With the fantasy football season officially underway, and the conclusion of the minor league season rapidly approaching, it’s understandable if dynasty baseball managers have started to check out on their respective fantasy baseball seasons. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered as this week’s Fantrax Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Stock Watch takes a closer look at 10 prospects making some late-season noise in the minors and will see their dynasty value increase heading into the 2025 campaign. This week’s edition is ostensibly broken into two halves, in honor of the fantasy football season, with the opening stanza taking a closer look at five elite prospects on the rise, while the second half breaks down five under-the-radar prospects that haven’t gained widespread notoriety yet.
Finally, if you missed it earlier this month, we released our preliminary Fantrax Top 500 Dynasty Rankings for 2025. There will be some changes to these rankings in the coming weeks, but these dynasty rankings should give fantasy managers an edge heading into next season. Without further delay, let’s dive into the prospects.
Dynasty Baseball Prospects On The Rise
Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
Jenkins was officially promoted to Double-A over the weekend after a sizzling-hot stretch with High-A Cedar Rapids where he batted .293 (36-for-123) with three homers and four steals in 32 games since August 1. The 19-year-old sensation, who was selected fifth overall in last year’s MLB Draft, was one of the consensus top prospects in the dynasty landscape already, but he’s pretty much cemented his spot as a surefire top five overall prospect heading into 2025. There simply aren’t a ton of holes in his game as he pairs elite plate skills with an emerging power/speed combination, which enables dynasty managers to comfortably project him as a near-elite five-category fantasy contributor once he reaches the majors. He’s been extremely impressive over the last few weeks after missing time at the outset of the year due to injury.
Kumar Rocker, SP, Rangers
Rocker’s rapid evolution into an elite dynasty pitching prospect continued last Friday in his latest gem for Triple-A Round Rock, striking out eight and allowing just two runs over five innings of work. The hard-throwing 24-year-old former top pitching prospect, who has missed most of the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, has looked like a potential impact fantasy contributor, compiling a sparkling 1.96 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 55/5 K/BB ratio across 36 2/3 innings (10 appearances, nine starts) between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock since July 5. It’s too small of a sample size to draw any definitive conclusions, but the high-octane arsenal is back. Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters over the weekend that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Rocker reaching the majors this season just a few hours before the club officially announced that he’ll make his big league debut on Thursday against the division-rival Mariners. The hype is real and it’ll be fascinating to see how Rocker fares at the highest level in a late-season cameo for the defending World Series champions.
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants
Eldridge has cooled off slightly since arriving in Double-A Richmond at just 19 years old, but that’s only because he was hotter than the surface of the sun during his final few contests at High-A Eugene where he finished with a stratospheric 1.060 OPS with 12 homers and three steals in 48 contests. The burgeoning slugging prospect, who was selected 16th overall in last year’s MLB Draft as a potential two-way player before focusing exclusively on hitting, projects as an impact four-category fantasy contributor down the road for San Francisco. He could easily wind up finishing the year as a top-30 fantasy prospect from a dynasty standpoint, especially if he continues tearing the cover off the ball in the upper minors to close out the year. His dynasty stock has arguably risen more than any other prospect since midseason.
Sebastian Walcott, SS, Rangers
Walcott’s numbers don’t exactly leap off the electronic pages, as he compiled a solid .261/.342/.443 triple-slash line with 50 extra-base hits — 10 home runs — and 26 stolen bases across 116 games for High-A Hickory. However, they’re extremely impressive considering he spent the entire season as one of the youngest players in the High-A South Atlantic League, roughly a presidential term younger than his competitors. The 18-year-old phenom will wrap up the minor league season in the upper minors after officially getting the call over the weekend to Double-A Frisco. The plate skills have shown some signs of improvement and he projects as a potential elite power/speed combo fantasy contributor, if everything comes together. He’s made a significant leap over the last three months and looks like a potential elite dynasty prospect heading into 2025.
