With the 2025 regular season winding down at the big league level and the Minor League season with only the Triple-A National Championship remaining (tune in on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET to hear the call from Tyler Maun, MLB Pipeline's own Jim Callis and Sande Charles). So it's not surprising that people are turning their thoughts to the 2026 season, even if we're getting more excited for the start of the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 6.
One question submitted this week was answered on this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast about the chances of the top five prospects in our Top 100 making it to the big leagues next season. It was such good content, we turned it into a story. But it wasn't the only forward-looking query this week, so let's get to them.
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From an offensive standpoint, you couldn't ask for much more from the Cardinals 2024 first-round pick. Now the No. 6 overall prospect in the game, Wetherholt had a combined .306/.421/.510 slash line across Double- and Triple-A with 17 homers and 23 steals, resulting in a robust 152 wRC+ for the year and leaving many hoping he'd debut in St. Louis this season.
While that didn't happen, it's going to soon in 2026, and if I were making decisions there, he'd get every chance to make the big league team on Opening Day next year. The questioner wants to know where he might best be slotted into that lineup. Some of that has to do with opportunity. Even if you were a believer that Wetherholt could play shortstop every day in the big leagues, there's no chance he's supplanting Masyn Winn, who has established himself as one of the better defensive shortstops in the Majors. So then it comes down to second or third, and Wetherholt started playing the keystone in Double-A this year, then added the hot corner with Triple-A Memphis, all of which gives the Cardinals options.
Wetherholt has the athleticism and actions to play shortstop. The one thing, other than Winn's presence, keeping him from profiling there is his arm. It's average, and he could play there if need be, but it's just a hair shy of being an asset. It might be best for him to play second, where staying up the middle would be a good use of that athletic ability and the arm wouldn't be a concern. That would mean Brendan Donovan would have to play the outfield regularly or be more of a super-utility type.
Wetherholt doesn't profile like a prototypical third baseman, but he'd be fine there, where he can be reactive and the throws typically are shorter than at short. The Cardinals need to make a decision about Nolan Arenado, and there are signs that his time in St. Louis is coming to an end. So perhaps Wetherholt takes over and Nolan Gorman can move around and play three infield spots as needed. He hasn't asked, but if I'm Chaim Bloom, I tell Wetherholt to be ready to compete for a job and give him time at both second and third, then make the decision based on how the roster jigsaw puzzle fits best for the big league lineup, because his bat needs to be in it.
At his height, Espino was No. 16 on our Top 100 list. That happened twice, on the 2022 midseason list and ahead of the 2023 season. And even though he threw just four times in 2022 and then not again to the very end of this season, we didn't want to give up on his immense talent and had him at No. 100 ahead of the 2024 season, even though he had barely pitched in two years.
Now, however, he's at No. 29 … on the Guardians' Top 30. At a certain point, a guy has to get on the mound and pitch, and after nearly four years on the sidelines, we were worried it might not happen. We're thrilled he worked his way back to competition on Sept. 20, his first game action since April 29, 2022. And we can't wait to see what he can do in the Arizona Fall League.
Now 24, there's still time for the 2019 first-round pick to fulfill some of his promise and pitch in the big leagues. More than anything, the priority is staying healthy and getting innings. I personally don't have huge expectations of production in the AFL. If he can take the ball every time out and the pure stuff looks good, that's a huge step in the right direction. However, there's still a large leap from that to even being in consideration for a Top 100 spot. He was drafted six years ago and has amassed a grand total of 134 1/3 innings. It's even too soon to project what kind of role he might fill if and when he makes it to Cleveland. I'd bet on a relief gig because of the injury history, but one step at a time. If things go well for him in Arizona and then next spring, he does have a chance to impact the big league staff in some capacity, and if he can manage that, he'll graduate from prospect status before we ever would seriously think about putting him back on the Top 100 list.
I'm not sure I buy this equivalency here for a number of reasons. Misiorowski didn't exactly have a bad 2024, did he? Yes, he struggled with command, with 5.5 walks per nine last year. (There are still questions about that in terms of, say, eventually fronting a rotation, but 4.18 BB/9 between Triple-A and the big leagues this year is a very nice step forward.) But last year in the Minors, he struck out 11.7 per nine and held opponents to a .167 batting average.
Now, you could make some of the same claims about Smith's debut 2025 season. The White Sox 2024 first-rounder spent his first full year in Double-A and missed plenty of bats (12.8 K/9) while struggling with the strike zone (6.7 BB/9) and limiting hitters from doing damage (.166 BAA).
But here's where things diverge. Smith's stuff wasn't as good as Misiorowski's, even when he was coming out of the Draft. To be fair, few arms can match the Miz's 70 grades on his fastball and slider. And while the Brewers right-hander might have had some strike zone challenges in 2024, his stuff never waned. Smith entered pro ball with a 65 on his fastball and slider, plenty good enough, but it hasn't just been his control that's regressed. Both of those pitches have lost velocity and power, and his slider hasn't produced the same amount of chases as it had in the past.
There has never been concern about Misiorowski's ability to get big league hitters out; it was just a question of whether he could start long-term because of his command. Smith's stuff-related issues are a bit more worrying, but he did finish the season off fairly strongly, albeit with still-elevated walk rates. We're very curious to see him throw in the AFL and see if that can be a springboard toward Chicago for 2026.