Prospect Call Ups

By Steve Nitz

We are in the middle of June, which means we’ve seen a fair amount of top prospects get called up recently. I’m here to take a look at some of them, and tell you whether you should be adding them off the waiver wire or not.

Tommy Hanson (Braves)-Rated the No. 4 prospect in all of baseball by BaseballAmerica before the year, Hanson dominated AAA, going 3-3 with a 1.49 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. His first two starts weren’t anything special (although he still had a good strikeout rate), but Hanson threw six scoreless innings at Cincinnati June 18. He’s worth adding in mixed leagues.

Gordon Beckham (White Sox)-Beckham, the No. 8 overall pick in last year’s draft, has gotten off to a slow start to his big league career. The Georgia product is below the mendoza line and hasn’t homered yet. He has been better the last few games and is capable of becoming an all-star. However, I wouldn’t be adding him any time soon, unless you are weak at third base in AL only leagues.

Andrew McCutchen (Pirates)-McCutchen has gotten off to a scorching start ever since he took over in center field after Nate McClouth was dealt to the Braves. McCutchen currently sits at .333 with one homer, nine RBI’s, and two stolen bases. He’s definately worth adding in NL only leagues if he’s still a free agent. Considering his position and the possibility of stolen bases, mixed leaguers should think about adding him as well.

Kyle Blanks (Padres)-Blanks was called up to San Diego Friday. He should see a good amount of playing time in left field after hitting .283 with 12 homers and 38 RBI’s for AAA Portland. But he does play at Petco and San Diego doesn’t have much offensively with the exception of Adrian Gonalez. I would wait before adding him in any league.

Sean West (Marlins)-West put up mediocre numbers at AA Jacksonville with an ERA of 4.85 and a WHIP of around 1.50. But so far he’s gone 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts since being called up. However, his horrible 15/13 K/BB ratio suggests he won’t keep this up. You have to be desparate for pitching to add him.

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