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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Jordan Lawlar, J.J. Wetherholt, Kristian Campbell - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
Fantasy managers have seen several high-end hitting prospects make their MLB debuts this season and flash immediate upside. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz has become the frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year as he has produced immense power production in Sacramento.
In this piece, we will look at two players who have already had a brief taste of the majors and one more hitter who is on the verge of reaching the majors and determine if they should be stashed on our roster.
Should those players be left on the waiver wire, or should fantasy managers add them before their breakout? Let's dive in!
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Jordan Lawlar, INF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA Stats:53 G, .319/.410/.585, 19 2B, 10 HR, 18 SB
The Diamondbacks were one of the biggest sellers at the trade deadline. They moved Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez. They received Tyler Locklear from the Mariners in the Suarez trade, who should take over at first for Naylor, and Suarez's spot at third should be going to Jordan Lawlar when he returns from his injury.
This has been an extremely disappointing season in Arizona, but if Lawlar can finally show some potential at the big league level, that will be a small win for the Diamondbacks, so I think Lawlar will get the full runway of playing time even if he struggles early on.
Lawlar has obviously been incredibly disappointing so far in his big league career with a negative WRC+ in each of his short stints. However, he's never gotten a real opportunity to play.
Lawlar remains a very exciting prospect for fantasy, having just turned 23 and already put up excellent numbers at Triple-A. He has a 136 WRC+ with 10 HRs and 18 SBs this season and had a 143 and 149 WRC+ at the Triple-A level in each of the last two seasons, respectively.
Lawlar is currently on a rehab assignment, and when he's deemed ready by the big league club, he still has the upside to be a five-category contributor.
-Written by Kevin Luo
J.J. Wetherholt, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 15 G, .321/.412/.714, 5 2B, 5 HR, 2 SB
Wetherholt's promotion to Triple-A has confirmed everything we thought about him as a prospect; he is ready for the Majors. After being the model of consistency in Double-A, Wetherholt has already hit five home runs and has 11 extra-base hits in 14 Triple-A games.
Through June, Wetherholt has been one of the most consistent hitters in the minors, though it was not flashy. This month, the power has come out in a big way. He is now up to 12 home runs on the season and 33 extra-base hits.
Wetherholt is hitting the cover off the ball with an average exit velocity north of 90 mph and has raised his 90th percentile exit velocity on the season up to near 105 mph. While Wetherholt does not post super high-end exit velocities, he consistently squares up baseballs and creates plenty of barrels.
When you talk about consistency, Wetherholt is who comes to mind. Wetherholt has hits in two-thirds of his games and has been on base in 66 of 76 games played this year. The feel for the barrel is fantastic, and his approach is so sound. Currently, Wetherholt has an 84 percent overall contact with an in-zone contact rate that jumps in the upper-80 percent range.
He does not expand the zone and has walked more often than he has struck out. While the contact numbers have dipped a bit in Triple-A, the power has really come out, even under the hood.
Expect Wetherholt to get a cup of coffee in September to get his feet wet and make a run at Rookie of the Year in 2026.
Even though the Cardinals did not end up trading several infielders like Brendan Donovan, Wetherholt is in a great position to earn a taste of the major leagues later this season, which would make him a popular choice for a 2026 breakout candidate. For now, he is worth stashing in deeper 12+ team formats ahead of his expected September MLB debut.
Is JJ Wetherholt the most complete prospect we’ve had in recent memory?
Increasing power game ✅
Hits for AVG ✅
More walks than strikeouts ✅
Speed ✅
High OPS ✅ pic.twitter.com/m3L0FG9TG5— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) August 1, 2025
- Written by Chris Clegg
Kristian Campbell, INF/OF, Boston Red Sox
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 MLB Stats: 67 G, .223/.319/.345, 10 2B, 6 HR, 2 SB
To the dismay of many Bostonians, the Red Sox were pretty quiet at the trade deadline. There were some speculating that the Red Sox would try to acquire one of the first basemen on the market, either Josh Naylor or Yandy Diaz. However, they didn't do much to bolster their offense.
Could that be because they think Kristian Campbell could be back in the majors soon and manning first base? Like some other top prospects struggling at the big league level, Campbell was sent back to Triple-A earlier this season to reset and regain his confidence.
Campbell has not set the world on fire at Triple-A as he has a 130 WRC+ with a 28.6 percent K-rate, both marks worse than his stint at Triple-A last season. However, he has been hot as of late.
Kristian Campbell since the All-Star Break? Red hot 🔥
The @RedSox infielder is slashing .364/.432/.576 with his latest home run for the @WooSox: pic.twitter.com/3s2OFudA9Z
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 27, 2025
I imagine the Red Sox will want Campbell back in Boston soon. When he gets called up, we've seen what he can do when things are clicking, as he had a 149 WRC+ in March and April. Perhaps he'll get hot again after this reset in Triple-A.
- Written by Kevin Luo
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