I’m pumped to release the Top 500 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings on the Patreon after months of all encompassing deep dives into well over 500 Prospects. I tossed and turned over whether Payton Eeles should rank #385 or #384. I asked the Baseball Gods for guidance on if Damiani Palmegiani should rank dead last at #512, or if it should be Ivan Melendez. I had night terrors about Ching-hsien Ko’s ranking. And you don’t even want to know what I went through to decide my rankings at the top top of the list. Point being, this is a culmination of a lot of work, and even more time brooding over every single, solitary placement. Analysis, Prime Projections and 2025 Projections (where applicable) for every player. Top 40 free here on the Brick Wall. The Top 1,000 2025 Dynasty Baseball Rankings are coming next week, which will be followed by an All-In-One Spreadsheet with all of the rankings (Top 146 FYPD, Top 500 Prospects, Top 1,000 Dynasty) and fully updated positional rankings. But first, here is the Top 500 Prospects Rankings for 2025 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon):

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1) Roki Sasaki – LAD, RHP, 23.5 – Sasaki and his people pulled whatever back room deals that needed to be pulled and got him coming stateside this season, which is insanely exciting, because there is little doubt that he will be a true ace right from the get go, and possibly the best pitcher in all the land. He’s better than Yamamoto, and you saw Yamamoto’s seamless transition, other than the shoulder injury. But that injury might have pushed LA to a six man rotation, which works just fine for Sasaki. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and regularly hits over 100 MPH. The splitter is truly elite and the slider is plus. He has prototypical size at a projectable and athletic 6’2”, 187 pounds, and he has plus control/command of his stuff. He’s been so insanely dominant in Japan that he has basically already hit legend status with so many crazy feats, and he’s only 23 years old. He put up a 2.35 ERA with a 28.7/7.1 K%/BB% in 111 IP this year. He was even better in 2023 with a 1.78 ERA and 39.1%/4.9% K%/BB% in 91 IP. As you can see, the biggest and only red flag is injuries, as he has a career high of 129.1 IP. He battled an oblique injury in 2023 and right arm discomfort in 2024. The right arm discomfort is particularly concerning because his stuff was actually down a tick or two this year. It was still beastly, but would any of us be surprised if Tommy John/internal brace surgery was right around the corner? You can’t be too scared off by that, because even if he needs it, he should still return as an ace. He’s so easily the top pick in First Year Player Drafts, and while I don’t think he’s a no brainer for #1 overall prospect in the game, how can you not put a ready made ace in the top spot, injury risk be damned. He’s my top dog. – 2025 Projection: 12/3.06/1.04/175 in 150 IP Prime Projection: 16/2.72/0.92/240 in 185 IP

2) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 23.1 – Crews’ dynasty value/hype has seen some fluctuations since being drafted, but the thing that was quietly flying under the radar, was how good he was on the bases, and for fantasy, that has a major impact on his value. He stole 25 bases in 100 games in the upper minors, and then he stole 12 bags with a double plus 29.3 ft/sec sprint in his 31 game MLB debut. He only stole 6 bases in 71 games his junior year of college, and then went 3 for 7 in his pro debut, so I can’t blame anyone for not expecting it, but it’s clearly a real skill he has, and it makes Crews insanely exciting for fantasy again. He combines the speed with above average contact rates (19.7% K%), above average chase rates (26.6%), and plus power (94.7 MPH FB/LD EV in the majors and a 90.2 MPH EV in the minors). The only quibble in his profile is the low launch (8.8 degrees), but he has the skillset to make that work, and he only needs to raise it a bit higher to be in a completely fine range, which I’m betting he will. The Langford vs. Crews debate might not end up as easy as we thought, and with Crews not really being considered in that lofty tier anymore, there could be a buy window here this off-season. If you can buy off the relatively subdued hype and .641 MLB OPS, I would be all over it. He also has a lock on a full time job. He’s my #1 prospect in baseball, non Roki Sasaki division, and he ranked 44th overall on A Top 200 Sneak Peek of the 2025 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon-Full Top 1,000 coming next week). – 2025 Projection: 81/21/76/.259/.334/.448/26 Prime Projection: 94/27/97/.278/.359/.481/28

3) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 22.2 – The Yankees didn’t want to unleash Dominguez in the majors lasty year, and his .617 OPS in the 67 PA he did receive isn’t super impressive, but make no mistake, Dominguez is still on the superstar path. His 75.4 MPH swing is straight elite, which proves right there that his talent really wasn’t that overhyped as an international prospect. His 23.4% whiff% was comfortably above average, which is pretty huge to see, and his 28.1% Chase% was slightly above average. Tack on plus speed, and Dominguez’ beastly potential was even able to shine through despite the Yanks refusing to unleash him. And oh yea, he destroyed the upper minors immediately after returning from Tommy John surgery in mid May with a 135 wRC+, 11 homers, 16 steals (in 17 attempts) and a 20.0/8.8 K%/BB% in 58 games. Is he really 22 years old and not like 26 years old? Beats me. But I don’t care when it comes to a talent this huge (I gave my thoughts on MLB cracking down on players’ lying about their ages in the Philadelphia Phillies Dynasty Team Report). I see no reason why the Yanks won’t unleash him immediately in 2025, and he could be on a beeline for elite dynasty asset status in short order. Go after him. – 2025 Projection: 83/21/76/.246/.323/.434/26 Prime Projection: 109/28/91/.266/.351/.487/34

