Posted on by Michael Halpern

2017 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Spring Training, Take Two

Spring Training stats should always be taken with a grain of salt, but if a player transformed his body, or improved his swing, or impressed coaches with a renewed mindset and work ethic, it could be a sign of legitimate improvement. Here is the 2017 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Spring Training, Take Two:

Andrew Benintendi BOS, OF – If you are concerned about Benintendi’s .179 batting average and 36% K% in his 33 MLB at-bats against lefties, maybe this rocket shot he crushed last night that cleared the fence in .2 seconds will help ease those fears. This guy is going to absolutely wear out Pesky Pole. Actually, the Red Sox are already preparing for the assault, reinforcing Pesky Pole with 40 feet of new steel, among other repairs.

Steven Matz NYM, LHP – Well, that was quick. Shortly after listing Matz 1st on my Post-Tommy John Surgery Death Zone Watch List, he was scratched from his next scheduled start due to “irritation” in his left elbow. He won’t have an MRI, but don’t worry, the trusty Mets PR department and front office assures that there is nothing structurally wrong. “There is nothing structurally wrong” sounds like the new “dreaded vote of confidence” mangers get right before being fired.

A.J. Reed HOU, 1B – The work Reed put in this off-season on conditioning and bat speed has clearly paid off, as not only has he raked in Spring, but Houston coaches have been raving about him. This is how you like to see young players respond to adversity, because it won’t be the last time they have to overcome obstacles, whether it be due to injury or the constant game of adjustments that is MLB hitting.

Kyle Lewis SEA, OF – I’m no doctor, but this video certainly looks like an encouraging sign that Lewis’ knee rehab is going well. Feel free to draft him with increasing confidence in prospect and Dynasty drafts.

Corey Ray MIL, OF – Ray also returned to game action this week after tearing his meniscus in October. While we are on the topic of injured 2016 college bats …

Nick Senzel CIN, 3B – Doubled in his first game back after taking a pitch to his wrist in live batting practice a couple weeks ago. There is nothing worse than a wrist injury for a hitter, so hopefully this will be the last we hear of it.

Jesus Aguilar MIL, 1B – Spring Training stats don’t matter, unless you are a 26-year-old bad bodied first baseman who basically has to hit like Babe Ruth in order for somebody to give you a shot. And that is exactly what Aguilar is doing this Spring, hitting .462 with 5 homers in 52 at-bats. He has been completely outplaying the Korean sensation, Eric Thames, and is making Milwaukee rethink their opening day roster. If you are looking for an Adam Duvall like breakout in the next couple years, keep your eye on Aguilar.

Jose Berrios MIN, RHP – Minnesota claims Berrios won’t make the MLB team because the WBC prevented him from being properly stretched out, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might also have something to do with his 8.02 ERA in 14 starts last year. I’ve jumped so far off the Berrios bandwagon that I actually had a Coors pitcher (Gray) and an AL East pitcher (Bundy) ranked ahead of him when I Re-Ranked the Graduates from My 2016 Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings back in early January (I would probably put Turner #1 now).

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS/2B – It’s odd that people seem to completely ignore the obvious step forward Mondesi took last year in the upper levels of the minors, OPS’ing .779 at Double-A and .863 at Triple-A in 172 combined at-bats, while they overly focus on the inevitable struggles he had in the Majors. He hit well in Winter Ball, has been raking in Spring, and even if he doesn’t break camp with the team, I wouldn’t expect him to be held down for long. This is a potential elite speed/power combo who is not being valued like that in Dynasty drafts.

Franklin Barreto OAK, SS/2B – Billy Beane can’t wait until he can finally show something from that awful Josh Donaldson trade, and with Jed Lowrie and Chad Pinder the only thing in the way of that, you can bet Barreto will be called up sooner rather than later.

Cody Reed CIN, LHP/Amir Garrett CIN, LHP – I think I could have made a run at a rotation spot in Cincinnati’s dumpster fire of a starting rotation. Their ballpark is a launching pad and while I think both of these guys can be solid mid-rotation starters long term, they look like nothing but landmines for this season.

Alen Hanson PIT, UTIL – MLB’s cockamamie team control rules will finally help the player and not the team, as Hanson is out of options, and if he doesn’t make the big league club, there would be no shortage of teams who would jump at the chance to claim him. Plus, the United States doesn’t look all too keen about letting Jung-ho Kang back into the country, so there could be more playing time available than originally thought.

Jose Quintana HOU, LHP – Seriously Houston, just pull the trigger already. You have a million talented outfielders who deserve a shot and a highly volatile starting rotation.

Derek Fisher HOU, OF – Speaking of Houston outfielders, Fisher hit well this Spring, but has really impressed on the base paths, jacking 10 bases in 34 at-bats. It can be hard to know how much to trust minor league steal numbers, but it sure does seem like this man loves to run.

Austin Meadows PIT, OF – Meadows crushed a ball out of the ballpark against a lefty on Saturday, which continued his torrid Spring. I don’t care that he doesn’t have a spot yet (Polanco did just get scratched with shoulder soreness), I would be going out of my way to grab him in any Dynasty drafts where he is still available.

Koda Glover WASH, RHP – Dusty Baker knows who the closer is, but nanny nanny poo poo, he’s not telling.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Re-Ranking the Graduates from My Off-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-30

It is graduation day here at Imaginary Brick Wall, and not a moment too soon, as 2017 Top 100 season is right around the corner. I thought about getting a celebrity to give the inaugural commencement speech, but then I remembered I didn’t know any. Sorry guys, and six girl readers (yes, I have one more girl reader than Razzball). 30 prospects graduated from my off-season 2016 Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings, and before I let go of them for good, let’s celebrate by ranking the Class of 2016 one last time for Dynasty Leagues:

*Off-Season top 100 rank in parenthesis

1) Corey Seager (#1) LAD, SS – Nailed it.

2) Trea Turner (#23) WASH, SS/OF – Or maybe not. Turner has a legitimate case to be #1 on this list as his unexpected power surge in the majors puts his upside firmly ahead of Seager’s. Seager proved it over the course of the entire season, though, and his upside is nothing to sneeze at. Because I don’t know about you, but when I’m unimpressed by something, I sneeze at it, and I wouldn’t dare sneeze at Seager’s upside.

3) Trevor Story (#30) COL, SS – Story wasn’t even on almost any other Top 100 list, but ranking him 30th still ended up being too low. Everyone remembers his blazing start to the season, but he might have actually been better in his final two months before a thumb injury ended his year, slashing .286/.368/.571 with 13 homers, 5 steals, and a 54/18 K/BB in 48 games.

4) Gary Sanchez (#31) NYY, C – Wrote about Sanchez last week in my 2017 Top 10 New York Yankees Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings.

5) Alex Bregman (#26) HOU, 3B/SS – Packed on 20 pounds of muscle last off-season and immediately put it to good use by smashing through his supposed “power ceiling.” He lost some speed along the way, and his elite minor league contact numbers took a dive in the majors, but I don’t think anyone is complaining. He also happens to be a fan of one of my favorite television shows, Impractical Jokers, and here is the twitter photo with “Murr” to prove it.

6) David Dahl (#47) COL, OF – An injury riddled 2015 led me to underrate Dahl coming into the season. He not only stayed healthy this year, but he fully tapped into his raw power too. He still has some contact issues, so I would expect some regression to the .315 batting average he put up in the majors (.404 BABIP), but Coors Field mixed with his power/speed combo puts his upside in the elite category.

7) Byron Buxton (#2) MIN, OF – I actually still like Buxton a lot, but it is hard to justify ranking him ahead of the very talented prospects who have done nothing but destroy Major League pitching. Buxton did manage to give everyone a taste of what could be in store for next year, slashing .287/.357/.653 with 9 homers in 29 games during his September call-up.

8) Julio Urias (#7) LAD, LHP – I just don’t think I could part with any of those elite young bats in fantasy for a still unproven pitcher, even one as good as Urias. It isn’t an easy decision, because he is about as good as they come, flashing his upside as a 19/20-year-old in the majors by putting up a pitching line of 3.39/1.45/84 in 77 IP.

9) Nomar Mazara (#19) TEX, OF – After generating a lot of buzz with his awesome first two months of the season, Mazara dropped off considerably in the final four, OPS’ing .681, .701, .701, .706, respectively. It’s a solid debut for a 21-year-old no matter how you slice it, but I’m just not sure I’m ready to bet on his superstar ceiling. I’d be more comfortable banking on very good and consistent, which is not too shabby.

