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Frank Ammirante's top hitter fantasy baseball prospects to stash for Week 4 (2026). His MLB prospects to pick up and stash on your bench and N/A spots in redraft leagues.
We're into the fourth week of the 2026 MLB season. As always, it's important to think about which hitting prospects to stash. Finding a young gem can bring more upside to your fantasy baseball teams.
In this column, I choose five different hitting prospects to stash to highlight each week. Some of these hitters could be repeat offenders on this list, but I'll try to shuffle up the selections to differentiate each time. While a couple of hitters may be close to a promotion here, others may still be a while away, but they're still worth discussing.
With that in mind, find out why Colt Emerson, Ryan Waldschmidt, Bryce Eldridge, Hector Rodriguez, and Charlie Condon are my five hitter prospects to stash that I'm going to highlight this week.
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Colt Emerson, MI/CI, Seattle Mariners
Colt Emerson starts the Triple-A season with a homer.pic.twitter.com/rZqLRDdlun
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) March 27, 2026
Mariners' general manager Jerry Dipoto publicly stated that Emerson is getting close to a promotion. This is a polished hitter who is currently slashing .255/.333/.392 with one home run and three stolen bases in 58 plate appearances at Triple-A. While the 31.0% strikeout rate is discouraging, remember that he put up a 22.2 K% in Triple-A last year, plus a sub-20 K% in both Single-A and Double-A.
It would make sense for the M's to call up Emerson soon. For one, the team signed him to an eight-year, $95 million extension, so they should see what they have in their young infielder. Secondly, at the time of this article, Seattle has an 8-11 record. With Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Josh Naylor struggling at the plate, Emerson could be the spark that the team needs.
On top of that, Cole Young has cooled off a bit, slashing .215/.311/.369 with two homers in 74 plate appearances. That gives the Mariners the option to send Young down and replace him with Emerson at second base.
In any case, it's only a matter of time before Emerson is up. Once that happens, there's a good chance that he can produce at a 15/15 pace with a rock-solid batting average due to his strong plate discipline. Make sure to stash Emerson before your league mates get him.
Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ryan Waldschmidt tees off for his first Triple-A @Aces roundtripper, upping his OPS to .943 🏌️♂️
The @Dbacks' No. 1 prospect entered the night with 6 balls in play at 101+ mph this season: pic.twitter.com/3K3hCw9WPa
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 10, 2026
Waldschmidt is currently slashing .333/.455/.571 with two home runs in 78 plate appearances at Triple-A. You have to be enticed by the 15.4% walk rate, especially if you're in OBP leagues. The Diamondbacks could sure use a boost to their outfield with Jordan Lawlar sidelined.
Additionally, center fielder Alek Thomas continues to struggle at the plate, slashing .130/.175/.222 with zero home runs in 58 plate appearances. I understand that Thomas has defensive value, but the negative impact he has on the offense can't be understated. The D-Backs would be wise to sacrifice a little defense and bring up Waldschmidt.
The other path to playing time is in left field, where Jorge Barrosa is currently playing. He's been better at the plate than Thomas, slashing .244/.292/.444 in 49 plate appearances. Perhaps the D-Backs can move Barrosa to center and play Waldschmidt in left if they're so concerned with defense.
Regardless of the way the D-Backs decide to deploy Waldschmidt, it's clear that they can't keep his bat down for long. When he's up, you're getting an outfielder with 20-20 upside and strong plate discipline.
Bryce Eldridge, UT, San Francisco Giants
BAAAAANNNNGGGGG 💥💥💥
Bryce Eldridge goes yard to right field, making it 3-0 to start the game! pic.twitter.com/f2A65XAe9v
— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 16, 2026
The Giants are currently 7-12 with a lifeless offense. They clearly need a spark before they dig themselves into too large a hole. Right now, the Giants have Casey Schmitt playing DH, which is, quite frankly, completely absurd. Schmitt is more known for his defensive value than his bat, so why play him at DH?
The clear move here is to promote Eldridge, who is currently slashing .358/.493/.566 with two home runs in 67 plate appearances at Triple-A. Sure, strikeouts are a problem (29.9 K%), but he walks a lot (16.4 BB%), and inserting a big bopper into this lineup is exactly what this team needs.
As long as the Giants continue to play underwhelming baseball while Eldridge mashes in the minors, the likelihood of his promotion increases. If you need a boost in power (like the Giants), it makes sense to stash Eldridge right now.
I can't imagine that he'll be in the minors for much longer. There's simply not much else for him to prove down there.
Hector Rodriguez, OF, Reds
22 year old Cincinnati Reds top prospect (#4) Hector Rodriguez is off to a beautiful start in AAA.
He's slashing .305/.447/.508/.955 in 59 ABs with 18 total hits, including 2 HRs, 4 2Bs, and 1 3B.
He's already on the 40 man roster, will get talked about for a promo if he keeps… pic.twitter.com/k6eZMXE1VP
— Nati Sports (@Nati_Sports) April 15, 2026
Rodriguez is slashing .306/.450/.548 with three home runs and one stolen base in 80 plate appearances at Triple-A. This includes impressive plate discipline metrics, including a 20.0% walk rate and a 17.5% strikeout rate. Rodriguez is a 22-year-old outfielder who has consistently kept his strikeout rate below 20% throughout his time in the minors.
The Reds recently sent down Noelvi Marte to bring up Rece Hinds, but he's your classic power bat who mashes in the minors but then has a tough time adjusting to the majors. Hinds has been a strikeout machine at the big-league level so far.
While Hinds is going to get some run to see what he can do, should he struggle at the plate, that would open the door for Rodriguez. Given how the Reds currently have a lot of swing-and-miss in their lineup with Hinds plus Eugenio Suarez and Elly De La Cruz, perhaps Rodriguez would be the better fit in this lineup.
If Rodriguez were to get the call, he'd have a high floor due to his low strikeout rate, perhaps providing 20-20 upside in a ceiling outcome. He's an under-the-radar stash best suited for deeper formats.
Charlie Condon, 1B, Colorado Rockies
Condon has been dominating in the minors, currently slashing .319/.439/.617 with four home runs in 57 plate appearances. This is another hitter with strong plate discipline, as highlighted by a 14.0% walk rate and a 19.3% strikeout rate.
The Rockies are a rebuilding team, so Condon should be up in the big leagues sooner rather than later. Once that happens, you have to take a chance on him because we just don't know how high the ceiling can be, especially at Coors.
Think back to last season. Remember what we thought of Nick Kurtz? He was considered an intriguing prospect with upside, but no one expected him to mash the way that he did. But playing in a bandbox like Sutter Health Park brought out the best in him.
Obviously, this was an outlier season, but bringing back that example is just to reflect how rookies can often come up and set the league on fire. Playing at Coors, Condon will be in a favorable situation whenever he gets the call.
Five Other Prospects to Consider Stashing
- Jesus Made, OF, MIL
- Jimmy Crooks, C, STL
- Joshua Baez, OF, STL
- Aidan Miller, SS, PHI
- Leo De Vries, SS, ATH
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