Welcome to my first-ever weekly prospect report at FantasyPros! This column aims to give you the most fantasy-relevant prospect information from the last week, all in one place.
The format of this weekly prospect report will be by level and we will go through players in order of their placing on my latest Top 150 Prospect Rankings. I won’t be hitting each prospect every week, but I’ll focus on the most relevant throughout the week and follow up on other notable players outside my top 150. This article will not focus on any AAAA-type players or veterans in the Minors who have outlived their prospect status.
NOTES: AAA games began on Friday, March 29. AA, A+ and A will not start until Friday, April 5 | Rookie status is determined by 130 ABs or 50 IPs at the Major League level.
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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
AAA Hitters
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- 4/12, 1 HR, 1 SB, 2 BB / 3 Ks
- Junior Caminero smashed a homer of SP John Means before exiting in his third game of the AAA season with quad tightness and was placed in the MiLB 7 Day IL.
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- 5/14, 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 BB / 2 Ks
- Jackson Holliday hit a lefty-on-lefty homer in his first AB of the spring and is looking to force a call-up within the next few weeks.
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- 4/10, 1 2B, 5 BBs / 3 Ks
- Jackson Wood is showing great discipline and has been hitting the ball hard (mostly on the ground) so far this young season.
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- 3/13, 1 3B, 2 SBs, 1 BB / 4 Ks
- Pete Crow-Armostrong (PCA) will have to show better plate discipline before getting a callup than he has in Week 1 of the AAA season.
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- 2/12, 2 BBs / 4 Ks
- Colson Montgomery is off to a slow start, but given his health track record, it might be more important to maintain health and build consistency than to press too hard for a Big League spot.
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- 3/11, 1 3B, 2 BBs / 4 Ks
- Tyler Black missed his shot at making the Opening Day roster, getting beat out by Joey Ortiz after a stellar 2023. He will have to resume his push up the roster now, as he will also be competing with Brock Wilken for a future spot.
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- 0/4
- Kyle Manzardo will have to fight for his spot after being left off the roster again (and by a new team).
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- 6/12, 1 2B, 0 BB / 2 Ks
- Heston Kjerstad is a good enough hitter that he would be starting on almost every team in the Majors, just not the Orioles.
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- 0/1, 1 BB
- The now 21-year-old was named to the AAA squad this year and will be a nice backup to William Contreras as soon as the end of this season.
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- 2/11, 1 2B, 3 BBs, / 1 K
- Jonatan Clase could be fighting for a late-season call-up this season. He has no stolen bases yet, but you must get on base to steal bags.
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- 5/14, 1 HR, 1 2B, 0 BBs / 5 Ks
- Coby Mayo is off to a strong start XBH-wise. However, the plate skills need to look better if he’s going to get a call-up, especially considering he might be battling Kjer
- stad for a roster spot.
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- 7/12, 2 2Bs, 2 BBs / 3 Ks
- Owen Caissie might also be battling for a roster spot later in the season, but that depends on health and what spot might open up. We might see DH or 1B open up before a corner OF spot, though.
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- 1/12, 1 HR, 0 BBs / 6 Ks
- Drew Gilbert looks like he’s trying a little too hard and needs to settle into AAA. He’s probably not looking at a call-up until later in the season anyway.
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- 2/13, 1 HR, 0 BBs / 2 Ks
- Luisangel Acuna could potentially beat Gilbert up thanks to the Ronny Mauricio injury. Still, there’s a good chance the Mets hold many of these players down in the Minors until September.
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- 5/12, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 BBs / 5 Ks
- Jordan Beck hit a couple of monster home runs. It’s the Pacific Coast League (PCL), so we have to take some power with a grain of salt. Still, the fact he’s in AAA, while Sterlin Thompson and Yanquiel Fernandez aren’t, is a good sign for him in Colorado’s OF pecking order.
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- 3/11, 3 HR, 1 BB / 3 Ks
- Joey Loperfido barely missed the cut with the Astros to good ole Jon Singleton, but I would expect him up in the Majors if there are any OF injuries.
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- 3/12, 1 2B, 1 BB / 5 Ks
- Jace Jung looks a lot like Nolan Gorman working his way up, but will have to show better plate skills to come up, with Justyn-Henry Malloy (JHM) not even getting the call yet.
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- 0/8, 1 BB / 2 Ks
- The 2023 AA hitting champ is off to a slow start this week at AAA after a strong Spring Training.
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- 4/11, 1 2B, 2 BBs / 4 Ks
- JHM is looking to transfer full-time to a corner OF spot. He has already shown the plate skills for the Majors, but he needs to show good enough defense to get the call.
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- 6/15, 1 HR, 1 2B, 0 BBs / 0 Ks
- The Orioles’ Minor League squad is ridiculous. Between Kjerstad, Mayo, and Connor Norby, who is going to make it up into a starting role? Who is stuck on the bench? Who is trade bait?
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- 2/11, 2 BBs / 1 K
- Andy Pages had a strong spring and looks to show he’s healthy and ready to rip. In the event of a Dodgers injury, he could get the call, even before Miguel Vargas.
