15 Breakout Hitting Prospects To Target For 2025 Dynasty Fantasy Baseball

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Image credit: Ryan Waldschmidt (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Prospects in fantasy are in many ways similar to the long shot bets pushed by the plethora of betting sites that have popped up in recent years. You’re gambling on the upside of a low-investment, high-payout bet.

The chances of prospects outside of upper echelons of the game breaking out brings with it more risk than reward more often than not. Still, the ability to identify low cost of entry, high-upside players is essential to success in dynasty, particularly in leagues where 300 or more prospects are rostered.

Early in the offseason is often the best time to place your bets on these players. It’s a dead period in the baseball calendar with much of the development taking place behind the scenes and unknown to the public. While we can’t predict who will show up to minor league camps in February looking better than when we last saw them at the end of the previous season, we can look at players with exciting tools who have the ability to blossom into heavily-rostered fantasy prospects a year from now.

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Today, we will dig into 15 prospects outside of the Top 100 prospects who could be poised to take a big step forward into fantasy relevance in 2025. 

Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Diamondbacks

Waldschmidt had first-round buzz late in the draft cycle last year on the strength of his junior season with Kentucky, which saw him hit .333/.469/.610 with 14 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 2024 before the D-Backs made him the 31st pick. Waldschmidt is one of the best athletes in the 2024 class, and it’s possible we’re just scratching the surface of his upside. In his brief pro debut, Waldschmidt showcased advanced plate skills, swinging and missing in the zone just 6.8% of the time. He blends strong swing decisions with above-average bat-to-ball skills and an above-average power ceiling. Waldschmidt shows strong ballflight metrics with the ability to consistently get the ball in the air to his pull side at a high rate.

Angel Cepeda, SS, Cubs

In the process of working on the Cubs Top 30 prospects list this offseason, I came away impressed by Cepeda. A native of New Jersey, Cepeda moved to the Dominican Republic and signed for $1 million in January 2023. He was selected as a Dominican Summer League all-star in 2023 and hit .298/.383/.428 in his stateside debut. Despite a fringy slugging percentage this season, Cepeda actually showed above-average raw power for his age and level with a .371 xwOBAcon and 108.8 mph max exit velocity in 2024. With average-or-better plate skills and real power projection, Cepeda has the ability to take a big step into fantasy prospect relevance in 2025.

Caleb Bonemer, SS, White Sox

Bonemer was a standout of the 2023 summer circuit before the White Sox signed him away from a Virginia commitment for just under $3 million dollars. Despite it being a weaker class for high school infielders, Bonemer has the ability to break out this season due to a strong blend of above-average tools. He has above-average game power and has a history of getting to it in games with above-average speed. There’s potential for 20 home run and 20 stolen bases. He should debut at a full-season level in 2025 and has the ability to stick in the infield long term. 

Welbyn Francisca, SS, Guardians

Despite multiple outstanding seasons as a professional to begin his career, Francisca still slips under the radar for many. After hitting .328/.418/.523 with six home runs in the Dominican Summer League, Francisca made the jump to Low-A, hitting .325/.402/.402 over 29 games with Lynchburg. Francisca shows advanced bat-to-ball skills, swinging and missing in the zone just 12.7% of the time in his stateside debut. He also shows above-average underlying power with a max exit velocity of 110.3 mph in 2024. While his bat-to-ball skills and raw power grade are easily above-average, he still struggles to consistently put the ball in the air. Even slight improvements to his ball flight could yield huge results in the coming years. Even if his power projection is a slow burn, Francisca can hit, plain and simple. 

Benny Montgomery, OF, Rockies

It’s been an injury-plagued start to Montgomery’s career, but few positional prospects have his type of upside. The plate skills remain below-average, but could develop into a fantasy asset on a similar trajectory to that of Brenton Doyle. He shows easy plus raw power, with an outstanding 110.4 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a nearly 60% hard hit rate in his small sample in 2024. These metrics are in line with what Montgomery has shown throughout his professional career. Due to his time missed, he’s been largely forgotten in the fantasy space, but Montgomery has the tools to explode with a full healthy season and incremental improvements to his bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions.   

Franyerber Montilla, SS, Tigers

One of the more under-the-radar breakouts in 2024, Montilla is poised to take another step in 2025. He hit .273/.409/.448 with six home runs and 24 stolen bases over 48 Florida Complex League games last season, but struggled upon promotion to Low-A Lakeland, where he hit just .095. Under-the-hood metrics show Montilla has a good blend of bat-to-ball skills (16.8% zone-miss) and solid swing decisions (21.5% chase rate to a 76% heart swing). While power is not Montilla’s carrying tool, he shows the ability to consistently hit the ball in the air with above-average underlying exit velocity metrics. He’s a high-intensity player who shows a natural feel for the game. While Montilla might not get the hype of other Complex League standouts, there’s real skills to buy into in fantasy. 

