Midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams: ‘A’ is for Astros, ‘F’ is for …?
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David Schoenfield
We’re past due to hand out some midseason grades, so let’s hand out some midseason grades.
As we pass the 90-game mark in the 2025 MLB season, my team of the first half isn’t the well-rounded Detroit Tigers, who do get our highest grade for owning MLB’s best record, or the explosive Chicago Cubs or Shohei Ohtani‘s Los Angeles Dodgers, but a team most baseball fans love to hate: the Houston Astros. They lost their two best players from last season and their best hitter has been injured — and they’re playing their best baseball since they won the 2022 World Series.
Let’s get to the grades. As always, we’re grading off preseason expectations, factoring in win-loss record and quality of performance, while looking at other positive performances and injuries.
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
Tarik Skubal is obviously the headline act, but the Tigers are winning with impressive depth across the entire roster.
Javier Baez is putting together a remarkable comeback season after a couple of abysmal years and will become the first player to start an All-Star Game at both shortstop and in the outfield. Former No. 1 overall picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson have put together their own comeback stories, while Riley Greene has matured into one of the game’s top power hitters.
Given their deep well of prospects and contributors at the MLB level, no team is better positioned than the Tigers to add significant help at the trade deadline.
I heard someone refer to them as the Zombie Astros, which feels apropos. Alex Bregman left as a free agent, they traded Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez has been injured and has just three home runs, and the Jose Altuve experiment in left field predictably fizzled.
But here they are, fighting for the best record in the majors and holding a comfortable lead in the AL West. They’re getting star turns from Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jeremy Pena, while the risky decision to start Cam Smith in the majors with very little minor league experience has paid off, as he has now become their cleanup hitter.
If we ignore the COVID-19 season, the Astros look on their way to an eighth straight division title.
This could be at least a half-grade higher based on everything that has gone right: Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s attention-grabbing breakout, Tucker doing everything expected after the big trade, Seiya Suzuki‘s monster power numbers and Matthew Boyd‘s All-Star turn in the rotation. The Cubs are on pace for their most wins since their World Series title season in 2016.
There have been a few hiccups, however, especially in the rotation with Justin Steele‘s season-ending injury and Ben Brown‘s inconsistency, plus rookie third baseman Matt Shaw has scuffled, and the bench has been weak aside from their backup catchers.
Still, this is a powerhouse lineup, and the Cubs will seek to improve their rotation at the deadline.
They just keep winning of late, going from 25-27 and seven games behind the Yankees on May 25 to taking over first place from the slumping Bronx Bombers, a remarkable turnaround over just 36 games. They went 27-9 over a 36-game stretch ending with their eighth win in a row on Sunday.
George Springer‘s recent surge has been fun to watch, a reminder of how good he was at his peak, and Addison Barger has been mashing over the past two months.
Some of the stats don’t add up to the Blue Jays being this good — they’ve barely outscored their opponents — but there might be more offense in the tank from the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a healthy Anthony Santander, and the bullpen, a soft spot, is the easiest area to upgrade.
Their success is best summed up by the fact that Freddy Peralta is their lone All-Star, but they have a whole bunch of players who have contributed between 1 and 2 WAR.
Brandon Woodruff looked good Sunday in his first start in nearly two years, so that could be a huge boost for the second half.
I’m curious to see how Jackson Chourio performs as well. While his counting stats — extra-base hits, RBIs — are fine, his triple-slash line remains below last season, especially his OBP. He had a huge second half in 2024 (.310/.363/.552), and if he does that again, the Brewers could find themselves back in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.
The Rays started off slow, with a losing record through the end of April, but then went 33-22 in May and June to claw back into the AL East race — as the Rays usually do, last year being the recent exception.
Two key performers have been All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero, who has a chance to become just the third player to hit 40 home runs in his age-21 season, and All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda.
Due to the league wanting the Rays to play more home games early in the season, the July and August slate will be very road-heavy, so we’ll see how the Rays adapt to a difficult two-month stretch, especially since their pitching isn’t quite as deep as it has been in other seasons.
No, they’re not going to be the greatest team of all time. But they might win 100 games — even though Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, their huge offseason acquisitions, have combined for just two wins in 10 starts.
The lineup, of course, has been terrific, with Ohtani leading the NL in several categories and Will Smith leading the batting race. By wRC+, it’s been the best offense in Dodgers history.
If they can get some combo of Snell, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow healthy, plus Ohtani eventually ramped up to a bigger workload on the mound, the Dodgers still loom as World Series favorites.
They are on pace for 95 wins, mainly on the strength of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez, who are a combined 23-7 with 11.8 WAR. Jesus Luzardo‘s ERA is bloated due to that two-start stretch when he allowed 20 runs, but he has otherwise been solid as well.
But, overall, it hasn’t always been the smoothest of treks. The bullpen has imploded a few times and the offense has lacked power aside from Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper is back after missing three weeks, and they need to get his bat going. Look for some bullpen additions at the trade deadline — and perhaps an outfielder as well.
The Cardinals have been a minor surprise — perhaps even to the Cardinals themselves. St. Louis was viewing this as a rebuilding year of sorts — not that the Cardinals ever hit rock bottom and start completely over. They had a hot May, winning 12 of 13 at one point, but the offense has been fading of late, with those three straight shutout losses to Pittsburgh and six shutout losses since June 25.
The starting rotation doesn’t generate a lot of swing and miss, with both Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas seeing their ERAs starting to climb. Brendan Donovan is the team’s only All-Star rep, and that kind of sums up this team: solid but without any star power. That might foretell a second-half fade.
All-Star starting pitchers Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, plus a dominant bullpen, have led the way, although after starting 12-4, the Giants have basically been a .500 team for close to three months now. Rafael Devers hasn’t yet ignited the offense since coming over from Boston, and the Giants have lost four 1-0 games.
These final three games at home against the Dodgers before the All-Star break will be a crucial series, as Los Angeles has slowly pulled away in the NL West.
This was an “A-plus” through June 12, when the Mets were 45-24 and owned the best record in baseball, even though Juan Soto hadn’t gotten hot. Soto finally got going in June, but the pitching collapsed, and the Mets went through a disastrous 1-10 stretch.
