It’s about to be a big month in this neck of the woods.
The 2026 Draft begins Saturday, July 11 as part of All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia, the All-Star Futures Game will be held one day later as part of the same festivities and all the way through the rest of the month, we and the entire Minor League community will be on #HugWatch as prospects are sure to head to new organizations ahead of the Trade Deadline on Aug. 3.
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Before the gears really get turning in prospectdom, this seems like a good time to give the MLB Pipeline Top 100 a polish.
We’ve updated our Top 100 ranking in a similar fashion to our most recent market corrections in May. We re-voted on the Top 16 -- a change from our standard of Top 15 because Mariners rookie Colt Emerson is scheduled to graduate off the list this week -- and moved certain talents up or down at least 10 spots. We also removed some from the list entirely and replaced them with new hitters and pitchers who have earned the right to call themselves Top 100. Anyone else, we mostly let stand other than the movement that comes with the general churn of the list.
The result: the Dodgers now boast nine Top 100 prospects including two in the Top 12, the Mariners have three prospects in the Top 9 including two of the three best pitching prospects in the sport and the Top 2 … well, they should still look familiar.
Top 16
1. Jesús Made, SS, Brewers
2. Leo De Vries, SS, Athletics
3. Eli Willits, SS, Nationals
4. Josue De Paula, OF, Dodgers
5. Kade Anderson, LHP, Mariners
6. Colt Emerson, SS/3B, Mariners
7. Seth Hernandez, RHP, Pirates
8. Franklin Arias, SS, Red Sox
9. Ryan Sloan, RHP, Mariners
10. Theo Gillen, OF, Rays
11. Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers
12. Mike Sirota, OF, Dodgers
13. Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Cardinals
14. Max Clark, OF, Tigers
15. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
16. Josuar Gonzalez, SS, Giants
Sure, there are nits to pick in both Made's and De Vries’ games, perhaps notably that neither has truly dominated in 2026. Their performances are actually remarkably similar on paper with Made hitting .281/.355/.441 with seven homers, 23 steals and a 111 wRC+ in 304 plate appearances and De Vries slashing .281/.374/.423 with nine homers, 28 steals and a 109 wRC+ in 296 PA. The fact remains that they’re still 19-year-olds at Double-A, putting them way ahead of the development curve. (There have been only eight teenagers with at least 250 PA at Double-A in a single season this century.) As both develop from both a physical and an approach standpoint, they retain the highest upside in this crop of prospects, high enough to keep them in their perches at Nos. 1 and 2 for now.
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick Willits hasn’t skipped a beat since his promotion to High-A in his age-18 season and is showing enough in-game power to look like a possible five-tool talent after his slugging future was his biggest question mark at this time last year. De Paula has a strong case to be the most well-rounded hitter in the Top 100 right now, and that’s enough to push him into the Top 4 for the first time, despite his defensive limitations as a corner outfielder.
Among pitchers, we still believe in Hernandez’s high ceiling as a 6-foot-4 right-hander with three potential plus pitches, but because of control inconsistencies, the 2025 sixth overall pick slides behind Anderson (last year’s third overall selection) for the top arm in the T100 while the latter has been a machine at Double-A in his first full season. All four of Anderson’s pitches (four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, changeup) have been whiff generators for Double-A Arkansas, while he’s pumped a ton of strikes. The 21-year-old southpaw should be a factor for Seattle’s MLB club at some point in the second half. The same is possible for the 20-year-old Sloan who has eased nicely into the Texas League with his stellar stuff, namely a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, sweeper and change coming from his 6-foot-5 frame.
