A friendly reminder that your MLB TV will auto renew in 2 days.. my cancelation probably doesn’t mean much to MLB, but the more who do, the more our voice is heard. If you are displeased with MLB, cancel your subscription.
Kyle Teel posted a 1.9 pop time on this and had the guy out by 2 steps. No catcher should be able to post those pop times on a pitch low and away in the dirt. Excellent framer, excellent pop times. Teel is gonna be a major league catcher for a long time.
The underrated news of yesterday:
Shohei Ohtani became the 1st to have 200 Ks as a pitcher and 30 HR as a hitter in a season. Ohtani has 34 HR/11 SB as a hitter and 14 W/2.47 ERA/203 Ks as a pitcher.
Between Ohtani, Pujols, and Judge 2022 has been special.
Don’t hate Shohei Ohtani because
1. Reporters falsely stated he was signing with Toronto
2. Because he signed a team friendly deal with deferrals to benefit LAD.
You can hate the loophole in the CBA that allowed this, but Ohtani is far from a villain or enemy of the game.
Stephen Strasburg pitched 31.1 innings on his 7 year/$245 million contract.
$7.9 million per inning
530 total pitches: $462k per pitch
The Nationals are paying him $35 million from 2024-2026 and then have $80 million($26.6 mil/year) in deferred payments from 2027-2029
According to
@Stathead
, Paul Skenes joined the legend José Fernández as the only rookie pitcher since 2000 to have 150 strikeouts and a sub 2.5 ERA. Fernández did it in 28 starts, and Skenes currently at 20 starts.
Today is a new chapter in my life; I am now a full-time baseball writer, something I have worked very hard for! There are many to thank, and I hope to have done that in the video below. I am thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way. We're just getting started!
Kumar Rocker is why you can shove a pitching prospect up rankings fast. Doesn't take long to see it's legit. The stuff is strong, the mechanics are cleaner than ever, the command much improved.
4.2 IP/3 H/0 ER/1 BB/8 K
66% strikes/18 whiffs
Looks like a top 10 pitching spec
After a really hard 2023 we are excited to announce we are having a baby girl in June. Our rainbow baby. We are incredibly thankful to have a healthy mama and baby through 20 weeks.
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Atlanta Braves
Here is a look at Caminiti's first pro start after being selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.
3 IP/3 H/1 ER/0 BB/4 K
40 pitches/30 strikes/6 whiffs
FB: 92-95
SL: 79-81
Went to cover an MILB game like I do most Tuesday nights. Got to the park and got the call to turn around because my wife had a contraction. Got home and things progressed so fast our baby was born at home as we were trying to get to the car to go to the birthing center. Scary
If you could say a prayer for my wife, I would appreciate it. She’s had a lot of issues since this and has developed a pretty bad infection. We are currently being admitted to the hospital.
On Wednesday, February 15, a piece of me and my family was taken taken away. My wife was pregnant with our second child but unfortunately miscarried. The last few days have been hard, and I know it’s not all that uncommon. But you never know the pain until it happens to you. 😢
I heard Tre' Morgan talk about his two-strike approach on
@The_CallUpPod
, and it is quite evident when you see it in person. Morgan gets lower, wider, chokes up 2 inches, and does not stride. He makes high-end contact and has walked more than he has struck out this year.
On Wednesday, February 15, a piece of me and my family was taken taken away. My wife was pregnant with our second child but unfortunately miscarried. The last few days have been hard, and I know it’s not all that uncommon. But you never know the pain until it happens to you. 😢
I’ve followed Grissom and seen him live since he was drafted. It’s funny to see people try to say he sucks. He’s not gonna be a huge power bat, but Gwinnett is one of the worst AAA parks for HR. The contact is legit and he can provide some on the bases. Solid deal for both sides.
CJ Abrams is quietly up to 10 HR/19 SB on the season. In 71 July PA: 3 HR(8 xbh) 10 SB. .375/.420/.625 89.5 mph average EV/94% ZCon/89% Con 🔥 Abrams is still just 22 years old.
