It¡¯s a little bit the calm before the prospect storm at MLB Pipeline.

We just finished publishing our four-part series based on our annual Executive Poll, something I¡¯ll refer to a few times in this week¡¯s MLB Pipeline Inbox. And next week (answering a question we¡¯re getting a lot), we kick off ranking season, beginning with our Top 10 by position lists and followed by our Top 100 ranking. So we¡¯re all feeling the anticipation building towards the 2025 season, an excitement I sensed in the questions that came in for this week¡¯s Inbox, so let¡¯s not waste any more time.

With Roki Sasaki signing in the future, do you believe he has a better chance to win the AL or NL ROY Award, or are there prospects that you believe could win their league's ROY Award? ¨C @StevieDAles97

Who¡¯s a dark horse prospect that could come out of nowhere to win ROY this year? ¨C @blahbla92342524.bsky.social?

We answered both of these Rookie of the Year Award related questions on this week¡¯s MLB Pipeline Podcast, so be sure to give it a listen. Obviously, Roki Sasaki is the talk of baseball right now as we all wait for where the Japanese phenom lands. We all agreed, as did the vast majority of people in the survey across front offices, that it really doesn¡¯t matter which league Sasaki lands in -- he¡¯ll be the frontrunner for ROY honors wherever he is. There are, of course, many other candidates who still have the chance to compete. Part I of the survey looks at likely contenders, with Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews a big favorite in the National League, while the American League is a bit more wide open, with names like Roman Anthony, Jackson Jobe, Jasson Dom¨ªnguez and Coby Mayo leading a larger group of possibilities.

As far as dark horses go, on the pod we all agreed that Cardinals prospect Thomas Saggese, who did get a vote in the executive poll, was an interesting candidate. He should get an opportunity in St. Louis and he¡¯s kind of the quintessential Cards prospect who is a very solid player, one who ends up being a better big leaguer than a prospect. Also on that list could be some high-level prospects who we don¡¯t necessarily project to spend enough time in the big leagues in 2025, but who could surprise us, like the Rays¡¯ Carson Williams, or someone not quite as highly regarded, like the Marlins¡¯ Agustin Ramirez.

How much do team execs really know about other teams' farm systems, their prospects and how they develop their players and pitchers? ¨C @TwinsTakes_com

This speaks directly to asking them about farm systems, which is Part 4 of the survey series. I think it depends which executive you¡¯re asking, but in a general sense, they absolutely know how other teams do things. Sure, there are some proprietary things in terms of data and development practices that not every team is privy to, but keep in mind that front office personnel change organizations all the time, and they bring that knowledge with them. And when prospects are traded and come to a new organization, they¡¯ll obviously share how they were developed by their original team. Beyond that, professional scouting departments evaluate prospects from other teams all the time -- it¡¯s a big part of their jobs -- so they have reports on everyone to pull from when considering trades. Many front offices will have their own personal rankings of other organizations¡¯ prospects based on those reports, so there¡¯s pretty solid information every team has about each other¡¯s best Minor Leaguers.

Should the Padres slow down Ethan Salas's quick rise due to his struggles at the plate last season? ¨C @JMKRIDE_Jon

Let me start out by saying that I fully believe Ethan Salas is going to be just fine. But yes, I do think the Padres moved him too quickly in 2023 and that has hampered his development a bit. At the same time, I know they felt he could handle any adversity and not let it permanently impact his ability to be an elite big league catcher. I understand the excitement. He¡¯s so advanced on both sides of the ball, well beyond his years, and he was playing so well that moving him up the ladder made sense. So he hit a stumbling block last year, but let¡¯s remember he won¡¯t turn 19 until June and already has more than 750 professional plate appearances in the United States. The numbers don¡¯t show it, but I thought he swung the bat pretty well when I saw him in the Arizona Fall League. I¡¯d send him back to Fort Wayne in 2025 and if he spends the whole year there getting himself back on track, so be it. But I could see things clicking and hopefully the Padres let him get some momentum and maybe he sees Double-A in the second half.

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What were the issues with Diego Cartaya this past season? Trouble with higher level competition? Nagging injuries? How can he rebound with the Twins? ¨C @maxisagod.bsky.social?

It could be the Twins bought low on Diego Cartaya, who will still be just 23 for the 2025 season, but there is a lot of work to be done with his swing. The issues started in 2023 when injuries in the offseason before that kept him from really preparing. His work ethic is off the charts, but he just couldn¡¯t get it going and his swing got very long and he tried to do too much. He¡¯s not the first young player to allow things to snowball. His approach regressed, his swing-and-miss increased and he tried to sell out for power too much. He was a bit better in 2024, with a 111 wRC+ back in Double-A; the Dodgers wanted to expose him to Triple-A pitching, and that didn¡¯t go so well.

He¡¯s going to have to tighten up the swing and he needs to improve against soft stuff (46 percent miss rate against breaking and offspeed offerings last year), but his defense keeps getting better, so at the very least, the Twins might have a very good backup on their hands. The Dodgers have raved about Cartaya¡¯s maturity -- they just had a roster crunch -- and maybe a change of scenery is exactly what he needs to get back on track offensively.