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Pitching Prospects to Buy and Sell in Dynasty

Top 10 pitching prospects to stash in redraft league

John Villavicencio
Dynasty 9/23/2025

Buy

 

Here are four categories of prospects that you should consider buying before the 2026 season.

 

Lefties

 

Left-handed pitchers are a rarity in Major League Baseball and therefore represent a key asset for any starting rotation. Hitters have accrued almost 2.7 times more plate appearances against righties than lefties in 2025. Furthermore, hitters are underperforming when facing a southpaw, producing a lower average, a lower on-base percentage, a lower slugging rate, and a worse wRC+ than when facing a right-handed pitcher. The issue is so bad for hitters that the splits issue can afflict an entire team. There are eleven teams with less than a 90 wRC+ and eleven teams with a wOBA of .300 or less. This is just an abysmal outcome. However, we can all capitalize by sprinkling in a few promising prospects who throw from the left side.

 

 

1. Robby Snelling, Miami Marlins

 

Alas, Robby Snelling will have to wait until 2026 to make his major league debut. Yet, that bottles up his value at a lower price for you to purchase before people discover all of the goodness inside. His cost won’t be at much of a discount, though, since many outlets were singing his praises over the final stretch of the season with the expectation that Miami would bring him up. Snelling has pitched six or more innings in eight consecutive Triple-A starts, where he has 69 strikeouts, ten walks, a 1.27 ERA, a 69% strike rate, and a 19% swinging strike rate. Those are excellent results for the 6’3″ lefty after a poor 2024 made him trade bait for his former team, San Diego.

Although his fastball and curveball have great whiff rates, they do not have standout metrics. The four-seamer is sitting 95 mph with up to 20 inches of induced vertical break from his three-quarters arm slot. His extension doesn’t earn high praise, but he does have a strong follow-through, even if it doesn’t push him much closer to home plate. His athletic delivery does allow him to have a lower-than-normal release point at 5.5 feet.

His curveball gets a little more praise because it floats 10 inches horizontally in addition to the big 50-inch drop. The spin rate is in the 75th percentile, but the movement has helped him get above a 47% whiff rate and a .250 wOBA on the pitch.

The next steps for Snelling will be to consistently carry a third pitch, whether it is the sinker, slider, or changeup. In this game, the slider was hit the hardest, while the sinker gave up more hits. The changeup did its job by generating two whiffs in seven pitches on almost 15 inches of armside break. The Marlins would benefit from giving Snelling a look against major league hitters, as this would provide meaningful feedback without significant consequences for the team’s standings.

 

2. Thomas White, LHP, Miami Marlins

 

Thomas White has 145 strikeouts in under 90 innings. That immediately caught my eye, as did the steady incline in strikeout rate from High-A to Double-A and then again in Triple-A. The swinging strike rate dipped once he got to Triple-A, but his called strike and whiff rate held steady at 33%. Unfortunately, the walk rate is his big bugaboo. Over his final four starts, White allowed four or more free passes, raising his season walk rate to over 13%. The 55% strike rate through two Triple-A games is unsustainable with the fastball and slider as the main culprits. He was exhibiting stronger control in Double-A, so we can expect positive regression over a larger sample size that should bring him back down to a more comfortable range of 10%-12%. Either way, the 25% K-BB rate is an enticing appetizer for what should be a breakout 2026.

White features four pitches, with the sweeper being his best whiff pitch. The breaker has 15 inches of horizontal movement that he blends with a tighter-breaking slider. The fastball has major two-plane movement at times, which can explain the high walk rate on the pitch. His changeup is also a strong pitch with a 50% whiff rate in a much smaller sample.

With these two prospects likely joining the rotation early in 2026, the Miami Marlins are going to have a devastating starting rotation of Eury Pérez, Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer, and Janson Junk. Assuming Kyle Stowers returns healthy, the hitters should provide enough offensive firepower to make this team a solid wild-card contender.

 

Household Names

 

Everyone in the dynasty community knows these players, but you should consider working out a deal before they blow up in 2026.

 

3. Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

 

There is a strong reason to believe that Philadelphia has been having Andrew Painter work on “stuff” all year. This is partially due to the 2024 Tommy John surgery, but it was also likely a way to help him catch up developmentally, given all the missed time. If we create three periods of his 2025 season, then we see the following changes in his pitch mix.

The cutter and sinker disappear from his arsenal by September, while the changeup and slider become more essential. Despite the fear of re-injury, his velocity has been maintained over the entire season. The one noticeable change in his most recent start was a longer extension across the board. In an admittedly small sample of a single game, the whiff rate was up on his curveball, changeup, and slider.

