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Wright, Critical Thinking 2e

Critical Thinking 2e Instructor Resources

Larry Wright

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Critical Thinking: An Introoduction to Analytical Reading and Reasoning Paperback – 15 October 2012

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press USA; 2 edition (15 October 2012)
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Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Analytical Reading and Reasoning Paperback – Illustrated, Nov. 12 2012

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Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Analytical Reading and Reasoning Paperback – Illustrated, 23 June 2016

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Wright's Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Analytical Reading and Reasoning

Informal Logic

Related Papers

Dov Gabbay, Lorenzo Magnani, Woosuk Park, and Ahti-Veikko Pietarinen (eds.), (2019), Natural Arguments: A Tribute to John Woods, London: College Publications

Woosuk Park

One of the most important achievements in recent scholarship in the history of logic must be the remarkably enhanced understanding of Aristotle's earlier logic. In this regard, Hintikka/Woods-Hansen Controversy on Aris-totelian Fallacies can be a strategic point that allows us to understand Aristo-tle's logic in broader perspectives. It can throw light on the role and function of logic in Aristotle's general philosophy of science. Insofar as Aristotelian logic governed the history of logic up until the late nineteenth century, it must also have far-reaching implications for the classical model of science. The relevance of Aristotle's theory of fallacies in the contemporary debates in informal logic and argumentation theory can also be clearly demonstrated. It is not entirely clear, however, exactly how their views are different. Woods and Hansen incisively criticize Hintikka for his underestimation of the inferential elements in the traditional fallacies due to his overemphasis on the interrogative model of inquiry. Hintikka takes their criticism seriously enough to publish a separate reply. Despite of Hintikka's insightful reply, I will argue that Woods-Hansen's criticism still can be sustained. In other words, I believe that it is possible to reconcile their apparently conflicting views by clarifying some unnecessary confusions in Hintikka's part. These confusions are rooted in Hintikka's refusal to count abduction as inference of any kind. Hintikka is correct in distinguishing sharply between abduction and the inference to the best explanation. Probably, as a consequence , he can consider abduction as a question-answer step rather than as an inference. However, abduction can be interpreted as inference, even when distinguished from the inference to the best explanation. By granting abduction the full status of inference, Woods-Hansen interpretation of Aristotelian fallacies is reconcilable with that of Hintikka without sacrificing the attractions of Hintikka's erotetic model of inquiry. If so, the successful resolution of Hintikka/Woods-Hansen controversy can open a new chapter in logic and the methodology of science.

Poznań Reasoning Week 2016

The majority rule and the equate-to-differentiate rule are two contradictory, albeit similarly structured judgmental heuristics. The present paper proposed the fol- lowing theoretical deduction on the moderation role of self-construals, regulatory focus, and culture differences which affects decision makers to use the alternative rules when choosing between weak dominant pairwise options: Increasing the ac- cessibility of the interdependent self-construal or of the information with a preven- tion focus or of intra-national culture identification causes individuals to be likely to use the majority rule, whereas increasing the accessibility of the independent self-construal or of the information with a promotion focus or of inter-national cul- ture identification causes individuals to be likely to use the equate-to-differentiate rule.

Lorenzo Magnani

Abduction (ἀπαγωγή, in ancient Greek, often translated as“leading away” or “reduction”) is a procedure in which something that lacks classical explanatory epistemic virtue can be accepted because it has virtue of another kind: Gabbay and Woods [15]contend (GW-schema) that abduction presents an ignorance-preservingor (ignorance-mitigating) character. From this perspective abductive reasoning is a responseto an ignorance-problem; through abduction the basic ignorance– that does not have to be considered a total “ignorance”– is neither solved nor left intact. Abductive reasoning is an ignorance-preserving accommodation of the problem at hand. Is abduction really ignorance-preserving? To better answer this question Iwill introduce (and take advantage of) an eco-cognitive model(EC-Model) of abduction. It will be illustrated that through abduction, knowledge can be enhanced, even when abduction is not considered an inference to the best explanation in the classical sense of the expression, that is an inference necessarily characterized by an empirical evaluation phase, or an inductive phase, as Peirce called it. To further deepen the eco-cognitive character of abduction a simple genealogy of logic is provided: Aristotle clearly states that in syllogistic theory local/environmental cognitive factors– external to that peculiar inferential process, for example regarding users/reasoners, are given up. Indeed, to define syllogism Aristotle first of all insists that all syllogisms are valid and contends that the necessityof this kind of reasoning is related to the circumstance that “no further term from outside (ἔξωθεν) is needed”, in sum syllogism is the fruit of a kind of eco-cognitive immunization. At the same time Aristotle presents a seminal perspective on abduction: the second part of the article considers the famous passage in ChapterB25 of Prior Analyticsconcerning ἀπαγωγή (“leading away”), also studied by Peirce. Icontend that some of the current well-known distinctive characters of abductive cognition are already expressed, which are in tune with the EC-Model. By providing an illustration of the role of the method of analysis and of the middle terms in Plato’s dialectic argumentation, considered as related to the diorismic/poristic process in ancient geometry– also, later on, emphasized by Proclus– Imaintain that it is just this intellectual heritage which informs Aristotle’ ChapterB25 on ἀπαγωγή. Even if, in general, Aristotle seems to sterilize, thanks to the invention of syllogistic theory, every “dialectic” background of reasoning, nevertheless in ChapterB25 he is still pointing to the fundamental inferential role in reasoning of those externalities that substantiate the process of “leading away” (ἀπαγωγή). Hence, we can gain a new positive perspective about the “constitutive” eco-cognitive character of abduction, just thanks to Aristotle himself. Finally, the paper presents an excursus on Aristotle’s 315enthymemes from signs, disregarded by Peirce, but extremely important to stress the Aristotelian treatment of what Ihave called selective abduction. Aforthcoming companion paper [35]will further deepen the EC-Model of abduction stressing stricter logical aspects: the first result will be that, contrarily to the classical logical view, relevance and plausibility in abductive reasoning have to be relativized and so the epistemologically embarrassing concepts of irrelevance and implausibility exculpated: they are not always offensive to reason.

David Godden

Ulrich de Balbian

OGIC‭ & ‬ARGUMENTATION‭ (‬VOLUME‭ ‬5) The first section deals with different ways,‭ ‬approaches or methods of the doing of philosophy or the methodology of philosophizing or the discourse and socio-cultural practice of the Western tradition of philosophy. I then insert a number of articles and post concerning the fact that Philosophy in the Western World concentrates on the History of the Western Tradition of philosophical ideas,‭ ‬complaints that it is white,‭ ‬male and Euro-centered and that it has become too academic,‭ ‬professional and institutionalized. The subsequent sections deal with the topics of Logic and a number of notions‭ ‬related to‭ ‘‬logic‭’‬.‭ ‬The logic referred to are those that are relevant to philosophy or the doing of philosophizing.‭ ‬Truth,‭ ‬meaning,‭ ‬arguments and argumentation are then dealt with.‭ ‬This leads to another section on logic and finally reasoning is mentioned as the coming together of most of the previous sections. If you wish to think and write about multi-dimensional things like the‭ ‘‬world‭’‬,‭ ‬embodied persons,‭ ‬consciousness,‭ ‬human thinking etc,‭ ‬you should at least think multi-dimensional and many levelled.‭ ‬Attempting to investigate,‭ ‬reflect on and‭ ‬describe the nature and functioning of these multi-dimensional,‭ ‬many-levelled‭ ‬entities in a one-dimensional,‭ ‬verbal,‭ ‬linear manner surely is irrational and do not make sense‭? ‬Visual Argument Mapping is one of these multi-dimensional,‭ ‬many-levelled tools.‭ (‬See Appendix‭)

Jean H.M. Wagemans

Garssen, B.J., Godden, D., Mitchell, G.R., & Wagemans, J.H.M. (Eds.) (2019). Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation. Amsterdam: SIC SAT.

Trudy Govier

Analysis and Evaluation Trudy Govier PRAGMATICS AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ... Problems in Argument V. Analysis and Evaluation ... Studies of Argumentation in Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (PDA) This series contains reports on original research in both pragmatics and ...

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Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings: Top 150 (2024)

T his fantasy baseball prospects rankings article took about 200 hours of work during my Memorial Day week and weekend, please follow me on Twitter / X (@fantasyaceball) and listen to my podcasts The Fantasy Aceball Podcast and Prospect One (w/ @isitthewelsh) if you appreciate this article.

These prospect rankings are based on fantasy baseball value, not on real life value. Considering such, hitters generally weigh a bit heavier for me due to the injury risk and higher volatility of prospect pitchers. Proximity to the majors is also prominent in the equation, though these rankings are taking a longer-term / dynasty look on these guys (think of it more as a 5 year plan).

Rather than getting into writing little bios on all of these hitters, I’ve decided to keep my prospects rankings simple by providing the 2023 and 2024 stats of each player across all levels, plus a player comp, a small blub on the player’s prime skills for fantasy baseball and an explanation of my ranking. I’ve also included updated fScores for any players I expect to debut in 2024, which highlights what my fScore projections believe the player is capable of at the pro level for immediate impact.

I know most people don’t care to read 250 – 500 words on each player, so using both box score scouting and film review, I have provided my personal comps for each fantasy baseball prospect and how I think each prospect will perform once in the majors over the next five or so seasons. All-in-all I think the fantasy baseball prospects rankings paired with statistical info and a player comp will hit the sweet spot for the broadest category of people who are reading this fantasy baseball prospect rankings.

• Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
• Fantasy Baseball Trade Tools
• Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
• MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

NOTE: Rookie status is determined by 130 ABs, or 50 IPs at the Major League level. This article was written over the course of two weeks with statistics entered from May 21st through the date of release therefore some stats may be out of date by the time of your reading.

Graduated from the pre-season ranking update: 4. OF Evan Carter (Rangers), 5. OF Jackson Chourio (Brewers), 15. 2B/3B Colt Keith (Tigers), 16. SS Masyn Winn (Cardinals), 28. SS Jackson Merrill (Padres), 31. RP Mason Miller (Athletics), 41. SP Kyle Harrison (Giants), 49. OF Colton Cowser (Orioles), 50. OF Ceddanne Rafaela (Red Sox), 69. 2B/3B Curtis Mead (Rays), 87. SP Jared Jones (Pirates), 116. SP Gavin Stone (Dodgers), 129. C Ivan Herrera (Cardinals), 139. SP DL Hall (Brewers)

• OF Wyatt Langford (Rangers)

2023 College: .373/.498/.784 | 21 HR, 9 SB

2023 Rk/A+/AA/AAA: .360/.480/.677 | 29 XBH, 10 HR, 12 SB

2024 MLB: .224/.295/.293 | 8.5 BB% / 22.5 K%| 5 XBH, 1 HR, 1 SB

ETA: In MLB (on IL)

fScores: 106 fContact, 152 fDiscipline, 106 fPower, 116 fSpeed

Comp : Brian Jordan meets Paul Goldschmidt

Prime Skills: Langford is known as the best power hitter from this recent draft class. He has 35 homer power in the bat and a very good hit tool to go along with it. He has above average speed that kind of sneaks up on you because of his size. The plate skills are almost too good and are getting him in trouble after an enormous spring.

Ranking Explanation: Langford hasn’t done anything in my eyes to lose the top spot in the prospect rankings, though he is close to losing prospect status. He needs to be more aggressive in the zone and let the skills fly, just like he did in Spring. The injury reset might actually be a blessing for him to get back to the basics.

Previous Rank: 1

• 2B / 3B Junior Caminero (Rays)

2023 A+/AA: .324/.384/.591 | 56 XBH, 31 HR, 5 SB

2023 MLB: .235/.278/.353| 5.6 BB% / 22.2 K%| 2 XBH, 1 HR, 0 SB

2024 AAA: .301/.368/.540 | 8.8 BB% / 21.6 K%| 13 XBH, 7 HR, 1 SB

ETA: Early June (2nd stint)

fScores: 97 fContact, 86 fDiscipline, 121 fPower, 78 fSpeed

Comp: Ronald Acuna w/o the wheels

Prime Skills: Probably the quickest bat speed in the minors with some big time power potential. He could be one of the best hitters in baseball sooner rather than later. The lack of a higher walk rate and being overly aggressive might ding him a bit in points leagues, but the power will be his carrying tool right out of the gate as he should at worst put up numbers similar to Willy Adames , but with a better batting average.

Ranking Explanation: Caminero is right there with Holliday, but the biggest difference is he has more power and will end up doing more damage. This is a matter of personal preference, preferring the greater power of Caminero to the hit tool / plate skills oriented profile and the additional steals from Holliday. I would prefer Holliday in points leagues to Caminero though.

Previous Rank: 2

• OF James Wood (Nationals)

2023 A+/AA: .262/.353/.520 | 62 XBH, 26 HR, 18 SB

2024 AAA: .353/.457/.564 | 16.5 BB%, 19.1 K% | 19 XBH, 7 HR, 10 SB

ETA: Mid June

fScores: 102 fContact, 107 fDiscipline, 108 fPower, 135 fSpeed

Comp: Lefty Aaron Judge

Prime Skills: Light tower power from the left side of the plate. He has a home run swing if we’ve ever seen one and has the biggest power upside of the top 10, even more than Wyatt Langford and Junior Caminero due to the huge 6′ 7″ frame. fPower likes Caminero and Langford a bit more at the moment due to the higher number of ground balls, which is the one thing concerning me about Wood right now – especially after watching Jordan Walker struggle with the same thing close-at-hand as a Cardinals fan.

Ranking Explanation: Wood has MLB ready tools and has done a phenomenal job of improving his plate skills and making more contact in 2024. The zone-contact skills are actually better than that of Jackson Holliday this season, which gives him the edge also considering the significantly higher power and speed upside.

Previous Rank: 6

• SP Paul Skenes (Pirates)

2023 College: 122 2/3 IP | 209 Ks, 20 BBs | 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

2023 Rk/A/AA: 6 2/3 IP | 10 Ks, 2 BBs | 5.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

2024 AAA: 27 1/3 IP | 35.2 K-BB%, 17.3 SwStr% | 0.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP

2024 MLB: 10 IP | 38.5 K-BB%, 17.4 SwStr%, 34.8 CSW% | 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP

ETA: In MLB

fScores: 126 fStuff, 98 fControl, 155 fERA

Comp : Justin Verlander

Prime Skills: The development of the splinker (splitter / sinker hybrid) puts Skenes on a completely different level. He throws high heat and has shown he’s durable and consistent. He’s rocking five pitches between a 100 MPH fastball, a killer slider (143 Stuff+), devastating curve (131 Stuff+) and a changeup to go with the splinker.

Ranking Explanation: Skenes is the best pitching prospect in baseball (unless you count Yoshi Yamamoto – which I think is cheating). I believe Skenes is already a top 25 starter in the majors and he’s only two starts into his career. This dude is a legit stud and I almost made him my top prospect, however pitching injuries scare me and pitchers will thus always be weighed down as long-term holds.

Previous Rank: 10

• SS Jackson Holliday (Orioles)

2023 A/A+/AA/AAA: .323/.442/.499 | 51 XBH, 12 HR, 24 SB

2024 MLB: .059/.111/.059 | 5.6 BB%, 50 K% | 0 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB

2024 AAA: .275/.429/.458 | 20.8 BB%, 18.2 K% | 14 XBH, 4 HR, 4 SB

ETA: Late June (2nd stint)

fScores: 93 fContact, 133 fDiscipline, 91 fPower, 89 fSpeed

Comp: Wander Franco

Prime Skills: Quick bat that can reach all fields, but projects out more as a line drive and doubles hitter than a big power bat. Holliday has ridiculous Kwan-esk plate discipline. Not the fastest runner, but could steal 15-20 bags at the major league level in a season. There has been a significant decrease in his contact skills (his fContact dropped from 107 and fDiscipline from more than 150) since he hit the majors and hasn’t fully recovered since returning to AAA.

Ranking Explanation: He has great tools for real baseball as a stud #2 hitter or a leadoff guy earlier in his career, but for fantasy I don’t see a ton of power upside (of course he could grow into it), but I think he’s more like a Luis Arraez that can go 20/20 and prefer the potential 30-35 homer bat of Caminero for fantasy.

Previous Rank: 3

• SP Jackson Jobe (Tigers)

2023 Rk/A/A+/AA: 64 IP | 84 Ks, 6 BBs | 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHP

2024 AA: 16 2/3 IP | 20.6 K-BB%, 17.2 SwStr%, 37.9 CSW% | 2.16 ERA, 1.02 WHIP

ETA: Early 2025 (possibly a cup of coffee in Sept.)

fScores: 118 fStuff, 106 fControl, 132 fERA

Comp: George Kirby

Prime Skills: Excellent command of his pitches for a guy his age and has a ton of spin on his pitches. The fastball is riding as an above average pitch, but it allows him to use his elite slider to get Ks. The walk rate is higher this year, but I think it’s an aberration and wouldn’t be too concerned.

Ranking Explanation: Starters who exhibit this much command at an early age usually come right up and deal without some of the bumps the high stuff and on top of it he’s exhibiting even better stuff this season. The innings are light and I think he’s being primed for an early 2025 debut, perhaps on the 2024 Paul Skenes timeline.

Previous Rank: 40

• OF Jasson Dominguez (Yankees)

2023 AA/AAA: .265/.377/.425 | 40 XBH, 15 HR, 40 SB

2023 MLB: .258/.303/.677 | 6.1 BB%, 24.2 K% | 5 XBH, 4 HR, 1 SB

2024 A (4 games): .385/.529/.462 | 23.5 BB%, 17.6 K% | 1 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB

Age: 21 ETA: Post All Star Break

Pre-season fScores: 99 fContact, 103 fDiscipline, 136 fPower, 162 fSpeed

NOTE: The 2024 sample size is not large enough to run new fScores

Comp: Switch hitting Mookie Betts -light

Prime Skills: Dominguez has top notch plate skills, while also demonstrating he can be a game changer on the base paths. He smashes pitches high in the zone from both sides of the plate, but needs to work on lifting pitches low in the zone instead of smashing them into the ground. He was doing a good job of this before the injury at the major league level.

