Standout MLB Prospects For All 15 Grapefruit League Teams

Braves

It’s certainly not an exaggeration to say it’s slim pickings in Braves Country of late, as the organization has dealt with a litany of injuries to many of their top prospects while engaging in a high volume of trading to leave the team thin on the farm. While positional standouts are few and far between, the Braves do feature a handful of exciting pitching prospects that generated some buzz during spring training.

Undersized righthander Didier Fuentes was electric over three innings in Spring Breakout and has flashed improved velocity and better command than he showed last season. His combination of newfound power and unique release and movement characteristics on his fastball give Fuentes the ability to succeed in a variety of roles. He’s fairly undersized with some effort in his delivery, so relief risk questions will plague him. His pitch mix of a low-launch, four-seam fastball, a splitter and hard cutter-style breaking ball give him the foundation of a power pitcher. It’s just a matter of how much the velocity gains carry through into the summer and how many strikes he throws. 

Righthander JR Ritchie returned to the mound in the second half of 2024 after he had Tommy John surgery early in 2023. He started the Spring Breakout game and looks healthy entering the season. Ritchie shows the ability to mix a fastball, slider, changeup and curveball and showed increased velocity. He touched 97 during the Spring Breakout game, a nearly 2 mph improvement over 2024’s max velocity of 95.6 mph. His changeup has good vertical movement and velocity separation, which should lead the pitch having continued success if he commands it. His slider is a higher-spin slurve that sat in the mid 80s during Spring Breakout. 

Other players who stood out:

• John Gil debuted in full-season ball just a few months after his 18th birthday, and while he struggled with Low-A Augusta, he has a nice righthanded swing with some twitch and tools. 
• Garrett Baumann did not pitch well in Spring Breakout, but he has a monster frame at 6-foot-8, and he’ll be just 20 years old for the majority of 2025. Baumann showed a substantial velocity increase, sitting 96-98 mph and touching 99 multiple times. He mixed a slider in the mid-to-high-80s and a firm upper-80s changeup. Strikes might be an issue, but it’s loud stuff from a big frame. 

Orioles 

After graduating numerous prospects to the major leagues lately, the Orioles’ farm system is noticeably down compared to recent years. That said, it’s certainly not bad, as the organization has done a good job of building depth and acquiring talent in all facets of player acquisition. No one symbolizes this transition within the organization like 2021 international signee Samuel Basallo does. After years of being inactive during international free agency, the Mike Elias regime has done a good job building a presence in South America. Basallo is the Orioles’ best prospect by a good distance, as he shows a blend of plate skills and power few prospects can match with a non-zero chance of sticking behind the plate. 

There are still major question marks around 2024 first-round pick Vance Honeycutt’s hit tool, but his supporting skills are loud. He’s an athletic, decisive defender in center field with graceful strides that allow him to cover large swaths of grass. At the plate, Honeycutt is patient almost to the point of being passive, but it’s likely with good reason, as his swing-and-miss is fairly pronounced, even in-zone. Honeycutt does have plenty of bat speed, and has the ability to make quality contact when he does catch the barrel. In the Orioles’ Spring Breakout game, Honeycutt hit a deep drive to left-center and raced around the bases for an inside the park home run. He’s an electric player but one who’s progression as a hitter will be key to his ultimate role. 

• Orioles third-rounder Austin Overn looks like another toolsy outfielder from the college ranks who could stick in center field. The organization loves to target this archetype in the draft.
• Switch-hitting Leandro Arias shows strong bat-to-ball skills and some remaining projection. He’s likely a hit-over-power second baseman long term. 
• The Orioles lack a Top 100 prospect among their pitching corps, but it’s a deep and varied group. It ranges from young hard throwers like Keeler Morfe and Luis De Leon to solid upper-minors depth like Brandon Young. De Leon might have been the most impressive of this group, showing both above-average stuff and command of his arsenal. De Leon topped out at 98 mph on a sinker with a firm changeup in the 88-90 range and a slider that touched 90. 

Red Sox

The Red Sox boast one of the deepest farm systems in the game thanks to enviable top-end talent amongst their positional prospects. The developing story this spring might be the emergence of the Red Sox pitching prospects, however. Connelly Early showed a velocity bump, touching 96 mph while leaning more mid 90s than his previous low 90s. He was mixing a mid-80s slider, a low-80s sweeper and a filthy changeup. 

