The Pitcher Edition of the Stash List highlights the 10 best pitching prospects likely to make an impact during the 2026 season.
Prospects are often thought of as holding value only in dynasty formats. However, knowing which prospects hold value for the current season can help set you apart in redraft leagues. Several have a 2026 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 2026. 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 2026.
- 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 roster percentages will be updated weekly.
- Stats will be updated weekly for all players through Thursday’s games.
Triple-A Starting Pitcher Leaders in Swinging Strike Rate through June 18th, 2026 (Age 23 and younger, minimum of 500 pitches thrown) through June 18, 2026
The Stash List
Recent Call-ups/Graduates
The following prospects joined the big league clubs over the past week:
Eiberson Castellano, COL: Hopefully you didn’t blink during Castellano’s debut on June 14th because he’s already back in Triple-A. The 25-year-old logged three innings in Vegas against the A’s, allowing four hits with no runs and two strikeouts but also earning a save in the team’s 23-9 victory.
JR Ritchie, ATL: Ritchie was recalled to start the back end of a day/night doubleheader on Wednesday against the Giants, opposite Carson Whisenhunt. It was more of the same for Ritchie, who lasted just five innings, allowing five runs on five hits (including 3HR), walking three, and striking out four. His command and control continue to falter in 2026 as he has walk rates above 12% at both Triple-A and the Majors.
Jake Bennett, BOS: With Brayan Bello in the Minors and Garrett Crochet still banged up, the Red Sox turned to Jake Bennett against Toronto this week. Bennett was solid in his return, tossing 5 1/3 innings with two earned runs, no walks, and five strikeouts. The 25-year-old left-hander got 15 whiffs and added seven called strikes while using six different pitches against the Jays.
Trey Gibson, BAL: Gibson’s fifth MLB appearance was the worst of his young career. Pitching against a bad Padres’ team, Gibson allowed six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings, while also walking five hitters. The silver lining is that Gibson did accumulate 26 called strikes in this outing and produced seven strikeouts as a result. It’s still a small sample, but Gibson’s near-20% called strike rate versus a 6.9% SwStr is a very bizarre outlier in his metrics.
Sean Sullivan, COL: After three scoreless in his big league debut last week, Sullivan ran into a buzzsaw this week against the Cubs. Sullivan lasted just four innings, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits, adding two walks and two strikeouts. His second inning was quite rough, as he allowed seven runs in the inning, capped by a home run by Dansby Swanson. The Cubs pummeled his fastball, tallying five hard-hit balls, including three for extra bases. Command is everything for Sullivan, as he operates with an upper-80s fastball, and that doesn’t play well in the Majors when you’re missing spots.
Daniel Espino, CLE: A much-deserved hat tip goes to Daniel Espino on his MLB debut, but even more for his perseverance to get to this point. Espino missed nearly all of the past four seasons, logging just 37 2/3 innings since the beginning of 2022 due to multiple shoulder injuries. A one-time Top 5 pitching prospect in baseball, Espino tossed a scoreless inning in his debut, striking out two. He generated seven called strikes plus whiffs on 12 pitches and averaged 99.8mph with his four-seam fastball. Espino is electric, so let’s hope he stays healthy!
Dax Fulton, MIA: The Marlins recalled Fulton this week, shifting the Triple-A starter to their depleted bullpen. Fulton provided two scoreless innings at the Phillies, issuing a walk and striking out two. In six MLB innings, Fulton owns a 3.00 ERA and has worked exclusively out of the bullpen.
Ryan Johnson, LAA: The Angels recalled Ryan Johnson to make his second career start on Thursday night. Things didn’t go well as Johnson got tagged for five earned runs by the A’s over five innings. His career ERA is now 9.96 as the former second-rounder has worked as a closer, setup man, bulk reliever, and starter across 28 MLB innings.
Carson Whisenhunt, SFG: Whisenhunt has done a nice job this season at Triple-A, cutting into his walk rate and generally throwing more strikes while rediscovering his ability to miss bats. The Giants recalled him on Wednesday to start against Atlanta, where he earned his first career win. Whisenhunt went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked two. After showing some exciting velocity spikes this spring, his four-seamer averaged 92.8mph and got zero whiffs but ten called strikes. His status in the Giants’ rotation is unknown.
