Hundreds of baseball players make their debut over the course of a season. However, for every Ronald Acuña and Scott Kingery there are dozens of lesser known prospects making their debuts who aren’t as frequently discussed. To remedy that, Alex Fast, Adam Garland, Ben Palmer and I will be doing a write-up on every single player making their MLB Debut. Inspired by the Effectively Wild podcast and Andrew Perpetua, we’ll discuss each debut’s skill set, how long they will likely remain in the majors and any other pertinent information you need to know. Each player will also be stored in a spreadsheet featuring further information (bio, D.O.B, player ID’s, etc) that can be accessed at the bottom of the article.
We had two catchers debut on May 26:
Alfredo Gonzalez (C, Chicago White Sox, 25 years old)
Call Up Date: May 26th
Role: Bench Depth
Organization Ranking: N/A
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: N/A
Fantasy Relevance: None
Alfredo Gonzalez was recalled from AAA Charlotte following Welington Castillo’s 80-game PED suspension. Gonzalez will slot into the backup catcher role as Omar Narvaez is set to take on the lion’s share of the work behind the backstop. Gonzalez has shown flashes of decency, hitting near .300 as recently as his 2016 AA stint. However, after hitting .169 in AAA this season, it is unlikely that the 25-year-old catcher will have any fantasy relevance without a major change to his role and hitting profile.
Jose Briceno (C, Los Angeles Angels, 25 years old)
Call Up Date: May 26th
Role: Injury fill-in
Organization Ranking: N/A
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: N/A
Fantasy Relevance: None
Jose Briceno has been selected from the Angels AA affiliate Salt Lake City to replace Rene Rivera, who hit the DL after undergoing knee surgery. Briceno impressed in his first MLB start, going 2-4 with a 2-run home run off of Chasen Shreve in the seventh. Briceno has shown some pop in the minors, hitting 9 homers in 92 games at AA last season and 6 homers in 23 games this season with Salt Lake City. Known primarily as a solid defender behind the plate, Briceno will likely be up with the Anaheim squad for the duration of Rivera’s DL stint, which should last 6-8 weeks following his surgical procedure. While his heroics on Saturday did help the Angels win in a rout over the Yankees, it is unlikely that Briceno will surpass Martin Maldonado for the starting role in LA. Without a starting role or a strong minor league résumé, it is very unlikely that Briceno will be relevant in any fantasy leagues this season.
Missed a player’s debut? Read detailed reports on all 2018 MLB debuts in this spreadsheet.