10) Jameson Taillon (#86) PIT, RHP – Two full years on the sidelines following Tommy John surgery had Taillon ranked with a group of other high upside, injury risk pitchers like Hunter Harvey, Dylan Bundy, and Erick Fedde. Three of the four took major steps forward this year (Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery), with Taillon being the best of the bunch. His strikeout numbers were modest at 7.4 K/9 in the majors, but he showed an advanced feel for the art of pitching, developing his two-seam fastball into a legitimate weapon mid-season, and displayed excellent control with a 1.5 BB/9. His mid-90’s 4-seamer also leaves plenty of strikeout upside.

11) Willson Contreras (#52) CHC, C – I would rank Contreras higher than Mazara and Taillon depending on my team needs. The constant improvements he has made over the past two seasons have been astounding, and it culminated with him rolling through MLB pitching in August and September, slashing .306/.370/.545 with 7 homers in his final 38 regular season games. I wouldn’t even be all that surprised if he outproduced Sanchez next year.

12) Tim Anderson (#22) CHW, SS – Anderson is spearheading Chicago’s rebuilding effort as he impressed in his MLB debut by slashing .283/.306/.432, with 9 homers, 10 steals, and a 117/13 K/BB in 99 games. The plate discipline numbers are an obvious red flag, but there is more than one way to skin a cat, and Anderson skins his cats by just hacking away. It has worked for him so far, and if he can even moderately improve on those numbers, this ranking will look too low by next season.

13) Steven Matz (#10) NYM, LHP – Matz underwent arthroscopic surgery this off-season to remove a large bone spur from his pitching elbow, which should also clear up the shoulder impingement that was bothering him all year and required a platelet plasma injection of its own. He should be fine now guys. All better.

14) Blake Snell (#13) TB, LHP – Snell did about exactly what was expected of him in the majors this year, racking up strikeouts (9.9 K/9), walks (5.2 BB/9), and possessing the raw ability to get major leaguers out while still learning on the job (3.54 ERA, 1.62 WHIP). We’ve seen big, talented lefties with similar profiles blow up into top of the rotation starters enough of the time for me to stay the course with Snell.

15) Joey Gallo (#17) TEX, 1B/3B/OF – It feels like Gallo belongs more on upcoming top 100 lists than a list of graduates, but he passed the unofficial prospect limit by 3 at-bats. We all know about the bat speed, raw power, and strikeouts by now, so the only questions that remain are centered on opportunity and position.

16) Orlando Arcia (#27) MIL, SS – Arcia was always a better real life than fantasy prospect, but 10+ homers, 20+ steals, and a good average is still a very realistic outcome for him. His plus defense probably pushed him to the majors before his bat was ready, as he slashed .219/.273/.358, with 4 homers, 8 steals, and a 47/15 K/BB in 55 games, but you could see the underlying skills start to bud.

17) Max Kepler (#29) MIN, OF – Like Mazara, it was a tale of two halves for Kepler. He drilled 13 homers in his first two months in the majors, and then tanked hard in the last 48 games of the season, slashing .203/.266/.273 with 2 homers and a 45/15 K/BB. His elite minor league contact numbers also escaped him, striking out 20.8% of the time. There isn’t one fantasy category you can really count on with Kepler, but his strong combination of skills makes him an enticing long term piece.

18) Jose Peraza (#44) CIN, SS/2B/OF – Proved last year that his high minor league averages will translate to the majors by hitting .324 in 72 games, but he also found stealing bases a bit more difficult since his days of stealing 60+ in A-Ball, getting caught 10 times in 31 attempts. Doesn’t have a starting spot, but is basically the top backup for every position on the field, so he should still see regular at-bats in 2017.

19) Sean Manaea (#45) OAK, LHP – Can I buy a vowel, amirite? And while you’re at it, you should probably buy some shares of Manaea for your fantasy teams too. The man they call “Baby Giraffe” had a solid MLB debut with a pitching line of 3.86/1.19/124 in 144.2 IP, and more importantly, put some injury concerns behind him by reaching a career high of 166.1 innings pitched.

20) Michael Fulmer (#82) DET, RHP – His 3.76 FIP and 3.95 xFIP are likely more representative of his true talent level than his 3.06 ERA. That’s the kind of hard hitting sabermetric analysis you can’t find anywhere else.

21) Raul Mondesi Jr. (#56) KC, SS/2B – Sneakily put together the strongest offensive season in his career in the minor leagues, slashing .268/.322/.469, with 7 homers, 24 steals, and a 60/17 K/BB in 52 games, but his eye sore of an MLB triple-slash (.185/.231/.281) has seriously overshadowed that. KC has thrown him into the deep end from day one of his professional career, so considering the raw talent and bloodlines, I’m more inclined to be encouraged by the step forward in the minors than discouraged by his MLB debut.

22) Dylan Bundy (#88) BAL, RHP – The first thing I did when I got into this 30 team Dynasty League that my Prospector in Crime, Ralph Lifshitz, roped me into was trade 4 cheap years of Bundy for Derek Fisher, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Pedro Payano. The AL East and Camden Yards is enough of a challenge to overcome without worrying about Bundy’s injury risk on top of it. Plus, in the 14 games he started last season he put up a pitching line of 4.52/1.30/72 in 71.2 IP, which certainly flashed his considerable upside, but also didn’t exactly make him untouchable on my roster. I should add that only 4 of the 12 categories are impacted by starting pitchers in this league, giving me even more incentive to move him.

23) Jon Gray (#100) COL, RHP – Coors Field: Where Aces Go To Be 4th Starters

24) Jose Berrios (#12) MIN, RHP – Disastrous MLB debut had everyone scratching their heads. There is struggling, and then there is 8.02 ERA in 14 starts struggling. Even his trademark control vanished as he walked 5.4 batters per nine innings, although, I don’t blame him for not wanting to throw the ball over the plate after giving up 11.4 hits and 1.9 homers per nine innings too. Probably nothing else you can really do but hold him at this point.

25) Archie Bradley (#83) ARI, RHP – 9.1 K/9 in 141.2 IP is his only saving grace, because the other numbers aren’t pretty. I’m a sucker for strikeout upside in fantasy, so he isn’t the worst guy to have hanging around the bottom of your roster in Dynasty Leagues.

26) Mallex Smith (#91) ATL, OF – MLB debut didn’t really move the needle much in either direction. Maintaining his solid plate approach in the majors was good to see, but as expected, his batting average plummeted without the aid of weak minor league defenders. If he can gain some strength and hit the ball with a little more authority, there is a long career as a speedy leadoff man ahead of him.

27) Jake Thompson (#80) PHI, RHP – These next three pitchers just don’t do it for me. I was relatively low on them coming into the year, and probably even lower on them now. They all have plenty of talent, so as long as they stay healthy and maintain their stuff a breakout will always be possible.

28) Aaron Blair (#81) ATL, RHP – Look up one inch.

29) Braden Shipley (#84) ARI, RHP – Look up two inches.

30) John Lamb (#40) TB, LHP – Woof. I blame the secret back surgery he had last off-season that wasn’t disclosed until spring training, but with his littered injury history to begin with, I can only blame myself.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Re-Ranking the Graduates from My Off-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 21-30

It is graduation day here at Imaginary Brick Wall, and not a moment too soon, as 2017 Top 100 season is right around the corner. I thought about getting a celebrity to give the inaugural commencement speech, but then I remembered I didn’t know any. Sorry guys, and six girl readers (yes, I have one more girl reader than Razzball). 30 prospects graduated from my off-season 2016 Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings, and before I let go of them for good, let’s celebrate by ranking them one last time for Dynasty Leagues:

*Off-Season top 100 rank in parenthesis

Click here for 1-10
Click here for 11-20

21) Raul Mondesi Jr. (#56) KC, SS/2B – Sneakily put together the strongest offensive season in his career in the minor leagues, slashing .268/.322/.469, with 7 homers, 24 steals, and a 60/17 K/BB in 52 games, but his eye sore of an MLB triple-slash (.185/.231/.281) has seriously overshadowed that. KC has thrown him into the deep end from day one of his professional career, so considering the raw talent and bloodlines, I’m more inclined to be encouraged by the step forward in the minors than discouraged by his MLB debut.

22) Dylan Bundy (#88) BAL, RHP – The first thing I did when I got into this 30 team Dynasty League that my Prospector in Crime, Ralph Lifshitz, roped me into was trade 4 cheap years of Bundy for Derek Fisher, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Pedro Payano. The AL East and Camden Yards is enough of a challenge to overcome without worrying about Bundy’s injury risk on top of it. Plus, in the 14 games he started last season he put up a pitching line of 4.52/1.30/72 in 71.2 IP, which certainly flashed his considerable upside, but also didn’t exactly make him untouchable on my roster. I should add that only 4 of the 12 categories are impacted by starting pitchers in this league, giving me even more incentive to move him.

