Wednesday grants us a must-watch game, featuring the big-league debut of Toronto Blue Jays prospect Alek Manoah, who will make said start at New York's Yankee Stadium (assuming the weather cooperates). The 23-year-old right-hander is already one of the most-added players in ESPN leagues and is sure to be day's hottest pickup in fantasy. That's rightfully so, and if he's still out there in your league, here's another up-close look at Manoah's potential, from my May 17 column.
If getting to the next big prospect is your thing -- and it makes a heck of a lot of sense to do so, at least in any league with sizable benches or larger format than ESPN's 10-team standard -- today's recommended pickups are led by another to stash right now.
Jackson Kowar, SP, Kansas City Royals: Manoah's graduation to the majors thrusts Kowar into the top spotlighted position as far as nearly-ready prospect pitchers (among those who haven't yet debuted), residing in an organization with less big-league rotation talent than the San Diego Padres and his having pitched much better through four Triple-A starts than Padres left-hander MacKenzie Gore. A 2018 first-round compensation pick, selected only 15 spots later than University of Florida rotation-mate Brady Singer, Kowar has thrown at least five innings and 84 pitches while allowing one or fewer runs in each of his four starts for Omaha, posting impressive 38.1% strikeout and 8.3% walk rates in the process. He's a plenty-ready 24 years of age, entered 2021 with 13 decent starts' Double-A experience from 2019, and is very much in the Luis Castillo/Chris Paddack mold of fastball-changeup hurlers, generally averaging 94-95 mph with the former with the latter his most polished pitch -- and that'll only be perceived as a bad thing by those frustrated by Castillo's or Paddack's 2021 returns to date. Each, remember, was excellent in his big-league debut campaign.
Kowar's arrival date presents a worthy debate, centered upon whether you -- and they -- believe their wild-card contender status. There's little incentive for a non-contender to start a prospect's service-time clock sooner than absolutely necessary, but in the Royals' case, they've shown more punch so far than expected, might be steadily climbing the competitive hill and, frankly, could use a rotation upgrade over Jakob Junis or Brad Keller. Kowar's age and experience say he's nearly ready, and he'd land in one of the most favorable pitchers' parks upon his arrival.
Vidal Brujan, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays: He's the other prospect I'd now advance into stash-everywhere status -- with the possible exception of the limited-space ESPN 10-team standard -- and, even if it's not necessarily bold, I'll predict that he makes his Rays' debut before much-anticipated prospect Wander Franco. There's a simple difference between the two, and the Taylor Wells promotion during the weekend provides the tipoff: Brujan resides on the 40-man roster, while Franco does not. That means it requires only a promotion, at no cost in potentially losing an important, already rostered player, and Brujan has certainly proven himself worthy while in Triple-A Durham. He's a .333/.412/.653 hitter with seven home runs and eight stolen bases in 18 games there, the latter continuing what has been an impressive track record of minor league speed, the former hinting that he's adding power to his game.
If there's a reason to hesitate on Brujan's anticipated arrival, it'd be where to put him, since he's typically thought of as a -- not to mention only qualifies in ESPN leagues at -- second baseman, which is Brandon Lowe's position. Still, Brujan brings versatility, having started two games at third base, six in center field, two in right field and one in left field for Durham, giving him the look of an appealing utilityman upgrade over Joey Wendle. It won't shock me in the slightest if, in the Rays' opening game of the postseason, Brujan, Franco and Taylor Wells are all in their starting lineup. In fact, it's probably in their best interests.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies: He's the already-here youngster of today's bunch, having already appeared in 35 big-league games, and he'll be much less hotly contested on your league's free agent wire, having batted .213/.254/.241 without a home run or stolen base during that span to give everyone the perception of having been a bust. Oh, he has been, but Rodgers' star still has a chance to shine, as he has been battered by injuries since his 2019 big-league debut, as he has appeared in just 77 total games between the majors and minors since the beginning of 2019, due primarily to a trio of long-term injured list stints for shoulder and hamstring problems. Rodgers did seem to put the shoulder issues behind him before hurting his hamstring during spring training, batting .348/.400/.652 with a pair of home runs in 25 trips to the plate, and he had a good-contact, line-drive stroke with a bit of power and speed previously during his minor league career. The Rockies would do well to play him regularly in the coming weeks -- he has started only three of the team's past five games, as their lineup is mostly healthy now -- which might well hinge on whether they trade any of their infielders. Still, he's a widely available hitter set for a good number of Coors Field games who should see regular playing time soon as a key part of their future.
With the adds must come the cuts. Feel free to let any of the following names go in a standard ESPN 10-team league.
Jorge Polanco, SS/2B, Minnesota Twins: Injuries have cost him a bit of playing time over the past week, but his year-to-date performance hasn't shown much in the way of encouragement compared to his so-so 2020. Polanco sports the worst full-year strikeout (19.0%) and swinging-strike rates (7.3%) thus far, and he has swung at non-strikes an elevated 30.3% of the time. Worse yet, one of his most appealing traits in fantasy has been his ability to chip in double-digit steals, to go along with his 15-or-so home run pop, but he's already on his way to a fifth consecutive season seeing his Statcast sprint speed drop, to the point that he's now ranked in only the 58th percentile in the category. Polanco still seems to have a handle on the Twins' regular second base job, with the dual eligibility a help in fantasy, but a .250-hitting, 15-homer, 8-steal type -- essentially a counting-numbers specialist -- has much more appeal in 15-plus-team mixed and AL-only leagues than in a standard, shallow mixed.
Austin Hays, OF, Baltimore Orioles: I've been a fan of Hays' for some time now, recognizing his above-average pop and the attractive role the Orioles had been granting him thus far at the big-league level. After parts of three seasons, during which he has batted .265/.319/.434 and dealt with frequent injuries, he's losing my patience with him. Hays is currently dealing with a hamstring issue that might cost him extended time -- he'd be a surefire cut if headed to the injured list -- and through his 106 career big-league games, he has only a 35.3% Statcast hard contact rate and 6.5% Barrel rate, neither of which is enough to make up for his middling hit tool and speed. The Orioles have also begun recognizing they have other, equally or more appealing youngsters they can place in prominent roles, as Hays has generally slotted second in their lineup but might not be far off a drop to sixth or seventh in their lineup.
Mike Soroka, SP, Atlanta Braves: I'm surprised to see him still rostered in 46.5% of ESPN leagues as of Wednesday morning, considering the severity of his initial Achilles' injury, then the May 17 cleanout procedure on the same Achilles' that threatens to significantly delay his return to the Braves' rotation. Soroka is due for a checkup in roughly 1-3 weeks, but even after that point, he'd probably need a month-plus to build up his pitch count before even being a consideration for the big-league club, meaning a best-case scenario of an All-Star break-range return. Considering how conservative teams have been with pitchers as a whole this season, then acknowledging how much more likely the Braves would be with a pitcher coming of Soroka's type of injury, he might be looking at only 6-8 weeks of relevant fantasy production -- again, the best-case scenario. If you need his IL spot, he doesn't provide enough rest-of-season upside to keep around over a higher-tier player or one with a shorter-term injury.