Ranking Explanation: I had him as a top 20 prospect the last two years when many were down on him, but his short stint in the majors showed he’s the real deal and his profile plays very well in Yankee Stadium. He’s recovering a bit faster than expected, however the Yankees have already come out to say Dominguez will likely spend a decent amount of time at AAA before getting the call back to the majors. It appears they will likely make sure they get their year of eligibility back from the lost time due to the injury.

Previous Rank: 8

• OF Dylan Crews (Nationals)

2023 College: .426/.567/.713 | 18 HR, 6 SB

2023 Rk/A/AA: .292/.377/.467 | 14 XBH, 5 HR, 4 SB

2024 AA: .263/.339/.465 | 8.8 BB%, 29.2 K% | 12 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB

ETA: 2025 (possibly a cup of coffee in Sept.)

Pre-season fScores: 97 fContact, 79 fDiscipline, 105 fPower, 72 fSpeed

***need statcast data to update fScores

Comp : Righty Bryce Harper

Prime Skills: He has great all fields power, he’s a good defender and he has a great eye at the plate. The speed is slightly above average (he has improved this aspect of his game since last season) and he’s more of an all around XBH / damage guy than a home run threat.

Ranking Explanation: He hasn’t had a great pro debut, but I’m not concerned about him long-term. I would love to have more statcast data on him to compare him to some of the AAA hitters, but for now we will sit pretty on Dylan Crews and his longer-term potential.

Previous Rank: 9

• SS Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks)

2023 AA/AAA: .278/.378/.496 | 47 XBH, 20 HR, 36 SB

2023 MLB: .129/.206/.129, 1 SB

ETA: Post All Star Break (already debuted)

fScores: 102 fContact, 98 fDiscipline, 96 fPower, 176 fSpeed

Comp: Trea Turner light w/ some Jeter in there

Prime Skills: Lawlar has a nice power swing, but it may affect his contact ability in the majors – he has all fields power and ridiculous speed, he’s a very aggressive base runner and puts himself in good positions to make things happen on top of having way above average plate discipline for his age..

Ranking Explanation: The power, speed and enough of a hit tool are here to build up a very intriguing player for fantasy purposes and potential top end player, however he had a thumb injury this spring knocking him out from playing until at least early June, where we will have to see him ramp back up before getting a shot at a return to the majors – similar to Jasson Dominguez , but slightly behind on his timeline.

Previous Rank: 7

• OF Walker Jenkins (Twins)

2023 CPX/A: .362/.417/.571 | 9 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB

ETA: Opening Day 2026

fScores: N/A

Comp: Larry Walker

Prime Skills: Big, strong lefty for his age and one of the top five guys from the 2023 draft class. He has a ton of pull power, but can hit for extra base hits through all fields. He showed an elite hit tool last season with an 81.9% contact rate and 90.5% Z-contact and showed off some impressive speed with the six steals to go along with 4 triples in only 26 games.

Ranking Explanation: Jenkins has been out all season with a hamstring injury, but is scheduled to return to the minors as of the writing of this article and he may have a handful of games under his belt by the time you read this. He’s such a good hitter that even without data this season, I’m jumping him ahead of guys I have more data on, even as more of a proximity-based prospector.

Previous Rank: 12

• 3B Coby Mayo (Orioles, 2024)

2023 AA/AAA: .290/.410/.564 | 77 XBH, 29 HR, 5 SB

2024 AAA: .291/.359/.605 | 8.9 BB%, 27.6 K% | 26 XBH, 13 HR, 3 SB

ETA: Post All Star Break

fScores: 96 fContact, 102 fDiscipline, 114 fPower, 77 fSpeed

Comp: Nolan Arenado as a hitter

Prime Skills: Mayo has a quick and powerful swing that portends to future 25-30-ish homer power with 5-ish steal speed. He has an average enough hit tool, but the potential strikeout rate is a bit concerning if he can’t hold it down closer to 25% at the major league level.

Ranking Explanation: The chase rate is up this year, but the contact rates and the power have both improved. I was wrong on him and thought the hit tool was worse than it actually is due to lack of some statcast data I now have available to me. You’re buying Mayo for the power numbers.

Previous Rank: 64

• C / 1B Sammy Basallo (Orioles)

2023 A/A+/AA Stats: .313/.402/.551 | 53 XBH, 20 HR, 12 SB

2024 AA Stats: .255/.293/.390 | 4.7 BB%, 22 K% | 9 XBH, 5 HR, 2 SB

ETA: Late 2025

Comp: Kyle Schwarber with a better hit tool

Prime Skills: Good plate discipline and great power and young for his level, Bassallo has seen some regression this year in the batted ball data as he has not been lifting the ball in the air enough to reach his power potential and he’s been dinged in the plate skills category this year seeing a decent increase in swinging strike and K rate, while also seeing an even larger decrease in walk rate. The dude is built for his age with fast hands, but a tight / weird batting stance. He will likely move off the catcher position full-time because of Rutschman.

Ranking Explanation: He’s young for the level, which means there is more volatility, but if he continues on his current track, he could be on a power hitter version of the Jackson Chourio track from last season. I would love to have some statcast data on him, as he’s still carrying a 104 wRC+ while being 3-4 years young for the level (the average age of a level AA player is 22-23 years old), which bumps him up higher than some of the older AA guys that might have better overall numbers this year like Ford and House.

Previous Rank: 18

• C Harry Ford (Mariners)

2023 A+: .257/.410/.430 | 18.3 BB%, 19.4 K% | 43 XBH, 15 HR, 24 SB

2024 AA: .274/.420/.489 | 17.8 BB%, 19.5 K% | 17 XBH, 5 HR, 9 SB

ETA: Early 2025

Comp: J.T. Realmuto light (less power, better discipline)

Prime Skills: Ford has power, speed, plate discipline and great contact skills – he’s the real deal. I think he’s a better version of Bo Naylor , but a couple years behind in development. He may also move off the position ala MJ Melendez and be an OF and backup catcher, because Big Bopper will be blocking him at the position and he’s been DH-ing about 33% of his games.

Ranking Explanation: Ford is legit, but the Mariners are not rushing him like some of the other guys in this area. He may be a bit of a slow cook, but once he’s up he could be a game changer. He might get the edge to Basallo in roto leagues if he sticks at catcher, but Basallo has a lot more power and extrabase upside, so he gets the edge.

Previous Rank: 22

• 3B Brady House (Nationals)

2023 A/A+/AA: .312/.365/.497 | 24 XBH, 12 HR, 9 SB (88 games)

2024 AA: .255/.344/.496 | 10.8 BB%, 24.8 K% | 14 XBH, 9 HR, 2 SB

Comp: Austin Riley

Prime Skills: Big frame with room to grow at 6′ 4″ and has completely moved off SS to 3B this season. He has shown a ton of improvement in the plate skills in 2023 and has a ton of power potential that has yet to play out. He is pretty good at going the other way. He reminds me a ton of Austin Riley coming up where everyone liked him, then nobody liked him, then everyone liked him again.

Ranking Explanation: House will be a 4 category stud once he hits the majors at a weak position, however he’s a year away assuming his growth continues and will be part of driving in a fun young lineup with Abrams, Wood, Cruz and more.

Previous Rank: 25

• 3B Noelvi Marte (Reds)

2023 AA/AAA: .279/.358/.454 | 35 XBH, 11 HR, 18 SB

2023 MLB: .316/.366/.456 | 6.5 BB%, 20.3 K% | 10 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB

ETA: August 2024 (second stint)

fScores: 96 fContact, 95 fDiscipline, 94 fPower, 125 fSpeed

Comp: David Wright light

Prime Skills: Marte has above average plate skills, especially for his age and should grow into better tools as he transitions, especially in GABP, which will only help his bat play up. The barrel rates have been off since hitting the AAA level, even though he’s making good swing decisions and has a solid SwSp%, he’s just a tick off and this will likely make him a 2024 call.

Ranking Explanation: Marte has the profile where he is basically above average across the board and that will translate to success, think maybe Bryan Reynolds numbers at 3B, he can put up close to a 20/20 season and should at least do something similar to Ke’Bryan Hayes when he returns. Of course now we will be wondering how much of his production was based on performance enhancers, but there’s a pretty good track record of PED guys coming back at a similar level.

• SP Andrew Painter (Phillies)

2022 A/A+/AA: 103 2/3 IP, 155 Ks, 25 BBs, 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP

ETA: Mid 2025

Comp: A bigger Jacob deGrom , or a Tyler Glasnow with more control

Prime Skills: Painter regularly touches 99 MPH on his fastball and throws it up in the zone with some ridiculous ride, then loves to use his curve up in the zone to finish guys off when they are dead red fastball. He has pin-point control for a pitcher his age, which plays his stuff up even more. He has an excellent pitch mix and knows how to throw his changeup and breaking stuff off his money fastball.

Ranking Explanation: We’re getting closer to an Andrew Painter return from TJ (2025) and many of the prospects I had ahead of him are either graduating or simply struggling, thus Painter moving up in the rankings despite doing nothing this year or last year.

Previous Rank: 29

• OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins)

2023 A+: .240/.400/.463 | 20.2 BB%, 29.5 K% | 40 XBH, 16 HR, 20 SB (99 games)

2024 AA: .262/.463/.561 | 26.5 BB%, 28.6 K% | 18 XBH, 6 HR, 9 SB

Age: 21 ETA: Early 2025

fScores: NA

Comp: Rafael Devers meets Edouard Julien

Prime Skills: Great eye and insane power with a tad of speed mixed in despite being a bigger boy, quick hands though. Like many of these guys, Rodriguez has to work on his hit tool a bit and cut down on the strikeouts.

Ranking Explanation: He’s dealt with injuries the last couple of years, but has been ridiculous on a per plate appearance basis. The only issue with his game is he strikes out way too much by being too patient, because a 9.8% SwStr% portends to a way better K rate than near 30%.

Previous Rank: 98

• SS Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox)

2023 A+/AA: .236/.306/.433 | 34 XBH, 13 HR, 9 SB (78 games)

2024 AA: .305/.347/.487 | 6.6 BB%, 22.2 K% | 20 XBH, 4 HR, 9 SB

Comp: Lefty Dansby Swanson

Prime Skills: Fast hands and a good eye lead to an advanced hitting prospect, but how much power will he hit for in his prime? He’s better than the 2023 stats and struggled hard at AA before losing a lot of time to injury. I predicted a rebound this year and was right as he is showing of a very good hit tool and ability for big time doubles power.

Ranking Explanation: I might be the high guy on him still, but my track record of holding struggling players (like Jasson Dominguez ) has proven right over time. Prospect growth is not linear. He might not be a super star, but he should be an above average major leaguer in his peak years and provide decent fantasy value.

Previous Rank: 38

• OF Roman Anthony (Red Sox)

2023 A/A+/AA: .272/.403/.466 | 45 XBH, 14 HR, 16 SB

2024 AA: .232/.344/.384 | 14.7 BB%, 30.7 K% | 14 XBH, 3 HR, 5 SB

Comp: Jarred Kelenic with a better eye

Prime Skills: Very good eye with a strong power tool for a young kid who still needs to fill out. He could be a five tool guy, but needs to be more consistent on the base paths for steals to be a big part of his game long term.

Ranking Explanation: Anthony has a little bit of Emmanuel Rodriguez syndrome, as the SwStr% is only at 9.4%. He ran into this same problem in A+ last year, but course corrected – so there is no reason to doubt he can’t fix this issue a second time, which is being too patient or maybe having a better eye than the umps. He’s rocking a 113 wRC+ and is about two years young for the level, so like Basallo this gives him some props above the actual slash line.

Previous Rank: 27

• 3B Matt Shaw (Cubs)

2023 College: .341/.445/.697, 24 HR, 18 SB

2023 Rk/A+/AA: .347/.400/.618 | 21 XBH, 8 HR, 15 SB (38 games)

2024 AA: .217/.348/.333 | 15.2 BB%, 22.2 K% | 7 XBH, 3 HR, 10 SB

ETA: Sept. 2024

fScores: 101 fContact, 67 fDiscipline, 102 fPower, 170 fSpeed

Comp: Jonathan India with more speed

Prime Skills: Really great plate approach with above average power and speed. Should be one of the better third basemen in the majors sooner, rather than later and has the power and speed combo to put up some 20/20 type seasons.

Ranking Explanation: Shaw has run into some struggles throughout the last month or so after a hot start in the minors this season. Over the last month, he has a .233 BABIP and .179/.286/.221 slash. The plate skills over this period seem fine, but he has lacked power and has had bad luck simultaneously. He showed last year what he can do when he’s in a grove, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt of a rebound.

Previous Rank: 34

• OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)

2023 A+/AA Stats: .283/.365/.511 | 53 XBH, 20 HR, 37 SB

2024 AAA Stats: .214/.250/.429 | 3.4 BB%, 29.5 K% | 10 XBH, 3 HR, 5 SB

2024 MLB Stats: .236/.295/.364 | 4.8 BB%, 28.6 K% | 4 XBH, 1 HR, 5 SB

fScores: 94 fContact, 65 fDiscipline, 93 fPower, 214 fSpeed

Comp: Cedric Mullins with a better glove and more consistent power

Prime Skills: PCA has superstar potential with insane power / speed potential. He has lackluster contact skills however and his plate discipline in high A leaves a lot lacking. He could definitely end up as a 20/30 guy though if he can make enough contact and avoid Ks.

Ranking Explanation: The plate skill issues may lead to inconsistency, especially early in his career, but he should be able to put up a 20 homer, 30-40 steal season when he’s hitting near his peak with elite defense, but for now he would be better off hitting the ball on the ground more (only a 39% rate in the majors) to get on base and using his speed to make things happen.

Previous Rank: 14

• SP Cade Horton (Cubs)

2023 A/A+/AA: 88 1/3 IP | 117 Ks, 27 BBs | 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

2024 AA/AAA: 28 1/3 IP | 32 Ks, 11 BBs, 30.5 CSW% | 4.45 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

fScores: 120 fStuff, 106 fControl, 113 fERA

Comp: Hunter Brown with control and a third pitch

Prime Skills: Dude looks like a righty Jon Lester throwing 98 MPH darts and has a nasty curve. He has shown insane command with three plus pitches between the fastball, slider and curve and should be moving pretty quickly next season due to his well above average command. The CSW

Ranking Explanation: Horton was a multi-sport guy until recently and now that his full focus is on baseball, he’s showing he can be even better than advertised. The transition from AA to AAA has been a little rough, but he pitched tonight as of this writing (5/22) and had his first good start in AAA. A few more of those and he will be up in the major league rotation as the Cubs make a run for a playoff spot and the NL Central.

Previous Rank: 23

• SP Christian Scott (Mets)

2023 A/A+/AA: 87 2/3 IP | 107 Ks, 12 BBs | 2.47 ERA, 0.86 WHIP

2024 AAA: 25 1/3 IP | 31.9 K-BB%, 13.7 SwStr%, 31.7 CSW% | 3.20 ERA, 0.71 WHIP

2024 MLB: 16 2/3 IP | 18.3 K-BB%, 14.5 SwStr%, 27.5 CSW% | 3.61 SIERA, 1.32 WHIP

fScores: 110 fStuff, 120 fControl, 118 fERA

Comp: Zack Wheeler super light (basically a Wheeler fastball / slider without the other pitches)

Prime Skills: Scott has a rising fastball he just smokes guys with up in the zone as a big righty that averages 95-96 on the pitch. Scott has fantastic command and pins the fastball wherever he wants it, playing it off a slider, but he fastball is his K pitch.

Ranking Explanation: This dude was underrated as a college guy who spent time in the pen in 2022 and had an excellent year in 2023 as a full time starter. I was higher on him than many when I wrote my last prospect ranking article, way back in January and here we are now where Scott is a household name in fantasy baseball circles. Horton might not be as good as Scott out of the gate, but he’s also younger, which gives him the edge, while against a guy like Schultz; Scott is in the league now and performing – pitchers have a shelf life and proximity matters more in ranking pitcher than hitters because we can only expect somewhere in the 3-7 years span for any ligament to hold up in the current era.

Previous Rank: 141

• SS Carson Williams (Rays)

2023 A+/AA/AAA: .258/.356/.497 | 51 XBH, 23 HR, 20 SB

2024 AA: .341/.420/.638 | 10.8 BB%, 25.5 K% | 23 XBH, 8 HR, 11 SB

ETA: Late 2024

fScores: 95 fContact, 98 fDiscipline, 111 fPower, 139 fSpeed

Comp: Trevor Story

Prime Skills: Power, speed, plate skills the only thing this kid is missing right now is the hit tool. He’s young enough that he can develop the hit tool on his rise up the minors. He has quick hands and changed his stance from a slight crouch to be more upright since last year, but those Ks need to go down for him to reach his potential as a 20/20 type with a good walk rate.

Ranking Explanation: Williams has seen a 5% increase in fContact and 10% increase in plate skills since the offseason ranking (keeping in mind we are missing the statcast data in these fScores) and also a 5% increase in his fPower score. Besides that, just look at the obvious 23 XBH in 34 games this season is ridiculous and as long as he can keep that bat around league average as a major leaguer, the power and speed will play up, while the elite defense will keep him in the line up.

Previous Rank: 53

• 2B Tyler Black (Brewers)

2023 AA/AAA: .284/.417/.513 | 55 XBH, 18 HR, 55 SB

2024 AAA: .302/.391/.504 | 9.9 BB%, 14.6 K% | 11 XBH, 6 HR, 7 SB

2024 MLB: .227/.261/.318 | 4.3 BB%, 34.8 K% | 2 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB (7 games)

ETA: Early June (second stint)

fScores: 100 fContact, 128 fDiscipline, 81 fPower, 147 fSpeed

Comp: Faster Ben Zobrist

Prime Skills: He has ridiculously good plate skills to go along with high end speed, a very good hit tool and above average power. Under the radar guy who will kill it at 2B as soon as next season. The contact rates are much improved from last season, which could result in more of a doubles profile moving forward.

Ranking Explanation: Black has had a killer year in 2023, vaulting himself way up the rankings by showing he has more speed than originally thought.

