Regan's Rumblings: Prospect Check-in

We've already seen a number of preseason top-100 prospects make big league impacts this year, including Corey Seager, Nomar Mazara, and to a lesser extent, Jose Berrios and Blake Snell. So who are some other guys we can expect to make an impact within the next couple months, particularly once the Super-Two deadline passes in June? Here are my top-10 impact guys:

Trea Turner (SS-WAS)

Triple-A: .323/.402/.462, 2 HR, 10 SB

Given that current shortstop Danny Espinosa is batting just .195, this one is already getting a bit controversial. Turner accrued a fair amount of service time last year, so if the Nationals want to delay his free agency a year, he's reportedly going to need to stay in the minor leagues until sometime in June. The Nationals, though, are in first place in the NL East and given that Turner appears to already be the top shortstop in the organization, the team may not be able to keep him down much longer. Turner has slowed down after a blistering start, but once he is recalled, he brings 30-plus stolen base potential and should eventually be good for 10-plus homers.

ETA: June 1 (at the latest)

Tyler Glasnow (SP-PIT)

Triple-A: 5 starts, 26 innings, 2.08 ERA, 37:12 K:BB

The walks are a bit high (4.2 BB/9), but that rate was 4.8 last year, so some progress seems to have been made. Lots of elite pitching prospects struggle with their control in the minors before improving as they mature. Clayton Kershaw is a good example. Glasnow is right up there with Julio Urias and Lucas Giolito for "best pitching prospect in the game" status, and he should beat both to the big leagues, likely as early as this summer. Glasnow should have no problem cracking the rotation once he's ready, as the team's 3-5 starters currently look like this:

Jon Niese – 5.94 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, shelled in each of his last three starts

Jeff Locke – Solid last two starts, but still a 1.84 WHIP

Juan Nicasio – The latest Ray Searage reclamation project is locked into the rotation with a 3.33 ERA in five starts, but can he stay healthy and effective for 25 more starts?

ETA: June 15 – worthy of a bench spot in all formats NOW

A.J. Reed (1B-HOU)

Triple-A: .241/.354/.482, 5 HR

Tyler White's hot start made it seemingly likely that we wouldn't see Reed until late in the year unless he completely dominated Triple-A pitching, but things change. White is in a 4-for-47 skid while Reed is off to a slow start in Triple-A. The OBP and ISO (.241) are both solid, and he's hit a bit better over the last couple weeks, but after last year's breakout, Reed isn't quite knocking on the door. If White continues to struggle, the Astros have options other than Reed, including using Luis Valbuena at first and calling up Alex Bregman to play third. They could give Jon Singleton (.241/.337/.443 in Triple-A) another (final?) chance. I do expect Reed to be the team's regular first baseman in the second half, but it may not happen before then.

ETA: July 15

J.P. Crawford (SS-PHI)

Double-A: .277/.417/.398, 2 HR, 4 SB

With the Phillies surprisingly competitive at 16-11, it's unclear how that will affect whether or not they call up Crawford, but I don't expect this pace will continue for the team. Currently manning the shortstop position in Philadelphia is the deadly duo of Freddie Galvis and Andres Blanco. Galvis is the starter despite his regression from last year's .263/.302/.343 to .227/.255/.392. A 3.8% BB% isn't ideal for a guy with poor contact skills and below average power, making Galvis a much better fit in a utility role. So basically, Crawford has a clear path to the starting shortstop job once he's deemed "ready." Crawford's 19.4% BB% and 16.5% K% point to his elite leadoff skills, and while he doesn't have his cousin Carl Crawford's (in his prime) speed, hitting atop a big league lineup, his on-base skills could allow for 30-plus steals. He may be a 15-homer guy in his prime as well.

ETA: July 1

Alex Bregman (SS-HOU)

Double-A: .340/.431/.660, 5 HR, 2 SB

There's a fairly decent chance that Bregman breaks in as something other than a shortstop given the presence of Carlos Correa, but last year's first-rounder looks like yet another gem for a talented young organization. Bregman appears to have a pretty clear path to third base as only Luis Valbuena and Marwin Gonzalez are atop the depth chart currently, and give Bregman's hot start, that ascension to the big leagues could happen pretty quickly. Valbuena is batting .175 and Gonzalez .196, and between the two, they have just a single home run all year. Bregman could probably pretty easily skip Triple-A and go right to the big leagues, but he's currently dealing with a hamstring injury and hasn't played since April 22, so a promotion isn't imminent. Still, he has serious impact potential and I'd expect to see him this year.

ETA: August 1 at the latest

Josh Hader (SP-MIL)

Double-A: 5 starts, 23 IP, 0.78 ERA, 32:9 K:BB

Hader is a bit late to the top prospects list, but despite being just a 19th-round pick, Hader has consistently outperformed his draft position, posting a 10.0 K/9 in 386.1 minor league innings. He's already off to a great start this year and has already received some whispers about a callup despite the fact that the 22-year-old southpaw is still in Double-A. Hader is still growing into his 6-foot-3 frame, but he looks to have the ability to move from his current low-90s fastball more into the mid-90s as he matures. Hader is still building up stamina given he's averaging less than five innings per start, but he did go six innings in his last start and has the stuff to make an impact as early as this year. He also tossed 104 innings in Double-A last year, so he's advanced enough to make the leap to the big leagues at some point this season.

