Click here to see the Top 25 Prospects For 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball.
Click here to see #26-50 in the Top 50 Prospects For 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball.
51. Cubs 1B Michael Busch | 26 | MLB | 2024
Please clap for Busch’s slash line of .323/.431/.618 with 27 home runs across 98 Triple-A games in 2023. Now that he’s out of Los Angeles and being all but handed the first base gig in Chicago, he can finally stop faking second base and fully flower as a hitter. Or so goes the thinking that led the Cubs to acquire him, anyway.
52. Padres SS Leodalis De Vries | 17 | NA | 2028
A switch hitter with power, speed and polish on both sides of the ball, De Vries signed for $4.2 million as the most hyped international teenage signing since Jasson Dominguez. He’s listed at 6’2” 183 lbs and should be able to avoid some of the body problems that pepper conversations circling Dominguez. He’s been selected 18th, 16th and 10th in the first-year-player drafts I’ve done this winter. Two of those picks (16,10) were my own.
53. Mariners SS Colt Emerson | 18 | A | 2027
After the success of Cole Young, the Mariners went for a similar prospect at the 22 spot in the 2023 draft: Colt Emerson is a left-handed hitting middle infielder at 6’1” 195 lbs with excellent hands in the batter’s box. In 24 games across two levels, he slashed .379/.496/.549 with two home runs, ten doubles, 20 strikeouts and 17 walks. He went ninth overall in the Razz30 Supplemental Draft that just got underway.
54. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga | 30 | NPB | 2024
A classic crafty, composed lefty who’s been great since 2018, Imanaga will make a nice gift for dynasty contenders seeking innings near the back of their drafts partly because I think he’ll be a contributor in the increasingly difficult wins category.
55. Rays RHP Shane Baz | 24 | MLB | 2021
I’m not sure where to put Baz, who’s been gone so long I totally forgot about him while doing Tampa’s top ten prospects. He was great for 13 innings (three starts) at the end of 2021 then bad for 27 innings (six starts) in 2022. He hasn’t pitched since July 10th of that year. He technically burned through his rookie eligibility that year on time served, but he’s at 40.1 career major league innings, so he’s under our cutoff of 50. He’s been mostly a fastball-slider guy to this point but mixes in the occasional curve and change. When he’s right, his main offerings are easily plus and his side dishes are at least average. Tampa, and the game itself, is in a different place now than it was just two years ago, so it’ll be fascinating to see if Baz comes back looking like he did when he left. He’s too low here if he’s 100 percent healthy heading into the season, but it’d be presumptuous to predict that.
56. Diamondbacks OF Druw Jones | 20 | A | 2026
A shoulder injury has limited Jones to just 41 games since he was drafted 2nd overall in 2022, but he started making good late in the summer, slashing .339/.438/.500 with two home runs and six steals over his final 16 games. Don’t let him fall too far down your lists this winter, particularly if you’re in a startup draft. Feels like he’ll be a real value in those this year.
57. Yankees C Austin Wells | 24 | MLB | 2023
A thick lefty bat who lifts the ball with ease, Wells is a nice fit for his home ballpark. Teams are going to test him on the base paths, but Wells isn’t a total pushover back there and should get plenty of time to improve as long as his bat makes him a viable option. He’s a nice option in OBP leagues after popping four home runs in 19 MLB games in 2023 and recording walk rates better than ten percent for most of his baseball life.
58. Rays SS Carson Williams | 20 | AAA | 2024
If Caminero can’t handle the six on defense and Walls can’t clear the bar on offense, Carson Williams will be waiting in the wings. He was sent to Triple-A after just six games in Double-A but could open the year back there considering he hit .077 with a 40 percent strikeout rate during his four games in Durham. He’d struck out at a 31.8 percent clip in 105 High-A games, so the swing and miss comes as no surprise. Making consistent contact is the only thing Williams hasn’t done on a ball field, where his double-plus defense and easy power will make him a starter sooner than later. He hit 23 homers and stole 17 bags in those 105 High-A games and might even make a run at the job in spring training if he can keep improving the plate skills that were on an upward trajectory in 2023.
59. Rays 3B Curtis Mead | 23 | MLB | 2023
Mead can help the fanbase forget some old infielders if he plays in the majors like he did in Triple-A in 2023, slashing .294/.385/.515 with nine home runs and four stolen bases in 61 games. His calling card has been plate skills, and that held true at the top minor league level with a 12.6-to-17.3 walk-to-strikeout rate. It’s not easy to see how he fits into the lineup early this year outside of a short-side platoon, but if he hits in small doses, something will probably pour his way.
