Tired of the same old groupthink that consumes the fantasy baseball community? Same here. Opinions are what make sports conversations great. Having your opinions challenged forces you to take a step back and reevaluate how you feel about certain players. Adding to that thought, reading one article about a prospect or player should not be the only resource used to properly evaluate a player. That is the idea behind this article. Each member of the Pitcher List dynasty staff has a unique opinion. Why not create an article that provides two different breakdowns of the same players? This article looks at four different prospects that Martin Sekulski and I disagree on. We each try to convince you that our side is the right outlook to have.
Head over to the Pitcher List dynasty page to check out the rest of the great work the team has been producing including write-ups on all 30 farm systems.
Yordanny Monegro – SP, Boston Red Sox
The Pro-Monegro Argument – Matt Heckman
Yordanny Monegro’s professional career got off to a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. After signing in 2020, Monegro did not touch the mound until 2021 and did not make it to full-season ball until 2023. The Red Sox have been extremely patient and careful with Monegro, who has yet to pitch above High-A despite turning 22 in October. His age-to-level is keeping him down on prospect boards and creating value in dynasty leagues. Dynasty managers are practically ignoring how untouchable Monegro has looked on the mound. Since the start of 2023, Monegro has a 2.84 ERA. In his final nine starts of 2024, Monegro posted a 0.41 ERA with a strikeout rate of 32.7%. Mongegro is the real deal. Now, he just needs to make it to the major leagues.
Moengro has a lively arm. The lanky right-hander stands at 6’4″ and has an athletic delivery that has many believe he could continue to add velocity as he puts on weight. With a slimmer build, his ability to handle a starter’s workload remains unknown. That is really the only other big question for Monegro, who has dominated opposing batters. His curveball and changeup are both plus offerings. The curve takes a 12-6 shape and is an effective strikeout pitch. His changeup might be the best pitch in his arsenal, disappearing down beneath the bat. Monegro also mixes in a fastball and slider. The fastball sits in the mid-90s without much movement. His slider flashes plus potential, but Monegro tends to overthrow it at times. This is clearly an offering he is still developing. Speaking of developing, Monegro has also been working on a sinker/two-seam variation that sits a bit slower on the gun but gets excellent arm side run.
The development of his fastball variation only adds to the ceiling already present in Monegro’s profile. Monegro has a starter’s arsenal and has flashed the strikeout potential that dynasty managers seek out. Durability may be a concern, but Monegro ended 2024 healthy and is primed for a big 2025 season. All pitchers come with a level of risk; few have flashed the dominance and upside that Monegro has. Go get him now before it is too late.
The Flip Side – Martin Sekulski
As a Red Sox fan, I am encouraged by the early results from prospect Yordanny Monegro. The 22-year-old has been impressive over the past two seasons, pitching primarily at Class-A and High-A. In 141.2 innings, Monegro has a combined ERA of 2.47 with 187 strikeouts against 55 walks. If not for an early season injury, Monegro could have climbed to Double-A to close 2024. His performance was particularly dominant at High-A, generating an 18.6% swinging-strike rate and a 30% overall strikeout rate.
There is little doubt about his bat-missing ability, but I have concerns about the complete package. The command is one reason why I’m hung up on Monegro. His strike rate is around 61%, several percent below where he should be, especially given his status as an older player at the level. The Red Sox have had this issue before with their young international pitchers. They dominate early in their careers at the lower levels, posting substantial strikeout totals and showing significant upside before falling off. The most recent example was Wikelman Gonzalez, now a member of the White Sox.
Matt also touched on the continued development of the fastball, which is a concern. No two pitchers are the same, and it’s possible that Monegro can succeed without a serviceable fastball, but that’s not an ideal path for a high-end starter. Commanding an arsenal focused primarily on a changeup and curve is difficult, especially for a young pitcher. We will touch on reliever risk with George Klassen, who also has perceived questionable command and a lack of a third offering, but the difference between the two is that Klassen’s fastball is established.