Jarlin Susana, SP, Nationals
One of the ancillary components of the blockbuster Juan Soto trade with the Padres, Susana has blossomed into one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the dynasty landscape, routinely touching triple digits and pairing premium velocity with an elite cut-slider that excels at generating swinging strikes. The biggest x-factor for Susana this season has been harnessing his prodigious raw stuff as he’s displayed improved command of his formidable arsenal and looks like a potential impact fantasy contributor heading into 2025 and beyond. The hard-throwing 20-year-old righty has recorded back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances at High-A Wilmington and boasts a strong 4.34 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 157/48 K/BB ratio across 103 2/3 innings (24 starts) between High-A Wilmington and Low-A Fredericksburg. He’s easily a top-100 dynasty prospect heading into 2025.
Under-The-Radar Prospects On The Rise
Alejandro Rosario, SP, Rangers
According to reporting by Josh Norris of Baseball America, Rosario’s instant success following a down final collegiate season at the University of Miami last year that led to him slipping to the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, can be attributed to the Rangers’ encouraging him to elevate his upper-90’s fastball and start utilizing his hard-biting low-90’s splitter again. The 22-year-old righty was promoted to Double-A Frisco late last week and will close the year in the upper minors after posting a sublime 2.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 129/13 K/BB ratio across 88 1/3 innings (18 appearances, seven starts) this season between Low-A Down East and High-A Hickory. He’s not quite reached elite pitching prospect status, but he’s well on the way entering the 2025 season. He’s a name to watch that could take off in a hurry during the early stages of next season, especially if he continues dominating on the doorstep of the big leagues. The breakout is real.
Chandler Simpson, OF, Rays
If you record the first 100-stolen base season in the minors since Billy Hamilton and Delino DeShields Jr. accomplished the feat back in 2012, we’re contractually obligated to discuss it. The fantasy value of elite stolen base threats has declined over the past few years, thanks to league-implemented rule changes that have led to an uptick in activity on the basepaths. However, that doesn’t mean Simpson won’t make a tangible impact for dynasty managers once he reaches the big leagues. The 23-year-old speedster, who posted 81 and 94 thefts, respectively, the past two seasons in the lower minors, is achieving this against mostly upper-minors competition, batting .356/.412/.400 with one homer and 102 thefts through 107 games between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. It remains to be seen whether he’ll get on base enough to capitalize on his game-changing baserunning, but it’s not impossible to envision a David Hamilton or Xavier Edwards style career path for him down the road.
Gino Groover, 3B, Diamondbacks
Groover homered four times in three late-August contests at High-A Hillsboro to earn a promotion to Double-A Amarillo where he’s batted .345 (10-for-29) with one homer and one steal through seven games in the hitter-friendly Texas League. The 22-year-old third base prospect missed time earlier this year recovering from a broken wrist, which makes it even more impressive that he’s flashing big-time power at the moment. He basically fell off dynasty radar screens earlier this year, but he’s back in the mix and could potentially enter the 2025 season as a top 30 option at the hot corner given the relative lack of standout fantasy contributors at the position.
Jackson Baumeister, SP, Rays
Baumeister has taken off since arriving in Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, seemingly solving his control issues overnight, slashing his walk rate from 14 percent to under five percent, leading to a microscopic 1.24 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 44/5 K/BB ratio across 29 innings (seven appearances, five starts) for High-A Bowling Green. The 22-year-old has always missed bats at a huge rate, but everything seems to have come together rapidly since leaving Baltimore’s system. It’s too small of a sample size to draw any firm conclusions yet, but he’s put himself on fantasy managers’ radar screens heading into 2025.
Payton Eeles, 2B, Twins
This is an off-the-radar pick for all of the dynasty managers in crazy-deep formats. Eeles basically came out of nowhere earlier this season to rocket through a couple levels in Minnesota’s system to reach Triple-A St. Paul. The unheralded 24-year-old second baseman went undrafted out of Coastal Carolina last summer and spent time with the Chicago Dogs and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent American Association and Atlantic League, respectively, before getting a shot earlier this season with the Twins. He’s taken off over the last few weeks at Triple-A St. Paul, batting .299 with five homers and 13 steals in 52 contests. At just 5-foot-5 we’re not anticipating Eeles hitting for a ton of over-the-fence pop at the highest level, but he’s flashed some power and is savvy on the basepaths, which could help him carve out a role as a top-of-the-order spark plug. Considering the winding path he’s taken to get here, we’re not ruling out anything as a potential outcome.