Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: Chase DeLauter pushing for a promotion; Emmet Sheehan poised to return soon

Kristian Campbell is a minor-leaguer again.

It's not the way anyone thought his rookie season would go, particularly after he hit .313 (31 for 99) with four homers and a .935 OPS through his first 28 games. But he was effectively useless thereafter, to the point that manager Alex Cora could no longer entrust him with a lineup spot. And once that happens to a young player, a team is just stunting his development by keeping him around.

"I think it was a good time for him to reset, to be honest with you," Cora said. "Go down there and work on a few things that we have seen the last few weeks that he's not doing here and, just to go to that environment and work on those. Not only offensively but defensively too. I think it's a good time for that."

The part about working on his defense is interesting because Campbell just made his professional debut at first base Wednesday. The Red Sox had floated the idea of using him there after losing Triston Casas for the season but hadn't been willing to try it in a major-league game. Having Campbell acclimate to first base in a low-pressure environment may have been the biggest incentive to send him down.

Kristian Campbell 2B BOS Boston • #28 • Age: 23 2025 Stats AVG .223 HR 6 SB 2 OPS .664 AB 229 K 72

If so, it suggests a brief stay for Campbell at Triple-A, just enough time to get going at the plate and show he can handle a new position. Where does it place him among the top prospects to stash? Well, it's harder to call him a prospect now that he's accumulated 229 at-bats in the majors, but I've always played fast and loose with these rules. Truthfully, his timeline and impact potential would indeed make him one of the top five to stash, but it feels so lame to include him here when we just suffered through 2 1/2 months of him and were perhaps looking forward to a break. Enthusiasm can be a fleeting thing, and I don't detect much for Campbell right now.

It's why, at least for now, I'll resist including him in my ...

FIVE ON THE VERGE

(Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)

Emmet Sheehan, SP, Dodgers

2025 minors: 1-0, 2.60 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 17 1/3 IP, 1 BB, 34 K
2025 majors: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Sheehan used up his rookie eligibility with his 60 1/3 major-league innings in 2023. But a recent spate of promotions has left us with few to look forward to in the near future, and I don't have to fake my enthusiasm for him. I say this in part because we already have a pretty good idea how it's going to go. Sheehan got a spot start with the big club just a little over a week ago and scintillated, striking out six and walking none over four one-run innings. The outing was his much ballyhooed return from Tommy John surgery, and given the broken state of the Dodgers rotation, it came as a surprise when he was sent back down. Fair to say it won't be for long, though -- not if he keeps doing what he did Wednesday:

It's shocking because six perfect innings with 13 strikeouts is always shocking, but if you're going to anticipate it for any minor-league pitcher, Sheehan makes sense. Dude is a next-level bat-misser, and that's held true even after returning from Tommy John surgery. The major-league record for swinging-strike rate (limited to qualifying starters, of course) is 18.9 percent by Spencer Strider in 2023. As a minor-leaguer, Sheehan ran a 19.2 percent rate in the lead up to his promotion two years ago, and after reaching the majors for good that September, he had a 19.7 percent rate in five appearances. It's only gone up in his five minor-league appearances this year, sitting at 22.2 percent.

The only reliable starter the Dodgers have right now is Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Dustin May and Clayton Kershaw figure to retain their spots as well. The fourth spot is a piggyback situation between Shohei Ohtani and Ben Casparius, and the fifth spot is wide open. Bring back Sheehan!

Logan Henderson, SP, Brewers

2024 minors: 7-6, 3.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 81 1/3 IP, 15 BB, 104 K
2025 minors: 7-2, 2.52 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 53 2/3 IP, 19 BB, 65 K
2025 majors: 3-0, 1.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 21 IP, 6 BB, 29 K

Aaron Civale is out of the picture, his trade demands having earned him a place in the White Sox rotation, but Quinn Priester has been OK and Jacob Misiorowski a revelation. It doesn't seem like Henderson is any closer to reclaiming his rightful spot, in other words. Of course, that could change in a blink given the frequency of pitching injuries, but unlike Sheehan with the Dodgers, Henderson isn't doing much to force the issue. He had arguably his worst outing of the season two turns ago, allowing four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, and turned in a lackluster effort Wednesday, allowing two runs with three walks and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Do those little missteps count for more than his four dominant starts in the majors this year? Not at all, and I'd go so far as to say that these minor-league outings are mostly just serving to keep him stretched out. But even that's telling. One of the reasons the Brewers gave for sending him down was to manage his innings, but we've seen little effort on their part to do that yet.

