Two players I really like were promoted to AAA this past week in Chris Shaw, in the Giants Organization, and also Gleyber Torres of the Yankees. Chris Shaw has prolific power and the giants are moving him to the OF. This could accelerate his ETA. Torres is a beast of a player, and with the Yankees winning, could get his ETA pushed up some. Time to stash yet? Not quite, but monitor the article week by week.
Prospects are important to fantasy in all formats. I have provided a number of names to follow and stash and so far, four players have gotten the call, Winker, Happ, Bellinger, and Zimmer. Winker was sent back down after two appearances but the rest of the players have combined for a .276 AVG with 12 HRs, 34 R, 35 RBIs and 3 SB, which is great for 55 combined games. Bellinger even has been the third best first baseman in standard leagues in the past 30 days. What I am saying, prospects are awesome and can really help your team. Keep track.
Anyways, let us begin. Every weekend, I will be posting about the minor leaguers you should be stashing on your team. This list will be arranged by impact for this year only. Players that will be called up sooner will be ahead of players with more talent who might only be called up late in the year.
1. Rhys Hoskins , Philadelphia AAA, ETA: June
Hoskins has played 48 games and has 107 TB. He is just being a monster. That is a 162 game pace of 361 bases. Now I do not expect him to keep that pace in the Majors, but the bat is legit. I do prefer Bellinger to Hoskins, but the bat looks to be special.
2. Franklin Barreto, Oakland AAA, ETA: June
Barreto continues to swat the ball and looks like the next great SS to break into the league. His avg is still north of .300 and he has six homeruns in his 19 XBH. He is striking out quite a bit, 55 times in 44 games, but the power and the contact are real.
3. Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: July
Yoan Moncada came back from the Disabled List on Friday; he went hitless in the first game but had two hits Saturday along with two runs. He is hitting .329 and has an OBP north of .400. He has swiped ten bags and has 13 XBH. As the late Dennis Green would say, “He is who we thought he is” and that is a future first Round pick.
4. Austin Meadows, Pittsburgh Pirates AAA, ETA: June/July
A couple weeks ago, I told you to not worry about Meadows slow start. He was garbage in April hitting .195 and had an OPS of .503. In May, he is hitting .299 and has an OPS of .797. He is not flashing the power he had last year, but all in time. He is progressing and he has potential that only Yoan Moncada surpasses on this list.
5. Clint Frazier, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: July
A .753 April OPS is overshadowed by his .951 OPS in May. He has six Homeruns in the month to push his total to nine. The gap power is there, he has 16 doubles to bring his XBH to 25. He is a going to be a star in New York.
6. Amed Rosario, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July
A guy in my main league has already stashed Amed Rosario. I see Amed Rosario as more of an Elvis Andrus but he is hoping he becomes Francisco Lindor. Lindor was rated defensively and the bat was still developing. That does compare with Amed Rosario so stash away. Amed is hitting .355 and is flashing a bit more power than previously. He has 20 XBH and has 10 SB. My league mate might be right.
7. Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds AAA, ETA: June
He is back. Jesse Winker was called up, made two pinch hit appearances and then was sent back down to Louisville. He has torn up AAA with a .356 average in May. He has 11 XBH and has 20 walks to only 24 strikeouts on the year. He has elite plate discipline and could be up after the super two deadline.
8. Lewis Brinson, Milwaukee Brewers AAA, ETA: July
Concerns? Only with his 50% success rate on the base paths. His avg and power are good, he is going to be a good player but the Brewers are staying patient with him. Broxton and Domingo Santana both have a .900 OPS in the last 30 days. Ryan Braun went down with a calf injury and will work out Nick Franklin for the time being. They could call up Brinson in two weeks, but I do not think they will until they know for sure he will be staying up.
9. Dominic Smith, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July
Mets are 9.5 games back of the Nationals and that could make Lucas Duda days numbered in New York. He is heating up and the trade chatter could along with it. Dominic Smith is doing his part to let the Mets know the changing of the guard would be a smoot transition. He is hitting .317 with 22 XBH and 7 homeruns.
10. Derek Fisher, Houston Astros AAA, ETA: July
Derek Fisher has nine stolen bases on the year. He also been caught stealing 10 times. He has good speed but he has work to do on the base path. He has 10 Homeruns and 13 doubles to go with his .323 avg. I think his AVG will league average when he does get the call, but he can swipe 15+ bags and his 20+ Homeruns. In leagues with XBH, or Triples, he could be quite good.