Feels like we get big prospect headlines every weekend. Makes sense on the baseball calendar. Adley Rutschman, Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore all got that call this week, and I got an invitation to reshuffle the stash list.
Graduated from Volume 2: Royce Lewis Rolls Into Town: George Kirby, Adley Rutschman, Alek Thomas, Vidal Brujan, Nolan Gorman, Ryan Pepiot
If you cared to look back that far, you’d see two graduates in this list from the class of Volume 1, Oneil Cruz Control featured again here in Volume 3, but that’s just the nature of the nomenclature these days. Confusing times when the top guy on the stash list just got demoted after dominating for a couple weeks, but here we are, and away we go.
1. Minnesota SS Royce Lewis (AAA) 22 years old
Went 3-for-3 with a homer, a walk, and a stolen base in his first game back in AAA after slashing .308/.325/.564 in 11 games as a major leaguer. Figures to be a short stay in St. Paul.
2. Pittsburgh SS Oneil Cruz (AAA) 23 years old
Cruz has been patient and productive for about two weeks now, slashing .261/.414/.478 with a 19% strikeout and 15.5% walk rate over his past 12 games. He’s got two home runs, two stolen bases, and two caught-stealings over that stretch. He may not dominate from the jump, but the dead ball shouldn’t bother him much if he’s this patient in the show.
3. Baltimore RHP Grayson Rodriguez (AAA) 22 years old
Threw 5.1 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts last time out on May 17. I have long thought Rodriguez would come up whenever Adley did, so now we wait.
4. Kansas City 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (AAA) 24 years old
Who down Vinnie P? Every last homie, if my recent efforts to trade for him are any indication. Vinnie has made some trades of his own, sacrificing a little contact for power and swatting seven home runs in 17 games since April 30.
5. Washington SS Luis Garcia (AAA) 22 years old
Front office has blinders on here, and it’s pretty damn irritating, just thinking about it through Garcia’s point of view. He’s slashing .336/.393/.589 with eight home runs in 35 games. His 9.2% walk and 14.7% percent strikeout rate are mirror images of what the 22-year-old produced in AAA as a 21-year-old last season. I moved him up a bit this week because good wins out over evil in the end. He’s not even a prospect, so including him on the list could open a floodgate for all the Adells and Kelenics to come rushing through, but I sneaked him on through a viaduct under the city using a caveat I created last season: Garcia has graduated prospect eligibility but hasn’t debuted yet this season, so he makes the list.
6. Boston 1B Triston Casas (AAA) 22 years old
Insert Dobby Malbec bit here, paired with cheese and Franchy Cordero dressing. Casas has been kind of meh in May, slashing .245/.328/.469 with two home runs in 14 games. I’m eager to see how he deals with the cement baseballs MLB is swapping in and out this year.
7. Pittsburgh RHP Roansy Contreras (AAA) 22 years old
Contreras was up to 5.2 innings in his last AAA start on May 19, so if we are taking this front office at its word (and why wouldn’t we), he has built up the innings required to return to Pittsburgh’s beleaguered rotation.
8. Detroit OF Riley Greene (AAA) 21 years old
Detroit is 13-and-26 as I write this sentence, so they might take their time giving Greene the go-ahead at the various stages of his rehab. Word is he’s back on the field already.
9. Los Angeles 3B Miguel Vargas (AAA) 22 years old
My pick for most consistent hitter in minor league baseball over the past couple seasons. Might be an upgrade over Max Muncy right now, but the Dodgers are 1.5 games up on the Padres and 4 games up on the Giants. No reason to rock the boat.
10. Kansas City 1B Nick Pratto (AAA) 23 years old
He’s always been a streaky hitter, and Pratto is getting hot at the right time (five walks and two homers in his last two games) with Kansas City seeking a sea change at the big league level, as discussed in my last article Prospect News: Royals Barbecue Hitting Coach or Moore Needs Sauce.
11. Colorado 3B Elehuris Montero (AAA) 23 years old
Montero is a career .500 hitter in the majors, so he’s got that going for him. He’s also slashing .299/.366/.504 in AAA this year, but the Rockies don’t seem too interested. Ryan McMahon is locked into the third base job. Kris Bryant is in left field. Yonathan Daza has a 134 wRC+ in 80 plate appearances this year. Connor Joe looks like an everyday player at DH. This has always been the problem for Colorado. If you put someone in Coors for half their games, they will probably produce, and then they’ll be blocking more talented players behind them. The front office has rarely shown the foresight to actively sort through their hitters and trade the extras. He’d be much higher on the list if I had any confidence in Colorado.
