Wow! What a flurry of promotions all made over one week! Jameson Taillon was promoted and is likely up for good; Blake Snell was called up for good (probably); Cody Reed was called up for good; Jose Peraza was called up (could return to the minors, though unlikely) and Willson Contreras was promoted (more than likely he will be back in the minors and back on this list eventually). In my humble opinion, the two most impressive so far have been Reed and Taillon, both of whom certainly lived up to the hype in their most recent starts.

There will undoubtedly be more prospects promoted, some in the not-too-distant future and some a little bit further down the line. I don’t expect to see a week quite this filled with promotions until after the trade deadline or until September, but there should be a steady stream of prospect promotions occurring between now and the end of the season as teams start to make promotions based more on need than the future of their players’ contracts (since the Super Two deadline has now passed).

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Top MLB Prospects - Fantasy Baseball Power Rankings

To be clear, this list is not the top 30 prospects in baseball. This is a list of the top 30 prospects who are likely going to rise to the major leagues and provide fantasy baseball value this season. The qualifications are simple: a player must not be on an active roster, they must have a clear path to the majors, and while they may have played in seasons prior to 2016, they must still have rookie eligibility. If a player is moved to the active roster of their team, they will be removed from this power rankings list and replaced.

1. Tyler Glasnow (SP, PIT, AAA)
Stats: 77.0 IP, 1.75 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 10.75 K/9, 4.91 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9, 1.18 WHIP
ETA: Post-All-Star Break
With Jameson Taillon now promoted, there is only one of the two standout Pirates starters left in Triple-A. And unfortunately for owners of Glasnow, he may not be up for some time. He threw six hitless innings in which he struck out six batters. Wow! That’s amazing! What’s the catch? Well, he walked six batters. And that really sums up Glasnow. Hitters are going to have a tough time getting actual hits off of him, rather he will be his own worst enemy. My big belief with Glasnow is that as unhittable as he is and as serious as his control problems are, his best cure is Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage. Searage fixed Gerrit Cole when he reached the big leagues, he has (if nothing else) helped to reign in Jeff Locke’s command and of course has helped so many other established pitchers who had struggles. With four of the six viable options in Pittsburgh’s rotation all having ERA and FIP numbers above 4.70, there is certainly a need for help in the Steel City. Glasnow should be up sooner rather than later.

2. Trea Turner (2B, WAS, AAA)
Stats: 272 PA, .293/.362/.438, 3 HR, 19 SB, 19.5% K rate, 9.9% BB rate
ETA: Early July
I’m sorry Turner owners that Danny Espinosa is slowly but surely ruining yours hopes and dreams. Since June 8, Espinosa is batting .324/.439/.618 with three home runs and a stolen base. He also has a sub-20% strikeout rate. Granted on the season, Espinosa is still batting a measly .216/.313/.390, but his recent hot streak has likely delayed a Turner promotion to at least July, possibly until the All-Star Break.

Certainly though, owners of the speedy shortstop can expect to see him at some point this season, probably some point relatively soon. He brings a lot to this team from an offensive standpoint even if he is not quite as slick of a defender as Espinosa. It doesn’t help his cause, however, that since June 8, Turner is slashing .190/.261/.262. He will need to get back on track before he can be promoted.

3. Alex Bregman (SS, HOU, AA)
Stats: 244 PA, .309/.412/.585, 14 HR, 4 SB, 8.6% K rate, 12.7% BB rate
ETA: Post-All-Star Break
It does not sound like Bregman will be promoted until after the Double-A All-Star game, but certainly it seems likely that a promotion will happen shortly after that. Since the start of June, Luis Valbuena is hitting a solid .265/.357/.388, but a .375 BABIP means that is very likely to be hit by regression. They have also tried Danny Worth out at third base every now and again and the career .229 hitter is certainly not the answer at third. Meanwhile, Bregman continues to crush Double-A, having only seven fewer home runs than strikeouts with 10 more walks than punchouts already. The 22-year-old shortstop will in all likelihood skip Triple-A and go straight to the big leagues where he is bound to have an immediate impact. Once promoted, he should be owned in all leagues.