I also have questions about Monegro’s maturity and overall mental makeup. I’ve seen numerous reports and heard from trusted sources that Monegro has significant maturity issues, on and off the field. His on-field behavior and poise come into question and bring up memories of MLB veteran Matt Garza. Garza was notorious for losing his mind when things started to fall apart, and as soon as that happened, the wheels immediately fell off. Looking back at the video, in some of his poor starts, an error occurs or a bit of bad luck, and before you know it, the command starts to fall off. The walks accumulate, the location loses its sharpness, and Monegro is out of the game soon after. As Matt will mention with Carson Whisenhunt, there is much to be said about poise on the mound and looking like a pitcher.
Monegro’s profile has definite starter potential, but many unknowns exist. In 2025, I need to see consistent performance against better competition, stability and poise on the mound, and further development of the fastball if it’s coming. Until then, I’m waiting to jump in on the Monegro hype train, but I will concede that, initially, everything seems encouraging.
Thomas Harrington – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pro-Harrington Argument – Martin Sekulski
Thomas Harrington is one of the more underappreciated pitching prospects in baseball and is often lost in the hoopla surrounding organizational mate Bubba Chandler and previous stars Jared Jones and Paul Skenes. While Harrington lacks the flashy arsenal or star power of the others, his profile is the safest. Harrington was a little-known high school shortstop and not recruited to play collegiately. He walked on at Campbell College and, over two seasons, became one of the most successful pitchers in the history of the Big South Conference. Harrington’s success made him the 36th overall pick of the first round (Comp round). From day one, Harrington has thrived as a pro, pitching to a 3.09 ERA across four levels. While his overall stats are not eye-popping, there is a lot to be said about maintaining a 20%+ strikeout-minus-walk rate throughout your development, especially for someone who entered college as a shortstop with limited pitching experience.
Let’s start with Harrington’s command, his most important trait as a pitcher. Indeed, command isn’t always a guarantee of success, but having plus command is an encouraging sign of reliability and stability. Harrington threw 68% of his pitches for strikes last season, generating a strikeout rate of 25.1% with a minuscule walk rate of 4.1%. Harrington’s strikeout rate indeed dipped at Triple-A, but his walk rate remained stable, which is particularly encouraging with the ABS.
Harrington’s arsenal consists of five pitches: a four-seam fastball, a sweeper, a cutter, a change, and a curve. The fastball isn’t overpowering, sitting in the 92-94 mph velo range. While it doesn’t have elite induced vertical break (iVB of ~15 inches), it does have impressive horizontal movement of over 10 inches on average. The heater yielded a 12.4% swinging-strike rate last season, nearly 3% above the MLB average. Harrington’s changeup has flashed as a plus offering, producing a 27.4% whiff rate last season with a near 40% chase rate. The sweeper and curveball provide two unique breaking pitches as the curve is a 12-6 breaker with good depth, while the sweeper averages well over 10 inches of horizontal break. The curve was highly successful in AAA, yielding a 43.6% whiff rate, albeit in a small sample.
I understand Matt’s concerns with a ‘lower’ strikeout rate. But let me pose this question. Is George Kirby considered low-end? The profile is similar: elite command with a deep arsenal but reduced strikeout rates. I’m not here to praise Harrington as a top-5 starting pitcher prospect, but I’ve ranked him appropriately as my SP15 and inside my Top 75 overall. Harrington’s ability to stick as a starter with helpful ratios and increased win potential by pitching deeper into games gives him a very high floor as a prospect. In a world filled with Jacob Misiorowskis and Carson Whisenhunts, be a Thomas Harrington and let your fantasy managers sleep at night.
The Flip Side – Matt Heckman
If you are looking for a back-end starting pitcher, Thomas Harrington is a prospect for you. Is that really what we are looking for? Listen, I am not here to tell you that Thomas Harrington is a bad pitching prospect. There is a good chance that he turns into a reliable starting pitcher for Pittsburgh and helps the Pirates significantly in real life. The issue is that dynasty managers need to look at things from a fantasy perspective. If Harrington is being rated as a top-100 prospect, there needs to be significant upside in his profile. This is where the pro-Harrington argument starts to lose me.
The best skill that Harrington has is his control. Since being drafted by Pittsburgh in 2022, Harrington has posted incredible walk rates. This is undoubtedly one of the most attractive portions of his profile. I concede that this gives him a stable floor and makes him much safer than other prospects (including Carson Whisenhunt, who I argue for below). The issue is simple: TINSTAAPP – there is no such thing as a safe pitching prospect. Running with the idea that all pitching prospects have inherent risk, why shoot for one with such a low ceiling?
