Five Fantasy Baseball Prospect Risers - Dynasty Gems In High-A

Kevin's fantasy baseball prospect sleepers, risers and stashes currently in High-A ball. His fantasy baseball dynasty gems to target in dynasty leagues.

As dynasty managers, we're always looking for the next top prospects. Finding a prospect before they blow up and seeing them rise in prospect lists is one of the most fun aspects of dynasty, at least it is to me.

There are a ton of big-name prospects in High-A this season that are off to great starts. Some prospects like Zyhir Hope, Max Clark, and Leodalis De Vries are already pretty highly ranked on prospect lists, so they don't have as much room to climb.

Let's take a look at some early-season risers in High-A. If they're available for cheap (or free), you should look to acquire them before their price gets too high. If you are looking for early-season risers in Low-A, check out my latest article.

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George Lombard Jr., SS, New York Yankees

I will admit I'm slightly skeptical whenever there is hype around a Yankees prospect. Up until this season, I would say my skepticism of George Lombard Jr. was somewhat justified.

After being drafted in the first round out of high school by the Yankees in 2023, he got off to a great start in his professional career. Between the Complex and Low-A, he had a 139 WRC+ and walked more than he struck out.

However, his first full pro season in 2024 was relatively subpar. He had a 100 WRC+ across Low-A and High-A, but he did have 39 steals and had a solid plate approach with a 22.9 percent K-rate and 12.3 percent BB-rate.

Following that average season, the hype train for Lombard started up again during spring training this season. He was hitting the ball harder and tweaked his batting stance, resulting in two homers in big league camp.

George Lombard Jr. possibly made one of the bigger jumps of any prospect this offseason.
The Yankees 23 1st rounder looked stronger and the bat speed looked improved this year. He likely would have left the yard at least once during Spring Breakout if not for strong wind. pic.twitter.com/MctfheUouw

— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) March 18, 2025

Lombard has carried over these changes in spring into his season at High-A. Still just 19 years old, he has a 177 WRC+ while walking 23.0 percent of the time and striking out 20.7 percent of the time.

Lombard is a top-75 prospect who is showing both improved power and plate skills, as he faces better pitching, which is incredibly promising for a hitter his age.

Yophery Rodriguez, OF, Boston Red Sox

In my last article, I talked about the Brewers' Low-A hitting prospect factory in Carolina. Yophery Rodriguez was one of the prized prospects of that squad last year, along with Cooper Pratt.

As the Brewers do with many of their prized young prospects, they skipped Rodriguez over the complex, and he spent all of 2024 in Low-A for his first season stateside. He had a solid but unspectacular season with a 112 WRC+. His strikeout rate increased to 23.8 percent, but some of his underlying metrics improved compared to his stint in the DSL.

Although he was facing much tougher competition in 2024, he improved his contact rate from 60.5 percent to 75.8 percent and reduced his whiff rate from 21.1 percent to 10.7 percent.

While he didn't put up the gaudy numbers we're seeing from some other youngsters in the Brewers organization, I was pretty surprised when, early this season, the Brewers traded Rodriguez along with a draft pick to the Red Sox for Quinn Priester.

When a prospect is traded and makes headlines, they suddenly find themselves in the spotlight in dynasty. With more people talking about him and two fan bases watching him play, he's performed very well so far in High-A. He has a 146 WRC+ with very strong plate skills.

He is walking 21.3 percent of the time, while decreasing his strikeout rate to 18.8 percent, and maintaining his strong contact rates, which he improved in Low-A. He is also showing a greater ability to hit the ball hard in the air.

Three-run home run for newest Boston Red Sox prospect Yophery Rodriguez in High-A! pic.twitter.com/4NnwNcZ8JU

— Hunter Noll (@Hunter_Noll) April 15, 2025

Rodriguez is comfortably a top 100 fantasy prospect who should play up in OBP and points leagues due to his ability to take walks. We've seen the Red Sox do wonders with developing hitting prospects of late, and if they can continue to work their magic with Rodriguez, he will continue to move up.

Alfonsin Rosario, OF, Cleveland Guardians

I will admit that Alfonsin Rosario was not really on my radar going into the season. He was a toolsy outfielder in the Cubs system who is coming off a season where he had a 133 WRC+ in Low-A, but he struck out 32.2 percent of the time.

