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. Prospects are a great way to stay ahead of everyone else rather you are in a dynasty league or a 10-team league. With the minor league season going, we can start seeing some movement with this list. With more and more games to evaluate, new players will jump onto the list, while others could fall off entirely.
1) Reynaldo Lopez, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: July
The Chicago White Sox called up Yoan Moncada this week and Reynaldo Lopez could soon follow. He has been superb this month with a 1.80 ERA through four starts. He also has 28 strikeouts to only 5 walks, which is a vast improvement to his 28 strikeouts to 14 walks he had in April. He started yesterday and went six strong innings with only one walk, two hits allowed while striking out six. I am going to make the call and say he starts Wednesday for the White Sox taking James Shields spot who has an 8.10 ERA over his last six start. Stash Lopez today.
2) Chance Adams, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: July/August
The Yankees turned to Bryan Mitchell and Luis Cessa to replace Michael Pineada in the Yankees Rotation. Mitchell had a good outing last time out but was option to AAA when the Tod Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle deal went through. Luis Cessa makes the start tomorrow and it should be one to watch. If Cessa struggles, they could option him back to AAA and recall Mitchell or go with Chance Adams. When asked why Adams was not chosen to replace Pineada, Girardi said, “It comes down to command, using all his pitches, using his third pitch. He still has some work to do.’’ If you google news search “Chance Adams + Change Up” You will find dozens of articles dating back to spring training saying he need to improve yet he has a sub 2.00 ERA with 99 strikeouts, a 1.02 WHIP and a .174 BAA through 19 starts this year. I think he is doing just fine using all his pitches. Call him up.
3) Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals AAA, ETA: July
With a number of teams looking at acquiring Lance Lynn, the Cardinals could soon have an open rotation spot for Luke Weaver. With the trade of Marco Gonzales for Tyler O’Neil, I feel even safer in saying Weaver has that spot. Weaver was called up this month and made a couple appearance but never made a start. He was sent back down to AAA where he has made two starts going 10 innings allowing two earned, one walk and seven hits while striking out nine. He is ready to be back up, he should be up in a week or two.
4) Tyler Mahle, Cincinnati Reds AAA, ETA: August
Tyler Mahle, a 7th round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft that signed for $250,000, has shot up the prospect boards and actually made the Baseball America Top 100 Midseason ranking coming in at #78. He only has five starts in AAA, which normally would make me a little cautious to add him on this list; however, the Reds called up Luis Castillo straight up from AA. Mahle has a 1.93 ERA through 19 starts between AA and AAA and has struck out 114 while only walking 24 through 112 innings pitched.
5) Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: August
He has to one of the most frustrating prospects to track. He strung nine straight starts together allowing three or fewer earned runs and then is destroyed on the 10th outing. He bounces back with a seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. Things start to look good and then his last outing he is shelled again. He is prone to a shelling but he does have upside and could be a top 60-pitcher rest of the year when he gets the call. Remember to avoid starting Giolito versus a line up with plenty of lefties. Lefties hit .306 vs Giolito while righties only his .220.
6) Steven Brault, Pittsburgh Pirates AAA, ETA: August
Steven Brault is back on top for the ERA leaderboard for the International league. He has a 1.40 ERA over his last ten starts and has hit 6 or more innings in 8 of those. He has 95 strikeouts to 36 walks in 100.1 IP on the season. He is not going to overwhelm batters and I expect his K/9 to be below average but he is a consistent pitcher that could be a solid contributor and innings provider for your fantasy squad.
7) Brent Honeywell, Tampa Bay Rays AAA, ETA: Late August
Ladies and Gentlemen, he has made the list. I have strongly resisted all my urges to include him in the list because of the Rays pitching depth and because his rocky start to AAA but he has finally made it. He has been very good in his last five outings and has a 3.19 ERA through 36 IPs and collecting 49 strikeouts. He is next up if the Rays need a pitcher but should be up regardless of pitching needs at the end of August because they will want him qualified for their playoff roster.
8) Lucas Sims, Atlanta Braves AAA, ETA: August
He is second in strikeouts in the International League and has been consistent throughout the season. He has four quality starts in his last five games, which brings his total to ten on the year. With Jaime Garcia good as gone, I would expect Lucas Sims to be in the rotation replacement discussion. He is necessary add in NL only leagues, but could be a very good streaming option this year.
9) Yohander Mendez, Texas Rangers AA, ETA: July/August
He has been much better his last two outings, tossing fourteen combined innings and allowing only one earned run while striking out seventeen batters. With the Rangers reportedly shopping Yu Darvish and possibly Cole Hamels, Yohander Mendez could be up in early August. He has a 3.55 ERA now through 19 starts and 105 strikeouts through 119 IP. He is not a high impact player, but would be a good streaming option.
10 ) Wilmer Font, Los Angeles Dodgers AAA, ETA: August
Everyone loves an underdog story and Wilmer Font is that story. He was a highly regarded international signing out of Venezuela that spent eight seasons in the Texas Rangers organization. He peaked as the Rangers #6 prospect in 2012 and 2013 and was said to have the best fastball in the Rangers organization. However, He had trouble being consistent and eventually was let go. He went to Ottawa to play independent ball for two years before signing with the Blue Jays in 2016. They let him go in the offseason and the Dodgers signed him for pitching depth. He has rewarded them by leading the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts with 138 strikeouts in 101.1 IP. He is 5th in ERA at 3.82, but he has been much better lately with a 3.31 ERA through his last 10 starts. He could come up as a relief pitcher, or could be part of a package when the Dodgers make a deal.