As we approach the magical September 1st day, fantasy baseball managers will be scurrying to the waiver wire to pick up the latest top prospect that gets the call to the big leagues. Make sure you are keeping an eye out for new Prospect Reports here at Fantasy Alarm, so that you can stay ahead of your league mates down the stretch! Top prospect Corbin Carroll made his Major League debut last night, so who will be the next to do so? Houston’s Hunter Brown, perhaps? What about Gunnar Henderson in Baltimore? In other baseball news, Albert Pujols hit his 694th home run last night, and Aaron Judge hit his 50th of the season. The Dodgers lost Tony Gonsolin to a forearm strain, further adding to their powerhouse rotation on the injured list. As we close the door on Monday’s baseball action, I’ll give you my best bet of the day for Tuesday’s action, which involves a strikeout player prop for a Cy Young contender.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB News & Notes from Monday

Pujols Hits 694, Tyler O’Neill Homers Twice in Win

The Cardinals got it done yesterday against Arizona, pummeling the D’Backs 13-4. Albert Pujols hit his 15th home run of the season and the 694th of his career, pulling closer to the illustrious 700 home run club. The future Hall of Famer is hitting .407 with eight home runs, 16 RBI, and a 279 wRC+ in the month of August, but he’ll need to continue a torrid pace if he wants to put up six more home runs to get to 700.

Also in this contest, Tyler O’Neill slugged two home runs, giving him four home runs in his past four games, and while it’s been a disappointing season for O’Neill and his fantasy baseball managers, he’s looking to end it on a high note. He’s hitting .302 with six home runs over his last 16 games, while sporting a .443 wOBA and 192 wRC+. For a guy with big time power, but also an elevated strikeout rate, it’s encouraging to see his contact rate, as well as his ground ball and fly ball rates trending in a direction that lends itself to more success.


50 and Counting for Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. He’s now up to 50 home runs on the year and is on pace to break the single-season franchise record set by Roger Maris back in the early-60s. Judge has four home runs over his last seven games, and to be honest, no one is safe with him on the mound. In a year where Judge bet on himself in an attempt to make even more money, up until this point, I don’t know how it could have gone any better for the star slugger.

 

Corbin Carroll’s Debut

One of baseball’s premier prospects made their debut yesterday, and overall, I’d say they didn’t disappoint. Carroll went 1-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. There could be some growing pains for the 22-year-old outfielder, but he’s a guy that can impact all five categories in fantasy baseball. In 33 games at Triple-A before getting called up, he was slashing .287/.408/.535 with seven home runs and 11 stolen bases. Also, in 58 games at Double-A this year, he slashed .313/.430/.643 with 16 home runs and 20 stolen bases. His strikeout rate may have hung out in the mid-20s in the minors, so there could be some elevated whiff rates early on in his career, but he posted a double-digit walk rate every step of the way, meaning that he does have an excellent feel of the plate/strike zone. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest as he gets more comfortable at the game’s highest level, for his strikeout rate to be in the upper-teens. This guy has, is, and will be elite, and will make fantasy baseball managers quite happy for years to come.

 

J.T. Realmuto Continues Torrid Summer

Since July 1st, Realmuto is slashing .322/.376/.612 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, 37 RBI, and seven stolen bases. Since that July 1st date, his 2.9 WAR trails only Aaron Judge, Nolan Arenado, and Mookie Betts, and here are the players that have at least nine home runs and seven stolen bases since July 1: Michael Harris, Aaron Judge, Realmuto, Marcus Semien, and Randy Arozarena. Judge and Realmuto are the only two to be hitting above .300 during that span. The Philadelphia backstop has a career-high 17 stolen bases this season, and at this pace, he could beat his previous career high in WAR (5.6) from his 2019 season. He should easily be one of the first two catchers off the board in 2023 fantasy baseball drafts.

 

 


 

Tony Gonsolin Placed on IL with Forearm Strain

16-1 record. 2.10 ERA. Tony Gonsolin has been everything and more that the Dodgers could have even hoped for this season. However, he becomes the latest pitcher for this team to hit the injured list, as Gonsolin goes down with a forearm strain.

If you include innings thrown in the minors and postseason, Gonsolin has had a massive jump this season compared to recent years:

  • 2017: 70 IP
  • 2018: 128 IP
  • 2019: 81.1 IP
  • 2020: 56 IP
  • 2021: 72.1 IP
  • 2022: 128.1


I’m not saying that this is the reason for it, but big jumps in workload have been a known factor in injuries for pitchers…


Astros Reportedly Calling Up Two Prospects in Coming Days

Reportedly, Houston is going to promote Hunter Brown and Yainer Diaz to the big leagues around the time that rosters expand. The team would love to have Brown in the rotation long-term, but his biggest impact down the stretch for Houston likely comes out of the pen. He has an 11.38 K/9 at Triple-A this season, and I wouldn’t rule out a spot start for Brown if Justin Verlander’s calf causes him to miss a start or two.

Brown’s role is largely known with the team down the stretch, but for Yainer Diaz, it’s a bit more murky. He could see a handful of starts down the stretch behind the dish, but given that the team got him some work at first base in the outfield this year in the minors, it’s clear that they want to get his bat up with the big league club. Diaz may be more of a bench bat and depth piece the rest of the way, but the 23-year-old excelled in Triple-A this year, hitting 16 home runs with a .294 average and .930 OPS.

 

Tuesday’s Best Bet

Shane McClanahan OVER 6.5 Strikeouts (-160 Bet MGM)

Over the last two weeks, the Marlins have a 30.6 percent strikeout rate against lefties, which is the second-worst mark in Major League Baseball. Over the last month, they have the worst mark in baseball at 31 percent! If we go back to looking at just the last two weeks, the Marlins are hitting a putrid .154 with a .236 wOBA and 51 wRC+ against lefties. McClanahan has 17 strikeouts over his last two outings, and he has an 11.12 K/9 and 32.5 percent strikeout rate for the 2022 season.


 

 


 

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