It’s list season. You didn’t think we’d go without creating one for The Hobby, right?
There are many ways to go about creating a Hobby list such as this. How did we handle it? Well, this is not a list with any direct connection to any present or future card values - it is NOT a ranking of the most expensive prospect cards from top to bottom. It’s a list that looks to find the best prospects, present and future, through the collecting lens. The hobby especially always has that eye on the more distant future, even though the vision doesn’t always come into focus. Other differences from non-Hobby lists are factors such as being a pitcher or catcher, home market for the player (not just an organization’s development trends), and a strong focus on power potential.
Note: we purposely left off all of the most recent International Free Agent (J15) signings like Ethan Salas. We want a prospect to have had an opportunity to participate in professional baseball before considering them for this list.
Don’t stop reading at the end of the list - Max and Joe dive deeper into the topic below. And without further ado…
The List
1. Jordan Walker, 3B/OF - STL
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
2. Jackson Chourio, OF - MIL
Age: 18 Highest Level: AA
3. Gunnar Henderson, 3B - BAL
Age: 21 Highest Level: MLB
4. Elly De La Cruz, SS - CIN
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
5. Druw Jones, OF - ARI
Age: 19 Highest Level: HS
6. Corbin Carroll, OF - ARI
Age: 22 Highest Level: MLB
7. Anthony Volpe, SS - NYY
Age: 21 Highest Level: AAA
8. Jackson Holliday, SS - BAL
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
9. James Wood, OF - WSH
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
10. Jordan Lawlar, SS - ARI
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
11. Marcelo Mayer, SS - BOS
Age: 20 Highest Level: A+
12. Miguel Vargas, 3B/1B/2B/OF - LAD
Age: 23 Highest Level: MLB
13. Elijah Green, OF - WSH
Age: 19 Highest Level: CPX
14. Andrew Painter, RHP - PHI
Age: 19 Highest Level: AA
15. Noelvi Marte, SS/3B - CIN
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
16. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF - MIN
Age:19 Highest Level: A
17. Cam Collier, 3B - CIN
Age: 18 Highest Level: CPX
18. Grayson Rodriguez, RHP - BAL
Age: 23 Highest Level: AAA
19. Jackson Merrill, SS - SD
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
20. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF - CHC
Age: 20 Highest Level: A+
21. Evan Carter, OF - TEX
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
22. Spencer Jones, OF - NYY
Age: 21 Highest Level: A
23. Triston Casas, 1B - BOS
Age: 22 Highest Level: MLB
24. Termarr Johnson, 2B - PIT
Age: 18 Highest Level: A
25. Ricky Tiedemann, LHP - TOR
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
26. Ezequiel Tovar, SS - COL
Age: 21 Highest Level: MLB
27. Samuel Zavala, OF - SD
Age: 18 Highest Level: A
28. Eury Pérez, RHP - MIA
Age: 19 Highest Level: AA
29. Masyn Winn, SS - STL
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
30. Colton Cowser, OF - BAL
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
31. Jasson Dominguez, OF - NYY
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
32. Brady House, 3B - WSH
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
33. Zach Neto, SS - LAA
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
34. Josh Jung, 3B - TEX
Age: 25 Highest Level: MLB
35. Marco Luciano, SS - SF
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
36. Brett Baty, 3B - NYM
Age: 22 Highest Level: MLB
37. Junior Caminero, 3B - TB
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
38. Curtis Mead, 2B/3B - TB
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
39. Francisco Álvarez, C - NYM
Age: 21 Highest Level: MLB
40. Coby Mayo, 3B - BAL
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
41. Justin Crawford, OF - PHI
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
42. Alex Ramirez, OF - NYM
Age: 20 Highest Level: A+
43. Kyle Manzardo, 1B - TB
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
44. Kyle Harrison, LHP - SF
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
45. Miguel Bleis, OF - BOS
Age: 18 Highest Level: CPX
46. Kevin Alcántara, OF - CHC
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
47. Zac Veen, OF - COL
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
48. Oswald Peraza, SS - NYY
Age: 22 Highest Level: MLB
49. Endy Rodriguez, C/OF - PIT
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
50. Gavin Cross, OF - KC
Age: 22 Highest Level: A
51. Brooks Lee, SS - MIN
