2023 Top 100 Prospects

The 2023 Prospect Handbook is at the printer. All 30 team Top 10s are published. Pitchers and catchers are less than a month away from reporting to spring training.
All of that can only mean one thing: It’s time for the grand finale, the 2023 Top 100 Prospects.
This year’s list is headed by Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson, the reigning Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year who showed hints of his ability in Baltimore during the final stretch of the regular season.
Henderson joined budding star catcher Adley Rutschman—the Orioles’ first- and second-round picks from the 2019 draft—as potential cornerstones on a Baltimore roster that looks poised to reach October for the first time since 2016.
He’s not the only baby bird ready to hatch. Righthander Grayson Rodriguez ranks No. 6 overall and places behind only Phillies righty Andrew Painter among the game’s top pitching prospects.
Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft, rounds out Baltimore’s trio of Top 15 prospects. As an amateur and in a brief sample as a pro, Holliday drew effusive praise from scouts and executives around the game.
Henderson is followed at the top by D-backs outfielder Corbin Carroll, who responded well to an aggressive assignment in 2022 by bashing his way from Double-A to the big leagues.
Carroll, Arizona’s first-rounder from 2019, has an enticing blend of hittability, power, speed and defense that could make him a fixture at the top of Arizona’s lineup and the lynchpin in the team’s efforts to rise in a powerful NL West.
Henderson and Carroll open the year atop the list but likely won’t be there long. Both should graduate within the first few weeks of the regular season. If that happens, they’ll give way to Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, the breakout star of the 2022 minor league season.
At just 18 years old, Chourio showed enough skills and tools to jump over the Arizona Complex League and into full-season ball in early May. He opened his time in Low-A with a bang and never stopped hitting in a year that saw him finish in Double-A. He has as much upside as any player on this list.
Painter, the top-ranked pitcher on the list, blazed a similarly scorching trail as Chourio. He overpowered the completion at three stops with a tantalizing blend of stuff, poise and command. In doing so, he joined Chad Billingsley, Forrest Whitley, Zack Greinke, Dylan Bundy and Clayton Kershaw as the only prep pitchers since 2006 to reach Double-A in their first season after the draft year.
Painter just edged Rodriguez and Marlins righthander Eury Perez for the nod as the game's top pitching prospect. Perez followed his breakout 2021 season with a similarly special 2022 when he spent most of the year bullying hitters throughout the Southern League.
As always, this list is a mix of our staff members’ opinions and the input from talent evaluators around the game. J.J. Cooper, Matt Eddy, Geoff Pontes, Kyle Glaser, Josh Norris and Carlos Collazo each submitted personal Top 150 rankings, which were then tabulated into one composite list for feedback from scouts and executives.
After heeding their opinions, adjustments were made. The results are what you see before you.
We hope you enjoy.
Correction: Due to an error in the editing process, Owen White and Josh Jung were incorrectly placed in the initial publication of the BA Top 100 Prospects. They have since been placed in their proper spots.
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Diego Cartaya
Dodgers CNotes:Tools: Hit: 50 | Power: 70 | Run: 30 | Field: 45 | Arm: 60
Skinny: Cartaya boasts some of the biggest power in the minors and has the swing to consistently get to it against upper-level pitching. He has to shore up his defense and stay healthy, but he nonethelss has the bat to be an offensive force.Less - 21
Bobby Miller
Dodgers RHPNotes:Tools: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 50
Skinny: Armed with some of the best stuff in baseball, Miller features a fastball that sits high 90s with a deep arsenal of plus or better pitches in his fastball, slider and changeup. With Triple-A experience in 2022, Miller is poised to make his big league debut in 2023.Less - 30
Miguel Vargas
Dodgers 3BNotes:Tools: Hit: 65 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Field: 40 | Arm: 55
Skinny: Vargas hit .304/.404/.511 over 113 Triple-A games in 2022, then made his major league debut in early August and had two stints with the Dodgers late in the season. Vargas is an advanced hitter with excellent bat-to-ball skills, on-base ability and average power. Due to defensive limitations, where Vargas plays in the field is a lingering question.Less - 54
Michael Busch
Dodgers 2BNotes:Tools: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 45 | Field: 40 | Arm: 40
Skinny: Busch has an excellent approach and a short, balanced swing that allows him to shoot doubles from gap to gap. His batting eye is tremendous, too, but he can also get a bit too passive at times. He's never going to win a Gold Glove at second base, but he should be passable enough to stave off a move back to first base, where he played in college.Less - 55
Ryan Pepiot
Dodgers RHPNotes:Tools: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 40
Skinny: Pepiot continued to pair a dynamic fastball-changeup combination with an improving breaking ball. He reached the big leagues in 2022 but quickly learned that his control and command need to come a long way before he's ready to hold a rotation spot. If that doesn't happen, he could be a weapon out of the bullpen.Less - 56
Gavin Stone
Dodgers RHPNotes:Tools: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 70 | Control: 60
Skinny: Stone is one of the minor leagues' most up-arrow pitching prospects. The Dodgers' fifth-rounder from 2020 blitzed his way from High-A to Triple-A while showing potentially plus control of a nasty three-pitch mix that includes a plus fastball and double-plus changeup. He could shoot up this list during the 2023 season.Less
