3 Prospects We Want to see Called Up to the Majors
Walker Jenkins of the Twins (Photo credit Bryan Green)
September is coming quick and that means expanded rosters i.e. players will be called up. Let's look at three minor league players that we want to see called up to the majors this season.
Walker Jenkins
The Minnesota Twins remain one of the most fascinating teams in the league. They opted to be buyers at the trade deadline, which makes sense as they aren’t far from a spot. They’ve already made additions from within by adding Kaelen Culpepper into the fold. He hit a home run in his first game being called up. If the Twins are to lean into the youth movement and implement that youth, calling up Walker Jenkins is a no-brainer decision.
Walker is one of the top ranked prospects across Major League Baseball. He has spent the majority of the season with AAA for the Twins organization. He’s slashing .291/.385/.483/.868 this season. Jenkins isn’t firing off homeruns left and right, but he is a doubles machine, already passing his total from a season ago.
He has seen notable strides in power. He’s raised his hard hit rate by almost 2%, his ISO has risen from .166 to .207. His slug is up as well. He has the ideal approach you want to see at the plate, with a walk rate in the 64th percentile and a strikeout rate in the 84th percentile. Jenkins doesn’t whiff, nor chase and his defense also grades out well.
He would be an upgrade over Luke Keaschall in the outfield and they can shift him back to the infield. This is a no brainer for the Twins.
Charlie Condon
What do the Colorado Rockies have to lose at this point? While they have taken notable steps as a franchise this season, they still have one of the worst records in the sport. They have already called up Zac Veen, who in the first two games since being called up has two hits (both home runs), including launching a moonbomb into the bay in San Francisco.
Charlie Condon of the Rockies (TJ Stats)
The next player they should bring up is Charlie Condon. Like Veen, he is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA. The outfielder is having a tremendous season, slashing .273/.390/.529 with an .819 OPS. Yes, the strikeouts are quite high, but so is the walk rate (13%). Condon pulls the ball extremely well, makes a lot of hard contact, barrels the ball effectively, and the power strides are very notable. He is a player that should be in the fold now.
It’s all about laying the foundation and for the Rockies to help establish their new core. Condon and Veen very much are key pieces.
Franklin Arias
Perhaps nobody is pushing harder for their next shortstop than Red Sox fans, especially with the news that Trevor Story is beginning a rehab assignment starting Sunday. While that could be encouraging, especially if he is the second half Story from last season, the Red Sox want Franklin Arias.
Arias mowed down the competition in Portland this season, showing notable strides in power in Portland. Arias slashed .318/.407/.587 with a .994 OPS. He hit 19 home runs, doubling his total from last season and the ISO took notable strides.
Seeing better competition at the AAA level, he hasn’t skipped a beat. Arias has four home runs in 16 games and also racked up four doubles. Seeing him rope some of these home runs to deep center field has been great. The power threat is there and he would be a massive addition to the current squad.