Week five! Throughout the year, this will be a weekly series that will outline the prospect promotions from the previous week.
The minor league season has begun and we have seen more and more prospects starting to get the call. All stats are of May 13.
May 7
Jake Rogers, C, DET (preseason PL team rank: 35): Rogers has struggled at the MLB level. He has solid pop but needs to improve his plate approach.
Trevor Larnach, OF, MIN (preseason PL team rank: 2): Larnach has been one of the best bats in the minors, posting a .857 OPS in three seasons. With injuries to both Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff, Larnach will slot right into the middle of the Twins lineup for the time being.
May 8
DJ Peters, OF, LAD (preseason PL team rank: 43): Peters has power but strikeout concerns. The Dodgers seem to be using him as an extra body in a pinch.
Zac Lowther, P, BAL (preseason PL team rank: 16): Lowther is a lefty with a starter’s mix. He was called up for a spot start and was blasted for seven runs over 2.1 innings. He was optioned after that.
Daniel Castano, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Castano is a former 19th round pick that is on the verge of exceeding rookie limits. Through his first 47 innings, he has a 3.83 ERA. He looks to be a back-of-the-rotation arm.
Jasseel De La Cruz, P, ATL (preseason PL team rank: 8): De La Cruz has exciting stuff but command issues. His fastball registers in the upper 90s and he pairs it with an effective slide. It’s likely a relief profile but a good one. He has since been optioned.
May 9
Louis Head, P, TB (preseason PL team rank: UR): The 31-year-old Head is a relief-only prospect. The Rays are using him a depth arm for 2021.
Nate Pearson, P, TOR (preseason PL team rank: 1): Pearson is one of the best prospect arms in baseball. He struggled at the MLB level in 2020, though, and following this promotion was knocked around for three runs over 2.1 innings. Despite the tough start to his MLB career, the ceiling is sky-high for Pearson. He will likely be stretched out over the next few weeks.
Eli White, INF/OF, TEX (preseason PL team rank: 44): White is a utility type with a hit-over-power profile. Given his versatility, White could carve out some plate appearances.
Ryan McKenna, OF, BAL (preseason PL team rank: 28): McKenna has elite speed but has not been able to hit in limited MLB appearances. His speed alone could give him a bench role, but he’s likely to bounce between the majors and minors all season.
Troy Stokes, Jr., OF, PIT (preseason PL team rank: UR): Stokes, Jr. has an interesting power/speed combo but hit tool concerns. He will get some opportunities with Colin Moran on the IL.
Luis Madero, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Madero has spent time primarily as a starter in the minors, posting a 4.38 ERA across seven seasons. He will be used as a temporary relief arm for Miami.
May 10
Keegan Akin, P, BAL (preseason PL team rank: 7): Akin had a 4.56 ERA in 25.1 innings for the Orioles in 2020. The lefty featured good strikeout stuff, posting a 30.2% strikeout rate, but didn’t pitch deep into games. It feels like he’s been around forever so there is some prospect fatigue here, but Akin has some upside as a starter that can rack up punchouts.
May 11
Luke Raley, OF, LAD (preseason PL team rank: UR): Raley has been the emergency bat for the Dodgers to start the year. He is a bench bat and unlikely to carve out a full-time role given the depth of the Dodgers.
Tucupita Marcano, 2B/SS/OF, SD (preseason PL team rank: 12): Marcano has a leadoff profile. He gets the call here as an emergency body following multiple San Diego players being added to the Covid IL. He is an interesting profile long-term but doesn’t have much fantasy value for 2021.
Nabil Crismatt, P, SD (preseason PL team rank: UR): Another week, another appearance in this series for Crismatt. He’s a temporary bullpen arm for the Padres.
Kevin Padlo, 1B/3B, TB (preseason PL team rank: 25): Padlo had been up earlier this year but this move should give him more opportunities. Padlo’s promotion corresponds with a struggling Yoshi Tsutsugo being designated for assignment. Padlo has good power but even if he’s given an extended look here, it’s likely to be in a platoon role.
Jeremy Beasley, P, TOR (preseason PL team rank: UR): The Blue Jays have been hit harder than pretty much every other team in baseball when it comes to bullpen injuries. As a result, Beasley gets the call and could eat up some innings. He has a career 3.52 ERA in the minors.
Johan Oviedo, P, STL (preseason PL team rank: 5): Oviedo is seemingly part of this article each and every week. The Cardinals continue to use him to fill out their rotation. At this rate, he will be exceeding prospect eligibility within the next few weeks.
May 12
Eduard Bazardo, P, BOS (preseason PL team rank: 27): Bazardo is a relief-only prospect but could be a good one. Unlike most relief-only arms, Bazardo hasn’t shown issues with control in the minors. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him carve out a full-time role out of Boston’s pen.
Andrew Young, 2B/3B, ARI (preseason PL team rank: 15): Young hits the ball really hard and can play all over the diamond. That has value, but Arizona has also been getting production from Josh Rojas and Pavin Smith to start the year, so Young will see limited action for the time being. The skills are here if he ever is given an opportunity.
James Kaprielian, P, OAK (preseason PL team rank: 9): Kaprielian has never been short on talent but has run into injury after injury. With this callup he tossed five innings against the Red Sox, allowing one run while striking out six. Given his performance, he could get an extended look.
Brian O’Grady, 1B/OF, SD (preseason PL team rank: UR): O’Grady got the call as an emergency bat while San Diego deals with injuries and players headed to the Covid-IL.
Justin Lawrence, P, COL (preseason PL team rank: UR): Lawrence has shown some nasty stuff in his limited MLB appearances but has also issued some walks. As a Colorado reliever, he won’t be fantasy relevant.
Khalil Lee, OF, NUM (preseason PL team rank: 9): Lee offers intriguing speed and power. He knows how to draw a walk but struggled with strikeouts in the upper minors. With Albert Almora, Jr. hitting the IL, Lee could see have a window of opportunity.
Cody Poteet, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Poteet got the call for a spot start against the Diamondbacks and tossed five innings, allowing two runs while striking out six. He doesn’t have big strikeout rates in the minors and will probably just be a temporary promotion.
Eric Haase, C, DET (preseason PL team rank: UR): The Tigers called up Haase following an IL trip for Grayson Greiner. He is a depth piece for Detroit.
May 13
Logan Gilbert, P, SEA (preseason PL team rank: 4): Here we go. Command is the calling card for Gilbert, one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. The 24-year-old absolutely cruised in the minors, posting a 2.12 ERA in 140 innings. Gilbert has been touching the upper-90s and a prospect that was once seen as a high-floor type suddenly has a very high ceiling. Nick Pollack detailed Gilbert’s debut here.
Jarred Kelenic, OF, SEA (preseason PL team rank: 1): It’s finally happening! While Wander Franco is the consensus top real-life prospect in baseball, Kelenic has seemingly leapfrogged him in the dynasty community. There isn’t much to say at this point – Kelenic has perennial All-Star written all over him and for fantasy purposes should be a contributor in all categories. The talented outfielder should step into a full-time role immediately. He went hitless is his debut, but the Mariners slotted him in right at the top of the order. As a corresponding move, Taylor Trammell was optioned following an up-and-down first month in the bigs.
Rafael Marchan, C, PHI (preseason PL team rank: 17): Marchan is seen as a defense-first backstop. He has limited power at the plate and will serve as a depth piece with J.T. Realmuto set to miss a few games.
Will Craig, 1B, PIT (preseason PL team rank: UR): Craig has hit for decent power in the minors. He should get some opportunities with Phillip Evans hitting the IL.
Photo by Kiyoshi Mio/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)