Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is a terrific all-purpose threat who can run between the tackles and take a screen pass to the end zone. He’s one of the best pass-catching backs in the NFL. McCaffrey broke out in a big way in 2018:
This year’s trade deadline should be eventful because of the abundance of talented pitchers available on the market, such as Matt Boyd, Marcus Stroman, Robbie Ray, Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, and Noah Syndergaard. There are a number of contending teams seeking to improve their starting rotations, including the Yankees, Phillies, Braves, Twins, Dodgers, and Astros. Let’s take a look at their top prospects who could be the centerpieces of a deadline acquisition.
Preseason Buzz
Coming into the 2019 season, there was a ton of hype surrounding a certain third-baseman, who was the twenty-year-old son of a Hall-of-Famer, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was expected to come up and immediately tear the cover off the baseball. But the adjustment period has been slower than expected, as Vlad Jr. has taken some time to get used to major league pitching, slashing .248 AVG/.328 OBP/.416 SLG with 8 HR in 241 plate appearances. There was also hype around another twenty-year-old son of a former MLB player, but he was not expected to immediately produce, and there was talk that we might not even see him this season. Instead, Fernando Tatis Jr. has exceeded expectations with the look of a future superstar.
Blockbuster Trades in 2012
Back in 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays had a trio of prized pitching prospects: Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, and Aaron Sanchez. Alex Anthopoulos, the general manager at the time, wanted to make a splash in the 2012 offseason, so he dealt Nicolino to the Marlins in a blockbuster deal involving a whopping 12 players, including Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Anthony DeSclafani. Anthopoulos went on to trade Syndergaard along with catcher Travis D’Arnaud to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey. Nicolino has been unable to stay in the majors and Syndergaard has become a top-flight starter who has struggled with injuries. The important aspect to consider with these two trades is that the Jays thought of Aaron Sanchez as the jewel of their farm system. They chose to use Syndergaard and Nicolino as trade currency and kept Sanchez as the future ace of their rotation. It’s clear that they viewed him as the best of the bunch.
Zack Wheeler was one of the more hyped starting pitchers coming into the 2019 season. He has electric stuff and he absolutely dominated hitters down the stretch.
Chasing saves is one of the most aggressive pursuits in fantasy baseball. With more teams opting to use their closers in high-leverage situations as opposed to traditional, ninth-inning usage, a common strategy has been to avoid paying for saves. This has made it important to attack the waiver wire or overbid opponents for newly-appointed closers. But what about closers thriving for rebuilding teams, at risk to be moved at the trade deadline for a package of prospects? Fantasy owners must decide whether their closers might become setup relievers when traded to a new team with a deeper bullpen, or if they will receive more save opportunities closing for a contender. Let’s examine the closers that are likely to be moved and assess the benefits for their fantasy value, categorizing each of them as “upgrade” or “downgrade.”
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the most poorly run franchise in Major League Baseball. The team hired Neal Huntington as General Manager back in 2007. They enjoyed a brief run of success from 2013-15 with three consecutive wild-card berths, but overall this front office has been a complete disaster, especially in the last three years. Huntington has firmly established himself as the worst GM in baseball.
Trevor Bauer finally broke out in 2018, posting career highs across the board before his season was cut short due to a stress fracture in his right ankle. Bauer would have likely won the Cy Young Award were it not for this injury. Due to this massive breakout, he entered the 2019 MLB season with high expectations, with many analysts forecasting another dominant season. I had Bauer as my 2019 AL Cy Young pick. The season is now two months old, and Bauer is off to a very disappointing start, leading both Indians fans and fantasy owners wondering: what is wrong with Trevor Bauer?
Eduardo Rodriguez entered the league back in 2015, and it feels as if we have been waiting for him to breakout forever. However, it is important to remember that he is still only 26 years old. The young lefty has tantalizing stuff that has drawn the attention of fantasy owners each draft season and boasts a devastating change-up as his out pitch. The problem for Rodriguez is that he has been unable to stay healthy for a full season, throwing a career-high 137.1 innings back in 2017. If he could just stay on the field, he could put up impressive numbers. I took a deep dive on Rodriguez and the results are promising.
We are currently in the Golden Age of shortstops. The position is packed with stars like Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner, Javier Baez, Manny Machado, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts. There are also emerging talents like Adalberto Mondesi and Tim Anderson. But despite such an abundance of talent, we need to make sure not to ignore Corey Seager.
Rafael Devers graded by Fangraphs as the #2 prospect in the Red Sox farm system and #22 overall back in 2017. He was evaluated as a pure hitter with a plus-hit tool and strong raw power. Devers burst onto the scene as a 20-year old in 2017, slashing .284/.338/.482 with 10 HRs in only 58 games. This promising start led to higher expectations for the young slugger. He followed up his debut with a disappointing sophomore season, where he hit .240/.298/.433 with 21 HRs in 121 games. This performance caused his stock to drop in 2019 Fantasy Baseball drafts. However, the early stages of this season are showing promising signs for the young Devers.
Once considered the unanimous top pitching prospect in baseball, Lucas Giolito entered 2019 off the fantasy radar. The lack of interest in Giolito was justified, as his career has been marred by injuries and disappointment. He finished 2018 with a lackluster 16.1 K%, 11.6 BB%, 6.13 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 5.46 xFIP, 5.37 SIERA, and 8.3 SwStr%. However, the Chicago White Sox are a rebuilding team and they allowed Giolito to pitch through his struggles. This decision appears to be paying dividends early on in 2019.
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