| | | | Tuesday, April 22, 2025 | | Prospects tend to come in waves, and we're at the crest of one right now. | | Usually, most big-name prospect promotions happen either in the first two weeks of the season or the final month or so – this is due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive system, which makes it so teams have a vested interest in promoting players in those windows. We also typically see a bump after the first couple of months of the season, when teams can promote top prospects while keeping their price in future arbitration hearings down – the so-called "Super Two deadline" (that isn't really a deadline. | | And then there's the time of year we're in now when teams have apparently seen enough of either the also-rans on their major-league team or their top prospects destroying minor-league competition and decide that the time is right for a boost. There is some incentive to the timing – in waiting a few weeks, teams can lock in an additional year of service time, though those players will have four years of arbitration hearings – but the players who get called up at this point in the season tend to be the ones who force their teams' hands. | | That was the case for Nick Kurtz, who got off to such an unexpectedly dominant start in Triple-A that he had the Athletics seemingly speeding up Brent Rooker 's return to the outfield and even considering moving current first baseman and erstwhile catcher Tyler Soderstrom to third base. Kurtz will make his MLB debut Tuesday, and as Scott White wrote Monday, he's absolutely worth adding in all formats. | | And he's not alone. Agustin Ramirez made his MLB debut Monday, and the Marlins new catcher wasted no time in showing off his unique skill set, swiping a bag and hitting a 110-mph double in his debut against the Reds. He joined Chandler Simpson, Luke Keaschall, Caleb Durbin, Edgar Quero, and Zac Veen among prospects to get the call in the past few weeks. All bring upside to the table, and if you want to know more about most of them, they were featured in this week's waiver-wire column here. | | But there are still plenty of top prospects worth keeping an eye on down on the farm. Scott keeps a running tab of them in his Prospects Report column every week, and you can check out his most recent version here, where he talks about Kurtz, plus what went wrong for Matt Shaw – a sobering reminder that success isn't guaranteed even for the most seemingly ML-ready prospects. Before we get to the rest of today's newsletter, here's a quick rundown of the 10 prospects most likely to follow Kurtz, Simpson, and the rest to the majors in the coming weeks and months. Just in case you want to make sure you don't miss out on the next big thing: | | | | Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox – He can handle all three outfield spots, but the Red Sox have too many options there already. But he's continuing to rake, and I'm not sure he's not better than multiple players in the Red Sox lineup right now. The call could come at any point. Zebby Matthews, SP, Twins – Matthews got passed up for David Festa when the need arose, and with Pablo Lopez working his way back, there may not be another opportunity soon. Or there may be an opportunity tomorrow. They're pitchers. Jordan Lawlar, SS, Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks are playing Lawlar at three different infield spots, but they also didn't call him up when Ketel Marte got hurt, so it seems like there is no rush. He probably needs an injury to Geraldo Perdomo or Eugenio Suarez to get the call. Bubba Chandler , SP, Pirates – I think at this point it seems reasonable to assume the Pirates are going to handle Chandler much the same way they did Paul Skenes last season, who made his debut on May 11. I'd be a bit surprised if Chandler isn't up by then, assuming healthy. Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles – Mayo has little left to prove at Triple-A, and the Orioles don't have an obvious need for him. He probably can't force his way up; he'll need Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O'Hearn, or Jordan Westburg to get hurt, it would seem. Dalton Rushing, C, Dodgers – The Dodgers opted not to call Rushing up when Freddie Freeman went on the IL, and I'm not sure what it's going to take at this point beyond an injury to Will Smith or Austin Barnes behind the plate. Marcelo Mayer, SS, Red Sox – Mayer's path to playing time looks suddenly blocked with Trevor Story having a resurgent season. That Mayer is struggling in his first taste of Triple-A certainly isn't helping his cause, though there's nothing too concerning in his numbers. Mayer still looks like a long-term starter. Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants – Eldridge was getting some hype this spring, but he never really had a real chance to make the team, it seems. And now his start to the season at Triple-A has been delayed by a wrist injury. But he slugged his way to Triple-A as a 19-year-old last season and has the potential for a Kurtz-like trajectory once he gets healthy. Robby Snelling , SP, Marlins – Snelling has proximity and opportunity on his side, though the fact that he's opened the season throwing harder than last season and with a 30.8% strikeout rate at Triple-A certainly helps his case. He doesn't need to be stashed, but he's definitely a name to watch in the coming weeks.Brandon Sproat, SP, Mets – It looked like Sproat might force his way to the majors last season before running into some trouble at Triple-A last in the season, and he doesn't seem to have solved that level yet. But Sproat has exciting stuff and pitches for a team that tends to get the most out of pitchers, so he'll always be a name to know at Triple-A. | | Here's what else you need to know from Monday's action around MLB: | | | | Tuesday's top waiver-wire targets | | Craig Yoho, RP, Brewers (3%) – Megill has been dealing with knee soreness and looking pretty shaky, and while Abner Uribe has been excellent, I'm not sure the Brewers are quite ready to trust him just yet. Does that mean Yoho has a chance to jump the line after getting called up from Triple-A Monday? Probably not, but Yoho has all the markings of a future closer, coming off a season where he had a 0.94 ERA and 42.4$ strikeout rate in the minors. He doesn't have the blazing fastball we're usually looking for, but he does have a freakish changeup that actually does evoke former Brewers closer Devin Williams. He's an exciting bullpen arm, and one to watch if the Brewers tire of their current options. | | Gavin Lux, 2B, Reds (28%) – I was a bit worried about playing time for Lux, but that hasn't really been a problem, as he has started 21 of 23 games to date. And he's earned his spot in the lineup, hitting .378/.491/.467 with a massive 18.2% walk rate over the past 14 games, including a homer Monday. The quality of contact has been solid, and combined with the plus plate discipline Lux is showing, he's looking like a pretty solid points league option, at the very least – and a few more appearances at third base would be nice to get him triple eligibility. | | Gavin Sheets, 1B, Padres () – With Luis Arraez on the concussion IL, Sheets just kept on hitting Monday, going deep for his third homer of the season. He's 7 for his last 16 over the past 16 games and is now hitting .344/.348/.557 for the season – and the most impressive part is that he's actually earning his strong start, with a .370 expected wOBA underlying it. Sheets tweaked his swing this offseason and has been raking since Spring Training, and if you missed on the high-end breakout 1B, he's a decent consolation prize (who also has outfield eligibility, which helps). | | Jace Jung, 3B, Tigers (8%) – Jung was a pretty big disappointment last season, hitting just .242/.362/.304 in 34 games after being called up. Jung showed the ability to take a walk, but that was about all he had going for him in his MLB debut, which is frustrating since he was a pretty good power hitter in the minors. The hope here is that the second chance goes a little better after he was called up to join the Tigers Monday. Jung will probably be the larger half of a platoon at first, but if he taps into more power without sacrificing too much contact, he could emerge as an everyday option. I'm sure that's the goal for the Tigers, at least. | | Jesus Tinoco, RP, Marlins (3%) – Tinoco has the last two saves for the Marlins, though Monday's was the first relatively normal one – he got the save in the 10th inning after both Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher had already been used. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to the Marlins bullpen right now, and given how mediocre they are, that might be a reason to just ignore them altogether. But I know in deeper leagues, folks are desperate for saves, so maybe this is Tinoco's chance to chip in with a few. | | | | Monday's standouts | | Spencer Schwellenbach, Braves vs. STL: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K – The strikeouts have been a bit underwhelming for Schwellenbach, who hasn't had a great putaway pitch this season – his primary strikeout pitch has been his slider, which has a merely decent 26% whiff rate to date. The sheer depth of quality pitches in the arsenal figures to win out here, and Schwellenbach has been pretty terrific aside from the strikeout numbers, so it's hard to be at all concerned here. | | Hunter Brown, Astros vs. TOR: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K – Brown has a lot in common with Schwellenbach, at least if he can keep his improved control up. I'd guess we'll see some regression there, though that might come alongside a bump in strikeout rate, given his multiple swing-and-miss pitches, so it's hard to argue there's anything to be concerned about here, either. I don't buy the 1.16 WHIP, obviously, but Brown has been a near-3.00 ERA pitcher for almost a full year now, and the fact that he's carried it over from last season makes me feel pretty good about his chances of remaining a high-end, must-start pitcher. | | Max Meyer, Marlins vs. CIN: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K – Am I burying the lede here? I'm burying the lede here, aren't I? This was one of the most impressive starts of the season by anyone, as Meyer got to his 14 strikeouts by way of 24 swinging strikes on 48 swings. That included 16 whiffs with his slider, which he continues to lean on as both his primary pitch and his go-to putaway pitch. His velocity continues to sit up from last season, his pair of fastballs are generating better results all around, and he even got four swings and misses while leaning on his changeup more than usual in