Fantasy managers love to invest in the top prospects, and several nice gifts arrived on Thursday afternoon. First, the Philadelphia Phillies announced the promotion of third baseman Alec Bohm. Even better news came later in the day when the St. Louis Cardinals -- a team that has yet to play this month but hopefully should this weekend -- finally admitted that Dylan Carlson deserves his shot as well. These are two of the best hitting prospects in the sport, and fantasy managers should react quickly. I would go with Carlson first.
Carlson, a 21-year-old switch-hitter, hit .292 with 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases across two minor league levels in 2019. He should immediately enter the middle of a Cardinals lineup that hit just .217 in its five games before a COVID-19 outbreak shut the team down. The schedule says the Cardinals play this weekend against the White Sox. Even if they do not, Carlson's promotion makes him worth adding to any fantasy roster, as he figures to matter in all five standard roto categories -- a rare commodity -- while also drawing enough walks to aid those in points leagues.
When I see Bohm, I see a young Nicholas Castellanos, in both build and skill set, and that is indeed a good thing (or at least good enough). For all the modest complaining from fantasy managers about how Castellanos, now in his eighth season and with his third franchise, has never hit 30 home runs in a season or become a true fantasy force, he is a good player, a top-100 option in the fantasy baseball world. Bohm debuted on Thursday afternoon and doubled down the third-base line in the second inning. He later struck out looking and flied out twice to the opposite field. He will not be overwhelmed at the plate.
It was merely 10 days ago that fantasy managers went wild for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell, and he quickly went from the most added player in ESPN leagues to the most dropped, after a mere six games in which he struck out in half of his plate appearances. Hey, this sport is not easy! I think Adell will hit, and he can run, so if I am ranking these three rookies for fantasy purposes in 2020, I go Carlson first, then Adell and then Bohm. Nothing against Bohm, who might provide the safest floor of batting average with power, but he is slow. The other fellows are not. Just be patient. One cannot expect immediate results.
What about the other Cardinals affected by the addition of Carlson, who is already the most rostered fantasy outfielder on the team (roughly 20%) as of Friday morning? Perhaps Tyler O'Neill still develops into a reliable power hitter, but Harrison Bader is Gold Glove-caliber in center field, though not a strong hitter, and Dexter Fowler is certainly not a top-50 outfielder. One of these players can DH too, though that is the best spot for Matt Carpenter. It will be interesting to see the Cardinals this weekend -- if we see the Cardinals this weekend. It has been a while.
Bohm's place on the Phillies seems clearer, as he hit sixth in the lineup but could move up. There seems little doubt he will hit, and I see a reasonable Bohm baseline in full seasons of a .280 average with 25 or so home runs, which is fine, and mostly Castellanos-like. He has the same build -- a tall right-handed hitter with solid (but not awesome) power and reasonable plate judgment, and like Castellanos, there are certainly no Gold Gloves in the kid's future at the hot corner. Castellanos, mercifully, moved to the outfield a few seasons ago. Bohm will move to first base or left field at some point soon too.
The Phillies, with Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto doing all the hitting for them, sat Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery in Thursday's disheartening loss to the Orioles, which capped a sweep at home. Hoskins, who really struggled over the final two months of the 2019 season, looks nothing like a top-100 fantasy option anymore. Go with Luke Voit and Jesus Aguilar, who is at least drawing myriad walks instead. Kingery, who missed summer camp dealing with the virus, is also a drop in fantasy leagues, as he lost his starting role when Jean Segura moved to second base.
Ultimately, fantasy managers tend to get a bit too excited about prospects, but Carlson and Bohm should be solid players right away. Yeah, we said that about Adell too, but one never knows in baseball. Just be careful who you drop when adding the rookies. Established strugglers like Eduardo Escobar or Eugenio Suarez are on the most-dropped list at third base, and that seems ill-advised to me, even in a truncated, irregular season. Then again, if the Rays ever promote Wander Franco, I might drop top-100 players for him. Dare to dream.
Other things to watch for this weekend
Stephen Strasburg is on the schedule to face the streaking Orioles on Friday night, but he just faced them last Sunday and it went rather poorly, with seven hits and five runs allowed over 4⅓ innings. Strasburg says the nerve issue in his hand remains a problem, and I have no problem with fantasy managers in daily leagues leaving him on benches this weekend. The Nationals have to be careful here.
The 10-win Orioles enter the weekend second in the majors in both batting average and OPS, with aggressive Hanser Alberto (.351) looking like a potential batting champion, Renato Nunez (5 HRs) a legit power option, Anthony Santander (19 RBIs!) as the most added hitter in ESPN leagues and Pedro Severino (.333) near the top for catchers. Perhaps fantasy managers do not take the Orioles seriously, but this is not like 2019, and Washington's pitching is not awesome right now.
Atlanta figures to be without outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. for at least this weekend as he deals with a sore left wrist, though the organization claims he does not need an IL stint. Perhaps. What the Braves do with their lineup at Miami and whether intriguing prospect Cristian Pache gets the call are of much interest, as is the rotation. Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint have brought middling results so far.
The Mets might have lost potential batting champion Jeff McNeil for a while after he ran into the left-field wall on Thursday while making a brilliant catch. McNeil is a .319 career hitter. We have to assume Dominic Smith, the club leader in both home runs and RBIs, is safe for regular playing time now. Go get him, even over Hoskins. If you need stolen bases, infielder Andres Gimenez has five of them. Nobody boasts more.
Fresh off another excellent mound performance Thursday with Yu Darvish, the Cubs plan to throw Tyler Chatwood, Alec Mills and Jon Lester for the rest of the weekend against Milwaukee. Chatwood, who quickly went from the most added player in ESPN leagues to the most dropped, could trick us all again with a positive performance. Lester is turning back time with his 1.06 ERA, but nine strikeouts in 17 innings is a bad, bad sign. I am also concerned about Kris Bryant, hitting .196 and battling finger and wrist injuries.
It is another Yankees-Red Sox weekend, but these teams are hardly comparable right now. Boston allowed 17 runs to the Rays on Thursday, the rotation decimated with injuries. Several Yankees are really slumping at the plate, led by middle infielder Gleyber Torres and catcher Gary Sanchez, and while Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez have pitched competently, they are not aces.