Type: Plus athlete into the triple digits with a sky-high ceiling. Which could work against him behind the plate, too -- even if he could stick, his bat may get to the big leagues fast enough that he won't be given time to finish becoming a big league catcher. Mead has some similarities to Jung as a bigger-bodied third baseman with above average-to-plus hit and power potential and Triple-A success. Hit: 45/60, Game Power: 50/60, Raw Power: 60/60, Speed: 50/50, Fielding: 45/50, Throwing: 55/55, Type: Above-average offense from a pretty good defensive shortstop, Reminds me of: Bo Bichette or Willy Adames. The Orioles have the best farm system in baseball, but after landing Moreno in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Daulton Varsho to Toronto, Arizona has two of the top three prospects in the sport -- and both are ready for the big leagues right now. Type: Dynamic athlete with an everyday shortstop look. Marte has been on the radar for a while, as he was in the top tier of his international signing class when he got a $1.55 million signing bonus in 2018. Prospect Rankings Depth Charts MLB Players Tiedemann has east/west-oriented stuff with a tailing fastball, sweepy slider and diving changeup. Lawlar continues keeping pace with Mayer and the difference between them is basically a coin flip for me over a year after their draft. He's been a bit better than I expected out there and looks like he can be a solid-average defender in an outfield corner. 10. Lewis has been on the verge of sticking in the big leagues for years now -- but the 2017 No. Jameson sits 96-98 -- sometimes reaching triple digits -- with solid fastball command and a plus slider that drew whiffs 40% of the time last year. in games more effectively right now and Lawlar has had two freak injuries (torn labrum in his shoulder just after he signed and a broken clavicle suffered in the Arizona Fall league). At this point, he projects for average in-game power, roughly 15-18 homers annually. He was ultimately expected to go in the second or third round, but somehow lasted until the Astros scooped him up in the fifth. In his favor, Mead had a strong 2022 season with 13 homers in 76 games, showing control of the strike zone and posting gaudy surface numbers. Thats 87 players that the industry feels pretty good about -- nearly a top 100 of top 100-caliber players. The Dodgers are hoping Vargas can be an average defender at third base, but he's a bit below that there and at second base. Bogaerts feels like a good comp since Lawlar isn't getting to all of his BP power in games right now and there's enough up-and-down to his defensive performances to make scouts pause. The question on Luciano's future is what position he'll play, with third base and corner outfield the leading options even though he's still only played shortstop in his pro career. His changeup is still plus and with the added arm speed, his two breaking pitches now play above average. Hit: 60/65, Game Power: 40/45, Raw Power: 50/50, Speed: 50/50, Fielding: 50/55, Throwing: 60/60, Type: Well-rounded hit-over-power backstop, Reminds me of: The first two MLB seasons of J.T. This also helped him profile at his likely future position: third base. Now -- prepare to be shocked -- he's improved a lot under the tutelage of the Dodgers' pitching development. Some advanced bat-to-ball prospects fall into bad habits against weak pitching in the minors -- swinging at anything close because they can hit it -- that creates issues against big league pitching; that isn't the case here. Here's the good: He is an 18-year-old plus-plus runner with explosive bat speed and power. Salas' younger brother Ethan was the top prospect in the recent international signing period, going to the Padres for the biggest bonus in the class; he's ranked about 40 spots behind Jose right now, but that may not be the case for long. He also hit nine homers and had a .492 on-base percentage, showing easy plus raw power and huge exit velos -- so some truly wacky stuff. Montgomery first appeared on my radar after his sophomore year of high school when an agent showed me a video of one of the more powerful and beautiful lefty swings I'd ever seen from a player that age. Zavala ended the season with a broken hamate bone and was hanging around the 125-150 area of this list until the very end, basically at the top of the "if you have a good 2023 season, you're on next year's list" range. The Padres took him 62nd overall, but gave him a $2.6 million bonus commensurate with the 26th overall pick. Max Muncy, SS, Oakland Athletics That's an above-average everyday player, but probably not enough thump at the plate to be a star. With any growth at all, he'll be battling J.T. He might not look like he can when walking around, but we've also seen enough Correa and Seager types over the years who are immediately counted out of playing the position when turning pro, before their plus athleticism and feel for the game win out. Pfaadt popped up in the Cape Cod League as a new name scouts were intrigued by, a Division 2 righty from Bellarmine (KY) reaching the mid-90s with big league talent, but generally unproven and likely to end up a reliever. It's pretty universal now to project Quero as an above-average offensive threat with power, patience and contact skills, but reviews on his defense differ. Since he was 15 years old, scouts have been worried that he could start regressing athletically in his 20's because he developed so early. Possibly the highest compliment you can give this type of player: He's going to be