June 8, 2017

The Stash List

The 10th Edition

by Greg Wellemeyer

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The Graduates: Hunter Pence (Previous Rank: 4), Jacob Faria (22), Sean Newcomb (23)

Pence returned to the Giants lineup Sunday.

Faria was called up to start Wednesday against the White Sox. He’s been holding his velocity deeper in to games at Triple-A Durham in 2017 and has been striking out batters at a 35 percent clip. Matt Andriese is on the 10-day disabled list and on track to return soon, so this might be a short stay for Faria.

This might be jumping the gun a little on Newcomb since he hasn’t made his debut yet, but all indications are that it will happen on Saturday. The Braves placed Bartolo Colon on the disabled list Tuesday with a 7.78 ERA strained oblique, so it’s possible Newcomb stays up for a few turns and seizes the job, assuming he doesn’t walk everyone in sight.

The Dropouts: A.J. Reed (18)

I’m not giving up on Reed long term but it was hard enough to figure out how he gets a shot in Houston that, combined with his mediocre numbers in Triple A, I can’t justify keeping him on the list any longer.

1. Yoan Moncada (2B)—White Sox (Previous Rank: 1)

2. Julio Urias (LHP)—Dodgers (Previous Rank: 2)

Moncada hasn’t quite regained his form after taking time off to nurse a sore thumb. No reason to be concerned. Urias has walked 13.9 percent of batters in his five starts at Triple A, including five free passes in 11 2/3 innings since his late-June demotion. The Dodgers have enough starting depth at their disposal that they can afford to be patient with Urias while he sorts this out. The ceiling is high enough to warrant this spot in the meantime.

3. Wilson Ramos (C)—Rays (Previous Rank: 8)

With his rehab assignment underway, it’s time to bump Ramos up. He caught three innings Monday in his first appearance at High-A Charlotte, then slotted at DH on Tuesday. I’d expect that to be the pattern for most of Ramos’ rehab as well as after his return to Tampa. The Rays have him under control through next season and have no need to rush him into full-time catching duties. Ramos is an immediate starter in all but the shallowest leagues, even if his batting average is closer to the 2015 version (.229) than the 2016 one (.307).

4. Cameron Maybin (OF)—Angels (Previous Rank: Unranked)

Maybin slashed .391/.509/.674 with four steals in 12 games after ascending to the Angels’ leadoff spot in mid-May. In quintessential Maybin fashion, he got hurt just when we were all ready to buy in again. Given his extensive injury history and the nature of this one (oblique), I’m not holding my breath for the Friday return that’s being reported as a possibility.

5. Manuel Margot (OF)—Padres (Previous Rank: 3)

6. Joc Pederson (OF)—Dodgers (Previous Rank: Unranked)

Margot’s out of his walking boot, though without much clarity around how long he’ll be out. The Padres have no reason to rush him. Same goes for Pederson, of whom Dave Roberts said: “We really want him swinging the bat well before he gets here.” They have that luxury because Chris Taylor has been sensational at the plate while playing center nearly every day for the past two weeks. The Dodgers surely want Pederson to hit his way out of his early-season funk and push Taylor back to a super-utility role, so it won’t surprise if Pederson’s rehab—slated to start later this week—pushes toward the 20-day limit as he works the kinks out.

7. Carlos Rodon (LHP)—White Sox (Previous Rank: 7)

8. Blake Snell (LHP)—Rays (Previous Rank: 6)

Rodon saw his first game action of 2017 on Tuesday, allowing five runs on four hits and a pair of walks, while recording six of his 10 outs by way of strikeout. He’ll reportedly move to Triple A for his second outing, and likely will require a couple more after that before rejoining the Sox. Snell, another left-handed, high-volume strikeout artist, is up to 36 punchouts in four Triple-A starts (12.3 K/9). That the Rays tabbed Faria for a spot start is a sign that they’re committed to leaving Snell down until he’s ready to go back to Tampa Bay for good, though there is some chatter that Snell will start one side of a doubleheader Saturday.

9. Tom Murphy (C)—Rockies (Previous Rank: 9)

Murphy has made a handful of rehab appearances at Triple-A Albuquerque, two of which were consecutive games behind the plate. He’s struck out in five of his 11 plate appearances, confirming that he’s still Tom Murphy.

10. Amed Rosario (SS)—Mets (Previous Rank: 11)

11. Lewis Brinson (OF)—Brewers (Previous Rank: 5)

12. Rhys Hoskins (1B)—Phillies (Previous Rank: 10)

13. Austin Meadows (OF)—Pirates (Previous Rank: 14)

14. Derek Fisher (OF)—Astros (Previous Rank: 15)

There’s not much I can say about these guys that I haven’t said several times over. Four of the five have raked all year long and that poor start from Meadows is getting further and further behind us. With the calendar flipped to June, we should see some of these guys graduate off the list.

15. Rafael Devers (3B)—Red Sox (Previous Rank: Unranked)

As with Rosario, it took me a long time to come around to the idea that Devers could log enough big-league time this year to have any kind of impact. In the meantime, he’s demolishing Double-A to the tune of a .308/.371/.544 triple slash with 10 homers, while Boston’s third basemen have managed a 52 wRC+, worst in the majors. Pablo Sandoval has been back for a week and despite being owed the GDP of Moldova over the next several years, I don’t expect him to stand in the way whenever the Red Sox deem Devers ready.

16. Brandon Finnegan (LHP)—Reds (Previous Rank: 16)

Finnegan was slated to throw in an extended spring game Tuesday. No word yet on how it went. Assuming there were no setbacks, he should begin a rehab assignment shortly.

17. Gleyber Torres (SS/3B)—Yankees (Previous Rank: 12)

18. Franklin Barreto (SS)—Athletics (Previous Rank: 13)

Gleyber’s first 50 Triple-A plate appearances have come with far more swings and misses that we’re used to seeing from him. He’s 20 years old. I’m not concerned in the least in the long term, though it’s fair to question how much short-term fantasy value there will be given his extremely limited experience against advanced pitching. Same goes for Barreto, whose 30 percent strikeout rate is substantially higher than I was expecting despite his age relative to the level. Limitations notwithstanding, it appears each will have an opportunity to play in the majors before the season is up.

19. Raul Mondesi (SS)—Royals (Previous Rank: 17)

20. Dustin Fowler (OF)—Yankees (Previous Rank: 25)

21. Dan Vogelbach (1B)—Mariners (Previous Rank: 19)

22. Ketel Marte (SS)—Diamondbacks (Previous Rank: 20)

Hey look, another group of minor league performers I’m tired of talking about.

23. Luke Weaver (RHP)—Cardinals (Previous Rank: Honorable Mention)

24. Jose De Leon (RHP)—Rays (Previous Rank: 21)

25. Reynaldo Lopez (RHP)—White Sox (Previous Rank: 24)

Even worse, a group of minor league pitchers I’m tired of talking about.

Honorable Mention: Harrison Bader, Willie Calhoun, Greg Bird, Jeimer Candelario, Carson Kelly, Dwight Smith Jr., Drew Smyly, Vince Velasquez, Nick Williams, Jesse Winker

Greg Wellemeyer is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @gregwellemeyer
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