If you feel like I'm nitpicking, understand that I'm mostly just explaining why I've dropped Henderson behind Sheehan in my Five on the Verge. I simply don't get the sense that the Brewers are all that motivated to bring him back. He's still No. 2 on the list, though, which more or less means to stash him everywhere.

Joe Boyle, SP, Rays

2024 minors: 1-3, 5.12 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 45 2/3 IP, 39 BB, 71 K
2025 minors: 5-4, 1.85 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 68 IP, 28 BB, 88 K
2025 majors: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Between Drew Rasmussen being removed after 62 pitches in a strong outing Wednesday and Zack LIttell being removed after 69 pitches in a similar outing Sunday, it sure seems like the Rays are attempting to build in some extra rest for their starting pitchers. What would go a long way toward accomplishing that is a spot start for Boyle. Unfortunately, a more permanent opening for the 25-year-old was thwarted by Taj Bradley throwing 6 2/3 shutout innings in his latest outing Tuesday, but it's still just a matter of time before the Rays' incredible run of good pitching health ends.

Boyle's latest outing for Triple-A Durham was on the shorter side, but he still has a 1.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 in 12 starts since returning from his spot start on April 13 -- which itself saw him throw five no-hit innings against the Braves. The Rays appear to have solved the control issues that led the Reds and Athletics to quit on him, but the ultimate test will come in the majors.

Bubba Chandler, SP, Pirates

2024 minors: 10-7, 3.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 119 2/3 IP, 41 BB, 148 K
2025 minors: 2-2, 3.41 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 58 IP, 29 BB, 74 K

Chandler gets a reprieve because the latest rash of call-ups has so depleted the selection of stashable prospects, but he isn't making much of a case to be promoted anymore. His latest outing Sunday was his worst yet, seeing him allow six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings with two walks and one strikeout. Over his past nine starts, he's thrown just 59 percent of his pitches for strikes, which would rank near the bottom of major-league qualifiers. 

Even so, I am with some reluctance suggesting to stash him still.  It would only take a couple injuries to make him the next man up, ready or not, and I halfway suspect that once the pressure of an impending promotion is behind him, his strike-throwing will return to normal. I'm not the only one who feels this way either. Eric Samulski of NBC Sports recently theorized that Chandler's delayed arrival, even when all signs pointed him to being ready, led to him trying too hard to wow the higher-ups, and one of the ways baseball is weirder than all the other sports is that trying too hard never yields the desired result.

Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians

2024 minors: .261 BA (142 AB), 8 HR, .841 OPS, 19 BB, 22 K
2025 minors: .291 BA (103 AB), 5 HR, .931 OPS, 25 BB, 17 K

The Guardians' outfield has been their Achilles heel for years at this point, and while Steven Kwan is capably filling one of those spots, the other two remain a disaster. We thought DeLauter was on the verge of claiming one when he hit .520 (13 for 25) with four home runs last spring (as in 2024), but he ended up breaking the same foot he had broken twice before and missing most of the season. This year, it was a sports hernia surgery that held him out at the start, but he returned to the field on May 6 and has hit safely in 11 straight games, batting .400 (16 for 40) with two home runs during that stretch.

Injuries have cost the 23-year-old more games than he's actually played since going pro, but the production has always been there, seeing him bat .312 with 18 homers, a .910 OPS and nearly as many walks (67) as strikeouts (69) in 127 games. While the lack of reps may come back to bite him against big-league hurlers, it may be that he's the sort of hitting savant who takes to a full-time role right away. We'll never know until the Guardians give him that chance, and they better do it now, while he's still healthy.

FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY

(Here are some other prospects doing something of note.)

Tyler Locklear, 1B, Mariners

2024 minors: .272 BA (423 AB), 16 HR, 9 SB, .850 OPS, 62 BB, 125 K
2025 minors: .291 BA (275 AB), 9 HR, 12 SB, .842 OPS, 33 BB, 69 K

The Mariners designated Rowdy Tellez for assignment last week and have been making do with Donovan Solano at first base for now. I say "for now" because a guy who has slugged .380 for his career isn't a serious first base option for a team with playoff aspirations. In the case of the Mariners, it just so happens that their first baseman at Triple-A is on a heater, batting .333 (21 for 63) with five home runs in his past 17 games.

