Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball Redraft: Week 9 Rankings

September 16, 2020

Marc Hulet updates his top 50 fantasy baseball prospects rankings list for redraft leagues for Week 9 of the 2020 MLB season, analyzing MLB rookies and call-ups.

It’s been a crazy ride this summer. The shortened 2020 fantasy season is winding down with less than two weeks remaining before the Major League Baseball playoffs begin. This will be our last update of the Top 50 redraft prospects for the year.

It was a challenging season, to say the least, with no minor league games to track players’ progressions. In a normal season, we watch prospect values rise and fall as the players navigate through a long minor league season. This year has been a much different story. News from the alternate training sites has been inconsistent and the results from simulated games do not take the place of regular, competitive games. And never knowing what type of baseball is going to show up in any given season is yet another wrinkle.

We’ve seen a lot of prospects have strong impacts on the 2020 season, some of whom have already graduated off the list such as Kyle Lewis, Luis Robert, and, most recently, Jake Cronenworth. However, players such as Alec Bohm, Gavin Lux, and Bobby Dalbec retain their rookie eligibility and are primed to help fantasy managers with a last-minute rush to the finish line. Best of luck to all the fantasy managers still in the hunt for a title.

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The Top 50 Redraft Prospects for 2020

Notes on Prospects 1-10

2. Bobby Dalbec, 3B/1B, Red Sox: Dalbec had a crazy, unexpected start to his MLB career with six of his first nine hits going over the outfield fence — including a string of five straight games with a homer. This type of production obviously is not going to continue but he’s a streaky player in the midst of a hot streak so ride him until the strikeouts start to weigh down the results. He’s only rostered in 25% of Yahoo leagues right now and is eligible to play two different positions.

4. Randy Arozarena, OF, Rays: I’ve been a big Arozarena for a couple of years now and he’s been showing why he’s so sneaky-good. But his home run bing is also a little out of character as he’s more of a “little bit of everything” kind of player rather than a true slugger. If he can avoid chasing the home run now that he’s had a little luck in that regard — and if he can find playing time on a deep Rays roster — Arozarena can help you through the final stretch of the year. He’s only owned in 20% of Yahoo leagues.

6. Nick Madrigal, 2B, White Sox: The White Sox are a potent offensive team that has gotten really good, really fast thanks to the young hitters. Madrigal will never be a slugger but he plays a valuable role on this club and spends a lot of time on base, which should give him lots of opportunities to steal bases and score runs. He’s only rostered in 25% of Yahoo leagues so, if you need some help at second base or the middle infield slot, snap him up.

7. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pirates: Hayes and Ryan Mountcastle are two “good but not great” prospects that seem to have really benefited from the“alternate training site environment as they both arrived in excellent shape to help their respective clubs. Hayes doesn’t have much useable power but he’s got some speed, has four multi-hit games in his first 11 appearances, and has been on base a ton for the Pirates. He’s owned in just 8% of Yahoo leagues.

9. Gavin Lux, IF, Dodgers: It’s been a bit of an ugly start to the year for Lux, who has spent the majority of the year — somewhat surprisingly — at the alternate training site. And he’s clearly pressing a little bit right now. I have confidence that his talent will push through as the season winds down and he’ll be one of the better rookie hitters in the final days. He’s currently owned in 50% of Yahoo leagues.

Notes on Prospects 11-30

13. Tyler Stephenson, C, Reds: This former first-round pick showed signs in 2019 that a breakout was coming with the bat and he’s looked good early on in his MLB career with a strong walk rate and two home runs in five games. Stephenson has a chance to help in the final stretch this year -- if he gets enough playing time.

14. Edward Olivares, OF, Royals: I said last week that Olivares looks like a great fit with the Royals and he had a strong run. The swing-and-miss has been obvious but he had 13 hits in his first nine games with his new club. He’ll be even more valuable once he starts running — he has 20+ stolen base potential in a full season.

21. Pavin Smith, 1B/OF, Diamondbacks: If Smith gets a chance to play down the stretch, he might be worth a flyer. The former first-round pick is a solid hitter but the knock against him has always been his inability to consistently tap into his raw power potential. This was no doubt a focus at the alternate training site so it will be interesting to see what strides have been made.

27. Dean Kremer, SP, Orioles: Walks have been an issue for Kremer (six in 11 innings) but he’s also held his own in back-to-back starts against the Yankees to begin his MLB career. He should face the Rays and Red Sox in his final starts this season. He’s owned in just 16% of leagues.

Notes on Prospects 31-50

33. Sam Huff, C, Rangers: A strong, powerful catcher with an all-or-nothing approach, Huff could be some help as the season winds down if the streaky hitter finds a groove. He hit 28 home runs in 127 games last season in A-ball.

36. Jazz Chisholm, SS, Marlins: With 10 strikeouts through his first 28 at-bats, Chisholm clearly has some additional growth at the plate that needs to occur. However, he’s also stolen two bases and two of his four hits have gone for extra bases. So, if this streaky player suddenly gets hot, don’t hesitate to give him a shot if you need help at the shortstop or middle infield slots.

38. Tejaye Antone, P, Reds: Antone has been inconsistent since moving back to a starting role but we’ve seen him look really good. He’ll likely face the White Sox next time out, which is a tough task for anyone these days, but with two good breaking balls he matches up pretty well against this very good fastball-hitting team (if he has his command).

37. Keegan Akin, SP, Orioles: Akin was roughed up in his last outing but he was also facing the Yankees twice in a row so the talented club likely had a strong book on the youngster. He should face the Braves or Rays next time out and neither team has faced him before so expect a decent bounce-back performance.

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