Farm Report: Derek Fisher hasn't stopped hitting
Houston Astros outfield prospect Derek Fisher has reached base a dozen times over his last four games for Triple-A Fresno, raising his season slash to .337/.399/.592. Fisher now leads the PCL in total bases (116), he’s tied for fourth in homers (12), he’s fifth in OPS (.991) and ninth in steals (9). The kid went very deep on Monday against Albuquerque during a 3-for-3 performance in which he scored twice and drove in three.
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Fisher cleared the fence 21 times last season across two minor league levels, plus he swiped 28 bags in 35 attempts. He struck out regularly last year (154 Ks), but also drew 83 walks. Fisher had a terrific spring for the Astros, stealing 11 bases while hitting .310/.434/.524, and he hasn’t let up in Fresno. For fantasy purposes, there’s a lot to like in the 23-year-old’s game.
Houston isn’t hurting in the outfield at the big league level just now, so Fisher’s path to 2017 fantasy relevance may involve a trade. Whenever he arrives in the majors, he’ll deserve immediate pick-up consideration.
• Amed Rosario extended his hitting streak to 16 games on Monday, going 2-for-4 with a walk, one homer, three runs and three RBIs for Las Vegas. Rosario is now hitting .354 with 21 extra-base hits, 10 steals and an OPS of .912. He’s been thoroughly covered around here (and elsewhere), so he should be well known to the fantasy community. All we can do is wait on the Mets.
• Phillies second base prospect Scott Kingery hasn’t yet cooled off at Double-A Reading. He’s delivered multiple hits in five straight games, with a pair of homers and three steals included. For the year, he’s batting .313/.391/.676 with 16 bombs and 12 steals in 14 attempts. Quite a season for a guy who hit only five homers in 531 at-bats in 2016.
• The Giants recently promoted Chris Shaw to Triple-A Sacramento, so he’s now just one step away from the majors. Shaw opened his season by hitting .301/.390/.511 in the Eastern League with six homers and 10 doubles. He struck out only 26 times in 37 games at Richmond, so he’s not yet another young slugger with contact issues. Shaw is 6-for-21 at Sacramento so far, and he hit his first PCL homer on Monday.
• We typically focus on high-level prospects around here, because we’re looking for near-term fantasy contributors. But let’s take a moment to appreciate the insane numbers produced thus far by RHP Jon Duplantier in the Single-A Midwest League: 54.1 IP, 5-0, 0.50 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 11 BB, 62 Ks. He’s allowed only 25 hits, three earned runs and one homer over his 10 appearances. Ridiculous. Duplantier retired the last 15 batters he faced in a no-decision on Memorial Day. He now leads all qualified minor league pitchers in ERA, WHIP and batting average against (.139). Here’s some deeper background info on Duplantier from John Sickels, for those interested. Health history is the only obvious worry, not his ability.
• Austin Meadows had a brutal April at Triple-A Indianapolis, but he’s been scorching hot lately, delivering multiple hits in six of his last seven starts. Meadows is batting .405 over his last 10 games and .317 in May. He’s delivered 14 XBHs and eight steals in nine attempts on the season.
• Mets first base prospect Dominic Smith is feasting at Las Vegas in recent days, going 9-for-18 over his last four games with two homers and 10 RBIs. He’s slashing .325/.378/.500 for the 51s with seven homers and 22 XBHs. Smith is a career .297 hitter in the minors and his single-season high in Ks is just 77.
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