Harrington’s arsenal is led by a relatively straight fastball that sits around 92 mph on the gun. There is not great iVB, there is not great extension, and batters in Triple-A hit .323 off the pitch last year. Harrington fills up the strike zone. This is part of what makes him such a safe prospect but also causes issues for him. With a very hittable fastball, Harrington is going to give up hard contact on the pitch. Pitchers rarely find sustained success at the major league level with below-average fastballs.
While uncommon, there are starting pitchers who become fantasy-relevant even without a good fastball. They do this through a reliance on secondaries to consistently generate whiffs and strikeouts. While Harrington’s changeup and sweeper are not bad pitches, he lacks a track record that makes you believe he will post strong strikeout rates at the major league level. Following his promotion from High-A to Double-A, Harrington saw his strikeout rate dip from 28.2% down to 27.4%. Following his promotion to Triple-A, Harrington saw his strikeout rate plummet down to 21.2%. Harrington’s best whiff rate on any of his pitches was 33.7% on his changeup. His sweeper, which grades out well, generated a whiff less than 20% of the time.
Fantasy managers need strikeouts to generate significant fantasy value. Prioritizing a prospect lacking strikeout upside is a mistake. Harrington could have a very good major league career, but he does not project to be a difference-maker in fantasy baseball. Dynasty managers should prefer prospects with more upside (and even more risk) like Jacob Misiorowski over players with a capped ceiling like Thomas Harrington.
George Klassen – SP, Los Angeles Angels
The Pro-Klassen Argument – Martin Sekulski
Klassen followed a similar path to Harrington. The 22-year-old underwent Tommy John during his first year at Minnesota and missed 2021 and most of 2022. During his final season, Klassen tossed 56.2 innings but showed significant control issues, posting identical strikeout and walk rates. Despite his struggles, the Phillies grabbed Klassen in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. After a winter of development, Klassen had a mini breakout in 2024 across two levels. In 59.1 innings in the Philly org, he posted a 1.97 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 89 strikeouts. Klassen’s standout performance drew plenty of eyes and had him among the fastest risers in the minors.
But the wheels fell off for Klassen following a mid-season trade to the Angels. We’ve seen this happen with young stars thriving in a particular organization and immediately coming unraveled following a trade. Imagine being a 22-year-old and shipping across the country right as you’ve settled in somewhere. It’s not like Klassen was downright awful following the trade. He still posted a 31.1% strikeout rate, and two poor starts inflated his ERA spike. Yes, his walk rate ballooned down the stretch, but let’s not forget a few things. First, he pitched through a shoulder injury sustained in May and did so while exceeding his career high in innings by over 60%. Given the circumstances, I’m inclined to give Klassen a pass.
Klassen has a three-pitch mix, including a four-seam fastball, a cutter, and a curve. In his Class-A sample, Klassen had an overall swinging-strike rate of 16.4%, including over 20% combined on his cutter and curve. Like Harrington, his fastball is not an analytical darling, featuring around 14 inches of iVB. But it does have elite horizontal action, flashing over 14 inches of run in the upper part of the zone. It’s also the go-to for Klassen, as he deploys the fastball almost 60% of the time. His curveball serves as the sole breaking pitch. Klassen elicited an 18.8% swinging-strike rate and near-30% chase rate in a small sample. His final pitch is the occasionally used cut fastball. Given that it’s produced whiff rates north of 50% and swinging-strike rates over 25%, it could become a viable third option.
There are obvious risks with Klassen, mainly if the command plays closer to the second half of 2024 compared to the first part. His stuff is electric, but you’re only as good as your ability to command it. Developing a third offering would also be helpful unless he focuses on using the cutter more. The combination of fastball and curveball is enough to get by, but he has definite reliever risk and may not become elite. In my defense, I don’t have him ranked as elite. Klassen is my 20th-ranked starting pitching prospect and #83 overall, a comfortable range for a first-year pro who has shown potential for significant upside. Like Matt, I am not keen on Angels’ development, but we cannot assume that Klassen’s step back following the trade is solely based on organizational philosophy. Let’s give him an entire season in their organization in 2025 and see how Klassen fares before rushing to immediate judgment on a 33-inning sample.
