Benintendi was tossed out as an imperfect but probably not too far off comp. Happ has been more consistent and is a better defender but overall production wise isn't too different and Benintendi reached FA a year younger. Benintendi got 5/75 this offseason.
The big factors are the existing roster's performance, and fit/balance on the roster. Mervis is probably not going to come up while Hosmer has a near .400 OBP and 114 wRC+ unless Mancini is hurt or completely craters(which they're going to give much more than 2 weeks to decide given his 2 year deal). The question is how quick the trigger is if and when Hosmer stops producing.
Morel is more about balance. He bears a fair amount in common with Wisdom(who is hitting well) and Velazquez as a hitter in terms of strengths/weaknesses, so while he's probably going to outproduce Madrigal or Mastrobuoni in a vacuum, the opportunities he would have for playing time would set him up for failure and/or imbalance the lineup against the types that all of Wisdom/Morel/Velazquez (not to mention Rios and Bellinger) struggle with in particular.
Off day tomorrow helps, as does Stroman being the SP (knock on wood). Rucker is definitely down, Alzolay probably is too, but you can get away with using anyone else in the right situation. If Stroman gets knocked around you eat it but otherwise let him work through things and get 5-6 and let Keegan/Boxberger/Fulmer be plan A.
I am curious about this because it feels pretty foundational to his MLB future. Is he one of those guys who gets 100 games into his MLB career and is putting up +7 in CF and all of a sudden it's an easy CF profile, or is he -2 and then he looks more like a second division starter(assuming he hits) or 4th OF on a contender?
Yes, one option year left. He could choose free agency if we outrighted him so probably best to keep on the 40 man(which isn't the current convo anyway), but you could see the argument to give him regular ABs for a spell until something at the MLB level changes(injury or performance)
Not the most relevant for today's lineup in particular, but the lack of usage for Rios is catching my eye. Only Torrens(again, why are we doing this with him) has fewer PA in the first 10 games. Part of me wonders if he's a casualty of the Seiya/Hughes activations, especially with Velazquez seizing his chance.