These prospects made the biggest jumps on the new Top 100 list

August 16th, 2024

MLB Pipeline unveiled its annual in-season rerank this week, and the Top 100 Prospects list looks significantly different. Forty-three players who weren't on the preseason Top 100 are now on the list, including 12 from the 2024 Draft class.

While the No. 1 prospect remained the same (Jackson Holliday), dozens of other players moved up, down and even off the list.

On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis dug into some of those changes, highlighting 10 players who made the biggest jumps on the new Top 100 list -- five who rose from their spots on the preseason list and five who weren’t on the preseason Top 100.

Five who weren't on the preseason Top 100

Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B, Tigers (No. 33)
“[In high school] he had a reputation of having a really good approach and could really hit, and he has done just that in his first full season. Just recently, he got bumped up from Single-A Lakeland to High-A West Michigan.

“Power hasn't totally come yet, but there's good extra-base pop there. He can really, really hit.” -- Mayo

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Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets (No. 40)
“He reached another gear [this season], and he got better when he moved from High-A to Double-A. He's got a 2.53 ERA, he’s struck out 11.1 batters per nine and most importantly, he's only walked 3.3 per nine, which is a huge improvement compared to his numbers at Florida and even earlier this year with Brooklyn. He has always had that elite level pure stuff, and he's commanding it better.” -- Mayo

Moises Ballesteros, C/1B, Cubs (No. 44)
"This guy hits everywhere he goes. He's showing more power as he gets older. We've gone 60 hit [tool] on him, you could almost go a little higher than that.

"His prospect value is so tough to peg because of the position volatility. He's a catcher, and he's got soft hands. If you really like him, you can compare him to Alejandro Kirk. He's getting better as a receiver and blocker ... but it's not a great body, and you wonder, 'Is he going to be agile enough? Is he going to hold up enough to be a catcher?'" -- Callis

Thomas White, LHP, Marlins (No. 46)
“He only needed eight starts in Single-A this year before pretty much making quick work of that level and jumping up to High-A, where he's actually throwing more strikes in High-A than he did in Single-A.

“The Marlins knew he was good, but I think they've been pleasantly surprised at how quick his acclimation to pro ball is, and I could see him continuing to rise up this list.” -- Callis

Leodalis De Vries, SS, Padres (No. 47)
“They've let him adjust to the [Single-A] and find success, and at 17, he's still well ahead of the game in terms of age. He's like three years younger than the typical Single-A guy, so there's no need to rush him.

“He got off to slow start, which might be expected, [but] over the last 31 games he's played since the beginning of July, he's hitting .289 with 10 homers, an OPS over 1.000, drawn a lot of walks. This is a guy who I think is going to continue to climb our lists. It could be plus hit, it could be plus power, it is plus run.” -- Callis

Team Top 30 Prospects lists:
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF

Five who were on the preseason Top 100

Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners (No. 87 to No. 30) +57
“He's missed time. He's only played 47 games, but I think right out of the gate, there was this sense that we had him ranked too low, and so we keep sort of correcting him upwards. Then he came back from injury and had a .911 OPS in July, and he hasn't even really started tapping into the power that he has. He is a very, very good hitter.” -- Mayo

Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates (No. 93 to No. 41) +52
“He missed a little bit of time, and then when he came back, he was pitching extremely well. Then he got bumped up to Triple-A and went seven shutout innings in his first Triple-A start. He's very much knocking on the door. The Pirates at the big league level have kind of gone sideways here lately, but I think if they were still in the Wild Card hunt, it wouldn't surprise me if you saw Bubba Chandler in the big leagues if they needed some help.” -- Mayo

Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics (No. 68 to No. 26) +42
“I think in a lot of ways, he's continued to defy expectations. He does not swing and miss. I mean, the strikeout percentage, the swing-and-miss percentage are all so ridiculously small, and without huge amounts of impact.

“It's kind of crazy what he's done in that very small sample. I mean, I think it's going to work. It's just a question of how much is it going to work as a big league regular once he's back and healthy?” -- Mayo

Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Giants (No. 96 to No. 54) +42
“I'll give kudos to the Giants here for simplifying things. ... He talked about how he wanted a chance to play two ways, but, first round pick, you're going to do what the team tells you. This year, the Giants were like, ‘We're not going to do two-way thing. You're not going to play the outfield. Just play first base. Just go out there and hit.’ And he went out and hit and the power has been everything we thought it was going to be.

“He's slugging .489, he's got 14 homers in 83 games, and again, he's 19 years old.” -- Callis

Blake Mitchell, C, Royals (No. 94 to No. 56) +38
“Last year, I thought the two most underrated guys in the first round were Aidan Miller and Blake Mitchell.

“He can hit. He's got big power. It's plus plus arm strength. He's going to be a solid defender behind the plate. He's hitting in Single-A. He's got 15 homers. He's got an .850 OPS. He's actually at 23 steals. I mean, he's not going to be a big stolen base guy, but he's pretty athletic and knowledgeable for a catcher." -- Callis