A lot has been happening across the minor league landscape of late. Another top-10 prospect joins Vladimir Guerrero on the disabled list, just when a call-up was starting to look like a possibility. It stinks, but we just have to move on. On a more positive note, Ronald Acuña is finishing up his rehab assignment and Kyle Tucker is playing like a man possessed over the last month. See, this isn’t your evening news. Not everything is bad.
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Minor League Notes
Nick Senzel Done For Season
This is why we can’t have nice things. We’ve waited and waited for Senzel to get the call all damn season.
First, the Reds sent him down to work on his defense to shift him to second. Then when Eugenio Suarez landed on the DL, everyone and their grandmother thought that Senzel would get the call to fill the void at the hot corner. Nope. He had to go and struggle to start the season, then land on the DL with a bout of Vertigo, which, by the way, is nothing to take lightly.
With the Vertigo issue finally behind him, Senzel was really beginning to heat up at the plate. In 75 June at-bats, he was slashing .387/.434/.613/1.047 with a trio of homers and steals. Rumors were beginning to swirl that he’d be called up sooner rather than later. Then comes the plot twist in this Senzel saga. He tore a tendon in his right index finger and will miss the rest of the season. Oh well. To be continued in 2019.
Jo Adell Scorching Hot
The Los Angeles Angels haven’t had a prospect with this much upside since some Jersey kid named Trout. Disclaimer — Jo Adell is NOT Mike Trout. Let me stop you before you go down that road. But what he is, is a damn good hitter with massive fantasy upside. In 232 combined at-bats between Single-A and High Class-A, Adell is slashing .332/.381/.634/1.015 with 16 doubles, 16 homers, and 11 steals, which puts him on a 35/25 pace this season with over 100 runs and RBIs. Adell is skyrocketing up prospect rankings, including my own, and is a borderline top-10 dynasty prospect going forward.
Prospect Promotions
The biggest prospect promotion of the last few weeks has been Eloy Jimenez to Triple-A. The White Sox are going nowhere anytime soon, so don’t be surprised if they give Jimenez a look later this season. Or they could do the unpopular move and keep him in the minors for service time reasons. A couple levels lower, Luis Robert has been bumped up to high Class-A Winston-Salem. A personal favorite of mine, Robert possesses a tantalizing blend of power, speed, and plate approach and should continue to move quickly through the White Sox system with a 2019 debut well within reach.
Eloy Jimenez's swing looks effortless sometimes. pic.twitter.com/mKCUMcTpNi
— Jim Margalus (@SoxMachine) June 28, 2018
The most prominent pitcher promotion of late goes to Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Widely regarded as a top-25 overall prospect, Keller posted a 2.72 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 14 starts for Double-A Altoona before his promotion to Triple-A. Keller mixes a mid-90’s riding fastball with a plus- curveball and change-up that should be at least average for him long-term. He’s one of the top pitching prospects in the minors and could see some time with the Pirates later this summer.
Three other prospect promotions of note are Carter Kieboom (Double-A), Griffin Canning (Triple-A), and Ryan McKenna (Double-A). Kieboom has developed into one of the top shortstop prospects in the game with legitimate .300/25 upside and strong on-base skills. After barely cracking the Orioles top-30 on MLB Pipeline, McKenna is now a borderline top-100 overall prospect thanks to a .365 average and near 1.000 OPS. Canning is also approaching top-100 territory and should be a welcomed addition to a banged up Angels rotation in the very near future.
MLB Draft Outfield Notables
Jarred Kelenic (OF – NYM)
Let me start off by saying that Jarred Kelenic is going to be a fantasy star some day. The left-handed high schooler has a clean swing through the zone, quick wrists, and makes hard contact to all fields. As he continues to develop and fill out, more power should come with 25-30 home runs being a fair estimate for him. Pair that with a .280+ average and 25-30+ steals, and you have a fantasy star waiting to happen.
With the 6th pick in the #MLBDraft, the New York Mets select OF Jarred Kelenic (Waukesha West HS) https://t.co/FiViX151Dp #LGM pic.twitter.com/xctmE2mWvI
— Prep Baseball Report (@prepbaseball) June 4, 2018
Travis Swaggerty (OF – PIT)
There were plenty of high-upside outfielders drafted this year, but the one with the most immediate fantasy upside is Swaggy-T. And yes, I’ve already had plenty of fun creating nicknames for him. Swaggerty will likely be one of the first outfielders from this class to reach the majors thanks to his collegiate experience and all-around strong offensive profile. Speed is his best asset, but his hit tool and power aren’t that far behind.