4. Orlando Arcia (SS, MIL, AAA)
Stats: 267 PA, .290/.333/.403, 4 HR, 9 SB, 13.9% K rate, 6.0% BB rate
ETA: Post-All-Star Break
Arcia has recently started to practice over at second base which may mean nothing, or it may mean that Aaron Hill is about to be traded and Arcia is going to be promoted to take his place. At shortstop, Jonathan Villar has been outstanding and could be a piece in another trade as well which, again, would result in an Arcia promotion. At this point, it looks very likely that the 22-year-old shortstop will make his debut with the Brewers shortly after the All-Star Break after a few infield pieces are traded away. He has enough to offer from a fantasy perspective that he should probably be owned in all leagues.

5. A.J. Reed (1B, HOU, AAA)
Stats: 226 PA, .249/.341/.467, 8 HR, 0 SB, 23.5% K rate, 12.4% BB rate
ETA: Next week
Tyler White was officially demoted back to Triple-A after coming back down to Earth hard after a scorching start to the 2016 campaign, leaving only Marwin Gonzalez left in Houston to handle first base. At least, until Reed is promoted. Reed has been far from outstanding, but since May 29, the Astros’ first base prospect is slashing .278/.345/.532 with three home runs. Since June 9, that slash line only goes up to .317/.349/.659 with two home runs. He is heating up at the plate and it sounds like the Astros could be getting ready to take the hot-hitting first baseman up to the big leagues. Expect to see him up more in the next couple of days, at the very least before the beginning of July.

6. Lucas Giolito (SP, WAS, AA)
Stats: 66.1 IP, 2.71 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 9.36 K/9, 4.07 BB/9, 0.27 HR/9, 1.36 WHIP
ETA: Late July
The Nationals’ rotation has continued to be outstanding this season. The highest ERA on the team is Gio Gonzalez with a 3.96 ERA who is also the only starter with an ERA above 3.30. With Joe Ross already having experience racking up innings with his total exceeding 150 last season and Tanner Roark having thrown 198.2 back in 2014, there is not any clear innings limit on any of these starters. But Giolito is doing his best to force the Nationals’ hand. Since May 9, Giolito has been outstanding with his 1.70 ERA, 2.75 FIP and his 3.25 K/BB ratio. There is going to be plenty of pressure on Roark and Ross to keep performing how they are as Giolito will be breathing down their neck for the rest of this of this season. It is tough to say at this point whether or not a promotion for the top pitching prospect in baseball is to come, but my money is being bet on him reaching the big leagues at least before September.

7. Alex Reyes (SP, STL, AAA)
Stats: 21.2 IP, 3.32 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 16.20 K/9, 4.57 BB/9, 0.83 HR/9, 1.20 WHIP
ETA: Late July
Don’t look now, but the Cardinals rotation is starting to come around. As of right now, there is only one starter with a FIP above 4.00 and he was just signed to a five year, $80 million contract before the season began. With that said, Reyes has been outstanding in his five starts this season at Triple-A Memphis. If you take away one clunker that he had on June 7, and Reyes has an ERA of 1.80. Even including that clunker, Reyes has 39 strikeouts and 11 walks in 21.2 innings. The walks are still a bit of a concern for the 21-year-old starter as he is still trying to improve on his command, but the strikeouts and the top of the rotation upside are enough to warrant any fantasy owners owning the young right-hander.

8. Robert Stephenson (SP, CIN, AAA)
Stats: 65.2 IP, 3.29 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 6.85 K/9, 4.52 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9, 1.29 WHIP
ETA: Late June/Early July
The first of the Reds’ pitching prospects to reach the big leagues was Cody Reed and aside from two mistake pitches he threw to Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis, he was quite dominant in his outing on Saturday. Next up on the list of players to be promoted will be Stephenson who has already spent time in the big leagues this season and all things considered, has done quite well. As of right now, the Reds’ rotation does not look half bad, but it would probably look better if Robert Stephenson went in to replace John Lamb. There is also the possibility that either Dan Straily or Brandon Finnegan is moved to the bullpen in an effort to keep their innings down. Either way, it looks likely that Stephenson will be in the rotation before the All-Star Break and with his upside, he could be worth owning in 10+ team leagues.

