First Impressions is a look at recent call-ups, a snapshot of their early progress so far in the majors. Initial BaseballHQ.com minor league write-ups for all of the players in today's column can be found in the News tab on their individual PlayerLink pages. Because the majority of these players have accumulated less than 100 AB or 50 IP, small sample size warnings apply to the analysis here.
First Impression: Gleyber Torres (SS, NYY)
CALLED UP: 4/22/2018
BHQ.COM RATING: 9B
CURRENT ROLE: Starting 2B
POTENTIAL ROLE: Starting 2B/SS
2018 MINORS STATS: Scranton (AAA)—49 AB, .347/.393/.510, 3 2B, 1 HR, 0.50 Eye, 1 SB
Year AB BA xBA bb% ct% HctX GB/LD/FB PX/xPX hr/f Spd/SBO HR/SB ==== === ==== ==== === === ==== ======== ======= ==== ======= ===== 2017^ 201 .280 N/A 13 75 N/A N/A 117/N/A N/A 100/20% 8/ 7 2018 139 .302 .272 6 73 116 30/27/42 143/135 23% 107/ 5% 10/ 2 ^Double-A/Triple-A MLEs
It's been pretty much a dream debut so far:
For Torres to be doing this at age 21 speaks to how high his ceiling is—he was rated the No. 5 prospect on our BaseballHQ.com preseason Top 100—and while there's no guarantee he'll keep up this torrid pace all season long, even a modest scale-back in performance would likely keep his value pretty strong. Our current BaseballHQ.com projection for the remainder of 2018 is a .254/.333/.441 line with 13 HR and 9 SB, which projects out to $17 in R$. And if you're a Torres keeper league owner, you should be feeling quite happy with your investment.
First Impression: Jack Flaherty (RHP, STL)
CALLED UP: 9/1/2017, 3/29/2018, 4/28/2018, 5/15/2018
BHQ.COM RATING: 9D
CURRENT ROLE: Starting pitcher
POTENTIAL ROLE: Starting pitcher
2018 MINORS STATS: Memphis (AAA)—2.27 ERA, 31.2 IP/5 GS, 2.1 Ctl, 11.8 Dom, 5.9 Cmd
Year IP ERA xERA Ctl Dom Cmd GB/LD/FB H%/S% hr/f FpK SwK BPV ==== === ==== ==== === === === ======== ===== ==== === === === 2017^ 149 2.66 N/A 2.1 7.4 3.5 N/A 30/80 N/A N/A N/A 100 17-MLB 21 6.33 4.50 4.2 8.4 2.0 48/22/30 32/62 21% 63% 14% 64 2018 39 3.20 3.53 2.3 9.6 4.2 43/18/39 31/78 12% 54% 12% 132 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MLB 61 4.30 3.79 3.0 9.2 3.1 45/20/36 31/71 15% 57% 13% 108 ^Double-A/Triple-A MLEs
His second go-round in the majors is going much better than his first:
The 22-year-old Flaherty has No. 2 starter upside (and was ranked 41st on our BaseballHQ.com Top 100 Prospects), and though his opportunity came via injury to Adam Wainwright, he currently has the second-best xERA and the highest BPV among St. Louis starters, so he could have a shot at sticking around even when Wainwright returns. Throwing more first pitch strikes will go a long way toward helping him maintain this early success, though his career MLB skills—including a 3.79 xERA—offer a pretty good example of how he can still make things work even with a few more walks. He seems well on his way to becoming a rising star in a deep Cardinals rotation.
