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Fantasy baseball prospect breakouts, sleepers, waiver wire stash analysis for Week 12 of 2026 including Joshua Baez, Carlos Lagrange, Quinn Mathews and more.
Every season, fantasy managers watch high-impact prospects showcase their elite talent in the upper minor leagues and quickly adjust to the majors and become league-winning options.
In this piece, we will spotlight nine prospects who are showing high-end upside in the minor leagues and are approaching a potential promotion to the majors.
Should fantasy managers stash these breakout prospects? Let's dive in!
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Carlos Lagrange, SP/RP, New York Yankees
New York Yankees pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange was effective in his latest start out of the bullpen for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out three batters in 2 2/3 innings pitched. The hard-throwing Dominican recently transitioned to a reliever, with the expectation that the big league club could leverage him in that same role.
As a starter, the Yankees' fourth-ranked prospect held a 4.41 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and a 17.5 percent K-BB% in 49 IP, but through two relief appearances, he's posted a 1.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 25.9 percent K-BB%, so the move appears to be working out for now. The right-hander's strikeout potential is what makes him intriguing for fantasy, but a move to middle relief has dealt a blow to his worthiness as a stash candidate.
Only those managers in very deep leagues desperate for strikeouts should consider stashing him, especially since it may come at the cost of WHIP due to his control issues.
- Written by Jarod Rupp
Joshua Baez, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect Joshua Baez has been flashing his elite raw power over the past month at Triple-A and is now firmly on the verge of making his MLB debut. Even with Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church returning from their injured list, Baez has shown more than enough upside at the Triple-A level to join the MLB roster and take on a starting role.
Over his last 22 games with the Memphis Redbirds, the slugging outfielder has launched an impressive 10 long balls with seven doubles, two triples, and four stolen bases while carrying a .326/.390/.787 line. The lone knock on his profile has been the hefty 30.0% K% he has maintained over this power surge. While his high swing and miss tendencies hurt his profile in points leagues, he is one of the few prospects in the minors who possesses immense upside across the five standard categories, making him a top stash target ahead of his debut.
- Written by Andy Smith
Quinn Mathews, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Quinn Mathews has started to turn it on over his last two starts with Triple-A Memphis, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out 15 across 12 scoreless innings. The 25-year-old's overall line for the season is less appealing, as he's pitched to a 4.01 ERA with a 15.8% walk rate across 51 2/3 innings (12 starts).
Still, Mathews is considered to be one of the top pitching prospects in the Cardinals' system and could be proving that he's figured something out with his recent performance. With St. Louis in the thick of the National League playoff picture and searching for high-end starting pitching at the big-league level, it could be only a matter of time before Mathews is called up for his MLB debut. In deeper leagues, fantasy managers may want to consider stashing Mathews off the waiver wire.
Quinn Mathews seems to be hitting his stride with the Triple-A @memphisredbirds. The @Cardinals' No. 6 prospect's past two starts:
12 IP
4 H
0 R
2 BB
15 K
27 swings-and-misses pic.twitter.com/RWk2xIXaAb— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 11, 2026
-Written by Will Brady
Brody Hopkins, SP/RP, Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Brody Hopkins will get his next shot at proving his recent run of success is for real when he takes the mound for Triple-A Durham on Thursday night in Nashville against a formidable lineup made up of hot-hitting Brewers prospects. Over the right-hander's last six appearances, he's pitched to a 1.42 ERA while striking out 32 batters across 25 1/3 innings pitched.
The Rays' top pitching prospect had an issue walking batters for most of the season, even during his recent success, but has improved considerably over his last two appearances, recording a 16:3 K:BB in 10 IP. If that is the trend going forward, the 24-year-old's momentum should carry him to a major league debut in the coming weeks.
With his strikeout upside and the control problems hopefully a thing of the past, the 6-foot-4 hurler has emerged as a solid stash candidate in deeper leagues, so managers will want to keep an eye on his progress, starting Thursday night.
- Written by Jarod Rupp
Kade Anderson, SP, Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners left-handed pitching prospect Kade Anderson has been nothing short of dominant since making his professional debut and remains an elite stash option among all prospects ahead of Week 12 of the fantasy season. After joining the Mariners with the third overall pick in last year's MLB Draft, he was sent to the Double-A level to begin his first professional campaign.
Through his first 10 outings with Double-A Arkansas, the former LSU superstar has posted an incredible 1.29 ERA with a 0.64 WHIP. During this stint, Anderson has racked up 76 punchouts while walking just seven hitters. Additionally, Anderson has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of these 10 games. However, the lone concern with his redraft value is his unclear path to the majors.
With Bryce Miller back in action on the MLB roster, the Mariners have six capable starters on the roster. Despite this, Anderson's upside on a per-start basis makes him a worthy target in all formats that have N/A spots.
- Written by Andy Smith
Luis Lara, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers outfield prospect Luis Lara inked a seven-year, $31 million contract extension with the Brewers earlier this week and was added to the 40-man roster, putting him on the verge of his MLB debut. Lara has spent the entire 2026 campaign with Triple-A Nashville and has held his own during his first taste of the top level of the minor leagues.
Through his first 58 games of action with the Sounds, Lara has gone deep seven times while adding eight doubles, 20 stolen bases with a .336/.447/.493 line. During this stretch, he has carried a .940 OPS. His recent power surge is worth noting, as Lara only hit two total home runs over 136 games with Double-A last summer.
While there is no clear spot for him on the MLB roster at the moment, Lara appears poised to enter the Milwaukee starting nine in the coming weeks, making him a solid stash target with high-end five-category potential.
