It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve delivered a Prospects Report in my usual Five on the Verge, Five on the Periphery format, and I’ve got news for you: It’s going to be at least one more.
When I consider the top prospects to stash right now, I’m deeply uninspired. Many have, of course, graduated from that list, and the best of what remains are either injured or more blocked than ever. Sure, I could write about Bubba Chandler again, like I’ve done every other week this season, but I’d rather not. I cannot stress to you how much I’d rather not.
Fortunately, there’s a little event known as the trade deadline coming up, and prospects figure to be among those most impacted. Which ones? Well, I have 10 for you right here — and no, not a one of them is Bubba Chandler.
But couldn’t he be impacted? Sure, a Mitch Keller trade may ultimately be what precipitates his arrival, but it would be mere happenstance. Chandler isn’t actually blocked in Pittsburgh. The Pirates could add him to their rotation anytime they want.
But isn’t that beside the point? Look … I just don’t want to talk about Chandler anymore. His last start wasn’t even good! You see? I’m already talking about him again. This whole thing is going off the rails.
Time to talk about anyone else.
Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles
2025 minors: .264 BA (208 AB), 19 HR, .974 OPS, 39 BB, 55 K
Seeing as the Orioles didn’t call up Basallo when Adley Rutschman went down with an oblique injury, you may wonder why a Ryan O’Hearn trade would change anything. For one thing, it’s a more permanent displacement of a player. Rutschman was never expected to be sidelined for long. For another, I don’t think the Orioles actually view Basallo as a catcher, just like they don’t actually view Coby Mayo as a third baseman.
Mayo is worth bringing up here because he might be the more obvious replacement for O’Hearn, having received multiple chances already. But that’s kind of the point. He’s gotten his chances and done precisely nothing with them. Basallo looks like another Kyle Schwarber in the making, having delivered exit velocities just like him in the minors. I recently ranked him No. 2 in my midseason top 50.
2025 minors: .319 BA (216 AB), 10 HR, 18 SB, .993 OPS, 30 BB, 60 K
2025 majors: 0 for 19, 3 BB, 9 K
Lawlar is killing it as usual at Triple-A, but it doesn’t really matter to me how he’s doing. He’s done plenty already. In fact, I can’t remember a prospect more overdue for a legitimate big-league opportunity than Lawlar, having gotten his first taste late in 2023 and been forced to wait for his opening ever since. This trade deadline seems like his best opportunity to claim a place in the lineup all for himself.
The question is whether it’ll be with the Diamondbacks or someone else. They’re on the fringes of the wild card race in the NL and will need to decide soon whether they’re in or out for 2025. If they’re in, then maybe Lawlar is the piece they can use to bolster their broken-down pitching staff. But if, as is more likely, they’re out, then third baseman Eugenio Suarez is their most obvious trade chip, being in the final year of his contract. Lawlar might be an even better fit at third base than shortstop long-term.
2025 minors: .308 BA (250 AB), 26 HR, 16 SB, 1.079 OPS, 42 BB, 93 K
Jones dropped off every major top-100 list prior to this season and still wasn’t getting much love as recently as a couple weeks ago. But that’s about the time that a home run binge vaulted him to Triple-A, where he’s homered 10 times in 18 games. In all, he has 16 homers in 31 games, batting .403 (50 for 124) during that time to finally live up to the massive power potential inherent to his 6-foot-7 frame. The surge coincides with a batting stance change that he thinks helps him react to pitches quicker, and combined with his efforts to improve his launch angle this offseason, it may signal a genuine breakthrough.
Then again, he still has strikeout concerns as massive as himself, which may lead to his undoing, same as Joey Gallo. But Jones has at least made himself into an asset again. The Yankees have ample needs — being one of the teams interested in the Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suarez, for instance — and may choose this high point to cash in on Jones, who would presumably have a clearer path to the majors with his new club.
2025 minors: .281 BA (295 AB), 20 HR, .960 OPS, 46 BB, 102 K
Caissie’s profile is less exaggerated than Jones’ but similar. He always projected for massive power, but he reached the upper minors without having learned to manifest it fully while striking out at a rate that made everyone uncomfortable. Well, he’s manifesting it now, having eclipsed last year’s home run total in just 78 games. He’s also beating down the door to the majors with his performance in July, having already delivered three multi-homer games and a separate five-hit game, batting .364 (20 for 55) with eight home runs for the month. Unfortunately, he’s blocked twice over with the Cubs, who have a stacked starting outfield and a spare one (Seiya Suzuki) at DH. It’s why Caissie’s best use for a World Series contender may be as a trade asset, potentially being moved to a team that could grant him a promotion right away.