60. Twins SS Brooks Lee | 23 | AAA | 2024
A high-floor switch-hitter with a lot of college experience, Lee went eighth overall in the 2022 draft and played his way to Double-A in his draft season. He played just two games there last year and another 87 this year, slashing .292/.365/.476 with 11 home runs and six steals. With Jorge Polanco out of town, Lee gets an up-arrow next to his name even though the move more directly benefits Edouard Julien.
61. Braves RHP Hurston Waldrep | 22 | AAA | 2024
With the name of a 19th century oil baron and the arsenal of a high-end big league pitcher, Hurston Waldrep represented a nice windfall for Atlanta with the 24th overall pick in this summer’s draft. His delivery borders on relievery, but a double-plus fastball/split-change combo helped him carve his way to Triple-A in half a minor league season. Atlanta has been rushing its young arms for a while as they try to supplement their world-beating offense, so Waldrep should be on the shortlist for an early promotion. Might even have a shot to make the team in spring training. He signed for a few hundred thousand under his draft slot value, and you know this team loves that.
62. Cubs OF Kevin Alcantara | 21 | AA | 2024
Played 95 games with High-A South Bend, slashing .286/.341/.466 with 12 home runs and 15 stolen bases then continued to produce in Double-A and the fall league, where he’s tied for third in the league with five home runs. At 6’6” with plus power and speed, the possibility of him actualizing in his early twenties is enticing. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him get traded. If Crow-Armstrong looks like a long-term solution and the club re-signs Cody Bellinger, that’s the outfield as long as they have Seiya Suzuki.
63. Rays OF Jonny DeLuca | 25 | MLB | 2023
One thing you can say about the Tyler Glasnow (and Manny Margot) trade: it should work out better than that slapdick Blake Snell trade for Francisco Mejia, Xavier Edwards, Blake Hunt, and Luis Patiño. Having multiple outs did not help that time, but it should help to have Jonny DeLuca along with Ryan Pepiot this time around. A 5’11” 196 lb right handed hitter, DeLuca controls the zone well and has never struck out more than 20 percent of the time in eight stints across six leagues and has typically walked at roughly a ten percent clip. In addition to the plate skills, DeLuca has always produced power and speed. He hit 19 home runs and stole 13 bases in 97 games across three levels in 2023 and will be a fantasy factor if he can crack this lineup.
64. Mariners SS Cole Young | 20 | A+ | 2025
A left-handed hitter with middle-infield athleticism on defense and a plus hit tool on offense, Young was selected 21st overall in 2022 and has cruised through three levels in 143 games since, slashing .286/.402/.456 with 13 home runs and 26 steals. He’s an easy eval on the eyes as it doesn’t take much to see his swing and think “oh that looks good.” Also has the arm to make up for a split second here or there on defense.
65. Diamondbacks OF Kristian Robinson | 23 | AA | 2024
If I’m being honest with my bedroom mirror, Robinson is my favorite prospect right now. I liked him a lot the first time I saw him swing and run, but my allegiance now is mostly due to the road he’s walked to get here. Legal and mental troubles cost him three full seasons of work, but he returned to the field this year looking much like his former self, flashing impressive power (14 HR in 65 G) and speed (23 SB) across four levels, peaking with a deep Double-A playoff push that saw him homering on an almost daily basis. There’s extreme upside here as he’s finally got the runway to focus on his game all winter so he can start fast in spring.
66. Mariners C Harry Ford | 21 | A+ | 2025
The 12th overall pick in 2021, Ford has moved through the minor league assembly line with ease, posting an on base percentage of .400 or better at every level. His High-A slash line of .257/.410/.430 across 118 games isn’t the most impressive card-back we’ve seen, but he was young for the level and got better throughout the season after a slow start. His primary appeal for our game might be unique speed catcher. He’s swiped 23 and 24 bases the past two seasons, respectively, and has wheels enough to lose a step or two and remain a threat. In that same Razz30 Supp Draft, Ford got traded for the 22nd pick, which was used to select Chase Davis. I prefer Ford by a pretty wide margin there.
67. Red Sox C Kyle Teel | 22 | AA | 2024
You may remember Kyle Teel from such draft picks as The Royals’ in 2023, when they passed on the college-tested shade of blue for high school catcher Blake Mitchell, who they could sign for a million dollars below slot value. While Mitchell was hitting .143 in 13 games on the complex, Teel was proving to be the real deal, burning through Boston’s system w wRC+ outcomes of 246, 166 and 167 in short stints in the complex than at High-A and Double-A. What he doesn’t offer in speed and topside for the dynasty game he makes up for in proximity and predictability. Teel really knows himself as a hitter and might look like a major league option in spring training because he controls the zone so well.
