Discussing 7 Recent Hitter Recalls

Trying to follow all the transactions on a daily basis can be head-spinning. Usually, it’s just a middle reliever, or a hitter expected to fill a bench role, that gets recalled from the minors. But that’s not always the case. So it pays to keep up with promotions on the chance that you just found yourself a replacement for that glaring hole you have at second base, for example. Let’s review seven of these recent hitter call-ups that look to have regular jobs.

Josh Lowe | OF LAA

Lowe isn’t the classic minor league call-up, as he’s a veteran who was surprisingly demoted earlier in the season, after posting a miniscule 47 wRC+ over his first 134 PAs to start the season. Back in 2023, he hit 20 home runs and stole 32 bases, while hitting .292. He looked like a perennial fantasy star with power and speed, but that hasn’t happened. Instead, injuries have taken their toll, and both his wOBA and xwOBA have slipped below .300 the last two seasons. So he was already trending down when it all fell apart this year.

A trip to Triple-A seemingly was the jolt he needed. He posted a sizzling .429 wOBA there over 126 PAs, with all sorts of positive signs. First off was a 14.3% walk rate, which is noteworthy because his MLB mark stands are half that, at just 7.1%. For a guy with speed, getting on base more could do wonders to his stolen base potential. He also posted a 31% HR/FB rate, so he still has power in that bat. On the negative side, he continued to swing and miss often, posting a 15.8% SwStr%, even facing minor league pitchers. He also benefited from some good batted ball fortune, as his .359 xwOBA was significantly lower than his actual mark.

That said, the performance was encouraging and he really ought to remain a starter for the rest of the season, even when Mike Trout returns. Unfortunately, he’s going to sit against lefties, so he might be an easier play in daily transaction leagues. The power/speed upside makes him worth considering in deeper formats.

Drew Cavanaugh | C SFG

How often do you get a chance to improve your dire catching situation?! Though just the Giants’ 17th best prospect heading into the season, Cavanaugh looks to be the starter on the strong side of a platoon, after posting an absurd .444 wOBA in the minors between Double-A and Triple-A this year. Obviously, the .402 overall BABIP is not sustainable, but incredibly, his Triple-A xwOBA was still .409, versus a .452 actual mark, so he genuinely crushed it at the level, even with a .425 BABIP there.

Like Lowe, I want to note his walk rate, as it’s been double digits everywhere he’s played, which gives him a big value boost in OBP formats. Along with the high BABIP and loads of walks, he posted a 22.5% HR/FB rate in the minors this season, after a 19.2% mark last year. I don’t totally believe that’s remotely repeatable in the Majors, though, because his maxEV at Triple-A has only been 108.7 MPH, so it’s going to be hard for him to keep hitting for such power without better exit velocity. He steals bases too! Is there anything this man can’t do? He swiped six this year and seven last year.

The home park isn’t great, especially for left-handers, and since I don’t really believe in the home run power, I don’t think he’s as exciting an add as he looks at first glance. Still, everyone needs catchers and it’s rare to find an offense-minded one being handed a new starting job, so he’s worth a flier.

Kahlil Watson | OF CLE

Recalled a couple of weeks ago, Watson just missed the Guardians top 10, coming in at 11, and sported underwhelming scouting grades. However, like the other names, he impressed with his mid-teens walk rate at Triple-A, while also delivering a 21.4% HR/FB rate, driven by a 49.7% HardHit%. That resulted in 12 home runs and he also stole 15 bases. So far, his BatSpd stands at 73.6 MPH, which is above the league average and gives us more confidence in his power.

Despite posting a .321 BABIP in the minors, he batted just .255, so he’s a better speculation in OBP formats as he’s highly unlikely to be a positive batting average source. He’s also a left-hander, which means he’s going to be platooned, but at least he’ll be on the strong side.

With both power and speed, he’s definitely worthy of a look in deep leagues.

