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Fantasy Baseball Roundup

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Memorial Day Weekend NOTE: I’m currently spending about 95% of my time writing up my Memorial Day weekend updated Top 150 Prospects and also have some scouting to do this weekend, so there will be no lineup notes this week or re-draft prospect rankings, rather I’ll give you a sneak peak into my updated Top 25 Prospect Rankings along with my standard recommended waiver adds and moves I made this week. Enjoy!

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Adds (12 Team Leagues)

NOTE: Under 50% Owned (CBS)

Last Week: RP Yennier Cano (Orioles, 36%), OF Lars Nootbaar (Cardinals, 42%), SP Mitchell Parker (Nationals, 36%), OF Johnny LaDuca (Rays, 26%), SP JP Sears (Marlins, 31%)

1. SP Robert Gasser (Brewers) 43% – This is Gasser’s second week atop the 12 team add list after a lackluster start this week, but we should see even more Ks from him moving forward as he projects as at least a 20% K rate guy in the majors if not up at 24-25%.
2. C Connor Wong (Red Sox) 46% – If you were unlucky enough to have Willson Contreras injured on your team, your best replacement might be Connor Wong who has been hitting third for the Red Sox and has a .344/.374/.508 slash the season with 5 homers.
3. C Danny Jansen (Blue Jays) 33% – Jansen started the season on the injured list, but has been ridiculously good all season, including a .360/.411/.680 slash with 3 bombs in May.
4. 2B Michael Massey (Royals) 15% – Massey could technically be on the 15 team list, but he has been so good, I’m lifting him up onto this one. Since the start of May, Massey has a .318/.333/.576 slash with 4 homers.
5. OF Tommy Pham (White Sox) 28% – Tommy Pham should be owned in almost every league, it’s that simple. This is his fifth consecutive week on this list (as I’m bumping him to the 12 team add list) and I’m not taking him off, because he needs to be owned in all 15 team leagues at a minimum. He has a .333/.377/.495 slash on the season with 3 homers and 3 steals.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Adds (15 Team Leagues)

NOTE: Under 30% Owned (CBS)

Last Week: SP Robert Gasser (Brewers, 12%), SS/3B Josh Rojas (Mariners, 29%), OF Tommy Pham (White Sox, 18%), 2B Michael Massey (Royals, 14%), SP Slade Cecconi (Diamondbacks, 12%)

1. 1B / OF Luke Raley (Mariners) 29% – This is his second consecutive run on this list and the ownership is this low, because Raley had an incredibly slow start to the season. He has been on a tear since the start of May with a .356/.397/.688 slash, 4 bombs and 2 steals over this time.
2. OF Jake Meyers (Astros) 11% – Meyers has been great all season, under the radar, but has especially been good throughout this month with a .375/.453/.607 slash with 2 homers and 2 steals.
   
3. OF Heliot Ramos (Giants) 5% – Luis Matos stole all the thunder from the Ramos call up, however Ramos was having a fantastic season in AAA before the call up and has not stopped hitting since joining the team with a .296/.345/.463 line with 2 homers and a steal in only 14 games. What he’s doing is supported by a high BABIP, but for now he’s worth owning.
4. SP Cade Povich (Orioles) 14% This is a sneaky add with the John Means injury news, even though no promotion has been announced yet, if Means is going to miss significant time, Povich seems the long-term solution rather than Irvin. Povich has a 25.3% K-BB rate with a 2.08 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in AAA this season.

