Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: Cade Horton closing in on debut; last call for Bubba Chandler

Before we get into the true prospects to stash, I want to give it up for Joe Boyle.

He’s technically not a prospect anymore, having thrown too many innings in the majors, but honestly, who cares? I tend to play fast and loose with such guidelines in this particular space because the goal is to provide you with sound Fantasy advice, not trivia answers.

Whether or not I feature a non-prospect here depends on if it suits my needs, and this week, it doesn’t. I have five genuine prospects to stash and wouldn’t want to have to make room for another. But the reason I broach the subject is because Boyle’s Triple-A numbers look like this:

And that doesn’t even tell the whole story, remember. The Rays called him up for a spot start April 13, and he ended up throwing five no-hit innings with seven strikeouts. He then threw six no-hit innings in his first start back at Durham and has followed with two more quality starts, including a 10-strikeout, no-walk effort Friday.

In those four starts, he’s thrown 65 percent of his pitches for strikes, which is noteworthy because control has always been his kryptonite. The stuff is phenomenal, and that’s demonstrated by his cartoonish 20 percent swinging-strike rate over that same four-start span, but it doesn’t much matter if he’s throwing just 57 percent of his pitches for strikes, as happened between the minors and majors in the Athletics organization last year.

The Rays have never seen a talent that they didn’t think they could fix, and while the sample is too small to draw firm conclusions, it’s at least plausible to think that they’ve fixed Boyle. He’d surely be the first up if an injury were to arise, making him plenty stashable in leagues where starting pitching is scarce. Truthfully, the upside may be better than any true pitching prospect you could plausibly stash right now, with the obvious exception being the first name on this list …

FIVE ON THE VERGE

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

2024 minors: 10-7, 3.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 119 2/3 IP, 41 BB, 148 K
2025 minors: 2-1, 2.25 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 28 IP, 11 BB, 41 K

If you’ve held off on adding Chandler because you weren’t sure his arrival was imminent, or if you’ve flirted with dropping him because you’ve seen no telltale signs of a promotion, I’m here to tell you that there’s no going back now. He could be called up any time through the rotation. It may not be the next time through since his latest start at Triple-A Wednesday was far and away his worst — three runs on five hits with four walks in 2 2/3 innings — but you see how good the overall numbers are. The more important development is that he extended himself to 78 pitches. To use everyone’s favorite analog, Paul Skenes topped out at 75 pitches in his minor-league build-up before getting the call last May.

In other words, I’m treating this week like it’s my last chance to make Chandler the headliner of the Prospects Report because, for the first time, I genuinely think it could be. No, the Pirates haven’t offered any hints of Chandler’s impending promotion over the past few days, but isn’t keeping Carmen Mlodzinski in the rotation a hint of sorts? I would say so.

2024 minors: .291 BA (454 AB), 18 HR, 21 SB, .894 OPS, 79 BB, 127 K
2025 minors: .301 BA (113 AB), 5 HR, 3 SB, .913 OPS, 24 BB, 27 K

Roman, Roman, wherefore art thou Roman? If he could only be a first baseman at a time when the Red Sox are rumored to be bringing in Anthony Rizzo to take over for a down-and-out Triston Casas. That rumor doesn’t appear to be true, by the way, but its existence reflects their level of desperation at a position they never thought they’d have to fill. Manager Alex Cora has shot down the idea of shifting Rafael Devers there. GM Craig Breslow sounds a little more open to it. But neither is entertaining the idea of moving Anthony there.

“It doesn’t seem like that’s in the plans right now,” said Breslow. “I think both [Anthony and shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer], obviously, are showing the ability to impact both sides of the ball. But given the bright futures that they have ahead of them at their respective positions, introducing additional variables doesn’t make a ton of sense right now.”

As a fill-in for Casas, Mayer might actually make more sense. He’s gotten some exposure to second base this year, and the Red Sox might be more inclined to shift Kristian Campbell to first base than either Anthony or Mayer since they don’t seem as sold on him defensively. But in actuality, the Devers solution is the most straightforward one and would indeed free up a spot for Anthony by allowing the Red Sox to rotate four outfielders through the DH spot. In the meantime, he’ll continue to bide his time at Triple-A, where he’s been playing banged up but is nonetheless producing.

2024 minors: .318 BA (85 AB), 2 HR, 6 SB, .899 OPS, 14 BB, 23 K
2025 minors: .341 BA (135 AB), 6 HR, 12 SB, 1.037 OPS, 17 BB, 35 K

No sooner had Ketel Marte returned from a length absence for a hamstring injury than Lawlar slipped into his first mini-slump, going 1 for 18 in his past four games, which included a three-strikeout effort Wednesday. Way to keep the pressure on, big guy! A stretch like that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but for however long it lasts, the Diamondbacks have an excuse not to force the issue with him.

