00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to the baseball america fantasy podcast i'm your host james anderson joined by ian cundall and my top 350 redraft rankings went live on the site wednesday and i actually finished my first high stakes draft of the season uh earlier this week i did a um.

00:00:22
Speaker 2: Fast DC.

00:00:23
Speaker 1: That's kind of in the weeds probably for a lot of the listeners, but it was a 50-round draft and hold that we wrapped up in three days. Ian and I are going to talk about where the prospects went in that draft, but first we're going to break down my top 350 redraft rankings.

00:00:42
Speaker 2: Ian, I want to start at catcher.

00:00:46
Speaker 1: Obviously, we could start at the top of the top 350, but I think with no ADP With no projections out, like I kind of want to go position by position because we don't really know where a lot of these players are going to be getting drafted. But I think going position by position will help us organize this. So, Ian, looking at the catchers for redraft rankings, does anything stand out to you? Is there a player you like the value on potentially this season?

00:01:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the first thing that stands out is catcher seems like it's actually in a much better spot than it has been in past years. I feel like in the past years, there were a couple of catchers you liked and then it fell off a cliff. Whereas I look at this list and there are guys in the teams that I would be fine, honestly, having as my catcher one. I know this is made for two catcher leagues, so it's a little bit of a different strategy. But if I'm playing in a single catcher league, there are definitely some guys in the teams that I think I'd have no problem starting.

00:01:40
Speaker 4: So I think that the depth of the position really stood out.

00:01:43
Speaker 3: As for individual players, I think the guy that really jumped out to me was Liam Hicks down there at 19. I know that some of the underlying data maybe doesn't hit the ball hard, but it's an elite approach. The Rays maximize their talent. They know how to put guys in a position to succeed. And you look at what he did this year after he came over to trade. He's going to finish the season 801 OPS, 18 home runs, 284 average. I think, you know, as if you can get good batting average from your catcher while getting power, I actually think that has a decent amount of value, especially because it allows you to kind of cheat at some other positions and maybe go more power over hit guys there. Whereas in the past, I feel like catcher, a lot of the catchers you're taking, if you're getting 20 home runs, you're probably taking a two 20 average along with that.

00:02:28
Speaker 4: And Hicks doesn't do that. Hicks is going to.

00:02:29
Speaker 3: Contribute in batting average. He's going to give you runs. He's going to give you home runs, like the counting stats. And he also gets the additional value of he's going to play more games because he's also going to play first base and DH a decent amount. So, I thought him at 19 was, was the one that really jumped out to me. Cause I, I look at him and he's someone that I think can return, you know, borderline top 10 value, but definitely will not be drafted there with how deep the position looks right now.

00:02:51
Speaker 2: Right. Yeah.

00:02:51
Speaker 1: I mean, he's, he's a really tough guy to value. I think because last year was such a, a breakout for him in the power department. Um, like he almost doubles his home run to fly ball ratio from the previous season. So, um, whether or not people kind of believe in him as this like mid teens power hitter. Like if he returns like 15 homers next year, I think he's, he's absolutely a great value here. And, but what you said, like about the depth of the position, like I completely agree with you. And I was, I was sort of worried about whether or not it was going to feel this deep, you know, a month or two ago, but I think there were just some, some young prospects emerged late in the season at the position that, to really kind of give us some nice options. Uh, Ethan Salas obviously stands out, um, as a guy that I think has a really high ceiling.

00:03:43
Speaker 2: In fantasy, like the stolen base aspect.

00:03:46
Speaker 1: Um, like I wouldn't be surprised at all if he led catchers and steals next year, he's going to play a ton. Um, but then even like Leo Bernal, like he really, uh, looked the part late in the season. Rafael Flores with the Pirates, I thought really came on strong to finish the season. So I think like those guys as really solid number two catchers and then Salas as sort of a fringe number one catcher with the upside to finish the top 10 catchers. I think the position's in a great place. Ian, what's your take on what the Cardinals are going to do with their three stud catchers or at least players who are eligible at catcher? Because I think To me, like an Ivan Herrera offseason trade would just be kind of a dream scenario to really kind of free up that spot for Bernal and free up a spot for Rainiel. So that like I really don't think Rainiel is going to need much more than like a month in the minors in 2027, but they have to have a spot open for him. So how do you see that playing out?

00:04:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's interesting.

00:04:48
Speaker 3: I think that the one thing that might hold Rainiel back is I'm not sure that the Cardinals view 2027 as like a push all your chips in window or year. And so I could see them kind of delaying things long enough. And obviously this is going to be CBA dependent because we don't know what service time or any of that, those considerations are going to look like. But assuming it's something similar service time, why it's what we have, I could see them delaying him for a couple months in order to make sure that they have another year of control under him. But I think what we'll see is Bernal is going to be the everyday catcher. He's going to hit in the middle of the order. I think Herrera will continue. If he's still in the organization, we'll DH, you know, 100 games a year and maybe catch 60. And then if Rodriguez comes up, I wouldn't be surprised if we'd start hearing some rumblings about someone playing some first base also. And they're kind of like mixing and matching where they, they, they, they all play, you know, 130 games or so on the roster. But, but I think ultimately a trade will have to happen. Um, yeah, I'm just not sure how sustainable that is for the longterm. And I would, yeah, I think you're on the right traffic track. I think it would be Herrera that would go. Uh, I just think they like Bernal's defense too much. Uh, the way he handles the pitching staff, you know, it's a really, um, to really mature defensive profile. And I think that that's going to really like boost his value and why he'll probably be like the primary catcher catcher. But when Rodriguez comes up, you don't bring them up to sit on the bench. You bring them up to play every day. And with Herrera there, that just gets really complicated. You're going to be, have to be playing guys out of position. So yeah, I think, I think moving Herrera for another position and even for the Cardinals makes a lot of sense. It's just a question of how ready do they think Rodriguez is, and is that something that you do now, or do you wait maybe until more around the deadline next season?

00:06:27
Speaker 4: I think that's just the big question.

00:06:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, it reminds me a lot of when the Blue Jays had Gabriel Moreno coming up with Kirk and Jansen at the big league level, and the rest of the league kind of knew that they had to trade somebody, so I think it sort of prevented them from getting 100 cents on the dollar, but I do think you do kind of just got.

00:06:47
Speaker 2: To free up that spot for Raniel at some point. Let's go to first base.

00:06:53
Speaker 1: And I know kind of a controversial top of the position at first base. There are some real blue chip options here. I went with Sal Stewart and Miguel Vargas in the one, two spots, largely due to the speed factor. They're both going to steal at least 10 more bases than the four guys I have below them, they're both eligible at third base, which not only gives you flexibility in season moving guys around, but I think it gives you flexibility during the draft because these are guys you're taking in the second or third, second round for Stewart, maybe third round for Vargas. But when you take those guys that early, like you, maybe you look at like Alec Burleson or Vlad Guerrero or Bryce Eldridge later. And you're like, wow, I really want that first base when you can just slide Stewart or Vargas to third. So I was looking at really small nitpicky stuff like that to put Stuart and Vargas first. But if you wanted to say Ben Rice is the number one first baseman, Pete Alonzo, Matt Olson, Nick Kurtz, I think any of those four could return first round value this year. And we were talking before we started recording, like, I think I would actually put Nick Kurtz first. I have him sixth, but to me, they're all in the same tier. I would probably put Nick Kurtz first if you just guaranteed me he was going to play 160 games. But I do think he is the biggest durability risk of the six that I've got up there. But just stud mashers at the top of this position, Ian, who's your preferred option at first base?

