Top 250 Prospects for 2020 Dynasty Leagues

It’s hard to believe it’s that time again.

Major League Baseball’s spring training is just weeks away now, which means it's also fantasy baseball season.

This year at RotoBaller, we’re rolling out even more in-depth prospect coverage — starting with a ranking of the Top 250 prospects for dynasty leagues. That’s right. Not 100. Not 150. Not even 200. You have at your disposal the names of the 250 best prospects in baseball for fantasy baseball dynasty leagues.

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Prospect Rankings for Dynasty - Our Approach

When ranking prospects, it’s not as simple as picking the players with the loudest tools or with the highest potential ceilings. That’s certainly part of the consideration, but there are many other elements that go into ranking players. Pedigree needs to be weighed against pop-up performances. A player’s track record of success, as well as signs of natural growth, are also things to consider.

Some organizations have a better track record with developing prospects (Hello, Dodgers) while others have not been nearly as successful. Risk also has to be weighed heavily. Generally speaking, good results from a player in Double-A needs to have more weighting over results coming from a player in Low-A ball or Short-Season ball. I've tried to carefully consider all of these factors, as I've combed through these rankings and made adjustments.

It’s not easy to confidently and effectively rank 250 prospects. To ensure you receive the best information possible, we undertook a lengthy process to create this list. We started by breaking down and ranking the best prospects by team (you can access these team lists by going to any player page on RotoBaller). Then those players were combined and ranked by position. From there, the players were separated into two large lists - one for the hitters and one for the pitchers. Those two lists were then merged into the Top 250 prospects.

But we weren’t done there. To ensure we still agreed with all the placements, we deconstructed the list in a backward fashion by then sorting again by position and then by team. If anything looked out of place, adjustments were made (luckily only a few minor tweaks took place at that point). We hope the list before you is instrumental in your dynasty league successes, not only this year, but also lays a solid foundation for the fantasy seasons ahead. We'll be updating this monthly, year-round.

 

