Fantasy Baseball Today - Top Prospects to Stash! Zac Veen Making Noise! (06/25 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

Tommy Tanks is hitting well in the A's organization. Zac Veen and Charlie Condon are making noise but how can the Rockies get them up? At some point, the Mariners have to see what Kade Anderson can do in the Majors. Why isn't Joshua Baez up with the Cardinals yet?Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters

Where is Joshua Baez? We'll discuss on Fantasy Baseball today, Express. Welcome to FPT Express on Thursday, June 25th. I am Frank Stamble joined by Scott White, and we are here to talk about prospects. We have five names that are on the periphery. These are names that are doing something of note as of late. And the five names that we have here, Tommy Tanks.

That's Tommy White from the athletics organization, not to be confused with Thomas White in the moment. Marlins' organization. Luke Adams of the Brewers. We have Demetrio Cresontes of the D-Backs, Alexander Frioss of the Brewers, and Caden Bodine of the Rays. Scott, what do we have with these five?

All right, let's start with Tommy White, who even though he was just drafted in 2024, all the way up at AAA now. He has known as Tommy Tanks, but it's kind of a misnomer because his time in the miners has been defined more by contact hitting than by power. But now that he's at AAA, we have access to the Stackcast data. 90.3 mile per hour average is 75th percentile.

112 mile per hour max is 87th percentile. He clearly impacts the ball well enough to be a true Tommy tanks. It's just that so much of that is wasted on the ground, 52 percent ground ball rate, and that's been pretty steady throughout his career too. It's a problem that in theory he could correct, and maybe the upside for Tommy White here is pretty high, considering. It doesn't walk much, but there is the potential for both average and power here from a third baseman, which would be pretty valuable in fantasy.

I'm not saying Tommy White is like an elite prospect, but he is a prospect who I could see turning into something, for fantasy and he's pretty close to the majors. Luke Adams is a power hitter, more of a power hitter, I would say. 6 foot 4, 233 pounds. Looks like a power hitter.

Fills out the batters box nicely. And as a pension for pulling the ball, which is obviously a way to maximize power, he had a three homer game Sunday that brings him up to 12 for the season. Now, part of the

reason I solve it to write about Luke Adams is because he had never hit for average in the

minors and I think that's pretty tough to overcome. It's rare you see a player who

can't hit for average in the minors go on to be an impactful one in the majors. He had

that seemed like it was changing for him. With that three homer game Sunday, he got that batting average up to, I believe it was over 270 at AA where he was playing.

Was it double A? Sorry, it was AAA, excuse me. But then he's gone 0 for 8 since then, so now it's back down to 237. I don't know. It kind of looks like the same like it always has for Luke Adams, which is kind of strange because it's not like strikeouts are an issue. He keeps that rate around 20%. Has good power.

Brewers don't really need another first baseman, but he's played third base so there may be a path there, but right-handed corner man who doesn't hit for average, that's going to be a tough one. Demetrio Cresontes. Now, he also has, it also is a tough fit defensively,

a guy who's limited to the right side of the infield, primarily second base. They usually don't rate well as prospects, particularly in the lower minors, but Cresontes got into some major top 100 list prior to 2025, then a torn laborman and a shoulder took him out of all of those top 100 lists.

And it wasn't clear if he was that great of a prospect anymore. Missed the start of the UCR with a hamstring injury. That didn't help things, but it has come back. Very hot. He just added on here on Wednesday, Demetrio Cresontes

with a double and a homer in a three for four performance. And so now, let me see the latest numbers. Demetrio Chrysantis is batting 326 with a 1071 OPS.

And the numbers are even better than that since he moved up to AA, which is interesting because he was having a hard time adapting to high A last year, which even before the injury was reason he was losing value. I think Chrysantis is back to being one of the top second base prospects in fantasy. Alexander Frias, you probably haven't heard of this guy.

He's only 18 years old. He's in the Brewers Organization. And they have had a lot of success with these teenage signings, international signings, the Brewers have. They're not even the most high-profile signings. But you think back to Jackson Churio, Jesus Made, Luis Pena, Luis Lara. They've all emerged as top prospect prior to their 20. 20th birthday. The Brewers have a knack for this.

Alexander Frias seems to be on the same path. These already hit a ball as hard as 117 miles per hour, which is a mark that only four major leaguers have reached this year. Again, 18 years old. He dominated the Arizona Complex League, just moved up to low A. So full season ball, again, as an 18-year-old. Second game there here on Wednesday,

two for five with a home run. I think Alexander Friass is. is going to be a name everybody knows very soon, despite his young age. And finally, we were just disputing the pronunciation of this. I can't remember where he landed. The raise catcher, Frank, is named. Caden Bodine.

Bodine. Yes. So he is a 22-year-old who is still an A-ball. It's not his fault, though, because he is killing it there. He's batting like 360. He has far more walks than strikeout. It's basically never striking. And this is a great defender, too.

So last week we talked about ONA is a 25-year-old catcher at AA for the Cubs, under-leveled. What's going on there? The numbers are fantastic, but can we take him seriously? Caden Bodine, a 22-year-old at high A's kind of in the same boat. But because he stands out defensively,

he's going to get his chance. It's just a question of how much his offense diminishes as he moves up the ladder. I think catchers, you know, they can get a path. for being under-leveled anyway because so much of their focus is on the defensive side of things

that sometimes it takes the offense a while to come around. But yeah, Bodine, Bodine, excuse me, looking like a real one. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll be back right after this. Welcome back, Fantasy Baseball Today Express, and let's count down the five prospects on the verge.

