At one point or another during your life, you’ve heard the saying, “It’s never too early to start planning for the future.” Whether it was your parents, grandparents, financial advisor or OpenTable (hey, they’re always sending out the emails telling us to book tables for special occasions far in advance), you’ve heard the advice.
It’s no different with fantasy baseball, especially since we just passed the MLB trade deadline last week and roster spots need to be reshuffled. There are also September roster expansions coming, and it’s important to keep your ears to the ground and know who’s making waves in the minors so you are prepared to claim them off the waiver wire.
Here’s a look at five prospects Roto Files believes have bright futures and are worth keeping your eyes on until they get their call to The Show (all stats before Friday’s games):
Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers: To say Pederson is major-league ready would be an understatement. He looks like a potential five-tool player and his numbers in Triple-A this season (.300, 24 homers, 58 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, .986 OPS) are about ready to dwarf the numbers he put up in Double-A last season (.278, 22 homers, 58 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, .878 OPS). Normally, Roto Files would suggest stashing him, but roster spots are valuable during this final stretch and there’s no set timetable for when he may get the call to a crowded Dodgers outfield.
Francisco Lindor, SS, Indians: With Cleveland dealing Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals last week, it should be only a matter of time before Lindor arrives. After hitting .278 with six homers, 48 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 88 games at Double-A, the 20-year-old was promoted to Triple-A, where he’s hitting .226 with two homers, six RBIs, two stolen bases and a .622 OPS through 15 games. He may not be up this week, but he’ll certainly be up before the season is over.
Alex Meyer, SP, Twins: The 24-year-old is 6-4 with a 3.05 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 112 innings, and he is expected to get a look-see when rosters expand in September.
Taijuan Walker, SP, Mariners: In his brief stint in the majors, Walker had mixed results, going 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 15 innings over three starts. His downfall was his control. He issued 13 walks en route to a bloated 1.47 WHIP. Until he can get himself under control, the Mariners will turn to the likes of James Paxton (as they did last week), but Walker has too much talent to ignore.
Noah Syndergaard, SP, Mets: Many thought the phenom would be in the majors already, but his arm issues and inconsistency (8-5 record, 4.85 ERA, 1.51 WHIP) have delayed his arrival in Flushing. Keep an eye on him, because if he arrives, he’ll be valuable for strikeouts — he has 9.4 per nine innings.
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