Here are 30 prospect predictions for 2026
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We are all about the future at MLB Pipeline.
Obviously, any talk about prospects and who they might become involves some prognostication. Fresh off flexing those muscles to present every organization’s Top 30 prospects list, we’re keeping our crystal ball in active mode to provide a prospect prediction for each team.
Some might seem obvious, but we’ll also take some big swings here with a “go-big-or-go-home” attitude. We’ll be sure to check back on these to see how good we are at looking into the future.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Juan Sanchez, 3B/SS (No. 7)
Toronto’s praise of the 18-year-old infielder has been consistent since his signing in January 2025, and he certainly helped fuel that fire with his 1.004 OPS in the Dominican Summer League last season. Now that he’s stateside, Sanchez will continue to show a promising mix of discipline and power and not only reach the Florida State League in his age-18 season but jump into the Top 100, giving Toronto three infielders in that group alongside Arjun Nimmala and JoJo Parker.
Orioles: Samuel Basallo, C/1B (No. 1/MLB No. 8)
It really doesn’t matter where he’s playing -- it’s looking like DH mostly, but there should be some rotating in at first and behind the plate -- we know Basallo is going to hit. We were happy the abdominal discomfort that forced him out for a few days this spring wasn’t anything serious and he has time to get in sync for the year. The power is very real, and after he finished the 2025 season in the Minors with 151 wRC+ and a .319 ISO (that led all Minor League hitters with 300 or more plate appearances), we’re so confident his bat will play in the big leagues that we’re predicting he’ll win American League Rookie of the Year honors.
Rays: Jacob Melton, OF (No. 4)
Tampa Bay sought out Melton in trades as it looked to address its center-field options because of his intriguing plus raw power, plus speed and great defense. The left-handed slugger was even showing solid gains with his approach at Triple-A when healthy before the deal, and those could point to better MLB numbers than he’s shown in his previous stint with Houston. Melton will eventually win the center-field job full time and earn a spot on AL Rookie of the Year ballots by the end of the summer.
Red Sox: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP (No. 4/MLB No. 84)
Led by 2025 first-round pick Witherspoon, the strength of Boston's system will be four right-handers with triple-digit fastballs. Besides Witherspoon, that contingent of fireballing Red Sox righties also will include Juan Valera, Marcus Phillips and Sadbiel Delzine. Valera and Delzine are products of the organization's robust international program, while Phillips was taken with a 2025 supplemental first-round choice acquired from the Brewers in the Quinn Priester trade.
Yankees: Dax Kilby, SS (No. 4/MLB No. 94)
The 2025 Draft was loaded with high school shortstops, and Kilby was somewhat overshadowed as the 14th selected -- though he went 39th overall. He started to make a name for himself by heading straight to Single-A and batting .353 with 16 steals and more walks (13) than strikeouts (11) in 18 games. He'll continue to increase his stock by outhitting all his fellow 2025 prep shortstops, thriving at High-A at the end of his first full pro season and ranking as the Yankees' best prospect by year's end.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Guardians: Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF (No. 4/MLB No. 89)
The 23rd overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Velazquez scuffled in his first full pro season before leading the High-A Midwest League with 17 homers in 94 games and then posting a .994 OPS at Double-A last year. He'll continue his upward trajectory, establishing himself as the best first-base prospect in baseball before debuting in Cleveland late in the summer.
Royals: Kendry Chourio, RHP (No. 3)
Chourio exploded onto the scene in 2025 with 63 strikeouts and only five walks across 51 1/3 innings while climbing from the DSL to Single-A Columbia. His mid-90s fastball and upper-70s curveball both receive strong reviews, but it’s the ability to command the ball that has Kansas City officials so excited about his future. It’ll also help him rank among the Minors’ top five in K-BB% (min. 70 IP) in just his age-18 season.
