When you¡¯re in the prospect business, predicting is a big part of the gig. Ranking the top prospects, after all, is all about projecting who we think will be the best big leaguers in the future.
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Now, with the Triple-A season already underway, and the rest of the Minor League full-season levels kicking off on Friday, we¡¯re taking our prognosticating skills to the next level, making one bold prediction for a prospect from all 30 organizations.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Arjun Nimmala, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 85)
The 2023 20th overall pick took off after a midseason reset in his first full season and hit 12 homers in his final 43 games for Single-A Dunedin. That¡¯s the type of power many evaluators hoped Nimmala would show eventually in his career, so it was awfully encouraging that he got to it so soon. We say he¡¯ll keep it going -- even with a promotion to High-A Vancouver -- and set a new career high with at least 25 homers in 2025.
Orioles: Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF (No. 3)
Bradfield, the O¡¯s first-rounder in 2023, used his 80-grade speed to steal 74 bases during his first full season of pro ball. That was good for second in all of the Minors, behind Chandler Simpson¡¯s 104. Bradfield¡¯s numbers improved when he made it to Double-A, and getting on base more should lead to more attempts to steal. That, along with Simpson likely spending time in the big leagues, will allow Bradfield to lead the Minors in steals in 2025.
Rays: Chandler Simpson, OF (No. 7)
Let¡¯s stay on that speed theme. Simpson led the Minors with 104 steals last year, and there¡¯s no reason to expect him to slow down, even with a move to Triple-A Durham. He¡¯ll reach 100 steals again in the 2025 season, with at least 40 of them coming in the Majors. For reference, Jazz Chisholm Jr. ranked sixth in the bigs last year with exactly 40 thefts, so don¡¯t be surprised if Simpson is somewhere on the leaderboard, no matter when his debut comes.
Red Sox: Justin Gonzales, 1B/OF (No. 15)
After breaking into pro ball by slashing .320/.391/.517 with 20 extra-base hits and eight steals in 47 games in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, Gonzales will lead the Rookie-level Florida Complex League with 12 homers in 54 contests. His combination of raw power and swing decisions will make him one of the best first-base prospects in baseball.
Yankees: George Lombard Jr., SS/2B (No. 2/MLB No. 100)
The first in-season addition to our Top 100 Prospects list, Lombard will climb into the upper half of those rankings following a successful season split between High-A and Double-A. The son of former big leaguer George Lombard Sr., who's now a bench coach with the Tigers, George Jr. is a quality defender with the chance for at least solid tools across the board.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Guardians: Travis Bazzana, 2B (No. 1/MLB No. 9)
Bazzana went No. 1 overall in the 2024 Draft because he was the best pure hitter in the class, and that ability will carry him to Cleveland by August. He has no obvious weakness at the plate, adds 25-homer pop to his hitting ability and also has the plus speed and aptitude to steal bases.
Royals: Jac Caglianone, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 21)
The former Florida star certainly met the hype this spring with three homers and a 1.167 slugging percentage over 23 plate appearances in the Cactus League. Now that he¡¯s fully focused on hitting, we could see that power continue to blossom in pro ball, and if that happens, he could certainly be in a spot to join Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino as key homegrown pieces of the Royals lineup. The prediction is that he is the Minor League leader in home runs at the time of his 2025 promotion to the Majors.
Tigers: Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B (No. 3/MLB No. 27)
McGonigle showed an extraordinary ability to limit his chase and put the bat on the ball in his first full season, and he enters the 2025 season with a .310 career average. He continued to perform well this spring, despite coming off a fractured right hamate bone that cut his ¡®24 short, and that adds to the confidence that he¡¯ll continue to show one of the best hit tools in the Minors and win the Minor League full-season batting title this summer.
Twins: Walker Jenkins, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 3)
Perhaps the real prediction will be that Jenkins, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, will have a full and healthy 2025 campaign after a quad strain and a hamstring injury early in the year limited him to just 82 games a season ago. He still made it to Double-A at age 19 and will play all of this year at 20. With a full season, look for Jenkins to show why he¡¯s so highly regarded while he hits his way from Double-A to the big leagues at some point this season.