First Impression: Johnny Field (OF, TAM)
CALLED UP: 4/12/2018
BHQ.COM RATING: 6B
CURRENT ROLE: Starting LF
POTENTIAL ROLE: Reserve OF
2018 MINORS STATS: Durham (AAA)—14 AB, .261/.303/.425, 2 2B, 0 HR, 0.50 Eye, 0 SB
Year AB BA xBA bb% ct% HctX GB/LD/FB PX/xPX hr/f Spd/SBO HR/SB ==== === ==== ==== === === ==== ======== ======= ==== ======= ===== 2015# 432 .218 N/A 6 71 N/A N/A 116/N/A N/A 133/N/A 10/14 2016^ 450 .237 N/A 5 72 N/A N/A 103/N/A N/A 116/N/A 10/13 2017+ 445 .227 N/A 5 74 N/A N/A 94/N/A N/A 94/N/A 10/11 2018 121 .248 .253 2 70 96 41/22/37 132/112 19% 90/15% 6/ 3 #Double-A MLEs ^Double-A/Triple-A MLEs +Triple-A MLEs
There are some intriguing skills here:
The 26-year-old Field's performance has no doubt been a surprise to many fantasy owners, and has probably caused single-season deep league owners to snatch him up. With Kevin Kiermaier out for at least a few more weeks and few other good OF options available, the Rays seem committed to giving Field a long look, and with enough playing time, his power/speed combo gives him the potential to provide decent value for the remainder of 2018. But barring a true breakout, he's likely the kind of flawed, low BA/OBP player who teams will look to replace with a better option, so his long-term outlook remains cloudy.
First Impression: Harrison Bader (OF, STL)
CALLED UP: 7/25/2017, 9/1/2017, 4/3/2018
BHQ.COM RATING: 8C
CURRENT ROLE: Reserve OF
POTENTIAL ROLE: Starting OF
2018 MINORS STATS: None
Year AB BA xBA bb% ct% HctX GB/LD/FB PX/xPX hr/f Spd/SBO HR/SB ==== === ==== ==== === === ==== ======== ======= ==== ======= ===== 2016^ 465 .235 N/A 6 68 N/A N/A 98/N/A N/A 98/N/A 15/10 2017+ 431 .254 N/A 6 71 N/A N/A 93/N/A N/A 89/N/A 16/12 17-MLB 85 .235 .219 5 72 98 44/16/39 85/109 13% 110/16% 3/ 2 2018 107 .262 .264 8 72 95 47/29/25 98/ 77 26% 150/28% 5/ 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLB 192 .250 .245 7 72 95 46/23/31 93/ 91 19% 138/23% 8/ 8 ^Double-A/Triple-A MLEs +Triple-A MLEs
He's got nice upside with some areas to work on:
The 24-year-old Bader is a mix of tantalizing potential (his power/speed combo appears to give him eventual 20 HR, 20 SB upside) and frustrating flaws, especially in plate discipline. He's getting playing time while Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler are struggling, but probably doesn't have the skill strength to take one of the outfield spots permanently in 2018. There's enough talent here to make him a player worth continuing to monitor though, both in the short-term and long-term.
First Impression: Domingo Germán (RHP, NYY)
CALLED UP: 6/10/2017, 6/15/2017, 7/16/2017, 4/7/2018
BHQ.COM RATING: 7C
CURRENT ROLE: Starting pitcher
POTENTIAL ROLE: Starting pitcher
2018 MINORS STATS: None
Year IP ERA xERA Ctl Dom Cmd GB/LD/FB H%/S% hr/f FpK SwK BPV ==== === ==== ==== === ==== === ======== ===== ==== === === === 2017^ 109 4.17 N/A 3.0 6.1 2.7 N/A 33/74 N/A N/A N/A 71 17-MLB 14 3.14 3.72 5.7 11.3 2.0 55/21/24 31/79 13% 61% 11% 84 2018 41 5.44 4.20 4.1 9.6 2.3 39/25/37 29/61 14% 62% 14% 78 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MLB 56 4.85 4.06 4.5 10.0 2.2 42/24/34 30/66 14% 62% 13% 78 ^Double-A/Triple-A MLEs
His 2018 performance has been a mixed bag:
Jordan Montgomery's Tommy John surgery has likely extended the window of opportunity for the 25-year-old German, but the Yankees are not going to be patient with him if he can't provide better results. There's reason to believe he can do it, but even so, his best-case scenario for 2018 is probably a low-4s ERA. His MLB Dom rates make him an arm worth tracking beyond this season, as that's a solid building block for him to work with.