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Prospects - Top 250

Rank	Player	Pos	Team	Age	ETA
1	Wander Franco	SS	TB	19	2020
2	MacKenzie Gore	SP	SD	21	2020
3	Luis Robert	OF	CHW	22	2020
4	Gavin Lux	2B	LAD	22	2020
5	Jarred Kelenic	OF	SEA	20	2021
6	Nate Pearson	SP	TOR	23	2020
7	Brendan McKay	SP	TB	24	2020
8	Jesus Luzardo	SP	OAK	22	2020
9	Jo Adell	OF	LAA	20	2020
10	Andrew Vaughn	1B	CWS	21	2021
11	Julio Rodriguez	OF	SEA	19	2022
12	Matt Manning	SP	DET	22	2020
13	Riley Greene	OF	DET	19	2022
14	Alex Kirilloff	OF	MIN	22	2020
15	Alec Bohm	3B	PHI	23	2020
16	Casey Mize	SP	DET	22	2020
17	Carter Kieboom	3B/2B	WAS	22	2020
18	Luis Patino	SP	SD	20	2021
19	Nick Madrigal	2B	CWS	23	2020
20	Brendan Rodgers	SS/2B	COL	23	2020
21	J.J. Bleday	OF	MIA	22	2022
22	A.J. Puk	SP	OAK	24	2020
23	Dylan Carlson	OF	STL	21	2020
24	Sean Murphy	C	OAK	25	2020
25	Sixto Sanchez	SP	MIA	21	2020
26	Dustin May	SP	LAD	22	2020
27	Cristian Pache	OF	ATL	21	2020
28	Marco Luciano	SS	SF	18	2023
29	Nolan Jones	3B	CLE	21	2021
30	Ian Anderson	SP	ATL	21	2020
31	Michael Kopech	SP	CWS	23	2020
32	Drew Waters	OF	ATL	21	2020
33	CJ Abrams	SS	SD	19	2022
34	Joey Bart	C	SF	23	2020
35	Adley Rutschman	C	BAL	21	2022
36	Ronny Mauricio	SS	NYM	18	2022
37	Jasson Dominguez	OF	NYY	17	2023
38	Jordan Groshans	3B/SS	TOR	20	2022
39	Grayson Rodriguez	SP	BAL	20	2022
40	Brusdar Graterol	SP	MIN	21	2020
41	Spencer Howard	SP	PHI	23	2020
42	Tarik Skubal	SP	DET	23	2020
43	Forrest Whitley	SP	HOU	22	2020
44	Bobby Witt Jr.	SS	KC	19	2023
45	Daulton Varsho	C/OF	ARZ	23	2020
46	Nick Solak	3B	TEX	25	2020
47	Vidal Brujan	2B	TB	22	2020
48	Corbin Carroll	OF	ARZ	19	2022
49	Kyle Wright	SP	ATL	24	2020
50	Shane McClanahan	SP	TB	22	2020
51	Heliot Ramos	OF	SF	20	2021
52	Kristian Robinson	OF	ARZ	19	2022
53	Trevor Larnach	OF	MIN	23	2021
54	Brandon Marsh	OF	LAA	22	2020
55	Hunter Bishop	OF	SF	21	2022
56	Matthew Liberatore	SP	STL	20	2022
57	Daniel Lynch	SP	KC	23	2021
58	Geraldo Perdomo	SS	ARZ	20	2022
59	Orelvis Martinez	SS	TOR	18	2023
60	George Valera	OF	CLE	19	2022
61	Brailyn Marquez	SP	CHC	21	2022
62	Jackson Kowar	SP	KC	23	2020
63	Logan Gilbert	SP	SEA	22	2021
64	Mitch Keller	SP	PIT	23	2020
65	Jordyn Adams	OF	LAA	20	2022
66	Alek Thomas	OF	ARZ	19	2022
67	Nolan Gorman	3B	STL	19	2022
68	Shane Baz	SP	TB	20	2022
69	Noelvi Marte	SS	SEA	18	2023
70	Jazz Chisholm	SS	MIA	22	2021
71	DL Hall	SP	BAL	21	2021
72	George Kirby	SP	SEA	21	2022
73	Josh Jung	3B	TEX	21	2022
74	Sheldon Neuse	3B/2B	OAK	25	2020
75	Oneil Cruz	SS	PIT	21	2021
76	Brent Honeywell Jr.	SP	TB	25	2020
77	Nico Hoerner	2B/SS	CHC	22	2020
78	Deivi Garcia	SP	NYY	20	2020
79	Nick Lodolo	SP	CIN	22	2022
80	Jordan Balazovic	SP	MIN	21	2021
81	Jose Urquidy	SP	HOU	24	2020
82	Brady Singer	SP	KC	23	2021
83	Royce Lewis	SS/OF	MIN	20	2021
