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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Ryan Waldschmidt, Thomas White, Braden Montgomery - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
Targeting high-end prospects can provide your fantasy team with a major boost. Last season, many rookies turned in impressive rookie seasons, including Nick Kurtz and Cam Schlittler.
In this piece, we will look at two emerging players at the Triple-A level and a budding star at the Double-A level who could push for a second-half promotion.
Should fantasy managers stash these high-end prospects? Let's dive in!
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Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 10% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 27 G, .317/.416/.529, 7 2B, 3 HR, 4 SB
Ryan Waldschmidt is one of the prospects with the most potential 2026 impact that I haven’t covered in this piece yet this year. That was mainly because many other prospects got off to a hotter start, but that’s not to say that Waldschmidt has been disappointing in Triple-A.
In fact, he currently has a .330/.441/.538 slash line with two home runs, 15 RBI, 23 runs, and four stolen bases. He’s been especially good as of late, with at least one hit in 12 of his last 14 games, with six of them being multi-hit performances.
Ryan Waldschmidt is an extra-base hit machine 😤
He notches his 8️⃣th extra base hit of the season. pic.twitter.com/EXlMjaOIcZ
— Reno Aces (@Aces) April 11, 2026
He’s always excelled at getting on base throughout his minor league career, as in 2025 he slashed .289/.419/.473 with 18 home runs, 78 RBI, 114 runs, and 29 steals in 134 games.
While he’s not an elite slugger necessarily, he did post a max exit velocity of over 115 mph in spring training this year, so the pop is there. He’s not the type of outlier prospect who will come up and threaten 40 homers or 60 steals, but his elite on-base skills mixed with decent power and speed could make him a valuable fantasy asset if he earns a promotion.
The 23-year-old can play all three outfield positions, which helps his chances of finding playing time at the major league level. Even with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. recently returning from the injured list, the Diamondbacks are far from having a logjam of elite major league talent.
They currently have Alek Thomas and Jorge Barrosa splitting time in the outfield, with Jose Fernandez seeing a lot of DH appearances. There are definitely ways for Arizona to work in Waldschmidt consistently, and it’s not crazy to think that he's already a better player than Thomas.
-Written by Jeremy Heist
Thomas White, SP, Miami Marlins
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 8 IP, 1.13 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 14 SO, 3 BB
The other Marlins pitcher to monitor this week is Thomas White. White is a better-regarded prospect than Snelling, but given Snelling's experience at Triple-A, he should be the preferred option in this system for the short-term. However, if looking for the long-term play in your deeper leagues, White is worth holding in an "N/A" spot.
The southpaw is considered the overall No. 14 prospect in the sport on MLB.com and the No. 1-ranked prospect in the Miami system.
Last summer, White began his season in High-A but quickly progressed, making stops at Double-A before reaching the top five in the final month. With his first look at Triple-A, the former 35th overall pick struck out 17 hitters over 9 1/3 innings, but struggled with his command, walking 10 batters. Earlier in the season, he posted an elite 2.13 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 128:41 K:BB over 80 1/3 innings shared between High-A and Double-A.
In camp, White dealt with an oblique injury, which prevented him from making a strong case to be the regular season in the majors. After a short rehab stint, the White has been incisive to Triple-A Jacksonville and is looking like his dominant self. In his Triple-A season debut, White logged four innings of two-run ball (one earned run) with eight punchouts and no walks.
Seeing him quickly improve his command is a great sign for his outlook. In his second outing, White tossed four frames of one-hit ball with six punchouts but was not as efficient, serving up three free passes. Overall, striking out 14 hitters over his first eight innings of the season is an excellent sign and suggests he may not need much more seasoning at Triple-A.
His command is worth following, but if White continues this pace, he may not have to wait much longer than Snelling to make his long-awaited debut. When he gets the call, White could possess a similar upside that Tolle showed us on Thursday (11 punchouts in his season debut).
