CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 200 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2026 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS (full Top 1,000 coming next week)
-TOP 500 2026 DYNASTY FANTASY BASEBALL PROSEPCTS RANKS
–2026 DEEP POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 80 C–Top 91 1B–Top 97 2B–Top 101 3B–Top 161 SS–Top 288 OF–Top 335 SP
-TOP 161 2026 FIRST YEAR PLAYER DRAFT RANKS
–2026 FYPD TARGET & STRATEGY GUIDE
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: END OF SEASON MAILBAG!
–SPREADSHEETS
-Plus so much more coming like Position by Position Targets, Predicting Future Prospect Lists, Top 10 2027 FYPD Rankings, Spring Training Rundowns …

1) Konnor Griffin – PIT, SS/OF, 19.11 – I felt the Griffin explosion in my gut last off-season. The Baseball Gods were speaking to me, and I listened, predicting he would explode into elite prospect status in my Predicting the Top 50 2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings last off-season, ranking him 4th overall and writing, “Griffin will have the explosion that everyone who passed on him in first year player drafts feared he would have. The hit tool concerns will be overblown as he maintains an under 25% K% at Single-A, and the power/speed combo will shine with 16 homers and 48 steals in 102 games. He’ll basically be the 2026 version of the 2025 version of Sebastian Walcott. Off the charts tools and a better than expected hit tool.” … and then he went out and surpassed even those expectations, slashing .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers, 65 steals, and a 21.7/8.9 K%/BB% in 122 games. He finished the season at Double-A where he actually put up his best wRC+ of any level with a 175 wRC+ in 21 games. Remember when everyone was making excuses for the 19 year old Walcott at Double-A all year for his mediocre slash? Well, Griffin came in and just busted that whole thing up, showing a 19 year old can most certainly dominate the level. Not only did I forsee the rise in the off-season, but I got blow back after ranking him 1st overall on the Prospect Rankings in early June before he even got the call to High-A. I then made a final plea in my August Dynasty Rankings before he got the call to Double-A, shooting him up to 29th overall and writing, “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 after what he did at Double-A, there is no more room for debate. He’s lightning fast, he crushes the ball with a 91.2 MPH EV and 49% Hard Hit%, and the hit tool was better than expected. This is not only the #1 prospect in baseball, but he’s already a nearly elite dynasty asset for me. – 2026 Projection: 28/9/35/.247/.318/.433/17 Prime Projection: 118/32/111/.279/.351/.523/44

2) Kevin McGonigle – DET, SS/2B, 21.8 – You know I’m not shy to take a victory lap when I hit on a player that everyone else (or almost everyone else) was low on, so I also have to take my lashes when I miss on a player that everyone else but me was super high on. Truth of the matter is, when you rank with a mind of your own, which I pride myself on and preach to others (and preach to you as dynasty owners too), you are going to end up looking like a genius on your unique hits, and a moron on your unique misses, when in reality, you are probably not a genius or a moron. You are just trying to block out the noise and give a raw, unfiltered opinion. My favorite rankings, and the ones I find most valuable, are the ones that aren’t mostly the same as the consensus/general perception, and are also backed up by solid reasoning and analysis, whether you agree or disagree with the ranking. So with that as the backdrop, Kevin McGonigle is who I consider my biggest miss in 2025. I had him ranked 54th overall, which I mean, is a pretty good ranking in general, and I called him a souped up Steven Kwan, which is really still an accurate “comp,” but the vast majority of other spots had him in the Top 25 range at least, or higher. I’m generally lower on hit tool first guys for fantasy (I was also lower on Angel Genoa and Starlyn Caba, both of whom took steps back in 2025), but when a hit tool first guy hits his ceiling, it looks exactly like what McGonigle just did. He slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 homers, 10 steals, and a 11.6/14.9 K%/BB% in 99 games at High-A and Double-A. He’s not a big guy at 5’10”, but he can lift and pull, and he hits it very hard with legit plus raw power potential. He’s less a souped up Steven Kwan, and more in the mold of Mookie Betts and Jose Ramirez, if you want to dream on his tippy top ceiling. He wasn’t good on the bases this year (10 for 17), and he’s not a true burner, but he was much better last year (22 for 24), so I would would expect a bounce back in 2026 there. You won’t hear me doubting him ever again. Konnor Griffin is my top dog, but McGonigle is my #2 prospect in baseball, and he might have a real shot to break camp with the team. – 2026 Projection: 63/15/54/.268/.337/.434/13 Prime Projection: 111/24/91/.290/.370/.485/20

3) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 21.7 – Basallo is going to follow the Junior Caminero track to a T. I can feel it. Caminero came up and was horrific in his first little taste in 2023 (which I told you not even to look at those numbers) and then was mediocre in his more extended taste in 2024 (which I advised, “if there is any buy window based on the small, mediocre MLB sample, I would be all over it.”), before having a monster explosion this season. Basallo is going through that exact same adjustment period, looking mediocre in his pro debut with a .559 OPS in 31 games, but just like Caminero, please completely ignore those numbers. His 75.5 MPH swing is near elite, and while not as elite as Caminero, it’s still damn good. He demolishes the baseball like Caminero with a 94.2 MPH EV, 57.4% Hard Hit%, and 23 homers in 76 games at Triple-A, and also like Caminero, it’s always come with solid strikeout rates while being extremely young for the level. Even with some chase and whiff in their game, these are the type of bats where it really doesn’t matter. And Basallo lifts and pulls more than Caminero. It’s inevitable that Basallo is going to start raking his face off in the majors in the very near future. Whether it comes at catcher or 1B or DH or a combination of all of them, I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s going to be one of the top young power hitters in the game real soon. – 2026 Projection: 67/25/81/.249/.317/.446/3 Prime Projection: 92/34/111/.266/.339/.522/4

4) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 18.11 – Made was having a solid season at Single-A, especially when you took into account he was only 18 years old, but he wasn’t really blowing the doors off with a .267/.373/.388 triple-slash. For a moment there, I was like, maybe this isn’t quite the straight rocket ship we were promised … but then he got called up to High-A and he hit the after burners, slashing .343/.415/.500 with 2 homers, 5 steals, and a 17.9/10.6 K%/BB% in 27 games. I talk about this more in the Colt Emerson blurb, but there is no better sign than when a prospect gets called up to a higher level, and not only maintains their production, but actually takes it up a notch. That is the #1 sign of the rocket ship. Milwaukee obviously recognized this too, promoting him again to Double-A at the end of the season, and while he struggled in 5 regular season games (33.3% K% with a 86 wRC+), he made his mark in the playoffs, going the opposite way off the humongous billboard advertisement for Renova Roofing. “Mother Nature ruins everything. Renova Roofing can help.” They really got their money’s worth that night. How much do you think that goes for? Should I just put a huge Brick Wall up on that thing next year or something? hah … When it was all said and done, Made delivered on his unanimous off-season hype. The hit tool, approach, hard hit and speed (47 steals) were all there. He needs to lift and pull more to full tap into his raw power (only 6 homers in 115 games), but his profile can work without a ton of lift and pull, and it wasn’t in the danger zone or anything with a 43.7% GB% and 40.5% Pull%. There is zero doubt this is the elite prospect we were promised. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 101/25/81/.278/.360/.481/28

5) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 21.1 – I always find it interesting when there is a collective cooling on a prospect that seems to happen at the exact same time … and then I’m the only one left standing there, going, hey, where did everyone go? That is what happened with Jenkins in 2025. He sustained a high ankle sprain in the very beginning of the season, essentially missing the first two months, and all at the same time everyone decided he was irredeemably injury prone and dropped him in the rankings. But I held strong, because no way would I ever sell low on a potentially elite dynasty asset because he sprained his ankle. Then he returned as a 20 year old at Double-A and immediately performed well, but because he didn’t immediately have the power breakout we’ve been waiting for, everyone decided the power would never come and dropped him in the rankings. Again, I held strong, because there was no way I was betting against the power coming for the 6’3”, 210 pound sweet swinging lefty. And then the power came, jacking out 7 homers in his final 44 games. The final 23 of those games came at Triple-A where he put up a respectable 89.1 MPH EV and 43.8% Hard Hit%. I gave him the Kyle Tucker comp from the time he was drafted, and Tucker has a career 44.3% Hard Hit%. Jenkins is going to have enough power when you combine it with his excellent plate approach (18.7/14.5 K%/BB% at Double-A), base stealing ability (17 for 21 in 84 games), and ability to lift and pull (15 degree launch with a 16.7% Air Pull% at Triple-A). This is the type of high floor/high ceiling prospect that we love. At worst, he looks like a solid across the board contributor, and at best, he’s Kyle Tucker 2.0. – 2026 Projection: 29/7/31/.249/.322/.418/8 Prime Projection: 96/26/82/.271/.354/.478/20

6) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 23.2 – Chase Burns is my #1 pitching prospect in baseball (at least in leagues that use the 50 IP threshold, like most of my leagues do, and not service time, because based on service time I don’t think he’s prospect eligible anymore). I was high on him in First Year Player Drafts last off-season, ranking him 4th overall, because I saw the type of true ace upside that was worth sticking your neck out for, and then he went out and proved it. He sliced through the minor leagues with a 1.77 ERA and 36.8/5.4 K%/BB% in 66 IP, and then he almost did the same in the majors with a 3.47 xERA (4.57 ERA) and a 35.6/8.5 K%/BB% in 43.1 IP. The 98.7 MPH 4-seamer is near elite with a 25.2% whiff% and +4 Run Value and the slider is also near elite with a .229 xwOBA and 43.7% whiff%. He only went to the changeup 5.6% of the time, mostly vs. lefties, but it was a solid pitch with a 33.3% whiff% and 75.7 MPH EV against. The control was really good too. He’s an athletic 6’3”, 210 pounds. I don’t see how it can get anymore obvious than this. This is a true ace waiting to happen, even pitching in Cincinnati. – 2026 Projection: 10/3.42/1.15/190 in 150 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.03/0.98/245 in 190 IP

7) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B/SS, 23.7 – Wetherholt was exactly who we thought he was. It’s exactly who he’s been since his freshman year of college. It’s exactly who he’s been since his pro debut in 2024. And now it’s exactly who he’s been through the upper minors, slashing .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers, 23 steals, and a 14.7/14.5 K%/BB% in 109 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He crushes the ball with a 91.4 MPH EV and 49% Hard Hit%, he’s got speed, and the plate skills are near elite. He’s not a huge lift and pull guy, but he doesn’t have to be for this type of profile. The 12 degree launch and 13.6% Air Pull% aren’t too bad, and he can easily improve on those over time. The 24.3 whiff% at Triple-A wasn’t quite as good as the K%, so he might not truly be an elite contact guy, but the hit tool is clearly plus at least. He was projected to be a .280/20/20 type coming out of the draft, and that is now cemented with his excellent first full year of pro ball. He’s also expected to break camp with the big league club as their starting 2B or 3B. Proximity, safety, upside … he’s got it all. – 2026 Projection: 76/16/68/.262/.331/.425/19 Prime Projection: 103/21/82/.284/.369/.473/24

8) Max Clark – DET, OF, 21.4 – I’m not saying Clark is underrated, but doesn’t it feel like he gets so much less hype than he should? He was the 3rd overall pick in a stacked draft and has done nothing but rake in pro ball, but I don’t know, it just seems he doesn’t get people overly excited I guess. But you should be overly excited, because this year he proved it in the upper minors as a 20 year old, slashing .251/.360/.439 with 7 homers, 7 steals, and a 16.7/14.3 K%/BB% in 43 games. That was good for a 135 wRC+. He’s not Kevin McGonigle level of hit tool good, but that is still in the double plus range. He continues to grow into more raw power, and he started to get to a lot more of it by lifting and pulling a lot more when he got to Double-A. The power is good, not great right now, but the power is only going to get bigger and bigger as he ages. And while I wish he ran wild crazy, he was 19 for 21 on the bases, so he’s an excellent base stealer with at least plus speed. He has a great combination of floor and upside right now, with 15/25 and a solid BA/OBP being the floor, and 25/40 with a great BA being the upside. He’s an elite dynasty prospect. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 96/20/78/.278/.359/.451/30

9) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 20.1 – Sorry Sebastian, but the also 19-year-old Konnor showed up to the Double-A party late in the season and made your solid but unspectacular season look even more unspectacular. And then the 18-year-old Leodalis rolled up and just straight made it look easy. We were giving Walcott a ton of leeway before those two showed us how it was really done, and while that does put Walcott’s season in better perspective, it shouldn’t come close to completely taking away what he did. He put up a 111 wRC+ with 13 homers, 32 steals and a 19.6/12.7 K%/BB% in 124 games. Considering the hit tool risk was a legitimate concern, seeing that K/BB as a 19 year old at Double-A is insanely encouraging. And being 11% above league average at his age is still impressive. Sure the .255/.355/.386 triple slash doesn’t jump off the screen, and sure Konnor and Leo blew him out of the water, but we are still looking at a potential fantasy stud. We know the talent by now. He’s an elite athlete at 6’4” with a potentially elite power/speed combo. He’s not a finished product, and it would definitely be nice to see him destroy a level, which he’s never done yet, but it’s not stopping me from still calling him a truly elite prospect. Texas has already hinted that while they have promoted him aggressively, they aren’t planning on just handing him an MLB job next year. I can see him spending the entire season, or vast majority of it, in the minors unless he leaves them no choice with complete destruction. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 93/27/84/.268/.345/.478/24

10) Trey Yesavage – TOR, RHP, 22.8 – It’s a 3 man race between Burns, Yesavage, and McLean for the #1 pitching prospect in baseball. None of them should really be considered prospects anymore with all of them throwing over 40 IP (including the playoffs), so it’s an unfair fight, but they all proved their high end skills will transfer to the majors, and that gives them a leg up over everyone else. I thought I was about to be the high guy on Yesavage like I was in the End of Season Dynasty Rankings, but that was before the playoffs, and well, Yesevage absolutely dazzled the baseball world. He put up a 3.58 ERA with a 35.8/10.1 K%/BB% in 27.2 IP (3.21 ERA with a 25.8/11.3 K%/BB% in 14 IP in the regular season). It came with a stupid 40% whiff%, which is genuinely insane. It sat 35.4% in the regular season, and it was 37.7% at Triple-A. These are really nearly unheard of, off the charts numbers. Starters just don’t have whiff rates that high even if you are in the elite tier. Those are closer to all time whiff rates. He generates those whiff rates mainly with the elite splitter (58.4% whiff%), but the slider is really good too with a 39.8% whiff%. So why is he my #2 pitching prospect and not #1 pitching prospect? It’s because of the fastball and below average walk rates. I don’t think the 4-seamer is bad, but it’s not that bulletproof, elite 4-seamer we often see from the very best pitchers in the league. It doesn’t have that elite velocity (94.3 MPH), it got hit really hard with a .367 xwOBA and 94.2 MPH EV against including the playoffs, and it doesn’t miss an elite amount of bats with a decent 19.8% whiff%. The pitch was better at Triple-A and it has 19.5 vert with a unique release profile, so I think it has the potential to be a good pitch, but it’s not like Burns’ 98.7 MPH 4-seamer. Burns also has average to potentially plus walk rates, while Yesavage’s are firmly below average. I wouldn’t blame you for going Yesavage over Burns (Yesavage has the ballpark advantage), and it’s close for me, but I just can’t shake wanting that super elite fastball (and also that elite slider) from Burns. Yesevage is #2. – 2026 Projection: 12/3.48/1.19/202 in 165 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.13/1.10/250 in 185 IP

11) Nolan McLean – NYM, RHP, 24.8 – I talked about it in the Yesavage blurb, but it’s a 3 man race for the top “fake” pitching prospect in baseball between Burns, Yesavage and McLean. I say “fake,” because these guys have already demonstrated dominance in the majors, which means, there is nothing prospective about them. They are known entities. But using the under 50 IP threshold that most dynasty leagues use (based on my experience), they are still considered prospects. And the reason I have McLean 3rd in that group can honestly be boiled down to mostly one thing, which is that he doesn’t miss as many bats as Burns and Yesavage. I am a sucker for whiffs, and McLean’s whiff% was 28% at Triple-A and 28.4% in the majors, while Burns went 33.7% at Triple-A and 31.9% in the majors, and Yesavage went 37.7% at Triple-A and 35.4% in the majors (even higher at 40% in the playoffs). I also didn’t love that the famed sweeper, his best and most used pitch in the minors, got utterly shelled in the majors with a .448 xwOBA and 20.3% whiff%. That isn’t just bad, that is crazy horrific. I’m obviously nitpicking here, but I find it more interesting to give my reasons for why he’s 3rd overall and not 1st overall. I clearly still love him as he dominated the majors overall with a 2.06 ERA, 3.56 xERA and 30.3/8.5 K%/BB% in 48 IP. Sure the sweeper wasn’t good, but his 5 other pitches were awesome, putting up plus Run Values ranging from 1 to 4. The sinker was the best pitch with a negative 12 degree launch, which is nuts. The curve put up a 50% whiff%. The 4-seamer missed bats and the change and cutter were solid against lefties. If you wanted to put him 1st overall, I wouldn’t argue with you (I actually probably would argue with you a little as I love Burns so much), but you get the point. McLean is awesome. – 2026 Projection: 13/3.45/1.17/183 in 170 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.22/1.10/212 in 190 IP

12) Thomas White – MIA, LHP, 21.6 – Thomas White is my #1 non debuted pitching prospect in baseball. It’s not a no brainer, and it’s close, but I just don’t think anybody can match his upside. He doesn’t have the safest floor as the control/command is well below average (13.6% BB%), and he definitely does still have a visible rawness when you watch him, but keep in mind this was a 20 year old kid in the upper minors for most of the year. Having some rawness and control/command issues are completely normal for this stage of his development, and just look at what he did when he’s not even close to a fully finished product yet. He put up a 2.31 ERA with a 38.6% K% in 89.2 IP at High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. He’s a 6’5” lefty with a 3-quarters arm slot delivery, which you know I’m a sucker for, and he has 3 plus to double plus whiff machine pitches in his 95+ MPH fastball, sweeper and changeup. He also throws a good slider. He dominated both righties (.541 OPS against) and lefties (.467 OPS against). I don’t see any reason why more refinement wouldn’t be coming down the line, and likely much more refinement, and even as is he’s going to be a strikeout machine vs. any level of hitter. He might not be the safest guy or the most fully formed, but he’s the guy who I think has the best chance of sitting in that true elite of the elite tier when it’s all said and done. He’s my top non debuted dog. – 2026 Projection: 6/3.78/1.30/110 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.18/1.11/230 in 180 IP

13) Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 20.8 – When a prospect gets promoted to the upper minors and not only maintains their high level of production, but actually improves on their weaknesses, it is just about the best sign they could give us. That is the sign of the rocket ship, and we are all looking for that rocket ship that just can’t stop raking no matter the level. That is exactly what Emerson did in 2025. He started to tap into that big raw power with 11 homers in 90 games at High-A, and while the 49.8% GB% was still high at the level, it came all the way down to 39.6% after he got promoted to Double-A (he was improving it towards the end of his stay at High-A too). He closed out the season slashing .293/.372/.470 with 5 homers, 8 steals, and a 19.7/9.0 K%/BB% in 40 games in the upper minors. The last 6 of those games were at Triple-A where he ripped 2 homers with a 174 wRC+ and 93.6 MPH EV. He’s still not a huge lift and pull guy, but it’s a big improvement from where he was earlier in his career, and he hits the ball hard enough to hit it out to all fields. The game power uptick combines with his already excellent plate skills and athleticism to make him at the very least a near elite dynasty prospect, and maybe we should take out the “near” part. Especially hitting in Seattle, I still wouldn’t expect monster power/speed numbers, but the high BA and high Runs/RBI should make up for it. – 2026 Projection: 39/8/31/.261/.320/.418/9 Prime Projection: 98/24/79/.284/.366/.471/18

