Joel Colomby

Joel Colomby

LATEST STORIES BY JOEL COLOMBY

 

FANTASY FARE: Here come the top prospects

It’s been a huge week for minor-league callups across the majors with a trio of mlb.com’s top 35 prospects joining the fray for the first time, along with a few other intriguing longer shots. A cautionary note, however, before we begin. While three other members of MLB’s top-100 list who made their debuts in The Show in the past month — Red Sox 2B Michael Chavis (No. 63), along with pitchers Griffin Canning (56) and Corbin Martin (58) — have fared well in the early going, the No. 1 overall prospect, Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., struggled out of the gate before finally displaying his true wares this past week. So nothing is guaranteed.

May 18, 2019 MLB
Brendan Rodgers of the Colorado Rockies hits a fielders choice RBI in his first major league at bat in the top of the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

FANTASY FARE: Jose Altuve is not the base thief he once was

One of the more unexpected stats to emerge from the first month and change of the fantasy season is that Astros’ Jose Altuve is stuck on one stolen base — on just three attempts, with only one attempt since his lone successful theft back on April 4. This from a guy who scampered to no fewer than 30 bags in six consecutive seasons, including 56 in 2014. Should Altuve owners be concerned? Well, yes. He is trending downward in that category, having swiped just 17 last year on a career-low 21 attempts, though some of that could be blamed on a mid-season knee injury that cost him roughly 20 games but clearly affected him after he returned. However, there are other factors, most notably that his actual sprint speed has been decreasing the past few years, to the point where he no longer ranks among even MLB’s top 150 fastest players. And having just turned 29 this week, that speed is likely gone for good, along with hopes of even another 20-SB season. And if that weren’t enough, he left Friday’s game with a sore hamstring.

May 11, 2019 MLB
Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros leaves the game in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on May 10, 2019 in Houston, Texas, after hurting his hamstring running to first base.. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

FANTASY FARE: Vlad's here. Go get him, if you can

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., baseball’s top prospect, made his breathlessly awaited debut on Friday for the Blue Jays, going 1-for-4 with a double and a loud out that was just a couple of feet short of a homer to left in his second at-bat. Yahoo, of course, has treated Guerrero like all high-end prospects promoted in-season and made him available for pickup only as part of the waiver process, which ensures that the lowest team in your fantasy league to put in a claim for him will get him on Monday. So, what can we expect from Vlad? Given the impact that names such as Ronald Acuna Jr., and Juan Soto made under similar circumstances last year, Guerrero should step right into any fantasy lineup and make a similar impact. We should note that Acuna hit only .211 with one HR in 23 triple-A games before taking the Braves by storm and winning NL rookie-of-the-year honours. Soto, meanwhile, played only eight games above A-ball last spring before the Nationals summoned him. He put up similar major-league numbers, save for the steals, and was rookie runner-up. In 299 triple-A plate appearances the past two years, Guerrero went 48-for-140 (.343) with nine HRs and an 18-12 BB-K ratio, which is pretty amazing at that level for a kid who just turned 20 last month. The key difference between Guerrero, Acuna and Soto could be that the latter two joined teams already with significant star power. Guerrero won’t have that luxury yet on the rebuilding Jays so his RBI and run numbers could remain a little low.

April 27, 2019 MLB
Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reacts to a long flyout against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of MLB baseball action in Toronto, Friday April 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

FANTASY FARE: Struggling rotation aces starting to come around

This particular column is all about pitching. Bad pitching. Lots of it, and from good pitchers. If you’re befuddled by how poorly your ace is pitching so far, join the club. We’ve talked about Chris Sale’s ugly (8.50 ERA) start — ‘embarrassing’ was the way he put it after getting shelled again on Tuesday by the Yankees, a team he normally owns with a career 1.21 ERA going in — but he’s far from alone.

April 20, 2019 MLB
Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers admits his slow start was likely the result of not pitching enough during March exhibition games. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
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