Luka Doncic left big shoes to fill in Dallas. Enter Cooper Flagg.
NEW YORK — Cooper Flagg and his Duke men's basketball teammates were hanging out on a Saturday night in February, celebrating a home win over rival North Carolina, when freshman guard Darren Harris checked his phone and read aloud the news in disbelief: The Dallas Mavericks had traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Prospects to watch for fantasy baseball based on minor league Statcast metrics
Statcast data is available for minor leaguers. Maddeningly, it's offered for Triple A and Single A, but not Double A — the most important level for prospecting. But let's not let perfect be the enemy of good and be grateful for what we have. Let's assess some intriguing hitters and pitchers down on the farm, starting with the batters. Advertisement I focus on expected stats — specifically xwOBA, which is the best proxy for overall hitting ability. I'm not saying all of these players are due for a promotion, but they're hitting, and they're not too old for us to ignore them. I eliminated all players with a 24% or higher K rate because, if you're striking out in Triple A, what hope do you have in MLB? Samuel Basallo (BAL, C) has been the second-best hitter in Triple A behind the now-promoted Roman Anthony. He was the Eastern League (Double A) MVP in 2024 and is Baltimore's top prospect. His actual stats are .271/.378/.590 with 28 walks and 46 Ks. He's played first base nearly as much as he's caught in Triple A in his age-20 season. I'm not sure what the point is in keeping him in the minors. It seems like he has nothing left to prove. Luis Campusano (SD, C) is crushing it — .408 xwOBA, 14% Ks, 16.6% walks, and he's throwing out 33% of would-be basestealers. Elias Diaz has been terrible for San Diego, and the Padres' offense as a whole hasn't been good — 18th in runs per game. I don't understand why Campusano hasn't been given a fairer chance. Sure, this year he was 0-for-18 in nine MLB games (but with six walks). However, he already posted a 131 OPS+ (31% above average) in 174 plate appearances for the Padres in 2023. And he has a 1.016 OPS in Triple A this year, his age-26 season. Jorbit Vivas (NYY, 2B) may be the answer if the Yankees don't upgrade second base via a trade. He's a Luis Arráez type, meaning almost no Ks or power. But he's walking twice as much as he's striking out for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His xwOBA is almost .400. And DJ LeMahieu seems washed. Vivas could be a guy to boost your average a couple of points in the second half of the season. Ryan Ritter (COL, SS) is another hitter who is struggling in his first taste of MLB — 21 strikeouts in 56 plate appearances. But the 24-year-old has power, and who knows how long Ezequiel Tovar (oblique) will be out. What is the point of playing Orlando Arcia if you're Colorado? Maybe Ritter had park factors in his favor, but he has them at Coors, too. I can get behind a .330 ISO in MiLB (about twice the average) with just 20.4% Ks and 13.9% walks. Advertisement Before moving on to the pitchers, I have to mention Kansas City's Jac Caglianone, who has been insanely unlucky. He's available in just over half of Yahoo leagues. He should be hitting .306 with a .536 slugging. His bat speed is about the best in baseball at 77.3 mph. His barrel rate is 11.8% (average is 7.1%). His Ks are below average (on the good side) at 19.1%. Okay, the launch angle is bad (5.0 degrees). But that's less meaningful at this point than everything else I cited. I pulled data for starting pitchers (min. 750 pitches) with 25% or more strikeouts, 10% or fewer walks and an xwOBA under .300 (approximately .330 is the average). Joe Boyle (TB) had one start for the Rays in April and was great. In Triple A, he's crushing it with 81 Ks in 64 innings and a 1.83 ERA. The Rays have no openings in their rotation, however, and there is another similarly aged (mid-20s) hurler he's pitching with in the minors who also seems to be deserving of a promotion by meeting all of my benchmarks. Boyle is at 32.3% Ks and 10% walks with an xwOBA of .248. If you see a Rays pitcher get hurt, pre-emptively pick up Boyle. Ian Seymour (TB) has been a dominant lefty in the minors and had just one appearance for the Rays, whiffing two and allowing no earned runs in two frames. He's at 30.3% Ks and just 6.5% walks for Triple-A Durham. He may be behind Boyle in the pecking order if an injury strikes a Tampa Bay starter, but Seymour seems more ready, given his better control. Plus, I give all tiebreakers to lefties … but that's me. Blade Tidwell (NYM) got an emergency start for the Mets last week due to injuries, but he seems deserving of a longer look as New York battles injuries and tries to get rehabbing hurlers back on track. Tidwell's at 27.7% Ks and 9.5% walks for Triple-A Syracuse, with an xwOBA of .274. Advertisement Michael McGreevy (STL) started last week for St. Louis and was effective before a rough outing on June 24 against the Cubs, where he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings with only one strikeout. But he's just 10% rostered. The 24-year-old wasn't a top prospect heading into 2025, but he dominated in Triple A with a 26.2% K rate and sterling walk rate of just 4.9%. I would still take a chance on McGreevy in all formats. His xwOBA in MiLB was just .269. Jack Perkins (ATH) was just called up by the A's and worked in long relief, more to get his feet wet and not necessarily as his planned role in the near term. His fastball looked dominant, befitting a prospect with a 38.4% K rate in Triple A. He's not a ranked prospect and has control issues (11.3% walks), but his xwOBA for Triple-A Las Vegas was an excellent .255. The team and park hurt him, of course. (Photo of Samuel Basallo: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)
