Athletics Call Up Prospect Matt Chapman: Fantasy impact

The Athletics made a change at third base by calling up Matt Chapman and designate Trevor Plouffe for assignment. What is Chapman’s fantasy value?

The Oakland Athletics, like every other team in the division, are far back in the American League West leader Houston Astros. The pitching staff is treading water while the offense has enough bats to score runs and stay competitive.

What that means is, though, that some of the other bats aren’t performing, one of them is Trevor Plouffe. As a result, he was DFA’d and the A’s called up third base prospect Matt Chapman. Can he bring his minor league power numbers to the majors?

Chapman hit .237 with 36 home runs and 96 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016. He had a .328 on-base percentage with 173 strikeouts and 68 walks. He was clearly more of a power than a contact hitter.

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In 48 games in Triple-A this season, he hit 16 more homers with 30 RBI and a .259/.350/.592 line. He struck out 63 times and walked 25 times in that span. Even with the low average, he was still hitting better than Plouffe.

In 58 games this season, Plouffe hit a .214 average with seven home runs, 14 RBI and a 58:16 K:BB ratio. He was losing playing time to Ryon Healy starting in June. At 28-38, a change needed to be made.

Jeff Todd of MLBTradeRumors wrote, “Chapman is regarded as a quality defender at the hot corner, which helps boost his profile quite a bit.” This will help his pitchers and keep him on the field and not just as the DH.

There are a few power hitter, low batting average guys in the league already. Of the hitters with at least 15 home runs, 23 batters, nine of them have a batting average lower than .270. This gives Chapman little fantasy value in shallow leagues unless you are way down in home runs.

In his first game, Chapman went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two walks. I’m not stressed with the lack of hits. I do like the fact that he walked twice. Seeing the ball well, especially at the big league level, is important for long-term success.

Next: Francis Marte's fantasy value

I don’t think Chapman should be added in 10-team leagues. There is a big enough pool of third basemen or corner infielders to fill a spot for you. He’s owned in just 2.4 percent of ESPN leagues so if you want him, he’s there.