I dropped the ball when I neglected to put it in Mets BY AJ Ewing (21) on my top ten Stash list #3: Lara at the Top of Her Career. He enjoyed a slam dunk in his debut Tuesday night, going 1-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base, changing the streak with a swing in the eighth. I don’t mean to be hyperbolic, but it’s hard to see a way for him to leave this list within the next month or so. If he hits that month, he might be a season-winner. I’ve been relatively high on Ewing for a while now, so I hope you are with him if you’re a regular reader. I oversold one league, and I’m worried that it wasn’t actually as oversold as it was early on. Oh and there was a moment when Fantrax gave him shortstop eligibility. Wow. I still have enough of him on the list that I would be very happy, but I could also be unhappy with the Taysom Hill factor, you know? Where did those SS come from? Could it be that the idea came from a political cartoon of the 1940s. And my thoughts on Tuesday afternoon looking at AJ Ewing on Fantrax.
At least I wrote Athletics BY Henry Bolte (22) in the stash list, noting that he can “He dropped his strikeout rate by 10 percent from the 32.6 percent he posted in 34 Triple-A games last year. He’s not on the 40-man roster, and the team has a lot of at-bats. They’re in first base, by the way, which I think gives him a chance to come in earlier than he would have if they were already underwater.” And here he is in Oaklamento, hoping his 12 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 37 games translate to a higher level. You certainly have the talents to make that happen.
I left the Rockies By Cole Carrigg (24, AAA) in the same stash list, which turned out to be a mistake in the light of the next day. It’s not uncommon for me to change five graduate names. My running list of maybes was 36 names long ago as I was removing graduates and adding new dudes. Ewing and Carrigg are both in the top ten in my eyes today. It might be time to add an instant coffee machine to your leagues. In his last ten games, he is hitting .467 with three home runs, nine stolen bases, five strikeouts (10%) and four walks (8%).
Washington was playing Luis Garcia in the beginning, but he certainly doesn’t seem like a priority in this new office, either. 1B Yohandy Morales (24, AAA) makes an excellent case for playing time in Triple-A, slashing .325/.421/.528 with seven home runs in 37 games. Five of those home runs have come in the last 15 games. Garcia isn’t exactly worth $6.875 million this year with another arbitration year in 2027, but he’s an additional piece to a rebuilding team. I suspect they will send him to the first team that calls, if there is one.
Speaking of the first paychecks for the underclassmen, the Twins have Josh Bell under contract for $7 million with a matching option for $10 million in 2027, but something in the air tells me they have no intention of exercising that option. They might not keep him for the rest of the season, given where they are in the winning streak and how badly Bell has been playing. He’s always been streaky, yes, but he’s a 2020 first-round pick Aaron Sabato (26) is pitching in Triple-A and could be eligible for a few months or a stretch this season. He has five home runs in his last seven games, which is good for a baseball player. He also has a double and triple in that slot. It’s good to see that she feels like a big guy.
Another word from the way-back page, Yankees BY Marco Luciano (24, AAA) seems to have a rhythm for the first time in a long time. He is hitting .324/.408/.685 with ten home runs in 30 games (28 of which were in AA) and warrants consideration in the deeper leagues.
The Rockies’ renaissance is perhaps muted if you only look at the big league standings, but its impact is felt throughout the program. First round pick SS Ethan Holliday (19, A) is pushing for an immediate promotion to High-A, hitting five home runs in his last 16 games while hitting .319/.450/.787. No one was panicking after hitting 39.3 percent of the time in 18 Low-A games to close out his draft season, but it’s still nice to see him pitching to older players and speeding up his timeline the way a top flight should.
Thanks for reading!