#Natitude
Jose Perdomo is the highest ranked international prospect to land with Atlanta since Kevin Maitan. Perdomo has strong bat-to-ball skills, advanced plate discipline, and is a solid runner. Has potential to add power if he fills out his frame.
🎥:
@MLB
The Padres Triple-A affiliate, El Paso, has their Opening Day today. CJ Abrams and Mackenzie Gore are NOT on the roster currently. It seems like they may break camp with the Padres.
Happy Paul Skenes day! Still one of my favorite pictures I’ve taken. Every LSU pitcher just taking in a pre game bullpen knowing how special he would be.
Been a tough week. My mental state is not good right now.
But I have to stop and remind myself that despite my circumstances, I am blessed. Thankful for all I have and where I am in life.
I can’t stop thinking about 6’7” Spencer Jones going home-to-third in 11.00 seconds the other night. Corbin Carroll is the fastest player in baseball and did it in 10.97 second. Jones has insanely long strides and great acceleration. Tools for days!
Michael Soroka's sinker velo was 1.6 mph higher than 2020 and nearly 1 mph higher than 2019. His slider is 2.1 mph up from 2020 and back to 2019 levels, and is missing a ton of bats. Crazy to think he is only 25 and had a 2.79 ERA in 200 IP between 2018 and 2019.
What's everyone's favorite baseball memory?
I am going outside of MLB to
@GamecockBasebll
winning their first CWS in 2010. I will never forget that sound off Whit Merrifield's bat.
Honesty hour: I constantly struggle to feel like I’m enough and that I do enough. These past few weeks have been insanely hard for me. Having a newborn and trying to produce content at the rates I usually do have been a challenge. I feel like I’m letting readers down when I can’t
Very honored to have been named
@IBWAA
’s MLB Writer of the Year. So thankful for the honor and thank you to everyone who supports my work and interacts with me. It’s truly a blessing to get to do this and to have earned an award like this. Love and appreciate each of you
Elly De La Cruz hit this 450 feet, 117.7 mph off the bat. He now has 5 BBE over 115 mph this season in 29 games. There have been a TOTAL of 31 BBE over 115 in the MLB this year. Stanton leads the way with 5.
Elly is not human.
I’ve been told that Paul Mainieri will be bring his former assistant Terry Rooney on as pitching coach at South Carolina. Rooney is currently Director of Program Development and Recruiting at LSU. Monte Lee also is said to be part of the staff. Formal announcement tomorrow by SC.
The White Sox have totally restocked their farm.
My new top 10:
* Top 100
1. Colson Montgomery*
2. Drew Thorpe*
3. Bryan Ramos*
4. Noah Schultz*
5. Jairo Iriarte*
6. Nick Nastrini
7. Edgar Quero
8. Samuel Zavala
9. Jacob Gonzalez
10. Peyton Pallette
I owe someone some swag. Not sure the best way to do this, but if you are interested in a shirt and coffee mug, just like the tweet, I will enter everyone into a random name generator.
If
@ToolshedPod
pulls off this win, I’ll buy a follower a custom Toolshed or Dynasty Dugout shirt and coffee mug. Plus I’m sending out logo stickers to anyone that wants them that votes for us!
Ian Anderson has changed his release point ever so subtly since coming back and added a new slider.
Fastball is getting more arm-side movement. The curve has more depth and sweep. The slider gives him a nice pitch with glove side movement. I’m intrigued 👀
Don’t look now, but Ethan Salas has 15 extra base hits in his last 30 games. Has struck out in just 15% of PA and has an 84% contact rate over that span. Reminder, he turned 18 in June and has spent the entire season in High-A.
The data on Bryce Miller’s splitter is insane!
