Type: Lefty with (newly) above-average stuff and (same) feel, devastating changeup. 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. He was ultimately expected to go in the second or third round, but somehow lasted until the Astros scooped him up in the fifth. Turang is ready for a big league look and could be a bit above average among shortstops as a hitter, fielder and baserunner, though he might get his first reps playing second base in deference to Willy Adames. 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. 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.
baseball Reminds me of: If you put at shrink ray on Bryce Harper, trading some power for a lot more speed. To give further context, I've also included some categories along with tool grades. 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. Waldichuk is doing a lot in his delivery but it allows him to get way down the mound from a lower slot with run and ride on his fastball, helping it play up from its 93-95 mph velocity. Spencer Steer, 2B, Cincinnati Reds Where all squads stand now that the biggest free agents are off the board following this year's free agency frenzy. is playing for the Brockton Rox this summer. Montgomery needs to have plus bat speed and plus pitch recognition to make longer levers work and to give his hands time to get in place. 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. 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. Miller was a tough evaluation at Texas A&M leading up to the 2021 draft. 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. Quinn Priester, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates 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. 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. He was dealt to Baltimore last summer as the headliner in a package for closer Jorge Lopez. From my perspective (and plenty of other scouts), Collier has looked like one of the most gifted hitters for his age for as long as he has been scouted, gave a clear performance in 2022 to that end and he also has a 70-grade arm, which seems pretty explosive to me. Team-by-team top 10 lists: NL | AL . But his ceiling is 40 homers if it all clicks -- and that's not the ceiling of many players in the minor leagues, especially at his position. Type: Another well-rounded, lanky center fielder with power questions. Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Orioles. Type: Late bloomer with above-average tools. There's a little bit of Spencer Strider here as Miller could just throw tons of fastballs and be effective for a few innings, but his execution of his offspeed stuff will dictate his ultimate upside. Over the past two seasons, he's hit 40 homers with a walk rate over 10% and strikeout rate under 20%, finishing 2022 at Triple-A. The list, ranking prospects from Hayden Wesneski, RHP, Chicago Cubs Valera will likely be behind schedule this spring after recent news that he underwent surgery on the hamate bone in his right hand. I think the four names in the Reminds Me Of section give you an idea of the different paths his career could take, with Gary Sanchez's a familiar roller-coaster ride that Mets fans are hoping to improve upon. Early in his pro career, his strikeout rates hovered near 30%, so there was some basis to those contact concerns, but Henderson also showed more patience and in-game power than most evaluators expected. Reminds me of: Kevin Gausman, but with a better breaking ball. He's deceptively big -- 6-3 and roughly 200 lbs -- and there's some risk: He's only played 86 regular season games since being drafted due to a wrist injury last spring. Harrison also does a very en vogue thing in pitching these days: He gets down the mound well, delivers from a low slot, and throws a fastball that isn't a heavy sinker like many low-slot fastballs are. It was a different story in 2022 as his velo jumped a couple ticks to 91-94 mph with good ride and the same standout command. Lee was a late-first-round prospect in high school, but teams were ultimately scared off by a back issue. Our experts predict every series, Memphis wasn't 'fine in the West' -- getting there hinges on massive culture questions, Why the Lakers' real test begins now, after dispatching the No. The Royals have had trouble getting to the next stage of their rebuild, but they haven't had trouble producing solid infielders. There's a real shot he hits 25 homers at some point, but I'd expect more 15-20 on an annual basis.
Updated Top 100 MLB Prospects at the Start of 2023 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. He does a version of the trendy mound positioning I describe in Kyle Harrison's blurb, slinging from a low slot with good extension. I graded him as a second-rounder that spring -- he was sitting 90-92 with 55-grade stuff -- and was when he lasted until the 91st pick. Throw a dart.". Graceffo threw 139.1 innings in 2022, mostly in Double-A, so he is in line to get some big league time toward the end of 2023 if the deep Cardinals rotation shows some weakness or the bullpen just needs some length. Type: Premium hitter with enough other tools to be a strong everyday player. 1 overall pick as early as his sophomore year of high school in Southern California.
