¶ Intro / Opening
Welcome back to Join the Ranks, a podcast to the Dinasty Guru network, where we're helping Dynasty managers win your leagues, one player at a time. For more great content, be sure to listen to The Dynasty's Child podcast and our newest TDG podcast, The Prospect Showdown, hosted by Brian and daniel Leboude. And you can also find all of our rankings and articles on the Dinasty Guru website. I'm Drew Klin, senior writer at The Dinasty Guru, and with me today
as our co host, TDG Senior writer Chris Knock. Today is our last regular Joining the Ranks of the season, and then two weeks will record and our end of the year JTR thirty. You definitely don't want to miss that, and then after a short off season, we'll be back. I assume Chris and I didn't talk about this. I'm coming back and I will find you because we're in this together. And sometime in December and we'll start off with our great twenty twenty five content, including our annual
review of the Dynasty Guru positional rankings. So, Chris, have you been And today we're going to talk about some post hype prospect?
Would you rather? You ready for that?
Oh? Yeah, I'm actually pretty excited because I you know, I like to shop at Goodwill and this isn't quite the good will discussion of prospects, but you know, bargain beIN sort of deal.
Perhaps, Yeah, I think so.
And if you haven't figured out what we've done is we've compiled a list of players who at one time or another have been hyped up as prospects and maybe didn't make the first impression we'd hoped for this year. The question is will they still break out or is this who they are? We've come up with we're going to talk about hitters today. We've come up with fifteen or sixteen names, and we're going to kind of pair them off, and then would you rather format? And you know,
the big question being you've got two guys here. If you have to keep one and cut one on your dynasty roster, which one are you keeping? So we're gonna jump right in and we're gonna start off with a bang. These are two headliners.
There.
There was no question that they've been hyped and and I'm not saying we're not saying it's undeserved by the way, we're just saying maybe hype delayed. But these are two names that you heard a lot about last year and have not heard a lot about over the course of the season in terms of their statistics. But they are Victor Scott the second and noelbe Marte and noelve and Marte missed part of the season due to his suspension,
and Victor Scott spent most of his season in the minors. So, Chris, what do you think of these two guys and you can only keep one in your roster for next year, which one is it going to be?
You know, I don't want to say it's sunk cost fallacy, but I have a lot of shares of Noelvie and he's more of the profile I would say entering the twenty four season, he's more of the profile that I like, more known power in the bat and then the speed to supplement as opposed to the VS. Two game of a lot of speed and mostly a what noodle type
bat questionable. So noelv has been the bigger disappointment, I would say, you know, you had the the PD suspension the spring, and then he has not let the world on fire since coming back. As we're obviously highlighting him here, but I would still lean to his more complete game, or what we assume to be a complete game going forward,
carrying the profile. I can listen to a Victor Scott argument, though, if that's what you're gonna come with, because you know, the flashing red flag that avoid avoid signed for Marte is the fact that he was busted for performance enhancing drugs and since he got in trouble for that, he has not been performing, so it seems like they were
adequately enhancing him. I just it's half a season, not even of poor MLB performance, and I would rather chalk that up to growth, you know, in an optimistic sense, as opposed to Victor Scott, the second who maybe his lost season where he's barely I mean, he's only I guess he's almost played the same amount of games all in all fifty for Victor Scott, where it's been like
sixty something for Noelvie. But in the majors. I'm just more afraid of the fact that he's not able to hit the ball with authority throwing in the Cardinals outfield or just Cardinals development, you know, not to mock too much about their outfield history. The Saint Louis Cardinals have had with poor performing outfielders in their system who move
on to greener pastures and then start performing. But I just all in all, I just trust the skill set that Marte came with prior to his suspension, and I'm hoping that all of that performance was not due to his peds.
Okay, I think I'm going to give you a bit of a Victor Scott argument, and I'm gonna say and this is the only pairing where I'm gonna say this. I was low person on both these guys last offseason. With Marte, I even wrote him as a faller in the third base write ups, which I took heat for. I got a very scathing email about that from a reader up in Maine.
According to his IP address, That's as far as I went. I stopped this.
Sure, who was a fury that? But the thing about Marte is you look at his scouting grades and you look at his performance to the miners, and they don't match up. And I just think that I've always wondered if the drive has been there and then the PD happened, and then you know, he's done nothing since coming back.
From the PD. Suspension, and I truly.
Hope the off season somebody sits down with him and and he does turn it on. I mean, I've always root for these guys and we talk about that, but I just I haven't seen it in Marte yet, and I just wonder if the if the inner drive is there. And then with Scott, uh, I know somebody was saying, well, at least he's not Billy Hamilton, because look what he's done. And then I pulled up Billy Hamilton's Double A stats
and they were slightly better than Victor Scott. And those of you who don't remember Billy Hamilton he was came up with. Uh, I think he came up with Cincinnati right and bounced around a couple of times, fastest man on the planet. Practically just couldn't get on base, and really at the major league level, wasn't able to put the bat on the ball. But Billy Hamilton could in double A just the same way that Victor Scott could.