Eighteen-year-old Juan Valera impressed in his appearance during the Red Sox vs. Twins backfield game that was moved into the stadium on March 15th. Valera sat upper 90s on his fastball, hitting 100 multiple times while showing a low-90s slider and changeup. While Valera is young, he has some full-season experience and has shown the pitch ability often lacking in young hard-throwers. 

Boston’s 2022 first-round pick, Mikey Romero, looked strong this spring showing a more physical build and some production to match. Romero had a strong second half, and he looks like he could make strides again in 2025. He’s a bat-first prospect who will need to hit to profile as an impact regular.

• Payton Tolle did not pitch in either Spring Breakout game, but he did show mid-90s velocity with elite extension on his fastball. Tolle could be a breakout prospect in 2025 if this velocity holds into the summer. 
• Lefthander Brandon Clarke was up to 100 mph from a lower three-quarters slot, mixing two breaking ball shapes and a changeup. The 2024 fifth-round pick is a name to watch. 
• Justin Gonzales was a popup name last summer due to his performance in the Dominican Summer League. Based on backfield buzz, he’s a name to follow in 2025. 

Tigers

With top prospect Jackson Jobe auditioning successfully for a spot in the Tigers’ rotation, the minor league games were all about the organization’s positional talent. The headliners are Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer. Both Clark and McGonigle look like future stars in the making. McGonigle’s barrel accuracy, advanced plate skills and high motor make him one of the more exciting prospects heading into the 2025 season. He never seems to take a bad at-bat and is a fundamentally-strong hitter. Rainer, meanwhile, shows strong bat-to-ball skills, approach and some actualized game power. He fits the Corey Seager archetype to a tee with a 6-foot-3 build and clean, lefthanded swing. He has a strong arm and solid actions in the field and should stick on the left side of the dirt. 

While Jaden Hamm doesn’t have the type of stuff that grabs typical headlines in 2025, he does have advanced pitchability, a starter’s build and feel for a change up and pair of breaking ball shapes. His fastball only sits low 90s, but he gets above-average ride on the pitch with command. His feel for the curveball is very advanced, as he shows the ability to throw it in any count to either side of the plate. It’s a back-of-the-rotation profile at present, but a tick up in velocity in the coming years could see him ascend. The issue is, it might just not be there. 

• Ethan Schiefelbein pitched on the backfields and sat 88-90 mph, topping out at 93 with a mid-70s curveball. The lefthander received a bonus just short of $1.8 million last summer out of Corona (CA) HS. 
• Infielder Franyerber Montilla is an interesting and versatile player, with strong plate skills and some sneaky power in a switch-hitting package. He’s twitchy and shows solid glove work with a high likelihood to stick in the dirt. 
• Tigers 12th-rounder Jude Warwick found the barrel a few times across a couple of looks and could be a deeper sleeper in the system entering 2025. 

Astros

The conversation for the Astros’ prospects this spring begins and ends with Cam Smith. The Astros slugger was the most impressive rookie in either the Cactus or Grapefruit League and played his way into the big league roster to open the season. Smith has taken to his move to the outfield and provided enough thump at the plate to mitigate any concerns about his defensive prowess. A promising blend of bat-to-ball skills, approach and power, Smith is likely the front-runner for American League rookie of the year as we enter 2025. 

• Righthander Logan VanWey hung around in camp longer than many anticipated, as he racked up 11 appearances in Grapefruit League play. Over 13.2 innings, VanWey struck out 15 batters to five walks while allowing two earned runs.
• Jackson Nezuh impressed in Spring Breakout, striking out four batters over 1.2 innings . Despite a lack of premium stuff, Nezuh has shown an ability to induce whiffs. 

Marlins

At the present time, the focus in the Marlins’ farm system is all about the arms. Thomas White continues to be one of the more impressive pitchers in the minors, as he’s shown mid-to-upper-90s velocity on his fastball with a pair of breaking ball shapes and a changeup. White is among the candidates to be ranked as the top pitching prospect in the minors entering 2026.

