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As the baseball season progresses, top prospects can have the opportunity to replace an injured player and immediately become valuable in fantasy.
Several of the sport's top pitching prospects have already made their major league debut earlier this season but have been optioned to Triple-A for several reasons, such as an innings limit or even a minor injury.
Below are five pitching prospects worth stashing in redraft leagues in Week 16. A few of these names might be familiar to you, as they have already made a few starts at the major league level but are still available in a vast majority of leagues. As they gain more confidence in the majors, fantasy managers can begin to see how valuable they could be this season. This makes stashing prospects before they get too settled in so valuable and will provide you with a significant advantage against your league mates.
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Top Fantasy Baseball Prospect Stashes
Drew Thorpe - Chicago White Sox (Currently In The Majors, 20% rostered)
Drew Thorpe, the No. 38-ranked prospect in baseball on MLB.com, made his major league debut last month. His performance has been quite solid, especially in three out of his first four starts, showing promising potential for the future.
In three outings, the right-hander has allowed two earned runs or less with an overall 1.59 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with a 7:13 BB:K ratio across 17 frames.
Unfortunately, these three outings were tarnished by a rough start on June 16 where Thorpe allowed seven earned runs in just three innings of work.
The Cal Poly product was unexpectedly promoted to the major leagues before ever logging a start at Triple-A. Thorpe spent the past two summers in the Double-A level, last season in the Yankees system, logging 30 innings. This season in the White Sox system, he logged almost double that amount.
MLB's No. 53 prospect Drew Thorpe spun a💎 in his @whitesox home debut.
6 IP
2 H
2 R
1 BB
4 K pic.twitter.com/1diTLbvc59— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 29, 2024
Last season, he posted a stellar 40.0% K rate at Double-A compared to a significantly lower 25.0% rate he has held over a prolonged period this season. However, he did lower his HR-FB rate from 15.0% to a minuscule 5.2%, which is critical to note as he did this over a much longer sample size.
His box scores over the past two seasons at Double-A paint a similar picture: 1.48 ERA, 1.35 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, and 0.87 WHIP.
After making five starts and with the success that he has shown, Thorpe is quickly entering “roster” territory. This could be the last time you find him in a “stash” column.
Spencer Schwellenbach - Atlanta Braves (Currently In The Majors, 20% rostered)
Another player with a similar story to Thorpe, Schwellenbach made his major league debut on May 29, is putting his rough start behind him, and made the big jump from Double-A directly to the bigs.
After allowing nine earned runs across his first two major league starts (9 ⅔ innings), he has now allowed a modest 11 runs in his past four starts (22 innings). In three of these outings, he has struck out at least six batters, including two games where he struck out seven.
As seen in his first few starts, many fantasy managers cut ties after buying into the hype after his promotion. However, you can take advantage of this and grab a potential rising star who is available on the major league waiver wires.
In just 13 innings at Double-A, Mississippi posted a 38.6% K rate with a near-perfect 2.3% walk rate.
His K rate has dropped to 23.2% in the majors, which was expected. However, it has been climbing up in his recent outings, which is a good sign going forward. In addition, his 6.5% walk rate is still near his minor league average, which shows that he has not lost his command making the transition to the big leagues.
Both Thorpe and Schwellenbach are upside waiver adds who could pay dividends in the second half of the season if they continue to grow in the majors.
Max Meyer - Miami Marlins (Currently At Triple-A, 25% rostered)
On July 2, Meyer turned in his best outing at Triple-A this season, where he tossed 4 ⅔ shutout frames. He allowed just three hits and two free passes and struck out six. This is a great sign, as he has posted a 5.12 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in his previous five starts.
Max Meyer stacks up six strikeouts over 4 2/3 scoreless frames at Triple-A 💪
The @Marlins' No. 3 prospect got whiffs on 40 percent of his sliders for the @JaxShrimp.
Watch the rest of the action FREE: https://t.co/6or1LHB03G pic.twitter.com/dIp5XC3ZOn
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 3, 2024
While Meyer has not been as consistent in Triple-A as fantasy managers could hope for, he is on the verge of returning to the big leagues as the Marlins' starting rotation is full of injuries.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker also expressed in June that he expects Meyer to return to the major leagues “soon,” which is another positive sign. Tuesday’s start could be the final push Meyer needed.
When given the opportunity to pitch in the majors, the 25-year-old has performed very well, with a 2.12 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, albeit in a small three-start, 17-inning sample size.
Once he returns to the major leagues, he has a pretty safe cushion as there are not many options to take his starting spot away. This makes him not only a safe add but a smart one in all formats who can help your pitching staff through the remainder of the summer.
Shane Baz - Tampa Bay Rays (Currently In The Majors, 50% rostered)
The 25-year-old has been on an impressive run at Triple-A and is on the verge of returning to the major leagues. In his past 23 innings (five starts), he has a stellar 1.57 ERA and 1.30 WHIP and has struck out an eye-catching 35 batters.
After recovering from Tommy John surgery, the former first-round selection is almost at the end of his time in the minor leagues. When he was in the majors in 2021 and 2022, he held strong 36.7% and 25.6% K rates with an average of 11.00 K/9 in a small 40 ⅓ inning sample size.
The right-hander has had trouble staying healthy, but when he was on the bump, he showcased his elite ceiling. There will most likely not be a pitcher with this much upside on your waiver wire going forward. He is a must-stash in all formats.
Shane Baz is taking over the vacant spot in Tampa Bay's rotation and will start Friday.
Last 5 GS in AAA: 23 IP, 1.57 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 10.4% BB, 36.5% K
The Rays are going to be careful with him, but the upside is massive.#RaysUppic.twitter.com/yNw0AdXMjv
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) July 3, 2024
In addition, the Rays traded starting pitcher Aaron Civale to Milwaukee on Wednesday morning, which opened a rotation spot that Baz has just claimed. This may be your last opportunity to acquire a high-upside strikeout producer.
Christian Scott - New York Mets (Currently In The Majors, 25% rostered)
The No. 39-ranked prospect on MLB.com returned to the major leagues on Wednesday, July 3, and tossed 5 ⅔ frames with four earned runs and two punchouts. He allowed six hits and two free passes. However, he got through the first five frames by allowing just one run, which suggests he could have just been fatigued when entering the sixth.
Before this outing, Scott made five starts in Queens and had a 3.90 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 6:25 BB:K ratio.
In the minor leagues, the former Florida Gator showcased elite strikeout upside with a 33.5% K rate at Triple-A this season and a 32.8% K rate at Double-A last season. However, this has yet to translate to the major leagues, as he sits with a 22.3% mark.
However, in his limited taste of big league ball, he has allowed fewer home runs at an improved 0.98 HR/9 compared to his career-worst 2.13 HR/9 he held at Triple-A this season.
With how well the Mets have begun to play and having now reentered the Wild Card race, it is hard to see them not using one of their top prospects in their starting rotation for the remainder of the summer.
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