2014 Fantasy Baseball: The Farm Report, June 3
Welcome back!
| Name | Franchise | Level | PA | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javier Baez | Cubs | AAA | 182 | 23 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 0.223 | 0.280 | 0.416 |
| Arismendy Alcantara | Cubs | AAA | 205 | 31 | 7 | 28 | 10 | 0.280 | 0.317 | 0.540 |
| Kris Bryant | Cubs | AA | 234 | 47 | 17 | 46 | 7 | 0.350 | 0.453 | 0.685 |
| Matt Davidson | White Sox | AAA | 196 | 13 | 6 | 16 | 0.182 | 0.255 | 0.335 | |
| Maikel Franco | Phillies | AAA | 217 | 26 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 0.234 | 0.304 | 0.360 |
| Joc Pederson | Dodgers | AAA | 237 | 43 | 15 | 33 | 13 | 0.337 | 0.443 | 0.618 |
| Gregory Polanco | Pirates | AAA | 236 | 38 | 6 | 46 | 12 | 0.349 | 0.411 | 0.552 |
| Byron Buxton | Twins | A+ | 20 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.150 | 0.150 | 0.350 | |
| Carlos Correa | Astros | A+ | 219 | 31 | 5 | 47 | 12 | 0.318 | 0.379 | 0.482 |
| Joey Gallo | Rangers | A+ | 226 | 50 | 21 | 48 | 5 | 0.322 | 0.460 | 0.764 |
| Mookie Betts | Red Sox | AA | 248 | 56 | 6 | 34 | 22 | 0.362 | 0.448 | 0.562 |
| Addison Russell | Athletics | AA | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.714 | 0.714 | 1.286 |
Oscar Taveras graduated! And he did so with style.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll likely see more of the prospects below receive their call to the majors and subsequently graduate to our Rookie Report. It wouldn’t surprise me if a few (Hi, Polanco!) are in the majors by the time our next update rolls around (in two weeks). I’ll do my best to pick intriguing talents to replace them. In order to do that, I’ll probably shift a little more towards talents that are further away from the majors. I’ll do this for one reason mainly: dynasty leagues. Most of the time, prospects that are going to make a noticeable fantasy impact are up by mid-June or early July. So the report’s focus will be changing a little bit.
All three of the Cubs’ prospects on our list are hitting well right now. Kris Bryant has been hitting since day one; Baez and Alcantara, less so. Alcantara has been more consistent than Baez, but he’s still been hovering around league average. Not anymore. A couple of hot weeks have boosted his slash line to nearly 20% than league average. Baez, meanwhile, has been smashing since May 18. Since then, Baez has slashed .377/.375(!)/.698. He still struck out 30% of the time over that stretch, so work is definitely still needed.
Matt Davidson has been awful this year, and it appears as if that isn’t going to change anytime soon considering his 35% strikeout rate. Maikel Franco hasn’t been as bad as Davidson, but he’s not wowing anyone either. The Phillies are likely to be sellers at the deadline anyways, so Franco’s best bet was always as a September call-up.
Gregory Polanco is still hitting. Hopefully his production carries over once Pittsburgh calls. Ditto for Joc Pederson, except for the call-up part. It’s damn shame he has no place on the Dodgers’ roster. Chances are, he’s going to need a trade to see enough playing time to be fantasy relevant.
And that brings us to MOOKIE. He’s still hitting, and now he’s playing in the outfield a little. I have a hard time seeing the Red Sox rushing him despite the paltry production they’ve received from their outfield.
| Name | Franchise | Level | IP | K% | BB% | ERA | FIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archie Bradley | Dbacks | AAA | 24.1 | 20.4% | 10.6% | 5.18 | 3.76 |
| Noah Syndergaard | Mets | AAA | 53.2 | 24.7% | 8.2% | 4.02 | 4.04 |
| Eddie Butler | Rockies | AA | 68.2 | 14.1% | 6.7% | 2.49 | 3.32 |
| Jonathan Gray | Rockies | AA | 53.2 | 21.6% | 4.7% | 3.86 | 3.41 |
| Mark Appel | Astros | A+ | 14.1 | 20.3% | 6.8% | 11.93 | 7.16 |
| Henry Owens | Red Sox | AA | 64.1 | 26.4% | 11.6% | 2.52 | 3.27 |
| Robert Stephenson | Reds | AA | 58 | 27.1% | 11.1% | 3.26 | 3.86 |
| Aaron Sanchez | Blue Jays | AA | 54.1 | 17.8% | 15.4% | 4.14 | 4.66 |
| Matt Wisler | Padres | AAA | 20.1 | 19.6% | 7.8% | 8.85 | 6.20 |
| Andrew Heaney | Marlins | AA | 53.2 | 23.9% | 6.0% | 2.35 | 2.31 |
| Andrew Heaney | Marlins | AAA | 11 | 35.0% | 0.0% | 0.82 | 1.10 |
| Alex Meyer | Twins | AAA | 51.2 | 27.9% | 11.7% | 3.31 | 3.38 |
Mark Appel was not welcomed back to high-A with open arms. He surrendered 10 runs in a little over an inning of work. Yikes. Eddie Butler and Jonathan Gray are still performing pretty well, and I believe there’s a decent bet to be made that they’ll be up in short under to fortify Colorado’s pitching staff for the stretch run. Andrew Heaney might be joining them in the bigs soon, as well. Heaney was promoted to Triple-A and has been dominant through 11 innings. It’s only a matter of time.
Robert Stephenson has been able to harness his pitches a little more lately, only walking 8.2% of opposing batters in four starts since May 11. Aaron Sanchez, on the other hand, has seen even worse results. In his last four starts, Sanchez has walked 19% of the batters he’s faced. His command has always been an issue, but coupled with questions about his delivery it doesn’t look like he’s answered any of those questions this season.
Finally, Noah Syndergaard is on the mend. Syndergaard was diagnosed with an elbow strain. Luckily, his MRI came back clean and Tommy John was avoided. He’s set to rejoin the rotation in Triple-A soon.
See ya next time.
The Author
