Update 5/1/09: According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Indians manager Eric Wedge announced that No. 1 prospect Matt LaPorta will be called up Saturday along with infielders Luis Valbuena and Josh Barfield.For all of you fantasy baseball speculators out there, a flurry of transactions by the Cleveland Indians over the past 24 hours may be a precursor to the promotion of one of baseball's top prospects.
Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner went on the disabled list Wednesday and the team called up an extra arm to help out with the pitching staff. This left the team with only two hitters as bench players and a 14-man pitching staff. If the team decides to make a change there and bring up another hitter, the first player called up might be top prospect Matt LaPorta.
LaPorta plays for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers and has been tearing up minor league pitching this season. In 19 games he's batting .368/.436/.706 with four doubles and five home runs. Power hitting is nothing new to this former first-round draft pick as he blasted 22 home runs in 101 games last season in Double-A.
LaPorta could be called up as early as today (Thursday), but nothing is guaranteed. The Indians also have David Dellucci in Columbus as well. Dellucci has Major League experience and might be a better fit to be an Indians bench player, leaving LaPorta to get full-time at-bats in Triple-A.
No matter what the format, a flurry of fantasy owners are rushing to sign LaPorta this morning. His bat is just too good not to consider making this move, even if you are speculating. Remember Evan Longoria from 2008? This could be another of those types of hitters. Just prepare yourself for disappointment in case LaPorta doesn't get the call today, or this weekend. Most expect him to be promoted at some point in 2009. The questions are when and how early can you grab him and how long can you stash him.
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