| | | | Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | | On a day when Aaron Nola threw a complete game shutout, it's Reese Olson's and Erick Fedde's partial shutouts that are more deserving of dissection. That's because the two of them are still available in roughly one-third CBS Sports leagues, raising the question of which is the higher-priority pickup. | | It's simply a fact that Fedde has been the more impactful of the two to this point, but that's mostly because he's 4-0 while Olson is 0-4. The team context should benefit Olson more in the long run, and Olson also has the better ERA (2.09 vs. 2.60) and WHIP (0.99 vs. 1.06) so far. Both pitchers seem likely to regress, but Olson perhaps not as much given that he has two pitches with better than a 40 percent whiff rate (slider and changeup) and an elite 55 percent ground-ball rate. Whatever Fedde is doing well isn't as demonstrable by the data. If you could afford to roster both, great, but from where I'm sitting, Olson would seem to be the better pickup. | | Another standout pitcher from Tuesday was Chris Sale, who two-hit the Cubs over seven innings, striking out nine and walking none. He now has a 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 11.1 K/9 on the season, appearing to recapture his ace form after several injury-plagued years, and while some would suggest selling him before he gets hurt ... isn't every pitcher a significant injury risk? It's probably better just to enjoy the higher-end outcomes for Sale for as long as he's able to provide them. | | Meanwhile, Carlos Rodon turned in another strong outing and is verging on must-start status again. Reid Detmers got hit hard for a fifth straight start and is looking like a sit despite his high whiff rate. Ronel Blanco was ejected for having a sticky substance on his glove, which might dampen your sell-high hopes (not that he's a drop by any means). Also, A.J. Puk made his first relief appearance for the Marlins and got a save, albeit in the 10th inning. Tanner Scott remains the closer for now. | | That's what happened around the majors Tuesday. Let's check on how things are going in the minors. | | | | Prospects Report | | (These are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.) | | Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays | 2023 minors: .324 BA (460 AB), 31 HR, .976 OPS, 42 BB, 100 K
2024 minors: .316 BA (98 AB), 7 HR, .967 OPS, 11 BB, 22 K
| | The most notable development for Caminero over the past week is that he got a start at second base Tuesday. It was his first start there in the last two years, and it may present an easier path with Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz holding down the corners in the majors. Of course, Brandon Lowe is a pretty good second baseman and is trending toward a return from an oblique injury. Jonathan Aranda is also capable of playing second base and was just activated from the IL. It seems like Caminero's opportunities for at-bats are dwindling with each passing day. So why is he the top prospect to stash? Because the bat is legit, delivering some of the highest-quality contact at any level of baseball, and all it takes is one injury to the right player to make his path clear. | | Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles | 2024 minors: .295 BA (95 AB), 3 HR, 3 SB, .940 OPS, 28 BB, 21 K
2024 majors: 2 for 31, 0 HR, 0 SB, 2 BB, 18 K
| | Holliday has begun to find his groove at Triple-A Norfolk, batting .346 (9 for 26) with a homer, two steals and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (six) over his past seven games. Is it enough for the Orioles to welcome him back? Well, they're still getting next to nothing from the Jorge Mateo-Ramon Urias tandem that's taken his place in the lineup, and they've also slipped behind the Yankees for second place in the AL East. They have incentive, in other words. As poorly as Holliday's first big-league stint went, though, they'll probably want to be extra confident in his readiness before bringing him back. And even when they do, we won't be able to muster quite the same enthusiasm for him as the first time around. | | James Wood, OF, Nationals | 2023 minors: .262 BA (473 AB), 26 HR, 18 SB, .873 OPS, 65 BB, 173 K
2024 minors: .357 BA (140 AB), 7 HR, 9 SB, 1.041 OPS, 26 BB, 32 K | | Without a doubt, the prospect who's done the most to put himself in consideration for a call-up over the past week is Wood, who recently homered five times over a three-game span and is batting .474 (18 for 38) during a 10-game hit streak. For as good as Wood has been at Triple-A Rochester, the home runs were the missing piece of the puzzle. He's delivered plenty in the past, his 6-foot-7 frame generating some of the easiest power in all the minors, but at least this year, too much of that power has been wasted on ground balls, making for a rate of over 50 percent. Whatever adjustment he needs to make there seems rather small compared to how much he's improved his contact rate, going from striking out 31.5 percent of the time last year to 19.2 percent this year. | | "I know last year that was the big thing -- he was chasing a little too much. He's been able to carry over his at-bats from spring training here to Triple-A," Rochester manager Matt LeCroy said. "He's been able to impact the ball. He goes up there with a real good approach and executes his game plan, doesn't really get away from it much. As long as he continues to control the strike zone, he's going to continue to put up really, really good numbers." | | Athletically, Wood is nearly the marvel that Elly De La Cruz is, but he appears to be more refined as a hitter, The Nationals have played right around .500 ball so far, which perhaps makes it easier to justify starting the clock on Wood. They could easily free up an outfield spot for him, particularly with Jesse Winker currently nursing a sore back. | | Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles | 2023 minors: .290 BA (504 AB), 29 HR, .973 OPS, 93 BB, 148 K