Previous Rank: 24

• 1B Xavier Isaac (Rays)

2023 A/A+: .285/.395/.521 | 43 XBH, 19 HR, 12 SB (102 games)

2024 A+: .282/.371/.540 | 11.9 BB%, 25.9 K% | 16 XBH, 8 HR, 8 SB

Comp : A better Vinnie Pasquantino

Prime Skills: Sweet lefty swing and wide open stance with all fields power. Some of his best highlights are him lining high heat out of the park, how he still gets under those and hits them hard enough to get out is a pretty sight to see. A ridiculous number of his homers are no doubters; the kid is big bodied and also maintains his athleticism. He straight up rakes.

Ranking Explanation: Isaac is ready for AA and should be promoted in short order. It’s fun to get a 1B who can also steel some bags, which gives him an even higher upside than most 1B prospects, even if he could get buried in a Rays organization that hates promoting prospects. The lack of proximity pushes him behind a worse plate skills guy like PCA, but the hit tool is better than Montgomery long-term, so I’m giving him the edge.

Previous Rank: 46

• OF Max Clark (Tigers)

2023 Rk/A: .224/.383/.377 | 8 XBH, 2 HR, 5 SB (23 games)

2024 A: .256/.361/.353 | 14.6 BB%, 17.1 K% | 7 XBH, 2 HR, 10 SB

ETA: Early 2026

Comp: Corbin Carroll light

Prime Skills: Multi-sport athlete; has a really nice hit tool (rocking a 80.3 contact% and 93% z-contact), a lot of speed and should develop more power as he ages. He’s likely to develop more into a speed first, 15-20 homer type based on the small sample size of what we have seen in the minors and pre-draft. The plate skills are also trending on borderline elite with only a 19.1% chase rate on the year.

Ranking Explanation: He’s still far away and has to develop further before I can move him higher in my rankings, because proximity does matter – but the upside is tantalizing and the skillset is too good to push him below closer guys with lesser tools.

Previous Rank: 58

• OF Lazaro Montes (Mariners)

2023 Rk/A: .303/.440/.560 | 34 XBH, 13 HR, 2 SB (70 games)

2024 A: .336/.437/.541 | 17 XBH, 6 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Lefty Paul Goldschmidt in the OF

Prime Skills: Big strong kid with a great hit tool, Montes has some insane lefty power and good plate skills. He’s also really improved his body from 2023 to 2024, which has likely helped him cut down the K rate, while also shrinking the gap between BABIP and his batting average. I can’t wait to get some additional statcast numbers on him.

Ranking Explanation: Montes should be up in high A at this point, but the Mariners move some guys slower than others. Clark has the higher upside due to the speed, thus him being ranked higher, but overall Montes has a better hit tool and potentially more home run power than a guy like Montgomery; thus I’m going Montes despite the proximity to the majors and the premium position for Montgomery.

Previous Rank: 92

• SP Noah Schultz (White Sox)

2023 A: 27 IP | 30.8 K-BB%, 15.5 SwStr% | 1.33 ERA, 0.85 WHIP

2024 A+: 27 1/3 IP | 31.8 K-BB%, 13.8 SwStr%, 36.6 CSW% | 3.95 ERA, 0.95 WHIP

Comp: Randy Johnson

Prime Skills: Giant lefty, he might be the tallest player in baseball history by the time he gets to the majors (currently 6′ 9″). He has had pinpoint command for someone of his size – it’s incredible to see. He gets Chris Sale and Nick Lodolo comps often because of the slider.

Ranking Explanation: He’s getting the Tink Hence treatment only pitching 3-4 innings or so per outing, but he has absolutely destroyed hitters at every level he’s pitched. He has excellent command, the fastball sits around 96 MPH and he has an arm slot similar to the guys mentioned above leading to a slick looking slider. Pitchers are always risky, but the mix of size, stuff and command here is ridiculously appealing and in this instance I’m picking the younger guy by five years over the proximity of Baz.

Previous Rank: 71

• SP Shane Baz (Rays)

2022 MLB: 27 IP | 17.9 K-BB%, 13.3 SwStr% | 3.59 SIERA, 1.33 WHIP

2024 AAA: 8 IP | -9.8% K-BB%, 6.6 SwStr%, 25.7 CSW% | 7.88 ERA, 2.13 WHIP

ETA: Late June (returning from TJ)

Pre-season fScores: 116 fStuff, 105 fControl, 109 fERA

Comp : mini, but injured Gerrit Cole

Prime Skills: Killer fastball and slider combo, the fastball plays up in the zone and really jumps out of his hand, while the slider is his best pitch and really plays off the fastball against righties. He has a nasty knee buckling curve as well, which has a bit of a hook to it.

Ranking Explanation: Baz has legit ace level potential as long as he can stay healthy. Coming off injury can take some time for ramp up and adjusting back to pitching against high level competition. I’m actually surprised they started him up in AAA off TJ instead of working him up from complex or A ball. There might be more bumps and bruises than expected returning from such a long lay-off, also something we should keep in mind for Painter moving forward. I am slightly concerned, hence the drop in rank and he’s older than Painter now, which is why Painter is ranked higher.

Previous Rank: 11

• SP Tink Hence (Cardinals)

2023 A+/AA: 96 IP | 99 Ks, 34 BBs | 4.78 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

2024 AA: 45 2/3 IP | 24.2 K-BB%, 16.9 SwStr%, 29.4 CSW% | 2.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

ETA: August 2024

fScores: 106 fStuff, 101 fControl, 109 fERA

Comp: Dylan Cease

Prime Skills: Tink has some serious ride on his fastball (but not Espino ride) that averages in the mid 90s – guys swing under it a lot. The curve is pretty sick and to counter the riding fastball, guys swing over it a lot. He has to work on the consistency of his third and fourth pitches to achieve his top of the rotation potential.

Ranking Explanation: The big question about Tink has always been durability, but he’s proving this year he can consistently go more than 6 innings in starts and despite the smaller stature for a starter at 6′ 1″, he can build up and maintain his electric stuff deeper into games. He has not only proven durable, but he’s showing increased dominance with the fastball this season hitting some upper 90s velos as well.

Pre-Season Rank: 52

• OF Spencer Jones (Yankees)

2023 A+/AA: .267/.336/.444 | 49 XBH, 16 HR, 43 SB

2023 AA: .222/.292/.333 | 9.2 BB%, 33.1 K% | 8 XBH, 2 HR, 9 SB

Comp : Shohei Ohtani Super Light (just the hitter)

Prime Skills: He’s huge at 6′ 6″ and has ridiculous power potential with decent speed to boot. Everyone wants to comp him to Judge since they are both Yankees, but I think Ohtani makes more sense, even the stance is more like Ohtani. He has a ton of sneaky speed to go along with the huge power potential, but the swing has some holes in it.

Ranking Explanation: There is no age-to-level advantage here with Jones, however he is getting exposed due to way too long of a swing. We will need to remember Judge didn’t debut until he was 24-years-old and didn’t stick until he was 25, so let’s give Jones a little room to figure it out before burying him like we did with Judge pre-breakout.

Previous Rank: 70

• SS Colson Montgomery (White Sox)

2023 A+/AA Stats: .287/.456/.484 | 25 XBH, 8 HR, 2 SB (64 games)

2024 AAA Stats: .230/.350/.412 | 14 BB%, 28.7 K% | 14 XBH, 6 HR, 4 SB

fScores: 92 fContact, 137 fDiscipline, 94 fPower, 84 fSpeed

Comp: Lefty Carlos Correa

Prime Skills: Montgomery has fantastic plate discipline, which by now you know I love as a projecting skill toward future fantasy baseball stardom. He should grow into significantly more power as he builds muscle onto his 6-4 frame and even though he’s not slow, I doubt we see steals from him in the future. He has some big time power potential, but he pulls the ball too much for a lefty that seems to see him hit into the shift too much to be a good batting average guy.

Ranking Explanation: Montgomery has seen his K-rate tick up this season, despite having a good chase rate and swinging strike rate which means he may be fouling too many balls off and getting caught looking. This is an adjustment he will have to make to maximize his skillset as a power guy with a new 114 max EV this year already. The decrease in his potential batting average and lack of ability to maximize his power is concerning to me hence the drop in his ranking.

Pre-Season Rank: 20

• 1B Kyle Manzardo (Guardians)

2023 AAA: .237/.337/.464 | 45 XBH, 17 HR, 1 SB (94 games)

2024 AAA: .303/.375/.642 | 11.7 BB%, 17.2 K% | 19 XBH, 9 HR, 0 SB

2024 MLB: .211/.250/.342 | 2.5 BB%, 27.5 K% | 5 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB

fScores: 97 fContact, 115 fDiscipline, 110 fPower, 64 fSpeed

Comp: Joey Votto

Prime Skills: Manzardo is a professional hitter with great contact skills and super star level plate discipline skills already. He also has easy 25 homer power and should produce more power as he adapts to the level, for now he could be a 40 doubles guys with 20 bombs.

Ranking Explanation: Manzardo has seen an increase in his production this season by being more aggressive and making more contact in the zone, which has positively affected his hit tool, while also resulting in less walks. Montgomery gets the edge to Manzardo, because he has a higher power upside (see the EVs) and plays a more premium position.

Previous Rank: 30

• 2B / SS Colt Emerson (Mariners)

2023 Cpx/A: .374/.496/.550 | 12 XBH, 2 HR, 8 SB (24 games)

2024 A: .271/.441/.414 | 20.4 BB%, 14 K% | 6 XBH, 2 HR, 3 SB

ETA: Late 2026

Comp: Brendan Donovan w/ more natural talent and athleticism

Prime Skills: Great hit tool for his age and plate skills for a big lefty who is still developing and has some solid wheels. He was playing A ball as a 17-year-old and is skinny with a ton of room to build on his frame for power as he moves up levels.

Ranking Explanation: This kid is going to move fast, because he takes professional ABs for his age. He should grow into some more power as he ages, but I’m giving Colson Montgomery and Kyle Manzardo the slight edge right now due to proximity.

Previous Rank: 119

• SP Ricky Tiedemann (Blue Jays)

2023 Cpx/A/AA/AAA: 44 IP | 82 Ks, 23 BBs | 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP

2024 AAA: 8 IP | 2.4 K-BB%, 14.3 SwStr%, 30.8 CSW% | 5.63 ERA, 2.00 WHIP

ETA: Late July, 2024

Pre-season fScores: 121 fStuff, 96 fControl, 167 fERA

Comp: Good Andrew Heaney

Prime Skills: Tiedemann was a huge breakout last year and has a really nice fastball – slider combo. His changeup plays great off the slider, which is probably his best pitch. He’s a tunnel master who has a short arm / side arm funky delivery from the left side which makes his slider even tougher to pick up. He does have bullpen risk.

Ranking Explanation: Tiedemann has been injury riddled since last season, including a forearm strain scare where an MRI revealed no structural damage. The stuff was still there in his small sample size this year and who cares about the ERA and WHIP over 8 innings. Ideally, he would walk more like 3 per 9 for him to be a top of the rotation guy so I am dropping him in the rankings, because there might only be a closer profile here or mid-rotation starter if he can’t reign in the walks or maintain health.

Previous Rank: 21

• SP Robby Snelling (Padres)

2023 A/A+/AA: 103 2/3 IP | 118 Ks, 34 BBs | 1.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP

2024 AA: 34 IP | 11.4 K-BB%, 12.1 SwStr%, 28.8 CSW% | 3.44 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Pre-season fScores: 97 fStuff, 95 fControl, fERA 126

Comp: Jesus Luzardo -light

Prime Skills: The 3/4 arm-slot helps create a lot of deception between his fastball and slider, which also gets classified as a curveball – so we will call it a slurve. He’s a three pitch guy with an above average fastball, a good changeup and a stellar breaking pitch with a knack for avoiding hard contact.

Ranking Explanation: Snelling won Baseball America’s 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year after a stellar second half closing out what was already an impressive campaign as a 19-year-old and when looking at his 2024 numbers, it’s easy to be disappointed by them considering the stuff some of the other top 100 starters are showing, but he’s young for the level by 2-3 years and is showing an incredible propensity to avoid hard contact and damage, similar to Emmanuel Clase . Tiedemann gets the edge, just due to the huge strikeout upside, but it’s pretty close.

Previous Rank: 32

• OF Heston Kjerstad (Orioles)

2023 AA/AAA: .303/.376/.528 | 59 XBH, 21 HR, 5 SB

2023 MLB: .233/.281/.467 | 3 XBH, 2 HR, 0 SB

2024 AAA: .333/.413/.719 | 12.2 BB%, 20.9 K% | 20 XBH, 12 HR, 1 SB

2024 MLB: .193/.294/.143 | 11.8 BB%, 35.3 K% | 0 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB (7 games)

ETA: June 2024 (third stint)

fScores: 97 fContact, 85 fDiscipline, 127 fPower, 66 fSpeed

Comp: Lefty Nick Castellanos or Eloy Jimenez

Prime Skills: Big time power with a solid hit tool, but where will he play? He’s killed it through 2023 rebounding back into the top prospect stratosphere only to find the Orioles have way too many hitting prospects and not enough open positions. The plate skills are a concern, as he profiles as a nice #5 or #6 hitter in any lineup.

Ranking Explanation: The dude is blocked at the time of this writing and he’s at an age where he needs to start getting regular playing time if he’s going to live up to his full potential. He should be a 30 homer guy in his best seasons, but will never be a super star – more just a supporting counting stats guy in his peak seasons with a couple All Star seasons sprinkled in.

Previous Rank: 17

• SP Drew Thorpe (White Sox):

2023 A+/AA: 139 1/3 IP | 182 Ks, 38 BBs | 2.52 ERA, 0.98 WHIP

2024 AA: 42 IP | 17.1 K-BB%, 15.9 SwStr%, 28.7 CSW% | 1.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP

ETA: June 2024

fScores: 114 fStuff, 116 fControl, 141 fERA

Comp: George Kirby -light to Chris Paddack -ish

Prime Skills: Primarily a fastball, changeup guy (though the best attribute of the fastball is where he places it), he has a nice slider he mixes in between the two and has dominated the minors to date ala Mr. Paddack. The low 90s to high 80s velo of the fastball does concern me as he didn’t look great in spring, but hopefully he can work around it with some deception or if he can average closer to 92 than 90 MPH.

Ranking Explanation: The fScores absolutely love Thorpe, but they would because without some of the critical statcast data, we don’t necessarily have a full deck of cards to play with. Hence has better potential stuff than Thorpe and is younger, therefore gets the edge and when it comes to Snelling, part of me just simply will think Preller kept Snelling and traded Thorpe and he’s a great scout, so I’m leaning that way subconsciously while also just considering the age-to-level bonus for Snelling and the better fastball.

Previous Rank: 26

• SS Cole Young (Mariners)

2023 A/A+: .277/.399/.449 | 54 XBH, 11 HR, 22 SB

2024 AA: .255/.347/.379 | 11.2 BB%, 15.4 K% | 12 XBH, 3 HR, 8 SB

Comp: Less speedy, lefty Matt McLain

Prime Skills: Young has a top of the line hit tool to go along with great plate skills, especially for a player his age and as a 19-year-old is showing increased power at A+. The speed is good, but not great. He has quick hands and is starting to hit the ball in the air more as he moves up each level.

Ranking Explanation: He’s a fast riser, especially for his age and as long as the hit tool and the plate skills stay ahead of the level, he will keep moving up to play at levels above his age. He will need to develop more power as he ages and be more consistent on the basepaths in order to maximize his fantasy value. Keep in mind his age-to-level bonus of a couple years here as he’s rocking a 105 wRC+. He might not have the hit tool of someone like Amador, but he makes better contact which is often more important.

Previous Rank: 31

• SP Noble Meyer (Marlins)

2023 Rk/A: 11 IP | 15 Ks, 7 BBs | 4.09 ERA, 1.63 WHIP

2024 A: 34 IP | 14.2 K-BB%, 14 SwStr%, 28.9 CSW% | 2.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP

Comp: Logan Gilbert

Prime Skills: Big fastball can hit 100 MPH as a high schooler. Seeing him live, the dude has at least five pitches. He runs in the 95-97 MPH zone on the fastball with excellent control, plus rocks a 94 MPH sinker (I think), 91 MPH sweeper, 85-86 MPH slider and a sick 82-84 MPH change up. The fastball, changeup and slider all netted some killer swinging strikes, while the sweeper looked like a frisbee with the movement it had.

Ranking Explanation: This ranking could be proximity bias as this is a dude pitching near me, but he looks like a future ace (even though he has a baby face). The command and stuff combo at this age is just ridiculous as I saw him completely dismantle a good Yankees A ball team for 11 Ks in 5 innings.

Previous Rank: 83

• SP Carson Whisenhunt (Giants)

2023 A/A+/AA: 58 2/3 IP | 83 Ks, 23 BBs | 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP

2024 AAA: 35 1/3 IP | 20.4 K-BB%, 14.2 SwStr%, 31.9 CSW% | 6.37 ERA, 1.64 WHIP

ETA: August, 2024

fScores: 121 fStuff, 93 fControl, 107 fERA

Comp: A plus version of Braxton Garrett or lefty Brandon Pfaadt

Prime Skills: He has a super slurvy-like curve and possibly the best change up in the minors, but he’s playing these against a below average fastball. Whisenhunt missed basically all of the second half in 2023 and was thrown to the wolves in the PCL in 2024, so his damage stats shouldn’t be held too much against him.

Ranking Explanation: The stuff is ridiculous despite the lack of killer fastball velocity and I think he has what it takes to be a #2 or #3 in the rotation, however the lack of innings is concerning and we need to make sure he can build up to a starters workload before bumping him higher up the rankings. Whisenhunt gets the edge to Meyer for me, because he’s younger and has better potential stuff.

Previous Rank: 59

• SS Adael Amador (Rockies)

2023 A+/AA: .287/.380/.495 | 30 XBH, 12 HR, 15 SB (69 games)

2024 AA: .151/.322/.185 | 18.1 BB%, 16.8 K% | 2 XBH, 1 HR, 15 SB

Comp: Jimmy Rollins meets Luis Arraez

Prime Skills: He has a compact swing and gets out of the box fast, which helps him reach for hits, because he does hit the ball on the ground too much. He has surprising power for his size, because he is good at turning on the ball quickly when pitchers make mistakes. His contact and plate discipline skills are his calling card with above average speed, but below average power.

