When I asked sources about Carter, everyone mentioned his excellent approach -- and, sure enough, per minor league TrackMan data, his chase rate (the rate at which he swings at pitches outside of the strike zone) is basically tied for best amongst everyone on this list. The Cards now have a glut of young position players at-or-near the big leagues that need to sort themselves out, but Winn figures to get a crack at the shortstop job, probably in 2024. Type: Plus power and patience from a probable catcher. His swing got too big in the spring because he wasn't facing much premium velo and he played in a small stadium where he could mishit balls out of the park. He might not be able to do all three of those, but even just two of the three means he ends up like Bichette, Adames, or Bogaerts, who last year put up 4.5, 4.7, and 6.1 WAR, respectively. Then, days after publication, it was announced that he needed surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and would miss much of the year. His slider is a clear third pitch but is average more often than not, so the whole package profiles as a midrotation type. There isn't a ton of information and the least track record of anyone thus far on the list, but the upside is a .275 hitter with an above average walk rate and 25 homers that plays shortstop. Type: Late bloomer with three plus pitches, chance to start. Turang's star dimmed a bit in the year before the draft, slipping to the 21st overall pick in 2018, but the basic scouting report has been the same for a long time. 13 overall in the 2021 draft out of a Florida high school. Those aren't major concerns right now, though, as he's got massive power in games, is young and talented enough to make adjustments, and is much younger than the pitchers he is facing. It helps his knockout, plus-plus changeup, which he throws almost as much as his heater, drew a 50% whiff rate last season across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. That's only 76 pro games in total, but he was a notable amateur prospect, signing for $1.5 million in 2020, and the tools are obvious. That would become more of an issue in a robot ump future combined with the new rules that encourage more stolen bases, as throwing out runners is more important with more attempts and since framing wouldn't exist, catchers could sell out to block pitches. Type: Hit-over-power, well-rounded catcher. It all adds up to arguably more upside at draft time than even Byron Buxton and almost any other prep hitter in recent memory. Expectations have come down a bit as Veen looks more like he might give you 55-grade tools across the board as a right fielder, which is a good-not-great player -- though there's still some chance he could still develop into a middle-of-the-order terror. It was a first for Topps. Like many pitchers in this range, his stuff and/or performance jumped in 2022 and at least some of this group will give back some of those gains because pitchers are susceptible to injuries and mysterious loss of arm speed or command. Hit: 30/60, Game Power: 30/55, Raw Power: 55/60, Speed: 55/50, Fielding: 45/50, Throwing: 55/55. Luisangel Acuna, SS, Texas Rangers 34 overall pick in 2019, as a mid-major pitcher from Ball State with some violence to his delivery and below-average command. He'll also need to be challenged enough by hitters to be forced to use all four pitches and sharpen them up a bit. The reason he's still ranked this high is that he's big league ready and his floor seems like a .250 hitter with average on-base and power (15-20 homers) and solid second base defense. Scouts now think he's a fringy defensive shortstop, right on the border of having to move to second base, basically as a tradeoff from that added power. I usually try not to put too much weight on makeup reports because teams won't tell you bad stuff, but the raving out of San Diego on Merrill's is overwhelming. The 2023 fantasy baseball season is here! The Orioles have the best farm system in baseball, but after landing Moreno in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Daulton Varsho to Toronto, Arizona has two of the top three prospects in the sport -- and both are ready for the big leagues right now. At the plate, he has an average hit tool and pitch selection -- have to hope those don't end up being a notch or two lower -- with 25-30 home run upside if it all clicks. Max Muncy, SS, Oakland Athletics That 15-homer performance might be about as much as I'd expect going forward, but all the pieces are here for a 2023 breakout that shoots Amador up this list. He flashes four plus pitches, plus athleticism, and starter command pretty regularly now, but the quality of the total package and his feel for execution still come and go. Williams was an intriguing 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of a SoCal high school. The Rays picked him 63rd overall and it has gone very well so far. Like Division-II product Pfaadt earlier on this list, Brown had a good arm with mid-90s velocity and some relief risk but Brown's