September 2025 – Imaginary Brick Wall

Posted on September 23, 2025September 26, 2025 by Michael Halpern

End of Season 2025 Top 400+ Dynasty Baseball Rankings

We’ve made it to the final in-season Dynasty Baseball Rankings of 2025! We finish strong here at the Brick Wall, and I can’t imagine a stronger finish than going over 400 deep with blurbs for every player to get you prepared for early off-season trades and early off-season dynasty drafts. I love this shit. The Top 25 is free here on the Brick Wall, and the rest of the rankings will be on the Patreon. Of course, the content keeps flowing into the off-season with Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Predicting Future Prospect lists, Position by Position Targets, Top 1,000+ Dynasty Ranks, Top 500+ Prospect Ranks, and Top 100+ FYPD Ranks. But we aren’t there yet. Previous rankings (August, Mid-Season, May, April, Off-Season) are in parenthesis. Here is the End of Season 2025 Top 400+ Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 325 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: END OF SEASON MAILBAG!
–SPREADSHEETS
–OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Predicting Future Prospect Lists, Position by Position Targets, Top 1,000+ Dynasty Rankings, Top 500+ Prospects Rankings, Top 100+ FYPD Ranks + much more

1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 31.2 – Only Ohtani can come back from major elbow surgery and actually put up a career best 4.8% BB% in 41 IP. So many of these other Tommy John/internal brace returnees are fighting for their lives to just survive, but not Ohtani, who is coolly putting up a 3.29 ERA with a 32.7/4.8 K%/BB%. He came back from shoulder surgery too, and that too had zero impact on his offense, jacking out 53 homers with 19 steals and a 1.015 OPS. The man is the greatest to ever do it. He started the year #1 overall, and he’ll finish the year #1 overall.

2) (4) (5) (11) (9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.11 – Where the fuck did 35 steals come from? He actually got slower this year. Like, a lot slower with a 25.7 ft/sec sprint (26.8 in 2024). There is no way he is just going to stop running again, right? Maybe not to this level, but I’m assuming he’s got 20+ in him. And he hit a career high 42 homers. Legend. He steals this 2nd spot from Witt.

3) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 25.3 – He went .292 with 23 homers and 37 steals in a down year. The 93.4 MPH EV and 48.7% Hard Hit% leaves zero doubt that it was just a down power year. Expect 30+ in 2026

4) (5) (4) (10) (11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.9 – Acuna did everything we could have asked of him coming off his 2nd ACL surgery with a .923 OPS and .404 xwOBA. He even ran enough with 8 steals to give hope that part of his game isn’t done yet. With a full off-season to get even further away from that knee surgery, it sure seems like Acuna is set up for a huge 2026

5) (6) (6) (4) (5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 25.0 – Notched the first 30/30 season of his career by massively increasing his power with career highs by far in EV, Max EV, Launch, Barrel% and Hard Hit%. He was already an elite dynasty asset, and he now looks setup for some monster man muscle seasons in his mid to late 20’s

Shadow5) (4) (5) (5) (6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 31.2 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only

6) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.8 – .585 OPS with 1 homer, 7 steals, and a 29.6/7.5 K%/BB% in his last 45 games. The man fell apart in the 2nd half. It looks like he might have just worn down. But he still showed continued hit tool improvement this year, which is huge to see, and going 20/36 ain’t too shabby. I still think his best is yet to come

7) (8) (10) (7) (10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.4 – Only a 199 wRC+. Not even 200. Come on man, we expect better from you 😉 … his .467 xwOBA leads of all baseball and it’s not even close (Soto’s .443 is 2nd) … age be damned, he’s an elite dynasty asset

8) (9) (11) (8) (6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.8 – Like Gunnar, it could be time for Tatis to attempt to unlock more lift and pull this off-season. What he’s doing now is just fine with 23 homers, 32 steals, and a .267 BA, but if he ever wants his surface stats (.350 wOBA) to match his underlying Statcast numbers (.380 xwOBA), he’s going to need to lift and pull more. Or Statcast is going to have to change their formula to take lift and pull into account more, bringing the underlying numbers down to his surface stats. Or maybe both should happen

9) (14) (19) (16) (12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.8 – Slashing .306/.352/.615 with 20 homers and 13 steals in his last 62 games. You can set your watch to it. When he once again struggles in the 1st half of 2026, don’t even bother bringing it up. We all know it’s coming, and we all know the monster 2nd half is coming too

10) (7) (9) (5) (4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 24.2 – 16 homers in 148 games is super lackluster no matter how you sugarcoat it. That isn’t a season an elite power hitter should ever have really. Obviously a lot of has to do with poor HR/FB luck, but it seems to me it might be a catalyst for him to try to unlock some more lift and pull this off-season. And on the flip side, he stole a career high 27 bats. Make no mistake, this is still an elite dynasty asset even if he doesn’t try to unlock more lift and pull, but I think it’s time to give it a shot

11) (17) (45) (71) (74) (159) Nick Kurtz – OAK, 1B, 22.5 – I gave Kurtz the Jim Thome comp this off-season, and then he went out and hit almost exactly like Thome, slashing .291/.384/.613 with 33 homers and a 31.0/12.9 K%/BB% in only 111 games. Remember when everyone was calling the 2024 Draft class weak last year? Well, we already have an elite power hitter out of it, and much more is coming. You want to see a weak class? Look at the 2025 class unfortunately

12) (18) (24) (58) (39) (46) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B, 22.2 – 44 homers in 144 games. I mean, what else is there to say? The man is an elite young power hitter

13) (13) (18) (18) (15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.6 – Slashing .302/.347/.522 with 13 homers and 9 steals in his last 71 games. He’s pretty much cementing that he is a slow starter with a slow start for the 3rd year in a row. Also keep in mind he’s still just 21 years old. These are the type of numbers he’s putting up in his baby years, when most guys are still in the minors. We haven’t even seen prime Chourio yet. Not even close

14) (10) (8) (6) (8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.8 – Tucker looked to be on his way to having a career year in his contract year, but it all fell apart. Maybe some of it was due to a hairline fracture to his hand he suffered in June. And now he’s battling a calf injury. He has a .718 OPS in his last 51 games. Was that like a 200 million dollar slump? He still had a really good season overall with a 139 wRC+. He has a career 139 wRC+ too. He’s going to get paid a ton. And he still deserves to have massive dynasty value. But talk about bad timing

