Updated top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams: Who are your club’s future stars?
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Kiley McDaniel
Welcome to our first team-by-team MLB prospect rankings big board update. The top 10 prospects for all 30 teams are updated below for where they stand entering May.
What has changed since our initial offseason list?
Below you will find the rankings for your favorite team, along with what to know for the month ahead, and all 30 of these lists will continue to be updated regularly throughout the 2025 season.
MLB prospect coverage: Top 100 | 101-200 | Farm system rankings
Jump to team:
American League
ATH | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE
DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIN
NYY | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR
National League
ARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL
LAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHI
PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH
AL East
Preseason system ranking: 14th ($207 million)
What to know: Keep an eye on risers such as RHP Braxton Bragg, RHP Levi Wells and C/1B/OF Ethan Anderson, who were all close to making the list. RHP Keeler Morfe and CF Austin Overn are exciting tools types who need some refinement but could get on the list by the end of the season. The early returns on Honeycutt are better than I expected, so his rise could continue.
Preseason system ranking: 4th ($278 million)
What to know: He’s about to graduate, but Campbell has made the offensive adjustments needed at the big league level so far, so I’d move him into the tier with Anthony and Mayer if I were to re-do the top 100 now; they’re all pretty tightly packed in those top three spots.
Behind those three emerging stars, there are a lot of arrow-up guys in the early going and good depth throughout the list, largely on the pitching side: Fitts, Valera, Early, Brandon Clarke and Payton Tolle have all impressed and I ran out of room to include them all.
Preseason system ranking: 21st ($166 million)
What to know: Jasson Dominguez has graduated, opening up the top spot on the list. Lombard will swing-and-miss in the zone a bit, but the rest of his game is above average across the board. I still don’t know what to do with Jones, who is showing a power-and-patience-and-athleticism combination that’s rare, but his in-zone miss could undermine the big tools; I don’t know what version of Joey Gallo he’ll look like when he gets to the big leagues. Warren, Rodriguez-Cruz and Schlitter are all variations of pitchers who excel at throwing multiple breaking pitches.
Preseason system ranking: 5th ($270 million)
What to know: This system is really deep with another roughly dozen players I could’ve snuck in the last spot: RHP Yoniel Curet, UT Mac Horvath, C Dom Keegan, CF Theo Gillen, RHP Jackson Baumeister, LHP Ian Seymour and a number of pitchers in need of one adjustment to jump onto the list. Simpson is a force of nature and now the world knows why I love watching him, but most of the rest of the guys on this list haven’t moved a ton lately.
Preseason system ranking: 24th ($151 million)
What to know: Early returns are positive on the Jays’ top three picks from the 2024 draft, all pitchers: Yesavage, Stephen and King. This list is mostly pitchers, with a little bit of everything from currently injured (Barriera, Tiedemann), to hasn’t debuted in 2025 yet (King, Rojas), to high probability back-end types with a shot for more (Yesavage, Bloss and Stephen). Martinez and Roden haven’t been great in 2025, so Nimmala carries a lot of the hopes of developing another standout offensive player from this system.
AL Central
Preseason system ranking: 2nd ($313 million)
What to know: Both Schultz and Smith are off to slower starts, but I’m not panicking yet. Taylor has built on his strong end to 2024 and is now a top 100 arm, and Pallette is now showing the promise he did in his best healthy days at Arkansas. Meidroth and Bonemer are both big arrow-up guys this spring, and Colson Montgomery is a big question.
Preseason system ranking: 11th ($213 million)
What to know: Not a ton of movement here just yet. Messick looks as if he’ll get a big league shot at some point this year to prove he’s a starter. Doughty is arrow-up since the draft due to his feel and off-speed stuff, with the velo the last part to hopefully join the profile soon. Kayfus is hitting well at Double-A but has little defensive value and fringy raw power.
Preseason system ranking: 3rd ($298 million)
What to know: Clark is off to a hot start with underlying metrics to match while Jobe still has plus stuff to the eye and in the data but just isn’t getting the whiffs you’d expect. Like the other top prep hitter in the 2024 draft (Konnor Griffin), Rainer is arrow-up in the early going, with underlying data matching the results and the rosiest amateur scouting reports, after a dozen games. Anderson is also taking a step forward this season. SS Trey Sweeney, LHP Brant Hurter and C Dillon Dingler have all graduated recently.
Preseason system ranking: 22nd ($163 million)
What to know: Wolters is still having some trouble finding the strike zone, but the raw stuff and athleticism is still there, so I want to stay on board a bit longer. Ricardo is a switch-hitting shortstop with power but was in the Dominican Summer League last year, so it’ll be a while. Cameron is a nice big league inventory starter that they’ll probably need at some point this year. And yes, Cags is still hitting well while he works to improve the finer points.
