LOGIN

Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2026 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 

1. OF Chase DeLauter | 23 | MLB | 2025

Here’s what Grey had to say the other day in his 2026 Fantasy Outlook for DeLauter: 

“He’s a monster lefty bat who takes a ton of walks. That’s who he is. It’s who he’s been for a few years. He went 7/1/.264 with a 15.8 walk and strikeout rate. Yes, 15.8% for both. He’s a .380 OBP guy with power. In my rookie outlook post for him last year, I said, “So, he’s old. Not like dinosaur old, but Chase DeLauter is 23 and played less than 40 games last year in the minors. Does he have proclivity for injuries? By the way, you can’t say proclivity aloud without sounding like Dr. Evil.”

Great take. You don’t even have to say it aloud. Once you put “proclivity” in your head with Dr. Evil’s voice, that’s the way it stays. And it’s fun. I kinda can’t stop doing it. Anyway, I think DeLauter is the front-runner for rookie of the year. Unless Cleveland sends him back to Triple-A again, where he would almost certainly get injured riding a bus or sleeping on a couch or picking a fight with a mascot who hits the gym a lot. 

PS: I’ve been watching TENET off and on today, and I feel like there’s a connection to DeLauter’s development path. I mean he just POOF appeared out of nowhere in the playoff lineup. Perhaps his timeline has been inverted. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. OF Braden Montgomery | 22 | AA | 2026

Chicago has seen some of its prospects backslide, so the front office had to be thrilled to see Montgomery post respectable outcomes across three levels in his debut season, slashing .270/.360/.444 with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 121 games. A switch-hitter at 6’2” 220 pounds, Montgomery was Boston’s first-round pick in 2024 (12th overall) but got dealt away in the Garrett Crochet trade before he even played an inning for the Bo Sox. Right field is wide open in Chicago, and while that probably shouldn’t accelerate this guy’s timeline, people have their own jobs to consider, so you never know. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. RHP Trey Yesavage | 22 | MLB | 2025

Yesavage became something of a household name during Toronto’s titillating post-season run despite having pitched just 13 big league innings during the regular season. Part of that was because he was amazing and so were the Blue Jays, but some of that was likely because he has a unique style that’s easy for even a casual baseball fan to recognize. I don’t know if you’ll remember Josh Collmenter. I was surprised to remember him myself, but he’s the last guy I can remember releasing at the 12’o’clock slot this way. The thing about Collmenter was he lacked velocity, sitting in the mid-80’s with his fastball and cutter (84.6 mph in his final season). Nonetheless, he had a career ERA of 3.64 and WHIP of 1.198 in 695.1 innings despite recording just 494 strikeouts. Anywho, Yesavage has a similarly deceptive release point but also has more strength and balance throughout his delivery, which helps him command a three-pitch arsenal highlighted by a dynamic splitter that tunnels well with his fastball and slider. He also throws much, much harder than Collmenter ever did, averaging 94.7 mph on the fastball, 88.7 on the slider and 84.1 on the splitter. His slowest pitch is the same speed as Collmenter’s fastest. Fun stuff. Great comp. I baseball writer. But seriously folks, I think Yesavage is going to be awesome. Heck, he already was. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. SS Carson Williams | 22 | MLB | 2025

Featuring double-plus defense and easy power from the right side, Williams figures to open the season as the everyday shortstop for Tampa. I’ve always been low on him compared to the places he’s been ranked in most public facing places because he’s always struck out enough that I feel compelled to pump the brakes. In 32 MLB games, he slashed .179/.219/.354 after slashing .213/.318/.447 in 111 Triple-A games. Wait, should he even be atop this team’s list? Yeah, I think the proximity and power-speed upside warrants the spot. Plus there’s really nobody here to knock him off the top. I just don’t really want him on my teams. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. OF Spencer Jones | 24 | AAA | 2026

At 6’7” 240 pounds from the left side, Jones is a fantasy darling for his combination of power and speed. The 25th overall pick in the 2022 draft, he came just one steal shy of a 30/30 season in 116 games across two levels in 2025, slashing .274/.362/.571 with 35 home runs, 29 stolen bases and a 35.4 percent strikeout rate. That last piece might not matter much given how much impact Jones makes on contact, but it creates enough doubt to keep me skeptical, despite what his ranking here suggests. The upside is just too enticing and near to ignore. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. SS Franklin Arias | 20 | AA | 2027

