Chris Klieman’s unusual rise from the FCS to Power 5 success
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor still has most of the emails, the ones essentially accusing him of hiring “his drinking buddy” when he named Chris Klieman the Wildcats’ head football coach on Dec. 10, 2018.
Taylor and Klieman had worked together at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, which wins national championships at the rate most people pay taxes.
All Klieman did in his five seasons as North Dakota State’s head coach was win four FCS national titles. But that was hardly the narrative when he made the rare jump from the FCS ranks to being a Power 5 head coach.
It was more, “What the hell are you doing?” Taylor recalls with a laugh.
After all, not only did Klieman arrive in Manhattan, Kansas, with no FBS experience as a full-time assistant or head coach, but he was replacing a legend in Bill Snyder.
“It only takes one guy to believe in you and say, ‘He can get it done,’ whether you’re at North Dakota State, Kansas State or anywhere else,” Klieman said of Taylor, who had been hired a year and a half earlier as K-State’s AD. “Gene was that guy, and he was not worried about winning the press conference. So many people feel like they have to win the press conference. I guess that’s still a thing, and I don’t think I won the press conference. In fact, I know I didn’t win the press conference.”
But in his fourth season, Klieman did win the Big 12 championship, only the fourth conference title won by the Wildcats going back to 1934, when Pappy Waldorf and Kansas State won the Big 6 title.
“I know there were doubts, but I never doubted that our success at North Dakota State could translate to success at the Power 5 level,” said Klieman, whose Wildcats (10-3) will take on Alabama (10-2) in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve learned a ton. It’s just been nuts for the last four years, but there was tremendous validation with the win over TCU and that what we are doing here is the right thing and that we’ve been doing it the right way.”
There were growing pains, particularly in 2020 during the pandemic. Klieman had to learn to delegate more with a larger support staff and analysts. He shifted his recruiting philosophy in terms of the way he evaluated prospects and making sure he was signing players who could match up with Oklahoma and Texas. Even his players’ diets were different as they ate at a performance-based training table as opposed to eating at the regular cafeteria with other students, as they did at North Dakota State.
“We made some adjustments,” Klieman said. “Shoot, we changed our defense. We changed our offense. But in the same respect, I’ll say what I’ve always said. Football is football, in my mind.”
And perhaps other Power 5 athletic directors will take notice. Good coaches are good coaches regardless of the level of football.
“I sure hope what we did this year opens the door for [current North Dakota State coach] Matt Entz and a lot of FCS coaches out there,” said Klieman, whose career coaching record is 102-32, including his first head job at Division III Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, in 2005.
This hiring cycle, two FCS coaches made the jump to Power 5 — Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor to Stanford and Jackson State’s Deion Sanders to Colorado.
At some point, Entz is likely to show up on somebody’s radar. He succeeded Klieman and has won two national titles; he has a chance for a third Jan. 8 when he leads the Bison against South Dakota State in the FCS championship game.
There are other worthy FCS coaches: Holy Cross’ Bob Chesney, Florida A&M’s Willie Simmons, Princeton’s Bob Surace, Samford’s Chris Hatcher, Montana State’s Brent Vigen and Idaho’s Jason Eck, to name a few. South Dakota State’s John Stiegelmeier probably should have gotten a shot a long time ago.
Klieman, 55, is especially unusual in that he got a Power 5 head-coaching job after spending virtually his entire career in the FCS or Division III ranks (with the lone exception being the 1997 season, when he was a Kansas graduate assistant). Even Jim Tressel, one of the most notable examples of a coach making the FCS-to-FBS move, was a longtime assistant at Ohio State before going to Youngstown State as head coach and then returning to Ohio State as head coach. Tressel, now the Youngstown State president, won national championships at both schools.
Jim Harbaugh went from the University of San Diego to Stanford in 2007. And before Tressel moved from Youngstown State to Ohio State in 2001, Hal Mumme went from Division II Valdosta State to Kentucky in 1999, and Frank Beamer from Murray State to Virginia Tech in 1987. There were a few others along the way, including Sparky Woods going from Appalachian State to South Carolina in 1989, Bobby Johnson from Furman to Vanderbilt in 2002, Paul Wulff from Eastern Washington to Washington State in 2008, and Mike London from Richmond to Virginia in 2010.
But spanning the past 35 years, the group of head coaches going straight from the FCS to a Power 5 school is quite small.
Even now, Klieman isn’t sure he would have gotten a shot at Kansas State had it not been for Taylor’s firsthand knowledge of his coaching abilities. The fact that Taylor had been at the FCS level as an athletic director before moving to Iowa as deputy AD and then to K-State also helped. Some athletic directors who have never worked at a lower level might be less likely to take a chance on a coach from a lower level.
“I’m fortunate and blessed because I had a guy that knew me. He saw me do this,” Klieman said. “It’s still about relationships with kids. It’s still about believing in kids. It’s still about motivating guys. It’s all of that wherever you’re coaching, and I think Gene said, ‘I want Chris in front of these kids because I think he and his staff can get the most out of them.'”
Never was that more apparent than this season. Kansas State suffered an early-season loss to Tulane at home and dropped a pair of close conference games to TCU and Texas. Needing to win out to make the Big 12 championship game, the Wildcats won their last three regular-season games, then beat TCU 31-28 in overtime to win the Big 12 title.
“The guys played their tails off and kept rising up when people doubted them,” Klieman said. “It was a fun season, and finishing it off with the Big 12 championship was huge. I’m glad TCU still got a chance to play in the playoff because I thought they were damn good.”
Taylor jokes that the Wildcats’ reward is getting to play Alabama at full strength with quarterback Bryce Young and outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr., two of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL draft who decided to play in the Sugar Bowl.
“And going up against a pissed-off Nick Saban because they didn’t make the playoff,” Taylor said laughing. “But our players want to play against the best, and that’s the way it should be. It’s the culture Chris has created and one that’s only going to grow.”
