Rhys' Pieces: June 6, 2026

Hey everyone, this is the first rendition of Rhys' Pieces. I watch enough ball that I got Chris to let me write about the notes I have taken over the week. It can really be anything, ranging from interesting trends to performances I really liked and games I tuned into and what I thought, all while tying it into the fantasy game and what it might mean for your fantasy roster. Without further ado, let's get into it, and we will start with a pitching prospect I really like.

Brody Hopkins

Pitching prospects are notoriously fickle creatures, and Brody Hopkins is emblematic of this. He arguably has the best stuff of anyone in the Rays organization, but his command has until recently been a big issue. If you remove his last two starts, Hopkins had walked 21.3% of the batters he faced this season, but on May 29th things changed, coinciding with him being used as a reliever in his two previous outings, though that seems more like a Rays quirk than a potential indicator of his long-term role. 

Things can change so drastically for pitchers, and one of those things can be upping the usage of certain pitches. Hopkins' best two starts of the season coincide with him using the curveball more and the cutter slightly less. He normally throws the fastball upwards of 50% of the time with the cutter coming in over 20%, but in his most recent starts the curveball, arguably his best pitch alongside the four-seamer, has seen its usage tick up from just north of 15% to over 23%. This change has been significant. He can now use the fastball up, and the curveball is a more natural accompaniment as the two tunnel better together. The changeup remains a solid weapon as well. 

Hopkins is an interesting pitching prospect who has only been pitching full time since 2023, but I wanted to talk about how quickly things can change, and Hopkins is showing that in season. Throwing less of his cutter and more of his swing-and-miss curveball down in the zone, that pitch is posting a whiff rate around 37% on the season, and in his two starts where usage has gone up, the whiff rate has held. 

The other part of the curveball's ascension is a noticeable gain in vertical drop, spin rate, and horizontal break. On the season Hopkins has averaged around negative 11 inches of horizontal break on the curveball, but in the past two starts we have seen the average depth increase by two inches and then four inches in his most recent start, along with a jump of 200-plus RPM in his raw spin rate. 

Who should go first in your FYPD drafts, if they for some reason happened right now?

FYPDs for some of you are coming quickly. There was someone I knew who would draft before the actual major league draft, and well, that is something you can do. Please read my open world rankings coming out on Monday, but we are starting to get some real-world conversations creeping into the fantasy space, and more importantly the FYPD space, because that is going to start up soon. The question is who goes one in the real draft and who you should take 1.1 in your FYPD draft. I am pretty set that Roch Cholowsky should be the guy in both regards (for right now), but let's have some fun and engineer arguments for two other players in that range.

Vahn Lackey's Argument 

Vahn Lackey is a catching prospect, so some people just will not take him at one, and in other years that could be a mistake. How often are you going to get a guy who might be the best fantasy catcher for a long time? Outside of Alfredo Duno I do not think there is a better catching prospect in the fantasy game, and Duno might not stick at catcher long term. But this is not the time to talk about Duno and why I love him, because I do, I think he is a top 5-10 prospect in the fantasy game. 

Lackey's fantasy skillset is easy to see. He is an above-average runner from the catcher position who might get to above-average game power at the highest level and will hit more than enough to tap into those fantasy skills. I mean, if we want to get reckless, could he be the third ever catcher to post a 20/20 season behind Ivan Rodriguez and JT Realmuto? 

Grady Emerson's Argument 

Grady Emerson is a fantastic athlete who might end up being a plus hitter. His bat-to-ball skills and swing would indicate this. He has every tool you want to see: he hits the ball hard, makes a ton of contact, and is an above-average or better runner. There is a chance for him to be a fantasy contributor in every category. Someone I talked to about him said the dude just hits, and you are blending that with tremendous bat speed. The fantasy upside is really high, and the hit tool gives him a decent floor. The ceiling comp is that of a top 10 fantasy shortstop during his peak years.

Roch Cholowsky's Argument

Roch Cholowsky is the guy I would be going with. He is a no-doubt top-10 prospect for me in my open world rankings. The upside is high, as is the floor. There is a Tulowitzki type outcome here if it all clicks. He was a 25-plus homer shortstop who had the speed to steal 20 bags. That is the sort of upside I see with Roch. You also have a good approach, as he walked as much as he struck out, to go with decent exit velocities and some feel for lifting and pulling a batted ball. He has the ability to take the ball out of any ballpark, and with some pro instruction this skill could even take a slight jump. 

The part of his game that will definitely tick up in pro ball is the speed, as Roch's career high in steals at UCLA was seven.The upside here with Roch is that of a perennial top-5 shortstop in the game during his best seasons. He could be an all-category contributor who shoots through the minor leagues.

After going through this you can see I would much rather have the safety of Roch than some of the other top guys in this FYPD class. The class is loaded at the top, and if you like toolsy outfielders this crop is for you. There are also some interesting shortstop prospects to grab later. This draft sort of has it all in a fantasy sense, and I for one am excited to do more FYPD content going forward. Also while you are here, watch the Super Regionals, they have been electric.

Royce Lewis and Kaelin Culpepper and the Twins Infield Situation

If you are holding onto Royce Lewis, I commend you, but some interesting things are going on during his stint in the minors. He is playing a few different positions now, trying to find a way to get his bat back into the lineup. He has played third base, some second, and some first. I am not all that interested in what he is doing at the plate, but could the shuffling around to a few different positions be a way to find the best infield configuration for him when he does return, and also the best configuration for calling up Kaelen Culpepper?

Brooks Lee is finally starting to show good on the promise he flashed during his draft year and in his minor league career. Do not ask me what I traded to get him in a 30 a few years ago, Bryan Woo. Yeah, even I have some misses. But looking at the Twins' current alignment, Luke Keaschall has been playing second base, and he is still young, but maybe a reset of his own in the minors would do him some good. He has looked to regress a little, I mean a lot a bit, thanks to an 8% jump in ground balls and some general attack angle regression. I think he will be fine, but again, some time in Triple-A might do some good.

Tristan Gray is holding down shortstop for the Twins, to an extent. But they have an option down the I-94 E that could provide more upside to a good, not great, lineup. That is Kaelen Culpepper, who at this point is ready for the majors. He is hitting .266/.372/.486 with 13 homers and 13 stolen bases in Triple-A as a 23-year-old, and the under-the-hood data looks good.

Culpepper is rocking a zone contact rate north of 88% and is hitting the ball decently hard with a 104 mph 90th percentile exit velocity, which is not exceptional but not bad either. He will chase a little, but everything else under the hood looks solid. There is little left in the way for Culpepper in Triple-A, and the call to the big leagues could happen any day now. What position he will play will be an interesting question, as Culpepper has played second, short, and third this year and could be an impact defender at all three. He could even pick up some multi-position eligibility, as the Twins need to get plate appearances for Keaschall, Lewis, and Brooks Lee, so you rotate everyone around a little to make sure they are all playing five days a week.

Culpepper has the highest fantasy upside of this group with his power and his speed and athleticism. There is a chance here for a 20/20 type who plays three positions and can be moved around on our fantasy rosters.I guess this is a long-winded way of saying I hope Culpepper gets promoted soon. His performances have warranted it.