When a massive prospect is called up to the big leagues, the fantasy baseball world tends to go crazy. Such was the case Sunday night when Royals’ prospect Jac Caglianone got the call that he would be coming to the majors. In leagues that had not run their FAAB yet, Caglianone fetched a massive haul. Full disclosure – in one industry league, I spent $335 of a $1,000 budget on Caglianone because I desperately needed help in the power department.
Do these always work out? Of course not. We should always learn the lesson from Jackson Holliday in 2024. Massive minor league success doesn’t always translate into big league production. Now that he is up, who deserves their time in the big leagues and who needs some more seasoning? This prospect report will provide a quick, weekly glance at MLB’s top hitter and pitcher prospects and how they are performing in the minors or their first few games with the big club.
As players graduate to the Major Leagues, new names will always take their place as the season goes along, but for now, some prospects are just starting to get their first shots. All stats are as of games completed on June 1. Today’s piece will focus on the most relevant prospect news from around the minor leagues, focusing on the biggest names in the 2025 Top 100 list.
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
Jac Caglianone, KCR, 1B
The minor league leader in home runs and RBI got his official call to the major leagues on Monday when the Kansas City Royals brought up first baseman Jac Caglianone. Overall, Caglianone has 15 home runs and 56 RBI, including six bombs and 13 RBI in just 12 games at the AAA level. His promotion makes immediate sense for the Royals, who are bottom-five in baseball in runs, home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and wRC+. Now it will become interesting to see what the Royals do with Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino.
Kyle Teel, CHW, C
News reports came out this weekend about one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects, Kyle Teel. Normally a catcher, Teel has been taking grounders at first base as the White Sox apparently get him ready to potentially play both positions with the big club. With another top prospect (Edgar Quero) also at catcher, this is a move the White Sox have to consider. Teel is hitting .289/.394/.491 with eight home runs and an uncharacteristic seven steals for a catcher.
Roman Anthony, BOS, RF
The Boston Red Sox promoted a minor league outfielder this week, but his name was not Roman Anthony. It’s unclear at this point what they are waiting for, as the team needs offensive help and Anthony is more than ready. In AAA this season, he is hitting .303/.430/.492 with eight home runs and three steals. His walk rate is almost 20%, as pitchers have basically stopped throwing to him. His time to put that to the test against the best in the world should be coming soon.
Samuel Basallo, BAL, C
After managing hamstring and elbow injuries, Samuel Basallo is back playing DH and catcher for the Baltimore Orioles’ AAA club. Basallo has struggled somewhat this year with his batting average, but still has managed a very respectable overall slash line. He is hitting .233/.348/.543 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI in 35 games. With all of the injuries to the Orioles lately, Basallo may be the next big prospect bat to be called up. But with Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg getting healthy, the Orioles might wait until later in the summer.
Dalton Rushing, LAD, C
Dalton Rushing finally hit his first Major League home run over the weekend, although it will go down in history as being hit against a position player. Still, he is hitting .273 so far and is playing about three times per week. That might not be enough to make him fantasy-relevant right now, but with more playing time, we might get to see just how good his bat can be.
Andrew Painter, PHI, SP
Andrew Painter may be dominating at the AAA level for the Philadelphia Phillies, but the chances he debuts soon were just dramatically cut after some comments from the Philadelphia manager. Rob Thomson said it is unlikely Painter makes his debut before the All-Star Break this season. When he does finally debut, he will bring with him a 3.18 ERA and a strikeout rate of more than 10 batters per nine innings.
Marcelo Mayer, BOS, 3B/SS
It’s been a bit of a slow start for top prospect Marcelo Mayer since his call-up to the Red Sox just over a week ago. He is hitting just .200/.250/.267, but he has played eight straight games, showing that Boston is going to give him a long leash while they deal with the various injuries plaguing their ball club right now. He has also played shortstop in two of those games (in addition to third base, so there is a chance Mayer is multi-position eligible by the end of the season.
Mick Abel, PHI, SP
Mick Abel will be rejoining the Philadelphia Phillies’ rotation this week and will pitch on Thursday against Toronto. After experimenting with Taijuan Walker in the rotation, the Phillies decided to move him back to the bullpen, which allowed Mick Abel to come back for another few starts. On May 18th, he pitched six shutout innings and struck out nine batters. Abel has a 2.21 ERA and strikes out more than 10.5 batters per nine innings in AAA this year.
Jacob Melton, HOU, OF
With injuries to Chas McCormick and Zach Dezenzo, the Houston Astros turned to prospect Jacob Melton over the weekend and called him up to make his Major League debut. He responded with his first hit and looks to play 4-5 times per week while he is up with the Astros. In 17 AAA games this season, Melton was slugging .508 and also stole three bases.
Cole Young, SEA, 2B
Cole Young was a weekend call-up by the Seattle Mariners and played two games in his opening weekend audition. Young has played second base both days, and it appears this is where the Mariners will give him his longest look. Young is coming off back-to-back minor league seasons where he averaged 10 home runs, 22 steals, and a .274 average. It looks like the Mariners have given up on Dylan Moore having a full-time role, so the job appears to belong to Young right now.