Ranking Explanation: Amador is obviously off to a terrible start in 2024 and is not looking any better as the season goes on. I don’t want to over react and drop him too far in the rankings after regretting moving Spencer Jones down so much last time around, but he’s been terrible at the AA level and while yes, he is young for the level by a year and a half – he should be performing better with his 70 hit tool. The only reason he gets the edge to DeLauter is that DeLauter is always hurt, which gives Amador time to fix his flawed spring.

Pre-Season Rank: 17

• OF Chase DeLauter (Guardians)

2023 Rk/A+/AA: .355/.417/.528 | 27 XBH, 5 HR, 6 SB (57 games)

2024 AA: .197/.296/.295 | 12.7 BB%, 18.3 K% | 4 XBH, 1 HR, 1 SB

ETA: September 2024

fScores: 98 fContact, 111 fDiscipline, 101 fPower, 80 fSpeed

Comp: Josh Lowe and lefty Matt Holliday mash

Prime Skills: He’s shown a really strong hit tool and has some unrealized power in his small sample size at the minor league level. The pull power from his college days is tantalizing. Coming off injury, we just need to see some health from this doubles machine.

Ranking Explanation: DeLauter just can’t stay healthy. The line has been dragged down by a .229 BABIP, but he broke his foot for the second time and now likely won’t see the field until the end of June or early July.

Previous Rank: 33

• OF Josue De Paula (Dodgers)

2023 A: .284/.396/.372 | 19 XBH, 2 HR, 14 SB (74 games)

2024 A: .240/.333/.446 | 11.3 BB%, 25.5 K% | 15 XBH, 4 HR, 4 SB

ETA: Mid 2026

Comp: Lefty Jordan Walker

Prime Skills: Big kid has a body that power can grow into with a solid hit tool, great plate skills and none zero speed. Right now he’s more tools than he is baseball player, which is holding him back a little, but there is a Super Start type player in here somewhere.

Ranking Explanation: de Paula has a super high ceiling, but he’s far off – we are at the point in the prospect rankings where we transition from All Star calibur proximity talent to elite talent a few years away. The theoretical thinking behind where I stand generally is close to the majors elite talent transitions to All Star level talent close to the majors then to elite talent 3-5 years off, then back toward fantasy starter talent close to the majors mixed in with All Star level talent far off.

Previous Rank: 137

• SS Felnin Celesten (Mariners)

2024 Cpx: .385/.476/.615 | 15.9 BB%, 15.9 K% | 7 XBH, 2 HR, 3 SB

Comp: Switch hitting Gunnar Henderson with a little Juan Soto in the mechanics

Prime Skills: Celesten is a good sized switch hitting, athletic shortstop who was seen coming into complex as one of the top players and has only performed even higher than expected. I’m especially impressed with the plate skills of such a raw talent.

Ranking Explanation: Maybe this is the Welsh rubbing off on my a bit, but I think if you want Celesten in the types of dynasty leagues where you stash A and A+ players, you need to go get him now. He’s an elite level talent. He has top 10 prospect upside.

Previous Rank: N/A

• SP Max Meyer (Marlins)

2022 AAA: 58 IP | 20.1 K-BB%, 15.3 SwStr % | 3.72 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

2022 MLB: 6 IP | 15.4 K-BB%, 12.4 SwStr% | 7.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

2024 AAA: 16 2/3 IP | 18.2 K-BB%, 11.2 SwStr%, 26.1 CSW% | 7.56 ERA, 1.68 WHIP

2024 MLB: 17 IP | 16.9 K-BB%, 14.2 SwStr%, 31.2 CSW% | 3.55 SIERA, 0.82 WHIP

ETA: Mid-June (third stint)

fScores: 105 fStuff, 105 fControl, 106 fERA

Comp: Shorter John Smoltz light

Prime Skills: Meyer has a super nasty slider that might be one of the best pitches in baseball and throws it almost 50% of the time. He balances this out against a solid fastball that hovers around 94-95 and generates an over 30% CSW along with a slightly above average change up as his third offering.

Ranking Explanation: Why are the Marlins playing with a 25-year-old by wasting his bullets in the minors? We will never know, but he struggled in his first couple of minor league outings – likely because he was like “what am I doing down here… ” I want to see the Marlins get this kid back to the majors, he was doing very well.

Previous Rank: 39

• SP Adam Mazur (Padres):

2023 AA Stats: 96 IP | 90 Ks, 17 BBs | 2.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

2024 AA Stats: 32 1/3 IP | 22.5 K-BB%, 15.1 SwStr%, 29.4 CSW% | 1.95 ERA, 0.87 WHIP

2024 AAA (PCL): 11 IP | 10.9 K-BB%, 10.4 SwStr%, 21.3 CSW% | 5.73 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

fScores: 97 fStuff, 122 fControl, 100 fERA

Comp: Tanner Bibee , but a harder more Luis Castillo like slider

Prime Skills: Impeccable command with a nice hard 12/6 slider and a changeup with a ton of run. He’s been a lot more consistent with a 95-96 MPH fastball up in the zone this year and is a bit of a pop up prospect, even as a second round guy as he was able to generate much worse contact at AA to start the 2024 season.

Ranking Explanation: Mazur was promoted to AAA where he is pitching in Alburquerque of the PCL, which is one of the two worst parks, park factor-wise to pitch in, so take the AAA numbers with a grain of salt. I’m actually surprised they are subjecting him to that atmosphere, but I suppose it means they are more likely to keep him rather than trade him. Meyer gets the edge to Mazur due to having better stuff with that wicked slider, despite having worse overall command.

• SP Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers)

2023 A/A+/AA: 71 1/3 IP | 110 Ks, 42 BBs | 3.41 ERA, 1.18 WHIP

2024 AA: 31 IP | 14.4 K-BB%, 14.6 SwStr%, 32.2 CSW% | 2.32 ERA, 1.23 WHIP

Comp: Tyler Glasnow

ETA: September, 2024

fScores: 114 fStuff, 86 fControl, 118 fERA

Prime Skills: Killer fastball, he throws it 101 and it’s at an odd arm angle, so it’s difficult to pick up. He’s had some control issues, especially in his short stint at AA, but if he can harness the control he could be an elite starter – otherwise he will be a back of the bullpen beast.

Ranking Explanation: The control issues limit the upside a bit compared to the upside of his stuff, but he has a range of outcomes that goes from ace to top setup guy. I trust he will find success in one role or another. Remember Glasnow had the same concerns with Pittsburgh due to his size and has had control and durability issues at different times throughout his career. I’m giving Mazur the edge, because Mazur is definitely a major league starter, whereas Misiorowski is not – though he has a much higher ceiling.

• 2B / SS Jett Williams (Mets)

2023 A/A+/AA: .263/.425/.451 | 43 XBH, 13 HR, 45 SB

2024 AA: .179/.360/.308 | 16 BB%, 10 K% | 4 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB (11 games)

Comp: Jose Altuve light (think Nico Hoerner stats)

Prime Skills: Plate skills and speed, the contact tool is still developing, but should ultimately be a good tool for Williams, however quality contact is lacking right now. He has non-zero power and because he has a quick swing can get to a surprising number of extra base hits.

Ranking Explanation: Williams was bumped up to AA at the end of the year as a teenager, so you know the Mets are high on him. The hit tool needs to catch up to the other tools, but Jett projects as a future 20/30 or 20/40 type with an insanely good plate approach. Take the stats this year with a grain of salt, because Williams is out with a wrist injury and had a .206 BABIP in a small sample size. He was still rocking a 105 wRC+ 2-3 years below the proper age-to-level thanks.

Previous Rank: 129

• 2B / OF Joey Loperfido (Astros)

2023 A+/AA/AAA: .278/.370/.510 | 55 XBH, 25 HR, 27 SB

2024 AAA: .287/.393/.713 | 13.1 BB%, 30.3 K% | 17 XBH, 13 HR, 5 SB

2024 MLB: .333/.381/.436 | 7 BB%, 39.5 K% | 2 XBH, 1 HR, 1 SB Age: 25

fScores: 106 fContact, 91 fDiscipline, 98 fPower, 118 fSpeed

Comp: Christian Yelich (without the peak years)

Prime Skills: He has all fields gap power and can hit oppo tacos with his bat speed. He has very good speed to go with a great hit tool and very good plate skills. He would be a killer top of the lineup guy, but in Houston, he’s probably looking at super utility duties.

Ranking Explanation: Loperfido’s age and the fact he’s a blocked from regular playing time in Houston (pending injury) drops him a bit in the rankings, but the tools are legit and this guy could be one of these out of nowhere type guys with limited pedigree who has a nice 5-7 year stretch in the majors.

Previous Rank: 82

• OF Jaison Chourio (Guardians)

2023 Cpx/A: .321/.446/.419 | 15 XBH, 1 HR, 20 SB (48 games)

2024 A: .272/.415/.376 | 18.9 BB%, 17 K% | 9 XBH, 2 HR, 14 SB

Comp: Jackson Chourio mechanics, TJ Friedl outcome

Prime Skills: He’s a switch hitting version of his brother with fantastic plate skills, a better hit tool, but less power potential. He’s only one year younger than his brother, but the Guardians are infamous for slowly moving their hitters, so it’s unlikely we see him debut in a year like his brother since he’s only in A ball.

Ranking Explanation: Chourio should be a quick mover

• C Ethan Salas (Padres)

2023 A/A+/AA: .248/.331/.421 | 24 XBH, 9 HR, 5 SB (66 games)

2024 A+: .212/.329/.311 | 14.6 BB%, 24.7 K% | 10 XBH, 1 HR, 5 SB

ETA: Early 2026 fScores: N/A

Comp: Lefty only Adley Rutschman

Prime Skills: Salas displayed 25 homer power at the A ball level as a 17-year-old, but since has struggled to hit at the higher levels, which are not aided by bad BABIP luck and despite having a great eye. Salas has great discipline for his age, 20-25 homer power plus above average speed as a catcher. He has a quick lefty swing and has shown some very strong EVs.

Ranking Explanation: Salas might end up as a better real life player than a fantasy player, especially as a catcher so keep that in mind when you’re riding the hype. However, he is playing at a difficult age-to-level considering other players his age are still in complex league or in the DSL and an 87 wRC+ is not bad for a kid that still isn’t 18-years-old in high A.

Previous Rank: 19

• C Kyle Teel (Red Sox)

2023 College: .407/.475/.655, 13 HR, 5 SB

2023 Rk/A+AA: .363/.483/.495 | 6 XBH, 2 HR, 3 SB

2024 AA: .282/.387/.436 | 13.9 BB%, 24.1 K% | 12 XBH, 3 HR, 1 SB

TBD: Early 2025

Comp: Buster Posey

Prime Skills: He’s an athletic catcher with a big hit tool. He gets some comps to J.T. Realmuto , but I think he is more of a high average hitter who will get on base than the primarily power / speed threat of Realmuto.

Ranking Explanation: He’s an across the board very solid hitter who should maintain primary catcher duties and is a good enough hitter he should find the lineup even when he’s not catching. Salas gets the edge, because I think he has the higher overall power and speed potential, even if Teel has the better hit tool.

Previous Rank: 56

• SP Chase Hampton (Yankees)

2023 A+/AA: 106 2/3 IP, 145 Ks, 37 BBs, 3.63 ERA, 1.14 WHIP

ETA: Mid-Late 2024

fScores: 103 fStuff, 98 fControl, 107 fERA

Comp: Kyle Bradish

Prime Skills: Hampton has really good mechanics and all his pitches tunnel together very well, the curve is great and plays off his well located fastball nicely. He has a pitch labeled as a cutter, but it almost looks more like a hammer 12/6 slider than a cutter.

Ranking Explanation: Hampton doesn’t have the best stuff, but he does have consistency and ability to control his stuff, which puts him ahead of Hence and some of the lower command guys in my rankings. He has not played yet this year due to an undisclosed shoulder issue.

Previous Rank: 51

• SP Rhett Lowder (Reds)

2023 College: 120 1/3 IP | 143 Ks, 24 BBs | 1.87 ERA, 0.95 WHIP

2024 A+/AA: 36 2/3 IP | 20 K-BB%, 16.2 SwStr%, 33 CSW% | 5.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP

Comp: Logan Webb

Prime Skills: He has three above average pitches and is known for his pin-point control. His change up and 2-seamer are both nasty. He’s a smart pitcher and knows how to mix well, but the question is how much GASP will hurt him.

Ranking Explanation: Hampton has proven to be successful at the AA level whereas Lowder still hasn’t climbed that hurdle and they are the same age. Despite Hampton being hurt, we will give him the slight edge since Lowder is slightly behind in league progression.

Previous Rank: 112

• SS Aidan Miller (Phillies)

2023 Cpx/A: .303/.425/.379 | 4 XBH, 0 HR, 4 SB (20 games)

2024 A: .327/.423/.558 | 11.4 BB%, 19.5 K% | 16 XBH, 4 HR, 10 SB

Comp: Royce Lewis

Prime Skills: This dude is an athlete, I had a live look on him and he’s really just a super athlete and a gamer. A lot of people thought he would move off SS to 3B, but he looks super smooth and athletic and he should stay at SS as long as he can. Miller has a stellar eye at the plate with only a 22.6% chase rate and has great EVs for his age at an average of 86 and max over 108. The hit tool is only average and needs the most work, but he gets an ideal launch angle and is adept at barreling when he does make contact.

Ranking Explanation: Miller doesn’t quite have the upside of a guy like Salas or the hit tool and advanced proximity as teel, but he has a lot higher upside than the guys further down the list like Locklear and gets the edge as I think he does have a decently high floor as a further away prospect and seeing him in person, I know he’s a gamer. I saw him strike out three times, then come back to hit a 2 RBI double and score on a wild pitch – he’s in it even on the bad days.

• SP Blade Tidwell (Mets)

2023 A+\AA: 116 IP | 153 Ks, 63 BBs, 3.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

2024 AA/AAA: 43 IP | 22.4 K-BB%, 15 SwStr%, 30.8 CSW% | 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

Comp: Chris Carpenter with more velo and power slider rather than curve

Prime Skills: Another fast rising college pick from the Mets is following in the Christian Scott footsteps. Former 2nd rounder, big strong dude just blowing guys away high in the zone with his fastball this year, fastball gets up to 99 MPH. Improved command this year and might have been a first rounder had he been healthy before the draft. Mostly fastball / power slider.

Ranking Explanation: Tidwell was promoted to AAA and had a tough first start, because now he’s going to run into the ABS. Let’s keep an eye on how that affects him moving forward.

• OF Owen Caissie (Cubs)

2023 AA: .289/.399/.519 | 55 XBH, 22 HR, 7 SB

2024 AAA: .288/.419/.429 | 17.3 BB%, 28.3 K% | 15 XBH, 3 HR, 5 SB

ETA: Late 2021

fScores: 94 fContact, 117 fDiscipline, 116 fPower, 77 fSpeed

Comp: Cody Bellinger meets Joey Gallo

Prime Skills: The power is legit (115.5 max EV this year and over 90 average EV), but the hit tool and plate skills need some serious work. There is a lot of potential here however, hence the ranking. He just needs to work on making more contact and putting the ball into the air to maximize his skill set.

Ranking Explanation: Caissie is young for the age and I expect more power to develop, but will the hit tool keep up and can he reign in the Ks? These are the major hurdles that will determine whether or not Caissie leans toward good Cody Bellinger production or bad Joey Gallo production.

Previous Rank: 65

• 1B Tyle Locklear (Mariners)

2023 A+/AA: .288/.405/.502 | 39 XBH, 13 HR, 12 SB (85 game)

2024 AA: .289/.401/.523 | 12.9 BB%, 25.8 K% | 20 XBH, 7 HR, 3 SB

Comp: Mitch Haniger -ish with a righty Beltran stance

Prime Skills: Hit tool, check. Power tool, check. Slight speed with improving plate skills, I’m in! Locklear is coming off an injury shortened season so don’t take those counting stats for granted, I think he paces out for a 25 homer 15 steal guy in the future.

Ranking Explanation: Locklear is a 1B and I’m just not someone who will generally be high on 1B prospects, because it’s easy for them to get blocked. He’s a very good player who could make some All Star games, but I doubt he’s any sort of super star, so keep in mind the proximity is close, the floor is high, but the ceiling is limited.

Previous Rank: 63

• SP Chase Petty (Reds)

2023 A+/AA: 68 IP | 66 Ks, 15 BBs | 1.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP

2024 AA: 36 IP | 16.5 K-BB%, 13.2 SwStr%, 29.2 CSW% | 5.25 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

fScores: 99 fStuff, 109 fControl, 117 fERA

Comp: Spencer Strider LIGHT

Prime Skills: Rising fastball with ridiculous velocity that can reach over 100 MPH. The Reds seem to be putting Chase Petty through the Tink Hence developmental track as he’s barely increasing workload as he goes up the minors. The Twins messed up A-Aron, now the Reds just need to build him up in 2024 for a 2025 all out Petty.

Ranking Explanation: Petty has a killer fastball, slider combo and great control which puts him on the road to being a high end starter. He is going to pitch in CIncy, which scares me, but besides that and a lack of high K potential right now, he is a good bet for success due to the insane command and has been through the ringer with a .360 BABIP against this season fairly abnormal HR rate against.

Previous Rank: 44

• C Jeferson Quero (Brewers)

2023 AA: .262/.339/.441, 16 HR, 5 SB

Comp: Wilson Contreras with a better glove

Prime Skills: Pretty above average skills across the board and young for the level. He showed increased power and plate skills in 2023, along with a better hit tool all as a 20-year-old catcher at AA.

Ranking Explanation: Quero is going to be a solid major league catcher for a long time, the development of his hit tool and plate skills to match his solid power potential have bumped him up the Quero rankings along with the total rankings as a really nice looking player long-term. He’s out for the season with a shoulder injury, which pushes his timeline back by around a year. It’s a good thing he was so far ahead of schedule to begin with in regards to age-to-level.

Previous Rank: 48

• SP David Festa (Twins)

2023 AA/AAA: 92 1/3 IP | 119 Ks, 42 BBs | 4.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP

2024 AAA: 34 IP | 22.6 K-BB%, 16.4 SwStr%, 33.4 CSW% | 3.18 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

ETA: Mid-Late June

fScores: 115 fStuff, 93 fControl, 106 fERA

Comp: George Kirby without a curve and worse control

Prime Skills: Festa rocks a mid-90s fastball, a plus slider and above average changeup with way above average control, which will help him cement a starter’s role in the majors in the near future.

