As the Pipeline Podcast wraps up 2024, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo preview the '25 season with a wide range of predictions. The duo breaks down eight categories, from Rookies of the Year in both leagues and the No. 1 overall Draft pick to which organization will finish with the top-ranked farm system at season's end and more.

Last year's edition had a few big hits. Callis correctly pegged Paul Skenes to win NL Rookie of the Year. He also correctly predicted Cubs top prospect Matt Shaw would make a huge leap on the Top 100 prospects list, which happened. (Shaw jumped from No. 96 this time a year ago to No. 22 currently.)

Let's see how this year's guesses stack up.

ROOKIES OF THE YEAR (not counting Roki Sasaki)

Jonathan Mayo: Bubba Chandler (PIT No. 1/MLB No. 15); Coby Mayo (BAL No. 1/MLB No. 8)

"With the way Bubba Chandler finished last year at Triple-A, he’s close. Pittsburgh had a fairly deep rotation at the big league level, so I wasn’t sure how that was going to work. And this is where the Spencer Horwitz trade comes into play, because in that trade the Pirates sent Luis Ortiz to Cleveland, so that creates a little bit more of an opening in my book. They have some other options, I know. But for me, that opens an avenue for Bubba Chandler to hit the rotation sooner rather than later. Is it Opening Day? I don’t know. But Paul Skenes wasn’t on the Opening Day roster and he ended up being Rookie of the Year.

"I guess the only reason not to pick Coby Mayo would be, what? Where is he going to play every day? It’s clear his power bat is ready. He has nothing left to prove in the Minors. They’re going to have to find a way to get that into the lineup on a daily basis, even if he has to move around quite a bit."

Jim Callis: Dylan Crews (WSH No. 1/MLB No. 1); Mayo

"The caveat here is we both feel like Roki Sasaki is going to be the frontrunner and obvious pick for Rookie of the Year in whichever league he signs. I picked Dylan Crews a couple of weeks ago. [In the National League], my gut was telling me to go with Matt Shaw, but I wasn’t sure if Matt Shaw was going to get enough playing time on the Cubs. But after the Kyle Tucker trade, Isaac Paredes is gone, and I think Matt Shaw is going to end up at second with Nico Hoerner at third or he’s going to be at third with Nico Hoerner at second. I really like Matt Shaw now. I’m hedging all over the place so I can take credit for whoever wins. I think its Roki Sasaki if he signs in the NL. If he doesn’t, I think it’s Matt Shaw. But if Dylan Crews wins I’m going to point out that I picked him two weeks ago.

"[In the AL], I think Mayo is the favorite. My second choice was Jasson Domínguez. Especially with Juan Soto leaving, it looks like it’ll be a clearer path to at-bats for Jasson Domínguez on the Yankees. A couple of weeks ago, Jonathan mentioned Jackson Jobe. We’ve both mentioned Jacob Wilson. I feel like the National League crop is a little stronger than the American League crop, but we both have Coby Mayo as our frontrunner."

PIPELINE HITTER OF THE YEAR

Callis: Walker Jenkins (MIN No. 1/MLB No. 2)

"Most of the best hitting prospects in the game are going to be in the big leagues next year. We always have to intertwine Walker Jenkins and Max Clark. I think those are your two leading contenders, unless you go with somebody from the Draft last year like Travis Bazzana, Charlie Condon or JJ Wetherholt. I think Walker Jenkins winds up being a fairly obvious choice. He’s just very talented. He needs to stay healthy. Jonathan and I were both adamant that he would’ve won this year if he’d stay healthy."

Mayo: Jenkins

"The tools are there. He showed when he was healthy, so that’s the only thing. There is nothing to say based on the injury or anything we’ve heard, that he doesn’t take care of his body or that there would be a recurrence. All the reasons we thought he was going to win it this past season still stand true."

PIPELINE PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Callis: Noah Schultz, LHP (CWS No. 1/MLB No. 16)

“I’m slightly worried he’s going to be so impressive he’s going to ruin his candidacy by getting to the big leagues too quickly. On the other hand, his team is atrocious and they aren’t going to contend so they don’t have to rush him. I’m going with the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball. I want to see a little more durability out of him. They’ve handled him carefully … his fastball’s gotten better, he still has the wipeout slider he had in high school, he’s developing a changeup, he’s throwing strikes. It’s very, very impressive. I think he’s going to tear it up.”

Mayo: Chase Burns, RHP (CIN No. 1/MLB No. 21)

"I think he’s going to spend almost the entire season in the Minor Leagues … and I think he’s going to put up some pretty impressive numbers just because of the premium stuff and the swing and miss he gets."

NO. 1 OVERALL DRAFT PICK

Mayo: Ethan Holliday (Draft No. 1)

"Other guys could jump to the fore. I think if Tyler Bremner or Jaime Arnold from the college side take big jumps, they could factor into it. But right now I have the belief that Ethan Holliday is going to come out this spring … and have a huge spring that gives him every chance to kind of separate himself in the way people thought he was before we got to last year’s summer showcase circuit."

