This year, the promotions of top baseball prospects have been occurring at a rapid pace. Among the notable debuts are Chase Burns against the Yankees and Roman Anthony’s recent call-up to Boston. Since the season began, 29 players from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list have made it to the major leagues.
The question now is who will be next to join their ranks. This topic was discussed on the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast by Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and host Jason Ratliff through a mock draft exercise.
Currently, there are 16 players in Triple-A with an expected arrival in 2025. Callis and Mayo conducted a four-round mock draft predicting which prospects would be promoted first. Each pick will earn points based on how long it takes for those prospects to be called up; fewer points indicate better predictions.
Here are some of their selections:
Jim Callis chose Samuel Basallo as his first pick. “The disappointing Orioles are mired in last place,” he said, noting that Basallo has performed well at Triple-A with 15 home runs and a .968 OPS through 48 games. However, questions about his defensive skills remain.
Jonathan Mayo picked Justin Crawford second. “Crawford has hit at every level,” he noted, highlighting Crawford’s .336/.413/.429 batting line with 26 steals in Triple-A. The Phillies’ current need in left field could accelerate his promotion despite some team considerations for other players.
Mayo also selected Quinn Mathews third, citing his potential to provide rotation depth for the Cardinals given their pitching struggles this season. However, Mathews is still recovering from a shoulder issue and may not yet be ready for major league action.
Andrew Painter was Callis’s fourth pick due to expectations from the Phillies for him to pitch this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, Painter’s performance issues at Triple-A might delay his promotion until improvements are seen.
Callis then picked Chase DeLauter fifth because of Cleveland Guardians’ outfield needs outside of Steven Kwan. Despite injury setbacks limiting DeLauter’s playing time over three minor league seasons, he is currently healthy and performing well in Triple-A Columbus.
Mayo selected Bubba Chandler sixth due to Chandler being considered one of the top pitching prospects and having experience at Triple-A already; however, Chandler is experiencing challenges with a high ERA recently while competing within an effective Pirates rotation.
Finally among others: C.J Kayfus (Guardians) was chosen seventh by Mayo while Owen Caissie (Cubs) was selected eighth by Callis – both picks reflecting specific team needs but also acknowledging potential obstacles related either limited profiles or existing player blocks within respective organizations’ rosters today too though overall promising futures ahead potentially nonetheless regardless here overall perhaps generally speaking even still ultimately anyway…
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