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The Stash List Week 19: Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash in 2025

Top 10 pitching prospects to stash in redraft league

John Villavicencio
Dynasty 8/2/2025

The Pitcher Edition of the Stash List highlights the 10 best pitching prospects likely to make an impact during the 2025 season.

Prospects are often thought of as only holding value in dynasty formats. However, knowing which prospects hold value for the current season can help set you apart in redraft leagues. Several have a 2025 ETA, and getting ahead of the curve on rostering these prospects is a key part of roster management. Last year, we saw more pitching prospects make their debut than ever before, and there is no reason we should expect to see anything change in 2025. Keep reading to find out the top ten pitchers you should stash in your redraft leagues.

 

Ground Rules

  • The Stash List is for your redraft leagues and does not consider impact beyond 2025.
  • Only current minor league players who are expected to make an impact this season are included.
  • Upside, proximity, health, and opportunity are all weighed for each player.
  • The focus is on 12-team leagues with standard categories.
  • Rankings and roster percentages will be updated weekly.
  • Stats will be updated weekly for all players through Thursday’s games.

 

The Stash List

 

Graduates/Call-Ups

 

The following prospects got the call to the major leagues within the last week:

As expected, Carson Whisenhunt (SFG) threw a bunch of sinkers and changeups. The change had four whiffs, but also was sent deep for a 390-foot home run by Nick Gonzales. Whisenhunt gets another start on Sunday at the New York Mets.

Pierson Ohl (MIN) put his 70-grade command on display in a start against Boston on July 29. The 6’1″ righty has jumped through three minor league levels to begin his major league debut with three strikeouts in the first inning. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs in the third inning on three extra-base hits, as he hit his pitch count for the day. He was optioned down to Triple-A St. Paul, but then got the call-up on Friday after Minnesota turned over almost half of its active roster at the deadline.

Luis Morales (ATH) will get the call-up this weekend for the Athletics, but it is likely only in a relief role. Still, pay attention to his performance. He flashed a few high-strikeout games and seven-inning starts earlier in the season, so he is someone to track for 2026.

Kai-Wei Teng (SFG) has been on the Stash List bubble ever since he struck out 11 hitters over five innings on July 2 with Triple-A Sacramento. He had been mostly a reliever all season until a three-start stretch. He has a five-pitch mix with fastball velocity running up to 94 mph. Sweeper, four-seamer, and curveball have a 40% whiff rate or higher.

 

Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash

 

1. Mick Abel, RHP, Minnesota Twins

2025 AAA Stat line: 74.0 IP | 2.31 ERA | 26.6 K% | 10.5 BB% 

2025 MLB Stat line: 25.0 IP | 5.04 ERA | 19.4 K% | 8.3 BB%

 

Assuming Samuel Basallo isn’t called up in the next week, Philadelphia should be confident to bring up Mick Abel ahead of the Baltimore series. Guess what? That scenario couldn’t even happen because Abel was traded to the Minnesota Twins and optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Back to his game against Norfolk, Basallo tagged Abel for three hits in three at-bats, including a 112 mph single. The Tide jumped him early for three runs in the first inning as Abel’s control was also wavering, with one walk and a hit batter. Norfolk scratched out two other runs to give Abel a final line of five innings, five earned runs, seven hits, one home run, three walks, nine whiffs, and five strikeouts. The 57% strikes he managed over 86 pitches are far below his already average 63% strike rate. The six hard-hit balls, dismal strike rate, and lack of whiffs led to the early exit. Over his last three minor league starts, he now has 14 strikeouts, six walks, five earned runs, a 47% ground-ball rate, and, most importantly, only one home run allowed. Abel struggled here, but has done well enough in this third stint in Lehigh Valley to maintain a high place on the stash list.

After requesting more curveball use in the previous article, Abel threw it 26% of the time, and the slider only 8% for the game. It appeared like the curveball might be the impact pitch for the night after he sat down Adley Rutschman on a swinging strikeout in the first inning. Yet, the breaking ball ended up with two whiffs and allowed only one hit. The slider had only one whiff and allowed three hits, including a 99 mph home run by Vimael Machín in the first inning. It appears likely that Abel quickly assessed that he didn’t have the feel for the pitch, so he only threw it five more times after that opening inning.