12. Boston RHP Josh Winckowski (AAA) 23 years old
Wink’s command was already good when it leapt late last season, an improvement he’s carried over to 2022 as evidenced by his 0.82 WHIP across 25.2 AAA innings. Whisper mill suggests he’s coming up soon.
13. Miami RHP Max Meyer (AAA) 23 years old
Sent to the IL with ulnar nerve irritation, an ominous diagnosis to say the least. What to do here? In some leagues, you already dropped him and can hope to get him back if he gets back. In some leagues, you absolutely can’t drop him. The timing here is brutal for all involved. The Marlins are a wait-and-see sort of team where arm injuries are concerned, which means this could cost Meyer 2022 and 2023 if it’s a worst-case scenario. Word from the club is they don’t expect him to miss much time, so at least somebody’s optimistic around here.
14. Arizona OF Stone Garrett (AAA) 26 years old
Jake McCarthy got the call when Arizona needed a new snake this week, and he’s earned that sunshine with his .400/.505/.693 slash line across 20 AAA games, but we’re leaving no stone unturned here at Razzball. Garrett is carrying a ten-game on-base streak for AAA Reno, during which he has five strikeouts, five walks, three home runs and three stolen bases. The D-Backs are 20-and-21 at the moment, 3-and-7 over their last ten games, so it’s all hands on deck as they battle a covid spike in their clubhouse, and Garrett is likely the next man up.
15. San Diego SS CJ Abrams (AAA) 21 years old
Hit three homers in his first two AAA games then lost the plot, slashing .094/.194/.094 in his last seven contests. It’s just one week, and he does have two steals over that stretch, but Abrams needs reps against good pitching after losing time the last two years, and with Robinson Cano in San Diego, I suspect Abrams will stay in AAA until August or so unless he rips off a really great run.
The next ten:
16. Cubs RHP Caleb Kilian (AAA) 24 yo
17. Miami RHP Edward Cabrera (AAA) 24 yo
18. Pittsburgh SS Ji-hwan Bae (AAA) 22 yo
19. Tampa 1B Jonathan Aranda (AAA) 24 yo
20. Philadelphia OF Mickey Moniak (AAA)
21. White Sox C Carlos Perez (AAA) 25 yo
22. San Francisco 3B Jason Vosler (AAA) 28 yo
23. San Francisco 3B David Villar (AAA) 25 yo
24. St. Louis LHP Zack Thompson (AAA) 24 yo
25. Oakland 3B Dermis Garcia (AAA) 24 yo
Thanks for reading!
I’m @theprospectitch on Twitter.
Hi Itch- and familiarity with yeppy de los santos who Pittsburgh called up a couple days ago. Could he see high leverage role eventually ?
Hi, Jim,
Was just watching him the other day and yes, I think so. He lives atop the zone around 96 and mixes in big vertical drop off-speed stuff in the low 80’s to devastating effect. Pitch mix works a bit like Dany Jimenez’s.
Hey Itch
Always love your stuff.
Don’t have alot of moves or room but should i be dropping miranda for E. Ruiz ( i read the comments below, not sure why he isnt higher on your list?) or dropping miranda for vinnie/garcia?
Thanks, Umpy70!
I would drop Miranda for Vinnie.
Ruiz is still in AA, and while the Padres have jumped guys over AAA in the past, I don’t think they’ll do so w Ruiz.
The O’s called up AR in the middle of a series. Spenser Watkins left in the 1st and has been the worst O’s started by a long margin. GR starts line up with Watkins’. The O’s have a double header scheduled for Watkins’ next start (5/28) in Fenway. What are the odds GR gets the nod instead?
Good call. Makes a lot sense to me, but I think they’ll do what they can to have him debut at home.
Amazing list Itch!