23) Jon Gray (#100) COL, RHP – Coors Field: Where Aces Go To Be 4th Starters

24) Jose Berrios (#12) MIN, RHP – Disastrous MLB debut had everyone scratching their heads. There is struggling, and then there is 8.02 ERA in 14 starts struggling. Even his trademark control vanished as he walked 5.4 batters per nine innings, although, I don’t blame him for not wanting to throw the ball over the plate after giving up 11.4 hits and 1.9 homers per nine innings too. Probably nothing else you can really do but hold him at this point. His trade value is shot, and he is a big enough name that he will probably still be valued too high in a buy low scenario.

25) Archie Bradley (#83) ARI, RHP – 9.1 K/9 in 141.2 IP is his only saving grace, because the other numbers aren’t pretty. I’m a sucker for strikeout upside in fantasy, so he isn’t the worst guy to have hanging around the bottom of your roster in Dynasty Leagues.

26) Mallex Smith (#91) ATL, OF – MLB debut didn’t really move the needle much in either direction. Maintaining his solid plate approach in the majors was good to see, but as expected, his batting average plummeted without the aid of weak minor league defenders. If he can gain some strength and hit the ball with a little more authority, there is a long career as a speedy leadoff man ahead of him.

27) Jake Thompson (#80) PHI, RHP – These next three pitchers just don’t do it for me. I was relatively low on them coming into the year, and probably even lower on them now. They all have plenty of talent, so as long as they stay healthy and maintain their stuff a breakout will always be possible.

28) Aaron Blair (#81) ATL, RHP – Look up one inch.

29) Braden Shipley (#84) ARI, RHP – Look up two inches.

30) John Lamb (#40) TB, LHP – Woof. I blame the secret back surgery he had last off-season that wasn’t disclosed until spring training, but with his littered injury history to begin with, I can only blame myself.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Fantasy Baseball Minor League Prospect Rundown: Week 19

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 19:

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS/Orlando Arcia MIL, SS – They can’t all be Francisco Lindor, a light hitting shortstop in the minors who ripped it up immediately upon stepping foot in the majors (and hasn’t stopped ripping it up). Mondesi and Arcia have both predictably struggled since being called up, slashing .196/.211/.250 and .184/.259/.245, respectively. If I was going to put my money on one guy to be the next Lindor, it would be J.P. Crawford, but I wouldn’t bet on that either.

Francisco Mejia CLE, C – The hit streak is over at 50! But it was really kinda already over at 49 after the umps gifted Mejia a hit on Saturday night by overturning a correctly called error after the game had already ended. Hit streak or no hit streak, it doesn’t change the fact that Mejia has exploded onto the prospect map, and might have the best hit tool of any catcher in the minors.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – Big Willie Style (yes, I actually owned that CD back in the day) launched 2 homers last night, and continues to add to his cult-like status in the fantasy prospect world. I can’t wait for him to actually get the call to the bigs, hopefully sometime next season.

Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – The inconsistent Giolito looked good this week, going 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 5 K. He isn’t exactly Stephen Strasburg’ing his way to the Majors, but not many do.

Ian Anderson ATL, RHP – Promoted from Rookie ball to Rookie ball, but the better Rookie ball, and looked good over 3.2 IP. Here is an excellent scouting report from Kyle Glaser over at Baseball America on the start.

Michael Kopech BOS, RHP – Exploded this week, going 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BB, 11 K. His only plus pitch is his fastball right now, but damn is it a plus pitch, carrying him to 60 K’s in 38.1 IP.

Kyle Lewis SEA, OF – If you want to know why Lewis’ knee injury scares me so much, just watch this video he posted on Twitter of some of his early rehab work. I’m far from a doctor, so feel free to ignore my concerns, although I have been known to be one helluva internet diagnostician.

Corey Ray MIL, OF – Showing a pulse at High-A, hitting 2 homers and stealing 2 bases this week. The power/speed combo isn’t going anywhere, but the hit tool still needs improvement.

Aaron Judge NYY, OF/Gary Sanchez NYY, C – Judge and Sanchez both knocked their 2nd career Major League homer last night. I don’t own these guys in any fantasy leagues, unfortunately, but I’m just excited as a Yankees fan. I know it’s hard to believe, but watching declining veterans chug their way to 80 something wins isn’t very exciting.

Kolby Allard ATL, LHP/ Sean Newcomb ATL, LHP – Who is the best pitching prospect in Atlanta’s minor league system? Ralph held my feet to the fire on this question in Episode 2 of the Razzball Prospect Podcast (we also talked about the Gourriel brothers and swapped childhood WWF stories), and I stuck to my guns and went with Allard. He rewarded my faith with a gem of a performance this week, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 9 K. Newcomb is his biggest competition, and he had his 3rd dominant outing in a row, going 17.2 IP, 2 ER, 10 hits, 6 BB, 25 K over that span. The 23-year-old Newcomb is much closer to the majors, but the 19-year-old Allard already has better control and command.

Derek Fisher HOU, OF – Promoted to Triple-A and smacked 2 homers with 8 K’s in 6 games. The power/speed combo looks great, but his already weak hit tool has regressed this year, striking out 29% of the time.

Raimel Tapia COL, OF – Promoted to Triple-A and hasn’t missed a beat, slashing .444/.464/.741. He has quieted a lot of the doubters by not only thriving in the upper levels of the minors, but also drastically cutting his K%.

Matt Chapman OAK, 3B – 3 more homers this week, giving him 29 on the season in a pitcher’s park. He is never going to hit for average, but he is a sure bet to stick at 3B, and there doesn’t look to be a doubt that his power will play in Oakland Coliseum.

Travis Demeritte ATL, 2B – Finally got on the board for his new team, knocking out 2 homers in one game. That gives him a .218/.394/.473 triple-slash in 16 games outside of the High Desert.

Jake Junis KC, RHP – His name makes him sound like a talented but troubled musician who died too young, but he is really just a boring future number 3/4 starter. I mentioned him way back in Week 9, and he has continued to pitch well, going 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BB, 7 K in his first start at Triple-A. If you are in a deep league and are looking for a “safe” starter, it is time to scoop Junis.

Thomas Szapucki NYM, LHP/ Yohander Mendez TEX, LHP – I know I can’t stop writing about these guys, but they keep putting up notable performances that continue to back up their breakout seasons. Szapucki threw up another double-digit K outing in 5.1 IP, albeit giving up 4 ER in the process, and Mendez threw his third straight shutout in the PCL (one of which came in July), giving up only 1 hit and striking out 6.

Austin Riley ATL, 3B – The hype has cooled dramatically since being a favorite off-season sleeper of many, but he has quietly put together a very respectable season as a 19-year-old in Single-A. He knocked 4 homers this week, and now has 14 homers and a .749 OPS on the season.

Erick Fedde WASH, RHP – Impressed in his first start at Double-A, going 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BB, 3 K. He still needs to develop a third pitch, but he’s dominating the minor leagues right now with the two plus pitches he does have (fastball/slider).

Erik Swanson NYY, RHP – 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 9 K as a 22-year-old in Single-A. I know the Yanks just got their hands on this guy a few weeks ago, but I think it’s time to move him up a level.

Yusniel Diaz LAD, OF – The talented Diaz is starting to turn it back on, hitting 3 homers in his last 7 games, including one last night. He is only 19 years old in High-A, so the .272/.338/.420 slash line really doesn’t look all that bad.

Dylan Davis SF, OF –  Surprise, surprise … San Francisco looks to have themselves another underrated prospect who can be the next in a long line to “come out of nowhere” and become a legit contributor to the big league club. Davis clubbed homers in back-to-back-to-back games this week, giving him 20 homers, to go along with a strong 97/45 K/BB in 107 games. He was a 3rd round pick in the 2014 draft, which seems to be the area where the good drafting teams do their best work. He just turned 23 years old and has done most of his damage in High-A, but the plus raw power and plus bat speed are for real. Don’t expect a star, especially at AT&T park, but he definitely has a shot at being a legitimate power hitting corner outfielder.

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 16

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 16:

Alex Bregman HOU, SS/3B/OF/David Dahl COL, OF/Braden Shipley ARI, RHP – One of these things is not like the other, but all are getting the call to the big leagues. I would pick up Bregman and Dahl in leagues of all sizes, they have been raking all season. Shipley I would touch only in deeper leagues. He has put up mediocre stats in the PCL (5.8 K/9), but there is more K upside in there than he has displayed this year.

