Kade Anderson is coming up — and not a moment too soon.
We’re inside of 45 days to go, which marks the point when a prospect can debut and still retain his rookie eligibility for next year. It also marks the point when we normally see a rash of call-ups, but prior to this Anderson news, there had been only one: Joshua Baez.
Granted, he’s made a big impression, becoming the first player to homer three times in his major league debut, but we’d like to see some other prospects make an impression, too. So which will they be and when?
The answer to the second question is easier: any day now. From a front office perspective, there is no strategic hurdle with less than 45 days remaining in the season. Maybe some call-ups will be delayed until Sept. 1, when active rosters expand by two, but even that isn’t so far away. The bulk of the remaining call-ups — at least the most notable ones — will happen within the next two weeks.
So who? That’s the trickier question. I speculated on 15 about a week ago, just before the 45-day mark, and I wouldn’t say my opinions have shifted much since then. I think the strongest candidates remain Anderson (which, again, sounds like it’s about to be remedied) and Walker Jenkins, but I wouldn’t say there’s a clear top five. So as you peruse my Five on the Verge this week, understand that my choices aren’t at the exclusion of Franklin Arias or James Tibbs, to name a couple. They’re implied to be on the verge as well. I’m just choosing to focus on some other potential call-ups this time.
FIVE ON THE VERGE
(Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)
Kade Anderson, SP, Mariners
2026 minors: 10-1, 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 93 1/3 IP, 13 BB, 135 K
I’m running out of ways to state the case for Anderson, who has been a fixture on this list for more than three months now. Judging by his 73 percent roster rate in CBS Sports leagues, the possibility of him coming up isn’t lost on anyone, and in fact, a report came out Thursday saying that Anderson would indeed make his major league debut Saturday. That’s just a day before Bryce Miller was scheduled to pitch, but he’s been a disaster lately and could be vacating his spot for Anderson. Or perhaps the Mariners are going with a six-man rotation again, like the did before trading Luis Castillo. That part is unclear.
What is clear is how dominant Anderson has been at Double-A. His ERA sits at 1.06, and he’s actually lowered it in four straight outings. In only two of his past 11 has he allowed even a single earned run, giving him a 0.61 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 12.7 K/9 during that time with only a .129 batting average against. If you remove his only real hiccup this season, a five-run outing on May 15, he’s given up just six earned runs all season, good for a 0.60 ERA.
The Mariners have apparently decided they’ve seen enough, at long last, which means Anderson should be added in the 27 percent of CBS Sports leagues where he remains available. So polished is he that I’m already inclined to rank him 37th at starting pitcher rest of season. If you think that’s too aggressive given that he’s bypassing Triple-A with this promotion, understand that’s standard operating procedure for the Mariners. They don’t like exposing their best pitching prospects to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and have had Miller, George Kirby and Bryan Woo all leapfrog it on their way to the majors — with sterling results, I’d say.
Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
2025 minors: .286 BA (308 AB), 10 HR, 17 SB, .850 OPS, 50 BB, 76 K
2026 minors: .309 BA (256 AB), 9 HR, 13 SB, .908 OPS, 37 BB, 46 K
Jenkins has been thwarted by injuries ever since the Twins drafted him fifth overall in 2023, yet here he is on the cusp of the majors at age 21. It’s a testament to his skill level, which is also evidenced by his premium plate discipline at every stop up the ladder. I don’t just mean his .400 on-base percentage, great though that is. Now that he’s reached Triple-A, we can see that he’s connecting 92 percent of the time when he swings on pitches in the zone and chasing pitches out of the zone only 21 percent of the time.
Even if you want to argue that he hasn’t fully realized his power potential yet — and that’s more a factor of his pull-air rate than his exit velocities — his on-base skills alone could be the difference between the Twins making and missing the playoffs. They were one of the few teams in contention for the third AL wild card spot that actually bought at the deadline, and they’re currently just half a game up. Kody Clemens has fallen off as a hitter, so shifting Luke Keaschall back to second base to free up right field for Jenkins makes sense.
