New MLB Prospect Rankings 2026 Revealed by ESPN, Who Jumped to No. 1 & Who Dropped Out of Top 50?

Amid a wave of players losing prospect eligibility after being promoted to MLB early in the season, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has released an updated ranking of the top 50 prospects.

Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jesús Made has ascended to the top of the list with Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle losing their prospect status.

Here is the current top 10 prospect list from McDaniel's rankings.

Player	Team
1. Jesús Made, SS	Brewers
2. Leo De Vries, SS	Athletics
3. Colt Emerson, SS	Mariners
4. Max Clark, OF	Tigers
5. Sebastian Walcott, SS	Rangers
6. Frankin Arias, SS	Red Sox
7. Seth Hernandez, RHP	Pirates
8. Eli Willits, SS	Nationals
9. Kade Anderson, LHP	Mariners
10. George Lombard, SS	Yankees

A total of 22 players from the original top 100 list for the 2026 season that McDaniel released on Jan. 27 have graduated, including his top two prospects (Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle).

Other notable graduations include JJ Wetherholt (No. 7), Sal Stewart (No. 12) and Nolan McLean (No. 13).

Made, who was No. 3 behind Griffin and McGonigle on the preseason list, jumped up two spots. Despite starting the season as the youngest player in Double-A, he is holding his own with a .276/.351/.448 slash line with the Biloxi Shuckers.

An international free-agent signee in January 2024, Made just turned 19 on May 8. He is showing improved power production with five homers in 39 games this season after hitting six in 115 games across three levels last year.

Leo De Vries, acquired by the Athletics in the Mason Miller trade last year, is the second-youngest player in Double-A after turning 19 last October. He has a .286/.366/.416 slash line in 177 plate appearances with Midland.

Colt Emerson is no longer in the minors after being promoted to the big leagues by the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. He is perhaps best known at this point for signing a $95 million contract extension in March, nearly two months before getting called up.

Since a position player maintains prospect eligibility until they reach 130 plate appearances in MLB, Emerson still qualifies for the list. If things go according to plan for the Mariners, by the time McDaniel releases his next update, Emerson won't be on it.

The two biggest risers in the top 20 from the January list are Franklin Arias at No. 6 and Seth Hernandez at No. 7.

Hernandez had the biggest jump from that group, moving up 42 spots from 49 in the preseason. The No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates is dominating in his first extended look against professional hitters. He owns a 0.82 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 13 hits allowed in 33.0 innings.

The Pirates already moved him up to High-A and it may not take long for him to join an MLB rotation that already features Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler.

Arias is a sign of hope for the Boston Red Sox in what has been a disappointing season for the big-league club. He was already a well-regarded prospect coming into the season, but 2026 appears to be a leveling-up year. The 20-year-old has a 1.003 OPS in 140 plate appearances at Double-A.

McDaniel noted Arias' batted-ball data has him in the 90th percentile of exit velocity and "he's lifting the ball more while not sacrificing contact."

The biggest winner on the list is San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas, who now ranks No. 20 after being outside the top 100 in the original list.

Salas was regarded as a phenom very early when the Padres aggressively moved him up from Low-A to Double-A as a 17-year-old in 2023. He held his own with a .248/.331/.421 slash line in 66 games that season, earning him top-10 prospect status going into 2024.

Injuries and a decline in production over the next two seasons led to some concerns about Salas, but he looks to be back on track so far in 2026 with a .303/.374/.508 slash line in Double-A.

Despite having been on the prospect radar for several years at this point, Salas still isn't 20 yet. He will hit that milestone on June 1.