Tigers: Bryce Rainer, SS (No. 3/MLB No. 35)
Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark give the Tigers two high-ceiling prospects in the overall top 10 ranks, and there are some across the industry who believe Rainer is just as, if not more, talented overall. The No. 11 pick in the 2024 Draft has plus power potential and is an above-average athlete at shortstop, when he isn’t sidelined by the right shoulder that limited him to only 35 Single-A games in 2025. Once he returns to regular playing time in ‘26, Rainer will become a top-10 overall prospect by the midseason update.
Twins: Dasan Hill, LHP (No. 6)
The Twins went over slot in 2024 to sign Hill, the No. 69 pick in the Draft, for $2 million, and they were thrilled with the strides the super-projectable high school lefty made in his first full season. He struck out better than 12 per nine (31.1 K percentage) and held hitters to a .196 average over his 62 innings. Now the gloves can come off a little bit and he’s clearly gaining strength, with early reports this spring of him touching triple digits. He’s a huge breakout candidate, one who will jump onto the Top 100 and be considered one of the top five lefty pitching prospects by the end of the season.
White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS (Draft No. 1)
Not only will Cholowsky go No. 1 in the 2026 Draft, he'll rank as the No. 3 overall prospect on the Top 100 Prospects list following his pro debut, trailing only fellow shortstops Jesús Made (Brewers) and Leo De Vries (Athletics). The best all-around college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki, Cholowsky has launched nine homers in his first 16 games for UCLA this season. He'll get a cup of coffee at Double-A this summer, setting him on course to reach Chicago at some point in 2027.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Angels: Tyler Bremner, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 81)
He might have surprised many when he was taken No. 2 overall in last year’s Draft, but when we worked on our Top 100 in January, we got a lot of feedback that a lot of teams with high picks liked him a lot. And why not? He’s got great stuff and a good feel for the zone. In breaking the Santa Barbara career strikeout record in 2025, the right-hander finished with a 35.8 strikeout percentage while walking just 6.1 percent. That 29.7 K/BB% would have placed him behind only Jonah Tong in the Minors last year and we think he’s going to do it again, but this time he’ll lead all Minor League pitchers in K/BB%.
Astros: Kevin Alvarez, OF (No. 1)
For the third time in the past five years, the Astros don't have a single representative on MLB Pipeline's preseason Top 100 Prospects list. But they'll have three Top 100 prospects by the end of the year, the most since they had six on our preseason 2019 rankings. That trio will be Alvarez (the best hitter in the system), shortstop Xavier Neyens (their best power prospect) and outfielder Ethan Frey (their best combination of both tools). All three signed last year -- Alvarez as one of the most polished position players in the 2025 international class and Neyens and Frey as Houston's top two Draft picks.
A’s: Jamie Arnold, LHP (No. 2/MLB No. 41)
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the A’s like to move guys through their system quickly. Now, not everyone can move with Nick Kurtz-level speed, and it would probably be unfair to expect a pitcher to be up in late April, like Kurtz was last year en route to his Rookie of the Year campaign. But Arnold, the A’s first-rounder in 2025, has advanced stuff, a slider than can probably get big leaguers out now and a fantastic competitive streak. We can easily see him starting at an advanced level -- Double-A, maybe? -- and then finishing the year with meaningful innings in the big leagues, including in the postseason as the A’s earn a Wild Card spot.
Mariners: Lazaro Montes, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 43)
There are few prospects with more raw power than Montes, and he carries a career .518 slugging percentage and a .245 ISO into the 2026 season. Yes, there’s swing-and-miss to worry about with a 29 percent K rate last year, but he also draws walks. He has established a pattern of earning an in-season promotion, struggling initially at the new level then conquering it the following year. Look for him to do that back at Double-A this year, earning a boost to Triple-A and upping his season home run total to 40 after hitting 21 in 2024 and 32 a year ago.
