With how prospect-crazy we are in the Fantasy baseball community, it is no surprise that Maikel Franco's promotion from Triple-A last September was met with plenty of excitement. This was a 21-year-old top-20 prospect on Baseball America's ranking, who hit 16 homers as the youngest player on his team in what was considered a down year.
What is surprising is how little excitement greeted his return to the majors this season. Sure, Franco's prospect star lost a bit of shine with his underwhelming showing at Triple-A, especially when followed by him looking wholly overmatched with a .179/.190/.214 line in 58 plate appearances in the majors last year. But he has done nothing but hit since getting the call, and yet his ownership rate only reached 70 percent in CBSSports.com leagues this weekend after another flurry of home runs.
Franco's OPS dipped down to .666 after his 17th game of the season, but has been over .750 in 27 of 38 games he has played in so far; it hasn't been below .800 since June 7. Still, the stink of that 16-game cameo last season was too much to ignore for Fantasy players.
It's not that Franco's skill level was lower in 2015 than 2014, it's just that Fantasy players had already seen him fail once. Sometimes, that is all it takes for the excitement of youth and pedigree to wear off. Those who did believe in Franco's abilities, of course, are reaping the rewards with his 10 home runs and 20 extra-base hits in 37 games and counting.
So, who could be the next Franco? Who are yesterday's top prospects who could be tomorrow's Fantasy contributors?
Rougned Odor, 2B, Rangers (35 percent owned)
2015 stats (pre-demotion): .144/.252/.233 in 90 AB, 1 HR, 25 K, 7 BB
Odor is the most obvious candidate for a Franco-esque post-hype breakout. He was absolutely dreadful before his demotion, but remains one of the youngest players in the league at just 21 and four months, so rough patches are to be expected. He is 9 for 19 since being recalled, and that comes off a triumphant Triple-A debut. He was second in the Pacific Coast League in OPS at 1.065, and was the third-youngest player to pick up at least 100 plate appearances.
Odor gave us a taste of what he is capable of last season, clubbing nine home runs and 30 extra-base hits in just 114 games, and could have 20-20 potential once things click. Odor has only played five of eight games since getting the call, but it won't be long until the Rangers have no choice but to get him in there. As a middle infield option, his potential is off the charts; don't let a bad month and a half fool you. I wouldn't go so far to say he is a must-add, but there aren't a whole lot of good reasons not to take a chance on him in all Rotisserie leagues, at the very least.
Andrew Heaney , SP, Angels (20 percent owned)
2014 stats: 29 1/3 inning, 5.83 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.8 HR/9
Heaney's time in Triple-A this season hasn't been quite so productive as Odor's, but his struggles are somewhat easy to write off. The 24-year-old southpaw has an ugly 4.71 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, however, he is pitching in a notoriously tough environment for pitchers; his ERA is actually second-best among starters for the Salt Lake Bees. He still has plus command (2.9 BB/9) and is doing a solid job with strikeouts (8.5 K/9), so there are reasons to be positive.
Of course, his major-league stint last season was so discouraging it might have led directly to the Marlins' decision to move on from him this offseason. His velocity was underwhelming and the command that was supposed to be his calling card never made the trip to Miami with him; Heaney threw just 40.6 percent of his pitches in the strike zone. Heaney is more of a classic lefty -- the "crafty" label has been applied more than once -- and you aren't going to survive with his stuff if you can't command the plate.
The good news is, he's still been a top-50 prospect in each of the last three years, per Baseball America, so talent evaluators haven't soured on him much. He won't be an ace, but his home park isn't a bad place to pitch, and the Angels' offense could prove helpful. We'll see what he has in a matchup with the Astros Wednesday, but Heaney is definitely worth a speculative add at this point.
Jon Singleton, 1B, Astros (21 percent owned)
2014 stats: .168/.285/.335 in 310 AB, 13 HR, 134 K, 50 BB
It's hard to see where Singleton might play, though both Chris Carter and Evan Gattis have failed to live up to expectations this season, so it wouldn't be crazy if he got an opportunity at some point. He took Three True Outcomes hitting to an absurd degree as a rookie, with 54.4 percent of his trips to the plate ending with either a strikeout, walk or home run, but since most of that came from strikeouts, it was pretty clear he wasn’t ready.
