The Hitter Edition of the Stash List is back for the 2026 season.
This Stash List highlights the 10 best-hitting prospects likely to make an impact during the 2026 season.
Prospects are often thought of as only holding value in dynasty formats. However, redraft leagues, especially those that are keeper leagues, can benefit from finding the right hitter to stash at the right time on the waiver wire. Several have a 2026 ETA, and getting ahead of the curve on rostering these prospects is a key part of roster management. So let’s break down the Top 10 prospects to start off the 2026 season.
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 will be updated weekly.
- Stats will be updated weekly for all players through Saturday’s games.
The Stash List
Graduates/Call Ups
For the first time since week two, there is finally a player graduating off this list. Monday night, the Cleveland Guardians called up Travis Bazzana, adding him to their infield mix. So far, he’s gone 1-for-13 in his first four major league games, but he’s drawn five walks, showing some consistency in his judgement within the strike zone. The cold start with hits may warrant keeping Bazanna on the bench for now, but his cold start won’t last forever, and the former number one overall pick from 2024 will have the chance to showcase his full potential.
Top 10 Hitting Prospects to Stash
1. George Lombard Jr. Jr., SS – New York Yankees
2026 MiLB numbers
The most talked about prospect in the New York Yankees system, George Lombard Jr. Jr., earned himself a promotion to Triple-A Scranton on April 29 and is off to a decent start in his first four games with the RailRiders. Lombard had a strong start to the 2026 season in Double-A, having put up a .312/.400/.571 slash line, with four home runs, 10 RBI, and four stolen bases in 20 games.
The Yankees had seen enough and promoted him to Triple-A after those 20 games, and now Lombard will be fighting for his place on the 40-man roster. His high batting average is an encouraging sign that he could be there sooner rather than later, as Lombard hasn’t hit above .235 in his previous two full seasons in pro-ball. If he maintains that over the course of the next couple of months, then he could easily find himself in the majors right after he turns 21 on June 2.
As things stand now, José Caballero is the Yankees’ everyday shortstop, and Anthony Volpe is beginning a rehab assignment this weekend to recover from his shoulder injury, for which he underwent surgery last October. The Yankees will want to give their veteran shortstop some time to play in the majors and see how he’s healed from the surgery, but if he is closer to how he performed in 2025 than 2024, then there’s a good chance Lombard will be coming for the job later in the summer.
2. Walker Jenkins, OF – Minnesota Twins
2026 MiLB numbers
As the weather has been warming up and staying consistent around the 50s and 60s here in Minnesota, so too has Walker Jenkins seen his bat warm up and produce at a more consistent rate. The fifth overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft has put up a .316/.435/.605 slash line over his last 48 plate appearances, which has included his first two home runs on the season, along with a dead-even strikeout and walk rate of 17.4%.
Before this season, Jenkins had never played in a full month of April, as he had a hamstring injury to start out 2024, and only had two games in April last season as he battled an ankle injury that followed him out of spring training. Part of his early-season struggles were due to the cold weather, but Jenkins was also adjusting to playing nearly every day at the start of the season.
Now that he has a groove underneath him as the calendar has flipped to May, he’s looking to be in a better position to reach the majors sometime this summer.
3. Sterlin Thompson, OF – Colorado Rockies
2026 MiLB numbers
While a lot of the focus in Triple-A Albuquerque has been on Charlie Condon, outfielder Sterlin Thompson has also been having a hot start to the season, which is starting to draw notice. Thompson has an impressive .347/.480/.495 slash line with three home runs, 20 RBI, and six stolen bases over 29 games to start the season.
It’s an encouraging start for Thompson, who spent all of 2025 at Triple-A Albuquerque, and hit .296/.392/.519 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI, a 10.3% walk rate, and 20.9% strikeout rate. His 2025 performance earned him a spot on the Rockies’ 40-man roster, which at least has him a step ahead of Condon if the Rockies need to make a call-up to bolster their outfield depth in the majors.
As things stand now, the Rockies’ starting trio in the outfield, Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle, and Troy Johnston, are performing well enough that they won’t need Thompson anytime soon. But if any of them are to go down with injury, then Thompson could be on his way to the majors and have the opportunity to showcase what’s made him a standout prospect in Albuquerque for the last year plus.
4. Jesús Made, SS – Milwaukee Brewers
2026 MiLB numbers
5. Charlie Condon, 1B/OF – Colorado Rockies
2026 MiLB numbers
The hits haven’t quite been there for Condon this past week, as he’s gone 2-for-14, but the good thing is his walk and strikeout rates are beginning to even out as he has four walks and five strikeouts in over those 19 plate appearances. With Condon’s game at the plate being all about his power, it’s all the more encouraging when his strikeout rate remains at or below the 20% threshold.