Preseason system ranking: 6th ($257 million)
What to know: Rodriguez is off to a slow start and Keaschall is closing in, but his lack of power and defensive value (which are Rodriguez’s strengths) hold him back. I picked Soto as a breakout for the end of my top 100 before the year and he has held up his end of the bargain. Hill is one of the top prep breakout arms from last year’s draft, delivering on his projectable frame in short order by sitting 94-98 mph.
AL West
Preseason system ranking: 23rd ($160 million)
What to know: Jacob Wilson graduated soon after the season started, paving the way for Kurtz to take the top spot just as he was promoted to the big leagues. Hoglund’s velo is up and he should be getting the call soon as well, now that he is looking again the way he did at his best at Ole Miss. I wasn’t that big on the Athletics’ draft last summer, but the early returns on Gage Jump and Tommy White, former LSU teammates, has been positive.
Preseason system ranking: 30th ($104 million)
What to know: Smith has continued to outperform his draft position and predraft scouting reports. Brito and Blubaugh have also continued to trend up on the pitching end. Jaworsky doesn’t have good surface numbers in his small sample so far this year, but the underlying metrics, his performance last season and his tools suggest he’s a real prospect.
Preseason system ranking: 28th ($129 million)
What to know: Dana’s fastball quality is still in question, and Klassen’s stuff is outstanding — with strike-throwing his biggest question entering the year. It has progressed, so he takes the top spot. Moore is having some in-zone miss issues at the same time that Guzman is tapping into his raw power at a new level, with underlying numbers to make it seem real. Cortez and Johnson are 2024 draftees who might both be in the big league pen for good later this year; also keep an eye on Samy Natera Jr. and Jose Fermin along those lines.
Preseason system ranking: 7th ($241 million)
What to know: Farmelo has returned from his torn ACL early in last season. I ranked him aggressively since the injury expecting him to hit the ground running when he returned. He hit a homer in his first game back earlier this week. This a deep, diverse group of position players and there will be a few busts, but these players should make up a good bit of the big league lineup a few years from now. Just beyond this list there are some intriguing arms, like the recently debuted Logan Evans and possible debut-to-come of Brandyn Garcia.
Preseason system ranking: 16th ($192 million)
What to know: Leiter, Rocker, and Rosario are jumbled together in the same tier now after Leiter returned to his Vanderbilt form this spring, Rocker started slow then had a shoulder issue, and Rosario is down for the year with elbow surgery. Scarborough is the main arrow-up guy here, with a mid-90s sinker and deadly sweeper combo after being a near-anonymous prep righty in the draft a few years ago. Dreiling gets the nod over Alejandro Osuna due to his raw power.
NL East
Preseason system ranking: 27th ($133 million)
What to know: RHP A.J. Smith-Shawver graduated, with a long list of pitchers and international signees lined up behind him; I’d expect a couple from that group to jump onto this list later in the year. Keep an eye on 3B David McCabe, who is having a renaissance at Double-A at age 25 and last year’s fourth-rounder LHP Herick Hernandez.
Preseason system ranking: 15th ($197 million)
What to know: The Robby Snelling resurgence is upon us. His velo on all three of his primary pitches (four-seam fastball, slurve, changeup) is up two ticks and the fastball and changeup have also added a nontrivial amount of movement. He’s also still throwing strikes at a high rate. Ramirez has been excellent so far and Mack, Acosta and Alderman are also all arrow-up in the early going.
Preseason system ranking: 9th ($222 million)
What to know: Sproat, Tong and McLean (along with graduated/injured RHP Christian Scott) could be ranked in any order and seem to be making the case to president of baseball operations David Stearns to stop handing out big money on the free agent starting pitching market for the foreseeable future. The bats aren’t bad either, as the system is stocked with infielders: Jacob Reimer, Marco Vargas and Daiverson Gutierrez just missed the list, and Elian Pena (and his highly anticipated pro debut) and Jeremy Rodriguez aren’t far behind.
Preseason system ranking: 17th ($188 million)
What to know: You could put Miller and Painter in either order; Painter has a higher upside but is also a pitcher and has had arm trouble. Crawford is still hitting the ball on the ground too much to reach his upside. Escobar and Abel have taken steps forward this year. Also of note: Tait has incredible raw power and Nori has been a bit better than I expected at draft time.
Preseason system ranking: 12th ($212 million)
What to know: Dylan Crews graduated from the top spot soon after the season started and that makes way for Dickerson (the Nats’ big overslot bonus in the 2024 draft) to sneak onto the list before his pro debut. Their top 2024 pick King just needs to chase fewer pitches out of the zone to become a clear top-100 prospect.
Susana was already the top pitching prospect in this system for me but could be on the verge of becoming one of the best in baseball, which would help soften the blow of hip surgery that has delayed Sykora’s 2025 debut.
