No two words pique fantasy baseball owners' interest quite like "top prospect". Combine them with "called up" and you might have a stampede to the waiver wire on your hands. This year, the rush starts early, as several rookies initially expected to open the season in the minors, including Fernando Tatis Jr., Peter Alonso, and Eloy Jimenez,have made their teams' respective opening day rosters. (What? You thought only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. mattered?) For those who held out for a draft time the night before domestic opening day, it's going to be race to see who can overdraft these "sleepers" first.
Yes, as much as these young players are dripping with "limitle s potential", they can go from "values" to "overdrafted" in a hurry if you're not careful. Not everyone is Ronald Acuna Jr. or Juan Soto, and if you recall, neither started in the majors https://www.mivikingsapparel.com/chazz-surratt-jerseys last year. Still, it's tough to pa s up on young players this talented, especially when the alternative is boring veteran whose ceiling is sharply defined.
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That's not to say you shouldn't take a chance on a rookie or two. Let's face it -- the baseball season is long and way more fun when you have a lotto ticket like Tatis Jr. or Jimenez. Just be smart and don't overpay. "Boring" veterans can help you win leagues, which is usually even more fun than owning a highly touted rookie.
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Top MLB Prospect: Fernando Tatis Jr. scouting reportOnly 20, Tatis is a precocious talent who is still learning to harne s his abundant tools. Last season, Tatis fractured his thumb in the midst of an impre sive showing at Double-A and mi sed the last part of the year. This spring he hasnt shown any rust as hes blistered Cactus League pitching for a .696 slugging percentage through the first half of spring training. Hell need to tighten his plate discipline to succeed against advanced pitching, but he has the hand-eye coordination to hit for a solid average. His elite bat speed and excellent leverage allow him to generate plus power while his athleticism is more than sufficient to stick at shortstop. If he can improve his plate discipline, he profiles as a future star who could hit for average with 25-30 home runs and 15-20 stolen bases in the majors. --Frank Neville
It's surprising Tatis made the Padres opening day roster after a so-so spring where he posted a .241/.317/.444 line with two HRs, two SBs, and 15 Ks. Still, the Padres wanted to move up his timeline, and he'll be in the lineup on opening day. It's tough to know what to expect this early in his career -- especially given his home park and likely low spot in the batting order -- but the five-category upside is too tantalizing to ignore. Tatis Jr. might not be worth starting in fantasy lineups right away, but he's certainly worth owning. He'll be tough to drop unle s he's demoted (and even then you'll want to hang on for a while), so he could be a sucker's play this year, but he's still a risk worth taking.
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Top MLB Prospect: Peter Alonso scouting reportThe additions of J.D. Davis, JedLowrieand Robinson Cano cloud the picture for Alonso in New York, but the Mets roster is old, fragile, and lacking in righthanded power.Alonsos bat is big league ready, and an injury to one of the Mets veterans could create an opportunity for the powerful youngster.At the same time, the defensively challenged Alonsomight be best served as an AL designated hitterand could end up as trade bait.When he does get a big league chance he probably wonthit for average, but his plus raw power and elite bat speed are good enough to produce 25-30 home runs in a full season. --Frank Neville
Alonso is exactly a "young" prospect, andthe 24-year-old slugger is certainly ready for a shot in the majors. He impre sed in 71 spring at-bats (.352/.387/.620), clubbing four homers. There's plenty of "cheap power" available at the corner infield https://www.mivikingsapparel.com/mackensie-alexander-jerseys spots, but Alonso, who hit .290 in the minors, could have a fortunate BABIP year and wind up with a slightly higher average than those types of players. As it stands, he'll likely be a mediocre-average slugger, so it's not as if he's considerably better than "boring" guys like Carlos Santana and C.J. Cron, but it will feel like he has more upside. Either way, he's worth investing in, but remember he still has a lot to prove.
