Franklin Barreto made his MLB Debut this weekend for the Athletics and rewarded them by depositing a baseball into the left center bleachers. He finished the day going 2 for 5 with a HR and 2 RBIs. He is in today’s line up and the Athletics have already moved him from the 7th spot to the 2nd. I figured they would plug him into the middle or early part of the line up card but I wasn’t expecting on day two. While Barreto owners are happy, Torres owners are sad. His hyper extended elbow ended up being worse than was initially thought. His season is over now that he needs Tommy John.
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) Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: July
After starting June off 6 for 45 with 19 strikeouts, Yoan Moncada has turned it around the past nine games as he’s had 14 hits in 37 at bats (.378 AVG) with 2 homeruns, 10 walks and 7 strikeouts. The timeline is still post all-star break but do not expect him up immediately after. July 20th is around the time I think he will be up. Add him now, or miss him completely.
2) Derek Fisher, Houston Astros AAA, ETA: July
We saw a small glimpse of his potential in the five games he had in the show. He went .278/.381/.611 with two homeruns and a stolen base. The .278 avg is the high end of what I would expect from him. He is a poor man’s Bradley Zimmer but he has very good fantasy value and can contribute to four categories. He is off to a 1 for 13 start in his return to AAA, but sample sizes are small. He is good, not great, and his timeline is sooner than most on the list.
3) Amed Rosario, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July
Asdrubal Cabrera has requested a trade but with the way the Mets have ran their team, they might just play Gavin Cecchini at SS, Wilmer Flores at 2B, Jose Reyes at 3B and call it a season. Amed is only 21 and will not be 22 until the offseason. The Mets are not in a rush to promote him but they should be. He is good, he is showing more pop this year and he is hitting .320. Call him up Sandy.
4) Rhys Hoskins, Phildelphia Phillies AAA, ETA: August
Rhys Hoskins peaked at #1 on this list and has slowly been dropping despite performing at a high level. In the last 10 games, he has three Homeruns, 11 RBIs, 9 Runs, 6 Walks and only 4 strikeouts. He is hitting .406. He has Tommy Joseph ahead of him on the depth chart but he should be making Pete Mackanin rethink who should be manning the bag. He is an impact bat that can hit .260+ with 25-30 HRs. In big roster leagues, I would feel comfortable stashing him if I needed a corner infielder. In 10 team standards, he is not quite worth stashing.
5) Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds AAA, ETA: July
He was called up last week, and then optioned back down after the Reds activated Homer Bailey. He went 2 for 9 with a double and 2 RBIs. Some viewers question Winker’s inclusion on this list because of the lack of displayed power. This is what I have to say about Winker:
Great American Ball Park is hitter friendly and the walls in Right field are 15 feet shorter in comparison to the Louisville Slugger Field. The Louisville Bats stadium is hitter friendly but it is not homerun friendly, especially for LH hitter like Winker. With 100 Park Factor being normal, the Louisville Bats have a 76 rating for Home runs which is quite low in comparison to their AAA counterpart Charlotte Knights who own a 166 rating. I am not saying that I expect Winker to magically boost to 25 Homeruns a season but what he can be is Eric Hosmer. .290/80 R/ 15-20 HR/ 90 RBIs/ 5-10 SB. He will be plugged into the middle of the line up much quicker than some of the players I have on my list, which will provide him with runs and rbis opportunities. In addition, Keep in mind this list is for 2017, and while other players are likely to have a better prime, he is more MLB ready right now than quite a few of the people on the list.
6) Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox AA, ETA: August
The Red Sox signed Johnny Peralta to a minor league deal and could be up when they decide to send the panda down. However, they could instead go with Devers as a promotion is in store now that the Red Sox have moved Michael Chavis to Portland with him. They will be deploying Chavis at DH, but that is only a short-term solution. They will want their #10 prospect in the field, which means Devers will head to AAA or MLB. He has earned that right with a slash line of .289/.346/.550 with 14 HRs 45 RBIs and 39 runs. I do not know if the Red Sox will bring him up in July but if you are winning, you can stash, wait, and see.
7) Dominic Smith, New York Mets AAA, ETA: August
He has some power, with eight homeruns, one triple and 19 doubles on the year. He could be up as soon as the Mets deal Lucas Duda next month. He is hitting .361 the past 10 games, he is ready. He just needs the first base bag to open up.
8) Clint Frazier, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: August
Frazier has gone cold the past week going 3 for 23. He is susceptive to cold streaks so I would not think too much about it. He needs an injury for a promotion before September. If something happens, add him quick. He will contribute across the other categories, including stolen bases.
9) Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves AAA, ETA: August
Brandon Phillips was acquired from the Reds for two minor leaguers that are not that exciting. All but $1,000,000 of his $14,000,000 salary is being paid by the Reds. The Braves wanting to have a stop gap player before Ozzie Albies is called up, has done quite well. He is hitting .306 with a .812 OPS. He has 7 HRs and 19 Doubles. They took someone’s cast off and will be turning him into a July Trade piece. That will open a spot for Ozzie Albies. Albies is hitting .277/3.27/.432 in AAA with 15 Doubles, 6 Triples, 5 HRs and 18 stolen bases.
10) Francisco Mejia, Cleveland Indians AA, ETA: August
This one might be a bit farfetched but He could be an impactful player that could immediately be a top 10 player in his position. He makes good contact and has good power, which makes him a premium add at his position. He only has 188 at bats in AA but with Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez struggling at the plate, the Indians could make the move. He is highly regarded as a defensive catcher and only ranks behind Carson Kelly on MLB Pipeline’s catching prospect list.