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Welcome to the latest edition of RotoBaller’s Recently Promoted Prospects series for fantasy baseball! Here I discuss some recently promoted MLB prospects and rookies , making note of what I think their upside could be for fantasy baseball managers, and whether they are potential risers or fallers.
We have seen 95 rookies make their MLB debut in 2021. We've had a couple interesting pitching debuts since last week, as well as an older prospect bat that has been lighting up Triple-A so far. I will use video looks, scouting reports, analytics, and RotoBaller’s premium projections to predict what each recently called-up player could do if given a continued opportunity in 2021.
Here are your recently promoted prospects for Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season.
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Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays
60% Rostered on Yahoo
Situation: With Nate Pearson looking ineffective in his 2021 MLB debut and Anthony Kay heading to the IL with a blister, the club responded by calling up 2019 1st round draft pick Alek Manoah. Manoah, 23, has impressed at the team's alternate site in 2020, spring training 2021, and early on at Triple-A Buffalo this season. He made his debut against the Yankees on Thursday.
Skill: Manoah, quite frankly, looks like a MLB rotation piece already. He featured two fastballs in his debut, both sitting around 95 mph. His four-seamer looks like it has good characteristics to live up in the zone against top level hitting. The sinker showed good armside run and dive, and should generate ground balls for him. The slider is his best offering, featuring two-plane movement and depth, darting away from right-handers and back-footing lefties. But the big news from his debut is that Manoah went to the changeup early and often, and it looks like another weapon he's got at his disposal. RotoBaller's Eric Samulski put together this nice rundown of his debut:
Projection: Manoah is a rookie hurler, and that's a group of players which struggle to make favorable returns. However, the FanGraphs public ROS projections are pretty bullish on Manoah's outlook for 2021: an ERA around 4.00 while also striking out around a batter per inning. It could be a bumpy ride given his rookie status, but if Manoah is still available and you need pitching help in your league, he's worth a good chunk of FAAB.
Owen Miller, Cleveland Indians
1% Rostered on Yahoo
Situation: With slugger Franmil Reyes on the IL, Cleveland decided to call-up hot hitting utility infielder Owen Miller to make his major league debut. Miller, 24, was part of Cleveland's return in the deal that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego. He's appeared at 2B, 3B, SS, and DH since his promotion.
Skill: Miller's glove can fit in at any infield position, as evidenced by the team's use of him so far this season. He was absolutely raking at Triple-A prior to his call-up (1.067 OPS), but that line was buoyed by a .500 BABIP. He should be able to make consistent contact, get on base, and chip in the occasional home run and stolen base in a utility role.
Projection: I don't think Miller is a long-term solution this year for Cleveland, or your fantasy squad. That being said, if you're feeling the injury pinch (and who isn't), Miller can chip in some HRs and SBs while hopefully not killing your batting average or OBP in the process.
Eli Morgan, Cleveland Indians
1% Rostered on Yahoo
Situation: Cleveland is in need of starting pitching help thanks to Zach Plesac's Hulkamania injury and Triston McKenzie's rough start and demotion back to Triple-A. Enter Eli Morgan, who has been a consistently sound performer for the organization since being drafted in the 8th round of the 2017 draft.
Skill: Morgan is a "pitchability and command" right-hander that gets the most out of his smaller frame and below-average stuff. His primary weapon is a changeup with excellent late movement that should be a plus pitch at the MLB level. He also mixes in two shapes of breaking balls, both of which can work as swing-and-miss offerings. His fastball hovers around 90 mph, but he commands it well and it tunnels effectively with his other offerings. He will also dig into his bag of tricks and pitch backwards, land his breaking stuff for strikes in the zone, or mess with hitters timing. The total package has worked for him at the minor league level: he has a career 3.11 ERA over 60 professional starts.
Projection: Morgan didn't draw an ATC projection pre-season. The publicly available ERA projections on FanGraphs have him as a true-talent ERA in the 5.25 range. I think that's awfully harsh given his command and control, so I wouldn't be surprised if he outpitches those ERA estimates by a good amount. That being said, he's not an option outside of streaming in a good matchup in redraft leagues this year.
Jason Martin, Texas Rangers
0% Rostered on Yahoo
Situation: Jason Martin, 25, was a minor league free agent signing by the Rangers in December of 2020. Prior to that, Martin was a journeyman outfielder in both the Astros and Pirates systems. With David Dahl off to the IL, the Rangers have called up Martin to manage LF.
Skill: Martin was off to an excellent start at Triple-A Round Rock, posting above-average results in every major offensive category. Power, speed, and plate approach have all been there for Martin this year. Martin did earn a couple looks with Pittsburgh back in 2019 and 2020, but he never got the chance to click with everyday playing time. He has a solid plate approach that should help him get on base at a good clip, and he has enough raw power to do some damage.
Projection: Martin might struggle to make contact and get on base based on his prior professional experience, but if the approach changes he showed at Triple-A this year can stick at the highest level and he's got the other tools to be a very good fantasy contributor. He's worth a shot in a deeper format or in a league where you've lost a bunch of outfielders over the last couple weeks.
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