The Stash List – Mixed Bag Edition

Hey y’all!  This week’s stash list has a little bit of everything.  A son of a hall of famer killing AAA, a righty blowing away the competition in AAA, a base stealing machine in A ball, and a catcher with the appeal of Willians Astudillo.  Interested? I thought you were. Let’s get into this week’s Stash List.

Cavan Biggio – (TOR 2B) ETA 2019 – The Blue Jays drafted Biggio in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.  The Jays also picked up Bo Bichette the second round of 2016 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr in the July 2 signing period the year prior.  Signing these three sons of major leaguers seems like it is going to pay huge dividends for the Jays. Coming into the year, I had Biggio a bit lower than some other analysts.  His numbers in AA were great but I wanted to see more.

The Eastern League last year was not scary and he should have dominated. Well…Biggio is out to prove me wrong as he is killing AAA Buffalo.  As of this post, he is slashing .361/.495/.625 with 5 home runs and 3 steals. He is also walking more than he is striking out, 21 BB% to 17 K%, which is great to see. In the future, I see Biggio hitting around .250-.260 with about 10 steals and 15 to 20 home runs and contributing in RBIs, especially hitting behind Guerrero, Bichette, and Randal Grichuk.  If you are able to stash minor leaguers in you redraft league, I would pick up Biggio right now. I see the Jays calling him up by the summertime, if not sooner, and I cannot wait.

Dylan Cease – (CWS RHP) ETA 2019 – With Carlos Rodon headed to the Injured List with a forearm injury, we  might see Dylan Cease sooner rather than later. Cease, though, was making his case for the White Sox rotation before the injury.  Cease was drafted by the White Sox in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. He fell due to injury concerns and had TJS soon after signing.  

The 6’2” righty has slowly been working back and took a huge step forward in 2018. His control increased as his BB% decreased from about 12 BB% to around 10 BB% and his SwStk% increased from around 13% to  around 15%. So far this season, he has held the gains he made. When called up, he should be a must add for all redraft leagues.

However, I would hold off the lofty expectations in a dynasty league. Prior to 2018, scouts had Cease pegged for a bullpen role due to being basically a two pitch guy (fastball/curveball).  If he does end up in the pen, he might be a interesting eighth inning or closer.

Adam Hall – (BAL SS) ETA 2022 All fantasy league owners are searching for speed.  It is why the Billy Hamilton’s of the world were fantasy league relevant. If you want to get ahead of your other dynasty league mate, maybe take a chance on Adam Hall. The Baltimore Orioles drafted Adam Hall in the second round of the 2017 draft out of a Canadian high school.  

The O’s assigned him to low A Aberdeen to begin the 2018 season and to say it was slow going is an understatement. By the end of his first two months, he slashed .235/.318/.288 with 6 stolen bases with 3 caught steals. After that, Hall could not be stopped. In the final two months he slashed .378/.441/.500 with 16 swipes and 2 caught steals.  He was assigned to A ball and has kept up his blazing second half. As of this post, Hall is slashing .354/.453/.456 with 1 home run and 11 stolen bases in 21 games. That is right, 11 swipes in 21 games.

Hall will never contribute in power but he makes up for hit with a average hit tool and 60 grade speed. He his good eye at the plate, he would either hit lead off or second, which could lead to huge stolen base and runs numbers.

Alejandro Kirk – (TOR C) ETA 2022 – This one is just for fun. Would you be interested in a Willians Astudillo-shaped player that walks more than Astudillo and has the same low strikeout rate? Well…let me introduce you to Alejandro Kirk. Kirk is a 5’9”, 220lb catcher.  You read that right, 220 pounds.

Even with his size, Kirk is pretty agile behind the plate. In fact, Kirk has one stolen base this year in the Midwest League. In all seriousness, the thing that makes Kirk interesting is his eye at the plate. As of this post, Kirk is slashing .339/.468/.581 with a 20 BB% and 6 K%.  He also has some interesting pop, knocking 3 balls out of the park and smacking 6 doubles as of this post. The increase in power could be due to the increase in his flyball%, which has increased to 43% up from the 27% last year.

Kirk does have a pull heavy approach which teams could exploit by shifting on him and is something I will be watching closely. I think Kirk is someone you need to keep on your Watch List, especially if the power and  batting eye hold when he moves up through the Jays minor league system. Did someone say Baby Willians Astudillo who walks?