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 baseball roster this season.

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1. J.J. Wetherholt, INF, St. Louis Cardinals

2025 stats: 73 G, .306/.421/.513, 11 HR, 14 SB, 48 BB, 48 SO at Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

If I listed every reason for this, it would make this a 6,000-word article and absolutely no one wants that, but I’ll just get this out of the way: This is the least confident I’ve ever been in a list this late into the year. I have no idea whether Wetherholt (see what I did there?) is going to make his debut in 2025, but it’s not just about proximity, folks. Wetherholt’s talent is exceptional, and the fact that he’s slugged four homers with a .762 OPS since being promoted to Triple-A didn’t hurt his case for ascending to the top of this list, either. Wetherholt has played more shortstop than second base in Memphis, and the latter position is obviously covered right now for St. Louis. I still think his ability to hit for average, power and steal bases — potentially, anyway — makes him the prospect I’d roster right now.

2. Luke Keaschall, INF/OF, Minnesota Twins

2025 stats: 22 G, .244/.358/.295, 1 HR, 8 SB, 14 BB, 17 SO at Triple-A St. Paul; 7 G, .368/.538/.526, 0 HR, 5 SB, 5 BB, 2 SO at Minnesota.

You would be forgiven if you forgot about Keaschall, but now’s a good time to, well, stop forgetting. The 22-year-old missed nearly three months while dealing with a fractured right forearm, but he’s returned to action and shown off his impressive speed and approach. The power is the question mark with Keaschall, but he can put the ball into the gaps and can turn on enough fastballs to suggest he won’t be just a dink-and-dunk hitter. Keaschall should rejoin the Twins in the coming weeks, and fantasy managers could do worse than to give the right-handed hitter a shot once that takes place.

3. Jordan Lawlar, INF, Arizona Diamondbacks

2025 stats: 53 G, .319/.410/.583, 10 HR, 18 SB, 30 BB, 60 SO at Triple-A Reno; 8 G, .000/.136/.000, 0 HR, 0 SB, 3 BB, 9 SO at Arizona.

Ranking Lawlar is kinda impossible right now, but I’ll do it anyway. The case against him is pretty simple; he’s out with a hamstring injury and there’s no word as to when he’ll be able to return. The case for him is those stats you see above — the minor league ones, not the small-sampled struggles in a brief cup of coffee — and the fact that Arizona is very much in sell mode/should want to see Lawlar playing everyday. So it goes like this: If the Diamondbacks recall Lawlar, add him; he’s the type of player who can contribute in every fantasy category. But don’t be surprised if they take it easy and have their top prospect make his debut as a full-time starter in 2026.

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4. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Baltimore Orioles

2025 stats: 64 G, .280/.394/.615, 120 HR, 0 SB, 40 BB, 57 SO at Triple-A Norfolk.

If I absolutely knew that Basallo was going to be up in the coming weeks, he’d be the top prospect on this list. He should be up already, as he’s scorching hot with a .350/.413/.775 slash over his last 10 games that was buoyed by a 5-for-5 effort with a homer against Lehigh Valley on Friday. Basallo has some of the best power in the minors right now, and the approach at the plate keeps getting better to suggest he’ll get on at a solid clip with a decent average to go with it. There’s just no guarantee that Baltimore is going to bring him up, so fantasy managers need to play the wait-and-see game. Unless you play in a league with two catchers. I’d probably roster him now in that case.

5. Spencer Jones, OF, New York Yankees

2025 stats: 68 G, .314/.411/.706, 29 HR, 16 SB, 42 BB, 94 SO at Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

I want you to look at that number of games played and that number of homers closely, because it still feels like that’s not possible. Jones homered three times for the RailRiders on Thursday, but has been out of the lineup since then due to back spasms. Obviously that injury is a potential concern, but with potential concern comes a 6-foot-7 left-handed hitter who has homered 13 times in 19 games since being promoted to Triple-A. Yes, he strikes out a ton. Yes, there’ll likely be an adjustment period when he gets a chance to face MLB pitching. But yes, I am still rostering him if the Yankees promote him because of the potential power production.

6. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

2025 stats: 20 G, 82.2 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 41 BB, 104 SO at Triple-A Indianapolis.

I feel like this late in the year we have to have a pitcher on the list, and the fact of the matter is that Chandler — with all due respect to Andrew Painter and a few other names — is the best pitching prospect in Triple-A right now. So, I’m adding a spot for him. He’s also been pitching well after a bit of a funk in the middle of the summer, and fired back-to-back shutouts over six innings to begin July with a 5 2/3 inning effort of two-run baseball with seven strikeouts in his most recent outing. The Pirates are just as likely to shut down Chandler as they are to promote him, but if he gets a chance in the majors, his swing-and-miss stuff and ability to throw four pitches for strikes makes him relevant.

