It's not even Christmastime but there's plenty of list-making going on at MLB Pipeline. We just refreshed our Top 100 Prospects list, and we're working on rearranging and expanding our Draft Top 150 into a Draft Top 200 by the end of the month. On to your questions ...
With the exception of our total overhaul in July/August, making in-season updates to the Top 100 consists of two steps. Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo and I vote on the first 15 prospects, and then we decide which guys behind them warrant moving up or down 10 spots or more.
All three of us voted for Red Sox outfielder Anthony at No. 1. For me, it's hard to top his all-around offensive game (plus hitter, plus-plus raw power, extremely advanced swing decisions for someone who just turned 21 on Tuesday) and his track record of performance (.287/.401/.475 in four pro seasons despite being much younger than his opposition). He also offers average to solid speed, arm strength and corner-outfield defense.
That's not to say that there are no legitimate challengers to Anthony. Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler may not be the second coming of Paul Skenes, but he has all the ingredients to be a No. 1 starter. Padres shortstop Leo De Vries has 30-30 upside and is raking in High-A at age 18. Rangers shortstop Sebastian Walcott may have as much power potential as anyone in the Minors and is thriving in Double-A as a 19-year-old.
The 15th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Cijntje ranks No. 92 on the new Top 100 and 22nd among pitchers. That evaluation is based purely on his long-term big league value, with no consideration given to his switch-pitching. We only care about his ability to get outs and accumulate innings.
Focusing on pitching righty only would make Cijntje a better prospect. I know MLB Network's Greg Amsinger will chide me for writing that, and I understand why the Mariners are letting him switch-pitch for now -- because it's important to Cijntje. But he doesn't need to do both to try to cling to a Major League role like fringe prospect Pat Venditte did when he switch-pitched for six teams in 61 games over parts of five big league seasons.
As a righty, Cijntje looks like someone who can fit in the front half of a rotation. As a lefty, he looks likes a relief specialist. From the right side, he has a better fastball, a better slider and a changeup that can help him get left-handers out even with the platoon disadvantage.
Any time that Cijntje spends working on pitching as a lefty detracts from him maximizing his talent as a righty. Switch-pitching is fun, but winning matters more in the long run.
After Thursday's outing, the Brewers should call Misiorowski up now. His stuff is as good as anyone's in the Minor League, he's throwing more strikes than ever and he's dominating Triple-A.
Misiorowski averaged 98 mph with his fastball and topped out at 103 yesterday, sat at 94-95 mph with his slider and got multiple swings and misses with both of those pitches as well as with his mid-80s curveball and upper-80s changeup. He has allowed just two runs in his last five starts, posting a 38/7 K/BB ratio in 30 2/3 innings during that span. He leads the International League in ERA (1.46), innings (49 1/3), strikeouts (59) and ranks second in opponent average (.151).
There's no reason to waste any more of Misiorowski's innings in Triple-A. The Brewers rank 22nd in the Majors with a 4.15 ERA and are 21-23, four games back in the National League Central and the same distance behind for the NL's last Wild Card berth.
It will happen again, just not this year. If we look back over the previous 20 Drafts, I count seven players who were the universal top prospect in their class: Justin Upton (2005), David Price (2007), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Bryce Harper (2010), Casey Mize (2018), Adley Rutschman (2019) and Torkelson (2020). That averages out to about one every three years, though they have come in bursts.
Since Torkelson, there either has been no consensus top guy (2021, 2022, 2025) or an abundance of candidates (2023, 2024). This year's group features intriguing talents such as Stillwater (Okla.) HS shortstop Ethan Holliday, Corona (Calif.) HS right-hander Seth Hernandez and Florida State left-hander Jamie Arnold. But as I mentioned in my last Pipeline Inbox, none of them would have been top-five-overall picks in the previous two Drafts.
There are plenty of interesting players in the 2026 Draft -- including Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, Argyle (Texas) HS shortstop Grady Emerson and Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, to name just three -- but no one is running away from the pack just yet.