Josh Hader MIL, LHP – 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BB, 6 K in his start this week as he tries to right the ship coming off rocky outings in his previous two starts. Fighting through some adversity can actually help him in the long run, especially since there is a clear and obvious reason for it, Colorado Springs and the PCL. Don’t go panic selling Hader for some mediocre return.

Nick Senzel CIN, 3B – Showed off his homerun power cracking 2 of them this week. He still has only 2 homers in 30 games, but any adjustment to unlock more game power was unlikely to come this year anyway. My co-host, Ralph Lifshitz from Razzball.com, and I will be bullshitting about Senzel and many more of the MLB Draft prospects in Episode 2 of our new podcast, Fantasy Gold Rush, which should drop sometime tomorrow. You can now find our Pilot and all future episodes on iTunes.

Willie Calhoun LAD, 2B – The year of Willie continues! Smashed 5 more homers, giving him 22 on the season. Just keep working on that 2B defense.

Tom Murphy COL, C – 1 homer and 3 walks in 5 games this week. 3 BB! Those 3 walks were over 50% of his BB total on the season up to that point.

Paul DeJong STL, 3B – I wrote about DeJong way back in week 5, and he has kept hitting for power since then. He hit 2 more dingers this week, giving him 18 on the season in Double-A. His 110/28 K/BB needs improvement, but his first full season of pro-ball has been a smashing success.

Jose De Leon LAD, RHP – 8 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BB, 10 K and now has 29 K’s in his last 3 starts in the PCL. His early season injury and lack of big fastball or nasty breaking pitch has kept the hype in check, but I think his fastball/changeup combo is going to play on the next level.

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS – After questioning KC’s developmental strategy with Mondesi last week, he has gone on an absolute tear, collecting 11 hits with a homer and 5 steals at Triple-A. KC is like the parents who throw their kid in the deep end of the pool in order to teach him how to swim.

Kyle Tucker HOU, OF – Is it too early to have mid-season top 100 prospect risers and fallers? Because Tucker has been underwhelming since generating tons of hype on mid-season lists everywhere. He has 9 K’s in his last 9 games and hasn’t had an extra base hit since July 7. He is still super talented, but there is a long way to go for the 19-year-old.

Phil Bickford SFG, RHP – Another player whose wheels came off after getting mid-season list helium. His velocity is down and he had a poor showing at the national showcase Futures Game. I mentioned the added risk with Bickford due to his high-effort delivery in my Top 10 Fantasy Breakouts post last month, and that risk looks like it is rearing its ugly head already. Rumor has it that San Francisco is also making him very available in trades, so leaving AT&T park can be another big blow to his fantasy value.

Chris Shaw SFG, 1B – Has seriously struggled since being promoted to Double-A, slashing .188/.220/.294 in 21 games. Considering he already had a few obstacles to overcome by being a 1B only guy in a huge ballpark, the poor start at Double-A is concerning.

Bobby Bradley CLE, 1B – Smoked 3 more homers this week and continues to play exactly as advertised this season.

Kolby Allard ATL, LHP – Returned to full season ball this week, and didn’t disappoint by going 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 4 K.

Rafael Devers BOS, 3B – The hot streak continues, hitting 2 more bombs. After the slow start, he has now raised his triple-slash up to .271/.333/.432 with 7 homers and 10 steals in 91 games.

Christin Stewart DET, OF – Slashed .417/.500/.667 and clubbed his 21st homer of the season this week. Stewart is long overdue for a promotion to Double-A.

Yadier Alvarez LAD, RHP – 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 10 K in his first start in full season ball. If this guy is somehow still available in your Dynasty League (of any size) I would probably pick him up right now.

Ryan McMahon COL, 3B – Showing signs of life, slashing .429/.500/.879 with a homer this week and has a .859 OPS in the last month. His stock has certainly taken a hit this year, but he hasn’t gone bankrupt quite yet.

Anthony Alford TOR, OF – Another player trying to rise from the dead, Alford slashed .333/.462/.667 with 2 homers and 1 steal this week. Unlike McMahon, there are legitimate reasons for Alford’s disaster season (concussion, knee injury).

Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BB, 8 K and now has a pitching line of 0.48/1.04/42 in 37.2 IP. He looks like a string bean right now, but he can become a true beast once he starts adding muscle.

Rhys Hoskins PHI, 1B/Daniel Palka MIN, OF/Dylan Cozens PHI, OF – I’ll dedicate this last section to my main man Ralph, who is higher on all of these guys than I am. They are the top 3 in homeruns in the entire minor leagues right now, with 28, 25, and 25, respectively, but I have some questions about each one’s ultimate fantasy impact. If you can grab these guys on the cheap, then I definitely get chasing the power upside, but they aren’t players I would be buying in trades or drafting high in upcoming/off-season prospect drafts.

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 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 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:

www.public-domain-image.com (public domain image)
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 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-100

Here we go again. It’s ranking season! Well, maybe a week or two before ranking season, but close enough. Over the past week, I have been slowly ranking the top 100 fantasy baseball prospects in all The Land. And I mean that literally, not the lame nickname that Cleveland now has to make them seem cooler. To be clear, I was not just ranking prospects in Cleveland. Today, I put it all together, and without further ado, here are the 2016 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-100 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

2016 Off-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-100

Graduates: Corey Seager (#1) LAD, SS, Byron Buxton (#2) MIN, OF, Steven Matz (#10) NYM, LHP, Nomar Mazara (#19) TEX, OF, Trevor Story (#30) COL, SS, John Lamb (#40) CIN, LHP, Aaron Blair (#81) ATL, RHP, Michael Fulmer (#82) DET, RHP, Archie Bradley (#83) ARI, RHP, Mallex Smith (#91) ATL, OF, Jon Gray (#100) COL, RHP

1) Yoan Moncada (#3) BOS, 2B – Picked up right where he left off in the 2nd half of 2015. No prospect has the 5-category upside that Moncada has. Prime projection: 98/15/82/.280/32

2) Julio Urias (#7) LAD, LHP – Completely destroyed the PCL as a 19-year-old, and is now more than holding his own in the majors. This will likely be his last appearance on top 100 prospect lists. Prime projection: 2.90/1.00/225 in 210 IP

3) Brendan Rodgers (#24) COL, SS – Hits for average and power, plays SS, and will call Coors Field his home. What more is there to say? Prime projection: 89/25/100/.285/7

4) Alex Bregman (#26) HOU, 3B/SS – Has a legitimate case to be the top fantasy prospect in baseball. Elite contact skills with emerging power. Might have to move off SS to accommodate Carlos Correa. Prime projection: 94/22/86/.297/10

5) Lucas Giolito (#4) WASH, RHP – It hasn’t been the smoothest ride in Double-A so far, but he was beginning to turn it around before a poor outing in his last start. The stuff is still electric, so I’m holding tight for now. Prime projection: 3.10/1.10/220 in 210 IP (Update: Looked good in his MLB debut after I released the top 10 last Friday)

6) Tyler Glasnow (#5) PIT, RHP – Control might have actually taken a half-step back this season, but it hasn’t hurt his pitching line all that much (1.61/1.14/100 in 84 IP). I’m still betting on his unhittable stuff. Prime projection: 2.98/1.17/223 in 200 IP

7) A.J. Reed (#6) HOU, 1B – Was nicked up with various injuries early in the year, but slashed .307/.366/.587 with 5 homers in the last month. One of the premiere power hitting prospects in the minors. Prime projection: 85/32/110/.274/2

8) Andrew Benintendi (#8) BOS, OF – After destroying High-A, Double-A has slowed him down a bit. The plate approach, power, and speed are all still there, so I don’t think he is going to stay down for long. Prime projection: 89/21/93/.288/15 (Update: He really didn’t stay down for long, going on a tear in his last 7 games)

9) David Dahl (#47) COL, OF – One of the top fantasy breakout prospects in 2016. Slashing .283/.375/.528 with 13 homers and 15 steals in 67 games at Double-A. Has all the raw talent in the world, and will be unleashed at Coors Field. Prime projection: 91/20/82/.276/18

10) Joey Gallo (#17) TEX, 3B/1B/OF – Has taken a step forward in Triple-A this year, lowering his strikeout rate to a more workable 26.8% while maintaining his massive power. The only thing left is for Texas to give him a shot. Or trade him. Prime projection: 80/38/100/.250/5

11) Victor Robles (#35) WASH, OF – Displaying the same elite contact and speed profile in his first full season of pro ball that he did in Rookie ball and Low-A. Perfect combination of raw tools and current production. Prime projection: 96/14/75/.304/28

12) Alex Reyes (#11) STL, RHP – 13.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 really does say it all. Can dial it up to 100 MPH, and I’ll take the risk for his through the roof upside. Prime projection: 3.35/1.20/240 in 210 IP

