Top 25 Prospect Hitters for Redraft Leagues
Tim Kanak brings you his top 25 prospect hitters to draft in 2026 redraft leagues
Hello friends, this article is a re-hash of my Top 150 prospect rankings but synthesized into a Top 25 of only hitters for redraft purposes. These are rookie-eligible players we think will have a significant impact on 2026 fantasy leagues. I don’t look at NFBC ADP data, so this entire ranking is coming from my own personal re-draft rankings tied to playing time. When talking about prospects in re-draft leagues, skill matters, but just as importantly as how good I think a player will be, we must figure out the following:
Is this player already on the roster, and do they have a starting role?
Has this player already debuted in the majors?
If not currently on the roster, is there a clear opening for an eventual promotion?
Is this player on the 40-man roster?
As Jon has discussed many times, the first 100 PAs for rookie hitters can be rough - even look back at Kurtz’s first 100 PAs vs. how he performed afterward from as recently as last year for a good example. Gunnar Henderson and Alex Bregman are other examples of initial struggles for hitting prospects, so this is not a new thing.
How competitive will the team be? The more competitive the team, the more likely prospects are promoted more quickly.
I should also note, I’m not including Japanese or Korean players in these rankings - those guys aren’t prospects, they’re transfers from other leagues & countries. Just for kicks, I’ll put a little note in on where I think they should sit between other guys, but you aren’t getting a full write-up on them - calling them a prospect or rookie is just kind of cheating in my opinion.
The ranking explanations will vary from my Top 150 prospect rankings, as they will explain these rankings for re-draft, though prime skills will not change from article to article. Enjoy!
NOTE: Rookie status is determined by 130 ABs, or 50 IPs at the Major League level - rather than including time on roster.
***Note, Prematurely removed due to them being so close to graduation, or due to age and injuries bumping them from prospect status by the next time we see them (or because I just am sick of ranking some of these guys): OF Colby Thomas (Athletics), SS Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox), 1B C.J. Kayfus (Guardians) and SS Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks)
1. 1B/3B Sal Stewart (Reds)
We’ll show the profile pages from the Tableau dashboard for each player, along with Jon’s 600 PA projection. Paid subscribers have full access to these dashboards, along with the projections. Check the resource glossary for the links.
MiLB:
MLB:
ETA: Debuted
Comp: Manny Machado light
Prime Skills: Big dude who should develop more power, but for now has a fantastic plate approach and hit tool for his age. He’s been one of my guys since 2023 when I had a live look on him in Jupiter, Florida. He might end up moving off the position to first full-time, because he’s a big boy. He has a plus hit tool (potentially plus, plus with his great angles), plus plate skills, an ability to get to some killer angles with an all-fields approach, and mid-to-upper 20s home run power potential. Stewart put up a fantastic 60 extra-base hits across the majors and minors in 2025 through 136 total games.
Hitter Tool Grades:
Hit: 60/70
Plate Approach: 55/60
Power: 55/60
Speed: 45/40
Ranking Explanation: Sal Stewart should get full-time reps out of the gate and has already had a good 18 games and 55 plate appearances to help break him in a bit, which will allow for better preparation going into the year than some of the other hitting prospects on this list and below. The combination of a plus hit tool and potentially plus approach with power, position flexibility and the fact he will be playing in Great American Ballpark are all boosts to the difficult transition from the minors to the majors. He’s also currently slated to hit fifth, so starting in the middle of the order is better than most prospects out of the gate.
Prospect Rank: 21
Projection:
I’m giving the 600 PA projection just to give you an idea of what my projections think the guy will do over a full season. You can (and should) adjust your thinking based on the amount of playing time you think the guy will get in 2026. With Stewart, it should be a lot.
2. C / 1B Samuel Basallo (Orioles)
MiLB:
MLB:
ETA: Debuted
Comp: Kyle Schwarber with a better hit tool
Prime Skills: Solid plate discipline and crazy power for his age, Bassallo has improved as the season has gone on in regards to quality of contact and angles. The dude is built for his age with fast hands, but a tight/weird batting stance. He will likely move off the catcher position full-time because of Rutschman. The contact rates are slightly below average (but we should also be considering his age), but the quality of contact numbers are ridiculous as he’s rocking a 21.5 barrel% and 15 average LA on the season with more line drives and flyballs coming as the season has gone on. Between majors and minors, Basallo knocked a ridiculous 50 extra-base hits in only 107 games played.
