MLB Prospects Who Just Missed the Top 100 List
Not every top prospect in baseball could make our latest update of the top 100 released this week. Here's a look into nine notable omissions.
Last week, we released our top 100 prospect list for 2025 and as I always like to remind folks, there’s probably another 50 or more players who are “top 100 caliber”. For the sake of brevity, I stuck to the nine who I think have the best chance of cracking our next update in June.
Of course, with a couple months of Minor League Baseball to work off of, more players will throw their hats into the ring, but these are the players who I had the hardest time leaving off.
Franklin Arias – SS – Red Sox
Initially viewed as a glove-first shortstop when the Red Sox signed him out of Venezuela, Arias has swung the bat well since debuting in 2023, hitting his way off of the complex in his age 18 season. Arias only got more comfortable at Low-A as he compiled more games, sprinting through the finish line with 15 knocks over his final 10 contests.
What stood out above all was Arias’ added impact, looking more physical with the batted ball data to back it up. His glove and above average raw power for his age elevates his floor, with the hit tool probably still being the most up in the air of all the attributes.
Arias produced just a 62% contact rate against secondary offerings at the Florida Complex League, but his ability to recognize spin hedges that concern. The more I dive into Arias, the more I realize that he probably should have been a top 100 prospect. Barring him falling flat on his face to open up 2025, you can expect to see him on the next list.
Santiago Suarez – RHP – Rays
Suarez’s command in his age-19 season is what separates him from his peers, walking just 4.7% of batters in his 24 Low-A starts. He does lean on his fastball a good bit to pound the zone at such a high clip, going to it roughly 60% of the time. Suarez has the ingredients for an above average fastball and cutter, but he lacks a clear plus swing and miss offering.
While the stuff should be good enough, it’s always difficult to project advanced pitchers who are succeeding at the lower levels. Opponents hit .244 against Suarez (.290 vs. fastball), with slightly above average exit velocities allowed. If he sees an uptick in his age-20 season and/or finds more whiff with his slider, Suarez is a candidate to crack the list.
Rays RHP prospect Santiago Suarez tossed his second straight scoreless outing last night.
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) April 13, 2024
5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Fastball averaged 95.5 mph. 11 whiffs, 36% CSW. Through two starts: 10 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 15 K
📽️: @WoodpeckersNC pic.twitter.com/L47qyVneo6
Nick Yorke – UTIL – Pirates
Yorke went from a guy who people were shocked to see drafted in the first round of the 2020 draft, to a top 50 prospect, to a guy who seemed to be fading out of prospect relevance, then back to a borderline top 100 prospect and he hasn’t even turned 23 years old yet.
That’s what injuries, some growing pains and a “what have you done for me recently?” industry can do to a player’s perceived stock.
It didn’t help that the Red Sox were shopping Yorke around a bit before ultimately swapping him for Quinn Priester at last year’s deadline.
Through all of the ups and downs, Yorke may be looked like the best version of himself in 2024. He added plenty of raw bat speed, seeing his average exit velocity leap to 91 MPH with a hard hit rate that climbed north of 46% between Double-A, Triple-A and 11 MLB games.
The defense has improved significantly as well. He looks solid at second base, in addition to taking comfortable routes in the outfield and surprisingly holding his own on the left side of the infield.
His plus exit velocities are more likely to translate into doubles than homers due to his flatter path and tendency to go the other way, but Yorke looks the part of either an everyday first baseman or super-utility piece.
Sal Stewart – 2B/3B – Reds
It’s all about the bat for Stewart, but he might just be starting to tap into his exciting upside in that regard. He has been very productive at each stop, running a 134 wRC+ in his Minor League career, despite only hitting 20 home runs in that 205 game span.
Sal Stewart deserves more love. He consistently finds barrels, posts strong contact rates and recognizes spin well. Still working to tap into more game power, but the raw pop is there (46% Hard Hit rate).
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) January 31, 2025
Load can be a bit rushed, which makes it hard to pull the ball in the air. pic.twitter.com/XBLNLEgQhL
Stewart’s feel to hit and approach have helped him walk as much as he has struck out as a pro, with the final step to the offensive side of things being whether he can convert his above average raw power into at least average game power.