The rotation injuries have piled up, exacerbating the lack of bullpen depth. Recent games have been started by Justin Hagenman (who had a 6.21 ERA in Triple-A), journeyman reliever Chris Devenski, Paul Blackburn (7.71 ERA) and Frankie Montas, who has had to start even though he’s clearly not throwing the ball well. The Mets need to get the rotation healthy, but also could use more offense from Mark Vientos and their catchers (Francisco Alvarez was demoted to Triple-A).
At times it has felt like Cal Raleigh has been a one-man team with his record-breaking first half. But he will be joined on the All-Star squad by starting pitcher Bryan Woo, closer Andres Munoz and center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who made it on the strength of his defense, as his offense has been a disappointment.
The offense has been one of the best in the majors on the road, but the rotation has been nowhere near as effective as the past couple of seasons, with George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missing time with injuries. They just shut out the Pirates three games in a row, so maybe that will get the rotation on a roll.
They’re just out of the wild-card picture while hanging around .500, so we give them a decent grade since that exceeds preseason expectations. It feels like a little bit of a mirage given their run differential — their record in one-run games (good) versus their record in blowout games (not good) — and various holes across the lineup and pitching staff.
But they’ve done two things to keep them in the race. One, they hit a lot of home runs. Two, they’re the only team in the majors to use just five starting pitchers. The rotation hasn’t been stellar, but it’s been stable.
The Padres are probably fortunate to be where they are, given some of their issues. As expected, the offensive depth has been a problem.
Not as expected, Dylan Cease has struggled while Michael King‘s injury after a strong start has left them without last year’s dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation (although Nick Pivetta has been one of the best signings of the offseason). Yu Darvish just made his season debut Monday, so hopefully he’ll provide a lift.
The Padres haven’t played well against the better teams, including a 2-5 record against the Dodgers, but they did clean up against the Athletics, Rockies and Pirates, going 16-2 against those three teams.
For now, the Reds are stuck in neutral. Leave out 2022, when they lost 100 games, and it’s otherwise been a string of .500-ish seasons: 31-29 in 2020, 83-79 in 2021, 82-80 in 2023, 77-85 in 2024 and now a similar record so far in 2025.
The hope was that Terry Francona would be a difference-maker. Maybe that will play out down the stretch, but the best hope is to get the rotation clicking on all cylinders at the same time. That means Andrew Abbott continuing his breakout performance, plus getting Hunter Greene healthy again and rookie Chase Burns to live up to the hype after a couple of shaky outings following an impressive MLB debut.
Throw in Nick Lodolo and solid Nick Martinez and Brady Singer, and this group can be good enough to pitch the Reds to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2013.
The Yankees have hit their annual midseason swoon — which has been subject to much intense analysis from their disgruntled fans — and that opening weekend sweep of the Brewers, when the Yankees’ torpedo bats were the big story in baseball, now seems long ago.
Going from seven up to three back in such a short time is a disaster — but not disastrous. Nonetheless, the Yankees will have to do some hard-core self-evaluation heading to the trade deadline.
The offense wasn’t going to be as good as it was in April, when Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice were all playing over their heads. So, do they need a hitter? Or with Clarke Schmidt now likely joining Gerrit Cole as a Tommy John casualty, do they need a starting pitcher? Or both?
From the book of “things we didn’t expect,” page 547: The Marlins are averaging more runs per game than the Orioles, Padres, Braves and Rangers, to name a few teams. They’re averaging almost as many runs per game as the Mets, and last time we checked, the Marlins weren’t the team to give Soto $765 million.
An eight-game winning streak at the end of June has the Marlins going toe-to-toe with the Braves for third place in the NL East even though the starting rotation has been a mess, with Sandy Alcantara on track to become just the fourth qualified pitcher with an ERA over 7.00.
Heading into the season, I thought that if any team was going to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West, it would be the Diamondbacks. The offense has once again been one of the best in the majors, but the pitching issues have been painful.
After the aggressive move to sign Corbin Burnes, he went down with Tommy John surgery after 11 starts. Meanwhile, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt each have an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00. Rodriguez was better in June before a shellacking on July 4, while Gallen remains homer-prone, so it’s hard to tell if improvement is on the horizon. Their playoff odds are hovering just under 20%, so there’s a chance, but they need to get red-hot like they did last July and August.
It feels like it has been more soap opera than baseball season in Boston, with the Devers drama finally ending with the shocking trade with the Giants.
If you give added weight that this is the Red Sox, a team that should be operating with the big boys in both budget and aspirations and instead seemed to only want to dump Devers’ contract, then feel free to lower this grade a couple of notches, even if the Red Sox are close in the wild-card standings.
On the field, the heralded rookie trio of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer hasn’t exactly clicked, with Campbell returning to the minors after posting a .902 OPS in April. A big test will come out of the All-Star break, when they play the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Astros in a tough 15-game stretch.
After last season’s surprise playoff appearance, it’s been a frustrating 2025 — although I’m not sure this result is necessarily a surprise.
There were concerns about the offense heading into the season and those concerns have proven correct. They were getting no production from their outfield, so they rushed Jac Caglianone to the majors to much hype, but he has struggled and might need a reset back in Triple-A. Even Bobby Witt Jr., as good as he has been (on pace for 7.5 WAR), has seen his OPS drop 140 points.
On the bright side, Kris Bubic emerged as an All-Star starter and Noah Cameron has filled in nicely for the injured Cole Ragans, so maybe they trade a starter for some offense.
Coming off a catastrophic 2024 season, nobody was expecting anything from the White Sox. Indeed, another 121-loss season loomed as a possibility. While they’re on pace to lose 100 again, they’ve at least played more competitive baseball thanks to their pitching.
Rookie starters Shane Smith and Sean Burke have shown promise, while rookie position players Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and now Colson Montgomery are getting their initial taste of the majors.
There has been the mix of calamity: Luis Robert Jr. has been unproductive and is probably now untradable, and former No. 3 overall pick Andrew Vaughn hit .189 and was traded to the Brewers.
The Twins are one organization that might like a do-over of the past five seasons. It feels like they’ve had the most talent in the division, but all they’ve done is squeeze out one soft division title in 2023. Now, the Tigers have passed them in talent and other factors, such as payroll flexibility.
