Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Week 9

May 26, 2021

Marc's updated Top 50 fantasy baseball prospects rankings for Week 9 outlining the top MLB prospects, rookies, and call-ups to have impacts in fantasy baseball redraft leagues for 2021.

The fourth week of the minor league season is now underway. With Saturday’s promotion of Spencer Howard to the Phillies, the Top 50 list has already lost three of its best players out of the Top 10 with Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert recently receiving call-ups.

The top of the ranking now features some surprising names and/or prospects having unexpected results — much like we’re seeing at the MLB level in 2021. Yermin Mercedes and Adolis Garcia are among the top rookies in the majors while we have prospects Vidal Brujan, Jesus Sanchez, and Alek Manoah looking strong out of the gate in the minors. The lack of a traditional minor league season in 2020 and the shrouded secrecy of the alternate training sites have made prospect prognostication more challenging than ever, but minor league baseball is slowly getting back on track.

This ranking is a weekly review of the top prospects for 2021 redraft fantasy baseball leagues and lists players based on their likelihoods to impact the current MLB season only. It is not a dynasty ranking. Once a player gets called up to the majors, they are no longer eligible for this list unless they are returned to the minor leagues before losing their MLB rookie eligibility (130 ABs, 50 IPs).

Top Impact Prospects for Redraft Leagues

These prospect rankings are for 2021 redraft leagues.

Top 10 Prospects for 2021

1. Vidal Brujan, IF/OF: The formerly-light-hitting multi-purpose fielder is showing no signs of slowing down in the home run department after hitting his seventh homer of the young season on Saturday. He's now just two long balls away from his career-high of nine, which was set in 122 games back in 2018.

2. Jesus Sanchez, OF: Sanchez more or less disappeared from the prospect landscape for a couple of seasons when his power development stagnated and he stopped hitting for average. Well, he's back doing both and has an eye-popping 275 wRC+ through his first 15 MiLB games.

3. Wander Franco, SS/3B: The Rays organization has finally started to make moves to clear a path for Franco to join the MLB ranks. However, the club will initially turn to defensive whiz Taylor Walls to cover the gap left by the trade of big league shortstop Willy Adames. Franco has been inconsistent so far as a 20-year-old at Triple-A and the organization wants to make sure he's ready for majors.

4. Alek Manoah, SP: Pitching problems continue to haunt the Jays' big league roster and the club has lost a number of games recently due to the bullpen. One solution for the club could be to promote the likes of Manoah (41% K-rate, .119 BA allowed) and Nate Pearson to work as tandem starters. It would allow both pitchers to keep their innings down while improving the pitching staff.

5. Brandon Marsh, OF: Marsh got off to a late start to the season while rehabbing an injury and he's slipped into an early slump. He's also had a little bad luck on balls in play while showing a lot of patience (20% walk rate). Three of his six hits have gone for extra bases.

6. Josh Lowe, OF: Vidal Brujan and Wander Franco are getting most of the attention for the Rays' Triple-A club, but Lowe is quietly having another solid season. His BB-K is just 2-15 early on, but 10 of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases including five homers.

7. Jackson Kowar, SP: Kowar could be nearing his first taste of MLB action. Through four games, he has a 38% strikeout rate and has been inducing a high number of ground-ball outs. Minor league hitters have yet to take him deep this season.

8. Tucker Davidson, SP: Davidson had a strong start to the minor league season and earned himself a spot start at the MLB level last week. He held his own and allowed just three runs in six innings. He should be back soon.

9. MacKenzie Gore, SP: This talented young pitcher may be putting a little too much pressure on himself early this season now that he's just a stones throw away from the majors. The inconsistent command has resulted in too many hits allowed (19 in 13 2/3) and limited strikeouts (18% K-rate).

10. Joey Bart, C: Bart has been hitting pretty well at Triple-A, although the 30% strikeout rate is worrisome. The young catcher is also dealing with a groin issue.

Prospects 11-20

11. Jo Adell, OF: The unfortunate injury to Mike Trout should be good news for Adell, but the young hitter has yet to show any signs of solving his swing-and-miss issues. Seven home runs in 15 games is an impressive accomplishment, but the 36% strikeout rate is not going to get any better at the MLB level.

12. Jarren Duran, OF: Duran was in a bit of a funk that saw his batting average dip to .242 prior to the weekend. He then exploded with a 5-for-5 game on Saturday that also saw him slug two homers. He's now up to seven homers on the year, but he needs to be a little more consistent.

13. Taylor Trammell, OF: Since being demoted from the majors, Trammell has four homers and a 213 wRC+ in nine games at the Triple-A level.

14. Keibert Ruiz, C: Ruiz could be the best trade chip in baseball given that the Dodgers can't find playing time for him with Will Smith at the MLB level. Ruiz has already been promoted to the majors twice this season, but has just seven at-bats in six games. At Triple-A, six of his nine hits have gone for extra bases.

15. Jhoan Duran, SP: Duran finally made his 2021 debut this past weekend after recovering from the trapezius injury that delayed the start of his season. He struck out six batters in three innings and allowed just one run.

16. Nate Pearson, SP: Pearson recovered from a minor injury and threw three innings on Friday. He struck out four batters and allowed just one walk during his outing.

17. Jose Garcia, SS: Garcia continues to push for a promotion to Triple-A. Through 16 Double-A games, he had a .323 batting average with 11 of his 20 hits going for extra bases.

