Inbox: September callups time

While it’s not quite the same as it used to be, September callup time is still exciting.

Gone are the days when scores of prospects could ascend to the big leagues all at once, with teams able to expand their rosters up to 40, if they so chose. These days, the limit is 28, two per team, so it doesn’t create the same frenzy. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see any intriguing prospects get up to the highest level, either to provide a jolt for a playoff push or to get an early taste of Major League life in anticipation of a larger contribution in 2023.

We talked about September callups at length on this week’s MLB Pipeline Podcast, from the already called up Corbin Carroll to answering a question about where Gunnar Henderson would play if and when he moved up (and boy were we clairvoyant!).

While we watch the waiver wire for more moves, here are some more answers to your questions. Enjoy!

How close is INF/Catcher Endy Rodriguez to the top 100? The man has been raking all season, especially since he was promoted to Double-A. -- @so_suspended

Pirates’ No. 6 prospect Endy Rodriguez needs to be placed on the 40-man roster after the season, Pirates catchers are scuffling at Major League level right now. How do you think he’d do at that level as a September callup? Dumb idea outside of starting his clock? -- @ballsandgutters

Anytime we put out a new Top 100 list, we invariably get questions like “How close is Prospect A to the Top 100?” And I’ve gotten a fair share about Endy Rodriguez, the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect, acquired by Pittsburgh from the Mets in the three-team trade that sent Joe Musgrove to the Padres prior to the 2021 season.

The short answer is: He’s close. He may not be the next guy up, but he will be discussed each time we need a replacement between now and the end of the season, and he’ll certainly be talked about when we do our 2023 preseason rankings. What’s been most impressive with Rodriguez is how his power started to show up last year and it’s continued this season while maintaining his feel to hit and advanced approach at the plate. He has indeed raked at two levels this year with a combined .310/.399/.570 line and 21 homers while catching, playing the outfield and second base (though it’s been interesting to note that he’s almost exclusively been catching with Altoona while Henry Davis was out).

While it’s been particularly impressive how good he’s been in Double-A thus far (.349/.434/.697), it’s only been 17 games. And when we were re-ranking the Top 100, he had just been promoted, so we didn’t even have that small sample. Greensboro is a very, very good place to hit, and while his home-road splits were good, his power production was much higher at home (.587 SLG vs. .493 on the road). So we wanted to see what he’d do up a level. Obviously, so far, so good.

The other thing we aren’t sure about is where his defensive home is. His value is maximized if he can stick behind the plate, where his agility and athleticism are plusses. He caught more games this year (64) than at any point in his career and seems to be holding up just fine, a good sign. If he’s a super-utility guy, that’s a little tougher to evaluate, but either way he should hit his way onto the list eventually.

As for the second question? There are no dumb ideas… but there is really no reason at all to bring him up. Teams can only expand to 28 and there are enough other players the Pirates might rather get a look at now in Pittsburgh. If the thought was that Rodriguez could be the Opening Day catcher in 2023, then maybe it would make some sense to give him a trial run, but he’s going to need time in Triple-A first.

Do the landing spots of the teams in the Draft Lottery fall the same in the subsequent rounds? Say that you land one spot out of the wild card but net the first or third overall pick, do you get that in the following rounds or just the 1st? -- @jakelarsen

We’ve been getting a bunch of questions about the lottery and honestly, we don’t have any details beyond what Jim Callis wrote back in March. The highlight: All 18 non-playoff teams enter a lottery for the top six picks and the teams with the three worst records will have the best odds of procuring the No. 1 pick.

But this one I can answer (it’s also in the story Jim wrote). The lottery is only for the first round. So if by some chance the Brewers fall short of the wild card (they’re currently on the outside looking in) but beat the odds and get the No. 1 pick, it would be for that selection only. In the ensuing rounds, the order will go back to being determined by reverse order of standings.

Anyone with 70-grade hit tool either currently in Top 100 or outside who could be in the future? -- @DoorCoPastor

There is! Termarr Johnson, the No. 4 overall pick in the Draft and now a member of the Pirates organization, is the only player on any list with a 70 hit tool. He obviously needs to go out and prove it as a pro, but scouts talked about him as one of the best pure high school hitters they’d seen in a very long time, so here’s predicting he deserves the 70.

There aren’t too many others who could earn that kind of grade for their hit tool. We currently have two players with a 65 hit grade: Corbin Carroll, now up in the big leagues, and Brooks Lee, the Twins’ first-round pick this July. I could see either of them getting that coveted 70, though Carroll won’t be a prospect for long. We have a total of 31 players with a 60 hit grade and while none of them are screaming they deserve a full grade higher, a few who could get there are Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Draft by the O's, the Rays’ Curtis Mead, who hits everywhere with impact, and the Brewers’ Sal Frelick, who has hit his way to Triple-A.

Who's your early pick to win AL and NL Rookie of the Year next year? -- @StevieDAles97

Got a little wordy with the answers above, so I’m going to throw out three names in each league and bold the guy I’m picking as of right now. Guaranteed to be wrong! And yes, I’m making some obvious choices.

American League

Gunnar Henderson, Orioles
Grayson Rodriguez, Orioles
Taj Bradley, Rays

National League

Corbin Carroll, D-backs
Bobby Miller, Dodgers
Sal Frelick, Brewers