There’s still time for the Twins to turn things around in 2025, but outside of that wonderful 13-game winning streak, they haven’t played winning baseball.
Overall, it’s been yet another bad season, despite Paul Skenes‘ brilliance. Really, do we talk enough about him? Yes, we do talk about him, but he has a 1.95 ERA through his first 42 career starts. Incredible.
Here’s an amazing thing about baseball. The Pirates are not a good team, but they recently put together one of the best six-game stretches in history. That’s not stretching the description. First, they swept the Mets — a good team — by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1. Then they swept the Cardinals — a good team — with three shutouts, 7-0, 1-0 and 5-0. They became the first team since at least 1901 to score 43 runs or more and allow four runs or fewer in a six-game stretch. And then they promptly got shut out three games in a row, making them the first to win three straight shutouts and then lose three straight shutouts.
Eighteen of our 28 voters picked them to win the AL West before the season, but it’s looking more and more like the 2023 World Series might be a stone-cold fluke in the middle of a string of losing seasons. That year, nearly everyone in the lineup had a career year at the plate, and the pitching got hot at the right time.
This year’s Rangers, though, have struggled to score runs, and while some have pointed to the offensive environment at Globe Life Field, they’re near the bottom in road OPS as well. It’s been fun seeing Jacob deGrom back at a dominating level, and Nathan Eovaldi should have been an All-Star.
Put it this way: If the Rangers can somehow squeeze into the postseason, you don’t want to face the Rangers in a short series. Indeed, if any team looms as an October upset special, it might be the Rangers.
The Nationals received superlative first-half performances from James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, while CJ Abrams is on the way to his best season. But there remains a lack of overall organizational progress, which finally led to the firings on Sunday of longtime GM Mike Rizzo and longtime manager Dave Martinez. A 7-19 record in June sealed their fate, as the rotation has been bad and the bullpen arguably the worst in baseball.
Until the Nationals figure out how to improve their pitching — or, better yet, find an owner who wants to win — they will be stuck going nowhere.
That fell apart in a hurry. Sunday’s loss was Cleveland’s 10th in a row, a stretch that remarkably included five shutouts. Indeed, the Guardians have now been shut out 11 times; the franchise record in the post-dead-ball-era (since 1920) is 20 shutouts in 1968.
There’s nothing worse than watching a team that can’t score runs, so that tells you how exciting the Guardians have been. Last year, the Guardians hit exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, keeping afloat what was otherwise a mediocre offense. That hasn’t happened in 2025 (trading Josh Naylor didn’t help either). Throw in some predictable regression from the bullpen, and this season looks lost.
We can’t give this a complete failing grade due to the emergence of All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson (the Athletics’ first All-Star starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014) and slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz, who have a chance to finish 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting. Plus, we have Denzel Clarke‘s circus catches in center field.
But otherwise? Ugh. The Sacramento gamble already looks like a disaster, three months into a three-year stay. The team is drawing well below Sutter Health Park’s 14,000-seat capacity, with many recent games drawing under 10,000 fans. Luis Severino bashed the small crowds and the lack of air-conditioning.
The A’s had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new park in Vegas, renting heavy construction equipment as background props. Maybe they should have spent that money on more pitching help.
Based on preseason expectations, the Braves have clearly been the biggest disappointment in the National League — fighting the Orioles for most disappointing overall.
What’s gone wrong? They haven’t scored runs, as the offense continues its remarkable fade from a record-setting performance just two seasons ago. The collapses of Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies lead the way, with lack of production at shortstop and left field playing a big role as well. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled, and the team is 11-22 in one-run games. Spencer Strider hasn’t yet reached his pre-injury level and Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before going down.
The Braves haven’t missed the playoffs since 2017, but that run is clearly in jeopardy.
The Orioles have a similar record to the Braves but have played much worse, including losses of 24-2, 19-5, 15-3 and two separate 9-0 shutouts.
They will spend the trade deadline dealing away as many of their impending free agents as possible, and then do a lot of soul-searching heading into the offseason. After making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, will this season just be a blip? While the pitching struggles aren’t necessarily a big surprise, what has happened to the offense? Are some of their young players prospects or suspects?
After two months of Cleveland Spiders-level baseball, it would be easy to make fun of the Rockies. Especially since they recently announced Walker Monfort — son of the owner — was promoted to executive VP and will replace outgoing president and COO Greg Feasel.
On the other hand, the Rockies are doing something right: They just drew 121,000 for a three-game series against the White Sox.
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Kiley McDaniel
Much has changed since we ranked all 30 MLB farm systems before the 2025 season. A big part of that shift has come in the past few weeks as the most recent prospects joined their new teams via the MLB draft and then front offices added — or subtracted — young players at the MLB trade deadline.
With two of the most impactful periods for any farm system in the rearview, it’s time to see how all 30 organizations stack up and what has changed most since Opening Day.
These dollar figures are a little lower (roughly 5% on average) than they’ll be in the winter, basically because when I do the deep dive on each system, it will reveal/upgrade more lower-tier prospects for each team, but it mostly won’t affect the higher-tier prospects.
This is a pretty objective process (each prospect has a dollar value based on their rank). Obviously, there’s some subjectivity in the process, too (how the players are ranked), and roughly the top-50 prospects in the sport have an empirical, but to most fans disproportionate, value. Having the most players in the top half of the Top 100 is the best way to be the top-ranked team in this exercise. On that note, let’s get to that first team.
Preseason rank: 9
The Mets have hovered in the middle third of my farm rankings for years — until the beginning of this season, when they moved up to ninth. They’re now on top, at the peak valuation of this crest of young talent, with a top-heavy system featuring prospects who are largely in the Top 100 and either in Triple-A or the big leagues.
This also isn’t a random occurrence or glut of players who are about to graduate from being prospects at once. Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna already graduated this year, Christian Scott graduated last year, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos the year before that, Francisco Alvarez before that — and there have also been several midlevel prospects traded out of the system over the past two deadlines: Jesus Baez, Drew Gilbert, and Kade Morris lead the way.
