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Prospect Buy and Hold
Now that Oscar Taveras, Jonathan Singleton and Marcus Stroman were called up, we all want to know when Gregory Polanco and Joc Pederson will be called up to the big leagues, as they are the next prospects in line to make an impact on your fantasy teams. But who are some other top prospects who can help you this season? Jason Hunt publishes his weekly Buy and Hold article every Saturday morning, ranking his top 10 prospects in line for a call up, along with some other prospects to consider as well.
Top 25 Fantasy Prospects for 2014
Matt Mattingly offered Fake Teams readers his midseason Top 25 Fantasy Prospect rankings on Sunday morning, and his rankings will make Cubs fans very happy.
Matt also offered readers his take on which prospects will be called up after the silly Super Two deadline:
Super Two Deadline: Prospect Call Ups
Wil Myers to miss at least two months
Wil Myers was placed on the disabled list a few days ago, and yesterday we found out that he has a small stress fracture in his right wrist and will miss at least the next two months of the season, meaning he won't be back until early August at the earliest.
Myers was having a disappointing season before the injury, hitting just .227-.313-.354 with 5 home runs 26 runs scored, 25 RBI and 3 stolen bases in 53 games. Coming into the season, I felt that he could approach 30 home runs this season, but he opened the season hitting .245 in April and .210 in May.
The Rays were already struggling to score runs with Myers in their lineup, and he will miss the next two months, so the Rays may have trouble getting out of last place in the AL East. Fantasy owners shouldn't have trouble replacing Myers production to date in shallower mixed leagues, and even deeper mixed leagues. That's how bad he has been this season.
For more on Myers injury and the Rays, check out DRaysBay, SB Nation's Rays fan site.
Henderson Alvarez: Emerging Ace?
Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez left his last start with tightness in his right forearm, but left after tossing five shutout innings. There was some concern he was another in the long list of pitchers going down with an elbow injury, but he was evaluated and was fine to make his next start.
He didn't just make his next start, but he tossed a complete game shut out of the stumbling Tampa Bay Rays last night. Alvarez game up eight hits, walked none and struck out five in the Marlins 1-0 win. Alvarez moved his record to 3-3 with a 2.62 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a 45-16 strikeout to walk rate in 75.2 innings. He has induced double digit ground ball outs in all but three of his twelve starts this season.
Alvarez has now thrown complete game shutouts in all three of his wins this season, and has not given up a run in each of his last three starts. He is available in 94% of leagues right now, and that should change, as long as he can stay healthy.
The Marlins have a bright future with Jose Fernandez, Nathan Eovaldi, Alvarez and pitching prospect Andrew Heaney getting closer and closer to a big league call up.
For more on Alvarez and the Marlins, make sure you check out Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins fan site.
Round'em Up
Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been battling a back injury and recently sat out two games, but was back in the Angels lineup last night. Well, for a few innings that is. He left the game in the second inning, replaced by Colin Cowgill. They reported on the broadcast last night that Trout did, in fact, leave with more back discomfort, and one has to wonder if the Angels will let him rest more than a few games now that Josh Hamilton is back from the disabled list.
Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez and Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison are the poster children for why fantasy leagues should get rid of wins as a category and replace it with quality starts. Both starters tossed games last night facing each other, but neither got a win to show for it. They each tossed seven shutout innings, with Sanchez giving up just 2 hits, walking none and striking out 5; while Hutchison gave up just 3 hits, walked none and struck out 7.
Sanchez has been the Tigers best starter this season, but has just two wins to go with his 2.15 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 46-15 strikeout to walk rate in 50.1 innings.
Jasper Scherer wrote about Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts yesterday afternoon, opining that Bogaerts is well on his way to becoming an elite shortstop. He also pointed out that Bogaerts will be moving to third base now that Stephen Drew has been called up from the minors. Jasper may be onto something, as Bogaerts has been on a tear of late, and has been showing off some power as well. Last night, he went 2-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and an RBI in the Red Sox loss to the Indians. He is now hitting .304-.395-.464 with 5 home runs, 16 doubles, 30 runs scored and 16 RBI thus far.
The Rockies announced yesterday that they will call up pitching prospect Eddie Butler to start Friday night's game vs the Dodgers. Butler has pitched well this season in AA, going 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA, 3.32 FIP, and a 1.18 WHIP, but has seen his strikeout rate drop from just above eight strikeout per nine to 5.24 K/9. He does keep the ball on the ground, so the drop in strikeout rate has not hurt him this season. I would hold off grabbing him in leagues where he is available, as he is making his first big league start against a solid Dodgers lineup and at Coors Field, so the match up isn't that great. He is a solid pick up in keeper leagues, but think he could struggle upon his call up, so owners may have to practice some patience with him.
Reds starter Homer Bailey has had a disappointing season to date, but he has pitched better of late including last night's start vs the Giants. Bailey gave up runs in each of the first three innings, but was staked to a 4-1 lead in the second inning, and was able to shut out the Giants in the last three innings to earn the win in the Reds 8-3 win. Bailey gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, a walk and 7 strikeout and is now 6-3 with a 4.94 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 63-22 strikeout to walk rate in 70.1 innings. He has given up three runs or less in six of his last seven starts, but fantasy owners expected more from him this season. Part of the reason for his high ERA can be explained by the 11 home runs he has given up in his 70+ innings thus far, so one can expect that number to regress going forward.
Fantasy Rundown
For more fantasy baseball (and football) news and rankings, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, your one stop for all the fantasy news you need on a daily basis.