Fantasy Baseball Prospects Stash List: Ready to Make a Splash for Redraft Leagues (Week 18)

Chris's fantasy baseball prospects to stash list for Week 18 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 18. Who are the top prospects you need to know for redraft leagues? I failed you last week! It was the first time in nine weeks that we did not get a prospect called up within the week after they were featured in the article. As we approach the All-Star break, we are soon to see more. Let's break down some new prospects to stash, such as Carter Jensen, Spencer Jones, Brandon Sproat, and Andrew Painter.

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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Carter Jensen, C - Kansas City Royals

Jensen got off to a slow start to the season, but kicked it into gear as the calendar turned to May. He struck out 31 percent of the time in April with a .222/.300/.311. Since then, Jensen has hit 11 home runs with 27 extra base hits and a .317/.385/.531 slash in 275 plate appearances. Over the span, he has struck out in just 23 percent of plate appearances and is a perfect eight of eight on the base paths.

The contact rates have steadily risen throughout the season, with the overall rate now at 5 percent, and the in-zone rate exceeding 87 percent for the season. The approach is sound with Jensen, as well, and he rarely expands the zone, running a chase rate below 20 percent. The zone-swing rate could improve, but Jensen has picked his spots well and excelled.

The exit velocities are in the plus range at this point. Jensen put on the best batting practice display in the Futures Game of any hitter and has topped out at 115 mph in a game. This year, his 90th percentile exit velocity has jumped to 108 mph.

Jensen is also solid behind the plate, throwing out 25 percent of attempted base stealers this season. I would expect to see Jensen up in mid-August.

Spencer Jones, OF - New York Yankees

The title of hottest hitter in baseball right now belongs to Jones as he continues to hit the cover off the ball every game. Last weekend, Jones mashed four home runs, including two on Sunday, to pair with four-hit efforts on both Saturday and Sunday.

Consistently blasting home runs that leave the bat with exit velocities north of 110, Jones has some of the best power in the game. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Jones has a 90th percentile exit velocity of 110 mph with a max north of 115 mph.

Jones is also an exceptional athlete for his size. He runs well and plays a strong centerfield defense, showing good reads and jumps while having plus foot speed over space. The star potential is there, but he lags in the contact department, having some of the worst contact rates in the minors.

Sources tell me that Jones unlocked something this weekend while working on his swing. Since that message, Jones has seen his in-zone contact rate jump to 82 percent, with an overall mark of 76 percent. Yes, it is a small sample, but these are marks Jones has never reached at any point in his career. Before that, Jones had a 61 percent zone-contact rate in Triple-A and had struck out 19 times in his first 13 games with Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

Is it legit, and could Jones reach the majors soon? Both seem possible.

Brandon Sproat, RHP - New York Mets

After a massive ascent up prospect rankings in 2024, as Sproat was one of the biggest pitching prospect breakouts in the game, 2025 has been rough, at least until now. Sproat turned in a masterful performance last Saturday, striking out nine batters across five scoreless innings. In doing so, he extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings.

Over that span, Sproat has struck out 27 batters and walked just six, but that number drops to just three total walks over his last three starts.

There have been some changes in the profile that led to the jump. Sproat has seen an uptick in velocity and a pitch mix change. Sproat has also moved a few inches toward the first base side of the rubber. Little changes can make all the difference.

Through games before 6/22:

After 6/22:

In his last four starts, Sproat has sat at 97.4 mph on his fastball, which is up from 95.8 previously. The curveball usage has also increased from four percentage points to 17.6 percent and has been his second most used pitch behind the four-seam.

Sproat has also used his changeup more often, and both it and the curveball have missed bats at highly impressive rates. The curbed sinker usage could be a good sign moving forward, as it has been a pitch that was hit hard this year.

Will the velocity stick? Will the move toward the first base side of the rubber continue to lead to dominance? These small sample size questions need to be answered. For now, things look good, and Sproat could find himself pitching with the Mets by mid-August if the trends continue.

Andrew Painter, RHP - Philadelphia Phillies

We have officially reached the timeline the Phillies suggested Painter could see the call when they discussed it in preseason. Sure, Painter has not forced their hand by any means, as he has struggled with allowing home runs and walks at times. He gets the chance to redeem himself on Thursday night against Norfolk and show he is ready to pitch in Philadelphia and help the team make a World Series run.

Painter's fastball has sat around 97 mph for the entire season and touched 100 mph. The velocity is fully back, and Painter's fastball averages around 17 inches of IVB from a 6-foot-5 release height. When you consider Painter's big frame, he does not get much extension, and the locations have hurt him this year, allowing seven home runs and a 43 percent hard-hit rate against the pitch.

Painter's cutter has been his most-used secondary pitch. At 91 mph, Painter's cutter has a pretty strong whiff rate at 27 percent this season, and he limits hard contact well. The slider has steadily gained velocity this year and now sits closer to 88 mph than the 86 mph it was earlier in the year. It plays well off the cutter with more depth and a few more inches of glove-side movement.

The curveball has been one of Painter's better offerings. It has shown depth and sweeping action, averaging negative three inches of IVB and eight inches of sweeping action. Painter has thrown his changeup sparingly this year as a distant fifth pitch. It sits around 90 mph with carry and 13 inches of fading action.

Painter has the stuff; he may just need to tweak his usage and pitch mix. The start tonight against Norfolk is an excellent opportunity after 11 days off to show he is ready to go for the second half of the season.

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