I have to give myself just a little bit of credit from a fantasy perspective when going back to last week’s DCR. All three featured players were young talents cruising through their teams’ ranks, and now all three look poised for breakouts.
This year’s Spring Training fantasy darling, Christopher Morel, looks like he could be poised for a year two fantasy breakout following his anticipated promotion on May 8th. The 23-year-old has since gone on to mash .346/.346/.846 with four (!!) homers, and nine RBI. He has yet to go hitless through his six games at the major league level.
Similarly, the rookie shortstop for the Giants, Casey Schmitt, is also off to a blistering start in his professional career. Schmitt has gone 13-for-28 (.464) with four doubles and two homers since his own call-up on May 9th. He looks like the real deal in San Francisco and could be a staple in their infield for years to come.
Less impressively (on my part) but still crucial in his own right is the insurgence of Bryce Miller, who looks like he could be a true MLB unicorn following his first three starts. The 24-year-old rookie is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 18:1 K:BB ratio across 19.0 innings. What more is there to really be said?
The common denominator across these players is seemingly youth, and MLB teams’ willingness to call up early performing talent from farm systems. I have a feeling that we could see more players like this blossoming as the year progresses, and many of them could become huge fantasy factors down the line. Let’s take a look at some more possibilities and, in particular, young talent for this week.
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Alex Kirilloff has dealt with a plethora of unfortunate and unlucky injuries to his right wrist since his ascension began in the Minnesota Twins’ system. He has had numerous procedures and surgeries on it, but he is finally back and seemingly healthy for the 2023 season. Kirilloff is a former top prospect in both the Minnesota system and amidst the MLB, and he is known for being a truly prolific hitter.
Finally back with the Twins, the now 25-year-old has seamlessly slid back into the major league lineup as a core bat. Since his return on May 6th, he has quietly gone 10-for-29 (.345) with two doubles, two homers, and a 7:6 K:BB ratio. These are the types of numbers that have been widely expected of the young outfielder, and are what made him a first-round draft pick back in 2016. Kirilloff is likely still available on numerous fantasy wires across the board, and, if so, needs to be picked up as an upside bat that could provide sustained value, health permitting.
Bibee officially has my eye as a potential league-winner down the road if his production continues as it has to this point. The fifth-round rookie hurler has filled in admirably since his debut in April and it seems as though his rotation spot is totally secure. The way he is pitching as of now leaves open the possibility that he could become the new ace of the Guardians in the near future.
Bibee has posted four starts this season, going 1-1 with a 3.22 ERA and 22:4 K:BB ratio across 22.1 innings. He is coming off his best start against the Angels on May 14th, where he lasted 7 2/3 innings while allowing just one run on two hits, while striking out seven and not issuing a single walk. The 24-year-old currently qualifies in the top half of MLB pitchers in AEV, HardHit%, xBA, xSLG, Barrel%, K%, and BB%. Pretty impressive statistics for a guy that was not expected to be in the majors at this point in time. He won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
This is a fun one, and also the first (and maybe only?) time I’ll be touching on a player that has yet to even reach the MLB level. De La Cruz is making rounds in the minors right now, far and above the best young talent across the board. His numbers across 90 minor league at-bats currently equate to a .278/.369/.589 line with six homers and four steals, but what really have people talking is his max exit velocity.
As noted by Baseball Savant’s top exit velocity chart on May 9th, De La Cruz topped the leaderboard on three of his hits, all of which were at least three MPH higher than the fourth-highest number of the day. He averaged an astonishing 117.5 MPH on his exit velos, on a night in which he smashed two homers and a double, while also drawing a walk-off walk in the bottom of the ninth.
It might not be worth noting these anomaly numbers if we weren’t discussing one of the top young talents in baseball, but when the number four top-100 prospect is doing crazy things like this, it needs to be talked about. All signs point to De La Cruz getting a shot with the Reds at some point this season, a team that doesn’t hesitate to call up young guys year in and out. De La Cruz is the type of player to stash on fantasy benches for now, and then reap the rewards post-June/July.
Quick Hitters:
- Circling back to Jose Altuve here, who should be debuting with Houston within the next week.
- Alex Cobb has come out of the woodwork to officially lead the NL in ERA at 1.70. He should get the Phillies, Twins, and Brewers in his next three outings.
- Esteury Ruiz continues to decimate the basepaths, and now leads the MLB with 19 swipes. He also quietly sits in the top-6 in at-bats across the MLB, and he will continue to see absurd amounts of playing time for the going-nowhere Athletics.
- Rays’ SP Drew Rasmussen has landed on the 15-day IL with a flexor strain, opening a spot up in the Tampa Bay rotation going forward. It sounds like Taj Bradley could be in consideration for a recall and subsequent start this week.
- Braves’ SP Jared Shuster has been recalled by Atlanta and will start against the Rangers on Tuesday night. The 24-year-old had struggled in his prior two 2023 outings, posting an 8.31 ERA and 5:9 K:BB ratio across just 8 2/3 innings.
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