Mets 2022 draft pick Jett Williams joins MLB's Top 100 Prospect List 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. Speaking of strikeouts: In 211.2 pro innings, Harrison has 343. Cartaya's hit/approach combo is a bit better than Alvarez, but the big differences are two grades of power and three levels of the minors (Cartaya ended the year in High-A; Alvarez was in the big leagues). Merrill played high school ball in Maryland, alongside James Wood (ranked 13th above) in some youth events. Aside from those two things, there are a lot of similarities: Both will be 21 years old during the 2023 season, finished the 2022 season at Double-A and offer average hit and pitch selection to go with above-average power projection from powerful right-handed swings. His slider is a 60-to-70-grade pitch depending on the day. Owen Caissie, RF, Chicago Cubs He also now looks like he'll be an average defensive catcher with an average arm. He's been a bit better than I expected out there and looks like he can be a solid-average defender in an outfield corner. Here's who FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang ranks as the top 20 players With the top free agents signed, here's where our experts think each team stands midway through the offseason. The Rays picked him 63rd overall and it has gone very well so far. Type: Advanced hit/power/approach at age 18. Realmuto's career. The idea that Perez could be big league ready with four plus pitches and plus command as he's turning 20 years old this season is completely absurd so I'm going to stop worrying and enjoy the ride. As a prep draft prospect in 2019, Volpe was seen as a skills-over-tools type with good makeup that was a likely big leaguer, but without big upside in large part because of the power ceiling due to his size (listed at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds.). He has solid power, plus arm strength and will occasionally give scouts a plus run time to first base, but will likely settle closer to an average runner. Reminds me of: Oneil Cruz on the whole, but with raw tools alone that are also similar to Bobby Witt Jr. Susana didn't get much attention when he was included in the Juan Soto trade as he was the fourth-best prospect in the haul, behind James Wood, MacKenzie Gore and Robert Hassell. Because he could be a Cy Young-level force of nature, I elected to rank him up this high, but Espino has the highest gap in projected 2023 ceiling and floor of players near the top of this list. Arroyo and Williams are back-to-back here because they're pretty similar prospects. Willy Vasquez, SS, Tampa Bay Rays Even at just 19, Holliday has a chance to move quickly through the minors and up this list. That means strikeouts. Hit: 30/60, Game Power: 30/55, Raw Power: 55/60, Speed: 55/50, Fielding: 45/50, Throwing: 55/55. You can expect a .260ish average with a plus walk rate (call it a .350 on-base percentage), plus power (let's say 25 homers -- but I bet he cracks 30 at least once) and above-average defense at third base, good enough to fill in at shortstop if needed. Luis Matos, CF, San Francisco Giants If he doesn't, he's a high variance corner wrong-side-of-the-platoon guy who is just an OK defender. Now you can see where the dart throwing comes in. 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. Type: Advanced hit/approach with enough power to profile everyday. He has huge power and beats up on minor league pitching, but the question is if his contact qualities and pitch selection will be good enough at the big league level for him to hit to get to that power. Naylor was a first-round pick out of a Canadian high school (in 2018), like his older brother and Guardians teammate Josh (in 2015). Type: Hit-over-power, well-rounded catcher. He had a fantastic 2021 season punctuated by a legendary duel with Kumar Rocker in a Super Regional, where Williams went 7.1 innings with 13 strikeouts in a losing effort. Alex Ramirez, CF, New York Mets There have been questions about Wells' ability to stick behind the plate dating to high school, but he has made steady progress and now looks like an average defender -- though his arm is below average. Norby was a pop-up prospect at East Carolina in 2021, lacking big tools but proving he could hit with enough skill to project as a low-end regular. 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. Type: Power-over-hit third baseman with a solid glove.
2023 Top 100 Prospects | FanGraphs Baseball Pfaadt popped up in the Cape Cod League as a new name scouts were intrigued by, a Division 2 righty from Bellarmine (KY) reaching the mid-90s with big league talent, but generally unproven and likely to end up a reliever. Also, Justin Verlander was sort of like this in the low minors -- and that's after spending three years in college.