Cooper Ingle | C CLE

The Guardians were busy with two recent call-ups, the second being their 10th best prospect who should qualify at catcher in your league, but figures to serve on the strong side of a platoon in left field, with turns at DH. A non-catching catcher?! Yes, please!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Ingle is yet another name who has been a walk monster in the minors. He has never posted a mark below 13.6% and is coming off an 18.6% mark at Triple-A this year. That sounds like a perfect leadoff candidate.

Ingle’s power suddenly exploded this year, as his HR/FB rate spiked from just 8.5% last season to 23.5% this year. It was driven by a jump in HardHit% and doubling of his Barrel%. However, just like I shared my concern about Cavanaugh’s maxEV above, Ingle is even worse. With a maxEV of just 107.2 MPH, the home run power seems pretty fluky. It makes me think he’s more of a low teen HR/FB rate guy, which isn’t terrible for a catcher, but a far cry from the 36-homer pace he was on over a full season’s worth of PAs.

He’s also unlikely to contribute in batting average, though the bar for catchers there is pretty low. Again, his value gets a massive boost in OBP formats thanks to the potentially elite walk rate. It could come with some power, but no speed, and I slightly prefer him to Cavanaugh, as his FB% is meaningfully higher and his home park is more forgiving.

Graham Pauley | 3B MIA

Pauley has been up and down with the Marlins the last couple of years and is back up now to seemingly earn the lion’s share of playing time at third base. He owns a weak 65 wRC+ in the Majors, with just seven home runs and three steals over about half a season. That’s not great.

Does his minor league history give us any hope? Ehhh, not really. He did steal 22 bases back in 2023, but that speed looks to be gone. He posted an 18.5% HR/FB rate at Triple-A this year, but it came with exceptionally weak Statcast metrics. In fact, his wOBA there was a perfectly fine .356, but his xwOBA was just .288, so he still doesn’t seem ready to perform at the MLB level.

Javier Sanoja isn’t much better of an offensive threat, and the team demoted the more exciting name in Connor Norby. Pauley might garner some playing time over the next couple of weeks, which will give him a smidge of value in NL-Only leagues. But it shouldn’t last.

Anthony Seigler | 2B BOS

Man, it’s always fun seeing a team’s 27th best prospect suddenly become an every day starter. With the rash of injuries in Boston, Seigler is currently the last man standing at second base. He posted a sublime 16.4% walk rate at Triple-A, which is now a running theme of this list, the most patient group of hitters I’ve ever highlighted! He also struck out exactly as many times as he has walked, and that’s nothing new, as he has consistently shown elite plate discipline in the minors.

Back in 2024, he stole 29 bases at Double-A, and then swiped 23 last year at Triple-A. But, he stole just four in the minors this year and hasn’t attempted a steal yet with the Red Sox. That’s problematic, because his maxEV has been low and he mustered just a 3.8% Barrel% this season. So we’re not going to see much power from him and will need him to steal some bases to deliver any semblance of fantasy value.

Thanks to the high walk rate, he’s a much better buy in OBP formats, though with limited power and a willingness to steal questionable, that might be all he contributes. There’s a chance he finds himself back atop the lineup, where he hit twice so far, and that would really boost his PA total, bringing his counting stats, especially runs scored, up.

Tsung-Che Cheng | SS BOS

That rash of injuries in Boston has resulted in Cheng getting recalled a couple of days ago and already started each game, even against a left-hander. He hasn’t been quite the walk machine as some of the others, but has still consistently posted double-digit marks throughout his minor league career.

This year at Triple-A, he posted his highest HR/FB rate since High-A in 2023, taking it from 1.6% last year to 11.7%, which is a massive increase. His HardHit% and Barrel% both improved, though surprisingly his maxEV did not. He still clearly owns below average power, so you’re likely to get more steals from him, as he swiped 10 this year and 20 last year.

The projections are not very kind here and even if he looks like a better OBP format bet, he’s still projected to post a sub-.300 mark. He might be able to eke out a bit of value from his steals until the playing time eventually dries up.