Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (April 2025)

April 4, 2025

Eric Cross' updated fantasy baseball prospect dynasty rankings - his top 100 hitters and pitchers for April 2025. Check out his dynasty prospect risers and fallers.

The 2025 Major League and Triple-A seasons are already in motion and the remainder of the full-season minor league levels will be on Friday as well. Finally, baseball is back in full swing with games that matter.

These MLB prospect rankings are geared toward standard 5x5 fantasy baseball leagues (AVG) and consider many factors, including performance to date, scouting grades, future projection, and video and data analysis. Or, as I like to call it... "PPP," which stands for profile, performance, and projection.

While these dynasty fantasy baseball prospect rankings are more slanted towards long-term fantasy value, proximity and short-term value do play a part in where a prospect lands in my rankings. If you want to see the full Top 500, then head on over to my Patreon!

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Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: April Update

Prospect notes and analysis can be found in the rankings table below.

Prospect Eligibility: Less than 130 MLB AB or 50 IP (I'm ignoring service time)

Rankings Updated: April 2025

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Notes

Nick Kurtz, Athletics

It's rare for a first base prospect to push a top-10 overall status in my prospect rankings, but Nick Kurtz isn't your normal top first base prospect. You could make a strong argument that Kurtz has the best blend of contact, approach, and power in the minor leagues right now. Through his first five Triple-A games, Kurtz has 10 hits, including two doubles and three home runs.

Nick Kurtz in his first five Triple-A games...

10/21, 2 2B, 3 HR#Athletics pic.twitter.com/OyoAXd61gi

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 3, 2025

Even in his small 50 plate appearance stint after the draft last season, Kurtz had an 82.5% contact rate, 6.6% SwStr rate, and more walks than strikeouts. This is a middle of the order thumper in the making who could exceed 30 home runs annually to pair with a good average and elite OBP. We honestly could see him join the top tier of fantasy first basemen in the next year or two.

Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds

It's time that Sal Stewart gets his due as a Top 100 fantasy prospect. Sure, the upside isn't sexy, but this is a rock-solid profile, and Stewart should be a quality Major League hitter for a long time. Stewart was having a productive season in High-A last year, slashing .279/.391/.454 in 80 games with eight home runs and 10 steals. Unfortunately, a wrist injury ended his season early.

When looking beyond the surface stats, you'll see consistently high contact rates, including an 83.4% mark in 2024. Stewart also has a phenomenal approach, which led to a 14.8% walk rate, 16.9% strikeout rate, and just a 7.4% SwStr rate. He'll probably never be more than a 10-steal player, but Stewart has average to above-average power and could be a 20-homer bat, given that he'll play half of his games in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.

Alex Freeland, Los Angeles Dodgers

Given all the other big names in the Dodgers farm system, Alex Freeland seems to fly a bit under the radar, and I'm guilty of undervaluing him as well. The 2022 third-round pick had a sneaky-good 2024 season across three levels, slashing .260/.387/.442 with 18 home runs, 31 steals, and 100 runs scored.

Alex Freeland had a hit from both sides of the plate and showed off his defensive skills at 3rd base. So he's played both shortstop & 3rd in the 1st 2 games.

In case you're curious about his potential at either spot, take the time to listen to the commentary in the video below.… pic.twitter.com/Y9NItPqgG5

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 30, 2025

The biggest reason why I gave him a notable bump in this rankings update was the major improvement Freeland made in the contact department last season. After making contact at a 69.9% clip in 2023 with a 13.2% SwStr, Freeland improved those metrics to 80.2% and 7.9%, respectively, last season. If these improvements stick to go with his above-average power/speed blend, Freeland could wind up as a well-rounded offensive shortstop.

Owen Caissie, Chicago Cubs

The biggest faller within my Top 100 this update was Owen Caissie of the Chicago Cubs. I've always been a bit hesitant to go too high with Caissie, given his higher strikeout rates, but the power/speed blend and 25/10 upside kept him in the Top 50 discussion for me. Well, not anymore.

Caissie is still a Top 100 fantasy prospect for now, but he's never had a strikeout rate below 28% at any level so far, and his contact rates have been sitting around 70% in each of the last two seasons. This could still be a 25-homer bat, but will Caissie make enough contact and keep the strikeout rate in check enough to be a Major League regular?

Alejandro Rosario, Texas Rangers

It's a real bummer that Alejandro Rosario will miss the entire 2025 season, but the silver lining here is that there's now a nice buying opportunity in dynasty leagues. Rosario was pushing Top-5 pitching prospect status for me last season thanks to three plus pitches and good command and control. So, if you can get him for a nice discount right now since he's out for the season, I'd recommend going for it.

Chase DeLauter, Cleveland Guardians

It pained me to drop him, but it was the right thing to do following another injury for Chase DeLauter which will keep him out for the next several weeks. I've said many times that DeLauter is a Top-10 prospect talent given his blend of contact, approach, power, and speed, but it's hard to rank him as a Top 10 guy with yet another injury on his resume.

With that said, I'm sure I'm still much higher than most, as I still have DeLauter in my Top 25 overall. I'm not sure he was ranked that high for many, even before this latest injury. Given where I believe the perceived value is these days, I'm still recommending buying DeLauter in dynasty leagues, given the potentially massive ROI you could receive if he stays healthy moving forward.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see the full Top 500 along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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