Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: 13 imminent call-ups with 45 days to go; Owen Caissie leads the way
Owen Caissie, Nolan McLean are just the first in the next wave of promotions
By
Scott White
•
9 min read
In case you haven't noticed, Aug. 15 is Friday. What makes that date special? Normally nothing, but this year, it marks the point when only 45 days remain in the regular season, thus ensuring that a first-time call-up will retain his rookie eligibility for next season.
You should know how this works by now. The 2022 CBA introduced new draft pick incentives to combat service-time manipulation, namely by encouraging teams to include rookies on their opening day roster. But that rookie designation is the key to it all, and as such, preserving it is paramount.
What we've seen in the years since is a rejiggering of peak promotion periods. Now, the optimal time to call up a top prospect is late August, giving him a chance to get his feet wet without costing him his rookie eligibility. It's a different form of service-time manipulation, because there will always be one, but at least it doesn't upset the apple cart just when the season is getting started.
So you can expect a rash of call-ups in the days ahead, and in fact, they've already started. Nolan McLean is scheduled to start for the Mets on Saturday, taking the place of Frankie Montas. The 24-year-old has had a breakthrough season in the minors, putting together a 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 10.1 K/9. A 55 percent ground ball rate -- which would rank seventh among qualifying major league pitchers this year, according to FanGraphs -- is largely to credit for his success, but his strikeouts have picked up recently, giving him 12.4 K/9 over his past seven starts. It gives him two ways to limit damage and a promising enough outlook to merit a waiver claim in all Fantasy formats.
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Owen Caissie, meanwhile, is set to come up Thursday, with 46 days remaining in the season. Do the Cubs not know how to count? Apparently, it's so he can debut in Toronto, where he grew up, which is awfully sweet of the Cubs but will necessitate them sending him down at some point to preserve his rookie eligibility.
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The truth is that they don't have a place for him to play anyway, not with Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ian Happ patrolling the outfield and Seiya Suzuki occupying DH. He's likely to start Thursday, of course, and could build in some rest for that studly foursome by spelling each on occasion. It's just a shame that there won't be a full-time role for him. He deserves that opportunity after finally growing into the power long touted for him. He's been especially productive since June 1, slashing .335/.430/.665 in 50 games with a 24 percent strikeout rate. It's been closer to 30 percent throughout his minor league career.
So who else might come up in the coming days? I've put together a list of 13 prospects of interest for Fantasy Baseball, ordered loosely by how likely they are to get the call. Note that I've excluded Kristian Campbell and Jordan Lawlar even though they're among the top minor leaguers to stash. They've already seen major league action, so their timeline won't be driven by how many days remain on the calendar. Lawlar still needs to recover from a strained hamstring before he can come up. Campbell simply needs the Red Sox to realize that he's their best option at first base (and is coming closer to doing so, slashing .377/.469/.594 in his past 19 games).
1. Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles
2024 minors: .278 BA (479 AB), 19 HR, .790 OPS, 46 BB, 112 K
2025 minors: .274 BA (266 AB), 23 HR, .978 OPS, 43 BB, 76 K
Basallo would be an awkward fit for the Orioles given that the three positions he's capable of playing -- catcher, first base and DH -- are occupied by Adley Rutschman, Coby Mayo, and Ryan Mountcastle, respectively. Surely, though, they could carve out some playing time for him at each. There's nothing more for him to accomplish at Triple-A, where he's emerged as arguably the game's top prospect with exit velocities resembling Kyle Schwarber's.
2. Dylan Beavers, OF, Orioles
2024 minors: .242 BA (451 AB), 15 HR, 31 SB, .750 OPS, 68 BB, 125 K
2025 minors: .300 BA (333 AB), 18 HR, 22 SB, .935 OPS, 67 BB, 73 K
Seeing as they're currently starting the husk of Dylan Carlson in left field, the Orioles should have no trouble finding at-bats for Beavers. His plate discipline and exit velocities have taken a big leap this year, elevating him from fringe prospect to future star, and for as good as his full-season stat line looks, he didn't really take off until June. Fifteen of his 18 home runs have come in his past 44 games.