annoying to fans of NL West rivals for a long time. MLB composite top 100 prospect rankings, takeaways They come and go a bit, but there's plenty to like here for a pitcher who could get an extended look in the big league rotation for the exciting D-backs. He'll be 22 years old when the minor league season starts with a chase rate that is a 30-grade ability. Youth. Type: Premium athlete with potential plus fastball/curveball/command combination. Houston let Justin Verlander walk largely because of their rotation depth and Brown is probably their sixth best option now, so he will likely start the year in Triple-A then get another look later in 2023. He's a plus hitter with a good approach and 55-grade raw power that he'll probably get to in games. He also has a rare, plus-plus ability to put the bat on the ball and a good enough approach (call it average pitch selection) that his contact skills show up in his raw stat line. Cartaya's hit/approach combo is a bit better than Alvarez, but the big differences are two grades of power and three levels of the minors (Cartaya ended the year in High-A; Alvarez was in the big leagues). I'll split the difference and call both Mayer's hit and power tools 55-grade ability (.270 with 20-25 homers), but either could also be a 60, and there are no concerns that he can post at least average defensive performances at shortstop. Espino is all systems go for 2023 and could 1) grab a big league rotation spot in short order 2) be a dangerous relief pitcher down the stretch or 3) continue treading water due to health or command or other issues. As a 22-year-old in 2021 he was dealing, but made only 10 starts because of a bout with COVID-19. 21 overall in the 2021 draft as a high-floor lefty from Kansas State with a plus changeup and above-average command but a fastball, slider, and curveball that were all fringy. LHP: Brandon Barriera (TOR), Matthew Liberatore (STL), Kyle Muller (OAK), Jared Shuster (ATL), Carson Whisenhunt (SF), Brandon Williamson (CIN) C: Hassell should stick in center field -- though some scouts still question that -- and he hasn't tapped into his average raw power much yet, with most projections that he settles in at a 12- 15-homer range. Type: Power-over-hit third baseman with a solid glove. Unlike Cartaya, Soderstrom is seen by many as a likely first baseman. 34 overall pick in 2019, as a mid-major pitcher from Ball State with some violence to his delivery and below-average command. Our way-too-early lineup rankings look at the best -- and worst -- offenses ahead of the 2023 MLB season. Luis Matos, CF, San Francisco Giants Type: Rare hit/power upside from a teenager. He's behind Cartaya defensively and in arm strength (Alvarez, too). Reminds me of: A Giants low-slot lefty starter with above average stuff and command. Type: Plus power and patience from a probable catcher. Type: Square-framed corner type with big lefty thump. Lee is fine as a fill-in shortstop but fits well at third base, and he's a savant in the batter's box. He has a sweet lefty swing and will slide over to right field eventually, but there's a rare set of hitting tools here and he is with a team that has had plenty of fast-tracked young hitters shoot through the system. He had an unlucky ball-in-play-related slow start in 2022 but still ended up with 21 homers and 50 stolen bases split across Double-A and Triple-A. Hit: 40/55, Game Power: 40/60, Raw Power: 55/60, Speed: 50/45, Fielding: 40/50, Throwing: 55/55. First the good: He is 6-7 with deceptively plus speed and loose, easy actions in all phases, especially a low-effort lefty swing that creates massive raw power. There probably isn't a plus tool here, but an average defensive catcher with solid-average offensive numbers is in the top 10-15 of the position and O'Hoppe might be that by the end of 2023. The main difference is that Mead has never been a good defender and some scouts go far enough to label him as a player without a position. The O's grabbed him with the 41st overall pick and, as with a number of recent college position players playing in Baltimore's system, 2022 was a breakout year. 42 overall pick, mainly because of questions about his ability to make contact and stick at shortstop long term. Rankings Home. Type: Hit-over-power catcher who is ready for the big leagues. Francisco lvarez, C, Mets. He is probably not a star, but he should be good for a long time. Mayo got an overslot bonus of $1.75 million, equivalent to an early second-round pick, in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. Garcia is a plus hitter with an excellent approach and a steady glove at shortstop, but below-average in-game power. When I asked sources about Carter, everyone mentioned his excellent approach -- and, sure enough, per minor league TrackMan data, his chase rate (the rate at which he swings at pitches outside of the strike zone) is basically tied for best amongst everyone on this list. If you look back over the past five to 10 years for players who did these things, you get a list that includes Ronald Acuna Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. Chourio has the kind of upside where it's just normal to mention him next to those two names. He held serve all the way to draft day in 2021 as a toss-up with Jordan Lawlar for best prospect in the draft. At 6-foot-2, Ramos is shorter than Mayo and that's a big factor in why Ramos is also a solid average defender at third base who can also play a decent second base. His 2022 season at Triple-A was a step forward, with those tools all becoming more evident in his