Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Week 15

We’re rolling into Week 15 of the 2021 MLB fantasy season and we’ve witnessed a mixed bag of contributions from prospects so far.

Many of the big named prospects — like Dylan Carlson, Andrew Vaughn, and Jarred Kelenic — have struggled. We’ve seen excellent (small sample) results from some lesser-known players like Patrick Wisdom, Jake Fraley, and LaMonte Wade Jr. We’ve also gotten consistently good performances from a handful of players like Akil Baddoo, Trevor Stephenson, and Adolis Garcia. The rookie pitching class has been the most impressive with the likes of Trevor Rogers, Ian Anderson, Luis Garcia, and Dane Dunning all thriving, however many of them received significant experience last year during the shortened season.

We had three prospects graduate from last week’s list with Aaron Ashby (Brewers), Jake Burger (White Sox), and Edward Olivares (Royals) all being promoted to The Show. The Twins, A’s, and Mariners each had a prospect added to the week's list. If you’re curious who they are, read on!

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Top Impact Prospects for Redraft Leagues

This prospects list is a ranking for 2021 redraft leagues only and is not a dynasty ranking. It also does not include any prospects on MLB rosters.

Top 10 Prospects for 2021

1. Jarred Kelenic, OF: Kelenic entered the weekend on a five-game hit streak and has been making consistent contact, which is great to see. The Mariners likely want to be sure he’s ready the next time he gets the call to The Show and all signs are pointing in the right direction. He’s showing impressive resiliency for such a young player.

2. Jarren Duran, OF: It’s been a big year for Duran, who is inching closer to being MLB-ready. He was also committed to play for the US in the Olympics this summer — until he was surprisingly left off the final roster. That likely means that Duran is in serious consideration for a MLB role in the coming weeks, which makes sense with how well he’s been playing in Triple-A.

3. Seth Beer, OF/1B: With the recent promotion of Jake Burger in Chicago, it’s clear that the White Sox have to trade for Beer so we can have some “Burger & Beer” headlines. The Diamondbacks prospect continues to hit well at Triple-A and deserves a shot at the big leagues, but his defensive shortcomings are no doubt slowing his arrival.

4. Keibert Ruiz, C: Like Beer above, Ruiz is another player that likely deserves to be in the majors. However, he’s blocked from regular playing time by the presence of another good young catcher in Will Smith. Ruiz continues to look like one of the best trade chips around, but it would no doubt take a huge haul (in terms of talent and years of control) for the Dodgers to part with him.

5. Josh Jung, 3B: The Rangers likely aren’t going to the playoffs in 2021 so the club may not want to burn service time with Jung, but the fans need something to cheer about in the second half of the year. He’s shown a little too much swing-and-miss to his game after missing the first six weeks of the season due to injury, but he’s producing power and hitting more than .300 through his first 14 games at Double-A.

6. Josh Lowe, OF: It’s been a while since Lowe was on a real hot streak and he hasn’t homered since June 10. He is still riding a five-game hit streak, showing gap power, and stealing bases though.

7. Joey Bart, C: The talented young Giants backstop was hit by a pitch on Friday but the severity of the injury was not immediately known. He’s striking out a ton, but he’s still hitting for power and average.

8. Vidal Brujan, IF/OF: Brujan looks like he’s coming out of a nasty slump and is 7-for-20 (.350) with two doubles and a BB-K of 3-5 over his past five games. He has just one stolen base attempt since June 9 (He was caught stealing), so you have to wonder if his slump coincided with a minor injury.

9. Cal Raleigh, C: Raleigh has just two hits over his past six games but he’s still one of the better offensive catchers around with a great eye at the plate and excellent contact skills.

10. Hunter Greene, SP: Greene has found the going to be a little tougher at Triple-A than at Double-A — underscoring the importance of command — but he still has a nice K-BB ratio of 21-6 in 13 1/2 innings.

Prospects 11-20

11. Edward Cabrera, SP: After missing about six weeks of the season, Cabrera is showing little-to-no rust with a K-BB ratio of 19-4 and just eight hits allowed in 15 1/3 Double-A innings.

