Fantasy Sports

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Watch: Andrew Painter and Bubba Chandler Continue to Headline Top Starting Pitchers

Multiple pitching prospects are dominating at AAA and appear poised for MLB call-ups, giving fantasy baseball managers plenty of reasons to monitor their progress.

Shawn Childs

Milwaukee Brewers Starting Pitcher Jacob Misiorowski
Milwaukee Brewers Starting Pitcher Jacob Misiorowski / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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A wave of talented starting pitchers at AAA is making noise with dominant performances, putting pressure on their organizations to promote them soon. From high-strikeout arms like Jacob Misiorowski and Joe Boyle to high-ceiling prospects like Andrew Painter and Bubba Chandler, these names could have fantasy baseball relevance in the near future.

Starting Pitching

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies

In his second start at AAA, the Phillies pushed Painter to 71 pitches, leading to two runs, seven baserunners, and three strikeouts. Overall, in the minors this year, he has a 3.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 19.1 strikeouts. His average fastball (97.2 mph) graded well in his last outing, featuring a slider, curveball, and an improving changeup.

Joe Boyle, Tampa Bay Rays

Another week goes by, and another excellent start by Boyle (no runs, one hit, one walk, and five strikeouts over five innings). He lowered his ERA (1.46) and WHIP (0.84) at AAA over 37.0 innings with 39 strikeouts. Shane Baz (5.02 ERA) and Tai Bradley (4.80 ERA) have high-ceiling arms but are moving in the wrong direction. Boyle deserves a starting job in the majors.

Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers' AAA pitching options will help them move up the NL Central standings over the second half of the year. Misiorowski has been a beast over his last five starts (one run, 15 hits, and seven walks over 30.2 innings with 38 strikeouts). He relies on a high 90s fastball (97.7 MPH), a cutter, a curveball, and a show-me changeup. Command is his ticket to big league success, an area of weakness before this season.

Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have given Chandler eight starts this year at AAA, and he’s responded with a 1.91 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts over 33.0 innings. In his last outing, Chandler tossed five shutout innings with four hits, three walks, and eight strikeouts. Despite his success, he’s yet to toss more than five innings or throw more than 70 pitches. His fastball (98.2 mph) has electric upside, and his changeup has shown growth this season. Chandler must locate his breaking pitches better to reach ace status at the next level.

Mick Abel, Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies may turn to Abel before Andrew Painter after placing Aaron Nola on the injury list with an ankle issue. He’s riding a four-game winning streak with one run allowed in each start, with 25 combined baserunners and 25 strikeouts over 25.0 innings. Philadelphia drafted him 15th overall in the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft. His fastball (96.0 mph) is trending higher. Abel mixes in a slider, curveball, sinker, and changeup. I expect some early struggles when given a major league opportunity.

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Shawn Childs
SHAWN CHILDS

With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.

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