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High-A Prospects To Watch Going Into The 2024 Season

High-A Sleeper Prospects for Dynasty Baseball.

Rick Haake
Dynasty 2/21/2024

Spring training is just around the corner and soon we will be finding out where some of the game’s top prospects will be heading for the 2024 Minor League season. For dynasty managers, the grind is a year-long commitment so we are constantly searching for upside prospects to add to our teams. In this article, we will highlight several prospects who produced in 2023 at High-A and could be great additions to your system heading into the season. 

Be sure to head over to the Pitcher List Dynasty page for more content from the dynasty team on prospects and plenty more.

 

High-A Prospects To Stash Now

 

Yeiner Fernandez, C/2B LAD

(99 GP, .273/.360/.375, 6 HR, 47 R, 50 RBI, 4 SB)

The Dodgers organization has a long track record of developing solid prospects and Yeiner Fernandez is quickly standing out as a prospect on the rise. Yeiner Fernandez stands at just 5’9” and 170 pounds but has solid pop from the right side of the plate and has displayed an advanced hit tool at every level he has been in so far. Currently 21 years old and was signed as a catcher originally but has since been learning other positions in the infield with most of his games now coming at second base. In fact Fernandez played primarily second base during the Arizona Fall League while playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs. 

Fernandez played the entire season in High-A Great Lakes where he split time between catcher and second base. In 99 games played, Fernandez slashed .274/.360/.375 with six home runs, 47 runs scored, 50 RBIs, and stole four bases in six attempts. What stands out most about Fernandez is the advanced approach at the plate. Across 433 plate appearances, he struck out just 12.9% while showing his knowledge of the strike zone walking 10.9% of the time. The Dodgers then sent him to the Arizona Fall League where he slashed .290/.413/.526 with one home run, six runs scored and six RBIs in 11 games played. 

For dynasty managers, Yeiner Fernandez is a solid target in deep leagues. The bat-to-ball skills could ensure he remains in the line-up and moves up the Dodgers organization steadily. As for the power, there could still be more to be had with Fernandez as he adds more muscle. More than likely the Dodgers will start Fernandez out in Double-A Tulsa where the ball has been known to fly with several prospects in the past. 

 

Juan Carela, RHP CHW

(23 GP, 22 GS, 115.2 IP, 136 K, 10.6 K/9, 3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)

One of the under-the-radar pitching prospects in the Yankees farm system in 2023 was Juan Carela. The 6’3” right-hander out of the Dominican Republic features a mid-90s rising fastball that sets up the 93 mph sinker that has been an interesting pair to batters at this point. The sweeping slider comes in at 85 mph with excellent horizontal movement and a developing change-up that has a solid fade and tumble. This for now is a solid starter build and with a pitch arsenal that Carela can adjust on the fly. He was a guy to watch once the Yankees traded him to the White Sox in the Keynan Middleton trade at the deadline in 2023. 

The Yankees started Carela back in High-A Hudson Valley at the beginning of 2023. The 21-year-old made 17 appearances and 16 starts with the Renegades striking out 109 batters in 83.1 innings pitched. This was good for an 11.77 K/9 while keeping batters to a .210 average against and had a 3.67 ERA leading up to the trade to the White Sox. Once the trade was completed, the White Sox sent Carela to High-A Winston-Salem where the strikeouts dipped a bit across six starts. In 32.1 innings pitched, Carela struck out 27 batters while keeping batters to a .244 average against and finished the season with a 3.34 ERA in Winston-Salem. It seemed luck was not on his side in a primarily hitter-friendly ballpark as the BABIP was low, the FIP several runs higher than the ERA, and the home run to flyball rate jumped 5.3%. 

When it comes to pitchers like this, you want to proceed with caution when you see splits like this. For Carela this isn’t a bad time to buy in as any dynasty manager who had him at what appeared to be his peak with Hudson Valley might be concerned with what they saw in Winston-Salem after the trade. The pitch mix paired with the high strikeout upside we have seen from Carela at different levels since 2019 makes me want to buy in and see how he bounces back in Double-A Birmingham. 

 

Willy Vasquez, 3B TBR

(114 GP, .233/.310/.393, 16 HR, 53 R, 62 RBI, 17 SB)

Now might be the best time to buy into Willy Vasquez in dynasty leagues. Signed out of the Dominican Republic back in the 2019 international signing period, Vasquez has had a slow but solid rise. Standing at 6’2” and 191 pounds it’s not hard to see the potential plus power upside the scouting grades have been saying for years. Power paired with above-average speed on the base paths has made Vasquez an intriguing Ray’s prospect to stash for dynasty managers. On the surface, the numbers in High-A Bowling Green might not jump out at you but there could be signs of better things to come. 

