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Fantasy baseball prospect breakouts, sleepers, waiver wire stash analysis for Week 21 of 2026 including Seaver King, James Tibbs III, Max Anderson, Lazaro Montes, Cam Cannarella, and more.
Over the past two weeks of MLB action, several top prospects have earned the call and made a massive impact, such as Joshua Baez and George Lombard Jr.
Below, we will take a look at seven emerging prospects who could find themselves in the major leagues in the coming weeks.
So, should fantasy managers stash these breakout prospects? Let's get to it!
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James Tibbs III, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect James Tibbs III has had a monster season at Triple-A Oklahoma City with 24 homers, 89 RBI, and 90 runs scored while hitting .297. Tibbs is hitting .365 in August with three home runs and 14 RBI to continue his strong season. The left-handed hitter is the No. 7 prospect in the Dodgers system and is looking for a late-season promotion.
The 23-year-old has a 50-grade hit tool with 55-grade power and has been a menace at the plate all season long at the Triple-A level. He has proven he is ready for a big-league chance, and with the Dodgers all of a sudden struggling, they could turn to the young outfielder for a spark. Fantasy managers will want to monitor how the Dodgers plan on using Tibbs the rest of the season because he has the tools to be successful in the majors even at age 23.
- Written by Brian Buckey
Max Anderson, INF, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers infield prospect Max Anderson has had a very steady season with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens and hopes that will give him the shot to make his MLB debut with the Tigers. At age 24, Anderson has shown a high level of consistency in the minors and could be ready to make the jump to the big leagues. In 81 games with the Mud Hens this season, Anderson is hitting .302 with 13 homers and 47 RBI to go with 50 runs.
The No. 11 prospect for the Tigers, Anderson has a 50-grade hit tool with 50-grade power. So he profiles as a major league player, but the question is when the Tigers want to give him his debut. Fantasy managers should monitor Anderson's situation because as an infield prospect, he is behind a loaded group of players at the big-league level like Gleyber Torres, Colt Keith, Javier Baez, and others. So it might not be until next year that he makes his debut.
- Written by Brian Buckey
Elmer Rodriguez, SP, New York Yankees
New York Yankees pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez is coming off of two very good starts in August at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as he had two earned runs in 11 innings pitched on his way to a 1-0 mark. He had 13 strikeouts over those 11 combined innings and allowed just six hits and six walks. He also had a very productive July at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, proving he might be ready for another shot to pitch for the Yankees.
Rodriguez is looking like a good stash in redraft leagues in hopes he gets called back up and can produce in another opportunity with New York. The No. 3 prospect of the Yankees, Rodriguez is ready to improve on his 0-2 mark in four starts with the Yankees this season. He has a 55-grade fastball, curveball, and changeup with a 50-grade slider. He seems to have the stuff to be successful for the Yankees and could be a good late addition to fantasy rosters.
- Written by Brian Buckey
River Ryan, SP, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers pitching prospect River Ryan is recovering from a right hamstring strain that he suffered before he was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Tigers in the Tarik Skubal trade. He has been on the IL and rehabbing with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Ryan could make a return and potentially pitch for the Tigers. Or the Tigers could leave him at Toledo and give him more work in the minors.
It is a little bit of a risky dilemma for fantasy managers. Should they take a chance on Ryan who already made his major league debut with the Dodgers? With Oklahoma City, in the Pacific Coast League, Ryan was 3-1 this year with a 4.46 ERA and 1.29 WHIP to go with 43 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched. Ryan is 28 years old and has brief MLB experience back in 2024. The Tigers could give him another look at the end of this year. Fantasy managers will want to pay attention.
- Written by Brian Buckey
Cam Cannarella, OF, Miami Marlins
Miami Marlins outfield prospect Cam Cannarella is on his third minor-league team of the season after his second promotion of the year on July 17 to the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Cannarella has played 21 games for Jacksonville and is hitting 21-for-74 (.284) with one homer and four RBI to go with six stolen bases. Between his three teams this season at age 22, Cannarella is hitting .341 with 13 homers and 49 RBI to go with 16 stolen bases. The No. 6 prospect in the Marlins system, Cannarella has a 60-grade run tool along with a 55-grade hit tool.
The left-handed hitter still likely needs development time in the minors given that he started the season at High-A ball. He is best left on the waiver wire in redraft leagues and is more of a future asset in dynasty leagues.
- Written by Brian Buckey
Lazaro Montes, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Seattle Mariners outfield prospect Lazaro Montes has three homers in his last five games after going on a three-game homer streak on Wednesday at Triple-A Tacoma. That brought Montes' homer total on the season to 35 between Double-A Arkansas and Tacoma. He has 87 combined RBI with 92 runs scored while hitting .251. The 21-year-old left-handed hitter is the No. 5 prospect in the Mariners system and has an elite power profile with 65-grade power.
