Surprisingly, my first ever Rookie Report wasn’t that exciting to write. I don’t mean from a writing standpoint. I’m incredibly excited to be covering rookies and prospects for FantasyPros this season. The plan is to switch off every other week. So Week 1 we have a breakdown of all the meaningful rookies in fantasy baseball right now. Week 2 we’ll look at how some top prospects are doing in the minors, and how quickly they could be up in the bigs. It’s going to be great.
The lack of excitement, though, comes from the player evaluation of the following names, particularly the big one (*whispers* Ohtani). This is explainable. Often times in fantasy sports rookies are overrated. Everyone wants the next big thing, that buzz name that makes everyone in the draft say “WOW.” However, because someone is going to reach on that player he’s often overvalued. Smart fantasy players will fade buzz names if the hype gets out of control.
Still, many rookies work out. Look at Cody Bellinger last year. Or Aaron Judge. Or Andrew Benintendi. The key is getting these guys at the right cost and managing expectations. I’m here to help you with both of those things throughout 2018.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that most rookies who will make a real impact in fantasy baseball this season are starting the year in the minors, Ronald Acuna, Gleyber Torres, Victor Robles, Michael Kopech to name a few. These guys (and more!) will be covered in the prospect breakdown every other week beginning next Wednesday. So we don’t have A TON of rookies to highlight just yet, but the ones we have are worth discussing. Let’s get to it.
Already drafted? Import your team to My Playbook for season-long advice 
Shohei Ohtani (SP/DH – LAA)
I should start by saying that, surprisingly, the hype hasn’t gotten out of control yet. If Ohtani was having a good spring he would probably be getting drafted 75 spots higher than his current ADP. Instead, he’s having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad spring. His pitching stats show that he’s given up eight earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings, which is not good, but it’s actually worse than that. He’s also been lit up in “B” games that don’t show up in his official spring stats.
It doesn’t help that the bat hasn’t looked good either. Ohtani is 3-for-28 at the plate this spring. All of his hits have been singles. In leagues where Ohtani is two different players, there is absolutely no need to own the hitter version right now. Even if Ohtani hits well he will only bat two or three times per week. A valuable bench spot could be better used elsewhere.
The 23-year-old Japanese star is going to make his living with his arm. It’s the arm you want in fantasy too. The spring stats aren’t ideal, but they also aren’t a deal breaker. His “stuff” has looked good according to most scouts. There are also rumblings that even in Japan Ohtani was a slow starter. What’s more concerning to this fantasy blogger is the fact that he started just five games in 2017, and that he has never thrown more than 160 2/3 innings in a season. The Angels are trying to help him with the six-man rotation, but the transition to the United States and Major League Baseball is an enormous one. “Japan’s Babe Ruth” may still be great one day, but expectations should be tempered early on.
Scott Kingery (2B – PHI)
So this past weekend was exciting for prospect lovers. Scott Kingery, who some scouts have called Dustin Pedroia with more talent, is going to make the Phillies Opening Day roster. He also just got signed to the largest guaranteed contract ever given to a player with zero days of MLB service time. It’s an exciting time for Philadelphia fans.
It should be an electrifying feeling for fantasy players as well. If your league has already drafted and Kingery is still on the waivers stop reading this and go grab him. Got him? Okay, good. The 23-year-old played in Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. He hit a combined .304/.359/.530 to go along with 26 homers and 29 stolen bases in 132 games.
The power/speed combo is real, and it will play for fantasy owners right away. The only question is where and how often Kingery will be on the field. The immediate plan is to move him all around the diamond, which will help his position eligibility. He should settle in somewhere eventually. He’s too good not to. Even though the playing time is a bit up in the air at the moment, Kingery’s potential makes him worth rostering in every league at the moment.
Lewis Brinson (OF – MIA)
Simply put there has not been enough dialogue surrounding Lewis Brinson this month. This is probably because he flopped in his first test at the major league level last season. In 55 plate appearances with the 2017 Brewers, Brinson batted an ugly .106 (5-for-47).
That can basically be thrown out the window now. Brinson is getting a fresh start in Miami following the Christian Yelich trade. Manager Don Mattingly has even hinted Brinson might bat leadoff. At this point in the fantasy season (it hasn’t started yet) you want to be stashing as many high upside players as possible. The 23-year-old Brinson fits that mold. For his Triple-A career, he hit .349 with 18 homers and 18 steals in 107 games. If nothing else Brinson could be a cheap source of steals right now.
Dustin Fowler (OF – OAK)
As of this writing, it is still unclear if Dustin Fowler will be Oakland’s centerfielder on opening day. The 23-year-old former Yankee was called up to the majors last year but badly injured his knee before he could get his first at-bat. New York then shipped him to the A’s in the Sonny Gray trade, which gives him an opportunity to start right away.
Fowler hasn’t fully seized control of that chance, however. So far this spring he is batting .227 with just two extra-base hits in 48 plate appearances. Just remember that he’s coming back from a major injury. It’s also encouraging that he’s stolen three bases this spring. It was a knee injury after all. Fowler isn’t a “must have” in fantasy right now the way Kingery is, but he’s worth monitoring. Fowler strikes me as the type whose numbers could improve as he gets healthier throughout the early part of 2018.
Win a Lifetime FantasyPros Subscription in our Opening Day FanDuel Contest
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Brendan Tuma is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brendan, check out his archive and follow him @toomuchtuma.
