The first month of the minor league season is now in the books and we are starting to see prospects who got off to a hot start slowly fizzle. That’s not the case with these prospects as we will dive into some of the players currently at Double-A that might be solid options to acquire now. When it comes to these lists it’s easy to load it down with the top names but for dynasty managers in deeper league formats, I like to throw in some options that won’t cost you a ton to acquire or pick up on the wire. Let’s dive into some of the prospects off to a strong start in Double-A.
Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Watch in Double-A
Alex Ramirez, OF NYM
(19 GP, .324/.386/.473, 1 HR, 9 R, 12 RBI, 12 SB)
Going into the season this was one of the prospects I highlighted in my Double-A prospects to watch and so far Alex Ramirez has exceeded my expectations. Last season was largely a disappointment for one of the Met’s top prospects as he slashed just .221/.310/.317 in 120 games played at High-A Brooklyn. In my live looks of Ramirez, he looked uncomfortable at the plate and was pressing to lift the ball. With some mechanical changes over the off-season at the Mets DSL complex, Ramirez looks like the prospect we all projected to be an easy top 100 guy.
💥 NYM OF Alex Ramirez RBI double in A+ Winston Salem. The 66th ranked prospect on Fantrax HQ is making his presence known! ⚾️ @Fantrax @WeeklyStreamer @BKCyclones @Mets pic.twitter.com/FjBw1jKaEE
— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) April 13, 2023
In 19 games played in Double-A Binghampton Ramirez is slashing .324/.386/.473 with one home run, nine runs scored, 12 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. The speed on the base paths is a welcome sight for Ramirez who stole just 21 bases in 2023 already more than halfway there. At the plate, Ramirez has shortened his swing with excellent results so far. Across 84 plate appearances, Ramirez has a 9.5% walk percentage paired with a solid 23.8% strikeout rate. Despite the lack of power early on the 21-year-old has hit eight extra-base hits out of his 24 total hits indicating there could be more power to come.
Zac Veen, OF COL
(16 GP, .327/.431/.582, 2 HR, 14 R, 7 RBI, 7 SB)
Coming off a season that ended early due to injury Zac Veen is back and looks like he has figured out Double-A at just 22 years old. The former first-round draft pick by the Rockies back in 2020 out of high school has had a relatively quick rise through the Rockies minor league system. Currently in Double-A Hartford Veen is slashing .327/.431/.582 with two home runs, 14 runs scored, seven RBIs, and seven stolen bases in 16 games played with the Yard Goats. The high batting average and OBP bring us back to what we saw from Veen in Low-A and High-A before the struggles kicked in after the promotion to Double-A Hartford.
True to Veen’s career averages the walk percentage has been solid at 15.4% while the strikeout rate is only slightly elevated at 26.2% (up from 21.4% in 46 games played in 2023 before the injury). It’s good to see Veen healthy and hitting the ball with authority early on as he has eight of his 18 total hits going for extra bases. Perhaps this will be the season Veen taps into his potential above-average power to pair with his elite speed.
Gabriel Rincones Jr., OF PHI
(13 GP, .300/.417/.600, 4 HR, 13 R, 5 RBI, 4 SB)
After seeing Gabriel Rincones Jr live in the Arizona Fall League he became one of my targets of the off-season to get on my dynasty teams. The swing adjustments coming out of the AFL have paid dividends this season as the Phillies started Rincones Jr out at Double-A Reading. The 23-year-old was originally selected in the third round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Florida Atlantic University and has been bulking up since he debuted in Low-A in 2023. On the season Rincones Jr is slashing .300/.417/.600 with four home runs, 13 runs scored, five RBIs, and four stolen bases in 13 games played. At the plate, Rincones Jr continues to show a disciplined approach walking 16.7% while striking out 26.7% of his 60 plate appearances so far.
🌵🏜️PHI OF Gabriel Rincones Jr has been one of my favorite prospects to watch this AFL. Now off to the All-Star game let’s take a look..
• 21 GP
• .295 AVG
• .427 OBP
• .426 SLG
• 2 HR
• 20 R
• 14 SB@GaBeRincones might be my under the radar 🎯 this offseason. @fantrax https://t.co/XqYxjIUFbV— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) November 4, 2023
Last season Rincones Jr showed some of the raw power he had hitting 15 home runs but had 49 of his 114 hits go for extra bases. Already this season we are seeing the swing changes translate into results as Rincones Jr has crushed four home runs so far while having seven of his first 15 hits go for extra bases. It’s easy to see a potential 25-25 season from Rincones Jr or a better split between Double-A and Triple-A as long as the improvements to the hit tool stay true.
