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Rookies and prospects who have recently been called up to the Major Leagues. Andrew Ericksen evaluates the most relevant rookies for Week 9 of the 2020 fantasy baseball season.
If you’re looking for a newcomer to boost your rotation or lineup down the stretch, there could be a few recent call-ups worth considering. As for dynasty owners, whether you’re competing down the stretch or building for next year, there will certainly be several names to keep on your radar through the season’s final stretch.
This past week wasn’t the most eventful one for prospect call-ups, especially with the insane rate that we’ve seen rookies debut throughout this shortened season.
Still, here are four rookies who crashed onto the MLB scene this past week with a quick look at how relevant they are for both redraft and dynasty leagues.
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Dean Kremer (SP, BAL)
Last weekend, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer became the first Israeli player to pitch in the major leagues. But that wasn’t the only reason he made headlines. Kremer pitched a gem against the New York Yankees, going six innings and allowing just one hit, three walks and one earned run while striking out seven.
Kremer led with his mid-90s four-seamer against the Yankees, throwing it 39.8% of the time. The pitch earned a put-away percentage of 44.4%. He also saw success from his secondary pitches. He supported the four-seamer with a curveball that he threw 35.2% of the time and he also mixed in a cutter (13.6%) and sinker (11.4%). The cutter and sinker were extremely effective, each inducing a whiff rate of 50%.
Kremer spent the 2019 season pitching through various levels of the minor leagues, including Triple-A, and produced solid results. Over 21 starts and 113.2 innings in the minors last year, he posted a 3.72 ERA and 1.302 WHIP while averaging 9.7 K/9.
Kremer is a bit of a gamble in redraft leagues. His next two starts are lined up for a rematch with the Yankees on Saturday followed by a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, September 17. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him struggle in both. However, dynasty owners should certainly take an interest in Kremer. As long as he can have adequate showings in his remaining outings this year, he should be a shoo-in for the Orioles rotation next year.
Brent Rooker (OF, MIN)
Minnesota Twins outfielder Brent Rooker has gotten off to a strong start to his major league career. Over his first 19 plate appearances, Rooker posted a slash line of .278/.316/.500 with a home run, a double and five RBI. He registered an impressive barrel rate of 15% with a similarly impressive hard-hit rate of 53.8% over that stretch.
The Twins called up Rooker after placing Max Kepler (adductor) on the Injured List with a left adductor strain. Since the call-up, the Twins have certainly made an attempt to get Rooker regular playing time, even slotting him into the heart of the order somewhat often.
Rooker showed some promising power potential in the minors. He hit 22 home runs over 130 games at Double-A in 2018. The following year, which he spent primarily at Triple-A, he posted an OPS of .928 with 14 home runs in just 67 games.
Rooker is a great add in dynasty leagues. He could find himself becoming a regular in the vaunted Twins lineup by next season. As for this year, he might not offer too much help for the final stretch. Kepler seems on pace to return as soon as this weekend and that would result in either Rooker getting sent back to the team’s alternate site or just a big decrease in playing time.
Daz Cameron (OF, DET)
Detroit Tigers outfielder Daz Cameron, who is the son of longtime MLB outfielder Mike Cameron, made his MLB debut this past Wednesday, going 0-for-3 in the team’s 19-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Cameron went on to start in both games of the team’s doubleheader the following day as well, but again failed to get a hit, going 0-for-6. He did reach base on a walk in Game 1 though.
Cameron has been a standout base stealer in the minors. He swiped 32 bases back in 2017, then another 41 bases over the next two years. He’s also shown some power potential with a total of 35 home runs over the past three years in the minors. He certainly has a shot to become a future 20/20 guy in the big leagues.
The biggest questions for Cameron are his plate discipline and contact abilities. Last year over 120 games at Triple-A, he hit just .214 and struck out 152 times. Those are two pretty big red flags for someone who is going to need to get on base consistently in the majors to provide sufficient fantasy value.
Cameron should get semi-regular playing time the rest of the way this year for the Tigers so the organization can get an extended look at him. He’s not relevant in redraft leagues at this point unless we see him start to get hot and maybe rise in the Tigers batting order. In dynasty leagues, if he shows some promising trends at the plate, he could be worth a roster spot as a base-stealing asset going into the future.
Clarke Schmidt (SP/RP, NYY)
New York Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt made his MLB debut in relief last weekend and it was certainly an eventful outing. Schmidt entered in the fifth inning of Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday and went on to allow three hits, a walk and two earned runs over 1 1/3 innings. He returned to the mound three days later and pitched a clean eighth inning with two strikeouts, but he also gave up two walks.
Schmidt was used almost exclusively as a starter in the minor leagues the past two years. Last year, over 18 starts and 90.2 innings across multiple levels, he posted a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP while averaging 10.1 K/9.
Even though his first two big league outings were less than desirable, Schmidt still showed a few promising signs. He registered a hard-hit rate of just 28.6% in the two appearances and generated a solid strikeout rate of 21.4%.
Schmidt should get a chance to be a starter in the big leagues at some point in the near future, but that won’t necessarily be this year. He’d likely need one of the team’s current starters to get hurt or for J.A. Happ or Jordan Montgomery to implode over their next few starts – which is certainly on the table.
For now, Schmidt should remain on waivers in all redraft leagues, but be ready to jump on him if there’s any news of an opening in the Yankees rotation. In dynasty leagues, Schmidt is a solid stash. Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton are both unrestricted free agents after this year. That leaves the team with only Gerrit Cole and Deivi Garcia as likely starters going into 2021. Schmidt could find himself in a Spring 2021 battle for a rotation spot and if he earns a spot, he could be a good sleeper going into next year.
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