The Stash List – Jumping into the Deep End

Hey y’all!  This week we had a couple of prospects send back down. Goodbye Keston Hiura and Nate Lowe (again).  I am pretty sure we will see both to return to the majors very soon. We also had Peter Lambert make his major league debut today against the Cubs.  I was able to catch a couple of innings and he looked pretty good. If he sticks around, he’ll get the Cubs again next week. However, this time it will be in Colorado.  The next edition of the Stash List is going really deep. Two of the pitchers were drafted out of high school but have some fantasy upside. The two hitters this week have fought off some injury concerns and are having great seasons so far.

Lewin Diaz (MIN A) 1B ETA 2021

Lewin Diaz signed with the Minnesota Twins in the July 2 period of 2013.  At the time, Diaz was rated as the tenth overall international prospect according to Baseball America.  He played in the Dominican Summer league in 2014 and then moved stateside and played in the Gulf Coast league in 2015.  During those two years, he posted double-digit walk rates, 14.9 BB, and 11 BB% respectively, and decent strikeout rates of 13.8 K% and 18.9 K%.  After 33 games in the Gulf Coast League, the Twins promoted him to the Appalachian league to finish off the 2015 season.

He must have taken the struggle bus to Elizabethton, TN because in 14 games, he had a strikeout rate of 32 K%, walked 5.7% of the time and hit .167/.245/.375. Not impressive at all.  The Twins assigned him again to the Appy league to begin the 2016 and he fared much better. In 46 games, he got his strikeout rate to 18 K% but also his power began to show. He smacked 15 doubles and nine home runs, which brought his ISO to a career-high .264.

Fast track to this year, Diaz is having a breakout year.  Last year, Diaz really struggled and his poor year ended early due to a broken thumb that required surgery to repair. The thumb injury has not sapped his power. He has smoked ten balls over the fence and also hit ten doubles as well. Scouts are a bit concerned about how his body will develop. He is a 6’4, 220 lb lefty who smashes the ball.  If Diaz is able to continue to hit, he might make it to the Twin Cities as a strong side platoon player.

Jake Fraley (SEA AA) OF ETA 2020

In one of the many trades between the Rays and Mariners, Fraley moved west in the offseason along with Mallex Smith for Mike Zunino.  Ever since being drafted in the second round of the 2016 draft, Fraley has struggled to stay healthy. He played in a career-high 66 games last year.  When on the field, Fraley has shown an above average hit tool. Fraley hit .337 with four home runs. That might not sound impressive but keep in mind he also hit 19 doubles, which might turn into home runs when he gets his hands on those major league baseballs in AAA.  

So far this year, Fraley has been able to stay on the field. Those doubles also seem to be flying a bit further as well. As of this post, Fraley has nine home runs and 14 doubles. He is also still hitting above the league average with a .337 AVG in the 51 games played in AA.  He does not just have a power upside but he also knows how to steal a base. He has 14 steals to go along with the increase in power. With all the moves Tradin’ Jerry plans to make, we should see Fraley patrolling the OF in Seattle sometime next year.

Simeon Woods Richardson (NYM A) RHP ETA 2022

The Mets took a chance on one of the youngest players that was draft eligible last year in the second round in the righty Simeon Woods Richardson.  In 11 electrifying innings after being drafted, Woods Richardson picked up 15 strikeouts with a 33.7 SwStk%. Scouts loved his 60-grade fastball and curveball with an above average changeup.  He’s very athletic and actually was a pretty good third baseman in high school as well. His delivery is very over the top which some scouts have disliked.

However, the scouts that are pretty high on Woods Richardson think the north to south movement changes the batter’s eye level.  Fastballs up and curveballs and breaking balls down aka the Blake Snell blueprint. The Mets assigned Woods Richardson to A ball to being the 2019 season. Even though his ERA is pretty high, 6.02 ERA in 40 innings, his K% is just under 30% while his BB% is only 4.6%. In deeper dynasty leagues, I would definitely give Woods Richardson a chance.  There is a lot of room for growth for the young righty.

Matt Tabor (ARI A) RHP ETA 2022

In the third round of the 2017 draft, the Diamondbacks decided to take a chance on the prep righty from Massachusetts.  After the draft, Tabor threw a couple of innings in rookie ball. He was assigned to low A ball to begin the 2018 season and performed well.  Scouts were impressed with the uptick in velocity from his high school day. Keep in mind this uptick only got Tabor up to the low to mid-nineties. He does have two plus other offerings with the changeup and curveball.  

Tabor is pretty athletic and seems to be able to hide the ball well to fool batters. In 60 innings in 2018, he had a 3.26 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 13.2 SwStk%, albeit with only 46 strikeouts. However, this year has been more encouraging on the strikeout side.  In 24 innings in A ball, Tabor has 29 strikeouts and 15.3% SwStk%. The ERA and WHIP as also dropped to 2.63 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. Tabor will never be a lights out starter but should be a guy that will eat innings and compile the strikeouts. Keep an eye on Tabor to see if the increase in swinging strikes and limiting the hits continue.