Roster Expansion Fun — Discussing 8 Hitter Recalls

I love roster expansion day because the flurry of minor league callups really give deep leaguers multiple opportunities to fill holes. And hey, some of the callups might actually be intriguing enough to give shallow leaguers some players to consider as well. Let’s discuss eight hitters who have been recently recalled to assess their potential impact.

Leo Bernal | STL C

Recalled on roster expansion day (September 1), Bernal has started every day since, rotating between catcher, first base, and DH. The team’s ninth ranked prospect doesn’t own scouting grades that stand out, but any time a hitter is playing every day with catcher eligibility, you still have to take notice.

He played the entire year at Triple-A, so we have a nice sample size to work with. He posted a double digit walk rate there and a strikeout rate a smidge below 20% with a SwStr% just into double digits. He recorded his second straight season with an LD% over 25%, which bodes well for his BABIP potential, even if the projections aren’t a fan.

His power looks respectable, as his HardHit%, maxEV, and Barrel% are all a bit above average, which suggests a full season would produce somewhere in the teens in home runs. Oh, and he even steals bases, swiping nine this year and 13 last year. He wasn’t very efficient this year, getting caught seven times, so I doubt he’ll do much running in the Majors, but even five steals adds a couple of bucks to his value.

So far, he’s been hitting fifth every day since hitting sixth in his debut. That’s pretty crazy to me, but fantasy owners might as well take advantage of the head-scratching order (Joshua Báez hitting seventh, two spots behind Bernal, is comical). I definitely don’t think he’ll be a difference maker, but in two-catcher leagues, deep mixed single catcher and obviously NL-Only leagues, he’s worth an add.

Thomas Saggese | STL 2B/SS/OF

Up earlier in the season, Saggese is back as the team’s starting shortstop while both JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn remain on the IL. During his time at Triple-A, he also walked at a double digit clip, while continuing to post a low-20% strikeout rate and low double digit SwStr%. He paired that with an odd batted ball profile, heavy on both line drives and fly balls. He also posted a low IFFB%, so it’s really not the combination you often see. It actually almost looks like the ideal combination that balances BABIP and home run potential. He ended up posting just a .296 BABIP there, but was on pace for over 20 homers over a full season.

I’m not very optimistic about his power though. His HardHit% marks have been underwhelming, since we have tracking back to Triple-A in 2023, he’s never hit a ball harder than 110.1 MPH, and his best Barrel% has been just 6.7%. Those are weak highs, suggesting he’s going to struggle to even hit for an average HR/FB rate.

He has shown some speed, swiping nine bases in the minors this year, and has already swiped three in the Majors. It makes it seem like he’s got a bit of power/speed combo upside. I would say a full season would bring a 15/15 season at best, which makes him usable in deep leagues, but again, I’m not particularly excited.

Alex Freeland | LAD 2B

You may not have realized that Freeland looks to be serving on the strong side of a second base platoon because, since his recall, the team has faced four lefties, versus just two righties. So he has only started two of six games. But it looks pretty clear that he’ll be platooning with Miguel Rojas.

The team’s eighth ranked prospect enjoyed a cup of coffee last year and has actually recorded half a season’s worth of PA earlier in the season before returning to the minors in late July. He has walked at a double digit clip everywhere he has played, but his strikeout rate has surged in the Majors so far, which has cut into his production. With a SwStr% barely over 10%, that would suggest that his strikeout rate is likely to improve. Part of the problem is that he’s been too passive at the plate, recording a Z-Swing% well below the league average. So he’s posted higher CStr% marks than average, which is more encouraging than if his whiff rate spiked.

He’s posted an off combination of a pretty good HardHit%, but middling maxEV and Barrel% marks in the minors. I haven’t seen that combo often, but feel like the maxEV suggests he just doesn’t have the peak power, so it’ll be hard to contribute a whole lot in home runs, despite the solid HardHit%.

Speed is more of his game, as he stole over 30 bases twice, and was at nine at Triple-A this year in about a third of a season. Perhaps he’s a 10-15 homer and 20+ steals guy over a full season, which is perfectly respectable in fantasy, though he’s being platooned, which will cut into his counting stats. Worth a spot in deep leagues, especially those with daily transactions.

Lazaro Montes | SEA OF

The sixth ranked Mariners prospect and 81st overall, Montes graded out with 65/70 Raw Power, which is all I need to see to intrigue me to investigate further. He’s started in games versus right-handers so far, switching between DH and right field, and looks to be on the strong side of a platoon with Taylor Ward, one of the year’s power plummeters.

Montes has epitomized the three true outcome slugger profile. He has walked at a strong double digit clip every single stop he’s made, but has also posted a strikeout rate over 30% at three different stops since last year. Those strikeouts aren’t even just the result of his patience, as he’s also posted high teen SwStr% marks. He’s certainly got a good eye, but whiffs often, driving up the strikeouts.

Luckily, he has shown massive power, especially this year when he posted a 30%+ HR/FB rate at both Double-A and Triple-A this year. That Triple-A performance was fueled by an elite 57.5% HardHit%, 116.3 MPH maxEV and 15% Barrel%. He’s already recorded 26 competitive swings in the Majors and posted a 76 MPH BatSpd, so that matches his power output.

While the platoon role makes me hesitant to recommend him in shallow leagues, he’s exactly the type of lottery ticket most fantasy leaguers should take if there are several home run points for grabs. Over a small sample, we can ignore batting average since it’ll be at the whims of BABIP, so buy the power and hope for a hot week or two. His value gets a big boost in OBP formats as well.