15) (25) (50) (43) (57) (66) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 21.3 – 6 homers in his last 21 games before hitting the IL with an oblique injury. There was little doubt he was cementing near elite dynasty asset status before the homer binge, but that left no doubt. The man is launch proof with a 60.3% Hard Hit%. He did have a 33.7% K% over those last 21 games, and he’s not running a ton with 4 steals in 71 games overall, but that is just nitpicking. The expectations were high for him in his MLB debut, and he blew past all of them. He’s an elite dynasty asset

16) (19) (25) (20) (37) (43) Zach Neto – LAA, SS, 24.7 – He went 26/26 in only 128 games coming off shoulder surgery this off-season. Imagine what he could with a full off-season to really get healthy and prepared … okay, he can probably just do the same thing he did this year, but in a 150+ games. The raw power exploded with career highs by far in EV, Barrel%, Launch, and Hard Hit%. I still get the sense that Neto doesn’t get the respect he deserves. I’ve named him a target from before he got drafted, and I’ll still be the high guy on him 4 years later

17) (11) (13) (15) (33) (64) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 23.6 – Ending the season in a slump is by far the most fun thing that could have happened for dynasty debates this off-season. He has a .480 OPS in his last 43 games. But if you know me at all, you already know what side of the aisle I’m going to be on, and that is the side of The Crow. I’ve been calling him a target since before he was drafted, and he had the monster breakout season I knew was in there. The extreme chase makes him streaky, zero doubt about that, but I’m betting on it improving as he matures. And his elite CF glove is going to keep him on the field through the slumps. This was just the start

18) (21) (21) (26) (26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 26.2 – I think it’s high time Crochet gets moved into the true elite of the elite of the elite pitcher tier with Skenes and Skubal, and taking into account all dynasty angles, I think he sneaks into the #1 spot. He has the win edge over Skenes like Skubal does too, but Crochet has 17 wins vs. Skubal’s 13 vs. Skenes’ 10 (I talk more about wins in the Skenes blurb). The 31.6/5.8 K%/BB% nestles right in between Skubal and Skenes. His age nestles right in between them. And his 197.1 IP and 249 strikeouts lead both of them. The WHIP and ERA trails both by a bit though. I can pick any of these 3 names out of hat and be fine with it, but I’m officially crowning a new #1 dynasty pitcher, and his name is Garrett Crochet.

19) (15) (14) (19) (18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 23.3 – If you want to dock him for lack of wins, I get it, but wins can be fickle, and Skubal still has only 3 more wins than Skenes. Also, you might play in a QS league, which is what I play in mostly, in which case wins don’t matter at all. I’m giving the edge to Skenes over Skubal for the 5 year age difference, and even though I don’t take age into account nearly as much for pitchers as I do hitters, I do still think it is a consideration

20) (16) (15) (24) (24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.9 – He’s better than both Skenes and Crochet, but he’s the oldest of the 3. Maybe I’m being too stubborn to not put him into the top spot. But again, I could pick any of the 3 out of a hat and be good with it

21) (20) (20) (21) (19) (18) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 32.10 – Just another quiet 30/40 season. He’s the quietest superstar in the league. Kyle Tucker used to be the Quiet Killer, but his trade, free agency, and recent slump has put all kinds of eyes on him. Jose Ramirez is the new Quiet Killer.

22) (24) (17) (14) (14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.10 – .897 OPS with 6 homers and 6 steals in his last 34 games. I’ve been preaching patience on Langford all season, and he’s closing out the season with a bang. There is some 2nd half warrior in him, but in general, I think it is a sign of what is to come. Now is not the the time to give up on the big breakout. The foundation has been laid.

23) (29) (64) (83) (182) (161) Konnor Griffin – PIT, OF, 19.4 – Here is what I wrote in the August Update, ranking him 29th overall, “This is my final plea to you. DO NOT TRADE GRIFFIN UNDER ANY SCENARIO. I don’t even think Roman Anthony can touch his upside. Just don’t trade him, please” … and then he got called up to Double-A and is slashing .337/.418/.542 with 5 homers, 6 steals, and a 23.5/7.1 K%/BB% in 21 games. I don’t even think I need to make a plea anymore. It’s super obvious he’s almost an elite dynasty asset already. Even this ranking might be too low

24) (33) (23) (46) (93) (135) Cal Raleigh – SEA, C, 28.9 – 58 homers in 153 games as a 28 year old has career year written all over it. Hard to argue this is now his true talent, but he obviously doesn’t need to do this every year to be a fantasy beast. The monster power was always there, and he even stole 14 bags too. He is so easily the top dynasty catcher in the game

25) (12) (7) (12) (13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 23.0 – .607 OPS with a 40.9% K% in his last 59 games. That is scary. No silver lining. He was also only 3 for 6 on the bases over that time. But that is secondary to the super scary hit tool risk popping up it’s ugly head with a vengeance. He’s a beast, and I’m 100% still betting on him long term, but it scared me enough to drop him a bit

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

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Welcome to End of Season Dynasty Baseball Rankings Week! (Patreon)

We’ve made it to the final in-season Dynasty Baseball Rankings of 2025! We finish strong here at the Brick Wall, and I can’t imagine a stronger finish than going over 400 deep with blurbs for every player to get you prepared for early off-season trades and early off-season dynasty drafts. I love this shit. Top 25-ish gets posted free here on the Brick Wall, and the rest of the rankings will be on the Patreon. Of course, the content keeps flowing into the off-season with Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Predicting Future Prospect lists, Position by Position Targets, Top 1,000+ Dynasty Ranks, Top 500+ Prospect Ranks, and Top 100+ FYPD Ranks. But we aren’t there yet. Catch you with the first post of the End of Season Dynasty Ranks tomorrow …

-Halp

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Updated Top 60 2026 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon)