13) Jose Berrios (#12) MIN, RHP – Not going to let his poor 4-start MLB debut scare me off. Future value remains the same. Prime projection: 3.39/1.11/190 in 200 IP

14) Blake Snell (#13) TB, LHP– Look up one inch. Prime projection: 3.36/1.17/209 in 198 IP

15) Jose De Leon (#14) LAD, RHP – Slowly ramping it up at Triple-A after returning from a sore arm. 14.2 K/9 in limited action shows the elite K potential is still there. Prime projection: 3.41/1.16/220 in 190 IP

16) J.P. Crawford (#15) PHI, SS – Having an elite plate approach is like the missionary position for prospects. Not the most exciting, but it gets the job done. Prime projection: 94/12/65/.289/18

17) Brad Zimmer (#16) CLE, OF – 28.8% K rate is higher than we would like, but the power/speed combo is still popping. Prime projection: 86/21/81/.260/24

18) Derek Fisher (#20) HOU, OF – Wrote a sleeper post for him in the off-season, and he is not making me regret it with his strong first half in Double-A. Prime projection: 84/22/84/.270/17

19) Josh Hader (#21) MIL, LHP – Ranked him #3 in my pre-season Dynasty League Prospect Sleepers post. Putting up a pitching line of 1.87/1.13/99 in 77 IP split between Double-A and Triple-A so far this year. Prime projection: 3.31/1.18/198 in 190 IP

20) Jameson Taillon (#86) PIT, RHP – Has looked no worse for wear after not pitching for two full years. Stuff is nasty and has already reached the bigs. Prime projection: 3.38/1.13/180 in 190 IP

21) Willson Contreras (#52) CHC, C – Added power to his already elite hit tool this season. Is now clearly the top fantasy catcher prospect in the game. Prime projection: 70/20/85/.293/3

22) Lewis Brinson (#9) TEX, OF – Shoulder injury cut short his disappointing first half. Hitting profile looked completely different this year, which makes me think he was trying to make an adjustment that wasn’t working. He drops in the rankings, but I would hold if I owned him. Prime projection: 90/25/90/.274/17

23) Bobby Bradley (#18) CLE, 1B – Might as well be named Joey Gallo Jr. Lots of HR’s, BB’s, and K’s. Prime projection: 80/33/105/.250/4

24) Austin Meadows (#53) PIT, OF – Power has ticked up this year, and if he can continue that power surge in Triple-A, will rank even higher in the off-season. Prime projection: 92/18/80/.295/13

25) Tim Anderson (#22) CHW, SS – Not the type of hitter to put up pretty K/BB numbers, but can hit for a solid average with top end speed and sneaky power. Prime projection: 90/12/61/.273/28

26) Dansby Swanson (#25) ATL, SS – Looks to have the inside track on Atlanta’s SS job over Albies. Will do a little bit of everything, but doesn’t have a standout tool. Prime projection: 87/17/77/.282/14

27) Trea Turner (#23) WASH, SS – MLB ready but has been prospect blocked by Danny Espinoza as I suspected he would be in my off-season top 100. Played CF last night in an attempt by Washington to find another path to the big leagues for him. Prime projection: 90/9/55/.282/26

28) Orlando Arcia (#27) MIL, SS – Hasn’t quite kept up his 2015 breakout in Triple-A this season, but is still flashing the same offensive skills. Would rank higher on a non-fantasy list due to his plus defense. Prime projection: 87/11/70/.279/25

29) Max Kepler (#29) MIN, OF – Quietly putting together a very strong season. .757 OPS with 3 homers and 2 steals in 33 MLB games. Prime projection: 85/17/85/.288/15

30) Josh Bell (#60) PIT, 1B – Like Contreras, added power to his already elite hit tool. I expected the power to show up, projecting him for 19 homers in the off-season, but it is still nice to see. Prime projection: 78/19/90/.293/5

31) Gary Sanchez (#31) NYY, C – Doesn’t have the eye-popping numbers, but is still displaying good contact and power skills in a pitcher’s park at Triple-A. Gets a bump for positional scarcity due to the wasteland that catcher has become. Prime projection: 67/22/83/.280/4

32) Raimel Tapia (#42) COL, OF – “Elite contact skills. Above average speed. Average power. Gets the Coors Field bump.” – – Same blurb as the off-season. Nothing changed except he is doing it in Double-A now. Prime projection: 92/13/70/.297/17

33) Willie Calhoun (#43) LAD, 2B – Discovered him in my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article that I wrote in January, and also wrote a Willie Calhoun, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout post for him this season. Prime projection: 85/24/91/.287/2

34) Ian Happ (#50) CHC, 2B/OF – Going back and forth on Willie vs. Happ. Gave Willie the edge because he has been doing it in Double-A all year, but if you prefer the added speed that Happ brings, I can see swapping them. Happ also has a legitimate logjam ahead of him in Chicago. Prime projection: 85/19/76/.273/14

35) Aaron Judge (#34) NYY, OF – On an absolute tear in the last month, slashing .341/.464/.714 with 9 homers. It brings his OPS up to .845 in Triple-A. Prime projection: 75/26/90/.260/7

36) Jorge Mateo (#38) NYY, SS – Speed is the #1 calling card here. The bat hasn’t taken a step forward this year, but the underlying skills and talent remain the same. Prime projection: 87/11/60/.275/34

37) Jesse Winker (#41) CIN, OF – Maintaining his elite contact skills and plate approach in Triple-A, but the power hasn’t fully emerged with only 2 homers on the year. Prime projection: 88/19/92/.292/4

38) Clint Frazier (#58) CLE, OF – I called him “a breakout waiting to happen” in my off-season top 100, and he is breaking out, slashing .295/.381/.488 with 9 homers and 9 steals in 67 games as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Prime projection: 88/23/88/.284/8

39) Harrison Bader (#51) STL, OF – Discovered him in my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article that I wrote in January, and also wrote a Harrison Bader, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout post for him this season. Prime projection: 85/20/81/.280/14

40) Tyler O’Neill (#78) SEA, OF – Wrote a sleeper post for him in the off-season, and he has drastically improved his K rate while maintaining his power in Double-A this season. The arrow is pointing up. Prime projection: 76/27/88/.265/8

41) Cody Reed (#65) CIN, LHP – Big lefty with a mid 90’s fastball and wipeout slider. That is a recipe for success. Prime projection: 3.40/1.18/192 in 200 IP

42) Ozhaino Albies (#75) ATL, SS/2B – The 19-year-old Albies zoomed through Atlanta’s system faster than anyone could have expected. Knocking on the door of the bigs, but it looks like it will be as a 2B. Prime projection: 91/8/54/.295/27

43) Eloy Jimenez (NR) CHC, OF – Ranked him 7th (but 1st on this list) on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime Projection: 83/25/93/.281/7

44) Kolby Allard (#36) ATL, LHP – Pitched only 16 innings after returning from off-season back surgery. Will know a lot more about him by the end of the year. Prime projection: 3.25/1.09/200 in 190 IP

45) Anderson Espinoza (#37) BOS, RHP – Solid but unspectacular as an 18-year-old in Single-A. Talent is immense but still a few years off. Prime projection: 3.38/1.11/194 in 190 IP

46) Raul Mondesi Jr. (#56) KC, SS – Not going to ding him for his 50 game PED suspension. Potential remains the same. Prime projection: 79/15/71/.267/28

47) Kyle Tucker (#89) HOU, OF – Power hasn’t emerged with only 2 homers in 61 games at Single-A, but is displaying a great plate approach (43/22 K/BB) and speed (25 steals). Prime projection: 86/16/84/.284/18

48) Brett Phillips (#39) MIL, OF – K rate has spiked to 31.8% in Double-A, but is still hitting for power with a few steals. Prime projection: 84/20/78/.260/11

49) Nick Williams (#59) PHI, OF – Hasn’t done much in Triple-A to move the needle in either direction. Prime projection: 85/18/78/.276/10

50) Hunter Renfroe (#61) SD, OF – Slashing .325/.345/.597 with 18 homers in 76 games in the PCL. He is using a more contact oriented approach this year, cutting his K rate to 18.0% and BB rate to 3.1%. Prime projection: 74/24/86/.266/5

51) Kyle Lewis (NR) SEA, OF – Ranked him 1st on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 82/25/87/.278/8

52) Corey Ray (NR) MIL, OF – Ranked him 2nd on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 90/14/64/.281/24

53) Rafael Devers (#63) BOS, 3B – .637 OPS as a 19-year-old in High-A. Regardless of the poor numbers, raw talent is still elite. Prime projection: 80/21/96/.287/5