The Mariners have tried Locklear in the majors before, giving him 16 games to find his footing last year, but even the highest-end hitting prospects typically need longer than that to overcome the difficulty curve. He's not a perfect prospect, running a modest average exit velocity (despite an impressive max) and not elevating the ball as much as you'd want for a player with his size and strength. In fact, big reason why I don't include him in my Five on the Verge is because I think enthusiasm for his promotion would be next to zero. But with an extended look, Locklear could emerge as a serviceable enough hitter for Roto use.

Spencer Jones, OF, Yankees

2024 minors: .259 BA (482 AB), 17 HR, 25 SB, .789 OPS, 54 BB, 200 K
2025 minors: .271 BA (170 AB), 16 HR, 10 SB, .989 OPS, 32 BB, 69 K

Drafted 25th overall in 2022, Jones was initially lauded for his rare combination of size (he stands 6-feet-7) and athleticism, but his stocked tank last year with an underwhelming Double-A performance that made it seem like he'd never be able to overcome his strikeout issues. A .259 batting average and .789 OPS aren't so concerning when there's the presumption of growth, but when they're accompanied by a 36.8 percent strikeout rate, it's hard to see anything but downside. A return to Double-A this year has yielded better results doe Jones, though. He's now batting .271 with a .989 OPS overall and .432 (19 for 44) with six home runs over his past 12 games. The strikeout rate has barely moved, sitting at 34 percent, and it remains the biggest impediment to Jones, now 24, meeting his considerable upside. But there's at least some reason for hope again. Just look at this absolute tater:

Sal Stewart, 3B, Reds

2024 majors: .279 BA (280 AB), 8 HR, 10 SB, .844 OPS, 50 BB, 57 K
2025 minors: .325 BA (252 AB), 7 HR, 13 SB, .872 OPS, 22 BB, 44 K

While we're looking at home runs, check out this one from Stewart:

"Yanked" seems like a proper description of the way he hit it. In fact, his last three home runs have all been to left field, and his development of that skill, of pulling fly balls, is a crucial next step in his development. Otherwise, he does almost everything right as a hitter. His walk rate has dipped a little with his move up to Double-A this year, but it ran near even with his strikeout rate prior to then. The strikeout rate itself has held steady at around 15 percent, which, combined with his consistently high line-drives rates, makes him a good bet for batting average. Contact quality also checks out for the 21-year-old. He just needs to get to his power more, particularly since his glove is stretched at both third and second base, the only two positions that he's played so far.

Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers

2024 minors: .285 BA (277 AB), 3 HR, 32 SB, .812 OPS, 59 BB, 67 K
2025 minors: .329 BA (240 AB), 12 HR, 33 SB, 1.027 OPS, 47 BB, 69 K

I'm generally hesitant to spotlight teenagers who are excelling at a level of play where the pitching is junk and the available data rudimentary, but by now, there's simply no denying that Quintero is something special. The 19-year-old started out hot and has only gotten better from there, his strikeout rate dropping to a not-so-concerning 23.2 percent as he's piled up home runs and especially stolen bases. His approach and exit velocity readings are both beyond his years, and while Low-A isn't what it used to be in terms quality, it's still not a level where you'd expect someone so young to dominate like Quintero is. He'll be tested more as he moves up the ladder, of course, but in the hands of the Dodgers organization, I'm willing to bet he'll rise to the challenge.

Jakob Marsee, OF, Marlins

2024 minors: .200 BA (485 AB), 10 HR, 51 SB, .661 OPS, 92 BB, 135 K
2025 minors: .241 BA (257 AB), 10 HR, 39 SB, .808 OPS, 50 BB, 64 K

Even going back to his days in the Padres organization, Marsee has been more of a statistical curiosity than a true prospect, delivering the kind of walk rates that would have had Paul DePodesta beating down Billy Beane's door 20 years ago. Unfortunately, his overall on-base percentage has declined along with his batting average as he's moved up the minor-league ladder, his patience being exposed more as passivity against higher-level pitching. His swing is too stiff to allow for much in the way of batting average, and his exit velocities are lackluster as well. But he does have a knack for yanking the ball over the fence and has done so plenty over his past 14 games, batting .411 (23 for 56) with seven homers during that stretch. If he keeps it up much longer, a team like the Marlins will have little choice but to give him a try.