Last week, we talked about some of the 2022 MLB top prospects that might be coming up to the big leagues and impacting fantasy baseball lineups sooner rather than later. This time, we’re going to talk about the guys who weren't on the list last week but have now been recently called up to MLB lineups in mid-August. MLB teams are starting to pull the “we need a spark" card as they make playoff pushes in the wide open Divisional and Wild Card chases around the league. Some of these mid-August prospect call-ups are also replacing big-name players on the latest MLB injury report. New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty headlines this week's list of MLB prospects who could be popular fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups. Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers is another who could be rising up the fantasy baseball player rankings and rest-of-season 2022 MLB projections before long. Now let's dive into all the newest MLB rookies and prospects you should know for your own fantasy baseball leagues. 

 

MLB Top Prospects August Call-Ups

Brett Baty, 3B, New York Mets

The addition of Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker to the Injured List for the New York Mets has given a spot for Brett Baty to be called up. The first-round pick in the 2019 draft was known for the power he possessed coming into the draft, but the hit tool really came alive in Triple-A this year. Baty was hitting .315 in 92 games between Double-A and Triple-A prior to the call-up and had a .364 average in Syracuse (AAA). That goes along with his 19 homers on the year as well. Baty is a 3B/OF who profiles as a guy with tremendous raw power and a very good hit tool who should hit .290 or above and have a shot at 30 homers a year.

DL Hall, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

If Grayson Rodriguez had been healthy all year, he’d have been the O’s call-up. Instead, we get Baltimore's second-best pitching prospect in Hall. That’s not to demean Hall in any way, as the lefty is quite a talented pitcher. He’s got frontline starter upside with four pitches that are easily all above-average to plus. The downside, though? His command – or lack thereof. Hall has been good at striking guys out, but he’s also been too keen to walk batters as well. He’s currently back down at Triple-A getting turned into a reliever for the rest of the year to reduce his innings load. Going forward for next year and beyond, though, Hall should be the Orioles' No. 2 starter in the rotation behind Rodriguez, or perhaps third behind John Means and Rodriguez.

Shea Langeliers, C, Oakland Athletics

Oakland’s three best players/propsects are all catchers at this point. Sean Murphy and Tyler Soderstrom are two of them with Langeliers being the third. He was received by Oakland as part of the mega-deal that sent Matt Olsen to the Atlanta Braves this offseason and has since worked his way up to being called-up by the A’s. Murphy getting injured didn’t hurt Langeliers' chances of making the show either. When he was drafted, Langeliers was considered a glove-first backstop with the shot of having a solid bat. Now, the bat has started to come around. In 92 games at Triple-A Las Vegas this year, he’s hitting .283 with 19 homers. Now, a word of caution here, the catcher prospect was hitting in the Pacific Coast League where everyone hits well – given the parks, elevation, and general character of the league. Langeliers is also slated to be a backup to Sean Murphy when the latter returns, so there’s limited shelf life here. That being said, he should compete for the starting role next year with Soderstrom being moved more to first base.

Estevan Florial, OF, New York Yankees

It’s about time this guy got another shot in the majors. The last time the Yankees called him up, he was basically up for a cup of coffee and didn’t see a ton of playing time. Now, with the team languishing and needing a boost, they’ve called him back up after he swiped 32 bags in 89 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre along with a .286 AVG and 14 homers. Florial has the speed to be a good defensive center fielder and fill-in for the ailing Harrison Bader, who’s yet to play a game since being acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline. It is a bit of a muddled outfield right now for the Yankees but if they’re serious about letting Florial show what he can do, he could be a sneaky add for stolen bases late in the season.

Oswaldo Cabrera, INF, New York Yankees

A second spark plug was needed for the Yankees and thus they called up their fourth-best shortstop prospect, though still a talented guy. Cabrera has an average hit tool with a tick below-average pop and average speed. That all tracks at a .265-.270 hitter with 15-20 homers and 20 steals in a full season at the highest level. He’s also a very good defender. He should get a nice amount of playing time ahead of Isiah Kiner-Falefa who just isn’t working out at shortstop right now on either side of the plate. Going forward, he’s likely a guy with a short shelf life as a prospect because of the depth still coming in the minors for the Yankees with players like Anthony Volpe, Oswaldo Peraza, and Trey Sweeney.

Stone Garrett, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

This is an odd call-up. Not only is Garrett 26 years old as a former second-round pick in the 2014 draft by the Miami Marlins, but he also was a free agent signee following the 2020 COVID year. Garrett is now one of several outfielders on the Arizona Diamondbacks' big-league roster at this as well. That being said, much like Wynton Bernard from a week ago, Garrett has earned the call-up. He’s hit 28 homers with 15 steals in Triple-A while slashing .278/.335/.574 and a solid 114 wRC+. He’s been more patient at the plate this year as well in terms of walks and strikeouts. Garrett likely is a fringe waiver wire add at this point, but he might surprise with an interesting combo of power and speed replacing Seth Beer on the roster.

 

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