At this time next year, I’d expect six of New York’s top eight prospects, if not more, to have either graduated or be up in the big leagues to stay, so this ranking won’t last very long, but that’s also because the Mets will have a roster teeming with useful big leaguers: the whole reason this list exists.
Preseason rank: 1
If you’re a regular reader of my rankings, the Dodgers have fared well for a while; they’ve been in my top-10 farm systems the past five rankings, dating back to after the 2021 season.
They have graduated Dalton Rushing, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer this year, with Alex Freeland possibly joining that group before the end of the year. The top of the system mostly position players in A-ball, so the Dodgers are likely to rank high for many years.
Preseason rank: 7
The Mariners have quietly put together a great system built on solid scouting and development while not trading their top-tier prospects. Instead, Seattle has dipped into its second tier when needed, such as moving first baseman Tyler Locklear and pitcher Brandyn Garcia to upgrade the lineup at the trade deadline
The Mariners’ draft focus a few years ago was heavily on prep position players, but that has shifted a bit to include pitchers, with potential frontline starters Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson added over the past two summers.
Preseason rank: 20
A huge part of this ranking is that the Pirates have the No. 1 prospect in the sport in Konnor Griffin. They would be ninth on this list if he were the second prospect in baseball because there’s a premium in being the best prospect.
Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Rafael Flores, Thomas Harrington, and Nick Yorke are expected to be important players for next year’s team. Griffin will likely move into that conversation by the second half. I don’t know if this group will be enough to propel the big league team into contention, but the prospects will give Pittsburgh a chance to make that kind of move up the standings.
Preseason rank: 6
The deadline teardown wasn’t designed primarily to boost the Twins’ farm rankings, but obviously, it did that, too. The addition of young talent in trades that cut the MLB payroll, coupled with Minnesota having no major prospects graduate from eligibility this year (though Luke Keaschall is close), helped the Twins move up. Minnesota has been in the top 10 farm systems since the end of the 2023 season.
The talent is largely in the upper minors and will be relevant to the big league team next year. There’s also quality depth here, with the third-most prospects above 40 FV of any system.
Preseason rank: 8
The Brewers are bordering on the “Breaking Bad” “He can’t keep getting away with this” meme as they continually field a competitive (if not excellent) big league team on a shoestring budget but also have young players regularly appearing in the big leagues and have a strong farm system. The Brewers might have four players get votes for Rookie of the Year this season: Jacob Misiorowski, Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin, and Chad Patrick. It should be no surprise that Milwaukee also leads the league in quality depth in its farm system, too.
Preseason rank: 11
The Brewers and Rays lead the “How do they keep doing this?” teams, but the Guardians are quietly in third by being competitive, if not good, almost every year. 2B Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in 2024, is tracking like another impact-type talent as soon as next season, while deadline acquisition RHP Khal Stephen might be the next standout pitcher who wasn’t a high pick.
There’s depth to the system and lots of solid contributors, but keep an eye on outfielders Chase DeLauter (can he stay healthy?) and Jace LaViolette (can he make enough contact?), who both have star potential if it all clicks.
Preseason rank: 3
The Tigers might have the best top of the system in baseball, with two of the top six prospects and five of the top 60, but their depth has been reduced because of several graduations and some deadline deals.
Shortstop Kevin McGonigle and center fielder Max Clark have star potential and will be on the verge of the big leagues next season, but I could see them either not getting a chance to debut or getting a taste late in the season to preserve their 2027 Rookie of the Year/Prospect Promotion Incentive possibilities.
I’m also intrigued by the Tigers’ high-variance draft approach this summer as they took the two top high school position players with the shortest track record of facing high-end pitching: Jordan Yost and Michael Oliveto.
Preseason rank: 19
As Chaim Bloom takes the reins from John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations after this season, the Cards’ system is in the best shape it has been in years (they ranked 10th after the 2022 season).
JJ Wetherholt and Liam Doyle are the most recent first-round picks and are also potentially impactful rookies for the 2026 club. There are more questions regarding the other top prospects. Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence had up-and-down seasons, Cooper Hjerpe and Tekoah Roby had/have serious arm injuries, and Rainiel Rodriguez and Joshua Baez came out of nowhere.
Overall, there is solid depth in the system and with the young talent in the big leagues, so I’m intrigued to see how Bloom handles the team-building challenge.
Preseason rank: 15
The Marlins continue to trend up as they add young players. Miami’s farm system was ranked 29th before the 2024 season, No. 19 at this time last year, and No. 15 entering this season.
LHP Thomas White has emerged as a potential ace, and LHP Robby Snelling and CF Jakob Marsee led the charge of arrow-up prospects. SS Aiva Arquette and CF Cam Cannarella were the top players added in the draft.
I think the peak ranking for this wave of talent probably comes at some point next year (maybe postdraft, White is still considered a prospect), meaning many of Miami’s top prospects will be on the big league team at some point next season.
Preseason rank: 14
The O’s had the top farm system in the game through the 2024 trade deadline and then dropped to 14th before this season as their best young players continued to graduate to the majors.
They seem to have stabilized with this next wave of talent, and it looks like C Samuel Basallo and OF Dylan Beavers will narrowly keep their prospect status for this winter. The group behind those two emerged this season, with RHP Trey Gibson, CF Nate George and RHP Esteban Mejia all taking a big step forward. Meanwhile, having the largest 2025 draft pool led to a big incoming group of prospects led by C/RF Ike Irish, SS Wehiwa Aloy, CF Slater de Brun, and C Caden Bodine.
Preseason rank: 24
The Jays hit a home run with their top three picks in the 2024 draft: First-rounder RHP Trey Yesavage is the 35th-ranked prospect in the sport, second-rounder RHP Khal Stephen (now with the Guardians after a deadline deal) is the 59th-ranked prospect, and third-rounder LHP Johnny King is inside the top 150 prospects.
The Jays proved they can replicate that success with position players by drafting shortstop Arjun Nimmala in 2023, and they’ll look to do it again with 2025 first-rounder JoJo Parker.
Preseason rank: 25
The D-backs added young talent at the trade deadline, with 1B Tyler Locklear, LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Brandyn Garcia, LHP Mitch Bratt, RHP Juan Burgos, RHP Ashton Izzi, RHP David Hagaman, and RHP Andrew Hoffmann all ranking as 40 FV or better. Their returns on their top three picks in the 2024 draft (CF Slade Caldwell, LF Ryan Waldschmidt and 2B JD Dix) all look strong early as well.
