Central Nervous System: AL and NL Position Battles Part 2

TODAY’S NEWS

Ask and You Shall Receive Dept.: The Yankees optioned Everson Pereira to Triple-A yesterday, leaving only Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza on the major league roster. Much less confusing.

Video: Everson Pereira, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza meet Miguel Cabrera. Really!

Hyeseong Kim, of the Dodgers, not to be confused with Ha-Seong Kim of the Rays, was optioned to Triple-A. Both Kims played for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO. The Dodger Kim had a weak camp, with just a .613 OPS, and will work to find his groove in Oklahoma City. He’s expected to eventually take a super-utility role with the Dodgers and hit for average with little power.

Names matter in fantasy. More than once last year fantasy players acquired Luis Urias when they thought they were landing Luis Arraez.

When I saw Zac Veen in the Arizona Fall League in 2022 he made a big impression. He’s athletic and super fast and looked solid on defense. I thought he’d advance quickly to the majors, even though he’d struggled that year in his time in Double-A. Alas, injuries and a bit of a hole in his swing slowed his advance but he’s having a solid camp while the Rockies top outfield prospect Jordan Beck is struggling. Reports today are that Beck will be sent down and the right field job will go to, wait for it, Nick Martini. For the Rockies organization, that sounds about par for the course, but keep an eye on Veen. He’s got good strike zone judgment, has some power and great speed, and a bit of a hole in his swing. He’s not a sure thing, but he has a chance.

The Rockies option Adael Amador and Drew Romo to Triple-A, meaning that they want Amador to get more seasoning in Triple-A—where he has yet to appear—and they’re going with Hunter Goodman as their backup catcher. Goodman also plays the outfield and is unlikely to be a sneaky pick on draft day, but could be a good one if he gets 400 plate appearances.

CENTRAL CASTING

Let’s take a look at baseball’s central divisions, comparing Roster Resource with MLB.com’s projected lineups

AL CENTRAL

Guardians: Former top prospect Kyle Mazardo is slated for the two hole on MLB.com, while RR has him batting third, behind Jose Ramirez. Hitting ahead of Ramirez has to be better for him. RR also suggests he’ll platoon. He’s having a hot spring with the bat, so maybe he’s figured things out, but I’m still wary. He has had a hole at the top of the zone and his approach as a major league hitter has been much more aggressive than it was in the minors. Maybe that helps him, or maybe it’s an indicator of his vulnerability.

Manzardo had a .566 OPS against lefties last year, which opens up a weak-side platoon with Jonathan Rodriguez, who has had huge power in the minors while walking and striking out a lot. He’s not having a good spring, which doesn’t mean much except he also struggled in 40 plate appearances in the majors last year.

The other platoon here is between Will Brennan, the lefty who should see more at bats, and Jhonkensy Noel. Brennan lacks power but makes enough contact he should have a good batting average, while Noel has some power but comes with contact issues.

At second base the battle is between Gabriel Arias, who is out of options, and Juan Brito, who is not. Arias is also having a good camp, while Brito is not. Both sites give the job to Arias, who has 14 homers and nine steals in a season’s worth of at bats in his career.

Note that apart from Manzardo, none of these guys is drawing NFBC ADP interest, which makes sense. But they are all endgame plays in AL only, albeit endgame plays you’d rather avoid.

The Cleveland rotation is set for the time being, until Shane Bieber can get back on the bump. I think that looks like June, but the Guardians are hoping for earlier. The other big question here is whether Luis L. Ortiz, who was so strong as a multi-inning reliever for the Pirates last year, can convert to starting and succeed. The results, so far, are mixed.

Royals: Jonathan India will leadoff most days, though he’ll play second base some of the time and in the outfield others. After him come Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez, every day. After that, a lot of moving parts, with Michael Massey moving around as much as India, Maikel Garcia having to prove he deserves to play third every day, and some chance we’ll see more of Dairon Blanco, who has stolen 56 bases in 277 major league plate appearances. When Blanco has hit he hasn’t been bad, but with only 130-ish at bats each of the last two years he’s hard to carry even in an AL only league.

MJ Melendez is in line to platoon as well, perhaps opening up some time for Nelson Velazquez, who has great power but struggled last year. The lesson here is that there are playing time issues for nearly all the Royals except for the top four. And keep an eye on Freddie Fermin, who qualifies at catcher and isn’t a bad hitter.