I’m in a 10 team H2H league (R, Hits, RBI, SB, HR, BB, AVG) where we keep 10 and I have the luxury of some of the guys on your stash list available. My team is:
1B – Alonso
2B – Albies
3B – Witt Jr
SS – Bichette
OF – Acuna
OF – Tatis
OF – Luis Robert
UT: Julio Rodriguez
Bench: Corbin Carroll
I wanted to give you my team context to help in who to stash. Available in my league are:
Miguel Vargas
Vinnie P
Luis Garcia
Jarren Duran
How would you rank these guys for my team/league and which 2 should I grab?
Thanks!
LG
Jordan Walker also available. Further away than the guys above but handling AA really well. Is Walker the guy to stash noting I don’t necessarily need production this year from this group?
Walker was just grabbed by another team so please drop him out.
Thanks LG!!
I’ll take Vinnie and Garcia.
What are your thoughts on Ken Waldichuk (NYY) and Hayden Wenski (NYY)?
Waldichuk has been incredible from the jump. Someone in the comments sent me his way very early in his career because he was in the park watching Waldo carve up the competition. Baseball talk doesn’t get much better than the Razzball comments section, imo.
Plus fastball, plus command, plus changeup lefties tend to perform early, and the home park is a great fit for his approach.
I have watched a lot less Wesneski for whatever reason and don’t have a real confident read on him, but he’s mostly felt like a reliever to me, an opinion that was formed before his fastball jumped a bit in velo. Thanks for the good question; I should zoom in and reassess given how effective he’s been with the new juice.
Have you heard anything about Nats calling up Luis Garcia?
Sad to say I have not.
You couldn’t lie to me? Cmon pal!
Never!
I have never told a lie that ended well for me : )
HAHA
Who would be the more useful stash josh winks or mets david peterson ??
I’ll give the edge to Peterson.
I am going to continue to be the Esteury Ruiz truther around these parts. The Grisham as an everyday player on a contender experiment is wearing thin.
Also, a couple more dominant outings in AAA and might the Red Sox hit the panic button and call up Bello?
I like it! 29 steals in 38 games is Billy Hamilton stuff, and Ruiz is hitting for power with a .497 OBP. I’d say he’s got video game numbers, but I’ve never been able steal that many bags in most games.
It’s a little odd he’s still in AA. I’m kinda worried they’re going to keep him there through the minor league all star game so he can get that little reward. I agree with you that they should just jump him up there as the centerfielder and see what happens.
Is this fair, I’m rebuilding?
Receive: Baz/Wander
Send: JRAM/Wheeler
I guess it’s fair enough that some would prefer the youth, but I definitely want the JRAM side no matter where I’m at in the contention cycle. He’s just 29. Wheeler turns 32 soon, but pitchers have been aging pretty well lately. I’d be into swapping him for Baz even if I have to kick in a tiny piece, but I’d be happy to keep Wheeler if that’s not a fit and think you’re much closer to contending again if you keep those two guys and build around them.
I actually ended up offering that and he came back wanting Tucker too. Hahahaha.
Offered that cuz I don’t care how soon we win, rather how long I completely dominate the league. I’m a patient guy. We can keep 15/5 in our 12-teamer. Check out our roster:
C-Adley (sat on my bench for 4 freaking years)
1B-Tork/Vinnie
2B-none
SS-Bo/CJ/Termarr
3B-JRAM/House
OF-Tucker/JRod/Riley Greene/Hassell
SP-Grayson/Wheeler/May/McClanny/Painter
RP-Clay (thanks Grey)/Raisel
Others could keep are Rogers/Kiriloff/E Cabrera/
Problem is there is a team that has somehow gathered, I’m not f*cking kidding: Soto/Trout/Machado/Acuna/Tatis/Scherzer/Verlander & 3 top closers. So we aren’t beating them for a few years, regardless.
Looks to me like you’re ready to roll in 2023.
That dominant team has old pitching, and I don’t think you should worry about that team while refining your own.
I would try to sell Tork for a 2B and turn to Vinnie P at 1B.
Wander doesn’t really help you as much as Ramirez. Bo is plenty at SS. Ramirez is the best 3B.
I’ll bet you could find a FA closer and solid FA starter given the whole year to comb for it.
I like the Tork idea for a 2B, who do you think he could fetch?
Love the write up. Keeping me ahead of the game!
I was offered Jarren Duran for my Camilo Doval in a deep 30t dynasty, H2H points.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks, Dan!!
