Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 300+ June 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

This list is for non debuted prospects only. I want all fresh faces, and I want everyone being evaluated on an even playing field with no MLB sample tainting the analysis. As usual, I go over 300 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 25 free here on the Brick Wall. Previous Rankings (Off-season and May) are in parenthesis. Here is the Top 300+ June 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–JUNE 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

1) (21) (35) Konnor Griffin – PIT, OF, 19.1 – Roman Anthony finally got the call, and how fun is it to finally crown a new #1 non debuted prospect in baseball. And there is no funner (yes, I know that isn’t a word) prospect than Konnor Griffin. There is also no prospect with higher upside than Griffin. I was high on Griffin this off-season, but the Baseball Gods were telling me I wasn’t even high enough, writing in his FYPD Tier One Target blurb, “If one player in this group kinda pings my gut and heart every time I pass his name in the rankings, it’s Griffin. It’s like I’m getting a signal that he is the guy to truly go after. All of the college bats are good, but not great, and Griffin has the potential to be great. If you have the guts that I didn’t have in these rankings, maybe it’s Griffin that is the true top pick after Sasaki. Especially in a shallow league, it could be fun to roll the dice on him.” … and that dice roll is coming up 7’s if you took him first (I was able to nab him 11th overall in my 18 teamer). He conquered Single-A with 9 homers, 26 steals and a 156 wRC+ in 50 games, and his only weakness, plate skills, was improving massively by the end of his stint there with a 12.5/12.5 K%/BB% in his last 16 games. It earned him the challenge of High-A, and it’s gonna be fun seeing what he can do. He’s my #1 non debuted prospect in baseball.

2) (4) (15) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.3 – The game power is coming with 8 homers in 53 games at Double-A, and the plate skills are actually improving at the tougher level with a 21.2/12.4 K%/BB%. He’s not dominating, but he’s doing everything you wanted to see him do this year. I wouldn’t argue with you if you wanted to put Walcott first.

3) (7) (18) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 20.0 – I’ve been all in on Josue since he was a complete unknown in the DSL, and I’m not slowing down now, especially with the last piece of the puzzle coming together, and that is the game power. He has 8 homers in 56 games at High-A, the plate approach is still elite, and he keeps on racking up steals with 16 in 19 attempts. He is the complete offensive package, and even though he’s bad on defense, this is the type of bat to not care too much about that for fantasy.

4) (41) (252) Luis Pena – MIL, SS/3B/SS, 18.6 – I named Pena a Target this off-season in a DSL tier with Joswa Lugo, Yolfran Castillo, Yairo Padilla, Elvin Garcia and Jhonny Level, writing in his blurb, “Pena was a hit/speed breakout whose swing looks damn dangerous to me, and he’s not super small or anything at 5’11”. This could be the group where we find the next blow up. Take a lotto ticket or two here.” … and we did find the next blowup in this group, and that man’s name is Luis Pena. That explosive swing I couldn’t get out of my head has led to a power explosion with 5 homers in 35 games, and it comes with elite contact (11.5%) and speed (24 steals). He hits the ball hard, he doesn’t have any groundball issues, he pulls it … he’s the total package.

5) (6) (20) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.9 – The fact that Chandler hasn’t been called up already is just robbing baseball fans. Slow playing hitters is one thing, but pitchers with upper 90’s gas get hurt all the time. We don’t know how many bullets are in the tank. To let this man rot at Triple-A is baseball malpractice.

6) (10) (23) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 22.5 – Double-A was a complete joke for Burns with a 1.29 ERA and 36.4/2.6 K%/BB% in 42 IP, and while Triple-A has been slowing down tons of pitchers these days, I think Burns is ready for the challenge. We could see him in the majors by the 2nd half of the season. Chandler and Burns are in a tier of their own right now.

7) (3) (8) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 18.8 – He cooled off majorly with a .571 OPS in his last 26 games at High-A, but keep in mind that the Midwest League is a very tough league for hitters. His home park is one of the best places to hit in the league, and he has a .972 OPS there. On the road in tougher parks he has a .613 OPS. I’m not budging off Leo … well, I guess I am budging, but I’m not budging too far

8) (5) (9) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.3 – Ain’t no way I can let an ankle injury impact Jenkins’ ranking. He just returned from the injury and after looking good in the lower minors, he’s back at Double-A for the last 2 games

9) (8) (32) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 18.1 – I mean, he’s no Luis Pena 😉 … The .280/.389/.423 isn’t exactly a dominating triple-slash, but keep in mind he was still 17 years old for the first month of the season, and everything we loved about him in the DSL is transferring

10) (13) (13) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.9 – 93.4 MPH EV with a 33.7% whiff% in 39 games at Triple-A really says it all. There is huge power, but don’t completely discount the hit tool risk. Having said that, he’s 20 years old, so I would bet on that improving as he gains more experience

11) (11) (10) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 22.2 – I’ve hinted more than a few times that Painter doesn’t really look all the way back to where he was pre-injury, and with what we’ve seen from tons of Tommy John/internal brace returnees, that is really par for the course. The 3.86 ERA with a 26.9/11.8 K%/BB% in 21 IP at Triple-A is just not the bulletproof, basically perfect pitching prospect he was before the injury. The control hasn’t been as crisp and he’s not missing as many bats. I’m betting on him continuing to improve, but there is no guarantee

12) (17) (17) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.9 – Everything is transferring to Double-A. He’s exactly who we thought he was

13) (16) (16) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.9 – He’s almost exactly who we thought he was. That 26.2% K% in 33 games at Double-A is a tad higher than hoped. But he’s lifting and pulling and he’s running, so it’s a fantasy friendly profile. He’s currently out with an oblique strain since May 15th that is expected to keep him out for 8-10 weeks

14) (22) (19) Max Clark – DET, OF, 20.5 – The only thing missing from his great start to the season was the power/speed combo, so he added that back in with 3 homers and 7 steals in his last 25 games.

