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Well, the past week didn't bring four impact promotions as the previous week did, but the one promotion we did receive was the only prospect in the minor leagues with 40/40 upside. Elly De La Cruz is truly a generational talent and the FAAB bids for him on Sunday were monumental, as they should be. If you were able to add him this past week or already had him stashed, give youreslf a pat on the back. But even without De La Cruz, there are still plenty of intriguing prospects to stash in redraft leagues right now.
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 MLB prospects, rookies, and call-ups who could make impacts for the 2023 fantasy baseball season.
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- Cut List - Players To Consider Dropping
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 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 long-term outlooks.
Called Up Last Week: Elly De La Cruz (CIN)
Honorable Mentions: Justin Dirden (HOU), Justin Foscue (TEX), Pedro Leon (HOU), Samad Taylor (KC), Sal Frelick (MIL), Addison Barger (TOR), Kyle Harrison (SFG), Moises Gomez (STL), Davis Schneider (COL)
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | ETA | Last Wk |
| 1 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | June | 2 |
| 2 | Jordan Westburg | 2B/3B/SS | BAL | June | 3 |
| 3 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 1B/3B | CIN | June | 4 |
| 4 | Gavin Williams | SP | CLE | July | 6 |
| 5 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | TBR | July | 7 |
| 6 | Bo Naylor | C | CLE | June | 8 |
| 7 | Ronny Mauricio | SS | NYM | June | 5 |
| 8 | Grayson Rodriguez | SP | BAL | July | 11 |
| 9 | Luis Matos | OF | SFG | July | 24 |
| 10 | Dominic Fletcher | OF | ARI | July | 14 |
| 11 | Ben Brown | SP | CHC | June | 15 |
| 12 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | July | 13 |
| 13 | David Hamilton | SS | BOS | July | 16 |
| 14 | Tyler Soderstrom | C/1B | OAK | July | 20 |
| 15 | Joey Ortiz | SS | BAL | July | 21 |
| 16 | Colt Keith | 3B | DET | July | 22 |
| 17 | Dominic Canzone | OF | ARI | July | 23 |
| 18 | Oscar Colas | OF | CHE | August | 12 |
| 19 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | OF | DET | August | 9 |
| 20 | Endy Rodriguez | C | PIT | August | 10 |
| 21 | Curtis Mead | 2B/3B | TBR | August | 17 |
| 22 | Brandon Pfaadt | SP | ARI | August | 18 |
| 23 | Cade Marlowe | OF | SEA | August | 19 |
| 24 | Lenyn Sosa | 2B/SS | CHW | August | NR |
| 25 | Justin Dirden | OF | HOU | August | 25 |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B - CIN)
Hey Cincinnati, what the (word redacted) are you waiting for? With Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz now up in the Majors, the last piece of the puzzle for their 2023 promotions is Christian Encarnacion-Strand who continues to mash in Triple-A. Over the last month, Encarnacion-Strand has cranked 11 doubles and nine home runs with a .373/.463/.745 slash line. He's also showing more patience with a 14.9% walk rate while also striking out only 19.8% of the time.
Granted, there isn't a clear opening for Encarnacion-Strand in Cincinnati right now, especially with Joey Votto nearing a return. However, Encarnacion-Strand has nothing left to prove in Triple-A and I'm sure Cincinnati can find regular playing time for him between first base and DH. It would make plenty of sense too given how Cincinnati is only 3.5 games behind Pittsburgh in the National League Central race. Adding a power bat like Encarnacion-Strand would be a major boost to that lineup. If you've been stashing him, continue to do so. If not, go grab him before it's too late.
Grayson Rodriguez (SP - BAL)
Maybe a trip back down to Triple-A was exactly what Grayson Rodriguez needed. In his two starts since the demotion, Rodriguez has a 2.25 ERA and 33.3% strikeout rate. He did walk five in the first outing but only walked one last time out. Rodriguez looked especially sharp in his last outing on Friday where he recorded 10 strikeouts along with a 47% whiff rate and 38% CSW.
I'm sure those that drafted and/or rostered him at any point this season probably have a sour taste in their mouth right now, and rightfully so. But don't forget that Rodriguez is an immensely talented arm and was the top pitching prospect in baseball for a reason. This is still a potential staff ace we're talking about and one that could make a decent fantasy impact once Baltimore decides to bring him back up.
Ronny Mauricio (2B/SS - NYM)
Just when it appeared that Ronny Mauricio was on the verge of being promoted, a collision over the weekend sent him for an MRI. As of writing this, the results of the MRI haven't been released, but this is less than ideal timing. Mauricio has racked up 23 doubles, eight home runs, and nine steals in 60 games this season with a .320/.360/.524 slash line.
Luis Matos (OF - SFG)
After cracking the list last week, Luis Matos makes a sizeable jump up the rankings this week and into the top 10. Matos was a trendy prospect heading into 2022 but poor performance and injuries limited him and set up this bounceback season that we're currently witnessing. In 54 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Matos is slashing .348/.415/.548 with 13 doubles, nine home runs, 15 steals, and more walks than strikeouts.
There isn't a clear spot for Matos in San Francisco's outfield right now with Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, and Mike Yastrzemski all starting regularly with Joc Pederson at DH. However, Matos does appear to be the next man up and his all-around offensive skillset could allow him to carve out some fantasy value this season. Long-term, this is a potential 15-homer, 25-steal outfielder that can hit for a solid average as well.
Justyn-Henry Malloy (OF - DET) & Endy Rodriguez (C - PIT)
Two names that slid down the rankings a bit this week were Detroit's Justyn-Henry Malloy and Pittsburgh's Endy Rodriguez. Both have been struggling over the last month, which certainly doesn't help their ETA to the Major Leagues. Rodriguez isn't in a massive funk, but he's hitting .258 with very minimal power (1 HR, .393 SKG, .135 ISO) over the last month. As for Malloy, he's slashing .191/.339/.362 over the last 30 days with a 27% strikeout rate. I'm still a believer in both debuting this season, but we probably won't see either until the second half of the season.
Oscar Colas (OF - CHW)
Lastly we have Oscar Colas. If you've been stashing Colas in redraft leagues or wondering if you should, my answer is a resounding no right now. Colas has struggled in Triple-A since being sent down and especially of late. Over the last 30 days, Colas has a lowly .241/.333/.287 slash line with a big goose egg in the home run column. His power has apparently wound up in the Witness Protection program, which really limits his value since he doesn't add any speed.
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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