68. Orioles OF Colton Cowser | 24 | MLB | 2024
Cowser saw 77 plate appearances in 26 major league games in 2023 and looked thoroughly overmatched, slashing .115/.286/.148 with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate. I’ve never been on board with Cowser for our game relative to the field, so I’ve never come anywhere near having him on a fantasy team, but he simply can’t be that bad if given some real runway. He struggled to adjust to Triple-A the first time through (.219 batting average in 27 games) but slashed .300/.417/.520 with 17 home runs and nine stolen bases in 87 games there in 2023. A lefty swinger at 6-3 195 lbs, Cowser should be a nice fit for that ballpark and feels like a decent buy low for redraft leagues. I still won’t have him anywhere, for what it’s Weurtz. Little bit of a confirmation bias thing. Little bit of a front-foot swinger thing. Baltimore doesn’t seem to mind that type, but I tend to look past those guys because I think hip-snap efficacy and repeatability are among the biggest deciders of major league success. They’ve been working on his base, and maybe he’ll find something that works for him. I just don’t like how it looked last year.
69. Guardians RHP Daniel Espino | 23 | AA | 2024
Talent is not a question here. Espino’s stuff is top shelf. Trouble is he threw just 18.1 innings in 2022 before injuries (knee and shoulder) ended his season. The shoulder injury did not go away, and Espino did not throw a pitch in 2023 after a March surgery to repair his anterior capsule. That sounds tricky, but just last week I saw a video of Espino throwing, and I’m excited all over again despite myself. Real Songs of Innocence and Experience situation. Better not chisel any projections for Espino into metal.
70. Cubs LHP Jordan Wicks | 24 | MLB | 2023
An unorthodox marksman with a slow heartbeat, Jordan Wicks is penciled into the rotation now that Marcus Stroman has opted out of his contract. Even if they sign a starter or two, Wicks should get his fair share of shots in 2024. His stuff isn’t dominant, but a plus changeup and balanced repertoire give him a Jordan Montgomery type upside.
71. Padres OF Jakob Marsee | 22 | AA | 2024
Even before the Juan Soto trade, we were likely to see the 6-foot 180-pound Marsee in the major leagues at some point in 2024. He played his way to Double-A during the 2023 season and ended it with an MVP month in the Arizona Fall League. In 24 AFL games, Marsee slashed .391/.508/.707 with five home runs and 16 stolen bases. He has played just 16 games at in Double-A, but AJ Preller has always played by his own rulebook when it comes to prospect promotions, so I’m not sure his lack of upper-minors experience will push his debut into the summertime, especially with Trent Grisham tailing Juan Soto out of town.
72. White Sox LHP Noah Schultz | 20 | A | 2026
At 6’9” 220 lbs with a low-three-quarters release, Schultz brings a unique look that helped him dominate across short outings in Low-A. His 30.8 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate and 0.85 WHIP suggested he was ready for a new challenge when his season ended with a left shoulder impingement.
73. Twins OF Emmanuel Rodriguez | 21 | A+ | 2025
Produced a 145 wRC+ in 99 High-A games despite striking out 29.5 percent of the time. He hit 16 home runs, stole 20 bases and slashed .240/.400/.463 with a 20.2 percent walk rate. Power, speed and patience will play in the real game and ours as long as a guy plays decent defense (he does) and makes enough contact, which will have to be Rodriguez’s focus moving forward. Even if he can’t bring the strikeout rate down, he should be a force in OBP leagues.
74. Mets OF Drew Gilbert | 23 | AA | 2024
A smallish prospect at 5’9” 195 lbs, Gilbert was the 28th overall pick by Houston in 2022 coming off a superstar season at Clemson. A left handed hitter with functional in-game power, he should be a better fit for his home environment in New York than he would’ve been with the big right-center gap in Houston. He had struggled a bit at Double-A before the trade but slashed .325/.423/.561 in 35 games after coming to the Big Apple in a package for Justin Verlander. The Brandon Nimmo contract squeezes Gilbert to a corner, but he should hit enough to hold down a corner spot anyway.
75. Braves RHP AJ Smith-Shawver | 21 | MLB | 2023
Took a turn as perhaps fantasy’s most overrated prospect for a stretch in 2023. No fault of his own, really. The echo chamber was just excited to see him open the year with 21 scoreless innings across the two lower levels and then jump Triple-A entirely. The hype has settled some, but Smith-Shawver remains a special talent with a dynamic fastball and slider who will be part of the club’s plan in 2024.
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