All Klieman knows is a winning culture. He took over for Craig Bohl at North Dakota State when Bohl left for Wyoming on the heels of an unbeaten season and the Bison’s third straight FCS national title.
Taylor remembers meeting in his basement with Klieman after the quarterfinal win that season until 3 o’clock in the morning to discuss the head-coaching position. Bohl had already announced that he was leaving.
Klieman’s presentation during the meeting was thorough and detailed, and he walked Taylor through the whole thing. The Bison were losing 25 seniors the following season, and Klieman asked what the expectations would be in Year 1. Taylor said his expectation was for Klieman to get North Dakota State back into the playoffs and make as deep a run as possible.
But there was a caveat.
“That’s my expectation. Now, the expectation here by the fans is that you get in the playoffs and win the whole thing,” Taylor told Klieman during that meeting. “That might not be fair, but that’s what is expected of you from the fan base.”
Klieman never flinched.
“He goes out his first year and wins a national championship,” Taylor said. “That’s who he is.”
And the only season Klieman didn’t claim the crown at North Dakota State, in 2016, the Bison beat No. 13 Iowa on the road and lost in the FCS semifinals to eventual national champion James Madison.
“It was miserable that whole offseason,” Klieman joked. “So even stepping up a level when I got to Kansas State, I knew all about pressure and knew I could do the job.”
Although he wasn’t part of the Power 5 coaching fraternity when he arrived at Kansas State, Klieman had been to several schools to speak at clinics, including Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame. He said Dabo Swinney was especially supportive.
“We stayed in touch, and he was a huge help, just bouncing things off him,” Klieman said. “He’d text me after we won the national championship, and I’d text him when they won.”
One of the first people Klieman saw in Las Vegas earlier this month at the National Football Foundation awards dinner was Swinney.
“He gave me the biggest hug and told me how proud he was,” Klieman said. “He knew all about the journey I’d been on and what I had gone through to get where I am. It was neat to share that moment with him. He was genuinely happy for me, and I appreciate what all he’s done for me along my path.”
It’s a path Klieman hopes more of his FCS brethren get the opportunity to follow.
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Kiley McDaniel
As we head toward the home stretch of the 2025 season, it’s time for my annual ranking of the core talent of all 30 MLB teams. This judges teams based on which players they have under contract through the next two full seasons — and you’ll find many clubs at the top of this list are in the thick of the playoff races over the final month.
For this exercise, salaries don’t matter and age isn’t a factor — but I’ll round up on projecting young players (and down on older players) because I’m projecting/ranking teams for a two-plus-year period. Very few players in either level of A-Ball are listed because they likely will contribute only at the end of 2027, if at all, even if they’re a top prospect.
To make it easier to see which team has more talent, I split players into three tiers: elite (5ish WAR talent, or perennial All-Stars with MVP chances), plus (3-5ish WAR types) and solid (1.5-3ish WAR, or lower-end starters and valuable role players). I included players who have easy-to-hit vesting options or club/player options that are likely to be picked up, but left out players with likely-to-be-exercised opt-outs. There’s some subjectivity in this area; star players who don’t qualify are called out below.
Players are listed in general order of my preference within each tier, so you can argue for a player who’s on the top/bottom of a tier to move up or down or flip two players who are back-to-back in the same tier. And the overall ranking isn’t coming from an algorithm that judges the teams or their players in each tier — I’m still comparing each list one by one. It’s often hard to compare the next 2½ years of value of a prospect in Double-A versus a proven veteran having a down season.
Jump to a team:
AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX
NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF
2024 rank: 1
2023 rank: 2
2022 rank: 3
Elite: Shohei Ohtani/DH+RHP
Plus: Will Smith/C, Yoshinobu Yamamoto/RHS, Freddie Freeman/1B, Mookie Betts/SS, Andy Pages/CF, Blake Snell/LHS, Tyler Glasnow/RHS
Solid: Tommy Edman/2B, Emmet Sheehan/RHS, Teoscar Hernandez/RF, Hyeseong Kim/2B, Tanner Scott/LHR, Brock Stewart/RHR, Justin Wrobleski/LHR, Dalton Rushing/C, Alex Freeland/SS, Roki Sasaki/RHS, Edgardo Henriquez/RHR, Josue De Paula/LF, Jack Dreyer/LHR, Zyhir Hope/RF, Mike Sirota/CF, Jackson Ferris/LHS, River Ryan/RHS, James Tibbs/RF
The Dodgers stay at the top, but some cracks have been forming since last year’s ranking. Betts and Freeman moved down a tier, Max Muncy fell off the list because he is under team control through next season, Bobby Miller and Roki Sasaki are among the young players who took a step backward, and several core players are in their 30s.
But the Dodgers still have the best mix of high-end hitting and pitching talent in the big leagues, with the biggest contributors under team control for at least a few more years, and they have the second-best farm system in baseball. They’re very likely to be in this area of the list next year.
2024 rank: 4
2023 rank: 3
2022 rank: 10
Elite: Cal Raleigh/C, Julio Rodriguez/CF
Plus: Logan Gilbert/RHS, George Kirby/RHS, Bryan Woo/RHS, Andres Munoz/RHR
Solid: Colt Emerson/SS, Kade Anderson/LHS, Luis Castillo/RHS, Gabe Speier/LHR, Cole Young/2B, Ryan Sloan/RHS, Matt Brash/RHR, Harry Ford/C, Michael Arroyo/2B, Lazaro Montes/RF, Luke Raley/RF, Victor Robles/CF, Bryce Miller/RHS, Dominic Canzone/RF, Jurrangelo Cijntje/SHP, Jonny Farmelo/CF, Ryan Bliss/2B
Raleigh and Woo have taken big steps forward this season while the rest of Seattle’s top-end big league talent has, at least, held strong, if not improved a bit.
