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It's Week 14 of the MLB season, and while we have seen plenty of rookies called up this season already, there are still some big names who are currently in the minors and could yet make an impact for their teams this Summer and/or Fall.
We love covering prospects here at RotoBaller, and in this piece, I wanted to highlight three fantasy baseball prospects who could make notable impacts for their teams (and your fantasy teams) as soon as they finally get to the big leagues.
These are players who have such massive potential that they should be stashed in all but the shallowest of leagues. I included the availability of each player in Yahoo leagues with each breakdown. Let's take a look at some of the hottest names in the minor leagues!
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Coby Mayo - 3B, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: Triple-A Norfolk
Availability: 8% rostered
2024 stats: 51 G, .307/.381/.654, 17 HRs, 45 RBI, 39 R, 3 SB
Baltimore fans and fantasy managers alike are licking their chops and wondering, "When will Coby Mayo SZN begin?"
Mayo is a former fourth-round pick who has excelled at every stop in the minors. He has a major-league frame, standing six-foot-five and weighing 230 pounds. His power seems effortless as he has mashed dingers throughout his minor league career and he's slowly improved his plate discipline, boosting his average at Triple-A from .265 last year to .301 this season.
Coby Mayo hammers his 18th homer of the season -- 15th at Triple-A 🔨
MLB's No. 18 prospect (@Orioles) has four extra-base knocks in his past six games since returning from injury for the @NorfolkTides. pic.twitter.com/EGfFcY65lP
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2024
Mayo suffered an injury that set him back for nearly a month as he was out of action from May 16th until June 13th.
But the good news is that Mayo has looked fantastic since his return from injury. He's picked up right where he left off and is still on pace for his best minor league season yet.
Orioles fans, in potential trades, want the Ham Sandwich, but they want their GM to “hold the mayo”. How Orioles prospect Coby Mayo keeps getting better - The Baltimore Banner https://t.co/PWsqpIdmSm
— Talkin’ Baseball (@BrianCornell16) June 26, 2024
He's just 22 years old but has proven himself easily worthy of a promotion. And while the outfield is crowded in Baltimore, the infield might be easier to crack as Baltimore is currently playing Jordan Westburg at third base and a combination of Jorge Mateo and Ramon Urias at second base. Mayo presents an upgrade over Mateo and Urias and would allow the Orioles to move Westburg over to second base, which is a more natural position for him.
It seems like it's just a matter of time until Mayo debuts and I like his odds to stick with the team as the opportunity is there for him at a position of need for the Orioles.
Max Meyer - SP, Miami Marlins
Current Level: Triple-A Jacksonville
Availability: 25% rostered
2024 MLB stats: 3 GS, 2-0, 17 IP, 2.12 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 21.5% K%, 4.6% BB%, 49.5% GB%, .200 BABIP
2024 AAA stats: 10 GS, 0-3, 34.2 IP, 6.23 ERA, 5.12 FIP, 27.3% K%, 9.7% BB%, 49.5% GB%, .360 BABIP
With all the injuries that the Marlins have suffered this season, one has to wonder why we haven't seen the Marlins' top prospect called back up to join their ailing rotation.
Meyer was up with the Marlins in April and made three strong starts for the Fish before being sent back down to have his innings managed as he's returning from Tommy John surgery last year.
It's a frustrating situation for managers who have been stashing Meyer because he's clearly better than several of the arms in their current rotation. Miami has promoted lesser prospects and even signed Yonny Chirinos off the street instead of promoting Meyer.
Wednesday's games in the Marlins org. Welcome to The Show, Valente Bellozo. Meanwhile, Max Meyer starts for Jacksonville at noon.
https://t.co/nfAI8Uyyvm pic.twitter.com/tMOBqwXYLn
— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) June 26, 2024
Meyer starts again today at Triple-A, while the Marlins will put Valente Bellozo on the mound as a sacrificial lamb to likely be slaughtered. Miami is clearly handling their top prospect with kid gloves, but at what point do they bring him up and just manage his innings from the big-league level?
An optimist would point out that after one more start at Triple-A, Meyer could finally be ready to be activated and join the rotation next week. Miami is quite literally running out of options until Edward Cabrera returns.
However, a more pessimistic view might be that Miami views this as a lost season and would rather let Meyer continue to work on his stuff at the Triple-A level instead of having him up on the major league team. Keeping him in Triple-A longer also allows them to maintain control of his contract for possibly another full season.
At this point, Meyer is a must-stash player in most leagues - at least for a little while longer until we see what Miami has planned for their top pitching prospect. We've seen what he's capable of doing and even in a limited capacity (capped pitch count) he could be a very useful asset in fantasy baseball.
Junior Caminero - 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Level: Triple-A Durham
Availability: 28% rostered
2024 stats: 34 G, .261/.333/.478, 8 HRs, 24 RBI, 19 R, 1 SB
Junior Caminero is the third-rated prospect in all of baseball and the Rays' top-hitting prospect. Many thought we would have seen him make his MLB debut by now, but a quad injury he suffered a month ago has derailed his path to the majors.
This season, the 20-year-old slugger is slashing a solid .261/.333/.478 with eight home runs, six doubles, 24 RBI, and one stolen base over 138 at-bats (34 games) with Triple-A Durham.
Early today, Junior Caminero doubled on the hardest hit ball in AAA this season.
Tonight, he’s hit 2 HRs. He’s my #1 overall prospect. pic.twitter.com/AA0Gz7XkJm
— BigBobsCards (@BigBobsCards) May 2, 2024
Caminero spent 2023 splitting time between Single-A and Double-A and is in his first season at Triple-A. The Rays likely want to see him take some more swings at Durham once he's healthy before bringing him up, which could push back his debut even further.
The initial timeline given for the injury was 4-6 weeks, so we are closing in on the last two weeks of that time frame, though new updates have been given.
#Rays note:
Tomorrow will make it 4 weeks since Junior Caminero was placed on IL due to a quad issue. He should be back in action within the next ~ 2 weeks.— Mat Germain (@Mat_Germain_) June 26, 2024
Tampa Bay badly needs another bat, but they're also not likely to rush Caminero back until he's made a full recovery and looked healthy in some minor-league action.
Caminero's combination of power and contact skills at the plate makes him an elite stash in the majority of leagues. However, holding Caminero in shallower formats could be challenging since his potential debut could be pushed back into late July or even August. His talent alone is enough to hold him for now and hope for some positive news about his return.
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