Farmhands of the Week: May 27 through June 2

Rojas was a 36th round selection out of Vanguard University in the 2016 draft, and he continued to pound the baseball this week for the Salt Lake Bees, adding 4 HR to bring his season HR total up to 12. Now to be admitted, Rojas is very much a ‘Bull Durham’ prospect, given that he’s 26 years old and has never sniffed MLB playing time. But he performed well in AA ball last season, and that same performance has really carried over to the AAA level this year. He’s been an above average contributor with the bat using the league adjusted stats (113 wRC+, .367 wOBA) and he’s pounding the ball (.264 ISO) while also keeping the strikeout rate below 20%.

Rojas has also provided versatility with the glove, seeing time at 3B, 2B, 1B, LF, and RF. He’s just got the profile of a guy who might get called up when there’s some kind of injury related pinch with the 25-man roster. And if he gets called up, there’s a chance that he will hit. So throw him on your watchlist in your dynasty league, or add him if you play in a very deep (1000+ minors) or unlimited type format.

Forrest Wall hit the FOTW lists last season when he was still a Rockies farmhand. He was subsequently traded along with prospect Chad Spanberger for reliever Seungwhan Oh. When the trade went down, Spanberger seemed like the real prospect in the transaction. But it’s actually been Chad’s New Hampshire Fisher Cats teammate Forrest Wall who’s impressed in the 2019 season.

This week, Wall did his job as a table setter by getting on base, hitting everything in site, and running the bases well. The end result was that the dude scored 10 runs in 32 PAs on the week. He also hit 2 long balls and stole a base for good measure. He’s posting a .312/.413/.473 on the season with 8 SB, 3 HR, and 17 2B. He’s also spent most of his time in CF this season. He also earned an NRI to spring training this past spring. Point being, pay attention to Wall as a deeper league option that really isn’t too far away from making an MLB appearance for the Blue Jays.

Frosty the Dongman easily paced the A+ hitters this week, adding 3 HR to his season total while racking up 26 total bases in just 25 ABs for the Winston-Salem Dash. Frost, 23, was a 15th round choice out of Gonzaga University in the 2017 draft. He’s flashed raw power that he can get into in game situations at every stop in his professional career so far: 4 HR and 7 2B in 32 Rookie ball games, 18 HR and 21 2B in 124 games in the Full-Season Sally League last summer, and now 5 HR and 13 2B in 51 games in the A+ Carolina League. He’s one of those organizational depth pieces that can really help an organization. He’s seen time in both CF and RF this year.

Will ‘the Thrill’ Benson has been the most dynamic hitter in the lower levels of minor league baseball this season. The 20 year old OF continued his stat sheet stuffing ways this week, hitting 4 HR, stealing 4 bags, driving in 8, scoring 7, and walking as much as he struck out (5:5 BB:K ratio). 2016’s 1st round selection is definitely a threat to go for 30 HR and 30 SB this season.

More important than his performance on the field, however, is the fact that Will Benson is a fine young man. He’s the type of young man that surely makes his mother proud. Yes, that’s right, Will Benson is out here hitting dingers and swiping bags for a higher cause. To take care of his mother, as all good boys do. Bless his heart.

Last season, when he went down for the season with an injury, he made his dynasty owners Sadbert or even possibly Madbert. But this season, he’s made Cubs’ fans and dynasty owners Gladbert. He’s been as good as Adbertized. More like Radbert, amirite?

Alex “Filthy” Faedo, aka the Power Donkey, just mowed down the Reading Fightin’ Phils this week. It’s a team with some decent prospects, including “The Scientist” Arquimedes Gamboa, Austin Listi, and Mickey Moniak. But Faedo was dominant, punching out a career-high 12 hitters through 6.1 scoreless innings.

Faedo is part of a 3-headed monster of pitching prospects at AA Erie this season:

2019 @erie_seawolves rotation:

🔥 Alex Faedo – 3.81 ERA, 69:10 K:BB
🔥🔥 Matt Manning – 2.34 ERA, 80:18 K:BB
🔥🔥🔥 Casey Mize – 1.21 ERA, 40:9 K:BB

Go ahead and get on that 2020 #Tigers bandwagon now.@Tigers | #MotorOn pic.twitter.com/TtXKdEFoFE

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) June 3, 2019

I kind of think of these guys as a future 1 (Mize) 2 (Manning) and 3 (Faedo) for the future Tigers rotation if everything breaks right for them. Faedo has actually been better than his ERA suggests, as the longballs (1.43 HR/9) have been his only undoing. This is reflected in his 2.75 xFIP.

I think we can all agree that this was a pretty solid week to be a member of the Conine family. Griffin Conine came back from a Ritalin suspension and just smashed, hitting .444 with a couple of tank shots and an OPS that looks like an SAT score from one of those kids that Aunt Becky paid to pose as one of her own children for the SAT. Brett Conine was filthy for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, with 12 punchies to 1 walk in a 6 run scoreless outing this week. And dad Jeff probably did something cool too. I dunno maybe he got a haircut or cleaned the shed out?

In unrelated news, I’ve changed my son’s last name to Conine.

The Padres org just seems to will these young international pitching prospects into existence somehow. Contreras is a really intriguing teenage arm out of Mexico. I actually happened to catch one of his starts earlier this season on MiLB.tv. He’s undersized and a bit rotund (5’10” 215 seems accurate), and SD is limiting his innings given his age. But man, he has the stuff and mentality to potentially become a starting pitcher in my opinion. The fastball is a low-90s offering but it spins. The breaking ball really spins too. And his 4.5 K/BB ratio is one of the best in the Midwest League in spite of his age, speaking to a command of his arsenal that’s beyond his years. A fun guy to watch and root for.