And people said, well, we have we have more information about Victor Scott, but we don't know how that more information compared to Billy Hamilton.
Had we had that at the time. However, the reason.
I'm going to make a Victor Scott argument is looking at you know, for a short time in the major leagues, and I look at his his contact skills. It was his zone contact and the Majors this year was eighty six point six percent eighty eight point nine in TRIPAA. Those are very hot. You know, anything over nineties as you considered very good. And then you've got Luis Arias who's like ninety nine. That's off the chart. Could and
even his his chase rates not that bad. He's swinging at about thirty percent of pitches outside the zone, so that's not horrible. His his major league bad bit was two twelve. That's not sustainable. And he wasn't hitting the ball hard. He's got some things.
To work on.
I you know, the first to say that. But in his triple A babbub this year is two thirty three, and you look at average is you're going to be around three hundred, and you know, unless you're not. I was gonna say, robbin you out. Christian Yelich here he brought up before you know who run particularly high babbots. So you know his babbitts and the miners were over three thirty three, sixty I it's a big jump. He's twenty three years old. He's got some development to do.
You can't teach speed. He's got the speed. So that's gonna give me the field hit. It's going to give you the stolen bases. Can't get in either of these guys.
Heads.
You don't know which system is going to be better, you know, for which player.
You know.
Somebody might say Cincinnati should have done a lot better with a lot of different guys this year, but you can say the same thing about Saint Louis too, So I'm not I'm not quite sure organizationally, anybody's particularly helped or hurt by where they are. But if I've got both on my roster, I don't like cutting the Welby. I think they both got a lot of potential, but forced choice, I'm gonna go with Vs.
Two and see what he can do.
Yeah, I mean, I'm still gonna stick with the Welvy based off of the pedigree, I guess more than anything, you can hit the ball.
You can make contact, but if you're you know, if you're hitting it softly up the middle or wherever, you can be the fastest man in the world. As long as the outfielder's able to got plenty of time to run underneath it, you know. But that being said, since Nowelvie's come back, his average exit velocity, you know, he's got one hundred plus bat ated ball events. He's not even in eighty seven eighty seven miles an hour. I don't know that percentile, but that is not fast, you know.
I ideally we're looking for average X of the last That he's eighty nine and above nineties is awesome. So he's not hitting the ball hard. He's also not barreling it a lot, and I like to chalk up the humanity aspect. I guess again, it could be some sunk cost fallacy on my end. On my part here, I'm just saying there's got to be something that's not in
the numbers. But he's not making good contact, and I think that hopefully with the proper offseason, hopefully then he'll just you know, be put everything behind him and be ready for his first full season, his first second full yet, or however you want to jokingly say that. So I'm gonna stick with Noelvie. But I I get I get it, I get it.
I just want to quickly point out that we're only one matchup in. We've already brought in some economic and psychology philosophy into it, so uh, stay tuned.
For Greek literature and will geography coming up soon.
All right, our next pairing, let's go to the top of our list, and uh, we're looking at Kyle Manzarto
¶ Kyle Manzardo or Curtis Mead
and Curtis Mead. All right, who I think in terms of hype and rankings in the past couple of years, Minzarto was much higher, and in terms of performance, particularly at the major league level, remarkably similar.
You know, slash.
Mazardo's slash has been two twenty six sixty two three eighty three in Mead two thirty eight to eighty two to eighty seven. Quick note, I pulled these stats last week last weekend, getting ready for this, and Minzarto's had a really hot week, so his numbers a probably little bit higher than that as we write, as we are recording right now.
But who are you taking to that one, Chris?
Yeah, I'm gonna the man. I can never say the nickname, but Manzil Larian Manzarto. I'm taking Kyle, mister Manzardo. You know, he was all the rage after Vinnie was all the rage kind of following in that same profile of on
base questionable power from your first baseman. But he's, as you alluded to, he's been picking up with consistent playing time in Cleveland the last couple of weeks, he's been turning it on, and I think to me, that just gives more faith that, yeah, he might not be a top ten first baseman in his prime, but he may He's gonna definitely be on a first basement or corner
infielder that should be rostered everywhere. Curtis Mead, on the other hand, I have more concern with that just of him being viable in a starting position on the fan at fifteen teamer in the long run, just based off of Tampa Bay and they always seem to have new hot to trot prospects coming up, and we you know, Xavier Isaac, Trey Morgan, no slouches. Who knows what their future holds, but there's going to be competition, There's going to be other people that they're going to prioritize with
their platooning and whatnot. So I just have more faith that Manzarto will be a consistent first baseman and worthy of fantasy rosters in our fifteen teamers that we focus on.
Yeah, I cannot argue with you on that one. I think this is one where I do look a little bit more at the organization. Something that picked up from you earlier in the years is looking at how an organization treats a player. And again, twelve months ago, I would have thought Curtis Mead would have been pretty much the full time first baseman h this year, and he had again as last weekend, one hundred and thirty two
Major League played appearances, and he didn't. You know, he had a two thirty eight to eighty two to two eighty seven slash line with those, so he didn't seize the job either when he had the opportunity. Uh, you know, Manzarto had some some issues that kind of held him back a couple of years ago.