Prospects Type: Power-and-patience outfielder with limited pro experience. Hence has thrown only 60 pro innings, but there are some who think he could become the top pitching prospect in the game when St. Louis lets him loose. Davis is most likely a first baseman if catching doesn't work out. Thats 87 players that the industry feels pretty good about -- nearly a top 100 of top 100-caliber players. Join or start a league for free >>. Play Ball Youth Baseball & Softball. Instead of cruising to being a first-round pick in 2023, he left high school after two years to go get on a professional schedule to pursue baseball: this seems like pretty good outward evidence of plus makeup, as well. Logan T. Allen didn't throw his changeup much in high school since it's more hittable by bad hitters than a good breaking ball. The Orioles' wave of position players is closing in on the big leagues and Mayo looks like a 2024 arrival. That's plenty exciting, but the margin for error gets much smaller if he's first-base-only. That said, there's also a compelling argument that Carroll offers value in more facets. Hit: 40/45, Game Power: 55/65, Raw Power: 65/70, Speed: 40/35, Fielding: 45/50, Throwing: 55/55, Type: Powerlifter who catches and will hit 30 homers some day. But it's TBD if this is indicative of what he'll be going forward, or if he should be given some grace from a rocky 2022 season, and we assume he'll revert back to the style of hitter he was the previous five seasons I've scouted him. Type: Switch-hitting shortstop with above-average power and speed. I think he'll be a superior backup option to Knizner by the end of 2023. The D-backs took him in the fifth round of the pandemic-affected 2020 draft, and he showed that he was bound for a big league rotation. 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 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. Last year was his breakout, as he made it to Double-A shortly after turning 20 years old and saw a spike in power production, a better contact rate and an above average walk rate. Julio Rodriguez improved a good bit on chase rate just last season after pitch selection was his biggest question mark as a top prospect. He might not look like he can when walking around, but we've also seen enough Correa and Seager types over the years who are immediately counted out of playing the position when turning pro, before their plus athleticism and feel for the game win out. Holliday was a projected mid-first round pick after a strong summer, but after the first couple spring workouts, immediately jumped into the top 10 and kept climbing. The top of our list consists of five holdovers from our Type: 6-3 shortstop with a chance to stick and have plus hit/power from the left side. Luciano signed for $2.6 million as one of many standout seven-figure signees in the 2018 international class that also included Francisco Alvarez, Diego Cartaya, Noelvi Marte (all ranked above Luciano on this list), Orelvis Martinez and Kevin Alcantara. St. Louis took him a bit earlier than some thought he would go at 21st overall, and he immediately made the Cardinals look smart by putting up startling exit velocities while bullying pitchers years older than him and reaching Double-A in 2022 as a teenager. He only threw 18.1 innings in 2022 due to non-surgical knee and shoulder issues, after his Spring Training outings had scouts and analysts raving. Type: Advanced hitter growing into his power. He inexplicably slipped to the No. What the longest game in MLB history says about baseball today, Which teams will reach the NBA conference finals? Ortiz has always been an above-average runner with an above-average arm and plus glove at shortstop while the real development has come offensively. One exec summed up my conundrum thusly: "No one knows what to do with Chourio. The Guardians turn mid-to-late-round college pitchers into real prospects at a frightening rate, and Bibee is the latest example. It is important to remember that he is facing pitchers who are generally five years older than him and these issues tend to be fixable for young, superlative talents. He is an above-average runner with an above-average arm and glove at shortstop, a solid approach, and average raw power from the left side. His splitter and curveball are both at least average and Bradley's command projects to be above average. 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. In the aftermath of the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres, some rumors about behind-the-scenes details circulated across the industry. Now -- prepare to be shocked -- he's improved a lot under the tutelage of the Dodgers' pitching development. 1, Panthers' Bryce Young is all 'business now', XFL semifinals: Defenders roll Sea Dragons, set up title showdown with Renegades. I'm using the same description as last year because Dominguez is still the same player. 30 overall in the 2020 draft. Topps Prospects Signed En Masse; $250k Bowman Jones SuperFractor Bounty; Most Watched Auctions April 26, 2023 By Rich Mueller A couple of months before Wednesdays release of 2023 Bowman Baseball, about 50 young players gathered at a house in Arizona to sign cards that would wind up in packs. It has worked out so far because he has plus stuff with plus athleticism and when you can marry that with good makeup, it's often all that matters. Youth. There's still some relief risk and he may fit best in a five-and-dive starter or other hybrid role, but Brown's stuff is lively enough that he doesn't need fine command to get outs. Max Muncy, SS, Oakland Athletics ESPN releases top 100 prospects for 2023 here's where the He has posted plus-plus exit velos across Low-A, High-A and Double-A and hit 20 homers in 99 games while playing a solid center field. As he dials in his launch angle and offensive approach, there's a shot he hits 30-plus homers. Type: League-average offensive threat who can stick behind the plate. Woods had a meteoric rise in 2022, going from roughly the 200th-ranked prospect in baseball going into the season to No. The Padres took him 62nd overall, but gave him a $2.6 million bonus commensurate with the 26th overall pick. 50 is major league average (which is a really good present tool for a minor leaguer), 55 is above average, 45 is below average, 60 is called plus (one standard deviation above average), 70 is plus-plus (two standard deviations), and 80 (three) is the top of the 20-80 scale, where just a handful of players in the big leagues reside. 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. His contact ability is just OK and his speed won't help him leg out many infield hits, but Alvarez's shorter arms and incredible strength make for a scary combination for pitchers. He needed Tommy John surgery soon after turning pro, then had the lost 2020 minor league season, so he began his pro career in 2021 but only threw 35.1 innings because of a broken hand, with his breakout coming in the Arizona Fall League.