Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash (Redraft): Eric Cross' Rookie Rankings for Week 22

August 25, 2026

Eric Cross' top 25 fantasy baseball prospects to stash in redraft for Week 22 (2026). His updated MLB rookie rankings for prospect call-ups to make 2026 impacts.

Well, after months of utter domination, we finally received the long-awaited MLB debut of Kade Anderson over the weekend. Anderson stashers rejoice!

We're now down to a little over a month remaining in the Major League season, but there's time for some of the names ranked below to get the call. There are a handful in particular that stand out among the rest, and you'll see those names at the top of the rankings.

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 Last Week: Kade Anderson (SEA), Matt Wilkinson (SFG)

Honorable Mentions (Hitters): Zach Ehrhard (LAD), Kemp Alderman (MIA), Ryan Clifford (NYM), Yohandy Morales (WAS), Ryan Ward (LAD), Gavin Cross (KCR), Jacob Melton (TBR), Manuel Pena (ARI), Jett Williams (MIL)

Honorable Mentions (Pitchers): Jack Wenninger (NYM), Hunter Barco (PIT), Brody Hopkins (TBR), Jaxon Wiggins (CHC), Karson Milbrandt (MIA)

Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis

Walker Jenkins, Minnesota Twins

With Anderson now in the Majors, my new #1 prospect to stash this week is Minnesota's Walker Jenkins. The 21-year-old outfield prospect has hit well all season when healthy and has been on a tear lately. In his 16 games this month, Jenkins has slashed .415/.493/.800 with 10 extra-base hits, seven home runs, six steals, and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (12).

Walker Jenkins this week: 9-for-19, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB

MLB's No. 15 prospect (@Twins) secures his fourth multihit performance in the past five games with this homer for the Triple-A @StPaulSaints. pic.twitter.com/IYgGAUfiWj

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2026

For the season, he's now slashing a robust .321/.416/.554 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs, and 16 steals in 71 games. Jenkins is one of just five prospects under age 25 to have an average above .300, an OBP above .400, a SLG above .500, a walk rate above 13%, and a strikeout rate below 20% this season over at least 300 plate appearances.

There's no guarantee that the Twins will call him up this season, but if they do, no current prospect with a realistic chance of being called up this season has more upside for fantasy than Jenkins.

Seaver King, Washington Nationals

My new #2 behind Walker Jenkins this week is Seaver King, who has been on an absolute roll in Triple-A of late. In his last 14 games, King has racked up 11 extra-base hits, eight home runs, five steals, 20 runs, 15 RBI, and 10 walks with a .456/.544/.947 slash line. For the season, King is now up to 42 extra-base hits, 18 home runs, and 14 steals with a .325/.410/.563 slash line in 88 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Seaver King belts a home run in his fourth consecutive game!

MLB's No. 71 prospect (@Nationals) is slashing .381/.466/.746 in August for the Triple-A @RocRedWings: pic.twitter.com/46f6GzAelt

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 21, 2026

The path has been cleared for King in Washington too, as the Nationals said they were moving CJ Abrams from shortstop to second base. That has yet to happen, as Abrams missed four straight games from Thursday through Sunday and then was the designated hitter on Monday.

But if the report was true, Abrams should start seeing time at second base this week with Nasim Nuñez keeping the seat warm at shortstop until King gets the call.

When King does get that call, his all-around offensive skill set makes him a highly intriguing target in redraft leagues. In Triple-A this season, King is running a 50% hard-hit rate, 90.6 mph AVG EV, 104.9 mph 90th percentile EV, 84% zone contact rate, and a 75% overall contact rate. Add in his plus speed, and King's profile is very fantasy-friendly.

Franklin Arias, Boston Red Sox

If you were paying attention, you likely noticed that Franklin Arias moved down a few spots in this week's rankings. He absolutely needs to remain inside the top 10 due to his talent, production, and proximity, but I'm growing less certain that he sees a Major League field in 2026.

MLB's No. 3 prospect Franklin Arias is tearing up Triple-A 🔥

In his 15 G with the Worcester Red Sox:
.313/.384/.563
4 2B, 4 HR
17 RBI pic.twitter.com/hkVrPnOSDC

— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2026

Arias has yet to slow down at the plate, hitting .313 with six extra-base hits in 17 August games, pushing him up to a .312/.396/.562 slash line with 22 doubles and 23 home runs in 98 games. However, with Andruw Monasterio playing well and Trevor Story about to return from his rehab assignment, the need for Arias isn't as dire as it was a few weeks ago.

There's still a chance that he gets the call if both Monasterio and Story don't play well in the coming weeks, but I'd now put the chances of an Arias promotion this season at around 10-20%.

Ralphy Velazquez, Cleveland Guardians

There's hot, red hot, on fire, en fuego, and then whatever you want to call the stretch Ralphy Velazquez has been on over the last four weeks. In his last 21 games, Velazquez is slashing .367/.424/.987 with 16 home runs in 92  plate appearances. Yes, that's S-I-X-T-E-E-N home runs in a 21-game span. Basically, Velazquez has turned into Barry Bonds over the last month.

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

Recently, I mentioned that I thought Cooper Ingle had a higher chance of getting called up to the Guardians down the stretch. But if Velazquez continues destroying Triple-A pitching as he has lately, he could force the Guardians' hand. And while there's no clear opening for him, the most likely spot would be as designated hitter with some first base and left field sprinkled in as well.

Jonah Tong, New York Mets

Now that Anderson is up with Seattle, I honestly don't see any more high-impact prospect callups on the pitching side this season. Certainly none of that magnitude. However, one semi-intriguing name that I believe could get some run in September is Mets' right-hander Jonah Tong.

Jonah Tong twirls 5 2/3 scoreless frames for the Triple-A @SyracuseMets 💎

The @Mets' No. 5 prospect has allowed 1 run or fewer in five of his past six starts. pic.twitter.com/gS1CdEMZsi

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2026

As a whole, the 2026 season has been a disappointing follow-up to his dominant 2025 season, but Tong has looked better of late. In his last six outings (29 IP), Tong has recorded a 2.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 27.6% strikeout rate, while holding opposing batters to a .198 slash line. But on the flip side, Tong has also allowed seven home runs in these six starts while walking 12.2% of the batters he's faced.

There are still some warts in Tong's profile that he'll need to work through and improve, but there's still a solid amount of upside here as well. With the Mets 17 games back in the National League East and 11.5 games back in the wild card hunt, I wouldn't be shocked if they gave Tong another shot in the coming weeks.

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