Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Stash: Redraft Rankings (April 8 - 14 Updates)

April 9, 2024

Eric Cross's top 25 fantasy baseball prospects rankings for Week 2 (2024). MLB prospects, rookies, call-ups who can be fantasy baseball sleepers in redraft.

We're only a week and a half into the season, but pandemonium has already filled the baseball world. This has caused fantasy managers to hit the waiver wire harder than we'd like to this early in the season, but for every injury that surfaces, we have to quickly pivot to plan B.

Sometimes, plan B can be the arrival of a potential impact prospect, which is where these weekly Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash here on RotoBaller comes into play.

But remember, stashing prospects should be done strategically and varies from league to league. Don't leave your teams without much depth just because you want all the high-upside prospects on your roster.

Top 25 Prospects to Stash for Fantasy Baseball

Notes on plenty of prospects can be found below the rankings table. And remember, these rankings are for 2024 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects to potentially make a rest-of-season fantasy baseball impact in 2024.

Honorable Mentions (No Particular Order): Owen Caissie, Matt Shaw, Adael Amador, Jackson Jobe, Spencer Jones, Carson Williams, Luisangel Acuna, Jacob Misiorowski, Ben Rice, Jakob Marsee, Jace Jung, Andy Pages, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Ryan Bliss, Chase Hampton, Will Warren, Alexander Canario, Orelvis Martinez, Addison Barger, Justin Foscue, Marco Luciano, Cade Povich.

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Update: On Tuesday evening April 9th, it was announced that the Orioles are calling up top prospect Jackson Holliday.

BREAKING: The Baltimore Orioles are calling up infielder Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, a source tells ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 10, 2024

Heston Kjerstad (OF - BAL)

The term "red hot" doesn't even begin to describe how Heston Kjerstad has been hitting to start the 2024 season. In nine games, Kjerstad has already swatted four doubles and six home runs to go along with a stellar .462/.522/1.026 slash line.

It's obvious that he and others in this Norfolk lineup are ready for regular playing time in the majors, but Baltimore can only put nine players on the field at one time. And unfortunately for Kjerstad, Colton Cowser is already up with Baltimore and playing sparingly as its fourth outfielder. As of now, it's really hard to predict when Kjerstad will get his shot, but whenever that time comes, he could make an impact in the power department.

Connor Norby (OF/2B - BAL)

You could literally just copy and paste most of what I said above for Kjerstad here for Connor Norby. Like most in the star-studded Norfolk Tides lineup, Norby is red hot to start the 2024 season, slashing .395/.438/.767 through his first nine games with four doubles and four home runs. Norby has been playing primarily left field this season for Norfolk after handling the keystone in most of his starts last season.

Regardless of which position he's at, there's no clear path to playing time for Norby either as he would have to battle with Kjerstad and Cowser for any outfield reps and Jackson Holliday for any second base reps. As is the case with Kjerstad, Norby has the offensive skill set to make a solid fantasy contribution if he does get regular playing time, but he's just one to monitor for now until a spot opens up.

Joey Loperfido (OF/1B/2B - HOU)

We're eight games into the season for Joey Loperfido and he won't stop going yard, now up to five in eight games. And for anyone yelling about his 38.9% strikeout rate, it would only be 26.7% if you take out his 0/6 with 6K performance last week that I'm sure was possibly the worst game of Loperfido's life at the plate. Yes, the strikeout rate has always been a little worse than average, but it isn't a major concern moving forward.

Loperfido's power and speed blend give him plenty of upside for fantasy purposes and is coming off a 25/27 season in just 124 games last year. He's been starting in center field for Triple-A Sugar Land but current Houston center fielder Jake Meyers has been holding his own at the plate so far with a .250 AVG and two home runs in nine games. However, Jose Abreu has looked lost and Loperfido has played first base in the minors as well. If he continues hitting well, Loperfido won't remain in Triple-A for much longer.

Jordan Beck (OF - COL)

Another hitter off to a hot start in Triple-A is Colorado outfield prospect Jordan Beck. In eight games, Beck already has six extra-base hits and three home runs with a .321/.444/.786 slash line. This coming after a 25/20 season in 126 games last season between High-A and Double-A.

Beck's plus or better power and at least average speed give him 30/15 upside in Coors if everything clicks, and I can see a path to playing time here. That path would be the struggling Michael Toglia getting sent back to Triple-A (or to the bench) and Nolan Jones shifting to first base, which would open up a corner outfield spot for Beck.

Paul Skenes (SP - PIT)

Through his first two starts of the season for Triple-A Indianapolis, nobody has been able to really touch Paul Skenes. In six innings, Skenes has allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out 11 of the 20 batters he's faced. In his last outing on Friday, Skenes recorded a 36% whiff rate and 36% CSW while averaging 99.9 mph on his 4-seamer.

No pitching prospect can match the level of upside and proximity that Skenes has right now and it shouldn't be long before he's in Pittsburgh's rotation potentially making a Eury Perez type of impact for fantasy managers. Honestly, how much longer can the trio of Martin Perez, Bailey Falter, and Marco Gonzales hold off an elite talent like Skenes?

AJ Smith-Shawver (SP - ATL)

With Spencer Strider unfortunately hitting the IL for an extended period, AJ Smith-Shawver's ETA has been pushed up a bit. It's looking like Bryce Elder will get the first crack at replacing Skenes, but he was largely ineffective last season after his hot start. Eventually, I'm expecting Smith-Shawver to slide into the rotation, and while the impact likely won't be Skenes level, AJSS still offers intriguing upside for fantasy purposes.

There's a reason why the Braves pushed Smith-Shawver as hard as they did last season, even it they might have overdone it just a tad. If he can keep the walk rate in check, Smith-Shawver has SP2/3 upside and could realistically make 20 or more starts for the Braves this season.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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