Highest risers
+29 Theo Gillen, OF, Rays (39 to 10)
+26 Mike Sirota, OF, Dodgers (38 to 12)
+20 Luis Lara, OF, Brewers (89 to 69)
+20 Felnin Celesten, SS, Mariners (96 to 76)
+20 Karson Milbrandt, RHP, Marlins (98 to 78)
+19 Josiah Hartshorn, OF/1B, Cubs (99 to 80)
+18 Eric Hartman, OF, Braves (100 to 82)
+17 Luis Hernández, SS, Giants (53 to 36)
+15 Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF, Guardians (54 to 39)
+13 Joshua Baéz, OF, Cardinals (63 to 50)
+12 Josuar Gonzalez, SS, Giants (28 to 16)
+12 Ethan Salas, C, Padres (47 to 35)
+11 Gage Wood, RHP, Phillies (66 to 55)
+11 Anthony Eyanson, RHP, Red Sox (67 to 56)
+10 Ryan Sloan, RHP, Mariners (19 to 9)
+10 Jefferson Rojas, SS, Cubs (78 to 68)
As part of Gillen’s preseason blurb, we wrote that “he could still stand to add strength and in-game power in his 20s.” As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait long into his 20s for the slug to show up. The 2024 18th overall pick hit 12 homers and slugged .589 in 57 games for High-A Bowling Green – more than double his 2025 output in the dinger category – to earn a promotion to Double-A last week. Gillen remains allergic to chasing outside the zone but hasn’t been as passive overall with his hacks, relying on his improved strength to connect on drivable pitches. With his plus speed and solid defense in center, he has the tools to be a Top 10 talent.
A crowded Double-A Tulsa outfield forced Sirota back to High-A, where he suffered a right knee injury in 2025, to begin this season, but his performance was too good to ignore, earning him a promotion after 35 games. He continues to mash and reach base like few in recent Minor League history; his active 63-game on-base streak is the longest such run in the Minors since Nick Martini’s 66-gamer in 2018. Sirota’s plus run tool and above-average defense on the grass similarly helped him secure a big jump.
Among the others to jump most on our list, Lara has seen his power surge quiet down, but he remains a high-contact switch-hitter and speed-and-defense type at the Minors’ top level. The Brewers displayed their belief in him long-term with a seven-year, $31 million contract earlier in June. After a more jagged 2025, Celesten has continued to build momentum in his age-20 season at High-A, and while hitter-friendly Everett might have helped some of his homer numbers, his splits are still solid enough to believe this is more of a real breakout than a mirage. Milbrandt zoomed into the Top 100 after posting a 1.34 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 47 innings at Double-A, and while he’s experienced control issues with the new ball early on at Triple-A, his four-seamer, slider, sweeper and curveball all profile as potential above-average pitches.
New faces
92. Christian Zazueta, RHP, Dodgers
96. Francisco Renteria, OF, Phillies
97. Josh Adamczewski, OF, Brewers
98. James Tibbs III, 1B/OF, Dodgers
99. Caden Bodine, C, Rays
100. Braylon Doughty, RHP, Guardians
Zazueta was slated to be added to the Top 100 soon, and the way he debuted with eight strikeouts and only one walk over five scoreless innings for Double-A Tulsa last week only strengthened that conviction. His mid-90s fastball plays up with above-average extension and a tough vertical approach angle for hitters, and he retains above-average control to boot. The Phillies were already high on Renteria, who signed in January for $4 million as MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 international prospect, and his power-speed combo has already played nicely as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League. He gives the Phils a much-needed breakout bat.
Coming off his 2025 breakout, Adamczewski has proven more selective in his age-21 season at High-A and Double-A, and he’s also stinging more line drives, fueling high averages and OBPs. Despite a transition from second base to left field, he looks like he’ll have enough bat to cover the move down the defensive spectrum. Tibbs, now in his third organization already, has set a career high with 21 homers in 77 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has the exit velocities and damage rates to back up the power numbers, even if there are still questions about how he’ll handle upper-level velo and MLB-quality secondaries at the top level.
Bodine just doesn’t swing and miss as a switch-hitting catcher, and that’s becoming clear by the day as he climbs the Tampa Bay chain. His 5.3 percent K rate at Single-A and High-A is the lowest among MiLB full-season qualifiers, and it comes with better-than-expected power too. He and Nathan Flewelling give the Rays a real shot at finding the homegrown catcher that has eluded them for years. Doughty already showed the makings of two plus breaking balls in his slider and curveball, and with both a four-seamer and sinker around 92-95, he has enough heater quality to work as a starter. He has fanned 74 and walked 11 in 59 ⅔ innings at High-A, giving him a 24.9 percent K-BB that leads qualifiers at the level.
