Fantasy Baseball Prospect Risers - Rookies to Stash and Top Performers for Week 22

August 23, 2026

Jeremy's top fantasy baseball prospect risers, breakouts with big upside for Week 22 of 2026. He analyzes top MLB rookies and call-ups to stash who are surging.

Welcome to the Week 22 edition of the top prospect performers. In this weekly piece, we take a look at some of the top-performing minor leaguers who could matter in fantasy down the road. While some may be promoted more quickly than others, it's important to stay up to date on recent prospect performances so you're ready to add them when they do get the call.

Kade Anderson, who was the top stash option for most of the season, finally earned a promotion and made his major league debut on Saturday. The lefty cruised through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth, ultimately allowing three runs over 5 ⅔ innings while striking out five. If you missed out on him, there are still plenty of prospects waiting to make an impact in the majors this year.

This week, we'll take a look at the new top stash option, along with two other newcomers to this piece who have been extremely hot at the dish as of late. With less than a month and a half left in the season, adding the right prospect at the right time could propel your team through the fantasy playoffs.

Walker Jenkins, OF, Minnesota Twins

Twins No. 1, Overall No. 15

If you keep up with this piece weekly, then Walker Jenkins is probably a familiar name by now. While I make an effort not to repeat the same players over and over again, now's a good time to check back in on the youngster now that he takes Anderson's spot as the number one stash priority in fantasy.

He recently enjoyed a two-homer game on August 19th, and he's slashing a robust .379/.438/.707 in the month of August. Despite missing significant time with a shoulder sprain in the middle of the year, the 21-year-old is putting together a very nice season, slashing .313/.406/.526 with 11 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 70 games.

New Day
Same Game
Same sweet power stroke

Top @Twins prospect Walker Jenkins homers for the second time in a game that was suspended on Wednesday and resumed Thursday for the Triple-A @StPaulSaints. pic.twitter.com/iHGy4XZ7eO

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 20, 2026

This year hasn't been much different than any of the others over the course of his four-year minor league career since being drafted fifth overall in 2023. He has consistently struggled to stay on the field, but always proves himself to be a top talent when he is healthy. Despite the roadblocks, Jenkins finally spent all of 2026 in Triple-A and has proven he is too good for the top level of the minors.

Not only is his power and speed enticing, but so is his plate discipline. The center fielder has posted a 15.8% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate this year, both marks that are well above average. With his advanced approach at the plate and his plus pop and speed, Jenkins has the opportunity to be a five-category contributor in fantasy.

Not only would he immediately make your fantasy team better, but he would make the Twins better, too. They currently have Ryan Kreidler logging consistent at-bats in a platoon, and it's not crazy to think that Jenkins would immediately become one of the best hitters in their lineup that also includes Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Kody Clemens, Trevor Larnach, and Royce Lewis.

That's not to say that those guys are all bad, but they haven't shown the superstar-level talent to block one of the best prospects in baseball. With the positional versatility of Keaschall, Clemens, Lee, and Lewis, it wouldn't be hard to rotate guys around to find consistent at-bats for the up-and-coming talent.

Verdict: Stash in five-outfielder leagues

Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Cleveland Guardians

Guardians No. 2, Overall No. 32

Ralphy Velazquez is a one-man wrecking crew at the plate right now. Entering Saturday, he had a whopping 11 home runs in 15 games in August, so it was hard to imagine him getting any hotter. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for the slugger, who launched three more home runs on Saturday night against the St. Paul Saints to bring his monthly total to 14 and his season total to 27.

3-HOMER GAME for Ralphy Velazquez 🚀🚀🚀

The @CleGuardians' No. 2 prospect leads all of affiliated baseball with 14 roundtrippers this month for the Triple-A @CLBClippers: pic.twitter.com/JshMUmsfMm

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2026

He has more than doubled his home run total in the past 16 games and is now slashing .265/.357/.489 this season. The 21-year-old has only struck out 19.8% of the time this season, which isn't elite, but it also isn't debilitating as many other minor league sluggers struggle with. That is an entirely reasonable rate for someone with his type of power, as he's shown over the past month.

The youngster has posted a 112.6 mph max exit velocity and 14.8% barrel rate in Triple-A, and it's easy to see that power translating to the majors. The biggest roadblock for Velazquez is that Cleveland acquired Nate Lowe at the trade deadline to fill the exact role that the prospect would be best suited for, providing left-handed power at the corner.

They also traded for Jo Adell, who doesn't block Velazquez directly, but it did crowd their major league roster even more. Still, at some point, the Guardians may decide they need to give him a shot. Even before the three-homer game, I had already decided to feature him in this piece and was prepared to cite that he may be forcing Cleveland's hand with his great play.

That holds even more truth now after his biggest performance yet, as it may be in the club's best interest to find him at-bats any way they can. They are currently tied for the final AL wild card spot, and calling up a red-hot rookie could give them the momentum they need to finish the job in September.

Verdict: Monitor for promotion

Seaver King, SS, Washington Nationals

Nationals No. 4, Overall No. 71

Seaver King, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Wake Forest, has taken a huge leap forward in his second full-season of pro ball. He only batted .244 with six home runs between High-A and Double-A in 2025, so while he was still a highly regarded prospect, there was nothing that demanded immediate excitement.

That all changed in 2026, as the 23-year-old is slashing .323/.408/.558 with 18 home runs in 87 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He's been extremely hot at the plate recently, as he homered six times in a six-game stretch from August 14th to August 20th and has eight total long balls in the month.

That has also come with an exceptional .371 batting average over that span, making him an enticing option to see a late-season look in the big leagues. The youngster's bat has obviously taken a big step forward, but he also possesses excellent speed. While he's seen a bit of a decline this year with only 14 steals, King stole 30 bags in 2025.

Seaver King during his current 12-game hitting streak...

58 PA
.490 AVG
.569 OBP
1.020 SLG
18 Runs
8 HR
14 RBI
5 SB
8 BB#Natitudepic.twitter.com/JnFhD3Db0V

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) August 22, 2026

The biggest factor in stolen base totals is how much a player is willing to run, so the shortstop may have just taken a step back this season while he focused on getting his bat where it needed to be. I'm not concerned with him losing that element of his game, as that was the youngster's best tool out of college with 70-grade speed.

While he doesn't have the immediate upside for 2026 as the other two on this list, he could still be a useful fantasy option in deep roto leagues as a middle infielder. CJ Abrams has now sat three straight games with an ankle injury, and King could be the next in line if a stint on the injured list is necessary.

Verdict: Monitor for promotion

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