Rangers: Caden Scarborough, RHP (No. 2)
An unheralded sixth-round pick in 2023, Scarborough worked just 10 1/3 innings in his first two pro seasons while dealing with a strained lat, then dominated at two Class A levels last year. He'll continue his ascension in 2026, ranking among the Minor League leaders in strikeouts and K/BB ratio and blossoming into the third-best righty pitching prospect in the game, behind only Seth Hernandez (Pirates) and Ryan Sloan (Mariners).
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Braves: JR Ritchie, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 90)
A lot went right for Ritchie in 2025, the season we got to see the real right-hander another year removed from his Tommy John surgery two years earlier. He amassed 140 total innings, starting the year at High-A Rome and finishing it with 11 Triple-A starts, and the 2025 Futures Game starter's stuff ticked up along with his bat-missing ability. He recently made his first Grapefruit League start, a sign of things to come. We’re actually a little surprised his name hasn’t come up more as a possible rotation piece right out of the gate given the question marks around starting pitching in Atlanta, but he’ll get there soon and make at least 15 starts in the big leagues this season.
Marlins: Owen Caissie, OF (No. 3/MLB No. 42)
In the trade that sent Edward Cabrera to the Cubs in January, Caissie was the key pickup for the Marlins. One of the game's top power prospects, he totaled 41 home runs during the past two seasons as one of the youngest players at Triple-A and hit his first big league long ball last August. He’ll keep the pop coming this year, when he breaks Dan Uggla's franchise record for home runs by a rookie with 28.
Mets: Nolan McLean, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 6)
The National League Rookie of the Year race promises to be loaded, but there’s only one pitcher in the competition with elite spin rates, a six-pitch arsenal and significant Major League success already. That’s McLean, the top pitching prospect in baseball entering 2026, and he’ll exit it as the fifth Mets pitcher to win Rookie of the Year honors, joining Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden, Jon Matlack and Tom Seaver on that illustrious list.
Nationals: Eli Willits, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 13)
Call it the Konnor Griffin track or the Jesús Made route. Whichever way you name it, there is a recent history of talented shortstops climbing quickly in their first full seasons stateside and touching the upper Minors way ahead of schedule. Willits -- a potential plus hitter from both sides who draws raves for his speed and defense -- could very well fall in line as an advanced talent compared to many of his peers. We’ll say last year’s No. 1 overall pick reaches Double-A for at least one week before his age-18 season comes to an end.
Phillies: Dante Nori, OF (No. 7)
We know Nori has a tremendous approach at the plate (13.0 percent BB rate vs. 14.7 percent K rate in 2025), we know he can run (52 steals) and we know he can really play center field. What we’ve been unsure of is the impact at the plate after he slugged .372 last year, though he’s well aware of the need for improvement on that side of the game. We’re not extrapolating too much from his 5-for-10 showing with two homers and a double for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, but it doesn’t hurt. With Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford making the Opening Day roster and Aidan Miller soon to follow, there’s a good chance the top three prospects in the system will graduate, leaving it wide open for a new No. 1. We think it will be Nori who will ascend to the top spot on the Phillies’ Top 30 while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Brewers: Jesús Made, SS/2B (No. 1/MLB No. 3)
Let’s get it out of the way. Made will be the No. 1 overall prospect by the fall. That isn’t a hot take for someone two spots away right now (with two probable 2026 graduates ahead of him), but Made will earn it as a switch-hitter who can hit for average and power and steal plenty of bags. If you want a hotter take, Made will get more Triple-A playing time than Jackson Chourio did in his age-19 season (six games) and put himself in strong position for an early 2027 debut.
Cardinals: Rainiel Rodriguez, C (No. 3/MLB No. 37)
The owner of a .596 slugging percentage through his first two Minor League seasons, Rodriguez has turned himself into one of the most prominent power-hitting prospects in the game very quickly. He clobbered 20 homers in only 84 games in 2025, and you can bet he’s eager for an encore. In 2026, Rodriguez will lead all Minor League catchers in homers, finishing with at least 28 (which would have led the category last season).