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
52. Kevin Parada, C - NYM
Age: 21 Highest Level: A
53. Colson Montgomery, SS - CHW
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
54. Edwin Arroyo, SS - CIN
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
55. Adael Amador, SS - COL
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
56. Dalton Rushing, C - LAD
Age: 22 Highest Level: A
57. Diego Cartaya, C - LAD
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
58. Carson Williams, SS - TB
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
59. Tyler Soderstrom, C/1B- OAK
Age: 21 Highest Level: AAA
60. Harry Ford, C - SEA
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
61. Roderick Arias, SS - NYY
Age: 18 Highest Level: DSL
62. Cristhian Vaquero, OF - WSH
Age: 18 Highest Level: DSL
63. Yasser Mercedes, OF - MIN
Age: 18 Highest Level: DSL
64. Gabriel Gonzalez, OF - SEA
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
65. Chase DeLauter, OF - CLE
Age: 21 Highest Level: NCAA
66. Sal Frelick, OF - MIL
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
67. Royce Lewis, SS/OF - MIN
Age: 23 Highest Level: MLB
68. Anthony Gutierrez, OF - TEX
Age: 18 Highest Level: CPX
69. Drew Gilbert, OF - HOU
Age: 22 Highest Level: A
70. Lazaro Montes, OF - SEA
Age: 18 Highest Level: DSL
71. Mason Auer, OF - TB
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
72. Andy Pages, OF - LAD
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
73. Luis Matos, OF - SF
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
74. Joey Wiemer, OF - MIL
Age: 24 Highest Level: AAA
75. Yiddi Cappe, SS - MIA
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
76. Gleider Figuereo, 3B - TEX
Age: 18 Highest Level: A
77. Gavin Williams, RHP - CLE
Age: 23 Highest Level: AA
78. Connor Norby, 2B - BAL
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
79. George Valera, OF - CLE
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
80. Colt Keith, 3B - DET
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
81. Jose Rodriguez, OF - MIN
Age: 17 Highest Level: DSL
82. Robert Hassell III, OF - WSH
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
83. Oscar Colás, OF - CHW
Age: 24 Highest Level: AAA
84. Ceddanne Rafaela, OF - BOS
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
85. Brennen Davis, OF - CHC
Age: 23 Highest Level: AAA
86. Dustin Harris, OF - TEX
Age: 23 Highest Level: A+
87. Bryan Ramos, 3B - CHW
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
88. Yanquiel Fernandez, OF - COL
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
89. Heston Kjerstad, OF - BAL
Age: 24 Highest Level: A+
90. Luisangel Acuña, SS - TEX
Age: 20 Highest Level: AA
91. Deyvison De Los Santos, 3B - ARI
Age: 19 Highest Level: AA
92. Jonathan Mejia, SS - STL
Age: 17 Highest Level: DSL
93. Benny Montgomery, OF - COL
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
94. Tink Hence, RHP - STL
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
95. Josue De Paula, OF - LAD
Age: 17 Highest Level: DSL
96. Dylan Beavers, OF - BAL
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
97. Mick Abel, RHP - PHI
Age: 21 Highest Level: AA
98. Cristian Hernández, SS - CHC
Age: 19 Highest Level: CPX
99. Brock Jones, OF - TB
Age: 21 Highest Level: A
100. Jack Leiter, RHP - TEX
Age: 22 Highest Level: AA
Outside Top 50 -> Top 10
Max: This has to be a really young international hitter who has little or no pro experience. It’s the Jackson Chourio pick, right? For me, it’s Anthony Gutierrez. He has the ideal long, athletic frame most prospects dream of - he physically looks like Alex Ramirez already. But the whole thing with Ramirez is that we all see that he’s a sleeping giant with tools that could lead to a massive performance jump at any moment. I’m here to say that the same holds true for Gutierrez. He was the only 17-year-old to move from the DSL to the Complex in 2022 (after tearing through the DSL with a .445 wOBA), so it’s possible the Rangers feel the same way. If he gets an assignment to Single-A before May, prepare for takeoff.
Joe: As Max said, this is the “Who is the next Jackson Chourio?” prediction. Anthony Gutierrez was my instinctual thought for this topic as well, but for the sake of variety, I will go in a different direction. My choice here is Josue De Paula. He torched the DSL in 2022 to the tune of a 161 wRC+, walking more than he struck out, and just showing all around that he was better than that level. Two of his top three highest-matched RoboScout hitter comps are Rafael Devers and Julio Rodriguez (👀). As I type this, I think I might have ranked him too low.