The Flip Side – Matt Heckman
There is an important differentiation between a breakout and a small sample. You have already read about Klassen’s plus stuff. Yes, he undoubtedly has this. His fastball is a plus offering and his slider is excellent. However, dive into the track record. Klassen slipped to the sixth round in the 2023 draft for a reason. In two seasons at Minnesota, Klassen walked 61 batters in 64.1 innings. Klassen worked as a reliever his first season there, and that relief risk is still present in his profile now.
Klassen got off to a great start in Philadelphia’s organization. This an organization that has started to have some success in pitching development. Andrew Painter, Ranger Suárez, Sam Aldegheri, Cristopher Sánchez, and they even developed Ben Brown before trading him away. The Angels, on the other hand, should not be trusted with pitcher development. Team context and an organization’s development track record do not always matter. Some talents, like Chase Dollander, are good enough to overcome bad situations. This is not true for a pitcher like Klassen. Klassen is raw in his development. He has the stuff to turn into a top-tier pitching prospect but struggles with control. Unlike Dollander, Klassen is not a near-finished product.
Honing in on Klassen’s command issues. After a fast start, Klassen’s struggle to limit free passes returned. In eight starts with the Phillies’ Low-A affiliate, Klassen walked just 8.3% of batters. This is a nearly unbelievable development after his past struggles with walks. An important note with this success is that Klassen was older than the average player in Low-A. We often talk about age-to-level production as a promising aspect of top-prospect development. In this case, it can be used against Klassen. Following a promotion to Philly’s High-A team, Klassen’s walk rate jumped up to 9.9%. Not bad, but a step in the wrong direction. Then, after the trade to the Angels, Klassen made eight starts and saw his walk rate spike up to 16.9%. Even blending the two together, Klassen walked 14.8% of batters across his final 14 starts of the season. Did Klassen really improve his command, or were young hitters just overly aggressive against his plus stuff?
There is more to Klassen’s relief risk. Klassen’s arsenal lacks the depth you look for in a starting pitcher. There are cases of guys making excellent starters without a deep arsenal. Spencer Strider instantly comes to mind. However, that is not the norm. Klassen relies heavily on his four-seam fastball. Against righties, Klassen mixes in both his slider and curve around 20% of the time. Against lefties, Klassen throws his slider significantly less, essentially becoming a two-pitch pitcher. Klassen’s start to 2024 inflated his prospect status throughout the dynasty community. He has a good fastball and slider combination but lacks a consistent third offering and struggles to throw strikes consistently. In an organization known for struggling with pitcher development, Klassen is an easy fade.
Carson Whisenhunt– SP, San Francisco Giants
The Pro-Whisenhunt Argument – Matt Heckman
Carson Whisenhunt was one of my darlings entering the 2024 season. It wasn’t just my list, as Whisenhunt was seeing his name pop up everywhere. To be fair, the lefty was supposed to be a first-round pick prior to being suspended for PED use. Entering last season, Whisenhunt looked dominant on the mound. Across his first 66.1 professional innings, Whisenhunt owned a 2.17 ERA. What was really exciting from a dynasty perspective was his strikeout potential. Whisenhunt had struck out 36.6% of the batters he faced. There were some walk issues, but the good far outweighed the bad.
Then, Whisenhunt pitches one full season in the Pacific Coast League, and shockingly, struggles, and now everybody in the dynasty community is out on him? Yes, there are some concerns. His walk rate (which I am sure Martin will mention), was concerning, but who doesn’t struggle in the PCL? The PCL is notorious for being a hitter-friendly environment, so looking too much into Whisenhunt’s 5.17 ERA would be a mistake. Digging in a bit, Whisenhunt had plenty of great starts last season, including his final two starts in which he struck out 16 batters across 11 innings. Really, in his 27 starts, there were four really rough outings. In those four starts, Whisenhunt allowed 24 earned runs. His ERA was 22.50 during those starts. Across his other 23 starts, Whisenhunt’s ERA was 3.51. Obviously, you cannot just ignore the bad starts, but the majority of the time, Whisenhunt posted solid numbers in a hitter-friendly environment. His future home ballpark in San Francisco is extremely pitcher-friendly.