15) (40) (54) Kevin McGonigle – DET, SS/2B, 20.9 – Here is what I wrote about McGonigle in the latest Dynasty Rundown and my thoughts remain the same now, “I’ve underestimated McGonigle his entire career, and I’m ashamed of myself. Hit tool first high school prospects are not my favorite bucket to shop in FYPD’s, so he wasn’t an FYPD target for me, and that was a mistake. He doesn’t jump off the screen at 5’10”, 187 pounds, and that led me to underrated him after his excellent pro performance too. The little man discount took me out, and I pride myself on the little man discount. But all the underrating from me stops now, as he cracked a true power hitter’s bomb into the parking lot for his 2nd homer in 11 games at High-A. The plate skills are silly elite with a 7.7/21.2 K%/BB%, he hits the ball hard, he can lift and pull, and while he’s yet to steal a base this year, we know he has that too with 22 steals in 24 attempts in 74 games in 2024. He’s awesome and I’ve never given him the respect he deserves.”

16) (20) (43) Zyhir Hope – LAD, OF, 20.4 – He’s 1 for 3 on the bases in his last 50 games. That is just 1 steal since April 10th. That could be a bit of an upside capper for fantasy, especially with some hit tool risk here too

17) (23) (104) Bryce Rainer – DET, SS, 19.11 – I’ve been talking about it for most of the season, but shoulder surgery doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal for hitters anymore. Neto, Ohtani and Varsho all returned this season ripping dingers, arguably stronger than they’ve ever looked before. So I’m not fading Rainer at all due to the shoulder surgery. I closed out Rainer’s Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “Riley Greene might actually be the perfect comp here, and Detroit has done a great job developing Greene. Detroit got their SS version of Greene” … and he basically performed right to that comp. He’s a buy low off the surgery if you can

18) (49) (31) Aidan Miller – PHI, SS, 21.0 – The hit tool is getting a bit exposed at Double-A with a 27.2% K% and .234 BA, but he just turned 21, and he’s been better of late with a .264 BA in his last 28 games. The 6 homers and 22 steals are also damn exciting for fantasy

19) (107) (103) Eduardo Quintero – LAD, OF, 19.9 – Utterly obliterating Single-A with true across the board destruction, and the only nitpick from early in the year, the high K%, has been coming down of late too with a 19.6% K% in his last 21 games. He has zero groundball issues. Kid is a stud

20) (66) (181) Caleb Bonemer – CHW, SS, 19.8 – The high school talent in the 2025 FYPD class is popping all over the place, and Bonemer is leading the 2nd round charge, slashing .278/.419/.473 with 5 homers, 17 steals, and a 22.5/18.5 K%/BB% in 49 games at Single-A. He has the talent and power/speed combo to back up the numbers, He’s lifting and pulling. I’m all in on Bonemer

21) (135) (106) Theo Gillen – TBR, SS, 19.9 – Dominating Single-A, slashing .283/.438/.453 with 4 homers, 17 steals, and a 23.7/19.4 K%/BB% in 31 games. He was one of my favorite targets after the consensus top tier was off the board, so he most certainly has the talent to back up the numbers. There still might be a buy window here before his value explodes

22) (50) (71) Josue Briceno – DET, C/1B, 20.8 – Going bonkos at High-A with 8 homers in his last 14 games. That gives him 13 homers with a 173 wRC+ and 19.0/7.9 K%/BB% in 40 games on the season. This is the elite, middle of the order blowup that I warned you about this off-season when I named him a major target. And I’ve been naming him a target from before he got even a whisper of hype. I love this dude.

23) (32) (93) Arjun Nimmala – TOR, SS, 19.8 – One of the most visually dangerous righty swings in the game, and he’s backing it up with 9 homers and a 19.9/11.0 K%/BB% in 51 games at High-A. Age to level production, power, athleticism … there is nothing not to like

24) (43) (70) Jacob Misiorowski – MIL, RHP, 23.2 – We aren’t quite out of the woods yet with his control problems with 11 walks in his last 11 IP, which is definitely a bit scary, but a 12.3% BB% is still a career best, and I just can’t bring myself to fade his monster stuff with elite bat missing ability. Plus he’s in a great organization

25) (37) (24) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, 1B, 20.7 – 8 homers with a 27.2/10.5 K%/BB% in 39 games in the upper minors. We know who Eldridge is, and while the power is good enough to conquer San Francisco, I do think it shaves some upside off the top

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–JUNE 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern · 5 Comments

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (6/2/25)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (6/2/25):

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

Addison Barger – TOR, 3B/OF, 25.6 – Three weeks ago here in the Monday Rundown I ran to the town tower to ring the Buy Bell on Addison Barger, writing, “It’s time to target Barger everywhere. He actually has a positive 2.6 defensive value, which is getting me pumped, because his bat is no joke. He has an elite 76.3 MPH swing with a 13.6% Barrel%, 96.1 MPH EV. 13.5 degree launch, and .362 xwOBA in 59 PA. The plate skills are taking a big jump forward too with his K% all the way down to 16.9% (26.7% in 2024) and his Chase all the way down to 20.2% (31.5% in 2024). Barger is a major target right now. Go after him.” … and now the true star explosion is happening with him homering in 3 straight games. Yesterday’s was a 112.3 MPH piss missile. As I already gave you the heads up on weeks ago when not a peep was being whispered about this man, he looks like a true superstar. I’m not going to repeat all of those top of the scale metrics again, but all of them are still shining. I’ve seen the hype grow already as more people are noticing, so it could be too late, but I know if you read my work, you’ve had him for weeks already.

Jacob Wilson – OAK, SS, 23.0 – 4 for 4 with 4 singles … dude is a hit machine with a .357 BA and 5.8% K%. He also stole his 5th bag to go along with 7 homers in 57 games. And I really, really, really hate to do this, because he’s so fun, but I gotta pour just a little cold water. His .324 xwOBA is much much lower than his .393 wOBA. And he’s not the type of lift and pull hitter who generally outperforms Statcast. The 63.4 MPH swing is bottom of the scale, the 26.8 ft/sec sprint is well below average, and the 2.8% Barrel% is very weak. I’ve been seeing him valued like one of the elite up and coming dynasty players in the game, and if you can sell high on a valuation even close to that, I would be all over it. Now having that, I wasn’t buying Wilson this off-season, and that was clearly miss. So after doing a ton of victory lapping in this one below, let me take a walk of shame up top on Wilson. He’s a special contact hitter with enough homers and steals to be an impact fantasy player. He’s good for sure. He’s just not this good … I don’t think.

