How Do Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell & Walker Jenkins Compare To Previous Top Hitting Prospects?
Image credit: Kristian Campbell (left) and Roman Anthony (Photo by Tom DiPace)
For the first time since Daisuke Matsuzaka came stateside before the 2007 season, a pitcher ranks No. 1 overall in the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list. Headed by Roki Sasaki, it is peculiar that there are more pitchers in the Top 10 than there are hitters.
While 2025 is the year of the pitcher in some regards, there’s also a talented trio of hitters at the top of the list: Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Walker Jenkins. All rank within the top five prospects in the game and follow a tradition over the last several seasons future star trios.
Today, we’ll compare Anthony, Campbell and Jenkins to some of the biggest names in MLB by taking a look at three other recent prospect trios who ranked as the top-three position players in their respective Top 100 Prospects list classes.
2022
One of the most star-studded trios at the top as this group was viewed as a 1A/1B/1C situation. In retrospect, Bobby Witt Jr. is likely the best player from this group, and he’s coming off an outstanding 2024 season. Meanwhile, Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman are both multi-time all-stars who have finished inside the top 10 of MVP voting.
Here, we begin to see some top prospect hitter trends emerge, as each of these players present a look at archetypes for each class: Power hitters (Rodriguez), Sum-of-Their-Parts (Rutschman) and Explosive quick-twitch (Witt) prospect subsets.
| Player | Rank | Year | IZWhiff% | Chase% | Swing% | 90th EV (mph) |
| Adley Rutschman | 1 | 2022 | 12.0% | 18.0% | 39.0% | 104.5 |
| Julio Rodriguez | 2 | 2022 | 17.0% | 25.0% | 46.9% | 108.6 |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 3 | 2022 | 26.0% | 31.0% | 49.8% | 106.9 |
Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles
- Preseason 2022 Rank: 1
- Age: 24
- Archetype: Sum-of-his-parts
Rutschman is an elite switch-hitting catcher who’s ballyhooed defensive skills helped carry him to the top spot. He showed elite bat-to-ball skills, strong approach metrics and above-average exit velocity data. In some ways, Rutschman signifies the high end of the sum-of-his-parts profile.
Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners
- Preseason 2022 Rank: 2
- Age: 21
- Archetype: Power hitter
Rodriguez fits a power hitter profile to a tee. His blend of an in-zone whiff rate below 18% and a chase-minus-swing rate of 21.9% is evidence of his strong skills, which he pairs with plus-plus raw power.
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals
- Preseason 2022 Rank: 3
- Age: 22
- Archetype: Explosive quick-twitch
Witt had the least-refined plate skills of the group but the most athleticism and twitch of arguably any hitter in this article. He’s an anomaly from a contact and swing decision perspective and was one of the least experienced professional hitters at the time of his MLB debut. His sample tracks well with another name to come.
2023
While at the time Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll and Jackson Chourio didn’t seem as star-studded as the 2022 group. The this trio has aged quite well since the release our 2023 Top 100 Prospects list. Both Carroll and Henderson won their respective league’s rookie of the year and each have finished Top 5 in MVP voting in at least one of their first two seasons. While Chourio was a year behind, he likely would have won the NL rookie of the year in most seasons if not for historic performances by Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill.
| Player | Rank | Year | IZWhiff% | Chase% | Swing% | 90th EV (mph) |
| Gunnar Henderson | 1 | 2023 | 20.0% | 15.0% | 38.0% | 107.4 |
| Corbin Carroll | 2 | 2023 | 21.0% | 18.0% | 36.6% | 106.5 |
| Jackson Chourio | 3 | 2023 | 29.0% | 31.0% | 51.1% | 102.8 |
Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles
- Preseason 2023 Rank: 1
- Age: 21
- Archetype: Power hitter
Henderson fits into the power hitting bucket with the added benefit of playing a premium position. Though in all honesty, we weren’t so certain he’d stick at shortstop at the time of his ranking. Henderson has just enough bat-to-ball ability that, when paired with his strong swing decisions (23% swing-minus-chase rate) and elite raw power, it culminates in a power hitter with the ability to do real damage.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks
- Preseason 2023 Rank: 2
- Age: 22
- Archetype: Explosive quick-twitch
While Carroll’s plate discipline was superior to Witt’s, his speed and above-average underlying power put him into the same bucket of explosive quick-twitch prospects. Carroll is unlikely to ever put up the home run numbers of Witt, but he could flirt with 30 home runs in his best seasons. Carroll’s explosiveness on the base paths, power and patient approach allowed him to overcome a slightly below-average in-zone miss rate.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers
- Preseason 2023 Rank: 3
- Age: 19
- Archetype: Explosive quick-twitch
This, in my opinion, is the best comparison point for Bobby Witt’s 2021 season. Both Chourio and Witt spent their first full professional season at an advanced level for their age with very little pro experience. Witt’s delay in getting affiliated game reps was due to the 2020 pandemic shutdown of the minor leagues, while Chourio simply jumped from the Dominican Summer League to both levels of A-ball before finishing at Double-A. This lack of experience but immense talent provides us some great insight: Don’t fret over swing-and-miss for uber talented hitters who produce in spite of it.
