Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash (Redraft): Eric Cross' Rookie Rankings for Week 19

August 7, 2025

Eric Cross' top 25 fantasy baseball prospects to stash in redraft for Week 19 (2025). His updated MLB rookie rankings for prospect call-ups to make 2025 impacts.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone. We've seen plenty of playing time opportunities for top prospects open up since the deadline, specifically in Arizona and Baltimore. One of those spots in Arizona has already been filled by Tyler Locklear, who is a sneaky add in 12-team leagues or deeper right now.

We should also see another wave of prospect promotions after the middle of the month, as that's when teams can keep these prospects under 45 days of service time to keep their rookie status intact for the 2026 season.

These prospect rankings are for 2025 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects who could potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2025 redraft leagues. You can also see our top fantasy baseball dynasty prospects rankings for longer-term outlooks and our 2025 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for all other league formats.

Top 25 Prospects to Stash in Redraft Leagues

My prospect write-ups are below the rankings. These rankings are for 2025 redraft value only, not dynasty. These are MLB prospects who could potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2025.

Promoted Last Week: Carson Whisenhunt (SFG), C.J. Kayfus (CLE), Logan Henderson (MIL), Tyler Locklear (ARI), Alex Freeland (LAD)

Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Jett Williams (NYM), Kevin Alcantara (CHC), Sterlin Thompson (COL), Blaze Jordan (STL), Deyvison De Los Santos (MIA), Jorge Barrosa (ARI), Matthew Lugo (LAA), Joe Mack (MIA), Emmanuel Rodriguez (MIN), Everson Pereira (MIA)

Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Thomas Harrington (PIT), Noah Schultz (CHW), Cade Cavalli (WAS), Rhett Lowder (CIN), Quinn Mathews (STL)

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Dylan Beavers, Baltimore Orioles

Could we finally get some notable prospect promotions in Baltimore over the next couple of weeks? With Ramon Laureano and Cedric Mullins traded at the deadline last week, Baltimore has now been starting Dylan Carlson in center field and Jeremiah Jackson at DH/RF over the last three games. Those spots would look much more appealing if occupied by Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo, wouldn't they?

Dylan Beavers AGAIN!

The @Orioles' No. 3 prospect belts his 2nd homer of the game.

He's now batting .306 for the @NorfolkTides. pic.twitter.com/hav6Wg7zR8

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 3, 2025

I'm banking on both of those guys getting the call after August 15th so Baltimore can keep both players rookie eligible for 2026. Basallo will go for a ton of FAAB when he gets the call, but Beavers is highly intriguing as well. Thanks to a recent hot stretch, Beavers is now up to 13 doubles, 16 home runs, and 22 steals in 85 games with a .307/.421/.520 slash line.

Beavers has been making plenty of contact this season with an 86.8% zone contact rate and 80.5% overall contact rate, along with an elite 16% walk rate and 17.1% strikeout rate. He's also an above-average runner and efficient base stealer, and has posted decent quality of contact metrics this season, including a 40.7% hard-hit rate and 9.3% barrel rate.

Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks

With Eugenio Suarez now back with his old team in Seattle, the hot corner in Arizona is wide open for Jordan Lawlar the rest of the season. Lawlar is currently on a rehab assignment, but it seems like he could be ready in the next week or so to rejoin the Diamondbacks.

The buzz surrounding Lawlar has certainly died down over the last year or two due to multiple trips to the injured list. However, this is still a talented offensive player and one of the highest upside prospects in the minors for fantasy purposes. In 53 Triple-A games this season, Lawlar racked up 19 doubles, 10 home runs, and 18 steals with a .319/.410/.583 slash line. There's honestly not a prospect in these Top-25 stash rankings with more fantasy upside than Lawlar.

J.J. Wetherholt, St. Louis Cardinals

While it's not quite Spencer Jones levels, J.J. Wetherholt has been red hot at the plate over the last four weeks. In his last 17 games dating back to 7/6, Wetherholt is slashing .348/.423/.818 with five doubles, eight home runs, two steals, and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight). In his last 25 games, Wetherholt has reached base in 24 of them with a .302/.405/.667 slash line.

JJ Wetherholt continues to tear up Triple-A 😤

The @Cardinals' top prospect is 3-for-3 with a homer -- through four innings!

He's now batting .356 with a 1.217 OPS in 16 games with the @memphisredbirds. pic.twitter.com/wei1MxAn4x

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 3, 2025

In my August Top 500 prospect rankings update, Wetherholt slotted in at #10 thanks to his blend of contact, approach, power, and speed. In his roughly three and a half weeks in Triple-A, Wetherholt has posted an impressive 92 mph AVG EV, 52.7% hard-hit rate, and a 16.4% barrel rate with a 75.2% contact rate, 12.3% walk rate, and an 11% strikeout rate. He also made his first start at third base on Sunday, which is something to keep an eye on.

Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros, Chicago Cubs

Well, since the Chicago Cubs didn't move any of their top prospects, specifically Owen Caissie or Moises Ballesteros, I'm not sure when we'll see either of these two get regular playing time with the Cubs. It might not even be this season at this point, as the catcher, DH, and outfield spots in the Cubs' lineup are filled with players who are performing well.

Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya have been a solid duo behind the plate, and neither Caissie nor Ballesteros is going to upseat any of Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, or Kyle Tucker at DH or in the outfield. At this point, the only way we see Caissie or Ballesteros is if there's an injury to one of the Major League names mentioned above. Both bats would be intriguing for fantasy purposes if an injury opened up regular playing time, though.

The same can be said for Jonathon Long, too, who is currently blocked by Michael Busch at first base. It's too bad, as all three would be appealing for fantasy.

Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates

Another notable prospect whom I'm starting to question whether we'll see this season is Bubba Chandler. The Pittsburgh Pirates don't seem to be in any sort of hurry to bring up their top pitching prospect, who has now been in Triple-A for 28 starts and 127.1 innings after reaching Triple-A for the final seven starts of last season. It's not like Chandler has been dominant in Triple-A this season either.

After a good first six starts, Chandler has recorded a 4.45 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, a 13.1% walk rate, and a 24.2% strikeout rate. Sure, the ABS system plays into the higher walk rate to some degree, but it's not entirely to blame, and Chandler wasn't having issues keeping the walk rate in check through his first half-dozen starts of the season.

Pittsburgh could still bring Chandler up after the 15th of the month, but I'm personally not going to make Chandler a high-priority add in my fantasy leagues. The long-term upside is still considerable, but he's getting hit around too much and walking too many batters right now for me to get too excited about the potential short-term fantasy impact once he finally gets the call.

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