Welcome to the weekend edition of the Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report. As promised, we are going to look at several pitchers that have gotten off to lackluster starts in the minor leagues through the first month of the season.

A.J. Cole, Syracuse Chiefs (Washington)

If you’re an avid follower of prospects, you’ll know that A.J. Cole has long been on several Top 100 lists. Throughout his minor league career, Cole has been more of a pitch to contact arm that does not rely heavily on strikeouts. This season it seems that Cole would benefit more if he had a strikeout pitch that was able to get him out of jams. He  has long been a control pitcher as evident by his 2.3 BB/9 in the minors. This season, at age 24, Cole has seen that number jump to 4.0.

Now, let’s be clear, Cole has only made five starts at Triple-A, but this is a level where he posted solid numbers a season ago (3.41 ERA, 1.18 WHIP). Where Cole has never really excelled is in his strikeout numbers and that is what will ultimately hurt him when he reaches the major leagues on a full-time basis. If Washington suffers an injury in their rotation, Cole will likely get the first call and for that reason alone he should be stashed away in NL-Only leagues. Outside of that, just keep an eye on his production over the next several weeks.

Blake Snell, Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay)

Yes, Blake Snell has made his major league debut for the Rays already, but that doesn’t mean his numbers have been lights out in the minor leagues. In fact, on the surface, Snell has been pitching about average.  At Triple-A, Snell’s real problem has been the amount of free passes he’s given up. In 24.2 innings pitched, Snell has walked 15 batters, which equates to a 5.5 BB/9. Over three minor league levels last season, Snell average a BB/9 of 3.6 and that included 44.1 innings at Triple-A. There is no need to worry about Snell—he will be fine. He strikeout numbers have been fantastic throughout his minor league career and he should come close to matching his 10.0 K/9 in the minor almost immediately when he gets the full-time call to Tampa. It seems likely that the Rays will wait until June to call Snell up for good, but it could happen at any time. Now is the time to stash him away in 14-team mixed leagues and deeper.

Clayton Blackburn, Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco)

The Giants didn’t have run for Blackburn in their rotation at the start of the season and decided to ship him back to Triple-A Fresno where he made 23 appearances (20 starts) with a 3.32 ERA and 7.2 K/9. This season hasn’t been as much of a breeze for Blackburn. With a 4.88 ERA over his first six appearances (five starts), Blackburn is working with his highest ERA total over his first six minor league seasons. Blackburn isn’t at the top of San Francisco’s prospect list, but he is considered to be a solid number three start in the future. It’s somewhat troubling that he found success at Triple-A last season, but he is struggling in 2016. One fallback to the story is that he’s pitching in the PCL, a league notorious for its hitters and high run totals. Blackburn currently has value in dynasty leagues and should be monitored in NL-Only leagues at this point.

Rob Kaminsky, Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland)

Kaminsky was a first-round pick in 2013, but St. Louis decided he was expendable enough to move for Brandon Moss in a deadline deal last summer. The 21-year-old lefty is struggling mightily at Double-A this season; 11 strikeouts and 13 walks in 26.2 innings will do that. It’s encouraging that Kaminsky is only 21 years old, so he has plenty of time to get things straightened out. The best move at this point would be to hold Kaminsky in dynasty leagues or find the owner in your league that’s always been high on him. The talent is there, but the results have been subpar to date.

Carson Fulmer, Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)

The White Sox drafted Fulmer in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft after the right-hander chose college over signing with the Red Sox back in 2012. Fulmer has moved quickly through Chicago’s minor league system, jumping from Rookie Ball to High-A in a half season after signing with the White Sox. Fulmer has definitely experienced some growing pains at Double-A this year—mainly with the decrease in strikeouts, but there is no need to be overly worried at this point. The White Sox want Fulmer to reach the majors quickly, but he isn’t going to be rushed. He’s a valuable commodity in dynasty leagues, though you can pass in AL-Only leagues, as it’s highly unlikely that he’ll make any type of contribution this year.

Recent Call-Ups

Matt Andriese, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays called Andriese up to start on Sunday and he did not disappoint, going seven innings and giving up one earned run with three strikeouts. Theis seemed like more of a spot start, but Andriese still has value in AL-Only leagues and should be added as a flyer.

Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins

Polanco has been in the Twins system since he was 16 years old—he’s now 22—though he’s never really made much of a contribution at the major league level. With Eduardo Escobar headed to the disabled list, Polanco will fill his spot on Minnesota’s 25-man roster. He offers a little bit of everything, though not much of anything as he’s below average in basically every category. He can be added in deeper AL-Only leagues, but he shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a stopgap.

Cheslor Cuthbert, Kansas City Royals

Kansas City placed third baseman Mike Moustakas on the disabled list and made the call to Cheslor Cuthbert (cool name). Cuthbert is a career .262 hitter in the minors that could be a 10 HR/10 SB player over a full season in the big leagues. In other words, Cuthbert doesn’t possess a whole lot of value. He is certainly useful in AL-Only leagues, but the buck stops there as his upside in the counting categories is limited.