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.
Our next “Player to Stash” is Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley.
MLB Top 200 Prospect: Bradley No. 5 overall
Bradley is the No. 1 prospect in the Arizona system, according to Baseball America. He was expected to start the season at Triple-A Reno, but a season-ending injury to Patrick Corbin could lead to expedited debut for the elite prospect.
Bradley will contribute to mixed-league fantasy teams once he arrives in the majors, and still has a small chance of cracking the opening-day rotation. The more-likely scenario is a debut in May with early June being a worst-case scenario. The sixth overall pick in the 2010 Draft has a dominating fastball, which touches 97 mph and a big-time curve that is a nasty second pitch. If his changeup continues to improve, Bradley will have all the tools to be a future fantasy ace.
You won’t regret selecting Bradley in the late rounds of your fantasy draft. I expect him to be among the best pitchers in the National League in his prime, and he should have a Michael Wacha-like midseason impact in 2014.
Questions? Hit me on Twitter @briansflood
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