May 2025 – Imaginary Brick Wall

Posted on May 27, 2025May 30, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Updated May 2025 Top 443 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon)

Things move fast in the Dynasty Baseball world, and that means there was tons of movement since the last update, even amongst the elite. Hello Pete Crow Armstrong and Zach Neto. Top 27 free here on the Brick Wall. Blurbs for every player. Previous rankings (April and Off-season) are in parenthesis. Here is the Updated May 2025 Top 443 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 30.11 – Over the off-season, Bobby Witt was kinda tempting to put over Ohtani after the shoulder surgery, but that temptation has been completely squashed. There is nobody that can touch Ohtani for this top spot, and it’s not even close

2) (2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 25.0 – Only 5 homers in 54 games, but poor HR/FB luck is the only problem. He’ll go on a homer binge shortly for sure

3) (3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.5 – He’s 12th on the Razzball Player Rater and it doesn’t even feel like he’s been playing that well. K% and Whiff% are both down a hair, which locks in that the hit tool isn’t all of a sudden going to tank him. I’m scared to see where he ends up when he actually gets hot

4) (5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 24.8 – Carroll done messed around and turned into one of the premier power hitters in our game. His power metrics are up everywhere. Bat speed (75 MPH), EV (93.6 MPH), launch (16.1 degrees) … all of them are up considerably and into the elite range. He needed to give up some contact and speed to do it, but we’ll take that trade off all day. I could honestly pick 2 through 5 out of hat be happy with any order

5) (4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 23.11 – .902 OPS in his last 27 games. 94.6 MPH EV is a career high. It took him a second to shake the rust off from his delayed start to the season, but he’s clearly just fine

Shadow5) (6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 30.11 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only, and I honestly wouldn’t argue with you if you wanted to put him at Shadow 1.

6) (8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.5 – .416 xwOBA is a career high and 8th best in baseball. He’s on a career high pace for both homers and steals. The Quiet Killer ain’t going to be so quiet when we see how much he gets paid this off-season

7) (10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.1 – Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are just playing a different game than everyone else. Judge has a .477 xwOBA and Ohtani has a .474 xwOBA. Judge doesn’t run as much, he doesn’t pitch, and he’s 2+ years older, so I can’t place him over Ohtani for dynasty, but if you are going for the title in 2025, Ohtani is the only person I would trade him for.

8) (6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.5 – He’s cooled off in May but he’s still been crushing the ball so it just looks like an aberration

9) (7) (24) Oneil Cruz – PIT, OF/SS, 26.8 – 25.5% Barrel% leads all of baseball. 78.9 MPH swing leads all of baseball. 18 stolen bases is 3rd best behind only Luis Robert and Bobby Witt. Sure he strikes out too much, but when you are insanely elite everywhere else, I don’t care. The .256 xBA is also better than the .238 BA even with all the swing and miss

10) (11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.5 – I did not budge very much off Acuna this off-season, and I’m happy I didn’t. It was clear that he was completely healthy as he was destroying the minors, and now he’s destroying the majors with 2 homers in 3 games. The only question is how much he’s going to run

11) (9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.7 – Soto will be fine. His .428 xwOBA is 4th best in baseball. But I’m scratching my head on why he decided to stop lifting and pulling. His 19.1% Air Pull% in 2024 was well above average and a career high by far, and it resulted in the best season of his career. I assumed it was a conscious decision to aim for that short porch, but he hit more homers on the road than at home, so there was no reason to change anything going into 2025. But now it’s all the way down to 11.6% again. Is it intentional? Was 2024 just an aberration? I talked about it on the May Mailbag Podcast, but I’m scratching my head on why he decided to go back. On the plus side his 7 steals in 52 games is a career high pace

12) (13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 22.9 – I’m fairly certain I was the only person with the guts, the cojones, to rank James Wood over Jackson Chourio this off-season, and while I still love Chourio, it’s really more about how good Wood is. He’s a special talent with a 75.7 MPH swing, 93.7 MPH EV, and 28 fts/sec sprint. Even with a 4 degree launch, he’s the midst of a special season with a .920 OPS and .395 xwOBA. He’s an elite dynasty asset. Simple as that. Also please know when I talk some shit like this, it is done with a smile on my face and in the vein of ball busting with friends. I love the dynasty/fantasy community.

13) (17) (25) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.8 – I was the high guy on Abrams this off-season. I was buying low based off his little suspension or whatever, and now it’s paying off in a major way. He’s hit the ball harder every year of his career with a 30.7% Hard Hit% in 2022, a 35.9% Hard Hit% in 2023, a 40.7% Hard Hit% in 2024 and now a 44.2% Hard Hit% in 2025. The contact, launch, and speed were already there. He’s a perennial 30/30 guy waiting to happen

14) (14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.7 – He’s been slumping in May but all of the underlying numbers are where we want them to be. 14.5Barrel%, 91.6 MPH EV, 15.3 degree launch, 28.9 ft/sec sprint, 23.8% whiff%, 24.3% chase% … He’s going to be special

15) (33) (64) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 23.2 – . I ranked Pete Crow all the way up at 64th overall in the off-season Top 1,000 Rankings, starting off his blurb by writing, “Pete Crow Armstrong’s power has been underrated from the time he was drafted,” and ending with “Put some respect on this man’s name. His name is Pete Crow Armstrong, not Pete Crow Armweak.” If you’ve read my work at any point over the last 5 years, you know I have been shouting from the mountain tops to buy PCA. And I can’t even put into words how good it feels to watch this explosion. He’s 3rd overall on the Razzball Player Rater 14 homers, 14 steeals, and a .280 BA. He has a 14.0% Barrel%, 89.6 MPH EV, 23.8 degree launch and 40.9% Hard Hit%, backing up the power gains. His 26.7% whiff% is a career high. The only quibble is a 42.8% Chase%, which yea, that is bad, but I’m not going to harp on it. Mostly because I don’t know how to play the Harp 😉 … but also because everything else looks so great. This dude is made for fantasy. Sure he might regress some, which is why I have him ranked here, and not 3rd overall.