I think he's really kind of breaking.
Into his own I think Cleveland does do a great job of putting the young players in the position to succeed, and when they're hot, they play him, and when they're not, they don't really bench him per se, but they'll, you know, they'll kind of cool them off, work with them, and then then bring him back. They're not They're not forgotten. I So for me, I think it's almost an easy.
One for me.
With Manzarto, I think Meat is sneaky one. I kind of keep an eye on him because he's just the kind of guy might be a good late breakout prosper break up being a relative term, I think with his ceiling.
But you know, it could be there.
And you never know Tampa Moose players, and there's no rhyme or reason that some of the trades they make either that we can see. I'm sure the the organization knows what they're doing. But you know, me could find himself in a totally new situation next year and really blossom. But I think Manzarto is the call there. I see a little. I see a lot of NYP in Manzarto. I mean, I, you know, today, for like, for a
roster for next year, I'll take vn ep. But for roster for three years from now, I think they'd be a toss up between the two of them.
Am I dreaming?
No? I don't think so. There there's a lot of similarities. I think Vinnie has you know, the few years, although he hasn't had any complete seasons. I think he's had both of them cut short by injury, so he hasn't started banging homers like we were hoping he would develop into. But again, his Vinnie's careers very early on too. I will say I was actually diving in and a little bit as you were talking here. I do want to mention that Manzardo has only played one game at first
base since he's been back up here. I mean, obviously the Guardians have Naylor and Big Christmas who could potentially play first base. David Frye probably is still getting rotated in there, so you know, it'll be interesting to see what happens as they maintain this roster for a while. If Manzardo will finally move to first base and then
Naylor takes more of the DH opportunities. I don't know, but I don't I shouldn't consider it a lock when I when I look and see that that he's not playing even fifty percent of the game since he's been up there. He's been DH a lot this end of the month of September, so, but comparing Manzarto to Vinnie, hopefully that we're getting that twenties power from both of them and as soon as next season would be great.
Yeah yeah.
I think one of at least one of Kyle's home runs this week was a pinch it yeah appearance. And so all right, our next grouping, uh, two guys who we haven't seen a lot of at the major league level. And I think that these are two they're going to be able to if you're interested in them, you'll probably be able to make a trade for him and get a hold of them without giving up to too much.
¶ Jonatan Clase or Tyler Black
One is Jonathan class A, recently traded to the Blue Jays, and the other is Tyler Black the Brewers.
I'm a heugh first again, not like this.
You know, it's it's it's this is a toss of this one's tough.
I probably with a you know, in a tough situation, would probably go with class A. And that's because looking at the organization they traded for him, whereas Tyler Black and nothing against him. It wasn't like he was on the marketers in hot Water by any means. But he's still within the Brewers and and without a position, whereas class A is pretty much you know, he's got he can play a mean center field, left field even better.
And it's all about whether he can develop that the pop enough thump in his back, kind of like our discussion with Vs. Two. Probably only slightly slower than VS. Two. I don't know his speed numbers, but you know, Class
A was a big, a big jumper. What was that last year where he had the dominant it run in the lower miners into double A and then he showed some of that pop, the pop that we hoped for, but then that really failed to materialize further, although it looks as if he had twelve home runs this year combined in the miners both Seattle and Toronto, So I
would lean. I would go lean Class A based off of the fact that he has a true defensive position and his team just acquired him, whereas Tyler Black is really, you know, to borrow the term from the NBA, but the tweener type where he doesn't have a defensive home and will continually have other roadblocks with the org. They're in Milwaukee.
Black has played mostly at first base this year. In my mind, I thought he's really a third base. When he was coming up.
He was second base and third base, I believe mostly until this year.
Yeah, they don't bring the both bring a lot of speed to the game, and so if Tyler Black is playing first base, you don't often get a lot of stolen bases out of the first base position. Goldschmid used to get you a bunch when he was younger, So there may be a kind of a nugget of value there in terms of positionally and your roster composition.
You know, neither of them.
Put the bat on the ball a whole lot this year. Blacks got better on base percentage and kind of walks a little bit more. Neither of them have a hard hit rate that it's awesome, But you're right, class A is I thinks he is going into himself. He is very young. He was I thought he was hyped quite a bit when he was signed, and he signed at seventeen, so we've been talking about the guy for five years.
But he's still only twenty two years, you know, and Blacks and old man of twenty three, so they're both in the same boat that way. But so I think I think class A, you're right. I think his ceiling is a little bit higher in terms of power and bringing you kind of what you're looking for across the most statistics we were playing with and we'll probably get a lot of playing time in the outfield.
I know I've said this before.
Everything I keep reading is that Toronto is just gonna make a lot of moves this offseason. And I don't know if that means signing in veterans and pushing these guys out or just saying, you know, we want to look like Houston in twenty seventeen to Detroit in twenty four and you know, see what our youth can bring us.
And you're laughing.
You know.
They'll be talking about him for decades.
