Pipeline Prospects of the Year for every organization 2024

It’s that time of year again: the announcement of the MLB Pipeline Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year for each organization.

The group is led by our overall Hitting Prospect of the Year Kristian Campbell (Red Sox) and Pitching Prospect of the Year Quinn Mathews (Cardinals). They are two of the 22 players selected who were on our Top 100 Prospects list during the 2024 season (23 current, one graduated). It’s largely a new group, with just four players who were so honored in 2023 repeating on the list.

Alan Roden, OF (No. 12)
Roden finished among the top two qualified full-season Minor Leaguers in the Toronto system in all three slash-line categories (.293/.391/.475) and led the group in both OBP and OPS (.865) in 125 games between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo. He added a career-high 16 homers while also striking out in only 14.2 percent of his plate appearances, the second-lowest mark in the system.

Fernando Perez, RHP (No. 10)
Perez was better than his 4.06 ERA in 82 innings for Single-A Dunedin alone would indicate. He led Blue Jays pitchers (min. 80 IP) with a 1.06 WHIP while holding batters to a .211 average and posting a solid 86/24 K/BB ratio. He was an All-Star Futures Game selection in July.

Coby Mayo 3B/1B (No. 1/MLB No. 8)
Mayo keeps building his power-hitting resume. The third baseman on our Prospect Team of the Year, he finished second among all Minor League hitters with at least 400 plate appearances in SLG (.592) and ISO (.299) and finished fourth in OPS (.964) en route to making his big league debut at age 22.

Brandon Young, RHP (No. 19)
Not bad for a nondrafted free agent signed after the shortened 2020 Draft, right? Young finished third among all Orioles’ Minor Leaguers with 132 K’s in 111 IIP (10.7 K/9). Pitching at Double-A and Triple-A, Young finished with a solid 3.57 ERA (3.92 xFIP) and .241 BAA.

Chandler Simpson, OF (No. 4)
The 2022 70th overall pick became the first Minor Leaguer to steal 100 bags since 2012 when he swiped 104 in 110 games between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. Not content to lead the Minors in just one category, he also won the Minor League batting title with a .355 average and led the way with 160 hits.

Ian Seymour, LHP (No. 17)
Having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2022, Seymour hadn’t thrown more than 55 1/3 innings in any of his first three professional seasons but blew past that with 145 1/3 between Double-A and Triple-A, mostly because he was so effective. He led qualified Rays full-season Minor Leaguers in ERA (2.35), WHIP (0.95) and strikeouts (162), tying for sixth among all Minor League arms in the latter category.

Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF/SS (No. 3/MLB No. 10)
Campbell slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers and 24 steals while rising from High-A to Triple-A in his first full season, leading the Minors in wRC+ (180) while ranking second in on-base percentage and OPS (.997), fourth in batting and fifth in runs (94). MLB Pipeline’s Hitting Prospect of the Year and Breakout Prospect of the Year, he also earned Double-A Eastern League MVP honors.

Hunter Dobbins, RHP (No. 21)
Dobbins efficiently used his four-pitch mix to pace Red Sox farmhands with a 3.08 ERA while striking out 120 in 125 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

Ben Rice, 1B/C (graduated from Yankees Top 30)
Also our pick as the top Yankees hitting performer a year ago, Rice batted .273/.400/.568 with a system-best 24 homers in just 79 games between Double-A and Triple-A before making a big league debut that included a three-homer game against the Red Sox.

Cam Schlittler, RHP (No. 25)
The High-A South Atlantic League pitcher of the year, Schlittler led Yankees farmhands in strikeouts (154 in 120 2/3 innings) and K percentage (30 percent) while posting a 3.36 ERA with a .218 average-against and advancing to Triple-A.

Johnathan Rodriguez, OF (No. 12)
A repeater from 2023, Rodriguez won the International League MVP award this time around and paced the Triple-A circuit in wRC+ (140) and RBIs (94) while finishing second in homers (29), total bases (237), slugging (.540) and OPS (.930), third in on-base percentage (.390) and fifth in batting (.301).

