Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 15

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 15:

Anderson Espinoza SD, RHP – “He’s in a better place now. He was sent to a great family out west where the sun shines year round and they have a big yard for him to play in.” – I know your parents told you this lie after your favorite pet died, but I promise you, I’m telling the truth when it comes to your favorite prospect.

Tom Murphy COL, C – Murphy’s been molten hot since I dropped him from #32 to #69 in my mid-season top 100 rankings, slashing .750/.759/1.571 with 5 homers in 7 games. Coincidence? … Yes, most likely.

Anfernee Grier ARI, OF – Hit .333 with a homer and 3 steals this week. I checked in on Grier and the rest of the top 30 2016 MLB Draft fantasy baseball prospects in my aptly named post, Checking in on the Top 30 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospects.

Lewis Brinson TEX, OF – 3 homers and 15 K’s in 11 games since returning to Double-A after a shoulder injury. I like this strikeout/power version of Brinson much better than the contact oriented slap hitter we saw earlier this year. Maybe the shoulder injury was preventing him from taking his usual big cuts, so he was just focusing on getting the bat on the ball.

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS – Promoted to Triple-A last week for reasons that are unclear. Maybe it was a reward for his 50 game PED suspension, or the .243/.282/.432 with an 11/2 K/BB he put up in High-A upon his return. Either way, the 20-year-old Mondesi has unsurprisingly struggled in the early going, slashing .214/.241/.321. His raw talent is still elite, and we just have to trust that KC has a plan here, other than to just rush him to the majors due to his plus glove.

Jose Berrios MIN, RHP – Continues to make his case to get another shot at the majors, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 9 K. I found it odd Minnesota gave him such a short leash the first time around, so I have no idea what their thought process is here.

Brent Honeywell TB, RHP – Promoted to Double-A this week and crushed it in his first two starts at the level, going 11.1 IP, 3 ER, 14 Hits, 1 BB, 11 K.

Tyler Jay MIN, LHP – Promoted to Double-A this week and got crushed in his first two starts at the level, going 10 IP, 8 ER, 10 Hits, 5 BB, 8 K.

Jose De Leon LAD, RHP – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BB, 10 K. He might not have the most dominating stuff, but his K upside in a pitcher’s park in the NL West is hard not to like.

Matt Thaiss LAA, 1B – Thaiss was one of the safer bats from the college class, hitting for elite contact with an advanced plate approach. Now he is flashing those exact same skills in his first 8 games at Single-A, slashing .313/.389/.469 with a 3/4 K/BB. It looks like he has been moved off the catcher position permanently, and he’s not going to hit 30 homers, but he could reach the bigs in a hurry and make a legitimate impact.

Zack Collins CHW, C – Collins has started to heat up after being promoted to High-A this week, jacking 2 homers with a 3/4 K/BB in 3 games. He has a real shot to stick at catcher, and after flip flopping on Collins and Will Craig during my multiple MLB Draft Fantasy Prospect Rankings iterations, I might be bumping Collins back ahead of Craig again.

Will Craig PIT, 3B – On the other hand, Craig knocked his first homer of the season last night, and his underlying numbers have been good all year, so maybe I should just hold tight.

Ronnie Dawson HOU, OF – Dawson is another college hitter who is starting to find his stroke in pro ball, cracking 3 homers this week, which gives him 4 homers and 7 steals in 26 games at Low-A.

Kolby Allard ATL, LHP – Continues to prove the back injury is behind him, dominating at Rookie ball in his 2 starts this week, spinning 12 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BB, 14 K. He has the potential to be one of the top pitching prospects in baseball by mid-season next year.

Yadier Alvarez LAD, RHP – 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 5 K. Notable for walking only 1, as he walked 9 in his previous 3 starts in 12.1 IP.

Ronald Guzman TEX, 1B – Even after his first half breakout this year, Guzman still hasn’t gotten much respect on mid-season lists. To prove the doubters wrong, he’s turned it up another notch this week by slamming 3 homers. It brings season line to .303/.365/.516 with 14 homers as a 21-year-old in Double-A.

Alex Verdugo LAD, OF – Added power to his already plus hit tool this year, tacking on 2 more homers this week, and is now slashing .299/.361/.464 with 11 homers and a 45/28 K/BB as a 20-year-old in Double-A.

Josh Ockimey BOS, 1B – 2 homers this week and 4 in his last 9 games. His average (.263) has dropped to a more appropriate level for his K rate (25.4%), but the power has been steady all season.

Travis Demeritte TEX, 2B – Homered in his last two games, to go along with 5 K’s. That gives him 22 homers and 116 K’s on the year.

Erick Fedde WASH, RHP – 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 5 K. He hasn’t given up more than a single earned run in his last 7 starts. He dropped off my top 100 list in my mid-season update, but if he keeps this up he will pop right back on in the off-season.

Edwin Rios LAD, 1B/3B – Rios has a sweet lefty swing that is a bit on the long side, but is also quick and results in hard contact. He reminds me of Ryan O’Hearn on a few levels. He is slashing .315/.353/.615 with 19 homers in 67 games, and has been even better since being promoted to High-A, slashing .369/.393/.723 with 13 homers in 33 games. He was a 6th round pick in last year’s draft, and considering Willie Calhoun was a 4th rounder, it certainly looks like Andrew Friedman brought The Extra 2% over with him to Los Angeles from Tampa Bay. Rios can definitely hit, and should be on your radar at the very least.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 14

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 14:

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B – If you missed last night’s Futures All-Star Game, you might have missed one of the most exciting baseball games of the year. Bregman put on a show in the first half of the game, going 3 for 3 with a homer short of the cycle. He was mic’d up and giggling like a little school girl about hitting a homer in his next at-bat to anyone who would listen to him. He didn’t, making outs in his final 2 at-bats.

Yoan Moncada BOS, 2B – Moncada picked up where Bregman left off, crushing a 2nd deck bomb to give the World team the lead in the 8th inning, which secured him the MVP award. He also laced an opposite field single on a nice inside out swing vs. hard thrower Jeff Hoffman in his second at bat, and then swiped second easily. That power/speed combo is why I ranked him #1 in my mid-season top 100.

Alex Reyes STL, RHP – By far the most impressive pitcher of the night, striking out 4 batters in 1.2 IP. He was hitting 100 MPH easy and dropping good curveballs in for strikes. He also flashed some solid changeups that I originally mistook for two seam fastballs because they were almost hitting 90 MPH. There is still plenty of refinement to go, but his fantasy upside is unrivaled.

Eloy Jimenez CHC, OF – Had the entire Cubs organization holding their breath as he made a daredevil catch over the RF fence down the foul line, and then launched a homerun derby quality homer in the 9th inning. Not bad for a 19-year-old who has played in Single-A all year.

Yu-Cheng Chang CLE, SS – Did Imaginary Brick Wall just get the Asian market bump that I hear so much about in baseball? After writing a sleeper post for Taiwanese SS Yu-Cheng Chang last week, my website hits from Taiwan spiked by 20%! That gives me over 100 hits all-time from Taiwan! Ni hao, all my new Taiwanese friends. Chang had a 4-hit game just hours after I wrote that article too.

Josh Bell PIT, 1B – It didn’t take long for Bell to show off the power he added this year, crushing a grand slam in his 2nd Major League at-bat. Too bad it doesn’t look like Pittsburgh is going to make a point of getting his bat in the lineup.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Willie just keeps on hitting, smashing 3 more homers this week on his way to the Futures All-Star Game (where he went 0 for 2).

Harrison Bader STL, OF – Promoted to Triple-A and went 5 for 22 with 2 doubles and a homer in his first 5 games at the level. He was also caught stealing and put up a 6/0 K/BB.

Austin Byler ARI, 1B – The adopted step child, black sheep, the one we only speak about in whispers of my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article is starting to show a pulse, slashing .417/.481/.792 with 2 homers this week after getting a late start to his season due to suspension. He is 23 years old with a 52/14 K/BB in 36 games at Single-A, so I’m going to need to see a lot more and at a higher level to start really getting excited.

David Dahl COL, OF – Dahl made Bader’s Triple-A debut look like child’s play, slashing .500/.536/.846 with 2 homers and 0 K’s in 6 games. If you took Urias, Giolito, Glasnow, and Reed out of my mid-season top 100, Dahl would have been a top 5 fantasy prospect.

Brendan Rodgers COL, SS – 2 more dingers this week, and continues to impress with his power/contact skills, slashing .295/.362/.505 with 13 homers and a 55/24 K/BB in 68 games at Single-A. I gave Rodgers the slight edge over Bregman on my top 100 because of Coors and a better chance to stick at SS, but they are basically even in my book.

Tom Murphy COL, C – Smashed 4 homers this week, giving him 11 on the year in only 44 games. It also comes with a fun 55/5 K/BB. That huge power at Coors Field from a catcher is why I ranked him 69th in my mid-season top 100, but the lack of contact skills and plate approach is why he dropped from my 32nd ranking of him in the off-season. All in all, I’m still on board.

J.P. Crawford PHI, SS – Slashed .480/.515/.840 with 2 homers this week at Triple-A. He is definitely a better real life prospect, but I still think he is going to be an impact fantasy player too.

