This year, The Dynasty Guru will provide a weekly report every Saturday. The weekly report will link to TDG articles for the past week, touch upon notable player developments, and preview upcoming TDG articles for the next week.

This Week at TDG

Baseball

TDG Weekly Report, May 12-18, 2018 – last week’s report

Juan Soto: Low-A to MLB in 45 Days – examining the rise of Juan Soto

When Small Samples are the Best Samples – explaining the proper context for taking small samples to heart

The Dynasty Guru’s Triple Play: San Francisco Giants! – analyzing Buster Posey, Jeff Samardzija, and Dereck Rodriguez

Amir Garrett (I’m not typing this out) – in sum, Adam Lawler <3 Amir Garrett

Pending Review: Invest in Pitching when Rebuilding – providing a contrary (and cheaper) approach to rebuilding

2018 Top MLB Draft Fantasy Prospects, May 2018 – revisiting the top fantasy prospects in the 2018 MLB Draft

Don’t Overreact To Small Samples – claiming there is too much fluctuation within a month’s worth of stats to draw meaningful conclusions

Notable Player Developments

Major Leagues

• Major League Baseball suspended Welington Castillo for 80 games for violating the drug agreement.
• With the return of Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox surprisingly designed Hanley Ramirez for assignment.
• The Rays dealt Alex Colome to the Mariners. Obviously, the trade greatly diminishes his value in standard leagues. It is unclear who will take over at closer for the Rays and, given their recent unconventional pitching approaches, it likely will be a committee.
• The Brewers optioned Orlando Arcia to Triple-A after an atrocious start to the season (.194/.233/.273). A spell in Colorado Springs should do him good.
• Greg Bird and Starling Marte likely will return from the disabled list this weekend.
• The notable rehab assignments: Carlos Rodon, Austin Hedges, Mark Melancon, Ervin Santana, and Daniel Murphy.
• The notable DL returnees: Dansby Swanson, Josh Harrison, Chase Anderson, Ryan Braun, Miguel Sano, and Jeimer Candelario.
• The notable injuries: Nicky Delmonico (fractured right hand); Joe Mauer (concussion); Rich Hill (blister); Steven Souza (right pectoral strain); Dee Gordon (right toe fracture); Jake Faria (strained left oblique); Khris Davis (right groin strain); Raisel Iglesias (left biceps strain); Paul DeJong (fractured left hand, out 4-8 weeks); Mark Trumbo (knee).

Minor Leagues/Prospects

• JUAN SOTO! The big question is whether the promotion is permanent or temporary. My inclination is the promotion is temporary, until the return of Brian Goodwin.
• Juan Soto understandably overshadowed the promotions of J.D. Davis and Franmil Reyes. Both were dominating Triple-A and possess plus power potential.
• Meanwhile, the Rays called up top prospect Willy Adames, who hit a home run off Chris Sale in his first game. My favorite comparison for Adames is early career Jhonny Peralta. His debut was short-lived as the Rays already optioned him back to Triple-A.
• The week of notable promotions continued with the Athletics recalling Franklin Barreto.
• The Nationals finally called up Erick Fedde. With Jeremy Hellickson out with a blister, Fedde only received a spot start before being sent back to Triple-A.
• Meanwhile, top prospect Alex Reyes is on his way back to the majors after a dominant rehab assignment (0.00/0.61 ERA/WHIP with 44/7 K/BB in 23 IP).
• With the return of Chase Anderson, the Brewers optioned Freddy Peralta back to Triple-A. Peralta’s second start did not go very well as his poor command reared its ugly head.
• Adam Plutko impressed over his first two starts. He works with a low-90s fastball (45/50), a mid-80s slider (50), an upper-70s curveball (45), and a firm, mid-80s changeup (40/45). A fly ball pitcher with good command of a mediocre repertoire, Plutko is at best a 5-starter.

Next Week at TDG

Baseball

• TDG’s Triple Play
• Leonys the Lion Martin
• Monthly Prospect Update: Infielders, June 2018

Please feel free to post comments, questions, or your own observations!

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