Regan's Rumblings: 10 Things I’d Like to See

There are a lot of random thoughts flowing through my mind this week, so here are 10 things I'd like to see...

A Braves middle infield of Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson

This one doesn't appear imminent, as both Swanson and Albies are playing shortstop in the minors right now, the former in Double-A and the latter in Triple-A. It will happen sometime this year, likely a couple weeks or so after we see one of the two playing second or even third base in a minor league game. Swanson is three years older than Albies and a level behind, but he's the guy that should most interest fantasy owners. As the 2015 first-overall pick, Swanson has hit from the get-go in the minors, batting .316/.409/.503 between High-A and Double-A with 10 stolen bases and four home runs. He should eventually settle in as a 20-homer type guy, potentially with less power than Corey Seager, but with more stolen bases.

Albies, meanwhile, is batting .294/.352/.439 with three homers and four steals between Double-A and Triple-A, though he's hitting just .229 in 25 games since being promoted. Albies is small, listed at just 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, and in just 155 pro games prior to 2016, he had just one home run. He did swipe 29 bases last year and has shown an advanced plate approach, so he could eventually slot in as a leadoff man with Swanson hitting somewhere between second and sixth. It's probably not imminent, but by sometime in July, we could see the Braves' future become the present.

Regular at-bats for both Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury all year

It's happening right now, but what about when David Peralta (wrist) returns from the DL next month? The obvious (well, to me at least) solution would be to slot Peralta in center flanked by Yasmany Tomas and Drury, thus pushing Chris Owings to a utility role. Owings is batting a respectable .293/336/.414, but he's hit just one home run and though his center field defense grades out well, he's probably miscast as an everyday outfielder. Meanwhile, Drury is batting .300/.329/.520 with seven home runs in 150 at-bats. Lamb is at .275/.355/.517, though he's only hitting .103 in 29 at-bats versus southpaws. Lamb, though, hit .281/.406/.509 in 2013 for Triple-A Reno versus lefties, so it's far too early to write him off as a platoon guy.

Javier Baez, full-time third baseman

Baez is mired in a 3-for-31 skid, but he's also starting only about half the time, and in that scenario, it's hard for a guy to be productive if he doesn't even know he's starting on a particular day. He's seen time at all four infield positions as well as two games in left field, but there isn't one position on the roster in which he tops the depth chart. Baez has just two homers in 84 at-bats, but he's hit as many as 37 in a minor league season, and that sort of power is useful to any team. Baez's 3.4% BB% may mean he ultimately tops out as a .260 hitter, but that could come with 35 home runs and 15 stolen bases in his prime. At this point, he's in need of an injury or trade to have value outside of NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Tim Anderson becoming the starting shortstop for the White Sox

Judging by WAR, the White Sox have the third-worst shortstop production in baseball as Jimmy Rollins and company are batting a combined .226/.271/.321 with a -0.4 WAR. Only the Padres and Braves are worse. Fortunately, the White Sox have Anderson, RotoWire's No. 10 overall prospect. Anderson, 22, is batting .309/.335/.410 for Triple-A Charlotte. He has just three homers, but all three have come this month, and combined with his 10 steals, Anderson projects to be a solid fantasy guy in his prime. He swiped 49 bags in Double-A last year. The obvious concern is his 3.8% BB%, a number that could result in his hitting further down in the order than leadoff, at least initially, but no matter what he's able to provide now, he has more ability than any shortstop in the system at ANY level.

Matt Harvey in Triple-A or the bullpen

The Mets will apparently keep Harvey in the rotation, giving him a little rest and slotting him in for his next start Monday. Harvey currently sports a 6.08 ERA and 1.69 WHIP with ratios all trending in the wrong direction. Though the average fastball velocity is off last year's 95.9-mph mark, it's still a decent 94 mph, so it doesn't seem like he's hiding an injury. We know by the walk rate that his control has been a bit off, and by other accounts, so has the command of his slider, a pitch that can be devastating when he's putting it where he wants to. I'm not too worried here long-term, but he's probably best-served by a bullpen or Triple-A stint to get back to basics. Of course, now he'll toss a gem Monday. Just watch.

Julio Urias starting Game 2 of the 2016 World Series

As a Dodger fan, I'm afraid that's looking unlikely. Urias is untouchable right now in Triple-A, as the 19-year-old southpaw is working on a 27-inning scoreless streak, and for the year in 41 innings, he has a 1.10 ERA and 44:8 K:BB. Given his age and upside, the Dodgers are exercising extreme caution, as Urias has yet to top 90 innings in a full season, and is there really any doubt that he's a better candidate for the No. 5 starter job than someone like Alex Wood or Mike Bolsinger? Assuming Urias pitches five innings in his next start, that would put him on pace for nearly 140 innings over a six-month season, and though the Dodgers have not specified an innings limit (only saying he will top 100), anything more than 120 would be a surprise. I could see the team bringing him up in the next week or two to work out of the bullpen, send him back to Triple-A in August to build up his innings, and then bring him back to work as a starter in September and hopefully – for Dodger fans – beyond.