54) Manuel Margot (#64) SD, OF – Contact/speed profile remains unchanged at Triple-A this year. Prime projection: 85/10/60/.278/27

55) Franklin Barreto (#57) OAK, SS/2B/OF – Numbers don’t stand out, but is still flashing power (7 homers) and speed (16 steals) as a 20-year-old in a pitcher’s park at Double-A. Prime projection: 86/14/77/.281/22

56) Renato Nunez (#73) OAK, 3B – Triple-slash looks weak (.243/.293/.433) but is still hitting for solid power (.193 ISO) and contact (17.9% K%). Prime projection: 76/21/85/.280/1

57) Matt Chapman (#94) OAK, 3B – 17 homers and a 102/36 K/BB in 74 games at Double-A. Expect more of the same in the majors. Prime projection: 76/26/86/.254/4

58) Chase Vallot (NR) KC, C – Wrote a Chase Vallot, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout post for him. Prime Projection: 77/27/87/.258/2

59) Jose Peraza (#44) CIN, 2B/SS/OF – Collected 7 steals in 11 games since being recalled to the majors on June 15th. Prime projection: 84/6/51/.272/32

60) Sean Manaea (#45) OAK, LHP – Makes the prospect cut by under an inning. Struggled in his MLB debut, but still has enticing K upside. Prime projection: 3.49/1.21/195 in 185 IP.

61) Forrest Wall (#62) COL, 2B – Got off to a slow start, but has picked it up of late, slashing .329/.352/.476 with 2 homers and 5 steals in the last month. Prime projection: 87/14/73/.279/20

62) Francis Martes (#66) HOU, RHP – Got his season back on track after struggling in the early going. Fastball is still reaching upper 90’s and the curve is nasty. Prime projection: 3.39/1.10/176 in 185 IP

63) Gleybor Torres (#93) CHC, SS – Putting up modest numbers with an uptick in power from last year as a 19-year-old in High-A. He isn’t my favorite fantasy prospect, but his stock is on the rise. Prime projection: 81/15/70/.283/15

64) Travis Demeritte (NR) TEX, 2B – Wrote a Travis Demeritte, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout post for him. Prime projection: 78/22/81/.247/9

65) Christin Stewart (NR) DET, OF – Ranked him 2nd on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 80/24/83/.255/4

66) Phil Bickford (NR) SFG, RHP – Ranked him 10th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime Projection: 3.54/1.18/188 in 183 IP

67) Kevin Maitan (NR) IFA/ATL, SS/3B – I wasn’t planning on ranking Maitan this high when I started this list, but nobody can even touch his upside at this point in the rankings. His hype is so stratospheric with comparisons to Miggy and Chipper Jones, that at the very least, his trade value will be high right from the get go. Prime projection: 90/25/100/.285/6

68) Jacob Faria (#68) TB, RHP – Maintained his K spike from the 2nd half of last season, and looked great in his 1st start at Triple-A last week, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, 6 K. Would rank higher if he didn’t have to pitch in the AL East. Prime projection: 3.59/1.19/187 in 187 IP

69) Tom Murphy (#32) COL, C – Both his K rate (34.0%) and BB rate (2.7%) have seriously regressed as a 25-year-old in the PCL. He is still hitting for power (.255 ISO) and has the luxury of Coors Field at his back, so I’m not completely off the bandwagon. Prime projection: 62/25/77/.241/3

70) Jorge Alfaro (#79) PHI, C – Has absolutely no plate approach to speak of (49/4 K/BB) but has jacked 9 homers in 50 games at Double-A. With the current offensive state of the catcher position, guys like Murphy and Alfaro have value. Prime projection: 62/20/75/.245/5

71) Yadier Alvarez (NR) LAD, RHP – 8.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BB, 10 K in his first two starts at Rookie Ball this year. Still a bit of a mystery, but all reports have been glowing with praise since Spring Training. Upper 90’s heat with ace upside. Prime Projection: 3.30/1.18/203 in 190 IP

72) Yohander Mendez (NR) TEX, LHP – 6’5’’, 200-pound lefty with a big fastball and improving secondaries (curveball, slider, changeup). The raw talent and upside is obvious. Check out this video of him battling my boy Harrison Bader, and eventually striking him out (and then scroll down and watch the second video of Bader homering off a reliever later in the game). Prime projection: 3.40/1.17/185 in 185 IP

73) Grant Holmes (#48) LAD, RHP – Both his K/9 (8.8) and BB/9 (3.2) are down this year in the Cal League. Excellent raw stuff, but the development is going to take some time. Prime projection: 3.44/1.26/199 in 188 IP

74) Luis Ortiz (#96) TEX, RHP – Big, strong righty who is built like a workhorse starter, but has had arm troubles in the past. Pitching well as a 20-year-old in Double-A. Prime projection: 3.41/1.16/177 in 185 IP

75) Ryan McMahon (#49) COL, 3B – Struggling badly at Double-A, slashing .218/.313/.327 with 3 homers. Coors Field is really buoying his value right now. Prime projection: 78/20/88/.261/6

76) Jack Flaherty (#69) STL, RHP – Has been on fire in his last 4 starts after a slow start to the season. This is as much a vote of confidence in St. Louis’ organization as it is in Flaherty’s talent. Prime projection: 3.37/1.18/178 in 195 IP

77) Brent Honeywell (#71) TB, RHP – Season has been immaculate other than being sidelined for 6 weeks with a sore arm. Prime projection: 3.46/1.14/179 in 190 IP

78) Anthony Alford (#76) TOR, OF – Hasn’t been the same since injuring his knee, but has started to turn it around this week. He deserves the benefit of the doubt to see if he heats up the further away he gets from that knee injury. Prime projection: 81/16/79/.272/18

79) Dominic Smith (#77) NYM, 1B – Still waiting on that power breakout, but the contact skills and plate approach have been strong in Double-A. Prime projection: 78/19/90/.289/2

80) Cody Bellinger (#95) LAD, 1B/OF – Not hitting for as much power as he did last year in the Cal League, but is still putting up solid numbers as a 20-year-old in Double-A. Prime projection: 79/21/87/.271/6

81) Tyler Jay (#98) MIN, LHP – Minnesota’s gamble looks to be paying off. Transition to starter has been a smashing success so far. Prime projection: 3.51/1.19/180 in 180 IP

82) Will Craig (NR) PIT, 3B – Ranked him 3rd on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 77/22/92/.281/1

83) Zack Collins (NR) CHW, C – Ranked him 4th on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 79/21/88/.277/2

84) Nick Senzel (NR) CIN, 3B – Ranked him 5th on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 80/14/80/.283/13

85) Mickey Moniak (NR) PHI, OF – Ranked him 6th on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 89/12/63/.290/19

86) Josh Ockimey (NR) BOS, 1B – Ranked him 5th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 85/23/93/.268/4

87) Luke Weaver (NR) STL, RHP – Dominated in his first 5 starts of the season, going 31.1 IP, 4 ER, 30 Hits, 3 BB, 37 K. Velocity has ticked up and is still displaying his plus changeup. Prime Projection: 3.47/1.17/179 in 193 IP

88) Alen Hanson (#33) PIT, 2B – Wrote a sleeper post for him in the off-season, and unlike Fisher and O’Neill, he is making me regret it, slashing .246/.285/.365 with 5 homers and 18 steals in 62 games. The speed still looks good and he is popping a homer every now and then, but it’s now his second year in a row of struggling at Triple-A. Prime projection: 82/10/60/.267/20

89) Sean Newcomb (#54) ATL, LHP – From my off-season top 100: “Tantalizing stuff, but major control issues. High risk, high reward.” – – Same old, same old for Newcomb this year. 9.15 K/9 and 4.46 BB/9. Prime projection: 3.48/1.28/192 in 180 IP

90) Roman Quinn (#92) PHI, OF – Speed is what you are buying here. 25 steals in 50 games at Double-A. His injury history still scares me a bit. Prime projection: 81/8/57/.270/31

91) Ronald Guzman (NR) TEX, 1B – Ranked him 6th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 82/19/88/.279/3

92) Dylan Cozens (NR) PHI, OF – Ranked him 4th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 74/21/78/.241/9

93) Chris Shaw (NR) SFG, 1B – Ranked him 9th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 78/23/87/.270/1

94) A.J. Puk (NR) OAK, LHP – Ranked him 7th on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 3.59/1.27/198 in 183 IP

95) Ian Anderson (NR) ATL, RHP – Ranked him 8th on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 3.39/1.16/184 in 190 IP