Cubs: Ethan Conrad, OF (No. 3)
Conrad probably wouldn't have lasted 16 picks into the 2025 Draft if he hadn't dislocated his left (throwing) shoulder diving for a ball a month into his junior season at Wake Forest. When he makes his pro debut this year, he'll make an immediate impact by giving the Cubs a 20-homer, 20-stolen base Minor Leaguer for the fifth straight season. He'll follow in the footsteps of BJ Murray (2025), Matt Shaw (2024), Pete Crow-Armstrong (2023), Alexander Canario and Jake Slaughter (both 2022).
Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 1)
While it’s been fun seeing all the buzz surrounding Griffin this spring, fans ain’t seen nothing yet from the 19-year-old phenom. Sure, he’s hit three homers this spring and shown off all five of his outstanding tools in glimpses. After a first full season in which he hit 21 homers and stole 65 bases while reaching Double-A as a teenager, predicting that he’ll go 20/20 in 2026 isn’t exactly a big reach, but we’re putting a marker down now to say he’s going to do it in the big leagues.
Reds: Sal Stewart, INF (No. 1/MLB No. 22)
After Stewart came up to the big leagues last year and posted an OPS of .839 over 18 games while leading the Reds with five homers in September, we figured it was a slam dunk he’d be on the Opening Day roster. The signing of Eugenio Suárez made things a little crowded for a minute, but Stewart has cemented things by hitting .308/.400/577 over his first 10 Cactus League games, and he’ll be the Reds’ first baseman. This guy hits wherever he goes and it’s not going to stop, with him contending for the NL batting title in 2026.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
D-backs: Kayson Cunningham, SS (No. 2)
The Arizona system only claims one Top 100 prospect now in outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 59), who seems likely to graduate this summer. No matter, this is a deeper system than him alone, and the organization will finish the season with at least three Top 100 prospects with Kayson Cunningham, Slade Caldwell, Demetrio Crisantes and JD Dix all prime candidates. In other words, the D-backs’ love of players with strong hit tools will pay off.
Dodgers: Kendall George, OF (No. 14)
After pilfering 72 bases in his final 53 games last season to lead the Minor Leagues with 100 swipes, George will clear the century mark at a more leisurely pace in 2026 and finish with 108 steals. The 2023 supplemental first-rounder may be the fastest player in the Minors and will become the first player at that level to reach 100 steals in consecutive seasons since Billy Hamilton in 2011-12.
Giants: Josuar Gonzalez, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 44)
Though the Giants currently have two Top 100 prospects and first baseman Bryce Eldridge will graduate to the Majors this year, they'll lead all of baseball with seven Top 100 dudes at the conclusion of the season. Besides incumbent Gonzalez, candidates to join him include fellow shortstops Luis Hernández, Jhonny Level and Gavin Kilen; outfielders Dakota Jordan and Bo Davidson; left-hander Jacob Bresnahan; and the No. 4 overall choice in the 2026 Draft.
Padres: Ethan Salas, C (No. 2)
Salas’ struggles both at the plate and with his health (primarily a stress reaction in his back last year) have been widely told at this point, but the Padres believe the 19-year-old backstop can still be at least a special defender in the Majors. By getting healthy and picking up the at-bats needed for an offensive turnaround, Salas will post an OPS above .750 in his return to Double-A and push his way back onto the Top 100.
Rockies: Charlie Condon, 1B/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 70)
Things have not exactly gone according to plan since Condon was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 Draft after putting up otherworldy numbers en route to winning the Golden Spikes Award at Georgia. Injuries have played a huge part with a hand issue hampering him during his pro debut, then a broken wrist suffered last spring shelving him early and sapping him of strength for much of the season. He hit well in the Arizona Fall League last year but without power, and he has a career 26.9 percent K rate in his Minor League career. We think he’s turning the page now, though, and he’s going to use his outstanding Cactus League showing (.400/.448/800 with three homers over 29 plate appearances) as a springboard into the 2026 season, hitting at least 30 homers at the upper levels.