Inside MLB’s next generation: MLB rookies and breakout stars to watch in 2026

Some predictions are easier than others for the 2026 MLB season. The Los Angeles Dodgers will chase a three-peat with Shohei Ohtani at the forefront. If Ohtani and Aaron Judge stay healthy, they'll be the frontrunners for MVP in their respective leagues once again. Meanwhile, we'll spend all season discussing Tarik Skubal's looming free agency, a possible league lockout, and Cal Raleigh's bodacious bottom. You get the picture.

But I would argue the best part of any MLB season are the young stars that emerge as spring turns to summer, and summer into a pressure-packed October. Those young stars — some of whom could be top prospects like Konnor Griffin and Nolan McLean — will shape MLB for years to come. 2026 should be no exception.

Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates

Whether Konnor Griffin starts at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day is irrelevant. His presence in Bradenton at the team's spring training complex was undeniable. Griffin's spring stats suggest he could use some time in Triple A, as he hit under the Mendoza line. However, he's Pittsburgh's top prospect for a reason and could be an early extension candidate.

Griffin is the most polished prospect in baseball by wide margin. He's the best young position player they've had in quite some time, and if the Pirates plan on executing their Paul Skenes competitive window flawlessly, they'll need Griffin's potential to come to fruition quickly. Just take a look at his tools, per MLB Pipeline.

Griffin is a close to a five-tool player as one can be without making a major-league appearance. He can play shortstop or second base, depending on the Pirates' comfort level. But he provides value up the middle and offensively. The Pirates had one of the worst lineups in baseball last season. Don't be surprised if Griffin — who hit .333 across three levels of minor-league ball last season — is batting leadoff at PNC Park sooner rather than later.

Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have been as cautious as they could be with Kevin McGonigle in his three years of minor-league ball, moving him up steadily, but not too fast, in hopes of developing him for this very moment. McGonigle was removed from the spring prospect showcase late in spring training, leading many Tigers fans and pundits to assume he'll be fast-tracked to Detroit's Opening Day roster.

McGonigle is a 65-grade overall prospect, and arguably an even better hitter than Griffin, who is ranked just one spot ahead of him in MLB Pipeline's rankings. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has maintained that no one player – including ace Tarik Skubal – will determine the success of their rebuild. That's because he trusts the players he's helped develop, including McGonigle and Max Clark.

The 21-year-old really can do it all, and if the Tigers promote him to the Opening Day roster AND he performs like a Rookie of the Year candidate, there's a chance they could receive an extra compensatory pick as a result. There's little reason to keep McGonigle down as a result. There's no one in the Tigers lineup like him, and this is a team that could really use an offensive jolt to start a pressure-packed season.

Carlos Lagrange, New York Yankees

Lagrange was signed for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, and has been well worth the investment so far by Brian Cashman and the Yankees. The 22-year-old has electric stuff and has shown out in MLB spring training. The Yankees could choose to have him receive some Triple-A appearances before calling him up to the Bronx, but there's little doubt he'll play a role in New York's postseason push this season.

Lagrange finished third in the minor leagues in strikeouts and strikeout percentage in 2025, K'ing over one-third of the hitters he faced. His stuff should transition well to the big-league level, and he has an impressive number of weapons in his arsenal.

If there is one question about Lagrange, it's his control. He's struggled in that department in the minor leagues. However, this spring he's been as effective as ever. Even Aaron Boone knows it's only a matter of time before Lagrange's impact is felt.

"I would not be surprised if he is impacting us early, middle, later part of the season. I don't know, but I can just tell you we're all very excited about his continued development and what we think he can mean to our team at some point," Boone said in mid-March.

The Yankees skipper just made my argument for me.

Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals

Caglianone starred for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. It was a coming out party of sorts for Italian baseball in general, but Caglianone was the heartbeat for Italy and responded well to manager Francisco Cervelli's challenges. Against the best competition baseball could offer, Caglianone held his own, and proved why Royals fans shouldn't give up on him just yet after a rough debut in 2025.

