Predicting the 2019 Season: The Comeback Players of the Year

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is a tough one to predict from year-to-year. For example, David Price won the award in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox, but my initial thought was what exactly did Price come back from? He came back from getting shelled by the Yankees in 2017, so that made him eligible to win the award? So, with that said I tried to do my best to make an educated guess at these awards, but like most of my predictions they will very likely be wrong.

I know everyone expects me to pick Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees, partly because of his terrible offensive season in 2018 and partly because I am a self-professed “Yankees homer” in a lot of cases, but that would be too easy. Instead, I’ll pick a guy that made Gary Sanchez want to punch him in the mouth, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Cabrera has been down for quite a number of seasons now, but I think a lot of that wear-and-tear will be nullified with his full-time move to the DH position this coming year. I think the Tigers can extend Miggy’s career by a couple years with the move and I also think the team will see immediate dividends here in 2019.

In the National League I tried to pick a true comeback player. I tried to pick a player that had come back from adversity or injury to take the 2019 season by storm. I tried to pick a pitcher that came back from Tommy John surgery only to suffer a pretty serious shoulder injury that cost him much of his 2018 campaign as well. My pick for the NL Comeback Player of the Year is Alex Reyes of the St. Louis Cardinals, for all the aforementioned reasons.

Trading Andrew Miller Or Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller rank #1 and #2 in strikeout rate among all pitchers in Major League Baseball with at least 30 innings under their belt. And when it comes to fWAR among all relievers, Dellin is #1 while Andrew is #3.

On top of the numbers, both Betances and Miller can pitch in any situation their thrown into. Set-up man? You got it. Closer? Sure thing. Come into the game with men already on base with less than two outs? No problem.

Only a handful of teams in the league wouldn't be interested in acquiring either of these pitchers to add to their bullpens. And most of those teams are all but eliminated from the postseason.

While the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals are the more obvious trade partners, that doesn't mean there aren't other teams that could use some bullpen help.

The San Francisco Giants are unlikely to make a big splash at the deadline, but they could use something better on the mound at the end of games. The Chicago White Sox are another team with a struggling bullpen. And don't count out the St. Louis Cardinals, especially after their division rival Cubs landed Aroldis Chapman yesterday.

The question is, how high are they willing to pay for Dellin or Andrew? Because if you think Chapman got the Yankees a nice return, Betances and Miller should absolutely get more.

Before I go over some of the guys that pique my interest, I must say that I'm actually against trading either of those two.

This isn't like with Aroldis Chapman, where he was set to be a free agent at the end of the year. Hell, both members of DnA are under team control through the 2018 season (unlike Andrew, Dellin isn't actually eligible for free agency until 2020). As I've argued, I think this team could contend as soon as next season, but in order to do that they can't afford to weaken their bullpen that much.

But at the same time, it's going to take another big move or two from Brian Cashman to make the 2017 Yankees into true contenders. And in order to do that, moving one of the team's remaining elite relievers may be necessary.

"Would somebody just tell me what to do?"

So we're stuck in a bit of a conundrum.

I say a "bit" because if the Yankees can get back one of the following players then I wouldn't be too upset. After all, the Yankees are known to be able to find/develop closers almost at will.

All but one of the players listed below are starters, and that's on purpose. Sure, there are other players that would be enticing, but I believe the Yankees need to concentrate on what they need for next season. That would be starting pitching, and perhaps a third baseman.

SP Luis Giolito (Nationals)
-Like with so many young pitchers, Giolito is having issues with walking hitters. But talk about a good base of talent to work with!

SP Alex Reyes (Cardinals) 
-Reyes is also struggling with control this season. However, he still misses a ton of bats and is ready to join MLB next season.

3B/OF Joey Gallo (Rangers) 
-Joey strikes out quite a bit, and has a low batting average, but that can be overlooked while he's hitting 30+ HRs a season and getting on base over 35% of the time.

Those three players are probably more pipe dreams than realities, due to them being so valuable to their current organizations.  But when you're talking about trading away guys like Betances or Miller, then I truly believe that's what it should take.

With that said, the following players would be nice gets, but other pieces would be necessary for me to approve dealing Dellin or Andrew for them. I'm thinking players that are under team control in MLB, or prospects not far removed from the top 100.

