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Eric Cross' 7 fantasy baseball bold predictions for the 2025 MLB season, including predictions for Wyatt Langford, Spencer Schwellenbach, Nick Kurtz, and more.
In the wise words of Pepper Brooks in Dodgeball, "That's a bold fantasy baseball projection, Cotton; let's see if it pays off for 'em." Okay, Jason Bateman used the word strategy instead of "fantasy baseball projection" but you get the point.
As the 2025 domestic opening day inches closer, it's time to have some fun with some bold predictions. These are bold for a reason and have a lower probability of becoming true, but each bold prediction has a chance of coming true.
Below I discussed eight bold predictions for the 2025 season and gave 10 more quick bold predictions as an added bonus.
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Wyatt Langford Finishes as a Top-10 Player
In case you missed it, Wyatt Langford was one of the best players in baseball down the stretch last season. In 114 September plate appearances, Langford slashed .300/.386/.610 with seven doubles, eight home runs, seven steals, 20 RBI, and 25 runs scored.
And while his overall rookie season was turbulent at times, Langford's metrics were right up there with Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill's last season.
Wyatt Langford's 2-run homer is his first of #SpringTraining. pic.twitter.com/RJtW6a5Zbh
— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2025
Langford is having a strong spring so far in 2025 as well with an AVG EV above 96 mph as of the time I'm writing this. All the ingredients are here for a massive 2025 season from Langford.
He had a 98th percentile sprint speed last season with a 43.4% hard-hit rate which jumped to 47.4% in September with a 13.2% barrel rate. With his blend of contact, approach, power, speed, and lineup context, Langford could easily post first-round value in 2025 as a five-category force.
Jazz Chisholm Joins The 30 HR/50 SB Club
The major X-factor here is health, but if Jazz Chisholm can stay on the field for close to 150 games this season, I believe he has a real shot to exceed 30 home runs and 50 stolen bases in his first full season with the Yankees.
Chisholm had a breakout 24-homer, 40-steal season in 621 plate appearances last season and was even better with the Yankees, racking up 11 home runs and 18 steals in 191 plate appearances. That's a 650-plate appearance pace of 37 home runs and 61 steals.
While you can question if he hits more than .250-.260, given the contact rates, the power/speed blend and the home ballpark are an exciting combination. Chisholm had an 82nd percentile sprint speed in 2024 and has always shown the willingness to run often with the Yankees giving him the green light frequently down the stretch after acquiring him.
Chisholm is also at his best when he's pulling the ball in the air, which bodes well over a full season at Yankee Stadium.
Eric Davis (1987), Barry Bonds (1990), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023), and Shohei Ohtani (2024) are the only four players in Major League history to be in the 30/50 club. Health permitting, Chisholm could join them in 2025.
Nick Kurtz Up By June, Hits 25 Home Runs
We usually don't see draftees from the previous year's draft up within a year of being drafted, but it can happen with the more advanced collegiate bats. Nick Kurtz definitely falls into that category.
After smashing 61 home runs in 164 collegiate games at Wake Forest, Kurtz added four more in 12 minor league games after the draft while slashing .368/.520/.763 with an 82.5% contact rate. Kurtz was then assigned to the Arizona Fall League mid-season and was easily one of the best players on the field.
With a high-end blend of contact and approach to pair with plus or better power, Kurtz shouldn't need much seasoning in the minors before he gets the call to the Athletics. And if that call comes before the end of May, giving him two-thirds of a season in the Majors, don't be surprised if Kurtz charges hard at 25 home runs and a top-5 finish in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Spencer Schwellenbach Finishes as a Top-5 SP
Give me ALL the Spencer Schwellenbach shares this season. After posting a 5.68 ERA through his first six career starts, Schwellenbach shifted his season into high gear and put cruise control on for his final 15 starts where he had a stellar 2.54 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 3.9% walk rate, and a 26.2% strikeout rate.
Schwellenbach became just the 5th rookie pitcher in Major League history to have a walk rate below 5% and a strikeout rate above 25% while pitching in at least 100 innings.
Six starting pitchers had 2+ offerings with a 40+% whiff rate in 2024, min 200 pitches for each offering.
Blake Snell (3)
Tyler Glasnow
Jesús Luzardo
Reese Olson
Spencer Schwellenbach
Kyle Gibson pic.twitter.com/aeMZ9MAB0Y— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) January 8, 2025
Schwellenbach checks off all the boxes of a fantasy ace. He was one of just six pitchers in 2024 with a whiff rate above 40% on two offerings, posting a 40.9% whiff rate on his curveball and a 46.3% whiff rate on his splitter. He also had the 8th lowest walk rate of the 107 pitchers who threw at least 120 innings last season. All of that as a rookie!
