Jordan Walker exhausted his rookie eligibility a year ago and, therefore, no longer qualifies as a prospect.
But he clearly isn’t an established major-leaguer yet, having been optioned Tuesday for a second time this season. This latest stint lasted only a week, with him starting three games during that time, all against left-handers. It turns out the lack of available playing time factored into president of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s decision to send Walker down.
“My philosophy is has always been if you’re a young player, you need to play,” Mozeliak said. “I always cringe at the idea of someone who’s 22 years old sitting on the bench.”
Of course, it begs the question why Walker came up in the first place. The fundamentals of the Cardinals roster haven’t changed. I suspect it was sort of attaboy for the strides he had made at Triple-A. In the 16 games prior to his all-too-brief promotion, Walker hit .343 (23 for 67) with five homers, including ones of 434 and 446 feet. Perhaps more significantly, a change in the position of his hands helped to unlock that power.
“My hands were inconsistent,” Walker recently told MLB.com. “I wasn’t getting into consistent firing positions every time. So I’ve just started getting my hands back earlier, and I’ve been more consistent and things have started going my way.”
Walker’s overall numbers at Triple-A are still unremarkable, but if he picks up where he left off there, continuing to surge at the plate, I suspect he’ll be back in short order. And with Tommy Pham, Victor Scott and an underachieving Lars Nootbaar currently occupying the Cardinals’ three outfield spots, they obviously could find at-bats for the 22-year-old if they wanted to.
Walker may not qualify as a prospect anymore, but if he did, he’d be second in my …
FIVE ON THE VERGE
(Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)
2023 minors: .265 BA (456 AB), 15 HR, 40 SB, .802 OPS, 83 BB, 133 K
2023 majors: .258 BA (31 AB), 4 HR, 1 SB, .980 OPS, 2 BB, 8 K
2024 minors: .311 BA (161 AB), 7 HR, 10 SB, .851 OPS, 15 BB, 38 K
Of course, part of the reason I say Walker would be second in my Five on the Verge is because Dominguez is the only minor-leaguer who I’d consider a priority stash at this point. It seems like only a matter of time before he overtakes Alex Verdugo in left field. We know this because he actually started over Verdugo when he was added to the roster as a 27th man for the Little League Classic Sunday, a special allowance for the neutral-site game.
I suspect a more permanent arrangement will come once we’re inside 35 days remaining in the season (i.e., Aug. 26). As long as Dominguez’s combined number of games on the active roster between this year and last doesn’t exceed 45 (and as long as his combined number of at-bats doesn’t exceed 130), he’ll retain his rookie eligibility for next year, thus leaving the door open for him to secure the Yankees an extra draft pick with his performance. Obviously, he brings big power and speed potential, which we’ve already seen translate from his brief time in the majors last year.
2023 minors: .290 BA (504 AB), 29 HR, 45 2B, .973 OPS, 93 BB, 148 K
2024 minors: .310 BA (323 AB), 24 HR, 25 2B, 1.007 OPS, 37 BB, 92 K
2024 majors: 1 for 17, 3 BB, 10 K
Why would Mayo still be the No. 2 prospect to stash after his first major-league stint went so poorly? It’s a fair question to ask and should say something about the overall stashability of prospects at this point in the season. More will be called up, of course, but will they be ones of great consequence in Fantasy? And will they make good on their opportunity, seeing as so many high-end call-ups have floundered this year? I’m dubious on both fronts, which is why I consider Dominguez to be the only priority stash in redraft leagues right now.
But if I have to pick a second, why not Mayo? I’m sure he’ll be back. Third base remains a weak point in the Orioles lineup, with light-hitting Ramon Urias currently occupying that spot, and now that Mayo is on the 40-man roster, there’s little reason not to bring him up when rosters expand on Sept. 1. By that point, preserving his rookie eligibility should be a foregone conclusion. Naturally, we won’t be as hopeful for his return, given how his first stint went, but just look how Jackson Holliday’s return to the majors has gone after a disastrous first stint. Mayo won’t have as much time to apply what he learned in his first big-league look, but he surely learned something.
