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Happy Independence Day and 4th of July to everyone reading this on the holiday. I'm hoping you all had a great time with family and friends, eating too much food at cookouts, and watching some baseball of course. The baseball and fantasy baseball seasons are past the halfway mark at this point and the All-Star break is in sight.
Over the last week, we didn't receive any high-profile promotions, but Oscar Colas was recalled by the White Sox, along with Brandon Pfaadt and Gavin Stone. Will this finally be the week we see one of Colton Cowser, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, or Mauricio?
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: Oscar Colas (CHW), Brandon Pfaadt (ARI), Gavin Stone (LAD)
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 | Pos. | Team | ETA | Last Wk |
| 1 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 1B/3B | CIN | July | 1 |
| 2 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | JUly | 2 |
| 3 | Grayson Rodriguez | SP | BAL | July | 3 |
| 4 | Ronny Mauricio | SS | NYM | July | 4 |
| 5 | Colt Keith | 3B | DET | July | 7 |
| 6 | Dominic Canzone | OF | ARI | July | 5 |
| 7 | Oswald Peraza | SS | NYY | July | 6 |
| 8 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | July | 10 |
| 9 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | TBR | July | 8 |
| 10 | Tyler Soderstrom | C/1B | OAK | July | 11 |
| 11 | Sal Frelick | OF | MIL | August | 13 |
| 12 | Parker Meadows | OF | DET | August | 18 |
| 13 | Landon Knack | SP | LAD | August | 14 |
| 14 | Ceddanne Rafaela | OF | BOS | August | 15 |
| 15 | Matt Wallner | OF | MIN | August | 19 |
| 16 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | OF | DET | August | 16 |
| 17 | Endy Rodriguez | C | PIT | July | 17 |
| 18 | Masyn Winn | SS | STL | August | 20 |
| 19 | Aaron Schunk | 3B | COL | August | 21 |
| 20 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | July | NR |
| 21 | Lenyn Sosa | 2B/SS | CHW | July | 23 |
| 22 | Curtis Mead | 2B/3B | TBR | July | NR |
| 23 | Kyle Harrison | P | SFG | August | 24 |
| 24 | Cade Marlowe | OF | SEA | July | NR |
| 25 | Quinn Priester | P | PIT | August | 25 |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Well, another week and we're still waiting on the trio of Colton Cowser, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Ronny Mauricio. It doesn't exactly help that all three have been less than impressive over the last 10 days in Triple-A.
| Player | PA | Slash | HR | SB | BB% | K% |
| Colton Cowser | 35 | .267/.371/.400 | 1 | 1 | 14.3% | 22.9% |
| Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 39 | .176/.256/.324 | 1 | 0 | 10.3% | 23.1% |
| Ronny Mauricio | 36 | .125/.222/.156 | 0 | 2 | 8.3% | 22.2% |
At this point, if you've been holding them this long, I would continue to do so, especially Cowser and Encarnacion-Strand. The potential impact that each of these guys could bring to your fantasy teams is worth stashing in a bench spot unless you really need that spot for immediate production.
Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
I'm really starting to think we see Colt Keith sooner rather than later, especially now that he's mashing in Triple-A. With another three hits, including a double and a stolen base, Keith now has 10 hits in his first six Triple-A games including two home runs and four walks to only one strikeout.
Keith has proven all season that he's one of the best pure hitters in the minor leagues and is charging fast toward both Detroit and the top 10 overall in prospect rankings. It would be a complete shock if he didn't receive plenty of run in Detroit over the second half of the season for a team that is only 4.5 games out in the American League Central.
Matt Mervis, Chicago Cubs
Since being sent back down to Triple-A Iowa, Mervis is hitting .263 with a pair of home runs and five walks in 11 games. His first stint with the Cubs was underwhelming on the surface, but Mervis produced impressive quality of contact metrics with a 13.8% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate. However, he also struck out 32.3% of the time with a 33.3% whiff rate. Fortunately, he has only struck out 17.8% of the time in Triple-A since the demotion.
The Cubs are currently starting Jared Young at first base, who hit well this week, but I'm pretty sure 99% of baseball fans had never even heard this name until recently. If Young's production falls off and Mervis continues performing well in Triple-A, I'd bet we see Mervis receive another shot.
Tyler Soderstrom, Oakland Athletics
Moving out west, we have a pair of Oakland Athletics bats that will likely receive some playing time before the end of the season. Let's start with Tyler Soderstrom who has the higher fantasy upside of the Oakland duo. In 66 games this season, Soderstrom has already cranked 15 doubles and 20 home runs with a .256/.306/.548 slash line.
Even in Oakland's pitcher-friendly park, Soderstrom is a 30-homer bat in the making, but I'm skeptical about how high of an AVG and OBP he can provide. The contact skills aren't bad, but Soderstrom doesn't walk much and has been flirting with a .300 OBP all season. Even as a .250 hitter, Soderstrom's power should allow him to carve out some solid fantasy value once he's up. You'll certainly take that from a guy that will have catcher eligibility for at least this season.
Zack Gelof, Oakland Athletics
Now let's switch over to Zack Gelof. While he doesn't receive as much hype as Soderstrom does, Gelof is coming off an 18/10 season in 95 games last season and has already racked up 11 home runs and 19 steals in 63 games this season with an impressive .296/.404/.519 slash line. Despite his performance the last two seasons, Gelof continues to be a bit underrated in rankings, and I'm guilty of this as well. Given his above-average tools across the board and advanced bat overall, Gelof could provide a fantasy impact right away.
It's not like Oakland is playing for anything or has any players blocking Soderstrom or Gelof either. It would be a travesty if these two aren't up by early August at the latest following the trade deadline.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers
Well, it looks like Gavin Stone will get another shot with the Dodgers sooner than anticipated. Stone, along with Michael Grove, was recalled from Triple-A on Monday as the Dodgers placed longtime ace Clayton Kershaw on the IL. In four games down in Triple-A after being optioned in early June, Stone posted an impressive 2.39 ERA.
Wait, what's that? Oh, my apologies, that was supposed to say a 2.39 WHIP along with an ERA of 12. Yes, the PCL is extremely hitter-friendly, but Stone hasn't looked good at all. Even with him back up with the Dodgers, I'm not looking to add Stone to any fantasy league.
As for Brandon Pfaadt, I have no interest in him either right now in redraft leagues. Pfaadt continues to display the same command issues that got him hit around during his first stint with Arizona. After allowing six earned runs in just two innings last Thursday, Pfaadt now has a 9.82 ERA through his first six Major Leagues starts along with a savant page filled with blue balls. I've been fading both of these arms in general recently and don't want any part of them in redraft leagues.
Oscar Colas, Chicago White Sox
While Stone and Pfaadt are off my redraft radar for now, Oscar Colas intrigues me. Just as was the case with Stone and Pfaadt, Colas struggled in his first Major League stint earlier this season and even struggled initially after being sent back down to Triple-A. However, Colas really turned his season around in the month of June, slashing .292/.351/.573 with seven home runs in 22 games.
Colas had been especially hot over his last seven games, cranking seven home runs. He's a bit aggressive in general, doesn't walk much, and won't provide many stolen bases, but Colas has the ability to hit over 25 home runs over the course of a full season with an AVG likely in the .260-.270 range. He should step right back into the White Sox starting lineup and see regular playing time moving forward as long as he performs better than his first stint.
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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