26. Marlins LHP Robby Snelling | 22 | AAA | 2026
In 11 Triple-A starts this season, Snelling recorded a 1.27 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 81 strikeouts and 17 walks in 63.2 innings. He might’ve been a major leaguer a month ago if Miami had any incentive to promote him. Should open next season in the rotation unless he gets edged out for a month or so by bargain signings.
27. Diamondbacks SS Jordan Lawlar | 23 | MLB | 2023
The sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Lawlar has graduated prospect status on days served, but he’s still sitting at just 108 plate appearances, so he sort of snuck onto this list. He’s spent parts of three seasons in Triple-A, most recently slashing .313/.403/.564 with 11 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 63 games this season. He has nothing left to prove in Reno, but shortstop belongs to Geraldo Perdomo in Arizona, so Lawlar is set to open 2026 as the everyday third baseman. The defense might be shaky as he adapts to the big league hot corner, but this is a bright, flashing buy-low opportunity for a premium prospect even if his ETA cracks me up a bit here.
28. Blue Jays 3B Kazuma Okamoto | 29 | NPB | 2026
A star in Japan since he slashed .309/.394/.541 with 33 home runs in 143 games as a 22-year-old against players who were, on average, 6.7 years older than him. He was having his best season at age 28 when an on-field collision ended his season halfway through with an elbow injury. A right-handed hitter at six-feet, 212 pounds, Okamoto controls the zone well and struck out just 97 times in 611 plate appearances in 2024. Should be the top pick in First-Year-Player drafts for anyone who needs a hitter to keep a contention cycle open.
29. Mariners SS Colt Emerson | 20 | AAA | 2026
Seattle snagged Emerson out of high school at the 22 spot in the 2023 draft. A left-handed hitting middle infielder at 6’1” 195 pounds with excellent hands in the batter’s box, he came roaring out of the gate in his draft season but battled injury in 2024, missing two stretches and playing 70 games total. 2025 was a year of water finding its level. Emerson’s hit tool carried him all the way to Triple-A, where he batted .364 with two home runs in six games to close out the season. Roster resource lists Ben Williamson as the starting third baseman, and while that might be true for spring training, Emerson will elbow his way into the picture sooner or later.
30. Dodgers OF Eduardo Quintero | 20 | A+ | 2027
Too quick to waste away at catcher, Quintero moved out to centerfield and started letting that speed eat in the lower minors, stealing 22, 32, and 47 bases in 49, 83, and 113 games across three professional seasons. He really grew into his skin with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga this season, slashing .306/.425/.533 with 14 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 81 games, earning himself a 32-game stretch in High-A to close out the season. At 6’1” 175 pounds from the right side, he’s pretty good at everything on a baseball field. Might be the rare, underrated Dodgers’ prospect.
31. Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler | 22 | MLB | 2025
After enjoying a breakout season in 2024, the 6’3” 218 pound Chandler lost some control of his four-pitch arsenal (fastball, changeup, curveball, slider) this year: a hiccup that makes sense considering he recently switched to pitching full-time after getting drafted and developed as a two-way threat out of high school in 2021. He still made his major league debut despite waiting on the vine for 100 Triple-A innings and collected 31 strikeouts in 31.1 innings, but 2025 wasn’t the season the true believers dreamed about. Could call it a buying opportunity for 2026, but Wins remains a category in most fantasy leagues, and Pittsburgh can be a little allergic to those.
32. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson | 21 | NCAA | 2026
The third overall pick in the 2025 draft, Anderson went 12-and-1 for LSU as a sophomore, recording a 3.18 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with a whopping 180 strikeouts in 119 innings. Wielding a dominant and deceptive fastball alongside three plus off-speed pitches he can throw for strikes, Anderson was way too much for most college hitters. Seattle rested him after the draft, but he has the look of a fast mover who can help this team during its current contention cycle.
33. Dodgers OF Zyhir Hope | 21 | AA | 2027
Just what Dodgers’ fans need: a bit of hope. I kid, I kid. I’m happy for them. Really. Other teams should try harder. Especially the cheapskate grifters. Anyway: a tremendous power-speed athlete at 5’10” 193 pounds, Hope has as much upside as anybody in the system. He, too, appears to weigh more than his listed weight, but I’m no doctor and probably shouldn’t be commenting on the weight of strangers in any context. In 121 High-A games, Hope hit 13 home runs and stole 26 bases, logging 139 strikeouts against 78 walks. Anecdotally, over a Paulaner Hefe-Weizen at the bar, I might whisper that his swing is a little out of control for my liking, and that a lot of Dodgers prospects wind up overrated because how could they not? Nonetheless, the swing control is likely to improve over time, and why wouldn’t you love a Brightburn-gifted guy in an excellent organization?
