We're inside of 45 days to go, which marks the point when a prospect can debut and still retain his rookie eligibility for next year. It also marks the point when we normally see a rash of call-ups, for reasons not worth going into right now, but so far, there's been only one: Joshua Baez. Granted, he's made a big impression, becoming the first player to homer three times in his major league debut, but we'd like to see some other prospects make an impression, too.
So which will they be and when? The answer to the second question is easier: any day now. From a front office perspective, there is no strategic hurdle with less than 45 days remaining in the season.
Maybe some call-ups will be delayed until Sept. 1, when active rosters expand by two, but even that isn't so far away. The bulk of the remaining call-ups -- at least the most notable ones -- will happen within the next two weeks. That's the trickier question.
I speculated on 15 about a week ago, just before the 45-day mark, and I wouldn't say my opinions have shifted much since then. I think the strongest candidates remain Kade Anderson and Walker Jenkins, but I wouldn't say there's a clear top five. So as you peruse my Five on the Verge this week, understand that my choices aren't at the exclusion of Franklin Arias or James Tibbs, to name a couple.
They're implied to be on the verge as well. I'm just choosing to focus on some other potential call-ups this time. (Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.) 2026 minors: 10-1, 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 93 1/3 IP, 13 BB, 135 K I'm running out of ways to state the case for Anderson, who has been a fixture on this list for more than three months now, and judging by his 73 percent roster rate in CBS Sports leagues, the possibility of him coming up isn't lost on anyone. The Mariners wouldn't necessarily have to go with a six-man rotation, even, given Bryce Miller's recent struggles.
What I'd like to do here, then, is contextualize just how dominant he's been. His ERA sits at 1.06, and he's lowered it in his past four outings. In only two of his past 11 has he allowed even a single earned run, giving him a 0.61 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 12.7 K/9 during that time with only a .129 batting average against.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
