonaro is my guy. I think he's the guy they can step in. The need is going to be there. I think he's
going to come in right away be very productive. I don't want to think there's gonna be too much pressure on Turio is spectacular, but again, he is very young, and there's a lot of pressure when you're that guy and you come up at that age. It's going back to the days of Alex Rodriguez right in Seattle where he comes up and he's twenty years old, and you know the pressure that was on him, and he had a lot of star power around him. I don't know if he's got that same kind of situation in Milwaukee
that a Rod had in Seattle. We can talk about that. But of these four, which is the guy that you can see yourself having the most shares of, depending upon ADP or depending upon what you think really is worth the premium, or maybe the guy that has the best path to playing the most time.
So this elite tier, and you kind of mentioned at the top, I just want to point out again this is not really even in our group of the prospects you have to have, because you should already have these guys. So these are the most obvious of targets. Now I'll tell you this. I have Wyatt Langford higher than anybody here, but I would say Langford is in the bottom two of sustain of like feeling comfortable that you're going to have him on opening day at this moment. Evan Carter's
the safest we know. He has a spot. Guy was hitting three in the World Series. He's locked into a roster spot. You can draft him and know Churio with the contract, leads us to believe he's going to be able to play the whole season. What you love about those two, by the way, are the stolen bases. I have questions about Carter's power. I'm probably actually least interested in Carter even though he's safe.
That's you know, it's funny. I'm least interested in him too. Why are you least interested just out of curiousity?
Well, I mean, I don't love the lefty bat. I know a lot of people are making a big thing about it, but I believe between the miners and the majors, he had one extra base hit against lefties the entire year. Struggled even in the majors against lefties, So if you get into splits, that's a question. Plus, he is the lowest power projection of any of these players, so he's at the bottom. Churio is the most electric of all those and he has this contract to get him in there.
He's actually going number one of all these players in current redraft NFBC leagues, But Wyatt Langford is my guy. We'll also saying Camonaro. Cannaro is the best value of every single player that's two hundred. Yeah, well, but he has the least. He has the least probability at this moment, even though there's kind of open spots, this team has to move Estock Parides. If they move estoc Parides jump quickly on Junior Camenero. But right now there's no path.
So we'll go back to why that's happening, which is why I want to be ahead of the curve and take him in the early drafts or were the best ball drafts were talking to. And you know, Cherio is going to be probably the most expensive of these guys, obviously and rightfully, so I think we can all agree on that. But it's funny because you mentioned that Carter's the guy for you that you also struggle with. To me, it's the frame. I'm just concerned that he golds up
over a long season. I think he's got a long way to go in terms of growing into the size and the body type.
But what's so tough about that is two of these obvious guys play on the same team then, so you've got Carter and Wyatt Langford. So for all intentsive purposes, I've talked about this Wyatt length. They're going to give why at Langford the opportunity he got all the way up to Triple A. He was in legit discussions for a playoff run. There was legit discussions when I was actually at that game at the World Cherias when Adully Scarcia got hurt, there was discussions about putting him on
the active roster when it happened. They're going to give him a shot. This team could do some if there's a weird split issue, there could be a platoon and these guys could maybe hurt each other. But I think that DH spot is open for Langford. They can put him in the outfield. He's got a good ADP. I want to be invested in him. I have him higher than any guy on my redraft ranks this year, So Langford I want to be in the most business of Camonaro is the best value. So both of those guys
are gonna end up on a lot of teams. I have not been able to pull the trigger on Surreio just yet or Evan Carter.
All right, let's jump to the list. Now the other guys that you're gonna have to have at some point or maybe even draft, depending on the depth of your league, and we're an start with Baltimore Orioles, who are going to be embarrassment of riches when it comes to young players. Jackson Holliday yet another one. Now Welsh I described him, you know, in my opinion, he's a left handed version of Craig Bigio. Spreads the ball, round, makes good contact all over the place. We'll see if the power you
know develops. Last year, this is a guy who went from A to High A to Double A all the way Triple A. Only played eighteen games in Triple A. Hitch just two sixty seven, but he's still that three ninety six obps. So the on base skills are still there. The guy takes a ton of walks. He's got really good pitch recognition skills. Obviously, you know the pedigree of
being the son of a may form major leaguer. So Jackson Holliday, your thoughts and how aggressive people should be on him in twenty four So this.