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

5) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.11 – Because the rule of prospecting is that if you are even the smallest, tiniest, teeny bit lower on a prospect than other prospectors (most have Anthony as the #1 prospect in baseball), you must bash that prospect with an overly critical lens, let me start with the negatives here. For one, Anthony isn’t the best base stealer with a career 38 steals in 52 attempts (he was 21 for 28 last year), so there is risk that he doesn’t run as much in the majors as we hope. Secondly, he hits the ball on the ground a lot with an around 50% GB% in 2024, which could limit his homer upside. And lastly, there is some hit tool risk with a 23.5% K%. Now that we got that out of the way, let me just say that I obviously love Anthony, he’s a legit 50/50 coin flip with Campbell, and he’s a no doubt elite prospect. He started the season as a 19 year old in the upper minors and obliterated both Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .291/.396/.498 with 18 homers, 21 steals, and a 23.5/14.6 K%/BB% in 119 games. He crushes the ball, he has speed, he has size, he has elite age to level production, and he hit both lefties and righties well in 2024. He’s as close to a Gunnar Henderson clone as there is, and if you wanted to put him as the #1 prospect in baseball, I wouldn’t argue with you. He’s going to be a beast. – 2025 Projection: 51/13/46/.251/.328/.422/10 Prime Projection: 92/31/98/.272/.363/.493/18

6) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.4 – The little man discount never fails. Baseball scouts see a little man, and they immediately shave a few inches of projection right off the top. I don’t mind it, because it consistently creates excellent buying opportunities for the right players (see my 19 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2025 for more on this), and Matt Shaw is definitely one of those right players. He went a little later than he should have in the real MLB Draft, then he went a little later than he should have in Dynasty First Year Player Drafts, and now he’s getting ranked a little later than he should be on prospect lists. He’s an elite prospect that gets ranked like a merely good one. He’s under 6’0”, but his bat packs a true punch, putting up an 89.3 MPH EV with a 14.6 degree launch in 35 games at Triple-A. He smoked 21 homers on the season in 121 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not a pull machine, but a lot of these lift and pull machines put up some pretty low batting averages, and a profile like Shaw doesn’t need to only pull the ball. He can use his hard hit ability, plus speed (31 steals), and plus contact rates (18.2% K%) to do damage when he goes oppo. He also walks a ton with a 11.9% BB%, making him a likely top of the order bat. Don’t fall into the little man trap, Shaw is going to be a do everything fantasy terror when he gets his shot, and with the Isaac Paredes/Cam Smith trade, that shot could come very early into 2025. Shaw’s been a target for me from before his junior year of college, and he remains a target for me. – 2025 Projection: 71/17/65/.256/.318/.419/22 Prime Projection: 96/23/83/.276/.348/.461/26

7) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.2 – Williams put up a 31.8% K% in 105 games at High-A in 2023, so the worry was that the K rate would explode against upper minors pitching, but that didn’t happen. It actually improved at Double-A with a 28.5% K%, and that was good enough to let his special talent shine. He jacked 20 homers with 33 steals, a 11.5% BB% and a 142 wRC+ in 115 games. He’s a still projectable 6’2”, 180 pounds with an explosive righty swing that is made to launch homers. He’s also an excellent athlete with plus speed and plus SS defense. Tampa’s long term SS job is literally waiting for him (the Kim signing could impact Williams’ projected playing time for 2025, but it’s better for his long term development anyway to take it slow), and because of his plus defense, he is sure to have all the leash he can handle even if it takes his hit tool a year or two to adjust to MLB pitching. If he can keep the K% in the high 20’s, he will be a beast, and if he can continue to improve on it at only 21 years old, there is near elite dynasty asset upside. – 2025 Projection: 21/7/29/.230/.300/.424/9 Prime Projection: 89/28/96/.254/.334/.483/23

8) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 18.6 – De Vries is my pick to be the #1 overall fantasy prospect in baseball by this time next year (in a tight race with Walker Jenkins and Sebastian Walcott), that is unless he loses rookie eligibility because San Diego are madmen when it comes to promoting their elite prospects. There are already rumors they are considering calling De Vries and Salas up in 2025, which is straight wild. It did work out for Jackson Merrill, so who am I to judge? Merrill was 20 years old of course while De Vries and Salas are 18, but I love to see a team pushing the limits and setting new upper standards on how fast a prospect can fly through the minors. And De Vries has the type of talent that just might be able to pull it off. He was sent straight to full season ball for his pro debut, and while it took him a few months to find his footing, he went gangbusters once he did, slashing .275/.400/.563 with 11 homers, 8 steals, and a 20.5/14.9 K%/BB% in his final 40 games. Even with the early struggles, he still put up a 116 wRC+ in 75 games which is just silly for a 17 year old. The thing that separates De Vries from Jenkins, Walcott and De Paula for me, is that there are zero questions about him getting to his raw power. He put up a 32.4% GB%, 49.3% FB%, and 49.5% Pull%. I fully believe those other guys will get to their raw power as well, don’t get me wrong, but De Vries seems to be one step ahead of them in that area. His season ended in mid August with a shoulder injury, but he played in the AFL, and while he didn’t play especially well, it’s still nice to see the shoulder isn’t an issue. He’s an elite prospect right now, and if he doesn’t end up at #1, he won’t be far off. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 91/31/99/.271/.353/.513/20

9) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.1 – My Kyle Tucker comp for Jenkins last off-season turned out to be eerily accurate, at least for what they each did in their first full year of pro ball as 19 year old’s. Tucker had 9 homers with 32 steals and a 16.3/10.1 K%/BB% in 117 games in the lower minors, while Jenkins had 6 homers with 17 steals and a 12.8/15.2 K%/BB% in 82 games. Like Jenkins, Tucker also wasn’t a burner, and nobody really expected the steal totals to stick in the majors, but they did. And like Jenkins, the only thing that hadn’t fully developed yet was the power, but Tucker had a monster power explosion the very next season, hitting 25 homers in 120 games split between High-A and Double-A. I see no reason why Jenkins can’t have that same power explosion at 6’3”, 210 pounds with one of the sweetest lefty swings this game has ever seen. He doesn’t hit the ball on the ground too much and he can pull it, so while his hard hit numbers weren’t too impressive, they weren’t too bad either, and it would be pretty shocking if he didn’t develop impact power. He’s on a beeline for elite dynasty asset, and he’s among the favorites to be the #1 prospect in baseball by the middle of 2025. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 103/27/96/.282/.365/.504/18

10) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 22.0 – Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023 and missed the entire 2024 regular season, but he got healthy in time for the AFL, and he’s gone right back to dominating with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 18/4 K/BB in 15.2 IP over 6 outings. Just seeing that he was able to ramp up and start pitching in games without getting re-injured is a big first step that we can cross off our worry list this off-season. But he’s also proving he is nearly 100% healthy with the plus to double plus fastball sitting mid to upper 90’s. Like we saw with Shane Baz, it seems that breaking ball crispness and consistency can be something that lags behind after Tommy John, but long term the slider projects as plus and he also throws a lesser used curve and change that could end up plus pitches in their own right. If you ignore the injury, he’s basically a perfect pitching prospect with size, athleticism, velocity, double plus fastball, plus secondary, diverse pitch mix, and plus control. And now that we’ve seen him back on the mound and thriving, the injury risk is a bit lessened. He moves back into my top spot among pitching prospects after his AFL performance, but it’s still a tight race with Noah Schultz, who I absolutely love. It was announced the Phillies plan to slow play him in 2025, which his ETA in the majors around July, and if that helps keep him healthy, avoiding the end of season dilemma for a contending team where he’s at his innings limit, I’m all for it. – 2025 Projection: 6/3.68/1.20/86 in 80 IP Prime Projection: 15/2.95/0.91/225 in 180 IP

11) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.8 – Baby Johnson is the #1B pitching prospect in baseball, and while there are other really good contenders (Jobe, Bubba, Kumar), Schultz holds this spot for being absolutely unprecedented. Even the Baby Johnson nickname might not fit, as Randy Johnson had an insane 318 walks in 400.1 minor league IP before getting the call to the bigs. Schultz is 6’9”, 220 pounds with an almost sidearm lefty delivery that he uses to fire a mid to upper 90’s fastball and double plus slider (he also mixes in a cutter and a change). He sliced through the minors with absolutely no problem, putting up a 2.24 ERA with a 32.1/6.7% K%/BB% in 88.1 IP at mostly Double-A. Having that level of control as a 20/21 year old at that size with that kind of stuff is really mind blowing. He’s not a finished product as he’s yet to eclipse 4 IP in any outing of his career and he needs to continue to work on a good third/fourth pitch, but the combination of floor/upside is simply off the charts. Other than Roki Sasaki (who really shouldn’t be considered a prospect), and Painter now that he’s healthy, there is no other pitching prospect I would take over Schultz. – 2025 Projection: 3/3.71/1.24/82 in 75 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.05/1.01/230 in 180 IP

12) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.9 – Lawlar had a completely lost season in 2024 due to a broken thumb and hamstring injury, playing in just 23 games. He’s no stranger to injuries as he also underwent major shoulder surgery in 2021. Out of sight, out of mind never loses in the prospecting industry, but Lawlar is the type of talent where you should fight that urge. He already had a huge year in the upper minors in 2023, and he’s only 22, so I don’t think lost development time should be a major consideration here. Even in the 23 games he played this year he put up .900 OPS, and he then got sent to the grown man Dominican Winter League and isn’t embarrassing himself with a .670 OPS. Only Hector Rodriguez of the Reds has a higher OPS of players around Lawlar’s age (he’s outdoing Noelvi Marte, Deyvison De Los Santos, and Liover Peguero). Just the fact he’s playing and getting reps in a league where everyone doesn’t put up silly numbers like the AFL is another reason to not get too hung up on the lost season. He has the potential for a special power/speed combo (20 homers and 36 steals in 105 games in 2023), and while there is some hit tool risk, it’s not really in that extreme zone with around mid 20 strikeout rates throughout his career. He’s not a finished product, and I would expect him to start the year in the minors, but Lawlar will be up eventually in 2025, and he can make a big impact immediately. Don’t ding him too much for the injuries. 2025 Projection: 55/14/57/.241/.312/.417/21 Prime Projection: 94/24/86/.266/.339/.459/38

13) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.7 – Basallo didn’t quite obliterate the upper minors like he did the lower minors, slashing .278/.341/.449 with 19 homers, 10 steals, and a 21.1/8.6 K%/BB% in 127 games, but when you take into account that he was 19 years old for the vast majority of the season, it gets a lot more impressive. He was also much better at Double-A with a 134 wRC+ in 106 games than he was at Triple-A (62 wRC+ with a 31.4% K% in 21 games), so I think we can give him a pass for an adjustment period with a new team, coaches, teammates, league, home park etc … Even at Triple-A, the sweet lefty swinging, 6’4” Basallo put up a 91.1 MPH EV. He’s always put up solid contact rates in the minors, but the spike at Triple-A could also be an indicator that we shouldn’t expect the highest BA at least early in his career. He puts the ball on the ground a decent amount, but with his type of double plus power, he’s launch proof. I don’t know where he fits in defensively with Adley behind the plate, and plenty of competition at 1B (Mayo and Mountcastle), but long term there seems to be plenty of room for all of them. He’s a special power bat. – 2025 Projection: 28/9/35/.241/.300/.430/2 Prime Projection: 84/30/97/.268/.337/.505/6

14) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 22.1 – You can’t talk about Rodriguez without talking about the fact that the guy is rarely on the field. He played in only 47 games this year due to a nagging thumb injury, and he played in only 47 games in 2022 due to a meniscus tear (knee). He did get in a mostly full season in 2023 though (he missed a few weeks with an abdominal strain), and he got in a full rookie ball season in 2021, so I’m hesitant to officially slap the injury prone label on him. It’s something to take into account to break a tie, but his upside is way too high to meaningfully move him down the rankings because of it. He’s a power/speed/OBP beast with 9 homers, 9 steals, and a .459 OBP at mostly Double-A in 47 games. It was good for a 203 wRC+ at the level. He crushes the ball, he lifts it, and he’s an excellent athlete who plays CF. Injuries aren’t the only concern though, he also has strikeout problems with a 29.7% K%. Some of it is because of how patient he is, but definitely not all of it. I wouldn’t say Minnesota’s OF is wide open, but Minnesota already announced how they want to limit Buxton to like 100-110 games next year, and while they have solid options for their corner spots, they are far from locked down. If Rodriguez is healthy and producing at Triple-A, it might not be long before he gets the call to the majors, and there is potential for monster fantasy impact, especially in an OBP league. – 2025 Projection: 36/10/31/.224/.310/435/8 Prime Projection: 92/29/89/.248/.342/.490/24

15) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.1 – The 6’4”, uber athletic Walcott is the type of special talent where you can watch a few swings of his on Youtube as a 16 year old and immediately fall in love with him, which is exactly what happened when he was my #1 target from his international class. He’s then been that rocket ship prospect you hope for, culminating with him putting up a 172 wRC+ at Double-A as an 18 year old … granted it came in 5 games with a 29.2/4.2 K%/BB%, but I felt it would be more dramatic to leave that part out. And what he did at Double-A was more or less meaningless when he was already over 4 years younger than the average player at High-A, where he slashed .261/.342/.443 with 10 homers, 26 steals, and a 25.5/10.6 K%/BB% in 116 games. It was good for a 123 wRC+. It can be harder to evaluate players when they are so much younger than the level, but there was actually a similarly talented 18 year old at High-A all season with Walcott, Ethan Salas, and Salas put up a 75 wRC+ for comparison. The elite dynasty asset potential is clear with a potentially plus to double plus power/speed combo, but he’s not quite there yet. The hit tool is still a risk and the K rates have been high at every stop. He also hasn’t fully tapped into his raw power yet with relatively low flyball rates (although he pulls the ball over 50%). I wouldn’t quite place him in the truly elite prospect tier, but he’s in the one right under that. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 87/28/94/.263/.339/.484/24

16) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.7 – Selected 1st overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder … There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He didn’t standout in his pro debut, but he did enough to feel confident about him fulfilling his upside with 3 homers, 5 steals, a 126 wRC+ and 25.4/13.9 K%/BB% in 27 games at High-A. He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. He ranked 2nd overall on the Top 146 2025 First Year Player Draft Rankings (this link is to the free Top 12 here on the Brick Wall). – 2025 Projection: 31/7/31/.247/.319/.420/8 Prime Projection: 91/24/79/.271/.349/.455/25

17) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.7 – Selected 7th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Wetherholt might not have quite the ceiling of Bazzana, but even that is highly debatable, and he’s establishing that he most probably has the floor edge with a 11.9% K% at Single-A vs. Bazzana’s 25.4% K% at High-A. Different levels, but that is a pretty stark difference. He hit the ball on the ground a lot more than Bazzana, which is where some of that upside edge comes in, but he did it with a 91.9 MPH EV, so don’t cap his power upside too much. He’s two inches smaller than Bazzana at 5’10”, but he rocks that little man leg kick that I’ve always loved, and always seems to get the most out of smaller guys raw power. He slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz, likely due to missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. His 16 homer pace was also not that impressive when everyone else was hitting like 30+. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. I have Bazzana ranked over him, but I don’t think it’s some no brainer decision. JJ is right there. – 2025 Projection: 18/3/16/.259/.321/.401/5 Prime Projection: 96/19/73/.287/.353/.438/23

18) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.10 – De Paula doesn’t truly get the hype that Walker Jenkins, Sebastian Walcott and Leo De Vries gets, but he deserves every little bit of it. He might have the best hit/approach/power combo of all of them, putting up a 19.8/17.5 K%/BB% with a 130 wRC+ in 107 games split between Single-A and High-A. His game power still hasn’t exploded, but it ticked up from 2023 with 10 homers (2 homers in 2023), and he hits the ball so hard at 6’3” that there is little doubt about his power potential. He doesn’t sell out for power, and his groundball and pull rates are fine, so he has the potential to be one of those special monster triple-slash middle of the order mashers. He’s not a burner, but he went 27 for 30 on the bases, so the guy is obviously a good athlete who knows how to steal a base. He’s not a good defensive player, but with his potentially elite bat, I’m not scared off by that. He won’t get ranked as highly on real life lists as those aforementioned teenagers, but don’t let that deter you from thinking that Josue isn’t on that level. I was touting Josue back when he was barely heard of, and I’ll keep being high on him even as his hype gains steam. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 92/26/94/.276/.364/.482/14

19) Max Clark – DET, OF, 20.3 – Clark was the 3rd overall pick in a stacked 2023 draft class, and he played exactly as advertised in his first full season of pro ball, slashing .279/.372/.421 with 9 homers, 29 steals, and a 19.2/12.4 K%/BB% in 107 games split between Single-A (134 wRC+) and High-A (119 wRC+). He’s an absolutely electric player when you watch him with a vicious lefty swing and plus speed. He’s already one of the more exciting top of the order prospects in the lower minors, and when gains more power naturally, and starts lifting the ball a bit more (48% GB%), he can explode into a truly elite prospect. His hype has actually been relatively subdued considering how much pre draft hype he got, but make no mistake, Clark can be special. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 96/20/69/.277/.351/.443/30

20) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.7 – Just like with hitting prospects where there seems to be two camps between preferring the hit tool first, power later profile vs. power first, hit tool later, there is a similar split with pitching prospects which is pure stuff vs. refinement/command. Chandler most certainly fell into the pure stuff first category with his upside being obvious, but he had a lot of refinement needed with a 4.75 ERA and 25.6/10.9 K%/BB% 106 IP at High-A in 2023. And that refinement smacked upper minors hitters right in the face in 2024 with him exploding. He put up a 3.08 ERA with a 30.9/8.6 K%/BB% in 119.2 IP. He was even better at Triple-A than he was at Double-A. The fastball sits 96.8 MPH and notched a 30.5% whiff% at Triple-A. The changeup is his best secondary with a 83.6 MPH EV against and 41.2% whiff%. The slider is above average with a 85 MPH EV against and 29.4% whiff%. And the lesser used curve was a good pitch too. He also most certainly looks the part at a built up and athletic 6’2”. There is zero doubt that this is an elite pitching prospect with ace upside. He’s not a completely finished product and he needs to continue to improve his command and refine his pitches, but he’s shown he’s more than capable of making those improvements in 2024. He could crack the Pirates rotation out of camp, and even if he doesn’t, it won’t be long before he gets the call. I know everyone likes Jobe more, and I obviously love Jobe too, but I prefer Chandler by a hair – 2025 Projection: 7/3.87/1.25/137 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.34/1.13/220 in 185 IP

21) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.8 – I love Jobe. He’s definitely an elite pitching prospect. But there are a few other truly elite pitching prospects in the minors right now (Painter, Schultz, Bubba, Kumar), and Jobe’s 25.6/12.0 K%/BB% in 91.2 IP at mostly Double-A just isn’t as impressive as theirs. It came with a 2.34 ERA, and the stuff is filthy with a 97 MPH plus fastball and 3 potentially plus secondaries in his sweeper, changeup, and cutter, so he’s right there with all of them, he just doesn’t hold down the top spot right now. Or the top 2. I have him 4th behind Painter, Schultz and Bubba, but there is no shame in that game as those guys are potentially true aces, just like Jobe is. Jobe should break camp with the team in 2025, or not every long after that, and while I wouldn’t expect an ace season right out of the gate, I’m betting on him getting there eventually. – 2025 Projection: 8/3.83/1.27/136 in 140 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.31/1.08/207 in 180 IP

22) Kumar Rocker – TEX, RHP, 25.4 – It’s been a super bumpy ride, to say the least, but Rocker has inexplicably blasted off into elite pitching prospect status after just 48.1 IP this season. Well, it’s not exactly inexplicable, it’s explicable because he always had the nasty stuff to get here if he stayed healthy. Can we say pitching 48.1 IP is “staying” healthy? I don’t know. But what I do know is that the high octane stuff is elite enough to take on that risk. The 4-seamer sits mid to upper 90’s, and while it’s not a huge bat missing weapon without tons of vertical break, he also throws a mid to upper 90’s sinker which pounds the ball into the dirt. He can start throwing the sinker more, and he can also work on the movement profile of the 4-seamer now that he’s healthy. The real money maker is the truly elite slider. It put up a 50% whiff% in 11.2 IP in the majors and a 71.4% whiff% in 10 IP at Triple-A. He rounds out the arsenal with a lesser used changeup, and how good he can get that pitch could be a big factor in just how high the upside will end up. Digging into the nitty gritty of his pitch mix is almost besides the point though, because staying healthy is essentially the only thing he needs to do. The Mets drafted him 10th overall and didn’t sign him because they didn’t like his medicals. He then underwent shoulder surgery shortly after that, but looked so good in Independent ball when he returned from the surgery, that the Rangers selected him 3rd overall the next year. Which he followed up with Tommy John in 2023, returning for the 2nd half of 2024, where he put up a 1.96 ERA with a 39.6/3.6 K%/BB% in 36.2 IP at mostly AA and AAA. It’s about as risky of a health profile as it gets, but all pitchers are so risky, that I don’t want to discount him too much because of it. I’ll take on extra risk when the upside is a true ace. The downside could be a high leverage reliever though if he keeps getting hurt. 2025 Projection: 9/3.71/1.20/146 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 12/3.35/1.13/190 in 160 IP

23) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 22.3 – Selected 2nd overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many pitchers are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall in a FYPD should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now, and while I already noted that Burns isn’t Skenes, the college hitting class also aren’t Langford/Crews. – 2025 Projection: 4/3.73/1.20/87 in 75 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/237 in 190 IP

24) Chase DeLauter – CLE, OF, 23.6 – I don’t know if DeLauter needs to stop missing leg day at the gym, or by looking at the size of those trunks, maybe he needs to skip more leg days, but he has to figure out a way to keep the gams healthy. He broke his foot pre draft in 2022 which required surgery, and then he broke that same foot this year while running the bases. This one didn’t require surgery and wasn’t as serious, but at 6’3”, 235 pounds, those feet are going to continue to take a beating. He was able to return from the 2nd broken foot only to have a hamstring strain end his regular season about one month later. He dominated the AFL after the season, so that also wasn’t serious, but the injuries are starting to get concerning. They seemed to have stopped him from running at all this year with only 1 steal in 45 total games (although he stole 2 in 12 games in the AFL). The injuries haven’t stopped him from raking though. The hit tool and plate approach look truly elite with a 13.4/11.6 K%/BB%, and he has big power with 7 homers in 36 upper minors games. One of those homers was an inside the park job, which showed off his athleticism. He’s a special talent with above average to plus across the board skills, but he has to stay healthy, and staying healthy looks like it might entail not stealing a ton of bases, which does hurt the fantasy value a bit. – 2025 Projection: 66/19/72/.256/.320/.439/7 Prime Projection: 90/26/84/.278/.351/.472/11

25) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, 1B, 20.5 – Let me just pump the brakes on Eldridge a little bit … hold up … don’t kill me quite yet. I love Eldridge. He is so clearly a beastly power bat at 6’7”, 223 pounds with 23 homers in 116 games at mostly Single-A and High-A. But let me just bring up a few reasons why maybe not quite enough risk is being factored into his current humongous fantasy hype. For one, his hit tool is a legitimate risk with a 25.3% K%, and it was high in the AFL too with a 34.8% K% in 10 games. Sure he made it to the upper minors as a 19 year old, and while he didn’t embarrass himself or anything, he didn’t dominate either with only 1 homer in 17 games. His FB rates and launch are fine, but he’s not exactly a launch machine. And lastly, San Francisco is death on lefty homers. Eldridge has the power to overcome that, so I’m not going too crazy there, but combined with the swing and miss and moderate launch, that is a trifecta of negatives which tells me to maybe have just a small amount of restraint here. Again, I love Eldridge. He’s a special power bat. I just give this negatively tinted blurb relative to the monster hype he’s already getting, and maybe something to at least keep in mind when you are dealing in trade talks involving him this off-season from either direction. – 2025 Projection: 29/10/36/.227/.301/.423/2 Prime Projection: 88/32/97/.258/.342/.495/6

