The Stash 5/20: 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.

Let’s get down to business.

Note: This list doesn’t include Joe Ross nor Blake Snell as they are technically not “Prospects”. They would be #1 and #2 on this list as a proper stash.

1. Jose De Leon

Making his second rehab start after coming off the DL with forearm soreness, Jose De Leon was hitless through five innings and struck out five. Last year in his four major league starts, De Leon had a 6.35 ERA, which might have burned some bridges with some fantasy managers. Do not fear De Leon because of that. I would rather be burnt twice then miss a top end SP and with all the pitching on the DL, he would be a huge relief for teams.

2. Dinelson Lamet

He was roughed up a bit last Saturday as the Cardinals AAA team put five on the board in four innings. He bounced back though and struck out nine in six innings, allowing one earned vs the Brewers AAA. There is not much else to prove in AAA for him. He has a 98 mph fastball and a big slider, which he commands pretty well. Lamet is not a guy many people have talked about, so you might not need to stash him until he is called up, but he is worth adding when he does get the call.

3. Luke Weaver

One walk in four starts with nineteen strikeouts through 22 innings. Luke Weaver is a bit stuck in Memphis because the Cardinals Rotation has done quite well this year and has stayed healthy. If an injury does occur, he will get the call and should be an immediate add.

4. Yohander Mendez

Yohander has given up four homeruns in his last three starts but he has a 3.32 ERA while striking out 17 in 19 innings pitched. The damage to his ERA is attributed to the long balls as he only has given up seven earned. His whip it 0.89 and his BAA is .141 in May. He looks like a solid pitcher and with the red-hot Rangers; he could be in for his fair share of wins when he does get the call.

5. Reynaldo Lopez

Reynaldo Lopez was #10 in my preseason pitching prospect rankings. He has a 3.14 ERA in 43 IP in AAA, while he has struck out 45 and walked 22.  His stuff is filthy and if he gets the call should be an immediate add in all league formats. Lopez is already on the 40-man roster for the White Sox and could be called up around the Super Two deadline.

6. Jacob Faria

MLBTraderumors gave Faria a shout out this week in their knocking on the door series. It is hard to dismiss his potential with his 62 strikeouts in 41.1 IP. He does sport a 3.92 ERA but I would not be too worried about that. You are not buying Faria for his ERA, you want the strikeouts and they should be plenty.

7. Brandon Woodruff

Woodruff has eight starts on the year in AAA and owns a 3.02 ERA with a 1.05 Ship and 42 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched. He has done just about everything the brewers could ask of him. He is not a strikeout guy, but he will have a respectable whip and era at the next level. A call up could be soon, or it could be after the super two.

8. Josh Hader

Josh Hader in April: 24.2 IP with 17 walks. Josh Hader in May: Seven walks in 16 innings. He is controlling the strike zone a bit better. His K/9 is slightly up, his BB/9 is down, his WHIP is down, and his ERA is down. He is looking better but he needs to continue to develop. I still think Woodruff is next up, but Hader could follow not long after.

9. Carson Fulmer

Fulmer was absolutely rocked on Wednesday allowing seven earned in 4.2 innings. His ERA shot up from 2.72 to 3.86. Before that start, he had five consecutive games allowing one earned, so nothing too worrying. He looks good. He looks like he belongs in the rotation and I think that could happen in June.

10. Lucas Sims

Lucas Sims struck out ten on May 14^th, while allowing no earned runs and giving up only two hits and a walk. He has been quite a surprise this year and should be up soon. He carries a 2.16 ERA and has 42 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched. He is not going to be a high strikeout guy but he could have some very good match ups in the NL East when he gets the call.