2024
The youngest group of hitters at the top, youth ruled in 2024 with each of Chourio, Jackson Holliday and Junior Caminero at age 20 on Opening Day. Chourio went on to star in his rookie campaign with the Brewers and signed a eight-year, $82 million contract before ever stepping foot on a major league field. Both Holliday and Caminero exhausted their rookie eligibility in 2024 despite Caminero dealing with injury and long tenure in Triple-A and Holliday struggling early in the season and failing to secure a full-time job with the Orioles in his first taste of MLB.
| Player | Rank | Year | IZWhiff% | Chase% | Swing% | 90th EV (mph) |
| Jackson Holliday | 1 | 2024 | 17.5% | 19.4% | 39.7% | 102.3 |
| Jackson Chourio | 2 | 2024 | 16.4% | 32.3% | 49.5% | 105.8 |
| Junior Caminero | 3 | 2024 | 19.0% | 29.0% | 49.8% | 110.4 |
Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles
- Preseason 2024 Rank: 1
- Age: 20
- Archetype: Sum-of-his-parts
Holliday is a classic sum-of-his-parts player, as he lacks the elite exit velocity but has impressive bat-to-ball skills, swing decision metrics and speed on the base paths. While Holliday is not a catcher like Rutschman, he was a shortstop at the time of ranking and has proven to be a solid defender at second base. Holliday was very young at the time of his debut while Rutschman had the benefit of experience.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers
- Preseason 2024 Rank: 2
- Age: 20
- Archetype: Explosive quick-twitch
This is the full-circle moment in the article for the explosive quick-twitch type of player. Notice the significant improvements to not only exit velocity but the in-zone miss rates between Chourio in 2022 and Chourio in 2023. There was a 43% drop in swing-and-miss year-over-year. This is exactly what we saw with Witt. in his first year in the big leagues, as the Royals’ shortstop held an in-zone whiff rate of 14.9% as a rookie, cutting his year-over-year whiffs by 42%. Carroll, meanwhile, cut his in-zone whiff rate from 21% in the minors in 2022 to just 11.4% in 2023 in MLB for a 45% drop. In conclusion: Explosive quick-twitch hitters of this stature figure it out.
Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays
- Preseason 2024 Rank: 3
- Age: 20
- Archetype: Power hitter
Caminero is very clearly among the power hitter group still. His elite exit velocity data paired with average bat-to-ball skills and a balanced, attack-first mentality at the plate give him the upside of a 40-home run threat. Caminero will need to improve his ball flight metrics to get to his true power upside.
How The 2025 Group Compares
| Player | Rank | Year | IZWhiff% | Chase% | Swing% | 90th EV (mph) |
| Roman Anthony | 2 | 2025 | 17.2% | 21.20% | 38.7% | 108.5 |
| Kristian Campbell | 4 | 2025 | 17.4% | 20.7% | 42.6% | 106.5 |
| Walker Jenkins | 5 | 2025 | 11.6% | 21.6% | 45.0% | 102.3 |
| Jackson Holliday | 1 | 2024 | 17.5% | 19.4% | 39.7% | 102.3 |
| Jackson Chourio | 2 | 2024 | 16.4% | 32.3% | 49.5% | 105.8 |
| Junior Caminero | 3 | 2024 | 19.0% | 29.0% | 49.8% | 110.4 |
| Gunnar Henderson | 1 | 2023 | 20.0% | 15.0% | 38.0% | 107.4 |
| Corbin Carroll | 2 | 2023 | 21.0% | 18.0% | 36.6% | 106.5 |
| Jackson Chourio | 3 | 2023 | 29.0% | 31.0% | 51.1% | 102.8 |
| Adley Rutschman | 1 | 2022 | 12.0% | 18.0% | 39.0% | 104.5 |
| Julio Rodriguez | 2 | 2022 | 17.0% | 25.0% | 46.9% | 108.6 |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 3 | 2022 | 26.0% | 31.0% | 49.8% | 106.9 |
From a pure skills perspective, the 2025 group ranks quite well. They have the lowest zone-miss rate of the group and the lowest chase rates while managing to not be the most passive group.
Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox
- 2025 Preseason Rank: 2
- Age: 20
- Archetype: Power hitter
Anthony stands out—historically, even—with the third-highest 90th percentile exit velocity. He compares favorably to Rodriguez, Henderson and Caminero. Where Anthony gets his slight edge on all of them is his combination of contact and approach. Anthony is both remarkably adept at making contact in the zone and discerning balls and strikes. He’s a power hitter but one with pristine plate skills.
Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox
- 2025 Preseason Rank: 4
- Age: 22
- Archetype: Explosive quick-twitch
Anthony’s teammate is a standout in his own right, as he, too, compares well to hitters like Carroll and Holliday. A similar age in 2024 as Carroll in 2022, Campbell has significantly less pedigree, but his impressive 2024 put into historical context only builds his case as a potential star. By unlocking his power, Campbell positioned himself as a star in the making with 20-home run and 20+ stolen base upside.
Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
- 2025 Preseason Rank: 5
- Age: 20
- Archetype: Sum-of-his-parts
Jenkins is the same age Holliday was heading into 2024 and has very similar data as far as exit velocities. You could argue his plate skills are superior, but in the context of Holliday playing in the upper minors for a larger sample, it’s hard to compare these numbers as apples-to-apples. All that is to say they’re similarly-skilled hitters in antithetical frames. Ultimately, Jenkins is a sum-of-his-parts hitter who could blossom into more if he makes a jump in exit velocity data in 2025.
