There will always be a warm place in my heart for the OG Top 100 Prospects Rankings (I do a full Top 500+ Prospects Rankings in very early February). I remember the good old days when if a prospect didn’t crack a Top 100 Prospects Rankings, they were considered garbage. When a non Top 100 prospect used to break out on the MLB level, people’s heads would explode on how such a “non” prospect could slip through the cracks. And as a writer, if you were able to identify a non Top 100 prospect who was actually good, you were hailed as one of the true geniuses of your time. Times have changed obviously, and now prospect lists can be never ending. A non Top 100 prospect used to be super deep and underrated. Now, a prospect has to be like a non Top 500 prospect to impress people. So before I drop the full Top 500 in a few weeks, let’s lay down some roots with the OG Top 100. Top 20 free here on the Brick Wall. Full analysis, Prime Projections, and 2025 Projections (if applicable) for every player. Here is the Top 100 Prospects Rankings for 2025 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon):
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Atlanta Braves—Baltimore Orioles—Boston Red Sox (free)—Cincinnati Reds–Chicago Cubs (free)—Chicago White Sox—Cleveland Guardians—Detroit Tigers—Kansas City Royals—Los Angeles Angels—Los Angeles Dodgers (free)—Miami Marlins—Milwaukee Brewers (free)—Minnesota Twins—New York Mets (free)—New York Yankees (free)—Oakland Athletics—Philadelphia Phillies—Pittsburgh Pirates—San Diego Padres—Tampa Bay Rays—Texas Rangers—Toronto Blue Jays—Washington Nationals (free)
*I excluded Roki Sasaki from these rankings because I’m sick of putting him first on all of these prospects rankings when he’s really not a prospect, but he would be first if I included him
1) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 23.1 – Crews’ dynasty value/hype has seen some fluctuations since being drafted, but the thing that was quietly flying under the radar, was how good he was on the bases, and for fantasy, that has a major impact on his value. He stole 25 bases in 100 games in the upper minors, and then he stole 12 bags with a double plus 29.3 ft/sec sprint in his 31 game MLB debut. He only stole 6 bases in 71 games his junior year of college, and then went 3 for 7 in his pro debut, so I can’t blame anyone for not expecting it, but it’s clearly a real skill he has, and it makes Crews insanely exciting for fantasy again. He combines the speed with above average contact rates (19.7% K%), above average chase rates (26.6%), and plus power (94.7 MPH FB/LD EV in the majors and a 90.2 MPH EV in the minors). The only quibble in his profile is the low launch (8.8 degrees), but he has the skillset to make that work, and he only needs to raise it a bit higher to be in a completely fine range, which I’m betting he will. The Langford vs. Crews debate might not end up as easy as we thought, and with Crews not really being considered in that lofty tier anymore, there could be a buy window here this off-season. If you can buy off the relatively subdued hype and .641 MLB OPS, I would be all over it. He also has a lock on a full time job. He’s my #1 prospect in baseball, and he just ranked 44th overall on A Top 200 Sneak Peek of the 2025 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon). – 2025 Projection: 81/21/76/.259/.334/.448/26 Prime Projection: 94/27/97/.278/.359/.481/28
2) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 22.2 – The Yankees didn’t want to unleash Dominguez in the majors lasty year, and his .617 OPS in the 67 PA he did receive isn’t super impressive, but make no mistake, Dominguez is still on the superstar path. His 75.4 MPH swing is straight elite, which proves right there that his talent really wasn’t that overhyped as an international prospect. His 23.4% whiff% was comfortably above average, which is pretty huge to see, and his 28.1% Chase% was slightly above average. Tack on plus speed, and Dominguez’ beastly potential was even able to shine through despite the Yanks refusing to unleash him. And oh yea, he destroyed the upper minors immediately after returning from Tommy John surgery in mid May with a 135 wRC+, 11 homers, 16 steals (in 17 attempts) and a 20.0/8.8 K%/BB% in 58 games. Is he really 22 years old and not like 26 years old? Beats me. But I don’t care when it comes to a talent this huge (I gave my thoughts on MLB cracking down on players’ lying about their ages in the Philadelphia Phillies Dynasty Team Report). I see no reason why the Yanks won’t unleash him immediately in 2025, and he could be on a beeline for elite dynasty asset status in short order. Go after him. – 2025 Projection: 83/21/76/.246/.323/.434/26 Prime Projection: 109/28/91/.266/.351/.487/34
