Inbox: Deeper dive into our Top 10 pitchers and catchers lists

The Top 100 Prospects list is coming! The Top 100 Prospects list is coming!

We'll release it next Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. ET with a one-hour show on MLB Network and MLB.com. Leading up to the Top 100, we're ranking the 10 best prospects at each position ... and you have some questions about our pitching and catching lists:

How close was Reggie Crawford (Giants) to making the Top 10 Left-Handers list? How high are you on him? Is Jackson Ferris expected to improve by joining the Dodgers system? Could they get a tick or two more on his fastball? How close was Hurston Waldrep to the Top 10 Right-Handers list?

-- Jose H., Santa Ana, Calif.

On pure ceiling, Crawford already is one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the game. He owns a fastball that reaches 100 mph with high spin rates and tremendous carry and also can destroy hitters with a mid-80s slider with impressive depth.

But Crawford has barely pitched at all -- 20 1/3 innings in three springs and summers as a collegian, 19 innings in the Minors since the Giants drafted him 30th overall in 2022 -- so too many questions remain about his control, command and durability to put him on the Top 10 lefties yet. I love the upside and his makeup is off the charts, so I hope he gets a full season of innings in 2024 and shows what he can do.

I already was bullish on Ferris before the Dodgers acquired him from the Cubs in a trade for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte last week. Chicago has improved its ability to develop pitchers in recent years, so the change in organizations shouldn't make a huge difference, though Los Angeles did take first place in Jonathan Mayo's recent Executive Poll in terms of which organizations do the best job with arms. Ferris could have three plus pitches when fully developed and should jump onto the Top 100 Prospects list this year.

As for Waldrep, there's enough reliever risk that he wasn't especially close to making the Top 10 Righties. That said, I do think his splitter is one of the most unhittable pitches on our Top 100 list and believe that he'll contribute in Atlanta this season, just a year out of college. If he can make improvements with his fastball command and overall control, then I will have been too light on him.

If we extended the Top Catchers from 10 to 15, Keegan would have made it. He never seems to get his due despite being Vanderbilt's best hitter in both 2021 and 2022 and batting .291/.389/.477 as a pro since the Rays selected him in 2022's fourth round.

The biggest question with Keegan always has been his defense because he never got the chance to catch much in college. But he has worked hard to make himself into at least a decent receiver with solid arm strength. He has a path to Tampa Bay as an offensive-minded catcher and if he continues to produce in Double-A this season, he'll start getting more hype.

The two leading candidates to go No. 1 overall right now are West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt and Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz. Kurtz has more all-around offensive ability while Wetherholt is the reigning NCAA Division I batting champion (.449) and offers more positional value, even if he returns to second base.

I would rank Kurtz the highest, while Jonathan would advocate for Wetherholt, and they'd wind up close together if they were part of the Top 100. Wetherholt has a lot of similarities to shortstops Jackson Merrill (Padres) and Brooks Lee (Twins) and Kurtz would be the best first-base prospect in baseball. Granted, neither has proven anything in pro ball yet, so they'd probably fit in the 15-25 range.

It's always good to hear from my favorite European baseball coach, Chris Byrnes, who runs the Swiss team. The younger brother of baseball's best prospect, Jackson Holliday, Stillwater (Okla.) HS shortstop Ethan Holliday is the consensus top talent in the 2025 high school class.

Already 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, Ethan is more physical than Jackson was at the same age and built more along the lines of their father, seven-time All-Star Matt. Jackson didn't blossom into a No. 1 overall pick until his senior year in high school while Ethan has been projecting a potential 1-1 for a while now.

Ethan and Jackson have similar hitting ability and make it look so easy at the plate. Ethan has more power upside, while Jackson should be quicker once they're both physically mature and has a better chance of sticking in the middle infield. It's too early to say how a high school junior would rank compared to professionals, but I'm comfortable saying Ethan would be No. 1 on our 2024 Draft Top 100 if he were eligible.