April 19 was a big day for prospects Ryan Ward & Wilber Dotel, both of whom were called up by their respective teams. Additionally, the Yankees made a small trade with the Astros and acquired Minor League reliever Wilmy Sanchez.
Ward up with Dodgers
The Dodgers recalled outfielder Ryan Ward from Oklahoma City, giving the 2019 MLB Draft pick his first taste of the bigs.
Last season, Ward had a standout season in Triple-A. The former Bryant Bulldog led the Pacific Coast League with 36 home runs, ranked near the top in Barrel% and Hard-Hit%, and also finished in the top four in total walks. His strong year helped him earn a spot on the 40-man roster.
This season, Ward has produced well. Twenty-two hits and 12 walks over 18 contests with Oklahoma City.
Pirates promote Dotel
Pirates pitching prospect Wilber Dotel is up with the big club, as he was recalled from Triple-A. Whenever Dotel gets into a game, he’ll make his MLB debut.
Wilber Dotel was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster last November after he struck out 131 over 125 innings last season with Altoona. As we noted in our Pirates’ 2025 farm review, he didn’t have plus swing-and-miss with the Curve but nonetheless earned a spot on the 40-man.
This season, Dotel walked seven over 14 innings and gave up 18 hits (two HR) for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Dotel is a three-pitch pitcher, with a hard slider, a changeup, and a 96-98 MPH fastball that topped out at 100 MPH this season with Indianapolis.
Astros, Yankees make trade
The Houston Astros & New York Yankees made a trade. Braden Shewmake went to Houston, while the Yankees picked up Minor League reliever Wilmy Sanchez.
Shewmake, who was hitting .250 in Triple-A before the move, is a former first-round pick who will give the Astros some additional organizational depth in the middle infield. He was assigned to Sugar Land after the trade.
Sanchez is a 22-year-old reliever who spent the last two seasons in Double-A. 5’9” pitcher with a fastball, changeup, and slider. A lot of strikeouts & swing-and-miss in the profile, as Sanchez punched out 75 over 61 innings for the Corpus Christi Hooks. So far this season, Sanchez has had a 33.3% Whiff% and eight strikeouts over seven innings (1.29 ERA).
Recalls & options
Mason Black (Royals), Jayden Murray (Astros), and Andrew Alvarez (Nationals) were recalled from the Minors.
Cam Sanders (Pirates), Deyvison De Los Santos (Marlins), Tyler Tolbert (Royals), Mitch Spence (Royals), and Paxton Schultz (Nationals) were optioned to Triple-A.
Other moves
The Dodgers placed Freddie Freeman on the paternity list, hence why Ward is up.
Kansas City selected the contract of catcher Elias Diaz.
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