Hundreds of baseball players make their debut over the course of a season. However, for every Ronald Acuña and Scott Kingery, there are dozens of lesser-known prospects making their debuts who aren’t as frequently discussed. To remedy that, Alex Fast, Adam Garland, Ben Palmer and I will be doing a write-up on every single player making their MLB Debut. Inspired by the Effectively Wild podcast and Andrew Perpetua, we’ll discuss each debut’s skill set, how long they will likely remain in the majors and any other pertinent information you need to know. Each player will also be stored in a spreadsheet featuring further information (bio, D.O.B, player ID’s, etc) that can be accessed at the bottom of the article.
We had three players debut on June 1:
Dylan Cozens (OF, Philadelphia Phillies, 24 years old)
Call Up Date: June 1st
Role: Cup of Coffee
Organization Ranking: 16th
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 60 | Run: 45 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
Fantasy Relevance: Deep Leagues and dynasty pickup
Dylan Cozens was added to the Phillies roster replacing Rhys Hoskins after he suffered a broken jaw from fouling a pitch into his face (yikes). Cozens, the Phillies #15 prospect, is a mountain of a man, listed at 6’6” and 235 lbs. As would be expected, he has plenty of raw power, having hit 40 home runs in 2016 at AA Reading, a hitting park said to be on par with Coors Field. The 24-year-old outfielder has regressed a bit since that breakout season, hitting just .226 this season at AAA Lehigh Valley, but he has hit 10 homers and stolen 7 bags in 10 attempts. His 12.7% walk-rate is a positive development this season, though his K-rate is also at a career-high 38.1%. Cozens will serve as the fourth outfielder in Philadelphia, and will likely need to cut down on strikeouts to become fantasy relevant. However, with a high power upside and a bit of speed to go along, a breakout like Cody Bellinger is not out of the question. Still, I’d only roster Cozens in deep leagues (14+ teams) for now.
Walker Lockett (SP, San Diego Padres, 24 years old)
Call Up Date: June 1st
Role: Cup of Coffee
Organization Ranking: N/a
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: N/A
Fantasy Relevance: None
Walter Lockett was called up to start as Joey Luchessi is still on the DL. Lockett struggled, which to be honest, shouldn’t be much of a shock given he’s been rough in the minors this year, posting a 5.31 ERA over 10 starts. He’s a sinker/changeup guy who also tosses a slider on occasion. The sinker and changeup are solid pitches, but he still needs some refinement. There’s not really any fantasy value here, as he’ll likely be back in the minors soon.
Dennis Santana (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers, 22 years old)
Call Up Date: June 1st
Role: Cup of Coffee
Organization Ranking: 9th
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50
Fantasy Relevance: Deep league pickup, possible standard league flier
Santana has rapidly ascended up the Dodgers organizational ladder after converting from SS to pitching, and he is now considered one of their best pitching prospects. Santana made his debut last night against the Colorado Rockies and unfortunately, it did not go as planned but his success in the minors that includes a 2.54 ERA with 65 strikeouts against just 16 walks in 49.2 innings pitched between AA and AAA gives hope that Santana will be able to find success in the majors too. Santana offers nice strikeout upside, with above-average K rates throughout his minor league career, and is currently posting a well above-average 13.95% swinging-strike rate between both AA and AAA. That ability to miss bats plus average command give Santana a nice combination of high ceiling and reasonable floor and makes him a guy that is interesting in most leagues with a full-time role. I think he’s worth a pickup in all 14 team leagues and above and may be worth a flier in 12 team leagues as well.
Missed a player’s debut? Read detailed reports on all 2018 MLB debuts in this spreadsheet.