Top 25 Pop Up Prospects "Unranked Risers" (2021)

The very definition of a Pop Up Prospect is a player that was previously unranked or not highly regarded, that recently started producing at an above-average level. Whether it's the result of an offseason weight lifting regimen, a swing change, or some other unknown reason, these are the players we want to identify and add to our dynasty rosters as soon as possible. So I looked back at my prospect rankings from the 2021 season and compared it to the Top 500 Pop Up Prospects list to identify players that were unranked going into 2021, but had above-average seasons. 

I don't know if I'd rush out to add all of these players right away, but there are some worth considering in deeper dynasty formats. I'm currently rostering Oswaldo Cabrera, Eddys Leonard, and Buddy Kennedy in a 24-team league with 54-player rosters, for example - but I'm rostering each of them for different reasons. Cabrera had a great season and I like that he's in close proximity to the big leagues. Eddys Leonard popped up mid-2021 and he is now listed on some top 100 lists. I'm rostering Buddy Kennedy because my 3B slot has a bit of uncertainty right now - Mark Vientos, Drew Ellis, and Buddy Kennedy are my best bets for playing time in 2022, unless one of my other players gets 3B eligibility. So, all that to say that I might look at other players on this list if I didn't have a hole at 3B in 2022. 

Here are 25 players that weren't on prospect lists going into 2021, and proceeded to have really nice seasons that you might want to consider for your roster. Some of these guys are already rostered in my deeper league - Vaughn Grissom, Vinnie Pasquantino, Eguy Rosario, Steven Kwan, Michael Harris II. But there are some players here that might be sitting on your waiver wire right now. 

Top 25 Pop Up Prospects in 2021 - Unranked Risers

	TEAM	AGE	BAT	PWR	GAP	RUN	TOT
Juan Yepez	STL	23	50	70	50	45	60
Vaughn Grissom	ATL	20	65	50	40	50	60
Oswaldo Cabrera	NYY	22	50	65	50	60	55
Dustin Harris	TEX	21	50	60	40	50	55
Oscar Gonzalez	CLE	23	45	65	50	45	55
Tyler Dearden	BOS	22	45	70	40	35	55
Vinnie Pasquantino	KCR	23	55	60	45	40	55
Enmanuel Valdez	HOU	22	40	70	45	45	55
Steven Kwan	CLE	23	55	50	50	55	55
Jack Suwinski	PIT	22	45	60	45	50	50
Daniel Montesino	SDP	17	50	50	50	40	50
Diego Castillo	PIT	23	50	55	45	50	50
Logan O'Hoppe	PHI	21	50	55	45	50	50
Eguy Rosario	SDP	21	50	45	60	70	50
Jake McCarthy	ARI	23	40	55	50	75	50
Eddys Leonard	LAD	20	45	55	50	40	50
Pedro Castellanos	BOS	23	50	50	45	45	50
Carlos Rincon	LAD	23	40	60	50	50	50
Jose Fermin	CLE	22	50	50	50	50	50
Buddy Kennedy	ARI	22	45	60	35	50	50
Jesse Franklin V	ATL	22	25	70	45	70	50
Daniel Brito	PHI	23	45	55	50	50	50
Kerry Carpenter	DET	23	45	50	50	50	50
Michael Harris II	ATL	20	50	40	60	80	50
Samad Taylor	TOR	22	45	50	45	70	50