There’s no such thing as too much pitching with injuries always a concern on the mound. For that same reason, potential aces can be hard to find in the Minor Leagues. Any organization that can marry depth and special talent is cooking with gas and setting itself up to be a long-term contender at the Major League level.
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1. New York Mets
You could put the Mets’ Big Three pitching prospects up there with anyone else’s in baseball. We’ve already seen Nolan McLean (MLB No. 37) take his crazy spin rates and breaking stuff to the Majors, and Jonah Tong (MLB No. 44) is the Pitching Prospect of the Year favorite as the Minor League strikeout leader with an ERA below 2.00, thanks to the elite ride on his fastball and his much-improved changeup. Right-hander Brandon Sproat may have fallen out of the Top 100 because of some uneven work at Triple-A Syracuse, but he’s built on his upper-90s velocity as the summer’s gone along and found his rhythm ahead of a potential MLB debut down the stretch. New York’s pitching group has also helped develop breakouts by Will Watson and Jack Wenninger. Even R.J. Gordon has jumped to Double-A and into their Top 30 one year after going in the 13th round. It’s enough to make you wonder what could be next for 2025 picks like prep righties Peter Kussow and Camden Lohman and Tommy John recovery project Peyton Prescott.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates
If this was just about Top 100 talent alone, the Bucs might have taken the cake. Pittsburgh has MLB Pipeline’s top pitching prospect in right-hander Bubba Chandler (MLB No. 7), who has finally risen to the Majors in an initial relief role after a summer filled with speculation. They also may have gotten the pitcher with the highest ceiling in this year’s Draft class in fellow righty Seth Hernandez (MLB No. 27) with the sixth overall pick in July. Triple-A lefty Hunter Barco (MLB No. 86) rounds out the Top 100 contingent with an effective three-pitch mix that is also closing in on Major League readiness. Only the Mariners have as many Top 100 arms as the Pirates. However, only nine members of Pittsburgh’s Top 30 prospects list are pitchers, and that lack of depth lands the organization in the second spot.
3. Boston Red Sox
This used to be a bat-heavy system. But it wasn’t just the graduations of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell that vaulted the Sox pitching corps up the ranks. The breakout of Payton Tolle (MLB No. 28) from last year’s second round to one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the sport -- one whose fastball might be the most effective in the Minors with mid-90s velo and elite extension -- is the standout story. Getting Oklahoma right-hander Kyson Witherspoon (MLB No. 92) at 15th overall might have been one of the coups of the Draft. Lefties Brandon Clarke and Connelly Early both had various levels of support during our midseason Top 100 update, and righty Luis Perales could reach that status if his stuff returns post-Tommy John. In total, Boston boasts 10 pitchers with overall grades of 45 or better, second-most on this list. That combination of top talent and depth is ideal.
4. Seattle Mariners
It’s much the same story here for the Mariners as it was in our Farm System Rankings. Their three Top 100 pitching prospects are tied for the most in baseball, and there is plenty to be excited about when it comes to third overall pick Kade Anderson (MLB No. 22), electric righty Ryan Sloan (MLB No. 42) and switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (MLB No. 93). After that, the talent level drops off pretty sharply with no other pitchers receiving an overall grade above 45. Teddy McGraw, the 14th-ranked prospect in the system, shows dominance in flashes but has thrown only 32 innings total since being taken in the third round out of Wake Forest two years ago.
5. Athletics
The A’s have developed one of the biggest breakout arms of the season in 2024 73rd-overall pick Gage Jump (MLB No. 58), who has dominated High-A and Double-A with a good four-pitch mix in his first full season. The organization added another Top 100 prospect when Florida State southpaw Jamie Arnold (MLB No. 36) fell into its lap with the 11th overall pick, and his mid-90s fastball and 82-85 mph sweeping breaking ball both could dominate the pros quickly. Luis Morales -- already in the bigs at just 22 -- gives the club another Top 100-adjacent arm, and Double-A hurlers Braden Nett and Henry Baez -- both acquired from the Padres in the Mason Miller blockbuster -- help build out the depth as well.
6. Washington Nationals
Travis Sykora’s Tommy John surgery undoubtedly was a hit to the overall strength of this group. He was set to rank considerably higher than his Top 100 spot at MLB No. 46 before the procedure. But he and fireballer Jarlin Susana (MLB No. 72) still make for a desirable duo at the top of the Nationals’ list. As good as Susana’s triple-digit heat is, his 86-88 mph slider might be an even more dominant offering. Washington’s pitching corps got even deeper in recent months with Draft additions Landon Harmon (third round) and Miguel Sime Jr. (fourth round) and Trade Deadline pickups Sean Paul Liñan and Eriq Swan. Cade Cavalli’s healthy surge, aided by his 96-99 mph fastball and 85-87 mph knuckle curve, certainly helps the Nats’ standing here.
7. Atlanta Braves
The Braves have the most pitching-heavy Top 30 of any farm system with 21 prospects on that list making their living on the hill. Not all Top 30s are equal in overall strength, of course, and the amount of arms on the list may say as much about the hitting group as it does the pitching. Even still, '24 top pick Cam Caminiti (MLB No. 80) continues to flash potential -- with three potentially above-average pitches in his fastball, slider and changeup -- as the club’s lone Top 100 prospect. JR Ritchie, Didier Fuentes and Briggs McKenzie (who signed for $3 million as a '25 fourth-rounder) add some bulk behind the 19-year-old southpaw, and Hurston Waldrep has looked like a reclaimed, splitter-dominant talent in his recent MLB appearances.
8. New York Yankees
The Yanks may have George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones as notable bats, but they're decidedly deepest in the pitching department. Cam Schlittler (a recent Top 100 graduate) has flirted with perfection in the Major Leagues and fellow righty Carlos Lagrange (MLB No. 81) may have an even higher ceiling with an upper-90s fastball and plus sweeping slider, if he can find the zone more consistently. Seven of New York’s Top 10 prospects are hurlers, including '24 second-rounder Bryce Cunningham and 22-year-old Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, who was acquired from the Red Sox in the offseason and has been a strikeout machine during his first year in pinstripes.
9. Minnesota Twins
As with the Braves above, this is about depth as much as anything. Despite having no Top 100 pitching prospects, the Twins do have 13 hurlers with at least 45 overall grades in their system, the most of anyone on this list. Trade Deadline pickups Mick Abel and Kendry Rojas gave the group two new headliners. Both could make meaningful MLB starts for Minnesota next year. A pair of lefties, Dasan Hill and Connor Prielipp, have considerable ceilings with high-quality stuff but need to expand their workloads -- once they do that, they could be in Top 100 territory, though Prielipp (who has battled previous elbow injuries) might graduate to the bigs before then. This year’s 36th overall pick Riley Quick could be a potential popup name for 2026 if he can improve on his already plus fastball-slider combo as he moves beyond '24 Tommy John surgery.
10. Toronto Blue Jays
Another 180-degree turn from where the Jays stood a season ago, when pitching injuries dominated the story of the system. There are still some to be dealt with, of course -- Ricky Tiedemann is on the way back from TJ, and Jake Bloss underwent his own elbow surgery earlier this season -- but the group has a potential star up top in Trey Yesavage (MLB No. 26), whose unique delivery and fastball-slider-splitter mix have helped him pitch at four levels in ‘25. There’s also been a nice step forward by fellow '24 pick Johnny King, and righty Gage Stanifer has gone from unranked in preseason to No. 6 with dominance at two A-ball levels. The Jays might have even ranked higher had they not turned nice years from Rojas and Khal Stephen into Trade Deadline deals that could help the org get its first division title in a decade.