📅 Published on: 2024-12-10 15:01:09

⏱ Duration: 01:13:42 (4422 seconds)

👀 Views: 1124 | 👍 Likes: 45

📝 Video Description:

Frank Stampfl, Scott White and Chris Towers break down the top infield prospects entering 2025.

0:00- Intro
0:45- The state of prospects in baseball
2:37- Matt Shaw and Coby Mayo
11:00- Jace Jung
14:06- Brady House and Shay Whitcomb
17:10- Kristian Campbell
23:44- Travis Bazzana and Adael Amador
28:15- Impact second basemen in 2025
33:48- News: Dodgers updates
43:05- Nick Kurtz and Jac Caglianone
45:25- Bryce Eldridge
47:19- Deyvison De Los Santos
51:00- Zach Dezenzo
53:20- Samuel Basallo
57:12- Dalton Rushing
1:02:09- Kyle Teel
1:04:53- The rest of the catcher prospects

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🕵️‍♂️ Transcript:

[Music] hey there welcome in some fantasy baseball today on Tuesday December 10th I am Frank SEL joined by Scott White and Chris sers today on the show we are starting up a series of prospect episodes that will come out every Tuesday in the month of December specifically on this show we are focusing on infield prospects mine is shortstop because there are lots of Short Stops to talk about that so we’re going to dedicate a whole dat to Short Stops instead today we’ll hit catcher first base second base and third base before we jump into the actual names Scott you will kick us off why don’t you give us an overarching thought on the state of prospects right now because doesn’t feel as amazing as it has been in years past yeah I mean that’s basically how I’d sum it up especially at the highend to me there isn’t a crystal clear number one Prospect and you see some of the the very early and less well-known lists I would say uh that are up right now top prospects for 2025 not a lot of consensus there at the top and you know normally even if there isn’t a consensus number one there’s like a consensus top three who are all dying for the number one spot on Prospect rankings and I I just I feel like I I feel like there’s not that standout obvious superstar in Waiting kind of prospect right now which isn’t to say no Superstars will emerge from this Prospect class it’s not like only the guys at the top of the prospect rankings become Superstars but it is to say that there’s a lot of room for disagreement because they’re just there isn’t uh that uh Crystal Clear ranking really at any position but overall as well and Scott does have articles that are live on the website for top prospects at every position so uh if you want to check that out feel free to do so cbssports.com a lot of hair pulling a lot of hair splitting everything that could be done with hair was done when putting together those Prospect rankings for all the reasons I just said CBS sports.com fantasybaseball and uh for today when I go position by position we’ll give out Scott’s top three prospects at each of those positions and then I’ll mention a few names that I think could also make an impact just here in 2025 let’s start things off with uh Third Base normally we start with catcher we work our way around let’s save maybe the best for last because there are a lot of interesting catchers to talk about later on beginning with third base and uh your top three at that position Scott you have Matt Shaw Kobe Mayo and Jace Young of the Tigers you know Matt Shaw and Kobe Mayo I think are very clearly in a different category than someone like J Jay Young is uh but for Matt Shaw first round pick in 2023 he has power and speed looks like he could be ready to contribute does he have a spot to play for the Cubs I think there’s a similar question for Kobe Mayo you know there’s big Power there obviously but the Orioles went out this weekend they signed Tyler O’Neal they still have Ryan mountcastle around they have Ryan oarn at DH they have Jordan Westberg at third base so uh Scott I think there’s big potential with both of these names mat Shaw Kobe Mayo and uh they could be ready to contribute the question is where on their respective teams yeah I I think it’s a big question Kobe Mayo doesn’t I’m not convinced he has the defensive chops for third base and so I think his home May ultimately be first based but the Orioles have several contenders at that position it’s it’s tough to fit a right-handed hitter it’s tough for a right-handed hitter at first base to break through anyway that’s why Christian Walker got held back in the miners till he was 30 almost not that I think that’ll happen to Mayo but that’s part of the reason why his current path forward is is difficult to project and it’s part of the reason why I rank Matt Shaw ahead Matt Shaw got off to a slow start last year after in 2023 he was the 13th overall pick he made an immediate impression got up to doublea was doing great surged up rank lists and then kind of stumbled out at the gate in his follow-up season 2024 but once he got going he was he was uh exactly who the prospect towns were hoping he’d be final 80 games last year Matt Shaw hit 318 with 18 homers 21 Steals and 959 Ops it earned him a promotion to Triple A final 35 games there he looked great I think Matt Shaw’s gonna be in the mix this spring the problem for him is that the Cubs went and got isach Petes at the trade deadline last year it didn’t go well and we don’t think Wrigley Field is a good fit for ESO Peres but he’s there and he’s under control for several years so what do they do with him do we there’s been talk of maybe them moving Cody Bellinger this off season there’s been talk of maybe mov Suzuki SE Suzuki Nico Herer potentially this off season I I think Matt Shaw could fit at second base instead of third base if they go that route with Herer so there are ways to get him on the Cubs roster uh we’re just going to have to see how things shake out the rest of the offseason yeah so trades again could open up spots for either of these names match show with the Cubs Kobe Mayo with the Orioles niiko Horner also recovering from right flexor tendon surgery that he had in in early October so we haven’t really it sounds like he’ll be back but could always have a set back and maybe that opens up an opportunity as well uh Chris if we’re just looking at 2025 the early ADP in nfbc draft Champions uh they’re both mayo and Shaw are going outside the top 300 they’re like 25 picks apart if you had to choose one who do you think can make a bigger impact just for next season I I think I have a little more faith in Kobe Mayo’s bat I I I can see the case for Shaw’s path to playing time being a little uh more open and maybe that’s enough to to give him the edge sounds like Scott that’s the path that you went but I just Mayo Mayo has played I think 151 games at Triple A he’s got 34 homers he’s got very good overall numbers I I have to think he’s going to get an extended look this season like they called him up at the end of last season well they called him up midseason didn’t really play him called him up again at the end of the season I think he started six the final 25 games or something and it just I did this rant on Saturday when we talked about the Tyler O’Neal signing I it felt like the Orioles needed to consolidate before signing Tyler O’Neal and now it’s especially true I don’t know if that means getting Maran Mount Castle out of the picture do we really they just fixed camed yards for him they’re gonna trade him away do we really need Ryan o’n to like play as much as he does he like these are yeah STS there yeah these are all fine players they’re they’re helpful but kobby Mayo has a chance to be more than that and so that’s what’s frustrating about his lack of playing time so yeah if you’re asking me on December 10th when we’re recording this technically December 9th I don’t happy birthday Kobe Mayo his his birthday is December 10th so 23 years old um I’ll just go with mayo because I think he’s the better Prospect and I will hope that the three and a half months between now and opening day are when those answer those questions will become answered in a way that can give us a little more insight so if I could say a couple more things about Mayo because I did mention the difficult path with him not being a great third baseman it the other reasons why I rank Matt Shaw ahead Shaw is a b stealer Mayo isn’t of course that that counts for a lot in fantasy Shaw doesn’t have strikeout issues Mayo does Mayo’s strikeout rate actually climbed last year at Triple A big Improvement the year before that’s kind of what vaulted him to near the top of of the prospect rankings but it went up at tripa a and then during