A wave of MLB's Top 10 prospects headed toward the bigs

The prospects are coming, the prospects are coming.

Entering the weekend, five of MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 overall prospects -- including both of the top two -- were at Triple-A and staring down potential Major League debuts. And one of those five, Boston’s Marcelo Mayer, has reportedly already been called up.

That isn’t completely a coincidence. Players who perform in the upper Minor Leagues increase the confidence of external evaluators that they can carry that level of accomplishment to The Show. But this much high-quality talent being so close to the bigs brings ample excitement to those who follow prospects closely.

Of course, two primary factors determine the timing of a Major League debut: just how well the player is producing and what the Major League situation looks like at the time.

Keeping those in mind, here’s a look at how close those five prospects are to the Majors and when they could reach baseball’s brightest lights.

Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox (MLB No. 1)

How he’s doing: Entering Friday, Anthony, who only turned 21 on May 13, has reached base in all 18 of his games this month. His 18 walks lead all Triple-A hitters in that span, and he’s sported a .348/.482/.470 line over his 85 plate appearances in May. His power output has gone down a little, but he still leads Triple-A batters (min. 150 PA) in total barrels (24), average exit velocity (95.3 mph), hard-hit rate (60.2 percent) and xwOBA (.453). Anthony also played a good amount of DH in April due to a minor shoulder issue but has concentrated mostly on left field in recent weeks with some center field sprinkled in.

The MLB situation: As much as the Red Sox would like to break beyond a .500 record, their outfield group isn’t the biggest problem right now. Jarren Duran (LF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF) and Wilyer Abreu (RF) are pretty locked in, especially as Rafaela has shown offensive improvements to go with his Gold Glove-quality defense. Boston outfielders rank fourth in the Majors with a collective 3.3 fWAR, trailing only the Yankees (6.9), Cubs (6.7) and Tigers (4.8).

When a promotion could come: On merit, it could come at any time. Triple-A pitchers aren’t giving Anthony much to hit, and he’s willing to take the free passes given to him instead of pressing. In reality, it might take an injury to one of the outfield mainstays or DH Rafael Devers to open up a lane for Anthony. And no, don’t expect him to play first base either.

Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates (MLB No. 2)

How he’s doing: Chandler enters Friday with a 2.17 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 56 strikeouts and 16 walks in 37 1/3 innings with Indianapolis. His 36.8 percent strikeout rate is tops among Triple-A qualifiers, and it isn’t close; Durham’s Ian Seymour is second at 31.4 percent. Chandler's four-seam fastball has averaged 98.1 mph and comes at a flat enough angle to earn a 40.7 percent whiff rate. In fact, his slider, curveball and changeup all have whiff rates above 29 percent. He’s been capped at five innings and 86 pitches in starts to this point but has added workload over his nine appearances. He is slated to make his next start Saturday.

The MLB situation: The Bucs just optioned Carmen Mlodzinski out of the rotation on Wednesday but turned to Mike Burrows as the next man up instead. The starting group was already down one high-ceiling arm in Jared Jones, who suffered a right UCL sprain this spring and underwent elbow surgery this week. That said, Paul Skenes (2.44 ERA), Mitch Keller (3.88), Andrew Heaney (2.91) and Bailey Falter (3.50) are all off to solid starts, and Pirates starters rank ninth in the Majors with a 4.5 fWAR as a collective.

When a promotion could come: Chandler might need up to his pitch count a touch, but on stuff and results, he’s MLB-ready now. We’re already past the point that Skenes debuted last year (May 11), and Chandler is similar in that he’s an arm for which you make room. The countdown to the debut should be in days, not weeks.

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies (MLB No. 5)

How he’s doing: After missing out on the 2023 and '24 regular seasons completely due to elbow issues/Tommy John surgery, Painter returned in the Arizona Fall League last year to great effect. He made four starts with Single-A Clearwater to open 2025, debuted with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on May 8 and has made three starts for the IronPigs total, including one Wednesday. The results have been solid (3.09 ERA, 27 strikeouts, seven walks in 23 1/3 innings), but more importantly, he’s still in the build-up phase, having reached 71 pitches in each of his two most recent outings. On the season, he’s averaged 96.6 mph on his four-seamer while showing a full complement of breaking pitches and an effective, if minimally used changeup.

The MLB situation: The Phillies enter Friday with the National League’s best record, and the rotation is a big reason why. Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo both look like Cy Young candidates, and even in a down year, Aaron Nola isn’t likely to lose his starting spot anytime soon. Even Mick Abel was sent back to Triple-A after outpitching Paul Skenes in his MLB debut Sunday.

