With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, and dynasty baseball managers rapidly approaching the final month of the season, it’s relatively easy to overlook significant changes in the landscape, especially while some of us have started turning our attention toward upcoming fantasy football drafts. This week’s Fantrax Dynasty Baseball Stock Watch column takes a look at five dynasty prospects on the rise that are poised to make a big jump in our upcoming Top 500 for 2025 rankings.
Late-Season Dynasty Baseball Risers
Zach Dezenzo, 1B/3B, Astros
One of the more intriguing corner infield prospects in the fantasy landscape following last year’s breakthrough campaign where he compiled a robust .914 OPS with 18 homers and 22 steals between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi, Dezenzo parlayed a recent hot stretch at Triple-A Sugar Land where he batted an absurd .391 (18-for-46) with four homers and three steals over 11 games into a full-time opportunity at the cold corner in Houston. The 24-year-old top prospect, who missed time earlier this year recovering from a lingering wrist issue, hasn’t skipped a beat since arriving in the big leagues earlier this month, batting .238 (5-for-21) with one homer across five games with the Astros. Dezenzo was one of the more advanced hit tool prospects in the minors entering the year, so the fact that he’s getting a real shot as part of Houston’s loaded lineup is an extremely encouraging development for his fantasy potential moving forward. He’s talented enough to take advantage of the opportunity and that’s why he’s on the rise from a long-term standpoint.
Travis Sykora, SP, Nationals
Sykora continues to dominate the lower minors after being selected in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft as a prep arm out of Round Rock, Texas. The hard-throwing 20-year-old righty hasn’t allowed an earned run across 15 innings of work over his last three starts since July 27 for Low-A Fredericksburg, piling up 28 strikeouts in the process. Simply put, Sykora is rapidly evolving into one of the better pitching prospects in the game and will likely finish the year as a top-25 pitching prospect for dynasty purposes. It’s extremely difficult to gauge pitching prospects that are several hyperspace jumps from the majors, but Sykora’s combination of stuff and results is worth taking notice of.
Christian Moore, 2B, Angels
It’s not entirely out of the question that Moore, who was selected eighth overall in last month’s MLB Draft, could reach the majors by the end of the year after witnessing last year’s first-rounder Nolan Schanuel follow a similar trajectory. The 21-year-old second baseman was one of the more advanced hitting prospects in his draft class to begin with coming off a collegiate career at Tennessee, and has gone on to record four multi-hit performances, including a pair of multi-homer efforts, in his first six games for Double-A Rocket City. He appears to be on the fastest possible track to the majors given the Angels’ propensity to push their last couple first-round picks. Even if he doesn’t make it all the way to Los Angeles before the regular season wraps up, he’ll be in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot. He’s already put himself in the conversation for a possible top-15 ranking at the keystone for dynasty purposes.
Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF, Red Sox
One of the fastest rising prospects in the game this season, Campbell, who was a fourth-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech, has been on fire this season with a stellar .347/.455/.577 triple-slash line with 15 homers and 20 steals across 89 games this season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland after Boston’s player development engine helped him alter his bat path while also adding bat speed and strength. The versatile 22-year-old, who has spent time at both second base and outfield this season, projects as a multi-positional five-category impact talent at the keystone, and is looking like a possible top-10 dynasty second baseman entering next year given his combination of bat-to-ball skills and power/speed combination.
Quinn Mathews, SP, Cardinals
Mathews was one of the names featured earlier this month in our Fantrax Top 25 pitching prospects coverage as he’s rapidly evolved into one of the top prospects in the entire game after a significant velocity uptick has him regularly sitting in the mid-90s. He pairs that above-average heater with a plus slider and decent changeup. He’s been a windmill factory this season while blazing through three minor league levels to reach Double-A Springfield, compiling a surreal 2.49 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 157/34 K/BB ratio across 112 innings (20 starts) in the process. He still needs to show he can sustain the velocity bump and continue to miss bats in the upper minors, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the 23-year-old southpaw get the call for St. Louis before the season wraps up, especially if they’re in the mix for a playoff spot.
– Bonus –
Franklin Arias, SS, Red Sox
Arias has come back down to earth a bit since arriving in the Low-A Carolina League, where he’s experiencing a bit of an adjustment period as one of the youngest hitters in the league, but that doesn’t diminish what he was able to accomplish earlier this year in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League where he batted an absurd .355/.471/.584 with six homers and 30 steals in 206 plate appearances over 51 games. The 18-year-old middle infielder is making some serious waves, thanks to his ability to consistently barrel the ball. He’ll continue to increase his bat speed as he adds weight and strength over the next few years and could rapidly evolve into one of the top prospects in the game. The time to get on board for dynasty purposes is right now.