00:08:25
Speaker 3: So I think, I mean, looking at the names, it's hard to go wrong. Like, I think you get into the mid-teens and there's people I'd be comfortable with as my everyday first baseman in fantasy. But I think the guy who sneakily might be like, especially if you're doing drafts right now, that I think is an interesting target is Raphael Devers. You know, obviously Devers had a great season this year before it ended with the injury. You take out the first month and he was a top three hitter in all of baseball. 37 home runs, 865 OPS in a very much a pitcher's park. And this is kind of a play that he might get traded because the Giants, I mean, if you look at the way they're constructed, they have Bryce Eldridge. They want him to be the everyday first baseman. They're in the midst of a little bit of a rebuild. And if Devers ends up in a better hitters park and produces similar to what he does last year, I think he's going to return value alongside that top group of like Pete Alonzo, Matt, Matt Olson and Ben Rice. Like it's just a very similar profile to those guys. The difference, the thing that was holding him back this year was the ballpark. And so, yeah, I just, I think if you can get him, you know, a couple rounds later than those guys, especially in drafts right now. And with the hope that, Hey, if he gets traded to a better hitters park, because I mean, you look at some of the ones like, If he was in, if he's playing in Baltimore, it's 43 home runs this year. He's playing in Philadelphia, 44. If he's playing in Atlanta, 43, like, you know, basically just get him out of San Francisco. And I think that could add, you know, five, 10 home runs to his total. And you think about how much more production that is, that's right in line with what you're getting with Ben Rice and guys like that, except he's going, I would assume several rounds later. So I think him, he was one that, that really caught my eye given, you know, he's just inside the, I think he's at number 10, but I think he can give you production in line with a top five guy, especially if there's a trade and the floor is, you know, what he did this year. I mean, he's shown he can hit in San Francisco, which is not an easy thing to do.

00:10:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:10:13
Speaker 1: I mean, that's a really good point. Like the 37 homers. I mean, that's gotta be the, that's gotta be the most hit, by a giant in a full season as a giant in like over a decade.

00:10:24
Speaker 2: Right.

00:10:24
Speaker 4: It's the most since bonds, I believe was what it said.

00:10:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:10:27
Speaker 1: So obviously just, you know, an elite slugger, that's a tough, tough contract to move.

00:10:37
Speaker 3: But it's very few teams that can take it. But if he does get moved, I mean, imagine him like in New York, like.

00:10:47
Speaker 1: It's, it's, And then like the, you know, the added home runs, but also just he'd be on a better team with like, I mean, the giants were not starting like a big league caliber lineup, um, for parts of the season. So, um, I like that call and he's, he's definitely someone who I don't think people are going to be like pounding the table for Raphael Devers on their off season fantasy pods, uh, other than Ian. So I think the price will stay, uh, in a nice range there. Um, Do you have any thoughts on Jake Bowers? Um, because like his season this year was so impressive. Um, he's a free agent. I would feel better if I just knew he was going to be reprising the exact same role with the Brewers next year. I don't, I wish I knew which team he was going to be on. Like, do you buy into what he did this year enough to, to reinvest with the sort of uncertainty about where he's going to be playing?

00:11:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. I, um, you know, I think where you have him is, is around the range that I, that I would be comfortable drafting him. Cause I think that's, I think there's a drop off kind of after like the Devers, Vlad, maybe Eldridge Contreras, like right around there. I think Bowers is right on that fringes of that, that area. Cause he does bring the power and the speed, but their strikeouts are high and there's very little defense to value. So he's going to have to go somewhere where they can kind of blame it. I mean, we saw last night in the playoffs to the defense cropped up at first base. So, he probably wants to be DH in somewhere would be his best case. But I think that, yeah, just with the way, you know, he's one of those guys that, that really optimizes his tools with, you know, it's a big polar percentage.

00:12:28
Speaker 4: It's all extremely hard.

00:12:29
Speaker 3: And, and there are just, there are enough teams that covet that, that I think he's going to get a full-time role. It's just, I think he's someone that I would worry about the ballpark. I would want to see where that goes. Cause I, you know, there are certain, there are certain parks with his swing that I think would be more advantageous versus like if he landed in Boston, for example, I don't think I would like it as much as, you know, if you went back to the Brewers, just because of the way that ballpark plays.

00:12:50
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:12:50
Speaker 1: And, and we'll move on to a second base, but I mean, first base, I do just want to say like incredibly deep, but you gotta be careful to not let how deep it is just have you fall asleep at the wheel because this is where a lot of the best power hitters in the game are eligible. So you do have to get in, uh, on the first base run, uh, eventually, um, second base, we have, you know, a blue chipper up top and Fernando Tatis also eligible in the outfield. Uh, Bryce Terang is kind of going in the like third, fourth round jazz chisholm a couple of rounds later. And then there's kind of just a big gap, uh, Bryson Stott, J.J. Weatherholt, Cattell Marte, these guys in the draft I just did all went outside the top 105 picks. Are you seeing that it kind of break down like that where there's Tatis, a gap, Terang, a gap, Jazz, a gap, and then a bunch of these guys? Or do you see a Weatherholt or a Marte or someone like that being worthy of being the clear number four guy?

00:13:56
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:13:58
Speaker 4: I think that, that someone is going to emerge from that.

00:14:01
Speaker 3: I actually, in a weird way, I actually prefer the five, uh, Weatherholt, Marte, Lau and Kieschel and frankly, Antonacci over Bryce and Scott, who you have it for. Um, I think that there's just more upside with those guys. Scott's a free agent. Also, we don't know where he's going to end up. Um, but I think that, or I believe he's a free agent.

00:14:17
Speaker 2: I should check that actually.

00:14:19
Speaker 3: Um, But with those other guys, I just think that someone is going to emerge from that group. I just don't know who it is. And I think that that's that's you know, that's going to be the the swing thing here with second base, because this position I don't think is as deep as somebody as even catcher when we were talking about it. Like I look at, you know, when we're getting down into the the teens here, you know, there are names that are that I'm happy that I'd be fine starting. I don't think I feel great about it. I think there's a lot of question marks with a lot of those guys.

00:14:45
Speaker 2: So.

00:14:46
Speaker 3: At second base, I do feel like that premium, if you can get one of the top, you know, nine guys or so is something I'd be looking to do. But, yeah, I think that if I had to pick one person to emerge from that next year, it'd probably be Weatherholt. I just think that what he showed in the first half, you know, his upside at the plate is pretty gigantic. And he's going to be in a second season. He'll be, you know, have a normal offseason after finishing the season on the injured list. And I just think that he's someone who has the hitting ability to take that leap forward and kind of jump into that top tier and give you that combination of power and then also give you a little bit of speed also.

00:15:21
Speaker 4: You know, what was he, 17, 14 this year?

00:15:24
Speaker 3: I think, you know, if that got close to 2020 next season, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

00:15:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, Weatherholt went in the eighth round of my early draft. That's a nice sort of... Feels like a good value.

00:15:35
Speaker 1: Kind of like a post-type price tag almost.

00:15:38
Speaker 2: Yeah. Bryson Stott actually is going to have a contract year next year.

00:15:42
Speaker 1: Next year is the contract year. Part of the reason I have him ahead, again, it's not by a lot. I definitely could see you preferring all five of the guys I have below him, over him, like you said. He is second and third eligible, is Stott, which is really nice just because you can move him to the middle, you can move him to the corner. And So I actually ended up, I drafted Stott in my first draft and I ended up with him as like my third baseman.

