At what point is a pitching prospect no longer a prospect? Tyler Skaggs was once one of the most hyped young pitchers in all of baseball, reaching the top-12 in Baseball America's preseason prospect rankings back in 2013. However injuries derailed him in 2014 and 2015, and Skaggs has been something of a forgotten man over the last few years.
Now would be a good time for Fantasy players to start remembering him. Skaggs is likely to get a shot in the rotation sooner rather than later, as the Angels announced Nick Tropeano will likely require Tommy John surgery, their third pitcher this season to go under the knife. The Angels are in desperate straits, but even if they weren't Skaggs might be knocking on the door of the majors with how he has pitched in his return from injury.
Skaggs has made eight starts in the minors so far, but we'll focus just on what he has done since getting to Triple-A. They have mostly treated him with kid's gloves, as he has thrown just 26 2/3 innings in his six starts, but the results have been impressive so far. Skaggs has allowed just six earned runs, while striking out 33 batters and walking five and allowing 18 hits overall. He has been especially impressive in his most recent stint, striking out 23 batters in his last 17 innings, including 14 in his most recent start.
Skaggs will make at least one more start at Triple-A Salt Lake Wednesday, and the Angels can easily skip Tropeano's turn in the rotation this weekend. However, if Skaggs gets through his next rehab start without issue and continues to impress, it might not be long before we seem him in the majors.
And, at just 25 and with the success he has had so far in the minors this season, Skaggs has a chance to be a difference maker. Even if he is no longer a prospect.
Blake Snell, SP, Rays (67 percent owned)
Snell's first few turns through the rotation did not exactly inspire confidence. He shut down the Yankees for five innings in his first outing, but struck out as many batters as he walked (14) in his next four starts, and didn't really look like he would be able to make much of a difference; his paltry 5.9 percent swinging strike rate in his first five starts backed that up. However, Snell struck out seven and walked just two in his next start, and then built on that with by far his most impressive outing yet Tuesday in Colorado. Snell limited the Rockies to just one hit in six innings of work, while striking out nine and walking three over 96 pitches. The results have been there for Snell, and so have the swinging strikes, as he racked up 28 over his last two starts, including 15 Tuesday. Control and command remain something of an issue for him, as they were in the minors, but Snell is starting to resemble the guy we were all hoping to see after he posted an 11.6 K/9 in Double-A and Triple-A over the last two seasons. Snell may still hit some rough patches, but he should be the first pitcher you look for on the waiver wire after his last two starts.
Michael Conforto, OF, Mets (53 percent owned)
Conforto wasn't quite ready to answer the call of stardom this season, as he faded badly after a hot start. Conforto posted an OPS below .600 in May, and then fell all the way to a .119/.182/.237 line in June before being sent back to the minors to work on some stuff. There were some BABIP issues at play, but Conforto also just stopped making solid contact, and his continued inability to hit lefties (career .282 OPS vs. LHP) ultimately cost him his job. However, he went down to the minors and did exactly what you would hope, hitting .344/.420/.623 against them in 16 games, and now makes his return to the majors, hopefully for good this time. Conforto will probably sit against most lefties for the time being, which limits his appeal; however as bad as he has been against lefties, it may not limit it that much. We have seen Conforto put together huge stretches, and even as a platoon player, he could be worth adding where available -- especially in leagues with daily lineup locks.
Tommy Joseph, C, Phillies (50 percent owned)
The bar for Fantasy relevance is a lot lower at catcher than pretty much any other position, which is why something like Evan Gattis gaining eligibility at the position becomes a relatively exciting event in Fantasy circles; he goes from persona non grata to a starting-caliber player just by having that "C" next to his name. Well, Tommy Joseph might just be a better version of Gattis, and yet he is owned in 28 percent fewer CBSSports.com leagues at this point. Like Gattis, Joseph has a lacking approach at the plate, and like Gattis, he plays in a terrific park for a power hitter to thrive in. The difference is, he might be an even better power hitter than Gattis, with 13 homers in just 173 maj0r-league plate appearances so far, after he clubbed six in just 100 in Triple-A before getting called up. Joseph is an aggressive hitter with an extreme flyball approach, but he also sports a 39.8 percent hard-hit rate and 92.3 MPH average exit velocity, both of which dwarf Gattis' marks so far. Joseph doesn't have the track record, but what he is doing right now looks real, and makes him a must-own catcher in all two-catcher formats, and a valuable piece in any category-based league.