In 2023, Willy Vasquez played the entire season with the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods. In 114 games played Vasquez slashed .233/.310/.393 with 16 home runs, 53 runs scored, 62 RBIs, and stole 17 bases in 26 attempts. The eye at the plate was solid for Vasquez who managed to string together solid at-bats across his 472 plate appearances he managed to walk 9.7% while striking out just 23.1% of the time. June was Vasquez’s best month of the season where he slashed .296/.359/.432 with two home runs, 15 RBIs, and two stolen bases in 23 games played. 

What stood out when diving into Vasquez’s numbers was the career-low BABIP of .275. Typically you will see it up around the .330 range leading me to believe we probably didn’t see the best of him in 2023. It’s encouraging to see the power climb each season and I believe we could expect 25 plus home run power with the potential for 20 stolen bases at the highest level early on. Long term you could expect a .260-.270 hitter with the Rays in Vasquez and for me in dynasty that is a solid option at third base that not enough people are talking about. Take this opportunity to get ahead of the curve with Vasquez before he takes off in Double-A Montgomery in 2024. 

 

Spencer Giesting, LHP ARI

(24 GS, 117 IP, 124 K, 9.54 K/9, 1.46 WHIP)

There is a pitching prospect in the Diamondbacks organization that isn’t getting enough attention in dynasty leagues and now is the time to buy in. Spencer Giesting is a 6’4” left-handed pitcher who was drafted in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of UNC Charlotte. Primarily used as a reliever in Charlotte, Giesting features a fastball that sits between 90 and 92 mph but tops out at 96 with plus riding action up in the zone. The pitch that stands out the most is a gyro-slider Giesting throws in the mid to upper 80s with excellent movement. The change-up lags behind the other two offerings and would need to improve if Giesting is to remain a starter long-term. 

Arizona had Giesting in High-A Hillsboro for the entirety of the 2023 minor league season. In 24 games started with the Hops, Giesting struck out 124 batters in 117 innings pitched, good for a 9.54 K/9 while keeping opposing batters to a .225 average against and finishing the season with a 4.00 ERA. What has been a struggle for Giesting in his brief minor league career is that command and control as the 5.46 BB/9 shows across his 24 starts. Although the walks have been on the high side, Giesting did manage to bring down the home run-to-fly ball rate in 2023 to 8.4% and finished with a 0.69 HR/9.

This is a deep league arm to monitor in 2024. The slider Giesting throws is filthy and has been said to make batters look silly. What will need to improve is the change-up and control. Worse case scenario this could be an interesting bullpen arm for the Diamondbacks in the not-so-distant future. In deeper dynasty formats, it’s never a bad thing to load up on some upside arms like this who could gain value for trades or for your lineup long-term.  

 

Cade Doughty, 2B/3B TOR

(102 GP, .264/.342/.459, 18 HR, 61 R, 68 RBI, 4 SB)

Drafted by the Blue Jays 78th overall out of LSU, Cade Doughty checks all the boxes for a super-utility type bat long-term. Standing at 6’1” and 195 pounds, Doughty was solid in his final season with the LSU Tigers showing solid bat-to-ball skills while having solid average power in the bat. There is below-average speed with Doughty, so he will likely pitch in a handful of stolen bases per season but because of the high contact rates, you can expect solid OBP long-term. 

Toronto had Doughty in High-A Vancouver for the entire 2023 season. In 102 games played Doughty slashed .264/.342/.459 with 18 home runs, 61 runs scored, 68 RBIs, and four stolen bases. The strikeout rate was high at 29.7% but Doughty managed to walk 8.3% of the time across 424 plate appearances. The power output came as a surprise not only from the 18 home runs he hit but with the 19 doubles as well. When you look a little deeper Doughty increased his pull percentage by 2.8% while increasing the fly ball percentage by 3.3% over the year prior in Dunedin. 

This profile once again plays up in deeper dynasty formats. There is plenty of pop but no clear defensive home. Doughty is effective at this point in his Minor League career because of his ability to get hits and as we saw with him pulling the ball more he tapped into some power as well. Going into his age-23 season, it’s more than likely that we will see Cade Doughty start the season in Double-A New Hampshire and make a push for Buffalo by the season’s end. 

 

 

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