16) (12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.5 – Only 6 steals in 51 games and he only stole 24 bags in 143 games last year. The ballpark (6 homers on the road vs. 3 homers at home) and launch (7.6 degrees) are preventing a true game power explosion. We know Julio is a slow starter and Julio is still a fantasy beast, but beyond the slow start stuff, there are a couple things here to nitpick

17) (16) (15) Jackson Merrill – SDP, OF, 22.1 – Don’t kill me. Just reporting the facts, ma’am, but that .390 BABIP is doing a lot of the heavy lifting right now. The .394 xwOBA is elite too, but he only has 1 steal in 27 games (maybe you can blame the hamstring injury), the EV, K%, launch, whiff% and chase% are all actually down a hair. I love him and that xwOBA doesn’t lie. The surface stats are great. But just thought I would point some things out I’m seeing while also keeping in mind his sample is smaller because of the injury

18) (15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.3 – Julio Rodriguez is the slow starter King, but Chourio may be coming for that crown with a slow start for his 3rd year in row (2023 came in the minors). I’m not gonna lie, the underlying numbers don’t look pretty either with a .289 xwOBA, 87.2 MPH EV, and 40.5% Chase%, but the bottom line is that you can’t sell low. You can’t panic. My bet is still being placed on a monster 2nd half

19) (18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 23.0 – He’s not striking out as many guys as we would hope with a 26.2% K%, but you don’t want to slice and dice the numbers too much on a so clearly elite stud. You don’t slice and dice Skenes … Skenes slices and dices you

20) (37) (43) Zach Neto – LAA, SS, 24.4 – Nobody can make me happier than Pete Crow Armstrong, but Zach Neto is a close 2nd. I was the high guy on him from the get go just like PCA, ignored the shoulder surgery this off-season and didn’t budge off him, and now he’s going next level breakout with a 17.5% Barrel%, 93.7 MPH EV, 19.6 degree launch and .399 xwOBA. The 28.4/4.7 K%/BB% doesn’t look great, but the 26.7% whiff% and 25% Chase% both look much better, so I’m not concerned there at all. Neto is blossoming into an elite dynasty asset right before our eyes

21) (19) (18) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 32.8 – In the midst of another elite season. My rule for elite studs like Ramirez is that you ride them until their age 33 year old season. Only then do you start to consider selling, but even that is based on your team.

22) (20) (20) Bryce Harper – PHI, 1B, 32.7 – .392 xwOBA is in the top 10% of baseball. And he’s on a career high stolen base pace with 8 steals. Still elite even if the surface stats don’t quite show it right now

23) (21) (22) Francisco Lindor – NYM, SS, 31.6 – Will once again be knocking on the door of 30/30 for his 3rd season in a row

24) (24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.6 – 2.7% BB% leads all qualified starters. 35.0% K% is 2nd amongst all starters, trailing only MacKenzie Gore. Velocity is up even more from his career high marks last year at 97.7 MPH. 35.8% whiff% is silly elite. Hard to say that he’s not the best starter in baseball, but Skenes still has the age edge, and pitchers are still just so much more risky than hitters

25) (41) (31) Rafael Devers – BOS, 3B, 28.7 – Career high 17.2% Barrel% and 94.8 MPH EV, to go along with a .945 OPS can basically put an end to the shoulder worries. On the other hand, he’s going to lose 3B eligibility and he refuses to play 1B (for now), so being DH only will definitely be annoying for fantasy roster construction

26) (26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.11 – He’s not as dominant as 2024, but I’m not going to argue with a 2.04 ERA and 29.8/8.0 K%/BB% in 75 IP too much. The stuff is down a tick, the whiffs are down a tick and the walks are up a tick, but this is still a young ace

27) (27) (37) Yoshinobu Yamamoto – LAD, RHP, 26.10 – He was great in year 1 and he’s even better in year 2 with a 1.97 ERA and 30.5/8.1 K%/BB% in 64 IP. His splitter is the most valuable splitter in baseball by a decent margin

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Welcome to May Dynasty Baseball Rankings Week!

It’s time for the Dynasty Rankings to get the ole’ refresher. Enjoy your Memorial Day, and then bright and early on Tuesday you will get hit with the first part of the Updated Rankings on the Patreon. I’m going over 400 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 20-ish gets posted for free here on the Brick Wall. Enjoy the day. Catch you tom …

-Halp

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/25)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/25):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25) (May Update coming next week)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! (May Mailbag coming this week)

Jack Leiter – TEX, RHP, 25.1 – I always find it so interesting when a prospect starts to get on the radar of smart baseball fans/redraft analyst’s who don’t play dynasty and don’t dive deep into the prospect world. We prospectors and dynasty baseball fiends have been following these guys careers from probably well before they were even drafted, and we see all the ups and downs. We have the big picture, birds eye view. And we value guys accordingly. But then all of a sudden a guy will make their MLB debut, or be on the precipice of their debut, and then a whole new set of eyes will get on them. A whole new group of smart people will discover a guy for mostly the first time, and those fresh eyes bring a different perspective. Enter Jack Leiter, who prospectors rode the ups and down with in his minor league career, and by the time he made his debut in 2024, and then again this off-season, he basically fell off everyone’s Top 100. We all knew about the big stuff, but we saw the problems and inconsistency. But the people really getting a look at him for the first time were all just drooling over the big stuff and flying him up rankings. Sometimes this can reveal a prospect fatigue within the prospect/dynasty industry, and the fresh eyes are correct. But sometimes having the bigger picture wins out, and in the case of Leiter, the inconsistencies are popping back up after a strong start to the season. He went 7 IP with 3 hits, 3 ER, and a 4/2 K/BB vs. Houston yesterday, and he now has a 5.54 ERA with a 15.5/13.6 K%/BB% since returning from the IL. The huge stuff is there with upper 90’s heat but he has below average control/command and he doesn’t have a great secondary. It’s been the story of his career, and it’s again the story of this season. The hyped kick change this off-season has been bad. The slider looked good early, but it’s dropped back off since returning. The tantalizing talent is in there. It’s what got him drafted 2nd overall, but he just hasn’t put it together. This blurb wasn’t meant as a diss at all to anyone. I love it when smart, fresh eyes get a look at a prospect that the same people have been evaluating for years. It’s interesting and it usually does reveal some biases of the prospect community. And as for Leiter, you never want to bet against a guy with this level of stuff eventually figuring it out. I want to buy in. I bought in too much after his hot start. But in the end, it was just flashes. The inconsistency is back unfortunately.

Mick Abel – PHI, RHP, 23.9 – Now after patting the prospect community on the back for Jack Leiter, it deserves to be admonished for Mick Abel. We gave up on this man after his horrific 2024, and now he’s making us regret it in 2025. After massively improving his control and putting up a good season at Triple-A with a 2.53 ERA and 26.6/9.9 K%/B% in 46.1 IP, he made his MLB debut and showed out, going 6 IP with 5 hits, 0 ER, and a 9/0 K/BB vs. PIT. The fastball sat 97.3 MPH and dominated with a 32% whiff%. The curve was untouchable with 8 of 11 whiffs. He also mixed in a slider, sinker and changeup, leading to a 38% whiff% overall. He straight up outdueled Paul Skenes in this one. He’s not actually this good, I don’t think, as he wasn’t even this good at Triple-A, but what an exclamation point to make that his improvement is for real. This is when betting on the stuff and not worrying about the inconsistency pays off … although we do have a track record of up and down performance. So maybe we should keep a little bit of that bird’s eye view and have some caution. But after yesterday, I want to fly him up rankings too.

Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.8 – Speaking of being patient with huge stuff, ain’t nobody was going off Jackson Jobe, and I’m liking what I’m seeing of late, especially after yesterday, He went 6 IP with 6 hits, 2 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB vs. TOR, and what I’m liking the most is the 31% whiff%. He had a high whiff rate vs. Boston in his last outing too. Seeing the swing and miss is huge, and to me it is a sign that he is starting to figure it out. The season line still isn’t very good with a 18.5/12.5 K%/BB% in 39.1 IP, but the changeup is starting to look like an elite pitch with a 71% whiff% in this one, the 96.6 MPH fastball is missing more bats with a 25% whiff%, and the slider is inducing weak contact with a 82.3 MPH EV. The ingredients are in here, and he’s starting to put it together.

Chase Dollander – COL, RHP, 23.6 – 4.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 6/2 K/BB at Arizona. Every time Dollander pitches on the road, it’s just a little bit of torture. Just a taste of what his career could have looked like if he didn’t get drafted into Coors. He has a 4.29 ERA, 1.095 WHIP, and a 26.7% K% in 21 IP on the road vs. a 8.66 ERA, 1.811 WHIP and 17.4% K% in 17.2 IP at home. I mean, it just isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair. The 97.5 MPH fastball dominated with a 30% whiff%, and so did the curve with a 39% whiff%. Can they just not use him at home? Let some other scrub get bombed there.

Heliot Ramos – SFG, OF, 25.8 – He got another one at home! This one crushed at 111.2 MPH. The first one he hit at home was like 112+ MPH. That’s all he has to do. Just crush them at 110+ MPH at home and you will be fine. He now has a .968 OPS on the road vs. a .725 OPS at home. He’s like the hitting version of Dollander.

Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 23.1 – 2 for 4 with a 106 MPH homer off Eflin. Crews is one of my favorite buy lows right now. He has 6 homers and 11 steals in 44 games, which everyone would be crazy over if he just had normal BABIP luck. His .255 xBA and .233 BABIP are screaming that the .191 BA is unlucky. There is absolutely nothing in his profile which would show that he is a low BABIP player. It’s actually the opposite. With normal luck, he would be absolutely flying up the rankings, but right now his value is pretty damn low. I sense people wanting to give up, but now is not the time. It’s actually time to pounce if his current owner is getting tired of him.

Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.11, A+ – The game power breakout has so clearly arrived for De Paula after he unloaded for his 7th homer in 38 games at High-A. Just watch that beautiful and powerful lefty swing, which he combines with an elite plate approach (16.7/17.9 K%/BB%) and athleticism (10 steals). Sure he can’t play a lick of defense, but with a bat like this, I don’t care. I already ranked him 7th overall in the Updated May Top 323 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Patreon), so I can’t possibly be any higher than I am already, but he just keeps on locking in the gains.

Luis Pena – MIL, SS/3B/SS, 18.5, A – Pena’s homered in back to back games, ripping a liner out yesterday that just kept on carrying over the fence, which puts the final exclamation point on his truly elite prospect blow up to start his stateside career. There can be no doubts now with him slashing .327/.400/.505 with 3 homers, 21 steals, and a 8.7/9.6 K%/BB% in 25 games at Single-A. He was a named Target for me this off-season, writing in his Target blurb, “Pena was a hit/speed breakout whose swing looks damn dangerous to me, and he’s not super small or anything at 5’11.” He’s proving my eyes were not deceiving me as he’s using that explosive swing to rocket the ball all over the field. The contact is elite, the base stealing is elite, and now we are seeing the power uptick right before our eyes. He’s elite.

JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.8, AA – Speaking of elite contact with real power and speed, Wetherholt went lefty and lefty for his 3rd homer in 27 games at Double-A, and he did it with some swagger, watching it leave the park. He’s now slashing .296/.383/.449 with 3 homers, 4 steals, and a 11.3/10.4 K%/BB% in 27 games. He’s in the mold of a Jung Hoo Lee. Maybe the power/speed numbers won’t be off the charts, but the hit tool can make up for it, and he can hit the ball damn hard.

Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 19.9, A+ – Emerson has officially snapped out of his early season slump, slicing an opposite field homer on a 4 for 8 with 2 steal day. He now has a 1.054 OPS with 4 homers, 2 steals, and a 5/7 K/BB in his last 13 games at High-A. The wRC+ is up to a respectable 115 on the season. He’s in that same mold that Wetherholt is in with a bit more swing and miss and a bit more ultimate power potential at peak. The 54.8% GB% is high and he’s only 2 for 5 on the bases, but he hits the ball hard, and the hit tool is plus. He’s also only 19 years old, so the hope is that he can really unleash plus game power at peak too.

Zebby Matthews – MIN, RHP, 24.11 – Zebby made his MLB season debut, and just like last year, he was not able to carry over the success from the minors into the majors, going 3 IP with 5 hits, 4 ER, and a 5/3 K/BB at MIL. The good news is that the increased velocity is sticking with a 96.5 MPH heater. the slider missed bats with a 75% whiff%, and the 81.7 MPH EV against overall shows that he clearly got unlucky in this one. It’s not the outing we wanted to see coming off his destruction of Triple-A, but I’m not budging off Zebby. I’m still buying.

Chen-Wei Lin – STL, RHP, 23.5, A+ – 3 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 6/1 K/BB at High-A. Do not miss the boat on Lin. I have been ringing his Target bell since this off-season, and he now has a 1.17 ERA with a 43.3/6.7 K%/BB% in 7.2 IP this season. He got a late start to the season and he’s just ramping up, so let this be your last opportunity to buy in before his value he explodes. He’s 6’7” with upper 90’s gas and multiple bat missing secondaries. You don’t hear a peep about this guy, but one day, he will be a hype machine.

Sawyer Gipson-Long – DET, RHP, 27.4, A+ – 2.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 3/0 K/BB at High-A. This is getting close to your last call to jump on Sawyer Gipson Long as well. He’s looked good in his return from Tommy John with a 1.29 ERA and 25.0/3.6 K%/BB% in 7 IP. He’s most certainly letting it rip on the mound, showing no signs of favoring that arm, and that K/BB is what he did his entire career. Here is what I wrote about him in my 19 Dynasty Baseball Thoughts/Strategies for 2025: “Not so much a strategy or thought here, but the more I think about it, the more I’m kinda digging Sawyer Gipson Long. He very well might be freely available in many leagues, and you might be able to use an IL spot on him too depending on your league setup. Or just as a free stash in your minors. His MLB debut was no joke. That type of swing and miss is quite rare, even in 20 IP. His 28.5/6.1 K%/BB% in 341 minor league IP is really damn impressive too. He never got the respect he deserved, even from me, and even after that strong debut. I think a lot of people have more or less moved on from him, making it a perfect time to acquire him for nothing or probably almost nothing. If fully healthy, which is obviously a risk, it could be an extremely small gamble for a pretty big payoff.”