Ranking Explanation: I’ve been a team Festa guy here for a while and he’s been even better this season. The only issue is the walks are even higher than last year, but part of that may be the robo umps so we could see this number improve once he’s promoted to the majors.

Previous Rank: 85

• SP AJ Smith-Shawver (Braves):

2023 A+/AA/AAA: 62 IP | 79 Ks, 33 BBs |2.76 ERA, 1.13 WHIP

2023 MLB: 25 1/3 IP | 8.6 K-BB%, 9 SwStr%, 22.5 CSW% | 5.25 SIERA, 1.11 WHIP

2024 AAA: 31 IP | 12.9 K-BB%, 13.5 SwStr%, 28 CSW% | 6.10 ERA, 1.52 WHIP

2024 MLB: 4 1/3 IP | 11.1 K-BB%, 10.3 SwStr%, 24.1 CSW% | 4.62 SIERA, 1.15 WHIP

fScores: 93 fStuff, 89 fControl, 92 fERA

Comp: Giovanny Gallegos as a starter

Prime Skills: A super over the top arm slot that he repeats really well makes it difficult to pick up on what pitch is coming out of his hand. He throws heat (hits 99 MPH) and the arm slot makes it come on even faster. His curve is his best pitch and he might be better working in a slider to counter the curve and change up since he’s so vertical.

Ranking Explanation: Smith-Shawver has not had a good season thus far by any means and was just injured in his first MLB start of the season. He’s still super young for the level and I think projects better as a mid-rotation type than top of rotation and as a fast mover we need to keep expectations more in check. He has not been good this year, but his stuff has so much upside he gets the nod over Roby.

Previous Rank: 55

• OF Rayner Arias (Giants)

2023 DSL: .414/.539/.793 | 12 XBH, 4 HR, 4 SB (16 games)

ETA: Early 2027

Comp: Jorge Soler / Tommy Pham mash up

Prime Skills: Arias is a bigger athletic OF for his age who demonstrated fantastic plate skills and true 5-tool potential in the DSL. He’s a pull, flyball hitter who will need to learn to spread the ball around a bit more to maximize his damage potential.

Ranking Explanation: He has not played yet this year due to a wrist injury, but the dude is a potential elite talent and this is the Welsh rubbing off on me a little bit as I jump my natural inclination to be more proximity driven to just saying – it’s worth grabbing this dude now to make sure I have him rather than getting players that help me win now.

• SP Cade Povich (Orioles):

2023 AA/AAA Stats: 126 2/3 IP | 171 Ks, 66 BBs | 5.04 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

2024 AAA Stats: 47 2/3 IP | 25.3 K-BB%, 12.2 SwStr%, 31.5 CSW% | 2.08 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

ETA: Late May

fScores: 106 fStuff, 93 fControl, 102 fERA

Comp: Matthew Liberatore , but better

Prime Skills: He’s a lanky lefty with some loopy stuff that plays up in the minors for K’s. He has a lower velo fastball, but it comes out with enough extension to hide for better performance than Liberatore’s higher velo fastball. The big pitch is his curve, which is a bit slurvy and how he tunnels it against the fastball and slider.

Ranking Explanation: Povich had terrible command last year, which is why I removed him from my Top 150 rankings in the pre-season, but he’s really upped the command game this year making him a much more polished pitcher giving him a better opportunity to stick in the rotation as a fixture than I originally thought. I’m giving Smith-Shawver the edge to Povich, because I think he just simply has better stuff and just needs to work on refining it. He’s also three years younger.

• SP Tekoah Roby (Cardinals)

2023 AA: 58 1/3 IP | 69 Ks, 15 BBs | 4.63 ERA, 1.20 WHIP

2024 AA: 33 1/3 IP | 13.6 K-BB%, 13.7 SwStr%, 28.2 CSW% | 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP

fScores: 112 fStuff, 103 fControl, 92 fERA

Comp: Jose Berrios

Prime Skills: Four plus pitches with above average command. He likes to play his 95 mph heater up in the zone then goes low with the curve, his best pitch when he’s on. He needs to work on the pitch mix, because he has great stuff, but whatever his approach is seems to not be working and he might be tipping this year.

Ranking Explanation: Shoulder injuries have weighed down his potential and likely allowed him to get traded at the deadline, but he’s back and healthy now. The ratios play up for Roby and as long as he can build up the durability, he can be a mid-rotation starter. He’s getting rocked this season by a .340 BABIP and nearly 25% HR/FB rate, so take the ERA with a grain of salt. Povich only gets a slight edge to Roby due to the proximity of his call up and that Roby is on a bad luck, struggle bus right now and needs to right the ship.

Previous Rank: 47

• 3B Brock Wilken (Brewers)

2023 College: .345/.506/.807 | 31 HR, 1 SB

2023 Rk/A+/AA: .285/.414/.473 | 17 XBH, 5 HR, 4 SB

2024 AA: .232/.276/.390 | 4.6 BB%, 28.7 K% | 7 XBH, 3 HR, 0 SB (21 games)

Prime Skills: This dude has massive power, but the question is if the hit tool can be average enough to allow him to mash 30-40 homers.

Ranking Explanation: Brock Wilken missed time earlier this year after taking a pitch to the face and dealing with facial fractures and it’s been a little slow going in the plate skills department as he’s striking out more than last year and walking less. It may take some time for him to get back into the groove, so the stats to date should be taken with a grain of salt.

Previous Rank: 120

• SP Chase Dollander (Rockies)

2023 College: 89 IP | 120 Ks, 30 BBs | 4.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP

2024 A+: 34 1/3 IP | 26.9 K-BB%, 18.7 SwStr%, 32.2 CSW% | 3.41 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

Comp: Zach Wheeler light in Coors

Prime Skills: Big time fastball with a slider and curve. The major questions are if he can correct back to his 2022 levels and if he can figure out how to pitch in Colorado. The fastball sits in the high 90s, while the curve has been a deadly tunnel pitch with guys swinging right over the top of it.

Ranking Explanation: Pitching in Colorado is a killer chore, however with his stuff he has the potential to be their best starter since Jon Gray . Dollander would be a top 50 prospect pretty easily if he wasn’t destined to pitch in Colorado. Get this kid to AA!

Previous Rank: 110

• OF Jordan Beck (Rockies)

2023 A+/AA Stats: .271/.364/.503 | 61 XBH, 25 HR, 20 SB

2024 AAA Stats: .307/.405/.594 | 14.9 BB%, 19.8 K% | 17 XBH, 5 HR, 5 SB

2024 MLB Stats: .190/.198/.316 | 1.2 BB%, 37 K% | 6 XBH, 2 HR, 2 SB

fScores: 94 fContact, 104 fDiscipline, 103 fPower, 130 fSpeed

Comp: A Hunter Renfroe and George Springer mash up

Prime Skills: Big country boy with a future 30 homer power. He has a little speed to boot, a nice arm and unlike Renfroe (despite the Ks), he can take walks.

Ranking Explanation: Beck is running into some big time plate discipline and contact issues in the majors, but the same thing happened when he first got to AA last year, he will adapt. Wilken has better power potential than Beck, even though Beck will be playing in Colorado, so he gets the slight edge here even with Beck’s above average speed in the equation.

Previous Rank: 80

• C Edgar Quero (White Sox)

2023 AA: .255/.380/.351 | 6 HR, 1 SB

2024 AA: .210/.310/.407 | 8.4 BB%, 20 K% | 11 XBH, 7 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Yasmani Grandal

Prime Skills: Quero has fantastic plate discipline with more walks than Ks as a young 21-year-old at AA. He has 20-ish homer power in the bat and can steal a few bags as a rare switch hitting catcher.

Ranking Explanation: Quero is being weighed down by a .232 BABIP, which makes the numbers look worse – though 7 bombs this early is pretty good. The 120 wRC+ as a younger guy per level is really good for a catcher, so just a reminder when overviewing his numbers this year he is still super young and has had a strong power season thus far.

Previous Rank: 79

• SP Jaden Hamm (Tigers)

2023 Cpx/A: 12 IP | 26.3 K-BB%, 19.1 SwStr% | 0.00 ERA, 0.36 WHIP

2024 A+: 34 2/3 IP | 31.4 K-BB%, 17.0 SwStr%, 32.6 CSW% | 1.04 ERA, 0.89 WHIP

Comp: Andres Munoz as a starter

Prime Skills: Hamm is a fastball, changeup, curveball guy. The curve is ridiculous, a Waino-esk rainbow (which looks strange coming from his smaller frame) then an insane change up that simply disappears against righties, while the FB is a 92-94 MPH average-ish pitch with above average ride.

Ranking Explanation: Hamm was a fifth round pick last year by the Tigers and is the definition of a pop-up prospect as he has just completely dominated since coming on the scene. He looks like a stud pen arm at the floor and the ceiling is probably a top 40-50 starter. He has excellent control on top of the great secondaries noted above.

Pre-Season Rank: N/A

• 2B / 3B Jace Jung (Tigers)

2023 A+/AA: .265/.376/.502 | 57 XBH, 28 HR, 5 SB

2024 AAA: .269/.376/.500 | 14.9 BB%, 26.7 K% | 20 XBH, 8 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Nolan Gorman meets Josh Jung

Prime Skills: The pull power is legit. His swing reminds me a ton of Nolan Gorman and his approach is very similar to his brother Josh. All things look good for success, except that he will have to hit in Detroit.

Ranking Explanation: As expected pre-season, Jung would be moving up closer to the top 50 as the season progresses. He’s going to strike out, just like Gorman and his brother – but the power is going to make the Ks worth it. Beck gets the edge, partially because the difference between Colorado and Detroit are words apart, but also because of the additional speed boost.

Previous Rank: 86

• SP Caden Dana (Angels)

2023 A/A+: 68 1/3 IP | 89 Ks, 30 BBs | 3.56 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

2024 AA: 45 IP | 14.9 K-BB%, 11.1 SwStr%, 27.8 CSW% | 2.60 ERA, 0.91 WHIP

Comp: Young Noah Syndergaard

Prime Skills: Dana looks like old school Thor on the mound with his Viking hair, 94-95 MPH fastball and power slider.

Ranking Explanation: The Angels are always a team to promote players quickly, but Dana’s swinging strike rate reminds me of AJ Smith-Shawver last year and that he might not be ready yet. He’s young for the level, therefore should get an appropriate bump even though the K rate isn’t elite at AA compared to what he was doing in A ball.

• OF Colby Thomas (Athletics)

2023 A/A+: .286/.351/.493 | 63 XBH, 18 HR, 25 SB

2024 AA: .272/.321/.556 | 4.9 BB%, 19.6 K% | 23 XBH, 12 HR, 10 SB

Comp: Taylor Ward and Matt McLain mash

Prime Skills: Thomas has all fields power and does a great job of shooting the ball through the gaps and has an over 35% line drive rate this year. He has an open stance with hands up, loaded pre-pitch.

Ranking Explanation: Thomas had a strong season last year, but needed to cut down on the K rate to maximize his skills – he’s done that and he’s lifting the ball a lot more this year and looks like a potential stud. He’s also showing off the pull power this year after putting up a near 25/25 season in 2023.

• OF Dylan Beavers (Orioles)

2023 Rk/A+/AA: .288/.383/.467 | 52 XBH, 11 HR, 27 SB

2024 AA: .290/.387/.496 | 14 BB%, 22.9 K% | 15 XBH, 7 HR, 9 SB

Comp: Kyle Tucker light w/ a worse hit tool

Prime Skills: Big lefty outfielder who killed it in the doubles department last year and is not transitioning some of that into homerun power. There’s a potential 25/25 player here if he can hit enough to make it work.

Ranking Explanation: As if the Orioles didn’t have enough talent, former first rounder Dylan Beavers is really coming into his own this season and is building himself into nice trade piece or replacement for another of their trade pieces.

• 2B / SS Ronny Mauricio (Mets):

2023 AAA: .292/.346/.506 | 56 XBH, 23 HR, 24 SB

2023 MLB: .248/.296/.347| 6 XBH, 2 HR, 7 SB

ETA: Debuted in 2023 (torn ACL, possibly out for all 2024)

fScores: 88 fContact, 64 fDiscipline, 95 fPower, 141 fSpeed

Comp: Lefty Javier Baez

Prime Skills: Mauricio has crazy power for a MI to go along with above average speed and an improved plate approach (about average now) to go along with his average hit tool. The power is the tool that will keep him in business and he is transitioning to second base from SS with Lindor blocking him long term. His EVs are ridiculous with a 91.7 average EV and elite max EV of 116.

Ranking Explanation: Mauricio has a nice power / speed combo that should translate very well to the majors. He has a little bit of volatility in the profile, which he was just starting to steady out with his terrific 2023 campaign before the injury. The ACL could change his entire career trajectory depending on how he rebounds post injury and if he can make it back at the end of the 2024 season. The injury combined with the poor discipline bumps him down quite a bit in my rankings – but there is still a nice power / speed upside here.

Previous Rank: 54

• OF Jonatan Clase (Mariners)

2023 A+/AA: .242/.353/.449, 20 HR, 79 SB

2024 AAA: .255/.376/.482 | 16.5 BB%, 22.6 K% | 14 XBH, 4 HR, 12 SB

2024 MLB: .207/.233/.241 | 3.3 BB%, 33.3 K% | 1 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB

ETA: Post All Star break (second stint)

Comp : Jonathan Villar in CF with a little Jorge Mateo mixed in

Prime Skills: Lightning speed with power and the ability to take walks. He has shown above average power to go along with the wheels, however the hit tool and K rate are a problem.

Ranking Explanation: A bad hit tool means Clase has a low floor, but the power and speed combo means he has a ridiculously high ceiling despite his size. He’s a fun player, but could also be a complete bust and I trust the statcast numbers behind Mauricio better than that of Clase.

Previous Rank: 62

• SP Ty Madden (Tigers)

2023 A+/AA: 122 2/3 IP | 133 Ks, 38 BBs | 3.01 ERA, 1.10 WHIP

2024 AA: 17 2/3 IP | 32.4 K-BB%, 17.2 SwStr%, 34 CSW% | 2.55 ERA, 0.79 WHIP

2024 AAA: 13 2/3 IP | 9 K-BB%, 11.1 SwStr%, 27.9 CSW% | 9.22 ERA, 1.98 WHIP

ETA: Mid 2024

fScores: 110 fStuff, 97 fControl, 107 fERA

Comp: Good Jack Flaherty

Prime Skills: Four quality pitches, including a 93-94 MPH fastball with really nice ride that he likes to burn guys with high in the zone, a killer slider that tunnels his fastball well and a curve that is best used down in the zone. The changeup is also solid against righties.

Ranking Explanation: I separated Madden’s stats this season for a reason, because it’s been a tale of two seasons between the two different levels. Obviously the AAA schedule includes robo umps, which infamously have been affecting a good deal of pitching prospects when they jump levels. It makes me think some of these guys should just skip AAA in general, because who’s to say the ABS doesn’t do more damage (changing mindset) than good (tightening the zone for better control).

Pre-Season Rank: 84

• OF Victor Scott II (Cardinals)

2023 A+/AA: .303/.369/.425 | 47 XBH, 9 HR, 94 SB

2024 AAA: .200/.292/.300 | 10.5 BB%, 16.7 K% | 5 XBH, 2 HR, 12 SB

2024 MLB: .085/.138/.136 | 3.1 BB%, 23.1 K% | 3 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB

ETA: Post All Star Break (second stint)

fScores: 94 fContact, 89 fDiscipline, 61 fPower, 268 fSpeed

Comp: Esteury Ruiz with more power and a better glove

Prime Skills: Speed and contact, he has limited power, but it’s not nothing. He will instantly be a top 5 runner in baseball once he’s up and should have more value than Esteury Ruiz once he is up and established into the Cardinals lineup with a regular role.

Ranking Explanation: Scott lines up as a one trick pony (steals) for fantasy baseball and he has had an incredibly tough season weighted down by ridiculously bad BABIPs for a speed guy (.228 AAA and .109 MLB). This is both a combination of incredibly bad luck teamed up with not making hard enough contact (average EV of 81.2 in AAA and 88.2 in MLB). He should be closer to a .260-.280 batting average guy because the contact rates are still good (81.7 Contact % and 89.7% Z-contact at AAA) with the steals and while I am disappointed and knocking him a bit, I don’t think he’s toast by any means.

Previous Rank: 61

• SP Sean Sullivan (Rockies)

2023 Cpx/A: 4 IP | 10 Ks, 1 BBs | 0.00 ERA, 0.25 WHIP

2024 AA: 40 1/3 IP | 28.7 K-BB%, 16.3 SwStr%, 32.4 CSW% | 2.68 ERA, 0.99 WHIP

Comp: Skinny, lefty Tanner Houck

Prime Skills: Sullivan was a second round pick out of Wake Forest last year and is showing why with authority this season. He’s a big dude with a funky arm action that is under a 3/4 arm slot. Fastball / slider with a funky arm-slot and might play up better on the left side than the right.

Ranking Explanation: Just like Dollander, Sullivan would be ranked higher if he wasn’t stuck pitching in Colorado; however it is, what it is and that’s likely where he will pitch the first half of his career. His arm slot might actually play up better in Colorado than other pitchers, like Houck in Boston.

• OF Sterlin Thompson (Rockies)

2023 A+/AA Stats: .293/.376/.487 | 40 XBH, 14 HR, 17 SB (94 games)

2024 AA Stats: .265/.335/.384 | 8.4 BB%, 19.8 K% | 12 XBH, 2 HR, 3 SB

Pre-season fScores: 100 fContact, 90 fDiscipline, 92 fPower, 119 fSpeed

Note: Did not update fScores, because I don’t think he’s coming up in 2024 at this point.

Comp: Charlie Blackmon

Prime Skills: Great hit tool, he will develop into one of the better doubles hitters in the league in Colorado. The power and speed could lead to some 20/20-ish seasons in his peak.

