Updated MLB Prospect Rankings for Top 10 at Each Position
A Top 100 prospect list does not always provide context for where an up-and-coming player stands among their peers at the same position on the field.
Ahead, we've provided a rundown of the top 10 MLB prospects at each position, with outfielders all lumped into one group and pitchers split into right-handed and left-handed.
This is our first update to these positional rankings since the 2025 draft, so it also provides a glimpse of where those newcomers fit into the prospect picture.
The following factors helped determine where each player fell in our rankings:
Potential: Potential trumps production a lot of the time, especially in the lower levels of the minors and with recent draft picks. Skill set and tools are often better indicators of what kind of player someone will be.
Talent: For those in the higher levels of the minors who are close to breaking into the big leagues, production and talent level were the determining factors since the players are viewed as more complete products.
Eligibility: A player must maintain rookie eligibility to be considered for inclusion. That means no more than 130 big league at-bats for position players, 50 innings for pitchers or 45 days on the active roster.
With all of that established, let's start with the catchers.
Catchers
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Top 10 C Prospects
1. Samuel Basallo, BAL
2. Moises Ballesteros, CHC
3. Joe Mack, MIA
4. Josue Briceño, DET
5. Jeferson Quero, MIL
6. Ethan Salas, SD
7. Harry Ford, SEA
8. Alfredo Duno, CIN
9. Eduardo Tait, MIN
10. Blake Mitchell, KC
-With Kyle Teel (CWS), Dalton Rushing (LAD), Drake Baldwin (ATL) and Edgar Quero (CWS) all moving on to the majors, the list of top catching prospects looks significantly different than it did entering the season.
-While his defense remains a work-in-progress, Samuel Basallo has little left to prove at the plate in the minors. The 21-year-old is hitting .278/.381/.605 with 17 doubles, 23 home runs and 67 RBI in 74 games at Triple-A.
-It remains to be seen if Josue Briceño will stick behind the plate, and he has split his time between catcher (32 starts), first base (27 starts) and designated hitter (17 starts) this season. The 20-year-old is showing enough offensive upside to potentially handle a full-time move to first base, hitting .278/.395/.549 with 19 home runs and 70 RBI in 77 games between High-A and Double-A.
First Basemen
2 of 8
Top 10 1B Prospects
1. Bryce Eldridge, SF
2. Charlie Condon, COL
3. C.J. Kayfus, CLE
4. Xavier Isaac, TB
5. Cam Collier, CIN
6. Jonathon Long, CHC
7. Tre' Morgan, TB
8. Tyler Locklear, ARI
9. Ryan Clifford, NYM
10. Ralphy Velazquez, CLE
-Imposing 6'7", 240-pound slugger Bryce Eldridge remains baseball's top prospect at first base by a sizable margin, and he is knocking on the door for his MLB debut. The 20-year-old made his Triple-A debut on July 18, and he has an .835 OPS with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 38 games at that level.
-C.J. Kayfus made his big league debut on Aug. 2, and he has gone 7-for-27 with three doubles, one home run and five RBI through his first nine games. He is currently splitting his time between first base and right field, but he could be the everyday first baseman next season if Carlos Santana walks in free agency.
-The D-backs acquired Tyler Locklear in the deal that sent Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners, and he immediately took over as their everyday first baseman in place of fellow trade chip Josh Naylor. He was hitting .316/.401/.542 with 25 doubles, 19 home runs and 82 RBI in 98 games with Seattle's Triple-A affiliate.
Second Basemen
3 of 8
Top 10 2B Prospects
1. Travis Bazzana, CLE
2. Michael Arroyo, SEA
3. Luke Keaschall, MIN
4. Aroon Escobar, PHI
5. Christian Moore, LAA
6. Brice Matthews, HOU
7. Tommy Troy, ARI
8. Gavin Kilen, SF
9. JD Dix, ARI
10. Max Anderson, DET
-There will inevitably be at least a handful of top shortstop prospects who end up shifting to second base in the big leagues, whether it's a better fit defensively or there is an incumbent shortstop blocking their path.
-Last year's No. 1 overall pick, Travis Bazzana, made his Triple-A debut on Tuesday after hitting .256/.364/.426 with 20 extra-base hits in 51 games at the Double-A level. He could enter spring training next year as the favorite for the starting second base job.
-One of the breakout prospects of the 2025 season, Aroon Escobar hit .285/.377/.452 with 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 69 games at Single-A to earn a promotion to High-A in his age-20 campaign and full-season debut.
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Third Basemen
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Top 10 3B Prospects
1. Ethan Holliday, COL
2. Sal Stewart, CIN
3. LuJames Groover, ARI
4. Xavier Neyens, HOU
5. Andrew Fischer, MIL
6. Kyle Karros, COL
7. Tommy White ATH
8. Jacob Reimer, NYM
9. Brock Wilken, MIL
10. Billy Amick, MIN
-He might start his pro career as a shortstop, but the expectation is Ethan Holliday will ultimately wind up at the hot corner where his 6'4", 210-pound frame, strong arm and power-hitting profile look like a perfect fit.
-A fifth-round pick in 2023 out of UCLA, Kyle Karros entered the 2025 season having yet to play above the High-A level and now he is manning third base in the majors for the Rockies. The son of former Dodgers slugger Eric Karros, he hit .301/.398/.476 with 32 extra-base hits in 75 games across three minor league levels before making his MLB debut on Aug. 8.