White Sox: George Wolkow, OF (No. 10)
Wolkow reclassified into the 2023 Draft and signed for $1 million as a seventh-rounder, and he'll play this entire season at age 19. He hit 11 homers in Single-A last year in what would have been his high school senior season, and he'll outhomer his age in 2025 with at least 20 blasts.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Angels: Christian Moore, 2B (No. 1/MLB No. 66)
In 2025, Moore will get more than 300 at-bats in the big leagues. This is really going out on a limb given that 2023 first-rounder Nolan Schanuel had over 100 ABs ¡ the summer after he signed and was on the Opening Day roster in 2024. Additionally, 2022 first-round pick Zach Neto had over 300 Major League plate appearances in his first full pro season. It¡¯s what the Angels do, and Moore, their first-rounder last year, likely would have been called up last summer if he hadn¡¯t gotten hurt. After a long look during Spring Training, he¡¯s going to hit his way to Los Angeles by June.
Astros: Brice Matthews, SS/3B (No. 2)
After having one former first-round pick (Cam Smith) change his position on the fly so they could add him to their big league lineup, the Astros will do it again late this season. Matthews will shift to second base and force his way to Houston with his combination of plus raw power and speed.
A¡¯s: Nick Kurtz, 1B (No. 2/MLB No. 37)
It was exciting to see that the A¡¯s agreed that their first-round pick from last year isn¡¯t too far from being big league ready, sending him all the way to Triple-A to start the year. It¡¯s only a matter of time until that power bat makes it up to the big leagues, which will allow Kurtz to hit 20 home runs at the highest level in his rookie season.
Mariners: Ryan Sloan, RHP (No. 8)
The Mariners went way over slot to take Sloan, an Illinois high school right-hander, in the second round of the 2024 Draft, giving the 6-foot-5 hurler $3 million to sign. He¡¯s yet to throw an official pitch -- that will come soon with Single-A Modesto -- but he¡¯s long been on our list of guys to watch and we¡¯re predicting he¡¯ll pitch his way onto the Top 100 by midseason.
Rangers: Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B (No. 1/MLB No. 16)
On his way to becoming one of the best players ever to come from The Bahamas, Walcott will rank as baseball's best prospect at the end of 2025. He has at least double-plus raw power and arm strength to go with hitting ability and solid speed, and he earned All-Star honors in the High-A South Atlantic League last season at age 18.
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Braves: JR Ritchie, RHP (No. 8)
The Braves took three high school arms with their first three picks at the start of the 2022 Draft -- all three have had elbow issues (Cole Phillips is with the Mariners now). Ritchie is the one on the other side of his May 2023 Tommy John surgery. The gloves will come off this year after he threw close to 50 IP last year and he¡¯ll top 100 innings pitched for the first time and pitch his way onto the Top 100.
Marlins: Thomas White, LHP (No. 1/MLB No. 40)
Not only will White challenge the Chicago's Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith for the title of the best lefty pitching prospect in the game, but he'll also make a case for being the top overall mound prospect. White's stuff made a jump in his first full pro season, when he fanned 29.2 percent of the batters he faced at two Class A levels, added a wipeout slider and showed more immediate polish than expected.
Mets: Jonah Tong, RHP (No. 6)
The 2022 seventh-rounder enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, striking out 160 batters in 113 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A, thanks to his riding fastball and above-average curveball. He¡¯ll certainly be tested in his return to the upper Minors, but the strikeouts should still come. Tong will strike out at least 32 percent of his batters faced, only a slight dip from his 34.2 percent mark in ¡®24.
Nationals: Alex Clemmey, LHP (No. 5) and TBD
This is more about a specific group than a specific prospect. The Nationals already boast two Top 100 arms in Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana. They will have four Top 100 pitchers by the end of 2025: Sykora, Susana, Clemmey and the No. 1 overall pick from this year¡¯s Draft. Florida State left-hander Jamie Arnold would be the early favorite if the Nats do go the mound route, but we¡¯ll keep it open enough for another arm to jump into that No. 1 discussion by July.
