Manny Machado, SS – Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore has called up their uber-prospect Manny Machado. Selected third by the O’s in the 2010 draft, Manny is a 6’2”, 180-pound shortstop that is expected to help fill the void at third base in Baltimore. The 20-year-old Machado was batting .266/.350/.431 with 10 home runs and 58 RBI in 108 games at Double-A Bowie.
Machado is the ninth best prospect in baseball right now according to Baseball America.
Analysis:
When you promote your top position player directly from Double-A, you’re not doing it so that he can gain Major League bench experience. So it’s a pretty safe bet that Machado will be getting his fair share of at-bats for the Birds down the stretch. Most insiders agree that this call-up was earlier than expected, so perhaps Baltimore kept seeing Mike Trout highlights every day and wanted to see if their own 20-year-old call-up could make an impact as well. The Orioles find themselves in the playoff hunt (a rare situation in Baltimore these days) so they are clearly going all-in to try and win in 2012.
In most fantasy formats, he is already eligible at shortstop – but with J.J. Hardy firmly entrenched in that spot, Manny will also gain 3B eligibility as he is expected to get the bulk of his playing time at third. Fantasy owners looking for flexibility on the left side of the infield – as well as a youngster with high upside – might want to add Manny now on pure spec.
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