separator then (and now) was a plus hammer curveball that is now a plus-plus pitch. The issue now is that the track record of pitchers with that title isn't great. Bo was flat-out awful at Double-A in 2021, then torched the same level in 2022, earning promotions to Triple-A and the big leagues. He also now looks like he'll be an average defensive catcher with an average arm. Brown's changeup and command are both fringy but fine, while his 95 to 98 mph heater, slider and curveball are all plus and his control is about average. Hence was a late-rising prospect in the 2020 draft who probably would've gone higher with a healthy spring for scouts to watch him. We've all been burned dreaming on a fireballing young prospect, but Espino is so fun to watch that he makes me want to believe he's one that will click. Druw is the son of should-be Hall of Famer Andruw and was the top player on my draft board last summer when he went second overall behind Holliday. And there are other potential candidates including Jordan Westburg, Joseph Ortiz, Cade Povich, Connor Norby and Coby Mayo -- all of whom are on this top 100 -- along with Kyle Stowers and D.L. He's a center fielder right now and could eventually move to right field, but that's mostly irrelevant because he has plenty of offensive potential to profile anywhere. There are some question marks in his profile though: Tovar swings a bit too often, and that hasn't kept him from succeeding in the minors, but could in the big leagues. Lawlar continues keeping pace with Mayer and the difference between them is basically a coin flip for me over a year after their draft. GM Dave Dombrowski did what he does, (trading prospects for big league help) when he shipped O'Hoppe to the Angels for Brandon Marsh at the trade deadline. He also would occasionally show a curve and changeup depending on if he needed them that day, and he hit his spots surprisingly well for a young power arm. College football reporters' NFL draft takeaways, Rangers-Devils Game 7: Key players, matchups and final score predictions, 'This is probably his best shot': Why the time is now for Harden and the 76ers, 10 fantasy football breakout players for 2023, Ranking the fights at UFC 288: Why Henry Cejudo's return tops the list, Man United in pole position for top four, but can't take their eyes off Liverpool, The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, Will Levis opens up about emotional draft day, After hoopla of going No. You can see why the Padres wouldn't include both Wood and Merrill along with the others in the Juan Soto trade package: They could both be franchise cornerstones if it all clicks. Povich was an intriguing 6-3 college projection out of Nebraska in the 2021 draft when went to the Twins late in the third round. Youth. He fits the en vogue progressive mold of a hitter, a player with shorter arms to make contact easily but enough innate strength to create average power and avoid being totally one-dimensional. He's 6-4 but has below-average raw power and clearly prioritizes getting on base. He returned with some swing tweaks and performed well in 2022, hitting his way to High-A with 16 homers and 32 stolen bases. Type: Power-and-patience package at the plate, probably a catcher. The Rockies are a confusing franchise to try to understand as a whole but the top of their system took a step forward in 2022, with the emergence of Ezequiel Tovar and Amador alongside Zac Veen and Drew Romo. But the very positive early reviews since signing, followed by a great full-season debut with shockingly good advanced data, helped Merrill springboard into the Arizona Fall League with hype and he continued to deliver. He is just an OK athlete, a fringy runner and a bit stiff defensively -- without the classic top-10 pick physique -- so you could imagine his athleticism slowly regressing, but that simply hasn't happened. Lawlar has excellent feel for the game and has always hit well in games, along with being a plus-plus baserunner, while the defensive questions are mostly a matter of focus, so I have no doubt he'll round into a solid average defender. This is a somewhat familiar song to prospect watchers; Nate Pearson was sort of like this a few years ago, Forrest Whitley before him, and so on. The main reason there's a tier break here is that Moreno offers premium ability, but in a more subtle package that a fan might not notice right away. is playing for the Brockton Rox this summer. The Royals have had trouble getting to the next stage of their rebuild, but they haven't had trouble producing solid infielders. The main difference is that Mead has never been a good defender and some scouts go far enough to label him as a player without a position. Luckily, he's good enough that he'll be in the big leagues well before that -- he's 19 now and finished his season with a trip to Double-A. As he dials in his launch angle and offensive approach, there's a shot he hits 30-plus homers. Houston let Justin Verlander walk largely because of their rotation depth and Brown is probably