After a rather slow start to the season for high profile call-ups, the last several days have been a whirlwind. Several high profile prospects got the call to the Major Leagues, including two universal top-10 prospects. One of them may or may not have been Ronald Acuña. No spoilers. Let’s not waste any time and get into all the minor league and prospect goodness this week.
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Minor League Headlines
Acuña Has Arrived!
It’s about time. While it might have been the Braves decision to send Acuña to Triple-A Gwinnett for service time reasons, he didn’t do himself any favors getting off to a frigid start at the plate hitting .139 with 14 strikeouts in his first 36 at-bats. Last year was last year. The Braves weren’t going to call him up after gaining another year of service time on April 13th with how much he was struggling. Luckily, Acuña righted the ship, collecting 11 hits in his last 33 at-bats before being called up to the Braves for Wednesday’s game against Cincinnati.
If you want some first-hand video and scouting takes on Acuña, I was at his game on Sunday where he went 3-for-6 with three singles and a run scored. He didn’t drive the ball like he’s been known to do, but it was encouraging to see him making contact and not pressing at the plate like he had been to start the season. An area which really impressed me was his speed. Acuña didn’t steal any bases but showcased his elite speed on two occasions. First, was on a chopper in front of the plate in which he beat out the throw at first. Then later in the 11th inning, he scored from first on a double down the right-field line. You can see videos of both in my scouting report in the link above.
Acuña offers an immediate speed boost and should be good for 15-20 home runs the rest of the way. He’s already collected his first Major League home run in just his second game today. It was an absolute bomb, too.
Ronald Acuna Jr. just crushed his 1st @MLB home run!
Exit velocity: 105.8 mph
Launch angle: 30 degrees
Projected distance: 416 feetSecond-deck power for the @Braves rookie! pic.twitter.com/Q7hQU9oKqD
— #Statcast (@statcast) April 26, 2018
His contact skills and approach at the dish should allow him to hit for a respectable average as well. In dynasty leagues, there’s no rookie or prospect I’d rather have than Acuña. Do whatever you can to get him on your team in whatever league you play in. League type doesn’t matter. This kid is going to be a fantasy first-rounder within a couple years in all leagues.
Gohara Watch
The long wait for Luiz Gohara to make his 2018 season debut is almost over. The big southpaw made his second rehab start on Sunday for Triple-A Gwinnett and looked very sharp. How do I know? Well, I happened to be there. This was the same game I mentioned above in the Acuna section and there’s plenty of video and scouting of Gohara in that same link. The Braves limited Gohara to 60 pitches in this start (he finished at 58), but will likely only need another two starts with Gwinnett before he’s ready to rejoin the Braves rotation. The time is now to stash Gohara in all fantasy leagues. His immediate strikeout upside alone will provide plenty of fantasy value.
David Dahl Finally Out of Minor League Purgatory
The Rockies had a great chance to give some of their young stars consistent playing time out of the gate. They had talented young players like Ryan McMahon, David Dahl, and Raimel Tapia ready to step in at first or in the outfield. Then, Colorado made a head-scratching move and re-signed Carlos Gonzalez who was coming off another injury-plagued and underperforming season in 2017. That move pushed Ian Desmond back to first, Ryan McMahon to the bench, and David Dahl back to Triple-A.
For the last few seasons, Dahl has been an intriguing fantasy asset due to his power/speed potential and hitter-friendly home confines. However, rib issues caused him to miss the entire 2017 season after having an impressive debut down the stretch of 2016. With Gonzalez on the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain (shocking) and Gerardo Parra suspended, Dahl finally gets his chance to reclaim his starting spot in the outfield.
Dahl wasn’t lighting the world on fire in Triple-A but has been hitting very well since his recall with five hits in 16 at-bats, two triples, three RBI, and three runs scored. The eight strikeouts aren’t ideal, but Dahl never was plagued by high K totals in the minors. If he continues to hit well, Dahl should remain in the starting lineup, pushing Parra to a fourth outfield role. If he’s still sitting on your waiver wire, change that immediately.
Juan Soto and Jesus Luzardo Promoted
Two of the top prospects in baseball are now one step closer to reaching the Major Leagues.
For the last few seasons, Victor Robles has been the outfield prospect in the Washington system that everyone has been raving about, and rightfully so. He now has company with Juan Soto mashing everything he sees. The 19-year-old phenom proved that Single-A pitching was no match for him and the Nationals bumped him up to high Class-A earlier this week. For the season, Soto is hitting .348 with six home runs, two steals, and a minor league-leading 27 RBI. The chances we see him in Washington this season are slim to none, but if you can get your hands on Soto via trade in a dynasty league, you’ll be ecstatic that you did so. His offensive upside is just as high or even higher than Robles’.