Defensively, Stewart is passable at third base, but average defense is still outside of arm’s reach at this point. If Stewart converts his above average exit velocities into more game power, the defensive limitations could be washed out enough to be a top 100 prospect.
Nolan McLean – RHP – Mets
McLean finally ditched the two-way thing once he reached Double-A and has really started to blossom on the mound. He has an innate feel to spin the baseball that has been plenty evident even through his first 100 or so professional innings, but he is still optimizing shapes and usage.
With the overhauled Mets pitching development infrastructure and McLean’s ability to rip 3000 RPM breaking balls, he is an easy 2025 breakout candidate. The K-BB rate was a bit too low in Double-A to crack the top 100, though I fully expect that to shift as he continues to hone in on his intriguing five pitch mix.
George Lombard Jr. – SS – Yankees
One of the most exciting prospect storylines in Spring Training, Lombard Jr. looks like the offseason treated him well, adding strength and making mechanical adjustments that appear to be yielding improved results in a small sample.
Even through his below average offensive season in 2024, Lombard Jr. very much looked the part of a first round pick, flashing his tantalizing potential.
George Lombard Jr. launches a solo shot 💪 pic.twitter.com/TvRGI7ZU5Y
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 1, 2025
Mechanical changes followed by positive results are always quite encouraging, especially for a teenage hitter (Lombard Jr. turns 20 years old in June), but it is equally as important to see those changes extrapolated over a larger sample size (see: Spencer Jones, 2024 Spring Training).
He looks the part, the swing looks better and the projection is there, making Lombard Jr. an easy top 100 candidate with a strong start to the regular season.
Moises Chace – RHP – Phillies
Acquired by the Phillies as part of the package for reliever Gregory Soto at the 2024 deadline, Chace looks like a potential heist of a pick up. His fastball features elite ride, averaging 18.5 inches of induced vertical break from a 5.4 foot release height, which is about four inches above average for that release point. It also sits in the mid 90s, making it a potential 70 grade offering if he can locate it more consistently.
3 up, 3 down with 2Ks for Moisés Chace 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dgflcRooDd
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) March 14, 2025
The changeup plays up off of the riding fastball with a sweeper that has flashed as well. The challenge for Chace is command and consistency, walking 12% of batters in 2024.
On a more positive note, he cut that walk rate to 8% over his final 10 starts. More strikes and a more consistent breaking ball and Chace is easily on the next update.
Joe Mack – C – Marlins
Mack broke out in 2024 in just about every sense. In 2023, Mack hit just .218/.295/.287 (69 wRC+) in High-A while throwing out 26% of base stealers. Mack was a completely different hitter last season, posting a 129 wRC+ in Double-A and quadrupling his home run total with 24 homers.
Defensively, he progressed from solid to plus, throwing out 34% of attempted base stealers along with improved blocking and receiving.
The offensive bar for a plus defensive catcher is low, which is why Mack’s 2024 breakout makes it easy to envision a future big league backstop in some capacity.
With the power now comfortably above average, Mack has the offensive upside to be an above average everyday catcher. He came up just a tad short of cracking the top 100 list because I am still skeptical on the hit tool.
Mack’s hands travel a long way prior to launch and he struggled mightily against spin, posting an OPS right around .500 against breaking balls. Even just a half step forward in the hit tool department could be enough to sneak Mack into our next update.
Trey Yesavage – RHP – Blue Jays
Yesavage seemed like a slam-dunk top 15 pick, but slipped to the Blue Jays at 20 amid some medical concerns. He was dominant in his draft year at ECU, striking out 40% of the batters he faced behind a much improved feel for his plus splitter to complement his gyro slider. He also gained more than an inch of induced vertical break on his fastball from the year prior.
23 Yesavage 😎
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 15, 2025
Trey Yesavage's #BlueJays org debut: 2 IP, THREE Ks! pic.twitter.com/bCaOTZlq1P
Yesavage has a pitcher’s body, at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and with a splitter that now looks like a second above average secondary, it will be a matter of whether his over-the-top fastball that sits at league-average velocity can avoid hard contact enough as well as shedding some of the health concerns that likely kept him out of the top 15 picks.
Written by
Aram Leighton is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor for Just Baseball. A Syracuse University grad, Aram is one of the hosts of the Just Baseball Show…