Ranking Explanation: He has a very high floor due to the great hit tool and while he likely won’t become elite for fantasy purposes, he should be a regular in 3 OF leagues for a long time due to his consistency and ability to pile up stats across the board. Another floor-ish guy with similar skills to Gilbert and Pauley. Hitting in Colorado will help him though.

• C Moises Ballesteros (Cubs)

2023 A/A+/AA Stats: .285/.375/.449 | 41 XBH, 14 HR, 7 SB

2024 AA Stats: .265/.335/.384 | 10.8 BB%, 12.9 K% | 11 XBH, 5 HR, 0 SB

Comp: Lefty only Pablo Sandoval w/ more pop

Prime Skills: Above average hit tool and power for a catcher, but he has a bad body ala Pablo Sandoval , which may negatively affect him down the line.

Ranking Explanation: Ballesteros has shown to be a pure hitter with a 142 wRC+ as a 20-year-old at AA ball, and rates out as someone who could be an Alejandro Kirk with power or young Pablos Sandoval as a catcher type, but he would be better off working on his body before a promotion to get in better shape for a better career, which hurts him a bit in my eyes and stops me from having him any higher despite the killers stats for his age.

• SP Owen Murphy (Braves)

2023 A/A+: 89 2/3 IP | 113 Ks, 32 BBs | 4.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP

2024 A+: 41 IP | 31 K-BB%, 13.7 SwStr%, 31.9 CSW% | 1.54 ERA, 0.73 WHIP

Comp: Bryce Miller

Prime Skills: Murphy is a former first rounder who has a ridiculous fastball (up to 22″ IVB on it.) The fastball runs in the mid-90s has some nice ride to it and he’s good and pounding it into the top of the zone. He also has upside 60 grades on his slider and curve. He also throws a curve against a 12/6 slider, it would be killer if he could add a sweeper to the arsenal or something with more horizontal movement.

Ranking Explanation: Murphy should be in AA at this point based on his statistical prowess. He could end up being a fast mover with some of this depending on the AJ-SS injury and also on the ability of Hurston Waldrep to come into his command. Sullivan seems to have funkier stuff than Murphy, even if Murphy falls in line with the Strider, Miller, Woo, Jones dominant fastball track.

• OF Jacob Melton (Astros)

2023 AA: .245/.334/.467 | 41 XBH, 23 HR, 46 SB

2024 AA: .268/.328/.455 | 7.9 BB%, 20.9 K% | 11 XBH, 5 HR, 10 SB

Comp: James Outman with more speed

Prime Skills: There are some pretty crazy power, speed skills here, but the hit tool and plate skills are lacking. Dude has an interesting wide open stance with a lot of movement, but he hits some moon shots and he could debut in 2024 if the Astros have some bad injuries and Melton can progress the hit tool.

Ranking Explanation: The power / speed combo is top 100 stuff, but the big question is if he can get to enough contact to make them work. It’s slightly concerning that he has more HR power than doubles power as it begs how boom or bust he is as a hitter and limits his speed upside if he’s not just getting on base at a higher clip to utilize his tools. Melton might be more useful for roto leagues, because of his speed, but Ballesteros gets the edge due to his impressive game as a 20-year-old in AA.

Previous Rank: 121

• OF Drew Gilbert (Mets)

2023 A+/AA: .289/.381/.487 | 47 XBH, 18 HR, 12 SB

2024 AAA: .240/.321/.360 | 7.1 BB%, 35.7 K% | 1 XBH, 1 HR, 0 SB (7 games)

ETA: Post All Star break

Pre-season fScores: 94 fContact, 99 fDiscipline, 92 fPower, 119 fSpeed

Comp: TJ Friedl

Prime Skills: Gilbert has good speed to go with a solid hit tool and developing plate skills. The power is good enough to reach 15-20 homers and he has 20-ish steal speed to go along with it.

Ranking Explanation: Gilbert has missed most of the season so far with a hamstring injury, which is pushing back his call up timeline, but EVs (80.6 avg. EV), contact rates (61.2%) and chase rates (33.3%) were all pretty bad prior to the injury. I’m not going to ding him too bad for only seven games, but I see here more of just a solid starter than some sort of future fantasy star and Jacob Melton for instance has a lot higher power / speed upside.

Previous Rank: 67

• SP Hayden Birdsong (Giants)

2023 A/A+/AA: 100 2/3 IP | 149 Ks, 44 BBs | 3.31 ERA, 1.22 WHIP

2024 AA: 35 1/3 IP | 20 K-BB%, 14.2 SwStr%, 34.5 CSW% | 2.29 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Comp: Charlie Morton

Prime Skills: Pounds the top of the zone with a 96-97 MPH fastball and has a beautiful curve that generates a lot of swinging strikes. He has a great pitch mix and gets a of whiffs on his three plus pitches (fastball, slider, curve).

Ranking Explanation: I had Birdsong in my August Top 150, but ended up moving him out pre-season for some proximity guys and he barely missed the cut. Now that some of those proximity guys have passed and Birdsong is dominating AA in his repeat there, it’s evident he is a clear future top of the rotation option for a team that has a lot of success at developing pitchers, which bumps him over the stuff guys like Brown and Iriarte who might not have the control long-term to stick in the rotation.

• SP Quinn Mathews (Cardinals)

2024 A: 30 2/3 IP | 35 K-BB5, 18.6 SwStr%, 38.4 CSW% | 1.47 ERA, 0.82 WHIP

2024 A+: 13 IP | 29.4 K-BB%, 19.2 SwStr%, 35.9 CSW% | 4.15 ERA, 0.85 WHIP

Comp: Cole Ragans light

Prime Skills: Matthews is a big college lefty with a ridiculous fastball / slider combo with a big fastball sitting between 95-97 MPH with some elite rise to it and the slider is a swing and miss machine paired with that fastball. He has elite command of these pitches and has shown himself in college to be a workhorse. He also has a curve and a 60/65 grade change up he didn’t even need when I saw him in A ball.

Ranking Explanation: Mathews is too good for high A and should be at least in AA, he’s honestly probably good enough to be the Cardinals #3-4 starter right now, but I’d say he should build all the way up to AAA this year and debut next year.

• SP Robert Gasser (Brewers):

2023 AA: 135 1/3 IP | 166 Ks, 50 BBs | 3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP

2024 AAA: 12 IP | 21.6 K-BB%, 13.8 SwStr%, 28.2 CSW% | 5.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

2024 MLB: 17 IP | 7 K-BB%, 10.4 SwStr%, 29 CSW% | 2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP

ETA: Mid May

Comp: Jaime Garcia

Prime Skills: Gasser has really good stuff highlighted by an underrated fastball, a killer slider and a solid curve. He is also good at limiting runs, but his control leaves something to be desired – until now, all of a sudden his K rate and BB rate numbers have kind of reversed.

Ranking Explanation: Gasser is a bit of an enigma right now to me, because he was a higher K rate guy that has transitioned into a super control guy. Regardless he has been good and looks like a solid mid-rotation starter.

• SP/RP Ben Brown (Cubs)

2023 AA/AAA: 92 2/3 IP | 130 Ks, 57 BBs, 4.27 ERA, 1.40 WHIP

2024 MLB (SP): 23 IP | 15.4 K-BB%, | 2.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP

2024 MLB (RP): 16 1/3 IP | 22.9 K-BB%, | 4.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP

2024 MLB (ALL): 13.5 SwStr%, 31.9 CSW%

Pre-Season fScore: 120 fStuff, 91 fControl, 102 fERA

Note: I didn’t update this fScore because he keeps changing roles and SP has different fScores than RP.

Comp: Lucas Giolito w/ more velo and worse control

Prime Skills: Brown is a big 6′ 6 guy who has a fastball that averages 96 and comes in like a laser and pairs it with a nice 12-6 curve and a 55 grade slider. The stuff is ridiculously good, but the rough control puts him in righty DL Hall territory.

Ranking Explanation: The only thing keeping Brown on this list at the moment is moving back-and-forth between being a starter and a reliever in the majors, so I broke up his stats as both a SP and a RP to see where he best tracks. Brown has proven he can be a solid middle of the rotation pitcher at this point, but is he more effective for the Cubs out of the pen? It’s debatable and I think he can settle into a rotation role long-term, but Owen Murphy seems to have the role and the upside – so I’m giving him the edge.

Previous Rank: 73

• SP/RP Jairo Iriarte (White Sox)

2023 A+/AA: 90 1/3 IP | 128 Ks, 45 BBs | 3.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP

2024 AA: 42 2/3 IP | 18.6 K-BB%, 16 SwStr%, 32.9 CSW% | 2.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP

fScore: 114 fStuff, 91 fControl, 124 fERA

Comp: Young Luis Severino and Ryan Pepiot mash

Prime Skills: Iriarte runs a 94-96 MPH fastball with a hard 84-85 MPH 12/6 slider that tunnel together fantastically. The fastball actually has a little bit of ride on it rather than rise and goes the opposite direction of the slider. The changeup is also a solid pitch, but most of his swinging strikes come on the slider.

Ranking Explanation: Iriarte has been dealing this year and while many think he’s slated for the pen, he is proving he has the makings of a starter. Iriarte likely has the better stuff than Brown, however Brown is doing it at the major league level as a starter, so I’ll give him the edge.

• C Carter Jensen (Royals)

2023 A+: .211/.356/.363 | 18.5 BB%, 24.1 K% | 35 XBH, 11 HR, 11 SB

2024 A+: .296/.438/.474 | 19.3 BB%, 20.8 K% | 18 XBH, 3 HR, 11 SB

Comp: Bo Naylor w/ a bit of a Will Smith batted ball profile

Prime Skills: Jensen is a beast of an athlete for a catcher. The Royals are the masters at developing stud catchers it would seem. He has some solid pull power while also showing the ability to hit the ball the other way, which should keep him from getting shifted to death. He’s a line drive hitter rather than a fly ball hitter, so he should run some higher BABIPs like he is right now, but is probably more like a .250 batting average guy. He has some fantastic plate skills and is great on the basepaths.

Ranking Explanation: Jensen is dominating his repeat of high A and will probably be in AA in the second half, but the numbers are a tad inflated by a .382 BABIP. He’s still young for the level as a catcher and has a nice batted ball profile. Drew Gilbert still gets the edge until we can see what Jensen does at the next level.

• SP Zebby Matthews (Twins)

2023 A/A+: 105 1/3 IP | 112 Ks, 15 BBs | 3.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

2024 A+/AA: 40 1/3 IP | 33.8 K-BB%, 13.6 SwStr%, 30.5 CSW% | 2.01 ERA, 0.67 WHIP

Comp: Zach Eflin w/ less pitches

Prime Skills: He’s a big righty at 6’5 225 lbs out of Western Carolina. His curve is his best weapon, though he has a decent heater that plays better up in the zone. The control is his best attribute as the dude has only walked one hitter on the entire season.

Ranking Explanation: Matthews is a pop-up prospect as a former 8th rounder and has really shined as he’s only walked 16 guys over the past two seasons to date. Iriarte has way better stuff and gets the edge, but Matthews gets the edge to Barco with significantly better control.

• SP Hunter Barco (Pirates)

2023 Cpx/A: 18 1/3 IP | 28 Ks, 6 BBs | 3.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

2024 A+: 37 1/3 IP | 20.9 K-BB%, 14.2 SwStr%, 30.8 CSW% | 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

Comp: Chris Sale light / Brandon Williamson mash

Prime Skills: Barco is a big lefty with an almost side arm delivery playing up a killer slider with excellent command. It looks like he put on some size since his pre-draft days at FL, which might help in building up the innings and trying to add velo to the fastball.

Ranking Explanation: Barco missed all of 2022 and a big part of 2023 recovering from TJ after being one of the higher rated pitching prospects in the 2022 draft, which delayed his pro debut, however he destroyed in his small sample size in 2023 and 2024 should be about building him back up as he climbs through the ranks of the minors. He’s already too good for high A and needs to move on up.

Previous Rank: 140

• 2B / SS / 3B Thomas Saggesse (Cardinals)

2023 AA/AAA: .306/.374/.530 | 66 XBH, 26 HR, 12 SB

2024 AAA: .238/.306/.378 | 5.5 BB%, 23 K% | 13 XBH, 5 HR, 5 SB

Pre-season fScores: 96 fContact, 82 fDiscipline, 100 fPower, 98 fSpeed

Comp: Righty Matt Carpenter with more speed

Prime Skills: Saggesse has a good hit tool, very solid plate skills and underrated power and speed for a guy that plays multiple infield positions.

Ranking Explanation: He won’t be a super star, but he should be a very valuable deeper league asset sooner, rather than later. He’s going to provide stats in all categories and will be great for points leagues. He is being dragged by a subpar .286 BABIP right now so keep that in mind. He’s also been playing shortstop everyday in AAA, which might be affecting his offensive production.

Previous Rank: 91

• OF Kevin Alcantara (Cubs)

2023 Rk/A+/AA: .284/.345/.466 | 42 XBH, 13 HR, 15 SB

2024 AA: .260/.308/.411 | 6.4 BB%, 23.7 K% | 12 XBH, 5 HR, 3 SB

Comp: Righty Shawn Green with more swing and miss

Prime Skills: Wiry frame with projectable power once he starts filling out, but for now he’s filling out more in the Elly De La Cruz mold than in the Gioncarlo Stanton mold. Right now he’s still pretty raw, the swing is a little too loopy and leads to a lot of swing and miss, but he can crush it when he connects.

Ranking Explanation: Alcantara has high upside due to the frame and the above average wheels, but if he strikes out too much he will just be the next Aristides Aquino . There’s a lot of upside here, but he hasn’t started performing near his max as of yet, while other recent draftees or pop-up guys are just simply passing him in development.

Previous Rank: 99

• SS Brooks Lee (Twins)

2023 AA/AAA: .275/.347/.461 | 58 XBH, 16 HR, 7 SB

fScores: 95 fContact, 95 fDiscipline, 89 fPower, 66 fSpeed

Comp: Chipper Jones light meets David Freese

Prime Skills: He’s an extra base hitter and switch hitter on top of it, he has great contact skills with only 15-20 homer power to go along with above average plate skills, but no speed.

Ranking Explanation: He could be a very good player, but from a fantasy perspective his upside is limited as a likely less than average power guy without much speed. He is very safe though and he will be one of those guys you probably stick at MI just to feel warm and fuzzy, which definitely has a certain amount of value – Saggesse is kind of similar, but I think has a bit more power upside.

Previous Rank: 106

• SS / 3B Brayden Taylor (Rays)

2023 College: .308/.430/.631 | 23 HR, 14 SB

2023 Rk/A: .242/.361/.517 | 12 XBH, 5 HR, 11 SB (25 games)

2024 A+: .241/.391/.421 | 18.9 BB%, 26 K% | 14 XBH, 4 HR, 9 SB

Comp: Brandon Lowe with speed

Prime Skills: He has solid MI power and will likely end up over at 2B considering Caminero and Carson Williams will likely hold down 3B and SS for the rest of the decade. He has a similar skillset to Brandon Lowe as a lefty bat and will probably fill right in as soon as Lowe becomes a free agent.

Ranking Explanation: There’s a significant value here in many leagues, because power and speed together can be tough to come by at a certain place in fantasy drafts. I don’t see a super star here by any means, because the hit tool runs far too short – however Taylor could basically do what Brandon Lowe or Paredes are doing with more speed.

Previous Rank: 94

• C Dalton Rushing (Dodgers)

2023 A+: .228/.404/.452 | 34 XBH, 15 HR, 1 SB (89 games)

2024 AA: .243/.380/.450 | 12 XBH, 5 HR, 0 SB

Comp: Daulton Varsho without the baserunning ability

Prime Skills: Stout kid with a quick swing and nice lefty pull power with great plate discipline and an average hit tool.

Ranking Explanation: Rushing is still a decent prospect, but the Dodgers tend to let some of their guys stew and he’s older for the level. Taylor has higher fantasy upside in standard one catcher leagues, but Rushing is probably going to be a solid two catcher guy if he starts or splits time as a starter.

Previous Rank: 126

• SP Yu-Min Lin (Diamondbacks)

2023 A+/AA: 121 1/3 IP | 140 Ks, 48 BBs | 3.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP

2024 AA: 18 IP | 19 K-BB%, 14.1 SwStr%, 31.7 CSW% | 7.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP

Comp: Lefty Sonny Gray type or mini / lefty Yu Darvish

Prime Skills: He has six pitches in his repertoire already and is only 19-years-old at AA. The command of his pitches at his age is insane, hopefully he can up his fastball a few ticks to get to that Sonny Gray level. He uses the fastball (89-91) and the slider to set up his changeup and curve, which are both pretty nasty and mixes in a splitter and screwball on top of it.

Ranking Explanation: He’s still just scratching the surface of his command and potential velocity gains. There are a lot of guys with better stuff, but he mixes his pitches well and pitches way above his age from a gamesmanship perspective. He has not pitched since late April, but is apparently close to a return.

Previous Rank: 128

• SP Carson Palmquist (Rockies)

2023 A+/AA: 92 1/3 IP | 134 Ks, 37 BBs | 3.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP

2024 AA: 45 2/3 IP | 25.1 K-BB%, 15.3 SwStr%, 34 CSW% | 2.76 ERA, 1.18 WHIP

Comp: mini Chris Sale

Prime Skills: Palmquist has a funky arm action that is less than 3/4 that helps his stuff play up since it comes out from such a different angle. The fastball runs at 92-93 MPH and he also rocks a slider and change up with very Chris Sale -light type vibes.

Ranking Explanation: Palmquist gets hurt in the rankings by being a Rockies pitcher, but the arm action might actually play up in Coors. His control is not great, which also pushes him back behind a younger guy at the same level like Lin.

• 2B Connor Norby (Orioles)

2023 AAA: .279/.360/.483 | 64 XBH, 21 HR, 10 SB

2024 AAA: .293/.377/.527 | 10.8 BB%, 30.2 K% | 25 XBH, 9 HR, 5 SB

ETA: Early 2024

fScores: 100 fContact, 91 fDiscipline, 109 fPower, 96 fSpeed

Comp: Aaron Hill

Prime Skills: Norby is average to above average all the way around and a big part of his MLB future is based on how much power he can actually hit for. Norby could be almost an Alex Bregman light type player at second base which is valuable.