Down one pitch, it didn’t help that the four-seamer wasn’t competitive enough (43% zone rate) and only had a 25% whiff rate (4 whiffs). His four-seamer isn’t getting the highest PLV score, likely due to its middling extension of 6.6 feet. The 6’5″ righty isn’t driving much off the mound with that extension, and the pitch score suffers for that as well as a below-average induced vertical break of 15 inches. Over this three-start stretch, Abel’s four-seamer has seven strikeouts that are weighed down by five walks allowed. Throwing strikes to keep the bases clear is a priority for Abel, and he will need to get a stronger fastball back if he wants to accomplish that task for the Saints in his next start. While Bailey Ober’s status remains unclear, the Twins are down one or two starters. Abel should be up quickly and ready to show off any new tricks he learned from Minnesota’s pitching development.

 

2. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

2025 AAA Stat line: 88.0 IP | 3.58 ERA | 27.9 K% | 11.8 BB%

2024 MiLB Stat line: 119.2 IP | 3.08 ERA | 30.9 K% | 8.6 BB%

 

Without speculating how exactly it’s going to happen in a few days, Bubba Chandler will make his pro debut at home against the Giants. Chandler will stand on the mound, looking around at the 19,000+ people in the stands, wondering what took so long. Then he will key in on the catcher and “clear the mechanism.” Chandler is a strong competitor, someone who openly expresses his exuberance and frustration with his performance. At times when things weren’t going well in June, his exasperation with his poor control would result in overthrowing and in-game tinkering with his mechanics. Those two starts in early July did wonders for his confidence and all his fans, as he wouldn’t settle for the mediocrity that was permeating his previous appearances. For his five June starts, he threw only 58% strikes, which resulted in more walks (12) than strikeouts (11), along with more runs (13) allowed than innings pitched (12.2).

In what was one of his last minor league starts (fingers crossed), Chandler was cruising before running up against a high pitch count against Toledo on July 24. There were multiple baserunners only in the sixth inning, the inning he allowed the two earned runs. He finished the game with those two earned runs on six hard-hit balls, four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. He ran up the four-seamer to 68% use (typically 55%), which was probably a reaction to getting it past so many Mud Hens bats (10 whiffs). His fastball has been hovering around 97-98 mph all year, sometimes topping out in triple digits. He usually achieves 18 inches of induced vertical break, but the pitch was averaging 17 inches of IVB in this game.

PLV gives his four-seamer a below-average mark of 4.77, likely due to its hittable approach angle and modest zone rate. The slider and changeup have been flip-flopping between being his main secondary pitch. Since July 1, the changeup has a 50% whiff rate, but also a .455 wOBA. Thankfully, Chandler regained his overall control in July with 65% of his pitches landing for strikes. Although the Giants have a bottom-three wOBA as a team against left-handed pitchers, they are still a bottom-ten team against righties. With his competitive fire, a high 90s velocity, and solid secondaries, we should expect Chandler to generate at least six strikeouts over five innings against the Giants. He may not pitch 19 years like Billy Chapel, but Chandler is on the precipice of finally getting that first Major League win.

 

3. Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

2025 A, AAA Stat line: 73.0 IP | 4.68 ERA | 24.3 K% | 7.8 BB%

2024 AFL Stat line: 15.2 IP | 2.30 ERA | 30.5 K% | 6.7 BB%

 

