receives:
Giancarlo Stanton 5.5(2020)
receives:
Willy Adames .5(P-n/a)
Austin Hays .5(P-n/a)
Sean Reid-Foley .5(P/n/a)
Sorry for the following dissertation, but sometimes a vote needs to be explained in greater detail, so the parties involved understand that our role as a Trade Committee member is something we take seriously.
I think this is trade is a giveaway of a sorts. Stanton is a top ten fantasy player who is in the prime of his career at 28 years of age. He is going to play on a team with a much better lineup and will continue to be an All-Star caliber player for the duration of his team-friendly contract. He’s going to continue to put up great fantasy numbers that many of us only get from two or three players
The three players the Cardinals are getting could pan out, and yes, the Rizzo analogy is always the example people point to when projecting what a prospect could be. But Anthony Rizzo is really an exception to the reality most prospects do in the major leagues. The list of “flame outs” is long, but, we all know, it’s a risk we all deal with as fantasy players.
The perspective offered by BHows is legitimate and really shouldn’t be dismissed by an inappropriate beach analogy. Our job, as Trade Committee members, is to give an honest assessment based on our perspective. None of us like to see our trades vetoed, but lashing out belittles the process and doesn’t really add to the discussion. As mentioned, there are multiple TC members, so if there is a veto, maybe the best strategy is to wait to see how others vote instead of posting something in anger. Minor league stats are a hopeful sign, but there is a player on my roster that was a 2015 AAA MVP. He looked like the real deal but was a total bust as a major league player and is now out of baseball—so let’s not get upset when a Trade Committee member points out that a MiLB phenom was a dud in his MLB promotion and points to it as a rationale for his veto.
All three prospects may be MLB ready, but will they have the impact of Giancarlo Stanton? From my perspective, I don’t think so, because players like Stanton, a proven fantasy stud in his prime, on such a cheap contract, are the exception, not the rule. As a TC member, when I first saw this trade, I did my research and it led me to consider the following:
Willy Adames - is plagued by a high K rate, which is usually associated with power hitters, which he is not, and that is against MiLB pitchers. A four year trend that that needs to be considered as he is promoted to bat against MLB SPs. This means you can look at other things, but he isn’t a high AVG hitter, doesn’t walk much, doesn’t have a lot of SBs, and doesn’t have a lot of RBIs, but since he’s a MI, I guess we need to interpret his numbers versus other MIs.
Austin Hays - great MiLB numbers, but was far from spectacular in his initial MLB debut. Yes, he could be great, and be another Anthony Rizzo, or he could be another Matt (AAA MVP) Duffy. His inauspicious MLB debut could be attributed to the fact he made the jump from AA to the MLB, but it certainly can’t be so flippantly dismissed.
Sean Reid-Foley - is projected to be a back end SP at best, so although he might be referred to as a “top prospect”, he is not such a high prize as there are a lot of MiLB SPs who are considered to be back end starters.
So while there is reference to lengthy negotiations, I don’t really see this as a hard decision for the Rays. The Rays get a sure thing and the Cardinals get a a chance at some raffle prizes. So while I initially leaned towards a veto, in full agreement with BHows, I waited a bit and decided to let the teams involved reap the spoils of their “lengthy negotiations”.