Pro debuts always shake up the First Year Player Draft Rankings, and while of course there is risk to overreacting to a small sample at the end of a long season, I’ve found you end up getting a lot more right than you do wrong by reacting to pro debuts, both in a positive and negative direction. It’s where a guy like Charlie Condon goes from 1st overall, to the back of the Top 10. Where Jacob Berry gets tanked down rankings. Where Alex Freeland and Jacob Reimer become deep sleepers. Where you find out just how bad the hit tool is for high risk, high reward prospects, a la Elijah Green’s 40.4% K% in 12 games in rookie ball in 2022. Where you find out a hit tool first high school bat like Carter Johnson doesn’t actually have a good hit tool. You probably forgot he even existed. He followed up his 33.1% K% and .221 BA in 28 games at Single-A in 2024 with a 28.8% K% and .177 BA in 106 games in 2025. He was 18 year old in 2024 and thrown into the fire at Single-A, but it was still a very clear signal to avoid. You get the point. Pro debuts reveal a lot. Here is the link to my original Top 60 2026 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon) with full scouting reports, ETA’s, and Prime Projections. And of course my full Top 100+ 2026 First Year Player Draft Rankings gets released over the off-season with full analysis and Prime Projections. Until then, here is the Updated Top 60 2026 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (Top 10 free here on the Brick Wall):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–AUGUST 2025 TOP 444 DYNASTY RANKS (End of Season Ranks coming soon)
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 325 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (End of Season Mailbag coming soon)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
–OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Predicting Future Prospect Lists, Top 1,000+ Dynasty Rankings, Top 500+ Prospects Rankings, Top 100+ FYPD Ranks + much more

1) Eli Willits – WSH, SS, 17.8 – It’s pretty wild to say that even the #1 overall pick is wide open in First Year Player Drafts. There are probably 11 guys that could get taken here and it would be completely reasonable. Maybe even more than that. I’ve never seen a First Year Player Draft that was more “get your guy” than this one. It also means that team needs and win timeline would legitimately come into play for me with this pick. If you already have a very strong young offensive core, and/or if your minor league system is already overstuffed with great hitting prospects who are on the verge of debuting, but you’ve neglected pitching in the rebuild (which is mostly how I build), then I would pivot to Doyle or Anderson with this pick. I hate taking pitchers first, but with no true top elite bats, it’s completely reasonable to take a pitcher first, even in a vacuum, so if your team construction also dictates you should go pitcher, 100% go for it. But if you have the 1st pick because your team was terrible, you are full tear down, and you desperately need to build up a young offensive core, I wouldn’t want to take a pitcher. I’m not holding a pitcher for 3+ years or whatever while I have no shot of competing. And like I said, building that offensive core is of the utmost importance. In that case, Willits’ debut was good enough to have real life mirror fantasy and take him #1 overall. He was only 17 years old and showed off a good feel to hit, aggressive base running, and no lift and pull issues. If he gains power as he ages, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t, this is an impact all category fantasy contributor.

2) Liam Doyle – STL, LHP, 21.3 – Doyle is my top arm, but it’s honestly a coin flip with Anderson. I’m giving the lean to the double plus, upper 90’s fastball. I also think the changeup is underrated. And while Seattle is the best place to pitch, St. Louis is a good pitcher’s park too

3) Kade Anderson – SEA, LHP, 21.2 – I fear that Anderson is more mid rotation startery than optimal for a super high FYPD pick in fantasy, but maybe that is just velocity discrimination getting in the way. He has more pitchability than Doyle, and while the heater sits more 93 MPH, it is a bat missing pitch with carry. The curve, slider and change and are all good pitches. And he’ll pitch in Seattle. Zero issue having him as your top arm.

4) Ethan Conrad – CHC, OF, 21.2 – If I had balls I would put Conrad #1 overall. Dude is 6’3”, 220, he has that upright, loose, and athletic swing that I love, he’s a great athlete with speed, he has power, and he has production. He destroyed the MAAC his Sophomore year, and then did the same in the Cape, and then did the same in the Perfect Game Collegiate League and then did the same to the ACC before hurting his shoulder. I said the same thing about Konnor Griffin last year. If you have more guts than I do, I can see taking him 1st overall. And maybe by this off-season, I will grow a pair and do it. But for now, I’m comfortable being already super high on him at #4 overall. I see him going like mid teens in recent drafts anyway

5) JoJo Parker – TOR, SS, 19.1 – Yet to debut. He’s the Walker Jenkins of this draft class. Jenkins was the Kyle Tucker of his draft class. It’s literally the Russian Nesting Dolls of FYPD prospects with each of them one inch shorter than the last one. Perfect fits. Hit, power, size, and sneaky athleticism. I get it if he’s your top dog

6) Steele Hall – CIN, SS, 18.2 – Hall had some hit tool questions surrounding his ability to hit the breaking ball, so smart of Cincinnati not to debut him. If I were an MLB organization, I also wouldn’t debut a high schooler with hit tool issues right after he gets drafted. What do you think is going to happen? He’s an 18 year old kid. Why let that get in his head over the off-season? Let him come into 2026 fresh and fully prepared. So we know the risk, but the upside is no joke with an explosive swing that I love, present power even though he’s only 5’11”, and game breaking base running. I’ll take the hit tool mystery box over the hit tool that is no longer a mystery …

7) Ethan Holliday – COL, SS, 18.7 – Colorado of course had zero tact, zero strategy, zero anything, they just threw Holliday and his known risky hit tool right into the fire to get burned. He has a 39.3% K% in 18 games and that doesn’t even include his Golden Sombrero from his last game. I’m not going full panic, but it couldn’t be more clear there is very, very, very real hit tool risk in here. And we have to trust Colorado to develop that hit tool. This is as high as I’m comfortable going on him

8) Seth Hernandez – PIT, RHP, 19.2 – Yet to debut. High school righties are a nightmare class of prospect. Just look at Noble Meyer and Dylan Lesko. Also look at Andrew Painter and Forrest Whitley. Even when it starts out well, it can turn. It is just a long, hard road. Having said that, Hunter Greene exists too. The upside is high, but so is the risk.