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: Tim’s Top 25

1. OF Wyatt Langford (Rangers)

• 2023 College: .373/.498/.784 | 21 HR, 9 SB
• 2023 Rk/A+/AA/AAA: .360/.480/.677 | 29 XBH, 10 HR, 12 SB
• 2024 MLB: .224/.295/.293 | 8.5 BB% / 22.5 K%| 5 XBH, 1 HR, 1 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: In MLB (on IL)
• fScores (updated): 106 fContact, 152 fDiscipline, 106 fPower, 116 fSpeed
• Comp: Brian Jordan meets Paul Goldschmidt
• Prime Skills: Langford is known as the best power hitter from this recent draft class. He has 35 homer power in the bat and a very good hit tool to go along with it. He has above average speed that kind of sneaks up on you because of his size. The plate skills are almost too good and are getting him in trouble after an enormous spring.
• Ranking Explanation: Langford hasn’t done anything in my eyes to lose the top spot in the prospect rankings, though he is close to losing prospect status. He needs to be more aggressive in the zone and let the skills fly, just like he did in Spring. The injury reset might actually be a blessing for him to get back to the basics.
• Previous Rank: 1

2. 2B / 3B Junior Caminero (Rays)

• 2023 A+/AA: .324/.384/.591 | 56 XBH, 31 HR, 5 SB
• 2023 MLB: .235/.278/.353| 5.6 BB% / 22.2 K%| 2 XBH, 1 HR, 0 SB
• 2024 AAA: .301/.368/.540 | 8.8 BB% / 21.6 K%| 13 XBH, 7 HR, 1 SB
• Age: 20
• ETA: Early June (2nd stint)
• fScores: 97 fContact, 86 fDiscipline, 121 fPower, 78 fSpeed
• Comp: Ronald Acuna w/o the wheels
• Prime Skills: Probably the quickest bat speed in the minors with some big time power potential. He could be one of the best hitters in baseball sooner rather than later. The lack of a higher walk rate and being overly aggressive might ding him a bit in points leagues, but the power will be his carrying tool right out of the gate as he should at worst put up numbers similar to Willy Adames, but with a better batting average.
• Ranking Explanation: Caminero is right there with Holliday, but the biggest difference is he has more power and will end up doing more damage. This is a matter of personal preference, preferring the greater power of Caminero to the hit tool / plate skills oriented profile and the additional steals from Holliday. I would prefer Holliday in points leagues to Caminero though.
• Previous Rank: 2

3. OF James Wood (Nationals)

• 2023 A+/AA: .262/.353/.520 | 62 XBH, 26 HR, 18 SB
• 2024 AAA: .353/.457/.564 | 16.5 BB%, 19.1 K% | 19 XBH, 7 HR, 10 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Mid June
• fScores: 102 fContact, 107 fDiscipline, 108 fPower, 135 fSpeed
• Comp: Lefty Aaron Judge
• Prime Skills: Light tower power from the left side of the plate. He has a home run swing if we’ve ever seen one and has the biggest power upside of the top 10, even more than Wyatt Langford and Junior Caminero due to the huge 6′ 7″ frame. fPower likes Caminero and Langford a bit more at the moment due to the higher number of ground balls, which is the one thing concerning me about Wood right now – especially after watching Jordan Walker struggle with the same thing close-at-hand as a Cardinals fan.
• Ranking Explanation: Wood has MLB ready tools and has done a phenomenal job of improving his plate skills and making more contact in 2024. The zone-contact skills are actually better than that of Jackson Holliday this season, which gives him the edge also considering the significantly higher power and speed upside.
• Previous Rank: 6

4. SP Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• 2023 College: 122 2/3 IP | 209 Ks, 20 BBs | 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
• 2023 Rk/A/AA: 6 2/3 IP | 10 Ks, 2 BBs | 5.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
• 2024 AAA: 27 1/3 IP | 35.2 K-BB%, 17.3 SwStr% | 0.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP
• 2024 MLB: 10 IP | 38.5 K-BB%, 17.4 SwStr%, 34.8 CSW% | 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP
• Age: 21
• ETA: In MLB
• fScores: 126 fStuff, 98 fControl, 155 fERA
• Comp: Justin Verlander
• Prime Skills: The development of the splinker (splitter / sinker hybrid) puts Skenes on a completely different level. He throws high heat and has shown he’s durable and consistent. He’s rocking five pitches between a 100 MPH fastball, a killer slider (143 Stuff+), devastating curve (131 Stuff+) and a changeup to go with the splinker.
• Ranking Explanation: Skenes is the best pitching prospect in baseball (unless you count Yoshi Yamamoto – which I think is cheating). I believe Skenes is already a top 25 starter in the majors and he’s only two starts into his career. This dude is a legit stud and I almost made him my top prospect, however pitching injuries scare me and pitchers will thus always be weighed down as long-term holds.
• Previous Rank: 10

