Comparing the industry's 2026 Top 100 Prospects lists

Who will be the next great superstar? Which diamond in the rough could be an everyday player? Is the industry too high on a recent high Draft pick?

These are questions we ask during the Herculean task of building a Top 100 Prospects list. In combing through in-person looks, video and data while also checking in with front-office sources, different outlets across the baseball universe craft their own prospect rankings year after year.

Even when presented the same basic information, each of these lists look different, given personal preferences and biases -- and, of course, there is no one true ranking. However, we get closer to understanding the consensus of the sport by aggregating different prominent rankings.

• Prior Top 100 Prospects list comparisons: 2020 | 2023 | 2025

Continuing a tradition started in 2020, we'll take advantage of the wisdom of the crowd by looking at how MLB Pipeline's rankings compare to those of The Athletic, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN and FanGraphs.

We'll only be looking at the first 100 players on each website's list -- with apologies to ESPN (200 ranked players), FanGraphs (110) and Baseball Prospectus (101) -- to keep an apples-to-apples comparison. All other players have been given a value of 101.

Consensus players
There seems to be a bit more agreement about who belongs on this year's Top 100. Fifty-seven players appeared on all six Top 100s, with another 25 on five of them and nine more on four lists. That gives us a group of 91 players who the industry largely sees as Top 100-quality.

It's been three years since at least 57 players have appeared on all six lists and six years since at least 91 players appeared on four Top 100 lists. At the same time, only 154 players appeared on at least one Top 100, down from 172 last year.

There's a strong consensus on who belongs at the top of the list. Five different players -- Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, Jesús Made, Samuel Basallo and Max Clark -- appeared in the top 10 of six lists, up from two last year.

By averaging the six lists, we can build a composite ranking. That reveals a clear top three and another tier of six players. Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler rounds out the top 10 but is tightly bunched with the next four players -- Trey Yesavage (12.7), Aidan Miller (13.2), Sebastian Walcott (14.2) and Walker Jenkins (14.8).

1. Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Pirates (1.0)
2. Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers (2.5)
3. Jesús Made, SS/2B, Brewers (3.0)
T4. Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Orioles (7.0)
T4. Max Clark, OF, Tigers (7.0)
T4. JJ Wetherholt, INF, Cardinals (7.0)
7. Nolan McLean, RHP, Mets (8.2)
8. Leo De Vries, SS, Athletics (8.5)
9. Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners (8.7)
10. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates (12.3)

Guys we're high on
Naturally, each group of prospect experts has a set of personal favorites whom they rank higher than others. Here we'll take a look at players MLB Pipeline ranks at least 10 spots higher than the industry average, listed by their ranking on our Top 100.

Eli Willits, SS, Nationals (MLB Pipeline: 13, industry average: 28.3)
Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians (20, 32.2)
Ethan Holliday, SS, Rockies (24, 59.5)
Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers (27, 37.5)
Seth Hernandez, RHP, Pirates (29, 54.8)
Braden Montgomery, OF, White Sox (36, 73.2)
Alfredo Duno, C, Reds (38, 51.5)
Robby Snelling, LHP, Marlins (39, 54.5)
Josue Briceño, C/1B, Tigers (40, 55.8)
Jamie Arnold, LHP, Athletics (41, 57.0)

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There are some similarities between this group and the players we were high on last year -- even beyond Bazzana appearing on both lists. Once again, our experts are bullish on highly touted and highly drafted players. Bazzana and Willits are the two most recent No. 1 overall picks while Holliday, Hernandez, Arnold and Willits all ranked in the top five of our 2025 Draft Prospects rankings.

Montgomery, drafted 12th overall in 2024, was the No. 8 Draft prospect in that class, while Snelling, a 2022 supplemental first-rounder, was the No. 16 Draft prospect in his class. Alfredo Duno was the No. 4 prospect in the 2023 international class, earning one of the largest signing bonuses for that distinction. Sluggers Hope and Briceño don't fit the same narrative, but our experts are confident that these players with excellent pedigrees will deliver on their lofty potential.

Guys the industry is higher on
Being high on some players, of course, results in being lower on others. Here's a snapshot of 10 players -- ordered from the bottom of our Top 100 up -- whom we are lower on than the industry average by at least 10 spots.

Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets (100, 73.7)
A.J. Ewing, OF/2B, Mets (97, 74.2)
Parker Messick, LHP, Guardians (95, 80.8)
Dax Kilby, SS, Yankees (94, 77.7)
Emil Morales, SS, Dodgers (92, 73.3)
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF, Guardians (89, 70.0)
Brody Hopkins, RHP, Rays (85, 70.3)
Tyler Bremner, RHP, Angels (81, 70.0)
Jarlin Susana, RHP, Nationals (80, 66.5)
Dylan Beavers, OF, Orioles (69, 58.2)

This is a bit of an eclectic group, although a few things stick out. There are several "older" prospects -- 24-year-olds Hopkins and Beavers and 25-year-olds Messick and Sproat -- who have a lower ceiling than other younger prospects. Plus, there are younger players like Morales and Kilby who have been good in small samples at Single-A but we feel have more to prove.

