Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: Top 60 Rookies That Made Their MLB Debut in 2025

Kevin's top 60 dynasty fantasy baseball prospects rankings, the top MLB rookies to debut in 2025. Which of these young prospects will take the next step in 2026?

One of the toughest and most important parts of dynasty baseball is evaluating a player's first stint in the major leagues. If a player gets off to a strong start to their MLB career, should you go all in on them? If he gets off to a slow start, how concerned should you be?

There have been numerous cases of players getting off to terrible starts in their major league careers and becoming Hall of Fame players. There have also been many cases of players getting off to great starts, which often prove to be their best period of play in their major league career.

Let's take a look at how the top players who made their debuts this season stack up for dynasty. Who are you looking to invest in this offseason?

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Top 60 Dynasty Prospect Rankings: 2025 Rookie Debuts

Player details can be found in the rankings table below, with some thoughts on a few interesting names.

I took into account how I valued them as a prospect, along with how their first taste of the majors went. I also factored in the opportunity for certain guys. I usually don't factor in opportunity too much for prospects that won't be in the majors in the near future. However, with guys in the majors, it has to play more of a factor.

In many dynasty leagues, you lose the ability to stash players in the minors/NA slots once they're playing in the majors. If a player doesn't have an opportunity to be fantasy relevant, it could be detrimental to roster them on your active roster, especially if you're competing.

No. 4: Nolan McLean, P, New York Mets

Amidst the ashes of an extremely disappointing season in Queens for the Mets rose a potential ace of their staff in McLean.

McLean is a converted two-way player who was still hitting up until last season. Being able to devote all of his time to his pitching development has shown what a special arm he can be.

In the minors, McLean had a 2.45 ERA with a 16.5 percent K-BB rate. When he got the call to the majors, he got even better. In his eight major league starts, he averaged six innings a start with a 2.06 ERA and a 21.8 percent K-BB rate. He's likely not going to remain a low 2's ERA pitcher, but his ERA estimators indicate he's not a fluke (3.61 xERA, 2.78 xFIP).

McLean has a filthy multi-pitch arsenal. He threw four pitches at least 13 percent of the time, which makes me think it'll be harder for hitters to figure him out.

Nolan McLean, 84mph Sweeper and 97mph Two Seamer, Individual Pitches + Overlay

Sweeper= 21 inches of break
Two Seamer=19 inches of run.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS. 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZoE8uZ9pyL

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 20, 2025

McLean is the top player on this list who still has rookie eligibility going into 2026. He will be one of the NL Rookie of the Year favorites and will be a popular choice to emerge as a potential fantasy ace.

No. 14: Carter Jensen, C/DH, Kansas City Royals

I wrote earlier this year about how there were too many good catchers and that there were several young catchers really emerging into fantasy relevance. One name that has maybe flown under the radar a bit is Jensen, since he got called up in September.

However, what he did in the minors this year, paired with his short stint at the major league level, should have him flying up the ranks at catcher very soon.

Between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Jensen had a 136 WRC+ with a 24.8 percent K-rate and 12.2 percent BB-rate. However, he really started to rake when he got the bump to Triple-A, as he had a WRC+ of 167 and 14 of his 20 minor league HRs this season despite only having 184 PAs at the level.

When he got the call to the majors, he picked up where he left off in Triple-A and continued to put up impressive numbers. In only 69 PAs, he had a 159 WRC+, but he also improved his approach at the plate by reducing his K-rate to 17.4 percent and keeping his BB-rate strong at 13.0 percent.

Although it's a small sample size, his savant page also backs up this impressive debut as it's red across the board.

With Salvador Perez nearing the tail end of his career, I expect Jensen and him to split the catching and DH responsibilities next season. Even with the depth at the position, Jensen could be one of the best offensive catchers in baseball very soon.

No. 18: Daylen Lile, OF, Washington Nationals

Aaron Judge. That is the only qualified hitter that had a WRC+ higher than Daylen Lile this September. His 230 WRC+ in September put a bow on a very impressive 2025 season for Lile. He also had six HRs and seven triples in the month.

Lile started the season in Double-A and had a 144 WRC+ in the minors between Double-A and Triple-A before getting the call to the majors over the summer.

After getting the call, Lile essentially replicated his minor league production at the big league level. He had a 132 WRC+ while only striking out 16.0 percent of the time and providing decent power and speed.

Lile came into the season without much hype as people in the nation's capital were way more excited about James Wood and Dylan Crews in the Nationals outfield. His breakout also occurred when many people may have turned their attention to football, and the Nationals' season was essentially over.

If he's still a bit under the radar in your league, you should look to acquire him. Lile has 20/20 potential and should continue to provide an excellent batting average. Lile's .309 xBA last season was in the 99th percentile.

