ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel launched his annual list of the Top 100 Major League Baseball Prospects today on ESPN+. 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. The report On Mauricio has been about the same for four years: He has plus power potential, plus arm strength, slick actions at shortstop, and above average feel for the bat head, but swings far too often. Meyer should return this season and I'm still expecting him to be an impact starter with the backup plan of a standout closer. while run grades equate to specific times on a stopwatch, a 50 hit tool is about a .260 batting average, average fastball velocity is 92-93 depending on your role and handedness, and so on. Youth. The questions back then were his hit tool and pitch selection, because there was literally no data to consider against top pitching. He doesn't really use a changeup but more starters are now going multiple innings with two distinct breaking pitches, like Flores has. The Guardians turn mid-to-late-round college pitchers into real prospects at a frightening rate, and Bibee is the latest example. 42 overall pick, mainly because of questions about his ability to make contact and stick at shortstop long term. Top MLB rookies for 2023 include Corbin Carroll, Gunnar He From my perspective (and plenty of other scouts), Collier has looked like one of the most gifted hitters for his age for as long as he has been scouted, gave a clear performance in 2022 to that end and he also has a 70-grade arm, which seems pretty explosive to me. Type: Another out-of-nowhere college pitcher for Cleveland. Alvarez's combination of game-changing power and premium position are the carrying tools. Susana didn't get much attention when he was included in the Juan Soto trade as he was the fourth-best prospect in the haul, behind James Wood, MacKenzie Gore and Robert Hassell. 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. As you can probably guess, the question here is on the overall offensive impact. Now the only players from the 2021 draft ranked ahead of Merrill (27th pick) and Wood (62nd pick) are Marcelo Mayer (4th pick), Jordan Lawlar (7th pick), Andrew Painter (13th pick) and Colson Montgomery (22nd pick). 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. He was dealt to Baltimore last summer as the headliner in a package for closer Jorge Lopez. Instead of cruising to being a first-round pick in 2023, he left high school after two years to go get on a professional schedule to pursue baseball: this seems like pretty good outward evidence of plus makeup, as well. He'll be 22 years old when the minor league season starts with a chase rate that is a 30-grade ability. Waldichuk is probably a midrotation starter but his polish, funk and 40-man roster status mean he might be that by midseason. Those aren't major concerns right now, though, as he's got massive power in games, is young and talented enough to make adjustments, and is much younger than the pitchers he is facing. The concern from scouts, some of whom thought Collier was a late-first-round talent because of this, is that he isn't that explosive, with below-average speed, just OK lateral mobility at third base, and solid-average raw power. Velo: 93-95, Fastball: 60/65, Slider: 55/60, Changeup: 50/55, Command: 45/55, Type: The next low-slot frontline starter -- Aaron Nola, Chris Sale, Luis Castillo-esque. Hayden Wesneski, RHP, Chicago Cubs Waldichuk was another later-round Yankees find (fifth round in the 2019 draft out of St. Mary's) before becoming the headliner of Oakland's four-player return in last summer's Frankie Montas/Lou Trivino trade. I think he'll be a solid everyday player and as soon as midseason, with some chance I'm underestimating his ultimate upside. He's polished, and the concrete is pretty dry for his age -- he just needs to prove it at higher levels. The Orioles' wave of position players is closing in on the big leagues and Mayo looks like a 2024 arrival. The Padres took him 62nd overall, but gave him a $2.6 million bonus commensurate with the 26th overall pick. That's no problem, though, as Mayer is one of the best track-record shortstops in recent draft history, with scouts circling his name in their programs since early in his high school career. Ceddanne Rafaela, CF, Boston Red Sox His bat-to-ball skills have become more relevant as he has added enough power that he can now punish mistakes, hitting 19 homers last year across Double-A and Triple-A. Veen was expected to turn into a middle-of-the-order terror and has largely stayed the same while Hassell was expected to continue being the same sort of player and largely has -- with the most notable change in Hassell's career being that he was included in the four-player package for Juan Soto. If he doesn't improve there, Tovar will be slightly below league average at the plate, but helped by Coors and his standout glove, so probably just a low-end regular. Henderson looked like he'd be a late first-round pick in 2019 as a well-rounded high school shortstop in Alabama. OK, I don't have proof for the robot or the future part -- but I can confirm Julien has never been a good defender anywhere and you can look up that he's French-Canadian without my help. 