his time in the majors he got 41 at bats he struck out 22 times and it’s it’s one of those things okay congratulations you got to the majors that shows how good of a prospect you are but you did so poorly there like with Jackson holiday that it actually kind of diminished your stock a little bit Mayo could still be a huge Slugger uh a Pete Alonzo type player that’s definitely possible I rank him second here but I I think I think there’s more possibility of a Miss with mayo long term than there is with Shaw and I I I just think it comes down to both probably need a trade to get a chance the Cubs are actively talking about making trades and the Orioles as far as I can tell are not like the uh mikeias was talking about like they’re they’re in the market for pitchers but they’re they’re looking to sign pitchers like that that was the big thing where like they’re not going to be scared off of uh you know guys with qualifying offers was the the quote that I saw from him so like they they do seem to intend to be aggressive on free agent Market with pitchers I think they should probably be aggressive in both trades and free agents because they the windows now and and you got to start consolidating at some point but I I can see the case for Shaw having the clearer path right now Chris no surprise that uh you know you do favor Kobe Mayo considering you you know cooked your Mayo for Thanksgiving that’s true that’s true I do I am a I am a Mayo head there you are uh let’s take our first break when we return we will talk about Jace Young of the Tigers I’ve got two other names that maybe could make an impact in 2025 find out we’ll do that right after this if you love football this is the best time of the year this is as big as it gets the stuff of absolute [Music] dreams welcome back in continuing on with third base prospects and Scott’s number three Third Base Prospect is jaay Young of the Tigers he’s 24 years old a first round pick in 2022 he’s the younger brother of Rangers third baseman Josh Young and uh Jace was solid in the miners this year he got a taste with the Tigers he played 34 games with them he wasn’t particularly good and we actually just got a report that he underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure on his right wrist in October expected to be ready for spring training obviously we’ll see what the ERS do for the rest of this offseason Scott but according to roster resource it’s not like the Tigers have a ton of offensive Talent he might get a chance to be starting third baseman maybe play some second base something like that uh but there are some opportunities here with the tiger Scout yeah and that’s part of the reason I have jaay young this High I do think he is a lesser Prospect than the previous two third baseman we were talking about I I do think uh there’s a chance he never quite Rises to the level of being an impact fantasy player doesn’t help left-handed hitter whose main strength is the ability to to elevate the ball to his pull side that’s where jaay Young’s power comes from rather than raw strength and he’s gonna be playing half his games at kamica Park so that’s not ideal for that profile maybe he can overcome it but I have my doubts and uh it’s possible just because they have other base Third Base types that he gets kind of squeezed out maybe he’s a left-handed hitter he falls into a platoon roll early on uh it’s it’s hard to say but it’s a difficult path for any Tigers Prospect uh but Jace Young nonetheless ranks this High because a third base is kind of light on prospects aside from the top two and B he already has the inside track on the third base job one one thing I I I would add with Jace Young is I just mentioned that the wrist injury happened while he was in Triple A and it was something like he had 10 home runs in his first 60 games he had four in the final 65 or whatever the the actual numbers ended up being so it does sound like something that was bothering him in uh in season and seemed to slow him down so you know if you’re if you’re looking for a reason to be a little more optimistic especially after his a pretty rotten stint in the majors I I would point to that yeah that’s a good point too because uh jaay Young’s stack cast data both at Triple A and the majors was quite bad 87.5 average exit velocity at Triple A and then 86 in the major so perhaps playing through that wrist injury yeah did affect the uh exit velocity looks like it was in June um and he had 10 home runs on June 19th only four the rest of the way including the majors so that uh that certainly seems to to be an extenuating circumstance for Jay Young it’s got two other Third Base prospects that are uh ranked in your top 10 at the position perhaps they can make an impact in 2025 uh Brady house with the Nationals and Shay Wickham with the Houston Astros any quick thoughts on those two can you see them making an impact in fantasy next year yeah the Nationals obviously have an opening at third base Jose taana got a shot there at the end of last year but I’m not sure he has the upside to hold down that job for them long term and the Astros could have an opening at their base if they don’t resign Alex bregman I do rank house higher he’s been a highly ranked Prospect since being uh one of those it was was like four shortstop draft picks what year was that a couple years ago 21 Jordan Lawler was one of them Marcel Meyer was one of them and Brady house obviously since moved to Third Base Brady house was thought to have the most power of that group he’s been up and down in the miners in terms of his performance uh was not great last year but still seems to get favorable reports from scouts for that power upside I think there’s a lot of potential for Miss here with Brady Hower Shay witcom doesn’t get a lot of love from the scouts and never has even though the power speed numbers and the miners have always been great just last year 25 homers 26 steals in 413 at bats why I feel like he’s being overlooked here is because okay before when he was putting up those good power speed numbers it was with like really high strikeout rate one that looked untenable last year he struck out 19.5% of the time between the the the minors and the little bit of time he got in the majors so Shay witcom seems to have whipped that strikeout issue and if that’s the case you got to like those power speed numbers he puts up I think he could be a surprise worth noting he’s already 26 years old all right before we move into the top second base prospects reminder to sign up for the fbt newsletter if you haven’t already if you’re watching on YouTube you could scan the QR code and that’ll take you right to the website or just go to cbssports.com newsletters click on that fbt logo and it’s easy as that it’s for free and it’ll get delivered to your inbox uh whenever Chris puts it out Chris how many US letters you’re putting out no it’s like two per week plus we got a breaking news one on on Juan stto this morning so you know probably two I I’ll say two per week the rest of the year because you know obviously Christmas and New Year’s coming up I’ve got my my my in-laws visiting this weekend so not gonna have a ton of time for that but at least two per week yeah all right so make sure to sign up it’s free uh all right let’s move into the top second base prospects in the top three for Scott you have Christian Campbell of the Red Sox Travis bazana of the Guardians and Adel Amador of the Rockies it’s Scott Christian Campbell I mean breakout prospects this past Season 22 years old fourth round pick in 2023 just a monster year hit 330 20 home runs 24 steals a 997 Ops did get up to 19 games at AAA has some defensive versatility second base third base shortstop Outfield uh roster resource currently has David Hamilton starting at second base so I don’t know there’s kind of an opening here what are the chances you would give Christian Campbell of I don’t know being up on opening day for the Boston Red Sox decent but as we were saying with Kobe Mayo and with Matt Shaw there are a lot of Alternatives here that I I would think be would be in higher priority for the Red Sox I I actually think of those three prospects I just me mentioned Campbell’s chances are the lowest if he has a monstrous spring training it’s certainly possible but you would think David Hamilton or Von Grom or maybe even San Rafaela if they don’t have any other place to play him would all get priority over Campbell at second base for now Campbell has a lot of upside here clearly because I