14) Leodalis De Vries – SAC, SS, 19.6 – San Diego made a colossal error trading this kid away for a relief pitcher, no matter how good that relief pitcher is. They better put Mason Miller back in the rotation just on the principle of not completely embarrassing themselves more than they already have. At least then it’s semi defensible that you thought you could turn Miller into an ace, and not just a guy who throws 65 innings in an already stacked bullpen. It was mind boggling at the time, and it got even worse when De Vries exploded at Double-A as an 18 year old after the deal, slashing .281/.359/.551 with 5 homers, 2 steals, and a 19.4/7.9 K%/BB% in 21 games. I’ve talked about it a bunch in these writeups, but when a prospect gets to a higher level and not only maintains their production, but takes it up a notch, that is the sign of a truly special talent. It’s absurd that he’s only 18 years old, because when you watch him, he looks like a seasoned vet at the dish already. The kid is just a great all around baseball player with strong plate skills, contact, hard hit, athleticism, and maybe his best skill, the ability to lift and pull like crazy with a 31.7% GB% and 46.9% Pull%. The lefty swing is fast, athletic, and dangerous. He’s definitely an elite dynasty prospect, but the reason I have him here and not Top 5, is that no tool or skill necessarily jumps off the screen. He hits it hard, but he doesn’t crush it (at least not yet). He’s not a good base stealer (11 for 19), and he’s not as good with the righty swing (.664 OPS vs. lefties). It’s just nitpicking when we are talking about the very best prospects in the game, but I like to give my reasoning for why I have him where I do. Expect this dude to be a complete hitter who makes in an impact in all categories. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 94/28/96/.274/.357/.496/14

15) Carter Jensen – KCR, C, 22.9 – The small sample MLB debut at the end of the season always makes the analysis of a prospect so interesting in the off-season. Because often the value of that player gets pretty set in stone by that point of the season with a large minor league sample under their belt, but once that MLB data starts flowing in, even in a small sample, it changes the entire complexion of the analysis, both in a positive and negative direction. It leaves risk of overreacting, there is no doubt about that, but just like I’m super aggressive when I see what recently drafted players do in pro ball that first year in a small sample, I also lean towards being aggressive when I see what a prospect can do in their first taste of the majors. We know that plenty of big time prospects show immediately that they can’t hit MLB pitching, and vice versa, we’ve seen non hyped to death prospects come in and just keep on raking their faces off. Randy Arozarena comes to mind as a prominent example in the recent past. I’m forgiving of the adjustment period when a prospect struggles in many cases, but when they come out on fire, I tend to buy it, at least partially, and I’m buying Jensen. He stepped into the majors and immediately showed everything will transfer with a 20.8% Barrel%, 95.4 MPH EV, .463 xwOBA, a .941 OPS and a 17.4/13.0 K%/BB% in 20 games. The only real aberration from what he was doing at Triple-A was the contact rates, but it’s still a great sign the K% didn’t jump right up to like 40%. We see that all the time. So while I’m not buying those contact rates, I am buying that the hit tool will be good enough to let the nearly elite power shine. He lifts and pulls a ton, and with KC moving in the fences, even better. He’s not great vs. lefties, giving him real platoon risk, and he’s going to have to split the C/DH job with Perez now, and likely Mitchell later, so along with continued hit tool risk, he’s not a flawless prospect. But I see a 30+ homer bat with catcher eligibility. That has mega fantasy value. He was also only 21/22 last year. This dude is a major target. – 2026 Projection: 66/24/73/.240/.319/.468/3 Prime Projection: 77/30/83/.263/.345/.510/6

16) Sal Stewart – CIN, 1B/3B, 22.4 – As much love as Stewart is getting right now, it’s not nearly enough. I honestly don’t see how he’s not being valued like an elite or near elite dynasty prospect. He’s always displayed near elite plate skills with a plus hit tool his entire professional career from the time he was drafted at 18 years old as the 32nd overall pick. And then in his age 21 year old season he had that monster power breakout to combine with the plate skills. He hit 20 homers with a 93.1 MPH EV, 51.3% Hard Hit%, 14.2 degree launch, and a 15.6/9.3 K%/BB% in 118 games at Triple-A. That is a special hit/power combo, and then he closed the year out by dominating the majors with 5 homers, a 95.4 MPH EV, 17.9 degree launch, 52.5% Hard Hit%, and a 23.9% whiff% in 18 games. It was good for a .399 xwOBA. That is absurd for a 21 year old in his first taste of the majors. It’s fully backed up by what he did in the minors. Him going 217th overall in NFBC is way too low, and that is just for redraft. The two biggest knocks on his game are that he’s slow with a 25.8 ft/sec sprint, but he was a solid base stealer in the minors with 17 steals in 20 attempts this year, and we’ve seen slow guys steal a ton of bags (Soto, Naylor), so I think he should at least chip in with a handful, and maybe much more than that. He’s also not great on defense, and while the Eugenio Suarez signing squeezes everyone, I think it squeezes Bleday the most (and maybe Ke’Bryan Hayes the 2nd most). There is talk of him getting in better shape this off-season, so who knows, maybe both his defense and speed will tick up (it better not impact his power ha). This dude is a beast, especially in Great American Ballpark. – 2026 Projection: 76/25/82/.260/.328/.457/7 Prime Projection: 91/30/94/.277/.351/.502/9

17) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, 1B, 21.5 – If someone is going to Nick Kurtz the majors in 2026, it’s going to be Eldridge. I would say Basallo too, but Basallo is going to Junior Caminero the majors. I think people forget that Kurtz had a .558 OPS with a 36.5% K% in his first 85 PA in the majors. People were getting nervous. But that is all obviously a distant memory now, just as Eldridge’s rough MLB debut (.476 OPS with a 35.1% K%) will soon be a distant memory. And Eldridge’s only came in 37 PA as a 20 year old. Completely throw out that debut. Actually, don’t throw it out, because the underlying data is screaming the debut was a monster success. The .363 xwOBA is all star level, and the hard hit levels were off the charts. He put up a 25% Barrel%, 95.6 MPH EV and 68.8% Hard Hit%. That was no fluke because the numbers were just as beastly at Triple-A with a 95.7 MPH EV and 63.5% Hard Hit%. It’s easy to just go “he has big power,” but I think those type of elite of the elite numbers need to be reiterated. Those are insanely special power numbers from the 6’7” lefty beast. There is clearly hit tool risk, but the whiff rates weren’t even that bad. A 33.7% whiff% at AAA and 35.4% whiff% in the majors is not like insane danger zone considering how young he was and how hard he hits it. The dude smoked 25 homers in 102 games in the upper minors despite those miss rates. and like I showed above, the xwOBA in the majors was awesome despite the whiff rates. Even a small amount of improvement would be monstrous, and he might even be fine with no improvement. The only other quibbles to the profile are that he’s not a lift and pull machine, but he doesn’t have to be with that level of power, and he’s going to the 3rd worst park for lefty homers, but his power is ballpark proof. Eldridge is setting up to be one of the best power hitters in the game for a long time. – 2026 Projection: 68/25/81/.238/.311/.447/1 Prime Projection: 91/37/113/.264/.348/.533/1

18) Edward Florentino – PIT, OF/1B, 19.5 – I don’t see Florentino getting ranked in the near elite prospect range on the mainstream Top 100’s right now. He was towards the back of those rankings at the end of the season, and even with a rise on the off-season rankings, I still see value to be had here. Florentino has a real chance of being the #1 fantasy prospect in baseball by this time next year. He’s a 6’4”, 200 pound beast with an athletic, powerful, and smooth lefty swing that is made to hit dingers. He jacked out 10 homers in 54 games at Single-A and 16 homers in 83 games overall. The underlying numbers back it up too with a 89 MPH EV, 26 degree launch, and 38.7% Hard Hit%. He did that as just an 18 year old, so those hard hit numbers are only going up, and the best part is that he looked like a seasoned vet with excellent plate skills, putting up a 16.3% whiff% and 22.5% Chase%. This has the makings of a truly special power bat. And wildest part of all is that he’s a really good baserunner, going 35 for 41 on the bases. He’s not a burner with poor to mediocre speed grades, so maybe the steals slow down as he climbs the ladder, but Pitt also played him in CF mostly, which tells me there is very real athleticism in here. I doubt he ends up in CF, but you don’t just throw a guy into CF for funsies. It means something that they had him out there. I’m all in. Treat him like the elite prospect he is. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 96/33/107/.268/.354/.509/16

19) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 23.6 – Triple-A is hard. Like really hard. The Majors is easier. That was a running joke I had in the Dynasty Rundowns all season, but it wasn’t really a joke at all. So many pitchers struggled hard at Triple-A, and then looked much better in the majors. Maybe it was the ABS Challenge system (which is coming to the Majors in 2026), maybe it was the ballparks, maybe they were pissed they weren’t in the majors already, maybe they were working on stuff, or maybe it was a combination of many things, but too many pitchers looked so much better once they got to the majors to write it off, especially their walk rates. And Chandler most certainly got the Majors is easier bump once he got there, putting up a 4.02 ERA with a 25.0/3.2 K%/BB% in 31.1 IP. He had a 5.96 ERA with a 21.2/13.1 K%/BB% in his last 51.1 IP at Triple-A before getting the call. The turnaround is just wild. The 98.9 MPH fastball got hit hard with a 93.9 MPH EV, but it was a whiff machine with a 30.8% whiff%, and that is more important to see right now. The famed changeup also dominated with a .155 xwOBA and 39.6% whiff%. And his worst pitch of the three, the slider, actually had the best Run Value of them all (+5), on the back of weak contact (85.6 MPH EV against), although it didn’t miss many bats with a 22.5% whiff%. It was a very positive MLB debut, and the bloom that was coming off the rose at Triple-A was fully put back on in the majors. He’s an elite pitching prospect, and he still has an argument to be the top pitching prospect in the game, but I just can’t fully shake the mediocre Triple-A numbers fully. – 2026 Projection: 10/3.56/1.27/178 in 170 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.29/1.10/225 in 195 IP

20) Carson Benge – NYM, OF, 23.2 – Benge has really good numbers, both surface and underlying, but what really gets me so excited for him is watching him on offense. His swing is athletic, bouncy, powerful, smooth, vicious … it’s just a thing of beauty to watch. Watch him crush this homer out at Triple-A and tell me you don’t love it. Or how about this literal moonshot to center. Or how about this shoulder pain inducing shot off Andrew Painter. Dude looks like he unhinges his shoulder on some of these, and the last guy I said that about was Kristian Campbell … oof. I don’t want to bring this blurb down, but I mean, can’t deny it’s pinging something in me. Now that I mention it, he does seem like the lefty version of 2024 Campbell. Like Campbell, he didn’t lift and pull a ton with a 9 degree launch and 13.9% Air Pull% at Triple-A. Like Campbell, he’s more of a good athlete and solid base stealer than a true burner on the bases. And like Campbell, the hit tool is good, but a 18.4% K% and 20.1% whiff% isn’t off the charts or anything. On the more positive side, he crushed the ball with a 92.1 MPH EV and 53.5% Hard Hit%, which was actually much better than Campbell, and if 2024 Campbell showed up in 2025, this wouldn’t feel like such a negative comp. Campbell couldn’t keep up the breakout while Benge has a much stronger and legit track record to fall back on. And maybe the biggest differentiator, is that Benge is a plus on defense with the ability to play centerfield. It’s that ability that may just have him winning a starting OF job out of camp. I’m expecting a more above average across the board type than a true future elite dynasty asset, but that still makes for an excellent fantasy prospect, especially when you tack on proximity. – 2026 Projection: 72/15/66/.249/.313/.420/17 Prime Projection: 93/23/81/.273/.344/.462/21

21) Aidan Miller – PHI, SS, 21.10 – When it seemed like the entire prospect world decided to cool on Miller at the same time due to the mediocre slash at Double-A, I was staying high and preaching patience, writing in the Mid-Season Dynasty Rankings, “The .234/.346/.367 triple-slash is underwhelming, but when you take into account he’s barely 21 at Double-A with 6 homers, 27 steals, and a 109 wRC+ in 58 games, it’s more impressive. I would stay patient here” … and then the explosion came shortly after that, slashing .357/.489/.601 with 6 homers, 22 steals, and a 17.0/17.6 K%/BB% in his final 38 games, 8 of which came at Triple-A where he put up a 185 wRC+. He has a quick and powerful righty hack that has middle of the order hitter written all over it, and he stole 59 bags on the season, which is insanely exciting for fantasy. Looks the part, pedigree, feel to hit, approach, power, speed, age to level, upper minors production, good glove, path to playing time … that is literally every box. Even this ranking might be too low. – 2026 Projection: Prime Projection: 91/23/82/.261/.343/.452/28

22) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 20.10 – 2026 is the season De Paula has to have the legitimate game power breakout. It’s his age 21 year old season, where so many Junior year college bats are able to make that adjustment and put up the big homer totals. If it doesn’t come for De Paula this year, I will start to get worried the odds of it ever coming will be low. I’m actually slightly disappointed it didn’t come this year with 12 homers, a 33% FB% and 40.7% Pull% in 102 games at mostly High-A. He got a 4 game cup of coffee at Double-A to close out the year, and while it’s obviously a super small sample, I’m not in love with the 83.3% GB%. So he just pounded the ball into the ground the first time he tasted advanced competition. Don’t take this blurb as me not liking De Paula, because I think I’m his biggest fan, “discovering” him when he was a legit unknown, not a word of hype DSL breakout and calling him a major buy before people caught on, so take it more as a proud father who is a bit disappointed. And I do still love him. He’s a 6’3” beast who genuinely crushes the ball with strong plate skills and base stealing ability. He put up a 142 wRC+ with a 20.2/19.0 K%/BB% and 32 steals in 98 games at High-A as a 19/20 year old. I’m most certainly in, but the reason he isn’t in the elite of the elite tier is the still lacking game power, poor defense, and the fact he hasn’t proven it against advanced competition yet. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 88/24/84/.266/.348/.460/16

23) Bryce Rainer – DET, SS, 20.9 – Don’t you dare start valuing Rainer any less than you would have if he didn’t end up hurting his shoulder diving back to first base, requiring surgery in June 2024. People were scared off of Zach Neto because of the shoulder surgery last off-season, and look how that turned out. Shit, people were turned off by Shohei effing Ohtani because of his off-season shoulder surgery too. Daulton Varsho straight up looked like he returned from surgery with a bionic shoulder. Corbin Carroll underwent shoulder surgery at a similar point in his career to Rainer, and look how he’s turned out. I can’t say with 100% certainty there won’t be complications, but I can say that shoulder surgeries have worked out more than enough to not even dock him a little bit. He already proved this is a potentially elite bat before the injury, slashing .288/.383/.448 with 5 homers, 9 steals, and a 22.1/13.4 K%/BB% in 35 games at Single-A. The most exciting part was the 92.1 MPH EV and 52.8% Hard Hit%. He most certainly looks the at 6’3” with a powerful lefty swing. The 28.6% whiff% was on the high side, and he didn’t lift and pull a ton, so he’s not a totally finished product, but the foundation has been laid for him to be a truly elite, hyped to death prospect by this time next year. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 91/28/94/.273/.352/.481/18

24) Payton Tolle – BOS, LHP, 23.5 – Tolle could have been in the discussion for the #1 pitching prospect in baseball if he popped as much as Burns/Yesavage/McLean popped in the majors, but his ride wasn’t as smooth with a 6.06 ERA, 4.58 xERA, and 25.7/10.8 K%/BB% in 16.1 IP. While it does take him out of the running for the top spot, that really has more to do with how great those other guys looked, because I’m actually more encouraged than discouraged by his debut. The most important thing for him to show was that his double plus to elite 96.7 MPH fastball would play against MLB hitters, and it did indeed prove that with an excellent 28.3% whiff% and 86.1 MPH EV against. The pitch got extremely unlucky and he threw it 64.1% of the time, which was the biggest culprit for the poor debut. The secondaries have always been the biggest question for him, and while they weren’t great in the debut, I’m encouraged that they all missed bats. The changeup put up a 50% whiff% (also a 50% whiff% at Triple-A), the slider put up a 30% whiff% with a strong .249 xwOBA, the cutter put up a 30% whiff% and the curve didn’t give up a single hit. It all resulted in a 30.1% whiff% overall, which I love to see. And of course he destroyed the minors with a 3.04 ERA and 36.5/6.3 K%/BB% in 91.2 IP spread across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). The walk rate spiked in the majors to 10.8%, which I don’t want to completely dismiss, but the larger sample in the minors rules the day for me long term. He might not be in the conversation for #1 overall, but this is still an elite pitching prospect for me. – 2026 Projection: 5/3.74/1.19/95 in 90 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.39/1.11/200 in 180 IP

25) Tatsuya Imai – HOU, RHP, 27.11 – Let’s start with the elephant in the room, which is that Imai didn’t sign as big of a contract as expected (3 years, $54-$63 million with 2 opt outs), but it’s not moving me off him as the #1 pick in FYPD’s. For one, I love the landing spot. Houston puts their pitchers in position to succeed and I trust them with Imai’s transition. I also don’t think the deal is that bad at all. He’s very likely to make over 20 million a year if he doesn’t opt out, and those opts outs have really huge upside on them. If he dominates, he can land an absolutely huge deal. Don’t underrate how valuable those opt outs are. I still think this deal shows that Imai is expected to be a very good pitcher, and everything else in his profile says we should expect him to be a very good pitcher too. He dominated the 2nd best baseball league in the world, he’s smack dab in the middle of his prime, he’s coming over right as he’s peaking, he has the stuff/pitch mix to back it all up, and he has both a high floor and a high ceiling. If this were a better First Year Player Draft Class, or if this was like last year’s class, he probably wouldn’t be 1st overall (I would 100% have Roch Cholowsky ranked over him from the 2026 draft class, for instance), but in this year’s class, I don’t even really think it’s that tough of a call. He put up a 1.92 ERA with a 27.8/7.0 K%/BB% in 163.2 IP in the NPB in 2025. For reference, Yamamoto put up a 1.21 ERA with a 26.6/4.4 K%/BB% in 164 IP the year before he came over, and then his first year in the majors he had a 3.00 ERA and 28.5/6.0 K%/BB% in 90 IP, meaning, there is no guarantee Imai’s strikeout rates are going to go down in the majors. They might go up, as Imai mentioned how contact oriented the hitters in Japan are, and he’s looking forward to the challenge of facing guys who actually swing for the fences. He completely owns the mound when he’s out there with a calm, loose, athletic, and easy righty delivery that he uses to fire a mid 90’s fastball, a plus “reverse” slider, and a plus splitter/changeup (he throws both). His stuff misses bats, induces weak contact, and keeps the ball in the park (48.3% GB%). His control and strikeout rates have been improving over the last 5 years, so like I mentioned, he’s coming over at the perfect time when he’s at his peak. We have seen more than enough aces come over from the NPB and either remain an ace in MLB (Yamamoto, Yu Darvish-who also saw his K rates rise in MLB), or at the least be an impact fantasy starter (Imanaga, Senga), that the transition doesn’t seem super risky. There is risk of course with a new baseball, country, etc … but everyone in First Year Player Drafts have risk, and Imai almost definitely has the least risk of anybody. He’s only 5’11”, but Yamamoto is 5’10”, so I don’t really care too much about that either. I don’t see how you could take Doyle or Anderson over him just evaluating the top pitchers on the board, and while you can argue for a high school bat, Imai’s ceiling as a #2 starter seems plenty high enough to not feel too tempted by the bats. He’s my top dog in FYPD’s and I’m not too torn about it. – 2026 Projection: 12/3.57/1.21/165 in 165 IP

