Prospect News: Stash List #10: The Tong Show or Quinn The Zone

Graduated from Prospect News Stash List #9: Wake Up With Snelling Salts: Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Jhostynxon Garcia, Bubba Chandler, Nolan McLean 

Note: Anyone promoted during the current season is ineligible for the stash list.

1. Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt (22, AAA) 

St. Louis has struggled to sort its pieces for about a decade, so it’s no surprise we haven’t seen Wetherholt in the majors despite him lighting the Triple-A level on fire for a month, slashing .301/.391/.628 with nine home runs and five stolen bases in 29 games. He’s my pick for 2026 National League Rookie of the Year, and I think he’ll open the season with the big league club, but it’s always a little scary waiting on a young Cardinal to get his chance to take flight.

2. Red Sox LHP Payton Tolle (22, AAA) 

Here’s what I wrote about Tolle in Prospect News: Pay The Troll Tolle or A Good Day For McLean: 

“Tolle (22, AAA) could pitch his way into that playoff race. At 6’6” 250 lbs with plus command of a high-90’s fastball, Tolle makes for an intimidating, uncomfortable at bat. He allowed five runs in five innings during his Triple-A debut this week but was untouchable across 27 Double-A innings, posting a 1.67 ERA and 0.74 WHIP.”

It’s been three starts at Triple-A now. Tolle rolled through two dominant outings after that tough first night, recording 14 strikeouts and allowing five baserunners and one run across ten innings. The club is reportedly considering a bullpen stint for Walker Buehler. The stars are aligning in a hurry on this one. 

3. Marlins LHP Robby Snelling (21, AAA) 

We’ve seen three straight scoreless outings of six innings for Snelling. 28 strikeouts and six walks in those 18 innings. ERA is at 1.13 through 39.2 Triple-A innings. I’d like to see him get a major league look while he’s so locked in. Gotta hand it to Miami. They’re ahead of Atlanta in the standings and looking toward a 2026 season when they could certainly sneak into contention.

4. Giants 1B Bryce Eldridge (20, AAA)

Has been streaky as the youngest hitter in Triple-A, but he’s slashing .318/.400/.682 with a couple home runs over his last six games. I don’t have a good feel for how San Fran plans to play this one. If he’s part of their opening day plan for 2025, they probably want to call him up and get his feet wet before too long, but that’s not necessarily the situation. Eldridge coming up to be a full-time designated hitter at 20-years-old doesn’t feel quite right. Maybe they use the winter to see if he can learn a little left field. 

5. Cardinals LHP Quinn Matthews (24, AAA) 

Forget command; Mathews lost control of the strike zone for about four months this year, and his season-long walk rate of 6.94 BB/9 will never recover in a way that looks good on the back of a baseball card. That number obscures a bounceback by Mathews in August. In 21.2 innings across four August starts, he’s allowed just six walks (2.49 BB/9) against 30 strikeouts. The rewards for his improved control are reflected in a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP for the month, a drastic difference from his season-long WHIP of 1.59. Could provide us some solid innings on the cheap. 

6. Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage (22, AAA) 

The 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Yesavage has accelerated through the minors this season and finds himself as perhaps the next man up when Toronto needs a starter. His two Triple-A outings haven’t been great, but he did record eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings his last time out, and the north wind is whispering to me that this one is happening even if Yesavage doesn’t blow the doors off that level. They’ve handled his workload conservatively, so he’s got 87 innings stretched across 21 outings and four levels. He’s in a good spot to help the playoff push and perhaps contribute in the postseason.

7. Mets RHP Jonah Tong (22, AAA) 

Simply put, I think Tong is among this organization’s best five starting pitchers right now. Maybe they won’t find a way to fit him into the rotation. He does have 107.2 innings across 21 starts after pitching 113 innings last year, so he might be nearing the end of his allotment, but I don’t know. It just feels right that they give him a start or two. He hasn’t given up more than two runs since April. His season long ERA is 1.50, which drops to 1.09 if you drop those first two starts of the season. I’m sure he feels like he’s being challenged every time he takes the ball, but the outcomes suggest he’s been ready for the next level most of the season.

8. Diamondbacks OF AJ Vukovich (24, AAA) 

Slashing .339/.420/.626 with 11 home runs over his last 46 games. Impossible to tell if this is a new performance level for Vukovich or the product of a friendly offensive environment, but he’s played in nice parks before, so I’d be inclined to lean into the former as a possibility if I were running the team. Let’s get him up and have a look.

9. Guardians 2B Travis Bazzana (22, AAA) 

.488 on base percentage through nine Triple-A games. Hasn’t made as much contact or done as much damage as you’d like to see from a bat-first second baseman, but 2025 has been an injury riddled campaign for Bazzana, and he’s the kind of talent who can get hot in a hurry.

10. Yankees OF Spencer Jones (24, AAA) 

An attention-grabbing hot streak has given way to an ice-cold summer. In 21 August games, Jones is slashing .173/.250/.272 with 32 strikeouts (34.8%) and two home runs. Be careful in redraft leagues next year. The hype here has black-hole gravity.

Thanks for reading!