These National League Prospects Could Get a September Call-Up
Some baseball fans are impossible to please. They’ll spend all year long lamenting modern roster construction, complaining that there are no platoons, pinch runners, or defensive replacements anymore. Then, when the rosters expand to 40 in September, they’re upset that minor leaguers or prospects determine who wins the division. Maybe some people just watch baseball so they can complain. I’m not one of those people.
One thing we all like is prospects (I think). Regardless of how you feel about roster expansion, it’s always fun to see a rookie get his first hit or strikeout his first batter. Here’s one player for each team who will probably debut this September that you can get excited about. These are not necessarily the best prospects for each team, and I’m neither a scout nor a prospect guru. All the same, the following players are close to the majors without ever having broken through, and should all be interesting to follow next month.
NL East
Atlanta Braves- 3B Austin Riley: Riley is the Braves’ best position player prospect and likely their third baseman of the future. He split the year between AA and AAA as a 21-year-old, so there’s no guarantee that he’ll get the call this season. Still, his .293/.362/.511 batting line this year indicates he’s ready to show what he can do. Besides, the Braves have never been shy about calling up youngsters.
Miami Marlins- RHP Zac Gallen: Acquired from St. Louis in the Marcell Ozuna deal, Gallen has been the best pitcher this season for AAA New Orleans. The 22-year-old has 122 strikeouts in 121 1/3 innings and a 3.86 ERA. His WHIP is an unsightly 1.500 and his 4.39 FIP suggests some regression, but it’s the batter-friendly PCL, so we’ll take a chance that the Marlins take a chance on those strikeouts.
New York Mets- 1B Peter Alonso: Alonso is leading the minor leagues with 32 home runs. The former second-round pick has split his time fairly evenly between AA and AAA with an OPS totaling .952. With a potential stud like this in the minors (as well as promising youngster Dominic Smith), the Mets instead choose to play Jay Bruce and his .628 OPS at first base because… they’re the Mets.
Philadelphia Phillies- LHP Cole Irvin: Lehigh Valley teammates Irvin and Enyel De Los Santos have been two of the best AAA pitchers in baseball this year. De Los Santos got a taste of major league action already so he’s disqualified from our list, but Irvin is still waiting his turn. He worked to a 2.71 ERA and 3.38 FIP in 23 starts this year, and he’s allowed just 11 home runs.
Washington Nationals- RHP Phillips Valdez: At 26-years-old, Valdez has paid his dues for a full decade in the minors. He got his first extended taste of AAA this year and has dominated the International League. There’s a big gap between his 2.77 ERA and 4.26 FIP, but after eight years as an organizational soldier, don’t you think he deserves a cup of coffee? (Editor’s note: Also, don’t we need more Phillips’ in the Majors? The league has been in a Phillips drought since Phillips Paine made his last Major League pitch in 1958. Phillips spent the next three years in the minors, trying to spend another 16 days on a big league club, and qualify for the pension, but his ERA north of 4 was not enough to do the job. Phillips Paine was the first American pro to pitch in the Japanese league when he found himself stationed there during the Korean War. He was paid $575 per game when he was able to pitch between military duties. Phillips Paine did have a 3.36 Major League ERA, so there is a good precedent for Phillips Valdez. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…)
NL Central
Chicago Cubs- IF Ryan Court: Court is a feel-good story waiting to happen. At 30-years-old, he’s hardly a prospect. The Cubs are his third organization as well as his childhood favorite team. He’s hitting .277/.367/.430 at AAA Iowa while playing all four infield positions. He even hit for the cycle on July 20. Wouldn’t it be special for a long-time minor league veteran to make his major league debut at Wrigley Field? I feel warm and fuzzy already.
Cincinnati Reds- RHP Jose Lopez: In 2017, Lopez was outstanding in AA, pitching to a 2.43 ERA and 3.57 FIP. He spent all of 2018 in AAA and his results backslid to a 4.29 ERA and 4.33 FIP. Nevertheless, the Reds will be in need of pitching next year (as always), and since he’s already on the 40-man, they have a chance in September to see if he can help.
Milwaukee Brewers- IF Dylan Moore: The Brewers signed Moore as a minor league free agent in April and the move has paid major dividends. He hit .373 for AA Biloxi before his promotion to AAA Colorado Springs, where he slashed .283/.349/.488. He mostly plays second base and third base but is versatile enough to potentially earn a bench role if he can continue hitting in the majors. The Brewers will need to bring him up sooner or later if they don’t want to lose him to free agency.
Pittsburgh Pirates- RHP Jesus Liranzo: Liranzo is virtually unhittable as a reliever, but not always for the right reasons. His sterling 5.5 H/9 is mitigated by 5.0 BB/9. He also collected 63 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings, so clearly, he has swing-and-miss stuff. As a member of the 40-man roster, he’s a very likely candidate for a September promotion.
St. Louis Cardinals- RHP Andrew Morales: I’m not gonna lie. Morales isn’t that exciting. He’s a typical 25-year-old reliever who gets a lot of strikeouts. You’ve seen this movie before. He’s close to the majors though, and they need to add him to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule V draft. Still, this is the Cardinals we’re talking about, so he’ll probably come up and win 12 Cy Youngs. They’re back in the playoff picture, remember?
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks- LHP Jared Miller: Some pitchers are wild like a 47th birthday party at Applebee’s going past 10PM. Miller is wild like a 19-year old at Daytona on Spring Break with a platinum card. He walked 66 batters in 44 innings this year. That’s not a misprint; he’s averaging 13.5 BB/9. In spite of this, he’s a good candidate for a September call-up because 1) he’s on the 40-man, and 2) he’s left-handed.
Colorado Rockies- 3B Josh Fuentes– It can’t be easy to be a third base prospect in the Rockies system. You have to go to work every day knowing that no matter how well you play, Nolan Arenado will always be in front of you. In spite of this, Fuentes is making people take notice. He’s hitting.316 with 54 extra base hits, including 12 triples. He seriously needs to improve his patience (just 19 walks), but with a superstar blocking him, he’s swinging as hard as he can and running until they catch him.
Los Angeles Dodgers- RHP Joe Broussard: Broussard was drafted as a reliever in 2015 and reached AAA the following year. He’s pretty much stayed there ever since. He had a pretty solid year, achieving a 3.34 ERA and 3.62 FIP while leading Oklahoma City with 53 appearances and 62 relief innings. For his yeoman’s work in the minors, maybe it’s time for a crack at the big league bullpen.
San Diego Padres- 2B Luis Urias: Urias is MLB Pipeline’s #1 second base prospect in baseball. He spent the entire season at AAA despite being the youngest player in the league- he only turned 21 on June 3. In spite of his youth, he managed a .398 on-base percentage. There’s nothing left to prove in the minors, so it’s time to get his major league career started. It ought to be a good one.
San Francisco Giants- C Aramis Garcia: I’m cheating just a little; Garcia was just called to the big leagues on Sunday, but it’s close enough to September 1. He spent most of the season in AA Richmond, posting a measly .287 on-base percentage. Nevertheless, with Buster Posey out for the season, Ramirez will be the backup catcher the rest of the way. He’s a former second-round pick, and he hit much better in 2017, so you never know if the latent offense will return someday.