12. Jo Adell, OF: Adell entered the weekend on a five-game hitless streak. During that stretch, he also has eight strikeouts. Young power hitters are notorious for being streaky and Adell is definitely no exception.

13. Jeter Downs, 2B/SS: Downs had a fairly quiet week but he has just two strikeouts over his past five games, That is good to see after his early-season struggles.

14. Brent Rooker, OF: Rooker’s streaky season continues. His hits, homers, and walks all seem to come in bunches. He had a nice little run last week where, in two games, he had four hits, two homers, and three walks. If he can find even a little more consistency, he could be a solid contributor in the second half of the year.

15. Roansy Contreras, SP: It’s understandable that the front office in Pittsburgh is taking things slowly with Contreras, who is in his first season with the organization, but he looks ready for the Double-A challenge. Through 46 innings, he has a K-BB ratio of 65-11 and just 31 hits allowed (including three homers).

16. Nick Lodolo, SP: Lodolo remains on the injured list with a blister problem, which is a relatively minor issue.

17. Kevin Smith, SS/3B: Smith continues to quietly have a very nice season at Triple-A. He entered the weekend on a four-game hit streak that saw him go 7-for-14 (.500) with a triple, two homers, and a BB-K ratio of 3-2.

18. Tanner Houck, SP: Since coming off the injured list, Houck has a K-BB ratio of 16-1 with six hits allowed in 10 2/3 innings.

19. Lewin Diaz, 1B: Diaz continues to ride the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors, but he likely won’t have regular playing time in The Show until Jesus Aguilar gets hurt or traded.

20. Brandon Marsh, OF: Marsh remains on the injured list while working his way back from shoulder inflammation. However, he was able to start a rehab assignment over the weekend.

Prospects 21-30

21. Cade Cavalli, SP: Cavalli has a strikeout rate of around 40% split between High-A and Double-A this season. He has also allowed just two home runs in 57 1/3 innings of work. Perhaps he makes it up to the majors later this year in a bullpen role to limit his workload.

22. Jose Barrero, SS: Barrero was recently promoted to Triple-A, but he has seven strikeouts and just two hits through his first four games at the new level.

23. Nick Pratto, 1B: Pratto had a respectable month of June, but the 34 strikeouts are a warning sign that he’s slipping back into old habits after an outstanding first six weeks of the minor league season.

24. Matthew Liberatore, SP: Liberatore has been good but not great at Triple-A this season after surprisingly skipping over both High-A and Double-A. He has a K-BB ratio of 43-12 with 40 hits allowed in 45 innings of work this season.

25. Jackson Kowar, SP: Kowar was absolutely cruising at Triple-A before getting crushed at the major league level. He’s working on building his confidence back up now that he’s in the minors again.

26. Deivi Garcia, SP: Garcia continues to look for consistency after ending June with an ugly 11.50 ERA and 26 hits allowed in 18 innings of work. At least he managed 20 strikeouts during that rough patch.

27. Jonathan Stiever, SP: Stiever has been going through a tough stretch, but he pitched a little better last time out with a K-BB ratio of 8-1 in four innings of work while allowing three runs on six hits.

28. Alec Burleson, OF: Burleson is holding his own at the Double-A level with a 111 wRC+ during his first taste of pro-action in 2021.

29. MacKenzie Gore, SP: Gore is still looking for some consistency with his command during a season that has seen the 22-year-old struggle with blister issues.

30. Luis Patino, SP, Rays: Patino got roughed up in his latest visit to the majors and has two other talented arms breathing down his neck (Shane Baz and Joe Ryan) in the race for the next opportunity.

Prospects 31-40

31. Nolan Jones, 3B: Jones is off to a solid start to July after hitting much better in June with a triple-slash line of .256/.369/.523.

32. Kyle Bradish, SP: While the Orioles may be hesitant to start the service clock on a number of top prospects, Bradish falls somewhere below that threshold. He has a solid chance at reaching the majors this summer if he continues to improve his command at Triple-A.