Michael Arroyo | SEA 2B

The fifth ranked Mariners prospect and 70th overall, Arroyo was recalled on Sunday and immediately penciled into the starting lineup. However, that was against a southpaw, so it remains to be seen if he’ll end up serving on the short side of a platoon, or get some time at multiple positions to nearly replicate a full-timer. It’s not obvious who he would start over against a right-hander.

Arroyo split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year, posting a 16%-ish strikeout rate at both levels with identical 8.1% walk rates. Incredibly, his batted ball profile was almost a mirror image at both levels as well, heavy on the line drives, and posting similar GB% and FB% marks. He did pop-up a bit more at Triple-A, but the difference is negligible. He also posted near identical HR/FB rates over 12% at both levels. I guess all of the similar rates are a good sign that he wasn’t overmatched at Triple-A!

I’m not very optimistic about his power, as his Statcast metrics at Triple-A were quite weak, particularly his HardHit% and Barrel%. He does steal bases though, and I think I would forecast a higher number of steals than home runs, despite the fact that he has hit more home runs than stolen bases recorded since 2024.

Without knowing his role and feeling the upside isn’t very high even if he did play every day, he’s more of a wait and see for me.

Heston Kjerstad | BAL OFF

Gosh, I was all set to spend most of my remaining AL Tout Wars FAAB on Luis Robert when naturally, he hit the IL. At least he hit the IL before I wasted my money! Robert’s injury benefits Kjerstad, the one-time top prospect who was actually the team’s second best prospect and ranked 12th overall back in 2024. Since 2023, he’s only recorded 320 PAs with the Orioles, as injuries, a logjam of outfielders, and poor performance in 2025 with the team, have minimized his opportunities.

He’ll now have at least a week or so to serve on the strong side of a platoon and perhaps impress the team enough to put him back in their long-term plans. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very impressive at Triple-A this year. He walked just 6% of the time, the lowest of his minor league career, despite this being his fourth time around the level. He also seems to have stabilized at a higher mid-20% strikeout rate after first experiencing a spike from 20.5% back in 2024. So fewer walks and more strikeouts, that’s not a good sign for a former top prospect.

His scouting tool grades were exciting, particularly the power, with 55/70 Game Power and 70/70 Raw Power marks. That’s huge! And while he posted a mid-20% HR/FB rate at Triple-A in 2024, his Statcast metrics have been middling since. While far from bad, they are also far from the levels you would expect with such high power grades.

Based on his recent minor league performance, I don’t expect him to do a whole lot over the rest of the season. But hey, you never know when the light bulb turns on for a former top prospect, so he’s certainly worth a speculation for as long as he’s on the strong side a platoon.

Ethan Salas | SD C

Holy cow, I remember what a big signing he was and how young he was when he signed, so it’s cool to see him finally make his MLB debut. Recalled on roster expansion day, he started one of the four straight games against lefties, then two straight against righties. That suggests he’ll mostly serve in a strong side platoon role, rotating between catcher and DH. The team’s top ranked prospect and 12th overall is just 20 years old, so expectations should certainly be kept in check, but as mentioned above, any new catcher eligible hitter has to be given a deep dive.

He spent the year split between Double-A and Triple-A and posted some impress walk and strikeout rates. He actually walked more than he struck out in his 105 PA at Triple-A, and that came with a tiny 3.7% SwStr%. He’s never posted a SwStr% in double digits in his professional career, while always walking at a double digit clip. That’s unbelievably impressive for a hitter of his age.

His power was acceptable, posting an above average HardHit%, but middling maxEV and underwhelming Barrel%. That’s fine for a 20-year-old. Surprisingly, he’s actually a speed first catcher, as he swiped 17 bases this year to go along with his 10 home runs. Is he the second coming of Jason Kendall?!

It’s hard to project his batting average since his BABIP marks have been all over the place, but you would think he would have a good shot to contribute positive value from the catcher position given his elite contact rate.

A lot of his top prospect status seems to be driven by his age combined with his 45/70 Field grades, which isn’t great from a short-term fantasy perspective. I’m intrigued with the skill set long-term as the power can certainly develop and it’s hard to teach such plate discipline skills. He’s worth a shot in two catcher leagues, but I wouldn’t expect a whole lot right now.

Carlos Jorge | CIN OF

It’s funny when you think a team has a logjam in the outfield and then all of a sudden a guy named Carlos Jorge becomes their strong side platoon starter in centerfield. The team’s ninth ranked prospect was recalled last Friday and has started both games against right-handers, presumably platooning with Dane Myers.

He split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year posting nearly identical strikeout rate and SwStr% at both, which suggests he wasn’t overwhelmed by the promotion. The power, however, is pretty much non-existent. He posted just a 28.1% HardHit% at Triple-A, with equally weak maxEV and Barrel% marks. So far over just eight competitive swings, he has posted a microscopic 64.9 MPH BatSpd, which confirms that power is really not part of his game. I’m actually shocked he managed a double digit HR/FB rate in aggregate this year, swatting eight home runs!

Fortunately, he does own a redeeming skill for fantasy owners — speed. He stole 33 bases in just 383 PA, while getting caught just five times. He stole 40 bases last year, so this was no fluke.

I wouldn’t count on him contributing in batting average, though anything could happen over the rest of the season, and any home runs is just a bonus. But perhaps he steals a bunch of bases and that’s enough to gain you some points if the category is bunched up. Unless he plays elite defense, his offense doesn’t look worthy of a starting job.