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Welcome to my first top 25 prospects to stash article here on RotoBaller. With the Major League Baseball season underway, it's time to shift our focus from drafts to lineup management, waiver wire/FAAB, and which MLB prospects to stash in fantasy baseball redraft leagues.
The purpose of this article is to assist those trying to answer the last part above. Stashing fantasy baseball prospects should be done strategically, not haphazardly. You need to be cognizant of which prospects will be up sooner and can make the biggest short-term impact on your teams - even if that means stashing a prospect that might be ranked lower than another in long-term dynasty prospect rankings.
In this article we will focus on the MLB prospects, rookies and call-ups to make impacts for the 2023 fantasy baseball season.
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Top 25 Prospects to Stash for Fantasy Baseball
Notes on plenty of prospects can be found below the rankings table. And remember, these rankings are for 2023 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects, rookies, and call-ups to potentially make a rest-of-season fantasy baseball impact in 2023. As prospects are called up, they are removed from the rankings. You can also see our top-250 fantasy baseball dynasty prospects for longer-term outlooks.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | ETA |
| 1 | Brett Baty | 3B | NYM | April |
| 2 | Vaughn Grissom | 2B | ATL | April |
| 3 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | TBR | May |
| 4 | Brandon Pfaadt | SP | ARI | April |
| 5 | Curtis Mead | 2B/3B | TBR | May |
| 6 | Edouard Julien | 2B | MIN | May |
| 7 | Oswald Peraza | SS | NYY | May |
| 8 | Grayson Rodriguez | SP | BAL | May |
| 9 | Chase Silseth | SP | LAA | April |
| 10 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | May |
| 11 | Royce Lewis | SS | MIN | June |
| 12 | Bobby Miller | SP | LAD | May |
| 13 | Gavin Stone | SP | LAD | May |
| 14 | Sal Frelick | OF | MIL | May |
| 15 | Addison Barger | 2B/3B/SS | TOR | May |
| 16 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | June |
| 17 | Elly De La Cruz | SS | CIN | July |
| 18 | Tanner Bibee | SP | CLE | May |
| 19 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | June |
| 20 | Jordan Westburg | 2B/3B/SS | BAL | June |
| 21 | Francisco Alvarez | C | NYM | July |
| 22 | Taj Bradley | SP | TBR | June |
| 23 | Michael Busch | 2B | LAD | June |
| 24 | Ricky Tiedemann | SP | TOR | July |
| 25 | Endy Rodriguez | C | PIT | June |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Brett Baty (3B - NYM)
Yes, it was disappointing to see the Mets go with Eduardo Escobar out of the gate instead of Brett Baty after his impressive showing this spring. However, he absolutely needs to be stashed in all formats, even shallower 10-team leagues. Baty is one of the best-hitting prospects in the minors with an above-average hit tool and plus power coming off a strong showing in the upper minors last season.
In 95 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Baty slashed .315/.410/.533 with 22 doubles, 19 home runs, and an 11.7% walk rate. He carried that momentum over into Spring training where he hit .325 in 50 plate appearances and already has a two-homer game with three batted balls over 100 mph. Baty should be back up soon and could make a sizeable fantasy impact right away.
Vaughn Grissom (2B/SS - ATL)
While he's not technically a prospect, Vaughn Grissom needs to be included in a list like this and he's close enough to be eligible anyway (exceeded by 11 at-bats). Anyone and everyone thought that Grissom was going to be the Braves' starting shortstop to open the season, myself included.
Grissom even cracked my top 10 second base rankings before the season. Whoops. But even with all that, I'm not sure this whole Orlando Arcia as the starting shortstop thing is going to last very long and Grissom should be back up once he works on his defense a bit at Triple-A. Given his 20/15 upside and eventual 2B/SS eligibility, Grissom is a great stash right now.
Kyle Manzardo (1B - TB)
Curtis Mead (2B/3B - TB)
When it comes to Kyle Manzardo and Curtis Mead, there's a good chance both are going to be impactful fantasy bats for a long time. These are two of the best pure hitters in the minor leagues, and they are capable of hitting for both a high AVG and solid power as well.
But with that said, what I'm not confident in is saying when they'll both force their way into Tampa Bay's starting lineup. Both are knocking on the door and a hot start for either in Triple-A could force Tampa Bay's hand sooner rather than later. Just look at their 2022 minor league performances to see what these two are capable of.