Tyler O’Neill SEA, OF – Ranked 45th on Baseball America’s mid-season top 100! And oh yea, Hader (#22), Bader (#89), Fisher (#94), and Calhoun (#98) also cracked their top 100. I mean, I have a sneaking suspicion that I may have a few fans over at BA. They obviously know what they are doing over there, and I love that my favorite sleepers are starting to get some national hype!

Jacob Faria TB, RHP – Continues to pitch well at Triple-A, going 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 9 K. He hasn’t shown up on any other mid-season top 100’s so far, so it looks like he is still being slept on.

Yohander Mendez TEX, LHP – Got a spot start at Triple-A this week, and impressed by going 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BB, 7 K. This guy has the look of a big time lefty starter, and he is putting up the numbers to back it up too.

Kyle Lewis SEA, OF – The #1 ranked prospect from my MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings is starting to show why I liked him so much, slashing .435/.519/.913 with 3 homers and a 2/5 K/BB this week at Low-A. He has a 12/13 K/BB in 21 games on the season, and considering strikeouts were thought to be the main concern with Lewis, he is off to a very encouraging start.

Nick Senzel CIN, 3B –  Playing exactly as advertised in his first 19 pro games, displaying an advanced plate approach (11/11 K/BB), speed (10 steals), and doubles power (6).

Christin Stewart DET, OF – 3 more homers in his last 5 games, and his monster power season in the pitcher friendly Florida State League earned him a spot in the Futures All-Stars Game.

Luke Weaver STL, RHP – 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BB, 7K in his start this week, which continued his excellent season. Scouts love to drool over dominant curveballs, but it seems like devastating changeups have been slightly undervalued recently, and Weaver has one.

Alen Hanson PIT, 2B – I was seriously starting to think a hot streak was never going to come, but Hanson found his groove this week, slashing .423/.484/.462 with 4 steals. His overall numbers are still unimpressive, but he is stealing bases and the raw talent is still there.

Cody Ponce MIL, RHP – 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BB, 12 K in his best start of the season as he he is ramping up after having early season forearm fatigue. Ponce stands a physically imposing 6’6’’, 240 pounds and throws a mid 90’s fastball with a solid slider and inconsistent curveball and changeup. The risk is high here as with many other pitching prospects, but his talent is equal to any of the pitchers showing up on the back half of mid-season prospect lists.

Max Schrock WASH, 2B – I stumbled upon Schrock in early June during the same search that I found Ronald Acuna with (who I wrote about in that week’s rundown) when I went searching for sleeper prospects that Carson Cistulli has made famous, underrated low-k/contact guys. I didn’t mention him because he was 21 years old in Single-A, didn’t have much power, and I just have more fun writing about underrated bat speed/power guys. But Schrock was promoted to High-A recently, and hit 3 homers in his first 13 games (2 in the last week), along with continuing to display his excellent contact skills (27/24 K/BB in 68 games on the year) and speed (19 steals). I would be more excited about him as a real life prospect, but even in fantasy, it is looking more and more like he has the potential to make a legitimate impact.

Luis Urias SD, 2B/UTIL – I found the 19-year-old Urias during that same search, but was even less inclined to mention him because he gets caught stealing more than he is successful (26 for 58 in his MiLB career). He has just kept on hitting, though, and is now slashing .327/.401/.438 with 5 homers, 8 steals, and a 31/30 K/BB in 82 games. He hit a homer in Triple-A last night too. I think I’m gonna start mentioning these guys …

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 13

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 13:

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Happy 4th of July!

Corey Seager LAD, SS/Byron Buxton MIN, OF – A tale of two top prospects, ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, in my off-season top 100. Seager has lit the majors on fire, slashing .303/.362/.536 with 17 homers in 83 games. Buxton has lit himself on fire, slashing .201/.235/.347 with 1 homer and a 61/6 K/BB in 45 games. I’m glad I made the decision to rank Seager ahead of Buxton, and I am far from giving up on Buxton, but this is the perfect illustration of the risk of holding onto prospects. You should constantly be looking to flip these guys whether you are in win now mode or in a rebuild. Don’t make bad deals for average major leaguers, but be a hawk and constantly on the lookout to snag already made MLB studs.

Forrest Wall COL, 2B – Imaginary Brick Wall’s first cousin, Forrest Wall, has been hot for about a month now, and stayed that way this week, hitting .391 with 1 homer and 2 steals. Way to rep the family name.

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B – Ranked him 4th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings due to his power surge at Double-A, and his promotion to Triple-A hasn’t slowed him down at all. He is off to an absolutely scorching start at the level, slashing .471/.526/.941 with 2 homers. If he was sure to stick at SS, he might have climbed even higher than #4.

Tyler Glasnow PIT, RHP – 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 8 K. It’s not like one start with a good BB rate is going to change anything, but better than another 4+ BB outing.

A.J. Reed HOU, 1B – Launched his first of many MLB homers on Saturday. Unfortunately, that was one of only two hits he has collected in 22 AB’s.

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – Smoking hot at Double-A, slashing .429/.520/1.000 with 2 homers and 2 steals. The power is starting to come around now, and it is not out of the question to see Benintendi in the majors later this year.

Jose De Leon LAD, RHP – 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 6 K. He has quietly been dominating the PCL with a 13.5 K/9 in 23.1 IP. Los Angeles is taking it super slow with him due to his past injury history.

Michael Gettys SD, OF – Promoted to High-A a few weeks ago, and has recorded a hit in 10 of his first 11 games at the level (7 multi-hit). Gettys did not crack my mid-season top 100, but he is a favorite of RotoRX’s prospect contributor, and my boy over at Reddit, Kevin O’Hara (aka fawkesmulder). If you want to hear more about him, check out Kevin’s analysis on Episode 9 of MLB Roto RX (54:26 min mark).

Lewis Brinson TEX, OF – Back in action in Rookie ball for some rehab outings after returning from a shoulder injury, going 2 for 9 with 1 K and no homers, which continues his low K, low power season from Double-A. I don’t know who told him to stop striking out and hitting bombs, but I don’t love this new slap hitting Brinson. I do think he will get back to being a beast again, though.

Max Kepler MIN, OF – In last week’s rundown I mentioned Kepler has been having a quietly good season, but he turned it up a notch this week, and it isn’t very quiet anymore. He jacked 2 dingers on Saturday with 7 RBI, and he is now slashing .256/.328/.479 with 5 homers and 2 steals in 39 MLB games.

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS – Is starting to heat up after returning from his 50 game suspension, jacking a homer this week and collecting 7 hits in his last five games. He is still working on putting it all together, but the talent is there to be one of the best fantasy players in baseball. Don’t sleep on Mondesi because of the PED suspension.

Raimel Tapia COL, OF – Tapia is a hit machine, racking up 106 hits in 78 games at Double-A, to go along with solid pop and above average speed. Only problem is that he is still very raw on the base paths, going 13 for 26 in stolen base attempts on the year, which continues his poor stolen base percentage in his minor league career. It does bring into question just how often he will get the green light in the majors if he doesn’t massively improve his efficiency.

Ozzie Albies ATL, 2B/SS – Moved down to Double-A to work with his future double play partner, Dansby Swanson. Atlanta’s developmental strategy with Albies has been head scratching, to say the least.

Rafael Devers BOS, 3B – Put together one of his best weeks of the season, slashing .400/.500/.800 with a homer and 1/4 K/BB. Hopefully this is the beginning of an extended hot streak.

Matt Chapman OAK, 3B – Homered in 3 straight games this week (20 on the year) and continues to prove the power is very real. The strikeouts are real too (104).

Dominic Smith NYM, 1B – Has been tapping into his power more and more this year in Double-A, and went on a 3 homer binge this week (2 in one game). His .280/.339/.446 triple-slash with 10 homers and a 51/25 K/BB in 79 games as a 21-year-old is starting to look pretty good.

Chris Shaw SFG, 1B – Promoted to Double-A this week and slashed .389/.389/.556. If he can repeat his High-A numbers in Double-A, my #93 ranking of him might look a bit light by the end of the year.

Justus Sheffield CLE, LHP – Sheffield responded to me dropping him in the rankings by going 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BB, 10 K. As I wrote in the mid-season top 100, although he dropped, his overall potential remains the same.

Dylan Cozens PHI, OF/Rhys Hoskins PHI, 1B – The homer barrage continues for these Philly sluggers, with Hoskins knocking 2 out and Cozens 4. I’m not really full believers in either of them (relative to their stratospheric numbers), but it looks like a good bet that both of them will at least be fantasy relevant in their careers.

Carson Fulmer CHW, RHP – Has thrown 2 straight shutouts, going a combined 14 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 6 BB, 12 K. It brings his season ERA down to … 4.83.

Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP – The lanky 6’5’’, 165-pound McKenzie is a name to watch who did not crack my mid-season top 100. He is breezing through short-season A ball in the early going, dominating in his 4 starts (22.2 IP, 1 ER, 14 Hits, 3 BB, 25 K). He has a projectable body (room for more velo) and already has an advanced feel for pitching as an 18-year-old.

Dylan Cease CHC, RHP – Cease is another name to watch not on my top 100. Unlike McKenzie, Cease does throw the big fastball, with reports having him up to 100 MPH this season, but needs work on his command and secondary pitches. Baseball America had an excellent write-up on his Spring debut if you want to read more about him.