Note: A previous accounting error had us remove Logan Henderson off the Top 100 and the Brewers’ Top 30 list before he officially graduated from prospect/rookie status. We have placed him back on the Brewers’ rankings. However, he did not crack this edition Top 100 as injuries have defined much of his career, the most recent being a low back strain. Instead, he’s lined up as our first replacement when we next have a T100 opening, if he doesn’t graduate before then.
Biggest droppers
-51 Jonah Tong, RHP, Mets (32 to 83)
-29 Jett Williams, 3B/SS/OF, Brewers (55 to 84)
-21 Elmer Rodríguez, RHP, Yankees (58 to 79)
-17 Aidan Miller, SS, Phillies (14 to 31)
-15 Carlos Lagrange, RHP, Yankees (71 to 86)
-15 Robby Snelling, LHP, Marlins (25 to 40)
-14 Billy Carlson, SS, White Sox (48 to 62)
-12 Jaxon Wiggins, RHP, Cubs (83 to 95)
-12 Hagen Smith, LHP, White Sox (45 to 57)
-12 Aiva Arquette, SS, Marlins (31 to 43)
-10 Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Twins (49 to 59)
-10 Thomas White, LHP, Marlins (12 to 22)
In looking for something beyond his dominant fastball-changeup mix, Tong has turned to a cutter this season (and also lowered his arm angle a bit) and hasn’t found consistent results with it at the Triple-A or Major League levels. His impressive runs of Minor League success in 2024 and 2025 have earned him a longer stay on the Top 100 compared to others without similar resumes, but he needs to find that third pitch to keep on the list and more importantly stick in New York’s rotation plans.
Williams’ Triple-A 90th-percentile exit velocity is down from 104.4 mph in 2025 to 102.1 this summer, and that isn’t a positive trend for someone who already needs to pull the ball in the air a ton to get something out of his modest pop. After his move from New York to Milwaukee, Williams is also seeing the bulk of his defensive work at third base, and that slide away from the middle of the diamond hurts his value.
Rodríguez’s kitchen-sink, six-pitch arsenal hasn’t caught on in the Majors, where he’s walked more batters than he’s struck out, and while there’s some early small-sample stuff going on there, he looks closer to a No. 4 starter than a midrotation type. Miller still hasn’t played a game due to a recurring back issue and underwent a procedure in June to address the injury; the longer he’s out, the tougher it is to rank him among the game’s very best prospects.
Lagrange has brought his triple-digit fastball to the bullpen at Triple-A, and even if that’s aiming to be a temporary move to help the Yankees in the bigs this year, it still hints at a long-term future in relief. Snelling underwent left elbow UCL repair surgery with an internal brace last month after only one MLB start, and he will miss the rest of his age-22 season.
Moving out
Blake Mitchell, C, Royals (from 50)
Brody Hopkins, RHP, Rays (from 79)
Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Red Sox (from 81)
Jurrangelo Cijntje, RHP, Cardinals (from 82)
Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Padres (from 86)
Wei-En Lin, LHP, Athletics (from 88)
Mitchell’s power, patience and ability to lift the ball remain tantalizing, but his overall contact rate has taken a step back from 2025 to 2026, leading him to continue to strike out in more than one-third of his High-A plate appearances. It’s an untenable trend for this T100 list.
On the pitching side, Hopkins would stay on the list for stuff alone, but pitching is more than stuff alone. He’s averaged almost one walk per inning (61 in 62 ⅔) with Triple-A Durham, and the Rays have moved him around roles with varied effect. Witherspoon has shown more promising results of late at High-A, though his mid-90s fastball isn’t missing bats as hoped on the season as a whole. He’ll need a longer stretch of success to push his way back on. Cijntje’s lack of consistent strikes and his flyball tendencies have been truly tested in the big sky of the Texas League, and his results (5.66 ERA, 36 walks, 13 homers in 68 ⅓ innings) tell the story. His mid-90s fastball, mid-80s slider and mid-80s changeup all have promise as a collection of pitches when he’s throwing from his best side on the right, though.
For lefties, Schoolcraft still comes with promise in his 6-foot-8 frame and the plus changeup that has been a nice bat-misser, but walks have been a large obstacle at Single-A in his first full season. Lin’s Tommy John surgery and the expected time it’ll take him to recover and rehab dropped him from his initial spot toward the back end of the list.