The 15 Most Impressive Rookies of 2025

8. Daylen Lile (OF-WAS)

351 PA, .299/.347/.498, 9 HR, 8 SB

Lile was highly impressive over the final two months of the season and was so close to a .300 AVG and .500 SLG while having a 17/15 pace.#Natitudepic.twitter.com/BKbZcwYiLy

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) October 2, 2025

No. 21: Jakob Marsee, OF, Miami Marlins

Marsee was not really on my fantasy radar going into this season. There was some excitement for him in prior seasons, especially after he won the Arizona Fall League MVP in 2023. However, he only hit .200 in the minors in 2024 with limited power.

Two aspects of Marsee's game have not really changed throughout his professional career. He loves to steal bases- he has over 40 in each of the last three seasons. He also has a great approach at the plate. He has walked at least 15 percent of the time while striking out under 23 percent of the time every year of his minor league career.

This year, he added some more juice to his bat to go with his great speed and approach. This led to him having a 126 WRC+ in Triple-A and a 133 WRC+ in the majors. His ISO of .191 in Triple-A and .187 in the majors were also his best marks since his stint in Low-A in 2022.

Aram Leighton from Just Baseball discussed with Marsee about what he changed to improve his results at the plate this season.

The swing dives are always my favorite pieces, but when I get to supplement it with a conversation with the hitter himself, it's that much more fun and I think informational!

Was awesome to dive into what has worked for Jakob Marsee with Jakob Marsee. https://t.co/cjqvyNfFTr pic.twitter.com/mTm4kIVTyB

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) September 22, 2025

I don't think Marsee will ever be a power asset, but if he could provide 15-20 HRs a season to go along with 35-40 SBs and strong ratios, he could be a really good fantasy player for years to come.

No. 36: Parker Messick, P, Cleveland Guardians

I think 2025 was the year of the lefty changeup. Messick was one of many breakout starting pitchers who were lefties with great changeups.

Parker Messick, Filthy 86mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/PLfpjcTFsQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 20, 2025

Messick wasn't a huge prospect coming up in the minors, but the Guardians sprinkled some of their magic dust on him when he got promoted to the majors.

Messick was excellent in his seven starts in the majors as he had a 2.72 ERA with ERA estimators indicating this wasn't really a fluke (3.04 xERA, 3.15 xFIP). He also had a very impressive 3.6 percent BB-rate.

Messick was a good but not great bat-misser in the majors, but he avoided loud contact and even had some bad batted ball luck with a .359 BABIP against. He doesn't have a huge upside, but he's the type of starter that helps round out your fantasy rotation.

No. 42: Dalton Rushing, C, Los Angeles Dodgers

I mentioned that I value opportunity a lot when it comes to the players on this list. Rushing might have the least opportunity on his current team. The Dodgers have Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani locked up long-term at the catcher and DH spots. Ben Rortvedt also established himself as a great second catcher for them when Smith was out with an injury late in the season.

However, I think Rushing is one of the young players most likely to be traded this offseason. The Dodgers are always aggressively trying to bolster their roster, and Rushing is looking expendable.

Rushing has been an excellent hitter throughout his minor league career. In 2024, he had a 146 WRC+ and 26 HRs across three levels. This year in Triple-A, he had a 144 WRC+ while displaying an excellent approach at the plate. He was walking 17.4 percent of the time while striking out 21.5 percent of the time.

His first stint in the majors was not good. He only had a 66 WRC+, and his strikeout rate spiked to 37.4 percent. However, it's fair to say Rushing may have struggled to get into much of a rhythm as he was only able to play once or twice a week due to the Dodgers' logjam.

Rushing is an intriguing buy low right now, as his value will likely spike quite a bit if he gets traded this offseason.

No. 51: Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

Let's get that gorilla in the room out of the way when it comes to Williams. He might never be able to make enough contact to be a decent hitter at the major league level. Williams struck out 34.1 percent of the time in Triple-A this season, and it spiked to 41.5 percent in his stint in the majors.

However, Williams should still get every opportunity to play and improve at the plate. He's an elite defensive shortstop, and the Rays cleared the path for him to play by getting rid of Ha-Seong Kim late last season.

Williams went 20/20 in each of the last three seasons in the minors and could do the same with everyday playing time in the majors. If he can get his K-rate to a somewhat palatable level, his power and speed should make him a solid fantasy asset.

Carson Williams sends one to the opposite field off of Garrett Crochet 😤 pic.twitter.com/aEX3QmG93r

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2025

I won't go as far as to say that Williams could have a PCA-esque breakout, but it's not a bad idea to bet on toolsy players who are great defenders at premium positions to get the runway to figure it out at the plate.

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