We’re back for some prospecting in the Minor Leagues. In the last article, we hit on some names for you to get ahead of on the waiver wire, including Nick Kurtz, Chandler Simpson, J.T. Ginn and Chase Meidroth.
Now, with about a month of the Minor League season behind us, we can dig deeper into prospect speculation. Let’s look at five prospects at the top of the speculation market
Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash Now
We are officially on Bubba Chandler watch. We’ve seen the Pirates build up his innings over five starts. In his latest start, we saw him go five innings, giving up one hit, striking out four and walking none (though he did hit two batters).
We’re back for some prospecting in the Minor Leagues. In the last article, we hit on some names for you to get ahead of on the waiver wire, including Nick Kurtz, Chandler Simpson, J.T. Ginn and Chase Meidroth.
Now, with about a month of the Minor League season behind us, we can dig deeper into prospect speculation. Let’s look at five prospects at the top of the speculation market
Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash Now
We are officially on Bubba Chandler watch. We’ve seen the Pirates build up his innings over five starts. In his latest start, we saw him go five innings, giving up one hit, striking out four and walking none (though he did hit two batters).
In his early starts, it was mainly fastball and slider, but his change-up usage has picked up. His triple-digit fastball looks as good as ever. Everything is lined up for him to get a call to the Majors any time now. He is a must-add waiver wire pickup. If he’s on your wire, get him now before buzz starts to pick up about his call-up.
On April 10th, Roman Anthony was hitting just .176. As of April 27th, he’s hitting .313. It took him a little to adjust, but Anthony is back to putting up a huge exit velocity of 97 miles per hour (MPH) on average and a 113 max, which comes to an over 60% hard-hit percentage at Triple-A.
Cutting down strikeouts is important for the team to see as well. He looks the part of a top overall prospect in baseball right now. His timeline is a bit murky, though. Kristian Campbell hasn’t played great second base. There is a world where Marcelo Mayer gets called up and Campbell goes to the outfield. That would cut off Anthony’s timeline. His hot bat, though, is worth a stash now if the Red Sox are looking to bolster their lineup.
Besides Nick Kurtz, Jordan Lawlar has been one of the hottest bats in the Minor Leagues to date. He’s sporting a .354 average with five home runs and 11 stolen bases. Though some of his batted ball profile isn’t jumping off the page, the 88% zone contact% is.
That type of contact will create great things in the Diamondbacks’ lineup. Like many prospects right now, where and how Lawlar fits is the question. Ketel Marte is about back, Geraldo Perdomo is their shortstop and Eugenio Suarez is coming off a four-home run game. I’d love to see him take some outfield reps, but Mike Hazen said when he’s ready, he’ll be up no matter what. He looks kind of ready, Mike.
Justin Steele‘s season-ending injury created a hole in the Cubs’ rotation. Colin Rea has been solid, as of writing this, but Ben Brown has an over 6.00 ERA. Cade Horton may be the answer with his 1.06 ERA and 35% strikeout rate. He’s been a little walk-heavy, but his fastball is back up to 96, and he’s seeing great results.
Many forget, but Horton was one of the Cubs’ top prospects. Once he gets a look in the rotation, he will be a borderline rotation pickup or streamer. He’s throwing his slider more, so we may see the strikeouts carry over to the Majors.
The Twins had a spot in their rotation that went to David Festa. He was sent back down once Pablo Lopez returned, and though he could be back up next, Zebby Matthews deserves a long, hard look. His last outing was OK, but he walked a few, and his velocity was down a little.
On the year, Matthews still has a 1.97 ERA, and the four walks in his last start were more than he had thrown the entire Minor League season. Matthews’ fastball had touched the high 90s, so as long as the velo dip isn’t a trend, the Twins should look to not waste many more bullets with him in the Minors. The velo dip could also be a sign that the Major League training staff needs to start caring for his arm. If he’s called up, we want him.
Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Keep an Eye On
Marcelo Mayer is hitting .280, his power is up with seven home runs already and he is playing some shortstop, second base and third base for versatility. Kristian Campbell’s defense may get Mayer on the infield very soon.
How long can a catcher hit over .400 at Triple-A and not get to the Majors? The Cubs are currently testing this theory. Moises Ballesteros’ bat will make him a must-pickup in two-catcher leagues and a possibility to track like Agustin Ramirez as a 15-team option.
Alex Freeland has been a hitting machine, hitting over .300 in Triple-A. He just hit his second home run to go with six stolen bases, and has incredibly strong hard-hit and exit velocities in the Minors.
Freeland is an injury away from being called up and should be looked at when that happens.
Logan Henderson was great in his taste of the Majors. The Brewers have arm reinforcements coming off the injured list (IL), but will Chad Patrick and Quinn Priester hold him back? Not for too long.
The Rays rotation seems locked, and we’ve already seen Joe Boyle get a look, but Ian Seymour has one of the best ERAs, swinging strike rates and K-BB% in Triple-A. We’re keeping a close eye on him to get to the bigs.
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