Ranking the 25 top prospects traded ahead of the Deadline

It’s Monday night after the Trade Deadline. Do you know where your prospects are?

The 2026 Trade Deadline passed at 6 p.m. ET on Monday with yet another flurry of activity this year. The headlining move, of course, came over the weekend when Tarik Skubal moved from the Tigers to the Dodgers for a pair of Top 100 prospects (Zyhir Hope, River Ryan) and another promising arm in Brady Smith.

In total, 56 ranked prospects changed organizations ahead of the final bell of the Deadline, including five on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list.

Here’s a ranking of the 25 best prospects who joined new systems during this cycle, including scouting reports and other notes on the players in the top 10:

1. Zyhir Hope, OF, Tigers (No. 2/MLB No. 25)
Acquired from the Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal trade

The Dodgers dipped into their considerable outfield depth to make Hope the headliner in the Skubal blockbuster, and Hope instantly provided the Tigers system with a promising jolt of both power and speed. The left-handed slugger is coming off his best offensive month of 2026 yet with 10 homers and a .745 slugging percentage over 23 games in July with Double-A Tulsa, supporting the belief that his plus power potential is real. He’s also an above-average runner, making him a true 20/20 threat by his Major League peak. There are some quibbles with the hit tool and he’s only played the corners in his age-21 season, but that’s less of a concern with Max Clark now manning center for the Tigers. An outfield trio of Clark, Hope and Riley Greene could be a realized dream for Tigers fans by early next season.

2. Arjun Nimmala, SS, Angels (No. 2/MLB No. 43)
Acquired from the Blue Jays in the José Soriano trade

Toronto has done its fair share of selling at this Deadline but saw an opportunity in the market for controllable starting pitching and jumped on it. Nimmala instantly becomes the Angels’ top position-player prospect as a 20-year-old right-handed slugger with plus power potential and a strong arm and good defensive actions that help his chances of sticking at shortstop. The 2023 20th overall pick opened the season at High-A Vancouver, headed to Double-A New Hampshire in early May and was hitting .279/.355/.451 with four homers in 33 games there (with an injured list stint for a hamstring strain mixed in). He’s probably at least another year out from an MLB debut, but his acquisition gives the Halos a strong succession plan for Zach Neto at the six.

3. Anthony Eyanson, RHP, Orioles (No. 1/MLB No. 49)
Acquired from the Red Sox in the Adley Rutschman trade

The 2025 third-rounder was in the midst of a breakout season -- arguably the biggest among pitching prospects in 2026 -- with a 1.32 ERA and 94 strikeouts over 68 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A when he changed AL East squads. He caught plenty of attention by touching triple digits in a Spring Breakout game in March, and though he’s been sitting more in the low-to-mid-90s with his four-seamer, his mid-80s slider and upper-70s curveball are downright dominant offerings. He’s also added a mid-80s splitter to the mix for a more well-rounded arsenal. Eyanson not only takes over the top spot among O’s pitchers, but he’ll be in the conversation for top Baltimore prospect overall even once we add in seventh overall Draft pick Eric Booth Jr.

4. Jefferson Rojas, 3B/SS, Mets (No. 1/MLB No. 63)
Acquired from the Cubs in the Clay Holmes/Tyrone Taylor trade

After mostly making modest improvements to the midsection of their Top 30 list with other moves, the Mets added a potential star to the top of the system by picking up Rojas in a one prospect-for-two Major Leaguers swap with the Cubs. The 21-year-old Rojas has been aggressively pushed for much of his career, often leading to herky-jerky evaluations as his performance fluctuated with new challenges at different levels. But in a return to Double-A, he’s shown promising signs; among them, trading grounders for line drives and adding enough strength to set a career high with 15 homers already this season. He’s seen some time at shortstop this season but seems likeliest to land at third or second with arm strength that will work from anywhere on the dirt.

5. River Ryan, RHP, Tigers (No. 5/MLB No. 68)
Acquired from the Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal trade

In moving their two-time Cy Young winner, the Tigers were believed to have been searching for Major League-ready, controllable pitching as part of the return. They got such an arm -- with prospect eligibility remaining to boot -- in Ryan. The 6-foot-2 right-hander became a full-time pitcher in 2022, made his Major League debut in ‘24, underwent Tommy John surgery that August and missed all of 2025 as a result. He returned to Triple-A this season and continued to flash special stuff in a six-pitch repertoire, headlined by a 96-99 mph four-seamer and a plus slider in the low 90s. He’s been limited to eight starts by hamstring injuries, but when healthy, he could easily slide into Detroit’s Major League rotation and start his journey toward being at least a midrotation starter.