Phillies: Aidan Miller, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 26)
Miller entered pro ball with the reputation of having tremendous raw power, pop that was on display when he won the MLB High School Home Run Derby, for example, the summer before his senior year. He broke his left hamate, which allowed the Phillies to get him at the end of the first round in 2023 and he¡¯s just starting to tap into his power as a pro (11 homers, .446 SLG in his first full season). Double-A Reading is a hitting haven, and that¡¯s where Miller will call home this year, making it easier for him to hit more 30 or more homers in 2025.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Brewers: Jes¨²s Made, SS/3B (No. 2/MLB No. 54)
Made already heads stateside with ample hype, having jumped comfortably into the Top 100 after slashing .331/.458/.554 over 51 games in the Dominican Summer League last year. He¡¯s already jumping to Single-A Carolina before his 18th birthday, and his underlying analytics give the Brewers and others belief that he can hit the ground running. Once he does, Made will establish himself as a Top 10 overall prospect by the end of the 2025 season.
Cardinals: JJ Wetherholt, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 22)
Wetherholt was in consideration for the No. 1 overall pick spot last July but went to a grateful Cards organization six selections later. He had some of the best bat-to-ball skills in his Draft class, and his power comfortably translated to pro ball with his stop at Single-A Palm Beach last year. Wetherholt will have an OPS above .900 at both Double-A and Triple-A in his first full season, setting himself up to be a key part of the St. Louis lineup in ¡®26.
Cubs: Owen Caissie (No. 3/MLB No. 52)
Blocked by a logjam of outfielders in Chicago, Caissie will spend most of a second straight year in Triple-A. He'll smack 29 homers to become the youngest player (age 22) to lead the International League since 1990, when 21-year-old Phil Plantier slammed 33.
Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 42)
Griffin had arguably the best all-around toolset of any member of the 2024 Draft class, but some small concerns with his hit tool allowed him to be on the board when the Pirates picked at No. 9 overall. Last year¡¯s Gatorade National High School Player of the Year will come out of the gate ready, starting with Single-A Bradenton, and he'll show off all of his tools en route to a 20-20 campaign in his first full season.
Reds: Chase Burns, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 25)
Before Burns became the No. 2 pick of last year¡¯s Draft, he transferred to Wake Forest and broke current Reds organization-mate Rhett Lowder¡¯s single-season strikeout mark (191 K¡¯s). He struck out 17.2 per nine that season, a precursor to leading the Minors in K/9 rate in 2025 en route to making his big league debut.
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
D-backs: Demetrio Crisantes, INF (No. 2)
The Arizona native hasn¡¯t stopped hitting since joining the D-backs' system as a seventh-rounder out of high school in 2023. His .341 average last year between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A was second-best among Minor League full-season qualifiers. We won¡¯t go that high on him as he jumps to High-A Hillsboro in his age-20 season, but Crisantes will bat at least .310 for the season, thus solidifying his place as one of the Minors¡¯ best pure hitters.
Dodgers: Jackson Ferris, LHP (No. 4/MLB No. 69) and Zyhir Hope, OF (No. 6/MLB No. 73)
Though Michael Busch is a solid starting first baseman for the Cubs, Ferris and Hope will make the trade that sent Busch to Chicago in January 2024 keep looking better and better for the Dodgers. By the end of the year, both will rank in the upper third of the Top 100 Prospects list.
Giants: Bryce Eldridge, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 23)
Eldridge won't make his big league debut this year, but he will recover from a spring wrist injury to hit 30 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A as a 20-year-old. The last player to deliver that many homers at that age or younger was 19-year-old Junior Caminero with 31 in 2023.
Padres: Leo De Vries, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 17)
De Vries was really starting to heat up at Single-A Lake Elsinore as a 17-year-old last year before a right shoulder strain ended his regular season early. He then treaded water as the youngest participant in the Arizona Fall League. He¡¯ll be plenty young for High-A Fort Wayne to open ¡®25, but after building on last year¡¯s five-tool foundation, he kicks his production into gear in the Midwest League and becomes a Top 2 overall prospect before the season is out.
Rockies: Robert Calaz, OF (No. 4)
Calaz, who signed for $1.7 million in January 2023, made his United States debut last year and raked in both the Arizona Complex League and with full-season Fresno. Among all Rockies farmhands with at least 250 plate appearances, he was first in all three slash line categories (.344/.446/.633), along with leading in ISO (.290) and wRC+ (167). Still only a teenager, he¡¯ll use a full season of at-bats to win the organizational triple crown.