9. Gary Sanchez (C, NYY, AAA)
Stats: 175 PA, .276/.326/.503, 7 HR, 3 SB, 14.9% K rate, 5.1% BB rate
ETA: Early July/Post-All-Star Break
With Sanchez taking practice over at first base and the other couple of fill-ins not doing much to help the cause, there is a chance Sanchez is promoted to the big leagues not as a catcher, but rather to play first. No one, outside of Mark Teixeira, has hit a home run while playing the position for the Bronx Bombers and only Rob Refsnyder is hitting above .200 including Teixeira who was batting a measly .180 before his injury. Sanchez would serve as an immediate upgrade over everyone (probably also Tex) at the position and certainly fantasy owners should be more than happy to have him since he qualifies as a catcher in all leagues. If he is not promoted to play the position, then his fantasy value on the season dies down immensely since it is unlikely he steals away any playing time behind the dish unless Brian McCann is

10. Josh Hader (SP, MIL, AAA)
Stats: 69.0 IP, 1.30 ERA, 2.27 FIP, 11.48 K/9, 3.39 BB/9, 0.13 HR/9, 1.04 WHIP
ETA: Mid-July
Hader recently made his Triple-A debut and in those two starts allowed as many earned runs as he had allowed in all of his previous Double-A starts in May and June combined. Granted, that total is four. So really he has still been quite good, but the walks have been a bit concerning. In his 12 innings pitched at Triple-A, he already has walked seven batters and hit one more with a pitch. The 15 total strikeouts are nice and only eight hits allowed certainly shows some promise, but he does have a few things to work on before he reaches the big leagues. Still, it is more likely that he will reach the majors this season than Jorge Lopez and he certainly appears to be a strikeout artist primed to have a big impact in fantasy leagues. His upside in the long run is probably as a two (at best) or three starter, but he is worth taking a look at in fantasy leagues this season if he is promoted.

11. Jake Thompson (SP, PHI, AAA)
Stats: 76.1 IP, 3.18 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 6.72 K/9, 2.83 BB/9, 0.94 HR/9, 1.19 WHIP
ETA: Late July
Since a clunker on May 31, Thompson has been absolutely lights out. He has thrown 21 innings in his most recent three starts, allowed only one run on 14 hits with only five walks (one of which was intentional) and 12 strikeouts. Unlike a lot of the other arms on this list, Thompson is not going to blow anyone away with his strikeout totals as he really just pitches to contact and allows his defense to work behind him, but he is a workhorse who will eat up innings for a young Phillies staff that could benefit from someone like that. If promoted, Thompson should produce numbers similar to what you would see out of Mike Leake (on a good year).

12. Chad Kuhl (SP, PIT, AAA)
Stats: 71.0 IP, 2.54 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 7.10 K/9, 2.03 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, 1.14 WHIP
ETA: Next week
As discussed with Tyler Glasnow, there are a lot of poor performers in the Pirates’ rotation. Chad Kuhl, meanwhile, has been outstanding at Triple-A this season both with his command and his ability to miss bats. He is not going to be the next great ace and is probably more of a back of the rotation/bullpen arm for Pittsburgh, but he has the chance to at least provide solid Zach Davies-esque numbers to fantasy owners in deeper leagues in 2016. He should get a chance sooner rather than later to prove himself at the big league level.

13. Jesse Winker (OF, CIN, AAA)
Stats: 236 PA, .286/.381/.367, 2 HR, 0 SB, 13.6% K rate, 14.0% BB rate
ETA: Late July
Winker was recently put on the 7-day DL at Triple-A with a wrist injury. For fantasy owners, this should not be too terribly concerning as it does not appear to be too serious nor does it really stall any upcoming promotion. If Winker sees any time at all this season, it will be after the red hot Jay Bruce is traded (come on Walt, let’s make it happen). Even without as much power as other prospects available, Winker would be worth owning simply because he is almost a guarantee to hit at least .275. Plus, Great American Ballpark will give him a few home runs.