Similar to the Dodgers, the Mariners also have one of the top farm systems, ranking third. Seattle has eight top 100 prospects, and most of them will be in Double-A or Triple-A to start next season. That next wave of talent looks impactful and could affect the major league level in 2026. That would be timely, as J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena are set to hit free agency after 2026, while Gilbert’s team control ends after 2027.
2024 rank: 5
2023 rank: 15
2022 rank: 8
Elite: Trea Turner/SS, Zack Wheeler/RHS, Cristopher Sanchez/LHS
Plus: Bryce Harper/1B, Jhoan Duran/RHR
Solid: Aaron Nola/RHS, Bryson Stott/2B, Brandon Marsh/CF, Aidan Miller/SS, Andrew Painter/RHS, Justin Crawford/CF, Orion Kerkering/RHR, Tanner Banks/RHR, Johan Rojas/CF, Gage Wood/RHR
Philadelphia has much less depth than Seattle because the Phillies have a few good big leaguers whose contracts end after this year or next: J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, Alec Bohm, Jesus Luzardo, Matt Strahm, and Jose Alvarado.
The farm system isn’t as deep either, ranking 21st out of 30 teams, because the Phillies pushed their chips in for these next few seasons. But the top of the Phillies’ roster is really good, and it’s basically a coin flip with the Mariners for the second spot, depending on what kind of core you prefer. Wheeler’s injury and Nola’s down season made the difference for me.
2024 rank: 9
2023 rank: 10
2022 rank: 7
Elite: Francisco Lindor/SS, Juan Soto/RF
Plus: Brandon Nimmo/LF, Edwin Diaz/RHR
Solid: Nolan McLean/RHS, Jonah Tong/RHS, Francisco Alvarez/C, Jeff McNeil/2B, Brett Baty/3B, Jett Williams/SS, Carson Benge/CF, Sean Manaea/LHS, Tylor Megill/RHS, Kodai Senga/RHS, Mark Vientos/3B, Ronny Mauricio/3B, Christian Scott/RHS, Brandon Sproat/RHS, A.J. Ewing/CF, Jacob Reimer/3B, Ryan Clifford/1B, Reed Garrett/RHR, Jonathan Santucci/LHS, Will Watson/RHS
The Mets have one of the healthiest organizations in baseball, combining the top farm system in the game and a playoff-caliber major league club, with Pete Alonso the only key player who will likely test free agency.
I put Diaz in the plus tier and left off McLean and Tong because of their lack of longevity performing at that level, but in a month, those two prospect starters might move up a tier. Similar to the Mariners, the Mets have a wave of young talent that will open in the upper minors or big leagues next season and could define the next five years of the team.
2024 rank: 2
2023 rank: 1
2022 rank: 1
Elite: Ronald Acuna Jr./RF
Plus: Matt Olson/1B, Austin Riley/3B, Spencer Strider/RHS, Drake Baldwin/C, Spencer Schwellenbach/RHS, Sean Murphy/C
Solid: Michael Harris II/CF, Jurickson Profar/LF, Ozzie Albies/2B, Reynaldo Lopez/RHS, Hurston Waldrep/RHS, Didier Fuentes/RHS, JR Ritchie/RHS, AJ Smith-Shawver/RHS, Nacho Alvarez Jr./3B, Owen Murphy/RHS
It has been a down year for the Braves on numerous fronts. Chris Sale no longer qualifies for this exercise, Spencer Strider hasn’t been himself, and Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies moved down a tier. Injuries impacted Riley’s and Schwellenbach’s seasons, and Profar’s PED suspension limited his campaign.
This core has been so good for years, as you can see by the organization’s past ranks, that the Braves’ poor 2025 season still can’t knock them out of the top five. Waldrep, Fuentes, and Ritchie could all be answers to starting pitching needs in 2026, while Smith-Shawver, Murphy, and Cam Caminiti could be answers in 2027.
2024 rank: 14
2023 rank: 13
2022 rank: 20
Elite: Corbin Carroll/RF, Ketel Marte/2B
Plus: Geraldo Perdomo/SS, Gabriel Moreno/C, Corbin Burnes/RHS
Solid: Lourdes Gurriel Jr./LF, Brandon Pfaadt/RHS, Jordan Lawlar/SS, Ryne Nelson/RHS, Slade Caldwell/CF, Adrian Del Castillo/C, Tyler Locklear/1B, Ryan Waldschmidt/LF, Kohl Drake/LHS, Blaze Alexander/3B, Tommy Troy/2B, Eduardo Rodriguez/LHS, Justin Martinez/RHR, Alek Thomas/CF, Jake McCarthy/LF, Cristian Mena/RHS, Brandyn Garcia/LHR
Carroll, Marte and Perdomo have grown into an elite group of position players and Moreno isn’t that far behind. Burnes is an ace but might not pitch again until 2027, so the D-backs need to see this next group of young players continue to progress and supplement that core. Locklear, Drake and Garcia were acquired at the deadline, and Caldwell and Waldschmidt were their first two picks in the 2024 draft.
2024 rank: 13
2023 rank: 24
2022 rank: 24
Elite: Garrett Crochet/LHS
Plus: Roman Anthony/RF, Jarren Duran/LF, Ceddanne Rafaela/CF, Wilyer Abreu/RF
Solid: Trevor Story/SS, Brayan Bello/RHS, Marcelo Mayer/SS, Payton Tolle/LHS, Kristian Campbell/2B, Carlos Narvaez/C, Triston Casas/1B, Garrett Whitlock/RHR, Jhostynxon Garcia/CF, Tanner Houck/RHS, Kutter Crawford/RHS, Justin Slaten/RHR, Connelly Early/LHS, Luis Perales/RHS, Kyson Witherspoon/RHS
Very few players (mostly, those acquired at the deadline) aren’t under team control for multiple years, so the Sox set up well for this exercise.