Quinn Mathews, SP, Cardinals
2026 minors: 5-4, 3.27 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 99 IP, 61 BB, 120 K
2026 majors: 9 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 10 K
Quinn Mathews is far from the highest-end prospect who could come up in the next two weeks, but he claims a top spot on this list because he’s already established himself as next in the pecking order, having made two spot starts for the Cardinals, and has already shown himself to be serviceable in the majors. That counts for a lot, especially at the position with by far the most turnover in Fantasy Baseball, creating a perpetual need to bolster one’s pitching staff. As a prospect, he has an obvious flaw — one that came to light in between his two major league starts with nine walks in seven innings back at Triple-A — but overall, he’s making strides in that regard, issuing 4.5 walks per nine innings in his last 13 starts, majors and minors included, compared to 7.5 per nine innings previously. His most recent major league start Monday offered a glimpse of his upside, short though the outing was. He allowed one run on two hits over four innings against the Reds, issuing three walks while recording seven strikeouts on 12 whiffs.
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Guardians
2025 minors: .265 BA (483 AB), 22 HR, .839 OPS, 52 BB, 104 K
2026 minors: .286 BA (388 AB), 22 HR, .904 OPS, 49 BB, 90 K
The Guardians acquired Nate Lowe at the trade deadline, which shows they were prioritizing left-handed thump at a position that hadn’t panned out so far (thanks a lot, Kyle Manzardo). What they weren’t counting on is 21-year-old Ralphy Velazquez taking a sledgehammer to Triple-A so soon after moving up. Most notably, he’s homered 11 times in his past 16 games, and that’s the kind of lightning in a bottle that can push a nondescript team to the top of a crowded wild card race.
Lowe has done fine so far, but the Guardians don’t have a dedicated DH and could find a way to play Velazquez alongside him. Maybe they choose not to because he’s young and still a bit of a free-swinger, as evidenced by his 33 percent chase rate. That would be my lean, in fact. Still, I wanted to shine a light on him since he was excluded from my initial list of 15 possible call-ups. He’s clearly in the conversation and is one of the few first base prospects that’s a fixture on all top 100 lists.
Ethan Salas, C, Padres
2025 minors: 6 for 32 (.188 BA), 1 2B, 2 SB, 6 BB, 5 K
2026 minors: .297 BA (316 AB), 10 HR, 15 SB, .832 OPS, 42 BB, 56 K
The progress has been less than steady for Ethan Salas, who was a consensus top 10 prospect in 2024 after reaching Double-A as a 17-year-old but then struggled to perform at that level while also contending with injuries. He’s made a huge leap this year, though, proving the initial hype was justified all along, and at 20, he’s still just a baby as far as catcher prospects go. The real eye-opener has been his move up to Triple-A, where he’s already collected 10 extra-base hits, including three homers, in just 15 games.
Not only has he walked more than he’s struck out there but he’s also made contact on 99 percent of his swings in the strike zone, which is an impossible number even for such a small sample. The Padres have been getting adequate production from Luis Campusano, but his defensive shortcomings have him out of the lineup half the time. Salas is even more of a standout on that side of the ball than on the offensive end and could be a critical addition to a team still fighting for playoff standing.
FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY
(Here are some other prospects doing something of note.)
Xavier Isaac, 1B, Rays
2025 minors: .201 BA (139 AB), 9 HR, 1 SB, .812 OPS, 34 BB, 52 K
2026 minors: .260 BA (327 AB), 23 HR, 18 SB, .919 OPS, 78 BB, 116 K
Xavier Isaac’s stock was at an all-time low at this point a year ago. After once looking like a hitting savant, one of the rare first basemen who becomes a consensus top 100 prospect while still in the lower minors, his strikeouts began to get away from him in 2024, and then in 2025, he hit just .201 and had to shut down early because of injury. Only in the offseason did he reveal what the injury was, though: a brain tumor that came with system-wide symptoms like extreme fatigue. Kind of puts that batting average in perspective, doesn’t it?