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- 2/6, 2 BBs / 3 Ks
- Marco Luciano was sent down in a bit of a shocker, but it might end up being the best long-term move for his development if he can improve his plate skills in AAA.
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- 1/7, 1 HR, 0 BBs / 2 Ks
- Tyler Soderstrom has a good amount of work to do in the Minors after being promoted a year too early in 2023.
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- 3/13, 2 BBs / 4 Ks
- Justin Foscue was promoted Tuesday, April 2, after it was announced that Josh Jung broke his wrist after being hit by a pitch on Monday. He could get some starts with Ezequiel Duran moving over to 3B to cover for Jung’s absence.
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- 1/11, 1 SB, 2 BB / 6 Ks
- Ryan Bliss had a very strong 2024 in the Minors, but it may have been a bit luck-oriented. As this Minor League season progresses, we will see if the hit tool was real.
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- 4/11, 2 2Bs, 2 BBs / 1 K
- Matt Mervis is probably blocked on the Cubs roster, but he might be a nice throw-in on a trade and would probably be starting for the Nationals or Athletics.
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- 2/9, 3 BBs / 0 Ks
- Justice Bigbie is another player with a strong 2023 out of nowhere, and we will learn if it’s real or not. The issue is, where would he play in Detroit?
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- 5/13, 1 HR, 1 2B, 0 BBs / 2 Ks
- Kyle Stowers had a killer spring and is off to a hot start in AAA. Just one more Orioles prospect to block up the depth chart.
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- 3/11, 1 HR, 2 2Bs, 1 SB, 3 BBs / 3 Ks
- Spencer Horwitz is an older prospect, but he should be Major League-bound and is competing against Damiano Palmegiani for that next corner-hitting roster spot.
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- 4/11, 2 HRs, 2 2Bs, 1 BB / 1 K
- Jose Fermin had a strong spring and is taking it into AAA. He looks like a classic, late-blooming utility player the Cardinals are experts at developing.
AAA Pitchers
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- 3 IP, 5 Ks, 0 BBs, 0 Hs
- Throwing absolutely dominant stuff, Paul Skenes seems to just be in extended spring, ramping up for his debut in a month or so.
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- #21 Ricky Tiedemann (SP – TOR)
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- 2 2/3 IP, 3 Ks, 2 BBs, 3 Hs
- Ricky Tiedemann was roughed up a little in his first go-around this season, but I’m not concerned.
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- 3 IP, 6 Ks, 0 BBs, 1 H
- The Giants aggressively promoted Carson Whisenhunt to AAA to start the year. I love it and am looking forward to a debut at some point in 2024 (probably in the second half).
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- 3 IP, 4 Ks, 3 BBs, 1 H
- With Anthony Desclafani likely out for the year, David Festa would step in as the defacto sixth man in the rotation in the event of an injury.
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- 3 IPs, 7 Ks, 4 BBs, 4 Hs
- It looks like he added a tick to his fastball this offseason, which is his worst pitch and can only help him. The BBs are uncharacteristic, and he had some bad BABIP luck in his first start. Still, Carlos F. Rodriguez is one to watch, despite many knocking him because of the fastball.
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- 5 IP, 6 Ks, 1 BB, 2 Hs
- Christian Mena is underrated as a fresh 21-year-old. He’s seventh in the pecking order for a rotation spot with the DBacks and should have a good shot at a call-up point this season, as long as he can maintain the strides in his control.
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- 2 1/3 IP, 0 Ks, 4 BBs, 4 Hs
- Mike Vasil struggled with the robo ump in 2023 and is off to a pretty bad start in 2024.
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- 5 IP, 5 Ks, 0 BBs, 4 Hs
- Mason Black was the last cut on the Giants, and if there’s an injury pre-Robbie Ray comeback, he could be first up (with Kai-Wei Teng already coming up). His velocity is down a couple of ticks from 2023, so keep an eye on it.
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- 5 IP, 3 Ks, 1 BB, 6 Hs
- Gordon Graceffo fell off in 2023 after a stellar 2022. His velocity is also down a tick and a half, but it did look like his control was back from 2022.
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- 4 1/3 IP, 5 Ks, 5 BBs, 2 Hs
- Spencer Arrighetti has added some velocity, but it won’t matter if he’s walking everyone. Ronel Blanco has clearly surpassed him on the depth chart.
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- 5 IP, 9 Ks, 0 BBs, 2 Hs
- Wow! Jack Leiter might be back! At this point, he could be the sixth man up for the Rangers. Keep an eye on him. His fastball is also up a tick.
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- 5 IP, 7 Ks, 2 BBs, 4 Hs
- Jackson Rutledge’s swinging strike rate is way up, and with Mackenzie Gore‘s increased velocity, it’s possible their pitching coaches have finally figured something out.
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- 4 1/3 IP, 6 Ks, 5 BBs, 1 H
- The stuff is good, but the control is all over the place for Chayce McDermott, who is battling with Cade Povich for the next man-up.
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- 5 IP, 6 Ks, 0 BBs, 3 Hs
- The never-ending parade of Dodgers starters continues with Landon Knack, who might also end up in the pen like Michael Grove and Kyle Hurt just because they are inundated with so much talent.
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