Is the one I want to be hyper aggressive on, but I'm I'm playing it a little bit cautious right now. If you go to roster resource as we are doing this video, he is currently set up as their shortstop, but we don't have any confirmation. If Jackson Holiday is confirmed that he is the starting shortstop for the season, I think he's a top one hundred guid to draft in redraft leagues because, like, this is one of the
things I like about Langford. Of all those guys we talked about, you know, kemn Arrow doesn't have the stolen bases, but big power Churio. I worry there might be some off speed struggles as far as like maybe getting going through some ups and downs. Langford has got this floor with his OBP. That's what Jackson Holiday does. Jackson Hollidy had over one hundred walks in the minor leagues this past year. Absolutely hits the ball hard, he can run. I think he could be closer to like an Oh
Bobby Witt type of guy. Like I think he is a twenty homer is not even in question for me. I think the guy can steal thirty to forty bases. He walks a decent amount, doesn't strike out a lot, makes great contact. If he is anointed the guy, he will be drafted inside the top one hundred. I guarantee it come draft time. Right now, you can get him late because there's a little bit of a question mark.
He's around that Camonaro range, but people feel more comfortable that camon Aro is going to be able to start sooner. So that's why I think the prospects that you have to have the true top ten list here. Jackson Holiday is one that you should be drafting in your league's post two hundred every single time, just off of the shoot that he does do it. If he doesn't right off the gates, it still might be within the first month.
And I think he presents such a good floor. This is exactly the type of prospect that you want to invest in in in redraft league, you know. I mean I love him in Dynasty as well, that's not even question. He's my number one prospect. But redraft this is the guy, great young player. You're a little more bullish on the power than I am. I don't know if it's gonna translate right away. I think it's gonna take a little bit more time.
Next guy on our list is nuelve Marte, who is a player that you know if you've been following or eve been playing Dynacay baseball for a while. I miss the guy that I drafted. I think four years ago when he was probably still a teenager when he was
with Seattle. And what I love most about Marte at this juncture too, when you watch the tape on him, is he's really done a good job of staying balanced, staying back, he waits on that ball, and he really is using you know, that leverage that he gets with his legs and that balance that he's had in his swing. He's got a little bit of a leg kick now too, which is something that he's added. You didn't quite have that when he was younger, twite to the extent that
he's got it now. So you're seeing a little bit more power and I think that's why you're seeing some of these balls jump up there with Marte. But I guess the big question with Marte is where does he play at this point too? Right? It's such a logjam there. What is your answer to that question? Because I think that's something we all look at and we're all trying to figure out the answer.
Yeah, well, I think the question is third base. So okay, I think some people could probably be like, hey, this guy belongs in that little elite tier.
You talk, where does na Strando if he goes to third. I guess that's the big question, right.
Well, I don't think in karnassion Strand is a third base option for this team. I think that is out. I don't think defensively they've liked him there. He is a first base guy, so I think you know you getting and they've already moved Steer to the outfield. So I think the roster construction at this time is Ellie at short, McClain is at second, and Noelvie is at third, with Strand at first, Steers in the outfield, and it
could move around. Here's the problem and why we put him in this tier and I have Jackson Holiday above him. Is there still is a question mark because this team is so talented. They could have McClain be short. Ellie, they've talked about playing some third, and they still have Jonathan India. Jonathan India could be playing some second base, so there's a possibility that Noelvie starts in the minors. I also think the upside in my mind is bigger with Jackson Holiday, and that's why I have him as
the number one guy to own. There's some question marks here, but Listen is fantastic in his pro debut, hit the ball hard, six dolen bases in a little over one hundred at bats, he had three homers, he hit over three hundred. I don't think they're gonna push him off, but he costs a lot more than guys like Camonaro and Jackson Holiday. But he's still prospect eligible. There still is a very viable path for him to break camp
with the team. And categorically, if he does what he did last year and it translates back over, Okay, I'll be wrong. He should have been the number one guy that he's probably a twenty thirty guy.
Well, I'll be honest, I don't care if he breaks or not. He's playing more than one hundred games for the Reds this year. There's no way I think they can keep that. So if anything, you might get a discount. In April or March, I should say on this guy, if they say, well, we're gonna give a little bit more time, maybe we're gonna try some other things. First teams love to do that, and then may first rolls around.
