Are we seeing the second coming of the Panda? (Photos by Dylan Buell/Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Remember how much fun Pablo Sandoval was? Maybe you need the right kind of memory, the right kind of eye. Sandoval had a 155 OPS+ at age 24. He cranked three home runs off Justin Verlander in a World series game. He swung at anything and made contact on just about anything. When he hit free agency in front of his age-28 season, it felt like the middle of the story.

And, of course, the wave broke in Boston. Sandoval gained weight and lost mojo, and hasn’t been the same guy since (though he had a moment or two in San Francisco last year, especially on the mound). I pine for the Panda.

[It’s still not too late to join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league]

Is Willians Astudillo the new Pablo Sandoval? There are obvious comps. Both guys are short and stocky, have catching backgrounds but probably can’t stick there. Both guys have insane plate coverage. You look at Astudillo’s walk and strikeout numbers and you’re sure they can’t be correct, but they are.

Astudillo only has 11 plate appearances this year, and to no surprise, there are no walks or strikeouts on his ledger. He’s rapped out six hits (three Wednesday) in nine official at-bats. He has three doubles already. He’s a stop-what-you’re-doing-and-watch for me. He slashed .355/.371/.516 in his Minnesota cup of coffee last year, over 93 at-bats (two walks, three strikeouts). If you want balls in play — if you want to see action — this is your guy.

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Astudillo is especially fantasy-interesting because of his catcher eligibility. I can’t remember an uglier catcher board in the fantasy era. The Twins have Jason Castro and Mitch Garver ahead of Astudillo, but they’ll probably let him catch some of the time. About half of his time in Minnesota last year came behind the plate.

In professional baseball, Astudillo has played every position but shortstop. But he’s not a plus defender in any spot. The Twins are one of the few AL teams with a locked-and-loaded designated hitter (Nelson Cruz), so Astudillo can’t be a regular fill there. And eventually Miguel Sano will come back and ostensibly lock up third base. Heck, the Twins even have a prioritized rover ahead of Astudillo — that’s what Marwin Gonzalez is.

Sounds like I’m talking Astudillo down a fair amount, but we have to appreciate the plausible upside, too. If he can even find 300 at-bats, this looks like a Top 12 catcher, easy; Panda 2.0.

If you have the flexibility to wait on the story, it’s a good spot to grab a lottery ticket. Astudillo is available in about two-thirds of Yahoo leagues. Let’s go down swinging.

What a difference an improved pitch can make

Matthew Boyd’s slider turned into a wipeout pitch last season, and it might lead to a breakout year for 2019.

Boyd struck out 10 Blue Jays last week — no big deal you might say, call me when Vlad Jr. comes up. But his second step was even more impressive, a 13-strikeout dance at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, in a daytime turn no less. Even against a secondary version of the New York lineup, this is a signature significance event, something that forces us to recalibrate Boyd.

Two years ago, Boyd had a crummy slider and hardly used it. Last year, it became a plus pitch and he threw it about 31 percent of the time. He’s ticked that up to 36 percent through two starts. Despite an average fastball of merely 90-91 mph, Boyd has the potential to strike out over a batter per inning.

Boyd was the No. 58 starter on my final pitcher board, and made The Wallet List. I’m plenty invested as a back-end starter. After the smashing open, I’m thinking Boyd belongs in the SP 3-4 conversation. Most of his assignments will be easier down the road; the AL Central is the home of the pillow landing.

Boyd is shockingly available in over half of Yahoo leagues; time to fix that, fixers.

Kolten Wong has been a favorite in this column for several years

In fact, he might have been my most-discussed player in 2014. The stats haven’t always matched my promotion, but Wong also had a frosty relationship with former manager Mike Matheny. How can you ever relax when someone can’t wait to bench you?

Story continues