34. Reds C Alfredo Duno | 20 | A | 2027
Duno generates easy power from a 6’2” frame. He’s listed at 210 pounds, and that might be true, but he looked enormous against Low-A players, especially as this season went along and he started dominating. In 113 games, he slashed .287/.430/.518 with 18 home runs, six stolen bases, and 95 walks against just 91 strikeouts (18.4 percent). Reminds me a bit of Salvador Perez both in the way he moves smoothly and calmly behind the plate and how he weaponizes his strength in the batter’s box, particularly when he hammers something the pull side.
35. Marlins OF Owen Caissie | 22 | MLB | 2025
Listed at 6’3” 190 pounds, Caissie brings double-plus power from the left side as a hitter. He looks bigger than that to me, but it’s pretty common for teams to measure a guy on signing day and leave it alone for a long time after that. A right-handed throwing corner outfielder, Caissie will have to hit quite a bit to sustain an everyday job for any team, and it’s kind of hard to imagine he can clear the bar for a team with a budget as big as the Cubs’, who probably should have traded him at the deadline for a pitcher like Sandy Alcantara or Edward Cabrera. In 99 Triple-A games, Caissie slashed .286/.386/.551 with 22 home runs and 121 strikeouts (27.9%). That’s just on the line, contact wise, but Caissie hits the ball hard enough to blur that hurdle, even if he might wind up a streaky platoon type.
36. Cardinals C Rainiel Rodriguez | 18 | A+ | 2027
Rodriguez hit 20 home runs in 84 games across three levels in 2025, striking out just 17.7 percent of the time while slashing .276/.399/.555. At 5’10” 197 lbs with a quick right-handed cut, he’s more physically developed than most guys his age and is already generating power to all fields. St. Louis has promoted him quickly, but with their catcher position stacked several studs deep, they might pump the brakes a bit this year rather than keep Rodriguez racing toward a red light.
37. Guardians 2B Travis Bazzana | 23 | AAA | 2026
The first overall pick in the 2024 draft, Bazzana brings patience and power from the left side at six-foot, 199 pounds. He hasn’t made a lot of contact as a pro, but the impact is still there. He slashed .245/.389/.424 with nine home runs and 12 stolen bases in 84 games, about 37 percent better than league average at each level. He hasn’t been a disappointment, per se, but I think it’s fair to say he’s an example of what you might get when you go bargain hunting at the top of the draft.
38. Dodgers SS Emil Morales | 19 | A | 2028
In 135 games across three professional levels, Morales has slashed .322/.420/.548 with 28 home runs and 23 stolen bases. A man is more than his outcomes, of course. Particularly a young man. He’s listed at 6’3” 191 pounds, but I don’t even know why I mention that at this point. He’s large. And in charge. Well, not in charge. He’s a teenage employee of a huge company, but it’s real that he could be a top 25 prospect in a hurry with a hot stretch in High-A to open 2026.
39. Pirates OF Edward Florentino | 19 | A | 2029
In dynasty baseball, we tend to hunt for upside, and Florentino shows up to the upside convention carrying flowers at 6’4” 200 pounds with an intimidating cut from the left side. In 83 games across two levels in 2025, he slashed .290/.400/.548 with 16 home runs and 35 stolen bases. He played mostly centerfield this season and would be something like a top 20 prospect entering 2027 if he stays up the middle and produces in full-season ball this season.
40. Tigers 1B Josue Briceño | 21 | AA | 2026
Briceño struggled in his 45 Double-A games (.232/.335/.381) but was dominant for 55 games with High-A West Michigan, slashing .296/.422/.602 with 15 home runs, carrying over his success from the 2024 fall league, when he won the Triple Crown. He’s a big dude at 6’4” 200 pounds, so maybe he just wore down a little bit, but the Double-A hiccup is enough to cost me some confidence that he’ll be the next big thing.
41. Phillies RHP Andrew Painter | 22 | AAA | 2026
At 6’7” 215 pounds with upper nineties heat and superb balance throughout his delivery, Painter is the platonic ideal of a power pitcher, featuring plus command of a plus slider and changeup along with the big fastball and developing curve. Or at least that’s how you’d have described him before Tommy John surgery sent him to the Medbed for a year. He’s still that guy, I think. Might just need the off-season to focus on thriving rather than rehabbing. He’s certainly better than the 5.40 ERA he logged in 106.2 Triple-A innings this year.
42. Guardians 1B Ralphy Velazquez | 20 | AA | 2027
The 23rd overall pick in 2023, Velazquez is a 6’3” 240 pound left-handed slugger who looks like a steady bet for our game thanks to an intriguing blend of power, patience and contact skills. His catching days are behind him, and the bat responded with a big 2025. He hit 22 home runs in 122 games across two levels, finishing strong over a 28-game stretch with Double-A to close out the season during which he slashed .330/.405/.589 with five home runs. He’ll probably head back to Akron to open the 2026 season, but there’s a case to be made he’s already graduated that level, and that perhaps Cleveland should stop slow-roasting all their prospects.