Hayden Birdsong – SFG, RHP, 23.7 – I knew it was only a matter of time before Birdsong found his way into the rotation, and he’s now solidifying that spot with another strong outing yesterday. He went 5.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB at MIA. The 4-seamer sat 95.9 MPH and put up a strong 24% whiff%. The slider was excellent with weak contact (83 MPH EV) and whiffs (26% whiff%), the curve was a whiff machine with a 40% whiff%, and the changeup induced weak contact with a 74.7 MPH EV against. And most importantly, the control was on point with 0 walks. His fastball is a double plus pitch, the 30.1% whiff% on the season is near elite, and he has a diverse pitch mix with 3 good secondaries (the changeup has been his best secondary thus far). He was a major target for me this off-season, and he just ranked 181st overall on the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped on the Patreon last week. His come up has only begun.

Ryan Weathers – MIA, LHP, 25.4 – Speaking of off-season targets who we had to wait a little bit on for the breakout, Weathers returned from his forearm strain looking no worse for the wear. In fact, he looks better than ever, going 6 IP with 5 hits, 4 ER, and a 7/3 K/BB vs. SF. Not his best outing, but this was coming off 3 gems to start his season, and he still so clearly flashed that true top of the rotation upside. The 4-seamer sat 97.5 MPH, the changeup racked up 9 of 12 whiffs, the sweeper induced weak contact with a 67.8% EV against and a 25% whiff%, and the slider notched a 60% whiff%. It was good for an elite 36% whiff%. He now has a 2.49 ERA with a 25.3/8.0 K%/BB% in 21.2 IP. The 28.6% whiff% is double plus, the 87.3 MPH EV against is well above average, and all of his pitches are working for him. I loved Weathers this off-season, and I’m even more all in now.

Kris Bubic – KCR, LHP, 27.7 – Not to take away from myself in previous years, but I think I’m having a Target career year. I say this in all humility, it’s kinda nuts how many target hits I’m having this year, and Bubic is huge one. The cat’s already long out of the bag on him though, and he just keeps on dominating, going 7 IP with 4 hits, 1 ER and a 9/1 K/BB vs. DET. The 93 MPH fastball dominated with a 40% whiff% and the changeup dominated too with a 60.3 MPH EV against and 55% whiff%. The sweeper and slider performed well too, leading to a 33% whiff% overall. He’s been lights out all year with a 1.43 ERA and 26.9/7.5 K%/BB% in 75.1 IP. In my 18 teamer, I cashed him in for Jazz Chisholm back in mid April, and I can’t deny that trade has been eating at my guts ever since. I still have Jazz ranked higher, but man, Bubic is untouchable. I’m sick over it, and I’m not even kidding. Let me move on to the next blurb. I don’t want to think about it anymore …

Denzel Clarke – OAK, OF, 25.1 – Okay, so it hasn’t exactly been perfect with a 60% K% … to say the least, but give this man a second to get comfortable. And he has gotten slightly better of late. He went 1 for 3 with 2 steals yesterday, and yes it came with 2 K, but he didn’t strikeout once the day before that, and he only struck out once the day before that one. The 42.1% whiff% actually isn’t as horrific as the K%, and that’s been coming down too. We’ve seen Clarke make improvements to his contact in the minors too. And of course, that huge talent which I saw coming a mile away is shining through. He cracked a 106.5 MPH dinger on Saturday, showing that his power is huge enough to overcome a low launch. His 30.2 ft/sec sprint makes him the 3rd fastest man in baseball behind only Bobby Witt Jr and Byron Buxton (damn, even with all the injuries, and being 31 years old, Buxton is still an elite talent). We also saw the double plus defense with one of the most beastly home run robberies I’ve seen. I was all over the Bleday fade this off-season, writing in his Top 1,000 blurb, “Bleday is a low ceiling player with little speed, a below average BA, and above average homer power at best. I also think there is risk too, because he’s a below average outfielder, and Denzel Clark and Colby Thomas are charging hard to compete for those open OF jobs. He’s actually getting valued pretty highly, so if you can sell high here, I would go for it.” … even with Clarke’s deficiencies, his talent is too big, and his glove is too good to not give him a shot in fantasy. I’m still buying.

Jacob Melton – HOU, OF, 24.7 – Melton was a FYPD favorite of mine in his draft year, and I’ve been relatively high on him ever since, so I’m pumped to see him getting his shot in the bigs. And he most certainly deserved this promotion with a 95.6 MPH EV, 17 degree launch, 21.1% whiff%, and 23.5% Chase% in 17 games at Triple-A. That is special across the board domination, and what made me love him so much in his draft year is that he’s a special athlete at 6’3”, 208 pounds. He went 1 for 3 with a 102.3 MPH single off Taj Bradley and 2 K in his debut. I’m not 100% sure how the playing time is going to shake out, but this is an extremely fantasy friendly profile whose hit tool should be good enough to let those skills shine. He ranked 61st overall on the May 2025 Top 323 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Patreon).

Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 21.6, AA – The explosion is here for Isaac as he just can’t stop hitting dingers. He cracked his 7th homer in 24 games at Double-A with a shot out to dead center, and he did it with a smooth and explosive lefty swing. That thing really is a thing of beauty, and it’s made to hit dingers. It’s also made to strikeout with a 28.9% K%, but he mitigates that a bit with a 20.6% BB%, and it’s been better of late with a reasonable 25% K% in his last 19 games. So at least it’s headed in the right direction. He’s going to live up to his promise as a power hitting beast, the only question is if it will come with a .250 BA, or like a .220 BA.