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Top MLB Prospect: Eloy Jimenez scouting reportJimenez could make a case for top prospect and has a similar offensive profile to Vladimir Guerrero Jr..Jimenez has plus bat speed and light-tower power that could be better than Guerreros raw pop. He also has good plate discipline and excellent hand-eye coordination, which should allow him to hit for average and draw plenty of walks.Jimenez dominated Triple-A last season to the tune of a .355 batting average with 12 home runs in 55 games.Like Vlad, hell probably open the season back in the minors in order to delay the start of his service time clock, but he should be starting in Chicago no later than midseason.Jimenez probably wont hit .300 as a rookie, but he should be able to hit 20-plushome runs even in a partial season.Long-term he has the tools to hit for average, get on base, and club 30-plushome runs over a full season in the majors. --Frank Neville
Jimenez actually had a pretty rough spring, walking only once and striking out 11 times. His .243/.263/.459 line showcases what you can probably expect this year, at least early. A career .311/.359/.519 hitter in the minors, the 22-year-old Jimenez has already signed a long-term contract through his arbitration years, so the White Sox are happy to let him work out his kinks in the majors. That sounds good, but it probably means a string of bad stats for fantasy owners who invested this year. He'll give you homers and hopefully RBIs, but Jimenez probably could have used at least another month or two in the minors. Still, like everyone on this list, he's a must-own player on the chance he does put it all together right away. Once the light clicks, watch out, because Jimenez is going to rake.
He's actually a good trade target after his inevitable slow start. Let another owner accrue the bad stats, then swoop in and grab him right before he figures it out.
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Top MLB Prospect: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scouting reportVlad Jr.wont turn 20 until just before the season starts, but hes already knocking on the door of the majors. Guerrerohas elite bat speedand great balance which generates impre siveplus raw power. He also has excellent patience and pitch recognition,which hasallowed him to logmore walks than strikeouts as a pro.Guerrero was slowed https://www.mivikingsapparel.com/justin-jefferson-t-shirts by injury in 2018, but when healthy he was unstoppable.He demolished Double-A pitching to the tune of a .402 batting average and 14 home runs in only 61 games, then finished up at Triple-A where he hit .336 with sixhome runs and 15 walks versus only 10 strikeouts in 30 contests.He will probablybegin the season back at Triple-A due to service time concerns, buthe should be starting at third for Toronto no later than May.Long-term hes a guy who could hit .300 and stroke 30-plushome runs a season. --Frank Neville
Guerrero wasn't doing much this spring (.211/.250/.316 in 19 at-bats) before a left oblique injury shut him down in early Mach. He'll likely mi s the first few weeks of the season and spend a week or two in the minors once healthy. Look for him in the majors by late-April/early-May. Despite being unproven, Guerrero Jr. is the most likely to hit right away.
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Top MLB Prospect: Francisco Mejia scouting reportAcquired from the Indianslast yearin a midseason trade, Mejia struggled in a late-season cameo as big league pitchers enticed him to chase pitches out of the strike zone.While Mejias bat is big league ready, where he plays in the field is a bit unclear, as hes at best an average receiver and the Padres have a glut of outfielders.Still, if he performs to his ability this spring https://www.mivikingsapparel.com/patrick-jones-ii-jerseys , itll be hard to keep him out of the lineup.Mejiaseemed locked in from both sides of the plate when I saw him in spring training.His balance looked better and he showed hisusual plusbat speed andabove-averagerawpower.If he canjustmaintain the plate discipline he showed in the minors, he should eventually hit close to .300 with moderate 15-plushome run power in thebigs. --Frank Neville
Mejia put up a .354/.380/.625 line in 48 at-bats this spring. He did strike out 12 times, but with three homers and four doubles, he showed good pop. He also had a knack for driving in runs (14 RBIs), which really doesn't mean anything but it's still a number that looks good on the stat page. Ultimately, Mejia will share time with Austin Hedges, who's considered the superior defensive option, but given the dearth of talent at the position, Mejia is still worth owning just in case he gets the clear majority of playing time.