Jack Perkins – OAK, RHP, 25.3, AAA – 4.2 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 7/1 K/BB at Triple-A. Perkins wasn’t a target for me this off-season, but he was getting some hype, and it’s looking like he deserved that hype with the strong start to his season. He has a 4.08 ERA with a 31.9/6.9 K%/BB% in 17.2 IP. The slider dominated with a 43% whiff, which he combines with 3 different fastballs (mid 90’s 4-seamer, mid 90’s sinker, low 90’s cutter) and a lesser used changeup. I had him in the reliever bucket this off-season, which is still possible, but Oakland doesn’t have much of a reason to not give him every shot in the rotation, and he may end up getting that shot sooner rather than later. Not a bad stash candidate right now.

CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.6 – 3 for 5 with 2 homers at 105.2 MPH and 98.5 MPH. I think we are at the point where I’m not even going to mention Abrams anymore. That is how much of a locked in elite player he is with 8 homers, 9 steals, and a .385 xwOBA in 35 games. I’ve been telling you he’s elite since this off-season, naming him a target, ranking him 25th overall, and then I doubled down in the Updated April Top 437 Dynasty Rankings on Patreon (May update coming next week), ranking him 17th overall. He’s gotten stronger every season and it’s hit a crescendo this year with a 91.3 MPH EV. Way too late to get in now.

Zach Neto – LAA, SS, 24.3 – 2 for 4 with a 109.2 MPH homer. The same thing I wrote about Abrams, I can write about Neto. We are at the point where he is getting locked in as a near elite dynasty player with 7 homers, 7 steals, and a .406 xwOBA in 27 games. I’ve been high on Neto since before he was drafted, placing him 3rd overall in his FYPD class, and then ranking him 43rd overall this off-season in the Top 1,000. I wrote in the Rundowns last week that shoulder surgeries for hitters are starting to look like not that big of a deal with what Ohtani, Neto and also what Varsho is doing right now. I don’t think I’m going to drop hitters much for shoulder surgeries anymore if this is any indication.

Jackson Holliday – BAL, 2B, 21.4 – 2 for 4 with a 103.3 MPH homer for his 6th in 40 games, and I think we can now officially say that keeping the faith on Holliday was the right call. He’s bouncing back from that terrible rookie year with improvements across the board. The whiff% is all the way down to 21.8% (34.1% in 2024), the chase is down to 20.5% (27.2% in 2024), and the EV is up to 90.8 MPH (89.3 MPH in 2024). It’s resulted in a .351 xwOBA. The only thing he isn’t doing well is stealing bases, with 2 steals in 6 attempts. He wasn’t that great of a base stealer in the minor leagues as well, although he went a perfect 4 for 4 in the bigs last year, so I don’t think this is his true talent level. The 8.8 degree launch also isn’t conducive to huge homer totals, but we already knew this about Holliday. It wasn’t some monster power/speed combo that made him an elite prospect, it was hit hit tool, and he’s now living up to our expectations of him. And keep in mind he’s still only 21 years old. I’m just happy to see him shaking off that rough rookie year, and this is just the start.

Will Benson -CIN, OF, 26.11 – I wrote up Benson last week in the Rundowns as someone to keep an eye on, and he’s just kept on mashing dingers non stop, going 3 for 4 with 2 bombs at 106.6 MPH and 102.4 MPH. He also tacked on a 106.7 MPH single. He now has 5 homers with a 94.8 MPH EV in just 9 games. You only have to look at a guy like Kyle Stowers to know that when guys have huge talent, sometimes it can take into their mid to late 20’s before they figure out the hit tool enough, but like Stowers, there is still big hit tool risk here. The 31.3% whiff and 27.3% K% is still high, and it’s only a small sample, so it could go higher as he continues to play. I love betting on big men with this type of talent, so like I said last week he’s definitely worth a flier, but you can’t go too crazy over it quite yet. It’s also only going to be in a platoon role at best.

Miguel Vargas – CHW, 3B/OF, 25.5 – Vargas has risen from the dead for about a month now, and he kept it going yesterday, going 2 for 3 with a 102.1 MPH homer. He now has 6 homers with a 1.055 OPS in his last 22 games. The EV is way up to 89.6 MPH (86.2 MPH in 2024) and the K% is down 6.9 percentage points to 17.2%. He’s always been a lift machine with a 22.6 degree launch, so the increased power and contact are all he needed to breakout. He’s not running with only 1 steal, and he’s still not exactly crushing the ball with a 7% Barrel%, so he’s still not quite the guy we hoped for when he was an elite fantasy prospect, but he’s quite clearly getting comfortable vs. MLB pitching and leveling up.

Cody Bellinger – NYY, OF/1B, 29.10 – 3 for 3 with a 102.3 MPH homer as Bellinger is putting his slow start to the season way behind him. He now has 5 homers with a 1.059 OPS in his last 20 games, and he can actually be on the precipice of a true explosion. The power from the beginning of his career has mysteriously come back with his 11.3% Barrel%, 90.1 MPH EV, and 41.9% Hard Hit% all way up from where they were sitting the last few seasons. His bat speed is also up 1.4 MPH to a more respectable 70.4 MPH. And he’s still making tons of contact (19.7% K%), lifting (21.1 degree launch) and running (28 ft/sec sprint). I mean, this is starting to resemble the true beast he was earlier in his career. And he’s taking advantage of Yankee Stadium with 5 homers and a .891 OPS at home. Bellinger might end up putting together some season this year when it’s all said and done.

Mike Sirota – LAD, OF, 21.11, A+ – Single-A was no issue for Sirota with a 194 wRC+ in 24 games, and now High-A is even less of an issue with a 412 wRC+ in 3 games. He cracked his 2nd homer at the level yesterday, giving him 9 homers in 27 games on the season. The only thing he isn’t doing is running with only 1 steal, but when all you do is hit homers, I guess you don’t have that much opportunity to steal bases. He already cracked my Top 100, and he might just mess around and be a Top 50 prospect by the next update.

Joseph Sullivan – HOU, OF, 22.10, A+ – Sullivan is a player I’ve been sleeping hard on, but that stops today after he drilled 2 bombs yesterday. He’s now slashing .233/.451/.534 with 10 homers, 17 steals, and a 30.9/22.8 K%/BB% in 36 games at High-A. The power/speed is wild, and he’s lifting the ball a lot more than he did when he hit 0 homers in 20 games at Single-A last year, but he always hit the ball hard, and now he’s turning it into game power. Obviously the hit tool is still a big risk as an almost 23 year old in the lower minors with a 30%+ K rate, but I’ve been giving him absolutely zero love, and that was a clear miss for me. He’s a fun prospect.

Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.8, AA, – 3.1 IP, 3 hits, 5 ER, 6/4 K/BB at Double-A. Schultz has just not looked as crisp this season with a 4.50 ERA and 23.6/13.9 K%/BB% in 36 IP. The command is off and the stuff is down a tick. He dropped from 11th to 25th overall in the Updated Prospects Rankings, so I’m certainly not ignoring it, but by no means would I want to sell low here. He’s been going deeper into games for the first time in his career prior to this outing, so there is likely an adjustment period happening there. And I still see Baby Johnson out there when I watch him. We know pitching development can be all over the place. I’m buying low here if there is an opportunity.

Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.5 – It’s Take 2 time for Shaw as he just got recalled to the majors! He blasted Triple-A with 6 homers, a 10.0/15.5 K%/BB% and 150 wRC+ in 24 games. That is what we wanted to see. I’m betting on him being much better the 2nd time around …

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/12/25)

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Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 23.1 – Make it double digits for Pete Crow as he destroyed his 10th homer of the year into the upper deck at Citi Field. I’ve been pounding the table for Pete Crow Armstrong for so long now that I don’t have a table in my house that isn’t cracked and broken. I have to eat dinner standing up now. The Crow now has a 13.8% Barrel%, 90 MPH EV, and 22.1 degree launch in 41 games and is on pace for almost 40 dingers with 50 steals. I ranked him all the way up at 64th overall in the off-season Top 1,000 Rankings, starting off his blurb by writing, “Pete Crow Armstrong’s power has been underrated from the time he was drafted,” and ending with “Put some respect on this man’s name. His name is Pete Crow Armstrong, not Pete Crow Armweak.” Well, I think now people know. He moved all the way up to 33rd overall on the recently updated April Top 423 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon), and I’m not even sure that was high enough. I would value PCA as a Top 20 dynasty asset at the very least right now. Damn he’s fun.

Luis Morales – OAK, RHP, 22.7 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 11/1 K/BB at Double-A. The Bubba Chandler 2.0 glow up at Double-A just keeps on cementing. He was pumping upper 90’s heat for whiffs all day, which he would then follow up with vicious sliders. He utterly demoralized the competition. After his 7th strikeout vs. Logan Cerny, I’ve never seen someone walk away from the plate so dejected. He just dropped his bat and hung his head in shame as he walked back to the dugout. I saw the writing on the wall this off-season, starting Morales’ Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “This isn’t a comp, but Morales reminds me a lot of where Bubba Chandler was sitting last off-season. Like Chandler, Morales is a huge talent ($3 million signing bonus in 2023), with a scouts dream build at 6’3”, 190 pounds (although Chandler was more built up and wider), super obvious humongous stuff, below average control, and mediocre results at High-A. Morales put up a 4.22 ERA with a 24.9/10.7 K%/BB% in 81 IP at the level while Chandler put up a 4.75 ERA with a 25.6/10.9 K%/BB% in 106 IP at the level.” … and now just like Chandler, Morales is blowing up at Double-A with a 2.97 ERA and 31.5/9.8 K%/BB% in 36.1 IP. He already rose all the way up to 33rd overall on my Updated Top 323 May Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings that just dropped on the Patreon last week, and it still seems like there is time to get in. He’s still underrated.

Addison Barger – TOR, 3B/OF, 25.5 – It’s time to target Barger everywhere. He went 2 for 4 with a 107.2 MPH homer and 103.5 MPH single yesterday. I wanted to make him a major target this off-season, but the only thing holding me back was his defense, and right now, he actually has a positive 2.6 defensive value, which is getting me pumped, because his bat is no joke. He has an elite 76.3 MPH swing with a 13.6% Barrel%, 96.1 MPH EV. 13.5 degree launch, and .362 xwOBA in 59 PA. The plate skills are taking a big jump forward too with his K% all the way down to 16.9% (26.7% in 2024) and his Chase all the way down to 20.2% (31.5% in 2024). He’s still in a scrum for playing time, and it might be a platoon role, but I’m sorry, you can not keep this bat off the field. Barger is a major target right now. Go after him.

Caleb Durbin – MIL, 2B/3B, 25.1 – 0 for 3 and now has a .581 OPS with 0 barrels, an 83.7 MPH EV, and a negative 1.4 defensive value in 22 games. I like Durbin. I’m rooting for the little cutie at 5’7”, and he makes a ton of contact with a 5% K%, but 3B is for power hitting beasts, and Milwaukee just so happens to have one of those behemoths ripping up the minors right now …

Brock Wilken – MIL, 3B, 22.11 – and that man’s name is Brock Wilken. I held strong on Wilken’s value this off-season, putting him in my Top 100 at #87, and he’s rewarding that patience with a big year at Double-A. He went 3 for 4 with a dinger yesterday and he now has 8 homers with a 26.2/23.4 K%/BB% and 176 wRC+ in 33 games. He had a down year in 2024, but that was due to getting rocked in the face with a pitch on April 11th, sustaining multiple facial fractures. He talked about how hard it was to come back from that mentally this off-season. He’s over it now though. And he’s coming for that 3B job sooner rather than later.

Rafael Devers – BOS, 3B, 28.6 – 2 for 3 with a 110.4 MPH homer off Seth Lugo. First off, it’s great to see the shoulder problems seem to be behind Devers. His 18.8% Barrel%, 95.6 MPH EV and 61.6% Hard Hit% are all career bests. It sure seems like he’s taking to DH quite well … possibly too well, because now he refuses to move off the position. And I mean, I get it. I played 3B and 2B in my career through high school, and I also hated when they made me play 1B. I felt like a fish out of water. I wasn’t good at it. It was hard to learn. I get it … but … unlike Devers, I didn’t refuse to play it hah. I did the best I could and I did what was best for the team. So even though I relate to Devers, hopefully he comes around eventually.

Josh Jung – TEX, 3B, 27.3 – 2 for 4 with a 107.4 MPH homer for his 4th in 32 games. Jung hasn’t exactly been blowing up with a .732 OPS, but I’m extremely encouraged by his start. He got hit by a pitch and broke his wrist just 4 games into the 2024 season, and he didn’t look the same when he returned later that year. We’ve seen wrist injuries linger and even end player’s careers (Alex Kirilloff), so I love the see that Jung has a 13.2% Barrel% with a 95.5 MPH FB/LD EV on the season. He’s back to hitting the ball very hard, and he’s doing it with career bests in K% (21.1%), whiff% (23.7%) and Chase% (30.7%). He’s starting to look like the special hitter trajectory he was on after his rookie year in 2023. Buy now while the surface stats still look mediocre.

