I'll begin by patting myself on the back for last week's column. Nobody else was writing about Jeimer Candelario last week - at least not until the Cubs announced his promotion to the majors. How's that for a timely report? Ok, fine. I didn't exactly hit the nail on the head. After praising Candelario for 200 words, here's my failed take away.

Candelario may be a September call up this season. At this point, I'm looking at him purely as a 2017 asset.

Not exactly spot on...

In other major league news, Chad Green returned to the big leagues on Sunday and fired a six-inning win. He struck out eight and allowed one solo home run. Francisco Mejia's promotion to High-A has done nothing to stop his hit streak. He's up to 32 games. Alex Bregman is batting .538/.600/.923 with a home run and two doubles through his first three Triple-A games.

The other player highlighted, Austin Hedges, lost his five game homer streak last Monday. So on Tuesday he popped two homers followed by two more on Friday and another one on Sunday. He has 12 home runs over his last 15 games. The PCL is hitter friendly, but this is absurd.

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Dynasty Advice for Week 14

Raul Mondesi - Kansas City Royals

Mondesi is back in action after serving a bogus PED suspension for using a cough medicine. He was able to prove he had a cold, so MLB reduced the sentence from 80 to 50 games. While it's good to have a consistently enforced drug policy, there should perhaps be a little more flexibility to the penalties. This one was right up there with the ludicrous 50-game suspensions for marijuana use.

Prior to the suspension, Mondesi was in the midst of a breakout season. The switch-hitter's power output increased over 50 percent while he maintained his excellent stolen base numbers. Assuming he can recover the uptick in power, Mondesi now projects to hit 10-20 home runs and steal 20 bases once he reaches the majors.

I'm reminded of a better Tim Anderson with more consistent power and less raw speed. The Royals are known for their willingness to steal which could help Mondesi's fantasy production. Of course, Kauffman Stadium hurts the home run projections, but he'll visit enough hitter friendly parks to provide some pop. Strikeouts are likely to be a problem with a 30 percent strikeout rate possible.

Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs

Yesterday, I joked on Twitter that Theo Epstein is winning his fantasy MLB dynasty league. That was in reference to the average age of the Cubs starting like - under 24 years old. They're going to stay young and fantastic - at least on the position player side of the equation thanks to even more reinforcements like Happ.

The soon-to-be 22-year-old was the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft. While names like Bregman, Dansby Swanson, and Andrew Benintendi are expected to reach the majors this season, Happ isn't too far behind them. He was promoted to Double-A in late June after hitting .296/.410/.475 with seven home runs and 10 steals in High-A. If there was one flaw, it was his 23.5 percent strikeout rate (16.4 percent walk rate).

The early returns at Double-A are promising. He's responded to the uptick in pitcher quality with more aggression. Although his walk rate has halved, his strikeout rate has declined to just 14.3 percent. It's still too early to read into these numbers - he has just 35 plate appearances at his new home. He's hitting .484/.514/.742 (.520 BABIP) with a couple home runs and stolen bases.

The scouting report on his skills at second base is far from glowing. He may fit better in the outfield. It's possible he could stick at center field, and he probably has enough bat for a corner outfield role. For now, the Cubs will allow his bat to carry him through the minors until it's time to seriously consider a promotion to the majors.

 

Rapid Fire

Kevin Maitan - Atlanta Braves

The Braves inked the top 16-year-old in the world a couple days ago. Maitan is a shortstop prospect who is expected to stick at the position. The switch-hitter is considered the best Venezuelan prospect since Miguel Cabrera according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. He's described as being a future high average hitter with plus power. He's a good three to six years from the majors, but he has the chance to be a generational talent.

Michael Taylor - Washington Nationals

The Nationals demoted Taylor yesterday. The toolsy outfielder has serious swing-and-miss problems. Usually, the answer is to be more aggressive, but he's already maxed out in this regard. He's a card carrying lefty-masher which assures he'll be back on the big league roster before long. Many analysts assume he'll be one of their top trade assets at the deadline. Considering his overall profile, I doubt many teams can squeeze more value out of him than Washington.

Edubray Ramos - Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies are already talking about Ramos as a future closer with manager Pete Mackanin saying he has the stuff and demeanor for the role. Considering the club's current closer is middle reliever Jeanmar Gomez, somebody new will get the job within the next 15 months.

Ramos steamrolled the competition in Double- and Triple-A before reaching the majors in late June. He's posted over a strikeout per inning with a low walk rate. His repertoire consists of a 95 mph fastball and a quality slider. I see him as a setup quality guy, but he should be more consistently good than Hector Neris.

Aaron Wilkerson - Boston Red Sox

Wilkerson was expected to start last Sunday for the Sox, but they decided to go with Sean O'Sullivan. I assume Wilkerson is on the short list for the next rotation vacancy. It's only a matter of time before he gets the call.

The 27-year-old was signed out of independent ball during his age 25 season. Since then, he's done nothing but pitch. After chewing through Double-A (1.83 ERA in 44.1 innings), Wilkerson was promoted to Triple-A where he's posted a 2.44 ERA with 10.13 K/9 and 2.06 BB/9 in 48 innings. His stuff looks to be Quad-A quality, but sometimes these sorts can make it work in the majors.

Josh Hader - Milwaukee Brewers

Hader was one of the big pieces in the Carlos Gomez trade. He has plus stuff with shaky to average command. Like the other pitchers featured this week, Hader handled Double-A although he's hit a modest speed bump at Triple-A. Through four starts (20 innings), he has a 4.50 ERA with 11.70 K/9 and 4.95 BB/9. Hader promises a high strikeout rate when he debuts later this season. He's one of the most likely pitching prospects to contribute immediately - many require an adjustment period.

 

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