Another 5 Hitter Callups to Consider

As I type this, we’re just a day away from roster expansion day, when we get a flurry of minor league callups. This is always an exciting time for fantasy leaguers, especially keeper leaguers who could speculate on some of these players at minimal cost in the hopes they open next season with a starting job. But although rosters haven’t expanded yet, there are still five recent promotions worth discussing. Let’s get to it.

Nolan Gorman | 2B/3B STL

Gorman actually opened the season as the Cardinals starting third baseman, but poor hitting ultimately resulted in a demotion to the minors in mid-June. He’s back now in a strong side platoon role as the team deals with a plethora of injuries.

Back in 2023, he put himself on the fantasy map by swatting 27 home runs and swiping seven bases. But his offense has slowed down, as his wOBA has finished below .300 ever since. Even his bankable power has gone missing in action. In 2023 and 2024, he posted Barrel% over 16%, en route to HR/FB rates of 21.6% and 17.9%, respectively. Since, his Barrel% has slipped into single digits, while his HR/FB rate is now in the low double digits. He hasn’t made up for it by striking out less and hitting for a high batting average either. A powerless Gorman has little value, whether from a real or fantasy perspective.

The hope was that a return to Triple-A perhaps could ignite his bat again. At age 26, it would be silly to think this was it and a rebound was impossible. He recorded 201 PA at the level during his demotion, but only posted a .341 wOBA and .300 xwOBA. That’s not encouraging.

The strikeouts continued, as he actually posted a 36.3% mark, but at least helped offset the outs by walking 17.4% of the time. But because he posted just a .215 BABIP, his OBP was only .328, which is hard to do with such an elite walk rate.

The most important question is whether he rediscovered his power stroke. The data gives mixed signals. While his HR/FB rate surged to 27.1% and ISO to .248, which seems like a good sign, his HardHit% and maxEV were the lowest marks we have recorded. He did post a 13% Barrel%, which represents a nice bounce back into double digits. But that would be hard to sustain with a middling HardHit%.

The playing time is secure for now, so perhaps he launches a bunch of homers to help NL-Only leaguers desperate for them. That’s really the only league type worth speculating on him in.

Shay Whitcomb | 3B SFG

Whitcomb had earned a couple of short stints with the Astros over the years, but now gets a chance with the Giants whose starting lineup has been decimated by injuries or traded away. He was recalled about a week ago and has starting nearly every game since, mostly at third base.

The 27-year-old has been playing at Triple-A since 2023, so we have lots of data to assist in our projection of his likely MLB production. This year at the level, he has maintained the improved strikeout rate he first enjoyed back in 2024. He posted an interesting batted ball profile that includes a high rate of line drives, lower than league average of fly balls, and around league average rate of pop-ups. It resulted in a .342 BABIP, but capped his home run output a bit.

His HR/FB rate fell this year from the low-20% range he has posted since 2023 to the low teens. His HardHit% dropped from the low-40% range to mid-30% range, his maxEV failed to reach 110 MPH, and his Barrel% slipped into single digits after a 10.8% mark last year. That’s not great.

Overall, he posted a .338 wOBA, but just a .305 xwOBA. That’s not the profile of a guy you want to own while hitting in one of the better pitching parks in baseball.

However, he did do his best to deliver fantasy potential by stealing 23 bases, while getting caught just twice. That power/speed mix makes him a whole lot more exciting, even if he isn’t exactly a great hitter.

It’s very possible that he loses playing time after roster expansion to someone like Parks Harber, but he’s worth an add in deep leagues for the chance at a handful of homers and steals.

Nate Furman | 2B SFG

Furman is another beneficiary of the Giants roster mess, as he has served on the strong side of a second base platoon. The 24-year-old spent his first season at Triple-A this year, posting a .365 wOBA and .345 xwOBA. I’ve spent so much time discussing players with high Triple-A wOBA marks and significantly lower xwOBA marks that it’s nice to see someone with a relatively small gap between the two.

