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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Karson Milbrandt, River Ryan, Ryan Waldschmidt - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
Through the opening months of the 2026 season, fantasy managers have seen firsthand the importance of stashing prospects ahead of a promotion. Players like Payton Tolle, Gage Jump, and Henry Bolte have showcased high-end talent and are worthy of having a spot in your starting lineup.
In this piece, we will look to showcase three of the top prospects at the Triple-A level and determine if managers should consider holding them on their bench ahead of a potential call-up.
Should fantasy managers stash these high-end prospects? Let's dive in!
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Karson Milbrandt, SP, Miami Marlins
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 11 IP, 0.82 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8 SP, 6 BB
While we have spotlighted several of the budding Marlins pitchers over the season, such as Robby Snelling and Thomas White, both are on the shelf and expected to miss the remainder of the season. This has surprisingly opened the door for Karson Milbrandt to compete for an early debut.
While Milbrandt began the regular season at the Double-A level, he has recently moved up to Triple-A and is looking just as comfortable facing the top hitters in the minor leagues.
The 22-year-old opened the season with Double-A and held his own over his first "full" taste at the level. Across 47 innings of work (nine starts), Milbrandt posted an elite 1.34 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP.
Over this two-month stint, Milbrandt struck out 70 hitters and walked 17. During the 2025 campaign, he spent most of his time in the lower levels and only moved up to Double-A over his last 10 2/3 innings, posting a similar 1.69 ERA.
This stellar showing earned him an early ticket to Triple-A Jacksonville. In his first outing with the top club in the system, Milbrandt looked just as impressive, logging six shutout frames against Nashville. In this start, Milbrandt allowed just two hits and walked three, but only managed to tally one strikeout.
Given that Miami lacks a true No. 4 and No. 5 option on the major league roster and with both Eury Perez and Janson Junk on the IL, Milbrandt's debut could be in the near future, potentially before the end of the first half. While he will likely need a few more starts at Triple-A to prove he is ready, he is on a trajectory to debut much sooner than the Marlins likely anticipated.
Welcome to Triple-A, Karson Milbrandt!
The @Marlins' No. 9 prospect -- who had a 27-inning scoreless streak at Double-A earlier this year -- tallies six scoreless frames in his @JaxShrimp debut: pic.twitter.com/HbDVKbartx
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 7, 2026
-Written by Andy Smith
River Ryan, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 32 IP, 2.81 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 40 SO, 7 BB
If the name River Ryan rings a bell, it’s because he’s already made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2024, tossing 20 ⅓ innings over four starts. However, Tommy John surgery knocked him out for the remainder of the season and for all of 2025, so no one knew exactly what to expect out of him this year.
The 27-year-old has been dominant so far, posting a 2.81 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and seven walks through seven starts and 32 innings. By all accounts, he looks like the same pitcher who showed real promise at the major league level two seasons ago. His 29.9% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate are elite, and he also features a 51.8% groundball rate.
Justin Wrobleski is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Shohei Ohtani missed a couple of games with knee soreness, which could present an opportunity for Ryan to work into the rotation. While both Ohtani and Wrobleski are expected to be fine, they are clearly a bit banged up, and the Dodgers aren’t a team that shies away from placing their players on the injured list when they need time to recover.
Even if those injuries don’t pop back up, Eric Lauer, with his 5.47 ERA, is currently serving as the sixth starter, who simply doesn’t compare in terms of upside. He pitched decently in his last time out against the Pirates, but his job security is likely on a start-to-start basis at the moment. Recently, Ryan bounced back after his only rough start of the season, striking out seven and allowing one run over four innings on June 10th.
River Ryan in today’s start:
4.0 IP | 6 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 1 BB | 7 SO#Dodgers pic.twitter.com/CB5hW1iGp6
— Milb Central (@milb_central) June 10, 2026
With all that in mind, a top prospect on the best team in baseball would certainly be worth adding in fantasy. The chance to rack up wins is plenty valuable in its own right, but River Ryan would have the upside to be a difference-making fantasy asset down the stretch. He posted a 1.33 ERA in his brief major league stint two years ago, so he's someone who's already seen success at the highest level.
