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Fantrax blessed Cardinals Rookie OF Bryan Torres with the gift of eligibility before he stepped foot on a big league field, granting him access to Catcher and Second Base along with his native Outfield spot. Interesting. I overpaid to get him in a couple 15-teamers where he was floating around. Maybe he goes back to Springfield like Homer Simpson after a reality altering escapade. Maybe he plays pretty much every day in the outfield while starting at catcher for our fantasy squads. I’d have to drink some Brain & Nerve Tonic to skip that far into the future, and I’m not sure the trade-off is worth the hurt, but I’m pretty sure Torres is worth a spot in most leagues where you’ve got one to spare.

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Team Position Player | Age on 4/1/2026 | Level | ETA

1. Brewers SS Jesus Made | 18 | AA | 2027

2. Pirates RHP Seth Hernandez | 19 | A+ | 2027

3. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson | 21 | AA | 2026

4. Red Sox SS Franklin Arias | 20 | AA | 2027

5. Athletics SS Leo De Vries | 19 | AA | 2027

The top group feels much stronger than usual for this time of year, between the exodus of rookies and the incoming draft class. Hernandez is the exciting teenage righty since Jose Fernandez, one of my all-time favorite players. May he rest in peace.

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Graduated from Stash List #3: Lara At The Top Of His Craft: Colt Emerson (#3), Henry Bolte (#4)

1. Dodgers RHP River Ryan (27, AAA)

Destined to pitch for baseball’s best team in the near future. Features a cutter that would’ve stopped the presses a couple decades ago. 27.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate and 1.00 WHIP suggest he’ll be effective from the jump.

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Pirates OF Jhostynxon Garcia (23) has earned his promotion by slugging a slew of home runs during his rehab stint, popping three homers while going 5-for-5 in one game on May 12. He batted .375 over the five-game stretch in Triple-A and should get his fair share of playing time while Ryan O’Hearn recovers with a right quadricep strain. If he hits well enough, I suspect he’ll stick even without a crystal clear place to put him.

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Who’s Rising?

I’m working to reshuffle my rankings this week, and I like to work through some thoughts in this space before the new list goes live. Shout out anyone in the comments that you think warrants a fresh look.

Mets OF AJ Ewing (21) is an obvious riser. He’s been on a rocket ship the last few months after failing to crack the top 100 in a consensus way despite a strong showing in 2025. Over the off-season as public-facing places took a closer look, Ewing’s found himself inside the top 50 for some people. Today, he’s an easy top 25 prospect with a case for the top ten. He’s got a 205 wRC+ through four major league games, so that’s fun. While he’s unlikely to maintain an MVP-level pace, he’s already changed the dynamic of New York’s lineup.

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I dropped the ball when I neglected to include Mets OF AJ Ewing (21) in my top ten for Stash List #3: Lara At The Top Of His Craft. He enjoyed a slam dunk in his debut Tuesday night, going 1-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base, turning the lineup over with a jolt out of the eight spot. I don’t mean to be hyperbolic, but it’s hard to see a path for him to leave this lineup over the next month or so. If he hits during that month, he’s probably a fixture all season. I’ve been comparatively high on Ewing for a while now, so I hope you have him if you’re a regular reader. I sold high in one league, and I’m worried that wasn’t actually selling high so much as it was selling early. Oh and there was a minute in there when Fantrax gave him shortstop eligibility. Whew. I still have him on enough rosters that I’d be mostly thrilled, but I’d also be somewhat not thrilled by the Taysom Hill factor, you know? Where did that SS come from? Could a thought bubble on an edgy 1940’s political cartoon. Also my thoughts Tuesday afternoon looking at AJ Ewing on Fantrax.

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Graduated from Stash List #2: Bazzana Republic or Charlie In Charge: Travis Bazzana (#1), Bryce Eldridge (#3), Robby Snelling (#5), Ryan Waldschmidt (#7), Trey Yesavage (#9)

 

1. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson (21, AA) 

I think he’d be in Triple-A by now if they planned to send him there at all. Double-A seems too easy for him though: an 0.60 ERA and 0.67 WHIP through 30 innings with 47 strikeouts against five walks is preposterous. I realize there’s no room in the rotation for him, but life finds a way.

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I managed to add newly promoted Giants 1B Bryce Eldridge in the open-waivers Perts league where I need a first baseman. I might have to hold him for a while despite the league having three bench spots and a super high churn rate because he’s not 1B eligible in Fantrax, and the Giants played him at designated hitter both nights. In his ten MLB games last year, he played six at DH and four at first base. I think Fantrax needs to update their eligibility requirements because DH is not a position. If a guy plays four games at 1B and zero games anywhere else in the field. He should be 1B eligible. Anywho, I suspect the Giants would like to see Eldridge at first base because he’s an enormous target over there at 6’7” and he’s a good athlete who’s not a ball-butcher with the glove. Rafael Devers actually played okay at the cold corner last year, but at six-foot even and 29 years old, he’s unlikely to provide much defensive value in the long run. On the other hand, moving him to first base at all was quite the ordeal, so maybe the front office would rather not tinker too much. 

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Orioles RHP Trey Gibson (23) will reportedly make his major league debut today in New York against the Yankees. Scary way to join the league. Gibson hasn’t been especially good in Triple-A as evidenced most apparently in his 1.62 WHIP across 24.2 innings, so the odds are not in his favor, but he will have an element of the unknown along with an impressive curveball. Crazier things have happened than a 6’5” rookie righty tiptoeing through the Bronx with a quality start. 

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Yankees OF Jasson Dominguez was slashing .326/.415/.478 with three home runs and eight stolen bases through 24 Triple-A games when the Bombers recalled him to replace the injured Giancarlo Stanton. This marks the fourth straight season Dominguez has spent time with the major league club, and he’s still just 23 years old. His strikeout rate was all the way down to 15.1 percent alongside a 12.3 percent walk rate. Maybe it won’t ever happen for the Martian, but this feels like a good opportunity for him to break out. 

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Graduated from Stash List #1: It’s Okay To Be Scared: Noah Schultz

1. Guardians 2B Travis Bazzana (23, AAA) 

He’s only played 13 MLB games, but 2B Juan Brito has not adapted to major league pitching, slashing .159/.229/.227 with a 31.3 percent strikeout rate. He’s  actually been a little worse than that considering he picked up four of his seven hits in his first two games. Most teams would probably give the kid more time to find his footing, but in this case, Brito’s reps come for a first-place team at the cost of plate appearances for a recent number one overall pick who is tearing it up in Triple-A. In 23 games, Bazzana has a .297/.429/.527 slash line with two homers, eight steals and almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (22). He’s been even better over the last two weeks, slashing .409/.552/.750. Both homers were hit this week. I can’t think of a good reason why Bazzana is in the minor leagues today. 

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White Sox 3B Munetaka Murakami would be my number one pick if we could re-roll the First-Year-Player Draft today. Nine home runs in his first 23 games is crazy talk. That’s almost a 50-homer pace across a full season. And the craziest part is that something close to that seems sustainable, at least to some extent. Murakami’s patient until he’s not. He’s early to recognise a pitch he should pounce and does exactly that. I wish I had him somewhere. My bad. 

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