Let’s Discuss 12 Recent Callups

As expected, the trade deadline led to a flurry of minor league promotions. Since then, a number of highly anticipated debuts came to fruition. Let’s discuss 12 hitters who were recently recalled.

Brett Bateman | TOR OF

Just the 36th ranked Blue Jays prospect, Bateman has started all but one game since his recall on Aug 7, rotating between right and center fields. Incredibly, the rookie has batted either first or second in every single start except his first. That’s not typical for a guy making his MLB debut that wasn’t even a top prospect, but fantasy owners might as well take advantage of the lineup spot.

He has shown excellent plate discipline in the minors, rarely swinging and missing, and walking at a double digit clip. He has posted elevated BABIP marks everywhere he has played, suggesting he could be a pretty decent source of batting average, and especially OBP. He does lack power though and his Statcast metrics don’t offer much hope for more than a couple over a full season.

Of course, without power, the hope is he would at least provide some speed, and indeed he does. He swiped 20 bases in the minors this year for a 40ish pace over a full 700 PA season, while only being caught three times.

I would recommend him in OBP leagues (the projections actually don’t think he’ll contribute positive value in batting average) and if you need steals. His prime lineup spot will increase his counting stats, but he’ll obviously need to hit to remain there.

Charles McAdoo | TOR 1B

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hitting the IL, it’s McAdoo who has taken over as the starting first baseman the last two games. Before that though, he had started four of five games since his Aug 10 callup. McAdoo is just as unheralded as Bateman, ranking just 32nd among Blue Jays prospects, so the team is realllllyyyy digging deep into their system for replacements.

At Triple-A this year, he posted solid walk and strikeout rates with a single digit SwStr% supporting his improved strikeout percentage. He recorded slightly above average Statcast power metrics and swiped 12 bases as well. So he’s actually a power/speed combo platter, which is always exciting.

He has bounced around the batting order so it’s tough to guess where he’ll hit next, but the lineup is looking quite weak, so it wouldn’t be difficult to move up if he hits well. Keep in mind that Guerrero figures to return soon and could push McAdoo back to the bench, or minors.

Joshua Báez | STL OF

How many times was Báez added and dropped in your league as owners speculated on an imminent recall?! I did so in both my mixed leagues earlier in the year and would never have guessed it would have taken the Cardinals until mid-August to finally promote him. Obviously, he enjoyed a historic debut and then immediately followed the three homers with an 0-5 and three strikeouts. That pair of games seems to perfectly epitomize the player we expect him to be.

At Triple-A this season, he didn’t strike out at an egregious clip at 29.5%, though his 16.4% SwStr% was a bit high. The power though, was elite, as all his Statcast metrics, including a superb 19.7% Barrel% support the massive power breakout. He’s also been a flyball hitter which fully takes advantage of the high HR/FB rate.

It’s only been 14 competitive swings, but so far he’s sporting a BatSpd of 79.8 MPH, which would match Junior Caminero for tops in the Majors. I doubt that lasts, but I would imagine in remains between 75 and 80 MPH, which is darn impressive.

What’s crazy here is that he also swiped 21 bases this season after a whopping 54 last year! So he’s not even an all-or-nothing fantasy hitter, he might become one of the most exciting power/speed mixes in baseball.

He’s a must-add in all leagues. Particularly in small sample sizes of a month and a half of the season left, concerns about his strikeout rate and low batting average should be eased as BABIP luck will play a large role over a relatively small sample size.

Turner Hill | SF OF

The Giants traded away Heliot Ramos at the deadline and Hill is the latest to earn the opportunity to replace him in left field. At age 27, his only mention in a prospect article was as a bench bat. And yet here he is, starting in left two games in a row, presumably as part of a strong side platoon.

At Triple-A this season, he walked more than he struck out, which he’s done often, while recording a microscopic SwStr%. This guy is a plate discipline monster. He combined the low strikeout rate with a .368 BABIP, though that was significantly higher than he’s ever posted historically. That BABIP and strikeout rate combo fueled a .353 batting average.

Before this season, he had shown very little power. But that power finally manifested this year, as his HR/FB rate surged into double digits for the first time. Of course, it looks kind of fluky, as his Statcast metrics, particularly the 3.4% Barrel%, were quite weak.

He did swipe 24 bases on the season and succeeded at a good clip, so he’s very much in the Bateman mold. I was skeptical of his power output and his xwOBA significantly below his actual mark at Triple-A confirms that he benefited from great fortune. I would prefer Bateman if forced to choose between the two.

Angel Genao | CLE 2B

Recalled back on Aug 5, Genao has rotated between second and third bases, along with shortstop, even though they have incumbents starting at each of those positions regularly. The team’s top prospect was ranked 11th overall, though his scouting grades don’t suggest a fantasy force.

At Triple-A this season, he showed excellent plate discipline with a double digit walk rate and mid-teen strikeout rate, backed by a single digit SwStr%. He was a serious groundball hitter, but actually posted a 19.6% HR/FB rate there, after a hefty 27.3% mark at Double-A. He posted a pretty solid HardHit% and maxEV, but just a 5.9% Barrel%, which is a weird mismatch. The first two metrics somewhat match the HR/FB rate, but it’s near impossible to maintain a near 20% HR/FB rate with that low of a Barrel%.

He stole 11 bases, so does bring some speed as well, making him a potential contributor in both power and speed, but with weaker contributions in each than some of the above names. He might be frustrating to own in weekly leagues as the Guardians try to juggle four players for three positions, which is why he’s failed to start twice since his recall.

