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Jarod analyzes three top fantasy baseball prospects - Chase DeLauter, Owen Caissie, Agustin Ramirez - who could make big impacts this season. These MLB prospects are potential waiver wire pick-ups or stashes.
We're closing in on the final weeks of the fantasy baseball season and there are still some players in the minors who could help out for fantasy purposes were they to get the call tomorrow.
Even if they do not get the call this season, these prospects could have big impacts next season, so redraft and dynasty managers alike should know their names.
Prospects are an untapped resource when it comes to fantasy production, and after months of scouring the waiver wire, sometimes, they are all that is left that can truly help your team. Let's see who some of these players are.
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Chase DeLauter - OF, Cleveland Guardians
Current Level: Triple-A Columbus
Availability: 3% rostered
2024 AA stats: 30 G, .252/.328/.441, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 18 R, 1 SB
Chase DeLauter has dealt with injuries the last couple of seasons that have delayed his development a bit, but now healthy, he is knocking on the door to the majors, having been promoted to Triple-A a week ago.
DeLauter broke his foot while playing college ball at James Madison and needed surgery again in January of 2023 that sidelined him until June of that season. He performed well, slashing .355/.417/.528 with five homers in 57 games.
Needing some extra at-bats, the former first-rounder was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .299, belted five home runs, and led the circuit with 27 RBI in 23 games played.
After putting up some awesome numbers during spring training (.520 BA, 1.640 OPS, 4 HR, 5:4 BB:K), it seemed it wouldn't be long until we saw him in Cleveland, however, a reaggravation of the foot injury put his season on hold for almost three months.
The 22-year-old belted a pair of doubles in his first game back at Double-A in late July, then went on a nine-game hit streak where he went 13-for-33 (.394) with four home runs that was a catalyst for a promotion to Triple-A.
1st Triple-A HR!#Guardians 22yr old OF prospect Chase DeLauter crushes a 384 foot solo HR in the 7th inning tonight for Columbus 103.0 mph off the bat for his 1st HR at the Triple-A level!
That's now 5 HR's in his last 10 games for DeLauter!#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/n9OrpF5ajj
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 24, 2024
MLB's No. 42 prospect has already recorded his first Triple-A home run and has a 2:1 BB:K in a limited three-game sample, so a little more of that and the Guardians may want to see how he fares against major league pitching.
It may not be wise to throw a prospect into the fire in the midst of a hunt for the division crown, but DeLauter offers more upside than the likes of Will Brennan, Tyler Freeman, et al.
Either way, DeLauter is a name that is ready to shine for the Guardians, whether it be this season or next. He brings tremendous power to the table and should be a fantasy mainstay for years to come so long as the foot injury is behind him for good.
Owen Caissie - OF, Chicago Cubs
Current Level: Triple-A Iowa
Availability: 1% rostered
2024 AAA stats: 104 G, .262/.364/.433, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 50 R, 9 SB
Owen Caissie put his tools on display last season at Double-A, slashing .289/.398/.519 with 22 home runs in 120 games as a 20-year-old, prompting the Cubs to start him at Triple-A in 2024.
The Cubs' third-ranked prospect (MLB No. 36) hit well through the end of May, batting .292 with three home runs, but turned on the power in June, blasting five homers and racking up 21 RBI.
The former second-round pick missed a couple of weeks in July with lower back tightness and has yet to regain form in August, slashing just .188/.293/.359 for the month.
#FantasyBaseball#YouHaveToSeeIt Owen Caissie has a ton of upside! In AAA:
.273 / 13 HR / 55 RBI / 7 SB
27.9 K%😅and 12.5 BB%✅Don’t be surprised when he is promoted when rosters expand!
pic.twitter.com/gef5dxMLlj— Andrew DeCeglie (@Andrew_FBB) August 16, 2024
As such, it doesn't seem like a promotion to the big league club is imminent. Still, other than the obvious power, Caissie has shown another important sign of improvement in 2024, and that is his strikeout rate.
The left-handed hitter posted a 31.1%K during his time at Double-A in 2023 but has been able to reduce that to 28.8% at Triple-A despite facing a tougher level of pitching this season. He's also posted a strong 13.3% walk rate which should translate to the big leagues.
Per MLB.com's scouting report, Caissie offers 35-40 home run potential, and if he gets a chance to show that off at the big league level, fantasy managers should be ready to pounce.
Agustin Ramirez - C, Miami Marlins
Level: Triple-A Jacksonville
Availability: 1% rostered
2024 AAA stats: 106 G, .264/.353/.488, 22 HR, 79 RBI, 70 R, 20 SB
Agustin Ramirez came to the Marlins organization by way of the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade and immediately made his presence felt, going 12-for-37 (.324) with four doubles, a pair of home runs, and a couple stolen bases during his first 10 games.
Since then, the 22-year-old's bat has gone cold, going 5-for-34 (.147) with zero extra-base hits and zero stolen bases over his last nine, so he's not exactly pounding on the MLB door at the moment.
Still, Miami's fourth-ranked prospect has posted a solid season overall, slashing .264/.353/.488 with 22 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 106 games.
Agustin Ramirez has found another gear.
He’s one of our 10 Statcast Standouts today.
With @JaxShrimp, he’s showing
- Above-average raw power
- Above-average contact
- Good swing decisions— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) August 19, 2024
The Dominican hit 18 long balls last season in the Yankees organization over 114 games, and sometimes power hitters will strikeout a lot, however, Ramirez has a lower-than-average K% at 18.2% on the season and has an above-average BB% of 10.7%.
Although he is clearly a capable base stealer, that may not be a big part of his MLB game when he gets there; however, all of this shows a well-rounded bat that will be able to have an impact when his name is called.
Miami is running out Nick Fortes and Ali Sanchez at catcher at the moment, neither of which has done much on offense, and while being a catcher requires strong defense as well, with the Marlins going nowhere they may give him his first taste of major league pitching.
Then again, while Ramirez may not be a good defender according to scouts, he could also get some at-bats at first base or DH, which is where they see him ending up anyway.
That could prove useful for fantasy as well, as multi-positional eligibility would make him more appealing, although he's currently only eligible at catcher in Yahoo leagues.
Managers could benefit from multi-category production as well, so be on the lookout for a summoning to the Show and be ready to scoop him up.
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