26) Coby Mayo – BAL, 3B, 23.3 – If you think Holliday had a bad MLB debut, get a load of this guy. Mayo was utterly lost at the dish with a .294 OPS and 47.8/8.7 K%/BB% in 46 PA. He had zero barrels with an 84.7 MPH EV and a 45.6% whiff%. It’s a small sample, but I’ve seen a lot of poor debuts, and this one is up there with some of the worst, especially for a hyped up prospect. The debut was especially bad, but we’ve seen plenty of eventual studs have a terrible MLB debut. Just to use one example, Aaron Judge had a .179 BA with a 42.5% whiff% in his 95 PA debut (although it came with 4 homers and a .608 OPS), and he’s been just fine. I don’t want to put too much weight on the scary debut when Mayo has so many other things going him. His power is unquestionable at 6’5”, 230 pounds with 22 homers and a 90.7 MPH EV in 89 games at Triple-A. He swings a lightning quick bat with a double plus 74.1 MPH swing, and it’s a relatively short swing too with a 7 foot length. His strikeout rates were also so much better in the minors with a 24.9% K% this year. He was getting sporadic playing time in the majors and doing a lot of pinch hitting, which is another reason to mostly ignore the MLB numbers. Is it in the back of my mind? Yea, I’m human. But I’m still treating him like an elite power hitting prospect. He currently doesn’t have a starting job, so he’s going to need injuries/ineffectiveness to open one up for him, or he’s going to have to truly kick the door down. – 2025 Projection: 39/14/49/.225/.302/.435/3 Prime Projection: 84/33/98/.249/.336/.512/6

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

28) Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 19.8 – There is a case to be made that Emerson is overrated. He has high groundball rates and he doesn’t pull the ball all that much, leading to only 4 homers in 70 games split between Single-A and High-A. It’s also not a Jackson Merrill situation where the guy smashes the ball. Emerson can hit it hard, but he’s not putting up gaudy EV’s. He’s also not a burner with average speed. So it’s a hit tool first profile, and like many hit tool first profiles, the hit tool can start to take steps back against more advanced pitching, which is what happened this year. He put up a .263 BA on the season, and the 21.6/10.8 K%/BB% in 29 games at High-A isn’t super impressive. A scenario where he ends up with a good, but not great hit tool, to go along with a moderate power/speed combo, definitely seems to be one possible outcome here. I’m only painting with a negative brush to start because I think it’s more interesting. We know what a positive outcome can look like, which is that both the raw and game power ticks up over time, the plate skills remain plus to double plus, and the base stealing ability is legit (15 steals in 17 attempts). And keep in mind he was only 18 years old for most of the season. This is a high floor/high ceiling prospect in the mold of your Wander Franco’s. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection:  99/22/72/.284/.362/.455/22

29) Christian Moore – LAA, 2B, 21.10 – Selected 8th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Angels don’t fuck around when it comes to promoting advanced college hitters to the majors, so you know Moore is going to be a contributor on your fantasy team real quick, possibly as soon as Opening Day. Shit, he almost made his MLB debut in 2024 with his absolute destruction of pro ball, slashing .322/.378/.533 with 5 homers, 2 steals, and a 29.6/8.2 K%/BB% in 23 games at Double-A. A knee injury (meniscus) is likely the only thing that stopped that from happening, but he returned to Double-A before the season ended and went 3 for 4 with a double and 4 RBI, so I wouldn’t be worried about the knee. I fell in love with his personality during his Draft Day interview. It was the perfect mix of confident, cocky, thoughtful, playful and mature. That just seems like the type of infectious attitude I want on my team. He wasn’t kidding when he said he had Champion in his blood. And of course, he was an absolute beast in the SEC, smashing 34 homers with a 1.248 OPS and 14.5%/11.3% K%/BB% in 72 games. He has a very strong righty swing at 6’1”, 210 pounds, producing at least plus power with average speed on the bases. In his freshman year in 2022, he put up a 1.062 OPS with 10 homers in 149 PA to give you an idea of the type of natural talent this is. As you saw with his K rate at Double-A, there are definitely some hit tool issues, which I’m not ignoring, but I’m also not letting it scare me off. I was high on Moore before his pro debut, and now I am over the moon for him. – 2025 Projection: 70/23/77/.242/.310/.437/8 Prime Projection: 85/28/94/.260/.335/.481/10

30) Justin Crawford – PHI, OF, 21.3 – Crawford is just raw talenting his way through the minor leagues with elite bloodlines and elite talent an uber athletic 6’2”, 188 pounds. He slashed .313/.360/.444 with 9 homers, 42 steals, and an 18.7/6.4 K%/BB% in 110 games split between High-A and Double-A. He was even better at Double-A than he was at High-A with a 140 wRC+ in 40 games. He has double plus speed, he hits the ball hard, and he has a good feel to hit. It’s pure talent baby, but if he doesn’t start to refine his game, it will eventually catch up to him. He has an extreme 61% GB% and he chases a ton. Good defense and good pitchers, which he will find in the majors, are better able to take advantage of that than minor leaguers. But if he can start to refine his game, and at only 21 years old, I don’t see why he wouldn’t, watch the hell out. The upside is a legit elite dynasty asset, and while I wouldn’t bet on him reaching that lofty ceiling, he can be a game changing fantasy player with even a moderately good outcome. I think there is too much focus on his deficiencies, and not enough focus on what he does well. I love him. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 86/17/64/.273/.322/.420/39

31) Jaison Chourio – CLE, OF, 19.10 – Chourio gets plenty of love, but I’m not sure it’s nearly enough. A lot of his love gets couched in “but he’s not as good as his brother,” which isn’t quite fair, because I think there is near elite prospect upside in here, and he took steps towards that in 2024. His power didn’t explode (yet), but it did tick up with 5 homers in 98 games at Single-A (1 homer was his previous career high). He’s a still projectable 6’1” with an explosive swing, so as he gains more raw power, and as he raises his launch (49.3% GB%), there could be a real power breakout coming down the line. And he has the elite plate skills (16.0/`19.9 K%/BB%) and speed (44 steals) to do the rest. He’s yet to put up less than a 140 wRC+ at any stop of his career. This is easily a Top 30 fantasy prospect for me, and even that could be underselling him. If he gets lukewarm love in off-season prospect drafts where he’s available, you need to jump all over that. Now is the time to target him aggressively. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 98/18/68/.276/.355/.433/34

