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2023 STS MiLB Players of the Year: Catcher
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“It is about getting things to one number.” This is the first line from a quote on the Scout the Statline About page from the movie “Moneyball” which I feel best encapsulates the vision that Ross Jensen and Jordan Rosenblum had when they created their website. This quasi-concept gave birth to “Peak Projections,” a statistical approach and formula that uses unbiased statistical data, historical equivalencies from MLB player comparisons, and an aging curve to predict a player’s performance at their very best. It was because of this pivotal innovation that you find yourself reading this sentence right now.
Since then, Scout the Statline has further immersed itself within the baseball community and taken into account their followers’ feedback. Alongside daily leaderboards and player evaluations, the platform has expanded its reach to include social media content, website periodicals, articles, a YouTube channel featuring the Bats & Stats podcast and player evaluation videos, and The Hobby Advantage for baseball card enthusiasts.
As we wrap up our first full season covering the realm of fantasy baseball, we present to you our highly anticipated MiLB Positional Players of the Year Prospectus. Over the next ten days, we will unveil the best prospects in each position, culminating in the announcement of the 2023 Scout the Statline MiLB Player of the Year.
We want to thank you, the followers, for helping us reach this milestone. We promise to continue to adapt to help you build your championship team, with the help of our island of misfit toys.
The Scout the Statline War Room
ROSS – Gentlemen, history is filled with almost. With those who almost adventured, who almost achieved, but ultimately, for them, it proved to be too much. Then there are others. The ones who embrace the moment and commit. And in these moments of truth, these men and women, these mere mortals just like you and me, as they peer over the edge, they calm their minds and steel their nerves with four simple words that have been whispered by the Intrepid since the time of the Romans…fortune favors the bold!
SHANKS – Wow! That was beautiful, boss.
RFF – Yeah it was, Jason Bourne. Why don’t you tell that bullshit to my parents who took their retirement and invested in Ethereum when it was at $4800.
CUP of JOE – Don’t worry…it will come back.
DOC EPP – The Angels have a better shot of Ohtani coming back.
MATT – No cap. And fellas if you want to make some real money, you need to look into Shiba Inu.
ROSS – Guys, we are getting off topic.
SHANKS – Is that the one with the cute dog?
MATT – One hundred. And it is only at a fraction of a penny right now!
SHANKS – So are you saying if I buy a billion of those doggy tokens and it will go to $4800!?! *pulls out his phone to use the calculator app*
RFF – Shanks, that isn’t going to happen.
JOE – Yeah, your money is safer in more reputable projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or SafeMoon.
DOC EPP – I thought the guys who ran Safemoon got arrested for stealing over $200 million?
MATT – Yeah, like half the Mets roster did this season. Boom! Am I right? *holds his hand up waiting for RFF to give him a high-five*
RFF – Matt, I’m an old man. I just want to be left alone. But, yeah, SafeMoon dropped over half its value after the news broke, Joe.
CUP of JOE – Good one, guys. *laughs nervously as he looks around the room while everyone sits in silence avoiding eye contact*
RFF – I’m sure your money is safe on the moon, Joe.
ROSS – Fellas! We are here to discuss who were the best MiLB players at each position this past season. The players whom our followers voted for, the 2023 Scout the Statline model picks, and our staff picks. We aren’t here to talk about crypto.
RFF – Well, to be fair you were the one who broke out that crypto commercial dialogue by Matt Damon and tried to pass it on as yours.
ROSS – I simply used it to exemplify where we are and where we are headed. We embraced the challenge of making a name for ourselves in the fantasy baseball world fifteen months ago. We weathered the storm and stayed on course. While frankly, others would have packed it in. And even though we have been successful thus far in this journey. We still have plenty of uncertainty ahead of us. But I know if we continue to face this adversity, together. We have what it takes in this room to reach the destination we are pursuing.
*Silence blankets the room with inaudible anticipation and excitement coming from everyone as if ready to erupt with the next word Ross says*
SHANKS – Oh my God! I can be a doggy token trillionaire!!
RFF – Well, I guess that is your cue, Ross. Do the honors, sir.
ROSS – Follow my lead. I’ll start by walking us through the top minor league catcher.
CATCHERS
The market will unanimously declare with confidence that Ethan Salas is the best catching prospect on the planet. Baseball America bills him the 6th best prospect overall, 20-plus spots higher than any other catcher. MLB Pipeline takes a similar stance, ranking him the 5th best prospect in baseball, 27 spots higher than the next best catching prospect. I have to say I agree, Ethan Salas is also my personal #1 catching prospect. To put it shortly, he has broken age/level conventions in a way that we haven’t seen since Alex Rodriguez came up 30 years ago!
So it comes as a surprise that despite how incredible Ethan Salas was, and how highly-regarded he is, that it’s someone else that swept the Scout the Statline Minor League Player of the Year Awards for the catcher position, winning the user choice, staff choice, and StS model awards across the board! That player is none other than Baltimore Orioles’ rising stud Samuel Basallo!
From a productivity standpoint, few players can stake a claim to rival Samuel Basallo. At just 18 years old, Basallo began his campaign with the Orioles Single-A level affiliate, the Delmarva Shorebirds. Despite his youth, Basallo slashed .299/.384/.503 with 12 home runs, taking home the league’s MVP award. It only got better from there. Moving up to the High-A level, Basallo dominated his competition, slugging .688 in 115 plate appearances at the level, walking nearly as often as he struck out (19 walks, 20 strikeouts). The Orioles rewarded the youngster with a brief stint all the way up to the Double-A level, and the heater continued as Basallo posted a 1.167 OPS. Overall, Basallo’s line included a .313/.402/.551 triple slash with 20 home runs, 86 RBIs, 75 Runs, and a surprising 12 stolen bases in 483 plate appearances.
Despite all this gushing and the run of awards here, Basallo remains underrated in the market at large, evidenced by his ranking at Scout the Statline (a shocking #2 overall!) and #1 overall ranking in the Hobby Advantage tool’s Buy-Sell Index, which takes a player’s market valuation into consideration. Clearly our loyal Statliners are well-aware of the opportunity here, but it hasn’t caught on everywhere yet. Samuel Basallo should absolutely be one of your primary targets this offseason!
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