Joseph Sullivan, OF, Astros

A seventh-round sleeper from the 2024 draft class, Sullivan is a tooled-up outfielder with plus speed who oozes athleticism. He showed strong underlying plate skills in his professional debut, posting a 8% in-zone miss rate and 105.1 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. While Sullivan lacked hype heading into the draft, he’s been one of the sneakiest standouts amongst players who debuted post-draft. His combination of bat-to-ball skills, advanced swing decisions, power and speed make him a sneaky pickup in deeper dynasty formats. 

Brendan Tunink, OF, Dodgers

If you were to bet on at least one Dodgers prospect making it as a breakout each season, you’d likely raise your hit rate. Tunink is the 2024 Dodgers draftee I’m placing my bets on as this year’s potential candidate. Arguably the best athlete among 2024 high school prospects, Tunink has the motor and attributes to blossom under the Dodgers’ tutelage. A cold weather prospect, Tunink could be slow rolled and made to debut in the Arizona Complex League this summer, but he has the potential to develop into a high-upside fantasy asset. 

Mike Sirota, OF, Dodgers

The Dodgers have shown their belief in Sirota’s upside time and time again. After failing to sign him in the 20th round of the 2021 draft, Sirota made it to campus at Northeastern. Over his first two years with the Huskies, Sirota was viewed as a potential top half of the first round talent. After a tough beginning to his junior season, however, he saw his draft stock slide. The Reds selected Sirota in the third round, and he did not debut following the draft. The Dodgers acquired Sirota in January 2025 in the trade that sent Gavin Lux to Cincinnati. The Dodgers have a great track record in a variety of areas of team building, and they’ve shown the ability time and time again to pluck good prospects at peanut prices from other system (i.e. Zyhir Hope). If the Dodgers clearly believe in Sirota’s hitting ability and upside—maybe you should too?

Payton Eeles, 2B, Twins

Signed out of Indy Ball prior to the 2024 season, Eeles had an outstanding debut, hitting .306/.435/.497 across three levels. He spent a majority of his season with Triple-A St. Paul, slashing .299/.419/.500 over 64 games with eight home runs and 20 stolen bases. A late bloomer at 25, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Eeles debut at some point in 2025 with the Twins. His underlying data is strong, with a 12.5% in-zone miss rate, a 19.7% chase rate and a max exit velocity of 107 mph. Power is not Eeles’ game; instead he shows advanced barrel control and the ability to put pressure on his defense with his legs. While Caleb Durbin’s price has jumped significantly in recent months, Eeles’ has not despite providing a similar profile.  

Cobb Hightower, SS, Padres

Every year, the Padres pluck a prep player after the first round who blossoms into a highly-touted prospect. Few front offices in the game have the ability to scout teenage players at the level the Padres do. Hightower projects to have a nice blend of above-average hitting ability and above-average power at peak, along with the ability to stick in the infield. Hightower signed for just over $850,000 in the third round last summer and has yet to debut. He’s one of the better under-the-radar prep picks in first-year player drafts this offseason and has big blow-up potential in 2025. 

Yairo Padilla, SS, Cardinals

Outside of Jesus Made, no player in the 2024 Dominican Summer League received the level of praise Padilla did. A standout athlete with a well-balanced blend of tools, many believe that Padilla could blossom into a Top 50 prospect in the game in due time. A standout athlete with above-average hitting ability, power projection and speed, Padilla will be one of the top stateside debutants to follow in 2025. The underlying data is strong, but it’s the effusive feedback from scouts that has us buying in on Padilla as a star in the making. Get in now while the price is still palatable. 

Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Cardinals

Padilla’s partner in crime, Rodriguez is a bat-first catcher with plenty of skepticism around his ability to stick behind the plate. It may not matter, however, as Rodriguez’s bat could be special. Hitting .345/.462/.683 with 10 home runs in his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2024, Rodriguez’s underlying metrics back the production with a 103.1 mph 90th percentile exit velocity, .427 xwOBAcon, a 66% flyball+line drive rate and a 24.2% miss rate. There’s moderate hit tool risk in Rodriguez’s profile, but his ability to consistently hit the ball hard in the air to his pull side projects well for future home run production. 

Alan Roden, OF, Blue Jays

One of the most underrated prospects in fantasy, Roden has the skills to develop into a OBP asset as soon as 2025. Few players in the minors show the elite plate skills Roden does. In 2025, Roden swung and missed at just 7.3% of pitches in the zone while playing at the minor leagues’ two highest levels. He rarely expands the zone and showed improved power in 2024, as evidenced by a 112.2 mph max exit velocity. Roden won’t sell out for power, but he does possess the ability to turn on a fastball on the inner-half of the plate and do damage. He’s also an above-average athlete who runs and defends better than his stocky frame would portend. If you’re in an OBP league, it’s reasonable to view Roden as a potential top 100 prospect in the format entering the season. 

Luke Dickerson, SS, Nationals

One of the biggest helium prospects in the 2024 high school draft class, Dickerson had a storied prep career as a multi-sport standout in New Jersey. He tied the state’s single-season home run record in 2024 (18), a mark held by Angels superstar Mike Trout. There’s potential for Dickerson to grow into an above-average hitter with above-average power in time, and as a cold weather high school prospect, he could have untapped potential. He’s still valued outside the top 25 players in FYPD rankings but could be a top 15 player from this class when all is said and done. 

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