Week 4 is in the books, and it saw the arrival of Vladito and Carter Kieboom. During a pre-poker trip to Glory Days, Jon and I debated what's been the most hyped prospects since we started Wombat. After considering it some, here's my list.
1 - Bryce Harper
On the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16 years old, taken #1 overall, and debuted after 2 years in the minors - Harper was considered the most sure thing since Griffey Jr. He debuted in 2013, and I wonder if Twitter was as big then as it is now, we might have seen him even sooner due to media/fan pressure.
2 - Vlad Guerrero Jr
If his last name was different, he might be a little lower on this list, but not too far. The hype is unreal, given the first ever 80 grade hit tool by MLB pipeline. So much hype, that he was kept on an AWL roster for almost an entire year despite never coming up, and THEN kept. AND NOW HE'S MINE.
3 - Matt Wieters
Mauer with Power. The memes, the photoshops, the nicknames - it was truly an exciting time to be an Orioles fan when he came up. It was different than someone like Machado, as he was our first "savior" since the days of Mussina.
4 - Stephen Strasburg
Considered the best college pitcher of all time, he was drafted with the thought he'd need less than a year in the minors before becoming an ace. I'll never forget watching his first game, he went 7 innings and struck out 14 batters.
I was convinced every game he pitched would be like that, and he'd win at least 10 Cy Young awards. Then Tommy John happened, and he morphed into present day Trashburg.
5 - Kris Bryant
The first player who really brought the whole service time issue to light. KB was obviously ready in 2015 to break camp with the Cubs, but was held back a few weeks to ensure the team would have an extra year of control before he hit free agency. Even then though, the hype was real. I took him in the first round, in what may be the first time a minor leaguer was selected that high.
Apologies to: Jason Heyward, Manny Machado, Byron Buxton, Ronald Acuña, Dice-K, etc.
Dong of the Week:
Fun fact: The giant glove at AT&T is 501 feet away from the plate, and has never been hit before. Barry Bonds (BARRRY BONNDDDS) holds the record for longest dong in the stadium, at 499 feet - his was dead center however, so even if he got that extra few feet, still wasn't there.
Anyway, this has nothing to do with this Gary Sanchez dong, which came in at 467 feet, and 110.8 MPH off the bat. Pretty fun watching Derek Holland's immediate reaction to it.
Transaction(s) of the Week:
4/22/19 6:58 PM ET Kingslayers:
Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE - Added
Kyle Tucker LF | HOU - Dropped
4/22/19 7:00 PM ET
Kingslayers:
Kyle Tucker LF | HOU - Added
Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE - Dropped
You thought the transaction of the week would surely be the Kris Bryant/Clayton Kershaw deal, considering I was in talks with Zach about those players since...February? Well nope, I'm not going to do what everyone thinks I'm going to do, and FLIP OUT.
NOPE. NONE OF THAT WHATSOEVER.
Instead, let's formally analyze this special type of transaction, now to be called the "Technically within the rules-Jon-special".
At first glance when you see this transaction, you might just think to yourself that Jon is indecisive, and simply changed his mind. Maybe he dropped Tucker after seeing reading how Yordan Alvarez will probably get the call before him, but then got freaked out at the idea of him breaking out for someone else. Nope. This was legal roster manipulation.
Not wanting someone on his bench producing zero stats all week, Jon dropped Tucker right before lineups locked, then picked him once the week started. This way he gets Kipnis producing on the bench while getting to keep Tucker on his roster. It's totally within the rules, just bad form.
In theory, any GM could see Tucker dropped and swoop in and grab him before Jon is able to do so. However, Jon is a smart man, and does so absolutely the last second. Seeing as how Kyle Tucker is unlikely to come up anytime soon, we could see this move again, as soon as tonight. Even if you don't want him, I challenge all GM's to try and beat Jon at his own game, and grab Tucker before Jon is able to get him back on his roster. Winner gets a Ham Sandwich temporary tattoo, a pat on the back, and a pack of Twizzlers.
Weekly MVP's:
Apologies this week to Carlos Correa, Javy Baez, and Luke Voit. Voit in particular produced huge numbers, but was done in a losing effort for the Ducks.
AWL: Week 1: Mike Clevinger - Kingslayers - 12 INN, 2 HA, 4 BBI, 22 K, 0.500 WHIP, W Week 2: Austin Meadows - Ham Sandwiches - 12-22, 0.545 BA, 2 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 6 R, SB, 5 BB Week 3: Joey Gallo - Kingslayers - 11-23, 0.478 BA, 2 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 8 R, BB Week 4: Jose Abreu - Kev Bombs - 12-21, 0.571 BA, 2 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB
NWL: Week 1: Cody Bellinger - Time Consumers - 20-44, 0.455 BA, 2 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, SB, 3 BB, CS Week 2: Ronald Acuña - Fuzzy Kiwis - 12-22, 0.545 BA, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, SB, 4 BB Week 3: Christian Yelich - Killer Pandas - 10-24, 0.417 BA, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 9 R, 6 BB Week 4: Trevor Story - Killer Pandas - 10-25, 0.400 BA, 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, SB, 2 BB
Dan's Culture Recommendation of the Week:
Saturday Night Live has done a decent job cataloging old skits on YouTube, which for some reason has less than their catalog on Hulu and other sites. Anyway, tons of great sketches from the days of Farley / Mike Myers, to Bill Hader's glory days, and more recent. I'm sure I've shared this particular one before, but I still can't believe I heard "Matt Shat" on SNL. Hopefully our Matt has seen it before
Games of the Week:
AWL: Kingslayers @ Pez Sox
Both of these teams had tough losses in week 4, coming down to Sunday games for each of them. The Kingslayers were a strikeout away from an epic comeback against the Megas, but Domingo German gave up a two run double to Jon's forever boy, Pablo Sandoval, and that was it for him. Meanwhile, the Pez once again lost a tiebreaker to the Ham Sandwiches. Both teams now at 2-2, they're looking for revenge.
NWL: Power Bolts @ Two Starts
Yes, one team is winless, and the other undefeated. That's the great thing about fantasy baseball though, pretty much anything can happen. The Power Bolts look to right the ship this week, with a healthy Daniel Murphy in their lineup, plus new additions of Jose Quintana, Anthony Rizzo, and Greg Holland.