It's been a quiet year for prospect call-ups. By this point a year ago, we had already seen Michael Fulmer, Sean Manaea, Blake Snell and Jose Berrios get the call, and frankly, we were getting a little tired of rushing out to add the unknown.
But this one is a joy.
In the same week the Dodgers expect to call up Julio Urias, the most owned minor-leaguer in CBS Sports leagues, they managed to one-up themselves with this stunning revelation Tuesday: Cody Bellinger, their top hitting prospect and one of the five best bats in all the minors, is getting the call.
The impetus is an injury to Joc Pederson, a player who formerly had that top prospect shine but has done more to disappoint than delight Fantasy Baseball owners since his debut in 2014, and the parallels shouldn't be lost on anyone. Like Pederson, Bellinger dominated Triple-A, earning the way on a big-league roster with a .343 batting average and five home runs in 67 at-bats, but like Pederson, he showed some concerning contact issues at that level, striking out 22 times.
And there's an even clearer question of readiness seeing as he's only 21. He hit just .207 in 58 at-bats this spring while facing some of the same caliber of pitchers he'll be facing now, which is big reason why I say this move came out of left field. And speaking of left field, Bellinger hasn't gotten much exposure there (or in center field, for that matter), having played primarily first base in the minors. In other words, if he doesn't produce right away, the Dodgers will have little incentive to stick with him.
But if he does ...
You're of course adding him as the greatest of what-ifs. Baseball America gives him a 70 grade for power, which is almost as good as it gets. We're talking a 30-homer expectation, not just possibility, in his prime, which seems to come earlier than ever for today's players. He already delivered one such season in the minors. He's more athletic than the average first baseman, which is a big reason why the Dodgers are willing to let him explore the outfield, and he has shown the ability to adapt, cutting down on his strikeouts at Double-A last year after an initial spike in 2015.
And good grief, he's 7 for 7 in stolen bases this year. Where did that come from?
It might be too early, and he might not make enough contact to stick beyond Pederson's DL stint, if even that long. But the bottom line is the Dodgers front office has a better grasp of his readiness than any of us do. Are they wrong sometimes? Sure. Is it fair to second-guess them? Absolutely. But only a fool would pass over what could be this year's Trea Turner or Gary Sanchez (in terms of impact, not necessarily production) because he thinks he knows better.
And if not Bellinger, then who? Short of maybe Yoan Moncada, who has already failed us once, I couldn't name a prospect who I'm more confident will make an honest-to-goodness Fantasy impact this year. That's not to say Bellinger will, but it's certainly a plausible outcome. And if you're ready to move on from Greg Bird or are losing hope for Mike Napoli or Bellinger's own teammate, Adrian Gonzalez, I can't imagine a more promising alternative.