2025 minors: .333 BA (318 AB), 8 HR, 24 2B, .885 OPS, 33 BB, 46 K
2025 majors: 3 for 16, 2 BB, 1 K
I mentioned that Caissie is blocked twice over in the outfield, and the same could be said for Ballesteros at catcher, where Carson Kelly has become an unexpected star for the Cubs, and Miguel Amaya, who has good upside himself, is soon to return from an oblique injury. Few scouts view Ballesteros as a catcher long-term anyway, and seeing as he stands only 5-feet-7, first base is likely out of reach (quite literally) as well. It’s his bat and his bat alone that makes Ballesteros such an asset, which tells you it’s a special bat indeed, but it’s not like he’s breaking in at DH either with Seiya Suzuki entrenched there. Bottom line is that he’s an imperfect fit at all of the possible fits, but a rebuilding club would have the freedom to explore each rather than blocking Ballesteros at every turn.
2025 minors: .331 BA (308 AB), 3 HR, 31 SB, .852 OPS, 44 BB, 63 K
Crawford is exactly the sort of unconventional prospect that a team loaded with talent would be happy to cash in, while a team short on talent would be happy to try out. He’s tailor-made trade bait, in other words, having continued to perform at a high level all the way through Triple-A while failing to make the adjustments that would better equip him for the modern game.
To put a finer point on it, Crawford doesn’t care to lift the ball at all, even though he impacts it hard enough to benefit from doing so. I actually think the approach could work given his 70-grade speed, plus contact skills and opposite-field approach. His dad Carl, remember, became a Fantasy stud by excelling in batting average and stolen bases while contributing only modest power, but that was 20 years ago. It’s not a profile we’ve seen much since. Still, Crawford makes for a better trade chip than some of the other contenders can offer, and he could get an immediate look with his new team.
2025 minors: .310 BA (252 AB), 11 HR, 14 SB, .953 OPS, 48 BB, 45 K
This one may be wishful thinking because I don’t know how big of a draw Nolan Arenado is at this point, but the Cardinals would love to get out of the last two-plus years of his contract. Wetherholt is one of several infield options who could replace him, which is another reason why including him here feels like wishful thinking, but when an organization is fast-tracking a top draft pick, it looks much the way Wetherholt’s professional career looks so far.
Standing out most for his hit tool, my No. 6 midseason prospect moved up to Triple-A about two weeks ago and hasn’t missed a beat there, walking as often as he’s struck out and spraying line drives everywhere. He even showed some of his yet-to-be-fully-realized power with a two-homer game Wednesday. It wouldn’t be Wetherholt who took over at third base in the event of an Arenado trade, but he could potentially step in at second base with Brendan Donovan shifting over to third.
2024 majors: .156 BA (45 AB), 2 HR, 1 SB, .536 OPS, 3 BB, 20 K
2025 minors: .321 BA (355 AB), 17 HR, 17 SB, .945 OPS, 46 BB, 90 K
The Mariners could make way for Locklear right now if they wanted to, having suffered through Luke Raley and Ben Williamson long enough. Why they haven’t is kind of a mystery to me, especially with the way Locklear has performed of late, batting .415 (44 for 106) with 12 homers in his past 27 games. He followed up a four-hit, two-homer game Tuesday with another four-hit game Wednesday and, at this rate, may force his way to the majors before the deadline even gets here.
But if he remains in the minors, I suspect it’s because the Mariners want to exhaust their trade options first. Or who knows? It could be that his greatest value to them is as a trade chip, allowing him to be called up by some other team. Part of the hesitation, I presume, is that the Mariners tried him out at first base last summer, to disastrous results, but the major-league difficulty curve is such right now that I say a newly promoted hitter needs two months of continuous play before we can draw any real conclusions.
2025 minors: .302 BA (301 AB), 14 HR, .944 OPS, 41 BB, 90 K
Sort of like Locklear, it may be that Kayfus forces his way to the majors before the trade deadline even gets here. The Guardians have experimented with him in the outfield, where they have a more immediate opening. Having said that, 39-year-old first baseman Carlos Santana is someone who they could easily move if they indeed decide they’re better off packing it in until next year, allowing Kayfus to step in at his more natural position. The 23-year-old isn’t a consensus top-100 prospect, in part because of his defensive limitations, but he’s made quick work of the minors since the Guardians took him in the third round of the 2023 draft, showing pretty good pop and premium on-base skills. Come to think of it, that’s sort of like Santana, isn’t it?
2024 majors: 1 for 10, 1 K
2025 minors: .264 BA (269 AB), 11 HR, 9 SB, .806 OPS, 35 BB, 90 K
The obstacles that exist for Owen Caissie (and to some extent, Moises Ballesteros) also exist for Alcantara. No matter how talented he may be, there’s simply no way that this Cubs team is finding a spot for him — and next year isn’t looking much better. Alcantara, who came over from the Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo trade four years ago, has long been touted as an athletic freak with mountains of potential, but at 23, it seems less likely he’ll meet that potential, which is why the Cubs could easily justify parting with him.
Alcantara has at least performed well enough to get an extended look in the majors — the sort that only a team with nothing to lose can provide (Marlins, maybe?). He hits the ball as hard as you’d expect for someone who stands 6-feet-6, runs reasonably well, and doesn’t chase at an exorbitant rate. There’s something to salvage here if he could ever learn to elevate to his pull side.