Jhostynxon Garcia – BOS, OF, 22.3, AAA – One of my top prospect targets this off-season, Jhostynxon is going bonkos since getting the call to Triple-A, smoking his 4th homer in just 11 games at the level. What made me love him this off-season is that he proved the hit tool would play in the upper minors when he got his shot at the end of last season, even if he didn’t hit particularly well, and now he’s locking that in with a 21.5/10.8 K%/BB% in 44 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. And of course, I also love the legit plus power, athleticism (4 steals), and glove. My only plea, is that Boston doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Baltimore. Look at what happens when you let your great depth rot. You need to trade these guys while the iron is hot. Please don’t put Garcia in blocked prospect hell. Trade this man.

Luis Pena – MIL, SS/3B/SS, 18.4, A – Everyone’s favorite prospect, Luis Pena, was another named target for me this off-season. I’m sorry. I know I’m victory lapping a lot, but as I said it in the Bubic blurb, it’s a career target year for me. Not saying I’m not good in other years 😉 but it’s just wild this season. I named him a target because when I watched him swing, I saw an absolutely explosive bazooka that did not do his 1 homer last year justice, and now that swing is producing even more power, drilling his 5th homer in just 30 games at Single-A. When you combine that real power with elite contact (10.4/9.7 K%/BB%) and speed (22 steals), you have a legitimately elite prospect, and that is exactly how I ranked him in the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Rankings, putting him in the elite tier at 87th overall. Damn is he exciting.

 Jonathon Long – CHI, 1B, 23.2, AAA – Okay, last lap for today, I promise, but I was the only man alive to call Jonathon Long a FYPD target. He was a 266th overall draft pick college bat, but when I watched that swing, I just saw a real prospect, writing, ““Long makes for an interesting late round target in deeper leagues … He has a very quick and powerful swing that looks relatively legit to me, and he hits the ball hard. Obviously don’t expect a league winner, but I think he’s a real prospect.” And he’s now far beyond a real prospect after cracking one 453 feet for his 9th homer in 52 games at Triple-A. He’s now slashing .344/.419/.561 with 9 homers, 2 steals, and a 23.6/11.1 K%/BB% in 52 games. He has a 93.3 MPH EV with a solid 26.1% whiff% and 26.9% Chase%. His bat is way beyond “real,” it has the potential to be truly impact on the MLB level. The problem is that he’s a 1B and there isn’t a path to a full time job right now, but if does get his shot, I’m still betting on his bat.

Emmet Sheehan – LAD, RHP, 25.6, AAA – Sheehan is making his return from Tommy John surgery, and in his first start back at Triple-A, he looked like fire, going 3 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB vs. a pretty decent lineup that featured JJ Bleday, Colby Thomas, Seth Brown, Darrel Hernaiz, and Max Muncy. The fastball sat 96.9 MPH and dominated with 9 of 17 whiffs. The slider was excellent too with a 73.3 MPH EV against and 33% whiff%. And he mixed in a changeup too which put up a 33% Called Strike+Whiff%. That is basically the formula which made him a near elite prospect a few years ago, and the one that showed so much promise in his 2023 MLB debut. While it’s unclear when he will get another shot in the majors, make sure he’s back on your radar. He’s healthy and looks great.

Joe Boyle – TBR, RHP, 25.8, AAA – I was singing Boyle’s praises in the May Mailbag Podcast (Patreon), and he went out yesterday and threw a gem at Triple-A, going 5 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 9/1 K/BB. The fastball sat 97.6 MPH and put up a 28% whiff%. The slider and splitter were whiff machines too, leading to a 28% whiff% overall, and of course, the control was on point. That is the big factor in what is making me love him right now. The 11.1% BB% is actually reasonable considering his level of stuff. It’s also a career high by far. Tampa done did it again. You have to trust them, and they very well might turn Joe Boyle into a high K, mid rotation starter.

Taj Bradley – TBR, RHP, 24.1 – 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 10/2 K/BB at HOU. The 97 MPH fastball put up a 85.6 MPH EV against and a 24% whiff%. The splitter was dynamite with a 86% whiff% and 62.2 MPH EV against. In fact, all 4 of his pitches induced an insane amount of weak contact with an 82.7 MPH EV overall. That is the definition of turning the other team’s bats into noodles. Like those pool noodles you used to beat the crap out of your of your friends with in the pool when we were kids. Bradley has been sitting in the breakout waiting room for 3 years now, and while we’ve seen stretches of this, this does seem like he’s quietly leveling up. His 3.24 xERA is actually excellent, even if I can’t quite buy it with a 22.0/9.3 K%/BB% and 24.3% whiff%. I can’t take him out of the breakout waiting room quite yet, but we are seeing some signs that just maybe he’s getting close.

Chris Paddack – MIN, RHP, 29.4 – 8 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 10/1 K/BB at SEA. Let’s be honest, is there a more perfect ballpark for Paddack than Seattle with that elite control, fastball heavy approach? I feel like if Paddack was on Seattle, his entire career would be different. He would be like Bryan Woo out there. But we don’t live in that timeline, and he’s on Minnesota, but it’s time to show him some respect as he now has a 3.58 ERA with a 18.7/7.5 K%/BB% in 65.1 IP. Sure that K/BB is rough, but in this latest outing the whiffs were there for him with a 30% whiff% overall. All 4 of his pitches were missing bats. I can’t really say I’m buying here, as the upside is probably more solid than truly standout, but Paddack is clearly stabilizing his career right now, and solid is a lot better than what he’s shown previously. And if he keeps getting outings in Seattle, he would be a true ace 😉

Cal Raleigh – SEA, C, 28.4 – Cal hits dingers. We knew this already. But this season, he’s taking it to another level with his 23rd homer last night. That gives him the league lead in homers. The 24.3% Barrel%, 92.6 MPH EV, 24 degree launch, 27.3% K%, 14.6% BB%, and .408 xwOBA are all career highs by far. He’s so easily the top dynasty catcher in the game right now, and I gave him his due respect in the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped last week on the Patreon, ranking him 46th overall. Even that might be too light.

