September 1st was just four days ago at this point and not every team called up all their prospects all at once, in fact only a few did. So in an effort to update you on the newest call-ups and what their value is for the remainder of the year and going forward we will breakdown some more of the guys who have been called up since last week’s article.
Sandy Alcantara (RHP MIA) - Alcantara has been on the radar for much of the year as he’s been Miami’s top one or two prospects all year. He has made two starts for the fish and while the ERA of 0.75 is sparkling, his FIP of 4.07 tells a truer story as does the seven walks in 12 innings in the majors this year. Overall Alcantara has a dominating fastball-slider combo that can play at the major league level but control is his downfall, and pretty much always has been. He also offers a curveball and changeup that are both still developing and lack consistency overall but could be above average when they reach potential. The 22-year-old righty combined to throw 127 innings in the minors this year with a 6-3 record, 3.90 ERA, .245 BAA, 1.26 WHIP, and 96:43 K:BB ratio. So some over the numbers look good but that K/9 rate is lower than you’d expect and barely better than a 2:1 K-BB ratio isn’t anything but average. If he can’t get his control and command down, closing could be in the cards for him ultimately.
Jacob Nottingham (C/1B MIL) Just under a week ago, Milwaukee bolstered its battery with the call-up of Nottingham from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He is a 23-year-old catcher/first baseman is getting his first taste of the majors after working his way through three different team’s minor league systems since being drafted by Houston in 2013 in the sixth-round. The issue for Nottingham is that he is still trying to put everything together as he’s hit as well as .326 over a 59-game stretch with the Astros’ Single-A affiliate and as bad as .209 in 101 games at Double-A for the Brewers in 2017 with his best power year coming in 2015 when he played 119 games across two levels for three different affiliates between Houston and Oakland after a mid-season trade and hit 17 combined homers. Since then he’s hit 29 total over 263 games between Double-A and Triple-A for the Brewers while striking out nearly 30% of the time. If you need catching help in the worst way, Nottingham is intriguing.
Garrett Hampson (INF COL) - Hampson was taken in the third round of the 2016 draft and since then he has been a rocket through the Rockies system all while posting some impressive totals. He’s not yet had a stop with a batting average lower than .301 with his shortest stint at a single affiliate being 38 games (Double-A Hartford this year) and hasn’t had a season with less than 36 steals to this point. In 2018 over 110 minor league games split between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque (72 at Triple-A) he hit .311/.382/.462 with 10 homers, 81 runs, 40 RBI, and 36 steals. In 2017 his year was better with a .326/.387/.462 slash line eight homers, 113 runs, 70 RBI, and 51 steals in 127 games at High-A. The Rockies are staring at a hole at second base if DJ LeMahieu leaves in free agency this offseason and so Hampson is getting a tryout this September. Hampson should fill that absence quite well and may actually be the better offensive player than LeMahieu.
Luis Ortiz (RHP BAL) - The first of the prospect recouped by the O’s in the myriad of deadline deals they made has made the majors in the form of 22-year-old righty Luis Ortiz. He came over from the Brewers in the Schoop deal and since has made six starts at Triple-A Norfolk posting a 2-1 record with a 3.69 ERA (4.50 FIP) with 21 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. Total on the year he’s combined for a 3.70 ERA and 86 Ks in 99.2 innings pitched between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Norfolk. Two plus pitches in his fastball and slider and an MLB-average changeup give him three workable pitches to start from while he mixes in his curveball sparingly. The repeatable delivery carries his velocity (92-97 on the fastball) late into starts as well as keeps the late-breaking crisp slider moving tightly. A 6’3” 230 lbs. frame should give him durability to stick as a number three starter and the stuff should continue to produce between 8-9 K/9.
Willie Calhoun (OF TEX) - Even though he was up with the Rangers earlier in the season, he spent the bulk of the season (108 games) at Triple-A Round Rock trying to improve on his skills. Now that September has arrived, he’s back in Arlington trying to show he’s ready to stick this time. While at Round Rock he put up an impressive .294 average but the rest of the slash line, .351 OBP and .431 SLG left something to be desired. HIs nine homers and high average give you a glimpse of the hit-power combo he possesses as a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing outfielder. Twice in the minors he’s posted 27+ homer seasons while batting near .280 across both of them. Calhoun is going to get quite a bit of playing time down the stretch as Texas tries to figure out what they have for next year and the massive rebuilding process that they are starting to undergo. Calhoun is a great pickup this year and a keeper candidate for next year.
Jonathan Loaisiga (RHP NYY) - The 5’11” 165 lb. righty was a bit of a surprise when the Yankees called him up earlier in the season for a spot start especially with more highly touted arms in the system like Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, and even Albert Abreu , but now Loaisiga is back and they’re all still down on the farm. He has a fast arm that delivers the fastball at 93-96 with late life down in the zone and the curveball with a high spin rate making it hard to square up and it brings the changeup in in the upper 80s with good fade. The stuff is real with Loaisiga as all three pitches grade out to plus or near plus right now despite only throwing 159.2 innings total in the minors since turning pro in 2013, 179.2 total if you include the 20 innings he’s thrown for the Bronx Bombers. In that span he has 167 career strikeouts compared to just 36 walks giving him a near 5:1 K-BB ratio. New York should have openings in the subpar rotation next year and Loaisiga figures to be a guy that contends for a spot.
John Curtiss (RHP MIN) - At age 25, Curtiss is the oldest prospect on this list and at 26th in his team’s top-30 list, Curtiss is also the lowest ranked call up. However that doesn’t diminish his abilities on the mound. He has been closing games for the Twins affiliates since being drafted in 2014 and the last two stops at Triple-A Rochester have seen him pitch 79.2 innings with 94 strikeouts and an ERA in the low 2.00 range. This year alone he threw 55.1 innings in 38 appearances and notched 10 saves with a 2.77 ERA, .200 BAA, 1.30 WHIP and 61 Ks. His fastball-slider combo misses a bunch of bats with the velocity sitting 94-98 on the fastball and the slider has hard two-plane break as he uses his 6’4” frame well to make the pitches play up. Minnesota is going through a retooling period and Curtiss could be a dark horse to win the closer role down the line.