Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Stash: Redraft Rankings (April 21 - April 28)

April 23, 2024

Eric Cross's top 25 fantasy baseball prospects rankings for Week 5 (2024). MLB prospects, rookies, call-ups who can be fantasy baseball sleepers in redraft.

We're already into the final third of April and the prospect promotions have been steady so far. Over the last two weeks, we've seen the likes of Jackson Holliday, Andy Pages, Jonatan Clase and Heston Kjerstad get the call on the hitting side -- and Jack Leiter on the pitching side, who has already been sent back down to Triple-A after allowing seven earned runs in three innings.

Even with Holliday and others up, we still have an absolutely loaded stash list this week, headlined by five of my Top 30 overall prospects that should all be up within the next month or so.

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.

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Top 25 Prospects to Stash for 2024 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 (Hitters):

Ben Rice, Tyler Soderstrom, Matt Mervis, Jace Jung, Justin Foscue, Matt Shaw, Luisangel Acuna, Damiano Palmegiani, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Colson Montgomery, Carson Williams, Marco Luciano, Spencer Jones, Owen Caissie, Jakob Marsee, Drew Gilbert, Everson Pereira, Blake Dunn, Hunter Goodman.

Honorable Mentions (Pitchers):

Jack Leiter, Jackson Jobe, Jacob Misiorowski, Chase Hampton, Will Warren, A.J. Blubaugh.

UPDATES:

• Heston Kjerstad was called up on Monday April 22nd and made his debut on Tuesday 4/23.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong is getting called up on Wednesday April 24th with Cody Bellinger hitting the IL.
• Hunter Goodman is getting called up as well on Wednesday 4/24.

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Coby Mayo (3B - BAL)

"Where the bleep is Coby Mayo?"

I'm sure many of you have said or thought some variation of that phrase. Mayo continues raking in Triple-A, but unfortunately, the logjam of talented players in Baltimore's infield still exists. In fact, you could make a strong case that current starting third baseman, Jordan Westburg, has been the best hitter on the team so far this season.

However, Jackson Holliday has been struggling mightily -- there's a chance they could send him back down to Triple-A and shift Westburg from the hot corner to second base, subsequently freeing up a spot for Mayo.

What a start! @cobymayox gets things going with his sixth home run of the season! 2-0 Tides#RisingTide pic.twitter.com/oNBnLqPbWd

— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) April 20, 2024

If you've been stashing, you need to continue to do so. And if Mayo is still available in your league, you need to change that quickly. Even though there's no immediate opening for him, Mayo will get his chance sooner or later and could be a major impact bat for fantasy teams. Over the last 10 days, Mayo is slashing .293/.302/.634 with four home runs in 43 plate appearances.

Kyle Manzardo (1B - CLE)

With three home runs in his last two games, Kyle Manzardo is now up to four in 18 games with a .308/.400/.585 slash line and nearly as many walks (12) as strikeouts (14). While Josh Naylor has been dominating at the plate, the Guardians could push him to DH full time and open up the first base spot for Manzardo or have the duo split time between 1B and DH.

Manzardo should be up within the next couple of weeks and offers solid upside in the AVG and HR departments.

Joey Loperfido (OF/1B - HOU)

While the AVG has dipped a bit over the last week, Joey Loperfido is still cranking home runs with five in his last nine games along with a .364 OBP over that span (although he's currently on a six-game homerless streak).

At the Major League level, Jose Abreu continues to stink up the joint with a .068/.138/.085 slash line in 65 plate appearances, and the combination of Mauricio Dubon and Jake Meyers in center field is less than inspiring. It's only a matter of time before Loperfido takes over one of those spots, hence his high ranking this week.

Ricky Tiedemann (SP - TOR)

Well, if you've been stashing Ricky Tiedemann or were considering doing so, he can safely be dropped from your team (or your fantasy radar) for now. The talented southpaw landed on the IL this weekend with left elbow discomfort.

We're still waiting to hear exactly how long Tiedemann will be out, but this is just another injury to add to the long list associated with Tiedemann. There's no denying the talent, but Tiedemann's durability is a red flag.

Orelvis Martinez (2B - TOR)

While Tiedemann is a Toronto prospect you probably shouldn't be stashing right now, Orelvis Martinez is one you can definitely consider with how he's started the season. Martinez swatted six home runs over the last week and is now slashing .333/.392/.681 in 79 plate appearances in Triple-A.

However, he's also made five errors already at second base, which might delay his arrival a bit. While Martinez won't provide many steals, he'll make an impact in the power department while providing a decent AVG as well.

Paul Skenes (SP - PIT)

Triple-A hitters haven't had a chance against Paul Skenes so far this season. In 12.2 scoreless innings, Skenes has allowed just five hits and four walks while striking out 27 of the 47 batters he's faced thus far. On top of that, opposing hitters are hitting just .116 against Skenes, and he's recorded a stellar 21% swinging strike rate as well.

Whenever Pittsburgh decides to call him up, Skenes could have a 2023 Eury Perez-level impact, and be a top-25 fantasy starter right out of the gate. However, Pittsburgh is keeping Skenes in the three inning and 60 pitch range right now, so I don't think the promotion is happening until some time in May.

Paul Skenes, 8Ks in 3.1 innings. pic.twitter.com/U3P5RSfBGo

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 18, 2024

Jack Leiter (SP - TEX)

As mentioned above, Jack Leiter made his Major League debut last week and was quickly returned to Triple-A after allowing seven earned runs. You might wonder why he's not in the top 25 this week after debuting last week. Well I'm not so sure his next shot comes within the next few weeks, and I'm still a bit hesitant to invest in Leiter in general.

Yes, he's looked better since the tail end of last season and can miss bats at a high clip. However command and control inconsistencies still worry me. Leiter did a better job limiting walks this season, but allowed four home runs - bringing his MiLB total to 20 homers allowed in 99.1 innings.

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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