So but but Toronto may you know, there may be a clean sleep and then and again, I don't have inside information. I'm kind of reading the same things everybody else, But just kind of what I'm picking up and seeing is aside from Vladdie, I don't think they're happy with a lot of their guys, but Shatt is talking and
playing his way out of town. Anyhow, I agree with you in terms of the playing time and the power, but I'm not sleeping on Tyler Black and so fourth choice, I'm taking Class A, but I don't love it because if I had, if I had to hold on to Tyler Black, and I do have Tyler Black roster in a few teams, and I am holding on to him. You know, it wouldn't break my heart to have to hold onto Tyler Black. But I think claus A has got a more immediate path, higher ceiling.
I have more hope for the power there. Right.
Oh, I said it's a tough one.
Oh yeah it is. Now the next one is interesting, and I'll let you off the hook. I'll go first on this one, not just because Parker's there, but Parker Meadows and Evan Carter. I was very low on Parker
¶ Evan Carter or Parker Meadows
Meadows in the off season. I was right at that time, at the time last year, last last fall, he was overmatched and he had you know, decent spring training and people were really really high in him, and he's like fantastic center fielder. And he in April and May he was overmatched again. And I don't know what the Tiger's doing in triple A. But he came back up and he is the player that we all hoped he would be last offseason.
So now I am wrong.
You know, I wouldn't nearly rank him as low as I did then, Still going to be a little bit careful with the ranking, but he he is fast. I in the games we've been watching lately. I mean, he's stolen a couple bases, but you know, I thought we would see more than nine stolen bases out of them nineteen down below. So yeah, maybe a speed isn't translating to stolen base ability because the Tigers do run like crazy. I don't want I don't want judge that too harsh
to one way or the other. I guess in terms of whether or not he's going to steal bases, but he's putting on the he's putting his bat on the ball, so he's putting his bad on the ball much better than he was during the first call up. Then, Evan Carter is just an interesting one to kind of look at and think about.
I know that last year.
I know I was surprised by the power he showed last year when he got called up. I knew he was a good baseball player, and I knew he had good, good hit tool. But you know, I think he kind of surpassed expectations last year with the eight home runs in his Uh oh wait, I'm not going to triple a. Fifteen home runs in seventy five played appearances in twenty twenty three with with with with Texas fifteen.
Five Yeah, yeah, five five.
You're looking at runs.
I'm looking at runs.
Okay, I was it was okay.
Five and seventy five. Yeah, I say that that's pretty good.
Drew.
Yeah, so, uh six forty five slugging percentage and he hid high slugging percentages. But you know, he only had you know, a couple of years of double He's not going to be the up source of power, and I think that is where people get disappointed, like, oh, where's where's the power from Evin Carter. I don't think he was ever going to be that player, but he is going to high batting average. He's going to give you high on base percentage and playing a very you know, powerful line up there in Texas.
The Fortune Review forced choice.
I'm gonna take Carter, but again by a little bit. You did a good job parenties together. But yeah, this this is good one to talk about. But I'm leaning Carter when he's healthy.
Yeah.
I think I liked this one because of the hype for both of them coming into the season. Like you mentioned, right, I think a lot of I would if I got a deal that was you know, it depends on value, I guess, but I would like to go roster both
of these players. Still, I think you would get a better trade or a I think Evan Carter's still going to cost more, but I think relative to preseason costs, this is how Yeah, this is how I want to which this relative to preseason costs, I think Evan Carter is going to be a much better value right now. So it depends on what you think his ceiling ultimate
will ultimately will be. Yes, Parker Meadows is doing what I drafted him for in a couple of startups, not recently, but in the last offseason and my Best Ball drafts. He's finally doing it. He wasn't really valuable in Best Ball, but he's you know, he is coming to what we thought he could do. So Evan Carter is interesting because of that hype he gathered from September and October last year and pairing him then with Langford and that outfield
everyone was drooling at the future. And then he had this back injury and if you look at Evan Carter's homers, his last home run was on April twenty sixth, So obviously this will be the small sample size that we haven't had a chance to talk about in a while, but his WRC plus from the beginning of the season until that last through that last game where he last homeward was WRC plus won twenty four. He had five homers in that first thirty ish games or whatever it is.
That's almost on the same pace almost as what he was doing at the end of last year. Then he hurt his back like two weeks later, a week later, something like that, and then was finally placed on the IL a month later, and those you know that the month of May basically was lost and drained his cost in my eyes, and then he's been out with this back injury ever since. So how concerned are you long term on a back injury on someone who's a baseball player.
You use your back quite a bit. I think people will see the big picture of twenty four, I'm sorry, the full season numbers of twenty four, and see the injury and be more likely to move to Evan Carter versus what he did before he got hurt. And I just think he was starting maybe not gonna fully repeat, right,
we're talking to two different small sample sizes. I don't think he could have extrapped I don't think it's wise to extrapolate that over the course of the season, but it was looking good, so I also, i'm on would go for Evan Carter. And to be honest, if a team, if a league mate has Parker Meadows right now, he's on fire, I'm not gonna trade him. Someone else might say, I've had Evan Carter just burning a hole on my eel. I'm sick of this game. I want to move him.
