Here are the top 10 prospects at each position

August 21st, 2024

MLB Pipeline updated its various prospect rankings last week, and that’s given us numerous ways to slice and dice the new editions. We recapped the new Top 100. We gave overviews on the new Top 30s for every organization. We ranked the game’s farm systems from 1-30. We broke down the biggest risers in the game from this summer.

All that, and we’re not completely done yet.

More from MLB Pipeline:
Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage

We also rank the Top 10 prospects at every position on the diamond, even separating pitchers by handedness for additional fun. Those rankings were also updated last week to fold in 2024 Draft picks and breakout players and to better reflect certain Minor Leaguers’ standing in the game today.

Below is a quick summary of the Top 10 positional groups, along with links to the complete lists:

Catchers
Orioles backstop Samuel Basallo jumped over the Padres’ Ethan Salas for the top spot, in part because the former has handled Double-A in his age-19 season and in part because the latter has struggled with a move to High-A at just 18. Many in this group could see the Majors before long with six of the 10 having some Triple-A experience, including the recently promoted Kyle Teel (No. 3) and Dalton Rushing (No. 4).

First basemen
Sixth overall pick Jac Caglianone, who might spend some time on the mound as well for the Royals, takes over the top spot after hitting 68 home runs over the past two seasons at Florida. Rays slugger Xavier Isaac brings his own plus-plus power to the top of the group, and fellow 2024 top 10 pick Nick Kurtz (Athletics) rounds out the top three. Top 2024 performers C.J. Kayfus (.935 OPS) and Deyvison De Los Santos (34 homers) are the only non-Top-100 members of a group that is typically thinner than this.

Second basemen
Where can the No. 1 overall pick rank No. 2? The keystone, apparently. Guardians top selection Travis Bazzana trails only No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday on the second-base list in a battle between two left-handed batters with plus-plus hit tools. Breakouts from 2023 picks Luke Keaschall and Kristian Campbell get them into the top five with College World Series hero Christian Moore sliding in at No. 6 on his first positional prospect list.

Third basemen
This list will likely look very different in a year. Junior Caminero, Coby Mayo and Jace Jung -- three of the group’s top five -- have already seen the Majors this year, and Matt Shaw and Brady House -- the remaining two -- are knocking on the door at Triple-A, putting themselves in line for debuts early in 2025. The back half of the Top 10 only has one player with upper-level experience (Brock Wilken), though 2024 picks Cam Smith and Tommy White could be quick movers next spring.

Shortstops
Twenty-one Top 100 prospects play shortstop as their primary spot, making the six the deepest positional group. The Top 10 is headlined by No. 5 overall prospect Marcelo Mayer and concludes with No. 33 Kevin McGonigle. It’s a well-balanced collection of talent too. Some, like Brooks Lee and Jacob Wilson, have potentially special hit tools. Others, like Carson Williams and Colson Montgomery, stand out for power. That’s all to highlight that there isn’t a cookie-cutter way to develop a premium shortstop prospect.

Outfielders
The top four prospects on the grass -- Dylan Crews, Walker Jenkins, Max Clark, Charlie Condon -- were all top-five Draft picks from the past two classes, and big-money international signings Jasson Domínguez, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Lazaro Montes bring additional ceiling. Only on such a list can 2022 79th overall pick Roman Anthony and 2020 second-rounder Owen Caissie look like they have relatively humble origin stories.

Left-handed pitchers
Teams could always use quality left-handed pitching, so if you’re a White Sox fan, this is where you may come to dream. Chicago claims the top two LHP prospects in No. 15 overall prospect Noah Schultz and 2024 fifth overall pick Hagen Smith. The Marlins (Thomas White, Robby Snelling) and Dodgers (Jackson Ferris, Justin Wrobleski) also have a pair of Top 10 southpaws in their farm systems.

Right-handed pitchers
The right-handed pitching group is more diverse from a club perspective. Only the Reds (Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder) have more than one Top 10 RHP prospect, and it just so happens they’re both first-rounders out of Wake Forest. Tigers hurler Jackson Jobe holds onto his top spot with a diverse pitch mix at Double-A as a 22-year-old, and No. 2 Chase Dollander (Rockies) also recently reached the Minors’ second-highest level after striking out 111 in 70 innings for High-A Spokane. Unlike their left-handed brethren, all 10 hurlers on this list cracked the Top 100, and none of them ranks lower than No. 65.