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Sunday, September 17, 2017

Why I Missed San Diego Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr

When the 2016 edition of Bowman was released, I placed Fernando Tatis Jr on my short list of recommendations but ultimately left him off my final list. Why did I pass? Well the main reason and only reason was because of the strikeout rate. My dislike for strikeouts has cost me this year. It seems that across the industry strikeouts really don't matter in the minors or majors. Tatis's strikeout rate was over 20% this season but a 20/20 season has made his card prices spike. Even though the view on striking out has changed, I will still value the prospects with plate discipline over the ones with high strikeout rates. I think the proper approach to take is to perform research on the player to see if he is working on making more contact at the plate. Invest in a few autos and when improvements show buy immediately before a substantial increase occurs.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Bargain Bin - Cleveland Indians Will Benson & Yu-Cheng Chang

As we head into the offseason there are many bargain bin candidates that I will present to the readers to invest in. The first two are Will Benson and Yu-Cheng Chang. Both are considered to be projects but I have confidence that each player will make the adjustments to cut down on strikeouts in pro ball. The power potential for both players makes you excited and the Indians do a great job with developing players. Auto's are less than 10 bucks. I would definitely consider grabbing a few and holding.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

September Call Ups - Buy, Sell or Hold

One of my followers on Twitter recently asked me about a player and presented the question on should they sell or hold. I will always advocate selling if you are comfortable making a profit that meets your goal. In many cases when September call ups happen I always proceed with caution. A player may produce amazing numbers simply because there is not much of a scouting report on him. Some players may struggle and not produce immediately. Overall, one month of at bats in the majors is not enough data to determine if a player will be good or not. I have provided some advice below on how to handle certain situations.

Scenario #1 - Player is on fire after call up (e.g. Rhys Hoskins) - Sell to collect profits and initial investment. Maybe hold a few for the long term. When situations like this occur I always expect a correction the next season due to adjustments made by pitching staffs (Eric Thames). Same applies for pitchers.When a player stats dips you always have to ask yourself if that player can make multiple adjustments.

Scenario #2 - Player struggles after call up (e.g Yoan Moncada) - Hold. Some players take time to adjust to the Majors so struggling is not a surprise. You may want to possibly BUY more of a player if prices dip in December. People may sell off due to panic. Be careful not to overreact. Same rules applies for pitchers.


How To Prepare For The Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League recently released their rosters for the upcoming season and did not disappoint. There are a number of top prospects playing this year as well other players that are on my radar. I think the Fall League is the best test for prospects outside of the jump from A ball to AA or a promotion to the Majors. Prospectors should take player performance very seriously. Success in the Fall League is a good indicator on if a prospect will produce in the Majors.


Arizona Fall League Rosters via Baseball America