Sandy Alcantara STL, RHP – Let’s make it a hat trick with high end lottery ticket arms in the lower minors. Alcantara dominated in his start this week, going 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hit, 3 BB, 10. He’s got a huge fastball with K upside for days (12.3 K/9), but has major control issues (4.9 BB/9) and needs to refine his secondaries. And oh yea, he is another guy that fawkesmulder has been on me to like more for weeks now.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 12

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 12:

Yoan Moncada BOS, 2B – Promoted to Double-A this week and proceeded to collect 8 hits and a homer in his first 5 games at the level. I ranked him as the very best fantasy prospect in baseball in my 2016 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-10 post on Friday. The rankings will continue on Tuesday.

Victor Garcia IFA, OF – I was going to rank the top international free agents for fantasy baseball, but there really isn’t much for me to add that the team at mlbpipeline.com didn’t already cover. They have great content over there, and all of it is free, which is awesome. The one prospect that deserves a legitimate bump for fantasy is 12th ranked Victor Garcia. He has elite bat speed and the best raw power in the class. Of course the St. Louis Cardinals are the team rumored to sign him. Why am I not surprised? Garcia should be considered one of the very top fantasy bats in the 2016 international free agent pool.

Tim Anderson CHW, SS – Anderson’s sneaky power hasn’t been all that sneaky, as he blasted homers in his last 2 games, giving him 3 homers, 5 doubles, and a triple in his first 16 MLB games. He does have a 24/0 K/BB, so there is still plenty of work to do.

Trea Turner WASH, SS – I know we are all sick of waiting on Turner, but he continues to make his case in Triple-A, slashing .385/.484/.769 with 2 jacks this week. Danny Espinosa has been hitting well at the Major League level too, so we will just have to continue waiting.

J.P. Crawford PHI, SS – Finally got it going a little bit in Triple-A, racking up 5 multi hit games in his last 8 games. There might not be a more boring top prospect to follow than Crawford, but we can’t let that affect his value. His advanced plate approach with decent power (for a SS) and speed is a valuable fantasy commodity, especially in an OBP league. Plus, he is still just 21 years old.

Jose Berrios MIN, RHP – Had his best start of the season this week, going 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BB, 9 K. I’m still on the bandwagon even with his terrible MLB debut last month, and now is probably the time to try to pry him away from his current fantasy owner.

Aaron Judge NYY, OF – Judge Dredd is back, laying down the law 6 times in his last nine games. He’s hit 15 homers in 72 games in a pitcher’s park this season, and has officially ripped that fork out of his back that more than a few people stuck in him when he was badly slumping earlier this year.

Ian Happ CHC, OF – We now come to the Chicago Cubs portion of the list, because they don’t have enough young talent already. Happ immediately carried over his High-A success into Double-A this week, slashing .667/.692/1.083 with 1 homer. I know Joe Maddon is creative, but he might have to invent a new position to get Happ on the field any time in the near future.

Eloy Jimenez CHC, OF – Jimenez is firmly entrenching himself as one of the top fantasy breakout prospects this season. He smacked 2 more homers this week, and is now slashing .342/.380/.551, with 10 homers, and 5 steals in 69 games in Single-A. He is still only 19 years old, so I wouldn’t start worrying about the Cubs logjam for him quite yet.

Willson Contreras CHC, C – Did Contreras just take over Kyle Schwarber’s life? Contreras is now the new talk of the town catcher playing all over the field to get his bat in the lineup. It ended so well for Schwarber, I guess the Cubs decided it was a good idea to repeat it with Contreras.

Chris Paddack MIA, RHP – I think it’s time to start getting a little excited about Paddack. He had another dominant start this week, going 5 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BB, 9K, which was his third no hit 5 IP start in a row. Miami has a history of moving high school pitchers very fast, so even though he is in Single-A, he might not be that far off if he continues dominating. Tip of the hat to HipsterDoofus31 for bringing him to my attention in the comments section of my week 10 rundown over at Reddit’s fantasy baseball forum.

Reynaldo Lopez WASH, LHP – Lopez has had an absolute K explosion this season. He had his 4th double-digit K start in his last six outings, and now owns a pitching line of 3.18/1.23/100 in 76.1 IP. He has major bullpen risk, especially in the first few years of his career, but any prospect putting up those kind of K numbers will get fantasy owners to raise an eyebrow or two.

Luke Weaver STL, RHP – 5 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BB, 6 K. His velocity has ticked up this year, and he is still displaying that vicious changeup and plus command.

Rhys Hoskins PHI, 1B – Went deep in back-to-back-to-back games this week, and now has 20 homers in 71 games at Double-A. He’s 23 years old and in a hitter’s park, but the power breakout is clearly for real.

Kyle Tucker HOU, OF – Doubled his homer total this week … from 1 to 2. He has displayed an advanced plate approach all year for a 19-year-old, and has surpassed expectations in the speed department with 25 steals. Overall, Tucker’s first season in pro ball has been a resounding success.

Franklin Barreto OAK, SS/2B – While the 20-year-old Barreto hasn’t stood out this year in a pitcher’s park at Double-A, he has done well enough to maintain his prospect shine. He slashed .318/.400/.545 with 1 homer and 2 steals this week, and now has 7 homers and 16 steals in 74 games on the season.

Jacob Faria TB, RHP – Impressed in his first start at Triple-A, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, 6 K. He doesn’t have the huge fastball, but I think his strikeout stuff will still play at the next level.

Brent Honeywell TB, RHP – Returned to the mound this week after being out for 6 weeks with a sore arm, and picked up right where he left off, going 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 4 K. He doesn’t have ace upside, but if he can remain healthy the rest of the season, his prospect stock will certainly be on the rise.

Dominic Smith NYM, 1B – Went deep in back-to-back games this week and has now tied his career high in homers with 6. His overall numbers have been lackluster in Double-A so far, especially for a first baseman, but he has maintained his BB and K rates against the tougher competition, and his value probably isn’t that far off from where it was in the off-season.

David Washington STL, 1B/OF – Cranked 2 homers in one game this week, giving him 17 on the season (12 in Triple-A) in 69 games. I wouldn’t bank on him being able to find consistent playing time in the majors, but if a spot does open up for him, he will definitely hit for power.

Trey Mancini BAL, 1B – Another player who will have to battle for a starting spot in the majors. He went deep twice this week, and now has 15 homers in 76 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.

Matt Chapman OAK, 3B – Finally a power hitter who has a starting position in sight. He smacked 2 more homers, as well, and now has 17 on the season in 74 games at Double-A. His 102/36 K/BB is starting to become a serious concern, though.

Javier Guerra SD, SS – Homered in back-to-back games this week (8 on the season). It is nice to see his power surge from last season showing up this year, but his K rate has also exploded to 31.2%.

Tom Murphy COL, C – One of my favorite sleepers heading into this season, Murphy has not impressed in the early going. His already weak plate approach has actually regressed this season as a 25-year-old in the PCL. He is still jacking homers and will play at Coors Field, but his prospect stock has certainly taken a hit.

Kyle Lewis SEA, OF/Will Craig PIT, 1B/Nick Senzel CIN, 3B – None of the top college bats (Corey Ray and Zack Collins have not played in a game yet) from the 2016 draft class are off to a good start. It’s still too early for it to mean anything, but it would have been nice if at least one of them played like a house on fire right from the get go. Ray will soon debut in High-A, so maybe he will be the first guy to breakout from this class.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 11

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 11:

LeBron James CLE, SF – My bad, wrong sport. But did you see those blocks and dunks LeBron was swatting/throwing down last night? I think he can fly.

Willson Contreras CHC, C – The Cubs game was on a smaller TV at the bar I was at for Game 7, and I was probably the only one keeping an eye on it. Actually, I know I was the only one, because when Contreras homered on his very first Major League pitch, I was the only idiot in the entire place to jump up in celebration. Contreras will be rewarded with his first Major League start in tonight’s game.

Travis Demeritte TEX, 2B – I hyped Demeritte in my very first Fantasy Prospect Rundown in week 1 of the season, and he has hit only 14 more homers since then. His breakout season got him ranked #3 on the 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts post that I wrote on Friday, and to celebrate, he hit two more homers the night of that article.

Phil Bickford SFG, RHP – Bickford got promoted to High-A this week, and went 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BB, 13 K. He ranked #10 on that Fantasy Prospect Breakouts post.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Smashed 2 more bombs this week, and now has a 36/24 K/BB with 14 homers in 67 games at Double-A. It is seriously hard to think of another prospect in the entire minor leagues with a better power/contact profile than Willie.

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B – Oh wait, I found one. Bregman has a 21/34 K/BB with 14 homers in 56 games at Double-A. He has maintained his power surge all season, and it is becoming clear that he is one of the very top hitting prospects in the minors.

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – I was smelling a hot streak coming on in week 9’s Rundown, and right on cue, Benintendi started to fill up the box score at Double-A. He slashed .333/.370/.667, with 2 homers, and 1 steal this week. He has only 4 homers on the season, but 3 of them have been in his last 9 games, so it looks like the power is coming.

Tyler Glasnow PIT, RHP – Pitched a 6 BB no hitter through 6 innings this week in classic Glasnow style. Control problems and all, I still have him as the third best pitching prospect in baseball behind Urias and Giolito.

Alex Reyes STL, RHP – Did someone say control problems? It took Reyes 100 pitches to throw 4.1 innings in his start on Saturday, racking up 6 K’s and walking 2. He now has a 15.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 26 IP at Triple-A.