18. Deivi Garcia, SP: Garcia has been inconsistent so far in 2021, but when he's been on, he's looked very good.

19. Seth Beer, 1B/OF: Beer continues to perform well offensively at Triple-A (128 wRC+), but his lack of defensive aptitude could impact his opportunities at the MLB level.

20. Nick Lodolo, SP: Lodolo's numbers have looked a lot like Alek Manoah's early on, but the southpaw is having his success at the Double-A level rather than at Triple-A. His success comes from throwing strikes and messing with hitters' timing as opposed to overpowering hitters.

Prospects 21-30

21. Jeter Downs, IF: Downs is enjoying a solid-but-unspectacular start to the season. His biggest impact has been on the base paths where he has six steals in seven tries.

22. Daniel Lynch, SP: Lynch is working his way back into shape after getting tossed around by big-league hitters in three MLB starts.

23. Hunter Greene, SP: Like teammate Nick Lodolo, Greene has looked outstanding at the Double-A level. He has a K-BB ratio of 33-8 to go with his 1.69 ERA in 21 1/3 innings.

24. Max Meyer, SP: Meyer has been solid through his first three pro starts. Pitching at the Double-A level, the hard-throwing right-hander has a 16-3 K-BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings.

25. Gabriel Moreno, C: Moreno jumped off to a quick start with the bat in 2021 and he's maintaining an otherworldly 212 wRC+ as we enter the final week of May.

26. Roansy Contreras, SP: Contreras has a K-BB ratio of 28-3 through his first 17 2/3 innings of the season.

27. Shane Baz, SP: In his last start, Baz finished five innings for the first time this season as the organization continues to be cautious with its young pitchers. He struck out eight batters and issued just one walk during that outing.

28. Tanner Houck, SP: Houck hasn't pitched since May 3, but he's started throwing again recently as he works his way back from an arm injury.

29. Matt Manning, SP: Home runs have been a major issue for Manning but his last outing on May 22 was encouraging. He allowed just two runs in 6 2/3 innings and produced a 7-1 K-BB ratio. Most importantly, he coughed up just one homer.

30. Brailyn Marquez, SP: Marquez is still working his way back after contacting COVID-19.

Prospects 31-40

31. Lewin Diaz, 1B: Diaz is producing decent results (110 wRC+) at Triple-A, but he'll likely need to wait for an injury to Jesus Aguilar to get another MLB shot.

32. Edward Olivares, OF: Olivares has been less aggressive at the plate in the early going this season and it's helped him produce a 196 wRC+ through 16 Triple-A games.

33. Matthew Liberatore, SP: The 21-year-old Liberatore is holding his own at Triple-A with a 4.67 ERA and 14-4 K-BB through his first three starts.

34. Brent Rooker, OF: Rooker continues to scuffle at Triple-A and may not be fully healthy after spending part of April on the injured list.

35. Bobby Bradley, 1B: Bradley's bat has struggled to get going this season, but he went 3-for-4 on Saturday with two homers and no strikeouts.

36. Michael Busch, 2B: The strikeouts have been occurring too frequently (29%) for Busch, but he has a 160 wRC+ through 17 Double-A games.

37. Heliot Ramos, OF: The 21-year-old Ramos has a 157 wRC+ through 16 games at the Double-A level, but his strikeout rate sits at 30%.

38. Travis Swaggerty, OF: Swaggerty is dealing with a shoulder injury, but the severity of the injury has not been disclosed.

39. DL Hall, SP: Hall has a 44% strikeout rate through his first three starts of the season.

40. Vladimir Gutierrez, SP: Gutierrez is pushing for his first taste of MLB action after posting a 21-7 K-BB ratio through his first three starts.

Prospects 41-50

41. Geraldo Perdomo, SS: Perdomo is struggling with the bat early on at the Double-A level after receiving a brief taste of MLB action earlier in the year. He's always hit for average though, so he should be able to pull out of this nosedive.

42. Drew Waters, OF: Waters showed some life last week with three homers in two games, but then slipped into an 0-for-10 slide.

43. Adley Rutschman, C: Rutschman has 16 walks in 16 games, but he's hitting just .211 with a 24% strikeout rate.

44. Jonathan Stiever, SP: Stiever's command hasn't been strong so far this season, but he has limited the damage by keeping the ball in the park. He has yet to allow a homer this season through four starts, which is a massive accomplishment these days.

45. CJ Abrams, SS: The 20-year-old Abrams is hitting .303 through 17 Double-A games, but he limped off the field on Saturday after hurting himself while running.

46. Triston Casas, 1B: Casas is performing well at Double-A with a 154 wRC+ through 16 games. He could push for a look at 1B later in the season if Bobby Dalbec continues to struggle.

47. Nolan Gorman, 3B: Interestingly, Gorman isn't hitting for much power early this season, but he's looked much better at the plate with a 14% walk rate, .300 average, and 144 wRC+.

48. Nick Pratto, 1B: Pratto's resurgence continues. After hitting just .191 in 124 A-ball games in 2019, he now has a 205 wRC+ through 15 Double-A games in 2021.

49. Owen Miller, IF: Miller doesn't get a lot of press, but he's never hit less than .290 and he spends a lot of time on base. Currently, he's hitting .406 while displaying gap pop through 16 Triple-A games.

50. Josiah Gray, SP: Gray is currently on the injured list while dealing with a shoulder impingement.

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