A week ago, Dalton Rushing was in my Five on the Verge, and then on the eve of this article, we learned that he’s on his way to the majors. Great news, right? Well …
But that’s just the manager, right? These days, it matters more what the front office has to say, doesn’t it?
From the team’s official website: “General manager Brandon Gomes has made it clear that the organization wants Rushing to develop at catcher rather than be a quasi-utility man.”
Way to take the wind out of those sails. What was the point of stashing Rushing at all? Shoot, what’s the point of adding him now?
If we take the Dodgers at their word, then he’s strictly a backup catcher, directly inheriting the role vacated by Austin Barnes, who was designated for assignment. This is in spite of Rushing getting exposure to left field and first base in the minors, seemingly with the purpose of making him a quasi-utility man.
That’s the only role that makes sense for him because if he’s strictly a catcher in this organization, then no matter how well his power and on-base skills translate to the majors, there’s not a path to more at-bats. He’s not overtaking Will Smith, a perennial All-Star who’s signed through 2033, and the DH spot is accounted for as well. Forget this year, even. If Rushing is strictly a catcher, then there’s no daylight for him at any point in the foreseeable future.
Are the Dodgers really going to waste this offensive talent in this role? It’s malpractice! That’s why I’m kind of skeptical that they really mean what they’re saying, for as firmly as they’re saying it. But at least for the immediate future, it’s probably true, which is why Rushing, in a year of great catcher surplus, is not so worth pursuing. At least not yet.
And it serves as a reminder that even if you get the timing right on a prospect call-up, you’re not certain to hit pay dirt. The odds are pretty low, in fact. With those inspirational words, let’s consider the top five prospects to stash.
FIVE ON THE VERGE
(Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)
2024 minors: 10-7, 3.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 119 2/3 IP, 41 BB, 148 K
2025 minors: 2-1, 1.91 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 33 IP, 14 BB, 49 K
I speculated a week ago that I wouldn’t get another chance to feature Chandler in the Prospects Report. Made a whole big stink about it, in fact. But then before the article could even be published, he made a big stink of his own, allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks in just 2 2/3 innings. It was his worst start of the year — his only bad one, really — and pretty much necessitated that he’d make another start at Triple-A. That start came Tuesday, and it was the expected return to form. He struck out eight over five shutout innings, and here’s a little bit of what that looked like:
So now that he’s confirmed that the bad start was just a misstep, seems to me like we’re back at the same spot. There’s an even stronger case for Chandler’s promotion, in fact, now that he’s been extended to 86 pitches. To stick with the analog that should be all too familiar now, the most pitches Paul Skenes threw ahead of his May 11 debut last year was 75. Skenes of course went on to win Rookie of the Year, and according to BetMGM Sportsbook, Chander has the best Rookie of the Year chances (+1200) of any player who has yet to debut. The next closest is Roman Anthony at +3000. Speaking of whom …
2024 minors: .291 BA (454 AB), 18 HR, 21 SB, .894 OPS, 79 BB, 127 K
2025 minors: .306 BA (134 AB), 5 HR, 3 SB, .906 OPS, 30 BB, 35 K
True to their word, the Red Sox have yet to play Anthony even once at first base since losing Triston Casas for the season, so unless they can convince Rafael Devers to make the move there (he seems reluctant, to say the least), it doesn’t sound like Casas’ injury will be Anthony’s ticket to the majors. And to be perfectly real with you, he’s not exactly beating the door down at the moment but more plodding along in the way only a .900-OPS guy can. His fly-ball rate remains only 23.5 percent, which is his biggest area of focus right now, according to the front office, but his 96.0 mph average exit velocity tells you everything you need to know about his upside. Only two major-leaguers, Shohei Ohtani and Oneil Cruz, have a higher mark than that. (Yes, Aaron Judge falls just short at 95.9 mph.)
It’s that upside that makes him worth stashing even though his path isn’t totally clear. An injury could clear up that path tomorrow. All it would take is an injury to any of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela or, yes, Devers.
