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The Stash List Week 8: Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash in 2026

Top 10 pitching prospects to stash in redraft league.

John Villavicencio
Dynasty 9 Hours Ago

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.

 

Top 10 Minor League Pitchers in Groundball Rate with at least a 25% K-BB% Rate through May 12, 2026 (minimum 4 games started at-bats & 60 batters faced)

 

The Stash List

Graduates/Call-Ups

The following prospects joined the big league clubs over the last week:

Robby Snelling MIA earned a Major League promotion. Yay! And then subsequently went on the injured list with a strain in his left elbow UCL. Boo!

Trevor McDonald SFG earned the return bus ride back to the Giants in place of the injured Logan Webb. He started against the Dodgers on Monday and gets a two-step in Sacramento (his home Triple-A ballpark) against the Athletics. First start saw him generate four strikeouts on 12 whiffs across 5.1 innings. It was enough to help the Giants win the game, and he could be a short-term streamer until Webb returns.

Daniel Zebulon Matthews MIN earned a promotion on May 14. It is expected to be a spot start, so he retains his place on the stash list for now.

 

Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash

 

1. Kade Anderson, LHP, Seattle Mariners

2026 AAA Stat line: 30 IP | 0.60 ERA | 44.3 K% | 4.7 BB%

2025 NCAA Stat line: 119.0 IP | 3.43 ERA | 37.4 K% | 7.3 BB%

 

The Seattle Mariners are flush with starting pitching options at the moment. Their up-and-coming prospects, Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson, are therefore blocked from early opportunities. Yet, what is at one moment a wall can also be knocked down for a doorway, if an opening through injury or even trade (Luis Castillo) occurs. Sloan Anderson gets the initial favoritism for a 2026 Major League debut, given his pitchability, high 2025 innings total, and utter dominance in Double-A through his first six professional starts.

Although Anderson has yet to complete three turns through the order, he has been on cruise control. He has yet to finish a game with less than a 15% swinging strike rate or 65% strike rate in any game. In other words, he has been above average in throwing strikes and getting hitters to miss those strikes across 401 pitches. Anderson has been efficient at getting outs on his own and has limited contact to only four extra-base hits. He is doing this mostly with a 94-mph fastball, a devastating changeup to righties, a good slider, and a variety of shapes on his curveball. So far, this repertoire has been stingy to both sets of hitters, but it’s understandable if the lack of velocity catches up to him. Against his final batter, Anderson left a fastball middle-middle to Frank Rodriguez, who deposited the ball over the left field wall. In what would have been his first professional quality start, the crack in armor could be the lack of a devastating putaway pitch.

Logan Gilbert had five Triple-A innings before his debut. George Kirby has two. Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Emerson Hancock each had zero. Logan Evans was an elder statesman with 44 innings before his debut. It is not a crazy idea to consider Kade Anderson as a stash candidate, given the recent prospect promotions from the Seattle organization. Bryan Woo is the only pitcher who had a Double-A performance (34K% 7BB%) remotely close to what Anderson is doing now. Anderson is at another level right now and needs to be moved along so that he can rise to the challenge.

 

2.  Jonah Tong, RHP, New York Mets

2026 AAA Stat line: 36.1 IP | 4.46 ERA | 33.8 K% | 13.6 BB% 

2025 MLB Stat line: 18.2 IP | 7.71 ERA | 25.3 K% | 10.3 BB% 

 

Once again, your Minor League strikeout leader is Jonah Tong (at the time of this write-up). The 6’1″ righty is picking up the pace of his strikeouts alongside improved velocity and movement. Tong has struck out six or more batters in six consecutive games, while averaging nearly 88 pitches per start. In his latest outing, he struck out eight hitters on 13 whiffs across five-plus innings. It wasn’t enough to earn the victory as he allowed two runs on a home run and four walks. The 61% strike rate is worse than last year, and possibly a symptom of some tweaks he is making

Tong is adjusting his pitch mix to start the season. He has introduced a 90 mph cutter, but has also seen more movement and spin out of the curveball and slider. Those changes didn’t seem to impact the results in this game, but are an indication that he is tinkering under the surface. In addition, his delivery has a varying finish. He has always had the head whack movement, but now appears as though he is ducking behind a wall after releasing the ball. He pirouettes off the landing foot to different levels of rotation each pitch. This has shown up in the data this season as less extension and a different release point. The arm angle is still showing up as a high 58 degrees, but either that measurement has yet to adjust to 2026, or he is pitching from a new point on the rubber. In either case, Tong still exhibits a top-notch fastball and one above-average secondary pitch in the changeup.