Max Rajcic, STL: Rajcic made his MLB debut on Thursday night against the Royals, throwing two innings and allowing an earned run. Rajcic, a former starter turned reliever, threw 33 pitches but didn’t produce much on the backend, earning just 5 called strikes plus whiffs. Rajcic has shown nice skills in Triple-A, earning whiff rates of over 25% on all five of his pitches. With the Cardinals moving on from Chris Raycroft, Rajcic could be a fixture in the Red Birds’ bullpen.
1. Kade Anderson, LHP, SEA
2026 Stats (AA): 55.2 IP/1.13 ERA/0.66 WHIP/41.2 K%/3.5 BB%
We really love Kade Anderson over here at PitcherList, but we don’t love that he makes his turn in the rotation on the same day we publish the Stash List. As per usual, the Mariners’ top prospect thoroughly dominated in his most recent start, throwing a career-high 6 ⅔ scoreless innings, yielding just three hits and striking out six. It was also the fourth consecutive game where Anderson didn’t walk a single batter. Of his 80 pitches, 55 went for strikes (69%), and Anderson had just one three-ball count of the 23 batters he faced. With Anderson currently in Double-A, we didn’t get any velocity readings, but he did accumulate 13 whiffs and 8 groundball outs, according to Mariners Minors.
What Anderson is doing in year one is simply outstanding, especially having never pitched below Double-A. Among qualified MiLB pitchers, he ranks inside the Top 5 in nearly every statistical category or metric, including first with a 1.13 ERA, 37.7% K-BB rate, a 1.65 FIP, and a 2.34 xFIP, while allowing just seven earned runs, the fewest by any full-season pitcher. Simply put, Kade Anderson is on the short list of the game’s best pitching prospects and can make a case to be the #1 guy. The Mariners recently said that Anderson would not be called up soon but stopped short of saying he would not appear in 2026. Given their recent move to a six-man rotation with piggybacking, the days of Anderson in Double-A are numbered, and he likely skips Triple-A altogether.
2. Karson Milbrandt, RHP, MIA
2026 Stats (AA/AAA): 58 IP/1.24 ERA/1.00 WHIP/35.1 K%/10.4 BB%
Like Anderson, the timing of Milbrandt’s outings are not ideal for this publication; they should probably fix that. The 22-year-old made his most recent start on Saturday, the 13th, pitching against a Gwinnett team that had a rehabbing Drake Baldwin in the lineup. Milbrandt neutralized Baldwin and the rest of the Stripers lineup, allowing just one run on three hits, walking three, and striking out seven over five complete innings. Of his 83 pitches, 52 went for strikes (62.7%), and he generated 25 CSW (12 whiffs) for a 30% rate. Milbrandt wasn’t in the zone all that much in this start, landing just 42% of his pitches in the zone, but he got hitters to chase 33% of the time. As has been the case most of the season, Milbrandt’s four-seam fastball was outstanding. He averaged 94.3 mph with it, getting around 16 inches of iVB and 10 inches of arm-side run. The heater was responsible for 13 of his 25 called strikes and whiffs.
Yep, there’s that Karson Milbrandt fellow again.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/p78fyGBc7F
— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) June 14, 2026
Milbrandt continues his ascent into the upper echelon of pitching prospects and hasn’t missed a beat since his promotion to Triple-A. In his first 11 innings at the level, he has a 0.82 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. His walk rate has spiked a little with the ABS system, but he’s still holding batters to a .152 average against, slightly down from his .177 for the 2026 season. Milbrandt continues to showcase excellent stuff with elite bat-missing skills. Across two levels and 58 innings in 2026, Milbrandt has a 17.7% SwStr and 34.1% CSW. Not to mention he’s throwing 64% of his pitches for strikes while averaging over 12 Ks per inning. With the Marlins on the fringe of the playoff picture and operating with a four-man rotation in the absence of Eury Pérez, Milbrandt would represent a significant upgrade over the Ryan Gusto and Tyler Phillips types but still requires a bit more seasoning at the Triple-A level.
3. Brody Hopkins, RHP, TBR
2026 Stats (AAA): 58.2 IP/4.91 ERA/1.67 WHIP/25.6 K%/20.7 BB%
Every time I start to get excited about Brody Hopkins figuring things out, he doesn’t. What’s even more infuriating is how much arm talent he possesses, particularly with spin, yet has no command of his potentially elite stuff. Hopkins was utterly dominant for a two-start stretch, closing out May and entering June. In those starts, he logged ten scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts against just three walks. In two starts since, 5 ⅔ innings with 13 ER and more walks than strikeouts. His latest blunder came on Wednesday as Hopkins faced off against the defending Triple-A champion Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. For the second time this season, Jacksonville tagged Hopkins for seven runs as they hung crooked numbers in innings one, two, and four, eventually chasing Hopkins after 3 ⅔. The 24-year-old certainly didn’t help himself, throwing just 55% of his pitches for strikes and issuing five free passes while also hitting a batter. Still, he tallied 11 whiffs on 40 swings (28%) and added 12 called strikes. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as he once again failed to get out of the fourth inning.
