Fantasy Baseball Prospects: Roman Anthony, Colby Thomas Lead Outfielders To Watch

These six hitters—including top prospects and veterans on the rebound—are making noise in the minors and could become key fantasy contributors in 2025.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony (48) is congratulated after he scored a run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning at BayCare Ballpark. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

With injuries, hot streaks, and roster shuffles shaking up MLB depth charts, several young hitters are making strong cases for fantasy relevance early in the 2025 season. From Evan Carter’s bounce-back to Roman Anthony’s surge, here are six names fantasy managers should be tracking closely.

Evan Carter, Texas Rangers

Carter opened up his 2025 minor league campaign with two hits over 19 innings with three runs, one RBI, and one stolen base while striking out seven times. After a few days off, followed by a minor hand issue (hit by a pitch), he has four hits over his last nine at-bats with three runs, one home run, one RBI, and two stolen bases.

Carter is a must-follow, especially for fantasy teams with Wyatt Langford. If Langford has another injury, he should be his next replacement. Late in 2023, the Rangers had enough confidence in Carter to bat him in the middle of their batting order, even in the postseason.

Esteury Ruiz, Los Angeles Dodgers

Yes, Ruiz is now with the Dodgers. He was a fantasy bust last year, and he doesn’t have a good path to starting major league at-bats without an injury. I wanted to highlight his progress at AAA (10-for-36 with eight runs, one home run, six RBIs, and six stolen bases) due to Ruiz offering speed upside if given a major league opportunity. 

Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox

Over the past week, Anthony has been hitting only as a DH at AAA due to a right shoulder issue. His bat has started to heat up over his last seven games (11-for-26 with five runs, two home runs, eight RBIs, and one steal) as he’s trying to force Boston to call him up. His walk rate (20.9) has been elite, which screams top-of-the-order opportunity once Anthony hits in the majors.

Roman Anthony is LOCKED IN at the plate in Triple-A!

His second home run of the game is a grand slam 😤 pic.twitter.com/bskFx6DRW2

— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2025

Colby Thomas, Oakland Athletics

Entering Friday, Thomas has a five-game hitting streak (7-for-21 with five runs, one home run, and six RBIs). His bat shined last season between AA and AAA (.277 over 513 at-bats with 79 runs, 31 home runs, 92 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases). He would love to drive with Nick Kurtz to the majors, but his only opportunity to start with the A’s would be in left field.

Alex Verdugo, Atlanta Braves

I listed Verdugo with the minor league prospects due to his recent playing time (six-for-27 with eight runs, two home runs, four RBIs, and one steal at AAA). The Braves called him up on Thursday while shipping Bryan De La Cruz out. The Braves should give starting at-bats against right-handed pitching while battling Jarred Kelenic for a longer-term opportunity.

Alex Verdugo has been called up by the Braves.

Verdugo signed with Atlanta on March 20th and reported to Triple-A after missing Spring Training pic.twitter.com/r5bZb5HJJ1

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 17, 2025

Tirso Ornelas, San Diego Padres

Over the past nine games, Ornelas has 11 hits over 34 at-bats with nine runs, one home run, four RBIs, and one stolen base. The Padres are waiting for his power simmer, highlighted by his AAA stats (.299/77/23/93/7 over 485 at-bats). 

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