Baseball at the most advanced level is supposed to be difficult. When a player first arrives in MLB, we expect struggle. Flaws are exposed, magnified and exploited. Adjustments are needed and made. Eventually, the best and most deeply committed prospects find a way.
Ryan Waldschmidt has short-circuited this time-honored process by just simply raking from the moment he landed in Arizona.
Advertisement
At 23, Waldschmidt is one of the most comfortable, discerning and on-basiest young hitters you will ever see. We are 15 starts into his major-league career and he’s slashing .353/.411/471 with four doubles, a triple and five steals. He has had five multi-hit games in his last seven. Almost everything off his bat is a line-drive (37.5%). He seems like a guy we’ll all be describing as a “professional hitter” for the better part of the next decade.
Ryan Waldschmidt laces an RBI double for the @Dbacks!
MLB’s No. 33 prospect has reached base in all three of his plate appearances. pic.twitter.com/vGHVBBRTqz
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 19, 2026
Waldschmidt has not yet launched a home run for the Diamondbacks, but he won’t keep us waiting much longer. He cleared the fence 18 times in the minors last season while delivering 49 extra-base hits, swiping 29 bags and reaching base at an elite rate (.419). Basically, he offers a full combo platter of fantasy goodies.
Arizona has won 11 games and lost only five since promoting him, which feels significant (but, hey, correlation/causation and whatnot). He’s been mostly buried in the ninth spot in the batting order — likely a deference-to-vets situation — although he found his way to the sixth spot on Sunday against Colorado, a welcome development.
Waldschmidt may not have been the most celebrated young prospect to reach the majors this season, but without question, he’s been one of the most impactful. He’s a potential five-category fantasy asset who remains widely available on all major platforms.
Max Meyer has fully arrived
If you’d finally given up on the dream of a breakout season from Meyer, it’s understandable. He was a buzzy prospect over multiple years, but underwent UCL surgery in 2022 and entered the current season with a 5.29 career ERA in 25 major league starts for the Marlins. He wasn’t yet a bust, but clearly wasn’t a success story.
Advertisement
Eleven starts into the 2026 season, Meyer is looking like an all-star. Following Saturday’s seven-inning, one-hit gem against the Mets, his record is 5-0, and he’s struck out 68 batters over 60.2 innings. His ERA is 2.52 (2.99 FIP), his WHIP is 1.05, and his K-rate is 27.2%. He hasn’t allowed a run in either of his last two starts.
Just look at this Kerry Wood nonsense he unleashed against poor Brett Baty:
Max Meyer, Vicious 90mph Back Foot Slider. 😤 pic.twitter.com/D6wj6BA2wm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2026
Meyer is a bit too heavily rostered at this point to find his way into a waiver-wire feature, but he’s not so heavily rostered that you shouldn’t check your league’s free-agent pool, just in case. The strikeouts and wins are piling up. His slider and sweeper are elite pitches, nearly unhittable. Nothing about his season feels particularly fluky. He’ll draw the Mets again in his next start.
Edwin Arroyo has not slowed down
Look, we are clearly not capable of prompting the Cincinnati Reds to promote Arroyo. We tried. They ignored us. Just please know that Arroyo continues to crush at Triple-A Louisville. He’s now hitting .344/.402/.595 with 10 bombs among his 24 extra-base hits. Arroyo is 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts, too. He’s spent time defensively at second, third and short this season, so he offers an unusual degree of flexibility.
Whenever he arrives in Cincinnati, his promotion will be an actionable event. It can’t happen soon enough. The Reds have various blank spots in the batting order, and Arroyo seems like an obvious answer.
Kirby Yates claims the ninth
Months ago, Yates seemed like the favorite for saves in the Angels bullpen, but knee inflammation forced him to the injured list to begin the season. On Saturday, he finally converted his first ninth-inning chance for LA, needing only 11 pitches to close the door on Texas. Yates has struck out nine batters so far over 6.1 frames. He isn’t likely to face a serious challenger for closing responsibilities unless/until Ben Joyce returns from his shoulder issue, which, realistically, is not happening anytime soon.
Advertisement
Bryan Torres makes a decent first impression
Torres went 3-for-8 with a homer on Saturday in his MLB debut, starting both games of a double-header in left field for the Cardinals. At 28, Torres is past his expiration date as a prospect, but he should still be of interest to fantasy managers for two reasons: 1) He was hitting a ridiculous .336/.454/.477 at Memphis with 10 steals and more walks (29) than strikeouts (25) at the time of his promotion, and 2) he’s a position eligibility cheat code. Torres should definitely qualify at second and possibly outfield based on this year’s minor league usage. At Fantrax, he also carries vestigial catcher eligibility, thanks to appearances in prior seasons.
Torres is much too small to endure the various challenges of catching at the major league level (5-foot-7, 165 pounds), but we’ll happily accept a free catcher in our fantasy lives.
Two-start roulette
We must once again caution you against the pitcher-streaming lifestyle. Most of you simply aren’t built to handle this chaos. But if you have chosen to walk this path, here are this week’s prime options:
- Zebby Matthews, Minnesota (at CWS, at PIT) – Here’s a frisky young pitcher who’s been terrific in his first two starts this season (0.77 WHIP) facing a not-so-intimidating pair of matchups. Double-digit Ks and at least one win incoming.
- Keider Montero, Detroit (vs. LAA, at CWS) – The 25-year-old right-hander has been competitive (1.01 WHIP, 3.69 xERA) if not overpowering (5.8 K/9). He has a fun five-pitch arsenal that has kept hitters off-balance through his nine starts this year.
- Jack Leiter, Texas (vs. HOU, vs. KC) – We’re here for the Ks, nothing more. Let’s not dwell on the potential hit to your ratios. He might catch a break and avoid Yordan Alvarez (back, Sunday DNP), but that’s not yet settled.
- Carmen Mlodzinski, Pittsburgh (vs. CHC, vs. MIN) – The 1.40 WHIP is worrisome, but this is the streaming life you chose. He’s headed into a matchup with the reeling Cubs, losers of eight straight.
