I took a week off to wrangle up some gets starting their summer but I’m back. We will update you on prospects with high ceilings and give you some sleepers to add. Now let’s get silly with fantasy baseball prospects and young MLB players in this week’s Irish Report.
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MLB Prospects Making News
As happens in most of my reports you will recognize most of the names called up or making news as we here at Fantrax try to keep you informed.
The biggest news of the week came yesterday afternoon as fireballer AJ Smith-Shawver was brought up by the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are known to be aggressive with prospects, so this isn’t a huge surprise. The big question is where he will slot in as there isn’t currently a spot for Smith-Shawver in the starting rotation.
Ben Joyce was called up Sunday morning. He has an 80-grade fastball that will go 105 and he could get thrown into high-leverage roles right away.
Page hero Jhonny Brito has been demoted. No further updates until his return, though the Yanks frequently have injured pitchers so he could make his return sooner rather than later.
Nolan Jones has been called back up. A former top overall prospect for the Guardians he is now with the Rockies. He was hitting over .350 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs for the Albuquerque Isotopes.
Some people’s number one prospect, James Wood, has been promoted to AA for the Nationals. With all the young players it wouldn’t be shocking if Wood gets a taste of the majors this year.
After a slow start to his early career, Matt McClain is now hitting .325 since he was called up. Barring a major slump, he should be depended on for the rest of the season.
Marc Church for the Rangers has been promoted to AAA. With the Rangers in the thick of the early playoff hunt, I could see him up to help the upstart Rangers in late summer.
A guy I’m pretty high on from the Rays, Junior Caminero, has been promoted to AA. Not even 20 yet and we are talking Wander Franco hype for this guy right now. He has destroyed the ball wherever he has played.
Prospect Notes
- Manuel Espinoza, Cubs
This is a real sleeper. Struggling to a 6.08 ERA last year in High A Manuel Espinoza has adjusted. Through a small sample size this year in High A Espinoza has pitched 13 innings with an ERA of 1.08 and an 18:1 K/9 ratio. He is a very toolsy pitcher with high spin rates to get batters out. A raw sleeper if I ever saw one.
Colby White, Rays
A forgotten man in the seemingly never-ending Tampa Bay farm system Colby White was having the season of his life moving up four levels in 2021. White struck out 104 in 62 innings and looked poised to take a step to the majors. Like most dominant pitchers White had to receive Tommy John surgery. It’s 2023 and White is finally healthy and will be going out for assignment. There will be innings limit, but he should be stashed before it’s too late.
Ethan Salas, Padres
Most casual fans don’t pay attention to international prospects until it’s too late. Ethan Salas is 16 years old and will be starting for Low A. He is one of the youngest players in minor league baseball and went 2-4 with a walk in his minor league debut. I almost have kids as old as Ethan.
DROP THESE PLAYERS
I haven’t mentioned some of my past failures, but the following players are players I have tweeted about (almost all power bats) that are safe to drop:
- Mason Martin, Pirates
- Bryce Ball, Cubs
- Bobby Bradley, FA
- Ricky Vanasco, Rangers