Precocious rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. made quite the Spring Training impression when he smacked three home runs and scored 10 runs in 14 games while dazzling defensively. Then, much to the dismay of eager fantasy baseball managers, he did not make the Kansas City Royals. How rude! Witt is currently plying his trade at Double-A Northwest Arkansas -- and he's not exactly thriving. The son of the former big-league pitcher is hitting .227 with three home runs and six stolen bases over 18 games and 86 plate appearances.
Still, fantasy baseball managers all across the land, even in redraft formats, invested in the 2019 amateur draft's No. 2 pick on the chance that immediate stardom would indeed follow. Yes, this is true, even though he is just a 20-year-old who had yet to play above rookie ball in the minors before this season. Could Witt, rostered in 5.9% of ESPN standard redraft leagues, debut in the majors this season? Well, the Royals continue to hang around the .500 mark and just got polarizing star Adalberto Mondesi to finally debut this season, but sure, Witt could matter in fantasy baseball later in 2021.
Opportunity is there!
Mondesi and Hunter Dozier may be the keys to gauging Witt's chances of promotion this season, because we should assume that Witt is going to hit well enough at some point to demand at least a move to Triple-A Omaha. Whether he hits 10 or 20 home runs in his early seasons remains a matter of debate, but he should get on base at a much better clip than Mondesi. Plus, Witt also boasts the speed to steal myriad bases. It is certainly understandable how fantasy managers would gravitate to Witt and, at least for dynasty purposes, most agree that a future star awaits.
Mondesi's other problem (besides his apparently allergy to walks) has been his ability to stay healthy. He missed most of the first two months of 2021 with an oblique strain, but he will not block Witt when the prospect is ready. Second base is more wide open, and who knows what to make of Dozier at third base. He's someone still trying to recapture the magic of 2019 when he hit 26 home runs and looked to be a "building block" kind of player. The Royals are giving older prospect Kelvin Gutierrez an opportunity at third base while Dozier is out.
We can draw some parallel here to how the Tampa Bay Rays opened up a potential opportunity at shortstop late last week by trading Willy Adames to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Royals did not fill second base last offseason and Dozier can move around. They want the exciting Mondesi -- also the offspring of a notable former ballplayer -- to establish himself as a top-of-the-lineup threat and a defensive anchor in the middle infield. Fantasy managers covet Mondesi for his stolen-base prowess, but he is a flawed player to be sure. Witt should be better, and perhaps they will play together this season. There's much to watch in Kansas City!
Other prospect news
Toronto Blue Jays RHP Alex Manoah had his Wednesday debut pushed back by rain, but watch him on Thursday. My colleague Tristan H Cockcroft recently chronicled Manoah's rise (as did I a month ago), and there is certainly ample opportunity for him to stick around in Toronto's bereft rotation.
The same goes with the New York Yankees, as Corey Kluber succumbed to yet another major injury. That means right-hander Deivi Garcia figures to get another promotion to start this weekend in Detroit. Garcia started in Baltimore one month ago and struggled with his control -- an unfortunate feature of his minor-league days. At 5-foot-9 and perhaps 160 pounds, he lacks a starter's build, but nobody can doubt his stuff and the current opportunity. I prefer Manoah and will still use the bench spot for San Diego Padres LHP MacKenzie Gore, who has been walking hitters at Triple-A El Paso, just in case.
Oakland Athletics RHP James Kaprielian -- still a rookie at 27! -- looks great after his first three big-league starts, and Seattle is up next. Invest! Still, back when there was snow on the ground, I instead chose his teammate Daulton Jefferies in a dynasty format. So far, I obviously regret it. Jefferies, two years younger and the better prospect, missed much of May with biceps tendinitis, but he is healthy now. He's certainly worth stashing, unless you believe that Kaprielian can stay healthy and ordinary left-hander Cole Irvin can stay good.
Arizona Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll may not debut in the majors until 2023, but those invested in dynasty formats had to love seeing him get off to a great start at High-A Hillsboro, with a 1.465 OPS after seven games. Alas, Carroll hurt his shoulder on a home run swing and underwent season-ending surgery. It's always something!
The Atlanta outfield lost slugger Marcell Ozuna after he dislocated two fingers on his left hand Wednesday. He is likely to be out until after July's All-Star break. Drew Waters, the focus of last week's prospect blog entry, has two hits in his past 24 at-bats, so his promotion may have to wait until he turns things around. No, I do not believe in jinxes, especially from fantasy baseball analysts.
We rarely discuss minor-league relief pitching prospects because 99% of the top pitchers at that level are starters -- at least until something happens and they prove they are not. Most of the save leaders at Triple-A are older veterans such as Blake Parker and Ryan Buchter, guys just trying to get back to the majors. To put it bluntly, do not look at the minor league save leaders. However, do look at Texas Rangers RHP Demarcus Evans, for he debuted in the big-league bullpen this week and there may be saves in his future. Evans piled on the strikeouts in the minors with a modest but active fastball, and an effective curveball. Closer Ian Kennedy is certainly a July trade candidate, perhaps just as much so as Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Richard Rodriguez.
Finally, USA Baseball announced an initial 28-man roster for the Olympic qualifying training camp, and a few intriguing prospects have a shot to make it. Boston Red Sox 1B Triston Casas and OF Jarren Duran, Athletics SS Nick Allen, and St. Louis Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore are all on the roster and eligible because they are not on the 40-man roster for their big-league organizations. Playing on this team hardly delays an eventual promotion, by the way. In fact, any one of them could receive a promotion at any time. Regardless, if you get a chance to watch the qualifying tournament, which starts this weekend, I say to go for it. Former big-leaguers Matt Kemp, Matt Wieters and Homer Bailey are also on the team, if you want to revisit some blasts from the past.