There is likely a plan for Tong to experiment with pitches and his mechanics before any return to the Mets rotation. Even with allowing room for trial and error, we need to see more strikes, fewer walks, and a few more pops of peak velocity in the next few starts. David Peterson, the only left-handed starter in the rotation, is hanging on to his spot by a thread.

 

 

3.  Brody Hopkins, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays

2026 AAA Stat line: 35.2 IP | 3.79 ERA | 25.3 K% | 19.6 BB% 

2025 MiLB Stat line: 116 IP | 2.72 ERA | 28.7 K% | 12.2 BB%

 

Here is the first song on Brody Hopkins‘ mixtape: “Please tell me why, my goggles are so foggy, there’s two runners on the bases, my pitch count’s in the eighties, and I’m long gone, gone…” The 24-year-old righty threw 70 pitches across three innings against Round Rock last Sunday, reaching ball three on six of the 15 batters he faced in this very short outing. As his own worst enemy, the poor control continuously limits any upside that is envisioned by the high-powered fastball and the high whiff rates of his secondaries. This game continues the disturbing streak of starts, now at eight games, where he has allowed at least three walks. “It’s no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy…”

By throwing 61% of his pitches for strikes, Hopkins was doing something better than he usually does. Yet, it didn’t help him stay in the game long enough to make it matter. He generated three strikeouts on ten whiffs on a pitch mix that resembled his seasonal rates. In addition, hitters didn’t square up much, putting only one ball into the outfield. In fact, for as much hard contact as Hopkins has allowed at times, he only has three home runs and five barrels allowed on the season. The observant bunch will point out that batters are not incentivized to swing the bat against Hopkins. You can see the evidence in his slugging percentage allowed being much lower than the on-base percentage against him. That tends to happen when a pitcher has a walk rate around 20%. What’s the fix?

It appears that Hopkins is still relatively new to pitching in the grand scheme of things. He only started throwing from the mound during his draft year, the 2023 season. Four years in, though, we should be able to expect more than the hope of putting it all together. Hopkins needs to adopt the “one target” method and just throw strikes for a few starts. Let’s trust that the stuff will shine and hitters will not be able to keep up with a fastball and cutter combination that initiates from a similar release point.

Don’t make us regret putting you on the stash list, Brody! “Can we forget about the things I said on the latest stash list?”

 

4.  Carlos Lagrange, RHP, New York Yankees

2026 AAA Stat line: 33.1 IP | 4.32 ERA | 30.5 K% | 13.2 BB% 

2025 MiLB Stat line: 120 IP | 3.53 ERA | 33.4 K% | 12.3 BB%

 

Carlos Lagrange continues to provide headline fodder for the masses. MLB.com shares Carlos Lagrange racks up eight strikeouts. Pinstripe Alley writes Yankees prospects: Carlos Lagrange throws over 102 but Scranton falls in 13.  MILB Central posts Carlos Lagrange unleashed a 102.8 MPH pitch while striking out eight. The message is clear that Lagrange throws his fastball for triple digits, raising the expectation that he will be the next great pitching prospect. Although the hopes are high, Lagrange has yet to consistently demonstrate an ability to show consistency.

Rarely do publications offer a critique of someone with such elite velocity, but Matthew Schmidt calls attention to the walking elephant on the field in Yankees’ Carlos Lagrange Has a Big Problem That’s Getting Worse. Although the tone of this write-up is negative, he is doing some things differently. He has reduced the four-seamer usage while throwing more sliders. He always operates out of the stretch, but has moved over a bit on the mound, while gaining a few more inches of extension. These changes have yet to make a material difference in the results, but stuff models still love his arsenal. Prospect Savant and TJ Stats score him with above-average marks across all five of his pitches. The bottom line is that, as bad as the control looks, it is way too early to write off Lagrange as a high-quality Major League starter.

 

Facing Syracuse and fellow stash list mate, Jack Wenninger, Lagrange showed the good and the bad once again. Here is an inning-by-inning breakdown:

With a strike rate under 60%, Lagrange is teetering on being designated a short-burst pitcher. His inning-to-inning control varies wildly, and all pitching characteristics should be examined to rectify this issue. In the end, he put his team in position to win the game by striking out eight hitters and giving up one earned run. Yes, the velocity was high, reaching triple digits 15 times. Examining those fastballs more closely, seven of those pitches were strikes, and three were hit at 95 mph or harder. He may need to try a few games where the four-seamer is only used as a putaway pitch, a move that could catch hitters off guard.