ranked him ahead of the number one pick in last year’s draft Travis bizana I loved what like Campell felt like my guy as last season was playing out as he was putting up monstrous numbers across three levels High a double A triaa didn’t matter every time they moved him up Campbell just continued to crush it and uh I I thought he was kind of my pet Prospect it turns out everybody else thought he was their pet Prospect because it looks like he’s going to be a consensus top 10 overall guy now and my initial reaction to that was well I like him but that seems that seems to be taking it a bit far but the deeper I looked into it the more the more impressed I became there just wasn’t a lot negative to say about Christian Campell I think the biggest negative thing you could say about him is just he kind of came out of nowhere obviously wasn’t a what was he a fourth round pick 2023 Y and not even sure I don’t think he was in baseball America’s top 30 for the Red Sox entering 2024 but that’s that’s how prospects work they they went to work on on improving his bat speed to add power and clearly it took he has kind of unconventional mechanics Christian Campbell which which might make some of the the purists shutter but like I said the the prospect evaluators all seem to love him and I’m right there with them good plate discipline good high-end exit velocities yeah he got one up to 111 in his brief stint at Triple A yeah y everything look aete yeah yeah mentioned the 24 steals that he had across three levels as past season again this is Christian Campbell of the Red Sox with a K Christian with a K and no h his early ADP over in nfbc draft Champions 335 so Chris similar range to Kobe Mayo and and Matt Shaw if I lump him in with those who do you think makes the biggest impact just for next season Campbell Shaw Kobe Mayo I believe second base for the Boston Red Sox was the worst position of any team in baseball last year I think they were worth like negative two and a half wins above replacement and had a collective like 48 weighted runs created plus it was the I I looked this up recently it was one of the worst performances by any position group of the last 20 years um so if you go by that CH Campbell should have a path it’s just how do they how do the Red Sox approach Trevor story uh sadon rafhaela how do they want to distribute those guys in the middle in field does rafhaela move to the Outfield I guess I guess the way short stop at all anymore I guess the way I’d put it is I expect those guys will get a chance to fail first the Von G and and uh all the other guys we’ve been mentioning but but then the other question is does if a opportunity opens up in the Outfield is Christian Campbell ahead of Roman Anthony in the hierarchy I I don’t know Christian Campbell from what I understand he’s a little stretched at shortstop like he’s played there but it’s not his primary position so like if a shortstop opportunity opens up do they go to Marcelo Meyer first you know that’s one of the things where Christian Campbell has a lot of flexibility and so that could benefit him but it also makes it a you know like I don’t know if he’s ahead of Marcel Meer for shortstop opportunities I don’t know if he’s ahead of Roman Anthony for outfield opportunities so it’s like is he kind of the the the second choice at multiple different spots assuming an opportunity opens up that’s my concern here but Boston I think it’s clear they’re going to have to make at least one trade probably multiple trades uh at at various points this offseason to again consolidate what they have so it could very well be that by the time March rolls around Christian Campbell’s just a no doubt opening day starter for them I think if either Campbell or Roman Anthony was starting on open day for the Red Sox I would not be surprised Meyer feels a little uh yeah further away he’s had more injury issues over the past couple of Seasons as well but that’s where it it’s not 100% clear I might just like Campbell as a prospect more than mayo or Shaw though so that that might be the the break even where it’s just if they all have playing time questions Campbell might just be the better player certainly for Fantasy it might be a a more interesting fantasy skill set and I think one other thing to consider for the Red Sox lineup as it stands now entering next season they need more impact from the right-handed side I mean this is something they’ve come out and said I no surprised you know they’re in on teoscar Hernandez and so I think they’ll try and get him but if if not you know Christian Campbell’s a righty maybe they want to get that right-handed bat in the lineup early on in the season Scott your other top three uh other two in your top three second basem you have Travis bazana of the Guardians who was the first overall pick in this year’s draft out of Oregon State uh didn’t get too much work in 27 games at high he was okay kind of interesting scenario there as well it’s you know I he’s going to play second base Travis bazan do they mo move Andre Jimenez back to shortstop he’s a gold glove second baseman so uh maybe that’s something they consider doing and then Adel Amador it’s just the way the Rockies handle their prospects it is just so confounding year in and year out he’s so young he’s just 21 years old uh you know hasn’t played above double A yet he got called up to play 10 games with the Rockies last season as like an emergency injury fill in so it was just the way that they handle prospects is just very odd uh but they have obviously the benefit of cor field so talk to me about bazan and Adel Amador yeah bazana just seems to bring like this near perfect offensive profile good swing decisions plus exit velocities good Bas Runner likes to steal bases everything you could want we don’t have much to go on by the 1001 at batsy got at high last year so we’re relying mostly on scouting reports there but you can understand why the guardian took him number one overall I think you can bet on that pedigree uh I wouldn’t expect to see him this year except maybe in September so they have they have time to figure out what happens at second base Adel Amador we probably shouldn’t have seen him in the majors yet I I kind of feel like he’s being judged too harshly a for that performance in the majors when he clearly wasn’t ready he was he was struggling in the miners when they called him it was weird uh a TW was he 20 at the time and he was coming straight from double A where he was having a really difficult time but worth noting he a after that time uh after that time in June when he when Adel Amador spent in the majors he came back to hit 310 with eight home runs 10 Steals and a 912 Ops that was in his final 39 games 310 eight home runs 10 Steals and a 912 Ops so it took a while for him to click at doublea but once he did did he performed up to expectations and yet he’s he’s lost a lot of prospect value I think I’m going to be on the high side with my ranking of Amador compared to the consensus having him third here at second base when third second base is actually a really good Prospect position right now it’s not historically but there are a lot of good players here and I still found a way to put Amadore third I I just maybe this is not fair I have no faith in the Rockies player development like I I just I think it’s fair Colton cower was that the the guy the other big big middle infield Prospect from a few years ago Colton cower he’s on the no that’s the or outfielder Brendan Rogers Well Brendan Rogers is a is a pretty big flop in recent years uh tovar’s been fine but kind of only fine for you know as a hitter um so you’re thinking of somebody else I’m not not sure Z Zack ve yeah but he hasn’t he hasn’t failed yet outfielder I’m not sure who I but there was one guy like maybe three or four years ago who’s a a big- Time shortstop prospect that just it doesn’t feel like they develop guys well and they’re they’re rushing him to the majors at 20 doing well double A but then they also go through these stretches where they just don’t play yeah their guys and so it it just it’s very it’s a very frustrating organization that that doesn’t seem to have a real plan and that makes it harder than it should be to get excited about a player who you know I I do think has some some pretty interesting skills Colton Welker that’s who I was thinking of I I I bought into him and it did not go well and I just yeah the Rockies are not at the Forefront of uh modern Player Development I think is the frankly the kind way