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.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — One day after he took live batting practice, a significant step in his return from the injured list, New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton confirmed Wednesday he could return to the team’s lineup by the end of the month.
Stanton participated in batting practice on the field at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, the first time he has seen live pitching this year after he was shut down with elbow tendinitis in both arms at the beginning of spring training. He saw 10 pitches, hitting a ground ball to shortstop and working a full-count walk in his two plate appearances against right-hander Jake Cousins.
The Yankees moved Stanton from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list last week, pushing his earliest possible return date to May 27. It was a procedural move for New York. The Yankees needed a 40-man roster spot to claim Bryan De La Cruz off waivers, and Stanton was not in line to return before the end of the month.
Stanton, 35, said he expects to go on a rehab assignment. He said he did not have a target date for starting one and didn’t know how long it would last. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Stanton likely won’t need a long rehab assignment because he doesn’t play a position on defense.
“It depends on what kind of arms I get available [for live batting practice sessions],” Stanton said, “and how I feel in those at-bats.”
Stanton, who also took batting practice on the field Wednesday, has taken rounds of injections to address the pain in his elbows and reiterated that he will have to play through pain whenever he returns.
“If I’m out there, I’m good enough to play,” Stanton said, “and there’s no levels of anything else.”
Stanton’s elbow troubles go back to last season; he played through the World Series with the pain, slugging seven home runs in 14 postseason games. But he said he stopped swinging a bat entirely in January because of severe pain in the elbows and didn’t start taking swings again until March. At one point, Stanton said, season-ending surgery was possible, but that was tabled.
“I know when G’s in there, he’s ready to go,” Boone said. “He’s not going to be in there if he doesn’t feel like he can be really productive, so I know when that time comes, when he’s ready to do that, we should be in a good spot.
“And hopefully we’ve done some things, the latter part of the winter and into the spring, that will set him up to be able to physically do it and withstand it. But also understanding he’ll probably deal with some things.”
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Max Scherzer took what the Toronto Blue Jays hope is a significant step Wednesday in his return from a right thumb injury when he threw to hitters for the first time since going on the injured list in March.
“I thought his stuff was really good,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. “Afterward, he said he felt good, so that’s a really good step in the right direction.”
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who signed a one-year, $15.5 million deal with Toronto in February, threw 20 pitches. Barring a setback, Schneider said he would repeat the workout but with more pitches over the weekend.
“It felt good,” Scherzer, 40, said. “I’ve gotten all the inflammation out, so I can finally grip the ball again and not blow out my shoulder. But I’m not celebrating this until I’m back starting in a major league game.”
Scherzer has received two cortisone injections to relieve inflammation in the thumb this season. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier this week and is not eligible to be activated until May 29.
He went 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in nine starts for Texas last season, starting the year on the injured list while recovering from lower back surgery. He said Tuesday that his problematic right thumb, which also affected his 2022 and 2023 seasons, was just as big of an issue in 2024.
“This is what knocked me out in 2023, and [I had it] all of last year,” Scherzer said. “It wasn’t so much the back injury, it was this thumb injury giving me all the fits in the world. I thought I addressed it. I thought I had done all the grip-strength work, but I came into spring training, and it popped back out.”
Scherzer left his debut start with the Blue Jays against Baltimore on March 29 after three innings because of soreness in his right lat muscle. He said after the game that his thumb issue was to blame for that soreness.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland board approved a $14.3 million contract on Wednesday to begin the demolition and rebuilding of Baltimore’s storied but antiquated Pimlico Race Course, home to the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
The vote by the three-member Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Wes Moore, was made 10 days before the 150th Preakness Stakes, which is scheduled for May 17. It will be the last time the annual horse race will be held with the existing structures in place before the track is rebuilt on the same site. The demolition will begin shortly after this year’s race.
“There cannot be a better time to announce the beginning of a transformation that will allow Pimlico to become a year-round hub for economic activity within the Park Heights community,” Moore said of the Baltimore neighborhood and longtime home of the race.
Under the plan, the Preakness will take place in Laurel Park, located just southwest of Baltimore, in 2026 while the new facility is built, before returning to Pimlico in time for the 2027 race.
Craig Thompson, the chair of the Maryland Stadium Authority which is overseeing the design of the new track, said the plan is to make Pimlico the home of Maryland thoroughbred racing. The track will go from hosting about 15 races a year to well over 100, Thompson said.
“This is more than just about a racetrack, as historic and important as it is,” Thompson said. “This is about bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in state investments to Park Heights.”
Thompson also shared a preview of the design plans. They include a new clubhouse with architecture inspired by the Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore’s Druid Hill park and the original Pimlico Clubhouse, which included a colonnade and rooftop balconies, Thompson said.
Last year, the board approved a deal to transfer ownership of Pimlico from The Stronach Group to the State of Maryland in order to ensure the Preakness remains in Baltimore.
The state has been wrestling with what to do to restore the old racetrack for decades. Aptly nicknamed Old Hilltop, the track opened in 1870. It’s where Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat and many others pranced to the winner’s circle.
But its age has long been a concern. In 2019, the Maryland Jockey Club closed off nearly 7,000 grandstand seats, citing the “safety and security of all guests and employees.”
The horse racing industry and other equine industries have been a cornerstone of Maryland agriculture, as well as an integral part of preserving green space.
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