14. Joe Musgrove (SP, HOU, AAA)
Stats: 60.1 IP, 3.13 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 8.65 K/9, 1.19 BB/9, 1.04 WHIP
ETA: Mid-July
Musgrove has moved up this list, but more on account of the fact that so many people were promoted rather than him actually deserving a move up. After absolutely dominating Double-A to the tune of a 0.34 ERA and 1.59 FIP in 26.1 innings, the 23-year-old right-hander has scuffled at Triple-A. He currently has a 5.29 ERA, 4.90 FIP in 34.0 innings of work. The walks for him have remained low at a modest 1.32 BB/9, but the strikeouts have not been there for him (7.41 K/9) and the home run ball has bit him hard (1.59 HR/9). It is still early in his Triple-A career, but if he does not show improvements, Musgrove may not be promoted for a while.

15. Jose De Leon (SP, LAD, AAA)
Stats: 15.0 IP, 2.40 ERA, 2.39 FIP, 14.40 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, 0.60 HR/9, 0.73 WHIP
ETA: Late July/Early August
De Leon has dazzled in his brief stint of Triple-A so far and is making a very strong argument for a promotion. Though he has only made it to the fifth inning in a game once this season, De Leon has put on quite the show in the few innings he has thrown, already having struck out 24 batters in 15 innings. With the Dodgers already beginning to discuss a way to keep the innings down for Julio Urias, it is very plausible that they will shift him to the bullpen and promote De Leon to take his spot in the rotation. That is where De Leon’s missed time early in the season could benefit both him and fantasy owners because his innings will already be kept down (which is a must because he has only thrown more than 100 professional innings in a season once, last year). If promoted, he should immediately be added in all leagues.

16. Jose Berrios (SP, MIN, AAA)
Stats: 53.2 IP, 3.35 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 9.73 K/9, 3.86 BB/9, 0.84 WHIP
ETA: Early August
In his brief taste of the big leagues, Berrios really struggled. He left the majors after making only four starts in which he compiled 15.0 innings, a 10.20 ERA, a 7.40 FIP, a 12.00 K/9, a 7.20 BB/9 and a 3.00 HR/9. That scared the Twins a bit and they have now kept him down in the minors for a whole month. And unfortunately for Berrios, he has not fared much better in the minors. Since his return to Triple-A, the 22-year-old right-hander has a 4.42 ERA in 36.2 innings of work. Though the walks have been slightly toned down (3.68 BB/9), he has given up 1.23 home runs per nine innings and has a 4.10 FIP. There is no denying that in terms of pure stuff, Berrios has the talent to get things going, but he will need to do it soon if he wants to return to Minnesota.

17. Hunter Renfroe (OF, SD, AAA)
Stats: 282 PA, .318/.333/.588, 15 HR, 3 SB, 17.0% K rate, 2.5% BB rate
ETA: Early August
The promotion of either of the next two players on this list depend entirely on the San Diego Padres selling off their outfielders. It is quite probable that the Padres are going to have a fire sale and will try to dump some of these contracts of hot-hitting (relatively speaking) outfielders Matt Kemp and Melvin Upton at the deadline. If those players are moved, Renfroe and Dickerson would likely be the first two names brought up to take their spots on the team. While Renfroe has not had nearly as strong of a season as Dickerson has, he has so much power potential and could still hit for a respectable average at the big league level. Definitely for dynasty purposes, Renfroe is the better of the two, but I would argue just for home runs sake that even for 2016, Renfroe would be the better option.

18. Alex Dickerson (OF, SD, AAA)
Stats: 209 PA, .401/.445/.663, 10 HR, 0 SB, 10.0% K rate, 6.2% BB rate
ETA: Early August
With that said, you really couldn’t go wrong with choosing Alex Dickerson. The more likely of the two to be promoted, Dickerson has already spent time at the big league level (though at only 10 PA, it was more of just a cup of coffee). Don’t be fooled by the 10 home runs, he is no power hitter and does not project to be at the big league level, rather he is just a guy who can hit for a solid batting average. With neither power nor speed, Dickerson is a risk because if not hitting at the top of the lineup, he really provides very little value to fantasy owners in shallower leagues. The only reason I would ever take him over Renfroe is just if it looks like he will be the only outfielder of the two promoted.