of saying what the Rockies do in the miners it’s Scott a couple other names here that I think could have an impact in 2025 at second base we have Nick York with the Pirates a former first round pick got acquired from the uh Red Sox this past season perhaps he’s in a position battle with Nick Gonzalez in spring training maybe gets a chance to play a corner Outfield spot something like that Thomas a Jai of the Cardinals had that huge season two years ago but then took a step back this year got a bit of a taste with the Cardinals played 18 games with them another team where I’m just not sure where everybody is going to play for them and then two names with the Blue Jays we have Arvis Martinez who has BigTime power uh missed 80 games last season due to a peed suspension but he kind of looks like he’s on the cusp of getting an opportunity here and will Wagner son of Billy Wagner has this huge hit tool he’s hit 315 or higher two years in a row in the minor and he actually played 24 games with the blue jays and he looked really good he hit over 300 had a 788 Ops he makes a lot of contact he hits the ball hard so uh how would you rank those guys just for this upcoming season’s impacts got Nick York Thomas a Jai arelis Martinez and will Wagner well I wish I could confirm with my rankings but I don’t have them handy at the moment because I I have gone this deep at second Bay in my rankings just for next year I believe I have York one because I think he’s most likely to just claim the starting job for his team will Wagner to left-handed hitter which doesn’t help with the playing time and and the Blue Jays have some other guys they could mix in uh Thomas a jc3 and or Elvis Martinez 4 I think that’s how I ranked them for 2025 none is ranked as especially High the only one I’d go so far as to call a sleeper is Nick York who I like quite a bit I think he’s been buried too much by some of his past struggles in the miners because remember in 2021 he had a huge year was drafted higher than everybody expected had a huge year in the Red Sox system and he did fly up rank lists at that point but then he struggled in 2022 and 2023 this year he finally got to Triple A we got to see some of that stack cast data for him and it was really impressive Nick York hits the ball a lot harder than I expected especially since he’s he has good contact skills on top of it and I think Nick yor could be a surprise I wish he didn’t play in Pittsburgh right-handed hitter in Pittsburgh it’s not ideal but I think there’s genuine upside there I like will Wagner’s upside too how hard he hits the ball It’s Just suboptimal Launch angle too much of that that hard contact is wasted uh by by hitting it into the ground and he’s already 26 years old how much could he really improve I think will Wagner will be a solid major Leaguer but it might be a part-time role and it might be not an especially fantasy relevant role he’s just one of those guys that like if he stole 15 bases the whole thing would look so much cooler and it’s just because he just doesn’t run really and really doesn’t hit for much over the fence power it it’s hard to see how he becomes much of a fantasy contributor and the Blue Jays kind of have a redundancy there with Will Wagner and Spencer Horwitz they they feel pretty similar dude I I feel like they’ve got like six of the same guy uh Spencer Horwitz is kind of s like it just I feel like they’ve got so many of these like maybe quad a second slash third baseman I feel like it’s it’s really hard to to differentiate them yeah I I wanted to say real quick because I mentioned this was a position that’s deep in prospects uh one I wanted to highlight and I’m trying to hear his name on this highlight I’m watching because I’m not sure how to pronounce it okay Luke khaw of the twins had a huge season for them between High a and double a really good pull side power great on base skills fast runner he did have uh he did need Tommy John surgery in August so he’s coming back from that but Luke keshaw you don’t want to overlook him in your Dynasty leagues and of course drar Johnson is still at this position Christian Moore uh an impressive Draft pick from this past year for the Angels kind of looks like Yas pu get the plate to me Ronnie Mauricio is at this position he’s coming back from a torn ACL and uh those are the main ones I wanted to highlight but I had to go 15 deep in my article for for top second base prospects to get everybody worth commenting on in there to be clear JJ weather hold and Cole Emerson are both Short Stops right y that’s where they’re okay we’ll talk about y i just rank them wherever they played the most last year I don’t try to forecast with that cuz a lot of times you forecast incorrectly uh worth mentioning with Ronnie Mauricio obviously could get a chance to play with the Mets or if they make a trade because obviously they’re linked to uh making a bunch of big moves right now perhaps Mauricio could get an opportunity with another team here in 2025 let’s take our final break when we return we’ll hit some quick news and notes and uh we’ve got first base and uh catcher prospects we’ll talk about that right after this welcome to JJs I’ll have a wait there’s no way I can get a burger no chance but you can have the NFL on CBS streams live on Paramount plus oh hang on there’s a toy welcome back in news and notes lots of value valuable information coming out from the winter meetings right now also should mention that we’ve done a lot of emergency and bonus podcasts recently so if you’re looking for any analysis on willia Damas Tyler O’Neal Juan stto any of the smaller signings you know Luis Severino to the A’s and Blake Tran to the Dodgers Michael conforto to the Dodgers all that stuff those are bonus podcasts that are in your feed you could check that out right now I wasn’t on that one but Michael confor are the Dodgers I think there’s real sleeper appeal there yep agreed uh speaking of the Dodgers Dave Roberts said sh Otani is unlikely to pitch in the season opening Series against the Cubs in Japan Roberts added that Otani is expected to be ready to hit in that series Otani is recovering from uh a torn laam in his nonthrowing shoulder this feels like nothing to me they’re only playing two games in Japan so like there’s no way they can look this is three months and a week away I think they play on the 17th and 18th of March to kick off the season there is no way that they can look and say he won’t be ready to pitch on the 17th but he will be on the 20th like that this this is nothing right like this is just Tyler GL now and yoshinobi Yamamoto are our number one and two and and or or Blake Snell like it just he won’t be one of their top two starters that that’s all I took from it I kind of thought Otani was ruled out from pitching at the start of the Year anyway I thought we’ already covered that yeah I I don’t think I don’t think it’s just okay to this Japan series I don’t think he’ll be ready to pitch you know by late March either yeah that that had been my presumption but now I’m questioning it since they uh they made a point to bring it up again I mean if they’re so confident he’s not gonna be ready to pitch a week or two earlier well yeah that probably not gonna be ready to pitch by late March either okay no maybe that maybe I’m wrong then yeah Freddy Freeman underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right ankle that ankle was an issue throughout the playoffs should be ready to go uh full go for spring training Mookie Betts expected to play short stop with Tommy Edmund in center field we were this feels super untenable we were hoping Betts would get second base just to help that position out but like it’s impressive that Muki has been able to play a little bit of shortstop over the past couple years he’s pretty bad there from everything that I’ve seen he doesn’t have a strong arm anymore uh relative to the shortstop position I I I don’t think this is going to last like I’m Gavin Lux is not going to be the short stop I would think Tommy Edmund’s going to play there more often than not but this this doesn’t feel like it can work long term Astros GM Dana did you have and we want bets to get second base and we want Tommy Edmond to get shortstop because right now he’s Outfield only so I I think I don’t think it’ll be an everyday situation even to the degree it lasts I think the Dodgers will kind of shift them around Astros GM Dana Brown said he would like to cut back yordon Alvarez’s playing time in left field Alvarez dealt