This is an exciting time of year if you’re a prospect nut or follow minor league baseball in general as the MLB Draft is now less than a week away. Soon, we’ll have a whole new crop of prospects to ooh and ahh about and fight over in dynasty leagues and first-year player drafts. Even with this exciting time quickly approaching, there are still plenty of things happening across the current minor league landscape to get excited about including two intriguing pitching prospect call-ups this week and the never-ending supply of hitting talent in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system. That’s where we lead off in this week’s minor league report.
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Minor League Notes
Toronto Farm System is More Than Just Vlad and Bo
And you’re 2018 New Hampshire Fisher Cats current home run leader is… Cavan Biggio. That’s right, someone besides Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the Fisher Cats in an offensive category. Shocking, I know. Biggio launched his team-leading 13th dinger last night and his 42 RBIs rank in the top-10 for all minor league hitters. If he continues to hit well, a promotion to Triple-A should be right around the corner. Then again, Guerrero is hitting over .400 and can’t buy a bleeping promotion.
Just one level lower, Kevin Smith is putting up equally as impressive numbers. To put it in perspective, only three minor leaguers have more total bases than Smith has this season and two of those three happen to be Guerrero and Juan Soto. The rest of his stat line is equally as impressive. Smith is slashing .353/.410/.631/1.041 with seven home runs, 44 RBIs, and 37 runs scored. This scorching start has already gotten him promoted to high Class-A Dundelin and another step up to Double-A New Hampshire later this summer is likely.
Fernando Tatis Jr. Heating Up
Where’s that little fire emoji when you need it? After starting the season basically as cold as one can, Tatis has exploded during the last 30 days slashing .339/.421/.628/1.049 with 13 doubles, two triples, six homers, 15 RBIs, and five steals. On top of that, he’s drastically improved both his walk and strikeout rates. This is the Tatis we expected this season after his strong spring training with the Padres. If he keeps this up, a 2018 late-season debut is still within reach for the teenage shortstop phenom. Keep a close eye on him.
Hunter Greene Finally Looking Good
It’s important to remember that Hunter Greene will be 18 for most of this minor league season. With that being said, an ERA north of seven isn’t good no matter how old you are. The strikeouts have been there since being drafted No. 2 overall in last June’s draft, but Greene has been far too hittable and a tad on the wild side. That is, until his last few outings. In three of Greene’s last four outings, he’s allowed zero or one earned run in each start while only walking four over 16.2 innings. The upside here is tremendous with his triple-digit heater and developing secondary offerings.
Prospect Power Rankings
Prospects currently in the minors that can make the biggest 2018 impact.
Hitters
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B – TOR)
It is becoming very difficult to think of good things to say about Vlad the Impaler 2.0. He was on a 10-game hitting streak before his 0-for-4 effort last night and is still hitting a robust .417 on the season. You’ve got to think that eventually Toronto will stop teasing us and promote him at least to Triple-A. New Hampshire is a small state. I’m not sure how much longer it can handle this type of domination.
2. Nick Senzel (2B/3B – CIN)
After nearly a month out of action, Nick Senzel has finally returned to the lineup for Triple-A Louisville. He’s yet to record a hit in his two games back, but did walk and steal a base yesterday. But let’s be honest, it’s just nice to have Senzel back in the lineup. Now, I’m no doctor, but Vertigo doesn’t sound fun and is likely going to be something Senzel has to deal with throughout his career. If you’ve been stashing him in re-draft leagues and need the spot, it makes sense to drop him for now as he’s likely not going to be up for at least another month.
3. Austin Riley (3B – ATL)
The power pace has slowed a tad, but Austin Riley is still hitting over .300 in his last 10 games. The one area of concern is the rising strikeout rate. Over the last 10 days, Riley has struck out 38.1% of the time which brings his season strikeout rate to 32.2%. Pair that with insanely high BABIPs at both levels and you have a strong batting average regression candidate.
4. Kyle Tucker (OF – HOU)
Uh oh, Kyle Tucker is hitting for power again. Tucker smashed two homers last night and now has four in his last 10 games. The Astros are still getting absolutely nothing out of their left fielders and currently have Tony Kemp starting games for them so you got to think the pressure for them to call up Tucker is beginning to grow.
5. Christin Stewart (OF – DET)
Hey look, a new addition to these power rankings. Christin Stewart has been mashing all season for Triple-A Toledo. In 182 at-bats, he already has 13 home runs and 34 RBIs to go along with a .286/.368/.571/.940 slash line. Improvements have been made in his plate approach, too, as Stewart’s strikeout rate has dropped from 24.9% in 2017 to 19.2% this season and his walk rate has received a little bump up 1.2% to 11.3% on the season. The Tigers could really use the offense and have a opening in left field that Stewart would fit nicely in. A call-up before the All-Star break should be expected here.