26) Jonah Tong – NYM, RHP, 22.9 – Like Tolle, Tong would have been in the discussion for the #1 pitching prospect in baseball if not for the poor MLB debut with a 7.71 ERA, 4.97 xERA and 25.3/10.3 K%/BB% in 18.2 IP, but unlike Tolle, I am actually a little discouraged because of it. The thing we really need to see was that fastball/changeup combo playing against MLB hitters, and it just didn’t play with a negative 4 Run Value and solid but not great 22.3% whiff% on the 95.2 MPH fastball, and an even worse showing for the changeup with a .357 xwOBA and very disappointing 22.3% whiff%. I’ve actually been saying all of 2025 that his curve was getting underrated, and that did actually perform well with a .219 xwOBA and 80.4 MPH EV against, but the 26.3% whiff% wasn’t impressive there either. It’s a small sample, and I’m not saying I don’t like Tong anymore, but I’m saying there are enough red flags from the MLB debut that I’m not flying him up the rankings wild crazy anymore. You would have to be crazy to be completely out on him with his utter destruction of the minors with a 1.43 ERA and 40.5/10.6 K%/BB% in 113.2 IP at mostly Double-A. Keep in mind he was only 21/22 in 2025 while all of the pitchers with better debuts were older than him, which I 100% think matters. Don’t get too scared off by the MLB debut, but kinda get a teeny, tiny bit scared off. – 2026 Projection: 5/3.87/1.28/105 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.45/1.20/198 in 175 IP

27) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 23.7 – The consensus #1 pick in First Year Player Drafts, non Roki division, and the #1 pick in the MLB Draft, did not live up to that consensus #1 billing. And neither did Roki for that matter. Keep this in mind when you are making your own picks in your league. I’ve preached this since I started writing, but don’t be afraid to think with a mind of your own and make outlier picks. Even when baseball executives, real life prospect evaluators, and fantasy prospect evaluators are all in alignment, we all might be very wrong. Sure when you make a weird a pick your entire league will talk shit to you and call you a dummy, and if it doesn’t end up working out, you’ll never hear the end of it, but if you do hit, you will be treated like a conquering hero … hah, who am I kidding, no you won’t be. They will act like they don’t even remember giving you shit for it ha. But if you’ve achieved the important life level of not caring what other people think of you (it’s less not caring, you want people to like/respect you, it’s more not letting it impact your life decisions and behavior), then you will man up (person up?) and take Ethan Conrad 1st this year … or whichever guy is pinging your gut as the guy. But back to Bazzana, while he didn’t deserve to be the top dog, he still had a strong year. He put up a 137 wRC+ with 9 homers, 12 steals, and a 24.3/17.6 K%/BB% in 84 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. The lift/pull ability is there, he hits generally hard with a 89.3 MPH EV, the 24.3% whiff% at Triple-A is solid, the approach is excellent with a 13.2% Chase, and he runs. All of the ingredients we loved last off-season were there, just not to quite as high levels as we hoped to see. And the hit tool was most disappointing with a .245 BA and the high K rate. I’m not gonna lie, his still very high value might be more inflated by his name value and reputation than by the cold hard analysis of the numbers. The cold hard analysis says he’s just a solid to good prospect, and not really a standout one. Hard for me say that, because I do still like him a lot, and I still see a 20/20 guy, but maybe I’m also falling victim to the past hype. – 2026 Projection: 69/15/61/.228/.304/.392/17 Prime Projection: 84/20/72/.252/.331/.434/23

28) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, 3B, 23.4 – I get the sense that people are starting to get lulled to sleep by Mayer. They view him as a nice bat maybe, solid player, but I think people are massively underestimating how special of a bat this is. Dude is 6’3” with one of the sweetest lefty swings out there, and it’s not just sweet, it’s lightning fast with a 74.1 MPH bat speed. It results in him consistently crushing the ball with a 48.5% Hard Hit% at Triple-A and an even better 51.7% Hard Hit% in the majors. That mark was 29th best in baseball (over 500 pitch minimum). This isn’t just a nice, solid bat. This dude is a beast. Some hit tool issues popped up in the MLB debut with a .228 BA and 30.1/5.9 K%/BB%, but a 28.6% whiff% and 29.7% Chase% isn’t bad at all for a 22 year old’s first taste of the bigs. It’s actually more encouraging than discouraging. He’s not a lift and pull machine, but a 12 degree launch with a 17.9% Air Pull% at Triple-A is perfectly fine, especially with how hard he hits the ball. And while he doesn’t run a ton, the 27.5 ft/sec sprint was average, so he should at least chip in a handful. Everything is trending toward Mayer being a complete hitter who will hit in the middle of a strong Red Sox lineup for years to come. His glove was excellent at both 3B and 2B, so it’s highly likely he will have a starting job somewhere right out of the gate (looking locked in at 3B right now). I don’t love the wrist surgery, as wrist injuries are known killers, but I’m not letting it scare me off. If Mayer isn’t being treated like the truly special bat he is in your league, I would jump on that value. – 2026 Projection: 68/20/77/.252/.313/.433/8 Prime Projection: 94/27/94/.271/.344/.482/11

29) Ryan Waldschmidt – ARI, OF, 23.6 – Waldschmidt is the Luke Keaschall do over. If you missed out on Keaschall, Waldschimdt is your chance to rectify that mistake, and just like Keaschall, he’s never going to truly get the respect he deserves on prospect lists. It’s actually remarkable how similar the profile and career arcs are. Keaschall put up a 146 wRC+ in his pro debut in 2023, and then Waldschmidt put up a 142 wRC+ in his pro debut in 2024. Keaschall went full breakout the next year at High-A and Double-A, slashing .303/.420/.483 with 15 homers, 23 steals, and a 17.2/13.4 K%/BB% in 102 games, and of course, Waldchmidt nearly matched him identically in 2025, slashing .289/.419/.473 with 18 homers, 29 steals, and a 17.6/16.0 K%/BB% in 134 games (the last 66 games at Double-A). The lift and pull is also extremely similar, and Waldschmidt might have more raw power potential at 6’2” (Keaschall is 6’0”). They are actually about the same age, so I guess advantage goes to Keaschall for already being in the majors, but you get the point. Waldschmidt has an above average across the board profile, and he still doesn’t quite get the respect he deserves on prospect lists. – 2026 Projection: 24/6/21/.249/.318/.417/8 Prime Projection: 88/22/79/.271/.343/.453/23

30) Joshua Baez – STL, OF, 22.9 – Back in early July, when Baez was still getting lukewarm love, when people were still hesitant to really go all in, I saw the opportunity to strike, naming him one of my top Mid-Season Targets, writing, “This guy just has Lawrence Butler 2.0 written all over him. I know his hype has been rising, but I still think even a super savvy dynasty owner might be looking at him as a perfect sell high opportunity. Popped up “out of nowhere,” there is hit tool risk, they just might be thinking they are the one getting one over on you, but it’s going to be the other way around. Play possum on this one. Dummy up. Because what Baez is doing is exactly what Butler did. He’s an absolute specimen at 6’3”, 220 pounds, he crushes the ball, he has 34 steals in 39 attempts in 69 games total, and he now has a 25.8/16.4 K%/BB% in 31 games at Double-A. He’s proving his hit tool gains are real. And the insane, true elite talent is there. Pretend you’re the fool buying in too hard, and then don’t gloat when in a year or two their former owner realizes the mistake they make. You just got lucky ;)” … and then not only did he continue to keep it up, he took the hit tool up a notch with a 14.1%/10.6% K%/BB% in his final 40 games of the season at Double-A. The dude is a jacked 6’3” version of Kevin McGonigle out there ha, not quite, but you get the point. He finished the season going 20/54 in 117 games. Like we saw with Lawrence Butler in 2025, it’s hard to feel we are ever completely out of the woods with the hit tool risk on these types, but the massive improvement he showed, combined with his monster upside, is worthy of an extremely high ranking on a fantasy list especially. Since I wrote that Target blurb, his hype has already exploded, and if you took my advice back then, you almost surely already feel like you got one over on somebody. But he’s still on the underrated side now too, so it’s not too late. This is a Top 30 dynasty prospect, and that might still be underselling him. – 2026 Projection: 17/6/23/.228/.301/.418/7 Prime Projection: 79/25/84/.248/.327/.471/28

31) Justin Crawford – PHI, OF, 22.3 – Let’s not beat around the bush, we all know the issue, and it’s that Crawford has an extreme 59.4% GB%. So before we start getting into him hopefully lowering that significantly, the question is can a player succeed with such a high groundball rate? And the answer to that question is a clear yes. And I’m not even talking about Justin’s father, Carl, who is the so obvious comp here, but I’m talking about a possibly even better comp, and that is none other than Christian Yelich. Yelich put up a 63.2% GB% in his 2013 MLB debut and put up a 118 wRC+. He put up a 61% in 2014 (118 wRC+) and a 62.5% in 2015 (120 wRC+). The power uptick came when he dropped the GB% into the mid 50% range. So he was really good even before the drop, and after the drop, he was MVP great. Just this past season, Yelich had a lower launch than Crawford (2 degrees vs. 3 degrees) and Yelich still hit 29 homers. Obviously Yelich is a special talent, but that is the point, so is Crawford. They are both lefties of similar size with good contact rates and the ability to hit the ball very hard. Crawford had a 18.4% whiff% with a 45.3% Hard Hit% at Triple-A. He’s still a very projectable 6’2”, so it’s very possible that Hard Hit is sitting in the upper 40’s at peak, just like Yelich (career 48.4% Hard Hit%). Yelich had better chase so it’s not a perfect comp, but you get the point, a special talent like Crawford absolutely can make a super high groundball rate work. And if he can drop it another 5 to 10 percentage points, watch the hell out. On steals and contact alone Crawford will make a fantasy impact even if he’s not a great real life hitter, but he can most certainly be a great real life hitter too. I’m not getting scared off by the ground ball rates. I’m buying Crawford, and right now, he looks like he can break camp as Philadelphia’s starting CF. – 2026 Projection: 71/9/41/.257/.316/.387/28 Prime Projection: 93/17/72/.281/.344/.436/41

32) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, 3B, 23.9 – I can’t believe we are still ranking Lawlar as a prospect, but he really doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself. The reason he is still a “prospect” is because he’s been very injury prone, and when he does get his shot in the majors, he does absolutely nothing. Less than nothing actually, he’s a negative with a negative 0.7 WAR in 108 PA. He once again only played sporadically in 2025, which is not a recipe for success, but he’s only playing sporadically because he hit .182 with a 35.1% K% in 74 PA this year. I get being completely fatigued with him, and you can definitely question if he truly does have star upside. He destroyed Triple-A in a hitter’s haven, but the 88.8 MPH EV and 43.6% Hard Hit% don’t really jump off the screen. That is a good power for sure, and it should only rise, but it’s not beastly power yet. And it came with a 27.3% whiff%. The 71.7 MPH swing in the majors is only average, and he was bad at 3B. The thing that might be scaring me the most right now is how awful he was in the Dominican Winter League. He put up a .432 OPS  with a 18/0 K/BB in 46 PA. It’s only 46 PA, but man, it almost shouldn’t even be possible for a 23 year old stud to be that horrific. There are enough cracks in this profile to clearly move him out of the elite or even near elite prospect range, but I still think his fantasy upside needs to be respected. The fantasy friendly profile is fully there with lift and pull, good raw power, and elite speed/base stealing (29.7 ft/sec sprint). He was also finally starting to find his groove in the majors in September, slashing .333/.390/.528 with a 24.4/7.3 K%/BB% and 88 MPH EV in his last 41 PA. If Arizona just takes the leash off and let’s him go, I still see a seriously impactful fantasy contributor, but Arizona just doesn’t seem to believe in him after trading for Arenado with a contract that runs through 2027. OF and DH now seem to be his best path and he’s going to have to kick the door down. – 2026 Projection: 37/11/44/.236/.303/.419/17 Prime Projection: 82/20/74/.251/.332/.441/30

33) Emil Morales – LAD, SS, 19.6 – I love it when I’m evaluating the incoming international class and a prospect absolutely explodes off the screen. It happened with Lazaro Montes. It happened with Sebastian Walcott. And then it happened with Emil Morales. True athletic beasts that look undeniable even in a few swings on a Youtube video. All 3 immediately became the biggest targets for me in their international class, and all 3 exploded in pro ball. It’s just so fun hitting on one of these guys with such little information, and I can’t help it for them to become personal favorites. Montes and Walcott are obviously long past getting any value on them, but there is still value to be had on Morales, surprisingly. I went all in even more after he destroyed the DSL in 2024, ranking him 39th overall on the 2025 Top 500 Prospect Ranks last off-season when he wasn’t even getting Top 100 love, and he proved my love for him correct once again, closing out the season at Single-A as an 18 year old, slashing .339/.420/.548 with 5 homers, 5 steals, and a 23.1/11.9 K%/BB% in 30 games. That was good for a 160 wRC+. The hit tool was getting better and better as the year went on, he’s a true beast at 6’3” with lift/pull and hard hit, and he’s a legitimately good athlete. This is not just a lumbering slugger. This is a very special talent, who to my disbelief, still might not get a ton of Top 100 love. I don’t get it, but it’s better for you, because there is still time to get in before his value utterly explodes in 2026. I see a star every time I watch this kid, hit tool risk be damned. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 91/33/102/.261/.343/.515/12

34) Luis Pena – MIL, SS/2B, 19.4 – I’ve hammered home the point that there is no better sign for a prospect than when they get promoted to a higher level and not only maintain their production, but take it up notch. It’s the sign of the rocket ship. And Pena started off as that rocket ship at Single-A, blasting off beautifully into the atmosphere, but when he got to higher levels and tried to detach the Flux Capacitors or whatever, it was like watching one of those disasters of the Apollo blowing up right before our eyes. He crumbled at High-A with a 43 wRC+ and 24.8/5.5 K%/BB% in 25 games. While it’s not what we optimally want to see, struggling at higher levels before adjusting is the process most prospects have to go through. Just because you aren’t the rare straight rocket ship that we dream on, doesn’t mean it’s time to panic at all. Pena already established his near elite prospect credentials as an 18 year old at Single-A, slashing .308/.375/.469 with 6 homers, 41 steals, and a 13.3/9.1 K%/BB% in 71 games. He was a named Target last off-season, writing, “he has an explosive righty swing that can hit the ball hard, there is plenty of room to tack on mass, and he doesn’t have any major lift and pull problems, so there is definitely potential for him to develop some level of real power down the line.” … and then that power came with 9 homers in 96 games overall. Made overshadows him, and we are seeing more and more 18 years old at higher levels these days, but let’s remember how special it is for an 18 year old to perform the way he did in full season ball. He has a precocious feel to hit with speed and developing power. Don’t let the High-A struggles scare you off too much – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 91/20/72/.276/.337/.454/31

35) Josue Briceno – DET, C/1B, 21.7 – You already know that I am the world’s foremost expert on Josue’s (I even held up my end of the bargain this season by writing up Josue Brito of the DSL after his first two homers, and then he went on to be tied for the 3rd most homers with 9). I was all over De Paula and Briceno when they were truly complete unknowns, not a whisper of hype, and I continued to be all in on them last off-season, even with Briceno’s lukewarm year at Single-A. Well, that is kind of misleading, because while he wasn’t great at Single-A, he was the MVP of the AFL with 10 homers in 25 games, and then he carried that over into High-A in 2025, slashing .296/.422/.602 with 15 homers and a 16.4/16.8 K%/BB% in 55 games. He wasn’t as good when he got the call to Double-A, but he was only 20, the 112 wRC+ was still good, and he was finding his groove with a .807 OPS in his last 31 games. This is a middle of the order beast at a chiseled 6’4” with a powerful lefty swing that is made to launch bombs. The plate skills have been very strong throughout his career, so there isn’t major hit tool risk either. The biggest quibble with his profile is that he wasn’t great vs. lefties with a .721 OPS, and there is uncertainty around his defensive home. He’s been good enough at catcher to not move him off, and I can foresee a possible Ben Rice like situation here with him getting enough run at catcher to keep eligibility, while playing mostly 1B/DH. He doesn’t have a clear path to playing time with Tork and Carp under team control until 2028, so I can see him taking over the role I laid out in 2029 and beyond assuming there are no trades/injuries which open up a spot sooner. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 84/31/90/.267/.348/.501/1

36) Eduardo Quintero – LAD, OF, 20.7 – Quintero continues to be one off the very best hitters at every single level he plays at. He put up a 177 wRC+ in the DSL in 2023, a 146 wRC+ in stateside rookie in 2024, and then a 158 wRC+ at Single-A in 2025. The cherry on top is that he closed the year out at High-A as a still 19 year old and put up a 135 wRC+ in 32 games. It may sound obvious and simple, but I love a guy who just keeps on raking no matter the competition put in front of him. He finished the season slashing .293/.415/.508 with 19 homers, 47 steals, and a 22.7/16.3 K%/BB% in 113 games. They wanted him to lift/pull more this year, and he did it. Again, making adjustments and not seeing the production drop off at all is another great sign, because baseball is a game of adjustments, and you need to be able to tinker like that your entire career basically. He has a good feel to hit, he has plus power potential, he has speed and he’s a good defensive CF. That is all the boxes except upper minors production, but that is likely coming soon too. As much love as Quintero gets, he’s probably still underhyped. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 91/23/78/.263/.342/.450/31

37) Zyhir Hope – LAD, OF, 21.2 – If an NFL Running Back played baseball, I imagine it would look a lot like Zyhir Hope. He’s got an NFL running back build at 5’10” with thunder thighs of pure steel, and he’s got the power/speed combo of a running back as well, crushing the ball with 13 homers and stealing 27 bags in 127 games at mostly High-A. He put up a 131 wRC+. Unfortunately, he also has the hit tool of a running back, hah, just playing, it’s not that bad, but there is definitely hit tool issues with a 26.3% K%. I’m very encouraged by his cup of coffee at Double-A to close out the season though. He put up a 20% K% in 20 PA, and while it’s too small of a sample to read into too much, it’s still a good sign. And he hit .266 on the season, so it’s not like the guy is completely incapable of hitting for average. The risk is he ends up a strong side of a platoon corner outfielder, but there is way too much upside in here to get overly scared off by the risk. He was just 20 years old last off-season, so there is time for him to refine the hit tool, and if anyone can help him, it’s the Dodgers. The Dodgers need some payoff from that Michael Busch trade (Busch for Hope and Ferris), and Hope is that payoff. The lefty Randy Arozarena is the comp. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 88/24/79/.250/.338/.455/26