84	Jeter Downs	SS	LAD	21	2021
85	Edward Cabrera	SP	MIA	21	2020
86	Alek Manoah	SP	TOR	22	2022
87	Kody Hoese	3B	LAD	22	2022
88	Xavier Edwards	2B/SS	TB	20	2021
89	Triston McKenzie	SP	CLE	22	2021
90	Joshua Lowe	OF	TB	22	2020
91	Matthew Allan	SP	NYM	18	2023
92	Justin Dunn	SP	SEA	24	2020
93	Simeon Woods Richardson	SP	TOR	19	2022
94	Kyle Lewis	OF	SEA	24	2020
95	Braxton Garrett	SP	MIA	22	2021
96	Kris Bubic	SP	KC	22	2021
97	Clarke Schmidt	SP	NYY	24	2021
98	Alejandro Kirk	C	TOR	21	2021
99	Taylor Trammell	OF	SD	22	2021
100	Mauricio Dubon	2B	SF	25	2020
101	Keibert Ruiz	C	LAD	21	2020
102	Seth Beer	OF/1B	ARZ	23	2020
103	Abraham Toro-Hernandez	3B/1B	HOU	23	2020
104	Gabriel Moreno	C	TOR	20	2022
105	Levi Kelly	SP	ARZ	20	2022
106	Adam Kloffenstein	SP	TOR	19	2022
107	Trevor Rogers	SP	MIA	22	2021
108	Brent Rooker	OF/1B	MIN	25	2020
109	Ryan Mountcastle	1B/3B	BAL	23	2020
110	Justus Sheffield	SP	SEA	23	2020
111	Brennan Malone	SP	ARZ	19	2023
112	Josiah Gray	SP	LAD	22	2020
113	Grant Lavigne	1B	COL	20	2022
114	Adonis Medina	SP	PHI	23	2020
115	Kyle Muller	SP	ATL	22	2020
116	Evan White	1B	SEA	23	2020
117	Jesus Sanchez	OF	MIA	22	2020
118	Jackson Rutledge	SP	WAS	21	2022
119	Luis Gil	SP	NYY	21	2022
120	Hans Crouse	SP	TEX	21	2022
121	Joe Ryan	SP	TB	23	2021
122	Bryan Abreu	SP/RP	HOU	22	2020
123	Francisco Alvarez	C	NYM	18	2023
124	Bobby Bradley	1B	CLE	23	2020
125	Brett Baty	3B	NYM	20	2023
126	Leody Taveras	OF	TEX	21	2021
127	Jhoan Duran	SP	MIN	22	2020
128	Ke'Bryan Hayes	3B	PIT	23	2020
129	Brennen Davis	OF	CHC	20	2022
130	Hunter Greene	SP	CIN	20	2022
131	Brice Turang	SS	MIL	20	2022
132	Tyler Freeman	SS	CLE	20	2021
133	Luis Campusano	C	SD	21	2021
134	Ryan Weathers	SP	SD	20	2022
135	Sean Hjelle	SP	SF	22	2021
136	Tony Gonsolin	SP	LAD	25	2020
137	Seth Corry	SP	SF	21	2022
138	Austin Hays	OF	BAL	24	2020
139	Ronaldo Hernandez	C	TB	22	2021
140	Adbert Alzolay	SP	CHC	25	2020
141	Brock Burke	SP	TEX	23	2021
142	Sam Hilliard	OF	COL	26	2020
143	Travis Swaggerty	OF	PIT	22	2021
144	Jonathan India	3B	CIN	23	2021
145	Cole Winn	SP	TEX	20	2022
146	Corbin Martin	SP	ARZ	24	2021
147	Ronald Bolanos	SP	SD	23	2020
148	Aaron Bracho	3B	CLE	18	2023
149	Khalil Lee	OF	KC	21	2020
150	Jon Duplantier	SP	ARZ	25	2020
151	Zack Thompson	SP	STL	22	2021
152	Luis Garcia	SS	WAS	19	2021
153	Triston Casas	1B	BOS	20	2022
154	Brayan Rocchio	SS	CLE	19	2023
155	Luis Toribio	3B	SF	19	2023
156	Sam Huff	C	TEX	22	2021
157	Bryse Wilson	SP	ATL	22	2020
158	Ethan Hankins	SP	CLE	19	2023
159	Albert Abreu	SP/RP	NYY	24	2021
160	Tucker Davidson	SP	ATL	24	2020
161	Gilberto Jimenez	OF	BOS	19	2023
162	Daniel Espino	SP	CLE	19	2023
163	Monte Harrison	OF	MIA	24	2020
164	Randy Arozarena	OF	TB	25	2020
165	Sammy Siani	OF	PIT	19	2023
166	Mason Denaburg	SP	WAS	20	2023
167	Lewis Thorpe	SP	MIN	24	2020
