A Look Back at our Preseason Prospect Rankings
Prospect writer Jason Hunt is going back and taking a look at our preseason consensus prospect rankings by position, so make sure you check out what he has to say in the links below. He gives you a three up/three down look at each position.
Breakout Prospects in 2013
Brian Creagh wrote about some of the top breakout prospects this season in his article published a few days ago. You can check out his piece in the link below, where he gives his thoughts on Rosell Herrera, C.J. Edwards, Jorge Polancoand several others:
Andrew Cashner flirts with perfection
The Padres traded top first base prospect Anthony Rizzo to the Cubs just about two years ago, and in return they received pitcher Andrew Cashner. At the time of the deal, many did not know what to make of the trade, or what Cashner was: a starter or a late inning reliever. Well, after last night's performance, he is a starter until his arm falls off.
Last night Cashner flirted with perfection before giving up a hit to Jose Tabata to lead off the 7th inning. He gave up just the one hit, while walking no one, and striking out 7 in a complete game shut out in Pittsburgh. He moved his record to 10-8 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 121-47 strikeout to walk rate in 25 starts this season.
For more on Cashner and the Padres, make sure you check out Gaslamp Ball, SB Nation's Padres fan site.
Cliff Lee: Dominating Ace
It is no secret that Cliff Lee is an ace starting pitcher pitching for a team that has no chance of winning anything over the next few seasons. I wouldn't be surprised to see him traded this offseason if the front office gets a good enough offer for him.
Last night, he thoroughly dominated the Marlins, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, no walks (of course), and 14 strikeouts over 8 innings of work in the Phillies 12-2 win. He even went 3-4 with 4 RBI at the plate to help his cause last night. He is now 14-6 on the season with a 2.95 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a sick 201-32 strikeout to walk rate in 207.2 innings this season.
I could see him being ranked as a top 5-6 starter in offseason pitcher rankings, and I might consider him in my top 5 for 2014.
For more on Lee and the Phillies, make sure you check out The Good Phight, SB Nation's Phillies fan site.
Round'em Up
Tigers starter Rick Porcello likes pitching at night better than in the afternoon. We don't know that for a fact, but his record indicates he does. Last night, Porcello limited the Mariners to one run on 5 hits, 2 walks while striking out 10 in the Tigers win. Porcello is now 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and a 130-42 strikeout to walk rate in 168 innings this season. He is a late round starter at the most, but because he pitches for a team that scores runs, he can accumulate wins for his fantasy owners, despite the mediocre ERA.
I play in a few NL only keeper leagues and was planning on ranking Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez pretty high in my list of NL hitters this offseason. But after reading what Troy Renck of the Denver Post wrote about his finger injury, I am second guessing. Here is what Renck wrote last night:
Carlos Gonzalez talked to me Sunday, and he's leaning heavily toward having surgery on his annoying right middle finger. It isn't getting better. He will see a specialist in Cleveland on Thursday. The AZ specialist recommended surgery on Sunday. He's the same doctor who saw CarGo the day he first suffered the injury so he had a good frame of reference on his recovery... Surgery is always a last option. But if he waits and it doesn't heal, then next spring and the early part of the year are jeopardized. This isn't a common surgery. He will have to do aggressive rehab to make sure the flexibility returns. And it will probably never be 100 percent of what it was...
Aggressive surgery? Never be 100 percent of what it was? I will move him down my rankings as a result and so should you.
Reds starter Johnny Cueto finally returned from the DL last night, and he pitched like he has been pitching all season. He shut out the Astros on 5 hits, a walk and 5 strike out in 5 innings of work in the Reds win. I guess the reports saying he will be limited to a bullpen role when he returns from the DL proved to be false.
We are halfway through September with the playoffs right around the corner, and the Tigers might start getting a little concerned with the best hitter in baseball, Miguel Cabrera. The hitting machine is having an MVP season, but he is having a horrendous September. Coming into Monday's action, Miggy was heading just .219-.359-.250 with no home runs and 3 RBI in 32 at bats this month. I realize he is playing with an injury, but hopefully he can start hitting before the playoffs start.
More from Fake Teams:
- Streamer Report: Tuesday's Streamers
- Fantasy football: Michael Vick setting trap game for fantasy owners in Week 3?
- Injury Report: Injuries become less and less obvious
- Roto Roundup: Wilson Ramos, Paul Goldschmidt, Jean Segura and others
- Coming Soon To A Stadium Near You: Billy Burns, OF, Washington Nationals
- Around the League - A.L.
- Two-Start Pitchers: Week 24 (Sep. 16-22)