7/2 Ranking The Top 10 Pitching Prospects To Stash

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) Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: July

He has nine straight starts with allowing three earned runs of less. In that span he has 51.1 IP with 51 strikeouts and 20 walks to go with his 3.51 ERA. He has brought his ERA down from 7.31 on May 8th to 4.86. In June, he has upped him strikeouts and has 36 strikeouts in 29.1 innings, which is good for 11.0 k/9. He is really hitting his groove and the White Sox should be considering a promotion this month.

2) Chance Adams, New York Yankees AAA, ETA: August

Adams has only pitched one inning in the past 10 days because of a rain delay. The Yankees are getting CC Sabathia back this week so their bullpen is back to full strength. Their rotation is doing quite well, so I do not see a need for Adams unless another injury occurs. If that happens, he should the guy as Luis Cessa is not pitching deep enough into games, and has an ERA of 5.82.

3) Andrew Moore, Seattle Mariners AAA, ETA: Tomorrow Go Add Him!

This should be Andrew Moore’s last time on the list. He is being recalled to Seattle to pitch Monday against the Royals. He will be a two-start pitcher next week with the Athletics on the books as well. Two very good teams to pick up a starting pitcher for. He only made one start since being sent back down and did quite well. He allowed one earned through five innings, he struck out four and walked none. Andrew is a Low Ceiling High Floor pitcher. Rest of Season he could slot into the 60-70 rankings.

4) Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals AAA, ETA: July

Weaver was pulled in the fourth inning of his June 23rd start for an injury. He did make his next scheduled start and went six strong innings allowing no runs while striking out six. He has been battling injuries all year after starting AAA on the DL with a back issue. He has a 1.93 ERA through 11 starts. There is not a spot for him in ST Louis right now, but there could be if the Cardinals decide to be sellers.

5) Reynaldo Lopez, Chicago White Sox AAA, ETA: August

Reynaldo pitched a gem this week going 6.2 innings with one earned run and a walk allowed while striking out eleven. He now has nine quality starts on the year through his 15 starts. The White Sox could use some quality starters but I think Giolito will be the first called up. He has been the better pitcher the past month as Reynaldo has fallen off a bit in June with a 5.32 ERA.

6) Drew Steckenrider, Miami Marlins AAA, ETA: July

Steckenrider is penciled in to pitch in the AAA All-star game on July 12th. If he stays in AAA that is. He has not allowed a walk in his last eight minor league appearances while striking out 14 in the same span. The Marlins are rumored to be dealing their bullpen pieces at the deadline, which will open a spot up for Drew Steckenrider. He has an outside shot of ending the year the closer if the Marlins deal AJ Ramos.

7) Yohander Mendez, Texas Rangers AA, ETA: August

The Rangers have been dealing with injuries all season and have had ten different starters this year. The Rotation has AJ Griffin, and Martin Perez on the DL and Yu Darvish and Andrew Cashner banged up as well. However, it looks like Martin Perez is coming off the DL tomorrow, and Darvish and Cashner will make their starts this week. If the Rangers are cautious, they could have Yohander make a spot start as he is only 45 minutes away in Frisco. He is a good but unspectacular and will likely be an innings eater that will not destroy your ERA. He does a great job getting his six innings as he has done in 12 of his last 13 outings, which gives him more upside in QS leagues.

8) Steven Brault, Pittsburgh Pirates AAA, ETA: August

Baseball America ranks Steven Brault the #7 prospect in the Pirates Organization and it is easy to see why by looking at his last start, eight scoreless innings with no walks, four hits allowed and nine strikeouts. He has some competition in AAA with Drew Hutchinson who owns a 1.86 ERA in his last seven starts. The Pirates could go with Hutch should they need a starter but Brault warrants consideration as he leads the International League in ERA (2.04).

9 ) Lucas Sims, Atlanta Braves AAA, ETA: August

He an International League All Star, only Ozzie Albies and Sims were selected from Gwinnett. He leads the International League in strikeouts (96), is tied for first in games started (16) and is 6th in whip (1.19). He has done well in AAA but I would not expect huge numbers from him. He could strike some guys out, especially against NL East line ups, and could collect some wins with the Braves but I don’t expect him to be a guy to stash right now unless you are in a big team/roster league.

10 ) Jimmie Sherfy, Arizona Diamondbacks AAA, ETA: July

Welcome to the list Jimmie Sherfy. For Dynasty Leagues or big roster leagues looking for a future closer, Jimmie Sherfy is your guy. Before I talk about his season, let us go to MLB Pipeline for his scout grades:

Fastball: 70

Slider: 55

Change Up: 40

Control: 40

Overall: 45

He has two plus pitches to go with an average change up. You might say, well has a 40 control, why would he be a future closer? Well those grades were in the off-season and based in large part on 2016 where he nearly owned a 4BB/9. In 2017, he has been much better only allowing three walks through 29.1 IP. That is less than one walk per nine. He also led the minors in saves in 2016 and has converted nine out of 10 this year. He looks good.