Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (May 2025)

May 19, 2025

Eric Cross' updated fantasy baseball prospect dynasty rankings - his top 100 hitters and pitchers for May 2025. Check out his dynasty prospect risers and fallers.

The first in-season prospect rankings update might be my favorite one of the season. Why? Well, we have new stats, data, and video to comb through along with new batches of breakout prospects.

These MLB prospect rankings are geared toward standard 5x5 fantasy baseball leagues (AVG) and consider many factors, including performance to date, scouting grades, future projection, and video and data analysis. Or, as I like to call it... "PPP," which stands for profile, performance, and projection.

While these dynasty fantasy baseball prospect rankings are more slanted towards long-term fantasy value, proximity and short-term value do play a part in where a prospect lands in my rankings. If you want to see the full Top 500, then head on over to my Patreon!

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: April Update

Prospect notes and analysis can be found in the rankings table below.

Prospect Eligibility: Less than 130 MLB AB or 50 IP (I'm ignoring service time)

Rankings Updated: May 2025

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Notes

Leodalis De Vries, San Diego Padres, and Jesus Made, Milwaukee Brewers

While Roman Anthony is still No. 1 overall, the trio of Kristian Campbell, Jasson Dominguez, and Dylan Crews have all graduated, which opened up the remainder of the Top-5 for new players to jump up into that second tier. With Walker Jenkins missing time again, he wasn't a candidate to stay in that Top-5, so Leo De Vries, Jesús Made, and the recently promoted Nick Kurtz jumped up into the Top-5 along with Jordan Lawlar returning to the mix after sliding down rankings in 2024.

Kurtz will fall off the list soon, and Lawlar might as well before my June update, but De Vries and Made could be mainstays in the Top-5 for the next 12-18 months, or even longer for Made.

As an 18-year-old in High-A, De Vries is slashing .277/.359/.491 with four home runs, three steals, an 11.6% walk rate, and a 20.9% strikeout rate in 29 games. The bat stands out for any age with plus raw power that should tick up even further, and De Vries currently has a 78% contact rate.

"He is just otherworldly!"@Padres top-ranked prospect Leo De Vries (@TinCaps) is the youngest player in the High-A Midwest League ... and has the third-highest OPS (.945) after this homer! pic.twitter.com/28bskldLIu

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 29, 2025

As for Made, he's showing that his dominant showing in the Dominican Summer League last summer was no fluke and is cementing his spot as one of the best prospects in baseball. Made has three home runs and 13 steals in his first 27 game as an 18-year-old in Low-A along with a .306/.406/.454 slash lime, 13.4% walk rate, and a 22.8% strikeout rate.

Made brings plus speed and plus power potential to the table and is very advanced for his age, both in terms of making contact and his approach at the plate. We could be looking at an infielder who winds up as plus across the board offensively down the road.

Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates

Jumping up into the sixth spot and into the second tier as well this month is Konnor Griffin of the Pittsburgh Pirates. There are a lot of talented prospects in the low minors with considerable upside, but Griffin might have the highest ceiling for fantasy of any current prospect in baseball if everything clicks for him.

It hasn't taken Griffin long to showcase that upside either. In his first 30 professional games down in Low-A Bradenton, Griffin has already racked up 14 extra-base hits, seven home runs, 15 steals, and is slashing .296/.350/.528.

Griffin is a premium athlete with double-plus speed and plus raw power, but the key for Griffin long-term will be the development of his hit tool. Even with the sexy surface stats, Griffin has only walked six times (4.3%) to 39 strikeouts (28.3%) and currently has a 13.2% SwStr rate. However, his contact rate has been fine at 74% so far.

He's still raw and the approach needs refinement, but the upside is enormous and even a 50-grade hit tool could allow Griffin to become a star for fantasy purposes.

Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds

After another impressive outing yesterday, Chase Burns now has a 2.35 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 6.0% walk rate, and a 41.4% strikeout rate through his first seven professional starts. At this point, Burns has to be in the discussion for best pitching prospects in baseball and is currently my No. 4 pitching prospect behind Bubba Chandler, Andrew Painter, and Jackson Jobe.

Chase Burns: 3 K's in 3 scoreless IP 🔥

Watch what the @Reds top prospect does next: https://t.co/jIW8WWE8rV pic.twitter.com/eXKjQ718au

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 14, 2025

Burns features an elite four-seam/slider mix with both pitches easily grading as plus and maybe even double-plus. He'll also mix in a curveball and changeup, both of which are at least average offerings and flash higher. On top of all of that, Burns has shown above-average command and control over his entire arsenal. There's a good chance that Burns will be the No. 1 pitching prospect in the game by the end of the season.

Luis Peña, Milwaukee Brewers

Another sizeable jump in my May rankings was Luis Peña catapulting from 134 to 43 overall and into the same tier as Bryce Rainer, Carson Williams, Emil Morales, and Colt Emerson. The 18-year-old Peña is off to a great start in Low-A Carolina, slashing .318/.398/.459 with nine extra-base hits, 20 steals, and more walks (10) than strikeouts (nine) in 21 games.

With Peña, the elite speed immediately stands out as a double-plus or better runner who is also extremely efficient stealing bases. Peña now has 59 steals in 65 minor league games and has only been caught six times. That's an elite 90.7% success rate. Outside of his speed, Peña is running an 81.5% contact rate, 9.3% SwStr rate, 10.2% walk rate, and a 9.2% strikeout rate this season. All of those are impressive, especially for an 18-year-old in Low-A.

The big X-Factor here for Peña will be how much power he develops. As of now, Peña is a below-average power bat, but does have some projection left on his frame to add some bulk. Even as a 12-15 homer player, Peña could develop into a high-impact player for fantasy given his blend of contact, approach, and elite speed. But the power questions are why I can't push him into my Top-25 overall just yet.

Charlie Condon, Colorado Rockies

You'll notice that Charlie Condon has dropped over 50 spots since the start of the season for me. Frankly, he's probably going to be out of my Top 100 in my June update if he doesn't turn things around. Last season, I didn't drop Condon much at all after he struggled mightily in minor league games following the draft as he was coming off two dominant collegiate seasons and was dealing with a wrist issue.

However, now those struggles have carried over into 2025, and Chris Welsh discussed his concerns with Condon when he joined me on the latest episode of The Toolshed. Welsh has seen Condon out in the Arizona Complex Level recently, and Condon has looked bad facing younger competition. It's far too soon to be out on Condon, but his value is in a free fall right now.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see the full Top 500 along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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