with knee issues down the stretch of last season and obviously has a history of knee issues as well as long as we get those 20 games in so he can have Outfield eligib eligibility for the next year after that 2026 while we’re talking about the Astros there’s some Whispers that uh they’re Fielding offers on uh tramber Valdez and Kyle Tucker who are entering the their final year of Team control so you know some big names to pay attention to this offseason Brewers GM Matt Arnold said Christian Yelich is not swinging a bat yet but is doing some other baseball movements Yelich had a micro disectomy on August 16th that is always a mouthful and is expected to be ready for opening day Arnold also spoke on Brandon Woodruff quote we have expectations that he’ll be part of our rotation we also want to be cautious with him and his health Woodruff had surgery on the anterior capsule in his right shoulder last October might not be ready for the start of next season yeah that one scares me because I I already don’t know what to expect about the recovery for Woodruff and so if they’re saying they’re not confident he’s going to be ready that that suggests to me he won’t be ready and I don’t know that I want to wait out him becoming ready given the uncertainty of how he’s going to perform so I might just not be drafting Brandon Woodruff um I I I also want to mention for Yelich based on what I’ve seen seems to be severely undervalued in drafts and I get back issues back surgeries we’re not really sure what to expect but the upside here is I I mean Christian Yelich had more head-to-head points per game last year than mukie bets he had more head-to-head points per game last year than Jordan Alvarez and I got him in our head-to-head points mock that we will be sharing the results with you in a couple days uh where did I get him was like round seven round six it’s round six yeah that actually that podcast will have already happened oh by the time you’re hearing this right am I understanding the schedule correctly no no you’re not understanding the schedule people are listening to this podast schedule we’re recording some Prospect about this Chris podcasts ahead of time so we can all have a Merry Christmas and this is I’m I’m r winning Christmas the best part was Chris asked us right before we started what the schedule is and we told him I just wasn’t I was I was singing Christmas songs you know it’s too complicated things yeah you know uh continuing on with the news Danby Swanson underwent surgery to address a core injury in early October he’s not expected to miss any time might explain why he had a Down Season here in 2024 Mike Hill Garcia had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow he’s not expected to he is expected excuse me to be ready for spring training Brian Reynolds is expected to see time at first base next season he graded out as one of the worst defensive outfielders uh in baseball this past season so obviously this makes sense the early ADP is 91.6 as the 23rd outfielder off the board if you look at first base ADP that would be just ahead of names like Josh Naylor Tristan Kus and Christian Walker so maybe some added versatility here for Brian Reynolds okay yeah I hadn’t heard that story but they don’t really have a first baseman I was under the impression he was a good outfielder maybe he dropped off precipitously I don’t know Cardinals President John mellac said the team would like noan Gorman to get close to 600 at bats next season and uh it was quite a disaster here uh Gorman way too many strikeouts he spent some time in the miners but just the year prior he he looked really good 805 Ops 27 home runs and 119 games the Cardinals kind of have this Log Jam going on right now once they trade away Nolan Aron maybe Brendan Donovan moves to Third Base that opens something up here for Nolan Gorman but they also have Thomas to jai who we mentioned earlier on so uh some moving Parts here for the Cardinals and speaking of which pitching Prospect Quinn Matthews will have uh will begin spring training with the major league team with the Cardinals as a non-roster invite so someone to pay attention to had a breakout season here in 2024 and Giants news Tyler Fitzgerald is the team’s second baseman as things stand now they made sure to put that in quotations so we’ll see if they bring in another second baseman obviously that could change and Jordan Hicks will rejoin the starting rotation so which currently consists of Logan Webb Robbie Ray Jordan Hicks Kyle Harrison and maybe one of Hayden bird song or or Carson wizen hunt something like that this one feels like after extending Matt Chapman and signing Willie adamus they they got to add a a big- time starting pitcher right whether it’s like Jack flare or whether they want to get into the Corbin burns like it that that rotation is not ready for prime time I I think they’ve already been linked to Corbin Burns yeah and he’s from the west coast and there’s been a lot of talk that that he might want to go home so Buster posy making things happen Tyler Fitzgerald I wanted to mention this so we may not get Mookie Betts picking up second base eligibility Buster only Buster only I was like okay sure working behind the scenes to I don’t know seems like a conflict of interest no Tyler Fitzgerald will be picking up second base eligibility after losing it this offseason being shortstop only heading into next year which makes him a lot more interesting I think because shortstop he kind of in shallower leagues he kind of I think he just went undrafted in this latest mock and both of our mocks so far and that seems ridiculous based on the year he had but if he’s picking up second base that’s a thin position obviously becomes more interesting let’s get back into the prospects and we are moving on to first base Scott your top three first base prospects you have Nick kurts of the Athletics Jack kagon of the Royals and Bryce Eldridge with the Giants uh Nick CTS the well let’s lump Nick kurts and and kagon back uh in together here they were just drafted this year Nick Kurt’s fourth overall uh Jack kagon was sixth overall and you know Nick CTS big Power and OBP he hit very well in a small sample size he also crushed it out in the Arizona fall league the A’s have Tyler Sodom at first base and and Brent Rooker at DH but you know maybe D um Rooker could slide into the Outfield and and that would open up a spot and KAG leó you know big Power he had some monster home runs in the Arizona fall league but I I talked to the Welsh about him it was kind of a mixed bag there was lots of strikeouts there are questions with the hit tool there do you see big impact players here Scott with from either or both Nick CTS and Jack kegle I think the upside is very similar I think Nick CTS has a much better idea what he’s doing right now and so the the the possibility of him meeting that upside is much higher in fact I think it’s very high just among prospects in general like you said just a few months after being drafted he made a huge impact in the Arizona fall league and look great in the miners Big Time exit velocity readings for both of these guys they have huge power potential but Curts actualizes it better hits the balls at at the correct angles uh is gonna get off base a lot it’s a very Matt Olsen kind of profile to make a comp to an A’s Prospect of the not so distant past and I like Nick CTS a lot for for those first year player drafts and Dynasty leaks do you see either one making an impact this year Scott CTS or kleon long shot much better chance for Curts but it would probably be a September situation if it does happen and Peg Leon is not doing is he is he gonna pitch as a professional or has he been there’s no I don’t think so he was a two-way player in college you know in case you know people listening didn’t know that um but yeah it sounds like he’s just gonna focus on hitting in the miners and I maybe should drop Kagome behind my number three first base Prospect who I think you’re about to mention yeah Bryce Eldridge of the Giants 20 years old first round pick in last year’s draft 2023 big dude 6’7 another one with massive power perhaps some struggles with the hit tools some swing and Miss in his game he dominated at high a but then got moved up to play dine games at Double A and and uh eight games at Triple A so I don’t know Scott what was that about it seems kind of weird that they just moved them up so quickly yeah I don’t know I I clearly I would say it seems like they’re FASTT tracking him but