Cole Ragans is the ace, Michael Wacha will take another whack at being effective, and Kris Bubic is the talented but untested wild card. Wacha is going for twice Bubic’s price. I’ll take the cheaper one, but Wacha will get many chances. Bubic is challenged by Daniel Lynch in camp and both he and Lynch would be replaced when Alec Marsh gets healthy, which could be soon.

Tigers: Parker Meadows sounds like he’s going to be healthy by Opening Day, but a nerve issue means he has yet to play this spring and nerves heal at their own pace. So maybe, maybe not. If not, Gleyber Torres moves up to the leadoff spot, says RR.

Matt Vierling is definitely out with a rotator cuff strain, opening the door for Jace Jung, who is not crushing it in ST. Jung could split time while Vierling is out Andy Ibanez. The Tigers hope Vierling returns in mid-April.

And the once great and exciting Javier Baez is going to platoon, maybe, with Trey Sweeney. Baez has the short side there. Hovering over both the shortstop and third base platoons is Zach McKinstry, who is no more of an offensive bet than the rest of these weak hitters, but also no less.

In other words, the Tigers, like the other teams in the AL Central, have some hitting talent, but also a lot of interchangeable pieces who might have a little value if they play more. Emphasis on little.

MLB has top prospect Jackson Jobe in the Tigers rotation, which might be right. He’s not been great this spring, too many homers, but not as many as his main competition, Kenta Maeda. RR gives the gig to Maeda, who has pitched more this spring, but in the long run the winner will be Jobe.

Twins: This is another lineup that is going to change frequently. First off, Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach will platoon with Jose Miranda and Harrison Bader, the latter two getting the short end of it. But they will also be backing up Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton, two of the most-injured players ever, so plenty of playing time upside is possible.

Willi Castro will be there to play somewhere most days. It was a role that worked very nicely for him last year.

And former top prospect Edouard Julien is left adrift, not a great second baseman and with enough contact issues to endanger his career, but with power potential we haven’t seen realized yet.

The staff is set to start the season, with roto players favoring Pablo Lopez, but Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are as good or better.

White Sox: This group may be even more ragtag than last year, and there is no agreement between the two sites about much of anything. RR has Josh Rojas platooning at shortstop, but the team has said he’ll start at second base, which is where MLB puts him. RR has Lenyn Sosa starting at second base, but MLB has him at DH. Sosa is having a strong spring.

Who’s at shortstop for MLB? Chase Meidroth, which sounds right though he’s still in competition with Jacob Amaya and, maybe, Brooks Baldwin, batting leadoff! Which doesn’t make sense when you have the walk-machine Mike Tauchman on your roster.

Perhaps the most interesting guy on the RR version is Brandon Drury, DH, batting cleanup. He was utterly awful last year, but he’s not so old he couldn’t come back.

After Luis Robert, Andrew Benintendi is probably the best player here, but he’s got a broken hand and will miss the start of the season.

As for the rotation, the two sites agree that Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, Martin Perez, and Sean Burke are major league starters. History may disagree. While the Sox wait for Drew Thorpe to heal from September 2024 bone-spur surgery, they might start Shane Smith (MLB) or Bryse Wilson (RR). Never say never and all that, but apart from Thorpe, it’s hard to see any of these guys helping a fantasy team this year.

NL Central

Brewers: Both sites have Sal Frelick and Oliver Dunn on the strong side of platoons with Vinny Capra or Mark Canha and Chad Durbin on the other. The Brewers have some big talent, old and young, but they also have a lot of high-contact guys who don’t hit the ball very hard.

One of those, Brice Turang, stole 50 bases last year, but he had a .588 OPS against lefties, which may cost him at bats this year. He led off when the Brewers were facing a righty last year, and moved to the bottom of the order against lefties. Fewer PAs against lefties should help his overall batting average.

The rotation is set except for the fifth spot. Andy Ashby is hurt, so Jose Quintana slots in according to RR, while MLB nods to Ashby. Both Ashby and Quintana are placeholders for Brandon Woodruff, who is rehabbing but has yet to see any game action.

