Each week we will try to give a quick update on each of the top-40 minor leaguers that could help out in the fantasy game in 2019. Of course, there is an element of uncertainty with all of this as we never quite know when a team will decide to call up a youngster or if that role will be of the full-time variety. We will do our best each week to give you a quick reference guide.
* NOTE: The Blue Jays and Giants trade, centered around Kevin Pillar, is discussed below.
| 2019 Prospect Report | TEAM | POS | COMMENT | |
| 1 | Vladimir Guerrero | TOR | 3B | Started to play in extended spring games. Team will go slow with oblique issue. ETA: late April? |
| 2 | Nick Senzel | CIN | Player | The makeup is outstanding. The health – disastrous. He’s dealing with an ankle sprain currently, but could come fast. |
| 3 | Kyle Tucker | HOU | OF | Brantley and Springer play daily, but are Reddick/Marisnick really good enough to hold him off for long? |
| 4 | Justus Sheffield | SEA | SP | Love the arm. Still working on the third pitch. He will be in Seattle soon, likely with first injury. |
| 5 | Forrest Whitley | HOU | SP | He has four legit “60” pitches. No one has that. Threw just 26.1 inning last season, so workload a concern. |
| 6 | Brendan Rogers | COL | SS | A top-20 prospect that needs a spot. Similar outlook to Trevor Story when fully developed. |
| 7 | Austin Hays | BAL | OF | Lost his stroke looking for power last season. Regained his approach this offseason. Arrow pointing up. |
| 8 | Bo Bichette | TOR | SS | A top-10 prospect sometimes lost in Vlad’s shadow. Legit option for 20/20 at his peak. |
| 9 | Logan Allen | SD | SP | Padres rotation is messy. Allen went 14-6 with a 1.08 WHIP in 25 outings last season. Pretty polished. |
| 10 | Anthony Alford | TOR | OF | See the trade breakdown below. |
| 11 | Dennis Santana | LAD | SP | He will be in the bigs at some point. Big arm owns a 10.2 K/9 rate but also a 4.2 BB/9 mark. |
| 12 | Keston Hiura | MIL | 2B | A line drive machine. He’s hit .313 with .374 OBP in 165 minor league games. Will hit immediately. |
| 13 | Willie Calhoun | TEX | OF | Out of shape last year. Pouting this season. Is rather confounding though that Rangers can’t find a spot for his bat. |
| 14 | Dylan Cease | CWS | SP | A huge arm with a near 12 K per nine rate. Control is the final piece. |
| 15 | Jesus Luzardo | OAK | SP | Out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder strain. Might mean we don’t see him until around mid-season. |
| 16 | Jon Duplantier | ARI | SP | Can he stay healthy? D’backs could bring him up to work out of the bullpen, though he’s still SP long-term. |
| 17 | Nick Madigral | CWS | 2B | One of the best pure hitters in the minors. White Sox moved Moncada off second for Madigral. Could come quick. |
| 18 | Yusniel Diaz | BAL | OF | The Orioles best overall minor league talent, it can be argued. He will be in the Orioles outfield at some point this year. |
| 19 | Cal Quantrill | SD | SP | Didn’t pitch well in spring, but is close. Not missing as many bats as expected. |
| 20 | Nick Burdi | PIT | RP | Has five punchouts for his first five outs this season in Pittsburgh. |
| 21 | Sixto Sanchez | FLA | SP | Elite fastball/control. Athletic. One of those can’t miss prospects with significant upside if he can stay healthy. |
| 22 | Austin Riley | ATL | 3B | Tons of swing and miss in game, but the real issue is the presence of Josh Donaldson. |
| 23 | Nick Gordon | MIN | SS | He has a stomach issue which will land him on the DL to start the year. #GreatStart |
| 24 | Luis Urias | SD | 2B | Shocking demotion. Still one of the better hit tools amongst all middle infielders in the minors. |
| 25 | Mitch Keller | PIT | SP | Has a low ceiling, but a high floor. Likely to settle in as an SP3 in the bigs. |
| 26 | Ian Anderson | ATL | SP | Fastball/curveball combo is impressive. Generates good plane on his heater, and solid mechanics in check. |
| 27 | Jonathan Loaisiga | NYY | SP | Has the talent, but the Yankees rotation has a whole lotta arms ahead of him in the pecking order. |
| 28 | Griffin Canning | LAA | SP | Has an advanced feel for pitching, and the Angels entire rotation seems to have health concerns. |
| 29 | Yordan Alvarez | HOU | 1B/OF | Health has failed at times, but has power to all fields and excellent plate coverage. |
| 30 | Casey Mize | DET | SP | Elite fastball/splitter combo with impeccable control. Will come fast if he irons out delivery. |
| 31 | Brendan McKay | TB | SP | Begins the year at Double-A. Two-way player who will make the bigs based on arm. |
| 32 | Kolby Allard | ATL | SP | Doesn’t miss bats like other Braves’ youngsters, but has a nice feel for the art of pitching. |
| 33 | Michael Soroka | ATL | SP | The shoulder was an issue last year, and in camp this season. Has the skills, but the health? |
| 34 | Zack Collins | CWS | C | Strikeouts, and frankly hits, are an issue. But has a tremendous eye leading to impressive OBP. |
| 35 | Monte Harrison | FLA | OF | Best overall prospect in Marlins’ organization. A 20/20 talent but one with massive contact issues. |
| 36 | Sean Murphy | OAK | C | Will be the A’s catcher in the second half if he stays healthy. |
| 37 | Touki Toussaint | ATL | SP | Control an issue, and some still think he might be better served as a power middle reliever. |
| 38 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | SP | Could be a second half factor, but he’s out until late April with a back issue. |
| 39 | Chris Shaw | SF | OF | Giants added Pillar, but their OF still thin. Shaw a 25+ homer bat with significant contact issues. |
| 40 | Luiz Gohara | ATL | SP | In better shape after disastrous ’18. Velocity hasn’t returned yet, and that’s an obvious concern. |
TUESDAY TRADE
The Blue Jays and Giants made a deal Tuesday.
Blue Jays Receive: INF Alen Hanson, RHP Derek Law, RHP Juan De Paula
Giants Receive: OF Kevin Pillar
The Giants get a gold glove caliber defender to boost their weak outfield in Pillar. He will continue to be the same, rather boring depth option in mixed leagues. Still, he does offer a bit with a four-year average of 12 homers and 17 steals, albeit with a terrible .301 OBP.
The Jays get Hanson who will likely fill a reserve role being moved around a bit and utilized for his speed.
As for the Blue Jays outfield, there are moving parts here. Randal Grichuk will likely play daily in his attempt to reach 30-homers for the first time. Teoscar Hernandez and Billy McKinney should see a good deal of time. However, the biggest winner would seem to be Anthony Alford.
At one point, there was a lot of excitement for Alford (he was a top-60 prospect heading into last season according to Baseball Prospectus, Baseball American and MLB.com). However, he’s been extremely slow to develop and last year was a disaster as his swing was a mess all year, seemingly continually out of rhythm, on his way to a terrible .238/.314/.339 slash line. He does have 10-15 homer power, and the ability to steal 15-20 bases, but his strikeout rate is a legitimate concern as he’s been punched out 292 times his last 1,012 at-bats, or one every 3.47 at-bats. That rate must improve so that he can get on base to take advantage of his athleticism. If play daily, Alford is worth an add in mixed leagues with the outlook of a Jackie Bradley type (2018 version) if everything comes together. Of course, it could also be much worse than that.
* Late word – the Blue Jays acquired Socrates Brito from the Padres, and it’s possible he finds his way into the outfield mix as well.
