Timing is key as top prospects wait for their calls to the majors
For prospect watchers and fantasy owners, Friday the 13th should have been full of good fortune, not bad.
It marked the first day minor leaguers with no previous experience in the majors could be promoted with their teams retaining an additional year of control over their contracts.
For many of the top prospects who might otherwise have won a roster spot out of spring training, the delay of a little more than two weeks seemed like a small inconvenience.
However, Friday came and went without any significant call-ups.
What happened?
Circumstances for every player are different. But fantasy owners probably would not mind a little road map into what teams are thinking and maybe a few educated guesses about when we might see some of these talented youngsters.
OF Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves
Let’s start with the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, someone whose arrival was so highly anticipated that Friday was being called Ronald Acuna day in some circles.
The 20-year-old phenom had an outstanding spring, hitting .432 with a .519 on-base percentage and a team-leading four home runs. However, he was off to a slow start at Class AAA Gwinnett, with five hits in his first 33 at-bats (.152).
There’s no reason to panic. Acuna will be up soon. Now that the deadline has passed, the Braves are simply waiting for an appropriate time to make the move.
Preston Tucker (.300/.341/.575) and Nick Markakis (.298/.394/.456) are playing well in the corner outfield spots and the team is off to a surprisingly good start. There’s no rush to do anything right now.
Acuna didn’t need to make his MLB debut at chilly Wrigley Field over the weekend anyway. Once he and the weather warm up, the whole world will get a good long look at the game’s best prospect.
3B Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds
An accomplished hitter when the Reds drafted him No. 2 overall in 2016, Senzel, 22, has been asked to be more versatile on defense. He played some shortstop this spring and moved to second base when he was sent to Class AAA Louisville to start the regular season.
But after starting third baseman Eugenio Suarez suffered a broken thumb, the Reds moved Senzel back to third base. Like Acuna, he has started slowly at the plate, hitting .209 with one homer in his first 43 at-bats.
It might take only a few games at the hot corner before the Reds decide Senzel is ready for his debut. And once Suarez returns, Senzel’s versatility could help him remain in the majors – with a role similar to the one Scott Kingery has with the Philadelphia Phillies.
SS Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
Torres, 21, is off to an excellent start in his return to Class AAA, hitting .389 with a homer and 10 RBI in his first nine games. It’s entirely possible he could have debuted last season, but an elbow injury in June that required Tommy John elbow surgery derailed those plans.
Healthy now, Torres could have filled the void when Greg Bird and Brandon Drury went on the disabled list. However, the Yankees have patched holes with the likes of Tyler Wade, Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Austin.
Since Torres is already on the 40-man roster, the Yankees had to wait until this week to get that extra year of team control. With that hurdle out of the way, there shouldn’t be much else preventing Torres potentially becoming the everyday second baseman.
ETA: Late April
OF Willie Calhoun, Texas Rangers
What could the injury-ravaged Rangers be waiting for? With three middle infielders sidelined and their starting center fielder recovering from a broken hand, help is needed everywhere.
Calhoun, 23, split time in the minors last season between second base and the outfield, but the Rangers are having him focus exclusively on the latter.
Calhoun hit .300 with 31 homers and 93 RBI at Class AAA a year ago, but since he saw action with the Rangers at the end of the year, he’ll need to stay in the minors until at least the first week of May. That should be enough time to iron out any rough edges on defense.
ETA: Mid-May
SP Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
There was no room for the hard-throwing right-hander in the major league rotation to start the season, but he should have an opportunity at some point.
The Dodgers had 10 pitchers start at least one game for them last year, and they don’t have the same kind of depth on the roster this year.
Buehler, 23, could be the next man up if anyone has to miss a turn. With the minor league season starting later, he hasn’t quite had a chance to build up his stamina. A back injury also slowed him this spring.
After making eight relief appearances with the Dodgers last September, he’ll likely spend several more weeks at Class AAA Oklahoma City before he’s ready to rejoin the big club. There’s a great deal of upside, especially in strikeouts, but expect his innings total (majors and minors) to be capped in the 135-150 range.
ETA: Late May/early June
OF Victor Robles, Washington Nationals
Robles, 20, might have already been added to the major league roster if he hadn’t hyperextended his elbow trying to make a catch early last week. Now, it’s hard to say when he’ll be back on the field at any level.
The speedy center fielder was promoted directly from Class AA to Washington last September when rosters expanded, so it wasn’t a huge surprise to see him assigned to Class AAA to start the 2018 season.
He needs to spend a couple of extra weeks in the minors to offset his 2017 service time, but that won’t be an issue now because of the injury.
The question for fantasy owners is whether it’s worth holding onto him in single-season formats until he’s promoted.
The Nationals’ slow start and Adam Eaton’s nagging ankle injury would have been justification to call up a healthy Robles to give the team a spark. Those factors could still be applicable once he’s healthy.
3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and SS Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
Just for fun, let’s throw in the Blue Jays’ dynamic young duo. Playing for Class AA (Manchester) New Hampshire, Guerrero, 19, and Bichette, 20, have put up video-game numbers in the early season.
They’ve both excelled at every stop in their brief pro careers — and neither looked overmatched in spring training.
If the Blue Jays fall out of contention this fall, it wouldn’t be out of the question for them to want to take a brief look at the franchise’s future.
Source:-https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/fantasy/2018/04/17/mlb-prospects-service-time-ronald-acuna-nick-senzel/523490002/