There’s some real depth here (Arizona is tied for third in quality depth), and there’s a lot of talent that should be showing up in the big leagues and/or graduating next season.
Preseason rank: 4
It has been a busy year for the Red Sox system. The club graduated three top-tier position player prospects in Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Those three leave a giant hole in terms of prospect value, but SS Franklin Arias and LHP Payton Tolle led the charge of arrow-up prospects trying to fill it. Righties Kyson Witherspoon, Marcus Phillips and Anthony Eyanson headlined a pitcher-heavy 2025 draft haul.
15. Athletics ($182 million)
Preseason rank: 23
The headline here is in giant letters: They added No. 5 prospect SS Leo De Vries at the trade deadline to this current wave of talent moving through the minors that includes Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold. They are all potentially joining an incredibly deep group already in the big leagues as soon as next season: Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, Denzel Clarke, Luis Morales, J.T. Ginn, and Jack Perkins.
Preseason rank: 5
This is the first time the Rays have been out of the top seven in at least three years, and it’s for numerous reasons. First, they graduated some talent this year in CF Chandler Simpson, LHP Mason Montgomery, Jake Mangum, along with star 3B Junior Caminero last year. Secondly, it wasn’t a great year for development as Carson Williams and Xavier Isaac continued to plateau due to contact issues, leaving Theo Gillen as the one clear arrow-up player at the top of the system.
The players they got at the deadline were also mostly second-tier types, but the draft haul was deep with upside high school players who give hope for upward mobility next season.
Preseason rank: 16
The Rangers have held their position, graduating Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter this season but also having those holes filled by rising prospects like Devin Fitz-Gerald and Caden Scarborough, along with the recent draft class led by Gavin Fien, Josh Owens, and AJ Russell.
They have injured players (Alejandro Rosario and Winston Santos) who should return to the field and an intriguing international-signee position-player group (Yolfran Castillo, Yeremy Cabrera, and Elorky Rodriguez), giving this system some upward mobility next season, though it’s unclear when Rosario will return to the mound.
Preseason rank: 13
The Reds are in a bit of a farm system down cycle (they’ve ranged from fifth to 19th over the past four years), with Chase Burns graduating after the electric class of Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott, and Matt McLain lost eligibility.
Some of their current top prospects — 3B Sal Stewart, RHP Rhett Lowder, and RHP Chase Petty — should graduate early next season, which would then clear the way for the system to be defined by some potential impact players in the lower levels: C Alfredo Duno, 1B Cam Collier, SS Steele Hall, SS Tyson Lewis, and RHP Aaron Watson.
Preseason rank: 10
The Cubs graduated Matt Shaw and Cade Horton this year after Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, and Daniel Palencia last season.
This current prospect crop is headlined by players who have already debuted (Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara) or are in the upper levels of the minors (Jefferson Rojas, Jaxon Wiggins, Jonathon Long, Brandon Birdsell). I liked their recent draft crop, led by RF Ethan Conrad, LF Josiah Hartshorn, CF Kane Kepley, and RHP Kaleb Wing, and think there’s enough talent at the lower levels to make a next wave of talent.
Preseason rank: 2
The White Sox had some tough timing: SS Colson Montgomery lost his prospect eligibility after the top 100 was posted but before the farm rankings went up, moving them down from 13th to here.
They originally fell from second on the preseason list to 13th because of the graduations of Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Grant Taylor, Chase Meidroth, Shane Smith and Mike Vasil in addition to control issues on the mound for top pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith. The top two picks in the 2025 draft crop (Billy Carlson and Jaden Fauske) have upward mobility in 2026.
Preseason rank: 17
SS Aidan Miller, RHP Andrew Painter, and CF Justin Crawford are all in the upper minors and seem like they were off-limits for trades the past couple of trade deadlines. They could be the homegrown infusion of potential impact talent as the major league roster ages.
I liked the 2025 draft crop, with RHP Gage Wood and LHP Cade Obermueller as potential quick movers and RHP Matthew Fisher as a great value. CF Dante Nori and 2B Aroon Escobar are also notable arrow-up prospects this season.
Preseason rank: 12
The Nats are in a short downcycle in prospect value as James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, Brady House, Robert Hassell III, Brad Lord, and Cole Henry all graduated this year. They supplemented them with a big draft class, which was helped by going underslot at the No. 1 pick: SS Eli Willits, 1B Ethan Petry, SS Coy James, RHP Landon Harmon, and RHP Miguel Sime Jr. RHP Jarlin Susana needs to lower his walks to shoot up in the Top 100, and RHP Travis Sykora could do it if he stays healthy. I see the Nats rising up this list again next season.
Preseason rank: 18
Adding a potential star in SS Ethan Holliday, the fourth pick in the draft, is the headline for the Rockies’ farm system this year. I also liked the next few picks, landing RHP JB Middleton and RF Max Belyeu.
Another infielder with big league bloodlines, 3B Kyle Karros, has been the main arrow-up player in the system this year, and I liked the two headliner returns from both deadline-trade deals with the Yankees, getting 2B Roc Riggio and LHP Griffin Herring. LF Sterlin Thompson got hot after a slow start, but the top roughly dozen returning prospects have been mostly moving sideways this season.
Preseason rank: 29
1B Bryce Eldridge is the Giants’ top prospect and will likely play a big part for the big league team next season, while LHP Carson Whisenhunt and CF Drew Gilbert are in the big leagues. These are the next hopes for a homegrown star, following Logan Webb and Patrick Bailey (despite his down season). SS Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, 17, is more likely than Whisenhunt or Gilbert, but will take a while to get to the big leagues. SS Jhonny Level, RHP Keyner Martinez, and RHP Argenis Cayama are all rising from the international department along with Gonzalez.
Preseason rank: 21
The Yankees traded 16 prospects at this year’s trade deadline after dealing away six at last year’s deadline — along with four more in non-deadline deals the past two seasons. Oh, and one more notable prospect loss from yet another scenario.