3) Kristian Campbell – BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 – Campbell possesses one of the most visually disgusting swings I have ever seen, and I mean that in the best way possible. It looks like he literally unhinges his shoulder to turn his body into a cannon, absolutely unfurling on the baseball. Here is what I wrote about a homer Campbell hit in early September in the in-season Dynasty Baseball Rundowns: “on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen.” Underscoring my visual evaluation of that explosive shoulder movement is that shortly after that homer he hit the IL with a lat strain, which is right under the shoulder blades. Campbell underwent a well documented swing change and bat speed training to unlock more power last off-season, which was obviously successful beyond anybody’s wildest imagination, so let’s just hope that it’s not going to cause more injuries. That is the only small thing that is even rattling around in my brain as a negative, because the season he just had was nothing short or spectacular. He slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers, 24 steals, and a 19.9/14.3 K%/BB% in 115 games spread across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). He was just as dominant in the upper minors as he was at High-A with across the board domination. He hits it hard, he has a good feel to hit, he has a good approach, he has size (6’3”, 191 pounds), he has bat speed, he can lift it, and he has speed. You can be hesitant to fully buy in because it feels like he came out of nowhere, but he put up a 1.033 OPS in 45 games in the ACC in 2023, a .932 OPS in 58 games in 2022 in the Northwoods League, and then a .911 OPS in 22 games at mostly High-A in his pro debut, so it’s not his fault that everyone underrated him. He always had a good feel to hit and good approach, and he always had the frame and athleticism to tack on more power, so I’m not going to hold it against him that he wasn’t more hyped (4th round pick in 2023). He still didn’t lift and pull the ball a ton with an under 40% Pull% and under 30% FB%, but he knew when to pick his spots (as you saw with that homer video above), and he has the type of profile that can thrive without an extreme lift and pull profile. I’m all in on Campbell. He’s an elite prospect who has a chance to break camp in the bigs. 2025 Projection: 68/16/61/.252/.324/.423/19 Prime Projection: 98/26/89/.277/.356/.478/26
4) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.11 – Because the rule of prospecting is that if you are even the smallest, tiniest, tiny bit lower on a prospect than other prospectors (most have Anthony as the #1 prospect in baseball), you must bash that prospect with an overly critical lens, let me start with the negatives here. For one, Anthony isn’t the best base stealer with a career 38 steals in 52 attempts (he was 21 for 28 last year), so there is risk that he doesn’t run as much in the majors as we hope. Secondly, he hits the ball on the ground a lot with an around 50% GB% in 2024, which could limit his homer upside. And lastly, there is some hit tool risk with a 23.5% K%. Now that we got that out of the way, let me just say that I obviously love Anthony, he’s a legit 50/50 coin flip with Campbell, and he’s a no doubt elite prospect. He started the season as a 19 year old in the upper minors and obliterated both Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .291/.396/.498 with 18 homers, 21 steals, and a 23.5/14.6 K%/BB% in 119 games. He crushes the ball, he has speed, he has size, he has elite age to level production, and he hit both lefties and righties well in 2024. He’s as close to a Gunnar Henderson clone as there is, and if you wanted to put him as the #1 prospect in baseball, I wouldn’t argue with you. He’s going to be a beast. 2025 Projection: 51/13/46/.251/.328/.422/10 Prime Projection: 92/31/98/.272/.363/.493/18
5) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.4 – The little man discount never fails. Baseball scouts see a little man, and they immediately shave a few inches of projection right off the top. I don’t mind it, because it consistently creates excellent buying opportunities for the right players (see the Chicago Cubs Team Report Dynasty Strategy Section below for more thoughts on this), and Matt Shaw is definitely one of those right players. He went a little later than he should have in the real MLB Draft, then he went a little later than he should have in Dynasty First Year Player Drafts, and now he’s getting ranked a little later than he should be on prospect lists. He’s an elite prospect that gets ranked like a merely good one. He’s under 6’0”, but his bat packs a true punch, putting up an 89.3 MPH EV with a 14.6 degree launch in 35 games at Triple-A. He smoked 21 homers on the season in 121 