Ranking Explanation: Norby is just stuck right now on a team with too many guys. He would have been starting for about half the teams in the MLB at this point, however he is where he is and because he’s in this Michael Busch like purgatory, it hurts his prospect status.

Previous Rank: 69

• 1B Ralphy Velazquez (Guardians)

2023 Cpx: .348/.393/.739 | 5 XBH, 2 HR, 1 SB (6 games)

2024 A: .278/.387/.479 | 15 BB%, 19.7 K% | 15 XBH, 7 HR, 4 SB

Comp: More athletic Anthony Rizzo

Prime Skills: Great hit tool with power, plate skills and some speed – really this is an exceptional rising prospect under the radar.

Ranking Explanation: Velazquez was the Guardians first round pick, so this isn’t coming out of nowhere, but he has been especially impressive and despite being a corner guy is a big name to watch moving forward based on his stellar hitting skills.

• 3B / OF Zach Dezenzo (Astros)

2023 A+/AA: .305/.383/.531 | 43 XBH, 18 HR, 22 SB

fScores: 95 fContact, 83 fDiscipline, 101 fPower, 145 fSpeed

Comp: A bigger, more athletic Chas McCormick – ceiling would be Adolis-light type stats.

Prime Skills: Power / speed guy who has to work on his hit tool, but can take a walk and will excel against fastballs. Needs to work on reducing the K rate, which he had done at high A.

Ranking Explanation: Dezenzo has missed the entire season thus far with a wrist injury and the reason he has dropped this far in the rankings is not really his fault, it’s just younger more interesting guys passing him up.

Previous Rank: 68

• 3B / OF Graham Pauley (Padres)

2023 A/A+/AA: .308/.393/.539 | 60 XBH, 23 HR, 22 SB

2024 AAA: .267/.420/.535 | 20.5 BB%, 15.2 K% | 11 XBH, 6 HR, 0 SB

2024 MLB: .125/.125/.313 | 0 BB%, 46.9 K% | 2 XBH, 2 HR, 0 SB

ETA: Late June (second stint)

fScores: 98 fContact, 115 fDiscipline, 107 fPower, 79 fSpeed

Comp: Anthony Rizzo , Zac Gelof mash-up

Prime Skills: Pauley has a good hit tool and is a good judge of the strike zone and pushes more toward doubles power than high end home run power. He looks like a regular 20 homer, 10 steal type who has the ability to play multiple positions, since he plays third, second and outfield.

Ranking Explanation: Pauley is killing it in AAA, but in his time in the majors he was getting smacked down, likely due to inconsistent playing time, just like Kjerstad.

Previous Rank: 72

• OF Jakob Marsee (Marlins)

2023 A+/AA: .274/.413/.428 | 42 XBH, 16 HR, 46 SB

2024 AA: .187/.349/.309 | 17.5 BB%, 19.5 K% | 9 XBH, 3 HR, 17 SB

fScores: 90 fContact, 140 fDiscipline, 75 fPower, 197 fSpeed

Comp: Bigger Tony Kemp

Prime Skills: Nice compact lefty swing with some reach, the dude has all fields power and hits around the yard, which should allow him to beat the shift, but he needs to hit the ball on the ground more just to let the legs work. The speed is legit and he could reach for a number of 25-30 seasons in his prime with stellar plate skills.

Ranking Explanation: Despite the trade, he is having bad BABIP luck everywhere he goes (.217 in SD, .238 in MIA), similar to Victor Scott II. If it wasn’t for his killer eye, he would be falling further in these rankings, but I think he’s more of a .260 hitter who can get on base and use his legs. The good news is it looks like Miami has him hitting the ball on the ground more and focusing away from power. The Padres picked Pauley over Marsee, so I will as well.

Previous Rank: 43

• 1B Bryce Eldridge (Giants)

2023 Cpx/A: .294/.400/.505 | 11 XBH, 6 HR, 1 SB (31 games)

2024 A: .279/.333/.467 | 8.1 BB%, 26.7 K% | 13 XBH, 5 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Taller Matt Olson with more gaps in the hit tool to work on

Prime Skills: Big time power potential at a huge 6′ 7″ 223 lb., but he needs to close the gaps in his swing in order to avoid being over exposed to strikeouts.

Ranking Explanation: Eldrige has big time power potential, but is only in low A as a high school draftee and has a lot of swing and miss issues to work out to maximize his potential.

• 2B / OF Luisangel Acuna (Mets)

2023 AA: .294/.359/.410 | 39 XBH, 9 HR, 57 SB

2024 AAA: .254/.299/.355 | 5.2 BB%, 17.5 K% | 13 XBH, 2 HR, 17 SB

fScores: fContact 93, fDiscipline 86, fPower 66, fSpeed 200

Comp: Tommy Edman with a Ronald Acuna batting stance

Prime Skills: Acuna has decent plate skills and speed for days. The power is about average and he could tap out at a 12-15 homer guy with 35-40 steals.

Ranking Explanation: The Mets grabbing Acuna is likely good for him, because now he has a clear path to playing time at second (if McNeil moves to the OF) and playing against his brother will probably only bring out the best in him. Pauley has a bit more to his profile and Acuna has some rabbit risk, which I’m not a big fan of that profile of player.

• 2B / 3B James Triantos (Cubs)

2023 A+/AA: .287/.364/.391 | 19 XBH, 4 HR, 16 SB (83 games)

2024 AA: .281/.308/.419 | 4.1 BB%, 11 K% | 14 XBH, 3 HR, 10 SB

Comp: More athletic Jonathan India

Prime Skills: Good hit tool with a solid set of wheels and some developing pull power from the right side. He’s a bigger kid who projects for more power than he’s shown at this point in his minor league career.

Ranking Explanation: He hasn’t shown much power in pro ball yet, but it’s in there. He has the swing and he has the body to be a consistent 20/20 guy in the majors, but he has to get that power tool rolling forward.

Previous Rank: 104

• OF Yanquiel Fernandez (Rockies)

2023 A/A+/AA: .265/.313/.486 | 53 XBH, 25 HR, 1 SB

2024 AA: .260/.306/.390 | 6 BB%, 23.1 K% | 8 XBH, 4 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Yordan Alvarez -light w/ worse plate skills

Prime Skills: Big time power bat who will be in Colorado and started in AA as a 20-year-old. Generally his hit tool is solid, but he needs to develop good plate skills to be an elite player at the major league level. The upside is there if he can reign in the Ks, because the power is legit 30 homer power if he hits his peak outcome like he did in high A.

Ranking Explanation: Triantos is a better hitter who will definitely be a major league baseball player, while Yanqueil could fall into a Matt Mervis type AAAA role if he can’t get it figured out. I’ll take the power upside over the speed only profile of someone like Marsee.

Previous Rank: 60

• OF Samuel Zavala (White Sox)

2023 A/A+: .243/.391/.406 | 37 XBH, 14 HR, 21 SB

2024 A+: .195/.309/.349 | 13.7 BB%, 22.9 K% | 13 XBH, 4 HR, 6 SB

Comp: Lefty Randy Arozarena

Prime Skills: Zavala’s best skill is his plate approach, but he also has a nice power / speed potential and a beautiful lefty swing.

Ranking Explanation: He’s getting smoked by a .236 BABIP right now, so don’t glare too hard at those numbers and wonder why he’s on this list. Zavala was a part of the Dylan Cease trade this offseason.

Previous Rank: 57

• OF Justin Crawford (Phillies)

2023 A/A+: .332/.392/.467 | 30 XBH, 3 HR, 47 SB (87 games)

2024 A+: .279/.340/.367 | 8 BB%, 21 K% | 8 XBH, 2 HR, 16 SB

Comp: Carl Crawford w/ less power

Prime Skills: Speed, lightning speed like his dad. The hit tool is developing and the plate skills are improving, however there is next to nothing in the power department at this point and he doesn’t hit the ball in the air at all, but uses his legs to rack up a high average.

Ranking Explanation: He needs to lift the ball and start building some muscle if he wants to be as good as his dad, otherwise he’s looking like Myles Straw right now. Let’s see how he can build himself up this offseason. Acuna gets the edge, because he has more power, while Yanquiel has higher upside, especially in Colorado.

Previous Rank: 122

• SP Winston Santos (Rangers)

2023 A+: 92 2/3 IP | 14 K-BB%, 11 SwStr% | 6.29 ERA, 1.45 WHIP

2024 A+: 42 2/3 IP | 23.6 K-BB%, 14.4 SwStr%, 32.7 CSW% | 1.69 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Comp: Freddy Peralta light

Prime Skills: Santos has a rising fastball / slider / changeup combo and has a smaller frame ala Tink Hence . He kind of reminds me of a Bryce Miller type profile and will likely need to develop another pitch to keep finding this success at higher levels. The fastball is good though at 94-96 MPH with a killer rise to it and the slider tunnels with it nicely.

Ranking Explanation: Santos continues to destroy at the high A level for the second season and at 22-years-old, he should move up to AA with a couple more starts like this. He concerns me a bit as he had never shown this kind of stuff until this year and I’d like to see if he can transition the gains from high A to AA.

• SS Sebastian Walcott (Rangers)

2023 Rk/A+: .246/.335/.471 | 23 XBH, 7 HR, 12 SB

2024 A+: .185/.329/.308 | 17.1 BB%, 27.2 K% | 9 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB

Comp: Fernando Tatis Jr. – light, similar build and swing

Prime Skills: Super raw, a huge 18-year-old kid with power for days. He has to develop the hit tool and plate skills, but the tools are there and he debuted at high A as a 17-year-old.

Ranking Explanation: The kid is super raw, but running only a .250 BABIP which is dragging him down when he isn’t popping out (near 50% rate) or striking out. This one is all about shooting for the stars.

Previous Rank: 102

• 2B / 3B Sal Stewart (Reds)

2023 A/A+: .275/.396/.416 | 36 XBH, 12 HR, 15 SB

2024 A+: .290/.414/.442 | 17.2 BB%, 15.4 K% | 14 XBH, 3 HR, 4 SB

Comp: Righty Josh Naylor

Prime Skills: Big dude who should develop more power, but for now has a fantastic plate approach and hit tool for his age. This is a guy I got a live look on and I think he’s going to be a dude. He might end up moving off the position, because he’s a big boy. He has a good hit tool, great plate skills and 25-30 home run power potential.

Ranking Explanation: Stewart will likely work his way into a Tyler Locklear type ranking in a year or two, because his best attribute is just being a good hitter and he doesn’t have the toolsy upside of many of the guys higher in the rankings, like Walcott.

Previous Rank: 142

• 2B / SS Tommy Troy (Diamondbacks)

2023 College: .394/.478/.699 | 17 HR, 17 SB

2023 Rk/A+: .371/.374/.469 | 9 XBH, 4 HR, 9 SB (27 games)

2024 A+: .184/.231/.286 | 5.8 BB%, 19.2 K% | 3 XBH, 1 HR, 5 SB

Comp: Ozzie Albies

Prime Skills: Big time speed and great hit tool paired with above average all fields power could make for a big time fantasy contributor sooner, rather than later. I think we are looking at a guy who should hit .270-.280 with 20 homers and 30+ steals.

Ranking Explanation: Troy jumped out as a standout post draft in the fast lane to a quick promotion. He killed it in his debut and should move quickly through the organization if he can overcome the BABIP hiccups (.211 BABIP this season so far) and the hamstring injury currently sidelining him.

Previous Rank: 35

• SS Jacob Wilson (Athletics)

2023 College: .412/.461/.635 | 6 HR, 8 SB

2023 Cpx/A+: .333/.391/.475 | 12 XBH, 1 HR, 4 SB (26 games)

2024 AA/AAA: .438/.458/.652 | 2.5 BB%, 10 K% | 18 XBH, 3 HR, 2 SB

Comp: Nico Hoerner w/ much less speed

Prime Skills: Wilson was a first rounder last year and has gotten the bump to AAA after decimating AA pitchers. He’s been a doubles machine, it almost looks like he’s been at batting practice since the draft because he’s been generating so many hits. I thought the pick was a reach when the Athletics drafted him, but he’s moving quickly and is hitting at every level.

Ranking Explanation: Wilson is currently on the IL with a knee issue, but is a quick riser and in points leagues will be a stud because he will net so many hits, especially if he can maintain the doubles power.

• SP George Klassen (Phillies)

2024 A: 30 IP | 35.1 K-BB%, 16.7 SwStr%, 40 CSW% | 0.30 ERA, 0.73 WHIP

Comp: Luis Gil

Prime Skills: Klassen is a major pop-up prospect as a 2023 6th rounder who has increased velo with a 98-99 MPH rising fastball, 91 MPH sweeper and 87 MPH vertical hard slider.

Ranking Explanation: Klassen had some erratic command when I had my live look on him, especially on the high fastball and had some wild pitches, also allowing some hard hits in the first inning, but it was his first game back after an injury. He has too good of stuff to be down in low A still and he’s too old for the level.

• SP Hurston Waldrep (Braves)

2023 College: 101 2/3 IP, 156 Ks, 57 BBs, 4.16 ERA, 1.40 WHIP

2023 A/A+/AA/AAA: 29 1/3 IP | 41 Ks, 16 BBs | 1.53 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

2024 AA: 44 1/3 IP | 13.6 K-BB%, 15 SwStr%, 27.8 CSW% | 2.48 ERA, 1.38 WHIP

fScores: 110 fStuff, 86 fControl, 111 fERA

Comp: Kevin Gausman -light

Prime Skills: Waldrep has an above average rising fastball to go with a slider, splitter and curve. The splitter is an excellent pitch, but he doesn’t have the same heat to pair with it as Gausman, at least not yet.

Ranking Explanation: He fell a bit in the draft, but he went to a team that promotes quickly and is good at developing their players (with the exception of Ian Anderson ). Splitters are a volatile pitch, so like Gausman, Montas and other splitter pitchers, he will likely have his up years and his down years. I have some concerns about his control and volatility hence him being a bit lower in my rankings than others. Klassen and Waldrep are completely different types of pitchers and Waldrep is doing it at a higher level, but I think Klassen ultimately has better stuff.

Previous Rank: 89

• 1B Deyvison De Los Santos (Diamondbacks)

2023 AA: .254/.297/.431 | 38 XBH, 20 HR, 4 SB

2024 AA/AAA: .365/.421/.677 | 7.6 BB%, 22 K% | 22 XBH, 14 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Cristian Encarnacion-Strand

Prime Skills: Big time power potential with an improved contact rate and decrease in strikeouts.

Ranking Explanation: De Los Santos continues to crush and just needs to be up in AAA at this point. Rule 5 pick by the Guardians was sent back to Arizona and has just been on a revenge tour. The question is going to be if he can keep the K rate down enough to be an effective major league hitter.

• C Agustin Ramirez (Yankees)

2023 A/A+/AA: .271/.364/.455 | 42 XBH, 18 HR, 12 SB

2024 AA: .283/.394/.593 | 14.9 BB%, 18.3 K% | 20 XBH, 12 HR, 11 SB

Comp: Gary Sanchez

Prime Skills: Big time power swing with some sneaky speed, but a questionable hit tool

Ranking Explanation: Ramirez is looking like a dude after a rough AAA intro last year, I think he might be the Yankees future catcher rather than Austin Wells . The power stroke looks real with quick hands, but the question is if he can shorten it against major league pitching.

• OF Brailer Guerrero (Rays)

2023 Cpx: .408/.525/.592 | 5 XBH, 1 HR, 7 SB

Comp: Lefty Vlad Guerrero

Prime Skills: Good sized kid with killer plate skills and showing complete athletic dominance in complex league. He has some solid power potential with a great hit tool.

Ranking Explanation: This is the Welsh rubbing off on me bumping this kid to BUY where you can get him, when you can get him, even though he’s so far away he could still completely bust.

• SP Wikelman Gonzalez (Red Sox)

2023 A+/AA: 111 1/3 IP | 168 Ks, 70 BBs | 3.96 ERA, 1.31 WHIP

2024 AA: 27 2/3 IP | 11 K-BB%, 10.2 SwStr%, 29.1 CSW% | 6.51 ERA, 1.41 WHIP

fScores: 106 fStuff, 88 fControl, 113 fERA

Prime Skills: Really nice fastball / slider combo with a well above average change up as well. Hits 95 with the fastball and really pounds it into the zone. The strikeout stuff and the walks have both increased this year. If he’s going to succeed in the Major’s he needs to work on his command.

Ranking Explanation: He’s a smaller dude, so we do have to worry about his workload some to go along with the walk issues, but he has some nasty stuff and when trying to judge which pitching prospects will break from the glob once they hit the majors, stuff and control win out against run prevention.

Previous Rank: 77

• 2B / SS Edwin Arroyo (Reds)

2023 A+/AA: .252/.324/.433 | 52 XBH, 13 HR, 29 SB

Comp: Ozzie Albies with a worse hit tool

Prime Skills: Speed guy who projects out for above average power as a switch hitting middle infielder.

Ranking Explanation: The stats aren’t great, but he debuted in AA this season as a 19-year-old and is likely out for the year after getting shoulder surgery. The hit tool isn’t great and the plate skills are only okay, but hopefully once he is healthy and catches up to a level for his age these will neutralize, because the power / speed combo is legit.

Previous Rank: 123

• SP Dylan Lesko (Padres)

2023 Rk/A/A+: 33 IP, 52 Ks, 22 BBs, 5.45 ERA, 1.55 WHIP

2024 A+: 29 IP | 3.7 K-BB%, 15.9 SwStr%, 30.6 CSW% | 6.52 ERA, 1.55 WHIP

Comp: Walker Buehler

Prime Skills: He threw 93-95 pre-TJ, but he has a big curve and killer changeup with solid command pre-TJ that generally put him ahead of the count – he might have been a top 3 pick in 2022 had he not gotten injured.

Ranking Explanation: Just got back from TJ rehab and finally made his pro debut. He has had trouble finding his command post surgery, but the stuff is still getting plenty of swings and misses. Lesko has some insane stuff, but he’s been wild this year and last year post TJ. If he can’t figure out the command, he should make a killer reliever, but with three plus pitches (FB, CU, CH) one can hope he can get his command worked out, this is what pushes him so far back in my rankings.