So I think you're more likely to probably find a seller as well in your league. So I put Evan Carter back in a strong like buy category.
Almost yeah, the price would be right to buy him universely farm rostering Parker Meadows, which I don't anywhere. I actually I did trade him in one league, the one place got him rostered to trade him right when he got sent down. All right, but right, yeah, right about that, I think, and Dinasha leaks is somebody want to take a flyer on him, and they're doing pretty well by
him now. But if I am on a roster right now, I'd be shopping him around because I think you're going to get some nice value for him, or for most of our leagues starting to talk about it right now and then trade him when the trade trading opens after the season. But yeah, so Parker Medals is a very fast guy. Hasn't stolen a base since August eighteenth, which really surprises me because he is getting on base and
the target has been very aggressive base running. But you know, he's scoring from first on the singles, so maybe he doesn't need to Yeah, all right.
Uh, next pairing.
Somebody who's started hot after he got called up and
¶ Ben Rice or Hunter Goodman
cooled off, and then somebody who's been hot lately, Ben Rice the New York Yankees and Hunter Goodman, who still has catcher eligibility in Colorado, and I think they've caught him enough games that he'll have it for next year or so. I think long run Goodman will play more outfield than catcher. But this is a really really interesting choice.
I'll kind of jump in here. I think the Major League slash lines this year for Rice has been a one seventy four, two sixty nine, three fifty six, and for Goodman it's been one ninety one, two thirty one four ten. But I bet if we look over September, we'd see I know, we'd see much higher for Goodman, uh than for Rice. Uh, even even a bigger difference than is there. As I've talked about Ben Rice a lot, and I like him as a player a lot, I'm still gonna go with Goodman right now if I have
to pick one to keep on a roster. I think he's going to get more playing time. I think he's going to steal a few bases for maybe a couple bags here and there, not not a lot, but.
The power is there.
The power has been consistent, you know, through his career, and now I'm worried about Ben Rice's playing time again. Austin Wells got hot as soon as Ben Rice got off the bus. So he's holding out of the catching position, first base. They've been kind of moving guys in and out, and Russo is somehow talk about back injuries. I wrote Riso off two and a half years ago, and he's proven me wrong there.
So who knows what the Yankees to doing.
They're always active in the free agent market, and you know they may bring in somebody there. So Rice, so I thought, had a clear path of playing time, may not.
I don't know.
So you know, I'm looking at these and although we didn't hear a whole lot, we didn't hear as much all year.
About a good minutes, I thought.
And that's why I think he's a classic for this conversation, because he had he had a lot of helium in the off season, and it was climbing up, particularly prospect lists, maybe not overall lists, but he was. He was climbing up pretty quickly, and that catch you eligibility was really uh tempting to look at and then not so much most of the year. But he's been hot the last month or so, and I think that he's showing us what.
He can do.
And I think Colorado by playing him at catcher's doing fantasy managers a really big favor. So and I don't think Ben Rice has caught since.
He's been called up right, he has one game.
Okay, So depending on your league's sitting settings, he may keep eligibility for one more year based on what he did last year, but he's probably more likely to lose his catcher eligibility sooner than Goodman, if that's part of your decision making process. But I think I think opportunity, I think the power, I think kind of what I've seen. I know it's kind of recency bias, but I'm going Goodman with this matchup.
Where are you? Yep?
Yeah, I won't bury that one too far. I agree with Goodman. Yeah, I paired him because of the catcher heritage in the miners, I guess, and going forward, and I think Goodman is at nineteen games, so he just needs to catch one more time for the majority of league settings in the twenty twenty fourth season to carry that over next year. And looking at his game log the last we are, he looks like I see basically ten since September fifth here, it looks like ten games
at catchers. So they're really Colorado's helping us. We love it. And because that's I mean, I think anyone with a league average bat who plays catcher is a good, viable candidate and redraft And you know, when you're young and have a future in front of you and play in Colorado, that's even more checkboxes that I like. Yeah, Goodman, as
you said, he's he started off really mediocre. August he was about league average with a one oh nine WRC plus, but then the month of September he's been in Fuego and at a buck forty six WRC plus, he's had five homers, this month alone, so you know, his overall season numbers aren't going to look good. But as long as he gets that next catch catcher game, I definitely would take him over Ben Rice because that will help shore up that position and give a little bit more
flexibility going forward. And who knows, maybe the the Rockies will continue using him as that, you know, I don't want to say emergency catcher, but just lengthening their bench by rotating him in there and in the outfield and making him more viable. I don't I think, you know, people consider Colorado as a homer booster park, but it's more of an average batting average booster park. I think when you look at the actual stat cast. Ben Rice, on the other hand, you know he does play in
the Yankee stadium any bats left handed. That does boost his viability for power. But I think you hit the nail on the head that Rizzo's not going away yet. He still has a few more years under contract, even uh, and the Yankees can Yankee at any at any second, who knows, so they haven't given him a long leash, and I think I think everything's just leaning towards Goodman as the preferred option between those two.
