Outfielders
So far this season there has been some hubbub about top prospects being called up, but there are still big names out there awaiting their turn to get the call to the show. Outfielders typically offer a variety of skill sets that are valuable to fantasy owners, but how many of them are the cliché five-tool variety and how many are really good at offering one or two specific skill sets that will fit a niche? Just because a guy plays a certain position doesn’t mean the stereotypical skill set accompanies them, as we’ve learned, especially with the middle infielders.
Ronald Acuna has been up for long enough that it no longer makes a lot of sense to break him down, as I’m sure he’s also not available anymore in nearly any league at this point. So I will skip him for the purposes of focusing on some other guys worth mentioning more.
Eloy Jimenez (CWS) - I have talked about Jimenez previously in non-position specific pieces but he bares mentioning here as well. His calling card is his power, a 70-grade tool, and his bat in general with a 60-grade hit tool. The problem is that’s really all he has going for him. At 6’4” and 205 pounds he possesses below-average MLB speed with just one steal in the last two years. Currently in 30 games at Double-A Birmingham this year he’s hitting .328/.360/.608 with eight homers, 29 RBI, 21 runs, and 11 doubles. His BABIP and wOBA come in at .337 and .417 respectively which both show he’s a strong hitter at the plate and his 14.4% K-rate shows that his vision is improving as well as it’s the lowest of his career (if it holds at that rate). Since being traded last year in the José Quintana deal and switching from the North Side to the South Side he has really come alive for the White Sox Double-A affiliate. An expected promotion to Triple-A Charlotte should be coming before the All-Star break for the 21-year-old Dominican native. The interesting thing to watch will be how much he is used in the outfield and how much he slots into the DH going forward because since his rookie ball campaign in 2014 he has just eight total outfield assists in his first 4.5 pro seasons. That just simply won’t cut it arm strength-wise to provide great defense in left field. Now MLB teams can get away with a weak-armed guy in left but usually those guys become DHs, which reduces his availability once he’s in the show.
ETA: 2019
Victor Robles (WAS) - Robles is one of the biggest names in the prospect realm and has been for a solid 2-3 years now. Last year he got a taste of the majors as a September call-up from Double-A Harrisburg and then stuck on the playoff roster as well. First things first, his tool are immense, among the tops at the position in the minors. Last year in 114 games played between High-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg he hit .300 with 10 homers, 73 runs scored, 57 RBI, and 27 steals while walking 7.5% of the time and striking out just 16.3% of the time as well. Robles is a true five-tool talent with 60-grade Hit, 60-grade Power, 75-grade Run, 70-grade Arm, and 70-grade Field tools to his credit and having just turned 21 (three days ago as of my writing of this on Tuesday) he still has room to develop. There is room for him to be an MVP candidate in his prime and certainly an All-Star year in and year out. He has only played four games this year due to sustaining an elbow injury that will keep him out most of this year. That’s good news if you are in a keeper league and have a bench spot to stash this guy on if he got dropped by other owners expecting him to get the call to the bigs this year.
ETA: 2019
Luis Robert (CWS) – Yes, we have another White Sox prospect on the list, but hey when they have the most stacked system in the majors it’s pretty hard to ignore the copious amounts of talent they have. Robert is just the latest in the line of Cuban defectors and the White Sox paid a king’s ransom for him with a $26 million bonus (second-highest for a defector behind only Yoan Moncada ’s $31 million) and then had to pay a fine of equal amounts for going over their allotted international signing money. Bonus amounts aren’t the only reason to compare the 20-year-old outfielder to the much-talked about switch-hitting infielder. Their skill sets are very similar in overall game too. Moncada does have the edge in speed but not by much and they are pretty equal in power, if not a slight advantage to Robert. There is a very small sample size for Robert at the moment since he played just 28 games in rookie ball last year, as his only pro ball experience so far, and has been kept off the field with a sprained thumb to start this year. In those 28 games he slashed .310/.491/.536 with three homers, 17 runs, 14 RBI, and 12 steals while still dealing with slight knee and ankle issues. He did strikeout 23 times in those 28 games, but he walked 22 times as well, which does mitigate the swing-and-miss factor he has. The righty has a future in center field long-term unless the weight he adds to his 6’3”, 185-pound frame slows him down, and then a move to right would be in the cards. He is a long-term stash at this point and really fit for those that can keep prospects for a few years and not just one year.
ETA: 2020
Juan Soto (WAS) - The buzz of the week has been around this 19-year-old kid and his call-up to the Nationals. The Nats didn’t want to call him up just yet given team control that is at stake, but the amount of injuries they have sustained has forced their hand. The Majors is the fourth level of the system this year for Soto who has played for Class-A Hagerstown, High-A Potomac, and Double-A Harrisburg as he kept crushing pitching wherever he went. In 39 minor league games this year he slashed .362/.462/.757 with 14 home runs, 52 RBI, 33 runs, and three steals with 29 BB and 28 K. Sure his stat line showed he was probably ready for a shot in the bigs, but with the extra year of team control potentially at stake, it was still a surprise move from Washington. In his first start on Monday, Soto hit sixth in the order and took the first pitch he saw deep for a 422-foot three-run opposite field homer in the second inning to start the scoring for the Nats. Soto then added a single and a run scored for a 2-for-5 debut with three RBI and two runs scored and a homer. Adam Eaton just had ankle surgery, Howie Kendrick is out of the year, Brian Goodwin is dealing with a wrist issue, and Robles is injured as well which all means that Soto should be up for the long haul. If you still have a chance to get him, you need to add him to your roster immediately.
ETA: 2018
Leody Taveras (TEX) - Taveras first caught my attention last year while playing his first full pro season in the Rangers system and putting up 20 steals over 134 games at A-ball. He also hit .249/.312/.360 (.287 BABIP and .310 wOBA) with eight homers, 73 runs, and 50 RBI. Now Texas has moved him up to High-A Down East to start this year and in 42 games Taveras is hitting .276/.362/.399 with three home runs, 28 runs, 19 RBI, and seven steals with nine doubles and a triple. Overall the 6’1”, 175-lb. switch-hitting outfielder should use his nice, easy swing to hit near the top of the lineup and draw a solid amount of walks while then using his speed to run out infield hits and steal 25-30 bases. He is still just 19 years old and in High-A ball for the first time so there is still a lot of growth to come as he likely takes another 1.5-2 years to reach Texas full time and patrol the outfield for them.
ETA: 2020
Taylor Trammell (CIN) - Drafted 35th overall in the 2016 draft, Trammell clearly possessed tools to be excited about coming out of High School. The Reds really liked them as they offered him a $3.2 million deal to sign him away from a multi-sport commitment to Georgia Tech. Since then he has done nothing to disprove the evaluations of him. A 61-game stint in rookie ball in 2016 saw him slash .303/.374/.421 with two homers, 39 runs, 34 RBI, and 24 steals with nine doubles and six triples and an astonishing .396 BABIP. A full season of Single-A in 2017 saw him post an even better line of .281/.368/.450 in 129 games and 491 ABs with 13 long balls, 80 runs, 77 RBI, and 41 steals while being caught 12 times. He also had 24 doubles and 10 triples to add to the XBH total. A new season in 2018 sees him at High-A Daytona and hitting .298/.407/.482 with five homers, 26 runs, 20 RBI, and five steals in 40 games thus far in the campaign. Trammell is still just 20 years old but he’s already moving pretty quickly through the system and could jump to Double-A mid-season this year. He clearly has the athleticism to play anywhere on the field, especially all three outfield spots, however his slightly below-average arm limits him to either center or more likely left field down the road.
ETA: 2020