Discussing Five Recent Triple-A Hitter Recalls

If your league allows you to keep players picked up over the final days of the season, then it’s still hunting time to find potential 2022 keeper candidates. Let’s discuss six of them and decide if they’re worth a roster spot.

Luis Barrera | OAK OF

Barrera was ranked as the Athletics 17th best prospect with 50 grade Raw Power and elite 70 grade Speed. He hasn’t struck out much more than 20% of the time during his long minor league history and has often posted strong BABIP arks thanks to a high GB%.

His power has remained below average, having never posted an ISO above .200 and mixing in low-.100 marks with a pair above .190. Just once has he posted a double digit HR/FB rate. Despite owning 70 grade speed, he actually hasn’t been an elite source of stolen bases. His high total in a year is just 23 and he swiped just 10 this year at Triple-A for about a 16 steal pace over 600 plate appearances.

With limited power and apparently excellent speed but without a willingness to use it as much as hoped, he doesn’t look like a particularly exciting fantasy option, especially considering he’ll be 26 next year and might not be viewed as any more than a bench bat.

Vimael Machín | OAK 3B

Machin debuted last year and has been up and down these past two seasons, accruing just 108 total plate appearances. He showed the best power of his career at Triple-A this year with professional bests in both ISO and HR/FB rate. Unfortunately, he didn’t hit enough fly balls, so he homered just 11 times in 393 plate appearances, for about a 17 home run pace. He also has little speed, meaning he won’t be expected to be a positive contributor in either home runs or power.

His best attribute is his plate discipline, as he has walked at a double digit clip nearly everywhere he’s played, while keeping his strikeout rate below 20% and only twice posting a SwStk% in double digits. He looks like the epitome of a Moneyball Athletics player with just mediocre power at best, but strong on-base ability. It translates to little traditional fantasy value, but a big boost in leagues that count OBP.

Greg Deichmann | CHC OF

Deichmann was the 20th ranked prospect in the Cubs system, bring 70 grade Raw Power and not much else. The 26-year-old hasn’t had as long a minor league career as you might expect for someone his age as he started his professional career in 2017 at age 22.

For someone with 70 grade Raw Power, it’s pretty shocking to see his mediocre at best ISO and HR/FB rates. His HR/FB rates sat in the high single digits at Triple-A this year after low-to-mid teen marks in 2018 and 2019. His ISO marks were a bit better than his HR/FB rates, but he hasn’t posted an ISO over .200 since his short Rookie league stint in 2018 and then his professional debut at Low-A in 2017.

He has shown some speed in the past, so perhaps a full season would yield 10 steals to go along with the homers. His strikeout rate and BABIP marks have jumped up and down so it’s hard to get a read on his true talent in each of those metrics. I’d say given his injury history that may have hampered his power, a healthy Deichmann might be interesting to fantasy owners.

Geraldo Perdomo | ARI SS

Perdomo was ranked fifth among Diamondbacks prospects and 76th overall, so he’s easily the best prospect on this list so far. Unfortunately, he’s a bit like Machin in that he might deliver more real life value than fantasy.

Perdomo offers little power, but has shown a willingness to steal bases at times, swiping as many as 26 in a season. He only stole eight over 344 PAs at Double-A this year though. His best skill, like Machin’s is his plate discipline. He has walked at a double digit clip everywhere he’s been, with nothing lower than a 12.3% mark. He has also posted a single digit SwStk% no higher than 8.1% at every stop since his Rookie league stint in 2018. That has led to some elite on base percentages.

He nearly skipped Triple-A, so he might not be ready to hit at the MLB level yet. However, given his prospect pedigree and age (will be 22 next month), perhaps some more power will come and combine with the strong plate discipline foundation. He seems like a must in OBP leagues, but less so in batting average leagues.

Isaac Paredes | DET 3B

Paredes is back again after debuting last year and then being up and down this season. He’s yet another in the Machin mold, bringing strong plate discipline with below average power that surged this year.

Since his debut in 2016, Paredes has never posted a SwStk% above 8.3% and excluding his MLB debut last year, never posted a strikeout rate above 15.4%. That’s a strong foundation if you’re able to do damage with all those balls in play. Unfortunately, Paredes hasn’t shown much power and has just twice posted a BABIP above .300. That’s a bad combination as the low BABIP offsets the good strikeout rate and fails to result in a good batting average, while the lack of power means few home runs. He doesn’t own much speed either, so you have to question what potential fantasy contributions he’ll make.

He did post his best HR/FB rate at Triple-A this year, and did that while increasing his walk rate to an elite level and no giving up any contact ability. Given his age, those are some exciting developments and provides optimism he’ll turn the strong plate discipline foundation into fantasy contributions.