5. SS Jackson Holliday (Orioles)

• 2023 A/A+/AA/AAA: .323/.442/.499 | 51 XBH, 12 HR, 24 SB
• 2024 MLB: .059/.111/.059 | 5.6 BB%, 50 K% | 0 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB
• 2024 AAA: .275/.429/.458 | 20.8 BB%, 18.2 K% | 14 XBH, 4 HR, 4 SB
• Age: 20
• ETA: Late June (2nd stint)
• fScores: 93 fContact, 133 fDiscipline, 91 fPower, 89 fSpeed
• Comp: Wander Franco
• Prime Skills: Quick bat that can reach all fields, but projects out more as a line drive and doubles hitter than a big power bat. Holliday has ridiculous Kwan-esk plate discipline. Not the fastest runner, but could steal 15-20 bags at the major league level in a season. There has been a significant decrease in his contact skills (his fContact dropped from 107 and fDiscipline from more than 150) since he hit the majors and hasn’t fully recovered since returning to AAA.
• Ranking Explanation: He has great tools for real baseball as a stud #2 hitter or a leadoff guy earlier in his career, but for fantasy I don’t see a ton of power upside (of course he could grow into it), but I think he’s more like a Luis Arraez that can go 20/20 and prefer the potential 30-35 homer bat of Caminero for fantasy.
• Previous Rank: 3

6. SP Jackson Jobe (Tigers)

• 2023 Rk/A/A+/AA: 64 IP | 84 Ks, 6 BBs | 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHP
• 2024 AA: 16 2/3 IP | 20.6 K-BB%, 17.2 SwStr%, 37.9 CSW% | 2.16 ERA, 1.02 WHIP
• Age: 21
• ETA: Early 2025 (possibly a cup of coffee in Sept.)
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: George Kirby
• Prime Skills: Excellent command of his pitches for a guy his age and has a ton of spin on his pitches. The fastball is riding as an above average pitch, but it allows him to use his elite slider to get Ks. The walk rate is higher this year, but I think it’s an aberration and wouldn’t be too concerned.
• Ranking Explanation: Starters who exhibit this much command at an early age usually come right up and deal without some of the bumps the high stuff and on top of it he’s exhibiting even better stuff this season. The innings are light and I think he’s being primed for an early 2025 debut, perhaps on the 2024 Paul Skenes timeline.
• Previous Rank: 40

7. OF Jasson Dominguez (Yankees)

• 2023 AA/AAA: .265/.377/.425 | 40 XBH, 15 HR, 40 SB
• 2023 MLB: .258/.303/.677 | 6.1 BB%, 24.2 K% | 5 XBH, 4 HR, 1 SB
• 2024 A (4 games): .385/.529/.462 | 23.5 BB%, 17.6 K% | 1 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Post All Star Break
• Pre-season fScores: 99 fContact, 103 fDiscipline, 136 fPower, 162 fSpeed
• Comp: Switch hitting Mookie Betts-light
• Prime Skills: Dominguez has top notch plate skills, while also demonstrating he can be a game changer on the base paths. He smashes pitches high in the zone from both sides of the plate, but needs to work on lifting pitches low in the zone instead of smashing them into the ground. He was doing a good job of this before the injury at the major league level.
• Ranking Explanation: I had him as a top 20 prospect the last two years when many were down on him, but his short stint in the majors showed he’s the real deal and his profile plays very well in Yankee Stadium. He’s recovering a bit faster than expected, however the Yankees have already come out to say Dominguez will likely spend a decent amount of time at AAA before getting the call back to the majors. It appears they will likely make sure they get their year of eligibility back from the lost time due to the injury.
• Previous Rank: 8

