The Stash List Week 3: Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash in 2024

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 2025. 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

 

A pitching prospect who has been promoted to the Major League roster in the past week is Spencer Arrighetti, although he was torched for seven runs in three innings with three walks on Wednesday. Arrighetti could stick in Houston for a while with Framber Valdez nursing a sore elbow and Hunter Brown sporting a 16.43 ERA. The 24-year-old right-hander faces Atlanta on Monday, so his ERA could be challenging Brown’s by next week. Arrighetti did average 95 mph on his fastball against Kansas City in his debut and is supposed to have a plus slider, but his changeup and curve both stunk against the Royals. He’s been having control problems since reaching Triple-A, where he posted a 13.4 BB% last year and an 18.9 BB% in his first two starts for Sugar Land this season. He was running a 10.8 K/9 for the Space Cowboys and has a career 11.6 K/9 in the minors, so there should be some strikeout upside. That poor first outing with a terrible second matchup should keep his price down in FAAB, but he’s still worth a look in deep leagues.

 

Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash

 

1. Paul Skenes, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Previous Ranking: 1

2024 MiLB (AAA) stat line: 6 IP/0.00 ERA/55.0 K%/5.0 BB%

There’s little doubt that Paul Skenes could front the Pirates rotation right now talent-wise, but he’s still being built up slowly. After tossing 46 pitches in his season debut for Indianapolis (three perfect innings), Skenes threw just 44 pitches in his second start (six strikeouts in three scoreless innings). He inched his way up to 55 pitches on Friday, striking out eight with one walk in 3.1 innings. Skenes is up to 19 strikeouts in 9.1 scoreless innings on the season. Pundits are looking at the Pirates’ calendar trying to predict when Skenes will get the call, with the expectation that it would be a home game. If that’s the case, it could be during a seven-game homestand starting next Friday against the Red Sox and Brewers. I’m picking the nine-game homestand that begins on May 3, specifically May 6 against the Angels. He needs to be owned in 100 percent of all leagues, so make sure he isn’t sitting out there in any of your leagues.

 

Jackson Jobe struggled in his season debut for Double-A Erie last Sunday, walking three and giving up three unearned runs in 2.1 innings. Considering Jobe had a combined 2.3 BB% over four levels last year, this was a concerning start to the season but one that we’re willing to write off for now. If he can get back on track in his second start, Jobe could make a rapid climb to Detroit, where the Tigers have been off to a hot start. Detroit’s rotation is crowded with Matt Manning waiting in the minors and Sawyer Gipson-Long rehabbing from a groin injury. Things have a way of working themselves out, and Jobe has the talent to push his way onto the staff by late May or early June. We can’t stop dreaming of his high-strikeout, low-WHIP stuff being supported by pitcher-friendly Comerica Park.

 

4. Yariel Rodriguez, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

 

Previous Ranking: N/R

2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 6.1 IP/0.00 ERA/41.7 K%/12.5 BB%

The Blue Jays aren’t wasting any more time getting their $32 million right-hander up into the rotation, reportedly calling up Yariel Rodriguez on Saturday either to make an abbreviated start or to be the bulk reliever following an opener. The 27-year-old Cuban right-hander was building up for Triple-A Buffalo after being slowed by back spasms in spring training, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. Rodriguez features a 70-grade slider to go with a mid-90s fastball, but the rest of his arsenal is a work in progress as he last pitched professionally as a reliever for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan two years ago. He dominated with a 1.15 ERA and 0.92 WHIP  in 2022, but that was in just 54.2 innings in 56 games. With fifth starter Bowden Francis carrying a 12.96 ERA over his first two starts, Rodriguez will likely get a chance to at least piggyback if not take over the role. The big question is whether Rodriguez can hold mid-90s velocity on a starter’s workload, otherwise, he might work more as a bulk reliever this season. He has been more in the low-90s in Triple-A, but that’s while he was building up. The Blue Jays will be careful with Rodriguez’s workload, but this has been the year of the converted reliever so far with Garrett Crochet, Reynaldo Lopez, Jordan Hicks and Garrett Whitlock all flourishing, so it’s easy to dream.

 

5. Cade Horton, RHP, Chicago Cubs

 

Previous Ranking: 6

2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 4 IP/2.25 ERA/26.7 K%/0.0 BB%

Cade Horton made his season debut with four solid innings for Double-A Tennessee on Wednesday. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound righty will be brought along carefully after reaching 78.1 IP in his pro debut last year after going seventh overall in the 2022 draft on the heels of a 2021 Tommy John surgery. The Cubs rotation is in shambles with Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon on the IL and veteran Kyle Hendricks carrying a 12.08 ERA after three starts. Taillon’s return is imminent, but there is a void of impact starters in the rotation besides Shota Imanaga. If the Cubs are still in the thick of the NL Central as expected in late May, Horton could be making a push to reach Chicago.

