A 15th round pick in 2022, Pirates 1B Josiash Sightler checks in at 6’3” 234 lbs and faces some uphill battles to carve out a major league role. He’s a corner-only bat who lost a key season to the pandemic and is pretty old for his current level, but he’s also hit eight home runs in 27 professional games across three levels. This week, he earned a promotion to High-A after slashing .500/.563/.891 with nine strikeouts and nine walks in 18 games at Low-A. The plate skills will be the key to his climb, and he’s already got twice as many walks (4) as strikeouts (2) in three High-A games. If he keeps this up, he should close the season in Double-A and open next year at spring training with the big club. Pittsburgh will probably bring in another veteran first baseman on the cheap, but Sightler is already the most interesting 1B in the organization.
I recently dropped Mets 2B Marco Vargas to add Sightler in the Razz30 just before Vargas got traded by the Marlins in the David Robertston deal. Vargas has seen his Fantrax roster rate triple in just a couple days since then. We only keep 25 total players, and 18 of mine figure to be big leaguers, so I’m typically looking for near-term impact from that farm. In this case, I might have made a mistake. I set up the move earlier in the week and didn’t double check before FAAB ran. Not sure I would’ve made a change, but I didn’t give myself a chance to review and consider it. The grind is eternal. An 18-year-old lefty bat with good size at 6’0” 170 lbs, Vargas features a plus hit tool and excellent plate skills. He’s carrying a 23.5-to-13.6 walk-to-strikeout rate through 33 games on the complex.
Marlins LHP Patrick Monteverde made a successful jump to Triple-A this week, picking up a win by allowing two runs in 5.2 innings. He’ll probably help with the Eury Perez innings management situation. He’s unlikely to be something special for us, but functional innings from a plus-command lefty on a winning team would be a welcome sight in a lot of leagues.
The White Sox acquired RHP Nick Nastrini from the Dodgers in the Lance Lynn deal. Kind of a catch 22 for his fantasy stock. Nice to get into a system that doesn’t have much competition for innings. Not ideal to leave Los Angeles.
Red Sox RHP Wikelman Gonzalez has been a strikeout machine all season but has turned up the heat in Double-A, striking out 19 batters in his 12 innings (1 ER). A wiry, 6’0” 167 lbs, Gonzalez is young for the level at 21 and has the kind of stuff that could make him a mainstay in our fantasy rotations if he can keep improving his command.
Diamondbacks OF Kristian Robinson is adapting quickly, slashing .368/.455/.526 over his last six games and boosting his High-A wRC+ to 117 in ten games. We’ve only got small samples to measure after years away from the game, but it’s All Systems Go so far on Robinson.
Cubs SS Jefferson Rojas has homered in back-to-back games and is slashing .305/.388/.576 in his last 15 games. He’s listed at 5’10” 150 lbs but looks bigger than that to my eyes and much stronger than you’d expect an 18-year-old middle infielder to be.
19-year-old Phillies OF Raylin Heredia is going primeval on the Florida Complex League, slashing .353/.433/.595 four home runs and five steals in 28 games. He’ll turn 20 in November, so he’s got some catch-up to do on the age-to-level front, but he certainly seems ready for the next challenge.
Pirates OF Esmerlyn Valdez (19, FCPX) is in a similar boat as he repeats the FCL despite posting a 117 wRC+ in 33 games at the level last season. He’s hitting .391 with five homers and three steals through 26 games this year and should graduate to Low-A soon.
Rays OF Angel Mateo is slugging .590 in July after a tough June. He’s 6’2” 190 lbs as an 18-year-old and is demanding some attention in the Florida Complex League.
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