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This season has seen a lot of baseball’s top prospects get the call to the majors. Names like Carlos Rodon, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and now Carlos Correa. Who knows which prospects will be next? Byron Buxton, Corey Seager, Steve Matz. Who knows.
The following are minor league hitters who have been very productive this season, and could potentially be helpful to fantasy baseball owners.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more MLB prospects, rookies and potential call-ups, be sure to check out our MLB prospects for fantasy baseball homepage which has lots of great weekly analysis.
Jon Singleton (1B, HOU, Triple-A)
Stats: .270/.378/.564, 14 HR, 2 SB, 14.9% BB rate, 19.9% K rate
Chris Carter has not played very well this season, and as a whole the Houston Astros could benefit from some offensive help. The Astros have struck out a lot this season (second most in the majors only to the Cubs), and Chris Carter who is second in the majors in strikeouts to Giancarlo Stanton is a major part of that issue. It is really starting to look like Jon Singleton could be called up to help the team.
Singleton was sent to the minors to work on plate discipline and he has greatly improved in that area. With the major league club, Singleton struck out 37% of the time while hitting 13 home runs in 95 games. In 41 fewer games, Singleton has already exceeded that home run total and has put up numbers that make it look like he is ready for the call-up. Fantasy owners must be alerted though that through his 54 games in 2014 at Triple-A prior to being called up, Singleton put up numbers that were very similar, also hitting 14 home runs and hitting for a decent average with a modest strikeout rate. Singleton could help out most any fantasy team but still has the potential to strikeout 200 times in a full season.
Cody Decker (1B, SD, Triple-A)
Stats: .265/.351/.551, 11 HR, 0 SB, 10.7% BB rate, 22.0% K rate
The San Diego Padres have received only five home runs (worst in the majors) in a category that is often a prerequisite to being a major league first baseman. Decker has shown at every minor league level that he can hit for power, having totaled at least 25 home runs in three of his five full MiLB seasons. He does have a tendency to strikeout a lot as many sluggers do, but he has performed well enough on the year to receive a call up to the majors. Upon his arrival, he should be able to provide quite a bit of power to fantasy owners in need of a spark in the home run department.
Jose Martinez (OF, KC, Triple-A)
Stats: .370/.438/.551, 4 HR, 3 SB, 9.7% BB rate, 13.1% K rate
Jose Martinez is currently on his third team and has yet to play one game in the majors. Martinez has played particularly well in 2015, and could see time in the majors with continued production. Martinez does not have a lot of power, though he has been known to run into one on occasion. He probably would top out at about ten home runs in a season. Where Martinez’s value comes into play is with his ability to hit for a high average. Martinez has constantly hit for a high batting average in the .290s or .300s. He has been the beneficiary of a .410 BABIP that is likely to come down upon reaching the majors, but he could have potential value as a future number two hitter and score some runs for a fantasy team willing to take a chance on him.
Aaron Blair (SP, ARI, Double-A)
Stats: 76.1 IP, 2.59 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 6.84 K/9, 2.71 BB/9, 0.71 HR/9
Aaron Blair still sits at Double-A, but has a lot of potential to reach the majors this season. Blair and Braden Shipley are currently the top two pitching prospects for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and are expected to join Patrick Corbin and Archie Bradley by the beginning of the 2016 season. Blair has a great fastball, to go along with a solid and improving curveball, and a great change up. While it could potentially be a stretch that he gets called up this season, he should be up next season at the latest and should have great fantasy value when he does get called up.
Dylan Floro (SP, TB, Triple-A)
Stats: 74.2 IP, 3.01 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 5.54 K/9, 0.96 BB/9, 0.36 HR/9
Dylan Floro has quietly been one of the best starting pitchers at Triple-A this season. Among the leaders in innings pitched and fielding independent pitching (FIP), Floro looks like a pitcher who could potentially see time in the majors this season. A year after pitching very well at Double-A, Floro has continued to look very sharp at Triple-A. He won’t typically strikeout many batters, as the most strikeouts he has had in a game this year is seven. If he has shown one thing though, that should be a promising sight for fantasy owners, it's consistency. Floro has never had an ERA lower than 3.48 in his career at any level. Floro could see time at the major league level this year if he continues to pitch as well as he has, and fantasy owners would be wise to add him for some consistently solid innings.
Tyler Duffey (SP, MIN, Triple-A)
Stats: 69.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.98 FIP, 9.30 K/9, 1.94 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9
Tyler Duffey has been highly anticipated by Twins fans to come up because of the potential that he has flashed at each level. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot, reaches the mid-90s with his fastball, and has a decent curveball and change up to boot. This season, the Twins wanted to see how he would perform at the Triple-A level before giving him the call-up, and he has certainly impressed so far. He has shown durability and the potential to rack up the strikeouts. He currently sits as the most likely of any of the Twins pitching prospects to be called up, and could be a solid contributor to any fantasy team that wants to add an arm to their rotation.
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