Kyler Murray (OF – OAK)
There’s no doubting that Murray is a freakishly good athlete with speed to burn, but he’s a long ways away from fulfilling his All-Star potential. There’s also a lot of risk associated with Murray because he’s still playing quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Jordyn Adams (OF – LAA)
Adams might have the best speed of all outfielders from this draft class, but his swing needs a lot of work. First off, there’s a lot of moving parts pre-swing. He takes a long time to load and isn’t overly quick to the ball, which will cause some issues against higher velocity.
Prospect Power Rankings
Prospects currently in the minors that can make the biggest 2018 impact.
Hitters
1. Kyle Tucker (OF – HOU)
You could fry an egg on Kyle Tucker’s scorching hot bat right now. The studly outfield prospect is hitting .476 with three home runs and three steals over his last 10 games. His recent hot stretch has raised his batting average from .267 to .315 over the last three weeks.
Raising your average nearly 50 points in three weeks is no easy feat, folks. On top of the average spike, Tucker is now on a near 30/30 pace as well. With Vladdy hurt and Senzel done for the season, Tucker is now head and shoulders ahead of the field as the most significant hitting prospect that can make the biggest fantasy impact down the stretch.
Kyle Tucker is on a 14-game hit streak, batting a robust .508 (30-for-59) during the streak. He hits home runs too. #FarmGrown🍃 pic.twitter.com/XRZ8tbryWb
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) June 26, 2018
2. Christin Stewart (OF – DET)
You can see what I mean by that last sentence above with Tucker. Stewart is a fine power bat and all, but he’s not the type of hitter that’s going to be a main cog in why your team wins a fantasy championship. He’s not that type of game-changer. With that being said, Stewart can most certainly help you out in the power department while netting a .250 average or so.
3. Eloy Jimenez (CWS – OF)
See Minor League notes section for more on Jimenez.
4. Peter Alonso (1B – NYM)
The Mets can keep denying that an Alonso call-up is happening this season, but I do not believe it for two reasons. First off, this is the Mets we’re talking about. Enough said there. Secondly, Alonso has been mashing minor league pitching all season and is, without doubt, the best option the Mets have to man first base. Don’t even start with me about Dominic Smith either. As with every prospect, service time could play a factor in this, but again, this is the Mets.
5. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B – TOR)
I’m not taking Vladdy off this list until the Blue Jays can say with 100% certainty that they’re not calling up him up this season. Guerrero remains on the DL with a knee injury and isn’t due back until mid-July.
Pitchers
1. Michael Kopech (SP – CWS)
Finally! After four straight starts of four+ walks, including one eight-walk fiasco, Kopech settled back down on Monday against Durham, allowing only two walks across six shutout innings. Even with this outing, Kopech still has a 7.6 BB/9 over his last 10 starts and 5.9 BB/9 on the season. I get that locating a baseball thrown at nearly 100 mph can be difficult at times, but this has gotten ridiculous. Hopefully, this last start is the beginning of a turn around for the elite right-hander.
2. Kolby Allard (SP – ATL)
Well, his quality start streak got snapped at 10 games (by one stinking out), but at least Allard is recording more strikeouts of late. Over his last three starts, he’s struck out 23 batters in 17.2 innings, which is good for an 11.7 K/9. Now that’s more like it Kolby.
3. Mitch Keller (SP – PIT)
See Minor League notes section for more on Keller.
4. Enyel De Los Santos (SP – PHI)
Speaking of streaks, De Los Santos is on one of his own. He’s allowed 3 ER or less in 14 straight starts this season. Yes, that means every start he’s made. His ratios remain stellar at a 1.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, while at the same time, the back end of the Phillies rotation is starting to stumble a little bit.
5. Jalen Beeks (SP – BOS)
The Red Sox rotation is hurting. First, Drew Pomeranz went on the DL and his replacement, Steven Wright, has now joined him. Brian Johnson filled in yesterday, but is not a long-term option at this point. If Pomeranz and/or Wright can’t make it back soon, expect Beeks to get another start, despite his underwhelming debut a few weeks back. Beeks still leads all of Triple-A in strikeouts with 101 and his ERA and WHIP sit at a clean 2.40 and 1.00 respectively.
Call-Up City
Fantasy-relevant prospects that have recently gotten the call or a call-up is imminent.
Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA)
The Marlins have called up their top pitching prospect, Sandy Alcantara, to start today’s game against the New York Mets. The 6’4″ hard-throwing righty has a 3.71 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 14 starts for the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes this season. And yes, I just wanted to say babycakes in a sentence. Alcantara has made minor gains with his control over the last two seasons, but unfortunately, his strikeout rate has dropped along with it.
The main cause for that is the lack of a plus secondary offering. Alcantara can light up the radar gun, but doesn’t have that one “out pitch.” On top of that, his control is suspect and consistency is a real problem here. I’d give him a look in NL-only formats, but not yet in mixed 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.