00:16:16
Speaker 2: Just because I ended up grabbing another second baseman.

00:16:19
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, it's, I don't think you can go wrong with those top like nine or 10 guys. I do just want to shout out mine and Dylan White's guy, Javier Sanoa of the Marlins. I'm sure people are maybe surprised by how high I have Sanoa ranked. Um, I really think there's, there's like a sneaky ceiling and batting average leagues that, um, like I, like he hit two 95 this year with like 11 and 11 in under 500 plate appearances. And he had like a eight 50 OPS in the second half. Uh, like if, if you hit two 92 95 with around 15 homers and 15 steals, that's actually an incredibly valuable fantasy season. And Sanoa is eligible at second, third, and outfield, which is just great. So that's my case for why I have Sanoa so high. Let's head to third base, Ian. There's a really nice top five here in Junior Caminero, Sal Stewart, Miguel Vargas, Jose Ramirez, Kevin McGonigal. Zach Gelof, I think, has such swing potential in leagues this year just because like if he's the hitter he was this year, again, next year and stays healthy, like he could go 30, 20 as a third base outfield eligible player playing in that band box. But of course he was getting drafted like outside the top 500 a year ago. So how much do you buy in to what he did this year? Does anyone stand out to you at third base?

00:17:57
Speaker 3: I think just in general, third base was surprising.

00:18:00
Speaker 4: I thought the depth dropped off pretty quickly.

00:18:03
Speaker 3: It felt a lot more like second base, whereas in the past, I feel like third base is trying to be more towards of a run producing spot like first base is. But I think this year, if you're looking for power from third base, the options are not as plentiful as maybe there have been in past years. I think the one that really interests me was Tarugi Sato, where you had him at 23. I think he's another great swing guy in this year's drafts. Cause a lot's going to depend on where he ends up. But you know, if you told me that he returned top 10 values similar to what Okamoto did this year, I think I could buy that. It's just, I think this early, it's really hard before we know how much money he's getting, what the landing spot is.

00:18:43
Speaker 4: Cause I do think we've seen in.

00:18:44
Speaker 3: The past that, you know, there have been guys that have been pretty hyped up and then they come over and the contract is pretty middling. And then sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, you know, you look at obviously like Murakami this year was excellent in the first half, really fell off the table down the stretch. Okamoto was more consistent throughout the year. We know we'll see what, where Sato ends up, but I thought him at 23 really interested me just at that value, you know, at that, in that late in the draft, I just think it's worth a shot because I think the ROI there could be pretty, pretty substantial.

00:19:14
Speaker 4: He was number one.

00:19:14
Speaker 3: And the other one was Michael Garcia, who was right next to him. You know, it's hard to know what to expect from him because he obviously was injured. large portions of this year, but with what he showed two years ago, I think that, you know, you, you, there's value there that potentially, you know, you could be getting a 15, 20, 50 home run, 20 plus steel guy who it's in the high 200s gets you around an 800 OPS. And, you know, that's going to be going outside of probably what the top 200 if I'm extrapolating out or 150 at least.

00:19:45
Speaker 4: So I think that he could be.

00:19:47
Speaker 3: Another kind of like post type sleeper that people forget about because this season was pretty forgetful for him. But I still think that, you know, the approach metrics are really good. The expected numbers were better than, than his actual return. And, he has that baseline of defensive value. That means he's going to get everyday playing time. And I think when you're getting into like guys in like the late teens, twenties, that, that kind of stuff is going to matter.

00:20:07
Speaker 4: You know, how much playing time are they going to get? And I think he's going to get a lot of it.

00:20:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:20:12
Speaker 1: I thought Garcia was so tough to rank for the Royals because I just, I just don't know how much he's going to run. You know, he went five for nine. on stolen base attempts in 82 games this year and his, uh, sprint speed, his speed score, like all that stuff has gotten worse, like each of the past three years. So, um, I'm just worried if he's a worse athlete than he was like a couple of years ago, but like, you know, where I ranked him, he's just so cheap. Um, and he was someone that people were pretty excited about as like a top one 50 guy.

00:20:49
Speaker 3: Um, I also think with him though, that the sprint speed thing, I think is very legit. the curious thing I would wonder is how much of that was having multiple hamstring injuries this season. Like we don't know how healthy he came back. You know, maybe he was just trying to push it and trying to play through it. But I just, you know, anytime someone misses, he has two different stints this year with hamstring strains. And I believe it was, it was actually different hamstrings. And one time it was the right one time was the left, but if that kind of thing could have been impacted in his speed, I think, well, that's one where I it's, you know, if you can watch, you know, the stack cast feed from any spring training games that are played in those parks and see kind of like what a sprint speed is looking like from that, that, that would be a one I'd be monitoring closely.

00:21:25
Speaker 4: Cause I agree.

00:21:26
Speaker 3: It could swing a lot depending on how his, where his athleticism goes next season.

00:21:31
Speaker 1: I do like that though, as like a, a nice sort of extreme by low on Michael Garcia.

00:21:39
Speaker 2: Okay.

00:21:40
Speaker 1: Shortstop always a fun position and there were, this is probably the most fun position in terms of like the elite big league talent. And in terms of the prospect talent, um, I'm always incredibly biased towards shortstops who steal bases. So like, I'm just not that high on guys like Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Bo Bichette. Um, I am high on a guy like Cooper Pratt, uh, obviously had the, um, tough play with all that stuff going on at shortstop last night. But I mean, I just think he's looked so great for the most part and the stolen bases that Pratt can provide. I mean, he could steal 30 plus bases next year, I think pretty easily. What stands out to you at shortstop? I mean, it's a deep position, but it dries up quicker than you think like in the draft because these guys are so in demand.

00:22:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:22:35
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that also.

00:22:36
Speaker 3: And then when you get into the teens, pretty much everyone has multi-position value or eligibility. And so a lot of guys are going to get taken for other spots, you know, like Boba Shett, Brooksley, Nico Horner, you know, Kevin McDonald is obviously higher ranked, but.

00:22:50
Speaker 4: Even he has multi-position eligibility.

00:22:52
Speaker 3: But I think the interesting thing to me is that I actually think there's not as many elite options as there have been.

00:22:59
Speaker 2: In past years.

00:22:59
Speaker 3: I think there's guys who could move into that tier. I don't think they are in that tier right now or haven't shown Yeah, that sort of upside or that that sort of, excuse me, like return. But like Bobby Witt, Ellie Day-LaCruz, C.J. Abrams, I think it's a clear top three. Completely agree with that. Connor Griffin easily could be in there if he produces like he did after that first, you know, month or so.

00:23:20
Speaker 4: He'll be up there.

