Yoan Moncada received the call this week from the Chicago White Sox. Their rebuilding efforts are now on display at the major league level and it should be exciting to see what he can do. He has three games under his belt and has gone 1 for 9 with a three rbi triple. Moncadas home to third sprint of 11.24 seconds was the fastest time by a White Sox player this season, according to MLB Statcast. Hopefully he makes a Bellinger-esque impact in fantasy because I own him in the Pitcher List Writers League.
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.
1) Lewis Brinson, OF, Milwaukee Brewers AAA, ETA: July/August
Keon Broxton went 23 for 128 (.180 avg) with 54 strikeouts since June 1st. The Brewers had enough and finally optioned him to AAA. They already have his replacement on the 25 man with Brett Phillips but Lewis Brinson could see some time if Phillips does not cut it. Phillips is not exactly off to a hot start of his own with 3 hits in 17 at bats but two of those hits did go out of the park. I expect the Brewers to give him a decent leash but with Brinson tearing AAA apart, hitting .407 with 14 XBH in the 20 games since his demotion, and with the Brewers leading the NL Central, they will make the move if Phillips does not pan out.
2) Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July/August
There have been talks of Asdrubal Cabrera or Wilmer Flores being shipped out. That would create a spot for Amed Rosario on the MLB Roster but we never know with Sandy Alderson as GM. I feel for the owners that have stashed Rosario for a while, he has been stashed in my main league since May 22nd, but the wait should be worth it. He is hitting .330 in AAA with 31 XBHs and 17 steals through 87 games. He just need a competent GM to call him up.
3) Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets AAA, ETA: July/August
Lucas Duda to the Yankees would make perfect sense. The Yankees get a rental for 2017 and hopefully a healthy Greg Bird will take over in 2018, while the Mets get a prospect, maybe Miguel Andujar and another prospect. It’s a win win. The Mets also create a spot for Dominic Smith on the MLB Roster. The 2013 First Round pick continues to do his part in AAA and is hitting .368 in July with five homeruns and nine doubles in 18 games. He is MLB ready and would be a nice add to a fantasy squad.
4) Derek Fisher, OF, Houston Astros AAA, ETA: August
The Astros are in on every starting pitcher available and Derek Fisher could be one of the key pieces to go in a deal. I personally would rather take Kyle Tucker but Fisher has continues to destroy the cover off the ball in AAA and would be a solid centerpiece in a deal. He is hitting .395 since he was demoted to AAA and has a solid 6:7 BB:K Ratio during that time span. Fisher is ready to be back in the Bigs, but that might be in a different uniform.
5) Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies AAA, ETA: August
On July 9th, we heard the Phillies were making Tommy Joseph available in trade talks but since then it has been silent. He could make sense for the Angels, as he would be an upgrade on CJ Cron while costing only $543,000 for the year. Hoskins has fallen off a bit as of late, .244 average post AAA All Star Break, but he is the future of the club. I am not sure if the Phillies will find a trade partner this month for Joseph as not many teams are looking for a 1B. The Phillies might have to hold on to him until the winter, which could influence Hoskins ETA and could make him only a September call up. For this reason, I have lowered Hoskins in the rankings.
6) Ryder Jones, 3B, San Francisco Giants AAA, ETA: August
He played seven games for the Giants in his first go in the majors and went 1 for 21. He has only played three games in AAA since his demotion because of the All Star break but he has gone 3 for 10 with a double and a stolen base. The former second round pick has been good in AAA with a .300/.392/.546 slash line with 10 HRs and 6 stolen bases. With Eduardo Nunez being shopped, Ryder Jones could be back in San Francisco in the next two weeks. He should get plenty of at bats and could be a nice sneaky add if you need a 3B.
7) Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox AAA, ETA: Late August
I am holding out hope the Red Sox decide to go with Devers because they do not want to deal any more prospects. I seriously doubt they go that route but if he continues to hit, they will likely call him up at the end of August to qualify him for their playoff roster. Even if they deal for Eduardo Nunez of Asdrubal Cabrera, the Sox could still promote Devers on August 31st and move Cabrera and Nunez to a Super Utility role. In the eight games since his AAA promotion, Devers has two homeruns and a .355 AVG. He now has a combined AA/AAA OPS of .948 and has 20 doubles, 3 triples and 20 homeruns through 85 games. With the potent Red Sox line up and Fenway, Devers could be very valuable for all formats.
8) Alex Verdugo, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers AAA, ETA: August
He is another name that could move this month. The dodgers are searching for relief help and Verdugo could capture that piece for them. Verdugo is hitting .333 for OKC and has walked more (39) than he has struck out (34). He is as safe a bet there is to perform at the next level. He has shown some speed, four triples and has stolen eight bags on nine attempts. The downside is, he has gap power but has not shown much in turning doubles into homeruns. He has 20 doubles, 4 triples but only 3 homeruns on the year.
9) Ozzie Albies, 2B, Atlanta Braves AAA, ETA: August
I dropped Albies off the list 2 weeks ago because I was worried about his splits vs RHP. He will face RHOP 65% of the time or more which is why I was concerned about his .245/.300/.373-split vs them. He has improved over the past two weeks and his split vs RHP has improved to: 260/.313/.406. He still has Brandon Phillips blocking him but the Braves could shop him to create a space for Albies. My expectations are not extremely high for Albies in 2017 but he is worth an add when he is called up should you need a 2B option.
10) Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Seattle Mariners AAA, ETA: August
The Mariners outfield have an OPS of .690, .623 and .541 the last 30 days. They have Danny Valencia at 1B who could shift to RF if they decide to bring in a bat like Dan Vogelbach. Vogelbach had a small taste of the bigs in April and a one game stint in May. He has been productive in Tacoma and has hit north of .300 the past two months. He now has 12 HRs in AAA and has walked 50 times to 68 strikeouts. He is a platoon hitter, and would only face RHP but he could still be a productive bat in larger format leagues.
Nice write-up! The lack of HR coupled with reports of some attitude issues with Verdugo make me think he’s a Melky Cabrera clone. Seem like a reasonable comp?