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Andersen looks at the top fantasy baseball prospects risers, sleepers for Week 6 of 2025. These MLB prospects may become strong waiver wire stashes or pickups.
Welcome back, RotoBallers! We're heading into Week 6 of the baseball season, and the minor league schedule is in full swing. During last week's action, there were plenty of big plays and impressive prospect performances throughout Minor League Baseball.
Monitoring the top fantasy baseball prospects who have turned heads thus far is imperative. The players listed here are coming off dominant weeks and have significant long-term upside. Don't be surprised when these exact names are painting corners, mashing homers, and swiping bags at the big league level soon.
Savvy fantasy managers looking for an edge in their leagues should watch these players over the long haul, as they may soon be excellent additions.
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Felipe De La Cruz, SP, New York Mets
Level: Triple-A
2025 stats: 5 G, 3 GS, 0-1, 19.2 IP, 1.39 ERA, 2.19 xFIP, 13.27 K/9, 1.37 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, 40.5% GB%, .238 BABIP
De La Cruz is a 23-year-old southpaw who was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. He has made relief appearances in his five minor league seasons but primarily operates out of the rotation. Regardless of his role, though, De La Cruz tends to pitch well, work efficiently, and get productive results.
De La Cruz is best known for his mid-90s fastball, and he also throws a slider and changeup. These two secondary offerings are not nearly as lethal as his heater, but they could become above-average offerings with a little more development. He also has near-elite command, allowing him to locate his pitches with pinpoint accuracy and retire batters quite efficiently.
His skills were on display once again last week. In his fifth start of the season on Friday, De La Cruz tossed six shutout innings, allowing one hit and zero walks along the way. He continued to showcase his ability to hit the strike zone with nine strikeouts.
Felipe De La Cruz was NASTY yesterday in his first start for the @SyracuseMets! 🤮
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 9 K. He was up to 97 mph with his fastball, and threw strikes on 75% of his pitches! pic.twitter.com/uVwTKR06yl
— Mets Player Development (@MetsPlayerDev) May 3, 2025
Otto Kemp, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
Level: Triple-A
2025 stats: 32 G, .344/.433/.703, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 30 R, 5 SB, 9.3% BB%, 24.7% K%, .415 BABIP, .489 wOBA, 196 wRC+
Kemp, a product of Point Loma Nazarene University, signed with the Phillies after going undrafted in 2022. He has slowly progressed through the minor league ranks, including playing at four different levels from High-A up to Triple-A last season. At age 25, he's on the older side for prospects to watch, but his performance has simply been too hard to ignore.
Kemp's strikeout rate is a little higher than what we'd like to see, but he makes up for it with his ability to draw walks and mash the baseball. He owns a 1.446 OPS against lefties and a .458 OBP with runners in scoring position. His 10 home runs rank atop the International League leaderboard, and he routinely makes very solid contact. Defensively, he projects best as a corner infielder; he will get a chance to stay at the hot corner but could always shift to first base.
Last week, Kemp went 13-for-29 with three homers, 14 RBI, three walks, and nine strikeouts. He also doubled three times and stole a base. He has looked like one of the best hitters in all of Minor League Baseball, but he is heavily blocked on the big league roster by Alec Bohm and other depth hitters. For Kemp to get the call, he'd likely need a hitter on the 26-man roster to suffer an injury.
Otto Kemp has been named the @MiLB April International Player of the Month! Congratulations Otto! pic.twitter.com/ufmNgKFDPm
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) May 5, 2025
Joe Whitman, SP, San Francisco Giants
Level: Double-A
2025 stats: 5 G, 5 GS, 1-3, 20.1 IP, 5.31 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 12.39 K/9, 2.66 BB/9, 0.89 HR/9, 31.9% GB%, .244 BABIP
The Giants selected Whitman with the 69th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The southpaw is currently 23 years old and played his college ball at Kent State. He has an impressive starting pitcher's frame at 6-foot-5, and he has continued to improve and develop ever since being drafted.
Whitman headlines his repertoire with a mid-90s fastball and a slider that can miss bats horizontally. Neither pitch is extremely advanced, but both are average (or slightly above) offerings. He rounds out the three-pitch mix with a changeup that lags and needs more development before he can deploy it confidently. The hurler's best trait might be his blend of control and command, as he has been able to locate his pitches and maintain a high K/BB rate.
Whitman's best start of the season came last Saturday against Somerset. He went six full innings, allowing zero runs, zero hits, and zero walks. He continued to miss bats with ease, striking out a season-high 10 batters. This outing was not only impressive but also much-needed after Whitman surrendered 12 runs over 14.1 innings in April.
Zero percent dairy, zero baserunners allowed!🥛@SFGiants prospect Joe Whitman spins six perfect innings for the @GoSquirrels with the Oat Milkers threads on. pic.twitter.com/67Nh50Cdy5
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 4, 2025
Mac Horvath, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Level: High-A
2025 stats: 22 G, .256/.385/.474, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 19 R, 7 SB, 16.7% BB%, 28.1% K%, .319 BABIP, .398 wOBA, 142 wRC+
The Orioles selected Horvath in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft before trading him to the Rays last summer. He played college ball at UNC and spent time at Triple-A in each of his last three seasons. Now 23 years old, it seems like he's inching closer to a Double-A promotion.
Horvath is a decent hitter with the potential for above-average power. He can also slap the ball in play and use his speed to leg out infield hits or turn outfield singles into doubles. His patience at the plate has allowed him to maintain high rates throughout the lower levels of affiliated ball, but he also strikes out more than we'd expect. Defensively, Horvath has experience playing all over the infield and outfield, but third base appears to be his long-term home.
Last week, Horvath went 7-for-19 with four homers, 10 RBI, five walks, and five strikeouts. He also stole two bases and registered a double. While Horvath's on-base percentage and strikeout rate are not very pleasant, his power, speed, and walk rate make him an intriguing name to watch in the lower levels of Minor League Baseball.
Return of the Mac!!
In Mac Horvath’s return to Aberdeen, he came within just one RBI of tying the Hot Rods’ franchise record, crushing a 3-run homer and a grand slam in back-to-back innings.
#RevItUp | #MiLB pic.twitter.com/Tqdj6YsoW6
— Bowling Green Hot Rods (@BGHotRods) April 30, 2025
Gage Jump, SP, Athletics
Level: High-A
2025 stats: 5 G, 4 GS, 3-1, 23.0 IP, 2.74 ERA, 1.75 FIP, 14.48 K/9, 1.96 BB/9, 0.39 HR/9, 24.5% GB%, .333 BABIP
Jump parlayed dominant high school and college careers into being the 73rd overall pick in last summer's draft. A 2022 Tommy John surgery added a wrinkle to his draft stock, but he pitched well enough at LSU to remain an intriguing name for scouting departments across Major League Baseball.
Jump sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and has shown an ability to get strikes by elevating the pitch in the zone. His curveball and slider both succeed at adding an element of movement to his arsenal, and he rounds out his repertoire with a below-average changeup. The southpaw should remain stretched out as a starter for his full career, but he projects best as a back-end rotation piece.
Pitching last Thursday, Jump allowed just one hit over five shutout innings. He added to his impressive pitching line with seven strikeouts and zero walks. The A's have no reason to rush him through the minor league system, but as a productive 22-year-old in High-A, Jump should earn a promotion to Double-A very soon.
The more I see of Gage Jump (ATH), the more I am convinced that he is the next big pitching prospect!
His fastball is already one of the best in MiLB as it sits 95-97 MPH and gets a ton of ride from a lower slot. Once his secondaries click, watch out!pic.twitter.com/qfdH3DQcdL
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 28, 2025
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