Every week, FantasyPros will take a look at the upper minor leagues for players with a potential fantasy impact in 2017. This week, we’ll look at some top prospects struggling and surging at the Triple-A level while their MLB teams deal with injuries. We’ll also take a look at the call-ups of Daniel Vogelbach and Christian Arroyo, as well as the potential MLB debut of Nick Pivetta.
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Batters
Blue Jays’ OF Anthony Alford has left very little to prove at Double-A New Hampshire, and with the dwindling depth at the MLB and Triple-A levels for Toronto, should be seeing his Triple-A debut before too long. After a solid spring training showing, Alford has torn apart Eastern League pitching, batting .434/.508/.604 for a 1.112 OPS. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power, but already has two HR and seven RBIs. His greatest asset is his speed, and he’s a solid 7-for-8 in stolen bases already this season.
The Blue Jays outfield currently consists of stalwart Kevin Pillar, the underwhelming Ezequiel Carrera in LF and the struggling Jose Bautista. Alford doesn’t have far to climb on the depth chart to be a serious contender for an outfield spot by the end of the summer, but the health of Dalton Pompey will surely factor in his rise.
With the suspension of Starling Marte, many fans in Pittsburgh were calling on the promotion of the franchise’s top prospect, Meadows. The reality of the situation right now is that Meadows just has not earned that call-up. He’s batting .200/.269/.283 for a .552 OPS. In 16 games at Triple-A this season, Meadows has 15 strikeouts but only one HR and seven RBIs while going 2-for-3 in stolen bases.
Marte is gone for 80 games, so if Meadows begins to heat up with the weather, he might become a factor in the outfield this season. However, with Pittsburgh’s OF depth at the MLB level, the call-up may be short-lived.
Acquired in the Jonathan Lucroy trade in 2016, Brinson highlighted the package coming back to Milwaukee. After an underwhelming show in the Arizona Fall League, Brinson is breaking out in 2017 for Triple-A Colorado Springs, slashing .388/.426/.653 for a hefty 1.079 OPS. In just 12 games, Brinson has hit three HR and driven in eight, but his 3-for-6 rate on stolen bases is a bit of a concern for someone who’s stolen 88 over six MiLB seasons. His fantasy potential is tantalizing, though, with a total of 79 HR and 282 RBI across 481 games.
The potential 20/20 outfielder has little, if anything to prove at Triple-A. Fantasy owners should be watching the Brewers closely for an injury to an outfielder or a prolonged slump to threaten the team’s already thin outfield corps.
Pitchers
Butler has struggled mightily at the MLB level in his career, posting a 6-16 record and a ghastly 6.50 ERA. Some of that, of course, can be attributed to Coors Field, where Butler allowed far too much contact. Since being acquired by the Cubs, though, Butler has flourished in Triple-A Iowa City. Over 24 2/3 innings in 2017, Butler is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA. Unfortunately, Butler’s numbers do not improve from there, as his 1.216 WHIP is a bit too high for maintaining success, and his 5.0 K/9 won’t win anyone a fantasy title.
There’s plenty of injuries and slumps throughout an MLB season, and as of right now Butler is about seventh on the Cubs’ depth chart for starting pitchers. At this point, Butler might be more of a Quadruple-A kind of player, who might see some spot starts by the end of the year, but provide minimal fantasy value.
Jenkins started out 2016 cruising through Triple-A lineups, posting a 9-3 record and a 2.43 ERA for the Gwinnett Braves. He struggled in his call-up to the Braves over 52 innings, posting a 5.88 ERA. After being traded to the Padres this offseason, he’s struggling once again in the Pacific Coast League, posting a 1-2 record and a 5.89 ERA. The problem with Jenkins right now is the walks, as he’s issued a staggering 13 over 18 1/3 innings, while balancing that with just 11 strikeouts.
At 24 years old, Jenkins is getting closer to non-prospect than prospect status, but his 36-29 mark in the minors with a 3.72 ERA allows for some dreaming left on his arm. The Padres have plenty of arms at the MLB level, though none are spectacular, so a mid-season surge from Jenkins could result in a call-up.
Though unofficial at the moment, Phillies pitching prospect Nick Pivetta is expected to make his MLB debut on Wednesday. Pivetta is off to a great start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.95 ERA. In 19 innings, Pivetta has posted 24 strikeouts and only two walks. Over his five MiLB seasons, Pivetta has rarely struggled, and his K% has risen while his BB% has dropped. Once he’s up for good, he’ll be a must-own in NL-only and deep leagues, but has the potential to provide value in all fantasy baseball formats.
The lack of depth and injury-prone nature of the Phillies pitching staff may force Pivetta into plenty of innings pitched at the MLB level this season. He’s worthy of stashing in mixed leagues (especially keeper leagues) in case he can grab a starting rotation spot and run with it.
Promotions
Cody Bellinger (OF – LAD)
Perhaps the longest-awaited call-up since Kris Bryant, Cody Bellinger was recalled on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through 18 games at Triple-A, Bellinger has hit five HR and driven in 15 runs while slashing a robust .343/.429/.627 for a 1.055 OPS. As the Dodgers’ top prospect, he’s homered 65 times in 361 MiLB games, making it easy to dream on his 20-30 HR potential. To sweeten the deal, he’s 36-for-43 in his minor-league career stealing bases.
Bellinger may almost instantly be a difference-maker for the Dodgers, and also in fantasy baseball. He needs to be treated as an immediate add in all fantasy formats.
One of the bigger surprise cuts coming out of Spring Training, Vogelbach was sent to Triple-A Tacoma for the first three weeks of the MLB season. Unfortunately for the Mariners, the slow start of 1B Danny Valencia forced the team’s hand to recall Vogelbach on Monday. Vogelbach, despite striking out 14 times in 16 games, was off to a solid start at Triple-A with two HR, 14 RBIs and a pair of doubles. He’s a serious power threat, but owners will have to stomach some streaky play and plenty of strikeouts to go along with the power contributions.
While he’s likely to start off in a platoon situation with Valencia, don’t be surprised if the big man wrestles away the majority of playing time by early summer.
Arroyo was called up on Monday amid a shuffle of DL transactions and options and will likely see a fair amount of playing time at 3B for the Giants, with SS presently claimed by Brandon Crawford. Arroyo certainly earned his call-up, slashing .446/.478/.692 for a 1.171 OPS, building upon his career MiLB marks of .300/.343/.435 for a .778 OPS. Obviously, the latter is more of what one might expect from Arroyo at the MLB level, but his early-April power surge (three HR, 12 RBIs) is something to pay attention to. As an added bonus, he’s 2-for-2 in stolen bases on the young season and 18-for-27 in his five MiLB seasons.
While SS is his natural position, the Giants are desperately seeking offense and he’ll likely convert to 3B, learning on the job. His combined SS/3B eligibility, once granted, will only add to his value.
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Roy Widrig is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Roy, check out his archive and follow him @rolewiii.window.PLAYERCARDS_CONFIG={affiliateCode:”fpros_cards”};
