(piece originally ran on MinorLeagueBall.com)
The New York Yankees and Houston Astros finally struck a deal after more than a week of rumors flying around about Brian McCann. The Astros got their second former Atlanta Braves catcher, acquiring McCann to play alongside Evan Gattis. In exchange, the Yankees (who also sent some money) acquired two young fireballing prospects in Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.
Keep reading for my thoughts on the prospects the Yankees acquired.
Back again with you for our weekly Fantasy Football analysis. It is Week 11. You should have a feel of whether your team is playoff bound or not. If you are on the fence, sitting at .500 or maybe one game under, your playoffs have already started. That makes the correctness of every move imperative.
That’s what we are here for. Check out our experts Starts and Sits.
Keep reading for more of this week’s Starts and Sits for Fantasy Football.
Special guest writer, new to Wayniac Nation —
We’re more than halfway through the season and that’s long enough to talk about what some of the biggest surprises have been so far. Last year saw a franchise-best season from the Carolina Panthers, but the team is looking like a shell of its former self. The squad boasting last year’s MVP at quarterback is struggling on both sides of the ball and has failed to develop any momentum.
Last week, Dunton and I released the first ever Wayniac Nation Power Rankings. Some of the teams betrayed us this week. Other teams surprised us and entered the charts. Remember, we are doing an AFC and NFC Power Rankings separately until the playoffs commence, at which point it will become a comprehensive power rankings.
So, who made the cut?
Dunton text me asking why we have never done power rankings for the NFL here at Wayniac Nation. It was a good question that I had no answer to, so I asked him who he thought were the best teams. We went back and forth a bit, but narrowed it down to the first ever Wayniac Nation NFL Power Rankings.
Six more byes this week. The teams resting Week 9 are pretty big time as well when it comes to fantasy. Ready for who you are without this week?
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, LaGarrette Blount, Julian Edelman, Lamar Miller, DeAndre Hopkins, Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, A.J. Green, Carson Palmer, David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Jordan Howard, Alshon Jeffrey, Jamison Crowder, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed.
Got all that? Don’t worry, we got you covered.
Keep reading for this week’s starts and sits in Fantasy Football.
There’s a lot that can be said about last night’s World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs, some of which will be discussed right here in the upcoming days. We saw Theo Epstein cement his legacy as own of the greatest masterminds in MLB history, and for all those that thought Joe Maddon was the best skipper in baseball, even in a losing effort Terry Francona proved otherwise.
Ben Zobrist showed once again that he may in fact be the most under appreciated hitter of his generation. We saw two dynasties form, as both the Indians and Cubs have even more talent coming up the pipeline that neither should go away. And we saw for all the hype, for all the commotion over service time and Kris Bryant, he was worth the wait and everything advertised. He has surpassed Bryce Harper as the best young player in the National League in my eyes.
Last night wasn’t about Theo showing the world he was right in his rebuild. It wasn’t about the young Cubbies rising victorious. It was about Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg getting their due. And it was about Cubs fans, finally hearing the call they had long been waiting for from one of the most beloved voices in the history of the game.
Thank you Budweiser and the Cubs and Indians for showing Harper that he’s clueless. Baseball is fun again.
Wednesday, in continuing our look at potential 2017 impact prospects, we took a look at the big name outfielders ready for their chance in the big leagues. Now, we look at some under-the-radar outfielders who may be ready to make a name for themselves at some point next season.
While Clint Frazier and Jesse Winker may be household names amongst prospect enthusiasts, this next round of guys may not be as well known, whether it be the market in which they play or the level on which they excelled. Still, all of these guys could very well see plenty of playing time in 2017 at the big league level.
As we continue our look at potential impact prospects for the 2017 season, we turn our attention to the catching position. Catchers tend to take a bit longer to mature because so much more goes into being a “good” catcher than a quick bat and a powerful arm. One needs to command a pitching staff and control the game, all while keeping the ball in front of him and holding the runners at bay. Blasting a few home runs here and there doesn’t hurt either. Today, we look at five who seem ready to contribute in 2016.
If you have been following the series, then you are aware that this is not meant to be a definitive list by any means. It is simply five prospects on the cusp of contributing regularly at the big league level. That being said, you won’t see names like the Indians Francisco Mejia or Yankees Luis Torrens because they are simply a few years away. Nor will you see names of “prospects” who claimed their rightful position, like Gary Sanchez. No, these are five prospects with less than 50 combined games in the big leagues amongst them ready for their turn to shine.
I’m not envious of the Dallas Cowboys. They are faced with a decision that could change the course of their franchise. Teams have done it before. The Giants let Phil Simms walk in favor of Jeff Hostetler. Kurt Warner became a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback at the expense of Trent Green. Twice, Drew Bledsoe has been “Wally Pipp-ed”, first by Tom Brady and then by Tony Romo.
So, is Tony Romo about to be Romo-ed?
I couldn’t answer the question alone. I called upon our own fantasy expert Saucy T to shine some light on one side of the arguement, while I take care of the other.
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