This level of inconsistency is becoming all too familiar for Hopkins, who now sits with a 4.91 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 58 ⅔ innings at Triple-A. With five more walks in his most recent start, his K-BB rate is down to 4.9%, largely due to a 20.7% walk rate. Yet, I’m still here telling you that Hopkins is a guy worthy of being stashed and among the best options at Triple-A. The stuff is so, so good, and we’ve seen spurts of brilliance from him over the course of the season. Hopkins misses a ton of bats, has a very advanced feel for spin, and can manipulate hitters in very dominant ways. At the same time, most days he has no idea where it’s going, and he puts himself into big holes that he can’t pitch out of. With all that in mind, very few guys have the upside that Brody Hopkins has, which is why we keep going back to the well.
4. Jack Wenninger, RHP, NYM
2026 Stats (AAA): 59.1 IP/3.34 ERA/1.38 WHIP/23.1 K%/12.7 BB%
Wenninger’s up-and-down season took another dip on Wednesday as the 24-year-old struggled in his start against Norfolk. In this outing, he completed just four innings, allowing four runs on four hits with three walks and six punchouts. Wenninger managed 14 whiffs and 16 called strikes on the day, with over half coming on his four-seamer and sinker. The home run ball was the problem for Wenninger in this game, as he allowed three on the day, including two to José Barrero. Typically, that’s not a problem for him, as he’d only given up six all season entering this start. But, in all three instances, he left the ball over the heart of the plate, twice with the heater and once with a cement mixer slider. His four-inning start represents his third shortest of the season despite throwing 87 pitches and marks his second straight game allowing three or more earned runs.
This year, his ERA is now over 3.00 for the first time as his post-April slide continues. It would be easy to point the finger at his command as the primary culprit behind his skid. But in April, he walked 12 batters in 22 ⅓ innings and still came away with an ERA of 1.61. In reality, the stuff has not been sharp. Early on, he consistently missed bats and finished hitters, generally posting strikeout rates in the 20% range. Since May 17th, he’s had six starts. Three had strikeout rates over 20%, and of the other three, two had K rates of under 10%. Before Wednesday, he had two pitches getting whiffs, the slider and changeup, which account for ~40% of his pitch mix. While the four-seamer was effective in his most recent start, it had been bad of late. It lacks outlier velocity (93.8 mph), although he does average nearly 18 inches of iVB on the pitch from his 6’5″ release height. When Wenninger gets locked in, he’s a very capable mid-rotation starter, and as the Mets continue to fall out of the playoff race, Wenninger should see a significant amount of time in the Majors.
5. Ty Johnson, RHP, TBR
2026 Stats (AAA): 39.1 IP/2.97 ERA/1.04 WHIP/29.6 K%/8.8 BB%
It hasn’t been the best week to be on the Stash List, and Johnson is a perfect example. The 6’6″ right-hander delivered his worst statistical outing of 2026 on Thursday, yielding six earned runs against Jacksonville in 5 1/3 innings. Almost all of the damage against Johnson came via the home run as Deyvison de los Santos, Jared Serna, and Kemp Alderman all got to Johnson in a span of seven batters, stretched between the 4th and 5th innings. The silver lining was that Johnson led all Triple-A pitchers with 22 whiffs on 53 swings (42%), getting 13 with his fastball and nine with the slider. Of course, Johnson only throws two pitches on most nights, although he did throw one changeup in this one. The problem wasn’t the stuff; it was his command. Johnson left several pitches over the heart of the plate, and the Jumbo Shrimp did not miss.
With this most recent outing, Johnson’s ERA has spiked to 2.97 with a 1.04 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings, all of which have come at Triple-A. The numbers are still very good. He has a 29.6% strikeout rate and a 8.8% walk rate. Opposing hitters are rarely squaring him up, mustering a sub-4% barrel and sub-30% hard hit rate on the season. His three homers allowed in this game represent 60% of what he’s allowed this year, while his 6 ER represent nearly 50% of his total runs allowed. Simply put, Johnson is going to be just fine. If there’s any concern with him moving forward, it’s the lack of a third offering, which most always points to a high risk of becoming a reliever down the line.
