Top 5 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Breakout Candidates for 2026

March 2, 2026

Andy's top 5 fantasy baseball prospects, breakout candidates and draft targets for 2026. His favorite MLB prospects and fantasy baseball sleepers with big upside.

Every fantasy season, managers see high-end prospects emerge as not only must-start players but league-winning assets. Between top prospects like Julio Rodriguez and Gunnar Henderson becoming first-round-caliber players, and more recently Nick Kurtz and Junior Caminero putting themselves into fantasy stardom, targeting top prospects can put you in a great spot to win your league.

In this piece, I will spotlight five prospects that not only have the upside to make an impact in 2026 but also become those "must-start" players that can win you your league.

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JJ Wetherholt, SS, St. Louis Cardinals

The first of the two shortest we will discuss is St. Louis' JJ Wetherholt. According to MLB.com, the former West Virginia standout enters the 2026 season as the No. 5-ranked prospect in the entire sport on MLB.com. While Wetherholt has not been officially named to the MLB roster as of writing, given their numerous offseason transactions, the top prospect is all but guaranteed a starting role on Opening Day.

In the winter, the Cardinals traded top third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks and moved second baseman Brendan Donovan to the Mariners. This opens two spots for Wetherholt in the infield, where he faces minimal competition, outside of shortstop Masyn Winn.

The former seventh overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft made his professional debut back in Low-A following the draft, but would earn his first full taste of the majors in 2025. He began the 2025 season with Double-A Springfield, where he played in 62 games and held a .300/.425/.466 line with an .891 OPS. During this stint, Wetherholt hit 14 doubles, launched seven home runs, and swiped 14 bases.

This stellar first half earned him an early ticket to Triple-A, where he continued to perform at a high level. Through a 47-game stint with the Redbirds, the team's top prospect continued to make it look easy, posting a .314/.416/.562 line with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, and nine stolen bases.

Overall, he would finish his 2025 season with a .931 OPS, 17 HRs, and 23 SBs across a 109-game sample.

At Triple-A, Wetherholt maintained a strong 14.9% K%, a mere 0.5% jump from his mark at Double-A. Additionally, despite facing tougher pitching, Wetherholt was able to lower his infield fly-ball rate from 19.0% to 10.4% at Triple-A. He also saw his ground-ball rate only increase by three points (41.4% - 44.8%) in the move to Triple-A.

He also generated an eye-catching 107.6 mph max exit velocity with a 48.1% hard-hit rate at Triple-A.

The 23-year-old has legit five-category upside with a clear path to an everyday role. While his counting stats might not be too impressive given his lineup, Wetherholt is a strong target in all formats as an upside play in points leagues, given his strong K%, and a reliable middle infielder with upside category leagues, given his ability to hit for power and steal bases.

JJ Wetherholt an Option to Bat Leadoff for Cardinals? https://t.co/hOu3Z9ufXn

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) February 20, 2026

Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals

Carter Jensen received a brief 20-game stint in the majors last summer, but still carries his "prospect status" into the 2026 campaign. During his first stint in the majors, the backstop held his own, as he posted an impressive .300/.391/.550 slash line with six doubles, three home runs, and a 12:9 K:BB. While the sample size is small, Jensen generated eye-catching metrics that suggest he could make a strong push for AL Rookie of the Year.

The 22-year-old generated an impressive .447 xwOBA, .336 xBA, .633 xSLG, 20.8% barrel rate, and a 58.3% hard-hit rate, also of which would have been among the top hitters in the sport if he logged enough at-bats. While managers should not expect him to maintain this MVP-level production over a full 162-game season, Jensen has the raw talent to find immediate success in Kansas City.

Jensen opened the 2025 season with Double-A. In 2024, he spent the second half with Double-A and struggled, holding a modest .233/.300/.480 line. However, in 2025, Jensen took a major step forward in the first half, posting a much higher .292/.360/.420 line across 68 games.

He then moved up to Triple-A Omaha, where he enjoyed a power surge that resulted in his late-season call-up. Through his first 43-game stint at Triple-A, Jensen hit 14 round-trippers while carrying a .288/.404/.647 line. Through 111 MiLB games, Jensen would tally 20 long balls with 10 swiped bags.

Jensen saw his Pull% gradually increase across each level throughout the 2025 season, which is a very positive sign. At Double-A, he posted a modest 36.1% Pull% but saw it rise to 42.2% at Triple-A, and an even higher 45.8% in the majors. Additionally, Jensen's 58.8% hard-hit rate at Triple-A was nearly identical to his mark in the majors, suggesting his raw power is legit.

Similar to Wetherholt, what makes Jensen a prime breakout candidate is his path to at-bats. Currently, Jensen is expected to share the DH spot and catcher position with future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez. With Perez entering his age-35 season, Jensen should be given ample at-bats as the Royals will look to manage Perez's workload (especially behind the dish) to preserve him for the stretch run.

While Jensen is being drafted as a No. 2 catcher (No. 17 C, 181.5 ADP on NFC since February 15), he has the profile to become a top-12 option at the position.

Carter Jensen goes back-to-back with Mike Yastrzemski in the top of the seventh inning.

Jensen's third HR of the year. 112.7 mph off the bat. 482 feet. #Royals pic.twitter.com/G72FUq4ElN

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) September 28, 2025

Konnor Griffin, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates

A 2026 prospect making the same impact as Kurtz did last season is unlikely, but if it were to occur, it would be Pittsburgh's Konnor Griffin. Griffin enters the 2026 campaign as the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball and is quickly nearing his MLB debut at age 19.