their sixth best option now, so he will likely start the year in Triple-A then get another look later in 2023. Their late-first-round pick from the same draft (signed for underslot) is four slots later on this list and teams knew nothing about him until a few months before the draft. How bright is your team's future? If he doesn't improve there, Tovar will be slightly below league average at the plate, but helped by Coors and his standout glove, so probably just a low-end regular. He split time between third base and catcher as an amateur and has slowly improved behind the plate to where I think he'll be an average defender with an average arm within a year or two. The start of spring training is just around the corner, and that means it is time for an annual rite of passage ahead of the new MLB season: ranking the top 100 prospects in baseball. The next two players are catchers who either could be a first baseman with below average contact skills while the other likely never hits 20 homers. Our way-too-early lineup rankings look at the best -- and worst -- offenses ahead of the 2023 MLB season. He has hit .271/.363/.491 with 40 homers and an 11% walk rate, 24% strikeout rate in 926 professional plate appearances, while being young for every level and playing in the infield. His in-zone miss rate (i.e. Despite that background, at age 22, he played a half season in Triple-A as a skilled, big league-ready prospect. Francisco lvarez, C, Mets. Type: Simple, powerful righty swing but not sure about the rest. Lesko was on the national scouting scene as early as his freshman year in high school, when he was sitting in the low-90s, mixing in a plus changeup and understandably putting up goofy numbers. He inexplicably slipped to the No. Tiedemann has east/west-oriented stuff with a tailing fastball, sweepy slider and diving changeup. Type: On-base machine with plus speed but limited power. There isn't a perfect comparison for Carroll, but I started with Harper as they both have an intense, play-with-your-hair-on-fire approach with more explosive ability than you'd think from watching them walk around in uniform. In two minor league seasons, he has answered those offensive questions by hitting .270 with a 10% walk rate and 28 homers in 655 plate appearances. Pfaadt took even another step forward in 2022, dominating Double-A and Triple-A over 167 innings, with scouts raving about his feel and competitiveness while penciling him in as a mid-rotation fit as soon as the middle of 2023. He leaned on his split-grip changeup more at Florida International, and the Guardians made him a second-round pick in 2020 due largely to his feel as a pitchability left-hander. Mayo got an overslot bonus of $1.75 million, equivalent to an early second-round pick, in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. The big wave of Orioles prospects is almost here, with Rodriguez the potential ace of the group. De La Cruz has below-average pitch selection (a 35% chase rate in the minors last year while 33% is big league average, but that's against big league pitching) though young, superlative talents have proved this can improve a notch or two at the upper levels. I mention Realmuto as a comp since the athleticism is comparable and Realmuto had a power spike in his third full MLB year; the tools are here for Moreno to make a similar leap. Quero was a nice sleeper pick at this time last year, then he had a huge 2022 season, particularly at the plate: He hit .312/.435/.530 with 17 homers, 12 stolen bases, 14% walks and 18% strikeouts as a teenage catcher at Low-A. That has basically been how it has played out, but the numbers have been eye-popping: .327/.426/.617 with 22 homers, 59 walks, and 65 strikeouts in 93 games at High-A and Double-A. As you'd probably guess, he's ranked up here now because his velocity is up from 90-92 mph in college to 93-96 mph, which plays as an above-average pitch. If he does, he'll hit 30 homers, give us fun bat flips and nobody will care much that he's just OK defensively. He'll turn 25 in a few weeks and is penciled in as Texas' Opening Day third baseman with no platoon partner, so there's some real immediate MLB upside here. He makes up for it with his arm and he has made progress in all the soft skills like game-calling while physically staying loose and flexible. 