The numbers for MLB's No. 1 LHP prospect Thomas White (@Marlins) after 4 scoreless IP and 6 strikeouts for the Triple-A @JaxShrimp:
• .130 BAA
• 15.4 K/9
• 1.93 ERA pic.twitter.com/XmcgKVGwOf— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 24, 2026
- Written by Andy Smith
Braden Montgomery, OF, Chicago White Sox
Current Level: AA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AA Stats: 21 G, .316/.423/.618, 5 2B, 4 HR, 2 SB
Braden Montgomery launches his 4th HR on the season. #Barons pic.twitter.com/z764ZzZD6c
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 18, 2026
The White Sox are another team in rebuilding mode, so they need to let their young talent have every day playing time. One of those players is Montgomery, who is currently slashing .344/.436/.689 with four homers and two steals in 78 plate appearances at Double-A. Montgomery has an impressive walk rate at 16.7%, while keeping his strikeout rate reasonable at 25.6%.
Chicago is probably going to be patient with Montgomery, since he's still at Double-A. Perhaps it'll give him a look at Triple-A before promoting him to the big league roster. However, since he's 23 years old, it makes it likely that he'll be up in the big leagues sooner rather than later.
There are open spots on this roster. Montgomery can easily take over for Everson Pereira in right field, although Pereira is playing well so far. Perhaps the team will trade Andrew Benintendi to a contender at the deadline, which could also open up a spot.
I'd imagine that Montgomery will be up sometime around the All-Star break. Once that happens, you'll have a polished hitter with strong on-base skills, making him worth a look in fantasy baseball. He's a great target in deeper leagues that have N/A spots.
- Written by Frank Ammirante
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: Payton Tolle (BOS)
Promoted This Week: Trey Yesavage (TOR), Travis Bazzana (CLE)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Harry Ford (WAS), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Kemp Alderman (MIA), Esmerlyn Valdez (PIT), Gabriel Gonzalez (MIN), Zac Veen (COL), Deyvison De Los Santos (MIA), Hector Rodriguez (CIN), Michael Arroyo (SEA), Jonathon Long (CHC), Blaze Jordan (STL), Jacob Melton (TBR)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Gage Jump (ATH), Carlos Lagrange (NYY), Elmer Rodriguez (NYY), Hagen Smith (CHW), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC), Trey Gibson (BAL), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Kendry Rojas (MIN), River Ryan (LAD)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | ETA |
| 1 | Trey Yesavage | SP | TOR | Tuesday |
| 2 | Travis Bazzana | 2B | CLE | Tuesday |
| 3 | Robby Snelling | SP | MIA | May |
| 4 | Ryan Waldschmidt | OF | ARI | May |
| 5 | Max Clark | OF | DET | June |
| 6 | Colt Emerson | SS | SEA | May |
| 7 | Didier Fuentes | SP | ATL | May |
| 8 | Bryce Eldridge | 1B | SFG | May |
| 9 | Charlie Condon | 1B | COL | May |
| 10 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | MIN | May |
| 11 | Walker Jenkins | OF | MIN | June |
| 12 | Emmanuel Rodriguez | OF | MIN | July |
| 13 | Joshua Baez | OF | STL | July |
| 14 | Luis Lara | OF | MIL | June |
| 15 | Kevin Alcantara | OF | CHC | June |
| 16 | A.J. Ewing | OF | NYM | July |
| 17 | Jonah Tong | SP | NYM | June |
| 18 | Jett Williams | SS/OF | MIL | May |
| 19 | Aidan Miller | SS | PHI | July |
| 20 | Thomas White | SP | MIA | July |
| 21 | Spencer Jones | OF | NYY | July |
| 22 | Carson Williams | SS | TBR | May |
| 23 | Jhostynxon Garcia | OF | PIT | June |
| 24 | Pedro Ramirez | 2B/3B | CHC | July |
| 25 | James Tibbs III | OF | LAD | June |
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 Ryan Waldschmidt, Thomas White, Braden Montgomery, Payton Tolle, Tanner Scott, Louis Varland, Chase Dollander. 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 Ryan Waldschmidt, Thomas White, Braden Montgomery, Payton Tolle, Tanner Scott, Louis Varland, Chase Dollander:
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