The 2026 fantasy baseball season has seen plenty of significant movement with some of Major League Baseball’s top prospects. Injuries, poor performance and team context have caused a lot of movement in the minor league systems. Two of the biggest prospects in baseball — Colt Emerson and Gage Jump — were recently called up. Those are names all leagues should know about. Who are the others? That’s what this fantasy baseball prospect report is for.
Top prospects like Chase DeLauter, JJ Wetherholt, Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle now have full-time roles. Others like Emerson and Jump recently debuted. Many more will graduate from prospect status by summer. However, there are still a plethora of big names that were sent back to the minor leagues to get more seasoning before making their MLB debuts.
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Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
This weekly piece will look at some of the best prospects from a fantasy baseball perspective and track their production. Below is a report of the top 16 Major League Baseball prospects (hitters and pitchers) who have yet to make it to the Majors or have very recently debuted. As players on this list move up and graduate from prospect status, more names will fill in as we track the top prospects for dynasty and keeper fantasy baseball leagues.
This list will focus on the top pitchers and hitters based on MLB’s Top 100 Prospects List, noting others outside that list when appropriate.
Jesus Made (SS – MIL)
Jesus Made continues to do very well — not exceptionally – in AA this season, slashing .277/353/.452. He has six home runs, but his real fantasy value comes from his 18 steals and 32 runs. Made’s speed is exceptional, and might help him reach the Majors next season.
Leo De Vries (SS – ATH)
Another 19-year-old in AA, Leo De Vries, is also having a strong season. He is hitting .281/.360/.401 with five home runs and 16 steals of his own. De Vries is not the run producer that Jesus Made is, but he already has elite on-base ability at his age.
Eli Willits (SS – WSH)
Down in A-ball is 18-year-old Eli Willits, and he is absolutely killing it this season. He is hitting .280/.414/.453 with four home runs, 24 steals and an 18.9% walk rate. Willits should be up in AA soon.
Colt Emerson (SS – SEA)
Colt Emerson now has 32 plate appearances in the Majors, and is hitting .222/.344/.444 with a home run and three doubles.
Emerson is batting low in the order while he gets his feet wet in the Majors, but he does seem to have replaced J.P. Crawford as the full-time shortstop.
Max Clark (OF – DET)
Of the top 10 hitting prospects, Max Clark might be the closest to a Major League promotion. In AAA, he is hitting .268/.340/.393.
Clark doesn’t have much power this season (two home runs), but he has stolen 11 bases and strikes out only 15% of the time.
Josue De Paula (OF – LAD)
Josue De Paula is likely on the verge of moving up to AAA after his recent hot stretch in AA. He is now hitting .302/.414/.485 with six home runs, 40 RBI and 14 stolen bases. There is a very good chance De Paula is up with the Dodgers for a short September run.
Franklin Arias (SS – BOS)
Franklin Arias is flying up the prospect Top 100 list and is absolutely destroying pitching in AA this season. He is slashing .341/.415/.652 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI.
Even with Trevor Story out, the Red Sox are being patient with the 20-year-old Arias.
Walker Jenkins (OF – MIN)
Many thought Walker Jenkins would be up with Minnesota by now, especially with their season not going as they wanted, but Jenkins hasn’t performed particularly well at AAA.
Jenkins’ on-base percentage (OBP) is terrific (.396), but he is only hitting .256 with a .389 slugging rate.
Travis Bazzana (2B – CLE)
Former number one overall pick Travis Bazzana hit the ground running with a .302/.407/.458 slash line with three home runs and seven steals in 113 plate appearances.
Bazzana will graduate from this list before the next update, but his MLB debut has been a smashing success.
Caleb Bonemer (SS – CWS)
Caleb Bonemer is another rising prospect because of some truly awesome power in High-A ball. He has 15 home runs in 201 plate appearances, although it comes with a 30% strikeout rate.
Ethan Holliday (SS – COL)
Another player showing massive power is Ethan Holliday, who now has nine home runs in 122 at-bats as a 19-year-old. His .557 slugging rate is among the highest in A-ball this season.
Seth Hernandez (SP – PIT)
After a 0.96 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in regular A-ball across six starts, Seth Hernandez was moved up a level. In two starts at A+, he has a 3.52 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. The 19-year-old hurler is several years from the Majors, but looks legit so far.
Kade Anderson (SP – SEA)
Last year’s top draft pick, Kade Anderson, is tearing up AA and is likely looking at a promotion around mid-season. Anderson has a 1.63 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 38 innings, including 58 strikeouts against just seven walks.
Thomas White (SP – MIA)
Thomas White is 21 years old, and the Marlins decided he was ready to skip directly from A-ball to AAA after recovering from an injury.
White’s start in AAA hasn’t gone well so far, recording a 4.34 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP across 18 innings. He does have his strikeout stuff back (25 punchouts), but he is allowing too many runners on base at AAA.
Ryan Sloan (SP – SEA)
Speaking of struggling, Ryan Sloan has not had a good start in AA. He possesses a 5.17 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP across 31 innings.
Sloan is striking out more than a batter per inning and has only issued 10 walks, but he has allowed 46 baserunners in 31 innings, leading to some big innings against him.
Liam Doyle (SP – STL)
Continuing the struggling trend, stud Cardinals prospect Liam Doyle has pitched to a 6.44 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in AA this season, mostly due to an unsightly 15 walks in 29 innings.
Doyle is still just 21 years old, but he has some work to do on his command moving forward.
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