Trevor Hooth pulls double duty at Double-A and Single-A while Greg Hoogkamp subs in at MLB for the first time this year. Will Thompson covers Triple and Tom Gates hits on High-A. We've got 82 names covered today across all the levels.
On the pitching side: Andrew Painter is back rehabbing in Single-A, Quinn Mathews had another poor start, and Chase Burns needs to get pushed up from High-A.
Over to the hitters: Jesus Made hit one out, Jacob Melton and Brock Wilken went Double Dong, and a lot of other top prospects had solid performances.
Major League Baseball
Covered by Greg Hoogkamp
First Daily Sheet for me this year! Excited to bring you my thoughts on what was an interesting night of action. Not a ton of superstars to talk about, but some good under-the-radar names to consider for your dynasty rosters.
Gabriel Arias, 2B CLE (MLB)
3-for-4 HR, R, 3 RBI
I was debating between writing about Angel Martinez or Arias, but Arias gets the nod because of his defensive versatility going forward. Arias has played all three infield positions at least 2 games this season and will be a highly used utility player for the Guardians. They trust him; he will provide modest power and speed numbers and be effective in deep leagues.
Taylor Rogers, LHP CIN (MLB)
1.0 IP 1 H 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Graham Ashcraft, RHP CIN (MLB)
2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Emilio Pagan, RHP CIN (MLB)
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, SV
The Reds bullpen is tough to analyze, but Friday’s deployment might point forward to how Terry Francona might utilize his leverage relievers. Pagan is currently the closer to own, but Ashcraft being used as a multi-inning weapon is certainly interesting in SV/HD leagues and Rogers is a vet who should be reliable as well.
Taj Bradley, RHP TB (MLB)
6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Bradley is so enticing and the ace-potential is there. He remains inconsistent, but two of his three starts this year have been very good. His K-BB% is up over 20% for the first time in his career and he’s allowing significantly less hard contact than in his first two seasons. Arrows point way up here, he’s realizing his potential before our eyes.
Jung-Hoo Lee, CF SF (MLB)
1-for-2, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
The Giants are using Lee in the three-hole which allows his hit tool to play up and boosts his RBI opportunities. He hit his first home run (expected HR in 14/30 parks) at Yankee Stadium last night and while you can probably only expect 8-12 home runs from him, it’s notable that his average EV is up a tick to 90.0 mph and his barrel rate is at 10.0% (4.5% last season). It’s early days, but keep an eye on this, Lee is a great source of average and OBP as long as you supplement your power elsewhere.
Alex Call, LF WSN (MLB)
2-for-3, 3B, R, RBI, 2 BB
This guy is unbelievable, he doesn’t barrel the baseball (1st percentile), but he also walks a ton (21.9%) and doesn't strike out (3.1%) creating an extremely unique profile. He currently has a higher out of zone contact (100%!!!) than in-zone (94.4%) so you can see the type of player he is and how you’ll have to supplement your team. He’s currently batting lower in the order, but if he can somehow move himself up into the top of the lineup his value will jump.
Davis Martin, RHP CWS (MLB)
6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Danger, Danger! Do not get sucked in by this performance. Martin had a really nice game on Friday night, but any time he takes the mound you could be in for a blowup outing. Martin currently holds a 13.5 K% and 7.05 xERA and his pitch-to-contact style will only hurt you going forward especially as the weather warms up in Chicago. His new kick change has been nice (28.0% usage, .247 wOBA and 26.1 Whiff%), but unless you’re in a 30-team league, you need to get whatever value you can get for Martin ASAP!
Dillon Dingler, C DET (MLB)
3-for-5 R, RBI, K
With Jake Rogers hitting the shelf (oblique injury - no timeline), Dingler gets some run as the Tigers’ C1. Dingler will strikeout at a high clip, but he has some pop which is nice from the catcher position. This will be a temporary situation, but take advantage of the playing time increase.
David Festa, RHP MIN (MLB)
4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER (1 R), 1 BB, 4 K
Many were calling for Zebby Matthews to get the call, but Festa slots in for the injured Pablo Lopez. He was limited to just 64 pitches in this outing, after 80 pitches in his previous outing for St. Paul, so this line could have looked a lot different had the Twins given him a longer leash. His changeup is diabolical inducing four whiffs on seven swings. Festa is a good option in the short and long term and someone to roster/target going forward.
Thomas Saggese, 2B-SS STL (MLB)
2-for-4, R, 2 K
The line isn’t the most interesting part of Saggese’s game last night. It was the fact that he replaced Masyn Winn at SS after he left the game with back spasms. Saggese has been filling in for the injured Nolan Gorman, but now it’s likely he slides over to shortstop while Brendan Donovan plays second for the next little while. Saggese is an “outhit the metrics” bat who consistently provides solid across-the-board numbers for roto. He’s a must-add in all leagues right now.