8. OF Dylan Crews (Nationals)

• 2023 College: .426/.567/.713 | 18 HR, 6 SB
• 2023 Rk/A/AA: .292/.377/.467 | 14 XBH, 5 HR, 4 SB
• 2024 AA: .263/.339/.465 | 8.8 BB%, 29.2 K% | 12 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: 2025 (possibly a cup of coffee in Sept.)
• Pre-season fScores: 97 fContact, 79 fDiscipline, 105 fPower, 72 fSpeed
• Comp: Righty Bryce Harper
• Prime Skills: He has great all fields power, he’s a good defender and he has a great eye at the plate. The speed is slightly above average (he has improved this aspect of his game since last season) and he’s more of an all around XBH / damage guy than a home run threat.
• Ranking Explanation: He hasn’t had a great pro debut, but I’m not concerned about him long-term. I would love to have more statcast data on him to compare him to some of the AAA hitters, but for now we will sit pretty on Dylan Crews and his longer-term potential.
• Previous Rank: 9

9. SS Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks)

• 2023 AA/AAA: .278/.378/.496 | 47 XBH, 20 HR, 36 SB
• 2023 MLB: .129/.206/.129, 1 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Post All Star Break (already debuted)
• Pre-season fScores: 102 fContact, 98 fDiscipline, 96 fPower, 176 fSpeed
• Comp: Trea Turner light w/ some Jeter in there
• Prime Skills: Lawlar has a nice power swing, but it may affect his contact ability in the majors – he has all fields power and ridiculous speed, he’s a very aggressive base runner and puts himself in good positions to make things happen on top of having way above average plate discipline for his age..
• Ranking Explanation: The power, speed and enough of a hit tool are here to build up a very intriguing player for fantasy purposes and potential top end player, however he had a thumb injury this spring knocking him out from playing until at least early June, where we will have to see him ramp back up before getting a shot at a return to the majors – similar to Jasson Dominguez, but slightly behind on his timeline.
• Previous Rank: 7

10. OF Walker Jenkins (Twins)

• 2023 CPX/A: .362/.417/.571 | 9 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB
• Age: 19
• ETA: Opening Day 2026
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: Larry Walker
• Prime Skills: Big, strong lefty for his age and one of the top five guys from the 2023 draft class. He has a ton of pull power, but can hit for extra base hits through all fields. He showed an elite hit tool last season with an 81.9% contact rate and 90.5% Z-contact and showed off some impressive speed with the six steals to go along with 4 triples in only 26 games.
• Ranking Explanation: Jenkins has been out all season with a hamstring injury, but is scheduled to return to the minors as of the writing of this article and he may have a handful of games under his belt by the time you read this. He’s such a good hitter that even without data this season, I’m jumping him ahead of guys I have more data on, even as more of a proximity-based prospector.
• Previous Rank: 12

11. 3B Coby Mayo (Orioles, 2024)

• 2023 AA/AAA: .290/.410/.564 | 77 XBH, 29 HR, 5 SB
• 2024 AAA: .291/.359/.605 | 8.9 BB%, 27.6 K% | 26 XBH, 13 HR, 3 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: Post All Star Break
• fScores: 96 fContact, 102 fDiscipline, 114 fPower, 77 fSpeed
• Comp: Nolan Arenado as a hitter
• Prime Skills: Mayo has a quick and powerful swing that portends to future 25-30-ish homer power with 5-ish steal speed. He has an average enough hit tool, but the potential strikeout rate is a bit concerning if he can’t hold it down closer to 25% at the major league level.
• Ranking Explanation: The chase rate is up this year, but the contact rates and the power have both improved. I was wrong on him and thought the hit tool was worse than it actually is due to lack of some statcast data I now have available to me. You’re buying Mayo for the power numbers.
• Previous Rank: 64