These days, Andrew Painter is just “working on stuff” in his second full pro season as he doesn’t feel any added pressure given that he likely won’t make a “July-ish” debut. That response probably doesn’t satisfy the competitive fantasy manager who had been banking on an earlier call-up, but it will have to suffice for now. On July 30, Painter was working on his stamina as he threw 103 pitches, the first time he hit triple digits and made it into the seventh inning in his pro career. Looks like he has developed a solid foundation, as the fastball velocity was still popping 96 mph in that final inning. Painter was also working on his secondary pitches, as both the curveball and slider were spinning up a bit, each around 3,000 rpm. The curveball generated five whiffs, while the slider had three whiffs out of a total of 12 for the game. The 63% strike rate and a 55% zone rate on his fastball helped him limit Worcester to only two free passes. His final line of one earned run on seven hits and two walks over 6.1 innings looks pretty good despite the low strikeout total of four. That’s something he will likely work on next week against Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Painter’s four-seamer has a below-average PLV score likely due to the minimal extension and flat approach angle. The 6’7″ righty does not drive off the rubber very hard, averaging around 6.3 feet of extension on his entire arsenal. Although the fastball has been his most-used pitch the entire season, with 48% usage, he worked on mixing in the secondaries against the Woo Sox. The four-seamer has an average induced vertical break of 17 inches, but that feels like it is being pulled up by extreme outliers.

Against Worcester, he had at least ten fastballs that were 13 inches of IVB and below. This lack of movement may explain why the whiff rate is low, the home runs are up to seven, and the pitch has a .395 wOBA. This is another area for him to work on when he is likely still pitching in Triple-A…Boo-hoo.

 

4. Logan Henderson, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

2025 AAA Stat line: 77.2 IP | 3.59 ERA | 27.9 K% | 7.7 BB%

2025 MLB Stat line: 21.0 IP | 1.71 ERA | 35.8 K% | 7.4 BB%

 

Logan Henderson will benefit from the Brewers’ decision to trade Nestor Cortes at the deadline. To what extent he benefits remains to be seen, as the Milwaukee rotation is still chock-full of overperformers (Priester, Misiorowski, Quintana, Woodruff). In addition, Triple-A Nashville has four starters on the 40-man roster, three of them with over 20 innings of major league experience this season. Henderson, being one of those minor leaguers on the 40-man roster, is no longer a lock to get an extended run after working past (98.2 IP) his innings total from 2024 (81.1 IP). It’s a surprise they are letting him go more than five innings these days in Nashville.

On July 26, Henderson did his best work for three scoreless innings before finally caving in the fourth. In that inning, he gave up two earned runs on an RBI groundout and a single after putting runners on with a hit batter and a double. He was also charged with two runs in the fifth after the reliever let the inherited runners come around to score. Henderson’s final line looked a little crumier because of it, with four earned runs over 5.1 innings on five hits and zero walks. He threw his 1-2 punch of the fastball and changeup an outstanding 92% of the time. He got nine of the eleven total whiffs on the four-seamer alone to generate five strikeouts.

Part of his success in this game was due to the 93 mph fastball, as he located it consistently high in the strike zone. Pradoxically, he had both a high 73% strike rate on all pitches, but a low 34% zone rate on the fastball because he was getting it up so high. When he can locate it there, you can see why PLV gives the pitch an above-average score.

 

5. Robby Snelling, LHP, Miami Marlins

2025 AA, AAA Stat line: 88.0 IP | 3.38 ERA | 27.7 K% | 7.1 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 115.2 IP | 5.15 ERA | 22.6 K% | 8.9 BB%

 

Welcome to the stash list, Robby Snelling! He is now one or two Miami trades away from joining the major league rotation. Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera have been drawing interest from playoff contenders, putting a spotlight on the next wave of Marlins arms (Sadly, those transactions never transpired). The runway is clear for Snelling to keep building momentum, as his top competition, Ryan Weathers (lat strain) and Max Meyer (hip surgery), are both on the 60-day injured list and would likely be limited if they were to return in September. The 6’3″ lefty is approaching his third consecutive minor league season with 100+ innings, while making improvements in his strikeout rate, swinging strike rate, and walk rate. He is now three starts into his Triple-A stint with Jacksonville, showing off a four-pitch mix, and delivering when it counts.