For all of the hand-wringing over the fastball usage, we are still talking about a 22-year-old pitcher who throws 100 mph, has not succumbed to Tommy John surgery yet, and has over 120 innings under his belt. He may not be the ailment that the Yankees need to address their needs right now, but he certainly represents a huge energy boost when called up in the summer. If the Max Fried injury lingers, then Elmer Rodríguez, Carlos Lagrange, or Brendan Beck could get a few spot starts before Gerrit Cole returns.

 

5.  Jack Wenninger, RHP, New York Mets

2026 AAA Stat line: 33.1 IP | 1.08 ERA | 27.5 K% | 13.0 BB% 

2025 MiLB Stat line: 135.2 IP | 2.92 ERA | 26.4 K% | 7.6 BB%

 

The walks are up for the sheriff, but Jack Wenninger is still handing out a good amount of strikeouts. In his latest game, he gave away two free passes before tightening up and recording five strikeouts in a row at one point against Scranton. Wenninger continues to have a few too many bouts of poor control, but in this instance, the baserunners did not hurt him. Despite allowing three walks, the Rail Riders managed only one hit while striking out seven times across his five innings of work.

Wenninger utilizes a five-pitch mix, with a four-seamer leading the way. Although the 94 mph fastball has two-plane movement, it is not missing many bats in 2026. With that in mind, it may be time to consider reducing its usage in favor of the sinker. Unfortunately, that pitch also has a poor zone rate. Until he figures out how to deploy his fastballs better, he will rely on the slider and changeup, which he uses against both sets of hitters. These horizontally breaking pitches each have solid whiff rates and low walk rates. Even without the best version of his fastball, Wenninger is still posting a great groundball rate and keeping the ball in the park, as he carries a 1.08 ERA and 3.64 FIP into his next outing. One area to track is whether he can boost his swinging strike rate, which is now in the below-average range, around 10%.

The New York Mets are somehow in a free fall despite having the number one payroll in Major League Baseball. Monetary spending has never equaled a direct correlation to championships, but this raises questions about how they will handle roster management of players who have certain contracts, whether a high-paid star or a cheap rookie on the minimum salary. Wenninger is not on the 40-man roster, so his level of play will level up in the next few weeks, but he can also be heartened by this fact. The Mets are employing five players with less than one year of service time, so they have demonstrated that they are willing to bring along the best player, no matter their pay rate. Wenninger is right there, just behind Tong, for any of the spot starts that open up. If he were to perform better, then more confidence can be applied to a longer-term promotion.

 

6. Thomas White, LHP, Miami Marlins

2026 AAA Stat line: 24.2 IP | 3.05 ERA | 36.4 K% | 14.8 BB%

2025 MiLB Stat line: 89.2 IP | 2.31 ERA | 38.6 K% | 13.6 BB%

 

Thomas White is not living up to the lofty expectations placed on him by basically every top prospect list. He was often considered adjacent to his former teammate, Robby Snelling, as the best left-handed pitching prospect in the game. Ever-present with the glowing write-ups was always a line like, “once he tones down the high walk rate, then he will take off.” Those offseason hopes have been severely dashed as his walk rate has crept up closer to 15% while posting an abysmal 58% strike rate. These poor control metrics are despite only pitching in shorter outings due to an oblique injury that limited him at the start of the season. And even when he tries something different, the results are not moving in a positive direction.

 

The Thomas White Ball 3 Counter:

May 14: 8 times/ 19 batters faced, 2 BB / 3 K

May 7: 5/14, 3 BB/ 3 K

April 30: 9/19, 1 BB /5 K

April 23: 6/15, 3 BB/6 K

In his latest outing against Memphis, White went to ball three on eight of the 19 batters he faced over four innings. Although this count didn’t lead to many walks, he only threw 52% of his 87 pitches for strikes. In a possible attempt to switch things up, he faded the use of his four-seamer, throwing more sliders in its place. The decrease could be strategic, or it could also be a response to the fastball being down to 92 mph. Given that fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if he is not 100% healthy and takes a longer duration to rest before his next start. Against the final hitter, he threw four balls in the dirt, looking supremely disgusted by his effort.

White finished the four innings against the Redbirds with three strikeouts on a paltry eight whiffs. More concerning is that he allowed two home runs, something that has not been an issue since parts of his High-A season in 2024. The combination of home runs and walks has yet to burn him, but that kind of fortune doesn’t last forever. His FIP now sits one mark above his ERA with a HR/FB% more than two times greater than anything he has suffered from in the past.

Bottom line, the velocity is down, the walks are up, and the balls are flying out of the park. Something’s up with White, and he cannot be considered a reliable stash if he cannot demonstrate any consistency from week to week.