80 mph
884 rpm
-3 IVB (43 in vMov)
15.7 in hMov
Among qualified splitters in the Majors:
vMov: 1st
hMov: 2nd
Spin: 5th lowest(low spin is good)
Red Sox fans are gonna be thrilled getting David Sandlin. Saw him a lot in Columbia this year. Very strong arm with a big riding fastball. Can’t wait to see what the Red Sox dev can do with him. Here’s my report
Trade news: The Kansas City Royals are acquiring right-handed reliever John Schreiber from the Boston Red Sox for minor league right-hander David Sandlin, sources tell ESPN. Royals get an arm for a pen that needed it, Sox get a pitching prospect with strikeout stuff.
Since moving to Triple-A, Heston Kjerstad has a 14% barrel rate, a 90 mph average EV, and 106 mph 90th percentile EV, and a 93% Zone-contact rate 🔥
#Birdland
I know it’s stupid, but it’s frustrating that this video has been thrown all around the internet with not a single credit. Guess that’s what I get for not watermarking it. But it’s really not hard to simply credit someone who is putting in the work to get good video at games.
Kyle Teel posted a 1.9 pop time on this and had the guy out by 2 steps. No catcher should be able to post those pop times on a pitch low and away in the dirt. Excellent framer, excellent pop times. Teel is gonna be a major league catcher for a long time.
The epidemic of dynasty baseball managers is wanting to have the youngest team or most top prospects and not actually focusing on having the best players on your roster. There is so much upside in vets in dynasty.
Flags Fly Forever.
Atlanta has 10 open spots on the 40 man roster and has cut approximately $10 million in salaries in the moves over the last couple of days. AA has stated the payroll will increase this offseason.
The
#Braves
today declined to tender contracts to LHP Kolby Allard, RHP Yonny Chirinos, RHP Penn Murfee, LHP Angel Perdomo, RHP Michael Tonkin, C Chadwick Tromp and INF Lucas Williams for the 2024 season. Atlanta now has 30 players on the 40-man roster.
I’m very honored to be joining the
@PitcherList
team as Lead Dynasty Analyst. I’m thankful that Nick believes in me and my work and I’m excited to work for one of the most recognizable brands on the web in hopes of making it a go to site for dynasty and prospect coverage!
I’m thrilled to announce that
@RotoClegg
has joined the Pitcher List team to lead our Dynasty content!
Chris’ work ethic and enthusiasm for prospects is infectious and I couldn’t be more excited to be working alongside him.
Can’t wait for what’s ahead in 2023!
The Red Sox have 5 top 100 prospects at this point with Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, & Kyle Teel. I believe at this point both Kristian Campbell and Yoeilin Cespedes are there too. If Luis Perales hadn’t gotten injured he would be another. This farm system 🔥
The baseball community on here used to be great, now it’s just a sick attempt to divide and one-up. What used to be a nice escape from the world is now just like everything else
Anyways, MILB is pretty much over. Im getting on a cruise shortly and taking a much needed break ✌🏻
Kristian Campbell has been incredibly consistent all year. I didn’t realize how eerily similar his splits are.
Vs RHP: .991 OPS
Vs LHP: .992 OPS
🎥:
@redsoxstats
Can I be honest? I’m drained. I have my full time job, I’m coaching a HS sport, taking care of family, all on top of fantasy content. I’m spending hours a day on Twitter and It’s just not healthy for me right now. I love answering DMs and questions but I need a break.
Cont ⬇️
The Rays signed Amed Rosario for $1.5 million.. he homered off Paul Skenes on Monday. Homered again today and added a double and a single. Two of the batted balls had EVs of 102 mph and 103.2 mph.
Some exciting news: I'm joining the team
@RotoBaller
!
One of several exciting announcements I have over the next several weeks.
Nothing changes
@DynastyDugoutBB
, I will actually be producing more than ever there this year. More about that soon👀
Elly De La Cruz is slated to graduate from prospect status on Friday. Junior Caminero will be my new number-one prospect for Dynasty. The data is off the charts here with elite EVs and barrels. Jackson Holliday will be 2, and those two will be the only players in Tier 1.