Lars Nootbaar – STL, OF, 27.6 – I’ve been ringing the buy bell on Nootbaar all season with his launch all the way up to 17.7 degrees, and unsurprisingly, the dingers keep on coming with him cracking a 108.1 MPH homer off Mackenzie Gore for his 6th in 40 games. He’s always hit the ball really hard with an elite plate approach, and seeing neither of those strengths in his game drop off even a smidge with the added launch is damn impressive. In fact, he’s never hit the ball harder with a career high 50.8% Hard Hit%, or swung the bat faster with a 74.5 MPH swing (up almost 2 MPH from 2024). He’s also on a career high stolen base pace with 4 steals. This is a full on blow up and I’m buying hard here.

Wilyer Abreu – BOS, OF, 25.10 – 3 for 4 with a 107.9 MPH homer, 107.4 MPH single, and 106.9 MPH single. Abreu jumped up to #161 overall on the Updated Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon), and here is what I wrote for him, “I’m ashamed of myself for not being higher on Abreu. He was one of my favorite target hits ever, and I let him down this off-season. He has double plus bat speed, he hit the ball hard, he lifts it, and the plate skills are taking a big step forward this year. One the flip side, he’s not hitting lefties well and he’s not playing against them very often either. And the biggest concern, which scared me this off-season, was Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer on the way. It’s a lot of mouths to feed.” … He’s still not playing vs. lefties very much, but the damage he is doing vs. righties more than makes up for it. His .411 xwOBA is in the top 6% of baseball. He’s also an above average defensive player. Treat this man like the young star he is. His value continues to rise.

Heliot Ramos – SFG, OF, 25.8 – 2 for 2 with a 105.4 MPH homer off Pablo Lopez at Minnesota. He now has 6 homers with a .968 OPS on the road vs. 1 homer with a .611 OPS at home. This dude could be a superstar hitting almost anywhere else other than San Francisco, but even dealing with that handicap, he’s so damn good he’s still powering through with a strong year. He has a 14.2% Barrel% with a 91.2 MPH EV and .365 xwOBA in 40 games. The hit tool is taking steps forward too with career bests in K% (23.5%) and whiff% (23.8K%). I was all in on Ramos this off-season, naming him a target due to his short and quick swing, and he’s one of many that is proving betting on the bat speed data standouts was not for naught. So many of my targets are paying off. Ramos would have paid off more if not for San Francisco, but nothing we can do about that.

Hunter Goodman – COL, C/OF, 25.6 – Speaking of bat speed breakouts, Goodman’s double plus swing made him a fun target once it was clear Colorado was serious about letting him loose at catcher, and he’s using that powerful swing to keep on hitting dingers, going 3 for 5 with a 108.7 MPH homer and a 116.2 MPH double!!!! He now has 6 homers with a .835 OPS in 25 games, and while he’s likely getting lucky as the .310 xwOBA and 32% whiff% aren’t quite as impressive as the surface stats, it’s clear he has an impact fantasy bat for a catcher at the least.

Brooks Lee – MIN, SS/3B/2B, 24.2 – I rang the 5 alarm target bell on Lee last week in the Rundowns, and he went off yesterday, going 3 for 5 with a 100.9 MPH homer, 100.7 MPH single and 100.3 MPH single. What got me so excited is that this is a high contact player who was seeing big gains in his power. The 11% Barrel%, 89.2 MPH EV and 41.1% Hard Hit% are all career highs by far. His righty swing is almost 3 MPH faster at 73 MPH and his lefty swing is up 1.2 MPH to 70.3 MPH. The fantasy upside is capped by how damn slow he is though. You can time him with a sundial, as my high school baseball coach used to love to yell at me. His 25.9 ft/sec sprint is in the bottom 20% of the league. So you are getting very few steals and it hurts him in runs too, but we are seeing a very real power uptick, and that is worth buying.

Ben Rice – NYY, 1B, 26.7 – For the people waiting on Ben Rice to all of a sudden spot hitting, you can keep on waiting, because Rice isn’t going anywhere. He went 1 for 2 with a 111.2 MPH bomb off Mitch Spence for his 9th in 36 games. You already know Rice was a major target for me this off-season. Here is what I wrote about him in my off-season 19 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2025 (A Collection from the 2025 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports), “4) For even the most iron willed dynasty owner, it is a major gut punch when a prospect you love gets the call to the majors, struggles hard, and then gets sent back down to the minors. When it happens to an elite or near elite universally hyped prospect, it’s much easier to stay level headed and hold strong, but when it happens to a good, but not necessarily great prospect it can be much tougher to hold on. Trade value plummets for the non elite guys, and you start to question if their team truly believes in them, thinking they might not get another chance so soon. But let us use Lawrence Butler (and Parker Meadows too) as a lesson to not let a demotion rattle us if we still believe in a player’s skillset. Even elite prospects can struggle in their first taste or two of the majors, so certainly we need to give some grace for non elite ones as well. How to apply that for this season? Well, Ben Rice is staring us right in the face. Rice is not an elite prospect, but he is a relatively well liked one, and he took almost the exact same Butler path in the majors with great underlying numbers (15.6% Barrel%) and poor surface stats (.613 OPS in 173 PA). Admit it, you are questioning how much the Yanks really believe in him and if he will get another chance. I get it, because I am too, but I’m going to use Butler and Meadows as my pillars of strength to not be so quick to give up on Rice. I still like him long term, even with the Goldy signing.”

Mark Vientos – NYM, 3B, 25.4 – 2 for 4 with a 101.4 MPH homer off Mathew Boyd for his 5th in 37 games. It hasn’t been the best start for Vientos, but I would 100% stay the course here. He’s brought his K rate all the way down from 29.7% in 2024 to 20.4% in 2025, which is huge to see, and it’s backed up by a 4.6 percentage point drop in whiff% and a 3.9 percentage point drop in chase%. He’s improving in the areas we wanted to see improvement, and we know the monster power is in there with a 90.5/94.6 MPH AVG/FB EV. He’s an easy hold, and a buy low if you can.

Mike Burrows – PIT, RHP, 25.5 – 4.2 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 11/2 K/BB at Triple-A. The fastball sat 94.7 MPH and put up a 39% whiff% while the changeup put up a 86%!!! whiff%. The slider missed some bats too, leading to a 45% whiff% overall. He now has a 2.63 ERA with a 32.7/9.1 K%/BB% in 27.1 IP. I’ve always felt Burrows was too underrated, giving him a solid ranking at #273 this off-season, and with his dominance in Triple-A, he rose into the Top 200 in the latest update. The Pirates Triple-A rotation is probably better than some MLB rotations right now with Burrows, Chandler, Ashcraft, Harrington and Barco all knocking on the door. I have no idea how they fit all of these guys into the rotation, but these things usually work themselves out.

