A quick reminder: This is ONLY players who have Rookie of the Year MLB eligibility, and ONLY a look at potential help for 2026.
That out of the way, here’s a look at the top prospects who can help your fantasy roster this season.
1. Colt Emerson, SS, Seattle Mariners
2026 stats: 21 G, .250/.360/.461, 3 HR, 6 SB, 11 BB, 24 SO at Triple-A Tacoma.
Emerson missed a handful of games while dealing with some wrist soreness, but he returned over the weekend. After going hitless in his first contest back, he went 2-for-5 with a homer against Oklahoma City on Saturday, and then doubled and drew a pair of walks during Sunday’s contest. Brendan Donovan is currently on the injured list with a hip issue, and the team called up Will Wilson to fill the void with Emerson not available. The numbers aren’t overtly impressive, but the talent is, and Emerson should be helping fantasy players before the end of the summer, if not sooner.
2. Max Clark, OF, Detroit Tigers
2026 stats: 24 G, .305/.382/.453, 1 HR, 8 SB, 13 BB, 14 SO at Triple-A Toledo.
After a spectacular start to the season, the hits have stopped falling for Clark over the last week. The 21-year-old has picked up knocks in his last two contests, but prior to that, he was in a 2-for-23 funk with three games featuring multiple strikeouts. It’s hard to be too concerned about a five-game sample, and Clark’s numbers are still excellent. He’s going to need to get back to hitting everything in his sights like he was in the earlier portion of April, but he’s way too talented to keep off this list. There’s significant upside in his bat for not just the long-term, but it’s not hard to see him helping a fantasy team this year, too.
3. Bryce Eldridge, 1B, San Francisco Giants
2026 stats: 25 G, .305/.411/.463, 3 HR, 0 SB, 14 BB, 33 SO at Triple-A Sacramento.
We all knew — or we all should have known, anyway — that Eldridge was going to see his average drop as we got deeper into the season; there’s just too much swing and miss in his profile to hit for a high mark for too long. We also knew the power was going to start showing up, and Clark hit his third homer of the season while going 3-for-5 in Sunday’s showdown with Albuquerque. The 21-year-old has as much raw power as any prospect in baseball, and the 6-foot-7 (literal and figurative) giant could someday be among the league leaders in roundtrippers. Eldridge isn’t going to usurp Rafael Devers and his contract and Casey Schmitt has been one of the few quality hitters for San Francisco in 2026, but it still seems more likely than not that Eldridge gets a chance to shine for the Giants this summer.
4. Charlie Condon, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies
2026 stats: 20 G, .276/.406/.474, 4 HR, 3 SB, 16 BB, 13 SO at Triple-A Albuquerque.
I thought about moving Condon to the second spot behind Emerson, but like pretty much every prospect on this list, he struggled. Struggled is a bit of an understatement. Since going 3-for-5 on April 17 to improve his slash to .339/.456/.589, he’s gone 2-for-20 with just one extra-base hit. These things happen, and Condon is still someone who shows the ability to hit for average, power and maybe even steal a bag or two at the highest level. He just hasn’t shown it lately, but one positive to take is that he’s drawn at least one walk in eight of his last nine games. It’s always nice to see the process even when the results aren’t there.
5. Thomas White, LHP, Miami Marlins
2026 stats: 4 G, 14 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0 HR, 9 BB, 24 SO at Triple-A Worcester.
This was Payton Tolle’s spot last week, but Tolle is up with Boston, and it’s always nice to have a pitcher on the list, whether you like it or not. I also considered White’s teammate Robby Snelling, but there’s a little more upside in White’s arm. He’s a southpaw who can miss bats with three pitches, and his command continues to get better; even if it is a bit of a work in progress. Miami has arms like Janson Junk and Chris Paddack in the back of their rotation, and with all due respect to them, no. White will be well worth roster consideration if/when Miami decides to give him the nod.
Also considered: Walker Jenkins, OF, Minnesota Twins; JR Ritchie, RHP, Atlanta; Robby Snelling, LHP, Miami Marlins; Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Around the minors:
Several pitchers from the 2026 class have looked fantastic to begin the season; particularly Kade Anderson, Tyler Bremner and Seth Hernandez. One arm who has not produced over this first month at that level, however, is Liam Doyle. Doyle allowed four runs over four innings against Double-A Midland, and now has a 9.26 ERA over his 11 2/3 innings for Springfield. The fifth-overall pick of last year’s draft, Doyle has a double-plus fastball (70 on the 20-80 scouting scale) and shows a swing-and-miss splitter, but his command of those pitches and an average cutter/slider needs work. Doyle has significant upside and it’s hard to be too concerned about his first four professional starts, but there’s some work to be done here.
The Blue Jays made Sean Keys the 125th pick of the 2024 draft, and he put together a pedestrian .773 slash in High-A Vancouver in his first full professional season. What he’s done to open the 2026 would not be described as pedestrian. Keys has already homered nine times in 17 games with a slash of .338/.449/.800 for Double-A New Hampshire, including a two-homer contest against Double-A Reading on Thursday. The 22-year-old has easy plus power in his left-handed bat, and while the length in his swing makes hitting for average unlikely, his excellent approach makes him a threat to draw plenty of walks to go with the potential for 30-plus homer campaigns. Keys was someone that the analytic crowd adored coming out of his class, and he’s someone who should be monitored in dynasty/keeper formats.
A prospect who just missed the “also considered” section was Joshua Báez, and after a slow start to his 2026 campaign, he’s starting to see the hits drop in. He went 3-for-6 Sunday with a triple, and his .236/.333/.506 slash looks a lot better when you consider it was .213/.294/.410 a little over a week ago. The biggest concern with Báez has been contact as he’s struck out a whopping 33 times in his 89 at-bats, but the ball jumps off his bat, and there’s considerable power in his profile. He’s also a solid defender in the outfield, and while he doesn’t have elite speed, he has the potential for 20-plus steal seasons because of his ability to read pitchers and quick first step. Báez offers a ton of volatility, but the high risk comes with a substantial amount of potential reward, too.
We mentioned Bremner earlier, but he deserves more recognition based on how he’s pitched in 2026. He allowed one run over five innings while striking out five against one walk, and you could argue it was his worst outing so far as a professional. The second-overall pick shows two 70-grade pitches in his fastball and change, and he throws those pitches as well as an average slider for strikes. The question mark with Bremner is whether he can show that same stuff on a consistent basis — he didn’t in college, which is why it was a surprise he went second overall ahead of players like Anderson, Hernandez and Doyle — and if that average breaking-ball will keep him from reaching his ceiling. There’s significant upside in his right arm, but there’s a little more volatility in his right arm than the typical college hurler.
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