12. C / 1B Sammy Basallo (Orioles)

• 2023 A/A+/AA Stats: .313/.402/.551 | 53 XBH, 20 HR, 12 SB
• 2024 AA Stats: .255/.293/.390 | 4.7 BB%, 22 K% | 9 XBH, 5 HR, 2 SB
• Age: 19
• ETA: Late 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: Kyle Schwarber with a better hit tool
• Prime Skills: Good plate discipline and great power and young for his level, Bassallo has seen some regression this year in the batted ball data as he has not been lifting the ball in the air enough to reach his power potential and he’s been dinged in the plate skills category this year seeing a decent increase in swinging strike and K rate, while also seeing an even larger decrease in walk rate. The dude is built for his age with fast hands, but a tight / weird batting stance. He will likely move off the catcher position full-time because of Rutschman.
• Ranking Explanation: He’s young for the level, which means there is more volatility, but if he continues on his current track, he could be on a power hitter version of the Jackson Chourio track from last season. I would love to have some statcast data on him, as he’s still carrying a 104 wRC+ while being 3-4 years young for the level (the average age of a level AA player is 22-23 years old), which bumps him up higher than some of the older AA guys that might have better overall numbers this year like Ford and House.
• Previous Rank: 18

13. C Harry Ford (Mariners)

• 2023 A+: .257/.410/.430 | 18.3 BB%, 19.4 K% | 43 XBH, 15 HR, 24 SB
• 2024 AA: .274/.420/.489 | 17.8 BB%, 19.5 K% | 17 XBH, 5 HR, 9 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Early 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: J.T. Realmuto light (less power, better discipline)
• Prime Skills: Ford has power, speed, plate discipline and great contact skills – he’s the real deal. I think he’s a better version of Bo Naylor, but a couple years behind in development. He may also move off the position ala MJ Melendez and be an OF and backup catcher, because Big Bopper will be blocking him at the position and he’s been DH-ing about 33% of his games.
• Ranking Explanation: Ford is legit, but the Mariners are not rushing him like some of the other guys in this area. He may be a bit of a slow cook, but once he’s up he could be a game changer. He might get the edge to Basallo in roto leagues if he sticks at catcher, but Basallo has a lot more power and extrabase upside, so he gets the edge.
• Previous Rank: 22

14. 3B Brady House (Nationals)

• 2023 A/A+/AA: .312/.365/.497 | 24 XBH, 12 HR, 9 SB (88 games)
• 2024 AA: .255/.344/.496 | 10.8 BB%, 24.8 K% | 14 XBH, 9 HR, 2 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Early 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: Austin Riley
• Prime Skills: Big frame with room to grow at 6′ 4″ and has completely moved off SS to 3B this season. He has shown a ton of improvement in the plate skills in 2023 and has a ton of power potential that has yet to play out. He is pretty good at going the other way. He reminds me a ton of Austin Riley coming up where everyone liked him, then nobody liked him, then everyone liked him again.
• Ranking Explanation: House will be a 4 category stud once he hits the majors at a weak position, however he’s a year away assuming his growth continues and will be part of driving in a fun young lineup with Abrams, Wood, Cruz and more.
• Previous Rank: 25

15. 3B Noelvi Marte (Reds)

• 2023 AA/AAA: .279/.358/.454 | 35 XBH, 11 HR, 18 SB
• 2023 MLB: .316/.366/.456 | 6.5 BB%, 20.3 K% | 10 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: August 2024 (second stint)
• Pre-season fScores: 96 fContact, 95 fDiscipline, 94 fPower, 125 fSpeed, 76 fDurability
• Comp: David Wright light
• Prime Skills: Marte has above average plate skills, especially for his age and should grow into better tools as he transitions, especially in GABP, which will only help his bat play up. The barrel rates have been off since hitting the AAA level, even though he’s making good swing decisions and has a solid SwSp%, he’s just a tick off and this will likely make him a 2024 call.
• Ranking Explanation: Marte has the profile where he is basically above average across the board and that will translate to success, think maybe Bryan Reynolds numbers at 3B, he can put up close to a 20/20 season and should at least do something similar to Ke’Bryan Hayes when he returns. Of course now we will be wondering how much of his production was based on performance enhancers, but there’s a pretty good track record of PED guys coming back at a similar level.
• Previous Rank: 12