When it comes to the best young players in MLB, no one hits the ball harder than Caglianone, which makes it all the more confusing why he had such high ground ball rate with the Royals last season. In both the minor leagues and WBC, Caglianone has proven that was a fluke, and likely the side-effect of not spending enough time at any one level of competitive baseball. Caglianone flew through the minor leagues, and is a cautious tale of what can happen when a player is fast tracked to the big leagues without enough time to adjust to MLB-level pitching at Triple-A.

That should all change this season. Caglianone is a legitimate power threat, and a possible robin to Bobby Witt Jr.'s batman in Kansas City.

Didier Fuentes, Atlanta Braves

Few starting pitchers have impressed as much this spring training than Braves farmhand Didier Fuentes. While the young right-hander was thrust into action last season for Atlanta, he wasn't ready for the big time. However, this spring, he has thrown nine hitless and walkless innings for the Braves. Fair or not, a lot will be asked of Fuentes again in his second big-league season.

While Fuentes could still start the season in the minor leagues, injuries to the Braves rotation should force him into action soon enough. This time, I believe he'll be ready, and those thoughts were echoed by FanSided MLB staff writer and resident Braves fan Eric Cole in our latest newsletter:

"Fuentes looks like a guy that could rise to the occasion. Following another gem against the Phillies, Fuentes has thrown nine scoreless, walkless, and hitless innings across three appearances while striking out 17 batters. Unfortunately, having minor league options could give the ghost of Martin Perez the Opening Day roster edge, but fans may not have to wait long for Fuentes even if he falls short," Cole wrote.

Fuentes is the Braves third-ranked prospect and still just 20 years old. If any team can get the most out of him, it's Atlanta.

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

The odds are stacked against Eury Perez becoming the pitcher we all thought he could be back in 2023, but the Marlins think highly enough of him to trade Edward Cabrera and dangle Sandy Alcantara on the block to start the season. Perez is still just 23 years old. He was once the best pitching prospect in baseball, and has proven in spurts that he can perform at the MLB level.

Of course, it's impossible to talk about Perez without mentioning the Tommy John surgery he underwent that cost him his entire 2024 season. It can take pitchers – especially young ones – over a year to fully recover from that sort of invasive elbow surgery. That puts Perez on track to have a breakout campaign in 2026, and remind everyone what he's capable of when healthy.

As Keith Law of The Athletic noted, Perez was expected to be a frontline starter with a 70-grade changeup. The tools are still there for him. The Marlins don't do a lot right, but they can develop young starting pitchers.

Samuel Basallo, Baltimore Orioles

Samuel Basallo's signed a $67 million extension shortly after making his debut last August for a reason. The Orioles clearly believe in him, and he could very well replace Adley Rutschman somewhere down the line. The O's have one of the best catching duos in MLB, even when both players aren't hitting to their usual standards. Basallo finished his first season hitting under the Mendoza line. Rutschman was on the receiving end of trade rumors by the year's end as well. That hasn't stopped the hype train, though, and both players should be better off for their rough experience in 2026.

Rutschman has been a mentor figure to Basallo, seemingly handing the torch at backstop to him as he eventually transitions to a more prominent first base role. For now, though, Rutschman is still a couple years away from free agency. The rest of baseball should get very comfortable with seeing Basallo — and not Adley — behind home plate this season.

ZiPS projects Basallo to accumulate 2.3 WAR this season, with Rutschman coming in at 4.7. No catching duo has totaled more than 7.0 WAR with the backup notching more than 2.3 WAR in the FanGraphs era. That would be a significant jump for Basallo, who had a negative WAR in 2025, and could signal the beginning of a new era in Baltimore baseball.

Justin Crawford, Philadelphia Phillies

Much has been made of the Phillies improvements for the 2026 season — or lack thereof — and seemingly running it back with the same group that fell short of expectations last October. There's some truth to that statement, but it also ignores internal improvements to the starting rotation (Andrew Painter) and the outfield, where Justin Crawford projects as the everyday centerfielder.

Justin is the son of Carl Crawford, and plays a lot like him as well. Crawford has a 60-grade hit tool and 75-grade run tool. He should be a threat on the basepaths, where he'll be often assuming his minor-league success translates to the majors. There will be an adjustment period — as there often is for players making their MLB debut on Opening Day — but what makes Crawford a good bet to make this list is the number of ways he can make an impact.