168	Yusniel Diaz	OF	BAL	23	2020
169	Jorge Mateo	SS	OAK	24	2020
170	Willi Castro	IF	DET	22	2020
171	Greg Jones	SS	TB	22	2022
172	Anthony Kay	SP	TOR	25	2020
173	Thomas Szapucki	SP	NYM	23	2021
174	Bryan Mata	SP	BOS	20	2021
175	Quinn Priester	SP	PIT	19	2023
176	Miguel Hiraldo	2B	TOR	19	2023
177	Bo Naylor	C	CLE	20	2022
178	Lane Thomas	OF	STL	24	2020
179	D'Shawn Knowles	OF	LAA	19	2023
180	Nick Gordon	2B	MIN	24	2020
181	Jonathan Stiever	SP	CWS	22	2021
182	Lucius Fox	SS	TB	22	2021
183	Lewin Diaz	1B	MIA	23	2021
184	Michael Toglia	1B	COL	21	2022
185	Jeremiah Jackson	SS	LAA	19	2023
186	Michael Busch	2B	LAD	22	2022
187	Bobby Dalbec	1B/3B	BOS	24	2020
188	Colton Welker	3B	COL	22	2021
189	Dane Dunning	SP	CWS	25	2020
190	Eric Pardinho	SP	TOR	19	2023
191	Jay Groome	SP	BOS	21	2023
192	Robert Puason	SS	OAK	17	2024
193	Kyle Isbel	OF	KC	23	2022
194	J.B. Bukauskas	SP/RP	ARZ	23	2020
195	Roansy Contreras	SP	NYY	20	2022
196	Terrin Vavra	IF	COL	22	2022
197	Jake Fraley	OF	SEA	24	2020
198	Tyler Callihan	3B	CIN	19	2023
199	Bryson Stott	SS	PHI	22	2022
200	Tyler Stephenson	C	CIN	23	2020
201	Tristen Lutz	OF	MIL	21	2022
202	Diego Cartaya	C	LAD	18	2023
203	Kendall Williams	SP	TOR	19	2024
204	Joe Palumbo	SP	TEX	25	2020
205	Kameron Misner	OF	MIA	22	2022
206	Cal Raleigh	C	SEA	23	2021
207	Jarren Duran	OF	BOS	23	2021
208	Andres Gimenez	SS	NYM	21	2021
209	Ryan Jensen	SP	CHC	22	2022
210	JJ Goss	SP	TB	19	2023
211	Freudis Nova	SS	HOU	20	2022
212	Alex Faedo	SP	DET	24	2020
213	Aaron Ashby	SP	MIL	21	2022
214	Tony Santillan	SP/RP	CIN	22	2020
215	Will Wilson	SS	SF	21	2022
216	Alexander Canario	OF	SF	19	2023
217	Carlos Rodriguez	OF	MIL	19	2023
218	Keoni Cavaco	3B	MIN	18	2024
219	Tahnaj Thomas	SP	PIT	20	2023
220	Alexander Vizcaino	SP	NYY	22	2022
221	Franklin Perez	SP	DET	22	2021
222	Braden Shewmake	SS	ATL	22	2022
223	Anthony Volpe	SS	NYY	18	2023
224	Logan Davidson	SS	OAK	22	2022
225	Logan Allen	SP	CLE	22	2020
226	Drew Rasmussen	SP/RP	MIL	24	2020
227	Johan Oviedo	SP	STL	22	2021
228	Elehuris Montero	3B	STL	21	2021
229	Wander Javier	SS	MIN	21	2022
230	Gabriel Rodriguez	SS	CLE	18	2024
231	Taylor Widener	SP	ARZ	25	2020
232	Adrian Morejon	SP/RP	SD	21	2020
233	Sherten Apostel	3B	TEX	21	2022
234	Tanner Houck	SP	BOS	23	2020
235	Isaac Paredes	IF	DET	21	2020
236	Ji-Hwan Bae	SS	PIT	20	2022
237	Ryan Rolison	SP	COL	22	2021
238	Oswald Peraza	SS	NYY	19	2022
239	Kyren Paris	SS	LAA	18	2024
240	Josh Smith	SS	NYY	22	2022
241	Daz Cameron	OF	DET	23	2020
242	Zack Collins	C	CWS	25	2020
243	Joey Wentz	SP	DET	22	2020
244	T.J. Sikkema	SP	NYY	21	2022
245	Matthew Thompson	SP	CWS	19	2023
246	Edward Olivares	OF	SD	24	2020
247	Ryan Vilade	SS	COL	21	2021
248	Otto Lopez	OF/2B	TOR	21	2022
249	Yoendrys Gomez	SP	NYY	20	2023
250	Ryan Helsley	SP	STL	25	2020