96) Alex Verdugo (NR) LAD, OF – Slashing .288/.349/.440 with 8 homers and a 38/21 K/BB in 67 games as a 20-year-old in Double-A. He deserves to crack the top 100. Prime Projection: 80/17/80/.286/6

97) Mitch Keller (NR) PIT, RHP – Ranked him 8th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 3.45/1.14/182 in 188 IP

98) Hunter Harvey (#87) BAL, RHP – Has been out all season with a sports hernia injury before making a rehab start last week in the GCL, striking out 5 batters in 2 IP. Reports were positive on his stuff, and we are still in wait and see mode on Harvey. Prime projection: 3.48/1.18/160 in 150 IP

99) Francisco Mejia (NR) CLE, C – Monster breakout repeating Single-A this season, slashing .347/.384/.532 with 7 homers in 60 games. Promoted to High-A yesterday and proceeded to go 2 for 4. He is one of the better lottery ticket catchers out there to take a shot on. Prime Projection: 72/16/79.280/1

100) Chris Paddack (NR) SD, RHP – Insane 6-start run to begin his season in Single-A, going 28.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BB, 48 K. Best pitch is a plus, plus changeup. It’s a very small sample, but I’ll take the shot on his clear upside at this point. Prime Projection: 3.60/1.17/190 in 180 IP

**101) Justus Sheffield (#70) CLE, LHP – It got really tight at the end here, and I didn’t want to not mention these last 3 guys at all, so here is 101-103 of my top 100 😉 Sheffield’s K/9 is down (7.8) and BB/9 is up (3.6) in High-A this season. While he drops on this list, his overall potential remains basically unchanged. Prime projection: 3.53/1.22/180 in 180 IP

102) Carson Fulmer (#28) CHW, RHP– Nothing short of a disaster season. 5.88/1.57/75 with a 5.3 BB/9 in 75 IP at Double-A. Went 7 scoreless with 7 K in his last start, though, and I wouldn’t count him completely out yet. Prime projection: 3.55/1.28/175 in 180 IP

103) Dillon Tate (#46) TEX, RHP – Maybe I should call this the hanging on by a thread section. These guys have the ability to turn it around in the 2nd half, but they are being put on notice until then. Prime projection: 3.67/1.20/180 in 190 IP.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2016 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 41-70

Here we go again. It’s ranking season! Well, maybe a week or two before ranking season, but close enough. Through Thursday, I will be ranking the top 100 fantasy baseball prospects in all The Land. And I mean that literally, not the lame nickname that Cleveland now has to make them seem cooler. To be clear, I will not just be ranking prospects in Cleveland. Enough monkey business, here are the 2016 Mid-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 41-70 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

2016 Off-Season Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: 1-100

Graduates: Corey Seager (#1) LAD, SS, Byron Buxton (#2) MIN, OF, Steven Matz (#10) NYM, LHP, Nomar Mazara (#19) TEX, OF, Trevor Story (#30) COL, SS, John Lamb (#40) CIN, LHP, Aaron Blair (#81) ATL, RHP, Michael Fulmer (#82) DET, RHP, Archie Bradley (#83) ARI, RHP, Mallex Smith (#91) ATL, OF, Jon Gray (#100) COL, RHP

1-10
11-40
71-100
Complete Top 100

41) Cody Reed (#65) CIN, LHP – Big lefty with a mid 90’s fastball and wipeout slider. That is a recipe for success. Prime projection: 3.40/1.18/192 in 200 IP

42) Ozhaino Albies (#75) ATL, SS/2B – The 19-year-old Albies zoomed through Atlanta’s system faster than anyone could have expected. Knocking on the door of the bigs, but it looks like it will be as a 2B. Prime projection: 91/8/54/.295/27

43) Eloy Jimenez (NR) CHC, OF – Ranked him 7th (but 1st on this list) on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime Projection: 83/25/93/.281/7

44) Kolby Allard (#36) ATL, LHP – Pitched only 16 innings after returning from off-season back surgery. Will know a lot more about him by the end of the year. Prime projection: 3.25/1.09/200 in 190 IP

45) Anderson Espinoza (#37) BOS, RHP – Solid but unspectacular as an 18-year-old in Single-A. Talent is immense but still a few years off. Prime projection: 3.38/1.11/194 in 190 IP

46) Raul Mondesi Jr. (#56) KC, SS – Not going to ding him for his 50 game PED suspension. Potential remains the same. Prime projection: 79/15/71/.267/28

47) Kyle Tucker (#89) HOU, OF – Power hasn’t emerged with only 2 homers in 61 games at Single-A, but is displaying a great plate approach (43/22 K/BB) and speed (25 steals). Prime projection: 86/16/84/.284/18

48) Brett Phillips (#39) MIL, OF – K rate has spiked to 31.8% in Double-A, but is still hitting for power with a few steals. Prime projection: 84/20/78/.260/11

49) Nick Williams (#59) PHI, OF – Hasn’t done much in Triple-A to move the needle in either direction. Prime projection: 85/18/78/.276/10

50) Hunter Renfroe (#61) SD, OF – Slashing .325/.345/.597 with 18 homers in 76 games in the PCL. He is using a more contact oriented approach this year, cutting his K rate to 18.0% and BB rate to 3.1%. Prime projection: 74/24/86/.266/5

51) Kyle Lewis (NR) SEA, OF – Ranked him 1st on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 82/25/87/.278/8

52) Corey Ray (NR) MIL, OF – Ranked him 2nd on my 2016 MLB Draft Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings. Prime projection: 90/14/64/.281/24

53) Rafael Devers (#63) BOS, 3B – .637 OPS as a 19-year-old in High-A. Regardless of the poor numbers, raw talent is still elite. Prime projection: 80/21/96/.287/5

54) Manuel Margot (#64) SD, OF – Contact/speed profile remains unchanged at Triple-A this year. Prime projection: 85/10/60/.278/27

55) Franklin Barreto (#57) OAK, SS/2B/OF – Numbers don’t stand out, but is still flashing power (7 homers) and speed (16 steals) as a 20-year-old in a pitcher’s park at Double-A. Prime projection: 86/14/77/.281/22

56) Renato Nunez (#73) OAK, 3B – Triple-slash looks weak (.243/.293/.433) but is still hitting for solid power (.193 ISO) and contact (17.9% K%). Prime projection: 76/21/85/.280/1

57) Matt Chapman (#94) OAK, 3B – 17 homers and a 102/36 K/BB in 74 games at Double-A. Expect more of the same in the majors. Prime projection: 76/26/86/.254/4

58) Chase Vallot (NR) KC, C – Wrote a Chase Vallot, 2016 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout post for him. Prime Projection: 77/27/87/.258/2

59) Jose Peraza (#44) CIN, 2B/SS/OF – Collected 7 steals in 11 games since being recalled to the majors on June 15th. Prime projection: 84/6/51/.272/32

60) Sean Manaea (#45) OAK, LHP – Makes the prospect cut by under an inning. Struggled in his MLB debut, but still has enticing K upside. Prime projection: 3.49/1.21/195 in 185 IP.

61) Forrest Wall (#62) COL, 2B – Got off to a slow start, but has picked it up of late, slashing .329/.352/.476 with 2 homers and 5 steals in the last month. Prime projection: 87/14/73/.279/20

62) Francis Martes (#66) HOU, RHP – Got his season back on track after struggling in the early going. Fastball is still reaching upper 90’s and the curve is nasty. Prime projection: 3.39/1.10/176 in 185 IP

63) Gleybor Torres (#93) CHC, SS – Putting up modest numbers with an uptick in power from last year as a 19-year-old in High-A. He isn’t my favorite fantasy prospect, but his stock is on the rise. Prime projection: 81/15/70/.283/15

64) Travis Demeritte (NR) TEX, 2B – Ranked him 3rd on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 78/22/81/.247/9

65) Christin Stewart (NR) DET, OF – Ranked him 2nd on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime projection: 80/23/80/.255/3

66) Phil Bickford (NR) SFG, RHP – Ranked him 10th on my 2016 Mid-Season Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakouts (not on my off-season top 100). Prime Projection: 3.54/1.18/188 in 183 IP

67) Kevin Maitan (NR) IFA/ATL, SS/3B – I wasn’t planning on ranking Maitan this high when I started this list, but nobody can even touch his upside at this point in the rankings. His hype is so stratospheric with comparisons to Miggy and Chipper Jones, that at the very least, his trade value will be high right from the get go. Prime projection: 90/25/100/.285/6

68) Jacob Faria (#68) TB, RHP – Maintained his K spike from the 2nd half of last season, and looked great in his 1st start at Triple-A last week, going 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, 6 K. Would rank higher if he didn’t have to pitch in the AL East. Prime projection: 3.59/1.19/187 in 187 IP

69) Tom Murphy (#32) COL, C – Both his K rate (34.0%) and BB rate (2.7%) have seriously regressed as a 25-year-old in the PCL. He is still hitting for power (.255 ISO) and has the luxury of Coors Field at his back, so I’m not completely off the bandwagon. Prime projection: 62/25/77/.241/3

70) Jorge Alfaro (#79) PHI, C – Has absolutely no plate approach to speak of (49/4 K/BB) but has jacked 9 homers in 50 games at Double-A. With the current offensive state of the catcher position, guys like Murphy and Alfaro have value. Prime projection: 62/20/75/.245/5

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 5

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 5:

Byron Buxton MIN, OF – Turned it on for real this week, hitting his first three homers of the season. He’s now slashing .276/.344/.534 at Triple-A, and it looks like whatever had to be corrected with his swing has been corrected. If I were a betting man (I am), I would bet a lot of money that he will not hit like a little leaguer when he gets called back up.