Matt Wilkinson, LHP (No. 29)
The national junior college pitcher of the year at Central Arizona CC in 2023, Wilkinson used his deceptive low-90s fastball to lead the Minors in strikeout (38) and strikeout minus walk (30) percentage and rank second in ERA (1.90), strikeouts (174 in 118 2/3 innings), average-against (.169) and WHIP (0.91).

Blake Mitchell, C (No. 2/MLB No. 51)
Only two Minor League catchers this year enjoyed 18/18 seasons: Marlins/Yankees backstop Agustin Ramirez (25 HR, 22 SB) and Mitchell (18, 26) during his run at Single-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities. The 2023 first-rounder also led Kansas City qualifiers in walks (80), walk rate (16.5 percent) and wRC+ (135) in his first full season.

Noah Cameron, LHP (No. 12)
The 25-year-old left-hander led the system with 149 strikeouts, a 27.8 percent strikeout rate and 21.1 percent K/BB rate, all while taking on 128 ⅔ innings between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He was even better at the higher level, posting a 2.32 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings for the Storm Chasers.

Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B (No. 3/MLB No. 31)
There were 1,081 Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances this season, and none of them had a better ratio of walks-to-strikeouts than McGonigle’s 1.64 (46 BB, 28 K) during his 74-game run with Single-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan. The 2023 37th overall pick’s .309 average, .401 OBP and 144 wRC+ led Tigers Minor Leaguers under those same parameters.

Jaden Hamm, RHP (No. 7)
A king of the riding fastball, the 2023 fifth-rounder enjoyed a breakout season with High-A West Michigan with a 2.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 122 strikeouts in 99 innings. He struck out 30.6 percent of his batters faced and held opposing hitters to a .202 average.

Luke Keaschall, 2B/OF/1B (No. 3/MLB No. 63)
Before being shut down in August and having Tommy John surgery, Keaschall was one of the better hitters in the Minors, reaching Double-A and going to the Futures Game in his first full season. He hit .303/.420/.483 with 15 homers and 23 steals, leading all Twins full-season Minor Leaguers with his 158 wRC+.

Zebby Matthews, RHP (Graduated from Twins Top 30)
Up until Matthews made his big league debut in August, he was the best strike-thrower in all of the Minors. The 2022 eighth-round pick had an absurd 0.6 BB/9 rate across three levels of the Minors while striking out 10.6/9 (114/7 K/BB ratio). He also posted a 2.60 ERA (2.45 xFIP topped arms in the Minors) and a .211 BAA.

Brooks Baldwin, 2B/SS (graduated from White Sox Top 30)
Baldwin went from 12th-rounder in July 2022 to White Sox starting second baseman two years later after slashing .324/.391/.460 with eight homers and 17 steals in 82 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season.

Noah Schultz, LHP (No. 1/MLB No. 16)
The best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball and the Double-A Southern League pitcher of the year, Schultz destroyed hitters with his slider and logged a 2.24 ERA, .196 average-against and 115/24 K/BB ratio in 88 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A.

Rio Foster, OF (No. 30)
A 16th-rounder out of junior college in 2023, Foster began the 2024 season at the complex in Arizona. He hit his way out to full-season ball and then kept on raking. He finished with a combined .301/.409/.477 line. His .866 OPS topped all Angels Minor Leaguers with at least 250 plate appearances and he was second in the same group with his 132 wRC+.

Caden Dana, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 68)
A 2024 Futures Game participant, Dana made our second all-prospect team this year after dominating the Double-A Southern League at age 20. He topped the league in ERA (2.52), BAA (.184), WHIP (0.94) and strikeouts (147) before making his big league debut.

Shay Whitcomb, INF/OF (No. 14)
The last player taken in the shortened five-round 2020 Draft, Whitcomb was one of just three 25/25 Minor Leaguers, hitting .293/.378/.530 with 25 homers and 26 steals and placing fourth in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in OPS (.908) and RBIs (91).