For many of the players on this week’s list who are not already on their team’s 40-man roster, Condon still has one of the easier, if not the easiest, paths to crack onto the Rockies’ 40-man roster. The Rockies are in the toughest division in baseball and are still looking to be basement dwellers coming off a 43-119 season in 2025. There’s nothing to lose if they promote Condon to the majors sometime in May, and it’ll help draw hope for the future of their fan base that a Rocktober renaissance can happen down the road.
6. Leo De Vries, SS – Oakland Athletics
2026 MiLB numbers
Just like his counterpart in the Brewers farm system, Leo De Vries has also hit a cold snap as the calendar has flipped to May. De Vries is hitting .200/.265/.400 over his last 11 games, with a 6.1% walk rate and 28.6% strikeout rate in 49 plate appearances. The rise in strikeouts and dip in walks is a bit concerning with De Vries game, as it’s showing how pitchers are making adjustments to him.
The dip in performance from De Vries won’t last forever, though, and he’ll eventually adjust back to how pitchers are throwing to him. As long as the overall strikeout rate on the year decreases and the walk rate increases slightly, then De Vries is showing he’s adjusting to the mean and making his case to be in the Big Leagues sometime later this season.
7. Max Clark, OF – Detroit Tigers
2026 MiLB numbers
The last 10 games for Max Clark are games he’d like to put behind him. He’s put up a meager .154/.250/.179 slash line over his last 44 plate appearances, with just five walks and 10 strikeouts in that span.
The slump is the worst for Clark on the season so far, but his overall numbers are still keeping his walk rate (11.6%) and strikeout rate (14%) relatively close to one another. The good news is that Clark’s strikeout rate hasn’t climbed above 15%, but he will need to produce some more power to show he’s still ready to be in the majors within the next month.
8. Bryce Eldridge, 1B – San Fransico Giants
2026 MiLB numbers
It’s been a bad week for Bryce Eldridge as he’s only garnered one hit and one walk over his last 21 plate appearances while striking out 10 times. But his overall numbers haven’t plummeted below the Mendoza Line just yet, which is why fantasy owners shouldn’t balk at him remaining on their stash list for the foreseeable future.
Eldridge is one of only three players on this list already on his team’s 40-man roster. Despite the awful slump in Triple-A Sacramento, he’s still going to be a bat to reckon with in the Giants’ lineup this season, which is why one bad week isn’t something that should have him dropped from the roster when his opportunity could come a-knockin’ in the next few weeks.
9. Colt Emerson, SS – Seattle Mariners
2026 MiLB numbers
Colt Emerson has been in a bad slump of late. He has a .200/.326/.543 slash line over his last nine games with a 16.3% walk rate and 32.6% strikeout rate over 43 plate appearances.
Even as the slump continues, the good news is he’s starting to turn a corner. The at-bats are being drawn out longer, getting deeper into counts. The power is beginning to show with three of his four home runs on the season occurring over the last nine games.
Emerson will still need to produce a higher average and cut back on his strikeout rate, but he’s putting himself in a better position to work his way into the Mariners plans before the calendar officially turns to summer.
10. Ryan Waldschmidt, OF – Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 MiLB numbers
It can’t be counted out that members of the Diamondbacks’ active roster may be coming back from the high elevation of Mexico City with some elevation sickness as they fly to Milwaukee for their next series. As always, Ryan Waldschmidt has kept his bat hot in Triple-A Reno’s lineup, putting up a .313/.422/.510 slash line with two home runs, 15 RBI, and four stolen bases over his first 25 games this season. The one thing he still needs to improve upon is his strikeout rate, with Waldschmidt swinging and missing just over a fourth of the time he’s coming to the plate.
The Diamondbacks outfield core of Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Alek Thomas has remained relatively healthy all season, but their shortstop, Geraldo Perdomo, left Saturday night’s game against the Padres in Mexico City with a sprained left ankle. It could prove to be an opportunity for the Diamondbacks to finally add Waldschmidt to their 40-man roster and call him up to the majors. Fantasy owners looking for extra outfield depth from the minors should follow Perdomo’s health closely in the coming days and see if it gives way to Waldschmidt finally getting his call-up to the majors to bolster the D-Backs lineup.
On The Bubble
Here are the next five hitters considered for inclusion on this week’s list in no particular order.
Kaelen Culpepper, SS – MIN
Spencer Jones, OF – NYY
Joe Mack, C – MIA
Jett Williams, 3B/SS – MIL
Tommy Troy, SS – ARI
Stash List
