The last week around minor league baseball has been so eventful, I almost couldn’t pack it into one article. I managed to fit everything in, but be careful, this puppy is ready to burst at the seams.

The population in call-up city got several new residents this week with a handful of promotions carrying some sort of fantasy impact. Speaking of new residents, we continue going over notable prospects from the MLB Draft this week with a six-pack of intriguing infielders.

Now, with the good comes some bad. Two top-25 prospects hit the disabled list this week including King Vladdy. I know it sucks, but we might as well get these injuries out of the way first…

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Minor League Notes

Vladdy and Sixto Hurt

Why can’t we have nice things? Why? Just when Toronto was entertaining the possibility of some sort of promotion for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., he gets injured. A patella tendon strain in his left knee will cause baseball’s top prospect to miss at least the next month of action, which puts a 2018 Major league debut for him in doubt. Toronto was already taking their sweet time promoting Vlad up from Double-A and are sure to be even more cautious with their prized prospect upon his return.

Elbow inflammation are two words you never want to hear as a pitcher. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Sixto Sanchez has. Before being put on the minor league disabled list, Sanchez had a cool 2.51 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 2,1 BB/9, and 8.7 K/9 across eight starts with high Class-A Clearwater. The strong start to the season had his already hot prospect status sizzling even more.

Now, I’m not going to freak out or say the sky is falling here. Elbow inflammation doesn’t always lead to the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Sometimes it’s just as simple as a little inflammation. All we can do is wait and hope it clears up with some time off. The Phillies are going to let him rest for a few weeks before re-evaluating the elbow. Fingers crossed.

Forrest Whitley Back in Action

Guess who’s back? Arguably the top pitching prospect in the minors, that’s who. Whitley has wasted no time reminding everyone of just how good he is. In his first two starts of the season, Whitley has combined to throw eight shutout innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out 11.

Forrest Whitley highlights from last night 🤗

Get pumped. pic.twitter.com/pKvzkgrp5k

— Prospect Gifs (@prospectgifs) June 9, 2018

His six strikeouts last night give him 180 in his first 119 career minor league innings. That’s a 13.6 K/9. Just absurd for a starting pitcher. Whitley’s combination of control, pitchability, and a dominant arsenal are going to get him to Houston in a hurry, perhaps as early as later this season.

MLB Draft Infield Notables

Jonathan India (3B – CIN)
India’s final season as a Gator propelled him from being a decent prospect to an early first-round pick. In 203 at-bats, India slashed .360/.500/.729/1.229 with 19 homers, 47 RBIs, 61 runs, and 12 steals. The power is a new and welcomed addition to his offensive profile. While it remains to be seen if that power will translate to wooden bats, India has enough across the board statistical upside to become a fantasy star.

Nick Madrigal (SS – CHW)
Madrigal is arguably the best pure hitter in the 2018 draft class. Comparing him to Jose Altuve, while unfair, is high praise for Madrigal. He’ll likely never have the power Altuve has, but the batting average, stinginess for strikeouts, and elite contact skills will lead to plenty of .300 seasons in Madrigal’s career. Add in 10-15 homers and plus wheels, and you have an elite fantasy asset waiting to happen.

Nolan Gorman (3B – STL)
Want to know how highly I think of Nolan Gorman? Well, I recently compared him to Troy Glaus. That’s pretty high praise in my book as Glaus was one of the most feared sluggers in the league for several seasons when I was growing up. Gorman’s elite raw power is a thing of beauty to watch and should have no problems translating to professional ball. While his swing and miss tendencies flare up here and there, he makes enough contact to produce an average in the .260-.280 range to go along with that 40+ homer upside.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, a mammoth blast from Mr. Gorman himself.

Nolan Gorman, selected at No. 19 overall by the @Cardinals, hit this MONSTER home run in the @PGAllAmerican Classic! https://t.co/VR9LgPFurt pic.twitter.com/DajwjpK9Az

— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) June 5, 2018

Triston Casas (3B – BOS)
During the MLB Draft, Casas was mentioned in the same breath as Freddie Freeman. It wasn’t a full comparison, but that just goes to show how much upside Casas has at the plate, especially in the power department. His swing does have some holes in it, so don’t expect him to have a batting average in Freddie Freeman territory, but Casas has the potential to be one of the best sluggers in this draft class.

Alec Bohm (3B – PHI)
Enjoy your time at the hot corner Maikel Franco because Alec Bohm is coming for your job sooner rather than later. The hulking third baseman has developed into an all-around force at the plate, combining impressive raw power with plenty of hard contact and much-improved plate discipline. Bohm has the makings of a middle of the order masher and future fantasy star, regardless of whether that’s at third base or across the diamond at first.

Joey Bart (C – SF)
The Giants thought highly enough of Joey Bart to make him the No. 2 overall selection in this year’s draft. That’s some high praise for a catcher, but Bart has the ability to back it up with a solid batting average and 20+ homers annually. The Georgia State product should be a starting fantasy catcher within the next few seasons.

Prospect Power Rankings

Prospects currently in the minors that can make the biggest 2018 impact.

Hitters

1. Nick Senzel (2B/3B – CIN)
The injury to Guerrero vaults Senzel back up into the top spot here. The power has remained in a deep slumber since his return, but the batting average sure hasn’t as Senzel has now recorded four straight multi-hit games, pushing his average close to .300. Assuming there are no setbacks, Senzel should get the call as soon as there’s an injury or the Reds decide to deal Scooter Gennett before the trade deadline.