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 For two offseasons now, a group of star shortstops has dominated free agency. He lasted until the 22nd pick in the 2021 draft and was 13th on my board. It's never likely any player turns into the Hall of Famer they resemble most, but even if comparing a prospect to Scherzer -- the outlier of outliers -- is a fool's errand, it's just hard to ignore the profiles being similar. Mayer gets the slight nod as he's getting to his power (via exit velo, hard hit rate, barrels, etc.) Here's who FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang ranks as the top 20 players In his draft year at IMG Academy, he was patient, bordering on passive while trying to hit everything to the opposite field and generally did not lean into his strengths. In 2021 (and behind closed doors because of the canceled 2020 minor league season) he took a massive step forward, adding about 20 pounds of muscle and a new swing geared to that frame, hitting 27 homers in 109 games. Neto has a busy, max-effort swing that most scouts think he'll have to dial down when facing 95-plus mph on a regular basis, which would cut into his deceptively good exit velos and overall power production given his size. The profiles are similar -- Carter has a notch more hit/on-base ability and Cowser has a notch more power -- but the O's development group has a strong track record of improving hitters like this. Drew Romo, C, Colorado Rockies He is likely an offensive-oriented backup who can DH, play first base or offer depth at third until his defense gets to the level of a nailed-down starter. Type: Power-and-patience outfielder with some defensive value. Merrill is probably the best recent example of why teams should consider taking a chance on a spring pop-up player with almost no history. Cartaya is a bit better defensively, with a better chance to stick behind the plate, helped by an easy-plus arm. For a quick overview of the tools grades on the 20-80 scale that are used heavily throughout this list -- and are the industry standard across baseball -- along with other key terms used in the rankings click here. The issue is he's likely always going to run higher strikeout rates because of below-average bat control tied to what he does to get to that power. Johnson is a squatty, second-base-only fit with average speed and arm strength, but that's not why he was the fourth overall pick. 2023 Top 100 Prospects by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin February 22, 2023 Prospect Week 2023 Updating the 2023 Draft Prospect Rankings Cardinals That line of thinking would mean that Collier is at risk of being a bat-first corner utility type on the backup/starter borderline. He has a sweet lefty swing and will slide over to right field eventually, but there's a rare set of hitting tools here and he is with a team that has had plenty of fast-tracked young hitters shoot through the system. Perez is almost impossible in that he seems so good at everything at such a young age and extreme height that we basically haven't seen this kind of pitching prospect before. Before diving into pitchers that will almost certainly be available in your league, make sure you check if Jose Berrios (63% owned) has been dropped. Peraza had a solid 18-game big league audition at the end of last season and showed his plus speed, plus glove and above-average arm. I find it difficult to come up with comparisons for the players at the top of these lists as they are outliers in many ways, which you then have to compare among the other outliers in the big leagues, and they rarely match up perfectly to another player. I didn't think then and don't think now that this is an issue, as Holliday seems plenty coachable to dial things in. That's an above-average everyday player, but probably not enough thump at the plate to be a star. Wood likely loses a step or two and slides over to right field as he ages, but he's a decent center fielder with an outside shot to remain there. I would also submit that if they didn't pick either player, they would not have had enough prospects to swing the Juan Soto trade. He was excellent over the summer before that, looking like a midfirst-round pick, but swung and missed a good bit, so the spring made Wood look like a tools-projection whose long arms just wouldn't let him get to his upside at the plate, even when he dialed in the approach better. Standings. Julio Rodriguez improved a good bit on chase rate just last season after pitch selection was his biggest question mark as a top prospect. Kiley McDaniel ranks the best prospects and farm systems in baseball. Woods had a meteoric rise in 2022, going from roughly the 200th-ranked prospect in baseball going into the season to No. Panthers in awe after ousting 'unbelievable' Bruins, Curry sets G7 record with 50 as Dubs move on, Bills sign veteran RB Murray to one-year deal, Harper may return Tue., 160 days post-TJ surgery, Sources: Wrexham rewarded with Vegas trip, LB Barrett's 2-year-old daughter drowns in pool, Grizz's Brooks doesn't regret verbal jab at LeBron, Kraken win 1st playoff series, oust champion Avs, 'It's going to be epic': Stephen Curry and LeBron James face off -- again. Type: The biggest post-draft riser in baseball. Type: Switch-hitting shortstop with above-average power and speed. There's all kinds of conditions and exceptions beyond how I simply describe it there, but Craig Kimbrel and A.J. Waldichuk was another later-round Yankees find (fifth round in the 2019 draft out of St. Mary's) before becoming the headliner of Oakland's four-player return in last summer's Frankie Montas/Lou Trivino trade. Soon after that his velo was starting to climb, his secondary stuff was accordingly getting more crisp, and