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not a pull machine, but a lot of these lift and pull machines put up some pretty low batting averages, and a profile like Shaw doesn’t need to only pull the ball. He can use his hard hit ability, plus speed (31 steals), and plus contact rates (18.2% K%) to do damage when he goes oppo. He also walks a ton with a 11.9% BB%, making him a likely top of the order bat. Don’t fall into the little man trap, Shaw is going to be a do everything fantasy terror when he gets his shot, and with the Isaac Paredes/Cam Smith trade, that shot could come very early into 2025. Shaw’s been a target for me from before his junior year of college, and he remains a target for me. – 2025 Projection: 71/17/65/.256/.318/.419/22 Prime Projection: 96/23/83/.276/.348/.461/26
6) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.2 – Williams put up a 31.8% K% in 105 games at High-A in 2023, so the worry was that the K rate would explode against upper minors pitching, but that didn’t happen. It actually improved at Double-A with a 28.5% K%, and that was good enough to let his special talent shine. He jacked 20 homers with 33 steals, a 11.5% BB% and a 142 wRC+ in 115 games. He’s a still projectable 6’2”, 180 pounds with an explosive righty swing that is made to launch homers. He’s also an excellent athlete with plus speed and plus SS defense. Tampa’s SS job is literally waiting for him, and because of his plus defense, he is sure to have all the leash he can handle even if it takes his hit tool a year or two to adjust to MLB pitching. If he can keep the K% in the high 20’s, he will be a beast, and if he can continue to improve on it at only 21 years old, there is near elite dynasty asset upside. – 2025 Projection: 28/10/35/.230/.300/.424/9 Prime Projection: 89/28/96/.254/.334/.483/23
7) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 18.6 – De Vries is my pick to be the #1 overall fantasy prospect in baseball by this time next year (in a tight race with Walker Jenkins and Sebastian Walcott), that is unless he loses rookie eligibility because San Diego are madmen when it comes to promoting their elite prospects. There are already rumors they are considering calling De Vries and Salas up in 2025, which is straight wild. It did work out for Jackson Merrill, so who am I to judge? Merrill was 20 years old of course while De Vries and Salas are 18, but I love to see a team pushing the limits and setting new upper standards on how fast a prospect can fly through the minors. And De Vries has the type of talent that just might be able to pull it off. He was sent straight to full season ball for his pro debut, and while it took him a few months to find his footing, he went gangbusters once he did, slashing .275/.400/.563 with 11 homers, 8 steals, and a 20.5/14.9 K%/BB% in his final 40 games. Even with the early struggles, he still put up a 116 wRC+ in 75 games which is just silly for a 17 year old. The thing that separates De Vries from Jenkins, Walcott and De Paula for me, is that there are zero questions about him getting to his raw power. He put up a 32.4% GB%, 49.3% FB%, and 49.5% Pull%. I fully believe those other guys will get to their raw power as well, don’t get me wrong, but De Vries seems to be one step ahead of them in that area. His season ended in mid August with a shoulder injury, but he played in the AFL, and while he didn’t play especially well, it’s still nice to see the shoulder isn’t an issue. He’s an elite prospect right now, and if he doesn’t end up at #1, he won’t be far off. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 91/31/99/.271/.353/.513/20
8) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.1 – My Kyle Tucker comp for Jenkins last off-season turned out to be eerily accurate, at least for what they each did in their first full year of pro ball as 19 year old’s. Tucker had 9 homers with 32 steals and a 16.3/10.1 K%/BB% in 117 games in the lower minors, while Jenkins had 6 homers with 17 steals and a 12.8/15.2 K%/BB% in 82 games. Like Jenkins, Tucker also wasn’t a burner, and nobody really expected the steal totals to stick in the majors, but they did. And like Jenkins, the only thing that hadn’t fully developed yet was the power, but Tucker had a monster power explosion the very next season, hitting 25 homers in 120 games split between High-A and Double-A. I see no reason why Jenkins can’t have that same power explosion at 6’3”, 210 pounds with one of the sweetest lefty swings this game has ever seen. He doesn’t hit the ball on the ground too much and he can pull it, so while his hard hit numbers weren’t too impressive, they weren’t too bad either, and it would be pretty shocking if he didn’t develop impact power. He’s on a beeline for elite dynasty asset, and he’s among the favorites to be the #1 prospect in baseball by the middle of 2025. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 103/27/96/.282/.365/.504/18
9) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 22.0 – Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023 and missed the entire 2024 regular season, but he got healthy in time for the AFL, and he’s gone right back to dominating with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 18/4 K/BB in 15.2 IP over 6 outings. Just seeing that he was able to ramp up and start pitching in games without getting re-injured is a big first step that we can cross off our worry list this off-season. But he’s also proving he is nearly 100% healthy with the plus to double plus fastball sitting mid to upper 90’s. Like we saw with Shane Baz, it seems that breaking ball crispness and consistency can be something that lags behind after Tommy John, but long term the slider projects as plus and he also throws a lesser used curve and change that could end up plus pitches in their own right. If you ignore the injury, he’s basically a perfect pitching prospect with size, athleticism, velocity, double plus fastball, plus secondary, diverse pitch mix, and plus control. And now that we’ve seen him back on the mound and thriving, the injury risk is a bit lessened. He moves back into my top spot among pitching prospects after his AFL performance, but it’s still a tight race with Noah Schultz, who I absolutely love. It was announced the Phillies plan to slow play him in 2025, which his ETA in the majors around July, and if that helps keep him healthy, avoiding the end of season dilemma for a contending team where he’s at his innings limit, I’m all for it. – 2025 Projection: 6/3.68/1.20/86 in 80 IP Prime Projection: 15/2.95/0.91/225 in 180 IP
10) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.8 – Baby Johnson is the #1B pitching prospect in baseball, and while there are other really good contenders (Jobe, Bubba, Kumar), Schultz holds this spot for being absolutely unprecedented. Even the Baby Johnson nickname might not fit, as Randy Johnson had an insane 318 walks in 400.1 minor league IP before getting the call to the bigs. Schultz is 6’9”, 220 pounds with an almost sidearm lefty delivery that he uses to fire a mid to upper 90’s fastball and double plus slider (he also mixes in a cutter and a change). He sliced through the minors with absolutely no problem, putting up a 2.24 ERA with a 32.1/6.7% K%/BB% in 88.1 IP at mostly Double-A. Having that level of control as a 20/21 year old at that size with that kind of stuff is really mind blowing. He’s not a finished product as he’s yet to eclipse 4 IP in any outing of his career and he needs to continue to work on a good third/fourth pitch, but the combination of floor/upside is simply off the charts. Other than Roki Sasaki (who really shouldn’t be considered a prospect), and Painter now that he’s healthy, there is no other pitching prospect I would take over Schultz. – 2025 Projection: 3/3.71/1.24/82 in 75 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.05/1.01/230 in 180 IP
11) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.9 – Lawlar had a completely lost season in 2024 due to a broken thumb and hamstring injury, playing in just 23 games. He’s no stranger to injuries as he also underwent major shoulder surgery in 2021. Out of sight, out of mind never loses in the prospecting industry, but Lawlar is the type of talent where you should fight that urge. He already had a huge year in the upper minors in 2023, and he’s only 22, so I don’t think lost development time should be a major consideration here. Even in the 23 games he played this year he put up .900 OPS, and he then got sent to the grown man Dominican Winter League and isn’t embarrassing himself with a .670 OPS. Only Hector Rodriguez of the Reds has a higher OPS of players around Lawlar’s age (he’s outdoing Noelvi Marte, Deyvison De Los Santos, and Liover Peguero). Just the fact he’s playing and getting reps in a league where everyone doesn’t put up silly numbers like the AFL is another reason to not get too hung up on the lost season. He has the potential for a special power/speed combo (20 homers and 36 steals in 105 games in 2023), and while there is some hit tool risk, it’s not really in that extreme zone with around mid 20 strikeout rates throughout his career. He’s not a finished product, and I would expect him to start the year in the minors, but Lawlar will be up eventually in 2025, and he can make a big impact immediately. Don’t ding him too much for the injuries. 2025 Projection: 55/14/57/.241/.312/.417/21 Prime Projection: 94/24/86/.266/.339/.459/38
12) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.7 – Basallo didn’t quite obliterate the upper minors like he did the lower minors, slashing .278/.341/.449 with 19 homers, 10 steals, and a 21.1/8.6 K%/BB% in 127 games, but when you take into account that he was 19 years old for the vast majority of the season, it gets a lot more impressive. He was also much better at Double-A with a 134 wRC+ in 106 games than he was at Triple-A (62 wRC+ with a 31.4% K% in 21 games), so I think we can give him a pass for an adjustment period with a new team, coaches, teammates, league, home park etc … Even at Triple-A, the sweet lefty swinging, 6’4” Basallo put up a 91.1 MPH EV. He’s always put up solid contact rates in the minors, but the spike at Triple-A could also be an indicator that we shouldn’t expect the highest BA at least early in his career. He puts the ball on the ground a decent amount, but with his type of double plus power, he’s launch proof. I don’t know where he fits in defensively with Adley behind the plate, and plenty of competition at 1B (Mayo and Mountcastle), but long term there seems to be plenty of room for all of them. He’s a special power bat. – 2025 Projection: 28/9/35/.241/.300/.430/2 Prime Projection: 84/30/97/.268/.337/.505/6
13) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 22.1 – You can’t talk about Rodriguez without talking about the fact that the guy is rarely on the field. He played in only 47 games this year due to a nagging thumb injury, and he played in only 47 games in 2022 due to a meniscus tear (knee). He did get in a mostly full season in 2023 though (he missed a few weeks with an abdominal strain), and he got in a full rookie ball season in 2021, so I’m hesitant to officially slap the injury prone label on him. It’s something to take into account to break a tie, but his upside is way too high to meaningfully move him down the rankings because of it. He’s a power/speed/OBP beast with 9 homers, 9 steals, and a .459 OBP at mostly Double-A in 47 games. It was good for a 203 wRC+ at the level. He crushes the ball, he lifts it, and he’s an excellent athlete who plays CF. Injuries aren’t the only concern though, he also has strikeout problems with a 29.7% K%. Some of it is because of how patient he is, but definitely not all of it. I wouldn’t say Minnesota’s OF is wide open, but Minnesota already announced how they want to limit Buxton to like 100-110 games next year, and while they have solid options for their corner spots, they are far from locked down. If Rodriguez is healthy and producing at Triple-A, it might not be long before he gets the call to the majors, and there is potential for monster fantasy impact, especially in an OBP league. – 2025 Projection: 36/10/31/.224/.310/435/8 Prime Projection: 92/29/89/.248/.342/.490/24
14) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.1 – The 6’4”, uber athletic Walcott is the type of special talent where you can watch a few swings of his on Youtube as a 16 year old and immediately fall in love with him, which is exactly what happened when he was my #1 target from his international class. He’s then been that rocket ship prospect you hope for, culminating with him putting up a 172 wRC+ at Double-A as an 18 year old … granted it came in 5 games with a 29.2/4.2 K%/BB%, but I felt it would be more dramatic to leave that part out. And what he did at Double-A was more or less meaningless when he was already over 4 years younger than the average player at High-A, where he slashed .261/.342/.443 with 10 homers, 26 steals, and a 25.5/10.6 K%/BB% in 116 games. It was good for a 123 wRC+. It can be harder to evaluate players when they are so much younger than the level, but there was actually a similarly talented 18 year old at High-A all season with Walcott, Ethan Salas, and Salas put up a 75 wRC+ for comparison. The elite dynasty asset potential is clear with a potentially plus to double plus power/speed combo, but he’s not quite there yet. The hit tool is still a risk and the K rates have been high at every stop. He also hasn’t fully tapped into his raw power yet with relatively low flyball rates (although he pulls the ball over 50%). I wouldn’t quite place him in the truly elite prospect tier, but he’s in the one right under that. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 87/28/94/.263/.339/.484/24
15) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.7 – Selected 1st overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder 
… There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He didn’t standout in his pro debut, but he did enough to feel confident about him fulfilling his upside with 3 homers, 5 steals, a 126 wRC+ and 25.4/13.9 K%/BB% in 27 games at High-A. He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. He ranked 2nd overall on the Top 146 2025 First Year Player Draft Rankings (this link is to the free Top 12 here on the Brick Wall). – 2025 Projection: 31/7/31/.247/.319/.420/8 Prime Projection: 91/24/79/.271/.349/.455/25
16) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.7 – Selected 7th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Wetherholt might not have quite the ceiling of Bazzana, but even that is highly debatable, and he’s establishing that he most probably has the floor edge with a 11.9% K% at Single-A vs. Bazzana’s 25.4% K% at High-A. Different levels, but that is a pretty stark difference. He hit the ball on the ground a lot more than Bazzana, which is where some of that upside edge comes in, but he did it with a 91.9 MPH EV, so don’t cap his power upside too much. He’s two inches smaller than Bazzana at 5’10”, but he rocks that little man leg kick that I’ve always loved, and always seems to get the most out of smaller guys raw power. He slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz, likely due to missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. His 16 homer pace was also not that impressive when everyone else was hitting like 30+. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. I have Bazzana ranked over him, but I don’t think it’s some no brainer decision. JJ is right there. – 2025 Projection: 18/3/16/.259/.321/.401/5 Prime Projection: 96/19/73/.287/.353/.438/23
17) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.10 – De Paula doesn’t truly get the hype that Walker Jenkins, Sebastian Walcott and Leo De Vries gets, but he deserves every little bit of it. He might have the best hit/approach/power combo of all of them, putting up a 19.8/17.5 K%/BB% with a 130 wRC+ in 107 games split between Single-A and High-A. His game power still hasn’t exploded, but it ticked up from 2023 with 10 homers (2 homers in 2023), and he hits the ball so hard at 6’3” that there is little doubt about his power potential. He doesn’t sell out for power, and his groundball and pull rates are fine, so he has the potential to be one of those special monster triple-slash middle of the order mashers. He’s not a burner, but he went 27 for 30 on the bases, so the guy is obviously a good athlete who knows how to steal a base. He’s not a good defensive player, but with his potentially elite bat, I’m not scared off by that. He won’t get ranked as highly on real life lists as those aforementioned teenagers, but don’t let that deter you from thinking that Josue isn’t on that level. I was touting Josue back when he was barely heard of, and I’ll keep being high on him even as his hype gains steam. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 92/26/94/.276/.364/.482/14
18) Max Clark – DET, OF, 20.3 – Clark was the 3rd overall pick in a stacked 2023 draft class, and he played exactly as advertised in his first full season of pro ball, slashing .279/.372/.421 with 9 homers, 29 steals, and a 19.2/12.4 K%/BB% in 107 games split between Single-A (134 wRC+) and High-A (119 wRC+). He’s an absolutely electric player when you watch him with a vicious lefty swing and plus speed. He’s already one of the more exciting top of the order prospects in the lower minors, and when gains more power naturally, and starts lifting the ball a bit more (48% GB%), he can explode into a truly elite prospect. His hype has actually been relatively subdued considering how much pre draft hype he got, but make no mistake, Clark can be special. – ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 96/20/69/.277/.351/.443/30
19) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.7 – Just like with hitting prospects where there seems to be two camps between preferring the hit tool first, power later profile vs. power first, hit tool later, there is a similar split with pitching prospects which is pure stuff vs. refinement/command. Chandler most certainly fell into the pure stuff first category with his upside being obvious, but he had a lot of refinement needed with a 4.75 ERA and 25.6/10.9 K%/BB% 106 IP at High-A in 2023. And that refinement smacked upper minors hitters right in the face in 2024 with him exploding. He put up a 3.08 ERA with a 30.9/8.6 K%/BB% in 119.2 IP. He was even better at Triple-A than he was at Double-A. The fastball sits 96.8 MPH and notched a 30.5% whiff% at Triple-A. The changeup is his best secondary with a 83.6 MPH EV against and 41.2% whiff%. The slider is above average with a 85 MPH EV against and 29.4% whiff%. And the lesser used curve was a good pitch too. He also most certainly looks the part at a built up and athletic 6’2”. There is zero doubt that this is an elite pitching prospect with ace upside. He’s not a completely finished product and he needs to continue to improve his command and refine his pitches, but he’s shown he’s more than capable of making those improvements in 2024. He could crack the Pirates rotation out of camp, and even if he doesn’t, it won’t be long before he gets the call. I know everyone likes Jobe more, and I obviously love Jobe too, but I prefer Chandler by a hair – 2025 Projection: 7/3.87/1.25/137 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.34/1.13/220 in 185 IP
20) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.8 – I love Jobe. He’s definitely an elite pitching prospect. But there are a few other truly elite pitching prospects in the minors right now (Painter, Schultz, Bubba, Kumar), and Jobe’s 25.6/12.0 K%/BB% in 91.2 IP at mostly Double-A just isn’t as impressive as theirs. It came with a 2.34 ERA, and the stuff is filthy with a 97 MPH plus fastball and 3 potentially plus secondaries in his sweeper, changeup, and cutter, so he’s right there with all of them, he just doesn’t hold down the top spot right now. Or the top 2. I have him 4th behind Painter, Schultz and Bubba, but there is no shame in that game as those guys are potentially true aces, just like Jobe is. Jobe should break camp with the team in 2025, and while I wouldn’t expect an ace season right out of the gate, I’m betting on him getting there eventually. – 2025 Projection: 8/3.83/1.27/136 in 140 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.31/1.08/207 in 180 IP
21) Kumar Rocker – TEX, RHP, 25.4 – It’s been a super bumpy ride, to say the least, but Rocker has inexplicably blasted off into elite pitching prospect status after just 48.1 IP this season. Well, it’s not exactly inexplicable, it’s explicable because he always had the nasty stuff to get here if he stayed healthy. Can we say pitching 48.1 IP is “staying” healthy? I don’t know. But what I do know is that the high octane stuff is elite enough to take on that risk. The 4-seamer sits mid to upper 90’s, and while it’s not a huge bat missing weapon without tons of vertical break, he also throws a mid to upper 90’s sinker which pounds the ball into the dirt. He can start throwing the sinker more, and he can also work on the movement profile of the 4-seamer now that he’s healthy. The real money maker is the truly elite slider. It put up a 50% whiff% in 11.2 IP in the majors and a 71.4% whiff% in 10 IP at Triple-A. He rounds out the arsenal with a lesser used changeup, and how good he can get that pitch could be a big factor in just how high the upside will end up. Digging into the nitty gritty of his pitch mix is almost besides the point though, because staying healthy is essentially the only thing he needs to do. The Mets drafted him 10th overall and didn’t sign him because they didn’t like his medicals. He then underwent shoulder surgery shortly after that, but looked so good in Independent ball when he returned from the surgery, that the Rangers selected him 3rd overall the next year. Which he followed up with Tommy John in 2023, returning for the 2nd half of 2024, where he put up a 1.96 ERA with a 39.6/3.6 K%/BB% in 36.2 IP at mostly AA and AAA. It’s about as risky of a health profile as it gets, but all pitchers are so risky, that I don’t want to discount him too much because of it. I’ll take on extra risk when the upside is a true ace. The downside could be a high leverage reliever though if he keeps getting hurt. 2025 Projection: 9/3.71/1.20/146 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 12/3.35/1.13/190 in 160 IP
22) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 22.3 – Selected 2nd overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many pitchers are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall in a FYPD should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now, and while I already noted that Burns isn’t Skenes, the college hitting class also aren’t Langford/Crews. – 2025 Projection: 4/3.73/1.20/87 in 75 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/237 in 190 IP
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(I think I’m just joking) … San Diego flew him through the minors at absolutely unprecedented rates. He made his pro debut at Single-A as a fucking 16 year old!!! Is that even legal? And the even crazier thing is that he dominated with a 122 wRC+, 9 homers, 5 steals, and a 25.9%/10.9% K%/BB% in 48 games. SD then got a little too nutty by promoting him all the way up to Double-A to close out the season where he struggled with a 51 wRC+ in 9 games. He struggled at High-A before that too with a 35 wRC+ in 9 games. Regardless, what Salas did at Single-A for his age is truly mind blowing, and I hesitate to put a cap on what his ultimate upside could be. It might be crazy to say his ceiling is one of the greatest catchers of all time, but with how crazy San Diego handled him this year, let’s just all jump aboard the crazy train. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 84/29/92/.278/.362/.505/10