33. Cody Thomas, OF: Thomas will likely never produce much in terms of average due to his high strikeout rates, but he has some tantalizing power. As a former top amateur football player, he could be a late bloomer now that he’s focusing on baseball full-time.

34. Daniel Lynch, SP: This young lefty continues to fight his command and has been very inconsistent this season since getting lit up during an early-season three-start stretch at the MLB level.

35. Shane Baz, SP: Baz hasn’t skipped a beat since moving from Double-A to Triple-A. He has a 1.29 ERA through three starts. In 14 innings, he has a K-BB ratio of 20-3 and just nine hits allowed. *Baz has been lowered due to his impending participation in the Summer Olympics.

36. Joe Ryan, SP: When the Rays need pitching help later this summer, they’ll have a good problem in choosing between Shane Baz and Ryan. The latter hurler has an eye-opening K-BB ratio of 54-9 through 41 innings at Triple-A this season and is coming off a start that saw him strike out nine batters in 5 1/3 innings. *Ryan has been lowered due to his impending participation in the Summer Olympics.

37. Norel Gonzalez, 1B/OF: The 27-year-old Cuban continues to rake during his first taste of pro-action with 10 homers and a .309 batting average through 42 games at Double-A.

38. CJ Abrams, SS: Abrams is dealing with a leg injury after a collision at second base last week, although it doesn’t sound like a serious injury. *Update: News broke on Sunday afternoon that Abrams with miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken leg and MCL damage. 

39. Jake Eder, SP: Eder’s outstanding season continues with a K-BB ratio of 76-20 and just 28 hits allowed in 52 2/3 innings of work. He deserves a promotion to Triple-A.

40. Grayson Rodriguez, SP: Double-A has been no issue for Rodriguez since his promotion from High-A. He has a 1.82 ERA with a K-BB ratio of 36-7 with just 13 hits allowed in 24 2/3 innings of work.

Prospects 41-50

41. Adley Rutschman, C: Rutschman continues to pound Double-A pitchers and has a 154 wRC+ through 50 games, but it remains difficult to envision him coming up to the majors with the Orioles already 24.5 games out of first place at the beginning of July.

42. Nolan Gorman, 3B: Gorman ended June on a four-game hit streak but also had seven strikeouts during that stretch. He’s had a slow start to the month of July.

43. Drew Waters, OF: A 34% strikeout rate is never part of a recipe for success as a hitter, but his speed could be an asset for Atlanta in the second half of the year.

44. Max Meyer, SP: Meyer, like a few other Marlins pitchers, is ready for the challenge of Triple-A after posting a 1.84 ERA with a K-BB ratio of 50-24 in 49 innings of work.

45. Bobby Witt Jr.: Over his last seven games at Double-A, Witt Jr. is hitting 12-for-29 (.414) and has shown a better all-around game. His ETA is likely still 2022, but the continued growth is impressive.

46. Triston Casas, 1B: Casas had a fairly pedestrian June with a triple-slash line of .209/.308/.269 and he’ll soon head off to participate in the Summer Olympics.

47. Julio Rodriguez, OF: I still think the likeliest scenario has Rodriguez arriving at the MLB level in 2022 — especially given the early big-league struggles from Taylor Trammell and Jarred Kelenic — but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that this 20-year-old phenom could force his way to the majors in 2021. He’ll also participate in the Summer Olympics for the Dominican Republic.

48. Owen Miller, IF: Miller didn’t do much with his first taste of big-league action earlier this season but he’s hitting .339, getting on base, and showing gap power at Triple-A

49. Jose Miranda, 1B: Miranda has shown flashes of potential since turning pro in 2016, but he really looked good at Double-A earlier this season when he hit .347 with 13 home runs in 47 games. He’s recently moved up to Triple-A and has nine hits — including two doubles and three homers — through his first four games at the new level.

50. Nate Pearson, SP: The oft-injured but extremely talented young pitcher has reportedly gone for his fifth medical opinion on his injured groin. That doesn’t sound encouraging.

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