Callis: Holliday

"He’s good. But it’s not like its Ethan Holliday and everybody else. He’s one of four, five players in the mix. Jonathan, you didn’t mention Jace LaViolette and I agree, because the Nationals have the No. 1 pick and I don’t see them drafting another outfielder when that’s clearly the strength of the team. If I was to rank the likelihood at No. 1, I’d pick Ethan Holliday, then the two pitchers, Bremner or Arnold would be my second and third choice, and then I’d put LaViolette four in the pecking order as it stands today."

NO. 1 PROSPECT AT THE END OF THE YEAR

Callis: Jenkins

"He’s a 60-hitter with 60 power who walked more than he struck out while reaching Double-A as a 19-year-old. That’s a pretty impressive resume."

Mayo: Jenkins

"Last year I picked Ethan Salas, who the Padres pushed so aggressively to Double-A. He spent this year at High-A, and wasn’t great. He’s down at No. 19 now. I couldn’t look past Walker Jenkins. Even if he touches the big leagues, maybe he ends up being a similar situation to Dylan Crews, where he gets a fair number of at-bats but remains on prospect lists."

NO. 1 FARM SYSTEM AT THE END OF THE YEAR

Callis: Dodgers (over Tigers)

"The reasoning behind my pick was how young the Dodgers system is. I don’t think they're going to get a lot of guys promoted out of their Top 30 to the big leagues. They aren't going to lose a Jackson Jobe, for instance. The one guy they could lose is Dalton Rushing, a catcher who they did have play some outfield last year. But I’m not necessarily convinced he’ll lose his rookie status. He probably will, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near a lock. They just have this amazing collection of young teenage talent, from Josue De Paula to Joendry Vargas to Emil Morales to Eduardo Quintero to Kellon Lindsey to Zyhir Hope to Ching-Hsien Ko. I can go on and on. These guys aren’t all going to become Top 100 prospects, but I think as they get into full season ball and make their U.S. debuts, they’re going to raise their profiles."

Mayo: Tigers (over Mariners and Dodgers)

"I picked the Tigers, who were sixth on our midseason ranking. We’re going to presume Jackson Jobe will graduate. But they’ll still have this great young core of hitters: Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer, and after seeing Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño in the Fall League, I’m continuing to be really high on them. They’re really hitter-heavy and I’m OK with that."

BIGGEST RISER AMONG CURRENT TOP 100 PROSPECTS

Callis: Alejandro Rosario, RHP (TEX No. 3/MLB No. 86)

"I think this guy’s flown under the radar a little bit because he was handled with care and didn’t have a big prospect pedigree. We talked about Kristian Campbell, who was our Breakout Prospect of the Year and Minor League Hitter of the year. He wasn’t even on the Red Sox's Top 30 coming into this season. Alejandro Rosario was kinda the pitching equivalent of that. He wasn’t on our Rangers Top 30 coming into the year – he just missed. He was in Jonathan’s neck of the draft going back to high school, and then he went to Miami and he was terrible for three years with Miami. 6.53 ERA. He had stuff. There were no results. So he went in the fifth round ... The Rangers worked with him on his delivery to keep him closed longer and hide the ball better from hitters. He already had some natural deception with his low release height. Those changes helped him throw more strikes. They switched his pitch mix a little bit … all of a sudden, he has three plus pitches … he’s throwing more strikes … he had a 2.24 ERA and a 10-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. If he stays healthy and keeps doing this at upper levels, he has a chance to shoot up this list."

Mayo: Druw Jones, OF (AZ No. 2/MLB No. 82)

"I’m kinda banking on 2025 being the year we see the Druw Jones that was ranked so highly and went No. 2 overall in his Draft. He started to really figure things out. He just needed reps ... he's still young. Finished the year .275/.409/.405 with 21 steals. But from July 1 through the end of the year, he had an OPS of .855. Huge on-base numbers, almost as many walks as strikeouts and a bunch of stolen bases. The defense is still elite. I think the power is going to start to come next season and we're all going to see the Druw Jones we were all so excited about."

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WHO WILL BE THIS YEAR’S BREAKOUT PROSPECT

Callis: Jesus Made, SS (MIL No. 4)

"He was a guy signed in last year’s international class. I’m not saying he’s as good as Leodalis De Vries, but he’s kinda comparable. The tools are similar .. Made stayed in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, hit .331, had an OPS over 1.000, six homers, 28 steals in 51 games, 25-25 upside, strong arm. I think he’s going to come over here … and I bet he tears it up."

Mayo: Kellon Lindsey, SS (LAD No. 10)

"I rolled the dice big time here. Kinda flew under the radar because he was hurt, so he missed the summer showcase stuff. He’s a multi-sport guy, gets comps to Trea Turner. He’s an 80 runner. He can field. I think there is more power there than you might think. He needs to add strength, but the tools and the athleticism are so exciting. I feel like that combination with the Dodgers player development staff, he’s going to have a big first full season."