The best prospects make themselves undeniable. Here's who is turning heads on the camp.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers – Not that there was much suspense after the Brewers gave him a massive contract before his debut, but Chourio has made the Opening Day roster. He hasn't gotten nearly as much hype as some of the big name prospects this spring, but he hasn't looked overmatched either, hitting .286/.314/.347 with a 21.5% strikeout rate. We're hoping for more power after Chourio hit 22 homers in 122 games at Double-A, but I think that'll be there eventually. For now, I'm expecting plenty of steals (Chourio stole 44 in the minors last season) and hopefully enough pop and average to be helpful. He just turned 20 a few weeks ago, so there's plenty of upside here, albeit with a decent amount of risk, too.
Jackson Holliday, SS, Orioles – The Orioles are playing things close to the chest this spring with regards to Holliday's status, and this is certainly one team with enough depth that you can see the justification for giving Holliday another look at the minors, more so they can get a look at the likes of Heston Kjerstad, Kyle Stowers, or Coby Mayo – top prospects in their own right, though probably less important to the organization's long-term outlook than Holliday. But if they want to put their best 26 guys out there on Opening Day, it's pretty hard to argue Holliday wouldn't belong after hitting .326/.370/.628 this spring. There's been more swing-and-miss in the spring than you'd prefer to see – 30.4% strikeout rate as of Thursday – and I wonder what the immediate Fantasy upside is for a 20-year-old who only hit 12 homers last season. But he's the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason, and I think he'll be on the roster from Day 1 and is worth a top-150 pick in drafts this weekend – and he'll go even higher than that if he gets announced as an Opening Day starter.
Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers – Langford is now the first player with six or more homers in a spring training at 22 or younger since Freddie Freeman and Ryan Zimmerman. That's pretty good company to keep. The Rangers are still playing coy about Langford's Opening Day role, but nobody is buying it anymore – Langford's ADP in 16 drafts on NFBC Wednesday was 78.56. I'll be honest: I'm not going to pay that price for him, but I also can't say he can't or won't earn it. He's clearly an incredibly talented hitter, but it's the sixth-highest ADP for a rookie over the past 10 seasons, and the highest for one who hasn't made his MLB debut yet.
Ceddanne Rafaela, OF, Red Sox – I haven't written about Rafaela much this spring, and to be honest, it's because I just don't know how I feel about him. His minor-league numbers are terrific, coming off a season where he had 20 homers and 36 steals between Double-A and Triple-A as a 22-year-old, which should make him a very good Fantasy option if he can live up to them. But his prospect rankings are all over the place – FanGraphs has him as a top-50 guy, while Baseball America ranks him 94th – and it's because there are just a ton of questions about how the bat will play against major-league pitching. The fact that he hit .241/.281/.386 in 28 games with pretty miserable quality-of-contact metrics and poor plate discipline in the majors last season certainly doesn't help. But it looks like he's going to make the Red Sox roster and might be eligible at second and shortstop in addition to the outfield could make him very intriguing for Fantasy. He probably doesn't need to be drafted in H2H points leagues, but Rafaela should be on your late-round radar in any category-based format.
Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians – DeLauter has played all of six games above Double-A in his career, and yet here we sit, less than a week from Opening Day, and he's seemingly still in the mix for a spot on the Guardians Opening Day roster. Hitting .520/.600/1.040 in the spring with more walks than strikeouts will do that. Ultimately, I expect the Guardians to go with their collection of has-beens and never-weres to open the season, while DeLauter gets one last test in the minors. But, after hitting just five homers in 57 games last season, he had five in 23 games in the Arizona Fall League and has four in 13 spring games, a sign that he might be starting to tap into his raw power, which is really the last thing scouts have wanted to see from DeLauter. At this point, I expect him to be on the roster well before Summer.
Jared Jones, SP, Pirates – Jones isn't locked into a rotation spot, but it seems all but certain as he's yet to allow a run in 11.1 innings this spring. Jones has incredible stuff, and often has a hard time harnessing it, but that hasn't been that big of an issue this spring, with just four walks in 11.1 innings of work. He should be drafted in the reserve rounds as an upside pitcher pick in most drafts the rest of the way.
Brooks Lee, SS, Twins – It seems incredibly likely that Lee will start the season in the minors, especially after he left Thursday's game with back spasms. But the Twins have given him a long look this spring, and if there was an obvious opening on the infield, he'd probably be getting ready for his MLB debut. As is, the Twins are set on the left side with Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa, and they seem likely to roll with Edouard Julien as the strong side of a platoon at second base while Lee gets a bit more work at Triple-A – he hit .237/.304/.428 there last season. But the second an opportunity opens up for him, either through injury or Julien struggling, Lee should be up. He's not worth stashing in most leagues – Scott ranks 11 prospects ahead of him on his stash list – but you should definitely keep the name in mind for an early-season call-up.