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. The selling points here are three 70-grade tools: speed, defense in center field, and arm strength, along with a projectable frame that has plus power potential and a long track record of hitting strong pitching. Type: The biggest post-draft riser in baseball. The Cards now have a glut of young position players at-or-near the big leagues that need to sort themselves out, but Winn figures to get a crack at the shortstop job, probably in 2024. He is probably not a star, but he should be good for a long time. The company says itll pay $250,000 for the card if its That physical development now makes staying in the infield defensively a longer shot, but his bat will profile anywhere. 50 is major league average (which is a really good present tool for a minor leaguer), 55 is above average, 45 is below average, 60 is called plus (one standard deviation above average), 70 is plus-plus (two standard deviations), and 80 (three) is the top of the 20-80 scale, where just a handful of players in the big leagues reside. Tovar has good feel for the bat head, is a plus defender at a key position, and had a breakout 2022 at the plate. He has solid power, plus arm strength and will occasionally give scouts a plus run time to first base, but will likely settle closer to an average runner. Going back to high school, he would sit in the upper 90s and regularly hit 100 mph or higher. Type: Snake-bitten by injuries, but with a bag of above-average tools. Type: Switch-hitting shortstop with massive upside, bad pitch selection. This isn't a true comparison, because most players don't have a one-for-one perfect analog. As you'd probably guess, he's ranked up here now because his velocity is up from 90-92 mph in college to 93-96 mph, which plays as an above-average pitch. That also puts a cap on potential upside if he basically has to be valued like a first baseman, whether that's where he's playing or not, and it makes him another prospect with small margin for error if he doesn't hit at the level that's expected. I tend to be more positive, especially with younger players, on issues like this because if a few teams really believe a prospect can stick at a position, there is a good chance he will. 1 overall pick as early as his sophomore year of high school in Southern California. Last year was his breakout, as he made it to Double-A shortly after turning 20 years old and saw a spike in power production, a better contact rate and an above average walk rate. He's 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, regularly hits triple digits with his fastball, mixes in a plus-flashing slider and pitches with enough feel to be effective. Naylor has an excellent approach, good-not-great contact skills and 55-grade raw power along with sneaky average speed. There will always be contact questions given the length of his arms and good-not-great pitch selection, but he's continuing to progress, hitting .273/.360/.451 at Low-A as a teenager with 15 homers, 14 stolen bases and solid control of the strike zone for his age. I'm gonna stop you right there. Carroll has plus feel for getting the bat head on the ball but even better pitch selection. Early in 2022, he was sitting 95-99 and hitting 100 mph, throwing mostly just his heater and his slider (take a look), but it's not like he forgot how to throw his curveball and changeup -- he was just running a 34% whiff rate throwing those two pitches 94% of the time. He still figures to settle in around league average at the plate in the big leagues, but that level of offense plus the rest of the package would make him a three-win player. Mayer gets the slight nod as he's getting to his power (via exit velo, hard hit rate, barrels, etc.) Henderson was No. Like fellow two-way Mississippi prep player Austin Riley, position player was the right call and Keith hit the ground running at the plate with a solid year at High-A followed by an Arizona Fall League appearance at age 20. Henderson hit his 90th-percentile projection, crushing Double-A then crushing Triple-A then crushing the big leagues -- all at age 21. Type: Gifted hitter, good-not-great tools. We've sorted the teams with the most star power under control through 2024. He's ranked this low because he has only shown this level of upside and performance for what amounted to half a season at Low-A while the others