Prospect News: Pay The Troll Tolle or A Good Day For McLean

Red Sox RHP Dustin May pitched six innings and allowed one run in his second start with Boston after allowing four runs in 3.2 innings against the Royals in his debut. This front office took a lot of heat during the Rafael Devers saga, and they probably could’ve avoided that with better communication, but the proof is in the win-loss pudding at this point, and Boston is back in a playoff race, 1.5 games up on the Yankees and and one game behind the Mariners for the top wild card spot. 

Red Sox LHP Payton Tolle (22, AAA) could pitch his way into that playoff race. At 6’6” 250 lbs with plus command of a high-90’s fastball, Tolle makes for an intimidating, uncomfortable at bat. He allowed five runs in five innings during his Triple-A debut this week but was untouchable across 27 Double-A innings, posting a 1.67 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. 

White Sox RHP Yohendry Gomez impressed against the first-place Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, pitching five, one-hit innings. I’ve long held a candle for him as a Yankees farmhand, but it makes sense that he couldn’t crack that rotation. With Chicago, he’d have to pitch his way out of the gig. The season-long numbers are still ugly (5.56 ERA), but this was essentially his major league debut as a starting pitcher, so I’m curious to see where it goes from here. 

The New York Mets haven’t decided who will step in for Frankie Montas, but it’s probably between RHP Brandon Sproat and RHP Nolan McLean. Good on the team for making this move. Here’s what I wrote about the situation on Sunday’s stash list: 

“(McLean) Has adjusted beautifully to Triple-A, posting a 1.04 WHIP and 2.89 ERA over his last eight starts with 62 strikeouts in 56 innings. Perhaps the command isn’t quite perfect, but McLean’s stuff is major league ready, and Frankie Montas does not look good right now. It’s a little confusing to me that they’re so committed to him during a tight NL East pennant race. He’s got a player option for next year at $17 million, so maybe there’s some sunk cost fallacy in play, but that doesn’t make a ton of sense either given the way this organization operates. They could at least send him to the bullpen for a while.”

Hey there’s me quoting me! Haven’t done that in a while, but this one just lined right up. In other Mets news, the team promoted RHP Jonah Tong to Triple-A along with a cohort of SS Jett Williams, 1B Ryan Clifford and OF Carson Benge this week. I have to imagine the club sees these guys as options for the postseason roster this year. Benge has been locked in for quite a while and would be a smart target via trade if you’re a seller this trade season.  

The Brewers beat Paul Skenes and the Pirates 14-0. I heard a podcast just this week where both guys said they have Skenes over Tarik Skubal in dynasty, and I have to disagree with that. I don’t even understand how you get to that conclusion, to be honest. Wins are a stat we use in fantasy baseball. One guy pitches for an up-and-coming team that’s already among the best in the league. The other guy pitches for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but not a normal iteration of the Pirates. Gaps around the game have widened. If you’re playing to lose, you’re gonna do just that. Can’t fake your way to 70 wins these days. Each of the last two seasons, we’ve seen all-time-bad losing percentages. I’ll take Skubal all day every day for the next half decade. Why would anyone be playing for the seasons beyond that? Don’t get stuck in this dynasty trap? Is Skenes the more naturally gifted guy or the higher upside play over the next 15 years or whatever? Sure. Maybe. But I don’t care. That’s not the question. Set a timeline for your teams. Play to win soon, not someday. 

Rays RHP Forrest Whitley (27, AAA) has been excellent as a Durham Bull, recording a 1.99 ERA and 0.79 WHIP over his last 22.2 innings across five starts. Not much to do about this but to take a past-is-prologue approach and add Whitley where you can find him through the trees. The Rays know how to make a move like this sting for the team that sold low on an enigmatic asset. 

It’s always interesting to see which prospects AJ Preller hangs onto because it’s probably that prospect was part of many trade negotiations as he climbed the organizational ladder. Currently, this attention lands on Padres RHP Miguel Mendez (23, AA), who threw six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in his Double-A debut after posting a 1.32 ERA in 61.1 High-A frames spread across 12 starts. That’s a pretty large IP per GS ratio for a lower minors arm, let alone one with such pristine ratios. Usually guys build numbers this crazy by working in short bursts. Listed at 6’2” 165 lbs, Mendez has added strength and balance throughout his delivery, which has helped his command and velocity tick up. His fastball and slider are both pushing double-plus. Probably time to add him where you can fit him. 

Thanks for reading!