Who has the best tools among Top 100 Prospects?

August 19th, 2024

When MLB Pipeline unveiled its preseason Top 100 list in January, we also highlighted the best individual tools among baseball's best prospects. Several players mentioned have wasted no time showing off what they can do in the Majors.

Paul Skenes (best fastball, best slider) has dominated big league hitters with his mid-90s splinker (a hybrid of a two-seam fastball and a splitter that is one of the more devastating pitches in the game), upper-90s four-seamer and mid-80s slider. Not that velocity is everything, but his 98.8 mph average on his four-seamer ties José Soriano for the highest among starters in the Majors.

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Masyn Winn (best arm) ranks second among big league infielders by averaging 93.2 mph on the top 5 percent of his throws, and he also has recorded the strongest bolt of any infield throw this year at 101.2 mph. Pete Crow-Armstrong (best defender) is tied for 13th among center fielders with seven Outs Above Average despite making just 65 starts at the position.

So when you peruse the superlatives from our recently updated Top 100 below, realize that you will see these talents on display in a big league ballpark in the near future. The prospects with the best hitting ability, best power, best curveball and best control on the list already are in the Majors.

The tools below are rated on the standard 20-80 scouting scale, where 50 represents big league average.

Best hitter: Jackson Holliday, 2B/SS, Orioles (70)
No. 1 on the Top 100 for the third straight time, Holliday stands out most with his advanced ability at the plate. He's still just 20 years old, but after raising eyebrows by going 2-for-34 in his first taste of the Majors in April, he has slashed .270/.313/.556 since returning in late July. He's a career .304/.442/.486 hitter in the Minors, where just seven of his 1,017 plate appearances have come against pitchers younger than him. He has a compact left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed and controls the strike zone masterfully, allowing him to smoke the ball with authority to all fields.

Also in the running: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians; Brooks Lee, INF, Twins; Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Holliday.

Best power: Junior Caminero, 3B/2B, Rays (70)
Caminero's combination of bat speed, strength and ability to barrel balls produces outlandish exit velocities for anyone, let alone someone who turned 21 last month, and helped him top all teenagers in the Minors with 31 homers and a .591 slugging percentage last season. He has gone deep 13 times in 53 games at Triple-A Durham this year despite a recurring quad injury, and his rate of home runs per fly ball there (30 percent) is exceeded at the big league level by only one player: Aaron Judge. If Caminero makes an adjustment to drive balls in the air more regularly, 40-homer seasons could become his norm.

Also in the running: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Royals; Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Rockies; Coby Mayo, 3B/1B, Orioles.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Caminero.

Fastest runner: Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies (75)
Crawford's father Carl led the American League in steals four times in five seasons in the mid-2000s, and Justin inherited his speed. He recorded sub-6.2-second 60-yard dash times on the showcase circuit and flashes top-of-the-scale quickness in game action. He knows how to use it to beat out hits (career .312 average in two-plus pro seasons), swipe bags (93 in 114 attempts in 194 games) and cover ground in center field.

Also in the running: Max Clark, OF, Tigers; Druw Jones, OF, Diamondbacks; Jordan Lawlar, SS, Diamondbacks.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Crawford.

Best arm: Carson Williams, SS, Rays (70)
Williams pumped fastballs up to 95 mph with ease as a San Diego high schooler, and some clubs preferred him as a pitcher. The Rays made him a first-round pick and a full-time shortstop, where his plus-plus arm is the most obvious part of a complete defensive package. His ability to execute any throw from any angle combines with his fluid actions, quickness and hands to make him a future Gold Glover.

Also in the running: Coby Mayo, 3B/1B, Orioles; Blake Mitchell, C, Royals; Braden Montgomery, OF, Red Sox.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals.

Best defender: Druw Jones, OF, D-backs (70)
Another tools standout with an impeccable pedigree, Jones is the son of Andruw Jones, who won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-2007 and ranks among the best defensive center fielders ever to play the game. In his first pro game, Druw made a Willie Mays-esque over-the-shoulder grab in deep center and served notice that he'll be a future Gold Glover as well. His combination of plus-plus speed and outstanding instincts gives him tremendous range, and he possesses well above-average arm strength as well.

Also in the running: Starlyn Caba, SS, Phillies; Jeferson Quero, C, Brewers; Carson Williams, SS, Rays.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs.

Best fastball: Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers (70)
Misiorowski's fastball stands out with its pure velocity, sitting at 96-98 mph and topping out at 102, but that's just a small part of the story. His heater features extraordinary shape thanks to a combination of extremely low release height and elite extension, as well as quality carry and armside run. His ability to command it and the rest of his arsenal will determine whether he makes it as a starter versus a closer.

Also in the running: Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies; Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets; Travis Sykora, RHP, Nationals.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates.

Best curveball: Hayden Birdsong, RHP, Giants (60)
Birdsong barely registered on the scouting radar at Lake Land (Ill.) CC and Eastern Illinois, but he went from the sixth round of the 2022 Draft to San Francisco in less than two years. No pitcher in the Majors who has had as many plate appearances end with a curveball has a higher run value per 100 curves than Birdsong's 2.7. His bender combines power (80-83 mph) with downer shape coming out of a high arm slot.

Also in the running: Chase Burns, RHP, Reds; River Ryan, RHP, Dodgers; Thomas White, LHP, Marlins.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Tekoah Roby, RHP, Cardinals.

Best slider: Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox (70)
Hitters don't see many sliders like Schultz's. He's 6-foot-9 and works from a low arm slot, creating extremely wide angle and high spin rates on a low-80s sweeper. It seems to come from first base before cutting across the plate while also displaying significant depth. His slide piece destroys hitters from both sides of the plate, with right-handers going just 4-for-45 with 23 strikeouts against it in Double-A.

Also in the running: Chase Burns, RHP, Reds; Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs; Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates

Best changeup: Tink Hence, RHP, Cardinals (70)
When batters gear up for Hence's fastball, which parks at 93-96 mph and peaks at 99, he can make them look silly with his dancing changeup. It arrives at the plate 10 mph slower before taking a right turn and diving at the plate. He has posted a crazy 69 percent swing-and-miss rate with his cambio in Double-A, consistently getting chases with it.

Also in the running: Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers; Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds; Quinn Mathews, LHP, Cardinals.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Padres (now with Rays).

Best control: Zebby Matthews, RHP, Twins (65)
An unheralded eighth-round pick from Western Carolina in 2022, Matthews ranked among the NCAA Division leaders in K/BB ratio in each of his final two seasons with the Catamounts. He has been even more precise with his pitches as a pro, pounding the zone with his fastball, slider, cutter and curveball while topping the Minors in K/BB (16.3) and walk rate (0.6 per nine innings) this season. He won his big league debut against the Royals last Tuesday, throwing 49 of 77 pitches for strikes while not issuing a free pass in five innings.

Also in the running: Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Pirates; Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds; Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies.
Preseason Top 100 choice: Lowder.