2024 minors: .307 BA (300 AB), 8 HR, 13 SB, .850 OPS, 30 BB, 66 K
2025 minors: .282 BA (142 AB), 8 HR, 1 SB, .850 OPS, 15 BB, 30 K
Notice I didn’t say Trevor Story when I mentioned all the players whose injuries would put Roman Anthony in the majors tomorrow. That’s because I think Mayer is just as ready for his first big-league opportunity. Considered by some to be the crown jewel of the 2021 draft class when he was taken fourth overall, the 22-year-old has made a steady climb up the minor-league ladder, putting up strong but unspectacular numbers at every stop. Injuries may have hindered his power development, but it seems like a moot point now with him having eight home runs already. His latest saw him send it out to the opposite field.
And unlike Anthony, it may not take an injury for Mayer to get a look in the majors. He plays the same position as Trevor Story, who got off to a hot start but has seen his batting average crash 80 points over the past three weeks, going 9 for 78 (.115) during that time. His Statcast readings are less than stellar, and it’s unclear how much the 32-year-old has left in the tank, really, after three injury-plagued seasons. The Red Sox may not be ready to move on from Story yet, but it’s hardly unthinkable that they could be in the near future.
2024 minors: .241 BA (116 AB), 2 HR, .690 OPS, 7 BB, 26 K
2025 minors: .319 BA (138 AB), 9 HR, .948 OPS, 17 BB, 34 K
For this one, I should probably take a moment to clarify what “on the verge” means, at least for the purposes of this article. These are the five prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues, which isn’t the same as being the five prospects closest to debuting. Proximity does factor into how stashable a prospect is, but even more significant is impact. If we don’t think he’ll be a major factor when he’s promoted, what’s the point of stashing him ahead of time?
I’m including Caglianone here not because I think he could be called up tomorrow — he still hasn’t advanced past Double-A yet, after all — but because of the impact I think he could have when he is. The power is absurd, a true 80-grade tool. His contact quality was the stuff of legends at the University of Florida, and it’s immediately translated to wooden bats. He’s already hit a ball as hard as 120.9 mph this year, a mark achieved by only five major-leaguers in the Statcast era. The Royals have been giving him reps in the outfield, clearly with short-term needs in mind. The Royals are in a tight spot there but are all set at first base (Vinnie Pasquantino) and DH (Salvador Perez). As a team with playoff aspirations, they can’t afford to slow-play a prospect who could immediately transform their lineup.
But could they fast-play him? Caglianone is doing his best to tempt them, batting .393 (33 for 84) with six homers and an OPS around 1.150 in his past 22 games for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. We’re presuming he’ll need some time at Triple-A first, but he wouldn’t be the first high-end prospect to make the leap straight from Double-A.
2024 minors: 3-5, 3.33 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 97 1/3 IP, 60 BB, 127 K
2025 minors: 3-0, 1.49 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 42 1/3 IP, 18 BB, 54 K
The Brewers rotation is in a bad way right now, the worst it’s been all season. Things were looking up when Brandon Woodruff wrapped up an 18-month rehab for a torn shoulder capsule, but it turns out a case of ankle tendinitis will keep him on the IL longer. And now Jose Quintana has followed him to the IL with a shoulder impingement. Quinn Priester seems to be pitching his way out of a job. Tobias Myers had already done so, being optioned to make way for Woodruff only to be brought back because of the Quintana injury. Meanwhile, Logan Henderson has already been recalled, which is why he’s no longer in my Five on the Verge. So where do the Brewers turn next? It turns out they have an even more talented pitcher lurking at Triple-A.
I’m talking, of course, about Misiorowski, a flamethrower who has taken his flame-throwing to new heights this year, as you can read in the Baseball America tweet above. For as much attention as Bubba Chandler’s fastball gets — and for good reason — Misiorowski’s might be even better. The knock on him has always been that he doesn’t throw enough strikes to get the most out of it, but that’s changed over his past four starts, during which he’s thrown 66 percent of his pitches for strikes. That’s a good rate. For comparison, his 59 percent strike rate last year was very, very bad. Will that sort of progress be enough to propel him to the majors? Well, there is the matter of getting him on the 40-man roster, but over that four-start stretch with the 66 percent strike rate, Misiorowski also has a 0.38 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9. He’s making the case.
FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY
(Here are some other prospects doing something of note.)
