The baseball season is in full swing and prospects around baseball are already seeing their stock values start to shift up or down. Today we’re looking at a pitcher who could help out in the playoff race in the second half of 2015 and a few other players that are quite talented but also a few years away from reaching The Show.

Ozhaino Albies, SS, Braves: Albies didn’t enter pro ball until 2014 but the 18-year-old infielder is already making a name for himself. After hitting . 364 in his debut, the young prospect is more than holding his own in full-season ball. He has a .313 batting average and has walked almost as much as he’s struck out (21/28) and has stolen 20 bases in 52 games. Braves’ incumbent shortstop Andrelton Simmons will be a tough man to move off of shortstop but second base could eventually become home to Albies, and the Braves organization is not shy about aggressively promoting talented prospects (as seen with the likes of Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones). [Value Up]

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The baseball season is in full swing and prospects around baseball are already seeing their stock values start to shift up or down. Today we’re looking at four prospects from the American League — three of whom can found playing for organizations in the AL East.

Tyler Austin, OF, Yankees: The up-and-down career of Austin may finally be running out of ‘ups.” A highly-regarded amateur when he was drafted in 2010, had two solid pro seasons but fell on hard times in 2013 due to injury. He rebounded somewhat in 2014 but currently sports a .486 OPS in 34 Triple-A games. He’s managed just five extra base hits but has been striking out like a slugger with 38 whiffs. Added to the 40-man roster last November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, he might go unclaimed through the waiver process if the Yankees were to need room on the roster. With aging hitters on the big league roster, the club will likely need to rely on its outfield depth in 2015 and could reach down into Double-A to promote 2013 first rounder Aaron Judge — rather than give a shot to the likes of Triple-A outfielders Austin, Ben Gamel, Ramon Flores, or Slade Heathcott. [Value Down]

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The baseball season is in full swing and prospects around baseball are already seeing their stock values start to shift up or down. Today we’re going to take a look at three young players that have seen their values increase and have an opportunity to impact their clubs in 2016 — if not sooner.

Earlier Editions:
Prospect Stock Watch 2
Prospect Stock Watch 1

Clint Coulter, OF, Brewers: The Brewers began the task of converting Coulter from catcher to outfielder in 2014 and it’s continued on into this season. The young prospect has yet to don the tools of ignorance in an official game in 2015 but, unlike a lot of players converted from catching, he doesn’t project to lose much value. That’s because he offers so much at the plate beginning with plus power, which he’s showcased in the Florida State League (A+) this year with a .607 slugging and seven homers in 28 games.

Coulter, 21, strikes out like a power hitter but he also takes a lot of walks and should produce a strong on-base percentage in the Majors. After a strong 2014 season in 2014 and a quick start in ’15, he’s primed for a promotion to Double-A by mid-year, which would put him in the Majors in 2016. That could make incumbent left-fielder Kris Davis expendable as he enters arbitration and becomes more expensive. [Value Up]

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The baseball season is in full swing and prospects around baseball are already seeing their stock values start to shift up or down. Today we’re going to take a look at five names that you’re probably not overly familiar with right now but you might start hearing a lot more about them in the not-too-distant future.

Last Week: Prospect Stock Watch: April 24

Brian Anderson, 2B/3B, Marlins: This Brian Anderson is looking to become the third big leaguer of the same name. He’s played both second and third bases in pro ball. He’ll likely stick at the hot corner if he can show enough power to appease the traditional expectations of the position. Incumbent third baseman Martin Prado is signed through 2016 and Anderson is on a trajectory — dependent on his successes and failures in 2015 — to be MLB ready right around that time, although the club may need a one-year gap filler. The young hitter is holding his own at High-A ball in his first full professional season and will soon turn 22 years old. Eight of his 18 hits have gone for extra bases but his strikeout rate is above 20% so he’s got some work to do on making more consistent contact. [Value Steady]

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We took a look some key freshmen players at the big league level yesterday and today we’re following up on some top prospects around the game.

