Top fantasy baseball prospects: Lazaro Montes, Spencer Jones impressing after promotions

NBC Sports

01-07-2025

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: 54 G, .264/.390/.579, 16 HR, 0 SB, 36 BB, 47 SO at Triple-A Norfolk.
Basallo added another homer last week, and pitchers are starting to give the young backstop the 'we're not gonna let you beat us' treatment. He had a pair of three-walk efforts, and he continues to impress in his ability to draw free passes without a ton of swing-and-miss. In fact, he struck out just one time since our last update while drawing eight bases on balls. That's a great figure even before you consider the profile; this is not a dink-and-dunk hitter; on the contrary. Basallo should get a promotion to Baltimore this summer, and the fact he'll have catcher-eligibility adds to the intrigue.
3. Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners
2025 stats: 601 G, .306/.418/.459, 8 HR, 3 SB, 43 BB, 48 SO at Triple-A Tacoma.
It looked like Ford was going to make his MLB debut this weekend against the Rangers, but it turned out to be a false alarm with Mitch Garver avoiding a trip to the injuries list with his head injury. Still, it seems like a promotion to Seattle isn't far away, even with Garver starting to swing the bat better. Seattle needs offensive help, and Ford's ability to get on base while tapping into his power at the age of 22 makes him a candidate to provide said help. Keep in mind that Cal Raleigh gets lots of playing time as the designated hitter, and it's reasonable to think Seattle would find a way to get Ford at-bats even with the MVP-level season from Raleigh.
4. JJ Wetherholt, INF, St. Louis Cardinals
2025 stats: 57 G, .305/.430/.453, 5 HR, 13 SB, 41 BB, 35 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.
5. Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
2025 stats: 13 G, 51.2 IP, 4.18 ERA, .246 BAA, 19 BB, 57 SO at Low-A Clearwater and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Painter's latest start was a relatively familiar one, for better and worse. He went 4 1/3 innings and allowed two runs over five hits, and he struck out five and walked one. That's far from a terrible outing and shows Painter's potential to pile up the strikeouts with inarguably the best stuff of any pitcher in the minors. The concern for 2025 is that he's not getting deep into games, and the Phillies are going to treat the pitcher with kid gloves after he missed the last two seasons. Still, because of his upper-echelon stuff and well above-average ability to command it, Painter would absolutely be worthy of an addition in the majority of redraft leagues.
Around the minors:
The Mariners called up Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo to Double-A Arkansas, and both hitters have come out swinging. Literally and figuratively. Montes has homered in three of his first six games with the Travelers, while Arroyo is slashing .333/.452/.542 with a homer and two doubles. It seems more likely that both players are going to make their debut in 2026 than it does this season, but it can't be ruled out for the reasons we mentioned in Ford's write up. Both have a chance to be excellent fantasy options, but Montes and his unreal power from the left side is particularly intriguing.
The Pirates are kind of a mess, but they do have some intriguing pitchers both in the minors and at the highest level, and one who may have gone under the radar is Hunter Barco. A 24-year-old left-hander who went with the 44th pick in 2022, Barco dominated in a short-stint in Double-A while not allowing an earned run over 24 innings, and after a bit of a scuffle when first promoted to Indianapolis, he's been excellent as of late. He has allowed just one run over his last 12 frames, and he's done so while showing his ability to command three above-average pitches; in particular a splitter that can give hitters from both sides of the plate fits. He should make starts before the end of the year with Pittsburgh, and there's enough upside to suggest he'll be fantasy-relevant in the coming campaigns.
You'd be forgiven if you forgot about him because it was a reliever and it was a reliever who posted a 7.24 ERA, but remember the modicum of hype around Ryan Johnson? After he forged a bloated 7.24 ERA in his relief stints, the Angels decided to move Johnson to High-A Tri-City, and to work as a starter. The results have been solid, as he's gone seven innings in his last three outings for the Dust Devils, and in his last start he allowed no runs on three hits with eight strikeouts. The 74th pick of last year's draft has the deception in his delivery and a deep enough arsenal to be an effective starter, and command projects well above-average. Don't expect Johnson to be in the majors again soon, but don't give up on him as a fantasy prospect based on a bad decision made by the Angels this spring.
Spencer Jones was the 25th pick of the 2022 draft by the Yankees, and his first two full professional seasons would best be described as middling. His 2025 season appears to be his breakout campaign, and after slashing .274/.389/.594 with Double-A Somerset over 49 games, he received a promotion to Triple-A Scanton/Wilkes-Barre. It's a very small sample, but he continued that good run by going 4-for-13 with homers in two of his three games. Jones has considerable power in his left-handed bat from his 6-foot-7 frame, and while he's assuredly going to pick up his fair share of strikeouts became of his frame, the ball jumps off his bat to give him a chance to hit for a decent average; and he's a patient hitter who gives pitchers a reason to not throw him strikes. Jones could make his debut in 2025, and the potential for pop makes him worthy of consideration if/when that takes place.