Kolby Allard ATL, LHP – 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BB, 5 K. It looks like the top high school pitcher chosen in last year’s draft is starting to shake that rust off after off-season back surgery.

David Dahl COL, OF – Double-D crushed two more homers this week, giving him 13 on the season, and made an over the fence, home run saving catch in the OF too. Please don’t pay any attention to the fact the fence looks a little on the small side.

Josh Bell PIT, 1B – Answered the Bell 3 times this week, giving him 10 homers and a .319/.408/.520 triple-slash in 67 games at Triple-A. He is doing this in one of the tougher parks and leagues for hitting, so this certainly looks like the power surge we have been waiting for.

A.J. Reed HOU, 1B – Reed is starting to heat up, slashing .357/.357/.607, with 1 homer, and 4 doubles this week. It brings his OPS up to .826 on the season, and I still believe he has the potential to make a major impact in fantasy leagues in the second half.

Austin Meadows PIT, OF – Promoted to Triple-A this week, and knocked 3 hits in his first game and then drilled a homer in his second. Not bad for a 21-year-old kid.

Max Kepler MIN, OF – Kepler has quietly been having a very nice season. He slashed .381/.435/.714, with 1 homer, and 1 steal this week for the big league club, and he now has a very respectable .750 OPS on the year in the majors. He isn’t going to have the eye popping homer or steal totals, but he will do a little bit of everything.

Chris Paddack MIA, RHP – Paddack no hit the Rome Braves at home last week, striking out 11 and walking 1 over 5 IP. He clearly wasn’t satisfied with that, though, as he faced them again on the road this week and threw 5 perfect innings with 8 K’s this time. Apparently the Braves don’t believe in hitting on any level. They also took pitchers with their first 6 picks of the draft this year! Either way, Paddack’s pitching line looks stupid so far on the year, 1.16/0.47/39 in 23.1 IP at Single-A, and if you have the space on your roster, I would definitely scoop this guy up.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF – Buxton went back to hitting like the worst kid on your little league team, collecting 4 hits in his last 12 games. As frustrating as it is, you just have to give him more time.

Carson Fulmer CHW, RHP – This season has been nothing short of a disaster for Fulmer. He gave up 6 ER in 4.1 IP this week, bringing his ERA up to 5.82 at Double-A. I had high hopes for him coming into the year, and the stuff is still there, but he is one of the biggest top 100 prospect fallers for me. He is also not helping the reputation of small right-handed starters everywhere, and just when they were starting to shed the negative stigma attached to them too.

Dillon Tate TEX, RHP – Tate is doing his very best to not be outdone by Fulmer, as he is having an awful season of his own. He went 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BB, 2 K in his start this week, and now has a 5.58 ERA at Single-A.

Dominic Smith NYM, 1B – Smith went ice cold this week, hitting .136, and his season triple-slash has now fallen to .260/.311/368 with 4 homers in 64 games at Double-A. With a bunch of other 1B prospects taking a step forward this year, Smith’s prospect stock has certainly taken a hit.

Brayan Hernandez SEA, OF – That isn’t a typo. Brayan with two a’s was a highly touted international free agent in 2014, signing with Seattle for $1.85 million, and he is the early breakout in Rookie Ball this year. He leads the Dominican League with 4 homers, to go along with a .358/.393/.660 triple-slash and 5 steals in 12 games. I wouldn’t jump on him quite yet, but you should definitely remember the name (which should be pretty easy considering the whole two a’s thing).

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 10

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 10:

Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – It was already obvious that Giolito was back, but he put the final nail in the coffin on his slow start this week, dominating the Akron RubberDucks by going 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 12 K. If the RubberDucks were going for the least intimidating nickname possible, I think they nailed it.

Josh Hader MIL, LHP – With nothing left to prove in Double-A, Milwaukee called Hader up to their dreaded (for a pitcher) Colorado Springs PCL affiliate, and Hader didn’t even blink an eye. He went 6 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hit, 4 BB, 9K. I’ve been turning trade offers down for him left and right this season, most notably for two cheap years of Todd Frazier, so he better pan out.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Willie has been smoking hot for a few weeks now, and after hitting 2 bombs in one game this week, I just couldn’t help myself but to write a Willie Calhoun, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout article. If that wasn’t enough, he has hit homers in back-to-back games since that article, as well.

Tim Anderson CHW, SS – I gave you Anderson as a Top 3 Buy Low Dynasty League Prospect back on May 4, and wrote, “With Jimmy Rollins not doing much of anything at the Major League level, we might see Anderson take over the White Sox SS job sooner rather than later.” Well, “sooner” has come this week, as the Sox designated Rollins for assignment, and called up Anderson to take over the SS role. Stolen bases will be his calling card, but he has some sneaky pop too.

Bobby Bradley CLE, 1B – I feel like Bradley hits 2 homers every single week, and if that first line didn’t give it away, he hit 2 more homers this week. He is now slashing .243/.362/.518, with 15 homers, and a 81/37 K/BB in 59 games at High-A.

Derek Fisher HOU, OF – Stole 3 bases this week, and now has 8 steals in his last 15 games. He hit another dinger too, and Fisher is basically replicating in Double-A the breakout season he had last year in High-A. Maybe even topping it.

Dansby Swanson ATL, SS – Swanson’s numbers have taken a nose dive in Double-A, and after going ice cold this week, he is now slashing .242/.327/.383 at the level. I mentioned back in Week 5 that I would be sniffing out some sell high opportunities, but at this point, it is probably best to hold.

Julio Urias LAD, LHP – Urias has now strung two good starts in a row on the Major League level this week, going a combined 9.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BB, 14 K. He is doing this as a 19-year-old! For comparison’s sake, the Yankees just took a high school kid, Blake Rutherford, in the first round of the MLB Draft, and he is also 19.

Francis Martes HOU, RHP – Martes is starting to turn his season around, and he threw an absolute gem this week, going 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 9 K. The reports on his stuff have been excellent all season, so this turnaround is not exactly unexpected.

Luke Weaver STL, RHP – Weaver has been shot out of a cannon since returning from a wrist injury, dominating in his first two starts of the season to the tune of 12.1 IP, 1 ER, 12 Hits, 2 BB, 19 K at Double-A. After putting up a K/9 of 7.5 last season, it is great to see the early spike in K’s.

Jack Flaherty STL, RHP – It’s a hat trick for Flaherty, as he makes the Rundown for the third week in a row. This week’s start was arguably his best of the season, throwing 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BB, 10 K. He remains one of my favorite pitching prospect sleepers.

Jacob Faria TB, RHP – Speaking of my favorite pitching prospect sleepers coming into the year, Faria went off this week as well, putting up a line of 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BB, 9 K. That brings his K/9 up to 10.0 on the season at Double-A.

Riley Pint COL, RHP – Pint lost the game of MLB Draft Russian Roulette after being drafted by the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night. He was my top pitching prospect coming into the draft, but I have no interest in investing in a Colorado pitcher, at all. He falls completely out of my Post-Draft 2016 Top 30 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings, and you can check out that article for a few more of my thoughts on the MLB Draft as it pertains to fantasy, as well.

Tyler O’Neill SEA, OF – O’Neill smashed 2 more homers this week, giving him 12 on the season, to go along with a .318/.378/.559 triple-slash in Double-A. And now with the premiere power hitting prospect in the MLB Draft, Kyle Lewis, falling into Seattle’s lap at #11, Seattle’s offensive future is looking very bright … that is until they trade them all for the chance to maybe play in a one game playoff.

Aaron Judge NYY, OF – Judge’s prospect stock has taken a hit this year as a 24-year-old with mediocre numbers in Triple-A, but I wouldn’t completely write him off yet. He hit homers in back-to-back games this week, which gives him 9 on the season in 60 games. You also have to remember that he has been playing in pitcher’s parks basically his entire minor league career. He is still a beast who is going to hit homers on the next level.

Rhys Hoskins PHI, 1B – 7 homers in his last 10 games! That will definitely get you on the Rundown. Hoskins is now among the minor league leaders in homers with 16, and he could be battling for Philadelphia’s 1B job in the not too distant future.

Jorge Alfaro PHI, C – Alfaro continued his strong season in Double-A, slugging .609 with 2 homers this week. His 36/3 K/BB in 38 games is concerning, though.

Dylan Cozens PHI, OF – Cozens cannot be stopped, as he crushed 4 more taters this week, giving him 19 on the season. He doesn’t possess my favorite type of swing (short and quick), but not everyone is going to fit that profile.

Anderson Espinoza BOS, RHP – Espinoza hasn’t made the Rundown since week 1, but he has been solid all year, putting up a pitching line of 3.35/1.23/54 in 53.2 IP as an 18-year-old in Single-A. He’s also thrown shutouts in 3 of his last 4 starts.

Tyler Viza PHI, RHP – The 21-year-old Viza was promoted to Double-A this week, and he was excellent in his first start, going 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BB, 3 K. If you are looking for under the radar mid-rotation dynasty prospects, you should be able to grab Viza for nothing.

Kolby Allard ATL, LHP – Allard returned from pretty serious back surgery this week, and he has not looked good in either start (7 IP, 11 ER, 13 Hits, 4 BB, 7 K). He is still basically in Spring Training mode, and he is an 18-year-old in Single-A, so I wouldn’t read too much into the bad start.