Coby Mayo – BAL, 3B, 23.6 – Called back up and the misery continues. He went 0 for 4 with 2 K yesterday. He had just about the worst attempt at drawing interference on the basepaths I’ve ever seen the day before that. I don’t think any player has made themselves more at home on the Bottom of the Rundown than Cody Mayo … well, that’s not true, Jarred Kelenic exists, and he’s now descended to even lower than the Bottom of the Rundown … Off the Rundown … not even worth discussing anymore. So there’s that at least for Mayo. At least we are still discussing his ineptness …

Brailyn Antunez – MIL, OF, 17.6 – Here is your reminder that the DSL kicks off today, and while I’m excited about so many players in the incoming class, none are getting me as excited as Braylin Antunez. Here was my blurb for him this off-season, “At 6’0”, 194 pounds, Antunez’ build, movements and type of athleticism remind me of an NBA point guard. He has present power, he’s fast, and he has a good feel to hit. There might not be as much projection as some of the other long and lean builds in this class, but there is some Jasson Dominguez vibes in the sense he might be pretty filled out already, but it’s the type of athleticism that he will maintain. Some of these guys could fill out and slow down considerably, while Antunez has already proven he can do both. I like him a lot, and how can you not trust Milwaukee after Chourio and Made.” I then named him a major target in the Target Articles. And now we will see if he can hit a lick and live up to my hype …

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

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Updated May 2025 Top 443 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25) (May Update coming next week)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

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

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/12/25):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 323 May 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

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

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

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

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

-Halp

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/28/25)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/28/25):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

Hunter Barco – PIT, LHP, 24.4 – I gotta seriously consider using my psychic abilities for something other than baseball prospects. After listening to 10 hours of “Awaken Your Psychic Abilities” YouTube music and tones video this off-season, I predicted that Hunter Barco would be the 32nd overall ranked prospect in baseball by next off-season in my Predicting the 2026 Top 50 Prospects Ranks, and I think I even undersold him. He could be the top pitching prospect breakout in the minors this year, and his dominance continued yesterday, going 3 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER and a 8/0 K/BB at Double-A. He now has a 0.00 ERA with a 40.0/5.3 K%/BB% in 20.2 IP. The velocity has ticked up into the mid 90’s, he has two bat missing secondaries in his slider and splitter, the control is solid, he’s 6’4”, 235 pounds and he has that funky lefty delivery that I just love. I mean, that is checking all of the boxes. I already jumped him up to 195th overall on the Updated Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that just dropped on the Patreon last week. If he can truly keep this up at Triple-A, and we’ve seen more than a few top pitching prospects struggle with that jump (Brandon Sproat and Quinn Mathews), we could be looking at a truly elite pitching prospect.

Arjun Nimmala – TOR, SS, 19.6 – Sticking with guys on that Predicting the 2026 Top Prospects list, Nimmala checked in at #39, and he’s right on track to end up in that area after homering in his 3rd straight game at High-A. This one was out to dead center. With Single-A now becoming a sort of glorified rookie ball, High-A can be considered the first real test for these youngsters, and Nimmala is passing it with flying colors, slashing .289/.349/.539 with 5 homers, 1 steal, and a 21.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 18 games. Seeing the K rate all the way down in the low 20’s is huge. He’s blowing up.

Bryce Rainer – DET, SS, 19.9 – Rainer didn’t crack that Predicting the 2026 Prospects list, but he clearly should have as his pro debut has been damn impressive. He went the opposite way for his 2nd homer in 10 games at Single-A, and he’s now slashing .226/.381/.484 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.9/19.0 K%/BB%. He’s crushing the ball with a 93.7 MPH EV, the plate skills are elite, and he’s running. He also most certainly looks the part at a powerful 6’3” with a smooth and quick lefty swing. This looks like an elite prospect waiting to happen.

Jacob Misiorowski – MIL, RHP, 23.0 – 5 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 9/0 K/BB at Triple-A. Is Misiorowski finally starting to take that step forward with his control? He didn’t walk a single batter in this one, and in the start before, he only walked one guy. His 11.5% BB% in 29.2 IP is actually starting to resemble a semi-reasonable walk rate, and it comes with a 1.82 ERA and 33.6% K%. It also comes with some of the best stuff in the minors. The fastball sat 97.4 MPH in this one and notched a 29% whiff%. The slider, curve and change were all whiff machines too, leading to a 38% whiff% overall. This is the type of stuff that can thrive with a 10+ BB%, and it looks like we might be finally entering that range. We need to see it over a larger sample as the walk rate sat 14%+ last year, but another start or two with solid control and Mis will be among the very best pitching prospects in the game.

Jonah Tong – NYM, RHP, 21.9 – Speaking of 14%+ walk rates, Tong currently has a 14.9% BB% in 17.1 IP at Double-A, but when it comes with a 40.5% K%, I think we can partly overlook that. He had his best outing of the season yesterday, going 4 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 10/1 K/BB. Here are the highlights of the absolute filth. The curveball is just silly, the changeup was making lefties look foolish, the slider in the dirt induced terrible swings, and the mid 90’s fastball was blowing guys away. He’s obviously having some issues controlling his truly filthy stuff, but he was able to harness it in this one, and if he’s able to build on this, his stock is set to sour. I was a big fan this off-season, and that love continues to grow.

Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 23.1 – I preached patience with Crews’ early season struggles, as we saw both Chourio and Langford struggle in 2024 before their epic breakouts, and now Crews looks to be headed on that same path. He crushed a 104.8 MPH homer with a 78.7 MPH swing off Tylor Megill, and he’s now slashing .364/.391/.705 with 4 homers and 3 steals in his last 12 games. The underlying numbers looked good even when he was slumping, and he’s now rocking a 14.9% Barrel%, a 90.2 MPH EV, a 29.4 ft/sec sprint, a 73.1 MPH swing, and a .344 xwOBA. He’s coming.

