So many things are bigger than fantasy baseball and we got a reminder of that on Sunday afternoon when Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini came to bat in the first inning on the first day of spring training baseball games. Mancini, who has recovered from a scary bout with colon cancer, received a minute-long standing ovation from the Sarasota, Florida, crowd. He missed the 2020 season but let us not forget he hit .291 with 35 home runs, 97 RBI and 106 runs in 2019. If he approaches those numbers in 2021, his current ADP will indeed look silly.
Mancini singled off Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl and stole second base after the heartwarming standing ovation from the small crowd and the Orioles and Pirates dugouts. The steal did not count, thanks to a batter's interference call, but hardly takes away from the fact he attempted it. It does seem we are past concerns about Mancini's health, which is awesome, and now it seems time to remind ourselves how talented he is. Mancini is currently going in the 16th round of ESPN average live drafts, which feels like a mad bargain.
Baltimore seems likely to lose a ton of baseball games and nobody will tell you the lineup around Mancini is among the best, but the Orioles were bad in 2019, too, and it hardly stopped Mancini. He batted second on Sunday, between speedy leadoff hitter Cedric Mullins and slugging outfielder Anthony Santander, which could be a harbinger for meaningful games, too. The lineup's strength appears to be in its outfielders, with Mancini, Santander (11 HR in 2020), Ryan Mountcastle (5 HR, .333 BA), Austin Hays and DJ Stewart. OK, so they're not the New York Yankees, but that truth should not hold a healthy Mancini back, either.
Keep an eye on Mullins, too, for he stole seven of Baltimore's 19 bases last season and the former switch-hitter has given up on batting right-handed. That's a good move, based on the numbers. In 111 big league plate appearances batting right-handed, Mullins boasts a lowly .439 OPS. He is hardly Bryce Harper from the left side, but the lineup could use both his speed and center field defense. Mullins stole 33 bases in 40 chances across two minor league levels in 2019. His potential emergence would matter in fantasy roto leagues because of the relative dearth of stolen bases.
Indeed, every big league lineup warrants attention, but in general, do not get too caught up in spring training box score results. I watched some of Sunday's game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees, but I just wanted to see baseball, too. We did not learn much. As with the Orioles, those teams delivered lineups that could be reasonable facsimiles of the real thing in a month, which is important, but the results are rather meaningless. Sure, it was nice to see how much better Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looks, but we already knew he lost weight because everyone told us he did. Neither team offered up top pitchers.
Look for this Monday blog entry to recapture relevant weekend themes for fantasy baseball, and in March, that mainly means injuries, lineups, some performance, and unfortunately, more injuries. Hey, when it comes to Spring Training, we can learn about players from watching them play more than we can from reading a box score -- and that goes for the pitchers as well. Anyway, not much happened in fantasy baseball this past weekend, but here are five players I noticed from the Sunday box scores.
Willi Castro, SS, Detroit Tigers: Again, this is far from a top big-league offense, but the leadoff hitter for any lineup matters and Castro got things started nicely with a first-inning home run off Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Ivan Nova. (Yep, Nova is on the Phillies. If you could only see me smile with pride.) Castro hit .349 with a .931 OPS over 140 PA last season, though it comes with the important caveat of a wild .448 BABIP, and he could force himself into the top 200 of our rankings with a big spring.
Jack Flaherty, SP, St. Louis Cardinals: Pitchers work on all sorts of things early in camp, which is why their results often mean little, but still, it is tough to ignore Flaherty allowing four hits and three runs in his inning-plus of work against a Nationals lineup missing Juan Soto, needing 39 pitches. He issued three walks and tossed a pair of wild pitches. No, I did not see it, and I will not drop him in my rankings unless this happens for like four or five spring outings, but it is potentially notable. Flaherty statistically disappointed in 2020, and an unusual lack of control was part of it.
Jazz Chisholm, 2B, Miami Marlins: The second-base job is a battle between Chisholm, Isan Diaz and Jon Berti, and there is a potential opening for the team's leadoff hitter, too. Chisholm handled the role on Sunday and homered in the first inning off Houston Astros right-hander Brandon Bielak. Chisholm, 23, struggled over 62 PA in 2020, hitting just .161. He might always swing and miss more than we prefer, but his offensive profile includes enough power and speed to matter, so he warrants attention.
Daulton Jefferies/James Kaprielian, SP, Oakland Athletics: The former started the game against the champion Dodgers and the latter handled the second inning, each without much ado, and the reason I think these right-handers matter is because this is a good team, with a good bullpen, in a large ballpark, and both could start games this season. Both debuted in the majors in 2020. Jefferies is the one to invest in first, for he has had fewer injury issues.
Mitch Haniger, OF, Seattle Mariners: And finally, we come full circle with another slugging outfielder who has not played for a long time. Haniger last played in a big league game in June 2019, missing time with various notable injuries, though nothing quite like Mancini's situation. Judging by a tepid ADP, it seems many fantasy managers are again skeptical or they simply forgot how productive Haniger used to be. Just like Mancini, Haniger batted second on Sunday and singled in two at-bats. Nobody knows if he can stay healthy for the next seven months, but Haniger did hit .285 with 26 home runs and eight stolen bases in 2018, his last full season. His ADP is even worse than Mancini's, to the point he might not go in most drafts, but I certainly have him ranked. Fun fact for fantasy managers: Stuff that happened before the most recent season matters, too!