38) Alfredo Duno – CIN, C, 20.3 – Duno vs. Rainiel is a really interesting debate to me as the top catcher prospect in the lower minors, and while it seems the vast majority (or maybe everybody but me, I’m not sure) has it as an easy call in Rodriguez’ direction, I can’t lie that I’m leaning Duno by a slightest of hairs. There are several reasons for that, but the two biggest are that Duno has a massive ballpark advantage (Cincy has the 2nd best ballpark for righty homers and St. Louis has the 5th worst) and Duno also has a path to playing time advantage. Essentially, I think this is Duno’s job when he’s ready and I think he is going to inherently get a longer leash with the bat and glove when he does get that chance. St. Louis is stacked at catcher up and down their organization. The other reasons I have it Duno are because he’s bigger (6’2” vs. 5’10”) and he hits it considerably harder (48.6% Hard Hit% vs. 39.2% at Single-A). Duno had a .423 xwOBA vs Rodriguez’ .368 xwOBA at Single-A. Those are vastly different xwOBA’s. You can say Rodriguez has the age to level edge, but Duno was really good at Single-A as an 18 year old too in 2024. The biggest edge to Rodriguez, and the one where this call could make me look dumb, is that he has the better contact rates. Duno had a 31% whiff% vs. Rodriguez’ 23% whiff%. But Rodriguez had a .249 BA at Single-A because he lifts and pulls an extreme amount, which is great in general, but in a terrible ballpark for righty homers, and with good but not great Hard Hit (there is little to no projection left on his frame, he’s already thick), it might not lead to the highest BA’s in the future either. I love both and it’s coin flip for me, but I have to give my raw unfiltered take on what I would do if I had this choice in my league, and my gut is just leaning Duno. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 71/31/87/.251/.340/.491/4

39) Rainiel Rodriguez – STL, C, 19.3 – Because I felt the need to kinda shit on Rodriguez a bit in the Duno blurb, let me start off this blurb with some excitement, because Rodriguez deserves it. He was the top catcher breakout in the DSL in 2024 with a monstrous 10 homers and 190 wRC+ in 41 games, and then he managed to one up even that at stateside rookie in 2025 with 7 homers and 237 wRC+ in 20 games. That kind of dominance at the rookie ball levels is some of the best we’ve really ever seen, so it was no surprise to also see him kill it at Single-A, slashing .249/.373/.498 with 13 homers, 3 steals, and a 17.4/14.0 K%/BB% in 60 games. I completely understand looking at this level of production as an 18 year old and saying this is one of the most special bats in the minors league, period, regardless of position. He’s a lift and pull god with a 20 degree launch and 29.4% Air Pull%, the plate skills are excellent, and he hits it hard, especially for his age, with a 104.3 MPH 90th% EV and 39.2% Hard Hit%. I love his bat. The things to quibble with are just that, minor quibbles. Sure the path to playing time isn’t clear, but a bat like this generally clears the way for itself no matter who is in it’s path. The ballpark isn’t great, and with his current level of lift/pull and hard hit, it could result in low batting averages, but he’s so young that it would be silly to just say this is always who he is going to be. He will likely hit the ball harder at peak and also refine his general approach. Just because I have Duno ranked higher by a hair doesn’t mean I don’t love Rodriguez. I think it says more about how much I love Duno. Both are awesome. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 76/27/83/.268/.354/.477/3

40) Caleb Bonemer – CHW, SS, 20.6 – You know I love it when a prospect gets to a higher level and takes it up a notch, and that is exactly what Bonemer did to close out the season, putting up a 192 wRC+ in 11 games at High-A. I loved him in FYPD’s last off-season, and I shot him up the rankings very quickly when he immediately came out hot in his first taste of pro ball at Single-A, so those last 11 games were the final cherry on top of his near elite prospect status. He finished the year slashing .281/.401/.473 with 12 homers, 29 steals, and a 21.2/15.8 K%/BB% in 107 games. He lifts and pulls a ton with a 34% GB% and 53.6% Pull%, so as the power rises naturally, the homers will most certainly be there. And at a big and physical 6’1”, I have no questions about the power. He’s not a burner, but he’s a good athlete and good base stealer. And finally, the plate skills were good with a good feel to hit and approach. The only thing going against him is that we need to trust Chicago to develop him, and while I’m not a slave to organization, it is a factor we unfortunately have to take into account. More to that point, his swing is not the smoothest thing out there. I can’t find the right word at the moment, but it’s a bit abrupt maybe (again, not the perfect word for it). I do think it’s possible the hit tool isn’t going to look as good against advanced competition, and we have to trust Chicago to make those little adjustments as he climbs the ladder. I’m not letting it scare me off, but it’s something in the back of my mind. He’s also almost certainly going to get moved off SS to 3B or OF. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 82/26/88/.258/.335/.467/18

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Hitters

Triston Casas – BOS, 1B, 25.3 – Casas missed 4 months of the season after suffering torn cartilage in his ribs in late April. I’ve had two pretty big rib injuries in my life, once playing tackle football with my knucklehead friends when we were like 18 years old (no pads, just pickup tackle), and once playing flag football in my law school league. I guess maybe the lesson is that tackle football isn’t any more dangerous than flag football … but point being, when you hurt your ribs, any movement at all can be extremely painful. It’s not surprising that Casas was rusty when he returned in mid August, but by the end of the season, he was starting to hit his stride with 5 homers and a 1.026 OPS in is final 12 games. The rib injury was a small bump in the road, but that was all it was as he’s still on the path to being one of the top slugging 1B in baseball. He swings a double plus 74.6 MPH bat, which is really all you need to know about how legit his power is. His 90.2/95.8 MPH AVG/FB EV also backs up how elite his power is, and he’s never had any launch issues in his career, so there are zero worries there either. The only worry is that the hit tool ends up below average with a 32.2% whiff%, but it was better in 2023 (28.1% whiff%), and even with a below average hit tool, he will still be a beast with high OBP’s (12.3% BB%). Buy any discount you can on Casas, especially in OBP and 6+ hitting cat leagues. He’s going to be a monster. – 2025 Projection: 86/32/94/.253/.348/.514/1

Wilyer Abreu – BOS, OF, 25.9 – Back on August 3rd, 2023, literally mere moments before Abreu went on a crazy run at Triple-A that ended up with him raking in the majors, I got this feeling about him that I just couldn’t shake, naming him a target and writing, “there is something I really love about Abreu that I just can’t shake. And that something is probably his sweet, sweet lefty swing.” … and now that we have bat tracking data, I see why I just couldn’t shake how much I loved his swing, and it’s because not only is it smooth, but it’s lightning fast with a near elite 74.6 MPH bat speed. It’s no wonder he’s kept on raking in the bigs right through 2024 with a 114 wRC+ in 132 games. He uses that swing to absolutely crush the ball with a 50.5% Hard Hit%, 11.1% Barrel%, 91.6 MPH EV,  and a 19.2 degree launch. It only resulted in 15 homers in 132 games, but that is so clearly on the very low end of his true talent, and he racked up 33 doubles. With that swing and batted ball data, there is zero doubt his bat is legit, but there are reasons to remain cautious. For one, he was horrible vs. lefties (.532 OPS in 67 PA), and especially with how deep Boston is, he looks like a strict platoon bat. The other big issue is the hit tool as he had a 28% K% and .229 xBA (.253 BA). The 29.6% whiff% isn’t too bad, so I’m not concerned the hit tool is going to tank or anything, but it’s clearly below average. He likes to run a bit with 8 steals, which isn’t huge, but it’s a nice little boost, and he’s a really good right fielder, so his glove will certainly help keep him on the field. I would be absolutely all over him if he could hit lefties or if he was in a situation where he would get the leash to get better against them, but I don’t see that in Boston. That leaves him as solid dynasty asset (Top 200-250 range), rather than a truly coveted one. 2025 Projection: 69/20/71/.251/.325/.465/9

 Jarren Duran – BOS, OF, 28.7 – Duran’s hit tool and plate approach have improved every year of his 4 year career, and considering how electric of a player he is, that is all he need to go nuclear. He slashed .285/.342/.492 with 21 homers, 34 steals and a 21.8/7.3 K%/BB% in 160 games. He has elite speed with a 29.6 ft/sec sprint, he hits the ball very hard with a 90.8 MPH EV, and he has plus bat speed with a 73.6 MPH swing. There is absolutely nothing in the underlying numbers to say this year was a fluke, and with how he’s improved every year of his career (48 wRC+ in 2021, 77 wRC+ in 2022, 120 wRC+ in 2023, 129 wRC+ in 2024), who is to say he can’t do it again in 2025. I’m all in. He ranked 23rd overall on the Top 25 Sneak Peek of the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings which is free on the Brick Wall (full Top 135 Sneak Peek is on Patreon). 2025 Projection: 101/23/83/.280/.341/.476/33

Pitchers

Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.9 – Paul Skenes is the no doubt #1 dynasty pitcher in the game. I’m not arguing that … buuuuuuuuuuuut … what if Crochet is actually better than him? He put up a better K% (35.1% vs. 33.1%), BB% (5.5% vs. 6.2%), Chase% (33.5% vs. 30.9%), and a much better whiff% (33.0% vs. 28.7%). His 97.2 MPH 4-seamer put up a 31.4% whiff% while Skenes’ 98.8 MPH 4-seamer put up a 24.2% whiff%. Crochet’s cutter put up a 32.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sinker notched a 29.3% whiff%. Crochet’s sweeper notched a 42.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sweeper notched a 22.6% whiff% and his curve notched a 33.7% whiff%. They are both beastly athletes. I described the 6’6”, 245 pound Crochet as a WWE Ballerina in my March Mailbag Podcast. With Chicago, he couldn’t touch Skenes in wins, but he’s in Boston now, and just judging who is the better pitcher, I wouldn’t be so sure the answer is Skenes. Now, Skenes dusted him on ERA (3.58 vs. 1.96), and even though their xERA’s were much much closer (2.83 vs. 2.50), I do think that matters. Crochet also has more of a track record of control problems than Skenes does. Like I said, Skenes is the undeniable #1 dynasty pitcher in the game … but maybe … he won’t be at the end of 2025. Crochet ranked 29th overall on the Top 135 Sneak Peek of the 2025 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings. – 2025 Projection: 15/3.03/1.03/230 in 170 IP

Tanner Houck – BOS, RHP, 28.9 – Houck put up a 3.12 ERA in 178.2 IP, but let’s see what all the ERA estimators say about that. SIERA isn’t buying it at 3.73. xERA hates his guts at 4.11. xFIP is a bit more forgiving, but still not all the way in at 3.58. And then there is the OG ERA estimator, FIP, and FIP is kinda digging it at 3.32. FIP isn’t cool anymore with all the new kids on the block, but FIP was banging back before xERA was even a thought, so maybe we put some respect back on it’s name. Houck’s walk rate took a big step forward, moving into plus territory with a 6.5% BB% (8.9% in 2023). His sweeper was the 5th most valuable sweeper in baseball. His splitter was the 5th most valuable splitter in baseball. And his sinker was an above average pitch that kept the ball on the ground with a 2 degree launch. With a 215 NFBC ADP, nobody is really buying in, but maybe FIP is on to something? I can’t deny that I too don’t buy it, because strikeouts are king for fantasy, and he simply didn’t miss enough bats with a 20.7% K% and 22.6% whiff%, but he has a career 26.7% whiff%, so it’s not like the ability isn’t in there. I agree with the masses to not buy into his career year, but I have the old wise FIP whispering in my ear to maybe not be so skeptical. I’m still not buying, but I hear ya, FIP, and I will give you your respect if Houck does repeat his big year, or maybe even builds off it. 2025 Projection: 11/3.67/1.19/159 in 172 IP

Boston Red Sox Top 10 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospects

1) Kristian Campbell – BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 – Campbell possesses one of the most visually disgusting swings I have ever seen, and I mean that in the best way possible. It looks like he literally unhinges his shoulder to turn his body into a cannon, absolutely unfurling on the baseball. Here is what I wrote about a homer Campbell hit in early September in the in-season Dynasty Baseball Rundowns: “on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen.”  Underscoring my visual evaluation of that explosive shoulder movement is that shortly after that homer he hit the IL with a lat strain, which is right under the shoulder blades. Campbell underwent a well documented swing change and bat speed training to unlock more power last off-season, which was obviously successful beyond anybody’s wildest imagination, so let’s just hope that it’s not going to cause more injuries. That is the only small thing that is even rattling around in my brain as a negative, because the season he just had was nothing short or spectacular. He slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers, 24 steals, and a 19.9/14.3 K%/BB% in 115 games spread across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). He was just as dominant in the upper minors as he was at High-A with across the board destruction. He hits it hard, he has a good feel to hit, he has a good approach, he has size (6’3”, 191 pounds), he has bat speed, he can lift it, and he has speed. You can be hesitant to fully buy in because it feels like he came out of nowhere, but he put up a 1.033 OPS in 45 games in the ACC in 2023, a .932 OPS in 58 games in 2022 in the Northwoods League, and then a .911 OPS in 22 games at mostly High-A in his pro debut, so it’s not his fault that everyone underrated him. He always had a good feel to hit and good approach, and he always had the frame and athleticism to tack on more power, so I’m not going to hold it against him that he wasn’t more hyped (4th round pick in 2023). He still didn’t lift and pull the ball a ton with an under 40% Pull% and under 30% FB%, but he knew when to pick his spots (as you saw with that homer video above), and he has the type of profile that can thrive without an extreme lift and pull profile. I’m all in on Campbell. He’s an elite prospect who has a chance to break camp in the bigs. 2025 Projection: 68/16/61/.252/.324/.423/19 Prime Projection: 98/26/89/.277/.356/.478/26

2) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.11 – Because the rule of prospecting is that if you are even the smallest, tiniest, teeny bit lower on a prospect than other prospectors (most to all have Anthony over Campbell, while I have it the other way around), you must bash that prospect with an overly critical lens, let me start with the negatives here. For one, Anthony isn’t the best base stealer with a career 38 steals in 52 attempts (he was 21 for 28 last year), so there is risk that he doesn’t run as much in the majors as we hope. Secondly, he hits the ball on the ground a lot with an around 50% GB% in 2024, which could limit his homer upside. And lastly, there is some hit tool risk with a 23.5% K%. Now that we got that out of the way, let me just say that I obviously love Anthony. He’s a legit 50/50 coin flip with Campbell, and he’s a no doubt elite prospect. He started the season as a 19 year old in the upper minors and obliterated both Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .291/.396/.498 with 18 homers, 21 steals, and a 23.5/14.6 K%/BB% in 119 games. He crushes the ball, he has speed, he has size, he has elite age to level production, and he hit both lefties and righties well in 2024. He’s as close to a Gunnar Henderson clone as there is, and if you wanted to put him even as the #1 prospect in baseball, I wouldn’t argue with you. He’s going to be a beast. 2025 Projection: 46/12/41/.250/.323/.420/8 Prime Projection: 92/31/98/.272/.363/.493/18

3) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 22.3 – Mayer was the 4th overall pick in the draft and just put up a 142 wRC+ in his age 21 year old season at Double-A, and the hype still feels so subdued on him. He might have to get used to that, because it seems like he’s setting up for a Bryan Reynolds-like fantasy career. Really good, but not good enough for anyone to seemingly care to really gush over him. That 142 wRC+ came with only 8 homers and 13 steals in 77 games. He did it on the back of the hit tool with a .307 BA and 19.7/9.0 K%/BB%, but the .367 BABIP did some of that heavy lifting, and his strikeout rates have been on the high side throughout his career, so you can’t really bank on a truly elite hit tool long term. His sweet lefty swing at 6’3” is what got him drafted so highly, and that swing is still special with power and quickness, but it’s geared more for all around hitting than pure homer power with a 47.4% GB% and 26.5% FB%. He’s a good baserunner, but he’s not a burner, so you can’t count on huge steal totals either. Reynolds is really the perfect comp with his 162 game career averages of a .276 BA, .352 OBP, 25 homers and 8 steals. Maybe playing with Boston instead of Pittsburgh will garner him more hype in the long run, but fantasy wise, that equals a really good fantasy player who never quite reaches great levels. 2025 Projection: 28/8/33/.256/.318/.415/6 Prime Projection: 91/25/93/.276/.352/.470/11

*I know that Montgomery and Teel are no longer on the Sox, they are now on the Sox, but I’m including them here because I already did the Chicago write-up, and I didn’t want to skip them completely in the Team Reports … Meidroth I’m fine with skipping … kidding … sorta, he’s fine, I like him (and I included him below too).

4) Braden Montgomery – CHW, OF, 22.0 – Selected 12th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, there was a lot of talk about Montgomery dropping his righty swing to hit exclusively lefty. That doesn’t really seem like what you want to hear from a highly drafted college bat, but the lefty swing is so smooth and powerful I get why it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal overall. He also had a 20% K% which is substantially higher than the college bats drafted before him. Maybe that is partly why he slipped a bit to 12th overall, and also why Boston was willing to include him in the Crochet trade. The broken ankle which he suffered pre draft on June 8th was also likely a major reason for the drop. So he certainly has some risk with hit tool, platooning and injury, but he also has very major power upside. He’s 6’2”, 220 pounds and he smashed 27 homers with a 1.187 OPS in 61 games in the SEC. He’s been smashing homers his entire career with 62 homers in 187 games split between the Pac 12 and SEC. He absolutely destroys the baseball with huge exit velocities. That gives him a no doubt carrying tool that will make him a fantasy force. As for the trade, it really doesn’t change his value at all. The path to playing time is clearer, but it’s an organization downgrade and a future lineup downgrade. It’s also a ballpark downgrade. If anything, it makes me like him slightly less, but again, this really shouldn’t change his value. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 83/28/91/.252/.333/.480/6

5) Kyle Teel – CHW, C, 23.2 – Teel was known as a high floor, lower ceiling, quick moving college catcher in last year’s FYPD, and that is exactly what he did in 2024. He slashed .288/.386/.433 with 13 homers, 12 steals, and a 23.0/13.5 K%/BB% in 112 games split between Double-A (145 wRC+) and Triple-A (97 wRC+). His 86.3 MPH EV at Triple-A isn’t super impressive, but he knows how to lift and pull it, so he should get the most out of his raw power. He’s also a good athlete who likes to run relative to other catchers, so that can help his fantasy value even if the homer totals aren’t huge. He had a crystal clear path to Boston’s starting catcher job of the future (and the present), but with his trade to Chicago, he now has to battle it out with Edgar Quero. You have to think Teel is the favorite for most of the at bats, but that might be a bad assumption, and at the end of the day, that will get decided on the field. The trade probably doesn’t change Teel’s dynasty value too much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a ballpark hit, organization hit, and a bit of a path to playing time hit. – 2025 Projection: 31/7/34/.244/.311/.383/4 Prime Projection: 74/17/68/.268/.342/.430/9

6) Jhostynxon Garcia – BOS, OF, 22.3 – Garcia is one of my top prospect targets relative to perceived value, and he was one of several prospect targets I named in my End of Season Mailbag Podcast (Patreon). He has legit thunder in his bat with a quick and powerful righty swing that resulted in 23 homers in 107 games. He hits the ball really hard and he lifts it with all fields power. He’s also a good athlete who can play CF, and he’ll run a bit too with 17 steals. He started the year at Single-A and flew all the way through to Double-A by mid August. He wasn’t quite as good at Double-A as he was in the lower minors, but he still put up an above average 103 wRC+, and the most important thing is that his K rate didn’t skyrocket with a 19% K%. The hit tool and plate approach are certainly the biggest risk here with a 21.6/7.2 K%/BB% overall, but the K rate actually got better at each higher level, and he walked a ton in 2021-23, so he has that skill in there. His combination of power, athleticism and good OF defense is very enticing, and the hit tool was actually pretty decent this year. Boston is crowded, so he doesn’t have a path to playing time, but trades happen and injuries/ineffectiveness happens too, so he’ll get his shot eventually, and when he does, we could be looking at a guy who puts up big EV’s with a high launch, above average sprint, positive defense value, and good enough K rates. He can be a legit impact fantasy bat going for a price way under that right now. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 76/25/84/.247/.321/.458/12