ETA: August 1

Orlando Arcia (SS-MIL)

Triple-A: .299/.330/.437, 3 HR, 4 SB

The 21 year-old Arcia hit .307/.347/.453 in Double-A last year, including eight homers and 25 stolen bases, so there was some thought that he could make the club out of spring training, but there was no real reason for the Brewers to have him skip Triple-A. Arcia homered once every 84 at-bats in the prior two seasons (2014-2015), but he's already had three in 92 at-bats this year. His primary competition is current shortstop Jonathan Villar, currently batting .265/.378/.386 with an impressive eight stolen bases. That OBP and the speed has Villar locked into a job for the time being, but what about third base? Aaron Hill and Colin Walsh currently top the depth chart, but neither guy is hitting much and Villar could seemingly easily slide over to third. Look for this to happen later this summer.

ETA: July 15

Josh Bell (1B-PIT)

Triple-A: .310/.408/.494, 4 HR, 1 SB

Bell is a bit of a mystery, as he's listed at 6-foot-2, 245-pounds, but hit just seven home runs in 131 Double-A at-bats last year. He's already hit three in 87 at-bats this season, and I'd expect the 23 year-old to eventually be a 20-25 homer guy with a potential .300 BA and solid on-base skills. Bell's BB/K last year was 1.0 and is 0.79 so far in 23 games this season, and he appears to be inching closer to the big leagues by the week. The Pirates are using a John Jaso/Sean Rodriguez platoon at first right now, and with Jaso on the better end hitting .283/.356/.435, there is no real urgency to make a switch. Bell is the clear first baseman of the future for the Pirates, a future that should begin in Pittsburgh sometime this season.

ETA: July 15

Brett Phillips (OF-MIL)

Double-A: .250/.355/.388, 2 HR, 1 SB

Josh Hader, Phillips, and Domingo Santana for Carlos Gomez who has been terrible so far this year? That's practically highway robbery at this point for the Brewers. Phillips broke out last year with a .901 OPS across three levels, ultimately opening up in Double-A this season. He's off to a bit of a slow start in terms of batting average, but Phillips is also fanning in 31.9 percent of his PA's, even though walking in 12.8 percent of them doesn't hurt. Phillips has already flashed 20/20 ability, but he'll need to cut back on the strikeouts to reach his All-Star level ceiling. The Brewers are currently using Kirk Nieuwenhuis alongside Ryan Braun and Santana, so the opportunity is clearly there once he's ready.

ETA: August 1 unless he catches fire here pretty soon

Lucas Giolito (SP-WAS)

Double-A: 5 starts, 18.2 IP, 5.30 ERA, 2.04 WHIP, 17:14 K:BB

With Joe Ross and Tanner Roark off to solid starts, that pushes back Giolito's timeline a bit, and given his slow start, that's not a bad thing. Giolito has major league stuff, including a fastball that can touch the upper-90s and a curve that grades close to 80 on the scouting scale. Giolito posted a 2.8 BB/9 in 117 innings a year ago, so the early lack of control isn't much of a concern at this point. He's going to put it all together eventually and possibly be a No.1 caliber starter, but he's still just 21, so Giolito may need a bit more seasoning than we anticipated.

ETA: September 1, though it could be much earlier given his stuff

Other quick hits:

Jameson Taillon (SP-PIT) – 1.19 ERA and 26:3 K:BB in 30.1 innings. Probably has a good case for the top-10 on this list.

Julio Urias (SP-LAD) – Innings limit will limit his 2016 fantasy upside. Update: faced 18 batters Wednesday and retired all of them. ERA: 1.88.

Bradley Zimmer (OF-CLE) - .236/.340/.538 and offers 20 HR/30 SB upside, but may not be up until September unless his batting average picks up.

Jose De Leon (SP-LAD) – Just back from ankle injury. May beat Urias to big leagues.

Sean Newcomb (SP-ATL) – Control just not there yet.

Edwin Diaz (SP-SEA) – One of my favorite sleeper prospects (or is he not a sleeper anymore?), Diaz has an 11.7 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in Double-A.

Trey Mancini (1B-BAL) – Seven HR in 17 games in Double-A got him bumped to Triple-A, but has obstacles ahead of him at the big league level.

Cody Reed (SP-CIN) – 1.62 ERA in three starts after getting a long look this spring, so should be up quickly if he continues to pitch well.

Aaron Judge (OF-NYY) – Probably a future regular, but a bit overrated in my book.

Braden Shipley (SP-ARI) – Will debut this year, though upside somewhat limited.

Cody Reed (SP-CIN) – Love the upside, but tough park to pitch in, and bullpen is a dumpster fire.

Dansby Swanson (SS-ATL) – Just promoted to Double-A after 21 games in High-A, but probably more a 2017 guy.

Alex Reyes (SP-STL) – 50-game suspension ends on May 17, and with his stuff, an August debut is possible.