It’s no secret: Playing Major League Baseball isn’t easy. But as fantasy owners, it’s easy to get excited about the wealth of young talent in the minor leagues.
We see these names on prospect lists and drool over the fantastic future that potentially lies ahead of them. With two notable exceptions — Trevor Story and Nomar Mazara, both of whom were in the majors by the end of the first week of the season — this year’s crop of minor league call-ups has been largely disappointing.
It’s funny. We rant about why these players haven’t been promoted to the majors and then become exasperated quickly when they don’t have immediate success.
Up and back down
The most recent disappointment came on Friday, when 19-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias lasted 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut against the New York Mets.
Although the results (five hits, three earned runs, four walks, three strikeouts) weren’t what everyone had hoped to see, there’s no question the teenager from Mexico possesses an incredible skill set.
After all, he put up a 1.10 ERA over 41 innings with Class AAA Oklahoma City in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. When promoted, Urias was riding a scoreless streak that had reached 26 innings.
Yet fantasy owners didn’t even get a chance to bid on him before he was sent back to the minors. (They needed him only to take Alex Wood’s place for one start.)
We most definitely should see Urias in the majors again this season. But the Dodgers have carefully managed his workload so he never has thrown more than 90 innings in a professional season.
His future is as a starter – a No. 1 starter – but look for the Dodgers to move him to the bullpen, where they have a definite need for someone to pitch high-leverage innings and bridge the gap to closer Kenley Jansen.
Meanwhile, fantasy owners barely caught a glimpse of slugging infielder Joey Gallo when he was promoted to the Texas Rangers last week.
A strikeout machine in his MLB debut (46%), Gallo has cut his rate to 23% this season in the minors while increasing his walk rate to 22%. It hasn’t hurt his power, either (eight homers, .628 slugging percentage).
While speculation ran rampant that he could see time in the Rangers outfield — or even take over at first base or designated hitter — Gallo had one pinch-hitting appearance before he was dispatched back to Class AAA Round Rock (Texas) to make room for Yu Darvish on the 25-man roster.
Prospects on the way
With the arrival of June and the passing of the Super Two threshold, we’re likely to see a wave of new prospects promoted soon. And we’ll get our hopes up all over again.
Maybe now is a good time to look at who’s still in the minor leagues — and rank them according to how much they could contribute to fantasy teams for the rest of this season.
1. SS Trea Turner, Washington Nationals.
He’s hitting .319 in Class AAA with a 16-for-16 mark in stolen base attempts.
With Danny Espinosa hitting .201 and Stephen Drew .157 in Washington, Turner would be an immediate upgrade at short.
2/3. SPs Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow, Pittsburgh Pirates.
These two always seem to be mentioned together in any prospect discussion. And for good reason. They’re both high-ceiling right-handers who could fit nicely into the Pirates’ rotation in place of struggling veterans Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio.
Both have pitched well for Class AAA Indianapolis with ERAs right around 2.00.
What distinguishes one from the other is Taillon’s command of his changeup. That’s why he’ll probably be the first promoted.
The 24-year-old has been masterful this season with a 1.79 ERA and a 54/5 strikeout/walk ratio in 55 1/3 innings.
He was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his career stalled when he had Tommy John elbow surgery two years ago. As the Dodgers have done with Urias, the Pirates have been very careful with Taillon’s workload. They even had him skip a start last week. From a fantasy standpoint, the fewer innings he throws in the minors, the more he could potentially throw in the majors.
Glasnow might have a higher ceiling, but he has had some control issues. Despite a 2.25 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 56 innings, he’s walking four batters per nine innings.
4. 3B Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers.
Keep an eye on which position he plays in the minors. More starts at first base could indicate the Rangers would consider benching Prince Fielder or Mitch Moreland.
5. SP Alex Reyes, St. Louis Cardinals.
He recently finished serving a 50-game suspension for a failed drug test and has made two starts for Class AAA Memphis, allowing one run in nine innings.
Reyes, 21, dominated in the minors in 2015, striking out more than 13 batters per nine innings at the high Class A and Class AA levels. His fastball can touch 100 mph, and he has two above-average breaking pitches.
The only things holding him back are a lack of innings and no opening in the Cardinals’ rotation. Both could change by the All-Star break.
6. SP Julio Urias, Los Angeles Dodgers.
A likely innings cap is all that keeps him from being closer to the top of this list. The bullpen is his most likely destination, with a possible spot start here and there.
7. SP Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays.
USA TODAY’s 2015 Minor League Player of the Year made one start for Tampa Bay in April, allowing one run and two hits in five innings, and was sent back down.
He’s racking up strikeouts (12.2 K/9) with Class AAA Durham (N.C.) but is having command issues, averaging more than four walks per nine innings. The Rays are set in their rotation, so they can afford to be patient.
8. SS Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee Brewers.
If it weren’t for the fine job Jonathan Villar is doing in Milwaukee, there might be more buzz about Arcia being promoted. But the Brewers won’t rush the 21-year-old.
He’s hitting .293 for Class AAA Colorado Springs with four homers, 23 RBI and 29 runs scored. His stolen-base record is a bit disappointing (eight in 12 attempts), so don’t expect a call-up as long as Villar is producing.
9. SS Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox.
Anderson could be an exciting alternative to Jimmy Rollins or Tyler Saladino later this season. He stole 49 bases last year in Class AA and is hitting .305 with 10 steals for Class AAA Charlotte.
10. SP Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins.
Have fantasy owners already given up on the 22-year-old after four lousy MLB starts? Yes, his ERA was 10.20 and he walked 12 batters in 15 innings, but how much would the perception have changed if he had stayed in the minors?
In five minor league seasons, he has a 2.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 3.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That bumpy road at the start of his major league career makes it easy to forget he’s an elite prospect.
Don’t forget, there’s another prospect in the minors who could be called up and be an everyday player immediately. He plays a premium defensive position and plays it very well. He has great speed (55 stolen bases in 2013), but scouts think he will hit for power as he gets older. Like Berrios, he’s 22, and, except when he has been sidelined by a few fluky injuries, he has dominated every minor league level.
Yes, Byron Buxton remains a prospect.
But playing major league baseball isn’t easy.