Cardinals: At first glance things look cool, calm, and collected for the Cards, but there’s lots in flux. Some of that depends on whether they are able to trade Nolan Arenado, opening third base for Nolan Gorman. That would move Brendan Donovan to the infield and open up playing time for Alec Burleson, who could be a bit of a sneaky play.

As it stands, this is a team whose starters should see mostly regular time, with the most crucial element whether Jordan Walker hits the way he’s been expected to. He’s been nursing a sore knee in camp, and has been terrible when he’s gotten to the plate. I’m a believer but I’ll take every dollar discount I can.

Ivan Herrera is a solid offensive catcher, but is at best so-so behind the dish. If the Cards score runs it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Herrera play less and Pedro Pages play more.

The rotation is set, but needs Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas to bounce back, Andre Pallante to be effective without a big strikeout profile, and first backup, Michael McGreevy to pitch effectively because he’s not a big strikeout guy either.

Cubs: At the top of the order, Michael Busch will platoon with Justin Turner, which could work out nicely if they hit the way they did last year. Nico Hoerner will not travel to Japan, so Jon Berti is the starting shortstop for the first two games, at least.

The Cubs have announced that Matt Shaw will go to Japan and be part of the expanded roster for those two games against the Dodgers. That doesn’t mean he’s “made” the team but is a vote of confidence for what seems obvious. His bat is ready. Fantasy leagues have many different approaches to guys like this, who could play in Japan and then start the season in Triple-A. Make sure you know how your league’s rules apply. Shaw is new to playing third base, which is why he might spend time in Triple-A to start the year, but he should hit with power whenever he arrives.

If Shaw does go to Triple-A Justin Turner should see some time at third base.

I’m intrigued by Gage Workman, a Rule 5 draftee who has lots of power, also plays third base, and strikes out a lot so far. He probably won’t be a factor this year, but I’m rooting for him.

Both sites agree on the rotation, which means Colin Rea as the No. 5 starter. He had seven quality starts last year for the Brewers, and another eight in which he allowed two runs or fewer in five innings, so he’s not a waste, but he also had a number of games in which he allowed seven or more runs, which is a fantasy wrecker if you’re pitching him that day. He’s holding a spot for Javier Assad, who may or may not be a better option for you or the Cubs.

Pirates: MLB says Andrew McCutchen will lead off, which makes sense because he walks more than any other Pirate. RR has McCutchen batting cleanup, which makes sense because he has more power than any other Pirate. Tommy Pham, who bats first in the RR version, bats eighth in the MLB version.

Spencer Horwitz is meant to be the first baseman, but he’s recovering from surgery and will be replaced by Jared Triolo and DJ Stewart.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is hurt again, nursing a sore side. He’s expected to be okay, but what exactly does that mean. Bump up Adam Frazier a buck.

The rotation is looking like a throwback to those classic Pirate rotations of the 90s, which promised to win titles and World Series. That promise was never fulfilled, but that doesn’t mean this group is going to collapse. Best of luck to them!

Reds: With Matt McLain back in the lineup, MLB has him leading off, while RR has TJ Friedl there, at least against righties. MLB has Friedl batting sixth. McLain was great against lefties and righties in 2023, while in his career Friedl has been better against lefties and fine against righties. McLain has more power, so it might make more sense to have him hitting second. If he hits first he’ll take an RBI hit, but will score a few more runs.

Spencer Steer had a cortisone injection in February in his shoulder and is seeing positive results. He will miss the start of the season but is expected back by the middle of April, assuming he continues to heal. That leaves an opening for Will Benson, who is not an offensive force.

Austin Hays is having a good spring, which is a hopeful sign after his feckless 2024 during which he played hurt.

Santiago Espinal will take the weak side of the platoon with Gavin Lux, which is a good fit for both. The same goes for Jake Fraley and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, with Strand on the weak side. In his short career so far, CES has been much better against righties than lefties, but it’s a small sample. Fraley has a long history of weakness against lefties.

The Reds top four starters are pretty set, but No. 5 could go to Andrew Abbott (RR) or Rhett Lowder (MLB) or Graham Ashcraft (last man standing). Abbott has been nursing a sore shoulder and has just started throwing. Lowder was shut down in February with elbow soreness. Ashcraft has a career 4.91 ERA in 328 innings. He needn’t be on your wish list.

ERRATA

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