Hot Fantasy Prospects To Watch For Week 16

How about that Home Run Derby? I'm not even a Mets fan but Pete Alonso is definitely one of my favorite non-White Sox players out there. That man can destroy a baseball.

The day before the derby we got to see some of the rising star prospects in the Futures Game. The National League prospects came out on top 8-3 thanks to the long ball and some solid pitching performances, but there were some good performances from the American League prospects as well. In this week's column, we're going to take a look at four guys that stood out at the Futures Game and how they have done through the first half of the season.

Before we watch the All-Star Game tonight, let's check out this week's hot prospects to watch.

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Jose Barrero - 2B, Cincinnati Reds

Level: Triple-A
Futures Game: 1-for-1, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
2021 stats: 50 G, .277/.348/.456, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 35 R, 8 SB

Barrero opened up the scoring at the Futures Game with a one-out home run to center field in the bottom of the first inning, and would reach base again on a walk before he was replaced by Marco Luciano at shortstop. He got his first taste of the majors during the shortened 2020 season but he struggled over 67 at-bats with the Reds, slashing .194/.204/.194 with one stolen base, one RBI and two runs scored. It's not too surprising he struggled given the fact the highest level he had reached heading into 2020 was High-A. So clearly he needed a little more time to develop, and this season he has done so as he's putting up some of the best numbers of his career. His current .805 OPS is the best mark of his career, he's tied his career-high of eight home runs in 54 fewer games than it took him in 2019, and he's bumped up his walk rate from 5.5 percent in 2019 to 9.4 percent currently.

The Reds seem pretty well set in the middle infield at the moment, but if Barrero continues to hit like this at Triple-A, then it's entirely possible we see him get called up to help with a playoff push. He's already been up in the majors, so there isn't a service-time concern here. Managers should keep a close eye on Barrero, as I see him being pretty close to rejoining Cincinnati. Based on his struggles last season I'd be slightly hesitant to rush out right away and spend a large portion of your waiver budget on him, but if he gets called up and puts together a couple solid games in a row, then he's definitely worth considering in 12-team and deeper leagues as a solid middle-infield option.

Brennen Davis - OF, Chicago Cubs

Level: Double-A
Futures Game: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
2021 stats: 39 G, .287/.386/.507, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 28 R, 5 SB

Hey Siri, how do you earn the Futures Game MVP? You earn the Futures Game MVP by hitting two home runs to lead your team to victory. The undisputed star of the Futures Game, Davis was already having a nice year between High-A and Double-A prior to this weekend. He's slugged six home runs in 39 games — which is only two away from his career-high mark — while he sits just one stolen base away from tying his career-best mark of six swiped bags. His .897 OPS is only a tick down from his .907 OPS in 2019, and he's dropped 18 points from his 2019 average of .305, but all-in-all it's been a great year for Davis as he's climbed his way up the system to Double-A.

The one thing to keep an eye on with Davis is the uptick in strikeouts. As he's gone up through the Cubs' system, his strikeout rate has continued to rise as well. After posting a 16.7 percent strikeout rate in 2018, it went to 18.6 percent in 2019 and this year it's increased to 27.8 percent. So that is something managers should keep in mind with Davis. However if he continues to hit the way he has, that high strikeout rate could possibly be overlooked. I don't see a scenario where Davis makes an impact in any fantasy leagues this year, as I think best case scenario he might get a game or two in September. With the Cubs looking to be potential sellers at the Trade Deadline, it's very possible we could see Davis competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2022 if he keeps up his current level of production.

Riley Greene - OF, Detroit Tigers

Level: Double-A
Futures Game: 2-for-3, R
2021 stats: 54 G, .285/.372/.473, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 37 R, 10 SB

There weren't a lot of great performances from the American League batters this year, but Greene managed to put together the best day at the plate as he was the only AL prospect to get two hits in the loss. While his Futures Game performance may have been relatively lackluster compared to Barrero or Davis, Greene has had a great first half of the season playing at Double-A. He's already surpassed all of his counting stats from his debut season in 2019 in 12 fewer plate appearances, as he is showing that he can be a double-digit homer and steals threat in the future. Along with that, his .846 OPS this season is nearly 100 points higher than his 2019 mark of .749. The strikeout rate has ticked up in his second season from 25.1 percent to 27.2 percent, but he's also increased his walk rate from 8.8 percent to 11.3 percent.

I feel it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone when I say that I'm excited about the potential for a consensus top-50 prospect. On one hand, the Tigers are still in rebuilding mode and may not want to rush Greene up too soon. On the other hand, they're building a solid young core in Detroit right now and they might be closer to competing for a potential playoff push than a lot of people expect. I expect Greene to spend all of 2021 in the minors, but if he puts up a similar second half performance to his first half, I could see a scenario where best case scenario he's competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2022 and worst case he gets called up mid-season.

Quinn Priester - SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Level: High-A
Futures Game: 2/3 IP, K, BB
2021 stats: 10 GS, 3-3, 3.35 ERA, 1.349 WHIP, 21.6 K%, 43 IP

And now we get to the only pitcher on this week's list. There were quite a few guys on both sides of the Futures Game that had solid performances on the mound, but I wanted to spotlight a guy I haven't looked at yet this year. Priester had a bit of a rough go to open the season, going 2-3 with a 4.71 ERA, 1.476 WHIP and 18.1 percent strikeout rate over his first five starts. However, in his last five starts leading up to the Futures Game, he has posted a 2.05 ERA and 1.227 WHIP with a 25.3 percent strikeout rate. So overall his numbers are down somewhat from his 2019 debut, but the performances he's recorded over his last five starts are much closer to the level of his 2019 campaign and is closer to what managers should expect in the future.

Here's the thing though. Out of the four guys on here, Priester is easily the farthest away from making an impact in fantasy. He was drafted out of high school in 2019, and given the current state of the Pirates' organization, there is zero reason they would bring him up in 2021 and probably won't bring him up in 2022 as well. I think the absolute best case scenario would be if we see Priester get called up late in 2022, but in all likelihood he won't be competing for a spot on the Pirates' roster until Spring Training 2023. Despite that, dynasty managers should not sleep on Priester. Keep an eye on how he performs in the second half of this year, and if he continues to pitch well then he should be a top target to acquire in any dynasty format.

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