One other common thread is that while there are plenty of high Draft picks in the group, only Bremner (No. 2) and Velazquez (No. 23) were among the first 30 picks in their respective classes, and the former was something of a surprise last year as the 18th-ranked prospect in his class. Many of these players have quickly exceeded expectations, but our experts are more cautious than others about placing them high on the Top 100.

Polarizing players
It should come as no surprise that many of the players we were high or low on were among the most polarizing prospects. Here's a look at 10 who had the largest standard deviations in their rankings -- figures that would be even higher if we didn't cap point values at 101 for any player not in the Top 100.

Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox (High: 26, Low: 100, MLB: 49, SD: 33.7)
Braden Montgomery, OF, White Sox (High: 30, Low: NR, MLB: 36, SD: 32.9)
A.J. Ewing, OF/2B, Mets (High: 28, Low: NR, MLB: 97, SD: 32.6)
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF, Guardians (High: 33, Low: NR, MLB: 89, SD: 30.8)
Edward Florentino, OF/1B, Pirates (High: 21, Low: NR, MLB: 50, SD: 30.7)
Ethan Holliday, SS, Rockies (High: 24, Low: NR, MLB: 24, SD: 28.4)
Aiva Arquette, SS, Marlins (High: 32, Low: NR, MLB: 47, SD: 27.5)
Dylan Beavers, OF, Orioles (High: 21, Low: NR, MLB: 69, SD: 27.3)
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Braves (High: 35, Low: NR, MLB: 68, SD: 27.3)
Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians (High: 26, Low: 94, MLB: 46, SD: 27.2)

All of these players have exciting tools but lingering questions. With the exception of Ewing, the hitters have big-time power but some uncertainty about their hit tools and defense. Both pitchers are southpaws with dynamic stuff who haven't quite refined their command yet. That's led to some differing opinions. MLB Pipeline has tended to be slightly higher on these divisive prospects compared to the industry average, a switch from last year.

"Flag" players
It's one thing to be higher than most on a prospect. But how about being the only major outlet to rank someone on a Top 100? Those are the proverbial "flag" players, the prospect you are planting your flag on. Here is the highest-ranking prospect from each list who does not appear on any of the other five Top 100s.

MLB Pipeline: Steele Hall, SS, Reds (83)
The Athletic: River Ryan, RHP, Dodgers (55)
Baseball America: Bo Davidson, OF, Giants (87)
Baseball Prospectus: Ethan Conrad, OF, Cubs (73)
ESPN: Juan Valera, RHP, Red Sox (90)
FanGraphs: George Klassen, RHP, Angels (57)

As with the polarizing players, these talented prospects have major question marks or they'd be appearing on multiple lists. Ryan, Valera and Klassen all have fastballs that can hit triple digits but face uncertainties about a combination of durability, control and health. Hall and Conrad are 2025 first-rounders sporting differing opinions on their bats, while Davidson looks like one of the best non-drafted free-agent finds in years.

Miscellaneous
Lowest standard deviation (outside top 10): Carson Benge, OF, Mets (High: 10, Low: 21, Avg: 16.5, SD: 3.8)
Players at the top of the composite list wind up having the lowest standard deviations on their rankings, but outside of the top 10, Benge stands out as one of the least divisive players. With plus hit and defense tools, he has a high floor and is almost fully baked, so the industry is largely in agreement on where to value him.

Just made the cut: Tanner McDougal, RHP, White Sox (100/Baseball America)
All it takes is making one list to be considered a Top 100 prospect, and McDougal has that distinction. The 2021 fifth-rounder runs his fastball up to 100 mph and should be ready to contribute in the big leagues this year. Infield prospects Roldy Brito (Rockies, 99th, FanGraphs), Tommy Troy (D-backs, 98th, FanGraphs) and Kayson Cunningham (D-backs, 97th, Baseball America) plus center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Orioles, 97th, The Athletic) also just made one list.

Highest on the most players: ESPN (35)
Some lists have more unique opinions while others end up closer to industry consensus. Only time will tell whether those lists with evaluations outside the norm wind up being more accurate. When measuring which outlet had the highest ranking for each prospect (excluding ties), ESPN had the most "high" rankings with 35. MLB Pipeline and Baseball America tied for the lowest with 17.