It's once again "prospect call-up" season, as Monday will probably bring us the MLB debut of Washington Nationals center fielder (and 2023 No. 2 overall pick) Dylan Crews, as he'll be recalled to replace the injured Alex Call.
As we talked about in this week's Forecaster, the upcoming September roster expansion grants teams additional flexibility and, under the current collective bargaining agreement, there's little to de-incentivize teams from promoting their top prospects at this stage of the year.
Although Crews trailed fellow outfielder (and then-top prospect) James Wood in his ascent to the majors, even though his potential is comparable. The Golden Spikes Award winner (best amateur player, while Crews was LSU in 2023) has hit .275/.351/.455 with 18 home runs and 29 stolen bases across 135 professional games since being drafted, including .265/.340/.455 rates, eight homers and 10 steals in the 49 games since his promotion to Triple-A Rochester in June.
Crews' combination of above-average skills in terms of hit tool, raw power and smarts on the basepath makes him a worthy add in all fantasy formats, though unlike Wood, he might endure more of an adjustment period than your typical top prospect. Statcast had Crews registering 7.0% Barrel and 43.3% hard-hit rates and a .319 xwOBA while with Rochester. Those are hardly eye-popping numbers, especially when compared to the big league averages in those categories for 2024 (7.0%, 39.0% and .315).
Still, Crews should immediately occupy an everyday role, probably in the middle of the order, which only underscores his appeal in fantasy leagues. He remains available in 88.9% of ESPN leagues, so scoop him up if you still can.
How is he still available?!
Max Muncy, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (65.6% rostered): After missing three months with an oblique strain, Muncy rejoined the Dodgers last Monday, hitting home runs in both of his first two games back while totaling five extra-base hits over his first six contests. Muncy has shown no ill effects from the injury and, when healthy, has been generally been on pace for .333 OBP, .485 slugging, 35-HR full seasons. He's slotting in at No. 7 in the lineup for now, including a start against a lefty on Sunday, He may well move back into a more run-producing spot soon.
Deeper-league adds
Lucas Erceg, RP, Kansas City Royals (15.4% rostered): In what has been a playoff-worthy (and perhaps even division title-capable) season for the Royals, stability at the back of their bullpen has been a notable roster weakness. Will Smith and James McArthur both struggled in the role, and Hunter Harvey succumbed to a back issue shortly after his acquisition from the Nationals. That left Erceg, who put up gaudy strikeout totals with the Oakland Athletics over the past year-plus, as the best option to close.
He has looked great in the role. Erceg has four saves, 11⅓ scoreless innings, 15 strikeouts and zero walks over his 10 appearances since coming over via trade. He has that combination of top-shelf fastball velocity and whiff-generating slider that fantasy managers love to see from a prospective closer. The Royals should give him plenty of save chances down the stretch, and they play in a pitcher-friendly home venue to boot.
Jorge Lopez, RP, Chicago Cubs (2.4%): If Erceg isn't available, Lopez is another high-ceiling prospective closer to consider, now that the Cubs' previous finishers, Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris are out for the season because of injury (Alzolay) or released (Neris, since scooped up by the Houston Astros).
Lopez's career is full of extreme peaks and valleys. He had brilliant numbers (19 saves, 1.68 ERA) to begin 2022 with the Baltimore Orioles, but was outright released by the New York Mets this June. Still, he has been one of the Cubs' most effective relievers since they signed him. His 28.1% strikeout rate in 20 appearances for the Cubs, fueled largely by greater use of his slider, is reminiscent of that strong performance with the Orioles, and his experience in the closer role might give him a leg up in his competition with Porter Hodge. Lopez is well worth a stash in deeper formats.
Jhonkensy Noel, OF, Cleveland Guardians (11.2%): The Guardians always seem to struggle to extract production from their outfielders, and their trade deadline acquisition to try and help in that regard, Lane Thomas, has performed horribly (.132/.211/.191) across 22 games.
Noel, a big-time power prospect with a good degree of "swing and miss" in his game, has capitalized, drawing 11 starts over the team's past 14 games, hitting six home runs in the process. Noel's 19.7% Barrel rate, if he had the requisite plate appearances to qualify on the leaderboard, would rank fourth-best in baseball behind only Aaron Judge (27.6%), Giancarlo Stanton (20.3%), Juan Soto (20.1%). It's rare that you'll find raw power like that so readily available.
Feel free to cut
Austin Riley (74.5% available); Ryan Mountcastle (36.7%); Lane Thomas (42.6%); Jordan Montgomery (43.6%).