Fantasy Baseball Prospects: Bubba Chandler, Dalton Rushing, Chase DeLauter, Brandon Sproat

With spring training games kicking off and the 2025 fantasy baseball season just around the corner, talk of the next great fantasy baseball prospect is in high gear. Rookies are always coveted because of their potential. Look at last season for a few examples – Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio.

Will 2025 fantasy baseball produce any rookies close to this caliber? Only time will tell, but most rookies look to have an adjustment period before they become true fantasy baseball assets.

Knowing the path to clear playing time and fantasy relevance is tough on rookie prospects, here are eight you can stash on your fantasy team bench for 2025. These may not be players who start the season with their big club or have massive roles right away, but each prospect has the potential to be helpful in fantasy baseball this season.

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Stashes

Bubba Chandler (SP – PIT)

It began with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. Will Bubba Chandler be the next great young pitcher to come out of the Pittsburgh Pirates system? It’s certainly possible. There is no pitch in Chandler’s repertoire he doesn’t throw extremely hard. He has hit the upper 90s with the fastball and the upper 80s with his slider and change-up.

Along with Jobe and Painter, Chandler might be one of the top two or three pitching prospects in all of baseball, meaning someone like Bailey Falter might just be in the Pittsburgh rotation keeping a seat warm for whenever the team feels Chandler is ready.

Dalton Rushing (C, OF – LAD)

The real question for Dalton Rushing is not if he is ready for Major League pitching or not, but where to play him in a loaded Dodgers lineup if re-called from the Minors. He has been working as a catcher, so he would have to back up Will Smith. If Smith were to get hurt, Rushing might be in line for major playing time.

At 24 years old, there is not much left for him to prove in the Minor Leagues. His combined slugging percentage over the last three seasons is .520 as he destroys the minor league levels. There is a chance he could come up as a reserve outfielder/emergency catcher, but I think the Dodgers want him to get reps and be ready for a larger role.

Chase DeLauter (OF – CLE)

After several injuries to his foot, the first-round pick in 2022 out of James Madison seems ready to contribute on the Major League level should the Guardians need his services at all in 2025.

DeLauter’s career Minor League slash line is .317/.387/.517 with a strong power stroke and he loves to drive the ball to right field. The Guardians are currently set with Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas and lefty Will Brennan (DeLauter is also left-handed), so there might not be room right now. But if DeLauter keeps raking in the Minors, the team will have no choice but to make room for him.

Brandon Sproat (SP – NYM)

The injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas have opened up two potential starting pitching spots for the New York Mets to start the season. Many projections systems see Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning filling those roles to start the year. Let’s be clear, neither has the upside of 24-year-old Brandon Sproat.

Checking in at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Sproat is built more like a wide receiver than a pitcher, but he uses that frame to throw 95-98 on his fastball and mixes in a nice change-up and slider. Sproat is free in drafts at his consensus average draft position (ADP) of pick 608. He has an opportunity and a nice offense behind him to make some fantasy noise in 2025.

MLB Paul Skenes Jackson Merrill Jackson Chourio Bubba Chandler Jared Jones Bailey Falter Dalton Rushing Will Smith Chase DeLauter Steven Kwan Lane Thomas Will Brennan Brandon Sproat Sean Manaea Frankie Montas Paul Blackburn Griffin Canning