- Written by Andy Smith
River Ryan, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitching prospect River Ryan enjoyed a much-needed bounce-back effort at Triple-A Oklahoma City this past week. On Wednesday evening, Ryan tossed four innings of one-run ball while striking out seven hitters with only one free pass. This was a nice showing for the right-hander, who was coming off the worst outing of his young season, where he allowed a season-worst four runs and seven hits to Round Rock back on June 4. Ryan spent some time on the 7-day injured list earlier this season, but has since returned to Triple-A and has looked quite comfortable.
Across 25 innings since returning from injury, Ryan has posted a 2.16 ERA with a 30:5 K:BB, with three of these walks coming in his worst showing. With both Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on the IL on the MLB roster and starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski exiting early on Thursday night, Ryan has a clear path to return to the majors before the end of June, making him a prime stash target among pitchers.
- Written by Andy Smith
Lazaro Montes, OF, Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners outfield prospect Lazaro Montes has been a big-time power bat in the minors for the last few seasons, belting 21 home runs in 2024 and another 32 a season ago, but at his current pace, the 6-foot-5 slugger could even outdo last season's total. The left-handed hitter is in the midst of a home run barrage at Double-A Arkansas, blasting six long balls in his last eight games alone, while batting .394 (13-for-33) over that stretch, which has also seen an improved strikeout rate of 17.9 percent over that span (27.8 percent for the season).
The native of Cuba's recent run of production has pushed his batting average to .240 with a strong 12.7 percent walk rate and an outstanding .904 OPS. The strikeouts will likely remain part of his profile (career 27.1 percent in the minors), which could limit his batting average, but he's helped offset that with a strong walk rate (career 14.8 percent), and the power is legit.
Montes could be ticketed for Triple-A soon, and if the 21-year-old can continue to develop his hit tool, a late-season debut in the majors is a possibility.
- Written by Jarod Rupp
Karson Milbrandt, SP, Miami Marlins
Miami Marlins right-handed pitching prospect Karson Milbrandt was recently bumped up to the Triple-A level and is quickly approaching his MLB debut much sooner than anticipated. Milbrandt opened the 2026 campaign far away from a potential MLB debut, as he was expected to debut after both top prospects in the system, Robby Snelling and Thomas White.
However, with Snelling out for the season, and White on the shelf with a shoulder injury and trending towards missing the remainder of the campaign, Milbrandt now has a clear path to debut. Milbrandt began the season with Double-A and posted a 1.34 ERA with a 70:17 K:BB over a short 47-inning stint, which pushed him up to the top club. In his first game with Triple-A, Milbrandt looked just as impressive, logging six shutout frames with two hits but only striking out one hitter.
While Milbrandt will likely need more seasoning with Jacksonville, his path to the big leagues is far clearer with Eury Perez and Janson Junk both on the MLB injured list. The 22-year-old is now firmly on the stash radar and could even compete for a debut before the end of the first half.
- Written by Andy Smith
Top 25 Prospects to Stash in Redraft Leagues
Check our Eric Cross' updated top-25 prospects to stash below. 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 Last Week: Edwin Arroyo (CIN), Spencer Jones (NYY), LuJames Groover (ARI)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Lazaro Montes (SEA), Harry Ford (WAS), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Zac Veen (COL), Deyvison De Los Santos (MIA), Jacob Melton (TBR), Michael Arroyo (SEA), Jonathon Long (CHC), Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (ATH), Denzer Guzman (LAA)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT), Owen Murphy (ATL)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | ETA |
| 1 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | Twins | June |
| 2 | Joshua Baez | OF | Cardinals | July |
| 3 | Kade Anderson | SP | Mariners | July |
| 4 | River Ryan | SP | Dodgers | June |
| 5 | Max Clark | OF | Tigers | August |
| 6 | James Tibbs III | OF | Dodgers | June |
| 7 | Charlie Condon | 1B | Rockies | July |
| 8 | Braden Montgomery | OF | White Sox | NOW |
| 9 | Luis Lara | OF | Brewers | June |
| 10 | Cooper Pratt | SS | Brewers | July |
| 11 | Cole Carrigg | OF | Rockies | NOW |
| 12 | Yohandy Morales | 1B/3B | Nationals | June |
| 13 | Hagen Smith | SP | White Sox | July |
| 14 | Jett Williams | SS/OF | Brewers | July |
| 15 | Ralphy Velazquez | 1B | Guardians | August |
| 16 | Walker Jenkins | OF | Twins | August |
| 17 | Elmer Rodriguez | SP | Yankees | July |
| 18 | Karson Milbrandt | SP | Marlins | August |
| 19 | Jaxon Wiggins | SP | Cubs | July |
| 20 | Kemp Alderman | OF | Marlins | July |
| 21 | Abimelec Ortiz | 1B | Nationals | July |
| 22 | Blaze Jordan | 1B/3B | Cardinals | July |
| 23 | Jordan Lawlar | INF/OF | Diamondbacks | July |
| 24 | Brody Hopkins | SP | Rays | July |
| 25 | Hector Rodriguez | OF | Reds | August |
Who Should I Pickup Fantasy Baseball Tool
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2026 Player Decisions. Looking to pick up someone else instead? Today's focus is on specific players like Joshua Baez, Carlos Lagrange, Quinn Mathews, Brody Hopkins, Luis Lara, Kade Anderson, River Ryan, Max Clark, Karson Milbrandt, Braden Montgomery, Cole Carrigg, Kaelen Culpepper. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.
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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 Joshua Baez, Carlos Lagrange, Quinn Mathews, Brody Hopkins, Luis Lara, Kade Anderson, River Ryan, Max Clark, Karson Milbrandt, Braden Montgomery, Cole Carrigg, Kaelen Culpepper:
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