Spring training is going strong and it is time to turn our attention to this season’s potential major league breakout candidates.
Whether it’s for the later stages of fantasy baseball drafts or to be the first to mention a name in a group text, I’ve been inundated with requests for breakouts and sleepers — with varied definitions of the terms.
I’ve canvassed the league, chatting with agents, team executives and scouts to find the players who are emerging in camp or seem primed to break out in the big leagues, even if it likely will be a little later in the season.
Here are the breakout players you need to monitor, note or draft while you can — one for each MLB team (plus plenty of bonus names).
Jump to team:
American LeagueATH | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLEDET | HOU | KC | LAA | MINNYY | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR
National LeagueARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COLLAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHIPIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH
AL East
3B Coby Mayo’s stock seems to have bottomed out to the point that I think he’s also a nice bet but I prefer Basallo, who is highly touted but wasn’t good in a 31-game MLB debut last season.
He has massive power, good feel for getting to it in games and enough catching ability to save the O’s a roster spot. RHP Trey Gibson is another name to watch as he has stuff similar to Corbin Burnes and Kyle Bradish, so he could grab a spot in the rotation before the All-Star break.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Oviedo was acquired from the Pirates in the offseason Jhostynxon Garcia trade and is slated to start the season in the Boston rotation.
With top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early in Triple-A waiting for a spot, Oviedo will need to perform. He has a very good chance to be a reliable No. 3/No. 4 starter, which is a notch or two better than most are expecting.
Weathers is the easier pick here as a former first-round draft pick who hasn’t found much big league success yet but looks fantastic this spring after being acquired from Miami. I picked him as a breakthrough last spring, and I think I’ll be proved right this year.
RHP Carlos Lagrange is another name to watch. My No. 159 overall prospect averaged 98 mph on his fastball last year and has one-upped himself by sitting 100 mph this spring; his plus breaking stuff makes him a potential closer if he can’t stick as a starter.
Simpson is why we love baseball, a unique player with outlier skills in his literally off-the-charts speed and strong contact ability. He was hot and cold last year as a rookie, but I like to bet on standout athletes with unique tools. RHP Ty Johnson has a shot to be a factor in the second half after a solid spring showing.
Ponce signed a three-year, $30 million deal coming back from the KBO after leaving the U.S. in 2021 as a “Quadruple-A” pitcher, give or take.
He now looks something like Cade Horton as a starter utilizing a cut-shaped fastball with standout breaking stuff, though Ponce also has an above-average splitter. There’s a steady midrotation type here.
AL Central
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Taylor sits near 100 mph in short stints and has one of the best curveballs on Earth, along with a really good cutter and slider to bridge the gap between them. He’s going to be stretched out more this year and could be a lot of fun to watch.
I don’t have a great feeling yet as to whether this is going to work, but it’s going to be fun to watch 1B Munetaka Murakami. He has massive raw power that can take over any game but also has huge contact and chase issues.
DeLauter has long had All-Star upside and now is his chance to demonstrate that in the big leagues, provided he can stay healthy. LHP Parker Messick has been a favorite of mine for years but loses out here because his ceiling is lower than DeLauter’s.
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Though the buzz for No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin gets the most attention, McGonigle has a better shot to break camp as his team’s every-day shortstop en route to winning Rookie of the Year. He’s so polished and so good at the plate that his position doesn’t really matter; get on board while you can.
RHP Troy Melton is another personal favorite who will continue to perform once he gets healthy again.
This might be the easiest pick of this entire exercise. Cags has massive, franchise-shaking upside and was pretty solid last season, but tough ball-in-play luck tanked his numbers. He looks good this spring, and I think he’ll have a huge year.
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There are a ton of good options in this organization with a number of prospects at the top 100-level lingering around the big league team. OFs Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez will debut this year with All-Star potential while OF Alan Roden might work into a solid role, but I’m more excited about this trio of pitchers.