Over two full seasons since being drafted in the third round in 2022, Karson Milbrandt looks to be turning a corner. He earned rave reviews from scouts, as he sat 96-98 mph on his fastball blending a hard cutter, changeup and curveball. He’ll be 21 years old for the majority of the season and could be a breakout candidate. 

• Eighteen-year-old Kenyer Benitez was up to 97 mph while sitting 94-95. He features a deep arsenal with a low-80s slider, changeup and curveball. 
• Catcher Joe Mack has emerged as a major helium name entering 2025 and is considered by many to be on the cusp of the Top 100 Prospects. 

Twins

The Twins are dealing with injuries to several of their highly-rated positional prospects like outfielders Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Luke Keaschall had a breakout season in 2024 that was cut short due to Tommy John surgery. While Keaschall did not play in the field, he did hit, and shows strong contact ability and a discerning eye at the plate. He’ll likely begin the 2025 season with Double-A Wichita, where he’ll look to return to full health and hit his way to the majors. 

One of the more intriguing prospects we got eyes on at Twins camp was Eduardo Beltre. After a standout performance in the Dominican Summer League in 2024, Beltre will make his stateside debut in 2025. He showed a well-rounded game, displaying strong approach, power and the ability to handle center field. If things go well in 2025, Beltre could be a prospect whose stock rises by season’s end. 

The Twins might have something in Brandon Winokur if he can make enough contact. That’s a big question, as Winokur has significant swing-and-miss in the zone that he mitigates with solid swing decisions. It’s plus raw power, and when he gets to it, he can hit for impact. He’s playing shortstop now, and it’s a big arm, but his hands and actions leave something to be desired. 

• Connor Prielipp looks to be back to his pre-injury stuff once again. It’s been a long and winding road for the lefthander to get back to this point. 
• Dasan Hill made waves in his appearances on the backfields this spring. The lefthander has been up to the mid 90s with a couple of well-defined breaking ball shapes. 
• Andrew Morris has been a standout performer for the first two years of his professional career and has impressed this spring. He’s been up to 98 mph with a trio of breaking ball shapes.

Mets

Mets pitching has stolen the headlines around their system in recent seasons and for good reason. They’ve done an excellent job identifying amateur talent they can develop with Brandon Sproat, Christian Scott and Nolan McLean being the most recent cases. Names like Jonah Tong and Jonathan Santucci have had some buzz this spring as the next names to come out of the Mets’ developing pitcher factory. 

• While he’s a bit off the radar, relief pitcher Max Kranick is still prospect eligible and made the team out of camp this spring. He shows premium stuff across his arsenal. 
• Boston Baro homered in the Spring Breakout game and looks like a name to know. 

Yankees 

Outside of Jasson Dominguez, it’s been a down year-plus in the Yankees’ farm system with disappointing seasons from players like Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias and Henry Lalane. While those players are tasked with regaining their prospect stock in 2025, righthander Carlos Lagrange looks to be an up-arrow name entering 2025. The 6-foot-7 righthander has been up to 101 mph and was sitting in the upper 90s on his fastball. Not only did LaGrange show his high-end stuff, he showed improved strike-throwing, as he walked 20 batters across 27 innings in 2024. Lagrange showed added power on his secondaries, as well, with a cutter sitting in the low 90s to go with his changeup. His traditional slider sat in the upper 80s. There’s a lot of risk with a flamethrower this big, but the upside on LaGrange is immense. 

While Lagrange has his fans, perhaps no player on any backfield has the current helium of Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. The 2023 first-round pick has been wowing scouts dating back to late last season and has shown up this spring in peak form. Lombard looks more physical with a swing that’s better optimized for hard, airborne contact. He’s a slick defender at shortstop with a good arm and has the looks of a true five-tool prospect. Lombard has more helium than just about any prospect at the moment and opposing teams scouts believe he could break out in a big way in 2025. 

• The Yankees acquired Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz from the Red Sox this offseason and has gained some buzz. Our own Josh Norris recently covered Rodriguez-Cruz on the site. 
• Both Ben Hess and Bryce Cunningham pitched in the Spring Breakout game. Hess struggled with command but was up to 96 mph, mixing in his upper-70s curveball. Cunningham sat 97-98, mixing in a mid-80s slider and firm changeup in the 88-90 range.  

