Sal Stewart, 1B, Reds: Stewart broke out in 2025 in a big way, slugging his way to the big leagues and hitting five home runs over 18 games with the Reds. As such, he enters 2026 as Cincinnati's top prospect and BA's No. 23 prospect overall.

On Wednesday, Stewart got back to his slugging ways with a home run in the second inning of the Reds' Cactus League game against the White Sox. Stewart is considered the favorite to begin the season as the Reds' big league first baseman, but he has already seen some starts at second base early this spring, too.

Even with some struggles defensively, Stewart's bat is good enough that the Reds will need to make room for him somewhere.

River Ryan, RHP, Dodgers: After a promising debut for the Dodgers in 2024, righthander River Ryan had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2025. He returned to the mound on Wednesday, tossing a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout. Ryan was up to 98 mph on his fastball and also showed a low-90s slider.

It will likely take some time for Ryan to ramp back up his innings, but the idea that the Dodgers' No. 13 prospect could be a viable starter in the majors is once again in play.

Carson Benge, OF, Mets: The Mets’ top positional prospect received the start in right field Wednesday. Hitting in the leadoff spot, Benge went 3-for-3 with a trio of singles. He had gone 0-for-5 in his previous two games heading into Wednesday’s tilt against the Cardinals.

Benge ranks No. 2 in the Mets' system to begin 2026 and has a nice blend of skills in a plus hit tool, above-average power and strong defensive ability. Benge should debut for the Mets in 2026.

Anthony Huezo, OF, Astros: The 2025 season was a breakout campaign for the Astros' Anthony Huezo, as he hit .262/.371/.458 with eight home runs over 67 games. On Wednesday, he got his first at-bats in a major league game (albeit in spring training) and delivered a home run.

The homer was hardly one of Huezo’s louder shots, as he took a ball 364 feet to left center field. However, when he's on, Huezo shows plus-plus raw power with the ability to get to it. The 2026 season will be a big one for boosting Huezo’s stock.

Jake Bennett, LHP, Red Sox: Boston aggressively targeted Bennett in trade this offseason, sending promising 22-year-old Luis Perales to the Nationals to get him. In his first official appearance with the organization, Bennett touched 97.6 mph, topping his 2025 high of 95.6. He pitched 1.1 innings on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and a strikeout.

Bennett has breakout potential in 2026 with added velocity and outlier release traits on his fastball.

Editor’s Picks

MLB Breakthrough For Robinson Ortiz?: After toiling in the Dodgers’ system and coming back from injury, Mariners lefthander Robinson Ortiz could play a role in Seattle’s bullpen this season. Read more…

White Sox Deep Dive: Our latest farm system podcast features BA White Sox correspondent Bill Mitchell joining J.J Cooper to go in-depth on Chicago’s prospects. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Padres: Ranked as San Diego’s No. 2 prospect entering 2026, Schoolcraft’s immense upside as one of the few top prospects Padres GM A.J. Preller hasn’t dealt away in a trade.

Not only does Schoolcraft, who is 6-foot-8, look every bit the part of a starter, but he has front-of-the-rotation upside. Check out his latest intrasquad appearance below:

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Jesús Made went 2-for-2 and drove in a run against the Giants on Wednesday, including a triple off the right field wall.

• Diamondbacks 2022 second-rounder Druw Jones collected a of hits—his first of the spring—and stole a base after getting the start in right field against the Dodgers.

• T.J. Rumfield, who snuck into the Yankees’ Top 30 after coming over in a trade from the Angels in January, smashed a pair of homers on Wednesday.

• Ambidextrous pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje made his spring debut for the Cardinals, striking out two in two scoreless innings while pitching righthanded.

• The Met’s Jonah Tong let up a three-run homer against the Cardinals on Wednesday, but looked sharp over his first two frames as he worked a new low-90s cutter into his pitch mix.

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