Next thing, you know, the guy's back, So take advantage if that should happen with Marte, because I'm telling you, watching the evolution of this kid who really came on strong in this Seattle organization and then got traded there and then watching what he did this year and again when you watch the tape on him, very impressive. The balance in that guy as a hitter is really impressive, and he's the power is legit. I want to get
him in that ballpark as soon as possible. Let's go to the manchild, Kyle Manzardo, who was once a Tampa Bay prospect now with the Cleveland Guardians. Manzardo is interesting because he's got what I call the coil swing Welsh, which is something that you know, there's different versions of this. You see these guys with that front side where they'll turn that front heel inward kind of you know, trying to stay back, trying to stay back as much. Again,
it's something the Pooholes used to do. But then you have some other guys that really coil and the left handed guy that he reminds me of when he really coils. The coil guy of all time is Don Mattingley, who was a smaller guy who used to get so much out of his swing with that coil that he used to do. He used to turn his whole body in and all that power come from that explosiveness of that coil.
That's kind of what Manzardo does now. Obviously, you know, we have a difference in terms of size potentially, you know, Manzardo six feet tall, not so much with don Mattingley. I don't know what his official measurements might be, but I don't think Donny Baseball was six tall last time I joined. So, but Manzardo interesting guy because Cleveland is I think a team that desperately could use some help
here on the offensive side. He's coming off a pretty good Fall League two seventy two, three forty five, sixty five slash with a nine oh five ops. So what's the future look like in twenty four for Manzarto.
Yeah, And I talked with Manzardo in the ouseeason. I have an interview posted out people can find. I spent a lot of time talking with him, and he's a really fascinating.
Where can everybody find that interview?
Well, if you want, you can go to my Prospect one podcast and you can see I did some AFL player interviews and Cole Manzardo was one of those, and you know I talked about he had one of the farthest balls I've ever seen hit in the AFL. It was like, I think it was measured around like four to eighty or just some absurd number. He almost one bounced out of the stadium, and I was talking about just how locked in he is and his approach. I had noticed guys want to pitch him low. He's absolutely
destroying it, but everybody was pitching at him high. And he had said that he's completely comfortable with the lower half of the zone, which some power hitters struggle. It's actually something I noted with Spencer Torkelsen some years ago, is you would see guys going off speed low, not Cole Manzardo. It was high stuff. So he was getting attacked higher in the zone in the AFL, and he had said in the miners that the coaches said, don't worry about it, because he wasn't getting pitched in the
upper half of the zone. What does this all mean to me? What this means is the expansion of learning to be an even better hitter. He's already got that bottom half of the zone which a lot of power hitters can struggle with. So now if you can come in and you can attack with incredible bats, speed, the upper parts of the zone, you can succeed. Nolan Gorman is one of those guys. I think you can see
another Nolan Gorman like season out of Manzardo. But I think the main question is are they going to let him go from the shoot. He missed time last year hit two thirty six in a struggle, but he still had seventeen homers over twenty if you count the AFL the extra at bats. I think he's ready. I think this team should consider because they would have prospect eligibility for the extra pick. If they do it, can go play DH. You're putting a little bit of risk in.
But my point here is I think Cole Manzardo is a huge power hitter that can put twenty five plus up if he's up within the first month. And that's why I put him up there so high because I think defensively they like him. I think he's an advanced hitter, he understands this process. He's actually pretty athletic as well.
And they sent two of their big prospects to the AFL that I think both guys are going to be potentially up this season, Manzardo and Chase a Lotter, who did not make this list, but I'm very bullish on Manzarto and do want to draft him if I miss any of those big early core guys.
Next guy on the list is Mason Miller from the Oakland. A's a guy that I know has a lot of strikeout potential. Everybody loves the arm. Question is the durability, and I think that's my big concern it comes to Mason Miller. I think a lot of people will be on him, but he could be a guy who ends up in the bullpen. He would be end up a closer, and that would significantly change his value depending on what
fantasy format you're playing in. I think that's probably more likely for that, and I think that's more like when I watch him again, you could take this comp or whatever he is trying to comp these guys for those people who are you know still maybe you don't play a lot of Dynasty, play a lot of Redraft and don't know these guys. When I watch him pitch, I see what could be the next Joe Nathan. Like Joe Nathan was a guy who ended up being one of
the best closers in baseball for ten years. People weren't sure at first what to do with him, And you know what, he found his way into the bullpen and he ended up saving what thirty plus games nine out of ten seasons in a row. That's pretty good. Now. I don't know if Miller's gonna have that kind of a career, but watching him pitch, a's who he reminds me of if he ends up taking that role, And I honestly think he is more likely to be in the bullpen than making starts this year. We your thoughts.
It's already been announced that is happening. He is going to be done with bullpeny Yeah, yeah, No. They what they said is they aren't. They will not move him back into a rotation until they have gotten a season out of him because injuries have been his problem. One of the wackiest things was he was in the AFL two years ago. He like no innings, came in, played a couple of games, was hitting like one oh one. He was a talk of the AFL two years ago.