9) Aiva Arquette – MIA, SS, 21.11 – I would have liked nothing more than for Arquette to rip up the lower minors and establish himself as not only the top college bat, but also the #1 pick in FYPD’s, but it didn’t happen. He slashed .242/.350/.323 with 1 homer, a 47.2% GB%, and a 23.1/14.5 K%/BB% in 27 games at High-A. It’s good for a 102 wRC+. The silver lining is that he’s running with 7 steals. Part of the allure of Arquette is that there still seems to be upside in here at 6’5”, 220 with smooth athleticism and big raw power, so I’m not going to let the mediocre debut completely turn me off. But I can’t be the only one underwhelmed by this

10) Dax Kilby – NYY, SS, 18.10 – You already know I’m all in on Kilby. He is what the pro debut breakouts are all about, and he’s the #1 pro debut breakout in 2025. He slashed .353/.457/.441 with 0 homers, 16 steals, and a 13.6/16.0 K%/BB% in 18 games at Single-A. He already hits the ball extremely hard with a 91.9 MPH EV and 45.6% Hard Hit%, he has speed, and he’s 6’2”, 190 pounds. The only thing he doesn’t have is lift and pull with a 1 degree launch and 8.8% Air Pull%. I’m not even sure 10 is high enough. Is Eli Willits profile all that different? And it seems Kilby is the bigger, more fully formed version of it. I said there were 11 guys who I can reasonably see going #1 overall, and I meant it.

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

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (9/8/25)

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 (9/8/25):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–AUGUST 2025 TOP 444 DYNASTY RANKS (End of Season Ranks coming soon)
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 325 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (End of Season Mailbag coming soon)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
–OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Predicting Future Prospect Lists, Top 1,000+ Dynasty Rankings, Top 500+ Prospects Rankings, Top 100+ FYPD Ranks + much more

Kruz Schoolcraft – SDP, LHP, 18.4, A – We actually got some highly drafted pitchers making their pro debuts this weekend, which I wasn’t expecting because teams don’t usually debut these guys, but as a dynasty owner and just a fan of baseball in general, I love it. And the first one to really catch my eye was Schoolcraft’s debut. Sure he got hit up with 2 earned and 3 walks in 1.2 IP at Single-A, but it was the stuff that was eye catching. He was sitting upper 90’s, blowing the heat right by guys. Then he dropped in the potentially plus changeup, making hitters look silly. He also has a potentially plus slider in the bag. He struck out 4 with 10 whiffs in the outing. This is basically the Noah Schultz 2.0 blow up, and I saw it coming from a mile away in my Top 60 2026 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon), starting his blurb by writing, “If you know me, you know I love me some monster humans who are good athletes and have nasty tools, and that describes Schoolcraft perfectly. He’s like a blend between Noah Schultz and Boston Bateman from their draft years, and both of those guys were targets for me,” and ending it by writing, “Like Schultz, if the velocity ticks up, this is the type of guy who can fly up rankings in a second.” And now the velocity has already ticked up in a major way. I was already going after him, ranking him 23rd overall, and this debut makes me even more excited. He’s an easy Top 20 FYPD pick, and quite frankly, a 6’8” lefty throwing upper 90’s with two potentially plus secondaries is a wildly good profile. This is a pretty weak class. Top 10 isn’t a stretch at all. He’s a major target who still might go very late in drafts this off-season.

Liam Doyle – STL, LHP, 21.2, A – Liam Doyle got on the hill as well, and he went 1.2 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 3/2 K/BB at Single-A. That one hit was a missile from elite catcher prospect Alfredo Duno off the slider. That really tells you more about how good Alfredo Duno is than anything about Doyle. Although Doyle’s secondaries were the big question coming out of the draft, and Duno certainly answered that question pretty quickly. But the double plus heater looked great, sitting 96.1 MPH and recording all 3 strikeouts. He only went to the changeup twice, which very well might be his best secondary and is a nasty pitch. The debut hasn’t shifted me in either direction on Doyle. He’s my top pitcher in FYPD’s and a candidate to go first overall in drafts now that Ethan Holliday is doing his best Elijah Green impression in his debut. Kade Anderson is right there with Doyle and is really a coin flip between them. Willits is my current top dog. It’s wide open this year.

Ethan Holliday – COL, SS, 18.5, A – Speaking of Holliday, he went 1 for 5 with 3 more strikeouts yesterday and now has an Elijah Green like 39.3% K% in 18 games. That isn’t a super small sample anymore and the strikeouts aren’t slowing down. Granted he’s cracked 2 dingers in September and he has a 108 wRC+, but the talent is unquestioned. What is questioned is the hit tool, and this is basically a worst case scenario debut. He’s only 18 and he’s just getting comfortable in pro ball, but I would say it’s pretty clear the hit tool risk is as high as it could be. He dropped out of the top spot on my rankings and fell to 7th overall for me. I still like him, but that is too much hit tool risk to take at the very top of drafts.

Gage Wood – PHI, RHP, 21.8, A – But back to pro debuts from highly drafted pitchers, Wood made his debut too and went 2 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB at Single-A. The only one who can rival Doyle’s fastball is Wood, and the 95.7 MPH heater racked up a 43% whiff%. The curve went 2 for 2 on whiffs and the 96 MPH sinker chipped in too with a 25% whiff%. He also mixed in a slider and cutter. It all led to a 38% whiff% overall. I started Wood’s FYPD blurb by writing, “I’m apt to think that Wood should be considered right with that top consensus group of starters, even though he dropped to 26th overall in the draft,” and finished it with, “I’m buying whatever discount I can get here.” He’s already a Top 100 prospect for me, ranking 86th overall in the End of Season Top 325 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings that just dropped on the Patreon last week. The fastball is double plus, the curve is plus, and he has a diverse pitch mix. The 46.0/4.7 K%/BB% was elite in 37.2 IP his Junior year. There is a lot of risk here as he just converted to starter this year and an injured shoulder after his 2nd outing limited his innings, but his upside is high enough to take on that risk.

Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.6, AAA – You want hard hit? How about this for hard hit as Jenkins obliterated a 104.9 MPH, 414 foot bomb for his first homer at Triple-A. He now has an 88.4 MPH EV and 46.7% Hard Hit% at the level, and those numbers don’t even include his game yesterday. He went 3 for 4 and along with the homer, tacked on a 104.8 MPH single, 95.6 MPH lineout, and an 89.5 MPH single. Is that hard enough for you? He’s now conquering Triple-A as a 20 year old, slashing .311/.404/.489. He’s been getting disrespected all season, and I wasn’t having it, banging his drum all year, ranking him in the Top 10 consistently. Now that he’s closing out the season showing the one thing he was lacking, hard hit, I don’t see why you couldn’t even argue for him at #1 overall. I have that as Griffin still. And there are other great prospects out there, but Jenkins’ hype has been so quiet all year and it wasn’t deserved.

Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 23.0, AAA – Bazzana was due for a heater, and the heater is now here with him launching his 4th homer in his last 4 games at Triple-A. He’s now conquering the level with a .916 OPS in 23 games. He’s been more solid than standout in his first full year of pro ball, but the fantasy friendly skillset is most certainly in here. He hits it hard (89.5 MPH EV with a 42.3% Hard Hit% at AAA), he can lift and pull (37.5% GB% and 48.6% Pull% on the season), he runs (11 steals), and he gets on base (17% BB%). The 23.5% K% is higher than optimal, but the 24.5% whiff% at AAA says we shouldn’t be too concerned there. It hasn’t been the full blown explosion we wanted, but he’s finishing the season strong and I’m still betting on him being an impact fantasy player. He ranked 21st overall on the End of Season Top 325 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings (Patreon).

Jacob Misiorowski – MIL, RHP, 23.4 – 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 8/2 K/BB at Pitt. Misiorowski is old news already. We’re all excited for the new wave of elite pitching prospects who just made their pro debuts recently, but after scuffling over his last 5 outings, Miz is set to finish out the season strong. The 99 MPH fastball dominated with a 84.7 MPH EV against and 31% whiff%. The curve notched a 40% whiff%. And he mixed in a slider and changeup, leading to a 27% whiff% overall. Not that I think anyone was worried with the small rough patch, and you most certainly shouldn’t be with a 2.75 xERA (4.09 ERA) and 35.2/10.5 K%/BB% in 55 IP. I called him the Tyler Glasnow starter pack back in 2023, and with his control/command taking a step forward this year, he looks mighty close to that outcome. In Glasnow’s age 23 year old season, he put up a 14.4% BB% in the majors, so Misiorowski is actually ahead of the game. I ranked him 42nd overall in the August Top 444 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon), and while maybe that is a tad high, he needs to be treated like a Top 50 dynasty asset.

Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.11 – Speaking of the excitement from the new wave of elite pitching prospects, Chandler went against Miz in this one and went 2.2 IP with 9 hits, 9 ER, and a 3/3 K/BB vs. MIL. Are you still excited? He now has a 7.36 ERA with a 18.2/6.1 K%/BB% in 14.2 IP. The 22.9% whiff% is super weak too. After his rocky season at Triple-A, this was sadly predictable, and it’s why I called him a sell (along with Painter) on one of my mid-season Mailbag Podcasts. This debut is not going to help his trade value. Having said that, the 98.6 MPH fastball can still end up a nasty pitch even if it’s getting hit up right now. The changeup has a 44% whiff% with a .161 xwOBA, which is straight elite. The slider has been a positive Run Value pitch too. The elite pitching prospect ingredients are still in here, so don’t panic sell or anything. I just recommended selling high before this disaster happened, but now it’s happened, and you just have to hold through the storm.

Brandon Sproat – NYM, RHP, 24.10 – Sproat’s elite prospect hype faded a long time ago, but his debut was still highly anticipated, and he held his own, going 6 IP with 3 hits, 3 ER, and a 7/4 K/BB. The sinker sat 95.9 MPH and the 4-seamer sat 96.1 MPH. He threw the fastballs 35 times and they didn’t record a single whiff. Not gonna lie, not great. His secondaries (sweeper, curve, change, slider) didn’t miss a ton of bats either, leading to a lowly 15% whiff%. It looked more of the same from his shaky stint at Triple-A with below average control/command and a much lower strikeout rate than optimal (22.1/10.4 K%/BB%). The stuff is big and the pitch mix is diverse, so it’s smart to stay patient with these guys as we know the breakout can come at any time through their late 20’s, but waiting on it can be frustrating. I would value him as a back end Top 100 prospect and even that could be generous.

Hunter Greene – CIN, RHP, 25.11 – Usually I wouldn’t even mention established aces like Greene, but he’s taking his ace breakout to yet another level this season, going 7 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 12/2 K/BB vs. NYM. He now has a 2.59 ERA with a 32.0/5.4 K%/BB% in 90.1 IP. He’s taking his control/command to a new level, and I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, writing in his off-season Top 1,000 blurb, “His control/command remained below average, but I still think there is another level in here as he stays healthy and gains more experience. I don’t even think this is the peak, assuming he stays healthy, which who knows there honestly (he missed time with elbow inflammation this year). Greene had the ace breakout I knew was coming, and I’m going to continue to buy high.” … I was all over him before he broke out in 2024, and then I was buying high for another breakout in 2025, which is now happening. All 3 pitches dominated in this latest outing with the 100.2!!! MPH fastball notching a 44% whiff%, the elite slider notching a 46% whiff%, and the improved splitter putting up a 40% whiff%. This is a Top 5 dynasty pitcher.

Jo Adell – LAA, OF, 26.3 – Can we just take a second to sit and smell the roses on the Jo Adell breakout. This was a long time coming, and if you had the patience of a saint, you gotta be enjoying every minute of this. He cracked his 35th homer of the season on a 107.9 MPH shot off Luis Severino. He got his hit tool out of the gutter with a relatively respectable 25.9% K% and .243 BA. He’s now ranked 65th overall on the Razzball Player Rater. I’m proud to say I did have the patience of a saint this off-season, starting his Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “I feel crazy for even saying this, but I think Jo Adell is a target for me this off-season. I know, I know, even saying it out loud sounds downright silly, but hear me out,” and finishing it with, “It can often take uber athletes into their mid to late 20’s to figure out the hit tool, but when they do, it can pay off huge. It sure seems like Adell took a big step forward there in 2024. I know I’m going to end up regretting this, hah, but boy do I like Adell a lot right now relative to his perceived value.” …. okay, okay, he might have dropped out of my Top 400+ Dynasty Rankings earlier this year (before moving right back in) after his rough start yet again this season, so maybe I didn’t have the patience of a saint. But I had one of a flawed human being, and you’re damn happy if you bought this off-season.