 

Long Shots

As the stash list targets thin out from a great number of graduations, we will explore a trio of prospects who have an opportunity to grab a rotation spot on the Major League team. Consider these recommendations as an exploration of the internal options already within the organization.

 

7. Ethan Pecko, RHP, Houston Astros 

2026 AAA Stat line: 16.2 IP | 1.08 ERA | 40.3 K% | 4.5 BB%

2025 MiLB Stat line: 80 IP | 3.83 ERA | 28.7 K% | 8.2 BB%

 

After an injury delayed his 2026 season, Ethan Pecko is working on six days of rest over the last month. The Dynasty Team’s number ten prospect is being brought along slowly, with a gentle 50-60 pitch count cap thus far. His velocity was up in his most recent start against Alburquerque, which adds good vibes to a start that represented the first time he made it into the fourth inning this season. Pecko was popping a few 96 mph four-seamers to go along with a sinker that was breaking up to 18 inches to his arm side. This game also marked the season debut of his changeup, yet another indicator that his confidence in his health is booming. Pecko finished with five strikeouts on eleven whiffs across 3.2 innings. Look for him to make his next start on May 15.

 

Houston expects Tatsuya Imai to be a rotation mainstay after a few weeks on the injured list, but they will need to make some moves if they hope to remain relevant in the AL West. Hunter Brown was transferred to the 60-day injured list, and the remaining starters have a lot to be desired. While Pecko is not an imminent call-up, he represents a safe floor of fantasy value. Even in limited time, he has shown a penchant for the groundball, while posting a high strikeout to walk ratio. It’s also comforting that he has three fastballs and solid secondaries that are getting average to above-average swing-and-miss from hitters. There is also the high likelihood that he unlocks more velocity from his four-seamer, something that could serve to boost the cutter and sinker.

 

8. Mitch Bratt, LHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

2026 AAA Stat line: 33.1 IP | 2.70 ERA | 24.6 K% | 7.7 BB%

2025 MiLB Stat line: 122.1 IP | 3.38 ERA | 29.3 K% | 4.2 BB%

 

The Texas Rangers made what they thought was a solid trade at the July 31 deadline when they acquired Merril Kelly from Arizona. His addition created a “top three” alongside Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, with a few nice pieces at the bottom of the rotation in Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. Even though the Rangers started August three games above .500, they finished out the season three games below .500 with Eovaldi out for the season and Kelly walking away as a free agent. The two-month gamble on Kelly cost Texas huge pitching capital, something that may haunt them with the number of aging veterans in their rotation. Kohl Drake was the highest rated, but has suffered from poor performance, possibly due to a shoulder strain that ended his 2025 season early. David Hagaman is an exciting arm, who has also been hampered by injury (2024 elbow surgery recovery). Even with the slow starts from those two prospects, there is excitement over the future for the Arizona pitching depth, which also includes enthusiasm for this week’s stash list add, Mitch Bratt.

Bratt twirled his way onto my radar for having an amazingly capoeira-esque follow-through in his delivery. The 6’1″ lefty spent all of 2025 in Double-A with two organizations, where he backed up the 70-grade command with a 4% walk rate and a 68% strike rate. He has regressed a touch with Triple-A Reno, but more importantly, he is keeping runs off the board and still striking out enough batters to be considered a plus in that category. One downside is the diminished swinging strike rate, now sitting below 9%, something that signals this level is doing a better job of picking up his fastball. The lack of velocity may catch up to him once promoted, but right now, he locates the pitch all over the zone. The 85 mph slider is his best pitch, yet he barely throws it. Over time, it would be easy to see a reduction in fastballs in favor of more sliders.

Bratt had posted back-to-back five-inning starts with at least six strikeouts. Atypical for him, he has a three-walk game, something he did only once in 2025. Given his high control, one may expect more whiffs, but that is not Bratt’s game. However, he does generate a good amount of called strikes. 2026 is no different, where he is racking up an 18% called strike rate despite a very poor swinging strike rate. The whiffs may be drying up, but he is still keeping the bases clear and generating an average number of strikeouts. Against Sacramento, he struck out seven batters on nine whiffs, with one earned run on a home run and one walk. Look for Bratt to evolve his pitch mix over time as he becomes more accustomed to the Triple-A baseball.

In conclusion, that Merril Kelly trade looks horrible for Texas as they gave up three talented arms, and Kelly went right back to Arizona anyway. Bratt is on the 40-man roster and ready to bring his ballet act to the Major Leagues.

