Forming an All-Breakout Prospect Team

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We spend all offseason talking to sources and dissecting the performance and future outlook of prospects, and while we’re doing that, the players themselves have their own goals in mind: get better and beat the industry’s expectations.

Breakouts are good reminders that these prospects aren’t robots or video game players with static tool grades. They’re humans capable of positive change, as I like to think we all are. So seeing a breakout happen in real time is a reminder of how the unpredictable can make baseball great.

We’re a little past the quarter pole of the 2026 Major and Minor League seasons. That’s enough time to stop the asides of Small Sample Size Theater.

With that in mind, here’s the early All-Breakout Prospect Team. Note: To be eligible for this list, the player must not have been a Top 100 prospect entering this season or in any previous campaign. So yes, A.J. Ewing has made a massive jump up our Top 100, and Ethan Salas has pushed back onto the list with a resurgent few months, but you’ll find other names below.

Catcher: Alirio Ferrebus, Phillies (No. 20)
Injuries -- including most recently a broken left hand in 2025 -- kept Ferrebus from playing more than 69 games in any of his first three professional seasons, and he hit only .219/.272/.275 for Single-A Clearwater last year. We might be getting a closer look at what the 20-year-old backstop can be when healthy and more physically developed. His five homers through 33 contests this season back in the Florida State League match his career high, and they’re backed up by a jump in exit velocity with his 90th-percentile EV climbing from 102.5 in 2025 to 106.2 in ‘26. Ferrebus still chases a lot outside the zone, but his bat-to-ball ability is still borderline special with a 12.9 percent strikeout rate that’s third-lowest in the Florida State League.

First base: Taitn Gray, Rays (No. 29)
The Rays drafted Gray last year in the third round as a possible catcher out of the Iowa high-school ranks, but he’s been exclusively tied to first base defensively with Single-A Charleston in his first full season. No matter, the switch-hitter has certainly performed to the level needed for the bat-first position, entering this week with a .270/.387/.451 line and five homers through 35 games. Gray is one of only 10 age-18 players to meet the qualifying standard at Single-A this season, and his 131 wRC+ ranks second in that group behind only Eli Willits’ 136. The bat speed and strength have come as advertised.

Second base: Devin Fitz-Gerald, Nationals (No. 10)
Fitz-Gerald played 41 games last year, only 10 of which were above the Arizona Complex League, before suffering a season-ending left shoulder injury and later being traded to the Nationals in the offseason MacKenzie Gore deal. Washington believed it could push the 20-year-old infielder to High-A despite that limited full-season experience, and he’s rewarded that confidence by ranking fourth at the level with 11 homers and a .650 slugging percentage and fifth with a 1.073 OPS. He’s accomplished that while playing in a notoriously pitcher-friendly home park in Wilmington, and he’s also marrying the power gains with good swing decisions and bat-to-ball skills.

Shortstop: Ronny Cruz, Nationals (No. 4/MLB No. 91)
Cruz was frequently the talk of the backfields of West Palm Beach in his first Spring Training with the Nationals, and that combination of tools and performance has carried into the regular season. Picked up from the Cubs at last year’s Deadline, the 19-year-old infielder burst past Single-A with a .333/.460/.627 line, three homers and 15 steals in 14 games, and Washington promoted him to get him more priority shortstop work at High-A. His aggressiveness and high swing rate have caught up to him in Wilmington, but the other tools are loud enough to make the industry take notice while he’s still a teenager.

Third base: Pedro Ramírez, Cubs (No. 2/MLB No. 86)
Another switch-hitter, Ramírez entered the year with a hit-over-power profile, and to be clear, his hit tool has remained strong in his first promotion to Triple-A Iowa. He’s batting .312 with just a 16.3 percent K rate through 43 games this season, and his 92.4 percent in-zone contact rate is among the best in Triple-A. But he’s also hitting the ball relatively hard and is doing so in the air, leading to him setting a new career high with his ninth homer as early as May 15. That more well-rounded offensive profile has pushed Ramírez into the Top 100 for the first time.

Outfield

Eric Hartman, Braves (No. 20)
The 2024 20th-rounder out of Alberta was known mostly for his plus-plus speed coming into High-A Rome his second full season, and then he slugged .644 out of the gate over 22 games in April. If you thought that might have been a mirage, consider that he’s slugging .692 over 13 contests in May. Hartman, a lefty bat, is clearly hitting for more impact with heavy hacks designed to lift and pull without trading contact for that power. He’s still vulnerable to changeups, but the up arrow next to Hartman’s name is getting bigger by the week.

Luis Lara, Brewers (No. 5/MLB No. 95)
Lara has a claim as the best defensive center fielder in the Minor Leagues right now, but offensively, he’d never slugged above .385 or hit more than four homers in a professional season coming into 2026. Entering Tuesday, he’s already gone deep seven times this season for Triple-A Nashville, while slugging .503 over 43 games. The exit velocities haven’t been supremely loud, but there’s been enough to move him from 30 power to 40. With his defensive ceiling and combination of contact and discipline, that’s enough to make the 5-foot-7 switch-hitter a possible everyday player in Milwaukee.

Josiah Hartshorn, Cubs (No. 8)
Elbow and back injuries limited Hartshorn’s time as a California high schooler, and he went to the Cubs in the sixth round last July. When healthy in school, he stood out most for his raw power, yet early on in 2026, it’s been the discipline that’s shined most. His 1.3 BB/K rate is tied for the best among 67 full-season qualifiers aged 19 or younger in the Minors, while his 20.1 percent walk rate and .428 OBP for Single-A Myrtle Beach each rank third. Hartshorn’s swing rate is on the low side, but his well-rounded resume makes him a more interesting prospect in his first full season.

Right-handed pitcher: Anthony Eyanson, Red Sox (No. 2/MLB No. 72)
The 2025 third-rounder out of LSU has shown improved velocity on his fastball as he’s sitting mid-90s and occasionally touching triple-digits in his first full season. He compliments that with a borderline plus-plus slider, plus curveball and improving splitter that have baffled opponents to this point. The Red Sox promoted him to Double-A after only five High-A starts, and he enters this week with a 0.74 ERA, 38 strikeouts and four walks in 24 1/3 innings.

Left-handed pitcher: Ben Jacobs, Tigers (No. 16)
Taken only 11 spots after Eyanson out of Arizona State last year, Jacobs has seen a similar velo bump in pro ball, going from 92-94 in school to 93-95, and the fastball plays nicely with a flat approach angle as he gets down the mound. It sets up his low-80s slider, upper-70s curveball and low-80s changeup nicely. The cambio especially shows good velocity separation and drop compared to the heater, helping Jacobs achieve near-even splits at Lakeland and West Michigan. Jacobs will be challenged more at High-A (and eventually Double-A), but his 38.7 K% in seven outings is a strong place to start.