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We are now two months into the baseball season, and much has changed since the beginning of the year. With the current wave of injuries making its way throughout every level in baseball, along with the breakout starts to the season for some players, it is time to revisit my prospect rankings and see where the next group of fantasy options will check in.
This list is based on how valuable each prospect will be in fantasy baseball leagues during the prime years of their career. This list is comprised of minor leaguers yet to make their major league debuts. (Sorry George Springer, Oscar Taveras, and Taijuan Walker, but you will have to settle for just being big leaguers at this point.) Let’s take a look at who has climbed the charts and who has fallen thus far. 1. Byron Buxton – Despite the injury, Buxton’s tools leave me no choice but to keep him in the top spot. You will find Buxton here on just about every rankings list. 2. Carlos Correa - Absolutely love how this skill set will play at SS. The A-Rod comps might be a bit exaggerated, but the potential to become a 1st round fantasy option is clear. 3. Kris Bryant – Legit power prospect has done nothing but raise his stock this year. He has surpassed Javier Baez as the Cubs’ #1 prospect in my eyes. 4. Javier Baez – The slow start is a tad concerning, but he has started to turn things around and you still have to love the potential here. I am more worried about Baez learning from new player/coach Manny Ramirez than I am the slow start. I mean seriously, what better way to screw up a pipeline of great young talent than hire "Manny being Manny" to coach them on their last stop before the majors? Rant over. 5. Gregory Polanco – He will arrive in Pittsburg soon, and Polanco has the skill set to hit anywhere in the batting order. This might just be the spark that the Pirates offense needs to get going. 6. Addison Russell – Has been hurt most of the season, so his stock hasn’t really moved much for me. This ranking indicates the expectation for Russell to return from the DL as the same player. 7. Miguel Sano – Basically the same explanation for Addison Russell works here. Sano’s injury is more concerning, but he is still expected to return to full strength in 2015. 8. Lucas Giolito – Bad timing with Tommy John surgery sent the potential #1 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft to the middle of the 1st round. Out of all SP’s on this list, Giolito might be the farthest away from debuting, but he might also contain the highest ceiling. 9. Joc Pederson – In any other organization, Pederson would be starting in the majors by now. Since the beginning of the 2013 season, the outfielder has accumulated 37 HR’s and 44 SB’s. 10. Robert Stephenson – Puts up great K rates while posting ERA’s around 3 every year in the minors. Stephenson has the skill set and potential to develop into a top 20 SP down the road. 11. Andrew Heaney – Considered by many to be the top left-handed arm in the minor leagues. We could see Heaney in the show in the coming weeks. 12. Alex Meyer – Sharing a minor league system with Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano has kept Meyer out of the spotlight. That time will end later this summer when he is racking up the K’s at Target Field. 13. Maikel Franco – The third baseman has put his slow start behind him, and the chatter about when he will make his debut is only getting louder after the recent Cody Asche injury. 14. Joey Gallo – Gallo is the 4th third baseman to check in on this list. But he is second to none when it comes to his power tool. Grade 80 power here. 15. Mookie Betts – One of the biggest risers on the year for me. The Sox recently started to give Betts looks in the outfield, which will speed up his ETA tenfold. 16. Archie Bradley – Terrible performance worries me more than injuries, as you can tell by his fall in the rankings. Bradley was my 1B to Taijuan Walker’s 1A as the best pitching prospects in the preseason. This is starting to feel like Trevor Bauer Part 2… 17. Corey Seager – Joc Pederson’s hot start has kept Seager in the shadows. He is hitting close to .350 on the year with a nice HR/SB combo. Likely won’t be an impact bat until 2017. 18. Kyle Zimmer – Keith Law ranked Zimmer as his #4 overall prospect in the preseason, but recently left him off his updated top 25 overall rankings for not pitching yet this year. Keith – we need answers… 19. Noah Syndergaard - Nice strikeout rates, but ERA was over 4 before being placed on the disabled list last week. Should be a good one soon. 20. Henry Owens – Great ERA, excellent K rates. Would like to see the BB rates go down, as Owens is giving up over 4 BB per 9 IP on the year. The Red Sox organization is rich with pitching talent, and this lefty is the cream of the crop. 21. Jonathan Singleton – After a disappointing 2013 season, Singleton has re-entered the conversation as a top hitting prospect. My guess is that we will see him in Houston sometime in June. 22. J.P. Crawford – A personal favorite of our Fake Teams prospect staff, Crawford has looked excellent since debuting last season. He could end up developing into a very similar fantasy option to the one he will eventually be replacing in Jimmy Rollins. 23. Francisco Lindor – You will find Mr. Lindor much higher on non-fantasy prospect rankings lists. Until defense becomes a factor in fantasy baseball, this is as high as I’m willing to go here. Looks like he will provide a few HR’s with the potential for 30 SB’s with a decent average. 24. Hunter Harvey – The aforementioned Keith Law’s biggest riser on the season, as "The Law" has Harvey inside his top 10. His stock has risen significantly for me as well, but 10 starts isn’t enough to put him ahead of the names listed above. 25. Jon Gray – Love the skills, but the Rockies have been around for two decades now. I’m not buying a pitcher can be a stud fantasy option while pitching at Coors Field until it happens. They say there is a first time for everything… Honorable Mention: Aaron Sanchez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora, Tyler Glasnow, Clint Frazier, Kyle Crick, Gary Sanchez, Arismendy Alcantara, Jorge Alfaro, DJ Peterson, Kohl Stewart. *Oscar Taveras was slated to be ranked #3 overall before his promotion. *Dylan Bundy would have checked in at #11 had it not been for his 1 2/3 IP MLB debut back in 2012.