this one. In part, this was about the matchup, of course. But Meyer has a 2.10 ERA backed up with a 2.40 FIP, and while he went sustain this, he absolutely looks like one of the biggest breakouts in the league through the first four or so weeks, and there's no obvious reason to expect him to fall apart. | | Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays @HOU: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K – Gausman ran into some trouble after a strong start, and I continue to be confused by him. His fastball looks legitimately improved thanks to a velocity jump, but his splitter hasn't been the same pitch – though he did get eight whiffs with it, a season-high mark. He also got three whiffs with the slider, which had four more inches of drop than normal. Because he doesn't throw that pitch with much lateral movement, getting more drop on it could be one way to generate whiffs more consistently, so that's something to keep an eye on moving forward. | | Nick Lodolo, Reds @MIA: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – The results weren't great, but Lodolo did have his best curveball of the season, getting a couple of extra inches of break with the pitch and seven whiffs. The biggest reason to be skeptical of Lodolo's fast start has been the ineffectiveness of his curveball as a whiff pitch, so this is a good sign, even if the overall line isn't great. | | Gavin Williams, Guardians vs. NYY: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K – This is probably the best we've seen Williams look, and it should be enough to keep you from dropping him if you were considering it. His fastball looked excellent and he commanded it well for once, while Williams also brought out his cutter for the first time this season – that was an effective pitch for him when he didn't have the feel for his sweeper last season, so seeing him break it out is a good sign. Let's see if he builds on it the next time out. | | Walker Buehler, Red Sox vs. CHW: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K – Excellent start. Exactly what you're supposed to do against an overmatched lineup like the White Sox . I would expect even mediocre pitchers to fare well against the White Sox, and that's what I think Buehler is. I know the recent results have been fine, but there's still very little in the way of strikeout or swing-and-miss upside here, and I don't expect that to change with Buehler's velocity continuing to sit well below 95 mph. I think he's just a matchup-dependent streamer at this point, but hey, at least he was good against the best matchup possible. | | News and notes | | Spencer Strider was placed on the IL with a strained right hamstring. He suffered the injury while playing catch before the game Monday, which feels like a cruel joke. We don't have any kind of timetable for the injury, but hamstrings tend to be tricky, so you'd prefer they take it easy with him – the worst-case scenario would see Strider rushing back and suffering a recurrence of the injury. | | The Padres placed Luis Arraez on the 7-day concussion IL after that scary collision Sunday night. | | Unfortunately, the corresponding move for Craig Yoho's promotion was the demotion of Logan Henderson back to Triple-A. I'd like to stash him, but unless there's an injury, he has to be down at least 10 days, which means at least two weeks of a dead roster spot, which is tough for most of you to stomach. | | Tobias Myers' return from the IL is why Henderson was sent down, but I wouldn't be looking to add Myers unless he shows some upside in his first start. | | George Kirby is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session this week. He's on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, and I'm still thinking an early May return could be possible. | | Max Scherzer played catch Monday. He said the session went okay. This is his first time throwing since receiving a second cortisone injection in his right thumb last week. | | Masyn Winn is likely to be activated Tuesday against the Braves. | | Tyler Stephenson worked out at Triple-A this weekend and is expected to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday. He's missed the start of the season with an oblique strain and should be back next week. | | Ben Rice has missed two straight with a left elbow contusion but is expected to return on Tuesday. | | Kerry Carpenter was out of the lineup with right hamstring soreness but is expected to avoid the IL. | | Lane Thomas has now sat out three games in a row. All three pitchers he sat against were RHP, and he might just be a part-time player at this point – he has a sub .600 OPS since joining the Guardians, so it's not like it's unearned. He's not worth rostering in any three-outfielder leagues. | | The White Sox placed Chase Meidroth on the IL with right thumb inflammation. | | Nestor Cortes was transferred to the 60-day IL. He's out with a flexor strain. | | The Blue Jays optioned Easton Lucas to Triple-A on Monday. Stash him in any redraft leagues. | | | | | | | | NWSL | | Golazo Network | Gotham FC aims for a third consecutive win against the Portland Thorns tonight at 10:30 ET on CBS Sports Network.
Watch Live
| | Watch LIVE global soccer coverage on the CBS Sports Golazo Network, available FOR FREE on the CBS Sports App, Pluto TV and streaming on Paramount+.
Watch Free
|
| | | | |
|
|
