We are reaching the point of the fantasy baseball season where many teams are coming to grips with what their fates will be at the end of the season. With the trade deadline looming in less than two weeks, many teams are going to be sellers and have roles on their rosters to fill. At least some of those spots will be filled with major prospects so teams can give them a couple of months of MLB experience and gain valuable reps with the big league club.
Besides the trade deadline, injuries are piling up, some veterans are being released, and rosters will expand closer to the end of the season. All of these opportunities create vacancies for rookies to fill as we drive quickly toward the end of the fantasy baseball season.
Coming off of the All-Star Break, this piece will look at some rookies who have very recently made their MLB debuts or other minor league players who might be on the verge of coming up to the big club very soon. It’s never too early to monitor their performances and make a waiver claim before your entire league is bidding on them. Diving into their minor league performances this season will also hopefully help us understand a little bit more about their future.
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Hitters To Watch
Jacob Wilson (SS, Oakland Athletics)
- AAA: .398/.444/.639, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB, 22 R
One of the most prized prospects in all of baseball made his debut on Friday night. He preceded to get a hit in his first plate appearances and then leave the game with a strained hamstring. He was placed on the 10-day IL on Sunday and we will have to wait and see the severity of the strain. But assuming the injury does not impact his bat when he returns, this is potentially one of the best hitters to come out of the minor leagues this season.
After being drafted in the first round in 2023, Wilson flew through the minors and was hitting .398/.444/.639 when he was called up. He is not necessarily a great home run hitter or base stealer, and you can think of him more like a Luis Arraez-type player. But he draws walks, doesn’t strike out, and has just enough pop to add some juice to his sure-to-be high batting average.
Rece Hinds (OF, Cincinnati Reds)
- MLB: .400/.438/1.100, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 7 R
It’s not hyperbole to say that Rece Hinds might have had the best eight-game debut of any player in Major League history. In his first eight contests, Hinds hit .400/.438/.1.100 with five home runs, 11 RBI, and two steals. Can that level of production continue? Of course not, he also was striking out 28% of the time. But Hinds seems to have an everyday role and there is no way Nick Martini is taking his spot once the former outfielder comes back from injury.
Coby Mayo (3B, Baltimore Orioles)
- AAA: .303/.381/.602, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 51 R
Coby Mayo is sure to be a hot waiver wire add over the next two weeks, and many places are already predicting a call-up for the next stud Orioles’ prospect. Even if Jackson Holliday and Kyle Stowers were busts when they came up, Mayo might be the most prepared of any of them for the bright lights. Mayo may be just 22 but he has almost four full seasons in the minors now, including parts of two years in AAA. He plays third base which he can take over from the Ramon Urias/Jorge Mateo platoon right now, so his lineup spot would be secure.
In AAA, Mayo has a .984 OPS and a 10% walk rate, meaning he is more than ready to come up to the next level. With the Orioles in a tight division race and wanting their best lineup over the last two months, I can see a Mayo call-up happening very soon.
Victor Mesa Jr. (OF, Miami Marlins)
- AAA: .268/.328/.454, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 5 SB, 46 R
Does Jazz Chisholm make it through the month still a member of the Miami Marlins? It’s hard to say, but his name is swirling in trade rumors. If he is gone, Victor Mesa Jr. will be ready to take his place. Part of the Marlins’ organization since he was 17 years old, Mesa is now tearing up AAA this year. He is similar to Jazz in that he has a strong power/speed combo to his game and only strikes out 21% of the time. Mesa’s speed and defense are his best attributes, and while that may not be exactly what we want for fantasy, he is a great player to stash and hold while his other skills develop.
Junior Caminero (3B/SS, Tampa Bay Rays)
- AAA: .261/.333/.478, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB, 19 R
Fantasy baseball managers have been waiting on the Junior Caminero call-up since the early spring and it might happen soon if the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves as sellers at the trade deadline. Caminero had a short, seven-game cup of coffee with the Rays last year, but he is doing very well in AAA now and seems to be ready for the next opportunity. He has 70/80 power grades on his swing and eventually projects to hit 25+ home runs in the Major Leagues on a regular basis. All he really needs is steady playing time and some patience from the manager to get through some initial growing pains. Caminero is going to be a star, it’s just a matter of when, not if.