NL Central
Preseason system ranking: 10th ($215 million)
What to know: I hedged a bit on Horton’s placement on the top 100 going into the season, unsure if his flagging stuff down the stretch was due to an injury that would be an issue in 2025. He looks back to his old self and should be a big league factor soon. Ballesteros and Mule are also off to nice starts but keep an eye on SS Cristian Hernandez. He was highly touted and started his career slowly, but might be turning a corner, just missing this list.
Preseason system ranking: 13th ($210 million)
What to know: Burns has been as advertised so far in pro ball, showing two plus-plus pitches in his fastball and slider; at this rate he’ll be a big league factor in the second half. Lowder has already debuted (currently on the IL) and Petty is looking crisp, knocking on the door at Triple-A as another potential big league starter.
Preseason system ranking: 8th ($225 million)
What to know: Made’s outstanding pro debut in the Dominican Summer League has held up in the early going as a 17-year-old in Single-A. He’s still showing above-average offensive upside and a clear fit somewhere in the infield. Misiorowski is showing some progress with strike throwing
Preseason system ranking: 20th ($179 million)
What to know: Chandler is carving up Triple-A and his velo is up 1.4 mph from last season. He ranked behind Roki Sasaki and Jackson Jobe among pitchers on the top 100 going into the season, but you could certainly argue Chandler is the top dog now given his continued progress while the other two have had slow starts in the big leagues. Chen is dealing and he has good feel and off-speed stuff, but his fastball velocity is still well below average.
Preseason system ranking: 19th ($184 million)
What to know: There has been some injury issues small (Hence, ribs), medium (Mathews, shoulder after losing the strike zone), and big (Hjerpe, elbow surgery) on this list since the season started. Michael McGreevy was the first cut from the list and profiles as big league pitching inventory. The rest of the list consists of position players who have largely been solid.
NL West
Preseason system ranking: 25th ($139 million)
What to know: Caldwell and Waldschmidt are both arrow-up relative to expectations in their first full season, but also keep an eye on another 2024 draft pick: RHP Daniel Eagen, who just missed this list. The third-rounder out of Presbyterian College is dealing in High-A and might be in line for a promotion in short order.
Preseason system ranking: 18th ($185 million)
What to know: Dollander is in the big leagues and pitching well, despite losing some lift to his fastball, because he’s throwing almost two ticks harder. Hill has turned a corner and I like what I’ve seen so far from Thomas. He got a “poor man’s Cody Bellinger” comp from one team I spoke with before the 2024 draft and he’s off to a hot start.
Preseason system ranking: 1st ($420 million)
What to know: George’s power has spiked this year, addressing the major concern on his profile, so he’s now tracking like a potential everyday player. Some other risers who didn’t make the list because the Dodgers’ system is loaded, all pitchers: righties Christian Zazueta, Eriq Swan, and Patrick Copen.
Preseason system ranking: 26th ($135 million)
What to know: De Vries is the same age as the top high school players in this year’s MLB draft. He not only would be the No. 1 overall pick by a mile, but he’d be one of the best No. 1 picks in recent memory.
Four of these 10 haven’t played yet this year, so there hasn’t been a ton of movement in this list, but Balzer is the big riser. He has plus stuff with some relief risk as a near-anonymous signee born in Japan.
Preseason system ranking: 29th ($109 million)
What to know: This system hangs largely on near big league ready pitching and higher variance position players with some ceiling. De Jesus and Level are two exciting talents who will get going later when short-season leagues begin. Jordan was last year’s electric tools acquisition via an overslot deal in the draft, and Davidson was the underappreciated prospect who had his breakthrough last season continuing into this season.
ST. LOUIS — First baseman Willson Contreras has been suspended for six games and fined an undisclosed amount for his tirade during the St. Louis Cardinals‘ 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Contreras has informed Major League Baseball he will appeal the suspension, which means it will not take effect immediately. He was in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Pirates.
Contreras threw a bat that mistakenly hit Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown and tossed bubble gum on the field after he was ejected. Manager Oliver Marmol also was tossed during an animated argument with the umpires after a called third strike in the seventh inning.
Contreras said he didn’t understand why he was thrown out of the game. He said he argued balls and strikes with plate umpire Derek Thomas but didn’t address a specific pitch and didn’t say anything disrespectful.
“Apparently, he heard something [he thought] I said. I did not say that,” Contreras said.
Crew chief Jordan Baker told a pool reporter that Contreras and Marmol were ejected for “saying vulgar stuff” to Thomas. Baker also said Contreras made contact with the plate umpire.
After Monday’s win, Marmol agreed with his player.
“We’ll have to dive into it to make sure what Willson’s saying is what happened,” he said at the time. “But I believe him.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The Mets are calling up top-tier pitching prospect Jonah Tong, manager Carlos Mendoza announced Tuesday, as the club continues to bolster its staff with young talent for the stretch run.
