Here at the TDG Headquarters, we’ve been busy looking for “The Next Big Thing.”  Just like you, we want to know who’s going to be the prospect that will become the core of our fantasy team, or be the trade piece that lands us the players who put us over the top. With that in mind, we’ve put together a team of prospect prognosticators and developed a set of tiered rankings for each position. And once they’re all posted, we’ll wrap up with our Top 200 Overall Prospects, putting it all together.

Be sure to listen to the Join the Ranks podcast for more discussion about these prospects.

Today, we bring you the shortstop prospect tiers 4 through 6, which include prospects #25 – 50.

Tier 5

I don’t believe that New York Mets prospect Jesus Baez belongs in this tier. Not that there aren’t good prospects this far down the list,but he’s too good to be down this far on any list. I didn’t rank him as a shortstop at all, and it hurt his overall ranking. He will show up higher in our third base ranks. Baez posted a 123 WRC+ as a 19-year-old in Low-A St. Lucie. He doesn’t walk much, but he puts the bat on the ball so frequently that he probably doesn’t get very deep into counts. His barrel, hard-hit, contact, and whiff rates are all well above average and his ground ball percentage was under 35%. His average exit velocity is 97th percentile. Not many 19-year-olds who earn below-average run grades end up at shortstop, so I still expect him to slide to third base. He is a player that I think could break out in a big way in 2025.

Chase Meidroth was a part of the trade that sent Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox. He is currently a much more interesting player for a real life roster than fantasy. Meidroth does many things well. He has walked more often than he’s struck out during his minor league career. He is a capable shortstop and a very versatile defender which makes him a valuable utility player. This gives Meidroth a chance to stay in the majors even if he can’t develop more than his current below-average power. Of the prospects that Boston sent over, he benefited the most and could step into a major league role shortly after spring training. The White Sox are slated to play a replacement-level infield in 2025. Meidroth was 97th or higher percentile in chase rate, whiff rate, zone contact, strikeout percent and walk percent and had a solid .293/.437/.401 slash line in Triple-A Worcester..His proximity to the major leagues and terrific new situation in Chicago give him a bump in value for fantasy leagues with shallow minors. If he can find a bump in power he can also become a regular in the middle infield at the top of a lineup. (Brandon Ring)

We are deep into it now, you’d think all you could catch on the line are catfish, but how about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Brice Matthews is the wolf here, he’s got sneaky good power, hitting 15 home runs and 15 doubles in 79 games, across Rookie-ball, High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. To add to his profile, he recorded 32 stolen bases and had a 13.4% walk rate in those games. Sounds like a player who should be in one of the top tiers, until you see his strikeout rate of 31.4% and contact rate of 67.2%. He doesn’t swing a lot, only at a 39.6% rate in 2024. Can you imagine if made more contact with this profile, he would be on an express elevator to the top. (Brian Labude)

Diego Velasquez is one of those quiet hitters that just keep chugging along and the next thing you know they are in the major leagues contributing everyday in your fantasy baseball lineup. He doesn’t have a lot of power (four home runs in 2024), but he hit .313 at Double-A last season on his way to a 125 wRC+. He doesn’t strike out a lot and he will not provide flashy stolen base numbers either, but he should be a major leaguer sooner than you might think.

Luis Pena might be the future star of this tier and the next big Milwaukee Brewers hitting prospect. In the Dominican Summer League (DSL), he stood out from many of the other hitters. It wasn’t for a giant display of power though, rather it was for his contact ability, hit tool, and speed. He ended with a slash line of .393/.457/.583, to go with an OPS of 1.039. He was one of the top hitters. His .393 batting average led the entire minor leagues (among qualified hitters) and his gaudy 175 wRC+ was 4th in the DSL and 5th in the minor leagues overall. He only had one home run, but stood out on the base paths, where he went wild stealing 39 bases in just 44 games. At the end of the day it was just the DSL, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. One thing we can see as a positive for the numbers translating stateside, was his 78.0% contact rate and 8.2% strikeout rate. Both are really good indications that he has a solid base in his plate discipline, allowing him to limit strikeouts in the future. This is definitely a player I would take a chance on in deep leagues. (Daniel Labude)

