One of the most exciting parts of fantasy baseball dynasty leagues is tracking prospects through each stage of the minors. Having highly rated prospects is a big part of any dynasty league, but owners can oftentimes fall into the trap of overvaluing them and forever chasing a title because of it.
On the flip side, you can’t disregard prospects either. Your title window won’t always be open, so make sure you have one foot in the present and one foot in the future. Always play to win today, but don’t totally sell out so that you’re set up for failure in a few years.
Evaluating prospects is a skill and a challenge. We all know guys such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jimenez. The top-10 prospects are just about a lock to contribute in a big way at the big-league level. When you look at prospects 11 through 20, there are some warts there, but it’s a safe bet that they, too, will make a difference at the next stage. Then you get to prospects 21-100. Why such a wide margin? Well, the prospects here are pretty much interchangeable. And really, it can go to about 135 or so, and cases can be made for why players do or don’t belong.
With a net cast this wide, fantasy players have a chance to research and find out which guys they do and don’t like. It also helps to discover the next big thing (like Wander Franco in 2018) before everyone else.
Here are some lesser-known prospects, most likely to soon become staples in dynasty leagues, who you can acquire now at a cheap price.
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Vidal Brujan (2B – TB)
2018 was already a breakout year for Brujan, but he isn’t getting the love he should in dynasty leagues. The soon-to-be 21-year-old hit .330 in Single-A and High-A ball last year. He has a small stature but reminds me of a player similar to Luis Urias who can be carried by his contact skills. Brujan sported a 12.2% walk rate and a 12.7% strikeout rate last year, so it’ll be interesting to see how that translates to Double-A later in 2019.
Power isn’t part of Brujan’s path to success, as he’ll likely top out at around 12 homers. But what he lacks for in power, he makes up for in speed. Having stolen 55 bases last year, he’ll be a roto darling. This is your last chance to buy low before he becomes a household name.
George Valera (OF – CLE)
Projecting an 18-year-old who only has 22 plate appearances in Rookie ball is hard, but Valera possesses intriguing tools. Chances are a casual fantasy player doesn’t know who the teenage outfielder is yet. He does, however, have a cult-like following among prospect hounds, similar to the Twitter buzz allotted to Jake Junis and Yandy Diaz.
Valera is years away from the big leagues, but he already has an advanced approach with nice power. The guys over at Prospects Live compared him to Robinson Cano. You’ll take that any day.
Taylor Widener (SP – ARI)
I swear, I’m not related to Widener. I just write about him a lot because he’s my favorite pitching prospect that no one is talking about. Widener led all of the minors in strikeouts last year, and he can likely be had for practically nothing in your league.
He was advanced for Double-A, where he had a 2.75 ERA (2.99 FIP) and struck out 11.53 batters per nine innings last year. Triple-A will be a good test for him this season, but he profiles as a No. 2 or No. 3 real-life option in the Diamondbacks rotation as soon as this year, and a No. 3 or 4 arm for your fantasy staff.
Kristian Robinson (OF – ARI)
Sticking in the desert, we take a look at a teenager who is four or five years away, but he has massive power and speed. If eligible for a first-year player draft—he signed as an international free agent in 2017, but debuted last year—he’d be my first overall pick. Obviously, a lot can go wrong with a player this young, but you want to bet on those 70-power and 60-speed tools that he possesses.
Mark Vientos (3B – NYM)
If Franco is the next Guerrero Jr., who is the next Franco? Look no further than Vientos. He had a good 2018 in Rookie ball, as he made strides at the plate. Vientos can hit 25-plus homers while helping in average and possessing a nice eye in the batter’s box. Expect to see him ranked among the top-50 prospects by midseason.
Jazz Chisholm (SS – ARI)
I’ve known about Chisholm, but I didn’t really know about him like I thought. I stumbled upon a piece at Fake Teams by Zack Waxman profiling the Arizona shortstop, and I instantly fell in love.
Here is a quick excerpt from Waxman’s article that opened my eyes:
“It is hard to ignore that Jazz ranked seventh with a .268 ISO and 11th in wOBA clocking in at .415. If you look at slugging percentage, he was fourth overall ahead of Nate Lowe, Alex Kirilloff, Bobby Dalbec, Keston Hiura, Gavin Lux, and Jo Adell (ignoring minimum plate appearances). With respect to OPS, he only trailed Lowe among those players ranking seventh overall in that category.”
Chisholm is one of the more underrated prospects in the game, and he has next-level potential. After Widener, he will also be the next player on this list to hit the big leagues. The time is now to acquire him before the secret gets out.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