Then with like thirty pro career innings, he's up in the majors with this team and he's pitching, and then they brought him back down injury. Blah blah blah, so what they've decided with this guy, and this is why he's on this list. I'm not the biggest Mason Miller fan on the planet.
Because as of the Winter meetings, that hadn't been decided yet. In December, it was just as MS. Yeah, because I heard all the gms talking about the winter meetings. They have the oclad A's GM and they were talking about what to do with him and uh and they were still kind of debating that topic and going through there. So that is recent news that's happening.
The expectation is he will not be a starter at all this year. He will be in the bullpen. And if he's in the bullpen, he's a closer. I don't know, maybe it's not from day one, but the guy hits a hundred, he's got a power breaking ball with a huge fastball, and they've had like Trevor may being the so but reasonly.
You're too Welsh because you don't want to do that same thing where you where you have a guy get up and down a million times who's got army issues. You want to have him go out there, get his routine, get a clean three outs, get a clean inning, and then get ready for tomorrow if you need him and then be able to say, Okay, he's not available after two days or three days in a row, you can manage the concerns about the health of that arm. If he is the closer.
Yeah, And the only reason to not put him in a closer role is if you don't want to build him up in that spot where you're gonna then take him out into the following year. So that's a possibility. So why he's high on this list and we're talking about twenty twenty four prospects that you have to have is because he might be a closer out the gates or at least three fourths of the season. It's the
A's they stink, how many opportunities. But this is a guy that you can get cheap, cheap saves while people are not necessarily projecting or him being projected as a closer. I think he will be the entire year. He's locked into the bullpen. That's why are we usually chasing this. No, but this is the best option of a young prospect that could be closing the entire season. So he makes this list. You should own him. Get some cheap saves when you can.
I'll tell you this too. Like in Dynasty Leagues, I think this is just going to be his future. I did too. I don't think he's going to be a starting pitcher. I just don't see that in his future. Again, Electric the velocity is real. We all know that. But you know he is only valuable if you can get innings out of him. And it's better to get the sixty five innings out of the closer role than it is to try to push him to one hundred and sixty and end up getting zero at the end of the day.
Anybody, the only argument will be like, you don't want to You don't want to monopolize all of your really great talented pitchers immediately into that. But I think there's a longer track over. The Diamondbacks did this with Archie Bradley. They just kept fighting and fighting and then it was like, can't stay healthy, he can't go multiple innings. And I think that that might be what we're coming to terms with.
This team is coming to terms with is get this big future closer, but just be weary that The last resort many many times for teams is to make that transition so they can't be like you want these guys to be starters. The best value is that they are
a starter. But if they making this move, in my mind, this tells me like, oh, they don't believe that he can hold up over one hundred innings based on his arm and what he does, and that's why we want to invest, and that's why I think he can be a closer for the majority of the year.
Next on our list, number five Kyle Harrison, starting pitcher of the San Francisco Giants. Now, Harrison got thirty four innings last year at the age of twenty one. Struck out thirty five guys just eleven walks in thirty four innings. He had the FIP of five point five to three and a whip of one point one five So obviously some wacky things going on there. Era was about four
in change, But again it's first thirty four innings. Which you like about Harrison, you know, is he is kind of like an old school drop and drive pitcher, you know, really using the legs. You see a lot of these guys with these big arm actions and things like that.
This is not Kyle Harrison. Kyle Harrison to me, when you watch him, it's really strong in the lower half, and I think this is the kind of guy that long term is going to have a lot of good durability because that is an old style of pitching that you saw more in the sixties and seventies even in through the eighties of that drop and drive Nolan Ryan style kind of thing where they're using that lower half, and I think that is a great thing to see here out of this young man, and I think that
bodes well for him making more starts than you might realize, not just in twenty four but also beyond. What are your thoughts on Harrison and the contributions he can make not only to the Giants but the fantasy rotations this year.