obviously it’s a different front office now so we don’t really know what the Giants plans for Bryce Eldridge are anymore but considering he’s uh he just turned 20 in October and he Advanced to that high of a level and was holding his own there another guy who went to the Arizona fall league and performed pretty well strikeouts too high and i’ I’d prefer if the walks were higher but if you’re the sort of person who who uh puts a lot of stock in how they’re performing for their age and and if they’re at a advanced level you know just on the minor league L ladder for their age then you got to come away with a high opinion of of Bryce Eldridge another guy who hits the ball very hard he’s six foot seven which I I think the strikeouts are always going to be high Aon judge is 6’7 in the more recent years he’s he’s been able to get that strikeout right down but it started out very high in his career so that makes for a tough tougher hurdle to clear for Eldridge but he’s already so far along for having just turned 20 that I I think the chances of him being a success are pretty high some other names that could make an impact in 2025 specifically at first base davidon de los Santos of the Marlins came over from the Dbacks in the AJ Puck trade he’s 21 years old just had an incredible season in the miners hit 40 home runs 294 batting average 914 914 Ops also has some big swing and Miss in his game he’s already played 99 games at Triple A again as a 21y old so that age to level production Chris it’s it’s kind of been a weird go for Davis and de los Santos he had some success earlier in his career he was in the rule five draft last season he went to the Guardians came back to the Dbacks was traded to Y Marlins where I I think he could have an opportunity to play play as soon as next season what do you think about Davis and de los Santos yeah it given the fact that he has reached and succeeded at triple at a fairly precocious precocious age I’m surprised that the Marlins are not talking more about him as a opening day option and maybe they just want to you know like I don’t know see if Kyle Stowers can can do something first after you know he’s a little older so maybe that I don’t know um I am definitely surprised that we’re not hearing more about him and Augustine Ramirez for the Marlins um and makes me think that it’s unlikely they’ll be on the opening day roster but it shouldn’t be long you know if it’s if it’s late April or early May that that wouldn’t surprise me I’m not really sure where I stand on Davis and de los Santos who probably weird player deserves a little extra time just given how productive he was in the miners last year 294 batting average 40 homers you rarely see that many from minor leager and a 914 Ops of course going from the Diamondbacks organization to the Marlins organization man strikeout rates for the most part the strikeouts rate it got worse with the Marlins it got to 28% with the Marlins but it’s 23% with the Diamondbacks which is great for a power hitter but even with the good strikeout rate his Chase rate was like 44% that’s how often he swings a pitches out of the Zone very very high he kind of reminds me of Christian incarn on strand who of course also put up huge numbers in the miners but the prospect the prospect gurus were pretty lukewarm on him because of those Chase rates and he came up had immediate success in the majors last year was kind of Tanked by an injury so we we we don’t we still don’t really know where we stand with Christian and carosio and strand but I think Davis and de los Santos is in the same boat where it feels like a low probability Play Even though there’s obviously some skill there but if you can figure out a make a way to make it work then he could be a home run leader for years to come I man the thing that I keep going back to is like I I think what you said makes a lot of sense the only difference is Christian and kashio and Str was 24 in 2023 yeah you know Davison de los Santos is only 21 so that that’s the thing that I keep coming back to is like man you’re being this productive in the high miners at 20 and 21 the other thing that I that I will say and given the way his numbers tanked when he got to Miami it seems very relevant double A and AAA for Arizona are very very hitter friendly environments uh Reno and I can’t I think the other ones in the California League um but very very hitter friendly environments and was not nearly as good when he got to Triple A for for Miami which is in Jacksonville I believe which not a great hitting environment double A for Arizona’s amario there you go California League’s lower yeah league but Texas League is a very good offensive environment overall so yeah Scott I did want to quickly mention Zack den zenzo of the Astros he’s 24 years old he has some power and speed he got 19 games in with the big league club last season he could play some first he could play Third and depending on what they do this off season he could potentially have a role next year yeah if Shay witcom doesn’t take over at third base if Shane if Alex bregman leaves and it’s not Shay witam it could be Z disenzo who’s mostly played third base in the minors even though we saw him at first base the little bit of time we saw him in the majors which is why I rank him here but good power potential and uh you know good exit velocities right-handed bat could sink or swim he’s already 24 but there’s there’s power upside there for Zack disenzo let’s wrap up with maybe the best for last and we don’t normally say that about catcher but there is just one quick thing sorry we didn’t mention Xavier Isaac um and he seems pretty unlikely to certainly be up on opening day for the Rays but even he’s only been at Double A and he struggled last year so they like to let their guys marinate so that might be more of a 2026 guy but you know Scott you’ve got him fourth I think there will be list where he’s the number one first base Prospect um or at least number two so I feel like the stock on him is cooled a bit and it’s it’s cold for me I I liked him a lot more this time last year Xavier Isaac uh had a 33% strikeout rate last year it was like 40 38% I think at triple or double A yeah yeah so that’s that’s scary that’s scary in the majors and you’re doing that against minor league pitchers who don’t have full secondary arsenals uh I’m just trying to make sure I got that number right yeah I think the full season Mark was 33% so that’s that’s kind of like uh if you keep doing that for long you might not be a prospect anymore but I’m going to give Xavier Isaac the benefit of the doubt because he’s 21 and was playing half the year at Double A just to add on to that uh Xavier Isaac in the Arizona fall league had 27 strikeouts and 56 at bats so a lot more swinging Miss in the AFL as well where it’s a really really bad pitching environment let’s wrap up with catchers here and lots of interesting names Scott your top three catcher prospects you have Samuel baso of the Orioles Dalton rushing with the Dodgers and Kyle heal with the Red Sox baso one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball he’s only 20 years old this past season hit 19 home runs had 10 steals 790 Ops did struggle a little bit when getting to Triple A again he was only 20 years old so just to get to Triple A at that age is obviously impressive he’s not gonna be playing catcher for the Orioles we know that he’s either first base or DH but more competition for Kobe Mayo with Ryan o’n and the same it’s you know Castle hon kirad you got to throw Samuel basayo in the mix too yeah so where does he play does he get a chance this year what do you think I mean does he get a chance this year it depends on if somebody sees his first base for the Orioles or not because obviously Bay is gonna start out in the miners last year was I think kind of underwhelming based on what he did in 2023 and what expectations were but it doesn’t seem like the Scouts have cooled on his offensive potential I I think he might of all those first base candidates we mentioned baso has the best chance of being an impact player in fantasy Mayo has that kind of upside too but I think there’s less downside for basayo than Mayo uh as a hitter so he’s further behind he’ll he Mayo will probably get a chance before basayo but uh understand that if you’re investing in basayo it’s not going to be as a catcher unless he’s traded which is possible at some point the Orioles rather than just letting these guys uh age out of the miners and and lose all their value they