Kevin Padlo TB, 3B – Padlo’s been having an odd statistical season all year, slashing .186/.330/.383, with 8 homers, and 6 steals in 52 games at Single-A. We in Yankees land like to call that, “pulling a Stephen Drew.” I liked him as an intriguing power/speed combo sleeper when he was with Colorado, ranking him 90th in my top 100, but considering his mediocre at best numbers this year and his new home in Tampa, I’m definitely off the bandwagon.

Drew Ward WASH, 3B – I think it is fair to say that the 21-year-old Ward has been one of the top breakout hitting prospects this season. He is slashing .297/.396/.528 with 10 homers in 54 games at High-A. The only problem is, there are doubts he can stick at 3B, and he won’t look nearly as enticing as a 1B prospect.

Ronald Acuna ATL, OF – Acuna is an 18-year-old performing very well in Single-A right now. He is slashing .300/.389/.391, with 2 homers, 12 steals, and a 20/15 K/BB in 30 games. Think of him like a Victor Robles-lite. He has plus speed and projects for average to above average power, to go along with his absurdly advanced plate approach for such a young player. Acuna has the chance of shooting up prospect lists everywhere this year and should be on the radar in Dynasty Leagues of all sizes.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 9

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 9:

Byron Buxton MIN, OF – I said back in week 5, “If I were a betting man (I am), I would bet a lot of money that Buxton will not hit like a little leaguer when he gets called back up,” and I was right, as he is hitting .425 in the 6 games since being called back up. Now I just have to figure out how to collect on that imaginary bet I made.

Trea Turner WASH, SS – Washington is expected to send Turner back down to Triple-A after a short, successful stint in the majors, and said they wanted Turner’s defense to improve before calling him up permanently. You can expect that “defensive improvement” to come right around the time Washington can push Turner’s first year of arbitration back, which is around mid-July.

2016 MLB Draft Thursday, June 9, 2016 – I never thought I would say this, but I am actually looking forward to the MLB Draft more than the NBA Draft or last April’s NFL Draft. I think it’s fair to say that the MLB Draft is a sleeper when it comes to sports drafts, or maybe a breakout candidate. Either way, tons of fantasy relevant players are about to join the professional ranks, and as usual, some will rise to the occasion and others will fall. I took a stab at trying to find those sleepers before they even hit the minors in my Updated 2016 Top 30 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings, where I ranked a bunch of players much higher than they are ranked on traditional lists (Craig, Collins, Grier, Quinn, Dawson etc …). Also of note, the Colorado Rockies pick at #4, and they are either going to ruin a pitcher’s career, or turn an above average hitter into a hall of famer. Fun stuff.

Christin Stewart DET, OF – The 34th overall pick of the 2015 draft (see what I mean about finding draft sleepers), Stewart is leaving no doubt that he can absolutely destroy High-A, slashing .255/.395/.561 with 16 homers in 56 games. It will be fun to see what he can do once he gets to Double-A.

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – It hasn’t been much fun seeing what Benintendi can do at Double-A, as he is slashing .220/.266/.271 in 64 PA. He also has only one homer on the season. He is due for a hot streak, but Double-A sure does have a way of cutting down on those video game numbers.

Willson Contreras CHC, C – Drilled 3 homers again this week, giving him 9 on the season with a triple-slash of .335/.428/.585 in 47 games at Triple-A. He is already 24 years old and doing this in the PCL, so I wouldn’t be expecting the next coming of Pudge Rodriguez here. I gave him a prime projection of 64/16/81/.293/3 in my off-season top 100, already assuming the power would come around, and I would probably stick with something close to that.

Austin Meadows PIT, OF – Well, that really escalated quickly. Meadows hot steak continued, and is now slashing .296/.359/.536, with 2 homers, and 8 steals in 35 games at Double-A. He hit both homers this week, and if the power keeps coming, there will not be many prospects more exciting than Meadows.

Bobby Bradley CLE, 1B – 2 more homers (13) and 11 more strikeouts (72).

Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – He’s back. Put up a pitching line of 12 IP, 2 ER, 10 Hits, 5 BB, 14 K in his two starts this week. The Giolito hype train should be reaching peak velocity right about now.

Blake Snell TB, LHP – Snell threw two shutouts this week, going a combined 11 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 5 BB, 14 K. He is walking too many batters and throwing too many pitches, but the drool worthy K numbers are still doing just fine.

Jack Flaherty STL, RHP – Flaherty built off last week’s shutout, throwing another shutout this week, going 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K. Did you actually think a St. Louis prospect was going to disappoint all year? Unheard of.

Tyler Jay MIN, LHP – Jay has been impressive all year, and he turned it up another notch this week, going 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, 11 K in High-A. I think it’s time we see what the 22-year-old Jay can do at Double-A … whaddaya say? … how ’bout some hay? … I’m done with this, okay?

Jake Junis KC, RHP – Junis was a 29th round pick in the 2011 draft who received a large signing bonus after being a two sport start coming out of high school, dominating in both baseball and basketball. He has slowly but surely refined his skills and improved over the course of his professional career, and is putting together a breakout season Double-A this year, with a pitching line of 2.59/0.96/66 in 62.2 IP. He has plus control and command (2.0 BB/9) and flashes three above average pitches (low 90’s fastball, curveball, changeup). At 6’2’’, 225 pounds, Junis is an excellent athlete with a repeatable delivery, and he is an intriguing deep league sleeper with a likely mid-rotation ceiling.

Hunter Renfroe SD, OF/Manuel Margot SD, OF – Renfroe has the power, jacking 12 homers this year with a .934 OPS, and Margot has the speed, stealing 16 bases with a .305 average. If San Diego could put these two guys together, they would have one of the best power/speed prospects in baseball. Unfortunately, we are at least a decade away from being able to combine humans at our ridiculous current rate of exponential technological growth. Or, if you believe renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil, we will all be cyborgs by then, anyway. 80 grades for everyone!

Victor Robles WASH, OF/Brendan Rodgers COL, SS – Two uber-prospects who have fallen down to earth a bit recently. Their prospect stock is still through the roof, but it is a reminder that they are a long way off.

Austin Byler ARI, 1B – The third guy from my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article is back in action after serving a 50 game suspension, and he is off to a slow start at Single-A, slashing .143/.250/.143 in 6 games. After hitting a bullseye with Harrison Bader and Willie Calhoun (both hit another homer this week), and seeing how I was least confident on Byler to begin with, I can’t help but feel he will be a miss. Hope I’m wrong (or right).

Jacob Nottingham MIL, C – Has come alive this week, slashing .412/.444/.1000 with 3 homers. His season line still sits at a mediocre .256/.313/.399 with 7 homers in 45 games at Double-A, but one extended hot streak would make the 21-year-old Nottingham’s numbers look a lot better. Plus, he’s Josh Hader’s catcher, which just makes me want to like him more for some reason.

Matt Olson OAK, 1B – Olson is starting to bring his numbers back up to respectability, as well, slashing .313/.560/.625 with 2 homers this week. The 6 total homers in 52 games in the PCL is still not that encouraging for a power hitting prospect who will play at the Oakland Coliseum.

Renato Nunez OAK, 3B – Hit 3 more homers this week, and is now slashing .264/.319/.510, with 11 homers in 52 games at Triple-A. He isn’t exactly having the breakout it looked like he was about to have earlier in the year, but the numbers are still more than solid.

Nick Williams PHI, OF – Jacked 3 homers this week, bringing his season slash up to .284/.322/.474, with 7 homers, and 4 steals in 49 games. I wasn’t his biggest fan this off-season, ranking him 59th, and giving him a prime projection of 85/18/78/.276/10. I think I will stick with that.

Josh Ockimey BOS, 1B – You seriously gotta love Ockimey. He killed it again this week, and is slashing .298/.437/.538 with 9 homers in 49 games at High-A. Even he knows his days of being underrated are coming to an end, as he tweeted, “Underrated temporally for the moment” last Friday. Ockimey’s prophetic tweets are just the best.

Roman Quinn PHI, OF – Quinn has been on fire this week, and is now slashing .289/.360/.422, with 3 homers, and 25 steals in 49 games at Double-A. He is one of the better pure speed prospects out there right now.

Anthony Alford TOR, OF – Alford has been absolutely horrendous since returning from a knee injury he suffered on opening day. He is triple-slashing .209/.273/.261, with 1 homer, 4 steals, and a 48/10 K/BB in 30 games at High-A. Last year, he OPS’d .825, with a 49/28 K/BB, and 15 steals in 57 games at the same level. I don’t think you need to be a doctor to think something isn’t right here.

Javier Guerro SD, SS – Unfortunately for Guerro, there is no injury to point to for his terrible offensive performance this season. He is slashing .194/.252/.316, with 5 homers, and 2 steals in 51 games at Single-A. I was very low on him this off-season, ranking him #97 on my top 100, and these numbers surely aren’t going to make me change my mind. He did homer last night, so maybe a hot streak is coming.

Yusniel Diaz LAD, OF – I was really hoping to be able to get excited about Diaz when I wrote about him in week 3, but he hasn’t done much of anything since then, and is now slashing .247/.320/.373, with 3 homers, and 4 steals in 41 games at High-A. That $31 million investment on him is starting to look a little pricey.

David Washington STL, 1B/OF – St. Louis is constantly pulling prospects out of their hat, and there is chance they did it again with David Washington. He is already 25 and he strikes out a lot, but he has destroyed Double-A and Triple-A this year, slashing .278/.374/.602 with 15 homers in 50 games. He is a big dude at 6’5’’, 260-pounds, and he has power to all fields. I would put him in the same category as Peter O’Brien. Neither have a position and both are old for prospects, but the power is enough that they can’t be ignored by the fantasy community. Keep an eye on him.

