Sunday Smoke: Big-Bodied Bashers

Howdy, folks! The themes for each week are starting to write themselves, which sure makes my life easier. This week, we're going to get into some thick-and-girthy hitters who are performing at various levels right now. More importantly, we're going to see which ones might help or hurt your dynasty team moving forward! April stats certainly count, but it's a long grind of a season, and these players' stories are yet to be written, despite whatever they've done for you lately.

We'll also get into a few young (or relatively young) pitchers who you may be looking at on the waiver wire this weekend, and if they're worth your valuable FAAB bids!

Sunday Smoke - Prospects LiveProspects LiveDarren Eisenhauer

Vinnie Pasquantino, KCR 1B

It's gonna happen for Vinnie.

After his WBC heroics led to the most prolific X post of my life, Vinnie Pasquantino has gone on to wreak havoc on both the heart of the Royals’ lineup as well as several of my fantasy teams. His bat speed is mysteriously down, he’s striking out more, and the ratios are horrendous. Even after a successful week where the dingers finally emerged - and yes, his owners will take that as a start - we need to see a lot more from Pasquatch. If you're looking for positives other than the power barrage, one could point to a BB rate that we haven’t seen from Vinnie since his days as a prospect, when it seemed like he might be an OBP machine in the bigs one day. He also claims that his “processes” are feeling better than ever, and we can look to WBC or his insane hitting toward the end of 2025 to remind us of what is likely coming for those of us willing to exercise patience. It’s easy to say this game is all about buying low or selling high, but it’s another thing to have what it takes to actually do it right! Vinnie is in a classic buying window, and I recommend you get in before the hot streak fully emerges.

Munetaka Murakami, CWS 1B

It might not happen for Murakami

Yes, I’m telling you to buy a player hitting below the Mendoza line…and yes, I’m telling you to sell another player who is among the league leaders in home runs. As fun as Munetaka Murakami is, and as much as I root for nearly all players to succeed, I just can’t get past some extreme concerns with his profile. Specifically, he doesn’t seem to hit baseballs very often. I understand he doesn’t chase much, but while on a hot streak, he still has a low-60s contact rate to pair with a low-70s zone contact rate. This is Joey Gallo territory, and I have to wonder how frigid those numbers could become when the 26-year-old inevitably slumps and/or the pitchers learn more about how to expose his unique skillset. Murakami is going to continue to take walks and hit baseballs really hard, but he’ll have to radically transform his game to escape the Gallo trajectory moving forward. Yes, that can result in 40+ homer seasons, but it also comes with several sub-Mendoza finishes.

Kyle Manzardo, CLE 1B

Kyle Manzardo, in happier times

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