In honor of the opening of the 2025 Major League Baseball season, now is the perfect time to highlight a few fantasy baseball prospects that made opening day rosters and will have the opportunity to succeed for their respective clubs and also be valuable for your fantasy rosters. 

MLB Prospects Report For Fantasy Baseball Ahead Of Week 2

In order to make the opening day roster as a rookie, impressing in spring training is imperative.

No one impressed in February and March more than the first guy on this MLB prospects report.

 

 

 

Cam Smith, OF/3B - Houston Astros

To be a first round pick you have to be pretty good, to be promoted to Double A just weeks after being drafted you have to be even more impressive and to be named the starting right fielder on a Major League Baseball team before playing forty minor league games is incredible. Cam Smith achieved all those things before his first calendar year in professional baseball came to a close. 

Smith had a really good year in the middle of the lineup for the Florida State Seminoles that ended up getting knocked out in Omaha. He continued hitting for the Cubs affiliates where he slashed .313/.396/.609 across three levels. In the offseason he was the centerpiece of the package that sent All Star Kyle Tucker to the windy city. In spring training he slashed .342/.419/.711 en route to winning a spot on the starting lineup. 

The positives with Smith are clear, he can really really hit, he also had a pretty good idea of the strike zone for a player with very little professional experience. In Houston’s ballpark it doesn’t take much imagination to envision him putting a lot of balls in the Crawford boxes in the future because he has the power to be consistently a 30-home run threat. 

He also should have third base and outfield eligibility, which always makes a player more valuable. I expect him to go through some tough times as the league adjusts to him, but the bat has a bright future. Some things to be wary of with Smith, the lineup he’s in lacks a punch outside of  Yordan Alvarez and an aging Jose Altuve. 

The Astros seem to be a team in transition and a team with a good pitching staff will be able to maneuver that lineup with relative ease. Smith’s next step in development is to get the ball in the air more, he’s proven he has the ability to, so Cam Smith is someone I am keeping an eye on now and in future MLB prospects report.

 

 

 

Tomoyuki Sugano, SP - Baltimore Orioles

After an illustrious career in the NPB Tomoyuki Sugano decided he wanted to try his luck in the big leagues and the Baltimore Orioles were right there to grant his wish with a one year 13-million-dollar contract. 

Technically this is Sugano’s rookie year, but at 35 years old he has something all other rookies do not, experience. He knows how to pitch and reminds some scouts of fellow countryman Masahiro Tanaka, at his age he doesn’t get the strike outs, now he relies more on his command, control and ability to get a ground ball. 

There’s no doubt Sugano is in a tough division but he’s a guy to keep an eye on this year in the MLB prospects report as a streaming option if you need to start assuming he has a good matchup.  

 

 

 

Kristian Campbell, 2B - Boston Red Sox

When the Red Sox announced that Campbell would break camp with them and be their starting second baseman after signing Alex Bregman in early February and being in the middle of the Rafael Devers third base drama, I was shocked. 

He showed flashes of the five tool player he can be but his overall numbers in spring training were underwhelming slashing .167/.305/.271 couple that he has only played 19 games in Triple A in his career, I believed he was ticketed for Worcester to start the year and continue his development. 

Boston decided instead to let him develop at the big league level and hopefully become the Mookie Betts type player they have been missing since Mookie was shipped off to the Dodgers. That is Kristian Campbell’s ceiling and if he’s given all the reps at second base that excites me as a baseball fan and a fantasy owner.

He has the tools to help in every aspect of fantasy baseball and has been lifting the ball more since Boston’s player development has gotten a hold of him resulting in more home runs. He’s a top target in dynasty leagues but should also be looked at seriously in this year's fantasy baseball prospects crop because in a weak position like second base Campbell’s five tool potential can’t be ignored even if it comes with ups and downs.  

 

 

 

Victor Scott II, OF - St. Louis Cardinals

Scott lost his eligibility to land on the MLB prospects report late last season, but I included him on this list because he is still young in his career, only 157 career at bats heading into the year and it seems like 2025 will be the year where he gets uninterrupted playing time. Scott absolutely earned the centerfield position in Florida, slashing .349/.451/.721 while surprisingly belting four home runs.

Now we have to take spring training games stats with a grain of salt, but you can read a little more into them when it comes to young developing players. If Scott can unlock his power tool and hit 15 a year and continues to sharpen his plate discipline, he could be a very valuable piece of any fantasy team. 

However, even if he doesn’t reach his full potential, he still has very impressive wheels that allowed him to steal 94 bases between two minor league levels in 2023, so he is a very cheap option for steals.

 

 

 

Alan Roden, OF - Toronto Blue Jays

Roden is a bit of an underrated prospect but he’s a gamer, he has an advanced approach at the plate that allows him to draw a lot of walks and be a high OBP guy. He will start in the outfield for the Blue Jays, a team that is looking for some solid returns on their farm system. 

Roden has gotten better every year he’s been in professional baseball and even though he’ll never be a 30-home run guy there is some sneaky power potential in his profile he hit .293/.391/.475 with 16 home runs across two levels in the minors last year. Roden is a guy on my watch list as a solid player in a ballpark friendly to hitters.