Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2026 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. SS Eli Willits | 18 | A | 2030
I think I’ve been too low on Willits before digging in for this list. Sure, he looks like a high-floor type more than a high-upside guy, athletically speaking, but baseball is much more than athleticism, and Willits checks every box for getting the most out of his tools. He’s a sparkplug on the diamond and a hard-worker off of it, and as the son of major leaguer Reggie Willits, he’s always had a pretty big edge in terms of learning and working on his game. He’s also a switch hitter at 6’1” 180 pounds, which is not small for a 17-year-old. In 15 Low-A games, he slashed .300/.397/.360 and earned a 128 wRC+. Pretty impressive for him to hold his own jumping into a full-season pro league late in the summer like that.
2. RHP Jarlin Susana | 22 | AA | 2026
The 6’6” 235 pound Susana was cruising through Double-A when he tore his right lat at the end of August. Prior to that last start when the injury happened, he had a 1.83 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 38 strikeouts through 19.2 Double-A innings. He has struck out 50 percent of the hitters he’d seen. He was walking too many guys, but that goes with the territory of a large young human learning to command premium stuff.
3. RHP Travis Sykora | 21 | AA | 2027
At 6’6” 232 lbs, has dominated in the minor leagues with fastballs, sliders and splitters, all easy plus pitches. He had a UCL reconstruction surgery in August this year and will likely miss all of the 2027 season. Last year in the space, I wrote: “Why was he left at the level to record 100 strikeouts and 18 walks with a 0.77 WHIP and 1.67 ERA over his final 14 starts covering 64.2 innings? I dunno. Travel budget stuff. Seems pretty clear he wasn’t being challenged there, but maybe that’s overrated for arms at that level, who primarily need to refine their ability to repeat the mechanism 90-some times a night once per week.”
He wound up throwing 125.2 spotless innings in the lower minors and then blew out his elbow during his second Double-A start. Probably would have happened that way no matter what they did, I guess. Just weird to have him cover one level last year and four levels this year while getting the same results all along.
4. SS Marconi German | 18 | DSL | 2030
Here’s what I wrote on July 6 in Prospect News: Jhonny Levels Up or Marconi’s Cooking:
“Nationals SS Marconi German (17, DSL) signed for $400,000 in January and looks like a good investment for the Nats. A switch-hitter listed at 5’10” 170 lbs, German has shown power (5 HR), speed (15 SB) and plate skills (21 walks against 14 strikeouts) through 17 games. He’s got a slightly open stance with a casual front-leg realignment as the pitch comes in, and his hand-path is quick and direct, which is helping him track the ball pretty deep into the zone for a teenager.”
Since then, German has continued to thrive, slashing .284/.468/.494 with three home runs and 18 stolen bases in 29 games, bringing his season totals to eight homers and 33 stolen bases in 53 games, good for a 162 wRC+.
5. OF Andrew Pinckney | 25 | AAA | 2026
A fourth-round pick out of Alabama in 2023, Pinckney has steadily progressed through the levels and was having his best stretch as a professional over his final few months at Triple-A. Over his final 67 games, he slashed .312/.394/.526 with 14 home runs and 22 stolen bases. Yes, please. At 6’4” 215 pounds, Pinckney has surprising speed, even getting some 80 grades around the game. Just a unique talent worth tracking.
6. 1B/OF Ethan Petry | 21 | A | 2028
A right-handed hitter at 6’4” 235 pounds, Petry hit well in the SEC during all three of his seasons with South Carolina, hit well in the Cape Cod League, and then went out and hit well in his professional debut. It was just 24 games at the end of a long season, but he slashed .287/.386/.414 with two home runs. Back when he was a pitcher coming out of high school, he could hit the mid-90’s and still uses that arm strength to cushion his floor as a defensive outfielder. The 49th overall pick in this year’s draft, he’ll be a target for my in dynasty leagues this winter.
7. OF Christian Franklin | 26 | AAA | 2026
Part of the Mike Soroka trade with the Cubs, Franklin can play all three outfield spots and should be an option for the major league club at some point next season. Heck, I might rather see him break camp than Dylan Crews, which isn’t gonna happen, but Franklin could carve out a fourth outfielder role. He slashed .272/.390/.427 with 12 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 117 Triple-A games this year and has always shown the skill to build a nice on base percentage.
8. OF Cristhian Vaquero | 21 | A | 2028
Here’s something I wrote on July 30th in Prospect News: Warming Up In Coors or Freeland Could Be Costly:
“When the 2025 season began, Nationals OF Cristhian Vaquero (20, A) was recovering from shoulder surgery, so a slow start is easy to ignore. His recent run of play, however, demands attention. He’s been improving throughout the season, but in his last 22 games, he’s hitting .337 with three home runs and three stolen bases. He’s doubled up on aggression during that stretch, walking just four percent of the time against a season-long walk rate of 10.5 percent. To me, that’s a sign he’s feeling pretty good, attacking a lot and doing damage. Washington signed for Vaquero for $4,925,000 in 2022, so it would help a lot if he can develop into a key piece of their build.”
His season ended just 15 games after I wrote that blurb, so I don’t have much to add except that he stole ten bases in those 15 games, which seems good.
9. SS Luke Dickerson | 20 | A | 2029
The 44th overall pick in 2024, Dickerson signed for the highest bonus of anyone who wasn’t selected in the first round at $3.8 million. He’s a 5’11” right-handed hitter at 197 pounds and played basketball and hockey in addition to baseball, which helps him get the occasional Mike Trout whisper for being an underseen New Jersey prospect with a solid build. He had an up and down debut season, slashing .204/.309/.319 with five home runs and 19 stolen bases, so the final line isn’t exactly thrilling, but he did have some solid stretches that hinted at big things to come.
10. SS Angel Feliz | 19 | A | 2029
Feliz signed for $1.7 million in 2024, but he’s probably a free agent in your dynasty leagues. At 6’3” 185 lbs, he’s a prototype athlete who checks all the boxes and could climb the lists in a hurry if he can improve upon the 105 wRC+ he posted in 84 games during his stateside debut season. He hit just .230 during his 31-game stint with Low-A but managed three home runs and a near-league-average 97 wRC+.
Thanks for reading!
