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It's hard to believe that the MLB season is already at the halfway mark. FOr the most part, fantasy league standings have taken shape and you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not you have a shot at contending this season. If you've fallen out of the hunt, stashing prospects probably isn't a recommended strategy. But if you're near the top of the standing or pushing for a playoff/money spot and are looking for that next potential spark, these names could provide you with what you're looking for.
Over the last week we received three intriguing call-ups with Jordan Westburg, Gavin Williams, and David Hamilton. Westburg and Williams should be rostered everywhere and Hamilton can provide a big speed boost if that's an area you've been struggling in.
In this article, we will focus on MLB prospects, rookies, and call-ups who could make impacts for the 2023 fantasy baseball season. Stashing fantasy baseball prospects should be done strategically, not haphazardly. You need to be cognizant of which prospects will be up sooner and can make the biggest short-term impact on your teams – even if that means stashing a prospect that might be ranked lower than another in long-term dynasty prospect rankings.
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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 2023 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects to potentially make a rest-of-season fantasy baseball impact in 2023. As prospects are called up, they are removed from the rankings. You can also see our top fantasy baseball dynasty prospects for long-term outlooks.
Called Up Last Week: Jordan Westburg (BAL), Gavin Williams (CLE), David Hamilton (BOS)
Honorable Mentions: Joey Ortiz (BAL), Connor Norby (BAL), Moises Gomez (STL), Curtis Mead (TBR), Cade Marlowe (SEA), Zach DeLoach (SEA), Justin Dirden (HOU), Heston Kjerstad (BAL), Ben Brown (CHC), Jake Alu (WAS), Davis Schneider (TOR), Jorge Barrosa (ARI), Chase Hampton (NYY), Robert Gasser (MIL)
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | ETA | Last Wk |
| 1 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 1B/3B | CIN | July | 2 |
| 2 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | July | 1 |
| 3 | Grayson Rodriguez | SP | BAL | July | 5 |
| 4 | Ronny Mauricio | SS | NYM | July | 7 |
| 5 | Dominic Canzone | OF | ARI | July | 9 |
| 6 | Oswald Peraza | SS | NYY | July | 10 |
| 7 | Colt Keith | 3B | DET | August | 8 |
| 8 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | TBR | August | 6 |
| 9 | Dominic Fletcher | OF | ARI | July | 11 |
| 10 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | August | 12 |
| 11 | Tyler Soderstrom | C/1B | OAK | August | 14 |
| 12 | Oscar Colas | OF | CHE | August | 20 |
| 13 | Sal Frelick | OF | MIL | August | 16 |
| 14 | Landon Knack | SP | LAD | August | 21 |
| 15 | Ceddanne Rafaela | OF | BOS | August | NR |
| 16 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | OF | DET | August | 22 |
| 17 | Endy Rodriguez | C | PIT | August | 23 |
| 18 | Parker Meadows | OF | DET | August | NR |
| 19 | Matt Wallner | OF | MIN | August | NR |
| 20 | Masyn Winn | SS | STL | August | NR |
| 21 | Aaron Schunk | 3B | COL | August | NR |
| 22 | Brandon Pfaadt | SP | ARI | July | 25 |
| 23 | Lenyn Sosa | 2B/SS | CHW | July | NR |
| 24 | Kyle Harrison | SP | SFG | August | 19 |
| 25 | Quinn Priester | SP | PIT | August | NR |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles & Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cincinnati Reds
With Westburg now up with Baltimore, the two biggest fish left in the prospect to stash sea right now are Colton Cowser and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Per usual, both of these guys continue to hit well in Triple-A. For the month of June, Cowser is hitting .298 with a .393 OBP, two home runs, and a steal in 15 games while Encarnacion-Strand is hitting .286 with a .409 OBP and three home runs in 20 games.
However, their performance is only have of the puzzle, as it is with any top prospect nearing their MLB promotion. The other half of the puzzle is an open spot for them at the Major League level. For Cowser, that's not really there right now. Cedric Mullins has returned from the IL to reclaim his center field spot while both Austin Hays and Aaron Hicks are hitting well and starting regularly in the two corner outfield spots. And with Santander at DH, Cowser just doesn't have an opening right now and is probably waiting for an injury or for Hicks' performance to fall of.
As for Encarnacion-Strand, there's more of a light at the end of this tunnel. He's been playing both corner infield spots in Triple-A and even has a couple of games in the outfield as well. Those were both back to back and over a week ago at this point, so maybe the CES to the outfield experiment wasn't working in the eyes of the Reds' front office. There's no direct fit here, but given that Encarnacion-Strand can play multiple positions and the Reds have been starting one of Will Benson or Nick Senzel regularly, it's not a stretch to say that CES could be brought up soon to factor into the mix.
Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox
With David Hamilton now up with Boston, Ceddanne Rafaela is the next Boston prospect that could come up and make a fantasy impact this season. In 60 Double-A games before his promotion the other day, Rafaela was slashing .394/.332/.441 with six home runs and 30 steals, and was hitting .364 with three home runs and two steals in the month of June.
While he remains overly aggressive and that will likely limit him at the plate a bit, Rafaela's speed should definitely be impactful and he has some sneaky pop to his pull side which usually works out well at Fenway Park. It would surprise me if he made a Esteury Ruiz type of impact if he gets brought up, but with a bit less steals but a few more home runs.
Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers
After hitting under .240 in both April and May, Parker Meadows has jumpstarted his season here in June, slashing .333/.363/.563 with nine doubles, three home runs, and two steals in 22 games. Overall, Meadows has nine home runs and eight steals in 71 games this season and had a 20/17 season in 127 games last year.
There's definitely a chance that Meadows carves out regular playing time in Detroit this season as the Tigers are currently starting Zach McKinstry, Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Jake Marisnick, and Eric Haase in their outfield. The first three have all hit well at one point or another this season but are far from locks to hold onto a starting spot if they were to go into a slump at the plate.
Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
Even though he's currently at Double-A, it wouldn't surprise me to see Colt Keith up with Detroit sooner rather than later. We've seen more promotions from Double-A to the Majors this season than I can recall over the last several years, and Keith has been mashing all season. In 59 games for Double-A Erie, Keith is slashing .325/.391/.585 with 18 doubles and 14 home runs. He won't provide much speed, but this is a potential plus hit, plus power bat capable of hitting above .280 while exceeding 25 home runs annually.
Keith has been played both second base and third base in the minors and those two spots in Detroit are currently being filled by some combination of Andy Ibañez, Zack Short, and Jonathan Schoop. I'd only stash Keith in deeper leagues or leagues with larger benchs right now, as Detroit very well could just keep him in the minors all season and bring him up in 2024, but this is definitely a name to monitor and grab if that promotion happens.
Dominic Canzone, Arizona Diamondbacks
If only the Arizona Diamondbacks didn't have so many damn outfielders that have already debuted or are Major League ready. We joke about how Encarnacion-Strand has been mashing and needs to be freed from Triple-A, but Dominic Canzone has been even better in the month of June, slashing a ridiculous .427/.474/.794 with eight doubles and five home runs in 18 games. He's also only struck out in 15.4% of his plate appearances this month and 13% for the season.
But even with Canzone's dominance, there's no spot for him as Alek Thomas was recently recalled, Jake McCarthy is hitting well since being recalled a month ago, and the other outfield spot is occupied by the fantasy stud, Corbin Carroll. At this point, it will take an injury or slump from McCarthy or Thomas for Canzone to get the call most likely.
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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