2024 Prospect List: Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects 3.0

The prospect list is my favorite article to write. Early in the season, there is plenty of fluctuation in these rankings. Things change quickly and if you are too slow to react, the rankings become outdated. At the same time, there are some prospects that dynasty managers need to be patient with. A slow two months does not define the type of player a prospect will become in the years to come. If you like a prospect stay patient, but also don’t be too slow to react. Keep reading to find the latest update on my top 100 prospects for dynasty fantasy baseball leagues.

Prospect List Rules:

• All players must have prospect eligibility.
• This list is only for prospects in the minor leagues; no major league players are included.
• Maximum of two positions listed per player.
• Primarily weighted for standard 5×5 leagues, but all league types are considered.

Prospect List Graduates:

This section of the prospect list is reserved for players who have recently been promoted to the Major Leagues. This month, the following prospects were promoted to Majors and would have landed inside of this list: Paul Skenes. The following prospects were demoted back to Triple-A this past month and have returned to the list: Jackson Holliday, Jonatan Clase, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Top 50 Prospect Notes

Lazaro Montes, #9 Seattle Mariners

Ranking Lazaro Montes inside at ninth overall gives the Mariners three prospects ranking inside of my top ten. With Colt Emerson going down with an injury, Montes is the one with the most current hype in the dynasty community. Montes signed with the Mariners for $2.5 million back in January of 2022. He made his professional debut at just 17 years old making a seamless transition. Montes quickly asserted himself as an offensive force in the DSL crushing 10 home runs in just 55 games. Standing at 6’2″, Montes carries a big frame with a pretty left-handed swing. The biggest concern for Montes after his debut season was how his hit tool would translate to baseball stateside.

In 2023, Montes split time between the Complex League and Low-A. His power was yet again on full display as he hit 13 home runs in 70 games with a batting average over .300. The one aspect of his game that stood out was his maturity at the plate. Young power hitters have a tendency to be over-aggressive expanding the zone to try and crush every pitch. Montes however takes advantage of his excellent understanding of the strike zone. He is patient forcing pitchers to attack him in the strike zone where he can do damage. He has an excellent feel for hitting to his pull side where his power is on full display.

Lazaro Montes in his last 10 games

.444/.519/.867, 5 HR, 9 XBH, 7 BB, 9 K

He's continuing to progress into a more advanced hitter. He's elevating consistently (39% GB rate), doing damage on all pitch types and the swing decisions seem to get better every week. pic.twitter.com/8y3Xd0VVEE

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) May 9, 2024

Now in his age 19 season, Montes is continuing to show improvements at the plate. This season, his strikeout rate is down to 17.1% while he continues to show off an impressive walk rate. His line drive is also at the highest rate of his career speaking to his ability to consistently run high BABIPs.

In a sense, Montes’ fantasy value is capped. He is not much of a threat to steal bases similar to how Yordan Alvarez is not going to help your fantasy teams in that category. That however does not mean Montes should be ignored. He has a chance to be an elite four-category contributor contributing especially in the power department. His value soars even higher in OBP leagues where his walk rate adds additional value. The best part about Montes is going to keep getting better. He is just 19 years old and will continue to refine his hit tool and develop his game power. Montes is one of the best pure hitters in all of Minor League baseball and this ranking reflects that.

Zac Veen, #21 Colorado Rockies

Zac Veen has been a household name in dynasty circles for years at this point. Veen was the Rockies’ first round pick back in 2020 and dominated his first season of professional baseball. At Low-A, Veen crushed 15 homers in just 106 games. He also added 36 steals to go along side a .301 batting average. Dynasty managers were drooling over Veen’s potential. At 6’3″ with plus-plus speed, Veen had all the looks of a future star. Add in the fact he projects to play his home games in Coors Field and hopes for Even grew even higher.

Unfortunately for Veen and fantasy managers, the next two seasons were filled with injuries and inconsistencies. Holes in Veen’s swing were exposed during the 2022 season. He split time between High and Double-A where he struck out 24.4% of the time with a .245 batting average. Still, Veen stole 55 bases that season helping many remain optimistic about his future value. Things got worse for Veen in 2023 when injuries limited him to just 80 games. He slashed a lowly .209/.303/.308 dropping his dynasty value to a new low.