Or maybe not. The overall numbers are still tremendous, which is why I’m compelled to keep Lawlar in my Five on the Verge even though his most obvious path has closed. His growing versatility only gives him more paths, after all. He’s been playing more third base recently, perhaps in recognition that Eugenio Suarez is his path of least resistance now. Suarez himself has turned back into an icicle since his four-homer game April 26, and if you remove it from the equation, he’s batting .153 (18 for 118) over his past 34 games.

2024 minors: 7-6, 3.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 81 1/3 IP, 15 BB, 104 K
2025 minors: 4-1, 2.42 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 26 IP, 11 BB, 35 K
2025 majors: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Has the train left the station? Henderson has done nothing to diminish his stock since his three-hit, nine-strikeout debut on April 20, delivering consecutive one-run, six-inning outings at Triple-A. Meanwhile, Quinn Priester has all but disqualified himself from future rotation consideration. The problem is that Brandon Woodruff is now ready to join the Brewers rotation, having extended himself to 83 pitches in the latest of his five rehab starts Tuesday. Granted, I’m not sure it’ll go well. Pitchers rarely regain their form after shoulder capsule surgery, and his velocity has been lagging about 3 mph on his rehab assignment, but a franchise icon like Woodruff is sure to get a chance, at least. He has in fact put together a respectable 2.70 ERA on that rehab assignment.

Still, Henderson is worth keeping around in Fantasy because you have to figure he’ll be up with the next injury. Again, Priester has already crashed out as a rotation option, and while some have suggested fellow prospect Jacob Misiorowski could get the call instead of Henderson, he’s not actually on the 40-man roster. That gives Henderson a distinct advantage.

2024 minors: .271 BA (420 AB), 26 HR, .896 OPS, 64 BB, 103 K
2025 minors: .323 BA (93 AB), 4 HR, .962 OPS, 18 BB, 27 K

Last August, when outfield appeared to be more of an issue for the Dodgers than catcher (at least until Tommy Edman came in and solidified things), the organization began experimenting with Rushing in left field. He was their most MLB-ready bat, after all, and they wanted to keep their options open. Fast forward to this year and Rushing has mostly been playing catcher again, with only occasional looks at first base. The only time he played left field was after he entered the game as a pinch hitter April 6. Or at least that was true until Sunday, when he started in left field for the first time in 2025. Just a day later, the Dodgers would lose star left fielder Teoscar Hernandez to a hamstring injury.

It doesn’t mean Hernandez’s injury is Rushing’s ticket to the big leagues. Rushing hasn’t appeared in left field since then, and the Dodgers have already called up James Outman as an outfield replacement. It also sounds like Hernandez is expected to miss only two weeks, and the Dodgers probably wouldn’t want to introduce Rushing for such a short stint. But you never know. The 24-year-old is obviously overdue for a big-league look. He gets on base at an elite rate (.435) and just smacked his fourth homer Wednesday. Maybe the Dodgers will get tired of Michael Conforto, who’s only on a one-year deal. Any number of things could happen.

The bottom line is that Hernandez’s injury, no matter how short-term, removes one obstacle in Rushing’s path. And if he gets a chance, with his catcher eligibility, he’ll be of immediate interest in Fantasy.

2024 minors: 2-1, 4.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 34 1/3 IP, 13 BB, 40 K
2025 minors: 2-1, 1.24 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 29 IP, 13 BB, 33 K

I wanted to give Horton a quick mention because there are rumors he could fill Shota Imanaga’s spot in the rotation this weekend. He’s been a consensus top-100 prospect each of the past two years, and you see the numbers this year. It’s been a nice bounce-back after he struggled with a depleted fastball during an injury-plagued 2024. That said, I wouldn’t want to overrate him because of the microscopic ERA, which has largely been driven by a .169 BABIP. He’s a two-pitch pitcher with command issues (only a 62% strike rate this year) and some vulnerability to the long ball. He’s worth a speculative pickup if you need pitching help (and who doesn’t?), but his promotion wouldn’t be on the level of a Bubba Chandler.

FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY

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

2024 minors: .241 BA (116 AB), 2 HR, 9 2B, .690 OPS, 7 BB, 26 K
2025 minors: .330 BA (112 AB), 8 HR, 6 2B, 1.007 OPS, 16 BB, 32 K

I’ve been presuming that without an injury to Vinnie Pasquantino or Salvador Perez, we’d have to wait until late August/early September to see Caglianone. The minor-league season would be essentially over at that point, so you could live with him getting sporadic playing time as an early audition for 2026. But it turns out the Royals aren’t opposed to playing him in the outfield, giving him three of his last 10 starts there. He’s also caught fire at the plate, having recently homered four times over a three-game stretch to give him the sparkling numbers you see above. Caglianone is a special talent who’s already registered an exit velocity of 120.9 mph this season, a mark achieved by only five major-leaguers in Statcast history. It won’t be long before he’s in my Five on the Verge.

2024 minors: .277 BA (513 AB), 31 HR, 44 2B, .905 OPS, 40 BB, 142 K
2025 minors: .301 BA (136 AB), 7 HR, 10 2B, .908 OPS, 10 BB, 41 K

Now that Nick Kurtz is no longer sucking up all the oxygen, we can acknowledge other Athletics prospects, and it turns out they have another slugger lurking at Triple-A Las Vegas. Thomas hit 31 homers between two stops last year, and he’s putting on another power display already this year. Here, for instance, is the 471-foot home run he hit Friday:

How common of a sight is such a prodigious shot? Common enough that I nearly posted a video of another Thomas home run, presuming it was the mythical 471-footer. When he lays into one, all an outfielder can do is turn and watch. So why don’t you hear more about Thomas? There are some glaring flaws in his profile. His strikeout rate has sat in the 25-30 percent range throughout his minor-league career, and the same is true for this year. His chase rate isn’t horrible, but it’s not doing him any favors either. Corner men who bat right-handed have a narrow path to success, and poor plate discipline can stop earning them chances. But in a best-case scenario, Thomas could be like a better-fielding version of Khris Davis.

2025 minors: 4-1, 2.32 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 31 IP, 5 BB, 45 K

Gage Jump is the most basic thing you’re looking to do in a Super Mario Brothers game, and it’s also the Athletics’ second-round pick from last year. Even more fittingly, Jump’s fastball does exactly that, registering 19 inches of induced vertical break thanks to the left-hander’s low release height. It’s a swing-and-miss offering on its own, but then when you add two distinct breakers that play well off each other, High-A hitters simply don’t stand a chance. Jump’s last two starts there have seen him strike out 20 while allowing just four hits and no walks in 11 2/3 innings. The 22-year-old will still need to try his hand at the upper levels, of course, but we should probably get the pressure campaign going already, seeing as the Athletics are usually thinking with their pocketbook. How’s this one for the playlist?

Jump!
You know his heat makes them look crappy
Jump in!
You know his curveball will ring them up
Jump!
If you want a taste of victory day or night, then
Jump, just call him up

I don’t know. Watch the highlights and see what you think. I saw Baseball America use a Shota Imanaga comp, and that’s what I’m getting as well:

2024 minors: .235 BA (102 AB), 1 HR, 15 SB, .665 OPS, 12 BB, 28 K
2025 minors: .284 BA (109 AB), 4 HR, 16 SB, .879 OPS, 22 BB, 20 K

The Twins apparently have a type, and it’s one that appeals to me as well. I’m talking about hitters who are passed over because of underwhelming exit velocities but who excel in every other respect offensively: pitch recognition, strike zone awareness, barrel control and base stealing. Luke Keaschall quickly learned he could make up for those modest exit velocities by elevating consistently to his pull side, and DeBarge, the 33rd overall pick last year, seems to be doing the same. At 21, DeBarge isn’t necessarily too old for High-A, but he seems to be ready for his next challenge, having walked nine times in six games since the calendar flipped to May.

2024 minors: 3-9, 4.25 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 106 IP, 45 BB, 116 K
2025 minors: 0-1, 1.27 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 21 1/3 IP, 4 BB, 31 K

I’ve already spent a couple editions of the Prospects Report raving about what utility player Otto Kemp is doing in the Phillies organization, and this one is in a similar vein — i.e., a no-name standout who isn’t toiling at some low-level affiliate but, rather, is right under our nose at Triple-A. De La Cruz just made his first start there after four dominant appearances at Double-A, and it went about as well as any start could. He allowed just one hit in six innings, striking out nine and walking none.

Calling De La Cruz a left-handed Kumar Rocker would be too flattering, but he’s similar in that the key to his success is a killer breaking ball that he knows to throw upward of 50 percent of the time. His fastball is good enough to keep hitters honest, peaking at 97 mph, but having just those two pitches has served to suppress his prospect stock, earning him the dreaded “future reliever” label. Sometimes you see it work in a starting role, though, and if a need should arise in the Mets rotation while De La Cruz is lighting it up at Triple-A, it stands to reason they could give him a shot.