Fantasy Baseball Prospects Stash List: Ready to Make a Splash (Week 12)

Winning in a fantasy baseball redraft league requires a nice blend of high-floor players and upside shots. While prospects do present more risk in a one-year setting like a redraft league, if they hit, they pay big dividends. The reward could be huge if these players get adequate playing time and perform.

Throughout the season, there will be plenty of prospects who will get promoted and make an impact on their respective MLB teams and fantasy teams. Getting ahead of the curve on these players can pay huge dividends when it comes to FAAB bids. You can save money and have your league mates question how you are already in on that player so far in advance.

This biweekly article will dive deep into three players who could make an impact sooner rather than later. Over the weeks, the majority of our players discussed have gotten the call rather quickly. In the last edition, it was Cade Povich who got the call to the Majors. Junior Caminero unfortunately went down with an injury and we are still waiting on Chayce McDermott.

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David Festa, RHP, Minnesota Twins

Festa is pitching like an arm ready for the major league rotation. Through 48 innings pitched this season, Festa currently owns a 3.56 ERA backed by a 3.30 xFIP. The walk rate is a touch high at 11.8%, but he is striking out 34.8% of batters faced.

Leading with a fastball that sits near 96 mph, Festa gets an elite ride with IVB up to 20 inches on occasion but consistently in the 18 to 19-inch range. While the pitch does not have much horizontal movement, Festa misses bats thanks to his low VAA and location of it up in the zone with velocity and IVB. The extension allows the pitch to play up even further.

The slider and the changeup both sit in a similar velocity band, around 87 mph, with the changeup generating a high IVB number for a changeup but averaging 10 to 12 inches of horizontal movement with low spin rates. The changeup misses a ton of bats and plays well off his four-seam, having an elite 23% swinging strike rate. The slider has a shorter horizontal break while showing nice depth, and it also misses bats at a high clip.

Festa made adjustments heading into 2024 and is throwing strikes at a much higher rate. His 65% strike rate is actually above league average, which gives hope that the near-12% walk rate will come down.

Don't be surprised if we see Festa pitching in a Twins uniform pretty soon.

David Festa leads AAA SP with an 18.5% SwStr% & 35.7% CSW since May 1.
35.3% K% over that span ranks 4th in AAA.
Has a 3.56 ERA on the year and a 3.30 xFIP probably better represents as he has a very high .363 BABIP against.
📹: @Upper_Beck pic.twitter.com/VWs41m8ADP

— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) June 10, 2024

Jasson Dominguez, OF, New York Yankees

Few hitters have been hotter than The Martian in all of baseball. After having Tommy John surgery in September 2023, Dominguez returned to action on a rehab appearance on May 14. Since then, he has been lighting the world on fire. In 19 games, Dominguez has a .380/.429/.690 with six home runs and two stolen bases in 19 games.

The batted ball data is absurd. His 90th percentile exit velocity sits north of 108 mph overall and near 110 mph in Triple-A. Yes, it is just a small sample of 19 Minor League games, and Dominguez has yet to finish a game, which is a big step before being back in the Bronx. But, he is getting close, and I think we are within a week of him being back in a Yankees jersey.

Dominguez is striking out in just 22% of his plate appearances so far and has a 73% contact rate across all levels. He is showing a very aggressive approach, but it is working. In fact, the in-zone contact rate in a small Triple-A sample sits at an impressive 96%. I would not expect numbers anywhere close to that moving forward, but it is encouraging.

If for some reason Dominguez is out on the waiver wire in your league, pick him up now.

Another Jasson Dominguez home run

He’s batting .377 with a 1.122 OPS in 19 Minor League games since his rehab games began on May 14th pic.twitter.com/bn9zLlGETZ

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 9, 2024

Shane Baz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays

Baz last pitched in the Majors in July 2022 before he underwent Tommy John surgery. He is back in action though, making rehab starts in Triple-A and might be close to rejoining the Rays rotation.

Coming off his best and longest start of 2024 on June 8, Baz pitched five innings of one-run ball, striking out 10 batters. His command has looked good overall, which is usually a question when a pitcher does come back from Tommy John. The bat-missing ability had not been there prior to the 10-strikeout performance.

In his last two starts since the calendar turned to June, Baz has thrown nine innings, allowed just one earned run, and struck out 14 batters while walking four.

The fastball velocity is back and averaging north of 95 mph, and the slider has been his best pitch, sitting around 86 mph. It has a 16% swinging strike rate against it, and he is landing it for strikes well above the average slider strike rate.

The question will be, how does Baz fit into Tampa's rotation upon return? We may see them go to a six-man. But if Baz has another good start this week, don't be surprised if he is back up in Tampa soon.

Shane Baz dominated yesterday for Triple-A Durham.

5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 10 K

Health permitting, the upside is still a Top-20 SP for #FantasyBaseball.#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/yNw0AdYk93

— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) June 9, 2024

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