Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: Julio Urias putting on the pressure – CBSSports.com

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The Dodgers have a problem.

Their problem is that Julio Urias is too good for the minors. The 19-year-old — yes, 19-year-old — just threw six perfect innings against the New Orleans Zephyrs on Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 1.88 and his WHIP to 0.71. He has 29 strikeouts to three walks in 24 innings, allowing just 14 hits.

See? Too good.

It’s not surprising, really, given how he rates as a prospect and how he has dominated at every stop along the way. With most any other organization, he’d no doubt be the first teenager to start a game in the majors since Felix Hernandez in 2005.

But in this organization, he may be too far down the pecking order.

That’s especially true with Jose De Leon, who tends to be overlooked even though Baseball America ranked him ahead of even Jose Berrios to begin the year. De Leon returned from a sprained ankle Tuesday to do the same sorts of things he did last year, when he led the minor leagues with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He struck out nine over five innings in this one, allowing two hits and one walk.

Given that De Leon’s 23 and has more minor-league innings to his name, you’d think he would have first claim on a rotation opening, assuming one develops. Ross Stripling doesn’t exactly have a vice grip on the fifth spot, but Mike Bolsinger (strained oblique), Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder surgery), Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) and Brett Anderson (back surgery) are all due back from the DL at some point.

On second thought, maybe the Dodgers aren’t the one with the problem. Maybe we are. We so desperately want to stash a prospect of Urias’ caliber, but with so much standing in his way, it just doesn’t make sense in standard mixed leagues.

Five on the verge

(These are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)

Blake Snell, SP, Rays
2015 stats: 15-4, 1.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 134 IP, 53 BB, 163 K
2016 stats: 1-3, 4.01 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 24 2/3 IP, 15 BB, 31 K

The next time the Rays will need a fifth starter is Tuesday, and with the recent rumblings of Erasmo Ramirez possibly staying in the bullpen, why wouldn’t they go back to Snell, who has been the only big-name pitching prospect to deliver on the hype so far, two-hitting the Yankees in his April 23 debut? OK, so his control issues have flared up since returning to the minors, but there may be some hangover effect at play. Now that the seal is broken, the Rays won’t let him go stale down there.

Trea Turner, 2B, Nationals
2015 stats: .322 BA, 8 HR, 29 SB, .828 OPS
2016 stats: .320 BA (33 for 103), 2 HR, 11 SB, .864 OPS, 14 BB, 18 K

At 19-8, the Nationals have it too good right now to notice how bad they have it at shortstop, where Danny Espinosa is batting .185, but sooner or later, a team-wide slump will spring them to action. Turner already got some service time last year, so I don’t imagine Super 2 will enter the discussion. They’re not keeping him under wraps until August, after all. Given his steals potential, he’s the perfect stash for Dee Gordon owners.

Joey Gallo, OF, Rangers
2015 stats: .240 BA, 23 HR, 51 BB, 139 K, 321 AB
2016 stats: .254 BA (17 for 67), 7 HR, 1.042 OPS, 17 BB, 21 K

I considered removing Gallo from this list now that he’s sidelined with a groin strain, but it’s not like I’m expecting any of these guys to debut next week. It’s a minor injury that won’t really change his timetable (unless Adrian Beltre gets hurt in the next three weeks), and given his monster power and the improved plate discipline he has demonstrated so far this year, he’s still one of the safer bets to make a significant impact when he does arrive.

A.J. Reed, 1B, Astros
2015 stats: .340 BA, 34 HR, 1.044 OPS, 86 BB, 122 K
2016 stats: .244 BA (22 for 90), 6 HR, .849 OPS, 15 BB, 23 K

So far, it’s been two steps forward, one step back for Reed, who’s 3 for 17 in May. Then again, have you seen what Tyler White has done in the majors lately? Brutal. The Astros probably won’t give up on White any time soon, and Reed would have to prove he has mastered Triple-A before getting the call anyway. But after the numbers he put up last year, I have every confidence in him.

