Top fantasy baseball prospects: Jordan Lawlar sizzling hot, Jacob Misiorowski impresses again

A reminder: This is ONLY players who have Rookie of the Year MLB eligibility, and ONLY a look at potential help for 2025.

That out of the way, here’s a look at the top prospects who can help your fantasy roster this season.

1. Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox

2025 stats: 29 G, .309/.415/.514, 5 HR, 3 SB, 22 BB, 26 SO at Triple-A Worcester.

Anthony hasn’t homered in over a week, but the outfielder is still performing well and shown how he is far from a one-category player in that timeframe. He ended his weekend with a three-hit effort against Toledo on Friday, and he also added a stolen base to go with it. Anthony is the best prospect in baseball whether you’re considering it from a fantasy perspective or not. The Red Sox may want to see him driving the baseball on a more consistent basis before they make him a part of their MLB roster, but it’s very hard to imagine Anthony isn’t going to see time with Boston in the coming weeks.

2. Jordan Lawlar, INF, Arizona Diamondbacks

2025 stats: 31 G, .357/.441/.643, 6 HR, 12 SB, 17 BB, 31 SO at Triple-A Reno.

I said Anthony was going to stay at the top of this list until he gets the call, but for the first time in the first month-plus of the season, I did consider someone else. Lawlar went 0-for-9 over his last two games, but that ended a streak of four consecutive multi-hit games including a four-hit effort April 30, and over his last 10 appearances, he’s slashing .462/.523/.741. That’ll work. Lawlar is doing everything he can to get back to Arizona, and while there’s no room in the infield right now, you have to think the D-Backs will come to the conclusion soon that this is a bit of a waste. It’s not at that point yet, but it’s coming soon. Get ready.

3. Matt Shaw, 3B, Chicago Cubs

2025 stats: 13 G, .277/.424/.404, 1 HR, 2 SB, 11 BB, 5 SO at Triple-A Iowa; 18 G, .172/.294/.241, 1 HR, 0 SB, 10 BB, 18 SO at Chicago (NL).

Shaw failed in his time with the Cubs to open the year. Those who watched Shaw play know that, and those who didn’t can just look at those stats. But you know how this works. You know how hard baseball is. You know how many young players faltered to begin their career and still went on to become excellent players. Shaw started out slowly after being demoted to Triple-A, but the infielder has turned a corner even with a hitless final two games over the weekend. Shaw isn’t guaranteed to help fantasy rosters in 2025, but there’s obviously enough talent for him to be a contributor in redraft leagues this summer. He wouldn’t be on this list if that wasn’t the case.

4. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

2025 stats: 6 G, 25.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, .122 BAA, 7 BB, 36 SO at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Chandler was impressive again Thursday with a season-high nine strikeouts over five innings while allowing just an unearned run against Triple-A Omaha . The right-hander has not allowed more than two runs in any outing thus far this year, and while he’s not missing bats at an exceptional rate, there’s more than enough punchouts to go with weak contact and a lack of self-inflicted damage to be excited about what he’s doing in the International League. Chandler should be up soon, and while the Pirates may not provide a ton of win chances, his stuff is good enough to roster him and adding him to lineups against all but the best teams in the sport.

5. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

2025 stats: 7 G, 35.2 IP, 1.77 ERA, .158 BAA, 17 BB, 43 SO at Triple-A Nashville.

Welcome to the list, Jacob. Misiorowski has been fantastic for Nashville in 2025 outside of one start where he allowed five runs. In his other six starts, he’s allowed two runs. Total. WIth two pitches that grade 70 in his fastball and curve -- you could argue the movement and velocity on his heater make it an 80-grade pitch -- to go with a strong slider, there’s no question Misiorowski has the stuff to be a starter. The question is whether he can throw enough quality strikes for that stuff to play, as free passes have been an issue since being drafted in the second round back in 2022. Add in the fact that the Brew Crew have dealt with injuries to their rotation, and Misorowski is a name fantasy managers need to pay close attention to, if they weren’t already.

Around the minors:

Arjun Nimmala has shown flashes of brilliance since being a first-round pick in 2023, but those flashes have often been followed by spurts of frustrations. It’s only been a month, but so far, Nimmala has done the opposite of frustrate. He’s homered four times in his last ten games, and is slashing .295/.374/.547 over 23 games with High-A Vancouver. Still just 19 until October, Nimmala has easy plus power in his right-handed bat with an approach that gets better each year, and while he does have some swing-and-miss profile, his ability to make hard contact gives him a decent chance for average, too. He isn’t likely to be a major stolen-base threat with average speed, but he has the actions and enough athleticism -- with a quality throwing arm -- to stick at short. NImmala has tremendous upside, and it’s great to see him tapping into it in his second full season.

The Athletics have their top prospect in the majors in Nick Kurtz, and their second best prospect could be up soon in Colby Thomas. After hitting two doubles Saturday, the outfielder is now hitting .296/.364/.504 with five homers and a pair of steals over 31 games. A third-round pick back in 2022, Thomas has a swing from the right side that suggests he’ll hit for quality power at the next level, and his plus speed gives him a chance to steal 20 bags in the majors. He does strike out at a less-than-spectacular rate with 288 over his last two full seasons, but like Nimmala, it’s not out of the question that he’ll hit for a decent average despite the punchouts. This is not a future fantasy star, but he’s someone to keep an eye on in redraft leagues with a great chance of helping the A’s in 2025.

Trey Yesavage was Toronto’s first-round pick the year after Nimmala, and he was viewed as one of the steals of the 2024 draft after ‘sliding’ to the 20th pick out of East Carolina. He’s looked the part so far in 2025, and after throwing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts on Thursday, he’s now forged an ERA of 2.31 with a 36/8 K/BB over 23 1/3 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .163 average for Low-A Dunedin. Yesavage has three well above-average pitches in his fastball, splitter and slide while mixing in a solid curve. The command needs work -- most pitchers who are still 21-years-old do -- but he generally throws strikes with those four pitches. It’d be nice to see Yesavage at a higher level considering his experience, but it’s tough to complain about these results.

Griffin Herring was a sixth-round pick by the Yankees out of LSU in 2024, and to say his stock has risen over the first month of the season is quite the understatement. He allowed just his second run of the season Thursday for Low-A Tampa, and in the process he struck out 11 without issuing a walk. That gives him a 0.60 ERA and 39/10 K/BB for the Tarpons over a not-so-small sample of five starts and 30 innings. The 21-year-old offers a plus change that allows a low-to-mid 90 mph fastball to play up, and he’ll also mix in a decent change for good measure. Add in solid command of those offerings and Herring has the stuff to be a mid-rotation arm, and while that doesn’t sound super exciting on the surface, he’s the type of player that can be underrated in dynasty/keeper leagues. Ceiling matters, but so does floor.