Matt Eddy’s Breakout MLB Prospects Team For 2025
Image credit: Boston Baro (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
Each year, Geoff Pontes, Dylan White and Matt Eddy build a team of prospects we expect break through in the upcoming season.
This year, we conducted a draft to ensure that we each had a unique breakout team with no duplication of players. We used the loosest possible definition of a breakout candidate—only players who don’t appear on the preseason Top 100 Prospects are eligible.
Matt says: “These are the players I expect to play their way into Top 100 Prospects consideration.”
Joe Mack, C, Marlins
Mack was the youngest catcher to pop at least 20 home runs last season. He won the minor league Gold Glove while playing for Double-A Pensacola. He is lefthanded-hitting backstop with on-base skills and a plus throwing arm. Add it all up, and Mack looks like the Marlins’ catcher of the future to me.
Cole Mathis, 1B, Cubs
A two-way player at College of Charleston, Mathis’ pitching days are over following Tommy John surgery last summer. The Cubs 2024 second-rounder has a strong hit-power combo that played in the Colonial Athletic Association and with wood bats in the Cape Cod League. In the 2025 Prospect Handbook, Geoff Pontes describes Mathis as having a hitting profile similar to Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and I just love that comparison point.
Sal Stewart, 2B, Reds
Stewart is a physical righthanded hitter whose best position is “batter’s box.” But that works when you train with Manny Machado in the offseason and own a career .394 on-base percentage in pro ball. Stewart uses an all-fields hitting approach that mutes his home run power to an extent, but he swings at strikes and hits the ball hard. His minor league production maps to 15-plus home runs and 35-plus doubles over 150 games. Look for Stewart to go mainstream with a big season at Double-A this year.
Boston Baro, 3B, Mets
One of the plethora of prep shortstops the Mets have gone over slot to sign in recent drafts, Baro has perhaps the most advanced hit tool of the cohort. The sweet-swinging lefthanded hitter broke through at Spring Breakout this year, taking the Nationals’ Alex Clemmey deep in a same-side matchup and collecting a second hit versus a lefty in his next at-bat. Don’t look for the same type of fireworks from Baro at Brooklyn—a notoriously tough park for lefthanded power—but do look for him to hit for average and get on base while moving around the infield. He put on good weight in the offseason, and if he keeps it on, he’s definitely a keeper.
Kellon Lindsey, SS, Dodgers
Athletic players tend to be more adjustable and more adaptable to pro ball. Lindsey was one of the more athletic players in the 2024 draft class, at least among those with strong baseball skills. The Dodgers nabbed the Florida prep with the 23rd pick, which could look like a steal one day if he maximizes his offensive potential as a table-setting shortstop with occasional power. Lindsey is already an 80 runner with a strong defensive foundation.
Theo Gillen, OF, Rays
Gillen is a physical, 6-foot-3, lefthanded high school hitter from Texas. The Rays moved him from shortstop to center field after drafting him 18th overall last year. Gillen has good balance and a quick swing that should produce above-average hitting and power outcomes. His plus wheels should keep him up the middle and lead to stolen bases. Gillen’s health track record is shakier, and he’s learning a new position, but still the raw ingredients are present for a breakout.
Gabriel Rincones Jr., OF, Phillies
What you see is what you get with Rincones. He has plus power potential and looks like a big league, lefthanded-hitting corner outfielder. Rincones isn’t exactly young. He doesn’t stand out defensively. He hasn’t hit lefthanders in pro ball. But don’t let perfect be the enemy of good in Rincones’ case. In two pro seasons, he has averaged 45 doubles-plus-homers per 120 games, which is about how many starts he could get as a platoon player.
Alan Roden, OF, Blue Jays
Roden looked stuck when he reached Triple-A last year. The hits weren’t falling. He adjusted his hand position and got back on track, putting up a 1.042 OPS over one 50-game stretch. Roden carried that success into 2025 with an impressive Grapefruit League showing that included more extra-base hits than strikeouts through 15 games. That performance has him in the picture for an Opening Day roster spot in Toronto, but even if that pursuit falls short, it won’t be long before he claims an MLB role.
Luke Dickerson, UT, Nationals
The Nationals drafted Dickerson 44th overall but paid him the 21st-highest bonus in the 2024 draft—a second-round record $3.8 million. He starred in baseball and hockey for his New Jersey high school and could have untapped potential as a Northeast prep. Dickerson is a natural athlete who runs well and has flashed power. He played shortstop as an amateur and should stick up the middle. If Dickerson hits, he will quickly climb prospect rankings.
Jake Bloss, RHP, Blue Jays
Bloss made one of the most unlikely MLB debuts last season. Drafted by the Astros in the seventh round out of Georgetown in 2023, he reached Houston on June 21, 2024. Bloss made three starts for the Astros before being bundled to the Blue Jays in the Yusei Kikuchi deal. Toronto will slow Bloss’ development slightly, but with a wide arsenal led by an above-average four-seam fastball and slider, he looks like a future rotation fixture for the Blue Jays.
Connor Prielipp, LHP, Twins
Tommy John surgery upended Prielipp’s first-round chances when he was an Alabama junior in 2022. The Twins drafted him in the second round anyway despite a lost season. Prielipp eased back onto the mound in 2023 and 2024, throwing 30 total innings before busting onto the prospect scene this spring with mid-90s heat and strong secondaries. He shined at minor league spring training and appears ready to carve up pro competition with a devastating three-pitch mix and sharp command.
Emiliano Teodo, RHP, Rangers
Teodo broke through with a 30.7% strikeout rate as a starter at Double-A in 2024. This season, he will break through as a big leaguer. Teodo shined in spring training, making five scoreless Cactus League appearances with six strikeouts and two hits in 4.1 innings. He impressed the right people and is being mentioned as a possible closer option in Arlington this season. And why not? Teodo throws a 100 mph sinker with a plus slider to pair with it.
Trey Yesavage, RHP, Blue Jays
Yesavage fell to 20th overall in the 2024 draft based in part on a late-season collapsed lung suffered in an off-the-field medical procedure while at East Carolina. His raw stuff and pedigree argue for a higher selection than that. Yesavage throws hard from a high overhand slot that produces steep plane on his pitches and gives opposing batters a look they seldom see. His slider and splitter are above-average weapons, as is his overall command. Yesavage should acclimate quickly to pro ball and be knocking on the door to Toronto by the end of this season.