Yeah, I think the big key here is that, like the you have, you have the ability to be a starter and maybe for the majority of the year, because you know, they also they made trades for like Robbie Ray, who's gonna probably not come into like the back half of the season. There's a lot of injuries that are going to go on there, and Kyle Harrison was a guy that they kind of thrust into that role on
the back half of last year. The results weren't incredible, but he still had an almost twenty four percent K percentage. I've never been the biggest, biggest fan because you know, he had similarities to Brandon Fought in the miners when they were both there. They were both like really really high K guys, and Fought has a sweeper where it's designated as like a slurve type of slider for Kyle Harrison,
and Fots was a lot better. Kyle Harrison had massive walk issues, but huge stuff plus numbers because the fastball plays even though it didn't absolutely fly here. It was right around ninety four miles poor, but had a really good wifth percentage around twenty five percent, which is very high for a fastball. It's going to be the secondaries and really just the command locking in. But here's the key high strikeout pitcher on a team that is going
to give him the innings to be a starter. So if you want to chase some strikeouts, this is why you do that move. You can have that translation of you know, logan web kind of rubbing off. Giants have always done really well with getting the most out of their pitchers, So I think this is a strikeout chase play. We're moving down the list, but this is a prospect that you should have in your rotation, especially if you've
missed out on strikeouts. Hell, if you went safe and you got the George Kirby's and Logan web Let's say, and you've got this huge floor of pitchers that lack strikeouts, you should chase some strikeouts. He's one of the better strikeout chasers to go for in the lower lower rounds.
And this is a prospect that you should, you know, probably get just to He might end up being a streamer at the end of the day, but if they are giving him the full bore, you might have a ten you know, a ten K per nine high K percentage type of player out of him. That can help you, know, some of your ratios.
I'll say this too. You know some of those lefties, they take a little bit longer in the cooker, you know that just that's just the nature of the beast, sometimes just the mechanics of it. But I just really like his style of pitching. I like Harrison a lot. I think this is going to be one of those guys. And you mentioned you the Giants have a good track record with these guys and good positive ballpark factor for
him as well. So a lot of things I think to like there, especially those deeper leagues where you're desert for pitching.
And you know what great point talking about the ballpark factor, because it is it is a friendly environment. And the thing to remember about a lot of his minor league stats was that he was pitching in the PCL and the PCL is a known disaster, and that was actually one of the reasons to love Brandon Fought was because he was so dominant in the PCL. Kyle Harrison got beat around. But you're now going in and you're now
going into a great pitcher environment. Which one other thing I want to point out, he's the only lefty currently locked into the rotation according to roster resource, so he's not going anywhere. The only thing that's going to hold him back is maybe some type of innings cap. But you're going to get one hundred and thirty hundred and forty plus out of Harrison with really good strikeout. So yeah, this is a good chase. And there's not a lot
of great prospect pitchers to chase in redraft leagues. He is one of them, though.
All Right, if you like players that play with their hair on fire, then I give you Pete Crow Armstrong. That's that's that guy. He's a very excitable guy. I like that about him. A lot of energy, gives you some power, gives you some speed, gives you too many strikeouts for my liking. Personally, I think that's something he's got to work on. But he's just gonna be twenty two years old. Chicago Cubs have certainly an energetic player.
I think this is a player that would be extremely popular as the Chicago Cub fan base gets a little bit more of a taste of him. Like I said, plays hard, that's what you love. Still very young, I think, still a little rough around the edges for me. But the Cubs are a team that proved last year. They are starting to get back into relevance. So how much of a role is Crow Armstrong going to play in the cubs twenty twenty four season.
Well see that Okay here, that's a big question, and that's why we have I think a little bit more of a marker in him. In the minors, Pete Crow was fantastic. Twenty homers, almost forty stolen bases, attempted forty seven. He ended up taking down thirty seven hit two eighty three in Double A, he hit two eighty nine. In Triple A he hit two seventy one. Pretty good OBP as well, not quite one hundred points, but around seventy to ninety.
Great defenders a plus defender too, So that's something I think that helps you get more opportunities.
Should I say plus defender? Right now? This team has Mike Takman locked in on roster resource as their center fielder. Nope, not going to happen. Bigger question is if Cody Bellinger signs back, where do they put him. I think they put him at first, which moves Michael Bush and Christopher Morel if he doesn't get moved into a split rotational DH spot and it puts Piekrow Armstrong in center field. I think the contact skills are there. He clearly can run,
he can hit a bit. Even if things come back down, I would not be shocked if you're looking at a fifth teen twenty season out of him. Maybe it's ten twenty five or something like that. If he's hitting lower in the order, it's not the best thing in the world, but he's a power speed combo going near the back end of drafts, and one of the things holding him back is just people are a little bit unsure. But again,
Mike Takman is the guy. And I also don't think if Bellinger were to resign and they put Bellinger in centerfield, which is a possibility, that Michael Bush is going to be the reason that Pete Crow Armstrong isn't up. Michael Bush is a good bat, but the play here Bellinger at first, Bush at DH, Pete Crow Armstrong in center field. That's how you play it. And that is a cheap, outfield, stolen based semi power option that you can get in
drafts this year. And I think people just kind of sleep on Pete Crow and I wouldn't.
