Bubba Chandler will make his major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend, stepping onto a big-league mound at 22 as the No. 7 overall prospect. Initially slated as a reliever, Chandler is viewed by the Pirates as a long-term fit in their starting rotation, a testament to the organization’s pitching pipeline and their willingness to accelerate top arms toward the majors.

Through Triple-A this season, Chandler went 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA across 100 innings, while also posting a career-high 53 walks. Command has been an area of concern, yet Pittsburgh believes his upside—a high ceiling in a future rotation—outweighs the current hiccups. fantasy players eye the debut with tempered optimism, hoping the move to the majors sharpens his control while preserving his strikeout upside.

Toronto visits Pittsburgh in a 12:35 p.m. ET first pitch to kick off a 15-game MLB slate. Chris Bassitt takes the ball for Toronto, Johan Oviedo counters for Pittsburgh. Toronto sits five games clear atop the AL East and relies on Bassitt to deliver a steady start and keep the Pirates’ offense in check. Oviedo is a wild card here after Tommy John surgery and a rough 2025 debut, making Pittsburgh’s chances hinges on bullpen and initiative rather than a long outing from Oviedo. Betters have Toronto as road favorites (-164) with a -1.5 spread, and the 8.5 total reflects the uncertainty surrounding Oviedo’s workload and Pittsburgh’s punchless offense. Fantasy managers should ride Bassitt’s reliability and Toronto’s patient lineup, while hedging exposure to Oviedo’s return-year risk in DFS lineups and props.

Updated 2025 MLB prospect rankings reflect a year of drafts, breakout seasons and a busy trade deadline that reshuffled the ladder. The piece calibrates upside, risk and proximity to the majors, using a clear tier system (60 FV at the top, 50 FV midrange) and rookie eligibility rules to separate true prospects from recent big‑league callups. Expect movement in Double‑A and above as players graduate or surge, while the top end remains thinened by graduations but loaded with high‑ceiling talent ready to push toward the show.

Konnor Griffin (Pirates) anchors the top tier with a Fernando Tatis Jr.–level upside, strengthened defense and patient, line‑drive approach that could power a 30‑homer peak. Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle and Milwaukee’s Jesus Made highlight the breadth of talent creeping toward the majors, while Samuel Basallo shows legitimate 40‑homer potential for Baltimore and Leo De Vries looks like an elite, everyday infield contributor in the near term.

Beyond the very top, the piece flags a wave of emerging stars—Max Clark and Colt Emerson in Detroit and Seattle, Sebastian Walcott in Texas, Travis Bazzana in Cleveland and Aidan Miller in Philadelphia—each with a clear path to regular at‑bats and a ceiling that could reshape their franchise’s long‑term outlook. With the 55 FV tier thinning as graduates pile up, almost every movement matters in dynasty and keeper formats, and the coming season should reveal several more proximities to the big leagues.

Toronto and Pittsburgh square off in an MLB interleague tilt at PNC Park, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. listed day-to-day due to left hamstring inflammation as Toronto chases the AL East lead. Chris Bassitt gets the ball for Toronto after the Jays bumped the Pirates 7-3 on Tuesday, while Braxton Ashcraft takes the mound for Pittsburgh in the matinee. George Springer supplies Toronto’ s power, and Bryan Reynolds anchors the Pirates’ lineup, delivering a recent burst of multi-hit games. The latest betting lines show Toronto favored around -152 with an 8-run over/under, and SportsLine’s projection model leans toward the Over with a creator-value angle on one side of the money line. fantasy players should monitor Vlad Jr.’s status and count on Springer and Reynolds as backstops if Guerrero Jr. remains limited.

SportsLine emphasizes the model’s long-run profitability on MLB money-line and home-run prop picks, noting a track record of success across the season. The Toronto offense, even without their slugging first baseman, has shown depth with Springer driving the power and Bassitt anchoring the rotation, while Pittsburgh counters with Ashcraft’s low-ERA form and Reynolds’ steady production atop the order. For fantasy managers, this game offers a fragile but exploitable path: if Guerrero Jr. is active, pair him with Springer; if not, lean on Springer and the Pirates’ lineup for run production, especially in Over-friendly environments.

In short, a pivotal interleague showdown that could tilt series momentum and impact daily fantasy lineups, with Guerrero Jr.’s status the prime wild card, Springer the reliable source of value, and Reynolds representing the Pirates’ best mid-series lever.

Week 21 adds three intriguing stash candidates for fantasy baseball: Bubba Chandler, Sal Stewart, and Brandon Sproat. Chandler remains a high-upside arm in the Pirates system, despite a recent AAA skid that has cooled near-term expectations. Stewart has been scorching at Triple-A Louisville with a blend of power and contact that could push him into Cincinnati’s lineup soon. Sproat, blocked for a major-league path by the call of Nolan McLean, still shows flashy stuff that makes him a keeper in deeper leagues for late-season rotations or long-term upside. The piece weighs whether to stash these players on the bench or chase immediate help on the waiver wire, emphasizing the importance of monitoring AAA trends, line-drive power, and pitcher control as promotions loom.

The analysis leans toward patience in shallow formats while advising opportunistic holds in 12+ team leagues where the upside justifies the wait. It also highlights how teams like the Reds and Pirates could lean on their emerging talent to fuel late-season pushes, and how fantasy managers should leverage lineup tools and injury reports to time adds and cuts efficiently. The question remains: are these players a breakout away, or is the wait longer than Week 21? The answer hinges on piecing together minor-league performance, the majors’ call-up timelines, and the exact bench space managers can dedicate in the coming weeks.