Fantasy Baseball Prospects Report: Quinn Mathews back in the conversation; Zyhir Hope, Ike Irish go off

Seeing as my last Prospects Report came out three weeks ago, you might think a lot has changed. Well, yes and no.

The draft happened, introducing a bunch of new prospects to the player pool. You'll be hearing more about those in the weeks to come. There was also the All-Star break, during which my midseason top 50 came out. Be sure to brush up on those, if you haven't already.

As far as my Five on the Verge go, however, they're mostly the same. Taking the place of Luis Lara is a pitcher who I have yet to mention this year, but prospect hounds will know him well. We'll begin, though, with a different pitcher -- one who, by this point, has become a fixture here.

FIVE ON THE VERGE

(Here are the prospects most worth stashing in redraft leagues.)

Kade Anderson, SP, Mariners

2026 minors: 8-1, 1.36 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 72 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 108 K

Aside from an inning in the Futures Game during All-Star Weekend, Kade Anderson hasn't pitched since July 3, which you could take as a sign that the Mariners want to save some of his bullets for the stretch run and playoffs. By anointing him as the top prospect to stash in redraft leagues, I'm obviously hoping for such an outcome. He couldn't be doing any better at Double-A, and the Mariners have a history of promoting their best pitching prospects straight from that level, doing so with Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Bryce Miller. The key remains finding an opening for Anderson, but for now, at least, the remarkable durability of the Mariners rotation continues. Would they consider moving Luis Castillo at the deadline? Trades between buyers are rare, but it's not unthinkable.

Charlie Condon, 1B, Rockies

2025 minors: .268 BA (365 AB), 14 HR, .820 OPS, 52 BB, 112 K
2026 minors: .289 BA (315 AB), 20 HR, .976 OPS, 53 BB, 94 K

Charlie Condon has had a chance to cool down again after looking like he might force his way into the majors with a massive June, but it's doubtful that the trend lines are driving the Rockies' decision-making in this case. Like so many of the others in the Five on the Verge, there simply isn't a spot for Condon right now, though there has been a new development on that front. Troy Johnston, who's generally in the lineup against right-handed pitchers, doesn't have a strong data set or the brightest future in the majors at age 29, and he's now batting .213 (13 for 61) with no homers in his past 25 games. Granted, the Rockies could respond to Johnston's struggles by giving more at-bats to Willie Castro or Tyler Freeman, but if they were looking for an excuse to call Condon up, they have one now.

Joshua Baez, OF, Cardinals

2025 minors: .287 BA (418 AB), 20 HR, 54 SB, .884 OPS, 59 BB, 103 K
2026 minors: .244 BA (344 AB), 29 HR, 15 SB, .879 OPS, 30 BB, 115 K

For now, I'm keeping Joshua Baez third on this list. His potential for impact is high, and he has a clearer path than some of those below him here. But you should know that his production has taken an ugly turn since we last spoke. His strikeout rate is climbing again, and he's batting .114 (8 for 70) over his past 18 games. According to STL Sports Central, he ranks in the bottom 10 percent of minor leaguers in strikeout rate, whiff rate, chase rate and zone-contact rate, and I keep going back to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom's last reported comments about him.

"Big league pitchers are the best in the world at exploiting weaknesses," Bloom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in late June. "There's always an adjustment period regardless, but it's on us to help our players build the right foundation for success at the highest level. [Baez has] the ceiling of an impact player and not just a one-dimensional guy, and we want to make sure he's prepared to do that."

It's hard to say he looks prepared to do that right now, so I'm guessing the Cardinals stick with Nathan Church at least until Baez heats up again.

Zac Veen, OF, Rockies

2025 minors: .289 BA (377 AB), 11 HR, 15 SB, .823 OPS, 39 BB, 86 K
2026 minors: .311 BA (325 AB), 16 HR, 15 SB, .960 OPS, 41 BB, 79 K

Zac Veen's path to the majors is nearly identical to Charlie Condon's, so Troy Johnston's recent struggles could make all the difference to him, too. In fact, he may get preferential treatment to Condon since he's already on the 40-man roster. I'm not as confident he'll be an impact player in the majors, given how tumultuous his professional career has been so far, but he really seems to have recommitted himself to baseball this year, overcoming some of the past maturity issues that he highlighted this spring. The Rockies have had several development success stories this year, and the revival of Veen would be among the biggest.

Quinn Mathews, SP, Cardinals

2025 minors: 4-7, 3.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 99 IP, 74 BB, 115 K
2026 minors: 4-3, 3.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 85 IP, 49 BB, 101 K

Quinn Mathews was arguably the biggest riser among pitching prospects in 2024, striking out 202 batters in 143 1/3 innings between four levels of play, but his control backed up in a major way last year, causing him to plummet down rank lists again. He's making a second stand this year, though. While not nearly as dominant as in 2024, he's brought his strikeout rate back down to a respectable level, at least in more recent turns. His last eight have seen him put together a 1.79 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 9.7 K/9, going six-plus innings in five of them.

