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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Kaelen Culpepper, Kade Anderson, Edwin Arroyo - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
Every season, fantasy managers see high-end prospects not only earn the call to the big leagues but also make a massive impact. So far, players like Ryan Waldschmidt and Henry Bolte have lived up to their "prospect pedigree" and have the upside to become fantasy mainstays.
In this piece, we will look at three of the top prospects to stash in all of fantasy baseball, including a budding ace in the Seattle system and two top infield prospects.
Should fantasy managers stash these high-end prospects? Let's dive in!
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Kaelen Culpepper, INF, Minnesota Twins
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 45 G, .247/.347/.462, 9 2B, 10 HR, 11 SB
Back-to-back games with a roundtripper for Kaelen Culpepper 🚀
The @Twins' No. 2 prospect has eight RBIs over his past six games for the Triple-A @StPaulSaints. pic.twitter.com/vZx8ZARW5w
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 6, 2026
Culpepper is currently slashing .250/.357/.464 with nine home runs and nine stolen bases in 199 plate appearances at Triple-A. The 23-year-old shortstop has impressive plate discipline metrics, including a 12.6% walk rate and a 19.1% strikeout rate.
This is a hitter who put up 20 homers and 25 steals across all minor-league levels last year, so there's plenty of upside in this profile. At 23 years old, there's not much left for him to prove in the minors.
The Twins are currently 23-27 with a low chance of doing any damage this season, so they'd be wise to see what they have in their young players. It's only a matter of time for Culpepper to be up with the big league team.
We already saw the Twins make an aggressive move in sending Royce Lewis down to the minors. It was surprising that Culpepper wasn't called up then, but expect it to happen soon.
Right now, Brooks Lee (92 wRC+) is playing shortstop, Luke Keaschall (75 wRC+) is at second base, and Tristan Gray (89 wRC+) is at third base. There are plenty of options for Culpepper to come up and play every day.
You're going to want him on your roster if that happens, so keep a close eye on Culpepper.
-Written by Frank Ammirante
Kade Anderson, SP, Seattle Mariners
Current Level: AA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AA Stats: 38 2/3 IP, 1.63 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 58 SO, 7 BB
Anderson has been nothing short of dominant during his first taste of professional action and may even "skip" Triple-A when Seattle needs him in the big leagues.
Anderson joined the Mariners with the third overall pick in last year's draft out of LSU and put together a historic start to his professional career. Despite not making a single professional appearance after the draft, the Mariners sent their budding ace to Double-A to begin his career.
With Double-A, the left-hander wasted little time to make an impact, logging 30 innings to the tune of a 0.60 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Across these six outings, Anderson has struck out 47 hitters while walking only five total batters. However, the southpaw's dominant start came to a bit of a roadblock on May 15 as he surrendered a season-high five runs and six hits.
This was the first time Anderson allowed more than one run in a single outing. Even though this five-run showing may have slightly hindered his short-term value, managers should not be concerned, as he was nearly unhittable over his first six professional starts.
However, as we have noted in the past, the only knock in Anderson's redraft value for the 2026 season is his path to the major leagues. Earlier in May, the Mariners activated Bryce Miller from the 15-day injured list, which added another starting option to the MLB roster. Currently, Miller is operating as the No. 5 starter with Luis Castillo serving as the "piggyback."
If one of these five were to get hurt, Castillo would likely slide back into the rotation before Anderson, which does make his short-term value very low. Despite this, when searching for pure upside, Anderson is the clear top option on this list when looking for upside and is worth holding in all leagues that have N/A spots.
1-2-3 bottom of the first inning for Kade Anderson. 14 pitches, 10 strikes. pic.twitter.com/5j8BRqvg1Z
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 16, 2026
- Written by Andy Smith
Edwin Arroyo, SS, Cincinnati Reds
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 48 G, .344/.402/.595, 9 2B, 10 HR, 8 SB
Edwin Arroyo sends this one to the street!
MLB's No. 99 prospect leads all @Reds players with 65 hits and 113 total bases as he bumps his @LouisvilleBats average to .349. pic.twitter.com/QTmlWJcwpB
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 21, 2026
Arroyo has an impressive .344/.406/.590 slash with nine home runs and eight stolen bases in 214 plate appearances at Double-A. This is a red-hot hitter who could give the Reds the boost they desperately need.
Even though Eugenio Suarez recently returned to the starting lineup, he has not been a consistent option in this offense, launching only three home runs with a modest .649 OPS. The Reds are playoff contenders, and they will need a spark. Arroyo is showing enough power, speed, and contact ability to make an impact in this lineup.
We saw the Diamondbacks move on from a defense-only player in Alek Thomas to make room for Ryan Waldschmidt. It wouldn't shock me to see the Reds find a spot in the lineup for Arroyo. Monitor this situation closely.
2026 Prospect Fantasy Baseball Redraft Stash Rankings
Who are the top fantasy baseball prospects to know? Check out our latest 2026 prospect fantasy baseball rankings which are updated regularly by Eric Cross:
Promoted Last Week: Colt Emerson (SEA), Jonah Tong (NYM), Jhostynxon Garcia (PIT), Gabriel Gonzalez (MIN), Pedro Ramirez (CHC), Kevin Alcantara (CHC), Esmerlyn Valdez (PIT)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Harry Ford (WAS), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Zac Veen (COL), Deyvison De Los Santos (MIA), Hector Rodriguez (CIN), Blaze Jordan (STL), Jacob Melton (TBR), James Tibbs III (LAD), Michael Arroyo (SEA), Jonathon Long (CHC), Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (ATH)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Hagen Smith (CHW), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | ETA |
| 1 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | Twins | June |
| 2 | Kade Anderson | SP | Mariners | August |
| 3 | Edwin Arroyo | 2B/SS | Reds | June |
| 4 | River Ryan | SP | Dodgers | June |
| 5 | Jett Williams | SS/OF | Brewers | June |
| 6 | Gage Jump | SP | Athletics | June |
| 7 | Max Clark | OF | Tigers | August |
| 8 | Braden Montgomery | OF | White Sox | July |
| 9 | Luis Lara | OF | Brewers | June |
| 10 | Charlie Condon | 1B | Rockies | July |
| 11 | Cooper Pratt | SS | Brewers | July |
| 12 | Joshua Baez | OF | Cardinals | July |
| 13 | Jacob Gonzalez | SS | White Sox | June |
| 14 | Thomas White | SP | Marlins | July |
| 15 | Walker Jenkins | OF | Twins | August |
| 16 | Elmer Rodriguez | SP | Yankees | July |
| 17 | Cole Carrigg | OF | Rockies | June |
| 18 | Yohandy Morales | 1B/3B | Nationals | June |
| 19 | Carlos Lagrange | SP | Yankees | July |
| 20 | Ralphy Velazquez | 1B | Guardians | August |
| 21 | Spencer Jones | OF | Yankees | July |
| 22 | Aidan Miller | SS | Phillies | August |
| 23 | Jaxon Wiggins | SP | Cubs | July |
| 24 | Kemp Alderman | OF | Marlins | July |
| 25 | Jordan Lawlar | INF/OF | Diamondbacks | July |
Who Should I Pickup Fantasy Baseball Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
2026 Player Decisions. Looking to pick up someone else instead? Today's focus is on specific players like Kaelen Culpepper, Kade Anderson, Edwin Arroyo, A.J. Ewing, Travis Bazzana, Henry Bolte, Louis Varland. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats, projections, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
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 Kaelen Culpepper, Kade Anderson, Edwin Arroyo, A.J. Ewing, Travis Bazzana, Henry Bolte, Louis Varland:
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