16. SP Andrew Painter (Phillies)

• 2022 A/A+/AA: 103 2/3 IP, 155 Ks, 25 BBs, 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP
• Age: 21
• ETA: Mid 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: A bigger Jacob deGrom, or a Tyler Glasnow with more control
• Prime Skills: Painter regularly touches 99 MPH on his fastball and throws it up in the zone with some ridiculous ride, then loves to use his curve up in the zone to finish guys off when they are dead red fastball. He has pin-point control for a pitcher his age, which plays his stuff up even more. He has an excellent pitch mix and knows how to throw his changeup and breaking stuff off his money fastball.
• Ranking Explanation: We’re getting closer to an Andrew Painter return from TJ (2025) and many of the prospects I had ahead of him are either graduating or simply struggling, thus Painter moving up in the rankings despite doing nothing this year or last year.
• Previous Rank: 29

17. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins)

• 2023 A+: .240/.400/.463 | 20.2 BB%, 29.5 K% | 40 XBH, 16 HR, 20 SB (99 games)
• 2024 AA: .262/.463/.561 | 26.5 BB%, 28.6 K% | 18 XBH, 6 HR, 9 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Early 2025
• fScores: NA
• Comp: Rafael Devers meets Edouard Julien
• Prime Skills: Great eye and insane power with a tad of speed mixed in despite being a bigger boy, quick hands though. Like many of these guys, Rodriguez has to work on his hit tool a bit and cut down on the strikeouts.
• Ranking Explanation: He’s dealt with injuries the last couple of years, but has been ridiculous on a per plate appearance basis. The only issue with his game is he strikes out way too much by being too patient, because a 9.8% SwStr% portends to a way better K rate than near 30%.
• Previous Rank: 98

18. SS Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox)

• 2023 A+/AA: .236/.306/.433 | 34 XBH, 13 HR, 9 SB (78 games)
• 2024 AA: .305/.347/.487 | 6.6 BB%, 22.2 K% | 20 XBH, 4 HR, 9 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Early 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: Lefty Dansby Swanson
• Prime Skills: Fast hands and a good eye lead to an advanced hitting prospect, but how much power will he hit for in his prime? He’s better than the 2023 stats and struggled hard at AA before losing a lot of time to injury. I predicted a rebound this year and was right as he is showing of a very good hit tool and ability for big time doubles power.
• Ranking Explanation: I might be the high guy on him still, but my track record of holding struggling players (like Jasson Dominguez) has proven right over time. Prospect growth is not linear. He might not be a super star, but he should be an above average major leaguer in his peak years and provide decent fantasy value.
• Previous Rank: 38

19. OF Roman Anthony (Red Sox)

• 2023 A/A+/AA: .272/.403/.466 | 45 XBH, 14 HR, 16 SB
• 2024 AA: .232/.344/.384 | 14.7 BB%, 30.7 K% | 14 XBH, 3 HR, 5 SB
• Age: 20
• ETA: Mid 2025
• fScores: N/A
• Comp: Jarred Kelenic with a better eye
• Prime Skills: Very good eye with a strong power tool for a young kid who still needs to fill out. He could be a five tool guy, but needs to be more consistent on the base paths for steals to be a big part of his game long term.
• Ranking Explanation: Anthony has a little bit of Emmanuel Rodriguez syndrome, as the SwStr% is only at 9.4%. He ran into this same problem in A+ last year, but course corrected – so there is no reason to doubt he can’t fix this issue a second time, which is being too patient or maybe having a better eye than the umps. He’s rocking a 113 wRC+ and is about two years young for the level, so like Basallo this gives him some props above the actual slash line.
• Previous Rank: 27

