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Andersen analyzes top fantasy baseball prospects risers, fallers, sleepers and busts for 2026. His MLB rookies report for Week 3 and recently promoted prospects.
Welcome to Week 3 and the third installment of RotoBaller's Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report for the 2026 MLB season, looking at prospect risers and fallers.
As we advance deeper into the regular season, we'll take a closer look at Juan Brito, George Klassen, and Brandon Valenzuela. Each is a top talent in their team's farm system who has already debuted early this season.
We’ll dive into their early performances, analyze what’s working (and what’s not), and offer insights on what fantasy managers can expect as the 2026 season gets underway.
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Juan Brito, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Brito originally signed with the Rockies as an international free agent in 2018 before being traded to the Guardians in a 1-for-1 swap involving Nolan Jones back in 2022.
Track Record:
Brito's MLB debut was many years in the making. Now 24 years old, the 6-foot infield prospect has appeared in at least one Triple-A game every year from 2023 through 2026. What makes this year different, though, is that he finally got the call to the majors.
That call came after Brito opened the minor league season with a .314/.405/.457 slash line, 130 wRC+, a 14.3% walk rate, and a 7.1% strikeout rate. That was a welcome improvement after he had posted an ugly .582 OPS with 63 wRC+ in spring training.
In his MLB debut on Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with a single and a double. Through three big-league games, he's now hitting 5-for-12 with three singles, two doubles, one strikeout, two runs, and one RBI.
Outlook:
Brito, a switch-hitter, doesn't hit the ball incredibly hard, but he showed a decent power output in the minors. Even if that power doesn't translate to a ton of home runs in the majors, his batted-ball and baserunning profiles make him a real threat to consistently accrue extra-base hits.
It will be interesting to see what Brito's role looks like long-term. He has consistently hit all types of pitching so far this regular season, but a larger sample size last year indicated that he struggles against lefties (.629 OPS).
Additionally, Brito's defense has taken a step backward. There's really nowhere other than second base to put him, but even his contributions at the keystone have been underwhelming. If he plays a suboptimal defense and struggles to hit lefties, he might find himself in more of a platoon role.
With that being said, the results through three games speak for themselves. We're inclined to think that his contributions at the plate will persist until he gives us a reason to believe otherwise.
A Brito blast for your viewing pleasure. 💥#GuardsSpring pic.twitter.com/9IPTxYQAjc
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) February 26, 2026
George Klassen, SP, Los Angeles Angels
Klassen was the Phillies' sixth-round pick in 2023, but he was traded from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 2024. He was promoted to Triple-A just before the end of last season, and he made just one start there in 2026 before being called up for his MLB debut.
Track Record:
2025 was Klassen's second full season playing in the minors. He made 25 starts, accruing 108.2 innings of work with a 3.21 FIP, 11.1 K/9, 3.89 BB/9, and 0.66 HR/9.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander was roughed up this past spring, allowing four home runs and nine walks over 14 innings of work. Still, the Angels were intrigued by his underlying metrics and called him up after just one regular-season start in Triple-A.
He made his MLB debut on Sunday, allowing two earned runs over 2.2 innings of work. Control continued to be a major point of discussion. While he did strike out four batters, he also walked five. Finding the zone proved to be difficult for Klassen as he finished with a 54% strike rate.
Outlook:
Klassen averaged 97.3 mph on his fastball. While the velocity is impressive, it will be a moot point until he improves his control. After all, the old adage is that nobody cares how fast you throw ball four. The shape isn't very encouraging, either. It's a dead-zone fastball, and the sinker isn't much better.
He makes up for the subpar fastball with a solid changeup that gets good fade and run. The pitch's +4.8 inches of induced vertical break and +15.2" of horizontal break make it an effective option to miss bats against left-handed batters.
Klassen rounds out his repertoire with a pair of solid breaking balls. His slider and curveball both have late, sharp break. At 90.4 mph, his slider is especially encouraging.
Going forward, we'll want Klassen to improve the competitiveness of his fastball and increase his strike percentage. If those things happen, he can be an effective five-pitch starter in the majors.
The first Major League strikeout for George Klassen 👏 pic.twitter.com/QIhlFoHPHW
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) April 5, 2026
Brandon Valenzuela, C, Toronto Blue Jays
The Padres signed Valenzuela as an international free agent out of Mexico in 2017. He developed in San Diego's farm system for a while before being traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for Will Wagner at last year's trade deadline.
Track Record:
Valenzuela split last season between Double-A (with the Padres) and Triple-A (with the Blue Jays). He flashed a defense-first profile with a 24.0% strikeout rate, but an unexpected surge of 15 home runs kept his wRC+ in a reasonable spot at 99 runs.
The bat seemed to turn a corner this spring, as Valenzuela slashed .304/.370/.478 with 119 wRC+. He struck out more than one-quarter of the time, but he was also met with great results when he did put the ball in play.
His production scaled back as he opened the season at Triple-A, and he continues to struggle at the plate upon his promotion to the majors. A late bloomer at 25 years old, Valenzeula was called up to replace Alejandro Kirk (thumb). The replacement backstop is 1-for-8 with a single and four strikeouts since his promotion.
Outlook:
It's always been evident that Valenzuela is a glove-first catcher, and while his breakout at the plate this spring was exciting, he seemed like a prime candidate to regress once the season got underway.
Indeed, the bat took a major step backward after Opening Day, and while he does continue to offer plus defensive traits, his work behind the dish won't equate to much value in fantasy baseball.
Valenzuela receives the ball well, and he offers value both when framing and when trying to knock down errant pitches. He has a quick pop time and a strong arm, and while there have been some concerns about his accuracy in the past, he threw out more than one-third of potential base-stealers last year.
The 25-year-old is fun to watch behind the plate, and he has the potential to be one of those stereotypical catchers who put together a long career because of their plus defense, despite consistently hovering around the Mendoza line. That's bad news for managers, though, as the bat matters more than the glove in fantasy leagues.
Brandon Valenzuela ‼️
He's hitting .375 this Spring! pic.twitter.com/wtmqSzdELx
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 10, 2026
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