Fantasy Baseball Today - Top 5 Pitching Prospects for 2026 Redraft Leagues! (12/19 Fantasy Baseball podcast)
Episode Date: December 19, 2025Bubba Chandler is up at the top! Trey Yesavage had a meteoric rise this season. Nolan McLean projects as a high-floor pitcher. Connelly Early throws the kitchen sink at opposing batters. Logan Henders...on has a nasty fastball-changeup combination. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/QiKv Get awesome Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: http://bit.ly/3y8dUqi Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CPTowers @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Which pitching prospects should you target in 2026?
Find out next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express.
Welcome in to FPT Express on Friday, December 19th.
I am, for example, joined by Scott White.
And let's take a look at Impact P pitching prospects for 2026 redraft league.
Scott, and at the top, we have Bubba Chandler of the Pirates,
who had a weird season last year.
He was dominating in the minors.
We all thought he was going to get called up in May June.
it never happened. He started to struggle, eventually got the call, and he finished really strong.
We're hoping what we saw towards the end of the season, he carries that over into 2026.
Yeah, I mean, it restored my confidence in him, put him back atop the list of pitcher prospects here, obviously.
We all expected he would come up in May, including Chandler himself.
And he spoke to this, I think even before he got called up, how he grew frustrated.
because through his first 11 starts at AAA,
but Chandler had a 203 ERA, 12.8K per 9,
like he was going exactly according to plan.
And the pirates, I feel like it became this vicious cycle
where the pirates delayed it a little longer
and delayed it a little longer.
And Chandler grew more and more frustrated
and eventually he struggled to the point
where they couldn't call him up at that point
because he just wasn't going well,
was especially struggling with control.
And that's part of what makes his time in the major so encouraging
is that turned out a dime in terms of the control.
Just four walks and 31 in a third innings.
The stuff is the best in the minors.
So I think if he can continue with the control he showed
after being called up, Chandler makes sense
is the number one pitching prospect still.
Yeah, those final three starts for Bob Chandler,
16 and 2 thirds innings, two runs allowed, 19 strikeouts to zero walks. He was insane. Another
pitcher who was insane down the stretch, Trey Yassavage of the Blue Jays, a meteoric rise. Just a
crazy year for Yassavage who started his season in low A, finished it in the World Series
where he struck out 12 against the Dodgers. So obviously he's got the talent is evident
here. There are some questions about the control, but it sounds like the gloves are off.
There are no limitations for next season. It's just, if we could keep those walks down,
I think we can get a huge season out of Yassavage. Yeah, I've actually been surprised how
how reasonable the cost for has been for Yassavage in early drafts on NFBC, given the amount
of headlines he grabbed, given the national spotlight he had.
And given the name value, he accumulated as a result, his major league debut in September dominant nine strikeouts.
You mentioned that start against the Dodgers, but that probably wasn't even his best postseason start.
His postseason debut against the Yankees, five and a third no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts.
So he said, Yesavich had these absolute bangers after having nearly 15K per nine during his climb up the minor league ladder.
So tons of upside here with that over-the-top delivery, the splitter that fits it perfectly.
Now, it's worth noting that there were the bangers and then in between the bangers,
there were some struggles at times for you, Savage.
You mentioned the control problems.
But we just talked about control concerns for Bubba Chandler and the next guy on the list.
There's some control concerns there, too.
So I don't think Yosavage is unique in that regard, particularly for this stage of development.
you got to love the strikeout upside.
He's already showing against the toughest competition in the world.
All right, let's take a quick break.
We'll be back right after this.
Welcome back in FBT Express looking at pitching prospects for 2026.
And next up, we have Nolan McLean of the Mets, who was great down the stretch as well.
He's got a diverse pitch mix, incredible stuff, big spin, lots of ground balls as well.
Also some questions with the control here, Scott.
but lots of enthusiasm for McLean.
In fact, early ADP, he's going 40 to 50 picks ahead of both Yassavich and Hama Chandler.
Yeah, so McLean is getting the bump that I expected Yassavage to get, honestly.
And I value them about equally.
I understand I put Yassavage one spot ahead here.
But it's pretty much equal.
I think McLean has a little more, it's a little more of a pitch to context.
profile. I understand the strikeout rate over 10 per 9 in both the majors and minors last year.
But that time in the majors, the actual swinging strike rate was less than 11%, which usually
doesn't lend itself to such a big strikeout rate. Good ground ball skills and generally those
guys are going to shy away from strikeouts a little more. So I don't think it's as fantasy friendly
of a profile as you Savage or Bubba Chandler. But obviously he looked ready for this,
opportunity, clearly, down the stretch last year, an impressive eight-star stint for McLean.
And I like that he has a six-pitch arsenal. It gives him ample room to fine-tune his approach
where somebody like Yesavage, for instance, it's really dependent on that splitter.
Next up is another pitcher who finished strong, and that is Connolly Early of the Red Sox,
who also has a diverse pitch mix.
He also gets ground balls.
Performed really well in the minors last year.
There are some questions whether or not he'll be in the Red Sox rotation to start the year,
but they've been linked to a bunch of trades.
Perhaps he winds up on another team.
He will pitch at some point next season.
And I think, Scott, there is a lot to like here about Connolly Early.
Yeah, the proof is in the pudding, 233 ERA with a great strikeout rate.
for a guy who on conventional prospect list,
he's not going to show up that high,
conally early,
because I think by traditional evaluation standards,
he doesn't really pop.
He doesn't have that carrying pitch that evaluators look for,
but he does have six pitches and he throws strikes.
And we've seen already, like, proof of concept, this works.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
So I am thinking this is one that traditional evaluation standards just missed.
They just missed on Connolly Early because performance was good in the minors.
It was good in the majors.
I'm ready to say he's a real one.
He's going to matter for us in fantasy.
Last name we're going to talk about here is Logan Henderson of the Brewers,
who has a wicked fastball change-up combination.
He's dealt with a lot of injuries, so there is some downside.
currently on the outside looking in.
I think it's a foregone conclusion.
The Brewers are going to trade Freddie Prolza this offseason.
So there will be ways for Logan Henderson to get in this rotation.
It's just whether or not he can actually stay on the mountain next season.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, it's, so he was obviously great in the starts he made for the Brewers.
But the Brewers didn't seem to be fully bought in, did they?
They repeatedly sent him back to AAA.
And at AAA, he was more good than great.
Had a 359ERA right there did Logan Henderson.
It's sort of like Connolly Early where the actual arsenal isn't the sort that makes prospect evaluators, hearts go pitter pat.
There's a great fastball change up pairing there that the shapes counter each other well.
And hopefully that's enough to sustain Logan Henderson.
But it leaves little margin for error.
particularly since the velocities are modest.
And so it's hard to give him the ranking that maybe his initial showing in the majors last year,
maybe you feel like it deserves.
But that's why.
And it could work out great.
I'd still have him as a top 30 pitching prospect.
He's going to be in my top 100 prospects overall.
But if you're wondering why Logan Henderson isn't higher, that's the reason why.
All right, Scott, this is the last time we're going to see you for a while here.
So Merry Christmas, happy new year to you for more extensive fantasy baseball coverage.
Listen to our full-lane podcast, Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found.
Thanks for listening to Fantasy Baseball Today Express.
And we will be back again next week.
Bye-bye.