In keeper and dynasty leagues there is a huge benefit to identifying and acquiring excellent pitching talent just before they arrive in the major leagues. Certainly, uncovering an impact pitcher for the upcoming season in the spring could be a major step in winning your league. That's what Mound Musings is all about.

I will say, this list is actually getting much more difficult to maintain. There are still plenty of young arms with high ceilings, but it seems like more and more of the blue-chippers are being called to the majors earlier, a fact that has been greatly accelerated with declining innings pitched by the majority of starters. The end result has been an unprecedented rush to the major leagues, and we are left trying to sift through all those kids in an attempt to add the real impact arms, while avoiding the pretenders.

I am considering pitchers who saw fairly regular MLB innings in 2025 "graduates" even though many are still technically prospects. Let's get started:

Put (Keep) These Guys on Your Watch List …

Jonah Tong (Mets) – Okay he's not Paul Skenes, but he's still a blue-chip prospect. And these first few prospects are difficult to separate. Tong is just 22-years-old but he has breezed through the system from Rookie ball to the Mets in less than two seasons. In four outings, his major league numbers are nothing special (5.94 ERA and 1.44 WHIP), but if you've seen him (or seen him in the minors) you know it's there and close to jumping out at hitters. He is all about a fastball that sits mid-upper 90s with a lot of movement. He has a couple of off-speed breaking pitches that make the fastball seem even zippier. Not surprisingly, it's all about command. When he's throwing strikes and getting ahead in counts, his strikeout rate soars.

Thomas White (Marlins) – White also is only 22-years-old, and he has already looked at home at the Double-A level. With just a couple starts at Triple-A Jacksonville we'll see how it goes. He gets the nod here as one of the better prospects on my list even though I haven't seen him as much as some of the others here. I'm stuck on the southpaw's slider, one of the best I've ever seen. The Miami organization typically develops quality young pitching when they get the talent, and this guy looks like a blue-chipper. His numbers at Double-A Pensacola were good and they actually improved a bit as he settled in. I do think he needs to hone his command a bit. He's got a power arm featuring that wipe-out slider, while his secondary stuff (fastball and change) show promise. I'm guessing he starts in Triple-A again next spring, but as rapidly as he learns, he could see Miami fairly early in 2026.

Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays) – This one was hard to place for me. Yesavage was already on this list, albeit near the bottom of it. Then he was called up by Toronto and has now made two starts at the MLB level with mixed results. The first start against the Rays would probably get him the top spot. He was unhittable with his sky-high release point and nasty splitter. He struck out nine in five innings. Then, in his most recent start against Kansas City, he was pretty pedestrian. He allowed four runs in four innings, walking three and striking out only two. So which one is the real Yesavage? My money is on the dominant version. I saw that outing and he was really that good.

Andrew Painter (Phillies) – Let's add one to the list of walking wounded. To be honest, in today's game, if you have any pitching upside at all, and your throwing arm is still more or less attached, you have probably graduated. Painter has been a promising young pitcher since the Phillies took him out of high school in the 2021 draft. Let's see, high school kid, big arm, how long before the arm gives out? The Phillies were hoping he could see Philadelphia fairly soon, but instead he underwent Tommy John surgery, and he missed all of 2023 and 2024. A tall, skinny kid, Painter is extremely rare for his age – he throws a four-pitch mix for strikes. In his brief time at Double-A Reading in 2022, he struck out 37 in 28 innings while walking just two. He has logged 100-plus innings in 2025. Not surprisingly, with all the time off, results have been just so-so.

Jarlin Susana (Nationals) – Susana came to the Nationals as part of the compensation in the Juan Soto deal with San Diego. This guy brings it – 98 to 100 mph all day and touching 103 mph when he asks for more. His projections have bounced between starting and relieving, but the pendulum is on the starting side right now. That fastball is a good start, but his slider is his-go to pitch, allowing him to pile up strikeouts. His third pitch, a change-up is passable, and probably needs improvement if he's going to stick in Washington's rotation. The 2026 season probably predicts his future role.

Ricky Tiedemann (Blue Jays) – Regular readers know I am certainly not one to give up on exceptional raw talent because of a few setbacks. And, Tiedemann fits that bill. He has arguably some of the best raw stuff of anyone on the list. His arm is what team's dream of, and the Jays had him ticketed on the express before injuries set in. As a 19-year-old, he began 2022 at Low-A, moved to High-A Dunedin, then stopped off at Double-A New Hampshire, before missing some time. He spent 2023 between Single-A, Double-A and the injured list, logging just 42 innings because of a shoulder injury. He fairly easily sits mid-90s with his fastball, but his calling card is an MLB-ready (and that could be quite an understatement) change-up. It's spectacular. He still needs to fine tune his command, and he needs to prove he can stay healthy, but he has dominating starter upside. Eventually he'll be in Toronto, but Tommy John surgery makes that 2026.

Travis Sykora (Nationals) – A fairly recent addition to this list, Sykora was drafted out of high school. He spent his 20-year-old season (2024) at Single-A Fredericksburg, and he certainly wasn't out of place.  He tossed 85 innings, but the Nationals were being cautious with their prized young hurler, as he pitched past the fifth inning in just one start. It should be noted, even though he was working with an innings cap, he still recorded double-digit strikeouts in three different starts. He's a big kid at 6'6" so he looks quite imposing, and his trademark combo of an upper 90s fastball and a nasty splitter thrown with exceptional extension make him difficult to pick up. He looked ready to step forward, but a UCL injury knocked him out for half of this year and probably all of 2026.

Liam Doyle (Cardinals) –The Cardinals took Doyle with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2025 draft.  A solid southpaw, he pitched for three different colleges in three seasons. That is certainly interesting. He then made his professional debut at Single-A Palm Beach but was only there briefly before being bumped up to Double-A Springfield. So his pro career at this point is two outings at two different levels totaling less than four innings. Still we get to see the trademark fastball with unbelievable movement that he throws with a very deceptive motion. He'll need more variety unless they decide to leave him in the bullpen, but I think they are looking for more. 

As you can imagine, there are quite a few other top prospects who didn't appear in the majors this season or pitched very few innings. Here are just a few other honorable mentions who received consideration (in no special order) for inclusion in the 2026 Parade: Rhett Lowder (Reds), Noah Schultz (White Sox), Sam Aldegheri (Angels), Gage Jump (A's), Mick Abel (Twins), Troy Melton (Tigers), Yoniel Curet (Rays), Payton Tolle (Red Sox), Moises Chace (Phillies), Cooper Hjerpe (Cardinals).

Well, that's a wrap. As always, remember, this year even more than ever before, the Parade is pretty much a living thing, constantly evolving and changing. I want to thank all of my regular readers, and contributors, for participating in the interactive comments and questions section! That is the best part of it for me. This marks the conclusion of my 14th season as a weekly columnist for Rotowire, and I'm already looking forward to pitchers and catchers reporting to camp for Spring Training 2026.

Be well my friends!

Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!