Phillies 

Entering Phillies camp, shortstop Aidan Miller was the main attraction as the top positional prospect in the Phillies system. It was second baseman Aroon Escobar, however, who stole the headlines. Escobar caught barrel after barrel on the backfields while displaying a high-motor approach to both sides of the ball. An undersized righthanded-hitting second baseman, Escobar is not an ideal profile, but he’s chock full of ability and feel for the game. He doubled in the Spring Breakout game and then homered several days later against a lefthander. A few days later, Escobar homered again on the backfields. It seemed like anytime you saw Escobar, he was finding a barrel or making a play. Escobar shows outlier power and strength for his 5-foot-10 frame, as he posted a 104+ mph 90th percentile EV and his double in the Spring Breakout game was clocked at 110.5 mph. 

There are a couple of pitchers getting some buzz around the backfields from scouts in righthanders Alex McFarlane and Casey Steward. McFarlane was up to 99 mph on his high-spin sinker with 17-20 inches of armside run. He mixed in a harder slurve at 86-87 with spin rates in the 2800 rpm range, giving it the look of a power curveball. Steward, who slides under the radar despite having strong performance numbers, was outstanding, showing increased velocity. In the Spring Breakout game, Steward was 97-98, peaking at 99. It’s just average fastball shape, but Steward shows the ability to command the pitch, mixing in cutter at 88-90, a sweepy slider in the 85-86 range with high spin rates and a changeup. 

•  Justin Crawford remains an interesting debate, as it’s an unusual profile. That said, he continued to hit across multiple looks while participating in Triple-A level games on the backfields. He showed more consistent elevated contact across our looks and has not sacrificed any of his bat-to-ball ability. 
• A swing change looks like it has unlocked more contact from Carson DeMartini, who had a reputation for heavy in-zone whiff entering pro ball. He made lots of hard contact and has interesting tools. 
• Gabriel Rincones Jr. is a limited player defensively, but he has a knack for finding the barrel. He made lots of hard contact across multiple looks, but the troubling in-zone whiff is still prevalent.     

Pirates

A year after Paul Skenes took the West Coast of Florida by storm, system mate Bubba Chandler took his turn at terrorizing Grapefruit League hitters. While his MLB spring training numbers were atrocious, he dominated in Spring Breakout, showing the type of stuff frontline pitching is made of. He sat 98-99 mph, flirting with 100 on several occasions by mere decimal points. The continued development of Chandler’s pitching prowess and his slider will be paramount to define his ceiling. Chandler was the most electric pitcher I saw in my spring travels. 

The title for most electric positional prospect—and arguably the most impressive prospect overall—belongs to Konnor Griffin. A superior athlete, Griffin is the type of player who stands out just getting off the bus. His swing, tools and explosiveness keep your attention when on the field, too. Griffin worked over the offseason to overhaul a swing that got out of sync at times as an amateur. Now, his swing is smooth and powerful, possessing outlier bat speed and the ability to elevate on his best contact. He moves like a hot knife through butter in center field—his newly anointed position—and attacks the base paths as he hunts extra bases. Griffin looks like a top 10 overall prospect in the making.

• The Pirates have a cache of interesting lower-level positional prospects led by infielder Jhonny Severino. He’s a power hitting by nature with a lightning-fast stroke at the plate and some natural loft. 
• Tony Blanco Jr. boasts some of the best exit velocity data in all of professional baseball, and it’s easy to see why. Blanco at 19 years old looks like an NFL tackle with the type of power to hit 30+ home runs. It’s just a matter of if Blanco will make enough contact in the coming years to make that projection a reality. 

Cardinals

Sometimes a player emerges from the shadows and announces his presence. That’s been the case for the Cardinals’ Luis Gastelum this spring. He struck out three batters over an inning of work in the Spring Breakout tilt with the Marlins, flashing his plus changeup. Gastelum is a unique changeup-first righthanded reliever—a very unusual profile. It will be interesting to see how he navigates upper-level lineups with quality righthanded hitters. 

