This is where we are at right now – Jeremy Hellickson is set to strike it big on the free agent market. The 29 year old righty could receive a $17.2 million qualifying offer from the Phillies that would cause whatever team that signs him to owe the Phillies a first round selection. That is unless Hellickson accepts that one year offer which seems exceedingly unlikely. Hellickson has been a part of three teams in three years and is coming off his best season in four years. The 29 year old went 12-10 for the Phils with a 3.71 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 3.42 K/BB ratio, his best mark in six years. Be cautious with Hellickson. He has just one season in four years with a WHIP under 1.33, and his ERA has been under 4.52 just once in four years as well. I wouldn’t pay up, but some team will. Don’t make the same mistake on fantasy.

Who throws the hardest heater in the minor leagues? Baseball America answers that question.

Derek Holland can be had through trade. The lefty starter has two years left on his contract. Both are club options, one for $11 million and then another for 2018 at $11.5 million. The 30 year old last made it to the 110-inning barrier in 2013 as injuries have beaten him down. Here are his totals the last two seasons: 11-12, 4.93 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 5.86 K/9, 2.82 BB/9 over 166 innings. Hey, he’s a lefty so there will be interest. If he ended up in a pitcher favorable spot there would be some mild fantasy interest, but where did the strikeouts go?

Did a sea serpent sink a German U-Boat?

Wil Myers nearly went 30/30 in 2016 with 28 homers and 28 steals, an out of nowhere total on the base paths. "I'd obviously like to go 30-30, I think that's extremely attainable," Myers said earlier this month. "If I hadn't hit .150 in August with one home run, I would've been there. That's the biggest thing, staying consistent,” Myers said. He exaggerated a bit given that he hit .216 in August, but he was up and down for a good deal of the season. He also fell short of 100 RBI (he had 94) and 100 runs (he had 99). If I’m not mistaken, Myers is the only first baseman to have gone 25/25 in the 21st century. Going back to 1990 the only other first sacker to have gone 25/25 is Jeff Bagwell who did it twice. It was a hell of a season for Myers but it was one that could lead to him being overdrafted next season.

A thought provoking piece from Ken Rosenthal.

Coly Rasmus isn’t a good major leaguer. He had seven homers and 19 RBI in April, and I swear I had to fend off hundreds of folks who were in his corner. I even had a few folks aggressively come at me calling me names like idiot/moron for being anti-Rasmus. In the end I was vindicated and, shockingly, none of that that vocal minority has come back to say ‘you were right Ray.’ Rasmus hit .206 on the season with 15 homers. Remember, he had seven in April, as he ended the year with a career worst .641 OPS. The free agent needed two surgeries, one for a core muscle repair the other on the labrum in his left hip. He should be running after the new year and fully healthy for Opening Day. He will find a job. You shouldn’t care unless you play in a league specific setup.  

Eugenio Suarez moved from short to third base in 2016 and the results were mostly positive offensively. He appeared in a team-high 159 games and had 21 homers and 70 RBI. He also chipped in 11 steals to give him a really solid set of numbers for an infielder. Alas, he will be losing shortstop eligibility in 2017 and he hit a mere .248 with a .317 OBP for the Reds in ‘16. He was basically Todd Frazier with 19 fewer homers and 28 fewer RBIs. That’s not great. Suarez had an 0-for-28 stretch in May and he hit just one homer in September and he also struggled with the glove committing 23 errors, most at the position. Just a guy in 2017.

Has bigfoot been sighted?

WORLD SERIES NOTES

My review of the state of the World Series with the Game 5 write up. By the way, the Cubs are moving things around a bit for Game 6. Kyle Schwarber will hit second followed by Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist. Willson Contreras will catch in Game 6.

Aroldis Chapman threw 42 pitches his last outing opening up the question of will he be able to pitch in Game 6 and if he does how effective will he be? Jayson Stark of ESPN points out that Chapman has thrown 30-pitches in six outings the last two years (not counting Chapman’s last outing). In those six outings he hasn’t allowed a run. Two of the six outings he pitched the next day. Chapman should be fine.

In case you missed it, my list of 10 movies for the Halloween season (you can still watch them tonight, I give you permission).

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).