Carter Jensen (C - KC) - After playing sparingly since coming up on 9/2, Jensen singled and walked twice on Wednesday in his 4th straight start for KC. The 22 year old has excellent plate discipline, very good power, slightly below average contact ability, and merely below average speed (so, great catcher speed!). He already has 22 HR in 120 G at 3 levels this year, and the average exit velocity on his first 16 batted balls with the Royals is almost 100 mph: there's plenty of power here at a young age. If he can break camp with KC next spring, he could immediately be a top-12 player at the position, although I am not completely sold on the contact/AVG portion of the equation. I think Jensen has the potential to be very undervalued for next season.
Moises Ballesteros ("C"/DH - CUB) - Ballesteros homered in 3 trips to the plate on Wednesday, making him 8-21 with a triple and 2 HRs over the past 6 games. The 21 year old is a pretty wretched defensive catcher, but the youngster can hit, as evidenced by his 316/385/473 line at AAA this season. He's already showing above-average contact ability and power, and if the Cubs choose to bring him north with them in March, he should be a starting-caliber catcher.....if he can manage to catch enough to be eligible. I could easily see the Cubs keeping him at AAA to work on his catching defense as well, which is ultimately going to be his path to the greatest fantasy value. For the last two weeks of '25, Ballesteros is also a worthwhile option at DH, even though he is currently being platooned pretty strictly.
Sal Stewart (1B - CIN) - Sal Stewart doubled and walked twice in 4 trips to the plate on Wednesday, and the 21 year old is now hitting 286/333/595 through his first 45 PAs with the Reds. He is showing very impressive EVs with Cincy, much as he did down at AAA, and there's been an above-average level of contact as well. I don't expect to see the SB numbers that he was able to tally in the minors, as the speed simply isn't there to any great extent, but Stewart certainly looks ready to contribute with the bat at the big-league level in 2026 (and now). A high pull% and launch angle will likely limit the AVG a bit despite the solid contact ability, but 25-30 HR in that home park is a distinct possibility in a full season.
Gavin Williams (SP - CLE) - Williams couldn't quite manage his 4th straight QS on Wednesday, but he did shut the Tigers out for 5 innings to move to 11-5 on the year. The 26 year old allowed 3 hits and 2 walks in the outing, striking out 9 (hence the 100 pitches in just 5 IP). The BB/9 have dropped by almost 2 (to 3.34) in the second half this season, which is basically the best control that we've ever seen him have. Still, Williams frequently seems like an SP that is less than the sum of his parts. The raw stuff is very good, but there's a lot of hard contact allowed, the control has only moved from absymal to quite a bit below average, and for all of the stuff, the swinging strike rate is merely "above average". He's a borderline top-60 SP for me heading into next year, and as most of you know, my preference is definitely not leading toward control-challenged SPs. The ceiling here is still quite impressive, but the floor is equally impressive in a negative sense.
Brett Baty (3B - NYM) - Baty was 3-4 with a 2B on Wednesday, and since the break the 25 year old is hitting 297/364/490 with 8 HR and 4 SB in 48 games. Baty still hits too many grounders and the contact ability is merely average, but the 20+ HR power has started to show up this year and it's completely supported by the exit velocity. I feel like he's a superior player to Mark Vientos across the board, but will the Mets think that when spring rolls around? There is a very solid ceiling here, but clarity on his 2026 role will be critical to attempt to determine how much value to place on Baty in the spring.
