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Eric Samulski identifies MLB prospects and impact players to be called up. His fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and rookies to watch for Week 7.
We had a relatively successful run against last week. Between the article going live and today, two of the four priority pick-ups I mentioned are already in the Majors and one of the guys on the Watch List (Yairo Munoz) also got the call. With the trade deadline just passing, it's possible that we'll see a few more of these names brought up, but I think the rapid pace of the call-ups may have died down.
I'll still discuss players on a team's Taxi Squad or Alternate Site Camp who are worth keeping an eye on or stashing in hopes of reaping fantasy goodness. I'll list league sizes where the player could be relevant and give you information on the situation so that you can make the most educated decision possible.
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Overview
As a point of clarification: Taxi Squad and Alternate Site Camp are two different things. When teams go on the road, they are able to bring three players who are not on the active roster, in case of an emergency. This is the Taxi Squad. These players cannot appear in games unless there is a corresponding transaction but are clearly those that are the closest to being "called-up," so it's important to keep an eye on those.
The Alternate Site Camp is where all other players in the 60-man pool are and could be seen as this year's "Minor Leagues." They will scrimmage each other and get instruction, but only some of them are potential call-ups this year while others are top prospects who are simply there to get work in. Teams can also add players to their 60-man pool or release them from it, so these will also be fluid.
Now that we've covered that, let's look at some guys who should be on your Pick-Up and Watch List radars. Remember that these are players who are NOT on the active roster, so there will be few pick-ups each week since it's rare you would want to grab a lot of guys who aren't active in a season where every game played counts.
Priority Pickups
These are players I believe you should put in claims for now (depending on your league size) based on their proximity to playing time.
Isan Diaz, 2B, Miami Marlins
12-team leagues
So this one is a little bit of a cheat since Diaz isn't technically at the Alternate Site yet, but it was just announced on Tuesday that he would be opting to re-join the Marlins for the stretch run. All of the back and forth aside, Diaz could easily re-take the starting 2B job that he left when he opted out a few weeks back. The left-handed hitter struggled in his call-up last year, hitting .173/.259/.307 with 5 HR, 23 RBI, and 17 Runs across 49 games, but there is more potential in his bat. Before his promotion, Diaz hit .305 with 26 HR and 5 SB in AA. He also registered an 11.3 BB% after compiling a 10.5 BB% across two levels in 208. The solid plate discipline and pop make him an intriguing option for the closing weeks because of how pesky the Marlins' lineup has become. Jon Berti can go back to his super-utility role, and Diaz could join a lineup with Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte, Jesus Aguilar, and Brian Anderson. Depending on where he hits in the order, that should give him the ability to notch some runs or RBIs for your squad.
MacKenzie Gore, SP, San Diego Padres
12-teams with deep benches or 15-team leagues
Another week, and another time that I'm suggesting you stash MacKenzie Gore; however, the key here is that I no longer think Gore will be viable in all 12-team leagues. The Padres loaded up on their bullpen at the trade deadline, so I imagine that if/when Gore comes up, he won't be stretched out more than five innings unless he's really cruising. The 21-year-old Gore, struggled slightly in 21.2 innings of AA last year but still had a 10.38 K/9 on the back of plus command and great spin rates on his secondary pitches. Expectations should be tempered at his age in his first taste of the big leagues, but you'll definitely want a piece of him.
Watch List
These are players who I don't believe warrant an immediate add but are guys who should be on your radar for a call-up in the near future. If you're in a really deep league, perhaps some of these guys could act as a bench stash, depending on the size of your roster and health of your team.
Connor Seabold, SP, Boston Red Sox
As I mentioned last week, I think Seabold will get a shot with the Red Sox this year. They did just throw Mike Kickham for three innings against the Braves, so at some point you need to give a more legitimate prospect a chance, especially an older one. Seabold has thrown almost 100 combined innings at AA between 2018 and 2019, which should be enough to warrant a cup of coffee to see how he can handle MLB talent. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball but features a solid curveball and change-up and knows how to mix pitches to keep hitters off-balance. That development of his change-up has been crucial to establishing him as a potential fit in the rotation instead of a bullpen arm. He's never going to rack up massive strikeout totals, but he should keep the walks to a minimum, induce soft contact, and get some wins with a solid offense behind him. That would be worth taking a flyer on in deep leagues.
Jarren Duran, OF, Boston Red Sox
SWING CHANGE ALERT! After struggling with high fastballs last year, Duran altered his swing to be able to elevate his hands above the ball. It appears to be working.