00:23:22
Speaker 3: But after that, you know, McGonigal, I like I love Kevin McGonigal. I do wonder if there is like a ceiling to his fantasy upside. because it's like a hit tool driven profile, like, you know, this year's 18 home runs, 12 steals. Is he going to get to 25 home runs and 20 steals? I'm not sure that's the type of hitter he is. I think, you know, he might be more of like a 2015 guy, which is obviously very valuable when you're hitting, you know, close to 300. But, um, I think there's going to be a lot of batting average. Like there's a lot of batting average work there. Um, someone like Lindor and Gunnar Henderson, you know, those are guys obviously a down seasons. You'd be about, you'd be counting on them to bounce back. Um, And then you obviously get into the Neto, Peña, Lopez. I think that's kind of the sweet spot for me. I think Neto, Peña, Lopez, guys like that, depending on what you need. If you need batting average and speed, you go Lopez. If you want a little of both, you go Peña. If you want home run or power and you don't care as much about batting average, you can go to Neto. I think there's just a bunch of diverse profiles for fantasy purposes in that back of the top 10 spot. And I think that it allows you early on to kind of target some other spots that maybe are not as not as deep. So I think that's that's really the sweet spot for me. And the guys that really stood out was that that end of the back 10, even Gunnar Henderson, like I know he had a really rough year, but we've seen it from him in the past. And I think the talent is still there. I do wonder if a change of scenery might be best suited for him. But I still think that, you know, this guy is only two seasons removed from a 37 home run, 21 steal season. Last year was 17 and 30. This year, obviously, regressed pretty considerably. But if he bounces back to close to an OPS around 800, I think he would be an incredible value because he probably belongs in that top tier if he gets anything close to what he did the previous two seasons.

00:25:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am probably letting some....

00:25:11
Speaker 1: I drafted a bunch of Gunnar Henderson in the first round in 2025. Took him again in at least one league. towards the end of the first round this past year so i'm i'm kind of a lover scorned a little bit here on gunner um i love the idea of a change of scenery but i i don't expect that to happen necessarily um not yet he's just it's it's a it's been a general kind of decline from that that 24 season but um still young enough i mean where did he go in this the draft i i did um.

00:25:49
Speaker 2: He went third round.

00:25:51
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's enough of a discount for me.

00:25:56
Speaker 3: No, I think it would have to be fourth or fifth, probably, in a 16-team league.

00:26:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm with you, though. I would rather have Neto in the fourth than Gunnar in the third, where he went. And then Peña went in the sixth.

00:26:11
Speaker 3: I'd much rather have Peña in the sixth, yeah. Yeah, I think Peña' s really good. I do think there is a drop-off, though, after Lopez. I think Turner, Perdomo, Betts, Horner, even Seager, all those guys have pretty big warts.

00:26:24
Speaker 4: A lot of them are in their 30s now.

00:26:28
Speaker 3: I think that I would want to have one of those top 10 shortstops.

00:26:33
Speaker 1: I think you feel much better about your draft when you get a top 10 shortstop.

00:26:39
Speaker 2: I tend to agree. So, outfield.

00:26:44
Speaker 1: obviously way more outfielders than, uh, at these other positions. Um, you know, Jackson Churio, my, my drafts, I think he had like just hit one of his, uh, awesome home runs. Uh, like right as the draft started, he went like sixth overall. I think he's going to just, I think his post-season exploits and then people can just kind of extrapolate his 20, 26 numbers. I think Churio is going to comfortably settle as like a number five, number six pick. Um, so many, so many outfielders are going to go in like the first round. Like I think all seven, my top seven outfielders will all go in the first round. Corbin Carroll, Julio Rodriguez, Jackson Merrill, Ronald Acuna are not in my top seven. Like any of those guys could go in the first round. Um, like how much do you want to really buy into O'Neill Cruz's monster power speed season? Um, like there's just so many fun, like 2020 guys like Benj and Harris and, uh, Rosarena Langford, like, um, does anything kind of jump out to you here? Any, any targets, any, anyone you think I'm like too high on too low on?

00:27:52
Speaker 3: Um, I think in terms of guys that I, I would really like for next season that are maybe a little lower. I think Tyler Soderstrom, AJ Ewing, uh, those guys, and even Victor Mesa jr. They really stood out to me guys around the 40 range. Um, I think to Soderstrom, it's easy to, this season he was hurt. The majority of the season he tried to play through. It didn't go well. Um, I still think that he's a guy who could hit 30 home runs and I'm just a big believer in buying athletic bats.

00:28:18
Speaker 4: Like that ballpark is ridiculous.

00:28:21
Speaker 3: And I know this isn't, this is a redraft league, but in dynasty leagues too, like if you can get guys who are going to be with the athletics for the foreseeable future, when they moved to that Vegas ballpark, that's going to be a boost to their value in my opinion. So I really like Soderstrom. I think AJ Ewing is really good. Um, I think he's someone that has only gotten better year after year.

00:28:41
Speaker 4: He's an elite athlete. he can, I think there's going to be power. I think it's going to be speed.

00:28:45
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, you know, in the next two years, he's seen his borderline top 10 fantasy outfielder. I just think there's that much upside. So if I can get him in the forties, I think in, in this, in this sort of format, that's just a really good value. Cause I think that the return could be huge. And then similarly with that Victor Mesa, like this guy was pacing 2020 this season. If he played the entire year, he's hit lefties. I think he's just a fundamentally different player than he was as a prospect. And, Obviously, it didn't work for him as the prospect, but the Rays, they know how to do it. Their player development, their hitting program is elite, and they've been able to make some necessary changes to him that have allowed him to tap into his raw ability. I think that what he's doing is very legit. I completely buy it. You look at his underlying data, it's fantastic. I think that he's someone that could be a really good value. Because he was a post-hype guy, I feel like people might be easier to write off what he did this season as, oh, it's just the Rays.

00:29:36
Speaker 4: It was just kind of an outlier good year. I think he's a potential 20%. 2020 guy.

00:29:40
Speaker 3: And I think if you can get that around, you know, the 40th outfielder spot, that's really good value. And like, I look at that compared to someone, you know, moving up, like, Sedan Rafaela or William Abreu, guys like that. Like, I just I think I'd much rather have those guys in the back of the like the Ewing, Soderstrom, Victor Mesa types than those Red Sox options who I think the ballpark isn't great for Abreu. And then I think Rafaela just I just think that approach is just for fantasy. It's an incredible real life player. But for fantasy, I just think it's it's tough to count on someone who's going to chase, you know, 45 percent of the time.

00:30:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know you didn't read my article that went up after this where I was talking about 15 guys that could rise or fall on this next year, but I did shout out Soderstrom and Mesa as big targets. And actually, I definitely should have had Soderstrom a little bit higher on these. I know he was hurt, but he actually showed some skill improvement while he was hurt, and he was just really unlucky on balls in play. And I was all about Soderstrom coming into this past season. So I think just by the dip, he's maybe even better than he was coming into this past season. And he's like half the price.

00:30:55
Speaker 4: Yeah, he had an 8-10.

00:30:56
Speaker 3: I didn't even realize this. He had an 8-10 OPS this season in what we're calling a down year.

00:31:00
Speaker 2: Right, right.

00:31:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, to me, I'm a big fan. If you can get someone like that later on, I just believe in the player and the ballpark. The combination of the player and the ballpark, I think, is just really, really advantageous for fantasy.

00:31:14
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:31:15
Speaker 1: And, uh, I mean, I, I've always been like such a, uh, fan of Satan's game in, uh, batting average leagues. Um, definitely a, a major drop off in OBP leagues. Um, he has like, he's gotten better every year, uh, it seems. Um, but I, I could be just a little too high on those, those red sex guys. Um, they've been very productive, but yeah, I mean, it, they kind of aren't that dissimilar from guys that I've.

00:31:45
Speaker 2: Got a bit lower than them.

00:31:46
Speaker 3: I think, I think with Raphael to me, it's just a matter of, you know, is the two 85 batting average going to be an outlier or is that the new norm? If it's the new norm, it's a perfectly like he, cause he was pacing 2020 when he was healthy this year, but it's just, I, we don't have a track record of that. And I just look at the expected numbers and his expected number with this year was right in line with what his actual average was the last two years.