No, I wouldn't either, And it is gonna be interesting. I can't believe we're still here. We don't have Cody Bellinger stuff yet. It's the sixteenth of January, folks, What are we doing here?
Again? Maybe and maybe he's signed by the time you guys are listening to this, you guys know the answer or something.
We say this and then we'll have more clarity. But regardless, I think you're assessment is correct. And I think Morell has a lot of value to other teams because of his versatility. So I think some other team will be happy to take him off the Cub's hands, and I think that all works out for everybody involved, including Morel, the Cubs Bellinger, which again it just makes sense for
him to go back there. Let's go to Jordan Lawler, another one of your guys here, well, Arizona diamondback last year got fourteen games with the big club, hitches the buck twenty nine, So you gotta go a little bit deeper. Last year he did play one hundred and five games between double and triple A, twenty homer, sixty seven ribby's, he had to say, seventy eight batting average, eight seventy
four ops. So what's your assessment of Lawler? And do you believe that this guy is ready to take a step here and after getting a little cup of coffee with the big club last year, starting to look like maybe he belongs in twenty twenty four.
Yeah, So I believe in deeper dynasty prospects because we're talking, you know, like this year prospects you guys want to own for twenty twenty four, re draft leagues and stuff like that, Deeper leagues buying Jordan Lawler. Prospect fatigue is in he made his debut, didn't do anything, didn't really get an opportunity. Even though he was on the playoff roster. We never saw anything out of him. And people are like, Oh, he's just not that good and he hit like nothing,
he's struck. Blah blah blah. You're forgetting like the total package and also just the bounce back that these guys have. It means nothing to me. Thirty one at bats in the majors means absolutely nothing to me. He had twenty homers with thirty six stolen bases in the miners. Two seventy batting average this past year is very similar to Pete crow Armstrong. He hit two sixty three in double A PCL. Things get inflated, he hit three p fifty eight.
I believe there is more power potential with Jordan Lawler. I believe there is more stolen base potential with Jordan Lawler versus Pete crow Armstrong. By the way, I wasn't making that clear power speed better combo with Jordan Lawler. The question is do the Diamondbacks unleash him. They signed Johenio Suarez, and that creates a wrinkle because some people thought he might be the third Baseman Lawler. They've got Perdomo, who was an All Star last year. Hitting metrics absolutely stink.
Expected numbers look like they're gonna go like that, but he was still an All Star, so he looks blocked. Think people are gonna get this wrong this year. And the only reason I have him behind Pete Crow Armstrong is I think the path is harder for him to produce this year, but I think it is very much in the realm of possibility that they get him four hundred plus at bats. They could move Suarez to DH at times, they can let him play short and third.
I think they're going to get those at bats for Lawa this year, and I think we're going to see a bounce back. He's a super smart hitter, crazy aggressive. He can be aggressive as far as like strikeouts go, but he's aggressive on the base paths. He's got twenty plus power, and I think you can get four hundred plus at bats and he is dirt cheap because no one sees a job for him, so Redraft, I'm not going nuts, but I do think he's gonna get more
at bats than you think. And in Dynasty, I am buying on Jordan Lawler because prospect fatigue is the realest thing ever in dynasty leagues. And people don't care about Lawla right now. They don't care about Pete Crow Armstrong because they didn't produce. Everyone loves Noelvie Welvy is the new biggest thing ever. But watch Jordan Lawler out produced as well.
So young still, I mean they're both. I mean we're talking about early twenties here. I mean, have we learned nothing of looking at some of these guys that it's taken just a little bit longer for and they end up having really good careers. It happens all the time. The patience is lacking because, as you said, the hype is just so much on these guys so early that we feel like, look, we've been talking I even mentioned about Marte. Well that's a guy I've been talking about
for four or five years now. Well you know, like you know, it's he's still a kid. He's still just a kid. So keep that in mind with some of these guys. Patience pays off. A lot of people had patients with Spencer Torkelsen paid off last year. There's a perfect example of a guy.
Who I think another one of those.
Yeah, next guy, Colt Keith of the Detroit Tigers infielder here. Now, Keith is an interesting guy too, left handed batu The swing reminds me of Jim Edmonds a little bit. The follow through just if you kind of did like a little copy and paste there, a little job there in the sillo. I think it reminds you a lot about him.
