The Pitcher Edition of the Stash List highlights the 10 best-pitching prospects likely to make an impact during the 2024 season.
Prospects are often thought of as only holding value in dynasty formats. However, knowing which prospects hold value for the current season can help set you apart in redraft leagues. Several have a 2024 ETA and getting ahead of the curve on rostering these prospects is a key part of roster management. Last year we saw more pitching prospects make their debut than ever before and there is no reason we should expect to see anything change in 2024. Keep reading to find out the top ten pitchers you should stash in your redraft leagues.
Ground Rules
- The Stash List is for your redraft leagues and does not consider impact beyond 2024.
- Only current minor league players who are expected to make an impact this season are included.
- Upside, proximity, health, and opportunity are all weighed for each player.
- The focus is on 12-team leagues with standard categories.
- Rankings and rostership percentages will be updated weekly.
- Stats will be updated weekly for all players through Thursday’s games.
The Stash List
Graduates/Call-Ups
The stash game can be a fickle mistress as evidenced by what happened to those who had been hanging onto the Braves’ AJ Smith-Shawver. The 21-year-old right-hander tossed 4.1 scoreless innings in his first Atlanta start on May 23 but the next day he landed on the IL Grade 2 left oblique strain, which typically has a six-to-eight-week recovery timeline. Instead of bringing up Hurston Waldrep, Atlanta’s first-round pick in last year’s draft who has been on fire over his last seven starts in Double-A, the Braves called up Spencer Schwellenbach, who had made just two starts in Double-A after starting the season in High-A.
In his MLB debut against the Nationals on Wednesday, Schwellenbach took a shutout into the fifth inning before giving up a three-run homer to Lane Thomas. The 24-year-old right-hander has a five-pitch arsenal and 70-grade command, so the Braves may just believe he’s better equipped to hit the ground running in Atlanta.
Schwellenbach sat 95-97 mph on his fastball and his curve and slider were both effective. His fastball has below-average riding life on it so he depends on pinpoint control of it, so when he missed middle-in on a 96-mph offering in the fifth inning, Thomas crushed it. Schwellenbach has major workload concerns, having pitched 65 innings last year after missing 2022 coming off Tommy John surgery following his second-round selection in the 2021 draft. He already has a combined 50 innings under his belt this season, so he may only have 50-60 innings left before Atlanta will likely shut him down.
Schwellenbach could find some success in the meantime, making him worth adding as a potential asset in WHIP with a chance for wins and a solid strikeout rate.
Keider Montero got to make his MLB debut opposite Paul Skenes and the Pirates on Wednesday, taking the loss by allowing four runs in 4.1 innings. The Tigers’ 23-year-old right-hander was up for a spot start in a doubleheader, but it was good to see that he’s definitely on the radar to get in the Detroit rotation if Casey Mize and Matt Manning keep struggling in the fifth spot. Montero averaged 95.5 mph on his fastball and his plus slider got five whiffs, but his changeup was ordinary and he hung a knuckle-curve that Nick Gonzales went deep on. In deeper leagues, Montero can be stashed even though he just missed landing on the list since Detroit is such a favorable place to pitch if he can get in the rotation.
Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash
1. Christian Scott, RHP, New York Mets
Previous Ranking: N/R
2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 25.1 IP | 3.20 ERA | 38.3 K% | 6.4 BB%
2024 MLB Stat line: 27.2 IP | 3.90 ERA | 22.3 K% | 5.4 BB%
With the Mets headed to London next week and thus having two straight days off, a six-man rotation wasn’t needed so Christian Scott was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Scott has been solid in his first five MLB starts, but he hasn’t set the world on fire like his fantasy managers were hoping. It’s been a lower-than-expected strikeout rate of 8.1 K/9 that has fueled most of the disappointment. The Mets may want Scott to work on his changeup with Syracuse, and he could break out the curveball he’s yet to throw in the majors. It is expected that Scott will be back with the Mets in two weeks, so he should be grabbed and stashed in any leagues where he gets dropped.
2. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Detroit Tigers
Previous Ranking: 3
2024 MiLB (AA) stat line: 16.2 IP | 2.16 ERA | 35.3 K% | 14.7 BB%
Jackson Jobe was about to take over the top spot on this list until the Scott demotion news broke on Friday. Jobe is getting closer to a return from a left hamstring strain suffered on May 1 with Double-A Erie as the 21-year-old right-hander threw a bullpen session last Saturday. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder could make a return to game action sometime this week and could quickly earn a promotion to Triple-A Toledo. Jobe didn’t allow a hit over his last two starts and has retired 32 of the last 34 batters he’s faced going back to his April 13 outing against Akron. He could be pushing for a spot in the Tigers rotation by the end of June.
3. Cade Povich, LHP, Baltimore Orioles
Previous Ranking: 4
2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 56.2 IP | 3.18 ERA | 32.1 K% | 9.0 BB%
With the news that John Means and Tyler Wells will undergo elbow surgery, it shouldn’t be long before Cade Povich gets the call to make his MLB debut for Baltimore. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has hinted that he wants to use a six-man rotation, which could be Povich until Dean Kremer returns from the IL. The rotation now consists of Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, and Albert Suarez, but the O’s will need more starting pitchers with only one scheduled day off in June.
The 24-year-old left-hander didn’t make a strong statement on Friday for Triple-A Norfolk, giving up six runs in three innings against Gwinnett. It was the first time all season that the 6-foot-3, 185-pound southpaw has given up more than three runs. Camden Yards with its cavernous left-field dimensions is perfect for lefty fly-ball pitchers like Povich, so he could be a difference-maker in fantasy once he gets the shot that should be coming soon.