In the offseason, he will need to address the hitability of his fastball, as the velocity is proving insufficient to keep hitters off the pitch. Half of his home runs allowed have come off the four-seamer. The pitch doesn’t have much horizontal movement, so perhaps a tweak in his grip could lead to some movement that will make the fastball less of a straight arrow.

The bottom line is that Painter is capable of making adjustments and will have a liberated offseason when he doesn’t have to cope with the immediate rehab program from recent surgery. He has also established a new high in innings, which will give him a ceiling of 140+ to strive for in 2026. The final stat line will hide his potential, making him a solid buy-low option in the offseason.

 

4. Ryan Sloan, RHP, Seattle Mariners

 

Here is an example of a prospect who has not delivered a top-notch performance quite yet, but is slowly building up for a grand entrance. Ryan Sloan is only 19 years old and is having success in High-A. Given his strong results, his name will begin to appear a lot more on top ten lists over the offseason as people search for breakout candidates who will take that next step forward in their development. He prioritizes a combination of a slider and a 95 mph fastball that works most of the time. He has a developing splitter and also mixes in a curveball. The extension is above-average from his 3/4 arm angle and power finish.

The strikeout numbers have not materialized quite yet, but that is likely due to workload management. The swinging strike rate did lower from 14% to 11% in High-A, but he has maintained an amazing K-BB rate over 21% for the entire season. Sloan is filling the zone with strikes 68% of the time, while maintaining a sub 6% walk rate all year. He is the second coming of George Kirby with a similar repertoire, but has reached High-A three years earlier than Kirby did. The next steps in his evolution will be to see what happens to the stuff and control when he stacks up back-to-back games over five innings.

 

Workhorses

 

These pitchers have a versatile set of pitches to keep hitters off balance and are chomping up innings like no other.

 

5. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, New York Yankees

 

ERC is among the 2025 minor league leaders in numerous categories. Over 145 innings pitched (#7 overall) is a significant achievement after only reaching 89 innings in 2024. That volume has helped him strike out 173 batters (#2 behind Jonah Tong). His 30% strikeout rate is 17th among pitchers who have thrown over 100 innings, and he is in the top 40 with a 14% swinging strike rate.

The whiffs fell off a bit after his Double-A promotion in July, but he has maintained a 33% CSW for the entire season. Even better, the walk rate dropped by two percentage points to 8%. Although he appears to have been tagged as a breakout candidate last offseason, he is still not getting the attention he deserves. As the player with the coveted 20% K-BB rate, he has propelled himself further into top-20 prospect pitcher consideration.

Rodriguez-Cruz has the total package. He throws the sinker to righties and a cutter to lefties. He can pinpoint the sinker all over the edges of the zone. The fastball is gearing up to 95 mph or more. The slider gets deep into the box. And he also has a changeup to keep hitters off balance. That gives him pitch shapes and movement to all parts of the zone. This vast pitch mix allows him to adjust to each opposing lineup with great creativity and fluidity.

 

6. Jack Wenninger, RHP, New York Mets

 

From his cowboy stance on the rubber, it appears as though Jack Wenninger is high upon a stallion, glaring down at the opposition. He revs back in his motion with maximum effort and uncoils his power delivery from a three-quarters arm slot. He is the next of many Mets starters who will rise in the ranks after the organization had three prominent graduates this year in Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat. Their next wave is equally as exciting, with Felipe de la Cruz, Will Watson, Jonathan Santucci, Zach Thornton, and Wenninger all already in the upper minor league levels. Wenninger is a standout here for his amazing splitter-like changeup, the vertical curveball, and quick-cutting slider. His fastball can be too straight at times, but he has been hitting 97 mph on the regular.

The overall metrics are not in elite territory, but he is building a workhorse reputation that will make his counting stats soar. Since the calendar flipped to August, Wenninger completed at least six innings in five out of eight games, including a playoff gem on August 18. In that game against Somerset, he allowed only one walk and one hit over six innings, generating 17 whiffs and nine strikeouts. During that period, he had a 64% strike rate, a 15% swinging strike rate, a 25% strikeout rate, a 7% walk rate, and a 5-0 record over 46.1 innings. Just when the team needed him, Wenninger stepped up and helped bring Binghamton to the league championship series.

 

Hidden Talents

 

This is a fun group of pitchers who have had their innings managed more acutely. Thus, they have final counting stats that are lower than would be expected if they were given a full run for an entire season. Their breakout may be obscured by not being on a leaderboard of “qualified” players.

