Fantasy Baseball - Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting: Jose Altuve, Jason Stoffel, more

July 20, 2011 @ 19:20:06

By Nicholas Minnix
Edited by Keith Hernandez

Your fantasy baseball rankings look a little stale. KFFL.com's Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting series highlights the exploits of minor league baseball players, including top MLB prospects. Find out who'll make an impact, whether it's in your rotisserie or head-to-head baseball game next week or in your fantasy baseball keeper league two years from now.

On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros traded Jeff Keppinger to the San Francisco Giants and promoted infielder Jose Altuve to The Show. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound infielder made his major league debut on Wednesday afternoon and went 1-for-5. The club inserted him at second base and batted him second, encouraging since the organization had asked him to play some third base only a week ago. Chris Hadorn believes that he has upside at the keystone.

Altuve may prove to be a bit of a stolen-base contributor immediately, but it'll be quite a transition from Double-A ball for the 21-year-old with solid plate skills but very little experience beyond Class A. There's reason to believe that he'll have a somewhat steep learning curve; he may struggle to control the strike zone and draw free passes against the advanced competition.

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In return for Keppinger, Houston picked up 2009 fourth-rounder Jason Stoffel and another minor league pitcher, Henry Sosa, from San Fran. Sosa was once a well-regarded prospect for the Giants, but his star has fallen. The Astros took a chance on a guy who has good stuff but hasn't put it together.

Prior to this season, Baseball America ranked Stoffel the 22nd-best prospect in the organization. He was solid before the Eastern League's All-Star break, going 1-2 with 13 saves, a 3.10 ERA, 29 K's, 31 hits allowed and 14 walks in 29 frames. He saved 25 games while posting a 4.80 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings for advanced Class A San Jose last year.

Stoffel the future closer in HOU?

Stoffel's high-90s fastball, combined with his slider, may get him to the bigs. The right-hander has also experimented with a changeup, according to MiLB.com. He has the frame (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) of the stereotypical ninth-inning stalwart. But his biggest issues seem to be a lack of control, inconsistent mechanics and a desire to rely on his heater. It'll take time.

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Overshadowed a bit by some of the other arms in the Texas Rangers' system is Robert Erlin, a 6-foot, 175-pound left-hander at Double-A Frisco. The organization drafted him in the third round when he was a teen, but he has the kind of mix that could get him to the majors relatively quickly.

BA says that Erlin has the best delivery on this club's farm. His fastball is far from overpowering, but he's aggressive and focused on keeping hitters off-balance with it, as well as his big breaking ball and a drop-dead changeup. Per MiLB.com, RoughRiders pitching coach Jeff Andrews says that Erlin has the makeup and approach of a pitcher who went to college.

The 20-year-old has gone through some ups and downs with Frisco, where he sports a 3.95 ERA in 54 2/3 stanzas. But he's displayed immaculate control (just six walks in that time) and has fanned 53. For high Class A Myrtle Beach, he went 3-2 with a 2.14 ERA and a mere five walks against 62 K's in the exact same number of innings.

Although Erlin may not project as a frontline starter, he could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation type. If he continues to make headway, he has a shot at debuting sometime next year.

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The Minnesota Twins' No. 6 prospect entering 2011, according to Baseball America, Liam Hendriks made his Class AAA debut on Tuesday evening. The Australian right-hander went 6 2/3 innings, yielding six hits, two runs and no walks, with three strikeouts, in the no-decision for the Rochester Red Wings.

The 22-year-old is known for commanding everything he throws - a high-80s or low-90s heater with sink, a quality changeup or his two breaking pitches - with consistent, low-effort mechanics. Like many Twins pitching prospects before him, he pounds the strike zone.

Hendriks has made control his calling card; he walked only 18 (and struck out 81) in 90 frames with Double-A New Britain before his promotion. The K/9 won't translate to the bigs, but perhaps his fairly thorough understanding of how to pitch will aid him where Minnesota's other arms haven't quite succeeded.