One of the last 2 remaining “big pundits” in the space released their top 30 today, as Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo put pen to paper and released our Nats top 30 list.
Links to past major pundits include: Keith Law, Baseball America, Prospects1500. Others just do top 10s or are behind firewalls. One last big one remains: Fangraphs, who is churning them out now team by team.
Here’s the top 30 in tabular format
| MLBPipeline rank | First Name | Last Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli | Willits | SS |
| 2 | Travis | Sykora | RHP (Starter) |
| 3 | Harry | Ford | C |
| 4 | Jarlin | Susana | RHP (Starter) |
| 5 | Gavin | Fein | SS |
| 6 | Luis | Perales | RHP (Starter) |
| 7 | Seaver | King | SS |
| 8 | Luke | Dickerson | SS/CF |
| 9 | Devin | Fitz-Gerald | SS |
| 10 | Landon | Harmon | RHP (Starter) |
| 11 | Alex | Clemmey | LHP (Starter) |
| 12 | Ethan | Petry | 1B/OF (Corner) |
| 13 | Yoel | Tejeda Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 14 | Jackson | Kent | LHP (Starter) |
| 15 | Alejandro | Rosario | RHP |
| 16 | Miguel | Sime Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 17 | Coy | James | SS |
| 18 | Christian | Franklin | OF (CF) |
| 19 | Andrew | Pinckney | OF (Corner) |
| 20 | Yeremy | Cabrera | OF (corner) |
| 21 | Marconi | German | SS |
| 22 | Sam | Peterson | OF (CF) |
| 23 | Angel | Feliz | SS/3B |
| 24 | Abimelec | Ortiz | 1B/OF (Corner) |
| 25 | Ronny | Cruz | SS |
| 26 | Eriq | Swan | RHP (Starter) |
| 27 | Sean Paul | Linan | RHP (Starter) |
| 28 | Caleb | Lomavita | C |
| 29 | Yohandy | Morales | 3B |
| 30 | Nauris | De La Cruz | OF (Corner) |
Thoughts.
- We seem to have settled on a “Big 5” in the system, with nearly every pundit having the same 5 guys at the top in some order. Willits has separated himself as #1.
- This is the highest i’ve seen Sykora kept with his TJ surgery amongst rating systems, which implies that he’d be #1 over Willits if he was healthy. That’s probably not saying anything ground breaking.
- The next 4 guys: all trade bounty. Our entire top 20 now is Draft or Trade acquisitions; you have to go down to #21 to find the first IFA in German Marconi. Hopefully the new regime has a plan to return our relatively disastrous IFA system into something that generates talent.
- They have King and Dickerson 7 and 8. I think that’s still high for both, but its inline with where others have them. I understand the narrative, especially surrounding King, but Dickerson didn’t have the benefit of an AFL season where he raked to remind people of his potential.
- Remember what I said previously about ranking Prep RHP with big bonuses? Harmon: #10. Yup, right where I said he’d be.
- They’re a little low on Clemmey … he’s 2 years out of HS, and spent those two years moving up 3 levels of the minor leagues. Why would anyone rank him below a kid we just drafted who’s pitched exactly zero pro innings? Remember; had he gone to college Clemmey would be a College Junior right now just starting his draft-year season … for us he’ll be the opening day starter in AA where he’s already got a month of experience.
- Just like Keith Law, they’re incredibly high on Tejeda, ranking him #13. wow. Reading his scouting report, they’re putting the 6’8″ starter at mid 90s, which plays up with his height, with 2 decent secondary pitches and a 60 grade on his slider. They say 4th or 5th starter ceiling. Can’t wait to see what he does in 2026.
- They’re also pretty high on Jackson Kent, noting his 18 K/BB ratio but only giving him a 50 for his control (weird). Another guy who’ll be in AA in 2026. Can’t wait to see this crew run through Richmond (June 9th-14th) to get a look at some of them.
- Ironic they have Franklin and Pinckney ranked right next to each other: they’re basically the same prospect at this point. AAA Outfielders with some pop.
- They’re not fans of Sam Peterson, top 10 on other lists but at #22 here. They say 4th OF.
- Lomavita all the way down at #28; that seems way too low. Then again, Law didn’t have him in his top 20 nor in his Honorable Mentions, so maybe the shine is off of him, especially since Ford is now the heir-apparent
- Morales gets dumped even further; man this guy is just not respected by these shops for getting to AAA at age 23 and holding his own.
Outside the top 30 guys include
- Any 2026 IFA signing
- Kevin Bazzell; he’ll need a productive season to get back
- Sir Jamison Jones; Law loves him at #14
- Jorgelys Mota; maybe a solid High-A season will help.
Nobody else of note: MLBpipeline does a pretty conservative list.