4. David Festa, RHP, Minnesota Twins
Previous Ranking: 7
2024 MiLB (AAA) stat line: 39 IP | 2.77 ERA | 36.8 K% | 12.3 BB%
A fresh David Festa dominated last Saturday for Triple-A St. Paul with eight strikeouts in five one-hit innings at Buffalo coming off seven days of rest. The 6-foot-6 right-hander was back up to 80 pitches after rain cut short his previous outing at 63 pitches. The 24-year-old had averaged 82 pitches over the three starts before that, so now might be time to get him on a more traditional five days of rest in advance of a possible call-up in June.
The Twins begin a stretch of games on 13 straight days on Tuesday, so it could be time for a six-man rotation. If Festa were to pitch well in what would amount to an audition for a rotation spot, he could stick over either Chris Paddack or Simeon Woods Richardson. With a whopping strikeout rate of 13.9 K/9, Festa has the stuff to break out over the summer.
5. Chayce McDermott, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
Previous Ranking: 5
2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 47 IP | 4.02 ERA | 35.2 K% | 14.1 BB%
Chayce McDermott gave up three runs and three walks in four innings in Triple-A on Tuesday, but he finished May with an impressive 45-7 K-BB in 25.2 frames. The 25-year-old right-hander remains right on Povich’s tail as the Norfolk duo duel for the status of being Baltimore’s top pitching prospect. The 6-foot-3, 197-pounder entered May with 23 walks in 21.1 innings, so it was a big month for McDermott’s progression. With the Orioles playing games on all but one day in June, McDermott could get a chance to make his MLB debut before long.
6. Shane Baz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Previous Ranking: 1
2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 16.1 IP | 7.71 ERA | 11.0 K% | 15.9 BB%
The journey back to a MLB mound for Shane Baz took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when the 24-year-old was knocked around for six runs in 4.1 innings with just one strikeout in Triple-A. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder had averaged 96 mph on his fastball over four rehab starts, but his velocity was down to 94.6 on Tuesday in his first start since being optioned to Durham. Before his July 2022 Tommy John surgery, Baz sat in the upper-90s with his fastball. Baz had been slowed by oblique injuries suffered during the spring before returning to the mound on May 4 for Durham. Baz has struggled with control issues as is often the case in returning from TJ, walking 13 in 16.1 innings.
Going into his last start, we were watching to see if his control improved or the velocity ticked up. Instead, both went the wrong way. For those of us who have been stashing Baz all season, we need to see some positive signs soon otherwise it’s time to move on.
7. Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Previous Ranking: 6
2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 49.1 IP | 2.92 ERA | 22.4 K% | 7.9 BB%
It came as a bit of a surprise when the Braves passed up on the chance to bring up Hurston Waldrep from Double-A Mississippi when Smith-Shawver hit the IL, instead going with Schwellenbach. The big issue with Waldrep is whether he can throw enough strikes to get ahead, setting up his devastating upper-80s splitter. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righty threw 60 strikes in 93 pitches on Monday, giving up two walks and two runs in five innings. Over his last seven starts, the Braves’ first-round selection in the 2023 draft has a 1.28 ERA with a 41-12 K-BB over 42.1 innings. The Braves may want to keep Waldrep away from the automated ball-strike system being used in Triple-A, so he could still get a call-up from Mississippi any time that he is deemed ready. Schwellenbach is getting a second start for the Braves, but the next time his spot in the rotation comes up it could be time to get a look at Waldrep in the majors.
8. Logan Evans, RHP, Seatle Mariners
Previous Ranking: 8
2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 51.1 IP | 1.23 ERA | 23.2 K% | 7.4 BB%
Logan Evans tossed six more scoreless innings for Double-A Arkansas on Wednesday, finishing the month with a 0.63 ERA over five starts. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander took a minute to adjust to pitching with a fastball that has ticked up to 99 mph since going in the 13th round last year out of Pittsburgh, striking out just five in 14.1 innings over his first three starts this season. In his ensuing seven starts, has a 42-8 K-BB in 37 innings with a 0.73 ERA. With how the Mariners like to promote their top pitching prospects straight from Double-A to Seattle, Evans could make the jump the next time there’s an opening in the rotation.
9. Cade Horton, RHP, Chicago Cubs
Previous Ranking: 2
2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 16.1 IP | 1.10 ERA | 29.0 K% | 3.2 BB%
2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 18 IP | 7.50 ERA | 27.2% | 13.6 BB%
Cade Horton left his Wednesday start in Triple-A after just one inning with lat soreness. The 22-year-old right-hander is undergoing further evaluation, but the Cubs will surely err on the side of caution with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft. It could be July before Horton returns to game action, but it’s still worth hanging on to see what the recovery timeline looks like. Horton has been struggling for Iowa with a 7.50 ERA over five starts after putting up 1.10 ERA in four starts for Double-A Tennessee. With Ben Brown coming off a dominant outing in the Cubs rotation and Jordan Wicks nearing a return from the IL, it’s pretty crowded in Chicago right now. It could be around the All-Star break before Horton is a legitimate option for a call-up, so there’s plenty of time for things to sort themselves in the Cubs rotation.
10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Previous Ranking: 9
2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 39.1 IP | 2.52 ERA | 31.4 K% | 18.0 BB%
It’s the same old story for Jacob Misiorowski, who walked three with seven strikeouts in four innings on Thursday for Double-A Biloxi. The 6-foot-7 flamethrower has a 54-31 K-BB in 39.1 innings with just 24 hits allowed and a 2.52 ERA. Misiorowski could still dial in his control and race to Milwaukee on the strength of his knockout stuff, but it’s just as likely that he gets moved to the bullpen by the end of the summer.
On The Bubble
Here are the next five pitchers that were in consideration for inclusion on this week’s list: Carson Whisenhunt, SF; Max Meyer, MIA; Sem Robberse, STL; Tink Hence, STL; Adam Mazur, SD