00:32:07
Speaker 4: And I just worry.

00:32:08
Speaker 3: I just guys who are, who just chase as much as he does. And we kind of you see it more in the playoffs that that teams, obviously, the book is out. You know, when you're advanced scouting these guys, you know exactly how to get them out for the regular season. It's a little more difficult to just, you know, throw a bunch of balls and hope that he doesn't swing or hope that he does swing. But I just I just worry that, you know, the more exposure he gets. And I also don't know if he's going to. The other thing is, I don't know if he's going to hit in a premium spot on the line of next season. I think you got a pretty big boost hitting second this year. if he's back in the seven, eight, nine spot, which I think could be in play for next year, especially if the Red Sox go out and add the offense they need to add. But I think that's a, that's a little bit of a ding to his fantasy value also.

00:32:45
Speaker 2: Yep. Good points.

00:32:47
Speaker 1: We're going to head to a quick break. When we come back, I want to get Ian's take on how much postway to Paul is going to play next year.

00:32:55
Speaker 2: All right.

00:32:56
Speaker 1: UT only in, and we've got, Shohei Otani, Kyle Schwarber, Yandy Diaz, Brent Rooker. Yandy Diaz no longer first base eligible. It's a pretty big ding to his value. Josue DePaula, he went ahead. I put all the prospects that went in my draft, non-debut prospects. He went ahead of all the non-debut prospects. Everyone is super excited about what they see and the potential that DePaula has, and we just don't know how many plate appearances he's going to get next year. So like, if you can take Koso to Paula, just knowing what we know now, like around pick 200, like, is that a good gamble to you? Or are you too worried about just the fact that, okay, they've got Shoya Otani, they got Freddie Freeman.

00:33:46
Speaker 2: He's a terrible left fielder. They've also got a bunch of outfielders. Like, you know, what, what do you think?

00:33:51
Speaker 3: I think the Dodgers know what they have. There's a reason he's on the playoff roster. There's a reason they went to him when Otani got hurt. When they had other guys in AAA, he jumped them because he's that good. And I think that that's something that will sort itself out of the offseason. I would guess maybe a Teoscar Hernandez trade. And we start seeing like they try to get to Paula even below average out there. And if he's that, you know, you're fine with it. Maybe Otani starts playing the outfield again, especially if he's not going to be pitching as much. We don't know what's going on with the pitching side of things with him. but I think the Dodgers will find a way to get him in the line.

00:34:21
Speaker 4: He's too good.

00:34:22
Speaker 3: You know, this is, this is arguably the best pure hitter in all the minor leagues and he's going to be on the 40 man. I don't see the Dodgers as the, you know, the smart organization that they are sending that guy down to the minors and having him kind of toil away there, unless he, you know, really needs to work on his defense. I think they'll find a way to get his bat in the lineup. And, you know, it's, it's one thing this year with it, with this kind of as a rookie to bring them off the bench. I think that's fine, but I think, you know, they'll have an off season to figure this out and they will. And, I think, yeah, if you can get him around the 200s, because this is a guy that it's easy top 100 upside at the plate. And if you just, there was more certainty. That's why I think there is an advantage to doing those drafts now. Because, you know, we could get to December and have Teoscar Hernandez could be traded. And then it's like, okay, they're clearly going to play him in left field and just roll with the defense. So I think that if, yeah, he's someone I would be very interested in. Because I just, I trust the Dodgers to figure it out with him. The bat is just too good.

00:35:16
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:35:16
Speaker 1: I also think with, you know, Freddie Freeman's entering the final year of his deal, like I think you could probably go to Freddie Freeman and, you know, talk about giving him like an off day every week or something like that.

00:35:30
Speaker 2: Um, just as another way to kind of free up, um, some spots there, but.

00:35:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, DePaula, like, so the, when we get to like late March, um, or whenever, um, you know, late March is when like the highest stakes drafts are like the main event league that I do. DePaul is just, he's going to be a top 100 pick by then. So it's just, that's, that's where it's gone. Starting pitcher. This is maybe the most fun position because I just, I want to get your take Ian on sort of, you know, I've kind of anointed the.

00:36:09
Speaker 2: Some new SP ones and some new SP twos.

00:36:12
Speaker 1: Uh, like I've got Gavin Williams, Peyton, totally, uh, Kate Cavalli, Kate Cavalli at 15. So kind of borderline, um, those guys as SP ones, I've got Parker Messick, Reed Detmers, uh, Jared Jones, Kate Anderson, Logan Henderson, uh, all as SP twos. I've got like Ian Seymour as a borderline SP two. Do you think I'm, too high on like jumping these, these guys after these one seasons in some cases, or are you kind of on board with, with most of these?

00:36:45
Speaker 3: No, I think that's, I think with pitching, you gotta be aggressive. I just don't, you know, you can't, there's no way to predict injuries. So I think you just have to, based on the data and information you have, if a breakout looks legit, I want to be aggressive with that guy because you might only have a short window for that. And so, yeah, I think that that pushing those guys aggressively makes a lot of sense.

00:37:06
Speaker 4: You know, it's, it's pitching. It's, it's, it feels very deep. I feel like always at this time of year.

00:37:12
Speaker 3: And then by the time we get to spring training next year, naturally there will be some attrition there and you'll be like panicking to find like a fifth starter. And right now I think, yeah, it feels very deep. You know, and I think being aggressive, so being aggressive with those names makes a lot of sense. Then, you know, by the time we get to April or, you know, when those high stakes drafts are, it's probably going to feel very different. But I think right now, based on the information we have, there's, it, it, you want to be aggressive with those guys. Cause frankly, you're probably, it's the only way you're going to get them if those are your targets. Cause I think there, if you're not willing to pay, you know, that top dollar price for them, someone else probably will be who buys into what their performance was this season.

00:37:49
Speaker 1: What do you think about Garrett crochet? I ranked Garrett crochet 35th among starting pitchers. Obviously he was a clear top three guy coming into this year. I just, don't really know how many innings I'm going to get. So I just didn't know where to rank him, but like, are you, would you buy like over 130 innings for crochet next year? Like where, how do you feel about like the buy low opportunity here?

00:38:15
Speaker 3: I think it's a good one. The Red Sox have said he's healthy. They've said he's going to have a normal off season. That, that really matters to me. I think pitchers having a normal off season, one of the most underrated things. You know, when I hear that a guy had like a cleanup procedure in the fall or anything like that, my, my, the red flag immediately goes on to my, my rankings because that's, that's not what you want a normal off season. And I think if he's going to have that normal off season, I don't know if you can, you know, obviously you can't rank them as like a top five, top 10 pitcher, like he was heading into this season.

00:38:45
Speaker 4: But I think that he's under contract. He's already got an extension.

00:38:48
Speaker 3: So I don't, I'm not as concerned about any workload restrictions. Do I think I'll throw 200 innings or 180 innings?

00:38:55
Speaker 4: Probably not. But I think you can, you know, comfortably project 150, 160.

00:38:57
Speaker 3: Yeah. And if he gives you 150, 160 innings, you're going to get probably top 10, top 15 production. So he's someone that I would be pretty comfortable buying at the price that he's going, especially if he's going to be going outside of the top 30 starters.

00:39:12
Speaker 1: How would you compare? Would you take Crochet over Cade Cavalli?

00:39:18
Speaker 4: I think that's around the range.

