The Buy and Hold: Week 18

Well, that was about as busy of a trade deadline as you'll see. Major players changing teams, players that have lots of team control left changing teams, and of course a ton of prospects heading elsewhere. Of course that also opened up some spots for prospects from last week's Buy and Hold to get the call as well.

The Red Sox were one of the first dominos to fall, as they sent Shane Victorino to the Angels and called up Rusney Castillo to take his place on the roster. He's been in right field each of the first three games since his recall, and I would anticipate that he'll be in the lineup most days from here on out. I can see 3-5 home runs from him along with 5-7 steals over the last two months if he gets that playing time.

The key player that went to Detroit in the David Price trade was Daniel Norris, who the Tigers have already decided will slot into Price's vacated rotation spot starting this Sunday. I can see him getting another 10-12 starts down the line, but I can see it being a bit up and down from start to start. He's had excellent starts where everything's been working (7 IP, 8 K, 1 ER on the 7th), and others recently where the performance hasn't been so hot (21 IP, 15 ER, 12 BB, 9 K in his last four starts).

Teams were extremely interested in Luis Severino leading up to the deadline, but the Yankees opted to keep him, and in fact announced on Friday that his next start would be in the majors. It sounds like he will line up to start in the middle of next week against the Red Sox, and also that he will not be on an innings limit. He's worth a speculative grab in most leagues, as he'll likely take Michael Pineda's spot if he hits the DL, and could stay in the rotation even once Pineda is ready.

A prospect I didn't anticipate being called up was the Mariners' Ketel Marte. Marte has the potential to provide a high average and solid stolen base totals, although it's not clear yet how much playing time he will get for the rest of the season. He's been a shortstop in the minors primarily, but will likely play at second base and center field some.

So who's next? Which prospect is still worth holding onto now for when they are called up to the majors later?

Graduates

Week 3: Kris Bryant, Yasmany Tomas
Week 4: Carlos Rodon, Addison Russell, Kevin Plawecki
Week 5: Dilson Herrera, Blake Swihart
Week 6: Noah Syndergaard, Austin Hedges, Eddie Rosario, Preston Tucker
Week 7: Maikel Franco, Lance McCullers Jr.
Week 8: Rusney Castillo, Wilmer Difo
Week 9: Eduardo Rodriguez, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Michael Feliz
Week 10: Joey Gallo, Joe Ross, Mike Montgomery, Scott Schebler
Week 11: Carlos Correa, Mason Williams
Week 12: Byron Buxton, Francisco Lindor, Kyle Schwarber (sort of), Matt Wisler, Adam Morgan
Week 13: Andrew Heaney (7), Steven Matz (4), Alex Meyer, Justin Nicolino
Week 14: Miguel Sano (6), Wilmer Difo
Week 15: Brian Johnson (15), Kyle Schwarber (3), Aaron Nola (5)
Week 16: Michael Conforto (6), Joe Ross (9), Stephen Piscotty (11)
Week 17: Rusney Castillo (4), Daniel Norris (5), Luis Severino (10), Ketel Marte

1. Joey Gallo - 3B/OF - Rangers (PR: 1)
2. Corey Seager - 3B/SS - Dodgers (PR: 2)

The Dodgers removed one of the key players that might block Seager from the majors in trading Hector Olivera, but also may have lined up a position change for Seager sooner than anticipated. They brought back Jose Peraza from the Braves as a part of the trade, who could potentially be moved back to shortstop by the Dodgers, and potentially shift Seager over to third. Of course, Jimmy Rollins has been hitting much better over the past week, so it's still not clear exactly when Seager will be up.

3. Hector Olivera - 3B - Braves (PR: 3)

Well, we all saw that coming, right? The Dodgers, less than six months after signing him in the first place, have traded Olivera to the Braves, who were also very interested in him at the start of the year. He was place on the disabled list at AAA by the Braves upon his acquisition, but it sounds like he's expected to be ready to play in a week or so. I would anticipate that he'll be up to the majors before the end of August.

4. Aaron Judge - OF - Yankees (PR: 6) 
5. Richie Shaffer - 3B - Rays (PR: 7)

The Yankees made it very clear that they would not move Aaron Judge in a trade, and I think that if they find themselves needing offense, he gets the call. This is more about impact than likelihood, as I think Judge could hit 5 homers per month in the majors with regular playing time, but I'm not convinced it will happen quickly.

6. Robert Stephenson - RHP - Reds (PR: 13)
7. Henry Owens - LHP - Red Sox (PR:14)
8. Jon Gray - RHP - Rockies (PR: 9)
9. Justin Nicolino - LHP - Marlins (PR: 11)
10. Brian Johnson - LHP - Red Sox (PR: Graduate)

A quintet of pitchers here who are all likely to be helped by the fact that their teams have made changes to their rotation in one form or another over the past week. Stephenson could well be in line for a shot now that the Reds have moved both Leake and Cueto, but has more competition with John Lamb also with the team. Nicolino will be on his normal rest when the Marlins need a starter on Tuesday, so I think he may be the one up to stay with the team the rest of the way as well.

11. Dalton Pompey - OF - Blue Jays (PR: 8)
12. Nomar Mazara - OF - Rangers (PR: 15)
13. Jose Berrios - RHP - Twins (PR: 12)
14. Trevor Story - SS - Rockies (PR: NR)
15. Tyler Glasnow - RHP - Pirates (PR: NR)

Pompey drops down the list some with the acquisition of Ben Revere, both in the short term and the long term. It's not so much that I think Revere is enough to keep Pompey out of the lineup forever, but they probably don't bring Pompey back until September 1st at this point without an injury.

Honorable Mentions:

Jose Peraza - 2B/OF - Dodgers (PR: HM)
Domingo Santana - OF - Brewers (PR: HM)
Trea Turner - SS - Nationals (PR: HM)

For Those About to Rebuild, We Salute You

If you're already rebuilding with an aim toward the 2016 season (or rapidly looking like you should), you're probably looking for prospects to target that have a reasonably good chance at contributing for a majority of 2016. This list isn't necessarily likely to be drastically different from the list above some weeks, and should more closely resemble the top of the fantasy prospect rankings.

1. Corey Seager - SS - Dodgers (PR:1)
2. Joey Gallo - 3B/OF - Rangers (PR: 2)
3. J.P. Crawford - SS - Phillies (PR: 3)
4. Julio Urias - LHP - Dodgers (PR: 4)
5. Nomar Mazara - OF - Rangers (PR: 5) 
6. Tim Anderson - SS - White Sox (PR: 6)
7. Chi-Chi Gonzalez - RHP - Rangers (PR: 8)
8. Aaron Judge - OF - Yankees (PR: 9)
9. Trea Turner - SS - Nationals (PR: 10)
10. Tyler Glasnow - RHP - Pirates (PR: NR)