20. 3B Matt Shaw (Cubs)

• 2023 College: .341/.445/.697, 24 HR, 18 SB
• 2023 Rk/A+/AA: .347/.400/.618 | 21 XBH, 8 HR, 15 SB (38 games)
• 2024 AA: .217/.348/.333 | 15.2 BB%, 22.2 K% | 7 XBH, 3 HR, 10 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: Sept. 2024
• fScores: 101 fContact, 67 fDiscipline, 102 fPower, 170 fSpeed
• Comp: Jonathan India with more speed
• Prime Skills: Really great plate approach with above average power and speed. Should be one of the better third basemen in the majors sooner, rather than later and has the power and speed combo to put up some 20/20 type seasons.
• Ranking Explanation: Shaw has run into some struggles throughout the last month or so after a hot start in the minors this season. Over the last month, he has a .233 BABIP and .179/.286/.221 slash. The plate skills over this period seem fine, but he has lacked power and has had bad luck simultaneously. He showed last year what he can do when he’s in a grove, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt of a rebound.
• Previous Rank: 34

21. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)

• 2023 A+/AA Stats: .283/.365/.511 | 53 XBH, 20 HR, 37 SB
• 2024 AAA Stats: .214/.250/.429 | 3.4 BB%, 29.5 K% | 10 XBH, 3 HR, 5 SB
• 2024 MLB Stats: .236/.295/.364 | 4.8 BB%, 28.6 K% | 4 XBH, 1 HR, 5 SB
• Age: 22
• ETA: In MLB
• fScores: 94 fContact, 65 fDiscipline, 93 fPower, 214 fSpeed
• Comp: Cedric Mullins with a better glove and more consistent power
• Prime Skills: PCA has superstar potential with insane power / speed potential. He has lackluster contact skills however and his plate discipline in high A leaves a lot lacking. He could definitely end up as a 20/30 guy though if he can make enough contact and avoid Ks.
• Ranking Explanation: The plate skill issues may lead to inconsistency, especially early in his career, but he should be able to put up a 20 homer, 30-40 steal season when he’s hitting near his peak with elite defense, but for now he would be better off hitting the ball on the ground more (only a 39% rate in the majors) to get on base and using his speed to make things happen.
• Previous Rank: 14

22. SP Cade Horton (Cubs)

• 2023 A/A+/AA: 88 1/3 IP | 117 Ks, 27 BBs | 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
• 2024 AA/AAA: 28 1/3 IP | 32 Ks, 11 BBs, 30.5 CSW% | 4.45 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
• Age: 22
• ETA: Post All Star Break
• fScores: 120 fStuff, 106 fControl, 113 fERA
• Comp: Hunter Brown with control and a third pitch
• Prime Skills: Dude looks like a righty Jon Lester throwing 98 MPH darts and has a nasty curve. He has shown insane command with three plus pitches between the fastball, slider and curve and should be moving pretty quickly next season due to his well above average command. The CSW
• Ranking Explanation: Horton was a multi-sport guy until recently and now that his full focus is on baseball, he’s showing he can be even better than advertised. The transition from AA to AAA has been a little rough, but he pitched tonight as of this writing (5/22) and had his first good start in AAA. A few more of those and he will be up in the major league rotation as the Cubs make a run for a playoff spot and the NL Central.
• Previous Rank: 23