00:39:22
Speaker 3: Looking at the list, I think that I would take Chase Burns ahead of him assuming health. Obviously, they're all assuming health. I would say, yeah, Gavin Williams, Payton Tolley, Skeens, Wheeler. I probably would. I think, yeah, Logan Gilbert, Cake Volley, Dylan Cease, especially with Cease kind of having his elbow. I think it was his elbow bark up at the end of the season. It's a little concerning to me. So I think that's that's a fair spot that I would slot. Crochet is around. Yeah, the top 15 back of the top 15, top 20, that area.

00:39:49
Speaker 2: Want to say it was his shoulder. I just want to see.

00:39:52
Speaker 4: There's elbow or shoulder. I know he had, he had something that he, I just.

00:39:55
Speaker 1: Don't want to, it was a shoulder and I just didn't want like people to, um, yeah, no.

00:40:01
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:40:02
Speaker 4: Um, so that's a good call.

00:40:03
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:40:03
Speaker 4: Shoulder.

00:40:04
Speaker 2: My mistake.

00:40:05
Speaker 1: Um, so, uh, another guy who really jumped out to me in, when I was doing the, my research for this and I'll be honest, I wasn't watching that many tigers games late in the year, but, uh, Jackson, Job, like, he really looked the part with his September work. I ranked him like in the mid forties. So I ranked him as like a borderline SP three. Do you think that's too aggressive or just, just.

00:40:33
Speaker 2: Just about right?

00:40:34
Speaker 3: No, I think that's, that's very fair. I think he's one I'd be more interested in the workload issue. Cause there, I don't think the tiger is going to be as aggressive. He's still obviously super young. He's going to, but I like, I like buying guys in their second year coming off an injury. You know, you talk to people around baseball and they say that first year back is kind of like getting your feet wet, getting adjusted. But that second year is really where I think you can see them take off. And I, that's why I like Joe. I think Jared Jones is another one that I think next season could be just like a full on breakout. Like I would be surprised if Jared Jones ends the season as the highest ranked pirate starter.

00:41:07
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:41:08
Speaker 3: I think just buying those posts kind of, he's not a post type sleeper. Cause I think he is pretty hyped already, but, someone who, you know, had a lot of pedigree, had a, had a really impressive track record, then suffered an injury in their second year back, especially if they showed anything at the end of their first year, I'm very interested in that type of profile. And so, yeah, I think Job is someone that, that I would be very aggressive with in drafts for that reason. Like I look at some of, there's a few of the guys ahead of him and like, I would definitely like compared to like Kyle Harrison, Christian Scott, guys like that. I think that Job is someone that I just think the ceiling is so high that I would be willing to take him a couple rounds before those guys just on the, the chance that you might be getting, you know, top 20, top 25 value return from him.

00:41:47
Speaker 2: All right.

00:41:48
Speaker 1: Relief pitchers. And I did, I put a bunch of qualifiers at the top of the article. So, you know, different leagues are going to value relievers completely all over the map.

00:41:59
Speaker 2: Right.

00:42:01
Speaker 1: I just wanted to shout out a couple of guys who've just really kind of ascended and get your take. So Mason Montgomery of the pirates, like if you look at what he did, basically in the second half, like he was right there with, you know, Cade Smith, Mason Miller as like the best reliever in the game. I ranked him sixth among the closers. Like, are we full in on Mason Montgomery?

00:42:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:42:27
Speaker 3: I think anyone who has a strikeout upside, he does. Like if I, he checks all the boxes you look for in a closer. And I also think the final boxes being on a competitive team. And I think the pirates are kind of that sweet spot of teams. I like where, they're good and they're going to win a lot of games, but they're not too good that they're just going to blow everyone out. And so I think there's going to be plenty of save opportunities. They're kind of, I feel like they're in that like guardians vein where, you know, it's, it's their offense is good, but not great. Especially we'll see if Brandon Lau comes back or not, but they're going to be in a ton of competitive games and Montgomery has a chance to help you in the ratios, get you saves. And also he's going to be a huge source of strikeouts. So yeah, I am very in on him as a top 10 reliever next season.

00:43:07
Speaker 1: Ian, in that first draft I did, I'm sure I wasn't alone in really wanting Grant Taylor. And the person that wanted him the most took him in the fifth round. And, you know, I don't know exactly what stats I'm getting from Grant Taylor next year. Like, am I going to be getting saves? Am I going to be getting starts? But, like, he's just so talented that I like the idea of just betting on him being very valuable in whatever role he's in.

00:43:37
Speaker 3: How do you see 2027 unfolding for Grant Taylor? It's a tricky one because the White Sox rotation is not very good. And I could see the temptation to try to convert him back to a starter. And we saw him go four innings in one of the recent playoff games. He was absolutely dominant. You know, his breaking ball was one of the better breaking balls you're going to see. And if he can be a starter, I think we could, you know, I think that's something the White Sox will explore, which is tricky. I think, what makes him hard to value for me is if you're taking him, he's being priced in the fifth round.

00:44:06
Speaker 4: That's just like a top, what 10 closer.

00:44:09
Speaker 3: But if you get no saves from a guy you took in the top 10 as a top 10 closer, that can kind of like decimate your chances. So in a weird way, I don't know if like in these draft and hold leagues that are happening now, I don't know if he would be as big of a target because we're uncertain about his role. He's someone I think I'd be more comfortable with once we hear in spring training, kind of how the White Sox plan to use him. Because I just look at around him, just on your rankings. You have Andres Munoz, you have Trevor McGill, you have David Bednar, Brian Baker. I just feel a lot more certain that those guys are going to get you 30-plus saves, assuming health.

00:44:41
Speaker 4: I think Taylor could do that. I don't know if he will be given the opportunity to.

00:44:44
Speaker 3: And if I'm taking a closer in the fifth round, I just think that's a little rich. And if I view him as a starter, I don't know if I would value him as a fifth round as a starter yet. just because of the workload concerns. I think that he's in a weird spot where he's extremely talented and going to be extremely valuable real life pitcher. I do wonder though, if the fantasy value will kind of be negated a bit because of that uncertainty around the role right now, different story, of course could happen once we get to spring training, but just in any drafts going on right now, I'd be a little hesitant to take him for those, those reasons. Cause I mean, it could be a great value. He could end up being, you know, a top three reliever, but I just, if you, if I'm, you're probably taking him as your first reliever and I just don't want to gamble that my first reliever might get me, you know, 10 saves.

00:45:26
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:45:26
Speaker 1: I think you almost have to just, and I ranked him. I should have maybe put him with the starters. Cause I think you almost, you almost need to view him in your draft.

00:45:35
Speaker 2: Like you're getting a starter. Yeah. So that when you're counting the stats, you don't think you have 30 saves sitting there. I agree. And then if you get the saves, then you end up winning your saves. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

00:45:51
Speaker 1: Let's look at some of these prospects, Ian, who went in my draft champions league. And again, this is on the NFBC, the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. These leagues are open to the public right now. You can draft a 2027 high stakes fantasy baseball league during the post season. What I did was I noted all of the non-debuted prospects that who went in the first 37 or so rounds. Ian and I are going to take a look, see which guys we think were good values, which guys maybe went a bit too high.

00:46:34
Speaker 2: I mentioned Josue DiPaolo went ahead of all these guys. As he should have.

00:46:40
Speaker 1: The first non-debut prospect to go was Franklin Arias in round 16. So around 16 of a 15 team draft went Franklin Arias and, um, let's see the other short steps that went around there.

00:46:57
Speaker 2: Um, let's see.

00:47:00
Speaker 1: So he went like same round as Dansby Swanson, same round as Cooper Pratt. He went around after George Lombard, uh, around ahead of Brian Rocchio. Um, Does that seem about right to you on Arias, or do you think he should be going higher or lower?

00:47:17
Speaker 4: No, I think that feels around fair.

00:47:19
Speaker 3: It's going to be fascinating to see what the Red Sox decide to do with him for next season. They still have Trevor Story under contract. They've said they want to play Curtis Meade at second base. I don't know how good of an idea that is, given his defensive ability. I kind of wonder if how it's going to shake out is they'll put Meade at DH, they'll put Story at second base, and they'll just have Arias be the shortstop. but I think that a boost to Arias in a weird way was that he was not added to the 40 right now. So he's going to be like fully ramped up. He will be playing a minor league games whenever the major league, um, season gets going, he's going to be ready. And I think that will actually be something that helps his value. Cause I could see that, you know, he's going to be ahead of a lot of the hitters that they're bringing in. And so I don't know if he'll break camp with the Red Sox, but I think he'll be up in pretty short order.

00:48:04
Speaker 4: And, um, Yeah.

00:48:05
Speaker 3: I mean, I think that, you know, the combination of average, I would not expect any speed, but he's going to give you average. I don't know how many home runs. I just think that the average floor alone, though, makes sense in that range. I'd probably take like Pratt. I would take Lombard, a few of those guys ahead of him. But I think, you know, when you get down to like Rokio, guys like that, a Dansby Swanson, I think that's kind of a fair, fair area where you can gamble on someone like Arias coming up and giving you, you know, like a 280 season with 12 to 15 home runs.

00:48:35
Speaker 1: Right, and he's going to be hitting in a better spot in the lineup, well, potentially.

00:48:38
Speaker 2: Potentially, yeah.

00:48:39
Speaker 1: Potential to hit higher than Swanson and Rokio. And I was surprised that Charlie Condon was the second non-debut prospect to go. Maybe I shouldn't have been. I mean, you know, Rocky's hitters are so valuable, even just for the Coors games.

00:48:59
Speaker 2: So it maybe shouldn't have been that big a surprise.

00:49:00
Speaker 1: I guess I just– I'm less– fully confident that he's got everyday playing time waiting for him at the beginning of next season, but maybe he does. TJ Rumfield obviously has earned the right to be the first baseman.

00:49:19
Speaker 2: I know they love him.

00:49:20
Speaker 1: Playing Goodman at D8, Hunter Goodman at DH when he's not catching. He had 39 starts at DH this past year en route to his 41 homer season. Do you think there's enough playing time going around for Condon to be taken this high?

00:49:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's tricky.

00:49:38
Speaker 3: I think that I love the ballpark for him. Um, I think the players is good, is good. You know, I don't think he's great, but I think he's going to be good. I think he's going to be a better fantasy player than real life player. Um, but I do, it's just, I think he's someone I need to see a move before I'd be comfortable taking him this high. Cause you look, they have a pretty good outfield, you know, with Jake McCarthy, Cole Kerrig and Mickey Moniak in a platoon. Um, I think those are, you know, three MLB like, yeah, those are regular outfielders. It's not, this is not a Rockies team in the past where you look and it's like, you could easily say, yeah, that guy is fine in a bench role. I actually like all those guys. I also think if I'm the Rockies, I wouldn't be surprised that they shop Moniak shop McCarthy, or even shop someone like Rumfield try to sell high. Um, but I, I think when he does come up, it will be to play. And so they'll, they'll find a way. And I think you could find a way with between right field, first base and DH to work in everyone from that group. Um, you might not get, you know, 160 games.

00:50:34
Speaker 4: You might only get 120, 130. That would be the kind of the concern.

00:50:39
Speaker 3: But I think, yeah, I think this is a little rich for me until I see where kind of how that they're, they're not a log jam, but how that, how the positions shake out.

00:50:47
Speaker 4: But I think just, I understand it though.

00:50:49
Speaker 3: Cause the course field effect, like if, if Condon plays like he did at the end of the season or during the season, Albuquerque, when he was at his best, you know, you're looking at a guy that you can easily project for 30 home runs and his average will probably get boosted higher than, maybe would in a neutral ballpark because of Coors.

00:51:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely.

00:51:08
Speaker 1: Now, the next two guys I'm more excited about, Sebastian Walcott went in the 19th round. Rainiel Rodriguez went in the 20th round. Sebastian Walcott, by the way, one of my favorite Baseball America prospect handbook covers ever, the 2027 one, and you can order that right now. on baseballamerica.com. Um, I love, you know, I love shilling for stuff that I really, uh, actually use. And I, by myself, like I, for years was always getting that code from JJ to use the, the PDF. And I, I would, I would memorize those really complicated passwords to get into that PDF so much before the book got there. So, uh, definitely got to order that Sebastian Walcott prospect handbook if you haven't already, and you'll get early access to that PDF. But, um, Sebastian Walcott, I think he's going to be my number one prospect for fantasy. And I think the Rangers have a lot of pieces, but I think there's room for Walcott.

00:52:16
Speaker 2: I think there's room for all these guys.

00:52:20
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, there might not be room for my guy, Rafe Parrish, as early as I would like. But what do you think about Walcott in the 19th and Rainiel.

00:52:29
Speaker 2: In the 20th?

00:52:30
Speaker 3: Um i think walcott there is really good value the rangers we've seen them be aggressive with with prospects i mean look at wyatt lankford would be example a um i think he's extremely talented if he's healthy i agree with you he's the number one fantasy prospect and i feel like there's a non-zero chance he's just on their opening day roster because he's that good um you know you're seeing in the afl we saw it at the end of the season He got some reps in AAA, which I think is a nice boost getting back there.

00:52:59
Speaker 4: If he's healthy, I think that this could end up being.

00:53:03
Speaker 3: If you told me that he outperformed Arias this year in the majors, I wouldn't be surprised at all. If you're getting that three rounds later, I think that's a really good value.

00:53:12
Speaker 1: He's almost a guarantee to outperform Arias in the counting stats.

00:53:19
Speaker 4: 100%. It's just a volume question.

00:53:21
Speaker 3: If they start the same day, I would take Walcott several rounds ahead of Arias. I think Arias is going to be a better real life than fancy player. But I think there's more like with the way the rosters are constructed. And I just think Arias is right now probably has a clearer pathway to, you know, being on a roster to start the season, but that could easily change. And we've seen, again, the Rangers have been a very aggressive in the past. So yeah, I think Walcott is someone that in this format, I think could really swing a league. Like this is a guy that if he came up in one rookie of the year and hit, you know, 25 home runs, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Um, it's just, you can't, I don't know if you can project that right now, but the talent is there.

00:53:59
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:53:59
Speaker 1: And the fact that he's playing in the AFL, um, redraft players are, they're already familiar with them, but like, they're going to be seeing video. Um, then we fast forward to spring training. Like, you know, he's another guy, uh, where like DePaul, uh, by main event season, he could be going in the top 100, depending on what his roster chances are looking like. Um, and I, I, I like the gamble on radio on the 20th. I just, I think we, these types of hitters that dominate double a at the age radio dominated double a, like they just, they don't spend much time in the minors the next season. Um, I just trust the Cardinals to figure out a way to sort this out. Like, I just think it would be almost malpractice to keep radio in the minors, like just indefinitely next season. So, um, it might not work out, but I think in the 20th round, you're gambling on.

00:54:57
Speaker 2: The right player there. Yeah.

00:55:00
Speaker 4: I think I love the player.

00:55:01
Speaker 3: It's just a question of, are you, would you be okay with, you know, only getting four months of at bats, you know, in the major league level? Like, cause I, I just, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was in the minors until like June.

00:55:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:55:13
Speaker 1: And now the other aspect of this is just catcher is so, um, kind of coveted in these formats. So like the other catchers that went, so like Moises Biceros goes around ahead of Rainiel. And then a couple of rounds later, you got JTR, you got Dalton Rushing, Kyber Ruiz, Rafael Flores, Carson Kelly. So like, you know, four months of Rainiel versus six months of Carson Kelly, like, Of that.

00:55:48
Speaker 4: Group, I think the only one is like, I like Flores.

00:55:50
Speaker 3: I think that for a full season of production, I would take just this season, obviously in the future, it's Rodriguez in the landslide. But yeah, I think when you're talking about those names, even if you only get four months of production, I still think that he could exceed those guys pretty easily.

00:56:05
Speaker 1: Uh, this is a really fun trio of prospects that went in the 21st round and I wanted all three of these guys.

00:56:12
Speaker 2: I ended up getting Ralphie Velasquez.

00:56:15
Speaker 1: It was the last guy to go, but, uh, Ryan Sloan, Jesus Mate, Ralphie Velasquez all in the 21st round, uh, with Ryan Sloan. I think that's, to me, that's another case where I just, I think you've got to bet on the front office to figure out a way to have a spot for him. Um, They don't send guys to AAA. Sloan dominated to finish the season. He's clearly big league ready. The biggest worry to me, honestly, would just be that he gets hurt before opening day or something. But I love Ryan Sloan in redraft right now. Maude, I don't think he's on the opening day roster unless a long-term extension is reached, which I'm sure they'll be discussing during the spring. We'll see how that goes. Ralphie Velasquez, you know, spent I think he had like 80 games at AAA last year.

00:57:09
Speaker 2: It was great.

00:57:10
Speaker 1: I don't think he needs any more time at AAA. What do you think about those three round 21 prospects? I think it makes a lot of sense. You know, you're talking about three top 10 guys. Excuse me, two top 10.

00:57:22
Speaker 3: Like I would say top 10 fantasy prospects probably. Would that be fair to say? Is Sloan probably be SP1 given his proxies? Oh, and I guess Cade's still eligible.

00:57:31
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. I mean, they're, they're all, they're all very good fans.

00:57:34
Speaker 3: Yeah. Um, but I think, yeah, Ralphie, like you look at the guardians, biggest issue in the playoffs is run production. And, you know, this is a guy who hit, I think it was like 28. He was close to 30 home runs in the minors this year, played in AAA for half the season. As you said, um, they started, you know, he, he's got a, there's a pathway to hit. There's nothing really holding it back. If, um, in that lineup that they'll find a spot for him. So I, I think he's the most likely of this group to be on an opening day roster. Um, say for potential like moda extension because obviously the blueprint is there with what they did with jackson churio um and i think that the same thing you could say for moda though he's probably not going to be a shortstop on that team with cooper pratt but third base is wide open you know i don't think joey ortiz when they decide moda is ready is going to hold him back or david hamilton and i agree with you on the sloan aspect too where they clearly do not value triple a uh maybe they should a little bit because of the change in the baseball but that's here that's here nor there but um I think that on talent and, you know, you combine his proximity and his talent, I think it makes him the best non-debut pitcher prospect by a wide margin. So I think, yeah, again, in this format, it seems like you want to swing for upside with your later picks. And I think all three of those guys possess upside and they also have that proximity that you're searching for.

00:58:45
Speaker 2: All right.

00:58:47
Speaker 1: Uh, we're running out of time here, Ian, but I know there's a sleeper prospect, uh, You know, at least one of these guys from after round 22 that you wanted to shout out as a potential good value.

00:59:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was just looking through the list.

00:59:03
Speaker 3: I mean, I think there are a ton of really interesting names along here. You know, Aiden Miller in the 30th round, Seaver King in the 33rd round. but the, the one that really jumped off the page to me was Cam Canarella in the 31st round. I would not be surprised at all if he broke camp as the Marlins center fielder next year. I think that he's, he's, he's got that defensive floor, which, you know, we obviously defense doesn't matter for fantasy, but what defense does get you is playing time and his defensive ability will get him I think to the big leagues quicker than, than, you know, if he was not as good a defender in center field. And then when he's up there, I think there's someone who's going to hit for contact. He's going to run, he'll run into some home runs. I think that in the 31st round, especially with how coveted speed is. I just think he, that, that was a great value pick by whoever made it. I'm just, I'm just a huge fan of the, of the player. I saw him this year, you know, I think that he's someone who eventually could settle into, you know, maybe like a 15 home run, 20 steel, 25 steel player. And with a high batting average, And he's probably going to hit at the top of the lineup eventually. So I think, yeah, I'm a big fan of Canarello.

01:00:03
Speaker 2: Yeah. He had a zero infield fly balls all season.

01:00:09
Speaker 4: He knows how to hit.

01:00:10
Speaker 1: He's really good. I took, so I took a few of these guys. I took Caden boating in the 27th round. I took, I took Caleb Bonamer. I took Theo Gillen and Caleb Bonamer back-to-back in round 29 and round 30.

01:00:27
Speaker 2: Did I take anyone else? Let's see.

01:00:35
Speaker 1: Later on, I took Jackson Flora, round 39. I took Bon Lackey, round 44. I took Braylon Doty, round 45. Daniel Egan, round 46. And Tyson Harden, round 50. I really like the idea of grabbing Gillen in the 29th and Bonamer in the 30th as just upside swings. Who knows when those guys are up? I don't think they need much more time, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be up right away. So you could be waiting months on either guy, but if Gillen gets.

01:01:10
Speaker 2: The promotion in May or Bonamer gets the promotion.

01:01:13
Speaker 1: In June, people are going to be bidding hundreds of bad dollars on those guys and they, they can both really move the needle in homers and steals even as rookies.

01:01:24
Speaker 4: I think a hundred percent. Yeah, completely agree with that.

01:01:26
Speaker 3: I also, I actually really liked the Tyson Harden pick in the 50th round too. I look at the way the Brewers develop pitchers. I think they do a great job. You've seen team after team, you know, a guy who I think Jake Bennett's a great example of that this season, you would have never expected Jake Bennett to throw a hundred innings for the Red Sox this season, but because starting pitchers get hurt, you need a ton of depth there. And I think Harden is someone who's on the verge of the big leagues. You look at the Brewers starting pitching, um, you know, there are definitely some question marks in that rotation. There are guys with injury track records. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Harden is someone who comes up and ends up producing a really good value for that spot. So I thought he was a great flyer for you in that last round.

01:02:01
Speaker 2: Thanks. Yeah. I mean that the whole idea there was just the innings.

01:02:04
Speaker 1: Like I, I'm not expecting Tyson Harden to be this guy that I just want to start every single week, but you know, on the Brewers, maybe, maybe you do, but, um, you know, just, it's hard to find guys in the, even just like the final 10 rounds, one of these drafts, it's hard to find guys that you think are going to make, you know, 12, 15 starts.

01:02:23
Speaker 2: Exactly. So, yeah. All right.

01:02:26
Speaker 1: Well, I think we covered it again. Top 350 redraft rankings are live on Baseball America. Definitely check those out. And thanks for listening.