Another promotion of note this past week came on the mound with Jesus Luzardo. This Peruvian baby-faced assassin often gets overshadows by A.J. Puk, but his upside is arguably just as high. Luzardo is a much different pitcher than Puk. They’re both southpaws, but the comparisons basically stop there. While Puk gets strikeouts with a wipeout slider, Luzardo like to go to his change-up and has much better control than Puk. Through four starts, Luzardo has a 1.83 ERA< 0.76 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, and 13.7 K/9. That walk rate is higher than his norm, too. Like with Soto, Luzardo isn’t expected to make it to the show until 2019, but you’re going to want to grab a bunch of Luzardo stock in dynasty before his price continues to rise.
Prospect Power Rankings
Prospects currently in the minors that can make the biggest 2018 impact.
Hitters
1. Nick Senzel (2B/3B – CIN) –
2. Willie Calhoun (OF – TEX) –
3. Kyle Tucker (OF – HOU)
4. Alex Verdugo (OF – LAD)
5. Willy Adames (SS – TB)
Graduated/Called Up: Ronald Acuna (OF – ATL), Gleyber Torres (2B/3B – NYY)
Pitchers
1. Luiz Gohara (SP – ATL)
2. Mike Soroka (SP – ATL)
3. Jack Flaherty (SP – STL)
4. Michael Kopech (SP – CHW)
5. Kolby Allard (SP – ATL)
Graduated/Called Up: Walker Buehler (SP – LAD)
Call-Up City
Fantasy-relevant prospects that have recently gotten the call or a call-up is imminent.
Gleyber Torres (2B/3B/SS – NYY)
Acuña wasn’t the only big name prospect to get the call over the last few days. The Yankees called up their prized infield prospect, Gleyber Torres, from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Sunday and immediately inserted him into the lineup as their starting second baseman. The upside might not be quite as high here as it is with Acuna, but Torres is a special offensive talent that needs to be rostered in all leagues going forward.
In 49 Triple-A at-bats, Torres slashed .347/.393/.510/.903 with one homer, one steal, 11 RBIs, and six runs scored and has collected five hits through his first four games with the Yankees. With how little the Yankees were getting out of their second baseman to open the season, Torres likely will be starting full-time going forward. His mixture of power, speed, and contact skills make him an intriguing addition for the rest of the season. His multi-position eligibility is just icing on the cake. Make sure he’s not still kicking around on your waiver wire.
Walker Buehler (SP – LAD)
It was only a matter of time until someone in the Dodgers rotation got hurt. In 2017, nobody in this rotation started more than 27 games and none have ever been considered durable. Rich Hill especially seems to be on the DL more than he’s on a pitching mound. Luckily for the Dodgers, they had a security blanket with Walker Buehler waiting for his chance at Triple-A.
With Hill on the DL with a blister, Buehler wasted no time showcasing his immense upside on Tuesday firing five shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out five batters. His fastball was sitting in the mid to upper-90’s with arm side run and both his curve and slider were on point. The beauty of Buehler is that he can attack you with four plus pitches and controls all of them well. Most pitchers would love to have two plus pitches. Buehler gets to be a show off and come at batters with four. He’ll get at least one more start in the first game of a double-header on Saturday, but beyond that, his role with the Dodgers is uncertain.
There’s no doubting that Buehler is ready to contribute full-time at the Major League level, but with the Dodgers having five solid starters, it’s hard to bump one of them to the pen while they’re all pitching well. But like I mentioned to open, there’s a ton of healthy concerns here. Buehler’s enormous upside is worth grabbing in all leagues in hopes that he can keep a rotation spot going forward or at least get more starts before too long.
Jack Flaherty (SP – STL)
When Adam Wainwright initially went on the DL, it was thought that Jack Flaherty would get the call to take his spot in the rotation. That has been put on delay, but for only one turn through the rotation. An off day allowed the Cardinals to move their entire rotation up and won’t need Flaherty until Saturday in Pittsburgh. It’s unsure how long he’ll stick in the rotation, but Flaherty needs to be owned in all leagues for this start.
Earlier in the season, Flaherty pitched five innings of one run ball, walking only one and striking out nine in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers. On top of that, he’s been dominant in the minors with a 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9, and 9.9 K/9 across 20 innings of work. He’s a recommended addition for his start this weekend and his upside is worth grabbing to see if he sticks in the rotation past this weekend.
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Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @EricCross04.
