We saw promotions aplenty this week across baseball, and most should be relevant even in shallow mixed leagues.
Cardinals SS Masyn Winn is hitting .214 through four games, but it’s just nice to see him with the big club. Even with every sign pointing to him as the opening day shortstop next season, I’d been worried about the team looking for veteran options over the offseason. They still might, I guess, if Winn struggles, but if he holds his own, he’ll rubber stamp that job.
Yankees OF Everson Pereira has always hit. Fangraphs has him at 30/35 for the hit tool, and I agree that swing and miss is the biggest concern, but he is hitting .312 as a 22-year-old in Triple-A after hitting .291 in 46 games in Double-A. Even running strikeout rates up near the 30-percent range, he’s carried excellent wRC+ rates at five stops since 2021. Shout-out to Oddball Herrera for asking why he missed the last stash. He was 16th. Thought about extending it to 25 as a one-time deal and now wish I had.
If I had gone to 25, I could’ve fit red hot Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who the club recalled on Tuesday to take the place of injured OF Jarren Duran. Abreu has nine home runs in his last 17 games and makes an intriguing pickup in most formats. He went 2-for-3 with a double in his debut.
Tigers OF Parker Meadows has been much more up-and-down throughout his minor league career but gets a 30/40 from Fangraphs due to slightly better contact skills. He looked good this spring and played okay in Triple-A, but his 97 wRC+ in 517 Triple-A plate appearances suggests we’ll see some bumps in the road.
Reds SS Noelvi Marte was controlling the strike zone in Triple-A, posting a 15.5-to-14.7 walk-to-strikeout rate in his final month (28 games) at the level. Like Masyn Winn, he has a chance to put his stamp on a starting spot entering spring training next year.
While it’s surprising to see Angels 1B Nolan Schanuel in the majors the month after he was drafted, he wasn’t facing much of a challenge in Double-A, slashing .339/.480/.475 with almost twice as many walks as strikeouts. He’s got a .357 on base percentage through three games as a big leaguer, and the Angels need guys on base so badly they’ve batted him leadoff.
Giants OF Luis Matos is with the big club again after a brief trip to the minors. He put some flowers in his hair and homered in his first game back. Wade Meckler’s a tough out, but he sounds like a Justified character and shouldn’t relegate Matos to a bench role.
Mariners OF Dominic Canzone debuted a while back but is quickly asserting his spot on a hot Seattle team. The emergence of fellow left handed outfield rookie Cade Marlowe complicates the issue, but the team can probably find room for both of them against righties. Gotta do right by the family.
Dodgers 2B Michael Busch should drink up some plate appearances while JD Martinez rests on the IL with groin tightness. No secret around here that I’ve never liked Busch as much as consensus, but a lot of that is tied to his lack of defensive value. If he could carve out a role as a designated hitter slash utility player, he’d be an intriguing piece for our game. He played 199 games at Triple-A, so his incredible slash line there (.323/.432/.615) should be taken with some extremely salty pretzels.
Giants LHP Kyle Harrison made his debut Tuesday, allowing six baserunners and two runs across 3.1 innings. He’s an incredibly talented guy who should be effective long-term, but I think we’ll get more pain than gain in the categories.
Yankees OF Jasson Dominguez was promoted to Triple-A this week as a 20-year-old. He’d been dominant since July 1, slashing .331/.399/.492 with a 22.2 percent strikeout rate and 144 wRC+, not to mention 19 steals in 42 games. On the one hand, it feels like this took a while to materialize. On the other hand, he’s still just 20 years old and looks more than ready for the next challenge. It’s not his fault that people in dynasty drafts picked him over CJ Abrams, who absolutely raced to the majors and settled in more quickly than most would’ve expected. It’s been a little bumpy at times, but Dominguez is tracking as a top 25 prospect heading into 2024.
Thanks for reading!