Manzardo (A+/AA): 397 PA, .327/.426/.617, 26 2B, 22 HR, 14.9% BB, 16.4% K, .290 ISO
Mead (AA/AAA): 331 PA, .298/.390/.532, 27 2B, 13 HR, 10.9% BB, 18.7% K, .234 ISO
Brandon Pfaadt (SP - ARI) & Chase Silseth (SP - LAA)
If you're looking for the most immediate impact, I'd stash Brandon Pfaadt or Chase Silseth. Yes, I still believe that Grayson Rodriguez will have a solid impact this season, but he didn't look good in Spring training or in his 2023 Triple-A debut. In general, he doesn't look quite as dominant as he did before the injury. I believe Baltimore will take their time with him and let him string together several great starts in Triple-A before bringing him back up.
As for Pfaadt and Silseth, they both probably should have been in their respective team's Opening Day rotation but both were optioned to Triple-A late in Spring training. Both arms looked really good in their Triple-A outings over the weekend, even if Pfaadt's five earned runs in the box score might not lead you to believe that. Pfaadt has the higher upside in general and is my top pitching prospect to stash right now given his blend of upside, proximity, and opportunity.
Elly De La Cruz (SS - CIN)
You're probably asking yourself "why is a stud like Elly De La Cruz only 17th on this list?" It's a valid question to ask and the answer boils down to me just not being overly confident that he's up before the All-Star break. The upside is fantasy first-round level, but the Reds have zero reasons to push him this season.
If you have deeper benches and can afford to hold him for a few months, then feel free. There's probably not any prospect with a bigger potential impact once up this season given De La Cruz's massive power speed blend that led to a ridiculous 28-homer/47-steal season last year.
MLB Prospects That Are Blocked
Oswald Peraza (SS - NYY): Peraza has gone from being a trendy post-250 ADP draft day target and presumed starting shortstop for the Yankees to being a name in this "prospects that are blocked section." It's been a rough month for the shortstop as he has been leapfrogged on the depth chart by Anthony Volpe, who is already running wild at the major league level.
At this point, it looks like Peraza will need an injury to one of the starting infielders in order to get the call back to New York. And even then, the Yankees could just have the versatile DJ LeMahieu slot into whatever spot is open (outside of shortstop). I'm still as high on Peraza as I was a month ago, but I'm not sure when we see him back up.
Matt Mervis (1B - CHC): Mervis continues to mash in Triple-A but the Cubs brought in Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini this offseason. That means Mervis might not be back up as soon as we hoped. He's still a solid stash as I'm a believer in the bat, but it would be hard to do so in shallower formats.
Bobby Miller & Gavin Stone (SP - LAD): There's no doubt in my mind that both Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone could make a decent fantasy impact this season if given the chance. But despite their upside and success in the minors, they fall victim to being in an organization with a seemingly endless amount of starting pitching depth.
Michael Busch (2B - LAD): Here we have another blocked top Dodgers prospect. At this point, Michael Busch doesn't really have anything left to prove in the upper minors but the Dodgers still don't seem keen on giving him a shot. If there's an injury in the infield at second or third base, we could see Busch come up given Miguel Vargas' flexibility. That's really the only way I see Busch being able to provide any fantasy impact early this season. Hey Friedman, just trade Busch, would you?
Taj Bradley (SP - TB): Bradley isn't as thoroughly blocked as the names above him, but he's another name that I believe might stick in Triple-A for a couple of months. As of now, Josh Fleming is the Rays' #5 starter until Tyler Glasnow returns and the rest of the rotation is set with Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen, and Zach Eflin. If there's an injury to one of those four (or Fleming), I suppose we could see Bradley. I'm thinking Tampa Bay is content with him getting some work in at the Triple-A level for now.
Sal Frelick (OF - MIL): I'm still a believer that Sal Frelick debuts fairly early in the 2023 season. It's probably not going to be in the immediate future after Milwaukee recalled Joey Wiemer the other day to slot next to Garrett Mitchell and Christian Yelich. However, if there's an injury or Wiemer were to struggle, Frelick should be the next man up and can make an immediate impact in AVG/SB.
If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.
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