-After hitting .218 with a .640 OPS over 25 games in 2024 while slowed by a hamstring injury, Jacob Reimer has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the Mets farm system. The 21-year-old has an .807 OPS with 24 doubles, 12 home runs, 57 RBI and 12 steals in 97 games between High-A and Double-A.
Shortstops
5 of 8
Top 10 SS Prospects
1. Kevin McGonigle, DET
2. Konnor Griffin, PIT
3. Jesús Made, MIL
4. Sebastian Walcott, TEX
5. Leo De Vries, ATH
6. JJ Wetherholt, STL
7. Colt Emerson, SEA
8. Eli Willits, WAS
9. Bryce Rainer, DET
10. Luis Peña, MIL
-The shortstop position is loaded, as is usually the case since many prospects start their careers as shortstops before shifting to other positions. Aside from the 10 guys listed above, Angel Genao (CLE), Carson Williams (TB), Aidan Miller (PHI) and Aiva Arquette (MIA) also rank inside the top 50 on the B/R Top 100 prospect list.
-Kevin McGonigle is the best pure hitter in the minors right now, with a .335/.428/.600 line, 41 extra-base hits and more walks (40) than strikeouts (31) in 64 games between Single-A, High-A and Double-A to back it up.
-While McGonigle claims the top spot here based on polish and production at a higher level of the minors, Konnor Griffin might have the highest ceiling of any prospect in baseball. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft is hitting .332/.412/.530 with 20 doubles, 16 home runs, 68 RBI and 55 steals in 96 games between Single-A and High-A in his pro debut.
Outfielders
6 of 8
Top 10 OF Prospects
1. Josue De Paula, LAD
2. Lazaro Montes, SEA
3. Walker Jenkins, MIN
4. Max Clark, DET
5. Zyhir Hope, LAD
6. Justin Crawford, PHI
7. Emmanuel Rodriguez, MIN
8. Theo Gillen, TB
9. Ike Irish, BAL
10. Jonny Farmelo, SEA
-Still only 20 years old, Josue De Paula is starting to turn his tremendous raw potential into production, hitting .262/.409/.416 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, 31 RBI and 28 steals in 82 games at High-A. He also won Futures Game MVP honors, hitting a three-run home run with an eye-popping 108.5 mph exit velocity.
-With a big 6'5", 210-pound frame and limited athleticism, Lazaro Montes might end up as a DH in the big leagues, but there are a lot of similarities to be drawn to Astros star Yordan Alvarez. With a 50-hit, 65-power offensive profile, he sports an .891 OPS with 25 home runs and 70 RBI in 103 games between High-A and Double-A.
-Will the Orioles give Ike Irish a chance to develop as a catcher, or will they put his bat on the fast track by moving him straight to the outfield where he spent the bulk of the spring at Auburn? Arguably the best overall hitter in the 2025 draft class, he hit .364/.469/.710 with 13 home runs in 28 games during SEC play.
Right-Handed Pitchers
7 of 8
Top 10 RHP Prospects
1. Bubba Chandler, PIT
2. Andrew Painter, PHI
3. Seth Hernandez, PIT
4. Travis Sykora, WAS
5. Jonah Tong, NYM
6. Nolan McLean, NYM
7. Rhett Lowder, CIN
8. Trey Yesavage, TOR
9. Kyson Witherspoon, BOS
10. Jarlin Susana, WAS
-Why is Bubba Chandler still in the minors? Baseball's top pitching prospect has a 3.82 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 96.2 innings at Triple-A this season. And while his 11.4 percent walk rate still has room for improvement, getting him valuable big league experience now would better position him to break camp with a rotation spot in 2026.
-Jonah Tong (20 GS, 1.59 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 162 K, 102.0 IP at AA) and Nolan McLean (21 G, 18 GS, 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 127 K, 113.2 IP at AA/AAA) have sprinted past Brandon Sproat to emerge as the best pitching prospects in the Mets system this season, and they now stand as two of the better young arms in all of the minors.
-Trey Yesavage slipping to the Blue Jays at No. 20 overall is shaping up to be one of the biggest steals of the 2024 draft. The fourth college pitcher taken in his draft class behind Chase Burns, Hagen Smith and Jurrangelo Cijntje, he sports a 3.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 134-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 80.2 innings over three levels.
Left-Handed Pitchers
8 of 8
Top 10 LHP Prospects
1. Kade Anderson, SEA
2. Thomas White, MIA
3. Noah Schultz, CWS
4. Liam Doyle, STL
5. Gage Jump, ATH
6. Hagen Smith, CWS
7. Jamie Arnold, ATH
8. Payton Tolle, BOS
9. Hunter Barco, PIT
10. Cam Caminiti, ATL
-After going 12-1 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 180 strikeouts in 119 innings and capping off his college career with a complete game shutout in Game 1 of the College World Series, Kade Anderson jumps straight to the top of the left-handed pitching prospects list. He is polished enough to potentially be in the majors at this time next year.
-Gage Jump has been the biggest breakout pitching prospect of the 2025 season, posting a 1.98 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 116 strikeouts in 95.2 innings between High-A and Double-A in his pro debut. He has gone from generally ranked outside the top 10 prospects in the Athletics system during the preseason to a consensus top 100 prospect.
-After dominating High-A and Double-A hitters to start the year, Payton Tolle made his Triple-A debut on Aug. 10. The 6'6", 250-pound southpaw has gone from sitting in the low 90s and topping out at 95 mph during his time at TCU to sitting in the mid-90s and topping out at 99 mph with just one full year in the Red Sox system.
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