Fantasy Baseball: Top Five Triple-A Pitchers To Watch
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The Triple-A season is officially underway, and a handful of arms have already turned heads with impressive opening-week performances. From seasoned veterans looking for one more shot to young arms refining their tools, here are five pitchers fantasy managers should keep on their radar.
The top two starting pitchers over the first week in the International League were Robert Stock and Luinder Avila.
Robert Stock, Boston Red Sox
Stock is a burly (6’1” and 260 lbs.) veteran arm who tried to reinvent his career at 34 over two levels of Mexican Baseball (19-6 with 2.56 ERA, 1.311 WHIP, and 182 strikeouts over 183.0 innings) last year. He struggled in his three spring training appearances, allowing four runs, seven baserunners, and striking out four. Stock offers a cutter (89.0 MPH) as his top usage pitch while offering a league-average sinker in velocity.
Robert Stock led of all Triple-A yesterday with 16 swings and misses in route to picking up the win for Worcester.
— Andrew Parker (@ByAndrewParker) April 3, 2025
Stock threw 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out 6. Has looked very sharp to begin the 2025 season in his two outings. pic.twitter.com/zFmA1gF6ex
Luinder Avila, Kansas City Royals
On the flip side, Avila is an underachieving prospect due to his high walk rate (3.9) in the minors. He went 21-32 over his seven seasons in Kansas City’s system with a 4.44 ERA, 1.308 WHIP, and 388 strikeouts over 423.2 innings. His right arm showed improvement over his three appearances in March (one run, seven baserunners, and seven strikeouts over six innings).
His spring training success carried over to Avila’s minor league debut (one run, one hit, one walk, and 11 strikeouts over 5.2 innings). His fastball (96.5 mph) is up more than two mph from his clocked games in 2024. He has much to prove, given his limited experience of only 10.0 innings at AAA. Avila is only a pitcher to follow.
Luinder Avila 🔥
— Raising Royals (@KCRoyalsPD) April 2, 2025
Last night for @OMAStormChasers:
5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB
Career-high 11 K’s
74% first-pitch strikes
37% CSW%#RaisingRoyals👑
🎤@BadderUpSports pic.twitter.com/ANJeSaGqg0
A.J. Blubaugh, J.T. Ginn, and Brett Kerry were the best arms this week in the Pacific Coast League.
A.J. Blubaugh, Houston Astros
Houston drafted Blubaugh in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft. He went 12-4 over 27 games at AAA in 2024 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.348 WHIP, and 128 strikeouts over 124.2 innings. His season opened up with six shutout innings with four hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts. His average fastball (93.7) is about league average while working off a slider and changeup as his secondary pitches.
J.T. Ginn, Oakland Athletics
Ginn failed to make the A’s starting rotation after flashing last September (3.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 25.1 innings). He’s struggled at AAA in his career (5.35 ERA, 1.448 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts over 77.1 innings). His Las Vegas debut this year resulted in no runs over five innings, with one hit, one walk, and eight strikeouts. Ginn has a rising, league-average fastball (93.2 mph). He added a cutter to his repertoire in the offseason at the expense of his changeup.
J.T. Ginn posted a career-high 11 Ks last night across 6 IP. This followed a 5 IP/8 K game on AAA Opening Day.
— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) April 4, 2025
Ginn has seen a bump in velocity this year as his sinker is sitting north of 94 mph. His slider has a 38% SwStr%. Ginn should be in the As rotation right now. pic.twitter.com/qqOqwJXs4R
Brett Kerry, Los Angeles Angels
Even with his first start at AAA (no runs, one hit, and seven strikeouts over five innings), Kerry still has a disaster ERA (6.26) and WHIP (1.533) at AAA over three seasons. His fastball (92.7) this year has been a career-best. He’s shown an improved change this spring.
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Fantasy Baseball Week 2 Stock Watch: Players to Buy Low & Sell High
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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