While the debut of Jonah Tong was still enough to get excited about, it may not have fully lived up to the lofty expectations. I do think the fact he earned those high expectations in the first place would make it unfair to be too negative about his debut. It was still a good start, even by points league standards with a line of 5 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. What I really like from his performance is the fact he didn’t walk any in his debut. I can’t say it was entirely indicative of his command as he was wild at times, but he made a pitch each time he had to in order to prevent a walk. To be fair, it’s worth pointing out that I watched this one and there was one strikeout where he got a call that prevented a walk, even though the pitch was not a strike. As someone rostering him and rooting for him, though, I’m not going to act like that bothered me, but it is the reality. He also allowed 3 unearned runs, and the bad defense behind him had some to do with the fact Tong needed 97 pitches to get through 5 innings. 

What is notable to me is that while he gets praised for his high strikeout rates in the minors, what stands out to me is he’s done that while also having a WHIP under 1, and that combination of both is what excites me most about Tong. In 113.2 minor league innings this season between double A and triple A, Tong had 179 strikeouts with a 0.92 WHIP. He has easily been the most dominant starting pitcher in the minor leagues this season, and has everything to do with why he had such high expectations. I did expect more sheer domination, but he faced the Marlins, and while it’s not a good offense it is one that doesn’t strike out or swing and miss much. Since I have Tong, my hope is that the opponent had something to do with the fact he only generated 7 whiffs, while only getting 2 with his fastball. That is his best pitch, so I expected a lot more whiffs in the game, and am hoping that changes in his second start. That will happen on Friday against the Reds in Cincinnati and is something I’m going to keep an eye on. Whiffs and dominance don’t always just translate to the major leagues, but I also expect better command from Tong going forward since this was his first start and had to involve a lot of nerves that he won’t deal with going forward in future starts. 

I’m still very excited about Tong, and I also like the fact the Mets don’t appear to baby their starters either. I’ve noticed this with both Tong and Nolan Mclean, their other rookie starting pitcher, that they allow them to throw close to 100 pitches. That’s always notable to me, because in a points league I prefer pitchers who I know are not going to be babied. It’s also been the case with Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, another starting pitcher I’m very high on and own in my league. It’s something I’ve noticed with all Yankees starters, that they are allowed to throw close to 100 pitches each start. I’ve made a conscious decision to pay more attention to this going forward and to use it as part of my analysis. I want pitchers who have a long leash and pitch for teams that are consistent about it. For example, in contrast I also have Cade Horton who has been good, but he often gets taken out of the game between 70 and 80 pitches which really hurts his value in a points league. You have to ask a rookie to be very efficient in order to get through 6 innings and earn a quality start with those sorts of restraints.

Now I want to discuss Luke Keaschall as a potential keeper option for my team. I’m not entirely sold on keeping James Wood as a done deal at this point with the way he has struggled in the second half, with a strikeout rate around 40%. I’m hoping he can bounce back and produce like the first half version in the month of September. I think at this point I need to see that when I have plenty of other good keeper options to pair with Aaron Judge. Part of what intrigues me about Keaschall is the fact he plays at such a valuable position, and I’m learning the best way to view keepers is by keeping the hardest players to replace. For this reason, Judge is an automatic keeper when there is nobody like him in the sport, since he’s just so much better than everyone else. Another thing working against Wood is that there are so many good outfielders that there are plenty to go around. Considering I’m already keeping Judge it would make even less sense. I’ve had the same thought at catcher, where Ben Rice would clearly be a worthy keeper if the catcher position wasn’t so deep. In a 10 team one catcher league, I could wait until after everyone else has drafted a catcher to pick one, and I’d still end up with a good one. There are more than 10 good catchers, and I’d even be thrilled waiting until the late rounds and just taking someone like Kyle Teel. It’s a strategy I’m trending towards, considering Teel is mostly un-rostered even as a prospect of note breaking out. Maybe nobody is paying attention because he plays for the White Sox, but I’d be content to have him as my catcher next season. 

Coming back to Keaschall, I continue to be reminded of Trea Turner when I watch him hit and steal bases. Surprisingly, that would actually be selling him short in a points league though. One is that Keaschall has come into the league from day one this season having exceptional plate discipline, and Trea Turner doesn’t possess that even now. Keaschall is also at a much shallower position at 2nd base, and with on-base skills that favor a points league I believe he should be considered as a legitimate keeper for me at this point. At this moment, he is actually leading all second basemen with 3.8 fantasy points per game, even ahead of Ketel Marte, who is just behind him at 3.7 fantasy points per game. I have to point out that Keaschall has only done it in a small sample of 141 plate appearances, but I’m paying close attention to see if he keeps it up the rest of this season. I like to see at least 200 plate appearances, and he will definitely reach that before the season ends. He also led off for the Twins for the first time last night, and he didn’t disappoint. Keaschall went 4-5 with a stolen base, and it was the first career 4 hit game for him. It’s worth clarifying that Buxton was given the day off, and that he’s their normal leadoff hitter, but considering Keaschall took full advantage of his opportunity by getting on base 4 times, it’s still a development worth monitoring. If batting leadoff was added to his profile, I think I’d be sold on keeping him in a points league. Even if Keaschall only hits 15 home runs in a season, that’s plenty enough for him to matter when you combine that with the rest of his skillset. He currently has 16 walks to 18 strikeouts, with a 0.418 on base percentage. He’s hit for enough power as well, with 4 home runs so far. So he’s not always just hitting singles, either. The on-base skills give Keaschall a nice floor in a points league, and will provide him plenty of opportunities to steal bases, In only 33 games, he’s 9 for 11 in stolen bases and was a prolific base stealer in the minors as well. 

I believe the Turner comp for Keaschall is a good one, and I’m rooting for him to finish the season strong and become a valuable keeper. My excitement for him is already growing, and I feel the mix of Judge and Keaschall would be a great starting point going into next season. I would still have another keeper point to use as well, and in that scenario would probably use it on one of my starting pitchers. The options I have to choose from are Shane Bieber, Kyle Bradish, Cade Horton, Jonah Tong, and Cam Schlittler. At this moment, if I was ranking them I would go Bieber, Bradish, Horton, Schlittler, and Tong.