 

Prospects Rankings Analysis: 1-50

Pitchers

We all know ace pitchers don’t grow on trees, especially in fantasy baseball. There are a handful of arms that are worthy of being top selections, such as Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Justin Verlander. And there are a few more arms right behind them like Walker Buehler, Jack Flaherty, Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, and Blake Snell. It’s OK to invest in potential top-tier pitching prospects if the price is right, and hope they'll develop into one of the above pitchers. If you wait too long, you’ll find yourself paying an arm and a leg (either in cash or draft slot) for reliable pitching help. But you need to be smart about it. In the Top 250, you’ll find only two pitchers projected to arrive later than 2021 are in the Top 20 arms, so the list puts a lot of value in more advanced pitching prospects at the Double-A level and above than it does in the arms at the lower levels. This helps mitigate some of the risks that come with targeting young pitching.

The Top 8 pitchers on the list should be considered the cream-of-the-crop. MacKenzie Gore is going to be a beast and we have no issues with projecting him to eventually be as valuable as Cole or deGrom. He checks every box with elite stuff, including four pitches that could grade out as plus, as well as athleticism, top make-up, and excellent command/control.

The Tigers’ rebuild is in good hands with both Matt Manning and Casey Mize on the way. The latter prospect is generally graded higher on prospect lists but the former has a better track record in terms of health and could very well produce a higher rate of strikeouts in his prime. For those reasons, we project Manning to be the superior long-term pitcher, although you really can’t go wrong with either.

Grayson Rodriguez over Spencer Howard could be a somewhat controversial choice, but the Orioles’ prospect — although not as far up the organizational rungs — has better size and the potential for more weapons with a deeper repertoire.

Forrest Whitley is likely down the list farther than expected. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not writing him off at all but there are some warning signs that would be dangerous to ignore when ranking him among the elite. The complete meltdown in 2019 is one — whether it was due to injury or a mental lapse… or a combination of both. But there have also been whispers that his maturity is not up-to-snuff and it’s tough to be an elite pitcher for a long time at the MLB level if you’re not 100% committed to your craft.

Among the sleepers, Shane McClanahan is poised for a huge year. He’s in a great system for developing pitchers, he’s left-handed and he can throw into the upper-90s. McClanahan opened the year with 30 walks in his first 48 innings and then took off. In the next 55.1 innings, he walked just eight batters and was almost unhittable before running into a late-season wall in four Double-A starts.

Hitters

The rise of generational talents like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and Wander Franco has been fun to watch but it’s also caused some rankers to overrate loud, toolsy prospects in short-season and rookie ball leagues. There are a lot of risks associated with unrefined prospects and especially those with questionable approaches at the plate and holes in their games. We do make exceptions for this still-cautious nature and you’ll find Marco Luciano ranked favorably at No. 28. The Giants’ prospect has pedigree, receives excellent feedback from professional evaluators and has already shown excellent results with a 32-45 BB-K rate through his first 47 games. He can also hit the ball really hard for his age.

We have Jasson Dominguez ranked based mostly on his reputation. We wouldn’t chase him too heavily, though, before he gets into full-season ball and shows just how advanced and dangerous he really is. Also, he is likely 4 years away from contributing anything at the MLB level, and even in long term dynasty leagues we typically like our assets to produce value more quickly.