Brock Selvidge, LHP NYY
(4 GS, 21 IP, 26 K, 11.14 K/9, 1.71 ERA)
The Double-A Somerset Patriots are stacked with pitching in the Yankees’s organization and as easily as I could have highlighted Trystan Vrieling I am zagging to Brock Selvidge. The 21-year-old Selvidge stands 6’3” and 205 pounds with a solid repertoire of fastball, cutter, slider, and change-up using all of these offerings to dominate Double-A hitters thus far. In his first four starts Selvidge has struck out 26 batters over 21 innings pitched, good for an 11.14 K/9 with a .213 average against, and is sporting a 1.71 ERA. Quietly rising through the Yankee’s minor league system Selvidge has limited the walks in each of his stops and currently has a 3.00 BB/9 with Somerset.
Along with limiting the walks, Selvidge has done a great job limiting hard contact as well as keeping the ball in the yard. Across 42 games appeared in and 195 innings pitched Selvidge has only allowed seven home runs none of which have occurred this season. This is a pitcher to watch as the Yankees have done a solid job developing these pitching prospects to move in trades later on. This could be a prime time to buy into a name that is not getting as much run as Trystan Vrieling but is having similar results.
Tyler Woessner, RHP MIL
(4 GS, 20.1 IP, 29 K, 12.84 K/9, 2.66 ERA)
Milwaukee strikes again cranking out another pitcher for dynasty managers to take note of. Selected in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Central Arizona College Tyler Woessner is 24 years old standing at 6’4” and 230 pounds but the ascension to Double-A Biloxi has been swift. Featuring an above-average fastball paired with a plus sweeping slider Woessner has been able to stack up the strikeouts early on. In four games started Woessner has 29 strikeouts over 20.1 innings pitched, this is good for a 12.84 K/9 while walking just 1.77 BB/9 and is currently sporting a solid 2.66 ERA with a 1.94 FIP. Although the strand rate is far too high at 73.2% Woessner has done a solid job keeping the ball on the ground at 45.7% and only allowing 0.44 HR/9.
This is a solid target in deeper dynasty leagues as the Brewers have been struggling with injuries and with the loss of Wade Miley for the season to Tommy John this could be an option at any time. Now you might be saying they have Jacob Misiorowski, Robert Gasser, and Carlos F. Rodriguez in the upper minor leagues and you would be right. If the Brewers are just looking to have a prospect to send up and down and can keep them in ball games as a back-end starter without starting the clocks of the top pitching prospects listed above. Tyler Woessner seems like a logical choice. As promised this is an easy prospect to stash off the waiver wire as he is just 1% rostered in Fantrax Leagues making this a low-cost investment for dynasty managers.
Colby Thomas, OF OAK
(20 GP, .316/.382/.582, 5 HR, 9 R, 15 RBI, 8 SB)
Quickly rising up not only Oaklands organization but up dynasty ranks this off-season was Colby Thomas. This was for good reason as the third-round pick by the Athletics out of Mercer crushed the ball in 2023 racking up 18 home runs and hitting 63 extra-base hits. This season Thomas has picked up where he left off slashing .316/.382/.582 with five home runs, nine runs scored, 15 RBIs, and eight stolen bases in 20 games played. At the plate Thomas is a high-contact bat so the 5.6% walk percentage is just alright but the drop in his strikeout rate to 21.3% this season (down from 29.5% in High-A in 2023) has been a welcomed sight early on.
💪🚀OAK OF Colby Thomas has some sneaky raw power and speed. In his first professional season Thomas played at -A Stockton and +A Lansing hitting
• .286 AVG
• .351 OBP
• .493 SLG
• 18 HR
• 87 R
• 25 SBThomas will need to cut the Ks back but the upside is here @Fantrax https://t.co/aLLaFMGewj
— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) February 7, 2024
There is massive raw power here when it comes to Thomas making it easy to dream of 25-20 home runs at the major league level. So far the adjustments to advanced starting pitchers have been fantastic leading me to believe this could be an excellent time to buy in before you have to pay the top 100 prices. Currently, Colby Thomas is 7% rostered in Fantrax Leagues.