Outside Top 100 -> Top 50
Max: I want to say Bryce Miller but it’s really tough for pitchers of his age to get to 50 in the hobby. In the interest of staying with the position, I’ll say Jarlin Susana. He’s 19 all year, already had a taste of Single-A, and has a massive frame to work with. He only really has two pitches but they’re both phenomenal already — and 103 mph speaks for itself. Of course, there’s some pause with being in the Nationals organization, he’ll need a better third pitch, and his command isn’t great at present. It’s just really easy to take the raw talent over those flaws with Susana. With a solid performance, there’s a chance to get to High-A at 19 this year, which for me, would make him a Top 5 pitcher for the hobby.
Joe: I also want to say Bryce Miller because I’m a huge Miller stan. Again, I will go in a different direction and go with Yeison Morrobel. Full disclosure - I had Morrobel just inside my personal Top 100 while Max did not, which meant that Yeison did not get into the overall Top 100 rankings. When I did my 2022 Bowman Chrome Product Preview, of all the newcomers in the product (excluding the 2022 Bowman guys who also showed up with 1sts in Chrome like Chourio) Samuel Zavala and Yeison Morrobel’s videos were the ones I was most intrigued by. Morrobel has a patient plate approach, the ability to hit the ball to all fields, and the data to back it up. If the power shows up as his 6’2” frame fills out, there’s no doubt he gets into our Top 50 by the season’s end.
Player Max is a lot higher on than Joe
It’s rough in the hobby streets for college bats with over a year of pro experience. We only have three such players in our Top 50 - Colton Cowser, Josh Jung, and Kyle Manzardo. But I had a third in my personal Top 50: Connor Norby.
Norby’s bottom line in 2022 is weighed down by his playing through eye swelling in the first half of the year which makes his overall slash line look worse. Although he only saw a brief IL stint, I’m choosing to believe that his eye bothered him for most of his time in High-A and his first month of Double-A. Could it just be adjustments? Sure, but the results are the same.
From the beginning of the year through July 31, Norby had 13 HR (72 games) but hit just .237. From August 1 - end of the year (49 games) Norby had 16 HR, and hit .338. Making enough contact has never been the issue, as his K% hovered around 20 most of the year. For him, it was quality of contact that saw a drastic improvement in the last few months. With the eye issue to explain it, I think the gains are real.
The other thing Norby has working for him is proximity. He’ll start the year in Triple-A, and if he continues to make good on the offensive gains he showed, Baltimore will be taking a hard look at him by May. Despite Baltimore being extremely deep with young talent, he’s conveniently a 2B, where Adam Frazier, Jorge Mateo, and Terrin Vavra don’t figure to be significant organizational barriers. I think hitting 15 HR in 90 MLB games is in the cards for Norby this year.
Player Joe is a lot higher on than Max
I could just do Kyle Harrison here, but anyone that’s spoken to me about Harrison knows that I have a bit of irrational exuberance with my Giants’ fan cap on when it comes to discussing the lefty pitching prospect. Needless to say, I’m quite a bit higher than Max on Harrison.
Rather than rehash that topic, I’ll go with Colson Montgomery. He landed at 53rd overall in our Top 100, while I had him ranked 38 spots higher than Max in our personal rankings.
The White Sox’s 2021 1st round pick, the former prep shortstop is an athlete that had an opportunity to play basketball for the storied Indiana Hoosiers but chose the leather and lumber instead of the round orange ball. The biggest question with Montgomery is more of a baseball question than a hobby question - can he stick at shortstop? From the hobby perspective, I don’t care what defensive position you play, excluding catcher, as long as you can do it competently enough to get full-time at bats.
Setting aside the Project Birmingham Double-A short stint, Montgomery’s numbers and data all read above average to plus with the exception of his zone swing rate. In just under 100 games, he hit 11 home runs, which leads to the other main question about Montgomery - is he a 15 - 20 home run guy, or can he regularly get into that 25 - 30 range. Given the plus 90th percentile exit velocity and 6’4” frame that is ripe for future added strength, I do think we can see him get to the higher side of power projections.