Fantasy baseball Baltimore bats lead prospects to watch

New York Liberty improve to 4-0 for first time in 17 years with 74-63 win over Seattle Storm

Once upon a time, Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout hit .220 with a .672 OPS over 40 games and 135 plate appearances in 2011, his first exposure to the major leagues. Things went much better in 2012, as Trout hit 30 home runs, stole 49 bases and won AL Rookie of the Year honors. Still, this future Hall of Famer initially struggled to hit big league pitching, as most prospects do.

This hardly means that Baltimore Orioles SS/2B Jackson Holliday is going to be among the best players in fantasy baseball in 2025, but fantasy managers should give things a chance, even in redraft formats. Hitting a baseball consistently against today's power pitchers is hard, but the special players find a way to shine. Holliday delivered only two singles and two walks in 36 plate appearances over 10 games (with a .125 BABIP), striking out 18 times. While this is hardly a large sample size, it was apparently enough for a trip back to Triple-A Norfolk.

Holliday, the first pick in the 2022 amateur draft, remains a future superstar, and it is no surprise that he is one of the most-dropped players in ESPN standard leagues. Holliday is not in the major leagues, and we get only three bench spots with which to play. Thanks to these shallow rosters, I tend to use those spots for streaming starting pitchers, not young hitters. Most fantasy managers are playing for now, and Holliday will be in Norfolk's lineup on Tuesday in Nashville, not facing the Yankees in Baltimore.

Be prepared for Holliday to return to the MLB level soon, though. Holliday is hitting .300/.446/.540 for Norfolk, with more walks than strikeouts over 65 PA, and there is little blocking him at the big league level. The Orioles do not have to play defensive-minded Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo. Holliday looked to be a tad overwhelmed in the majors facing the likes of RHPs Freddy Peralta and Pablo Lopez -- he was protected versus left-handed pitching -- but he is also a mere 20 years old. Superstar status remains likely.

The Orioles remain loaded with intriguing hitting prospects, but they are also contending for a championship, so loyalty is not important. They promoted OF Heston Kjerstad one week ago. Kjerstad hit .349/.431/.744 over 21 games and 102 PA for Norfolk, but the Orioles started him only once over his first week. Some of this was due to the team facing numerous left-handed starting pitchers. Kjerstad is a left-handed bat, but then again, so is Colton Cowser, playing regularly in left field. Kjerstad may be heading back to Norfolk soon, but again, this fellow can hit. The Orioles will find a way to play him at some point.

From the right side of the plate, the Tides feature 3B/1B Coby Mayo and 2B/OF Connor Norby, and fantasy managers also should expect these sluggers to earn promotions this season, even in platoon roles. Mayo is hitting .324/.387/.631 with eight home runs at Norfolk, Norby .274/.346/.487, with even splits. Mayo has been playing third base, while Norby is seeing outfield reps. That may earn him a quicker call to perhaps platoon with either Cowser or Kjerstad. Regardless, the Tides are loaded, with or without Holliday. Enjoy watching them, too!

Tampa Bay Rays 3B/SS Junior Caminero mashed two home runs among his four hits for Triple-A Durham on Sunday. Caminero missed a few weeks in April due to a quad injury, but he is healthy and raking now, with a .313/.377/.646 mark for Durham. Add Caminero in fantasy right now. The Rays just got swept by the White Sox, struggling to hit the terrible Chris Flexen in one of those games. Regardless of where he fits in on the diamond, Caminero should be in the middle of the Rays lineup any day. Fantasy managers do not want to miss out.

Toronto Blue Jays SS/2B/3B Orelvis Martinez is playing exclusively at second base for Triple-A Buffalo, which makes sense because that is where Toronto may have a need when its current options (Cavan Biggio among them) slow down. Martinez is hitting .300/.364/.622 with seven home runs in his second season at the level, and he recently enjoyed a 15-game hitting streak. He hit 30 home runs at Double-A Hampshire in 2022, but now boasts considerably better plate discipline.

The Houston Astros promoted OF/2B Joey Loperfido to the big club for Tuesday, but OF Pedro Leon remains a member of Triple-A Sugar Land. In fact, Leon has played with the Space Cowboys -- love that nickname -- for four seasons. Leon, 25, is still striking out at an exorbitant rate, but he is also launching baseballs close to space. Well, almost. Leon hit a 479-foot homer over the weekend which, per Statcast, is the longest in organized baseball this season. I think the Astros will contend this season, but perhaps Leon forces his way into the majors sometime in 2024.

New York Mets RHP Christian Scott keeps rolling along at Triple-A Syracuse, having struck out 36 out of 94 hitters, boasting a 0.71 WHIP over five starts and 25 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, RHP Adrian Houser has an unsightly 8.37 ERA in the majors. It shouldn't be much longer before Scott gets promoted to the rotation. He may not be Paul Skenes (who has finally permitted an earned run at Triple-A), but Scott should matter in fantasy.

St. Louis Cardinals RHP Sem Robberse boasts a 1.82 ERA and an 0.92 WHIP over five starts for Triple-A Memphis, showing improved control from last season, when he walked 24 hitters over 35 1/3 innings at the same level. This season, he has just six walks in 29 2/3 innings. Robberse is a native of the Netherlands, acquired from the Blue Jays in the Jordan Hicks trade, and not a notable prospect. That said, he is pitching well enough to warrant a look in the majors soon.