Braves outfielder Cristian Pache slots in at 27. Yes, his minor league offensive numbers have not been off-the-charts good but he’s poised for a breakout and should be viewed in a similar lense as a young Francisco Lindor. The Indians’ shortstop originally made his name as a top prospect off of his MLB-caliber defense at a young age. He was aggressively moved through the minors because of this and his bat had to play catch-up. Lindor hit just eight home runs in his first two years in full-season ball (2012-13). His minor league career-high total was 11 in 2014. Lindor then hit 30 home runs in three straight years from 2017 to 2019. Pache split 2019 between Double-A and Triple-A at the age of 20. His line-drive rates show that he hits the ball with authority but he still hits more balls on the ground than we liked to see. But things are getting better. After not hitting a home run in his first two pro seasons, he’s now hit nine and 12 over the past two years while constantly being one of the youngest players in the league. With a little more polish, Pache has a lot to offer as a player beyond his elite defensive value.

Dylan Carlson is being overrated as a prospect in my opinion. Don’t get us wrong, he’s a very good prospect but he’s likely not a consistent 20-20 threat like he showed in 2019. His stolen bases were the result of good base running rather than outstanding speed or athleticism. And he hit .281 in Double-A after sitting around .245 through the first three years of his career. In Carlson, we likely have a 20-30 home run threat with solid on-base numbers and a modest batting average with a handful of steals. Physically, he’s more maxed out than his peers so there is not a huge ceiling left to tap into at this point.

We really like Nick Solak. He has a chance to be an excellent player in on-base leagues and a very good player everywhere else. Along with the walks, Solak also has versatility (a huge plus in fantasy baseball) and power. This is a player that hit 32 home runs in 2019 even with hitting too many balls on the ground.

And don’t sleep on Daulton Varsho who could reach the Majors with eligibility at both catcher and outfield. He’s ranked 39th overall and can hit for average, run, has an advanced approach at the plate, and his power continues to develop.

 

Prospects Rankings Analysis: 51-100

Hitters

Kristian Robinson is a player who is also loaded with tools but his approach at the plate is far less advanced with more swing-and-miss tendencies than Luciano. The Diamondbacks’ prospect’s struggles with the hit tool have been masked by a heavy reliance on his BABIP. He’s a player we’ll watch very closely in 2020 as this is the year he should give a really good indication on the direction he’s headed: prospect or suspect. The power-speed potential is tantalizing so we’re hoping for the best.

If you like Robinson, consider Orelvis Martinez as a slightly less volatile option, albeit without the potential speed value. He hit .275 with a BABIP slightly below average and produced seven home runs in just 40 games as a 17-year-old playing in his first season in North America. He also makes an impressive amount of contact for such a young power hitter.

Joshua Lowe could soon join bother Nathaniel Lowe on the Rays. The younger brother was actually drafted higher (13th overall in 2016) but struggled early on to transition his raw athleticism to baseball. He got stronger in 2019 and added more power to his game, which makes the swing-and-miss more palatable. He came within two homers of being a 20-30 (HR-SB) guy last year and plays excellent center field defense. Give him some time and he might give you more fantasy value than Dylan Carlson for a much cheaper investment.

Mauricio Dubon isn't a really flashy prospect but he has a clear path right now to a gig at second base for the Giants and enough tools to be interesting. He can definitely hit and showed more power than expected with the juiced balls last year. After a previous high of eight homers, he hit 24 in 2019 and saw his line-drive rate spike, too. Dubon would be interesting even with 12-15 homers to go with a high batting average and double-digit steals.

Pitchers

Jose Urquidy is another player that isn't flashy but he more than held his own at both Triple-A and the Majors in 2019 despite the explosion of offense and power numbers.  He commands four pitches, throws strikes and pitches in front of a good hitting team. Urquidy also generated a higher swinging strike rate than Walker Buehler or Tyler Glasnow, albeit in far fewer innings.

George Kirby and Logan Gilbert were two of my favorite college pitchers in their respective drafts and both ended up with the Mariners. Everyone talks about Kirby's insane control and make him sound like a control-over-stuff pitcher but he actually has a good fastball and the potential for a very good curveball. Don't sleep on his potential.

