Sometimes the key to a successful fantasy season is stashing a player who starts the season riding buses in the minor leagues. It just has to be the right minor leaguer. A lot of times, impact fantasy players begin the season in the minors for a variety of reasons. Don’t waste your last bench spot on a veteran journeyman with zero upside when you can stash a future difference maker.
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In 2007, Ryan Braun made his debut on May 25. All he did was hit .324 with 34 homers and 15 stolen bases over the final 113 games. Similarly, Ryan Howard made his debut on May 3 of his 2005 Rookie of the Year campaign and it took Mike Trout a few weeks in the minors before finally getting the call on April 28 back in 2012.
Fantasy owners in deep keeper leagues, AL or NL-only formats and dynasty leagues already know about future stars such as George Springer, Gregory Polanco and Javier Baez. However, standard mixed-league owners don’t typically have a grasp on the up-and-coming prospects. This is where we come in…
In the coming weeks, Sports World News will highlight players who won’t start the year in the majors but have a chance to impact fantasy standings before the season ends. Sometimes injuries open up playing time for a younger player. Sometimes the big-league club is simply too cheap to let a top prospect’s arbitration clock kick in.
Last week, we looked at Kyle Parker of the Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley
Mets pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard will make his debut sometime in June, possibly earlier, and emerge as a must-own player in fantasy leagues. Trust us on this… we must learn from history.
Two seasons ago, the Mets called up then-top-prospect Matt Harvey on July 26 and he remained in the rotation for the rest of the year. We all know the impact Harvey had before suffering an unfortunate arm injury.
Last season, Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler was summonsed to the majors on June 18. He went on to start 17 games with a 3.42 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. This is significant, because the Mets have a similar plan for Syndergaard. He should be called up well before Harvey was and possibly before the mid-June promotion of Wheeler.
"(Syndergaard) has great stuff and big (guts)," an MLB scout said recently. "I think he's better than (Zack) Wheeler."
Syndergaard was nasty in 2013, posting a 3.06 ERA with a 133/28 K/BB ratio over 117.2 innings between two minor-league levels. He’s someone that is a must-own player in keeper formats and go ahead and grab Syndergaard if you have an extra bench spot in standard leagues.
Questions? Hit me on Twitter @briansflood
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