SP Reynaldo Lopez (Nationals) 
-Reynaldo's not as big a prospect as Giolito, but the Nats may be more willing to deal him. His strikeout rate is still quite nice, and he's ready to open next season in MLB.

SP Mike Clevinger (Indians) 
-Yet another young starter with control issues, but he misses plenty of bats and his MLB-ready.

SP Adalberto Mejia (Giants) 
-A decent walk rate and nice strikeout rate, along with being MLB-ready makes him attractive.

While some of you will like this list, I'm sure there are other players you'd be willing to deal away Betances or Miller for. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you simply said "no" to dealing away Dellin or Andrew for anyone.

So go ahead and hit me with whatever you got.

Fantasy Baseball: Who are the St. Louis Cardinals?

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of those teams you have to either love or hate, there probably isn’t much room for middle ground. It seems like no injury, down season or loss in free agency affects this team and it seems like the Cardinals are always right there in the thick of things in the National League. This is done by building a team around depth, versatility and through a trusted and strong farm system. This is something the New York Yankees have just recently tried to do inside their own organization and this is something that you can use to your advantage while playing Fantasy Baseball if you use your head and a little bit of patience. 

Since it’s Prospects Month here on the blog we won’t be talking about the new arrival of Mike Leake or the return of Adam Wainwright. We will instead focus on their young core of players and/or their prospects that could make a big splash around June or July when the next wave of the future usually comes around. 

Matt Carpenter is a huge fantasy player that still a lot of people don’t know about for whatever reason. Carpenter found a power stroke he hasn’t seen before in his career during the 2015 campaign and should regress a bit. That doesn’t mean he will hit less than 20 home runs this season which could be a great addition to your squad. Same can be said for Kolten Wong and his potential 20 home run and 20 stolen base potential next season. 

Speaking of home runs the Cardinals young outfielder Randal Grichuk can give you 30 home run power in St. Louis with enough at bats next season. The problem is he’s likely to hit around .250 - .260 doing it so he shouldn’t be relied upon there. If you need the home runs and RBI though Grichuk should be an interesting later round pick up. 

Finally we have a long shot but still someone you should keep your eye on for that second half push, Alex Reyes. Reyes will serve a 50 game suspension next season and begin his season in Double-A but he is one of the best, if not the best, minor league pitcher in the minor leagues right now and could be up throwing heat later in the year. Keep an eye out for him as the long summer begins to take its toll on some pitchers as he could be the reinforcements your team needs late for that final push to the postseason. 

There you have it, the young guys and prospects from the St. Louis Cardinals organization that can help you win your fantasy league. If this helps you out then give it a share and help someone else out too, I would just advise against sharing it with people within your own league. Just a thought J

Arizona Fall League Top 10 Prospects

The Arizona Fall League is in the books for the 2015 season and the Scottsdale Scorpions are the champions, congratulations to them. We saw an absolute ton of talent head down to Arizona this season including eight members of the New York Yankees. One of those Baby Bombers made the list that Baseball America released this week, the Top 10 Prospects from the AFL. That one prospect is Gary Sanchez who was named the 2nd best prospect in the league.

The top prospect distinction went to, and this is a shock to nobody, the St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Alex Reyes who also pitched with Sanchez on the Surprise Saguaros. Here is the Baseball American write up for Sanchez: 

Sanchez proved that he’s ready to make the jump to the big leagues with a very good Fall League season in which he led the AFL in home runs (seven) during a .295/.357/.625 campaign and earned MVP honors in the Fall Stars game. Sanchez consistently showed off his plus-plus power, with scouts believing the bat will play despite some pitch recognition issues. Most importantly, he showed better actions behind the plate than expected, and his arm strength remains a plus tool albeit sometimes lacking in accuracy. Sanchez’s performance in the early weeks of the AFL season perhaps made the Yankees more comfortable in dealing backup catcher John Ryan Murphy to Minnesota in early November.

To finish out the rest of the Top 10 prospects list you have (in order) Texas Rangers outfielder Lewis Brinson, Oakland Athletics LHP Sean Manaea, Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers LHP Josh Hader, New York Mets 1B Dominic Smith, Cleveland Indians OF Clint Frazier, Pittsburgh Pirates OF Clint Meadows and the San Francisco Giants SS prospect Christian Arroyo.