If Brailyn Marquez can polish a third pitch, watch out. This is a young southpaw that could hit triple digits in 2020 as he continues to mature and grow as a pitcher. He absolutely overpowered left-handed hitters in 2019 (.106 batting average) but his low arm slot leads to concerns about his ability to consistently get right-handed batters out unless he finds a more consistent weapon. Because of this, there is risk of him eventually moving to the bullpen.

If you’re looking for another potential breakout pitcher for 2020, consider Daniel Lynch, Lynch likely would have skyrocketed even further up the Royals' organizational depth chart in 2019 if not for an injury that he's now fully recovered from. He can throw in the mid-90s from the left side with above-average control and three above-average pitches.

 

Prospects Rankings Analysis: 101-150

Catcher Keibert Ruiz should have a fair bit of name recognition by now but there are other intriguing catchers in this range including Gabriel Moreno, Francisco Alvarez, Luis Campusano, and Ronaldo Hernandez. Moreno is incredibly athletic, has excellent bat-to-ball skills and has seen his power start to really develop. But he's also a player that could end up making a defensive move -- not because he can't handle catching but because his athleticism might be able to handle center field or maybe second base. Alvarez might have the highest offensive ceiling but he also carries a lot of risk as a player who has yet to play above short-season ball. Risk is an easy thing to gloss over when ranking prospects but it should be an important consideration when choosing which dynasty prospects to reward with a roster slot. Campusano is a gifted hitter who is starting to show more power; he's a player that has even more value in on-base leagues given his BB-K of 52-57 in 110 High-A ball games in 2019.

Brent Rooker is a name to tuck away. Barring an unconscious spring training, he's likely ticketed for a return to Triple-A to open up the 2020 season but this is a player that had very, very good numbers in Triple-A in 2019 that weren't fully realized because of injury issues that kept him to 65 games. He has massive power and a willingness to take a walk -- but it comes with massive strikeout numbers. Rooker could be this year's Christian Walker, especially if he can get the strikeouts down into the 25-26% range.

 

Prospects Rankings Analysis: 151-250

Triston Casas is a player that I went back and forth on and may have ranked a little too low. He could step up his game in 2020 but Boston has also stumbled with developing first base prospects over the years although they to get partial credit for Anthony Rizzo. Casas didn't have a great second half of the year and we haven't seen enough to know if he's going to hit left-handed pitching.

Maybe, just maybe, Brayan Rocchio will take off this year after a bit of a false start last year. I thought he was going to be the "Next Big Thing" in 2019 but was obviously wrong. Rocchio wasn't terrible and held his own in a college-graduate-heavy league at the age of 18 but he didn't really start hitting the ball with authority until August and was a little unlucky with balls in play.

Waiting on Carlos Rodriguez is going to take some patience but he could be worth the wait. This is a kid that played all of 2019 at the age of 18. He's made four stops in his brief two-year career and has hit .300 or better at each spot. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and outstanding speed but needs to tone down his aggressive nature to succeed at higher levels. Once he adds some more muscle, there could be 15-homer potential here to go with 20-30 steals.

Yankees prospects often get overhyped but there are some names to keep an eye on in 2020. I thought Anthony Volpe was a no-brainer as a first-round selection in 2019 so the Yankees were smart to snap him up when he was available with the 30th overall pick. Oswald Peraza is another good, young shortstop prospect and hit well as a teenager in Low-A ball. If he can get stronger and drive the ball with more authority, he becomes even more interesting. T.J. Sikkema was on my list of underrated college starters and he's with the right organization to help him find a way to hit the mid-90s more consistently.

 

Final Thoughts

One thing to keep in mind: Along with being a source of (initially) cheap talent for your fantasy team, prospects are extremely useful for acquiring established, top-tier players when other teams fall out of contention and decide to do a rebuild. And if you do your research well, you can always find new gems to replace them with — especially if you read Rotoballer.

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