Chen-Wei Lin – STL, RHP, 23.5 – Lin didn’t pitch especially well yesterday, going 2.2 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER (4 unearned) and a 3/0 K/BB at High-A, but this is just your reminder that he’s back on the mound after getting a late start to the season, and it’s also your reminder to get in now before his value starts to explode. He’s 6’7” with upper 90’s heat and bat missing secondaries. It’s only a matter of time before everyone realizes how good this kid is.

Drew Beam – KCR, RHP, 22.1 – 4 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB at High-A. Beam’s skills are officially transferring to pro ball with a 2.55 ERA and 24.8/5.7 K%/BB% in 35.1 IP at High-A. He’s 6’4”, 208 pounds with average to above average stuff (two 94 MPH fastballs, a curve and a changeup) that plays up due to the plus control. Kansas City’s ballpark will be perfect for this type of profile too. He might not have huge upside, but especially in KC, he can be a solid mid rotation starter. He’s a solid pitching prospect.

Braden Nett – SDP, RHP, 22.11 – 5 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 5/1 K/BB at Double-A. I’ve been sleeping on Nett, but that ends now, as he looked quite impressive yesterday. His fastball got up to 98 MPH and he was just straight blowing it by guys. He combines the heat with a couple of bat missing breakers, and it’s resulted in a 4.20 ERA and 27.4/9.6 K%/BB% in 30 IP. There is still major bullpen risk with major control problems throughout his career, but the walk rate is taking a big step forward this year, and the big stuff is worth betting on.

Cole Carrigg – COL, OF, 22.10 – I was waiting to see if Carrigg could keep up the great lower minors production in the upper minors, and he’s answered that question quite easily in 2025 after blasting off for 2 more homers yesterday. He’s now slashing .288/.388/.563 with 7 homers, 9 steals, and a 27.3/11.6 K%/BB% in 28 games at Double-A. The K% is a tad too high, but it’s been coming down of late, and the fantasy upside is shining through. I would value him a Top 100 fantasy prospect right now.

Mike Sirota – LAD, OF, 21.11 – Speaking of newly minted Top 100 fantasy prospects, Sirota just cracked my Top 100, and then he cracked 2 more bombs at Single-A. He’s making a mockery of the level, slashing .354/.443/.687 with 7 homers, 1 steal, and a 21.7/13.0 K%/BB% in 24 games. I would like to see him run a bit more, and would also obviously like to see him keep this up at higher levels, but this was a potential Top 10 draft pick coming into the 2024 season, and now he has the production to match the talent. The Dodgers done did it again.

Jefferson Rojas – CHC, SS, 20.0 – Rojas joined the 2 homer parade yesterday, going 3 for 4 with 2 homers at High-A, and he’s now slashing .300/.387/.513 with 4 homers, 5 steals, and a 14.0/10.8 K%/BB% in 21 games. He’s never been my favorite prospect, but it sure looks like the power is ticking up this year, which he combines with his already strong across the board profile. His value is on the rise.

Jacob Reimer – NYM, 3B, 21.2 – Say hello to the best qualified hitter at High-A. Jacob Reimer leads all hitters at High-A with a 198 wRC+, and he tacked onto his lead yesterday with his 6th homer in 30 games. He was once upon a time a deep FYPD target for me in a tier with Alex Freeland, Luke Adams, and Nacho Alvarez. None of them has done anything in the majors yet, but from their non existent hype at the time, all of them have seen big value rises, and now it’s Reimer’s turn to take centerstage. He’s got real power at 6’0”, 205 pounds, the plate approach is solid (20.0/11.1 K%/BB%) and now he’s lifting and pulling a ton more with a 36% GB% and 46.7% Pull%. He just moved into my Top 300, and he might be pushing Top 200 value right now.

Brailer Guerrero – TBR, OF, 18.10 – The Brailer Guerrero breakout continues to quietly lurk just under the radar, but it got a bit louder yesterday with him blasting his first homer of the season at Single-A. He’s now slashing .308/.438/.487 with 1 homer, 4 steals, and a 29.2/18.8 K%/BB% in 11 games at Single-A as an 18 year old. That’s good for a 166 wRC+. The K rate and 56.5% GB% are both a bit higher than optimal, but this dude can crush the ball and is a breakout waiting to happen. It might be time to pounce, and at the least keep a very, very close eye on him.

Tim Elko – CHW, 1B, 26.4 – Elko popped onto the back at #309 of the Updated Top 323 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Patreon), writing, “He’s a classic Quad-A slugger, MLB bench bat type with 10 homers and a 29.6 K% at Triple-A, but Chicago is in full rebuild, and if they give him time, he’ll hit dingers” … right on cue, Chicago called him up, and he did in fact hit dingers with a 101.4 MPH homer off Sandy Alcantara for the 1st of his career. He’s 1 for 6 on his young career. The BA could be terrible, but the power is no joke.

Matthew Lugo – LAA, OF, 23.10 – Speaking of hitting your first MLB dinger, Matthew Lugo joined that club yesterday with a 108 MPH homer off Felix Bautista. He did it coming off the bench for Jo Adell, he of the 65 wRC+ and negative 3.5 defensive value. He has a negative 0.4 WAR right now. I might be insane, but I actually don’t want to give up on Adell yet as his .330 xwOBA is actually much better than his surface stats, but I mean, he’s going on his 6th year of being brutal. The problem is that Lugo hasn’t been all that great at Triple-A himself with a 65 wRC+, so I don’t think a change here is imminent, but I liked Lugo this off-season, and even with the slow start, he would be worth a shot if he does find his way into the lineup more. Just a keep your eye situation right now.

Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.10 – The wait is over. Lawlar is getting the call to the big league club after demolishing Triple-A all season. He just ranked 2nd overall on my Updated Top 323 Prospects Ranks, and while it doesn’t seem like there is an open spot for him, Arizona claims they will be able to find at bats for him. Optimally you want to call a guy up like this to a full time job, but he’s too good to not be helping the big league club, so I get it. He’ll get eased in, and then when Eugenio Suarez’ contract runs out after this season, he will take over 3B for good.