surface stats and the underlying numbers. He's on the 40-man and will likely make his big league debut at some point in 2023 with an advanced feel for the game that suggests he'll do well in any role. Because De La Cruz is trying to do damage, has long arms and lifts the ball successfully, he's never going to hit for a great average, as the bat just won't stay in the zone as long as a Luis Arraez type. He has always been built like a bowling ball, so his mobility isn't his biggest strength defensively. The striking rise in incredibly tall hitters succeeding (Oneil Cruz, Elly De La Cruz, and Spencer Jones all following in Aaron Judge's footsteps) gives Wood a little more credence than scouts would've given him five or so years ago when Judge and Richie Sexson were the comps at that height. He has a power-over-hit profile right now, but it's still early enough that it could evolve. They're similar in offering long-term performance, tools and having successful MLB time under their belts. Type: Lefty with above-average stuff and plus command. The Guardians took him 23rd overall, which was seen as a gamble at the time for the aforementioned reasons, but Williams was up to 101 mph with two plus breaking balls and showing starter command and a playable changeup, so the Cleveland pitching development machine seemed like a great landing spot. We've all been burned dreaming on a fireballing young prospect, but Espino is so fun to watch that he makes me want to believe he's one that will click. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Perez is almost impossible in that he seems so good at everything at such a young age and extreme height that we basically haven't seen this kind of pitching prospect before. Hence was a late-rising prospect in the 2020 draft who probably would've gone higher with a healthy spring for scouts to watch him. Do we just comp them to a different player who would post a similar statline? ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel Reveals Annual List of Top 100 He leaned on his split-grip changeup more at Florida International, and the Guardians made him a second-round pick in 2020 due largely to his feel as a pitchability left-hander. I mention Alonso as the comp because he also has a simple, low-maintenance swing and massive power that he regularly gets to in games. A 50 PV (present value) is a 2.0 to 2.5 WAR player. He returned with some swing tweaks and performed well in 2022, hitting his way to High-A with 16 homers and 32 stolen bases. Rocchio doesn't come with sexy upside as he's 5-10 and his best selling points are plus contact skills, a solid approach and a steady glove at shortstop. That line of thinking would mean that Collier is at risk of being a bat-first corner utility type on the backup/starter borderline. Breaking down the next generation of stars to reach baseball's most iconic offensive milestones when sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols retire. I think the four names in the Reminds Me Of section give you an idea of the different paths his career could take, with Gary Sanchez's a familiar roller-coaster ride that Mets fans are hoping to improve upon. He has advanced feel in all aspects of the position, grading out above average as a defender, thrower, and athlete behind the plate with rare speed for the position. Did Pats make Mac Jones happy? He split time between third base and catcher as an amateur and has slowly improved behind the plate to where I think he'll be an average defender with an average arm within a year or two. That's only 76 pro games in total, but he was a notable amateur prospect, signing for $1.5 million in 2020, and the tools are obvious. Lesko may not throw in a competitive game until this fall, but he is still one of the best prep pitching prospects in the past decade, with a real chance to turn into an ace. Dave & Adams Card World has announced a bounty on the autographed 1/1 SuperFractor in 2023 Bowman. Lee was a late-first-round prospect in high school, but teams were ultimately scared off by a back issue. It is important to remember that he is facing pitchers who are generally five years older than him and these issues tend to be fixable for young, superlative talents. Minter are two guys who do this with their fastballs very well, and it's a huge reason why they succeed. Sweeney was a late pop-up name in the spring leading up to the 2021 draft with a lack of previous buzz due to playing at Eastern Illinois, not being in the elite summer wood bat leagues and having a big leg kick in his swing that turned off some scouts. Cavalli showed athleticism, arm speed and aptitude to dream on in high school and early in his career at Oklahoma, then broke out leading up to No. It has worked out so far because he has plus stuff with plus athleticism and when you can marry that with good makeup, it's often all that matters. Lawlar has excellent feel for the game and has always hit well in games, along with being a plus-plus baserunner, while the defensive questions are mostly a matter of focus, so I have no doubt he'll round into a solid average defender. In 2021 (and behind closed doors because of the canceled 2020 minor league season) he took a massive step forward, adding about 20 pounds of muscle and a new swing geared to that frame, hitting 27 homers in 109 games. 13 overall in last summer's draft. He might be more of a solid starter than a star and could debut in late 2023 or early 2024. His limitation is that he probably will hit just 10 to 15 homers annually, with more gap power than anything else.