Anthony could jump into the elite tier next season, with Mayer, Toll and Campbell all strong candidates to be in the plus tier next year or the year after. The end of the solid tier contains a lot of pitching depth to add to next year’s big league team, as do a few pitching prospects I didn’t list who could join the list next year.
2024 rank: 7
2023 rank: 5
2022 rank: 3
Elite: Jeremy Pena/SS, Hunter Brown/RHS
Plus: Yordan Alvarez/DH, Carlos Correa/SS, Isaac Paredes/3B, Josh Hader/LHR
Solid: Jose Altuve/2B, Jake Meyers/CF, Yainer Diaz/C, Cam Smith/RF, Christian Walker/1B, Brice Matthews/2B, Cristian Javier/RHS, Jesus Sanchez/RF, Ronel Blanco/RHS, Jacob Melton/CF
The Astros consistently rank high on this list and are akin to the Phillies because they both don’t have a highly ranked farm system, mainly due to their top-heavy big league roster.
Pena and Brown are recent farm system success stories to help supplement the older core, while Matthews and Melton debuted this year and are Houston’s top two current prospects.
2024 rank: 3
2023 rank: 6
2022 rank: 13
Elite: Gunnar Henderson/SS
Plus: Adley Rutschman/C, Samuel Basallo/C, Jordan Westburg/3B
Solid: Jackson Holliday/2B, Kyle Bradish/RHS, Dean Kremer/RHS, Colton Cowser/LF, Grayson Rodriguez/RHS, Felix Bautista/RHR, Dylan Beavers/RF, Tyler O’Neill/RF, Tyler Wells/RHS, Trey Gibson/RHS, Enrique Bradfield Jr./CF, Ike Irish/RF, Coby Mayo/3B, Cade Povich/LHS, Albert Suarez/RHS, Michael Forret/RHS
The O’s blitzed up this list, then came back to Earth as they joined the Braves in having a somewhat surprising down year in a few phases.
Rutschman/Basallo isn’t a problem, as they can easily coexist on a big league roster, but getting Rutschman right at the plate will be a big priority for 2026. Beavers, Mayo and Gibson could all play their way into big league roles in 2026, with Holliday, Cowser, and Rodriguez all solid bets to move into the plus tier.
2024 rank: 6
2023 rank: 9
2022 rank: 9
Elite: Jose Ramirez/3B
Plus: Steven Kwan/LF, Tanner Bibee/RHS, Cade Smith/RHR
Solid: Travis Bazzana/2B, Emmanuel Clase/RHR, Kyle Manzardo/1B, Chase DeLauter/RF, Gavin Williams/RHS, Parker Messick/LHS, Khal Stephen/RHS, Daniel Schneemann/2B, Angel Genao/SS, C.J. Kayfus/1B, Ben Lively/RHS, Luis L. Ortiz/RHS, Logan Allen/LHS, Gabriel Arias/SS, Ralphy Velazquez/1B
Cleveland continues to stay in the top 10 thanks to a heavily homegrown and cost-effective bunch, with only Ramirez making over $8 million this year. Clase’s future is unclear, but the first five players listed are strong figures for the organization. DeLauter, Messick, Stephen, and Velazquez could all be making a big league impact as soon as 2026 to push the Guardians back into the playoff race.
2024 rank: 12
2023 rank: 12
2022 rank: 12
Elite: Aaron Judge/RF
Plus: Max Fried/LHS, Gerrit Cole/RHS, Carlos Rodon/LHS
Solid: Austin Wells/C, George Lombard Jr./SS, Cam Schlittler/RHS, Ben Rice/1B, Clarke Schmidt/RHS, Will Warren/RHS, Spencer Jones/CF, Ryan McMahon/3B, Carlos Lagrange/RHS, Jose Caballero/SS, Luis Gil/RHS, Giancarlo Stanton/DH, Anthony Volpe/SS, Jasson Dominguez/CF, Camilo Doval/RHR
The Yankees have a slew of good players who don’t qualify for this list because they’re not under contractual control through 2027: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, David Bednar, and Trent Grisham.
Of those who qualify, there’s still plenty of star power and depth, with a nice group of young players in the upper minors or just getting to the big leagues. But the top four players are between 31 and 35 years old, so keeping those key veterans productive while shuffling in young players (or getting Volpe and Dominguez back on track) and shuffling out aging role players will be difficult.
2024 rank: 10
2023 rank: 11
2022 rank: 6
Elite: Fernando Tatis Jr./RF
Plus: Jackson Merrill/CF, Manny Machado/3B, Xander Bogaerts/SS, Mason Miller/RHR
Solid: Jeremiah Estrada/RHR, Jake Cronenworth/2B, Joe Musgrove/RHS, Yu Darvish/RHS, JP Sears/LHS, Freddy Fermin/C
The Padres continue to bet big in hopes of getting a title with this core, but the upper minors of the farm system and multiyear outlook for the depth of the big league team keep getting thinner.
After this season, Dylan Cease, Michael King, Ryan O’Hearn, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Arraez are set to hit free agency, and after next season, they’ll be joined by Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, and Ramon Laureano.
With very little minor league help to fill those holes, the Padres will have to pick their spots and continue to excel at finding overlooked players to plug holes once the big money has been spent. If they do that, and the key players listed above remain impactful, it could be enough to win a title; it’s just a little harder to imagine.