To Brian Cashman’s credit, this exodus didn’t include any of the best handful of prospects in the organization: SS George Lombard Jr., RHP Cam Schlittler, CF Spencer Jones and RHP Carlos Lagrange. But these moves have cleared out much of the system’s depth and some potentially impactful young players, such as C Agustin Ramirez and 2B Caleb Durbin, and even a few solid veterans like RHP Michael King.
The past two draft and international signing classes have helped backfill the organization with young talent that could have the Yankees soon climbing this list again and reversing a trend that has seen New York go from the sixth-best farm system before the 2024 season to No. 15 after last year’s deadline, No. 21 entering this season and No. 25 in this edition.
Preseason rank: 27
The Braves have a fresh group of pitchers to supplement the current shortage at the major league level, led by LHP Cam Caminiti, RHP Didier Fuentes, and RHP JR Ritchie. As fans might be thinking, these pitchers are not solutions this year, but Fuentes could be next year and soon-to-graduate RHP Hurston Waldrep might have turned the corner with his strong major league debut.
This year’s draft haul, led by SS Tate Southisene and LHP Briggs McKenzie, has some of that high-upside prep formula that has worked for the Braves in the past, so I’d expect this ranking to continue to rise.
Preseason rank: 22
The Royals graduated Jac Caglianone and Noah Cameron as potential core players, with John Rave, Ryan Bergert, Jonathan Bowlan and Steven Cruz joining them as role players who have or soon will graduate.
Of the remaining prospects, C Carter Jensen is in Triple-A and could be a core player, and I like the draft haul (3B Josh Hammond, CF Sean Gamble and RHP Michael Lombardi were the first three picks).
Meanwhile, RHP Kendry Chourio has emerged as arguably the top pitcher in the system. Hammond and Gamble could be the high-end prospects needed to pull this system out of the bottom third of the league, like they were before the 2022 season.
Preseason rank: 28
The Angels have been between 25th and 30th in these rankings since the end of the 2021 season, as they’ve been focused on moving prospects quickly to the majors while trying to make the most of having Mike Trout in the organization.
A solid group of players is getting close to the big leagues from the past two draft classes, last year’s trade deadline return and the international department’s signings.
Righties Tyler Bremner, George Klassen, and Trey Gregory-Alford have the potential to be impact-type arms with some further development, but I don’t see star potential in the position player group.
Preseason rank: 30
The Astros have been between 27th and 30th in every list since the end of the 2021 season, as they’ve focused on keeping the big league team competitive.
2B Brice Matthews and OF Jacob Melton are the top two prospects in the system, but are both in the big leagues with everyday-player upside. After those two graduate, the Astros will need the past two draft classes, headlined by 3B Xavier Neyens and C Walker Janek, to pick up the slack.
Preseason rank: 26
You could probably see this coming after the Padres dealt away 20 prospects over the past two trade deadlines, and seven more in spring 2024 to acquire Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease.
The Padres had the fourth-best farm system before the 2024 season, and since then, essentially, a pretty good top 30 of prospects has been shipped out of San Diego’s system. It’s impressive that there’s still some talent here, and the Padres are still among the best teams in baseball at finding prospects anywhere they can.
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Kiley McDaniel
A lot has changed since the last time we ranked the top MLB prospects.
The MLB draft and breakout seasons have added new names to our list, replacing players who have graduated or regressed in 2025 — and some of the prospects in our ranking are in different places after a busy trade deadline in the majors.
All of that movement makes this the perfect time for an updated ranking of the top players in the sport — along with some of the biggest risers of the season — heading into the final weeks of the minor league season.
This is my ranking of these players for the long term, considering their upside, risk and proximity to the big leagues, in consultation with scouts and execs around the league. Here’s more on the grading tiers and lingo I use. Players in the big leagues are eligible for this update (MLB rookie eligibility rules apply here — 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the active roster) so you will see some recently called up major leaguers.
Now let’s get to my final 2025 ranking of the best young prospects in baseball.
60 FV tier
1. Konnor Griffin, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
It has been an improbable rise for the No. 9 pick in the 2024 MLB draft, going from being a high school hitter with big questions about his swing to ranking as the top prospect in the game in roughly 12 months.
I compared Griffin’s upside to Fernando Tatis Jr. at draft time and he’s following that plan, but with even better early reports on his shortstop defense and patience. Griffin is a plus-plus runner and thrower who can be average to above defensively almost anywhere on the field and has 30-homer upside, especially if he can lift the ball a bit more.
With some performance in Double-A (he was just promoted to the level), he will move into the hallowed 65 FV prospect tier, which doesn’t always have a player in it.
2. Kevin McGonigle, SS, Detroit Tigers
I was the guy in the media high on McGonigle when he was part of a very deep prep position-player crop in the 2023 draft — and my belief in him has paid off better than I could’ve expected so far.
The concerns at draft time were that his power/speed combo and odds to stick at shortstop weren’t strong enough to warrant going higher than 37th overall (where Detroit took him). He has been at least a passable shortstop as a pro and has a real shot to stick long-term. His power (by literally any measure) is now above average, if not plus.
McGonigle’s feel and on-base skills were never in question, so now he looks like he could be above average at everything in the batter’s box and closer to average on the bases and in the field.
3. Jesus Made, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
Made leapt onto the prospect scene last summer into the middle of the top 100 amid one of the best DSL performances we’ve ever seen. He has continued to deliver with an .801 OPS across both Single-A levels as a 17- and 18-year-old this season.
Made is an above-average contact/patience threat with at least plus power, though his flatter swing plane is keeping his homer totals down at the moment.
4. Samuel Basallo, C, Baltimore Orioles
Basallo has legit 40-homer potential and might be an every-day catcher. He is a good enough framer and blocker, and he has a plus arm, though his exchange and accuracy are lacking a bit.
The reasons I have him just behind Made are because of the rocky development path catchers typically take and the fact that Basallo still tends to chase pitches out of the strike zone, which could undermine both his on-base and power potential against big league pitching.
That said, Basallo has to be ranked high because he’s a 21-year-old catcher who just got called up to the majors and could lead the league in homers in a few years.
5. Leo De Vries, SS, Athletics
In the most A.J. Preller trade to date, the Padres sent De Vries to the A’s at the deadline in a package for reliever Mason Miller.