Nick Delmonico CHW, 1B/3B – The 23-year-old Delmonico is a little young to be considered a reclamation project, but that is what he is after Milwaukee straight cut him in 2015. Chicago swooped in, and they are now reaping the benefits. He crushed at Double-A, slashing .338/.397/.676 with 10 homers in 38 games, and is hitting well since being promoted to Triple-A, slashing .283/.353/.413 with 1 homer in 12 games. He is definitely a very deep league sleeper, but with his solid start in Triple-A, he is worthy of being on the fantasy radar.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 8

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 8:

2nd Lt. Ange, Sgt. Jackson, Spc. Mackenzie, 1st Lt. Carey, 2nd Lt. Del Pino, Staff Sgt. Thatcher, Sgt. Hill, Sgt. Rivera, Spc. Binge, and Spc. Chambers United States Army – In honor of Memorial Day, I thought the least I could do was include a soldier of the week in the Rundown, and in doing so I stumbled across 10 soldiers of the week. These men and women were the winners of the 10th AAMDC’s Best Warrior Competition, which is a grueling 4-day competition where the soldiers have to complete several mentally and physically strenuous challenges on only 3 hours sleep per night. 15 competitors started the competition, and these 10 soldiers were the ones left standing. Congratulations to them, and if you want to read more about the competition, you can check out this article.

Harrison Bader STL, OF – Went deep in back-to-back-to-back games again this week and now has 11 dingers on the season. For someone “definitely not trying to hit home runs,” he sure hits a lot of home runs.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Bader isn’t making it easy, but Willie is climbing back in the race to be the best find from my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article that I wrote in the off-season. Calhoun smacked 3 homers this week (including one last night!), bringing his season slash line up to a very respectable .267/.325/.461 with 7 homers as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Welcome to the party, Willie.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF – Buxton is officially destroying Triple-A, slashing .333/.402/.605, with 6 homers, and 4 steals in 28 games. It’s not going to make people forgot about his extreme struggles in the majors these past two years, but it’s a start.

Brendan Rodgers COL, SS – The 22-year-old Buxton might as well be a washed up has been compared to the new cool kid on the block, Rodgers. He smashed a homer in his first game back returning from a hamstring injury, giving him 8 on the year in 35 games at Single-A.

Kyle Lewis Mercer, OF – My #1 ranked prospect in my Top 30 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings, Lewis jacked 3 more homers this week, giving him 20 on the season in 61 games. He is the premiere power hitting prospect in the draft. #2 ranked prospect Corey Ray kept up the pace as well, tacking on another dinger (15) and 2 steals (39) this week.

Matt Thaiss Virginia, C – Blasted another homer this week, and is now slashing .382/.477/.591 with 10 homers in 57 games in the ACC. I ranked him #23 in my Top 30 Draft Prospects due to his elite contact skills, but there could be even more power in his bat too when he gets out of Virginia’s pitcher’s park. He’ll probably be ranked higher when I update the Top 30 list as we get closer to the draft.

Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – Had his best start of the season this week (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 6 K), and he hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in all but one of his starts. I said back in week 5 that he will eventually find his rhythm and turn it around, and I still believe that.

Alex Reyes STL, RHP – 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K in his second start back from suspension. You can expect him to continue to rack up those K’s and BB’s.

Braden Shipley ARI, RHP – Shipley has a BB/9 of 1.0 and K/9 of 6.9 in 62.1 IP in the PCL this season. I can’t even get upset at those weak strikeout totals, 7 total walks on the season in that pitching environment is just impressive. More so for real life, but still.

Phil Bickford SFG, RHP – Bickford continues to impress, going 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 7 K in his start this week, and a holds a stellar pitching line of 2.72/1.02/50 in 43 IP. He is doing this in Single-A, so it’s probably time to see him against tougher competition.

Alex Bregman HOU, SS – Bregman has been so hot the entire season that I didn’t think it was possible for him to get any hotter, but he has managed to heat up even more this week, slashing .364/.440/.591 with 2 more homers. Houston’s 3rd base situation continues to be a disaster, with Colin Moran doing little to help the cause so far, so Bregman may get his chance sooner rather than later.

Willson Contreras CHC, C – Blasted 3 homers this week, giving him 6 on the season in 42 games. His power was the one area he had to improve on coming into this season, and his ISO is now .50 points higher in Triple-A than it was in Double-A last year.

Jorge Alfaro PHI, C – The talented Alfaro is “finally” (he is 22) putting it together this season, hitting 2 more homers this week, and is now slashing .336/.347/.517 with 4 homers in 27 games at Double-A. He has as much fantasy potential as any catcher in the minors.

Tyler O’Neill SEA, OF – This is just your friendly, periodic reminder that Tyler O’Neill exists, and he is very, very good. The 20-year-old O’Neill is slashing .315/.380/.560, with 9 homers, and 3 steals in 48 games at Double-A, and he should be a relatively sought after fantasy commodity.

Bradley Zimmer CLE, OF – 2 more homers, 2 more steals, and had only 5 K’s in his last 6 games before dropping a golden sombrero last night (4 K’s in a game). We know he has the power and speed, so limiting K’s is last thing he has to improve on.

Austin Meadows PIT, OF – Meadows is starting to shake the rust off after coming back from a fractured orbital bone, slashing .409/.458/.591 in Double-A this week. He is slashing .255/.330/.398 on the season, and the power is the last thing remaining to make him a true elite fantasy prospect.

Joey Gallo TEX, OF – Here is what I wrote about Gallo in last week’s rundown: “You can expect him to continue to be prospect blocked, and if I were a Gallo owner, I would be hoping he gets traded away at the deadline.” Then, right on cue a few hours later, Texas called him up the big leagues and everyone got excited (including me), only to see him rarely play and get sent right back down. Your guess is as good as mine as to what Texas’ plans are with Gallo.

John Lamb CIN, LHP – Lamb was one of my favorite pitching prospect sleepers coming into this year, ranking him 40th in my Top 100 before it was revealed he had back surgery earlier in the off-season. He has simply not displayed the same stuff and velocity so far this year, averaging 89.3 MPH on his fastball after averaging 91.1 MPH last year. When you are already in the low 90’s, you don’t really have 2 MPH to spare. Hopefully he gains velocity the further away he gets from that back surgery, but it’s tough to see him take a step back after making so much progress coming off a long Tommy John Surgery recovery.

Jack Flaherty STL, RHP – Flaherty (#69) is another one of my favorite pitching prospect sleepers who has struggled this year, but he had the best start of his season this week, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 9 K. Flaherty credited the outing to the advice he received from former high school teammates Giolito and Max Fried.

Erick Fedde WASH, RHP – Still trying to fully recover from 2014 Tommy John Surgery, Fedde has now spun two shutouts in a row, striking out 11 and walking 1 in 11 IP. His season line still doesn’t look great, but this season is more about staying healthy and building up his IP count anyway. If he can continue to dominate, even better.

Luis Ortiz TEX, RHP – Got promoted to Double-A last week, and went a combined 11 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K in his two starts at the level. It looks like Texas might fast track the 20-year-old Ortiz, and he could make his MLB debut as soon as next season.

Tyler Viza PHI, RHP – Viza put himself on my radar back in week 6, and he had his best start of the season this week, going 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BB, 11 K. He isn’t someone I would be jumping on, but if he gets promoted to Double-A and can keep it up, you will start to see his name popping up in more places.

Ronald Guzman TEX, 1B – The 21-year-old Guzman cranked 2 more dingers this week (in one game), and is now slashing .329/.392/.547, with 7 homers, and a 38/16 K/BB in 46 games at Double-A. He is solidifying himself as one of the top breakout fantasy prospects of 2016.

Dylan Cozens PHI, OF – Cozens keeps on raking, hitting 3 more homers this week, giving him 14 on the season in 49 games at Double-A. I still think he has some holes in his swing and he is doing this is an excellent hitter’s environment, but I can’t deny the power numbers.

Heath Quinn Samford, OF/Ronnie Dawson Ohio St, OF – Quinn and Dawson are two of my favorite sleepers in the upcoming MLB Draft, and they both continued to do damage this week. Quinn knocked 2 more homers, giving him 21 on the season, and Dawson hit another homer (13) and swiped four more bags (20). Dawson (#30) is probably a deeper sleeper than Quinn (#14). We’ll call Dawson a REM sleeper, while Quinn is more of a napper.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 7

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 7:

Corey Seager LAD, SS – My #1 ranked prospect in my pre-season top 100, Seager has been scorching hot of late, launching 5 homers in his last 12 games. The recently turned 22-year-old Seager is now slashing .273/.328/.472 with 7 homers in 44 games in MLB this season, after dominating there in 27 games last season. I think it’s time for the Dodgers to call him up to the next level. Oh wait, MLB is the highest level, you say? Damn this kid is good.

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – It looks like Double-A might have actually slowed Benintendi down a little bit, as he has struck out 5 times in 4 games, after striking out only 9 times in 34 games at High-A. I think he will figure it out and be just fine, but it is a reminder that he was far too advanced for High-A to begin with.