32) Aidan Miller – PHI, SS, 20.10 – Miller wasn’t a target for me in last year’s FYPD class based on his perceived value/hype, but he proved the hype was warranted in his pro debut, obliterating Single-A with a 153 wRC+, and hitting well at the more age appropriate High-A, slashing .258/.353/.444 with 6 homers, 12 steals, and a 22.1/11.6 K%/BB% in 58 games. His big, quick and powerful righty swing was what everyone fell in love with originally, and he proved he can combine that with a good feel to hit, a good approach, and good athleticism. He can also play a decent SS, so his glove is likely to stick somewhere on the infield and potentially end up an asset as well. He’s not exactly standout in any one area at the moment, but there is power upside in the bat which gives him the ceiling of a do everything, middle of the order masher. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 82/25/86/.269/.342/.468/15

33) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 17.11 – I love to see deep international prospects who cracked my Top 1,000 Rankings have big breakouts, and I thought my blurb for him last off-season was pretty interesting considering how things played out: “Stop me if you heard this one before, but the switch hitting Made is a projectable and toolsy 6’1”, 165 pounds with a swing geared towards launching the ball. He has a mature plate approach and he has the potential to be a very good defensive SS. I know these international prospect blurbs can get repetitive especially as we get deep into the class, but these are the prospects that can blow up if you want upside. Embrace the mystery. Prime Projection: 76/24/81/.258/.334/.449/12.” And blow up Made did as one of the top breakouts in the DSL, slashing .331/.458/.554 with 6 homers, 28 steals, and a 13.0%/18.1% K%/BB% in 51 games. He’s projectable, he’s toolsy, he hits the ball hard, the plate approach is very strong, and he’s a good SS. That is the total package, and while there is still a lot of risk as DSL performance is the least trustworthy, there is also truly elite prospect upside. I know there are many leagues, usually shallower ones, where gunning for the top pure upside is the best strategy to take, but even in medium to deeper leagues, Made is worth the risk. And use Made as a reminder to not be afraid to dive into the mystery that is the international class as you get deeper into first year player drafts this off-season. That is why the last third of my Top 146 FYPD Rankings are always jam packed with these guys. Low upside, boring college guys just aren’t likely to be difference makers. Go for the lotto ticket. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 94/24/86/.276/.352/.472/26

34) Nick Kurtz – OAK, 1B, 22.1 – Selected 4th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Kurtz had one of the best pro debuts in his draft class with 4 homers in 7 games at Single-A, and a 129 wRC+ with a 20.0/13.3 K%/BB% in 5 games at Double-A. It was a just a continuation of the 3 years of dominance in the ACC. He’s a large man at 6’5”, 240 pounds in the mold of a Jim Thome, country strong type. But he’s not just brute strength, he has electric bat speed that led to 61 homers in 164 career games in college. He combines the at least plus power with an extremely patient plate approach and good feel to hit (16.2%/30% K%/BB%). He also has some sneaky athleticism, evidenced by a perfect 11 for 11 on the bases in his college career. The ceiling here is your classic complete hitting first baseman with power and patience. And it looks like the Athletics intend to fly him through the minors, so it might not even be crazy to see him break camp with the team, even if I wouldn’t bet on that. The biggest downside is that his season ended on August 24th with a hamstring injury, and injuries have plagued him throughout his career, so I think it’s something that has to be taken into account unfortunately. He returned in time to decimate the AFL with a 1.058 OPS in 13 games, so I don’t think you should overrate the injury risk too much, but it’s worth noting. – 2025 Projection: 48/16/57/.247/.323/.439/4 Prime Projection: 87/28/93/.269/.357/.490/7

35) Felnin Celesten – SEA, SS, 19.7 – Celesten finally made his long awaited pro debut in 2024, and he didn’t disappoint, slashing .352/.431/.568 with 3 homers, 5 steals, and a 19.4/12.5 K%/BB% in 32 games at stateside rookie ball. All of the explosive traits that made him such a hyped international prospect were fully present with an extremely athletic and powerful swing (particularly from the left side, but he dominated in 2024 with both swings) that already looks like an MLB swing. He’s an explosive athlete in general with plus speed, so seeing the excellent plate skills from the jump in pro ball is a big deal. He does have two blemishes on his profile preventing him from ranking even higher than this though. It’s the 2nd year in a row that an injury kept him out. A hamstring injury in 2023 wiped out his entire season, and a hamate injury that required surgery ended his season on July 23rd this year. The 2nd blemish is a 64.9% GB%, which is very extreme. Personally, I’m blinded by his extreme upside, and I’m apt to overlook the negatives. When a prospect has that type of upside, it almost never makes sense to trade them at this stage of their career. His value is pretty high right now, but I think he falls into the buy high range for me. Certainly don’t trade him, and see if you can get him included in a trade without seeming like you’re frothing at the mouth for him too much, because it could give his owner second thoughts if you come on too strong. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 88/25/86/.273/.344/.472/25

36) Konnor Griffin – PIT, OF, 18.11 – Selected 9th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Griffin has the highest pure upside in this entire draft. He’s 6’4”, 215 pounds and has the look of a #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft as a QB. He has the neck of a football player too. He also has the athleticism of a football player with legit potential to put up 30/30 seasons with a plus to double plus power/speed combo. He’s shown a good feel to hit with a good plate approach in his high school career, but like I mentioned back in February 2024 when I did a very early Top 10 FYPD Ranking, the swing isn’t necessarily the smoothest thing in the world, although it actually looks much better to me now than it did then. Plus you can tack on electric bat speed and bank on continued refinement considering how young he is for the class. Pitt obviously wasn’t worried enough about the hit tool to let him slip by them at #9, and for fantasy especially, I wouldn’t let it scare you off him either. This is legit elite dynasty asset potential. – ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 89/25/92/.261/.337/.470/33

