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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Samuel Basallo, C.J. Kayfus, Dylan Beavers - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
During the first half of the campaign, fantasy managers have seen many high-end prospects earn the call to the big leagues and flash immediate upside. For example, the Brewers have promoted their top two pitching prospects, Logan Henderson and Jacob Misiorowski, who have both been must-start players when in the majors.
In this piece, we will look at a first baseman in Cleveland who recently got the call, and two top-hitting prospects in the Baltimore system who are now on the verge of rejoining the big leagues.
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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Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 15% rostered
2025 AAA Stats:66 G, .273/.385/.599, 14 2B, 20 HR, 0 SB
The Orioles traded Ryan O'Hearn to the Padres, so we are officially on Samuel Basallo watch. When the Orioles refused to call him up after their barrage of catcher injuries, I predicted this would be the move that would create the opportunity in Baltimore for Basallo at first base and DH.
This is a lost year for the Orioles, so they should want to give their young talent as much opportunity as possible to get them ready to help them compete next season.
Basallo is one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He's done nothing but hit in his major league career, and that has continued this season at Triple-A. He's still only 20 years old and has a 154 WRC+ with 20 HRs. He has impressive power along with a very advanced approach at the plate.
Samuel Basallo is up to 20 HRs in 63 games: OPS 1.1019
Still only 20 years old. He needs to be in the majors, gotta keep challenging the kid. Crushes all pitch types. Hits the ball super hard, makes his best contact in the air. Nick Kurtz as a catcher? pic.twitter.com/js80f8DMOi— Eli Ben-Porat 🇨🇦 (@EliBenPorat) July 26, 2025
While it looks like Basallo won't actually play much catcher, that might be better for his fantasy appeal this season. When he gets the call, he should be viewed as a starting-caliber catcher in all formats due to his immense power upside.
If Basallo were to shift over to first base, he could see his draft value climb quite high as you could play him as a catcher, but he would see nearly every day at-bats covering first base.
-Written by Kevin Luo
C.J. Kayfus, 1B, Cleveland Guardians
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA stats: 68 G, .283/.367/.526, 14 2B, 13 HR, 2 SB
Kayfus is not your typical build for a first baseman. While listed at 6-foot-zero and 192 pounds, Kayfus is shorter than that based on my eyes and seeing him at All-Star weekend. It has not stopped him from hitting, as Kayfus dominated in Double-A and quickly moved to Triple-A, where he continued to hit.
In 369 plate appearances, with the majority coming in Triple-A, Kayfus has mashed 14 home runs and has a .300/.390/.539 slash line. Kayfus's 40 extra base hits in 86 games stand out in a big way, and Kayfus just continues to perform despite not lighting up the statcast leaderboards.
Strikeouts have always been an issue as Kayfus moves up to new levels. Upon his promotion to Triple-A this season, Kayfus punched out at a rate north of 27 percent. The contact rates and approach have been close to average, with an overall contact rate of 72 percent this year, and an in-zone contact rate of around 84 percent. The chase rate has hovered around 28 percent for the season.
The exit velocities are close to average, with an 88 mph average exit velocity and a 90th percentile of 104 mph. The launch angles help the profile play up, though, as Kayfus has a strong 40 percent sweet spot rate, which has led to a barrel rate just shy of 10 percent.
While Kayfus likely won't be a fantasy stud in the majors, he does have traits that could make him an everyday regular. Kayfus should be on his way to Cleveland. In fact, the Guardians finally promoted their top first base prospect over the weekend.
Given his upside for power and elite production at Triple-A this season, he is worth adding in all 12+ team leagues as he could carve out an everyday role in the Cleveland starting lineup during the second half of the campaign.
The #Guardians are calling up C.J. Kayfus, their No. 4 prospect (MLB No. 66), for what would be his Major League debut Saturday, per @tim_stebbins.
Scouting report, video and more on the 23-year-old slashing .300/.390/.523 across two levels this year: https://t.co/lffOjkbSl6 pic.twitter.com/lrcISWLfUh
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 2, 2025
- Written by Chris Clegg
Dylan Beavers, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA Stats: 83 G, .304/.414/.502, 13 2B, 14 HR, 22 SB
Speaking of the Orioles, along with potentially opening up a spot for Basallo, they traded away two outfielders in Cedric Mullins and Ramon Laureano. Presumably, one of these spots should go to Dylan Beavers. Beavers is 23 and doesn't have much left to prove in the minor leagues.
I've not been the highest on Beavers in the past, but he has really impressed me this season. He has a 150 WRC+ this season with 14 HRs and 21 SBs. He's also walking (15.6 percent) almost as often as he's striking out (17.3 percent).
Dylan Beavers’ single-season high HR total as a professional is 15 last season.
He has 14 homers with about two months to go. pic.twitter.com/6QEf6JvWev
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) July 30, 2025
Beavers is an interesting deep league add who will have some appeal in more leagues if he does get an everyday role in Baltimore due to his impressive plate approach and power-speed upside.
With O'Hearn, Laureano, and Mullins now out of Baltimore, Beavers has a much clearer path to debut in the short-term over Basallo. In addition, Beavers has flashed a solid five-category upside that makes him worth stashing in all 12-team five-outfielder formats. When he is given the call, he should not have much trouble finding a consistent opportunity in the starting nine.
- Written by Kevin Luo
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