Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: Zac Veen, Zebby Matthews pick up where they left off in spring training

For every Kristian Campbell who backed his way into a job and every Cam Smith who forced the issue, scores of prospects that we hoped would make the cut this spring ultimately missed out.

I say “ultimately” as if opening day is the finish line, but of course, it’s not. The regular season makes for a much wider evaluation window than spring training, and once attrition begins to kick in, there will be no shortage of new opportunities.

It’s why you should keep half an eye on what’s happening in the minors as you navigate this Fantasy Baseball season, and by “half an eye,” I really just mean this article. Every week, I’ll alert you to the five prospects most deserving of your attention right now (the Five on the Verge) and five others who are also doing something of note (the Five on the Periphery).

I tend to think of it like the first half is for redraft leagues and the second half for Dynasty leagues. Of course, everyone is welcome to read both halves. Who doesn’t want to hear more about prospects, after all?

Unfortunately, our only choices for this week are those who play at Triple-A. We’re still waiting for the season to kick off at Double-A and lower.

FIVE ON THE VERGE

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

2024 minors: .291 BA (454 AB), 18 HR, 21 SB, .894 OPS, 79 BB, 127 K
2025 minors: .231 BA (13 AB), 2 HR, 1 3B, 1 SB, 6 BB, 4 K

Granted, Wilyer Abreu’s hot start has foreclosed Anthony’s easiest path to the majors, and the way Kristian Campbell has hit the ground running likely eliminates another avenue as well. I understand most of Campbell’s contributions have come at second base, but there’s enough versatility in the Red Sox lineup that they could have made it work if he didn’t work out. Of course, that versatility also makes it so that any loose thread could signal Anthony’s arrival. Nobody would be surprised, for instance, if Trevor Story went down again, and Ceddanne Rafaela could shift from center field to shortstop in that scenario. Anthony has already cleared the bar at Triple-A, having hit .344 with three homers, five steals, and as many walks as strikeouts (31) in his 35 games there last year, and he’s off to a nice start this year as well.

2024 minors: .258 BA (233 AB), 11 HR, 21 SB, .805 OPS, 30 BB, 67 K
2025 minors: .368 BA (19 AB), 1 3B, 2 2B, 1 SB, 2 BB, 5 K

Veen seemed like he had a clear path to the right field job this spring, with only Jordan Beck potentially standing in his way, and then a Nolan Jones trade in the final week before opening day appeared to take all the drama out of it by creating an opening for both. The Rockies, though, ultimately went with Beck in left field and 34-year-old journeyman Nick Martini in right in what appeared to be an old-school case of service-time manipulation. After all, Veen did just about everything he could this spring, batting .270 (17 for 64) with seven extra-base hits, nine steals, and exit velocities that suggest he perhaps deserved even better.

The good news is that he’s delivering more of the same at Triple-A Albuquerque, and as long he avoids injury — which has been the biggest issue throughout his minor-league career — it seems likely he’ll be able to overtake Martini before the end of the month. Beck isn’t doing so hot either, for what it’s worth.

2024 minors: 6-3, 2.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 97 IP, 7 BB, 114 K
2024 majors: 1-4, 6.69 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 37 2/3 IP, 11 BB, 43 K
2025 minors: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Matthews technically used up his rookie eligibility last year, which means he doesn’t meet my definition of prospect, but you’ll still find him on some prospect rank lists since he hasn’t thrown 50 innings in the majors yet. Leaving semantics out of it, the point is that he’s a minor-leaguer who you’ll be glad you stashed ahead of time if and when he gets the call.

I suspect that Chris Paddack and Simeon Woods Richardson were always going to have first dibs on the Twins’ fourth and fifth rotation spots given that Matthews couldn’t have done any more this spring to secure one of those jobs, throwing 9 1/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and only five base runners allowed. Even more noteworthy than the stats, though, was the stuff. His fastball was up 2 mph from last year, and that’s continued into the minor-league season. He had plenty to work with even prior to the velocity bump. Did you see the seven walks in 97 minor-league innings last year? Absurd!

Paddack was a pitcher of some interest some time ago, but he just got wiped out by the White Sox and will only get so much leash in what’s his final year of team control. Woods Richardson is nothing special either and also happens to have minor-league options. The biggest question for Matthews, then, is whether he or David Festa (another pitcher of interest) makes it back to the majors first.

2024 minors: .271 BA (420 AB), 26 HR, .896 OPS, 64 BB, 103 K
2025 minors: .273 BA (11 AB), 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 K

The Dodgers are clearly looking for ways to integrate Rushing into the major-league lineup, giving him looks in left field down the stretch last year, when that was the team’s biggest need, and having tried him at first base already this season. Why bother with that position, you ask? Because former MVP and eventual Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman has already missed five of the team’s first eight games with one injury (ribs) or another (ankle), both of which he carried over from last season. He might be touch-and-go all season, in other words, and right now, the best alternative the Dodgers have come up with is light-hitting Enrique Hernandez.

Early in spring training, it sounded like Will Smith might also be in need of some health management (bruised ankle) this season, but so far, he’s started seven of the team’s first eight games and looked good in doing so. Still, he’s a catcher, and catchers need backups to spell them sometimes. Could Rushing, if he remains the OPS hog he’s been throughout his minor-league career, get a look as a backup catcher, first baseman, and left fielder, starting maybe 3-4 games a week? That’s what I’m hoping for, particularly in two-catcher leagues.

