For the last two weeks we’ve been breaking down the recent and likely call-ups for MLB teams and yet there’s more notable names this week. With all of the weaknesses on MLB rosters at this point in the season from injuries or simply underperformance of the players already on the roster, it’s not surprising to see the influx of talent. So, for a third straight week we will take you through the newest names being added to the call up ranks.
UPDATE: Austin Riley (3B/OF ATL) – If you have been following some banter that I may or have partaken in with Craig Mish or some other prospect writers, you’ll know how highly Austin Riley rates for me. He is the Braves’ heir-apparent to Chipper Jones at the hot corner (minus the switch-hitting of course) in every aspect of the game. Behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , Riley is the best third base prospect in baseball and has shown that the last three seasons by missing back-to-back-to-back 20-home-run seasons by just one home run in 2017. Now in 2018 at Triple-A Gwinnett, his second time at Gwinnett, he’s hitting .299/.377/.681 with 15 home runs, 39 RBI, and 32 runs in 37 games with a .435 wOBA and 160 wRC+. The hit and power tools are both above-average to plus with room for improvement and the fielding and arm tools are also plus assets. What took his game to the next level this year is the patience he’s shown at the plate as the 11.1-percent BB-rate is the highest this far into a season for him and the 19.1-percent K-rate is the lowest this far into a season for him as well. Now, clearly there is a $23-million impediment at third base in his way, which is way he’s been working in left field a few days a week at Gwinnett this year. The plan is to get him into the lineup both at third and in the outfield by giving Josh Donaldson a night or two off a week and to shift Ronald Acuna to center and sit Ender Inciarte are few days to get Riley into left field the rest of the time. That is great news for fantasy owners as he should qualify at both spots relatively quickly even if the threshold in your league is 20 games at a position. Overall, in the long-term he is a .280-.295 bat in the majors with 30-plus home-run pop that will hit in the middle of the order eventually.
Keston Hiura (2B MIL) – In a move that has been expected most of the season, the Brewers are calling up Hiura to the majors after a spectacular start at Triple-A San Antonio. In 37 games at the highest level he’s hit for a .333/.408/.698 slash line with 11 home runs, 26 RBI, 23 runs, and four steals a year after putting up a .292/.357/.464 slash with 13 home runs, 74 runs, 43 RBI, and 15 steals in 123 games between High-A and Double-A. Milwaukee drafted Hiura out of UC Irvine with the ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft after he led all of D-I hitters with a .442 average as a junior. Don’t think he is just a Hit tool guy though, even though it’s a 70-grade tool for the 22-year-old keystone, he also has a 60-grade, or plus, power tool which is impressive from his 5’11”, 190-pound frame and will play up in Miller Park. Defensively he is adequately sufficient to not hinder the team or reduce his playing time but he does have a bit of fringy arm that will reduce his range on the farthest of throws. While it doesn’t seem like there is a place for Hiura up the middle, the Brewers will move Mike Moustakas to third base and bench Travis Shaw making room for the new prospect. A high average, 20-plus homers, and a decent steals total should follow his call up from this point on.
Oscar Mercado (OF CLE) – Prior to the Keston Hiura news breaking on Tuesday, Oscar Mercado ’s call-up was top call-up news of the week as the Indians struggling outfield needs a boost. Mercado might have been under-the-radar in terms of rankings in the Indians system and overall in the minors, but his major trait of a calling card certainly isn’t under-the-radar. Mercado has speed, a lot of speed. In 2015, at A-ball, he stole 50 bags in 117 games, 2016 games saw 33 steals in 125 games at High-A, 2017 saw another 38 steals in 120 games at Double-A, and 2018 resulted in a combined 37 steals in 132 games at Triple-A between two affiliates. This season in 30 games at Triple-A Columbus, Mercado has already stolen 14 bags while slashing .294/.396/.496 with four home runs, 24 runs, and 15 RBI. The outfielder has worked on his approach at the plate over the last few years and reduced his K-rate from 21-percent to 15-percent last year while increasing his BB-rate from 6.1-percent to 9-percent last year. Originally a shortstop when drafted, he’s transitioned to outfield pretty easily and plays a very nice gap-to-gap defense in center field though he does have the arm to play all three spots. Overall, the bat may not carry the speed in the bigs but when he gets on base, he’ll be a threat on the base paths.