22 whiffs and 9 strikeouts tonight for Ty Johnson, that’s the most whiffs tonight in AAA by 7. He did this by using just 2 pitches. The fastball got 13 whiffs and he only averaged 92.8 MPH on it. A big reason it plays so well is because of its above average carry, and hitters so… pic.twitter.com/ovR7kVcZ12
— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) June 19, 2026
6. River Ryan, RHP, LAD
2026 Stats (AAA): 36.1 IP/4.46 ERA/1.29 WHIP/27.2 K%/5.1 BB%
Ryan has been a staple on this list since day one and rightfully so. Entering play on Wednesday, Ryan had a 2.81 ERA and 24.6% K-BB rate across 32 innings this season. The 27-year-old looked pretty sharp in year one post-Tommy John surgery and was trending toward being the next man up in LA when one of their starters inevitably goes on the IL. That’s still the case, but Ryan had his first blow-up of 2026, getting shelled against Sacramento. In 4 1/3 innings, Ryan allowed ten hits, including a homer, resulting in eight earned runs. That’s two earned runs less than he’d allowed in seven previous starts. A leadoff triple to open the second led to the first run and was followed soon after by a solo HR. He allowed two more runs in the third, but the floodgates opened in a five-run fifth. Three straight singles to open the inning led to the fifth run, which was followed by a walk and a strikeout, but that ended Ryan’s night. Reliever Chayce McDermott inherited a bases-loaded situation and promptly gave up a grand slam, leaving Ryan on the hook for three additional runs.
Nothing went right all night long. He got just seven whiffs and gave up seven hard-hit balls, more than any outing this season. During his final inning, his four-seam fastball was down over two miles per hour. The four-seam usage was also way down, utilizing 18% less than he has all season long. We can chalk this up as one of those nights for Ryan. Other than the late-game velo dip, he was at, or above, his normal velocity across the board; the stuff just wasn’t sharp. The rough outing pushes his ERA north of 4.00 and also raises the WHIP quite a bit. But there will be days like this, and Ryan is still the first man up in their system.
7. Mitch Bratt, LHP, ARI
2026 Stats (AAA): 44.1 IP/2.84 ERA/0.95 WHIP/24.7 K%/7.1 BB%
Bratt returned to the mound on Wednesday, three weeks after leaving his start early due to back inflammation and subsequently landing on the IL. The 22-year-old picked up where he left off, throwing four solid innings against Las Vegas. Bratt threw 29 of his 48 pitches for strikes, allowing two earned runs on two hits with one walk, while striking out four. As with his previous starts, Bratt was heavy on fastballs and curves, accounting for 71% of his pitch mix and six of his seven whiffs. His slider usage was up slightly, but oddly, his velo jumped 1.5 mph from his year-long average. Overall, Bratt was pretty good, was managed properly by the staff, and reported no discomfort post-game.
Bratt makes a lot of sense as a call-up and possibly very soon. Although he’s thrown just 44 innings at the level, his pitchability and makeup are well beyond his years. Nothing in the arsenal is overpowering, but he commands it well, has difficult arm angles to identify, and can throw all five pitches for strikes. His four-seamer averages just 90.8 mph with no outlier movement but good spin. Bratt pairs two unique breakers, a curve and a slider, with the slider being the best of the two. In addition, he throws a sinker and a changeup. Since moving to Triple-A, he has not gotten nearly the same amount of whiffs as he did in earlier levels but is still minimizing damage. Opposing hitters get themselves out, chasing outside the zone and mustering weak contact. This season, he’s allowed a hard-hit rate of just 33% with a .194 average against. Bratt will never beat himself, throwing a high volume of strikes and making up for the lack of whiffs with a 17% called strike rate. If you’re looking for a very reliable high-floor starter with above-average ERA and WHIP and aren’t as worried about strikeouts, Bratt is a perfect stash.