Doval for me even in points, assuming saves aren’t totally useless there.
Thanks Itch! Your the hardest working man in the prospect business! I need to study that next 10 list :-)
Would you deal Grayson, Jarren Duran and Peguero for Severino and L.Urias?
Have a hole with Mondesi down at MI and Berrios, Woodruff, and Castillo under preforming. 12 team HTH keeper league.
Thanks, junior56!
Carlos Perez is ridiculous right now. Next ten is rich, as is the ten after that, but Perez has earned a look at the next level the next time Chicago needs a hitter.
I don’t think I’d trade Grayson at the moment. That offer is fine, and I like getting something for Duran, but I’d have to be well overpaid to move Rodriguez before his debut. If he’s dominant in his first outing, I’d check the market at that point.
I wonder if you can back Grayson and Severino out of the deal and still make it happen. Great time to get Luis Urias.
One more for you, Itch. Assuming Royce Lewis gets called back up while Correa is healthy, where does he play? I’ve heard centerfield or thirdbase. It looks like he has only played one game at third, and that was this week. Thanks!
He is definitely moving around. The Twins have too many guys who need ABs to hand one position over to him entirely, absent an injury.
Yeah I think 3B, CF, LF with a turn or two at SS each week so Correa can DH.
Itch, now that Melendez is up and playing decently, am I clear to dump S. Murphy in my 20-team dynasty? I could use his roster spot for another SP. Do you anticipate Melendez going back to AAA, or Murphy getting his act together? Thanks, Itch!
Could you shop him? Lotta people like Murphy, and he is getting a lot of at bats in the middle of that lineup.
I don’t think Melendez goes back in the bottle unless he craters. Sal can take his time, take some days off and let MJ DH like he is today.
True, but those lotta .200 BA are killing me. He’s also been bumped to 6th lately. Have you seen the Oakland line-up? ?
Yeah if you don’t think he’s gonna be worth the hassle of the trade hustle, I’d be okay to drop him.
Could you sell him for faab?
Hate to see a guy you drop go for double digits. Sounds like a 20 team one catcher league tho, and I can say I just dropped Elias Diaz for William Contreras in a 20 team 1C dynasty bc I didn’t think a struggling catcher would pull enough to burn any time for it.
Do think Murphy has more name value of course fwiw but yeah, some formats, best bet is to play the hot hand and use as little roster space as possible
Hey Itch – How does Vinnie P compare to Juan Yepez? Offensively they seem very similar.
Thanks!
Hey MJ888,
and good comp there, imo.
Vinnie controls the zone a little better, but Yepez made big leaps in that department throughout 2021 and carried them over this season.
Love the weekly stash lists Itch.
Well, it appears the Dodgers have another breakout prospect in the name of Jacob Amaya.
He’s hitting .336-.436-.698 with 9 HRs, 21 RBI and a 17-22 K-BB at AA thus far.
And he has a great glove at SS.
Will be interesting to see if the Dodgers sign Turner long term this offseason with Amaya’s breakout.
Ray
Thanks, Ray!
They’re a lot of fun to do, even as they swallow more and more of my life each week (my living-doc list is pushing 70 . . . might just make it a top 50 next time . . . )
And outstanding call on Amaya. I’ve been waiting for some kind of jump in outcomes from him because they were pushing him in the age-to-level game to the extent that he might have made his debut in 2020 had it been a normal season. He did not adapt well to the wonky 2021 after a full season off but now he looks like, well, you said it: a Dodger.
Incredible how they keep doing this. Yet somehow their prospects tend to wind up a half-grade or so lower than they should be on public-facing sites.
Hey Itch, love there writeup’s! What are your thoughts on Graham Ashcraft? I have read he has some control issues but he also has big K potential and a decent groundball precentage.
Thanks Dirt McGirt!
Ashcraft’s got smoldering topside with big-league-starter stuff, but as you say, the control is a pretty big issue. His AAA season tells the tale pretty well so far: tough to hit and damage, as seen in his 1.65 ERA, 71.4% groundball rate, and zero home runs allowed, but that comes with a 1.47 WHIP.
Good chance he’s pretty successful this first time through until teams learn where he can and can’t locate which pitches.
Thanks for this—love your write-ups!