• Cooper Hjerpe still shows the ability to induce whiffs, but his stuff still hasn’t taken a jump and command remains a present problem. 
• Shortstop Yairo Padilla has a ton of helium, but early stateside reports have been inconsistent. 

Rays 

While the Rays’ farm system doesn’t receive the same type accolades the Red Sox or Orioles have in recent seasons, it’s still one of the deepest and most intriguing systems in the game. The pitching you will see on any given day during a Rays backfield game is certain to be impressive. We got multiple looks at Rays pitching on the backfields and in the Spring Greakout game against the Red Sox. Jackson Baumesiter was arguably the most impressive from that group. The righthander, acquired from Baltimore in the Zach Eflin trade, sat 93-95 mph over two innings, allowing just one baserunner to reach. He showed an above-average changeup, a mid-to-high-70s curveball and a low-to-mid-80s slider. It’s strong fastball quality with a variety of starting pitching intangibles. 

Among the Rays talented trio of young and highly-touted pitching prospects – a group that includes Gary Gill Hill and Trevor Harrison—Santiago Suarez was the most impressive. While Harrison is power pitching in it’s purest form, Gill Hill is more of a precision thrower with projection remaining. Suarez, however, is the best of both worlds. He has actualized stuff and physicality presently with a deep arsenal of quality offerings and the ability to execute in the zone. He’s still a year or two away from even knocking on the door of the major leagues, but Suarez has the traits you look for in starting pitching. 

• Outfielder Aidan Smith was acquired from the Mariners in the Randy Arozarena swap and has received rave reviews for his play while adding physicality this spring. 
• Speaking of the Randy Arozarena return, Brody Hopkins has pitched on the backfields, and while he still has to iron out, his command and stuff are loud. He sat 96-99 mph and dominated with his plus slider. 
• Matthew Etzel was a non-roster invitee to MLB camp this year and is an underrated player with size and tools.

Blue Jays 

After a rash of injuries to the Blue Jays’ pitching depth, good signs on the mound are finally beginning to emerge. Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick last July, made his professional debut on the mound and looked strong across a pair of looks. He sat 95-96 mph, touching 97 at peak with an impressive induced vertical break averaging between 17-18 inches and reaching 20 IVB on a HawkiEye device. He mixed a cutter at 88-89 with his best secondary, a mid-80s splitter with nearly negative vertical break and heavy armside run. He missed bats with all three pitches and showed above-average command of his arsenal. 

Arjun Nimmala enjoyed one of the strongest second halves in the minors in 2024. He’s a strong performer on both sides of the ball, flashing ability with his glove at short, a strong arm and rapidly-improving skills at the plate. Nimmala consistently found the barrel, showed himself to be less passive at the plate than a year prior and was covering the totality of the plate with greater ease. He’s an ascending prospect entering 2025, and he has the type of up-the-middle profile with potential for impact hitting that could see his prospect status soar. 

Lefthander Kendry Rojas is an underrated name in the Jays system, and he’s been an impressive performer early in his career. This spring, Rojas showed newfound velocity, hitting 97+ mph five times in the Spring Breakout game. A lower-slot lefthander with feel for a slider and changeup, Rojas could make a major jump in 2025 if he shows this type of velocity during starts this season. 

• Jake Bloss was up-and-down in MLB Grapefruit League games this spring, but on the backfields and in Spring Breakout, he continued to show a well-rounded arsenal of quality pitches. He has No. 4 starter upside. 
• This spring’s edition of under-the-radar Blue Jays hitters with MLB futures might feature outfielder Jace Bohrofen. He consistently finds the barrel and makes hard contact while handling a corner outfield spot. 
• Lefthander and 2024 third-rounder Johnny King has been up to 97 mph this spring and generated a fair amount of excitement. Similar excitement around Carson Messina came up in conversations, as well. 
• 2024 fifth-rounder Jackson Wentworth is a name to keep in mind, as he sat 93-94 mph with a ride-cut shape on his four-seam fastball while flashing an upper-80s cutter and changeup. 

Nationals

The Nationals’ pitching development has started to fly in the face of the organization’s old school reputation. The emergence of Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora primed the pump, but lefthander Alex Clemmey looks to take it to another level this season. He has outlier stuff for a lefthander, and he’s up to triple digits with deceptive traits.