Though he is playing shortstop now, De Vries is a below-average runner and it’s looking more likely that he’ll need to slide over to third base.
The negatives end there as De Vries has a plus arm, above-average-to-plus power, great feel to pull and lift to get to that power in games, average-to-above contact/patience and all of that from an 18-year-old switch-hitter who is already playing in High-A.
There is some thought that he looks a little more like a very good player than a potential star, but either way De Vries is a very high probability, strong, every-day infielder with a shot to be an impact player.
6. Max Clark, CF, Detroit Tigers
Clark was the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft, and everything has basically gone to plan since Detroit selected him.
He is a plus runner who fits in center field defensively, and he has plus contact skills and plus pitch selection at the plate. He’ll probably hit 20 homers in his best seasons but should hover around 15 on an annual basis with lots of doubles and triples.
7. Colt Emerson, SS, Seattle Mariners
Emerson was the 22nd pick in that same 2023 draft as Clark, and it quickly became apparent that he was underrated.
He is now in Double-A and looks like he can be an every-day lefty-hitting MLB shortstop with above-average on-base percentages and 20ish homers.
8. Sebastian Walcott, SS, Texas Rangers
The sales pitch is easy here: Walcott is a 6-foot-4 potential long-term shortstop with big power.
That length to his frame creates plus-plus power potential — but also some swing-and-miss in the zone. His pitch selection is solid, but the main issue right now is that his flat swing plane is keeping him from posting homer totals that match his raw power.
9. Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Bazzana was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft but doesn’t have the conventional superstar upside you might associate with that.
He is a plus runner and fine second-base defender whose best offensive traits are his patience and pull/lift ability. His bat-to-ball and raw power are close to average, but he should post plus on-base percentages and hit 20ish homers annually.
10. Aidan Miller, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
Miller was another 2023 draft prep position player from the deep group that produced McGonigle, Clark and Emerson ranked above on this list.
He is on the shortstop/third base defensive spectrum but has improved defensively (and seems quicker on the basepaths, too) to the point that I think he can be an average defensive option at shortstop — though some teams would likely move him if they have a superior option.
Miller has above-average-to-plus raw power right now but still has some work to do to fully tap into it in games, though he has been productive with 21 homers and 70 stolen bases in 196 games the past two seasons.
11. Walker Jenkins, CF, Minnesota Twins
Jenkins has played only 163 regular-season professional games since going No. 5 in the 2023 draft because of various injuries. His .301/.405/.471 line with 16 homers and 34 stolen bases in those games while playing almost exclusively center field shows his power/speed combo and advanced feel to hit.
He is above average at basically everything on a baseball field, but durability has been an issue and that cost him a few spots on this list.
12. Josue De Paula, LF, Los Angeles Dodgers
I can’t shake the comp a scout gave me on De Paula a few years ago: Yordan Alvarez.
De Paula is a better runner and defender — he’s fine in left field — than the Astros slugger, but I don’t think he’ll be quite as elite at the plate. That said, De Paula should post plus on-base percentages buoyed by big walk rates and should grow into 25-30 homer seasons as he taps into his power.
13. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
The first pitcher on this list didn’t crack the top dozen spots because of both the risks of pitching prospects in general and also a bit of a dip in who is still eligible as Chase Burns and Jacob Misiorowski recently graduated.
Chandler’s past nine starts in Triple-A have been just OK — 42 innings, 50 hits, 5 home runs, 24 walks, 47 strikeouts, 4.93 ERA. So, while he seemed ready for a big league look before this stretch, it’s now harder for the Pirates to make the move — but Pittsburgh did decide to call up Chandler for his debut coming later this week.
He still has front-line potential though, with a repertoire headlined by a plus fastball that sits 96-100 and hits 102 mph.
55 FV tier
14. JJ Wetherholt, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
15. Thomas White, LHP, Miami Marlins
16. Kade Anderson, LHP, Seattle Mariners
17. Ethan Holliday, SS, Colorado Rockies
18. Jett Williams, SS, New York Mets
19. Nolan McLean, RHP, New York Mets
20. Eli Willits, SS, Washington Nationals
21. Jonah Tong, RHP, New York Mets
22. Andrew Painter, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
23. Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Lawlar is a sure shortstop in Triple-A and has grown into plus raw power, but has had some health, contact and consistency issues over the past few years. Wetherholt and Williams are also Triple-A shortstops but might move off the position depending on what their big league teams need.
The top three players on my 2025 MLB draft board went in the top four picks and fall into this tier: Anderson, Holliday and Willits.
White, McLean and Tong are all arrow-up prospects this season, joining Painter on the verge of the big leagues as potential front-line starters. I go back and forth on Tong vs. McLean: Tong has more command and a better changeup while McLean has multiple standout breaking pitches.
50 FV tier
24. Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
25. Franklin Arias, SS, Boston Red Sox
26. Eduardo Tait, C, Minnesota Twins
27. Carson Benge, CF, New York Mets
28. Luis Pena, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
29. Bryce Eldridge, 1B, San Francisco Giants
30. Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins
31. Sal Stewart, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
32. Seth Hernandez, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
33. Payton Tolle, LHP, Boston Red Sox
34. Arjun Nimmala, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
35. Trey Yesavage, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
36. Bryce Rainer, SS, Detroit Tigers
37. Rainiel Rodriguez, C, St. Louis Cardinals
38. Chase DeLauter, RF, Cleveland Guardians
39. Colson Montgomery, SS, Chicago White Sox
40. Liam Doyle, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals
41. Moises Ballesteros, C, Chicago Cubs
42. Angel Genao, SS, Cleveland Guardians
43. Ryan Sloan, RHP, Seattle Mariners
44. Eduardo Quintero, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers
45. George Lombard Jr., SS, New York Yankees
46. Zyhir Hope, RF, Los Angeles Dodgers
47. Gage Jump, LHP, Athletics
48. Rhett Lowder, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
49. Owen Caissie, RF, Chicago Cubs
50. Josuar Gonzalez, SS, San Francisco Giants
The 55 FV tier tends to be shallower at this time of year because there has been so much movement and the top end of the list is hollowed out by graduations; over the winter another dozen or so prospects will slide up a tier.