8. Carlos Lagrange, RHP, NYY
2026 Stats (AAA): 60.1 IP/4.03 ERA/1.29 WHIP/29.5 K%/11.4 BB%
Being the only reliever on the list shows just how impactful Carlos Lagrange can be at the next level. The fireballing right-hander shifted to a bulk relief role earlier this month and is still adjusting to his new role. Lagrange logged a total of 4 2/3 innings this week, allowing six runs (2 ER) with five strikeouts and two walks. On Sunday, Lagrange piggybacked Elmer Rodríguez, going three innings with 12 called strikes plus whiffs on 41 pitches, en route to five strikeouts. His outing on Thursday was not as successful, yielding four runs (none earned) with two walks. After a leadoff walk and an error, Lagrange got two flyouts, which should have ended the inning if not for the error. Instead, he allowed a two-run single, followed by the last of Cooper Ingle’s three homers on the day. Lagrange had just three whiffs and four called strikes of his 32 pitches, his lowest total this season.
While his control hasn’t been stellar, the walks have not hurt him as a reliever. In this case, his defense let him down, forcing him to throw more pitches than he needed to, ultimately leading to runs. Out of the bullpen, Lagrange has a 2.38 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 5 walks in 11 1/3 innings. His velocity hasn’t actually increased as you’d anticipate since he’s still making multi-inning appearances and he’s still utilizing a four-pitch mix out of the pen. With three pitches showing whiff rates over 30% plus an electric triple-digit fastball, Lagrange is a possible X-factor for the Yankees during the second half of 2026.
9. Nestor German, RHP, BAL
2026 Stats (AAA): 65.2 IP/4.52 ERA/1.32 WHIP/27.7 K%/9.6 BB%
German has been on a roller coaster ride so far this season, but he had his longest and most effective start of 2026 on Tuesday. The Orioles prospect went 6 2/3 innings against Syracuse, allowing two runs on three hits but striking out eight with no walks. German produced 14 whiffs and added 13 called strikes on 83 pitches. Most importantly, this is his second start of the season, where he issued no walks as he posted a 65% strike rate. German leaned on the hard stuff more in this outing, throwing his slider and curve just nine times, opting to increase the usage of his four-seam and cutter. His primary outpitch against LHH was his splitter, which he used sparingly but was highly effective. It generated six whiffs on nine swings. In fact, he’s got a 53% whiff rate on that pitch this season, but is only throwing it 18% of the time, and again, mostly against LHH. Maybe he should lean into that a bit more.
Nestor German notches a quality start:
6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 8 SO
83 pitches, 54 strikes pic.twitter.com/jlVn6FsMEc— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) June 17, 2026
The right-hander struggled in April but rebounded to go 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five May starts. His first two outings in June weren’t great either, but he definitely looked much sharper in this outing. For the year, German owns a 4.52 ERA in 65 2/3 innings and is holding opponents to a .699 OPS against him. Year-over-year, he’s done a nice job of suppressing hard contact and is starting to figure out how to miss bats at a higher clip as he navigates his first year at Triple-A. As the Orioles continue to cycle through starting pitchers, German remains atop the pecking order at Triple-A for a call-up and is a worthy stash in your leagues.
10. Quinn Mathews, LHP, STL
2026 Stats (AAA):56.2 IP/4.13 ERA/1.34 WHIP/29.6 K%/16.0 BB%
After two outstanding outings to open June, it was another clunker for Quinn Mathews in his start on Tuesday against Nashville. The 6’5″ left-hander went five innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits (both HR) with four walks and five strikeouts. The command and control have really wavered since his breakout season in 2024, and it did so again in this outing. Mathews threw just 47 of his 82 pitches for strikes (57%) while generating 11 whiffs on 35 swings, most of them coming on his slider. His very inconsistent four-seam fastball got just one whiff and seven called strikes on 35 pitches (23%) and was in the zone just 51% of the time. Beyond the slider, all of his secondaries were mediocre, yet accounted for 30% of his total usage.
With this start, Mathews now has a season-long ERA of 4.13 with a WHIP of 1.34 over 13 starts. Considering that Mathews is walking over 16% of the batters he’s faced, his surface stats are pretty tolerable. The problem is, you can’t carry that type of command into the Majors and expect to sustain a 4.00 ERA. When you dig into the underlying data, his stuff has been good. Mathews has three pitches with whiff rates of over 30% and is generally suppressing hard contact. Opposing hitters have a 33.3% hard hit and sub-10% barrel rate, two metrics I can live with. His four-seamer is averaging over 17 inches of iVB with over eight inches of arm-side run, but his issue has been inconsistent location and velocity. When the fastball is locked in and he’s commanding it well, Mathews is a tough at-bat. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened often enough. Even with his struggles, we will see Mathews at some point in 2026, and with his upside, he’s a worthy stash candidate.
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Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Justin Redler (@reldernitsuj on Bsky/Twitter)