7) Yoeilin Cespedes – BOS, SS/2B, 19.7 – Cespedes’ season ended on June 21st a broken hamate, but he was one of the top rookie ball breakouts before going down with the injury. He slashed .319/.400/.615 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 18.1/11.4 K%/BB% in 25 games. It was good for a 163 wRC+, and this was coming off the 145 wRC+ he put up in the DSL in 2023. He’s a lift and pull machine who takes absolute daddy hacks at the dish with a monster righty swing. He swings much bigger than his 5’8” size would indicate. I’m thinking the contact rates could take a step back in full season ball, but I believe in the power despite not being a huge human being. If the contact rates don’t take a step back, we could be looking at a very potent hit/power combo, and even if they do, he should remain a very good prospect. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 77/25/84/.268/.329/.458/8

8) Franklin Arias – BOS, SS/2B, 19.4 – I have Arias in the same category that I had Jefferson Rojas in last off-season when Rojas was getting a ton of hype. They don’t jump off the screen, they don’t have huge size, and they don’t have huge tools, but they are just really good baseball players who do a lot of things well on a baseball field. I like them, and I definitely like them for real life, but they are probably a bit overrated for fantasy. Arias demolished rookie ball with a 181 wRC+ on the back of elite plate skills with a 17.5/16.5 K%/BB% in 51 games. He then got the call to Single-A and wasn’t as impressive, slashing .257/.311/.378 with 3 homers, 5 steals, and a 17.5/9.6 K%/BB% in 36 games. He was only 18, so that is still a very solid line, but I do think it underscores how the production might not look so outsized against more advanced competition. He hit 9 homers in 87 games, so he has some pop, and he stole 35 bags, so a he’s a good baserunner despite not being a burner. An up the middle glove with good contact rates and some power and speed is a really high floor real life profile, but we play fantasy, and we want upside. He’s a Top 100-ish fantasy prospect, so again, I like him, but I don’t think he’s a truly coveted one. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 83/18/68/.273/.338/.428/15

9) Chase Meidroth – CHW, 2B/3B/SS, 23.9 – Meidroth was part of the return for Garrett Crochet, and if Chicago didn’t think he has a very good chance of being a starting caliber player, why would they even want him included. It sure feels like he’s the favorite for the starting 2B job right out of the gate, which is a big boost to his value. Unfortunately, that big boost still doesn’t boost him very high in my book. The power is lacking with only 7 homers, a 5 degree launch, and a 2.2% Barrel% in 122 games at Triple-A, and so is the speed with 13 steals in 19 attempts. An elite plate approach is his game with a 12.7/18.8 K%/BB%, which led to a .293 BA, .437 OBP, and a 132 wRC+. His 88.6 MPH EV also isn’t bad, so while it hasn’t led to homers, it could be good enough to maintain the high BA/OBP on the MLB level. If he were potentially hitting atop a really good lineup, I could see real fantasy value here, but in the White Sox lineup, the fantasy value is likely to be lacking for the next few seasons. I can see a path to a solid fantasy player, but it’s not a journey I’m looking to go on. – 2025 Projection: 63/11/49/.255/.320/.386/7 Prime Projection: 84/15/61/.276/.352/.416/9

10) Miguel Bleis – BOS, OF, 21.1 – We already knew that Bleis was not going to be that rocket ship elite prospect that we hoped for after his disappointing 2023 season, and as often happens with these uber talented, close to a breakout but never quite breaks out prospects (see Alex Ramirez), they can just sit in the breakout waiting room for years, sometimes all the way into their late 20’s. So I fear Bleis is going to get comfortable in this breakout waiting room, but that is where he is after another mediocre at best season. He conquered Single-A with a 123 wRC+, but he was a 20 year old repeating the level, and he struggled when he got to the more age appropriate High-A with a 70 wRC+ in 50 games. That hit tool is still quite raw with a .221 BA on the season. The good news is that the upper echelon talent is still here with 11 homers, 38 steals, and a lift and pull profile. The hit tool isn’t good, but a 21.4/9.1 K%/BB% isn’t too bad. He also has a good glove in the OF. Is he just Alex Ramirez 2.0? Probably. But even Alex Ramirez can still breakout down the line, and Bleis certainly can too. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 67/20/71/.241/.309/.417/23

11) Yordanny Monegro – BOS, RHP, 22.5 – Monegro is one of my top pitching prospect targets relative his extreme lack of hype. He checks a hell of a lot of boxes with size (6’4”, 180 pounds), mid 90’s velocity, diverse pitch mix, nasty secondaries, and excellent production. He put up a 2.73 ERA with a 30.8/9.8 K%/BB% in 66 IP at High-A. He has an explosive righty delivery with a mid 90s 4-seamer, 2-seamer, a nasty change, and 2 good breaking balls in his slider and curve. He’s not a finished product as he has to continue to refine his control/command and all of his secondaries, plus he hasn’t thrown that many innings in his career (76 IP was a career high this year), but all of that is way over factored into his price. He’s a pretty special talent who has done nothing but dominate for the past two years when he’s been on the mound. If he keeps it up at Double-A, his price should take a big jump in 2025. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 11/3.76/1.21/169 in 160 IP

Just Missed

12) Luis Perales – BOS, RHP, 22.0

13) David Sandlin – BOS, RHP, 24.1

14) Jedixson Paez – BOS, RHP, 21.2

15) Juan Valera – BOS, RHP, 18.10 

16) Mikey Romero – BOS, 2B/SS, 21.3 – Here is what I wrote about Romero in the in-season Dynasty Rundowns towards the end of the season, and my thoughts remain the same: “The Red Sox 1st round pick, 24th overall, in 2022 has been almost completely ignored by everyone, including me, but Mikey is demanding our attention right now after calmly jacking out his 4th homer in 7 games since getting called up to Double-A as a 20 year old. He had 10 homers in 59 games at High-A. The reason he has been ignored is because he doesn’t have big raw power, he doesn’t have speed (1 steal all season), and his hit tool/plate approach isn’t particularly good either with a 21.9/5.0 K%/BB% in 60 games overall. Those deficiencies still make me pretty lackluster on his future potential, but production matters, and the guy is no doubt producing while being super young for the level. Maybe he can lift and pull his way into like Connor Norby type territory.” … He closed out the season at Double-A with 6 homers and a 33.8/2.7 K%/BB% in 16 games. That K rate is scary, but he was just 20 years old getting a taste of the upper minors. It was much better at High-A with a 21% K%. He’s getting no love, but the guy was picked 24th overall, he reached Double-A by 20 and showed he can do damage against upper minors pitching. I don’t think he’s a major dynasty asset either, but show the guy just a little bit of love, will ya. He ranked 86th overall on the Top 98 2025 Second Base Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon). – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 66/17/71/.245/.303/.412/3

17) Blaze Jordan – BOS, 3B/1B, 22.3 – I wasn’t sure Jordan deserved to crack this list with his 2nd straight year of poor performance at Double-A (98 wRC+ in 89 games), but that 12.1% K% is still pretty impressive. He has good raw power despite hitting only 7 homers, and being 21 years old at Double-A is still on the slightly young side. He doesn’t have much defensive value, but he can play a decent 3B, so it’s not like he doesn’t have any at all. I doubt he finds a role on the Red Sox, but I’ll take a shot on his contact/power combo at this point in the rankings. He ranked 75th overall on the Top 83 2025 First Base Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon). ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 67/18/76/.266/.315/.421/3

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

Here is a round up of all the latest moves since my last roundup of all the latest moves. The Hot Stove is moving fast right now:

The Marlins trade Jesus Luzardo and Paul McIntosh to Philly for Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd

Man, I wish I had the Marlins in my dynasty leagues, giving up nearly elite upside starters for light hitting speedsters. I thought Caba was getting a bit overrated (certainly for fantasy), and obviously Philly didn’t view him as untouchable either. If you can pull the same sell high move for Caba that Philly just did, I would jump on it. As all dynasty owners know too well, I bet you there is another team out there going, “they sold Luzardo for that? My offer was 3 times better than that!!” hah. Also, hasn’t Miami acquired enough of these guys with Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, Jared Serna, Max Acosta, Javier Sanoja, Vidal Brujan, and more. I mean, how many of them do you need? How about targeting some impact. I get they have more value in real life, but still. I’m probably being overly harsh as it’s not like Caba and Boyd are devoid of upside,  but they have 6 total homers in 314 career games between the two of them. As for Luzardo, he was already one of my favorite bounce back targets in 2025, and I like him even more now that a good team was willing to trade for him.

The Cubbies trade Cody Bellinger to the Yanks for Cody Poteet

This is a monster ballpark upgrade for Cody Bellinger. He goes from the 5th worst ballpark for lefty homers to the 7th best, and he needs all the help he can get with tons of flyballs and weak exit velocities. This is the exact ballpark that Bellinger can thrive in, and he’s coming from one that particularly depresses his skills. He had a .700 OPS at home vs. a .797 OPS on the road in 2024. I’m not saying you can bank on a monster season, but I am saying there is now some legit upside for it. His value gets a definite bump.

The Yankees sign Paul Goldschmidt for 1 year, $12.5 million

Once the Yankees lost Juan Soto, it was pretty clear they weren’t going to leave their 1B spot open, but signing Goldy to a one year deal is basically the best case scenario for Ben Rice. I already went over how much I like Rice, and without a long term option at 1B, that gives Rice 2025 to prove he should be the man in 2026 and beyond. Rice is a hold or cheap buy if you have the room on your roster or are in a rebuild. As for Goldy, his value doesn’t change as a still solid win now piece, but he’s a good reminder of how fast a players dynasty trade value can fall off as they get deeper into their 30’s. If you traded Goldy 2 years ago, or even last off-season, you could have gotten a pretty big return, but now, nobody is going to give you much. I’m just saying it could be a good time to put Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve on the market while their value is still solid. It’s better to sell a year early than a year late.

The Rays trade Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez to Oakland for Joe Boyle, Will Simpson, Jacob Watters and a Draft Pick

Leaving Tampa for Oakland is a big organization downgrade for Springs and Lopez, and that 100% isn’t only for development, that is for pitch calling, defensive alignment, etc … which all impacts production in a major way. But Tampa has a rotation logjam, so getting out is good for Springs in particular regardless of the downgrade. I don’t like him as much in Oakland without Tampa’s magic to maximize his skillset, and he already didn’t look great in 2024 with the velocity down, the K/BB rates down, and more elbow issues. He might be more name value than real value right now. I’m probably not buying unless he falls into my lap. As for the players going to Tampa, that is an upgrade for all of them. Boyle likely ends up in the bullpen, but a Tampa exec talked about being extra patient with guys like Boyle (huge upside), so who knows what Tampa can do. Simpson I already liked, cracking my 1B Rankings at 69th overall, and seeing Tampa target him in this return makes me like him even more.

The Rangers trade Nate Lowe to Washington for Robert Garcia and then signed Joc Pederson for 2 years, $37 million to essentially replace Lowe

Like every Nate Lowe dynasty owner, you only own Nate Lowe because you can’t figure out a better option. But Texas did the right thing, which is to just rip the band-aid off and move on. Lowe is a crutch, preventing you from thriving. Find your Jake Burger and Joc Pederson’s to replace the Nate Lowe’s on your team. The Nationals on the other hand were desperate enough for 1B that it made sense for them. Christian Walker and Goldy both seemed to reject them. Their former options were Juan Yepez and Andres Chaparro, which I’m not even sure how you run an organization and end up with those two as your best options at 1B. So Lowe clearly makes sense for them. I was semi interested in Chaparro if he made it through the off-season with a shot at the 1B job, but that is dead now.

Astros sign Christian Walker for 3 years, $60 million

Walker will be 34 years old for the 2025 season and he was a late career breakout, but I don’t blame Houston for shelling out $60 mil over 3 years when you see that elite 75 MPH bat speed. This is a truly special power bat, and he has bat speed to spare to give him a gentle decline. We all know Houston is great for righty homers too. Walker remains an excellent win now piece. Houston has decided they don’t want to go full rebuild, which complicates the path for some of their most talented youngsters, but their OF is still wide open, so I think there is still room for their best to find jobs (Melton and Dezenzo, in particular).

Baltimore signed Tomoyuki Sugano for 1 year, $13 million

Sugana is a 35 year old who just put up an 18.3% K% in 156.2 IP in Japan, so we aren’t talking about big dynasty value here, but he can easily end up a solid win now piece. Here is Sugano himself talking about his arsenal and strategy in an MLB.com article by Adam Berry, “Obviously not a guy that throws 100 mph, but I’m very confident in my control, command, my pitch mix. That’s why I’ve had a lot of success in Japan. I’m not looking to really change anything now. I want to use my pitch selection, my pitch mix, my command to pitch in the States and see where it takes me from there.” That says it all as Sugano art of pitching’d his way to a 1.67 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 2024, and a 2.43 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his 1,873.1 IP career. The guy knows how to pitch, and while he’s not going to be an under 3 guy in MLB, I don’t see why his profile wouldn’t transfer. Baltimore wouldn’t have paid him $13 million if they didn’t think he could be effective. I would expect a #3/4 type starter with a high 3 ERA and low WHIP, but the lack of K’s and age still blunts his dynasty value. He’s probably more of a Top 400-500-ish dynasty asset with more value the deeper the league is.

The Guardians trade Josh Naylor to Arizona for Slade Cecconi and then signed Carlos Santana for 1 year, $12 million

Arizona was the 4th worst park for lefty homers while Cleveland was the 5th best. Naylor hits the ball hard enough where I wouldn’t panic, but that is a definite downgrade, and he was already coming off a career power season that was sure to regress. I thought he was getting a tad underrated even after his career year, because absolutely nobody is buying in, but now I’m hesitant to buy in as well. Cleveland turned right around and signed Carlos Santana, so any bump for Manzardo and Noel is mitigated, but a 39 year old Santana will be much easier to surpass than Naylor. It’s clear that Manzardo and Noel are the future (and probably the present too at DH/1B). As for Arizona, it now gets a bit more crowded for all of their fringe starters (Pavin Smith, Alek Thomas, JJ McCarthy, Blaze Alexander), but these guys were going to have to prove it on the field anyway to hold a job, and I still think the cream will rise here (Pavin Smith is the cream).

The Astros trade Kyle Tucker to Chicago for Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith, and Hayden Wesneski

It was a no brainer for Chicago to flip Paredes to a team better suited to his particular set of skills, and Houston couldn’t be more perfect for him. He should get back to mid 20’s homers. This is a big boost for his fantasy value. Cam Smith had the raw power to profile anywhere, but this is still a big park upgrade for him too. And Hayden Wesneski gets a new team, new coaches, new voices etc … to try to unlock his still decent potential. He was actually pretty good last year with a whiff machine, double plus sweeper and 2 low to mid 90’s fastballs. Houston wouldn’t have traded for him if they didn’t see something they liked. Not big value here, but it’s something. And finally, the biggest piece in the deal, Kyle Tucker, is the least interesting. And you know what, that kinda tracks with his whole career of being underhyped. His value doesn’t change. So boring.

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon (free ones listed in parenthesis)

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*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

**Any player currently in the majors is ineligible

1) (34) (157) (UR) (UR) Kristian Campbell – BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 –  A new #1 overall fantasy prospect is crowned, and that man’s name is Kristian Campbell. Here is what I wrote about Campbell in his latest Dynasty Baseball Rundown blurb, “I was asked about a comp for Campbell in the August Mailbag Podcast, and I couldn’t really think up of a great comp. But after watching him continue his absolute tear through Triple-A, maybe Fernando Tatis Jr. is the perfect comp. I didn’t want to go that lofty on the comp, but he has the size (6’3”, 210 pounds), the athleticism (23 steals) and power (20 homers) to live up to it.” … he currently has a 90 MPH EV in 16 games at Triple-A, and on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen. The launch is low and the hit tool still has some risk, so he’s not an absolutely perfect prospect, but he’s clearly an elite prospect. Campbell vs. Anthony is a coin flip for me, and Anthony being two years younger almost gave him the nod, but ultimately I couldn’t pass up on Campbell. He’s my top dog.

2) (3) (12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.4 – How about the Sox having the top 2 prospects in the minor leagues right now? And they have far more than that too, they are not just top heavy. I hope the Yanks and Orioles are having their fun, because the Sox are coming real soon. As for Anthony, Triple-A isn’t slowing him down at all with a 149 wRC+ and 18.2/12.7 K%/BB% in 23 games. High groundball rates and poor base stealing are the only quibbles in his profile. He’s an upper middle class man’s Gunnar Henderson

3) (4) (8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.10 – Shaw has a 91.4 MPH EV with 4 homers in 23 games at Triple-A just in case anyone was questioning his power at 5’9”. He combines that with contact, approach and speed. He still feels underrated to me

4) (6) (15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.2 – 28.1% K% in 111 games at Double-A is starting to creep up there, but it’s not high enough to scare me off. He can be just fine with a K% in the high 20’s throughout his career, and if he get eventually get it under 25%, we could be looking at an elite fantasy player with his at least plus power/speed combo

5) (5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.6 – Finally returned from a thumb injury and is now getting his first shot at Triple-A where he has a 41.7% K% in 5 games (as well as 1 homer and a 25% BB%). If anyone can hit under .200 with an over .400 OBP, it will be Rodriguez

6) (9) (14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.1 – His profile is almost unheard of. A 6’9” lefty with double plus stuff and plus control. Even Randy Johnson struggled with control earlier in his career. Randy actually had an insane 318 walks in 400.1 minor league innings pitched before getting the call to the bigs. Schultz is unprecedented. He’s easily my top pitching prospect in the game.

7) (11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.1 – The upper minors definitely slowed him down a bit, and Triple-A is slowing him down more than a bit with a 41.3/4.3 K%/BB% and 19 wRC+ in 10 games. He’s barely 20 years old, so it’s an extremely encouraging season overall, but his comp maybe goes from Yordan Alvarez to Rafael Devers. Not bad

8) (12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 17.10 – De Vries vs. Jenkins vs. Walcott seems to be a popular debate, and I have De Vries first out of that group right now because he’s the one who has already tapped into his raw power the most. He ripped 11 homers in his last 40 games and he has a 49.3% FB% on the season. All 3 are going to be great, but that is what gives the small edge to De Vries at the moment.