Entering 2024, this season was viewed by many as Veen’s last chance to prove himself. In the off-season edition of this article, Veen ranked 104. Even was one of the biggest risers in last month’s edition coming in at 47th. This month, he rises even higher all of the way up to 21st overall. He has been incredible at the plate this season. Veen is currently slashing .326/.418/.526. Most importantly, Veen looks healthy. After disappearing last year, the home runs have returned as Veen is already up to five. He is nine for ten on the bases while also walking over 11% of the time.

Veen has as much fantasy upside as any Minor Leaguer out there. He has tremendous power with excellent speed and is reminding fantasy managers why many viewed him as a top ten prospect a few seasons ago. The Rockies currently have him in Double-A but he should not be there much longer. He will continue moving up this list so long as he continues to perform at this level.

Prospect List Part 1

Back-Half Top 100 Prospect Notes

Henry Bolte, #73 Oakland Athletics

Henry Bolte is doing it! For those of you who do not know what “it” is, I encourage you to check out my breakout prospects article from March. Bolte was my favorite breakout pick for this season thanks to his raw athleticism. Few prospects in baseball have the kind of potential to finish as the top overall player in fantasy. To do so, a player needs to contribute in all five categories. Bolte is exactly the kind of player who is capable of accomplishing such a feat.

Bolte was drafted in the second round by Oakland back in 2022. The primary reason he fell out of the first round was concerns over his hit tool. Those concerns have stuck with Bolte throughout his first two seasons as he has struggled to limit the strikeouts. In a small 11-game debut in 2022, Bolte struck out 48.7% of the time. He followed that up by striking out 33.4% of the time in Low-A last season. His high strikeout rate overshadowed the impressive offensive numbers Bolte was still able to post. In 112 games, Bolte hit 14 home runs and stole 32 bases. His HR/FB% sat up at 25% speaking to his impressive raw power.

What made Bolte such an enticing breakout pick was the thought he could lower his strikeout rate significantly in 2024. This season got off to a bit of a slow start. Through his first 17 games, Bolte was striking out 43.6% of the time preventing him from cracking the top 100 in last months update. Since, Bolte has looked like a different hitter. April 27th forward, Bolte is striking out less than 25% of the time. His offensive numbers are through the room as he is slashing .298/.459/.543 with four homers and nine stolen bases. His pull rate is also up nearly 20% this season helping him tap into more of his raw power.

Don't look now, but Henry Bolte is blowing up pic.twitter.com/WfxAdtTaJ1

— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) May 19, 2024

Bolte has the skillset to put together a 30/30 season. His hit tool could still use some refining, but he is just 20 years old and does not turn 21 until August. As he continues to rise through the Athletics’ system, he is going to rise further up dynasty prospect lists. This is dynasty manager’s last chance to get in Bolte now before his price gets too high. The breakout is happening, helping Bolte to move up significantly in this month’s list.

Jacob Wilson, #77 Oakland Athletics

For hitting prospects, noisy batting stances are often something that makes me pause. While certain hitters are talented enough to deploy such tactics, noisy batting stances typically lead to more struggles than success. That is exactly what the hesitation was with Jacob Wilson, who is flying through the Athletics’ system and flying up prospect ranking lists. Oakland selected Wilson sixth overall in last year’s draft. While ranked highly, Wilson was viewed to be a tier below the list of hitters who went ahead of him( Langford, Clark, Crews, Jenkins, Shaw). His carrying tool coming out of Grand Canyon University was undoubtedly his hit tool. During his final collegiate season, Wilson hit .412 with six home runs. With a strong hit foundation, the Athletics were hopeful they could get more power from Wilson at the professional level.

At this point, his profile prioritizes contact over power. Although this is not the recipe most dynasty managers want to see, it is difficult to argue with the results. Split between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Wilson is slashing .438/.458/.652 with three home runs and two stolen bases. His swinging strike rate sits below five percent on the season. Wilson’s contact skills are some of the best in all of Minor League Baseball.

Showing off skills like this in his first full season of professional ball should seemingly get him more attention than ranking 77th overall. Many lists have pushed Wilson up as high as the top 20. So, why does he rank behind former fellow A’s prospect Henry Bolte? Dynasty managers need to evaluate how Wilson’s skillset will transition to fantasy and the Major League level. Wilson is extremely aggressive at the plate. While he has the contact skills to overcome this approach, he does not make the best swing decisions. Major League pitchers who have better control can get Wilson to expand the zone and force contact on pitchers pitches as opposed to ones that Wilson can drive out of the park.