His hit tool is graded at 45, so his overall hitting and batting average could be a question mark for fantasy purposes, but his power display this season should leave fantasy managers anticipating his promotion to Seattle for an MLB debut. The Mariners could certainly use Montes' powerful bat in their lineup and he looks like a good end-of-season stash just in case he gets the call up.
Lazaro Montes becomes the 2nd Minor Leaguer to reach the 35-HR plateau this season 🚀
Make it 3 straight games with a roundtripper -- this one at 107.6 mph -- for the @Mariners' No. 5 prospect.@RainiersLand | @MsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/ln1dkgYzBM
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 15, 2026
- Written by Brian Buckey
Seaver King, INF, Washington Nationals
Fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper leagues who have been stashing Washington Nationals middle-infield prospect Seaver King all year shouldn't necessarily be expecting him to make his major-league debut late this year now that the Nats are moving CJ Abrams to second base, according to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic.
King, who is a top-100 prospect in MLB and Washington's No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has had a breakout 2026 campaign at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, slashing a combined .316/.398/.529 with a .928 OPS, 14 home runs, 59 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and 66 runs scored across 82 games played and 375 plate appearances.
According to people familiar with the team's thinking, the Nationals are "reluctant" to rush King to the majors, and he can still benefit from more at-bats and defensive reps at Rochester. Nationals officials are also interested to see whether Abrams and Nasim Nunez can thrive in their flipped roles up the middle. Nunez offers more defensive upside and stability at the 6, but he's hitting just .228 with a .578 OPS in 408 plate appearances. In theory, Nusbaum writes that the Nationals could keep King at Triple-A for the rest of the season.
There are multiple things to consider here for the Nats, but the optics of moving an All-Star (Abrams) off his primary position, and then having a rookie take his spot, "could have awkward consequences," especially if King is eventually moved off shortstop in the coming years.
- Written by Keith Hernandez
Top 25 Prospects to Stash in Redraft Leagues
Check out Eric Cross' updated top-25 prospects to stash below. These rankings are for 2026 redraft value only, not dynasty. These are MLB prospects who could potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2026.
Promoted Last Week: George Lombard Jr. (NYY), Kaelen Culpepper (MIN), Angel Genao (CLE), Hagen Smith (CHW)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Zach Ehrhard (LAD), Kemp Alderman (MIA), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Yohandy Morales (WAS), Ryan Ward (LAD), Gavin Cross (KCR), Jacob Melton (TBR), Manuel Pena (ARI), Jett Williams (MIL)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): George Klassen (LAA), Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC), Karson Milbrandt (MIA)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team |
| 1 | Kade Anderson | SP | Mariners |
| 2 | Joshua Baez **Promoted | OF | Cardinals |
| 3 | Walker Jenkins | OF | Twins |
| 4 | Franklin Arias | SS | Red Sox |
| 5 | Charlie Condon | 1B | Rockies |
| 6 | Zac Veen ***Promoted | OF | Rockies |
| 7 | Michael Arroyo | 2B | Mariners |
| 8 | Seaver King | SS/2B | Nationals |
| 9 | Ralphy Velazquez | 1B | Guardians |
| 10 | Cam Cannarella | OF | Marlins |
| 11 | Jonathon Long | 1B | Marlins |
| 12 | Cooper Ingle | C/OF | Guardians |
| 13 | Jhostynxon Garcia | OF | Pirates |
| 14 | Jonah Tong | SP | Mets |
| 15 | Elmer Rodriguez | SP | Yankees |
| 16 | Parks Harber | 3B | Giants |
| 17 | Lazaro Montes | OF | Mariners |
| 18 | River Ryan | SP | Tigers |
| 19 | Luke Adams | 1B/3B | Brewers |
| 20 | Bo Davidson | OF | Giants |
| 21 | James Tibbs III | OF | Dodgers |
| 22 | Josue Briceno | 1B | Tigers |
| 23 | Michael Forret | SP | Orioles |
| 24 | Max Anderson | 2B/3B | Tigers |
| 25 | Charles McAdoo | 3B | Blue Jays |
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2026 Player Decisions. Looking to pick up someone else instead? Today's focus is on specific players like Seaver King, James Tibbs III, Max Anderson, Lazaro Montes, Cam Cannarella, River Ryan, Elmer Rodriguez, Kade Anderson, Walker Jenkins, Charlie Condon, Joshua Baez, Max Clark. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.
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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 Seaver King, James Tibbs III, Max Anderson, Lazaro Montes, Cam Cannarella, River Ryan, Elmer Rodriguez, Kade Anderson, Walker Jenkins, Charlie Condon, Joshua Baez, Max Clark:
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