9) (13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 19.6 –  I comped Jenkins to Kyle Tucker, and Jenkins’ first year of pro ball is going very similarly to Tucker’s. Tucker had 9 homers with 32 steals and a 16.3/10.1 K%/BB% in 117 games in the lower minors, and Jenkins has 6 homers with 15 steals and a 12.7/15.6 K%/BB% in 76 games. Like Tucker, the power explosion is almost certainly coming

10) (14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore his shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. The good news is that he’s back from the hamstring injury and went 1 for 5 in his return. He just has to stay healthy

11) (40) (112) (75) (158) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 21.11 – I was a little hesitant this off-season to go all in on Chandler, because while the huge stuff was undeniable, he still needed a lot of refinement. Well, that refinement came this off-season and he’s now destroying Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and 32.1/9.8 K%/BB% in 28 IP. The fastball averages 96.7 MPH and is a bat missing weapon. The slider is his most used secondary and it induces weak contact and misses bats. The changeup is his best secondary with a 40.5% whiff% and 79.7 MPH EV against at Triple-A. And finally the curve is a good pitch too. As long as the control/command stays solid, this is an easy ace. Pitt is absolutely stacked with both high end talent and depth

12) (8) (FYPD-1) (NA) (NA) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.0 – A lot of these college bats are getting a cold splash of water to the face after putting up video game numbers in college. Bazzana is hitting well with a 126 wRC+ in 27 games at High-A, but a .238/.369/.396 slashline with 3 homers and a 25.4% K% is not exactly screaming no doubt MLB superstar. I still love him, and I think he’s still going to be an impact fantasy player, but it’s at least something to think about

13) (17) (FYPD-2) (NA) (NA) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.0 – Profile is completely transferring to pro ball, slashing .295/.405/.400 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.9/12.7 K%/BB% in 29 games at Single-A. His upside might not be quite as high as some of the other bats, but he probably has the highest floor, and I do think there is 20/20 upside in here

14) (20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.3 – The last step to elite prospect status is an uptick in game power with 10 homers in 107 games, and while he certainly has the huge raw power in the tank, we only have to look at Jordan Walker to not take it for granted

15) (21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 18.7 – The 25.5% K% is still on the high side, and he hasn’t fully tapped into his raw power with 10 homers in 116 games at High-A, but all of that is just nitpicking. He has a 123 wRC+ as an 18 year old at High-A. College hitters are struggling to keep their heads above water at that level right now. Future star

16) (24) (48) (28) (28) Max Clark – DET, OF, 19.9 – I gave him the Corbin Carroll/Pete Crow Armstrong comp, and he was exactly as advertised in the lower minors. When the power ticks up, like we are seeing with Pete Crow right now, there is superstar upside

17) (15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.1 – Is everyone just ignoring the 12.7% BB% in 73.2 IP at Double-A? I love Jobe just as much as the next guy, but it feels like this is getting majorly glossed over at the moment. He’s also had some injury issues in his career. Huge upside, but the risk is starting to creep up there too

18) (123) (265) (263) (319) Kumar Rocker – TEX, RHP, 24.8 – Returned from Tommy John surgery and he’s going full elite pitching prospect on us with a 1.96 ERA and 55/5 K/BB in 36.2 IP at mostly Double-A and Triple-A. The fastball sits 97.9 MPH and the slider is double plus to elite. He also mixes in a cutter, sinker and slider. If you want to ignore all risk from the shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery which delayed his career, he has a case to be the top pitching prospect in the game, but I think factoring in some risk is prudent. All pitchers are risky, so I’m not going to dock him too much, but I’m not going to put him as the #1 pitcher on this list. He’s going to make his MLB debut on Thursday, and since he’s not up quite yet, he cracks this list.

19) (22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 21.2 –  Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

20) (61) (92) (92) (105) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, OF, 19.9 – His dominance at High-A was so spectacular (187 wRC+ in 48 games) that it earned him a promotion to Double-A as a 19 year old, and he’s looked great there too with 1 homer, 19.2/11.5 K%/BB% and 115 wRC+ in 6 games. He’s 6’7” with elite power. No two ways about it at this point. He’s a truly elite power hitting prospect

21) (19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.9 – 141 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go

22) (25) (24) (12) (35) Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 19.2 – High-A slowed him down a bit with a 90 wRC+ and 21.6% K% in 29 games, but on the plus side, he’s running a ton with 9 steals at the level. He’s 15 for 17 in 70 games on the season, so while he might not be a true burner, he looks like he could be a skilled baserunner

23) (23) (FYPD-3) (NA) (NA) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.8 – Yet to debut

24) (27) (28) (19) (68) Tink Hence – STL, RHP, 22.1 – Little Tink can’t seem to get true elite pitching prospect buzz because he isn’t a big guy, but size aside, the dude is elite with a 2.76 ERA and 34.4/8.0 K%/BB% in 78.1 IP at Double-A. He has the nasty stuff to back up the numbers. If he was a broad 6’2”, there would be zero questions about him

25) (35) (70) (82) (189) Thomas White – MIA, LHP, 19.10 – 2.61 ERA with a 29.9/8.3 K%/BB% in 62 IP at High-A. He has the size and stuff to back it up. He’s on the short list for #1 pitching prospect in the game once the guys in the upper minors graduate

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1) (2) (NA) (8) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 21.6 – Alex Verdugo has a 87 wRC+ and isn’t a particularly good defensive player. It’s getting mighty close to that time for The Martian to invade New York again, and we saw what happened the last time he invaded New York with 4 bombs in just 8 games. His combination of upside and proximity is hard to match. He deserves the #1 spot on these rankings with all of prospects in the major leagues being ineligible for this list.

2) (5) (NA) (4) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B/SS, 21.1 – Caminero is a close 2nd to Dominguez in terms of upside and proximity. But he doesn’t steal bases (1 steal in 48 games), and it sure feels like Tampa is ready to manipulate the hell out of his service time

3) (12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.3 – The game power and stolen base speed have arrived at Double-A with 10 homers and 10 steals in his last 38 games. There is still some low launch (46.1% GB%) and high K (25.9% K%) in his game, but that feels like nitpicking for a barely 20 year old kid with a 134 wRC+ in the upper minors.

4) (8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.9 – Earned a callup to Triple-A by obliterating Double-A over his last 46 games, slashing .333/.400/.582 with 11 homers, 15 steals, and a 13.6%/9.7% K%/BB%. The Paredes trade complicated his path to playing time, but I’m trusting it to get sorted one way or another by 2025. Shaw still feels underrated to me

5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.5 – A thumb injury from sliding into 2nd base put an abrupt halt to Rodriguez’ massive season at Double-A (201 wRC+ in 37 games). Even my 9 year old nephew uses one of those huge sliding mitts when on the bases (it’s kinda hilarious). Come on EmRod. It doesn’t change how much I love him with a monster OBP/power/speed combo, but it’s definitely annoying

6) (15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.1 – The hit tool concerns aren’t completely out of the woods with a 27% K% and .255 BA, but the age to level, power (14 homers), speed (28 steals), and glove more than make up for that. Plus, the K rate is actually improved from what he did in the lower minors. The Rays starting SS job is waiting for him

7) (FYPD-1) Charlie Condon – COL, 3B/1B/OF, 21.4 – Ranked 1st overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “I was all set to have Bazzana #1 on my FYPD Board, but with Condon going to Coors with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, it rattled my whole game plan. How can you pass up on a massive human being, with massive numbers, in the best conference in college baseball, going to the best ballpark in the majors, which just so happens to juice up the only slight quibble in his profile? The answer is, you can’t. Or at least I can’t. Condon has to be the top dog now. He’s 6’6”, 215 pounds and he swings the bat like it’s a literal twig. He ripped 37 homers in 60 games in the SEC this year and has 62 homers in 116 career games in the SEC. The power is near elite (I say near elite, because Jac has more power). He improved both his contact rates and plate approach this year with a 13.5%/18.8% K%/BB%, and like I alluded to, Coors Field juices up batting average the most. Coors is actually slightly below average for homers in 2024, but with 6’6” baseball players, it’s always the BA you have to watch out for, so this landing spot is perfect. He’s not going to steal many bases, but he’s a good athlete, and he should be able to nab a handful. If your team really needs the stolen bases, I can maybe see going Bazzana one, but all things being equal, there is just too much offense upside in that hitting environment to pass up on Condon in the top spot. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 99/34/107/.276/.357/.529/6″

8) (FYPD-2) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 2nd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 1st overall, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder … There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. Either way, he survived, and if you want to give Bazzana the edge over Condon because of steals, I wouldn’t blame you. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 100/25/91/.287/.366/.481/23″

9) (14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.0 – He’s yet to throw more than 4 IP in any outing of his career and he only has 65.2 IP on the season. Workload is the only thing to nitpick here, because everything else is straight elite with a 1.64 ERA and 29.6%/6.6% K%/BB% in 38.1 IP at Double-A. Schultz was my top pitcher target in his FYPD class, and he’s arrived

10) (10) (9) (10) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 22.4 – Just when we were ready to put the rough 2023 Double-A debut behind us, he went out and looked mighty mediocre when he got the call to Triple-A with a 87 wRC+ in 34 games. But the individual components look better with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB%, 4 homers, and 5 steals. He’s looking more like an above average across the board contributor rather than a true star right now though

11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 19.11 – You couldn’t pry Basallo away from Baltimore’s cold dead hands at the deadline, and for good reason, as he’s still 19 years old with 15 homers, a 127 wRC+ and 20.9%/8.9% K%/BB% in 88 games at Double-A. At 6’4”, he has future beast written all over him

12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 17.9 – The explosion is on, slashing .274/.397/.573 with 9 homers, 6 steals, and 22%/14.9% K%/BB% in his last 29 games. He now has a well above average 110 wRC+ in 64 games at Single-A. He’s my favorite to be the #1 prospect in the game by this time next year

13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 19.5 – Showed an elite plate approach at Single-A (11.3%/18.5% K%/BB% in 33 games), which is exciting because we know the big power is in there at 6’3”, 210 pounds. He hasn’t been as good since getting the call to High-A with a 61 wRC+ and 18.2%/9.2% K%/BB%, but obviously it’s too small of a sample to say anything

14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore is shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. I still love him, but the injuries are piling up

15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.0 – The elite control from 2023 has vanished with a 14.5% BB% in 42.1 IP at Double-A. He went from Maddux to Misiorowski. But he’s still dominating with a 1.91 ERA and 30.6% K%, and I don’t believe that walk rate is his true talent. Not budging on him

16) (FYPD-3) Jac Caglionone – KCR, 1B/LHP, 21.6 – Ranked 3rd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 6th overall, Caglionone is a giant human being at 6’5”, 250 pounds. Condon may have an extra inch on him, but he can’t even come close to Caglinone’s sheer mass. And it’s not Dan Vogelbach mass, it’s elite NFL TE type mass and athleticism. This is what truly elite power looks like, and he has no trouble getting to that power with 75 homers in 165 career games in the SEC. He also pitches with a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s to give you an idea of the type of athlete we are talking about, even if his future is almost certainly with the bat. The plate approach and hit tool were questions coming into the year, but he massively improved in those areas this year with a 8.2%/18.4% K%/BB% (18.2%/5.3% in 2023). The biggest knock on his profile is the very high chase rate, making him riskier than the other top bats in his class, but let me make a counter argument to that for a second. One, basically every hitter with an extremely high walk rate and low chase got criticized for not swinging enough, namely Kurtz. Jac is getting criticized for swinging too much. You can’t win. Two, if I was a pitcher, I wouldn’t want to give this guy anything to hit either. Sure, he chased, but not to his detriment. He did a ton of damage (.419 BA with a 1.419 OPS) and made a ton of contact. Three, there is something to be said about Jac proving he can hit very tough pitches that are out of the zone. It goes without saying that pro pitching and MLB pitching is much, much, much tougher than college pitching. You are going to have to hit tough pitches. You can’t always wait for a perfect pitch. Jac has proven he can do that. Maybe that’s just the lawyer in me to feel the pull to argue for a clear negative, ha, but it sounded good, right? I feel like there’s something to it, and on pure upside, Jac very well might be the top guy in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 94/37/109/.261/.342/.524/8″

17) (FYPD-4) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 4th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 7th overall, Wetherholt slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz. Maybe it was the injuries, missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. It could also be that he is on the small side at 5’10”, and doesn’t have quite the raw power of the other top college hitters in the draft. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely has plenty of power, but about a 16 homer pace is not that impressive when everyone else is hitting 30. Or maybe it’s that he didn’t face the toughest competition in the Big 12. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. He also rocks the little man leg kick which I love, ensuring he will get the most out of his very good raw power. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 97/21/82/.290/.357/.462/26″

18) (19) (32) (41) Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 20.8 – Called up to Double-A and went lefty on lefty for his first homer at the level in his 3rd game. The power is no joke, but the hit tool has some risk with a 30% K% at High-A and 42.9% K% in 3 games at Double-A

19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.8 – 140 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go.

20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.2 – Everything is translating to High-A except for the BABIP (.236). De Vries, Jenkins, De Paula and my next guy, Walcott, is going to be a super fun 1, 2. 3, 4 one day atop the prospects rankings

21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 18.6 – Destroying High-A for awhile now, slashing .301/.356/.534 with 7 homers, 9 steals, and a 24.7%/7.7% in his last 45 games. That’s insanely impressive for an 18 year old, and the tools are elite at 6’4”

22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 21.2 –  Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

23) (FYPD-5) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.7 – Ranked 5th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 2nd overall, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/245 in 190 IP”

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*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis (May’s Non-Debuted Pure Prospects Rankings) (Off-Season Rankings)

1) (2) (16) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 21.11 – Mercury must be in retrograde or something, because I never thought I would see the day when I ranked a pitcher as the top prospect in baseball, but that day is today. Skenes jumped up to the majors and immediately overwhelmed MLB hitters with a 3.00 ERA and 35.5%/5.6% K%/BB% in 27 IP. He’s not only my top prospect in the game, he’s my top dynasty pitcher in the game, ranking 19th overall on my latest Top 414 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon).

2) (NA) (8) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 21.4 – You know what Dominguez doesn’t have in common with Holliday and Caminero? His MLB debut was actually electric with 4 homers in 8 games, and now that he’s back from Tommy John surgery, it’s like he never left with 6 homers in 15 upper minors games. Maybe the hit tool is still a bit riskier, but he more than makes up for that with upside due to how much he loves to run. Dominguez is my #1 hitting prospect in baseball.

3) (1) (9) James Wood – WAS, OF, 21.9 – Wood’s strikeout rate is better than both Holliday and Caminero’s at Triple-A. We saw Holliday’s K rate skyrocket in his MLB debut, and Wood’s plate approach is superior to Caminero’s. We’ve seen both Holliday and Caminero struggle in their MLB debuts. He runs more than both Holliday and Caminero. He hits the ball harder than both Holliday and Caminero. I can’t guarantee that Wood ends up better than Holliday and Caminero, and at his height, he most probably does have more hit tool risk, but I don’t think either can match Wood’s upside, and judging based only on 2024, his hit tool is more than holding his own vs. those guys. I’m a glutton for upside, and there might not be a prospect in baseball with more upside than Wood.

4) (NA) (2) Jackson Holliday – BAL, SS, 20.6 – If the terrible MLB debut never happened, we would all be losing our minds on what a travesty it is that Jackson Holliday and his 140 wRC+ is still at Triple-A. With all the extremely aggressive assignments throughout all levels of professional baseball, and the mostly lackluster results, it feels like the pendulum has swung too far in the other extreme. How about some middle ground. “Everything in moderation, even moderation.”

5) (NA) (4) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B/SS, 20.11 – Caminero’s 106 wRC+ in 34 games at Triple-A isn’t super impressive, but he’s still crushing the ball (92.4 MPH EV), ripping homers (8 homers), and showing a decent plate approach (22.9%/9.2% K%/BB%). And he’s still only 20. He’s still on track to reach his righty Devers comp.

6) (NA) (11) Noelvi Marte – CIN, 3B, 22.8 – I think there is a case to put Marte over Holliday and Caminero as well due to his much superior MLB debut, but let’s get a looksie on him post PED suspension before getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe he was cheating.

7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 21.10 – Lawlar started a rehab assignment in rookie ball coming off thumb surgery. Nobody has staked claim to Arizona’s SS job in his absence, and while Perdomo is on the comeback trail as well, I just don’t think he has the bat to hold the job. Lawlar should get his shot at some point in the 2nd half

8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.8 – He hasn’t blown the doors off at Double-A, but he’s proving his big 2023 pro debut was no fluke with 6 homers, 15 steals, and a 21.4%/14.4% K%/BB% in 54 games at Double-A.

9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.3 – There are a lot of really good prospects not putting up eye popping numbers at Double-A, but Baby Bonds isn’t one of them with a 199 wRC+ in 37 games. In OBP leagues, there is a case for him to be the #1 hitting prospect in the game with a 25.1% BB%

10) (9) (10) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 22.2 – The disaster start is behind him, but this still isn’t the light the world on fire bat we hoped we would be getting

11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 19.10 – 1.099 OPS in his last 20 games. Looks like Basallo has figured out the upper minors, and he’s still 19 years old

12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.1 – A 138 wRC+ as a barely 20 year old at Double-A is impressive even if the numbers aren’t off the charts

13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 21.9 – He was just getting back to his dominant self in his last 3 outings with a 16/3 K/BB in 11 IP at Double-A, but a hamstring strain landed him on the IL since May 1st

14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 20.9 – Insane dominance has transferred to the upper minors with a 0.77 ERA and 35%/0% K%/BB% in 11.2 IP. There is little doubt that this guy is going to be an ace if he stays healthy

15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 20.11 – 27.9% K% shows there is still hit tool risk, but as a 20 year old in the upper minors, that actually isn’t too bad, and he’s dominating regardless with a 161 wRC+. Tack on a plus SS glove which should give him a long leash, and this is a no doubt elite prospect

16) (NA) (13) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 22.2 – PCA is locking in that his speed and baserunning ability are truly elite with a 30 ft/sec sprint and a perfect 7 for 7 mark on the bases, and he’s also showing much better contact rates than his first go around with a 23% K%, but he’s yet to prove he can hit the ball hard enough to truly make an impact with a 86.7 MPH EV. It sat 87.9 MPH with a 110.6 MPH MAX at Triple-A, so there is more in the tank right now, and I definitely think there is more in the tank in the future. I’m not moving off PCA

17) (7) (23) Coby Mayo – BAL, 1B/3B, 22.6 – Out since May 16th with a fractured rib. He’s on a beeline to be on the best power hitters in the game when he gets healthy again

18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.8 – Here is what I wrote about Mayer this off-season in his Top 1,000 blurb: “Mayer feels like he’s getting a bit of the treatment Noelvi Marte got last year. He was on a beeline for elite prospect status until there was an abrupt, general cooling on him throughout the industry, but like with Marte, I’m not sure it’s warranted.” … and like Marte, he came out swinging the next season, slashing .300/.370/.486 with 6 homers, 12 steals, and a 20.2%/9.7% K%/BB% in 54 games at Double-A . Hopefully unlike Marte, he isn’t on PED’s

19) (32) (41) Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 20.6 – 27.6 K% in 51 games at High-A means we have to recalibrate his hit tool expectations a bit, but on the flip side, we can do the same about his stolen base expectations with 13 steals. And the power is unquestioned with 12 homers

20) (5) (18) Spencer Jones – NYY, OF, 23.1 – He might finally be finding his groove at Double-A with 4 homers, 2 steals, and a 1.052 OPS in his last 9 games, although it still comes with a 12/2 K/BB. I’m going to keep betting on the huge talent, even if the hit tool isn’t where it needs to be right now with a 34.1% K%

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Pitchers

Kutter Crawford BOS, RHP, 28.0 – I told you guys to put a star next to Justin Steele’s name as you were filling out the middle to back half of your fantasy rotation last off-season, and I’m going to tell you to do the same with Kutter Crawford this off-season. He shares some similarities which made me like Steele last off-season, but they aren’t really direct comps. Crawford’s control jumped to above average levels with a 6.8% BB%, and it allowed his 93.6 MPH fastball (.268 xwOBA with a 26% whiff%) and 88.6 MPH cutter (.295 xwOBA with a 24.2% whiff%) to play as plus pitches. He throws a legit 6 pitch mix with his sweeper, splitter, and slider thriving in limited usage. It all led to a 4.04 ERA (3.25 xERA) with a 25.6% K% in 129.1 IP. The floor is pretty high, and he has some very real upside. I really, really like Kutter as a very reasonably priced target. 2024 Projection: 11/3.73/1.22/159 in 155 IP

