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Three top fantasy baseball prospects - Joshua Baez, River Ryan, Cooper Ingle - that can make big impacts. These MLB prospects are waiver wire pickups or stashes.
The trade deadline has come and passed, which means we are officially in the stretch run for the fantasy baseball season. During the deadline, managers saw many high-end players like Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Robbie Ray join some of the top contenders in the sport.
However, there were also prospects and low-end veterans on the move, which can open a path for a top prospect to near the call. In this piece, we will look at three prospects who could be quickly approaching a call-up to the major leagues. The first hitter we will look at now has an open spot on his MLB roster following a trade, while the pitcher joined a new organization that has many open roles in their starting rotation.
Should fantasy managers stash these high-end prospects? Let's dive in!
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Joshua Baez, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 97 G, .255/.329/.577, 22 2B, 32 HR, 18 SB
With Lars Nootbaar now a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the path to Major League playing time just got a bit clearer for Joshua Baez. All St. Louis has left for left field options are Bryan Torres and Nelson Velazquez, neither of which should hold Baez back for long.
In 97 games for Triple-A Memphis this season, Baez has slashed .255/.329/.577 with 22 doubles, 32 home runs, and 18 steals. The huge power/speed blend gives Baez plenty of intrigue for redraft leagues, but I'm still a bit concerned that his contact and strikeout rates will limit him initially.
Jesús Báez uncorks a moonshot for his 15th HR at Double-A!
108 MPH EV
400 FTIt's his 29th HR of the season between High-A and Double-A pic.twitter.com/QUmUzNiuM4
— Adam Akbani (@AdamAkbani) August 5, 2026
- Written by Eric Cross
River Ryan, SP, Detroit Tigers
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 36 1/3 IP, 4.46 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 43 SO, 8 BB
On the pitching side, River Ryan now has a much better opportunity to start regularly down the stretch and into 2027. However, he needs to get healthy first. Ryan is currently on the IL with a hamstring strain and hasn't pitched in the last six weeks. In his eight Triple-A outings before getting hurt, Ryan has posted a 4.46 ERA (2.88 FIP), 1.29 WHIP, 5.1% walk rate, and a 27.2% strikeout rate.
Keep an eye on his recovery timeline as Ryan is a borderline Top-100 fantasy prospect who could make a decent impact down the stretch if he gets back healthy and receives the call to Detroit.
-Written by Eric Cross
Cooper Ingle, C, Cleveland Guardians
Current Level: AAA
Availability: 5% rostered
2026 AAA Stats: 71 G, .323/.434/.596, 18 2B, 17 HR, 1 SB
Cleveland Guardians catcher/outfield prospect Cooper Ingle has been on an absolute tear since returning to Triple-A Columbus, producing eight consecutive multi-hit efforts, and he has multiple hits in 14 of the 19 games since being sent back down in early July. During that time, he's hitting .425 with nine doubles and five home runs, registering an otherworldly 1.214 OPS over that span.
For the season, the former fourth-round draft pick is slashing .323/.434/.596 with 17 home runs in 71 games for the Clippers, and though he went just 2-for-24 (.095) in his first stint with the Guardians, it may not be long before he gets another shot, especially with how hot his bat is. The Clemson product isn't a threat to steal, but has shown he can hit and has enough power to be interesting for fantasy.
He's currently only eligible at C in Yahoo! leagues, but could soon become eligible at OF the next time he gets the call. The 24-year-old has certainly put himself on the stash radar again in deeper leagues with this most recent red-hot surge.
Cleveland #Guardians 24yr old (C/LF) prospect Cooper Ingle reached base 3x tonight (2-5 3R 2B 2RBI BB) for Columbus extending his hitting streak to 11 games.
Ingle now has 34 hits in 18 games since being optioned.
34-80 24R 9(2B) 5HR 17RBI 11BB
AVG .425
OBP .489#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/C7xeYruoin— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 5, 2026
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: Hector Rodriguez (CIN), Max Clark (DET), Quinn Mathews (STL)
Promoted This Week: George Lombard Jr. (NYY)
Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Zach Ehrhard (LAD), Kemp Alderman (MIA), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Yohandy Morales (WAS), Lazaro Montes (SEA), Ryan Ward (LAD), Gavin Cross (KCR), Parks Harber (SFG), Jacob Melton (TBR), Gavin Cross (KCR)
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): George Klassen (LAA), Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC)
| Rank | Player | Position | Team |
| 1 | Kade Anderson | SP | Mariners |
| 2 | Joshua Baez | OF | Cardinals |
| 3 | Walker Jenkins | OF | Twins |
| 4 | Charlie Condon | 1B | Rockies |
| 5 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | Twins |
| 6 | Franklin Arias | SS | Red Sox |
| 7 | Seaver King | SS/2B | Nationals |
| 8 | Michael Arroyo | 2B | Mariners |
| 9 | Angel Genao **Promoted | INF | Guardians |
| 10 | Jonathon Long | 1B | Marlins |
| 11 | Cooper Ingle | C/OF | Guardians |
| 12 | Cam Cannarella | OF | Marlins |
| 13 | Zac Veen | OF | Rockies |
| 14 | Ralphy Velazquez | 1B | Guardians |
| 15 | Jhostynxon Garcia | OF | Pirates |
| 16 | Jonah Tong | SP | Mets |
| 17 | Jett Williams | SS/OF | Brewers |
| 18 | Elmer Rodriguez | SP | Yankees |
| 19 | Luke Adams | 1B/3B | Brewers |
| 20 | Hagen Smith | SP | White Sox |
| 21 | River Ryan | SP | Tigers |
| 22 | James Tibbs III | OF | Dodgers |
| 23 | Karson Milbrandt | SP | Marlins |
| 24 | Michael Forret | SP | Orioles |
| 25 | Max Anderson | 2B/3B | Tigers |
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 Joshua Baez, River Ryan, Cooper Ingle, Shane Drohan, A.J. Ewing, Walbert Urena, Heliot Ramos, Yoendrys Gomez, Luis Robert Jr., Grant Taylor, JJ Bleday, Ryan Jeffers, Dylan Crews, Dominic Canzone, Cooper Pratt, Braden Montgomery, Yainer Diaz, Garrett Mitchell, Brandon Pfaadt, Jose Caballero, Will Warren. 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 Joshua Baez, River Ryan, Cooper Ingle, Shane Drohan, A.J. Ewing, Walbert Urena, Heliot Ramos, Yoendrys Gomez, Luis Robert Jr., Grant Taylor, JJ Bleday, Ryan Jeffers, Dylan Crews, Dominic Canzone, Cooper Pratt, Braden Montgomery, Yainer Diaz, Garrett Mitchell, Brandon Pfaadt, Jose Caballero, Will Warren:
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