Colby Thomas (OF, Oakland Athletics)
- AAA: .278/.363/.489, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB, 11 R
Since the Oakland Athletics have been terrible forever, it would make sense that they have no end of strong prospects to deploy. In addition to Zach Gelof, Lawrence Butler, and Jacob Wilson, outfielder Colby Thomas appears ready for the show and might get a call-up this season. Thomas has risen four levels of the minors in less than two seasons and appears ready for the bigs at age 23. Altogether, Thomas has 16 home runs and 14 steals in the minor leagues this season. Add in his strong batting average and on-base percentage and this is a player who could help in a number of categories when he makes the roster.
James Wood (OF, Washington Nationals)
- MLB: .246/.328/.316, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB, 6 R
James Wood, one of the consensus top three prospects in all of baseball, got a call-up just over two weeks ago, but the results have been mixed so far. He is hitting just .246 with only one home run, but he is walking 9.4% of the time and has a 56% hard-hit rate plus a 93-mile-per-hour average exit velocity. His contact rate is very low at just 67%, which is uncharacteristic for a player with just a 12% swinging strike rate. I think we see improved results from Wood soon and he makes a strong case to play every day in the top half of the Washington Nationals’ lineup.
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Pitchers To Watch
Max Meyer (SP, Miami Marlins)
- MLB: 3 Starts, 17.0 IP, 2 W, 2.12 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 14 Ks
Waiting until after July 21 to call up Max Meyer from the minors will save the Marlins another year of service time, which is why he spent so much time in AAA while the Marlins “managed” his workload. Now that we know the real reason, perhaps Meyer and his elite pitch repertoire will be up to stay when he joins Miami. Meyer had just a 7.41 K/9 ratio in his three starts this year, but has been over 9.0 in every stop of the minors, so it’s likely to improve. He has almost a 50% groundball rate and doesn’t ever walk anyone. Of all the under-the-radar rookie pitchers who might have big roles in the second half, Meyer just might be the best. The time to grab him is right now.
River Ryan (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers)
- AAA: 5 Starts, 16.1 IP, 0 W, 2.76 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 19 Ks
What a great name. But River Ryan might have even better pitching stuff. He skipped Double-A completely this year and has been lighting up AAA since his arrival. While he doesn’t have any wins in his five starts, he does have a 2.76 ERA and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings at that level. Tyler Glasnow is coming back for the Dodgers this week and Clayton Kershaw will follow on Thursday, but they haven’t exactly been the paragons of health in their careers. But even if they do stay healthy, the Los Angeles rotation consists of pitchers like Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski right now. In the absence of guys like Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers could use a big arm like River Ryan for the stretch run.
Yariel Rodriguez (SP, Toronto Blue Jays)
- MLB: 9 Starts, 34.1 IP, 1 W, 3.67 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 36 Ks
Yariel Rodriguez is the “veteran” of this group with nine MLB starts already. While the WHIP hasn’t been what we have wanted for our fantasy teams, he has proven he can minimize runs and strike out more than a batter per inning at the Major League level. He is excellent at allowing very few home runs (0.79 per nine innings) and it’s just the walks (4.98 per nine) that need to get under control for him to reach the next level. He also might have another level of his strikeout potential as he was over 14 per nine innings across 20.1 innings in AAA this season. Rodriguez looks to have a secure role in this rotation for the rest of the season.
Yilber Diaz (SP, Arizona Diamondbacks)
- MLB: 2 Starts, 12.0 IP, 1 W, 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 7 Ks
Yilber Diaz’s first two starts have both been carbon copies of one another. In both games, he pitched six innings, allowed four hits, and gave up one earned run. The strikeouts, unlike someone like Yariel Rodriguez, have not been there despite elite strikeout numbers in the minors. Diaz struck out more than 11.5 batters per inning in both of his 2024 minor league spots and was allowing only a 10% home run on fly balls. He’s gotten a bit lucky with his 1.50 ERA as Statcast believes that number should be around 3.60, but this is still a pitcher with swing-and-miss stuff who is only walking two batters per nine innings. He is still largely available in almost all Fantrax baseball leagues.
Jack Leiter (SP, Texas Rangers)
- MLB: 3 Starts, 9.1 IP, 1 W, 16.39 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, 7 Ks
Leiter’s first three starts in the Major Leagues were quite disastrous. He allowed 17 earned runs in just over nine innings while only striking out seven batters. He allowed six walks, and three home runs, and got less than 30% groundballs in two of his starts. He will likely not demand near the FAAB when he gets called back up again (and I do believe he gets called up again) because those first three games were so awful. However, Leiter has been impressive in AAA all year, earning four wins in 12 starts and striking out more than 12 batters per nine innings. The walks are a problem wherever he goes, but a 14.9% swinging strike rate in AAA this year means a strikeout rate near 30% could be a possibility for Leiter if he can harness his stuff a little better.