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on May 6, 2025May 9, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Top 323 May 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

It’s the first Prospects Rankings Week of the 2025 season, and as usual, I’m going over 300 deep with quick blurbs for every player. I wanted to focus on prospects still in the minors, so if you are in the majors, you are ineligible. Top 15 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Top 323 May 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

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1) (5) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 21.0 – His weaknesses are still present with a 30.9% whiff%, 47.5% GB%, and poor base stealing skills (3 for 5), but a 96.5 MPH EV cures a lot of ills. Like all of the ills. He’s going to be a beast, although one other thought, Nick Kurtz actually had a very similar profile to Anthony at Triple-A, and we are seeing an adjustment period for Kurtz, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see one for Anthony. Either way, Anthony is the top dog still in the minor leagues, and with Casas’ injury, he feels closer than ever to getting the call

2) (12) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.10 – Lawlar has a real case to be the #1 prospect still in the minor leagues. He’s a great base stealer (12 for 13), he makes more contact than Anthony (25.7% Whiff%), and he lifts it more (36.2% GB%). He doesn’t hit it nearly as hard, but a 89.1 MPH EV and 44.7% Hard Hit% ain’t bad at all. When he’s healthy, like he is now, he’s a stud. He’ll probably have to wait for 2026 to get a true full time role though, taking over for Eugenio Suarez at 3B.

3) (8) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 18.7 – De Vries took the top spot in my Predicting the 2026 Top 50 Prospects Rankings (Patreon) this off-season, and he’s right on schedule, slashing .309/.400/.593 with 4 homers, 3 steals, and a 15.6/13.5 K%/BB% in 22 games at High-A as an 18 year old. The reason he took that top spot over other worthy prospects is that he has no issues lifting the ball with a 28.8% GB%, so there will be no awkward swing changes, or “he needs to lift more” conversations down the line like we are now dealing with Jordan Walker.

4) (15) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.2 – Walcott makes for an interesting discussion. Would you rather someone be a destroyer of worlds at age appropriate levels, or be extremely young for the level while merely holding their own. Walcott is once again holding his own being extremely young for Double-A, but 2 homers with a .245/.363/.372 triple-slash in 25 games doesn’t exactly blow you away. On the plus side, he lowered his groundball rate to 30%, which is big to see, and the 21.2/14.2 K%/BB% is impressive considering the age. He’s an elite prospect, but I do think it brings up an interesting discussion of how to evaluate these guys

5) (9) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.2 – With literally all of the super fun lower minors prospects blowing up and living up to the hype, it’s so sad to see Jenkins have to watch from the sidelines. He’s been limited to just 2 games with an ankle sprain that recently required a cortisone shot and is expected to keep him out until June. You can’t sell low on a talent like this, but he definitely seems to get injured a lot.

6) (20) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.8 – I don’t see how you can go with anybody but Chandler for the top pitching prospect in the game. He has a 1.42 ERA with a 39.6/7.7 K%/BB% in 25.1 IP at the highest level of the minors. The fastball sits 98.2 MPH, he induces weak contact, he has a diverse pitch mix, and he’s a whiff machine. Painter has looked a tad rusty at Single-A. Bubba is running away with the top spot

7) (18) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.11 – The game power is ticking up with 4 homers in 26 games at High-A, the plate approach remains elite with a 13.2/19.3 K%/BB%, he’s still running with 5 steals, and he crushes the ball. Can’t wait for him to be tested at Double-A, because he’s doing everything we asked of him at High-A right now

8) (32) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 18.0 – Treating Single-A like it’s the DSL, slashing .305/.400/.476 with 3 homers, 8 steals, and a 21.1/11.6 K%/BB% in 20 games. He was worth every last bit of the hype. We’re gunning for the elite studs in dynasty, and now that he’s doing it in full season ball, there are not many players I would want to trade Made for.

9) (34) Felnin Celesten – SEA, SS, 19.8 – Slashing .333/.394/.462 with 2 homers, 6 steals, and a 16.3/9.6 K%/BB% in 22 games at Single-A. The GB% is down from 64.9% in 2024 to 46.1% in 2025, which is huge to see, although he’s still not lifting and pulling a ton. Regardless, he’s in the next wave of elite prospect, and quite frankly, he’s nearly there already

10) (23) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 22.4 – I was pretty much all in on Burns already this off-season, ranking him in a group of ace pitching prospects and ranking him high on FYPD Rankings, and now he went out and proved he deserved that lofty status, destroying High-A and Double-A with a 2.61 ERA and 41.3/7.5 K%/BB% in 20.2 IP. Upper 90’s gas with a devastating slider is his game, while also mixing in a curve and change. He doesn’t have the track record of Bubba, he hasn’t done it at Triple-A, and Cincy is a terrible place to pitch, but the stuff and early results are his equal.

11) (10) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 22.1 – Here is what I wrote about Painter in the latest Dynasty Baseball Rundown: “4 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 2/0 K/BB at Single-A. Am I the only one who is a tad underwhelmed by what Painter is doing at Single-A? He hasn’t been bad. He has a 3.97 ERA with a 26.7/2.2 K%/BB% in 11.1 IP, but where is the 30%+ K rate? Where is the under 3 ERA? Maybe I’m being too harsh as he’s still shaking the rust off from Tommy John, but even in this last outing, the fastball wasn’t that impressive, sitting 95.4 MPH and putting up a 5% whiff%. The cutter and slider were whiff machines, and his control is obviously on point this year, but I feel like he should be blowing Single-A hitters away. I’m probably being too harsh, but that’s just what I’m thinking right now.” … he just got the call to Triple-A, so hopefully he comes out guns blazing, rather than talking about him needing to shake off more Tommy John rust

12) (25) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 22.4 – 7 homers with a 21% K% and 91.3 MPH EV in 28 games at Triple-A. He’s handling his business, and with Casas out for the season, another spot in Boston just opened up. Maybe it goes to Anthony though, or maybe they still call up neither.

13) (13) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.8 – .200 BABIP is the only issue. He’s crushing the ball and the 19.6/12.5 K%/BB% looks excellent. Baltimore is crowded, but a guy like Basallo, who has a shot to be one of the top hit/power prospects in the league has a way of forcing the issue. He’s only 20, so there really isn’t a rush right now

14) (37) Jac Caglianone – KCR, 1B, 22.3 – Cementing his status as one of the top power hitters in the minors with 6 homers, a 23.4/12.1 K%/BB% and 156 wRC+ in 27 games at Double-A. He’s a 6’5”, 250 pound defensive end. His homers just hit different … literally

15) (6) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.5 – A poor MLB debut just puts such a damper on an exciting prospect, but so many players struggle in their first taste or two or the bigs, that you have to stay patient with prospects you believe in, and I believe in Shaw, weird batting stance and all

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Welcome to the First Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings Week of the 2025 Season!

The Updated Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings dropped on the Patreon 2 weeks ago, and now it’s time to turn out attention to the diaper dandies. That’s right, it’s the first Prospects Rankings Week of the 2025 season! I’m going over 300 deep with quick blurbs for every player. Full Rankings will be on the Patreon with about a Top 20-ish free here on the Brick Wall. First post drops tomorrow. Catch you then …

-Halp