Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings - Eric Cross' 2025 Draft Targets

Those of you who have followed my work here at RotoBaller will remember that I have been posting a weekly article series on the top 25 fantasy baseball prospects to stash and monitor in redraft leagues for each of the last two seasons. It's always a fun article to put together throughout the season, and I'll be doing so again in 2025.

But before we get into the in-season prospect stashes, we have to tackle fantasy baseball draft season - right? The regular season is quickly approaching, and we're now entering the heart of the draft season. Which MLB prospects will make fantasy baseball impacts in 2025, and which should be targeted in redraft leagues?

Below, you'll find my Top 25 fantasy baseball rookies for the 2025 season, along with their respective ADPs and notes on several intriguing players, such as Kristian Campbell and Andrew Painter. Let's start the 2025 MLB season off on the right foot in our drafts, and make sure to check back in every week throughout the season for my updated fantasy baseball prospects to stash!

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2025 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings

These prospect rankings are for 2025 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects to potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2025.  You can also see our top fantasy baseball dynasty prospects rankings for longer-term outlooks and our 2025 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for all other league formats.

The ADP mentioned below is from NFBC Draft Champion drafts since January 1. Notes on prospects can be found below the rankings table. 

Prospect Rankings - Honorable Mentions

These MLB prospects didn't make my top-25 list for 2025, but are close:

• Adrian Del Castillo (ARI)
• Nick Kurtz (ATH)
• AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL)
• Drake Baldwin (ATL)
• Tomoyuki Sugano (BAL)
• Colson Montgomery (CHW)
• Jace Jung (DET)
• Zach Dezenzo (HOU)
• Christian Moore (LAA)
• Emmanuel Rodriguez (MIN)
• Brandon Sproat (NYM)
• Ronny Mauricio (NYM)
• Luisangel Acuna (NYM)
• Nick Yorke (PIT)
• Bryce Eldridge (SFG)
• Thomas Saggese (STL)
• Chandler Simpson (TBR)
• Carson Williams (TBR)
• Orelvis Martinez (TOR)
• Alan Roden (TOR)

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Roki Sasaki, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

While I'm high on Roki Sasaki in general, I'm always a bit skeptical about investing such a high draft pick in an international rookie. Not only is Sasaki adjusting to a new team and league, but also to a new country as well. That's something that I don't believe gets talked about enough.

Plus, Sasaki experienced some arm fatigue and declining velocity in 2024 in Japan. I'm not majorly worried about that long-term, but it's still something to keep in mind.

Roki Sasaki showcased his electric repertoire at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The 23-year-old Team Japan sensation is officially Los Angeles-bound 💪 pic.twitter.com/RHiU6niOUR

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) January 22, 2025

There's no doubting the arm talent with Sasaki, who showcased that on the world stage at the World Baseball Classic back in 2023, dominating with an upper-90s fastball and devastating splitter. However, Sasaki hasn't yet developed an impactful breaking ball, although his slider has improved over the last year or two.

The upside is here to be an ace long-term, but I'm not looking to draft him as my ace in 2025 redraft leagues, especially given the fact that he'll likely be under 150 innings this season. However, if I can draft him as my No. 2 and pair him with a reliable ace like Zack Wheeler, I'd be okay with that.

Kristian Campbell, 2B, Boston Red Sox

From what I've heard over the last few weeks, Kristian Campbell has a real shot to make the Red Sox out of camp if he has a strong showing in spring training. Campbell broke out in a massive way in 2024, playing at three levels and slashing .330/.439/.558 with 32 doubles, 20 home runs, and 24 steals.

🚨 BREAKING: Kristian Campbell is in fact that guy 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mx9ERs6uff

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) September 5, 2024

Campbell made notable strides in the power department last season and finished the season with a 46.2% hard-hit rate in Triple-A while having a contact rate of around 82% in both Double-A and Triple-A. The blend of contact, approach, power, and speed could make Campbell one of the top rookies for fantasy in 2024 and allow him to vastly outperform his ADP.

If he has a strong spring and it looks like he'll snag that second base gig, expect Campbell's ADP to skyrocket inside the Top 200 overall. You could say the same about Roman Anthony, but at this point, it appears slightly more likely that Campbell breaks camp with Boston than Anthony.

Jackson Jobe, SP, Detroit Tigers

Out of every player on this list, I could make a strong case for Jackson Jobe being the best draft day value. The fact that he's still going close to picking 300 on average is criminal, and everyone should take advantage of this unless they play in a league with me. If you do, BACK OFF!

Jobe is currently my No. 2 ranked pitching prospect behind Andrew Painter (No. 3 if you include Sasaki), and it's more like 1a and 1b with this duo. While he wasn't quite as dominant in 2024 as he was in 2023, Jobe still showed why he's one of the few pitching prospects with ace upside, thanks to an elite fastball and slider, along with an above-average or better changeup and cutter.

Barring something unforeseen, Jobe is going to be in Detroit's rotation to open the season and should be a Major draft-day steal as long as he gets into the 125 to 150-inning range.

Trey Sweeney, SS, Detroit Tigers

Nobody is going to blast it all over social media when they draft Trey Sweeney after pick 400, but his ADP of 463 is incredibly too low. As of now, Sweeney is penciled in as Detroit's starter at shortstop and combined for 19 home runs and 22 steals in 143 games between Triple-A and the Majors last season. With Detroit, Sweeney had a 46.8% hard-hit rate and 73rd-percentile sprint speed.

As long as he keeps the starting gig, Sweeney has the skills to flirt with 20 home runs and 15 steals in his rookie season. That will certainly play as a late-round flier or bench play in deeper formats, even if the average doesn't rise above the .250 range.

Andrew Painter, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

With the recent news that Painter will be brought back slowly and likely not debut until midseason, he goes from being a sexy draft-day target to someone who should be left on the waiver wire to open the season. That is unless your league has deep benches where he could still be a viable late-round target.

Andrew Painter's second strikeout on a 94 mph fastball.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/ZdTv0Rqqm7

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) October 30, 2024

But even in half a season, Painter could wind up being one of the most valuable rookie pitchers of the 2025 season for fantasy purposes.

We hadn't seen Painter in minor league game action since 2022 when he posted a stellar 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 38.7% strikeout rate while only walking 6.2% of the batters he faced. I was able to see one of Painter's starts out in Arizona, and the elite stuff was still there, but you could tell he was still shaking off the rust.

Once he's up, Painter could be a Top-25 fantasy arm for the remainder of the season. But it's hard to hold a spot for him in leagues with only the standard five to seven bench spots.

Coby Mayo, 3B, Baltimore Orioles

The low ranking above isn't a knock on Coby Mayo or his talent. Long-term, I still believe Mayo can become a Top-10 player at the third base position and even push Top-5 status. However, there's no opening for him with Baltimore at the moment and I'm worried that he spends more time in Triple-A than the Majors in 2025.

The projected Baltimore lineup to open 2025 has Jackson Holliday at the keystone and Jordan Westburg at the hot corner. With first base and DH occupied by Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O'Hearn, that leaves no spot for Mayo. Once he's up, Mayo could provide an immediate power boost for fantasy teams, but I'm not looking to draft him in 12-team or 15-team leagues.

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