2. Kyle Tucker (OF – HOU)
All status quo here. Tucker’s power barrage has cooled, but he’s still quietly on pace for a 20/20 season with over 100 runs and RBIs. His time is coming.

3.  Austin Riley (3B – ATL)
I guess going on the 7-day disabled list is a good way to push the pause button on a rising strikeout rate. A sprained PCL will keep Riley out of action for the next few weeks. That gaping hole at third in Atlanta still remains so Riley should still take over soon after the All-Star break, assuming he has no setbacks with his rehab.

4. Tyler O’Neill (OF – STL)
Well, it took him nine games, but O’Neill finally cranked his first dinger since being sent back down to Triple-A Memphis. The first inning solo shot was O’Neill’s 14th of the season which still ranks in the top-10 for Triple-A, even with his Major League stint. There’s no doubting O’Neill’s massive power upside, but his path to playing time remains murky.

5. Christin Stewart (OF – DET)
Even with Stewart being marred in a slump, Detroit needs his bat more than ever with Miguel Cabrera now done for the season. On top of that, Jacoby Jones is doing some serious flirting with the Mendoza line as the Tigers starting left-fielder. Now, wouldn’t Stewart’s near .900 OPS look a lot better out there? Sure it would.

Pitchers

1. Michael Kopech (SP – CHW)
You picked a really great time to revert back to your former wild self Mr. Kopech. Just when the rumblings of a call to Chicago started, Kopech promptly began a stretch of seven starts in which he had four or more walks in five of them. The rough patch pushes his ERA up to a lackluster 4.70 through a dozen starts. He’ll look to right the ship tonight against Norfolk.

2. Shane Bieber (SP – CLE)
Bieber has walked three batters in his last two starts. This must be the first sign of the apocalypse. Still, Bieber has a 1.29 ERA and 0.77 WHIP this season and is sure to get another shot in Cleveland in the very near future.

3. Kolby Allard (SP – ATL)
Dare I say that Kolby Allard is the second coming of Mark Buehrle? Think about it. Like Buehrle, Allard is a southpaw with a solid, yet unspectacular arsenal (except for that beautiful curveball) that posts solid ratios with lower strikeout totals. That encompasses exactly what Buehrle was in his career. Allard toes the rubber tonight, looking to extend his current quality start streak to nine.

4. Enyel De Los Santos (SP – PHI)
Speaking of eight straight quality starts, hello Mr. De Los Santos. The 22-year-old Dominican native has thrown two more quality starts since our last report, allowing just one run in 15 innings. I feel like a broken record saying this, but all he needs is a chance.

5. Jalen Beeks (SP – BOS)
Well, that didn’t quite go as planned. Beeks got rocked in his Major League debut last week, allowing six runs and seven hits through just four innings of work. While watching the game, you could quickly notice Beeks missing his spots and not having command of his pitches. Now back with Triple-A Pawtucket, Beeks picked right up where he left off allowing just one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts against Syracuse. We haven’t seen the last of Beeks in a Red Sox uniform this season.

Call-Up City

Fantasy-relevant prospects that have recently gotten the call or a call-up is imminent.

Francisco Mejia (C – CLE)
Mejia might be the top catching prospect in the game, but there’s no reason to get excited about this promotion. First off, this is likely to only be a brief stint with Cleveland while Roberto Perez is injured, which is likely to only be a few days at most. Secondly, Mejia has struggled to the tune of a .605 OPS this season at Triple-A, and that’s after hitting .342 over the last 10 games. There’s significant upside here, just not right now.

Mike Soroka (SP – ATL)
This one doesn’t need much explaining. After missing a month with shoulder inflammation, Soroka returned to the Braves lineup in dominating fashion, posting 6.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing only one run and one hit while striking out four. With his rotation spot seemingly safe moving forward, Soroka needs to be owned in all fantasy leagues.

Willy Adames (SS – TB)
After an extremely brief stint with the Rays last month, Willy Adames is back up with the big club and likely for good this time. The Rays are falling further and further out of contention and seem ready to see what Adames can do with extended playing time. The upside here is limited, but Adames also is a safe bet for production across the board. If the gig is really his for good moving forward, a rest-of-season stat line around .270 with close to 10 homers and steals is attainable.

Tom Murphy (C – COL)
This move made sense but was also a head-scratcher. Murphy has been crushing Triple-A pitching with 16 home runs and a 1.001 OPS in 187 at-bats, which are promotion-worthy numbers, but Colorado already has Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters healthy and on the active roster. Murphy easily has the most fantasy upside of the trio, but it remains to be seen how much he will play. Consider this a wait-and-see situation for now.

Tom Murphy is 💪 pic.twitter.com/TQ4Ysv0Dg9

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) May 20, 2018

Jose Miguel Fernandez (1B – LAA)
With a gaping hole at first base, and Albert Pujols not able to fill it, the Angels will give Cuban star, Jose Miguel Fernandez, a shot to stick moving forward. The 30-year-old can hit for both power and a solid batting average, making him an intriguing target for those needing a first baseman. Miguel Cabrera owners, I’m looking at you.

Dominic Smith (1B – NYM)
When the Mets announced the release of the rotting corpse that is Adrian Gonzalez, they had a golden chance to have Peter Alonso skip Triple-A and fill that vacancy at first base. That would’ve been awesome for fantasy purposes, but nope, we get the lackluster Dominic Smith once again. There’s no value here outside of NL-Only leagues. Smith wouldn’t have even been fantasy relevant if there was a Fantasy Triple-A format. In the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Smith could only muster a .260 average with two home runs in 219 at-bats. Hard pass.

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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.