Arias signed for $525,000 as the second highest paid player in Boston’s 2023 international class. Today, that looks like money well invested. A right-handed hitter listed at 5’11” 170 lbs, Arias wasn’t as good in 2025 as he had been the year before, but he was facing much older competition and still managed a 108 wRC+ in 87 High-A games despite slashing .265/.329/.380. The plate skills were still elite: 8.2% walk rate against an 8.9% strikeout rate, so the organization waved him along to Double-A for a ten-game stretch at season’s end. He hits the ball hard enough. Just needs to add some loft and grow into some man-strength. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. C Samuel Basallo | 21 | MLB | 2025 

Click here to read Grey’s 2026 Fantasy Outlook for Basallo

In the article, Grey is frustrated by Baltimore’s service-time machinations. Those same concerns caused me to dread writing this list for a few days. I’m not sure why. I used to have little trouble cruising through even the organizations I didn’t love following, but I start feeling like a liar at some point when I’m telling you about a Rockies or Orioles prospect like he’s going to matter someday soon. Then again, they do sneak through sometimes, and Basallo could give you a Hunter Goodman sized boost in the power categories if Baltimore lets him learn on the job. He’s not going to catch everyday with Adley in town, but who knows how much longer Adley will be in town? His production and health are both in downward spirals, and Basallo slugged .589 with 23 home runs in just 76 Triple-A games in 2025. Dang. Managed 27 bombs in 107 games on the year if you combine his minor league dominance with his 31-game big league sample. He’s the rare case where I’ll look past the org setting and cross my fingers he’ll get enough playing time to impact redraft leagues. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. 1B Bryce Eldridge | 21 | MLB | 2025

Here’s something Grey said the other day in his 2026 Fantasy Outlook for Bryce Eldridge: 

I’m going to go out on a sturdy limb — like this dude’s arms — and say he’s out-homering Pete Alonso by 2028. His average exit velocity in Triple-A as a 20-year-old was 95.7 MPH. At 20! Sorry to keep repeating his age, but if a 25-year-old is doing this, it’s whatever. A 20-year-old? It’s ludicrous. He was basically the top average exit velocity guy as a 20-year-old. “As a 20-year-old” repeat seventy-five times. Eldridge is unreal. 90th% EV? 108.6 MPH! Max EV? 114.6! Barrel%? 16.3! Hard Hit%? 64.5! If these numbers mean nothing to you, take my word for it. They’re nuts. Kyle Schwarber led the majors in Hard Hit%, it was 59.6! Ohtani was 58.4%. Look again at Bryce Eldridge’s — 64.5%!”

These numbers look ludicrous no matter how you slice them, but when you throw in the fact that Eldridge was a two-way prospect out of high school and that he’s 6’7” 240 pounds and still getting accustomed to his meta-human frame, the mind boggles at the possibilities. I wish he were in just about any other ballpark, but the Giants have a good lineup that should provide protection and opportunities for the young slugger who just turned 21 on October 20th. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. LHP Kash Mayfield | 21 | A | 2029

The 25th overall pick in 2024, Mayfield is listed at 6’4” 200 pounds and features a mid-90’s fastball and excellent changeup alongside a serviceable slider. That’s a lot of stuff for a lefty starter, and Mayfield dominated with it throughout high school, winning his state’s (Oklahoma) Gatorade Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons leading up to the draft. The Low-A level brought more of the same: Mayfield recorded a 2.97 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 60.2 innings across 19 starts. You can see the kids-gloves approach in the roughly three innings pitched per game started, so the numbers here get a little padded by avoiding the difficulties of facing a lineup multiple times in a night, but Mayfield did have three straight five-inning starts near the end of the season and dominated those nights, too, allowing just two runs and piling up 23 strikeouts. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. SS Ethan Holliday | 19 | A | 2029

Holliday signed for the biggest contract of any high school draftee in history ($9 million) and then struck out 39.3 percent of the time through 18 games in Low-A. It’s not a big deal. He’s a huge lefty bat at 6’4” 210 pounds, and most of his contemporaries were in the bridge leagues or on the complex. Besides, he still posted an above average 108 wRC+.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. OF Josue De Paula | 20 | AA | 2027

Listed at 6’3” 185 pounds, De Paula appears to be bigger than that to the naked eye–not that I’m walking around with inappropriate eyewear looking at teenage athletes. A left-handed hitter with great plate skills and impressive contact skills for a guy with his raw power, De Paula has yet to really lift the ball in regular season play, topping out at 12 home runs in 98 High-A games in 2025, slashing .263/.406/.421 with 86 strikeouts, 81 walks, and 32 steals in 40 attempts. He was 2.2 years younger than the average age in the Midwest League, so we have a lot of reasons to believe the power will come sooner than later. He closed out the season with a week in Double-A, where he will likely open 2026 as one the youngest players at that level.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

1. 3B 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. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?