Fantasy Baseball Prospects Stash List: Ready to Make a Splash for Redraft Leagues (Week 13)

After a successful career at James Madison, the Guardians selected DeLauter with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft. While injuries have been a significant factor in his career, his performance was strong when DeLauter was on the field. Standing at 6’3”, DeLauter has one of the best combinations of athleticism and size in the minors. The swing takes flak from some because it is compact and has a short follow-through, but that has not affected his ability to hit for power or make consistent contact. The barrel control is elite, and the swing creates a natural loft.

If you have questions about whether DeLauter’s swing can play, look under the hood. The power is easily plus based on the average and 90th percentile exit velocities. He lifts the ball with ease and posts ideal launch angles consistently, and when you run a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph, you will get homers.

The contact is intense, and DeLauter has a zone contact rate of 84 percent with an overall contact rate of 78 percent. The plate discipline is also good, as he picks his spots well and chases just 13 percent of pitches out of the zone, putting the strike zone recognition at plus or better.

Cleveland has no reason to waste bullets. DeLauter is often injured and is heating up in Triple-A. It is time for a promotion, especially considering DeLauter has hits in eight of his last nine games and has 12 hits over that span. He has struck out just four times and walked seven. Get him to Cleveland!

Burns legitimately looks like one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Now in Triple-A, he is knocking on the door of his MLB debut. In 66 innings pitched, Burns has a 1.77 ERA with 89 strikeouts to just 13 walks. That is good for a 36.8 percent strikeout rate, while walking just 5.4 percent of hitters. While home runs were an issue early in the year, it has been over a month since he allowed one.

The fastball averages 99 mph and can touch 102 mph with 20 inches of IVB on average. He cut-rides it, which actually plays well, and misses bats at a very high clip. The slider is the primary secondary, and between it and the four-seam, Burns uses those two around 90 percent of the time. The slider sits around 90 mph with good depth and six inches of sweeping action.

The added curveball gives him a pitch with nine north-to-south movements but also maintains the sweep. It registered at -7 IVB compared to his -1 IVB slider, but kept the eight inches of horizontal movement. It sits in the low 80s.

The changeup has solid traits as well, showing good carry and fading action while sitting around 90 mph. Burns will need to utilize more than just his fastball and slider, but right now, it is working. Burns could get the call quite soon to join the Reds rotation, and you want him to be on your fantasy rosters when he does.