Schwellenbach has been dominating this spring with a 2.41 ERA and 26/2 K/BB ratio in 18.2 innings and I expect this dominance to carry over into the regular season.
Reese Olson Finishes as a Top-20 SP
One of my favorite values at any position in 2025 drafts was Reese Olson going around pick 250 on average. In 22 starts last season, Olson finished with a solid 3.53 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 7.1% walk rate.
However, his 21.7% strikeout rate wasn't anything to write home about and was slightly worse than the Major League average. But the silver lining here is that it kept Olson's price tag in check for 2025 drafts. Thank you very much
Olson possesses many of the pieces I look for when trying to identify breakout pitchers. Sure, the surface strikeout rate wasn't special, but as you saw above, Olson was one of just six pitchers to have two individual pitches with a whiff rate above 40% in his slider and changeup.
Olson also did a great job in keeping the ball in the park and on the ground, finishing 2024 with a 51.4% groundball rate, 14.1% Pull Air rate, and only seven home runs allowed in 112.1 innings.
With a full season of starts, I'm expecting Olson to vastly outperform his ADP and a Top-20 SP finish is possible if the strikeout rate takes a step forward like I believe it can.
Cristopher Sánchez Finishes as a Top 15 SP
Despite having an ERA under 3.50 in each of the last two seasons, Cristopher Sánchez hasn't risen to the top tiers of starting pitchers for fantasy due to an underwhelming 21.4% strikeout rate for his career and 20.3% last season. That's the area I'm expecting him to take a step forward in this season and help Sánchez have his best fantasy season to date.
Cristopher Sánchez's 2Ks in the 1st.
97.2 mph Fastball & Wicked Changeup. pic.twitter.com/WFaJ2uUEMw
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 7, 2025
Sánchez has looked really sharp so far this spring with a 1.62 ERA and 19/2 K/BB ratio through his first five outings. He's been averaging around 96 mph on his sinker this spring after averaging 94.5 mph on the offering in 2024 and Sánchez has also added a cutter.
If he's able to turn that cutter into a solid bat-missing offering to go with his slider and changeup which both had a whiff rate north of 30% last season, the overall strikeout rate should tick up.
Chandler Simpson Leads the American League in Stolen Bases
Chandler Simpson is really, really fast. He's even faster than Michael Cera running away from Seth Rogen in Super Bad. In 110 games between High-A and Double-A last season, Simpson stole a whopping 104 bags in 121 attempts.
Stop rubbing your eyes, that wasn't a type. Simpson possesses easy 80-grade speed and had a 93% contact rate, 2.9% Swinging Strike rate, and more walks than strikeouts last season to go along with it.
Simpson can get on base at a high clip and creates nightmares for opposing batteries. While he'll likely start the season in Triple-A, the Rays' current outfield is made up of Josh Lowe (durability issues), Jonny DeLuca (inconsistent/unproven), and Christopher Morel (Defensive issues), so it wouldn't shock me if a spot opened up for Simpson early in the season and he swiped 50-60 bags in the Majors this season.
Luis Rengifo Finished Outside the Top 300
I've never understood the love for Luis Rengifo, at least not to the level where he's a Top-150 pick or so in 2025 drafts. The one area where Rengifo is above average is making contact. In 2025, Rengifo posted an 87.6% zone contact rate, a 79.1% overall contact rate, and only struck out 14.5% of the time. But that's where the positives in his profile end.
Outside of the contact department, Rengifo was a 37th-percentile runner with a 2.5% barrel rate, 87 mph AVG EV, and 32.5% hard-hit rate.
Yes, he stole 24 bags in 304 plate appearances last season, but I'd bet a large sum of money on that not happening again. Rengifo is a below-average power/speed threat with good but not great contact rates and a low walk rate. And to top it all off, he's only surpassed 500 plate appearances once (511 in 2022) in his career.
10 More Quick Bold Predictions For Fun
- Connor Norby goes 20/10 and finishes as a Top-150 player.
- Quinn Mathews is the most valuable starting pitcher on the Cardinals this season.
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand hits 30 home runs and drives in 100 runs.
- Nick Pivetta finishes as a Top 25 starting pitcher.
- Cam Smith hits 25 home runs and is a Top 100 player.
- Michael Toglia hits 40 home runs.
- Triston Casas goes 35/110 and is a third-round pick in 2026 drafts.
- Justin Martinez finishes as a Top 10 RP.
- One of Pete Crow-Armstrong or Garrett Mitchell goes 20/30 (Pick whichever one you have on your teams).
- Coby Mayo gets traded and hits 25 home runs this season.
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