Agustin Ramirez – MIA, C, 23.7 – Ramirez has taken the major leagues by storm after drilling 2 homers at 108.7 MPH and 105.1 MPH last night. He’s been straight unstoppable since getting the call, slashing .474/.524/1.158 with 3 homers, 1 steal, and a 9.5/9.5 K%/BB% in 21 PA. The 17.5% Barrel%, 92.9 MPH EV and .504 xwOBA backs up the surface stats. He wasn’t even this good in at Triple-A before getting the call with a 113 wRC+ in 19 games, so obviously he’s not this good, but at the least, he’s quite clearly proving his big time power bat is no joke. He’s not a good defensive catcher, and Joe Mack is right behind him and crushing the minors, but his bat is clearly going to be good enough to even DH if it will have to. How can you not be buying after this debut?

Anthony Volpe – NYY, SS, 23.11 – 2 for 3 with a 105.3 MPH double and 103.6 MPH homer. Volpe is doing his best to marry his extreme lift and pull profile from his rookie year, with his more all around hitter approach of 2024, and so far, it’s working with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 123 wRC+ in 28 games. Or maybe he’s just getting stronger and swinging harder with a career high 71.9 MPH swing and 90.7 MPH EV. The underlying numbers back up the surface stats with a 13% Barrel% and .337 xwOBA. I pushed Volpe up my Updated Top 437 Dynasty Rankings to #71 overall despite his low BA, because for fantasy, it’s all about that power/speed combo, and he’s back to gunning for homers.

Ceddanne Rafaela – BOS, SS/OF, 24.7 – 2 for 4 with a 108.4 MPH homer and 100.5 MPH double. Rafaela’s .644 OPS is almost exactly the same as last year’s 664 OPS, which is discouraging on the surface, but when you look under the hood, you are seeing improvements everywhere you wanted to see them. The Barrel% is up to 11.3%, the EV is up to 89.6 MPH, the whiffs are down to 25.7% and the BB% is up to 6.3%. The .332 xwOBA vs. the .273 xwOBA from 2024 tells the story much better than the surface stats. Rafaela is leveling up.

Nolan Jones – CLE, OF, 26.11 – Here’s what I wrote about Jones in the Updated Dynasty Rankings, “He’s been terrible, but he has a 95.2 MPH EV with a .329 xwOBA, 27.2% whiff%, 22.9% Chase% and an 11.8 degree launch. He’s also stolen 2 bags. I mean, this should really be working. I don’t want to give up yet” … and then he went out yesterday and jacked a 109 MPH dinger. He already has a big MLB season under his belt, and this man now has a 96.2 MPH EV on the season! Don’t give up on him yet.

Hunter Brown – HOU, RHP, 26.8 – 6 IP, 7 hits, 1 ER, 9/1 K/BB at KC. Brown shot up to 60th overall on the Updated Dynasty Rankings, and he just keeps on proving he’s a young ace with a 1.22 ERA and 29.9/5.2 K%/BB% in 37 IP. The fastball sat 96.7 MPH with a 27% whiff%, while the changeup notched a 42% whiff%. The only thing keeping him from ranking even higher is that the 26.9% whiff% on the season is more in above average range than truly plus, and even this outing with 9 K’s, it came with a 26% whiff%. It’s just nitpicking, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Either way, he induces weak contact, the control is taking a step forward into plus territory, and the stuff is huge. It’s just a continuation from what he did in the 2nd half of last off-season. He’s a beast.

Nick Lodolo – CIN, LHP, 27.3 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 9/1 K/BB vs. COL. The only thing missing from Lodolo’s excellent start to the season were the strikeouts, and they showed up in a big way in this one with a 29% whiff% led by the curve which put up a 50% whiff%. He now has a 2.25 ERA with a 18.9/3.5 K%/BB% in 36 IP, and those strikeout are on the way up. As long as he stays healthy, this could finally be the blow up year we’ve been waiting for.

Tylor Megill – NYM, RHP, 29.8 – 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 9/1 K/BB at WSH. We’ve all been waiting for this Megill breakout for years now, and while we’ve been faked out before, I so want to buy this. The fastball sat 95.8 MPH and put up a 26% whiff%, while the slider notched a 55% whiff%, leading the way for a 28% whiff% overall. He now has a 1.74 ERA with a 29.8/9.2 K%/BB% in 31 IP. I couldn’t help but fly him up my Updated Top 437 Dynasty Rankings last week to #251 overall, and while that maybe wasn’t even high enough, I did want to have some restraint due to the fact he has faked us out year after year in the past. Regardless, there is always so much to love about Megill, and he might be putting it together.

Kaelen Culpepper – MIN, SS, 22.3 – An injury has limited Culpepper to only 9 games at High-A, but he’s been sneakily really strong in those games, and it got less sneaky yesterday with him blasting a no doubt dinger with an athletic and powerful righty swing. He’s now slashing .344/.432/.563 with 1 homer, 0 steals, and a 13.5/13.5 K%/BB% in 9 games at High-A. The groundball rate is high and he’s not running yet, but I thought he was a sneaky good pick in last year’s First Year Player Draft, and he just keeps on hitting.

Jared Thomas – COL, OF/1B, 21.9 – Speaking of underrated college bats that I liked a lot in last year’s FYPD class, Thomas was another one of those guys, and he’s exploding on another level. He went the opposite way for his 4th homer of the season, and he’s now slashing .366/.480/.561 with 4 homers, 4 steals, and a 21.0/15.0 K%/BB% in 21 games at High-A. He’s done nothing but rake in pro ball with a 148 wRC+ in his pro debut last year. He looks the part at an athletic 6’2”, 190 pounds with a strong across the board profile. Will Colorado ever give him a real shot? Who knows. They are a total wild card, but Thomas looks legitimately exciting.

Wilfred Veras – CHW, OF, 22.4 – If you’re looking for a fun upside proximity play with almost no hype, Veras is your man. Just watch him jack out this homer yesterday. He’s 6’1”, 240 with that vicious righty swing and he loves to run. He now has 4 homers, 7 steals, a 125 wRC+ and a 31.5/13.5 K%/BB% in 20 games. Plate approach was a major issue for him coming into this year, so it’s great to see the high walk rate, although the 31.5% K% is obviously too high. The risk is most certainly high, but Chicago is eventually going to give a guy with this much talent a shot, and the fantasy upside is worth taking a chance on him.

