Now, it is sensible. The rationale why first, second, and third base are largely devoid of prospects is as a result of they’re all hiding out at shortstop. It is the place essentially the most proficient gamers begin out, and at the very least lately, groups have been reluctant to maneuver them off it, not desirous to concede something developmentally till the final potential second.
And so we see this imbalance. Whereas sorting prospects by place is sensible in idea, it results in my high seven right here additionally being my high seven general. I am not even joking.
To account for this, I’ve gone 25 deep right here as in comparison with 10 deep at all the opposite infield positions. I am nonetheless not satisfied it is sufficient. Some shortstop prospects who will seem in just about each high 100 checklist, together with perhaps my very own, needed to be omitted. Possibly I will go 30 deep right here subsequent yr, who is aware of?
Notice: These rankings are meant primarily for Dynasty use, emphasizing long-term worth over a fast payoff, however to say proximity holds no weight would not be fully correct both. Not all of those gamers will contribute in 2026 — most, the truth is, won’t — however amongst prospects, they’re the names Fantasy Baseballers most must know.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .333 BA (484 AB), 21 HR, 65 SB, .941 OPS, 50 BB, 122 Ok
Tall and muscular, Griffin is the form of prospect who you may simply image in a facemask and shoulder pads, like he is too athletic for the game he selected, which clearly speaks properly of his upside. That he was refined sufficient to ship on that upside throughout three ranges as a 19-year-old caught your entire baseball world unexpectedly. I do not make Mike Trout comparisons evenly — and Griffin is not a disciplined sufficient hitter for it to be an apples-to-apples one — however the best way he outclasses everybody on the sphere with him is harking back to Trout.
Age (on opening day): 21
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .305 BA (331 AB), 19 HR, 10 SB, .991 OPS, 59 BB, 46 Ok
Whether or not Griffin or McGonigle belongs at No. 1 is the most recent installment within the age-old debate of capability vs. ability, and whereas I normally come down on the ability facet of the ledger, the flexibility hole is the larger one on this case. McGonigle is nice, although, amassing extra walks than strikeouts at each minor league cease whereas sporting a swing that is already optimized for energy. He may ship a number of seasons just like the one Geraldo Perdomo had in 2025.
Age (on opening day): 18
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .285 BA (453 AB), 6 HR, 47 SB, .792 OPS, 67 BB, 108 Ok
Made already delivers exit velocities higher than the common main leaguer, and he is nonetheless months away from turning 19. Alongside along with his superior plate self-discipline and tenacity for stealing bases, you possibly can see why so many are bullish on his future, at the same time as he works to enhance the angle that the ball takes off his bat. Whereas shortstop stays in play, third base could also be his final vacation spot, and you may dream on a Jose Ramirez final result there.
Age (on opening day): 23
The place he performed in 2025: Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .306 BA (408 AB), 17 HR, 23 SB, .931 OPS, 72 BB, 73 Ok
The road between McGonigle and Wetherholt is thinner than the press releases would have you ever imagine, with contact hitting being the standout ability for each. Wetherholt’s swing is geared extra for line drives at current, undercutting his energy potential, however he is already mastered Triple-A and appeared poised to step in at both second or third base in September. It did not occur then, but it surely in all probability will this spring.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .255 BA (455 AB), 15 HR, 11 SB, .806 OPS, 66 BB, 107 Ok
You may take the Padres‘ willingness to half with De Vries within the Mason Miller deal as a warning that he is not all his hurried promotions made him out to be (Ethan Salas, anybody?). However the Athletics took it a step additional in August, bumping him as much as Double-A as an 18-year-old, and noticed him slash .281/.359/.551 in 21 video games there. So maybe he actually is that particular, through which case there isn’t any restrict, actually, to how productive he might be.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Excessive-A, Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .285 BA (506 AB), 16 HR, 14 SB, .842 OPS, 71 BB, 105 Ok
Investing in Emerson at value over the previous couple years has required some measure of religion since, for as evident as his hit software and plate self-discipline have been, his energy was nearly fully theoretical. That modified in 2025, when a quieter setup and two-handed end led to a .311/.404/.510 slash line over his remaining 76 video games, together with a pointy discount in floor ball fee. Already, there’s discuss of him making the Mariners’ opening day roster, and a Corey Seager-like final result stays on the desk.
