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Chris's fantasy baseball prospects to stash list for Week 14 of 2025. HIs top MLB prospects and rookie sleepers to make fantasy impacts this year when called up.
Welcome, friends, to the 2025 MLB season, and my weekly article about fantasy baseball prospects to stash heading into Week 14. Who are the top prospects you need to know for redraft leagues? Last week, we nailed Chase Burns getting the call. That makes five straight weeks of a prospect getting the call imminently after the article was published. We are running low on top prospects to get the call, but who could be next? Let's break down some new prospects to stash like Chase DeLauter, Joe Boyle, Brice Matthews, and more.
Winning in a fantasy baseball redraft league requires a nice blend of high-floor players and upside shots. While prospects present more risk in a one-year setting, such as a redraft league, they pay big dividends if they succeed. The reward could be huge if these players receive adequate playing time and perform well.
Throughout the season, there will be plenty of prospects who will get promoted and make an impact on their respective MLB teams and fantasy teams. Getting ahead of the curve on these players can pay huge dividends regarding FAAB bids. You can save money and have your league mates question how you are already in on that player so far in advance. Here are this week's fantasy baseball prospects to stash. These players can make a splash in redraft leagues for the remainder of the 2025 season and are expected to debut in the big leagues soon.
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Chase DeLauter, OF - Cleveland Guardians
It should be just a matter of time at this point for DeLauter to get the call to join the Guardians. A feature in last week's article, DeLauter keeps hitting, and after a multi-hit performance on Wednesday, DeLauter is up to an 11-game hit streak with five extra base hits over that span. When on the field, DeLauter performs. The problem is that injuries have kept him off the field for large portions of his career.
After a successful career at James Madison University, the Guardians selected DeLauter with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft. While injuries have been a significant factor in his career, his performance was strong when DeLauter was on the field. Standing at 6-foot-3, DeLauter has one of the best combinations of athleticism and size in the minors.
If you have questions about whether DeLauter’s swing can play, look under the hood. The power is easily plus based on the average and 90th percentile exit velocities. He lifts the ball with ease and posts ideal launch angles consistently, and when you run a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph, you will get homers. His barrel rate sits at a solid 10 percent.
The contact traits are strong, and DeLauter has a zone contact rate of 84 percent with an overall contact rate of 82 percent. The plate discipline is also good, as he picks his spots well and chases just 13 percent of pitches out of the zone, putting the strike zone recognition at plus or better.
If we are speculating, DeLauter will be in Cleveland next week.
Joe Boyle, RHP - Tampa Bay Rays
Boyle somehow remained in Triple-A Durham this week and was good again outside of the three walks. It is time for him to head to Tampa. Boyle has tossed 68 Triple-A innings this year and has a 1.85 ERA to pair with an impressive 0.99 WHIP. The walk rate has improved significantly and now sits at just 10.3 percent, a respectable mark in Triple-A, where the zone is tighter and the ABS Challenge system is in effect.
The fastball averages 98 mph and tops out at over 100 mph. Throwing from a 5-foot-8 release height, Boyle creates an average ride on the pitch but does a great job of manipulating the pitch and blowing it by hitters. In Triple-A, it has an impressive 17 percent swinging strike rate.
Boyle’s new look split-changeup runs up to 95 mph and sits 93 mph regularly. It has good depth and 15-20 inches of arm-side movement. The slider sits around 90 mph with a strong gyro-shape and misses bats at high clips.
The biggest problem is that the Rays' rotation is full. While many of the arms have had some ups and downs, they are also arms that would benefit from innings limits down the stretch. A six-man rotation could make sense with Boyle being a part.
Brice Matthews, INF - Houston Astros
Matthews was an analytic darling in the 2023 draft out of Nebraska, whom the Astros plucked at the end of the first round. A patient hitter with a strong feel for the strike zone, Matthews chased less than 20 percent of pitches out of the zone at Nebraska in 2023. During his final collegiate season, Matthews hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases while slashing .359/.481/.723 and striking out just 20 percent of the time.
With 15 homers and 32 stolen bases in 2024, Matthews showed an impressive power/speed combo. This year, Matthews has spent the year in Triple-A and put up quite strong surface numbers. With nine home runs and 22 extra-base hits, Matthews has also swiped 22 bags.
Matthews is a stellar athlete, which is evident when you see him in person and watch him run. He steals bases with ease, getting great reads and jumps. The power upside is there, as Matthews posted a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity with strong batted ball angles.
The biggest concern with Matthews is his ability to make contact. Matthews has a 64 percent and a 74 percent in-zone contact rate. The approach is good as Matthews is running just a 20 percent chase rate and an average zone swing rate.
Matthews has spent a large portion of the year playing second base, which is probably the weakest point of the Astros' roster. I am not sure how well the Jose Altuve experiment in left field is going, but Mauricio Dubon has continued to play second base. Matthews could take that spot soon.
Colby Thomas, OF - Athletics
Thomas could be on the verge of being called up by the Athletics. The slash line sits at an impressive .299/.365/.551. This followed a 2024 season in which Thomas led the minors in extra-base hits by a wide margin, slashing .277/.342/.563 with 31 home runs and 15 stolen bases. It is time for Thomas to get a shot in Sacramento.
There is legit power in the profile, as Thomas has a 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. While that number is down a few ticks from last year, Thomas has topped out at 116 mph this year. His barrel rate has risen all year, now sitting at 10 percent as the ground-ball rate has trended downward.
Some of my questions about the profile have been answered. Last year, upon his promotion to Triple-A, his contact rates faltered significantly. But so far this year, Thomas has seen a seven percentage point jump in in-zone contact, and the overall contact rate is up three percentage points.
The chase rate of 34 percent is still higher than I would like to see, and I still worry about Thomas’s ability to hit good fastballs.
Right now, Thomas has a 66 percent contact rate against four-seam fastballs. The number rises against speeds of 94 mph or higher, and there are struggles against spin. It makes me very curious how Thomas will fare against MLB pitching. Against spin, Thomas has a 67 percent contact rate, which also gives me a little hesitation.
The power and speed combo is enticing, but Thomas could be a streaky hitter in the majors against better pitching.
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