Prospect News: Lalane Brings The Juice or Hot Days Tall Pitchers

I’ve been happy to see Giants 1B OF Victor Bericoto (24) make the most of his scant opportunities while Harrison Bader rests a sore heel, especially over the past week or so as Bericoto has three home runs over his last seven games playing as a lineup regular for the first time. San Francisco should be looking to sell at the deadline, leaving Victor’s path to playing time wide open for the foreseeable future. Granted, they’ll probably shuffle the deck this off-season, but he’s got a potent enough bat to secure a long-term roster spot at the least. 

Yankees RHP Brendan Beck (27, AAA) has enjoyed something of a breakout season at Triple-A–not that he was a loser before–and should get a chance to join the jam at the major league level now that Carlos Rodon is back on the injured list with an elbow strain. I wrote that sentence on Friday night. It’s Saturday now. Beck is getting that chance in an early game against the Twins. It’s not going great. He’s allowed three home runs through two innings. I hope he gets another start that gives him a little better chance to prepare and succeed. 

After a bumpy couple months to open the season, Cardinals LHP Quinn Mathews (25, AAA) has been rolling for a while in Triple-A and looking like an intriguing option in just about any sized league. Over his last seven starts, he’s pitched a healthy 36.1 innings and recorded 46 strikeouts against 16 walks along with a 0.91 WHIP and 2.23 ERA. Options are thin in the fantasy game at the moment, and Mathews has the off-speed stuff to thrive when he’s hitting his spots from a 6”5” frame with a deceptively low release point. 

Another tall guy finding the bleeding edge between balance and deception, Rays RHP Ty Johnson (24, AAA) uses his 6’6” 205 pound frame to hide the baseball until he whips around from behind his head and careens toward the plate. It’s working. In 44.1 innings, he’s recorded 56 strikeouts along with a 2.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. Just one of his nine starts got blown up by control problems (4 walks). Tampa likes to slow roast their pitchers, so maybe they’ll just let him dominate the level for most of the season, but he could quickly become a shallow redraft option if he gets the chance. 

Cardinals LHP Mason Molina (22) caught the monorail to Memphis thanks to an extended stretch of success to open the season in Double-A Springfield (2.87 ERA and 82 Ks in 69 IP). Molina’s no stranger to long-distance travel, having been drafted by Milwaukee in 2024 then dealt that off-season to Texas. He’d get to settle in with that organization until the trade deadline that summer of 2025, when the Rangers sent him to St. Louis as part of the Merrill Kelly trade. The Cardinals are contenders and have a little wiggle room in the rotation. Perhaps he’ll be on the move again this summer. If not, he’s probably number two on the minor league org chart after Quinn Mathews for a major league rotation look. For what it’s worth, I think the kid looks great. He’s got balance throughout a delivery that keeps off-speed that’s indecipherable from the fastball, which is a smooth 95 mph he spots atop the zone with ease. Hitters do not seem to like facing him. 

I guess it’s pitcher day around here because the next guy I have to highlight is Yankees LHP Henry Lalane (22, A), who’s been a popular breakout pick over the past couple years but couldn’t stay healthy–not uncommon for a 6’7” 211 pound lefty growing into his frame. As you might imagine, when it’s going well for Lalane, it’s going very badly for the hitters. In 62.1 innings, he’s recorded 81 strikeouts while allowing just 40 hits, good for a 2.74 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. In his last two outings, he’s pitched seven shutout innings with 11 and 12 strikeouts, respectively. I’m surprised he’s still in Low-A. If he’s healthy the rest of this season, he’ll open next year on a lot of top 100 lists. 

Thanks for reading!