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Another MLB trade deadline has come and gone. And per usual, plenty of prospects have either been traded into better situations or had Major Leaguers traded that makes their path to playing time a little bit easier. With the exception of Michael Busch that is. He's apparently stuck in Triple-A purgatory until the end of time.
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.
| Rank | Prospect Name | Pos. | Team | Last Wk |
| 1 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | CLE | 10 |
| 2 | Masyn Winn | SS | STL | 4 |
| 3 | Colt Keith | 3B | DET | 1 |
| 4 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | 3 |
| 5 | Brayan Rocchio | SS | CLE | NR |
| 6 | Heston Kjerstad | OF | BAL | 6 |
| 7 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | OF | CHC | NR |
| 8 | Michael Busch | 2B | LAD | 5 |
| 9 | Coby Mayo | 3B | BAL | 7 |
| 10 | Ronny Mauricio | SS | NYM | 2 |
| 11 | Marco Luciano | SS | SFG | NR |
| 12 | Gavin Stone | P | LAD | 8 |
| 13 | Everson Pereira | OF | NYY | 9 |
| 14 | Ceddanne Rafaela | OF | BOS | 11 |
| 15 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | 18 |
| 16 | Landon Knack | SP | LAD | 12 |
| 17 | Parker Meadows | OF | DET | 13 |
| 18 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | OF | DET | 15 |
| 19 | Justin Foscue | 2B | TEX | 16 |
| 20 | Curtis Mead | 2B/3B | TBR | 17 |
| 21 | Joey Ortiz | SS | BAL | 21 |
| 22 | Aaron Schunk | 3B | COL | 14 |
| 23 | Orelvis Martinez | SS | TOR | NR |
| 24 | Luken Baker | 1B | STL | 22 |
| 25 | Kyle Harrison | P | SFG | 24 |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians
In a rather surprising move, Kyle Manzardo is now a member of the Cleveland Guardians after being acquired in the Aaron Civale deal. When the deal happened, I didn't think it changed his ETA or 2023 rest-of-season outlook much. However, Cleveland then proceeded to deal Josh Bell to the Miami Marlins which makes Manzardo's path to the Majors much easier.
On top of that, Josh Naylor is dealing with side tightness. This is all a perfect storm that could have Manzardo up sooner rather than later, especially if Cleveland wants to overtake the Twins in the AL Central.
You might look at his surface stats in Triple-A and see an underwhelming .238/.342/.442 slash line and wonder why I'm so excited about his potential promotion. Honestly, ignore those surface stats.
There have been some family issues that would be hard for any player to play through. Look at what Manzardo did last year and use that as your expectation for him moving forward. This is a player that can post a high AVG/OBP with more than 25 homers annually as well.
Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals
While the Paul DeJong trade didn't exactly send ripples throughout the baseball world, it does create a path to playing time for Masyn Winn this season. The unfortunate news of Brendan Donovan being out for the remainder of the season helps as well.
Still, St. Louis might wait a few weeks to keep Winn rookie-eligible heading into 2024, so his promotion isn't necessarily going to be in the next few days. But when he does get the call, Winn would bring plenty of intrigue as a prospect that can hit for a solid average while providing some power and speed as well.
Since the beginning of May, Winn has slashed .304/.378/.519 and he's coming off his best month of the season in July where he posted a .359/.427/.750 slash line with eight home runs. We're definitely going to see Winn this season, it's just a matter of when and at which middle infield position.
Michael Busch, Los Angeles Dodgers
Well, the trade deadline has come and gone, but Michael Busch still remains in Triple-A for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Getting him out of Los Angeles and into an organization that could actually play him regularly at the Major League level was something I was hoping for, but that unfortunately didn't happen.
Busch continues to mash for Triple-A Oklahoma City, currently sitting with a .317/.429/.596 slash line and 18 home runs in 71 games, but he's probably going to need an injury at the Major League level before regular playing time becomes a possibility. And even then it's not a lock.
Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets
Another player I'm beginning to doubt if they come up soon is Ronny Mauricio. For starters, Mauricio has cooled off since his torrid April/May, slashing just .233/.293/.409 since June 1st.
The power and speed have still been there however with nine home runs and seven steals over this 41-game stretch. On top of that, we have reports like the one below from Jon Heyman that make it sound like a Mauricio promotion isn't overly imminent.
Heston Kjerstad, Baltimore Orioles
Let me begin by saying that I'm still 100% as high on Colton Cowser now as I was when he debuted. But Cowser has struggled mightily with Baltimore and this could be a situation where they option him back to Triple-A and give Heston Kjerstad a shot who has been raking for Triple-A Norfolk.
In 40 games at the level, Kjerstad is slashing .333/.409/.588 with 14 doubles, seven home runs, and an 18.5% strikeout rate. Kjerstad won't provide speed like Cowser, but you can argue that he's the better pure bat.
Joey Ortiz, Baltimore Orioles
Another surging bat down in Triple-A Norfolk is shortstop Joey Ortiz. Since being optioned back down in late-June, Ortiz has slashed .370/.425/.574 with 11 doubles, three home runs, and eight steals.
He doesn't possess the upside of others on this list, but his ability to hit for average while providing some power and speed could be beneficial in deeper leagues if he's able to find regular playing time down the stretch. That will be difficult though as there's no clear opening for him right now in Baltimore.
Connor Norby, Baltimore Orioles
Alright, I swear this is the last Baltimore prospect. After a sluggish April, Norby has been excellent ever since, slashing .305/.369/.529 in 328 plate appearances since May 1st with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, and six steals.
Like Kjerstad, Ortiz, and even Coby Mayo, there's no room for Norby right now in Baltimore, but just keep an eye on him incase a spot opens up. Given his .270/20/10+ upside from the second base position, Norby would draw immediate intrigue for fantasy if he gets the call.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
With the Chicago Cubs only four games back in the National League Central and 3.5 games back of the third wild card spot, it wouldn't surprise me to see them call up Pete Crow-Armstrong at some point over the final two months of the season.
The Cubs are currently Mike Tauchman and Cody Bellinger in center field, but Tauchman has been far from consistent in his Major League career and Bellinger could slide back to first base regularly (where he's played some this season) with the newly-acquired Jeimer Candelario sliding over to the hot corner.
If Crow-Armstrong does get the call, his solid power/speed blend would make him highly intriguing in all fantasy leagues. In 74 games this season, Crow-Armstrong has racked up 14 home runs and 28 steals with a .286/.370/.522 slash line. The Cubs just promoted him to Triple-A so it might not be long before he's patrolling center field in Wrigley.
Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland Guardians
With Amed Rosario now out of town, the Cleveland Guardians have been rolling with Gabriel Arias and his current .205/.304/.317 slash line at the shortstop position lately. If he doesn't start showing some adequacy at the plate, it wouldn't be surprising to see Cleveland make the swap and bring up the more offensively talented Brayan Rocchio from Triple-A.
In 89 games for Triple-A Columbus this season, Rocchio has slashed .291/.383/.417 with 26 doubles, three home runs, and 19 steals. While he doesn't project to provide much impact in the power department, Rocchio could provide a decent average and some speed, giving him some value in deeper formats.
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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