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
Tommy Troy, Pedro Ramirez, and Colt Emerson are the latest names to be promoted up to the majors this week. Emerson is the standout in the class, as he has the highest prospect status out of the group, but his performance in 2026 was cold to start, and he had only been hitting .255/.347/.469 with seven home runs, 26 RBI, and 10 stolen bases over 38 games with the Tacoma Rainiers at the time of his promotion.
Ramirez had been one of the more underrated bats in the International League this season, hitting .312/.395/.547 with nine home runs, 40 RBI, and 19 stolen bases over 43 games with the I-Cubs.
Top 10 Hitting Prospects to Stash
1. Luis Lara, OF – Milwaukee Brewers
2026 MiLB numbers
He hasn’t been swinging as hot a bat as the week prior, but Luis Lara is still one of the hottest bats in the International League, as he has a .316/.409/.421 slash line over his last five games.
Lara is not going to be hitting home runs every night, but as long as he’s racking up stolen bases and hitting above .300, he’s a lower-ranked top-100 prospect that fantasy managers need to have stashed.
2. Hendry Mendez, OF – Minnesota Twins
2026 MiLB numbers
He’s not a top-100 prospect, but Hendry Mendez is on the Twins’ 40-man roster, and with how he’s been hitting of late, he’s certainly a prospect worth following in the International League.
Since being called up to Triple-A on May 5, Mendez has hit .368/.493/.544 with three home runs, 15 RBI, and a few stolen bases over 71 plate appearances. Some have ranked Mendez as the best all-around hitter in the Twins farm system. He has been working all season on getting the ball better elevated on his swing.
Another thing worth noting with Mendez is how his plate discipline has actually improved since being promoted to Triple-A. He owns a 19.7% walk rate and 14.1% strikeout rate in his first 15 games with the St. Paul Saints. If that isn’t an indication he’s an under-the-radar hitter to stash on your fantasy roster.
3. Jesús Made, SS – Milwaukee Brewers
2026 MiLB numbers
If there’s one mistake that shouldn’t be repeated on the stash list for the rest of the season, it’s not moving Jesús Made down to the 10th spot. He’ll make you look like a fool.
Made is back on a hot streak over the past week as he’s riding a seven-game hit streak going into Sunday’s game. He owns a .394/.432/.727 with three home runs, 15 RBI, and three stolen bases in six attempts.
He’s only officially been MLB Pipeline’s top prospect for a week, and since Konnor Griffin graduated from his prospect status, Jesús Made has shown why he’s the guy.
4. Edwin Arroyo, SS – Cincinnati Reds
2026 MiLB numbers
Arroyo’s bat has cooled off from his white-hot streak of a .548/.576/1.161 slash line with five home runs, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored, two stolen bases, and just two strikeouts.
He’s still hitting well over his last seven games, with a .321/.321/.536 slash line, one home run, three RBI, and a stolen base. The only concern in this stretch is no walks for Arroyo and five strikeouts. Once he starts to draw more walks again, then he’ll rise back to the force to reckon with that he’s been for most of May.
5. Charlie Condon, 1B/OF – Colorado Rockies
2026 MiLB numbers
Charlie Condon finally ended his 31-game homerless streak on Saturday night, and it’s the culmination of him finally having a good week at the plate after starting out May slowly.
He owns a .320/.370/.560 slash line with two walks, eight strikeouts, one home run, and two RBI. It’s a small sample size, but an encouraging one for Condon, who all but has the Colorado Rockies starting first base job once he’s ready for it.
6. Leo De Vries, SS – Oakland Athletics
2026 MiLB numbers
Leo De Vries is finding himself on a hot streak over his last seven games as well. MLB Pipeline’s number-two prospect owns a .367/.406/.367 slash line with no home runs, four RBI, six stolen bases in seven attempts, two walks, and seven strikeouts in that span.
His power has been absent since May 12, and the strikeout numbers have been up. He’ll need to show more plate discipline over the next month to earn a promotion up to Triple-A.
7. Max Clark, OF – Detroit Tigers
2026 MiLB numbers
At the start of the season, Max Clark was drawing more walks than strikeouts at nearly a 2:1 rate. Now, that’s no longer the case as the gap has widened between his walk and strikeout rates.
The Tigers’ top prospect has only walked three times and struck out 14 in his 16 games across May, a drastic drop-off from his 15 walks and 17 strikeouts over the first month of the season. The drop in walks has also led to a drop in contact, as Clark is chasing more outside the zone and not providing enough pop for himself to help his case to earn his MLB debut soon.
8. Kaelen Culpepper, SS – Minnesota Twins
2026 MiLB numbers
| AVG | HR | SB | BB% | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.247 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 18. |
After a slide that resulted in a cut on his lower lip in Friday night’s game, Kaelen Culpepper came out with a statement in Saturday’s game against the Omaha Storm Chasers, hitting a home run on the first pitch thrown from a rehabbing Cole Ragans.
Culpepper’s results at the plate have been mixed this year, but he’s finding himself with an opportunity to get called up to the big league roster soon. Earlier this week, Royce Lewis was optioned down to Triple-A after putting up a .163/.261/.279 slash line, 10.1% walk rate, and 31.1% strikeout rate to start the year.
For the time being, the Twins have called up veteran infielder Orlando Arcia, who was having a hot stretch in May, to fill in for Lewis’ spot. But with a new 40-man roster spot open following Luis García Jr. being designated for assignment, Culpepper could find himself in the majors soon if the Twins opt to add him to that open spot.
9. Angel Genao, SS – Cleveland Guardians
2026 MiLB numbers
With Travis Bazzana being promoted up to the majors, Angel Genao is now the infield prospect to follow in the Cleveland Guardians system. Genao is already on the Guardians’ 40-man roster and has had a decent season, putting up a .275/.385/.463 slash line, six home runs, and 18 RBI over 41 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
Genao, 22, provides plenty of strength as an up-the-middle infielder who can switch-hit and provides plenty more contact and good strikezone judgment than power in his swing. The Guardians have a strong infield depth that is hard to break into. So, unless someone gets injured, it may be a while before the Guardians call upon Genao’s services for the major league club.
10. Jett Williams, 3B/SS – Milwaukee Brewers
2026 MiLB numbers
Jett Williams is having a better May than April, as his cold start to the 2026 season is now behind him. Williams has put up a .290/.425/.507 slash line, with two home runs, 10 RBI, 19 runs scored, three stolen bases in four attempts, a 17.2% walk rate, and 21.8% strikeout rate over 19 games.
The Brewers have plenty of hot-hitting prospects that are not making Williams’ case to be promoted an easy one. Plus, unlike Cooper Pratt, he’s not on the 40-man roster, so he will need to continue swinging a hot bat to make his case to be added to the Brewers’ 40-man.
On The Bubble
Here are the next five hitters considered for inclusion on this week’s list in no particular order.
Cooper Pratt, SS – MIL
Braydon Montgomery, OF – CHW
George Lombard Jr., SS – NYY
Cooper Ingle, C – CLE
Joshua Baez, OF – STL
Stash List
