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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Bubba Chandler, Samuel Basallo, Andrew Painter - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
This season, fantasy managers have been rewarded with high production if they have the right prospects. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz is emerging as a top-10 first baseman, while right-handed pitcher Chase Burns is flashing elite strikeout upside.
In this piece, we will look at three top prospects and determine if fantasy managers should stash them in Week 15 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!
Bubba Chandler, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 67 1/3 IP, 3.07 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 86 SO, 35 BB
After months of being viewed as a must-stash prospect, the No. 2-ranked prospect in baseball saw his short-term stock drop significantly during June.
Chandler has had a disastrous June, which has caused his prospect stock to plummet. During June, the No. 2-ranked prospect on MLB.com posted an 8.53 ERA with a 2.29 WHIP. During these 12 2/3 innings (five starts), the right-hander served up 12 walks and struck out just 11 batters.
However, Chandler has already begun to get back on track. On July 4, the top prospect in the Steel City tossed six shutout frames against Triple-A Louisville. In this start, he allowed just five hits and served up two walks. He struck out six. While Chandler will need to enjoy several of these outings consecutively to re-enter the must-stash conversation, this was a significant step in the right direction.
Before June, Chandler appeared to be the next budding pitcher in baseball, logging 48 2/3 innings to the tune of a 2.03 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP. During this stretch, Chandler struck out 69 batters and served up just 21 walks. During his first taste of Triple-A last summer, Chandler posted a remarkable 1.83 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP through 39 1/3 innings.
If Chandler can continue to lower his walk rate, he should be in the mix to join the Pirates later in July.
Make it SIX scoreless frames from Bubba Chandler!
MLB's No. 5 prospect (@Pirates) generates 14 whiffs on 39 swings and strikes out six for the Triple-A @indyindians. pic.twitter.com/uGamaE2wLm
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 5, 2025
-Written by Andy Smith
Samuel Basallo, C, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 15% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 57 G, .253/.372/.547, 8 2B, 16 HR, 51 SO, 36 BB
If you've been stashing Samuel Basallo, you're probably pretty disappointed right about now. The Baltimore Orioles currently have not one, not two, not three, but four catchers on the injured list, and are now rolling with the duo of Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson. Meanwhile, Basallo continues to wait for his opportunity while mashing home runs in Triple-A. However, if it hasn't happened after four catchers are placed on the IL, I don't have a lot of confidence that we'll see Basallo in the Majors anytime soon.
If you've deeper benches and can afford to keep using a bench spot on Basallo, even if you've been stashing him, I'm not opposed to keeping him there due to the upside he possesses once he gets the call. However, those in leagues with shallower benches might find it a bit more difficult to hold the consensus top catching prospect in the game.
As I mentioned above, Basallo has been mashing in Triple-A with 16 home runs in 57 games, along with a 94.3 mph AVG EV, 58.5% hard-hit rate, and a 19.7% barrel rate. But Basallo is still a work in progress behind the plate and might be better suited for a 1B/DH role long-term, which is likely a large part of the holdup when it comes to bringing him up to Baltimore.
While Basallo's upside is unquestioned, he may have to wait until later in the second half to earn a promotion. As a result, managers in shallower leagues should look to leave him on the waiver wire for the time being.
To all of #Birdland that thinks continuing to develop Samuel Basallo is prioritizing draft picks or control over wins. These are the #'s for Jac Caglione, the consensus best hitting prospect when he was brought up, he's struggling mightily. Bringing Sam up doesn't make you a… pic.twitter.com/TCWGCUqodP
— Gunnar Adleyson (@heelcrazy9981) July 7, 2025
- Written by Eric Cross
Andrew Painter, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 10% rostered
2025 MiLB stats: 56 2/3 IP, 4.45 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 64 SO, 20 BB
After months of sitting behind Chase Burns, Jacob Misiorowski, and Bubba Chandler, the top prospect in Philadelphia is finally viewed as the top pitching prospect to stash. Painter has been slowly working his way back from Tommy John and is officially on the must-watch list. Earlier this season, Phillies manager Rob Thomson noted that Painter was not expected to get the call to the majors until July.
More importantly, Painter has begun to turn the corner at Triple-A at the right time.
In his most recent outing on July 3, Painter struck out an impressive seven batters across five innings of four-run ball. Since allowing six runs on June 10, the former 13th overall pick has posted a 3.72 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 23:8 K:BB over his last 19 1/3 innings of work.
This is an excellent sign as Painter posted a hefty 5.19 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP during his first 26 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier this season. Painter opened the campaign with Low-A and held a 12:1 K:BB through 11 1/3 innings of five-run ball.
While Painter may not get the call until after the All-Star break, he has an excellent opportunity to be in the mix in the near future as the Phillies recently sent down right-hander Mick Abel. Abel was promoted from Triple-A to replace Aaron Nola, who was placed on the 60-day IL. However, given Abel's struggles, the Phillies opted to turn back to veteran Taijuan Walker in the short term.
However, Walker has also not found much success this season. Painter could make his MLB debut as early as next week, especially if Walker continues to stumble as a starting pitcher.
Painter is a must-stash option in all 12-team leagues going forward.
The #Phillies will have an opening in their rotation after the All-Star break, and might use top-ranked prospect Andrew Painter to fill it 👀
MLB's No. 10 overall prospect has 52 K's over 45 1/3 frames at Triple-A this season: https://t.co/j23OIYIw98 pic.twitter.com/MBMgDBedHj
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 4, 2025
- Written by Andy Smith
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