He was a little slow out of the gate in 2026 but is beginning to hit in the way that made him so highly regarded in the first place. He entered play Tuesday slashing .331/.468/.653 over his past 34 games with 11 homers and five steals. His strikeout rate, which is just shy of 28 percent for the season, is down to 23 percent during that 34-game stretch, and he has nearly as many walks (31) as strikeouts (36). His extenuating health circumstance and prior prospect standing should be earning him the benefit of the doubt now, and as a 22-year-old at Double-A, he’s still right on schedule developmentally.
Brandon Compton, OF, Marlins
2025 minors: .217 BA (92 AB), 2 HR, 8 SB, .713 OPS, 19 BB, 37 K
2026 minors: .271 BA (354 AB), 29 HR, 18 SB, 1.002 OPS, 88 BB, 148 K
The Marlins‘ second-round pick last year has made quite the splash at Double-A. If you think his season line looks good, note that Brandon Compton has hit .343 (49 for 143) with 17 home runs and a 1.206 OPS in 38 games since moving up to Pensacola. The book on him coming in was that he packed plenty of wallop from the left side, with 90th percentile exit velocities of around 110 mph, but had work to do with regard to pitch selection and recognition. The strikeout rate is still on the high side, but for how easily as he’s taken to Double-A, a level where you’d expect him to see a wider variety of pitches, it’s fair to say that strides have been made. He hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the prospect world yet, so you might be able to scoop him up for nothing in your Dynasty league.
Lonnie White, OF, Pirates
2025 minors: .220 BA (282 AB), 12 HR, 23 SB, .723 OPS, 36 BB, 118 K
2026 minors: .289 BA (349 AB), 24 HR, 20 SB, .956 OPS, 61 BB, 12 K
Lonnie White began to gain some traction in wider prospect circles when he put together an .881 OPS in the lower levels in 2023, but he struggled the following two years at High-A, tanking his stock. It turns out the third time was the charm though, and after his early success this year prompted a promotion to Double-A, he’s thriving there now as well. Between the two stops, he’s already a 20-20 man and has reached base at just shy of a .400 clip. He’s only gaining steam, too, batting .372 (29 for 78) with eight home runs and four stolen bases in his past 22 games. A former Penn State wide receiver recruit, White is developing a quality approach to go with his premium athleticism.
Jacob Bresnahan, SP, Giants
2025 minors: 9-3, 2.61 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 93 IP, 43 BB, 124 K
2026 minors: 6-3, 2.72 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 92 2/3 IP, 37 BB, 108 K
Though Jacob Bresnahan’s latest start Tuesday was a misstep, the 21-year-old lefty has been trending well for a while now, putting together a 1.57 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 10.5 K/9 in his past 10 starts. He’s probably overdue for a promotion to Double-A, but I wouldn’t say the Giants are handling him with kid gloves either. They let him go six-plus innings in six of those 10 starts.
He’s more battle-tested than the average High-A pitcher, in other words, and has the sort of arsenal that plays well in the modern game, including a fastball that stands out less for the velocity he gets on it than the extension and induced vertical break (upward of 20 inches on average).
Luis Fragoza, OF, Twins
2025 minors: .217 BA (138 AB), 1 HR, 14 SB, .646 OPS, 17 BB, 40 K
2026 minors: .317 BA (243 AB), 14 HR, 19 SB, .984 OPS, 25 BB, 75 K
Luis Fragoza went on the assault at Low-A, putting together an OPS over 1.000 in 59 games before recently moving up to High-A. Because he was playing in the Florida State League, we actually have Statcast data for it, too, and it paints a compelling picture, showing exit velocity readings in the 70th-80th percentile range and expected stats in the 90th percentile range.
Seeing as he’s only 19, you can expect those already impressive readings to play up as he bulks up, and his exposure to third and first base in addition to the outfield makes for a versatile profile. He’s too much of a free-swinger right now to crack any top 100 lists, but with legitimate power at such a young age, there’s a path for him to develop into more.
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