ahead give more certainty. Graceffo wasn't a big name when he went in the fifth round of the 2021 draft with athleticism and command at Villanova his main selling points. Davis missed about half of the 2022 season with a broken wrist and later some lingering soreness, so we can't fully judge him on his 2022 surface stats, but he has been a bit below expectations thus far. Pfaadt took even another step forward in 2022, dominating Double-A and Triple-A over 167 innings, with scouts raving about his feel and competitiveness while penciling him in as a mid-rotation fit as soon as the middle of 2023. Type: Mid-90s fastball with a plus-plus slider, recovering from Tommy John. I didn't think then and don't think now that this is an issue, as Holliday seems plenty coachable to dial things in. Meyer was a personal favorite going back to his freshman year at Minnesota. Miller was a tough evaluation at Texas A&M leading up to the 2021 draft. 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. Druw is the son of should-be Hall of Famer Andruw and was the top player on my draft board last summer when he went second overall behind Holliday. He's an above-average hitter with a good sense of the strike zone and average raw power, though his power production will likely be a tick below average. Type: On the right day, four plus pitches and starter command. 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. 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. MLB's 100 Names You Need To Know For 2023: Orioles' Gunnar Henderson tops the list Gabe Lacques Scott Boeck Chris Bumbaca Steve Gardner Stephen Borelli Max Muncy, SS, Oakland Athletics Kevin Parada, C, New York Mets He might be more of a solid starter than a star and could debut in late 2023 or early 2024. Turang is ready for a big league look and could be a bit above average among shortstops as a hitter, fielder and baserunner, though he might get his first reps playing second base in deference to Willy Adames. Luckily, he's good enough that he'll be in the big leagues well before that -- he's 19 now and finished his season with a trip to Double-A. He flashes four plus pitches, plus athleticism, and starter command pretty regularly now, but the quality of the total package and his feel for execution still come and go. He followed that with an excellent summer and went ninth overall in the 2020 draft. That vaulted him into 2022, when he excelled at High-A and Double-A, putting him on track to reach the majors in late 2023 or early 2024. Type: Power-and-patience outfielder with limited pro experience. We've got you covered. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th. He took a long-expected step forward at the plate last year, hitting 27 homers across Double-A and Triple-A and is now a bit above average at everything on a baseball field. In addition to talk that the Nats asked for Padres SS Jackson Merrill along with the package that ultimately landed Soto, there has been buzz that GM Mike Rizzo attempted to expand the deal to bring Painter (great pitcher name!) Type: League-average offensive threat who can stick behind the plate. Traditionally, it's been a pejorative when a scout says a pitcher has a "flat" fastball, but that's now ideal to some teams -- essentially delivering the ball from as low and forward as possible on the mound with little to no sink, to the top of the strike zone. 15 overall. Ramos also has 55-or-60-grade power while Mayo's is a grade or two better. ESPN's baseball experts released their list of top-100 players on Thursday, with 25 of 30 MLB teams represented. He is an above-average runner with an above-average arm and glove at shortstop, a solid approach, and average raw power from the left side. Hit: 30/40, Game Power: 40/65, Raw Power: 65/70, Speed: 70/70, Fielding: 45/55, Throwing: 45/45, Reminds me of: A sealed mystery bag of fireworks with a wick sticking out, I wasn't sure where to put Chourio so I sent this list around for thoughts with him here, and nobody told me to move him. Last year, Cowser finished the season strong: He hit four homers in 62 games in High-A to start the year, then hit 15 more in the other 76 games, split across Double-A and Triple-A. Hit: 30/55, Game Power: 35/65, Raw Power: 65/70, Speed: 60/55, Fielding: 45/55, Throwing: 55/55, Type: A 6-7 plus runner with plus-plus power, Reminds me of: More toolsy version of Kyle Tucker. Alcantara is a superlative athlete with plus raw power, plus speed once he gets going and an above-average arm. How he hits at higher levels this year will give us an idea of what sort of hitter he'll be against regularly 95 mph-plus velocity, but he has the tools to be an above-average hitter with above-average pitch selection and 30-plus homers. There's a real shot he torches spring training, continues being ahead of