2026 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: Eric Cross' Top 25 Prospects for Redraft Leagues

January 23, 2026

Eric Cross' 2026 fantasy baseball prospect rankings (redraft). His top 25 fantasy baseball prospects for 2026 redraft leagues to target in fantasy baseball drafts.

As we get near the end of January, 2026 fantasy baseball drafts are really ramping up. Some of you already have been in some drafts while others are still preparing for the heart of draft season in February and March. Regardless of which bucket you fall into, it's time to push the pedal to the metal.

There are a ton of exciting rookies this season, many of which will open the season in the Majors with their respective team. The pitching side is especially loaded at the top of my 2026 rookie rankings, but there's a chance one or both of my top two fantasy hitting prospects will open the season in the Majors. But I'll get more into that below.

Below you'll find my Top 25 rookies to target in 2026 redraft leagues, along with blurbs on a bunch of intriguing names. I'll be updating these rankings later on this spring as more news becomes available and playing time situations become more clear.

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2026 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings

These prospect rankings are for 2026 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects to potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2026.

The ADP mentioned below is from NFBC Draft Champion drafts since January 1. Notes on prospects can be found below the rankings table. 

Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Jacob Melton (TBR), Ryan Waldschmidt (ARI), Carson Williams (TBR), Jhostynxon Garcia (PIT), Travis Bazzana (CLE)

Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Parker Messick (CLE), Brandon Sproat (MIL), Andrew Painter (PHI), Payton Tolle (BOS), Logan Henderson (MIL), Jonah Tong (NYM)

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Chase Burns (CIN) & Nolan McLean (NYM)

The top two rookies (I personally count Burns as a prospect still) in ADP for 2026 are Nolan McLean and Chase Burns, both being taken inside the Top 120 picks on average. And if you want to have McLean on your team, you'll likely have to use a Top-100 pick on him. And you know what? I'm fine paying the price for either as long as I already have two starting pitchers I feel good about, which would make McLean or Burns my SP3.

Chase Burns is worth the price in 2026 fantasy drafts.

In 2025, Burns had a 27.1% K-BB rate in MLB.

Rookie SPs since 2000 to have a higher K-BB% (min 40 IP)...

Spencer Stider (2022) & Stephen Strasburg (2010)

Early 2026 ADP: 136.3#FantasyBaseballpic.twitter.com/JIki5WJBKT

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) November 7, 2025

Having either Burns or McLean as your SP3 would be extremely exciting given the upside each player possesses.

Burns had the third highest K-BB rate among any rookie with at least 40 innings pitched this century, trailing only Spencer Strider (2022) and Stephen Strasburg (2010). He also completely dominated the minor leagues before his callup, recording a 1.77 ERA, 2.16 FIP, 0.77 WHIP, and .166 BAA with a 5.4% walk rate and 36.8% strikeout rate. I'd like to see him use his changeup more, but the fastball and slider are both elite bat-missing offerings.

As for McLean, his rise to elite pitching prospect and potential frontline arm has been incredible to watch. Remember, McLean was still a two-way player as recently as 2024 and only solely started focusing on pitching in 2025, and look what happened. McLean posted a 2.45 ERA in 113.2 minor league innings before recording an even better 2.06 ERA in 48 Major League innings along with a 1.04 WHIP, 8.5% walk rate, and a 30.3% strikeout rate.

McLean's arsenal is much deeper than Burns' is, with six offerings he used at least 8.5% of the time with the Mets. He'll generally sit in the 95-96 range on both his sinker and four seamer while mixing in a high-spin mid-80s sweeper and low-80s curveball a combined 41.5% of the time. McLean also snuck in a mid-80s changeup and low-90s cutter on occasion.

With his stuff and bat-missing ability, the fantasy upside for McLean is through the roof, and I wholeheartedly expect him to be drafted as a fantasy ace in 2027 drafts.

JJ Wetherholt, St Louis Cardinals

He was already high in my 2026 rookie rankings to begin with, but now JJ Wetherholt vaults into the Top-3 after St. Louis traded away Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks in early-January. With Arenado out of town, the hot corner is wide open for Wetherholt in 2026, and I don't expect Nolan Gorman to pose much of a threat outside of maybe keeping the seat warm for Wetherholt in April.

Wetherholt had a rock-solid 2025 season in the upper minors. In 109 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Wetherholt slashed .306/.421/.510 with 28 doubles, 17 home runs, 23 steals, and nearly as many walks (72) as strikeouts (73). Wetherholt's blend of above-average contact, a strong approach, and above-average to plus power and speed gives him both a higher floor than most prospects, and a high ceiling for fantasy.

Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers

Assuming Detroit doesn't bring in anymore infielders, I believe there's a strong chance that Kevin McGonigle is up before the end of May. There's also a chance he cracks the opening day roster and starts at shortstop on opening day, pushing Zach McKinstry back into a super-utility role. If that were to happen, McGonigle would be worth using a Top-100 pick on, which isn't something I often say about a prospect for redraft leagues.

Kevin McGonigle 2-run HOME RUN!

This is McGonigle's 5th HR in 17 AFL games. pic.twitter.com/kkxlUr3ZLG

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) November 7, 2025

As we enter 2026, McGonigle is my #2 overall prospect and in the top tier along with the next name below. He's coming off a superb 2025 season where he slashed a robust .305/.408/.583 with 31 doubles, 19 home runs, 10 steals, and more walks (59) than strikeouts (46).

