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Minor League Pitcher Grades: The Best Arms in the Minors Week 2

Baseball in its purest professional form is back.

Jacob Milham
Dynasty 3 Hours Ago

Keeping tabs on your current dynasty pitching options is hard enough. Looking for the next diamond in the rough on the minor-league side is a job all by itself. Thanks to PLV, we can look at some arms of note and the Triple-A pitchers doing the most in 2026.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Triple-A standouts from the season so far and check in on a Top 100 arm.

Check out the card tool at: https://milb-pitch-analysis-card.streamlit.app/ and other tools at: https://pitcherlist.com/pl-pro-tools-hub/

 

Top 100 Prospect Spotlight

 

Carlos Lagrange, New York Yankees
2026 Stats: 4 GS | 14.2 IP | 4.30 ERA | 5.79 FIP | 27.3% K% | 15.2% BB% | 26.3% CSW%
Last Week: 4.0 IP | 6.75 ERA | 5 H | 3 ER | 1 BB | 5 K

 

Dubbed one of the most electric arms in the dynasty prospect pool, New York Yankees prospect Carlos Lagrange has dug himself into a bit of a hole to start the 2026 season.

The 22-year-old right-hander has not had a true blow-up outing when you look strictly at the earned runs, but he has struggled to limit free baserunners and is too often behind in the count. There is a learning curve to be expected for the Dominican hurler in his first Triple-A season. But this is also the same prospect some clamored for to break camp with a World Series hopeful Yankees club. He does not look anywhere near ready for that jump in competition, and thankfully for New York, the big-league rotation does not need him right now.

Lagrange has yet to put together a complete start this season. There is always some issue, whether it is the walks or too many hits allowed, while the strikeouts remain strong, but the command is erratic at best.

That reality once again points to the fork in the road for his profile: starter or monster reliever. FanGraphs says he walked 4.65 per nine in 2025 and explicitly projects him as more likely to end up in relief, with premium closer upside if the command never gets to average. At the same time, it still views him as worth developing as a starter because the mix is deep enough and the ceiling is high enough to keep giving it a shot.

I happen to agree with that outlook. Lagrange has uncommon velocity and a strong set of pitches to work with. It is the control and command that continue to elude the young righty. Only his sweeper has an above-average expected-zone rate, according to Pitcher List analysis, while he is falling behind hitters with a below-average first-pitch strike rate.

I think Lagrange could also use a pitch-arsenal adjustment, at least early in the season. There is something to be said about throwing your best pitch too much, but more sliders from Lagrange certainly could not hurt. I also want to see more sinkers from him in place of the four-seam fastball. There likely has to be a mechanical adjustment as well, because his subpar extension is not normal for a 6-foot-7 pitcher.

It is still early enough in the season for Lagrange to make his MLB debut later this year, but he has bigger fish to fry first. There has to be a more consistent location of the four-seam fastball, or else the sweeper and slider will be severely limited. Right now, hitters can sit back and work deep counts against Lagrange. Let’s see how he grows, but his dynasty stock is certainly lower now than it was a mere month ago.

Here are his PLV cards:

 

 

Triple-A Standouts

 

Caden Dana, Los Angeles Angels
2026 Stats: 1 GS | 6.0 IP | 3.00 ERA | 1.47 FIP | 31.8% K% | 0.0% BB% | 29.1% CSW%
Last Week: 6.0 IP | 3.00 ERA | 4 H | 2 ER | 0 BB | 7 K

 

What was your take on Caden Dana after he made his debut in his age-20 season back in 2024? For much of 2025, the Los Angeles Angels prospect served as the poster child for what can happen when an organization rushes a prospect to The Show. But there is still time for Dana to round into form, and his 2026 debut was a strong first step.

Dana took the ball for Triple-A Salt Lake and delivered a quality start, walking no batters and striking out seven. It was a stark contrast to Dana’s 2025 season at that level, when he posted a 5.93 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.

Dana certainly benefited from some slick fielding behind him, evident in the 46.7% line-drive rate and below-average .267 BABIP. But Dana’s command was pristine, forcing hitters to put the ball in play or watch his fastball land for strikes. Not many two-pitch approaches work for Triple-A starters, but Dana’s four-seam/slider combo played well, especially with a 44.4% whiff rate on the slider.

 

Brandon Young, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats: 3 GS | 16.2 IP | 1.08 ERA | 1.60 FIP | 32.8% K% | 5.2% BB% | 32.7% CSW%
Last Week: 5.2 IP | 1.59 ERA | 0 H | 1 ER | 2 BB | 10 K

 

The Baltimore Orioles rewarded Brandon Young’s five shutout innings earlier this month with a demotion back to Triple-A Norfolk. The 27-year-old did not have a debut season to remember, but his first impression in 2026 was a strong one. Now he is continuing that momentum on the farm with the Tides.

Young likely does not carry much value in dynasty formats, but he feels closer to the majors than his name value gives him credit for. His results this year are impossible to ignore, and he has a deep enough arsenal to support a fringe-MLB profile. His four-seamer’s 17.4 inches of iVB and 69.7% expected-zone rate fuel an absurd 5.77 PLV so far in 2026. Pair that with 41.4% and 54.5% whiff rates on his splitter and slider, respectively, and there is a very productive starter in Norfolk for Baltimore to call upon.

 

Dax Fulton, Miami Marlins
2026 Stats: 4 G (3 GS) | 13.0 IP | 6.23 ERA | 3.95 FIP | 32.2% K% | 13.6% BB% | 29.5% CSW%
Last Week: 6.0 IP | 0.00 ERA | 3 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 10 K

 

The Miami Marlins’ pitching development pipeline is considered one of the strongest in the league, even if that is overshadowed by an underperforming MLB product. Most eyes are rightfully on prospects Thomas White and Noble Meyer when it comes to dynasty value, but Dax Fulton might have a case to make after a sluggish start to the 2026 season.

Fulton’s April 14 start for the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp was spectacular, easily the best outing of the Oklahoma native’s season so far. He found more success leaning on the curveball, throwing it as often as his workhorse fastball. Fulton gets down the mound well and creates plenty of extension from his 6-foot-7 frame. The 24-year-old attacked the top of the strike zone, then used the changeup and sinker in the lower half to generate weak contact and whiffs.

The former second-rounder’s overall box score may not be pretty, but he looked like a player knocking on the door this past week. Managers need to see if he can sustain this over a month, or even just into his next start. But keep tabs on the Marlins prospect that not many people are talking about.

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