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  "description": "The Dynasty Team ranks by position with buys and sells based on the February Fantasy Prospect 600 update.",
  "path": "/2026-prospect-starting-pitcher-preview/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-23T11:00:38.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.prospectslive.com",
  "tags": [
    "Paul Skenes",
    "Chase Burns",
    "Bubba Chandler",
    "Andrew Painter",
    "2026 Prospect Previews - Prospects LiveProspects LiveGreg Hoogkamp",
    "Cam Schlittler",
    "Connelly Early",
    "Daniel Eagen",
    "Caden Scarborough",
    "Robby Snelling",
    "Nolan McLean",
    "Trey Yesavage",
    "Thomas White",
    "Jonah Tong",
    "Kade Anderson",
    "Payton Tolle",
    "Ryan Sloan",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "It has been said there “There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect”, or _TINSTAAP_ for short, but is it true? Well, it depends on what you mean. Obviously, there is technically such a thing as a pitching prospect that you select in an FYPD out of high school or college, stick on your farm, and hope one day pans out as a solid major leaguer. What people typically mean is that you can’t _trust_ a pitching prospect, which is up for debate. It sure looks like Paul Skenes was worth trusting, and the early returns on Chase Burns and Bubba Chandler look pretty sharp, so you may have to buy a ticket to win the prize in cases like that.​\n\nThe main argument against pitching prospects is that the position is simply too prone to debilitating injuries that can keep kids out of games for 1-2 seasons, sometimes rendering them a shell of their former self depending on the severity of an arm or shoulder ailment. Andrew Painter is a good example of a once-pristine asset that has since depreciated into more of a question mark. Could he still be a frontline ace? Absolutely, but it’s less clear that it was in 2023.​\n\n2026 Prospect Previews - Prospects LiveProspects LiveGreg Hoogkamp\n\nThe nice thing to keep in mind with pitching prospects is that they are more likely than hitters to flip a switch and unlock a completely new level of upside. Sometimes this is something subtle within mechanics, but the biggest potential for change comes with the addition of new pitches. When done right, these can reinvent a player entirely and turn a back-end rotation guy into an exciting, prominent arm. If a guy only has 1 or 2 pitches, adding further options can morph him from a limited reliever into a dynamic starter.​\n\nWith all that in mind, it’s no wonder that the position can become so unpredictable.​ Last year, we saw names like Cam Schlittler and Connelly Early emerge from deep-league fliers into powerful dynasty assets, while other guys like Daniel Eagen or Caden Scarborough burst onto the scene and surprised everyone. Or we can look at the curious case of Robby Snelling, who has gone through a boomerang experience of being considered elite, and then forgotten, and then back to one of the game’s top prospects on the precipice of making his major league debut!​\n\nThe advice for starting pitchers is to utilize a nuanced approach: yes, you should use FYPD picks on elite talent and even trade for them, but it’s even better to identify the true value plays on guys who you think could fly up the ranks this season. Or better yet, buy low on existing prospects who are flying under the radar with pro data you can make sense of, or whose underlying data and/or physical projection indicate there’s more growth to come.​\n\nThere are some extremists out there who will virtually refuse to use their MiLB farm slots on pitchers, but that comes with risks of its own. If the alternative is to build up elite hitting prospects and trade them for MLB pitching, then that makes sense…but what if that newly-acquired MLB pitcher blows his arm out, the same fear that you had regarding pitching prospects in the first place? Now you’ve wasted value for nothing, whereas you could instead stock up your farm with lower-cost prospect arms and see which ones emerge without TJ! Go ahead and enjoy the love/hate relationship of rostering pitching prospects; it’s a beautiful thing when done right.\n\n_Buys and Sells at the bottom of the article_\n\n* * *\n\n### 1. Nolan McLean, NYM, RHP (MLB)\n\n_64 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.54 ERA, 23.8% K, 10.0% BB, 13.8% K-BB, 50.5% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: The Athletic\n\nAfter spending two seasons developing as a two-way player, Nolan McLean set his bat down for good in 2025 to focus exclusively on pitching, and boy, did it pay dividends! McLean forced a promotion to New York with a dominant run in the upper minors, and quickly announced his presence with 5.1 shutout innings and 8 strikeouts against the Mariners on August 16th. By the time the season ended, McLean had accumulated 48 major league innings and had become the de facto ace of the New York Mets. He has an elite ability to keep the ball on the ground and an arsenal of six pitches that he uses to keep hitters off balance. If there’s cause for concern, it’s with McLean’s struggles to get lefties out. While McLean limited batted ball damage versus lefties, 13 of McLean’s 16 walks issued in the majors were to left-handed batters. Even still, it’s easy to be bullish on the former third-round pick out of Oklahoma State, especially considering this was just his first season focusing on pitching full-time. - David Gofman\n\n### 2. Bubba Chandler, PIT, RHP (AAA)\n\n_69 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.78 ERA, 24.1% K, 9.9% BB, 14.2% K-BB, 41.4% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: Matt Freed/AP\n\nBubba Chandler was seen as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball entering 2025; our February prospect rankings had him at 15th overall, and the 3rd best pitcher behind Roki Sasaki and Jackson Jobe. He lived up to the ranking to start the year, pitching to a 2.03 ERA and 2.81 FIP in 48.2 IP at Triple-A through the end of May. However, he lost command as the year went along and didn’t get called up until August 22nd, and he started out in a long relief role to limit his innings enough for the Pirates to retain rookie eligibility for him in 2026. The Pirates’ starting pitching staff may be crowded with Skenes, Jones, Keller, Oviedo, Ashcraft, and Burrows all as viable options, but Bubba is one of the better names in that group and should be on the inside looking out, so to speak. He’s also one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year in 2026, and if the Pirates learned their lesson from Skenes, they’ll want to give him as much of a chance as they can to win that award and earn the PPI pick. - Raj Mehta\n\n### 3. Trey Yesavage, TOR, RHP (MLB)\n\n_61 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.37 ERA, 29.5% K, 10.6% BB, 18.9% K-BB, 38.1% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: mlb.com\n\nNot many prospects can claim to have achieved what Yesavage did in 2025, going from Single-A all the way up to the major leagues in a single season. The former East Carolina ace struck out 160 batters on his way through the Toronto farm system and earned his big league debut at the eleventh hour in mid-September. Yesavage then capped his remarkable year off with a 3.58 ERA in six playoff appearances (five of them starts) for the World Series runners-up. Known for his uniquely high release point and a knee-buckling splitter, the right-hander now heads into his age-22 season as a presumptive rotation piece for the reigning American League champions. His 11.3% walk rate in the MLB regular season points to the only drawback of his possessing such electric stuff, but fantasy managers should still buy in with confidence, looking ahead to 2026. Yesavage will be a top-ten prospect in all of baseball until he graduates and is already a borderline top-200 dynasty asset. - Lucas Morel\n\n### 4. Thomas White, MIA, LHP (AA)\n\n_66 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.62 ERA, 26.7% K, 12.0% BB, 14.7% K-BB, 42.1% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: Marlins Beat\n\nThere's a pretty good argument to be made that Thomas White is the best non-debuted pitching prospect in baseball, and the big lefty out of Massachusetts has given us plenty of reasons to buy into the hype. For starters, he casually put on 30 pounds of muscle last year, upping his listed size from 6'5 210 lbs to 6'5 240 lbs without much hullabaloo behind the impressive feat. Beyond that, White delivered a 39% K rate on the year, resulting in a tidy 2.31 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP for the back of the baseball card. His arsenal features an upper-90s heater and a nasty slider that has turned into more of a sweeper lately, and a changeup that would probably be more discussed if the first two offerings didn't dominate the way they do. The Marlins have an embarrassment of riches at the SP position, and Thomas White might even challenge Eury Perez as the staff ace one day if everything goes perfectly. If there's one thing to monitor, it's that he hasn't registered a walk rate south of 10% since crushing High-A in 2024...but again, this is a young man who just dominated as a 20-year-old in 2025, and should challenge for a rotation spot at some point in '26. The sky is the limit! - Darren Eisenhauer\n\n### 5. Jonah Tong, NYM, RHP (MLB)\n\n_64 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.55 ERA, 27.8% K, 11.5% BB, 16.3% K-BB, 46.2% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: Vincent Carchietta\n\nJonah Tong had to grow up quickly for the Mets in 2025, becoming one of a trio of rookie pitchers called up to the big leagues as New York desperately —and unsuccessfully— tried to hold onto a playoff spot down the stretch. Tong’s unique profile flummoxed hitters in the upper minors in 2025 as he expertly mixed his mid-90s fastball and mid-80s changeup out of a very high arm slot to lead the minor leagues with 179 strikeouts in 113.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Even so, the jump to the big leagues was somewhat surprising considering Tong threw just 11.2 innings at Triple-A. Tong’s first 5 starts in the big leagues amounted to an uneven 18.2 innings, with his 7.71 ERA being inflated by an unsustainably low 45.1% left on base percentage. Tong should begin the 2026 season at Triple-A where he will likely work on expanding his arsenal to compliment his fastball and changeup. If all goes well, Tong should be right back in the big leagues at the first opportunity in 2026, and he might not give the rotation spot back once he gets it. - David Gofman\n\n### 6. Kade Anderson SEA, LHP (CPX)\n\n_Peak projection data not available_\n\nPhoto Credit: Seattle Times\n\nWith four above-average or better pitches and average or better command, Anderson provides a good amount of polish coming out of the college ranks, and with projection remaining in his 6'2, 180 lb frame, he couldn't have landed in a better organization to get the most out of him than the Mariners. They must have been thrilled to see him fall to them at the number three pick in the draft, and any dynasty manager with the third overall pick in their FYPD should feel exactly the same if he falls to them as well. Depending on whether your league allows players from Asia