Chris Shaw SF, 1B – In the comments section of my Finding the Next A.J. Reed article, “The Baltimoron” mentioned Chris Shaw could be an underrated breakout candidate as well. And boy was he right, as Shaw is crushing it at High-A, slashing .337/.402/.615 with 6 homers. You modest bastard you, “The Baltimoron,” more like “The Baltigenius.”

Yoan Moncada BOS, 2B – The power is starting to come around, as Moncada launched his first three homers of the season this week, and is slashing .317/.450/.510 with 19 steals in 28 games at High-A. With Corey Seager and Buxton officially losing their prospect eligibility, Moncada is probably in a battle with Julio Urias to be the #1 fantasy prospect in the game right now.

Julio Urias LAD, LHP – Speaking of which, there have been rumors the Dodgers may call up Urias to pitch out of the pen this season, because when has rushing a 19-year-old pitching prodigy, with less than 100 IP above A-ball, to pitch out of the bullpen ever backfired on a team?

Brendan Rodgers COL, SS – A legitimate argument can be made that Rodgers is the top fantasy prospect right now too. He is treating Single-A pitchers like cable companies treat their customers, completely bulldozing them to the tune of .358/.421/.642, with 7 homers, and 2 steals in 27 games. I doubt High-A will cause him many problems, either.

Jose De Leon LAD, RHP – Didn’t take long for De Leon to remind me of why I ranked him the 14th overall fantasy prospect coming into this season, as he went 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, and 9 K’s in his first of the year. His K upside is as good or better as any pitcher in the minors.

Carson Fulmer CHW, RHP – Fulmer has looked a lot better after his terrible first two starts, and he further solidified himself this week with a 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K performance. His fastball command was giving him trouble in the early going, which he blamed on being too amped up. If you have ever watched Fulmer pitch, you know his intensity is always dialed up to 11, so that is quite believable. If he keeps pitching well, it is not out of the question for him to force his way into Chicago’s rotation later this season. I would have him on my radar as a deeper league redraft stash.

Lucas Giolito WASH, RHP – Fulmer’s command issues have now been passed on to Giolito, and we unfortunately have to add Giolito to the slow start watch list. After four very mediocre starts to begin the season, he threw up an absolute disaster this week, going 3 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BB, 4 K. It has only been 18.2 IP, and I’m sure he will eventually find his rhythm and turn it around.

Blake Snell TB, LHP – Well, this will teach teams to call up their stud prospects for spot starts with no intention of keeping them up, and at Yankee Stadium to boot. Snell has lost all control and command since being sent back down, and I have to believe it is a just an issue of losing focus after getting back on that minor league bus and $25 per diem grind. He’ll be fine.

Tyler Glasnow PIT, RHP/Jameson Taillon PIT, RHP – Glasnow: 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 11 K – Taillon: 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BB, 3 K. It is literally a full blown arms race to see who gets the call first.

Dansby Swanson ATL, SS – Promotion to Double-A hasn’t slowed Swanson down at all, as he is slashing .310/.444/.517 in his first 8 games at the level. He still has only 3 homers in 51 career minor leagues games, and he is not considered a burner, so I’m not sure the hot start moves the needle much in either direction. I ranked him 25th overall in the off season, and he is a good fantasy prospect, but he may never develop that big power or speed. Considering he is also contending with Ozzie Albies to be Atlanta’s SS of the future, I would be sniffing out some sell high opportunities right now.

Trea Turner WASH, SS, – Who needs a stud 22-year-old SS slashing .321/.391/.455, with 2 homers, and 12 steals at Triple-A, when you have a .200 hitting Danny Espinosa and .143 hitting Stephen Drew tearing it up in the majors? 2022 is probably much more important. To be fair to Washington, Turner does have 5 errors in only 26 games, and there have been more than a few scouts who have suggested he is better off at 2B long term. For now, I would still assume we see Turner in the big leagues by July at the latest.

J.P. Crawford PHI, SS – The only thing to note about Crawford’s start to the season is how there is remarkably little to note about it. He is just doing what he does best, controlling the strike zone, and displaying his moderate power/speed combo.

Austin Meadows PIT, OF – Triple-slashing .177/.255/.195 in his first 11 games at Double-A. It’s almost like fracturing the orbital bone in his right eye has negatively affected his hitting.

Harrison Bader STL, OF – I’m seriously not trying to write about Bader in every rundown, but he keeps topping his performance from the previous week and it makes it hard not to. He put up a .407 batting average this week, struck out only 14% of the time, and is 2/2 in stolen base attempts since May 1. The K% and steals were both areas of concern even with his scorching start. The arrow continues to point up.

Paul DeJong STL, 3B – Went on a homer binge this week like I binge on Netflix and Chinese food. He has hit 5 homers in May, bringing his season total up to, um, 5. He hit 9 dingers last year splitting time between Rookie ball and Single-A, and ho hum, St. Louis has another underrated hitting prospect who they scooped in the 4th round of last year’s draft.

Tom Murphy COL, C – Murphy finally got his season underway after being out with the dreaded, lingering oblique injury, and he wasted no time in showing why I loved him so much, smashing a homer in his second game back. Nick Hundley is currently dealing with an oblique injury of his own, and it may open a door for Murphy to make an impact this season if he keeps playing well. The oblique giveth and taketh away.

Willson Contreras CHC, C – Contreras has already been displaying his elite plate approach and contact skills in the early going at Triple-A, and now he has added some power as well. He hit his first two homers of the year this week, and he remains one of the very best fantasy catcher prospects in the game.

Brad Zimmer CLE, OF – Power, speed, and K’s galore. The 6 homers and 11 steals in 27 games is drool worthy, but striking out 31% of the time as 23-year-old in Double-A is concerning. I’m starting to think his batting average will be closer to .250 than .270.

Aaron Judge NYY, OF – After treading water for most of the season, Judge Dredd lived up to his nickname by crushing 3 homers this week, bringing his season total up to 6. He also still has a 27% K%. I think we are definitively starting to see the player Judge is/will become, a low average, high K power hitter with very good, but not elite power.

Gary Sanchez NYY, C – The Sanchize (Mark Sanchez has really ruined that nickname forever, huh) has also started to mash this week, going deep 3 times. He is slashing .283/.336/.566, with 5 homers, and 2 steals in 24 games at Triple-A. Considering he plays in an extreme pitcher’s park, the line looks even more impressive.

Brett Phillips MIL, OF – Phillips must have heard me when I was talking shit about his power potential in last week’s rundown, as he cranked 4 homers this week, and hit 3 in one game! Needless to say, the power is looking better now.

Raimel Tapia COL, OF – Finally got it going this week, slashing .304/.360/.652, with 2 homers, and 1 steal at Double-A. Time to take him off the slow start watch list.

Raul Mondesi Jr. KC, SS – Remember when I said it might be time to start getting excited about Mondesi? Well, it wasn’t time, as his season line has now fallen to .230/.280/.440, with 5 homers, and 11 steals in 24 games at Double-A. He is still flashing that tantalizing power and speed, so we just have to stay patient.

Tyler Jay MIN, LHP – Got back on track this week (6.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K) after getting hammered by the Hammerheads last week. It’s a good sign to see him bouncing back after rough starts.

Brent Honeywell TB, RHP – Just keeps dominating High-A hitters. I was questioning whether I should have even included him in the rundown because his dominance is getting kinda mundane at this point.

Jose Pujols PHI, OF – The 20-year-old Pujols has always had huge raw power and plus bat speed, but it is just now starting to show up in games. He hit 3 homers this week, and that gives him 7 homers on the season in 27 games at Single-A. He is striking out 33% of the time, but he is still an intriguing deep league power prospect.

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