2024 rank: 17
2023 rank: 21
2022 rank: 12
Elite: None
Plus: William Contreras/C, Jackson Chourio/CF, Jacob Misiorowski/RHS, Brice Turang/2B, Christian Yelich/LF
Solid: Trevor Megill/RHR, Andrew Vaughn/1B, Sal Frelick/RF, Isaac Collins/LF, Abner Uribe/RHR, Caleb Durbin/3B, Jesus Made/SS, Joey Ortiz/SS, Luis Pena/SS, Logan Henderson/RHS, Quinn Priester/RHS, Cooper Pratt/SS, Aaron Ashby/LHR, Garrett Mitchell/CF, Luke Adams/1B, Jeferson Quero/C, Brock Wilken/3B, Luis Lara/CF, Jared Koenig/RHR, Tobias Myers/RHS, DL Hall/LHR
The Brewers have two organizational competencies that they balance very well: helping young players reach big league success and optimizing big leaguers to reach their potential. Making those two things work involves basically every department of a baseball team, so that’s why so few teams do both well year after year.
The Brewers might not have anyone in the elite category, but they have a few homegrown players who might make that jump next year, and their solid tier is one of the deeper ones in terms of players who could jump into plus next year. This organization’s top decision-makers will likely be targets for GM and team president searches over the next few years.
2024 rank: 15
2023 rank: 4
2022 rank: 14
Elite: Corey Seager/SS, Wyatt Langford/LF
Plus: Jacob deGrom/RHS, Marcus Semien/2B, Nathan Eovaldi/RHS
Solid: Evan Carter/CF, Josh Jung/3B, Josh Smith/SS, Sebastian Walcott/SS, Cody Bradford/LHS, Jack Leiter/RHS, Kumar Rocker/RHS, Jake Burger/1B, David Davalillo/RHS, Winston Santos/RHS, Alejandro Osuna/LF
It is deceptively difficult to spend big money in free agency and have those players hold their spots in the top two tiers for years. With that in mind, the Rangers deserve kudos on the non-Langford players in their top two tiers. Of course, Langford is also a development success story, as are the top few players in the solid tier.
This team has a few players set to hit free agency over the next two seasons. The best parts of the farm system are largely in the low minors (and thus not listed here) as Leiter, Rocker and Osuna graduated in the past year, and other minor leaguers were traded at the deadline for players on expiring deals. Walcott still has star potential but has some work over the next few years to realize it.
2024 rank: 22
2023 rank: 22
2022 rank: 28
Elite: None
Plus: Logan Webb/RHS, Matt Chapman/3B, Willy Adames/SS, Rafael Devers/1B, Patrick Bailey/C
Solid: Jung Hoo Lee/CF, Bryce Eldridge/1B, Randy Rodriguez/RHR, Ryan Walker/RHR, Drew Gilbert/CF, Landen Roupp/RHS, Carson Whisenhunt/LHS, Heliot Ramos/LF, Casey Schmitt/3B, Bo Davidson/CF, Jesus Rodriguez/C, Kai-Wei Teng/RHR
I like what president of baseball operations Buster Posey has done in remaking this big league team. He’s investing in star players (re-signing Chapman, signing Adames, trading for Devers), and at the deadline, he moved nonessential players or those on expiring deals to beef up the farm system.
The Giants aren’t quite where they need to be, but they’re getting close, and Eldridge should be showing up next year. Unfortunately, two of their top prospects are at the lower levels of the minors and don’t qualify for this list. With some money to spend this offseason, I could see this team being a contender next season.
2024 rank: 20
2023 rank: 20
2022 rank: 19
Elite: Elly De La Cruz/SS
Plus: Hunter Greene/RHS, Chase Burns/RHS, Andrew Abbott/LHS
Solid: Nick Lodolo/LHS, Matt McLain/2B, Sal Stewart/3B, Rhett Lowder/RHS, TJ Friedl/CF, Ke’Bryan Hayes/3B, Noelvi Marte/3B, Cam Collier/1B, Chase Petty/RHS, Spencer Steer/1B, Edwin Arroyo/SS, Hector Rodriguez/LF
The Reds have a nice young core of players, and the best players who don’t qualify for this list are under contract for next season: Gavin Lux, Tyler Stephenson, and Brady Singer. They’re competitive now and should be better next year, with real strengths in the infield and rotation. The challenge will be filling the holes around those key players and working in Stewart, Lowder, and Petty next season.
2024 rank: 8
2023 rank: 16
2022 rank: 22
Elite: Pete Crow Armstrong/CF
Plus: Dansby Swanson/SS, Michael Busch/1B
Solid: Matt Shaw/3B, Cade Horton/RHS, Justin Steele/LHS, Moises Ballesteros/C, Owen Caissie/RF, Daniel Palencia/RHR, Jefferson Rojas/SS, Ben Brown/RHS, Jaxon Wiggins/RHS, Kevin Alcantara/CF, Miguel Amaya/C, Jonathan Long/1B, Brandon Birdsell/RHS
The Cubs are having a solid season at the big league level, but the rules of this exercise mean the organization is having a slight down year. Since last year’s rankings, they traded Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith for Kyle Tucker (who doesn’t qualify) and have a big group of players who become free agents after 2026 and thus also don’t qualify: Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Jameson Taillon, and Nico Hoerner.
Matthew Boyd has a mutual option after 2026 that seems unlikely to keep him from free agency, and I think Shota Imanaga will also need a raise or an extension (his contract options are quite complicated) after this season to keep him from free agency, so he also doesn’t qualify.
But the team is good and has a strong core of young players in the big leagues and upper minors (the top of the solid tier has upward mobility), but gets hurt by the rules of these rankings. The Cubs also need to re-sign a lot of players the next two winters to keep this group together.
2024 rank: 11
2023 rank: 19
2022 rank: 17
Elite: Byron Buxton/CF
Plus: Joe Ryan/RHS, Pablo Lopez/RHS
Solid: Walker Jenkins/CF, Luke Keaschall/2B, Royce Lewis/3B, Taj Bradley/RHS, Zebby Matthews/RHS, Matt Wallner/RF, Emmanuel Rodriguez/CF, Connor Prielipp/LHS, Kaelen Culpepper/SS, Mick Abel/RHS, Kendry Rojas/LHS, Gabriel Gonzalez/RF, Bailey Ober/RHS, Brooks Lee/SS, Trevor Larnach/RF, Kody Clemens/2B, Edouard Julien/2B, Simeon Woods-Richardson/RHS, Alan Roden/LF
The Twins stay in the middle third of the list, but after their moves at the trade deadline, this group is overwhelmingly made up of prospects and young players who haven’t proven themselves at the big league level, along with three standout holdovers. That’s a strong group to build around, with the first five players in the solid tier all having the potential to move up a grouping in next year’s rankings.