Junior Caminero took this breaking ball down and away and hit it where it was pitched, putting over the right field wall for a 💣. He controls the barrel through the zone so well and has easy power.
#RaysUp
Gavin Williams has one of the best arsenal's in the Minors. His secondaries have not given up a single barrel all year and the fastball averages near 97 mph while getting up to 101 and near 17 inches of IVB.
The
#Guardians
are promoting 23-year-old RHP prospect Gavin Williams to make his MLB debut on Wednesday vs the A's. He is currently with the team in Cleveland.
Jhostynxon Garcia took a 101 mph fastball on the outer half from Susana and put it in right field gap for a double. The numbers are great but he genuinely excels in all aspects of the game, including in the outfield. I think he should be in consideration for top 100 list.
#Mets
fans are going to love J.T. Ginn. Would have been a mid-first rounder if not for having Tommy John last March. The Mets still took him 52nd and gave him first-round $ at 2.9 Mil. Here is Ginn striking out
#Rangers
Josh Jung ⬇️
Roki Sasaki is unlikely to be posted, but if he were, he would be subject to the international bonus pool since he is 22 and only has 3 years experience. Ohtani went this route and received a $2.3 mil bonus and made league minimum his first 3 seasons.
Too many fantasy analysts have forgotten that the majority of our audience plays in 10-12 team home leagues. There is certainly a niche in the high-stakes community and that's great! But the majority of Fantasy Baseball players are very casual players.
Non-baseball related, but my family could use some thoughts and prayers. My grandpa was diagnosed with cancer a couple weeks ago. And my grandmother just past away today.
Braden Montgomery has easy power. This swing produced a 109 mph EV. Montgomery had a 98.7 mph average exit velocity in college this year and a 111 mph 90th 🤯. In-zone contact: 85% will play.
Hard worker, excellent athlete, good student of the game. The Red Sox got a good one.
Braden Montgomery has a simple approach and gets to easy power. The ball jumps off the bat.
Physicality, tools, athleticism, Montgomery has it all. Has EVs of 109 and 101 mph last night.
17 HR and a .383/.510/.922 slash this year.
Top 5 pick this summer
I would be trading for Jackson Jobe in every dynasty league. Struck out 7 over 3.2 IP tonight with a 45% whiff rate and a 40% CSW. Sinker say 97.5 with up to 16 inches of run. CH up to 18 inches of arm side fade with his slider up to 16 inches of sweep. This is an elite arsenal.
Why did the Red Sox pass on Trey Yesavage at pick 12?
Montgomery was by far the best player on the board. The Red Sox have also done an excellent job developing arms on the farm and they don't lack pitching.
Plus, I like college arms at 50 they could grab.
Hitting Prospects to buy in Dynasty before their stocks take off 🚀
-Jasson Dominguez(Still being undervalued IMO)
-Emmanuel Rodriguez(Insane plate discipline/power combo)
-Junior Caminero(high-end Z-Contact%/EVs as an 18 year old)
-Miguel Bleis(High-end bat speed +EVs and great
We often forget that players are humans dealing with real things. I thought about this w/a question about Kyle Manzardo’s struggles. His mom is dealing with heart disease and waiting for a transplant. You never know what a player might be dealing with mentally or physically
As a Braves fan, it really pains me to say. But Steve Cohen is good for baseball. Every team deserves an owner that’s willing to break the bank to win.
Adjustment period for most top prospects is a real thing. The jump to the majors is tough, but talent typically wins out.
Wyatt Langford: L28 g: .308/.372/.510 3 HR/12 xbh/6 SB
Jackson Chourio: L23 g: .324/.385/.549 4 HR/8 xbh/1 SB
David Sandlin, RHP, BOS
Nights like tonight show why the Red Sox traded for Sandlin. He was electric.
