To answer a question getting asked a lot, our expanded and updated Draft Top 150 Prospects list will come out on April 30. We'll continue refreshing the rankings with a Top 200 in late May and a Top 250 in late June, leading up to the Draft on July 11-12.
Now, on to more of your queries ...
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I know it’s way early, but the Pirates might stay in the playoff hunt all season and it seems as if the bullpen is pretty bad. If they control his innings, is there any chance that Seth Hernandez could be asked to get a few outs per week in September? The stuff is crazy and may play for a few short outings. -- Nick P., Pompano Beach, Fla.
Hernandez may have had the most pure talent in last year's Draft and he has done nothing to dispel that notion after his first three pro starts. The No. 6 overall pick last July, he struck out eight over three innings in his Single-A debut, registering 18 misses on 24 swings. The next time out, he spun four hitless frames with seven strikeouts and 15 misses on 26 swings.
Hernandez's stuff has been ridiculous. After throwing a 102.4 mph fastball during Spring Breakout, he averaged 98 mph with impressive armside run in his first two starts. All three of his secondary pitches were literally unhittable, with opponents going 0-for-16 with 12 strikeouts against his upper-80s cutter, 78-82 mph curveball and mid-80s changeup.
(Between the time I wrote this answer and finished completing the Inbox, Hernandez threw five hitless frames with eight strikeouts in his third start Friday afternoon. I don't have the pitch data on that one yet, but he now has a 0.75 ERA with an .077 opponent average and 23/3 K/BB ratio in 12 innings.)
Hernandez's arsenal is definitely big league-caliber already, and he's pretty polished too. I don't think the Pirates would seriously entertain calling him up as bullpen help during a playoff race, though it's not outlandish given how gifted he is. Their priority is his long-term development, so he probably won't climb past Double-A at the highest in 2026.
As far as I can tell, the last high school pitcher to reach the Majors the year after he was drafted was Dylan Bundy, who made two appearances with the 2012 Orioles after going fourth overall in 2011. Hernandez probably won't match that feat but I won't be shocked if he reaches Pittsburgh at some point in 2027.
The easy answer would be 11. We put 11 players from the most recent crop on our midseason Top 100 prospects update in 2021, '22 and '23, followed by 12 in '24 and 10 last year.
The 2026 Draft class doesn't have as much obvious high-end talent as its recent predecessors. Let's break it down by demographic ...
College hitters: Roch Cholowsky, Vahn Lackey (locks); Justin Lebron, A.J. Gracia, Sawyer Strosnider, Chris Hacopian (maybes).
College pitchers: Jackson Flora (lock).
High school hitters: Grady Emerson, Eric Booth, Jacob Lombard (locks).
High school pitchers: Gio Rojas (maybe).
That's 11 players, but only six locks versus five maybes. My guess is that we'll wind up with nine or 10 unless several players finish strong and boost the impression of this crop.
Though the White Sox have the No. 1 overall pick and a bonus pool of $17,592,100, that's only the third-highest budget. The Pirates, who select fifth, have a record $19,130,700 to spend. The Rays own the second choice and a $19,009,300 pool.
Nevertheless, there's not really anything Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay can do to push UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the consensus top talent, away from Chicago. Assuming he's the guy the White Sox want, they'll almost certainly offer him more than the Draft bonus record of $9.3 million set by Chase Burns and Charlie Condon in 2024.
Cholowsky isn't going to turn down $9.5 million or $10 million to return to the Bruins, even if the Pirates or Rays promise him more money. His only real leverage is to hold out as close to possible to the signing deadline and tie up Chicago's ability to spend whatever it saves versus the $11,350,600 assigned value for the No. 1 pick, but it's unlikely it will come to that.
Ranked No. 26 on the Top 100 Prospects list, Red Sox shortstop Franklin Arias currently leads the Minors in batting average (.542), on-base percentage (.613) and OPS (1.488). He's obviously not going to maintain those numbers, but he has legitimate offensive promise.
Arias reached Double-A at age 19 last summer and has advanced bat-to-ball skills for his age. He was known more for his defensive prowess when he signed for $525,000 out of Venezuela in 2023, but Boston has helped him add some strength and bat speed.
While Arias has more power than initially expected and is currently slugging .875, he'll be more of a 12-15 home run guy once fully developed. Add that to a package that includes a potential plus bat and potential plus defense, and that's the makings of a future All-Star.
Coming into this season, Arias was on course to arrive at Fenway Park toward the end of 2027 or early '28. If he has a monster year, he might accelerate that timetable by a month of two but not dramatically. If he gets there at any point in '27, he'll be just 21 years old.