Tier 4

The Brewers’ Cooper Pratt had a strong but strange first full professional season. He spent most of 2024 in Low-A Carolina where he slashed .295/.394/.395 in 73 games. He was promoted to High-A Wisconsin and finished the final 23 games with a slash of .221/.258/.442. I saw him in person twice in Kannapolis and that slash in Low-A was what I expected to see. He controlled his AB’s, took what the pitcher gave him, and when he made contact he sprayed a line drive or ground ball. His batted ball profile in Wisconsin was completely different. He gained 120 points of isolated power, stopped walking, and his flyball rate jumped from 25.2% to 38.7% after the promotion. There is certainly risk in drawing conclusions from a 23-game sample, but it looks like a drastic shift in his approach. For example, 30% of his batted balls were infield flyouts, and over 20% of his fly balls left the yard. Neither of those rates are likely to be a number that carries forward in 2025. His glove looked good in the games I saw. He had a good first step and plenty of arm to stick at shortstop. Is he likely to be a mid-order slugger? Probably not. Is he a slappy singles-hitter? No. But he does look like a solid shortstop on both sides of the ball that the Brewers seem willing to move quickly through the system.

A’s shortstop prospect Max Muncy could be a nice relatively cheap fantasy addition. Despite being a solid defender with some raw power and above-average speed he’s not ranked highly on any prospect lists. He has played shortstop almost exclusively in his professional career, but was leapfrogged by 2023 6th-overall pick Jacob Wilson who made his Major League debut last season. In 2024 the A’s started playing Muncy at second and third base across 50 games at Triple-A Sacramento before a back injury ended his season. Muncy had a 24% strikeout rate, walked 9% of the time, and had a .214 isolated power. He is just average with contact in the strike zone, and he currently hits too many ground balls with an average launch angle of just 8.9 degrees. He has a 90th percentile exit velocity of 104.4 mph, maxing out at 109.5. He is in the 87th percentile in pulled fly balls, and in 2024 25% of them were home runs. He’ll start out again in Triple-A barring a red-hot spring training, but all that stands between Muncy and regular appearances at third base in 2025 is Gio Urshela. (Brandon Ring)

Looking for some lottery tickets in 2025, look no further than Echedry Vargas. He hit .276/.321/.454 and compiled 14 home runs and 29 stolen bases. Increasing his terrible 5% walk rate in 2025 will give him a chance at possibly hitting 20 home runs and stealing 30 bases. You could surely cash in that lottery ticket with value that would follow suit. Josuar de Jesus Gonzalez is a pure avoid for me. His price for value is just too high for a J15 signing that does not have the greatest projectable frame. Luisangel Acuña’s value comes from his proximity (battling to earn the starting third base job for the New York Mets) and his speed (averaging 45 stolen bases in four full seasons in the minor leagues). He is worth a depth add if you have the space. (Brian Labude)

In this tier, Welbyn Francisca was a hot topic. The Cleveland Guardians have made a name for themselves in developing high-end hit-tool prospects that just don’t reach their potential in the end. I don’t think this is the case with Francisca. He does have a special bat and he made it known across the Complex League and Low-A ball, as he hit a combined .326/.411/.474, with an .886 OPS. All, while being just 17 years old for part of the year. This is a very advanced bat for his age to level and one I am keeping an eye on, if he can start developing more in-game power. He launched a very respectable seven home runs last season and more should be the norm as he gets older and stronger.

Franklin Arias is a breakout name to keep an eye on this coming season. In 2024, he smacked nine home runs and stole 35 bases. He definitely showcased the dual threat of power and speed, but it didn’t come with many negatives in the numbers overall. His contact rates were near 80% across the Complex League and Low-A. His Low-A numbers took a bit of a dip due to a .299 BABIP, so look for him to hit the ground running in 2025 and shoot up the rankings. (Daniel Labude)