Noelvi Marte – CIN, 3B, 23.6 – Marte must have taken my advice and gotten back on the juice ;), because he’s been a man possessed this season, and it continued yesterday with a 3 for 5 day. He hit a 103.8 MPH double, a 103.2 MPH single and a 99.6 MPH single. His sprint speed is back up to 29.3 ft/sec, which is a career high, and the bat speed is back up too with a 74.2 MPH swing. That is double plus range. He’s definitely been on the lucky side with a .353 xwOBA vs. .458 wOBA, and a 12.8% K% vs. a 25% whiff%, but it’s clear whatever mental and physical issues caused Marte’s horrific 2024 is behind him. He’s back on track to being an exciting all category young dynasty asset.

Andy Pages – LAD, OF, 24.5 – The Dodgers stayed patient with Pages through his slow start, and what a smart move that was, because he’s been on fire of late, culminating with a 4 for 5 day yesterday, punctuated by a 105.1 MPH homer. He now has 5 homers with a .861 OPS, and while the .303 xwOBA isn’t as impressive, the dude is a launch machine with a very respectable 22.4% whiff% and 8.3% Barrel%. The .277 BA might be coming down, but he’s going to rip dingers.

Geraldo Perdomo – ARI, SS, 25.4 – I had absolutely zero faith that Perdomo was going to be an impact major leaguer, even when Arizona showed all signs of loving him, and Arizona was clearly correct. They put their money where their mouth was this off-season, and he’s delivered. He went 1 for 4 with a 102.6 MPH homer yesterday, continuing to lock in the power gains with a career best 89.4 MPH. Combine that with a 15.4 degree launch, 9.4/16.5 K%/BB% and base stealing ability, and you get a really solid across the board fantasy contributor (4 homers, 6 steals, and a .361 xwOBA in 28 games).

Payton Tolle – BOS, LHP, 22.5 – 4 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 9/1 K/BB at High-A. The 50th overall pick in the draft got blown up in his first outing of the season, which is bringing his season line down, but this was his 2nd excellent outing in a row. This is a big boy at 6’6”, 250 pounds with a three quarter arm lefty delivery, the fastball has continued to tick up into the mid 90’s now, and he has multiple bat missing secondaries (change, slider, curve). He currently has a 6.52 ERA with a 37.8/11.1 K%/BB% in 9.2 IP at High-A, but like I said, it was really just one bad outing. He’s got high K mid-rotation starter upside.

Gunnar Hoglund – OAK, RHP, 25.4 – After undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2021, Hoglund is just now starting to look like his old self. He was on track to be an easy Top 10 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft until he went down with the injury, and teams thought so highly of him that he was still selected 19th overall. But Tommy John recovery is not always super smooth, and while it’s been a bumpy road, he’s slowing starting to look like his prime self. He went 5 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB at Triple-A. The fastball is back up to 94 MPH, which is great to see, and the curve notched a 38% whiff%. He throws a legit 5 pitching mix (4-seamer, curve, change, sinker, slider) with plus control, and it’s resulted in a 2.43 ERA with a 26.1/6.1 K%/BB% in 29.2 IP. He’s not missing quite enough bats to really fly him up the rankings, the stuff is good but not great, and he has a terrible ballpark waiting for him, but Hoglund is definitely taking a big step forward this year and is firmly putting himself back on the fantasy radar.

Logan Evans – SEA, RHP, 23.10 – Evans made his MLB debut and it was pretty unimpressive, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 2 ER, and a 3/3 K/BB vs MIA. The sinker and 4-seamer only sat 92.9 MPH and he put up a lowly 10% whiff%. The stuff and whiffs weren’t that impressive at Triple-A either before getting the call. He has gotten some hype these past 2 off-seasons, but I’m not sure it’s warranted at the moment. He just doesn’t look that special right now.

Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.4 – Triple-A Matt Shaw homers just don’t hit the same after his struggles in the majors, but he got ahold of his first dinger at Triple-A with a frozen rope out to left field. The crazy batting stance and leg kick has been sorta toned down, but honestly, not really as he still has the pointed in batting stance with the extreme leg kick. Again, it’s not as crazy as it was earlier in the year, but it’s still a weird batting stance. Even though I’m not a fan of the stance, I’ll trust that he knows what he’s doing, and I don’t want to move off him because of it. Plenty of great players struggle in their first taste of the bigs, and I’m staying patient.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Updated April 2025 Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon)

*PSA — I have been doing these monthly updates for a long time now, and April is always the month that I look back on and regret the most. I lean more towards being aggressive and reactive in fantasy, so I want my rankings to reflect my strategy, but inevitably, I look back on the April Rankings and there are always a few rankings that look way out of place where guys don’t maintain the breakout. Did I learn from my mistakes? No. Hah, but I’m also not sure it is a mistake. Being aggressive and owning the next young breakouts are where you make your bones in dynasty, so I think it’s worth taking the extra risk. Either way, please use these rankings responsibly, and understand you may want to be a bit more conservative with your strategy. The Top 27 is free here on the Brick Wall. Blurbs for everyone. Here is the Updated Top 437 2025 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 30.11 – Did you think shoulder surgery was going to slow this man down? Remember when at the least he wasn’t supposed to run as much? He’s got 6 homers, 5 steals and a 150 wRC+. And he’s going to get back on the mound at some point mid-season. Do you really want to bet against him there either?

2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 24.11 – Locking in the 2024 leveling up with an almost identical .402 xwOBA

3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.4 – The whiff rates and chase rates both continue to trend in the right direction, which is what we needed to see to feel comfortable that the swing and miss isn’t going to come back to bite him

4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 23.10 – Just starting to shake the rust off from his delayed start to the season. I think the 97.6 MPH EV says he’ll be fine

5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 24.7 – Carroll vs. Gunnar has been a debate since they were ranked either #1 or #2 by just about every prospect outlet in 2023. And since then they have been swapping places every year. Will it happen again this year with Carroll blowing up to start the season with his bat speed up to elite ranges (75 MPH) and the EV up with it to 93.1 MPH? The whiffs (30% whiff%) and Chase (36.6%) are way up too, so I want to see a bit more before jumping him back over Gunnar. But it could be coming, and maybe not just over Gunnar.

