Fantasy Baseball Today - Top-10 MLB Prospects Heading Into the Second Half! (07/09 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)
Episode Date: July 9, 2026We're counting down Scott White's Top-10 Fantasy Baseball prospects heading into the second half! How many Dodgers are on the list? How many pitchers made the list? Did Jesus Made hold on to the top s...pot?Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballTodaySign up for the newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters
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Let's count down Scott's top 10 prospects heading into the second half up next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express.
Welcome into FBT Express on Thursday, July 9th.
I am Frank Stample, Joe by Scott White, and we are counting down Scott's top 10 prospects.
And we will start at number 10.
That is Theo Gillen of the raise.
Yeah, so this is obviously one of the big breakouts this year coming in.
he was in the lower half of most top 100 lists
but player with a good hit tool
who's taken a big leap in terms of power this year
steals a ton of bases, good plate discipline
20 years old recently moved up to AA for the raise
so an aggressive promotion at that age
he's struggled early on at double A
and I think how well he acclimates to that level
will determine how high he is in 27 rank list
But for now, that power speed combo could play discipline.
I'm satisfied putting Gillen, Theo Gillen, number 10.
Number nine on the list is Sebastian Walcott of the Rangers
who actually had internal brace surgery back in February.
So we are waiting for him to return.
Yep, hasn't played this year.
Sounds like you will get to, though.
He may be as soon as a month away from returning.
he was a consensus top
well at one point he was probably top five
I think moved down and lists some because of the injury
but yeah
AA and 19 last year
a lot of power that hasn't fully manifested yet
I think that's supposed to be his caring tool
we haven't seen the big home runs from Walcott and the miners yet
but still belongs in the top 10
Number eight on this list is
Mike Sorota
of the Dodgers.
Not to be confused with Mike
Soroka.
Yeah, the Dodgers.
Look, they have another great prospect.
This is when they got from the Reds
for Gavin Lux.
A couple years ago.
Ooh.
And they've done that thing.
I mean, Sarota has been
a five-category stud
in his two years
in the Dodgers organization.
near one-to-one strike out the walk ratio this year,
halfway split between high A and AA,
just as go to AA, OPS over 1,000 at both spots.
So I think it's time to give Mike Cerota his flowers.
I'm doing so, putting him number eight here.
Number seven is the first overall pick in last year's MLB draft.
That is Eli Willits of the Nationals.
Yeah, he's at the ground running.
Fair to say, even as a 19-year-old,
he's already moved up to, I believe, is it High A,
which is pretty good.
He's not even 19 yet.
He's 18 still.
Killed at low A, moved up to High A,
and is off to a pretty good start there.
Great plate discipline.
The speed was never in doubt,
but for being so young, the fact he already has,
as of this recording, 12 homers and 68 games,
I think speaks very well of Eli Willets' future.
He's a candidate to be number one on this list someday.
Number six is the first pitcher that we are talking about.
That is Seth Hernandez of the Pirates.
Scott, just dreaming about a rotation that includes Paul Skeens and Seth Hernandez.
God, that would be so fun.
I mean, not to mention Braxton Ashcraft, Garrett Jones, Bubba Chandler.
Yep.
If they keep the band together, the pirates have the makings of one of the all-time great starting fives there.
Seth Hernandez looks like he can't miss.
He has been, gosh, as of this recording, 107 strikeouts in 66 innings.
This is at A ball, but for a 20-year-old pitcher, first go at professional ball, the dominance speaks for itself.
He's not the top pitcher we'll talk about here.
but partially because he's got a longer road than the other guy.
All right, let's take a quick break.
We'll be back right after this.
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Welcome back, FBT Express.
And let's get into Scott's top five prospects here.
And number five, what do you know?
Another Dodger.
Hoseway DePolla.
Yeah, this one's a mainstay.
I don't think anybody's going to be surprised to see him here.
Keeps moving up.
That's because he keeps producing more
as he moves up the minor league ladder.
he has already set a career high in home runs at AA.
A player who we always knew was going to hit for power,
just need to optimize the angle off the bat.
Still has a ways to go in that regard, quite honestly.
But even so, the way he impacts the ball,
he's getting to plenty of power.
Steals bases, great on base skills,
more walks than strikeouts actually at AA.
And I don't know that's going to happen this year.
the Dodgers are pretty loaded, but certainly next year,
I think we'll get a healthy dose of DePaula and the majors.
Number four on this list is Scott's number one pitching prospect,
and that is Cade Anderson of the Mariners,
who you did at least think about making your top prospect.
I did. I chickened out.
It's dangerous to put a pitcher that high.
You kind of want us artificially suppress pitcher rankings for fantasy purposes,
just because they're so fleeting
and such a small percentage of them end up being impactful.
But Anderson, it seems like a safe bet to be that,
which is why I considered him for number one.
Safe bet to be an impactful pitcher
and is the closest to contributing of any of the players on this list.
I think he could get called up early in the second half.
And based on the way his very short minor league career has gone so far,
I think he'll be high impact right away.
Into the top three.
And at number three, we have Franklin Arias of the Red Sox.
Another player who I think makes a strong case to be number one on this list.
Arias always showed a good hit tool.
I say always.
He's only 20 years old.
But, you know, there wasn't, there weren't really clear.
are indicators of power there. I know the scouting
reports were optimist to keep growing to it.
Well, here at age
20, he certainly has, as of this
recording, 17 home runs
at AA, as a 20-year-old,
good pole air rate,
striking out
less than 13% of the time, basically
a one-to-one strikeout to walk ratio.
He looks like
he's going to be
a prototypical number
two, number three hitter, hitting for average
in power, not going
to be the base dealer that the two ahead of him on this list are.
Well, let's get it to those number two.
Next up we have Leo DeVries of the Athletics.
He came over from the Padres last year in that massive Mason Miller trade.
Yeah, so these top two, I'm kind of giving them legacy treatment here.
I don't think they deserve to fall in the prospect rankings, even as some of these
behind them, like Franklin, Arias, and Kate Anderson, three.
threatened to pass them.
Leo DeVries' numbers this year aren't as impressive as Arias'
even though they're at the same level, double A.
But, you know, he's been solid.
He's done what he needs to do.
He's gotten on base at a high rate.
He's contributed power and speed.
Actually, a surprising amount of speed given last year he was an 11 steel guy.
Is this recording 28 steals already for Leo DeVries?
and from the time he was 17,
being plucked out
off the international market by the Padres.
He had star written all over him.
And, you know, he's made the methodical climb up the ladder,
and I think for the most part,
everybody's satisfied with the progress he's made.
And the top prospect, number one,
seems like a consensus right now.
That is Jesus Mande of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yeah, it's a strong enough consensus
that I didn't want to go against it,
even though, again, I would say,
Franklin RES has actually had a better season
than Made to this point.
Made is only 19, and he's a double A.
So that's a big mark in his favor.
The fact he's holding his own there at that age
is very impressive.
Still needs to grow into power,
but the expectation is he will.
Stealing plenty of bases right now.
Shows a good batting eye.
I have compared him in the past his upside to, like, Jose Ramirez.
Obviously, that's a lofty comp,
but we're talking about the top prospect in baseball.
If you're not making lofty comps for him,
who are you making them for?
I think grading him on a curve for his youth,
Made is really,
right where you want him to be developmentally.
All right. These are Scott's top 10 prospects in baseball.
If you want to check out his top 50, make sure you head on over to the website,
cbsports.com slash fantasy slash baseball, and check that out here on Thursday.
For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to our full-lane podcast,
Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found.
Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today Express.
And we will be back again later this week.
Bye-bye.
On podcasts.