By Scott Barancik, Editor
On Saturday, Major League teams will have the option to begin expanding their 25-man rosters to up to 40 players as the minor-league season nears an end.
No Jewish prospect is a lock for a call-up. But according to responses from our first-ever Jewish Insiders Poll, several players may have a shot.
1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays/AAA)
Drafted straight out of high school in 2013, Tellez struggled last year and early this season, perhaps in part due to preoccupation with his mother’s battle against brain cancer (although he would be the last to make excuses). But the 23-year-old power hitter has rallied of late, hitting .309 in July and .318 so far in August with a combined 7 home runs and 21 RBIs.
Tellez already is on Toronto’s 40-man roster, a prerequisite for September call-ups, “so it’s an easy roster move for a team that is out of contention,” said Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com’s prospects writer and a producer of the award-winning film Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel.
Chances of getting called-up: 50 percent.
C Garrett Stubbs (Astros/AAA)
A 25-year-old backstop who has tossed out 44% of attempted base-stealers this season, Stubbs does not hit for power (4 HRs), but he leads all Pacific Coast League catchers in average (.308) and ranks #2 in on-base percentage (.374).
MLB.com’s Mayo thinks a call-up is possible. “The Astros will have to add him to the roster this offseason” anyway, he said. And giving Houston an extra catcher in September would allow its regulars to “get some rest down the stretch as they prepare for the postseason.”
Added the anonymous baseball exec: “If [Brian] McCann is delayed in getting back, I can see the Astros calling [Stubbs] up for C depth; great season in Fresno.”
Chances of getting called-up: 33 percent.
LF Zach Borenstein (Mets/AAA)
Now in his eighth minor-league season, Borenstein is making a solid case for promotion. The 28-year-old Team Israel alum ranks among Pacific Coast League leaders in home runs (24) and RBIs (86), and his 78 walks have helped build a healthy .358 OBP.
There are some negatives. One that Borenstein can’t control is his age. One that he can is his strikeouts — he leads the league with 175.
In the outfield, Borenstein has 9 assists this season and just one error.
Chances of getting called-up: 25 percent.
P Matthew Gorst (Red Sox/AAA)
A 2016 draft pick out of Georgia Tech, Gorst has rocketed through Boston’s farm system in 2018. After going 1-2 with a 1.59 ERA and a perfect 8 saves in 8 chances at High-A, the right-hander was promoted to Double-A, where he went 2-0 with a save and a perfect 0.00 ERA in 20.1 innings. A step-up to Triple-A on July 31 may have been a bit premature, but Gorst has made the best of it, going 0-2 with a 2.81 ERA and limiting opposing teams to just 1.00 hits/walks per inning.
The anonymous baseball executive wasn’t optimistic about Gorst’s chances for making the bigs in 2018, however.
“Great rise through their system, but [Boston’s] bullpen depth is strong enough to make a call-up unlikely,” he told Jewish Baseball News.
Chances of getting called-up: 20 percent.
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