Top Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects To Target In 2026 Drafts

February 15, 2026

Jarod's favorite fantasy baseball prospect sleepers with upside to target in 2026 drafts. These MLB rookies are fantasy baseball draft sleepers with big potential.

Building a winning fantasy team is a combination of many things, including staying on top of the waiver wire throughout the season and a bit of luck, but it all starts with the draft. Drafting some core All-Star caliber players in the early rounds, rounding it out with some multi-category producers in the middle, and taking some high-upside lottery tickets in the final rounds is one effective strategy.

Many high-upside lottery tickets come in the form of prospects and rookies, and that's who we'll discuss below. Many drafters know a lot of the big names, like Nolan McLean, Bubba Chandler, Konnor Griffin, and Kevin McGonigle. Rather than discussing a hot prospect name that may not be up until closer to midseason, or someone who isn't even on the 40-man roster yet, I'm going to try to take a look at four players being drafted outside the top 200 picks who are a near certainty to contribute out of the gate (or shortly thereafter).

Of course, with upside comes risk, so make sure your team's makeup can handle snagging these types of names over other, more proven commodities that may be available. Although these names carry some risk, the four players below should be available with some of the last few picks of the draft in most formats, so you won't need to commit a large amount of draft capital to get them. Let's see who made the cut.

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Carter Jensen, C/DH, Kansas City Royals

Drafted out of high school, Carter Jensen was just 17 years old when he made his professional debut with the Royals' Complex League affiliate back in 2021. Between 2022 (Single-A) and 2023 (High-A), the youngster hit just .218 with a .372 SLG, but showed a keen eye at the plate with a 17.8 percent walk rate and a .359 OBP.

As he matured, more power was produced, and in 2024 the former third-rounder posted a .450 SLG with 18 home runs across High-A and Double-A, along with an increase in batting average (.259) and a strong walk rate (13.2 percent). The 2025 season was a full-on breakout, crushing Double-A pitching, which earned him a promotion to Triple-A, where he seemed to get even hotter, posting a 1.051 OPS in 43 games.

The surge earned the left-handed slugger a late-season promotion to the majors, where he just kept on hitting, slashing .300/.391/.550 in 20 games (69 PA) for the Royals. During his stay, a 17.4 percent strikeout rate was better than the league average, and he continued to maintain a better-than-average walk rate of 13.0 percent, not appearing to be overmatched whatsoever.

To strengthen that view, the 6-foot backstop produced an average exit velocity (EV) of 95.4, which would have matched Aaron Judge's average EV had Jensen played enough games to qualify. Could he maintain Judge-like power over a full season? Probably not, but it reinforces the fact that he appears ready to handle major league pitching.

With Salvador Perez returning in 2026, Jensen looks primed to be the team's designated hitter; however, Perez will need days off, and Jensen should be able to fill that void, as he split time between both positions during his time with the big league club last year. It should get him enough at-bats to make him very fantasy relevant.

The 22-year-old is being taken around pick 200 in early 2026 fantasy drafts, which is likely one of the last selections in a 12-team league. So there is little risk here, and plenty of upside, so he should be an option for most fantasy managers at the end of drafts.

Sal Stewart, 1B/3B, Cincinnati Reds

Sal Stewart made quick work of the upper levels of the minor leagues last year, slashing .306/.377/.473 in 80 games at Double-A, earning a promotion to Triple-A, where he was unfazed by the increase in competition.

The former 32nd-overall draft pick slashed .315/.394/.629 with 10 home runs in 38 games at Triple-A, where his max exit velocity clocked in at 113.7 mph. The performance earned him a late-season promotion to the majors, where he continued to produce.

The right-handed slugger hit .275 (14-for-51) in games in which he started (0-for-4 as a pinch hitter), belting five home runs in his limited action while registering a 17.5 percent barrel rate and an average exit velocity of 95.4, both of which would have put him among the league leaders in those statistics had he played enough games to qualify.

With just a 5.2 percent walk rate during his brief time in the majors, hopefully that number will improve over the course of a full season in 2026, as he recorded a 13.4 percent walk rate over his entire minor league career. Getting on base more will, of course, improve his fantasy outlook in terms of run-scoring production, and while he's not speedy, there is the ability to swipe bags opportunistically after stealing 17 bases in 2025 in the minors.

While most projections call for just a modest .265-18-65-60-5 stat line over 128 games, there is a higher ceiling if Stewart can play closer to 145 games. The 22-year-old currently has the third-best odds for NL Rookie of the Year, so he could end up being a steal as one of your last selections in 2026 fantasy drafts.

Chase DeLauter, OF, Cleveland Guardians

Chase DeLauter has oozed potential ever since being drafted as the 16th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft; however, a multitude of injuries have sapped large portions of each season he's played professional baseball thus far. A broken foot that he suffered in college caused him to also miss time in 2023 after needing surgery, and again in 2024 after a reaggravation of the injury. In 2024, hamstring and toe injuries also led to missed games.