Duran is an elite speed outfielder so any added pop to his game would take him from a potential fourth outfielder to a true everyday player. With Andrew Benintendi out and Kevin Pillar now in Colorado, the Red Sox don't have much in the way of outfield depth behind Alex Verdugo and Jackie Bradley Jr. Sure, they can play Jose Peraza, Michael Chavis, and Yairo Munoz there, but why not see what Duran can give them? If he does get the call, he could be valuable for his speed alone.
Sam Delaplane, RP, Seattle Mariners
The Mariners just traded basically their entire bullpen. Taylor Williams, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Adams are all gone, which leaves only Yoshihisa Hirano at the back-end of the bullpen. That could open the door for Delaplane, who looks like the team's closer of the future. The 25-year-old rode his elite slider to dominant numbers in High-A and AA. His FIP was an identical 1.99 at each level while he had a K% of 48.4% in high-A and 43.3% in AA, numbers that led the minor leagues. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but he can spot it well and knows how to pair it with that deadly slider, so the combination could make him a solid closer option for fantasy teams for the final couple weeks of the season.
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Chicago White Sox
It may seem crazy that a hitter who was drafted last year could make the major leagues this season but that's how pro-ready Vaughn's bat was. He's not a gifted athlete, but he's a patient, strong, and smart hitter. He makes a tremendous amount of contact and has plus power already. In a season with an expanded playoff format and a few of the AL favorites showing cracks in the armor, the White Sox have every incentive to push to compete this season. That may mean moving on from Edwin Encarnacion soon. The 37-year-0ld was only signed to a one-year contract and is clearly not part of the team's long-term plans. Even as the team has gotten hot, he's still slashing .167/.257/.411; although he has been hitting for more authority with 6 HR and 9 RBI in 25 games. If the White Sox are really making a final push, those numbers aren't enough to hold off the team's top prospect.
Edward Cabrera, SP, Miami Marlins
The Marlins called up Sixto Sanchez two weeks ago and Jazz Chisolm this week. It's pretty clear they're going for it. So why not call up their next best pitching prospect? Well, for starters, Cabrera is just now throwing again after dealing with a "minor right arm injury" this summer. The 22-year-old has a big arm with a mid-90s fastball and tremendous athleticism. He changed his arm slot in 2017 so his breaking balls now have more bite and he's shown that he can make adjustments to iron out his flaws. He lacks a consistent third pitch, but that might be good news for 2020 since Cabrera has a dynamic fastball and strong slider that could make him a dangerous relief prospect. Given his arm injury, that's likely how Miami would use him if they call him up. I'm not sure he would automatically work into high-leverage innings, but it's also not like the Marlins have a murder's row of strong options to close games. We've seen dominant starting pitching prospects, like Carlos Martinez, break-in as electric relievers, so it's certainly a possibility for Cabrera if he does indeed get the call.
Jared Oliva, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates weren't as active at the deadline as many figured, and Gregory Polanco is still with the team. They were able to trade Jarrod Dyson, which could allow for Oliva to make his debut, especially considering the Pirates called up Ke'Bryan Hayes, who they claimed wouldn't be up this year. Oliva has yet to tap into the power that many scouts believe he has, but he has a solid approach at the plate and stole 35 bases last year. He plays good enough defense to play regularly and be an asset if he can get on base enough to use his plus wheels and baserunning instincts. Adding Oliva this year may not get you the power that could be lurking under the surface, but he should make consistent enough contact to get on base and use his wheels to cause some damage. Basically, you'd be getting what you get out of Jon Berti but with the potential for more power if the approach has changed any over the last year.
Seth Beer, 1B/DH, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks dealt away Archie Bradley and Starling Marte on Monday and traded for an injured Caleb Smith, so it seems pretty clear that they're looking to build towards the future. Beer has never played above AA, but the Diamondbacks are struggling on offense and might be aggressive in trying to remedy that since this was a season they were built to compete. Also, there has never been a more perfect year to call-up Beer since he's a below-average defender who will benefit greatly from the DH position where Jake Lamb is currently slotted in and hitting .063 in seven games.
As a former college player, Beer has a mature approach at the plate. He's yet to register the walk rate in the minors that he displayed in college, but he demonstrates good patience and is not a major strikeout bat. He has always been relatively pull-centric in his approach and has the power to be a consistent force as a middle of the order.
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