Scouting Every AL Central No. 1 Prospect For 2025

Image credit: Royals 1B Jac Caglianone (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

As part of the ramp up to the start of the season, Baseball America is going deep on each of the top prospects in the AL Central.

Joined by Scott Braun, J.J. Cooper, Geoff Pontes, Ben Badler and Carlos Collazo provide analysis for the division’s top prospects, explaining how each respective player climbed to No. 1 in their system, running through their scouting reports and laying out what you should expect in 2025.

Read on below for each Prospect Profile, as well as a podcast combining all five No. 1 prospect breakdowns from the AL Central.

More Prospect Profiles

Time Stamps

(0:00) — Travis Bazzana, Guardians
(9:10) — Noah Schultz, White Sox
(19:55) — Jackson Jobe, Tigers
(28:45) — Walker Jenkins, Twins
(37:30) — Jac Caglianone, Royals

Enjoying our Prospect Profiles? A new one drops each day on our YouTube channel. You can see our Top 30s for each system here.

Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians

Scouting Report: Bazzana should be a quick mover who will be ready for upper minors exposure in 2025. He looks like a safe bet to be Cleveland’s second baseman of the future with everyday impact potential that could result in all-star appearances. He has the highest offensive floor in the system and the physical tools to be a solid or better defender at an up-the-middle position.

Noah Shultz, LHP, White Sox

Scouting Report: Added velocity made Schultz’s fastball even more effective, with his two-seamer now sitting 93-97 mph and touching 99 or higher. It becomes even more difficult for hitters because of the extreme deception provided by his low three-quarters arm slot and the way he hides the ball. It explodes on hitters with run and sink to help get whiffs up in the zone. Schultz’s wipeout slider averages 82-83 mph, which also was up from the previous year, with late hard movement and a high spin rate. His changeup sits 86-89 mph and is a potential above-average pitch with late movement and down action. He uses it to keep righthanded hitters from sitting on his slider. For a different look, Schultz also worked in an average cutter with late action and late cut. It sits 88-91 mph and touches 93. Using a modified windup, Schultz starts from what looks like a stretch position before going into a small side-rocker step, helping to keep his long levers in sync.

Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers

Scouting Report: Jobe is a near-perfect pitching prospect, though 22-year-olds who throw 100 mph will always carry injury risks. He has present stuff with control. He doesn’t need projection, because his stuff is already top-tier. Jobe can add some polish with his pitch selection, but there aren’t any glaring weaknesses left on his to-do list. Having already pitched in the majors, he will come to spring training competing for a job in the Tigers’ rotation. He may benefit from a little more time at Triple-A to ensure he’s fully MLB ready, because he has yet to throw 100 innings in a season and is unlikely to be ready for a full six-month season and potential postseason. Long-term, Jobe has ace potential and could be a perfect rotation partner for 2024 Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins

Scouting Report: Jenkins will be headed back to Double-A just after he turns 20 and he should reach Triple-A before long. He has the ingredients to be the Twins’ best hitter in a generation, and if his power develops as expected, he could be a star.

Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals

Scouting Report: How quickly Caglianone moves through the Royals’ system will depend on swing adjustments and improvement in pitch recognition after he gets more accustomed to pro pitching. After a taste of High-A and the AFL, he will likely head to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to start 2025. He has the kind of power that can produce league-leading home run totals, similar to slugger Pete Alonso, who preceded Caglianone at both Plant High and Florida.