Nicky Lopez (2B KC) – The Royals outfield has been struggling this season, specifically in center field. So what does that have to do with Lopez getting called up? Whit Merrifield is moving to the outfield to make way for Lopez to play second and boost the outfield at the same time. At Triple-A Omaha this year, he’s slashing .353/.457/.500 with three home runs, 27 runs, 13 RBI, and nine steals in 31 games. In 2018, in 130 games split between Double-A and Triple-A, Lopez slashed .308/.382/.416 with nine home runs, 75 runs, 53 RBI, and 15 steals all while striking out 8.9-percent of the time and walking 10.3-percent of the time. The hot start with the power is likely a fluke as his career-high is nine and he grades out at a below-average 30-grade power tool. However, the average and speed part of the game will stick given they both grade as above-average and his defense burgeons on plus both with arm and fielding. A nice comp to Lopez is a poor man’s Jean Segura with a bit less power.
Corbin Martin (RHP HOU) – Martin made his MLB-debut on Mother’s Day at home for the Astros and had a solid outing of 5.1 innings giving up three hits, two earned, one walk, and striking out nine. He comes in as the fourth-ranked prospect in the Astros system and the second-best pitching prospect behind Forrest Whitley . Martin’s four-pitch mix consisting of a plus fastball that sits 92-95 with arm side run, two distinct breaking balls in a slider and a curveball which both flash plus at times, and a changeup that he uses more against lefties than righties. In the last 127.1 innings pitched in the minors at Double-A and Triple-A between 2018 and 2019, Martin produced a 2.68 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 8.76 K/9, 2.76 BB/9, 1.07 WHIP, and 34.5-percent K-rate in 26 games (23 starts). There is no question that the Astros need some more depth in the rotation and Forrest Whitley isn’t ready for the show just yet so expect Martin to remain up with the team from this point forward as he was expected to be a fast riser in their system after being drafted in the second-round of the 2017 June draft.
Shed Long (2B SEA) – Seattle made a bit of a surprise move over the weekend and called-up Long during their series in Boston to provide depth at second base while Dee Gordon is banged up a bit. They also called up J.P. Crawford , but he no longer counts as a prospect at this point, so he doesn’t garner mentioning aside from a side note. Long was a piece received in a minor trade between the Yankees and Mariners this offseason in a prospect swap for outfielder Josh Stowers going to the Bronx. He is a highly-touted second base prospect by those in the game due to his work ethic and the natural feel he has for the game, but don’t be fooled, he has the skills to play at the major league level as well. In 32 games at Triple-A Tacoma this season, he’s hitting .276/.350/.504 with five homers, 25 runs, 21 RBI, and nine XBH. At Double-A in 2018, in the Reds’ system, he slashed .261/.353/.412 with a .350 wOBA, 12 home runs, 75 runs, 56 RBI, and 19 steals. The plan for Seattle was to keep Long down in Triple-A all year while he perfected his game and seasoned his defense, but the drop off in offense in the middle infield and banged up Gordon changed that for a bit. Long won’t be up for long, excuse the pun, but he’s certainly on the Mariners radar.
Chance Adams (RHP NYY) – Yet another injury to the Yankees starting rotation has forced their hand into calling up another prospect from the ranks of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Jonathan Loaisiga was supposed to hold the spot in the rotation vacated by the injury to James Paxton but Loaisiga went on the IL on Monday and hence the call for Adams. It’s a tale of two different pitchers in Adams’ pro career. From 2015-16 he put up double-digit K/9 over 162.2 innings with a mid-twos BB/9 and a 2.21 ERA and 2.69 FIP. From 2017-2018, Adams took the mound for 271 innings and posted a 3.55 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 8.3 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9. The discrepancy in the stats can be attributed to a surgery he had to removed bone spurs in his elbow and since then his velocity dropped on the fastball and slider. His command and control that he was known for prior to the surgery hasn’t come back either, hence the uptick in the walks and downtick in strikeouts. He mainly uses a fastball and slider combination as the two-pitch mix but does have a curveball and changeup in the arsenal too, he just doesn’t use them very often. Adams is a stop-gap solution for the Yankees at this point and the jury is still out about whether he’ll be a rotation piece or a multi-inning reliever which all depends on if his velocity and control returns.