Miguel Ullola, RHP (No. 7)
Yet another international bargain pitcher for the Astros, Ullola has an electric fastball and led the Minors in average-against (.163) while finishing third in strikeouts (171 in 130 1/3 innings) and compiling a 4.28 ERA, mostly at Double-A.

Colby Thomas, OF (No. 7)
A member of our all-prospect second team, Thomas is close to making an impact on the big league team after splitting the year between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024. He was fourth among all Minor Leaguers with 31 homers and among the leaders with 400 plate appearances in SLG (.563) and ISO (.287).

Gunnar Hoglund, RHP (No. 12)
A first-rounder of the Blue Jays in 2021, Hoglund was acquired by the A’s in the Matt Chapman trade while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He finally was healthy in 2023 and showed good results for the first time this year. He reached Triple-A and amassed 130 2/3 innings, finishing with a 3.44 ERA, .215 BAA and 1.07 WHIP.

Lazaro Montes, OF (No. 3/MLB No. 47)
He’s hit pretty much everywhere he’s gone and he reached High-A Everett at age 19 in 2024 after hitting .309/.411/.527 down a level. He finished tied for third among all Minor Leaguers with 105 RBIs, cut his strikeout rate and drew a ton of walks to make it easy to project continued offensive production.

Michael Morales, RHP (No. 13)
After making incremental progress in each of his first two full seasons (2022-23), Morales really took off this year, reaching Double-A before he turned 22 and finishing with a 13-2 record to go along with a 3.02 ERA over 149 IP. He topped the system with 147 K’s and made a huge step forward in his walk rate (2.30 BB/9).

Alejandro Osuna, OF (No. 16)
The younger brother of former All-Star closer Roberto Osuna and the nephew of ex-big leaguer Antonio Osuna, Alejandro earned Rangers organization player of the year honors after batting .292/.362/.507 with 18 homers and 17 steals and topping the system in slugging, OPS (.869) and wRC+ (143).

Kohl Drake, LHP (No. 21)
After getting tattooed for a 6.36 ERA in his 2023 pro debut, Drake improved his strength and athleticism and rebounded to record a 2.29 ERA (eighth in the Minors), .196 average-against, 148/31 K/BB ratio and 35 percent strikeout rate (third) in 106 innings while moving from Single-A to Double-A.

Drake Baldwin, C (No. 5)
The Braves’ third-round pick in 2022 out of Missouri State, Baldwin was solid in his first full season with High-A Rome then really turned it on when he got to Triple-A this year after 52 games with Double-A Mississippi. The 2024 Futures Gamer had an .891 OPS in 72 games with Gwinnett and topped the system overall in SLG (.423), finished second in OPS (.793) and third in wRC+ (119).

Lucas Braun, RHP (No. 21)
Over his 143 2/3 IP between High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi, Braun totaled 162 strikeouts (first in the organization), had a 3.25 xFIP (first), 20.5 K/BB percentage (first), 10.15 K/9 (second), 1.14 WHIP (second), 3.26 ERA (third) and .227 BAA (third).

Joe Mack, C (No. 9)
Selected 31st overall in the 2021 Draft, Mack scuffled in his first three pro seasons before doing a better job of attacking fastballs and pulling pitches, adjustments that resulted in a .252/.338/.468 line (mostly at Double-A) and system bests in homers (24), extra-base hits (54), total bases (221) and RBIs (78).

Thomas White, LHP (No. 1/MLB No. 46)
Named the top prospect in the High-A Midwest League, White fashioned a 2.81 ERA with a 120/38 K/BB ratio in 96 innings at two Class A stops.

Nick Morabito, OF (No. 19)
A dream leadoff hitter, Morabito led Mets full-season Minor Leaguers with his .312 average, .403 OBP, 135 wRC+, 142 hits and 59 stolen bases in 119 games between Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn. It wasn’t particularly close on the basepaths either, no one else in the system swiped more than 45 bags.

