Just Prospectin’, Week 5— Cody Bellinger is the First Major Call-up of the Year
Joc Pederson hits the DL with a strained groin, and fantasy baseball owners rush to the waiver wire with a swollen groin (🍆). Cody Bellinger was brought up to the big leagues after ripping through Triple-A to start the season. He had five home runs, seven stolen bases, a .343 batting average and a .429 OBP through his first 18 games. Not bad! He has little left to prove in the minors (and already has two home runs in the majors), but it will still be interesting to see if the Dodgers decide to keep him on the major league roster after Joc comes back from his injury. I am a prospect whore and don’t mind burning up roster spots on my fantasy team to hold onto the top tier guys. I would add and hold Bellinger in 12 team mixed redraft leagues or deeper (if he hasn’t already been scooped up in your league). That might seem aggressive, but does your fourth or fifth outfielder have the ceiling that Bellinger does?
Although he had an unsuccessful trip to the majors last year, Jose Berrios has been excelling at Triple-A again this season. He has a 28:6 strikeout to walk ratio all while sporting a 1.44 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 25 innings pitched. My top 10 list includes only players who have not been to the majors yet, but Berrios still has a prospect tag and a high ceiling in the major leagues. The Twins needs a fifth starter on May 6th, and I would stash Berrios now if you have room on your roster. He may be too risky to start immediately, but if he figures out major league hitters, he has the the potential to be an impact fantasy starter.
So now that we have our first player on this list promoted, this is how my top 10 shakes out:
1.Yoan Moncada — 3B-Chicago White Sox (Prev. Rank — 1) — No reason
to move Moncada from the top spot. While he hasn’t been overly dominant since my last update, he still owns a .290 average with four home runs and four stolen bases this year in the minors. We are right at the beginning of May, and it should be time to stash the top prospects in 12 team leagues and deeper. Moncada may be owned in your league already, but if he isn’t, I would take the gamble and add him now.
2. Austin Meadows — OF-Pittsburgh Pirates (Prev. Rank — 2) — Meadows hasn’t been terrific in the minors thus far. His batting average is below the Mendoza line and he is yet to hit a dinger. If he turns it around and has a productive May, the Pirates might have to bring up their top prospect.
3. Lewis Brinson — OF-Milwaukee Brewers (Prev. Rank — 8) — After coming back from his finger injury, Brinson has looked major league ready. Hitting .362 with three home runs, he just needs to find room in the Brewers outfield. If he keeps this up, we might be talking about a late May stash for your fantasy leagues.
4. Bradley Zimmer — OF-Cleveland Indians (Prev. Rank — 4) — Zimmer has continued hitting for extra bases, and now has seven doubles, two triples and three home runs through his first 22 games. Couple that with a .277 AVG and .330 OBP and it looks like we have a major leaguer. Michael Bradley doesn’t have a broken back yet (and has been producing at the plate), but I would be surprised if we don’t see Zimmer in the round of Super 2 call-ups.
5. Ian Happ — 2B-Chicago Cubs (Prev. Rank — 5) — Happ hit his eighth home run of the season last Thursday (a grand slam) as his power surge shows no signs of slowing down. He is only hitting .250 so far this season and likely needs a bit more marinating in the minors before the Cubs feel obligated to find a place for him on the major league roster.
6. Amed Rosario — SS-New York Mets (Prev. Rank — 7) — Amed is now hitting .404(!) in Baby Coors Field aka Las Vegas aka Sin City aka the place where Triple-A Mets players hone their skills before they come up to the major leagues and get managed by clowns. The Mets being objectively ridiculous in the handling of all of their players is a discussion for another time, but Rosario looks primed to come have his turn in the mess in Flushing. Through his first 23 games Rosario boasts seven stolen bases, four doubles, and one home run to go with that terrific batting average. Amed is likely an infield injury away from making his debut, and considering Bozo the Clown is the Mets team doctor, it’s not far-fetched that this happens sooner rather than later.
7. Ozzie Albies — 2B-Atlanta Braves (Prev. Rank — 6) — Albies had a tough stretch since my last article, and his average now sits at a mediocre .255. His hit tool is one of his most valuable assets, and he will have to turn things around in Gwinnett before the Braves consider bringing him up.
8. Franklin Barreto — SS-Oakland Athletics (Prev. Rank — Unranked) — The A’s prospect has been terrific to start the season with four home runs and a .357 AVG. He has the tools to be a productive fantasy asset and the potential for a roster spot with the major league club considering the injury to Marcus Semien and the inevitable injury to Jed Lowrie. I expect him to be up with the Athletics in June.
9. Jorge Alfaro — C-Philadelphia Phillies (Prev. Rank — Unranked) — The 24 year old catcher has been strong so far this season hitting .333 with three home runs and one stolen base. Cameron Rupp has been sub-par for the Phillies, and if they don’t want him to get hit with a battery or an old tube sock filled with quarters, they might want to bring up Alfaro and give him a chance to make an impact in the catcher role. Jorge has a solid offensive ceiling and will help the Phillies defensively as well (he has thrown out over 40% of base stealers).
10. Brent Honeywell — SP-Tampa Bay Rays (Prev. Rank — 10) — The Rays’ top pitching prospect hasn’t been stellar since being promoted to Triple-A Durham, but it has been a complete disaster. He has shown some promise with a nine strikeout game (5.2 innings pitched), and then he had a game with 5 earned runs in 3.2 innings. Honeywell has three solid pitches, good control, and the potential to break in to the big league club before the 2017 season comes to an end.
Fallers: Francis Martes (Prev. Rank — 9)
Got any questions for Carmine? You can find him on the Fantasy Life App: @carmine.g
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