Ben Rice – NYY, 1B/C, 26.10/Tyler Soderstrom – OAK, 1B, 23.7 – And while we’re on the topic of off-season targets, both Rice and Soderstrom are putting the finishing touches on their 2025 breakouts. Rice popped his 23rd homer of the season at 109.4 MPH off the legend, Max Scherzer. Soderstrom popped his 24th homer of the season at 104.7 MPH off the not legend, Mitch Farris. You guys know that Soderstrom and Rice were two of my biggest target calls this season, and both of them did exactly what I thought they were capable of. Rice actually did even better, gaining catcher eligibility along the way. I’m just happy to see both of these guys pay off.

Parker Messick – CLE, LHP, 24.10 – Messick shook off his first bad MLB outing with another strong start yesterday, going 6 IP with 8 hits, 1 ER, and a 4/0 K/BB at TB. The low 90’s fastball/changeup combo was working with both pitches notching a 27% whiff%. The 90.5 MPH sinker induced weak contact with a 87 MPH EV against and missed some bats with a 17% whiff%. He also mixed in a curve and slider. That has been the formula to a T in his debut, leading to a 1.93 ERA and 18.8/3.1 K%/BB% in 23.1 IP. The big strikeout rates from the minors aren’t transferring, which isn’t surprising, but he has 3 good pitches in his 4-seamer, changeup and slider, and the control/command has been excellent. He’s the type who can maybe get into Top 200 dynasty asset value at peak, but he’s not showing enough upside to get more excited than that. And he’s probably sitting more in the Top 300-400 area at the moment. Strong debut.

Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.6 – And that one earned run off Messick came off the bat of Carson Williams at 103.9 MPH for his 2nd MLB homer in 14 games. Now seems like a good time to check in on his MLB debut … 38.3% K%, 38.6% whiff%, .209 BA … yea, that sounds about right. We all knew that was coming, right? There was zero doubt a hit tool adjustment period was coming for the still 21 year old, and unfortunately, it might be coming for a couple years until the bat can catch up to the SS glove. The good news is that the 74.1 MPH swing is double plus. The power/speed combo will be waiting patiently for him to improve those contact rates. He’s enough in the danger zone though where there is no guarantee it ever really happens. I’m a sucker for upside, so I’m still betting on him, because the glove will give him all the least he can handle in the long run. And just look at Jo Adell this year. Hopefully we don’t need to be that patient though.

Elmer Rodriguez Cruz – NYY, RHP, 21.10, AA – I got asked in the August Mailbag Podcast (Patreon) who I thought the next Cam Schlittler’s were for 2026, which is a question I love, because I hate paying up for the top hyped aces, and love to shop in that discount aisle of pitching prospect. Elmer Rodriguez Cruz was one of several guys I named, and he just cemented his target status even more yesterday, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 8/1 K/BB at Double-A. He actually might be pitching too well now to be underrated this off-season with a 2.56 ERA and 30.2/7.7 K%/BB% in 56.1 IP at the level. His 166 strikeouts on the season trails only Jonah Tong’s 179 in all of the minor leagues. Not bad company. You can watch the filth from this latest outing here. The sinker sat 95+ and the two breakers were devastating. He also throws a solid changeup. This is an easy Top 100 pitching prospect, and even that might be underselling him at this point.

Blake Burke – MIL, 1B, 22.0, AA – Burke has quietly exploded since getting the call to Double-A, and he’s not slowing down with a grand salami yesterday. That’s his 8th homer in 32 games at the level and he now has a .940 OPS there. He wasn’t as good at High-A, but he still hit well there with a 124 wRC+. The 23.3/11.5 K%/BB% in 126 games on the season isn’t too bad. Milwaukee drafted him 34th overall in 2024 for a reason, and that reason was his potential to be a 1B masher. He’s proving them right. The problem is that Milwaukee is stock piling a ton of these guys. They drafted his clone this year in the first round with Andrew Fischer. Wilken might end up at 1B. Luke Adams might end up at 1B. Andrew Vaughn is currently staking his claim to that spot on the MLB level. It makes sense organizationally. They are deep in guys who can get the bat on the ball, have a good glove, and can run. They need guys to battle it out at 1B/DH, and now they have a bunch of them. Who knows who ends up emerging, but the ones who do are going to have plenty of fantasy value.

George Valera – CLE, OF, 24.9 – Old, forgotten friend George Valera made his MLB debut this month, and I just couldn’t wait to see how the sweet, sweet lefty swing would register on Statcast bat tracking. It is indeed pretty fast at 73.2 MPH, and it’s mighty short at 6.5 feet. The swing is legit. He went 1 for 2 with a 107.7 MPH single off a 96.6 MPH Rasmussen fastball yesterday. He’s hitting .300 in 11 PA overall. He doesn’t have much fantasy value right now and the 36.4% K% isn’t great, but just thought it was interesting to check in on a former favorite. Maybe one day he can work into a fantasy relevant power platoon bat.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–AUGUST 2025 TOP 444 DYNASTY RANKS (End of Season Ranks coming soon)
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 325 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (End of Season Mailbag coming soon)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
–OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, Top 500 Prospects Rankings, Top 100 FYPD Ranks + much more

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

Posted on September 2, 2025October 14, 2025 by Michael Halpern

End of Season 2025 Top 300+ Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

I’m sticking with non debuted eligibility for the final prospects rankings of the season. I know it’s fun to see where all the new callups would slot in, but that is what the End of Season Dynasty Rankings are for, coming in a few weeks. And lets give some more time to build that MLB sample to really dive into it. And of course, over the off-season, any player with less than 50 IP and 130 AB will get added back into the off-season prospect rankings. But for now, it’s all about the non debuted, fresh faced kids. Previous Rankings are in parenthesis. Top 25 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Top 300+ End of Season 2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–AUGUST 2025 TOP 444 DYNASTY RANKS (end of season ranks coming soon)
–END OF SEASON 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
–OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy of the Day), Deep Positional Rankings, Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, Top 500 Prospects Rankings, Top 100 FYPD Ranks + much more

