So there have not been a lot of major promotions made this past week, but the next week and a half should see some serious roster shake-ups. With the trade deadline looming ahead, it seems that it is only a matter of time until some top prospects find their way into starting roles.

One guy in particular I recommend keeping an eye on is now Seattle Mariners’ first base prospect Dan Vogelbach. He has been crushing Triple-A and could now be close to reaching the majors with his new team in need of some help at first base, where Adam Lind has just not been cutting it.

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Hitters

Ryon Healy (3B, OAK) - 2% owned
We are going to start off with the guy with the most fantasy potential of the hitters (certainly not among all the players as a couple of pitchers have some more upside), Ryon Healy. The A’s corner infielder has done nothing but hit in his MiLB career. This season, he has hit 14 home runs with a .326/.382/.558 slash line in 374 plate appearances. Now playing for a struggling Oakland Athletics team, he should be expected to have plenty of playing time.

And that is a great thing for fantasy owners. Scouts have loved his bat with many arguing that though he had doubles power, he would eventually grow into someone with home run pop. He has already started to show some home run pop as evidenced by his 15 total dingers (one in the big leagues). Unlike many power hitters, he has never had much of an issue with strikeouts and has proven himself capable of hitting for a high average. Fantasy owners should not necessarily be flocking at the opportunity of owning him, but he is a solid stash for guys in need of some help at the corner infield spot. If he continues to prove that his early season home run surge was no joke, he could be worth owning in 12+ team leagues. But without jaw-dropping pop, his upside is probably limited to a 12+ team league guy. 10 team leagues will never have any need for him unless serious roster mistakes have been made.

Erik Gonzalez (SS, CLE) - 0% owned
So the Indians promoted Erik Gonzalez. I’m not really sure why, but they did. So far in his time with Cleveland, he has filled in as a defensive replacement, a pinch-hitter and started one game in right field. Prior to his call-up, Gonzalez had slashed .296/.328/.420 with six home runs, nine stolen bases, a 17.5% strikeout rate and a 4.2% walk rate for Triple-A Columbus.

Fantasy owners, don’t get too excited. Though he is ranked as the 11th best Indians’ prospect by MLB.com, that is mostly for his defensive ability and not for his bat. He figures to be at best a defensive replacement (I don’t know where given defensive wizard Francisco Lindor at shortstop and Jason Kipnis who is above-average defensively) or possible bat off the bench. Even if he did find a way to start a game or two, he has only average speed, below-average power and a below-average bat overall. Maybe incredibly deep dynasty owners will give him a look, but it will not be on my personal recommendation. He is not worth owning in any format.

Matt Duffy (1B/3B, HOU) - 0% owned
Not to be mistaken with the third baseman for the San Francisco Giants, Astros’ third baseman Matt Duffy has shown a lot of promise throughout his Minor League career. He has hit over 15 home runs in four seasons and unlike most power hitters, has never shown much of a problem with strikeouts. His last season at Triple-A: 557 PA, .294/.366/.484 with 20 HR, four stolen bases, 8.6% walk rate and 16.2% strikeout rate. He looked ready for the big leagues. But this season, his Triple-A numbers have told a different story. In 297 plate appearances, he only has six home runs and one stolen base while slashing .226/.303/.350 with an 8.1% walk rate and alarming 31.6% strikeout rate. And yet, he has reached the big leagues.

But I don’t know if you all know this, the Astros have another third base prospect by the name of Alex Bregman who is doing pretty good at Triple-A. They also recently signed another third baseman, Yulieski Gurriel, who is also supposed to be pretty good. The point is that Duffy has some pretty stiff competition and is really limited to only the two corner infield spots. Even if he did inherit a starting role, his struggles this season should warrant some serious skepticism to whether or not he would be worth owning. It is unlikely he will be anything more than a bench bat for the Astros and is not worth owning in any leagues.

Kyle Waldrop (OF, CIN) - 0% owned
Waldrop was recently promoted back up to the majors after starting pitcher John Lamb was demoted following his struggles in the majors. The 24-year-old outfielder has posted some pedestrian numbers at Triple-A as he has only slashed .269/.316/.412 with five home runs, four stolen bases, a 5.6% BB rate and 19.7% strikeout rate. But scouts have always believed that he has some raw power and could turn his career around and prove that his 20/20 season back in 2013 at High-A was no fluke. Now up in the majors again, he will try to prove the scouts right. And with Jay Bruce’s name constantly swirling around in trade rumors, one has to wonder who will take over right field when he is traded away.

But it will probably not be Waldrop who starts. Maybe the Reds will turn to Scott Schebler; maybe they will start Jesse Winker; maybe they will plug Jose Peraza out there. Unfortunately for Waldrop, years of struggles in the minors have started to wear down that shine that he once had and he no longer appears to be starting material. He may get a chance to make a spot start here and there in the outfield, but don’t expect him to start at any point this season. He will not be worth owning this season.

Omar Narvaez (C, CWS) - 0% owned
Narvaez is a catcher in a season where production out of the catching position is way down. Outside of that, there is not too much to love. He has never hit more than two home runs in a single season and has not hit over .250 at any level above High-A ball. If you are truly desperate for a catcher, please please please look for a better option before turning to Narvaez. He was promoted in the past week to the majors, but there is no real reason to spend too much time discussing a glove-first catcher. He should be ignored in all fantasy leagues.

