I’m looking at fresh powder for the first time since I started with the organization’s top ten prospect reports, and I probably need to reread all thirty before reranking the top 100 and first-year player rankings.
One man who thinks he can move up is Cubs C Moises Ballesteros. If you read Grey’s 2026 Fantasy Outlook for Ballesteros, you may remember that I was skeptical that he would actually be part of the team’s regular lineup for 2026 after they ignored him in the playoffs.
We both were. Some words from Grey: “I’m not going to defend the Cubs, and if you defend them in these circumstances, they would do the right thing and play Moises five days a week at DH and once or twice at catcher. It’s actually impossible to say that now. If the Cubs sign one good hitter this year, it will be Moises’ playing time that they take no matter who it is or where they play because they have nowhere else to play and Moises.
Wait, do I really have to move up the lists? I mean, they did sign a guy who has to play every day in 3B Alex Bregman, bumping 3B Matt Shaw to the bench or (sigh) to the designated hitter spot. I hope they plan to trade Shaw and play Ballesteros. If not, they would put four right-handers in Carson Kelly, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Shaw at the bottom of the lineup.
The problem with selling Shaw now is that his value may be at rock bottom. He seemed lost through the first half of his rookie year, finishing .226/.295/.394 with 13 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a 21.5 percent strikeout rate. He salvaged a disastrous season with a strong final two months, slashing .257/.317/.525 with 11 home runs over his final 202 plate appearances from July 19 through the end of the season, good for a 131 wRC+ or 31 percent better than league average over that stretch.
Oh farts, am I backing up Ballesteros again?
When OR Owen Caission was traded (along with SS Cristian Hernandez and 1B Edgardo De Leon) for RHP Edward Cabrera, I was ready to step on the accelerator. That’s still the move for Caissie, who goes from an extra bat to an inside lane to the middle of Miami’s lineup, but the signing of Alex Bregman does throw a spanner in the works for the Ballesteros brass. News out of Chicago suggests they’ll keep both Shaw and Hoerner for now, so it’s still reasonable to fear they’ll install Shaw as designated hitter and leave Ballesteros in Triple-A almost every day. The meta piece of this involves teammates and coaches being angry because Shaw left the team during the pennant race to attend a political rally-slash-memorial service for someone he barely knew. If that’s a major motivating factor here, which they certainly would never say out loud until it’s in the past, then maybe he’ll just spend more days on the couch than not. Let him take a look.
One player whose prospects are getting a clear boost is Marlins LHP Robby Snelling. In 11 Triple-A starts, he posted a 1.27 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 81 strikeouts and 17 walks in 63.2 innings. Miami has moved Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett into the rotation spots three through five, and while they are all talented pitchers, they also come with some pretty significant health risks. You might even run into the team’s number one prospect, LHP Thomas Whiteunder consideration for deep realignment of competitions. If Miami is competitive, White could contribute before the All-Star break. More likely he’ll be drafted in September, but he’s now firmly on the redraft radar. Both guys could quickly become fantasy mainstays if given the chance.
It’s crazy to list all the pitchers Miami traded: Zac Gallen, Pablo Lopez, Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera and Tanner Scott if you want to include relievers. That’s a solid staff there. If they can get these pitching-for-hitting deals right, they might be able to turn a corner. The problem is you could say they’ve already done a good enough job of trading Gallen, Lopez and Rogers and haven’t made any money from it yet, so who knows. Just keep swimming, I guess.
LATE NIGHT UPDATE: You can add Weathers to that list. He was sent to the Yankees for four prospects of questionable upside. More on that in upcoming articles, but for now: Wow: Snelling is a rotation lock, right? I couldn’t even publish the article before his stock rose again.
SS Cristian Hernandez signed for $3 million in 2021, but hasn’t added much steam and has been slow to progress through the system. He posted a 99 wRC+ in 115 High-A games in 2025. 1B Edgardo De Leon hits the ball hard but strikes out too much: 28.8 percent in 43 complex league games in addition to a slugging percentage of .500 and five home runs in 43 games. The hope is probably that he can play corner in the outfield, because if not, it’s kind of odd to target a 6-foot-4 right-handed first baseman in these types of deals.
Arizona acted RHP Jack Martinez for 3B Nolan Arenado today, creating even more doubt Jordan Lawlar. St. Louis will cover $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million over the next two years, so he’s not a super expensive addition. Maybe he can bounce back in a warmer climate. For his part, Lawlar has reportedly been practicing in the outfield this season. Good foresight, because that is his path for the time being. Roster Resource has Blaze Alexander in left, Alek Thomas in center and Adrian Del Castillo as designated hitter. If I were running that organization, I would pick one of those guys aside to get Lawlar into the everyday lineup. Then again, I’d just as soon put Arenado aside. Long story short, I’m still on Lawlar, mainly because his perceived value just can’t stop dropping. For what it is Werth: Martinez turns 23 in March. He allowed a 5.47 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched for Arizona State in 2025. At 6’4” and 215 pounds, he throws hard but still has a long way to go before he can generate regular outs as a professional.
Cardinals IF JJ Wetherholt should jump a few rounds in his average draft position this week. I don’t think Wetherholt has played much at third base, but second baseman Brendan Donovan played there a little, and most indications suggest he’ll be next, opening at third for Gorman and second for Thomas Saggese. Those are both intriguing players with long track records of batting, but Wetherholt is a franchise keystone type. I doubt either would hold him back for long when he seems ready.
I was a little disappointed by the Arenado move, as I had dreamed an impossible dream that Chicago could flip Hoerner and Shaw and maybe another piece to Arizona for 2B Ketel Marte. That dream died quickly. This is not a vidja game.
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