Fantasy Baseball Today - Prospect Report: Stash Vinnie Pasquantino & Scout Brayan Bello (5/28 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: May 29, 2022

Download and follow Fantasy Baseball Today in 5! You can find FBT in 5 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else podcasts are found. Vinnie Pasquantino could be called up any day now by the Kansas City Royals! What's going on with Oneil Cruz? Could Brayan Bello make an impact this season with the Red Sox? Who is Logan O' Hoppe? 'Fantasy Baseball Today in 5' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get 20% off Fantasy Baseball Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-baseball-today?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-baseball-collection Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's going on with these top prospects? We'll discuss next on fantasy baseball today in five. Welcome into FBT and 5 as always. Make sure to follow and stream us on Spotify. Today is Saturday, May 28th. I am Frank Stanful, joined by Scott White. Let's take a look at the five prospects on the verge. Royce Lewis with the twins,

Grace and Rodriguez with the Orioles, Joe Adele with the Angels, Vinnie Pasquantino with the Royals, Miguel Vargas, with the Dodgers. Scott talked to me about Vinnie P. The new addition to the list. Yeah, Vinnie Pasquantino, I think,

is maybe the most on the verge of all of them. I feel like that promotion could happen any day now. They are overdue to upgrade it from Carlos Santana. They tried it briefly with Ryan O'Hern again, tapped that well, went back to that well again, and it delivered the same results. They're just getting no production from that, position and Pasquantino.

He's been red hot. He just had a two-homer game that included, there's a five-hit game, two homers, two doubles. There was a grand slam. He's among the minor league leaders in home runs now. He has a near one-to-one strikeout to walk ratio for the second straight year. Just uncommon plate discipline, uncommon back control for a guy with his kind of power. And, you know, as a slow-footed first baseman who can't really play anywhere else,

He hasn't gotten a lot of prospect hype. That's a phenotype that doesn't tend to get much hype because it has a narrow path. But he's showing the kind of hitting potential that I think could make him a steal and fantasy. Widely, widely available still. I also want to highlight here the fact that O'Neill Cruz is not among my five on the verge. He has, there are still a lot of baseball. writer types clamoring for him to get the promotion. You know, felt like he was unjustly sent down at the end of spring training.

He has been hitting better in May. He's been producing lately about like we thought he should from the get-go. But he hasn't been hot, you know. He's just kind of gotten back to doing what he should have been doing all along. And it hasn't been good enough for him to raise his batting average over 200. I don't know, maybe by the time you're listening to this, it's over 200, but he's only gotten to where he's flirting with that batting average. So I don't think a team in the Pirates position, not competing for anything,

obviously have financial incentives to keep him down. Like, he's going to have to force them to call him up. And I don't think what he's doing now is that. So, you know, I think he'll be up at some point this year, but I don't think O'Neill Cruz's time is now. Five prospects on the periphery. These are prospects that are doing something of note recently. Brian Bello, starting pitcher with the Red Sox.

Kyle Stowers, an outfielder with the Orioles. Alec Berluson, an outfielder with the Cardinals. Logan O'Hoppy, A plus name. Catcher with the Phillies. And Brandon Walter, a starting pitcher with the Red Sox. All right, Scott, we've got two starting pitchers within the Red Sox organization on this list. Yeah, I'm Brian Bello is the one who,

I think the average fantasy owner needs to be most aware of because there may not be another pitching prospect to improve his stock more this year than Bellow. He just made the jump to AAA, his first two starts there, double-digit strikeouts in each. And he was a big strikeout guy in the minors last year too, but this year he went from having a very straight fastball to a lot more sync on that fastball,

so he's getting ground balls in addition to the strikeouts. It's kind of made him close to unhittable. Sub 2 ERA between AA and AAA. He's on the sort of trajectory that I think could land him in the Red Sox rotation before season's in. That's Brian Bellow. The other two on this list, who I think could be up sooner than later, Kyle Stowers of the Orioles, he mentioned. He's always had big power. He's cut down on his strikeouts this year.

he just recently had a three homer game, so he's been heating up at AAA. Orioles, of course, could always use extra offense. Alec Berluson of the Cardinals, Alec Berluson. He is kind of the opposite of Stowers, where he's always made good contact, but the power has been lacking. He's had to make some adjustments to his swing

and is starting to tap into a more big guy. So, you know, you could see him developing into a power hitter, and it may be happening for Alec Berluson. They've already burned through so many minor leaguers, the Cardinals, that he might be next. He might be next. And I'll just mention real quick Logan O'Hoppy, since you like the name so much.

He's emerging as one of the top catcher prospects, I think. OBP over 400 this year, he really became a much more patient hitter, broke through in the Arizona Fall League, basically, with all those walks. And pretty good power source as well. So, you know, J.T. Real Muto, Looks like he may be slowing down.

He's under control for a long time for the Phillies, but Logan O'Hoppy may start to enter the picture there next year. I knew I heard his name somewhere before, and shout out to our buddy of the Welsh. He was all over Logan O'Hoppy at the Arizona Fall League, and it was there where O'Hoppy hit $299, a $9.59,000 OPS, three homers, three steals, more walks than strikeouts. And so far, he's carried that over into the minor league season.

So he's got an awesome name, and he is somebody to watch. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, your smart speakers, or anywhere else podcasts are found. And thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball today in five. We'll be back again on Monday morning. Bye-bye.