schedule and grabs a spot in the big league lineup sooner than later in 2023, making me look a bit silly for hedging. He has progressed well as a hitter, showing electric bat speed and feel to get to his plus raw power in games. Type: Refrigerator box filled with dynamite. This makes the plane as close to flat as possible. Brown's changeup and command are both fringy but fine, while his 95 to 98 mph heater, slider and curveball are all plus and his control is about average. Rodriguez was bitten by the aforementioned Best Pitching Prospect in Baseball snake last season, when he was limited to just 75 innings because of a right lat strain after earning the title on my preseason list. As a 16-year-old from Venezuela, Alvarez was in the top tier of his international signing class. It isn't a long-term concern, but he had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder before getting in a pro game. 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. All this to say, the pick seemed like a great one for the White Sox at the time and has worked out even better than expected so far. Type: Dynamic athlete with an everyday shortstop look. He also played with current Mets 3B Mark Vientos and likely 2023 1st rounder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Vanderbilt). They're similar in offering long-term performance, tools and having successful MLB time under their belts. There's a real shot he hits 25 homers at some point, but I'd expect more 15-20 on an annual basis. Soon after that his velo was starting to climb, his secondary stuff was accordingly getting more crisp, and his command wasn't suffering. Reminds me of: If you put at shrink ray on Bryce Harper, trading some power for a lot more speed. He pitched half of 2022 in Triple-A and seems like the next above-average starting pitcher to come off the Rays' assembly line. But his ceiling is 40 homers if it all clicks -- and that's not the ceiling of many players in the minor leagues, especially at his position. Frelick was a late bloomer as a standout multisport athlete in Massachusetts who turned into a middle first-round pick at Boston College. He has huge power and beats up on minor league pitching, but the question is if his contact qualities and pitch selection will be good enough at the big league level for him to hit to get to that power. The last catcher the Dodgers took out of Louisville was Will Smith, at the 32nd overall pick. Mayo got an overslot bonus of $1.75 million, equivalent to an early second-round pick, in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. 15 overall in the 2020 draft. His control of the strike zone has been better than expected, and he has developed enough physically to have plus raw power, plus pitch selection, and good feel to get to that power in games. Garcia made his Double-A debut last season and ended the season in the big leagues but even after the Adalberto Mondesi trade, he's still behind Bobby Witt Jr., Hunter Dozier, Nicky Lopez and Michael Massey as homegrown second base/third base/shortstop options. In high school, I loved the footwork and agility that he developed from playing multiple sports that helped in projecting him to stick at third base until at least his mid-20s. In the end, they became the first two picks for the Padres, with Merrill signing for an underslot $1.8 million as the 27th overall pick; in the next round, Wood got $2.6 million, almost exactly the slot of Merrill's pick. That hasn't happened, as he still has a lanky build and runs well, but is exclusively playing a corner outfield spot. I mention this because Vargas is big-league-ready with plus bat control, plus pitch selection and 41 homers over the past two seasons -- even though his power will probably play closer to average at the big league level. The profiles are similar -- Carter has a notch more hit/on-base ability and Cowser has a notch more power -- but the O's development group has a strong track record of improving hitters like this. Logan T. Allen didn't throw his changeup much in high school since it's more hittable by bad hitters than a good breaking ball. Reminds me of: A Giants low-slot lefty starter with above average stuff and command. Graceffo threw 139.1 innings in 2022, mostly in Double-A, so he is in line to get some big league time toward the end of 2023 if the deep Cardinals rotation shows some weakness or the bullpen just needs some length. Their late-first-round pick from the same draft (signed for underslot) is four slots later on this list and teams knew nothing about him until a few months before the draft. Some execs suggested scooting Espino down to the back of this tier due to that risk, but all of them recognized he could also break out this year. Winners, loser of the shortstop carousel . Walker does a good but not great job of lifting the ball in games, his chase rate is also just fine, and he swings more often than the average minor leaguer. They also both come with the injury risk and less playing time that almost all catchers have these days, limiting their upside. Type: Middle infielder with advanced hit tool, 20-homer potential. Type: Easy plus power, some questions on contact and position. That said, there's also a compelling argument that Carroll offers value in more facets. For still unclear reasons, both players slid out of the top three (Henry Davis, Jack Leiter, Jackson Jobe went with those picks and are all much lower on this list or just off of it). Type: Premium hitter with enough other tools to be a strong everyday player. Cristian Santana, 2B, Detroit Tigers 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. To me, it's more likely that his peak physical years might be more like 23 to 25 than the typical 26 to 28. He's also a switch-hitter and, unlike Oneil Cruz, De La Cruz has a skinnier build that allows him to actually play a big-league-caliber shortstop. Now Manzardo may be knocking on the door of the big leagues late in 2023, just two years after being a divisive draft prospect. He is also a level (or two) below Peraza defensively, so whenever they do both grab everyday roles, Peraza should be the shortstop with Volpe more likely to move to second base. The selling point was that I didn't know his name because he wasn't playing much summer baseball due to getting Power 5 interest as a 6-4 point guard in Indiana. Like Peraza, Casas is likely to break camp with the big league team after a successful 2022 audition: I'd expect 20 homers and a strong on-base percentage in 2023. Reminds me of: He's somewhere in the Venn diagram of Gary Sanchez, Cal Raleigh, Salvador Perez and Willson Contreras. He'll be in Triple-A this year after hitting 30 homers in Double-A as a 20-year-old, so bet against him at your peril. 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. 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. First base isn't the only option -- some scouts thought Soderstrom could play third at draft time, so don't rule out other corner spots. Salas has plus bat control, a decent approach and solid-average raw power along with a good enough glove to maybe stick at shortstop, though he might also slide over to second base. Williams is two months older and went 20 picks earlier in the 2021 draft, but both are medium-framed shortstops with strong power showings in their full season debuts in 2022. His splitter and curveball are both at least average and Bradley's command projects to be above average. PROSPECT RNK 1st POSITION RNK 1st Pass rusher Will Anderson is the safest pick in the draft and fills an obvious need for the Seahawks along their defensive line. He only threw 18.1 innings in 2022 due to non-surgical knee and shoulder issues, after his Spring Training outings had scouts and analysts raving. He made it all the way to the Orioles at the No. The main reason there's a tier break here is that Moreno offers premium ability, but in a more subtle package that a fan might not notice right away. 2023 Top 100 Prospects by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin February 22, 2023 Prospect Week 2023 Updating the 2023 Draft Prospect Rankings Cardinals For game power, 50 equates to 15-18 homers per year, 55 is 19-22, 60 is about 25, 65 is about 30, etc. Rodriguez's changeup is his best pitch but he isn't reliant on it, with all four of his offerings potential out-pitches in the right situation. The O's have back-to-back best prospects in baseball and their farm system is the class of the sport, thanks in large part to a really strong pipeline of scouting and developing hitters. It's never likely for a prospect to turn into a Hall of Famer, but most future aces look something like Painter does right now in the minors. Ford is also progressing behind the plate to where I think he'll be an average defender with an average arm in time, but that's still a question, though I think he'd bring defensive value at third base or in the outfield. Our way-too-early lineup rankings look at the best -- and worst -- offenses ahead of the 2023 MLB season. He's 6-4 but has below-average raw power and clearly prioritizes getting on base. The Fish felt like he was expendable to land an immediate upgrade to their lineup because of a glut of shortstop prospects, with Salas still a few years away. The selling point here is Hassell can hit with a good approach. Prospect Rankings Depth Charts MLB Players Type: Maybe a shortstop with plus power and arm strength. Type: Explosive bat speed and big power potential, but it's early. Ramos and Mayo have been ranked near each other through my countless versions of this list.

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