 

6. Cade Povich, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

 

Previous Ranking: N/R

2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 11 IP/0.82 ERA/35.9 K%/7.7 BB%

Cade Povich has come out of the gates roaring for Triple-A juggernaut Norfolk, putting up a 14-3 K-BB in 11 innings. Povich appears to have passed spring training standout Chayce McDermott as the next man up should an opening arise in the Orioles rotation. Cole Irvin has struggled with an 8.10 ERA filling in for rehabbing John Means, who is yet to look ready for the rotation with a 12.86 ERA over three starts for Norfolk. It may take some time for things to sort themselves out in Baltimore, but Povich could be there when the dust settles by the end of April. The 24-year-old lefty has a balanced arsenal of above-average pitches, featuring a tailing four-seam fastball that sits 92-93 mph and touches 95. There’s also an upper-80s cutter that he uses to get swing-and-misses from left-handed hitters as well as a big curve, a sweeping slider and an improving changeup. A strikeout pitcher who generates lots of groundballs in front of a solid defence on a winning team in a ballpark that favors southpaws? Yes, please.

 

7. AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP, Atlanta Braves

 

Previous Ranking: 4

2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 3 IP/18.00 ERA/31.6 K%/21.1 BB%

AJ Smith-Shawver has struggled in each of his two starts for Triple-A Durham, allowing six runs and four walks in just three innings. Yet there is a Spencer Strider-sized hole in the Atlanta rotation and AJSS has the stuff to be the Braves pitcher to benefit the most. First, he’ll need to iron out his command and build up his workload in Triple-A. The Braves have a trio of less intriguing arms that may be ahead of AJSS in line for now with Bryce Elder, Dylan Dodd and Darius Vines. AJSS could leapfrog all of them in quick order with a few solid starts for Durham, so keep a close eye on the 21-year-old right-hander’s progression.

 

8. Jack Leiter, RHP, Texas Rangers

 

Previous Ranking: 8

2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 8.1 IP/3.24 ERA/45.5 K%/9.1 BB%

Jack Leiter took a step back from his dynamic season debut (9-0 K-BB in 5 IP) in his second start for Triple-A Round Rock, walking three in 3.1 IP (albeit with six strikeouts). He gave up three homers in the first two innings on Friday against Oklahoma City but recovered to strike out 10 with no walks in six innings. That’s now 25 Ks in 14.1 innings for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. With Cody Bradford excelling in the fifth spot in the Texas rotation and veteran Michael Lorenzen coming off the IL, there doesn’t seem to be much room for Leiter at the moment. But Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday that Bradford will remain in the rotation after Lorenzen is activated. That still doesn’t leave room for Leiter, but Jon Gray has struggled with an xERA of 9.85 over his first three starts, so there could be an opportunity there. Nathan Eovaldi routinely wears down as seasons progress and Andrew Heaney hasn’t cracked 150 innings in a season since 2018. The Rangers are just trying to get to the summer when Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle are expected to return from surgeries. Leiter has the talent to earn himself a chance when the opportunity arrives and he could thrive with his knockout stuff for the defending World Series champs.

 

9. Mick Abel, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

 

Previous Ranking: 5

2024 MiLB (AAA) Stat line: 1.2 IP/5.40 ERA/16.7 K%/33.3 BB%

Mick Abel’s season debut for Triple-A Lehigh Valley was a dud with the 22-year-old flame-thrower surrendering four walks and a home run in just 1.2 innings last Sunday. He was better on Friday but still gave up four runs and two walks in five innings. The Phillies rotation is currently humming along with Spencer Turnbull breaking out in the fifth spot, so Abel has some time to get his electric arsenal in a groove. It may take an injury to get Abel an opportunity in Philadelphia this season, but that’s becoming likelier with the way pitchers have been falling like flies this spring.

 

10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

 

Previous Ranking: 9

2024 MiLB (AA) Stat line: 7.1 IP/4.91 ERA/33.3 K%/18.2 BB%

With the Brewers’ hodge-podge rotation behind ace Freddy Peralta, there should be plenty of chances for young guns like Jacob Misiorowski to pitch their way into a big-league role. If Misiorowski can get his electric fastball under control, there’s no way that the trio of Colin Rea, Joe Ross and Wade Miley can hold him back. First, the 6-foot-7 right-hander needs to cut down on the walks – six in his first 7.1 innings for Double-A Biloxi. Stashing Misiorowski right now is a pure ceiling play for teams that can afford to wait until a possible June call-up if all goes well for him.

 

On The Bubble

Here are the next five pitchers that were in consideration for inclusion on this week’s list: Ricky Tiedemann, TOR; Hurston Waldrep, ATL; Carson Whisenhunt, SF; Chayce McDermott, BAL; Will Warren, NYY