7. Sebastian Walcott, Rangers
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Double-A
Minor league stats: .255 BA (474 AB), 13 HR, 32 SB, .741 OPS, 70 BB, 108 Ok
Finding out Nos. 3-7 at this place is a hair-splitting train, and a few will place Walcott first amongst them as a result of his energy projection surpasses the others. However his hit software additionally represents the clearest legal responsibility for any of them. Placing out lower than 20 % of the time at Double-A, significantly at his age, is an effective signal, however he additionally slugged simply .386 there. Imagine the upside, however acknowledge that he is nonetheless a piece in progress.
Age (on opening day): 21
The place he performed in 2025: Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .264 BA (432 AB), 14 HR, 59 SB, .825 OPS, 82 BB, 123 Ok
Miller’s prospect inventory was on life help round midseason, trying like a casualty of the improved breaking balls that got here along with his transfer as much as Double-A. However all the things clicked into place in late July, seeing him slash .357/.489/.601 over his remaining 38 video games, which included a transfer as much as Triple-A. With that, his inventory is as excessive because it’s ever been, that includes a broad ability set that may simply place him because the Phillies’ shortstop of the close to future if not for Trea Turner.
Age (on opening day): 18
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A
Minor league stats: .300 BA (50 AB), 1 3B, 1 2B, 2 SB, 7 BB, 12 Ok
The primary decide of the 2025 draft stands out most for his polish, as evidenced by him holding his personal for 15 video games as a 17-year-old in a full-season league — a genuinely exceptional achievement. That polish makes it simple to think about Willits creating extra energy than he has at current, and the opposite instruments already earn excessive marks. The dream situation is one thing like Trea Turner (two mentions in a row!), and the ground is abnormally excessive for a participant his age.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A
Minor league stats: .288 BA (125 AB), 5 HR, 9 SB, .831 OPS, 20 BB, 33 Ok
The issue in assessing Rainer now, greater than a yr after he was chosen eleventh general, is that he is appeared in solely 35 video games as an expert, having been restricted in 2025 by a dislocated shoulder. However these 35 video games confirmed him to be precisely the participant we thought — one who combines premium exit velocities with a eager batting eye for a real middle-of-the-order projection. His dimension (6-feet-3), hitting profile, and left-handedness all make for a believable Gunnar Henderson comp (in a best-case situation, in fact).
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A
Minor league stats: .270 BA (374 AB), 9 HR, 44 SB, .757 OPS, 34 BB, 68 Ok
A scorching begin and an enormous leap in exit velocity took Pena from being an also-ran within the Brewers system to a prospect rivaling Jesus Made. The facility remains to be fledgling as a result of he is content material to let the ball journey deep into the zone somewhat than getting the bat head out in entrance, and his .168 batting common in 25 video games at Excessive-A reveals he has different hurdles to clear as properly. He is seemingly ticketed for second base, the place he’d profile equally to the 2025 model of Brice Turang, standing out most for his pace however with a bat that also performs.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A
Minor league stats: .239 BA (71 AB), 2 HR, 4 2B, .737 OPS, 12 BB, 33 Ok
Contemplating his baseball bloodlines (with father Matt and brother Jackson each being well-known) and excessive draft standing (fourth general decide in 2025), Holliday is a surprisingly polarizing prospect. Advocates level to his chiseled body and straightforward energy. Detractors assume he’ll wrestle in opposition to fashionable fastballs up within the zone due to his excessive setup and uppercut swing. Whereas the detractors gained the primary spherical (his first 18 skilled video games noticed him strike out 39 % of the time), most each 18-year-old is in want of swing changes. Give it time.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: didn’t play — draft yr
The eighth decide within the 2025 draft has but to make his skilled debut, which leaves me utterly on the mercy of the scouting studies, however they don’t have anything however constructive issues to say about Parker’s bat. He is already adept at elevating the ball and is especially efficient in opposition to fastballs, which factors to him being a plus for each batting common and residential runs.
