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We're now in the final month of the Major League season but the prospect promotions aren't slowing down. Rosters recently expanded and brought another wave of promotions over the last week including Ronny Mauricio, Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells, Kyren Paris, Ceddanne Rafaela, Hunter Goodman, and many more along with the recall of Colton Cowser.
We're probably not done either as there are still a bunch of exciting prospects that are hitting well in the upper minors. Some of these names are in organizations that are still in postseason contention while others could just be brought up to get some experience before 2024. Either way, I'm expecting several more impactful prospects to get the call upcoming.
With under a month remaining in the season, teams can call up prospects and not have them exhaust their rookie eligibility for 2024. At this point in the season, it's time to go for gold. If you have a dead bench spot, I'd consider stashing one of the names below.
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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 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 fantasy baseball dynasty prospects for long-term outlooks.
Honorable Mentions: Dominic Fletcher (ARI), Pedro Leon (HOU), Justin Foscue (TEX), Jared Jones (PIT), Ben Brown (CHC), Brooks Lee (MIN), (CLE), Yunior Severino (MIN), Dustin Harris (TEX), Quinn Priester (PIT).
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last Wk |
| 1 | Colt Keith | 3B | DET | 3 |
| 2 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | OF | DET | 8 |
| 3 | Jordan Lawlar | SS | ARI | 2 |
| 4 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | OF | CHC | 1 |
| 5 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | 4 |
| 6 | Coby Mayo | 3B | BAL | 11 |
| 7 | Heston Kjerstad | OF | BAL | 6 |
| 8 | Robert Gasser | P | MIL | 13 |
| 9 | Austin Shenton | 3B | TBR | 9 |
| 10 | Jackson Chourio | OF | MIL | 10 |
| 11 | Gavin Stone | P | LAD | NR |
| 12 | Xavier Edwards | MI | MIA | 12 |
| 13 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | 16 |
| 14 | Troy Johnston | 1B | MIA | 17 |
| 15 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | CLE | 14 |
| 16 | Marco Luciano | SS | SFG | 15 |
| 17 | Jackson Holliday | SS | BAL | NR |
| 18 | Joey Ortiz | SS | BAL | 18 |
| 19 | Evan Carter | OF | TEX | 19 |
| 20 | Joey Loperfido | OF | HOU | 20 |
| 21 | Junior Caminero | 3B/SS | TBR | NR |
| 22 | Orelvis Martinez | SS | TOR | 22 |
| 23 | Darell Hernaiz | INF | OAK | NR |
| 24 | Nick Gonzales | 2B | PIT | 25 |
| 25 | Johnathan Rodriguez | OF | CLE | NR |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
When the season began, I never imagined we'd see Jackson Holliday at the Triple-A level in September. But here we are. The second generation star has raked at every level so far and currently owns a stellar .333/.451/.517 slash line in 107 games between Lo-A, Hi-A, and Double-A.
The contact skills and approach are elite and advanced well beyond his years, but it still remains to be seen where his game power will settle in at. For the rest of this season, he's the definition of a luxury stash. Do I think he'll be up? Probably not. But at this point, nothing would 100% surprise me.
Coby Mayo, Baltimore Orioles
After a bit of a slow start in Triple-A following his promotion in mid-July, Coby Mayo has found his footing over the last few weeks. In his last 16 games, Mayo has slashed .316/.466/.684 with six home runs and more walks (15) than strikeouts (11).
At the moment, Baltimore is starting a combination of Ramón Urías, Jordan Westburg, and Gunnar Henderson over the last week at the hot corner, so it's not completely out of the question to see Mayo steal playing time from Urías or even Westburg if they don't perform down the stretch. I'd still put it as a sub-25% chance, but Mayo's bat could provide an immediate impact if he does get the call.
Connor Norby, Baltimore Orioles
It's odd that Baltimore continues to roll with Adam Frazier at second base given all the exciting young options that they have to play the position like Jordan Westburg or Connor Norby. The latter of which has been raking in Triple-A lately. Norby has a .294/.362/.504 slash line since the beginning of May with 31 doubles, 16 home runs, and eight steals, and has slashed .304/.383/.539 since July 5th. The upside with Norby is a 20/10 caliber bat at the second base position and he could provide sneaky value if Baltimore brings him up to replace Frazier.
Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
Shifting from Baltimore to Detroit, we still have a pair of Tigers that are red-hot in Triple-A and patiently awaiting their promotion to the big club. Starting with Keith, the 2020 5th round pick has racked up 13 doubles and seven home runs in 27 games since the start of August with a .333/.397/.658 slash line. He's also struck out only 14.3% of the time during this span.
You won't find many prospects with a better blend of hit and power in the minor leagues, and possibly getting that blend from the second base position or maybe even 2B/3B would be very enticing to fantasy managers.
Justyn-Henry Malloy, Detroit Tigers
While he doesn't have the super-sexy prospect name or the upside that Keith has, there's no doubting that Justyn-Henry Malloy is one of the better pure hitters in the minor leagues with a higher floor than most. Malloy has spent the entire season with Triple-A Toledo, amassing 24 doubles,. 23 home runs, and a .293/.431/.510 slash line along with an 18.3% walk rate and 23.4% strikeout rate.
Given his blend of hit and power, Malloy could realistically turn into a Bryan Reynolds type of fantasy contributor while being eligible at third base, outfield, or both. Over his last 18 games, Malloy is slashing a ridiculous .419/.581/.855 with nine doubles, six home runs, and more walks (21) than strikeouts (19).
Curtis Mead, Tampa Bay Rays
I'm not sure we've seen the last of Curtis Mead with the Tampa Bay Rays this season. In nine games since he was optioned back to Triple-A Durham on August 25th, Mead has racked up four doubles and three home runs with a .344/.447/.750 slash line. There's not a open spot for him at the moment, but just keep an eye on him if he does get recalled as he could provide value in deeper leagues.
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
As I mentioned with Jackson Holliday above, nothing would 100% surprise me anymore. We've seen a 17-year-old catcher reach Double-A this season and more Double-A to the Majors promotions than I can ever remember having in one season. That's why, I'm not 100% ruling out Tampa Bay getting ballsy and promoting Junior Caminero straight from Double-A. Hey, they've already done that once this season with Osleivis Basabe.
If they do decide to jump Caminero from Double-A to Tampa Bay, he would immediate become a priority add in all league sizes. Honestly, there might not be a better blend of hit and power in the minor leagues right now. Caminero is slashing .332/.394/.601 in 107 games this season along with 28 home runs. Usually, I struggle with player comps and hate to make them, but I can't help but see a right-handed Rafael Devers when it comes to Caminero.
Since July 27th, Caminero is slashing .369/.435/.730 with 12 home runs in 31 games. You can't spell Caminero without STUD. Obviously you can, but you get my point.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers
With Julio Urías likely done for the season (and maybe longer) given his latest bout of legal trouble, the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation suffered another blow as they try to make another deep postseason run. But fortunately, they have plenty of pitching depth, including Gavin Stone who already had a taste of the Majors earlier this season.
While that taste left a bad taste in the mouths of fantasy managers, Stone is coming off one of his best starts of the season on Sunday when he fired six shutout innings with seven strikeouts against Round Rock. It wouldn't surprise me if he received a few more starts with the sudden rotation opening in Los Angeles.
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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