2024 rank: 16
2023 rank: 26
2022 rank: 27
Elite: Bobby Witt Jr./SS
Plus: Cole Ragans/LHS, Maikel Garcia/3B
Solid: Michael Wacha/RHS, Noah Cameron/LHS, Seth Lugo/RHS, Vinnie Pasquantino/1B, Jac Caglianone/RF, Carter Jensen/C, Carlos Estevez/RHR, Kyle Isbel/CF, Lucas Erceg/RHR, Ryan Bergert/RHS, Stephen Kolek/RHS, Ben Kudrna/RHS, Luinder Avila/RHS, Alec Marsh/RHS
Maikel Garcia’s emergence helps cover for Ragans’ injury while Witt continues to be one of the best players in the majors. You could argue to move Wacha up a tier, but I’m projecting over the next two seasons primarily, so I rounded down a bit. Cameron’s emergence helps with Caglianone’s surface-stat problems, but his underlying numbers are about what was expected, so I’m continuing to buy stock in him.
Similar to the Pirates below, this is a team without a ton of payroll that is carried mostly by a star player. But the Royals’ supporting cast is a bit better (for now) and their star is a position player rather than a pitcher — and they’ve been willing to open their wallets a bit in free agency to surround their star with talent.
20. Athletics
2024 rank: 26
2023 rank: 29
2022 rank: 26
Elite: None
Plus: Nick Kurtz/1B, Brent Rooker/DH, Tyler Soderstrom/LF, Jacob Wilson/SS
Solid: Shea Langeliers/C, Lawrence Butler/RF, Luis Severino/RHS, Jeffrey Springs/LHS, J.T. Ginn/RHS, Gage Jump/LHS, Luis Morales/RHS, Denzel Clarke/CF, Leo De Vries/SS, Darell Hernaiz/SS, Jacob Lopez/LHS, Zack Gelof/2B, Jack Perkins/RHS, Jamie Arnold/LHS, Max Muncy/SS, Colby Thomas/RF, Tommy White/3B, Mason Barnett/RHS, Gunnar Hoglund/RHS, Braden Nett/RHS
The A’s record hasn’t been great this year, but development-wise, they’ve taken a step forward.
Kurtz has gone from controversial early-first-round pick last summer to potential star by this summer, Rooker has performed despite being a primary DH in his 30s, my longtime prospect favorite Soderstrom has come back to life and Wilson continues to defy the odds by performing despite little raw power.
Langeliers and Butler could jump a tier by next year’s rankings, and De Vries could be a franchise cornerstone. And there’s probably an impact arm and a solid third/fourth starter among Ginn, Jump, Morales and Arnold.
There are some signs that with a strong winter and continued progression, this team could be competitive in 2026.
2024 rank: 21
2023 rank: 17
2022 rank: 22
Elite: Paul Skenes/RHS
Plus: Oneil Cruz/CF, Konnor Griffin/SS
Solid: Bubba Chandler/RHS, Mitch Keller/RHS, Bryan Reynolds/RF, Johan Oviedo/RHS, Spencer Horwitz/1B, Jared Triolo/SS, Jared Jones/RHS, Braxton Ashcraft/RHS, Mike Burrows/RHS, Termarr Johnson/2B, Hunter Barco/LHS, Isaac Mattson/RHR, Nick Gonzales/2B, Rafael Flores/C, Joey Bart/C, Henry Davis/C, Nick Yorke/2B
Skenes and Griffin are recent first-round selections who look to be home run picks. Cruz and Chandler look like solid players, and the rest is a nice group of players but doesn’t have much star potential.
Combine that with the lack of payroll and the Pirates will need to get creative to add to the clearly strong four-player core, or get very efficient at filling out the rest of the roster, similar to the Tigers.
2024 rank: 18
2023 rank: 25
2022 rank: 25
Elite: None
Plus: Riley Greene/LF, Kevin McGonigle/SS, Dillon Dingler/C
Solid: Max Clark/CF, Will Vest/RHR, Troy Melton/RHS, Parker Meadows/CF, Spencer Torkelson/1B, Colt Keith/2B, Josue Briceno/C, Zach McKinstry/3B, Kerry Carpenter/RF, Reese Olson/RHS, Jackson Jobe/RHS, Thayron Liranzo/C, Max Anderson/2B, Javier Baez/SS, Wenceel Perez/RF, Matt Vierling/CF, Jace Jung/3B, Sawyer Gipson-Long/RHS
McGonigle is one of the few true prospects listed in the plus tier because he’ll likely be big league-ready at some point next year, is putting up absurd surface numbers at every level, and is in the top five prospects while playing a premium position.
Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Gleyber Torres and all of the players Detroit acquired at the deadline aren’t eligible for this exercise, so it’s mostly just the homegrown young players. But by this time next year, there might be three to five of those players in the plus or elite category, so I see solid win-loss records and a better showing in next year’s ranking.