Tyler Glasnow, SP, Pirates
2015 stats: 7-5, 2.39 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 109 1/3 IP, 43 BB, 136 K
2016 stats: 2-1, 2.08 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 26 IP, 12 BB, 37 K

Glasnow is the first newcomer to this list since it debuted about a month ago, replacing the since-graduated Sean Manaea, and though he’s still working on his control, having issued five walks in his last start for Triple-A Indianapolis … well, let’s put it this way: That start was the second straight in which he allowed only two hits. I can’t overstate his upside, really. It goes beyond just the numbers, which are impressive enough. At 6-feet-8, he gets a kind of extension on his delivery that’s reminiscent of Randy Johnson, making his 98-mph fastball appear even faster.

Five on the periphery

(These are some other prospects doing something of note.)

Jameson Taillon, SP, Pirates
2015 stats: Did not play — injured
2016 stats: 2-0, 1.19 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 30 1/3 IP, 3 BB, 26 K

Instead of Glasnow in that first list, you could make a case for Taillon, who may well get the call first as a 24-year-old with seemingly nothing more to prove at Triple-A. I’m just not sure he’ll make the same impact. He hasn’t been a particularly good strikeout pitcher over his minor-league career and could have an especially short leash after losing the last two years to Tommy John and hernia surgeries. Still, he was the one player picked between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in the 2010 draft.

David Dahl, OF, Rockies
2015 stats: .266 BA (312 at-bats), 6 HR, 22 SB, .688 OPS, 11 BB, 81 K
2016 stats: .268 BA (26 for 97), 8 HR, 10 SB, .959 OPS, 15 BB, 32 K

Speaking of lost seasons, Dahl has had a couple of his own, missing most of 2013 because of a torn hamstring and a good portion of last season because of a splenectomy. But at last, the production is beginning to live up to the pedigree at Double-A Hartford, where he’s rounding into a Carlos Gomez type — the Brewers version, that is. And if he gets to play at Coors Field (maybe after Carlos Gonzalez is traded), his chances of failure go way down.

Yoan Moncada, 2B, Red Sox
2015 stats: .278 BA (306 at-bats), 8 HR, 49 SB, .817 OPS, 42 BB, 83 K
2016 stats: .348 BA (31 for 89), 1 HR, 19 SB, .983 OPS, 20 BB, 25 K

Moncada hit a grand slam Tuesday — and one look at him will tell you he has power potential — but that’s not where he has excelled this year. No, it’s on the base paths, where his 19 stolen bases are some of the most in all the minors. And apparently, he’s just getting started.

“I want to steal 100 bases,” he said through a translator Wednesday, according to MLB.com. “That’s just the way I am. I like being aggressive on the basepaths.” “

Only 20, Moncada probably isn’t getting the call this year, but if early returns are any indication, this is one Cuban defector who will live up to the hype.

Hunter Dozier, 3B, Royals
2015 stats: .213 BA, 12 HR, .631 OPS, 45 BB, 151 K
2016 stat: .315 BA (29 for 92), 8 HR, 1.069 OPS, 13 BB, 22 K

Though he has been part of the prospect discussion since the Royals took him eighth overall in 2013, Dozier dropped off most of the rank lists after hitting .213 last year, which makes his power surge early this year all the more surprising. Granted, Double-A Northwest Arkansas is a hitter-friendly environment, but that’s where he was playing last year, too. Already 24, he could emerge as a super utility type for the Royals later this year.

Archie Bradley, SP, Diamondbacks
Career (majors): 2-3, 6.30 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 40 IP, 26 BB, 25 K
2016 stats (minors): 3-1, 2.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 25 2/3 IP, 14 BB, 34 K

The buzz for Bradley is at an all-time low after he still couldn’t find the strike zone when he returned to the majors for a spot start April 18. But it wasn’t too long ago he was one of the top two or three pitching prospects in baseball, and the numbers are beginning to reflect it again. He struck out 11 over seven innings Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks, and we already know he’s next in line. He’s not a stash, per se, but you’ll want to keep tabs on him.