Meet MLB's Next Wave Of Top Prospects

Plus: Statcast data for Made/Walcott/De Vries, future No. 1 prospects & new Field of 64

May 14, 2025

Meet The Elite Trio Of SS Prospects Taking Baseball By Storm

By next January, there's a good chance at least half of Baseball America's current top 10 prospects will have graduated

Ready and waiting will be a trio of teenage shortstops who are making their cases to take the title as top prospect in baseball heading into next season.

BA’s Josh Norris profiles three top 10 prospects in Jesús Made of the Brewers, Sebastian Walcott of the Rangers and Leo De Vries of the Padres, reporting on what makes them so special and what each needs to do to potentially take over the No. 1 overall spot in 2026.

SHORTSTOP STATCAST DATA

Comparing Statcast Data For Jesús Made, Sebastian Walcott & Leo De Vries

To further flesh out the Made/Walcott/De Vries triumvirate, BA’s Geoff Pontes digs into some proprietary Statcast data highlighting intriguing numbers on plate skills, power and launch angles. Highlights include:

  • De Vries’ 70-grade hit tool and elite launch angles

  • Made’s consistent hard contact at a young age

  • Walcott’s impressive high-end exit velocities

7 Up-Arrow Prospects Who Could Be No. 1

By this time next year, Sebastian Walcott, Leo De Vries and Jesús Made should be among the main contenders for the top spot on BA’s Top 100 Prospects.

Behind that trio, however, another slew of high-upside players awaits.

We’ve highlighted seven prospects who have been getting some of loudest up-arrow feedback and could vault into the upper echelon of our rankings by season’s end. In doing so, they’d position themselves as real threats to one day reign at the peak of the Top 100.

Updated Field Of 64 Projections (May 14)

It’s getting to be crunch time in the college baseball regular season.

For the second time in as many weeks, an SEC team dropped from Baseball America’s latest Field of 64 projection, but the conference still produced its replacement, allowing it to maintain its nation-leading 13 bids.

The ACC increased its total from nine to 10 bids while the Big 12 (seven), Big Ten (four) and Sun Belt (three) also received three or more bids. The Big West and Conference USA received two bids in the latest projection, including their automatic qualifiers.

What We’re Hearing About 2025 MLB Draft Prospects Two Months Out

Monday, we rolled out our third mock draft for the 2025 MLB Draft class. Now, we’re diving further into the scouting buzz, rumors and chatter that’s been taking place at the ballpark and over the phone in recent weeks. Some items on the agenda include:

  • Why Tennessee SS Dean Curley is slipping

  • How teams will sort through the top tier of college arms

  • High school sleepers to keep an eye on

MLB Draft Chat Today At 2 p.m. ET

Have a question for Baseball America draft expert Carlos Collazo? He’ll be leading a chat this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET to discuss anything draft related, so get your questions in soon.

TRENDING NOW AT BASEBALL AMERICA

🐍 Jesús Cano wrote about Jordan Lawlar’s MLB callup with the D-backs.

🌀 Matt Eddy examined the Mets’ stacked Brooklyn Cyclones lineup.

📊 Jacob Rudner presented the latest SEC power rankings.

⚾ J.J. Cooper looked at Mike Sirota as the latest talented Dodgers High-A OF.

❓ VeloU asked if lower arm slots mean fewer injuries for pitchers.

🎙️ Three new BA podcasts dropped this week:

💪 Here’s today’s list of notable MiLB probable starting pitchers.

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