Meet the GMs: Will, Tampa Bay Rays

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

The much-anticipated return of Meet the GMs is here! We kick things off this season with none other than Will Wang. The self-proclaimed trade machine of the league is here to dish out a behind-the-scenes look as a day in the life as Forbz's servant GM. We also get to hear about TB's prospects, most of which are out of middle school.

Will, thanks for joining us. Your current position in the Rays front office is not your first in ODC. What made you come back?

Honestly? It's the people. I grew up in this league. I remember flipping through the past IFA classes this week, and seeing when Wander signed (2017!). I've been here for 5 years, and the people have largely stayed the same. Are there some jerks here? Sure, but they add character to this league. I've also made friends here too and it's nice talking to people with similar interests. How many people IRL do you know play fantasy baseball this intently? I don't, so it's nice to find common interests here.

Plus, I fucking love drafting prospects.

We all know Forbz as a dynamic GM. How would you describe your working relationship with him, and how does your role compliment his?

It's pretty straightforward really. Forbz lobs the insults, I make the trades. It's a pretty fun dynamic honestly. He's like Steinbrenner, and I'm like Cashman, expect he super hands off and lets me deal, and I'm Asian. 

He's really into prospect card trading and flipping them now, and in a weird way, my knowledge complements his hobby, because I give him the intel on which hot prospects to buy first.

In the future, as this team ramps up, I expect him to have more input on who to trade for and sign, and together, we will make the rays a championship level team to battle the all star villain cast of Justin, Jeff, and Sanders. 

In some ways, Forbz and I might be friends. In other ways, absolutely fucking not. 


Let's talk about the farm system, as there is frankly not much else to discuss. First, on the hitting side. We are all familiar with the big names like Marco Luciano, but who are some lesser-known prospects that you think will take that next step in 2022?

This is gonna be fun: 

• Harry Ford (C): He probably moves off catcher, but that's ok, because he's going to end up with 65 raw power and 65 speed. He's gonna be really interesting for fantasy purposes if he hits enough.
• Daniel Susac (C): He will be draft eligible this year as a sophomore after rolling as a freshman last year, and I see him as a Bart type who combines big power with a big arm, and hits enough to make it work. I would like to see him walk more tho.
• Hao-Yu Lee (2B): I've heard whispers of this Asian kid tearing things up in the phillies backfields. Powerful swing, good approach, good bat to ball skills and adjustability. He's 2B only, but he'll hit enough in the low minors to be relevant on fantasy lists
• Jordan Viars (OF): I thought he was impressive as 17 year old in the FCL, and while he might shift to 1B, he has 30 HR power, with a good, short swing. If he hits in A ball next year, he's gonna be a fun one. 
• Carson Williams (SS): The Rays and Dodgers were clamoring for him in the late 1st. Two way player, strange swing that had his stock fall, but grew very late into above average pop, and has all the skills to be a SS. Loaded farm, but he's a sleeper I like.
• Deyvison De Los Santos (3B): When I see him, I see Sano. Light tower power, no glaring whiff or approach issues yet, which is impressive for an 18 year old in A ball. He's going to be a top 100 guy next year. 

The pitching is quite thin at the MLB level - who do you expect to contribute to the pitching staff in the next two or three seasons?

My approach is to find undervalued pitching prospects who might not be SPs, but have the stuff to play in multi inning stints, or backend types that sneak in to starts and surprise a lot of people. I think two examples of this are my rule v picks: Brandon Walter (Bos) and Josh Winckowski (Bos). I don't have either of them pegged as #3/4 types, which is ok, because I think they're perfectly suited for the modern MLB that relies less on running their star SPs into the ground. Walter is a yarbrough type, who can go 4-5 innings, and give you good K numbers. Winck is the typical backend SP prospect - He's got a great feel for pitching, his stuff has risen late, and he's got the frame to chew up innings. 

The pitching on my team is bad. My best SP is Spencer Howard, who had such a bad year he went from top 30 prospect to being flipped for Jose Ramos (Who's good! But still, unthinkable before this year). I'm gonna gamble I'll find enough stars on my hitting to carry my mediocre pitching in a couple years. I just need IPs at this point. 

It is no secret that you are already busy preparing for the 2022 draft, as you currently hold four of the top six picks. Without tipping your hand too much, what type of talent do you typically target that high in the first round?

Superstar talent. There's only one way to acquire superstar talents in this league, and that's to either luck into them (Tatis, Soto, Acuna), trade a fuck ton for them (Tatis, Acuna), draft them really high (Witt, Adley, Tork), or make a shrewd ass move for them. 

I don't want to gamble on luck or trades. The most predictable way is through the high portion of the draft, since even top end IFAs are ultra risky. Some drafts are merely good, with very good players at the top (Madrigal, Bohm, Mize, Swaggerty etc), but they lack the franchise talent that can carry your team. The 2022 draft is different tho. Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones, Elijah Green, Chase DeLauter - these are the kinds of guys that can be superstars one day. Having as many picks as 4 in the top 6 gives me the leeway to gamble like crazy on a guy. I can pair an ultra safe HS bat like Termarr with an ultra risky one (but one who might grow into a 40 HF CF) in Green, and if one of them hits their ceiling, I'm in a good spot. But it raises a good debate on who to select as well. Do I choose the potential 80 hit bat in Termarr but who doesn't offer much in speed or positional value? Do I go with Elijah Green, who has incredible tools, but might not hit a lick? Or do I go for Druw Jones, who seems to be the most balanced version between Termarr and Elijah, with a great approach and immense projectability. 

But of course, Termarr, Elijah, Druw - these guys are HS bats. It could be a long wait. 


The fans in Tampa are used to competitive baseball, but there seems to be a shift in philosophy nowadays. How would you describe the current organizational plan for the next half-decade?

Lose as much as possible for the next season, then reassess. It's no secret im dealing with monster rosters in Jeff, Justin, and Rick, and sometimes Sanders. This roster is in a very bad spot compared to the division. It's going to take a couple of years and losing and acquiring picks to give my team the base to take on these beasts. Hopefully by 2024, my big prospects will be nearing the majors, and I can start handing out FA contracts that offseason to give them a solid roster to lead. 

Enough about work, let's get to the fun and wild side of Will. Any fun Python projects on the way?

I've got a fun web dev project that will be interactive for ODC. It's coming soon, and I can't wait to share it. I think the league will really like it. 

With such a dreadful MLB team, what promotions will you have this year to draw fans to the park?

Fam, get ready for Steven Kwan. We need more asian ball players in this league, and I can't wait for Kwan Bobblehead night. 

Any parting words for the other GMs in the league?

I can't wait to meet all of you and buy you boba in person

Thank you again to Will for lending us some time in his busy schedule. Stay tuned for the next edition of Meet the GMs soon.