3 IP/2 H/1 BB/7 K/17 whiffs.
FB: 96-99
SPL: 91-94
CT: 88-90
SL: 84-86
CB: 80
🔥🔥
@SoxProspects
Jacob Wilson’s bat to ball skills are insane. He’s struck out once since returning from injury on 6/17. In AAA: 96.4% contact/98.6% zone-contact. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him as Oakland’s SS post All Star break.
Leo De Vries has 6 HR in his last 15 games. 19 hits over that span with as many walks as strikeouts. He would be entering his senior year of high school as he won't turn 18 until October and is playing in Single-A and dominating. ⭐️🚀
I see everyone hates the pitch clock. As someone who was at MILB parks all last year, I love it. Players will adapt and be fine, you’ll adapt to it and eventually like it too.. maybe.
I feel really good about some prospects breaking camp with teams.
% chance(non-debuted prospects):
Jackson Chourio: 99%
Colt Keith: 99%
Wyatt Langford: 95%
Jackson Merrill: 80%
Jackson Holliday: 80%
Yes, things will likely change over the next couple of weeks.
Hagen Smith’s night is done after 6 scoreless with 17 K/1 BB.
25 whiffs(69%)/61% CSW
FB avg: 96.7 mph/t99.4
SL avg: 85 mph/t88
Might be the best performance we see from a college SP this year. Incredible stuff 👏🏼
🎥:
@RazorbackBSB
Is Bryan Reynolds the most underrated hitter in baseball?
Since June 1:
.331/.384/.626
10 HR/19 XBH
He’s on pace to hit 29 HR to break his previous best 27 back in 2022.
Cooper Pratt, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
Pratt enters today w/a 30-game on-base streak, having a .362/.427/.440 slash w/81% contact%. His athleticism impressed me, getting quick jumps. He controls the barrel well, even had a nice bunt in my looks. I clocked him as a plus runner.
A special happy anniversary shoutout to my awesome wife. I can’t believe it’s been 8 years. Thank you for being so supportive and allowing me to go watch Kyle Teel’s debut on our anniversary 😍
Brandon Pfaadt looked nasty again today. Fastball got up to 97 and averaged 94.6. That’s up from last year 👀 slider and change looked dominant. I firmly believe he’s gonna throw 150 innings with the DBacks this year.
Seems like a good time to do this again.
Players I’m not leaving an FYPD without:
- Aidan Miller
- Walker Martin
- Cooper Pratt
Deeper Leagues
- Kendall George
- Emil Morales
- Brandon Winokur
- Trevor Werner
- Grant Taylor
- Barrett Kent
- Aidan Smith
- Alfonsin Rosario
Players I’m not leaving a FYPD without:
- Tyler Locklear
- Roman Anthony
- Jacob Misiorowski
The values are just so good on each.
Deep Leagues I’m grabbing:
- Colby Thomas
- Jacob Zibin
- Ryan Clifford
- Austin Charles
- Jake Madden
- Sebastian Walcott
#MLBDraft
2.43: Reds select
Sammy Stafura, SS, Walter Panas HS
CIN is knocking this draft out of the park. Stafura is a plus runner, high contact bat with a frame that could add more power.
#ATOBTTR
I’m at a much better place now. I also want to tell you it’s okay to not be okay. I’m bad at sharing how I’m feeling. But talking to people about what I’m struggling with has been helpful for me. If anyone out there is struggling and needs to talk, I’m always here. Love y’all ❤️
Cole Ragans has 14 whiffs through 4 IP with 5 K. FB sitting 97.2 mph/t99.7
Who is the last pitcher you remember being traded and becoming elite like this?
You’ll be much happier in life when you stop worrying about what everyone else around you is doing and you put your time and energy in doing what makes you happy.
I’ve been asked about Jordan Walker more than any player. No he’s not bad. He’s 21 and still developing. Underlying data improvements from last year:
Barrel%: 7.5%-12.5%
Average EV: 89.4-92.3 mph
ZContact: 81.3-84.6%
Contact: 70%-72.4%
Chase: 33.2-29.3%