his command wasn't suffering. The Cardinals' offseason signing of Willson Contreras and retaining of Andrew Knizner blocks Herrera's path to immediate big league playing time, especially with the glut of young position players who are in St. Louis or close. Prospect Rankings Depth Charts MLB Players This offseason's four biggest free agents signed massive megadeals that are not only risky, but that started a historic hot stove trend. Play Ball Youth Baseball & Softball. Montgomery is a shortstop for now and will probably be fine for a while, but any team with an above-average defender at short will slide Montgomery over to third whether he's a 45 or 50 defensively at shortstop. He made his big league debut last season playing mostly shortstop, but with Carlos Correa returning combined with the long-term questions on Lewis' ultimate position, it looks like a utility role mixing both infield and outfield duty will make more sense. But with a strong 2023, he'll move up into that 60 FV tier with Harrison. He has always shown above-average raw power and pitch selection, along with around average bat control, so he profiles as an everyday player at any position, with hope that the overall defensive package will be at least average. The sales pitch is easy here: big league bloodlines (Matt is his father), with a chance for plus hit and power from the left side, and enough tools to stick at shortstop long-term. He's a lanky 6-footer with plus speed, a plus arm, an above-average glove at shortstop and plus feel for the bat head. Type: Mid-90s fastball with a plus-plus slider, recovering from Tommy John. Liover Peguero, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates In that case, Baltimore could slowly ramp him up to have the option to use him at full bore down the stretch and (whispers) in the playoffs. In his first full minor league season, Sweeney hit better than league average at High-A and got a late promotion to Double-A. I expect these two to be ranked next to each other again next year and at this trajectory, they'll be fighting for the top spot on the list. Henderson and Carroll have separated themselves from the pack and are a near coinflip for the top spot. Marte, along with Arroyo above, were the two best prospects in Cincinnati's trade deadline haul for righty Luis Castillo. He has progressed well as a hitter, showing electric bat speed and feel to get to his plus raw power in games. That's largely the way things have gone from a performance standpoint, but with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt getting MVP votes on long-term deals ahead of him, the Cards moved him to the outfield part time in the 2022 regular season and then exclusively in the outfield in the Arizona Fall League. OK, I don't have proof for the robot or the future part -- but I can confirm Julien has never been a good defender anywhere and you can look up that he's French-Canadian without my help. I'll split the difference and call both Mayer's hit and power tools 55-grade ability (.270 with 20-25 homers), but either could also be a 60, and there are no concerns that he can post at least average defensive performances at shortstop. Jung was 19th on last year's list -- and a strong second-tier AL ROY candidate. There's frontline potential here, and you can scout the statline a bit: If he keeps his strikeout rate over 10 per nine innings and his walks gets below three per nine innings in the upper minors, he'll probably be moving up this list. 10. Dave & Adams Card World has announced a bounty on the autographed 1/1 SuperFractor in 2023 Bowman. to Washington. Type: Above average at everything except power. Type: Shortstop with a chance to stick and have plus hit/power from the left side. In 2022, he was sitting 94-97 with above-average breaking stuff, a plus changeup and above-average command. It The son of your favorite 2004 Red Sox player (and an '04 Yankee!) Since he was 15 years old, scouts have been worried that he could start regressing athletically in his 20's because he developed so early. He's an above-average hitter with a good sense of the strike zone and average raw power, though his power production will likely be a tick below average. Type: A 6-5 (or possibly taller! He can do almost anything at the plate. Also, Justin Verlander was sort of like this in the low minors -- and that's after spending three years in college. The start of spring training is just around the corner, and that means it is time for an annual rite of passage ahead of the new MLB season: ranking the top 100 His 2022 season at Triple-A was a step forward, with those tools all becoming more evident in his surface stats and the underlying numbers. Why paying players in their 30s rarely works out , How decade-plus deals suddenly became a thing . The analytics models that teams now use love nothing more than when a prospect is 1) young for his level, 2) plays an up-the-middle position well and 3) posts in-game exit velos that are way above average. Realmuto, Sean Murphy, Will Smith, and Willson