Opening day isn’t for another two months, but we’re beginning to smell baseball in the air. Fantasy drafts for some have already taken place, but many of you will be ramping up your preparation in this month and the next, and that includes figuring out which prospects you may want to stash away on your team even if they don’t start the season in the majors.
Prospects can be called up at any time as we witnessed with Kris Bryant, Miguel Sano, Noah Syndergaard, and Matt Duffy last season. Most knew who the first three names were, but Duffy was the biggest surprise finishing his 2015 campaign as the clear runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. With so many players to choose from, we’ve asked our featured experts to help identify who should be on your stash list.
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Q1. What pitching prospect should owners target as a draft-day stash even though he may not begin the season in the big leagues?
Tyler Glasnow (SP – PIT)
“I’m very intrigued by Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Tyler Glasnow, both for his talent and his situation once he reaches the majors. He dominated hitters at Class AA and AAA last season, posting a combined 2.39 ERA and striking out 11.2 batters per nine innings. Beyond that, the Pirates are an excellent organization for developing young pitchers, as we’ve seen most recently with Gerrit Cole. Ray Searage may be the best pitching coach in the majors and when Glasnow shows he’s ready for the majors, he’ll be in a great position to succeed. Should Jon Niese, Ryan Vogelsong or Jeff Locke falter, Glasnow should thrive in a pitcher’s park with one of the game’s best defenses behind him.”
– Steve Gardner (USA Today)
“There are quite a few pitchers to watch, including Jose Berrios, Blake Snell, etc., but I’m grabbing Tyler Glasnow well before the end of the draft to make sure I get him. Ryan Vogelsong has the fifth spot as of today, but he’s coming off a 135-inning season with a 4.67 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Glasnow has a similar style to Randy Johnson, which makes his pitches even tougher to pick up. His K% has been 23.3 or higher through the minors, topping out at 36.3 and even 33.1 in Double-A. The upside is tremendous with this guy; don’t miss out.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
“Glasnow still has some control issues, which tend to plague young pitchers, but his strikeouts will easily make up for that. The Pirates really have no excuse for placing Ryan Vogelsong in the starting rotation, but they’ve proven time and again that they aren’t above playing the service time game. If the Pirates fancy themselves as contenders, look for Glasnow to make waves in the majors sooner than later.”
– Tim Young (MLB Soup)
Jose Berrios (SP – MIN)
“Berrios split his time between AA and AAA last year in the Minnesota farm system. He started 12 games for Rochester and went 6-2 while recording a 2.62 ERA in 75.2 innings of work. During that time, Berrios also notched 83 strikeouts (9.9 K/9) and walked only 14 batters (0.97 WHIP). Byron Buxton might have more hype when it comes to prospects for the Twins, but Berrios could end the 2016 season as the third-best starting pitcher in the rotation.”
– Adam Meyer (Fox Sports)
Lucas Giolito (SP – WSH)
“The Nationals let both Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmermann leave to other teams, leaving the talented Lucas Giolito the chance to position himself this spring for an early season opportunity. He took a minor step back after a promotion to Triple-A Harrisburg last season, but Giolito’s work over the past couple of minor league seasons gives the impression of a player capable of putting up a K-rate over 25% with solid command. He’s an intriguing name at the back end of your draft.”
– Wayne Bretsky (BretskyBall)
Q2. What hitting prospect should owners target as a draft-day stash even though he may not begin the season in the big leagues?
Orlando Arcia (SS – MIL)
“Expect a lot more people on the Orlando Arcia bandwagon now that the Milwaukee Brewers have traded starting shortstop Jean Segura. He had a fantastic 2016 with Class AA Biloxi, hitting .307/.347/.453 at the ripe young age of 20. His defense is what jumps out most to scouts, but his offensive game has improved as he’s progressed through the minors. With the underwhelming Jonathan Villar the likely opening day starter in Milwaukee, Arcia may already be the best shortstop in the organization. It’s all a matter of how soon the Brewers want to begin his service time clock. He’ll start the season at Class AAA, but look for him in the majors anytime after the Super Two deadline passes in late May/early June.”
– Steve Gardner (USA Today)
Joey Gallo (LF – TEX)
“We saw a small glimpse of what Gallo can give you as it pertains to fantasy baseball. He’ll hit home runs and strike out a bunch. In his first two games in the bigs, Gallo hit two home runs and struck out four times. In his 108 ABs, Gallo was punched out 57 times (53 percent!). However, the upside is high. Gallo would play in the hitter-friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington and the current Rangers left fielder, Josh Hamilton, hasn’t played more than 90 games in each of the past two seasons.”
– Adam Meyer (Fox Sports)
Josh Bell (RF,LF – PIT)
“There is an outside chance Bell makes the Opening Day roster for the Pirates, but the team currently has a John Jaso-Mike Morse platoon set at first. It won’t take much to overcome them, as Bell’s bat is his strength, and those two are mediocre at best. Bell’s power hasn’t shown up to this point, but he still has the ability for 20-plus home runs. The good news is even without the power, Bell can still have the ability to carry a .300 AVG and OPS over .800, giving him plenty of value even if he only manages 10 homers.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
Trevor Story (SS – COL)
“Coors field can do a wonderful thing for a fantasy bat and heading into the season we are just a (very likely) Jose Reyes injury away from seeing Trevor Story take over at shortstop in Colorado. He’s shown consistent 5-category production throughout the minor leagues and while Story may never live up to the inevitable Tory Tulowitzki comparisons, he can certainly return top-10 value at a thin position beginning the day he makes his MLB debut.”
– Wayne Bretsky (BretskyBall)
A.J. Reed (1B – HOU)
“When young power hitters struggle to adjust to the major league level, it’s often because of strikeouts. A.J. Reed has showcased as much power as anyone and he appears to have the type of plate discipline that should play very well in Houston. The Astros have a good enough team that they can afford to be patient with him, but Jon Singleton’s leash can only be so long.”
– Tim Young (MLB Soup)
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Thank you to the experts for naming their prospects to stash. For more from experts be sure to follow them on Twitter.
Steve Gardner – USA Today | Follow @SteveAGardner |
Adam Meyer – FOX Sports | Follow @FOXSportsMeyer |
Jake Ciely – RotoExperts | Follow @allinkid |
Wayne Bretsky – BretskyBall | Follow @BretskyBall |
Tim Young – MLB Soup | Follow @RealTimcy |