2024 minors: .293 BA (164 AB), 13 HR, .977 OPS, 16 BB, 50 K | | Because the Orioles figure to be extra cautious in bringing back Holliday, they may call on Mayo to fill their infield opening first. The quicker he can get his strikeout rate under control, the more plausible it becomes, and he made some strides in that regard over the past week, whiffing just three times in 24 plate appearances. His strikeout rate is still not great at 27.3 percent, but his quality of contact is so high that it may not matter. If we were to apply his Triple-A data to the majors, he'd rank in the top 20 in both average and max exit velocity. | | Perhaps the bigger issue for Mayo than his strikeouts, is his defense. He has only a .936 fielding percentage at third base this year -- and that's the best it's ever been. GM Mike Elias recently told The Baltimore Sun that the Orioles are still trying to figure out Mayo's best fit defensively, so his development may supersede his capacity to help right now. | | Miguel Vargas, OF, Dodgers | 2023 minors: .288 BA (236 AB), 10 HR, 8 SB, .886 OPS, 46 BB, 57 K
2023 majors: .195 BA (256 AB), 7 HR, 3 SB, .672 OPS, 38 BB, 61 K
2024 minors: .294 BA (136 AB), 8 HR, 8 SB, 1.010 OPS, 30 BB, 29 K | | Without an obvious choice for the fifth spot here, I'm going to take the opportunity to highlight Vargas, who technically doesn't qualify as a prospect anymore, but since he hasn't established himself in the majors yet, he might as well be a prospect for our purposes. And he wouldn't seem to have much to gain from more time at Triple-A, where he's been one of the most productive hitters so far. Of course, he's delivered big numbers in the minors all along. You can see (above) what he did at Oklahoma City last year, and even two years ago at that same stop, he slashed .304/.404/.511 with nearly as many walks (71) as strikeouts (76). | | No doubt, Vargas failed in his bid to be the Dodgers second baseman last year, but he's playing the outfield now, where he might have an easier time finding his way into at-bats. Nothing appears to be on the horizon now, particularly with Jason Heyward (back) setting out on a rehab assignment, but it seems inevitable that the Dodgers will give Vargas another chance at some point this year. His peak exit velocities are still nothing to write home about, raising the question of how much of a power hitter he'll be, but his hitting instincts are really the selling point here. | | | | News and Notes | | Ronel Blanco was ejected Tuesday because of a foreign substance on his glove. He'll also be hit with a 10-game suspension.Bryce Harper was out of the lineup with a migraine but is expected back Wednesday. His teammate J.T. Realmuto is also expected back Wednesday after missing three games with knee soreness.Austin Riley has now missed two straight with left side inflammation.Blake Snell's next rehab start will come Friday at Triple-A. Nico Hoerner was scratched from the lineup due to left hamstring tightness.Royce Lewis did some light running on the field Tuesday. He'll do more aggressive change-of-direction things later this week and that will give more insight to the timeline for his rehab assignment.Evan Carter received a cortisone injection in his back and could rejoin the Rangers lineup on Friday.Bobby Miller will throw two simulated innings on Wednesday. If all goes well, Miller will either move on to a sim game or a rehab assignment. He's on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Both George Springer and Justin Turner were out of the lineup again with that illness hampering the Blue Jays.Zack Gelof has been reinstated and was in the lineup at second base for the A's.Imaging revealed structural damage in Jung Hoo Lee's left shoulder. He'll receive a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday.Rhys Hoskins was placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain.Evan Phillips will throw a bullpen Wednesday. He's on the IL with a strained right hamstring. Patrick Bailey was placed back on the 7-day concussion IL, retroactive to Sunday.Noelvi Marte has been able to play in exhibition games in Arizona during his suspension.Jonathan Aranda was activated by the Rays and wasn't in the lineup against a RHP. They opted for Paredes at DH with Amed Rosario at third base and Richie Palacios at second.The Mets will recall Mark Vientos on Wednesday. It sounds like he'll work in a platoon with Brett Baty at third base. Michael Soroka has been moved to the White Sox bullpen. Brad Keller will take his spot in the rotation. | | | | | | | | Fire Country | | PGA Championship | Catch up on the latest episodes of CBS Fire Country streaming on Paramount+.
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