Anfernee Grier Auburn University, OF – Meet the Andrew Benintendi of the 2016 MLB Draft. I ranked Grier 11th overall in my continuing 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 11-21, and he has smacked 2 more homers since then. He is now slashing .366/.457/.576, with 12 homers, and 19 steals in 56 games in the SEC. I was tempted to rank Grier higher at the time I wrote the article, and I’m no longer tempted, because he will be in my top 10, and maybe even top 5 when I finish the rankings and put it all together.

Corey Ray Louisville, OF – My #2 ranked prospect on my MLB Draft Fantasy Prospect Rankings: 1-5, Ray jacked another homer and swiped another bag this week, giving him 14 homers, 37 steals (0 CS), and a .326/.398/.581 triple-slash in 56 games in the ACC. I ranked Kyle Lewis #1, but there is a real case to be made for Ray. They are really 1A and 1B at this point depending on what type of production you are looking for. While we are talking about draft prospects, my #3 ranked Draft Prospect, Zack Collins, launched another homer this week too, giving him 11 on the season.

Harrison Bader STL, OF – Little ole’ 3rd round pick Harrison Bader didn’t even need High-A, as he continued his assault on Double-A pitching this week, hitting another bomb (8) and stealing another base (6). If you haven’t checked out this excellent interview he gave to David Laurila over at Fangraphs, you should definitely give it read. My favorite part of the interview is where he talked about his hitting approach, and finished up by saying, “my primary goal is to make consistent hard contact.” That’s the attribute that made me so high on him to begin with, and if you hit the ball hard, the homers will come.

Yoan Moncada BOS, 2B – Everyone can’t stop gushing over Moncada’s hitting ability, and for good reason, but he has been nothing short of elite with his legs this year too. He stole 5 more bases this week, and now has 30 steals in 40 games, being caught only 6 times. That brings his minor league career total to 79 steals on 88 attempts in 121 games. For some reason, I still can’t get that excited about him. Oh that’s right, it’s because I’m a Yankees fan, and can’t get over how we let him slip through our fingers. I think I am in the 2nd stage of grieving, which is anger. That means bargaining and depression are coming next. Fun stuff.

Victor Robles WASH, OF – Popped 2 more dingers this week, bringing his season total up to 5 homers in 39 games. The power is showing up faster than anybody expected, and he is doing it while maintaining a .340 AVG and 20/10 K/BB. His upside is so sky high that it has to ask Air Traffic Control for clearance.

A.J. Reed HOU, 1B – Reed got back in action last night, going 1 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout. With Tyler White struggling of late, Reed can reach the big leagues in a hurry if he can get hot. If he is still available to stash in your league, now is the time to grab him.

Blake Snell TB, LHP/Josh Hader MIL, LHP – Snell: 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BB, 9 K – Hader: 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 ER, 8 K. Just two of the best lefty pitching prospects in the game doing their thing.

Julio Urias LAD, LHP – The 19-year-old Urias threw another shutout this week, and he hasn’t given up an ER in 6 of his 8 starts this year in the PCL. He now sits comfortably as the best pitching prospect in baseball. Unfortunately, he has risen in the Dodgers system faster than his yearly IP totals could keep up, and he is likely to be used out of the Major League bullpen in order to trick his arm into thinking pitching 3-4 times per week is less stressful than just starting once every five games. Baseball teams just love to exploit that imaginary loophole.

Alex Reyes STL, RHP – Reyes made his season debut last night after being suspended for 50 games to start the season, and he dominated, going 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BB, 8K. He might never be able to paint the black, but when you throw 99 MPH, you really don’t have to. Definitely get Reyes back on your redraft stash radar.

Dillon Tate TEX, RHP/Carson Fulmer CHW, RHP/Tyler Jay MIN, LHP – This three headed monster will forever be linked after they were all taken in the top 10 of the 2015 Draft. Tate (1.2 IP, 7 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BB, 1K) and Fulmer (2.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BB, 2 k) both threw up absolute stinkers in their last outing, while Jay (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 6 K) kept rolling. Looks like Minnesota’s risk of taking a college reliever in Jay just might pay off.

Grant Holmes LAD, RHP – 5 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BB, 8 K in his start this week. He now holds a 9.6 K/9 and a 3.4 BB/9 in 42 IP at High-A. It’s nice to see his walk rate improve this year (4.7 BB/9 in 2015), but he’s been a bit more hittable, as well.

David Dahl COL, OF – 2 more homers and 2 more steals this week. Just another week at the office for one of the most exciting fantasy prospects in the game. The fact that he will get to play his home games at Coors Field almost makes my head want to explode.

J.P. Crawford PHI, SS – Promoted to Triple-A this week, where I’m sure he will continue to display his great, but thouroughly unexciting plate approach and moderate power/speed combo. I did still rank him 15th overall in the pre-season, and he can provide solid 5-category production at the SS position in the not too distant future.

Joey Gallo TEX, 3B – Gallo returned to action in Grande fashion this week after being out with a groin strain, mashing a homer in his 3rd game back. You can expect him to continue to be prospect blocked, and if I were a Gallo owner, I would be hoping he gets traded away at the deadline. Edit: He was just called up by Texas! I guess the Rangers are going to find playing time for him wherever they can.

Dansby Swanson ATL, SS – Has really turned it up a notch this week at Double-A, slashing .357/.400/.536 with 2 homers. It is nice to see him getting the power stroke going a little bit, and he now has 4 homers and 10 steals in 43 games this season. I honestly have no idea what Atlanta’s plans are with him and Ozzie Albies.

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B – Bregman mentioned in an interview recently that he gained 20 pounds of muscle this off season. Combine that with the 10 bombs (3 this week) that he has hit this season in Double-A, and I’m starting to think the power explosion is definitely for real. I projected him for 15 homers in the preseason, which was on the high side from everything I read, but 20+ looks to be the new expectation now. He does have only 3 steals on the year, so he might have traded some speed for power.

Jorge Mateo NYY, SS ¬ Mateo has now been successful in his last 7 steal attempts, after struggling there early in the season. He also tacked on another homer this week, and is slashing .313/.369/.528, with 5 homers, and 15 steals in 41 games at High-A. If he can keep this production up when he gets moved to Double-A, his prospect stock will soar even higher than it already is.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP – Keller has been long overdue to make the Rundown, as he has been one of the fastest risers among the pitcher ranks this season. After struggling with a forearm injury last season, he has been on fire to start 2016, putting up a dominant pitching line of 1.40/0.69/52 in 45 IP. He has walked 3 guys all season. He throws a low 90’s fastball, plus curveball, and a developing changeup. Considering the success that Pittsburgh has had with pitching prospects in the recent past, Keller has a good chance of cracking many top 100’s if he can keep up his success this season.

Daniel Mengden OAK, RHP – Mengden is another fast rising pitcher who is long overdue for the Rundown. After dominating for 23 IP in a pitcher’s park at Double-A, he has done just as well at Triple-A in the PCL, going 27 IP, 2 ER, 16 Hits, 4 BB, 23 K in 4 starts. He fastball was seen topping out at 98 MPH earlier this year, and he throws a solid curveball and changeup as well. Mengden has a good chance of joining Oakland’s rotation later this season.

Jacob Faria TB, RHP – After struggling with his control all year, it was nice to see Faria absolutely dominate in his last outing at Double-A, going 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hit, 0 BB, 11 K. His K/9 has looked great this season at 10.1, but the 4.9 BB/9 is concerning. Considering he hasn’t had major control issues in the past, I think he will figure it out, and his last start was definitely a step in that direction.

Cody Bellinger LAD, 1B – After returning from a hip injury, Bellinger was ice cold to start the season, but he has absolutely caught fire of late, smashing another homer last night, giving him 3 this week and 4 on the season in 22 games at Double-A. He was a Cal League superstar last year, smashing 30 dingers, so displaying that power at Double-A is nice to see. I ranked him 95th in the preseason, and if he keeps powering up, he will rise fast in the rankings.

Hunter Dozier KC, 3B – The 24-year-old Dozier is officially back on the prospect map, as he has dominated since getting called up to Triple-A. He hit 3 more homers this week, bringing his season triple-slash up to .309/.382/.625, with 12 homers, and 4 steals split between Double-A and Triple-A. If you have been holding Dozier since he was a hyped 8th overall pick in the 2013 Draft, it looks like your patience is finally beginning to pay off.

Hunter Renfroe SD, OF – It must be hunting season, because Hunter Renfroe has been killing it this week as well, crushing 3 homers, bringing his slash line up to .327/.355/.588, with 8 homers, and 3 steals at Triple-A. He should get the call to the bigs at some point later this season.

Ryan McMahon COL, 3B – Smacked homers in back-to-back games this week, and McMahon is finally starting to break out of his early season slump. He also struck out only once, and there are finally some positives to point to for McMahon owners to get excited about.

Chris Shaw SFG, 1B – Shaw’s coming out party continues, smashing 3 more homers this week (one inside the park), bringing his season total up to 10 homers in 39 games at High-A.

Eloy Jimenez CHC, OF – The 19-year-old Jimenez is starting to unleash that massive plus power that made him a hyped international signing back in 2013. He crushed 4 homers this week, giving him 6 on the season, to go along with a .327/.363/.526 triple-slash in 39 games at High-A. The time to scoop him is definitely now.

