Top-5 Hitter Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Stash For Week 9 - Redraft Leagues (2025)

May 24, 2025

Kevin Luo's top hitter fantasy baseball prospects to stash for Week 9 (2025). His MLB prospects to pick up and stash on your bench and N/A spots in redraft leagues.

The biggest hitting prospect call-up news this week was in Chicago, where Matt Shaw was called back to the majors, and Moises Ballesteros was sent back down to Triple-A when Ian Happ returned from the IL.

There are still quite a few prospects on the precipice of the majors that will make an impact for fantasy this season, hopefully in the very near future.

Let's take a look at a few top prospects to stash for Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season.

Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox

The Worcester Red Sox threw Roman Anthony a mini celebration for his 21st birthday, but I'm sure he was hoping to spend the big 2-1 in Boston.

we threw roman anthony a 21st birthday party 🥳 🎈

watch the whole celebration here ⬇️https://t.co/lFUraJrFD3 pic.twitter.com/3coiDaNXzu

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) May 23, 2025

Anthony has been in every single one of my prospects to stash articles, so I'm begging Boston to call him up. At this point, it's unclear what they're waiting for. Do they need an injury in their outfield to get him to the big leagues?

Anthony, the arguable top prospect in baseball, is having another strong season at Triple-A with a 159 WRC+ and a matching 19.9 percent strikeout and walk rate.

Whenever Anthony gets the call, he'll be a starting-caliber outfielder in all formats with five-category upside.

Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals

The fantasy community was put on Jac Caglianone alert when he got the call to Triple-A earlier this week.

Cags was having a monster season at Double-A with nine HRs and a 154 WRC+. He just hit his first Triple-A HR of the season on Thursday night.

First AAA bomb is 113.6 mph off the bat for Jac Caglianone. 410 feet in like 2.5 seconds it feels like. pic.twitter.com/HQmmFmksj5

— Preston Farr (@royalsminors) May 23, 2025

Few players in the majors hit the ball as hard as Caglianone. It's unclear whether the Royals will wait for him to "master" Triple-A before bringing him to Kansas City, but a few hot weeks could force their hand.

With the Royals dealing with a few big injuries to their pitching staff right now, Cole Ragans (groin) and Seth Lugo (finger), it's even more important that they get some more juice from their offense, which has been anemic so far this season outside of Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia.

When Cags gets the call to the majors, he has the potential to be a top-12 first baseman for the rest of the season, as he'll likely put up massive power numbers. If he can keep his K-rate in the low 20s as he's done so far in the minors this season, that assessment might not be high enough.

Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Baltimore Orioles

I'm not saying calling up Samuel Basallo would save the train wreck of a season that the Orioles are having, but it can't hurt.

Basallo hit two more tanks on Thursday night, bringing his season home run total to nine. He also had a 128 WRC+ before his big night.

Samuel Basallo leaves the yard again! ✌️

MLB's No. 16 prospect (@Orioles) launches one 107.2 mph for his second long ball of the night for the Triple-A @NorfolkTides. pic.twitter.com/fxkMnM1S0H

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 23, 2025

While Adley Rutschman is locked into the primary catcher role, the Orioles have plenty of holes in their lineup right now and should be able to find ABs for Basallo at catcher, first base, and DH.

While we've had an influx of young catchers emerge onto the scene this season, Basallo has as much upside as any of them, especially in the power department. He should be on the radar for anyone in two-catcher leagues and has the upside to be a solid starting option in one-catcher leagues.

Colby Thomas, OF, Athletics

Do the A's have too many good hitters? A few years ago, a prospect hitting as well in the upper minors as Colby Thomas would have had a spot available on the A's at almost any time.

The A's already have a crowded outfield, and as I'm typing this, I see Jeff Passan tweet out that they're calling up Denzel Clarke, another top outfield prospect, to the majors.

Thomas got a ton of prospect hype this offseason after he had 31 HRs, 15 SBs, and a 126 WRC+ across Double-A and Triple-A last season. He's followed up his breakout season with another strong start in Triple-A. He hit his 11th HR Thursday night.

Colby Thomas (#2 A’s prospect) goes yard!

A towering shot to left for his 11th of the year!

The Aviators blow it wide open!#AviatorsUp pic.twitter.com/yL4vOlrUzH

— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) May 23, 2025

It's unclear what Thomas' path to the majors will be this season, and the path got even more crowded with Clarke's promotion. However, when he gets the call, he has massive power upside, especially in playing half his games in the launching pad, which is the Athletics' home park in Sacramento.

Marcelo Mayer, SS/2B, Boston Red Sox

Marcelo Mayer has played second base for three straight games at Triple-A. Kristian Campbell is getting work at first base. The puzzle pieces are starting to come together for Mayer to get the call.

This was a popular solution that Red Sox fans were clamoring for to get one of their star prospects to the majors once Triston Casas was ruled out for the season.

Although Mayer isn't having a great offensive season so far (109 WRC+), he has hit for solid power with eight HRs and kept his K-rate under 20 percent. These two components will be the biggest factors for his fantasy upside when he gets the call to the majors, as he won't provide much speed.

While I didn't expect Mayer to get the call before Anthony, it's looking like the Red Sox are starting to adjust their lineup to accommodate him. When he gets the call, I'd expect a solid midfield option with bigger upside when he gets 2B eligibility.

Five Other Prospects to Consider Stashing

• Moises Ballesteros
• Brady House
• Bryce Eldridge
• Otto Kemp
• Emmanuel Rodriguez

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