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This is the special trade deadline edition of a newly formatted Minor League Spotlight. In this new version of the articles, I will give three prospect profiles and where their potential fantasy value is for fantasy owners. I am also going to divide up the articles by pitchers and hitters so I can go more in depth with each prospect.
Since the trade deadline has just recently passed, I thought that it would be best to cover some of the pitching prospects dealt. The only qualifications for a prospect to be on either this pitchers-only list or the hitters-only list is that they had to have been dealt at the trade deadline.
Editor's Note: For more fantasy prospects coverage, check out RotoBaller's weekly top 30 prospect rankings.
John Lamb (SP, CIN, Triple-A)
Stats: 99.1 IP, 2.81 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 9.42 K/9, 2.90 BB/9, 0.63 HR/9
The Kansas City Royals needed a front line starting pitcher, and they certainly acquired one in Johnny Cueto. In order to add such a coveted arm, they only needed to depart with former no. two overall Royals prospect Brandon Finnegan (according to Baseball America), Cody Reed, and John Lamb. Lamb was once considered to be one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in all of baseball. He was the no. 42 overall prospect (according to MLB.com) in 2011 and appeared to have a very bright future as a top two starting pitcher. Then Lamb had Tommy John surgery and took until 2015 to recover.
Lamb has shown flashes of his old dominant fastball as it can occasionally reach the mid-90s, but typically hovers around the upper-80s and low-90s now. In 2011, his changeup was considered to be a future plus pitch, but is no longer looking like an elite pitch. His curveball was never very good, and it has not improved much either. Lamb did add a cutter to his repertoire that now looks like it could be a plus pitch to go along with his fastball.
He is starting to put everything together, and it looks like he could be a major league contributor in 2015. No longer considered a top pitching prospect, Lamb now projects to be a back end of the rotation type starter. If Lamb is called up and is able to repeat his Triple-A numbers in the majors, he could be a nice add for teams in need of some rotation help.
Sean Manaea (SP, OAK, Double-A)
Stats: 31.2 IP, 3.69 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 11.08 K/9, 3.13 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9
The inclusion of Sean Manaea in the deal for Ben Zobrist really shocked me. Not to say that Zobrist isn’t a good player, but Manaea was listed as the no. two pitching prospect (no. 3 overall) in the Royals system and was not used as a headline trade piece in a deal for a top starting pitcher or big bat. This season he has looked about as sharp as he was last season when he threw 121.2 IP for High A ball with a 3.11 ERA and 3.11 FIP. He had missed much of this season as a result of abdominal and groin strains.
Among left-handed starting pitching prospects, Manaea has one of the top fastballs. His heater is by far his best pitch as he is able to ramp it up in the mid-90s consistently. Manaea’s 6’5” frame allows him to get good extension in his pitching motion which adds some extra life to it. His extended pitching motion does get him into trouble with base runners as it is very slow to the plate (about 1.4 seconds to home) and base stealers take advantage of it (24/29 in stolen base attempts in 2014). His slider has started to appear like a plus pitch while his changeup has shown the potential to be a great pitch, but has yet to be anything more than an average lefty changeup.
At 23-years-old, Manaea could see his first stint of Major League action in the Athletics rotation as soon as the spring of 2016. It is unlikely that Manaea will have any fantasy value this year, but if he impresses, he could move up to the majors quickly. Scouts peg him as a potential middle of the rotation type starter as he has one plus pitch and a couple others that need improving while also possessing the control to be better than a back end of the rotation guy.
Keury Mella (SP, CIN, High-A)
Stats: 81.2 IP, 3.31 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 9.15 K/9, 2.87 BB/9, 0.55 HR/9
The San Francisco Giants decided that improving their rotation was so important for 2015, that they could deal their top prospect (according to MLB.com) to acquire Mike Leake from the Reds. Keury Mella was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011 at the age of 17. Now 21, Mella is at High-A ball and has pitched quite effectively at every level.
Mella features a repertoire of a nice fastball that lives in the mid-90s with the ability to speed it up as fast as 97 mph. He also throws an above-average curveball that sits about 78-80 mph and a changeup that could eventually be a plus pitch as well though he needs to improve it the most. As a result of his violent delivery, some scouts see Mella as a future reliever though he possesses a ceiling of a three starter.
Mella’s biggest issue throughout the minors has been his inability to go deep into games. Part of that is a result of a limited pitch count, but even this year where he has been given a chance to pitch as deep into games as he can, he still has only averaged 5.1 IP/GS. Keury Mella will likely not be in the majors until 2017 unless he can fly through the minors.
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