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Andy's fantasy baseball prospects sleepers and risers to know for Week 2 of 2025. He analyzes top MLB prospects and rookies to stash based on recent performances.
Baseball is officially underway. Last week, both the MLB and MiLB regular seasons kicked off, and we already have top prospects making an impact.
While some of the performances are eye-catching, it is essential to determine if these are meaningful for redraft leagues. Do these minor league performances truly matter for this season? How easy will it be for these prospects to reach the big leagues, and are they worth stashing on your redraft roster?
Knowing which prospects to watch can put you ahead of your league mates and in the driver's seat. Adding the right prospect can fill the missing piece on your roster and set you up for a fantasy championship. This week, we will look at a budding ace in Minnesota, the former fourth overall pick in last year's MLB Draft and one of the top backstops in the minor leagues. This fantasy baseball prospects biweekly series will examine a few key players in the minor leagues and assess whether they have a path to fantasy stardom in 2025.
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Zebby Matthews, SP, Minnesota Twins
Does not qualify for prospect ranking on MLB.com
Zebby Matthews was in the heat of the competition for a spot in the Minnesota rotation but eventually fell short to Chris Paddack and Simeon Woods Richardson in spring training. However, Matthews did not lose the job due to his performance, as he tossed nine 1/3 shutout innings with 12 punchouts. He allowed just one free pass with four hits.
Unfortunately, the Twins opted for Matthews to continue his development at the top level of the minor leagues.
Last season, Matthews received a brief taste of the major leagues and had to go through some growing pains, which was likely another factor in the decision. In his first 37 2/3 innings in Minnesota, Matthews posted an underwhelming 6.69 ERA with a 1.65 WHIP. He tallied just 43 punchouts and served up 11 walks.
In the minor leagues, Matthews has performed at an elite level. After spending the entire 2023 campaign split between Low-A and High-A, Matthews progressed through the final two levels of the system fairly quickly in 2024. He opened the season with High-A and needed just 22 1/3 innings to reach Double-A.
At Double-A, the Western Carolina product logged 55 1/3 innings to the tune of an impressive 1.95 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. He posted a near-perfect 6:63 BB:K. Then, at Triple-A St. Paul, Matthews continued to flash elite control as he allowed one walk while striking out 23 over 19 innings.
The right-hander has already begun to enjoy similar success at Triple-A this season. In his first start on April 1, Matthews tossed five shutout frames. He allowed just one hit and struck out four.
Matthews is a name to closely monitor as Minnesota's No. 4 starter, Paddack, had a disastrous season debut. He was only able to get through three 1/3 innings while allowing six hits and nine earned runs to the White Sox.
If the Twins continue to stumble early in the season, do not be surprised if they turn to their system to spark a turnaround.
While fellow young right-hander at St. Paul, David Festa, may get the call early as well, Matthews is the one to stash given his impeccable control.
Zebby Matthews was untouchable in his first @StPaulSaints start of the season 💯
5 IP / 1 H / 0 R / 0 BB / 4 K
He averaged 97.5 MPH in the outing and topped out at 99.2 MPH ⛽️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/MLJIZKSca1
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) April 2, 2025
Verdict: Stash in all 12-team leagues
Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
Athletics No. 2 Prospect
Last season, we saw three top picks from the 2023 MLB Draft impact the 2024 campaign. Two of these players were high-end fantasy assets, Paul Skenes and Wyatt Langford. Dylan Crews did not receive the call until the second half.
Even though Nick Kurtz is just getting his feet wet in professional baseball, he could be in the mix for a surprisingly early promotion.
The Athletics selected Kurtz out of Wake Forest with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Following the draft, Kurtz received a 12-game taste of the minor leagues. He started at Low-A, where he tallied 10 hits (four round-trippers) across seven games. He then moved up to Double-A, where he posted a .308 AVG over a five-game sample.
In spring training, Kurtz could hold his own, posting a .261/.452/.522 slash line with two home runs and a 7:5 BB:K. The Athletics rewarded his performance by promoting Kurtz to the top level of the minor leagues for his first full season.
Kurtz has tallied at least one hit in his first four games at Triple-A Las Vegas in each contest. He has gone deep twice and added two doubles. He has held a 2:3 BB:K, tallied six RBI, and scored five runs.
The 22-year-old has continued to impress and could find himself going to Sacramento much sooner than expected.
The only "concern" with Kurtz is that he may find a difficult path to the majors, at least early in the campaign. Brent Rooker appears to be the everyday DH for the Athletics. While the team has expressed interest in moving him to the outfield, that does not appear to be likely.
At first base, former first-round pick Tyler Soderstrom has enjoyed a scorching start to the young campaign, hitting three home runs in his first six games. This could create a slight logjam for Kurtz.
While Kurtz is not on the immediate stash list, if he continues this production throughout all of April, he could find himself at the top of several prospect boards by early May.
Nick Kurtz is going to put up video game numbers in the PCL until the #Athletics call him up...pic.twitter.com/1yz55bHRQ4
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 2, 2025
Verdict: Continue To Monitor, On Track For 2025 Debut
Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox
Chicago No. 2 Prospect, Overall 32
Rounding out this piece is one of the top catching prospects in the sport, Kyle Teel. Teel was one of the headline pieces included in the package that sent budding ace Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox in the winter.
The Red Sox drafted Teel in the opening round (14th overall) of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Virginia. Last summer, Teel began his season at Double-A and made quite a late-season push to almost reach the major leagues. Across 84 games at Double-A, Teel posted a strong .298/.390/.462 slash line with 20 doubles and 11 long balls.
He then earned the promotion to Triple-A Worcester, where he took a slight step back as he held a .255/.374/.343 line. He showed a strong eye at the plate with a 20:29 BB:K but saw his power numbers take a dip as he hit just two home runs and three doubles across 28 games.
However, the 23-year-old has been one of the most productive hitters during the opening week of the Triple-A regular season. Through four games, Teel has tallied six hits with one double and two round-trippers. He has brought in nine runs and scored four runs.
Currently, the White Sox have had little production behind the plate, with Matt Thaiss tallying just two hits across four games (career .208 AVG) and Korey Lee tallying just one hit over his first five games (career .188 AVG).
Similar to Kurtz, Teel has a bit of competition within the system as catching prospect Edgar Quero is also at Triple-A and nearing his MLB debut.
While Quero could eventually find a role as the everyday DH in Chicago, given that the White Sox acquired Teel via a trade, they think highly of him and would like to give him major league at-bats as soon as he is ready.
White Sox prospect Kyle Teel is GOING OFF to start 2025
In two games, he's 5-for-9 with two homers and eight RBI 😳 pic.twitter.com/lpltQC9k3y
— MLB (@MLB) March 30, 2025
Verdict: Continue To Monitor, Stash in AL-only leagues for now
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