Some more attention given to Josh Tomlin based on his start

At RotoWire, we predicted Tomlin to go 9-7 with a 4.39 ERA. He's already 7-0 with a 3.35 ERA and has one start to go…in May. Tomlin certainly looks to be living on borrowed time with a mediocre fastball (87.2 mph on average), .245 BABIP, and 4.49 FIP, but he's always around the strike zone (1.1 BB/9) and he's missing enough bats (6.4 K/9) to be effective and fantasy-relevant. Tomlin is going to have some clunkers given his 1.6 HR/9, particularly when his control and command elude him on a particular day, as he doesn't have the luxury of being able to blow guys away. It's easy to imagine how good Tomlin could be if he developed a way to avoid surrendering so many home runs, but given that his HR/9 for his career is 1.5, that seems unlikely. Either way, Tomlin is off to a great start and is vastly outperforming his 268 ADP.

More crazy splits like those of Tyler Chatwood

Astute DFS players have already taken note of what Chatwood is doing this year, but consider this:

Home: 1-3, 6.65 ERA, 1.70 WHIP
Road: 4-0, 0.53 ERA, 0.89 WHIP

As an example, in two road starts against Arizona, Chatwood has allowed one run in 12.2 innings. At home against those same Diamondbacks? Six innings, six runs.

Chatwood, a two-time Tommy John surgery survivor, is a pitch-to-contact type guy, averaging 2.5 groundballs per flyball and just a 5.7 K/9. Guys with that sort of skillset often find consistency elusive, but at the very least, Chatwood on the road is a solid DFS and roto streaming option.

Someone to explain Drew Pomeranz and Rich Hill

Hill parlayed four starts and a 1.55 ERA with the Red Sox last September into a one-year $6 million deal with the A's, and so far it's working out well for Oakland. Thiis year, after starting with a 4.15 ERA in three starts, Hill adjusted and has a 1.61 ERA in his last seven outings. Overall, that nets to a 2.18 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 to go with allowing just two home runs in 57.2 innings. Hill has never had this sort of success, and the 37-year-old appeared headed for early retirement after posting a 6.28 ERA as a reliever with the Indians in 2013. Maybe he just figured some stuff out in his stint with the Long Island Ducks.

Pomeranz was looking like another failed starter turning into a solid reliever headed into this year, but he won a spot in the Opening Day rotation and now improbably has a 1.70 ERA in nine starts for the Padres. His .232 BABIP is likely to regress, but the move to the NL and particularly the new home park appears to have done him good, though Pomeranz also has a 2.04 ERA in 35.1 road innings, so he's been fine everywhere. Pomeranz has never been an elite control artist, but driving down that 4.4 BB/9 would certainly help mitigate the likely-to-increase BABIP. Sometimes guys take time to figure things out, and given Pomeranz is a former fifth-overall pick, I'll line up on the believer side.

A Yankees Fire Sale

This probably will never happen, but given it would be unprecedented, it would surely be fun to watch. The Yankees' farm system isn't too bad, but it could certainly use a further infusion of talent, particularly on the pitching side. They're probably stuck with the likes of Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Chase Headley, but there are certainly some pieces that would be attractive to contenders. Now as I type this, the Yankees are 22-22 (5.5 games out) and far from eliminated from the postseason here in May, but if they are still floundering in mid-to-late July, the following guys will get some attention if put on the market:

Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances – Miller would likely get the most attention, as he's signed through 2018 at a reasonable $9 million annual salary, but all three of these guys would be very attractive to teams with bullpen needs. Betances is the most likely to stick around given he's younger and cheaper, and if Chapman and Miller are dealt, he immediately becomes a top-five closer.

Carlos Beltran – Beltran is 39 and a poor defender these days, but he's also experienced and has already hit 10 home runs. Surely an AL contender could use his bat. A Beltran deal would open up playing time for Aaron Hicks and perhaps prospect Aaron Judge.

Brett Gardner – Teams could be turned off by the .241 batting average, but a 14.1 BB% gives Gardner a .367 OBP and he's on pace for a third consecutive season of 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Gardner is controllable through 2019 (team option), but he's also 32 and perhaps the Yankees would prefer to get younger. Similar to a theoretical Beltran trade, Hicks and Judge would benefit from Gardner being gone.

Any SP not named Tanaka or Severino – None of Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, CC Sabathia, or Ivan Nova would net much in a trade. Should a spot open up, the Yankees don't have much in the way of near-ready high-end minor league pitching talent, but a guy like Dietrich Enns (1.74 ERA in eight Double-A/Triple-A starts).