Age (on opening day): 22
The place he performed in 2025: Excessive-A
Minor league stats: .242 BA (99 AB), 1 HR, 7 SB, .674 OPS, 17 BB, 27 Ok
Arquette stands 6-feet-5, which comes with the standard professionals and cons — i.e., a swing that is leveraged for energy however a strike zone that has some holes. He was broadly thought-about the highest collegiate bat within the 2025 draft, although, and is disciplined sufficient to maintain the batting common from being an excessive amount of of a legal responsibility. You should not be stunned if he winds up at third base long-term, the place his energy will completely play.
Age (on opening day): 23
The place he performed in 2025: Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .289 BA (454 AB), 20 HR, 25 SB, .844 OPS, 50 BB, 90 Ok
Energy was considered the trait holding Culpepper again when the Twins made him the twenty first decide within the 2024 draft, so him socking 20 homers in simply 113 video games — with a close to even distribution between Excessive-A and Double-A, no much less — ought to paint him in a extra favorable gentle. He continued to make contact at a excessive fee and has confirmed to be a succesful base-stealer as properly, so I’d encourage folks to not cling to their priors when assessing him for 2026 and past.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .235 BA (473 AB), 9 HR, 35 SB, .748 OPS, 87 BB, 146 Ok
Most rank lists will slot Lombard greater than this, however I am extra of the seeing-is-believing sort. Possibly if he had spent extra of 2025 at Excessive-A, the place he batted .329 with 23 walks in 24 video games, I might really feel in a different way, and it is potential he is been promoted too aggressively to achieve an actual foothold. Lombard combines superlative plate self-discipline with the form of athleticism that comes from being the son of a former faculty soccer recruit (to not point out a significant leaguer), however he’ll want an influence breakthrough quickly to maintain getting that advantage of the doubt.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Rookie, Low-A
Minor league stats: .314 BA (357 AB), 14 HR, 11 SB, .911 OPS, 48 BB, 109 Ok
Morales captured the creativeness of prospect hounds as an 18-year-old tearing up the Dominican Summer time League in 2024, but it surely was 2025, his first season stateside, that validated his prospect credentials. He is already optimized his swing for energy, which is uncommon for a hitter so younger, hitting towering fly balls to his pull facet. He’ll want to chop down on the whiffs, however the truth he acquired higher because the yr went on — hitting .351 with a .993 OPS over his remaining 62 video games, even with a transfer as much as Low-A — reveals he is on a superb trajectory.
Age (on opening day): 22
The place he performed in 2025: Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .261 BA (486 AB), 17 HR, 34 SB, .828 OPS, 76 BB, 131 Ok
Again from the wrist harm that wrecked his 2024, Williams slashed .281/.390/.477 at Double-A, as soon as once more trying like a prototypical leadoff man along with his penchant for getting on base after which swiping an additional one. His insistence on wringing each ounce of energy out of his 5-foot-7 body presents some batting common threat, and over the lengthy haul, his energy could manifest extra as doubles and triples than residence runs.
Age (on opening day): 18
The place he performed in 2025: Dominican Summer time League
Minor league stats: .288 BA (191 AB), 4 HR, 33 SB, .859 OPS, 37 BB, 36 Ok
Now identified by most shops as Josuar Gonzalez, the 18-year-old was considered the highest worldwide prospect not named Roki Sasaki in 2025, and lo and behold, he truly delivered on the hype immediately, strolling greater than he struck out whereas going bonkers on the bottom paths and demonstrating the form of exit velocities that ought to translate to energy. As a result of he is additionally a switch-hitter and plus defender, the Francisco Lindor comp that you’re going to so typically see appears apt, and whereas he nonetheless must show himself outdoors of the Dominican Summer time League, I am bullish.
