Most Exciting Prospects for 2026: NL West

Josue De Paula’s ascent through the Dodgers’ system has been every bit as electric as scouts anticipated when he signed out of the Dominican Republic. Entering 2026, De Paula is on the cusp of being one of the most dynamic young outfielders in baseball.

His advanced approach and elite bat-to-ball skills have consistently translated against older competition — highlighted by a sub-17% strikeout rate at Double-A as a 20-year-old. De Paula’s offensive foundation is built around elite zone control and a picturesque left-handed swing that produces effortless contact to all fields.

What’s unlocked his ceiling, however, is a more intentional approach to lifting the baseball. After previously hitting the ball on a flatter plane, De Paula began to elevate more in 2025, allowing his plus raw power to translate more consistently into game production.

The results followed: A .520 slugging percentage and 22 home runs last season cemented his status as a future middle-of-the-order force.

His offensive development is complemented by impressive instincts and athleticism on the bases. De Paula went 32-for-40 in stolen base attempts, showcasing not just speed but an advanced feel for reading pitchers and creating value in multiple ways.

With improving reads in the corner outfield and a rapidly expanding offensive profile, De Paula projects as a potential five-tool contributor and a centerpiece of the Dodgers’ next era.

Kash Mayfield, LHP — San Diego Padres

Kash Mayfield might be the best pitching prospect you don’t know yet — but you will soon. The 2023 first-rounder vaulted himself into top-50 prospect conversations after dominating across High-A and Double-A in 2025, striking out 31% of hitters with an ERA under 3.00.

Mayfield attacks hitters with a lively mid-90s fastball that plays up thanks to elite riding life and a flat vertical approach angle, but it’s his devastating slider — a mid-80s sweeper with late two-plane tilt — that makes him lethal against both righties and lefties.

What sets Mayfield apart is his unique delivery and advanced feel for sequencing. He works from a slight cross-fire release that adds deception and angle to his arsenal, making the fastball appear even harder than the radar gun suggests.

While many young lefties lean exclusively on breaking balls to neutralize opposite-handed hitters, Mayfield’s feel for attacking right-handed bats with a fading changeup gives him a more complete repertoire and significantly raises his mid-rotation upside.

The most exciting part? He’s still just scratching the surface. Mayfield won’t turn 21 until just before the 2026 season, leaving significant room for added strength and potentially more velocity as his body matures.

With polish well beyond his years and a projection arrow pointing up, Mayfield profiles as a future rotation mainstay — one who could impact San Diego’s big-league staff sooner rather than later.

Ryan Waldschmidt, OF — Arizona Diamondbacks

Few players in the minors did more to raise their stock in 2025 than Ryan Waldschmidt, whom Arizona selected 31st overall in the 2023 draft as a Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) pick.

Waldschmidt blends twitchy athleticism with an all-fields offensive approach that makes him one of the most exciting developmental stories in the system. He’s an on-base machine — with a career OBP north of .400 — thanks to elite swing decisions and a compact right-handed stroke that covers the entire plate.

Waldschmidt’s advanced approach isn’t just aesthetically pleasing — it’s producing real results. He posted a 145 wRC+ over 66 games in Double-A, a testament to how polished his offensive profile already is. That level of refinement at the plate should allow him to move quickly through the upper minors, with many evaluators projecting a potential big-league debut as early as 2026.

Further removed from an ACL injury that once limited his explosiveness, Waldschmidt has added speed as a legitimate weapon — swiping 29 bases in 2025 — while maintaining a swing geared for damage. His sub-40% ground ball rate enables him to fully tap into his natural slug, driving the ball in the air with authority and maximizing the impact of his quality of contact.

With a chance to affect the game in every facet, Waldschmidt profiles as a dynamic top-of-the-order catalyst in the making.

Bo Davidson, OF — San Francisco Giants

Since he debuted in 2025, I decided not to include Bryce Eldridge for this exercise.

A true late bloomer, Bo Davidson went undrafted in 2023 and has since turned himself into one of the Giants’ more intriguing upper-minors bats. The big 2025 step forward was driven by elevation: he trimmed his ground-ball rate from 48.4% to 40.1%, unlocking more pull-side lift and extra-base impact without sacrificing his strike-zone control.

Across High-A and Double-A in 2025, Davidson logged 114 games / 522 PA with an across-the-board line of .281/.376/.468 and 18 HR, good for a 137 wRC+, plus 19 SB. The approach held up (13.0% BB, 22.8% K), and the damage showed up early at High-A (.309/.412/.507, 152 wRC+). After a midseason bump to Double-A, he remained above league average (.234/.312/.401, 110 wRC+) while adjusting to better sequencing and secondaries.

The profile is that of a disciplined, air-ball oriented power/speed corner bat whose improved batted-ball shape lets him squeeze maximum slug from his contact quality. If the elevation gains stick and the K rate stays in the low-20s, Davidson has a clear path to Triple-A early in 2026 and could force a big-league look later that year.

Charlie Condon, OF/3B — Colorado Rockies

Charlie Condon’s transition to pro ball wasn’t without its learning curve. After a slow start to his first full season, he caught fire down the stretch and finished with a 133 wRC+ at Double-A, reaffirming the middle-of-the-order upside that made him a top-five pick.

Condon’s offensive profile is built around consistent pull-side elevation and the type of raw power that can change a lineup — he slugged 14 home runs in 99 games in 2025 and has the bat speed and leverage to project for 30+ homers annually once fully matured.

There’s some risk in the offensive profile: Condon’s contact rates — particularly against breaking and offspeed pitches — remain fringy, and the swing will always come with a degree of whiff. But the offensive environment of Coors Field should help mitigate some of those contact concerns, turning hard contact in the air into extra bases more often.

Condon’s combination of selective aggression, natural lift, and plus pull-side juice gives him the tools to grow into a middle-of-the-order run producer, even if the swing-and-miss remains part of the package.