Six MLB prospects are excelling in the 2026 season, with three position players and three pitchers showing strong potential to impact their big-league teams soon.
Key points
Six MLB prospects are excelling in the 2026 season
Three position players and three pitchers are highlighted
Player development tools are improving for teams
Minor-league performance is crucial for big-league impact
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The MLB season is a month old and so too is the minor-league season. Prospects are more important than ever and player development has never been better, especially on the pitching side. Teams have so many tools available to them and so many smart people in their employ. Up-and-coming young players have never been in better hands, truly.
Here now are six prospects -- three position players and three pitchers -- who are off to strong starts this season and represent the next wave of impact big-leaguers.
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Still only 20, Lombard slashed .312/.400/.571 with four home runs in 20 Double-A games before his promotion. He has four homers in 21 games this year after hitting nine homers in 132 games last year. Lombard is a gifted defender and the Yankees have him splitting his time between shortstop and third base, which is notable because Ryan McMahon has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this season. The Yankees typically don't leave their top prospects in Triple-A for long. Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler, Anthony Volpe, and Austin Wells all played about a month in Triple-A before being summoned to the Bronx. Lombard could be on a similar path. MLB ETA: Summer 2026
IF Pedro Ramírez, Cubs: A fun-sized (5-foot-9 and 165 lbs.) switch-hitter with supreme bat-to-ball skills, the just-turned-22-year-old Ramírez is hitting .306/.384/.604 with eight homers and 11 steals in 28 Triple-A games this year. His 91.8% in-zone contact rate is top 10 in Triple-A and well above the 82.4% league average. A left field experiment in 2024 didn't go anywhere, and Ramírez has split his time between second and third bases since. The Cubs have their entire infield signed long-term (Alex Bregman, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson). Either Ramírez will be an overqualified utility guy/DH for them, or he's one heck of a trade chip. If I were a team with a need on the infield and pitching to spare, I'd call Chicago about him right away. MLB ETA: Summer 2026
OF James Tibbs III, Dodgers: Tibbs, the No. 13 pick in last summer's draft, has already been traded twice, going from the Giants to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers deal, then from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in the Dustin May deal. He's come back to Earth lately after hitting seven home runs in his first eight games this year, though he still owns a .319/.424/.707 line with a minor-league leading 11 home runs. The 28.8% strikeout rate is a real concern, but Tibbs has put up tremendous contact quality numbers. He's third in Triple-A in barrel rate (36.4%) and seventh in hard-hit rate (55.8%). The Triple-A averages are 17.8% and 39.1%, respectively. The Dodgers are set in the outfield (Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker) and have more highly regarded outfield prospects coming (Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota, etc.). It is entirely possible another trade is in Tibbs' future. MLB ETA: Late 2026
LHP Kade Anderson, Mariners: Anderson was the top pitching prospect in last year's draft and the Mariners nabbed him with the No. 3 overall pick. The former LSU star has made four Double-A starts, during which he's allowed one run on 13 baserunners in 18 ⅔ innings. He's struck out 30. Anderson has thrown all four pitches (fastball, slider, curveball, changeup) at least 20% of the time and he's long stood out for his command and pitching know-how. Still only 21, Anderson has looked like a man among boys in Double-A, and he's in an organization that has done an excellent job developing college pitchers over the last decade. The big-league team's window is wide open. There's no reason for the Mariners to slow-play Anderson's development. MLB ETA: Mid-to-late 2026
RHP Anthony Eyanson, Red Sox: It did not take Eyanson, the No. 87 pick in the 2025 Draft, long to grab everyone's attention in spring training. He sat 96-98 mph and touched 100 mph in the spring after working more in the 93-95 mph range last spring at LSU. It's more of a cutter than a straight four-seamer, so that velocity comes with hard movement. Eyanson also has a slider, a splitter, and a curveball.
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) April 21, 2026
The 21-year-old righty has completely overwhelmed High Class-A hitters, holding them to one run on six hits in 16 ⅔ innings across four starts. He's struck out 27 and walked zero, and hitters have swung and missed at almost a quarter of his pitches. Just one month into this pro career, Eyanson is one of the biggest arrow-up prospects in the minors. MLB ETA: Summer 2027
RHP Seth Hernandez, Pirates: The case could be made that Hernandez was the most talented pitcher in the 2025 Draft class. The Pirates got him with the No. 6 pick and, in four Low Class-A starts, the soon-to-be 20-year-old has allowed one run on four hits and five walks in 17 innings. He's struck out 32. Just less than 600 pitchers have thrown at least 15 innings in the minors this year and Hernandez leads them all in strikeout rate (53.3%) and swinging strike rate (24.5%). He operates with an upper-90s fastball, a high-spin slider, a power changeup, a good curveball, and above-average command. Hernandez has all the markers of a future ace. The Pirates are an excellent pitcher-development organization. It's not just Paul Skenes; it's also Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler, and turning guys like Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo into trade chips. Hernandez looks like their next homegrown stud. MLB ETA: Summer 2028