Pitchers
1. Michael Kopech (SP – CHW)
It’s safe to say that Michael Kopech has put his 3IP/8ER start firmly behind him with three straight starts of two earned runs or fewer since that abomination of an outing. In his 18 innings since that start, Kopech has registered a 2.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, and 12.9 K/9 while dropping his season ERA and WHIP to 3.86 and 1.19 respectively. Still, even with his strong play, there really haven’t been many rumblings lately about him getting called up. If you have him stashed, patience is key.
2. Shane Bieber (SP – CLE)
A more detailed write-up about Bieber can be found below.
3. Kolby Allard (SP – ATL)
Another game, another quality start for Kolby Allard. The baby-faced southpaw twirled seven innings of two-run ball against Columbus on Sunday, allowing six hits and two walks. Unfortunately, only two strikeouts came along for the ride. That’s been par for the course for Allard this season. You’ve got to love the low ratios, but it’d be just wonderful if he missed a few more bats. Oh well, we can’t be too greedy I suppose.
4. Enyel De Los Santos (SP – PHI)
Though he got a little wild, De Los Santos notched his fifth straight quality start on Sunday in Pawtucket. In six innings, he walked five but allowed only one hit and one run while striking out seven. This outing actually raised his ERA from 1.39 to 1.40. Okay, that’s only a small jump, but that just goes to show how dominant De Los Santos has been this season.
5. Jalen Beeks (SP – BOS)
All he needs is an opening. Beeks has been dominating Triple-A hitters this season and currently leads the entire level in strikeouts, five ahead of Kopech. He also ranks 9th in ERA (2.74) and 2nd in WHIP (1.03). Even though the Red Sox rotation is full, Drew Pomeranz has a disgusting 6.75 ERA and both he and David Price always seem to be one pitch away from a DL stint. It’s likely that Beeks gets a shot later this summer in some capacity, even if it’s as a high-strikeout lefty reliever out of the bullpen.
Call-Up City
Fantasy-relevant prospects that have recently gotten the call or a call-up is imminent.
Shane Bieber (SP – CLE)
Who’s got Bieber fever? You might not have it quite yet, but as of Thursday, Bieber fever will be spreading across the nation. On Monday, Cleveland Indians skipper, Terry Francona, confirmed that Bieber would get the start on Thursday to give Trevor Bauer an extra day of rest after throwing 127 pitches in his last outing. That’s the long way of saying that Bieber was promoted to Cleveland for a spot start. However, current No. 5 starter, Andrew Plutko, was sent down to Triple-A after serving up a pair of dingers among his five earned runs Monday. If Bieber pitches well today, that vacant rotation spot is his for the taking.
Bieber’s dominance has been on full display this season. Across 10 total starts (five each at Double-A and Triple-A), Bieber has a microscopic 1.10 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 0.4 BB/9. You’re likely to see Haley’s comet more frequently than a Bieber walk. His strikeout rate will likely never be elite as he doesn’t have a plus offering, but Bieber mixes things up with four average to above-average pitches that he can throw for strikes in any count. Watching him locate pitches is a thing of beauty and control like this translates to any level of competition, which has to make you feel confident that Bieber is going to be successful in the Major Leagues right out of the gate. Scoop him up quick if he’s still available in your league.
Dennis Santana (SP – LAD)
Bieber might be the big-name pitching call-up this week, but don’t you dare sleep on Dennis Santana. The 22-year-old former Dominican shortstop has a 2.54 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 11.8 K/9 through his 10 minor leagues starts this season. With the trio of Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Rich Hill all nursing injuries, Santana should have some short-term fantasy value at least with a chance to stick in the rotation long-term if he pitches well.
Santana features a mid-90s heater that he can ramp up into the 97-98 range when he needs to and pairs that with a hard-biting slider that misses plenty of bats. His change-up is still a work in progress but Santana has developed that pitch to the point where it’s at least an average offering for him now with the chance of being a weapon for him in the future. If he’s not needed out of the bullpen before then, Santana could make his first start on Saturday against the Rockies.
Dylan Cozens (OF – PHI)
With Rhys Hoskins hitting the DL with a fractured jaw, Dylan Cozens looks to be on his way to Philadelphia to take his spot on the roster. Cozens’ calling card has always been his power, but that’s about all he has going for him these days. He’s slugged 77 home runs since the start of the 2016 season, including 40 in 2016, but often struggles to make contact, as evident by his paltry 38.1 K% this season. Cozens is likely to only get sporadic starts moving forward so he can be left on the waiver wire outside of deep NL-Only leagues.
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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.
