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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Dylan Beavers, Bubba Chandler, Brandon Sproat - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
During the second half of the season, it is crucial to target high-upside prospects who can push your team over the edge during the final weeks of the season. We have already seen many top prospects get the call to the big leagues and make an immediate impact, such as Nick Kurtz of the Athletics.
In this piece, we will look at one of the hottest hitters at Triple-A and two budding aces who have struggled at times, but have turned the corner at the right time.
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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Dylan Beavers, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 15% rostered
2025 MLB Stats:88 G, .309/.425/.536, 14 2B, 18 HR, 22 SB
Every day that passes brings us another day closer to a Dylan Beavers debut. The performance gets better with each game that passes, and the only thing holding him in Triple-A is the Orioles' desire for Beavers to retain prospect eligibility for 2026. A call-up should come over the next two weeks.
A few small tweaks in the swing have unlocked a ton. It starts with a much smaller leg kick. Beavers is getting his foot down much earlier and is timing things up well. His hands are also in a slightly high position at the start of his swing. Last year, Beavers tipped the barrel a bit and had his hands slightly below his shoulders before the start of his swing. This year, his hands are a little above his shoulders before dropping the swing into the slot.
Beavers is up to 18 home runs in 379 plate appearances, blowing past his career-best 15 that he hit in 531 plate appearances last season. The contact numbers have improved, and Beavers has seen his strikeout rate fall from 23.5 percent to 17 percent in 2025.
The Statcast data has steadily improved for Beavers throughout the course of the 2025 season. His average exit velocity of 88.5 mph has steadily risen all season, but the 105.4 90th-percentile exit velocity is close to plus. Being a selective hitter, Beavers picks his spots well and has great launch angles.
While Beavers is not the fastest runner, he has good reads and jumps on the basepaths. Expect Beavers to be a consistent 20 home run/20 stolen base type threat who will put up respectable batting averages and OBPs. He honestly might be what some hoped Colton Cowser would be.
Dylan Beavers last 30 games
.303/.457/.651 —11 HR, 25 RBI
1.108 OPSNow that O'Neill and Cowser are heading to the IL, I couldn't think of a better time to call him up pic.twitter.com/o337P6KvBz
— 𝙆am Brice (@kambrice1tv) August 8, 2025
-Written by Chris Clegg
Bubba Chandler, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA Stats: 96 2/3 IP, 3.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 116 SO, 48 BB
As always, sitting on the prospect stash list is Pittsburgh Pirate right-hander Bubba Chandler. However, unlike fellow top pitching prospect Andrew Painter, Chandler enjoyed a strong outing in his last start and was able to bounce back following his five-run explosion on July 30. In his last start, the right-hander allowed just three runs across 4 2/3 innings against Omaha. He struck out seven hitters and served up just one walk.
Since the start of June, the right-hander has been unable to find much consistency at Triple-A. During these 44 innings of work, Chandler has posted a 5.52 ERA with a hefty 1.75 WHIP. He has served up 25 free passes and only struck out 44 hitters. However, before this rough skid, Chandler appeared to be on the verge of a promotion as he was flashing immense upside at Triple-A.
During his first 48 2/3 innings of the campaign, the right-hander posted an elite 2.03 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP. He tallied 69 strikeouts while allowing a mere 21 walks. Throughout this dominant stretch, he only allowed two total home runs.
Even though it seems that Chandler has been knocking on the MLB door since April, he remains a strong stash option in deeper 12+ team formats. When he does earn the call, he will carry a must-start upside given his ability to rack up strikeouts.
With Bailer Falter being traded before the deadline, Chandler could be up in Pittsburgh in the coming weeks. Despite his inconsistency throughout the regular season, when he does get the call to the major leagues, he will carry solid SP4 upside given his ability to rack up strikeouts.
Is it time to stash Buba Chandler? 👇 https://t.co/4vUEpg0i6J
— Andy Smith (@A_Smith_FS) August 9, 2025
- Written by Andy Smith
Brandon Sproat, SP, New York Mets
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2025 AAA Stats: 101 IP, 4.10 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 86 SO, 45 BB
The former second-round pick was a feature in my column during the opening weeks of the season as he almost made a case to make the MLB rotation out of spring training. However, the Mets opted to send him back to Triple-A to work out the finishing touches on his development. Sproat got off to a rough start, which quickly tanked its short-term outlook.
Through his first 63 innings of the season at Syracuse, Sproat posted a high 6.9 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP. During this stretch, the right-hander tallied only 43 strikeouts and allowed a high 33 walks. However, since the end of June, the 24-year-old has made the necessary adjustments and is once again living up to his former prospect pedigree.
Over his last 39 innings of work, Sproat has posted an impressive 1.15 ERA with a 0.82 WHIP. During this dominant run, Sproat has struck out 43 hitters while allowing only 13 free passes.
Like his teammate Nolan McLean, he can provide a much-needed spark to a slumping Mets team. He is worth stashing in deeper formats for the time being.
Given that the Mets have begun to stumble in the standings and are quickly falling to the bottom of the NL Wild Card Race, Sproat could provide a much-needed spark to a club that desperately needs it.
He is worth stashing all 12+ team leagues during Week 20 of the fantasy baseball season.
Brandon Sproat has been named International League Pitcher of the Month for July 🔥
🔸 5 starts
🔸 27 IP
🔸 0.67 ERA
🔸 0.81 WHIP
🔸 33 K
🔸 14 H pic.twitter.com/AEqjMy5Wlu— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 6, 2025
- Written by Andy Smith
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