On July 26 against Durham, Snelling struck out eleven Bulls with an amazing 24 whiffs. The four-seamer was the star pitch with 16 whiffs, humming a tick higher than usual at 95 mph with 17 inches of induced vertical break. He was also breaking off a loopier curveball for six whiffs and seven called strikes for a 45% CSW. He also blends in a changeup with 13 inches of run, but it hasn’t been as effective in Triple-A quite yet with a .564 wOBA.

Hitters likely know that Snelling’s pitches will land in the strike zone with a 69% strike rate, so it is a slight concern that he has a relatively equal ground-ball rate to fly-ball rate. That’s why he can’t afford to leave a hanging curveball middle-middle to power hitters like Bob Seymour, who planted the pitch in the centerfield berm. His home run to fly ball rate is a touch lower in 2025, but still above 11% over both levels. Additionally, he is experiencing a splits issue with left-handed batters, who are hitting .816 OPS with four home runs across 138 plate appearances against him. Righties have a .558 OPS with four home runs, but in a much larger sample of 226 plate appearances. He may want to adjust his approach to lefties by reducing the use of the slower breaking curve in favor of his harder slider, or feature the changeup more often.

 

6. Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Atlanta

2025 AAA Stat line: 91.2 IP | 4.42 ERA | 22.5 K% | 12.3 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 93.1 IP | 3.47 ERA | 23.7 K% | 11.0 BB%

 

There was a day or two last weekend when it appeared that Hurston Waldrep was getting another pro start. Yet, he was able to cast the rumors to the side and put in a great performance on July 29 against Durham. It was a tidy 85 pitches over seven innings with only five hits and five hard-hit balls against his four-pitch arsenal. The splitter was the star pitch for the day with six whiffs, a 44% CSW, and weak contact.

Even with the splitter performing so well, Waldrep relies on the slider and four-seamer more frequently. The fastball is not well-regarded and has slowed down to 94 mph over the last few starts. PLV gives the pitch a very low score for the single-digit induced vertical break, low zone rate, and average extension. Assuming his stamina is not deteriorating, Waldrep may want to reduce its usage until he can achieve 96+ mph velocity like he was doing in the early part of the season.

Waldrep is likely down the depth chart for starters, but could see some action in September. Carlos Carrasco and Joey Wentz are resurrecting their careers to provide great value for Atlanta as they eat up innings in what has been a down season for the organization. Yet, it would be great to let younger arms like Waldrep and maybe even JR Ritchie gain experience by pitching a turn ot two in the rotation.

 

7. Parker Messick, LHP, Cleveland Guardians

2025 AAA Stat line: 80.1 IP | 3.47 ERA | 29.1 K% | 11.2 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 133.2 IP | 2.83 ERA | 30.2 K% | 8.0 BB%

 

The runway is clear for Cleveland to bring up Parker Messick in the next few weeks now that Shane Bieber has been traded to Toronto for Khal Stephen, who had just made his first Double-A start a week ago. Messick has been building momentum for a call-up after getting an appearance in the Future Game and striking out 16 batters over 12.1 innings to balance out two walks. Messick is stacking up the strikeouts, but also piling up the walks at a higher rate than in his previous seasons. It was encouraging that he allowed only one free pass on July 20 against Iowa. Messick achieves this feat despite throwing less than 60% strikes, a tad below his season average of 61%.

One obstacle to achieving maximum control may be the power delivery he achieves by driving his push leg high in the air before the leg rotates through his motion. He almost finishes by turning his back towards second base. This action could be energy inefficient and mean deeper outings or longer innings could tax his stamina. Messick was cruising through five innings against Iowa, having allowed only two hits, before running out of gas in the 6th inning. He finished 5.1 innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts.

Messick is overcoming the suboptimal 93 mph velocity by pairing the four-seamer with the sinker. They have similar speed, but varied movements, giving hitters two things to consider if they are sitting on a fastball. He used the sinker as his main secondary pitch against Iowa, which boosted the four-seamer that generated eight whiffs in the game. Even if the sinker isn’t a big whiff pitch for him, it is effective in limiting hard contact and getting called strikes (four called strikes or 26% CSW). His most productive pitch is still his four-seamer, topping out at 94 mph with 16 inches of induced vertical break. PLV gives it an average score with median marks across the board in terms of movement, extension, and approach angle.

