Top prospect outside of the Top 100 for each team………….
Since the release of the MLB Pipeline best 100 on Friday night, we hope you have devoted numerous hours to reading up on the ETAs, tool ratings, and scouting reports of this year’s best prospects.
One issue, nevertheless, remains unanswered by the list: who is gazing in from the outside?
We dissected ten players that narrowly missed the cut earlier this week. We now introduce the top non-Top 100 prospect for the club, one player from each organisation:
To illustrate how long of a development path Nimmala will have, last July Toronto selected him with the 20th overall choice while he was still just 17 years old. The 6-foot-1 shortstop, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 prospect in the 2023 Draft class, fell a bit due to worries about pitch selection, but there is no denying his right side raw power potential. He has an excellent chance of sticking at shortstop thanks to his strong arm, which increases his potential worth.
Although Norby is also capable of playing left field, it is his quick right-handed swing that will propel him to the major leagues. He played the 2023 season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he slashed.290/.359/.483 with 40 doubles and 21 home runs, after his 29 home runs across three levels in 2022. It will be intriguing to watch how and whether Norby can make it into the major league lineup given how busy Baltimore and the upper echelons of their organisation are right now.
Taylor broke the school record for both the single-season (23) and career (48) home run totals. He also became the first position player from TCU to be selected in the first round (19th overall). In each of his three seasons with the Horned Frogs, the left-handed hitter slugged over.570, but he possesses versatility as he can also manage the strike zone. Although he was athletic enough to play some middle infield in school, his arm strength makes him a far better match at third base. But, since these are the Rays, don’t be shocked if he changes teams en route to St. Petersburg.
Bleis, a 2021 signing from the Dominican Republic, was Boston’s top international prospect since Rafael Devers. He signed for $1.5 million. He is a centre fielder with 30–30 talent and at least decent tools overall, but after slashing.230/.282/.325 with 11 steals in 31 Single-A games, his 2023 full-season debut came to a stop. He needed surgery after subluxing his left shoulder on a swing in late May.
In the Yankees’ organisation, Pereira is overshadowed by fellow outfielders Yankees and Spencer Jones, but some evaluators think he will be the best big leaguer of the three. He was signed in 2017 for $1.5 million from Venezuela and has good speed and power to play all three outfield positions. In 81 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he batted.300/.373/.548 with 18 home runs and 11 steals before earning 26 starts for the Yankees in the last six weeks of the season.
Velazquez was selected by the Guardians with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 Draft because he had the best mix of hitting talent and power among all the players selected. In his brief pro debut, the California high school talent went 8-for-23 with two home runs in Rookie league. Although he still needs to improve behind the plate, his strong arms are a plus.
The only Kansas City talent to surface in Top 100 conversations was Blake Mitchell, and there is a fierce competition for second place in the organisation behind him. As of right now, Wallace seems to have the best chance of being a regular third baseman and is a possible 15–15 talent. After being promoted to Double-A late in the season, his performance declined. However, he did reduce his strikeout rate there and could have been the victim of unluck (.265 BABIP) while he worked to increase his lift on contact.
Leave a Reply