 

7. Caden Scarborough, RHP, Texas Rangers

 

Caden Scarborough reached 88 innings pitched after only totaling 10.1 in 2024, which appears to be a strategic move by the Rangers. It paid off in 2025 as he has gradually built up to 74 pitches in a game and reached the fifth inning on seven occasions. Scarborough has a low arm angle delivery and above-average extension that helps boost the 95 mph four-seamer, the extreme sweeper, and diving splitter. In his High-A debut, he struck out nine hitters on 16 whiffs, while allowing only one walk and one hit.

Similar to Hagaman below, Scarborough improved all of the significant metrics when he made the jump to High-A. The main difference between the two young hurlers is that Scarborough is not coming off an injury and is much closer to realizing a full, unbridled season of starts. Scarborough is also younger, but there is no reason that he shouldn’t see the majority of 2026 in Double-A.

 

8. David Hagaman, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

 

Everyone is raving about how Arizona nabbed premium prospects Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt from Texas, but we are going to buy low on the third piece. David Hagaman is a 2024 fourth-round draft pick out of West Virginia University, who didn’t pitch until June because he was recovering from an internal brace surgery he underwent pre-draft. He only reached 35 innings in his final college season, as he was working primarily as a reliever.

This season, Texas deployed him as a starter, and he has continued in that role with Arizona. Although he has been gradually building up the workload to 42.1 innings on the season, Hagaman pitched into the fifth inning in back-to-back games and topped out at 65 pitches thrown in one game.

The 33% strikeout rate is the initial eye-catching stat, which becomes even more attractive when side-by-side with the 6.1% walk rate. The best part is that he lowered his walk rate from almost 10% in Single-A to just over 5% in High-A. He is achieving an 18% swinging-strike rate with a 96 mph fastball, a nice slider, and a changeup. Assuming that he continues to exhibit no ill signs from the 2024 arm surgery, Hagaman could begin 2026 in Double-A. You will have to move quickly on the lower value now, as he will represent the Diamondbacks in the Arizona Fall League. Prospect hype always balloons during this short season, given the dearth of news.

 

9. Dasan Hill, LHP, Minnesota Twins

 

As a 2024 draft pick out of high school, Dasan Hill has an ETA far out in the future. This gives him time to fill out his lanky 6’5″ frame and further develop his five-pitch mix. As it stands now, he is touching 97 mph with a four-seamer generating 16 inches of IVB. He primarily throws the slider and curveball to both righties and lefties, but the changeup is the star pitch with over 14 inches of break.

His main area of growth will be to throw more strikes with a 59% strike rate that held steady across two levels. Hill was able to generate a 30% CSW for the entire season, but a 15% walk rate is unsustainable as he progresses through each level. It will be interesting to see how he is managed early in the season, as he was capped at 60-70 pitches for most of the season and only reached the fifth inning two times out of 19 games.

 

10. Kelvis Salcedo, RHP, Detroit Tigers

 

After posting a 20% K-BB rate in his second stint in the Dominican Summer League, Kelvis Salcedo finally made the jump stateside to Complex ball in 2025. He didn’t disappoint as he built up to a 30% strikeout rate in the level. He strung together three consecutive five-inning starts that included a ten-strikeout game and a nine-strikeout game.

Given the minimal innings in 2024, Salcedo was eased into his Single-A promotion and didn’t start again until August. Over four appearances and three starts, Salcedo posted a 39% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate in 23.1 innings while commanding a 48% ground-ball rate and 15% swinging-strike rate. With more praise, he has allowed only three home runs on the season and maintained a 68% strike rate during his Single-A time.

He is rocking five pitches with a sick change, three fastballs, and a seldom-used slider. His 88 mph cutter is far and away his best putaway pitch, but the changeup carries a 60% whiff rate. As his most used pitch, the four-seamer is clocking in around 95 mph with 13 inches of IVB. His 3/4 delivery develops most of its power from his upper torso. With the low extension, he may be putting more pressure on his arm to generate force.

It will be interesting to see how he handles 80-90 pitches in a game, as he never went above 79 in 2025. Salcedo is a big-bodied hurler who is generating eye-catching rates. Consider him on the scout team once he makes the next level to see if he can continue ascending.  And maybe he already has…Salcedo finished out 2025, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

 

On the bubble: Carlos LaGrange (NYY), David Shields (KCR), Trey Gibson (BAL), Lucas Braun (ATL)

 

Sell

Here are three categories of prospects that you should consider selling before the 2026 season.

 

Household Names

 

These pitchers are a good consideration for selling because they offer familiarity and assumed positive attributes that give leverage to the seller in any deal.