Jonah Tong, RHP (No. 10)
The 2022 seventh-rounder was one of the breakout stories in any system as he climbed three levels from Single-A to Double-A in his age-21 season. Tong struck out 160 in 113 innings, finishing third among MiLB full-season qualifiers with a 34.2 percent K rate, and posted an organizational-best 3.03 ERA in that span.

Dylan Crews, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 1)
Crews ranked second among Nationals full-season qualifiers with his 115 wRC+ and placed among the top four in average (.270), slugging (.451) and OPS (.792) over 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. He was also one of only two players in the organization with double-digit homers (13) and 20-plus steals (25).

Travis Sykora, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 79)
Washington had high hopes for its 2023 third-rounder, but the 6-foot-6 right-hander might have exceeded them by striking out 39.2 percent of his batters faced in 85 innings for Single-A Fredericksburg, giving him the highest K rate among Minor Leaguers with at least 80 frames. He also finished with a 2.33 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and .168 average-against — numbers that would sparkle over any sample size.

Justin Crawford, OF (No. 3/MLB No. 53)
The Phillies’ hitting prospect of the year for a second year in a row, Crawford posted a robust .313/.360/.444 line across two levels and ended up with 42 steals. He started driving the ball a bit more and finished with 130 wRC+.

Jean Cabrera, RHP (No. 13)
Signed for just $10,000 in 2019, Cabrera is looking like he might be a big bargain success story. He reached Double-A for the first time this year, finishing with a 3.80 ERA (3.61 xFIP, good for second among all pitchers in the organization with 90 or more IP), a .231 BAA and 1.21 WHIP while striking out more than a batter per inning.

Luis Pena, SS/3B (No. 22)
It’s rare for this award to go to a short-season player, never mind a 17-year-old playing in his first professional season, but Pena’s turn through the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League was undeniable. The infielder won the DSL batting title with a .393 average in 44 games and ranked sixth in slugging percentage (.583), fourth in OPS (1.039) and fourth in wRC+ (175). He added 39 steals as well, placing him third in that category.

K.C. Hunt, RHP (No. 29)
There’s a certain temptation to go with Minor League Reliever of the Year Craig Yoho here, but Hunt was too good as a starter to ignore. Pitching at Single-A, High-A and Double-A, the 24-year-old righty had the fourth-best ERA (2.03), fourth-best WHIP (0.93) and fifth-best strikeout rate (34.7 percent) among the 313 Minor Leaguers with at least 100 innings.

Jimmy Crooks, C (No. 5)
Named the Texas League MVP this season, the 2022 fourth-rounder led the Double-A circuit (min. 350 PA) with his .498 slugging percentage, .908 OPS and 156 wRC+. (No one else had a wRC+ higher than 140 in that sample.) He added a .321 average and 11 homers in his 90-game spin with Springfield.

Quinn Mathews, LHP (No. 3/MLB No. 77)
Our Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year, Mathews led the Minors with 202 strikeouts over 143 ⅓ innings across four full-season levels, becoming just the second Minor Leaguer since 2011 to punch out more than 200 batters. He also sported a 2.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .179 average-against over 26 starts in his first full season.

Matt Shaw, INF (No. 1/MLB No. 22)
In his first full pro season, Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 with 21 homers and 31 steals, was one of four 20/30 players in the Minors, won Double-A Southern League MVP accolades and boosted his production after a promotion to Triple-A.

Brandon Birdsell, RHP (No. 23)
Birdsell split his year between Double-A and Triple-A and posted a 3.91 ERA while topping Cubs farmhands in innings (135 2/3), strikeouts (134), K percentage (24 percent) and walk percentage (5 percent).

Jhonny Severino, 3B/SS (No. 19)
Acquired by the Pirates from the Brewers in the 2023 Carlos Santana trade, Severino made it out of the complex league and to full-season ball for the first time, finishing with a .528 SLG and .869 OPS, 16 homers and 16 steals. He had a .257 ISO and 131 wRC+.

