Fantasy Baseball: 5 prospects that are ideal targets in 2025 dynasty drafts

Dynasty leagues in fantasy sports are a completely different format from the traditional redraft leagues. Redraft leagues start fresh every year with you drafting new players, but dynasty leagues put you in a situation where you are a general manager and trying to build a successful team now while also looking into the future.

For context, I am in one that has been running for 22 years. The way it works is that each season, everyone gets $25 plus what they have left over from the previous year. We draft based on last season's standings, with last place picking first, and then we draft players who are not already on a team. After you finish drafting players, you allot dollars to the players, each equaling one year.

In the later rounds, when drafting depth at a position, the last couple of years, I have turned towards targeting promising prospects instead of drafting the 15th-best player in the hopes that the prospect will get a quick call-up to the big leagues. If the player has a successful rookie year, I have a top-tier option at their position for the next couple of seasons versus drafting a low-ranked player each year.

I have drafted Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carroll, and Jackson Chourio in the years they made their successful MLB debuts, but I have also struck out on picks. Noelvi Marté sat on my bench for two seasons before he made his MLB debut, but he has yet to live up to the hype that surrounded him in the minor leagues.

Junior Caminero was rumored to make his debut quickly last season, but injuries prevented his call-up until the end of August. Although he is currently ranked in the top-10 for third basemen on most cheat sheets, he will benefit me by being on my roster for the next two seasons.

In the past, teams would hold their top prospects in the minor leagues long enough to ensure the prospect would not accrue an entire season of service time (172 days), which gave teams an extra season of team control, delaying the player's three arbitration-eligible years prior to unrestricted free agency.

Since the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement, though, teams have been incentivized to promote the top prospects sooner. Players ranked in Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN's Top 100 list who are called up within the first two weeks of the season and have completed a full-service year can earn their team a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick.

If these players win their league's Rookie of the Year or finish in the top three of the MVP or Cy Young voting in their first three service years, their team receives a draft pick after the first round. A player can only earn their team a pick once.

Examples of these picks are Rodriguez (Mariners) winning the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Award, Gunnar Henderson (Orioles) and Carroll (Diamondbacks) winning their league's 2023 Rookie of the Year Awards, and Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), retained his eligibility from two seasons prior, finished third in the AL MVP race last season.

When drafting a rookie in fantasy, I consider two things: Is a position open on their big league club, and were they recently successful in the minors?

MLB Prospects worth targeting in 2025 fantasy baseball drafts

Jackson Jobe

Jobe has been a stud since the Detroit Tigers drafted him third overall in the 2021 draft. In his last two minor league seasons, he has accumulated a sub-2.90 ERA, starting at least 16 games each year and holding opponents to hitting only .230 and .178 off him, respectively.

Jobe was a late call-up last season, during which he made two relief appearances in the regular season. He threw four innings combined, allowing just one hit and striking out two batters.

Jobe can be a reliable arm in the Tigers' rotation and will likely be in the AL Rookie of the Year discussion all season. Given that Detroit's rotation is loaded with question marks outside of Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty, the young right-hander should have a long leash to figure things out once he gets the call.

Roman Anthony

Anthony is a prospect whose path to the big leagues is currently blocked. You will need to wait until closer to the season to determine where he should be drafted.

The Red Sox have five outfielders on their 25-man roster: Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder. Due to injuries, Yoshida and Abreu are uncertain about being ready for Opening Day, which could help Anthony grab a roster spot, though the top prospect will need to be added to the Red Sox 40-man roster before making his debut.

Even if Anthony does not start the season with the Red Sox, the front office cannot ignore his talent. In three minor league seasons, he has hit .284/.398/.473 with 32 home runs and 141 runs batted in. Anthony's main weakness is his strikeouts, as he must improve his 28% strikeout rate from the minors to earn a full-time gig in the big leagues.

Matt Shaw

Shaw has been impressive in two minor league seasons. Over those seasons, he has hit .303/.384/.522 with 29 home runs, 99 runs batted in, and 31 stolen bases. He will contribute to all five offensive fantasy stats, and the Chicago Cubs clearly have faith in Shaw after trading away Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade.

Last week, it was uncertain if Shaw could fly to Tokyo due to an oblique injury, but he has since started a Spring Training game, and reports are that he should be ready to travel.

If Shaw can translate his minor league success to the big leagues, he will be in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation throughout the season. He will have plenty of RBI chances behind Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, and Pete Crow-Armstrong in a deep Cubs lineup.

Bubba Chandler

The Pirates have one of the best young starting pitchers in MLB. Last year, Jared Jones showed flashes of excellence and Paul Skenes had a historic debut, but the Pirates have another fireballer waiting in the wings.

Chandler has had ups and downs in his three-year minor league career, throwing 2.61, 4.54, and 3.08 ERAs over those seasons. Although, like Skenes, Chandler can strike batters out with the best of them. He threw 111 innings in 2023 while striking out 128 batters, and last season, he pitched 119.2 innings while striking out 148.

The Pirates blocked Chandler's immediate path to the team by signing Andrew Heaney, but Chandler will be ready for his debut whenever it comes. If Pittsburgh is in contention early in the season, he could be a quick addition to the 40-man roster.

Roki Sasaki

Besides Juan Soto, Sasaki was the most popular topic in offseason discussions. Sasaki brings an impressive NPB career to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In four seasons pitching in the Japan Pacific League, Sasaki authored a sub-2.40 ERA each season. These stats, combined with the fact that he's only 23, are why multiple teams vied for his services.

The right-hander joins an impressive rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow. Sasaki is the favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year, and he should have little issue adjuting to the states with fellow Japan natives Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani serving as his mentors.

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