And number five, we have a name that we've talked about a lot over the past couple of years, and that is Zach Vee's. of the Rockies. The problem, Scott, where do all these Rockies prospects fit? Yeah, yeah. That is the problem.

It's surprising that they suddenly have a lot of quality hitters. Rumfield is obviously, T.J. Rumfields obviously come through this year. Troy Johnston has made himself, as shown he has staying power as well. Jake McCarthy's been fine. Tyler Freeman, maybe. I don't know that he deserves as much playing time as he's getting. But now, Zach Veen, obviously this is a name we've been hearing about for a while.

And it's been a while since he showed up on major prospect list, even though he's a former ninth overall pick. But he came to spring training this year talking about how he had kind of let alcohol and marijuana rule him. And he'd given them up. He'd put on a lot of good weight. And he is just killing it right now at Trump. AAA batting around 3.30 the other day, Friday, he hit a 455 foot home run. The exit velocity was great. The plate discipline's great. Steals bases. Zach Fien at 24, deserving of another chance.

And I think somehow, some way the Rockies find a spot for him soon. Well, hopefully they can find a spot for number four on this list. That is Charlie Condon of the Rockies. Yeah, same issue also. How are we going to fit them in? You know, part of the problem is that players we've seen on this list recently, my five on the verge, like Carson, Milbrandt, River Ryan, Yohandy Morales, they've eliminated themselves recently with their performance and also openings for them closing up. So, you know, we were due for some new talent here.

But, yeah, it is going to be a tight fit for Charlie Condon and Zach Fien. Both. Condon, remember, was a fixture on the Five on the Verge earlier this. season, then had a rough patch, but he has been on fire of late. Last 14 games, six home runs, three triples, batting around 350. Exit velocity readings are great. Play discipline's great. At some point, the Rockies are going to have to clear away for the next wave of talent here because they have an eye on the future, to be sure. Number three on this list is someone who's been on this list for a while now,

deservedly so. That is Luis Laura of. the Brewers and I'm a little surprised they haven't done it yet because South Freelick has kind of fallen out of favor there as well yeah South Freelick has fallen out of favor but that's a way for them to get Jake Bowers in the lineup alongside Andrew Vaughn is to slot him in the outfield they've been doing that less than you think but you know calling up another outfield would limit their potential to do that it also doesn't help that Louis Larr has been struggling for the most part in June but he did just have a five-hit game

Tuesday. So I don't know how much we could say that anymore. Great bat to ball skills, plenty of speed, awesome defender in center field. And I'm kind of just waiting for Garrett Mitchell to slow down because I don't know that he has much staying power. I think Laura would be a boon for the Brewers. And he's already signed to a long-term deal. Number two on this list is probably the most dominant pitcher in minor league baseball this year. That is Cade Anderson of the Mariners. I I think they have to at some point in the second half to see what he could do at the major league level, Scott, because he might be one of their two or three best pitchers.

They need to find that out before the postseason. They do. Obviously, no spot for him. The Mariners already have six pitchers for five spots, so they've adopted this novel piggyback approach where everyone takes a turn being kind of a bulk reliever instead of a true starter. So they're having to get creative because they already have so much pitching depth

and then you're trying to add Katie Anderson to the mix. I'm not saying it's imminent. I'm just saying he's so good that we... You have to stash him. You have to stash him because it's inevitable.

I don't know what it's going to take to get him in the majors, but it is going to happen this year. He hasn't allowed an earn run in his last five starts lowering his ERA to 102. The last time he allowed an earned run

was during his one real miss this season. He had five earned runs in a start on May 15th. Apart from that May 15th start, he's allowed to combine two earned runs and his other 11 starts. So he has been basically untouchable at AA. And yeah, it's only AA, but the Mariners typically have had their top pitching prospects,

skip AAA entirely. Brian Wu, George Kirby, Bryce Miller. They all did that. So I think Anderson will do it too. And I think at some point in July, maybe, August at the latest, I think he'll have a huge impact on your league once he has called up. So it makes sense to stash him. And the number one prospect on the verge,

the number one prospect to stash, is the name I mentioned at the top, Joshua Baez, who continues to mash home runs. Where is he, Scott? Why is he not up with the Cardinals right now? I don't know if it's an issue of centerfield defense. Lars Neupar could shift over there, but they're very much in the thick of the playoff race.

The season into today, they'd be a wildcard team. So, you know, you'd think they'd want to optimize their lineup. And they've already shown a willingness to insert new recent call-ups. Blaise Jordan, Jimmy Crooks, they did that with both of them recently, and it's worked out pretty well. I'd say they could stand to upgrade offensively from Nathan Church in centerfield. but I think it's just a question of if they can live with the defense, the defensive alignment they'd have to go with their,

I don't know, bias may force the issue eventually. Obviously, he had the four-homer game a little over a week ago. He's added three home runs since then. And I don't have the most updated stat here, but over his past 20, what I have here is over his past 27 games strikeout rate down to 23%. versus the 30% it's been at for the season. 23% is about where it was last year when there was so much excitement,

breakthrough. So, you know, he may be close to, or at least addressing that strikeout issue. And if that happens, I have no idea why they'd hold by his back. I don't think it's going to happen for much longer. All right, for more extensive fantasy baseball coverage, listen to our full-length 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 this weekend. Bye-bye. Podcasts.