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4 Prospects To Stash (Fantasy Baseball)

4 Prospects To Stash (Fantasy Baseball)

This section is usually reserved for prospects who haven’t yet played a single game in the majors, but I want to make an exception for Pirates outfielder Austin Meadows.

The 23-year-old made his Major League debut this past Friday. In his team’s weekend series versus the Padres Meadows went 5-for-11 with a home run and a stolen base. His shine has admittedly worn off over the past couple years. He was once a top prospect but injuries and mediocre Triple-A numbers moved him down to 42 on Baseball America’s Top 100 entering the season.

Meadows has a great feel for the strike zone, and therefore he can be expected to hit for average right away. He should hit for power eventually and also be able to run enough to be fantasy relevant in stolen bases (Meadows had eight steals this year while in Triple-A). He doesn’t have the sex appeal of Juan Soto, but Meadows’ promotion flew under the radar more than it should’ve this past weekend. He’s a great consolation prize for anyone who missed out on Soto.

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Alex Reyes (SP – STL)
Last Spring Training there were some Baseball America writers that had Reyes as their top prospect in all of baseball. Of course, there’s always risk with young pitchers, and we were reminded why when Reyes was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2017.

However, we have recently been reminded why Reyes was spoken so highly of in the first place. The 23-year-old has made three rehab appearances in the minor leagues so far this season, posting a 0.00 ERA with a 31/6 K/BB ratio in 16 innings. Pretty good.

His role upon return was once considered up in the air, but Cardinals GM Michael Girsch confirmed Monday that Reyes would indeed be a starter once fully healthy. He’s expected to make his final rehab start this Thursday before possibly joining the big league team on May 29th versus Milwaukee. Grab him now.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B – TOR)
It’s tough to recommend how aggressive one should be in stashing Guerrero Jr. This isn’t a question of talent obviously. Through 39 games at the Double-A level in 2018 Vladdy Jr. is batting an unholy .421 to go along with eight home runs, 45 RBI, and a 1.169 OPS. He has drawn 20 walks (four intentional) while striking out just 15 times. This is a special, special player who will contribute to fantasy teams as soon as he gets the call.

As we learned with fellow 19-year-old Juan Soto, it’s not impossible for someone as young as Vlad Jr. to get the call up. The difference is Soto’s Nationals are competing this year, while Vlad’s Blue Jays probably won’t. Still, if he continues to hit this well the team will have no choice but to continue to challenge him at a higher level. I wouldn’t blame anyone for stashing him now. He could be called up tomorrow or sometime in August. It’s impossible to say. Just be ready to pull the trigger soon, just in case.

Nick Senzel (3B/2B – CIN)
Don’t let Senzel’s frustrating season thus far damper your excitement over him. He is still a near “must add” once he gets the call to Cincinnati. That being said, it’s unclear how soon we can really expect him. The 22-year-old was recently placed on the disabled list with vertigo and is just getting back to baseball activities. Once he’s back Senzel will likely require some more time in the minors to regain his swing, which means we should anticipate a promotion to the Reds sometime in June. As for what he will provide to fantasy teams it’s a little bit of everything, kind of similar to Meadows. Senzel should hit for average right away and has the potential to eventually hit for power while also stealing bases.

Eloy Jimenez (OF – CWS)
This is the first time Jimenez has been included on one of these lists, but the stats are getting harder and harder to ignore. The 21-year-old outfielder was acquired in last season’s Jose Quintana trade, and he looks ready to make his MLB debut later this summer. Jimenez got off to a late start, but through 30 games with Double-A Birmingham he’s hitting .331 to go along with seven homers and 28 RBI. Think of Jimenez as a poor man’s Guerrero Jr. He isn’t a “once in a generation” prospect the way Vladdy is, but Eloy has the next highest offensive ceiling among any player in minor league baseball. The likeliest promotion time will be around July/August, so for now just keep monitoring the name.

*All stats are entering Monday night*

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Brendan Tuma is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brendan, check out his archive and follow him @toomuchtuma.

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