“In a short time, I think it’s just a little taste of what you need to know and you get a little bit of that initial, I guess, shock and, ‘Wow, I’m in the big leagues,'” Mayo told MASNsports.com. “That kind of goes away, and you get to go back and calm down a little bit and just work on some things and get that confidence back up so that when you’re called up again the next time, you’re ready.”
2023 minors: .292 BA (137 AB), 5 HR, 4 SB, .844 OPS, 14 BB, 38 K
2024 minors: .271 BA (387 AB), 13 HR, 25 SB, .800 OPS, 35 BB, 87 K
Update: Crews will reportedly make his major-league debut Monday. The forward-facing numbers are decent. The underlying numbers (exit velocity, strikeout rate, zone-contact rate, etc.) are better. Given his prospect pedigree, he’s an immediate add in five-outfielder leagues. You can probably wait and see in three-outfielder leagues unless your need is glaring.
The second overall pick in last year’s draft continues to make incremental progress at Triple-A Rochester. Just when it looked like he was beginning to cool off from his mid-August spike, Crews went 4 for 5 with two stolen bases Wednesday and is now batting .333 (18 for 54) with four homers and five steals in his past 13 games. With fewer than 45 days remaining in the season, the Nationals have little reason to think he would use up his rookie eligibility if they called him up now, so I’m guessing they just want to make extra sure he’s ready. While he’s been decent at Triple-A, he hasn’t blown the lid off. The underlying data is better — and I suspect of greater interest to the Nationals — but I can’t say with complete certainty that they’ll indeed call him.
2023 minors: .254 BA (452 AB), 20 HR, .728 OPS, 25 BB, 125 K
2024 minors: .321 BA (424 AB), 35 HR, 1.001 OPS, 30 BB, 110 K
The Marlins did recently call up trade deadline acquisition Connor Norby, which gives the impression that they’re willing to audition players for next year rather than simply run out the clock. De Los Santos, who was also acquired at the trade deadline, is different mainly in that he isn’t on the 40-man roster yet, but if the Marlins are convinced he’s ready, it seems likely they’ll burn a player to get him on.
And it sure seems like he’s ready. The 21-year-old just wrapped up his third consecutive multi-hit game, having gone 8 for 13 with two homers and two doubles during that stretch. His 35 homers lead all minor-leaguers, and only two others have even 30. He still chases too many pitches out of the zone and swings through too many pitches in the zone, which are the sort of flaws that are more often exposed against major-league pitchers. But De Los Santos has clearly earned the right to test himself at the next level if only to discover what he still needs to work on.
2023 minors: .228 BA (290 AB), 15 HR, .856 OPS, 72 BB, 93 K
2024 minors: .277 BA (329 AB), 19 HR, .902 OPS, 48 BB, 81 K
This may seem like an oddball choice — frankly, anyone I put here would be — but the Dodgers have done something with Rushing that leads me to believe they have the short-term in mind. They’ve shifted him to left field. It happened just before his move up to Triple-A Oklahoma City in early August, and there’s little reason to believe it’s because he couldn’t hack it behind the plate. More likely, it’s because Will Smith is already entrenched there, and the Dodgers’ biggest need this year has been in the outfield, hence Mookie Betts recently relocating there.
If they wanted to get an extra bat in their lineup, they could shift Betts back to shortstop, shift shortstop Tommy Edman to center field, shift left fielder Teoscar Hernandez to right field, and install Rushing in left field. So far, reports indicate that the 23-year-old is passable out there, which is all a left fielder really needs to be. Rushing’s offense prowess is more established. The left-handed hitter has a swing geared for home runs, consistently delivering high fly-ball and pull rates, and he also has a knack for getting on base. Since moving up to Triple-A, he has hit .313 (15 for 48) with two homers and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (12). And remember, even if he comes up to play left field, he’ll still be eligible at catcher for Fantasy.
FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY
(Here are some other prospects doing something of note.)
2024 minors: .375 BA (32 AB), 4 HR, 3 2B, 1.389 OPS, 12 BB, 8 K
Angels second baseman Christian Moore has been the 2024 draft pick to generate the most headlines so far, making a quick climb to Double-A. But No. 4 pick Nick Kurtz has now done the same, skipping over High-A after homering in four of seven games at Low-A. Watch this highlight and tell me you don’t see Matt Olson:
Maybe it’s the No. 28 on his back. Maybe it’s his 6-foot-5 frame. Maybe it’s the anticipation of him wearing a green-and-gold Athletics uniform eventually. Maybe it’s an all-too-easy comparison that’s sure to make prospect purists lose their minds. But like Olson once did, Kurtz stands out most for his transcendent power and keen batting eye. And by the looks of it, he’s on the fast track in an organization with plenty of at-bats to hand out.
2024 minors: 2.34 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 119 IP, 34 BB, 168 K
Perhaps the biggest prospect riser of all this year, Mathews took a little longer to find his footing at his third stop, Double-A Springfield. But boy has he. Over his past four starts — three being six innings or more, by the way — he has a 0.75 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 13.9 K/9. Picking up a few extra ticks from his college years has helped to fuel his breakout, and he now has three pitches that rate as plus: a fastball that comes in from a low approach angle, a tight slider, and the best pitch of all, a changeup that drops out of the bottom of the zone. Add it all up, and I’m toying with the idea of making Mathews my No. 4 pitching prospect next year, behind only Jackson Jobe, Andrew Painter, and Noah Schultz.
2023 minors: 4.54 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 111 IP, 51 BB, 128 K
2024 minors: 3.18 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 93 1/3 IP, 29 BB, 111 K
Unlike Quinn Mathews, Chandler was already a prospect of some note coming into the year, but like Mathews, he’s seen his stock soar this year. He’s been a bit of a project for the Pirates, seeing as he was drafted as a two-way player, but he’s harnessed his stuff the past couple years, making his biggest strides with regard to control this year. Between two starts following his move up to Triple-A, he has yet to allow an earned run, striking out 17 in 13 innings, and in his last nine starts between Double- and Triple-A, he has a 1.70 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 10.9 K/9. The Pirates have hit the jackpot with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones this season, and they may have another front-liner on the way in Chandler.
2023 minors: .270 BA (400 AB), 16 HR, .844 OPS, 67 BB, 98 K
2024 minors: .275 BA (378 AB), 12 HR, .777 OPS, 59 BB, 74 K
Baldwin may have seemed like an odd choice to represent the Braves in the All-Star Futures Game last month, but he wound up being one of just two prospects to hit a home run in the contest. Whether it was that or an earlier move up to Triple-A that brought his bat to life, he’s rolling now, batting .308 with eight homers, a .905 OPS, and more walks (39) than strikeouts (33) in his past 48 games.
Baldwin’s disciplined approach is long established, and the amount of damage he’s doing doesn’t appear to be a fluke either, judging by his 91.6 mph average exit velocity and 111.9 mph max exit velocity. The biggest issue for him is that the Braves are already stacked at catcher, so his greatest value to them may be as trade bait.
2023 minors: .272 BA (345 AB), 24 HR, .962 OPS, 70 BB, 112 K
2024 minors: .247 BA (312 AB), 11 HR, .798 OPS, 65 BB, 93 K
The Tigers’ return for Jack Flaherty may have seemed weak at first glance, but hidden under a .220 batting average at High-A Great Lakes was a high-upside catcher in Liranzo. And the 21-year-old immediately began to deliver on that upside after leaving the Dodgers organization, batting .396 (19 for 48) with four homers and more walks (16) than strikeouts (11) in his 15 games at High-A West Michigan. A switch-hitter with strong pull tendencies, Liranzo profiles as a bit of a three-true-outcomes hitter, but at the catcher position, that’s something to get excited about.
