Call-Up Madness

Here are some notable prospects who have been called up recently and their potential impact.

Jeff Clement (C - Seattle)
I think all the rain and coffee has warped the little brains of those in the Mariners' front office. They just signed the 31-year-old Kenji Johjima to a three-year extension. Yes, he of the .459 OPS. At least they've come to their senses to some degree and realized the organization's best catcher should probably be in the majors.

Word is that the M's will give Clement starts at both catcher and DH, so playing time shouldn't be a concern. Considering Clement was hitting .397/.535/.692 at AAA, production shouldn't be a concern either.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the only catchers who will out-produce Clement from this point on are Victor Martinez, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Joe Mauer, and Geovany Soto. If you don't have one of those guys, go get Clement right now. (J.R. Towles is close, by the way.)

On a side note, I LOVE that Clement walked 22 times and only struck out 12 times in 23 AAA games. It doesn't help much in fantasy baseball, but Mariner fans should be excited.

Wladimir Balentien (OF - Seattle)
Another Mariner! This is fun. Balentien hasn't been nearly as impressive as Clement this year (.254/.329/.619) in the minors, but he did go 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in his first game with the Mariners.

With the Mariners cutting Brad Wilkerson, Balentien should get plenty of playing time. The power is legit and you could very well see 20 homers this year. I'm less optimistic about the batting average, though. Think .250-.270. If you're in an AL-only league, you should go get him. In deeper mixed leagues, he's borderline, depending on your outfield depth.


Nick Adenhart (SP - Los Angeles Angels)
Due to Dustin Moseley's utter suckiness, the Angels called up Adenhart to start tonight's game against the A's. My guess would be that Adenhart will only be in the majors until John Lackey is done with his rehab, which may be in another week or so. That means you'll probably only get one more start out of Adenhart after tonight (for now, at least).

Now the hard part: will he be any good? Here are his AAA stats this season:

31 IP; 19 K; 15 BB; 0 HR; 0.87 ERA

The ERA is beautiful and he seems to have a knack for keeping the ball in the park. The troublesome part is the K/BB ratio. Unless he does something to improve that ratio, Adenhart's going to have a tough time becoming a star in the majors. I could see him having a Jon Garland-like career (which isn't bad).

Should you own him? In a mixed league, probably not. If you're in an AL-only league, he might be worth a shot.


Brandon Wood (3B - Los Angeles Angels)
Nothing to get excited about here. I wouldn't expect Wood to be up for an extended period. Once Howie Kendrick comes back (soon), Chone Figgins will move back to third, leaving no room for Wood.

I should note that, even if Wood was going to be in the majors for an extended period, I wouldn't be overly excited. Too many strikeouts = low batting average. Occasional power is nice, but not enough to overcome his other flaws.


Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C - Texas Rangers)
Word is that the Rangers plan on giving Salty and Gerald Laird an even split of time behind the plate. He may get the occasional DH or first base start, but the playing time situation doesn't look great for Salty. He was doing a decent job in the minors, but I have a tough time recommending a pick-up here unless you're in an AL-only league.