23. SP Christian Scott (Mets)

• 2023 A/A+/AA: 87 2/3 IP | 107 Ks, 12 BBs | 2.47 ERA, 0.86 WHIP
• 2024 AAA: 25 1/3 IP | 31.9 K-BB%, 13.7 SwStr%, 31.7 CSW% | 3.20 ERA, 0.71 WHIP
• 2024 MLB: 16 2/3 IP | 18.3 K-BB%, 14.5 SwStr%, 27.5 CSW% | 3.61 SIERA, 1.32 WHIP
• Age: 25
• ETA: In MLB
• fScores: 110 fStuff, 120 fControl, 118 fERA
• Comp: Zack Wheeler super light (basically a Wheeler fastball / slider without the other pitches)
• Prime Skills: Scott has a rising fastball he just smokes guys with up in the zone as a big righty that averages 95-96 on the pitch. Scott has fantastic command and pins the fastball wherever he wants it, playing it off a slider, but he fastball is his K pitch.
• Ranking Explanation: This dude was underrated as a college guy who spent time in the pen in 2022 and had an excellent year in 2023 as a full time starter. I was higher on him than many when I wrote my last prospect ranking article, way back in January and here we are now where Scott is a household name in fantasy baseball circles. Horton might not be as good as Scott out of the gate, but he’s also younger, which gives him the edge, while against a guy like Schultz; Scott is in the league now and performing – pitchers have a shelf life and proximity matters more in ranking pitcher than hitters because we can only expect somewhere in the 3-7 years span for any ligament to hold up in the current era.
• Previous Rank: 141

24. SS Carson Williams (Rays)

• 2023 A+/AA/AAA: .258/.356/.497 | 51 XBH, 23 HR, 20 SB
• 2024 AA: .341/.420/.638 | 10.8 BB%, 25.5 K% | 23 XBH, 8 HR, 11 SB
• Age: 21
• ETA: Late 2024
• fScores: 95 fContact, 98 fDiscipline, 111 fPower, 139 fSpeed
• Comp: Trevor Story
• Prime Skills: Power, speed, plate skills the only thing this kid is missing right now is the hit tool. He’s young enough that he can develop the hit tool on his rise up the minors. He has quick hands and changed his stance from a slight crouch to be more upright since last year, but those Ks need to go down for him to reach his potential as a 20/20 type with a good walk rate.
• Ranking Explanation: Williams has seen a 5% increase in fContact and 10% increase in plate skills since the offseason ranking (keeping in mind we are missing the statcast data in these fScores) and also a 5% increase in his fPower score. Besides that, just look at the obvious 23 XBH in 34 games this season is ridiculous and as long as he can keep that bat around league average as a major leaguer, the power and speed will play up, while the elite defense will keep him in the line up.
• Previous Rank: 53

25. 2B Tyler Black (Brewers)

• 2023 AA/AAA: .284/.417/.513 | 55 XBH, 18 HR, 55 SB
• 2024 AAA: .302/.391/.504 | 9.9 BB%, 14.6 K% | 11 XBH, 6 HR, 7 SB
• 2024 MLB: .227/.261/.318 | 4.3 BB%, 34.8 K% | 2 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB (7 games)
• Age: 23
• ETA: Early June (second stint)
• fScores: 100 fContact, 128 fDiscipline, 81 fPower, 147 fSpeed
• Comp: Faster Ben Zobrist
• Prime Skills: He has ridiculously good plate skills to go along with high end speed, a very good hit tool and above average power. Under the radar guy who will kill it at 2B as soon as next season. The contact rates are much improved from last season, which could result in more of a doubles profile moving forward.
• Ranking Explanation: Black has had a killer year in 2023, vaulting himself way up the rankings by showing he has more speed than originally thought.
• Previous Rank: 24

Moves I Made This Week

• CBS Memorial Magazine League (12 Team 5×5 Roto):
  • Added a $37 Mike Trout to IL
  • Added a $0 Joc Pederson
• CBS NL Only Analyst League (12 Team 5×5 Roto):
  • Dropped Jakob Marsee and Anthony Bender to activate Joe Musgrove and AJ Puk
• TGFBI (15 Team 5×5 Roto):
  • Added an $8 Masyn Winn and $5 Jordan Beck, dropping Emmett Sheehan and Richie Palacios

• Fantasy Aceball Invitational (16 Team Ottoneu H2H Points):

• • Traded a $4 Shane Baz and $2 Jett Williams for a $50 Gerrit Cole and $3 Adam Mazur

• Ottoneu Podcaster’s League (12 Team Ottoneu 5×5 Roto):

• • N/A

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