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Thunder Dan analyzes three top fantasy baseball prospects - Coby Mayo, Nick Kurtz, and Spencer Jones - who could make big impacts this season. These MLB prospects are potential waiver wire pick-ups or stashes.
The 2025 MLB season is only a month old, but it's already time to start thinking about stashing prospects who could make a big impact on your fantasy team at some point this season. It's not too often that rookies have a major impact in redraft leagues, but all three of these prospects are players who have the potential to make a significant contribution if and when they get the call.
In this article, we will determine whether fantasy managers should use an open roster spot for Coby Mayo, Nick Kurtz, and/or Spencer Jones. All three prospects are still in the minor leagues as of right now, but they are hitting the ball well so far to start the season and are likely to get the call-up this year, some perhaps sooner than others.
So, let's take a closer look at Kurtz, Mayo, and Jones to see if these prospects should be stashed off the waiver wire now or if you can leave them there and wait a bit longer before picking them up.
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Coby Mayo, 3B - Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: Triple-A Norfolk
Availability: 7% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 14 G, .245/.371/.490, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 7 R, 1 SB
Could this be the year we finally see the Orioles' top hitting prospect break out and make an impact at the MLB level? After crushing Triple-A pitching all of last season, Mayo finally got a chance to make his big league debut late in August. However, he struggled mightily at the plate, hitting .098 with no extra base hits in 17 games. He struck out 22 times in just 41 at-bats and was so bad that he was sent back down to finish his season with Norfolk.
Orioles prospect Coby Mayo’s game log over Triple-A Norfolk’s last five:
1-for-5, 2 RBIs
2-for-4, 2 RBIs
1-for-4, double
1-for-1, HR, 2 walks, RBI
2-for-2, HR, 3 walks, RBI🎥: @NorfolkTides pic.twitter.com/SPt6THPir8
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) April 14, 2025
But every spring, hope springs eternal. After hitting just .190 across 42 spring training at-bats, Mayo has settled in at the plate at Norfolk and is back to smacking homers and lacing doubles into the gap.
The six-foot-four third baseman is now 23 years old, and if he continues to hit at Triple-A over the next month or two, there's a very good chance we'll see him get another chance to prove himself at the big league level. He has tremendous appeal for the Baltimore organization as he could anchor their infield and add another big bat to their lineup. This team is competing for a championship and will need all hands on deck to fend off the New York Yankees in their division.
I don't think Baltimore will wait until August this season. They know Mayo has proven he can dominate at the Triple-A level, and they probably want to see if he can handle making the jump to the majors. The timeline for a promotion here is short enough that he's worth stashing if you have the roster spot. Even though he struggled badly last year, he has massive upside and is still one of the top hitting prospects in the game.
Nick Kurtz, 1B - Athletics
Current Level: Triple-A Las Vegas
Availability: 18% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 14 G, .367/.409/.817, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 15 R
No one is turning more heads right now than the Athletics' first baseman prospect. After being taken fourth overall in the 2024 draft, Kurtz appeared in just 12 games last year between Single-A and Double-A but flashed massive upside hitting .368 with four home runs and more walks than strikeouts.
Nick Kurtz leads ALL pro hitters with seven homers.
His average home run has traveled 414 feet
( @MiLB)
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 14, 2025
Now, the PCL (the Triple-A league that Vegas plays in) is known for offense, and sometimes we see hitting prospects put up some silly numbers as a result. However, Kurtz has been so good that you can't point to the favorable hitters' parks as the reason he's mashing home runs at a record pace.
It's clear already that Kurtz can hit for both average and power. He's a polished prospect who played college ball, not a high school kid who might need years of seasoning in the minors. Kurtz looks ready to contribute right now, and the Athletics are a rebuilding team trying to build excitement for their move to Las Vegas next season. To that end, it feels like Kurtz might have the quickest and easiest path to the majors.
If I had to throw a little cold water on the situation, I would point out that Kurtz has only 98 career at-bats in the minors and that the Athletics may also not be in a big rush to promote him as they don't expect to compete this year.
Still, the potential that Kurtz has flashed, paired with the favorable home ballpark for home run hitters in Sacramento (the Athletics' temporary home), is tantalizing. His rostership is steadily increasing, and a debut sometime this summer still seems pretty likely, so if you want to roster Kurtz at all this year, the time to stash him is probably now!
Spencer Jones, OF - New York Yankees
Level: Double-A Somerset
Availability: 2% rostered
2025 AA stats: 9 G, .290/.421/.613, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, 3 SB
Jones is off to a blistering start for the Yankees' Double-A affiliate in Somerset, with an absurd 1.034 OPS and 195 wRC+ through his first nine games of the season.
Spencer Jones has been KILLING IT in the early 2025 campaign💪🔥
3 HR | 1.034 OPS | 195 wRC+ | 7 RBI
The kid is CRUSHING👀#Yankees pic.twitter.com/qZsY12jTu9
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) April 14, 2025
He spent all of 2024 at Somerset, finishing with 17 HR, 78 RBI, and 25 SB over 122 games. His final slash line was .259/.336/.452. The only negative thing you could say is that he did strike out 200 times in 482 at-bats while drawing just 54 walks.
The power and speed have been on display, however, from the former first-round pick, and it's likely just a matter of improving his contact rate and plate discipline - something a lot of young hitters deal with and can be what separates a talented young player from a bona-fide future star.
Jones has a longer road to the majors than the other two prospects featured here, as the Yankees probably want to see him get some at-bats at Triple-A and show that he can hit at that level, too. The other argument against stashing Jones now is that New York doesn't have a spot for him to play at the moment, as youngsters Ben Rice and Jasson Dominguez are getting their shot, and the Yankees brought in Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in free agency.
The six-foot-seven prospect looks well on his way to becoming a big leaguer, but it's very possible that we won't see him in pinstripes until very late in the summer or even the 2026 season. I would leave him on the waiver wire in most formats for now.
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