2024 minors: 6-4, 3.03 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 113 IP, 47 BB, 160 K
2025 minors: 1-2, 2.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 28 IP, 14 BB, 51 K
Tong may have started out slow at Double-A Binghamton this year, but now we’re seeing why I included him in my preseason top 100. His latest start Saturday really drove home the point. He struck out 13 over 6 2/3 perfect innings with 13 strikeouts, an effort that should be in contention for best minor-league start this season. Here’s a little of what that looked like:
You see the exaggerated over-the-top delivery? Part of what makes Tong so effective is that he’s able to achieve a “rising” effect on his fastball despite that high arm angle. While the walks have been a little high, he’s up to 16.4 K/9 on the year, which should probably have him in everyone’s top 100 at this point.
2025 minors: .339 BA (118 AB), 7 HR, 7 SB, 1.025 OPS, 17 BB, 30 K
If you’re a regular to the Prospects Report, you may remember that I wrote about Montgomery three weeks ago, noting that his return from a fractured ankle, which caused him to slip to 12th in last year’s draft, had gone about as well as anyone could have hoped for — certainly the White Sox, who acquired him on blind faith in the Garrett Crochet haul. The one caveat at that point was that he was a 22-year-old beating up on pitchers at Low-A. Well, now he’s a 22-year-old beating up on pitchers at High-A. Since moving up to the next level, Montgomery is batting … well, I’ll let Elijah Evans of Just Baseball share the numbers along with a video of Montgomery’s latest home run:
It took a leap of faith to grab Montgomery in a Dynasty league with no minor-league data to back him up, but so far, he’s living up to the projections and then some.
2024 minors: 2-5, 2.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 49 2/3 IP, 17 BB, 56 K
2025 minors: 4-1, 1.30 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 41 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 38 K
Ritchie has been making waves at High-A all season long, but I’ve hesitated to feature him here because the strikeout rate isn’t actually all that impressive for a 21-year-old at that level. But then he threw a true shutout last time out, nine innings in all, giving up just one hit and striking out nine. Though he debuted in 2022, Ritchie had only 54 minor-league innings to his name prior to this year because of Tommy John surgery, and it’s hard not to grade him on a curve as a result. If you’ll allow me to be frank, though, his fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s, so what we may be seeing here is a pitcher whose deep arsenal and decent control make him too advanced for his competition. He’s moving up to Double-A for his next start, so we should know more soon.
2025 minors: .373 BA (102 AB), 7 HR, 2 3B, 9 2B, 1.168 OPS, 16 BB, 25 K
When the Dodgers come knocking on a lower-profile prospect, potential trading partners may want to reject them on principle. They fleeced the Cubs out of Zyhir Hope last year and now may have done the same to the Reds with Sirota this year, acquiring him straight-up for Gavin Lux. It’s too early to say given that he’s a 21-year-old playing in A-ball, but Sirota hasn’t performed like a player who lasted until the third round of last year’s draft. There’s a good reason for that, too. The Dodgers valued him as a first-round pick prior to his junior season, according to Baseball America.
“He had a slow start out the gate (as a college junior) and kind of finished strong,” GM Brandon Gomes said after acquiring Sirota in January. “It’s electric hands, incredible athlete. There’s a lot of high-end talent there. Now it’s [about] harnessing it and getting to some swing work. But we had him as a slam-dunk first-rounder going into the year last year.”
Dynasty leaguers, take note.
2024 minors: .338 BA (77 AB), 3 HR, 9 SB, .976 OPS, 21 BB, 10 K
2025 minors: .311 BA (119 AB), 7 HR, 1 SB, .961 OPS, 19 BB, 29 K
When an obscure 20-year-old begins making waves at Low-A, I’m generally reluctant to devote precious Prospects Report real estate to him because I’ve learned that such players often fade into obscurity the moment you lavish them with praise. But they don’t always fade into obscurity — every prospect has to get his start somewhere, after all — and Escobar has kept it up long enough to warrant a mention here. He earns high marks for pitch recognition, particularly for someone at his level, and he’s added the strength to begin making good on that potential, as evidenced by his seven home runs already. He’s also Ronald Acuna’s cousin, which is the sort of detail that some Dynasty leaguers live for.