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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Harry Ford, Chase DeLauter, Brice Matthews - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
Through the first half of the 2025 MLB season, fantasy managers have seen several prospects make a high impact in the major leagues. After a slow start, both Nick Kurtz and Cam Smith are establishing themselves as must-start hitters.
In this piece, we will look at three top prospects at the Triple-A level and determine if they should be viewed as must-stash players in Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season.
Should those players be left on the waiver wire, or should fantasy managers add them before their breakout? Let's dive in!
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Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 60 G, .311/.426/.469, 12 2B, 8 HR, 47 SO, 43 BB
I'm cheating a little by including Harry Ford in this list, as there are reports that he will be heading to Seattle and added to the Mariners' taxi squad.
Harry Ford will join the Mariners tomorrow in Arlington, at the very least on their taxi squad and until they further determine the status of Mitch Garver.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) June 27, 2025
Harry Ford is an extremely exciting offensive catching prospect. However, there has been some uncertainty around the Mariners' plan for him, as they have a player behind the plate named Cal Raleigh.
Ford has consistently produced at every stop in his professional career so far, as he has achieved a minimum of 130 WRC+ at every level. This year, he's maybe having his best season with a 135 WRC+ and eight HRs. He's also walking almost as much as he's striking out with a 15.5 percent BB-rate and a 17.0 percent K-rate.
Another exciting aspect of Ford's game is his impressive base-stealing skills. While he only has three SBs so far this season, he stole 35 last year in Double-A.
If Mitch Garver is injured, it should open up some playing time backing up Raleigh and playing DH. It's unclear how often Ford will be in the lineup, but since he's literally on the cusp of the majors, he's worth a speculative catcher as he can provide a lot of upside at catcher if he gets enough playing time.
Even if Garver makes a quick return and Ford gets sent back to Triple-A, he may only be a few weeks away from his "true" MLB debut. Ford has established himself as one of the top catching prospects in the sport.
-Written by Kevin Luo
Chase DeLauter, OF, Cleveland Guardians
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 24 G, .314/.434/.500, 5 2B, 3 HR, 13 SO, 19 BB
It should be just a matter of time at this point for DeLauter to get the call to join the Guardians. A feature in last week's article, DeLauter keeps hitting, and after a multi-hit performance on Wednesday, DeLauter is up to an 11-game hit streak with five extra base hits over that span. When on the field, DeLauter performs.
The problem is that injuries have kept him off the field for large portions of his career.
After a successful career at James Madison University, 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-foot-3, DeLauter has one of the best combinations of athleticism and size in the minors.
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. His barrel rate sits at a solid 10 percent.
DeLauter continues to flash elite upside at Triple-A and has yet to slow down. He is a viable stash option in all 12-team formats as he appears to be on the verge of earning the call to Cleveland.
That's a Chase DeLauter home run to start the game for the @CLBClippers!
DeLauter has now reached base in 25 consecutive games and has a 13-game hit streak🔥 pic.twitter.com/LJ15NW4h7E
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) June 28, 2025
- Written by Chris Clegg
Brice Matthews, INF, Houston Astros
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 65 G, .285/.401/.490, 11 2B, 10 HR, 83 SO, 45 BB, 22 SB
Matthews was an analytic darling in the 2023 draft out of Nebraska, whom the Astros plucked at the end of the first round. A patient hitter with a strong feel for the strike zone, Matthews chased less than 20 percent of pitches out of the zone at Nebraska in 2023. During his final collegiate season, Matthews hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases while slashing .359/.481/.723 and striking out just 20 percent of the time.
With 15 homers and 32 stolen bases in 2024, Matthews showed an impressive power/speed combo. This year, Matthews has spent the year in Triple-A and put up quite strong surface numbers. With nine home runs and 22 extra-base hits, Matthews has also swiped 22 bags, showcasing five-category upside.
Matthews is a stellar athlete, which is evident when you see him in person and watch him run. He steals bases with ease, getting great reads and jumps. The power upside is there, as Matthews posted a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity with strong batted ball angles.
The biggest concern with Matthews is his ability to make contact. Matthews has a 64 percent and a 74 percent in-zone contact rate. The approach is good as Matthews is running just a 20 percent chase rate and an average zone swing rate.
Matthews has spent a large portion of the year playing second base, which is probably the weakest point of the Astros' roster. I am not sure how well the Jose Altuve experiment in left field is going, but Mauricio Dubon has continued to play second base. Matthews could take that spot soon.
His defensive versatility could open a spot for him in Houston sooner than expected. Given his elite production in Triple-A, he is worth holding on your bench in all 12+ team formats.
Brice Matthews. 459 ft 🤯
The @astros' No. 1 prospect crushes a 106.7 mph moonshot, raising his OPS to .891 for the Triple-A @SLSpaceCowboys. pic.twitter.com/z8FUjcjvEu
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 28, 2025
- Written by Chris Clegg
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