3. JJ Wetherholt, SS, Cardinals
2024 minors: .295 BA (105 AB), 2 HR, 2 SB, .805 OPS, 16 BB, 15 K
2025 minors: .300 BA (310 AB), 14 HR, 17 SB, .930 OPS, 57 BB, 58 K
Several first-rounders from the 2024 draft have reached the majors already, but only Nick Kurtz has made the climb look as easy as Wetherholt, who basically skipped A-ball before making quick work of Double-A and then delivering his best numbers yet at Triple-A. His well-rounded hitting profile leaves little room for scrutiny, and while he's unlikely to overtake Masyn Winn at shortstop, he's had plenty of time to get acquainted with both second and third base.
4. Bubba Chandler, SP, Pirates
2024 minors: 10-7, 3.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 119 2/3 IP, 41 BB, 148 K
2025 minors: 5-5, 3.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 96 2/3 IP, 48 BB, 116 K
No, Chandler hasn't shown any signs of getting his season back on track, putting together a 6.94 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in his past five starts, but I think the Pirates' only move is to call him up and see what happens. He's clearly just spinning his wheels at Triple-A, and some evaluators have speculated that his struggles are largely a product of frustration after he had seemingly already stamped his ticket to the majors in May. A promotion would give the Pirates a head start in evaluating him for 2026 while also testing how he responds to a little positive reinforcement.
5. Robby Snelling, SP, Marlins
2024 minors: 4-10, 5.15 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 115 1/3 IP, 45 BB, 115 K
2025 minors: 5-7, 2.89 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 106 IP, 29 BB, 128 K
After he emerged as arguably the game's top left-handed pitching prospect in 2023, Snelling fell off so hard in 2024 that the Padres ended up offloading him to the Marlins in the Tanner Scott deal. The turnaround was almost immediate. With improved control and another 1.5 mph of velocity, Snelling is once again looking like a tip-top pitching prospect, having put together a 1.87 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 11.5 K/9 in his six starts at Triple-A. He should be able to take on another 40 innings or so if the Marlins want to give him some run.
6. Spencer Jones, OF, Yankees
2024 minors: .259 BA (482 AB), 17 HR, 25 SB, .788 OPS, 54 BB, 200 K
2025 minors: .289 BA (308 AB), 30 HR, 25 SB, 1.015 OPS, 48 BB, 111 K
Jones has cooled off from his impossibly hot July, but he's keeping his strikeout rate manageable and still presents the Yankees with another 6-foot-7 masher should they need one. And they may need one if Paul Goldschmidt's knee issue forces him to the IL. Jones wouldn't play first base himself, but Cody Bellinger could.
7. Quinn Mathews, SP, Cardinals
2024 minors: 8-5, 2.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 143 1/3 IP, 49 BB, 202 K
2025 minors: 3-4, 3.60 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 70 IP, 53 BB, 87 K
A breakthrough 2024 marked Mathews as a top pitching prospect heading into this season, but his 2025 has mostly been a mess. His velocity gains haven't held, and he's seemed to lose all feel for the strike zone. A recent turnaround, however, might compel the Cardinals to introduce him to a rotation that could easily shift Matthew Liberatore or Andre Pallante to the bullpen. Over his last three starts, Mathews has a 2.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 13.5 K/9. His swinging strike rate during that time is 21 percent, mostly on the strength of his changeup.