19. J.P. Crawford (SS, PHI, AAA)
Stats: 278 PA, .234/.357/.325, 3 HR, 8 SB, 14.7% K rate, 15.8% BB rate
ETA: Early August
J.P. Crawford has been J.P. Crawful since reaching Triple-A. Currently slashing .234/.357/.325 with more strikeouts than walks (something he has not done at any level with more than 50 PA since High-A back in 2014), the Phillies’ top prospect has likely put to rest the notion of him reaching the big leagues before the trade deadline. If he does not start to get going soon, he will put to rest any idea of him reaching the big leagues before September or even before 2017.

20. Dansby Swanson (SS, ATL, AA)
Stats: 285 PA, .269/.361/.430, 5 HR, 10 SB, 16.5% K rate, 11.2% BB rate
ETA: Late July/Early August
With Swanson mired in an awful cold streak that has seen him slash .155/.246/.241 since June 1, it is beginning to look more and more unlikely that he will be promoted until later this season. Why is he still so high on this list then? Because just in the event that he does reach the big leagues, he is still a must-own commodity. But it is really starting to become a big if. I would not have Swanson stashed at this point in the season.

21. Ozzie Albies (SS, ATL, AAA)
Stats: 291 PA, .282/.340/.412, 3 HR, 8 SB, 15.8% K rate, 7.6% BB rate
ETA: Early August

22. Josh Bell (1B/OF, PIT, AAA)
Stats: 279 PA, .311/.401/.506, 9 HR, 1 SB, 16.8% K rate, 11.8% BB rate
ETA: Mid-July

23. Alec Mills (SP, KC, AA)
Stats: 67.2 IP, 2.39 ERA, 1.99 FIP, 9.04 K/9, 1.60 BB/9, 0.27 HR/9, 1.02 WHIP
ETA: Mid-July

24. Jorge Lopez (SP, MIL, AAA)
Stats: 56.2 IP, 5.56 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 6.99 K/9, 6.19 BB/9, 0.32 HR/9, 1.80 WHIP
ETA: Early August

25. Tom Murphy (C, COL, AAA)
Stats: 117 PA, .230/.256/.531, 7 HR, 0 SB, 33.3% K rate, 3.4% BB rate
ETA: Early August

26. Nick Williams (OF, PHI, AAA)
Stats: 242 PA, .288/.336/.466, 7 HR, 5 SB, 24.8% K rate, 6.6% BB rate
ETA: Early August

27. Yandy Diaz (3B, CLE, AAA)
Stats: 246 PA, .285/.400/.410, 4 HR, 8 SB, 15.9% K rate, 16.3% BB rate
ETA: Mid-July

28. Joey Gallo (3B/OF, TEX, AAA)
Stats: 175 PA, .273/.417/.626, 13 HR, 0 SB, 25.7% K rate, 19.4% BB rate
ETA: Mid-July

29. Andrew Benintendi (OF, BOS, AA)
Stats: 269 PA, .303/.364/.490, 3 HR, 12 SB, 10.0% K rate, 8.2% BB rate
ETA: Mid-August

30. Socrates Brito (OF, ARI, AAA)
Stats: 222 PA, .290/.311/.439, 4 HR, 3 SB, 19.4% K rate, 3.2% BB rate
ETA: Early August

 

MLB Rookie Rankings

1. Corey Seager (SS, LAD)

2. Nomar Mazara (OF, TEX)

3. Trevor Story (SS, COL)

4. Steven Matz (SP, NYM)

5. Michael Fulmer (SP, DET)

6. Kenta Maeda (SP, LAD)

7. Aledmys Diaz (SS, STL)

8. Jon Gray (SP, COL)

9. Trayce Thompson (OF, LAD)

10. Byung-Ho Park (1B, MIN)

11. Jameson Taillon (SP, PIT)

12. Blake Snell (SP, TB)

13. Cody Reed (SP, CIN)

14. Tyler Glasnow (SP, PIT)

15. Trea Turner (SS, WAS)

16. Alex Bregman (SS, HOU)

17. Orlando Arcia (SS, MIL)

18. A.J. Reed (1B, HOU)

19. Byron Buxton (OF, MIN)

20. Lucas Giolito (SP, WAS)

 

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