Kenta Maeda proved his fantasy worth in week one

Just one week into the MLB regular season, we already have our first phenomenon, Trevor Story. Thought to be only a fill-in until Jose Reyes‘ legal troubles were sorted out, the 23-year-old shortstop with his seven homers in his first six games of his career is not only breaking rookie marks for home runs; he is also wiping away names like Willie Mays off the record books.

While Story is rightfully the talk of the town, other rookies have made some noise as well in the opening week of the major league season. With a few more big name prospects joining the big league ranks in the last few days, (Mallex Smith, Nomar Mazara and Max Kepler), there will be plenty of intrigue and excitement to follow with the 2016 freshman class.

Every couple of weeks, the Rookie Report will keep you up to date on the latest comings and goings in the world of major league rookies. We aim to provide you with news and information about some of the first-time major league players who are making an impact in fantasy so far and break down the expectations for their future.

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Infielders

Trevor Story (COL – SS)
Amazing. Ridiculous. Completely unreal. Use any superlative for Story’s start to the year and it would not be an overstatement. In his first ever major league game, the former first-round pick clubbed two home runs. His seven home runs are already halfway to the record of 14 home runs hit in the month of April (Albert Pujols 2006 and Alex Rodriguez 2007).

A 20-20 hitter with a .279 average last season between Double and Triple-A, Story has shown the ability to be a productive hitter. While no one expects him to keep up his incredible pace, a 25 plus home run season is not out of the realm. The only concern is his tendency to swing and miss. His 30.5% minor league strikeout rate has not gone away as he already has eight whiffs in 27 at-bats. Unless he can reign in the strikeouts, his current .333 average will start to plummet down. Sell high, if you can, as Story is bound to come back to Earth a bit.

• 2016 Stats: 27 AB, 7 R, 7 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB, .333 AVG

Tyler White (HOU – 1B/3B)
If not for Story, White would be our headliner this week. His surprising Opening Day nod over more notable prospects, A.J. Reed and Jon Singleton, was made possible by his hot spring bat. White’s .353/.443/.588 slash line with three homers and 12 RBI over 51 spring at-bats has carried over to the regular season.

His 12 hits in his first 22 career at-bats have left the North Carolina native with a Major League-leading .545 batting average. Not to be outdone, White has also clubbed three home runs with nine RBI. While the home runs are a bit unusual (only 35 dingers in over 1200 plate appearances in the minors) the average is standard. Posting a career .311 average, the 25-year-old finished off 2015 by raking Triple-A to the tune of a .362/.467/.559 slash line while walking 42 times compared to only 38 strikeouts.

• 2016 Stats: 22 AB, 3 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .545 AVG

Other Notable Infielders: Corey Seager (LAD – SS), Aledmys Diaz (STL – SS)

Outfielders

Jeremy Hazelbaker (STL – OF)
Talk about coming out of nowhere. This spring no one was even thinking about Hazelbaker as it appeared the journeyman was destined to start his eighth season in the minors. After a Ruben Tejada strained quadriceps opened up a roster spot and an opening day oblique injury to Tommy Pham created a chance for playing time, Hazelbaker has taken off. His two home runs in his first six at-bats earned the lefty starts in four of St. Louis’ last five games.

Not wasting his long due major league chance, Hazelbaker’s .526 batting average puts him as the early leader in the NL batting title race. A career .264 hitter in the minors, Hazelbaker seems due for a cold snap. However in 2015, he finally found his stroke as he posted a .333 average in over 200 ABs for Triple-A Memphis. A definite pickup in deep mixed leagues as he can contribute a solid average as well as some speed, 239 career minor league stolen bases including 24 in 2015.

• 2016 Stats: 19 AB, 5 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .526 AVG

Joey Rickard (BAL – OF)
Heading into spring training, the Orioles were counting on a rookie left fielder to wash away the pain of losing out on Dexter Fowler. Unexpectedly, it was Rickard and not Hyun Soo Kim, as many thought, running away with the job. A .397 average this spring, coupled with Kim’s .178 mark handed the Opening Day job.

Starting off his major league career in the nine spot, Rickard quickly earned the trust of manager Buck Showalter as he has moved into the leadoff spot for Baltimore the past four games. Difficult to question the move as the soon-to-be 25-year-old is hitting .409 and has started his career on a six-game hitting streak, including three multi-hit games. Not a power hitter by any stretch of the imagination, Rickard does possess a better than average strikeout rate (19.7% in four minor league seasons) and modest speed potential (23 steals in 2015).

• 2016 Stats: 22 AB, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .409 AVG

Other Notable Outfielders: Nomar Mazara (TEX – OF), Socrates Brito (ARI – OF)

Pitchers

Ross Stripling (LAD – SP)
Lost in the powerful starts to Story and White’s careers was the unhittable debut of Stripling. Versus the Giants, the 26-year-old right-hander tossed 7.1 innings of no-hit baseball before controversially being pulled after throwing his 100th pitch. Despite not allowing a hit, Stripling’s control was off as he did walk four batters and managed only 58 strikes.

A solid pitcher in the minors (2.83 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 8.1 K/9 rate) the 26-year-old only got his chance in the majors as the Dodgers went through a remarkable number of injuries to the backend of the starting rotation. If Stripling can follow up his incredible debut with another solid performance, he can guarantee himself a spot a little bit longer.

• 2016 Stats: 1 GS, 7.1 IP, 4 K, 0 W, 1.23 ERA, 0.55 WHIP

Kenta Maeda (LAD – SP)
It is unfair to other rookie pitchers to be lumped into the same category as Maeda. An eight-year veteran, nay star, of the Japanese leagues, the 28-year-old has the experience (1500 plus innings) of a seasoned pro. Like he hadn’t missed a beat, in his major league debut Maeda showed excellent control (0 walks) without overpowering stuff on his way to a victory in his first MLB start.

The crafty right-hander fits perfectly in the Dodgers’ rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Scott Kazmir. Pitching in Chavez Ravine and backed up by a potent offense doesn’t hurt his prospects either. Maeda has the inside edge at being the most successful rookie pitcher of the year and should be universally owned in all fantasy formats.

• 2016 Stats: 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 4 K, 1 W, 0.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP

Other Notable Pitchers: Seung-Hwan Oh (STL – RP), Miguel Castro (COL – RP)

Dale Redman is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Dale, check out his archive and follow him@DTRedman.