Bubba Chandler, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 15)
Hat tip to Thomas Harrington and his impressive season, but Chandler just got better and better as the year went on. While his 3.08 ERA was third among Pirates arms with 100 or more IP, he led the system in strikeouts (148), K/9 (11.1), K/BB percentage (22.3) and xFIP (3.37) while finishing second in WHIP (1.02) and BAA (.187).

Sal Stewart, 2B (No. 4/MLB No. 76)
Spending the year at High-A Dayton at age 20, Stewart played in just 80 games because of a wrist injury, but he led the organization among all hitters with at least 250 PA with 144 wRC+ and his BB/K ratio (0.88). He finished with a solid .279/.391/.454 line.

Rhett Lowder, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 33)
It took him a minute to find his footing when he got to Double-A for the first time, but then looked every bit like the advanced college arm he was billed to be, topping the system in a host of categories (xFIP, BB/9, WHIP, BB%) and that doesn’t even account for his 1.17 ERA over his first six big league starts.

Adrian Del Castillo, C (No. 14)
The 2021 67th overall pick was named the Pacific Coast League MVP after being the only Minor League full-season qualifier to slug above .600 (.603 in his case). He also led the Minors with a 1.002 OPS and placed fourth with 65 total extra-base hits in 105 games for Reno.

Spencer Giesting, LHP (No. 27)
Giesting led the system with 154 strikeouts in 141 1/3 innings as a workhorse at High-A Hillsboro and Double-A Amarillo and finished with a 3.31 ERA in his 25 starts. The most dominant run of his career came in the Northwest League, where he sported a 1.50 ERA in 10 outings.

Dalton Rushing, C/OF (No. 1/MLB No. 39)
Named Dodgers organization player of the year and the top prospect in the Double-A Texas League, Rushing batted .271/.384..512 between Double-A and Triple-A and tied for second among Minor League catchers with 26 homers.

Jackson Ferris, LHP (No. 4/MLB No. 78)
Acquired from the Cubs in an offseason deal for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte, Ferris successfully navigated High-A and Double-A at age 20, leading the system in ERA (3.20), strikeouts (145 in 126 2/3 innings) and K percentage (27 percent).

Bryce Eldridge, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 35)
Named the High-A Northwest League’s top prospect, Eldridge batted .289/.372/.513, paced all Minor League teenagers in homers (23) and slugging and ranked second in OPS (.885) and fifth in wRC+ (137) while advancing from Single-A to Triple-A in his first full year out of high school.

Trent Harris, RHP (No. 16)
Signed for $10,000 as a nondrafted free agent a year ago, Harris logged a 1.81 ERA, .173 opponent average and 105/25 K/BB ratio in 79 2/3 innings while rising from Single-A to Double-A. He’s the son of former big leaguer Greg W. Harris.

Romeo Sanabria, 1B (No. 23)
First-base prospects really need to hit, and that’s just what the 22-year-old did to force himself on the radar this season. Sanabria climbed three levels from Single-A to Double-A while hitting .288/.396/.427 with 11 homers in 125 games. His 130 wRC+ was best among Padres full-season qualifiers.

Henry Baez, RHP (No. 7)
Baez went unprotected and unpicked in last year’s Rule 5 Draft but will make the Padres’ decision much harder this offseason after he led the organization’s full-season qualifiers in ERA (2.99), WHIP (1.09) and average-against (.212) over 126 1/3 innings between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio.

Kyle Karros, 3B (No. 18)
Eric’s kid had a terrific first full season of pro ball with High-A Spokane after the Rockies took him in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft. He topped the system with 145 wRC+ and his .875 OPS, finishing with a .311/.390/.485 line.

Chase Dollander, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 20)
We were wondering when the Rockies might promote Dollander, their 2023 first-round pick, as he was dominating High-A ball, and he kept on doing it once he got to Double-A. The right-hander finished with a system-best 169 strikeouts and 12.89 K/9 rate while finishing second in xFIP and K/BB percentage, third in ERA, BAA and WHIP.