Contreras for NL All-Star spots every year. His plus power and plus arm give him some margin for error, but his hit tool and pitch selection have been better than expected. Type: Snake-bitten by injuries, but with a bag of above-average tools. Did Pats make Mac Jones happy? There's just enough risk as a corner-only player without much speed and defensive value to slide him to the back of this group of top-notch hitters. Red Sox fans have seen two homegrown stars leave in recent years, but that won't happen a third time. He has a power-over-hit profile right now, but it's still early enough that it could evolve. O'Hoppe delivered what many (including myself) thought would be a breakout 2022 season, hitting .275/.392/.496 with 15 homers in 75 games in Double-A for the Phillies before the trade. This isn't a true comparison, because most players don't have a one-for-one perfect analog. Following the graduation of Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza, Mets 2022 first-round draft pick Jett Williams became the latest addition to MLB's Top 100 prospect list. Again, it's still early as he has faced only the lowest levels of the minors, but the pieces are here. Cristian Santana, 2B, Detroit Tigers While his numbers weren't eye-popping, you have to remember he was among the youngest players in the league, hadn't played much during the year, and against the lowest competition of anyone in the AFL, but the tools and quality of his at-bats stood out. LHP: Brandon Barriera (TOR), Matthew Liberatore (STL), Kyle Muller (OAK), Jared Shuster (ATL), Carson Whisenhunt (SF), Brandon Williamson (CIN) C: Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Standings. He's on the 40-man and will likely make his big league debut at some point in 2023 with an advanced feel for the game that suggests he'll do well in any role. He has played only 62 pro games in the U.S., most of those in Rookie ball, but all the signs are here. If you look back over the past five to 10 years for players who did these things, you get a list that includes Ronald Acuna Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. Chourio has the kind of upside where it's just normal to mention him next to those two names. Ranking the top MLB prospects for all 15 NL teams, roughly the 200th-ranked prospect in basebal. Velo: 96-98, Fastball: 70/80, Slider: 60/70, Curveball: 55/60, Changeup: 45/55, Command: 45/50, Type: If the fire emoji turned into a pitching prospect. Ji-Hwan Bae, 2B, Pittsburgh Pirates Hayden Wesneski, RHP, Chicago Cubs At that point, Rodriguez was an intriguing multipositional prospect with a feel to hit. while run grades equate to specific times on a stopwatch, a 50 hit tool is about a .260 batting average, average fastball velocity is 92-93 depending on your role and handedness, and so on. I mentioned above in the Termarr Johnson blurb that he and Collier were the two prep hitters in the Atlanta area and recognized by scouts as early as their freshman years for having high first-round potential. On last year's list, I ranked Perez 55th and said he "has the most attractive rsum an 18-year-old pitcher can have" while explaining that a young, hard-throwing, super tall right-hander with changeup ahead of breaking ball isn't a type I like to bet on, and it also seems impossible that a kid this young and tall can keep throwing strikes like this. Stone signed for a well-below slot bonus after going with the second-to-last pick in the five-round 2020 draft. That's also gone something like scouts expected, as he's now facing competition closer to his talent level. Type: Late-inning-caliber power stuff, but he can turn over a lineup at least once. WebHigh School Baseball Recruiting Database. Type: Power-and-patience outfielder with limited pro experience. Type: Hit-over-power catcher who is ready for the big leagues. Walker does a good but not great job of lifting the ball in games, his chase rate is also just fine, and he swings more often than the average minor leaguer. He made it all the way to the Orioles at the No. Montgomery opted to focus full-time on baseball, and over the next two years the only real critiques that materialized were that he's probably more of a third baseman than a shortstop long-term (still probably true), and he was 19 years old on draft day in 2021. Stroud had a great pro day and it further solidified his case as one of the two best QBs in this draft class. Manzardo was a late-rising draft prospect at Washington State leading up to the 2021 draft, getting sandwich-round buzz despite a number of teams seeing him more as a third- or fourth-rounder. Most importantly, Moreno is a definite catcher. Sources can get overwhelmed by all the names when I send them out for thoughts, but when I boiled it down to a list of 20-30 players and told them to pick a few guys they feel strongly about, almost every source named Zavala -- so here he is, despite only 176 plate appearances in U.S.-based professional leagues. richard stone columbia law,
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