Coming Soon to a Stadium Near You: Potential September Callups

With September 1st and roster expansion approaching by the end of the week, there are a number of top prospects who could see a callup to either help their team out for the stretch run, or simply to give them an opportunity to see if they could be a valuable piece for the 2013 season ahead of time. Rather than reviewing a particular prospect this week, let's take a look at some of the bigger names that could be up for the last month.

Casey Kelly (SD)
On 40-Man Roster: Being added today

Kelly is actually being called up for the start today for the Padres, and he will have to be added to the 40-man roster to do that. He's definitely worth a look if you are hurting for pitching. I like the fact that this start will be in San Diego, despite facing the Braves, and I have to imagine this will be an early audition for the 2013 rotation.

Dylan Bundy (BAL)
On 40-Man Roster: Yes

Bundy's name will likely continue to come up until the Orioles come out and say that he won't be there for the last month of the season. He's already on the 40 man roster, so all the O's need to do is wait until September 1st if they decide they want to bring him up without having to move anyone off of the 25 man roster. I would bank on him coming up at this point, but I'm not really sure what role he would play.

Shelby Miller (STL)
On 40-Man Roster: No

Miller was expected to be up by now when the season started, but early season struggles kept that from potentially happening. However, Miller has been great of late, and the Cardinals could always use some more pitching for the stretch run.

Oswaldo Arcia (MIN)
On 40-Man Roster: Yes

This one is a pure speculation on my part, simply because he is already on the 40-man roster. There's not really any place for him to play at the moment, but the outfielders for the Twins haven't always been the healthiest group of people you've ever seen.

Oscar Taveras (STL)
On 40-Man Roster: No

Taveras has done nothing but hit all season long, and the speculation won't seem to die down that Taveras could get a September call-up. According to MLB Depth Charts, the Cardinals currently have a 40-man roster spot open, so adding him would not be the most difficult thing. Taveras' talent is so high at this point that even if he weren't to play a single game during a call up, he is a must-add in all dynasty formats where he is available.

Billy Hamilton (CIN)
On 40-man roster: No

Hamilton is already worth a speculative pick up in deeper leagues and all NL-only leagues. He could conceivably be called upon to be a pinch-runner/spot-starter, and if he is could potentially steal 10 bases down the stretch for your fantasy team. It's a big risk, as he is not likely to be a starter on very many days should he be called up.

Wil Myers (KC)
On 40-man roster: No

The call continues for the minor league leader in home runs, but with AAA Omaha locked in for the playoffs and the Royals stagnating at the moment, I doubt we will see Myers until at least Omaha has finished their season. If they make an extended run into the playoffs, that could be until the middle of the month, at which point it probably becomes silly for the Royals to bring him up and start his service clock. They don't need to protect him after this season, so they could conceivably wait as far as mid to late March to add him to the big club.

Other top prospects that are already on the 40-man roster include Anthony Rendon (WAS), Yasiel Puig (LAD), Trevor Bauer (ARI), Rymer Liriano (SD), and Julio Teheran (ATL).

In addition, future 40-man decisions could play a part in whether or not a prospect is called up as well. To protect players from the next Rule 5 draft in December, teams must add players who fit these criteria to the 40-man roster prior to then:

• Any player who signed their first pro contract at age 18 or younger who signed that contract in 2008 or earlier. This generally includes all high school players drafted in the 2008 draft, as well as international free agents signed in 2008 as well.
• Any player who signed their first pro contract at age 19 or older who signed that contract in 2009 or earlier. This generally includes all college players drafted in the 2009 draft.

The following players fit in one of those criteria as well, and there's an outside shot they could be added to the 40 man roster in September since they would have to be before December anyway:

Tim Beckham (TAM), Aaron Hicks (MIN), Jake Odorizzi (KC), Trevor May (PHI), Grant Green (OAK), Kyle Gibson (MIN), Tim Wheeler (COL), Adys Portillo (SD), Carlos Perez (ATL), and Tony Sanchez (PIT)