Bad things happen in the fantasy baseball season all season long but there is a tendency amongst owners to feel snake bitten when things happen in the last third of the season. Injuries being the most prevalent piece of bad news to receive. But suspensions are never welcomed and violations of league policy can be a major distraction. I would say the news received in the last week with regards to budding superstar Wander Franco are both serious and disturbing. If Franco is guilty of the behavior being investigated by Major League Baseball it could even involve a lengthy jail term. No owner should seriously contemplate making a panic trade at this time. But the charges involve inappropriate behavior with a minor female. This could destroy a budding career. And Franco was playing so well this season at age 22. He was batting 282 with seventeen home runs and thirty stolen bases. He had shaken the injury bug that had dogged him for his first several years in Major League Baseball.
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One of KC Royals top prospects Wander Franco, before the
start of a game while on the Lexington Legends
File Photo
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It's impossible to predict where this inquiry may go. So we won't attempt to even speculate for you. What we do know right now is that Franco and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have reached an agreement to put him on an inactive list for six days. This is almost certain to be extended by Major League Baseball who has not officially suspended him, as their inquiry drags on. And yet there we have the news this Friday, that the Los Angeles Angels are promoting a player that they just drafted this past July. Nolan Schaunel was drafted 11th overall in the July draft, but he led all college hitters in OPS this spring. In just 40 quick days he had managed to get promoted to the Double AA level and was showing plate discipline at an extremely precocious level. He had walked twenty times already alongside only 12 strikeouts. He was batting 370 and his on base percentage was over 500. This of course follows right on the heels of the 2022 draft where the Angels selected shortstop Zach Neto and made him the first player from the 2022 draft promoted to the major leagues. Neto has not looked overmatched in any aspect this season, and although he has been injured, this doesn't detract from his on field performance. But this does raise an interesting aspect of the draft. Why did Schaunel fall to the number 11 overall pick. After all he walked 71 times in college this spring and struck out only 14 times. At 6 foot 4 he is displaying good power, plate discipline and the ability to play at the Major League level as evidenced by his promotion this Friday. And yet when you look deeper you see that Baseball America had him ranked as the number 30 draft prospect prior to the draft this year. So the Angels need to be credited with taking him #11 overall but you wonder why were ten players even selected ahead of him. I am guessing by his position as a first baseman that he might lack base stealing speed. I am also guessing that because he can only play a corner outfield spot it hurts him as he cannot be considered eligible to play center field. As a left-handed batter that throws right-handed his draft stock could have been higher if he had the eligibility to play third base. These are amongst some of the flaws that exist with the current draft system and the way scouts rate players.
I don't own Wander Franco in any dynasty leagues or redraft leagues that I currently play in. But if I did, I would be a racing out to get this Los Angeles Angels rookie. These types of shots in the arm are important for the psyche of an owner that just got dealt the blow of a possible suspension to one of their rising stars. You take lemon and you turn it into lemonade. And you'll never let the competition see you sweat. But there is this issue of the thirty stolen bases that will need to be replaced. It may be possible that you have the solution in house already. There are also a host of players that have been called up in the last several weeks that run particularly well and may be able to help you stem the tide. Johan Rojas, Sal Frelick and the increased running of late from C.J. Abrams are all valid potential replacements. Hopefully you've listened to me all season and banked saves and stolen bases along the way, but we have 14 days in August and the entire month of September. Best of luck.
