Top fantasy baseball prospects: C.J. Kayfus on the rise, Ryan Johnson impressing in High-A

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15 hours ago

A reminder: This is ONLY players who have Rookie of the Year MLB eligibility, and ONLY a look at potential help for 2025.
That out of the way, here's a look at the top prospects who can help your fantasy roster this season.
1. Jordan Lawlar, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 stats: 53 G, .319/.410/.583, 10 HR, 18 SB, 30 BB, 60 SO at Triple-A Reno; 8 G .000/.175/.000, 0 SB, 3 BB, 9 SO at Arizona.
Well, now it gets tricky. There's no prospect who appears to be on the cusp in the minors -- we had a nice run where we got to cheat at the top spot because of an imminent promotion for four straight weeks -- and while Lawlar is the most talented prospect at the Triple-A level, he's now on the injured list with a hamstring strain. I'm still rolling with Lawlar as my top guy, because if he does get a chance to play sometime after the All-Star break, he's the prospect who has the best chance to fill five different categories. All that's been announced so far is that the former sixth-overall pick is going to miss 'weeks,' so even if that debut doesn't come until August, I'll take him over any prospect right now. Call me crazy.
2. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Baltimore Orioles
2025 stats: 57 G, .253/.372/.547, 16 HR, 0 SB, 36 BB, 51 SO at Triple-A Norfolk.
Frustrating. Even with the Orioles catching depth dwindling by the minute, Baltimore has decided to roll with Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson behind the plate rather than call up their top hitting prospect who has put up those numbers in Triple-A. Clearly Baltimore is playing the long game with the backstop/first baseman, and maybe if the Orioles were in playoff contention they'd be singing a different tune. I still have to have Basallo second on this list because there's no player in Triple-A outside of Lawlar who offers more fantasy upside; especially when you consider his positional value. If Baltimore changes their mind, fantasy managers should rush to add Basallo as well.
3. Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners
2025 stats: 66 G, .308/.425/.470, 9 HR, 4 SB, 49 BB, 52 SO at Triple-A Tacoma.
Ford continues to get on base at an impressive rate, and continues to do so while getting plenty of hits and drawing plenty of walks. Meanwhile, Mitch Garver has started to swing the bat better and has been solid behind the plate (note: imagine me telling you Garver was going to become a defense-first backup catcher when the Mariners signed to his two-year, $24 million deal), but it's hard to imagine that Garver makes the Mariners better than Ford would, and there'd be plenty of ways to get him in the lineup assuming Jorge Polanco starts playing in the field on a more consistent basis. There's a little more risk with Ford in 2025, but there's reward because of his catcher-eligibility as well.
4. C.J. Kayfus, OF/1B, Cleveland Guardians
2025 stats: 73, .313/.406/.563, 12 HR, 4 SB, 39 BB, 81 SO at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus.
We got a newbie. Welcome, C.J. Kayfus was a 2023 third-round selection who has done nothing but hit at every level, and that includes the International League where he's slashing .297/.382/.554 with 11 homers over 55 games with Columbus. He's a left-handed hitter who can hit for both average and power, and he's shown the ability to produce against both right and left-handed hurlers. Right now he's playing mostly at first base, and that's one position the Guardians seem to not need room. He's a good enough athlete to handle the corner outfield, however, and it's pretty easy to see him being a solid fantasy option if/when Cleveland gave him that opportunity. He's not getting nearly enough attention in keeper leagues as well, so if that's what you read these articles for, go get him.
5. JJ Wetherholt, INF, St. Louis Cardinals
2025 stats: 62 G, .300/.425/.466, 7 HR, 14 SB, 44 BB, 41 SO at Double-A Springfield.
We are officially deep enough in the season where it becomes 'ok' to liste players that have a real chance to not make their debut in 2025. The best of those players, in my relatively humble estimation, is Wetherholt. The seventh pick of last year's draft out of West Virginia, Wetherholt has plus speed, above-average power in a left-handed bat, and one of the best projected hit tools regardless of level. He's alternated between playing shortstop and second base as of late, and it'd probably be the latter position if Wetherholt is going to break into the Cardinals' everyday lineup. There are players with a higher ceiling than he possesses, but not many, and very few who have a higher (perceived) floor.
Around the minors:
I debated a few players for the fourth spot -- Wetherholt is probably going to remain in spot five until he receives a promotion to Triple-A or St. Louis -- and the one that just missed was Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caissie. Caissie went 3-for-5 during Sunday's game for Triple-A Iowa, and he's now slashing .280/.388/.556 with 16 homers over 70 games in the Pacific Coast League. The power being there is no surprise, but even with a considerable amount of swing-and-miss as seen in 93 strikeouts over 261 at-bats, his hit tool has a chance to be above-average because there's so much loud contact. The problem for Caissie in 2025 is there's just no room at the inn, but if a spot opened up -- or if he was to be traded in a blockbuster deal -- he'd be well worth an add in most fantasy formats.
We featured Ryan Johnson last week, but we have to do it again after the top pitching prospect in the Angels system had one of the best starts of any minor-league pitcher in 2025 for High-A Tri City on Saturday. He fired a complete game while allowing just one hit, and he was able to strike out 12 without issuing a walk. Johnson has now gone seven innings in his last four starts -- something you don't see in the majors very often, much less the minors -- and allowed a total of four runs over 30 innings with a K/BB ratio of 32/4. Yes, Johnson wasn't ready for the majors, but you see why Los Angeles was so excited about the 22-year-old's potential. He has a chance to be a good one.
Speaking of players that are too good for their current levels. Dakota Jordan was selected in the fourth-round of the 2024 draft out of Mississippi State, but don't let that round fool you; he was considered one of the best collegiate bats in the class and the Giants paid him a bonus just under $2 million to procure his services. He's spent all year with Low-A San Jose and is now slashing .303/.377/.454 with seven homers and 27 stolen bases over 75 games. It's a little weird seeing a 22-year-old playing at that level, but it's nice to see him excelling at it, at least. He's a tremendous athlete who was a former three-star wide receiver recruit out of high school, and there's the potential for considerable power in his right-handed bat as he fine tunes some things. Jordan should receive a challenge in High-A soon, but either way, he could be a solid option in fantasy leagues by the end of the decade.
The Rockies probably aren't going to make the postseason it looks like (hold for laughter), but they do have a solid farm system, and one of the more underrated prospects in that system is left-hander Konner Eaton. Eaton was a sixth-round selection out of George Mason by the Rockies in 2024, and he's forged a 3.31 ERA and 92/30 K/BB ratio over 84 1/3 innings in his professional season with High-A Spokane. He's been even better than that lately, as his last two starts have seen him throw 13 shutout innings with 19 strikeouts against three walks. Eaton's stuff is certainly good enough to play at the highest level with a plus slider and a mid 90s fastball that offers good movement, but the question has been if he can repeat his delivery well enough to throw consistent strikes. If the command is close to average he's a starter -- potentially a mid-rotation one -- but if not, it's easy to see Eaton being a potential high-leverage reliever. He's a name to keep an eye on over the coming seasons.