The .400 wOBA Club — Imminent Callups?

With roster expansion coming, let’s discuss some minor league hitters who might be up for a cup of coffee over the final month of the season. To make things easier, I filtered for hitters who have posted an aggregate .400+ wOBA across whatever minor league levels they played at this year, while also currently playing at Triple-A. For deep or keeper leaguers, perhaps you speculate on some of these names, acquiring them cheap before their callup when it might take more to roster them.

Dalton Rushing | LAD

Rushing was last ranked as the Dodgers’ third best prospect and 36th overall. However, with an ETA of 2026, it’s very possible that he remains a ways away from a promotion, even though he’s currently playing at Triple-A. He has played games at catcher, first base, and left field over his career, with the latter position being added this year. Perhaps the Dodgers are adding to his defensive versatility to accelerate his path to the Majors given that catcher and first base are already spoken for at the big league level.

Rushing’s scouting grades are actually pretty weak so it’s a surprise he’s ranked so highly. But he’s performed fantastically at the place throughout his short minor league career. This season, he has continued to walk at a double digit clip, while striking out at a better than league average rate. Combined with a mostly single digit SwStk% and you realize he owns excellent plate discipline.

His ISO has consistently stood over .200 as well, so all the plate skills seem to be here, though he posted sub-.300 BABIP marks during his time at Double-A this year and at High-A last year. That said, he’s been stronger this year and at Single-A in 2022, but over much smaller sample sizes. It’s probably a longshot he gets promoted and also finds himself with meaningful playing time, but is worth monitoring, especially in OBP formats.

Kyle Manzardo | CLE

The former prospect was up with the Guardians for about a month and a week earlier in the season, but he struggled at the plate, posting just a .247 wOBA, which resulted in his demotion back to Triple-A, where he’s remained since. His performance at Triple-A is a reminder that he has been a top prospect and it would be silly to write him off after a weak small sample MLB debut.

He has walked nearly as often as he has struck out at Triple-A this year, which includes an elite 17.2% walk rate. He has posted a .274 ISO, driven by a 19.8% HR/FB rate, and has posted a mid-40% HardHit% and maxEV over 111 MPH. Even better, he has continued hitting a high rate of fly balls, taking full advantage of his home run power.

He has done his best with his batted ball profile to offset all those flies with line drives and a low IFFB%, but it hasn’t benefited his BABIP at all, which stands at a lowly .268. That nearly mirrors his mark at Triple-A last year, which is quite the decline from his first two professional seasons when his BABIP marks were well over .300. A low BABIP could doom him into a power-only guy with a mediocre OBP and low batting average. Still, I would be watching him for a return, especially in OBP leagues.

Deyvison De Los Santos | MIA

Like Rushing, De Los Santos’ ETA is 2026 and he was slapped with just a 40+ FV, so he wouldn’t seem like the kind of top prospect worth rushing to help the lineup now. However, his power is hard to ignore.

While his .400+ wOBA is all due to his absurd .491 mark during his short time at Double-A this year, he’s still been plenty good at Triple-A since. He has posted some crazy HR/FB rates at each level, with strong, albeit less spectacular, ISO marks.

There are several red flags here though. First, even with all that power, he hasn’t figured out how to lift the ball as often as he probably should. His FB% marks are far too low, and it sits at just 17.9% since his trade to the Marlins. While that’s great for BABIP, it’s not so much for his power output. It’s why his ISO marks aren’t as impressive as you would expect given the absurd HR/FB rates.

The other red flags relate to his plate discipline metrics, his walk rate, which has been consistently low, and his SwStk%, which has been extremely high, consistently in the high teens. HIs strikeout rate has been acceptable only because I would imagine he swings at nearly everything. That strategy has worked for some, but is difficult to succeed in the long-term with.

His power gives him ample upside, but there’s a lot to work on. That said, if he does get promoted, those in need of power might as well take a shot here and hope he launches a bunch of homers.

Chase Meidroth | BOS

Gosh, if you thought waiting for a 2026 ETA prospect was hard, Meidroth’s ETA is 2027! It’s hard to believe that ETA still rings true considering he played at Triple-A all season and has posted a .405 wOBA.

Having played all over the middle infield, there are multiple paths to playing time if he was promoted to Boston. What’s interesting about his profile is that it doesn’t scream fantasy star, and he might be one of those rare ones who is a better real life player.

His power is pretty meh, while he has swiped 12 bases this season. The standout skill here is his plate discipline. He has walked at a ridiculous 19.1% clip thanks to 91 walks, while striking out just 53 times. That’s a crazy BB/K ratio! His plate discipline has led to some pretty amazing OBP marks, and this year it sits at .449. Sounds like an ideal leadoff guy!

While he may not be much of a counting stat guy, he seems like a potentially nice asset in deep leagues that count OBP, so keep that in mind if he gets recalled and carves out a meaningful role.

Nick Allen | OAK

The former prospect has flopped during his various times in the Majors, as he has posted a weak .241 wOBA over about a full season’s worth of PAs. But he continues to hit well against Triple-A pitching, with a skill set not too dissimilar to Meidroth.

That’s not great to hear, of course, as he has posted just a 9.5% HR/FB rate and .154 ISO, while swiping 16 bases. It’s a bit more power and speed than Meidroth, but the plate skills aren’t as strong. Allen has also walked more than he has struck out, while posting a .378 BABIP. It has resulted in a .348 average and .435 OBP, both of which would like nice atop a lineup.

The Athletics might as well give Allen another chance, though he’s not as exciting from a fantasy perspective.

Keston Hiura | LAA

Gosh, I don’t think I will ever give up on Hiura. The former top prospect enjoyed a fantastic MLB debut back in 2019, showing big power and some speed. Since, he has mixed in meh, weak, and respectable results, which isn’t shocking given his inconsistent role and playing time.

Now with the Angels, he was given 27 PAs earlier in the season, but a .131 wOBA was enough to get him demoted back to Triple-A. There, he’s been monstrous, as he has posted an insane .498 wOBA while with the Angels Triple-A club. That includes a not-a-typo .442 ISO, 48.8% HR/FB rate, and .421 BABIP. Those are video game numbers, though of course the sample size of 165 PAs is pretty small.

I’m not sure how he has managed so much power though, as his HardHit% and maxEV are merely above average, rather than anything really good. Perhaps he’s just pulling every fly ball, and with a 44.1% FB%, that’s a lot of balls in play in the air.

He still hasn’t improved his strikeout rate, which sits at 30.9%, driven by a SwStk% of 15.9%. So that swing and miss might always be there, but it won’t matter as much if he’s showing big power.

With the Angels in the basement in the AL West, it couldn’t hurt to give him yet another try. If you’re in need of power and he finds himself with a role in LA, I’d be very tempted to speculate.