There are no guarantees when it comes to prospects, but McGonigle's profile and skillset provides plenty of optimism that he can hit the ground running once he receives the call to Detroit. McGonigle blends an elite approach with plus raw power, enough speed for double-digit steals annually, and made contact at an 82% clip last season.

Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates

The only reason why Konnor Griffin isn't higher is because I'm not 100% sure he opens the season in the Majors with Pittsburgh. There have been rumblings of this happening, which is why you see his ADP currently just inside the Top 200 picks. And given that he's the top overall prospect for fantasy coming off a 2025 season where he slashed .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 steals, that ADP should only continue to rise.

However, I'm not as certain that above scenario comes to fruition. Yes, the upside is off the charts (and then some) and Griffin is arguably the most physically talented prospect in the last decade, but he's also still 19 years old with 21 games above Single-A. I'm banking on Griffin starting in the upper minors and getting a couple months before debuting mid-season.

Griffin is absolutely going to get drafted in every single league in hopes that he's on Pittsburgh's opening day roster. So now it all comes down to whether or not you want to stash him for that long. Personally, I usually don't advocate for stashing prospects for a couple months, but when it's a generational talent like Griffin who has #1 overall fantasy player upside, I'm willing to make an exception.

Prospects To Keep an Eye On...

Connelly Early, Boston Red Sox

In general, I'm fairly high on Connelly Early and have him as a Top-12 overall pitching prospect heading into 2026. However, with the Red Sox signing Ranger Suarez and trading for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, Early's 2026 workload is unclear at the moment.

Early dominated to the tune of a 2.60 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 1.11 WHIP, .193 BAA, and a 22.2% K-BB rate in 100.1 minor league innings last season before recording a 2.33 ERA in four starts with Boston down the stretch. He works with a deep six-pitch arsenal and has shown the ability to miss bats at a solid clip, generate a decent amount of groundballs, and keep the walk rate in check. Keep an eye on how the 5th rotation spot shakes out in spring training for Boston.

Dylan Beavers, Baltimore Orioles

There's always a chance that Baltimore does Baltimore things and platoons or simply doesn't use Dylan Beavers as a starter, but I'm banking on the talent winning out here.

DYLAN BEAVERS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/elzYWxlgPU

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 21, 2025

Beavers combined for 22 home runs and 25 steals in 129 games between Triple-A and Baltimore last season while having a .420 OBP in Triple-A and .375 with Baltimore thanks to a walk rate north of 16% at both levels. Not one tool stands out here, but Beavers possesses an above-average power/speed blend, great approach, and made contact at a 77% clip in Triple-A last season.

Carson Benge, New York Mets

Even with all the moves the Mets have been making this offseason, Carson Benge still has a chance to be their opening day left-fielder.

Benge has become a personal favorite of mine due to his rock-solid all-around offensive profile which includes a plus blend of contact and approach, and an above-average power/speed blend. In 116 minor league games last season, Benge slashed .281/.385/.472 with 15 home runs, 22 steals, a 13.1% walk rate, and a 17.7% strikeout rate.

Aidan Miller, Philadelphia Phillies

While he's only played shortstop to date, there are some rumblings that Aidan Miller could slider over to the hot corner for the Phillies, especially if they deal Alec Bohm before the season starts. Miller is coming off a 14/59 season in 116 games last year with a .264/.392/.433 slash line.

With plus speed, above-average raw power, and above-average contact skills, Miller is quite intriguing for 2026 redraft leagues, especially if the hot corner opens up for him.

Additional 2026 Fantasy Baseball Rookie Notes

Jonah Tong missed my Top-25 because I have no idea how many innings he'll get with the Mets this season. He's now 7th on the depth chart after the Freddy Peralta acquisition, and while some of the six ahead of him have some injury concerns, it's likely that we see Tong in Triple-A for the first month or two of the season, maybe longer.

Jacob Melton is one to keep in mind in deeper drafts this year. Now with the Rays, Melton doesn't have a clear path at the moment, but it's not like Josh Lowe and Cedric Mullins are overly durable. I know Melton's 2025 Major League showing was terrible in a small sample size, but the skills are there to be a solid fantasy outfielder if given the shot to start regularly. In 2025, Melton was one of just five currently eligible prospects in Triple-A to have a contact rate above 75% and a hard-hit rate above 50% in at least 100 plate appearances.

Spencer Jones is either going to be a stud or a rookie version of Joey Gallo. Which end of that range he winds up on is very much up in the air. The upside is absolutely massive, but so is the downside due to the contact skills and strikeout rate. He's also thoroughly blocked in New York, so I wouldn't consider drafting him outside of draft and hold formats.

Jordan Lawlar's outlook continues to be murky. The upside is still notable, but he's struggled in his brief Major League stints and will need to win the center field job to have any short-term redraft value as the hot corner is now occupied by Nolan Arenado.

With the White Sox in a full rebuild, I'd 100% expect Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz to get some solid innings at the Major League level in 2026. I'd bank on Smith getting more innings than Schultz as he seems to be more Major League ready, but he walks a ton of guys and has yet to establish any resemblance of a third offering. Schultz was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball entering 2025, but struggled mightily in terms of durability and performance. Both are high-upside fliers late in a DC format, but both have their warts.

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