Keith obviously last year played at Double A, Triple A. They combined one hundred and twenty six games, hit three zero six a, three eighty OBP of five fifty two, slugging everything you're looking for, had twenty seven homers, drove in one hundred and one runs. Really solid there. Yeah, he strikes out, you know, one hundred and twenty one k's and one hundred and twenty six games. That's you know, about what you're looking at most of these sluggers nowadays. But this is a bat that I feel like the
Detroit Tigers could desperately need. They need more help in that offense, and they need it now. It can't just be Torklesen. There's opportunity there, and they've got a couple of these guys there. Riley Green, like all these guys were waiting on here. Torklesen finally delivered. Now it's time for the rest of these guys to come through. Is Keith the next guy to come through?
He was one of those guys that a lot of us that paid attention to prospects were kind of screaming about last year. Why wasn't he up? Why did they not let him have a little bit of a run. I'll say I saw him a couple of years in the AFL a couple of years ago. There's some video if you guys want to search my Twitter at as it the Wels, you can watch a couple homers and stuff like that. It's a beautiful swing, it's a beautiful approach.
There's power. It was kind of breakout campaign. And then this past year obviously two straight years now of hitting over three hundred. He almost hit thirty homers this year, but defensively he struggled. When he was out here in the AFL, they had him playing third base and that could be a home for him, though I thought he kind of stunk there. They bought him play first base. You're not gonna play there with Torkosen, but second base
is another thing. Currently, roster resource has Matt Vierling as the third baseman and Zach McKinstry as the second baseman. I don't think either one of those necessarily are going to block Colt Keith. Now, if they want it to and they want to manipulate service time and stuff like that, sure, okay they could. But there's a path on both sides of those. And here's the other thing. Colt Keith does have versatility. His arm isn't great, but he could play third,
he could play second, he could play first. That's what mckinstrey does, that's what Virlin can do. So if the team wants to make the commitment, maybe take a shot at that player pool extra player pool money. If he were to win Rookie of the Year. I think so. And he's a big power bat that has good batting average. He's a big force to this lineup, and I think they want to try to win. If they want to commit to winning, I think they give Colt Keith a shot.
So pay attention to him in spring, take him at the end of drafts because it's a good power bet with solid batting average. And imagine if he's hitting like five or six behind Torque and Rightley Green. I mean that's a pretty good front end that this team is put together. So I'm interested in Colt Keith, and I think you should be too.
I'm very interested in our next guy. I can't believe he's number nine on this list. This is absurd. He's my one hestin Kirstad of the Baltimore Orioles. I love this guy. I love this swing. It is beautiful, it is easy, the power is easy. There's times where it almost has a Will Clark sort of vibe about it because he's kind of got that little front side that he does a little bit where the elbow's really relaxed in the front, and then the contact is so easy.
The lift is so easy, the power so easy. It's all there for this guy. Last year, in one hundred and twenty two games, be being double and triple A, he had a three to zero three batting average, a three seventy six OEP and a five twenty eight slugging That's a lead stuff, folks. Nine oh four ops just twenty one homers there. Look to me, this is the guy.
Like I mean, as much as everybody is really excited about Jackson Holiday, and they should be, I think kirs Dad's the guy that can help you in fantasy now, and I think that the Orioles are going to just be a really fun team to watch for the next few years. But it starts year in twenty four. I know he got a cup of coffee with the big club last year, but this is my guy, Welsh. So I'm curious what your thoughts are because I'm going to be aggressive on Kiers Dad. Should I be Should I
pump the brakes? What do you think?
I love Heston Kurstad again, I'll just throw out there's another one of those. I know I do this a lot, but I saw him in AFL two years ago. He was hearing that cult Keith run and he's actually surprisingly good athlete. He had inside the park home run that was out here. Him and cal Conley actually hit them in the same game, and it was like the only second time in the history of miners in baseball whatever that's ever happened. He's got just huge, huge power, big
hard hit numbers. His swing can get a little bit loopy, and that's something he's had to work on.
Yet he's like three Clark.
Yeah, it can get like up loopy, but that's also why he absolutely destroys baseball twenty one homers while hitting over three hundred is great. Here's the deal though, breaking news. The next guy's are An Oriole. There's three Orioles on this top ten list. The Orioles are a team to watch because we just they got to make a move. When they make that pitching move, I think it's going
to create a lot more clarity. We're currently looking at a situation where Jackson Holiday, Heshton Kurstad and the next guy don't have space to play. Because Ryan O'Hearn, as much as it's Ryan O'Hearn, played pretty well last year. If they like him, they got Ryan Mountcastle Jordan Westburg, so they've got to consolidate. If Kurstad were to be moved, or they were to move like a west maybe not Westburg, but like a right mount Castle, and he had playing time.