Through two July games, the fastball has a 41% whiff rate, a .136 average, and only two extra-base hits. If he can maintain this level of productivity with those pitches while weaving in the above-average changeup, then Messick should continue racking up the strikeouts. The key will be keeping a consistent delivery throughout the game as he seeks to get the call for his major league debut. Doug Nikhazy has been given a few opportunities to prove himself with the Guardians, but now it’s Messick’s turn. For further reading, check out the Baseball America interview with Messick about his pitch mix (subscription required).

 

8. Miguel Ullola, RHP, Houston Astros

2025 AAA Stat line: 73.1 IP | 3.56 ERA | 29.6 K% | 12.3 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 130.1 IP | 4.28 ERA | 31.1 K% | 14.0 BB%

 

Ten percent is the round number cutoff for how to quickly absorb a column of walk rates on your preferred baseball statistics website of choice. Something about seeing a 9.99% make it appear like a 10.00% walk rate is for a drastically worse pitcher. Fortunately for Miguel Ullola, we do not need to go to the tenth place to make a determination about his control or lack thereof. We are looking at a pitcher with 16% walks in April, 13% in May, 19% in June, and 18.8% in July  He has a 58% strike rate on the season, a 58% strike rate through four games in July, and he had a 56% strike rate against El Paso on July 26. There is great consistency in his inconsistency. So why are we here recommending this player? Well, partially it is due to the lack of immediate options, BUT it is also because what if he overcomes all the poor habits and achieves the monumental task (for him) of throwing over 60% strikes and walking no more than 12% of batters faced? A Joe Boyle-like resurgence could be within grasp for a pitcher with four pitches that have greater than a 30% whiff rate on the season.

His fastball appears to be a finicky pitch that he doesn’t always finish well. In this game, he landed it in the zone 33% of the time, yet it still had a 40% whiff rate. During his eleven-strikeout game on July 20, his fastball had a 53% zone rate and generated a 46% whiff rate.

Something else is going on here, and the average induced vertical break paints the picture of a pitcher struggling to maintain a consistent feel on his most-used pitch. On July 20, the four-seamer had an elite average of 20 inches of IVB, while on July 26, it was at a more modest 16 inches. PLV also doesn’t love his four-seamer despite the amazing 6.9 feet of extension and above-average approach angle, probably because of its low velocity, the low zone rate, and its straightness due to the lack of horizontal movement. Even if we accept that the fastball is too straight, he has not suffered much damage over 620 fastballs thrown, with only two extra base hits allowed and a .251 wOBA. Nevertheless, he does need to command this stalion of a fastball better so that we can see him reach greater than 60% strikes and unlock all the benefits of the consistently high strikeout rate. He is on the verge of another season with a 30% strikeout rate, one year after striking out 171 batters..

If Ullola continues to hold a spot on the stash list, we can apply the above analysis to his slider, which is also holding him back, with its 23.5% walk rate over 376 throws. The Astros are also getting back Spencer Arrighetti, Cristian Javier, and maybe even J.P. France, further deflating the prospects of a Ullola promotion.

 

9. Nolan McLean, RHP, New York Mets

2025 AA, AAA Stat line: 104.0 IP | 2.60 ERA | 26.4 K% | 10.3 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 109.2 IP | 3.78 ERA | 25.1 K% | 9.1 BB%

 

The hype for a Mets rookie call-up is fizzling quickly as the organization solidifies its bullpen with trade deadline moves. Despite the aging rotation, all 30 years old or above, the open spots on the pitching staff are closing quickly, with Paul Blackburn percolating in Syracuse and Tylor Megill throwing side sessions as he rehabs from a sprained elbow. Those two pitchers are already on the 40-man roster, while their top Triple-A prospects are not.  In fact, the general manager is selling off parts from their loaded farm system, with Blade Tidwell and Wellington Aracena being shipped off for bullpen help. Therefore, the most likely scenario for McLean or Sproat to pitch this year will be on another team. Or with an injury, but we don’t like putting out those vibes. With all that noise put to the side, McLean had a solid game against Buffalo on July 30, where he went six innings with two earned runs on three hits and a solo blast.

