Fantasy Baseball Today - Top Prospect Report: Stash Noelvi Marte, Scout Hurston Waldrep (Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 Podcast)

Starting point is 00:00:03 Hey, remember Noelvi Marte? Let's discuss on fantasy baseball today in five. Welcome into FBT and 5 on Saturday, June 8th. I am Frank Stample, joined by Scott White, and five prospects on the verge. James Wood of the Nationals, Noelvi Marte of the Reds, Christian Scott of the Mets, Jason Dominguez of the Yankees, and Jackson Holiday of the Orioles. I know that Noelvie Marte is getting ready to start up a rehab assignment, and he could return later in June. Do you think he is a mustache?

Starting point is 00:00:37 And talk to me about Dominguez, too, because as of recording this, Juan Soto has a forearm injury. We don't really know the extent of it, but that could open up an opportunity for Jason Dominguez. Okay, I guess I'll start with Dominguez, and obviously we'll see how things go with the Wanzoto injury. But it would take something like that to get Dominguez on the Yankees' roster.

Starting point is 00:01:02 He's looked great on his rehab assignment rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, nearing the end of the maximum, a lot of time there. And the expectation is he would get optioned when that rehab assignment is over because the Yankees have a full outfield and their DH spot is full, and there's just no place to play, Dominguez. But, you know, at some point, injuries happen. Somebody's going to get hurt. If it's not Soto this time, it'll be somebody else.

Starting point is 00:01:26 And we have already seen Jason Dominguez have success in the majors. There's an eight-game stretch, but he homered four. times last year. So that's been a big hurdle for hitters to clear, is that last step up to the majors. And some really high-end prospects have let us down this year, especially. Dominguez, I'd have a little more confidence in if he did get the call. And that also goes for Nelv-Marte. Noelvi-Marte, premium exit velocities to close out last season in the majors,

Starting point is 00:01:58 a strong inclination to run, kept the strikeouts under control. It was a really popular mid-round target before the PED suspension. Yeah, he's going to begin his quote-unquote rehab assignment on Tuesday and be eligible to return at the end of June, as you point out. If you're going to stash any prospect, I think it's got to be no LV Marte because we do have a clear timetable. And again, there's reason to feel all the more confident in how he's going to perform when he gets here real quickly on some of these others.

Starting point is 00:02:32 Wood hasn't played since May 23rd because of a hamstring injury, but he sounds like he's on the verge of returning. Take a couple weeks to get his feet back under him, and then it will basically be beyond the Super 2 threshold. So late June, I would expect to see James Wood. If we don't see him then, probably not until late August, because they're just looking to preserve his rookie eligibility for next year. Christian Scott, still a high priority stash,

Starting point is 00:03:00 even though he's out of the Mets rotation for now. It wasn't because of his pitching. So he's still worth stashing. And Jackson Holidays made some mechanical adjustments that are beginning to pay off at AAA. He's picking up the production there. And we could see him back sooner than later. All right.

Starting point is 00:03:20 Five prospects on the periphery. These are names doing something of note lately. And Hurston Walser, a pitching prospect with the Braves, Kevin McGonigle, a shortstop, the Tigers. Christian Campbell, a second baseman with the Red Sox, Luis Perales, a pitcher with the Red Sox. And Alejandro Rosario, a pitching prospect with the Texas Rangers.

Starting point is 00:03:43 Scott, anything to add on this group? So yes, Hurston Waldrip, coming into the year, I think he was widely considered to be the second most impressive pitcher from the 2023 draft class behind only Paul Skeen's. and he's left off to it so far with his minor league performance. The whip is kind of high because he had some walk issues early on, but his last four starts, including the latest being a AAA. Hurston Waldrop,

Starting point is 00:04:11 213 ERA, 0.99 whip 12.1K per 9, 68% of his pitches for strikes, which is great. 19% of his 19% swinging strike rate, which is amazing. It's got a wipeout splitter that he throws from really over the top delivery. And now that he's a AAA,

Starting point is 00:04:31 now the Braves are pretty aggressive about promoting pitchers, and they've struggled to fill that Spencer Strider opening. I think Hurston Waldrop has the best chance of solidifying that spot for the Braves,

Starting point is 00:04:42 and sooner than later. Kevin McGonagall, really impressive contact hitter in the Tigers organization, more walks than strikeouts, stealing some bases, definitely emerging as a Dynasty League target.

Starting point is 00:04:58 And the last one I'll emphasize here is Luis Perales of the Red Sox, who I'm sort of like Hurston Waldrop, his whip is high because he was for some reason giving up a lot of hits early on, but that seems to have settled down and the stuff is just, it looks phenomenal for Luis Perales. The fastball in particular has some of the best vertical ride in all the miners and it peaks at 99, and he's got a 20% swinging striker, and even better than Hurston Wadrook. Granted, it's in the lower miners, but Luis Perales looks like the real deal and is going to be a big riser on prospect rank lists, I think, in the coming months.

Starting point is 00:05:39 All right. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, the Odyssey app, or anywhere else podcasts, are found. Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today and Five, and we will be back again next week. Bye-bye.

Fantasy Baseball Today - Top Prospect Report: Stash Noelvi Marte, Scout Hurston Waldrep (Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 Podcast)

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