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The MLB season is already humming along into its second full week and all full-season minor league levels are now in full swing as well with Single-A and Double-A kicking off late last week. Although it's still very early, we've already seen prospects making an impact at the MLB level with several high-profile promotions already. This past week, both Francisco Alvarez and Grayson Rodriguez were promoted to the majors, and I have a feeling we'll see several more before the end of the month.
The purpose of this article is to assist those trying to answer the last part above. 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.
In this article, we will focus on MLB prospects, rookies, and call-ups who could make impacts for the 2023 fantasy baseball season.
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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, rookies, and call-ups 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 250 fantasy baseball dynasty prospects for long-term outlooks.
Called Up Last Week: Francisco Alvarez (NYM), Grayson Rodriguez (BAL)
Honorable Mentions: Michael Busch (LAD), Ricky Tiedemann (TOR), Endy Rodriguez (PIT), Samad Taylor (KC), Lenyn Sosa (CHW), Gavin Williams (CLE), Bryce Miller (SEA), Cade Marlowe (SEA), Casey Schmitt (SF)
Mid-Week Updates: Edouard Julien was called up on Wednesday April 12th and has been removed from the rankings. Lenyn Sosa was also called up on Wednesday with Tim Anderson going to the IL. Nolan Jones was also called up on Wednesday with German Marquez going to the IL. Vaughn Grissom was called up on Friday April 14th with Orlando Arcia heading to the IL.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | ETA | Last Wk |
| 1 | Brett Baty | 3B | NYM | April | 1 |
| 2 | Brandon Pfaadt | SP | ARI | April | 4 |
| 4 | Kyle Manzardo | 1B | TBR | May | 3 |
| 5 | Curtis Mead | 2B/3B | TBR | May | 5 |
| 7 | Matt Mervis | 1B | CHC | May | 10 |
| 8 | Oswald Peraza | SS | NYY | May | 7 |
| 9 | Bobby Miller | SP | LAD | May | 12 |
| 11 | Gavin Stone | SP | LAD | May | 13 |
| 12 | Chase Silseth | SP | LAA | April | 9 |
| 13 | Sal Frelick | OF | MIL | May | 14 |
| 14 | Royce Lewis | SS | MIN | June | 11 |
| 15 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | June | 19 |
| 16 | Jordan Westburg | 2B/3B/SS | BAL | June | 20 |
| 17 | Matthew Liberatore | SP | STL | May | NR |
| 18 | Addison Barger | 2B/3B/SS | TOR | May | 15 |
| 19 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | June | 16 |
| 20 | Elly De La Cruz | SS | CIN | July | 17 |
| 21 | Bo Naylor | C | CLE | May | NR |
| 22 | Tanner Bibee | SP | CLE | May | 18 |
| 23 | Maikel Garcia | SS | KCR | May | NR |
| 24 | Ronny Mauricio | SS | NYM | June | NR |
| 25 | Taj Bradley | SP | TBR | June | 22 |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Brett Baty (3B - NYM)
Luckily, the thumb injury Brett Baty sustained early last week was minor and he's already back in the lineup for Triple-A Syracuse, hitting very well this season. In 22 plate appearances, Baty is slashing .333/.455/.722 with a pair of home runs and steals. Meanwhile, Eduardo Escobar is hitting .125 with a 30.3% strikeout rate at the MLB level. If Baty continues hitting well and Escobar continues struggling, there's a strong chance that the Mets bring up Baty and stick him at third over Escobar.
Vaughn Grissom (2B/SS - ATL)
It doesn't help that Orlando Arcia is hitting well for Atlanta, but Vaughn Grissom is off to a hot start this season with Triple-A Gwinnett. After another hit Sunday, Grissom is hitting .394 with five extra-base hits, one home run, and two steals in 39 plate appearances. In addition, Grissom has walked five times and has yet to strike out. While it's hard to say exactly when this will happen, Grissom is going to be back up with Atlanta at some point early this season. The blend of upside/proximity makes him a priority stash in redraft leagues right now.
Brandon Pfaadt (SP - ARI)
Brandon Pfaadt moves up to second on this list as I believe there's a strong chance that he's up with Arizona very soon. On Saturday, Pfaadt tossed 4.2 innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and a 33% whiff rate, including a 46% whiff rate on his slider. At the same time, Zach Davies was struggling in the MLB against the Dodgers and hasn't shown much promise in the last year or two.
Plus, Davies is now on the IL and could miss more than a month. Taking his spot is Drey Jameson but he's far from a lock to hold down the spot long-term. This is about as easy of a swap as there can be for Arizona to make. I'm not sure if it will be by the next turn or two through the rotation, but it's going to be soon for sure.
Jordan Westburg (INF - BAL)
While Westburg isn't off to a dominant start, he's been hitting the ball hard and demonstrating a great approach so far. On Sunday, Westburg recorded three hard-hit balls, including his second home run of the season in seven games. He is coming off a strong 2022 campaign where he finished with 39 doubles, 27 home runs, and 12 steals in 138 games with a .265/.355/.496 slash line and 11.3% walk rate. Westburg has also already started at second base, third base, shortstop, and left field this season for Triple-A Norfolk. That versatility is huge and could help him get up to Baltimore sooner rather than later.
Nolan Jones (OF - COL)
Nolan Jones is absolutely on fire to start the season. After reaching base five times yesterday, including another home run, Jones is now slashing a robust .353/.476/.941 with six home runs in nine games for Triple-A Albuquerque. Another bright spot has been the 16.7% walk rate compared to a 21.4% strikeout rate.
The higher strikeout rate has been an issue at times for Jones, including with Cleveland last season when he struck out in 33% of his 94 plate appearances. Jones' power bat in Coors Field is very intriguing for fantasy purposes, and even more so if he keeps the strikeout rate in check. There's not a clear path to playing time at the moment in Colorado, but Jones could be the first bat up if any injury happens.
Matthew Liberatore (SP - STL)
I've gone from being extremely high on Matthew Liberatore after he was drafted, slowly fading him over time, and now buying back in again. The reason for the fading was that I was simply unimpressed with his arsenal outside of his big curveball. Last season in 34.2 innings with St. Louis, Liberatore's fastball registered a .351 BAA, .649 SLG, and .450 wOBA.
He was pretty mediocre in Triple-A as well. However, Liberatore has added velocity this season and looked much better during Spring training. In two Triple-A starts so far this season, Liberatore has back-to-back performances of five innings with zero runs and seven strikeouts. With Jake Woodford currently occupying the fifth spot in St. Louis' rotation, it wouldn't shock me to see Liberatore overtake him and rejoin the Cardinals' rotation fairly soon.
Undervalued Deep-League Names
These are more deep-league names to keep an eye on, but I wanted to quickly mention the trio of Lenyn Sosa (White Sox), Maikel Garcia (Royals), and Samad Taylor (Royals). Sosa and Garcia are the top two from this trio, but Taylor has plenty of speed and sneaky pop at times. He could carve out some deep-league value if he gets some run at second base or in the outfield in Kansas City.
However, Garcia has more fantasy upside due to his speed, increasing power, and better all-around bat. He's just blocked at the moment by some guy named Bobby Witt Jr. but could play at third base, too.
As for Sosa, he's coming off a .315/23 season in 119 games last year and is off to a torrid start to the 2023 season. He's played both middle infield spots this season and should get a look if Elvis Andrus or Tim Anderson go down.
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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