Brent Honeywell, RHP, Rays: A solid community college find, Honeywell has had no issues with pro ball. After signing as a second-round pick in 2014, the right-hander allowed just 19 hits in 33.2 innings. So far this season, he’s allowed seven hits in 16.0 innings. He’s also struck out 22 batters this year. Honeywell, 20, is probably too advanced for Low-A and should see a quick promotion to High-A ball. Don’t be shocked if the pitcher, who can dial his heater up into the mid-90s and backs it up with a screwball, sees Double-A by the end of the year. [Value Up]

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We’re not even a month into the latest and greatest Major League Baseball season but it’s never too early to start focusing on the Rookie of the Year race and, more generally speaking, the freshmen class of 2015.

Jace Peterson, Braves: Peterson, acquired from San Diego during the off-season, won the Braves’ starting second base gig with a strong spring but he’s struggled early in the regular season. The fleet-of-foot infielder has struck out almost 30% of the time — an alarming number for anyone but especially for someone whose focus is putting the ball in play to utilize his speed. He’s been on base so inconsistently that he’s only been able to attempt two steals (with a 50% success rate). Peterson has a short window to establish himself as a big league starter with the Braves’ top hitting prospect, Jose Peraza, currently honing his craft in Triple-A (and he has also been struggling with the bat). [Value Down]

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The 2015 baseball season opened with some intriguing first-year names on the 25-man rosters fielded by the 30 MLB organizations. I began this miniseries by introducing the key freshman hurlers to know in the class of 2015 and I’m following up today with the top rookie hitters. This wave of first-year players is dominated by outfielders.

Micah Johnson/Carlos Sanchez, 2B, White Sox: Johnson is the favorite to start early in Chicago and has the base-running ability to be an impact player but Sanchez just might be the better player long term due to his natural hitting ability and better defence potential. Either way, the Sox are in a good position to have one of the two players run away with the gig. However, until that happens they’re likely to share the position, which will limit their value.

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The 2015 baseball season opened with some intriguing first-year names on the 25-man rosters fielded by the 30 MLB organizations. Over the next few days I’ll be looking at key names to know in the freshman class of 2015, beginning with the rookie hurlers.

Eddie Butler, RHP, Rockies: Butler probably doesn’t get enough love based solely on how good his stuff is… when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, he battled shoulder issues last year and missed time in the spring with shoulder weakness. He earned a roster spot nonetheless and his ground-ball tendencies (along with his strikeout stuff) make him a good fit for pitching in Colorado. If his body holds up, he could be one of the more successful Rockies starting pitchers in 2015.

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If you’re like us—we sincerely hope you aren’t, but if you’re reading this blog, you probably are—your soul is suffused with the sickness unto death as you contemplate how microscopic the attention you pay to baseball events must be if you hope to succeed in any moderately sophisticated Fantasy Baseball league. First, of course, you have to know how the players everyone knows and cares about are doing. Thus, it will matter to you when you see a headline like “Sean Doolittle plays catch.” We know that this fact has a measure of real-world significance that, say, “Khloe Kardashian plays catch” or “Mitch McConnell plays catch” doesn’t. Still, we keep expecting to see follow-ups: “Sean Doolittle walks the dog.” “Sean Doolittle takes his kids to P.F. Chang’s.” Nonetheless, we care. And just to set the record straight: Doolittle doesn’t have kids, or a spouse, though he does have a famously hot girlfriend.

And then, of course, you need to be completely familiar with the resumes and futures of guys that normal people haven’t heard of. We won’t insult you by telling you who Bruce Rondon is, because you already know. But believe us, there are plenty of hard-core baseball fans (as opposed to Fantasy addicts) who don’t. Read the rest of this entry »

This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The club suffered through a nightmare season in 2014 thanks to injuries but the club should be better positioned to weather the storm in 2015, thanks to the impending arrivals of a number of key prospects.

1. Alex Gonzalez, RHP: The Rangers first round draft pick from 2013, Gonzalez will likely open 2015 back in Double-A but he’s a spring training invitee and a strong spring could help him earn one of the first promotions to offset an injury or disappointing performance. The Rangers have some pitching depth entering the year but the starting rotation has some question marks in the No. 4 and 5 slots, as well as a couple of other arms with injury concerns. Gonzalez is fairly polished and has good command/control, which helps his average-ish fastball play up. The young hurler also gets his fair share of ground-ball outs. He has the ceiling of a No. 3 starter.

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