Question: do I drop Kim in anticipation for Luis Garcia being called up (I’ve read that May 25 is the magic date due to service time manipulation)? Kim has been my SS for a couple weeks now since Mondesi went to the IL. Ultimately, I’m waiting for Tatis to get healthy.
Oh, it’s a 16-team OPS keeper.
Thanks for the kind words, Drew!
If service manipulation is the Nats’ goal with Garcia, they might have to hide him for a long time because they’ve played him a lot over the past two years, but maybe they’ve got the math gamed somehow and can turn that 110 games and 386 PA plus this year into 2 seasons rather than 3, if that makes any sense.
Kim’s been okay in the depressed environment (106 wRC+ despite a .214/.310/.393 slash line, which is plenty depressing on its own), so I’d be hoping to find another cut, but yeah I’d like to find room for Garcia.
The Itch!!!
Awesome!!!
a. Sorry missed you times 3! Not good of me, was busy. Still no excuse. Sorry.
b. Love this Stash List, vol. 3. Would you had Winckowski and/or Stone Garrett to this 4×4 12-team dynasty (OBP, SB, RC, TB) x (QS, SVH, WHIP, K/9) league? Who would you drop?
Garver
Cron
Brujan
Jace Peterson
Bogaerts
Choi
OMiller
Walsh, Arozarena, Betts, Calhoun, Joe
SMarte, Jake McCarthy
Bench – Tellez, Mateo, Drury, Eli White, Yastrzemski
IL – Evan White, India, Berti, EOLivares
MiLB – Harris, Montero, Walker, Acuna, Arias, LButler, Cowser, Lowe, Wiemer
SP – Manoah, Musgrove, Ryan, Whitlock, Cease, Gonsolin, Houck, Kopech
RP – Hendriks, Iglesias, DJimenez, RMontero, Robertson, Doval, Kittredge, Lopez
IL – Lodolo, Paxton, Giles
MiLB – Roansy, Hoffmann, Walston, Perez, LoganT, JMurray
For reference, I am in 1st (79/96) but 2nd place (76/96) is closing in.
Offense
SB – 36 (2nd), OBP – 0.305 (8th), RC – 247.3 (3rd), TB – 843 (2nd)
Defense
QS – 24 (3rd), K/9 – 9.69 (3rd), SVH – 46 (3rd), WHIP – 1.100 (1st)
c. George Carlin quote of the day for May 22, 2022
‘The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.’
Cheers,
Ante
Ante!!
a. No worries, man. Glad you can make it whenever you can make it!
b. I’ll take Stone Garrett over Jace Peterson unless he’s filling a key SB role for you as an in-and-out piece.
c. You gonna watch this Carlin doc on HBOMAX? I started it today and am pretty into it, predictably enough.
Hope you have a great Sunday!
Cheers,
Itch
The Itch!!
a. Thanks a ton. Jace is there until Cinci returns stateside so Drury can play. Jace is my primary 3B now. I can drop him then after I move Drury back to the roster.
b. Yes looking forward to the Carlin doc. Thanks for the heads up. He was ahead of his time for sure.
c. Have a great week, man.
Cheers,
Ante
Great stuff as usual Itch!! What are your thoughts on Brayan Bello? He contribute this year? Thank you!
Winck or Bello in a 13 team 5×5 dynasty league? Thanks Itch!
Thanks, Jimmy!
I’ll take Bello, who does look lined up to contribute at some point this season.
So i saw your brief menton of kelenic in the writeup. Since he is officially in the minors and he could be stashed via an NA spot, do you have any faith in him turning it around and being useful this year in redraft? The Mariners have an outfield logjam if Lewis gets back along with Haniger (high ankle). They also signed justin upton to a major league contract. What does this mean for kelenic? I thought upton was done but the Mariners are looking for anything right now I guess. I thought lewis was close to being activated. Kelenic is stinking up AAA from what I read. He did homer finally but is hitting .167 with 10 k’s in 4 games. Is he even worth stashing?
I guess kelenic had a good day on Saturday. 3-4, 2 2B, 2RBI, BB, K. Those stats were not included in my comment.
And to clarify, is he even worth stashing over a couple of the guys in the top 5 of your list excluding cruz and GR who are already stashed.
Nah I’d take all those guys in the top ten over Kelenic.