 

9.  Zebby Matthews, RHP, Minnesota Twins

2026 AAA Stat line: 34.1 IP | 4.72 ERA | 21.9 K% | 7.3 BB%

2025 MLB Stat line: 79.1 IP | 5.56 ERA | 24.9 K% | 6.8 BB%

 

It was the Minor League matchup of the year, Zebby Matthews versus Henry Bolte. Bolte demolished everything he saw, literally, and earned a promotion to the Athletics this week. The high-energy, chaos-making outfielder went 4 for 6  against Matthews, with two home runs and two doubles. And that’s four hits in six pitches, not at-bats. Bolte tattooed his name on the sinker and curveball, but he really liked the cutter, knocking both of those pitches over the fence. It wasn’t just a Bolte celebration either. The Aviators had eight hard-bit balls, but their aggression actually allowed Matthews to go deep into the game. Zebby was blessed with three innings of a single-digit pitch count. In addition, the Saints put a 6-spot on Gage Jump. Matthews ended up completing eight innings with five strikeouts on 13 whiffs.

Since he did get the call, we will watch how Major League hitters respond to the smorgasbord of the cutter, slider, and cutter. Left-handed hitters are over .600 slugging, while righties are over .550 slugging against Matthews, with nine home runs allowed. It could be a blood bath, and we could finally see a longer runway for Kendry Rojas…

 

10.  Anthony Eyanson, RHP, Boston Red Sox

2026 AAA Stat line: 24.1 IP | 0.74 ERA | 44.7 K% | 4.7 BB%

2025 NCAA Stat line: 108 IP | 3.00 ERA | 33.9 K% | 8.0 BB%

 

Consider this recommendation as confirmation of that deep thought that everyone in the prospect community has about picking up a player who is not so far removed from their draft year. It is impossible to ignore the extremely positive results that Anthony Eyanson is posting through his first six starts. The 38 strikeouts to four walks are the stats of a player who has dominant stuff for the level. This made the promotion to Double-A fairly necessary for Boston to make, an early-season challenge for Eyanson to demonstrate that these results are real. His Portland Sea Dog debut was okay as he put up four strikeouts to one walk and one home run allowed.

The main question that Eyanson needs to address is whether his current fastball velocity and shape will play at the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. According to people with access to the data, his fastball is between 92 and 94 mph with average vertical break. Given that Eyanson throws from such a high release point, most of his fastballs have a high approach angle, beaming down towards the bottom of the zone. He can locate the fastball above the zone often, but that is much less often. The slider and changeup appear to be his primary out pitches, whether as a putaway or a must-have strike. Given that most of these breakers and offspeed pitches land at the lower third, it isn’t surprising that he has posted a few games with a poor 55% strike rate. Despite the recent spate of lower strike rates, he has posted no lower than a 15% swinging strike rate, a demonstration that those pitches elicit swings even when they may not be in the zone.

The other challenge for Eyanson to be a more confident recommendation as a stash is to see what happens when he surpasses 80 pitches and goes through the batting order three times. Until then, it is expected that he can dominate in shorter starts. It is expected that he throws his best stuff because he may understand that he has a defined end time. Once the games become open-ended, then we will see what kind of starting pitcher Eyanson really is. Until that time, we do know that he batters swing and miss at his stuff (15% swinging strike rate), he has excellent control (5% walk rate), hitters are not doing much damage when they do make contact (.128 average, 56% groundball rate), and he is achieving most of his success on his own via the strikeout (44% strikeout rate).

The obvious obstacle to any 2026 Major League debut for Eyanson is the Minor Leaguers already on the 40-man roster and ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. In addition, Boston is in last place and likely has little motivation to start the clock on one of their top draft picks. As their third-round pick, his rapid advancement probably feels like a major win, so no need to force the issue. Yet, if we apply the case study of Chase Burns to Eyanson, then there is always the possibility that a midsummer promotion occurs. Burns saw a decrease in his strikeout rate as he moved through the levels, but that didn’t deter the Reds from making the move. Be on the watch to see if Boston indicates any interest in bringing Eyanson up to Worcester in the next 4-6 weeks, especially if he can maintain an elevated strikeout rate of at least 35%. That would keep him in the stash-worthy market.

 

On The Bubble

Here are the next several pitchers that were in consideration for inclusion on this week’s list: Robert Gasser MIL, Nestor German BAL, Gage Jump ATH, Brycen Mautz STL, Eduardo Rivera BOS, Elmer Rodríguez NYY, River Ryan LAD (on the injured list due to a hamstring issue and has not pitched since April 11), Hagen Smith CHW, Josh Stephan TEX,  Miguel Ullola HOU, Carson Whisenhunt SFG, and Jaxon Wiggins CHC. Once again, the injured Major League pitchers look a lot more promising than prospects at the moment, so you may want to stash your favorite from that group before dipping into the prospect pool.

 

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