However, the Astros are in a tough spot with Singleton, who has pretty demonstratively proved he doesn't have much left to learn at Triple-A. The 23-year-old is now hitting .274/.393/.540 in 122 games over the last two seasons at Triple-A, including 15 home runs and a whopping 62 RBI in 68 games this season. Even those contact issues that plagued him last season haven't been such an issue, as he is sporting a very manageable 19.9 percent strikeout rate on the season.
Singleton has too much potential to leave in the minors for a long time, but it's also pretty hard to move Gattis or Carter, given what they have actually proven in the majors. Still, Singleton can only keep mashing in Triple-A for song long before he forces his way back to the majors.
Javier Baez, SS, Cubs (38 percent owned)
2014 stats: .169/.227/.324 in 213 AB, 9 HR, 95 K, 15 BB
Arismendy Alcantara, OF, Cubs (8 percent owned)
2015 stats (pre-demotion): .077/.226/.077 in 26 AB, 11 K, 5 BB
Before suffering a fractured finger in early June, Baez seemed likely to get a call at some point pretty soon, but his 4-8 week timetable puts a damper on that. He could be back in action in a few weeks, but it seems unlikely the Cubs will give him another shot at the majors without getting at least some extra work in Triple-A beforehand. That's a bummer, because Baez has serious power in the middle infield, and could be a real difference maker for Fantasy if he can get his strikeout issues under control. He was hitting .314/.386/.536 at Triple-A Iowa before his injury, so track his progress as he begins his rehabilitation process.
Alcantara is a bit of a longer shot, but the Cubs' outfield isn't exactly impenetrable if he can force his way in. The 23-year-old has struck out 104 times in 332 career plate appearances in the majors, and hasn't quite set the minors on fire this season. That isn't to say he has been bad, because he hasn't; a .262/.323/.498 line with 11 steals and 27 extra-base hits in 57 games is pretty great. The rumblings about a call up haven't been quite as loud here, but he does have impact potential in a Roto league.
Daniel Norris, SP, Blue Jays (26 percent owned)
2015 stats (pre-demotion): 23 1/3 IP, 3.86 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9
Norris might be another guy who doesn't have much left to learn at Triple-A. He hasn't quite lived up to expectations in the majors, but is sitting on a 3.44 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings in Buffalo. His control remains an issue, which is a good reason to keep him down, though he has improved his BB/9 to 3.8 over the last four starts. The Jays could still use some pitching help, and his potential to make a difference is through the roof if he can get his control problems figured out.
Marco Gonzalez, SP, Cardinals (11 percent owned)
2014 stats: 34 2/3 IP, 4.15 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9
The Cardinals are another team without a super obvious need in the rotation, at least not once Lance Lynn returns from the DL this week. Still, Lynn's fill-in, Tyler Lyons, hasn't exactly impressed, so Gonzales could be next in line down the road if the need arises again. Of course, that is assuming his own injury issues get taken care of. Gonzales hasn't pitched since late May as a result of a shoulder issue, and wasn't exactly setting the world on fire before going down. Still, he is a top-50 prospect who struck out 8.0 batters per nine in the majors last season, and would absolutely be worth a look if he gets the chance. With the injury-prone Jaime Garcia holding down the No. 5 spot in the rotation, it might not be too deep into summer before he gets an opportunity.
Jackie Bradley, OF, Red Sox (3 percent owned)
2014 stats: .198/.265/.266 in 384 AB, 1 HR, 8 SB, 121 K, 31 BB
Bradley has completely flopped in his time in the majors, which now totals 170 games over parts of three seasons. Given that and the Red Sox surplus of talented young outfielders, it seems unlikely he is going to get a real chance anytime soon. And yet, the 25-year-old is still producing at Triple-A, sporting a .325/.403/.475 line for Pawtucket, so it's hard to give up on him completely. He probably won't get a shot in Boston anytime soon, but he could be a trade candidate down the road, and would be worth a gander at the very least if he does end up back in the majors at some point.
