Graduated from Stash List #4: Boston Needs A New Mayer: Marcelo Mayer, Jac Caglianone, Carson McCusker, Daylen Lile
Note: Anyone promoted during the current season is ineligible for the stash list.
1. Red Sox OF Roman Anthony (21, AAA)
I had speculated about a Jarren Duran trade in this space before, and the team has made comments over the past week about their willingness to trade both Duran and Wilyer Abreu. Seems like Anthony might be stuck in Pawtucket until such a deal clears his path.
2. Reds RHP Chase Burns (22, AA)
Has surrendered just six runs across seven Double-A starts, throwing six scoreless innings his last time on the mound. Rhett Lowder is injured again, so maybe Burns can slide by him on the pecking order by the time the next chance presents itself.
3. Giants 1B Bryce Eldridge (20, AAA)
Has a home run and seven RBI through three Triple-A games. San Francisco released LaMonte Wade this week in favor of Dominic Smith. Whatever you’d call the opposite of blocked, that’s the situation for Eldridge, who has a case to be number one on this list given the combination of 80-grade power and open runway.
4. Nationals 3B Brady House (22, AAA)
Jose Tena is hitting okay lately, but he makes an error every time I watch him, usually of the throwing variety. Perhaps he can figure that piece out, but I don’t see why the club would let him do that at the major league level when it has such an obvious upgrade ready to roll. At 6’4” 208 lbs, House may not have the lateral quickness of a guy like Tena, but he can throw the ball straight and is slashing .300/.353/.526 with 12 home runs through 58 games.
5. Angels 2B Christian Moore (22, AAA)
Slashing .328/.405/.469 with two home runs and three stolen bases through 16 Triple-A games. Probably not long now.
6. Orioles C Samuel Basallo (20, AAA)
Starting to look like O’s plan to let Basallo simmer for most of this season. He’s getting to his power (10 HR in his last 26 games) but striking out almost 30 percent of the time in what looks like a lost season on the major league side.
7. Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (22, AAA)
Got binged for three earned runs in two innings his last start. Has a 1.58 WHIP over the last month. Meanwhile, Mike Burrows threw 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts and zero walks against the Astros this week.
8. Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (23, AAA)
J-Miz walked six batters and allowed five earned runs over two innings in his last start. I’m not really dropping him for that reason here. That’s just one bad outing, but the Brewers are something like eight deep in the starting rotation right now, depending on the health of Brandon Woodruff and skill of Quinn Priester and Tobias Myers. What was once a pretty clear path to playing time has become cluttered with the successes of a smart organization.
9. Phillies OF Justin Crawford (21, AAA)
32-year-old Max Kepler is slashing .213/.300/.372 as a below average defender in left field. His 89 wRC+ isn’t the worst thing you could buy for $10 million, but there’s a chance they’d have gotten better production from a combination of Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp and Johan Rojas until Crawford was ready to step up. Hindsight is 20/20, in case you haven’t heard, but that ten mill could have brought in a reliever or two. With Bryce Harper hitting the injured list, Kemp has been recalled on the strength of a 163 wRC+ with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases through 58 games. Crawford has a 134 wRC+ with one homer and 23 steals through 52 games. He’s reportedly dealing with a quad injury at the moment or he might’ve been called up by now.
10. Athletics OF Colby Thomas (24, AAA)
Slashing .302/.365/.566 with 14 home runs and two stolen bases through 56 Triple-A games. Has cut his strikeout rate from 30.3 percent in 73 games at the level last year to 26.2 percent so far this year. The way Oakland is churning through their high minors, Thomas won’t be waiting by the phone for much longer.
Thanks for reading!
