Callis: Prospects who could help your fantasy team

Callis: Prospects who could help your fantasy team

June 2nd, 2017

The 2017 Draft is just 10 days away. We break down the Top 100 Prospects here, and we'll update and expand that list to 200 on Monday.
Which Draft prospects could make the biggest fantasy baseball impact? Here's the best bet in each of the four demographics:
College hitter: Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt
There are some swing-and-miss concerns, but they're not bad enough to overlook the well-above-average speed and developing power. Kendall could be a 15-homer, 30-steal guy in his prime. (Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay is a consideration and a safer bat, but he also might become a full-time pitcher.)
College pitcher: Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt
The current favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Twins, Wright offers the best combination of ceiling and floor in the Draft. He's a frontline starter who can miss bats with his 91-97 mph fastball and his breaking pitches.
High school hitter: Royce Lewis, SS/OF, JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
He has similar tools to Kendall, with a better chance to hit and more positional value if he sticks in the infield.
High school pitcher: MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Whiteville (N.C.) High School
He may not be as famous as Sports Illustrated cover boy Hunter Greene, but Gore is a lefty with a 92-97 mph fastball, a plus curveball and flashes of a plus slider and changeup.
Below are MLBPipeline.com's updated rankings of the top 10 fantasy baseball prospects in the Minors. As always, we're considering only their expected 2017 fantasy production in the Majors, while our Top 100 Prospects list reflects long-term value in all phases of the game.
1. , 2B, White Sox (Previous rank: 1)
Baseball's best prospect missed 10 days with a thumb injury, but he is healthy again and batting .304/.390/.472 with six homers and 10 steals in 41 Triple-A games. Though is playing over his head in Chicago, it's time to hand second base to Moncada.
2. , SS, Mets (Previous rank: 2)
New York's playoff hopes are evaporating quickly. It wouldn't solve all of the Mets' problems, but installing Rosario at shortstop and moving over to third to replace would upgrade both the offense and defense. Rosario is hitting .357/.395/.519 with five homers and 11 steals in 51 Triple-A games.

3. Austin Meadows, OF, Pirates (Previous rank: 5)
Once its greatest strength, Pittsburgh's outfield is now a shambles with suspended, declining and trying to play right field. After a horrific April, Meadows batted .358/.445/.804 with two homers and six steals in 27 games in May.
4. , RHP, White Sox (Previous rank: 6)
With and on the disabled list, Chicago needs rotation help, and it has some waiting in Triple-A with Lopez. With a fastball that reaches 100 mph and a power curveball, Lopez has gone 5-2 with a 3.81 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 59 innings while outpitching and in Charlotte.
5. Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Phillies (Previous rank: 10)
After finishing second in the Minors with 38 homers last year, he has continued to mash, hitting .315/.408/.635 with 13 long balls in 53 Triple-A contests. Though Tommy Joseph has shaken off an April slump, Hoskins has more upside and is running out of things to prove in the Minors.

6. , OF, Brewers (Previous rank: 3)
He homered twice on Thursday, boosting his Triple-A numbers to .314/.401/.529 with six homers and five steals in 37 games. His power/speed combination rivals that of any prospect's, and with on the DL with a calf injury, Brinson deserves a chance to show what he can do in Milwaukee.
7. , SS/3B, Yankees (Previous rank: unranked)
The longer the Yankees contend, the more they'll need to consider pulling the plug on and trying Torres at third base. Six of Torres' past 11 games have come at the hot corner, though the precocious hitter still is getting acclimated to Triple-A at age 20 following a promotion 10 days ago.
8. Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves (Previous rank: 4)
Though he's batting just .264/.310/.377 in 51 Triple-A games, we know he can hit (.310 in his first four seasons despite being extremely young for his leagues) and run (14 steals this year). It makes sense for rebuilding Atlanta to trade to open a job for Albies -- and might it consider demoting the struggling Dansby Swanson (.559 OPS) and playing Albies at shortstop?

9. , OF, Reds (Previous rank: unranked)
Speaking of guys who can hit, Winker is churning out a .313/.389/.403 line in Triple-A, and he has more power than his two homers in 49 Triple-A games would indicate. But with and performing well in Cincinnati, Winker will have to wait for an extended opportunity.
10. Zack Burdi, RHP, White Sox (Previous rank: 7)
Chicago will trade any player as long as the price is right, and making Burdi a candidate for saves if gets shipped somewhere is a viable scenario. A 2016 first-round pick who's already in Triple-A, Burdi has mostly dominated with the exception of a five-run shellacking Saturday. He has a 3.98 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.
Dropped out:, RHP, Rockies (Previous rank: 8); , C, Cardinals (Previous rank: 9)