 

Pitchers

Reynaldo Lopez (SP, WAS) - 4% owned
The Nationals promoted one of their top pitching prospects, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez to start against the Dodgers in what I believed to be quite a surprising decision. While he certainly has earned a look with how he has pitched in the minors (particularly Double-A), I would’ve thought Lucas Giolito or Austin Voth would’ve been given the start. But anyhow, Lopez started against L.A. and delivered a mixed bag of results. Though he struck out nine batters and walked only one batter across 4.2 innings, he did give up ten hits (one long ball) and six runs in that time. Now he was optioned to the minors, but he could be back later this season.

The only thing concerning about Lopez’s chances of returning for fantasy owners is that he will return as a reliever or spot starter at best. Due to his smaller size, blazing fastball with poor secondary stuff and history of command issues, Lopez profiles much better as an ace reliever, possible future closer as opposed to a starter. Not even looking at the long run, Lopez figures to be the third or fourth best option for the Nationals if they need to fill in a starting rotation spot for a while with the team already having shown they will turn to top prospect Lucas Giolito. Even if he does return, he is not worth owning in anything but the deepest of dynasty leagues.

Zack Godley (SP, ARI) - 2% owned
One of the more underrated starters on this list, Godley has actually been very solid to this point in his limited big league experience. Compiling his career stats which include his numbers from this season and last in the majors, he has pitched in 16 games (nine starts) with 57 innings. In those 57 innings, he has a 3.95 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 8.05 K/9, 3.95 BB/9 and 1.11 HR/9. And considering that he had a 10.47 K/9 at Triple-A before his most recent promotion to the majors, Godley can be counted on to start striking out more batters soon.

Godley is not going to be an ace, but give him a few more outings to see if he racks up the strikeouts and he could be a solid own in deeper leagues. He struck out seven batters across five innings in his last outing (against Toronto no less) and could start to punch out more batters in the future. He could be worth an add in deeper leagues, possibly as shallow as 12 or 14 team leagues if he improves.

Carson Fulmer (SP, CWS) - 2% owned
The best prospect promoted over the past week, Fulmer was brought up straight from Double-A in a shocking move to shore up the bullpen. Fulmer had been in the midst of a less than stellar campaign at Double-A in which he owned a 4.76 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 87.0 innings of work. His 9.31 K/9 and 0.72 HR/9 rates were not bad, but his 5.28 BB/9 shows he still has some room for improvement. So far in the big leagues, he has looked solid, delivering 2.2 scoreless innings of relief while allowing only one hit, walking none and striking out three.

The 33rd best prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, Fulmer has been a highly regarded prospect since he was taken eighth overall in the 2015 draft. He has a fastball that sits in the mid-upper-90s with a low-80s power curveball. Scouts believe that while Fulmer’s changeup is not nearly as good as the other two offerings, it is considered to be an above-average pitch with the possibility of it ranking as a well above-average offering.

Long term, there are some concerns that Fulmer will not be able to remain as a starter as scouts point to his smaller stature and shaky command as evidence for why his stuff plays better in shorter stints. There is a general belief that his stuff will not be as dominant late in games. But for now, the White Sox are using him as a reliever with the plan to eventually have him as a starter. In the bullpen, Fulmer has little to no value for fantasy owners, but if at any point he shifts to the rotation, his electric stuff makes him worth a look in deeper leagues.

Koda Glover (RP, WAS) - 0% owned
We have started to scrape the bottom of the barrel of guys promoted in the past week so now we get to the two relievers. First, Koda Glover. Glover did have an 11.69 K/9 and 2.82 BB/9 at Double-A this season, but did not replicate that success in Triple-A where he only struck out 5.40 batters per nine across 13.1 innings. But that should not be too concerning as that is a relatively small sample size and scouts do like his stuff. He has an upper-90s fastball and one of the best power sliders in the minors, but lacks any other quality offerings beyond that.

Long term, Glover has the potential to be a closer. With his power stuff and promising demeanor, he is almost the prototypical power reliever. He does have some value in dynasty leagues if you envision him as a closer in the future, but a position as shaky and constantly changing as that should never be counted on in advance unless you have a once in a generational relief talent like a Craig Kimbrel or Kenley Jansen. He should be ignored in most fantasy formats for now.

Joseph Colon (RP, CLE) - 0% owned
Another reliever, Colon has been in the Indians’ Minor League system for a long time, eight years to be exact and has finally received an opportunity to pitch at the big league level. He spent his first six seasons as a starter, but since 2015 has pitched only as a reliever and it has seemed to be beneficial for him. He has seen an uptick in strikeouts since the change and has consistently been able to keep his ERA below 3.50.

Unfortunately for fantasy owners, there is nothing here to be super excited about. He is a solid middle reliever who can certainly help out Cleveland, but he has never been viewed as a guy likely to be a ninth inning guy. Unlike some of the other guys on this list, he has no chance of eventually transitioning back to a starting role and is unlikely to see anything besides the occasional save chance in his career. He can be ignored in all fantasy formats.

 

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