I think that's good. My worries about Kurstod is he gets into bad months and bad streaks of striking out and whipping through, and he almost becomes like Colton Kowser, another one of those guys where they just move him in and out. But the skill set is there for huge power. He could lead this team in home run.
Yeah.
If he were given six hundred plus at bats and he was on his thing, he could lead this team in homers. So that's why you get excited. Maybe he is a little bit too low on this list, but I do think there's just so many questions at this moment about the Baltimore Orioles and what they're going to do. But the point of all of these guys are these are the guys that should be on your radar prospect wise because there is up and down movement, sure, especially
with this team. If they start they start consolidating some of these players.
And you talked about, you know, having Harrison as a stash earlier on the show about strike outs, Well, herst chirstads that guy to stash for power like this guy's. I mean, I said, I'm very excited to see the evolution of that player. Kobe Mayo, the last guy we're talking about again as well, said the Orioles kind of loaded right now, so it's kind of tough to figure out where he lands. My thing about Mayo when I watch the tape on him, it's, look, you throw him
low and inside, he's going to hit it. If you there's ways to pitch to him that I've seen so far. There's ways to not pitch to him, and it's low and inside. He's going to eat you alive if you throw the ball anywhere there and you know, good on him. That's a strong suit. Likes to pull a lot of balls too. So he is my least impressive guys on this list, I think in terms of twenty twenty four capability.
But I think, as you mentioned, all of a sudden, if he gets trained to another team, that could change the dynamic very quickly for his twenty four season.
So there were so many players that could have gone on this part. Chased a lotter who I mentioned with the Guardians, fantastic AFL, incredibly patient, good hitter, totally like the Guardians, type of player they love. He could have done Victor Scott. I think he's so blocked. But Victor Scott has such an immense stolen based potential with really good average. Those two guys jump out to me as like you could have put them there. Here's the reason I put Kobe Mayom. He's one of the younger guys
on this list, twenty one years old. I think, yeah, just hit twenty two led them all of miners last year in doubles, forty five doubles with big power numbers in triple A. We have some stat cast out of from triple A. He had a one to twelve max, which we're looking for above one ten and average ninety one point six miles per hour average exit velocity. On hits, he had a fifty one and a half percent hard hit rate and an almost ten percent barrel rate. I'm
looking for double digit barrel rates. I'm looking for big hard hit numbers. That is what he does. And he
hit triple A, which means we're on the clock. I think there's a possibility when the Orioles start making moves, Kobe Mayo's not one of the guys that gets moved, and if they make a move, they're getting pictures that might vault him into his situation to play if he is the core piece, which I would imagine if a team, let's just hypothetically say the Orioles go and get Dylan Cees, I would think they would want Kobe Mayo, And if he were put into a spot where he's starting right off,
I think this is easy thirty plus homer power. I personally love Kobe Mayo and triple A makes me think he's gonna get playing time. But you might be having some better bets on guys like Chase De Lauder Victor Scott who are going much higher in NFBC drafts. But I'm gonna put Kobe Mayo in your guys's head while we see what the Orioles do. Because he is one of the elite power hitters in the minor leagues.
He's got elite power. I don't think he's ready to hit for thirty home runs on the big league level, even if he got one hundred and fifty games this year. I just don't think that's going to translate quite yet. I think there's some holes there in terms of what he does well and what he doesn't. And again, they find you out real quick, and they see what your weaknesses are. And you watch a table on him, it's
the same thing, low and inside. Boom Ball goes out, pitch them away, pitch them is on the spots all of a sudden, a little bit more of a struggle bus there from what I've seen, at least in the samples that I've watched of him. But again, these are just samples of players that can help you in twenty twenty four redraft leagues. They're going to influence some of your dynasty drafts as well, obviously, so make sure you're
paying attention to these guys. Make sure you're following us on social media Fantasy Pros MLB, but also make sure you subscribe to our channel again. Drop the comments below and you can win a one year free premium upgrade to Fantasy Pros MLB Premium. The Fantasy Pros Premium product is incredible. Help you manage your leagues, get all your guys for the draft that you need draft, get your draft software linked up to your league at Yahoo or at EA, ESPN or at CBS, wherever you play. It
really is unbelievable. So we're trying to help you get the best team you possibly can have so you can dominate all your leagues. That's what Welsh and I are here to do, to help you dominate. We like to We like to dominate. That's that's what we're all about. But again, that'll do it for us, But the story of the game goes on for the Welsh. I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time. Kids. Enjoy them process