Age (on opening day): 18
The place he performed in 2025: Dominican Summer time League
Minor league stats: .292 BA (178 AB), 9 HR, 21 SB, .949 OPS, 36 BB, 36 Ok
Pena and Josuar Gonzalez have been neck-and-neck within the worldwide prospect rankings heading into 2025, and judging by their respective debuts within the Dominican Summer time League, I am having a tough time disentangling them right here. Gonzalez has opened up a lead in accordance with most rank lists, however I believe that is as a result of Pena acquired off to a slower begin and does not have as away from a shortstop trajectory. He may grow to be the higher energy hitter of the 2, although.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A
Minor league stats: .281 BA (385 AB), 12 HR, 29 SB, .874 OPS, 75 BB, 101 Ok
A second-round decide in 2024, Bonemer’s skilled debut went even higher than anticipated as he confirmed a knack for getting on base and pulling the ball within the air. The latter bolstered an already strong energy projection, and if you happen to watch the tape, you may see that a few of these pull-side residence runs have been absolute missiles. Questions stay about his capability to deal with breaking balls, however by all the things we are able to measure from his stint in A-ball, he passes with flying colours.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Low-A, Excessive-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .278 BA (479 AB), 8 HR, 12 SB, .723 OPS, 38 BB, 53 Ok
As with George Lombard, the fervor over Arias displays a rising tendency to prioritize secondary indicators over major ones. Whereas reaching Double-A as a 19-year-old is nice, slugging over .400 is healthier. A part of the attraction for these guys is that they are surefire shortstops and never merely masquerading as such, which issues extra for actual life than for Fantasy, however they’re additionally relative clean slates with at the very least one standout software. For Arias, it is the ten % strikeout fee in opposition to pitchers much more superior than he.
Age (on opening day): 20
The place he performed in 2025: Rookie, Low-A
Minor league stats: .311 BA (315 AB), 9 HR, 27 SB, .862 OPS, 29 BB, 102 Ok
A high-octane participant with a max-effort swing and tenacity on the bottom paths, Lewis exudes athleticism however might want to tone down the try-hard to harness it totally — an age-old wrestle for gamers like him. Of his many loud attributes, the contact high quality screams the loudest and is probably essentially the most cherished within the fashionable sport, however his pitch choice and spray angle each want some work.
Age (on opening day): 18
The place he performed in 2025: didn’t play — draft yr
The Reds are apparently so enamored with Lewis that they drafted his right-handed-hitting counterpart with the ninth general decide only a yr later. If something, Corridor is much more athletic, with Baseball America classifying his pace as a real 80 grade, however the contact is not as loud. Each are among the many extra unstable prospects, in want of a lot refinement as hitters, with pace being Corridor’s carrying software and energy being Lewis’.
Age (on opening day): 19
The place he performed in 2025: Rookie, Low-A
Minor league stats: .269 BA (346 AB), 12 HR, 21 SB, .797 OPS, 50 BB, 70 Ok
Among the many dozen or so shortstops that might occupy this twenty fifth spot — from Arjun Nimmala to Cooper Pratt to Billy Carlson and Kayson Cunningham — Stage has most captured my coronary heart, reiterating his superlative plate self-discipline and shocking pop in his first yr stateside and even advancing to full-season ball as an 18-year-old. Add his pure quickness and powerful arm, and the entire package deal jogs my memory of the switching-hitting shortstops that dominated the early aughts — guys like Jimmy Rollins, Rafael Furcal, and Carlos Guillen.
Age (on opening day): 22
The place he performed in 2025: Triple-A, majors
Minor league stats: .213 BA (389 AB), 23 HR, 22 SB, .765 OPS, 56 BB, 154 Ok
Main league stats: .172 BA (99 AB), 5 HR, 2 SB, .573 OPS, 6 BB, 44 Ok
I’ve at all times tried to rank Williams decrease than the consensus, however judging by his first style of the majors, I could also be simply as responsible of overselling him. He bumped into a couple of homers however was tormented by crippling contact points, and his protection wasn’t even the tour de power we have been promised. The ever-frugal Rays determine to provide him an extended leash, which is why he deserves to put amongst prospects nonetheless, however his probabilities of turning into an affect Fantasy participant are dwindling.