Hitter Tool Grades:
Hit: 50/60
Plate Approach: 50/60
Power: 65/70
Speed: 35/40
Ranking Explanation: Like Stewart, Basallo already worked himself into playing time by notching 109 ABs last year - hopefully getting him past the rookie struggle point where he can settle in and smash some bombs in 2026. Now, I do like Basallo better than Stewart long-term, but he is only slated to hit ninth in a worse ballpark, and with Alonso joining the Orioles, Basallo may be relegated to DH and backup catcher, which could see him lose some ABs throughout the course of the year - hence Stewart getting the edge in my re-draft rankings.
Prospect Rank: 4
Projection:
3. 2B/SS/3B JJ Wetherholt (Cardinals)
ETA: Early 2026
Comp: Corbin Carroll / Marcus Semien mash-up
Prime Skills: Wetherholt hits the crap out of the ball for a smaller guy, is athletic, and has a great eye at the plate. He has a quick, easy swing and great bat control that will likely lead to an early career high doubles profile that later translates into more power as he gets closer to his peak. Wetherholt has an average EV of 91.4 this season at AAA with a 1v09.2 max EV to go along with an aggressive in-zone approach with a high propensity for quality contact with an 11.9 barrel% and great angles with an aptitude to hit to all fields with a near 25% linedrive rate. Wetherholt hit an impressive 47 extra base hits in only 109 games for the Cardinals.
Hitter Tool Grades:
Hit: 60/65
Plate Approach: 65/70
Power: 50/55
Speed: 55/60
Ranking Explanation: It’s highly likely the Cardinals move Arenado or Donovan or even both this offseason, and when that occurs, Wetherholt should break camp with the big league club. I expect him to hit high in the order for the rebuilding Cardinals, though they may not make that move until later in the year. He has not worked through his first handful of struggle plate appearances yet, but due to his advanced hit and plate approach, I expect him to transition fairly smoothly to the bigs.
Prospect Rank: 5
Projection:
4. OF Dylan Beavers (Orioles)
MiLB:
MLB:
ETA: Debuted
Comp: Kyle Tucker mechanics with a Jarren Duran skillset
Prime Skills: Big lefty outfielder who killed it in the doubles department last year and is not transitioning some of that into homerun power in 2025. There’s a potential 20/25 player here if he can hit enough to make it work, as the 105.4 90th percentile EV and 111.6 max EV portend to at least 20 homer power. The hit tool has progressed dramatically since last season, as he now has a well-above-average 89.5 Z-Contact% and 82.6 Contact% with only a 19.4% chase rate with excellent angles, as he has rocked an average 17 degree launch angle this year and a solid 9.3% barrel rate; he has a good bat for line drives. Beavers had 44 extra-base hits in 129 games across the majors and minors in 2025, with 10 of those coming in 35 major league games.
Hitter Tool Grades:
Hit: 60/65
Plate Approach: 60/60
Power: 55/55
Speed: 60/55
Ranking Explanation: If you’ve been following my work for a while, you know I’m a big-time Beavers guy. He’s currently slated to hit seventh in a strong-side platoon, which is dumb because Beavers has no split issues and hit .288/.397/.356 against lefties in 2025 at AAA. Beavers is much better than Cowser, and I think Cowser is ultimately the platoon bat with O’Neil rather than Beavers, but with all the bats in Baltimore, there is some playing time risk here, and thus he falls behind Wetherholt, who I expect to play every single day.
Prospect Rank: 16
Projection:
5. C Carter Jensen (Royals)
MiLB:
MLB:
ETA: Debuted
Comp: Bo Naylor mechanics w/ a bit of a Will Smith batted ball profile
Prime Skills: Jensen is a beast of an athlete for a catcher. The Royals (along with the Cardinals) are the masters at developing stud catchers, it would seem. He has some solid pull power while also showing the ability to hit the ball the other way, which should keep him from getting shifted to death. Jensen notched a subpar 73.8% contact rate on the season, but a very good 86.4% Z-Contact and he makes good quality contact within the zone as evidenced by his 16.3% barrel rate and 107.3 90th percentile which has resulted in an insane 59.6% hard hit rate at AAA and an over 23% line drive rate, so while he has below average contactability, the quality of contact is excellent and boosts his overall hit tool. Jensen had 54 extra-base hits in the majors and minors this last season in 131 games.
Hitter Tool Grades:
Hit: 55/55
Plate Approach: 50/55
Power: 55/65
Speed: 50/45
Ranking Explanation: Like Beavers, Basallo, and Stewart, Jensen has already debuted and played in 20 games with 60 plate appearances. He’s currently listed as a backup catcher on Roster Resource, but I expect him to potentially start more games at catcher than Salvy, with Salvy being a primary DH. I think he will more or less play in 70-80% of games in some capacity, which might seem rich, but he’s one of the better hitters in the lineup. He may be one of the most underrated prospects for re-draft leagues at the moment.
Prospect Rank: 34
Projection:
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