He has shown excellent plate discipline throughout his career, walking at a double digit clip at every single minor league stop. That includes an 11.1% walk rate this year, and it paired with a delightful 11.8% strikeout rate. He makes absolutely elite contact, as he posted just a 4% SwStr% this year, never recording a mark higher than 4.8% over any reasonable sample.

Naturally, the power has been underwhelming, which isn’t that surprising, otherwise he would be one of the top prospects in baseball, and we know he isn’t. He posted just a 24.4% HardHit% at Triple-A this year, along with a 108.1 MPH maxEV and microscopic 3.4% Barrel%. It almost seems like the team replaced Luis Arraez with a mini version of him.

Like Whitcomb, Furman does also bring speed to the table. He stole 37 bases back in 2023 and swiped 19 this year. So he wouldn’t be totally useless from a counting stat perspective. But he’s no more than a couple of homers and 20ish steals over a full season.

He’s an interesting name in real baseball, but I’m not sure he would provide enough counting stats to be worth anything more than an NL-Only add while he’s starting. You would think the low strikeout rate would at least result in a strong batting average, but with a forecasted sub-.300 BABIP, he might be neutral at best in the category.

Dustin Harris | OF SDP

Can you name all three teams Harris has played for this year?! He opened the season with the White Sox, joined the Astros, and then became a Padre, where he has started in four of six games since his recall a week ago. This comes after spending 2021 through 2025 in the Rangers organization.

Harris is another plate discipline guy, walking at a double digit clip everywhere he has played, except for a short stint at High-A back in 2021. His strikeout rates have generally landed in the mid-teens, though did climb into the 20% range from 2022 through 2024, before settling back down.

His batted ball profile has been excellent, with consistently high LD% marks and a nice balance between grounders and flies. It has led to pretty good BABIP marks, including a .359 mark at Triple-A this year.

Power isn’t his strong suit. He posted just a 28.3% HardHit% and 3.9% Barrel% this year, but somehow still managed a 15.6% HR/FB rate. I don’t think he’s capable of a double digit mark in the Majors with that Statcast profile. Luckily like some of the above names, he steals bases. He swiped as many as 41 in 2023 and was at 19 this year in about half a season.

That makes him yet another power/speed combo platter, though there’s far more upside in the steals than power. Still, even if he was just a 10-homer, 25 steal guy, that’s definitely valuable in most leagues. The left-hander will probably serve in a strong side platoon role, which definitely limits his counting stat upside. But he’s worth a shot in deep leagues.

Walker Jenkins | OF MIN

Finally, we get to our only true top prospect of the list. The Twins top prospect was ranked fourth overall and just made his eagerly anticipated debut last Friday. Taking over for an injured Byron Buxton, he should remain a regular the rest of the season for a team with no playoff hopes.

Jenkins is an interesting fantasy prospect because none of his scouting grades stand out. By those alone, he should be ignored, but the results have been there. At Triple-A this year, he posted a .415 wOBA and .360 xwOBA. While he overperformed his xwOBA, the latter mark is still quite strong.

What I love here is the plate discipline. He walked nearly as often as he struck out, posting a 13.7% walk rate and 15.6% strikeout rate, fueled by just a 6.9% SwStr%. That’s elite.

His power will be interesting to watch. He did post a 16.9% HR/FB rate at the level this year, with a 42.3% HardHit% and 112 MPH maxEV. But his Barrel% was just 7.4%, which is below average and normally matches with weaker Statcast metrics and a lower HR/FB rate. So we’ll see if the Barrel% improves as he matures to match the other metrics as he better optimizes his swing for power.

Like the other names, he also steals bases! He stole 17 this year and last year, as he shapes up to be yet another mix of power and speed.

I don’t think he’ll stand out in any particular category, but be more of an all-around contributor who could potentially add positive value in batting average and OBP, depending on where his BABIP lands. We’ll have to see if he’s going to be platooned against lefties, which would take a bite out of his value. Until then, he’s an obvious add in deep mixed and deeper leagues. I figure he’s a low-end outfield option in shallow mixed leagues right now.