The MLB season is nearly at its midway point, and impact prospects have seen more promotions thus far than in recent years. It seems that every month, more and more fantasy baseball contributors are getting the call to the big leagues. Aside from helping their own squads in real life, these rookies can have both positive and negative impacts on fantasy squads.
In the past month, many prospects from our consensus Top 100 fantasy baseball prospect rankings have been promoted. Highly touted prospects Elly De La Cruz, Bobby Miller, Henry Davis, Bo Naylor, Andrew Abbott, and A.J. Smith-Shawver have all seen their names called. Meanwhile, less celebrated (but still talented) prospects that have seen a promotion include Bryan Woo, Luis Matos, and Samad Taylor.
As a reminder, the three things we look for most when evaluating a prospect are opportunity, team situation, on-base ability (hitters), or K-to-BB ratio (pitchers). It's also important to remain patient, as many prospects will have ups and downs.
Today, we'll identify which recently promoted prospects to target and which still in the minors could be seeing their names on big-league rosters shortly. Let's dig into the next wave of players that owners should roster, and as always, be sure to follow RotoBaller for all the fantasy baseball news you need to stay up to date with prospects throughout the season.
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Top MLB Prospects: Best fantasy baseball rookies, sleepers to watch
By Danny Burdeen
Gavin Williams, SP, Cleveland Guardians
In terms of prospect news, Williams being promoted to make his MLB debut on Wednesday tops the cake. The 23-year-old righty has arguably been the top pitching prospect this season, and his numbers certainly back that up. In 12 starts for Triple-A Columbus, the 6-6, 250-pound flamethrower has excelled to the tune of a 2.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts over 60.1 innings. The Guardians have developed plenty of talented pitchers in recent years, but Williams has the potential to be the best and their future ace. In addition to his upper-90s fastball that can reach triple digits, Williams has developed his breaking pitches, leading to plenty of strikeouts and frustrated opposing hitters. His stats speak for themself, and fantasy owners in all formats should sprint to the waiver wire for a potential league-winning addition.
Bobby Miller, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Speaking of top pitching prospects, the Dodgers promoted Miller on May 23. The 24-year-old righty struggled in his most recent outing on Saturday against the Giants (seven runs, three walks, five strikeouts in 5.2 innings). Despite that, he has been dominant in his first four starts, allowing just two earned runs and seven walks while striking out 23 in 23 innings. The walks have been up in recent starts for the young righthander, but other than his hiccup on Saturday, he has appeared as advertised. Julio Urias is expected to return in the next week or so from the injured list, but Miller’s spot should be secure as long as he continues to perform well. Although he has his most value in dynasty leagues, he makes for a nice rotation piece in redraft leagues.
Elly De La Cruz, SS/3B, Cincinnati Reds
The Reds are competing in a weak NL Central, and that has led to the promotions of Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, and De La Cruz. Among a talented group of prospects that the Reds roster, De La Cruz is the crown jewel. The 21-year-old switch-hitter entered the season near the top of nearly every prospect list and didn’t disappoint in Triple-A with a .297 average to go along with 12 homers, 36 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. His ability to help across the board has translated over his first 13 games with a .308 batting average to go along with two homers, six RBIs, six stolen bases, 13 runs, and five multi-hit games. Brought up as a shortstop, De La Cruz has split time between there and third base, which adds to his value. With the ability to help across the board on a team that is competing, De La Cruz is the perfect recipe for success for fantasy owners moving forward. Expect ups and downs, but he will be worth every penny moving forward.
Bryan Woo, SP, Seattle Mariners
Woo struggled in his debut against a tough Rangers offense, but he's pitched respectfully over his past two outings. He offers plenty of strikeout potential with 20 strikeouts over his first 12.1 innings. He is a sleeper with many premier pitching prospects already stashed or scooped up for plenty of money on the waiver wire.
Andrew Abbott, SP, Cincinnati Reds
After posting ridiculous numbers between Double-A and Triple with a 2.50 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 54 innings, the lefty got the call at the beginning of the month and hasn’t allowed a run in his first three starts (17.2 innings). However, the walks are up (9), and he’s only recorded 12 strikeouts. He is worth rostering, but he also makes for the perfect sell-high candidate in redraft formats.
Bo Naylor, C, Cleveland Guardians
Josh’s brother finally got the call this past week and should get plenty of playing time with the Guardians moving forward. Hitless in his first nine at-bats with one walk, fantasy owners should remain patient with the backstop who hit .253 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Columbus. Between his power potential and position, he is worth a spot in deeper formats.
Henry Davis, C, Pittsburgh Pirates
The top pick in 2021 received a promotion to the big leagues on Monday and started in right field. In Triple-A, Davis hit .284 with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs, and nine stolen bases over 183 at-bats. He is up to get at-bats, and fantasy owners shouldn’t hesitate to give him a chance moving forward. It also helps that he could quickly gain outfield eligibility in most formats.
Luis Matos, OF, San Francisco Giants
At the time of his promotion this past week, Matos had hit a home run in six of seven games for Triple-A Sacramento. Offering a combination of power, contact, and speed, Matos is a very intriguing flier for those seeking any of the aforementioned. The Giants didn’t promote the 21-year-old to ride the bench, and he should have plenty of opportunities to be a staple in their lineup for years to come. Not as highly touted as some of the previous prospects mentioned in this article, but he can have just as big of an impact moving forward.
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Three prospects to stash in fantasy baseball redraft and dynasty leagues:
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
The Reds powerful slugger has done about everything he can to try to get promoted with insane numbers of 17 homers, 47 RBIs, and a sparkly .345 batting average in just 49 games at Triple-A. The Reds have had him playing outfield lately, and that could help him arrive in the big leagues shortly.
Ronny Mauricio, SS, New York Mets
There was speculation that Mauricio was going to get a promotion this week, but he suffered a left ankle bone bruise. He’s recovered and been white hot in six games since returning, playing second base and the outfield in hopes of finding a role on the big-league squad. He has hit .325 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in Triple-A, and his power and speed combination make him a useful piece moving forward.
Colton Cowser, OF, Baltimore Orioles
The 23-year-old star got banged up as soon as Cedric Mullins was placed on the injured list, then watched veteran Aaron Hicks play well in his place. Despite that, Hicks should eventually regress, and Cowser has done close to enough to force his way up to the big leagues in the immediate future. On the season, he has hit a shiny .341 with eight homers, 35 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 170 at-bats at Triple-A.