Around the minors

There’s a lot of debate as to who the best prospect in baseball is, but right now, I would argue that the best fantasy prospect in the sport is Jesús Made. Made has been solid with the bat all year, but better of late with a .306 average and .836 OPS over his last 10 games. Even as a player that turned 18 in May, the switch-hitting shortstop has shown off four plus-tools, and three of those are relevant to fantasy in his hit, power and speed. There’s some question as to whether he’ll need to move off shortstop, but the Brew Crew have a few years to find out exactly where he profiles best. If he sticks at short, he has a chance to be a fantasy superstar, but if he moved to the outfield, second or third base he’s still the player I’d want the most in any eligible format.

The Marlins have been a pleasant surprise in 2025 — if only because the expectations were so incredibly low — and they also have seen Robby Snelling develop into one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in baseball. Since being promoted to Triple-A in July, Snelling has an ERA of 2.30 over his three starts with a 15/4 K/BB ratio over 15 2/3 innings with the Jumbo Shrimp. Eleven of those punchouts came in his start Saturday against Triple-A Durham, and he’s shown the ability to miss bats with three pitches while throwing them for strikes on a consistent enough basis to suggest good things. He could make his MLB debut in 2025, but even if he doesn’t he’s a name to keep a close eye on for 2026.

We talked about Jones and his impressive power display, but there’s another slugger who has been bashing the ball over the fence in Triple-A lately, and it’s Mariners’ first base prospect Tyler Locklear. Locklear has homered six times in his last 10 games, and in that timeframe he’s slashing a robust .417/.511/.972 for Tacoma. The 2022 second-round pick really struggled in his short time with the Mariners last year, but he’s a player with well above-average power and the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact. Seattle isn’t likely to give him a chance in 2025 after the trade for Josh Naylor, but he does have the skill set to be a middle-of-the-order hitter in the coming seasons. If he were to be traded before the deadline, he’d be worthy of consideration; assuming he gets promoted after that transaction, of course.

Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun headline Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 candidates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner got their call to Cooperstown, but who will be joining them next year?

The three players were enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday as part of the Class of 2025 with each surpassing the requisite 75% vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Now, baseball fans can start looking ahead to the 2026 ballot.

Next year’s ballot does not have nearly as much star power as the 2025 class, which had two first-ballot Hall of Famers in Ichiro and Sabathia. Still, a handful of players could be on their way to Cooperstown next summer.

Here’s a look at the top names to watch in the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame voting process.

First-ballot potential

• Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels could look to follow in Sabathia’s footsteps as a first-ballot southpaw, but his resume isn’t nearly as strong.

The former Philadelphia Phillies star’s accomplishments include a 163-122 record in 422 career starts, a 3.43 ERA, 2,560 career strikeouts, four All-Star selections, NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 2008 and a no-hitter in 2015 that doubled as his last career start with the Phillies. By comparison, Sabathia had 88 more wins and eclipsed the 3,000-strikeout threshold.

Returning candidates

• Carlos Beltrán
• Andruw Jones

Carlos Beltrán is the most likely player to join the Class of 2026. The nine-time All-Star appeared on 70.3% of Hall of Fame ballots in 2025, leaving him 19 votes shy of Cooperstown. It was still a significant rise from the 57.1% he received just one year prior, so he’s on pace to get his call to the hall in 2026.

It could be Andruw Jones’ time, as well. The Atlanta Braves star was on 66.2% of ballots in 2025, which marked his eighth year of Hall of Fame candidacy. The five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glover will need a noticeable increase in voting with just two years of eligibility remaining.

Returning longshots

• Chase Utley
• Andy Pettitte
• Félix Hernández
• Alex Rodriguez
• Manny Ramirez

Hamels isn’t the only former Phillies star on the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, as several of his former teammates are returning players. Chase Utley is the top vote-getter among them after appearing on 39.8% of ballots in 2025, which was his second year of eligibility. Bobby Abreu (19.5% in 2025) and Jimmy Rollins (18.0% in 2025) are entering their seventh and fifth year of eligibility, respectively.

Andy Pettitte, a five-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, made the biggest leap of any returning player on the 2025 ballot. He went from 13.6% in 2024 to 27.9% in 2025, giving him some hope for future enshrinement as he goes into his eighth year of eligibility.

Félix Hernández is the most notable name to watch among players who were first-year eligible in 2025. The Seattle Mariners legend will look to make a second-year leap after receiving 20.6% of the vote on his first ballot.