- Written by Jerermy Heist
Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 15% rostered
2026 MLB Stats: 33 G, .259/.314/.357, 9 2B, 5 SB
In a surprising move, the Arizona Diamondbacks optioned top prospect Waldschmidt down to Triple-A on Sunday, a move that didn't sit well with many Diamondbacks fans on social media. Sure, Waldschmidt wasn't tearing the cover off the ball or anything, but he was holding his own with a .259 average and five steals in 122 plate appearances while playing solid outfield defense.
However, Waldschmidt is still looking for his first Major League home run and was striking out 32.8% of the time with a 66.3% overall contact rate. He was close to average in zone contact rate, though, and was only chasing at a 24.2% clip. And while Waldschmidt didn't clear the outfield fence, he had a serviceable 8.3% barrel rate and a 36.1% hard-hit rate.
For now, you can probably cut Waldschmidt outside of deeper formats, but I strongly believe we'll see him back up with Arizona this summer.
2026 Prospect Fantasy Baseball Redraft Stash Rankings
Who are the top fantasy baseball prospects to know? Check out our latest 2026 prospect fantasy baseball rankings which are updated regularly by Eric Cross:
Promoted Last Week: Braden Montgomery (CHW), Cole Carrigg (COL), Blaze Jordan (STL), Cooper Pratt (MIL), Denzer Guzman (LAA)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Harry Ford (WAS), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Jacob Melton (TBR), Michael Arroyo (SEA), Jonathon Long (CHC), Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (ATH), Zach Ehrhard (LAD)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT), Owen Murphy (ATL), Quinn Mathews (STL), George Klassen (LAA)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | ETA |
| 1 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | Twins | June |
| 2 | Joshua Baez | OF | Cardinals | July |
| 3 | Kade Anderson | SP | Mariners | July |
| 4 | Charlie Condon | 1B | Rockies | July |
| 5 | River Ryan | SP | Dodgers | June |
| 6 | Max Clark | OF | Tigers | August |
| 7 | Ryan Waldschmidt | OF | Diamondbacks | July |
| 8 | Walker Jenkins | OF | Twins | August |
| 9 | James Tibbs III | OF | Dodgers | June |
| 10 | Karson Milbrandt | SP | Marlins | August |
| 11 | Luis Lara | OF | Brewers | June |
| 12 | Zac Veen | OF | Rockies | July |
| 13 | Hector Rodriguez | OF | Reds | August |
| 14 | Yohandy Morales | 1B/3B | Nationals | June |
| 15 | Hagen Smith | SP | White Sox | July |
| 16 | Jett Williams | SS/OF | Brewers | July |
| 17 | Ralphy Velazquez | 1B | Guardians | August |
| 18 | Jonah Tong | SP | Mets | July |
| 19 | Elmer Rodriguez | SP | Yankees | July |
| 20 | George Lombard Jr. | SS | Yankees | July |
| 21 | Jaxon Wiggins | SP | Cubs | July |
| 22 | Kemp Alderman | OF | Marlins | July |
| 23 | Abimelec Ortiz | 1B | Nationals | July |
| 24 | Brody Hopkins | SP | Rays | July |
| 25 | Wei-En Lin | SP | Athletics | August |
Who Should I Pickup Fantasy Baseball Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
2026 Player Decisions. Looking to pick up someone else instead? Today's focus is on specific players like Karson Milbrandt, River Ryan, Ryan Waldschmidt, Jacob Latz, A.J. Ewing, Henry Bolte, Cole Carrigg, Edwin Arroyo, Payton Tolle, Kaelen Culpepper, Michael Massey, Bryce Eldridge. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats, projections, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Looking to pick up someone else instead? Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for players like Karson Milbrandt, River Ryan, Ryan Waldschmidt, Jacob Latz, A.J. Ewing, Henry Bolte, Cole Carrigg, Edwin Arroyo, Payton Tolle, Kaelen Culpepper, Michael Massey, Bryce Eldridge:
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