It's the home stretch... but we'll be back to the grind quickly with AFL coverage kicking off with games on 10/7. LIDOM will get added to coverage when it starts on 10/16.

MLB - Smada

Michael McGreevy, RHP STL (MLB) 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K, HR

McGreevy’s 2nd career start was solid. He’s cut from a similar mold of Pallante, not throwing incredibly hard, but generating GB at a high clip. The start was in COL but also vs COL.

Masyn Winn, SS STL (MLB) 2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 4 RBI, 2 K

He’s ended the year on a bit of a cold streak, but the BABIP was due to regress eventually. The .282 BA at the end of August has plummeted to .266. This HR was his 15th of the year, a mark that I think will be eclipsed next year, especially if he’s able to run up the PA with a full season leading off. A step forward would be a 20/15 season and that’s certainly within reach in 2025.

Tyler Fitzgerald, SS SF (MLB) 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB

It’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to check in on Fitzgerald and that’s likely because this marked his first HR in the month of September after hitting 8 in July and 5 in August. I remarked a while back that a close to 30% K rate while running hot was concerning and that’s because when you’re not hot, it can be horrible. In September he’s run a 38.5% K and the BB have regressed too, down to 3.1%. Despite all that he’s run a hot BABIP to sustain a 79 wRC+ during the cold month. Additionally he’s dropped in the order which poses its own obvious long term PA risk. I’ve also said he reminds me of Gelof, which doesn’t appear to be an original take around the twitterverse. Does he stick in 2025? Probably. Is he transcendent? Probably not.

Lawrence Butler, RF OAK SAC (MLB) 1-for-2, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, SB

Butler’s first hot streak was going on at the same time as Fitzgerald’s and there’s another parallel there with the power/speed element. Butler has put up 22 HR and 17 SB over just 429 PA. His lows have not been as low as Fitzgerald’s, especially from a K:BB perspective. He’s younger and was more of a solidified prospect. He’s not as fast as Fitzgerald but he certainly has more juice in the bat. I think Butler’s done a lot to solidify a place as a waiting in the wing fantasy star. With a green light 30/30 feels lofty, but attainable, especially given the solidified leadoff spot. He also began to strip the platoon label as he hit equally well against LHP, albeit in 84 PA.

Edgardo Henriquez, RHP LAD (MLB) 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Henriquez looked really good in his 1st career appearance. He faced Solano, Higashioka, Arraez and Tatis Jr., relinquishing a single off the wall to Higashioka allowing him to get to 2nd on a rare stolen base for him. He showcased the nasty slider (marked cutter in Savant) to get Solano to strike out and rang up Tatis Jr. with a 101 mph heater up in the zone. It’s always difficult to project future roles for guys like Henriquez, some get the closer gig quickly while others never get it. All I can say is he’s worth rostering well into next year to see if he can grab the closer role at some point, given saves are valued in your league.

Robert Suarez, RHP SD (MLB) 1 IP, 3 H, ER, SV

While I’m profiling a Dodgers reliever, why not a Padres one as well? The 33 yr old is far from a prospect but just notched his 35th save of the year. In a world where we are all searching for solidified closers, I want to express some caution in Suarez. The numbers do not scream dominant closer and the numbers have trended down in the 2nd half. He’ll also turn 34 yrs old in 2025. If the HR/FB regresses back at all we could be looking at a quick loss of role. All that said, I also faded Alexis Diaz due to some far more unsavory numbers and all he did was get even worse and keep the job all year.

Jack Kochanowicz, RHP LAA (MLB) 7 IP, 3 H, 4 K

He faced the worst MLB offense of all time so I’m taking this one with a grain of salt. I still think the K-BB% will catch up with him despite the excellent GB rate, but it’ll have to happen in 2025.

Jonathan Cannon, RHP CHW (MLB) 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 7 K

I almost called Cannon “the lone bright spot” and then remembered he had a sub-10% K-BB entering the game. He’s fine, he’s serviceable, but he’s not getting you wins, nor racking up the strike outs and is still likely a mid-4 ERA guy.

Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP ATL (MLB) 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 4 K, HR

Schwellenbach just has everything I like in a SP. Deep arsenal, decent velo, 20%+ K-BB, manageable HR rate and pitching for a good team. Health is always a question for any young SP and he’s obviously hitting a career high IP this year, but there are no zero-concern SPs. 