might actually want to consider trading one of them the the one thing I struggle with with this type of Prospect and I think as a general rule you will probably profit in the long run from just trading every catching Prospect that you get because catching prospects take the longest time to develop they have the the most ways things can go wrong they tend to have shorter Peaks than other positions like it’s just it’s real hard and there’s a lot of really high-profile catcher bus and the other thing I struggle with is a lot of people like a lot of prospect evaluators will say yeah but the bat will play at first base and I always struggle with that because it’s like you’re evaluating Sam baso as a catching Prospect and the bat looks unbelievable there and it it can be hard to disentangle that where it’s like oh my God this guy might be the best catch hitting catcher in baseball and then you say yeah but he could still be an impact bat at first base and it’s like maybe I don’t know like he’s clearly incredibly talented he was 19 years old and he got to double or triple A last season so there there’s clearly a ton to like there um yeah I just I tend to think fading top catching prospects has probably been one of the more profitable things you could do with C with prospects historically and that that’s what I always trip up on with the uh the big- time catching Prospect I think that totally makes sense from a long-term perspective I I think if we’re looking at the short term if there’s any chance that we can get Samuel basso or even Dalton rushing playing catcher for Fantasy while they’re at another position obviously that would help us tremendously it sounds like there’s a chance it could happen for baso maybe when he firsts get gets called up it could happen for Dalton rushing as well who was a second round pick in 2022 he’s turning 24 in February so he’s getting older but the bat looks ready he hit 26 home runs this past season 896 Ops strong average exit velocity at Triple A play 31 games in left field Scott as of now the Dodgers have Tommy Edmund Michael conforto Andy pz in the Outfield they could still also bring back tasar Hernandez which would obviously muddy things up but even if they don’t they still have Andy pz so I I’ve seen a lot of excitement around Dalton rushing for Fantasy this season I just don’t know how he’s gonna play enough yeah I don’t know either and and remember at the end of last season we were talking about him maybe his September call up because the Dodgers had shifted him from catcher to left field seeming in my mind to to fill an immediate need for them and it didn’t happen uh maybe he’ll be a hybrid role like Dalton Vara start started out his career catcher in first base they got Will Smith signed long term so it doesn’t seem like if he stays in the Dodgers organization rushing will be a permanent fit at catcher maybe he becomes trade bait we did see the Dodgers finally move Michael Bush after not being able to find a spot for him for years and and Miguel Vargas same thing so maybe that’s ultimately what rushing’s future holds and and maybe he’s just a catcher at that point but I’m gonna I’m gonna say something Chris hates I I think no matter where he plays Dalton varing is is going to be a good hold on hold on you just put Dalton varo and dton rushing into like one player Dalton rushing the same first name Dalton rushing is going to be a good player uh I love him I like my my head set put my head said put Samuel basayo first at the position but my heart wanted to put varing first because his on Bas skills are so good you did it rushing Dalton rushing you’re calling you’re calling him varing which is unlikely to be clear unlikely to become one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball R I need to talk slower is the thing because my the the speed at which I talk on the podcast which probably seems slow to The Listener out there is actually much much faster than I talk just general conversation I speed it up so I don’t put you guys to sleep and sometimes my my brain can’t keep up with my mouth so sorry about that but yeah Dalton rushing great on base skills had a 15% walk rate at Triple A last year makes very good contact already op it’s optimal contact in terms of of a lot of fly balls to his pull side so he really knows how to maximize that power potential and I just I think he’s going to be an Ops monster and is somebody who came of age in the Moneyball year I always have a fondness for that profile uh really like dton varing a lot Dalton rushing a lot I don’t even know I don’t not it’s not me being the only one screwing up player names yeah I I kind of feel like you did that on purpose the last time I do didn’t I’m gonna age myself here but Scott I know you’re old enough to remember he gives me some Craig Wilson Vibes remember him a while back I do he came up as a catcher I don’t know that I like the comparison but I remember was a really good hitter for a few years let’s let’s not this is not damning with faint praise he had a fiveyear stretch with an 851 Ops but it was a similar one where he came up as a catcher I don’t know if he’s going to play very much catcher and that’s fine like we we would be perfectly fine if he was playing 130 games at first base every year you know yeah I I think he can actually catch uh I I I I’m not totally sure about that I don’t remember reading one way or the other but I don’t think him moving to left field daon rushing was uh because he can’t handle the position I think the Dodgers were just finding a way to get him on the roster Will Smith has has a n-year contract yeah exactly which is why I think he might ultimately be traded but not because the Dodgers don’t like him and that criticism is probably more true of B who yeah might actually not be a long-term catcher but I I I did want to ask because this is my sense feels like there’s a clear top two and then a pretty big drop Here Am is that right you know I don’t think Dalton V I don’t think Dalton rushing is going to be I don’t think he’s the consensus number two I I think I’m I mean well because Kyle teal who’s number three for you well I don’t think Kyle teal is the consensus number three I think a lot of people are going to have my number four Ethan Solace of the Padre is the number two because Kyle teal just like feels fine yeah you know like he feels really safe and really projectable and at catcher that matters because as I said earlier a lot can go wrong and a lot does tend to go wrong he feels like one of those guys where it’s like he might only be Tyler Stevenson but like that’s a that’s a major league player well here’s the thing you know who else just seemed fine as a catcher Prospect JT real mut yeah I I like that I like that call that was the comp I made like he he didn’t get a lot of hype coming up but he just was really solid all around and he became a a really solid offensive contributor all around which as a catcher made him the number one catcher in fantasy for a good what fiveyear span one difference I would say and I know teal did steal 12 bases last year which is not nothing for a catcher Ruto was drafted as a short stop um and I think he actually didn’t play much catcher until the Marlins drafted him he was he was a middle infielder in in high school so he he was always a premium premium athlete even for the catcher position in a way that I don’t think Kyle teal is Kyle teal has a great hit Tool uh and everything else is kind of just fine power uh on base skills like he is going to be a starter in the majors for a long time and where he ranks in fantasy I think it just kind of depends on what the catcher pool looks like how consistently he starts that sort of thing ironically he kind of feels to me like if Connor Wong could like really catch because he’s a pretty bad defensive catcher yeah except I don’t think we really trust Conor Wong as a hitter he like he could be put up the kind of numbers Wong put up last year year like that feels like a pretty good expectation for Kyle teal which is like a solid starter not a superstar Chris I think your original call out you mentioned Tyler Stevenson when talking about Kyle teal and you know if he turns into Tyler Stevenson with 10 steals 2605 to 18 home runs with 10 steals that that’s a really good fantasy catcher so uh and maybe we see some of that as soon as 2025 because as much as Red Sox fans seem to love Conor Wong really I don’t I don’t think he’s very good and it out terribly on defense is he like the last piece