Crawford can hit to all fields consistently. There is no shift that can stop him, and once he gets on the bases, good luck keeping him from reaching second or third base. This is especially true in the later innings, where Crawford becomes even more of a threat against relief pitchers who are slower to home plate with their delivery.

Nolan McLean, New York Mets

Remember when I said predicting the next generation of MLB stars was tough? Yeah, they're not all difficult to foresee. Nolan McLean was great for the New York Mets last season. He even pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He should be even better in 2026.

McLean only made eight starts for the Mets last year. In those starts, he gave up just 11 runs and had a 2.06 ERA. That's why he received the attention of Team USA manager Mark DeRosa, and in turn got some valuable experience in the WBC against baseball's most talented hitters. Per FanGraphs, McLean's pitch grades are out of this world. Assuming he plays an entire season, he could be an NL Cy Young candidate in 2026.

McLean's mid-90's fastball, when paired with some truly lethal breaking stuff, makes him borderline unhittable when he's on. So far with the Mets, that's been just about every outing. Sure, New York felt the need to trade for Freddy Peralta this spring, but the reason there wasn't more urgency about the rotation is due to young up-and-comers like McLean and Jonah Tong.

Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers

Kyle Harrison has been traded far too often in his early MLB career to be mentioned on this list. Yet, here we are. Harrison was part of the Rafael Devers trade, which sent a Red Sox icon to San Francisco. Then, he was dealt to Milwaukee as part of the Caleb Durbin trade. But don't be fooled — much of the reason Harrison was traded is because of his skillset, and potential as a frontline starter. There is no better franchise for him to fulfill that potential than the Brewers.

Milwaukee has a habit of turning other teams' trash into treasure. Look no further than Quinn Priester, who was discarded by both the Pirates and Red Sox before turning his career around with the Brewers. Harrison is a longtime favorite of FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, who watched him develop in San Francisco and knows all too well why the Brewers are a top-tier organization in terms of pitcher development.

“Everything I’m hearing from folks across the industry is that Harrison looks different in Milwaukee, that he finally appears to be in position to maximize his massive talent," Murray said.

Harrison could start the season on the IL with a blister on his finger, but it won't be long until he's playing a major role in the Brewers rotation. And thanks to other successful projects like Jacob Misiorowski and Priester, he won't face much pressure early.

Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays

Trey Yesavage started last season in Single-A and ended it pitching Game 7 of the World Series. Very few players, if any, have succeeded when facing that discrepancy of competition in one calendar year. Yet, Yesavage did so with grace. He has quite a workload for the Jays last season, and as a result manager John Scheider has been cautious with him in spring training.

Yesavage will start the season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Assuming that doesn't turn into a long-term injury – which is a big assumption for any starting pitcher — Yesavage should be an early frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year.

There are few starting pitchers who have made the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup look human. Yesavage did just that on the game's biggest stage. I refuse to assume that was a one-off. Yesavage was the Blue Jays top pitching prospect heading into the 2025 season. He surpassed all expectations in his first season, rocketing through the minor leagues and appearing in the postseason.

Who knows what 2026 has to offer?

Daniel Palencia, Chicago Cubs

Palencia had 22 saves for the Cubs last season. He is far from an unknown, but to those outside of Chicago, he was just another guy in a bullpen that struggled at times in 2025. That's no longer the case, as Palencia silenced any doubters in the World Baseball Classic, and shut down Team USA when it mattered most in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Final. Palencia can be filthy, and the Venezuelan showed what he's capable of should the Cubs make an October run.

Palencia pitched a near-perfect World Baseball Classic, and didn't give up a single run for Venezuela. That included an outing against the Dominican Republic, and the Final vs Team USA, where he didn't give up a single baserunner and struck out two American hitters on 11 pitches.

The Cubs named Palencia their closer for 2026 shortly before he left for the WBC, ending any and all chatter about their back-end bullpen plans. That decision by Craig Counsell was proven right in resounding fashion, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if Palencia goes from a Cubs star to one of the scariest sights in all of baseball — a shutdown closer who can shorten the game. That's all Chicago can ask for, and it's why he's No. 1 on our list.

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