Top-100 MLB Prospect Updates: Risers, Droppers, New Faces and More
Taking a look at the new top-100 prospect list put out by MLB.com.
When I was wrapping up a fantasy baseball series on MLB prospects, I noticed that MLB.com put out a new top-100 prospect list.
MLB.com also dropped an article regarding some of the changes to the list, and I wanted to dive into some of the players mentioned and discuss some stats and other things.
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Top-15 Prospects
A lot of similar names are amongst the highest-ranked MLB prospects.
Baltimore Orioles’ Jackson Holliday is still the No. 1 prospect despite some struggles in the MLB earlier this season.
Washington Nationals’ James Wood recently made his MLB debut and is the No. 2 prospect now. His organization mate Dylan Crew is the No. 4 overall prospect.
Tampa Bay Rays’ Junior Caminero is the No. 3 prospect, while Minnesota Twins’ Walker Jenkins is No. 5. Tampa Bay’s Carson Williams is No. 9, while Minnesota’s Brooks Lee is No. 13.
San Diego Padres’ Ethan Salas checks in at No. 6 overall, while Boston Red Sox’s Marcelo Mayer is No. 7. Boston’s Roman Anthony is No. 14 on the list.
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jordan Lawlar is the No. 8 prospect, and Detroit Tigers’ Max Clark rounds out the top 10. Detroit also has the No. 11 prospect, Jackson Jobe.
Baltimore’s Samuel Basallo is No. 12, and Coby Mayo, another Oriole, is No. 15.
Risers
Several prospects had their ranking jump by 10 or more spots, led by Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle, who rose 31 spots.
In 72 minor league games across the past two seasons, McGonigle has a .323 average and .421 on-base percentage. He has just 32 strikeouts across 269 at-bats and is at least graded as average in all five tools.
Chicago Cubs’ Moises Ballesteros saw his ranking move up 28 spots.
The 20-year-old is in Triple-A already and is hitting .308 with a .373 OBP between AA and AAA this season. His only below-average tool is running, and despite being so young, has a chance to crack the big leagues at some point this season.
Seattle Mariners’ Lazaro Montes and Miami Marlins’ Thomas White are each up 27 spots in the rankings.
Montes is only 19 years old and is in High-A. In parts of three minor league seasons, Montes has a .300 average and .422 OBP. His only below-average tool is fielding, and while he’s got several more minor league levels to clear before reaching the big leagues, Montes is definitely turning some heads.
If dynasty owners can afford to stash a player for several seasons, Montes is a great prospect to target.
White is a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher in High-A. In parts of two minor league seasons so far, White has a 3.43 ERA and 85 strikeouts over just 60 1/3 innings. His control is graded as below average, but he has just 27 walks in 56 innings so far, which helped bump his ranking way up.
Left-handed pitching prospects seem to always have a little more value, and after his bump in the rankings, White should be a hot name in dynasty leagues. You’ll need to stash him for a few seasons most likely, but he could be one of the next elite fantasy pitchers in the game if he can put it all together.
Tampa Bay’s Brayden Taylor is the other prospect to have jumped over 20 spots, going up 22 spots to No. 60 overall.
Taylor is a 22-year-old infielder and has hit .282 in High-A so far this season. He’s also got a high .399 OBP, along with 11 home runs in 262 total at-bats. Taylor has 79 strikeouts, but also 51 walks and 21 stolen bases this season, so when he reaches the big leagues, he might be able to offset some higher strikeout numbers.
He’s another prospect with an ETA of a couple years off, but if he continues to excel in the minors, could be a quick mover. He’s certainly a player to keep an eye on and buy now before he possibly becomes one of the better prospects in the league.
Droppers
Unfortunately for some prospects, their rankings dipped in the latest update.
The bigger dropper was Philadelphia Phillies’ Mick Abel. He was a first-round pick in 2020 and was expected to debut this season, but has struggled mightily at Triple-A.
Across 64 1/3 innings this season. Abel has a 2-7 record, 6.58 ERA and 1.80 WHIP. He’s not a huge strikeout guy, but always has had more Ks than innings pitched - this season, Abel has 60 punchouts in his 64 1/3 innings.
The dynasty owners who were banking on Abel helping them out this fantasy season are probably pretty disappointed in the results so far. I don’t think it’s time to bail on Abel yet, unless you just don’t trust him going forward, because his value is pretty low with his rough numbers this season. I’d try to hold out hope that he either turns it around in Philly or gets traded and the new scenery helps him start delivering better results.
San Francisco Giants’ Marco Luciano dropped 35 spots in the rankings.
Luciano has a weak .235 average, but a .373 OBP in Triple-A this season. He’s been in the big leagues a few times, and has a .375 average and .444 OBP across 10 games. He needs an opportunity in the big leagues to see if he’s capable of being an everyday player in the coming years, but that job isn’t available right now - it could be after the trade deadline passes.
Now would be a good time to “buy low” on Luciano, especially after the rankings had him drop so far down.
Padres’ Robby Snelling and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Termarr Johnson dropped 23 and 20 spots in the rankings, respectively.
Snelling is in Double-A and has an ugly 6.14 ERA across 66 innings so far this season. Opponents are batting .303 against him, and his 1.64 WHIP is not a great look either.
Snelling pitched very well last season, including a short stint in AA, so he’s another “buy low” top-100 prospect after the recent rankings.
Johnson has never hit for a high average in the minor leagues, and with a .237 mark this season in High-A, he dropped a bunch of spots in the newest rankings.
Johnson is graded as a much better hitter, and he’s just 20 years old, so there’s plenty of time to get things turned around - he just might not be as quick of a riser in the team’s organization as some originally thought. He’s another player to at least inquire about after his struggles and drop in the rankings - maybe you can get him for super cheap.
There were also six prospects (Twins’ Gabriel Gonzalez, St. Louis Cardinals’ Thomas Saggese, New York Yankees’ Roderick Arias, Nationals’ Yohandy Morales, Colorado Rockies’ Sterlin Thompson and Cardinals’ Victor Scott II) who dropped out of the rankings and could be other buy low prospect targets in dynasty leagues.
New Faces
With six players dropping out of the rankings, six new ones moved in.
Twins’ Luke Keaschall, Milwaukee Brewers’ Cooper Pratt, Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach, New York Mets’ Brandon Sproat, Giants’ Hayden Birdsong and Cardinals’ Quinn Mathews moved into the top 100.
Schwellenbach and Birdsong already made their MLB debuts, so they were likely scooped up in dynasty leagues, but some of these other guys might still be available.
It’s not a bad idea for dynasty owners to check the top-100 list often, because players graduate and new players move in. For example: the new top-100 list came out July 1, and Cincinnati Reds’ Sal Stewart (who wasn’t a part of the list) has moved into the top 100 already.
I plan on looking at each team's top prospects over the next few weeks, so keep checking back to FantasySP for that.
#prospects #dynasty #2024-fantasy-baseball