Previous Rank: 90

• SS Jefferson Rojas (Cubs):

2023 Cpx/A: .266/.342/.400 | 22 XBH, 7 HR, 13 SB (71 games)

2024 A+: .276/.322/.359 | 5.8 BB%, 15.8 K% | 8 XBH, 2 HR, 7 SB

Comp: Smalle Xander Boegaerts

Prime Skills: Rojas has a good hit tool and enough power and speed to fill all categories.

Ranking Explanation: Rojas is young for his age-to-level, which is a boost to his potential as he’s holding his own hit wise in high A as only a 19-year-old.

• SS / 3B Orelvis Martinez (Blue Jays):

2023 AA/AAA: .243/.340/.496 | 55 XBH, 28 HR, 2 SB

2024 AAA: .240/.325/.515 | 8.9 BB%, 24.5 K% | 22 XBH, 12 HR, 0 SB

fScores: 83 fContact, 86 fDiscipline, 113 fPower, 72 fSpeed

Comp: Willy Adames and Marcel Ozuna mashup

Prime Skills: Martinez has a ton of power and if he can manage a major league average hit tool and reign in the strikeouts, he could end up a very productive fantasy league asset.

Ranking Explanation: Martinez could easily be starting at 3B for the Blue Jays soon if he keeps mashing like he is in the minors. An average EV around 90 and max EV over 115 gives him a ceiling as a top power hitter in baseball if he can figure out the hit tool.

• SS Ricardo Cabrera (Reds)

2023 Cpx/A: .346/.475/.531 | 16 XBH, 5 HR, 24 SB (44 games)

2024 A: .287/.366/.469 | 8.7 BB%, 24.8 K% | 17 XBH, 4 HR, 4 SB

Comp: Young Asdrubal Cabrera with more speed

Prime Skills: Aggressive swinger who makes hard line drive contact. I had a live look at Cabrera already this year and he swung so early in the count I feel like I barely saw him. Great hit tool and ability for big time doubles power.

Ranking Explanation: Cabrera has crazy doubles power and has good base running abilities despite only above average speed. I think he’s a future MLB starter and may have a couple All Star seasons, because the hit tool is very good.

• OF Gabriel Gonzalez (Twins)

2023 A/A+: .298/.361/.476 | 45 XBH, 18 HR, 10 SB

2024 A+: .265/.315/.456 | 6.8 BB%, 11 K% | 10 XBH, 1 HR, 2 SB

Comp: Shorter Marcell Ozuna

Prime Skills: This kid has a killer hit tool, developing above average power and semi-decent speed and is flying up the minors as a now 20-year-old at high A. He has a good eye and doesn’t strike out much, but also doesn’t walk as much as he should and could work on some patience as he goes up levels.

Ranking Explanation: The power has stalled a bit this year, but he’s still getting to the doubles. Gonzalez looks more like he’s going to be a solid starting OF, but perhaps might not have elite level potential – therefore if you need a higher floor guy, Gonzalez can be useful.

Previous Rank: 81

• 2B Mike Boeve (Brewers)

2023 Cpx/A+: .324/.400/.529 | 11 XBH, 5 HR, 1 SB (28 games)

2024 A+/AA: .349/.431/.458 | 8.2 BB%, 18.5 K% | 13 XBH, 1 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Jeff McNeil

Prime Skills: Great hit tool with an above average eye and gets to doubles, but I’m not sure about his maximum power potential in regards to homers and he doesn’t bring any steals upside to the plate.

Ranking Explanation: Boeve has a killer hit tool and like Gonzalez is a super high floor guy, however I think Gonzalez has a bit more power potential in his swing and he has two years on Boeve plus a little speed, so he gets the edge to Boeve, while Boeve might be the highest floor hit tool post the top 50.

• SS Carlos Jorge (Reds)

2023 A/A+: .282/.374/.464 | 36 XBH, 12 HR, 32 SB

2024 A+: .212/.259/.417 | 3.7 BB%, 38 K% | 17 XBH, 6 HR, 10 SB

Comp: Jazz Chisholm Jr. meets Javier Baez

Prime Skills: Electric player who has a lot of holes in his game, but the athleticism makes up for many of them. This is a guy I have a live look on and I saw him make non-hits into hits and get thrown out stealing trying to make stuff happen. He has a solid eye for his age with power and speed to boot.

Ranking Explanation: I’m concerned about the swing and miss and the mental mistakes he makes. He is confident and thinks he can do anything, which is great but can run him into trouble if he doesn’t play good fundamental baseball. Super tooled up, but the plate skills are atrocious and the hit tool is below average.

Previous Rank: 74

• C/1B Tyler Soderstrom (Athletics)

2023 AAA: .252/.308/.526 | 41 XBH, 21 HR, 2 SB

2023 MLB: .160/.232/.240 | 4 XBH, 3 HR, 0 SB

2024 AAA: .245/.353/.529 | 15 XBH, 7 HR, 0 SB

2024 MLB: .211/.302/.368 | 11.6 BB%, 41.9 K% | 4 XBH, 1 HR, 0 SB

fScores: 100 fContact, 80 fDiscipline, 125 fPower, 65 fSpeed

Comp: Josh Bell with a tad of left side Adley Rutschman tossed in and hint of lefty Christian Walker

Prime Skills: Big time lefty power, he makes good contact – but again can do a better job of lifting the ball with consistency.

Ranking Explanation: He would be much more valuable as a catcher, but if he’s playing 1B or DH he has to work on plate skills bad to provide any real fantasy value. No speed here which pushes him down some, but he could definitely be a 30 homer guy, but was promoted way too early and is having major contact and strikeout issues at the highest level.

Previous Rank: 114

• 1B Cam Collier (Reds)

2023 A: .246/.349/.356 | 23 XBH, 2 HR, 0 SB

2024 A+: .244/.284/.457 | 5.1 BB%, 24.4 K% | 17 XBH, 9 HR, 0 SB

Comp: Rafael Devers and M.J. Melendez mashed together

Prime Skills: Good plate skills and 30 plus homer power, we will have to see how the contact skills play out, but he is basically a future zero in speed.

Ranking Explanation: Collier is having a nice bounceback season after an OK last year, performing despite subpar plate skills and a .272 BABIP.

• SS Marco Luciano (Giants)

2023 AAA: .223/.334/.442 | 30 XBH, 15 HR, 6 SB

2023 MLB: .231/.333/.308 | 3 XBH, 0 HR, 1 SB

2024 AAA: .266/.399/.344 | 18.4 BB%, 27.8 K% | 8 XBH, 1 HR, 3 SB

2024 MLB: .391/.462/.565 | 11.5 BB%, 19.2 K% | 3 XBH, 0 HR, 0 SB

fScores: 95 fContact, 124 fDiscipline, 92 fPower, 89 fSpeed

Comp: Eugenio Suarez

Prime Skills: The power is legit, but mostly from the pull side at this point and he could maybe pull of an Isaac Paredes type profile. His K rate progressed y/o/y from last year and he’s a potential 25 homer bat from the SS position, but could move off onto 3B long term. The power profile moves in waves with the hit tool and he has yet to sync them.

Ranking Explanation:

• 2B Termarr Johnson (Pirates)

2023 A/A+: .244/.422/.438 | 31 XBH, 18 HR, 10 SB

2024 A+: .193/.384/.307 | 20.5 BB%, 22.2 K% | 9 XBH, 3 HR, 6 SB

Comp: Short Jason Kipnis, might have some Dozier-esk or Brandon Phillips -esk seasons

Prime Skills: Amazing plate skills for his age, but he’s super raw right now despite the plate discipline. Contact, power and speed have a lot of room to grow to figure out how good he can really end up.

Ranking Explanation: He’s pretty tantalizing, but raw so I have to reign in his ranking behind some of the more established hitters. The power has been surprisingly above average, but that may be at the expense of the hit tool, which was supposed to be his top tool when he was drafted. Johnson needs to develop more of a doubles profile to really make it, he’s looking like a worse version of Edouard Julien .

Pre-Season Rank: 66

• SP Mason Black (Giants)

2023 AA/AAA: 123 2/3 IP | 155 Ks, 52 BBs | 3.71 ERA, 1.21 WHIP

2024 AAA: 26 2/3 IP | 21 K-BB%, 10.4 K%, 31.1 CSW% | 1.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP

2024 MLB: 14 1/3 IP | 4.2 K-BB%, 5.3 SwStr%, 22.8 CSW% | 8.79 ERA, 1.95 WHIP

fScores: 99 fStuff, 94 fControl, 97 fERA

Comp: Justin Verlander light / Michael Lorenzon mash

Prime Skills: Big dude, reminds me of Michael Lorenzon on the mound with a good fastball / slider combo. The slider is better than the grade he has on it and is his main K pitch. He’s a smart kid too and knows how to pitch a game.

Ranking Explanation: The walk rate spiked in AAA, if he can get that back down to AA levels at the MLB level, he will be a solid major league starter.

Previous Rank: 113

• SS Jose Perdomo (Braves))

2023 Cpx: N/A

Comp: N/A need to see him

Prime Skills: Big time hit tool with plate skills and is a plus runner – gets similar grades to being a Jordan Lawlar type.

Ranking Explanation: I haven’t seen him play yet, but the grades on him when considering the high floor scouts discuss as the kind of “can’t miss” guy of the international class has me post him in this position almost as my S&P 500 index at complex level as a prospects guy who thinks of things in terms of stocks.

• 2B / SS Kevin McGonigle (Tigers)

2023 Cpx/A: .315/.452/.411 | 5 XBH, 1 HR, 8 SB (21 games)

2024 A: .329/.422/.290 | 14.6 BB%, 11.7 K% | 7 XBH, 1 HR, 7 SB

Comp: Chase Utley wannabe (w/ less power)

Prime Skills: This kid has probably the best hit tool of the high school guys from the last class and he’s showing it in the minors, he also has some speed, but will he generate enough power to avoid the Luis Arraez trap?

Ranking Explanation: I’m concerned enough about the lack of power to drop him over a guy yet to make his pro debut like Perdomo, but the hit tool is good enough to keep him high on our A ball radar.

• SS Jeral Perez (Dodgers)

2023 Cpx/A: .255/.391/.485 | 23 XBH, 11 HR, 9 SB (60 games)

2024 A: .297/.421/.478 | 16.4 BB%, 20.4 K% | 15 XBH, 5 HR, 4 SB

Comp: Jurickson Profar / Bryce Turang / Matt McLain super mash

Prime Skills: Perez has great plate skills and is now coming into some power. His last week was better than this week, but we didn’t have room for him last week and I wanted to give him a shout.

Ranking Explanation: Perez is an interesting name to watch, I love the plate skills and this dude has some major Miguel Vargas vibes at the least for the Dodgers.

• 1B / OF Ryan Clifford (Mets)

2023 A/A+: .262/.374/.480 | 44 XBH, 24 HR, 5 SB

2024 A+/AA: .208/.400/.290 | 20.5 BB%, 36.6 K% | 10 XBH, 2 HR, 1 SB

Comp: Vinnie Pasquantino with more Ks

Prime Skills: This kid has a big time power and a decent eye to take a walk, but the hit tool and K rate are both suspect.

Ranking Explanation: The power is legit at a young age, he might struggle at upper levels with the Ks, but he makes good contact. The lack of speed and the fact he’s a lefty will probably make him a lower BABIP hitter.

Previous Rank: 118

• SP Brock Porter (Rangers)

2023 A: 69 1/3 IP | 95 Ks, 42 BBs | 2.47 ERA, 1.17 WHIP

2024 A+: 8 1/3 IP | -11.1 K-BB%, 9.4 SwStr% | 6.48 ERA, 2.08 WIHP

Comp: Sandy Alcantara

Prime Skills: The slider and fastball are pure filth (he has triple digit heat) and the circle changeup is graded out as a 70 pitch that he gets a lot of strike three calls on.

Ranking Explanation: He ran into some control problems at low A and despite the killer stuff, he has not shown enough control to the Rangers to advance to high A, which is where I thought he would be at this point earlier in the season. Porter was hurt again and has been sent down to complex to work it out, but he’s shown some stellar stuff when healthy and is still young enough to make it work.

Previous Rank: 78

• SP Ian Seymour (Rays)

2023 Cpx/A/A+/AA: 42 1/3 IP | 46 Ks, 16 BBs | 1.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP

2024 AA: 47 2/3 IP | 28.4 K-BB%, 16.7 SwStr%, 33.4 CSW% | 2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP

Comp: Nestor Cortes

Prime Skills: Seymour should be bumped to AAA, he’s a 25-year-old former second round pick who is absolutely killing it this season. He has a low 90s fastball with good ride, a four pitch mix and a really nice change up. Command and injuries have held him back to date, but at this point the Rays should have him on the short list for a call up. He had reached AAA in 2021 before needing Tommy John.

Ranking Explanation: Seymour has drastically increased his command this offseason after coming off TJ in 2022. He is a big slider guy who has used deception, command and his intelligence to really boost him into being a major league rotation talent this season.

• OF Robert Calaz (Rockies)

2024 Cpx: .362/.431/.741 | 11 XBH, 4 HR, 3 SB

Comp: Teoscar Hernandez

Prime Skills: Big time power potential who has to combat swing and miss to make it. He’s ready for low A.

Ranking Explanation: Calaz is putting up some of the best complex league numbers, but I’m still concerned about he swing and miss here, pushing him below some of the other complex guys.

• SS Leodalis De Vries (Padres)

2024 A: .194./.275/.290 | 8.7 BB%, 37.7 K% | 5 XBH, 0 HR, 2 SB

Comp: Lefty Alfonso Soriano at SS

Prime Skills: De Vries has super high upside across the board and is a five-tool talent, but at 17-years-old is way above his age-to-level.

Ranking Explanation: De Vries has so much potential that he makes my list, but he’s ridiculously far away and we have to make sure his tools actually develop to their potential.

• SS Cooper Pratt (Brewers)

2024 A: .257/.376/.349 | 14.9 BB%, 24.6 K% | 6 XBH, 1 HR, 9 SB

Comp: Giant Ha-Seong Kim

Prime Skills: Pratt is a huge athletic SS that is far away as a high school guy, but has five-tool potential, especially due to his size.

Ranking Explanation: Pratt could grow into 25-30 homer power due to his size, but for now he works off a killer plate approach teamed with speed. If he sticks at SS, watch out!

• OF Yasser Mercedes (Twins)

2024 Cpx: .388/.483/.653 | 7 XBH, 2 HR, 10 SB

Comp: Jackson Chourio / Luis Robert

Prime Skills: Mercedes is repeating complex right now and should be up in A ball sooner, rather than later. Mercedes has really quick hands and has a frame to build more muscle as well, he’s more wiry at this point than muscular and at 19-years-old is a tad older for complex and while despite destroying DSL last year, he struggled to get going at complex with a near 30% swinging strike rate.

Ranking Explanation: Mercedes has some super fun potential, but because Cooper is doing this at A ball while Mercedes is at Complex, I’m giving the edge to Pratt even though I think Mercedes has some super high upside.

• SP Andry Lara (Twins)

2023 A+: 98 1/3 IP | 7.7 K-BB%, 9.5 SwStr% | 4.58 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

2024 A+/AA: 43 IP | 22.6 K-BB%, 15.1 SwStr%, 33.5 CSW%, 2.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP

Comp: Brandon Pfaadt Light

Prime Skills: Mostly fastball / slider, Lara is a big bodied guy who throws mid 90s and his best pitch might be his change up as it break hard away against the other pitches.

Ranking Explanation: He’s a bit on age-to-level and also kind of a pop-up guy, so I’m not sure how legit his season is and this pushes him down my rankings a bit. I just don’t think the upside is higher than like a 3-4 starter.

• OF Druw Jones (Diamondbacks)

2023 Cpx/A: .238/.353/.327 | 7 XBH, 2 HR, 9 SB

2024 A: .268/.367/.394 | 12.6 BB%, 33.1 K% | 11 XBH, 2 HR, 1 SB

ETA: End of 2025

Comp : Andruw Jones

Prime Skills: He was a top pick for a reason and has 5 tool upside with quick hands, unfortunately with the injuries we don’t have a huge sample size, but the power has been missing as he’s recovering and hitting the ball on the ground way too much. He’s quick with easy pull power, I’d like to see if he can hit to all fields, but most of the video of him he’s pulling the ball.

Ranking Explanation: Dude has been injured two seasons in a row now. I’m not ready to give up on him completely, but it’s getting hard to keep positive about him until we start seeing some professional success. He’s getting passed in my rankings by guys who are showing they are legit players. I’d like to see him get some muscle on that frame and hit the ball in the air at a higher frequency. He’s not quite toast – he’s doing things… so let’s keep him in the top 150 (barely) for now.

Previous Rank: 96

• Nick Morabito (Mets)

2023 Cpx/A: .306/.421/.407 | 14 XBH, 2 HR, 21 SB

2024 A/A+: .356/.482/.444 | 16 BB%, 20K% | 7 XBH, 1 HR, 23 SB

Comp: Nico Hoerner

Prime Skills: Morabito was promoted to high A last week and look at those wheels for the 2022 second rounder! It should probably be noted he was also caught stealing three times. He’s shown great plate skills at every level and has a really short swing… could end up as a Nico Hoerner type if it all comes together for him. He’s always run extremely high BABIPs though, so I’m curious if this is his ability to hit the ball around or if it’s simply speed beating bad defense.

Ranking Explanation: Dude has some mad speed and could be the next Victor Scott II type speed master to watch out for in fantasy baseball.

150 SP Santiago Suarez (Rays)

2023 A Stats: 59 1/3 IP | 52 Ks, 11 BBs | 1.52 ERA, 1.01 WHIP

2024 A Stats: 39 IP | 22.9 K-BB%, 13.2 SwStr%, 29 CSW% | 5.54 ERA, 1.21 WHIP

Comp: Tanner Bibee / Chris Paddack

Prime Skills: The dude has a 93-95 MPH fastball with some rise and a change up / curve combo that carries him through. He’s a big righty at only 6′ 2″ and his age, should grow into more velocity. He has elite control for his age.

Ranking Explanation: The dude is a name to watch and young pitchers aren’t really my jam, but he has the stuff and control to keep on the short list and close out this updated ranking list over some older, lower upside proximity swing man types.

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The post Fantasy Baseball Prospects Rankings: Top 150 (2024) appeared first on FantasyPros .