Yeah, Okay, your next set is a group of three
¶ Graham Pauley / Tyler Locklear / Zach Dezenzo
three infielders, and I'm gonna let you go first because I'm still scratching my head over to these guys a little bit. We have Grand Pauli, who is now a Marlin. Last offseason he was a Padre, Tyler Locklear from Seattle, and Zach Descenzo from the Houston Astros, all players who have spent a little bit of time in the major leagues this year, probably not as much as we anticipated. I think Decenzos had fifty five played appearances as the
last weekend to lead that trio. I think coming into the year we thought all three would probably have possibly had more.
But who's emerging from this group.
For you, you know, it's my choice to be Zach Decenzo. Decenzo. I'll get into him in a bit. Polly, I think kind of got rushed. He was really good coming up through San Diego, and San Diego does what San Diego does, and it was I was surprised to see him making the opening day roster for them over in Korea this year, and I think a lot of people were. And after they send him, you know, they jerked him around on
the lineup. I don't think he played consistently if I remember right, and then they sent him down to Triple A and he just wasn't didn't seem to be the same batter even pre and post mid season trade, So he doesn't have a standout tool. Maybe he'll have a longer leash in Miami come next year, but it's kind of cloudy in my opinion. Lockleer, especially when it comes to fantasy value. Lockleyar is kind of that same boat
of uh. I'm not really sure what he's I've never been all in on his potential as a power hitter. He does take a walk pretty nicely, but that's not what I necessarily look for in my first baseman, which brings me to act Genzo. I think he's going to be another sneaky buye for anyone who's paying relatively close attention. He was hurt for the vast majority of the season. I don't think he came back. I don't have it
pulled up the game log. I don't think he came back into August and he played well in Triple A and they promoted him and he did not play well in the majors. But I think that's fine. It was a risk injury that he was coming back from, and we all know that that can be have some long
term impacts to swing in a baseball bat. I really he had that popping of a season two years ago in High A, which maybe it was low way, I forget where playing in Ashville where he kind of started jumping of people's radars and Jay and Ashville's a power haven, so you kind of take those with a grain of salt. But he kept doing it through Double A last year, and so I'm I'm leaning into this. I think with Bregman as a free agent, with the whole at first base he could get because he came up as a
third baseman. I think Zach Decenzo will be on the major league roster next year. I've actually I'm actually wrapping up my third Best Ball draft for twenty twenty five already. He he's my He's my last end of the draft scoop that I'm getting to shore up my my positions. So hopefully I'll have him drafted in this third one before anyone listens, if anyone on in that league listens. But yeah, Zach to Chanzo, I think he's gonna have power. I think he's gonna just he's a right handed batter,
so he's got the Crawford boxes to aim at. You know. It's I think he's gonna have a big fantasy future in Houston, probably starting next year.
Okay, from these three, I'm probably gonna stick with where I was in the preseason, and that was I think Grand PAULI might be the highest of these three.
I think I remember feeling bad.
He was on my first j TR thirty list, and I felt bad keeping him on there, even bringing him on, because I thought he was pretty highly ranked and not really hitting the spirit of overlooked except he wasn't that that percentage rostered at the time.
He just he he's had a bad year. I can't yet. Just kind of wonder the early call up.
Again, not getting the plenty of time, not you know, not not doing well with that and getting you know, sent back down. Is that help a guy? I heard a guy you know, oh, I've seen that. I can't wait to get back there. And the other hand's like, whoa, you know, it's just for me, Am I overmatched? I don't know, I don't I don't know the guy. I haven't read any articles about that. And you hope the
kind of change of scenery. I will say his since the trade to Miami, kind of looking at his his hit tool, he's see like fifty percent line drives, so it looks like they're tinkering with the swing there, kind of kind of working with them in the in the in the system there. You know, I think in Miami more for what they do with pitchers, but I think they develop all their young players pretty well. And I and I don't think what pay did in double A and single prior to that was a fluke. You know,
he was basically a three. It was a three hundred hitter until this year, uh, you know when he kind of got the you know, the quick call up and moving around. So we'll see Tyler lockleyer. I agree with you. I've I've I'm not down on him. I just never really caught my eye as a wow factor either, you know. And and like you're right, you're the the The OBP is nice, and we look at OBP leagues. The walk grade is nice, but first base, you know, you want to see double digit you want to see.
Twenty home runs on your first basement.
I don't care what else to do for you you've just got to you gotta be able to lock in some power at that position unless you've got a really interesting roster build. But I like to sense a lot. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna argue with anything you said.
About him other than and.
Maybe it's the leagues I'm in. I think people are on him. I think he would be hard for me to get right now in the leagues that I'm in because, uh, you know, and I try to throw on time his call up is being announced, and I threw out some flyers to try to get try to get ahold of him, and you'd be like, oh no, Houston's calling him up. You're gonna hold on to him. So I could probably have a little bit better look going after in the
off season. And I agree, it's probably a great best ball draft right now for you to generate the best ball it's already. So my pick out of this group is, uh, if I got to do a roster trade, cut roster poly, you know, trade Descenzo, but.
And cut locked the I don't.
Know this, This pot is taking a turn.