to be drafted in the FYPD, Anderson could be an easy 1.01 pick in a class full of uncertainty. This is a high-floor left-hander who should move quickly through the minor leagues. - Kyle Sonntag\n\n### 7. Andrew Painter, PHI, RHP (AAA)\n\n_73 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.96 ERA, 21.5% K, 8.8% BB, 12.7% K-BB, 43.0% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: 6abc.com\n\nHaving lost essentially all of the 2023 and 2024 seasons to an elbow injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery, Painter came into 2025 looking to reclaim his status as the premier right-handed pitching prospect in baseball and contribute at the major league level. As is often the case when an arm injury is involved, however, the road back to prime form has been a winding one for the Phillies’ 2021 first-round pick. The good news: Painter logged a career-high 118 innings this past season, a promising sign for a pitcher coming off of reconstructive surgery. The bad news: he looked less than dominant in his return to the mound. Painter’s walk rate increased (6.2% → 9.0%) while his strikeout rate plummeted (38.7% → 23.7%), and his stuff proved to be quite hittable, as opposing Triple-A batters posted a .277 average against him. Underwhelming though his performance may have been, Painter will still be just 23 years old next season, and he was added to Philadelphia’s 40-man roster in November, so he seems set to challenge for a rotation spot with the big league club at some point in 2026. He remains a top-30 dynasty prospect overall, thanks to his frontline starter upside. - Lucas Morel\n\n### 8. Robby Snelling, MIA, LHP (AAA)\n\n_71 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.85 ERA, 21.4% K, 8.6% BB, 12.8% K-BB, 46.9% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: Marlins Beat\n\nIf Robby Snelling were a pitching prospect in almost any other organization, one could imagine there'd be a lot more hype around his dynasty status. It's almost as if the Marlins are *too* good at developing arms that there's an oversaturation effect, but it's also worth noting that Snelling wasn't always under-appreciated. As a Padres prospect, Snelling was ranked near the top of SP prospect lists in 2023, but 2024 was an awful season, during which he saw a decrease in strikeouts and command of his arsenal —not a great development for a crafty lefty. But in 2025, with increased velocity, the production returned to dominant status: 2.51 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30% K rate, 7% BB rate... all as a 21-year-old in the upper minors. In fact, he got even better as the season went on in AAA, something worth noting now that he is on the doorstep of his MLB debut. The 6'3 210 lb lefty was once an elite linebacker in football, and seems to have the kind of durable profile to deliver 150+ innings on a regular basis in the bigs. There's a shot Snelling could earn a rotation spot out of camp depending on other arms' health and performance, making him a high-value dynasty prospect in both upside and proximity. - Darren Eisenhauer\n\n### 9. Payton Tolle BOS, LHP (MLB)\n\n_65 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.6 ERA, 27.5% K, 8.8% BB, 18.8% K-BB, 36.3% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: Brian Fluharty\n\nIn many respects, Tolle is a prospect in name only and will only be eligible for a bit longer. The 23-year-old rocketed through the minor leagues after being selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of TCU, making his major league debut late in the 2025 season. Tolle is a big guy (6’6, 250 pounds) with a big mustache, a big fastball (64% usage, 96.6 MPH average, 67th percentile spin), big extension (7.5 feet), and earned big results. Tolle earned above-average whiff and barrel rates against big-league hitters, as well as strong strikeout and hard-hit rates, while allowing roughly 10% less zone contact than average. The lefty’s low release and five-pitch arsenal earned three starts from late August to early September before the Red Sox deployed him as a reliever for their playoff hunt. This time last year, we would have never expected Tolle to pitch meaningful major league innings. While his odds of starting the season in the rotation are lessened, Tolle is still as valuable a prospect arm as any, and his proximity only improves his standing for your dynasty team. - Drew Wheeler\n\n### 10. Ryan Sloan, SEA, RHP (A+)\n\n_78 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 4.24 ERA, 18.7% K, 7.9% BB, 10.9% K-BB, 44.8% GB_\n\nPhoto Credit: milb.com\n\nAfter one full professional season, Ryan Sloan has developed into arguably one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in the minors. The 2024 second-round pick finished his age-19 season with a 3.73 ERA, a 27.0% strikeout rate, and a 4.5% walk rate through 82 innings between Single-A and High-A. Only 11.1 of those innings came at the higher level, which means he'll most likely be assigned there to start the next season. Armed with a combination of good stuff and command, he'll look to continue to build on his success last season. The pieces are there for Sloan to grow into a mid-rotation starter, if not better, down the line. There is variance among lists, but Sloan looks every bit the part of a top 50 dynasty prospect, if not better. - Trevor Hooth\n\n## Sign up for Prospects Live\n\nYour one stop shop for Dynasty Fantasy Baseball, MLB Draft, Baseball Card & MiLB Baseball content. Blending Data & Scouting into our Player Evaluation\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "2026 Prospect Starting Pitcher Preview",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-27T01:13:39.695Z"
}