McLean had a strong performance in July with 38 strikeouts to 10 walks in 28 innings over five starts. The strikeout pace dipped a bit towards the end of the month, but overall it was 32% strikeouts and 8.5% walks. Those rates are ahead of his season numbers and helped propel him to a 3-0 record, despite a higher 3.54 ERA. His OPS numbers haven’t wavered much from month to month either, with the only noticeable issue being a slightly higher OPS to left-handed hitters. The home run he allowed in this game was on a 3-2 sweeper to righty Orelvis Martinez, who sent it 404 feet to center field. McLean didn’t give up much more than that as the whiffs weren’t rolling in, but the stuff was still strong. He had a 45% called strike and whiff rate on the sinker and a 32% CSW on the sweeper.  Those two pitches landed in the zone over 65% of the time, something that is paradoxical for him.

For example, the sweeper with its 15 inches of break, puts him on the higher end of the spectrum among starters in the minor leagues. That helps explain the 30% whiff rate, but when it doesn’t move enough, it has been hit for the most home runs (3) out of his entire arsenal with a modest .273 wOBA. He uses the pitch around 30% of the time, which is probably on the high end given its mixed results.

 

10. Brandon Sproat, RHP, New York Mets

2025 AAA Stat line: 95.0 IP | 4.07 ERA | 20.3 K% | 10.7 BB% 

2024 MiLB Stat line: 116.1 IP | 3.40 ERA | 28.3 K% | 9.1 BB%

 

Brandon Sproat is continuing his hot streak with the velocity jump that is propelling him towards a late-season trial start. Sproat has now gone five games, allowing a total of two earned runs, throwing 66% strikes, generating 33 strikeouts, and only giving up eight walks. He came into the 2025 season as the Mets’ number one pitching prospect, and he is doing what he can to cement his hold on that title. His average fastball velocity is now up a tick to 97 mph over the previous five games, generating whiffs 29% of the time with its 10 inches of tailing action. The curveball and changeup are boosting the increased effectiveness of his arsenal with their weak contact rates and greater than 41% whiff rates. This trio of pitches is helping him attack hitters to all parts of the zone at different velocity bands and movement.

Now that Sproat is using his curveball and changeup more frequently than he did earlier in 2025, we could see his groundball rate continue to hover at an all-time high. Over the past five games, he has carried a 63% ground-ball rate, a mark that is much higher than his 55% ground-ball rate for the 2025 season. If he can sustain this batted ball profile, it will help lower his expected stats and keep him in the game longer.

On July 31 against the Buffalo, he racked up 14 whiffs that earned nine strikeouts for the second time in Triple-A. At just the right time, Sproat is turning on the stuff and producing a 31% strikeout rate and keeping down the walks to a 7.6% walk rate. It was an ominous start for Sproat, as he put the first two hitters on via a walk and a hit batter, but he made the most use out of his 59% strike rate. All five pitches he used generated a CSW above 30%, with the sweeper being the star pitch (44% CSW). Sproat has certainly put his name much higher on the list of priorities for the Mets and their late-season push to the playoffs, but he and McLean are unlikely to get as much run as initially hoped for in June. The bullpen acquisitions of Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, Ryan Helsley, and Rico Garcia have locked up any open bullpen spots. Their best chance will likely be a spot start during a 16-game stretch without a day off beginning August 19.

 

On The Bubble

 

Here are the next several pitchers that were in consideration for inclusion on this week’s list:

Henry Baez (ATH) (Included in Mason Miller trade), JR Ritchie (ATL), George Klassen (LAA), Ryan Johnson (LAA), Marco Raya (MIN), & Quinn Mathews (STL)(Is he back? 9 strikeouts and most importantly, only one walk on August 1).

 

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