6. Alexander Frias, OF, Cardinals (No. 4)
Acquired from the Brewers in the Dustin May/JoJo Romero trade

Signed by the Brewers for $350,000 out of the Dominican Republic last year, Frias caught the attention of the industry with his move stateside this spring as he started hitting rockets up to 117 mph in the Arizona Complex League. Milwaukee subsequently thought he needed a challenge at Single-A at just 18 years old. The bat speed is tremendous from the left side, and it’s easy to dream on future 30+ homer seasons from the teenager, especially as he elevates off the ground more moving forward. (There were promising signs there before his move to St. Louis.) Frias has played plenty of center field this season, but most think he’s headed to a corner long term. If current trends hold, he could still be a star there.

7. Ramon Marquez, RHP, Giants (No. 7)
Acquired from the Phillies in the Luis Arraez trade

The 20-year-old right-hander had risen to No. 4 in the Phillies’ Top 30 before this deal, and he joins his second organization during an upswing in performance and projection. Marquez, who signed with Philadelphia for only $10,000 out of Mexico in January 2025, was in the midst of crushing between the Single-A and High-A levels with a 1.68 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 93 strikeouts in 59 innings heading into the trade. His best pitch is an 82-84 mph changeup that mirrors his 94-97 mph sinker in terms of horizontal movement (16-17 inches) but comes with significant differences in velocity and drop. The pitch had a whiff rate of 66.2 percent in the Florida State League. Marquez also sports an 88-91 mph cutter to give himself something moving tightly the other way.

8. Michael Forret, RHP, Orioles (No. 6)
Acquired from the Rays in the Tyler Wells trade

Well, this should feel familiar. The Orioles sent Forret to the Rays last offseason as part of the megadeal for Shane Baz, and only a few months later, he’s back with Baltimore again, this time in a straight-up swap for Tyler Wells. Forret has posted a 3.29 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 93 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, utilizing a deep arsenal that includes at least six pitch types: four-seamer, sinker, slider, changeup, cutter, curveball. (He’s even used both a traditional cambio and a kick-change.) There’s a lot to work with in his east-west profile, and that ability to keep batters constantly guessing should serve him well as a possible future No. 4 starter in Charm City.

9. Kash Mayfield, LHP, Tigers (No. 6)
Acquired from the Padres in the Casey Mize trade

San Diego may have been dinged for a thinning system but still had arms to move up top. It did so with maybe the most promising pitcher remaining on the farm in Mayfield, the 25th overall pick in the Draft two years ago. The 6-foot-4 southpaw has a show-stopping low-80s changeup that he sells well with his arm speed and looks much like his 90-93 mph fastball until the last possible second when it dips below bats. He’s improved the ride on the heater a bit in his second full season, and his upper-70s slider could become an average third pitch with more refinement. The 21-year-old sports a 3.54 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings at High-A in 2026.

10. Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Orioles (No. 7)
Acquired from the Red Sox in the Adley Rutschman trade

The 2025 15th overall pick was a Top 100 prospect coming into the season but had since dropped off with a mid-90s fastball that’s played closer to average in his introduction to pro ball and some issues with control (especially early on). He’s fiddled with delivery changes in pro ball to unlock his midrotation potential, and that work will likely continue now that he’s in his second organization. When they’re on, Witherspoon’s curveball, slider and cutter give him three more potentially above-average pitches, so there are the bones of a good reclamation project here for the O’s.

11. Henry Lalane, LHP, Giants (No. 9)
Acquired from the Yankees in the Heliot Ramos trade

12. Enddy Azocar, OF, Orioles (No. 8)
Acquired from the Red Sox in the Adley Rutschman trade

13. Josiah Ragsdale, OF, Cardinals (No. 10)
Acquired from the Brewers in the Dustin May/JoJo Romero trade

14. Brady Smith, RHP, Tigers (No. 15)
Acquired from the Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal trade

15. Sammy Stafura, SS, Mets (No. 11)
Acquired from the Pirates in the Luke Weaver trade

16. Brayden Taylor, 3B/3B, Marlins (No. 10)
Acquired from the Rays in the Liam Hicks trade

17. Dasan Hill, LHP, Blue Jays (No. 6)
Acquired from the Twins in the Jeff Hoffman trade

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18. Miguel Mendez, RHP, Giants (No. 14)
Acquired from the Padres in the Robbie Ray trade

19. Jack Cebert, RHP, Nationals (No. 14)
Acquired from the Yankees in the Luis García Jr. trade

20. Daniel Eagen, RHP, Cardinals (No. 17)
Acquired from the D-backs in the Lars Nootbaar trade

21. Carlos Gutierrez, OF, Red Sox (No. 14)
Acquired from the Giants in the Marcelo Mayer trade

22. Jhomnardo Reyes, OF, Orioles (No. 23)
Acquired from the Twins in the Dean Kremer trade

23. Joniel Hernandez, SS, Giants (No. 21)
Acquired from the Padres in the Robbie Ray trade

24. Aidan Smith, OF, Mets (No. 14)
Acquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade

25. Émilien Pitre, 2B, Mets (No. 17)
Acquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade