Don't be shellfish...
The Phillies paid a shizzload of dough to sign the big league-ready Cuban RHP, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.* The deal is worth up to $60 million, $40+ million of which is guaranteed.* So, if we’re taking for granted that Ruben Amaro knows what he’s doing, then it’s a safe assumption that Gonzalez is going to quickly blossom into a front-end starter and a coveted fantasy asset, a la Yu Darvish, who signed for similar money.* But I’m not so sure about all that.* Gonzalez is 26 years old and he’s been pitching in international ball long enough for talent evaluators to have come to a consensus on his projection, so it’s surprising to find such mixed opinions on the guy.* The Phillies are paying him starter’s money, but there are plenty of folks around baseball who don’t even see Gonzalez working out long-term in a starter’s role.* Clearly I’m skeptical about the Phillies’ financial commitment, but even so, I’m not completely writing off the possibility of M.A.G. earning every dime of that contract on the mound.* With a deep arsenal of fastballs and various off-speed offerings, all of which he throws with deception and good command, Gonzalez appears to be a guy who’ll keep hitters guessing and tally up the whiffs — there’s certainly enough upside to be stashing him in deep leagues. Still, my inclination is that there’s not $60 million dollars worth of talent here.
Kris Bryant | 3B, Cubs – In his first professional game, Bryant made three errors at the hot corner.* Oof.* The Cubs now have Mike Olt projecting as their future 3B, and Bryant, who’s 6-5, seems destined for a corner outfield post, so these defensive blunders aren’t of major concern.* The 2nd overall pick from last month’s draft is currently playing short-season ball with Boise.* He’s one of the best sluggers in the minors, and I treated him as such, ranking the 21-year-old #13 on my Mid-Season Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects list.
Miguel Sano | 3B/OF, Twins – Miguel Sano, #6 on that list, did some showboatin’ after launching a homer earlier in the week.* He’s been riding the bench for 4 straight games because of it.* Here’s the clip.* It takes him 10.1 seconds to reach first, and while we knew Sano wasn’t a plus runner, that’s a pretty poor time.
Victor Roache | OF, Brewers – Before Kris Bryant was the best slugger in college baseball, that title belonged to Victor Roache.* Roache, however, suffered a broken wrist in his final collegiate season, and since the injury his power stroke has not been as potent as we all anticipated.* But the 21-year-old seems to be rediscovering himself over the past few weeks, hitting .366/.409/.707 with 4 homers in his last 10 games at Low-A Wisconsin.* Roache will climb the ladder in a hurry if he continues producing.
Kole Calhoun | OF, Angels – Calhoun is on fire at Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .500/.583/1.000 with 5 homers through his last 50 trips to the plate.* On the year, the 25-year-old is hitting .354/.431/.617, and he has little left to prove in the minors.* Expect to see him playing in Anaheim before the year is through.
Carlos Rodon | LHP, North Carolina State – Rodon is almost surely the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft, and his talents were on display earlier this week as the big lefty faced the Cuban national team.* He lasted 6.2 frames, allowed only 2 hits, walked zero, and whiffed 11.* His slider is otherworldly good.
D.J. Peterson | 3B, Mariners – Peterson, the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft, made his full-season debut earlier this week, as the M’s promoted him to Low-A Clinton.* He should be one of the quickest to the bigs from this year’s draft crop.* More on him here.
Travis d’Arnaud | C, Mets – Good news for Mets fans and dynasty owners, as Travis d’Arnaud has returned to action after breaking his foot some two months ago.* It’s tough to say whether or not he’ll reach Citi Field this season, but for fantasy purposes, he remains in the top tier of catching prospects.
Javier Baez | SS, Cubs – Javier Baez was slow to get going after promotion to Double-A earlier this month, but he’s been crushing the ball lately, drilling 6 home runs in his last 10 games.* The 20-year-old has enormous potential and came in at #8 on my mid-season list.
Taylor Guerrieri | RHP, Rays – I hinted at the possibility last week, and sure enough, Guerrieri underwent TJ surgery on Wednesday.* Sucks.
Marcus Stroman | RHP, Blue Jays – I know I probably write about Marcus Stroman more often than I should, and maybe that’s because I’m always surprised by impressive lines from Stroman when I’m digging through box scores.* I suppose I’ve been conditioned to believe that this 5-foot-9 22-year-old is never gonna cut it as a starter, but for months now, he continues to turn in exciting line after exciting line (6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K in his most recent outing).* I’m thinking it’s probably time to start expecting this type of production from Stroman going forward.* His overall 2013 line at Double-A New Hampshire reads:* 2.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 10.3 K/9.
Carlos Martinez | RHP, Cardinals – Martinez has returned to Triple-A Memphis, where he’ll resume working as a starting pitcher.* He’s still an option for the Cardinals’ big league rotation if there’s a need later this season.
Kyle Zimmer | RHP, Royals – Zimmer was on fire before his promotion to Double-A, and he hasn’t cooled off whatsoever in two outings since.* The 21-year-old has posted a 0.00 ERA and a 19/3 K/BB through 12 IP at Northwest Arkansas.
Andrew Heaney | LHP, Marlins – Andrew Heaney should be getting a promotion to Double-A here shortly, himself.* The 22-year-old hasn’t allowed a run in 5 starts (27 IP) this month at High-A Jupiter.
Phillip Ervin | OF, Reds – The Reds drafted Ervin 27th overall last month out of Samford University.* He’s playing rookie ball right now, but there’s little doubt that he’ll make his way to full-season ball before long.* The 21-year-old has connected with 5 homers in his last 6 games.
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The Phillies paid a shizzload of dough to sign the big league-ready Cuban RHP, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.* The deal is worth up to $60 million, $40+ million of which is guaranteed.* So, if we’re taking for granted that Ruben Amaro knows what he’s doing, then it’s a safe assumption that Gonzalez is going to quickly blossom into a front-end starter and a coveted fantasy asset, a la Yu Darvish, who signed for similar money.* But I’m not so sure about all that.* Gonzalez is 26 years old and he’s been pitching in international ball long enough for talent evaluators to have come to a consensus on his projection, so it’s surprising to find such mixed opinions on the guy.* The Phillies are paying him starter’s money, but there are plenty of folks around baseball who don’t even see Gonzalez working out long-term in a starter’s role.* Clearly I’m skeptical about the Phillies’ financial commitment, but even so, I’m not completely writing off the possibility of M.A.G. earning every dime of that contract on the mound.* With a deep arsenal of fastballs and various off-speed offerings, all of which he throws with deception and good command, Gonzalez appears to be a guy who’ll keep hitters guessing and tally up the whiffs — there’s certainly enough upside to be stashing him in deep leagues. Still, my inclination is that there’s not $60 million dollars worth of talent here.
Kris Bryant | 3B, Cubs – In his first professional game, Bryant made three errors at the hot corner.* Oof.* The Cubs now have Mike Olt projecting as their future 3B, and Bryant, who’s 6-5, seems destined for a corner outfield post, so these defensive blunders aren’t of major concern.* The 2nd overall pick from last month’s draft is currently playing short-season ball with Boise.* He’s one of the best sluggers in the minors, and I treated him as such, ranking the 21-year-old #13 on my Mid-Season Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects list.
Miguel Sano | 3B/OF, Twins – Miguel Sano, #6 on that list, did some showboatin’ after launching a homer earlier in the week.* He’s been riding the bench for 4 straight games because of it.* Here’s the clip.* It takes him 10.1 seconds to reach first, and while we knew Sano wasn’t a plus runner, that’s a pretty poor time.
Victor Roache | OF, Brewers – Before Kris Bryant was the best slugger in college baseball, that title belonged to Victor Roache.* Roache, however, suffered a broken wrist in his final collegiate season, and since the injury his power stroke has not been as potent as we all anticipated.* But the 21-year-old seems to be rediscovering himself over the past few weeks, hitting .366/.409/.707 with 4 homers in his last 10 games at Low-A Wisconsin.* Roache will climb the ladder in a hurry if he continues producing.
Kole Calhoun | OF, Angels – Calhoun is on fire at Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .500/.583/1.000 with 5 homers through his last 50 trips to the plate.* On the year, the 25-year-old is hitting .354/.431/.617, and he has little left to prove in the minors.* Expect to see him playing in Anaheim before the year is through.
Carlos Rodon | LHP, North Carolina State – Rodon is almost surely the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft, and his talents were on display earlier this week as the big lefty faced the Cuban national team.* He lasted 6.2 frames, allowed only 2 hits, walked zero, and whiffed 11.* His slider is otherworldly good.
D.J. Peterson | 3B, Mariners – Peterson, the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft, made his full-season debut earlier this week, as the M’s promoted him to Low-A Clinton.* He should be one of the quickest to the bigs from this year’s draft crop.* More on him here.
Travis d’Arnaud | C, Mets – Good news for Mets fans and dynasty owners, as Travis d’Arnaud has returned to action after breaking his foot some two months ago.* It’s tough to say whether or not he’ll reach Citi Field this season, but for fantasy purposes, he remains in the top tier of catching prospects.
Javier Baez | SS, Cubs – Javier Baez was slow to get going after promotion to Double-A earlier this month, but he’s been crushing the ball lately, drilling 6 home runs in his last 10 games.* The 20-year-old has enormous potential and came in at #8 on my mid-season list.
Taylor Guerrieri | RHP, Rays – I hinted at the possibility last week, and sure enough, Guerrieri underwent TJ surgery on Wednesday.* Sucks.
Marcus Stroman | RHP, Blue Jays – I know I probably write about Marcus Stroman more often than I should, and maybe that’s because I’m always surprised by impressive lines from Stroman when I’m digging through box scores.* I suppose I’ve been conditioned to believe that this 5-foot-9 22-year-old is never gonna cut it as a starter, but for months now, he continues to turn in exciting line after exciting line (6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K in his most recent outing).* I’m thinking it’s probably time to start expecting this type of production from Stroman going forward.* His overall 2013 line at Double-A New Hampshire reads:* 2.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 10.3 K/9.
Carlos Martinez | RHP, Cardinals – Martinez has returned to Triple-A Memphis, where he’ll resume working as a starting pitcher.* He’s still an option for the Cardinals’ big league rotation if there’s a need later this season.
Kyle Zimmer | RHP, Royals – Zimmer was on fire before his promotion to Double-A, and he hasn’t cooled off whatsoever in two outings since.* The 21-year-old has posted a 0.00 ERA and a 19/3 K/BB through 12 IP at Northwest Arkansas.
Andrew Heaney | LHP, Marlins – Andrew Heaney should be getting a promotion to Double-A here shortly, himself.* The 22-year-old hasn’t allowed a run in 5 starts (27 IP) this month at High-A Jupiter.
Phillip Ervin | OF, Reds – The Reds drafted Ervin 27th overall last month out of Samford University.* He’s playing rookie ball right now, but there’s little doubt that he’ll make his way to full-season ball before long.* The 21-year-old has connected with 5 homers in his last 6 games.
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