Graduated from Stash List #5: House Party or Moore Is Better: Roman Anthony, Christian Moore, Jacob Misiorowski
Note: Anyone promoted during the current season is ineligible for the stash list.
1. Reds RHP Chase Burns (22, AAA)
Made his Triple-A debut this week and walked four batters but still surrendered just two runs in 5.1 innings and struck out seven Iowa Cubs. I wouldn’t give him more than five starts at the level, and I doubt the Reds will. They paid the man $9.25 million to sign on the dotted line. No good reason to spend a pile of pitches in the minors.
2. Orioles C Samuel Basallo (20, AAA)
We’ve seen signs of life in Baltimore (6-and-4 over their last ten games), which helps Basallo’s timeline. Might even be a little front-office fear in the air to accelerate the situation. He’s tried for the league lead in home runs with 14, most of those happening over the last month or so. In his last 27 games, Basallo is slashing .292/.409/.688 with 11 home runs. I really, REALLY hope he doesn’t spend another ten-homer month in the minors. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I think he’d be a better hitter than Adley Rutschman right now if you gave them the same workload over the next 162 games. I’m not saying they should make that switch, for the record. Just that they should both be on the team.
3. Nationals 3B Brady House (22, AAA)
We need Hugh Laurie in here to diagnose why Washington hasn’t given the young House his flowers yet. He’s second in the International League with 13 home runs, slashing .303/.352/.522 despite a 27.1 percent strikeout rate, which . . . oh I guess we don’t need Hugh Laurie. That’s probably their rationale, assuming it’s not just money and org-ladder stuff.
4. Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (22, AAA)
Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Bubba be swashbucklin in the minors until the team decides to give up some treasure. Anyone who says otherwise can walk the plank. Also Mike Burrows looks good. He can stay on the boat. Yar.
5. Giants 1B Bryce Eldridge (20, AAA)
Dom Smith is making the most of his opportunity so far, and good for him, but the future is nigh, and it’s as huge and horrifying as Cthulhu on an acid trip. Eldridge is slashing just .152/.237/.333 with two home runs in nine Triple-A games, but he’s super young for that level, so I’m not gonna worry about the strikeout rate (34.2%) for another few months, if ever, given the size of this 6’7” 240 lb nightmare in the batter’s box.
6. Guardians OF Chase DeLauter (23, AAA)
Shaking off the rust, hitting .304 with seven walks against three strikeouts over his last seven games. If he can stay on the field this summer, DeLauter should be part of the playoff push in Cleveland.
7. Athletics OF Colby Thomas (24, AAA)
A third-round pick in 2022, Thomas is slugging .683 with a 153 wRC+ over his last 13 games while drawing one walk against 12 strikeouts as he tries to hit his way out of the minor leagues. He’s got 16 home runs in 62 games this year and could be a summer stud if they unleash him in that ballpark.
8. Phillies OF Justin Crawford (21, AAA)
Out since June 5 with a quad problem. Could be up with the club a week or so after he gets healthy. I think he’s a starter in shallow leagues right away.
9. Mariners C Harry Ford (22, AAA)
I’m surprised they’ve kept him behind the plate all year, but I can also understand the philosophy of Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It, and Ford is slashing .372/.454/.619 with seven home runs in his last 27 games. Over that stretch, he’s got a 14.6-to-11.5 percent strikeout-to-walk rate. Hitting-wise, it’s hard to make a case to keep him in the minors, but with Cal Raleigh behind the plate in Seattle, Ford remains in the factory until something changes. This usually ends with both catchers playing a lot by sharing the designated hitter spot. The Mariners are mixing and matching there already to keep Ben Williamson, Cole Young and Jorge Polanco in the lineup. Net net, I think Ford wins out over Williamson and/or Dominic Canzone.
10. Red Sox OF Jhostynxon Garcia (22, AAA)
I know it’s crowded on the grass in Boston, but Garcia is hitting .329 with six home runs through 20 Triple-A games, and a big trade or two would make a lot of sense. If you’ve got no patience for that kind of thing, go ahead and write Mets RHP Nolan McLean (23, AAA) into this spot. He’s making big leaps on the mound now as he settles into being a full-time pitcher after playing both ways most of his young life.
Thanks for reading!