Andre Pallante, RHP STL (MLB)
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Pallante is the prototypical Cards arm, but he does it so very well. This stat line is about the best you will see from him as he will have trouble cracking the 20% K-rate threshold this season. He’s a ground ball machine (69.6% ground ball rate) but throws his sinker just 11.8% of the time (4-Seam 53.6% usage) which is a very interesting pitch mix, but it works. He’s about as good an innings-eater as you can get right now, he’s a depth arm, but very effective right now.
Joey Ortiz, SS MIL (MLB)
2-for-3 R, 1 K, SB
I will continue to bang the drum for Joey Ortiz because I think he’s underrated. It hasn’t been pretty ugly so far this season; his batted ball quality has taken a step backwards. But I believe there is a power/speed producer in here with multi-positional versatility. He’s playing everyday and I think it’s only a matter of time before he turns it around. For me he’s a buy-low everywhere.
Miguel Andujar, LF ATH (MLB)
2-for-4 HR, R, 3 RBI
Andujar slugged his first homer of the season on Friday night and is a player who lengthens a very underrated lineup. He’s not the slugger that many hoped he would be coming up with the Yankees, but he’s a reliable bat who is playing regularly. It looks like he’s made some modest adjustments at the plate which will allow him to be consistently productive.
Triple-A
Covered by Will Thompson
I wonder whether there will come a day where Nick Kurtz is not on the daily sheet. Today is not that day. Let’s dive in.
👟 Chandler Simpson, CF TB (Triple-A)
3-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Another day, another Chandler Simpson multi-hit game with a couple stolen bases. The fastest man in baseball has not disappointed in the early going this season and continues to pass each test the Rays give him as he moves up the minor league ranks. Simpson does a great job just throwing his hands and punching the ball to the opposite field and wreaking havoc on the bases when he gets on. So far with Durham, the 24-year-old is hitting .306/.327/.347 and has gone 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts in 11 games. He’ll be a fantasy darling once he gets the call to Tampa Bay because of his base stealing value, but according to Marc Topkin of the TB Times was not considered to take the place of the injured Jonny DeLuca. That might change soon if he continues this type of play.
Juan Brito, 2B CLE (Triple-A)
2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
Brito is a guy that I really like that’s kind of flown under the radar. He’s ranked as PL’s No. 9 prospect in the Cleveland system, but man I love his swing. He’s a switch hitter who hits for much more power from the left side, but had a great night tonight in Worcester that continues his hot start to the season. Brito was acquired from Colorado in exchange for Nolan Jones and especially given the Guardians have Jones back now, seems like a massive win for Cleveland. He didn’t have a great spring and won’t wow you defensively, but he can play any infield position or the corner outfield spots and if he keeps hitting like this might find his way into the Guardians lineup soon.
Will Brennan, LF CLE (Triple-A)
4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
What a night in Worcester for Will Brennan, who was optioned to start the season after being a mostly everyday outfielder for Cleveland for the last two years but became the odd man out after the Guardians got Nolan Jones back. I don’t love the profile still, given he doesn’t hit for much power and doesn’t walk at all, but he figures to be one of the first options up if there’s any outfield injuries at the big league level.
Roman Anthony, DH BOS (Triple-A)
3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K
The pressure is mounting in Boston to call-up Anthony and his performance last night will only increase that given the Red Sox offensive struggles right now. The 20-year-old is only hitting .237 in Triple-A so far, but he walks so much and is a barrel machine when he does make contact that his low batting average doesn’t concern me at all. His three hits in this one had the following exit velocities: 103.8, 103.7, 107.6. Sheesh, that’s going to play and historically he has been a bit of a slow starter in each minor league season. However, there’s no doubt to me that Anthony is one of the Red Sox nine best hitters in the organization and I think it’s time that he gets the call.
Moises Ballesteros, C CHC (Triple-A)
3-for-5, R
Another big night for Ballesteros who is off to a great start in Triple-A at just 21 years old. He’s a hit over power guy and doesn’t really look the part but man can he hit and has consistently raked at each level of the minors. He won’t strike out much and in Rhys White’s offseason report, he says “the receiving part of his game needs some work, but that can be tightened up at the major league level. He possesses a plus arm that helps give him a better shot behind the dish.” To me that’s good enough to give Ballesteros a shot pretty soon in the big leagues, especially given that Jacob Amaya continues to struggle mightily at the plate.
Jace Jung, 3B DET (Triple-A)
2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Jung continues to mash against Triple-A pitching to start the season and it is crucial for him to get off to a good start after a brutal 4-for-33 spring that led to him being optioned. So far though he’s delivered with Toledo, hitting .325/.460/.675 with three home runs and seven of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases, including a left on left 424 foot bomb tonight. I’m still a Jung fan and believe in the bat, but right now it’s tough to see where he fits in the big league infield. Gleyber Torres was just activated off the IL and is going to play every day at second base and it’s only going to get more crowded when Matt Vierling gets back. Heck even Javier Baez is hitting well right now! Despite the terrific results at the plate for Jung in Toledo so far, he’s probably going to get an extended run there barring a ton of injuries.
