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 led to significant movement in minor league systems. Two of the biggest prospects in baseball — Colt Emerson and Gage Jump — were recently called up, and both are smashing. 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. 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 15 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 in AA this season, slashing .269/.345/.422; he just isn’t blowing anyone away with his production.
Made has six home runs, but his real fantasy value comes from his 21 steals and 40 runs. Made’s speed is exceptional, and might help him reach the Majors next season.
Leo De Vries (SS -A TH)
Another 19-year-old in AA, Leo De Vries, is also having a strong season. He is hitting .281/.369/.385 with five home runs and 20 steals of his own.
De Vries is not the run producer that Jesus Made is, nor does he have the raw power, but he already has elite on-base ability at his age.
Eli Willits (SS – WSH)
Down in A-ball and A+ is 18-year-old Eli Willits, and he is absolutely killing it this season. Willits is slashing .302/.423/.535 with nine home runs, 30 steals and a 16.5% walk rate. Willits should be up in AA soon, as he is smashing A+ since his debut a week ago.
Max Clark (OF – DET)
Of the top 10 hitting prospects, Max Clark might be the closest to a Major League promotion, if only he can get some extra-base hits going.
In AAA, he is slashing .248/.335/.374. Clark doesn’t have much power this season (four home runs), but he has stolen 12 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 slashing .317/.418/.551 with 10 home runs, 53 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
There is a very good chance De Paula is up with the Dodgers for a short September run. He looks like the best hitter in the upper minors right now after his recent hot streak.
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 .317/.399/.582 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI.
Even with Trevor Story out, the Red Sox are being patient with the 20-year-old Arias and won’t rush him up to the Majors right now.
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. He’s also dealing with a long-term injury.
Jenkins’ on-base percentage (OBP) is terrific (.396), but he is only hitting .256 with a .389 slugging rate.
Caleb Bonemer (SS – CWS)
Caleb Bonemer is another rising prospect because of some truly awesome power in High-A ball. He has 18 home runs in 261 plate appearances, although it comes with a 30% strikeout rate.
Ethan Holliday (SS – COL)
Another player showing decent power is Ethan Holliday, who 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, but he now has to sit out the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot.
Holliday will start over again in A-ball next year as he looks to make up for lost time.
Even though he is tearing up the minor leagues this season, Luis Pena has a Jesus Made problem on his hands. They both play the same position and are the same age, but Made is the bigger prospect, with more hype.
We can’t ignore Pena’s numbers across two levels this season, though. He is slashing .325/.443/.442 with 14 stolen bases.
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 five starts at A+, he has a 4.15 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 21 innings.
The 19-year-old hurler is several years from the Majors, but looks legit so far, especially in the strikeout department.
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 stellar 1.29 ERA and 0.69 WHIP in 49 innings, including 76 strikeouts against just seven walks.
Thomas White (SP – MIA)
Thomas White is 21 years old, and the Marlins decided he was ready to go directly from A-ball to AAA after recovering from an injury.
White’s start in AAA didn’t go as planned, with him recording a 4.34 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP across 18 innings. And now we find out that he has suffered a left shoulder capsular sprain that carries a 12-16 week recovery timeframe.
Ryan Sloan (SP – SEA)
Speaking of struggling, Ryan Sloan has not had a good start in AA. He possesses a 5.09 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP across 40.2 innings.
Sloan is striking out more than a batter per inning and has only issued 11 walks, but he has allowed 55 baserunners in 40 innings, leading to some big innings against him and an inflated ERA.
Liam Doyle (SP – STL)
Continuing the struggling trend, stud Cardinals prospect Liam Doyle has been even worse, with a 5.86 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in AA this season, mostly due to an unreasonably high 23 walks in 43 innings.
Doyle is still just 22 years old, but he has some work to do on his command moving forward.
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