Inbox: Who will be MLB's Top 5 prospects this time next year?

My focus right now is on prospect rankings and Spring Training, though I also can¡¯t wait to immerse myself in the 2025 Draft. And defending College World Series champion Tennessee has caught my eye by getting off to an 8-0 start while outscoring opponents by an average of 11.1 runs per game entering Friday.

The record for most first-round picks in a single Draft is three by seven college teams, and the Volunteers have three potential first-rounders in their infield alone (shortstop Dean Curley, second baseman Gavin Kilen, third baseman Andrew Fischer), plus two more on the mound in A.J. Russell and Liam Doyle.

On to your questions!

By this time next year, who do you predict to be the Top 5 prospects in baseball? -- @rutman_seth

Jonathan Mayo and I kicked off the year by making a bunch of prospect prognostications on the Pipeline Podcast, with both of us forecasting Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins ranking atop the Top 100 prospects heading into next season. Twenty-five of the first 40 prospects on our current list have 2025 ETAs and almost all of them should graduate to the big leagues, so the 2026 Top 100 will get quite the makeover.

I like this question so much I¡¯m going to predict the Top 10 prospects a year from now, and it pained me to exclude Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula:

1. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
2. Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers
3. Leo De Vries, SS, Padres
4. Max Clark, OF, Tigers
5. Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Rockies
6. Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals
7. JJ Wetherholt, SS, Cardinals
8. Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants
9. Colt Emerson, SS/3B, Mariners
10. Aidan Miller, SS, Phillies

The three best pitching prospects a year from now all could be left-handers, with Hagen Smith (White Sox) edging out Thomas White (Marlins) and Jackson Ferris (Dodgers). I don¡¯t envision anyone from this year¡¯s Draft cracking the next year¡¯s Top 10, like 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana did.

It's 2030: a 2025 prospect has just broken a single-season statistical record. Who was it and what did they break? -- @blahbla92342524

Most of the major single-season marks seem just impossible to break. Five years from now, I can¡¯t see a hitter batting .472 or slamming 74 homers or driving in 192 runs. Or a pitcher earning 32 victories or 63 saves or notching 384 strikeouts.

They¡¯re longshots, of course, but there are two records that come to mind as possibly being in reach. And they could be broken by two players who were Georgia Tech¡¯s primary second basemen in 2022 and '23.

Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson has the electric speed and on-base ability to potentially make a run at Rickey Henderson¡¯s 130 steals from 1982. Simpson led the Minors with 94 steals in 2023 and 104 last year, when he also won the batting title at .355 and got on base at a .410 clip. Scouts joke that he has 90 speed on the 20-80 scale, and it might be closer to 100.

Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell has the hitting ability and power to eclipse Earl Webb¡¯s 67 doubles in 1931. That may be more attainable than the stolen base standard because Freddie Freeman had 59 two-baggers just two years ago and Nick Castellanos had 58 in 2019. The MLB Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Year, MiLB Breakout Player of the Year and Double-A Eastern League MVP during his first full pro season in 2024, Campbell had 55 extra-base hits in 115 games while topping the Minors with a 180 wRC+.

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Do you believe JJ Wetherholt could be in the Majors by the end of the year? Or do you believe he could be in the Majors by next year? -- @StevieDAles97

His chances would be better if Nolan Arenado hadn¡¯t reportedly vetoed an offseason trade to the Astros, which could have allowed Nolan Gorman to shift to third base and left second base open for Wetherholt to claim later in the year. Nevertheless, I still think he¡¯ll hit his way to St. Louis before the end of his first full pro season.

Wetherholt entered 2024 as MLB Pipeline¡¯s top-ranked Draft prospect before a hamstring injury cost him six weeks of his junior season at West Virginia. St. Louis landing him with the No. 7 overall choice could go down as a huge steal, because he had as much hitting ability as anyone in the Draft and could wind up as a quicker, lefty-hitting version of Dustin Pedroia.

Wetherholt easily handled the transition to pro ball last summer, slashing .295/.405/.400 during a month in Single-A. He hasn¡¯t been fazed by his first big league camp, drilling an opposite-field homer in his first Cactus League game and making a strong impression on manager Oli Marmol.

When will the Top 30 lists drop? -- @funwithnumberz

Next week is a big week at MLB Pipeline. We¡¯ll start by unveiling the Top 30 Prospects list by division: Monday for East clubs, Tuesday for Central clubs and Wednesday for Wests clubs.

On Thursday, we¡¯ll reveal the Spring Breakout rosters for all 30 clubs. Then on Friday, we¡¯ll release our farm system rankings. And on Saturday, I might get some sleep.