Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects & MLB Report - Week 6: Tyler Black & More
As the calendar rolls over to May, we’ve seen the Justin Timberlake “It’s gonna be May” memes. Twitter was also full of bee facts and memes and jokes last night thanks to the Diamondbacks bee-related delay. What’s going on in the world of MLB prospects though now that we turn to the second full month of the season?
Fantasy Baseball Prospects 2024: MLB Prospect Risers & Noteworthy Players
There were a ton more injuries in MLB this week and key player news that affects the recent MLB prospect promotions and potential prospect call-ups. Let’s dive into this week’s fantasy baseball prospect report.
Jordan Beck — OF Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are hurting for outfielders right now thanks to injuries to Nolan Jones and Kris Bryant. With the openings, they called up Beck, who was off to a hot start at Triple-A Albuquerque with five homers and five steals in 25 games while hitting .307. The impressive part though was his near-15-percent walk rate and sub-20-percent K-rate.
There is clearly a boost he gets from the home confines in Albuquerque, but the plate discipline is all him. What do his tools actually look like though? After being picked 38th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Beck really hit his stride over two levels in 2023 posting a 25-HR, 20-SB season between High-A and Double-A.
The slash line was solid with a .271/.364/.503 line as well which fits with the 45-grade Hit tool and 55-grade each Power and Speed tools. Tell me if you’ve heard about a Rockies’ hitter with that profile before? Colorado certainly has a type but it seems to work for them, and fantasy baseball manager in Coors.
Beck will get everyday run while Nolan Jones is out with his back injury and if he does well, there’s a shot that he’ll force his way into a full-time role even when Jones is back thanks to Jones’ slow start and Colorado wanting to see what some of their younger players can do.
Tyler Black — 1B/3B Milwaukee Brewers
After hitting .303/.393/.525 with five home runs, 20 R, 18 RBI, and three steals in 25 games at Triple-A Nashville, Black got the call up to Milwaukee. It’s not just a hot start either as he hit .310 at Triple-A last year and over 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he stole 55 bases while hitting .284 with a .417 OBP and 18 home runs.
The speed is a plus tool for him as is his bat while the power tool is about average at best. He’s not the prototypical corner infielder with that set of tools but he plays well defensively, and if you can get steals out of corner infield in fantasy, even better.
Black took that spot of Owen Miller on the Brewers’ roster and should get all the chance to show what he can do as it’s not him taking a spot because of an injury. The skillset is an intriguing one for fantasy, and with the Brewers’ offense rolling right now, it should help the counting stats too.
MLB Prospects In The News
Paul Skenes — RHP Pittsburgh Pirates
Get ready for Skenes to come up. It appears he’s ramped up all the way having pitched six innings over 75 pitches in his last outing. Pumping fastballs in hasn’t stopped either with 20+ 100 mph pitches in each of his last few starts. The Pirates are likely looking at one more Triple-A start for him with a call-up to Pittsburgh next weekend. Get him now if you still can in every format.
Kyle Manzardo — 1B Cleveland Guardians
The power has returned for Manzardo. What was once lost in Tampa Bay has now returned since being traded to Cleveland. The first baseman is hitting .304/.382/.609 over 25 games at Triple-A Columbus with seven homers and 20 R and 18 RBI.
The Guardians are hitting Estevan Florial at DH and Manzardo certainly has higher upside than Florial. If you need a new first baseman or a bench bat, Manzardo is an intriguing add at this point with a plus Hit tool and average power.
Trey Cabbage — OF/1B Houston Astros
With the announcement that the Astros are optioning Jose Abreu to the minors to try and find his swing that’s disappeared, that opens the door for Cabbage. The mainly-outfielder-but-sometimes-first-baseman was picked up on waivers this offseason by the Astros following a 30-30 season for the Angels system and then being DFA’d.
The strikeout rate is a HUGE problem for him, with him posting a 30-percent rate despite the 30-30 season. He’s hitting .271/.440/.486 in 20 games at Triple-A Sugarland with three HR and seven SB. Expect him to fill the roster hole vacated by Abreu.
Cade Cavalli — RHP Washington Nationals
Cavalli is recovering from Tommy John Surgery and has started throwing bullpen sessions. The fastball in those sessions has been clocked in the mid-to-upper-90s, right where it was prior to injury. The Nationals expect him to go out on a rehab assignment starting mid-May and if all goes well he should be up in Washington in the second-half of June to add to the Nationals’ rotation.
When healthy and everything is right, Cavalli is an ace-caliber arm with four above-average pitches including two that are double plus offerings. The biggest concern with Cavalli ever since his college days has been the command. If he can start to sort that out and let his double-plus stuff shine, he should be fitting nicely in a top two spot in the D.C. rotation when all is said and done.
Cade Horton — RHP Chicago Cubs
The top pitching prospect for the Cubs has been promoted to Triple-A Iowa. He flat out dominated Double-A over the last part of last year and the start of this year posting a sub-1.30 ERA over 43.1 IP. We still need to see him for a couple of months at Triple-A before we see if he’s coming up to the Cubs rotation in the second half. If he’s available and you want an ace-caliber arm to hold in your minor league spot, Horton is that guy.
Drafted 7th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Horton has four pitches that are at least above average with three being plus offerings which has allowed him to rack up 135 Ks in 104.2 IP in the minors. If you happen to be in a keeper league and he’s still available, now is the time to snag him as he’s a top-3 pitching prospect in baseball for me overall.
James Wood — OF Washington Nationals
Wood has been lighting up Triple-A Rochester so far this year and the talk has been about when he’ll be called up. The talk has gotten louder over the last week with Eddie Rosario not hitting at all in Washington. For those that think that’s an opening, it doesn’t appear to be the case in Mike Rizzo’s mind.
The Nationals can still run out an outfield of Jacob Young, Jesse Winker, and Alex Call and then Stone Garrett when he’s fully rehabbed. Wood has improved the K-rate so far, but it was over 30-percent last year and he’s still pulling the ball too much. Unless you are willing to eat two more months of an NA or Minors spot, Wood should remain on the waiver wire in redraft leagues.
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.