Top 25 Prospects for Re-Draft Leagues: May Update

  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on May 1, 2026 3:43 am by Anthony Kates | Published: May 1, 2026

    April was quite the month for call ups, with five members of my April Top 25 list getting the call and plenty of players not on it as well.

    We had some no-brainer call ups (Konnor Griffin, Noah Schultz, Sam Antonacci, Payton Tolle) and some surprises (Elmer Rodriguez, Hao-Yu Lee).

    Staying informed on which top prospects could be the next to be called up and make an impact at the big league level is something that every re-draft manager needs to be. It’s not enough just to know who is already on the big league roster, but being one, two or even seven days ahead of your league mates can make all the difference when it comes to grabbing a league winning call-up (think Nolan McLean, Cam Schlittler or Cade Horton last season).

    I have shared the top 25 prospects I think have the best chance to be called up this season in the table, in the order of who I would pick up and stash right now (based on how I think they will perform and impact fantasy teams plus when they will be called up).

    Below the table I shared my thoughts on a handful of the prospects that I really like and expect to contribute this season.

    **Roster percentages from Yahoo**

    Ryan Waldschmidt – OF – Diamondbacks – 4%

    Waldschmidt has been extremely productive during his first taste of Triple-A baseball this year, boasting a 118 wRC+ (26th best among Triple-A hitters aged-24 or younger), with a lower swinging strike rate than he had inn Double-A and the highest ISO of his professional career. He is striking out at the highest rate of his career and walking less than he had before, but with his miniscule chase rate (14.8%), solid contact rate (76.1%) and that tiny swinging strike rate (8.7%), his 25.2% strikeout rate will come down soon enough. He has plus power, above average speed, an above average hit tool and is a fantastic centerfield defender, all of the tools necessary to find success at the big league level.

    The only person in between Waldschmidt and his big league debut is Alek Thomas, who just is who he is at this point. He has never been a productive offensive producer at the MLB level, with an OPS of .659 or lower in every season. He rarely walks, struggles to elevate the ball (before this season, he hit 2-times as many ground balls as fly balls), chases too many pitches and swings and misses far too often. He’s a decent defender, but at this point in their careers, Waldschmidt is probably the better choice to man centerfield.

    If the Diamondbacks mean to stay in the Wild Card chase and contend for a playoff spot, then calling up Waldschmidt sooner, rather than later, is the winning move. He upgrades their offense and their defense and adds another power-speed threat to the lineup (18-homers, 29-steals in 601 plate appearances across two levels in 2025).

    Robby Snelling – SP – Marlins – 9%

    Snelling has been phenomenal this season, leading all Triple-A pitchers aged-24 or younger in strikeout rate (37.2%) and ERA (2.25; JR Ritchie’s is lower, but he is currently in the Braves MLB rotation, so he doesn’t count by my rules). He has limited hard hits (28.9%) and exit velocity (86.2 MPH average exit velocity), though he has allowed plenty of quality hits (11.1% barrel rate) and he has a pretty bad walk rate (14%). The swinging strike rate and whiff rate are both low for someone with such a high strikeout rate (11.7% and 28.4% respectively), but the stuff is so good, it hasn’t mattered.

    The Marlins rotation has been fairly decent 1-3, with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez and Max Meyer pitching well, but Chris Paddack has been absolutely terrible and Snelling would be a big upgrade when he is called up. The Marlins are somehow in the thick of the AL East hunt at the moment (though, in the thick of it just means the best of the worst, since they are in second place but 6.5 games behind the division leading Braves) and are hoping to contend for a Wild Card spot (three back of the Cardinals), so they will need all the help they can get and Snelling is the tip of the helping spear. A few more poor Paddack outings (he has made it out of the fifth inning just once in five starts) with Snelling continuing to pummel Triple-A hitters and he will get the call.


    Want to get access to the full top 25 and the rest of Anthony’s article? You’ll need to have an MLB FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!
    Premium Access Required

    Come join us at SportsEthos by filling out an application by clicking here
    Click here to join us on Discord!
    Follow us on X by clicking here
    Follow us on Bluesky by clicking here
    Follow Anthony on X at @akfantasybb
    Follow Anthony on Bluesky at @akfantasybb.bsky.social

    May 1, 2026, 3:43 am