6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.4 – I’ve been unwilling to fade Tatis even when so many started to get lukewarm on him, and he’s showing why with an insane start to the season backed up by the underlying numbers. And the best part is he’s running like wild with 7 steals in 21 games (11 steals in 102 games in 2024)

Shadow6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 30.11 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only

7) (24) Oneil Cruz – PIT, OF/SS, 26.7 – Welcome to true elite dynasty asset territory Oneil Cruz!!! Cruz has been a target for me for a few years now, and I named him a buy high Target this off-season. He’s going full blow up in 2025. He’s on pace to go like 40/80 right now. hah … insane. And he’s actually been unlucky with a .393 xwOBA vs. .356 wOBA. Even the plate skills are improving with a 26.8/15.9 K%/BB%, and we know about the beastly power (19.6% Barrel%, 93.5 MPH EV, 78.1 MPH swing). This dude is in rarified air.

8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.4 – The Quiet Killer has a 176 wRC+ with 6 homers and 4 steals in 24 games … shhhhhhhh

9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.6 – Soto got paid and now he’s just chillin, content with a 6.2% Barrel%, rather than the 19.7% he put up in his contract year … nah, I’m just playing. He’s never had a wRC+ under 143 in his career. He’ll be fine. He just doesn’t run as much as the guys ranked ahead of him

10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.0 – .499 xwOBA leads all of baseball amongst qualified hitters, and while I thought he would be far and away ahead of the pack, there are actually a few guys pretty close (Alonso, Tatis, Aranda!, Rice!). He’s already 33 years old, so that has to ding him in a general dynasty ranking

11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.4 – Everything seems to be going well in his rehab and he’s expected return at some point in May

12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.4 – Of course he’s off to a slow start again with a .188 BA. Cleary hold. We know the drill. But honestly, it’s almost not even worth the aggravation. He has to be the most annoying elite dynasty asset to own ever.

13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 22.8 – I’ve been the high guy on Wood since he was born, and I didn’t blink this off-season ranking him 12th overall. He’s fully backing up his elite dynasty asset status with an elite 75.4 MPH swing, 19.3% Barrel%, .398 xwOBA and a 26.3/12.8 K%/BB%. The launch has been coming up of late too. The only quibble is that he hasn’t been a great base stealer (3 for 5 this year), which keeps him out of truly exploding into the Top 10

14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.6 – Carrying over the big 2nd half of the season right into 2025 with a 11.1% Barrel%, .376 xwOBA and 17.3/11.5 K%/BB% in 13 games. He’s firmly establishing his elite status

15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.2 – Not having the next level blow up quite yet, but I’m getting the sense he’s really more of a 2nd half player anyway. He got off to a slow start in 2024 and even in 2023 in the minors too. And even his “slow start” is damn good with a 12.3% Barrel%

16) (15) Jackson Merrill – SDP, OF, 22.0 – He was locking in his elite dynasty asset status before the hamstring injury with a 22.6% Barrel% and .497 xwOBA in 10 games

17) (25) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.7 – I knew not to buy into that late season suspension as anything other than a blip on the radar. He came into 2025 with added muscle and was in the midst of a power explosion (4 homers with a 16.1% Barrel% and 92.8 MPH EV) before going down with a hip injury. He’s got more than a few 30/30 seasons in his future

18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 22.11 – His whiff rates really aren’t in that wild crazy elite ace range with a 25.5% whiff% (28.7% in 2024), but that is definitely nitpicking with a 2.87 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 25.4/3.4 K%/BB% in 31.1 IP. Without the crazy whiff and K rates though, it’s really not such a no brainer to have him as the top dynasty pitcher in the game. There are other really, really good candidates

19) (18) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 32.7 – He’s not on pace to go 40/40 again, but that is an unreasonable expectation. He more or less looks like himself. No signs of decline yet

20) (20) Bryce Harper – PHI, 1B, 32.6 – Still elite with a .910 OPS and .409 xwOBA. And he’s running a ton with 5 steals in 22 games

21) (22) Francisco Lindor – NYM, SS, 31.5 – Blasted 2 homers yesterday and is having his normal excellent season

22) (16) Yordan Alvarez – HOU, OF, 27.10 – .280 wOBA vs. .376 xwOBA. He has a 94.1 MPH EV. He’ll be fine

23) (17) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – TOR, 1B, 25.7 – Not gonna lie, I wish he hit more homers with only 1 homer in 23 games, but the .422 xwOBA is elite. Considering he doesn’t steal many bases, the 30-ish homers he’s hit the past 3 seasons feels a tad light. Just nitpicking, I know

24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.5 – Skenes, Skubal, Crochet, Gilbert and Yamamoto are in the top tier of dynasty aces right now, and they are quite hard to separate. There are good arguments for all 5 of them. I’ll keep Skenes in the top spot for age, but honestly, I could pick the order of these 5 out of a hat and be fine with it

25) (32) Logan Gilbert – SEA, RHP, 27.10 – He had the ace breakout in 2024, and now he’s somehow leveling up even more with a 2.63 ERA and 38/5.6 K%/BB% in 27.1 IP. The 38.1% whiff% backs up the K rate. I don’t think he’s going to keep this up obviously, but if there were any doubts about him being a true ace, there aren’t anymore

26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.10 – Locking in the 2024 breakout with a 1.13 ERA and 28.5/8.1 K%/BB% in 32 IP. The reason he stays in 4th behind Skenes, Gilbert, and Skubal is that the walk rate is up a tad, and the fastball velocity is down 1.5 MPH to 95.7 MPH

27) (37) Yoshinobu Yamamoto – LAD, RHP, 26.9 – Yoshi is taking it up a notch in year 2 with a 0.93 ERA and 35.2/6.5 K%/BB% in 29 IP. He’s firmly in the conversation for top dynasty pitcher in the game

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

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