This offseason, Rosario was traded to Cleveland for reliever Eli Morgan. Despite some of his struggles last season, he's showing early this season why the Guardians targeted him in a trade.

He's off to a great start to the season in High-A as he's hit five HRs with a 163 WRC+. The most notable improvement for Rosario is that he's dropped his K-rate to 20.3 percent.

Cleveland #Guardians 20yr old OF prospect Alfonsin Rosario blasts his 5th HR of the season for Lake County a 2-run shot in the 3rd inning vs Great Lakes.

Rosario is now hitting .317 on the year with a 1.012 OPS.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/zpQsaO1tV7

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 27, 2025

Rosario will need to continue to maintain his improved approach at the plate this season, but he's looking like a borderline top 100 fantasy prospect. If he does, he'll likely get a call-up to Double-A over the summer and secure himself as a locked-in top 100 guy.

Arjun Nimmala, SS, Toronto Blue Jays

What a minor league journey Arjun Nimmala has been on so far in his short professional career. Nimmala famously grew up playing cricket, and scouts saw him as having big power upside for a prep shortstop, but he had a questionable hit tool coming out of high school.

Going into 2024, there were questions on whether Nimmala could handle his assignment to Low-A as a young 18-year-old. Through his first 29 games, it was looking like he was not ready at all for full-season ball, as he had a .586 OPS and struck out 34.4 percent of the time.

After this rough month and a half, he was put on the development list and sent back to the complex. There were serious questions about his professional future, and his dynasty stock was in the toilet.

It turns out that this "reset" was just what the doctor ordered for Nimmala. When he returned to Low-A, he put up a .895 OPS the rest of the way with 13 HRs. His final Low-A stat line wasn't great as he finished with a 122 WRC+ while striking out 31.3 percent of the time, but was more than salvageable after such a disastrous start.

Going into 2025, Nimmala got assigned to High-A as one of the youngest players in the level, but the Blue Jays were expecting him to carry over his late-season success at Low-A. He has done that and more. He has a 138 WRC+ while decreasing his strikeout rate to 21.7 percent. He also has five HRs already, including hitting one three days in a row.

Arjun Nimmala to straight-away center! 🍁

The Top 100 prospect (@BlueJays) homers for a third consecutive game for the High-A @vancanadians. pic.twitter.com/go9tLxKiHF

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 27, 2025

If Nimmala is able to keep his K-rate in the low 20s while continuing to show impressive raw power, the sky is the limit for the young shortstop.  He should currently be valued as a top-50 prospect, but you can probably get him for much cheaper since his final 2024 line was not that strong. His future projection reminds me of Willy Adames after he left Tampa Bay, excluding the 21 steals he had last season.

Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

I don't know about you, but if you're feeling 22, I'm usually less interested in what you're doing at the High-A level. I'm making an exception to this rule for Ryan Waldschmidt.

Waldschmidt was taken 31st overall in last summer's draft by the Diamondbacks after starring at the University of Kentucky. His first stint in pro ball was solid with a 142 WRC+ and way more walks than strikeouts, but it was only in Low-A as a 21-year-old.

This year, he's stepped up to High-A and is showing that he is too advanced for this level. He has four HRs, a 185 WRC+, and almost as many strikeouts as walks (21.3 percent K to 20.2 percent BB). He has solid power with an excellent approach at the plate.

RYAN WALDSCHMIDT IS GOING CRAZY!!! THAT POOR BASEBALL 😭😭#AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/i7493PnIzN

— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) April 23, 2025

Waldschmidt is a clear top 100 prospect and has a chance to move up if he can continue his hot start in the season into Double-A. He should be getting a promotion in the coming weeks.

This draft class has had a ton of college bats have early success, and a few have even gotten to the big leagues already, so Waldschmidt has fallen a bit under the radar. See if you can acquire him for a low price if your league hasn't noticed what he's doing, given the Diamondbacks' less aggressive approach with him.

Other Prospect Risers in High-A

• Cristian Hernandez, SS, Chicago Cubs
• Jared Thomas, OF, Colorado Rockies
• Erick Torres, OF, Kansas City Royals
• Chris Suero, C, New York Mets
• Josue Briceno, C, Detroit Tigers

More Fantasy Baseball Prospects and Rookies