Wilson’s speed also profiles to be right around the league average. He is not going to be a threat for 20+ steals in a season and instead is likely to settle right around 10. To become a truly impactful fantasy asset, Wilson’s game power will need to take a significant step forward to overcome the lack of stolen base potential. In a small Triple-A sample, Wilson’s average exit velocity sits at just 83 mph with a negative launch angle. Improvements to his game power are essential to taking his game to the next level.

Thanks to his outstanding early season numbers, Wilson jumps into the top 100 this month. The Athletics are not being shy about pushing him aggressively through their system and he could find himself playing in the Major Leagues this season. He is an intriguing prospect for dynasty managers but comes with plenty of yellow flags.

Prospect List Part 2

Prospects That Just Missed

Felnin Celestin, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners have an extremely deep farm system that seemingly grows deeper with each season. They already have three prospects ranking inside of my top ten and Felnin Celestin’s dynasty value is rising quickly. Celestin signed with Seattle last January and is making his professional debut in the Complex League. He has appeared in 15 games since making his debut on May 4th, and is batting .362 with two homers and three stolen bases. His natural athleticism makes it easy to get excited about his potential. Not only are the raw skills excellent, but his plate discipline is years beyond his age. He is making excellent contact with a walk rate over 14%.

The only hesitation to moving him further up this list is an extremely high ground ball rate. Over the past several seasons, we have seen numerous prospects fly through the Minor Leagues relying heavily on high BABIP numbers that do not match their batted ball distributions. Celestin is currently hitting ground balls over 70% of the time which could impact his future batting average and cap his home run potential. Granted, Celestin is just 18 years old and is already showing signs of having elite dynasty potential. If he keeps performing at this rate, he is sure to find himself ranked inside of the top 100 next month.

Chase Dollander, Colorado Rockies

The Coors Effect can alter a prospect’s fantasy value. Batters drafted by Colorado get a boost since it is easy to dream about that Coors Field potential. For pitchers, however, it is a near-death sentence. Not only has the player development been bad, but almost all pitchers see their numbers dip when pitching in Coors Field. This even holds true for Chase Dollander who would undoubtedly rank inside of the top 100 if not for his future home. Dollander was viewed by many as the most talented arm in the draft. His professional career has also gotten off to a strong start with a 3.41 ERA across his first seven starts. Dollander has put his potential on full display at times already striking out 10+ in two different starts. His fastball sits comfortably in the upper 90s, his slider is filthy, and he continues to develop his change and curveball.

Start your morning by watching Chase Dollander embarrass opposing batters ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TbW6x7xyd5

— Blake Street Banter ⚾🌮 (@blakestbanter) May 2, 2024

There is no denying the front-end stuff in Dollander’s profile. So, why does he rank outside of the top 100? Dollander’s command and control are still suspect. His walk rate is high, but that is not the biggest issue. Dollander has found success in college and the lower levels of the Minor Leagues thanks to his pure stuff. However, he frequently makes mistakes that are going to get him in trouble against Major League batters. He has already surrendered three home runs this season and could have issues limiting the long-ball throughout his career. This is especially problematic for a future in Coors Field. If targeting a Rockies pitcher, I prefer the control and command of Sean Sullivan to the pure stuff of Dollander. Still, the upside is obvious and Dollander will soar into the top 100 if he can improve his command and control.

Deep Prospects to Note

Michael Forret, Baltimore Orioles

I am a bit surprised that the hype around Michael Forret has not caught more momentum. He is a member of an excellent Player Development organization while also having spent time at Tread this off-season. What is there not to like? Forret worked hard to increase his velocity this off-season while also developing both a gyro-slider and sweeper. Early on, the results are showing. Through nine appearances, Forret owns a 3.44 ERA. In five of his starts, he has failed to surrender a single earned run. He is striking out over 32% and his walk rate would look even better if not for his four-walk start on April 27. Forret is a name for dynasty managers to keep an eye on as the season moves along.

Yohendrick Pinango, Chicago Cubs

Yohendrick Pinango has been a member of the Cubs’ farm system since signing with them out of Venezuela back in 2019. Prior to this season, his offensive production has been mediocre at best, but things seem to finally be clicking. In 29 games at High-A, Pinango crushed five home runs with a .340 batting average. Strong contact rates have been his carrying card throughout his professional career, but the development of power has caught the eye of the dynasty community. The most notable difference this season has been increased patience at the plate, which could explain his power surge. Pinango was recently promoted to Double-A which will be the true test to see whether this hot start was just a flash in the pan.

Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)