1) (1) (1) (21) (35) Konnor Griffin – PIT, SS/OF, 19.4 – The 19 year old Griffin got called up to Double-A to finally give us something to compare Walcott to (Griffin is actually over 1 month younger), and as expected, Griffin is showing Walcott how it’s actually done, slashing .318/.385/.545 with 3 homers, 5 steals, and a 21.2/7.7 K%/BB% in 11 games. No age to level qualifiers needed. Straight dominance. This is what a truly elite prospect looks like

2) (7) (15) (40) (54) Kevin McGonigle – DET, SS/2B, 21.0 – Here is what I wrote about McGonigle in the Dynasty Rundowns last week, “McGonigle is an elite prospect. Arguably the best prospect in baseball. There really isn’t anything else to discuss on that front, but there does still seem to be some mystery around what his profile is actually going to look like on the MLB level. I called him a souped up Steven Kwan this off-season, and while that comp still holds, the power he’s showing at Double-A could end up making even that look really light. He crushed his 7th homer in August with a clutch, Top of the 11th 2 run shot last night. That gives him 8 homers in 32 games at Double-A and 15 homers in 74 games on the season. He lifts and pulls, he hits it hard, and the 10.9/17.4 K%/BB% at Double-A is insanely elite. I don’t see how he’s not an easy 20+ guy. The ballpark isn’t great, and at 5’10” he’s never going to be Vlad Guerrero raw power wise, but shit, Jacob Wilson is on a 20+ pace over a full season. Can McGonigle go 25+? Can he Mookie Betts us with 30+? At this point, I’m definitely leaning more toward the Betts side than the Kwan side. He might not steal 30+ bags either, but I think 20 is in play there as well on the high end. You know I’ve been a bit of a party pooper on McGonigle in his pro career, but there is really nothing left to doubt. He rose to 68th overall on the August Top 444 Dynasty Rankings, and he’ll be Top 50 at least on the End of Season Dynasty Rankings coming in couple of weeks.”

3) (6) (12) (17) (17) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.11 – When we saw JJ have considerably better strikeout rates in his debut than Bazzana, that should have been the indicator right there that JJ was the pick over Bazzana. I had them back to back, and I still like Bazzana, but JJ is proving that he is the superior prospect. He crushes the ball with a 50% Hard Hit%, the plate skills are elite with a 14.9/14.4 K%/BB%, and he runs with 21 steals. He’s an impact all category contributor

4) (9) (14) (22) (19) Max Clark – DET, OF, 20.8 – Is it just me or does it still feel like Clark gets so much less hype than he deserves. Maybe it’s McGonigle overshadowing him. I don’t know. But he’s a 20 year old at Double-A with 5 homers, 7 steals, a 129 wRC+ and a 15.8/13.3 K%/BB% in 34 games. I’m not saying he’s getting underrated. He gets ranked highly. I’m just saying I feel like almost every other elite prospect gets talked about and hyped so much more than him

5) (10) (9) (8) (32) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 18.4 – Called up to High-A and is putting the final exclamation point on his elite prospect season with a 176 wRC+ in 22 games. He still needs to work on getting to more of his raw power with only 6 homers in 105 games, but there is little doubt that is going to come as he’s still barely 18 years old. He fully lived up to the hype

6) (3) (2) (4) (15) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.6 – Turns out it is possible for a 19 year old to rip up Double-A (see Konnor Griffin), but that doesn’t mean what Walcott is doing still isn’t impressive. He’s an above average hitter at Double-A with a 104 wRC+, the 20.5/12.4 K%/BB% is strong, and the talent is elite. He’s still an awesome prospect, but we are seeing the difference between a bulletproof elite prospect (Griffin), and one that isn’t quite bulletproof.

7) (84) (105) (148) (144) Carson Benge – NYM, OF, 22.6 – This feels high, I know, but tell me where Benge doesn’t deserve this ranking? What doesn’t he do? What box hasn’t he checked? He got called up to Triple-A and has a 95 MPH EV with a 8 degree launch, 26.3% Air Pull%, 2 steals, and a 17.9/10.7 K%/BB% in 7 games. Obviously a small sample, but I feel it’s pretty representative of what you are getting. He obliterated High-A (169 wRC+) and Double-A (183 wRC+). The swing is vicious. He crushes the ball. The plate skills are strong. He has speed. He can lift and pull a bit. This is an impact all category contributor. Every time I try to lower him down the rankings, I say, why? He deserves this.

8) (4) (8) (5) (9) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.6 – I know he doesn’t hit the ball super hard right now, but he’s still just 20 years old, and at 6’3”, 210 pounds, I would be pretty damn surprised if that Hard Hit rate wasn’t plenty good enough by the time he’s in his prime. And when that Hard Hit does get there, everything else will be waiting for it with near elite plate skills, stolen base ability, and good batted ball angles. I comped him to Kyle Tucker at the time of the draft, and I still see that comp

9) (15) (25) (37) (24) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, 1B, 20.9 – 95.1 MPH EV with 16 homers in 54 games at Triple-A, but it comes with a 31.6% K%. You know exactly what you are getting here. The 33.6% whiff% actually isn’t really that horrific considering his age though. If someone is going to Nick Kurtz the majors in 2026, it will be Eldridge

10) (5) (3) (7) (18) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 20.3 – It seems like that little injury robbed us of seeing De Paula at Double-A, although the season’s not over yet, so maybe he gets a cup of coffee there. He’s been a bit cold since returning from injury, but there is not much more he can do at High-A to change his value in either direction

11) (8) (4) (41) (252) Luis Pena – MIL, SS/3B/SS, 18.10 – Unlike Made, Pena’s numbers did take a big step back at the higher level with a 51 wRC+ in 20 games, and while a .175 BABIP is a huge reason for that, the K% spiked to 23% at well. This last little surge popped Made back ahead

12) (22) (177) (UR) (408) Edward Florentino – PIT, OF, 18.7 – It was obvious that Florentino was a near elite prospect last month for me, raising him all the way up to 22nd overall, and he just continued to lock that in with 10 homers, 29 steals, a 23.6/13.8 K%/BB% and a 150 wRC+ in 51 games at Single-A. They are still running him out there in center and he’s still stealing a ton of bags (35 for 40 on the season). He’s as exciting as it comes

