With the season giving us a quirky Thursday start, just a little over a week past this year’s advent of spring, there appears to be a lot of champing at the roto bit. Having mocked and drafted and auctioned, owners are finally anticipating the first pitch.
Still, despite all those drafts and auctions, there are players to consider for the first waves of transactions in anticipation of Thursday’s games. So, with an eye on mostly FAAB — remembering league depth makes a difference — let’s begin our 22nd year of analyzing players every Monday.
Yairo Munoz (SS, Cardinals): St. Louis bagged Munoz as part of the Stephen Piscotty swap with Oakland, and they may well have netted quite a prize with the 23-year old infielder. This spring Munoz had hit .339-3-10 over 56 at-bats, with a .383 OBP and .957 OPS, displaying some stellar defense in Florida up the middle. Last year split between AA and AAA, Munoz delivered an aggregate .300-13-68, with 22 steals. A slump on behalf of Kolten Wong or Paul DeJong could spell a ticket to full-time play.
Tyler Chatwood (SP, Cubs): I had pretty much dismissed Chatwood, who was really not bad for a Rockies hurler last year, posting an 8-15, 4.69 season where he led the league in losses. The Rockies let go of the 28-year-old and the Cubs snatched the righty up in December. Chatwood has responded with a 4-0, 2.91 spring over 21.3 frames with 23 strikeouts. Looks like the hurler might have found a home.
Carlos Tocci (OF, Rangers): As a minor leaguer, Tocci has assembled a .266-12-210 line with 59 steals, albeit 42 caught stealing. Tocci does offer some bench speed for Texas as a Rule 5 selection, meaning he probably stays with the team the entire year, and in a deep league that could be a lot.
Victor Reyes (OF, Tigers): Like Tocci, Reyes is a Rule 5, though on a team with more question marks than a Sunday magazine trivia quiz. The owner of a .298-12-256 line over 561 games and six minor league seasons, Reyes also has some speed (80 steals, 35 CS) and is coming off a spring where he batted 54 times (.255-0-3), so Detroit could get a serious look. Expect him to stay and get some serious playing time.
Omar Narvaez (C, White Sox): Narvaez is certainly in a platoon role with the White Sox, playing behind Welington Castillo, but the left-handed hitter showed some solid skills with a .277-2-14 line over 253 at-bats, with a great .373 OBP (38 walks to 45 whiffs). This spring the backstop continued the trend by hitting .250, but with a .351 OBP (four walks to five whiffs) and in an OBP league irrespective of depth could be a help in this year of the lousy backstop.
Garrett Cooper (1B, Marlins): True, Cooper has Justin Bour playing ahead of him. But if the Fish housecleaning continues, Cooper, who has hit .288-3-4 this spring, will find himself with a full-time job. The former sixth-rounder out of Auburn has a .305-45-269 line with 149 walks to 329 strikeouts, good for a .370 OBP. Cooper should be a more than steady figure at first for the future, hitting around .285-25-85 for a few seasons as the Marlins get on track.
Ben Lively (P, Phillies): Probably not on anyone’s radar following a 4-7, 4.26 2017, but Lively has had a nice spring going 1-1, 2.84 over 18 innings. Lively posted an 0.842 WHIP this spring as well, confirming the 1.286 and control is pretty good with just 24 walks allowed last year over 81.3 innings. The thing is Lively does not strike out a lot (52 last year) and allows a hit an inning, suggesting Lively’s ERA could indeed become as such. However he is also of the Kirk Rueter school of pitching which can produce some nice results if given a chance. Not saying roster Lively, but watch his development.
Colin Moran (3B, Pirates): A first-round pick of the Marlins in 2013, Moran was swapped to the Astros in 2014 (part of the Jarred Cosart deal) and then to the Bucs this offseason as part of the Gerrit Cole extravaganza. Moran posted a .290-48-279 minor league mark with a solid enough .353 OBP (175 BB to 353 K), and coming off a brief and successful (.364-1-3 over 11 at-bats) September splash of games, Moran should be fun to watch develop at the Bucs hot corner.
