15 MLB Prospects Who Just Missed The 2025 Top 100


Image credit: Dunedin BlueJays Arjun Nimmala during a game against the Jupiter Hammerheads on April 24,2024 at RDS. (Photo/Tom DiPace)
The 2025 Top 100 has been released, but there are far more than 100 prospects in consideration for the preseason ranking and the list is both malleable and volatile. Plenty of players will graduate during the course of the season, and others will see their stock drop thanks to injuries or underperformance.
When those changes happen, prospects will enter the list to take their place. Here are 15 of the top contenders to do so when the list needs to be altered. You can find last year’s version of this story here.
Ronny Mauricio, 2B/SS, Mets
When healthy, Mauricio has shown the ability to hit the ball as hard as anyone currently employed by the Mets. Problem is, he missed all of the 2024 season recovering from knee surgery. Recent comments from the front office suggest Mauricio might be touch and go for spring training as well, so his status for the regular season might also be cloudy. If he returns with all of his skills intact, he should provide a jolt of power toward the bottom of a dynamic lineup in Queens.
Trey Yesavage, RHP, Blue Jays
The East Carolina alum hasn’t made his official pro debut, but his draft season in Greenville provided more than enough ammo to justify a placement on the cusp of the Top 100. His signature moment at ECU was a 7.1-inning gem against Wake Forest ace Chase Burns in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The righthander does not have a future plus weapon, though everything but his curveball grades as above-average.
Arjun Nimmala, SS, Blue Jays
Nimmala debuted as the second-youngest player in the Low-A Florida State League and spun his wheels early, earning a demotion to the Florida Complex League. When he returned, he was a new man. Nimmala slashed .265/.331/.564 and walloped 13 home runs from June 3 on in the FSL. Those numbers also included a strikeout rate just shy of 30%. His power numbers were among the best in the league, including a circuit-best .476 slugging percentage.
Edgar Quero, C, White Sox
After a disastrous 2024 season, it’s clear that the White Sox have a mountain of work ahead to return to prominence. Through their recent trades, it’s clear that they are targeting catcher as a keystone of the revival. Quero joined the system in the summer of 2023 as part of the haul they received from the Angels for righthander Lucas Giolito. The catcher split his 2024 season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte, posting identical .463 slugging percentages at both stops. He’ll compete with Kyle Teel for the title of Chicago’s catcher of the future.
James Triantos, 2B, Cubs
Triantos has hit at every stop of his career. His lowest batting average at any affiliate is .272, which came at Low-A Myrtle Beach in 2022. He split the 2024 season between Double-A and Triple-A and finished with an average of an even .300. All of that contact hasn’t come with a lot of impact, and he’s hit just 24 home runs over 1,461 minor league plate appearances. Triantos is a smart, above-average runner who’s grown into 55-grade defense at second base as well. Triantos has a chance to make the big leagues this season.
Jacob Melton, OF, Astros
Melton’s profile is driven by the kind of power-speed combination front offices covet. He was one of just 18 minor leaguers with 15 or more home runs and 30 or more stolen bases, and one of just 11 who spent their entire year at the upper levels. Only his speed grades as a potentially plus tool, but improvements to his batted-ball profile could amplify his power to those levels. His defense is enough to stick in center field but would be a notch better on either corner.
Luis Perales, RHP, Red Sox
Perales has long been one of the more intriguing arms in Boston’s system. He’d just begun to put it all together in 2024 when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament and had Tommy John surgery. He made the jump in part by tweaking his pitch mix to add a cutter and turn his slider into a sweeper. Those changes, plus a well-shaped, high-octane fastball could lead to a future in a rotation, though his development is likely on hold until 2026.
Santiago Suarez, RHP, Rays
The lower levels of the Rays’ system are bursting with high-upside arms. That group includes Trevor Harrison and Gary Gill Hill, whom Suarez could eventually join in the Top 100. Suarez came to the Rays from the Marlins in an offseason trade in 2022. The righthander relentlessly pounds the strike zone with a four-pitch mix that is amplified by double-plus control. Suarez earns plus grades for his four-seam and cut fastballs and complements the heaters with an average curveball and a fringy split-changeup. In 2025, Suarez, Harrison and Gill Hill should front one of the best rotations in the lower minors.
Chandler Simpson, OF, Rays
Simpson’s speed is the best in the minors. He’s swiped 198 bases over the last two seasons, including 104 in 2024. That quickness is a crucial part of his offensive game, especially considering he managed just 16 extra-base hits and has 20-grade power. He’s a true slash-and-dash player who could fit at the top or bottom of a lineup. Simpson could enhance his profile further by improving his outfield routes and first-step quickness. Doing so would move him from a fringe-average defender in center field into a potentially plus gloveman.
Alfredo Duno, C, Reds
The Reds showed their confidence in Duno by skipping him over the Arizona Complex League and sending him to the Low-A Florida State League, where was the youngest player on an Opening Day roster. He performed well in 32 games before a broken rib landed him on the injured list for the rest of the season. He re-emerged in instructional league. At his best, Duno’s game is based around nearly double-plus power and the potential for average defense behind the plate. Injuries in each of the last two seasons have cost him plenty of reps, however, and the 2025 season will be crucial for his development.
Thomas Saggese, 2B, Cardinals
Saggese came to the Cardinals in 2023 in the trade that made Jordan Montgomery a Ranger. He has a set of potentially average or above-average tools and made his big league debut on Sept. 10. He has solid bat-to-ball skills but his approach could stand to be less aggressive. His defensive skill set fits best at second base, though he is likely to be a fringe-average defender at the position. Saggese is a big league-ready option and could land in St. Louis on Opening Day.
Orelvis Martinez, 2B, Blue Jays
Martinez’s power is his calling card and got him to the big leagues briefly in 2024. The stay lasted just one game, however, because he was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The ban covered the remainder for the regular year. At his peak, Martinez has the potential for plus power and a fringe-average hit tool. He’s got above-average arm strength and could be an OK defender at second base. He’ll get a crack at the Opening Day lineup with a solid spring training.
Jack Perkins, RHP, Athletics
Perkins might just be the sneakiest pitching prospect in the minor leagues. The Indiana alum missed time early with a lat injury but was excellent at Double-A Midland upon his return. Perkins tweaked his slider to add more sweep, and the results followed. Batters missed the pitch at a rate of nearly 45% in 2024, and both it and his fastball grade as potentially plus offerings. Perkins backs the fastball-slider combo with a future average cutter and a fringy changeup and curveball. His control is fringy as well. If he can bring an offspeed pitch forward a couple of notches, Perkins could fit as a midrotation starter.
Luis Morales, RHP, Athletics
Morales has some of the loudest stuff in the organization, but his 2024 season was muted by a shoulder injury which led to a cautious workload. The Cuban righthander’s fastball averaged roughly 97 mph, and he paired the pitch with an improved slider. Those two pitches have plus potential, and his curveball and changeup each grade as at least average. He ties the mix together with an athletic delivery and potentially average control. If he can stay healthy, he has a chance to shoot up the rankings this season.
Brailer Guerrero, OF, Rays
Guerrero’s biggest wart so far has been the proverbial sixth tool: Health. In two pro seasons, the outfielder has played just 35 games thanks to a shoulder injury that started in the Dominican Summer League in 2023 and reoccurred in the Florida State League in 2024. When he’s been on the field, however, he’s been sublime. Guerrero’s offensive game should feature plenty of hittability and power, and nothing on his card projects as worse than average. To get those gifts to play to their fullest, he needs to stay on the field.