Mendoza said Tong will start against the Miami Marlins on Friday in his major league debut.
Tong pitched himself into the big league picture with arguably the best season for a pitcher in the minor leagues, going 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA in 113 ⅔ innings across 22 starts between Double-A and Triple-A this season. The 22-year-old right-hander was recently promoted to Triple-A Syracuse, where he tossed 11 ⅔ scoreless innings over two outings.
“I think it’s all about dominating the minors,” Mendoza said. “It’s hard to keep him there.”
The consistent dominance, in combination with debilitating underperformance from veterans in the Mets’ starting rotation, prompted president of baseball operations David Stearns, who preaches patience in player development, to make the call.
Tong was the No. 21 prospect in baseball in the latest rankings by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The Canadian will join Nolan McLean, the team’s No. 2 prospect who soared through the upper minors and was called up to boost the Mets’ struggling rotation earlier this month.
“This is fast,” Stearns said. “There’s no question this is fast. He’s pushed us on this because of his performance. We think he’s ready for this. We also acknowledge that this has gone faster than any of us would have anticipated at the start of this year.”
The decision to summon Tong came one day after veteran right-hander Kodai Senga continued his recent struggles, logging just four innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on four days’ rest.
Senga has a 5.40 ERA and has not completed six innings in eight starts since coming off the injured list last month. Mendoza indicated the team prefers to give Senga an extra day of rest moving forward.
“I’m going to be honest: Performance matters,” Mendoza said about Senga. “We’re to a point now where we got to see performance. And that was a conversation with him. We need him because he’s an ace. We’ve seen it in the past, but we haven’t been able to get that consistency. So, yeah, maybe it’s the regular rest, the extra day, whatever that is. We’re getting to a point where like every game, we got to put our best guys out there.”
Entering Tuesday, the Mets are 2 ½ games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League wild card spot.
The baby-faced Tong, a seventh-round pick out of high school in 2022, made a significant leap forward in his development in 2024, but he reported to spring training this year seemingly on a path for a 2026 major league debut — as evidenced by the Mets’ decision not to invite him to big league camp.
Mendoza said he met Tong while watching a minor league game on a back field in which Tong was the ball boy.
“When you’re in the minor leagues, you got to go through those duties,” Mendoza said. “And that day, he happened to be on the Triple-A bench, and he was the ball boy and I sat right next to him, and I had a brief conversation. Kind of introduced myself [to] kind of get to know him.
“Genuine, humble and you could just see the youth on his face. It was, I don’t know, 10 minutes that we sat there and watched the game while I was trying to get to know him a little bit.”
Tong, who represented the Mets at the Futures Game last month, leads all 196 qualified minor league pitchers in ERA, FIP (1.66), batting average against (.148) and strikeout rate (40.5%) this season. His 0.92 WHIP ranks second. He has compiled 179 strikeouts and allowed just two home runs.
He boasts a fastball in the mid-90s that touches 97 mph and has produced a whiff rate of 36.5% this season. This year, he added a changeup in the mid-80s that has emerged as his second-most used offering and improved his effectiveness against left-handed hitters. A curveball and slider complete his repertoire.
Slight for a pitcher — he’s listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds — with a smooth and deceptive over-the-top delivery, Tong has drawn comparisons to former Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.
“What’s impressed us the most is the speed with which he’s expanded his arsenal in really effective ways,” Stearns said. “So, he’s added a changeup this year that’s been really good. And we’ve seen outings that have shown, I think, tremendous maturity on the mound — where something’s not working, he’s then able to switch an approach and go to the slider more, throw a few more curveballs, and allow himself to get through outings really successfully, even if he’s not following the exact plan that he thought he was going to follow when he went into the game.”
The Mets chose promoting Tong over Brandon Sproat, another highly regarded pitching prospect in Triple-A. Stearns explained the organization’s decision as a product of Tong’s excellence and the timing of the start, which will keep Tong, who last pitched on Saturday, on turn.
Sproat, 24, gave up seven runs across 3 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen for Syracuse on Saturday after recording a 2.05 ERA over his previous nine outings, all starts.
“Brandon’s done a tremendous job, and he’s probably had as good a second half of season as any pitcher in minor league baseball,” Stearns said. “He’s made some real adjustments. He’s pitched great.”
The Mets’ plan for Tong after Friday is unclear. While McLean has cemented himself in the club’s starting rotation after allowing just two runs over 12 ⅓ innings in his first two starts, Tong will join the Mets as their sixth starter.
Mendoza said he didn’t know if Tong would move to the bullpen following Friday’s start.
“We’re going turn by turn at this point,” Stearns said. “And it’s going to be a combination of what the matchups are, who we think match up well, how our guys are throwing, who needs rest, who doesn’t need rest. I think in September, we try not to plan too far ahead and we’re going to go turn by turn.”
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