13) (17) (17) (23) (104) Bryce Rainer – DET, SS, 20.2 – I’ve been taking about it for most of the season, but shoulder surgery doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal for hitters anymore. Neto, Ohtani and Varsho all returned this season ripping dingers, arguably stronger than they’ve ever looked before. So I’m not fading Rainer at all due to the shoulder surgery. I closed out Rainer’s Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “Riley Greene might actually be the perfect comp here, and Detroit has done a great job developing Greene. Detroit got their SS version of Greene” … and he basically performed right to that comp. He’s a buy low off the surgery if you can

14) (31) (46) (54) (45) Thomas White – MIA, LHP, 20.10 – Chandler, Tong, and Tolle got called up. Painter’s been stinking. Susana got hurt again. So that leaves White as the top non debuted pitching prospect in baseball, and he very well might end up better than all of them anyway. Just watch this filth he laid down in his modern no hitter on Saturday (5 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 10/4 K/BB%). He has a 1.59 ERA with a 39.3/12.6 K%/BB% in 45.1 IP at Double-A. He has 3 plus to double plus pitches. Ace

15) (86) (113) (133) (153) Sal Stewart – CIN, 2B/3B, 21.8 – I feel like I’ve always liked Stewart, always gave him a respectable ranking, and even named him a target at least once, but I was slow to go all in on his monster 2025, and it’s time to correct that. He’s going straight bonkos at Triple-A with a 163 wRC+, 10 homers, 4 steals, and a 15.8/11.5 K%/BB% in 38 games. The 93.1 MPH EV, 51.3% Hard Hit% and 14 degree launch backs that up. He’s going to hit in Cincinnati, and he did just that in his debut, going 1 for 3. This kid is a stud

16) (13) (22) (50) (71) Josue Briceno – DET, C/1B, 20.11 – Double-A slowed him down a tad with a 105 wRC+ and 26.2% K% in 34 games, but I’m not too worried about it. He’s the upper middle class man’s Samuel Basallo

17) (11) (7) (3) (8) Leodalis De Vries – OAK, SS, 18.10 – Traded to Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas and apparently the rules of owning De Vries is that you must insanely promote him way too fast for his own good, as he got sent to Double-A. As expected, he’s struggling with a 56 wRC+ in 11 games

18) (23) (162) (UR) (UR) Joshua Baez – STL, OF, 22.2 – He’s hitting .293 with a 13.0/12.0 K%/BB% in 22 games at Double-A in August. To say he’s locking in the hit tool gains is an understatement. He’s turned into the 6’3”, 220 pound version of McGonigle 😉 … not quite, but damn is the continued improvement of his hit tool awesome to see. I already rose him up majorly last month, and he’s cementing that status

19) (25) (28) (34) (29) Justin Crawford – PHI, OF, 21.7 – His profile couldn’t be closer to his dad’s, Carl Crawford, than if he tried. Actually, I’m sure he did try. He’s a straight clone. Like his dad, the big homer totals might never come, but if you remember, his dad was a fantasy beast, and I’m betting on Justin becoming one too, high groundball rates and all

20) (37) (18) (49) (31) Aidan Miller – PHI, SS, 21.2 – I feel like I’ve been mostly holding strong on Miller all season, preaching patience, and that patience is paying off with him putting up a 1.083 OPS in August. He’s been 20/21 at Double-A all year with a 127 wRC+ and 50 steals in 102 games. The righty swing is vicious. This dude is a beast, and probably a tad underrated right now

21) (12) (13) (16) (16) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 23.0 – Bazzana’s first full year of pro ball didn’t blow the doors off, but I’m still buying, and the fantasy friendly skillset is still there. He recently got the call to Triple-A and has a 89.1 MPH EV, 44.1% Hard Hit%, 12% Chase% and 25.8% Whiff% in 16 games. Not bad. He runs and he can lift and pull. I still see an impact fantasy player

22) (64) (51) (64) (143) Ryan Waldschmidt – ARI, OF, 22.10 – The explosion at Double-A came with 6 homers in his last 16 games. He’s Luke Keaschall 2.0. Simple as that. He should probably rank over Bazzana honestly, but If I took Bazzana #1 overall in FYPD’s last year, do I really have the guts to swap him with Waldschmidt? I don’t know if I could do it

23) (39) (20) (66) (181) Caleb Bonemer – CHW, SS, 19.10 – Called up to High-A and has 2 homers with a 4/4 K/BB in 5 games. That is the final cherry on top of his explosive season. He ripped up Single-A all year in similar fashion. The plate skills are strong, he hits it hard, he lifts and pulls, and he runs. This is an explosive fantasy prospect who deservers near elite prospect love

24) (41) (FYPD-1) (NA) (NA) Eli Willits – WSH, SS, 17.8 – With Holliday out as my #1 player in First Year Player Drafts, that leaves an opening at the top, and I just don’t think I can place a pitcher there. Remember when Roki was the unanimous #1 last year? How did that work out? I just can’t do it. And Willit’s debut has been impressive enough to land him in my top spot. He’s slashing .371/.450/.400 with 0 homers, 2 steals, and a 17.5/10.0 K%/BB% in 10 games. And a big reason I have him ranked here is the 37% GB% and 50% Pull%. Once that power comes naturally, we could be looking at a true beast here with hit, plate skills, speed, and defense already there. He’s still just 17 years old. Washington picked him first for a reason, and he’s showing off that reason. He’s my new top dog.

25) (52) (63) (52) (72) Jarlin Susana – WASH, RHP, 21.5 – The Hunter Greene starter pack has officially been fully put together since returning from a UCL sprain with a 2.95 ERA and 47.7/14.0 K%/BB% in 21.1 IP at Double-A in August. The fastball sits 100 MPH. The slider is double plus. And the lesser used changeup flashes nasty. If you wanted to put him as the top dog, I wouldn’t argue with you for a second. Will his UCL explode in a blaze of fireworks soon? Probably … and then after writing this blurb I saw he left his last start with triceps soreness. This guy feels like a ticking time bomb, but the upside is so insane I can’t just write him off. If he didn’t get hurt, he would have been 15th overall. Ranking injured pitchers is the toughest demographic of player to rank

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