As for players linked to MLB’s steroid era, Alex Rodriguez (37.1% in 2025) is entering his fifth year of Hall of Fame eligibility, while Manny Ramirez (34.3% in 2025) is entering his 10th and final year on the ballot.\

First-year longshots

• Ryan Braun
• Edwin Encarnación
• Matt Kemp
• Shin-Soo Choo
• Chris Davis
• Nick Markakis
• Alex Gordon
• Daniel Murphy
• Rick Porcello

Ryan Braun started his MLB career on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but a performance-enhancing drug suspension in 2013 stained his resume. He finished his career as the Milwaukee Brewers’ franchise leader in home runs with 352.

Edwin Encarnación (424 home runs), Matt Kemp (three-time All-Star) and Shin-Soo Choo (one-time All-Star) are among the players who should appear on more than 5% of ballots in 2026, allowing them to stick on the ballot in 2027.

When is Pete Rose eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame?

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred removed Pete Rose from the league’s permanently ineligible list in May, paving the way for MLB’s all-time hits leader to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Instead of the BBWAA ballot, the Historical Overview Committee will oversee Rose’s posthumous candidacy. The committee is next scheduled to meet in 2027 to develop a ballot with names for the Classic Era Committee, so 2028 is the soonest Rose could be voted in.

Kodai Senga has been a bit up-and-down since returning from the IL. 

He put together four scoreless innings in his return in Kansas City, but then was knocked around and ended up being chased after just three earlier this week against the Angels. 

Sunday’s outing against the Giants was much of the same. 

The right-hander worked around trouble in each of his five innings of work, but was able to limit the damage to just two bad pitches -- both of which were Matt Chapman home run's (solo and two-run shot). 

Overall, Senga allowed those three runs on four hits and five walks.  

“First time he goes five innings since coming back from injury,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We pushed him today, we had a number in mind which he reached, so I want to say it was a good step in the right direction for him.”

Senga has now given up a total of seven runs over his first three starts back. 

Easily the biggest issue -- the eight walks he’s issued over that span. 

“I felt prepared going into tonight,” he said through a translator. “Just a lot of uncompetitive pitches, those don’t help and I know that if I can minimize those moving forward then it’s going to help me get back into a groove.”

Though Senga has been shaky, Mendoza is confident he’ll be able to work through his mechanical issues and return to his dominant form.

“This is a guy that the more reps he gets, the better he’s gonna get,” the skipper said. “I’m not concerned, he’s too good of a pitcher and he’ll figure it out, I think 

Ronny Mauricio is finding his groove at the big-league level. 

The young slugger had his hands all over the Mets’ Sunday night win over the Giants. 

Mauricio and Francisco Alvarez started rallies that led to New York’s first three runs -- lining back-to-back singles leading off the third and then a pair of doubles in the top of the fifth.

After the Giants jumped in front on Matt Chapman’s second homer of the night, the Mets responded right back, as Mauricio crushed a slider from All-Star righty Randy Rodriguez into McCovey Cove to even things back up. 

A few batters later, Juan Soto pushed the Mets in front with a solo shot of his own. 

“He wanted to hit one in the water, he told me since the beginning,” Soto said postgame. 

“I knew I hit it well,” Mauricio added. “It felt really good because I saw a couple of home runs of Barry Bonds hitting them into the ocean, so for me to be able to do that too that’s feeling really good.”

And the 24-year-old wasn’t done there, as he led off the top of the ninth ripping an opposite-field double, which eventually led to the pinch-running Luisangel Acuña scoring a big insurance run. 

Mauricio finished his first career four-hit showing, three of which went for extra-bases. 

“He was incredible, it’s nice to see it,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He continues to get comfortable, he continues to have really good at-bats controlling the strike zone and then doing damage on pitches in the zone.

“We saw it today with the homer against Rodriguez, a pretty tough arm to the pull side and then he goes the other way in that last at-bat after getting into a hitters count, not trying to do too much, just the ability to go the other way -- he made it look easy.”

Mauricio is now up to a .760 OPS on the season. Alvarez has hits in six straight, and three extra base knocks since returning. Mark Vientos delivered the go-ahead hit on Saturday to extend his hitting streak. Brett Baty looks the most comfortable he's been at the big-league level.

Starling Marte has also been red hot since returning from his brief IL stint.

The bottom of the order finally pitching in while the big boppers go through their little funk has shown the depth and potential this lineup can have down the stretch.

“One through nine, I feel like anybody in that lineup can take you deep,” Mendoza said. “That’s why we never feel like we’re out of a game, a couple of guys get on then next thing you know you get the tying run to the plate and anybody can clip anybody.

“We’ve been saying it all year, when those guys are clicking we’re a pretty good offense.”

The Mets secured the series sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-3 win on Sunday night at Oracle Park.