2024 rank: 24
2023 rank: 14
2022 rank: 5
Elite: Vladimir Guerrero Jr./1B
Plus: Alejandro Kirk/C
Solid: Andres Gimenez/2B, Trey Yesavage/RHS, Addison Barger/3B, Jose Berrios/RHS, Anthony Santander/RF, Arjun Nimmala/SS, Ricky Tiedemann/LHS, Ernie Clement/3B, Jeff Hoffman/RHR, Nathan Lukes/RF, Myles Straw/CF, Jake Bloss/RHS, Brendon Little/LHR, Davis Schneider/LF, Alek Manoah/RHS, Eric Lauer/LHS
Lots of notable players are not eligible for this list: George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, Bo Bichette, and Daulton Varsho. So, this doesn’t represent what the team will be this season and next, but reflects more what’s nailed down for that next version of the team. There’s solid depth, but there’s some reliance on Yesavage, Tiedemann and Nimmala turning into standout players, particularly if some of the aforementioned players aren’t re-signed and Santander can’t get back on the right track.
2024 rank: 23
2023 rank: 8
2022 rank: 4
Elite: None
Plus: Masyn Winn/SS, Sonny Gray/RHS
Solid: JJ Wetherholt/SS, Brendan Donovan/2B, Willson Contreras/1B, Ivan Herrera/C, Lars Nootbaar/LF, Liam Doyle/LHS, Tink Hence/RHS, Victor Scott/CF, Leonardo Bernal/C, Alec Burleson/RF, Matthew Liberatore/LHS, Michael McGreevy/RHS, Nolan Gorman/3B, Jesus Baez/3B, Quinn Mathews/LHS, Nolan Arenado/3B, Joshua Baez/RF, Blaze Jordan/3B, Pedro Pages/C, Jimmy Crooks/C, Cooper Hjerpe/LHS, Matt Svanson/RHR
All of the key players are eligible for this exercise, thanks, in large part, to the deadline trades that helped to beef up the farm system. There are a few catchers (not including the top prospect in the system, Rainiel Rodriguez, who is in Low-A) and starting pitchers (including some who just missed), though there isn’t a ton of frontline potential.
Gray’s mutual option for 2027 is priced just right to get him on here, but it was a close call. Wetherholt and Doyle clicking would be huge for the organization because there’s a ton of upper-minors prospects and somewhat unproven young big leaguers, to the point where the Cardinals could run out of room for all of them to play — but they also need some stars to emerge to build around.
2024 rank: 19
2023 rank: 7
2022 rank: 11
Elite: None
Plus: Junior Caminero/3B
Solid: Yandy Diaz/1B, Ryan Pepiot/RHS, Shane Baz/RHS, Carson Williams/SS, Jonathan Aranda/1B, Josh Lowe/RF, Ian Seymour/LHS, Griffin Jax/RHR, Chandler Simpson/CF, Jake Mangum/LF, Hunter Feduccia/C, Garrett Cleavinger/LHR, Shane McClanahan/LHS, Xavier Isaac/1B, Aidan Smith/CF, Brody Hopkins/RHS, Jonny DeLuca/CF, Yoniel Curet/RHS, Joe Boyle/RHS
Only a few big league players don’t qualify for this list, but some higher upside prospects don’t qualify because they’re too far from contributing in the majors. The middle tiers of the minor leagues are down a bit, as most of the best young talent in the organization is in Low-A or lower or in the big leagues.
I could see the Rays making a lot of trades this offseason because they don’t have much money coming off the books or players leaving via free agency, but they also don’t have many standout players, aside from Caminero (who may be in the elite tier by the middle of next year). This list isn’t deceptive like it is for some contending teams. It reflects a team that’s around .500. There’s a lot of depth of interesting talent in the upper minors and in the big leagues, as is usual for the Rays, so making trades is more sensible to help the team be more competitive while it waits to see if the lower minors can deliver a few Top 100-caliber prospects and maybe a star.
2024 rank: 25
2023 rank: 28
2022 rank: 29
Elite: None
Plus: James Wood/LF, CJ Abrams/SS, MacKenzie Gore/LHS
Solid: Luis Garcia Jr./2B, Dylan Crews/CF, Travis Sykora/RHS, Jarlin Susana/RHS, Brady House/3B, Jacob Young/CF, DJ Herz/LHS, Cade Cavalli/RHS, Jose Ferrer/RHR, Daylen Lile/RF, Drew Millas/C, Mitchell Parker/LHS, Brad Lord/RHS
Wood, Abrams and Gore are success stories who continue to progress and are the faces of the franchise at this point. Garcia’s underlying stats are still solid, so you can mostly disregard his down season. Crews is a little more worrisome, but he also has been unlucky on ball-in-play luck. Sykora can’t stay healthy, and House has had some big league struggles, but Susana might be turning the corner in terms of throwing strikes and has had ace potential.
No. 1 pick SS Eli Willits and other players taken in the past two drafts are a bit too far away to include here, but there are a few candidates to make this list next year.
2024 rank: 27
2023 rank: 23
2022 rank: 18
Elite: None
Plus: Kyle Stowers/LF
Solid: Eury Perez/RHS, Sandy Alcantara/RHS, Edward Cabrera/RHS, Thomas White/LHS, Jakob Marsee/CF, Robby Snelling/LHS, Otto Lopez/SS, Ryan Weathers/LHS, Agustin Ramirez/C, Xavier Edwards/2B, Joe Mack/C, Connor Norby/3B, Janson Junk/RHS, Aiva Arquette/SS, Maximo Acosta/SS, Ronny Henriquez/RHR, Liam Hicks/C, Max Meyer/RHS, Dax Fulton/LHS
Every player in the organization qualifies because they’re all under contractual control for at least two more seasons after this one. The problem is that only Stowers has broken through into the upper tiers, but a few young players could make that jump next season — mostly at the top of the solid tier and a very pitching-heavy group. Miami’s rebuild has turned around and is about to add more propulsion.
2024 rank: 28
2023 rank: 27
2022 rank: 21
Elite: None
Plus: Zach Neto/SS, Jose Soriano/RHS
Solid: Mike Trout/RF, Yusei Kikuchi/LHS, Jo Adell/CF, Reid Detmers/LHR, Nolan Schanuel/1B, Christian Moore/2B, Logan O’Hoppe/C, Tyler Bremner/RHS, George Klassen/RHS, Kyren Paris/SS, Caden Dana/RHS, Nelson Rada/CF, Denzer Guzman/SS
Soriano, Detmers, Bremner, Klassen, and Dana are five solid pitchers to build around, along with veteran Kikuchi, but it’s unlikely all of them pitch on the same staff.
