Baseball Prospectus - Chat with Scooter Hotz

Chat: Scooter Hotz

Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Thursday September 07, 2017 8:00 PM ET chat session with Scooter Hotz.

Scooter is a staff writer on the BP Fantasy team, specializing in mono and deep league formats.

Scooter Hotz: Trying to decide which game to watch on MLB.tv while I log in...

BT (Chicago): Who is the better major leaguer: Ronald Acuna or Victor Robles?

Scooter Hotz: Right now, it looks like it's Acuna. But considering that you're asking about a 19-year-old (Acuna) and a 20-year-old (Robles), the range of outcomes for each is incredibly high. Twenty years from now, any analyst who picked the player out of these two who ended up being better got lucky. Hopefully they won't mistake their good fortune for actual skill.

Punchoutpappy (First In Flight): Within the context of a deep dynasty, if you were going to load up on prospects with an ETA of late 2018/2019/early 2020 for a single position (CI, MI included), which position would you choose and why? Who would some of the standout names be for you?

Scooter Hotz: I'd load up on shortstops because a lot of non-shortstops in the majors started out as shortstops. Plus, the current crop is deep: Gleyber Torres, Kevin Maitan, Delvin Perez, Brandan Rodgers, Willy Adames, Bo Bichette, Jorge Mateo, Nick Gordon, Isan Diaz...

Paul (DC): For the second straight year Jake Lamb is having a huge 2nd Half swoon. What the Hell? Is this Jekyll and Hyde thing of his certifiable now?

Scooter Hotz: Probably just a fluke. Sometimes the pattern recognition engines inside our skulls get stuck in overdrive and start picking out things that aren't actually things.

Carl (TX): Which prospect do you like better Leody Taveras or Jesus Sanchez?

Scooter Hotz: Jesus Sanchez, since he's having the better season and because he wasn't nearly as highly touted going into the season as Leody Taveras. Jesus Sanchez didn't make any major Top 100 prospect lists coming into 2017 while Leody Taveras was on all of them. I expect that heading into 2018, their rankings will be pretty close to each other.

matzabal (CO): CarGo has an OPS of 1600 this month! He's back! Or not? Do the Rox bring him back or do you think Dahl and Tapia join Blackmon as their starting OF next year, with Desmond at 1st and Parra on the bench?

Scooter Hotz: I don't think CarGo will be in Colorado next season. I won't speculate about what the Rockies will do in his absence since they have been known to make some unexpected moves during the offseason (i.e., the Desmond signing). Just assume that Gonzalez is leaving and let the cards fall where they fall with the rest of the positions and players.

Jim (New York ): Is Forrest Whitley a top 5 pitcher in the minors going into next season?

Scooter Hotz: Looks like he will. He has been very impressive.

Mike (California ): Is Tatis a top 5 prospect starting next season? Could he make it to the majors in 2018?

Scooter Hotz: Probably not, but it's not because he isn't awesome. He's awesome. But the top four seem pretty locked in as Ronald Acuna, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Victor Robles and Eloy Jimenez. Tatis is in the conversation for that fifth spot along with several other guys, but if I have to pick Tatis or the field for that last spot, I'll take the field. This is in no way an insult to Tatis, who, as I said earlier, is awesome.

nschaef (NYC): Any September call-ups for those needing an immediate injection of power?

Scooter Hotz: Austin Hays. It's unclear how much playing time he'll get with the Orioles, but this season, he hit .328/.364/.592 with 16 home runs in 64 games in High-A and hit .330/.367/.594 line with 16 home runs in Double-A. That's 32 homers in 128 games this season. He's got some power.

Dave (Williamsburg): How impressed have you been with Fernando Tatis Jr at AA?

Scooter Hotz: Very impressed. Like I said earlier, he's awesome. His combination of power, speed and plate discipline make him probably make him even more interesting in fantasy context than a real-world context.

wileecoyote121 (Mamaroneck, NY): Thanks for the chat. So if new Marlins management (read: Jeter) insists on going through with it, which team has the proper alignment of need, finances and assets to pull off a deal for Stanton? What might that deal look like?

Scooter Hotz: The Angels have the need and the finances but not the assets. The Diamondbacks might be a good match on all three fronts if they don't re-sign J.D. Martinez. The Yankees could always be a player, although if Judge bounces back from his second-half struggles and the rumors about Bryce Harper wanting to play in the Bronx are true, there might be a roster issue. The Red Sox seem to have their outfield situation set for the next few years. The Nats could be a player, especially if they expect to loser Harper. The Brewers are an interesting possibility since they've been stockpiling cash and prospects and might be getting close to cashing them in. And you never know what Jerry Dipoto might do in Seattle.

Scooter Hotz: Looks like that's all the questions we have today. Thanks for stopping by. Good luck down the stretch in your fantasy leagues if you play fantasy.