Phillip Ervin CIN, OF – The 27th overall pick in the 2013 Draft, Ervin is slashing .228/.347/.439, with 5 homers, and 17 steals in 36 games at Double-A. I like a bunch of the other deep sleepers who I wrote about in previous Rundowns more than Ervin, but he has the kind of power/speed combo that is worth keeping an eye on in case he can even moderately improve his hit tool. He doesn’t have major strikeout issues, and he knows how to take a walk, so I don’t think hoping for improvement there is a bad bet.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 6

Every Monday, I will be running down some of the notable performances from around the Minor Leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is the 2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 6:

Blake Snell TB, LHP – I predicted in last week’s rundown that Snell was going to be fine, and he was fine, going 10.1 IP, 4 ER, 13 Hits, 2 BB, 16 K in his two starts this week. Correctly predicting that one of the best pitching prospects in the game would be fine is the kind of hard hitting analysis that you can expect to get around here at Imaginary Brick Wall.

Chase Vallot KC, C – Bat speed, power, and strikeouts make for some of my favorite prospect sleepers (remember Trevor Story?), and the 19-year-old Vallot checks all of those boxes. The 40th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Vallot crushed 13 homers in 80 games at Single-A last season, and he is off to a strong start this season, slashing .279/.391/.529, with 6 homers, and a 43/16 K/BB in 31 games. Here is a scouting video of him in high school displaying that super quick bat speed, and here is a video of him absolutely crushing a homer earlier this year. He is built like a brick shit house, and even if he doesn’t stick at catcher, I feel pretty confident in saying Vallot is going to continue to hit the ball very hard when he isn’t striking out. He is a great deep league sleeper.

Ronald Guzman TEX, 1B – The Rangers paid the 6’5’’, 205 pound Guzman $3.5 million back in 2011, and it is just now starting to pay off in a big way. Guzman is slashing .319/.382/.529, with 5 homers, and a 29/10 K/BB in 32 games at Double-A this season. He has a sweet lefty swing and has always had a reputation for being a pure hitter. He doesn’t have huge power right now, but I don’t think it is a stretch to assume it will come as he continues to age and get stronger. You don’t have to squint all that hard to see Nomar Mazara-lite here, and Guzman is another excellent deep league sleeper.

Tyler Glasnow PIT, RHP – Looks like Greg Maddux in one start, and then Rick Ankiel the next. His BB line in 7 starts this season reads 3,0,3,1,5,1, 5. Because I consistently score above 140 on those free online IQ tests, I know that the next number in the sequence will probably be a low one.

Jameson Taillon PIT, RHP – Got those K’s going again this week, striking out 11 batters in 6 IP, and if you haven’t heard already, word on the internet street is that Taillon is first in line to get the call.

Derek Fisher HOU, OF – I told you to buy low on Fisher two weeks ago in my Top 3 Buy Low Dynasty Prospects article, and I hoped you listened, because Fisher crushed 5 homers since then, and it brings his season line to .248/.354/.504, with 8 homers, and 4 steals in 34 games at Double-A. I ranked him 20th overall in my preseason top 100 , and considering there is still not much hype around him, you might be able to buy him at a reasonable price.

Tim Anderson CHW, SS – Anderson was another player who I touted in that Buy Low column, and he has been scorching hot since then as well. He hit .438/.471/.750 this week with homers in back-to-back-to-back games, and he is now hitting .276 on the season, with 3 homers, and 8 steals in 33 games at Triple-A. By the way, the third guy I wrote about in that buy low column was Lewis Brinson, and he is still struggling. You know what to do. Unless you believe in the law of averages and think I’m due to get one wrong, then maybe you don’t know what to do.

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B – Meet Houston’s new 3B of the future. Here is an excellent article by Brian McTaggart at MLB.com on how the transition is going so far, and what Houston’s thinking and strategy with Bregman has been from the beginning of the year.

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – Benintendi knocked out High-A pitching worse than Rougned Odor just knocked the hell out of Jose Bautista. Only difference is that Benintendi is getting a promotion and Odor is getting a suspension. He’ll be in Double-A starting today.

Josh Hader MIL, LHP – Threw another gem this week. Reports have been positive about his secondary offerings, and he has maintained the increased velocity that he found in the Arizona Fall League, consistently sitting in the mid 90’s. Hader is one of the best pitching prospects in the game.

Kyle Zimmer KC, RHP – Got back in action last week and is slowly building his pitch count up. In his two brief appearances, he has stuck out nine and walked four in 4.2 IP. If he can remain healthy, the Royals are sure to find a role for the 24-year-old Zimmer on the big league club this year, preferably as a starter, but he can be elite out of the bullpen, as well.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Willie is on fire this week, slashing .400/.455/.600, and he is finally showing flashes of that special hitting ability that he displayed in 2015. Maybe including him in my Top 100 Fantasy Prospect Fallers post that I wrote last week has lit a fire under his ass. And yes, me and Willie are on a first name basis now after how many times I have written about him since February.

Carson Fulmer CHW, RHP – Just when it looked like he was getting it together, Fulmer threw up an absolute dud this week (4 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 8 BB, 3 K). I covered him in my Top 100 Fallers post, as well.

Josh Ockimey BOS, 1B – Ockimey made this prophetic tweet on February 4, and now the rest of the prospect watching world knows too, that this is the year of the Ockimey. He triple-slashed .333/.412/.733 this week, bringing his season line to .300/.442/.600, with 7 homers, and a 32/28 K/BB in 31 games at Single-A. He is turning himself into the type of power hitting prospect you have to love for fantasy.

Christin Stewart DET, OF – Stewart has kept raking since I wrote about him in week 4, smashing 4 more homers this week, and it brings his season total up to 13 homers with a .979 OPS in 37 games at High-A. The time is definitely now to start making moves on him, if you haven’t already.

Tom Murphy COL, C – Hit another bomb this week, and is now slashing .300/.323/.733 with 2 homers in 8 games at Triple-A. There is a reason I ranked him the 31st overall prospect in my top 100.

Max Kepler MIN, OF – Was off to a bit of a slow start this year, but he turned it on this week, slashing .444/.565/.611. His excellent plate approach and K/BB have translated just fine to Triple-A.

Kyle Tucker HOU, OF – I probably should have included Tucker in my Top 100 Fantasy Prospect Risers post last week, as he has looked solid all year at Single-A, and is now slashing .328/.403/.438 with a 28/16 K/BB in 34 games. The power hasn’t been great with only 1 homer, but he has stolen 16 bags, and the hit tool is more important for his development right now anyway. I ranked him 89th in my preseason top 100, and the arrow is certainly pointing up.

Luis Ortiz TEX, RHP – Things are also looking up for Texas’ big right hander. The 30th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Ortiz spun a 1-hit gem this week, and has a 2.60/1.05/28 in 27.2 IP pitching line at High-A this year. I would have ranked him higher in the preseason if he hadn’t suffered a forearm injury last year limiting him to only 50 IP, but if he stays healthy this year, he will be firing up prospect lists everywhere.

Gleyber Torres CHC, SS – Torres has been red hot these past few weeks, bringing his triple-slash up to .252/.340/.425, with 4 homers, and 5 steals in 33 games at High-A. The slow start is no more.

Franklin Barreto OAK, SS – The 20-year-old Barreto started on the slow start watch list, then I took him off after a hot week, and now he is back on again. He has gone ice cold of late, and is now slashing .235/.288/.331, with 3 homers, and 9 steals at Double-A. He is still very young for the level, and is playing in an extreme pitcher’s park, so things aren’t as bad as his hitting line suggests.

Forrest Wall COL, 2B – Since I wrote about Wall’s hot start in week 2, he has been anything but, and his season line at High-A has now dropped to .231/.321/.325, with 1 homer, and 7 steals. He was also placed on the 7-day DL on May 11. When it rains it pours.

Edwin Diaz SEA, RHP – Will be permanently moved to the bullpen, because whenever you can give up on your upper 90’s throwing, 9.4 K/9 stud 22-year-old starting pitching prospect, that is move you just have to make.

Dylan Cozens PHI, OF – Mashed 3 dingers this week, and the 6’,6’’, 235 pound Cozens is now slashing .287/.368/.581, with 10 homers, and 9 steals in 36 games at Double-A. He has a bit of a long swing, and struggles with hard stuff on the inner third of the plate, but he has still been long overdue to make the Rundown. Better late than never.

Mike Soroka ATL, RHP – Bounced back nicely this week (5.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 2 BB, 5 K) after a rough outing the week before (4 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BB, 3 K). His season line now sits at 1.96/1.01/37 in 36.2 IP. If you want to read a more in depth scouting report on Soroka, Benjamin Chase over at Tomahawk Take had a great up to date report on him last week.

Drew Ward WASH, 3B –A 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft, Ward is finally putting his plus raw power to good use this year, slashing .305/.399/.547, with 7 homers, and a 37/17 K/BB in 34 games at High-A. Scouts have doubts that he can stick at 3B, but he is a bat first prospect who should be on your radar in deeper prospect leagues.

Tyler Viza PHI, RHP – We are going super deep now. The 21-year-old Viza always had good stuff, and it is starting to translate into good results this season, as he is dominating High-A in the early going (35.2 IP, 7 ER, 35 Hits, 6 BB, 36 K). He throws a strong 5-pitch mix with a fastball that sits between 91-94 MPH. Viza likely tops out as a mid-rotation starter, but he is an interesting pitcher prospect in super deep leagues. At the very least, remember the name.

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)