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Chris's fantasy baseball prospects to stash list for Week 9 of 2025. HIs top MLB prospects and rookie sleepers to make fantasy impacts this year when called up.
Welcome, friends, to the 2025 MLB season, and my weekly article about fantasy baseball prospects to stash heading into Week 9. Who are the top prospects you need to know for redraft leagues? I have you covered with names like Jac Caglianone, Shay Whitcomb, Andrew Painter, and more!
Winning in a fantasy baseball redraft league requires a nice blend of high-floor players and upside shots. While prospects present more risk in a one-year setting, such as a redraft league, they pay big dividends if they succeed. The reward could be huge if these players receive adequate playing time and perform well.
Throughout the season, there will be plenty of prospects who will get promoted and make an impact on their respective MLB teams and fantasy teams. Getting ahead of the curve on these players can pay huge dividends regarding FAAB bids. You can save money and have your league mates question how you are already in on that player so far in advance. Here are this week's fantasy baseball prospects to stash. These players can make a splash in redraft leagues for the remainder of the 2025 season and are expected to debut in the big leagues soon.
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Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals
Caglianone has made all the necessary tweaks to take his bat to the next level. He hit his way to Triple-A and is one stop away from being in Kansas City. That opportunity might come sooner rather than later. Now, he is also getting work in the outfield, which may slow play promotions a bit, but that was largely why he stayed in Double-A as long as he did.
After mashing 33 home runs in 2023 at Florida, Caglianone followed it up with an impressive 35 in 2024 while improving all significant metrics. The slash line ended at .419/.544/.875, and he improved his walk rate from 5.3 percent in 2023 to 18.4 percent in 2024. All the while, he cut his strikeout rate from 18 percent to 8.2 percent.
Gains have been real on the contact side in pro ball this year too, and the approach is cleaned up. The chase rate has dropped around six percentage points and sits around 34 percent. The contact rate sits around 75 percent and on pitches in the zone around 80 percent.
The power is the calling card, though. Caglianone's 90th percentile exit velocity being north of 111 mph is absurd and one of the highest marks in all of baseball.
We know the power is off the charts here with Caglianone. It is a special power bat. We could see him hitting majestic homers in the Majors soon.
Shay Whitcomb, INF/OF, Houston Astros
Whitcomb is fixing to hit his way back into an Astros lineup as he mashes in Triple-A. Sure, he has struck out six times in the last two games, but look at the larger picture. Whitcomb has 13 home runs and 13 doubles in 44 games this year and is slashing .253/.340/.559. The strikeout rate has hovered around 25 percent, and Whitcomb has shown major improvements in contact, especially on swings in the zone, running an 87.5 percent in-zone contact rate.
Under the hood, things look good as well. Whitcomb has topped out at 111 mph and has a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. His average exit velocity of 91 mph stands out, as well as a 46 percent hard-hit rate.
The swing decisions have improved as well as the season has gone on, and Whitcomb now has his chase rate below 30 percent. His 60 percent pulled fly ball rate helps him get the most out of his power and will help him in Houston with the Crawford boxes. Buy in and stash him in redraft leagues. After a slow start to the season, Whitcomb has picked things up and suddenly looks like he could contribute to the Astros’ lineup at any point.
Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
We were told this offseason that July seemed like a possible timeline for Painter, but considering he is in Triple-A and going five innings at this point, an MLB debut might be closer than we think. While it has been just 19 innings so far this season, Painter has built up each start and now has a 3.26 ERA in 19.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and six walks.
So far, Painter has sat at 97 mph on his fastball and touched 100 mph. The velocity is fully back, and Painter's fastball averages around 18 inches of IVB from a 6'6" release height. The velocity being back is significant. The command will only get better with the pitch, but it already looks like the plus offering that it was pre-surgery.
Painter's cutter has been his most-used secondary pitch. It is around 90 mph with good spin and carry, and misses bats at an impressive clip for a cutter. The slider is around 86 mph with more depth and nine inches of sweep and plays well off the cutter.
The curveball has remained strong, sitting between 80-82 mph. It has shown depth and sweeping action, averaging negative three inches of IVB and 10 inches of sweeping action. Painter has thrown his changeup sparingly this year as a distant fifth pitch. It sits around 90 mph with carry and 12 inches of fading action.
We are still probably two to four weeks from seeing Painter in the Majors, but he may be worth stashing now.
Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox
Every passing day, it becomes harder to understand why Anthony is still in Triple-A. He is currently on a 10-game hitting streak and has been on base in every game in May(17). For the season, Anthony is slashing .322/.342/.520 with as many walks as strikeouts. He has homered six times and has 16 extra-base hits in 42 games.
He is hitting the cover off the ball. Anthony currently has an average exit velocity of 95 mph which jumps to 101 mph on balls hit in the air, and his 90th percentile exit velocity is an elite 108 mph. While Anthony's biggest flaw is his ground ball rate, he still runs a 20 percent barrel rate this season.
Anthony's contact rate sits at 72 percent, but his in-zone contact rate sits near 85 percent. The chase rate is an impressive 18 percent. The crazy thing is Anthony nursed a sore shoulder for a while and still put up gaudy numbers. He is ready for the Majors. It is time that Craig Breslow is ready and creates a spot in the Red Sox lineup for Anthony.
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