The other issue with Whisenhunt is his fastball. Although he can touch 97 on the gun, Whisenhunt’s sinker does not hold its velocity and profiles as a below-average pitch. The main issue is that he throws that over 50% of the time. The bright side? Every other pitch in Whisenhunt’s arsenal has plus potential. His changeup is already one of the best in all of professional baseball. That and his slider both generated a whiff rate north of 40% last season. There were only five starting pitchers in all of baseball that had multiple pitches generate a whiff rate north of 40%. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Reese Olson (sleeper?), Spencer Schwellenbach, and Jesús Luzardo. Obviously, Whisenhunt was not facing major league hitters, but this is great company to compare to, nonetheless. Him throwing his “bad” fastball over 50% of the time only opens up room for more upside in the future. If the Giants can get him to use that pitch less and use his breaking pitches more, he could see his success take off.
There is still a lot to like in Whisenhunt’s profile: his secondary offerings, proximity to the major leagues, and strong track record of strikeouts in the minor leagues. On top of all of that, Whisenhunt just looks like a pitcher on the mound. That is not analytical, but most of this has been factual reasoning. Whisenhunt just looks like a starting pitcher you would want on your team. Despite his struggles last season, Whisenhunt remains a top-100 prospect on my list.
The Flip Side – Martin Sekulski
Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt is the cream of the crop among pitching prospects in the organization. After testing positive for PEDs and being suspended at ECU, Whisenhunt had a dominant summer in the Cape Code League that translated to a second-round selection in 2022. In two minor league seasons across four levels, he has logged 176 innings with an ERA north of 4 and a 31.3% strikeout rate. Whisenhunt reached Triple-A, but his stint did not go as planned, as he yielded a 5.42 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in just over 104 innings.
As a prospect guy, I admire the potential that Whisenhunt shows. His changeup is one of the best in the minors and was ridiculously effective last season. He generated a 47.2% whiff rate and a 26.7% swinging-strike rate on the changeup, a pitch he threw over 30% of the time. It’s also the only offering he can consistently throw for a strike, with a strike rate of around 69%. I do not doubt that his changeup is an elite offering. Whisenhunt also throws a sinking fastball as his primary pitch, utilizing it over 53% of the time. His sinker posted a reasonable 11.1% swinging-strike rate and featured above-average horizontal movement. His slider is the pitch that Matt loves the most. It was effective (44% whiff rate, 16% swinging-strike rate) in limited work, but like the rest of his arsenal, he cannot command it. Command isn’t everything, but it is the foundation for sustained success.
We’ve seen this song-and-dance before from a left-handed pitching prospect in the Giants organization: Kyle Harrison. Harrison dominated at the lower levels by having one elite offering that could get bad hitters out. But, like Whisenhunt, the command was not there. Nothing has changed since, and Harrison remains a fringe MLB arm. He also no longer has an elite offering because MLB hitters will adjust, and Harrison’s strikeout rate has plummeted to 22% in the majors. If Matt worries about what happens with Klassen in the Angels system, why is he in love with Whisenhunt? The Giants have done nothing on the pitching development side, either. In fact, Logan Webb is the only homegrown pitching prospect the Giants have produced in the last 15 years. Do the names Kyle Crick, Tyler Beede, and Ty Blach sound familiar? All top-round picks who completely busted under the watchful eye of the Giants’ player development system. Not to mention that Bryce Eldridge could have been an elite pitching prospect, but they opted for the safe route to avoid that catastrophe.
Matt also mentions the PCL and the offensive impact on pitching stats. Indeed, the PCL cannot provide a fair assessment for pitching at the surface level. The environmental factors do impact ERA and, to a lesser extent, WHIP. But the PCL doesn’t affect your ability to throw strikes, which is what Whisenhunt isn’t good at doing. I appreciate Matt’s love for players who have potentially massive upside, but he overlooks the super low floor that a guy like that could fall to. I am too risk-averse to buy into a volatile arm like Whisenhunt, and I’m firm in my belief that he’s not a Top-100 (or 200) prospect.