Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- With Braden Montgomery's promotion, teams near playoff spots are increasingly turning to their top minor league talent for a boost.
- Several elite prospects across MLB are nearing MLB readiness, with decisions looming on whether to fast-track their development.
- The debate centers on which young players will get the call first as teams balance immediate needs against long-term development.
We got yet another top prospect call-up on Tuesday, as the Chicago White Sox promoted outfielder Braden Montgomery from Triple-A in order to try and continue their surprising Wild Card push. And it certainly won't be the last: The deeper we get into summer, the more teams in and around playoff spots will look to their best Minor League talent in search of a boost.
Who might be next? Some of the very best prospects in the sport are getting closer and closer to making their MLB debuts — here are seven names to know who could impact pennant races in the near future, courtesy of FanSided's Eric Cole and his most recent top-100 list.
SS Jesus Made, Milwaukee Brewers
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 4
- 2026 stats: .275/.350/.440, 6 HR, 19 SB (Double-A)
Made just turned 19 last month, and he's played just 51 games above A-ball. But he's been so good over those 51 games, so physically and mentally mature beyond his years, that it's getting harder and harder for the Brewers not to accelerate his timeline a bit. He's an explosive athlete both at the plate and on the bases; the power he generates from both sides is absurd. Add in his excellent defense at shortstop, and there's relaly not much of anything he doesn't excel at.
Ordinarily, his age and relative inexperience would keep him down in the Minors until next Opening Day, but given how badly Milwaukee's left side of the infield needs the help, he could be in the Show by August.
SS Leo De Vries, Athletics
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 5
- 2026 stats: .286/.371/.396, 5 HR, 18 SB (Double-A)
You could copy and paste much of the above and drop it in here. Like Made, De Vries is just 19 years old (though he'll turn 20 in October). Also like Made, he's a switch-hitter who combines solid contact skills with massive exit velocities. He's not quite the athlete that Made is, but then again, very few are. He's the consensus second-best prospect in the Minors right now, and though he could stay down a while as the A's begin to fall out of the playoff picture, he should get a look at some point toward the end of this season as the team moves on from Jeff McNeil at second base. He's too good not to.
1B/OF Ralphy Velazquez, Cleveland Guardians
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 41
- 2026 stats: .241/.305/.426, 1 HR (Triple-A, 14 G)
From Cooper Ingle to Angel Genao, Cleveland is awash in high-Minors talent that could impact this year's pennant race. Ingle might be closer to the Majors due to the Guardians' need at catcher, but Velazquez might be the biggest difference-maker, as he's exactly the sort of power bat this lineup could really use.
He's yet to really get it going since a promotion to Triple-A, but the power here is obvious, and he's made enough contact as he works his way up the ladder to believe in him as a hitter. The batting average will never be much to write home about, but we're talking 25-30 homers if it all comes together. If the Guards need offense this summer, they could bring him up and use him in a three-way platoon with Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins between first base and DH.
RHP Carlos Lagrange and SS George Lombard Jr., New York Yankees
- FanSided top-100 ranking: Lombard Jr. 55, Lagrange 69
- 2026 stats: Lagrange: 4.08 ERA, 11.9 K/9 (Triple-A); Lombard Jr.: .206/.371/.298, 2 HR, 7 SB (Triple-A)
The Yankees' two most pressing needs right now are probably the bullpen and their infield, in that order. What luck, then, that their two most promising prospects could fill exactly those roles — and both are slowly but surely settling into life at Triple-A. Lagrange was recently shifted into a relief role, no doubt in anticipation of his call-up this summer as New York looks to let his triple-digit velocity eat in shorter spurts. Command is a concern, but if he can find the strike zone, he has some of the best pure stuff in the Minors.
Lombard Jr., meanwhile, got off to a bit of a slow start at Triple-A, but he's begun to turn it on of late, with a .762 OPS and a couple of homers in 20 games since May 16. The hit tool remains a question, but the plate approach has made real strides, and he's a lock to play a solid shortstop at the big-league level. Both of these prospects have some real flaws to iron out in order to become MLB stars, but New York might not be able to wait.
RHP Brody Hopkins, Tampa Bay Rays
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 46
- 2026 stats: 3.23 ERA, 10.5 K/9 (Triple-A)
Hopkins has had command issues throughout his time in the Minors, but over his last two starts at Triple-A Durham he's struck out 16 with just three walks in 10 scoreless innings of work. The mechanics seem much cleaner, and if these changes are able to stick, the sky is the limit given his triple-digits fastball and pair of power breaking balls. The Rays are facing innings limits with several of their starting pitchers, from Shane McClanahan to Steven Matz to Griffin Jax; they're going to need reinforcements sooner or later, and Hopkins is showing he's ready to answer the bell.
INF Franklin Arias, Boston Red Sox
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 50
- 2026 stats: .311/.389/.588, 13 HR, 4 SB (Double-A)
Arias was hardly in Boston's big-league plans at the start of the season, given that he wouldn't turn 21 years old until November and struggled a bit in his first taste of Double-A at the end of 2025. But he's been so good, and the Red Sox infield so awful, that at this point Craig Breslow will have to think long and hard about whether his top prospect should skip Triple-A entirely.
That's what happens when you hit 13 homers with an OPS approaching 1.000 against pitchers who are by and large several years older than you. Arias is hit over power, but the pop has come a long way as he's matured physically, as has the kind of contact he's making. If he can continue to get the ball in the air consistently, this is a truly elite prospect, because the bat-to-ball skills and the defense at shortstop are both going to be there. Now it's just a matter of whether Boston will still be in the playoff hunt later this summer, and whether they think it's worthwhile to fast-track his development to find some sort of spark as Marcelo Mayer, Caleb Durbin and Co. continue to struggle.
LHP Kade Anderson, Seattle Mariners
- FanSided top-100 ranking: 22
- 2026 stats: 1.29 ERA, 14 K/9 (Double-A)
Anderson is in a fierce battle with Pirates teenager Seth Hernandez to the honor of best pitching prospect in the Minors right now. He's jumped straight to Double-A in his first pro season, and the numbers have been downright ridiculous, with 76 strikeouts to just seven walks in 49 innings of work. He can really, really spin it, which helps his fastball play up and his slider flash plus. A lefty with a legitimate four-pitch mix who pounds the strike zone? Those don't exactly grow on trees.
Of course, Seattle isn't hurting for starting pitching right now. But as we get toward the end of the regular season, might they try to use Anderson in some sort of bullpen role? Or could he even take over for Luis Castillo as Bryce Miller's piggyback partner? At a certain point, a guy is just too good to keep down.
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