8. Sal Stewart, 3B, Reds
2024 minors: .279 BA (280 AB), 8 HR, 10 SB, .845 OPS, 50 BB, 57 K
2025 minors: .313 BA (383 AB), 16 HR, 16 SB, .902 OPS, 37 BB, 63 K
Stewart had a nice showing at Double-A, but he's committing a massacre at Triple-A, collecting six homers and 12 doubles in just 23 games while slashing .337/.400/.674. His exit velocities are measuring in the 90th percentile even though he's just 21 years old, and he continues to strike out just 15 percent of the time, as has been true throughout his minor league career. Noelvi Marte's move to right field created a vacancy at third base, and new acquisition Ke'Bryan Hayes just isn't cutting it there offensively. Stewart would be able to spell him and another struggling infielder, second baseman Matt McLain.
9. Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies
2024 minors: .313 BA (457 AB), 9 HR, 42 SB, .804 OPS, 32 BB, 93 K
2025 minors: .331 BA (372 AB), 4 HR, 37 SB, .852 OPS, 53 BB, 79 K
Crawford is the latest of a new archetype that's actually an old one: the slap-hitting speedster. But unlike Xavier Edwards and Chandler Simpson, he actually hits the ball hard enough to develop power if he learns to angle it off the bat properly. Even if just as a part-timer and pinch runner, he would bring an electricity that contenders love to introduce this time of year.
10. Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants
2024 minors: .291 BA (446 AB), 23 HR, .889 OPS, 59 BB, 132 K
2025 minors: .259 BA (278 AB), 19 HR, .834 OPS, 29 BB, 94 K
About a week ago, it looked like Eldridge might be trending toward a quick promotion to the majors. He had homered eight times in his first 16 games at Triple-A while making some of the hardest contact of anyone in the minors, his average and max exit velocities both ranking in the 98th percentile. In seven games since then, though, he's gone 3 for 26 (.115) with 16 strikeouts, which is enough of a reality check for the Giants to wait a beat on the 20-year-old. If he catches fire again, though, there may be no holding him back, particularly since Rafael Devers could slide over to DH to accommodate him.
11. Brandon Sproat, SP, Mets
2024 minors: 7-4, 3.40 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 116 1/3 IP, 42 BB, 131 K
2025 minors: 7-5, 4.10 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 101 IP, 45 BB, 86 K
While the Mets have settled on Nolan McLean filling the rotation spot vacated by Frankie Montas' move to the bullpen, Sproat was in the discussion as well. The hard-throwing 24-year-old was rated much higher than McLean coming into the season, but like fellow 2024 breakout Quinn Mathews, he got off to a miserable start at Triple-A that lasted deep into June. He's turned things around in a particularly dramatic way, though, putting together a 1.15 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 in his past seven starts. It should lead to him filling the Mets' next rotation opening, whether that's due to injury, McLean fumbling his opportunity, Clay Holmes shifting back to the bullpen, or just a need for a sixth starter.
12. Jhostynxon Garcia, OF, Red Sox
2024 minors: .286 BA (412 AB), 23 HR, 17 SB, .892 OPS, 33 BB, 99 K
2025 minors: .281 BA (359 AB), 19 HR, 6 SB, .866 OPS, 42 BB, 103 K
Between his middling exit velocities and poor chase and zone-contact rates, Garcia's production would seem to outpace his ability, but anyone who's been as productive as he has at Triple-A deserves a test run. He might make some sense as a platoon partner for Masataka Yoshida or Wilyer Abreu, except that Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder are already filling those roles. Perhaps a more reasonable timeline for Garcia, then, is when rosters expand by two on Sept. 1
13. Andrew Painter, SP, Phillies
2025 minors: 3-7, 5.24 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 87 2/3 IP, 32 BB, 89 K
Painter was supposed to debut at some point in July, but he simply hasn't been good enough to justify it, with his last two starts being particularly objectionable. Still, it seems likely he'll get a few turns down the stretch, though less because the Phillies need him than because he needs a taste of what he's in for next year, when he'll presumably compete for a rotation spot from the start. With Aaron Nola nearing a return from the IL, Painter's chance may not come until later in September, perhaps even after the Phillies have secured the NL East.