The Jackson Prep School product joined the Pirates with the ninth selection in the 2024 MLB Draft and has progressed through the minor leagues at a rapid rate. He made his debut last summer with Low-A but was able to finish the season at Double-A Altoona.

At Low-A, Griffin posted a stellar .338/.396/.536 line with 56 home runs and 26 stolen bases across 50 games. Through 51 games at High-A, Griffin continued to flash incredible upside, hitting seven home runs, stealing 33 bases, and carrying a .325/.432/.510 line. He would save his best showing for last as he held a .337/.418/.542 line at Double-A (21 games) with five home runs and six stolen bases.

Overall, he would finish his first professional campaign with 23 doubles, 21 home runs, 65 stolen bases, and a .333/.415/.527 line through 122 games. Pretty good, right?

While it appeared Griffin was ticketed to be in the season at Triple-A, recent reports suggest the top prospect may crack the Opening Day roster and not require a stint in Indianapolis. Though in his first four spring training games, Griffin has already begun to make his case even stronger, launching two home runs.

Konnor Griffin "Trending Toward Being" Opening Day Shortstophttps://t.co/hvsraJC00E

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) February 26, 2026

Even if Griffin does not crack the Opening Day roster, an early-May callup will be in play. The 19-year-old is looking like a generational player with high-end five-category upside as soon as he earns the call. He is a must-draft (and stash) in all formats.

Kazuma Okamoto, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

While Okamoto may not be viewed through the same lens as the other prospects on our list, he does classify as a rookie and deserves a spot on our list. The Blue Jays inked the third baseman to a four-year, $60 million contract this offseason. He was the team's primary offensive offseason acquisition as the team lost Bo Bichette in free agency.

The 29-year-old has spent his entire professional career overseas in the NPB with the Yomiuri Giants. In 2025, Okamoto was limited to just 69 games due to a left elbow injury, but flashed elite upside when on the diamond.

In this stint, Okamoto posted a stellar .327/.426/.598 slash line with a cerr-best 210 wRC+. He launched 15 home runs while posting a solid 11.9% BB% and a career-best 11.3% K%. He also posted a carer-low 8.8% swinging-strike rate. Under the hood, Okamoto was among the league's top hitters, placing in the 91st percentile or higher in every hitting metric, as shown below.

The previous season, Okamoto held a .280/.362/.501 line with 27 long balls.

While there may be some growing pains, Okamoto has shown immense power at the plate in the NPB and should be in a great position to rack up high-end counting stats batting in one of the most potent lineups in baseball. Additionally, Okamoto has an even greater appeal given the lack of depth at third base.

In the current NFBC ADP (since February 15), Okamoto is still being drafted as the No. 15 3B (205.5 ADP). However, he has the power to become a high-end four-category asset and a must-start player on a daily basis.

Connelly Early, SP, Boston Red Sox

Rounding out this list will be a prospect on the bump. While there are several emerging arms in the game, such as Bubba Chandler and Nolan McLean, who are worthy of a spot on our list, they are going much earlier in drafts. Instead, let's pivot to another budding arm that can be had at a much lower price (262.4 ADP on NFBC since February 15).

Connelly Early is not guaranteed a position in the Boston rotation, but he appears to have the inside track for one of the final positions. Last summer, the former fifth-round pick made his MLB debut and looked quite comfortable, logging 19 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 36.7% K%, and a 5.1% BB%.

He began the season with Double-A but only needed a short taste of Triple-A before eventually reaching the big leagues. Across 100 1/3 cumulative MiLB innings last season (71 2/3 at Double-A), Early logged a strong 2.60 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, with 132 punchouts and 40 walks.

Under the hood, Early generated 2.74 FIP in the upper minors with a 22.2% K-BB%, which was right in line with the 22.1% K-BB% he held in the lower minors back in 2024.

While his stint in the majors was brief, Early has shown enough support to warrant reaching for him in your drafts. In the big leagues, Early deployed five-pitches more than 10.0% of the time and even mixed in a sweep 6.2% of the time. In his FanGraphs scouting report, Early was noted for having an elite fastball, which led the way in his brief stint in the majors.

He leaned on his four-seamer (29.1% usage), and it was quite effective, as shown by the .232 xwOBA and a strong 29.3% whiff rate. His primary secondaries, his slider and changeup (20.7% and 19.5% usage), generated a 39.4% whiff rate and 23.1% whiff rate, respectively. However, his curveball was far more effective, as shown in the .098 xBA and .178 xwOBA as compared to the .272 xBA and .272 xwOBA in the changeup.

His No. 4 pitch, his sinker, was also quite effective, posting a .204 xwOBA with a 30.4% whiff rate (13.0% usage).

While the sample size is small, we saw Early begin to rely more on his fastball and curveball in his final two starts, which is an excellent sign for 2026, given the previously noted underlying marks of these pitches.

Currently, Early is in competition for the team's No. 5 spot alongside Johan Oviedo. Oviedo logged only 40 1/3 innings in the majors last season (with Pittsburgh) and held a 3.57 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP. Patrick Sandoval also figures to be in the mix, but he may begin the season in the IL, making Early's path even clearer.

Even if the Red Sox take the cautious approach and keep their budding pitching in the minors to begin the season, he will hold high-end stash upside in all formats during the opening month. Once he returns to Boston, Early will provide managers with high-end strikeout numbers and with the potential for strong roles, as he has shown in his first stint.

If you are looking for a high-upside pitcher past pick 250.0, make sure to target Early.

Connelly Early and Payton Tolle are fantastic picks right now.

Johan Oviedo has some untapped potential, but he's simply not good enough to hold off Early or Tolle for long.

Patrick Sandoval is likely to open the year on the IL.

Pay the Early Tolle on these Red Sox SPs.

— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) February 25, 2026

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