Trout unfortunately has to be moved down a tier as he has posted 2.2 WAR over the past two seasons combined. Taylor Ward’s under contract through next year so he falls off the list. Neto is a clear keeper, and Adell is starting to put it together, but there aren’t a ton of position players right behind them in the system, so the Angels need to find more impact players without clear avenues to do so.
2024 rank: 29
2023 rank: 15
2022 rank: 18
Elite: None
Plus: None
Solid: Colson Montgomery/SS, Kyle Teel/C, Shane Smith/RHS, Grant Taylor/RHR, Noah Schultz/LHS, Hagen Smith/LHS, Chase Meidroth/SS, Edgar Quero/C, Lenyn Sosa/2B, Braden Montgomery/RF, Miguel Vargas/3B, Drew Thorpe/RHS, Jordan Leasure/RHR, Peyton Pallette/RHS, Tanner McDougal/RHS
Montgomery started the season ice cold (.626 OPS through 48 games in Triple-A) but then caught fire in the big leagues, hitting 16 homers in 49 games. He and Teel are the clear best long-term players of this core, with a lot of questions below them.
Luis Robert Jr. isn’t listed because it’s unlikely that both of his club options get picked up, and the two top pitching prospects (Schultz and Hagen Smith) had trouble throwing strikes this year. Shane Smith was a revelation, and Taylor is a potential long-term closer, but this organization needs some stars and they haven’t shown up.
2024 rank: 30
2023 rank: 30
2022 rank: 30
Elite: None
Plus: None
Solid: Ezequiel Tovar/SS, Brenton Doyle/CF, Hunter Goodman/C, Chase Dollander/RHS, Kyle Karros/3B, Charlie Condon/3B, Jordan Beck/LF, Jimmy Herget/RHR, Juan Mejia/RHR, Roc Riggio/2B, Jaden Hill/RHR, Seth Halvorsen/RHR, Ryan Feltner/RHS, Yanquiel Fernandez/RF, Brody Brecht/RHS, McCade Brown/RHS, Victor Vodnik/RHR, Jared Thomas/CF, Sterlin Thompson/LF, Griffin Herring/LHS
The tradition continues. It’s not like the amateur scouting staffs aren’t finding good players. I continue to have no faith and very little evidence that the development and big league team-building decision-makers know how to create value where it doesn’t exist.
I like some of the players they acquired at the deadline when they were finally as active as they should’ve been, but all four of the highest-paid players (Kris Bryant, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, German Marquez) are in their 30s and either weren’t good enough or don’t have enough contractual control to be listed above.
MADISON, Ill. — Denny Hamlin won from the pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway, playing the strategy perfectly to lead the final 25 laps in his series-high fifth victory this season.
With his 59th career win, Hamlin advanced to the second round of the Cup Series playoffs and joined Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who finished second after winning last week’s opener at Darlington Raceway.
The No. 11 Toyota team called Hamlin to the pits for his final stop with 44 laps remaining, and he cycled to the front on a caution 15 laps later. The Virginia native seized the lead from Brad Keselowski on the restart, delivering the 200th win in NASCAR’s premier series for Toyota.
Chase Elliott finished third, followed by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano as playoff drivers swept the top five spots at the 1.25-mile oval outside St. Louis that is commonly referred to as Gateway.
Other playoff drivers in the top 10 were Christopher Bell (seventh) and Bubba Wallace (eighth), who led 73 of 240 laps and won the race’s second stage.
The Cup Series now will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first-round cutoff race that will trim the playoff field from 16 to 12 drivers. After Gateway, Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Josh Berry are outside the top 12 points positions that will advance to the second round.
Defending race winner Kyle Larson has won consecutive races at Bristol, leading 872 of the past 1,000 laps on the 0.533-mile oval in Tennessee.
Berry will need a win at Bristol to advance to the next round after opening his Cup playoff debut with consecutive last-place finishes. The Wood Brothers Racing driver was tapped in the left rear by Elliott, sending Berry’s No. 21 Ford spinning into the Turn 2 wall on the 36th lap.
“Chase and that team have done a lot for me, and I really doubt that was on purpose,” said Berry, who crashed on the first lap of the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. “Just wrong place, wrong time for us again. Obviously, it’s unfortunate. We’ll just go to Bristol and try to do the best we can and put ourselves in position to race for a win, and that’s really all we can do at this point.”
Earlier on Sunday, NASCAR announced the death of Bill Davis, whose teams won 40 races in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series from 1993-2008. Davis had all five of his Cup victories with driver Ward Burton, including the 2001 Southern 500 and 2002 Daytona 500. The Arkansas native, who was 74, also fielded cars for Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte before they won Cup championships with other teams.
“A championship-winning leader and owner, Bill Davis made a lasting mark on our sport through his passion and unwavering belief in the people around him,” NASCAR said in a statement. “His teams celebrated some of NASCAR’s most prestigious victories.
“Bill was more than a competitor — he was a friend to all in the garage, respected for his kindness, generosity, and genuine love for racing.”
MIAMI — Philadelphia Phillies star shortstop Trea Turner left the team’s game against the Miami Marlins in the seventh inning Sunday because of a right hamstring strain.
Turner hit a solo homer in the sixth to narrow Philadelphia’s deficit to 4-2. When his turn came again in the seventh, Turner legged out a grounder and reached on a throwing error by Miami Otto Lopez.
Edmundo Sosa replaced Turner as the baserunner and at shortstop.
The 32-year-old Turner leads the NL in batting average at .305 and also has a league-leading 179 hits this season.
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