His fantasy profile definitely isn’t what you might expect from the 11th ranked prospect in baseball, as he might not deliver much value above replacement in shallow mixed leagues.

Brock Rodden | SEA SS

With top prospect Colt Emerson hitting the IL, the team’s 24th ranked prospect was recalled as a replacement at shortstop. The 26-year-old also seemingly posted a much higher HR/FB rate than his Statcast metrics suggest and his .289 xwOBA at Triple-A was far below his .367 actual mark. Oh, and his BatSpd through 23 competitive swings sits at just 68.1 MPH.

I don’t know who else could take his job outside of players returning from the IL, but he doesn’t look like a guy ready to contribute at the MLB level with the bat, let alone be much of a fantasy asset.

Abimelec Ortiz | WAS 1B

Recalled on Aug 4, Ortiz has already blasted five home runs, despite serving on the strong side of a platoon and not starting in five games. The strong hitting should give him a longer leash, though clearly not getting him starts against left-handers.

At Triple-A this season, he posted pretty strong Statcast power metrics, which represented a nice jump from his 2025 performance. Though oddly his HardHit% declined, but both his maxEV and Barrel% jumped to quite strong levels. His BatSpd so far is an excellent 76.3 MPH, so perhaps he’s a 15%-20% HR/FB rate guy. Of course, he’s sitting with a 38.5% mark right now, which obviously won’t last.

With no speed and unimpressive recent BABIP marks, he probably won’t be a batting average asset, which means he’s solely for teams who are in need of home runs.

Zac Veen | COL OF

It’s always been impossible to predict the Rockies’ roster moves, so it was anyone’s guess when Veen would get the call, as he posted a 142 wRC+ at Triple-A.

The 24-year-old owns both power and speed, though his Triple-A numbers were clearly propped up by his hitting environment. The good news is that he will continue to call a hitter’s paradise home, so we don’t need to pay as much attention to the fact that his wOBA was a full 100 points above his xwOBA this season.

So far he has served on the strong side of a platoon, which makes him a bit frustrating to own for weekly leaguers. He’s definitely a must start during Coors Field homestands.

Connor Norby | COL

The one-time Orioles prospect is now on his third team since 2024 and has eared most of the second base PAs since his recall on Aug 10. Of course, in typical Rockies fashion, he hasn’t started in two of six games, so it’s hard to gauge how the playing time shakes out here.

Norby has posted some pretty strong HR/FB rates in the minors, but I was always skeptical of his power because his HardHit% was weak and his maxEV hasn’t exceeded 107 MPH since 2023. His Barrel% has hit double digits often, but it’s hard to post a below average HardHit% and above average Barrel%, en route to the type of HR/FB rates he had been posting. So in the Majors, his power has been far less impressive and I think represents a better picture of his game power.

He does have eight steals this year, so there is that power/speed mix happening. I think in a deep league with daily transactions, I would be starting him when in the lineup at home, but that’s about it.

Brett Callahan | DET OF

Folks, meet your Riley Greene replacement! The 24-year-old failed to make it into any of our prospect articles, but has started in left field both games since his recall.

In the minors this year between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 13 homers with 29 steals, representing yet another potential power/speed combo meal. However, all his power came at Double-A and he posted just a .309 xwOBA at Triple-A. That’s hardly the type of performance that deserves a starting job.

The steals are nice though, but I’m not sure he’ll get on base enough to contribute significantly there. It’s also possible he ends up getting platooned against southpaws, which would take another bite out of his potential value.

Kaelen Culpepper | MIN SS

He was one of the more anticipated recalls on this list as the team’s third best prospect ranked 35th overall. Finally promoted on Aug 7, he has started most games at shortstop, taking over for from Ryan Kreidler.

At Triple-A this season, he posted a career best walk rate, while maintaining his annual sub-20% strikeout rate. His ISO jumped over .200 for the first time, but like others on the list, it was driven by a single digit Barrel% that was weaker than his HardHit% and maxEV. That Barrel% typically isn’t high enough to produce a high teen HR/FB rate. It’s likely one of the reasons why his xwOBA was nearly 30 points below his actual mark. Also holding back his power potential is a FB% that has hovered around just 30% since last year.

He also swiped 17 bases against just three caught stealings, so he has the potential to be a bit of an all-around contributor. I don’t think he’ll be a dramatic difference maker, but a little bit of this and a little bit of that is what should be expected.

George Lombard Jr. | NYY SS

It was easy to read the tea leaves a month ago when there were several opinions and quotes that suggested Lombard would become the Yankees starting shortstop at some point in August. That ultimately did happen on Aug 4 and he’s started every game since his promotion.

The team’s top prospect ranked 18th overall was fantastic in the minors this season between Double-A and Triple-A. He walked an elite 16.8% of the time, while posting a strikeout rate just North of 20%. He recorded a super LD%, en route to a .341 BABIP.

He showed some power with a 16.4% HR/FB rate, though it was less impressive at Triple-A. Like many of the other names on this list, he posted good HardHit% and maxEV marks, but an underwhelming Barrel%, which doesn’t bode great for his MLB power, unless he could push up that Barrel% to match the other metrics. He also stole 14 bases, but was caught nine times, so it’s anyone’s guess how often he’ll run in the Majors.

Also like others on this list, he handily overperformed his Triple-A xwOBA, though he was so good that even his xwOBA was decent enough. He looks like he could provide similar production as Culpepper, though his walk rate could yield a higher OBP. As a result, he’s more of a priority in OBP formats, but should provide a little of this and a little of that as well.