Marlins Call Ups: Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick

I guess it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise, but news came down late last night that the Marlins would be promoting two of their top prospects, Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick, to the Majors on Tuesday. The Marlins remain known for fast tracking their top prospects where they think it appropriate, so let's take a look at what impact these promotions will have for the rest of the season.

The Call Ups

Christian Yelich - Yelich was hitting .275/.359/.504 with nine home runs, five stolen bases, and a 65:31 K:BB ratio in the minors this year. He has hit at least 12 home runs and stolen at least 20 bases in each of the last two seasons, despite missing 20 games in 2011 and nearly 40 in 2012.

He profiles as a potential impact bat in the long-term, albeit one more because of the potential of 5-category solid production rather than elite production in a specific category. I can see him with 10-15 home runs and 20-25 stolen bases as well as a solid batting average in a full season. For the rest of this year, I would anticipate around 5 home runs and 8-10 stolen bases, given the remaining time left in the season. He'll likely be taking over the left field job, although he could also see time at first base potentially at times as well. Andrew Ball ranked him as his #18 fantasy prospect last month.

Jake Marisnick - Marisnick was hitting .294/.358/.502 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases in just 67 games at AA this season. His best season as a professional came in 2011 in Low-A, when he hit .320/.392/.496 with 14 home runs, 77 runs batted in, and 37 stolen bases.

Marisnick is considered substantially more raw than Yelich, but has the upside to provide a 20 HR/20 SB season given his tools. Whether that will manifest itself this season remains to be seen, but he was hitting very well at AA. He will likely slot in as the starting center fielder most days, as he is considered at least an average defender at that position.

Long Term Role

Yelich is a must own for all dynasty and keeper formats, as he could be a top 25 outfielder when given a full season, with the potential to be even higher. In redraft mixed leagues, he would probably slot in at the edges of my top 50 for just this season amongst outfielders. If you needed safe production, I would probably look elsewhere, but Yelich could have more upside than most of the players on your waiver wire.

I am a little more wary of Marisnick, although he comes with similar upside to Yelich. I would grab him in dynasty formats, and the amount of players kept would be my determining factor in a keeper league. I would probably grab him if more than 100 players are kept each year in your league.

Value Down

Justin Ruggiano - I would have to assume that the Marlins aren't calling these prospects up to not play them, and they're not benching Giancarlo Stanton on a regular basis. Given that Ruggiano is out of options, I would imagine that was why he wasn't sent down as well. On the season, he is hitting .202/.281/.369 with 12 home runs, so it's not like he's been helping your fantasy team a massive amount anyway. He is droppable in all but the deepest formats at this point.

Marcell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich - Both players were demoted to AA to make room on the 25-man roster for Yelich and Marisnick, and both were struggling pretty mightily as it was. They'll get regular at bats down in the minors, which will hopefully help their performance in the long-term. I would probably hold onto them in deep NL-only leagues (I own them in mine and will try to sit on them), but they are droppable in all single-year mixed formats.