Brayan Bello BOS, RHP, 24.10 – The good news is that Bello improved one of his biggest weaknesses, bringing his BB% down 3.4 percentage points to a well above average 6.7%, but the bad news is that basically everything else took a half step back. The velocity dropped 1.3 MPH to 95 MPH, the barrel% rose 1.6 percentage points to 7%, and the whiff% dropped 1.6 percentage points to 24.4%. It resulted in a good, but unexciting fantasy season with a 4.24 ERA and 19.8% K% in 157 IP. The floor is high with his ability to keep the ball on the ground (56.2% GB%), the stuff is still big, and the changeup is still plus with a .219 xwOBA and 38.7% whiff%, but the upside is lacking with the mediocre K rates. He was major buy for me last off-season, and everything I liked him about then, I still like about him now (plus the improved control), so he’s an easy hold for me this off-season. 2024 Projection: 11/3.94/1.28/150 in 165 IP

Chris Sale BOS, LHP, 35.0 – Sale was a bit rusty coming off a completely lost and chaotic 2022 season with a 8.22 ERA in his first 23 IP, but he performed like a true ace after that with a 3.16 ERA and 30.2%/6.0% K%/BB% in 79.2 IP. He can clearly still be an impact fantasy starter, but there are enough indications that what he did in those final 79.2 IP shouldn’t be expected over a full season. He missed over 2 months during that stretch with shoulder inflammation, and while he performed well afterwards, the velocity was spotty and shoulder injuries are scary. He hasn’t thrown a legitimate starter’s workload since 2019 (147.1 IP). And the stuff isn’t quite as good as his prime with his heavily used 4-seamer hitting a career worst .320 xwOBA and 23.4% whiff%. All of those negatives seem to already be factored into his price though with a NFBC ADP of 179, and his advanced age is sure to keep his price down in dynasty too, so he still makes for a very reasonable buy target for a win now team. 2024 Projection: 10/3.57/1.14/170 in 140 IP

Hitters

Triston Casas BOS, 1B, 24.3 – Casas has the potential to become one of the next great all around 1B mashers, and we saw what that could look like in the 2nd half of 2023. He slashed .317/.417/.617 with 15 homers and a 23.4%/14.2% K%/BB% in his final 54 games. He smashes the ball with a 91.1/95.2 MPH AVG/FB EV, he lifts the ball with a 15.7 degree launch, he hit lefties well with a .817 OPS, he has no contact issues, and he’s an OBP beast. His .371 xwOBA was in the top 8% of the league, and that includes his slow start. He also hits in a great ballpark. The 1B position is starting to age a bit with Votto, Goldy, and Freeman all getting up there, and I think Casas has the upside to be in the next generation of greats to take their place. I don’t think he will get quite the respect he deserves this off-season. 2024 Projection: 93/32/94/.273/.375/.520/1

Jarren Duran BOS, OF, 27.7 – Ceddanne Rafaela is pretty clearly Boston’s starting CF of the future, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a path to playing time for Duran both in the short term and long term. Rafaela hasn’t established himself yet, Alex Verdugo is in his final year of team control with trade rumors already swirling around him, Masataka Yoshida looks like he’ll be doing a lot of DH’ing, and the unproven Wilyer Abreu (who I like) is penciled into one of the OF spots. That leaves plenty of avenues for playing time for Duran even if Boston brings in a free agent or two, and he has the type of fantasy profile to go after. His hit tool took a big step forward in 2023 with a 24.9% K% (28.3% in 2022), and it was even better in the 2nd half with a 17.6% K% in his final 142 PA. The contact improvements allowed his double plus speed (29.5 ft/sec sprint with 24 steals in 102 games) and at least above average raw power (89.9 MPH EV with 8 homers and a .295 BA) to shine. He was definitely on the lucky side with a .266 xBA, but luck is the residue of design, and when you hit the ball hard with his kind of speed, good things happen. His season ended in late August with a toe injury that required surgery, but he should be good to go for 2024, and I would use any job/injury uncertainty to your advantage this off-season. 2024 Projection: 78/16/69/.264/.329/.428/29

Bullpen

Kenley Jansen BOS, Closer, 36.6 – Jensen is certainly passed his prime with career worsts in K% (27.7%), EV against (89.9 MPH), xFIP (4.61), and xERA (3.16), but he’s far from washed up. His velocity jumped two ticks to near career highs with a 94.3 MPH cutter, and the slider is still plus with a 37.5% whiff%. The days of him putting up a 1.32 ERA with a 42.2%/2.7% K%/BB% are over, but a low 3’s ERA with a 30%/9%% K%/BB% is still well within reach. 2024 Projection: 4/3.39/1.15/79/34 saves in 62 IP

Boston Red Sox Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospects

1) Roman Anthony BOS, OF, 19.11 – I ended Anthony’s 2023 Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “There is a lot of refinement needed, but this is a high upside bat who could explode up rankings if everything comes together.” … well, everything came together and Anthony exploded up rankings, slashing .272/.403/.466 with 14 homers, 16 steals, and a 24.2%/17.5% K%/BB% in 106 games at mostly Single-A (109 wRC+) and High-A (164 wRC+). It was a little concerning that the K% jumped to 30.6% at High-A, but then he closed out the season at Double-A and had a 185 wRC+ with a 13.6%/18.2% K%/BB% in 10 games. And he did all this starting the season as an 18 year old. He’s an elite athlete at 6’2”, 200 pounds with a plus power/speed combo, powerful lefty swing, and a mature plate approach. He’s not a completely finished product yet as he’s not great at lifting the ball with an under 25% Flyball%, and he wasn’t a great base stealer with 16 steals in 23 attempts, but he hits the ball so hard he can survive without a huge launch, and he has time to refine his base stealing skills as well, so neither are major concerns. He’s on a short list to be the #1 overall prospect in baseball by this time next year. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 96/25/88/.273/.358/.472/16

2) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 21.4 – Mayer feels like he’s getting a bit of the treatment Noelvi Marte got last year. He was on a beeline for elite prospect status until there was an abrupt, general cooling on him throughout the industry, but like with Marte, I’m not sure it’s warranted. That sweet and vicious lefty swing obliterated the age appropriate High-A, slashing .290/.366/.524 with 7 homers, 5 steals, and a 22.%/10.4% K%/BB% in 35 games. He scuffled when he got to Double-A with a 63 wRC+, but there are multiple reasons to not get scared off by that. He was very young for the level, he was battling though a shoulder injury that eventually ended his season, and a .220 BABIP was really the biggest issue as 6 homers with a 25.8% K% in 43 games isn’t bad at all. He’s not that fast, but he’s a good enough base stealer to nab a handful of bags, and the strikeout rates have been higher than optimal, but the has the type of swing that can hit for both average and power even with a slightly higher strikeout rate. There are also only improvements coming from here. He’s right on track to become one of the better complete hitters in the game, especially hitting in Fenway. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 91/27/93/.272/.351/.484/9

3) Ceddanne Rafaela BOS, OF, 23.6 – Rafaela’s MLB debut was rough with a 74 wRC+, .238 xwOBA and 85.5 MPH EV in 89 PA, which fanned the flames of concern that he is too small (5’8″) to excel at the highest levels, but I’m using it as a buying opportunity. His floor is very high with at least plus CF defense and plus speed (39 steals and a 28.7 ft/sec sprint). He’s always had a good feel to hit (21.9% K% at Triple-A), he hit the ball hard in the upper minors with a 89.1 MPH EV, and he’s never had any groundball issues. He has a poor plate approach with a low BB% (5.5%) and high chase rates, but I don’t think that will hold him back while he’s in his physical prime. Cedric Mullins with a tick worse plate approach is the comp. 2024 Projection: 47/10/38/.245/.302/.401/15 Prime Projection:  87/18/68/.261/.318/.422/31

4) Kyle Teel BOS, C, 22.1 – Selected 14th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Teel is a better real life prospect than fantasy prospect like most prospect catchers. He has a hit over power profile, slashing .407/.475/.655 with 13 homers, 5 steals, and a 36/32 K/BB in 65 ACC games. He backed up that profile in pro ball, slashing .363/.483/.495 with 2 homers, 3 steals, and a 19.3%/18.4% K%/BB% in 26 games split between 3 levels (rookie, High-A, Double-A). He’s a good athlete, so he could nab a few bases which is nice for a catcher, and he immediately becomes Boston’s best catcher prospect, so he could move relatively fast through the system. Fenway is a great hitter’s park too which should help his profile play up. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 76/16/71/.281/.352/.433/8

5) Blaze Jordan BOS, 3B/1B, 21.3 – Blaze is one of those prospects where every time I fly him up rankings in early rankings drafts, I get cold feet after looking them over a few times because he isn’t a good defensive player, he hits lefties much better than righties, and he’s yet to truly show that prodigious power he was known for as an amateur. But then I move him too far down the rankings, and get FOMO when I think about a 20 year old with big raw power, great contact rates, and great production. He slashed .324/.385/.533 with 12 homers and a 14.6%/8.7% K%/BB% in 73 games at High-A. It was good for a 145 wRC+. He then went to Double-A and hit 6 homers with a 13.8% K% in 49 games. He can look a bit stiff at the plate, but he’s talked about losing weight and working on his body this off-season, which will only help him both offensively and defensively at a very strong 6’2”, 220 pounds. As a pure bat, there is a lot to love, and if he can improve defensively this off-season, it would make prospect rankers feel a lot more comfortable about him. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 75/25/84/.269/.332/.465/3

6) Wilyer Abreu BOS, OF, 24.10 – I had a lot of in-season Target article hits this year, ringing the five alarm bell on a bunch of guys right at the first sign of a sprouting breakout and before they were even close to getting the respect they deserved (Nolan Jones and Zack Gelof, among others, were my best calls), but my favorite call was probably the one I made on Wilyer Abreu. Here is what I wrote about Abreu on August 3rd, “ This one is probably more for my deep leaguers out there, but there is something I really love about Abreu that I just can’t shake. And that something is probably his sweet, sweet lefty swing. It’s resulted in 14 homers with a 89.6 MPH EV in 71 games at Triple-A. It also comes with a solid 22.3%/16% K%/BB% and a cannon for an arm in rightfield. I don’t think he is going to be a league winner, but I think he has a chance to be a rock solid MLB player.” … From that point forward, Abreu went absolutely bonkos, hitting 8 homers in just 15 games at Triple-A, and then earning a call up to the majors where he put up a ridiculous 135 wRC+ in 85 PA. It’s almost like I had a crystal ball on that one. He continued to hit the ball hard in the majors with a 91.3 MPH EV, he likes to run with 3 steals (8 steals at AAA), and the plate approach was solid with a 27.1%/10.6% K%/BB%. I still think he’s more of an impact player for medium to deeper leagues rather than shallow leagues, but he more than proved he can be a good big leaguer in the long run. 2024 Projection: 47/14/54/.242/.319/.423/6 Prime Projection: 76/24/82/.257/.338/.453/9

7) Miguel Bleis BOS, OF, 20.1 – Bleis was the anti-Junior Caminero in 2023. Everyone wants to know which prospects can blow up from outside Top 50’s into elite prospect range, and Bleis and Caminero were both popular picks to do that this year. Caminero obviously fulfilled that elite prospect destiny, while Bleis completely imploded in on himself. He struggled hard at Single-A with 1 homer, 11 steals, a 26.8%/7.0% K%/BB%, and 71 wRC+ in 31 games, and then his season ended on May 30th with a shoulder injury that required surgery. The superstar traits are still there with a lightning quick swing, projectable power, and plus speed, but he didn’t seem all that close to putting it together in 2023, and the shoulder injury adds further risk. He’s not an overtly imposing presence at a skinny 6 feet, so he needs to tack on more muscle to reach his power potential, and the plate approach is below average. He can still obviously reach his elite prospect potential, but every year he doesn’t do it, the odds of it happening get a little lower. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection:  75/22/77/.255/.322/.438/24

8) Yordanny Monegro BOS, RHP, 21.5 – Monegro is a projectable 6’4”, 180 pounds with nasty stuff and a starter’s pitch mix. He throws a mid 90’s fastball with good movement, to go along with 2 plus breaking balls that he has full confidence in and will throw in any count, both in and out of the zone. He also mixes in a decent a changeup. He was too much for the lower minors with a 2.06 ERA and 34.6%/9.7% K%/BB% in 65.2 IP at rookie ball, Single-A, and High-A. He doesn’t have pinpoint control, but he’s not majorly wild either. Boston has a bunch of arms with similar value to Monegro, but I like his combination of upside and likelihood of sticking as a starter the most. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 10/3.93/1.31/160 in 155 IP

9) Nick Yorke BOS, 2B, 22.0 – A 24.1% K% and .268 BA at Double-A isn’t exactly super encouraging for a player who you are mostly buying for the hit tool. There also isn’t a clear path to playing time with Story under contract through 2027, Marcelo Mayer very likely ahead of him on the depth chart, and many others with similar skillsets to Yorke in the organization as well. And to top it all off, he isn’t a particularly good defensive player. But Yorke showed a good enough all around collection of skills/tools to stick with him. He hit 13 homers with 18 steals, a 10.1% BB% and 116 wRC+ in 110 games as a barely 21 year old in the upper minors. The Sox took him 17th overall in 2020, and when a team invests so much into a player, they usually want to give him every opportunity to succeed. His perceived name value is probably greater than his actual value, but he can still be a solid all around contributor at peak. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 78/18/71/.267/.332/.426/14

10) Wikelman Gonzalez BOS, RHP, 22.0 – There is no doubt that Gonzalez has fire stuff with a nightmare mid to upper 90’s fastball that gets a ton of whiffs to go along with a plus breaking ball and a solid changeup. It led to a 3.96 ERA with a 35.2% K% in 111.1 IP at High-A and Double-A. The problem is that his control is in the major danger zone with a 14.7% BB%. He can survive with below average control, but he needs to improve to even reach below average, so his most likely role will be out of the bullpen. It’s closer type stuff though. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 4/3.45/1.22/81/25 saves in 65 IP

Just Missed

11) Chase Meidroth BOS, 3B/2B, 22.8

12) Brainer Bonaci BOS, SS/2B, 21.9

13) Yoelin Cespedes BOS, SS, 18.7

14) Nazzan Zanetello BOS, SS, 18.10

15) Luis Perales BOS, RHP, 21.0

16) Angel Bastardo BOS, RHP, 21.9

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

Jumping off from the Miguel Bleis blurb, every dynasty owner wants that shooting star prospect who “came out of nowhere,” but I would be careful about building your system with 100% of these players. Bleis is the dark side of that strategy, and before you know it, you could have an entire farm system full of nearly worthless prospects who showed glimpses in the DSL or rookie ball a few years ago, while your competition rosters and graduates the Matt McLain’s and Spencer Steer’s of the world. Of course you want a nice percentage of pure young upside, but make you sure you are dipping into other buckets of prospects as well to diversify your risk. And you don’t have to always forgo upside to do it with the Blake Dunn’s of the world available for reasonable prices (I’m not intentionally only naming Cincinnati players, hah).

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles (free)–Chicago Cubs (free)–Chicago White Sox–Cincinnati Reds (free)–Cleveland Guardians–Colorado Rockies–Detroit Tigers–Houston Astros–Kansas City Royals–Miami Marlins–Milwaukee Brewers–Minnesota Twins–New York Mets (free)–New York Yankees (free)–Pittsburgh Pirates–San Diego Padres–San Francisco Giants–Texas Rangers–Toronto Blue Jays–Washington Nationals

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Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

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–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

1) (1) (1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.9 – I hate to even mention it but Holliday’s power/speed combo has been a little lacking at Double-A with 3 homers and 1 steal in 25 games. He has only 10 homers in 105 games on the season. He’s only 19 years old and he has a 164 wRC+ at the level, which is why it’s almost silly to mention, but there is another 19 year old at Double-A who is breathing down Holliday’s neck, and he’s a power/speed glutton …

2) (2) (3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.5 – Holliday and Chourio ranked 25th and 26th overall on the Top 477 August 2023 Dynasty Baseball Rankings, so it’s a literal coin flip for me. Holliday has the safety and hit tool edge, while Chourio has the power/speed edge (17 homers and 34 steals in 100 games).

3) (3) (2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.1 – Called up to Triple-A and is unsurprisingly raking with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 13%/17.4% K%/BB% in 5 games. He ranked 1st overall on my Top 39 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Only that dropped last week on the Patreon.

4) (6) (6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.4 – Called up to Triple-A and hasn’t slowed down at all, slashing .299/.397/.567 with 4 homers, 5 steals, and a 21.8%/12.8% K%/BB% in 16 games. I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops that Armstrong was going to be beast for years now, and it’s all coming to fruition

5) (5) (5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 20.1 – Caught fire at Double-A in his last 12 games, slashing .370/.420/.761 with 6 homers and a 7/3 K/BB. He’s the righty version of Rafael Devers

6) (7) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.5 – Stupid good at Single-A with a 192 wRC+ in 14 games. It earned him a promotion to Double-A, and I’m not sure the Double-A competition will be much better at slowing him down

7) (8) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.8 – Having no issues at High-A with a 152 wRC+ in 14 games. He can’t be far behind Crews for his first crack at the upper minors

8) (4) (4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.11 – 33.1% K% with a .227 BA in 64 games at Double-A officially puts his hit tool in the danger zone, but I’m still betting on the talent and future adjustments

9) (9) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.2 – He’s been untouchable in his pro debut, going 4 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB over 3 short outings at rookie and Single-A. He’s an ace waiting to happen with a fire 4 pitch mix (fastball, slider, cutter, change).

10) (10) (17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.11 – 0 homers in his last 13 games after his little power binge … he might not be a power hitting beast quite yet

11) (11) (13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.9 – Marte’s speed has been questioned for over a year now, so he went out and stole third base in his MLB debut, and then hit a hustle double for his first MLB hit. I have no idea where everyone plays when India and Fraley get healthy, but I’m not sure how Marte’s contact/power/speed profile got so underrated.

12) (13) (14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.7 – The hit tool has been much improved of late, slashing .333/.401/.494 with 5 homers, 19 steals, and a 44/21 K/BB in his last 42 games at Double-A. That was the last thing we needed to see to cement his elite fantasy prospect status

13) (16) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 18.5 – Slashing .340/.380/.574 with 2 homers, 3 steals, and a 14%/6% K%/BB% in 12 games in rookie ball. He’s going to be an elite prospect in no time

14) (14) Max Clark DET, OF, 18.7 – Slashing .268/.348/.561 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 21.7%/10.9% K%/BB% in 10 games in rookie ball. He’s right on track to become the next Carroll/Armstrong

15) (33) (55) (135) (185) (265) Ethan Salas SDP, C, 17.2 – Called up to High-A and put up a 36 wRC+ in 9 games, which somehow earned him a promotion to Double-A. He’s 17 years old. I’m scratching my head. Why?

16) (34) (72) (50) (48) (42) Masyn Winn STL, SS, 21.4 – Called up to the majors and is struggling with a 71.8 MPH EV and 27.3%/0.0% K%/BB% in 3 games. It’s obviously a super small sample, but I wouldn’t expect him to explode in his age 21 year old season. It might take a couple years for him to really hit his peak a la CJ Abrams.