Neither his swinging-strike rate nor strike percentage has been particularly impressive during that stretch, but given how good Mathews is at inducing weak contact on the ground, you see what dropping his walk rate to a passable 3.2 per nine innings can do. If the Cardinals ever lose a starting pitcher to injury or reach the end of their patience with Matthew Liberatore, Mathews could be the next up.

FIVE ON THE PERIPHERY

(Here are some other prospects doing something of note.)

Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers

2025 minors: .266 BA (458 AB), 13 HR, 27 SB, .804 OPS, 79 BB, 143 K
2026 minors: .291 BA (337 AB), 21 HR, 17 SB, .907 OPS, 44 BB, 97 K

The hot thing two years ago, Zyhir Hope has slipped behind Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota and Eduardo Quintero in the hierarchy of Dodgers outfield prospects, at least according to most publications. Lately, though, he's been restating his case in a particularly loud way, batting .418 (23 for 55) with eight homers and five steals in his past 14 games. Full exit velocity data isn't available for public consumption yet because he hasn't advanced to Triple-A, but reports put him near the top of the scales, as evidenced by this 114 mph home run:

The Dodgers don't have an outfield opening right now, and should one arise, they could plausibly turn to De Paula or Sirota instead (Quintero is a little further behind), but Hope's surge could elevate him to the top of the pecking order.

James Triantos, 2B, Cubs

2025 minors: .259 BA (440 AB), 7 HR, 31 SB, .685 OPS, 33 BB, 72 K
2026 minors: .309 BA (346 AB), 7 HR, 18 SB, .793 OPS, 20 BB, 44 K

James Triantos was a prospect of some renown in the lower minors, but with his power failing to materialize as he worked his way up the ladder, he became something of an afterthought for Dynasty purposes. He's making one last pitch, though, as he stands at the precipice of the majors, demonstrating that his hit tool alone may be enough to carry him. In 39 games since the start of June, he's batting .349 (53 for 137) with three homers, 14 doubles and five steals. His exit velocities are actually closer to the middle of the pack than the bottom of the barrel, making his lack of power not a complete certainty, but his swing is built more for batting average, being defined by its line-drive rate and all-fields tendency. His best case is something like Nico Hoerner, but seeing as the Cubs already have a Nico Hoerner (not to mention a Pedro Ramirez, who's deserving of more at-bats), Triantos may serve them best as a trade chip.

Ike Irish, C, Orioles

2025 minors: .230 BA (74 AB), 1 HR, 3 SB, .593 OPS, 6 BB, 19 K
2026 minors: .281 BA (285 AB), 16 HR, 19 SB, .906 OPS, 42 BB, 74 K

I'm listing Ike Irish as a catcher here because that's how he's identified in CBS leagues, but it seems like the Orioles have already given up on that idea, having him split his time between first base and the outfield this year. It's probably for the best since they already have two potential franchise catchers in Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo.

It also shows that they drafted Irish 19th overall last year because they like his bat that much, and he's begun to live up to those high expectations at High-A in recent weeks, batting .328 (43 for 131) with 10 homers and eight steals in his past 32 games. An improved pull-air rate has helped fuel the breakthrough, and he also shows excellent strike zone judgment.

Kendry Chourio, SP, Royals

2025 minors: 2-3, 3.51 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 51 1/3 IP, 5 BB, 63 K
2026 minors: 6-1, 2.11 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 72 2/3 IP, 14 BB, 75 K

Normally, an A-ball pitcher with barely a strikeout per inning wouldn't be in strong consideration for a spot in my midseason top 50, but Kendry Chourio ultimately came in 49th for two reasons. The first is that he's an 18-year-old who's already in High-A, putting him so far ahead of the curve developmentally that merely holding his own is impressive. The second is that his control is at the top of the scales. He's sitting at less than two walks per nine innings for a second straight year. The lack of strikeouts is in part a byproduct of his efficiency in that facing fewer batters gives him fewer chances at a strikeout. As you can see, though, the stuff is there for him to be a big bat-misser:

That was Chourio's latest start for High-A, in which he struck out 10 (while allowing no hits). He had another 10-strikeout effort four outings earlier, so already, we may be seeing the strikeouts trend up.

Sammy Stafura, SS, Pirates

2025 minors: .238 BA (432 AB), 6 HR, 32 SB, .738 OPS, 74 BB, 129 K
2026 minors: .286 BA (196 AB), 16 HR, 19 SB, .961 OPS, 28 BB, 72 K

Acquired from the Reds in the Ke'Bryan Hayes deal last season, Sammy Stafura has some significant flaws as a hitter, namely the 31 percent strikeout rate he's put together between two levels of A-ball. But the 21-year-old has put his upside on display over the past few weeks, too, homering 12 times over a span of 16 games. He's batting .417 (30 for 72) during that stretch while cutting his strikeout rate to 26 percent. Having such a high strikeout rate at such a low level is sure to keep him off top-100 lists, but his defense should provide him with ample opportunities to grow into his impressive toolset.