remaining from the mookie bets trade is that why I think it’s just because he performed last year I mean fans keep it pretty simple we don’t we don’t look at we look at the we look under the hood and say yeah I don’t know that he can keep it going but fans just remember the hits he got for their team and are yeah are G happy to celebrate him for that let’s wrap up with some quick rapid fire on on some other catcher impacts here in 2025 so because there are some really interesting names Chris from your Marlins Augustine Ramirez a breakout Prospect this year came over from the Yankees in the Jaz Schism trade he might have legitimate speed because he just went 25 home runs 22 Steals and the Marlins have Nick fortez penciled in as their starting catcher so I think we could see Ramirez up pretty early on they’re not talking about it as if that’s the case and I I’m baffled by what the the Marlins like the the quote that I saw today from mlb.com was Peter Bendix acknowledged being mindful of the talent already on the roster while looking to add externally it’s quite The Balancing Act and it’s like no it’s not what’s tent the talent on the roster like until you call Austine Ramirez and davidon de los Santos there’s not much talent on the roster so I don’t know they’re they’re not talking about him like he’s their number one option on opening day and I’m I think that is baffling given that he was quite good at Triple A like not not incredible all around but above average at when he got to the Marlins for sure Augustin Ramirez is another guy who I don’t think can stay a catcher though and so I think ultimately it’s G to be one of Davis and de los Santos or Augustine Ramirez that sticks at first base for the Marlins that’s my expectation Scott from your Atlanta Braves Drake Baldwin put up some big numbers at Triple A and hits the ball extremely hard and it seems like the Braves do have confidence in him at least to be their backup catcher because they let Travis darno go you know obviously Shawn Murphy’s a starter and he’s gonna get a chance but you know if sea Murphy were to get hurt like yeah maybe Baldwin makes an impact next year I I think as soon as they trust Baldwin is ready he’ll be up to split time with Shawn Murphy there’s a lot of Buzz for Drake Baldwin right now I I don’t know that I rank him high enough seventh at the position because I like a lot of what I’ve seen too it it seems like there’s this disconnect between the prospect evaluator like the scouting reports the prospect evaluators traditional Prospect evaluators and what I’m seeing with Drake Baldwin because the exit velocities look great the plate discipline looks great uh he he he hits the ball at um he hits the ball in a way that’s going to help him to to ensure that he delivers on power potential I I think Drake Baldwin could be really good catcher’s a difficult position to break in at so that uh that goes that that’s that’s worth pointing out for all of these players yeah Chris two other offense first prospects at this position Moises b esteros a big beefy baseball boy one of the biggest one of the beefiest from the Chicago Cubs all he does is rake but he seems to be a pretty bad Defender maybe longterm it’s first base it’s D obviously the Cubs have some players in those positions already and Adrien del Castillo of the Dbacks really strong offensive profile he showed that off in the majors last year the Dbacks have Gabriel Moreno and there was a report that came out just today that the Dbacks do not plan to use del Castillo as a DH so I I I just don’t really know how does he make that impact without another injury here yeah I mean I there’s pretty big holes in Arizona DH in first base right now and maybe they bring Christian Walker back and it becomes less of an issue but like I don’t know Adrien del Castillo was so good last year both in the majors and the minors that it I feel like they they just need to give him an opportunity I know he’s older I know he’s not as as decorated as a lot of the other guys we’ve talked about but he was so productive including in filling in for Gabriel Marino who it’s fine you know like he’s a starting caliber catcher he’s not a Difference Maker but he’s okay but like wouldn’t you rather have him at first base than roster Resource as paven Smith there like I know he had a couple of big games last year but yeah you you’d rather what Adrian del Castillo can do there and he’s probably not gonna be a catcher and they have Gabriel Moreno there for the foreseeable future anyway so so that suggests to me that they’re not super enamored with him unfortunately um but I would like to see both b bi and Adrian gell Castillo get an opportunity I think BOS not super likely on opening day but there’s hope I was a obviously I’m a huge fan of of him he’s five foot eight and listed at 195 and he’s a bowling ball yeah he’s I I would make an Alejandro comparison Alejandro Kirk comparison for Moises by esteras but I don’t know that that would be flattering at this Point given that Kirk’s been such a disappointment but I was impressed that they brought him up to Triple A uh as a 20-year-old he turned 21 yet you don’t see that often from catchers and BOS continued to hit that the numbers aren’t like amazing but they’re they’re really solid good plate skill uh good plate discipline all right Scott bring us home here with the Kos Jefferson Caro of the Brewers and Edgar Caro of the white socks I believe no Rel relation right between the two there is no relation between the two uh Jefferson Carol is a really good Defender probably the best defender on here he missed almost all of last year with injury but it seems like there’s enough power potential given that we’re confident he’s going to be a catcher long term he could end up being a pretty useful one in fantasy Edgar Caro uh good on base skills pretty good power seems to be the clear AA parent in for the for the White Soxs who uh don’t have any great options ahead of him on the organizational depth chart so Edgar Carrol we could see him up this year could I mention oh go ahead the guy for the Tigers whose name is not coming to me right now who had the huge power display at the Arizona fall league I did not include him among my 10 catcher Prospects top 10 catcher prospects this was the first one I wrote and he hadn’t hit all those home runs in the air IA fall league yet hose breno that’s the guy yep he’s still 19 I believe but clearly the impact he made in the Arizona fall league he’s going to show up higher on Prospect list now good power potential probably not a catcher long term and they have the Tigers have thyron loronzo who they got in the Jack flarey deal from the the Dodgers also good power on Bas skills older I think rates better defensively um so yeah two good two good options for the Tigers there in Dynasty leagues neither on the verge of making an impact can I say one more name I know we’re 73 minutes in but yeah go for it uh Andy Rodriguez who’s kind of out ofsight out of mind after missing pretty much all of last season I think he played 10 games uh coming back from Tommy John surgery if I’m remembering correctly um but he got to the majors at the end of 2023 he was not great but had put up some really solid numbers uh in the miners before getting to the majors so you know he he seems very likely to be at least in the opening day mix for the Pirates you know splitting time with Joey Bart I would guess but he’s a he’s another name only despite missing all of last year he’s only 24 still so there’s uh there’s some potential for Andy Rodriguez to to enter into that number two catcher to discussion and if anyone wants to hear more about Jose breno and what he did in the Arizona fall league I I did a podcast back in November recapping all of that with uh the Welsh and he was so impressed by Jose breno so if you want to hear more you can go back and listen to that all right we went long but look in field lots of positions lots of names to talk about and catcher is pretty awesome so I wanted to make sure we got to all of those names we didn’t even mention Harry Ford he’s still out there was pretty disappointing this year if you want to read or learn more about Harry Ford then go check it out on the website we are going to wrap there for Scott Chris I am Frank thanks as always for tuning in to Fantasy Baseball today please make sure to follow and leave a fstar rating on Apple or Spotify and we will be back again on Thursday bye-bye

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