U Polly's my guy out of this list. Our last grouping of three that we have lined up, which is
¶ Nacho Alvarez / Adael Amador / Brooks Lee
a real let's call this the roll of the Dice group. Nacho Alvarez, A D. L Amador, and brooks Lee. And brooks Lee is named after I heard I was watching the Twins game of the day because I've got to hope for them to lose. So Brooksley is named after Brooks Robinson and his father wanted to name him after Lou Brock but couldn't name a kid Broccoli. I don't know if it's true, but it's what the announcer said. He claimed it was true. That's pretty good anyhow, Broccoli aside.
So we've got broccoli, we got nachos, and we got Audi al Amador.
I can't make a food out of that one.
I you know, I really like what Amador's hit tool was, and I'm really nervous about what he did and didn't do this year, both in the minors and in his brief, very surprising call up to Colorado kind of mid season. I think, I think brooks Lee is going to be a really good major league baseball player, like a good major.
League baseball player, you know, And and but I.
Think maybe not. Choe Alvarez is the highest ceiling from this group. But what were you thinking we can I may come back to I will come back to this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Yeah, it's it's a lot of yeahs, but I agree, and I would take Nacho Alvarez. I think again reading organizational tea leaves a little bit. The Braves obviously like him to pull him up to uh, bring him up to the majors for a bit this year. I think it's as what his second full season. Yeah, so that seemed pretty quick to me. I don't know what his amateur profile was or history was, but the guy has approached. He knows how to you know, what to swing at one,
to swing at it. The Braves like him, I think the right. He might not be a full time or next year. I was looking at their depth chart Rcia who they so I will say that Alvarez is listed as a second basement, but the Braves have been playing him at short and third. I don't think Austin Riley's going anywhere, and Orlando Arcia is the incumbent at short, which I think that says enough right there, He's got
two more years, I'm sorry, one more year. He's under contract next year as his final year before he there's a team option. So I think we're gonna probably have another partial season on Oh I'm sorry, that's our Sia, not not Nacho. Nacho still probably on the not yet eligible for arbitration list, but so I think the riding is on the wall, that that's where the Braves see him is at short. I don't know his ability to play good defense or not, but for the time being,
I think that's what they have. I have him lined up to be obp leagues. He gets a bump, he can put the but not much because he does put the bat on the ball a lot. He might not have huge power, but in that offense, as long as he's getting on base, he's probably gonna score some runs, and probably his defense hopefully then will allow him to at least just stick up there enough, even if it's at the back end of that order. I mean, it's a it's amatur I know a lot of people did
like I I like people with more. I like my fantasy pross to have a standout tool or more, and usually if it's just the hit tool like some of like these three, I'm not super excited about him but I think Alvarez might have the higher ceiling, brooks Lee. I don't know how long Correa is under contract. They keep having that rotating door at second base, so maybe he'll play there. Yeah, just a lot of I don't know shrugs. So that's why I think Alvarez has the most likelihood of an opening here.
Yeah, I think, Well, Lee's been playing all over the infield so far. Second based through it in short, which is I mean, good for what we're looking for. You know, they're they're working together them in I think it's been partly to spell people and partly to keep.
His bad in and Kari is not going to give you one hundred and sixty two games.
So not many people on that roster will.
No, so you know Lee's going to be there for you filling in.
I just.
He's going to be a good asset, both for a major league team and as a fantasy team. He being brooks Lee.
Yeah, I like all three of these guys, but I think I'm holding one. I'm holding Alvarez.
And it hates me to say that because I was a really really high in Amadour for the past few years, and I still am high on him.
I like to hit tool.
I I like having a player on the roster who is who is just going to get on base and keep the the batting verge ob peaks.
I think with that comes runs.
If you're getting hits and those guys in base, you're getting some RBIs, you know, some of the cunning stats are are going to follow. It's kind of the Luisa Rias model. You know, he could also be Jeff McNeil and do it once and then not do it again. So I think Albaretz probably is the is the call here from these three, but I'm not totally giving up on any of them.
Yeah, I think they'll they'll they kind of fall into that better in real life I'll get, which also I think makes them more attractive and deeper leagues right where they might go underappreciated. So if you're in a deep league, I'm to thinking twenty team plus with two three hundred prospects perhaps rostered. I think that's where these guys are going to have a lot more allure because that they'll likely all be major league baseball players, just not top fantasy options.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, before we start, that was all the groupings that we had We had a few of the names on our worksheet. As we're putting this together. I'm going to
read them real quick, and Chris, I'll pick one. You pick one just to talk about for a minute, if I can put you on the spot for that, Okay, So just so listeners other players were looking at were Kobe Mayo, Kyrain Paris Jackson, Holiday, Addison Barger, Brian Rochio, Joey li Brafido, Jase Young, in On Helmer, Tina who jumps off the page, anybody you want to talk about for a second.
I'll let you go first, all right.
