As expected, Johnny Cueto has excelled since joining the Kansas City Royals. Granted he has only made four starts for them to this point, but he has been everything that the Royals asked for. And as a Reds fan, I was very pleased to see just what John Lamb had to offer the Reds in his debut.

Lamb had one rough inning, but otherwise looked very sharp and he could be a help to most fantasy teams. I myself have added him to my own fantasy squad as I believe that the John Lamb I saw in innings 1-4 and 6 was more of an indicator of the type of pitcher he is than the John Lamb in the fifth inning.

Editor’s Note: to read about even more MLB prospects, rookies and potential call-ups, be sure to check out our MLB prospects homepage which has lots of great weekly updates and analysis.

Kyle Zimmer (SP, KC, Double-A)

Stats: 45.1 IP, 2.18 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 10.52 K/9, 3.38 BB/9, 0.60 HR/9

In my recent hitter’s edition of the Minor League Spotlight, I discussed Bradley Zimmer, an outfielder taken in the first round by the Cleveland Indians. Now I will discuss his brother, Kyle, who too was taken in the first round by an AL Central team (the Kansas City Royals). Kyle Zimmer has spent a significant amount of time in the Royals system and has been dominant at times, but has struggled greatly with injuries.

Zimmer certainly has the stuff to be a great starting pitcher. Whereas most starting pitching prospects feature two great pitches with one plus pitches, Zimmer has two great pitches with two plus pitches. Zimmer’s bread and butter (like most pitching prospects) is his great fastball in the mid-90s (that he can range up to 100) and his curveball. A slider and changeup make up the other two pitches in his repertoire and both are viewed by scouts as future plus pitches. Zimmer has decent command of his pitches, but needs some time improving on his command before he is totally ready for big league action.

The Royals believe that once Zimmer can put his injuries behind him, he can be a top of the rotation starter for them. That could be as soon as next year, that could be as late as 2017. Fantasy owners would be wise to keep an eye on Zimmer’s progress in the minors as he could easily be a draft steal with his potential if the Royals opt to put him in the rotation at the start of next year.

Carson Fulmer (SP, CHW, High-A)

Stats: 14.0 IP, 2.57 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 9.64 K/9, 2.57 BB/9, 1.29 HR/9

The White Sox selected Carson Fulmer with the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft and with his talent, he immediately becomes the top pitching prospect in the White Sox system. Fulmer had a great career at Vanderbilt where in 2015 he acted as the ace of that pitching staff and helped carry them to the College World Series where they lost to UVA.

Going into the draft, Fulmer was viewed much in the same way that Carlos Rodon of last year’s draft was viewed: the most MLB-ready arm available. Fulmer possesses an arsenal of a great mid-90s fastball, a wipeout power curveball, and a decent changeup that could eventually become a plus pitch with enough work. Many scouts question his future as a starter because he is not very big and large workloads could take their toll on him, but for now the White Sox are going to keep him as a starter.

The White Sox rolled the dice with Carlos Rodon and promoted him very early after drafting him. His peripherals suggest that he should be better than his 4.61 ERA would have you believe, but he has a lot of issues with command and still clearly needs some time developing. The White Sox will want to give Fulmer more work at Triple-A (Rodon pitched 22 total innings at Triple-A) before they promote him to the big league club, but it is entirely reasonable to expect him to pitch for the Sox in 2016.

Jeff Hoffman (SP, COL, Double-A)

Stats: 82.1 IP, 2.84 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 6.45 K/9, 2.19 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9

Jeff Hoffman was one of the players dealt to the Rockies in the Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster trade. He was taken ninth overall in last year’s draft and has been making a progressive return from Tommy John surgery that took place last season.

The Rockies needed a top pitching prospect to form a future one-two punch with Jon Gray, and they certainly acquired a pitcher capable of filling in that role with Jeff Hoffman. Hoffman features an electric fastball that can range up to the upper-90s and a great curveball that will be his number one out pitch. He is improving a changeup that right now looks average, but could develop into a plus pitch. His command is already impeccable and shouldn’t be an issue for him moving forward as he knows how to throw strikes consistently.

With the Rockies complete lack of starting pitching, it would not come as a big surprise to see Hoffman in the majors as soon as next season. Based on their justified precaution with pitching prospects, he is not going to be given a chance to start next season with the big league club, but he could join the rotation by midseason. Fantasy owners would be wise to approach Hoffman with caution as any pitcher calling Coors Field home has the potential to struggle no matter how talented.

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