37) Tink Hence – STL, RHP, 22.8 – Tink is the forgotten about elite pitching prospect. He has injury/durability issues, but almost every pitching prospect has injury/durability risk, and I feel like it’s really easy to start picking and choosing whose injury/durability issues you hand wave away, and whose you hyper focus on. Everyone has seemed to hyper focus on Hence’s issues, where a guy like Painter can literally undergo Tommy John surgery and everyone is completely good with it, nothing to see here. Jobe, Schultz, and Rocker have all dealt with injuries and haven’t racked up innings. But for Tink, his problems are like the main focus of his evaluation, and the main focus should be on his nasty stuff. Here is a twitter compilation video of Hence making hitters look absolutely silly with his changeup, both lefty and righty hitters. And that isn’t even arguably his best secondary with a gyro slider and curve that he seems to have on a string, racking up strikeouts. He combines the 3 nasty secondaries with a mid 90’s fastball that he can blow by hitters up in the zone with a good movement profile. It all led to a 2.71 ERA with a 34.1/8.1 K%/BB% in 79.2 IP. There is definitely injury as he’s battled a variety of injuries in his professional career (shoulder, chest and lat issues with year), and he’s not a particularly huge/broad guy, but they talk about him like he’s 5 foot nothing, 150 pounds. The guy is 6’1”, 195 pounds. He’s not that small. All pitchers have injury risk to me, so I’m not one to hyper focus on the injury risk. You know what you are getting into when you draft a pitching prospect, no matter how big and broad they are, they can all go down. I’m focused on Hence’s true top of the rotation upside, and I feel like there is a bit of a buying opportunity right now. 2025 Projection: 4/3.89/1.30/78 in 80 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.48/1.17/186 in 168 IP

38) Emil Morales – LAD, SS, 18.6 – Morales was my 3rd ranked international prospect (behind only Leo and Paulino) and one of my top FYPD targets, writing in his Top 1,000 blurb, “His physicality in the box stands out immediately. He is a grown man at 6’3”, 180 pounds with a big righty swing that can punish a baseball. He combines that with a mature plate approach and a good feel to hit. It certainly looks like he can be a middle of the order beast, and he has the right team to get it out of him. He’s a definite target.” … and he more than came through as one of, if not the top DSL breakout, slashing .342/.478/.691 with 14 homers, 12 steals, and a 22.4/19.9 K%/BB% in 46 games. He’s a lift and pull machine and there is potential for double plus raw power at peak, meaning the home run upside here is elite. The swing is quick and athletic, and he’s a good athlete for his size too. Most places have Jesus Made over Emil Morales an easy call in Made’s favor, but I actually think it’s pretty damn close. Made has the hit tool and speed edge, but Morales has the game power and raw power edge, and often times that power edge can overcome all other flaws. A 22.4% K% is on the high side for the DSL, so I do agree that Made’s combo of floor and upside takes it, but I’m not 100% sure I’m making the right call there. Either way, I love both, and I really, really love Morales compared to his much cheaper price. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 86/33/98/.250/.338/.519/9

39) Quinn Mathews – STL, LHP, 24.6 – I think it’s easy to completely hand wave Mathews getting bombed at Triple-A to close out the season (6.48 ERA with a 27.8/17.7 K%/BB% in 16.2 IP), but I do think there might be at least a small amount of signal there that we shouldn’t just 100% dismiss. I’m not going to put too much emphasis on it either seeing as he was already at a career high in IP, and you have to give humans a chance to adjust to a new level, new team, new coaches etc …, but there is one wrinkle that makes me pause, and that wrinkle is that Triple-A is the only level to use the MLB ball. Every other level uses their own balls, and I mean, the ball is a pretty important factor. Blade Tidwell obliterated Double-A, got called up to Triple-A earlier in the season, and then stunk at Triple-A for a large sample. Everyone hates Blade Tidwell now. Mathews (and Brandon Sproat has a similar story too), didn’t have a large sample at Triple-A, so it’s easy to just hand wave it away, but I do think it’s something to keep in mind. Now just because I’m keeping it in mind, doesn’t mean I still don’t love Mathews. He’s a 6’5”, lefty with a mid 90’s fastball and two whiff machine secondaries in his slider and changeup (he also throws a curve and sinker). He dominated all season (other than at Triple-A) with a 2.76 ERA and 35.4/8.6 K%/BB% in 143.1 IP. And as you can see, he stays healthy, which does matter. I lean towards him being more of a #2 starter than a true ace, but add a star for his health, and he’s knocking on the door of the bigs. I like him a ton. Maybe I just feel the need to knock him down a peg because of my love for Tink, who I have ranked higher than Mathews, while most have it the other way around. The truth is, I love both of them (just Tink more ;). 2025 Projection: 6/3.98/1.32/97 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.59/1.20/190 in 180 IP

40) Dalton Rushing – LAD, C/OF, 24.1 – It seems that LA is set on keeping Rushing at catcher, which I completely understand for real life value, but for fantasy, I don’t think it’s great. Will Smith is signed until 2034, meaning Rushing looks ticketed for some kind of hybrid C/1B/OF/DH role, and with how hard it is to crack the Dodgers full time lineup (and with how little leash they give their prospects due to unlimited resources and strong organizational depth), it seems like Rushing is going to have to scratch and claw for playing time. They are not rolling out the red carpet for him at all, and I do think it hurts his fantasy value a bit. Putting defense aside for now, as a pure hitter, there is so much to like. He proved himself in the upper minors in 2024, slashing .271/.385/.512 with 26 homers, 2 steals, and a 20.5/12.7 K%/BB% in 114 games split between Double-A (149 wRC+) and Triple-A (128 wRC+). He has easy plus power with a 90.8 MPH EV, he has a launch made for both power and average, and he has a plus plate approach. The hit tool is solid, but I can see that dipping to below average against major league pitching, and like I mentioned earlier, we have seen LA be very quick with the hook if young players aren’t producing. I like the bat a ton, but defense, path to playing time, and the slight hit tool questions are enough to make me hesitant to really value him at a premium right now. – 2025 Projection: 38/12/45/.242/.310/.428/1 Prime Projection: 78/24/83/.262/.339/.465/2

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