Welcome once again to the prospect call-up watch for week 19. The great part about prospect call-ups this week is that there is a bit more certainty to the short-term futures of the prospects in question, because their teams have already made their trade deadline moves and can start to sort out their rosters looking towards October.

Here I was all excited as a Cincinnati Reds fan to write about Kyle Waldrop, and after a single PA, Manny Parra returns to bolster his value for a possible September trade. This week, five newly called up prospects, their potential value and opportunity for production will be discussed.

Editor’s Note: to read about even more MLB prospects, rookies and potential call-ups, be sure to check out our MLB prospects for fantasy baseball homepage which has lots of great weekly analysis.

MLB Prospect Updates & Recent Call-Ups - Week 18

Tyler Duffey (SP, MIN)

Owned in 0% of Fleaflicker leagues

Tyler Duffey had a really rough start in his debut for the Twins; going two innings, allowing six earned runs, five hits, two walks, and producing only one strikeout. Duffey was called up because of his consistent and mature performance throughout his minor league career. Since 2012 in the minors, Duffey has a 3.25 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 7.4 K/9 in 421.1 IP. Now, Minnesota currently sits two games out of the AL wild card, they neglected to make any moves for a rotation member, and they currently sit at 19th in the league in team ERA with 3.96. Duffey will most likely get one or two more audition starts, but if he fails to keep the Twins afloat, it seems unlikely they would waste a rotation spot and the rest of their season on a pitcher who seems to have mostly shown what he is capable of. Wait and see if Duffey gets his bearings before taking a deep league flier.

Henry Owens (SP, BOS)

Owned in 4% of Fleaflicker leagues

Henry Owens had a pretty prototypical debut for a young starter; going five innings, allowing three earned runs, five hits, one walk, and producing five strikeouts. 5.40 ERA looks far worse than five innings pitched and three runs allowed. Owens did just fine in his debut, and against a high-producing Yankees offense. Since 2012 in the minor leagues, Owens had a 3.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, a 0.6 HR/9, and 10 K/9 in 518 IP. Owens had a bit of a control issue in the minors but he limited walks in his first start and that should improve with continued experience. The Red Sox have a team ERA of 4.57 which is 29th in the league. Although they seem to be well out of the playoff race, it seems like the Red Sox will give Owens continued opportunity given that their pitching has struggled so much this season. If you are looking for a deeper league streaming option with high strikeout potential, look for Henry Owens to be on limited IP but to improve with each start the Red Sox give him.

Jon Gray (SP, COL)

Owned in 5% of Fleaflicker leagues

The Rockies said that Jon Gray would be on a strict innings limit and they weren't kidding. Gray was pitching at quality start level in his season debut when he was pulled after pitching four innings, allowing two earned runs, five hits, two walks, and producing four strikeouts. It seems to be clear that despite Colorado's horrendous and league worst team ERA of 4.99; baseball fans will only get a teaser of what Gray can do this season, so it is going to be hard to count on Gray for much fantasy value unless his starts extend to at least five innings. Having said that, from a performance standpoint, Gray's potential in Colorado is as uncertain as his playing time this season. Whether Gray becomes an ace in Colorado depends mostly on his GO/FO ratio. With Coors Field being as hitter-friendly as any field in the league, Gray's career GO/FO ratio of 0.85 isn't exactly what you want to see. In fact, Gray's best seasons in the minors were when his GO/FO ratio was the highest; as Gray had a 0.75 ERA in the season in which he produced a 1.13 GO/FO ratio and a 1.93 ERA when he produced a 1.11 GO/FO ratio. All in all, Gray's Triple-A season of a 4.33 ERA, 1.487 WHIP, 10.2 H/9, 0.7 HR/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 8.7 BB/9 indicates there is high potential but still some work needed.

Daniel Norris (SP, DET)

Owned in 8% of Fleaflicker leagues

Daniel Norris was the high level centerpiece of the blockbuster trade for David Price between the Blue Jays and Tigers, and Norris certainly didn't waste any time showing Tigers fans what exactly they got in return. In Norris's debut for Detroit, he went 7.1 innings, allowing one earned run, one walk, four hits, and producing five strikeouts. In total with the Tigers and Blue Jays in 2015, Norris has a 3.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 6.8 K/9. Norris joined the team with the 26th best team ERA at 4.46, and given that Detroit is only four games out of the wild card race, it seems as if Norris is a pretty safe lock for the Tiger rotation for the rest of 2015. He won't be owned in 8% of leagues for long, and as long as he doesn't get injured shaving his beard with an axe, Norris looks ready to produce at a high level for the Tigers.

Luis Severino (SP, NYY)

Owned in 11% of Fleaflicker leagues

...probably 100% owned by the time I finished typing this intro

No wonder the Yankees didn't give away the farm for an ace at the deadline, they have Luis Severino who had a dazzling debut for the Yankees by pitching five innings, allowing one earned run, two hits, zero walks, while producing seven strikeouts. The Yankees are being hunted by the new life Blue Jays and with a team ERA of 4.01 that ranks 20th in the league, Severino has already been penciled into the New York rotation for the remainder of the year. Severino should be added in all leagues; as since 2012 Severino has dominated all minor league competition with a 2.30 ERA, 1.026 WHIP, allowing only 0.2 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, and producing 9.1 K/9 in 320 and two-thirds IP. Add Luis Severino, this prospect call-up is here to stay, and to push the Yankees through October.

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