All three rely on a power fastball and an assortment of standout breaking pitches, and each has the traits to start but the stuff to pitch at the end of games if that doesn’t work. This year will be huge for the Twins in finding the next cornerstones of the franchise, as that group could be changing this season.
AL West
The A’s have a ton of young pitching depth that should largely open the season in Triple-A, but Morales is the young arm with the most upside.
He needs to fine-tune his command and find a viable third pitch alongside his electric fastball/sweeper combo to get by as a big league starter; a cutter seems like the right solution to unlocking his potential.
I like Ryan Weiss as a sleeper to be a steady starting option, but Burrows has a shot to be a notch or two better after coming over in the three-team trade headlined by Brandon Lowe going to Pittsburgh.
Burrows’ above-average four-seam/changeup combo makes him a reliable midrotation starter who was available because the Pirates were deep in ready-made big league starters and that was an area where Houston was short going into the offseason. The Astros also addressed the need by adding Weiss and Japanese free agent Tatsuya Imai as well, but Burrows might be the best of the group.
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The No. 3 prospect on my preseason team top-10 list, the 24-year-old Klassen should be a solid rotation option by midseason, bringing plus, power stuff to a staff in need of upgrades.
I’m also intrigued by LHP Reid Detmers’ path: From the 10th overall pick in 2020 to bulk-inning starter in 2022 and 2023, followed by a successful pure reliever run last season — and now back to starter in 2026. His stuff is still crisp, so this could work, but this path can’t have been chosen by many pitchers in the history of baseball. If Detmers can go back to being a No. 3/No. 4 starter, it will be quite an accomplishment. RHP Grayson Rodriguez’s return after he missed all of the 2025 season is also intriguing.
I don’t think he’s going to break camp with the big league team as Seattle’s Brendan Donovan acquisition and Cole Young’s hot March make infield less of an immediate need, but Emerson will be a factor at some point in 2026.
He has All-Star upside and could be the second-half offensive addition to keep the M’s from having to go back to the trade market. I also like RHP Alex Hoppe as a relief sleeper.
Baumler is a Rule 5 pick with late-inning-level stuff who was made available by the Orioles because he had thrown just 88⅔ innings over four pro seasons, only a handful of which were above A-ball.
He’s showing above-average to plus stuff with his four-seam fastball, slider and curveball while also throwing enough strikes to be a real contributor to this year’s big league club.
NL East
The Braves need some starting pitching depth to show up in the majors (even more so if they don’t sign free agent Lucas Giolito), but luckily the top of their farm system is flush with candidates. Ritchie has looked the best of this group in the spring, though Didier Fuentes isn’t far behind — and Owen Murphy is maybe a year behind those two.
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Meyer is about to turn 27 and has made only 25 big league appearances with a 5.29 career ERA. You likely think that sounds like a soft-tossing filler arm, but Meyer sits above 95 mph and flashes three plus off-speed pitches when he’s right.
LHP Dax Fulton (fastball averages 94 mph and has heavy cut to where it looks more like a right-hander’s version) and RHP Karson Milbrandt (sits over 96 mph, mixing in a power 82-85 mph curveball and 89-91 mph changeup) are candidates for second-half looks with unique arsenals.
Scott is returning from elbow surgery and has looked good this spring, picking right back up where he left off. His fastball, cutter and splitter are above average, as is his command when he’s right — and I’d bet that will be in the big leagues at some point this season.
Jack Wenninger might be next in line behind him, and there are a number of other potential options here, including Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Ronny Mauricio.
Crawford, Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller are top-100 prospects whom I like to various degrees for long-term success, but I’m not totally fully sold on any of them as 2026 breakouts just yet.
Crawford has the best chance for success this year as he contributes in all phases and looks ticketed for the Opening Day lineup. Painter’s fastball quality and Miller’s opportunity uncertainty make me pause.
I’ve been a believer in House’s enormous tools since early in his high school career, though he hasn’t always had the necessary pitch selection for his natural ability to be reflected on the scoresheet.
Abimelec Ortiz and Harry Ford are solid bets to break into the lineup at some point in the first half with medium upside. Luis Perales has strong stuff and could break through with more command.