17) (24) (50) (57) (67) (71) Jackson Merrill SDP, SS, 20.3 – The GB% has come all the way down to 36.9% in 31 games at Double-A, and he’s done it while maintaining the elite contact rates (10.6% K%). It’s resulted in 4 homers, 5 steals, and a .312 BA

18) (35) (63) (66) (73) (354) Tyler Black MIL, 2B/3B, 23.0 – Black was one of my first major buy calls all the way back in April, and he’s now on the verge of a call up after getting promoted to Triple-A. He plays 2B and 3B and Milwaukee is very weak at 2B and 3B.

19) (12) (42) (48) (119) (80) Everson Pereira NYY, OF, 22.4 – Christopher Morel 2.0. He’s wrecking Triple-A with 8 homers and 4 steals in 35 games, but the swing and miss could tank him in the majors

20) (15) (20) (19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.8 – Out since August 2nd with a shoulder injury. A .220 BABIP was really his biggest issue at Double-A

21) (17) (16) (13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 21.0 – Beastly stuff and huge K upside makes you want to completely ignore that he has a 6.35 ERA in 17 IP at Double-A

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
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–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

1) (1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.8 – Got the call to Double-A and just continues to cement his top dog status with 1 homer, a 15% K% and 146 wRC+ in 9 games. He better keep it up though, because he has someone nipping at his heels …

2) (3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.4 – New ball, new Chourio … or should I say old ball, old Chourio. He’s back to tearing up the minors with a 1.367 OPS, 3 homers and 5 steals in 9 games at Double-A post break. I’m tempted to put him back over Holliday

3) (2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.0 – Lawlar ranked 13th on my Top 26 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Only (Patreon). He’s been dominating Double-A for months now with a .979 OPS in his last 40 games, he’s already 21 years old, Perdomo is due for regression, and Arizona is fighting for a playoff spot.

4) (4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.10 – .208 BA with a 31.6% K% in 41 games at Double-A shows the hit tool risk is real, but I wouldn’t let it scare you off too much as the 6’6”, 240 pound Wood is the next head exploding, elite athlete that will make mainstream baseball fans go crazy when he does get the call

5) (5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 20.0 – The righty version of Rafael Devers

6) (6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.3 – The power is exploding with 12 homers in 68 games at Double-A, the speed is elite with 23 steals, and he’s never had any hit tool issues with a career .304 BA in the minors. He’s straight elite

7) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.4 – Ranked 1st on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “Let’s cut right to the chase, if any pitcher would make me pass on the type of hitting talent Crews and Langford are, it would be Paul Skenes, so I have no issue going Skenes first, but with how an entire pitcher’s career trajectory can be changed on a single pitch, I just can’t take that risk. Selected 2nd overall, Crews is built like a solid rock at 6’0”, 203 pounds, and he swings the bat so fast and powerfully it almost looks like he’s using an illegally light bat (he’s not, at least I don’t think he is ha). The ball explodes off it on contact. The swing and hard hit ability are so impressive that I get shades of Bryce Harper when watching him (obviously not a direct comp). He obliterated the SEC from the second he stepped on campus as a freshman, and he kept on improving through his junior year, slashing .380/.498/.689 with 58 homers, 23 steals, and a 146/152 K/BB in 196 career games. His floor feels like a 30+ homer bat without the best BA or tons of steals, and the ceiling might look something like the aforementioned Bryce Harper. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 103/33/108/.278/.367/.531/14″

8) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.7 – Ranked 2nd on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “If you miss out on Crews, Langford not only isn’t a bad consolation prize, but he has a legit case to be taken over Crews.  He might actually have half a tick more power and speed than Crews, and he’s even more built up at 6’1”, 225 pounds. He used that tremendously powerful and athletic frame to destroy the SEC over the past 2 seasons, slashing .363/.471/.746 with 47 homers, 16 steals, and a 89/92 K/BB in 134 career games. Crews strikes me as a bit looser and more of a natural athlete to my eye, and his bat speed and swing just look next level to me, so I would still pick him first, but I would be happy as a clam to sit at #2 and take whichever bat fell to me. He was selected 4th overall. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 95/34/105/.271/.355/.523/16″

9) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.1 – Ranked 3rd on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “Selected 1st overall, Skenes immediately becomes the top pitching prospect in baseball who has yet to debut in the majors. If your offense is already stacked, and you are struggling to build up your pitching, I wouldn’t blame you for going Skenes over Crews and Langford, because Skenes is a generational pitching talent. His season was nothing short of jaw dropping with a pitching line of 1.69/0.75/209/20 in 122.2 IP in the SEC. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and routinely hits over 100 MPH. His slider is elite, and while he didn’t go to his changeup as much, that pitch is also nasty. He also displayed plus control of his entire arsenal. He’s 6’6”, 235 pounds with a relatively athletic delivery and he’s a good athlete in general as evidenced by the fact he is also an excellent hitter. He had a career 1.121 OPS in 119 games in the Mountain West before transferring into the SEC. He’s as can’t miss as a pitcher can get. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 16/3.12/1.02/250 in 200 IP”

10) (17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.10 – He’s been a homer machine since returning from a wrist injury with 6 homers in 26 games at Double-A. The homer uptick is the last thing we needed to see with his mature plate approach and plus speed

11) (13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.8 – Called up to Triple-A and isn’t having any issues with a 112 wRC+, 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 19.5% K% in 17 games. He’s shaping up to be an above average contributor in every category

12) (42) (48) (119) (80) Everson Pereira NYY, OF, 22.3 – Called up to Triple-A and is rolling with 4 homers and a 23.7% K% in 13 games. He has a 92.9 MPH EV at the level. He’s in position for a call up with the Yanks scuffling offense, and he can make a legit fantasy impact if he does get the call

13) (14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.6 – I’m going to keep buying a 20 year old at Double-A who is showing off a nasty power (12 homers)/speed (25 steals)/OBP (.348 OBP) combo. Don’t expect a high BA though with a .219 BA and 27.1% K%

14) Max Clark DET, OF, 18.6 – Ranked 4th on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): Clark is the 2023 draft version of Pete Crow Armstrong and Corbin Carroll, two guys who I was the high man on in their first year player draft class, although Clark actually got the respect he deserved by getting selected 3rd overall. Maybe the success of those aforementioned players paved the way for a guy like Clark to get valued correctly. As you can tell from the comps, double plus speed with a plus hit tool and developing power is what you are buying. He’s a pretty thick and muscular 6’1”, 190 pounds, so I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see legitimate power developing down the line, even if he’s more a line drive hitter currently. 5×5 BA leagues are going to be his bread and butter, but like Carroll, he can be a beast regardless of league type. He has elite dynasty asset upside. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/18/72/.288/.346/.435/39

15) (20) (19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.7 – .221 BABIP is the only issue at Double-A. He was the Walker Jenkins of his draft class …

16) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 18.4 – Ranked 5th on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): Selected 5th overall, the 6’3”, 215 pounds Jenkins has that sweet lefty swing that just oozes offensive potential. It’s athletic, quick, under control, powerful, smooth … I can go on and on. It’s hard to watch this guy hit and not completely fall in love. It has the potential for plus hit and plus power at peak, and he’s also a good athlete with above average run times. It’s the type of profile that can be an elite dynasty asset a la Kyle Tucker. If your dynasty league leans more towards power than speed, I can see scooping Jenkins over Clark. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 89/30/97/.270/.340/.514/14

17) (16) (13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 20.11 – Returned from biceps inflammation and looked healthy in his first rehab outing in rookie ball, going 2 perfect innings with 3 K’s. Injury risk is just part of the equation when you deal in pitching prospects

18) (NA) (27) (128) (328) AJ Smith-Shawver ATL, RHP, 20.5 – Sent back down to Triple-A after a solid MLB debut. The fact he even made it to the majors is incredible considering how fast he flew through the minors at only 20 years old

19) (30) (29) (49) (36) Tink Hence STL, RHP, 20.11 – Got called up to Double-A and has a 1.80 ERA with a 18%/6.6% K%/BB% in 15 IP, going 5 IP in each outing. The stuff is fire, he is starting to go deeper into games, and now he’s performing in the upper minors

20) (26) (31) (77) (247) Heston Kjerstad BAL, OF, 24.5 – One of the premier hit/power prospects in the minors with a .344 BA and 5 homers in 33 games at Triple-A

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Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

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1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.6 – Holliday’s dominating performance as a 19 year old at High-A (166 wRC+ in 44 games) not only makes him the #1 prospect in baseball, it also vaults him into the Top 50 of my Updated Top 456 June Dynasty Baseball Rankings. He’s the best new Holliday since National Pizza Day was invented in the year 2000 … well, at least until Jackson’s younger brother Ethan Holliday hits the scene in 2025

2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 20.11 – Slashing .369/.424/.655 with 4 homers, 6 steals, and a 13.0%/7.6% K%/BB% in his last 20 games at Double-A. He figured out his contact issues, bringing his K% well out of the danger zone to 24.3% on the season

3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.3 – The 94 wRC+ in 59 games at Double-A is mediocre, but the 9 homers, 19 steals, and a 23.6% K% from a 19 year old is still very exciting

4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.9 – Hit tool is getting exposed at Double-A with a 34.7%/5.3% K%/BB% in 18 games. It’s basically exactly what you didn’t want to see, but he’s only 20, and it’s understandable that there will be an adjustment period

5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 19.11 – Called up to Double-A and he hasn’t missed a beat with a 19.4%/8.3% K%/BB% and 2 homers in 17 games

6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.2 – Pete Crow has a chance to be a true fantasy monster with 9 homers (58.4% FB%), 16 steals, and a .280 BA in 48 games at Double-A. The 23.1%/6.7% K%/BB% is mediocre, which keeps him from ranking even higher than this

7) (43) (76) (121) Luis Matos SFG, OF, 21.4 – He was doing his best Wander Franco impression at Triple-A with elite contact rates, developing power and some speed before earning a call to the majors. He’s yet to strikeout in the bigs with a 0.0%/29.4% K%/BB%, which has led to a .946 OPS in 17 PA, but the 77.2 MPH EV and 27.6 ft/sec sprint speed shows there is some risk that the power/speed combo won’t be huge

8) (8) (36) (58) Gavin Williams CLE, RHP, 23.10 – The Triston McKenzie injury moves Williams one step closer to a call-up, even if Cleveland doesn’t decide to turn to him quite yet

9) (NA) (8) (14) Grayson Rodriguez BAL, RHP, 23.7 – Here is what I wrote about Grayson in my Top 26 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Impact Only on Friday, “Grayson may have finally found his rhythm for the first time all season. He has a 2.50 ERA with a 27/8 K/BB in 18 IP since getting sent back down to Triple-A. Their GM, Mike Elias, was obviously on to something when he talked shit about Grayson in spring training and didn’t have him break camp with the team. It was a continuation of his struggles when he returned in September of last year from a lat strain and didn’t look completely right. Before going down with that injury in 2022, Grayson said it was “hands down the best I’ve ever thrown the baseball in my life.” Pitching is all about rhythm, and the injury threw him off, but it looks like he’s finding it again. I’m sure Baltimore will be patient the second time around, but he’s on the verge on earning a 2nd shot.”

10) (12) (18) (21) Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 19.6 – Has progressed to throwing bullpens which is a very nice hurdle to clear. Without the injury risk, he would be the top pitching prospect in the game, and even with the injury risk he might still deserve that top spot

11) (21) (59) (83) Henry Davis PIT, C, 23.8 – I ranked Davis 2nd overall on Friday’s Stash article, and I absolutely nailed it with him getting the call to the majors. He has the chance to be a true elite hitting catcher who will also get full time at bats with the ability to play in the OF

12) (9) (32) (38) Colton Cowser BAL, OF, 23.2 – Returned from injury and is back to raking with a 1.003 OPS in his last 10 games at Triple-A. Aaron Hicks hot streak complicates his path to playing time

13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.7 – Doing it all at Double-A with power (8 homers), speed (10 steals) and hit (16.9%/9.9% K%/BB%) in 47 games, but trying to figure out his path to playing time puts my mind in a pretzel

14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.5 – .210 BA and 106 wRC+ in 58 games at Double-A doesn’t look great, but the 10 homers, 16 steals, and 26.7%/18.7% K%/BB% shows the fantasy upside. The hit tool is risky, but I’m not passing up on this kind of upside, and keep in mind he’s still only 20 in the upper minors

15) (10) (5) (19) Kyle Manzardo TBR, 1B, 22.11 – Not exactly kicking the door down to Tampa with a 113 wRC+ in 60 games at Triple-A, but his hit/power combo still makes him one of the safest bats in the minors

16) (13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 20.10 – He’s considered week to week with biceps inflammation since leaving his last start on May 4th

17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.9 – Carter’s on the rehab trail from a wrist injury and should return to Double-A soon. The early season power binge proved to be a mirage, but he’s still only 20, so the power uptick could come in time, and his speed should buoy his fantasy profile until it does

18) (37) (88) (97) Christian Encarnacion-Strand CIN, 1B/3B, 23.6 – Massively improving his only weakness, like he simply flipped a switch, with a 15.3%/20.4% K%/BB% in his last 20 games. He’s also getting some run in the outfield. The callup has to be coming any day now

19) (17) (22) (48) Coby Mayo BAL, 3B, 21.6 – Mayo’s homered in 3 of his last 4 games to bring his season wRC+ at Double-A up to 163. Maybe now he’ll start to get the respect he deserves

20) (19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.6 – Called up to Double-A and is struggling with a 51 wRC+ in 16 games, but the 3 homers and 21.1%/8.5% K%/BB% shows he will be fine

21) (22) (45) (74) Jordan Westburg BAL, SS, 24.3 – What does this man have to do to get the call? Because apparently hitting 17 homers in 62 games at Triple-A isn’t enough

22) (24) (46) (47) Harry Ford SEA, C, 20.3 – Ford has the ability to be a near elite dynasty asset, but it doesn’t seem like he gets valued like that. He’s doing it all at High-A with 8 homers, 13 steals, and a 19.3%/18.9% K%/BB% in 59 games

23) (47) (141) (102) Carson Williams TBR, SS, 19.11 – You guys know I’ve been hyping Williams hard for weeks now. 25.8% K% in his last 38 games is very reasonable considering his plus power (9 homers), speed (11 steals) and plus SS glove in 48 games at High-A. He’s a near elite prospect

24) (23) (44) (44) Luisangel Acuna TEX, SS/2B, 21.3 – Power hasn’t been optimal with only 4 homers in 54 games at Double-A, but everything else has been great with elite speed (29 steals) and a strong plate approach (21.1%/10.0% K%/BB%)

25) (64) (113) (193) Emmet Sheehan LAD, RHP, 22.6 – Made his MLB debut, and while it’s hard to argue against 6 no hit innings, there was one bright red flag. The famed changeup didn’t earn a single whiff. He wouldn’t be the first plus changeup guy to underwhelm in the majors (see, Gavin Stone)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 456 JUNE DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (6/16/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-TOP 44 ROOKIE BALL/DSL PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (5/26/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAILBAG! (5/16/23) 

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE UPDATED PROSPECTS RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 433 MAY DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (5/26/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAILBAG! (5/16/23) 
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (5/19/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE 2024 TOP 50 PROSPECTS RANKS

1) (7) (6) Elly De La Cruz CIN, SS/3B, 21.4 – Slashing .325/.435/.662 with 6 homers, 5 steals, and a 20.4%/15.2% in his last 19 games at Triple-A. The power/speed combo is unmatched, and the improved K rate propels him into the top spot. Proximity gives him the edge over Holliday as Elly also ranked 1st on my Top 25 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Impact Only.

2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.5 – Putting up stupid numbers at High-A, slashing .395/.505/.724 with 4 homers, 8 steals, and a 16.1%/18..3% K%/BB% in 21 games. Perfect combo of floor and high ceiling

3) (25) (24) Royce Lewis MIN, SS, 23.11 – From the 5/17/23 Dynasty Baseball Rundown: “Rolls-Royce comes back from ACL tears like he’s going into the shop for upgrades. It’s like an episode of Pimp My Knee.” He’s jacked 3 homers with 3 steals and a .364 BA in 6 games in the upper minors since returning. He ascended to top prospect in the game status before going down with the ACL injury, and he’s picking up right where he left off.

4) (2) (5) Jordan Walker STL, 3B/OF, 21.0 – Hasn’t improved his launch and isn’t performing well at Triple-A with a 67 wRC+ in 21 games

5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.2 – Holding his own at Double-A as a 19 year old with 5 homers, 10 steals and a 24.1%/7.2% K%/BB% in 37 games

6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 20.10 – Hit tool is getting exposed at Double-A with a 31.7% K% and .162 BA, but bad luck is playing a role with a .203 BABIP, and the power/speed combo looks great with 5 homers and 10 steals in 32 games. I would buy low if you can

7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.8 – There is always going to be some hit tool risk with players this tall, but it’s been improving over his last 8 games with a 19.4% K%. High walk rate (13.9% BB%) also mitigates some of that risk

8) (36) (58) Gavin Williams CLE, RHP, 23.9 – Williams is the new #1 overall pitching prospect still in the minors. 2.10 ERA with a 36.7%/10.2% K%/BB% in 25.2 IP at Triple-A and has the huge stuff to back it up led by an upper 90’s fastball. He has ace written all over him

9) (32) (38) Colton Cowser BAL, OF, 23.1 – Across the board destruction of Triple-A. It can’t be much longer before he gets the call

10) (5) (19) Kyle Manzardo TBR, 1B, 22.10 – Hit tool really hasn’t been all that great with a 20.2% K% and .263 BA in 39 games at Triple-A, and with Tampa’s extreme depth, path to playing time isn’t exactly super clear. On the flip side his power has taken a step forward with 8 homers and he’s one of the safest bats in the minors

11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 19.10 – There isn’t much speed here and the 24.7%/6.2% K%/BB% isn’t that great. I only bring up the negatives because his hype is through the roof and it’s worth mentioning he’s not the perfect prospect. Having said that, the guy is obviously a beast with 11 homers and a 187 wRC+ in 33 games at High-A

12) (18) (21) Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 19.5 – Continues to ramp up from the elbow injury with no setbacks yet

13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 20.9 – Left his last start with an arm injury, but they are hopeful it isn’t that serious and that he will be back throwing soon

14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.6 – From overrated to underrated. 8 homers, 8 steals, and a 17.9%/9.3% K%/BB% in 37 games at Double-A

15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.8 – Power hasn’t taken a step forward yet with only 4 homers in 32 games at Double-A, but he’s still only 20 and he does everything else well

16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.4 – .224 BABIP is still holding down the BA (.197) in 34 games at Double-A, but the 24.7%/20% K%/BB% looks good and he’s been much better of late with a .262 BA in his last 15 games

17) (22) (48) Coby Mayo BAL, 3B, 21.5 – Dominating Double-A, slashing .270/.396/.492 with 5 homers and a 24%/14.3% K%/BB% in 36 games. It’s good for a 145 wRC+. He still doesn’t get the respect he deserves

18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.1 – 3.5% BB% in 25 games at Double-A is extremely low and it’s not an aberration as he had a 4.9% BB% in 63 games at High-A last year. I only bring it up because everything else looks great, but the low walk rate could have him hitting towards the bottom of the lineup

19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.5 – Quietly dominating High-A with a 144 wRC+. He’s a complete hitter

20) (24) (12) Druw Jones ARI, OF, 19.5 – Was starting to find his footing at Single-A with a 16.7%/12.5% K%/BB% in his last 4 games before going down with the quad injury. It feels silly to say this, but definitely don’t panic based on the 10 game sample

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE UPDATED PROSPECTS RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 433 MAY DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (5/26/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAILBAG! (5/16/23) 
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (5/19/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE 2024 TOP 50 PROSPECTS RANKS

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)