I I am a sneaky high on on hell Or
¶ Angel Martinez
Angel Martinez with the Cleveland Guardians, who's back with the big club right now? He was, He was up for a while and they sent him down and they brought him back up recently, hitting two forty eight at the major league level, got a strong hit tool, great's pretty high at speed, average is slightly below average power. But when you put it all together, at he's listening to
outfield right now. But I think that for most of his career he's been a middle infielder, So I think for a middle infield piece, he kind of reminds me that Amandra Sario or him and am I trying to
blank and Himanez's first name Andre Andre. Yeah, he's kind of give me that kind of above somebody who's going to be really, really useful on a fantasy major league roster too, but on a fantasy roster, and I think a lot of people he he was really low ranked to the point of being unmosterable coming into the season, and I don't really know why, Like he didn't wow last year in the minors, so I think the helium was, you know, came all the way out. But he's had
he's had decent progression. He's still a young guy, uh so twenty two years old right now. He's somebody if I've got him stashed somewhere, I'm holding on to him, you know somebody, and then I don't get him any offers for him. As somebody make an offer, i'd always listen, of course, But he's somebody I think is going to again break out into a solid major league, solid fantasy league fantasy piece on this one. And he is probably
on your waiver wire right now. You probably don't even have to trade to get a hold of him, unless you're playing in a league with me, who you got?
I'm sure I didn't take yours, but well.
You know, I I of wanted to avoid the Orioles because they're well known and I don't think their value is going to be dropped all that much.
I was interested that you put Jayce Young on here,
¶ Jace Jung
and so I was going to give you the opportunity to see if you were going to talk about him, because I'm curious, how did you you think he's underperforming? Did you anticipate? What did you expect out of him? I guess more than because I'll be honest, I am not a He's never high on my ranks. He's never high on my target list. But the fact that he made it to the major leagues this year wasn't completely
out of the question, but also pretty quick, right. I think he didn't even play double A this year, so what's.
Oh did they move him from? I don't have his thing though, Yeah, he didn't. I didn't expect to see him up this year, I really, Chris. What I did is I took I took the rookies off of the fangrass and then I was doing filters on their WRC plus at the major league level as well as here. You know, the slash figures the average OBP and slugging, and I was actually kind of surprised.
His slugging is to seventy three.
His yeah average to twenty seven, OBP three forty six, And I knew that he can he can take away.
He is an aggressive.
Walk taker like he just from watching him, and you know, I really don't want to be that Tiger's guy, but I've been watching the past month, of course, because they're so exciting right now. He's he can foul off a difficult strike, like he puts the bat on the ball and can stay alive and dry that walk. Usually somebody's that kind of back control has got a little bit of higher batting average, So I'm not disappointed. I don't
think anybody's gonna be particularly down on him. It was more of a that's why the filtering came out, and I did take a couple of guys off because of very small sample sizes, but I justly I throw him on there and see what, you know, kind of where you fell out in relationship to everybody else that we were talking about today. So yeah, I probably didn't pretestantly
fit as a post hype. But maybe there are people play fantasy who as soon as we gets called up if they don't win Rookie of the Year, like, oh, I gotta move on. And if you're in the league with that guy, then you know, trade for Jase Young, because I.
Think, yeah, and that's kind of yeah, That's why I was a surprised be not homer homer ismwithstanding here, just I wouldn't have called this a post hype, right, but it makes sense that he hits those uh checks those boxes here. Yeah, he's known if I remember right, and I apologize, but he's been a power bat, correct, just like a second baseman, kind of third baseman power bat. Now with Colt Keith playing second base, Young is a better defender at third, so that's where there's been sticking him.
And I mean, I think it's just that his power hasn't happened. As you called out, his slugging was pretty low. And I would say, if you have the opportunity to get him, yeah, he seems more reasonable than a lot of other options that if you're trying to buy hypes, this does seem like a good opportunity to get him. It just caught me off guard and including him on here, and I think that that's a totally reasonable target. It makes him almost a target, I think because of the
mediocre power out lack of power completely. So yeah, cool, all right, hey, good talk. Yeah, thanks for that.
So that brings us to the end of our list and the end of our show. So we've got one more coming out. I have a JT thirty JTR thirty wrap up and end of the season update on that list before we hit into our off season. So, Chris, thank you. Has always been talking to you in a couple of weeks. Any last words for today.
You know, if this is our last quote unquote traditional join the Ranks episode, It's been a hell of a year, Drew. I've really enjoyed it. So I'm glad you're to come looking for me if I was to hide from you, because I want to come back and do this some more.
So Yeah, I am glad you say that, because again, I've also had a great year and it's been a wonderful getting to know you as well as to talking baseball with you as somebody who's as passionate about it as I am. Each each tend me it together. So it's been a blast listeners. I hope you've enjoyed it as well. We get some good feedback and it's really nice to hear. So great spending time with you, and as I always say, we know your time is valuable. Thank you for spending some of it with us today.
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Join the Ranks is a Dinasty Guru podcast and is produced and edited by Drew Klein. Content created by the hosts Chris Knock Andrew Klein. Executive director of The Dinashty Guru is Taylor Case and Director Emeritus, and Joey bart Stand is Keaton de Rocher. Unless otherwise specified, the host's rankings and opinions are our own, and, as is painfully obvious, we don't share our weekly player lists with each other before recording.