NL Central
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Wiggins has steadily progressed over the past few years, adding more feel and new pitches to his repertoire, and I have him 50-50 to be a starter or reliever. If he can stick as a starter, there’s frontline upside from his plus raw stuff.
C/1B/DH Moises Ballesteros should be a solid bat in the lineup all season, and RHP Ben Brown could turn the corner with the help of his new sinker.
The Reds have three good candidates for this list in Stewart and highly drafted righties Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder.
Some evaluators believe Stewart can be a star offensively, though I don’t think fans realize this, while Burns making the leap is much more expected. Lowder was expected to become a midrotation type in the big leagues last season, but he was sidelined most of the year.
Milwaukee has a long history of finding value in pitchers of all different types and Harrison could be next, after he was acquired from the Red Sox in the Caleb Durbin deal. His upshot fastball and new, nasty changeup along with his sweeper give him three above-average pitches.
I don’t think Jacob Misiorowski is seen as a breakout candidate considering how he burst onto the scene last season, but I feel like I should name him in case you think so. Logan Henderson and Brandon Sproat are two more young arms the Brewers are optimizing.
As with Misiorowski, even casual fans know about Konnor Griffin by now, so I don’t know that he fits in this conversation.
Jhostynxon Garcia, aka The Password, is another good option, but I’m on Barco here. He has looked like a potential mid-rotation starter since his underclass years in high school and now his stuff looks as crisp as ever with six distinct pitches.
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Wetherholt and OF Joshua Baez are both good options here but Wetherholt has a much better chance at early season big league at-bats, so he’s the pick. He has a wide base of skills, so if any part of his game doesn’t immediately translate, he will still put up a solid WAR figure.
The buzz on St. Louis’ minor league arms at camp is very positive, with Tanner Franklin and Liam Doyle getting the most chatter (and best chance to make a big league appearance this year) but Cade Crossland, Quinn Mathews, and Tink Hence all seemingly on the right track.
NL West
Lawlar and Thomas have long tantalized with their tools and prospect status, but they haven’t quite broken through for extended periods at the big league level just yet. They are hot this spring and slated to start the season as Arizona’s primary center and left fielder, respectively. Both could perform well enough to hold on to a spot in the lineup when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returns, too. IF Tommy Troy doesn’t have a clear path to playing time but is another D-backs hitter who could stand out if a chance emerges.
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Dollander and OF Zac Veen are the two best options here. Dollander’s arm angle is down about 10 degrees from last season and his velo is up in camp, sitting 97-100 mph. All of his breaking stuff is also coming in crispier. His six-pitch mix and starter traits have him primed to take a step forward this year.
Meanwhile, Veen has put on a lot of strength, and his exit velos show it, but it’s unclear exactly what kind of player he’ll be now.
Ryan has looked excellent in the early going in Arizona after not pitching since 2024. He has the components to start but his deep arsenal of plus stuff can work in any role.
RHP Emmet Sheehan was solid for half a season as a big league starter last season, so he has already broken through in my book. I think one of C Dalton Rushing, 2B Hyeseong Kim or SS Alex Freeland will break through on the position-player side, but I feel more strongly about Ryan as a singular entity.
Song is a left-handed hitter with above-average power, solid-average speed, a plus arm and a solid glove; his contact rate and chase rates are both concerns against big league pitching. Reviews have been solid this spring.
I mentioned RHP Bradgley Rodriguez as an option last year and he is again this season as a full-time big leaguer. David Morgan is another reliever who might have another gear and Luis Gutierrez has been arrow-up as a pitching prospect.
I’ll go with Whisenhunt over 1B Bryce Eldridge only because expectations are that Eldridge hits 15-20 homers with a low average, and I think that’s what he’ll do.
Meanwhile, Whisenhunt’s velo is up, helping the quality of his fastball, slider and curveball. If his command can be passable, his plus-plus changeup has always been his best pitch, and now he could fit in any role.