43. Royals C Carter Jensen | 22 | MLB | 2025
Jensen is a left-handed hitting catcher at six-foot 210 pounds who plays good defense and employs an extremely patient approach in the batter’s box. His 20-game debut in 2025 could not have gone better. He slashed .300/.391/.550 with three home runs and 12 strikeouts against nine walks for Kansas City after posting a .290/.377/.501 slash line in 111 games across Double and Triple-A. It’s hard to project his playing time this season with Salvador Perez in town, but I think we’re looking at something like 500 plate appearances and an intriguing fantasy season.
44. Mariners OF Lazaro Montes | 21 | AA | 2027
At 6’5” 215 pounds, Montes has slimmed down without sacrificing power as he’s climbed the organizational ladder. In 131 games split almost evenly between High-A and Double-A, the big lefty smashed 32 home runs, stole seven bases and slashed .241/.354/.504 with a 29 percent strikeout rate. The strikeouts have invited a fair share of doubters, but I think Montes will make enough impact on contact to become a mainstay in fantasy lineups.
45. Brewers SS Jett Williams | 21 | AAA | 2026
Listed at 5’7” 175 pounds, Williams is a spark plug in the mold of a Jose Altuve or Corbin Carroll, which provides some context to just how fantastic he’ll have to be to play every day at his size. In 130 games across two levels, he hit 17 home runs and stole 34 bases, but he was much better in the 96 Double-A games than he was in 34 Triple-A games. That’s not a big deal of course, but he’ll have to be better to crack this lineup.
46. Mets OF AJ Ewing | 21 | AA | 2026
A fourth-round pick in 2023, Ewing broke out this season and slashed .315/.401/.429 with three home runs and 70 stolen bases in 124 games across three levels. He didn’t struggle with any of the league jumps either, even batting .339 with 12 stolen bases in his 28 Double-A games. I suspect that’s where he’ll open next season, but 5’11” 160 pound outfielders skill set could find a home at the highest level in a hurry, particularly if he’s ever able to add over-the-fence power.
47. Diamondbacks SS Tommy Troy | 22 | AAA | 2026
The 12th overall pick out of Stanford in 2023, Troy made some swing-adjustments as a professional and enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, slashing .289/.382/.451 with 15 home runs, 24 stolen bases and a 16.9 percent strikeout rate in 125 games across Double (87 g) and Triple-A (38 g). He’ll likely open the season back in Reno and could produce some loud outcomes in that hitter-friendly setting. I’ll be interested to see if they start trying him in the outfield corners as he’s got speed to burn, and he’d be more likely to find at bats if he could do a little bit of everything, especially with SS Geraldo Perdomo and 2B Ketel Marte under contract through 2030. Blaze Alexander just made this shift to utility infielder/outfielder, so that path is probably obvious to all involved.
48. Twins SS Kaelen Culpepper | 23 | AA | 2026
Here’s what I wrote about Culpepper last year in this space: “A three-year standout as the starting shortstop at Kansas State, Culpepper went 21st overall to the Twins and cruised through Low-A in 17 games, slashing .294/.366/.541 with just two strikeouts in nine games to force the quick promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids for 17 games to close out the season. He’ll probably open the 2025 season there (here) in Iowa, where it can be colder in spring than winter these days, but this team knows how to develop a talented hitter, so the smart money suggests he’ll power through the frosty months and wind up on the doorstep of the big leagues heading into 2026.”
Well, in 113 games split almost equally between High-A and Double-A, Culpepper slashed .289/.375/.469 with 20 home runs and 25 stolen bases along with 90 strikeouts (17.%) against 50 walks (9.7%). He looks like another draft coup for a club and could quickly pair with Luke Keaschall to form a dynamic middle infield.
49. Red Sox LHP Connelly Early | 23 | MLB | 2025
A 5th-round pick in 2023, Early recorded a 2.60 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 100.1 innings pitched across two levels of minor league play this year to earn his big league debut, which was a thing of beauty: five shutout innings with 11 strikeouts. His 31.9 percent strikeout rate and 22.2 strikeout-minus-walk rates this year were right in line with career norms for the 2023 fifth round pick out of Virginia. In four starts with Boston, he pitched 19.1 innings and recorded a whopping 29 strikeouts with a 2.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Despite what the numbers suggest, he’s not overpowering, relying on sequencing and command of his six-pitch arsenal to keep hitters off balance. Lefties with off-speed control tend to come out of the gates hot. It’ll be interesting to see if Early can hold onto a spot for the long run.
50. Cardinals LHP Liam Doyle | 21 | AA | 2026
At 6’2” 220 pounds, Doyle is an energetic lefty with a dominant fastball. He led division one in strikeout rate this year for Tennessee, recording 164 punchouts in just 95.2 innings on his way to a 10-and-4 record and 0.99 WHIP. He relies heavily on the high-90’s heater but mixes in a slider, cutter and splitter, which should keep him in the rotation for a long time even if his high-effort delivery might inhibit his long-term command upside.
Thanks for reading!