 

1. Trey Yesavage, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

 

The name-brand value and familiarity of Trey Yesavage will carry weight with trade partners. No one is forcing you to sell on a promising young hurler, but what if you could flip that value into a more consistent pitcher or hitter? His potential for early-season struggles in the major leagues opens the door for that possibility. There is also some novelty in having a pitcher that has outlier characteristics on their stuff. The high release height and amazing 20+ inches of ride on the fastball will be good talking points, along with selling folks on the devastating splitter.

Yesavage went on to a historic night in his major league debut with nine strikeouts on 19 whiffs across his 69 pitches. He enters the league as a pitcher with one of the highest arm angles and highest release heights. The fact that the splitter is angling even more downward from that already high angle must be a difficult task for hitters to adjust to in their initial plate appearances against Yesavage. They may adjust and bait him to throw the more hittable fastball. You would be selling early to capitalize on this initial success.

 

2. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Bubba Chandler has not met many of the expectations set out by himself or dynasty managers. He was not called up until much later in the 2025 season. Chandler has been used as a multi-inning reliever to start his career, with minimal chances to start a game so far. In addition, his strikeout rate has plummeted, while the walks have piled up.

Yet, Chandler’s name-brand still has some weight since he should be expected as a full-go starter from the start of the 2026 season. He is an example of selling a prospect late. In reality, he still has a lot to prove, giving trade partners a lot to dream on with a full season of starts and solid value to ask for in return.

Chandler has all the right stuff to be a top-20 major league pitcher. He needs to improve his command and sequence of his four-pitch arsenal…Or he could just blow it by hitters as he did on September 13. In his best major league start thus far, Chandler was sitting 99 mph on the fastball and generated 13 whiffs on the pitch. He was efficient as well, needing only 81 pitches to complete six innings of work for his first quality start of his major league career.

If you are selling on Chandler now, you will likely be initially sent an underwhelming offer based on the season-long stat line. You should request a better return and can point to his recent success, his overall health, and those gaudy fastball metrics as reasons why he could excel in 2026. There is just always the chance that a rookie will continue to struggle, and therefore, you are reclaiming as much value as you can before things plummet again.

 

Hype Trains

 

These pitchers are gaining a lot of helium from people sharing end-of-year lists, and you could leverage that into a big return for your dynasty team.

 

3. Johnny King, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays

 

Johnny King is someone who will be pushed up prospect lists in the offseason as people share the eye-popping 40% strikeout rate. Yet, at 19 years old, he is likely at least two seasons away from major league service, and your dynasty team cannot wait that long, and anything can happen. His 93 mph sinker is a sick pitch with major two-plane movement. Yet, he can have difficulty harnessing the pitch at times, turning to a solid curveball and slider.

King is another one of these pitchers who has major strikeout upside, but is being weighed down by inconsistent command and a high walk rate. The name value, prominent placement on top-100 lists, and great strikeout numbers will help seal the deal for a more proven fantasy contributor.

 

4. Esteban Mejia, RHP, Baltimore Orioles

 

Here is a pitcher that is hitting triple digits on the regular and has a wicked 92 mph slider. Esteban Mejia will turn 19 years old at the start of the 2026 season, so he has a lot of room to grow further or wither. As a knowledgeable dynasty manager, you know that Mejia’s debut is unlikely to be earlier than two years away, so he still faces a steep climb to the major leagues.

Due to the fastball velocity, his name will likely be included in top-100 lists, and you can take advantage by getting a more proven player for your team. You will have to overcome the obstacle of explaining why he hasn’t pitched since August 17, when he gave up three earned runs on four hits and three walks.

 

Role Change

 

These pitchers are more likely than most to move to the bullpen due to poor health or other limiting factors.

 

5. Brandon Clarke, LHP, Boston Red Sox

 

Brandon Clarke represents a pitcher whose role is likely to change from starter to reliever before reaching the Red Sox. No doubt he has serious stuff with two above-average pitches, including an 80-grade slider. Yet, he has also been out at different times this year for arm issues after receiving Tommy John surgery post-college. This opens him up to questions about his durability.

You would have to explain why he hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch since early August, but you can point to the high strikeout rate early in the season as his ceiling. Clarke was hovering around 40% strikeouts and 18% swinging strikes through May before settling in at a 35% strikeout rate and a 16% swinging-strike rate for the season. Obviously, the sub-60% strike rate and 15% walk rate are both untenable, but we won’t go out of our way to highlight those stats when making deals. Even if you are unable to make a trade, the upside is that Clarke is a high-caliber reliever and possible closer of the future.

 

On the bubble, not because I expect negative regression. Rather, it is a strategic suggestion to sell while their value is high and a deal could bring back significant value to your dynasty team: Cam Caminiti (ATL), Noah Schultz (CHW), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC), Hunter Barco (PIT)

 

Photo by Mitchell Layton, Jasen Vinlove | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)

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