When a promotion could come: President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told anyone who would listen this spring that the club was circling “July-ish” as the time of Painter’s potential debut. Between Painter’s workload and the loaded MLB rotation, there’s little reason to believe that timeline has changed at this stage.

Marcelo Mayer, SS, Red Sox (MLB No. 8)

How he’s doing: Mayer went deep seven times over 23 games in April but has cooled down a bit this month with only three extra-base hits in 17 games. That said, like Anthony, Mayer has been willing to take his walks (12), leading to a .372 OBP. Entering Friday, he’s slashing .265/.344/.452 on the season with eight homers in 42 games total. His 106.2 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity runs above-average for Triple-A, especially for a 22-year-old. Perhaps most importantly for this story, he’s made four of his last five starts at second base after playing there only once in his first 12 games of May.

The MLB situation: Boston’s biggest infield question mark is at first base following Triston Casas’ season-ending injury. The Red Sox generated plenty of intrigue by first working Kristian Campbell out there last Friday, and it appears the club is still batting around the idea of sliding him over instead of relying on other stopgap options like Abraham Toro, Nick Sogard and the currently injured Romy Gonzalez. That’d open up the clearest lane for Mayer, even with shortstop Trevor Story enduring a rough offensive and defensive season.

When a promotion could come: Saturday! With Alex Bregman landing on the injured list, Mayer was promoted to the big league club and made his MLB debut at third base while batting sixth in the lineup for the second game of the Red Sox's doubleheader.

Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Royals (MLB No. 10)

How he’s doing: Last year’s sixth overall pick is freshest to Triple-A, having only debuted there on Tuesday. He was a sensation at Double-A Northwest Arkansas before that, slashing .322/.394/.553 with nine homers in 38 games, and he’s already gone deep with Omaha on a 113.6 mph laser on Thursday. He’s still chasing on the high side and has been susceptible to curveballs and changeups through April and May, but he hits the ball so hard that it might not matter. Defensively, the former two-way Florida star opened the year as a primary first baseman but got his first start in right field on April 24. Two of his three Triple-A starts so far have been in that corner outfield spot.

The MLB situation: Amid its fight to stay afloat in the AL Central, Kansas City designated Hunter Renfroe for assignment on Friday. The veteran had made the most right-field starts of anyone on the club but was hitting just .182/.241/.242 in 35 games at the time of the move. Drew Waters had started to peel away more and more right-field starts this month, and he’ll likely be the most immediate benefactor of Friday’s transaction. Royals right fielders as a collective have been worth -1.1 fWAR, 29th-best in the Majors and ahead of only the Rockies’ group (-1.3). Nick Loftin, primarily an infielder, was the corresponding move for Renfroe.

When a promotion could come: Many eyes turned to Caglianone after Friday’s move, but the Royals’ top prospect still only has eight professional starts in right field and one in left on his résumé. K.C. should prioritize getting him more work on the grass before throwing him into the deep end of the Majors. That’ll give him more time to finetune the approach, but given how quickly he moved through Double-A because of his bat, Caglianone could be out of Triple-A by the end of June.

Others of note

Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Orioles (MLB No. 16): Basallo dealt with elbow inflammation in Spring Training and then missed three weeks with a hamstring injury in April. He’s been red-hot at the plate of late though with six homers and an .857 slugging percentage in his last 12 games for Norfolk. He also returned to catching on May 13 and continues to sprinkle in time at first base and DH. He’s unlikely to unseat Adley Rutschman behind the plate even when healthy, but if the struggling O’s want a youthful injection into its lineup, the left-handed-hitting slugger should be one of their first calls.

Kyle Teel, C, White Sox (MLB No. 28): The South Siders brought up Edgar Quero first among their Triple-A Top 100 catchers, only for Teel to push for his own debut. Acquired in the offseason in the Garrett Crochet deal, the 23-year-old carries a 29-game on-base streak into Friday’s play, tied for the second-longest active run in Triple-A. He’s slashing .321/.410/.491 with four homers over that span. He’s certainly benefitted from hitter-friendly environs in Charlotte -- all six of his homers have been hit there this season -- but he could prove for a fun platoon with Quero in just the type of youth movement Chicago needs.

Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers (MLB No. 72): The 23-year-old right-hander -- he of the 103 mph fastball -- has blown the doors off the Triple-A competition through the first two months with a 1.55 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 52 1/3 innings. His 63 strikeouts are tied for fourth-most in the Minors. More importantly for him, he’s allowed one or zero walks in five of his last six starts for Nashville. The Milwaukee pitching staff seems to be in constant flux due to injuries, but for now, the club indicated to Adam McCalvy that Misiorowski has a little more harnessing to do before his wicked stuff is unleashed in The Show.