2024 minors: .368 BA (38 AB), 4 HR, 3 2B, 1.283 OPS, 12 BB, 10 K
2025 minors: .476 BA (21 AB), 3 HR, 2 2B, 1.522 OPS, 2 BB, 5 K

Kurtz placed only ninth among my top 12 prospects to stash a week ago, but since then, he’s homered three times in five games at Triple-A Las Vegas. The fact he’s even at Triple-A to begin his second professional season is a credit to his readiness. He got only 12 games in the minors last year but was so productive in them that the Athletics had no choice but to challenge him further. The challenge still has yet to reveal itself, though. He has the look of one of those first-round picks (fourth overall last year) who’s so far beyond anything the minors can throw at him that there’s nothing more to do than call him up and let him cook.

But where do the Athletics play him? As of now, the answer isn’t so clear. Tyler Soderstrom is off to a nice start at first base, and the Athletics have to reintroduce Brent Rooker to the outfield, starting him at DH for every game so far. There was talk of trying Kurtz himself in the outfield, but that hasn’t happened yet either. Clearly, one of Rooker or Kurtz has to go to the outfield to make all the pieces fit, so until we catch wind of that, I would say that no promotion is imminent.

FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY

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

2024 minors: .288 BA (427 AB), 13 HR, 12 SB, .819 OPS, 68 BB, 116 K
2025 minors: .316 BA (19 AB), 2 HR, 1 SB, 1.093 OPS, 3 BB, 6 K

Since the Red Sox selected Teel 14th overall in the 2023 draft, the 23-year-old has stood out for his competence, above all else. He’s pretty good at everything and seems to come about it rather easily. Even in getting his first extended look in big-league camp this spring, he acquitted himself nicely, going 6 for 19 (.316) with two homers and as many walks as strikeouts (four). The White Sox have a lineup full of placeholders, and Matt Thaiss at catcher is no exception. Teel may be the first of the next wave to arrive, particularly with the way he’s kicked things off at Triple-A Charlotte.

2024 minors: 3-5, 3.33 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 97 1/3 IP, 60 BB, 127 K
2025 minors: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

You may have heard that the Brewers starting rotation is in dire straits, with them having had to resort to bullpen games and guys named Chad Patrick and Elvin Rodriguez already. The game where they allowed nine homers to the Yankees was started by one of their best pitchers, Nestor Cortes, so it’s safe to say that they could use some help on that side of the ledger. Misiorowski, whose electric arsenal has made him their best pitching prospect for a few years now, may be close to wearing out his welcome as a starter, but they can’t afford to transition him to relief just yet. And for at least one start in 2025, he threw strikes at a nice rate, 65.8 percent. That’s always been his biggest issue, so if we see sustained growth in that area early this season, he may just be the rotation fix the Brewers are aching for.

2024 minors: .214 BA (485 AB), 18 HR, .710 OPS, 69 BB, 164 K
2025 minors: .050 BA (20 AB), 1 HR, 0 BB, 15 K

Hoo boy, this isn’t looking good. Montgomery had much to prove after a disastrous first season at Triple-A in which his strikeout rate spiked to 28.6 percent. He was largely given the benefit of the doubt on account of his strong finish, still rated as a top-100 prospect by every major publication, and was said to be in the mix for the starting shortstop job this spring. But here he is striking out in 15 of his first 22 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. Even acknowledging the small sample of it all, that’s a terrifying rate, and given that it’s a continuation of last year’s issues, it has me wondering how long he’ll continue to get the benefit of the doubt.

2024 minors: 6-5, 4.14 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 87 IP, 47 BB, 85 K
2025 minors: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K

Avila is one of two this week that avowed prospect hounds may not have heard of, ranking as the Royals’ No. 19 prospect by MLB Pipeline, No. 15 by Baseball Prospectus, and No. 22 by Baseball America coming into the year. But he entered Wednesday as the minor-league leader in strikeouts after a dominant first start in which he spammed his best pitch, the curveball, 40 percent of the time. It’s a new approach for him, but it’s one that we’ve seen turn relative nobodies into somebodies in other instances. Within the pitcher ranks especially, one weird trick can sometimes make all the difference. I’m not saying that’s happened in this case, but I am saying it’s worth checking back on Avila to see what he does next.

2024 minors: .279 BA (549 AB), 31 HR, 14 SB, .868 OPS, 53 BB, 128 K
2025 minors: .389 BA (18 AB), 3 HR, 2 SB, 3 BB, 0 K

At 26 (in a few days, anyway), Tawa might not meet anyone’s description of a prospect, but he did deliver big numbers between Double- and Triple-A last year, however hitter-friendly those environments may be. He’s off to a similar start this year, becoming the first minor-leaguer to three home runs while adding a couple steals as well. What he lacks in raw power he makes up for with a quick stroke that sends most everything to his pull side, maximizing his power output. It may not work in the majors, but considering he’s capable of manning every position but catcher and pitcher (and would probably be willing to give those a go, honestly), I’m confident he’ll get his chance as long as he keeps performing at Triple-A.