Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2027 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. C Alfredo Duno | 21 | AA | 2027
Duno generates easy power from a 6’2” 210-pound frame and hit 19 home runs in just 97 games across two levels last year. He also managed 22 doubles and a triple. In 32 Double-A games, he flexed his developing hit tool, slashing .322/.406/.488 with 23 strikeouts (16.7%). One thing that makes Duno unique among big catching prospects with great bats is that he can really play the position, framing with smooth, subtle actions and flashing his plus arm to keep runners honest.
2. SS Justin Lebron | 22 | A+ | 2029
Lebron dunked all over High-A pitching during his 23-game pro debut, slashing .292/.346/.594 with eight home runs and six stolen bases. The 18th overall pick in this year’s draft, he’s good at every aspect of the game, with only his hit tool remaining in the open-questions column. The six-foot-two, 190-pound righty was a three-year starter at Alabama, where he hit 46 home runs and stole 66 bases in 177 games.
3. SS Steele Hall | 19 | A | 2029
The 9th overall pick in the 2025 draft, Hall’s got a long way to go as a hitter, but he’s good at everything else on a baseball field, and he’s patient at the plate. Even riding the struggle bus in Low-A late this season, he managed a .355 on base percentage despite a .189 batting average and .284 slugging percentage. It’s the kind of line that makes me worry a guy might be too patient, bordering on passive, or just caught in between a lot and hesitant to pull the trigger. He was much better on the complex, slashing .288/.387/.518 with ten home runs and 24 stolen bases in 58 games, offering us a glimpse at his fantasy upside.
4. SS Tyson Lewis | 21 | A+ | 2029
Another power-speed middle infielder, Lewis has a little less defensive upside and a few more hit-tool questions than the other shortstops here, but at 6’2” 195 pounds with plus athleticism, he’s every bit as explosive. His 87 wRC+ and 30 percent strikeout in 51 High-A games aren’t encouraging, but he was 2.1 years younger than the league average, so he gets a little extra patience for that.
5. C Jirvin Morillo | 20 | A | 2030
A switch-hitter with natural loft especially in his left-handed swing, Morillo is a little under the radar considering the outcomes he’s put on paper because he doesn’t wow with his athleticism outside of the batter’s box. That’s far. The actual game is about much more than hitting. The fantasy game . . . I mean insofar it gets a guy playing time . . . the non-hitting aspects of baseball still matter: just not as much. I’m not comparing this kid to Yordan Alvarez by any means, but I remember when he didn’t make any top 100 lists because he didn’t project to play much defense. Anywho, Morillo’s nowhere near that guy’s size at 5’11” 177 pounds, but he did slash .321/.449/.654 with 13 home runs and four stolen bases in 54 complex league games before posting a 116 wRC+ for 22 games in Low-A.
6. 2B Eric Becker | 21 | A+ | 2029
A left-handed-hitting, right-handed-throwing, jack-of-all-trades type at 6’3” 190 pounds, Becker played shortstop for Virginia, third base for Team USA and second base for the High-A Dayton Dragons during his 21-game professional debut. Dayton was the first place he hasn’t hit in a long time, as the 58th overall pick in this year’s draft slashed .205/.298/.373, but that’s a vanishingly small sample size made smaller in the context of switching from aluminum bats to wooden ones.
7. SS Liberts Aponte | 19 | DSL | 2031
A right-handed hitter at six-feet, 160 pounds, Aponte slashed .353/.493/.514 with two home runs and 11 stolen bases in 33 Dominican Summer League games. A plus defender with smooth actions and fast hands in the batter’s box, he’s a prime candidate for a breakout season in 2027.
8. 1B Carter Graham | 25 | AA | 2027
The 6’1” 228-pound righty made a leap with the bat this year and finally accessed his raw power in games, cracking 29 home runs in 126 games split almost evenly between High-A and Double-A, where he slashed .277/.388/.514 with 12 homers and six stolen bases in 60 games while striking out a reasonable 23.8 percent of the time. It’s the kind of season that should turn heads and get him a long look in spring training.
9. OF Angel Nuñuz | 17 | DSL | 2031
A speedy, left-handed center fielder with impressive bat-to-ball skills, Nuñuz signed for $3 million in January and played for two DSL teams, slashing .292/.431/.474 with five home runs and 24 stolen bases in 50 games. He’s a sneaky buy in First-Year-Player Drafts where he’s still in the free agent pool.
10. OF Eider Gutierrez | 18 | DSL | 2031
Gutierrez signed for $150,000 in January and brought more power than meets the eye given his 5’10” 163-pound frame. A right-handed hitter with a quick swing and intriguing loft, he hit eight home runs in 48 games while slashing .299/.419/.515 with just a 12.4 percent strikeout rate and 17 stolen bases.
Thanks for reading!