Keaschall and Montgomery (whose season has been a roller coaster, but he is now red-hot) should graduate soon and the majority of these players will be in the big leagues at some point next season.
Arias is a standout defender and contact hitter who needs to tap into more power but is just 19 years old. Tait was the headliner of the Jhoan Duran trade and could hit 25-30 homers as an every-day catcher.
On the pitching side, Hernandez was the No. 5 pick in July and could move up a tier with a hot start next season, while Tolle and Yesavage are arrow-up college arms from the 2024 draft who should be in the big leagues next season.
Rodriguez and Gonzalez are two of the risers from the previous list; Rodriguez has a real shot to stick behind the plate and hit 25 homers, while Gonzalez was the top signee from the January international class and has had a hot debut in the DSL. He could stick at shortstop, hit 20 homers and post plus on-base percentages but obviously has a long way to go. I won’t project the same rise for Gonzalez as Jesus Made and Luis Pena, but those were the two standout names from the DSL at this time last year.
51. JoJo Parker, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
52. Aiva Arquette, SS, Miami Marlins
53. Slade Caldwell, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
54. Josue Briceno, C, Detroit Tigers
55. Theo Gillen, CF, Tampa Bay Rays
56. Mike Sirota, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers
57. Emmanuel Rodriguez, CF, Minnesota Twins
58. Jamie Arnold, LHP, Athletics
59. Robby Snelling, LHP, Miami Marlins
60. Khal Stephen, RHP, Cleveland Guardians
61. Troy Melton, RHP, Detroit Tigers
62. Logan Henderson, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
63. Jonny Farmelo, CF, Seattle Mariners
64. Ethan Salas, C, San Diego Padres
65. Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners
66. Noah Schultz, LHP, Chicago White Sox
67. Michael Arroyo, 2B, Seattle Mariners
68. Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals
69. Cam Schlittler, RHP, New York Yankees
70. Luis Morales, RHP, Athletics
71. Travis Sykora, RHP, Washington Nationals
72. Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays
73. Alex Freeland, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
74. A.J. Ewing, CF, New York Mets
75. Cooper Pratt, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
Parker and Arquette (and Carlson just below) were the top position players in the 2025 draft outside of that top tier of Holliday and Willits. Caldwell and Gillen are arrow-up prep position players from the 2024 first-round group. Arnold was a borderline shocking drop to the No. 11 pick in the 2025 draft, largely tied to how hard his fastball was hit in college, but I think he still has mid-rotation upside.
Snelling, Stephen and Henderson have all been arrow-up this year mostly due to command and execution rather than a jump in raw stuff, though Snelling’s raw stuff has been a bit better. Schlittler and Morales are in the big leagues while Tiedemann is almost back from elbow surgery and Sykora is about to undergo surgery. Schultz and Salas have had tough seasons, but the tools are still there.
76. Caleb Bonemer, SS, Chicago White Sox
77. Billy Carlson, SS, Chicago White Sox
78. Cam Caminiti, LHP, Atlanta Braves
79. Hagen Smith, LHP, Chicago White Sox
80. Didier Fuentes, RHP, Atlanta Braves
81. Spencer Jones, CF, New York Yankees
82. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Minnesota Twins
83. Brandon Sproat, RHP, New York Mets
84. Tink Hence, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
85. Emil Morales, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
86. Lazaro Montes, RF, Seattle Mariners
87. Jarlin Susana, RHP, Washington Nationals
88. Jakob Marsee, CF, Miami Marlins
89. Jefferson Rojas, SS, Chicago Cubs
90. Luke Adams, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
91. Joe Mack, C, Miami Marlins
92. Ryan Waldschmidt, LF, Arizona Diamondbacks
93. Jeferson Quero, C, Milwaukee Brewers
94. Dylan Beavers, RF, Baltimore Orioles
95. Trey Gibson, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
96. Jurrangelo Cijntje, RHP/LHP, Seattle Mariners
97. Leonardo Bernal, C, St. Louis Cardinals
98. Charlee Soto, RHP, Minnesota Twins
99. Jackson Ferris, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
100. Jaxon Wiggins, RHP, Chicago Cubs
The White Sox and Braves make up the top of this section of the list. Fuentes had a tough big league debut, while Caminiti’s slider/arm speed taking one more step forward could vault him up this list. Smith, like Schultz, has had trouble throwing strikes this year, but the potential is still there. Bonemer had a loud pro debut while Carlson’s early returns will be watched closely as his age and offensive outlook put him just behind Parker and Arquette for some teams.
Jones has been red-hot of late but still has an uncertain outlook due to his long track record of contact issues and not hitting 20 homers in a season until his age-24 season. Speaking of red-hot, Marsee’s improved center-field defense, solid Triple-A showing and shocking MLB look allowed him to sneak onto the list before graduating.
Prielipp was on the shelf with elbow issues for years (30 total innings pitched in 2023-24), but now looks like a potential impact arm, likely in shorter stints. Sproat and Gibson could impact their teams early next season. Montes could hit 30 homers if it all clicks in the big leagues. Morales could be a 6-3 every-day shortstop who hits 25 homers annually.
10 players in contention who weren’t in the preseason top 200
Luke Dickerson, SS, Washington Nationals
Kyle Karros, 3B, Colorado Rockies
Caden Scarborough, RHP, Texas Rangers
Edward Florentino, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates
Johnny King, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Jacob Reimer, 3B, New York Mets
Jhonny Level, SS, San Francisco Giants
C.J. Kayfus, 1B, Cleveland Guardians
Josh Adamczewski, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers
Juneiker Caceres, RF, Cleveland Guardians
Dickerson probably isn’t a shortstop and needs to lift the ball more, but he has impact tools. Karros and Kayfus are in the big leagues, so they probably aren’t secrets. Florentino is a surprisingly polished pull-and-lift left-handed power hitter but needs to prove it at three more levels of the minors, and some scouts are still dubious.
King and Scarborough could be No. 2/No. 3 starters if their command continues to improve. Caceres is showing signs of developing into a strong every-day player with 25-homer upside. Adamczewski, Level and Reimer are not long-term shortstops, but they can all stick in the infield, they can hit and they all have above-average power potential with strong performances this season.
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