Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash (Redraft): Eric Cross' Rookie Rankings for Week 8

May 18, 2026

Eric Cross' top 25 fantasy baseball prospects to stash in redraft for Week 8 (2026). His updated MLB rookie rankings for prospect call-ups to make 2026 impacts.

Another week is in the books, and we had a few more exciting prospect promotions. Henry Bolte and A.J. Ewing were called up last week, and Colt Emerson got the call Sunday night.

We've seen a steady trickle of notable prospect promotions all season, and I don't expect that to change in the coming weeks. There are plenty of additional names hitting well in Triple-A who could get the call in the near future.

These prospect rankings are for 2026 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects who could potentially make a fantasy baseball impact in 2026 redraft leagues. You can also see our top fantasy baseball dynasty prospects rankings for longer-term outlooks and our 2026 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for all other league formats.

Top 25 Prospects to Stash in Redraft Leagues

My prospect write-ups are below the rankings. 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 This Week: Colt Emerson (SEA)

Promoted Last Week: Henry Bolte (ATH), A.J. Ewing (NYM), Carson Williams (TBR)

Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Harry Ford (WAS), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Gabriel Gonzalez (MIN), Zac Veen (COL), Deyvison De Los Santos (MIA), Hector Rodriguez (CIN), Blaze Jordan (STL), Jacob Melton (TBR), James Tibbs (LAD), Michael Arroyo (SEA), Jonathon Long (CHC), Jacob Gonzalez (CHW), Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (ATH), Aidan Miller (PHI), Pedro Ramirez (CHC)

Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Hagen Smith (CHW), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT)

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Colt Emerson, Seattle Mariners

After spending the last few weeks near the top of these stash rankings, Colt Emerson will now get the opportunity to help the Mariners' offense moving forward. The news of Emerson's promotion broke on Sunday afternoon, and he made his debut on Sunday night, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Emerson started at the hot corner, which is where he'll likely see the bulk of his playing time moving forward.

Colt Emerson starts the Triple-A season with a homer.pic.twitter.com/rZqLRDdlun

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) March 27, 2026

In 38 Triple-A games this season, Emerson slashed .255/.347/.469 with 16 extra-base hits, seven home runs, and 10 steals. While Emerson doesn't possess the upside of other infield rookies like Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, or JJ Wetherholt, he projects as a well-rounded offensive player who can provide a bit of everything.

Emerson was running an 88.9 mph AVG EV and a 43.8% hard-hit rate as a 20-year-old in Triple-A this season. However, his contact rates dipped from last season, sitting at 71.2% overall and 80.3% overall. It's not a major concern, though. I'd look to pick up Emerson wherever he's available, but again, I'm not expecting as much of an impact as the names mentioned above.

Jhostynxon Garcia, Pittsburgh Pirates

Just as I was finishing this article, the news broke of the Pittsburgh Pirates calling outfield prospect Jhostynxon (pronounced YO-STIN-SON) Garcia to the Majors to help fill the void left by Ryan O'Hearn landing on the injured list. And while I moved him up to second in these rankings because he's being called up today, I'm personally not excited about targeting him.

Yes, Garcia has been hitting better of late, but the underlying metrics don't have me overly excited or encouraged that he's going to be an impact fantasy bat right now. Garcia's quality of contact metrics was below-average in Triple-A, running an 84.3 mph AVG EV and 32% hard-hit rate. He was also below-average in the contact rate department with a 75.2% zone and 68.9% overall contact rate.

If you really need an outfielder, I'm not entirely opposed to targeting Garcia. But again, I'm not too excited here.

River Ryan, Los Angeles Dodgers

Even with a plethora of starting pitching talent and depth entering the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers' depth chart is already getting a bit thin. Tyler Glasnow was pitching well, but landed on the IL with lower back spasms, and Blake Snell returned to the IL with loose bodies in his elbow, which is apparently the new, hip injury the kids are having this season.

Justin Wrobleski has already been called upon to pitch notable innings, and River Ryan likely will as well.

After missing all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, Ryan missed additional time this season due to a hamstring strain, but returned to the mound on Saturday. In four innings, Ryan allowed two hits, one walk, and one earned run while striking out four. He also hit 100 mph in the outing and averaged 98.6 mpg on his 4-seamer overall.

Given the Dodgers' propensity to use a six-man rotation at times, along with the durability concerns in the current rotation, it wouldn't shock me to see Ryan get the call in the coming weeks. When that happens, Ryan has the upside to push top-60 SP value for the rest of the season. Assuming he stays up, that is.

Braden Montgomery, Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have been a pleasant surprise this season and could be adding one of the top outfield prospects in the game to the mix in the near future. Braden Montgomery has been hitting well all season between Double-A and Triple-A, combining for a .309/.412/.564 slash line, 19 extra-base hits, and three stolen bases in 182 plate appearances.

He's currently on a five-game hitting streak with two home runs in those five games.

While Montgomery brings plenty of power to the table, as evident by his 92.3 mph AVG EV and 51.4% hard-hit rate in Triple-A, I'm a little worried that the average could be a bit lower initially. Montgomery is running a contact rate below 70% this season, including 67.7% in Triple-A. But even if he's hitting in the .240 range initially, Montgomery's power and ability to add a steal here and there make him appealing for redraft leagues.

Another White Sox prospect to keep an eye on is Jacob Gonzalez. The 23-year-old middle infielder is slashing .306/.423/.638 with 14 home runs and seven steals this season. He's also walking at a 15.8% clip while only striking out 20.4% of the time. He's put his name back on the prospect map after a lackluster first three years in the minor leagues, and could get a shot soon if the White Sox need a middle infielder.

Joshua Baez, St. Louis Cardinals

You might have noticed that Joshua Baez took a notable fall this week. And honestly, I almost dropped him out of the top-25 altogether. After a massive 2025 season where he also made notable gains in the contact and approach departments, Baez has reverted to his pre-2025 levels. He's walking at a career-worst 6.4%, and his strikeout rate has skyrocketed back up to 34.5% after dropping from 35.5% in 2024 to 20.6% last season.

On top of that, Baez is making contact at a lowly 70.1% in zone and 62.6% overall. The upside is still massive, and I'm not ruling out Baez debuting for St. Louis at some point this summer. But his performance this season makes him a much less desirable stash candidate right now for redraft leagues.

Jonah Tong, New York Mets

It's about time for a Jonah Tong update. After rising to elite pitching prospect status in 2025, Tong has had a rough go of it in Triple-A this season. In nine starts spanning 38 innings, Tong has struggled to the tune of a 5.68 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He's still striking out batters at a 32.7% clip, and opposing batters are hitting just .197 off of him, but Tong has walked 14.3% of the batters he's faced.

Tong is coming off arguably his worst outing of the season last Thursday, allowing five hits, three walks, and six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings. This pushed his ERA to 5.93 over his last six outings. Given the overall struggles and his command-and-control issues, I'm not banking on the Mets recalling him anytime soon. And even if they do, I'm probably not going to be interested in targeting him in redraft leagues.

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