Vaughn Grissom, 2B BOS (MLB) 3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB

In Grissom’s three games back since going on the IL on 6/2, he’s already registered an XBH and stolen 2 bases. Grissom is still just 24 yrs old next year and we should expect BOS to give him every opportunity. His PLIVE+ peak projection is .275/.345/.412 with 13 HR and 14 SB over 600 PA, essentially profiling similarly (at peak) to Masyn Winn. Could you get Grissom cheaply in the offseason? Worth checking in with his owner.

Bowden Francis, RHP TOR (MLB) 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K

Kudos to him on another scoreless outing. I just think he’s overperforming his true talent level right now (~3.80 ERA) and there will be some unanswered workload questions headed into 2025.

Kyle Manzardo, DH CLE (MLB) 1-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB 

The incredible September continues for Manzardo who is up to 5 HR in just 57 PA in the month. The exciting part is the BB:K is looking more like the AAA numbers that have shown so much promise.

Tarik Skubal, LHP DET (MLB) 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 K

Taking my victory lap as I invested heavily in Skubal this year and predicted (like others) for him to win the AL Cy Young award. He’s the universal SP2 behind Paul Skenes.

Triple-A - Matt Thompson

Gabriel Arias, SS CLE (Triple-A) 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, K

A 389 foot opposite field blast to provide Columbus with some insurance as they take Game 1. Arias was sent down earlier in the season after not seeing the minor leagues in 2023, and he still looks the same. He’s an aggressive free-swinger with some pop and minimal speed that can play all over the infield but isn’t really plus anywhere. He’s an up and down utility option.

Doug Nikhazy, LHP CLE (Triple-A) 5 ⅔ IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 10 K

The Ole Miss product has been fantastic all-season, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 75 Triple-A innings, and a 2.98 ERA overall when you add in his Double-A work. This was some of his best work as he generated 25! swings and misses. The Slider, 4-seamer, change and curve all had over a 50% whiff rate and the first three pitches made up over 75% of his total arsenal. His stock is way up and he looks like a definite big league starter for the Guardians in 2025.

Jesus Bastidas, SS HOU (Triple-A) 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, K

The former Yankees prospect had a strong first season with the Astros, hitting .242/.337/.448 with 25 homers and 31 doubles. The power is slightly above-average to the pull side, and average-ish to the rest of the diamond. His approach is pretty simple though, lift and pull. A nice potential fit for the Crawford Boxes if he gets a shot.

Trey Cabbage, OF HOU (Triple-A) 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Big power and sneaky athleticism but K’s for days. 

Cooper Hummel, DH HOU (Triple-A) 4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI

His catching days are over, and so is the hope for fantasy value here. Hummel has good on-base skills but other than that it's mostly gap power. 

Tommy Sacco, Jr. 2B HOU (Triple-A) 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K

The former TCU Horned Frog is an organizational soldier that is showing some traits that say he might be a little more than that. Don’t get too excited but just remember the name. 

Brice Matthews, 3B HOU (Triple-A) 2-for-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB

I love Brice Matthews. Yes, he strikes out too much but the upside here is enormous. He’s going to be ranked pretty highly on my list despite the whiff concerns. 


Double-A - Tom

Austin Bergner, RHP DET (Double-A) 6 IP, 2 H, BB, 8 K

The 27-year old led the SeaWolves to their second straight Eastern League title. He had a good K/9 this year but had a WHIP of 1.45. 

Mason Barnett, RHP OAK (Double-A) 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 8 K

I wouldn’t mind throwing Barnett at the end of my roster in a deep league. There is a good chance he’s in the Majors next year and could help out your team. He threw 133 innings in the regular season, so I’d assume he’s ready for a full workload in the Majors. A late NFBC grab for sure.

Chandler Simpson, CF TB (Double-A) 3-for-4, 2B, RB, BB, SB

Still hitting and stealing…That’s all you are gonna get but he’s quite good at it. 

Yoniel Curet, RHP TB (Double-A) 4 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Here is another arm I’m interested in adding to my roster. We all love the Rays pitching development. Curet has been a big strikeout guy and has seen his walks decrease as he’s moved up levels. The fastball and breaking ball are plus. The changeup needs to come along to really solidify him as a starter.