Core muscle surgery delayed the start to his 2025 campaign, and a hamate fracture in July prematurely ended his regular season. All that has limited the former first-rounder to 138 career minor league games over the last three seasons combined. On the bright side, though, is that he's performed well when on the field.

CHASE HOME RUN DELAUTER pic.twitter.com/G14434XhDV

— Columbus Clippers (@CLBClippers) July 9, 2025

The JMU product has a career .302/.384/.504 slash line in the minors with 20 home runs and nearly as many walks (70) as strikeouts (80). His max exit velocity in Triple-A last year was 110.1, and, for reference, that was harder than any ball Kyle Tucker hit last season (108.7) and just behind Cody Bellinger's hardest hit ball (110.2), so there is certainly pop in that bat.

He's participated in the Arizona Fall League twice in order to make up for lost time, and is 42-for-134 (.313) in those campaigns. The Guardians' second-ranked prospect was set to participate in the AFL again in 2025, but was asked to make his big league debut during the 2025 postseason instead.

While you can't glean much from seven plate appearances (1-for-6, one BB, one K), the fact that Cleveland trusted him to make his debut in the postseason should be a vote of confidence in the 6-foot-3 slugger. The talented youngster has a strong chance to make the Guardians' Opening Day lineup (currently projected as the center fielder per RosterResource), so the 24-year-old could be fantasy relevant from the outset.

Other guys like McGonigle and J.J. Wetherholt are going a couple of rounds ahead of DeLauter, and while those players should also be impactful, their chances to make their respective teams' Opening Day rosters are a little less clear. Neither McGonigle nor Wetherholt is currently on the 40-man roster, although that could change depending on how they perform this spring.

Nevertheless, DeLauter won't cost most managers anything but their last pick, and for a bat that comes with a combination of solid power, contact, and approach who would likely hit in the middle of the Cleveland lineup, it seems like a no-brainer -- so long as he can stay healthy.

Parker Messick, SP, Cleveland Guardians

With the hitters after pick 200, it was fairly easy to pick out some players who had some upside that would almost certainly begin the year with their respective clubs and not in the minors. With the prospect pitchers in this range, things are still a bit unsettled heading into spring training, so I was torn on who to highlight here. In the end, I chose to discuss Parker Messick.

Messick was a second-round draft pick back in 2022, but did not pitch professionally until 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, from Single-A through Double-A, the Florida State product recorded a 3.28 ERA (3.46 FIP), 1.18 WHIP, and a strong 20.4 percent K-BB% in 50 starts.

The southpaw began 2025 at Triple-A, where he started 20 games, posting a 3.47 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He struck batters out at a fantastic 29.1 percent rate, but saw his walk rate tick up to 10.3 percent (18.8 percent K-BB%), so it was certainly something to keep an eye on. With the Guardians seemingly out of contention when he got the call in August, it appeared the lefty would just be getting a taste of the majors with nothing substantial on the line.

As it turned out, Messick was a key reason the Guardians were able to mount a ferocious comeback to win the Central Division. The 6-foot hurler went 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA (2.98 FIP) and 1.31 WHIP in seven starts. Although the WHIP was a tad high, it was not due to free passes, as he significantly improved his walk rate with the jump to the big leagues, posting a minuscule 3.6 percent BB% (19.4 percent K-BB%).

So why isn't he a slam dunk to begin the year with the team? Well, Cleveland could very well begin the season with a five-man rotation, and with Messick still having three minor league options left, other back-of-the-rotation arms (Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen, Joey Cantillo) will likely get the first crack at starts unless something changes during spring training (i.e., injury or severe underperformance).

Parker Messick, Filthy 86mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/PLfpjcTFsQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 20, 2025

But even if it is not at the beginning of the season, it shouldn't be long before the southpaw is back in the majors. And when he returns, he'll be bringing with him what MLB Pipeline recently described as the best changeup out of all pitchers on the Top 100 Prospects list, and he generated a 31.2 percent whiff rate with that pitch while on the big league club.

Hopefully, the stellar walk rate from 2025's MLB stint can continue, even if it regresses somewhat closer to league average in 2026.

The 25-year-old is currently projected to make about 22 starts this season based on various models, and with the Guardians likely to contend for a division crown again, there could be some wins and strikeouts to go along with it, as well as potential for a solid ERA.

Additional Fantasy Baseball Prospect Sleepers

For more players to target in drafts -- both in the earlier rounds and later rounds -- you can check out the 11 Breakout Fantasy Baseball Pitching Prospects article from Andy Smith, the 12 Breakout Fantasy Baseball Hitting Prospects article from Marty Tallman, or for a more comprehensive list of both batters and pitchers, have a look at Eric Cross' Top 25 Prospects for Redraft Leagues.

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