Correa, Nola lead promising minor league baseball fantasy prospect list
In a somewhat surprising move, the Washington Nationals elected to promote 23-year-old Wilmer Difo earlier this week when Jayson Werth landed back on the disabled list.
Why the surprise?
First, he’s only played in 14 games above high-A ball and second he’s an infielder by trade where the Nationals are set in the health department with Ian Desmond and the Yunel Escobar / Danny Espinosa platoon producing.
But as I’ve discussed in this digital space before, fantasy baseball owners best be paying attention to all farm systems for potential waiver wire value. Difo, who singled in his first MLB at-bat last night, is just one of many players basically skipping Double and Triple-A for a shot a major league cup o’ coffee.
Here are all players between the ages of 18-23 who have received their shot in 2015 (batters / pitchers):
You should know the name. Hit .168 with 13 HR / 42 R / 44 RBI in 95 games last season for the Astros. However, he’s been torching (hitter friendly) Pacific Coast League pitching as of late. Singleton earned Player of the Week honors after hitting .357 (10-for-28) with five home runs, 23 RBI and two stolen bases. That was in one week.
Currently, the Astros have Chris Carter at first and Evan Gattis as their designated hitter. Carter is striking out more than 37 percent of the time with a batting average just north of .160. Gattis is working towards a batting average better than Mendoza.
You should also know this name with cups o’ coffee with the Orioles and Astros. Currently raking at a .345 clip with .426 OBP. However, George Springer and fellow prospect Jake Marisnick aren’t going anywhere. So, that leaves Colby Rasmus – he of the 35 percent strikeout rate – as the top option to get bumped by Hoes should he get promoted. This seems unlikely, but Hoes is still somebody to monitor the next two months.
Ken Rosenthal pleaded his case for Correa to make his MLB debut now instead of later. The 20-year-old phenom crushed Double-A pitching for 29 games before earning a promotion to Triple-A a few weeks ago. To add to his minor league legacy and feed the ever-growing hype machine, Correa missed time a season ago due to a broken leg and picked up right where his potential left off. With Jed Lowrie on the DL (thumb) and the Astros competing in the AL West, it’ll come down to front office business and arbitration bottom line. If that’s too vague and inside baseball business, Correa’s promotion now could cost the Astros lots of cash down the road.
Report came out May 21st that Nola will remain with the Phillies Double-A affiliate for now. He’s 6-2 with a 6.66 K/9 rate and 1.54 ERA in eight starts for Reading. The Phillies are 7-3 over their last 10 games and only 6 ½ games out of first place in the NL East. Cole Hamels and Aaron Harang are carrying the starting rotation with 14 quality starts out of a possible 18.
Noah Syndergaard gets the headlines, but the 23-year-old Matz should also be on the radar. In eight PCL starts, he’s 4-2 with a 9.72 K/9 and ERA under 2.00. Although Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard basically have three rotation spots on lock, veterans Bartolo Colon (7.04) and Jon Niese (4.62) haven’t produced the best May numbers. Matz’s promotion or movement in some type of trade package should be monitored.
Heaney’s first cup of major league coffee was a little weak. He finished 0-3 with a 5.83 ERA in seven appearances last season for the Marlins. After embracing his inner-trade chip, Heaney bounced to the Dodgers before he was flipped in a second deal with the Angels this past winter. He’s 5-0 with a 8.93 K/9 rate and 3.12 ERA. Matt Shoemaker better watch his back and 5.00-plus ERA. Plus, MLB.com columnist Lyle Spencer tosses out this scenario involving Heaney.
He’s 17 games into his Triple-A tenure, strikes out about 20 percent of the time and carries a .352 BABIP, but the future is bright for Seager. When the 21-year-old SS/3B makes the jump to the Dodgers remains murky. Several reasons why:
Don’t dismiss the Cubs trading Wellington Castillo to the Mariners – they are moving chess pieces. Miguel Montero isn’t the long-term option behind the plate and David Ross is there to make Jon Lester comfortable. The trade opens the door for Schwarber in the short-term. He’s mashing minor league pitching with nine homers in 36 Double-A games. More than likely we see him in 2016, but fun potential at a shallow fantasy position pool.
The Twins’ farm system is rich with talent and Berrios is a great example. He’s 4-2 with a 10.44 K/9 rate and 2.44 ERA. Minnesota isn’t competing for any World Series titles and the starting rotation is suspect at best.
He was busy wow’ing the masses in 2014, but the start of 2015 has showed some control issues in Owens’ game. He owns a 6.38 BB/9 rate which is the WORST in all of Triple-A baseball. Red Sox nation shouldn’t be in a rush to promote him in 2015 until he works out the kinks.