New York extended it's winning streak to seven games.

Here are some takeaways...

- The bottom of the order did a great job creating the Mets' first three runs of the game. Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio led off the third with back-to-back singles, and two batters later Alvarez scored on a Francisco Lindor RBI groundout.

Two innings later the young duo would strike again, as back-to-back doubles leading off the fifth put the Mets back in front. Mauricio advanced to third on a Brandon Nimmo groundout, but he was gunned down trying to score on a Lindor roller to short.

Alvarez had another big opportunity with two on and two out in the top of the sixth, but right-hander Randy Rodriguez struck him out -- Mauricio picked him up an inning later, though, smacking a game-tying leadoff homer into McCovey Cove against one of the top relievers in the game.

Mauricio doubled again leading off the ninth, giving him the first four-hit game of his career.

- Juan Soto looked a little lost during his first three at-bats, but he delivered his fourth time up, lifting an 0-1 fastball the other way for a go-ahead solo homer. The Mets are the first time since April to put up multiple runs against Rodriguez.

That snapped an eight-game homerless streak for Soto, who now has 25 on the season.

- Kodai Senga was chased after just three innings in his last outing, but he got off to a better start in this one. The right-hander struck out back-to-back batters in the bottom of the second to work his way out of a first and third jam with one out.

After the Mets handed him the lead in the third, Senga was helped out by a Heliot Ramos base-running miscue to work around another man in scoring position. The Giants were able to strike against him an inning later, though, as Matt Chapman led off the fourth with a solo shot to left-center.

San Fran pushed two into scoring position, but Senga got Jung Hoo Lee to pop out to avoid further damage. He retired the first two batters after the Mets retook the lead in the fifth, but Chapman would get him again, this time with a two-run homer to center.

Senga finished the night with a final line of three runs allowed on four hits and five walks.

- The Mets' bullpen threw well behind Senga. José Buttó put together a scoreless sixth, Gregory Soto worked a 1-2-3 seventh in his Mets debut, Reed Garrett got the first two outs in the eighth, then Brooks Raley one before Edwin Diaz locked down the save.

The Giants loaded the bases against Diaz, but he struck out Willy Adames and Chapman to win the game.

- It didn't take long for Starling Marte to extend his five-game hitting streak -- the veteran righty picked up the Mets' first hit of the night with a two out opposite-field single in the top of the second. Marte blooped another single to center in the eighth, giving him another multi-hit game.

Game MVP(s): Francisco Alvarez & Ronny Mauricio

The young duo was square in the middle of things all night for the Mets -- finishing a combined 6-for-8.

Highlights

Kodai Senga gets back-to-back strikeouts to get out of trouble in the 2nd! 👻

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/cTwqOLVKCb

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 27, 2025

Francisco Lindor's groundout brings home Francisco Alvarez with the first run

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/lMv1lo4dLy

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 27, 2025

Ronny Mauricio tags out Heliot Ramos at third!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/DZTQi89vHG

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

Ronny Mauricio brings in Francisco Alvarez with an RBI double! 🔥

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/vL0hNn98UL

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

RONNY MAURICIO SENDS ONE INTO MCCOVEY COVE TO TIE THE GAME!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/uO08dgVot5

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

JUAN SOTO HOMERS TO GIVE THE METS THE LEAD!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/NZpO1qgMgK

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

A 1-2-3 7th inning for Gregory Soto 🔥

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/RgPwCd5pu1

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

Ronny Mauricio has the first four-hit game of his career!

(via @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/YlGPPa3OPo

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2025

What's next

The Mets head to San Diego to start a three-game set with the Padres.

Frankie Montas takes the ball against potential Mets trade target Dylan Cease at 9:40 p.m.

Binghamton’s offense put up 17 runs in Sunday’s win over the Fightin Phils.

The Mets' dynamic prospect duo of Ryan Clifford and Carson Benge were right in the middle of things. 

They got the scoring started early, going back-to-back in the top of the first. 

Benge would strike two more times over the next two innings, lifting another solo shot in the second and then lining an RBI single in the third. 

He was walked on four pitches in the fourth and then lined another single, but was finally retired in his final at-bats of the day -- finishing 4-for-6 with three RBI and four runs scored.

The former first-round pick is now hitting .350 with four doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, and a 1.046 OPS in 21 games since being promoted to Double-A. 

Clifford finished a triple shy of the cycle and was retired just once -- going 3-for-4 with a solo shot, single, double, three walks, and five runs scored. 

He’s up to a minor league leading 21 homers on the season, with eight of them coming in July.  

Jett Williams also enjoyed a big day, reaching base four times with two walks and two hits. 

Binghamton improved to an incredible 64-30 on the season.