Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen several players get promoted from Double-A and Triple-A to the majors. For me, as a dynasty owner, I pride myself on knowing what happens in the lower minors so I can be prepared to stash a prospect for the future. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve given you a glimpse into what I do on a weekly basis. Baseball is a grind and it stops for no one. With this in mind let’s look at the top-performing hitting prospects in high-A to stash right now.
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High-A Hitting Prospects to Stash in Dynasty Leagues
Midwest League
Nathan Martorella, 1B/OF SDP
The Padres continue to have strong drafts each season and Nathan Martorella is one of the latest. Selected in the fifth round of the 2022 draft out of Cal, Martorella put together a solid junior season for the Golden Bears. In 55 games, Martorella slashed .333/.424/.553 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. Since arriving in the Padres organization Martorella has continued to hit. Martorella slashed .322/.421/.511 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 28 games played in 2022, a solid pro debut.
SDP 1B Nathan Martorella is a sneaky prospect to target in deep leagues. .322/.421/.511 slash line with 8 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI in 28 GP. 16% BB and 20.8% K% at A- @Fantrax @WeeklyStreamer @Padres @CalBaseball https://t.co/6nZ7oXOXpb
— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) April 14, 2023
The Padres promoted Martorella to high-A to start the 2023 season and so far the numbers have been solid. In 33 games, Martorella is slashing .265/.375/.504 with six home runs and 23 RBIs. Currently, we are seeing a strong walk rate of 15.4% and an equally impressive 14% strikeout rate from Martorella. Don’t let the .265 average discourage you, right now Nathan’s .267 BABIP indicates that he has gotten a bit unlucky so far this season. This is a college bat that should get a bump to double-A before the season is through and could be a sneaky stash in 20-team leagues and larger.
South Atlantic League
DJ Gladney, 1B/3B/OF CHW
One of the top performers for the Winston-Salem Dash and White Sox organization has been DJ Gladney. The 21-year-old has been crushing the ball as he is currently tied for the league lead in home runs with nine. So far this season Gladney is slashing .300/.341/.633 with nine home runs, 22 runs scored and 36 RBIs in 30 games played. What has stood out so far as a major improvement has been Gladney’s strikeout rate.
🔥📝CHW 1B/3B/OF DJ Gladney has been on fire this season. So far in 30GP he’s batting.300/.341/.633 with a South Atlantic League leading 9HRs. Take notes and watch him rise! #whitesox @WSDashBaseball @djglad11 @whitesox pic.twitter.com/64nd5E5EBE
— Richard Haake (@Mustbethehawk) May 16, 2023
Last season the strikeout rate was sky-high at 36.15% in low-A and a stint at double-A, but this season he has brought it down to a 23.9%. Gladney’s performance looks to be sustainable and this is confirmed with his .338 BABIP. This is a solid pick-up in 20-team dynasty leagues as a corner infield/outfield bat that has 25-plus home run power. If he can continue to keep his strikeouts down and rise through the system you could see him make his debut in 2024.
Northwest League
Luis Toribio, 1B/3B SFG
This one is a bit exciting to see for me. Luis Toribio was a prospect I was excited about and wrote about in my San Francisco Giants system breakdown back in 2020. Last season he struggled with his contact, resulting in higher strikeout rates and the OBP suffered as well. In 111 games in high-A, Toribio slashed .209/.309/.429 with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs. The career-low walk rate of 11.9% and 35.2% strikeout rate, as well as his .282 BABIP, were big concerns for a prospect that I saw as a high-floor player.
Fast forward to 2023 and the Giants send Toribio back to high-A where it seems he has gotten back on track. In 27 games played so far, Toribio is slashing .278/.377/.536 with seven home runs, 16 runs scored, and 22 RBIs. With his walk rate back to his career normal rate of 14%, Toribio has lowered his strikeout rate to 28.9%, obviously still leaving room for improvement. Now if you look at his career BABIP prior to the 2022 season it has averaged .351 currently he is back up to a .345 BABIP this could be a great sign that Toribio has figured it out and is back!
I said back in 2020 that Toribio is a 20-25 home run bat with a .280-.300 average and .375 OBP potential. Right now looking to be back on track I might have been light on the future power, Keep Toribo on your radar in 15-20 team leagues and up.